Fifty One is a pretty boring number

So yeah, I'm another year older in a couple days.  I was pretty proud of 50, now I move into the realm of the boring at 51.  I mean, there is nothing special about 51.  Hence this entirely ludicrous blog posting.

I still do odd jobs and I am so damn proud of my headlamp that I use it whenever possible.  Even when I don't need it.  If I'm having a conversation with you in broad daylight and I have on my headlight, just go with it.

I'm also fond of getting my youngest son to do more exercise and activity than he wants to do.  It's kind of a thing.  On this day, I drug him around south city on our BMX bikes.  Today he went on a hike at Greensfelder.  He's always wary of how long we intend to do something...he knows better.

And I also don't mind embarrassing him or Hanna.  Hanna asked the other night if I had a tank top.  I said "Hold my beer...."

My trusty Fusion turned 160k.  That was enough.  I drove it in to a dealer and traded it in on an incredibly sensible car.  I was sorry to see the old girl go, but I'm not sorry that I won't spend many evenings on the garage floor with antifreeze or oil dripping in my face.  Don't think of it as a birthday gift to myself...think of it as a birthday gift to the drivers on the local highways that won't wait in a traffic jam when the old girl broke down!

Since I use my cars as a pack pony, it carries a lot of stuff in the trunk so I can be prepared to fix just about anything.  However, even I was surprised once I emptied the trunk.

The 2014 Ford Focus.  I like it.  I think it likes me. I'm going to treat it very, very well because it will probably be Eli's car in a few years...right about the time it will require me to lay on the garage floor and have oil and antifreeze drip in my face.

I caught this on the highway the other day, folks.  Be lucky that this gem wasn't at the dealership when I traded in the Fusion.  I might be driving "ECTO-1", as it said on it's license plate.  Don't think I'm joking!

More Rear Brake Work

My original equipment Ford brake pads on the rear of the Fusion lasted 130,000 miles.  Those things were troopers.  I replaced them in the Fall of 2016 with some bargain basement "ceramic" pads.  Well, those pads were worth 30,000 miles.  Seriously.  They were done.  Cashed out.  Just what I want to do with my Sunday off, replace brake pads made of cream cheese.

Those are the back plates on the right of the cream cheese pads.  Yep.  No pad material left whatsoever.  New pads on the left are good ol' replacement pads from Autozone.

 Another look, just to increase the humor.  Yep, just the back plate left.

Surprisingly, the rotors are still deluxe.  No marking or scaring, no pits, no warping.  I must have just replaced the pads in time.  I'm sure these pads will last longer than the car will run!  I used this time in the cold garage to change my oil, too.  At this point, it is harder for me to change the oil in a car than to replace pads and rotors.  It takes me longer to jack up the car and remove the wheel than to do the brakes.  Practice makes perfect.