Peace,
Tor
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Eye of Newt
Newt Gingrich is hawking his new book, but as always, despite the intense demonization he experienced in the 90s, his ideas are well stated and thoughtful. While I am a libertarian, not a conservative, I am heartened by his attempt to bring to light the difference between supporting people you want to get into power and supporting people who will give power back to you.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Retreat of Antarctic ice gathers pace
An update on the climate-change front. Note what one of the authors says:
David Vaughan, one of the authors of the study, said: "The widespread retreat of the glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula over the past 50 years was largely caused by climate change. Are humans responsible? We can't say for sure but we are one step closer to answering this important question."
Yes, the answer will come in steps, so let's not do anything rash in the meantime.
Peace,
Tor
When Two Side Go to War
When an in-law of the Kennedy clan wears a wire to take down Clinton operatives, you know there's got to be more to the story. Howie Carr has been really enjoying this story which is, so far, avoiding the notice of most sites.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Thursday, April 21, 2005
An Example of What You're Not Supposed to Eat
This is the most terrible thing I have heard this week. There have been several stories here in Maine about animals in terrible situations over the last few days, but this one from our neighbors to the north is absolutely atrocious.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
You Are What You Think You're Supposed To Eat
I'm going back to the four food groups taught to me in my fraternity: Crunchy, Salty, Chocolatey, and Individually Wrapped.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Anathema
I was just so impressed to see the word "anathema" in print, that I had to point it out.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Monday, April 18, 2005
Stuck in the Mud, part DOH!!
Here's the rest of the unbelievable saga concerning my wife's 1988 Volvo 240 DL.
As you might recall, I had finally set the alternator ground correctly. So the following morning, the most nearly perfect woman set out again for Portland. She got to exactly the same spot where the car died previously, and ..... not poooof, but WHOOOOSH! Smoke billowed from beneath the car! She stopped, and found transmission fluid pouring out on the ground. She luckily had some more in the trunk, put it in, and drove right home.
Now, I have to admit I was quite worried that driving even a short distance with low tranny fluid might have ruined it. I was also quite worried that she might have seriously reinjured her ankle when she kicked the fender. (Yes, the recent car woes are just the capstone on a winter that's been hard for many reasons.)
I was able to Google some Usenet discussions on repairing transmission cooling lines, and found that some had had success with EFI fuel line. If you ever need to do it, just make sure the inner diameter of the reinforced rubber tube is the same as the outer diameter of the cooking line. Cut off as little of the cooling line as you can get away with, and extend the rubber line at least three inches along each end of the cooling line. I used four clamps on each end of the hose, because wotthehell clamps is cheap.
So far, so good. It seems the tranny fluid was never down more than about a quart, so nothing too ruinous occurred. No leaks yet, either. Just a ruined vacation for my poor wife, who most definitely deserved far better.
Peace,
Tor
As you might recall, I had finally set the alternator ground correctly. So the following morning, the most nearly perfect woman set out again for Portland. She got to exactly the same spot where the car died previously, and ..... not poooof, but WHOOOOSH! Smoke billowed from beneath the car! She stopped, and found transmission fluid pouring out on the ground. She luckily had some more in the trunk, put it in, and drove right home.
Now, I have to admit I was quite worried that driving even a short distance with low tranny fluid might have ruined it. I was also quite worried that she might have seriously reinjured her ankle when she kicked the fender. (Yes, the recent car woes are just the capstone on a winter that's been hard for many reasons.)
I was able to Google some Usenet discussions on repairing transmission cooling lines, and found that some had had success with EFI fuel line. If you ever need to do it, just make sure the inner diameter of the reinforced rubber tube is the same as the outer diameter of the cooking line. Cut off as little of the cooling line as you can get away with, and extend the rubber line at least three inches along each end of the cooling line. I used four clamps on each end of the hose, because wotthehell clamps is cheap.
So far, so good. It seems the tranny fluid was never down more than about a quart, so nothing too ruinous occurred. No leaks yet, either. Just a ruined vacation for my poor wife, who most definitely deserved far better.
Peace,
Tor
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Disembodied Brain sci-fi weblog | Speculating on what's inside the bunker on ABC's Lost
Disembodied Brain sci-fi weblog | Speculating on what's inside the bunker on ABC's Lost
As a fan of this wonderful show, I couldn't help but pass this column on to all who might want to read it....
Peace,
Tor
Stuck in the Mud
For the five people out there who are fascinated by Range Rovers, I can proudly report that I managed to remove the broken shifter cable from my 1987 Rangie. I plan to install the new one Saturday.
