What is happening

[Allen]

Originally Posted by Dragon Fan

Please stop the snide comments about the Elected leaders of These United States. These are let go by the moderators and I do not agree with these comments. If political discussions are not permitted on the site. These rude comments should not be permitted.

Hear, hear!
Thank you Dragon Fan for addressing so well what has been bothering me for quite a while. That was one of the things that caused the demise of the NKT, at least for me. There were several members who used the forum for a platform to shout down anyone of an opposing political view.

The newest incarnation of the Kitchen Table is a pathetic shadow of its former self. Too many of the old members had trouble getting signed in because of software issues that still haven't been resolved by the host, because he flat doesn't care. So many of the old members drifted away because of the politics and couldn't be bothered to "jump through hoops" to fight the electronic obstacles.

I applaud you for saying what needed to be said, in a firm, but much gentler way than I could have said it.

[mawra]

I agree, I should not have said that here.

[granath]

This forum gets so little traffic that it's only a matter of time before it's closed down. I don't think the site's actively moderated anymore, unless someone flags a post. I haven't seen Cheryl or Hans posting anything for a very long time.


I'm very supportive of online spaces where political discussions are off the table, but OTOH, when political decisions affect people in a significant way, I think it's also understandable that things may slip out sometimes. All I can say is that I'm very glad I don't live in the US!


Oh, and I haven't been able to log on to the other forum for ages and I've lost the link.

[R'zil]

Granath, here's the link. <http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/> And it's not very active either.

[mawra]

With everything going on, at home & other things I've been depressed, frustrated & not thinking real clearly. I wasn't paying attention to where I was posting.

[Zelandeth]

After what seems like forever I finally have this bush for the Xantia's suspension in my hand.



Despite coming from an eBay shop which didn't mention the name anywhere, it came in an AutoDoc box with an AutoDoc invoice...I'd never normally voluntarily buy from them given the history of sending out completely the wrong part that's on part with Euro Car Parts...However it appears that this is actually correct by some miracle. While changing it looks a deceptively simple job, apparently getting the old bush off can be a right pain so I'm sticking with my decision to get the garage to do that work. It's booked in for a week tomorrow, and I'll hopefully have the car back a few days later with a fresh MOT. Only taken me eight months!

22mpg will seem positively frugal after using the Jag daily for a while!

[vyon]

Originally Posted by R'zil

Granath, here's the link. <http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/> And it's not very active either.

And it won't be when the only message that comes up is page not found.

[SpaceCowboy]

Worked for me did you take the greater than and lesser than brackets off?

Originally Posted by vyon

And it won't be when the only message that comes up is page not found.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by vyon

And it won't be when the only message that comes up is page not found.

That's the link I use, Vyon, without the brackets, as Spacey said.

http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/

[Zelandeth]

With the Xantia heading in for remedial work and an MOT at the start of next week I figured it was probably time to set about removing the cobwebs and pine needles from the interior. I always try to present my car for the test in a reasonable state as I figure making a good first impression can never hurt. The tester jumping into a car that's obviously cared for despite being worth about the same amount as the fuel in the tank is always going to put them in a better frame of mind than one they have to don full hazmat gear to get into.

While the clearcoat peel let's the exterior down the interior still scrubs up will for a 24 year old, 140K mile car.





Gave the cab of the van a quick scrub up too as it was really dusty.



Really do need to do something about the threadbare carpet on the engine cowl. If it wasn't glued on I'd just remove it and have that match the rest of the dashboard. Finding a second hand one may well be the easiest solution there.

EDIT: Went back out after dinner and gave the Jag the same treatment.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by Allen

We went on a trip to see family in Wyoming and dear friends in Kansas. I came back to find my old dog extremely sick. Massive vet bill later, and he may be on a long, slow road to recovery.

Then we were adopted by a stray cat. He's a yellow tabby, young, small un-neutered male. I'm too soft-hearted, especially to cats as loving as this little guy. He had to work to find us, because we live way out in the woods, and he's definitely not feral. But he was looking for scritches and pettings as much as food, so we have an outdoor cat now. Tentative name is Peanut.

Now, to top off an already bad June-July time period, our furnace just bit the big one, which means no air conditioning. It also means nearly 5 grand we don't have to replace it all.

Been a rough year, and it still has almost 8 months to go.

Update time: My friend Bob in Kansas has been having a rough time fighting cancer. He's back in the hospital after his last (as in hopefully final) chemo treatment. He had developed an abscess that's returned, and coupled with the Covid restrictions in place in hospitals, he's not allowed visitors. He's such an outgoing person that it's getting to him almost as much as the infection.

Meanwhile, my dog, also named Bob (no relation), is on his second cycle of Doxycycline to fight off the ehrlichia that was killing him. Imagine a full-grown English Mastiff weighing 88 pounds. That's what he was down to when I finally found a vet that would see him. My own vet was backed up for over 2 weeks, thanks to the so-called pandemic. Never mind, I won't go into that subject. But with the drugs and vitamins, he started recovering. Got him into my vet for a follow-up, and he explained things to me, something the first guy didn't do well enough. HE said Bob MIGHT pull through, if we were lucky. I told him he obviously didn't know Mastiffs very well.

My vet put him on the Doxycycline again, and some pain killer, and told me to take him for walks to get him building up his muscles again. He had actually gained about 5 pounds because I got him eating. Picture spoon feeding a Mastiff to get him to eat. Now he expects it, so I give him his pills in a gob of canned food then make him eat the rest of his breakfast and supper on his own. This morning he didn't "argue" too much about getting up and walking around the circle drive with Peanut and me.

Oh yeah, Peanut. I think he's almost doubled in size, thanks to being fed regularly. Loves his dry cat food. Likes the little bit of canned dog food I give him when I give Bob his pills. I found out last night that he doesn't like the regular canned dog food that makes up part Bob's regular diet, and found out this morning that he wanted nothing to do with left over canned cat food either. Lately, most mornings I find him on the roof when I come out for our morning rituals. Since he gets up there on his own, he gets down on his own, too. He and Bob are getting along well, even though he had to find out the hard way that Bob is protective of his food. He respects that now, so the two of them are fast becoming buddies.

