The Death Wobble Is Gone!

Today was the first real test of the new tires and suspension and it passed with flying colors! I drove to work and back, hitting every bump, bridge seam, and pothole that had been setting it off and the steering behaved exactly like it should. Highway performance doesn’t seem to be too badly affected, though it’s too early to really tell. The trip to Peoria in March will be the real test on that. There just aren’t enough hills here to really make the engine work. Regearing might have to be done if highway speeds just aren’t possible, especially with the A/C running. And then there’s gas mileage…

It’s like a new Jeep

So after I made the decision to fix the death wobble once and for all I started doing my homework and came up with a plan. Hayden over at Diamond Off-Road Customs was kind enough to help me make it a reality. The once stock 2003 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Edition now has a TeraFlex S3T 3″ lift system, Rancho RS9000X shocks, 33″ Nitto Terra Grapplers and Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels.

It looks great and I will be posting pictures tomorrow. Now I can’t wait for the LSJC club run on March 12th so that I can try out some of the medium trails!

Death wobble

After almost killing myself on the drive back from Houston it’s time to get the Jeep fixed. I’ve been fighting nasty death wobble for a while now, and it’s just getting worse. The tires are down to about 35% tread so there’s not much sense in doing maintenance on them (a wheel balance might clear this up). So I’ve decided to do a few of the upgrades I’d been planning on for a while. I’m dropping it off at Diamond Off-road on Thrusday to get a TeraFlex 3″ suspension lift, an inch of body lift, and 285/75R16 (about 33″) tires.

A New Tattoo

Since I was down in Houston this weekend I decided to stop by Texas Body Art to get started on the celtic sleeve that I’ve been planning for a while. The first piece is a triskelion like pattern made up of three cats on my left shoulder. Kevin, the artist who did the work, did a great job and I’m really pleased with the results.

The Lonesome Dove

My friend Heather and I went to The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro for dinner tonight. It was fantastic, even if traffic from Irving to Ft. Worth almost made us miss our reservations!

The interior wasn’t what I was expecting, but in a good way. It’s in an old brick building in the Ft. Worth Stockyards, complete with a tin ceiling. There are some tacky modern western style paintings that really brighten up the place nicely.

The service was excellent. Our waiter was unobtrusive, always kept our waters and iced teas topped off, and was much more knowledgable about the cuisine and the chef than we’d expected.

The food was incredible. We shared a plate of appetizers, two Kangaroo nachos and two lamb empinadas. Then moved on to the second course, a salad or soup. For my main course I chose the New Zealand Red Deer, which I’d never even knew existed before reading the menu. It was absolutely delicious! Heather had the beef tenderloin which was also delicious. As we found out, the menu can be a bit wordy, but trust me, if they use a word to describe a dish it’s because it’s there.

This was without a doubt one of the best dining experiences I’ve had and will be returning to sample some more of the menu.

Honesty

No good deed goes unpunished.

It’s said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, I’ve certainly set my feet on that path. I had a decision to make recently. One that has been gnawing at me for a while. The way that I handled it was probably, no definitely, not the best. But that being said, I didn’t think it was fair to keep it hidden, so I didn’t. And now that’s blown up in my face and caused some of the hurt and pain I’d been trying so hard to avoid.

I’m not sure I like where this is going and I’m really afraid of what’s going to happen in March, but now that it’s out in the open there’s no way to avoid dealing with it.

Sometimes we just need to confront our demons and forcing them into the light of day, denying them a place to hide, is the only way to ensure that we don’t continue to make excuses and avoid doing what’s right.

No matter what the cost may be…

The Order of the Stick

A casual mention of The Order of the Stick on one of the mailing lists that I read has had me cracking up for a while this evening. If you ever played Dungeons and Dragons you’ll appreciate the humor, so check it out. The title link takes you to the first episode.

Superbowl Party

We had a pretty good turnout at Casa Patricio for the North Texas Netscum (and others) Superbowl party. Red and Rusty, Waco and Mouse, Dave and Marylin Cole, Bill Gilmore, Alex, and Jay turned out for an evening of commercial watching. The New England Patriots won, yay!

I’m kind of let down though, the commercials weren’t as good as last year. I guess the “wardrobe malfunction” scared them off. Combine that with the fact that only about half of them were actually shot in 16×9 High Definition made it less than memorable.

We won!

The results are in and we won the voting for beer and wine sales and getting rid of the private club system to serve alcohol in restaurants. I’m going to go out and have a beer tomorrow to celebrate.