The Chariots of DOOM

[Drunk Monk]

Documentary short, goddamit.

[Greg]

All. Duh. She still had the best quip of all time mentioning that her dress cost more than the film.

[Drunk Monk]

She still had the best quip of all time mentioning that her dress cost more than the film.

Right. How you gonna beat that? A knickers quip?

[Greg]

Quiet! I am a beautiful butterfly meant to soar! Not sore.

[Drunk Monk]

I am a beautiful butterfly

[Greg]

So close.

[Drunk Monk]

So close.

fair.



then there's this...

[cranefly]

Dammit.

Last night LCF and I prepared for another assault on Mt. Comet.  We had failed to see it the evening before due to all the damned trees in the neighborhood.  Someone really needs to do some wholesale buzz-cutting.  So armed with binoculars and masks, flashlights, etc., we climbed in the Prius to head for Flatland, LCF at the wheel.  But when she started the Prius, it roared.  It roared like a bad muffler, only coming from the front.

The catalytic converter, that was my first thought.  But I didn't know the symptoms for having one of those stolen.  And our 2005 Prius is a prime target right now.  So we did some gawking underneath, with an assist from neighbor Dave and his granddaughter, all trying to respect distancing.  The converter seems present.  Dave thinks it's the exhaust manifold, maybe a bad gasket or a hole.  But LCF drove it the night before, never had a problem.  So I'm a bit suspicious we don't know the whole picture yet.

So not wanting to deal with Magnussen Toyota for this.  They're expensive as it is, and this could be a totaler repair.  But they're close, walkable, and the Prius is way overdue for an oil change anyway, which I get done there (while fending off extras).  I'm thinking we should get it towed there, rather than try to drive it.  We have AAA, which might do that.

[Greg]

Ugg. Cars suck.

I'm on the comet hunt as well. I figured it would up big an bright in my neighborhood, but it is elusive. I think it doesn't rise higher than the surrounding mountains despite assurances from my iPhone star guide.

[Drunk Monk]

Major bummer. I always freaked out when stuff went wrong with my Prius. Bolt was the 2nd year they were available in the US so no one could work on them but the dealership. And I eventually ran afoul of the dealership in Fremont, which made me abandon Toyotas entirely. Hope it sorts out cheaply.

Tomorrow I need to take my mom's ancient Camry in for a smog check. I feel ya on the 'fending off extras'.

[cranefly]

The catalytic converter, that was my first thought. ...

Dave thinks it's the exhaust manifold, maybe a bad gasket or a hole.  But LCF drove it the night before, never had a problem.  So I'm a bit suspicious we don't know the whole picture yet.

So the tow truck driver came this morning, and he wouldn't listen to our guess that it was the exhaust manifold.  Catalytic converter, he kept insisting, even interrupting us, saying, "Look, I deal with these all the time.  I know what it is.  I'll show you once I get it on the tow."  Fuck.  That was it.  My first thought had been correct.

We'd already gotten an apptmt with Midas in Sunnyvale, so LCF did some phone scrambling and yes, they could still deal with that.  So it's at Midas.  LCF also filed an online police report, just for statistical crime purposes, and contacted State Farm.  Surprisingly, we have partial coverage.  We'll be getting an anti-theft device installed as well.  But that just slows the thieves, from my understanding.

Which presents us with the specter of putting it in our one-car garage.  That there is easier said than done.

Lots of mistakes dealing with this.  In hindsight, Midas was a bad choice, both in terms of AAA and State Farm (it reduces our guarantees and coverage).  If I had been more on the ball, I would have just got it towed to a junkyard and went hunting for a replacement car.  Because this repair will come very close to the total value of the car.

[Greg]

Grrr.

[Drunk Monk]

Bummer x10.

[cranefly]

Well, we got the Prius back.  Surprisingly, State Farm covered most of it.  But not the anti-theft device we had installed in addition.  This is sort of a metal plate placed over the CC.  We're getting different stories on how effective it is.  Some say, Yeah, you're good, leave it in the driveway.  Others say that it just slows the thieves down, and is good for leaving it in a parking lot to shop or see a movie, but at home you should put it in the garage.

Last summer, the garage was not an option.  It was a horrible jam-packed mess.  But we spent all of July and half of August last year cleaning things out, and now it's merely cluttered.

So I managed to carve out a 175" X 68" X 58" (height) space for the Prius.  But it's tight.  We can't walk behind the car with the garage door down, and we can't do laundry (can't open the dryer door, so we'll have to back the Prius out for that).  We'll see how long we put up with this inconvenience, before just leaving it in the driveway.

As for driving the Prius into the garage to the exact right spot, I remember how my mom had a ball suspended on a string in her garage, and when the windshield bumped that, you knew you were in far enough.  I was going to rig something up like that, but then realized we already had one.

[Drunk Monk]

Good that insurgence paid and the car fits at all.

There’s a tennis ball rigged like that at my mom’s. We haven’t had a garage since Macbeth ranch. That was a two car but we only used it for one so there was plenty of space.