(The mail carrier showed up while I was typing this and Bob actually barked a little and got up to go see who was here! My ole guy is coming back!)

The new furnace & A/C works pretty well. Payments on it start next month.

Took my wife to Indiana to spend some time with her sister again. From here outside Licking, Missouri to Anderson, Indiana and back again by myself, in a single 13 or 14 hour day of driving. I didn't want Bob to miss more than one dose of his pills, which was back during the first cycle. I leave to get her this Friday. Bob and Peanut will be on their own until Sunday.

So all that's left is to get the tractor fixed, repair a bad spot on the roof, and finish the remodel on the house. Along with a couple of laser engraving projects. Maybe three.

I didn't work this hard when I was a Corrections Officer.

[granath]

Originally Posted by Allen

That's the link I use, Vyon, without the brackets, as Spacey said.

http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/

Odd, because I got in using this link just fine.

[granath]

Originally Posted by Allen

Update time: My friend Bob in Kansas has been having a rough time fighting cancer. He's back in the hospital after his last (as in hopefully final) chemo treatment. He had developed an abscess that's returned, and coupled with the Covid restrictions in place in hospitals, he's not allowed visitors. He's such an outgoing person that it's getting to him almost as much as the infection.

Meanwhile, my dog, also named Bob (no relation), is on his second cycle of Doxycycline to fight off the ehrlichia that was killing him. Imagine a full-grown English Mastiff weighing 88 pounds. That's what he was down to when I finally found a vet that would see him. My own vet was backed up for over 2 weeks, thanks to the so-called pandemic. Never mind, I won't go into that subject. But with the drugs and vitamins, he started recovering. Got him into my vet for a follow-up, and he explained things to me, something the first guy didn't do well enough. HE said Bob MIGHT pull through, if we were lucky. I told him he obviously didn't know Mastiffs very well.

My vet put him on the Doxycycline again, and some pain killer, and told me to take him for walks to get him building up his muscles again. He had actually gained about 5 pounds because I got him eating. Picture spoon feeding a Mastiff to get him to eat. Now he expects it, so I give him his pills in a gob of canned food then make him eat the rest of his breakfast and supper on his own. This morning he didn't "argue" too much about getting up and walking around the circle drive with Peanut and me.

Oh yeah, Peanut. I think he's almost doubled in size, thanks to being fed regularly. Loves his dry cat food. Likes the little bit of canned dog food I give him when I give Bob his pills. I found out last night that he doesn't like the regular canned dog food that makes up part Bob's regular diet, and found out this morning that he wanted nothing to do with left over canned cat food either. Lately, most mornings I find him on the roof when I come out for our morning rituals. Since he gets up there on his own, he gets down on his own, too. He and Bob are getting along well, even though he had to find out the hard way that Bob is protective of his food. He respects that now, so the two of them are fast becoming buddies.

(The mail carrier showed up while I was typing this and Bob actually barked a little and got up to go see who was here! My ole guy is coming back!)

The new furnace & A/C works pretty well. Payments on it start next month.

Took my wife to Indiana to spend some time with her sister again. From here outside Licking, Missouri to Anderson, Indiana and back again by myself, in a single 13 or 14 hour day of driving. I didn't want Bob to miss more than one dose of his pills, which was back during the first cycle. I leave to get her this Friday. Bob and Peanut will be on their own until Sunday.

So all that's left is to get the tractor fixed, repair a bad spot on the roof, and finish the remodel on the house. Along with a couple of laser engraving projects. Maybe three.

I didn't work this hard when I was a Corrections Officer.

Good luck with nursing Bob back to health!


How much is he supposed to weigh when he's healthy?


Oh, and in the spirit of not engaging in political discussions here, please don't say "so-called pandemic". You're entitled to your own opinions about pandemic restrictions and the like, but with 16.7 million cases and 660,000 deaths globally, there's nothing "so-called" about it.

[mawra]

I'm taking Kibby to Pigeon Forge for 25th, I can't she'll be 25, birthday.
I know with the virus & still having wisdom tooth problems going on trip is not the best idea. I'm scared if I don't go now, Mom will get worse & I won't be able to go. It's now or never.

Mom's doing ok. She is now on Hospice care. They can get her stuff, new bed, meds, ect...easier than we can. We now have an aid coming 2 times a week and a nurse once a week. A social worker is coming to help with her wil and stuff.

[granath]

Good luck and have a safe and fun trip!


I'm glad your mom is getting hospice care. I hope that makes things a bit easier for you for now.


Congrats to Kibby on her first quarter century. I remember you posting how you couldn't believe she was a teenager. My son's 11 now so that's just around the corner for us.

[mawra]

They grow up much too fast.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by granath

Good luck with nursing Bob back to health!


How much is he supposed to weigh when he's healthy?


Oh, and in the spirit of not engaging in political discussions here, please don't say "so-called pandemic". You're entitled to your own opinions about pandemic restrictions and the like, but with 16.7 million cases and 660,000 deaths globally, there's nothing "so-called" about it.

Yesterday the rural mail carrier brought a package to the house; Bob barked and got up to greet him with me. This morning we walked further than ever, and he was out in front of me going up the driveway, nearly like before he got sick. I had to stop him and call him back, much to Peanut's satisfaction. He wanted breakfast! So I'm hoping this means he's well on the road to recovery. While he is small for an English Mastiff, he used to weigh at least 150 lbs.

You're right about my use of "so-called". It is a real global pandemic. It's just that I remember the Hong Kong Flu (H3N2) pandemic that started in late 1968. It took until early 1969 to really take off because schools were in holiday recess at the start of it, and it was 1970 before it was really over. It killed over a million people world wide; some estimates go as high as 4 million. Remember what we did? We took care of the sick, mourned our lost, and in August, 1969 over 400,000 people gathered in a pasture outside Bethel, New York for 3 days of love, peace, and music. They called it Woodstock.

No political opinions expressed there.

