A while back little bro adopted a new Toyota Camry.
One of the features it comes with is the ability to play music off a USB stick..
So he grabbed a very nice Lexar brand USB 3.0 64 GB USB stick while at a local office-supply store and copied his music files to it.
Unfortunately it didn’t play. His old USB 2.0 1 GB stick worked fine in the vehicle.
He thought it might be a bad stick (or that the sound system didn’t support USB 3.0) and was getting ready to return it to the store but I asked him a few questions.
First he confirmed it was NTFS formatted. That’s pretty common on many newer USB 3.0 sticks I’ve seen lately. I suggested he might want to try formatting at FAT32.
Note: Per the 2017 Toyota Camry Owners Manual (page 272) this requirement was later confirmed: file system format needed to be FAT 16/32. Other important points are that the USB device can only have 8 levels of folder heirachy, a maximum of 3000 folders, a maximum of 9999 files, and a maximum of 255 files per folder. Files must be in MP3, WMA, or AAC format.
The next problem was that his Windows 10 system would only offer to format the device in exFAT.
So I had him go CMDo and run DISKPART.
DISKPART>list disk
DISKPART>select disk # <—picked # that represented USB stick on his system
DISKPART>clean
DISKPART>create partition primary
DISKPART>active
DISKPART>assign letter = E
DISKPART>format fs=fat32
DISKPART>exit
Only that netted him an error during the formatting process that the volume was too big.
Then I remembered a GUI utility from Ridgecrop Consultants Ltd that I used a long time ago.
It is free and can format FAT32 volumes beyond the normal 32 GB size limit that is sometimes encountered. It never let me down in the past.
He downloaded the tool, ran it as an admin, selected his USB drive, kept the defaut allocation unit size, and did a quick format on the 64 GB USB device. Done.
He tested and the USB stick (and media files) were now recognized with no issues by the sound system.
Mischief managed.
This seems to be a common issue many Toyota owners run into with newer/larger USB sticks so I thought I would drop a post for posterity.
OK. Here we go on another guided repair of the beloved 2003 Saturn Ion 3.
This time we are working on the HVAC control system.
Problem:
Over the past 1-2 years I noticed that the blower fan speed seemed to be getting “weaker”.
I eventually couldn’t tell any blower fan output difference between the speed 1 & 2 positions. The 3 position seemed OK and the 4 position seemed a bit faster. Changing out the cabin air filter is a easy place to start (and needs to be done regularly) but that didn’t help.
Since it is hot on the Texas Gulf coast, being set on 3 or 4 didn’t seem to matter.
Then about two months ago, Lavie and I were riding around town, she got too cool, and she turned the selector down to 2. The fan cut off. I moved it back to 3 and it was OK. However moving the switch position to 4 or to 2 or 1 caused the fan to cut off entirely. Hmmm.
So I lived with that for a few weeks, but then even 3 stopped working. No more fan meant no more AC meant Claus was a very warm boy.
Diagnostics:
Checked the HVAC breaker, it was fine.
HVAC Dash Control Unit - well the rear-window defroster button worked. The in-cabin air recirculation button seemed to work. The ventilation selector knob turned normally and the temperature selector turned. Not helpful information but OK.
The blower motor seemed to be running normally right up to the failure event. only problem was I (gradually) couldn’t select the speed.
Based on a read of these posts, I was pretty confident that blower control switch in the control panel had failed. It seemed like a fairly easy self-repair if I could just find the part and the time.
This video by richpin06a on YouTube sealed the deal. Note the demo car is a salvage so all the extra disassembly you see isn’t related to the specific task at hand.
ACDelco Parts - stepping through the filter (as seen below) I arrived at
Vehicle: 2003 - SATURN ION - L4-134ci 2.2L
Group: Heating/AC
Subgroup: AC Relays and Switches
Heating and Air Conditioning Control Panel with Rear Window Defogger Switch Part Number: 10388471 Product Notes:
HVAC Control Panel AC Man Cont(C60) ; 1 Per Veh
Per Vehicle: 1; Years: 2003-2005
Putting in the part # I then found that Amazon is an authorized ACDelco part supplier (who knew!) and so I ordered it from them. Current price at time of posting is just $121.41
Thanks to Amazon Prime it arrived two days later and was in pristine condition as a new part should be.
The Swap:
Again, brother and I had watched richpin06a’s how-to video until we had it burned in our skulls so we were set with the process. We set aside an hour to perform the task (underachievers that we both are).
I had a full mechanic’s toolkit at the ready but brother had also brought a 7mm flex shaft spanner and a hand-held pry tool. We ended up just using those. Here are some samples in case you are interested:
First begin by removing the negative terminal from the battery post. It’s located in the trunk under the floor cover. Note the photos below show the clock still on. These are retaken this morning as we didn’t capture pictures during the actual swap as planned. Please remove the power from the battery to be safe! I didn’t do the battery disconnect as I was only removing pieces but not fully disconnecting them.
The dash:
In the end rather than using a pry tool, I just reached into each vent and firmly tugged and pulled forward until I was able to release the metal clips from their slots. Doing so ensured I didn’t damage the plastic trim. The metal clips are strong, but once started, I was able to work by way around and get it released.
Here is a view after it is fully removed so you can see the metal clips and where they are located for reference.
Once the top is pulled open, gently unclip the hazard light harness connector from its button.
Then you can fully remove the trim cover insert. you can see the corresponding clip insert slots as well below. They are molded in the plastic so don’t go crazy pulling on the clips but it held up fine for me. I highlighted the only bolts you will be working with.
Remove the car radio next (I noted down all my radio pre-sets first before disconnecting the battery to make resetting them fast).
Unscrew the two upper bolts along side the radio unit. The bolts are long. You can back them off almost even to the outer trim. Be careful to get a good hold on them when you extract them or you might drop them inside the center console which can be a headache to re-find depending on how they bounce!
The radio is connected by three points, a clip-on ground wire (pull off), an antenna wire (pull out), and a harness connector (unclip). Just handle the connections carefully and you will be OK. Note the view below shows the radio unit rotated 180 degrees (upside down). That make access to the cables for removal a bit easier that “right-way up”.
With the radio removed you will have better access to the next stage of service. Note that the OEM GM radio does have some anti-theft technology that will disable the radio in certain conditions. Some people were worried about that and didn’t want to pull it out. I didn’t have any issues with fully removing/reconnecting it and it works just fine with no security reset required.
Don’t try to unscrew/remove the HVAC control unit head module yet. Trust me. There is no slack on the mechanical control cables so you will have to disconnect them while the unit is mounted.
