Friday Five

Last seen in the journal of: redgrrl

1.What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn't have breakfast, why not? Hmm: if you did have breakfast, why? OK, OK. This morning I went to the Original Pancake House with ambar. (Thanks for a wonderful morning brunch!)

2.What's your favorite cereal? Cheerios.

3.How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change? I need a girlfriend.

4.What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that? No plans yet. I will probably eat some leftover lentil/rice schtuff.

5.What's your favorite restaurant? Why? I don't think I have a single favorite. Mary Chung's in Cambridge, MA has the best suan la chow show. Toscanini's has the best ice cream. The McDonald's on Bernardo in Sunnyvale, CA has the best fries (do NOT ever visit the McDonald's on Homestead Road). Some place I could never find again in Chicago has the best chicken rice soup. Kabul has the best chicken (and it makes the stinkiest leftovers). Eulipia in San Jose CA, before the management change, had the best appetizers. I could go on...

Road Trip!

I bet I'm not the only one interested in this information.

Britex Fabrics is apparently having a sale. February 17th, 30% off any stock on the floor except velvet; February 18th through 22nd, 20% off any stock on the floor except velvet. The "hitch", if you can call it that, is that you have to buy in person, no phone orders. Awwww. Must go and fondle all those luscious fabrics in person. Shucks. Darn.

Too bad I have to be back here by three on Monday. Hrm. Might be able to move that appointment...

Anybody here know cars? Specifically the drive train?

The car: 1989 Toyota Corolla, automatic, 119K miles on it.

The symptom: Momentary power loss, less than a second long, at intermittent and hard-to-predict intervals. For a while it seemed to happen mostly near speeds where the transmission should shift, but now it isn't doing that any more. Most recently it's happened in a fast cruise -- when driving on a highway for twenty minutes or so at 70MPH, the car started having these little power pauses, and they increased in frequency rapidly to the point where the ride felt almost like a rough road. I varied my speed in response to this, moving briskly between 65MPH and 75MPH, and it stopped. It seems to happen much more when the car is warmed up than when it is not. I don't know for sure whether it's the engine or the transmission. I am guessing that it isn't something obvious, though, because this symptom has persisted through one visit to a well-recommended shop.

The question: What are ALL the things this could be, including some off-the-wall ones if they're possible, and how can I narrow it down a bit with some tests and inspections?

I don't have good jacks, nor do I have an engine tachometer. I can think of a good use for an external engine tachometer right away, but I don't have one handy. :-(