[granath]

Originally Posted by Allen

Yesterday the rural mail carrier brought a package to the house; Bob barked and got up to greet him with me. This morning we walked further than ever, and he was out in front of me going up the driveway, nearly like before he got sick. I had to stop him and call him back, much to Peanut's satisfaction. He wanted breakfast! So I'm hoping this means he's well on the road to recovery. While he is small for an English Mastiff, he used to weigh at least 150 lbs.

You're right about my use of "so-called". It is a real global pandemic. It's just that I remember the Hong Kong Flu (H3N2) pandemic that started in late 1968. It took until early 1969 to really take off because schools were in holiday recess at the start of it, and it was 1970 before it was really over. It killed over a million people world wide; some estimates go as high as 4 million. Remember what we did? We took care of the sick, mourned our lost, and in August, 1969 over 400,000 people gathered in a pasture outside Bethel, New York for 3 days of love, peace, and music. They called it Woodstock.

No political opinions expressed there.

Thanks Allen, I see where you're coming from now, and I really appreciate the clarification. The world has changed a lot in the last fifty years, in many ways for the better (I think) and in some ways perhaps for the worse. The way things are going, this current pandemic can still beat the Hong Kong Flu numbers in the years to come.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by granath

Thanks Allen, I see where you're coming from now, and I really appreciate the clarification. The world has changed a lot in the last fifty years, in many ways for the better (I think) and in some ways perhaps for the worse. The way things are going, this current pandemic can still beat the Hong Kong Flu numbers in the years to come.

Fauci and Bill Gates (who has absolutely NO medical degrees whatsoever) are preaching vaccinate, we need a Covid 19 vaccine. How long have we had an influenza vaccine? CDC estimates that from October 2019 to April 2020 there were 24000 to 62000 deaths from influenza. Lot of good the flu shot does.

Obesity kills over 300,000 yearly in the U.S. alone. How do they combat that? Well, Frito-Lay released a bunch of new flavors and new products in the junk food market.

Diabetes deaths top 80,000 per year. Insulin was invented (discovered?) in 1922. It hasn't significantly changed in the nearly 100 years since. Human insulin costs about $48 to $71 per year per patient to produce. Analog insulin, $78 to $133. Why then does a life-saving "drug" cost so much that people die because they can't afford it? Simple answer, big pharma greed. But it's all a lot more complex than that, and that would lead to political discussions.

[granath]

Yeah, well, the influenza shot question is tough, because there are so many strains, and the viruses mutate very quickly. But even so, most people who have been vaccinated and get it are statistically more likely to get less sick than those who haven't. This is why my employer pays for its employees to get the flu shot every year. I'm not in healthcare so it's not compulsory, but at about $50 a shot, it's a lot cheaper than even one working day lost to sickness on my salary. So it's worth it, both to me and to my employer, even if the shot doesn't guarantee that I won't get sick.



Here they noted that as soon as the coronavirus restrictions went into effect in March, the influenza pandemic stopped in its tracks. Here they track cases like they do with the current pandemic, so we have hard numbers rather than an estimate, this year there were about 7,000 confirmed cases of influenza in this country, half as many as last year. Coincidentally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is currently at about 7,400 with 330 deaths (5.6 million people).


I'm hoping that the habit of sanitizing your hands whenever you go into a store or restaurant, as well as the recommendation to keep your distance in a queue etc. will remain even when all other restrictions are lifted.

[Dragon Fan]

Originally Posted by granath

Yeah, well, the influenza shot question is tough, because there are so many strains, and the viruses mutate very quickly. But even so, most people who have been vaccinated and get it are statistically more likely to get less sick than those who haven't. This is why my employer pays for its employees to get the flu shot every year. I'm not in healthcare so it's not compulsory, but at about $50 a shot, it's a lot cheaper than even one working day lost to sickness on my salary. So it's worth it, both to me and to my employer, even if the shot doesn't guarantee that I won't get sick.



Here they noted that as soon as the coronavirus restrictions went into effect in March, the influenza pandemic stopped in its tracks. Here they track cases like they do with the current pandemic, so we have hard numbers rather than an estimate, this year there were about 7,000 confirmed cases of influenza in this country, half as many as last year. Coincidentally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is currently at about 7,400 with 330 deaths (5.6 million people).


I'm hoping that the habit of sanitizing your hands whenever you go into a store or restaurant, as well as the recommendation to keep your distance in a queue etc. will remain even when all other restrictions are lifted.

These are the kind of numbers that bother people, You say your country has Confirmed cases of 7,400, And Deaths of 330. This is a survival rate of slightly over 99.5 %. In the U.S. We have 4,405,932 confirmed cases, with 150,283 Deaths ( 327,000,000 people ), as of 7/30/2020, A survival rate of slightly over 99.6%. Almost all deaths are from people with underlining health issues, So the Covid infection weakens an already diminished immune system and the person dies of the complications arising from this. This is the first time in world history, that the Healthy population are basically being Quarantined. I suspect these are the reasons Some places here in the U.S. are not following the CDC guide lines for masks and social distancing. I agree that even 1 death is really not acceptable and if it is a family member, Which I have lost my cousin Judy to this. She also had been receiving Chemo. for Cancer for over 7 years. She was on the Ship that was held off the coast of California for 3 weeks. Did the Cancer kill her, Yes. But the fighting off her covid infection weakened her, and the Cancer progressed quickly after that. She was considered recovered from the Covid 19, a couple weeks prior to her death. But her cause of death was Cancer with underlining covid 19. Overall, a 99% survival rate doesn't get people scared.

[SpaceCowboy]

The Flu and Pneumonia shots are also paid for by Walmart for their employees. In fact they believe so strongly in their employees being able to get the shot that they set a day aside in the fall for one of their pharmacists in each store to just give the shots to their employees.

Originally Posted by granath

Yeah, well, the influenza shot question is tough, because there are so many strains, and the viruses mutate very quickly. But even so, most people who have been vaccinated and get it are statistically more likely to get less sick than those who haven't. This is why my employer pays for its employees to get the flu shot every year. I'm not in healthcare so it's not compulsory, but at about $50 a shot, it's a lot cheaper than even one working day lost to sickness on my salary. So it's worth it, both to me and to my employer, even if the shot doesn't guarantee that I won't get sick.



