Good evening, my name is TruckeeDave, and I'm a one hour before bedtime electronic gadget abuser...
OK, it's impossible not to be overstimulated today...Tsunami coverage has been intense...and non-stop.
When I set about writing this post, I had planned on a sweet diversion in the arms of comfortable old Americana...Cactus League Baseball on TV.
Wouldn't you know it...preempted by continuing tsunami coverage...I clicked around the dial in vain, and settled on KPIX5 CBS in San Francisco for some LIVE tsunami surge still ongoing 20+ hours after the Japan Quake, and 10 hours since the tsunami surge swamped the Santa Cruz Harbor.
Amazing the power of the sea when contained in a deep south-facing harbor. At least $15 Million in damage. Five boats sunk outright, another 100 damaged, and $10 Million in damage to the harbor itself.
I'm Saved!
Clicking back in search of baseball, I watched the SF Giants pound San Diego Padres pitcher Mat Latos for four runs in the first. Interestingly, the telecast is having trouble with it's gadgets...they've been going back and forth with the audio feed...from full-fidelity audio, to over the phone backup.
Even with the TV snafus, I can feel the tsunami tension ebbing...I'll be asleep before this game's over.
I'm thinking it's satellite troubles...the whole video feed just hiccuped...still, so far I've seen some amazing baseball...stolen bases, hit batsman, great defensive play, and Giants' hurler Tim Lincecum is on his game.
Again my world is spinning in greased grooves...this does play in Peoria Arizona...
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Down Time
So, I have accepted my fate...mechanically speaking...
This morning I whined: "This 'playing hurt' is for the birds, unless you're a millionaire pro athlete"...
Here's the deal...Tuesday, while installing the new ignition module in my pickup, I lost my footing while fully stretched out over the pickup's V8, and I fell onto the edge of the front fender, causing an unsettling noise like breaking celery stalks. I heard my sternum make this same noise several years ago when I fell onto a 2X12 deck joist while building a deck at a friend's place. Fractured cartilage?
Then yesterday, my landlord generously offered me the use of his little Toyota "as a parts runner" if I'd like, just dig it out and here's the key!
It was toasty warm as I shoveled the two feet of wet, settled snow off the parts runner. I shoehorned myself into the driver's seat and ran downtown. Safeway, Truckee Bagel Co, and the Auto Parts Store to pick up my new distributor. I put the Toyota back in it's spot, made lunch, and turned in early...all was right with the world, I shuffled off to Dreamland a totally satisfied man, at peace with my world.
After my first sleep shift I awoke to find myself having painful spasms from said sternum cartilage...ouch! Nothing a hot shower and a stiff rum cocktail couldn't fix!
So, here I am 24 hours later, regretting the shoveling but thanking the rum. Spasms gone, dull pain hanging in as a reminder to take it easy for a while.
Damn, laughing isn't always the best medicine...Patrick Warburton is killing me tonight!
I'm wondering about the etymology of "That cracks me up"...
About the sleep shifts...
CBS ran a story the other day citing a study that says: "Electronic gadgets are screwing up our sleep cycles"
I saw it on Sacramento's Good Day Sacramento (GDS)
Watch the video here
I am one of the 95%...Guilty...could be something here...last summer I changed the desktop on my laptop to a beautiful astrograph of the Milky Way...nice and dark...it may not be dark enough...could be messin' with my body clock...
Nice to see Taryn Winter Brill again, she was co-anchor of GDS when I started watching a few years ago, back when I called it the "Trainwreck News" GDS is still off the hook, but it's a ratings winner...not to mention vastly entertaining!
This morning I whined: "This 'playing hurt' is for the birds, unless you're a millionaire pro athlete"...
Here's the deal...Tuesday, while installing the new ignition module in my pickup, I lost my footing while fully stretched out over the pickup's V8, and I fell onto the edge of the front fender, causing an unsettling noise like breaking celery stalks. I heard my sternum make this same noise several years ago when I fell onto a 2X12 deck joist while building a deck at a friend's place. Fractured cartilage?
Then yesterday, my landlord generously offered me the use of his little Toyota "as a parts runner" if I'd like, just dig it out and here's the key!
