It's October · 3:14am Oct 2nd, 2020
It’s the first of October, which means it’s One-Shot-Ober. So grab some paper and sharpen your pencils . . .
I won’t be competing; I won it back in 2014 and I’m not crazy enough to try again. Although I am crazy enough to have considered it.
IRL, work’s been insane. Our average month is under 40k in sales; last month we topped 50k. Most weeks I was on overtime by Thursday. We briefly had four people (my manager, me, Mechanic McMechanicface, and another kid who’s proof that if you scrape the bottom of the barrel enough, you’re gonna find someone.
Mechanic McMechanicface quit--he’s going back to trade school to pursue his dream, and I wish him luck. I can’t remember if he’s going into HVAC, plumbing, or welding. It’s one of those things and there’s some overlap.
Right now we’ve got a parking lot jammed to capacity with cars. Some of them are done; most are awaiting service. I’m currently working on a pair of time-wasters instead of knocking out a bunch of easy work and making a bunch of money on it . . . well, I get paid by the hour, so I make the same amount of money no matter what, but I could kick out the thousand dollars worth of repairs the Monte Carlo needs in a couple hours, or spend ten hours earning the shop the same amount of money poking around at an old Ford truck that belongs in a museum.
I’ll save griping about that truck for a later blog post.
[Incidentally, speaking about griping about vehicles . . . couple of my readers are fans of the 90s Land Cruisers with the inline sixes (1fzfe, IIRC)--that same truck’s back needing an oil dipstick tube and the part’s discontinued; any of y’all know a good place to get parts for those?]
Point is, we’ve got a parking lot full of cars, and we’re now a man down.
But there’s good news! This year I didn’t take any vacations, ‘cause all the pony cons were cancelled, so I’m going to take one. Next week, in fact.
I don’t know where I’m going or what I’ll be doing. I might spend some of it at home; I’ve got a few projects that need finishing. I might head up to northern Michigan or across the Mackinac Bridge to the UP, or take the circle route around Lake Michigan (always wanted to do that, never have [circle route around Lake Huron is even better, but AFAIK Americans are currently banned from Canada]).
Whatever I do, I might be practically unreachable for the next week; if so, don’t panic.
Since we’re talking about ‘practically unreachable,’ one part of the cat radio saga has ended, one still continues. A week or two ago (time is just flying by), my formerly trusty Galaxy S8 Plus wanted an update. I held off until Saturday, when I was already working in Lansing, and at the end of my shift, I hit the ‘update’ button and then started driving in the general direction of the Sprint* T-Mobile store. Sure enough, it updated and then forgot that cellular signals were a thing it was supposed to look for.
They poked and prodded and managed to bring it back to life, and that lasted nearly 24 hours before it decided it preferred 3G mode and then that 0G was even better.
It was nearly a week before I could get back, and this time they did what they should have did a time or two before and sent it in, explaining that most likely the tech center would toss my phone into the bad phone bucket and send me a refurbished S8, which I was cool with.
Couple days later I got a call that my new phone was at the shop for me to pick up. When I got to the store, it was there but not ready yet; I’d have to wait half an hour or so while they got it ready to go.
Eventually they passed it over and at first everything looked okay, until I went to peel the protector off the back of the phone and noticed that it suddenly had more cameras that it used to.
Turns out I got upgraded for free! My S8 plus got exchanged for a S10.
I know a thing or two about S10s; I’ve owned at least six of them. Still have two and maybe 3/4 (depends on how you count; I’ve got two extra cabs, for example, but no additional frames). Admittedly, the phone isn’t a truck and probably won’t respond well to being hit with a hammer to get it going. On the plus side, it doesn’t burn or leak oil at the same rate as a Chevy. And I legit was thinking of upgrading to a S10 once they got my S8 fixed.
I’m still a little annoyed they didn’t tell me sooner that I wouldn’t be getting a S8 plus back, though; I had to buy a new case.
