Asa Jay's weblog

My HP ze2315us notebook computer recently developed a problem and it’s going to be a pain to get fixed.  The display has developed a single-pixel wide vertical line about two inches in from the left edge of the screen.  It’s enough to be annoying, but not enough for me to let it loose at the moment.

At first, I tried to find anyplace in town that might service the computer while I waited.  I figured a qualified service center could get a new display on order, then have me in, replace it and we’d be good.  The computer is still under warranty and as it turns out, there are -no- HP authorized service centers that can do warranty work.  What?!  I turns out I have to box up and ship my notebook to some other place for warranty work.  I’m really not a big fan of such practices, especially when I’m fully capable of replacing the display on my own.  To make matter worse, they have this nice disclaimer that you have to sign prior to them working on it. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve recently completed my third class at Whitworth.  This time it was “The Sociology of Middle Eastern Society.”  Our instructor was very knowledgeable and simply crammed information into our heads on a non-stop basis for the entire course.  The tests were comprehensive and depending on how much a person studied, could be found to be difficult.  In my case, I felt I wasn’t doing too bad and I hoped to get a “B” when it was all over.  By the end of the course, I managed to pull an “A.”  With this one out of the way and the fall class schedule coming out, I’ve had to do some thinking about changing plans, more on that later.
With my last class out of the way, I’ve entered into my next class, or rather set of classes.  The accelerated program I am in doesn’t leave much room to be taking two classes at the same time; however, in this case I am taking one full three-credit class and another small fill in for one credit.  My primary class is “The Life and Teaching of Jesus” and my minor one credit class is “Problem Solving and Decision Making using Microsoft Excel.”

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Finally, a day that was nice all the way through getting off work and going home.  I pulled the Pantera out of the garage and did some detailing.  I vacuumed the floors, dusted the upholstery and quick-shined the paint.  A little air in the tires, check the oil and water, and she was ready for a quick test drive.

Seems like it’s been almost a year now since the last time I had the Pantera out of the garage.  I drove it today and it felt good, just rumbling along the freeway doing the speed limit.  As I drove I began thinking of all the things I need or wish to do to the car.

The entire suspension needs to be overhauled.  New bushings, possibly even new a-arms.  New shocks and springs.  I have a dual-sucker fan I need to install behind the radiator too.  Get the water tanks reconditioned or buy new ones.  Pull the ZF (that’s the transmission) and overhaul it.  Get some new seat belts installed.  Bigger things I’d like to do are install dropped floor pans, a four-point roll cage with five-point seat belts, upgrade the brakes, new wheels and tires and I’ve got a small rear spoiler to install.  The bodywork and paint are in almost-desperate need of attention, but overall she’s pretty straight and looks good at car shows just the way she is.

I’ve thought about autocrossing the Pantera, but I simply can’t until I get some of the mechanical work done.  Then eventually I wish to build another engine for it.  It currently has the stock original 1973 351C engine.  The ’73 model year was a pretty de-tuned version of the Cleveland.  I need to fix that up some, get some more horsepower back into the car.  I’ll probably work on those specs a little while later.  I can’t really see starting until I’m out of school.

I did find out about the Spokane Italian Car Club today.  I should be getting more information on them soon.  I think it will be kind of neat to hang out with other Italian car enthusiasts.  I’m anxious to see what they do.  Let’s hope this summer presents plenty of opportunities to have fun.

Asa Jay

Another six weeks down and one more class finished toward my degree. The grades were about a week late in coming, finally being posted today. Now with a final passing grade, I feel comfortable in writing about the class and moving on. I have 18 more to go, that’s two less than when I started.

I’m not a “sociology” kind of guy, I’m more technical. Social sciences and humanities courses are the types I have avoided like the plague for years, even decades. I started out finding the class very much against my better tastes; however, as I was determined to make the best of it, I found the material grew on me in a positive way. By the time the course was finished, I was happy I had endured, learned a lot and hopefully became a better person for it.

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In an article I read this morning, North Korea suggests that it can strike the Unites States first. What North Korea is suggesting, is that it holds just as much pre-emptive authority to strike a nation, as the U.S. does. How did this happen? How is it that another nation now looks to pre-emptive action as a viable political tool? The answer is simple really, when one of the worlds most leading nations indicates acceptable foreign policy through it’s actions, the world will take note. North Korea has been paying attention to how the U.S. has been metering out it’s foreign policy as of late.

I don’t want to sound as though I don’t support our administration, or support our military forces overseas, because I do; however, I do think we may have made a mistake and as the years pass by, we are beginning to see the fallout of our actions in Iraq. Our doctrine of self-defense changed when it was decided the U.S. would pre-emptively strike Iraq. No longer was it a doctrine of striking back, it was a doctrine of striking first. Instead of turning the other cheek, or taking an eye for an eye, we are now the ones to poke the other in the eye first.

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