Here they noted that as soon as the coronavirus restrictions went into effect in March, the influenza pandemic stopped in its tracks. Here they track cases like they do with the current pandemic, so we have hard numbers rather than an estimate, this year there were about 7,000 confirmed cases of influenza in this country, half as many as last year. Coincidentally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is currently at about 7,400 with 330 deaths (5.6 million people).


I'm hoping that the habit of sanitizing your hands whenever you go into a store or restaurant, as well as the recommendation to keep your distance in a queue etc. will remain even when all other restrictions are lifted.

[granath]

Originally Posted by Dragon Fan

Overall, a 99% survival rate doesn't get people scared.

No, that's true, and perhaps they're right. That said, the numbers are only confirmed cases, who knows how many have had it and recovered without a formal diagnosis, or else died from it but without having it confirmed after death. When the pandemic started, a small minority of people showing respiratory symptoms were tested, and everyone is still not being tested.


Some people have also had long-term effects from COVID, a complete recovery can take weeks or months, or it may never happen, BBC article: Side-effects of COVID



In an ideal world, the testing threshold would be really low and people would be tested frequently after suspected exposure, and only those with a positive diagnosis would be quarantined.


We need to do what we can to keep schools open, because some students do far better in remote school than others and we can't deny a proper education to whole cohorts, and the economy ticking over, while at the same time protecting the most vulnerable members of our society.



Some people are much more vulnerable to the pandemic than others. A disproportionate number of deaths in the US have occurred among African-Americans and other minorities. They're less likely to have office jobs that can be done remotely, and it's also possible that there's a genetic component that makes some people more vulnerable to COVID than others. Minorities are also less likely to have access to decent healthcare in the US, and more likely to have untreated diabetes, a serious risk factor.


Dutch scientists have also identified at least one genetic mutation that makes it more likely for young, otherwise healthy men to get seriously sick from COVID.


Here's hoping for a safe, effective and affordable COVID vaccine soon. It won't solve everything, but it should help some.



This is a tough puzzle to solve!

[P'ter]

Logically, one way around the education problems is to drop everybody back a year and take their exams a year late. Or is this far too simplistic?

[mawra]

As long as parent make sure kids do the work, they shouldn't fall behind. Parents need to remember that school can take place anytime. It doesn't have to be done during normal school hours.

[mawra]

As long as parent make sure kids do the work, they shouldn't fall behind. Parents need to remember that school can take place anytime. It doesn't have to be done during normal school hours.

[vyon]

Originally Posted by Allen

That's the link I use, Vyon, without the brackets, as Spacey said.

http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/

That link used to work, then it stopped working. I picked it up from a previous posting of yours and it worked for a while and then stopped again. It doesn't work when I type the address in either.

[granath]

Originally Posted by mawra

As long as parent make sure kids do the work, they shouldn't fall behind. Parents need to remember that school can take place anytime. It doesn't have to be done during normal school hours.

That's a lot easier said than done. So many parents are simply not capable of homeschooling their kids, which is what this effectively amounts to. Especially not if they have to be at work during the day (or at night) and are forced to leave their kids at home to fend for themselves. Or else face unemployment and homelessness. Not to mention those who spend their days stoned or in a drunken stupor...



In spite of the great differences between well and poorly equipped schools, it's still the great equalizer.

[R'zil]

Originally Posted by vyon

That link used to work, then it stopped working. I picked it up from a previous posting of yours and it worked for a while and then stopped again. It doesn't work when I type the address in either.

http://san-andreas.org.uk/phpBB3/ It still works for me, I just came from there. I'm using Chrome as my browser.

[Zelandeth]

Wednesday was a little bit of a disaster.

My fuel injection overhaul kit for the Jag has finally turned up. I'm leaving this alone until next week though once the Xantia is (hopefully!) back on the road as it will inevitably take the car off the road for a few days as it will be quite an involved job to get that overhaul done.

The other thing which turned up was the stainless steel tubing I had ordered to take the place of the rear silencers on the Jag.

I set about replacing the tailpipes, while a bit fiddly this was pretty uneventful. Right up until this happened.





That is the twisted, shattered remains of what was my poor Huawei P20 Pro phone.

What happened is a classic case of "a series of unfortunate events." I'm a creature of habit...and my phone always lives in my left pocket. However during lockdown I've had no less than three pairs of trousers come to the end of their lives...leaving me a single, solitary pair of cargo pants. I've not felt like going into a clothing store to replace them so have been making do - but I didn't have my usual cargo pants on. So I didn't have the usual compliment of pockets. So I took my phone out of my pocket so it didn't get scratched up by my keys, placing it on the rear bumper of the Jag by where I was working. Unfortunately I then totally forgot to retrieve it before I went for a test drive. I realised it was missing about half an hour later and eventually figured out what had happened. The rubber bumpers on the case managed to make it stay exactly where I had put it for about 3/4 of a mile until it eventually fell off...Right in the middle of a 70mph dual carriageway.

The P20 Pro is a sturdy bit of kit for all it's got a shiny tempered glass finish, the chassis is milled from a single solid ingot of aluminium. It would have probably been absolutely fine following that experience, between the sturdy case it was in and the design, it might have cracked the screen or the rear case glass (both relatively easily replaceable), but it wouldn't have been a huge issue. However getting run over repeatedly by 70mph traffic was more than any piece of consumer electronics could deal with...and I defy any phone, even the ruggedised ones made by Cat, to come out of the experience looking any better than this.

Despite that mess my SIM card survived, and the eject mechanism for the drawer it lives in was still able to work properly to retrieve it. The battery was still undamaged as well - though given what it had been through I removed it as I didn't particularly trust it.

I feel such an utter idiot. I've had a mobile since early 1998 and have never damaged any of them beyond the odd scrape or scratch...I still have every single phone, and they all still work (even though the charger for the original one, a Vodafone MN-1 is currently AWOL...I know I do have it through, I saw it when we moved in here). Until now.

