"Murphy was an optimist!"
Stranded June 14, 2012 12:35 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad, Transportation, TravelBefore I was of age to drive, I worked at a bus company "cleaning" the buses. I really learned to drive the buses (everything from 21 seater buses to full size city buses) including sliding them around in the snow for fun. I also drove the cars of the employees of the bus company and the surrounding businesses as they would pay us to wash their vehicles.
In high school, I learned to drive in a station wagon then had the pleasure of rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire.
In college I walked and used the bus for 3 years then bought a Dodge D50 pickup which was estimated to have a year’s life left in it. I made it last 5 years.
My first brand new vehicle was a 1995 (purchase date Nov 1994) Jeep Wrangler. It ran until a few weeks ago when the head gasket developed a horrid leak and it now sits in the driveway awaiting evaluation and repair. The engine may be beyond repair.
My wife’s first brand new vehicle was a 1995 Dodge Neon. It ran until a couple of weeks ago when it finally just died on the Interstate and was towed to the house. It is either a) a timing belt problem which is internal to the engine and makes the car scrap metal, b) a head gasket repair similar to the Jeep, or c) (hopefully!) a bad water pump.
We’ve been through other cars including an Aerostar, a red Ford thing that I cannot recall the name of, a motorcycle, and of course our current primary mode of transportation, a Dodge Grand Caravan.
Today, the Caravan decided it no longer wanted to shift gears. The diagnosis? A transmission rebuild and the family eats ramen noodles for the rest of the month.
A family of 7, with 6 people still at the house, 5 of driving age, 3 with licenses and a 4th taking his driving test today, goes from 3 cars to zero in a matter of weeks. Knoxville really needs better public transportation! And I need a full-time mechanic at the house!
add a commentBeautiful Sunday Morning December 4, 2011 10:26 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Transportation, TravelThe weather is great. I so wish I could be working on the playhouse, the real house, and the yard but instead I’m at Firestone getting new tires on the van and programming on a client’s website.
add a commentMegabus expands to Chattanooga and Atlanta from Knoxville October 26, 2011 9:41 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Transportation, TravelWoohoo! Can you say weekend jaunt to the aquarium!
The bus system, which started five years ago and books passengers using an online ticket-selling system, will begin making twice-daily trips from Knoxville to Chattanooga and Atlanta on Nov. 16. The company said customers can begin booking travel Tuesday at www.megabus.com.
My daughter has taken the Megabus to New York City. It’s cost effective and works great. I will definitely be planning a family weekend in Atlanta and Chattanooga soon.
See also: The Megabus has Arrived in Knoxville!.
add a commentI’m on Scottevest’s website! August 1, 2011 11:40 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Contest, Of Interest, Travel
I won a Scottevest! What’s a Scottevest? Watch this video and I’ll explain. As a bonus, I’m currently on Scottevest’s website at http://www.scottevest.com/. Hint: Click the third square on the big picture just under the navigation.
You can win a Scottevest too!
Right now (ends August 8th) Scottevest is having its Summer Fun Contest (Click this link to enter!) and giving away some really cool attire including an Outback Jacket or Women’s Trench, a Travel Vest for Men or Travel Vest for Women, and a Microfleece Pullover or Women’s Q-Zip.
Click this link to enter!
Update: Bonus! I’m also one of Scottevest’s featured tweets. I owe a big thank you to Documentally for turning me onto this great company.
1 comment so farEvening Project July 31, 2011 7:59 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Transportation, TravelFriday evening was an important project. I replaced the brake calipers and master cylinder on one of our cars. Video for that didn’t go so well.
add a commentWeekend Project – Brakes July 11, 2011 10:40 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Of Interest, Publishing, Travel, VideoListen toward the end of the video for the cicadas. That’s a slight sampling of the cacophony we hear in our yard every evening.
n.b. The "discs" I refer to are actually called rotors.
add a commentAlways Room for a Farmer’s Market April 16, 2011 10:26 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest, TravelThis is Bangkok’s Maeklong Market and shows any city can find space for a farmer’s market. More pictures. Seen on Banned in Hollywood. Here’s another great video.
add a commentWhat does a teenage girl do to a car? March 28, 2011 10:56 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad, Sarah, Transportation, TravelOr maybe the question should be "what doesn’t a teenage girl do to a car?" Because the answer would be "maintenance."
Today the inside of the Jeep was drenched. I look at the Neon parked in the driveway and recognize that I have not inspected it in quite some time. My simple instruction to the teenage driver was "Make sure it has oil and tell me when any problems arise." I once drove it an eon ago to find that the speedometer worked…sometimes. So this teenage driver was guessing how fast she was going. How she avoided tickets was beyond me. With a little research, I learned it was a common problem among the Dodge Neon’s and the fix was to remove the instrument panel and resolder the connections. She claims to have had no problems with the speedometer after that but the fact she never told me about it in the first place should have been a clue about how future problems would be addressed (er, ignored).
First thing I noticed this morning? No oil! 2nd? Check engine light. The inside of the car is filthy. The trunk/boot is full of what appears to be half Goodwill, a quarter stuff sent home from the grandparents, and 1/4 teen’s stuff. A positive! The tires look great. A negative. The transmission slips (you’d think she’d mention that one). Oh, and the windshield wipers are worthless. But it did perform well on the Interstate.
I suppose if I were a better father, she and I would have spent many a weekend together performing maintenance on the car. Teen driver 2 approaches so I’ll have a chance to do better.
