There are a number of difficult decisions approaching. My heart failure continues to slowly but surely progress, and I become less able to do things. My general mobility is decreasing, as creeping arthritis inflames and gives major hurties to my hands, shoulders, knees and hips. For whatever reason, my elbows do not seem as affected, but whatever.
Through the years, one of the things that has held me together has been riding my motorcycles. For the past nearly 15 years, I have been limited to scooters, because I cannot operate a shifter or a brake pedal with my fake feet, and I need the controls on the handlebars. This has worked well, as scooters have become progressively better and more sophisticated. My "big scooter", a Honda Silver Wing, is, for all purposes, a touring bike - sophisticated, fuel injected, and easily cruises at freeway speeds. However, I am presently unable to ride it. It lives, for now, in my brother Conrad's garage, and he exercises it occasionally to keep it prime. The "trike scooter" is 150cc, and while a three-wheeler, is a reverse trike (two wheels in the front) and is also a leaner, meaning that it leans in the turns, so is not a stay-upright trike. It is also larger and heavier than a typical 150, and more difficult to handle, but I will try to stay with it. If I plan to remain a rider, as I do, major things must happen.
One: the garage must be shovelled out, to allow the Silver Wing to return home, and room made for proper parking for the trike scooter,as well as working space for me to revamp the 1985 Honda Elite 250. This will cost money, as in extensive help from 1-800-JUNK or somebody, and money is a rare component right now.
Two: I must find the resources to acquire and install a Tow-Pac kit for the Silver Wing. My brothers call these "training wheels", and I suppose they are, but it must happen.
Three: Both the Silver Wing and the trike scooter must be engineered to carry perhaps a lightweight Rollator or other walker device, to allow me to walk when I get off the scooters, which is becoming a factor. I am already scheming and plotting to arrange these things.
It will be an interesting winter.
OTOH, as it slowly but surely becomes more difficult for me to get out and travel around, I am getting more ruined by online shopping. I ordered several things from Harbor Freight, and the shipping & handling is $6.99 flat rate - I am 18 miles from the store, and at 20 mpg in my truck, I would spend about as much driving to the store to pick up the stuff. I will stay here and drink coffee, thanks... :D
Monday, September 2, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Moldy, but still relevant techno
Americans remain a stunningly isolated and sheltered bunch of folk.
I was recently actually laughed at by a 24-year-old upper-middle-class suburbanite because after 36 years, I remain a "ham" radio operator and shortwave listener. He, of course, with his iPhone, XM satellite receiver, and DirectTV, considers my old-tech radio stuff obsolete and useless.
He also has limited knowledge or understanding of the ball of rock on which he lives. One quarter of the world population has no access to electricity. 40 percent of earthlings have no indoor plumbing. About one sixth of earthlings have never seen a television. Only 34% of the world population have internet access at all. In several countries, including North Korea, Myanmar (Burma), Yemen, and most recently Zimbabwe, shortwave receivers, satellite dishes, and walkie-talkies are illegal, and will get you fined and imprisoned. China still severely restricts the above goodies, and though the government makes big puffery about 40% of the population having internet access, that access is strictly filtered by the government.
"Nobody does shortwave radio anymore" - really? This is a link for a web document that will show you what is on the shortwave bands right now.
shortwaveschedule.com
The creaky old Voice of America, from the post-WWII era, is still there, broadcasting thousands of programs from dozens of high-power transmitters, in more than 100 languages, including Special English, read slowly with a vocabulary of about 1500 words, for those with rudimentary English skills.
Do a little research, folks. You may be surprised.
I was recently actually laughed at by a 24-year-old upper-middle-class suburbanite because after 36 years, I remain a "ham" radio operator and shortwave listener. He, of course, with his iPhone, XM satellite receiver, and DirectTV, considers my old-tech radio stuff obsolete and useless.
He also has limited knowledge or understanding of the ball of rock on which he lives. One quarter of the world population has no access to electricity. 40 percent of earthlings have no indoor plumbing. About one sixth of earthlings have never seen a television. Only 34% of the world population have internet access at all. In several countries, including North Korea, Myanmar (Burma), Yemen, and most recently Zimbabwe, shortwave receivers, satellite dishes, and walkie-talkies are illegal, and will get you fined and imprisoned. China still severely restricts the above goodies, and though the government makes big puffery about 40% of the population having internet access, that access is strictly filtered by the government.
"Nobody does shortwave radio anymore" - really? This is a link for a web document that will show you what is on the shortwave bands right now.
shortwaveschedule.com
The creaky old Voice of America, from the post-WWII era, is still there, broadcasting thousands of programs from dozens of high-power transmitters, in more than 100 languages, including Special English, read slowly with a vocabulary of about 1500 words, for those with rudimentary English skills.
Do a little research, folks. You may be surprised.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Texting!
