Four years ago, I wrote this post after Obama was first elected. I re-read both Obama's original speech and what I wrote, and this morning I am thinking about how the past four years have played out compared to the earnest hope I felt then.
Summary - it's been real tough. The economy was worse than anyone thought, and that alone has dampened even the greatest accomplishments of the administration. Still, some of the discrepancy between expectation and reality must fall upon Obama himself, who obviously over-estimated his own ability to change things in Washington. Whether you call it cockiness, overconfidence, or even delusion...that attitude hurt the public's opinion of Obama.
Still, it takes cooperation to get things done in politics, and despite words suggesting cooperation with the Republican congressional leaders would be possible, they opposed every move of the administration:
- On health care, a bitter battle, even though the Obama administrations framework included almost every recommendation and compromise originally supported by republican health care reformers, most importantly their candidate Mitt Romney.
- On the economy, Republicans fought anti-recession government deficit spending. This was despite supporting nearly the same thing under the Bush administration...
- On debt and the debt ceiling, willing to derail the fragile economic recovery on 100% political grounds; unwilling to accept even extremely grand compromises offered by Obama and Reid. Compromises so generous in hindsight that both Reid and Obama would probably have deeply regretted them if they'd been accepted.
- On cooperation, there was only deliberate and overt obstructionist behavior from most of the Republican senators and representatives, including the famous quote from McConnell, "Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office. But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things."
- On energy, republicans insisted on pipelines, oil, gas, and coal exploitation while simultaneously making fun of the administrations failures in alternative energy. Hey, guess what assholes, if we never try we will never succeed at fixing this...come up with some ideas; mining every last drop of finite resources just to keep energy impossibly cheap another 25 years is NOT a long term plan. On a side note, Obama was much more flexible in domestic energy exploration than anyone, particularly Republicans, give him credit for. Jobs in that sector have recovered, not shrunk. Traditional domestic energy production has increased...the much touted "attack on coal" really the result of how successful natural gas exploration has been . Cheapening natural gas and it's relatively cleaner energy has made coal (and coal energy) undesirable, not the administrations direct policies. But I digress...
So, despite all this obstruction:
- the Obama administration passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This is a super important (although incomplete) brick in the wall that may contain long-term health care costs.
- The Obama administration passed economic stimulus, the economy slowly improved, and housing markets (also fragile) seem to gradually be improving. Are things great like they were 6-10 years ago? Nope. But they're better than they were during the crash/recession and they are steadily getting better.
- Part of this "bail out" that was fought tooth-and-nail by republicans supported the auto industry, saving GM, Chrysler and probably Ford too in a time none of them would have been able to secure conventional loans/financing. Jobs at these companies (and their suppliers) were preserved; and two of the three makers have already repaid their dept to the government. Whether you believe some industry is "too big to fail" or not, this particular government intervention worked as advertised.
- The Obama administration has attempted to place the true cost of unsustainable energy (oil, coal, and even natural gas) on the industry, and thus indirectly on the consumer. This is hard on everyone, particularly short term. But is it the ONLY way forward. Whether 10 years or 100 years out, we cannot keep exponentially making more humans, using more energy, and creating more waste. And destroying our own backyard to make our current usage feasible is incredibly short-sighted and self-destructive. We MUST change, no matter how hard it is or how much it costs us now, or there won't be a later to worry about.
- The administration has stood behind their promise of controlled withdrawal from multiple foreign wars, virtually leaving Iraq and well on the way to leaving Afghanistan.
- Yet, the administration has found/arrested/killed a substantial number of high-level terrorist leaders, not the least of which was Osama Bin Laden. Despite some very serious attempts, no major terrorist plots have succeeded on American soil.
That's a pretty good track record, particularly given the bitter political divide that's overshadowed every initiative the past four years. Obama is a real politician, and plays both the long game and short game well.
Many right-leaning leaders fear our military and national security will be weakened if the current administration continues their roll-back of military deployment and spending. But this ignores the reality: we just cannot afford to be constantly at war all around the world. Over-spending is ultimately the biggest security threat.
Eight years of Bush/Cheney unilateral cowboy bullying, self-serving, and hawkish military deployment all over the world made an exponential number of enemies, ironically justifying ever-increasing military spending. It is (and was) an unsustainable cycle - bravely broken by the Obama administration despite Republican apathy. Long term, rolling back our world-wide military presence and cutting military spending may be among the most important and beneficial actions of the current administration.
We, as a country, really need to learn to play nice with the other kids in the sandbox. It takes more than four years of real diplomacy to undo the damage the previous eight years of immature chest pounding did to our international position. But there will be significant economic payoff in the future when we limit fighting everyone we disagree with and instead practice some actual compromise. Or at least wait to be invited into other peoples fights. There are times, places, and people that really do need their asses kicked, I won't deny that. But the real economic and human cost of continuous war-after-war is much higher than the actual real threats against our national security. For instance, the money we spend at war could, every month build a new Trade Center and send rockets to Mars, it could improve education and health care, rebuild and modernize the national transportation infrastructure, and it could develop real energy and population solutions for the future. We spend a LOT of our money on unwelcome policing of other peoples parts of the planet...it just isn't possible to keep this up.
Essentially, fighting all over the world is the equivalent of setting most of our national "paycheck" on fire in the front yard instead of taking it to the bank. We have lost 150% more soldiers fighting than men and women we lost in the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and in addition, by the most conservative estimates, have killed 20-30 times that number of the "enemy." Why? Do you feel safer today, as you face new (and increasingly expensive and invasive) draconian security measures each time you travel? Do you feel safer knowing the terrorists have been training and improving their business against the best we have to offer, full-time, for 10 years? I don't. And, we aren't.
The planet if full of humans - overfilled, really. We need to get along and work on long-term, sustainable solutions to very hard problems. Mitt Romney's ideas about digging up and pissing all over our own part of the planet is not a long term solution. Beating up on the rest of the world isn't either.
So...this morning, we move on to another four years of the Obama administration. They have a lot of promises to live up to - no one would deny that. And they have super-hard problems to solve. But I think our country, and the world in general, is better off this morning. We, as a country under the Obama administration, get to stay on a long tortuous path to sustainability - economically, militarily, and energetically. There is no instant fix here, so even if you disagree with his methods, read what Obama said four years ago, listen to his speech from last night, and give the current administration and your country your best cooperative effort the next four years.
