Macclad's Blog

from the Mt. Hood webcam.

2012-02-05T20:03:00.001-08:00

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air filter assy. roughed in.

2012-01-28T18:46:00.001-08:00

This was built by daryl Schroeder. After a lot of back and forthing, this arrangement seemed to have come out of nowhere and solved a lot of fitment issues. Brian and I brainstormed for about an hour, and this was the positive result.....

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panorama of snow.

2012-01-21T12:27:00.001-08:00

Testing my android eblogger software....

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New Ham gear.

2012-01-21T01:06:00.001-08:00

Since my last post I got on the air with HF, and I have done so with a vengeance. Anyhow, check out the little station, with a longwire dipole outside and a hamstick dipole on a pole outside, with

W2DU balun on both.

The second picture is of a Yaesu FT-736R, the cadillac of Sattelite transceivers. I just finished installing the tone board (will test tomorrow), and am using a J-pole - but the rig requires separate UHF and VHF inputs, so ... ?? Enjoy!

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention...

2011-05-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

.. my ankle surgery was very successful, and I'm out of the cast, out of therapy, etc. etc. I'll be running as soon as the weather FINALLY improves here in Oregon!

Domestic Engineering.

2011-05-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

I bought 500 garbage can liners, but they were too small for my garbage can. So, they'd chronically fall in when they got full, as the weight was more than the friction formed by the bag being wrapped around the outside of the trash container. The solution was to put two empty 2 liter plastic pop bottles at the bottom and replace the liner. I am happy to report, two full, and then replaced, liners later, this solution works perfectly! Pictures above: 1: Bottles at bottom of oversized trash can; 2: Liner being installed. 3: Empty liner, with supporting 2 liter bottles seen underneath the bottom of the liner. No more mess!

Jonsrud Viewoint, Sat., April 23rd 2011.

2011-04-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

I've probably driven by this place a million times , or at least 1 mile. But, it only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. This is a great viewpoint just across the street from a quiet suburban development - lucky dogs! About 1 p.m. I had to crop and correct the Mt. Hood photos to make them visible... But they turns out o.k. Varying levels of telephoto - not that much needed... but it's nice when needed to draw it in...

Tulip Festival, part II (cropped and corrected images).

2011-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here, I cropped some of the pics, and the one with Mt. St. Helens in the background needed a bit of signal processing to bring out the mountain, hence the darker flowers in the foreground. From April 23rd (I think it hit 70 that day!)

Tulip Festival, Wooden Shoe Nursery, April 23rd, 2011

2011-04-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I have some panoramas up on my facebook page, so check them out. Also I used my Rebel XTI with a 250 mm telephoto. This helps quite a bit for these photos with long rows and so on, to get the shot framed. It was like Woodstock that day! The crowds were HUGE, but the fields are so large, it was actually o.k. Enjoy!

B17 flying over SW Portland, Telephoto..

2011-04-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

This was taken on Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m., April 23rd, and it was at the end of a great day of sightseeing I did. At 250 mm, this is almost good enough for at-will good shooting of any plane in the sky. But really 400 or 500 would be better. Just and experiment.

Mobility during my recuperation..

2011-01-31T15:32:00.000-08:00

.. if you've been following the blog you know that I had ankle surgery for osteochondritis dissecans (look it up). I rented one of these "knee scooters" , and it's the only way I can get around. I ditched the crutches and the wheelchair. This is the ONLY way. Were it not for this I simply couldn't show up at work and get around.
Enjoy!

WAAAM in Hood River

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

On the way back, everything else was closed, so just on the west side of Hood River there's a
sign on the freeway for Western Antique Auto and Aviation Museum. It's located next to the Airport, a few miles inland.. Turned out to be great. Nobody else was there, so there was free riegn to look aroound. I took photos. The guy who flew the plane off of the Multnomah Hotel in '97 or so is involved, and his plane is hanging up in the lobby. A great facility. And, most of the cars, motorcycles, and planes WORK! I like that very, very, much. They're at http://www.waaamuseum.org
Visit them!

