Omen, New Zealand, and Brake Smoke
Thursday, Apr. 03, 2003

1. It�s like an omen or something. I�ve been past two microwaves in the last 24 hours and both had the number 1 listed on them. Impatient people who can�t wait another second to get their stuff, I guess. But it�s freaky.

2. Last night at church, during a prayer, the fellow said something like �We pray for a new zeal and hope�. Maybe it wasn�t hope, but it was New Zealand. I almost laughed out loud. It wasn�t a guffaw that I was suppressing, but a giggle.

3. I drove over Green Mountain yesterday after work, just for fun. By the time I had gotten down the back side, and I was stuck behind a pickup on the way down, and then I got over to 431, I stop and when I�m looking to my left to see if any traffic is coming, I see, out of the corner of my eye, smoke. I get out and when you got three feet from my rear driver-side wheel you could feel the heat. And you could sure smell it. My brake pad was cooking.

Since none of the other brake pads were doing that (and you�d expect the front ones to do it first), I suspected something. For some reason that back brake is either kicking in before the other brakes or something.

I searched on Miata.net and more than likely what happened was that my parking brake cable bound up and applied a little pressure to the pad while I was driving. I need to lube that thing.

Before I took off again, I put the car in reverse and got up a little speed. I remember from the 323 that going in reverse and hitting the brakes would reset the springs or something. Maybe that�s drum brakes (of which I have none).

I drove some and then stopped at Hampton Cove�s shopping area and checked it out and it wasn�t doing it anymore. Back on the road, and since I didn�t really like sitting at a red light, and if I stayed with that pack I�d be (a) stuck in a pack and (b) stuck in a pack at the next red light. So I took a right and ended up in Gurley, Alabama. I was tempted to take Dug Hill back to Governors, but it was getting around five so I headed home.

Oh, and you know how I�ve mentioned that Zaino attracts dust. Oooh, buddy, it�s true. Pollen too.