Too Much Technology?

     Let me start today's "Needs to be Set Right" concept with another of those day to day things most of us experience.  I left my GPS plugged into the cigarette lighter receptacle on my car (although we don't use the lighter receptacle for anything other than that.)  Well, maybe to recharge our cell phones, and the occasional use of our Emergency Compressor, all things techonological, if you notice.  All things I'm glad I have and love using.  I digress.  Anyway, by leaving the GPS plugged in and on, I drained the car battery.  Deader than a Nehru Jacket (look it up - it's the headliner at the Dead Fad's Museum). 

     Of course, I didn't realize that when I got in the car and turned the key to hear........silence.  You know how the first time you do it, you think "this can't possibly be happening?", well, just like everyone else, I turned they key again and at least one more time before I convince myself that the battery was indeed dead.  Either that or someone removed the starter on the car while it was locked in our garage.

     However, being as I stated above, a believer in technology, I got out the old handy dandy battery emergency charger that works off household electricity and having done this countless times before, put the positive charge clamp on the positive battery post (the one with the little + on it), and then, looked around for the negative post.  There wasn't one. When the heck did they start making batteries without two posts?  However, I also knew that there's a school of thought that says batteries can blow up if not being charged properly, leaving you slumped over the car fender, hood up, seriously burned face wise from the exploding battery acid, and being there like that all day, until your wife comes home and looks for you and finds you there, horribly disfigured, or even worse, deader than the Nehru Jacket we talked about.  Not wanting her to find me like that, I read the manual which says hook it to a negative ground, except they don't tell you what exactly that is.

     I hooked the negative clamp, as one is supposed to do, to a negative ground that I found which isn't as easy as it looks.  Batteries are always grounded to the car frame somewhere, and all you have to do is find a metal piece of car which is also attached to it.  So, by touching the negative clamp to various parts of the car near the engine block that a clamp could fit on, I found one that provided a connection.  Confident, I left the car and went back into the house secure in the knowledge that shortly (perhaps an hour or two) the battery would be fully charged.  The battery charger indicated every thing was well, and more importantly, I was still intact, not having suffered those unimaginable burns all those safety warnings tell you about.

     A couple of hours later I went out, checked out the charger which said the battery was in fact charged, and disconnected everything.  Then, I started the car, and it started right up.  Everything was as it should be.  All was now right with the world.  Or was it?  

     After putting the charger away while I let the car run, I then shut it off and confidently started it up again.  Yep, lots of good starting sounds and Old Blue started right up.  Then, as I waited for all the little dashboard lights to go off one by one as the car checked itself out, I noticed that the little light that looks the outline of an engine block stayed on.  A quick check of the owners manual says if that light stays on take it to your nearest dealer for service as soon as possible.  Not as soon as convenient, mind you, but as soon as possible.  Letting that little warning pop up in the back of your head that says, "if I don't get this to them as soon as possible, they won't honor the warranty.  That's no problem, this is out of warranty.  Or worse yet, if you are out of warranty, it indicates a little problem that we are warning you about, and if you don't take care of it in the next 20 minutes, this thing is going to turn into a BIG problem and BIG problems costs BIG money.  

     I took it for a test spin in the neighborhood figuring if it craps out I can walk home and I can figure out how to get it home from a few blocks away, rather than on some major side road or highway with uncaring motorists in cars whizzing by at speeds generally 20 miles higher than posted. 

     And, it probably rode just fine, but I imagined all kinds of things going wrong, and heard and felt all kinds of sounds and vibrations indicating something was definitely wrong.  So, I got back home OK and then researched everything on the internet.  Deciding eventually I was going to leave it as is, (I really didn't have time to wait for the car as I needed it every single day for the next 5 days, then, I could take it in) I drove it around all the while waiting on edge for that moment when the car gasped it's last breath because I ignored that little light.  

     As luck would have it, I picked up my grandchildren and my son in law's car had the hood up.  I asked him what was up and he said his engine light came on and he had taken it to a local car parts store and they ran one of those diagnostic tests on it and they said it was probably only a small indicator part and he could try resetting the engine light after he cleaned up the indicator link.  The test, he said, was free.  Wow, that's all I needed to hear, so the next chance I had, I went to the friendly car parts store where they plugged in their little tester and ran the test.  It indicated I had 14 things wrong.  Bummer. How the heck could 14 things show up, it wasn't even running?  So, I went back home, armed with all this technological information and as I read through the reports realized almost everyone of them said it was some kind of grounding fault.  Maybe that's it I thought.  So, back to the internet and more research focused my exact needs.  And, after stating what was wrong in a general question, answers popped up immediately, most of them indicating simple solutions and one of them was, (the most popular I might add) to detach the grounding terminal on the battery from the car for a minute and then hook it back up and restart the car and the engine light would probably not come on again.  

