Generator Fail

The work under my vehicles is building up.  I feel too old to slide under them these days, specially in the snow.  The $1800 lifts I found are like $800 plus duty to ship, that makes them too much money for me.  So a pit it is.  I haven't looked at renting a mini hoe yet, cause I don't really have anything to tow it.  But I know Dave rented one, hired his goons to operate it, and it fell in the pit, causing some $2000 damage.  For $2000 I can buy all the parts to build the trailer hoe.  With that John Deer tractor "I can have" I would be able to build a hoe for about $600, but a lot of work.  Every avenue I look at is like $2000, but I am doing this somehow, and don't want to spend 10% of the shop purchase price doing it.  With that message out there, the neighbor to the south, that I have never met, drives his bobcat by, cleaning the side walk.  I stopped to chat with him for a wile, another super nice fellow.  Can a bobcat dig a pit?  Hell yeh, he wants to dig it for me for $100.  That is too good to be true.  I want it 4' wide, the full 18' long, and 5-6' deep.  His machine is 5' wide, so thats the narrowest it can dig, but thats perfect with 6" retaining walls.  I can't wait!  I'll be welding up the VW floor pans, making Voyager shift linkage, bleeding brakes, doing oil changes, inspecting things.

Speaking of inspecting things.  I thought today, the Astro van must need a new oxygen sensor, with its horrific 17mpg.  But doesn't the check engine light come on with that?  I had to really look for the check engine light.  You know what I found?  A piece of black electrical tape over the very bright and always illuminated check engine light.  Sneaky buggers.

We found the seat sale we were looking for to Mexico, $400 return, late friday night.  We should have booked one ticket, but we waited till Monday, to try the Avion air miles.  The air miles got us a one way ticket and a return ticket.  Finally my $100 a year credit card is good for something.  But the return ticket cost $500, of which I had enough avion points to pay $100 of.  So still out $400 for a ticket that was $200 2 days prior.  We're leaving Saturday, the 29th, I return on the 9th, and Michelle on the 24 I think.

I don't do much exciting these days, besides work.  This is todays video.  Don't get me wrong, I love this little generator.  I am still in disbelief, that it runs for 8+ hours on $4 of fuel.  It will only really run one tool at a time, and you have to limit the thickness that you cut or drill.  I want to get a smaller inverter generator, just cause this one takes up so much room in my van.  I can get an inverter genny half the size and twice the watts.