The video makes removing the cable connectors seem pretty easy. It took me a bit of work and knuckle banging to get them released. I was about to use the pry tool but as my brother was handing it to me, I finally was able to get each of them unclipped and unhooked. If you look at them (or your replacement part) carefully, you will see it is more of a “spread-apart and pull cable straight up” motion.
Left side cable connection
Right side cable connection
Then unclip the two wiring harness connectors.
Now that all the connectors are free, unscrew the two bolts to each side of this HVAC control head module and lift it up a bit, then pull it forward and free.
All the hard work is now down.
Reverse the steps for the reinstallation. The control cables go back on much easier.
Once we had everything put back in place and done, battery connected, we turned the car over and tested the AC and the controls. Hazards worked, radio worked, defroster button lit, vent selector knob turned free with no binding, same for the temperature knob. The fan speed selector worked and a different blower speed was felt for each of the four positions (yea!) and the A/C and recirculation buttons worked fine and lit up as well. It took a while for the cabin to cool down but the A/C worked great.
Total repair time for the two knuckleheads (IT sysadmin & process safety engineer): 15 minutes tops from battery disconnect to full reassembly and testing.
Problem solved!
Part Comparison:
You can see in this picture that the blower switch selector appears to have burned out for some reason as there is clear melting of the housing compared to the new part.
Failed part with plastic melting - click to see fuller size.
Good part - click to see fuller size.
I suppose I might have been able to find just the switch part itself and swap that out, but for only $121 for the entire assembly it wasn’t a big deal to me and I was sure I was getting all new parts/electronic board/switch parts/etc.
Here are some photos of the breakers as well for the curious;
Breaker panel in the driver side foot-well. Turn the little upper-left screw with a nickel to open.
Guide label on reverse:
HVAC breaker itself in position and noted.
Saturn Parts Supply Part 2:
I had great luck finding this OEM part on Amazon but here are some other Saturn Ion part resources/vendors you might be interested in checking out for comparisons or other parts needed:
What was particularly invaluable for me was finding the part schematics that many vendors (such as GMPartsCenter) have online. This not only lets you verify the exact part/# you are looking for, but you can also do some detective work to figure out how the parts and assembly fit together so you can work out the service steps if there are no guides.
Wow. I just realized that about eleven years ago to the month I purchased a brand new Saturn Ion 3.
It was involved in one rather substantial front-end collision (I was stopped at a stop-sign and a collision in cross-street traffic spun a vehicle into mine). Repaired.
It was involved in one rather substantial rear end collision where two drivers coming off pit row…no wait..where two drivers merging onto the freeway via an on-ramp where traffic was stopped crashed into each other, and pushed into my stopped Saturn. Repaired.
I’ve been tagged from behind a few more times by other drivers where after consultation with the responding officers and the driver that rear-ended me, we all decided to call it a “tap” and call it a day. No harm no foul.
It has seen a few recalls, something with bushings, something with headlamp wiring harnesses, and just this past week or two, the ignition switch.
I decided to “punt” and let the dealer service department fix the issue with the driver/passenger door locks. Turns out (both sides) that it was the connecting rod from the main electronic switch assembly to the lock cylinders that had come loose and was obstructing my power window travel up and down (and inside lock latches). That is a cheap part and can often be fixed with some pliers. Unfortunately, in my case, when it broke it tore the connecting plastic to the lock cylinders. Those had to be replaced and they were not cheap. And then the labor costs!
I am not a mechanic but am pretty handy. I’ve pulled motors and transmissions before and have regularly changed belts, plugs, starters, alternators, and pumps. Unfortunately, major service just isn’t practical as the neighbors around the Valca micro-ranch generally frown upon major vehicle repair during daylight or nighttime hours.
However, I’ve decided that I really want to continue in a long-term relationship with the Ion so I’m regaining my confidence in fixing more of its parts.
Take for instance the side-door rear-view mirrors.
To do the door lock/cylinder repair work, the dealer shop had to remove the side mirrors and the door panels.
Only on the driver’s side, they failed to reinstall the side-view mirror properly and there was a 1/4” gap at the leading edge to the window frame. Sure I could have taken a few hours off work, driven half-way across the Houston-Metro area back to the dealership, and gotten “warranty” service for shoddy craftsmanship, but hey…today was a sunny day!
I was all-in for the challenge of refitting the side mirror mounting to restore the fit.
The mirror unit was firmly attached to the door frame and there was no change of firmly pushing it back into place without some disassembly work.
I’d already done research a few month’s ago on how to remove the door panels when I debated taking on the door latch rod repair so I was already familiar with the general process.
Those gave me the remaining info I needed, though the detailed close-up views are a bit lacking in the videos.
So here are some up-close photos just in case someone needs to reference them.
First remove this plastic panel piece. You can do it with your hands. Pull (peel) it down from the top. There is a single metal clip holding it in place up in the top left 3/4 area. the bottom edge has some plastic tabs that hook into the inner door panel so don’t pull/pry from the bottom or sides. Peel-pull it downward. If you must pry, do so from the top and use a putty knife to avoid messing up the plastic trim edge. After a little bit of firm resistance the clip released and it popped right of in my hands.
Behind it you will see a foam sound deadening insert that can be removed by gently pulling on the finger holes. You will see also where the mounting clip slot is so that is why you want to focus your pull at the top and not the bottom.
Here are the parts removed.
Now you can see how the side-view mirror mounts with three attachment bolts and nuts.
It is simply a matter of gently removing the nuts from the bolts; being VERY careful to not drop them into the door when removing.
What I found was the cause of the 1/4-inch fitting gap in my case was the third bolt to the right.
What happened is important to understand.
When the mechanic attempted to back off the nut, it seems to have been stuck tightly to the bolt. This cased the nut to remain fixed. The back-side of that bolt is actually a wide-threaded screw similar to what you might find when you assemble furniture from IKEA. That wide thread on the back-side screws into a plastic post on the side-view mirror.
In this case, the nut didn’t budge from the post but actually backed the rear screw out of the plastic post. When the mirror was reattached, the mechanic failed to realize (or care?) what had happened so the screw never went back into the post stood proud of it, keeping the mirror housing about 1/4-inch forward of the door frame! Nice.
Rather than bust the plastic post, I gripped the bolt stud tip with some vice grips (it has a handy star end likely used to screw the bolt into the plastic in the first place), and then used my crescent wrench to break the sized nut loose so I could then remove it and clean the post with a wire brush. Don’t forget you are dealing with plastic posts on the hidden side so hand-tighten the nuts on the posts right up to the metal door frame surface, then turn them just a bit more with the wrench and don’t over-tighten or you might crack/break the plastic posts they screw into!
Close up view below from the inside.
Once I had the post issue repaired, I just positioned the mirror back in place and made sure it was fitting tightly against the door frame as it should have been.