Visit to Gorge...

2011-01-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

.. It was a nice day, so time to go out to the Gorge.. Traffic was great, so it was a good trip.
Maryhill Museum was closed, of course, but here's some shots from Stonehenge, a replica built by Sam Hill (also built Maryhill Museum and the old Columbia Gorge Highway) as a memorial for local soldiers who died in WWI. The names of the fallen soldiers are on some brass plaques on the inside of the complex on the pillars. I was here in '79 for the total eclipse. THAT was trippy!

Left toe stubbed after right Ankle surgery.... result...

2011-01-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

... Second pic is the cast from the ankle surgery.. It was operated on on Jan. 12th at 3:25 p.m till about 5:30 p.m. I was awake only 15 minutes afterwards and was awake right up to the minute I was wheeled into the room. I didn't remember anything after that... The only bad thing was severe nausea after the operation. But by 10 or so that night it was mostly gone. My ankle was a bit sore the next day, but by the morning of the 14th (today) I have no pain at all. So I'm pretty stoked about that. Yesterday I did stub my toe, with the accompanying torrent of curse words, and I just had to take a picture of how purple that is.. picture 1.

First photos with 250mm telephoto.

2011-01-08T19:03:00.001-08:00

I'm like a newborn deer trying to run with its new legs, but I love the new 250 mm zoom telephoto for my Canon Rebel XTI. It's not a top of the line camera or a top of the line lens, but for what I need it 's more than enough... with all of the bird seed (hulled sunflower chips) I've been setting out back we've had a literal zoo of birds and animals. I overemphasized the squirrels here, but many more birds are to come...

Seaplane Takeoff from Victoria Harbor...

2010-11-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

Nov. 28, 2010 (this morning) . I used my little Nikon Coolpix 3100, and I had to upload the file into Sony Vegas and rotate it 90 degrees there and write it out again.. Smooth takeoff... Smooth flight. It's the ONLY way to get into and out of Victoria. Screw the Port Angeles Ferry! No way.

The traits of engineers:

2010-11-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

If you wanna know what makes me tick, read this: I don't claim to be the most brilliant engineer, but it's what I've been doing for 25 years, and it starts to bleed over into my personal life - or vice versa - you figure it out.

Social Skills: It's totally unfair to suggest - as many have - that engineers are socially inept. Engineers simply have different objectives when it comes to social interaction. "Normal" people expect to accomplish several unrealistic things from social interaction:- Stimulating and thought-provoking conversation- Important social contacts-A feeling of connectedness with other humansThese goals are irrational and stupid. Engineers realize that making personal contacts is not valuable in their occupation. For them it's not "who you know" that matters, it's "who knows less than you do" that counts. To an engineer, most "normal" people are intellectually indistinguishable from Mexican jumping beans with faces. Feeling "connected" with carbon-based dolts holds all the joy of being handcuffed to a dead zebra - it sounds special, but it can get old fast.In contrast, engineers have rational objectives for social interactions:-Get it over with as soon as possible. -Avoid getting invited to something unpleasant.-Demonstrate mental superiority and mastery of all subjects.The social skill of an engineer must be evaluated on the basis of these rational objectives, not on the basis of bizarre and nonsensical societal standards. Viewed in this light, I think you'll agree that engineers are very effective in their social interactions. It's the "normal" people who are nuts.

Frugality: Engineers are notoriously frugal. This is not because of cheapness or mean spirit; it is simply because spending situation is simply a problem in optimization, that is, "How can I escape this situation while retaining the greatest amount of cash?"

Advice: Engineers are always delighted to share wisdom, even in areas which they have no experience whatsoever. Their logic provides them with inherent insight into any field of expertise. This can be a problem when dealing with the illogical people who believe that knowledge can only be derived through experience.