It's a real shame as well as this was probably the single piece of technology I've ever owned that I was most both impressed by and generally liked. I'd had it for a little over two years, and the shine hadn't even started to wear of (physically or metaphorically), and I was still daily awed by the capabilities of such a tiny bit of technology and the camera never ceased to impress me - and was singularly responsible for me having stopped carrying a separate camera. I knew I was just about at the point where I would be able to pick a new upgrade, but wasn't really feeling any need to. The main drive would be the fact that I always pass my previous handset on to my husband when I get an upgrade - so we actually get far more use out of them than we would otherwise (though I'd probably have considered selling the old handset otherwise). Being able to offer him such an impressive bit of technology would probably have been an incentive to look into it. Obviously that's not going to happen this time!

Turned out when I looked, I was indeed due an upgrade (as of last Wednesday), so getting a replacement handset wasn't going to leave me directly out of pocket (bearing in mind that directly replacing my existing one would still have set me back somewhere around £400) - though we *do* have "gadget cover" on our home insurance which will allow some of that to be recovered at least. Did mean I needed to do a bit of research though to decide what I wanted. Didn't take much...I've been very impressed with Huawei's handsets so far (we've had two P9s, two P10s and my P20 Pro in the house) so wasn't really interested in looking elsewhere. The P30 Pro was the standout choice...Basically a couple of year's worth of refinements to the basic design of the P20 Pro - and apparently a far better camera. Knocked £8 a month off my contract and doubled my (hardly touched) data allowance too.

Less than 24 hours after speaking to Vodafone the new handset arrived. I'll say one thing...It really is an incredibly pretty thing. There's a sort of three dimensional holographic effect on back.







They describe this finish as "Aurora" - and yes, I can see that.

I think I may actually need to make a point of getting a clear case this time...That's too pretty and makes me far too happy to hide it.

Initial impressions to overall fit, finish and software experience while setting up, basically can be summed up as "Your move, Apple."

Quick camera test...Haven't fiddled around with the configuration at all yet...

Hey look, a conveniently pretty test subject.



Hey look...a proper optical zoom with proper optical image stabilisation. Nice to have.



Plus in the opposite direction a proper wide angle mode.



Which will definitely be handy, not so much outside but for interior shots it will be a real bonus. Examples...

Here's a shot of the interior of the Jag in "normal "mode.



It's clear how much more you can see with it in wide angle mode.



The rear seat you can't usually get a decent photo of whatsoever because it's so cramped.



Would have been much better if I spent two seconds making sure the driver's headrest wasn't in shot.

It's even makes taking an interior photo of the Invacar pretty easy!



At the other end of the scale I discovered another party trick this camera has which will definitely be a lot of fun to play with. The macro mode focuses down to something ridiculous like 3mm. Here's the Jag's bonnet badge. I could get closer than this but would need to have a light on hand to avoid shadows.



Or how about a Xantia tail light lens?



You can really clearly see the alternate strips of clear lens and retro reflector in the lens.


Another package arrived yesterday morning that I'd actually completely forgotten about...This was hiding in it.





Here's the data tag for those of you playing along at home.



This is a new old stock 32mm Solex carb. It has the same throat size and stud spacing as the Weber 32 ICS carb on the Invacar - albeit with the base rotated through about 45 degrees. So if this stays on the car I'll need to make an adaptor up - not that it will be difficult. Just needs a metal disc with one hole in the middle and four smaller ones at appropriate places.

There was nothing really in mind here other than experimentation in the sheer spirit of curiosity.

Turned out the most difficult thing to get my head around for an initial test was figuring out how to actually bolt it onto the manifold. The original Weber carb has studs attached to it. This one has two holes to allow it to be bolted down or to fasten onto studs on the manifold. Just bolting it on however was made a bit tricky by the fact that you can't slot a bolt in from the top because the top of the carb casting is in the way. You can't slot it in from the bottom because the inlet manifold itself is in the way. After a bit of head scratching I cut a couple of bits of threaded rod to size and put nuts in both sides to clamp it down. That took me far longer to figure out than it really should have.

So what happened the first time I started it up? I wasn't honestly expecting it to even start. This was literally the carb as it was out the box - all I'd done was to blank off the vacuum feed for a distributor advance unit. Apologies for the horrible camera work, you're listening more than watching to be honest though.

YouTube Link

Well I think that's got promise! The throttle response is immediately obviously far, far snappier. Cracking the throttle open would usually result in quite a gaping hole in the carburation until the engine picks up, with at least the occasional sneeze back through the carb. I think we might need to cobble together a connection to the throttle to see how it behaves under load. The engine this carb was originally destined for was an 1100 I believe, so the per-stroke fuelling rate should have been pretty similar to what we would have been looking for here. Should be an interesting experiment...Initial indications seem to be positive.

Hopefully the weather will cool down enough over the weekend that we might be able to do an actual test run. I'll need to figure out whether making an adaptor plate for the base or adapting the throttle cable will be easiest. Annoyingly the throttle cable is about 1/2" too short to reach as it is. I suspect it may well be the base plate. I don't want to invest *too* much time in this at this stage as it's purely an experiment and it's entirely likely that my theory will be completely wrong and it will actually run pig rich under load.

[Zelandeth]

I *finally* found the long lost trim for the number plate light this afternoon so have stuck that back where it belongs.



It's not perfectly straight, I'll tackle that another day when it's not a thousand degrees outside.

Did a bit more experimentation with the carb. Let the engine run long enough to get decently warm to see if any running issues cropped up...still seemed happy. Let's see what the CO meter has to say.



Well that's rather better than I'd expect for a carb from a totally different engine on which I've not even touched anything.

Got a better video today, showing throttle response...audio is better if nothing else.

The first run is me cracking the throttle immediately wide open after the engine had been idling for a good 30 seconds or so. The engine here is always going to initially respond a little slowly just because it's got a really heavy flywheel attached and has to spin up the whole gearbox input shaft when the centrifugal clutch engages.

YouTube Link

Anyone who knows these cars knows that this would normally have resulted in a fairly noticeable pause before the engine really picked up.

She starts a lot better now too. Usually you had to give her a bit of throttle to initially get the engine to catch.