I have upgraded my battered and tired cellphone, and under subtle influence from my daughter and others, have agreed to take up "texting". As a result, I selected an LG Xpression phone, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for typing. I prefer mechanical keyboards, as I find on-screen keyboards ungainly. The keyboard is small for my clumsy paws, but workable, if not at high speed. For those who know me, same number. I do not know all of the funky shorthand etc, so bear with me. Don't get crazy with it, but I am textable now...
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
New Foots! And yes, New Flames!
I received today the new fake foots, after wearing and approving the test sockets for about three weeks, and they seem to work very well. These are a new design of socket, done by computer, and not by the old-school plaster casting. I put a sock of a particular kind on each socket, and each was scanned by who knows what technology, with lasers and computers and stuff, and they were apparently kinda sorta 3D printed, but in epoxy and carbon fibre. These sockets are probably half the weight of the previous sockets,and combined with the new foot design, the shoes that I wear on the prostheses are probably heavier than the prostheses themselves!
This important to me because a) the progressive arthritis in my hips and knees make lightweight hardware less painful to lift and move, and b) my battered heart, which works at an "Ejection Fraction" [function] of less than 30%, with a leaky mitral valve to boot, gives me about 20% of my optimum blood supply, so walking at all is a strenuous activity, and the less weight I am required to move with activity, the better. These new sockets also seem to fit very well and comfortably, which cuts down possibility for pressure sores, etc.
One thing that did remain the same from the last set was the ability for the finisher to cover the sockets with a cotton material to provide whatever pattern I would like, and could find. I have connections for this [a daughter who works for Hobby Lobby] so I was easily able to obtain a flame design fabic, and the finisher glued in onto the outside of sockets, and finished them with clear gel instead of the usual white. I am proud of the finished product:
Hey, somebody has to have a sense of humor about this, and it may as well be me!
This important to me because a) the progressive arthritis in my hips and knees make lightweight hardware less painful to lift and move, and b) my battered heart, which works at an "Ejection Fraction" [function] of less than 30%, with a leaky mitral valve to boot, gives me about 20% of my optimum blood supply, so walking at all is a strenuous activity, and the less weight I am required to move with activity, the better. These new sockets also seem to fit very well and comfortably, which cuts down possibility for pressure sores, etc.
One thing that did remain the same from the last set was the ability for the finisher to cover the sockets with a cotton material to provide whatever pattern I would like, and could find. I have connections for this [a daughter who works for Hobby Lobby] so I was easily able to obtain a flame design fabic, and the finisher glued in onto the outside of sockets, and finished them with clear gel instead of the usual white. I am proud of the finished product:
Saturday, March 2, 2013
A bit of "excitement"...
A bit of... er... excitement here, coming up, of course on Sunday night, the worst possible time for this sort of thing. Sandy was taking a shower, and the daughter went downstairs to find soapy water coming up out of the washing machine drain line, onto the floor. The line from the house to the septic tank, or possibly the tank itself, was not flowing. Not what one wants to see. The tank itself is pumped out every few years, and as far as I know is working properly, so this must be a thing with the piping. I muscled out the big drain auger, pulled the plug on the cleanout in the "go out" line, and began to auger away. About 15 feet in, the auger just stopped, apparently having run into some immovable something, and no more progress could be made, and no drainage was taking place. This was not a good thing, as we were out of business until at least the next morning. The only option was to add a bit of leftover RV Holding Tank stuff to each toilet in case of emergency, and hang on.
We have an outfit that does the occasional septic tank pump-out, so we called them early the next morning, and they were able to make it out later in the day. They were brave and dedicated etc, and worked in the on-and-off rain, digging up septic tank line from the house to the tank, which is not far, but it still involves digging.
Here is some apparent wisdom, but more likely using whatever there was on hand by a sub-development builder - the drain doings in the house are rather well-done. Outside the house, however, the PVC line from the house to the septic tank changed to about 15 feet of clay pipe, which conducted everything to the tank. Why this was done, I have no clue, but it was part of the problem. Nearby, there used to be a massive hackberry tree, and tree roots had, over the years, displaced the clay pipe sections, causing leakage between the sections. In addition, there was a large watermelon-sized rock on top of the clay pipe, apparently pushed in when the pipe was being buried when it was installed. Over the years, the combination of roots and the rock had damaged the clay pipe, and the pipe apparently just broke up and collapsed, making for the Unclearable Clog.
The plumbing guys worked hard correcting all of this. The roots are no longer a factor, as the tree was taken down some years ago. The watermelon-sized rock now resides in the ravine behind the backyard and good riddance. When the line left the house, it needed to drop about 18" to put it in the right position to do the proper draining into the tank, and was originally done with two 90-degree fittings. Just on the principle of easing the flow, the plumbing guys replaced this little arrangement with two 45-degree fittings to provide less of a sudden direction change, and the house-to-tank line is now a continuous run of schedule 40 PVC, buried without large rocks or other destructive debris. The guys assured me that this part of the system should outlast the house. I'll go with that.