Ego: Ego-wise, two things are important to engineers: -How smart they are-How many cool devices they ownThe fastest way to get an engineer to solve a problem is to declare that the problem is unsolvable. No engineer can walk away from an unsolvable problem until it's solved. No illness or distraction is sufficient to get the engineer off the case. These types of challenges quickly become personal - a battle between the engineer and the laws of nature. And when they succeed in solving the problem, they will experience an ego rush that is better than sex - and I'm talking about the kind of sex where other people are involved. Not only is it better at the moment, but it lasts for as long as people will listen to the engineer's tale of conquest.

Nothing is more threatening to the engineer that the suggestion that somebody has more technical skill. Normal people sometimes use that knowledge as a lever to extract more work from the engineer. When an engineer says something can't be done (a code phrase that means it's not fun to do), some clever normal people have learned to glance at the engineer with a look of compassion and pity and say something along the lines of "I'll ask Bob to figure it out. He knows how to solve difficult technical problems." At that point it is a good idea for the normal person to not stand between the engineer and the problem. The engineer will set upon the problem like a starved Chihuahua on a pork chop. And in conclusion:Engineer, to his boss: "This is just great... We engineers have old IBM 286 PCs and you have a Sparc workstation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only thing you know how to do is stare at a screen saver."Boss, thinking:"How does that ball keep bouncing?"Engineer:"If anybody needs me I'll be scrolling some text."

Lotus Europa Progress.

2010-10-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been awhile. But this is a shot of the virtually complete engine compartment - all that is left is a spacer on a bracket (can't even see), an air filter/hose setup, and the accusump - which can be skipped for startup. There's also the breather setup, but I'll deal with that later.

In the engine compartment there are just too many things to list on what's new. The battery mount is new as is the battery. The cross bar and triangulation pieces are integral to the battery. There's a rebuilt tranny, motor, custom oil cooler setup, custom twin throttle body, repainted engine interior, custom modified alloy tanks, fuel routing, fuel pumps, return lines, regulator, sensors, electomotive ignition on custom bracket, custom alternator and alloy pulley off of camshaft. Custom wiring throughout, modified brake setup and proportioning valve. Soooo

much more...

The view into the passenger cmpartment shows the rebuilt steering assembly, leather seat, new seatbelts/back, new heater core, wiper assembly, etc. Finally the front shows the new radiator/hose setup, fan/bracket, and clear lens covers (my big idea).

Denver Panorama from the south at Tinsley trail summit.

2010-10-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Kinda of a neat one. I just set the lens to 50 mm (no fisheye, no telephoto). I had Leslie Baird of Leslie Baird design stitch it together (she does better than me always), and presto!

You'll have to click on it and use the + key if using explorer to view it.

The lower house at the Ironside Ranch.

2010-09-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Originally the "main house", it was built in the thirties and vacated when the new upper house was built. This is in Ironside - actually a ranch just n. of Ironside where I go every year. A little

work with google maps and a high-speed connection and you'll find this. More stuff will be put up on this blog from my recent visit in awhile. This was taken Fridy Sept. 17th I think.

Four new Van pop-up windows.

2010-09-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

On the 1969 Dodge A108 project - well the windows are offically now all in. The pop-up windows, four of them are installed on both side doors on the right and the rear.

All new four custom cut smoked glass for both rear and both side doors for the '69 vans. The hinges were soda blasted and while not perfect theyshined up real good and all the grungy rust is gone. Some of the hinges springs popped outta their perches but once reinstalled the latches lie down nicelywhile closed. I really could use two on the other side of the van, and have seen it before, but the latch mounts on the bottom and the hinge mounts on thetop are absent.

On the hinges on the near / rear side van door, there were two holes in the top of the door frame for each hinge. This bummed me out to find out, until I discovered that the outer hinge holes were on the correct pitch as required for my hinges and the holes in the window.