A few weeks ago, a couple of traumatic events occurred, which greatly delayed the repair of the Rover, and yet underscored the desirability of getting it repaired quickly. My wife and I managed to get both of our vehicles (hers an '88 Volvo, mine a '90 Honda) stuck on our muddy road. We were two of at least five who were stuck that day. I was the last one, returning home after an evening shift at one of my jobs.
I managed to stave the heck out of my jerry-rigged exhaust system. I eventually needed to replace everything between the catalytic converter and the muffler. Oh, wasn't that fun, sawing off those bolts under a car with about two feet of clearance afforded by ramps, atop an extremely un-waterproof tarp on a muddy area that averaged fifteen degrees Fahrenheit.
But I get ahead of myself. Before I could try and fix my exhaust, I had to deal with issues that bedeviled my wife's car. Her alternator decided to crap out a couple of days after being extracted from the quagmire. I stayed home from work one day, and took about five hours to remove the cursed thing. I believe we will never buy another Volvo for this reason. I have never seen an alternator so difficult to access and remove.
Anyway, I did manage to get it off and get the new one on. However, because it had been so many hours since I had removed the wiring from the old alternator, and the terminal screws on the new one did not exactly match up position-wise, I decided that the new alternator must be self-grounding through the mounting bolts. This was a major mistake. When I tested the new alternator, all seemed well. However, the grounding wire must have been just touching one of the many spots on the alternator that would ground it. When my lovey-dove undertook again her trip to Portland.....poooof! No go.
At this time, I observed the battery was dead. I charged it, started the car, and tested the charging system again. Everything seemed fine. Then .......pooooof! I figured the battery couldn't handle the load, so we bought a new battery. Everything seemed fine. Then.....pooooof! At least now I was finally able to see that the charging system wasn't working.
So here's a hint to anyone installing a new alternator, especially if you can't figure out where the grounding wire should go: The ground is important. There are probably many places you can attach it. As I discovered, the remanufacturers at Auto Zone had place at least eight small bolt-ends for my grounding convenience.
More later, and peace,
Tor
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
John Stossel gets it from the Global Warming crowd
Another interesting essay about the political side of the global warming debate. By the way, I still intend to follow up on the other readings that were suggested to me earlier about this subject.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
More Fair Tax activity
There's more of the (tax) seasonal excitement eddying about this year, it seems. Most Americans seem to be against a flat tax system, as recently championed by Steve Forbes. I'm still hoping that the Fair Tax will gain some ground this time around, or at least get out of committee.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
CNN.com - N.J. lawmaker wants poker shows to chip in for addicts - Mar 9, 2005
CNN.com - N.J. lawmaker wants poker shows to chip in for addicts - Mar 9, 2005
Now here's an idea!!
I'm already thinking about other shows we can tax (to offset their deleterious effects upon society, of course).
We can tax NASCAR race shows, and set up a fund to help those who have been victimized by speeders.
We can tax Figure Skating shows, to help those who have slipped on the ice.
We can tax cooking shows, to help overweight people.
We can tax CSI, Law&Order, and similar franchises, well, just because there are too many of them, and they're crowding decent programming off the schedule.
Peace,
Tor
Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Sun's Temper Blamed for Arctic Ozone Loss
Sun's Temper Blamed for Arctic Ozone Loss
Here's another reason that I am skeptical of the doom-and-gloom claims of the Global Warming alarmists. I have seen other recent articles that point to solar activity as having a much more profound effect on Earth's climate than anything that humans could imagine doing.
Peace,
Tor
Friday, February 25, 2005
The F-Bomb at War, or at War with the F-Bomb?
As a part-time projectionist at a local theatre, I am always being asked my opinion about the suitability of current films for children. I think Variety's description of the hearing appealing the "R" rating for this movie is a good argument for revamping the rating system. We need a rating system that simply enumerates incidents of bad language, nudity, sexual innuendo or violence. To be truthful, I think that some of the violence that occurs in PG-13 movies is a bit much for most 13-year olds.
I had several people ask me, after they had already bought their tickets and seated their family to see Meet the Fockers, whether it was okay to take their 6 or 7-year olds. The only comment I could really give was, "If you saw the first movie, and thought it was ok, you'll think this one is ok, too. If you thought it was inappropriate for your kids, this one will be even more so." The PG-13 rating in and of itself was of little help to the parents.
Peace,
Tor
I had several people ask me, after they had already bought their tickets and seated their family to see Meet the Fockers, whether it was okay to take their 6 or 7-year olds. The only comment I could really give was, "If you saw the first movie, and thought it was ok, you'll think this one is ok, too. If you thought it was inappropriate for your kids, this one will be even more so." The PG-13 rating in and of itself was of little help to the parents.
