The Squamidian Report – April 5 / 14
Issue #619
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
BBQ followup.... I'll keep it short. As I figured, we decided to go
with the Weber Q300. Several of you have asked why we don't simply
exchange our shiny new Dyna-Glo for a different shiny new Dyna-Glow.
The fact is, the store manager isn't convinced that there is anything
wrong with the one we bought and for that matter, aside from it not
getting hot enough, there isn't anything wrong with it. But, we are not
satisfied with that particular BBQ, I personally think hamburger
patties should be cooked right through long before three quarters of an
hour on the highest heat setting has gone by. Home Depot wants us to be
satisfied with our final purchase. We won't miss the side burner
because even though it would have been nice to have one, we have never
had one before. Because it is smaller than the 'big' ones, it will not
take up any more room than the old one we wore out. Weber is a good
name brand although pricy, and so on. Before this whole thing came
about, the store had marked this last 2013 Weber unit down a good chunk
so they could clear it in order to put out the 2014 version. The store
manager had also told me he'd cut another $50 off the price, which he
did. Interestingly, when he brought it up on his computer there was a
$40 assembly fee added on because the unit had been assembled. He
reversed that fee as well.
In order to simplify things and to 'make it right', he had offered to
deliver the Weber and pick up the Dyna-Glo which was great because I
had no idea how I was going to get the Dyna-Glo off the deck, around to
the front and up onto my truck. Problem solved. So, on Monday afternoon
they brought the new, new one and took away the old new one. I had a
nice BBQ dinner and all is well. It heats up very fast. There will be a
bit of a learning curve as while most BBQs have open grills made of
heavy wire bars with space between each thick wire, this has a cast
grill that is almost like a griddle, with more iron than opening. Very
similar to cooking with a frying pan, but a frying pan with slots in
the bottom. The lid closes down to keep the heat in and it cooks just
fine on a nice low setting once its been heated up. So, end of the BBQ
story. If you want more info or a demonstration, you'll just have to
drop by.
Returning items I've purchased has never been something I like doing or
am comfortable doing. I almost never do it. Heck, I'll usually put up
with something I'm not satisfied with rather than return it. Returning
stuff somehow makes me feel guilty or embarrassed or something. Anyway,
apparently I'm on a roll. I had picked up some groceries and yes, even
old farts like me fall prey to impulse buying. There was some packages
of fresh bakery made (as opposed to factory made) chocolate chip
cookies. The big two dozen packs were priced at $5.69. These are a big,
decadent, almost home made tasting treat that I like to stick in the
freezer until needed, then nuke them one at a time in the microwave and
they end up like they'd just come out of the oven. I didn't really want
the big pack so I picked up the small, one dozen pack. Just after going
though the checkout I realized that the small pack had cost $4.99. So,
twice as many cookies cost only 70 cents more. That sucks. So, I went
to the service counter and told them I wanted to return the small pack
and get a big pack. No problem, and for just 70 cents I now have twice
as many cookies that I really didn't need in the first place.
The humming birds are back. Actually, I've heard they've been back for
a while but it was only this past week that I've been seeing them at
our feeder. Its not surprising, there are lots of things in full bloom
now for them. Another bird that never left but has been announcing its
presence is those stupid flickers which are a large member of the
woodpecker family. The males like to peck rapidly on anything that will
make a loud noise, usually first thing in the morning and again in the
evening. They can be incredibly destructive when their pecking results
in holes drilled right through someone's siding or roofing. Luckily
many of them have now discovered metal chimneys and flashings. Lots of
noise to attract a mate, minimal damage except for perhaps a few bird
headaches from the impact.
doug
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Back at it once again and feeling better about the weather indeed! It’s
not summer weather yet but it’s one heck of a lot more bearable this
weekend than it was a week or two ago! We’ve finally seen the melting
of a good portion of what was lining the roadways for the past few
months and it feels good. Of course we are not out of the woods yet but
we’re getting closer to the edge of the forest. We’ve been known to get
belted with a good snowfall in April and even May on occasion but
hopefully this year won’t see that happen! So far April hasn’t been
very rainy but I’m sure it’s going to happen in good measure before the
month is out.
Some of you may recall my mentioning the extensive number of
automobiles I’ve owned over the past 50 years in previous Ontarions.