So that all ended well - a rarity!Installing these alone was like wrestling an alligator. I don't think anyone wanted to be around me, tho.. hah hah!

Beaver in the Wild

2010-09-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Rick snapped photos of a beaver near his back yard in early August. I've never seen a Beaver in the wild in Oregon, and gosh darn it, we're the Beaver State.

Here it is:

Yorktown Part II

2010-09-06T21:44:00.001-07:00

I guess I'm able to post more, so I'll finish my Yorktown stuff. The folks you see here are walking towards the English defenses. If you stood on them you'd come to a large field and spot the American defenses. Eventually the Americans took over a few of the remote English defenses and used them to launch mortars, several of which struck the Nelson house as pictured in Part I. The American's final charge was quite brave, and the English thought better of trying to fight them off. Here I am at the Victory Monument. The top (not in view but pictures in Part I) was damaged by lightning in the fifties I think and hadda be replaced. Oh, yeah, one more shot of the tents Washington used during the Seige.

Historic Williamsburg.

2010-09-06T21:31:00.001-07:00

This was on August 14th 2010. We stayed at a hotel right across from the Historic Williamsburg entrance. So rather than go to the water park (another crowded stressful place I should better avoid), I needed a walk, and decided to go against the flow at 6 p.m. and visit historic Williamsburg in the late afternoon. It was good to lower the blood sugar, being diabetic, which was terribly high, but I almost passed out with a low during this walk.

Nothing a good homemade Oatmeal raisin cookie and a nice triple-shot cappucino couldn't help that I got at a local coffee shop. Here you see the Governor's mansion, a MONDO birdhouse, a small play that was being rehearsed in time for the evening's festivities, the old Bruton Parish church (and cemetery), to give you a flavor of the place. A nice place to live, and I wouldn't mind one bit no sirree. I really love Virginia, but not the traffic. I will return soon!

Yorktown, Aug. 15th Part 1.

2010-09-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Rather than spend an unpleasant day at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, I decided I needed to visit some more Colonial sights. Previously, in Oct. '07, I had been to George Mason's house and Mt. Vernon, so it was time to see Yorktown. Aug. 15th just so happened to be "free admission to National Parks day" in the US. I drove out there and did the whole thing.

I think these blogs limit my pic. uploads so I'll do six now, and some more later. Note the Canons on the English side, the holes (and even cannonbals embedded) at the Nelson House (Cornwallis stayed there during the seige) which had been, um, placed there by Washington's (and really RoShamBo's ) army at high speed from a mile and some change away!, the Victory memorial, the ORIGINAL tent Washington used during the seige, an English Bess musket (they claim it had a broken stock when the English soldier threw it down infrustration during the surrender ceremony, but I couldn't see it for the life of me) and a canon in one of the ships in the naval battle - I forgot which side... The French were heavily invovled in the seige with the Colonials and really managed the sea blockade as well... We owe them heavily for this decisive victory. Oh, they had their reasons, too, but it suited us both quite well....

I'm "connected".

2010-09-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I needed an endoscopy, needed to be anaethetized, so they have to hook y'all up with

an ECG. That requires sensors. Hey, I even took several showers but didn't notice this connected to me until several days later! Ha hah! I had to preserve the image for posterity.....

Beautiful 1960s Ford Falcon Van.

2010-09-02T23:11:00.001-07:00

One nice evening in July, there was a party up the hill. A guest had their Falcon van parked on my side of the street, so I took the opportunity to photograph it. 1960s Ford Econoline vans are rare; the same vintage Ford Falcon van (a stretch version of the Econoline distinguished by the V-shaped window behind the front doors) are much rarer ; examples like this are very few indeed.

Enjoy!

happy dog

2010-07-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

They must hear sounds we mere humans can not. I don't think my canine

friend got a scratch during this event. The humans? Not so good, Al, not so good.

Trojan Implosion from a few years back...

