Fixed my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer - ABS, Parking Brake, and Service 4WD lights ON and no HVAC fan/blower - all at the same time

Yesterday my 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer (4WD, 6cyl) had the BRAKE, ABS, and SERVICE 4WD lights come on all at the same time along with the HVAC fan/blower suddenly non-functional.

If this happens to you, I can pretty much guarantee you that your IGNITION SWITCH is bad and needs to be replaced.

You can very easily do the replacement yourself and you'll be back on your way to happy driving for only the cost of the part, which for me was $37 plus tax.

Here's a link to the site/thread that showed me how to make the repair:

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=61278

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Oh yeah, and...

God bless us, everyone!

Watching Wimbledon

The biggest challenge is cramming 10 hours of taped coverage into a manageable 3 hours for evening viewing. I actually have to use 2 VCRs (yes, old school VHS) to tape the early round broadcasts on espn2 and then forward through all the junk to get to what I really want to watch - Federer, Williams Sisters, Roddick (gone), other top women (all gone)... who's left, really, besides Federer and the Williamses?!

Miss Donut: Best Donuts in San Diego County!

I'll post a picture soon, but the best donuts in San Diego County (that I've yet to taste) are at Miss Donut in Casa de Oro, that would be just south of Mt. Helix, north of HIghway 94 on Campo Road.

Take the Kenwood Exit off Highway 94, head north, turn right on Campo Road, the donut shop is on your right just past the next light. You'll also see a flower stand and Wells Fargo ATM in the parking lot.

Good eatin'!

Harris Fire in Rancho San Diego (Mt. San Miguel) - 5 miles from our home

Mt. San Miguel on fire (Harris Fire), photo taken from intersection of Steele Canyon Road and Highway 94 at 8:40 PM, Tuesday, 10/23/07

(Photo Credit: David Benedict, from www.signonsandiego.com reader photo submissions)


It seems we're in the clear now.

But things were looking a little sketchy last night. The fire that in my previous post I described as outlining Mt. San Miguel, burning up the mountain on the south side, had turned the corner and was making its way down the north face toward Rancho San Diego and our home. In fact, the above photo was taken just 5 miles south of our home. Just down the way from where this photo was taken is Steele Canyon High School, an evacuation center for much of the area to the east. Yet even with these flames burning just a half mile - literally, across the street! - from the school, the fire authorities had them stay put because they were convinced they could keep the fire from crossing Highway 94. Around 10 PM they launched flares into the hillside, lighting backfires to help burn out the fire before it could encroach on any buildings. We, having had very little sleep all week, went to bed and prayed that our phones wouldn't ring in the middle of the night telling us to evacuate (it's called a "reverse 911" call). No phones rang.

At 4 AM, when I got up to use the bathroom, I checked the local TV news only to find they were showing some random stuff - no news, where previously they had been broadcasting fire coverage around the clock. No news must be good news. Come 5 AM, when the kids all woke up, I checked the news again. They were once again broadcasting, but no word on Steele Canyon or Rancho San Diego. Again, no news must be good news.

Later today I called the fire information line and asked about Steele Canyon and the backfires. They said they were successful and that the only fires still burning from the Harris Fire were in east Jamul and the Lyons Peak area to the east of us.

So it looks like Rancho San Diego and El Cajon were completely spared of any devastation. And, thankfully, this will likely be the last post on the Harris Fire I'll need to make.

God bless us, everyone!

Us and the San Diego Wildfires: Witch Fire & Harris Fire

The toll (as of 2PM TUESDAY): 1,250 homes & 241,000 acres burned.

For updated information about the fires in San Diego check out the following links:

KUSI (local news, has a live video feed online)
KGTV (local news, live video)
San Diego Union-Tribune (newspaper)

Here's our story so far:

SUNDAY: We celebrated Jackson's 4th birthday one day early with a day at LEGOLAND. Since it's also the Halloween season, LEGOLAND was having a "Brick-or-Treat" event for kids to get candy, coupons for free ice cream, healthy snacks like fruit, and Lego related stuff. Both boys dressed up as Underdog. We invited another family to come along with us to celebrate, since Jackson absolutely adores their kids, especially their 4-year-old girl, Summer. As we left the park at 4pm and started driving back home down I-5 from Carlsbad, we entered a huge smoke cloud drifting toward Del Mar like a backward fog. This was the first time we became aware of any fires going on whatsoever.