Pledge your allegiance to the United States of America, and to a nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Together we stand, 'merica, baby!
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
1995 Toyota 4Runner blowing fuses and A/C Clutch Replacement
During a recent trip, the A/C fuse blew. This fuse is in relay box #3, behind the dashboard on the passenger side, near the door... accessible only when the dash is taken apart - nice! The A/C was making air before there was a nasty burning plastic smell and the fuse blew.
I put in a new fuse - it blew right away. I tried a 20A fuse (2x the original 10A) and it held for a bit; the compressor ran very intermittently and again released some horrible smell. I cut it off right away.
Because the compressor still turned, both then and later by hand, I assumed it wasn't shot, but that the A/C clutch had burned up. The shop I took the truck to said it took so much labor to replace, it wasn't worth it - just replace the compressor and essentially rebuild the A/C system (new dryer, expansion, o-rings etc.). Just under $1000 total. Yuck-O.
A survey of the internet yielded this link:
http://www.yotatech.com/f2/c-blowing-fuses-what-could-214151/
I found just enough good ideas there to believe replacing the clutch was something I could manage. I found a replacement clutch on ebay for just less than $70. If this worked...pretty big savings.
So I started taking things off the car. Loosened all the belts first, then took off the shroud and fan/fan-clutch to make space. Also dropped the steering damper to make some space below, and removed a little cover in the front passenger wheel-well to get access to the compressor bolts. Space is super tight, but between using wrenches and a u-joint adapter with some creative extensions, all the bolts came loose. The compressor could be moved around quite a bit, enough for access, even still connected to the refrigerant lines.
The clutch is supposed to come apart like this:
(Note that clicking on an image should yield a bigger version.)
The bolt at the front was the first pain - the compressor wanted to turn. I was finally able to hold the middle bit (88403 in the diagram) with some pliers and a wrap of nylon cord and get the bolt loose - it loosens the normal way (at first I was worried it might be reverse thread - it isn't). The front piece came off easily.
The pulley is held in by a snap ring, which wasn't easy to get out in tight quarters, but I eventually pried it free. The pulley, however, was still totally German-stuck (gutenstuk). I needed a close-quarters pulley-puller.
I rolled my own from a 3/4" section of square aluminum channel, a T-nut, bolt with some normal nuts, and a couple c-clamps as shown:
I drilled a hole through the channel and hot-glued the T-nut in place in the hole. The bolt was a 5/16"-18, and the two nuts tightened against each other at the end of the bolt made something flat to push up against the shaft of the compressor with.
The puller worked like a charm. Here it is in place to start:
Soon the pulley was sliding free...note the gap forming behind the pulley:
As seen in the exploded diagram, there is another pain-in-the-ass snap ring to remove after the pulley is off; the coil then pulls easily off the shaft. Below are the A/C clutch parts, removed; on the right is the guilty fellow - yeah, I think that coil is shot...
Next: replacement with the new parts!
I put in a new fuse - it blew right away. I tried a 20A fuse (2x the original 10A) and it held for a bit; the compressor ran very intermittently and again released some horrible smell. I cut it off right away.
Because the compressor still turned, both then and later by hand, I assumed it wasn't shot, but that the A/C clutch had burned up. The shop I took the truck to said it took so much labor to replace, it wasn't worth it - just replace the compressor and essentially rebuild the A/C system (new dryer, expansion, o-rings etc.). Just under $1000 total. Yuck-O.
A survey of the internet yielded this link:
http://www.yotatech.com/f2/c-blowing-fuses-what-could-214151/
I found just enough good ideas there to believe replacing the clutch was something I could manage. I found a replacement clutch on ebay for just less than $70. If this worked...pretty big savings.
So I started taking things off the car. Loosened all the belts first, then took off the shroud and fan/fan-clutch to make space. Also dropped the steering damper to make some space below, and removed a little cover in the front passenger wheel-well to get access to the compressor bolts. Space is super tight, but between using wrenches and a u-joint adapter with some creative extensions, all the bolts came loose. The compressor could be moved around quite a bit, enough for access, even still connected to the refrigerant lines.
The clutch is supposed to come apart like this:
The bolt at the front was the first pain - the compressor wanted to turn. I was finally able to hold the middle bit (88403 in the diagram) with some pliers and a wrap of nylon cord and get the bolt loose - it loosens the normal way (at first I was worried it might be reverse thread - it isn't). The front piece came off easily.
The pulley is held in by a snap ring, which wasn't easy to get out in tight quarters, but I eventually pried it free. The pulley, however, was still totally German-stuck (gutenstuk). I needed a close-quarters pulley-puller.
I rolled my own from a 3/4" section of square aluminum channel, a T-nut, bolt with some normal nuts, and a couple c-clamps as shown:
The puller worked like a charm. Here it is in place to start:
Monday, June 18, 2012
The parable of the store owner
Once there was a gang of children tormenting the owner of a convenience store. The gang leader ridiculed the owner for years while his gang allegedly lifted candybars; tales of their accomplishments abounded on every street corner and playground, and children widely regarded the gang and it's leader among the "greatest of all time". Naturally everyone assumed the leader must have also taken some candy too, and says so, but he claims he never ever did. There was no security system to prove the leader took anything, the only proof ever offered are the boasts to one another among a gang of children. That, and over time, many other members of the gang are actually caught red-handed lying and stealing candy at stores around the area.
So, many years later, the former gang leader has grown up - he's rich, successful, and a benevolent supporter of many laudable causes. Members of the gang have scattered - some never amounted to anything, but many went on to become successful in their own rights, a few even own their own stores now. No one in the gang has lifted anything for quite awhile.
But that old store owner has not forgotten the old days. He looks at the success of the former gang leader, and the nice stores owned by a few former gang members, and thinks everyday, "That guy made fun of me, they stole from me!" and won't let it lie. So after years of chasing windmills, he finally "convinces" some of the down-and-out former gang members to say, on record, that they KNOW the leader took some candy too back-in-the-day. Many law enforcement agencies look at the case and decide pursuit of the old gang is not worth their time, but finally a regulatory agency in charge limiting widespread shoplifting takes up the case, and it's decided that a small (and possibly biased) jury will arbitrarily decide, based solely on hearsay and innuendo from these former gang members, if any candy was ever taken by the gang leader. The panel has no substantial legal or enforcement power, but their ruling might at least highly embarrass the former gang leader.
