SteveS

You have nothing to worry about, he only supports "reasonable" gun control. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif I expect that they will figure out what they didn't like about the Clinton Gun Ban (like It didn't go far enough), " fix it " , and then have enough cooperation to get it passed again. I believe that it was the epitome of Feel Good Legislation then, and we can feel even better now. Of course he promised that he would not take away people's guns, but he meant "good" guns. Just like Clinton supported a person's right to own a "duck rifle". Luckily, when the photo-op was set up for slick Willie as a sportsman, whoever staged it was sharp enough to give him an over/under to pose with. But that's just a mean, old, Conservitive White Guy thinking out loud.

I must confess that when I started this thread I probably should have not been saying anything (Posting Under the Influence), and am glad that I was not offensive. In the clear light of morning I expected that it would run something like: "you're full of crap", "yeah, we're screwed", "now things will get straightened out", "no way, we're sunk". But it has been a great discussion with some excellent exchanges of ideas. I probably have pushed a couple people toward carpal tunnel syndrom with the amount of typing needed for their post /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif . I am glad that we can have a chat like this and still stay friends!

What an excellent post! Thank you, Jeff, for sharing such a well thought out, polite and considerate response. I tend to think that more government is bad, less regulation is good, but your point is well taken: too little oversight can lead to problems as well. Open and respectful dialog can only benefit constructive thinking. Have you considered a career in politics? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif

OK, maybe I'm pessimistic. I have thought that John McCain was the best bi-partisan cantidate in the race. I didn't like him (still would have rather had a real conservative) from the beginning, but I think that B.O. represents a move towards socialism. Over the years I have disagreed with McCain on the issues where he has made extra effort to work with the liberal Left. And still the Liberals (and I live with one) did not like him, preferring (as my wife did) "Vast right wing conspirocisy" Hillary and over the top Obama. Sorry to be ranting, I've been applying bourbon to the wounds since I got home from work in anticipation of the results. On the Left coast we are at a bit of a disadvantage with the elections mostly decided before we get home. I aready knew that my vote for McCain was for nothing in Washington state since the delagate votes would go Democrat. King County, where Seattle is located (just a little Liberal), is 1/3 of the state population. Along with the Left leaning neighboring counties the state is regarded as Democrat (just like Oregon and California). I just think that this presidential result is bad for our country in a number of ways (and hope to be proved wrong). Thanks for letting me vent.

This is a little OT, but from Senior Diesel Master Tech to ambulance driver? Was that a good career move for him?

Batteries are the obvious things that we all deal with that will go up. Lead is the excuse used for closing shooting ranges these days, too. Anit-gun politicians get to make an end run around the 2nd Ammendment that way; increase the cost of ammo and reduce the number of places that an honest person can shoot. After a while the guy gets tired of the wife nagging "why don't you get rid of those guns, you never shoot... blah, blah"

Congratulations Aaron! It sounds like they know how to properly treat their employees and show appreciation. I hope all goes well with the move and settling in.

For me it is a holiday weekend in name, but we are open for business tomorrow. And, of course, it is now not PC to celebrate the discovery of the western hemisphere by Europeans... Sorry, I digress. I agree about the turkey; I draw the line and insist on ham for Christmas! I am tired of turkey before the left-overs are gone!

Amen! Once again I am appreciative that you have put the effort into this site! I guess I feel lame because while I can accept that I may not know what I don't know, I really want to know what I do know. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif My memory is great, it's my recollection that is a bit rusty...

Is Ford doing the auctions? Where do you find out about them? Congratulations on your score!

DUH! When I first read that thread I printed the diag book and saved it on my hard drive; two more opportunities to find it myself. I knew it should be easy to find, just didn't occur to me that I had it in my stuff. Thanks a lot for the help, guys! Hopefully somebody else also got some good information this time around. Added in Edit: Now I really feel lame!

AWESOME! Thank you Keith.

OK, I really feel lame. First, I didn't have our shop get the turbo position sensor when we got an IDS. Second, I didn't write down the numbers for the tool. Third, I haven't been able to find the number(s) to order it by searching here or on the Rotunda tool site. Can somebody help me refresh my memory about what tool numbers I need to test VGT position? TIA!

Congratulations! It looks to me that you have navigated some stormy waters and had the best possible results: You did a good favor for someone that you probably want to maintain communication. His friend got the straight truth about his situation (bitter though it may be). Ford got to make their rightful decision about participation. You aren't looking over your shoulder and your coworkers got beer. Now let's hope that you are rewarded by karma and some good work rolls in to sort out your cash flow...

I first heard the term in the 70's in reference to motorcycle front forks. Aside from wanting bushings that slid smoothly, air pressure supplimenting the coil springs in the front end was challengine the seals. The nature of the lip seals was that more pressure made them clamp harder on the tube, but a more compliant material had a shorter life. In this case it supports the oil change interval arguement, doesn't it?