2010-06-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Brian Dorr, who has a great pictorial blog at http://www.bjdorr.com/
I had offered to post my Trojan Implosion video, so here it is...

Dickie in the Baron's Speed Shop in late April/early May 2010

2010-05-31T22:13:00.001-07:00

I am way late on posting stuff from my UK trip so check these out. This is at the genuine Baron's Speed Shop, working on the Thruxton project, so I took some photos. Here, Dickie is welding the correct spot for the rearset mount for the Thruxton, and checking out the fit. It's coming together!

The van is FINALLY painted on the inside!

2010-05-31T01:08:00.001-07:00

What a transformation. Now, if I could only find those $*$&*$*(@W*$*$ door hinges. Aaaauuuuuuughhhh!

Thanks Bruce and Kevin for fantastic work on the van. We're coming around the corner now!

Congrats to Danica Patrick on a 5th.at Indy 500

2010-05-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

I think she started 24th, and I skipped watching the race as I was busy, but she was in 14th and made her way to 5th from lap 169 to the end, lap 200. And she narrowly missed the accident with Mike Conway. He has a non-time-critical leg injury, according to the track Dr. He'll be o.k.

Anyhow after Danica's comments earlier in the week there were a bunch of people criticizing her. However the aspersions cast on her racing record by a bunch of haters was really put to rest as she finished strong. Her after-race comments on ABC showed class and humility and also gave us a view from her side of things. I have always been a fan of hers, and I can't really tell you why. But she's doin' great and I wish her luck. She is a perfectly competent and competitive driver in the Indy series. Period.

Me last July 4th.

2010-05-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

On a whim, cousin Tim invited me to go on his boat down to the Waterfront Park for the 4th of July Blues Festival and fireworks. Of course the river was going to be a c.f. but what the heck.

Anyhow, he's superb boatsman, and a superb loader/unloader of the boat, so it made things much more manageable. The music was great, the fellow boaters were great and shared some of their food. Lots of nice folk on the river. "People on the river are happy to give". True True.

This year I dunno about the 4th but on the 2nd a group of us are going up Mt. St. Helens again.

20 years ago to the day when I did it last.

Anyhow, Tim snapped me with his cell phone camera (I use them a lot, don't I?) and this picture is a document of that night.

Getting back to the boat ramp at Willamette Park was very tense - the river patrol were all acting psychotic and the parade of bozos didn't help. But we took our time and got outta there in one piece. Well, I did break his sunglasses accidentally, but made it right recently by buying him a leatherman AND a swiss army knife.

Rock on!

Monmouth vs. Square Mile Coffee Beans.

2010-05-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

We went into the indoors Greenwich market, and took a break and had some coffee at Morgan's Coffee experience. The proprietor told me the best known beans in London were the Monmouth and the Square Mile coffee beans - and they sold the Monmouth blend/brand. It was absolutely delicious. Here Eugene and I enjoy a coffee break while waiting in vain for the rain from Spain to refrain! Photo courtesy Marie Smith

Greenwich Market, London.

2010-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it is an indoor market now and the outdoor market has been pushed aside for future development. Bummer. But the center of Greenwich (yes, the place where the Greenwich Observatory is) has some cool shops and I bought new jackets at two of the stores. Julia ran the

one store (colorful lady and great help to us!) and I'm wearing my new purchase in this picture, outside of the market nearby during a torrential rainstorm. The market was great and the shops great, and there was general mayhem in the town on a Saturday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Eugene Vincent Smith.

Enhanced Crater Lake Panorama

2010-04-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Leslie Baird's done it again. I hire her for various graphics stuff, and as usual she shines. Compare her corrected panorama to the one I posted earlier. http://www.lesliebairddesign.com/

The Banana Leaf

2010-04-29T23:07:00.001-07:00

Every time I come to England Dick, Marie, and I go to the Banana Leaf restaurant, which has
second to none south Indian cuisine. So I figured I'd get a snap of the couple in fronta it. Last night's dinner was no exception to their superlative and award winning flavor. Indian food always suits me well.

