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Gone but Not Forgotten

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Beloved Fanbase,  Kruse Kontrol, like all good things, must come to an end. Thankfully, this feels like a good place to end, and there won't be a shittily written sequel, no matter how much clamor I get from the press.  My last week was a triumph. I changed my own tires.*  I also finally got to take an engine apart! Below are pictures from the various stages in the process. While it is now on its way to the recycler, it was truly a learning experience, if only in how to use power tools effectively. This post is supposed to have some reflection elements, so I’ll make sure to answer the questions given by the prompt, as I haven’t actually done that for any of the past blogs and I feel bad. Remember to reflect on your progress towards your initial goals, how those goals may have shifted/changed, and what impact this time has had on you overall. Well, I think my only real goal was to learn as much as possible. I definitely accomplished this, and I have a notebook ...
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The Boyz (and Girl) R Back

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  Safety first, kids.  Well, friends, I'm finally back! I've regained some use of my leg, enough to crutch around the shop, so I managed to make it down there thrice this week. I spent a lot of time in my precious rolly chair (you don't know how heavy your leg is until it's hanging like a piece of meat in a butcher's shop from your hip), and generally was a hindrance to all.  It was an eventful week at the shop, involving two stolen cars, broken radiators, the inevitable oil changes, and some offroading tires. A lot of starter problems came in this week, as well as broken ACs and radiators-- with the heat came people using their air conditioning systems for the first time in probably 9 months.  With one week remaining in my senior project, I've set two goals:  1) learn how to change the tires on my car. While I've learned how to change tires in the shop, if I ever get a flat on the road, it's likely I won't have access to the specialized tools that t...
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Week the Second

* note: due to peer pressure, this blog will henceforth be known as Kruse Kontrol. I personally liked The Kruse Korner, but I oblige my many fans. *  Alas, friends. I thought 2020 was going to run away with the "Shittiest Year Award", but 2021 has since proven itself a contender. Tragedy struck last Friday night at my state championship lacrosse game, when I took a hard fall with 7 minutes left in regulation. I tore my ACL, partially tore my MCL, and dislocated my kneecap. And then Jesuit beat us in triple overtime. As such, I have not been in the shop very much this week.  Instead, I've been doing an unprecedented amount of staring at the wall. I actually looked back at my notes from last week twice, which is something I rarely do (why focus on the past? I answer: boredom). Other than that, I can't reasonably claim to have done anything senior projecty this week, so I shall instead regale you with my exciting adventures from my bed. I watched both the quarter and sem...
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Day 1

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 Hellooooooo to my dedicated fanbase of readers. I should give you a fandom name. The Kruserators. no. we'll work on that. if you have ideas, put 'em in the comments. Well, everyone, it's officially my second day over at Pearl Auto Services. It's a slow morning, so I'm taking this time to make a blog post while one of the technicians builds a secret false trunk for a car.  The car that had to have two bushings replaced -- it took 3 and a half hours for these two little plastic donut looking things to get in there. So far, I've mostly been lurking next to Matt and Nathan, the two technicians, while they deal with any and all problems that a car might have. Everyone here has been ridiculously kind, tolerating what are probably stupid questions with patience, and going out of their way to explain things to me. Yesterday alone I essentially learned how an engine worked, and then got to see two timing belt replacements, upwards of four oil changes, an internal engine...
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