This smoke was from the Witch Fire that started out in Ramona (toward Julian). We quickly heard of yet another major fire in San Diego, the Harris Fire that started in Potrero right near the Mexican border to the east of us.

MONDAY: Jackson officially turns 4. The Santa Ana winds, which started Sunday, blew hard and steady all night long and by the time we saw the news Monday morning, the Witch Fire to our north had blown into Rancho Bernardo and was threatening to cross I-15. Homes were already burning. The Harris Fire was moving steadily east toward Jamul. But really, this morning we had no idea just how big or bad or where any of these fires really were. The high winds kept all air support grounded, so the only way we knew of the fires' advancement was by residents calling in to the news stations reporting that houses were on fire.

After seeing the damage of the fires from 2003, we weren't taking our chances. Mary went to work to see some nursing home patients who were really sick while I loaded up the car with the kids, photos, clothes, and Legos(!). By 10am I was on the road headed for mom & dad's place in Huntington Beach. 2.5 hours later we arrived and just hung out inside since there was also smoke in HB due to an arson (don't even get me started!) fire in Irvine.

By nightfall, Mary called and said things were looking pretty good back in El Cajon - clear skies, very little smoke, and the fires to our north and south and not heading our way. So I repacked the car and drove back home. Meanwhile, Mary unpacked her equally loaded car she'd packed just in case she was going to evacuate.

After grabbing a late night dinner, I headed back out to check on the progress of the Harris Fire. Driving out from our home, up and over Vista Grande Road, I saw Mt. San Miguel outlined in orange and red flames directly to the south. The entire south face of the mountain was on fire (we live about 7 miles north of the north face, which I'm looking directly at), including Proctor Valley on the other side. So the Harris Fire had basically moved over 20 miles west from its origin and was heading straight for Otay Lake Reservoir, Chula Vista, and Spring Valley. The winds were still very strong, but blowing due west (remember, we're to the north).

Despite being able to see from right near our house, we felt relatively safe to stay the night.

TUESDAY/TODAY: The Harris Fire seems to have stalled in Proctor Valley, though still very much threatening Chula Vista's Eastlake neighborhood, Spring Valley, and La Presa. I can't even see Mt. San Miguel today due to all the smoke. Since we'd been boxed indoors all day yesterday, not to mention the total of 5 hours on the freeway, I really needed to get the kids out of the house today. We headed off for Toys-R-Us in La Mesa to buy Transformer toys for Jackson thanks to the gift cards and cash the two sets of grandparents and his aunt gave him. We then drove over the Parkway Plaza and Best Buy only to find the parking lot in front of Borders/Best Buy had been turned into a horse corral. Some 50+ horses and ponies had evacuated here, including their owners and their families. There were also lots of dogs and even a group of 10 goats. These were all evacuees of the Harris Fire.

Today we've still got blue skies all around and very little smoke in the air. To be safe, however, we're staying indoors all day. It's a blazing 97-degrees outside, so even without the smoke, we'd still be indoors.

In the meantime, the Witch Fire has moved both west and south - as far west as Rancho Santa Fe, having jumped I-15 and moved across the north edge of Rancho Penasquitos, and as far south as parts of Lakeside now. Evacuations have been ordered clear to the Pacific Ocean! So far, however, the fire's stalled around Rancho Santa Fe and has not yet reached I-5.

That's it for now, feel free to call or email, or I'll try to keep you all updated if things change.

The Valentine's Day / Floral Industry Conspiracy

Anyone who's ever grown roses of their own knows full well that roses are not in season in North America during the month of February. In fact, it's in January or February of each year that most gardeners prune and defoliate their roses - some, almost clear to the ground. So along comes this tradition of giving your sweetie a beautiful bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day, only to find that the prices are insanely high due to the fact their they're all imported from either South America or Africa!

Hmm... conspiracy, anyone?

Here's a photo of our non-blooming rose garden - just a week before Valentine's Day. Ain't no flowers coming out of this garden any time soon. Try May, or April at best.