So now, eighteen hours and some several hundred dollars later, everything is in prime flow again. The expenditure puts a strain on the limited reserves, but life is good when toilets flush well, and one can take a shower...
We have an outfit that does the occasional septic tank pump-out, so we called them early the next morning, and they were able to make it out later in the day. They were brave and dedicated etc, and worked in the on-and-off rain, digging up septic tank line from the house to the tank, which is not far, but it still involves digging.
Here is some apparent wisdom, but more likely using whatever there was on hand by a sub-development builder - the drain doings in the house are rather well-done. Outside the house, however, the PVC line from the house to the septic tank changed to about 15 feet of clay pipe, which conducted everything to the tank. Why this was done, I have no clue, but it was part of the problem. Nearby, there used to be a massive hackberry tree, and tree roots had, over the years, displaced the clay pipe sections, causing leakage between the sections. In addition, there was a large watermelon-sized rock on top of the clay pipe, apparently pushed in when the pipe was being buried when it was installed. Over the years, the combination of roots and the rock had damaged the clay pipe, and the pipe apparently just broke up and collapsed, making for the Unclearable Clog.
The plumbing guys worked hard correcting all of this. The roots are no longer a factor, as the tree was taken down some years ago. The watermelon-sized rock now resides in the ravine behind the backyard and good riddance. When the line left the house, it needed to drop about 18" to put it in the right position to do the proper draining into the tank, and was originally done with two 90-degree fittings. Just on the principle of easing the flow, the plumbing guys replaced this little arrangement with two 45-degree fittings to provide less of a sudden direction change, and the house-to-tank line is now a continuous run of schedule 40 PVC, buried without large rocks or other destructive debris. The guys assured me that this part of the system should outlast the house. I'll go with that.
So now, eighteen hours and some several hundred dollars later, everything is in prime flow again. The expenditure puts a strain on the limited reserves, but life is good when toilets flush well, and one can take a shower...
Friday, February 22, 2013
Cheap Scooter!
I have, many are surprised to learn, a cheap Chinese motor scooter, purchased online. Mine is apparently one of the brands that is considered among the worst, quality and support-wise. Discussions have been conducted in online forums and live conversations about this thing, and I thought that lessons learned would be valuable here, since I know some scooter riders read this thing. The scoot is a "different" design, a three-wheel model in a "reverse trike" design, with two wheels in front, and one in the rear, and is a "leaner"; it leans into turns much as a regular two-wheeler. More about that later.
The scoot I have is sold by an importer under a trade name, but is manufactured by a mainland Chinese manufacturer, the Ningbo Dongfang Lingyun Vehicle Made Co., Ltd. It was ordered online and shipped to me, partially assembled, in a crate. Unfortunately, there was minimal assembly instruction included, and what was there appeared to be in "Engrish", IOW a poor translation, though I gathered that the assembly was to be taken quite seriously, as i was warned in the instructions that "Amusing and horse play are forbidden!". Fortunately, on YouTube was a three-part instruction video, produced by one of the importers, demonstrating the assembly of this very model! The documentation also included an "owner's manual" which was to the depth of what would be called, in the computer software biz, a "quick start guide".
With notes made from the YouTube video, the assembly went very well. The frame seems solid, well made, and the A-arms for the front end etc fit very well. The engine and CVT driveline are apparently from Lifan, which is a fairly respected name. The body panels, while thin and apparently low-cost, were well molded and painted, and fit well. Those things being said, there are downsides.
Before I even rode this thing, there was substantial money and time to be spent. The fluids supplied with the scoot, engine oil, brake fluid, etc did not even look or smell like normal fluids do, so they were all replaced before it was even started. The "outside supplier" parts on the scoot are mostly rubbish. The tires were pretty much unusable; the rear was badly out-of round, and one of the fronts was separating on one side of the tread, nearly all the way around the tire, so tires were up for immediate replacement; I prefer Continental, but your mileage may vary. Two of the light bulbs were dead out of the box, with more to follow. The whole thing had to be "wrenched", as there were poorly tightened fasteners everywhere, and lay in a supply of Loc-Tite. The brake pads, while still there, are also rubbish.
I repacked the front wheel bearings before assembly, but the hubs almost immediately started to loosen, and the bearings began to sound like rolling buckets of rocks, so replacement was up for them as well.
