‘Tin Man’, trip prep, Mocha Joe’s power-window problem
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1-6 June, 2008)
----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 6 June-
Today I received the response from Kawasaki on the Concours warranty denial by my local shop. Big K says they can’t help and won’t consider paying for the apparent mistake by the Johnstown shop, even though it was done under their warranty. That’s disappointing.
I also spent quite a bit of time on the web researching the power-window problem on Mocha Joe—no luck there. I’ve posted a query about it on a Ford-repair forum so we’ll see if anyone has advice on how to go about isolating and repairing the problem. I doubt I’ll have it fixed in time, though. I’d better think about how I’m going to seal that window on short notice (if needed) and pack accordingly.
Today is extra-warm and we’re in for a very hot, sticky weekend. We only have a week to go before departure on our trip but may break down and bring up one of the room air conditioners for the interim. I probably ought to run them once in awhile anyway and the use would be short enough to not add up to much, expense-wise.
That evening we watched Bill Moyers’ Journal. He once again raked the mainstream media over the coals for their lack of original journalism. As I was growing up I didn’t appreciate how important it is to have not only a free press but one eager to dig for the truth.
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 5 June-
This morning I told Labashi I’d do some marketing but first would go check some gun shops to see if they can get the shotgun I’d like to have for our trip at anywhere near a reasonable price. That turned into a most-of-the-day excursion to the gun shops but by the end of the day I had the info I needed, felt comfortable it was the ‘right’ alternative at a decent price---- and had a load of groceries! I also stopped by the Ford dealership to see if they can do anything about a nagging problem with Mocha Joe’s power windows. The switch on Labashi’s side has been acting up and I sometimes have to use the switch on my side to get her window started down. The service manager didn’t inspire much confidence in me, though, and it looks like an appointment there would just turn into a money pit while they try to replicate the very-intermittent problem.
I also ordered a camping guide and a Gazetteer for our trip. With the discount, no tax, and free shipping on Amazon, I’m essentially getting the camping guide free and it appears to be a good one. Good deal!
That evening we watched two ‘Weeds-2’ episodes to finish disk 1 as the rental ends tomorrow. I’m not sure if we’ll rent it again before our trip or not. I have to remember to cancel our Netflix subscription before the 11th so I don’t get billed for another month just before leaving and be sure we get all the Netflix disks back before we depart.
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 4 June-
I spent the morning on research for our trip. I want to be sure we have all the right equipment, forms and answers for the Canada Border Service when we enter the country. We’re planning to be far enough into the backcountry that we will want to take along some personal protection. We learned first-hand last summer (in northern Manitoba) that the northern bears aren’t to be trifled with and we’ll be camping in some remote areas. And while Canada is a no-go for handguns, the Non-Resident Firearms Declaration process has a specific purpose called “protection from wild animals in remote places” which allows for shotguns (with some limits).
That afternoon we drove to Chambersburg for an appointment at Mom’s assisted-living facility. We took Mocha Joe so I could turn over the fishing boat to Maypo for the summer.
We didn’t get home until later in the evening so only had time for a quick epi of ‘Weeds-2’.
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 3 June-
This morning I re-installed the fishing boat guide-ons before spending an hour or two reading the shooting forums and catching up on the news. I then started researching the web on some safety issues for our upcoming trip.
That evening we finished ‘Tin Man’ and watched another ‘Weeds-2’ episode.
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 2 June-
I started off this morning by finishing the lawn mowing on this spectacular Spring morning—about an hour to finish things up. Afterwards I inspected the seal on Mocha Joe’s roof-bubble and decided I should put on a fresh coat of rubber-roof paint to close up a small surface crack on the right-front corner and prolong the life of the underlying sealant material. Directions on the sealant call for it to be replaced every year but that’s ridiculous. After the last replacement of the sealant, I covered it with a good layer of rubber-roof paint from the local RV store and that seems to be doing a good job of protecting it.
