New Videos and Pictures!!!

Yes, we've been slackers. Between work, school, and home we haven't thought much about posting pictures in a long time. For a few minutes, we also go ambitious and decided we would "clean up" the pictures before posting them by removing red-eye, cropping, and other small edits. Unfortunately, this ambition meant that we went even longer without posting.

On another note, my free video service decided it wouldn't be free anymore. The bad part about this is that now I have to pay. The good part about this is that I can now upload any file size and length, so the quality is a bit better than it was before (although not full resolution). I'm also better able to organize them, so look for dated folders on the video home page that will help you figure out if you've seen the latest videos.

I'll be adding all of our video in the higher resolution over the next few weeks because it takes a LONG time to upload. I'll be starting with the newest video and working my way backwards. To kick off this new video clip setup, here is a great video of Jack enjoying his new T-Ball set that his Nan got him. All of the videos are available by going to http://videos.kreusch.com.

After Christmas, I plan on building a new, more powerful home computer that will allow me to actually edit videos and burn DVDs a lot easier. As such, I am hoping to press a full-resolution DVD for use on your TV and sending it out to anyone who is interested. I'll keep you posted!

The Virtual Yard Sale is Open!!!

For no particular reason, Caren and I decided that this fall was a good time to take stock of our possessions and throw out the crap! Rather than just back the Explorer up to Goodwill and push everything out as we drive off with the tires squealing, we decided to hold a Yard Sale with some friends. Next Saturday (9/22/2007) we will be holding our Yard sale in Plano with our friends Ben and Elizabeth.

Sometimes one man's trash is another man's treasure. However, sometimes one man's trash is another man's, well, trash. With this understanding and a basic knowledge of microeconomics, we decided to take the stuff that wouldn't fetch a good price laid out on a sheet on a lawn and eBay it.

You can view our Virtual Yard Sale at http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZjkreusc

If you want to visit the real one, it is on 9/22/2007 in Plano. Email me for the time and address.

Saved $500 in 7 hours

Caren's car had been making an odd sound on a single, particular on ramp in Dallas. It was worse when the brakes were put on, so we went to Just Brakes and had her brakes checked out. They said she needed new brakes and that her calipers needed to be rebuilt, so we ponied up the $550 to get them done.

Not wanting to let my brakes go to the point where I needed to "rebuild my calipers" I decided to have my brakes checked. Just Brakes told me the same story and wanted the same $500, so I had a second opinion done. The dealership said the calipers were fine and maybe needed some grease, but I would need new pads and maybe rotors due to wear. I also needed a two year brake fluid flush. They wanted $600 just for the pads and flush without even addressing the rotors. To add those was another $400.

So, I got to reading the internet. I found these articles:

I used the flushing procedure from:
http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/brakefluid/

and the brake job writeup from:
http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179518

I decided to do them myself. Yesterday I took seven hours and did it all myself. It cost me about $350 in parts and tools. However, I now own the tools and know that I used quality parts. I don't know how Just Brakes could have done it for $500 unless they were using some really junky parts. I'm sure they would have been safe, but nevertheless, I'm going to check the Explorer for premature wear a little more frequently than otherwise now.

I had my difficulties, but I'm proud to say that I got it done, everything works and looks fine, and I didn't swear once!!!

Oh, and my calipers were fine. They just needed a little grease. Shocker.

I'm due for a coolant flush, so that may be a project for a couple of weeks from now. The dealer wants $100 for that and I can get it done for about $30 myself. I'll also learn more about my car which I plan to keep for another 15 years if I can. I may even attempt the timing belt, which is due at 100k miles, but according to most Passat sites should be done at around 65k miles due to a lot of failures that wind up costing you $2500 in damage.

If you're observant, you'll notice this posting is being written at 4:30AM on Mother's day. Let's just say that I'm a bit sore from working out and hunching over all day.