YouTube Link

I have cobbled together a connection to the throttle cable which seems to work okay...think we might need to try to get a road test done tomorrow.

I'm really, really curious to see how she behaves under load now.

[Dragon Fan]

Originally Posted by granath

That's a lot easier said than done. So many parents are simply not capable of homeschooling their kids, which is what this effectively amounts to. Especially not if they have to be at work during the day (or at night) and are forced to leave their kids at home to fend for themselves. Or else face unemployment and homelessness. Not to mention those who spend their days stoned or in a drunken stupor...



In spite of the great differences between well and poorly equipped schools, it's still the great equalizer.

Agreed, many Students need the school, it is their safe zone. As you said, Many parents are just not capable, for many different reasons to Home school. A Vaccine is sorely needed.

[Zelandeth]

Following the experiment yesterday I had cobbled together a link to the throttle control...which went *ping* the first time I tried applying full throttle.

Version 2.0 was quickly put together.



This actually worked surprisingly well.

Unfortunately actually on the road this carb didn't work as well as it looked like it might. On wide open throttle it feels like the engine is really bogging down at lower revs. However it has very much highlighted how well the original one isn't behaving in some circumstances. The throttle response here is far more linear, the original one felt that there was far more of an off/medium/high sort of throttle. This one is also far happier to sit on a very light throttle at a set speed - 30mph for example can be maintained without needing to continually adjust.

Being able to just bring the revs up till the clutch starts to bite and then being able to just roll it on as you move off makes things so much smoother and pleasant.

At higher revs it felt more lively so long as you didn't go beyond about 70% throttle.

I think I might be seeing a reason that it feels like this engine is holding back a bit at the top end. Here's what I saw when I got back from the test.



Not maybe obvious in the photo but the whole outer of the carb was swimming in fuel.

Doing some testing with the air cleaner off showed an interesting effect - when the throttle is opened anywhere beyond about 50% there is a tendency for a fine mist of fuel to want to hover about 2" above the carb throat - I'm guessing suspended there by pressure waves caused by resonance within the inlet manifold.

I'm sure I recall hearing of folks using dual carbs on air cooled VWs (so each carb feeding two cylinders exactly like this) having trouble with exactly this phenomenon with certain carb setups. Pretty sure I've heard this referred to as "fuel lift" on a couple of occasions.

That's where the fuel that I've been seeing running off the carb has been coming from though, it's nothing to do with a leak. It's literally been getting sprayed over the inside of the air cleaner housing, then running down over the carb. The air cleaner is just a metal-on-metal join so isn't hermetically sealed or anything like that.

I'm getting the feeling that's putting a theoretical limit on how much charge we can get into the engine, and why it has always felt like the last 30% or so of the throttle travel really doesn't seem to do anything.

I think it's a combination between this effect and the carb being better to run slightly lean (according to the manual) which might together account for the sneezing habit.

What to actually *do* about it though I've no idea. Applying some brainpower and maybe ask thoughts from folks who do more engine tuning etc for a living may be the answer. Will let you know if I get anywhere.

In the meantime though I will put the original carb back...after further cleaning. I'd obviously failed to shift the offending gunk last time around so it was dismantled again and chucked back in the ultrasonic cleaner.

My cleaner wasn't quite big enough to fully submerge the whole carb though which was always rather limiting.

However someone on another forum presented an idea which was a stroke of genius and effectively made my ultrasonic cleaner more than big enough.



Plenty big enough to thoroughly submerge it now.



It was left in there with the cleaner running for a full two hours. It *definitely* shifted a lot more crud this time round...both based on the sludge left behind when it was removed from the cleaner and just how it looks.





I'll get it out back on the car tomorrow and see where we are. Setup procedure will be done by the book too.

So while this carb experiment might not have been an immediate fix, the behaviour when bumbling around at 30mph or below, starting etc has very much highlighted that the existing carb wasn't allowing the engine to perform as well as it could. Whether that's down to this carb being in need of a professional service or just limitations of the combination of this carb and this engine is something I've yet to confirm. One thing I will be doing is rechecking the valve clearances. I did check these when I first got KPL, but that was a long time ago. 0.15mm is the correct cold clearance for both inlet and exhaust valves. It will be a lot more of a faff now the engine is in TPA because she has intact wheel wells...

Will order in a new set of rocker cover gaskets first though. I was incredibly lucky to get them to seal properly when I reused them the first time round, expecting them to survive being taken off and refitted twice is a bit of an ask...

Also on the subject of carburetors I'm glad to report that the scruffy roadside find lawn mower is working like new again with the new carb fitted.





Might even treat it to a clean as a reward for living to fight another day. While it looks like hell it is mechanically well looked after though...the oil is a lot cleaner than the outside. I have tried four times now to buy a new grass box for it, every time I get an email several days after the order saying "sorry we don't actually have one in stock."

I noticed yesterday that the offside tailpipe on the Jag was buzzing again. Turned out it had managed to rotate and was touching the underside of the cutout under the bumper. Five minute job to tweak the alignment and clamp it a bit more securely.

This is how the tips now sit.



Know a few of you wanted to know why I'd spent time faffing with it. This is why. Sorry, didn't want to make too much noise as our neighbours were having lunch in the garden opposite.

YouTube Link

I'll try to get a proper driving video shortly.

That however is why I was messing with the exhaust. Sounds a bit more purposeful now I think...

Oh, and the leather has been treated a further two times today. It's almost getting to the stage where the conditioner actually sticks around for more than two milliseconds before being absorbed now.

More excuses to play with the wide angle mode on the camera too.





Looks like this car was really well looked after in a lot of ways but the leather had been quite neglected.

Something I really need to do as a matter of some urgency is get some floor mats. I keep meaning to but keep forgetting.

[Zelandeth]

Originally Posted by Dragon Fan

Agreed, many Students need the school, it is their safe zone. As you said, Many parents are just not capable, for many different reasons to Home school. A Vaccine is sorely needed.

Very true. The increase in vandalism and drug use around here among the younger population has skyrocketed while schools were closed too as there was nothing to occupy their energy. Especially as most of those concerned are from the sorts of household where homeschooling = no schooling whatsoever.