______________________________________
*One of the things I just realized I’ll miss about Sprint . . . back when bills were still mailed in, I’d always make the payment line on the check say “Sprint!” They always got cashed, so I guess adding an exclamation point to a company name is close enough for the bank. . . .
So my phones are back in service and fully-functional; both of them can be powered down and when they’re turned back on, they look for cell towers as they should.
Problem is that they don’t find them, because the local tower is still broken. It was supposed to be fixed by now, but they just haven’t gotten around to it. I don’t know what the holdup is, but given the local infrastructure, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re having trouble finding the right kind of string to tie to the cans to make them work again.
Or maybe the string’s fine and it’s the cans that need replacing.
Either way, it’s annoying, ‘cause it makes my internet alternate between slow and completely dysfunctional.
On the plus side, after work tomorrow that will be another problem I don’t have to think about for a week (probably).
Have a good vacation, Biscuit! It sounds like you could use a break!
Competing in what? You can't cut us off there, silly.
Besides, I just posted a one shot today.
Also, I totes miss seeing you in person.
Rest well biscuit!
On a side note, somewhat annoyingly USA uses a few different signal bands and even occasionally different protocols compared to the rest of the world, so people sometimes get phones that have trouble connecting in certain areas because they don't recognize every last american signal.
Based on the art you posted, the best use for your vacation is trainhopping to Odesa. Looking at Google Maps, it appears there is a big blue sort of water thing you'll have to cross, but I'm sure there's a bridge somewhere.
So tempted to do a one-shot October, as long as I don't have to make *complete* works. I do pretty good with Thoughtlets.
5368932
Could you clue me in on what this is about?
Just make the dipstick tube out of JB Weld, duh!
Hmn... your second picture up there suggests a way you could do the Lake Huron circle. Lotta folk still riding the rails nowadays. Probably even more, thanks to systemic collapse. Hand-held radios make it pretty easy to avoid the bulls, too. One way or the other. it would be a vacation to remember!
Ah, good luck at work, and enjoy your vacation, however you end up spending it!
And if you'll be practically unreachable because you're secretly doing some freight hopping, well, you haven't explicitly admitted to it here. :D
(I'm joking. I assume. Probably. :D)
And I hope you stay safe, either way!
And good luck with the cellphone situation.
Have fun and good luck!
(This message brought to you by the Department of Generically Appropriate Sentiments For Most Contingencies)
Have great trip, Admiral!
Here's a random idea, bring some ponies with you and take photos of them in funny places, it could make for an amusing blog post on your return! (Or don't, it's just a thought.)
Have a good time, whatever you end up doing (or indeed not doing).
These days, riding a circle line gives you a 50:50 chance of having at least one viable route available at all times to get back home?
And then you got people desperately trying to set up the remake of The Cassandra Crossing.
What really impresses me, given how old the tech is, at least the 90s, and really 60s, is how badly theyve managed to mangle to unusability what cell phones should be running on by now, that of what they call MESH?
80 series ‘Cruisers are plentiful here (the most common 4X4 of their day here by a long shot) and there are several specialist wreckers I drive past every week who would have parts but the cost of sending you one from Oz would be somewhat exorbitant.
I work in the telecommunications industry over here and if we had a base off the air for more than a day or two there’d be letters to local politicians in the mail already to complain and all sorts of letters to the editor flying around. Obviously you folks and your providers have lower expectations.
Best of luck with the workload and we look forward to the next instalment of “The Exploits of Admiral Biscuit - Automotive Mechanic Extraordinaire”
*Edit*. I probably should admit I have an ‘86 HJ61 ‘Cruiser (12HT turbo direct injection diesel) and a ‘96 HZJ80 (1HZ diesel with aftermarket turbo) so I sort of know about ‘Cruisers.
5368909
Yeah, I think so. Gotta recharge the batteries and now’s a good time to do it.
I’ll be cold, I’m sure, but on the plus side there aren’t likely to be mosquitos if I go north.
