The Right Tool

This morning I took my son to Snowbird and we arrived at 6:45 am. He is on the ski team and has early morning training all of this week and the next. That means he gets to race down the mountain 2 hours before the general public is even allowed to load the lifts. In the past I have just gone to sleep in the car. One of my Christmas gifts was a set of climbing skins to go with my super fat powder skis that also have backcountry bindings. So instead of sleeping in the car, I got out of the car and hiked up the mountain. It has been difficult hiking in the past because I have had to carry my skis and hike in my hard-plastic ski boots. Having the right equipment makes things so much easier.

As I have had a lot of time off because of the Christmas break, I have also been working with my oldest son to fix his car. He is driving a 1996 Jeep Cherokee that keeps misfiring. This problem was occurring when we purchased the vehicle and the dealership that sold it to us was trying to narrow down the problem before we took over. They replaced the spark plugs and distributor cap. They also gave us a fuel filter that we had to install. We also replaced the fuel injectors thanks to a local salvage yard. While things keep getting better, we are still not solving the problem completely. I have narrowed it down to 2 possible problems: The fuel pump or a broken valve spring. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to figure out either one. So this afternoon, I will head to my local auto parts store and borrow a fuel pressure gauge and a compression test gauge. Both are necessary to further diagnose the problem. Having the right tool is very important for me to finish this job.

Computers, tablet computers, and smart phones are another area where it is important to have the right tool. While you can edit an electronic photo with a paint program, it is significantly easier with a photo editing program like Adobe's Photoshop or the open source program GIMP. So if you find yourself taking a lot of time to do something on your computer, tablet, or phone, you might not be using the right tool. Chances are, there's an app for that.