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Showing posts from December, 2014

The Nissan Leaf Gets a New Rear Axle

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Well, I finally have a salvage title for the 2013 Nissan LEAF (Actually I dont have the title yet, but I think they mail it to me. We are far from settled with the insurance company for sure. It has been six months since Angie was rear ended. The following chart shows a very sad and disturbing trend. Insurance companies aren't paying out. It should be criminal. I went shopping for a new rear axle so I can get the car driving again. The rear ended axle was so bent, the car couldn't move. The new one with no connecting bits was over a thousand dollars. The cheapest used ones I could find on ebay were over 500 dollars. I finally scored at a local used parts place for 95 dollars (removed) and with associated bits such as bearings, bushings, parts of the brakes. It took me a concentrated day with cancelled and moved meetings to get the axle replaced and the car running again. The accomplishment felt good. I am now configuring the car with tractor tires and other modifications t...
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Angie and I are back from Hawaii. We took the plane up twice. I am checked out for the 172 for another year in Hawaii if you want me to fly us around the islands. It was spectacular. We flew commercial to Maui (OGG) from HNL and then in the 172 to Molokai, Lanai, and around. In between we got a lot of good images of Molokini and a bunch of other small islands without landing strips. We swam, snorkeled, and played in the surf. We drove the Hana Highway and flew the equivalent. We took almost 4000 photos. We both learned (from our very different perspectives) more about and appreciated the legitimacy of Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. Here is some raw footage as well. I am sure I will have things edited a bit in the future.
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Mele Kalikimaka! We are not missing a white Christmas. The white and black sands are a decent substitute. I got a chance to wear my green pants. Christmas music
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Angie and I are back from New Orleans. We had a good time. I needed to spend some Delta Airline Dollars by the end of the year and ensure I met the threshold for their loyalty program in miles. It appears I have purchased a new plane, a 1/4 share in it anyway. It's a beauty. It's all pretty exciting.
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Angie and I went to see the Atlanta Premiere of "Antarctica --A year on Ice" At this point, I have only seen the movie once. I will need to see it multiple times. It was not disappointing. It was very familiar, of course. Anthony Powell did a nice job of getting some of the right people in the film rather than the usual camera frame grabbers that appear in Antarctica documentaries. I was pleased to see my best friend from the ice (Dave Voorhees) in several shots including on the summit of Mt Terror. We have been discussing the film via email. I also worked with "Josh" the mechanic. He has the ITASE patch on his shoulder in one shot. I have one of those patches as well for my part regarding the International Trans-Antarctica Scientific Expedition. Most of the other folks in the film I was familiar with as well. Anthony did a great job showing what life is like, and of course, I would have had my slant on things. For example, I would have expanded on the "rebirt...
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The Chandelier Restoration - Take Two and Grace the Cat

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I refinished the chandelier. I first refinished and rewired this chandelier when I was 14 or 15 years old. It was originally a gas chandelier, perhaps 100 years old. This time I left more patina and I didn't lacquer it this time. Grace the cat is growing fast and being a kitten. She is well behaved for a kitten, although not as well behaved as I would like. We have travel plans for New Orleans and Hawaii. I figured out if I want to get to all the US states I have to go to Hawaii. It is time for that one to come off the list. I have a plane already booked for rental in Hawaii. Flying between the islands has been a dream for quite some time. We had a nice Thanksgiving. We cooked a traditional bird. We used a roaster pan from the 1950s (I think). It occurred to me that the 11 pound turkey was just right for the pan. Turkeys have gotten a lot larger in the last 50 years! Most of what was sold in the store today wouldn't come close to fitting in that roaster. You can probably tell w...
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