I think I finally triumphed over the server problems. For the past month, I had been having a problem with my Linux server where the network interface would go deaf. It retained the ability to send packets, but one-way transmission makes communications difficult, so the server was inaccessible. The most frustrating part of the problem was that it usually only occurred in the afternoon, magically fixing itself in the wee hours of the morning. Utilizing various tests, I determined that the problem was not: a cron script; another computer on the network; the router; an ARP failure; related to the internal real-time clock. I would have hooked up a terminal to the server during the deafness, but the box was 600 miles away in a locked room. I grew to suspect either a bad NIC or a bad driver in the kernel, so I purchased a new D-Link 10/100 card, drove to Indiana, and popped it in. The server hasn’t had any issues since then.

Yes, I am back in Indiana. More on that in a moment…

Two weeks ago, I received a motorcycle endorsement on my Minnesota driver’s license. I took the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center‘s ‘Basic Rider’ course to supplement my previous experience and to garner a skills test exemption. The course was excellent; I highly recommend it. Now all I need is a suitable bike. I would like a mid-90’s super-sport ‘crotch rocket,’ perhaps a Katana 600 or a CBR600F3. If only I had the money…

The day after I got my endorsement, I had my two lower wisdom teeth extracted. I had enjoyed my last ‘real meal’ the previous Saturday: an Applewood burger at Bar Abeline with Justin, Webb, and Eric. Monday did not arrive fresh and rosy-fingered; rather, it was dark and storming. My mom drove me to the oral surgeon’s office, the logic being that I would be unfit to drive after the extraction. I checked in, signed a liability waiver, and was led to a room with a TV. A nurse started a short video tape explaining the procedure, potential side effects, and post-operative care. I met the surgeon then was led to the surgical suite. I had previously been given the choice of local or general anesthesia. To minimize potential complications, I decided to have local anesthesia. This consisted of nitrous oxide (“Laughing gas”) as a sedative and lidocaine as a anesthetic. A nurse started up the nitrous oxide, and I breathed it heavily. In short order, I was tripping on Cloud 9. I felt like I was floating, and suddenly I started babbling to the nurse. Whenever I said anything, I would end the phrase with a chuckle, not unlike the Beavis and Butthead laugh. Oddly, I was fully aware that my comments weren’t funny, but I could not resist laughing and talking more. I recall apologizing for acting so childish, a comment that, of course, was ended with a giggle. The surgeon noticed my drugged behavior and turned down the nitrous a bit. On went the topical anesthetic, in went the lidocaine needles, down went the plungers. Wait five minutes for maximum potency. I never lost consciousness, but I abandoned all concepts of time. In what seemed like five minutes, my two wisdom teeth were out, the stitches were in, and I was returning to earth via pure oxygen. The surgery actually took about half an hour. I felt no pain, as the lidocaine was still active, but I received prescriptions for Vioxx and Vicodin “just in case.” My mom drove me home where I relaxed in a chair, changing the gauze in my mouth every half-hour. The bleeding for my right tooth stopped in about two hours; the left took about four. After a while I made and carefully consumed a smoothie. The taste was bland, thanks to my tongue and mouth being completely numb. Several smoothies later, about ten hours after surgery, the numbness dissipated. I was quite happy, and not just because I no longer was drooling on myself: the lack of numbness meant that my nerve had not been injured during the procedure. I quickly tired of smoothies. By end of the day following surgery, I was carefully eating Fig Newtons. By Friday I was eating Hawaiian burgers at a joint in Wichita, Kansas. It has been almost two weeks since the surgery. I am eating everything I always ate. At no time did I ever feel any pain — and not because of the Vioxx and Vicodin, for I took a total of two Vioxx pills and no Vicodin. Did you hear that, world? I had my two lower wisdom teeth removed, experienced absolutely no pain, and was essentially back to normal food within 96 hours.

Did I mention Wichita? Yep, it appears I did. Last weekend I went to Wichita, Kansas with my friend Eric for the GM W-Body Gathering in Eric’s Grand Prix GTP. It was fun, although Eric had a bad experience washing his car. First, the car wash pressure washer stripped a chunk of paint from his car. Next, while drying his car, he discovered that the towels were leaving some sort of white film on his black car. At about the same time, he noticed that his aftermarket high-polish rims had been corroded by something during the wash. After getting back in the car and starting it up, the ABS and Traction Control lights came on, probably due to his washing of the engine bay. We got back to the hotel (Saturday night) and started working on the ABS problem. At this point the “Service Engine Soon” light came on and the transmission started acting very strangely. Not wanting to make maters worse, and at this point having an undrivable vehicle, Eric decided not to dyno nor drag race his car. After the dyno and drag racing times (now Sunday evening), we returned to the hotel to work on the car some more. Numerous repair methods were employed, but in the end, the problem turned out to be a fuse. With the fuse replaced, the car ran like a dream, albeit with the ABS and TC lights on. Monday morning we packed up and returned to Minnesota. To get to Wichita, we drove on the Kansas Turnpike. There are many ranches along that road, though very few buildings and even fewer access ramps. However, there are so many cattle that bridges have been built over the freeway exclusively for the livestock!

The Fourth of July was fun. I had the chance to ride a 110 h.p. Polaris SL900 personal watercraft (a.k.a. Jetski). What a rush! There’s nothing quite like jumping waves at 50 m.p.h. Sure, PWC’s are loud and annoying, but they’re so much fun that nothing else should matter.

I returned to Terre Haute on Friday. For the summer, I’ll be staying at the Pike house. Right now I’m the only one on the grounds, so I’m eerily lonely. Seven other Brothers will be coming back on Sunday, so human interaction should pick up a bit next week. Things are a bit of a mess here, so I spent all of Saturday cleaning around the House and running errands. The question is: why did I come back? The answer will need to wait for a future entry…