The store owner spends a LOT of money convincing the public to listen to known thieves and liars to begin with, and unearths boxes of evidence; some that may be summed up simply as circumstantial, and some quite serious. Nevertheless, in the end, the amount of money spent by the owner could have bought multiple security systems for his and others stores, and effectively prevented any further shoplifting. Instead, the owner used the money to endlessly pursue the defamation of the gang leader.
Finally, the jury releases their decision - they found that the gang leader had indeed taken some candy bars. He was fined the value of a handful of candybars and told he could never publicly claim to be the "greatest of all time" again. No matter the ruling, the leader continued to claim his innocence since there was no legally binding concrete proof of any wrongdoing. His wealth and fame declined a little, but he maintained his public good deeds as before and continued to enjoy much public support. The ruling meant little, as many of the public privately felt all along he must have taken some candybars along the way, so at this point the public essentially let it go, and most continued to believe he was among the greatest of all time. He obviously had not always taken candy, and he must not have taken very much, or he would have been caught like his accusers. After all, he was the leader! Everyone was watching him like a hawk the moment he entered any store...it just was not possible that he could have snatched much candy, no matter what those other guys were saying. They must just be jealous.
Many new gangs have come and gone, and the store owner, on the other hand, lost candybars furiously for decades, and continues to do so. Still, he smiles and foolishly claims victory and believes that by disparaging one alleged shoplifter from 20 years past, no one is currently shoplifting.
So, many years later, the former gang leader has grown up - he's rich, successful, and a benevolent supporter of many laudable causes. Members of the gang have scattered - some never amounted to anything, but many went on to become successful in their own rights, a few even own their own stores now. No one in the gang has lifted anything for quite awhile.
But that old store owner has not forgotten the old days. He looks at the success of the former gang leader, and the nice stores owned by a few former gang members, and thinks everyday, "That guy made fun of me, they stole from me!" and won't let it lie. So after years of chasing windmills, he finally "convinces" some of the down-and-out former gang members to say, on record, that they KNOW the leader took some candy too back-in-the-day. Many law enforcement agencies look at the case and decide pursuit of the old gang is not worth their time, but finally a regulatory agency in charge limiting widespread shoplifting takes up the case, and it's decided that a small (and possibly biased) jury will arbitrarily decide, based solely on hearsay and innuendo from these former gang members, if any candy was ever taken by the gang leader. The panel has no substantial legal or enforcement power, but their ruling might at least highly embarrass the former gang leader.
The store owner spends a LOT of money convincing the public to listen to known thieves and liars to begin with, and unearths boxes of evidence; some that may be summed up simply as circumstantial, and some quite serious. Nevertheless, in the end, the amount of money spent by the owner could have bought multiple security systems for his and others stores, and effectively prevented any further shoplifting. Instead, the owner used the money to endlessly pursue the defamation of the gang leader.
Finally, the jury releases their decision - they found that the gang leader had indeed taken some candy bars. He was fined the value of a handful of candybars and told he could never publicly claim to be the "greatest of all time" again. No matter the ruling, the leader continued to claim his innocence since there was no legally binding concrete proof of any wrongdoing. His wealth and fame declined a little, but he maintained his public good deeds as before and continued to enjoy much public support. The ruling meant little, as many of the public privately felt all along he must have taken some candybars along the way, so at this point the public essentially let it go, and most continued to believe he was among the greatest of all time. He obviously had not always taken candy, and he must not have taken very much, or he would have been caught like his accusers. After all, he was the leader! Everyone was watching him like a hawk the moment he entered any store...it just was not possible that he could have snatched much candy, no matter what those other guys were saying. They must just be jealous.
Many new gangs have come and gone, and the store owner, on the other hand, lost candybars furiously for decades, and continues to do so. Still, he smiles and foolishly claims victory and believes that by disparaging one alleged shoplifter from 20 years past, no one is currently shoplifting.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Can't outsmart stupid.
Exhibit A, with special thanks to Mythbusters:
Bomb Range Engineer #1: We need to blow some stuff up.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: I have no idea what we're doing.
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Anything could happen. It's probably dangerous.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: Very dangerous. Let's do it out in the middle of nowhere.
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Yes.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: We're smart!
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Yep!
Sometime later...
Developer #1: We need to buy some cheap land and get people to build houses there.
Developer #2: Hey, look way out here. Nothing around but something called a "Bomb Range", and a good road leads there!
Developer #1: Sounds like it might be dangerous?
Developer #2: Naw, they have smart engineers. They will do things safely.
Developer #1: Let's get building!
Developer #2: We're rich.
Developer #1: Yep!
Bomb Range Engineer #1: We need to blow some stuff up.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: I have no idea what we're doing.
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Anything could happen. It's probably dangerous.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: Very dangerous. Let's do it out in the middle of nowhere.
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Yes.
Bomb Range Engineer #2: We're smart!
Bomb Range Engineer #1: Yep!
Sometime later...
Developer #1: We need to buy some cheap land and get people to build houses there.
Developer #2: Hey, look way out here. Nothing around but something called a "Bomb Range", and a good road leads there!
Developer #1: Sounds like it might be dangerous?
Developer #2: Naw, they have smart engineers. They will do things safely.
Developer #1: Let's get building!
Developer #2: We're rich.
Developer #1: Yep!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
About that E pluribus unum thing...
It wasn't exactly a surprise, but Congress recently "re-affirmed" our national motto, "In God We Trust."
It wasn't always this way, as the above link and this one points out.
It's pretty clear that what our "new" motto actually re-affirms is:
a) we don't trust ourselves or our own intelligence and goodness,
b) we don't give a crap about citizens that differ from the majority,
c) in fact instead of "uniting" anyone we are deliberately divisive,
d) we obviously completely misunderstand the constitution, which while written by very religious men STILL contained wording deliberately constructed to prevent the government support of any particular god or religion,
e) we give a clear signal to every religious nutjob around the world that we ARE waging a crusade against them, i.e, if well-armed men screaming "In Allah we Trust" landed on OUR shores I'm pretty sure we'd take it personally...
