Cooler and drier than yesterday, maybe. Yesterday started humid and overcast but ended breezy and clear and very nice. I’m hoping the ‘very nice’ continues today.
Spent the morning getting my truck from the dealer. Spent the early afternoon asleep. Spent the rest of the day poking at the new machine. Given that it has a computer, touch screen, and several different interface devices, and lots of settings, I’ll be reading the manual. I hate reading the manual, and if it was a rental, I’d just be cool with whatever I could figure out in 10 minutes. Since I own it, I should probably know what all that stuff does.
Ford uses a “Sync” branded system for the info and entertainment system. It does one thing I like so far, you can sync the clock to the clock on the GPS. You still have to set the hour to match your time zone, but it’s a nice feature and speaks to the integration. It has a category for apple phone integration and android. I will probably be watching some youtube vids soon. I’ve got other stuff on the agenda for today though.
Youngest child stayed home from school yesterday with coughing that improved about the same time she was sure she wouldn’t be going in. What she won’t like is getting a ‘rona test today before class. I was sympathetic, and she was coughing and miserable, but that 10% of doubt should have been more. Little faker. Or at least little exaggerator.
Today should be eaten up with errands (pickups of household stuff) and truck stuff. I’ve got to get the truck stuff done, it’s eating time I need for other things. I really want to be all back together and ready to work when my part time business partner gets the drawings done for my client’s rip and replace. That will also mean proceeding with the auctioneer that will take pallets of stuff.
It’s a whole lot easier to sit at my desk and mess around online.
Must resist… urge… must…resist…..
So time to get going. Clear the decks so I can get to stacking…
n
I like how for most of you guys near 1AM is early.
I’m more of a Ben Franklin guy.
Probably midnight for Nick. Daynotes shows Eastern time.
I have several solutions to the illegal alien invasion. Some don’t even cost the government a cent.
Anyone in the US illegally is enslaved. (Remember that the 14th Amendment doesn’t outlaw slavery entirely.)
Send them back to the border they crossed, minus a finger. This should cut down on repeat offenders.
Use them as “animal models” for testing vaccines.
Break them down for spare parts.
Allow any US citizen to kill any illegal alien without criminal or civil penalty.
Of course, none of that would make it through legislatures or courts, as currently constituted. But I have several solutions to the problem of communists and morons in government…
@steve, always the problem solver…
I have a friend who said that the answer to over-population was that everyone needed to kill two other people. There are actually some interesting things happening when you look at the math, I think.
Was nearer to 1230 when I shut my eyes early this morning, and about an hour earlier than normal. Then start the day at 615 to get the kids out the door. That’s the latest I can sleep and still fit every thing in, and that’s only if they cooperate and nothing goes wrong. Some days they’re late.
Currently 80F and 88%RH so cool and damp it is, at least for a bit.
n
Spent the morning getting my truck from the dealer. Spent the early afternoon asleep. Spent the rest of the day poking at the new machine. Given that it has a computer, touch screen, and several different interface devices, and lots of settings, I’ll be reading the manual. I hate reading the manual, and if it was a rental, I’d just be cool with whatever I could figure out in 10 minutes. Since I own it, I should probably know what all that stuff does.
If you bought the truck from a Ford dealer, the salesperson should have gone over the gadgets at least at a high level detail.
Be tough in the survey if they didn’t explain adequately. That paper and “Five Star” rating is critical to the dealers’ relationship with the manufacturer and ability to get their marginal borrowers approved at Ford Credit — super important to moving $60,000 trucks on 90 month loans right now.
I knew we got screwed in the Exploder deal when we walked out of the F&I room and the salesman, aware that my father was old school Ford Credit, said, “Hey, no matter what happened in there, you know that we are separate on the sales floor, okay?”
The dealer still did something to make sure the survey never hit our mailbox. I still zinged them with a direct call to Dearborn.
I figured I’d be learning the details on my own anyway. It’s better that way. I didn’t even ask for the walk around or show and tell.
$6K-10K below market depending on the day…. I wanted to lock that deal up and I’m willing to accept a few small stumbles to get it.
They threw in a full tank of gas and that’s worth $75. Tires are Michelin and have lots of life left.
The trip computer said I was making 20+mpg on the drive home. Pretty good for that beast.
n
oh, and super quiet inside. I was pulling panels looking for a place to stash some stuff and a radio or two and every surface has thick sound absorbent matting. The engine compartment is lined with it, and all the wheel wells are treated inside and out. My wife’s honda has always seemed loud to me, and this is recording studio quiet by comparison.
I’ve been a Honda fan until recently. One of my only major gripes in general with them is their cars are significantly louder than other equivalent cars.
There may be hope in the future for Honda though. The latest gen Accord I drove a few years ago was noticeably quieter than previous models. Too bad the clutch feel on the manual sport model was garbage and the shifter felt like the throw was measured in miles or I might have ended up buying one.
I have hopes that the next Civic Type R will look like a car an adult would own.
–I’m not sure I’d count gasoline, simply due to the number of factors that can influence its price, and regional variations. I payed $2.30 at the pump last week, but $2.49 the week before.
n
The trip computer said I was making 20+mpg on the drive home. Pretty good for that beast.
Ford cruise control is critical in my wife’s 2016 Exploder for getting 25+ on the highway out of that V6. The system is about a lot more than maintaining speed these days. I learned that on our trip to Florida last summer, driving from Buc-ee’s Baytown to a gas station somewhere near Grand Bay, AL on one tank of ethanol-free gas.
Cruise control and fatigue is how I ended up with my “move over” law ticket in Alabama, however. We stopped more frequently on the way back … after my wife drove I-10 through AL.
I also noticed that my new truck is NOT E85 rated. Both of my other trucks were/are. Lot less energy in E85, leaving aside the material deterioration effects.
n
I also noticed that my new truck is NOT E85 rated. Both of my other trucks were/are. Lot less energy in E85, leaving aside the material deterioration effects.
The only places I’ve ever seen E85 are within a few hours radius of the big ethanol plant on the highway between Kansas City and Grand Bluffs (Omaha), IA.
If the vehicle has that FlexFuel badge, the computers correct for the deterioration effects and the fuel system components are speced properly. The problem will come when the feds start mandating E15 and that gas hits anything over 20-ish years old lacking the badge. Of course, that will be by design.
