No game again today too many people out of town with no internet

Once again I’m unable to play Shadowrun because other people have lives outside of RPG and Urban Fantasy. They are with friends and/or family out of town and are not connected to the internets. Also I face a conundrum as MS has offered me a free upgrade to Windows 11 on this over 4 year old machine and I don’t know if I should accept it. The offer is sitting on the bar under the workspace along with the battery status bar and Weatherbug, if you have a computer and not reading this on a phone you know what I’m talking about. The conundrum is: this computer is running fine with 10 and I really don’t want to mess it up, but there are things that could be done in 11 that can’t be done in 10.

Still unable to get anything done on the Sprint-T, but the concept of using drillium on the front axle leaves open the possibility of making holes. I have already determined the best way of doing this with the tools I have at hand or within easy purchase. First I need to mark one side of the axle with a centerline of the tube, then a centerline for the axle then mark an area for the axle brackets that has to remain solid (no holes) then mark every 1.5″ for holes, then drill pilot holes through the tube using the drill press to make the holes through the tube of the axle perpendicular, then use a step drill to get them to 0.75″ diameter. Shouldn’t take more than 3 days including set up and cleanup.

In completely unrelated news I finally figured out how to use the airfry setting on the new stove we got last year. Using this we got crispy brown french fries earlier last week after getting slightly soggy fries from the same bag before. I take my victories where I get them. And this time it was in the form of french fries that came out of the oven crispy and brown without being overcooked.

Veering to another topic, I have an opening for a live-in girlfriend. Mrs. the Poet has decided since she can’t fulfill my physical needs I should be allowed to have someone who will in the house. The position comes with a bed and a bedroom, kitchen and laundry privileges, and free WiFi. Duties will include hugs and kisses and regular naked time as the woman desires but at least once a month. Note that I won’t force the issue on naked time, but it will be a requirement for living rent-free. Not forcing the issue on naked time is what got me to this state in the first place. If you have a work-from-home job and want to relocate to a gentler but unpredictable climate the weather in Texas is usually mild, February’s deep freeze was an exception. Note that this is a female-only offer, I’m not that bi.

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Today was a bad allergy day so I have been thinking

I have been having bad eyes all day along with a runny nose, so I have been doing a lot of thinking about making the Sprint-T harder to steal. Before I started I had “removeable steering wheel” and “hidden start switch” on the list. Now I have “install shifter backwards” and “24 bit binary password” on the list.

Actually the “install shifter backwards” wasn’t intended as an anti-theft measure, I was trying to get the shifter to function like a sequential shifter for a manual transmission. Those function with a pull back to go to a higher gear, but without major mechanical modification having PRN1234 ain’t gonna happen, but 1234NRP is there with just turning the shifter backwards and running the cable through a 180° loop so the cable moves in the right direction even with the shifter in backwards. So, pull the trigger and push the shifter the wrong way until the transmission is in first, then pull back to get to a higher gear. So, people who are familiar with cars would be unable to get the car in gear for at least a few seconds.

Now the other “24 bit binary password” is basically a bunch switches connected so that when the switches are arranged in the correct order it makes a series circuit. I’m thinking I should use the ASCII binary code for R, U, N, 😁 or G, O, !😁 Anyway I need to have a sequence I can remember. The other way to do it is connect the switches to a microcontroller and have it turn on the ECU. Now this can be bypassed by hot wiring, but that requires much longer than what it takes to get police there by cellphone.

And that’s about all I have to say today, so I’ll end this here.

When it’s day but your body says it’s time to sleep

Basically I’m time-shifted about 12 hours now, I fall asleep at noon and wake up about 1830-1900 just in time for dinner for breakfast. Then I do stuff for a while so that I’m spending at least a little quality time with my wife before she goes to bed and I go to work, even when I don’t have any actual “work” pending. Last night I did some work on the cats’ water dish/fountain so that the water in the pool area was also filtered. As configured from the factory the water is picked up from the back pool and forced through the filter to the top of the tower where it trickles back down the front of the tower and immediately goes into the back pool. This leaves all the dirty water untouched in the front pool which is where the cats have to drink from, only they won’t because it’s a little nasty and never gets cleaned.