It's worth noting that nothing about "e pluribus unum" says you shouldn't put faith in God. It graciously says those that do and do not will ALL stand firm, together, for our common good. What's wrong with that?
Why can't we just be united for our own good, strong against enemies, foreign and domestic?
Any gods most likely want no part of it.
It wasn't always this way, as the above link and this one points out.
It's pretty clear that what our "new" motto actually re-affirms is:
a) we don't trust ourselves or our own intelligence and goodness,
b) we don't give a crap about citizens that differ from the majority,
c) in fact instead of "uniting" anyone we are deliberately divisive,
d) we obviously completely misunderstand the constitution, which while written by very religious men STILL contained wording deliberately constructed to prevent the government support of any particular god or religion,
e) we give a clear signal to every religious nutjob around the world that we ARE waging a crusade against them, i.e, if well-armed men screaming "In Allah we Trust" landed on OUR shores I'm pretty sure we'd take it personally...
It's worth noting that nothing about "e pluribus unum" says you shouldn't put faith in God. It graciously says those that do and do not will ALL stand firm, together, for our common good. What's wrong with that?
Why can't we just be united for our own good, strong against enemies, foreign and domestic?
Any gods most likely want no part of it.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The lifespan of technology
I have a BMW K75. Many reading this probably don't know
what an interesting motorcycle this. The model I have was built in
1992, yet has computer controlled port fuel injection and independent
front and rear ABS. The motor sits on it's side, longitudinally, and
has three cylinders. The rear wheel is a mono-lever, single shock
shaft drive. While none of those are by themselves groundbreaking,
finding them all on a motorcycle from this era is rare. In fact, even
by 2011 standards, all those features are quite uncommon to find on
the same machine.
So, the bike came to me in 2002 when I bought it used from a guy in
NOVA. Almost everything on the machine worked in top
form, but I got a "steal", probably a few thousand under blue book,
because the ABS computer was dead and a replacement cost well over
$1000. But I gambled, bought the machine, and within a month I'd
found a BMW moto graveyard part for $250 and suddenly had a fully
functional ABS system, and pretty much flawless moto.
So imagine my sadness when about a month ago, the ABS computer croaked again. Nine years later, with this bike now being nearly 20 years old, the used part market was barren. The few used ABS brains I saw were in the $450-600 range. New ones now list for $1600, if you find someone that has any in stock. Turns out, this part is the Achilles heel of the BMW ABS systems from this generation, and they are tough to get. I had probably been lucky even in 2002 to get one as cheaply as I did.
Trying to keep the story short, I found a japanese guy mentioned in an
older BMW moto list serve as being able to repair the ABS computers,
and a few modified googles later located him online. Of course I was
concerned he might be offline (or worse) due to the tsunami, but
luckily that was not the case.
This initial email was sent June 5, and he wrote me back within 24
hours. He lives in a more southern part of the country (sort of near
Hiroshima) and said he still did such repairs, just send it over!
I used one of the fixed-rate USPS international boxes and off it went
to Japan.
Four days later, he wrote that he had the ABS. (How this is possible for $14 I don't understand, but it's good). He claimed to have quickly
found a loose thru-hole connection on the circuit board that was
causing the failure. He repaired this, took the computer for a test
spin in his K100, and reported all to be well. He asked for 14,500
yen and said he'd send it back when he got the $$.
That was about $180US the day I paypal-ed it over, and he wrote back a day later that he'd shipped it.
It arrived this morning, ten days after I originally shipped it, and is already installed (and working fine) back in my K75. He says he tested "everything" on it and if anything goes bad within a year, he fixes it again for shipping only.
Anyway, like I said, probably only interesting to a few people. But I
thought it was cool. And also rare - how many high-tech things, as
they age, must be discarded simply because no one knows how to fix
them? Even a simple problem, such as this thru-hole connection
breaking, or a bad cap, or a million other little repairable things
can go wrong...but "it isn't worth it" to fix them. I'm smiling
because my bike is fixed, I saved a bunch of $$, but mostly because I
know there's someone out there that still cares to understand and fix
things instead of just junking them.
On top of it all, it was possible to do all this in less than two
weeks? It's easy to think about tsunami's and nuclear meltdowns being
on the other side of the planet. How does that effect me? Well, the
other side of the planet is, really, right around the corner.
what an interesting motorcycle this. The model I have was built in
1992, yet has computer controlled port fuel injection and independent
front and rear ABS. The motor sits on it's side, longitudinally, and
has three cylinders. The rear wheel is a mono-lever, single shock
shaft drive. While none of those are by themselves groundbreaking,
finding them all on a motorcycle from this era is rare. In fact, even
by 2011 standards, all those features are quite uncommon to find on
the same machine.
So, the bike came to me in 2002 when I bought it used from a guy in
NOVA. Almost everything on the machine worked in top
form, but I got a "steal", probably a few thousand under blue book,
because the ABS computer was dead and a replacement cost well over
$1000. But I gambled, bought the machine, and within a month I'd
found a BMW moto graveyard part for $250 and suddenly had a fully
functional ABS system, and pretty much flawless moto.
So imagine my sadness when about a month ago, the ABS computer croaked again. Nine years later, with this bike now being nearly 20 years old, the used part market was barren. The few used ABS brains I saw were in the $450-600 range. New ones now list for $1600, if you find someone that has any in stock. Turns out, this part is the Achilles heel of the BMW ABS systems from this generation, and they are tough to get. I had probably been lucky even in 2002 to get one as cheaply as I did.
Trying to keep the story short, I found a japanese guy mentioned in an
older BMW moto list serve as being able to repair the ABS computers,
and a few modified googles later located him online. Of course I was
concerned he might be offline (or worse) due to the tsunami, but
luckily that was not the case.
This initial email was sent June 5, and he wrote me back within 24
hours. He lives in a more southern part of the country (sort of near
Hiroshima) and said he still did such repairs, just send it over!
I used one of the fixed-rate USPS international boxes and off it went
to Japan.
Four days later, he wrote that he had the ABS. (How this is possible for $14 I don't understand, but it's good). He claimed to have quickly
found a loose thru-hole connection on the circuit board that was
causing the failure. He repaired this, took the computer for a test
spin in his K100, and reported all to be well. He asked for 14,500
yen and said he'd send it back when he got the $$.