I'm in the U.K. now -

2010-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of the Red Baron - Charly Boorman's bike, and the Original Sin - a Baron's Speed Shop house bike. I'll have more pictures up soon...#

A sidebar to the Thruxton project

2010-04-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

Well, in desparation I sent my fairing off to the only guy in the us who manufactures windscreens, and had him custom fit one. Four months later, with DAILY calls towards the end, he finally (tries) to send the fairing and fitted clear windscreen. But THAT gets lost, and sent back to him. Then, he finally sends it for REAL, and someone in the feeding chain has their way with the box. See the photos for a nice gander at it.

Happily, nothing inside got hurt. I had hundreds of dollars and months wrapped up in the fairing with the custom rework, and if the windscreen didn't work I was going to be outta luck and would have to start all over again on that part. So I feared the worst. It was not a nice time in my life, believe you me. I don't think the windscreen vendor likes me very much anymore.

But, as you can see from my previous blog, no damage occurred and we'll just chalk this one up to very sloppy handling by UPS. I like them perhaps 65% of the time, but no way 100.

The Thruxtonized Thruxton

2010-04-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this project started back in August of '09, with purchasing the parts for making my 2006 Triumph Thruxton look like a vintage Thruxton, only with an electric start, quieter, less vibration, no overheating, and no leaking fluids. Norman Hyde provided most of it, with a rework done brilliantly on the fiberglass and the tank paint and graphics by Kevin Miller, at http://www.millerpaintandgraphics.com/ . His superb workmanship is evident. He easily earned my continued business based upon his stellar results here.

The clear windscreen was a nightmare that I will not re-tell, but the good news is that it's on, and it's perfect. Everyone knows the supplier, who's a very very nice man, but he couldn't keep his promises, until, um, FOUR MONTHS later. To his credit, he finally got the job done, and well. The moral of the story is, purchase the raw fairing and windscreen from ONE person, IN PERSON, and insure that it fits before handing over the bucksheesh. Thanks to Brian for wisely suggesting the well nuts (rubber outer with a T-cross section with the metal threaded part floating inside). It allows the clear windscreen to adjust well but not be overstressed where the fit is tight.

What's new over what what was stock? Front fairing and brackets, windscreen sidemarkers (Kevin craftily added the flat spot on the fairing to make these fit just so), front fender, front alloy fender bracket, seat, upholstery, tank, tank strap, rear fender, rear light/license plate assembly. I also added a thermometer and clock mounted tidily on the triple clamp up front and have added rear sets. The rear sets get rid of the annoying hinged footpegs which drove me bananas. And I just had to flip the clamp on the shifter shaft on the transmission and presto, a perfectly aligned GP shifting 5 speed, just like on the Thruxton, just on the wrong side.

The mirror is a NON-lane split RCS billet framed convex mirror, just like on the Triton. Of course the dingalings at Moto Corsa only sell the LANE SPLIT version - and lane splitting is illegal in the US. If I tell them this fact, they'll just get confused, think I'm an ass, and forget, so they sell that lane split one forever. Anyhow the RCS mirror is "design overkill" but, hey that's just what I needed. You can pick up the bike with the mirror - it's just that strong stable and sturdy. On my Triton this mirror is an absolute minimum necessity.

The fiberglass is from Norman Hyde (thanks Norman!), and although the fiberglass needed reworking and and painting by the brilliant Kevin Miller, it's an overall great retrofit. I planned on this setup the moment I bought my Thruxton in 2007. I'll say out loud that it needed work, so be prepared to work the fiberglass or have someone do that for you. The rear seat hump was all oblongy and outta round, so that took work. The rest was minor. The brackets and hardware were great. I was not initially happy with the rear license plate/turn signal assembly but in the end it all worked out. It took some fitting, filing, and mods, but the final result is great.