So, what I’m doing is redirecting the water from the filter out into the front pool in order to set up a current that takes the water in the front pool into the filter so it all gets cleaned. Or at least mostly cleaned. I doubt I can configure the fountain to clean all the water but I’m hopeful that this will get it clean enough that the cats will stop drinking out of the dishwater and toilet, both of which disturb the person who bought the expensive cat fountain because he (not me) spent a hefty sum to buy the fountain only to have the cats turn up their noses at it after a few days of operation. The modification will have the negative side effect of making a splashy noise as the water spills out into the front pool from a height (if you can call less than 6″ a “height”) instead of clinging to the front of the filter tower and going right back into the rear pool and filters.

And since I have to wait several hours for this water-based adhesive to dry before I run water over it, and because today is Seniors Free day (and not Seniors in HS) and I have passed as a senior citizen for almost21 years now, I’m going to go to the fair and have some badunhealthy fried food and see stuff, and then come back and see how the cat fountain works. I’m hoping just getting the water away from the intake for the filter gets enough of the front pool cleaned out and I don’t have to build the extension that dumps the water at the far end of the front pool and sets up a current to get all of the front pool through the filter, but I’m prepared to do the full thing and build the extension that gets the clean water all the way to the front of the fountain.

See you after the Fair!

It never rains but it pours, my luck

OK I was going to get the extension hose today so I removed the gauge from the pump to take the fitting to the parts shop to get the right sizes on the hose. After I got it off I thought just for due diligence I should leak test the unit to make sure of where the leak was. So guess where the leak was? The end of the hose where it joins the gauge. Now if the leak had been on the other end of the hose or the other side of the gauge I could fix it, but where the hose connects to the gauge is a crimped connection and not something I can fix at home. So now I have to do a warrantee replacement of the pump so I can ride my bike. Fortunately Amazon is sending a replacement pump assembly.

Getting back to the design of the pump, this pump was designed to be non-repairable. What I thought was a male pipe-thread fitting on the gauge turned out to be a self-threading fitting with a sealing ring at the top, sorta like the legendary self-sealing stem bolts of ST:DS9 . This means they didn’t need to worry about clocking the installation of the gauge because it would clock itself without leaking. That also means I can’t just stick another original gauge and hose in there because the threads are already cut and probably wouldn’t match up to the new unit. And to make matters worse the hose connection to the gauge is not one that can be done or undone in your average home shop. So I’m screwed, and not in the fun way. The only thing I can do is see if I can screw a hose into the pump and run the pump without a gauge. But I’m still going to see if I can fix this one because that’s what I do, play with busted stuff and see if I can make it work. I have a brand-new pump that just needs a hose and chuck to work. I WILL make it work.

On the hot rod front, I have sustained a setback but I’m only out about $90 including taxes because everything I bought since the design change to a mid-engine will work with the more traditional design except for the car cover for a 1990-2005 Chrysler Town and Country mini-van. The books on reprogramming the Chrysler PCM are generic enough that unless I end up with a carb instead of fuel injection I’m still good on that, so that brings it down to $45 for the car cover and tax. The steering arms will work because the front suspension and steering are the same for the front and mid-engine versions except for springs and shocks, which I haven’t bought yet.

Something all the design work for the mid-bucket has made me want to do is to use something like the engine and transmission to make a SCCA Solo racing A/Mod car. There are very few rules in A/Mod: 72″ minimum wheelbase, 42″ minimum track, 900 pound minimum weight with driver, roll bar minimums and maximums, and all 4 wheels have to be sprung. There are maximum wing rules, driver coverage body rules, but nothing that would keep me from doing my thing. I really wished over and over I had the budget to do both the hot rod and the A/Mod car. Towing the A/Mod car behind the hot rod would be doubleplus rad.

And I think I have gotten everything out of my system for today.