He’s the Real Life Tony Stark (TM)!
WA State’s Legislature just moved to ban sales of new non-EV cars by 2030. We’ll see if Costco’s tool in the Governor’s Mansion signs that into law.
But E85 is how the hot rodders get 1000+ hp out of heavily modified blown engines. They still can’t keep up with the 3000 hp diesels, though. Strange times when “clean” fuel is used for increased output. Race and Av gas are in limited supply, and much more expensive.
I used to do some events for Peterson publishing (HotRod Power Tour, IHRL race days, etc) HATED the weird fueled vehicles. Absolutely choking fumes, and invisible fire. Yikes.
n
Modding cars that were originally equipped with carburetors for alcohol (ethanol, NOT methanol) containing fuels is actually very easy. It is actually the 20 or so years of EFI cars (~1990-2010) that are difficult. Remember, the Model T originally ran on straight alcohol from the hardware store.
Our ‘big’ HEB across from the Costco has E85. My dad did a whole log book’s worth of comparison between E85 and “normal” gas in his full size chevy pickup. He decided that it wasn’t worth doing E85 even at the lower cost because the miles per dollar were about the same.
Which makes sense, and I confirmed it for myself with just one tank in my Expy.
each gallon of fuel is about the same when corrected for energy content, expressed in miles per dollar, no matter what the (petroleum or other liquid based) fuel.
n
…HATED the weird fueled vehicles. Absolutely choking fumes, and invisible fire. Yikes.
That would be straight methanol, with possibly some nitromethane. Whole different ball game. Nasty.
I had a 2007 Dodge Dakota years ago that was a Flex Fuel vehicle. So, I drove it to a station with E85 and filled up. My MPG was horrible with that tank of E85. As Nick said, there’s a lot less energy in E85. What you save at the pump (E85 is usually highly subsidized) you spend on reduced MPG. I’m not an ethanol hater, but the economics of it just don’t make sense.
I’ll save my ethyl alcohol for drinking.
The only places I’ve ever seen E85 are within a few hours radius of the big ethanol plant on the highway between Kansas City and Grand Bluffs (Omaha), IA.
My bad — Council Bluffs, IA.
I had a 2007 Dodge Dakota years ago that was a Flex Fuel vehicle. So, I drove it to a station with E85 and filled up. My MPG was horrible with that tank of E85. As Nick said, there’s a lot less energy in E85. What you save at the pump (E85 is usually highly subsidized) you spend on reduced MPG. I’m not an ethanol hater, but the economics of it just don’t make sense.
E85 was never about saving money.
You can see the big ethanol plant from the satellite imagery on Goggle maps. Just follow the Interstate up from Kansas City through St. Joseph, heading to Council Bluffs, and the facility sits as close to the midway point as possible, right on the river.
Had a friend who built two engines to run on 100% propane, no gasoline on board. Very high compression ratio, hard valve seats, much different cam events that required a custom made cam. That was in the 1970s. Lowest $/mile of any fuel, but other issues, such as where to put the tank, cold weather starting, etc.
There was also a test fleet of natural gas powered sedans used by a local business. These started in any (cold) weather. Nat gas and propane have very wide ignition ratios, making leaks very dangerous. Shouldn’t park in any enclosed space, such as a garage.
Still, propane is close to the ideal fuel.
E85 was never about saving money.
Of course, and that is true for all ethanol containing fuels. As the percentage goes up, there are more aldehyde emissions. Check Brazil.
Those here with petrochem backgrounds need to comment. I am out of my expertise area, and am just parroting some stuff I read.
Not just alcohol, the DEF makes diesel trucks into lung killers for me. Choking dry throat and that particular odor…
n
Circling back to some links and comments a few days ago, it’s my belief that people have not internalized just what it means to think certain things are coming.
Forex, a commentor at Sarah’s blog that could say with a straight face that s/he didn’t think Chauvin would make it to the jail house, or survive until a retrial (be Epsteined), but objected to a characterization of the mob that would rape your kids because they ‘deserved it’ for something YOU did, while the mob was destroying your life, livelihood, and family.
Peter has been there, done that.
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2021/05/defending-yourself-in-progressive-left_5.html
In Africa the “child soldiers” will simply cut off all the women’s hands so they can’t resist being raped to death when they take over a village.
In America, we have people (mostly on the left) that have no problem threatening to rape and murder conservative voices’ CHILDREN merely because they expressed an opinion the left hates. It’s just threats so far, but we’ve seen them escalate and what they do when they think they’ll get away with it.
Read Peter’s stuff about africa and various sh!tholes where he served, and get your head around the idea that it COULD happen here. Don’t get caught off guard.
n
With a degree of BS ChemEng, I will state that Ethanol, C2H5OH, is partially oxidized Ethane, C2H6.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ethanol+formula&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS811US811&oq=e&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l3j0i67j69i57j0i67l5.2630j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Re Saturn V yesterday… Jerry said several times that NASA deliberately destroyed the tooling to prevent more from being built (easily). Also “lost” the plans and rebuilt both launch towers. Scorched earth.
Re Saturn V yesterday… Jerry said several times that NASA deliberately destroyed the tooling to prevent more from being built (easily). Also “lost” the plans and rebuilt both launch towers. Scorched earth.
At some point in the last decade, I remember Dr. Pournelle correcting a correspondent that the Saturn V blueprints were never lost as frequently claimed, that copies could be readily obtained from the National Archives if desired. However, Dr. Pournelle advocated that rather than rebuild Apollo/Saturn, space travel R&D should focus on SSTO, establishing the ability to reach low Earth orbit for the price of fuel and minor maintenance, quoting Robert Heinlein (?) in stating that achieving that would be 50% of going anywhere, whether that be to the Moon or Mars.
The big problem with building more Saturn Vs now is that most of the people who understood the design well enough to run the manufacturing have either passed or are deep into their retirement years.
Coming soon to a place near you! A Chinese rocket falling from the sky! Where will it land? How big are the pieces that will hit the ground? Nobody knows!
Here’s a projection of the possible locations https://aerospace.org/reentries/cz-5b-rocket-body-id-48275 . Predicted Reentry Time 09 May 2021 02:29 UTC ± 22 hours .
From: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-rocket-debris-falling-earth/
Given that it has a computer, touch screen, and several different interface devices, and lots of settings, I’ll be reading the manual.