Where to see snow in San Diego...?

I'm soliciting some advice here. Ever since Christmas, my kids have been talking nonstop about snowmen and snowflakes and other such snow-related things. In fact, Nolan has resorted to building snowmen in the backyard out of dirt clods (these are quite small snowmen) and empty nursery pots -- the kind for plants, including one gallons, five gallons, and the whopping 24" tree containers -- these snowmen can get quite large and elaborate, complete with athletic shoes and full-sized rakes in hand (click on the photo to see a larger image).

So, the next time we get a snowfall in the local mountains of San Diego County, where should I go to take my three kids (all under the age of five) to get a little dose of snow? All I need is a safe, flat area where they can make a snowball and a snowman, that's it.

Please be as specific as you can in describing your favorite spots. Thanks!

Now this is just ridiculous... a 45-degree spread?!

Okay, we San Diegans have very little, weather-wise, to complain about... so I'll call this mere observation.

Check this out... yesterday morning I woke up to a low of 26.2 on my outside thermometer. Come midday, we were at 71.5 - a whole 45-degree difference between low and high!

Yeesh!

(Then this morning there was ice on the grass at Nolan's school and a sidewalk at Kennedy Park in El Cajon was a sheet of ice from the early morning lawn watering that spilled over onto the street. Brrrr...)

Baby, it's cold outside!!! (for SoCal, at least)

We had our first frost this morning... white rooftops, and specks of ice on the morning mulch... a whopping 35.2 degrees Fahrenheit on my backyard thermometer. They're expecting even lower tonight.

Brrr...

iMovie HD: Getting Your Clips BACK in Order

What's up with this madness where the clips in your clips pane get all jumbled and totally out of order? Then, after carefully rearranging your clips one-by-one in the clips pane, you go to drag a series of two or more clips to the timeline only to have them reshuffle and end up back OUT of order. INSANITY!

So, if you've got your clips with all their default names (e.g. Clip 01.dv, Clip 02.dv, etc.)...

here's the easy (though not so quick) fix if you have not yet started editing:

FIRST - make sure you have enough disk space to essentially duplicate all your clip files

THEN follow these steps...

1) create a new folder in the Finder
2) go to your iMovie project's icon in the Finder and Control-click
3) choose "Show Package Contents"
4) open the "Media" folder
5) Command-a to select all the clips/files
6) drag these clips to your newly created folder (step #1)
7) reopen your iMovie project (or start a new one) - if you opened your old project, there should no longer be any clips
8) in iMovie, go to File/Import and import all the files from your newly created folder
9) wait for the whole process to happen - this can take a long time, so be patient
10) now your iMovie project should have all the clips reordered according to filename - drag/drop should work without reshuffling

keywords: imovie clips order reorder

Speaking of the weather...

Everytime I do it, I think, boy, is there really nothing else of substance I have to say to this person?

It's time for the madness to stop!

No more talking about the weather...

unless...

(yes, there has to be a but-clause because I know better than to corner myself into an absolute)

Okay, so no more talking about the weather unless there's something truly noteworthy about it that is directly affecting me, the person I'm talking to, or someone else I know personally. Certain other exceptions might include natural disasters or weather patterns threatening masses of humanity (e.g. category 5 hurricanes, magnitude 8.0 earthquakes, tsunami, etc.).

It's time to challenge ourselves to make real conversation or none at all. Saying, "isn't the weather great" in a place like San Diego is ridiculous and simply filler for lack of desire to make a real connection with someone.

All right, soap box is behind me.

(how's the weather where you're at, by the way?)

Unheard Of, or things I thought I heard right as a kid but really didn't

"Yeah, the pay's all right, but what's really great are the French Benefits!"
(fringe benefits)

another...

"You have to order the Eggs Benedict, it's amazing with the Holiday Sauce."
(hollandaise sauce)

Anyone have any others?

San Diego County Stay-At-Home Dad's Group

In case you're interested, check out Dad-to-Dad San Diego, for which I also maintain a website and blog.

See you there!

