First off, I would not have attempted this replacement without the excellent YouTube video of the process on a 2001 model without an overhead console. So this entry is dedicated to AdamC with gratitude, and a similar desire to help.

Here is the part to replace:


You'll want to clean away the road crud around the grommet so the new part makes a good seal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYc9aLCmGGk
If you don't want to watch the video, you need a Torx T-25 driver, a Phillips, and a flat screwdriver. But seriously, watch the video. Suspenders AND belt, you know.

( My pics and text wallCollapse )

The topic chosen this month is post-apoc, not least because SSSS (Stand Still. Stay Silent. -- SSSScomic.com) is a post-apoc web series. I picked Emergence, by Palmer, due to its reputed Heinlein similarities.

Now for my recommended book: FEED, by Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant. I swore I would NEVER read a zombie book, but after loving her other series -- and a copy miraculously coming available on PaperbackSwap.com -- I gave in. Then I went and finished the trilogy, eagerly PAYING FULL PRICE. Based on plausible unintended consequences, with society and mores that evolve from the managed, but ever-present threat of outbreaks in the Information Age, it is a fully-involving story. The narrator literally gets the story as a factual Newsie teamed with a thrill-seeking Irwin, and a poetic Romanticist(?).

It's not a zombie joke when I say it's a ride with heart, soul, and brains.

If nobody picks FEED, it won't be for lack of a glowing recommendation. :)

Beautiful art, well-matched to a pleasing song performance. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73afBkwBcn4

Animation by Kahli Brown, music by Owl City. Animation inspired by "Stand Still. Stay Silent." (SSSScomic.com), by Minna Sundberg.

Originally tried posting to Filk Community--wha' hoppen?

Right here!
http://girlgeniusadventures.com/2015/03/07/hugo-nominations-are-about-to-close/

Another consideration for those Minna Sundberg fans ("Minnions") eligible to nominate:
I read up on the John W. Campbell award for Best New Writer. Eligibility is TWO years from completion. Since Minna's previous graphic novel, "A Red-Tail's Dream" finished on 22/10/13, and generated *way* more than "nominal" income via crowd funding, (Target: $24K; Raised: $125K, IIRC.) I think it's worth a shot. Please, along with Best Graphic Series, let's try that one, too. Can't hurt!

Finally, a shameless plug for your consideration:
For Best Related Work, "what if ?; Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions," by Randall Munroe, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The art is beautiful. The world-building combines virology and magic, where the unlucky survivors of a rash virus mutate into "trolls," or agglomerate into "giants." The characters are interesting, with uniquely nordic flavors and outlooks. And the cats range from Grade C (Common) to Grade A (Military, with scouting and Vermin-disposal value). The name comes from the First Rule of surviving a troll encounter: Stand still. Stay Silent.
http://sssscomic.com/comic.php

( About the Series....Collapse )

Both original lyrics, poetry, and parodies pop up in the daily comments. These don't *require* a Disqus login, but they finally convinced me it was worthwhile to get one--and I *hate* new logins and passwords!

The Forums, under the General SSSS Board, contain not only a poetry thread where lyrics and other poems from the comments are harvested each day, there is even a thread devoted to developing "Stand Still. Stay Silent. The Musical!" Here is a sample for one phase of their journey, the initial score for the crew's trainride on the Giant-Proofed Saw-Train Dalahasten.

There is also a thread of Music That Fits SSSS; Which instruments/Music styles would dominate year 90?; and even a Theme Song discussion.

I invite you to check it out. You'll either thank me for bringing you to the wonder, or hate me for finding another beguiling timesink. Maybe both. :)

Yes, I have been bingeing on seanan_mcguire, but truth is almost as strange as her many worlds.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/01/28/381920192/why-dump-treated-wastewater-when-you-could-make-beer-with-it

As I read the article, the treated effluent sounds indistinguishable from distilled water. I'd love to dust off my Municipal Engineering lab notes and run comparison tests.

From Edinburgh's Really Terrible Orchestra, famed in the works of Alexander McCall Smith:
"I am a Pilot King"
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmGPHARn6ac

This entry is a direct result of the car refusing to even groan this morning, although it did light up. Apparently, the work light under the car was not near enough the battery to keep it warm, *and* I neglected to put a blanket on the hood to trap its not-so-hot output. 30 minutes after putting the light on the battery, the car gave a minuscule groan. The light is now beside the battery, with a doubled afghan on the hood.

Alternatively, the positive side of the ignition harness has *very* little slack, and has actually pulled apart in cold weather before. The battery is fairly new . . . FWIW.

UPDATE1: It was the negative side that pulled apart (1 of 2 black cables clamped into the terminal). I think I can clamp it into useful contact, & drive to the Ford place.

UPDATE2: I made it halfway, when a belt started screaming. Checking, the ground connection had come loose from the ground point. I was able to clamp that as well, and restart the engine, but that didn't help the squealing. The tow is en route; I'll get some mileage out of USAA Roadside Assistance.

UPDATE3: It wasn't the alternator (as I half-expected from the other electrical drama), the water pump, or any other pump that squealed--it was an idler wheel, relatively cheap, but it ruined the serpentine. So that, plus a new wiring harness, so far. Parts on order.

Also FWIW, we will fortunately have an easier time transplanting the rosebushes where the sidewalk leaves the driveway, since Wednesday's North Wind very kindly shifted the trellis structure for us. It is now reclining on the front porch. The swing is hanging out with it.

We'll probably both only attend Friday & Saturday, since the Professora has lots of term-starting homework for Sunday.

We've started working on Thriller for an upcoming Halloween parade, which is proving fun. Even better, we're working on the theme to the old "A-Team" TV series. I could never suspend disbelief enough to make it through the actual show, but I don't think I changed channels before the theme ended. Mike Post & Pete Carpenter wrote some of my favorite 'Danish tunes.

With no gig this weekend, we actually did some multiple runs-through of the new pieces, a wonderful change for this amateur musician. An especially nice bit afterwards was being invited to attend the local hangout. I declined due to driving, but gave profuse thanks, noting it's ALWAYS nice to be asked. (And so it was.)