Wow, an actual printed manual? My RAM didn’t come with that, had to download a PDF.
My used (one-owner, bought from dealer) 2019 Highlander didn’t come with a printed owner’s manuals, but I found a complete set on eBay at a reasonable price.
Also have a PDF version of all the manuals for quick reference.
I was the one that pointed out to him that the plans were in the federal archives. (That myth was debunked and in the sci.space FAQ file.) And that the problem with rebuilding Saturn Vs was that many of the parts were no longer available and that the manufacturing techniques were lost due to the skilled workers retiring/passing away/moving on. By the end of Apollo they were having to pay vendors to keep parts in stock. NASA faced the same problem with shuttle, as there were vendors that went out of business and parts were no longer available. One of the reasons that all the orbiters got new computers and avionics after a while was that the original systems were obsolete and they were literally moving equipment from just-landed orbiters to ones being readied for launch.
Yes, the tooling was scrapped. NASA had no place to store it without spending a lot of money – the location where the lower stages were built was being converted over to make Shuttle external tanks (Michoud). The launch pads were rebuilt to be used for the shuttle – cheaper than building new pads with all the concrete needed, the water towers for the noise dampening system, and the cryogenic tankage at the pad.
In any case, the Saturn V was not any cheaper on a per-pound basis than the Shuttle was at first. Exact costs are hard to figure out because of the way that government agencies do accounting. For example, on most programs civil service labor was “free” because it wasn’t charged to programs for a long time. The civil servants raised a stink when NASA decided to give them specific charge numbers for the programs they worked on so they could do better cost accounting. The contractor community was laughing and pointing – what do they think we’ve been doing since we got here?
DC! DC!
@ech quoted yesterday,
As Spock would say, “Fascinating”. I wonder what other common stuff we have antibodies to? I vape and use PEG as a vehicle. And IIRC, Miralax, a laxative, is nothing more than PEG.
Guess I was wrong about India. My guess was that they’d escape some of the China flu because they grow up without the sterility fetish we have. I hope the current vaccines protect against that variant because I have yet to be innoculated. Any suggestions?
Found a perfect example of a sci-fi morality tale in a movie I’d never seen:
The 27th Day (1957)
You have to ignore the ending though. Or figure out your own.
A while back someone mentioned an old TV western which dealt in morality tales. I forget the name. Remind me?
Speaking of things to watch, I signed up for Netflix after a couple year’s hiatus. I’m so outside their demographic I doubt I’ll continue. Egads!
Co-ordinates? Because so far the only places I’ve found similar to what you describe are not ethanol facilities:
the Nebraska City power plant https://goo.gl/maps/PfSFxsBKtJmPE8dJA
and
Cooper Nuclear Station https://goo.gl/maps/cUeF422ojawFFDT99
Paladin?
And that the problem with rebuilding Saturn Vs was that many of the parts were no longer available and that the manufacturing techniques were lost due to the skilled workers retiring/passing away/moving on.
The “Wally” at my last job came from Fort Worth, where he worked at a couple of the government aerospace contractors for most of his nearly 40 year career. I think he viewed our shop as interesting retirement hobby employment as long as it lasted, but he wasn’t interested in doing any more real learning/work at that point.
I mentioned Paladin (Have Gun Will Travel) as morality plays. Still believe that. Most episodes are good stories, but some are a bit bizarre. Always entertaining. Currently running on Me TV.
Political gnashing of teeth, Kamala appointed head of Space Council:
https://spectator.org/kamala-harris-national-space-council/?utm_source=mainline
Why we really celebrate today…
Most people don’t know this, but back in 1912, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.
This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.
The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.
The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.
Feghoots! Groan… 🙂
Ah, thanks. I’ll give it a shot immediately so I don’t forget. I still think the best sci-fi show ever was the old Outer Limits. Too much damn money goes into sfx when they ought to be paying the writers.
Political gnashing of teeth, Kamala appointed head of Space Council:
No dumber than appointing Bill Nelson to run NASA.
NASA isn’t interested in flying hardware right now. It doesn’t really matter.
I thought the VP always had the Space Council gig, however.
I thought so too, but saw this on Answers.com:
Not anymore. The Vice-President used to be the chairman of the National Space Council, which had the power to hire and fire top management at NASA and set their budget. But in 1993, the National Space Council was disbanded and merged into the National Science and Technology Council, which no longer has the power to hire and fire top NASA management. (And this new council is chaired by the President, no longer the Vice-President.) Now, the NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrators are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
You’re into my neck of the woods now…
Cargill, perhaps? https://goo.gl/maps/KjFs5Rc2kHC9KrGr8
I used to be acquainted with a guy that worked there and I asked him, “So, what does Cargill do?” He replied, “Turn corn into like 1,000,000 different things.”
Guess I was wrong about India. My guess was that they’d escape some of the China flu because they grow up without the sterility fetish we have.
They also grow up without the truth fetish we have.
All three of my wife’s close calls at the office have come from Subcontinent colleagues showing up for work knowing they are sick but trying to get away with hiding it. Providers. The last one was a GP, just a couple of weeks ago, who went to work and saw patients waiting on results of a test which turned out to be positive.
The first two were early days, when tests were rare and the approach to the virus in this country was, as Scott Adams put it recently, a clusterf*ck. The last one has absolutely no frigging excuse for what can only be described as dishonesty at a pathological level.
My guess is that the bug has been wreaking havoc there for a while but the government wanted to avoid the travel bans to allow the wealthy to get out and wait to return. Ever since Diwali, particularly after New Years, I’ve noticed that the H1B neighborhood next to ours has lots of new oldsters walking the streets around sunset.
Speaking of NASA.
We finished “For All Mankind…” on Apple TV. On to Mars… Can’t wait to see what they do.
I still think the best sci-fi show ever was the old Outer Limits.
Hmm, it ran when I worked at the TV station, but we didn’t really “watch” shows we were televising. I remember it being different from just about anything I saw before it. It was a big deal.
I think I DVRed one episode a couple years ago. Didn’t think much of it, but I will look for more. I am a big fan of good writing over everything else. I need something new to watch, even if it is old.
An example: a year ago I recorded a bunch of Twilight Zones. Now, some of the episodes are phenomenal, but most don’t hold my interest. And, some are absolutely terrifying in the Hitchcock sense. Ol’ Hitch didn’t need much in the way of effects to get under my skin. What a master.