5368913
It’s not really a competition (even though i won once
, just a different version of Novelember--post a one-shot a day for the whole month. Bonus points if most of ‘em don’t suck. One year I did them all as separate stories (so minimum 1k words each); the next I did a collection of 31(ish) stories in an anthology.
You’re one 31st of the way there!
Yeah, me too. Here’s hoping next year there’s a Trotcon and we aren’t all dead. Also at this point I’m craving actual human contact enough that being shipped with Bad Horse again doesn’t sound all that bad.
5368915
Who would imagine the nation which uses imperial measurements and troy measurements and fathoms and knots and sometimes metric (often to describe not-metric) wouldn’t have a single standard when it comes to cell phone signals? Who could possibly imagine such a thing?
Based on cell phone signals in my area, I’d assume the brand of can and/or string is important. Probably why T-Mobile is having such trouble. “What do you mean Stokley’s went out of business? How are we going to fix our tower without their cans?”
Train-hopping is one of those things I’ve considered for the experience, and thus far rejected due to the dangers. There are probably places where it’s safer than other places, I don’t know, but it’s not something I’m likely to do.
I do know a guy who did for giggles once; he rode across a mountain pass and then called a buddy to pick him up on the other side.
I just checked out Google Maps, and I think you’re right about the big blue water thing. So far I don’t see any bridges, but if I kinda pick a westerly route, it’s not that far across the Bearing Strait--there are even some islands here and there. Probably doable if I dust off the boat and plug a few leaks.
5368932
If you do it as a compilation, you don’t have to have them all be complete (or over 1k words). That’s what I did the second year, with chapter lengths between 35 and 2100 words.
You could probably muster at least 1k worth of thoughtletts over a month, and that would count IMHO.
5368939
My manager was considering cutting down another dipstick tube and welding it to the end, or else cutting this one down and attaching the hold-down points somewhere else . . .
Not my problem until a week from now, it turns out. That truck’s sitting on the hoist with no oil pan and no dipstick tube, and I don’t have to think about it for the next seven days.
Also, so I don’t miss my opportunity to pick on Chrysler, I just put a fuel rail pressure sensor on a late-model Pacifica. The new part is different, so it comes with a new connector. What it doesn’t come with is instructions that tell you that the new connector is pinned differently than the old one was. Turns out as an aftermarket shop, the only way you’ll find that out is to wire it the same as the old one, get a new code, and then put that code into Identifix, which will tell you that you need to change the wire order.
5369502 Ok, can you tell me where to find the one-shot-tober rules? My google-fu is weak, grandfather.
5368942
That’s a good plan with two minor flaws. The first being that the Canadians don’t want any irresponsible Americans in their country (and I legit can’t blame them), so they’d probably be angrier than usual if they found me in their territory (and I wrote a whole story about Canadian immigration, about that time they nearly deported me).
The second flaw is that if I did take a train up to around the tip of the UP (which is possible on the Canadian side), I’d be hoofing it back down a few hundred miles to find tracks in Michigan . . . without looking at a map, I probably can’t get much further north in Michigan than Bay City by rail, if sticking close to Lake Huron is part of the plan. On the other side of the state, I can get to around Cadillac by train, and that’s it.
5369511
There aren’t rules AFAIK, just write a one-shot per day for all of October. At the end, if you complete it, you get fame and glory and that’s it. Fame and glory not guaranteed.
5368945
Thank you!
If I did (hypothetically), I’d only tell y’all after the statute of limitations passed.
Thank you! It looks like it might have been fixed today (I got three bars, yay!) They musta found the can they were lacking.
5368949
Thank you!
lol
5368981
Thank you, I shall!
5369485
It's starting to cool off in the evenings here but the days are warm enough for the gnats to still be hanging around. Stay warm and have a good time!