Update 29-March: Changed the oil today. Discovered the transmission had no fluid whatsoever. Not even sure how the car was moving.
add a commentMy Family Needs a Bus March 2, 2011 8:30 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Family, TransportationVolkswagen is bringing back the microbus!
add a commentIt’s powered by an electric motor and uses an iPad to control the entertainment system, climate control and other functions. Volkswagen said the Bulli can go up to 186.4 miles on a single battery charge. That’s far, considering that the Nissan Leaf is rated at 73 miles on a charge by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Bulli can go up to 87 miles per hour.
[Source, MSNBC, Hippies rejoice! VW unveils new version of microbus]
This should happen in every traffic jam February 19, 2011 10:38 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Humor, Of Interest, Transportation, Travel, VideoWhen the roads slow to a crawl..DANCE!
add a comment18 hours of ice January 13, 2011 1:15 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, Sarah, Transportation, TravelSo in the past 18 hours:
- My wife couldn’t get off our street due to ice
- Our friend managed to get onto our cove returning our son 11pmish but couldn’t get out
- My neighbor had to use 4 wheel drive to escape the ice
- The postman slid into a neighbor’s yard
- My father-in-law had difficulty leaving the street
- My 17 year old daughter slid her car into our retaining wall and had to climb out the passenger side
- My 17 year old daughter took our van to pick the 5 year old up from school
Waiting with bated breath to hear that the 5 year old makes it home safely and that the van survives.
Oh, and btw, secondary roads in Knoxville are still precarious. This is why schools get canceled.
1 comment so farI am the gas fairy, goo goo g’joob January 9, 2011 11:09 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Family, Transportation, TravelWhen I notice the van running low on petrol (gasoline), I attempt to secretly refill the tank so that Cathy is frequently surprised with a full tank of gas. Yesterday she found herself stranded at the mall because the van refused to start. She claims she was out in the cold for an hour and a half. I arrived and after some futzing with the van the engine roared albeit roughly and with a warning light. Eventually we found our way to Autozone whose computer reported that the MAF/MAP sensor was overloaded. Great, sensor replacement time. Wait a minute! Hadn’t seen this before? Oh… yes. I walked out the door to the van, removed the gas cap, and replaced the gas cap, the warning light faded away, and the engine ran smooth. See, in modern vehicles, the fuel system is often pressurized so if the gas cap is not sealed well, like it’s crooked, then the engine has problems getting fuel.
n.b. The gas fairy does indeed sound like a walrus.
Tl;dr The van wouldn’t start leaving Cathy was stuck in the cold for an hour and a half because I put the gas cap on crooked.
3commentsThe Megabus has Arrived in Knoxville! November 17, 2010 11:14 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Transportation, TravelWe recently took 5 of our 7 member family to Washington DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity. The round trip plan tickets were roughly $250 per person bringing just the airline cost to $1200. Had we brought the two older boys, the cost would have been $1700.
Knoxville now has a new travel service. Megabus! Tickets are on sale now and service starts December 15th. I just ran the cost of a trip identical to our flight to DC and it came to $27 for 7 people. That’s not $27 per person per way. That’s $27 round trip for the entire family! $7 from Knoxville to DC and $20 from DC to Knoxville. That’s a savings of $1670! The trip time doubles from 5 hours to 10 hours each direction but you don’t have to get naked, irradiated or groped to ride the bus. Plus the double-decker bus has free wifi for the entire trip! You could work or play the entire 10 hours.
Megabus.com is the first, low-cost, express bus service to offer city-to-city travel for as low as $1 via the Internet. Since launching in April 2006, megabus.com has served more than 4 million passengers throughout 28 major cities in the Midwest and Northeast.
Our luxury double deckers offer free wi-fi, panoramic windows and a green alternative way to travel. Meticulously maintained with professional drivers at the wheel, when you travel with us, you will be riding in comfort and confidence. We provide low-cost and reliable bus services serving 28 cities from two hubs at New York and Chicago. We offer the highest level of comfort and safety and look forward to serving you!
Imagine the possibilities! Date night in DC. Out of town Tweet up in DC (can your virtual friends stand you IRL for 20 hours?). Holiday shopping in New York City (adds 5 hours each way…30 hour round trip). Business meetings on the bus that culminate in a night on the town in DC. Oh, I’m excited!
See more at Knoxnews.com.
UPDATE: Look for more of these services in a town near you. Here’s Chinatown Bus covering the Northeast and New Century Travel which may just be a marketing site or affiliate of Chinatown Bus.
2commentsJeep Top- $572, Being Told to Wait Until Summer- Priceless November 6, 2010 11:51 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Transportation, TravelIt’s 38°F/3.3°C right now. Conversion by OnlineConversion.com.
My 1995 Jeep Wrangler, purchased November 1994, has the original spice softtop on it. Well, what remains of that top. Some of it is held together with duct tape. The driver’s side window has the zipper completely ripped out and is held half closed with zip ties. I keep expecting to be driving down the road and have the top just disintegrate around me.
Why haven’t I replaced this horrible top yet? It’s not procrastination. There are some areas of my life that I may appear to be a spendthrift, but there are others that I’m just cheap (usually revolving around myself) and frankly, despite appearances, the 15 year old top still serves its purpose.
Yesterday I gave in and decided to see if I could pay someone to replace the top. He explained the replacement top would be $572 plus $150 labor to install it. The labor will require 2 hours of work by 2 people and an ambient temperature of 72°F/22.2°C. I wonder if a junk yard has a Jeep with a hard top sitting around somewhere…
add a commentOh, so that’s what I’ve been doing wrong September 17, 2010 9:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Transportation, TravelIt took me nearly 2 years to get a freeze plug installed back in the engine and two weeks to change the brake calipers. Now I understand I should have dismantled the whole Jeep!
Props to Cathy for finding this on Makezine.
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