Johnny's Software Saloon

Weblog where I discuss things that really interest me. Things like Java software development, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Macintosh software, Cocoa, Eclipse IDE, OOP, content management, XML technologies, CSS and XSLT document styling, artificial intelligence, standard document formats, and cool non-computing technologies.

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Location: Germantown, Maryland, United States

I like writing software, listening to music (mostly country and rock but a little of everything), walking around outside, reading (when I have the time), relaxing in front of my TV watching my TiVo, playing with my cat, and riding around in my hybrid gas/electric car.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

couple big letdowns from my car this morning

The first problem I had today was my car's front tire was completely flat.  Took me only several feet to figure that out.

Next problem I encountered was the local dealership does not stock the replacement tire and cannot get one from somewhere else until tomorrow.

Checking customer reviews of local tire shops revealed some get very good reviews, others get really bad ones.  All of them seem to take pretty much all day.

Wondering if there is any way to get my front tires replaced/balanced today, and into office for half a day.

I considered a couple fallback solutions if nobody can get the tires today.  It looks like nobody can.

One is I have the tires ordered and dealer and put on first thing tomorrow morning at the dealer.  Another place nearby can put the tires on Thursday, but they are totally booked up today and tomorrow (Wednesday) too.

The other option is a place a few blocks away, but they said they were too busy to give me an estimate over the phone and I need to get the spare on and drive it in to get the estimate.

Other option, which might work out better - is to use spare to get the short distance to/from nearby commuter rail Wed-Thu and have the front tires replaced Saturday morning.

It is kind of looking like may wind up using both of these options.  Thank goodness it is not supposed to rain tomorrow.  It is going to rain Friday, though.  

I just wanted to write some JSPs and draw some UML diagrams, and this is what I get to do instead.  Oh, well. Somewhere, there is an auto mechanic cursing the problems he is having with his computer, I have no doubt.

I did some searching on the web and found that the distance you can drive on a spare tire is a little longer than I thought, but still quite limited.  Another important fact I learned is that with many spare tires, you can only drive them safely at speeds under 50 mph.

UPDATE:  Lug nuts are on so tight that the trying to loosen them with the hand lug wrench does not make them budge.  In fact, the entire car rolls when I try.  Looks like I am going to need a tow.   Also looks like instead of making money today, I am spending a bunch.

UPDATE:  Someone wrote that they had the same problem and after trying lots of expensive power tools, they finally got their stuck lug nuts off using something called a breaker bar, which they bought for only $28.   Now, I have to track down a place in walking distance that has a breaker bar and give my boss an update.  I like writing JSPs so much more than this.

UPDATE:  It turns out, to use a breaker bar you need to have a socket wrench.  Moreover, the  breaker bar can damage the socket wrench.  Looks like now my only option is to tow the car "someplace".  Maybe I can tow it to the dealer, get them to put on the spare tire which will get me to/from the mass transit lot - and order the tires so I can have them put onto the car Saturday.

UPDATE:  My dealer informed me that the lug nuts on my wheels are probably secured with a wheel lock on each wheel.  I looked for and cannot find a "key" like the one she described.  So, this pretty much nails that I have to have my car towed to the dealership. At this point, it is abundantly clear I am not going to be able to get to my office for even a couple of hours.  So time for another call to my boss.

UPDATE:  The rear tire tread and sides look to be in excellent condition.  So at least I will not have to replace them for a good while.

UPDATE: Car is being towed to dealership.  Spare tire will go on for me to use to get me to/from public transit lot for remainder of this week, and two new tires will go on the front of the car on Saturday.

UPDATE: Just got back from dealership.  Rode shotgun in the tow truck on the way over.  I have temporary tire on until Saturday morning.  Fortunately, the part of my commute that is by car is really short.  Thank goodness for public transportation.

UPDATE: Just made second wave of calls to customer and my agency letting them know that the problem with my car was solved with spare tire to let me get in for the remainder of this week.

THOUGHTS: I am kind of upset that something as mundane as a flat tire is so time-consuming and expensive to solve.  For one thing, the $69 tow is something I wish I could have avoided.  For another, needing to special order tires is a big pain. Wasting time in a futile effort to remove the lug nuts manually was also regrettable.  I might have the mechanics verify they are not on too tight Saturday when I have the real tires put on the car.

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Monday, March 01, 2010

Why developers like the Macintosh

Because it comes with tons of developer software for free!

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