PSA, Opus the Unkillable

OK here are the pictures before and after

Before I go for my walk today I’m going to make a quick post with the pictures of how the steering arms fit after a little filing on the register bits. This first pic is the one I did last night after finishing my walk. Note that the bits fit flat against the machined spots they are supposed to fit flat against on both sides now.

And this is the one I didn’t do yet. Notice that the peg part of the arm sits on top of the machined hole in the spindle. There is only a few thousandths of an inch interference there but it is enough to make the part unusable without modification.

The difference is about 3 hours of work, 2 of actual filing and another hour of letting my hand rest so I could control the file better. I have to admit the ravages of age are catching up to me. I used to be able to rough shape bike fenders by pinching them with my fingers, now I have to take frequent breaks just lightly using hand tools. And this is the fun bit for me, the tedious fiddly bits that nobody will see unless they know where to look and what to look for.

Now that that’s done I’m going to get dressed for outside and go for my walk. My books on how to control the EFI on the donor engine came today so I have reading materials that have to be read soon, and the bike pump is due in tomorrow so I can cover more territory out hunting check-ins on my phone game, and get exercise without killing my foot.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Unkillable

New direction for the blog, we are now a car blog!

Yes I know that means I’m going to have to get a driver’s license again if I want to do road tests, but I would need one for the Sprint-T anyway. And I wouldn’t have the stay up til 0500 typing, I could get to bed at a reasonable hour!

Up first, doesn’t everyone need a 700 HP Jeep? Hellcat Jeep Trackhawk One And Done, 2015 Roush F-150, Bye Xterra, Tesla Competition, Top 5 Fast Fails And 745HP Force 1, Hellcat Jeep, Stolen Challenger, Acura Precision Concept, Wrangler Truck, Top 5 Fast Fails

Do you want to retain that 2 by 4bbl look but hate tuning two carbs and trying to match fuel delivery curves via swapping out holes in the fuel system? FiTech Reinvents EFI! How They Do It Better & Cheaper Seriously, this is a game-changer, the benefits of EFI with closed loop mixture control at a total system cost comparable to a carburetor. Since this computer controls spark as well as fuel I would use it on the Sprint-T for maximum fuel economy between race meets and running around getting groceries and going to church.

Stretching the limits on what is “street legal” a team is working on a funny car with treaded tires. Jeff Lutz and Tom Bailey Team Up For Street-Legal Record Probably an April Fools joke, but Scientology started with a bar bet between Heinlein and Hubbard, so maybe not? The illustration with the article shows a standard 500 in³ blown Hemi on a Nostalgia Funny Car chassis. The April Fools theory is supported by this article on current projects from both builders. Jeff Lutz vs. Tom Bailey: Whose New Project is Cooler? I like the Talledega project is “cooler” as I have been a corner burner since before I got my license. I like the engineering challenge of straight line acceleration, but cars that can brake and turn after accelerating are more my cup of java.

And I’m just starting this car blog thing so I don’t have a whole lotta sources yet.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Wow what a race on Wreck Free Sunday

The Superman car (sponsored by the movie Superman vs Batman) won the Sprint Cup race in Fontana today, and I got to watch the whole race because I was having an allergy attack and stayed home from church all day. I have been chugging coffee and tea and “other” beverages all day because if I stay hydrated I can see and talk, but as soon as I start drying out a little bit it’s like a gauze curtain has been dropped across my eyes. I mean it isn’t anything more than bothersome, certainly not so much as uncomfortable, just annoying. But I still don’t want to go to church in that condition. Weather.com reports that my discomfort is due to high tree sex activity in my area.

One of the things I did with my off time yesterday besides watching the 12 Hours of Sebring was to mock up the kit I’m building the mini Sprint-T from as an unchanneled body on top of the frame instead of the way the kit builds it with the frame covered by the body. I haven’t hung the wheels and axles on it yet, but the carbs on the Street Engine from the kit are just even with the top of the firewall, while the entire rear frame clears the bottom of the shortened pickup box that covers where the gas tank and battery would be on the 1:1 car. So if the kit was 1:1 I could put a slightly larger gas tank in the car.