I retightened the nuts on the posts by hand and then just a 1/4-1/2 turn more with my wrench and it was done. Replaced the foam insert and snapped the cover in place. Repair done and no more gap. See the very first photo in the series for the final result.
Total service time, probably about 10 minutes because I was being careful.
Surprisingly (or not I guess) you can even pick up replacement Ion side view mirror parts on Amazon.com. I didn’t need one but if you break your plastic mounting posts you might.
It’s hard to believe but I’m still driving my 2003 Saturn Ion.
Mileage on the 5-speed manual is around 32 mpg. Not too bad.
It has started to develop it’s own curious issues that will need to be address. Here’s a list for the curious and to help me check them off.
The headliner is still tight as a drum but due to heat and age, when Alvis would brush her fingers against it stretching in the back seat, the fibers would immediately fall out of the backing leaving permanent lawn-mowing marks in it. And when loading large items such as boxes in the car, if a corner or edge hits the headliner, it will tear. Fortunately, those are pretty small and it doesn’t need to be replaced, yet.
About two years ago I started to think the A/C was going out (needing a charge) but being too busy (and cheap) I just lived with it. This summer has been pretty warm and somewhere I got a flash of insight and remembered reading the Ion had cabin air-filter. I found it behind the glove box and when I pulled it out it was black as night. I think it was the OEM filter from 2003. Seriously. The local auto-parts store had a replacement so I swapped them out and now the A/C is ice-cold again. I guess the filter needs to breath to get the coldness to me! (The eureka moment was realizing the air-volume from the registers was dropping…that meant blockage which led me to remember about the cabin filter.)
The A/C does make a click-like noise for a while when I press the air recirculation button on the A/C control panel. Some times it goes away and other times it doesn’t. That needs more investigation (stuck recirculation door?). Luckily with the cabin filter changed out, the A/C is able to keep up with the heat without needing the recirculation turned on.
Yes…I do hear there is a rumor about the Saturn Ion ignition switch being recalled. I’ve gotten my notice and now have to schedule an appointment for service. I’m removing all my other keys from the ignition key as recommended. I noticed the key itself is very worn (but still works) compared to the spare that sits unused on the kitchen pass-through “bar”. My worn key no longer operates the driver/passenger door locks but the “new” key still will.
That leads to the next “major” minor issue…the door locks and driver/passenger windows.
I can lower both the electric windows for the driver/passenger side but about 1/3 of they way down they seem to hit something and make a loud crack that sound like hard plastic. You immediately suspect the glass is about to shatter but it doesn’t (yet). It is a bit disconcerting however. It first started happening soon after our past winter deep ices and freezes. The rear windows operate with no sounds or issues.
Two other things lead me to think something ( a linkage?) has become disconnected. Locking/unlocking the passenger/driver door locks with the “good” key don’t do anything. The lock cylinder turns just fine but the door doesn’t actually mechanically lock/unlock. Fortunately the key fob still electrically locks/unlocks the doors so there is that. But that could eventually cause an access issue. Also, when the driver side window is about 1/2 way lowered, you can’t unlock the door. I dropped an access card one day and when I went to open my door to pick it up from the ground, I couldn’t get the door unlocked to open. The manual latch moved 1/2 way but it wasn’t enough. Putting up the window allowed the door to unlock/lock again. Hmmm. It’s too hot to pull the door panels off just yet but I may chicken out and take it to the mechanic. Unless those door locks get replaced in the recall…then I will let the service dept deal with it.
I’ve not been able to locate any good documentation on the web for the door lock linkage to see where the problem might be at before tearing into the door panels.
What else?
This one is the best!
Every winter, there are times when I get up early in the morning, temperature is around 32-50 degrees Fahrenheit and when I go to turn the ignition to start the car…nothing. However the lights seem to be bright and strong. About the third crank attempt after waiting 10-20 minutes it turns right over good as ever. I thought it was the battery and cold cranking amp rating but the battery shop tested it and said it was just fine. Hmm. So each morning on cold winters it was a crap-shoot if the car would start or not. It happened frequently enough that I knew it wasn’t a “dead in the water” issue, but with patience, it would work on the third crank after waiting about 5-7 minutes before tries.
Eventually I discovered this site, and this is a known headache to many, many Saturn owners who (like me) thought they were going crazy. It’s the “Passlock” issue.
Now this is something I am too chicken to take on so this will be a mechanic trip for sure, unless the the ignition switch recall/replacement does the trick.
Other things.
The “outer window belt moulding” on all the window trim is shruken up and rippled. That will need to be replaced.
The clear headlight assemblies are starting to get clouded. I’ve done some cheap re-treatment (polish) work on them that helps for a while, but I should be able to replace both of them for about $100 so that’s on the list.
I may need to have the front end rubber bushings replaced (if we can find some). They have shrunken a bit and while not a safety or control issue, have just enough play to clunk a bit over very uneven surfaces at low speed (like railroad tracks).
I think that pretty much covers the list at the moment.
One of the joys I had as a kid was skipping stones by the lake.
First there was the search for the right stones, wide, round, flat surface (though an oyster-shell half would do fine in a pinch). Then with my pile collected, I would toss them out, waves or not, seeing how far they could go and how many skips would be produced before the object sank beneath the water.
Here is a mishmash of collected links I’m tossing into the lazy Sunday afternoon waters.
10 ways you might be breaking the law with your computer - TechRepublic.com. Reason # 2 for tossing all things related to the digital millennium, Internet, and computer technology in general into the pit of burning fire and walking away. If you are borderline OCD like me, after a while you end up second-guessing most every thing you do digitally related; is that image really CC licensed?, are those free stock photos really able to be used freely? Now that I gave that CD away to my bro have I really scrubbed all tracks off my iTunes? Oh, wait, did I really even have the legal right to burn them to iTunes to begin with, even if I did buy the physical CD? Today yes. Maybe or not depending. Tomorrow yes. maybe not period. Don’t even get me started on the debate regarding the slippery slope appropriate portrayal of characters in anime and manga of late. Oh bother. (Or don’t even bother anymore to ensure you keep 100% on the up-and-up.)
Print a List of Files in a Folder – Cybernet News tips us to a free utility getFolder. I’ve got a few other tools I use as well but this new one might qualify to be added to the USB utility stick..
Home of A43 – my former favorite dual-pane file manager recently was updated to version 3.0.
TinyApps.Org Blog : An embarrassment of riches – TinyApps bloggist does a link-back shout to GSD and in doing so, dives deeper into some handy and tiny utilities offered by Olof Lagerkvist (of ImDisk virtual disk driver fame).
NetRouteView - Network Route Utility for Windows – NirSoft has released yet another neat freeware network utility. This one “…displays the list of all routes on your current network, including the destination, mask, gateway, interface IP address, metric value, type, protocol, age (in seconds), interface name, and the MAC address. NetRouteView also allows you to easily add new routes, as well as to remove or modify existing static routes.” Go get it!