That was about $180US the day I paypal-ed it over, and he wrote back a day later that he'd shipped it.
It arrived this morning, ten days after I originally shipped it, and is already installed (and working fine) back in my K75. He says he tested "everything" on it and if anything goes bad within a year, he fixes it again for shipping only.
Anyway, like I said, probably only interesting to a few people. But I
thought it was cool. And also rare - how many high-tech things, as
they age, must be discarded simply because no one knows how to fix
them? Even a simple problem, such as this thru-hole connection
breaking, or a bad cap, or a million other little repairable things
can go wrong...but "it isn't worth it" to fix them. I'm smiling
because my bike is fixed, I saved a bunch of $$, but mostly because I
know there's someone out there that still cares to understand and fix
things instead of just junking them.
On top of it all, it was possible to do all this in less than two
weeks? It's easy to think about tsunami's and nuclear meltdowns being
on the other side of the planet. How does that effect me? Well, the
other side of the planet is, really, right around the corner.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Rapture...
It is interesting that May 22nd, my wedding anniversary, is the day after the Rapture. So it has pretty much been hijacked by loony Rapture doofuses. To them I offer this quote, nearly as old as the bible upon which they base their predictions...
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
—Marcus Aurelius
Seeya tomorrow.
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
—Marcus Aurelius
Seeya tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A random quote from Libya
One of our F-15's just crashed over Libya, supposedly due to mechanical failure. According to the linked article, the locals watched it go down and (like any good locals should) rubber-necked their way on over to the crash site. This quote sums up a lot:
"We saw one pilot who landed far away, and then we saw a helicopter which came and took him away ... We tried to talk to him and he tried to talk to us, but we couldn't understand each other."
I won't waste bandwidth analyzing it other than to say that it speaks to a lot more than the situation right in front of them...
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Cycling Law
Just my humble opinion, but let me vent about the law and bicycles.
The rules are seldom made with the best interest of bicyclists (or pedestrians) in mind. Roads, intersections, and signals are seldom made with the best interest of bicyclists in mind. All that is fine - bicyclists are decidedly the minority users of the roads, intersections, and signals. But when I come to any interaction with the above and have to decide what is best for everyone, or what is legal...I go with what is best. If I have to choose between what is safe, or what is legal, I choose safe. This is typically called "civil disobedience" and is embraced in this country as a real solution to social issues, most especially for minority users. The fundamentals of this are 1) do no harm to others, and 2) take the punishment if you have to. It's called the moral high ground :)
Bicycles are not cars - it is retarded to think the same set of laws is reasonable for both. If I'm passing anything at 40+ mph, 3 feet is a good safe distance. However, do you need 3 feet to safely get around something on your bike? I doubt it. Most cars "roll" through stop signs, but their relative reduction in speed from 25+ mph down to 2-3 mph appears to be a stop, even feels like a stop to most drivers. But does a bike need to reduce it's speed 10x (let alone actually stop) to see that an intersection is clear? Very seldom. Those are just a couple examples of the greater point: Pedestrians are not cars. Bicyclists are not cars. We share some space, and the better we get along the safer for all. But the current legal method of throwing us all into the same can of laws and saying "you're equal" is total BS at every level, and when laws are BS, push back and try to improve things.
And I really believe things ARE improving - bike lanes as part of new construction, 3-foot passing zones etc. are now part of our legal vocab. But just because the local copper nicked you this time doesn't mean you did anything "wrong." Part of civil disobedience is making
police and lawmakers aware that there are poorly written, or even bad, laws on a topic. Then we as an organized group work with the system to make things better.
If you get busted, don't get mad but instead explain your position to the officer involved. You probably still get the ticket, but maybe over time the logic of your and others actions will take hold in their mind. By being respectful of the law at the same time as explaining where the law could use some buffing-up you will at least have his attention. Ask the officer to chalk it up as reasonable and calculated "disobedient" behavior, not impatience or recklessness or disregard for authority, and you might make a difference for the next person. That is how it works, and is the foundation of the "acting locally" slogan so many of us embrace.
Anyway, keep up the good political work and - and remember to stay safe.
The rules are seldom made with the best interest of bicyclists (or pedestrians) in mind. Roads, intersections, and signals are seldom made with the best interest of bicyclists in mind. All that is fine - bicyclists are decidedly the minority users of the roads, intersections, and signals. But when I come to any interaction with the above and have to decide what is best for everyone, or what is legal...I go with what is best. If I have to choose between what is safe, or what is legal, I choose safe. This is typically called "civil disobedience" and is embraced in this country as a real solution to social issues, most especially for minority users. The fundamentals of this are 1) do no harm to others, and 2) take the punishment if you have to. It's called the moral high ground :)
Bicycles are not cars - it is retarded to think the same set of laws is reasonable for both. If I'm passing anything at 40+ mph, 3 feet is a good safe distance. However, do you need 3 feet to safely get around something on your bike? I doubt it. Most cars "roll" through stop signs, but their relative reduction in speed from 25+ mph down to 2-3 mph appears to be a stop, even feels like a stop to most drivers. But does a bike need to reduce it's speed 10x (let alone actually stop) to see that an intersection is clear? Very seldom. Those are just a couple examples of the greater point: Pedestrians are not cars. Bicyclists are not cars. We share some space, and the better we get along the safer for all. But the current legal method of throwing us all into the same can of laws and saying "you're equal" is total BS at every level, and when laws are BS, push back and try to improve things.
And I really believe things ARE improving - bike lanes as part of new construction, 3-foot passing zones etc. are now part of our legal vocab. But just because the local copper nicked you this time doesn't mean you did anything "wrong." Part of civil disobedience is making
police and lawmakers aware that there are poorly written, or even bad, laws on a topic. Then we as an organized group work with the system to make things better.
If you get busted, don't get mad but instead explain your position to the officer involved. You probably still get the ticket, but maybe over time the logic of your and others actions will take hold in their mind. By being respectful of the law at the same time as explaining where the law could use some buffing-up you will at least have his attention. Ask the officer to chalk it up as reasonable and calculated "disobedient" behavior, not impatience or recklessness or disregard for authority, and you might make a difference for the next person. That is how it works, and is the foundation of the "acting locally" slogan so many of us embrace.
