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Tonight has been the first time I've listened to NPR's Simply Folk program. I turned it on on Andrea's dad's radio while I was working in the garage and I liked it so much that I was inspired to finally connect my FM antenna to my tuner in the living room (just hadn't gotten around to it after moving) and turn it on inside. I just caught the last couple of artists: one was performing some beautiful Peruvian and Ecuadoran music (reminded me of the soundtrack from Inca) and the second was someone singing this wonderful song in high German. I need to keep that in mind on Sunday evenings. I've never regularly listened to a radio music show, but the idea of being exposed to a variety of world music like that is a really appealing one.

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I used to only buy my tools from Sears. It really seemed to be the best value. I knew that if I bought a Craftsman tool once, I would never have to buy that tool again. Either it lasts forever or they replace it free.

Lately though, I've realized that, for as reliable as Craftsman is, the name is kind of expensive. I needed a 10mm socket to do the brakes on my truck earlier this week. I could have gone to Sears and bought one for two or three dollars, but I was putting it off because I wanted to see if I could find a cheaper way around it. I checked with my parents and borrowed the little tub of sockets they had but found that the right tool wasn't there.

At the barn sale Andrea and I were at last weekend, the socket size still in my head for my upcoming trip to Sears, I found one in the collection of tools at the back of the barn with a price tag of just a quarter. It was from the Master Mechanic line too, a decent name. So I bought it.

The event was in my mind this weekend when wooisme, imandunewen and myself found ourselves out at Seven Mile Fair (a local flea-market with everything from chinese import weapons to live chickens to piles of hand tools). In the course of our wanderings we found multiple tables mounded with aging tools and hardware and thoughts percolated in my brain. True, Craftsman backs their tools with a lifetime guarantee, but how often does one really break? I've always been particular about my tools and I know that bad tools are more trouble than they're worth in most cases, but if I poke though enough piles of used sockets and wrenches I'm sure I can find a bunch of halfway decent items.

Today, after organizing my toolbox and tools that got wet in the rain yesterday, I started a spreadsheet. I'm going to start carrying a list of all the sockets and wrenches that I have so that I know which ones I'm looking for and, when I find good deals, can pick them up. I'm actually pretty excited about scrounging for stuff that way; with some time, I bet I can put together a pretty comprehensive set of tools on the cheap. It's such a good feeling to have the right tool for the right job.

I was pleased to find, as I worked out in the driveway, that I have done enough brake jobs on enough vehicles that, despite not having the Haynes manual for my truck, I had no trouble in swapping out the brake pads. I was rather less pleased to find, as I used the opportunity of the vehicle being up on a jack to look for the source of the rattling I've been hearing over the last month or so, that the driver's side end of the sway bar was broken, ground to a point, and hanging loose.

After some momentary panic, I realized that if I had been driving that way for a month already, another few days woudln't hurt. I'm going to call up the local junkyard tomorrow (they're closed all weekend) and makes sure they have the part (it's not tracked by their online inventory system) and my raccoon girl has graciously agreed to go out and pick it up. I'll take care of replacing the windshield wiper assembly too, since I did manage to confirm that they have one of those.

Other stuff accomplished today includes setting up two of the shelving units from the barn sale in our basement, loading all of our games on to them so they are easily accessible to be readied for Ebay, and breaking down the eight foot mound of boxes in the garage into two manageable piles. I have room to work in there again. I need to get started on some of the metalworking I need to do. In fact, one of the things I bought at the faire was a punch so I can make nail/screw holes my work pieces. Of course, it occurred to me later that I should have tried making one myself. The idea that I can make my own metal tools takes a little mental adjustment I suppose.

Also, I have finally installed Trillian on my computer again. I haven't dug up my old AIM or Yahoo account names (does anyone have them still?), but I did get connected to my ICQ number. It's 29494267. Feel free to add me. I will try to be on at least once in a while.

Andrea made chili for dinner tonight. Mm, yummy!! She's wonderful.