I then wanted to exercise the Concours so rode in to Starbucks and stopped at the video rental store on the way back. One of the problems in dealing with Netflix is you don’t see new DVD releases. Their ‘new releases’ are often months old, perhaps because they can’t handle a big rush on new titles. So I occasionally stop at the local video store to check things out and then decide whether to rent there or wait and pick it up on Netflix.
Back home I did some more little chores (making appointments, etc) and then spent an hour or so on the web working with Photobucket. I’m losing my enthusiasm for Photobucket as I experience problems and am not getting great responses from the support folks.
Late in the afternoon I resumed work on the boat guide-ons. After cleaning up all the rusty hardware with the wire wheel I stored the stripped parts in the basement, thinking I’d get to them soon. But I waited too long and they rusted again. Today I cleaned them up again and painted them with several coats of zinc-rich paint (cold-galvanizing paint).
That evening we watched the second part of ‘Tin Man’ and episode 2 of ‘Weeds-2’. ‘Tin Man’ is getting a little bogged down. It started out well but seems to now just be filling time.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 1 June-
Today I set up an account on Photobucket to use for photo storage. I had some problems with it (like a disappearing video after I moved it from one ‘album’ to another) so got into some email exchanges with the tech staff. Between site setup and the long file upload times for videos, I blew a lot of the day on this.
Later in the day I took the Miata in to Wal-mart to pick up an el-cheapo motorcycle cover. My regular cover has deteriorated over the four years of its life to the point where a seam has opened up and I’m going to need a new one. But rather than go through the hassle and expense of researching and buying one now, I’ll just use the Wal-mart cover for the summer and see how that goes. The Wal-mart cover is $20, the ‘good’ cover $100. I have a Wal-mart cover on the KLR and it’s okay after two years so maybe I should just go with the cheaper option anyway. I’ll see how it goes for the summer.
After supper I mowed the incredible-growing-machine that is my lawn then we watched the last portion of the ‘When the Levees Broke’ disk set and the first section of ‘Tin Man’. The latter is a Sci-Fi channel production and a takeoff of The Wizard of Oz. It’s okay.
======= END OF POST =====
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1-6 June, 2008)
----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 6 June-
Today I received the response from Kawasaki on the Concours warranty denial by my local shop. Big K says they can’t help and won’t consider paying for the apparent mistake by the Johnstown shop, even though it was done under their warranty. That’s disappointing.
I also spent quite a bit of time on the web researching the power-window problem on Mocha Joe—no luck there. I’ve posted a query about it on a Ford-repair forum so we’ll see if anyone has advice on how to go about isolating and repairing the problem. I doubt I’ll have it fixed in time, though. I’d better think about how I’m going to seal that window on short notice (if needed) and pack accordingly.
Today is extra-warm and we’re in for a very hot, sticky weekend. We only have a week to go before departure on our trip but may break down and bring up one of the room air conditioners for the interim. I probably ought to run them once in awhile anyway and the use would be short enough to not add up to much, expense-wise.
That evening we watched Bill Moyers’ Journal. He once again raked the mainstream media over the coals for their lack of original journalism. As I was growing up I didn’t appreciate how important it is to have not only a free press but one eager to dig for the truth.
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 5 June-
This morning I told Labashi I’d do some marketing but first would go check some gun shops to see if they can get the shotgun I’d like to have for our trip at anywhere near a reasonable price. That turned into a most-of-the-day excursion to the gun shops but by the end of the day I had the info I needed, felt comfortable it was the ‘right’ alternative at a decent price---- and had a load of groceries! I also stopped by the Ford dealership to see if they can do anything about a nagging problem with Mocha Joe’s power windows. The switch on Labashi’s side has been acting up and I sometimes have to use the switch on my side to get her window started down. The service manager didn’t inspire much confidence in me, though, and it looks like an appointment there would just turn into a money pit while they try to replicate the very-intermittent problem.
I also ordered a camping guide and a Gazetteer for our trip. With the discount, no tax, and free shipping on Amazon, I’m essentially getting the camping guide free and it appears to be a good one. Good deal!