5369512
Yeah, route planning is critical when you're train hopping! I'm too damned old for that stuff now, but I did it a few times when in High School. Wasn't careful enough choosing a train one time and ended up in Bakersfield instead of Sacramento. *shudder*
I have personal experience about how awful Canadian Immigration can be. A guy I worked with is BANNED FROM CANADA FOREVER !!!! because he gave a smart-mouthed answer to a Canadian border guard who was treating him like a suspected terrorist.
5368989
Being yeeted out of Canada by border agents probably counts as a viable route, right?
You give American cell phone companies a bandwidth and best practices, and you wind up with a system where a phone can’t find a tower on its own network. Mine’s been roaming so hard, it’s showing two different times because it doesn’t know that the not-T-Mobile tower is in the same time zone as whichever other one it can see but not talk to.
5369010
I mentioned this to my manager, and he wanted to know how much it would cost, ‘cause we’re running out of ideas. Surely they can be got in the US, but where? Internet isn’t helping. . . .
We’re used to Telco companies and internet companies and cable companies charging us an arm and a leg for a service they don’t provide. IT’s the American way!
Thank you!
I don’t own any Japanese cars, but in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve got a 77 Olds 88, 79 GMC Sierra, 80 Chevy P30 (panel van/step van), 88 GMC S15, 88 GMC Suburban, 89 Chevy S10, 98 Jeep Cherokee, 01 Chevy Impala, 01 Dodge Caravan, 03 Dodge Caravan, 07 Dodge Caravan, a Ford Ranger of unknown vintage in pieces, and nearly enough S10 parts over several model years to build most of another S10. The average engine displacement is 3.8 liters (rounded), and while I don’t have any 3.8 litre engines in the bunch, the P30s’ got a 3.9, the Cherokee’s got a 4.0, and the 79 GMC has a 4.1. All the Caravans have 3.3 litre engines.
5369520
My intention is to bring more blankets than I think I need, and that will probably be the right amount. Likely to get down into the 30s at night, especially further north.
5369522
Besides picking a comfy car to ride in/on, knowing where the train is going is generally a good idea. Bakersfield sounds like deep in Southern Pacific territory, back in the day.
I’m not banned forever (thankfully), but they give me the side-eye every time I’m at the border now, and even though I’ve got a magical driver’s license that’s supposed to allow me free passage, I always take my passport, ‘cause Canadian immigration has stamped it before and hopefully while the guy’s dithering over whether to let me in or not, he notices that they let me in before.
Amusing story . . . last time I went to Canada, it was after work. I mostly cleared out anything that would be suspicious, but I did have a duffel bag full of Admiral Biscuit shirts (they didn’t like that) and three laptops (they didn’t like that, either). Even worse, when I was at Customs, they asked who I was visiting, and I only knew screen names . . . “Uh, Masked Ferret, KMCA, Saddlesoap Opera, Lise Eclair . . . those probably aren’t their real names, sir. . . . “
5369529
It's not that cool here at night but I bet it feels great!
5369517
:)
Naturally. :D
Oh, good!
And heh. :)
5369534
5369528
I can check on Monday after the weekend. I’ll have to find dimensions and then get a quote from AusPost. Probably just send it in a poster tube.
Do you have the actual engine Info and year of the ‘Cruiser so I can try to ensure the right part. Over here, the early 100 series still used the same donk so possibly one of them may suit as well... your models were often a bit different to ours so I’d be keen to compare pics to make sure the parts match.
*Edit - Maybe try somewhere like Cruiseryard specialist wreckers down in Texas?
5369509 Oh jeez that's stupid. You (the general 'you') could potentially make a new dipstick tube out of a 3/8" brake line... in a pinch.
Currently, I'm chasing ghosts on a Lexus RX300. It randomly drains the battery. I've narrowed it down to a single wire or circuit I guess. From the BCM to the rear defog & mirror defrost relays, that grounds the relay's coil. Somehow, magically, it has a slight short to +12v. The short is strong enough (when it occurs) that when the ignition switch is off, the opposite side of the relay coil is no longer +12v, it's closer to ground, so that somewhat short to +12v on the other side is then enough to turn both relays on, and because defrost runs on hot always power, the defrosters will be on, draining the battery. Yet, the short is weak enough that it won't blow a fuse. It does confuse the fuck out of the poor BCM, though. Which will randomly start binging sadly.