     Seemed like an easy cost free solution, so out to the garage, and started looking for the grounding wire where it is hooked attached to, and detach it.  (The internet said anyone with any kind of experience with cars could do this, so this would be a shoo in.)  Wrong again.  I'm still looking where it attaches to the frame. It's very difficult to track down and I haven't been able to isolate it to detach it.  Being almost 70 years old and not able to move like I used to, and with a recent hip replacement preventing me from laying on my back under the car looking for the hook up, I haven't decided yet what to do.

     Have you looked at your car engine lately?  I didn't think so.  I still can't find the transmission fluid level indicator  dipstick which they say is "RIGHT THERE" only it's not "THERE" on my car.  And neither is the negative attachment for my battery anywhere where I can get to it, and detach it.  For further good measure, it took me an hour to find the oil filter cap and I needed a $20 dollar extension and a special oversize $20 socket to remove it.  I had a picture of it and almost missed it. 

     Growing up in the golden age of automobiles spoiled me I guess.  I worked on my own cars for years, replacing brakes, pistons, carburetors, and all the really simple stuff with no problem at all.  Today, it's a major pain to change the oil.  And, I really, really  don't want to take the car to one of those big money dealerships (or even a garage mechanic - I mean who can you trust these days), so I wait until the car doesn't run and I'm forced to do something.

     Now, I spend my days driving around with one eye on that engine light that stares at me all the time I'm driving all the while reminding me that I am turning a little problem into a BIG MONEY problem because I won't take it in...........yet.       

    I am one of those people who have embraced technology with open arms, and while not quite as proficient with it as I'd like to be, I think it has and will continue to change our lives every day.  On the other hand, I am wondering if we are not, in fact, rushing toward that phenomenon known as "The Singularity" described by Vernor Vinge, in his paper regarding this subject, and presented to the  Vision 21 Symposium March 30-31, 1993.  

     Briefly stated, Vinge postulates that "we are centered on the ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue."

      Are we in fact racing to that time in our lives which Vinge states will occur prior to 2030, or are we going to realize that technology is not the only answer?  I vote for the later, although I may not be here in 2030 if/or when "the singularity" arrives.  Realize he wrote this 18 years ago, prior to all the most recent accelerating changes.

     As I look at my car engine and all the covers, wires and parts covering up others and which all have to be removed before you can find where something is, I wonder if this isn't something that needs to be set right.  Let me rephrase that, this is something that needs set right.

   

      


     

What the blog is all about

     I've been told by several well meaning people that I need to have a blog page now that I've published (well, I'm about to publish) a book.  Fortunately, I'm one of those people who like to write, and think I have something to say on most any subject.  I've been told I'm verbose and I would have to agree.  My wife wants me to concentrate on my new children's book coming out, but there will be time for that when it is published.  I promise I will tell you more about it before it hits the streets.  

     

     So, the blog from day to day at first will be about things that I think need set right with the world, things that are a lot wrong, a little wrong, and sometimes not even wrong but could go wrong and still need set right, (from my point of view that is).  It may never be something you might agree with, but I think from time to time I will hit on something that will hit your thought bone and make you ponder with me "why is it that way, when it could be so much better"?

     

     Let's start with something that happened just the other day.  My brother-in-law, kind soul that he is, told me that his pool fill valve was leaking.  It wasn't just leaking, it was really leaking - like almost full blast. (He had other problems besides that leak, but let's just concentrate on this one problem.)  

     

     It was an old fashioned gate valve that had been installed about 25 or 30 years ago and had never been a problem before recently.  So, being a guy who has done this kind of thing for himself, and actually repaired things for a living for a few years, I told him I would take a look at it.  I told him it would be simple to repair as long as the valve body seat wasn't damaged, and would probably only require a simple replacement of the washer that closes off the valve when you crank it shut.  

     He was worried that we wouldn't be able to get the thing apart because it had sat there for 30 years without being taken apart before.  So, we sprayed it with that old standby WD-40 (if it doesn't move and you want it to, spray it with WD-40 first - if it moves and you don't want it to, use duct tape - pretty much a rule to live by) and then let it set for a few hours and spray it again.  In the meantime, you can amuse yourself with a couple of cups of coffee, or a few brewskeys (and if the missus asks you what you are doing, simply reply "waiting for the WD-40 to kick in,") or if it's really old, grab that copy of War and Peace you've been meaning to get at for years and give it a go while you are waiting.