Tenniswood Blog | Technology, Design & Architecture – Tenniswood blog contains a dizzyingly wide-ranging collection of cool and beautiful objects of design in addition to some great Windows tips and information. Pretty stuff.
Only the house is now filled with girls. Alvis’s BFF spent the night and is here during the day. Lavie is sick and called in sick today. And her niece has driven in to stay through the weekend. She will be getting married in the Fall and Alvis gets to play maid-of-honor. So there will be some pre-dress looking this weekend.
I’m heading out-of-doors to cut the lawn, whack down the hibiscus (again) that must have been cross-bred with Kudzu. Get man-sweat stinky…and the like.
Two quick rants.
Oh Noes, My Eye!
I finally got an appointment with my primary-care physician. Ever since the ophthalmologist visit the aches and pain in my left-eye area have been growing a bit more stronger. Don’t know if it is because I know there is a problem now or if it is something else. I’ve spent my whole life protecting and caring for my eyesight and now with something “wrong” it is kinda freaking me out a bit.
The ophthalmologist’s preliminary diagnosis is that I could have a condition called Keratoconus. After seeing the test results he was able to get during my last visit I can agree I think that is a strong possibility. Now that it has been pointed out to me I can tell a very slight double-vision thing going on in that eye. Tends to be more pronounced when driving and focusing on distant objects. Roadway signs are the best to test on as the reflective and bright colors make the ghost-image easier to pick out. Anyway, he doesn’t have the tools to make a definite clinical evaluation, hence the need for a second opinion by the specialist with the advanced “eye toys” as he put it.
The thinking is that my left eye is constantly trying to correct/refocus the images causing it to work overtime and causing the eye-strain that hurts so bad. My usual remedies of Alieve or Tylenol don’t seem to be helping. I’m very pain tolerant but this soreness is waking me up at night. No good.
So I will be off to the family PCP to get a referral to a specialist in the Houston Med center who I’m told is the best in this field.
Looking back I may have been dealing with this all my life and just not really realized it.
When I was attending Catholic middle school, we went to mass two times a week. I swore for the longest time at that age I had the gift of Auric Sight. When I would be sitting in the pews I could look at the altar and swear I saw it “glowing”. Made my Catholic years growing up kinda freaky. Most of the other alter-boys would mess around with the candle-wax and other stuff after services, but I was sure to do so would mean some kind of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” retribution instantly! That probably now was the double-vision thing, unrealized.
Despite this, I wasn’t diagnosed as having any vision issues (needing glasses) until I was a senior in high school. While I was going through the selection process to be chosen for the U.S. Air Force Academy I had to endure a battery of physical tests and assessments at a military doctor facility. It was only then during the vision portion (important for hopeful military pilots) that I was diagnosed with less than 20/20 vision. That and a few other factors led to my nixing that life-course.
I’m not sure why it was only since April that I have been noticing this vision issue and pain. While my vision has needed correction from time to time, I had never experience this issue before. Turns out I blogged about it without realizing what it was.
I suspect I might not get off the hook with a simple referral from our PCP. I bet she is going to probably want a CAT-scan or something as well of my head to rule out any other issues.
Oh bother.
Saturn and the High Price of Seeing Backwards
Saturn Ion owners (and others likely) take note!
For the past week when I got into my Ion, I’ve been having to readjust my rear-view mirror. I haven’t thought anything of it.
Only when I was in the field Monday and went to grab some lunch in Pasadena, I found I was looking at my back seat.
I adjusted the mirror, and it drooped back down.
That afternoon I had to drive back home without the help of my rear-view mirror. I adjusted my wing-mirrors to cover as best I could but driving on Houston freeways blind to what’s going on behind you is freaky.
At home I was able to inspect the issue much more closely.
Turns out the design of this mirror (the one with the temperature sensor and compass) connects to the ball-joint with a series of little plastic fingerlets. Tension is applied to these by a metal ring. The resulting tension holds the mirror in place as adjusted. Only in my case, about 1/3 of the tiny plastic fingers had broken off, thereby causing the tension ring to not be able to apply enough pressure to ball-joint, thus the droopy mirror.
So Tuesday off Alvis and I went to the Saturn dealership. Rear-view mirror, right? How hard or expensive can that be to fix?
Turns out if you have the one I do, $400 to replace.
Ouch.
I declined.
The price is due to all the electronics jammed into it. That’s the cost of having “optional features” on your car.
It just kills me to think about dropping that load of cash to replace some bits of broken plastic on an otherwise fully functional rear-view mirror.
For now I’ve got it held in place with some skillful masking tape work that supports the mirror and prevents it from drooping. Works great and is pretty unobtrusive.
I have a couple of options at the moment.
I can nix the whole electronic thing and just replace it with a basic rear-view mirror for under $35 at the local auto-parts store. That would be the easiest thing. (Except for removing the current mounting bracket fastened to the windshield which is always tough.) I’ve replaced one before on my old S-10 pickup truck. Worked like a charm. I’d probably be able to increase my forward viewable space out the windscreen as well as this fancy rear-view mirror is much bulkier and does obstruct a lot more than you would think.
I can look for a used/salvage one on EBay. I’ve found some under $50 but I’m always worried about getting scammed. Might be as good as the one I have now.
Again, it kills me to spend that much on something that otherwise just isn’t broken or not working. I wouldn’t hesitate if the electronics in it were burned out and/or the mirror was cracked, but my grief is due to a few tiny plastic fingerlets.
Then again…a roll of masking tape is about, what, $1.00?
If just enough of the fingerlets exist, I might be able to get a very thin plastic "zip-tie” around them and apply enough tension when tightened to make it work. That would be much more flexible than the metal expansion ring previously in service and might be able work, despite the missing plastic pieces. That would make it more adjustable as right now Lavie says she won’t drive it if she has to redo my masking-tape-mod to drive it. Being as she is shorter than me my mirror adjustments don’t work for her.
Auberginefleur, blogger of Japan Now & Then doesn't post regularly, but when she does, man, they are doozies.
I really appreciate the outside-in glimpses of Japan she provides. The posts are well composed and go deep into the subject at hand. I usually spend the fair part of an hour fully exploring the vignettes captured. Of recent enjoyment:
Buying a Kimono: Measurements - There are few places a Westerner can go to really get the full understanding of the kimono; this includes its history, the culture behind it, and the latest in kimono styles and fashions. Auberginefleur's blog is a dependable source of current information in English for curious students of the kimono. This post goes into depth on how one buys a tailor-made kimono. From selecting the fabric, taking of measurements (I didn't know that they are called sunpo and the entire list is called a sunpōhyō because a sun (approx. 3.03 cm) was a measurement of length in pre-modern Japan! Auberginefleur provides some highly detailed images on a kimono measurement diagram as well as a sales form listing the measurements by formula. Some shops take all the elements individually, while others take only a few key ones, and calculate all the rest out. Fascinating.
