It’s been a busy couple of weeks around here. Christmas injected itself into my house in the form of a fancy tree. Learned how to change tires. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales came and went. And plenty of Super Mario Odyssey was played.
Changing Tires
I decided to learn how to change my tires. It seemed like an easy and useful skill to learn and it yields a couple of benefits including saving time and money. I bought the tools and equipment several months ago and finally put them all to use earlier this month. It was surprisingly easy! I’m not nearly as fast as other people but with enough time and practice, I’m sure I can swap out tires in no time.
Here’s a list of the equipment and notes that I found useful.
The Jack
- I purchased a 2 ton hydraulic jack and while it works, I would buy a 3 ton one if I had to do it all over again. I’m told a 3 ton jack is a bit more stable and even easier to lift a vehicle with.
- Convert everything to kilograms to make sure your jack can support your vehicle. Or just buy a 3 ton one that should support it.
Impact Driver & Bits
- Only used to remove bolts. It’s a nice luxury to have but not really necessary. It’s recommended that I tighten bolts with a torque wrench.
- The bits can also be helpful when hand screwing the nuts in.
Breaker Bar
- I bought one for $10 but I didn’t need it because all my bolts came out without a fuss.
Torque Wrench
- I thought I didn’t need one because of the impact driver but now I have to pick one up for myself.
- Screw in nuts and bolts in a star pattern!
Work Gloves
- I need some nice gloves to keep my delicate digits from getting dirty.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales
My haul this year is rather light and a bit weird:
- Torque wrench
- Vitamix 750
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Electric toothbrush
The big takeaway from Black Friday & Cyber Monday was what my girlfriend did for me. She went into my Google Sheets that I used and included a handful of extremely useful automation formulas. It impressed the hell out of me! I had considered looking into automating more of it but I just never got around to sitting down and spending the time on that part of the deal posting process. It was greatly appreciated!
Christmas Is Here
It wasn’t even American Thanksgiving yet and the girlfriend already had us putting up a tree. She loves Christmas and all its trappings whereas I enjoy this time of year for the time off. It’s a very nice tree and she did a marvelous job picking out the ornaments and lights. It’s just unfortunate that she won’t be around for most of December to enjoy it.
Half Way Through The Odyssey
I watched the credits roll on Super Mario Odyssey but as with other Mario games, it’s not really the end yet. There’s just so many more Moons to uncover and collect. I think this is where the game truly begins as the challenges and other tricks unfurl.
