Changing the belt on our vacuum cleaner
Ξ March 31st, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
Have you ever noticed how some things that should be simple are often quite difficult? Take for instance the routine task of putting a new belt on our vacuum cleaner. You would think that after all these years the vacuum cleaner manufacturers would have devised a quick and easy way to change the belt, but apparently they have not…
We have one of those stand-up “bagless” vacuums, and the belt broke this afternoon while Cheria was cleaning up the perpetual mess of dog hair that Houdini loves to create. She pulled out a spare belt and we got to work replacing the broken one, and what should be a fast, easy task turned into a long, drawn out event.
First, I had to figure out exactly which screws to remove from the bottom of the unit - then I had to remove them. Next, I had to pull the roller off and cut about 20 pounds of dog hair that had become wrapped around it.
Now came the hard part: Cheria had to hold the vacuum upside down while I struggled with all my might to first squeeze the belt under the drive shaft that was located deep within the bowels of the contraption, and then I had to pull hard on the roller in order to stretch the new belt enough to maneuver the roller supports into their slots. Talk about an ordeal!
I’m not a mechanical engineer mind you, but it seems to me that the process should go something like this:
1 - Stand vacuum on its “head”.
2 - Turn locking lever to allow the trap door covering the roller and belt assembly to pop open.
3 - Turn another lever to release the roller from its mount.
4 - Slip the new belt over the easily accessible drive shaft and the other end over the roller.
5 - Place the roller back in the mount and reverse the lever to tighten the belt.
6 - Close the trap door.
Pretty simple, huh? Of course the devil is in the details as they say, but surely one of Royal’s highly paid engineers can come up with a plan that works a lot faster and easier than the one they have right now. In the meantime, I’ll just say “Houdini, enough already with the shedding!”
I’ll never get Cheria to ride the “London Eye” after this!
Ξ March 31st, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
At 443 feet, the London Eye is the world’s tallest “Ferris Wheel” in Europe and one of the tallest on the planet. That means that Cheria (who is deathly afraid of heights) likely would have never gotten on it anyway, but after she finds out what happened last Tuesday there will no longer be any doubt.
On March 25 approximately 400 people became stranded on the “Eye” (it holds 800) when a problem occurred with one of the four huge tires that makes the wheel rotate. It only took about an hour for technicians to fix the problem, but it’s a good bet that there were at least a handful of folks like Cheria who had reluctantly climbed aboard and then had to endure an hour of sitting in mid-air.
Of course the folks who actually enjoy such things probably had the time of their lives since those near the top of the wheel can see for approximately 25 miles! If we ever make it over to London (by ship of course), I would love to take the London Eye for a whirl. Let me tell you, that would be one fun 30 minute adventure. I wonder if Cheria will accompany me? (Yeah, right!)
Singing in the shower
Ξ March 30th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Things I like |
As a young boy I enjoyed watching the old “Flintstones” cartoon series - you know, the one with Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, Bam-Bam and Dino. Most of my memories of that iconic show have long faded away, but one episode has stuck with me all these years.
This particular show started out with Fred, Barney and a couple of other guys agreeing to take part in a talent contest at the Buffalo Lodge, and they spent most of the program rehearsing a song or two. And let me tell you, by the time the day of the contest rolled around they were sounding GOOD! The problem was, they had rehearsed individually while they were taking their baths.
Well guess what? When they arrived at the Lodge on that fateful day to begin their final rehearsal (actually, their only rehearsal as a group), they quickly discovered that they couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket because they weren’t in a bathtub!
At first they were perplexed, but then a light bulb (did they actually have those back in the Stone Age?) went off over Fred’s head and he came up with an idea that saved the day and won them the talent show…
When their turn to sing came up, Fred and Barney rolled a large bathtub on wheels out onto the stage and the four of them jumped in and started “washing up”, singing their song as an astonished but appreciative audience listened and clapped away. This Flintstone-style barbershop quartet brought down the house with their masterful vocals and the contest was theirs for the taking.