Speaking of measurements...I hate to wear button-down dress shirts as they always seem "blousey" and un-tucked around my waist. I've tried many different shirt-gathering and tucking techniques but never seem to be successful. I'm going to have to surrender the battle and pick up some tailored-fit dress shirts now. I'm going to try a few tailored Oxfords out of the Land's End catalog but I really think I'm going to have to go into the Galleria and pony up some $$ at a higher-end department store or men's-store to have a knowledgeable salesman truly fit me right at the waist, arms, and neck. Then I can use those shopping for the rest of the shirts.
I've lost quite bit of pounds around my middle and am looking trimmer than usual, and quite fit in a size-large polo shirt. However, I'm having to go to a few more "Meetings" and really want to pull off a neater appearance than the polo-shirt style I usually wear. I just hate the look of men's dress shirts that aren't fitted nicely around the waist...at least on me.
I digress. Sorry.
Tokyo Area Exhibitions, Winter-Spring 2008 - A simply extraordinary collection of exhibitions, museums, and other web resources highlighting some of the best elements of Japanese culture. Covering a wide range of subjects from drama, painting, tea-ceremonies, roof-tiles (!!!), poetry, and cherry blossoms. You could spend an lazy afternoon taking this cultural tour of Japan without even leaving your desk. Wonderful!
Japan Navigator - What is the smell of your Japanese landscape? - Scents are powerful stimulators. They go directly to the brain and the seat of memory. The smell of coffee in the morning will forever be associated with my paternal grandparent's home in Missouri. When we would visit as kids we would wake up in the mornings in their semi-finished basement to the smell of coffee percolating. It was so comforting. Walk down the isle of most any supermarket and you will see as much shelf-space devoted to candles and air-fresheners as to flour and sugar and baking goods.
The Japanese are no less interested in crafting environments not just based on sight, but on smell as well. Japan Navigator blogger Ad Blankestijn points out that the Ministry of the Environment has compiled an official list of the "Top 100 Aromascapes of Japan."
A life-long Texas Gulf Coast resident, my association of our Houston "Aromascape" tends to be more of the smell of crude-oil offloaded from tankers or the sweet but curious scents of additives wafting on the air from the many refineries. Or diesel and auto fumes sitting in traffic. (Sigh)
Some highlights of Japanese aromas as selected by Ad:
the tang of sea air in Miyako (Iwate)
the smell of deep grass in Hoei (Niigata)
the fragrances of beech and dogtooth violet flowers in Shinjo (Okayama)
Another type are aromas caused by people, for example by local industry:
the aroma of soy sauce of soka senbei (rice crackers) in Soka (Saitama)
the aromas of Japanese and Chinese traditional medicines in Toyama (Toyama)
the scent of clay and fire in the ceramics town of Imari (Saga).
Some of my favorites from the list are:
the scent of old books in the booksellers’ quarter of Kanda (Tokyo) - although I am a 100% digital citizen, I like the smell of ink and paper and am always sniffing my books
the smell of fresh moss and cedars in the Southern Valley on Mt Haguro (Yamagata Pref.) - yes, not only this one, but all cedar woods, for example on Mt. Koya with its huge graveyard in the forest, or along the ancient path leading to the Kumano Shrines in southern Wakayama…
the smell of plum blossoms in Kairakuen, Mito. - again, also all other plum groves. My strongest memory is of the yellow “wintersweet” in a temple garden near Taimadera, Nara; or of the private gardens in Kamakura, where you can catch a whiff of plum scent when walking down the narrow alleys.
Hantei - Blue Lotus, the blogger in Japan who makes regular posts on simply fantastic Japanese dishes created out of her own kitchen for the nightly meals takes us into Hantei, a famed restaurant in Nezu. It is as famous for the age and beauty of its structure as the food inside. Loaded with photos, Blue Lotus walks us through a meal starting with the choosing of the sake cup, through numerous courses of fried foods, and finishing with "the meal" of rice, pickles and soup. Simply delightful.
Keeping warm in Japan - This post by Blue Lotus examines the lengths many Japanese must go to keep warm in their homes. As many homes do not have central heating and air, rooms are generally heated while in use. This leads to a plethora of devices for keeping warm, many quite creative. Most otaku would recognize the kotatsu (the low table with the built-in heater and blanket to trap the heat for the legs), but most would be surprised to find heated mini-rugs in bathrooms and kitchens, hot water-bottles for the bed with cute and funky covers, and arm-warmers. One might think this was due to lowering the cost of heating a home wastefully in its entirety like many of us in the States do who don't have zoned HVA/C units. However, as a good portion of $$ is spend on all these warming gadgets, it isn't so much that I think, but as Blue Lotus identifies, many homes in Japan are just built inefficiently, with thin walls using minimal insulation, single paned windows, etc. Certainly, there are many more "modern" style homes being constructed in Japan, however from what I understand, most single-resident homes are still constructed with the expectation that they will be torn down and replaced in about twenty years or so, so who wants to invest in all that efficiency?
The hot water bottle idea led me to a fantastic solution for Lavie's cold-toes problem at night. Her feet get painfully cold at night during the winter/spring and we have been at a loss to comfort them (my calves have tried and while happy to snuggle Lavie's toes...make for a challenging night's sleep of my own).
Anyway...while reading this post , I remembered a long and thin buckwheat "bean-bag" that her dad got her years ago. You can place it in the microwave for 5-min and get it nice and toasty. Usually one drapes it over their back/neck to help relax tension with the heat. But, inspiration....!
I dug it out of the closet and heated it up. I slipped it into the bed at dearest wife's feet and she has been in bliss ever since. The heat is gentle and slowly fades long after she is asleep. Because it is non-electric, she doesn't have any worries about a short or anything. And because it is soft and "bean-baggy" she can adjust it perfectly with her feet to get the perfect balance between comfort and whim, but there are no hard edges or anything to be painful if kicked in her sleep.
Zero to sixty MPH in under three seconds? No windscreen? No door panels? A boot only slightly larger than my lunchbox? Air intake right behind my ear? Sign me up!
Lots of YouTube videos to follow under off the post link. Nothing like watching Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson gush while tossing one of these around the bends.
Yeah, I could "suffer" commuting back and forth to work in one of these things...even during one of Houston's tropical rainstorm events.
This is an amazing 10-page story of the salvage of the Cougar Ace, a Mazda car-transport ship that suddenly listed on it's side causing the ship to be abandoned and risk sinking South of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
The story introduces us to the team of Titan salvage and their colorful attempts to reclaim the ship before it goes down.