And, as far as writing and timing in a comedy, MASH is near or at the top of my list. That series had it all: good stories, characters, a bit of history, seriousness, and running gag frivolity. Did I mention I like it? 🙂
I love MASH. My wife hates it. She will get up and leave the room as soon as she hears the theme song (Suicide is Painless). My FIL also hates it. He loved the movie, but always thought the TV show became all about Hawkeye. He’ll grumble and say, “They should have called it The Alan Alda Show instead of MASH.” Like I said, I love it. Though, I do prefer the seasons with Trapper and Henry over those with BJ and Potter.
I wonder if the pieces will have a “Made in China” sticker somewhere.
That would only spread them around in other parts of the country thus making them harder to hunt down.
I guess I missed that little bit of history when I was in school. I always thought the day was started by Taco Bell.
Flight-capable is extremely doubtful at this point, if it ever was.
No, not after sitting in the Gulf Coast states’ humidity and sun for a decade before the first shelters were contemplated.
The shelter at JSC is still half-a**ed, open air, and leaks in the rain.
Those old Apollo systems will never fly again. They were integrated with the on ground control systems and an amazing amount of support engineers. Somewhere around 60,000 engineers.
The good news is that SpaceX has built a whole new system of medium duty (Falcon) launchers with the entire support system needed. And SpaceX is building a super heavy system of launchers (Starship and Super Heavy) that will be flying soon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship
_The Alan Alda Channeling Groucho Marx Show_.
As Calvin (or was it Hobbes?) would say, “Bleeech!”
_One Step Beyond _ was hit or miss too, like the _Twilight Zone_. But yeah, good writing.
I assumed bars invented it so douchebag frat boys can wear sombreros and drink beer with a lime wedge and groups of middle-aged office women can drink margaritas and pretend they’re 21 again. 🙂
We finished “For All Mankind…” on Apple TV. On to Mars… Can’t wait to see what they do.
We didn’t make it past the second episode when Nixon dropped a dime on Von Braun and the writers ended the episode with Tom Lehrer.
The good news is that SpaceX has built a whole new system of medium duty (Falcon) launchers with the entire support system needed. And SpaceX is building a super heavy system of launchers (Starship and Super Heavy) that will be flying soon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship
I did not realize that the Falcon was separated into two systems, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. The Falcon Heavy uses three Falcon 9s. Intersting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9
So SpaceX has two working launch systems: Medium and Heavy. And they are working a third launch system in Super Heavy. Wild.
Elon Musk is truly D. D. Harriman.
“That kraut bastard…” Ha, ha!
US economy is growing quickly but flashing an inflation warning sign: Prices of goods we use every day are rising at their fastest pace in three years, with coffee up 8%, bread up 11% and gasoline up 22%
Measures of inflation – or the prices of goods and services that we all pay – are rising much more quickly than economic experts like to see
Many signs of inflation are already here – with the prices of groceries, household items, gas and electricity, for example, all surging over the last year
The average price of coffee is now up nearly 8% compared to last year, while the price of bread is up 11%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data
The prices of raw materials – such as steel, lumber and cotton – that are used to make everything have also been surging
Companies have already said they will be passing on the higher costs of those raw materials onto consumers
–I’m not sure I’d count gasoline, simply due to the number of factors that can influence its price, and regional variations. I payed $2.30 at the pump last week, but $2.49 the week before.
The cost of energy is a very basic cost here in the USA since we use so much. And it is not just your personal cost but the cost of energy to your suppliers such as the plastic plants relocating to the USA because of the cheap natural gas. Jobs baby ! ! ! Good paying jobs !
I also noticed that my new truck is NOT E85 rated. Both of my other trucks were/are. Lot less energy in E85, leaving aside the material deterioration effects.
The only places I’ve ever seen E85 are within a few hours radius of the big ethanol plant on the highway between Kansas City and Grand Bluffs (Omaha), IA.
If the vehicle has that FlexFuel badge, the computers correct for the deterioration effects and the fuel system components are speced properly. The problem will come when the feds start mandating E15 and that gas hits anything over 20-ish years old lacking the badge. Of course, that will be by design.
He’s the Real Life Tony Stark (TM)!
WA State’s Legislature just moved to ban sales of new non-EV cars by 2030. We’ll see if Costco’s tool in the Governor’s Mansion signs that into law.
I’ll bet that your new used truck is E85 rated. The only difference is a density sensor on the MAF (mass air-fuel ratio) sensor in your intake. That tells the computer if the fuel is gasoline (6 lbs/gallon) or ethanol (7 lbs/gallon, closer to water) or somewhere in between like E85. Every vehicle with the fancy MAF gets 3 mpg extra on the seller calculation of their fleet mileage. Ford would be stupid to give that up as the fancy MAF is less than a $100. The gas mileage credits from Tesla are not cheap comparatively as they are auctioned to the highest bidder.
A while back someone mentioned an old TV western which dealt in morality tales. I forget the name. Remind me?
Which old TV western did NOT deal in morality tales ?
I would venture Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Gunsmoke to start.
‘We didn’t make it past the second episode when Nixon dropped a dime on Von Braun and the writers ended the episode with Tom Lehrer.”
“That kraut bastard…” Ha, ha!
Yeah. We wanted to like the series since Ronald D. Moore wrote some of the best Stage 8/9-era “Star Trek” as well as killing off that era with the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, but dumping on Von Braun in favor of his perky assistant was a little too far for us. We worried about how much further they would go with the revisionist history.
And I own that Tom Lehrer album!
If you want to see Ronald D. Moore’s mind at work in a writers’ room, find “What We Left Behind”, the “Deep Space Nine” documentary on Youtube, currently playing for free.
Lots of revisionist history in the documentary, but the interviews and the writers room segments are fun to watch. Plus, the documentary is possibly the only HD DS9 we will ever see, remastered clips of “Favor The Bold”.
And, yes, poor Nog. 🙂
Back from my errands.
WRT E85, the manual specifically says to not use it. The reason given in the text is that it will ‘impair the emissions control systems’.
Traffic was fairly light all over town today. Even in the places it usually backs up, it flowed well. Strange.
