Thinking out loud about cars, computers and security
It’s been an interesting week. Quick replay of the last eight days:
Off-road driving on a frozen field. Spent over an hour getting there because the directions I was given were out of date by about three years. Got to practice winter driving at unsafe speeds in borrowed RWD and FWD cars and my own AWD. Lot of fun, until something tore my left rear brake line. Got to ride home in tow truck. Continue reading “Weather &c”
You have to admire the composition of this photograph, taking by a friend waiting for a ride home:
Me: “OK if I just change the fuel filter first, while the engine is cold? It’ll only take a minute or two…”
Her, to her boyfriend: “I’ll be a little late tonight…” Continue reading “The Amazing Headless Mechanic”
I also forgot to mention that I replaced the stock steering wheel with a three-spoke leather sports steering wheel:
Yes, it’s an action shot, but in my defense, I was driving slowly and looking at the road instead of the camera, which is why the photo is crap :-) Continue reading “Oh, and another thing”
Being seriously burnt out and in general need of Getting Away From It All, I drove out to my mother-in-law this afternoon. Not only is she an All-Around Nice Person, but she has a garage with a level concrete floor. When you own and maintain a fifteen-year-old car, you’d better have a garage with a level concrete floor, or know someone who does.
The main reason I needed a level concrete floor this time around is that today was the last day I could legally drive with studded winter tires, and it is much easier to change tires using a hydraulic floor jack on a level concrete floor than to do so using a mechanical screw jack on uneven asphalt. That, and my summer tires were actually in my mother-in-law’s garage…
I figured that while I was at it, I might as well put the car up on jack stands and change the rear right caliper bearer. The old caliper bearer was so deformed by rust that the brake pads were practically stuck. Continue reading “In the land of the blind…”
First, elevators. You’ve probably heard that in many elevators, the “close doors” button doesn’t actually do anything. People who have never experienced this think it’s an urban legend, but believe me, it’s true. As pointed out in the Straight Dope article referenced above, in some elevators the “close doors” button has no effect unless the elevator is in “service mode” or “fireman mode”.
Where I currently work, the “close doors” button definitely does work. Everybody uses it, simply because if you don’t, the doors take forever to close. But the funny thing is that if you press the “close doors” button just as the doors are actually closing of their own volition (elevator doors want to be antropomorphised!) they will actually pause for a second or two before closing completely… Continue reading “On elevators and public transportation”