Looks good, doesn’t it? I’m strongly thinking about doing the finished model like this
And while I’m thinking about it, this is $29 in raw stock, tax, and shipping fees.

There is enough flat sheet to make several frames, and a couple monocoque tubs, too. I have been thinking about that, using one of the engine kits to make a ¹/₂₅ V8 powered SCCA A/Mod Solo racer. The tricky part would be making room for real legs between the engine and the rear axle and keeping the weight and polar moments both down and maximizing downforce without a wing, and then putting the wing over the top like a sprint car or Supermodified. But that’s for later, after the mini Sprint-T is finished. As it is now I need to get 4 sets of Wide 5 wheels to make the wheels for the 3 cars (one car will have the race tires mounted, which will take 2 sets of wheels spliced together to fit the tire). Or 3 sets and turning some bar stock aluminum into wheel shells and the rims off of one set of wheels so the centers could be glued into the shells. Basically I would be doing a model version of this and this.

Speaking of wheels, I’m still debating the vendor for the wheels. I don’t have the skills to make a plug for making a mold to cast a set of wheels on my own, so those I have to buy. I can do things like turn raw stock into a reasonable replica of a straight axle with steering arms, 4 bar, and coilover brackets, because those are basically 2D cuts and glue them together to make them a 3D part. But I have never been any good at sculptures, complex 3D shapes are outside my skill sets even before I got my TBI. I might be able to do a simple shape with little surface detail, but a Wide 5 hub in scale with everything in the right place is way outta my pay grade. The best looking wheels I have seen so far are the W_1 from Ron Coon and the asawheel from VCG Resins. Either one will look great with the tires I have or the tires I want to get.

And these allergies are making me tired, so I’m wrapping this up.

PSA, Opus

Another day spent pounding pavements, and the Feed

This was a rough one as I went to the bank to get some money out of the firewalled account, and then went grocery shopping for the stuff we couldn’t get yesterday because we didn’t have the $ in the non-firewalled account. And I still forgot the yogurt, so no yogurt for me and the poor little kitties. 😦 And I discovered that I really need to get my toes done because my toes hurt like mad from getting the too-long nails pressed against the inside of my shoes as I walked. I really wish I could still get to all my toes by myself to trim my toenails.

And I keep writing about the Sprint-T (both sizes) but many of you don’t know how long this desire has been fermenting in my brain. U.S. Speed Sport “Instant T” T-Bucket History Not quite this long, but not very long after this.

Up first in the bike links is Out Daily Ted. Morning Links: Notes from Neil Storm Stephany sentencing, and update on new Camp Pendleton bike policy

Still in CA is this infrastructure link. They’ve Invented An Ingenious New Type Of Intersection That Could Save Lives The don’t noticeably slow bike or car traffic and protect the cyclists from the cars. Good show.

With SnowmageddonII hitting the entire east coast north of FL this weekend here’s a cheery thought about the road conditions. Why rain is more dangerous than snow

This SC hit-from-behind wreck may have involved excessive speed. Woman Killed While Riding Bicycle to Work The driver had to be hospitalized, this usually means the cyclist caused a spray of glass inside the passenger compartment which requires a fair amount of velocity. LEO are not elaborating on this aspect at the time of filtering.

Meanwhile in NYC. 15-Year-Old Boy In Critical Condition Following Williamsburg Hit-And-Run When I filtered this link there was a bicycle in it, but I can’t find the bicycle now. Just a body in the street, and a red minivan.

Still in NYC a driver moving an SUV at a service garage manages to hit several parked cars in the street and two pedestrians pinning one to the side of a building. NYPD: Gas Station Worker “Lost Control” Of SUV, Ran Over Cop’s Foot, Pinned Woman To Wall I can’t believe they didn’t say “No criminality suspected” on this one. I guess that’s because he ran over a cop.