I repeat myself, but the tank paint job is spectacular. The lettering is slightly raised and is perfectly done. Kevin has his patented process here. This tank has NO orange peel, and has depth and all that jazz. Plus he and I went over the colors and schemes a LOT to get it right. He was a delight to work with in this area, which can be the one where arguments flare up. Not with him. He was perfect that way.

Future work? I still have the pesky issue of having the correct silencers on the back ( Unless Norman Hyde has mercy on me and provides the correct silencers, otherwise these will be one-off silencers and surely very spendy) , and will probably go to swept back pipes, and then delete the air injection on the exhaust port, but that'll be it. (O.K. there's the air intake removal and you have to re-jet the thing once the new pipes and silencers are on and the air injection is removed. Oh, yeah, there's the alloy chain guard all designed with more air than metal. Eventually better tires and shocks will be on the bike, but hey let me use what I have on it up first! ).

Thanks again to cousin Tim on assisting on the original dry-fit of all the stuff before it went to body and paint. It made the re-assembly a low-stress breeze.

Enough said for now.

Jeff

Crater Lake.

2010-04-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I sorta went along for the ride but actually got a few hours of cross country skiing in, and the good news is that I can with the boots that have the pivot bar on the front. Technology has come a looong way, but I ended up using my trusty Raimer poles since the ones Ed graciously lent me postholed too easily. However the boots and skis he lent me kicked ass.

Speaking of kicking ass, Ed managed to circumnavigate Crater late in 23 hours 32 minutes, 12 of those hours were camping. So, fantastic time. Considering his bivouac on the opposite side of the late was punctuated by a late winter storm overnight Friday/Saturday, he had a lot of pluck to continue on the next 2/3rds overall distance. Fortuantely the weather was going to clear and I had the happy occasion to radio him the good news at around 7 Sat. morning. I had camped down at the Sno-park next to the Huckleberry campground entrance the night before, and the morning rain/mix snow drops on the truck didn't bode well. Brian was home so I managed ot get a cell call to him to get online and check the weather. Thanks Brian! I met up with Ed on the

east end of the loop just a mile in early Sunday afternoon.

The scenery was awesome, both there and on the trip there and back. Oregon is the most beautiful place in the world. When we came back it was dusk and we took the Brooks exit and the wine country and small towns and scenery were second to none. I don't know why I liked it so much, but it was a great trip overall.

Here's a pic of Ed getting his stuff ready to go, and a crude panorama. My friend Leslie Baird is going to stitch the photos together PROFESSIONALLY, and you'll see the awesome difference. In a few days.

Spring has sprung.

2010-04-07T01:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, even at the old grey battleship, there are hints of brighter days ahead. For some reason the azaleas which are carefully groomed are goin' crazy. And it's been a wet and cold late winter/early (non) spring. I was outside taking a break during a hellatiously busy day at work, and noticed the burst of flowers. I really needed to take a picture. Not bad for a phone camera (rapidly my favorite way to capture images. And I MEAN, a phone. Not an Iphone or all that fussisticated stuff.

Here it is:

The "Bins"

2010-04-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what the "Bins" are, or as Otis and Pete call it, the "Pound Store", ask a friend.
For Made in China clothing, it's a great source of raw material. The refinery needs the oil from the ground. The nuclear power plant needs the uranium ore. Made in China fashions needs vintage silk by the pound from the "Bins". Note the large blue plastic bins, which on a 15 minute period, cycle endlessly through the store, being picked over by people of all walks of life, for all reasons.
We'll leave it at that.

The Ro Sham Bos

2010-03-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Wow... They're phenomenal and getting better. Last night they played to a full house (that's right, FULL HOUSE) at Kelly's Olympian to an adoring crowd. Their development is rapid and they had new songs to boot! Their catalog is filling out very nicely.

