The wheel bearing went out on Paul’s car, the left front bearing. I diagnosed this last Friday by jacking it up and noticing that the wheel wiggled a lot. This, along with a horrible, bone-crunchingly loud and brutal sound whenever said wheel rolled anywhere at all, pointed to the wheel bearing. I told him he’d have to take it to a dealer, because I didn’t have a press to get it out with, but he offered to buy me a press if I’d change the bearing. This actually turned out pretty good, although he had to sleep on my couch last night because I couldn’t get the old outer bearing race pressed out of the steering knuckle. I had a press, you see, but nothing to mate the press (which has a 3/4″ diameter shaft) to the bearing (which has a 2″ hole in the middle).
This morning I went to Sears and picked up a Big Ass Socket™, 3/4″ drive and I’m not even sure what the bolt size is, just that it sits nicely on the inner lip of the bearing I was trying to press out. I got it home and had the old race pressed out within 30 seconds, the new bearing pressed in a minute later, and the car re-assembled within an hour. Unfortunately, the bearing (which was so broken that it fell out in my hands when I took the knuckle off) appears to have damaged the CV-joint, which makes a horrible noise as well. So, I’m going to have to take it apart Wednesday to replace the half-shaft, but that’s about a 1-hour job with the tools I’ve got now.
A great way to spend your day(s) off, to be sure, but at least now I’ve got a 12-ton hydraulic H-frame shop press. I don’t know whether to hope that I have another use for it sometime, or to hope that I don’t. 
Saturday I went to a party at a house that sat on the side of the Bull Creek valley, had 3 floors (5, actually, because they were all split level), and 5 little balconies which overlooked the pool at the bottom of the house and the valley below.
It was an awesome house, and a bad-ass party. My brother was spinning discs most of the night, even showing off some of his new turntablist stylings a bit. Later on the rest of the No Cents Crew (web site coming soon, as well as links to demo tracks) showed up, with Drunk Mark on the tables and Joe providing MC services until late in the morning. I passed out on a couch in the kitchen around 2, until we left at about 4. There wasn’t an ugly woman at that party, and there were a lot of women at that party. There was this one girl, Lindsey–I think she was somebody or other’s girlfriend–she had crazy beautiful blue-flecked eyes. They were striking in about the same way that a bat upside the head is. She chose the kegs for the party. She likes amber beers. That’s just cool.
