I pulled the Scout out of the garage this morning, intending to take her on some errands, and while I was jockeying the other cars around the driveway, she sputtered to a stop. Usually once I’ve got her running she stays running, so this was weird. Without thinking about it, I kept using starting fluid to get fuel running to the carb. After about five minutes of trying, I finally got a clue and put a gallon of gas in the tank from a jerry can. One squirt of fluid and she started right up. Which means I parked her on fumes last week. I keep thinking I’m not using as much gas as I actually am, but idling in the driveway to warm up seems to be using more than I think.
The seat project is moving along slowly. I pulled the passenger’s side seat and base out completely and mocked up one of the PT Cruiser seats on a base. They sit about 1″ higher than the GLHS seats but feel better. Lots more lumbar support. I have to pull the side molding and seatbelt stalks off, which will take a Torx 45 bit, which I don’t have.
The PT rails are longer than the Scout base, so the big question I’ve had has been: which side should have the overhang? I thumb-tightened two screws into the back of the base, putting the overhang up front, and tried the seat out. With the rails forward, the seat moves forward enough to leave a good bit of room for passengers entering the rear. If the driver’s side feels good, I’ll mount them both that way and call it done.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
This was a weekend full of birthday parties. Saturday we drove across the bridge to attend Zachary’s 5th birthday bowling party, which was full of kids and heavy balls and Transformers and classic rock and friends. I still can’t believe he’s 5. After the party broke up we drove back to the Morrises for hors d’oeuvres and catching up with folks we haven’t seen in years, which was great.
Sunday we noodled around the house until 2, when we took in another party in Columbia at a playground warehouse showroom. This, a business model, is genius: They actually charge you a fee to bring your kids in and let them run around, and rent out the space for parties. The kids ran around and climbed on the playsets while we adults marveled at both the list and sale prices of each model; when I say that there were swingsets priced comparably to a well-optioned European sedan, I’m not kidding. But, whatever; the kids had a great time, we parents had a great time chasing them around, and everyone left happy.
I’m listening to Signs Under Test by John Tejada, a very interesting electronica album that makes me think a little of In Sides-era Orbital. I think it’s the sound and approach of the melodies: fluttering around the beat, layered in echo, and often paired with a more dissonant counter-melody. It’s also refreshing because I’ve had various selections from Steely Dan’s Gaucho running on endless repeat in my head for the past week (seriously, since last Thursday) after watching the making of Aja on YouTube. GOD DAMN YOU, STEELY DAN.
I took about 15 minutes to take care of some small things yesterday. The first was to measure for new rear seatbelts. The originals are old and worn and I’d like to have something I trust strapping my daughter into the truck. The female side of the buckle came off sometime in the middle of last summer as she was adjusting it, so I shifted her carseat to the other side. On Sunday I pulled a spare off the bench I have in the garage and bolted it in after taking measurements. Then I clamped and cleaned the burrs off the two metal plates I cut for the seat bases, making sure to round the edges. They fit well, so I covered them in etching primer and let them sit overnight. Next I’ll hump one of the seats into the basement and drill the plates, then go out and source some high-quality hardware to mount everything.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
So it looks like Radio Shack is being put out to pasture.
On the way down, turning the stores into a chain of cell-phone kiosks staffed by hucksters alienated the DIYers.
This. One of my very first DIY projects was building my own speakers. I started with a Radio Shack-published book and a handful of parts from the local store. The last time I was in a store, the total parts selection was half a rack and the salesperson kept pressuring me to buy a cellphone.
So the Cooper Hewitt museum just rebranded and re-opened (“the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design”), and released a typeface by Pentagram as a free, open-source file for download. Nice.
I’ve had my iPhone 6 for over two weeks now, and I have to say I’m impressed. It’s bigger, yes, and slipperier–the first thing I did was buy a Skech case for it, which I like–but having touch recognition is frickin’ magic. iOS 8 is much peppier on upgraded hardware, obviously. It’s amazing how much difference three years’ technology makes. The screen is huge compared to the 4s–the difference in pixel density alone is tremendous. I took some time to consolidate five screens worth of icons down to two, which meant I ditched some stuff along the way, but I haven’t bought anything new to add.
I took in the Superbowl last night at my neighbors’, in front of three widescreens. I was the only one rooting for the Seahawks, mostly because I don’t like the Patriots all that much. It turned out to be a fantastic game, and I thought the Patriots had sealed things up in the last three minutes. When the Seahawks drove down the field, I was thinking we were going to see a miraculous comeback. As it turned out, I was wrong–and I still can’t believe the play they called.
As it turns out, all the work I did on LED marker lights is pretty much for naught. The spares I have in my bin are all set up with 12″ disconnects, which would presumably be accessible right inside the fender well. Not so with Peer Pressure. The wires go directly into the inner fender and a wrapped loom which joins with the headlight harness, so I’ll be going with LED bulbs instead.
On other fronts, I found a sheet of 16 gauge steel at Lowe’s and took some time on Sunday to cut it down to 16″ x 4″ sections for seat mounts. It’s still rough and needs to be cleaned up, but once that’s done I’ll prime and paint it, and drill mounting holes. I have two sets of spare bases in the garage. One set is pretty well shot–the lip on the bottom is eaten away with rust around the mounting bolts, but it’s got all the ratcheting hardware intact. The second set is in better shape, but needs to be cleaned up, primed, and painted. So I’ll set that aside for when I get a day with decent temperatures.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.