Well, I just added another beauty to my list. Carole and I as you know
have owned our beloved 2002 Jeep Liberty since it was 10 months old and
it’s been the most enjoyable and reliable vehicle we’ve owned since our
marriage began back in 1973. We have been totally happy with this
vehicle and have often said that once we decide it’s time to replace
the Jeep, we’d seriously consider purchasing another of the same model.
We were thinking of buying a new vehicle over the past few months but
were going to hold off until sometime this coming summer. Of course
being a car guy, I’m always looking and reading the Auto Trader ads.
Well, last week I had to drive through north Waterloo on an errand and
just happened to drive past the dealership that we bought the Jeep at
back in 2003. I noticed that they had a beautiful Jeep Liberty
“Limited” in their “pre-owned” lot. A polite way of saying “Used”! I
decided to turn in and ask about it. I happen to be acquainted with one
of the service reps that books vehicles in for repairs so I went to her
and asked if she could tell me anything about this Jeep. She looked up
its history and told me that they had just brought it in that day about
two hours before my asking. She told me the history of the vehicle and
said it was a 2011 but it only had 38,000 km on its odometer. Being it
was a Limited model rather than the “Sport” it was the top of the line
model of the Liberty Line. This meant that it was loaded with pretty
much every option available. I thanked her and she referred me to a
salesman that she said was a good guy and would treat me right. She
called him over and introduced us. He once again told me what he knew
of the vehicle and then handed me the keys and said to take it home for
a couple of hours and show Carole.
I popped into the house and told Carole that I had a surprise to show
her. When she came out to the driveway she was immediately smitten by
the beautiful shiny black image of the Liberty sitting there. We took
it for a drive and talked about whether or not we should make the move
to a new vehicle earlier than we had planned and finally decided, why
the hell not! So we pursued the vehicle with the salesman and after a
couple of days of digging through the history and condition of the Jeep
we made the purchase. They took our 2002 Liberty in on a trade so we
didn’t have to bother putting it up for sale and all that goes with
that ordeal. We picked up the new Jeep on Tuesday of this week and
we’re once again enthralled with our new baby! As I’m sure you all
know, purchasing a vehicle brand new off the lot is an instant loss of
approximately 10 to 20% of the sticker value so we had sworn off buying
new years ago and have never regretted it. This we believe was a very
good deal and we now have a vehicle that not only looks like new but
still has that new car smell as well as runs like a Swiss watch! If the
odometer didn’t show 38,000kms, it could pass for new in anybody’s
eyes! It’s flawless inside and out and shines like a new Looney! It’s
black with a black leather interior and has every option we could think
of including Carole’s beloved “Sun Roof”. I had to spend all day
yesterday reading the operator’s manual to make sure I know how to work
all the amazing features. The one feature that we decided we would
really like to have in our new vehicle other than the sun roof, was
“Heated Seats” and guess what, this beauty has “Heated Seats” so now
our little bums will be nice and snug in the cccccccold Ontarion
winters in our future! LOL!
I can only see one drawback with this new family member, and that is
the cost of purchasing new tires when they are due. The wheels are huge
18” chrome mags and I’m sure that tires of that size will not be cheap!
Oh well, it’s got brand new tires on it now and also has a set of
almost new winter “Ice and Snow” tires that came along with it! I was
also happy to find out that the previous owner (it is a one owner
vehicle as well) purchased a bumper-to-bumper Chrysler full warranty
contract on the car that was transferable to my name and it’s good for
another two full years! Needless to say, that was a nice feature to be
included with the purchase. So, it looks like we’re good for another 10
or so years with this Liberty. Let’s hope that it’s as strong and
reliable as our previous Liberty and we’ll have no complaints!
Even after 50 years of car buying and selling experiences under my
belt, I still get excited when I am the proud owner of another in my
lineup of road machines. I’ve had some real beauties but then again I
must admit I’ve had some real “duds” too! I like to think that I’ve
learned a thing or two about choosing right and buying right after all
these years but we all know that you never stop learning. I just don’t
like to think that I have any hard lessons left to learn when it comes
to vehicles! If you take care of your vehicles, they will last a long
time and hopefully give you little or no grief till it’s time to trade
‘em in once again!
I think this is my 48th vehicle! I’ll have to dig in my files and see
if I can find that list I compiled a few years back. Guys can usually
remember how many and what make of vehicles they’ve owned better than
they can remember their wedding anniversary date! Not this guy though!
I value my testicles too highly!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’d never met herbivore.
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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