West Ryde Council rangers - Causing problems for the working community.

Parking is next to impossible in West Ryde. There used to be a multi-story carpark, which has been demolished. The council proceeded to put "no parking" signs all over the place, and send their "Rangers" in white utes to book people as they go about their working day. They are making an absolute fortune. There are two large (usually half empty) carparks near the train station. I saw a ranger the other day booking the three cars that are in the carpark for overstaying the 3 hour limit. The only place to park which is unrestricted is along the residential back streets. They are always lined with cars, to the point where two cars cannot pass. This is legal, but it is illegal to leave your car in the empty carpark.

I just got booked, because I was picking up some boxes from the back of our premisis. It is a no parking zone, but we have been told by one of these "Rangers" that it is okay to be there to load up. My boot was open, and the car wouldn't start, so I had to change a battery terminal, so the car was there for five minutes, and I was with it the whole time. I was this useless excuse for a human being (Council Ranger) drive passed. He didn't stop, or say anything to me. I figured that he would see that I had obviously broken down as the hood was up. The other day I get a $70 fine in the mail. This gutless tool didn't even stop, didn't leave a ticket on the windscreen, nothing. Because he knew he would be up for an argument.

Now, If I want any kind of come back, I have to go to court. Well, I will pay the fine. But every time I see that council "Ranger" I will be lodging a formal complaint to both the council and police about where he is parked, his behaviour, and just about everything I can find that he is doing inappropriately. I will be circulating his number plates, and issuing warnings to other business owners and workers in the West Ryde area to be sure to lodge a complaint about this guy.

People say "they are just doing their job". I say what job? What would be worse if this man was sacked tomorrow and not replaced (other than the cashflow of the council, of course.) Anyone who takes a job like this, which is nothing short of sanctioned, legalized theft, deserves any anger and abuse they get from the community, and probably more. Maybe if their lives are made difficult enough, the council will not be able to find people to rip off the public for them.

Finally a weekend off

Well, I'm about to get a full two days off, one after the other, for the first time I can remember. It's going to be great, I've been pushing myself for the last few months. Working tomorrow, and I have Sunday off as I normally do, and Monday is a public holiday, which I have decided not to work. It will be nice to do a few things around the house, do the washing, change oil and fuel filters on the car, plus fix a few other things I haven't had time to pay attention to since I brought it, like the heater fan speed resistor is dead, roof lining sagging, and of course, I want to hook up the ALDL datalink with my new laptop. I also have a leaking transmission which I have to look at. At the moment the underside of the car is filthy, so I'll gurney it all off on the weekend and have a good look. I hate leaking cars. Even if it is an auto. The auto gear box has it's writing on the wall, I'm currently looking for a T5 manual transmission to replace it with.
I was going to mow the lawn too this weekend, but it doesn't need it. It's that dry that even though I haven't mowed it for 5 weeks now, it's only grown about half a centimeter. Suits me fine.

Testing a thermostat - New hot EFI engines

Just tested the new thermostat for the Commodore. My old RX-7 had a 80 degree thermostat, and I could test it in a coffee mug by pouring water onto it from the kettle and watching it open. The commdore is fuel injected and runs hotter, and the thermostat is rated at 91 degrees. Pouring water from the kettle over it just doesn't get enough heat into it to get it opened up. You need to boil some water on the stove and dip the thermostat into it on a piece of string. It will open in half a second or so. As soon as I finish this shift in the shop, it's going in.