That evening we watched two ‘Weeds-2’ episodes to finish disk 1 as the rental ends tomorrow. I’m not sure if we’ll rent it again before our trip or not. I have to remember to cancel our Netflix subscription before the 11th so I don’t get billed for another month just before leaving and be sure we get all the Netflix disks back before we depart.
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 4 June-
I spent the morning on research for our trip. I want to be sure we have all the right equipment, forms and answers for the Canada Border Service when we enter the country. We’re planning to be far enough into the backcountry that we will want to take along some personal protection. We learned first-hand last summer (in northern Manitoba) that the northern bears aren’t to be trifled with and we’ll be camping in some remote areas. And while Canada is a no-go for handguns, the Non-Resident Firearms Declaration process has a specific purpose called “protection from wild animals in remote places” which allows for shotguns (with some limits).
That afternoon we drove to Chambersburg for an appointment at Mom’s assisted-living facility. We took Mocha Joe so I could turn over the fishing boat to Maypo for the summer.
We didn’t get home until later in the evening so only had time for a quick epi of ‘Weeds-2’.
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 3 June-
This morning I re-installed the fishing boat guide-ons before spending an hour or two reading the shooting forums and catching up on the news. I then started researching the web on some safety issues for our upcoming trip.
That evening we finished ‘Tin Man’ and watched another ‘Weeds-2’ episode.
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 2 June-
I started off this morning by finishing the lawn mowing on this spectacular Spring morning—about an hour to finish things up. Afterwards I inspected the seal on Mocha Joe’s roof-bubble and decided I should put on a fresh coat of rubber-roof paint to close up a small surface crack on the right-front corner and prolong the life of the underlying sealant material. Directions on the sealant call for it to be replaced every year but that’s ridiculous. After the last replacement of the sealant, I covered it with a good layer of rubber-roof paint from the local RV store and that seems to be doing a good job of protecting it.
I then wanted to exercise the Concours so rode in to Starbucks and stopped at the video rental store on the way back. One of the problems in dealing with Netflix is you don’t see new DVD releases. Their ‘new releases’ are often months old, perhaps because they can’t handle a big rush on new titles. So I occasionally stop at the local video store to check things out and then decide whether to rent there or wait and pick it up on Netflix.
Back home I did some more little chores (making appointments, etc) and then spent an hour or so on the web working with Photobucket. I’m losing my enthusiasm for Photobucket as I experience problems and am not getting great responses from the support folks.
Late in the afternoon I resumed work on the boat guide-ons. After cleaning up all the rusty hardware with the wire wheel I stored the stripped parts in the basement, thinking I’d get to them soon. But I waited too long and they rusted again. Today I cleaned them up again and painted them with several coats of zinc-rich paint (cold-galvanizing paint).
That evening we watched the second part of ‘Tin Man’ and episode 2 of ‘Weeds-2’. ‘Tin Man’ is getting a little bogged down. It started out well but seems to now just be filling time.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 1 June-
Today I set up an account on Photobucket to use for photo storage. I had some problems with it (like a disappearing video after I moved it from one ‘album’ to another) so got into some email exchanges with the tech staff. Between site setup and the long file upload times for videos, I blew a lot of the day on this.
Later in the day I took the Miata in to Wal-mart to pick up an el-cheapo motorcycle cover. My regular cover has deteriorated over the four years of its life to the point where a seam has opened up and I’m going to need a new one. But rather than go through the hassle and expense of researching and buying one now, I’ll just use the Wal-mart cover for the summer and see how that goes. The Wal-mart cover is $20, the ‘good’ cover $100. I have a Wal-mart cover on the KLR and it’s okay after two years so maybe I should just go with the cheaper option anyway. I’ll see how it goes for the summer.
After supper I mowed the incredible-growing-machine that is my lawn then we watched the last portion of the ‘When the Levees Broke’ disk set and the first section of ‘Tin Man’. The latter is a Sci-Fi channel production and a takeoff of The Wizard of Oz. It’s okay.
======= END OF POST =====
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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