Looks very much like we're going to be looking at going back into full lockdown here in the next couple of weeks. Based on my observations while I've been out, the general population here has noone to blame for that but themselves. Especially since pubs reopened. The number of people who can't (or won't) follow simple precautions is utterly mind boggling. We have a pub literally round the corner from us, and you'd not think anything had changed to look at it now - other than it actually being busier than usual because quite a few folks are still off work. No masks, no distancing, no common sense.

They actually had to call in the police - as in two full riot control vans - the first day the pub was reopened because things got so out of hand. That paints the picture of what folks priorities seem to be really doesn't it?

-- -- --

First order of business for yesterday (well, was actually a bunch of boring real life stuff...wasn't until gone 1700 before I was able to stick my head outside) was to get the original carb refitted.

On the plus side, I've done this enough times now that it takes about ten minutes.



While fitting this I made a point of trying to get some of the slack out of the throttle cable as there was a lot of dead travel in it before which made applying anything more than about 40% throttle really awkward.

I was then slightly delayed at this point by the battery being flat. I have been doing a lot of stop/start work lately and it was never charged while the car was off the road as I can recall so not massively surprising. Conveniently due to the low power draw of the Invacar's electrical systems, the 12A of charge current from the charger is more than enough to meaningfully help as a jump start (as I recall I measured the current draw of the Dynastart while cranking to be in the region of 30A). While there was initially a lot of spluttering, coughing and one properly shotgun loud backfire while the residual carb cleaner was expelled and a bit of faffing around wishing I had three hands while I got the idle mixture dialled in, we were soon back up and running.

It seems that whatever blockage was in there last time we were successful in dislodging this time.

So, on to the test run. I set the camera running before I started out on the test run. Unfortunately because I'm an idiot I totally forgot to close the offside window so there's a heap of wind noise. Sorry. Equally the camera aim is horrible - again a limit of the holder and that location. I've got a couple of alternatives on the way from Amazon as we speak to try in the future as I'd really like to be able to get *decent* driving footage. This gives a better idea of how she's actually running now though at least. I do note that I appear to need to poke the tail light earthing arrangements again as the indicators stop flashing when the brake lights are on. Think it's time I just rebuilt those lights with better lamp holders and proper wiring as they're nothing but trouble.

YouTube Link

(No, I haven't wired the gauge pod up yet either.)

She will still stumble occasionally if you crack the throttle open instantly from idle, but I haven't been able to provoke any sneezing today. If you make a point of smoothly rolling on the throttle rather than just cracking it open, cleaning the carb and having tweaked the idle speed up a bit seems to mostly have resolved that. I do wonder if a throttle damper might be something worth thinking about here.

The low speed/low throttle behaviour has been vastly improved. It's possible to sit at 30mph now without the car complaining which is a nice improvement. It was always a bit hit and miss, but you generally could provoke a sneeze from the carb by hitting the throttle hard after coasting for a bit. I've deliberately tried several times today but wasn't able to replicate it - so am tentatively labelling that as fixed by cleaning the carb more thoroughly.

What it hasn't done anything whatsoever about is the fuel lift problem. The carb still ends up wet with fuel after any period of hard acceleration, and there's still little noticeable difference between 70% and 100% throttle. I'm really not sure what to do about this...If the air cleaner was a better seal against the carb body it would be less of an issue, but as there's a sufficient gap there that any fuel mist that lands on the inner surfaces of the air cleaner housing eventually run down the inside of it and then down the outside of the carb intake, then down over the body. I wonder if it might be possible to fit an O ring to seal the base join between the air cleaner and the carb? Obviously would need to plug the two cutouts (which allow it to close to clamp onto the carb) with something flexible too.

I'm not sure this is something that I can hope to resolve with the carb itself as it (at least if my understanding is correct) is more a function of resonance effects within the inlet manifold itself causing pulses to force fuel back up through the carb when the inlet valves are both closed. Alteration of the air filter side of things to mitigate the effects of the phenomenon seems to be the order of the day. Figuring out a way to properly seal the air filter to the carb *seems* to be the easiest avenue.

It's not a massive problem, the fuel doesn't exactly wind up pouring everywhere, the carb body itself just tends to appear slightly damp to the touch after a run and it evaporates entirely within a minute or two of the engine stopping. I'd obviously prefer *not* to have flammable liquid, no matter in how small quantities, winding up in my engine bay anywhere other than inside my engine though. Long term it's definitely something I want to get rid of - especially given that the road layout around where I live means that full throttle blasts are a necessity pretty much any time I go out whether I like it or not.

On the plus side though it seems that she is running pretty well again. Only gremlin that really came to light was that I do need to put a tiny amount of slack back into the throttle cable. It sometimes hangs up with the throttle held open by about 0.00002%, holding the idle speed up just high enough that I can't engage drive. Simple enough to fix though. Oh, and I need to stick the battery on to charge...Would have done that tonight, but as the Citroen is heading into the garage this morning it needed to spend some time on the charger as it is in need of a new battery and struggles to hold charge for more than a few days.



Once she's got a fresh MOT on I'll get that battery replaced - it's still under warranty so will be getting swapped out as soon as the car is actually mobile again. The car is at the garage having the stuffed suspension bush replaced and a fresh MOT done as we speak.


I made a point of borrowing my husband in the evening to get a bit of exterior footage of the Jag at something other than idle...Sadly I think I really need to re-shoot this with the camera a bit further down the road as it sounds like that's where the good stuff really was based on the distant howl! Makes sense given it really picks up in the mid range.

The theatre of the way the whole car rears back when you give it some throttle from a standing start really hasn't got old yet.

YouTube Link

While we were at it, I was curious to see if the van actually sounded as ridiculous from the outside as it seemed based on my hearing it bouncing off buildings and such.

YouTube Link

Yep...That's about what I expected...Sound clip that could well be from a good few decades ago!

Both of these need to be tried again with a better vantage point and when the traffic is quieter.

