from the twisted minds of snm
Okay, passing through the backstreets of Kotohira-machi (home of the Konpira-gu shrine in Kagawa-ken) I happened across this preschool fence. Once you get passed the fact that there was a barbed wire fence around a preschool (WTF!?!?), note that it is leaned inward to keep the little curtain jerkers in, not to keep weird, unwanted adults out!
Oh them gremlins! They’re having a field day now! Walked to my favorite parts store, Checker/O’Reilly (not) and then to McCully Bike to meet up with Ckucky and Kev. Went to where the FX was parked and pushed it to Young Street amid crowds of flashing blue lights possibly involved with one of the myriad homeless at that baseball park. We formulated the tow plan and hooked up, and for SnG I tried starting the car. Lo and behold it cranked right up. WTF? So the plan was changed that Ckucky would just follow me home. Made it all the way with nary a stumble. This was good in that it saved the stress and trouble of flat towing the FX, but bad in that I was left guessing on what was wrong. I did not have a multi-meter with me at the time so I couldn’t test for power at the pump, which would have been pretty good evidence of a bad pump. After checking the wiring diagrams I’m still fairly confident that is the problem. If the EFI relay was bad, then the ECU wouldn’t have lit up the diagnostic light. There is a possibility the Circuit Open Relay that is a safety for the fuel pump was bad. Jumpering the fuel test connector bypasses the airflow safety that triggers that, but still relies on the relay. What I needed to know was the wires I needed to bypass the relay entirely. Oh well, I’m going to change the pump anyway, perhaps that will cure the slight rough idling I thought I still detected. I’ll get you yet, you gremlins!
Spoke too soon, I am sitting here at corner of Young & Isenberg dead in water. Car hesitated once badly on freeway, now completely dead. Pretty sure it’s the fuel pump.
Wow. Weird. I managed to find a wireless access point at this late-60’s vintage hotel on the far side of Shodoshima! This morning it was a rush to make it to JR Osaka via the Yotsubashi-sen, only to find that the 06:20-something limited express train had already long since gone. It took a local Osaka loop-line train, a 700-series Shinkansen, and a local train on the Ako-sen to get me to Saidaiji-eki in time for the 10:05 bus to the ferry landing to Inu-shima. The sky was overcast for the most part, and the humidity of the past couple of days had dissipated, so the apparent suffering level was not as great. After a short wait at the pier with unchi-pantsu-gyaru, a 10-minute, 300-yen boat ride got me out to Inu-shima. The former copper refinery on the island closed late last century had crumbled into disrepair, but the old slag-brick and red-brick ruins had been converted recently into an art exhibition and installation. In addition to the converted factory, several house-like installations throughout the island were also built. I wonder a little about what the remaining local fishing village residents think about the whole thing, but I’m guessing that a source of revenue that isn’t slowly killing them like the refinery and is preserving the island lifestyle can’t be all bad. Continue reading ‘Islands, Ruins, Art, and Boats’
Last Saturday Mitch gave me a buzz asking if I wanted to check out a mystery bon dance that their group was performing at. He described where in Millilani it was supposed to be. It didn’t sound familiar at all, I tried looking it up. There wasn’t anything in any of the bon dance listings for this year. Tried looking on map using Mitch’s directions, but I was looking at wrong gulch, there’s nothing there. Dave texted back, is it this Daikon Festival thing that he linked to? Picked up Mitch at his place and he confirmed that was it, weird! Looked it up on maps, Honbushin International Center, who?
I think I finally conquered the gremlins. After fixing my grounding problem last week, I’d been driving the rally FX all week and there still was a rough running problem. I could hear it on idle and while driving you could feel it as random hesitating missfires. I couldn’t figure out any pattern either. So through out the week I’ve been swapping parts trying to find the problem. Continue reading ‘FX Gremilins’
Got into Osaka last night on a good flight on Hawaiian Airlines (HA449 HNL-KIX). The 767-300ER they are currently using on this route is older, but it is clean and in good repair. The comparable JAL aircraft have so many hours on them, they look a lot more beat-up inside, and the “personal contact surfaces” like the seat material and armrest pads are a lot more worn and dreary (and possibly suffused with funk). This one didn’t have the personal video screens, so that meant cooler seats and more seat width for me, since I was only one of two native English speakers on board, so I got “volunteered” into the exit row. Passenger demographic was mostly young couples, instead of the older crowd on JAL. They actually ran the A/C nice and cold, such that I actually had to use the blanket, as opposed to JAL, where my back is usually soaked with sweat. After a turbulent approach over Awaji-shima and Kobe, we were brought straight into KIX without any waiting or holding pattern. Continue reading ‘The Wall of Heat’
A Guinness brew I hadn’t seen before? Had to try it. Pours opaque black, moderately heavy head that dissapates. Moderate carbonation that persists. A fairly light and clean mouth feel. There actually is very little bitter, just a bit of roastyness that lingers a bit through the middle and leaves a tiny bit of astringentness on the tongue. Easy drinking. Nothing horrible about this beer, it’s certainly nice enough to drink, but if I want a Guinness, I want a Guinness. Guinness is synonomous with stout. It’s like poser Guinness. All the look, none of the substance. So as a beer to drink I give it 3 monkeys, but as a Guinness I give it a 2 out of 4 monkeys. Hm, seems to pack a buzz, but it’s not teh al content, it’s Speights syndrome, it’s easy drinking so you find yourself downing them rapidly.
I’m not sure who “invented” the tactical trouser belt, but Spec.-Ops. Brand was definitely one of the pioneers of the genre. Years back, I wanted a fully non-metallic belt to make airport checkpoints go more quicky, but that was before September 11 and the TSA, as nowadays all belts have to come off. I ended up with a PRC-made 5.11 Tactical Gear TDU belt, which worked perfectly fine, but its country of origin left something to be desired. Spec.-Ops. Brand belts are made in the USA, so I picked up a couple, one in Coyote Brown to go with my MultiCam trousers, and a black one for everyday use. Continue reading ‘Spec.-Ops. Brand Better BDU Belt 1.75”’
I dropped by Chinatown Boardroom on the 2nd for the opening of Fuyuki’s show, NAMI. Fukaya Fuyuki is an artist from Kyoto who creates using traditional brush techniques and a mix of traditional motifs mixed with a hint of the contemporary. His outstanding design sensibilities stem from his background in kimono fabric design and production. This show is his first in the USA, showcasing his paintings done with traditional water-based sumi-e inks on hand-made washi paper made by his friend in Kyushu. I was thoroughly impressed with his work and bought a woodblock print of a rooster from him. The show runs through the 30th of September, so check it out!
Highly Recommended!