This car befuddles me. There's no visible damage to any of the wires, it's not the relays, it's not the BCM (the short exists with all of those unplugged). I thought the rat's nest in the glove compartment meant chewed wires - it didn't. I thought the smashed fender meant crushed wire loom - it didn't. The U/H fuse box I tore down and nothing is wrong inside. And of course the short conveniently disappears when I need it not to.
What, the person who puts their head around the door and starts yelling at people to stop making such a racket?
Yeah, it's the thing that all the young kids do these days. Don't tell T-Mobile or they'll probably charge you extra for it.
Nice upgrade!
5369559
It’s the time of year here where if the sun’s out it feels nice and if it’s not, it’s chilly. I think it’s in the 50s today.
5369718
Heh, I’m off for a week so it isn’t my problem right now. But if you’re bored and want to get a quote, assuming he can’t find anything over the next week, that’d be cool
It’s a 1997 with the inline 6 (4.5L, I think it is). That’s about all I know of it, to be honest.
They don’t seem to have one (but not sure that would show up in their listings)
5369722
Yeah, that’s a possibility, or at least the lower part of it.
Ugh, that doesn’t sound like fun at all. The closest thing I’ve found to that (and it took a while) was a comms problem on an older Caravan, where a power wire and a data wire were both chafed through enough that sometimes they touched, and of course the data line didn’t like having extra volts on it. It eventually turned out to be that big junction of wires by the transmission, but it was a heck of a thing to find, I think I just wound up eventually untaping harnesses and looking at wires in what I thought were likely spots.
I’m assuming that in this Lexus, nearly all the wires you’re looking for run somewhere in the interior of the car and probably aren’t fun to get to.
5369738
Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, I’m waiting to see what they do with their bills going forward. My contract’s ended (phones are paid off), so if I decide to switch providers, it won’t cost me anything. Part of the reason I was reluctant to upgrade my phone, honestly.
Thanks! Still getting used to it, and I don’t have a lot of the favorite sites (like FimFiction) loaded up on it yet. Maybe if it’s slow at work today, I’ll get that done.
5369855 It's not so bad, (assuming Mitchell is correct, and the wire goes from the BCM to the two relays and nowhere else) the whole run should be from the fuse box under the steering wheel, out under the fender, and to the U/H fuse box. Didn't have time to look at it today. Honestly, I may just leave the relays out and tell the guy tough shit, you ain't got no defroster. Though I do worry that a short to positive could mean burned wires that... you know... might short and cause a fire.
The Caravan you describe reminds me of this 2014(13) Impala that had this stubborn ignition coil circuit #3 code that I just couldn't shake for the life of me. Every saturday this guy would come in and I'd do something different, nothing ever worked. Finally I told the guy he's waiting several hours whether he likes it or not, I literally removed the entire engine wiring harness from the car, and untaped the whole run from the coil to the PCM. I found only a *slightly* pinched bunch of 3 wires that looked like they were rubbing or pinched on an edge (not sharp) of the transmission casting. Wouldn't you know it? All 3 of the ever-so-slightly damaged wires were going to coil #3? They weren't even rubbed through, either, that's what gets me. If you'd've seen them, you'd think nothing of it. The code's been gone for several weeks since I taped up those wires.
I guess that's just GM for ya
5369853
I would suspect that a part like that would be something you'd have to give them a call about and see if they'd strip one off a cooked donk and send it to you. Over here I'd just drop in and ask on my way past or call them.
Heh, I'd love to have the chance to be bored!
Still, I'll see what the rough cost would be in my travels... my days are generally 10-12 hours on the road in my new role so I pass a lot of small post offices and regional wreckers.
Enjoy your week off and have fun with whatever you do.
Have a great trip! Looking forward to hearing about it.