The front end, having two wheels, requires aligning to track properly, and out of the box, mine was badly maladjusted. There was no documentation for this either, but I have done shadetree car work through the years, so it was fairly easy to figure out. There is no adjustment for caster or camber, but simply for toe-in, and it has adjustable tie-rods, so no sweat. The geometry is unusual, and the toe-in can actually vary with flexing of the suspension, so adjust the pre-load on the front shocks to max to minimize the flexing, and use someone of about your own weight to sit on the scooter while you are adjusting. This will make the ride a bit abrupt, but will minimize the change in tow-in while riding. Speaking of the shock/spring units, they squeak like crazy while flexing, so be prepared to use a small spring compressor to get access to the ends of the springs, and lube them up with lithium grease to minimize that, front and rear.
Now, rideability. Once properly aligned, the handling is very good. The thing leans more than a two-wheeler for a given turn, and that takes some getting used to, but once you have a feel for it, the unit handles well. To be overweight (nearly 400 pounds) and underpowered (8 hp) it does well on level ground, but has some difficulty with hills. It is an efficient around-town scoot, and averages about 70 mpg.
It is not an entry-level scooter.
Re the scooters: I have been rideless since just before Christmas, a combo of cold weather intolerance and fake foot issues. [I have prosthetic lower legs] Sandy describes me as having PMS - Parked Motorscooter Syndrome.
The scooters are on IV with the battery maintainers, and calling my name pitifully. I am being fitted for a new pair of leggies now, and they should be ready and tuned up in about three-four weeks, so I look forward to being back on fewer than four wheels soon.
OTOH, I am driving my truck more often, so its battery is staying better charged...
The scoot I have is sold by an importer under a trade name, but is manufactured by a mainland Chinese manufacturer, the Ningbo Dongfang Lingyun Vehicle Made Co., Ltd. It was ordered online and shipped to me, partially assembled, in a crate. Unfortunately, there was minimal assembly instruction included, and what was there appeared to be in "Engrish", IOW a poor translation, though I gathered that the assembly was to be taken quite seriously, as i was warned in the instructions that "Amusing and horse play are forbidden!". Fortunately, on YouTube was a three-part instruction video, produced by one of the importers, demonstrating the assembly of this very model! The documentation also included an "owner's manual" which was to the depth of what would be called, in the computer software biz, a "quick start guide".
With notes made from the YouTube video, the assembly went very well. The frame seems solid, well made, and the A-arms for the front end etc fit very well. The engine and CVT driveline are apparently from Lifan, which is a fairly respected name. The body panels, while thin and apparently low-cost, were well molded and painted, and fit well. Those things being said, there are downsides.
Before I even rode this thing, there was substantial money and time to be spent. The fluids supplied with the scoot, engine oil, brake fluid, etc did not even look or smell like normal fluids do, so they were all replaced before it was even started. The "outside supplier" parts on the scoot are mostly rubbish. The tires were pretty much unusable; the rear was badly out-of round, and one of the fronts was separating on one side of the tread, nearly all the way around the tire, so tires were up for immediate replacement; I prefer Continental, but your mileage may vary. Two of the light bulbs were dead out of the box, with more to follow. The whole thing had to be "wrenched", as there were poorly tightened fasteners everywhere, and lay in a supply of Loc-Tite. The brake pads, while still there, are also rubbish.
I repacked the front wheel bearings before assembly, but the hubs almost immediately started to loosen, and the bearings began to sound like rolling buckets of rocks, so replacement was up for them as well.
The front end, having two wheels, requires aligning to track properly, and out of the box, mine was badly maladjusted. There was no documentation for this either, but I have done shadetree car work through the years, so it was fairly easy to figure out. There is no adjustment for caster or camber, but simply for toe-in, and it has adjustable tie-rods, so no sweat. The geometry is unusual, and the toe-in can actually vary with flexing of the suspension, so adjust the pre-load on the front shocks to max to minimize the flexing, and use someone of about your own weight to sit on the scooter while you are adjusting. This will make the ride a bit abrupt, but will minimize the change in tow-in while riding. Speaking of the shock/spring units, they squeak like crazy while flexing, so be prepared to use a small spring compressor to get access to the ends of the springs, and lube them up with lithium grease to minimize that, front and rear.
Now, rideability. Once properly aligned, the handling is very good. The thing leans more than a two-wheeler for a given turn, and that takes some getting used to, but once you have a feel for it, the unit handles well. To be overweight (nearly 400 pounds) and underpowered (8 hp) it does well on level ground, but has some difficulty with hills. It is an efficient around-town scoot, and averages about 70 mpg.
It is not an entry-level scooter.
Re the scooters: I have been rideless since just before Christmas, a combo of cold weather intolerance and fake foot issues. [I have prosthetic lower legs] Sandy describes me as having PMS - Parked Motorscooter Syndrome.
The scooters are on IV with the battery maintainers, and calling my name pitifully. I am being fitted for a new pair of leggies now, and they should be ready and tuned up in about three-four weeks, so I look forward to being back on fewer than four wheels soon.
OTOH, I am driving my truck more often, so its battery is staying better charged...
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