Anyway, keep up the good political work and - and remember to stay safe.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Suzuki S40 Boulevard Repair
So, recently my fiancé's 2005 S40 Boulevard (pretty much the same engine and setup as the LS650 Savage) has been running really poorly. The engine didn't start or run unless you open the throttle at least 10% or so (choke position didn't seem to matter at all). Once it's running, you had to keep the throttle open or it just quit. On the road at highway speeds, it ran fine, but if you let off the throttle it jerked on/off intermittently until you opened the throttle again.
First thing I did was see if the carb was getting fuel by pulling the fuel line and checking flow in RUN, PRIME, and RESERVE modes. I created a vacuum in RUN and RESERVE mode by sucking on the vacuum hose - everything seemed in order.
Next I pulled the spark plug, which was very black - indicating rich running. I put in a new one, ran up and down the highway about 1/2 hour and pulled it and it was also very black. I took the air filter in/out and that had no effect; the filter looked real clean anyway.
So I removed the carb, all rubber and jets removed, soaked 24hrs then blew clean with compressed air and reassembled: No effect, same terrible running. No ports/jets appears blocked, no rubber parts appeared damaged. Floats did not have fluid in them. In fact, the carb looked pretty much perfect BEFORE i cleaned it, only a very limited amount of stains from old gas etc.
So I was stumped and posted around the internet hunting for solutions. Someone suggested adjusting the valves, which I did. They were only barely out of spec, and the engine still ran horribly afterwards.
It was when I was putting the bike back together after the valve adjustment that I stumbled into the real problem - the petcock. Yep, the first thing I checked...turns out there is a metal part that goes through the diaphragm which had snapped in half, as in the photo. Gas was leaking through, and richening the mixture as it was sucked down the vacuum line. Not sure why I didn't notice this at first....
Suzuki won't sell just the replacement diaphragm/valve combo - only the entire petcock (for $70). So I repaired the item with some wire and gas-tank epoxy.
First I drilled out the middle of the two broken parts, as shown. I fitted the piece of wire as a reinforcement to the epoxy, then assembled the whole thing in a vise and let it dry.
I've been riding now for two days - no more running problems. So it's just a matter of how tough the repair turns out to be...
First thing I did was see if the carb was getting fuel by pulling the fuel line and checking flow in RUN, PRIME, and RESERVE modes. I created a vacuum in RUN and RESERVE mode by sucking on the vacuum hose - everything seemed in order.
Next I pulled the spark plug, which was very black - indicating rich running. I put in a new one, ran up and down the highway about 1/2 hour and pulled it and it was also very black. I took the air filter in/out and that had no effect; the filter looked real clean anyway.
So I removed the carb, all rubber and jets removed, soaked 24hrs then blew clean with compressed air and reassembled: No effect, same terrible running. No ports/jets appears blocked, no rubber parts appeared damaged. Floats did not have fluid in them. In fact, the carb looked pretty much perfect BEFORE i cleaned it, only a very limited amount of stains from old gas etc.
So I was stumped and posted around the internet hunting for solutions. Someone suggested adjusting the valves, which I did. They were only barely out of spec, and the engine still ran horribly afterwards.
It was when I was putting the bike back together after the valve adjustment that I stumbled into the real problem - the petcock. Yep, the first thing I checked...turns out there is a metal part that goes through the diaphragm which had snapped in half, as in the photo. Gas was leaking through, and richening the mixture as it was sucked down the vacuum line. Not sure why I didn't notice this at first....
Suzuki won't sell just the replacement diaphragm/valve combo - only the entire petcock (for $70). So I repaired the item with some wire and gas-tank epoxy.
First I drilled out the middle of the two broken parts, as shown. I fitted the piece of wire as a reinforcement to the epoxy, then assembled the whole thing in a vise and let it dry.
I've been riding now for two days - no more running problems. So it's just a matter of how tough the repair turns out to be...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Electric Water Heater Diagnosis and Repair
Yep. Time to work on the non-working hot water heater.
I wrote this flow chart for the diagnosis and repair of a typical electric hot water heater. So far it's worked a couple times for me - maybe someone else will find it useful. Feel free to send me suggestions for improvement. No promises that what I did here is safe for YOU to try so be careful :)
I wrote this flow chart for the diagnosis and repair of a typical electric hot water heater. So far it's worked a couple times for me - maybe someone else will find it useful. Feel free to send me suggestions for improvement. No promises that what I did here is safe for YOU to try so be careful :)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What are we doing?
Dumb to write this in a blog, pointing to another blog...but it was said here better than I could:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/07/nsfw-after-fort-hood-another-example-of-how-citizen-journalists-cant-handle-the-truth/
Technology makes things easier for us, and instead of enjoying it and being good to ourselves...we find ways to become busier and more self-centered.
In my world I am suddenly finding myself working toward a new start, but a lot of work before then. Maybe some more news on that in another few months...as that is about the rate of postings here.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/07/nsfw-after-fort-hood-another-example-of-how-citizen-journalists-cant-handle-the-truth/
Technology makes things easier for us, and instead of enjoying it and being good to ourselves...we find ways to become busier and more self-centered.
In my world I am suddenly finding myself working toward a new start, but a lot of work before then. Maybe some more news on that in another few months...as that is about the rate of postings here.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Big news
So this month I crossed a couple big newsworthy life events.
First of all, I have moved another decade forward in oldness. Things that still seem fresh in my mind really happened a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far from here.
Second of all, it is good that good things are still happening as I move forward. This weekend, after cooking up a lobster tail dinner, I managed to overcome a great deal of nervousness and ask Alison to marry me.
She accepted, as the photo indicates. No immediate specifics have been decided yet - one thing at a time :)
First of all, I have moved another decade forward in oldness. Things that still seem fresh in my mind really happened a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far from here.
Second of all, it is good that good things are still happening as I move forward. This weekend, after cooking up a lobster tail dinner, I managed to overcome a great deal of nervousness and ask Alison to marry me.
She accepted, as the photo indicates. No immediate specifics have been decided yet - one thing at a time :)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bump.
Yeah, just checking in to see if anyone has defaced the page. Other than me. Looks like no.
Happy 2009. And shout-out to the new Prez - what up! Lookin' good. Now do some good.