Not done with the city yet, here’s some infrastructure bad news. Say Goodbye To Jay Street’s Vital Bike Lanes “Do any of these lane designers actually ride bicycles in the city? Or is “bicycle lane” just a button in their CAD program?” j44ke. He (she?) said it better than I could. Making the street more dangerous so that cars had easier access to the BQE. (SMH)

Over in SD they are trying to force cyclists off the roads. Bicyclists Belong in the Traffic Lane

They finally got around to charging the driver in this case in MI. Suspect charged after hit-and-run death of cyclist in Ann Arbor At least they didn’t wait until the driver killed himself in another wreck like in my case. October to January…

Up there in West Canuckistan they gots an attempted killer on the loose. RCMP seek hit-and-run driver who injured cyclist in Willowbrook They turned the Mounties on him, and you know what they say about Mounties and suspects.

Still up there in the Great White North. Killer of LaSalle cyclist sentenced to nine months in jail I don’t think there is an “m” in years. There is a serious disconnect between the seriousness of the crime and the severity of the sentence.

When the building used to store your bike gets condemned, while you’re recovering from a severe chronic illness they might lose the bike. Disabled woman’s lifelong dream of cycling across Canada dashed after bike vanishes Woman has a relapse of the disease that left her riding a hand bike and had to put the bike in storage while she went home to recover and then the bike turns up missing.

In Jolly Olde a cyclist is stopped for having a flashing light 10 years after the law was changed to allow flashing lights. Police mistakenly stop cyclist for flashing rear light “We Googled it and we were wrong.” Really, the law changed in 2005 and you’re just now finding out about it?

Good news from the UK. Yeovil cyclist who suffered head and leg injuries thanks mysterious Good Samaritan When you’re hurt don’t try to “tough it out” like this guy. He had serious injuries that needed attention from medical personnel, not a home fix-up.

Rider down in Malta. Cyclist, 79, seriously injured in Birzebbuga traffic accident and Cyclist, 79, hit by car in Birżebbuġa And that’s about all LEO are saying about the wreck.

A bus hits a cyclist and takes out 3 more and leaves the scene in Oz. Gold Coast bus hits cyclists, one injured The hit-and-run is barely mentioned. “It is believed the Surfside Buslines driver was unaware he clipped the cyclist, with the bus continuing after the incident without stopping.” Seriously, WTF?

Useful art from discarded bike parts. These Awesome-Looking Chandeliers Are Made From Salvaged Bicycle Parts Used chains and wheels and a few eectrical bits, et voila! Let there be fashionable light.

Old post just brought to my attention today. So I Went Automobile Shopping… What if car buying was like bike buying? How many cars would get sold?

As the weather gets colder your e-assist bike (and your EV) will lose range because batteries don’t like cold> There’s a worrisome problem with electric cars that no one’s talking about For cars there are a couple of things you can do, pre-heat the car interior while the car is still on the charger so you are using grid rather than battery power to do the heating, and switch over to seat heat rather than cabin heat while on the road to stay warm without using as much battery power. On an e-assist bike you provide the heat inside your clothing, but the battery losing range because of the cold slowing down the chemical reactions inside the battery still applies.

Last link, this is why I have to take so many mental health days from this blog. Feeling More I know to some it seems like I can report on some serious $&(^ and it doesn’t phase me, but I have to take a lot of breaks and go read comics or other stuff between making links on this blog.

And on that note I’m going to throw a couple tags on this post and try to unwind a bit before bed.

It’s here it’s here, and the Feed

I have on my desk one of the tires from the kit I bought off Amazon. I think maybe all that tracking put the USPS on notice and the package got here the day before the first day of delivery I paid for.

Here’s the kit.

The side panel of the box.

The end panel

The most critical component in the kit for making the Mini Sprint-T.

If you look at the back side of the bucket from the kit,

And then look at the same view on the real car,

You can see the work that needs to be done to make the part for the Mini Sprint-T right. Not an impossible obstacle, just a little work in the pattern-making stage that will be reversible for making the kit as designed. I’m thinking some duct tape and some putty will do the job, or some kind of barrier and modelling putty to make that outside contour as smooth as the full-size part for making the mold for the vacuformed body for the Mini Sprint-T.