Never saw even a single ep of DS9. STTNG was too soft lefty for me (although I’ve seen most of them in rerun), I disliked Data, and the visor thing was ridiculous. You can zoom atoms around in matter creators and transporters, you can fix anything at a molecular level. Also, too many holodeck episodes whenever the writers got lazy.
WRT counting gasoline in CPE numbers, it fluxuates too much and is subject to too many things besides cost of production and supply vs demand. Paid $2.56 today. Maybe count the wholesale price or some other metric, because yes energy is important, but when I’m paying $2.50 and LA is paying >$4 its not a good OVERALL number without a ton of jiggery pokery, especially since probably half the LA cost is taxes.
n
Pearls Before Swine: Phrases That Are Incongruous
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/04/29
I can resist that cake also.
Hey, I have been verified by Peter Grant, SF/F/Western writer. Stephan Pastis’s Pearls Before Swine is the best comic out there currently.
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2021/04/heh.html
“Stephan Pastis does it again. He may have the most creative sense of humor in comic strips today.”
WRT E85, the manual specifically says to not use it. The reason given in the text is that it will ‘impair the emissions control systems’.
Weird. I will check my 2019 F-150. I have a 600+ page manual in the glovebox.
What year is your new Expy ?
2019 Highlander manual (starting on page 666):
There’s some other recommendations; such as recommending the use of “Top Tier gasoline”.
SN15 attempt in a few.
I hear the Starship guys are really motivated to have a success – the Falcon people have been mocking them in the cafeteria, saying things like “Blowed up reallll goood” under their breath as the SS team walks by.
“Starlink: Here Are the Download Speeds You Can Expect Across North America”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/starlink-here-are-the-download-speeds-you-can-expect-across-north-america
“In the US during Q1, the median download speeds for Starlink users ranged from 40Mbps to 93Mbps depending on the location, according to data from Ookla’s SpeedTest.”
That map is headed south !
“Bill Gates took getaways with his ex-girlfriend after marriage to Melinda”
https://nypost.com/2021/05/04/bill-gates-took-getaways-with-old-girlfriend-after-marriage/
“After marrying his wife, Bill Gates would spend a long weekend every year at a cozy beach cottage in North Carolina — with his old girlfriend.”
“The billionaire Microsoft founder made sure the bizarre arrangement was part of the deal when he married Melinda French in 1994, he told Time magazine in a 1997 profile.”
Ok, that hit the strange meter.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Raptor Chill”
The rocket engine slowly put on its dark glasses, leaned its head back and whispered “Alexa, play some Coltrane…”
There is so much wrong with this.
The National Space Council was started in 1989, chaired by VP Quayle. There was a power struggle between the NASA administrator and some of the council and it was eventually absorbed into the NSTC. Trump restarted the NSC and put VP Pence in charge. Having VP Harris in charge is in keeping with the short tradition.
The Council was always advisory on policy and handled not just NASA policy but DOD space activities, FAA/DOT handling of commercial space, etc. It never had the power to hire and fire top NASA management. It never set the budget for NASA. The NASA administrator has always been nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The NASA administrator then picks the top management, of which 3 others (Deputy, CFO, IG) need Senate confirmation. Deputy administrator has sometimes been a non-partisan person that promoted up from NASA internal management.
NASA’s budget is handled the same as any other agency. The President sends over a proposed budget, the House and Senate say “Thanks” and do their own thing. Historically, NASA has always gotten less than what administrations ask for and there is usually some tweaking up and down of the various accounts inside the overall budget.
WRT E85, the manual specifically says to not use it. The reason given in the text is that it will ‘impair the emissions control systems’.
Weird. I will check my 2019 F-150. I have a 600+ page manual in the glovebox.
What year is your new Expy ?
My 2019 F-150 Ecoboost (biturbo 3.5L V6) is not E85 compatible either. I did not expect that at all. Of course, I would prefer to run E0 in my baby.
“What I have been saying all along: Thank God for DeSantis”
https://gunfreezone.net/what-i-have-been-saying-all-along-thank-god-for-desantis/
“By the prevailing “logic,” the end of winter should have seen Florida’s streets littered with dead bodies and its hospitals overwhelmed. DeSantis and his allies should have been forced to do penance to the Branch Covidian Church and bend the knee to the altar of Fauci, Patron Saint of Wuhan (to steal a Tucker Carlson line). But the sky never fell. In fact, Florida’s numbers weren’t all that dissimilar to those in California and other states with similar population densities. And despite its huge proportion of elderly residents and status as a retirement destination, the state currently ranks 28th out of 50 in deaths per million, and, even more significantly, it ranks below the national average in that category.”
“Ron DeSantis received seemingly unending criticism from Dr. Anthony Fauci and other medical and political powers-that-be along with Team Apocalypse muppets all over Twitter, CNN, and MSNBC.”
Good night, what a mess of liberal deathwants ! And Governor Abbott was good for Texas also.
Fauci the fraud is what I hear a lot.
ech, if it’s on the Internet then it’s true. Have a little faith in your fellow netizens. 🙂
Actually, I think this is where you’re supposed to feel pressured to go contribute a more correct answer with cited sources. That’s how crowd-sourced knowledge bases on the Internet work. When someone is wrong is just creates work for the people who know better. It’s your punishment for being knowledgeable. 🙂
Of course, I would prefer to run E0 in my baby.
Yeah, keep it stock. However, if you want to get lots more power, I would bet some “tunes” would dramatically raise the output on E0, and then raise it by another ~40% by merely switching to E85 and upping the boost pressure. The ethanol is a charge coolant. The tradeoff would of course be engine life. That life might be measured in tens of seconds. Seriously, this is way beyond the design limits of the hardware. If the engine survives a few runs at its new max output, it still might need an overhaul at 10-20k miles depending on how it is driven. Other items, such as tires, transmission, and driveline would have dramatically shorter life. TANSTAAFL.
Wise engine developer once told me that exhaust valves on a naturally aspirated auto engine reach stable temperature at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) in approximately 20 seconds. Therefore, it is a good idea to limit WOT runs to shorter time. On a high output engine in a high performance car, that gets to some serious speeds, so can be practical. Forced induction (supercharging or turbocharging) shortens the time, but also increases the acceleration. Why valves? Detonation can kill an engine in a few revolutions.