It was toasty warm as I shoveled the two feet of wet, settled snow off the parts runner. I shoehorned myself into the driver's seat and ran downtown. Safeway, Truckee Bagel Co, and the Auto Parts Store to pick up my new distributor. I put the Toyota back in it's spot, made lunch, and turned in early...all was right with the world, I shuffled off to Dreamland a totally satisfied man, at peace with my world.
After my first sleep shift I awoke to find myself having painful spasms from said sternum cartilage...ouch! Nothing a hot shower and a stiff rum cocktail couldn't fix!
So, here I am 24 hours later, regretting the shoveling but thanking the rum. Spasms gone, dull pain hanging in as a reminder to take it easy for a while.
Damn, laughing isn't always the best medicine...Patrick Warburton is killing me tonight!
I'm wondering about the etymology of "That cracks me up"...
About the sleep shifts...
CBS ran a story the other day citing a study that says: "Electronic gadgets are screwing up our sleep cycles"
I saw it on Sacramento's Good Day Sacramento (GDS)
Watch the video here
I am one of the 95%...Guilty...could be something here...last summer I changed the desktop on my laptop to a beautiful astrograph of the Milky Way...nice and dark...it may not be dark enough...could be messin' with my body clock...
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Runnin' On MT
This CAR WARS dealio is kickin' my butt.
I've fought it to a draw so far...more in the morning...
6:40PM Update
My morning "nap" is over...I fell asleep during the Noon News after a decent night on the hill, and an early out.
Suffice it to say I'm taking my body's advice and giving in to Fate...my pickup's distributor R&R project will have to wait until my weekend.
Hmm, the weatherman said I slept through today's "storm"...not much accumulation here at the DaveCave, chain controls were up briefly on westbound I-80, but a check of the webcams shows the wet pavement and setting sun.
It looks like just a couple of inches...no more than three...
Nap time again...
I've fought it to a draw so far...more in the morning...
6:40PM Update
My morning "nap" is over...I fell asleep during the Noon News after a decent night on the hill, and an early out.
Suffice it to say I'm taking my body's advice and giving in to Fate...my pickup's distributor R&R project will have to wait until my weekend.
Hmm, the weatherman said I slept through today's "storm"...not much accumulation here at the DaveCave, chain controls were up briefly on westbound I-80, but a check of the webcams shows the wet pavement and setting sun.
It looks like just a couple of inches...no more than three...
Nap time again...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
No Rest for The Wicked Redux...
It is after all, Fat Tuesday...the last hurrah before the Lenten Season begins...So much for my "weekend"...
The wind and snow kept pace with my best laid plans, so I did the R&R of my pickup's Ignition module Tuesday just before noon.
The pickup starts...and I'm amazed! The wiring harness from the distributor's pickup fell apart in my hands when I unplugged it from the old module...why can't Detroit make a distriubtor that's good for 236K+ miles? Just kidding...
My call to the local Auto Parts Shop sealed my fate...my new distributor will be here in the morning...and by "here" I mean downtown at the Parts Shop...
Aside from fate having it's way with me today, I was a beautiful day here in Truckee..as long as you averted your eyes when passing a Gas Station! Gas is up 30 cents/Gal in Truckee this week! Ouch!
I had my digicam in the front seat of the pickup...my plan was to make some photos of the Gas Station Price Signs on my test drive...sigh...the best laid plans...BTW, that's $4.19.9/Gallon!
Why don't we announce that we're going to "drill, Baby drill"...the futures would drop by $50/BBL overnight! Hello OPEC! Hello DC!
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| I just missed "The Golden Hour" |
The pickup starts...and I'm amazed! The wiring harness from the distributor's pickup fell apart in my hands when I unplugged it from the old module...why can't Detroit make a distriubtor that's good for 236K+ miles? Just kidding...
My call to the local Auto Parts Shop sealed my fate...my new distributor will be here in the morning...and by "here" I mean downtown at the Parts Shop...
Aside from fate having it's way with me today, I was a beautiful day here in Truckee..as long as you averted your eyes when passing a Gas Station! Gas is up 30 cents/Gal in Truckee this week! Ouch!
I had my digicam in the front seat of the pickup...my plan was to make some photos of the Gas Station Price Signs on my test drive...sigh...the best laid plans...BTW, that's $4.19.9/Gallon!