[Allen]

I was going to Indiana Friday to bring my wife home, so I got up early to get a good start. When I went out to give Bob his painkiller liquid & get him to walk with me, Peanut was nowhere to be found. After calling and calling, and doing our walk, still no cat, so Bob got his meds and breakfast without the cat. I had to leave of course, so I put out food for Bob and the indoor cats for the next couple of days and had to go. I drove straight through from home to Anderson in a bit over 8 hours, stopping only once for fuel and restroom break. Tried a variation on the route I had used for my return trip when I took Sharon to Indiana, only to be met with a construction detour that took me back 20-odd miles to the other route. So time lost, not saved.

I'm revising my thoughts. I think Illinois and especially Indiana have only 2 seasons; Road Construction and More Road Construction. I wanted to plant my face in a pillow and scream in frustration, but decided that was NOT advisable while driving a 2-lane road at 55 to 60 MPH.

Of course, from Friday on I couldn't help wondering where Peanut was. Had he just decided to move on? Did he get run off by a jealous Bob? Had he met up with a possum and gotten killed?

This last one might sound ridiculous to some, but it's a country life reality. When confronted by an animal of similar size, like a domestic cat, a possum will put on their timid, withdrawing act, then when the cat gets brave and moves in to investigate the strange animal, the possum strikes out and goes for the throat. They're surprisingly fast, too. Years ago, we found an abscess wound on our Minnie cat's neck. The vet said it was probably from a possum bite. Then several years later, I found my favorite young cat Sully dead with a hole in his throat. I know we get possums coming around because they're scavengers and they will smell anything Bob or Peanut leave uneaten.

Anyway, Sharon and I left Sunday morning to come home, I made a couple of wrong turns while looking for drive-thru restaurants for breakfast sandwiches, but even with stopping in one of our favorite places, Blue Springs Cafe in Hiland Illinois for a late lunch/early dinner of their great fried chicken, we still got home in fairly good time.

Bob hadn't regressed other than not getting a lot of exercise; Mastiffs are noted for being a somewhat lazy breed, and then he's been sick too. But Peanut was waiting close by, and let me know he was hungry.

He still hasn't told me where he got off to.

But things are getting back to what passes for normal around here. Peanut hasn't been straying too far now, Bob is continuing to improve, eating more now than before he took sick, and Kitt Katt and Baby Ruth, after not getting their morning shared can of wet food for 2 days, have decided that they aren't as bored with the assortment of flavors as they thought and have been cleaning up their bowls the last 2 mornings.

And if there's anyone here that still visits the NKT as well, yes the above is a copy and paste from there.

[mawra]

We've never had a problem with opossum and our animals. Not even when Sam pick them up & brought them in the house.

The good thing about them are that they eat ticks & cooper heads. Over all they are good to have around.

Most of the time our cats gets abscesses is from fighting with the other cats. It is rear. When we get only one cat with an abscess. 99% of the time it us two cats.

[Zelandeth]

It's nice when simple jobs actually stay simple.

I noticed during the video clip of the van yesterday that the nearside indicator repeater wasn't working. Had a look today and it turned out to be nothing more sinister than a slightly dirty lampholder. Quick clean and we were back in business.



This has obviously had issues with water ingress over time so might want replacing at some point in the next year or two. They're not hugely expensive at least.

Now the Xantia is off at the garage being sorted out I was able to stick the Invacar on the battery charger.



That should keep things going there for a decent amount of time. It's worth bearing in mind that this has a dynamo rather than an alternator, so it sits off charge at idle so I'm not seeing the battery having gone flat as an indication of an issue - but I'd like to get an ammeter/voltmeter up and running just so I can keep an eye on things.

Fingers crossed we'll hear back from the garage shortly on the Xantia. I don't hassle the garage though, we've got a pretty good working relationship and don't mess each other around so know that it will be done when it's done and there's no point in pestering them.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by mawra

We've never had a problem with opossum and our animals. Not even when Sam pick them up & brought them in the house.

The good thing about them are that they eat ticks & cooper heads. Over all they are good to have around.

Most of the time our cats gets abscesses is from fighting with the other cats. It is rear. When we get only one cat with an abscess. 99% of the time it us two cats.

Oh, I agree that they're nature's little garbage collectors. They don't carry rabies, as well as eating their weight in ticks each year. But they do get quite defensive as well. They'll try to fight off a bigger animal, like a dog. I've seen it too many times. They have their place. It's just not coming up on the porch eating my dog's and cat's food.

[Zelandeth]

Had TPA out and about again today, probably the best part of an hour's driving under various conditions...and no issues to report.





The carb continues to seem a lot happier after the second strip down and clean. That and having removed about 1/2 a turn at the twist grip of slack out of the throttle cable has vastly improved the drivability of the car.

I've been deliberately being a bit heavier on the brakes while out today and they do seem to be improving as a result. They do definitely have the grunt to pull the car up rapidly if you press hard enough (I've had to do one emergency stop from 50-ish when someone decided to reverse out of a driveway on the A422 without warning in front of me, and pretty much had to peel my face off the windscreen), they just feel a bit "dead" under normal use in a way that just doesn't inspire confidence. Hoping that a bit of use will improve matters. If not a new set of shoes (rather than ones stored in who knows what conditions for a few decades) aren't expensive.

I've officially given up trying to free off the engine cover lock. A couple of external straps (like used on the Jeep Wrangler) will be fitted for now to stop it rattling until I can find the patience to try to come up with a solution to the existing lock (and all its fasteners) being a solid block of rust. No it won't look stock, but I'm more interested in getting miles covered than satisfying the concourse committee at this stage!

It still surprises me how happy she is at 50 or so compared to a lot of small cars from the 70s or even 80s. Noisy yes, but there's no vibration or buffeting or things like the windscreen wiper trying to make a bid for freedom. The offside windows rattle like there's no tomorrow but that's because half the channel at the base is still missing! Once she's got some proper miles under her belt and I'm convinced we've got most of the bugs from 20 odd years sitting in a field worked out I can honestly see us covering some decent distances in this little car quite happily.

[mawra]

The old house had a sliding glass door that would not close. We had Opossums come in all the time. They'd eat, drink water and waddle their back outside.
This house we've only had one come in, pet door, except for the 3 Sam brought in.