"We live in a Newtonian world of Einsteinian physics ruled by Frankenstein logic." - David Russel

I want this tie!

The number of unchecked items on today's to-do list exceeds those checked, but it's about quality, not quantity, right?

I remember how depressed I got during the long Michigan winter, often going weeks without seeing the sun. No color, either, except for the white of snow and the gray of the clouds. I didn't realize how much I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) until we moved here where the sun shines all the time. But during the hot summer months we keep the drapes and blinds closed during the day to save $$$ on the air conditioning bill. It makes a big difference, especially in an older house like ours that lacks the latest energy efficient windows. So, during Michigan winters the weeks without sun depressed and in Arizona the weeks with blinds drawn depresses. At some point the extra money spent to cool a house with the blinds up for a few hours may be cheaper than spending those funds on psychotherapy. 

I spent about three hours working on Ilsa this morning. First, though, a look at the finished chassis with everything painted and ready to go:

I haven't put the rear drums on yet because I still have to get that tin oil slinger for the inside of the right one. Those drums are attached with a castle nut torqued to 220 ft. lbs. (that's a lot!). It takes a special tool to get that done but without that much pressure the oil seals won't seat. Once I have the slinger in place and the drums tightened down I can fill the tranny with gear oil and see if it all leaks out the hubs. If it does, pull off the drums and re-do the seals. These things are notoriously finicky so if they do leak I'll be in good company. Everybody complains about them.

When I went out to the garage early this morning the engine looked like this:

 Those rusted pipes in front at the bottom are supposed to go into a muffler that seems to have rusted off at some point. The blue painter's tape is covering the top of the carb so dirt doesn't get down into it. I've got the air cleaner in the cupboard.

Two hour later the engine looks like this:

I still have to get that distributor off and remove the front pulley & shroud assembly, and the oil cooler tower that's right behind the distributor. But that shouldn't take long ("shouldn't" being the key word). Then she's ready to go off to the rebuilder.

I called that shop in Tucson this morning and then used the smelling salts to recover. Uhm, I think we have a setback here. I'm hoping one of the other two shops I'll call Monday will give me a much better price. 

It could be OK, depending on what's needed. If it's a complete rebuild the price is ... shocking. If I'm lucky it only needs what they call "freshening" which involves new valve springs and a thorough internal cleaning. That price is only 1/2 of shocking. And they don't know until they tear into it. 

If I delivered it to their shop in Tucson (90 miles away) on Tuesday it would be two weeks before he even touched it because he has two engines in front of it. 

Tomorrow's sermon isn't a sermon. Sometimes we need to just have a talk and this is one of those times. We're pretty meaty at Pathway during both hours on Sunday mornings, so I don't feel bad about having a chat once or twice a year. And because we're regularly in the Word of God in a significant way they have the knowledge and understanding sufficient for us to draw on for a conversation like tomorrow's. This topic isn't tricky, just critical. It doesn't require precise exegesis, just complete commitment. 

Father, we need your Spirit to be at work tomorrow as we talk about an area of life so very critical in our culture.