Fine W(h)ines...

Today is one of only two days every year the Trinity Atomic Test Site is open to the public, and I should be there…rather than typing this post. But: best laid plans, mice, men, tires, wind, etc., etc., came into play and I’m here, not there.

My Buddy Greg in Detroit called me up to remind me about Trinity last week, we discussed it, and I made a mental commitment to go. Trinity isn’t a long way from P-Ville…about 200 miles or so… so a day trip seemed to be in order. Four hours down, an hour or two at the site, and four hours back…with a little time off for lunch and/or dinner in Ruidoso… or somewhere like it. I could pretty much do the whole deal in daylight, should I choose. So, why am I not there, you ask, Gentle Reader? Let me explain…
I had a flat fixed a few months back and the guy who fixed the flat didn’t balance the wheel correctly. As a result I’ve been living with a very minor, yet irritating, vibration that occurs between 72 and 80 mph…right in The Green Hornet’s cruising sweet-spot. So, I got off the dime yesterday, thinking I couldn’t stand eight hours of bad vibes (heh) and drove over to The Big(ger) City to get that wheel balanced. That was when the guys at the tire shop told me I’d be throwing my money away and I had better replace the rear tires, doncha know, coz they’re worn out. And they were. Are. This is an embarrassing admission on my part. I’m always on top of things like this, to the point of replacing tires well before they’re worn out. It’s a safety thing, not to mention performance… as in handling/cornering. But… in my defense… I had been checking the health and well-being of my tires, but only the fronts, mainly because they’re more accessible and visible. Here’s the strange part: the front tires are fine and have at least two or three thousand miles left in them. The two rear tires, OTOH, are worn to the point where the tread wear bars are flush with the tread… or as the tire guys said… “You’re running slicks.”

So. The Big(ger) City being Clovis, there were all sorts of tires available for garden variety SUVs, pick-ups, and Hondas. And none for a Miata, of course. “Gotta order those, they’ll be in Monday or Tuesday, at the earliest” sez the helpful tire guy. Not only are tires in my size not immediately available, they’re immediately expensive once they arrive… ergo: Thought required. The last time I put tires on the Green Hornet I did what most sensible people do: I bought them from The Tire Rack. I’m not sure I want to go that way this time, however, mainly because the last time I bought tires I bought much more tire than I need here in New Mexico, with its arrow-straight roads and dearth of corners. Goodyear Eagle F1s just might be overkill (and overpriced, locally, at $200.00 a pop), especially in light of my recent mini-rant on frugality. Bottom line: I made no deals yesterday…even if I could have done so. But I need to replace those tires before I take a road trip further than out to the base or back over to The Big(ger) City. And even then I don’t like riding on worn-out tires. Add in the fact we have major wind still at play here on The High Plains and the bottom line is no road trip to Trinity. I’m thinking the weather will be better in October and I’ll definitely have good rubber on the car then.

The illustrations were taken from The Wiki’s article on the Trinity Test Site.

―:☺:―

Too bad about the above. I’m feeling a need for a road trip, and Trinity would have been perfect. I’ve been very out of sorts lately and I find there are a tremendous number of things that simply irritate the Hell out of me… for no apparent reason. And some things irritate me for VERY good reasons, such as politics. You may have noticed I’m in yet another of my apolitical phases, Gentle Reader. We also happen to be in a dead zone where presidential politics are concerned. The on-going Democrat soap-opera is moderately interesting in a “He said – She said” sort of way, but even that gets old after a while. Spare me the Clinton tax returns, if you will. Please.

The Big Event on the horizon is the upcoming congressional testimony/progress report on the war by Ambassador Crocker and Gen. Petraeus… but I expect nothing but sniping and partisan rancor out of that, based on the press conference given by San Fran Nan and her Band of Merry Men this past Thursday or Friday. I watched about half of their presser before shouting a few selected obscenities at my teevee and flipping over to the WX Channel, which is infinitely more useful. As long as their whining, nagging and berating global warming climate change Chicken Littles aren’t around, anyway. Speaking of which: TWC hired a side-kick for Heidi a while back. We now have two full-time Prophets of Doom. The new gal reminds me for all the world of Morticia Addams (except Morticia was better looking), and that’s sorta appropriate, innit? Just sayin’.

See what I mean, Gentle Reader? Irritation ‘R’ Us.

―:☺:―

I did manage to get my taxes done and in the mail before April this year… I did ‘em this past weekend and mailed ‘em out on Monday. Wonder of wonders: I’m getting a refund. I never get a refund, what with not being in the business of lending money to the Feds, which I leave to the Chinese and people like them. But the convergence of The Bobby Deduction (it’s my year; The Second Mrs. Pennington and I alternate), coupled with an over-withholding of Federal tax on this year’s 401(k) distribution resulted in a refund. I was very disappointed/irritated that 90% of my Social Security is taxable, which was yet another reason I over-withheld tax on the 401(k) distribution. Planning for the unknown ‘R’ (also) Us.

Except where tires are concerned.