The tri tip turned out really well. Tender. Juicy. Perfectly pink on the inside.










In California, you are allowed to tint the front windows if the tint film is clear and colorless, and allows 88% of visible light. The Ford OEM glass is already tinted to allow 70% visible light, in compliance with Federal Law.





What you can do, is get a doctor's note. Just like you get for the blue, disabled parking placard. Talk to your doctor. Tell him you want a note that says you have to have tinted windows.




The 2 "brand names" of tint film are probably 3M and Eastman Llumar. You can search for 3M installers. You can ask the shop which brand they use. There are probably dozens of "off brand", non-branded, self-branded products. A tint installer could also have the manufacturer send "private label" branding.

Only 3M and Eastman Llumar publishes performance ratings for their films which show the percentages of rejected light, uv rays, infrared, etc. It's up to you to guess if the other brands of tint film work about the same, better, or worse. It's also a guess with factory tinted windows. A tint gauge could tell you all of that. Although I am not buying a tint gauge. You could always ask a cop if he has one, and maybe he'll let you let use it for a minute.













I always thought that the darkest window tint was the best. I'm pretty sure, that what most shops install, is cheap, black, limo tint - because it's cheap, and most customers don't know any different. But it turns out that a light tint with superior technology is the better. The lighter tints can reject more UV, IR, and heat. And until it was pointed out to me, most cars already come from the factory with tinted window glass. I still want to tint the front windows and my entire windshield. Only now, I don't know if it will make a difference. It may be just a waste of money to put tint film on factory tinted glass.

 

Well today is the big day. My first appointment with the BioLife plasma donation center. If they will take my plasma, I will be able to make the car payments. If not, I will have to find a buyer who is willing to take over payments, (and of course has the credit rating and income to do o.)

Jim

 

Chicken for dinner.

 

Not quite what The Colonel serves. I should have gotten a paper bucket from the paint store. That would have made it better.

 

Looks good to me.
well, the plasma appointment was a bust. For some reason, they could not find my veins in the arm. I told them the VA usually withdraws blood from the back of my hand. They said they use an 18-gauge needle and need to use one in the arm. The nurse tried twice and couldn't find one, so she called for a doctor, and he couldn't find one either. He said to try again in 15 days. I doubt one is going to appear in that time, but I will give it a shot. If it doesn't it looks like I will be selling the car after only two months of ownership. All that money spent on it down the drain.

Jim

 

As a kid, pizza in my neighborhood came in sheets. Baked in pans. Servings were cut into squares. The dough was always thick. Not like those thin crust, round, pies in New York. Not like deep dish found in Chicago. Not like whatever they sell at Domino's. It must have something to do with which part of Italy your ancestors immigrated from. My ancestors were from Hong Kong. So they were British.

 

Every time I go into the yard, there are more figs ripening to the point where they are bursting with sugar and juice. I'm picking a bowlful a day, an average of 5 lbs. Just leaving them to rot and drop doesn't seem like a good idea.





I decided to make pancakes for dinner. Pancakes with figs. Sugar, carbohydrates, and fat.

 

Everyone says that they felt the earthquake.
. I didn't feel anything. The cell phone alerted an earthquake . Of course, after the fact, it's too late.

The sun is out. It's warm. I have Air Conditioning on. Is that earthquake weather?

 

Howdy to the shaker state!

 

My SO got the alert on her phone 2 or 3 seconds before it hit here. She shouted "earthquake", there was a little (very little) pause and then we started rockin' and rollin'. We are quite a distance from the epicenter, but we got a few good shakes out of it.

 

Didn't feel any earthquake down here.
I need to stop complaining about the terrible gas mileage of the Charger. I switched the display to show current MPG and at 70 mph it is getting 27 to 32 mpg, depending on n if it is level, or going down/up any inclines. For a 4,000lb car with a 345 ci V8 engine, I would say that is pretty good. The problem is the number of miles I am driving. I have been taking my grandkids to school every morning (three different schools) and then picking them up from home in the evening. Seventeen miles in the morning, and fifteen miles in the evening. Thirty-two miles a day for the past two weeks. Adds up to 320 miles, or essentially a full tank of gas.
Looks like keeping the car is not going to be possible though. I know I mentioned that the DoorDash thing didn't work as planned, but I don't know if I mentioned the plasma donation thing. I went to donate last week, and they were unable to find a vein. Two days later I mentioned this to my PC doctor, and he suggested I not donate just yet as my white blood cell count is too high (34k) So, now I am scheduled to see the oncologist three times in the next three months to monitor it. I was diagnosed with CLL Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, back in 2011, and even though I suffer none of the symptoms of that disease, there is still the telltale high WBC number.

I made a partial payment this month and will post on Craigslist some items to sell to make up the difference but posting and selling are two different things. And even if they all sell, I can't keep selling things for two years. I will run out of things to sell long before that. I know I will be getting a big COLA increase in January, but I am afraid it will not be enough, even with me tightening my belt financially. I am going to give DoorDash another shot tomorrow to see if I can make some money at it. Maybe I can get the green light to do the plasma thing in the near future too. That would be nice. Also I still have not been reimbursed by the insurance company for the deductible I had to pay. And my second firearm still has not sold. Maybe it will sell closer to Christmas. In the meantime, I love the car it is awesome to drive.

Jim

 

I don't have the earthquake warning app. Not that it helps if you get an alert 3 seconds before the earthquake. I got the public information text well after. Which would have been useless, if I was already under a pile of rubble.

Maybe the car suspension absorbed the earthquake. Ford trucks are not known for a smooth ride. I probably just thought it was part of the rough ride.

 

Jim,

Get in touch with a VA social worker. They can probably refer you to a VA banking credit counselor. They may be able to find a bank or credit union in the VA banking network to restructure your auto loan. Sometimes they can refinance with a better interest rate, and/or change the repayment terms, so that you can afford to make the payments.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll check in to it tomorrow.

Jim

 

With any luck, they could consolidate all of your debt. Eliminate all of the high interest. Wipe out the credit cards. Then give you 1 manageable payment. Good luck.