This is also bean day, so I have been tending a pot of beans with another ham bone in the pot that was left over from Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, that we just identified in the freezer.

Up first because it’s in the same state, someone got a lawyer down in Alvin. CLEAR LAKE ATTORNEY KILLED IN CYCLING ACCIDENT IN ALVIN The mode was running into the back of a parked car, which is usually cop-blame speak for a door prize, but the location given was wrong for a door prize. It was right for the kind of wreck where a cyclist gets run off the road and into a parked car which several people suggested in the comments section.

More on the FloriDUH! man. Driver killed cyclist after losing control while receiving services from a The break in the headline wasn’t mine but the origin web site. Yes this is another link to the “I can’t wait” man getting oral sex from a woman he just met in a bar. This would be a much funnier story if the cyclist was not permanently injured and the woman bit the “member” off “I can’t wait” man because of the wreck.

Another NC wreck. Cyclist hit, killed by driver in Orangeburg County Saturday I think it might be possible to have less information in an article, but it would be really hard.

Infrastructure article from SC. Northern Hilton Head Island spot of most bike wrecks They have had a major surge in bike mode share without a concurrent surge in bike wrecks, they must be doing something at least kinda right.

Continuing the trip south we end up back in FL. Ghost bikes gone, but message lingers The DOT does not like reminders that they have failed a very specific segment of road user so conspicuously so Ghost Bikes have a limited lifespan on their roads.

Almost as if the left and right hands are not in communication with each other. South Florida Safe Roads Task Force kicks off initiative to save lives I keep calling FL the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike, and they finally agree with me. They are doing the absolute minimum they can about the situation, but I suppose almost nothing is better than nothing at all.

A MN cyclist is left crossed while riding in the sidewalk. St. Cloud man injured after bike was hit by car The bike was legally lighted when hit, the driver was legally blind as in “I can see fine but I’m not paying any attention to the roads,” legal.

Seattle has a ninja problem. Don O’Neill: I almost killed a bicyclist who wasn’t using a light After almost hitting the first one he noticed several more later, which goes to show they aren’t really invisible drivers just need to pay attention to where they are driving.

Now that the World Championships are over they love bikes in Richmond VA? Richmonder of the Year: Cycling

Another Ghost Bike in the ABQ. Ghost bike installed to remember Albuquerque cyclist They say the cyclist ran the red but since the only surviving witness was the driver of the weapon vehicle…

Our Daily Ted, part one. Morning Links: Bike traffic up in Santa Monica, and more bighearted people for the season of giving

And Parté dos. Describe Your Ride: Commuting to work on the beach path and tourist-lined streets of Santa Monica

Over in Jolly Olde. Cyclist hugs and forgives driver who nearly killed her and led to her losing a leg I must say she is much more generous than I would be. I think I still have a pair of steel toe boots for kicking the crotch of the guy that hit me back in 2001 if he turns out to still be alive. And then for kicking the crotch of the “detective” that covered up the fact that I was hit by a city vehicle until after the statute of limitations to file suit against the city had expired. “Paul-Ioan Mihacea was fined just £750 after Victoria Lebrec was seriously hurt in the crash and only saved thanks to pioneering treatment” Yep, they gave her some good drugs the day of the hearing.

A cyclist was assaulted with a deadly weapon and they tried to rob him while he was down, but bystanders intervened. Cyclist injured after attempted robbery in Norwich

Over in Oz, a horrendous wreck. Cyclist killed in car crash in Perth and Perth cyclist killed hours before surprise party also Family of killed Perth cyclist Tom Curtis make road safety plea

And another wreck in Oz. Cyclist killed in crash with car in Maroubra OK he was hit by/with a car and …

And I’m outta links, which is good because I have a trip to the Lab Rat Keeper tomorrow to get more meds.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Happy Beg-For-Candy-Day!

Happy Samhain for the Pagans and Wiccans out there, Beltain for those Down Under.