Auto engines are not designed to run at max power for extended periods, although some can. They might not grenade in seconds, but high stress costs life. There are engines that need a refresh after 20-40 dyno runs. A run is typically under 30 seconds at WOT, with rpm sweeping from, say, 3000 to near redline. Refresh in this context means cylinder leakdown tests followed by disassembly for inspection. Quite often the rings are replaced. Sometimes bearings need replacing.
Getting back to a stock engine, keeping the rpm well below redline can make a big difference in long life. Remember, the stresses increase with the square of the rpm.
“The billionaire Microsoft founder made sure the bizarre arrangement was part of the deal when he married Melinda French in 1994, he told Time magazine in a 1997 profile.”
Ok, that hit the strange meter.
The truth about Gates “reading weeks” charade has been known for a long time, but no one had a confirmed name turning the pages. I swear I remember a “Cringely” touching on this in the 90s, but maybe not the Mark Stevens Cringely who opines at cringely.com.
My 2014 F-150 Ecoboost (biturbo 3.5L V6) is not E85 compatible either.
My lawnmower, normally aspirated, running about 1,500 RPM, V-Twin, carbureted, is not even E-15 compatible. Requires E-0. But who cares?
“SpaceX Starship SN15 soars through clouds, nails landing!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unKvMC3Y1kI
“SpaceX’s Starship SN15 prototype flew to an altitude of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) and landed about 6 minutes after liftoff on May 5, 2021. It launched from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas facility.”
Nick, if that new truck of yours has overhead camshafts with long chain drives, then you would do well to use an oil with the very best extreme pressure (EP) rating. That will reduce elongation caused by wear.
Unfortunately, the zinc and phosphorous additives that were used to get good EP characteristics are no longer used because they can slightly contaminate catalytic converters over time. Manufacturers are on the hook to warranty all emission related parts for something like 100k miles (California, but probably federal too,) so they have forced the elimination or dramatic reduction of these additives. That is why we now have roller tappets. Long chain drives are relatively new. Manufacturers know this, and it is a tradeoff. Remember, most cars are retired by rust or other wear, with good engines.
What to do? I don’t yet own any such engines, but I am looking to buy one. I will be researching this over the next few months, so will report here what, if anything I find. I do know that some oils claim superior EP characteristics, but those claims need to be verified. Also, traditional EP additives would deteriorate with miles, so more frequent oil changes would help. Also, older cars benefit from switching to roller chains, which is not practical on these newer engines. Roller chains have approximately half the elongation wear of “silent” chains. Why? Exercise for the reader.
BTW, saying a chain “stretches” is incorrect, but most here probably know that. Stretching implies stress beyond the yield point, which never occurs in a decent design. Chains wear. This wear can be measured, but as a practical matter it is almost never done. Replacement.
“What I have been saying all along: Thank God for DeSantis”
I have been a fan for a long time, but I will be the the first to admit that DeSantis got lucky.
I’m not sure that DeSantis would have been able to get away with his approach if Andrew Gillum had been lurking in the background for the last two years as a “shadow” Governor like Stacey Abrams is to Kemp in GA.
If you are going to thank God, thank him/her for Andrew Gillum’s fondness for his addict friends and male prostitutes.
@Nick
Little slacker–hand her the detailing bucket and point to the new truck.
“I have a friend who said that the answer to over-population was that everyone needed to kill two other people. There are actually some interesting things happening when you look at the math, I think.”
Depends on how you write the rules. Without immunity, one or none left.
“In America, we have people (mostly on the left) that have no problem threatening to rape and murder conservative voices’ CHILDREN merely because they expressed an opinion the left hates. It’s just threats so far, but we’ve seen them escalate and what they do when they think they’ll get away with it.”
Kill them and make the world a better place. Max penalty is littering if you don’t clean up the mess.
Actually, I think this is where you’re supposed to feel pressured to go contribute a more correct answer with cited sources. That’s how crowd-sourced knowledge bases on the Internet work. When someone is wrong is just creates work for the people who know better. It’s your punishment for being knowledgeable.
Yup. I try to tell friends this. Some are still looking for accurate info from authoritative sources. I wish. Long gone. Deal with it. I try to tell them how to get along today, but some just don’t get it.
“SpaceX launches Starship SN15 rocket and sticks the landing in high-altitude test flight”
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn15-launch-landing-success
“Landing nominal,” Elon Musk says.”
“The private spaceflight company’s latest Starship prototype aced a high-altitude test flight today (May 5), checking every box from takeoff to touchdown for the first time.”
Impressive.
Elon Musk is truly D. D. Harriman.
Do those who go over the minimum receive an Anti-Malthus Award? Asking for a friend.
re: Chinese rocket debris.
Uncontrolled re-entry is specifically prohibited by a treaty that China signed. Don’t know whether to hope for consequences, but my list begins:
Bejing
Little Rocket Man’s head.
Qom
Best piece of graffiti I ever saw was early 1981 after Reagan took office:
“What do you mean there’s no Qom crater in this timeline?”
re: Chinese rocket debris.
Uncontrolled re-entry is specifically prohibited by a treaty that China signed. Don’t know whether to hope for consequences, but my list begins:
Bejing
Little Rocket Man’s head.
Qom
Best piece of graffiti I ever saw was early 1981 after Reagan took office:
“What do you mean there’s no Qom crater in this timeline?”
I trust that you are not thinking that Beijing Biden will do anything about an uncontrolled re-entry by China ?
Nick, if that new truck of yours has overhead camshafts with long chain drives, then you would do well to use an oil with the very best extreme pressure (EP) rating. That will reduce elongation caused by wear.
Unfortunately, the zinc and phosphorous additives that were used to get good EP characteristics are no longer used because they can slightly contaminate catalytic converters over time. Manufacturers are on the hook to warranty all emission related parts for something like 100k miles (California, but probably federal too,) so they have forced the elimination or dramatic reduction of these additives. That is why we now have roller tappets. Long chain drives are relatively new. Manufacturers know this, and it is a tradeoff. Remember, most cars are retired by rust or other wear, with good engines.
What to do? I don’t yet own any such engines, but I am looking to buy one. I will be researching this over the next few months, so will report here what, if anything I find. I do know that some oils claim superior EP characteristics, but those claims need to be verified. Also, traditional EP additives would deteriorate with miles, so more frequent oil changes would help. Also, older cars benefit from switching to roller chains, which is not practical on these newer engines. Roller chains have approximately half the elongation wear of “silent” chains. Why? Exercise for the reader.
