Friday, February 2 - Massachusetts

Good evening intrepid followers! Not much to report this week as I have done a whole lot of - nothing. Thinking and reading, but otherwise felt a bit lethargic this week. Daily household chores, but that is about it. I feel fine (as in I am not ill); just not "feeling it" to do much.

So after consideration, I decided I need more vegetables and fruit in my diet than I have had lately. (There's that "thinking" thing!) The past month I have been eating a lot - a LOT - of pasta. I love my carbs, and have them every meal in one form or another.

Much as I love spaghetti, lasagna, etc. they do not contain many vegetables. Nor does a morning yogurt contain much fruit. So after pondering, and feeling a bit lethargic, I decided it was diet related and started eating more vegetables and fruit. Tomorrow is grocery shopping, so I will pick up more of both. I did not have a lot of fruit in the pantry when this conclusion was reached.

I re-read Monday's post and will relay the Car Key Fob story. In hindsight it is a bit humorous in a twisted way; at the time it was not. Especially for my Brother, who carted me around that day.

The 'Stang's Key Fob is a very simple thing, really. She has 1 key which both starts the ignition and opens the trunk (bear in mind she's a '94). The fob locks or unlocks the doors and arms or disarms the alarm. The alarm sets automatically a few minutes after exiting the car, locked or not. The Fob has worked well for the past 9 or so years.

The Key Fob in question

And chose the worst day of the year to die - New Year's Day. The next day my most awesome Brother took me to get the battery replaced. One would think the battery would be easy to replace on such a simple piece of electronics. One would be wrong.

The alarm came with the car when I bought her. Apparently this type of car alarm is quite elaborate and not easily disabled. (Confirmed both by my mechanic and my extensive online research.) At the electronics store, the owner tried his best to open The Fob to no avail. The previous car owner had not only managed to strip its one tiny screw, but had then superglued the entire thing together.

Screwdrivers and the use of a drill with a tiny bit ensued. Two grown men grumbled and futzed over one small item for almost an hour. Success! Then silence. Stuttering amazement - the battery had been wrapped in aluminum foil in order to make contact with slightly corroded connections. Really??

All turned out well in the end. I will give a much-deserved shout-out to Electronics Plus, where The Fob got fixed. It is a small, well-run store in Littleton. The kind one thinks of when remembering when home-town stores knew your name and had everything you needed. My Brother knows the owner, who really knows his stuff. He has replaced all my watch batteries (I have a collection, and the batteries all tend to die at the same time), degaussed my unwanted computer hard drives, and provided obscure cables I need.

As for my 'Stang's alarm system - alas I am stuck with it. We have come to a grudging agreement. If the weather is going to be bad (sleet/freezing rain/tons of snow) I do not lock her. I do not want the door locks to freeze - that happened once and results were not pretty.

I do not worry, however. The fact that the alarm is enough to wake the dead is deterrent enough. She will not start once the alarm has gone off. Even if a car thief was clever enough to bypass both of the above, there is the manual shift with which to contend. Only about 18% of the current driving population can drive a manual from what I understand.

Sad but true. Thus I rest easy :)

That reminds me of another funny thing that happened last month, which I shall share next week.

Super Bowl is the day after tomorrow! I am eagerly looking forward to the game! My beloved Pats vs. Eagles. It will be a good game! (We will be the ones in white!)

Go Patriots!