That would be my guess, too. On the one that we have the valve and seal seem to be pretty reliable, so I wouldn't expect leakage from there. Now if you are expecting it to hold vacuum overnight, that might be too much to expect. What are you seeing?

Interesting. So it is a Hybrid like passenger vehicles where there is a battery pack and electric motor that helps propel it down the road AND it can connect to the grid when working stationary? Or just that when stationary it can be connected to the grid and then not need to run the engine for PTO?

Ditto what Keith said. It seems like we get a few headlines when there are scandels in the works but otherwise we aren't exposed to how your political system operates. Thank you for the real-life education. It seems crazy, doesn't it, that there is not a term for the elections. Although even with definate elected terms of our politicians (certain offices are 2 years, others like governor and president are 4, others are 6) things still do not get done. And maybe that is OK; I find myself supporting the cantidate that will do the least damage because when they try to "do good" things get screwed up (squandered money, unanticipated results, government growing out of control). But to just call an election whenever would be unsettling to me. And, as you point out, expensive. I get annoyed that some of our little local elections won't wait until there is enough issues to make it worthwhile doing all the logistics. Big waste of money trying to decide something that could easily wait until a major election.

On matters political I have a couple quotes from Sir Winston Churchill: He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents. And not related, necessarily, to politics: Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.

I will admit that I didn't realize there was so much controversy. I'm guessing that US politics get more press in Canada than the other way 'round. I find that I have to look for news of your politics, and most of the time I don't get around to it. Shame, too; it sounds much more exciting than ours. It occurs to me that both of our parties are pretty good at squandering money, if you can really attribute it to one party (or ideology) you are doing good. At one time I thought of myself as "Liberal" because I tried to consider things from an opposing view. Maturity showed me that most of my views are what is generally considered "Conservative", and the common use of "Liberal" usually means having the government take care of people, and tax more resources out of my life. In the common use of the term I would say that even "Conservitive" cantidates are more "Liberal" than I would prefer. I friend once gave me a questionaire that proved that I am a Libertarian, but when people like Howard Stern are able to railroad themselves into the party cantidacy I cannot take it seriously.

Opinion article on MSN with that title, and the byline: "How the world's nicest country turned mean." I have to admit that living north of the 48th parallel I have the impression that things go fairly smoothly in Canada. Oh, sure, Quebec boils up once in a while, but in a way I admire that an entire region has enough consensus that they can consider seceding. Since in the US we live with the 2 party system and have no real expectations of a Third party cantidate succeeding, I guess that I am surprised that there are so many divisions in Canada. Click for the article This was in the "Foriegners" section of MSN's Slate; I guess I had not thought of Canadians as Foriegners, either. Anyway, I talk with more Canadians here than anywhere else. Any thoughts to share?

We have been pretty fortunate that we stayed relatively busy through all the recent shake-ups. A considerable part of our business is discrecionary, "toy" modifications or RV work, and so it would be expected that people would hang onto their money for fuel rather than repair work that can be put off. What I see is that it is easier to get a next day appointment and the sales part of the jobs more often hangs things up. One big thing that has spanked us is a combination of unfortunate events (employee illness, child illness, elder care issues, accidents) running through the staff. It is amazing how disrupting it can be when half of the time people are covering someone else's job.

Aaron, At least you are not letting it upset you /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif . I like the "belt of whiskey" step, I'd probably do that at least twice to make sure I had it right. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif All kidding aside; I comiserate with your situation. It can be very frustrating when people find ways to duck their obligations (their job) and get away with it. And then project blame on dedicated co-workers that just want to do the job. FWIW, people like that find a way to work their scams with or without a union, it is just insulting that the same organization that collects your dues is protecting them. Sucks that good people have to carry them.

I would not suggest that the Boeing strikers are unskilled but I do believe that 1) any reasonably capable person could be trained to do most of the operations and 2) although called "machinists" they generally don't posess (what I think of as) that level of expertise (however, I do know a few genuinely skilled machinists that work there) and 3) they would not make the same compensation package at another employer. You're probably at least partly right about driving the jobs offshore by over-compensated payroll costs, but that was not the message I got from the loud & proud sign in the back window. Bruce, Everything was lined up with my reservation until one of the bosses' Dad took a turn for the worse. He has been struggling with health problems for quite a while and it was apparant that my boss would be taking some time off. One of the duties I perform is "bondo" (fill in where needed) and the shop would have not functioned very well with both of us gone. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif I was looking forward to it but there was no other reasonable solution than for me to skip the class this time around. Tony, Not too many automotive union jobs around here, the Boeing workers are with International Machinist and Aerospace Workers.