Happy 2009. And shout-out to the new Prez - what up! Lookin' good. Now do some good.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
A new dawn of American leadership
For those of you that haven't already seen it, take the time to watch president elect Barack Obama's speech from last night. If you can't watch it, read it. Even if (perhaps especially if) you didn't vote for him. You won't find a single word in eight years of the Bush Whitehouse that carries as much compassion and hope as this speech did.
"While the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."
And also, how about this:
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there."
Obama chooses the right words to both acknowledge the singular importance of himself and his campaign and without egotism recognize the countless shoulders upon which he stands; the greatness he is now in company with.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
"I may not get there with you.
But I want you to know tonight,
that we, as a people will get to the promised land."
It's hard for a politician to pull those words, tweak them enough to make a point, and look into the crowd and have them come from their own heart, but Obama did it and I'm convinced he means it and will try to live by reaching out instead of striking out, both domestically and around the world.
It's a change our country needs now as much as it needed it in 1968. Dr. King didn't get here with us, and we are certainly not in any kind of promised land today. But I believe he would see the election of Obama as progress up that mountain...a country lurching again back in the right direction.
"To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."
Let it be.
"While the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."
And also, how about this:
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there."
Obama chooses the right words to both acknowledge the singular importance of himself and his campaign and without egotism recognize the countless shoulders upon which he stands; the greatness he is now in company with.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
"I may not get there with you.
But I want you to know tonight,
that we, as a people will get to the promised land."
It's hard for a politician to pull those words, tweak them enough to make a point, and look into the crowd and have them come from their own heart, but Obama did it and I'm convinced he means it and will try to live by reaching out instead of striking out, both domestically and around the world.
It's a change our country needs now as much as it needed it in 1968. Dr. King didn't get here with us, and we are certainly not in any kind of promised land today. But I believe he would see the election of Obama as progress up that mountain...a country lurching again back in the right direction.
"To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."
Being compassionate is not a weakenss, and it never has been. Obama addresses these words toward our own country as well as the rest of the world. You don't need religion to see the wisdom and respect of "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you".
I am afraid our nation is nearly as divided and intolerant as it was in the 1860's. But Obama says it's time to summon the unyielding hope of Lincoln, King, Kennedy, and - to do our part to push back against hatred together. He asks, can you give the uneducated redneck doofus down the street a lesson in civility without being an elitist jackass yourself? It isn't easy, but it is once again time to try.
Let it be.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Cave exploration and Shatley Springs
So guess I will combine a couple things - went out to the son of a friend of mine's property this Saturday, and explored a small but well decorated cave there. Took a few pictures.The trip was a lot of fun, and the cave long enough to survey sometime in the future if it has not already been done...need to check the records. Also possibly made some connections to adjacent landowners that may have some caves.
Then Sunday Alison and I went on an all-day excursion the check out the fall colors and visit a "home style" restaurant down in North Carolina at a place called the Shatley Springs Inn. Weather was fantastic.
We probably should have gotten reservation as the wait at the inn was over 2 hours, but we killed time by hiking around some and also traveling to a nearby park and getting some good photos of the surrounding area. In any event it was a relaxing day. I may not need to eat again for a while either.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Hike to Apple Orchard Falls
So this past weekend, we took Vega out on the trail. The plan was a fairly lite overnight backpacking trip. And so that Vega wouldn't be nervous of others on the trail, we went through a trail guide for south west virginia looking for some loops and such that would not be heavily traveled and found a stretch of the AT near Peaks of Otter that had two side trails which connected into a loop - the Apple Orchard Falls Trail and the Cornelius Creek Trail.We got onto the AT just past Peaks of Otter at a parking area a mile or so from the Thunder Hill shelter, and set off into the woods. I didn't bother to look which way we were going, and after a few crossings of the Blue Ridge Parkway was almost convinced we'd gone the wrong way. Luckily right when I was ready to turn around (and go back to the car and get a map), we arrived at the shelter and knew things were correct.
After the shelter, this trail is 100% downhill. About 3 miles or so past the shelter, you intersect with the Apple Orchard Falls trail, and we headed down that. It is very steep in places, and as you approach the falls there are even stairs. Along the way there are a number of really great views, and the forest was cool with mossy boulder flows and ferns. Due to the current drought, there wasn't any water anywhere along the trail until we reached the Falls themselves, and the falls were pretty dry. Still very pretty though.
We hadn't picked a campsite ahead of time (more great planning on my part), so just hiked past the falls and started looking for a place. We found out the next morning there are several nice sites about 15-20 minutes just past where we stopped and "made do". It was right beside the creek and really was a good spot, but not as flat as would have been ideal. We built a small fire, cooked up some pasta, and drank a little wine before going to bed early.
Next morning we set out, still on the Apple Orchards Falls trail, but headed downhill some more and intersected with FR 59, the trail head for Apple Orchards Falls and for Cornelius Creek trail. As soon as we started up Cornelius Creek I knew we were in trouble. I hadn't really looked closely at the elevation changes along our planned route. Turns out, there is a LOT of climbing on the second day. Pretty much it's all uphill, and there is a lot of elevation to be gained back. And it's longer than the first day. Yep, another great plan by me.
Nevertheless it was beautiful and other than a very serious case of blisters on the heels from all the uphill, we enjoyed it quite a bit. We only saw a few other hikers, so it was very peaceful and Vega didn't have any trouble at all. Check out the photos here.
Friday, August 22, 2008
The drinking age...and age of driving.
Been a lot of press recently about the drinking age.
In the US, roughly 40% of traffic fatalities are related to EtOH use, and according to the NSDUH 18% of our population between the ages of 18-20 drink and then drive.
I know I thought I was a great driver when I was 16 and racing around town in my own car, but looking back I know I didn't know anything. Among others my age I was about average I guess, but on any meaningful metric it turns out that I was a terrible driver. All I had going for me was the good vision and reaction time of youth, and even that didn't keep me out of a few neighbors front yards. Luck and (most of the time) sobriety probably helped the most. Even sober, poor judgment and an unjustified feeling of invincibility were always my enemies.
So that's the rub. When people drink, we feel invincible and have crap for judgment - and your reaction time and vision go to hell too. So a young driver that is drinking pretty much only has luck to keep him out of the ditch, oncoming traffic, and and possibly the morgue.
