Today and after a long weekend of heavy rains with extreme wind --- more about that later --- the morning was technically warmer than it's been, but it also featured that fine drizzling rain which makes the weather colder than if it were just cold and sunny, or even just cold and not rainy. For that matter, it was the kind of rain which makes it colder than if it were snow falling down. This is the kind of weather which in the Mercury Sable would inspire a malfunction in some part which, most likely, could be fixed enough to work for a few days, or for a trip to the mechanics', but only after a lot of time spent writhing on the soaking wet concrete moving around stuff in the least accessible spot of the coldest part of the car frame.
So why was it that I was surprised my Scion's dashboard light turned on the tire pressure warning gauge?
As best as I could determine, the rear passenger's side was flat, and I got to have my first experience with changing tires given the new tire locks and the jack which is supposed to lock into a rim along the car's underside. I'm not certain I had it positioned right, and I hate to think that I mauled the frame of my still-new car lifting it into place. On the other hand putting the tire back on went surprisingly quicker and more easy than the old one required. But the tire pressure dashboard light was still on, leaving me to wonder, was I sure I had changed the right tire for the spare? My mother assured me that, based on her Toyota Something's standard, the tire pressure light would be on for as long as I had the spare on, thus guaranteeing that this signal would not verify for me that I had taken off the correct tire. Yes, it's obvious to visual inspection which of the four tires is low, but (a) I'm an obsessive-compulsive nut, and (b) what guarantee do I have that only the one tire is flat?
But I did drive into work successfully despite the only one tire being changed.
Trivia: Between March 1929 and August 1931 the Ford work force shrank from 128,000 to 37,000 people. Source: Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire, Richard Bak.
Currently Reading: The Ultimate History Of Video Games, Steven L Kent.