BTW, saying a chain “stretches” is incorrect, but most here probably know that. Stretching implies stress beyond the yield point, which never occurs in a decent design. Chains wear. This wear can be measured, but as a practical matter it is almost never done. Replacement.
My 2005 Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L V8 Triton 3 valve with the max tow package broke one of the two timing chains in September 2019 with 210K miles on it. BTW, the max tow package means that it had a 5 row radiator instead of the normal 3 row radiator and a transmission oil cooler on it. Getting to those timing chains in that setup is fairly tough so I gave it away to a friend who rebuilt it on his own time. It already had a Ford rebuilt four speed automatic in it at 190K miles.
I was totally amazed that it still ran on four cylinders. No engine vacuum so no power brakes. I drove it home from Home Depot, about five miles. I did start it once again. I knew that the timing chains were going out as I lost the adjusters a couple of thousand miles before one of the chains broke. I could tell by the horsepower loss, probably a deration from 310 hp to 200 hp.
@Lynn
“I trust that you are not thinking that Beijing Biden will do anything about an uncontrolled re-entry by China ? ”
#4. Hunter Biden’s head at the Biden Family Christmas Party and Democrat Party Fandango
Hey, did you hear that Cuomo’s ghost writer is already writing the triumphant history of the Biden presidency? Working title is “Veggie Tales”
Child #4 got her second jab of Pfizer’s COVID mecho-gene-splicing experimental pseudo vaccine today. I wonder how she’ll feel tomorrow. I’ve never gotten *sick* from a *shot*. Plenty of weird ones in the milspec services, but I only got standard ones. One trip to REFORGER in Germany I got four, two in each arm. Arms were sore for a couple of days, but that was it. If I get a fever or *sick* after my second jab, I’ll be calling it experimental till end of days.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin believes that diversity among the senior ranks ‘is a readiness issue’
Truly a Obola perfumed prince dooshnozzle. The milspec services used to be merit based. Now, “I’m Black, make me a General or else.”
I guess “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was just too obvious.
I got orders to go overseas with three hours notice. I had my wisdom teeth removed three day earlier, gums had been cut open, teeth busted to get out, took three hours. Still had stitches in my mouth. I had to pack and get immunizations for the Philippines. It was three shots in each arm. And they hurt. Then 13 hours on a plane with a stop in Guam. I was miserable. Arms and mouth hurt badly, could not eat solid food, face still swollen, could barely lift my luggage.
I had my wisdom teeth removed three day earlier, gums had been cut open, teeth busted to get out, took three hours. Still had stitches in my mouth.
I had a co-worker who had all four wisdom teeth removed while unconscious, a relatively new procedure in 1971. I volunteered to drive him home, but he declined. Macho, and all that. Well… As he woke up, someone had him take some pills. After he swallowed them, he reminded her that he was allergic to *whatever was given to him*. Was told it would be OK. NOT! He did make it home, and we didn’t hear from him for a couple days. I finally called him, and he could barely talk. Allergy and swelling.
He came back to work about a week later, still swollen. Looked like he had been hit in the mouth with a baseball bat. Awful. Still couldn’t eat solid food. Some people are really unlucky.
No messing with engine tuning for this kid. Leave that to the guys who can either clean up their own mess, or have the fiat bux to pay someone else to do it.
I’m moving stuff back into the Expy. It’s got more cargo with the third row down, but less with it up. I’m opting for down currently. I’ve got two bins of preps and gear, the rest that goes in is stuff for my camera installs and maintenance.
The old expy was 2008, the new one is 2017. Same body style and interior packages over those years. Differences in available trim choices. Not too many “features”. Really rides nice.
My neighbor who races fords and has a big pickup for his trailer likes it, he was grinning ear to ear when we were chatting about it. It looks brand new, other than the different (older) body style.
n
Would anybody really miss it if NASA was shut down tomorrow? Talking in terms of (viable?) deliverables, not every supplier bellied up to the gov’t ‘pork’ trough? If there’s a space-related project that might have commercial viability let Elon, Jeff or Sir Richard chase it .
[added]
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/private-spaceflight-companies-soar-while-sls-remains-grounded
What do you keep in the car for prep? I’ve always struggled with this. If you take into account the temps the inside of a car can reach, especially in the southern latitudes, then food and medicine can’t keep very well at all.
Did you ever get a vaccination against yellow fever? That one put me in bed for three days.
Ahhh, the good old times…
That was “one” of the six shots I got in the time frame of 10 minutes. Yes, it hurt. Actually all six hurt.
I was wide awake. Just local Novocain or whatever. Something like 8 injections all over the gums. Towards the end of the three hours the anesthesia was wearing off. I told the surgeon it was hurting. He said he had given the maximum anesthesia allowed by regulation. That last tooth I think I left finger impressions in the chair handle. There was also a lot of tears.
The doctor did prescribe codeine pills. I took the first one, went to bed, and slept for 18 hours. Not good. I threw away the rest of the pills and used aspirin instead. Aspirin helped enough but I was still in pain.
What I did not realize was that the increase in altitude made my face swell a little more. The flight attendant noticed and asked if I was OK. She did bring me some soft food different from what the others on flight received.
I had the stitches taken out while I was in the Philippines.
I was aircrew in the USAF and frequently flying all over the world. During my stint I received vaccines for Hep A, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and Anthrax. That was in addition to the standard round of TDAP, MMR, Polio, Meningococcal, and an annual Influenza. None of them ever gave me more than a slightly sore arm at the injection site for maybe a day. The only exception being Anthrax (that one was sore for like 2 weeks). Since my military days I’ve added pneumococcal, Hep-B, and now COVID-19 to that list and no side effects at all. Some people seem to suffer every side-effect and some people, including myself, rarely get side effects from any immunization or medicine. I’m a bit of a vaccine addict. If you can give me a shot that will prevent me from getting a disease then shoot me up. Heck, I’ll take an HPV vaccine too and I don’t care if insurance won’t cover it for my age group.
The old expy was 2008, the new one is 2017. Same body style and interior packages over those years. Differences in available trim choices. Not too many “features”. Really rides nice.
I like the 2017 Expy body style way better than the 2021 body style.