I'm glad to see some discussion in this country about more reasonable drinking laws and behavior. Ultimately drunk driving, binge drinking and such are societal problems which cannot be directly legislated. We need laws which are compatible with human nature and still in the best interest of society.
I'd like to see the drinking age lowered, quite a bit really, but then tied to driving. Why not lower the drinking age in public to 16? You go out with your family or friends and you can buy a beer or glass of wine with everyone else. No one has to sneak anything in or get trashed in advance. Maybe restrict direct sales (ABC "off") until 18 or 21.
But, "peer pressure is so high on youngers! Drunk driving will increase if they start drinking even earlier." This is almost certainly true, but raising the drinking age has always been the wrong solution. The right solution is to raise the driver licensing age to 18. And perhaps even restrict it to daylight hours for another year past that. But ultimately if we believe an 18 year old can fight and die for this country, vote, drive, and be considered an adult in every other way, we need laws that allow them all the rights of adulthood.
Since the best part of drinking is the buzz, and no one enjoys waking up in your own vomit the next morning, we need laws that encourage good habits and good behavior.
By raising the driving age and dropping the drinking age, everyone learns effects of EtOH at a young age, how much is "too much". It becomes normal to have a drink with dinner, movies, and sporting events, and most won't feel the need to binge before going out. We all learn to walk, designate a ride, or use public transit to go/come from bars and other legal places to drink. In your formative years, adults are roll models to drink with, not avoid or trick. Imagine how different things would be if it was your mom, dad, or older siblings that wrote "kick me" on your forehead and then hauled your stupid drunk-ass home after the first time you had too much.
And the best part is that these habits are formed before actually driving there yourself is even possible. It's a lot easier for parents and society to restrict the use of a vehicle than it is to monitor every basement or backyard in the country for teenage drinking.
I often hear, what about young people that want to work, or support their family etc? Simple really: you want a job at 16? Take the bus. Ride a bike. Walk. Ride with an older friend or family member. Find a way. Apply to become an emancipated minor. There is no reason for the default to be, "here, drive a car." Somehow humans managed just fine before everyone had a car so I'm sure this is still possible.
And this is the kind of discussion I'd like to see...maybe we are getting there.
In the US, roughly 40% of traffic fatalities are related to EtOH use, and according to the NSDUH 18% of our population between the ages of 18-20 drink and then drive.
I know I thought I was a great driver when I was 16 and racing around town in my own car, but looking back I know I didn't know anything. Among others my age I was about average I guess, but on any meaningful metric it turns out that I was a terrible driver. All I had going for me was the good vision and reaction time of youth, and even that didn't keep me out of a few neighbors front yards. Luck and (most of the time) sobriety probably helped the most. Even sober, poor judgment and an unjustified feeling of invincibility were always my enemies.
So that's the rub. When people drink, we feel invincible and have crap for judgment - and your reaction time and vision go to hell too. So a young driver that is drinking pretty much only has luck to keep him out of the ditch, oncoming traffic, and and possibly the morgue.
I'm glad to see some discussion in this country about more reasonable drinking laws and behavior. Ultimately drunk driving, binge drinking and such are societal problems which cannot be directly legislated. We need laws which are compatible with human nature and still in the best interest of society.
I'd like to see the drinking age lowered, quite a bit really, but then tied to driving. Why not lower the drinking age in public to 16? You go out with your family or friends and you can buy a beer or glass of wine with everyone else. No one has to sneak anything in or get trashed in advance. Maybe restrict direct sales (ABC "off") until 18 or 21.
But, "peer pressure is so high on youngers! Drunk driving will increase if they start drinking even earlier." This is almost certainly true, but raising the drinking age has always been the wrong solution. The right solution is to raise the driver licensing age to 18. And perhaps even restrict it to daylight hours for another year past that. But ultimately if we believe an 18 year old can fight and die for this country, vote, drive, and be considered an adult in every other way, we need laws that allow them all the rights of adulthood.
Since the best part of drinking is the buzz, and no one enjoys waking up in your own vomit the next morning, we need laws that encourage good habits and good behavior.
By raising the driving age and dropping the drinking age, everyone learns effects of EtOH at a young age, how much is "too much". It becomes normal to have a drink with dinner, movies, and sporting events, and most won't feel the need to binge before going out. We all learn to walk, designate a ride, or use public transit to go/come from bars and other legal places to drink. In your formative years, adults are roll models to drink with, not avoid or trick. Imagine how different things would be if it was your mom, dad, or older siblings that wrote "kick me" on your forehead and then hauled your stupid drunk-ass home after the first time you had too much.
And the best part is that these habits are formed before actually driving there yourself is even possible. It's a lot easier for parents and society to restrict the use of a vehicle than it is to monitor every basement or backyard in the country for teenage drinking.
I often hear, what about young people that want to work, or support their family etc? Simple really: you want a job at 16? Take the bus. Ride a bike. Walk. Ride with an older friend or family member. Find a way. Apply to become an emancipated minor. There is no reason for the default to be, "here, drive a car." Somehow humans managed just fine before everyone had a car so I'm sure this is still possible.
And this is the kind of discussion I'd like to see...maybe we are getting there.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Sometimes you just need to post...
It's been months since I posted anything. Seem this is the summer of my content....for a change I really don't have much to complain about. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to complain about.
One thing is the stupid-ass new automated machines at the post office. Why can't you buy a single stamp anymore? I went to (ironically) mail in a tax check and just needed one stamp. Couldn't buy it...would have had to buy a booklet since the machine won't do a transaction less than $1 (which on another tangent is only $0.6 Eros). I was too mad to buy the booklet so I kicked the machine until it started beeping and stormed out. Now I need to beg a stamp from my girlfriend. What kind of crap is it that you can't buy just one stamp? Who even uses a stamp anymore...they are stupid. I hate them.
Where was I? Oh yeah - lack of posting. Seem to have covered that now but will post photo of me in a really cool cave. We surveyed about 1500 feet of passage on this trip, approx half of which had never been seen before we visited. Very cool. Was a mess to get there though :)
Language in the video, as you might imagine, was a little coarse so this is the edited version...the actual crawl was about 30 feet of this mess.
We survive :)
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