Peace,
Tor
These Automatic Times
The degree of automation in our modern world can become extremely annoying at times. There is an Irving Oil convenience store in Belfast, Maine, with restroom toilets that automatically flush. At least the ones in the men's room do. I am normally in favor of this type of toilet in public restrooms; however, the ones in this restroom will flush seven or eight times while you are enthroned. I have left a few notes in their suggestion box letting them know of the problem, but nothing has been done. Still, it is a very clean facility, and the folks who work there are extremely pleasant. Hopefully some Irving Oil manager will read this. Please feel free to forward this if you know where it should go.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Can't Get There From Here
The good folks at alt.fan.landrover have counseled me that I should get a new gear shift lever for the Range Rover, and not try and mend the one I've got. Thereto, I have bought a salvaged item from eBay for about 80 buckaroos. Hopefully, I'll have a warmish day after it arrives to try and install it. A pleasant late winter/early spring project, eh? I remember two falls ago, I had to rebuild all four brake calipers, replace the front rotors and all four sets of brake pads. The first side of the front axle took about 12 hours. The other side, once I knew what I was doing and had all the tools to hand, took about 4. The rear, of course, not involving new rotors, took about 5 hours for both sides.
The one thing you should know, if you have to change a rotor on the front of a Range Rover Classic, is that you should do everything possible, and then some, to keep track of the swivel housing drain plug. I put the drain plug, the level plug and the fill plug into a plastic bag, sealed it, and put it in the back of the truck for safekeeping. Of course, when I needed them back, I found the drain plug was no longer in the sealed bag. I must have spent two hours on the lawn, patting it with my palm, to no avail. I had to wait two days, and pay eight bucks for shipping a 75 cent plug.
Peace,
Tor
The one thing you should know, if you have to change a rotor on the front of a Range Rover Classic, is that you should do everything possible, and then some, to keep track of the swivel housing drain plug. I put the drain plug, the level plug and the fill plug into a plastic bag, sealed it, and put it in the back of the truck for safekeeping. Of course, when I needed them back, I found the drain plug was no longer in the sealed bag. I must have spent two hours on the lawn, patting it with my palm, to no avail. I had to wait two days, and pay eight bucks for shipping a 75 cent plug.
Peace,
Tor
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
So How's the Rangie Doing?
Of course, just when you think that your Range Rover is in fairly decent working order, something traumatic happens. Sunday afternoon, as I was preparing to head in to run matinees at the movie theater, I started the old girl up. This in itself was a wonderful thing, and further proof that the battery that had been replace the previous week had indeed been defective.
The trouble started as I tried to shift the automatic transmission into gear. The lever moved, but with great difficulty. I tried moving it back and forth, and after a few tries, the lever was moving totally freely. But TOOOOOOOOO freely.
So I turned the Rangie off, and took the Honda Civic to work. On Monday (a rare day off from my day job), I took the cover off the lever box and found that the shift cable had snapped right at where it joins the lever. I'm hoping to be able to take the whole cable off this weekend, clean and lubricate it, and reattach it somehow. If anyone has any good suggestions, I'm all ears. I might end up buying a new or salvaged cable, tho. New ones run ---aaaaghh!--- $300.00 or more. I did find a salvaged one on eBay that would run about a third of that.
Stay tuned.
Peace,
Tor
The trouble started as I tried to shift the automatic transmission into gear. The lever moved, but with great difficulty. I tried moving it back and forth, and after a few tries, the lever was moving totally freely. But TOOOOOOOOO freely.
So I turned the Rangie off, and took the Honda Civic to work. On Monday (a rare day off from my day job), I took the cover off the lever box and found that the shift cable had snapped right at where it joins the lever. I'm hoping to be able to take the whole cable off this weekend, clean and lubricate it, and reattach it somehow. If anyone has any good suggestions, I'm all ears. I might end up buying a new or salvaged cable, tho. New ones run ---aaaaghh!--- $300.00 or more. I did find a salvaged one on eBay that would run about a third of that.
Stay tuned.
Peace,
Tor
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Crichton: Aliens Cause Global Warming
Everyone needs to read this extremely well-written speech from the author of State of Fear. It seems odd that science fiction authors are so often more scientifically literate than the bureaucrats who are supposed to act upon the results of science.
Peace,
Tor
Peace,
Tor
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars
Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars
I don't believe it is possible to understate the enormousness of the possibility of microbial life on Mars. If the entire space program were to be shut down with the exception of sending drilling probes to Rio Tinto, it would be well worth the effort.
Peace,
Tor
I don't believe it is possible to understate the enormousness of the possibility of microbial life on Mars. If the entire space program were to be shut down with the exception of sending drilling probes to Rio Tinto, it would be well worth the effort.
Peace,
Tor
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