Why don't we announce that we're going to "drill, Baby drill"...the futures would drop by $50/BBL overnight! Hello OPEC! Hello DC!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Still Missing?
My saga continues...
Last night I had trouble with my pickup...It would not start to save my life! I finally got it to run, and got to work 90 minutes late.
My tractor was listed on the Ready Board as "Down: Erratic Throttle" I called the Park Groomers and asked if they could spare a tractor, and they obliged. Twenty minutes later I was suiting up in their BisonX.
The piste was cooperating...not quite Hero Snow, but close enough...climbing was good enough to allow us to knock out the list despite having a winchcat offline, and a tardy leader.
About 0730 I had a new problem. I lost the pin that anchors the stinger's lift ram to the tractor's frame. I couldn't lift the tiller, and the ram was hanging straight down, digging a little trench at the centerline.
I radioed the Vehicle Shop for help, and the Graveyard Wrench snowmobiled out to me and we got the ram up out of the snow and strapped to the stinger's frame. I limped the BisonX back to the shop for what was supposed to be a quick fix. I pulled up to the fuel dock, and two mechanics descended on the stinger problem as I put 55 gallons of diesel in the tank. That's when they noticed a pretty big hydraulic leak...that's cat number three on the night's "Down List"...
The head mechanic said: "Your cat is all warmed up, you can take it if you need to." "I couldn't get it to do the erratic throttle thing in an hour of trying"...
We talked about the glitch, he showed me a couple of things I could do to help diagnose the cause....should the throttle go wacky again tonight. Our first BR350 had the same problem last season. They never figured out what the cause was, and the problem went away never to return.
I roared off to finish my list...Ol' Faithful didn't even hiccup.
After I put the tractor to bed, I talked with the Head Mechanic about my pickup's starting problem. Head Mechanic is a wizard on his stuff, he asked: "Is it a 350 with throttle body injection?" "Yes", I replied. Head Mechanic advised:"They have a history of the Ignition Module and Pickup going bad"
He related a few tips on the job and said: "Good Luck" I stopped by the Auto Parts Shop on my way home and picked up my parts...I'm gonna get greasy fingers this weekend.
Last night I had trouble with my pickup...It would not start to save my life! I finally got it to run, and got to work 90 minutes late.
My tractor was listed on the Ready Board as "Down: Erratic Throttle" I called the Park Groomers and asked if they could spare a tractor, and they obliged. Twenty minutes later I was suiting up in their BisonX.
The piste was cooperating...not quite Hero Snow, but close enough...climbing was good enough to allow us to knock out the list despite having a winchcat offline, and a tardy leader.
About 0730 I had a new problem. I lost the pin that anchors the stinger's lift ram to the tractor's frame. I couldn't lift the tiller, and the ram was hanging straight down, digging a little trench at the centerline.
I radioed the Vehicle Shop for help, and the Graveyard Wrench snowmobiled out to me and we got the ram up out of the snow and strapped to the stinger's frame. I limped the BisonX back to the shop for what was supposed to be a quick fix. I pulled up to the fuel dock, and two mechanics descended on the stinger problem as I put 55 gallons of diesel in the tank. That's when they noticed a pretty big hydraulic leak...that's cat number three on the night's "Down List"...
The head mechanic said: "Your cat is all warmed up, you can take it if you need to." "I couldn't get it to do the erratic throttle thing in an hour of trying"...
We talked about the glitch, he showed me a couple of things I could do to help diagnose the cause....should the throttle go wacky again tonight. Our first BR350 had the same problem last season. They never figured out what the cause was, and the problem went away never to return.
I roared off to finish my list...Ol' Faithful didn't even hiccup.
After I put the tractor to bed, I talked with the Head Mechanic about my pickup's starting problem. Head Mechanic is a wizard on his stuff, he asked: "Is it a 350 with throttle body injection?" "Yes", I replied. Head Mechanic advised:"They have a history of the Ignition Module and Pickup going bad"
He related a few tips on the job and said: "Good Luck" I stopped by the Auto Parts Shop on my way home and picked up my parts...I'm gonna get greasy fingers this weekend.
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