The story does cover the tech-angle, but it really drives home the point that behind the tech, are men (and women) who make tech their own and leverage it for powerful successes or failures.
Nothing like hearing the account of being in the belly of a transport ship that could go down at any minute surrounded by hundreds of cars held to a sixty degree sloping deck overhead by a few straps, while other lay like submerged corpses under water where it has infiltrated the hold.
Over on Q-Taro's blog, Roy has been providing updates of the progress towards realizing his new toy; a new factory-ordered Mazda Roadster RHT and its 5/30 Build Date.
I don't even know Roy, but am very excited for him.
Funny how good blogs do that to faithful followers.
That reminded me of how Dad used to order our family cars from the factory.
I can't remember exactly what year his Camaro Berlinetta was but I am sure it was a late 70's model.
Anyway...I remember Dad going through the options and working hard to get just the transmission, engine, rims, rear-differential gearing ratio, and so on...all picked out so the factory could build it.
It was quite a car and the few times I got to enjoy driving it, it was a lot of fun. The Berlinetta model was pretty unusual, and the options he added really made it seem classy and sporty.
Nowadays, I can't imagine "ordering" a car from a factory.
When I picked up my previous pickup-truck, it was a new one right off the lot and in stock.
When I went to trade it in years/miles later on my Saturn Ion, I did quite a bit of research on the Net, then used their website to search for a dealership that had a selection of 5-speed Ion-3 models and went to the dealership to look and, eventually, drive one home.
Do "average" dealerships even let you factory-order custom vehicle packages nowadays?
I know when Dad bought his latest car, the dealership he eventually went with did an inventory search and had to ship one from another location in the state. But that was really just ordering and finding one already built that matched his preferences...and I'm not talking of after-market dealer installed options. When I mean factory-ordered, I mean pick out all the different options and elements and they build the vehicle specifically for you.
Speaking of the Saturn Ion, looks like it will be gone next year.
I was talking to an inside source and it was mentioned that the new model's gas mileage will be lower as they are going from the iconic plastic side-panels to all-aluminum construction along with a larger engine size. In light of current events...that seems like a backwards move.
When I got my Ion I didn't really think about it, but I've come to really love and enjoy the plastic side-body panels. They really are durable. It's going to be weird for me to not see them.
While looking into that, I also learned that the Ion model as I know and love it is going to be dropped from the Saturn line. Coming in will be a more upscale (and $3400+ pricier) model build upon the GM Opel division brand in Europe. I'm not clear if Saturn will retain the Ion name or not. But if the pictures I've seen so are are the match...I'm not impressed and it won't be an Ion even if the name stays the same.
Gone will be the center console dash-pod Lavie and I have come to love and still gets second glances from passers-by in parking lots. Gone will be the sedan-styling. I think it will actually be a bit shorter than the current Ion model as well.
I'm not real excited by it, though news is that Saturn dealers are.
I plan on keeping my Ion for many years to come, but I'm not really sure I will be buying another Saturn or not knowing the Ion I enjoy so much is going away. The competition is pretty tight, and if/when we are ready to purchase our next vehicle, whatever we come home with will have to provide great fuel economy and reliability matched with styling and flexibility....and (at least) a 5-speed manual shift.
Then again...thisMazda RX-8 really seems like the bee's-knees. I love looking at them as they zip by me on my morning commutes.
About a week and a half ago, I started hearing a particular noise coming from the undercarriage front end on my Saturn Ion.
At first I didn't think much of it, then for a day or two I romanticized it (aka denial) by thinking it was just part of the growing collection of maturing "noise" sound my cherished Saturn makes.
Only I really knew I was lying to myself.
So what follows is public service announcement for Saturn Ion owners.
First some key words for Google Search faithful
Saturn Ion front end suspension noise deep metallic rattle clunk sound 5 to 10 mph low speed
That should do it.
Welcome visitors.
The Sound
The sound was noticeable only when hitting a bump or rough road surface at low speed; about five to 10 mph. Any higher and it didn't appear. It was almost like a cow-bell, but heavier and deeper.
Almost like a cow-bell on steroids.
Hitting a speed bump square on with the front wheels would not produce the sound.
The rear shocks had been replaced some time ago, and the front pair seemed fine.
I knew from prior experience with a Renault that it wasn't a CV joint.
I had inspected the shocks and all the front-end suspension parts I could see and nothing looked amiss.
It was one of those noises that you can either dismiss easily or imagine something falling off the car and wiping out in a way to make NASCAR fans proud.
To the Doctor
Being the obsessive guy I am, I knew that putting it off would only drive me crazy with worry and distract me from the other things going on a work and home...so I rolled on in the Saturn dealership so they could take a look.
Not half-way into my problem description did the chipper Saturn service desk rep diagnose "swaybar bushings."
OK. Sounds reasonable enough. Saturn Ions apparently have quite a history of having these things wear out. So a couple of hours later I was back on the road. Sounded fine.
Until I got off the freeway system and onto the Houston surface streets.
I thought I heard it again. Maybe. Hard to tell.
So for the next few days I thought I heard it but maybe didn't, but probably did.
An Un-romantic Late Night Symphony
Last night, Lavie and I went to pick Alvis up from a birthday party. I asked Lavie to listen to see if she could help me identify the source of the mysterious noise.
She gave me a kind look but I think I saw some alarm in her eyes as she confirmed the cow-bell-like rattle I had been hearing.
We went though the checklist: nothing in the door panels, nothing for the glovebox, not related to any technician's tools in the trunk. Definitely a noise. Definitely from the front passenger side. Not imagined.
On the return drive home we went over some particularly bumpy roadway and Lavie exclaimed (not in a good way) that she could actually FEEL the sound under her toes.
Not a Good Thing when your spouse can FEEL a car noise you'd been attempting to reason away.
That was followed with a look that suggested she wouldn't be riding in the Saturn again until I dealt with the problem.
Now I didn't want my Dearest Wife and Daughter placed in rolling jeopardy, so back to the Saturn dealership I went this morning.
A Real Diagnosis
This time a chagrined Saturn service department brought me out into the bay to show me the real issue: a bent lower right-side wishbone arm.
Seems I had hit a roadway object (City of Houston pothole I suspect) and it had bent (torqued) the rear lower arm right at where the pivot point connected to the frame mount. There was just enough overlap in the joint that as the arm traveled downward at low speed movements, it would bottom out on the frame, causing the deep metallic rattle I was hearing and the force transmittal to the floorboard that Lavie's cute little toes were feeling.
Repairs were made and the front end realigned. My wallet was significantly lightened, but the sound is gone for good and the Lavie is willing to ride with me again.