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/ford/expedition/2017
Of course, I would prefer to run E0 in my baby.
Yeah, keep it stock. However, if you want to get lots more power, I would bet some “tunes” would dramatically raise the output on E0, and then raise it by another ~40% by merely switching to E85 and upping the boost pressure. The ethanol is a charge coolant. The tradeoff would of course be engine life. That life might be measured in tens of seconds. Seriously, this is way beyond the design limits of the hardware. If the engine survives a few runs at its new max output, it still might need an overhaul at 10-20k miles depending on how it is driven. Other items, such as tires, transmission, and driveline would have dramatically shorter life. TANSTAAFL.
My buddy has the 2019 F-150 limited 4×4 that comes with the Raptor engine. 18 psi of boost instead of 14 lbs of boost. 475 hp to my 375 hp. But, he chipped it and is running 25 psi of boost for an estimated 600 hp. I told him he is nuts. And he has 60K miles on his now and the engine is still in the engine bay.
“Garrett Rolfe, who killed Rayshard Brooks, to be reinstated as Atlanta cop”
https://noqreport.com/2021/05/05/garrett-rolfe-who-killed-rayshard-brooks-to-be-reinstated-as-atlanta-cop/
“Rolfe was fired last year following the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks in an Atlanta Wendy’s parking lot. Police were called when an intoxicated Brooks fell asleep behind the wheel in the drive-thru. Rolfe was one of the police officers who responded to the call and questioned Brooks in the parking lot before attempting to arrest him.”
“Brooks suddenly resisted, fighting both men and taking one of the officer’s tasers. Rolfe pursued, and when Brooks turned and fired at Rolfe with the stolen taser, Rolfe shot and killed him. The entire incident was captured on multiple cameras.”
I see more riots in Atlanta’s future.
I wonder if that Wendy’s is going to be rebuilt ?
@Chad; didn’t see the shingles vaccine (Shingrix – two doses) on your list?
Not an exhaustive list, but having just gone thru the bins…
Rain gear, several sets, ponchos, and jackets.
long pants, change of shirts,windbreaker style jacket.
construction vest, hardhat, glasses, gloves – ideal camo for most times
Couple of sturdy blankets
case of water in cans half a dozen MREs, life straw x2, roll of TP, baby wipes
first aid, and trauma bags, AED under the seat
folding shovel, machete, folding saw
2x power banks, 2x fold up solar panels for 5v and 12 v charging.
auto stuff, tow rope, spare quart of oil, jumper cables, air inflator, tire repair kit, can of tire sealant, road flares- half a dozen, US road atlas and houston keymap, paper towels, clorox wipes
fire extinguishers – a bunch. Some dry chemical, some aerosol, even a small halon one
Texas specific- water rescue throw rope in bag, power inflated life vest
get home bag- small fanny pack-fire starter stuff, power bars, flashlight, knife, multitool, compass, water treatment tabs, bug juice, soap, other small useful things
I don’t like to change my tow ball, so I just change the whole hitch when I need a different size or a different height for the ball. I’ve got 3 or 4 tucked away under seats and in the cargo area.
tucked away in other places, can of bear spray, spare mag for EDC gub, other flashlights, small binos, envelope of cash, spare sunglasses, spare safety glasses, spare hearing protection.
Most of it fits in the two tubs, console, under seats, and the glove box. It leaves room for several flip top bins for my install work.
n
Well, the pokemon sold briskly, the barbie stuff sold. some of the hotwheels accessories sold, and some disney figures sold. from what I saw, the lego didn’t sell as well as I expected. There was a lot of stuff (not mine) that didn’t sell, mostly porcelain dolls and beanie babies.
I’ll know better in a week when we do settlement.
Good thing I had the pokemon.
n
Still under 50. 😎 I wonder if they’d give me that one. One of my wife’s coworkers in his early 40s has Shingles right now. Doctor said it was stress induced.
I walked into a secondhand store one day and they had about 20 unclothed Barbie dolls taped together in a bundle using duct tape (a bouquet of nude Barbies). One of the creepiest things I ever saw. I joked with the clerk that if anyone buys it to write down their license plate number.
My daughter was never into them nor were most of her friends. As a parent, they always came off a little like, “Oops, we forgot to get a gift so we stopped at Walgreens/CVS on the way to the birthday party and grabbed this.” lol
I need to get to bed.
so sleepy.
n
“a bouquet of nude Barbies”
— ok, that is a creepy image.
n
Just two bins? Must be XXXXXXL size.
Do you have some basic hand tools in case of a simple breakdown? Didn’t see that.
“Do you have some basic hand tools in case of a simple breakdown? Didn’t see that.”
–I have a basic ‘car’ kit, but I never use it on the vehicle, only stuff like taking the legs off a table so it fits in the truck. There is almost zero you can do beside the road these days, beyond fluids. If all my work stuff is loaded (as it usually is) there is a good selection of tools in there, but no mechanic tools. I have AAA roadside assistance and towing.
I do have some conforming tape (self adhering) and could put a hose clamp over that ,but when was the last time you popped a hose?
n
As I mentioned recently:
My ‘car’ kit-
-6 in 1 screwdriver
-med. size channel lock pliers
-simple wire stripper/cutter
-break off the tip utility knife
-med. size crescent wrench
-med. size vise grip pliers
This lives in a metal snack can about the size of a tennis ball can. The can has 3 feet of good quality duct tape wrapped around it. It can also have 3 ft of electrical tape wrapped, and a couple of hose clamps around it, but I haven’t done that on all the kits I’ve made.
There is one in each vehicle. I usually make up the tools from garage or estate sale stuff, NOT junk brands except the wire cutter/stripper, that can be whatever.
For modern fords, you really need a set of torx drivers, so in my install kit I’ve got a folding set, but I didn’t put it in my ‘car’ set.
n
The bins just corral the smaller and looser stuff. The extinguishers live where ever they can, and the water is in a cardboard tray sitting on top of the bin. it used to be under the bin, but it fits better on top this time.
https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-ActionPacker️-Lockable-Storage-Industrial/dp/B07QXM3P95/?tag=ttgnet-20
—even amazon thinks they’re good for car supplies!
That looks like the right size, but I got them used…. of course….
n
This one is worth reading. There is a lot of information that puts many things in perspective about what has happened before and what is happening now.