Chevy Racing Partners with Cure Autism Now to Raise Awareness in April

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Races In Martinsville And Texas Raise More Than $12,000 To Date During Autism Awareness Month; Phoenix Races Still To Come

DETROIT – As part of an extensive national partnership between General Motors Corp. (GM) and Cure Autism Now (CAN), Chevy Racing is sponsoring the organization by raising funds and awareness at NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ races during April, Autism Awareness Month.

As the official pace vehicle for three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events (Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix), two NASCAR Busch Series races (Texas and Phoenix) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Martinsville, Chevrolet has put the pedal to the metal for a good cause. Chevy pace vehicles at the races are sporting the Cure Autism Now logo and a $50 donation will be made to Cure Autism Now for every lap each pace vehicle completes under the yellow caution flag.

With event results from Martinsville and Texas on the books, Chevy Racing has raised more than $12,000 to date for Cure Autism Now during the month of April, with yellow caution flag laps totaling at 254.

To generate additional awareness, various activities have been planned with NASCAR drivers, including a signing of a Chevy SSR hood that will be donated to Cure Autism Now after the race in Phoenix for fund-raising purposes. Throughout the month, public address announcements are being made during all the races encouraging NASCAR fans to support Cure Autism Now.

“Chevy Racing is proud to contribute to GM’s partnership with Cure Autism Now by raising awareness about autism among NASCAR fans,” said Terry Dolan, marketing manager of Chevy Racing. “We hope that our activities throughout April will encourage the racing community to support Cure Autism Now and everything they do to improve the lives of those affected by autism.”

“General Motors and Cure Autism Now have partnered on many fronts to address the national epidemic of autism,” said Peter Bell, CEO of Cure Autism Now. “We are grateful for this opportunity to bring our message of finding a cure for autism to one of America’s most passionate communities – NASCAR fans.”

In addition to NASCAR race activities, GM’s partnership with Cure Autism Now was highlighted during the NCAA Men’s Final Four championship when Pontiac presented a donation to Cure Autism Now on behalf of Jason McElwain, the high school basketball phenomenon affected by autism. To conclude Autism Awareness Month, Chevrolet will also kick off its national sponsorship of all 17 of Cure Autism Now’s WALK NOW events throughout the country at the fourth annual WALK NOW Los Angeles on April 22.

About Cure Autism Now
Cure Autism Now is an organization of parents, clinicians and leading scientists accelerating research to prevent, treat and cure autism. Cure Autism Now is a leading private funder of biomedical research in autism, providing more than $31 million for research grants, education, outreach and scientific resources, including the establishment and ongoing support of the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE). Cure Autism Now has chapters across the country with national headquarters in Los Angeles. WALK NOW events will be held in 17 cities around the U.S. this year. More information about Cure Autism Now and WALK NOW can be found at www.cureautismnow.org.

About General Motors
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 327,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

About Autism
Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder that now affects as many as one in every 166 children in the United States. Autism is commonly diagnosed by the age three, and in some cases, as early as one year. Characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, children with autism can exhibit symptoms that run from mild to severe with widely differing symptom profiles.

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GRAMMAR: when -er goes bad... (adjectives, comparative/superlative)

Almost everyday, as I drive east on Madison Avenue approaching Main Street, I see a small sign on a vinyl picket fence surrounding a manufactured home dealer's lot - the sign reads: "new and newer homes from $100,000"

Okay, I get it, new and newer homes, that's great. But, wait! Hold the horses! What have we here but another example of English grammar gone bad.

We've all been taught about comparative and superlative adjective forms in school. You know, the -er (comparative) and -est (superlative) forms of descriptive words. Whether we still remember what they were called is another matter. The basic construction was simple. Let's say there's something big, but then there's another item that is more big, we just call it bigger. Then lo and behold, there's another item that is bigger than all the others, which we call the biggest - the most big. Got it - big, bigger, biggest. Works with a whole slew of other adjectives (mostly of the one-syllable or ends in -y two-syllable varieties). Let's give it a try:

small, smaller, smallest (small, more small, most small)
cold, colder, coldest (as above...)
smart, smarter, smartest
dirty, dirtier, dirtiest
silly, sillier, silliest

Now what about that sign advertising new and newer homes? What's gone wrong there? How can something be newer than new? Those of us who've ever looked into home ownership understand that something advertised as "newer" really means that it's old (or used, if you prefer), but just not as old something older. Ah yes, confusing. I'm actually confusing myself a little as I type this.