What amazes me is that my tire and rim and the rest of the components passed inspection with flying colors.
A Hazarded Guess
I am almost certain I know which City of Houston pothole did the damage.
It was a known hazard to me and I had been quite successful at avoiding it until recently. Only the day of my fateful encounter I was unable to move a bit into the left lane to avoid it due to a van driving abreast of me and riding the lane line.
The pothole was in a 40 mph zone right in front of an signaled intersection so I was already going very slow due to traffic conditions.
I suspect that I was going quite slow enough to drop my wheel safely into the 90% wheel sized hole (it may have been about four to five inches deep) without causing impact damage to the wheel or tire. But I was not going slow enough for the wheel to haul out of the hole without putting enough torque stress on the suspension member to avoid twisting.
Remarkably, the frame suspension bars and mounts along with everything else came out just fine. Rock-solid.
The pothole has since been filled in.
So fellow Saturn Ion owners, if you happen to hit a pothole or drop your suspension on a curb or other solid object and begin to hear something along the lines of a "Saturn Ion front end suspension noise deep metallic rattle clunk sound 5 to 10 mph low speed" get down on your belly and compare the bottom A-arm mount locations to the frame on both sides and see if one has a much lower clearance than the other.
That might be the cause.
Car Tech - Key Vehicle Components Explained and Illustrated
For some awesome illustrations and theory behind modern vehicle suspensions check out the following link;
I've known for some time that many newer model vehicles include a form of "black box" monitoring device.
I've never really felt strongly one way or the other about it...as my rules-based personality type tends to follow the Rules of the Road pretty closely, I generally don't stress that the police or insurance company would try to get their hands on it. And (God forbid) some unforeseen accident occurred and I was left unable to tell my story, I would take some comfort that maybe it might render some brief additional information to investigators and my family what happened in that brief and final second.
In a nice derivation from the standard computer security world topics, HTRegz at computer Defense shares an insightful post regarding vehicle "black-box" technology.
Of particular interest to me on that page (as a Saturn owner) was a crash data recorder graph that shows what data was recorded on a 2002 Saturn accident.
Unfortunately, in this case the driver was killed as her vehicle passed under the center of a semi-truck at speed during the nighttime collision. Photo link to the recovered vehicle at the bottom of this page.
As a post commenter pointed out, it does pose an interesting question. In the case of these devices, you do "own" them in the sense that if you purchased the vehicle, the component comes with it. However, access to the data is difficult (though not impossible) with the right tools and software. Most drivers/owners probably won't care or bother with trying to access that data. The end result is access to what you "own" isn't at all easy or simple.
Could it be foreseeable that an insurance company could void or cancel your policy if your vehicle came with such a device but you removed/disabled it? Or that at some point in the future, the courts could suspend your driver's license if you refused to surrender the device (post accident) to police investigators...like they can do in the case of suspected DUI cases for drivers refusing to take a sobriety test?
No tinfoil-hat wearing here, just another interesting line to define with technology and "collected data ownership" rights.
I came home late from work the other day and was met with a highly unusual sight as I pulled into the driveway.
Lavie and Alvis were outside and were cleaning her car out.
That in of itself was unusual.
I tend to hold to the philosophy of a bare vehicle interior.
Sure I have a cd or two in the center console, and some gum, but everything else is stowed away. Not a map to be seen, not a piece of trash on the floor. No loose-change anywhere. It's almost fresh-off-the-lot sparse and clean.
Minimalist
Granted, I am a bit of a neat-freak, but I also have to park in, um, questionable areas at some of our office locations due to their locations, so I want to do what I can to dissuade anyone from thinking there is anything of value in there to break in for. (On a side note, I wonder if having a standard transmission lowers the chance of vehicle theft...anyway...)
On the other hand
My most wonderful, beautiful and cherished wife Lavie holds to a different persuasion. Her vehicle is littered with varying degrees of papers, wrappers, cans, and probably contained enough escaped fries to fill a super-size order.
Granted, she doesn't spend as much time in her car as I do and Alvis is a frequent passenger. But the difference in our vehicle interiors fascinates me.
The Attack
So turns out Lavie and Alvis were cleaning out her car to help address the sugar-ants that apparently had made nest in her car. I suspect they may have infiltrated her vehicle from trees and then breached the inside via the fresh-air intake at the bottom of the windscreen.
So with it now clean, I'm off to do a complete vacuum job on the interior then try to knock them back.
Remediation
I don't want to spray any high-grade pesticides in the car cabin. That seems like overkill and who knows how strong the fumes might get and affect Lavie and Alvis.
I think I will go with the Boric Acid method for starters, unless someone provides a better (yet cabin-eco-friendly) method in the comments.
Growing up, Grandma and Grandpa always had these little trimmed Solo cups strategically placed in various places in their Airstream trailer and their home. Seemed to do a good job. They shouldn't smell or spill (well, in Lavie's car with the way she drives at least...mine....not so sure).
I figure a couple under each seat and maybe one in a cup-holder in her center console should do the trick.
And Lavie has sworn that she won't be leaving cola-cans and other food-based items in the car again.
The other day Lavie and I decided to "upgrade" the bedroom furniture in Alvis's room as an early Alvis birthday present.
Alvis picked out a cool "futon" like bed that converts to couch for her room. We also got a custom mattress that goes with it, some drapery, bed sheets, pillows...the whole nine-yards.
Although IKEA does a bang-up job of tight-packing its products, I haven't owned a pickup for many years and wasn't sure I could fit the bedframe and mattress and Lavie/Alvis in either my Saturn ION or her 2ndGen Nissan Altima...so we took both cars.
Surviving the 610/Katy construction zone
I was a bit intimidated heading out to IKEA in two cars...the 610/Katy interchange construction has rendered that whole area by IKEA a disaster zone. Fortunately I was paying sharp attention and handled the detour over from I-10 Westbound over onto Old Katy Rd then the feeder to IKEA with grace and style. Actually I will forever now use that method to get to the Houston IKEA as it avoids having to jump from the left-lanes of I-10 across the merging lanes to make the (if it still exists when done) Silber Rd exit. We went back to I-10 East that way as well, driving back Old Katy Rd and picking I-10 back up at the Washington/Westcott St overpass. Sooo much easier!
Anyway, after a long "It's a Small World" like meander through IKEA we collected all the picks and set out to load them up.
Load it Up
I managed to get the bed-frame, mattress and all the all the extras (including my multiple bags of network technician's tools and gear which I had forgot to remove) into my Saturn ION.
Lavie was stunned (I wasn't) as well as the guy looking on in amazement loading his Suburban next to me. No, I didn't have room for Lavie and Alvis when I was done, but it was all safely in the cabin, including the rolled mattress...with room to spare for the driver! Nothing outside the vehicle.
