RootsRain

Wondering how we got into the current economic mess? Look no further.

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I apologize that this will be a slightly odd post. I had to change the oil in my VW Beetle for the first time this week and I couldn’t find anything on the internet about how to do it (where’s that darn filter anyway? how many quarts does it hold? what kind of oil does it take?). I can’t exactly consult the owner’s manual provided to me by Volkswagen, because all it says is “Don’t even think about changing the oil by yourself, you cheapo. Take it to a VW dealer so we can charge you $50.” Comparative Advantage aside, I still hate paying someone good money for something I can do myself. Plus, I get a resounding feeling of accomplishment that never tingles through me while sitting in Jiffy Lube’s lobby.

So this is my individualist attempt to schtick it to der Mann (this is Volkswagen after all). Below are my step-by-step instructions on how to change the oil in a 2007 VW Bug (keep in mind that I am not a mechanic and I in no way make a claim that this method of oil changing will meet manufacturer’s guidelines, warranty requirements, or any other damaging stuff you might want to sue me over… so there):

Jack the car up, of course, making sure the parking brake’s on. Open the hood and remove the oil cap.

With your trusty oil pan and a good set of channel locks, you’ll want to loosen the drain plug and let all the oil drain into the pan. Once it’s finished draining, screw the drain plug back in and tighten it with the channel locks.

Then you’ll need to remove the central rock and mud shield underneath the engine. It only has four screws in it and is very easy to remove. You’ll need a torx driver, though. (Note: Volkswagen apparently changed the design under the engine in mid 2007. There are now “six 12 point caps screws and two 16mm bolts” holding the rock & mud shield in place. HT: Gregg)

You should see the oil filter right away. There are some cables slightly covering it, but it’s still pretty obvious. Position your oil drain pan beneath it and unscrew the drain cap. Nothing drained when I unscrewed it but yours might be different.

Now comes the gooey part. Unscrew the filter housing with an oil wrench (or, if you have enormously strong hands, you could use them instead). Be careful when you pop it from its housing because it will dump oil everywhere.

Grab a screwdriver and push its tip into the red plug in the center of the filter housing. Push the red drain tip back and then to the side and the oil should drain out of the housing. (HT: Gregg) Once everything’s drained, take an oil wrench and unscrew and remove the filter housing.

Set the housing upright on the ground and pull the old filter off. Then be sure to remove the old rubber O-ring from the housing. There’s a little tab that sticks up from it so you can grab it with your hand. Seat the new O-ring in (comes with your new filter) with your fingers and put the new filter into the housing (be sure to push hard enough that it clicks… that pushes the red drain tip back into position).

Add some oil to the oil filter. (I’m not sure what good this does, but the practice has been recommended to me by a mechanic.) Make sure the oil you’re using is 5W-40 full synthetic (although VW does say that 5W-30 full synthetic can be used in a pinch). Expensive stuff but required by the warranty, I believe.

Now put all that stuff back together. I hand-tightened the filter housing (I’ve got strong hands), screwed the drain cap back in place, put the rock shield back on, then added 5½ quarts of 5W-40 full synthetic oil, replaced the cap and closed the hood. No problem.

Oh. And don’t forget to remove the jack.

My good buddy TJ introduced me to Regina Spektor about a year ago. I stick pretty much with classical music, so I haven’t listened to much of her music, but I just happened upon this music video today. It’s simply delightful (in the old english sense of “Quite so! Capital! Capital!”). It’s definitely the most charming, beautiful, and yet very poignant song/music video I’ve heard in a long time. Actually, I’m not sure I know of a better one. It seems like it’s the story of a person learning to open up, to give up her heart in order to be in a real, if sometimes messy relationship. Life can’t be antiseptic.

Enjoy! If you like this, consider buying the music video off iTunes. It looks much better in high definition.

For the past month and a half, my brother Tim has been working on a new business selling high-quality Christian artwork on archival paper, using a giglée printing process. The prints are very, very nice (there’s a room full of the tests he was running right across the hall) and, best of all, these prints make good Christian art available to the world. Anyone else here tired of Lifeway-style Christian-topia art mush?

Visit the site.

…when I’m asleep.

Case in point: last night I had a dream. Karen Brinson (my old ceramics teacher from college) got up in the FMA (Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium) at BJU to sing a special during a Bible Conference service. Here’s what she sang:

I’m driving a parked cardigan.
I know how to use this club,
I know how to use this racket,
I know how to take this floor
And get it off my back-et.

And then a bunch of the girls in the balcony started singing the chorus with her (it had apparently been pre-arranged).

I enjoyed the bizarre play on words in the first line and the weird imagery in the last two lines. I have no idea what Freud would do with this one, but I’m confidant that I now know what it’s like to write songs on acid. If only my brain were this creative while I was awake…

On Friday I was presented by Turner with my brand spanking new 15.4″ MacBook Pro (2.16 GHz Core Duo, 2 GB RAM, Radeon X1600 256MB video, if you care to know). I was given the choice of any machine I wanted to work off of and that was my pick. Mmmmm… feel the love… or is that jealousy I’m smelling?

So anyways… (Nacho fans?) I’ll be selling my 12″ G4 SpyBook. Before I do something stupid like list it on eBay, I’d much rather sell it to someone I know (and they in turn will be glad to not pay shipping). Here are the specs:

• 12″ 1.33GHz G4 PowerBook
• 768 MB RAM
• 80 GB Hard Drive (recently replaced)
• Combo drive (i.e., everything except the DVD burner)
• Bluetooth & Airport (802.11g) (recently replaced)
• OS X 10.4.8
• no Applecare
• custom shaping (read: slight dent) near the battery
• complete generic specs
• I’m including my Brenthaven 12″ laptop bag in the deal

I was thinking of charging around $550. I’ll be up in Greenville this weekend, if that matters to anyone.

Amazon.com is now offering groceries. No perishable items. Yet.

Okay, so I promised something rousingly interesting this week in light of my never-ending stream of attic postings. So here it is. A picture of my BJU parking sticker. Seriously. No Photoshopping on this one.

Update: I listed the Cinema Display on Amazon when I listed it here on RootsRain. It sold on Amazon yesterday, so boo-hoo to all those who I know were just trying to mortgage their kids to scrape the money together for the display.

No, I’m not giving up my international chain of lucrative theaters, but I am selling my 20″ Apple Cinema Display. It’s in perfect condition and has been only lightly used. It includes all the cables, cleaning cloth, and the original box. Oh, and the display, too. If anyone wants to buy it, let me know (it’ll save us both commission charges on eBay or Amazon). The rough price is about $625 and, hopefully, buyers would be local so there wouldn’t be any shipping charges.