They're 100% original, and their originals are ... original. Equal parts prog rock, jazz, punk, 20s flapper, blues, and a coating of some wierd John Paul Jones/Zep tint all over the amalgam, and they have become a fluid but muscular outfit.

Ryan and Dustin make up an intimidating rhythm section - which would be great in and of itself but the three members have equal mixes in the batch. Madeline's voice has truly become the fourth instrument. Her piano playing is both a rhythm and lead part. And more of their set has dual vocals. They've tightened up their arrangements and the effect has cranked up the pace and already high level of excitement in their gigs.

See them soon before they take off to the stratosphere!

Lotus Progress

2010-02-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

So I don't have to answer the dreary question over and over again , "when is the Lotus gonna run?", here's some progress:

Brian pulled the wiring (easy to do at this point) and added some missing ground wires and power wires and wiring for relays. We had to select and purchase relays with NO tabs but with mounting sockets WITH tabs. This used to be the standard. Now it's harder than heck to find.

Also, a bit of debate over which battery to buy. I selected the Oddyssey 925MJ (Metal Jacket) with no terminals - i.e. it has screw in terminals. It's a high-end absorptive glass mat battery - dry cell - and some folks complain about the longevity or ability of the batteries to deliver temporary high loads. Oddyssey uses NEW, not recycled, lead, and the founders had invented the Optima battery, and moved on to form their own company.

Also, I am now a Wurth customer - they have tons of stuff, but the thing they have I REALLY needed was the high quality non-perforated hose clamps - made in Germany, NOT in $*($*@ China. They also have tons of other stuff - I'm not allowed to resell directly, but can charge customers for parts cost, of course! The local rep is VERY nice and responsive. My order was delivered very promptly.

So here's a pic of the wiring on the living room floor, the battery, and a sample of the nice hose clamps. Enjoy!

Mini in snow.

2010-01-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

This was Tuesday? 12/29/09 when the snow occurred.. Anyhow it was a hyper-treacherous

drive home. Since this photo the passenger sliding window was fixed, the tranny mount, broken

at the time, was replaced, and a new lower stabilizer between the right and side of the bottom of the engine and the subframe was installed by me.

Snow pics.

2010-01-02T16:58:00.001-08:00

Here's a car that some woman decided to park in the ditch in the snow on Garden Home Rd. on the snowy day (Dec. 28th? I forget now...). I used my cell phone camer - not great optics but

very good resolution - note the left rear wheel in the air.

Keeping up to date.

2009-12-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

OK I've really been slacking. The van's motor is done, shipped back, and on the engine stand. The lotus is getting wiring done, and has the front clear lens covers modified and installed. At long last the Triton had the o-rings installed (one missing on the primary chain cover nut - doh!), and three installed (with grooves as well) on the kick start, shift, and clutch lever - hopefully at long last the Triton transmission (a T140 5 speed wedged into a pre-unit case) will stop leaking.

In the Faser Highlanders, we've been oh so busy. Here's the color guard and our Major, Dave Alford, and the Fort Vancouver Pipe band baton leader Jim Sisson just prior to the Vancouver Veteran's Day Parade on a very, very rainy Saturday.

2009-06-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

New post. New leaf.

Check out my 78th Fraser Highlanders websites at
http://www.78thfrasers.us

I'll be posting more pictures and projects in the future.

Meanwhile be sure to watch Danica Patrick race tomorrow at Iowa Speedway. She's in fifth in the standings.

Let's see, what else? I removed the bell housing on the Dodge A108 3 speed manual transmission to be bead blasted in preparation for an eventual re-install.

The darned shuttle was scrubbed for awhile. Hydrogen leak.

Zak and I are going up to Apparition Falls when the weather is better.

The beds need weeding and I need to prune the roses. How exciting.

I'm working on the bobber's batteries and the clear lenses on the Europa today and tomorrow. I'll need pem nuts to do what I want to do for the brackets. All hand fitted, etc. It'll be a great look tho!