So let's break it down:

A new house = a new house, simple; a house that has just been built and no one has lived in it
A newer house = an older house than a new house but not as old as an old house; a house that has been previously owned and/or lived in, but only a little bit!
The newest house = either the single new house among newer houses or a house with the most recent completion date among a group of other houses (whether new or not)

I hope this gave you a new (or newer) perspective on the English language.

FATHERHOOD: Oh the things you'll eat! - Part 2

So I'm packing Nolan's lunch as I do every morning, but lately he hasn't been too fond of his daily applesauce cup, so I thought I'd load up his lunch box with a pre-packed bowl of Dole Diced Peaches in light syrup. This brought to mind an infamous moment of things-you-shouldn't-and-normally-wouldn't-do-but-now-have-done-because-you're-a-parent.

So it was baseball season at newly-opened Petco Park. A beautiful day, glorious sunshine, the Padres were on the field, and we had finally arrived in our seats in the second deck in right field. Behold, my son Nolan was hungry. So I dug into our plastic shopping bag and pulled out a bowl of diced peaches, peeled back the plastic cover, and started spooning the tasty fruit into my son's mouth when I realized the light syrup was simply making a mess all around me, dribbling on the floor and my jeans. What to do? Aha! I needed to somehow pour off the light syrup, then I could properly feed my child. But what have we here? Or, better, what have we not here? A trash can, of course. No trash cans mid-row. I would have to abandon my now starving child to walk back out of my row and section to find a proper place to dispose of said syrup.

But, no, I'm smarter than that! There must be a better plan. I must act swiftly if the proper sense of calm is to remain and the day-at-the-ballpark experience is to be enjoyed to its fullest.

So I did something I shall never do again, something I would never ever recommend to another under any circumstance - I drank the syrup.

Bad idea. Though it had no lingering ill effects, it's a non-alcoholic apertif not worth trying.

Why don't I learn my own lessons? After all, I blogged about another such "inedible edibles" experience last year (see: FATHERHOOD: Oh the the things you'll eat!).

Ouch!

The Rose Bowl Game

The National Championship on the line

Three titles in a row also on the line

Darn that Vince Young and his insane ability to run the ball anytime, anywhere, into seemingly absolutely Trojan-less acres of the field last night. And you had to know that it was he who would take the ball in himself on that final play, so why didn't anyone just cover him?! Nine yards between the ball and the end zone and no one decides to pick him up personally!

Yeesh! I shall continue my sulking until next season. Seriously though, who's left at SC for next year? Reggie, gone. Matt, gone (though he seemed to check out two games early, if you ask me). LenDale, gone. Is it back to the doldroms of the 90s for the Trojans? Let's hope not.

Hey, maybe my Cal Bears will make a nice run at it next season.

The most inconvenient thing about having a baby...

...is having more than one!

I meant to post this before daughter Berkeley Celeste was born, since it was the main thing I was worrying about, but time drifted by so quickly and the next thing we knew, she was born.

But the big "inconvenience" has to be the dilemma of what to do with your other kids while your current kid is being born. When Jackson was born, our firstborn, Nolan, had to endure all day babysitting until I could make it back from the hospital to pick him up. He actually went through two sitters that day, one whom he didn't even really know that well. And to top it off, he didn't get a nap because he was completely out of his element. Oh the humanity!

This time we had two kids 3 and under to find places for. Thank God Berkeley was born under cover of night so I could put both boys down to bed, giving us just (barely) enough time to call in some nearby and parental (2 hours away) reinforcements while we rushed off to the hospital. She was born before midnight, so I was able to return home before the boys woke at 6 a.m. Then I fed them, dressed them, and sent them off to school. They were none the wiser until I brought them to the hospital to meet their baby sister that afternoon.

So really, it turned out not to be as inconvenient as I thought it would. In fact, it was quite convenient. But the lead-up was all worries nonetheless.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

We've been regularly hitting the mid-30s overnight this past week. And all this, in sunny San Diego. (Sure, it still hits the mid-70s by noonish, but that's beside the point.)

Brrrrrrrrr--!