So I finally got the truck back after ~$760 in costs including:

• New Head Gaskets
• Radiator flush
• Oil change, oil filter, burn-off, oil change, oil filter
• Rocker arm
• coolant flush and fill - all coolant was black when I got it.

This was really just supposed to be a good look over by the mechanic to find faults with the system. I gave it a good look over yesterday to check the electrical system. The mechanic said the fuel gauge didn’t appear to work but I put some gas in it and it looked like it was working fine.

They also told me I needed a new power steering pump because it had ceased but I took a look at it yesterday and the pulley arm looks like it is free. I looked inside of the pump and all the liquid seems to have been drained out so I might be able to get by with a quick rebuild of all the gaskets. The pulley is shot but I ordered a new one from Summit Racing that should work. The problem with the old power steering pumps is that they all seem to be the old Saginaw pumps and pulley prices vary wildly in costs. Most places don’t even list an International power steering pump so I’m under the impression that the gm 5/8 or 3/4 diameter pulley should work. I ordered the 5/8″ pulley so we’ll see how that works.

The mechanics did say the smog pump was shot and I think I’m going to remove it altogether. This shouldn’t be too bad of a job but I’ll probably need to track down a slotted ratchet to remove the smog lines from the block, find some solid screws to fill in where they go.

I also noticed that the radio is dead along with the controls for the air system. Since they are all located in the same general area, I’m thinking it may just be that something was disconnected under the dash or under the hood; the fuses all look good. Wiring is not any fun but I think I may be able to manage it.

I also checked out all of the lights - turn signals, break lights, etc and everything looks good with one minor exception: front driver side signal was dead. I pulled off the plastic and the inside of the holder was corroded as all hell. After a bit of scraping and sanding I got a lot of it off but there is still some that won’t come off. I just took a can of Rustoleum chrome to it and it seemed to dry on ok. Hopefully it will be able to withstand the heat.  On the downside, when I attempted to take the bulb out, the whole light socket harness turned to dust and is destroyed. Now I’ll have to find a new socket and rig up something to hold it in place. I’ll also have to fabricate a housing gasket before putting the light back on. I think it should be pretty easy if I can find some gasket material. I’ll probably have to silicone the socket harness inlet as I can’t seem to track down the proper gasket for the hole.

Anyway, more truck blogging to come…

the Wonkette has a good write-up on Ron Paul

Dept. Of George Herbert Walker Corleone: If the Bushes Hate Ron Paul, Then America Loves Ron Paul - Wonkette
Yes, you already know the Bushes are despicable and the Republicans and Democrats are just the two main mafia families, but what the hell?

We advise Ron Paul to check his brakes before driving and get somebody expendable to taste his food.

BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis raises psychosis risk

The BBC is reporting that there appears to be some elevated risks of psychosis from smoking weed. I no longer partake in it nor do I really believe it. The story points out that the study was a meta-study, or a study of other studies. Now where does that sounds familiar? For Americans, the EPA study which the bulk of the second hand smoke argument still rests on, was a highly flawed meta-study. I’d rather smoke a joint that having smoke blown up my ass any day of the week.

 Hot off the wire, more issues for Gonzales:

FBI director contradicts Gonzales - Yahoo! News
The developments marked a troubling turn for Gonzales as well as the administration, which has been on the political defensive since congressional Democrats launched an investigation seven months ago into the firings of U.S. attorneys.

I’m not convinced that this was any type of “turn” at all. A downward spiral is still a downward spiral.

Pauli Cannoli has a good interview with Steve Kubby up. It discusses Kubby’s endorsement for Ron Paul in the Republican primaries and elections, due in part to the number of (l/L)ibertarians who will be crossing lines to vote for Paul. I’ve thought about registering Republican just for the primaries and then switching back to Independent afterwards….

Steve Kubby Endorses Ron Paul « paulie cannoli

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Hillary Defeats Ron Paul
What’s that mean? It’s actually something that Rasmussen even bothered to include Paul in a polling round. That might be a bow to the changing dynamics of the race—with his bankroll and continued organizing strength, Paul is going to be fighting primaries long after the rest of the second tier jumps out.

White House privacy adviser: We don’t need more authority | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Ok, so my title may be a bit misleading. But I just wanted to take a moment and smile and say: We don’t need more government oversight, we just need less government.

TheAgitator.com: More on Chicago PD: Comments

Normally I wouldn’t  double link a single blog in a subsequent post but Balko’s news feeds are serving him well. I believe police are generally accountable at a higher degree of ethics in terms of the power they wield. However when police and cities decide to use the Scarlet Letter method of shaming the accused (not necessarily found guilty in a court of law), why is it that police are suddenly above the law? Any public officer accountable to the larger population should carry the burden of having the bulk of their work records available to the general public at any time.

TheAgitator.com: Childhood Now a Sex Crime: Comments

Radley has a link to a story whereby a couple of juvenile males were arrested for a sex crime for patting girls on the ass in the hallway. It sounds like football coaches are safe for the time being.

One line cracks me up

Security experts claim first successful iPhone hack - Times Online
… or if they connected to the internet via a rogue wi-fi access point controlled by hackers.

Again - links in email are notorious pain points in computer security.  But just how and why a hacker would set up a rogue wi-fi hotspot is beyond me. While it may be useful for some purposes, sitting around waiting for iPhone users is a bit, um, unlikely. If we were to talk probabilities here, the chance of that happening is extremely remote. But essentially it will all come down to a level of trust. If an iPhone user has options in terms who to connect to over wi-fi, then the logical choice would be with a known provider.