     Then we removed the valve stem with relative ease and it popped right out. The washer, as I suspected, was worn and corroded on the sides, but the valve seat itself was smooth as glass and all we needed to do was head to the local hardware store and find a replacement washer and replace it, then the old valve stem, then turn the water back on and watch everything just fall into place and voila, no leaks.

     Here's where things went south.  A visit to the local big box hardware supply store (which shall go unnamed) proved to be useless as after they took one look at the washer, took us to the washer supply wall and showed us that they didn't have what we needed and wouldn't be able to order it.  However, in all fairness, they did say, we could replace the whole valve at a huge cost ($45.00 or so, for the valve alone) or we could try down the road at a plumbing supply house which would probably have what we were looking for. 

     Let's see, spend $45 for a new valve, plus the work of replacing it, or going to the local plumbing supply house, get the small part we need and then go back and fix said valve.  So, off to the supply house, where there was only one person working, you know, in these hard economic times, so we had to wait in line until everyone in front of us was done.  (First thing in the morning, I'd hate to see what happens on a day where everything goes wrong and everyone heads down to the supply house to get what they need at the same time.)  Then we showed the guy the washer and waited confidently while he showed us where they had a box full of them, except he didn't do that, because he said, "We don't have that in stock.  We don't carry them and can't get them.  Try "----------" plumbing supply at the corner of such and such and so and so. That was across town.  Really, seriously across town and about $7 away.  At today's gas prices that's about 40 miles away round trip.  For a ten cent part. So we went back home and called them and they were nice enough: after a wait while the young lady we talked to talked to someone else who talked to someone else, came back on the line and said, "We don't carry that and they said you should replace the whole valve."  

     WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE.  I've got a 10 cent part in my hand that is probably available somewhere, but not a single person responsible for making customers happy, said, "let me call a supplier, or let me see what I can do".  Everyone of them to a person, said with a shrug, "Can't help you.  Sorry."  And, I might add, two of them actually laughed when we said, we need a 10 cent part and you want us to spend $45 to fix it, plus labor.  They just nodded and moved on to the next customer.  Just on a hunch I stopped at the big box hardware store's competition (another big box store) and got the same shrugs and answers.

     Being from the old school, and having never, ever, thrown away a part I thought I could use later, I went home and looked through my amazingly disarrayed garage and tool bench.  It only is disarrayed when I am looking for something that I have no idea if I even have.  Otherwise, I know exactly what to move to find that hammer I placed there 6 weeks ago, or was it last week, when I was making a minor repair that took some muscle.  (Hammers are excellent for that sort of thing, especially after you've used some WD-40).  

     And, in about the third place I looked, I found a sprinkler valve still in the box, that was of no use anymore as the system I now use has entirely different parts.  And, I'd saved it for at least 15 years, just knowing this day would come.  And, when I opened the box and looked at it, THERE IT WAS - MY HOLY GRAIL, a washer that was remarkably like the one I was looking for.  So, I took the valve apart, grabbed the washer and reappeared at my brother-in-law's with the new part.  It took about 3 minutes, if that, to replace everything and to put the new part in place.  Since it is slightly different, there is a chance it will skew out of place occasionally, and might need to be reseated.  But, since they only fill the pool occasionally, they don't need to use it that often reducing the number of times they need to use the valve.  And, now they can turn their water on without over-filling the pool all the time from a leaky valve. And I couldn't charge my brother-in-law, so it was free.  Besides, it was his birthday the day before, so I just said Happy Birthday.  He was happy and I was happy I could fix it - even though it wasn't as easy as I thought.

     Which brings me to today's gripe.  Everything today runs on a profit, and the big box stores have squeezed out the small guy.   In my younger days I could go down to the local hardware store, especially in a small town, and find just about anything I needed.  It might take a minute to find it, but they generally had it, but more importantly, they had someone who knew what we were looking for, where it probably would be, and/or exactly where to get it. Not just sending you off and getting you out of their hair.  Nowadays, you have to buy ten of everything you want instead of one, (if you can find what you are looking for), and they only sell the most popular parts for the most popular items.  I understand why, but I would also think they would have a central location for those more rare items, or at least some deal with the manufacturers.

     I was really happy I had what we needed, and we will search for places on the internet and or valve providers to find a more suitable replacement, but I still think you should be able to walk into a hardware store, show them what you need and they say it's right over here, or we can order it for you.  Even parts that are 25 years old.  Washers haven't changed that much in over a hundred years.  

     I found obscure parts for my 1952 Ford, 50 years later, easier than a 10 cent washer.  That's a darn shame,  and it needs set right.