Yesterday was lots of fun.

First, I woke...not to the sound of the alarm of my mobile, but only Just So: I had inadvertently switched it to silent mode. Not a problem on most days, but this was a Wednesday which sports a horrible 0800 lecture, and more specifically yesterday was the the one Wednesday with a midterm exam to hold. And it was 0741. Great!

Rushing out, the kid informed me that she's sick enough to stay at home. Great, another bit of Good News.

0801 and I'm at work, the students are, too, and the bloody seminar room is locked. Ring security, have one of them amble over, unlock room, 0807. The exam starts 7min late and I hope that nobody's booked that room for the 0900 timeslot.

At 0907 I collect the papers, the students seem a tad stunned which surprises me a bit as one cow-orker had duly vetted that exam paper for size/content/complexity. I rush off to the mechanic, to get the Sooby a change of life-sustaning fluids and a check before the dealer warranty runs out next week. The mech is in Burleigh, and the walk back home takes 31min. At least it's a sunny and bright, if a bit windy day.

At home, the kid is feeling better; I get her some tea and mark the exams. Horrible, just under half fail it. (All totally different mistakes, so it's not all my fault.) Very depressing. The rest of the day is spent dealing with some really recalcitrant software that I need, use and maintain for debian and whose author I frequently curse for his damn sloppiness. High-flying ideas are nice, but software must work to deserve any kind of attention.

Mid-arvo the weather turns to rain, I ring the mechanic to discover that they haven't found a sure cause for the odd hard starting problem and whether I could leave the car until tomorrow. I can't, and because all this to and fro has left me not knowing when I'd collect the car, I haven't had a chance to arrange for a friend to drop me off there.

Now it's raining, it's late and I have to go, as in "walk". The 31min walk is rotten, I'm not singin' in the rain. At the mech, they tell me that they have found a bearing ball on the transmission sump's drain plug. Great news! Well, I suppose the gearbox will work better without that thing to foul the works, and discovering stuff like that (though unwelcome) was the reason for doing this lube service a lot earlier than required.

Also, the hard starting is still the same but they've seen and cleared one ECU code related to the idle speed control solenoid valve; I hadn't seen any codes myself when talking to the ECU a month earlier, but after digging through the factory service manual I think it does make sense to suspect the ISC valve given the symptoms I observed. So, more testing ahead (but I'll do that myself, TYVM; I have a lapdog, a OBD2 interface cable, suitable software and the precice instructions from the factory manual).

Now I've got to write a letter to the dealer to get the gearbox reworked under warranty. Which is going to be Fun, because it's not completely fucked just yet: fortunately the statutory warranty terms say "a warranted vehicle has a defect if a part of the vehicle does not perform its intended function or has deteriorated to an extent where it can not reasonably be relied on to perform its intended function". With a bit of luck that second clause will get me somewhere. With my usual lack of luck, well, it hasn't failed yet and reconditioned transmissions for that Sooby seem to be a/v for about $1500.

The evening was uneventful, but this morning it's me (instead of Conny) who has a sore throat and feels lousy. How I love life.