Lavie eventually persisted with allowing me to offload the mattress into her Altima for the drive back home so I could see a bit better out the rear-view window...although that wouldn't have been a problem.
There would have been no way I could have accomplished that feat with Lavie's Altima...even though it's trunk and cabin have quite a bit more volume than my ION.
How?
Chalk it up to the Saturn ION design team
The ION rear seats are split and can fold flat. They lay down lower to the floor than Lavie's rear fold-down seats do.
For extra-wide loading, the ION team leave almost the entire width of the pass-through area open, from car-side to car-side and top to bottom. That allows the loading of the widest of flat packages (like IKEA has) with ease. Lavie's Altima has a oblong cutout that can handle about two golf-club bags or so width only. The whole width can't be used.
Finally the Saturn's front passenger bucket seat can be moved all the way forward and then reclined at almost a 160 degree angle. That opens up almost the entire length of the Saturn ION from inside trunk tail to the dashboard for long-item loading.
It's all a very well designed and clever system. It's saved me a trip for a company truck or van hauling oversize network equipment out to remote sites from headquarters as well. (It can also transport a Parrot Ice machine rental nicely as well, thank you very much!)
I found this interesting blog the other day: ikea hacker
Actually it is a clever blog on using IKEA stuff (already unusual) in more unusual ways.
Now I need to decide if we will be passing along Alvis's old bunk-bed set to family members or using the nice (pine?) wood pieces to build something new....shelving rack for the storage shed maybe?
Then again, it also was from IKEA so I have it right now broken down and tightly packed away in her closet....it doesn't take up that much room....
It was a long day of house-chores, blogging, pestering Alvis to clean her room and "after-school" book areas.
One of Lavie's co-workers ended up giving me a job and a half to complete.
Car Care Completed
She thought that she saw some fluid on the parking slot that Lavie had just earlier pulled out of and called me to check it out.
So Friday night when I got home I crawled around under Lavie's Altima and made sure everything was good. (It was.)
No leaky fluids anywhere...what her friend say may have been condensation runoff or there from another vehicle.
Lavie is really fortunate to have a friend like this one. She is a transplant from Pittsburgh and although they have other local friends, they have a great relationship. Not many people I know would take the time to call another friend's husband (after not getting Lavie) just to make sure things are ok and safe. Pretty kind, in my book. Anyway....
No fluid spots on our concrete. No drips or runs.
Although, I gotta hand it to Nissan. It's no small task trying to wedge oneself under for a good look at the undercarriage on an Altima. It's lowered pretty far, even for a standard suspension package (maybe five or six inches clearance). And the amount of plating and framework underneath would probably rival the heft of a Hummer and the aerodynamics of a NASCAR racer. I forgot just how tight and packed it looked under there. Wowzers.
But during the under-hood inspection I noticed that there was some "scub-corral" like growth around the positive terminal. Bright blue-green. Oh no.
So this afternoon I went down to the auto-parts store, got some terminal cleaner (works better than cola) and a new clamp assembly (just in case).
I've seen a few clamps get so corroded you can't get the bolt off, or maybe the metal gets so thin it fractures....so I wanted to be prepared.
Lavie's battery is still the original Nissan one. I was surprised to notice it had the "caps" on it. As a kid I remember Grandpa pulling the caps off the battery and getting this little eye-dropper looking thing with colored plastic balls in it. He would take a sample and see how they floated and then add water accordingly. Me, I'd just buy a new battery if it came to that.
Luckily, my fears were unfounded (darn those Nissan engineers).
I had gotten out my mechanic's toolbox (a gift from my dad about when I was getting out of college), a roll of paper towels, the can of acid neutralizer, a can of WD-40, a brass wire brush, my terminal brush, a bowl of water and Alvis was in tow.
I began with a heavy soaking with the acid neutralizing spray and many paper towels later I had the battery casing clean along with most of the acid formation--pretty as it was. I was surprised to find I could get both clamps off with minimal fuss, even with the buildup. I disassembled all the clamps (the positive terminal clamp was a six or seven piece affair) bushed them clean with some wire brushes. All the metal parts, including the bolts, threads and nuts were still in great condition under the buildup and gunk. That was really unexpected! I cleaned the terminals with the terminal brush (Alvis was fascinated by that). Sprayed the bolt threads with WD-40 and reassembled.
It started fast and strong. Awesome.
Job well done. Anybody have a vanship I can work on?
But is victory short-lived?
Alvis had got her report card and gotten all A's and one B. Not too shabby!
We decided to take her out to the mall pick up a manga for work well done.
I told Lavie that I still wasn't too pleased with the fit of my latest pairs of jeans. (Oh no!) And would probably be open to looking for a pair or two. Maybe. If she was up to it. Of course, going jean shopping is right around the very bottom of the list of things I would do only if my life depended on it.
It usually never turns out well.
Setting the Ground Rules
Lavie said she was, but expected a few rules to be followed.
I had to keep a positive attitude. (check)
I had to be open to her suggestions and feedback. (reasonable enough)
I had to come all the way out of the dressing rooms and model the fit for her. (Umm. really?)
I had to keep a positive attitude. (didn't she already say that?)
OK. I promised to behave.
So off we went.
We tried a few department stores, but I began getting dangerously close to breaking a few of her rules already.
In the end, I wasn't happy with any of the selections or the fit on my skinny-boy legs, nor was Lavie happy with the fit on my seat. We were both getting, well, bummed.
Alvis alone was happy, having found her copy of a new manga series Kitchen Princess. (I was secretly hoping for a fourth volume of Yotsuba& (still waiting for the Stateside release...) or volume two of Rizelmine (not out yet either)).
Finally in a fit of desperation, I suggested maybe we could try a nearby western-wear store. Surely they could have jeans that could fit a skinny-legged dude.
Did I just fall into the Rodeo?
We asked the tall sales kid, Cowboy Dan for help. He sized me up and marched us down to the end of the jean wall and began pulling jeans like a cowboy pulling lambs out of the herd.
Before I knew it he and Lavie had herded me down into a wood paneled changing stall fit for barn and were tossing the jeans over the top like hay bales into a barn.
I was stunned to find they fit. Really, really good. First time up. Wow.
Lavie made me come out and parade around in front of her, Alvis and Cowboy Dan.
And the Blue Ribbon goes to...
All the judges seem pleased with the fit.
We walked out of the western-wear store with five new pairs of damn-fine-fittin' jeans in several shades of indigo.
Lavie was happy and Alvis was amused. And I?
I guess this life-long Texan city-boy has to finally fess up and admit it; he has a cowboy's body and heart after all.
Who knew?
Now if I could just figure out if horses are as easy to work on as Nissan Altima's....
