February 14, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 14, 2021, Happy S.P.A. Day . . .
Five years ago today: February 14, 2017, downtown, somewhere, it says.
Nine years ago today: February 14, 2013, the sidecar at night.
Random years ago today: February 14, 2001, the Caddy in Key Biscayne.

           Out in the frosty morn working on that coolant leak. I blocksealed it and that narrowed the problem down to the same freeze plug. I can see it but may hands are not small enough to get at it. Having it done at a garage is pointless, since they’ll charge an hour to put it on the hoist. I’m thinking but other than building small ramp, I may be stuck but I gave it the old college try. Shown here, I had to remove the upper radiator hose, which entailed unclipping the power distribution module and taking out the battery and battery holder. They do that so when you replace this hose, it is difficult to start the car to test the fit. Dipshits.

           The plug is intact by the looks of it. I suspect that one cold night in Georgia popped the seal,. That’s the trip where after dark in the parking lot I diluted anti-freeze that said pre-diluted. Why don’t they put that junk in a specially colored container? Because, [the coolant people are] also dipshits. I was back and forth into the house every hour to thaw out so this procedure took four hours and I lost around $10 in antifreeze because I at first did not see how fast the plug was leaking. Fast enough to make the car unmoveable.

           The only news was the radio, so we know more about the trucker convoy in Canada than today’s world events. TMOR, for the record, the reports that Trump said Hillary’s aides should be executed is fake news. What he said is there was a time in history when they would have been. Myself, I say go ahead and hang them, they knew what they were up to. I believe most Americans would approve of the death penalty, they tried to take away things considered sacred over here. It’s a situation where no government can give you freedom unless they first take it away, and they certainly tried that. The pandemic is a farce, the vaccines don’t work, and guess who has been exposed as a dirty politician yet again? How is that woman not in prison yet?

           Dinobabies. It’s what IBM calls its older workforce, with plans to make them extinct. You know why I don’t have a probem with that? Because I worked in a similar industry and watched my co-workers by the thousands begin to ossify. Once they got that steady paycheck maybe one in a thousand kept up with the times. It’s fun to watch Facebook attempts to misdirect people into thinking Apple stole $250 billion from advertising revenue. The Zuck and many others do not want you to know that users are fleeing the ads, but the intrusion of privacy. Big difference, but one that will fool the unsuspecting masses wholesale.
           This trip, so far has been frighteningly expensive. No details, but rather than sell the car for half price because of that $5 plug, we are going to leave it until next trip. If nothing, it can pay for my planned 2022 summer holiday—providing the new van holds up. Check this afternoon section for a picture of this plug.

Picture of the day.
Nine barrels.
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           Through the briars to the northewest, there is the biggest, or I should say highest, hill in the vicinity. There is only one path in and out, so today the boys and I climbed it for the first time. There is no sign of anybody ever having been up there, which makes sense as there are easier hills all around. This one is maybe thirty feet higher, but what a spectacular view to the southwest. Oops, forgot the camera. Sunset is early these days and the rolling hills on the distant horizon were visible, my guess is twenty-five miles away. It looked like those sweeping vistas you see at the beginiing of Civil War movies. Just think, not that long ago, that was three or four days travel.

           Here is the goop I tried on the motor block, I suppose it didn’t do any harm. But the leak that is worrisome is right where those exhaust pipes join the motor block and the gaskets are visibly bad looking from age. This unit was stored right on the coast for 13 years in the salt air, if you recall. The leak is worst under pressure, so the car cannot be driven more tha a few minutes. The only reasonable place with a hoist is twenty miles away Starting it up served as a reminder to all it is not a wreck and it will now be okay in the yard until my return. The big disappointment this time was the runaround opening out new bank account. It should be a half-hour procedure. Now you have to “check back” to make an appointment for a week or two later. Shows you how “unbusiness” banking has become.

           This picture shows the offending part. It prevents the block from cracking if the coolant freezes. There is no doubt in my mind this happened that overnight in Georgia in late 2020, it is the only time it was anywhere near cold enough. It’s pretty self-explanatory how this works, but it requires one of those angled wrenches they probably don’t sell except in a set.
           Nipping inside to warm up I found a DVD that got mediocre ratings, I think. “Fool’s Gold”, yet I found it very true to life, the more considering all the nonsense treasure hunting movies out there. The plot, the diving gear, the technical parts were all accurate to what I know of the trade. Even the cannons, ceramic chips, and other artifacts were true to the period. I’m just up to the part at the old church and there are no holes in the plot. Oh, if you want some idea of what I consider a great body, keep an eye on the billionaire’s daughter (Alexis Dziena, who was 24 when this movie was made). Yep, they are still making them like they did in my day. Babes like that stay hot forever. I speak with authority.

           Amusing, that’s what I say about India banning Chinese software. Both countries consider themselves emerging super-powers when in fact, they are nothing without adopting, pirating, or cloning western technology. It’s akin to them fighting over lawn tractors when neither country has lawns. The trend seems to be that computer games are spying on their users, which to me is laughable. The last sort of creature I would find any use for is somebody addicted to stupid computer games that grunt at you. Did you know, in the end, there are only seven different formats of computer games, all are variations thereof, and all originated before 1984.
           Yep, I heard about the 1,229 year old British pub, the “Ye Olde Fighting Cocks” finally shutting down after COVID lockdowns sent it bankrupt. Happy Valentines isn’t what it used to be, wth CNN reporting over a quarter of Americans 18 have not had sex in the past year. That coincides with the number of fat people you see on a walk across campus these days. On my 171 mile trip to Cumberland Furnace, I did not see even one sexy babe, but I did see some 200+ females. Because I was looking, that's why.

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