Today, whilst out and about, I encountered the City Of Cairns.
There were tall cairns…
Tiny cairns…
Architectural cairns…
And lonely cairns by the river.
And if you want to know where the City of Cairns is located, you’ll have to come with me next time.
So there’s this semilegendary Vanagon guy in Quebec named Ben. He refurbishes Vanagons and VW Busses. He does exquisite work (before, after).
And I love this picture, because my face was under my van just in exactly that position for quite a while not long ago. Except not so smiley.
Earlier today, however, I completed replacing all the fuel lines you can replace without draining the tank. Except for the one behind the firewall on the little plastic connector, which I will get to, maybe when I finally drain the tank and get to the other ones.
Here’s the ‘before’ picture. The cigar-tube of a cylinder in the center is a fuel rail, which is basically a pipe to connect the input hose (here at the bottom of the picture), to the two injectors (the two middle hoses), and the return line at the top. I really should have taken a picture without the spark plug and injector wires.
Note the dust, the grime, and the old injector seals you can’t see here. Flexing the injector hoses yielded a million little tiny gaps. Did they go all the way through? Not today, but maybe tomorrow. Grabbing hold of one of the injector hoses with some pliers to pull it off the injector, it actuall started dripping fuel. That is, it had sponged some fuel up into the hose material itself, and grasping it with the pliers squeezed the fuel out. Very bad. Now, however, all that spongy hose is in the trash. Replaced as on the other side:
The injector assembly is held on by the single bolt you see between the injectors (the two yellow things). Unbolt that bolt, and disconnect the source and return hoses from their junctions, and remove the rail from the engine compartment. Then it’s time to play the cut-hose-to-match-the-old-one-and-clamp-it-on-the-rail game. Not a difficult task at all.
New hose, new clamps, new injector seals, new fuel filter, no leaks. Nowhere near as slick as Ben’s, but still. I’m happy.
In response to my last entry, James says:
Expecting reality from politicos is, well, stupid.
Posted 8/30/2006 at 2:09 PM by James – delete – block user
So I have to ask of James, and of anyone else: Who do you hold accountable? Who do you hold to any kind of standard whatever?
I’m a cynical jerk, but I at least choose to understand and utilize the power I have in society, and that power is to talk about stuff freely and vote. To dismiss politics with a wave of one’s hand is a waste of opportunity. If one has higher goals, or even a better idea, then express them and lead.
Politicos are, paradoxically, followers. George Bush, for instance, followed the conservative movement into office (where, thankfully, he’s doing a good job of destroying it). There’s a saying: When the people lead, the leaders follow. And it’s true.
I can understand not being engaged in politics or political speech or whatever, as a matter of choice or priority. But to say that others are stupid for doing so doesn’t wash.
What he said. (It’s kind of depressing, though, in that he talks about how Iran’s leaders have been in power since before he was born. Sigh.)
The above image may look like a sweet, nostalgic trip into a better time, a better place, but actually, the guy that painted it is now under investigation for fraud.
I never did like Kincade. I think the real fraud is that he didn’t sell vials of insulin with his paintings.
This is about the best prank ever.
I especially liked the part about providing bus transportation “..that never materialized.”
Score another victory for The Yes Men.
(Yes, I’m having insomnia… Why do you ask?)
Knee-Jerkin’, courtesy of Slow Poke Comics.
See also Politics 101.
Michael Bérubé writes a couple of ‘blogs about his adventures in Facilitated Communication with his son with Down’s Syndrome.
Also, I got ahold of a book by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron called ‘Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism.’ So far, the first couple of chapters are the get-to-know-the-authors segments, and while it’s interesting to hear their stories, it’s also rather annoying, mostly because I haven’t been as successful as they have. I want theory and lists and stuff like that, not an example of someone who’s done better than me in a shorter time. 
You know you’re buying from an obsessive Vanagon owner when…
(Don’t get me wrong… That’s a really nice van, and if I didn’t already have one, I might just pick it up.)