Now I have a little admission to make: I like to sing in the shower myself. After all, nowhere else on the planet can I sound like Josh Turner when he’s having his best day. I guess it’s the combination of the amazing acoustics and the rhythmic “background music” of the splashing water, but I do my best singing when I’m all covered with soap and shampoo. I like to call it one of life’s precious little “equalizers”.
Satellite Television
Ξ March 28th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Technology |
These days we take all of those ubiquitous satellite dishes we see on rooftops and lawns across America for granted, but I can remember a time when it was just a dream for rural folks who had a hard time getting decent reception on their TV sets.
Back in the 1970’s we lived “up in the holler” in rural Widener Valley, Virginia, and to say that our television reception was poor would be quite an understatement. For years my dad spent his hard-earned money and lots of his time buying and installing all types of TV antennae and cabling, but it all came to nothing. Not only was our house located in the “fringe” area of all of the local TV signals, but it was also, well, “down in a holler” with a high hill blocking what remained of those signals from reaching our abode.
It made no difference how high we mounted an antenna or how strong the “booster amplifier” was, the only station we could watch with any satisfaction was channel 5 (WCYB out of Bristol, Virginia). And to add insult to injury, even that channel was always “snowy”.
Then one day I read in Popular Science magazine that the Hughes Aerospace company was planning to launch a series of satellites that would deliver high-quality television signals directly into homes and businesses all across most of North America. Of course this would mean an end to our reception problems, and I for one couldn’t wait.
After all, the other kids at school were always talking about the latest episode of “Happy Days” or “Charlie’s Angels”, and all I could talk about was the Major League “Game of the Week on NBC (carried by affiliate WCYB of course). Now don’t get me wrong, I loved watching big league baseball, but it would have been nice to see the Fonze and Charlie’s pretty Angels on occasion as well.
I excitedly told dad about the amazing new satellite TV signals that we would soon be able to “pull in”, but he wasn’t the least bit impressed. He said something like “I’ve tried to get a decent signal from a transmitter just 40 miles away, and you’re telling me that we’ll be able to get one from out in space! It’ll never work.” Of course work it did, and before long we had one of those massive 10 foot satellite dishes sitting square in our front yard.
And let me tell you, after watching the Skipper chase Gilligan around that tropical island through what looked like a snowstorm for years, the picture we received from the dish was absolutely amazing! Every once in a while if the wind was causing the dish to shake we would see a few “sparklies”, but for the most part the reception was “picture perfect”.
Well, dad is no longer with us, and neither are those behemoth satellite dishes that made yards and rooftops look as tacky as your average junkyard. I miss my dad very much, and I’ll never forget the ecstatic look on his face on our first day watching “satellite television”.
Reflecting on “Hog Thief Creek”
Ξ March 27th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Some of my most enduring childhood memories of my dad are of the times he would drive our family down the narrow country road that followed a stream known as “Hog Thief Creek”. The name of the creek intrigued me from the start, and every time we went down that road I would ask him how it got its name. And his answer was always the same: “I don’t really know, but I’ll bet it involved a hog and a crook”.
Although that answer never really satisfied me, it was the only one I ever got - and to this day I can still “hear” my dad’s voice as he matter-of-factly gave it to me. Now, fast-forward some 40 years…
A couple of years ago when Cheria and I were looking for a house to buy, we just happened to be driving down Hog Thief Creek when we saw a “For Sale” sign in front of a nice, large brick house. We pulled into the driveway and sat there for a minute or two looking over the property, but I more or less ruled it out on my own because I thought it would be out of our price range.
Well, to make a long story short, we ended up buying that house, but we discovered that it didn’t sit beside Hog Thief Creek. It seems that back when Washington County set up their 911 Emergency Contact system the creek and roadway were renamed “Greenway Creek” and “Greenway Road”. But to me, we’ll always be living on Hog Thief Creek.
It might not be “politically correct”, but that’s what it’s always been and that’s what it will always be. And although I guess I’ll never know how our little creek got that intriguing name in the first place, dad’s answer to my question is just fine with me these days.
First mowing of the season
Ξ March 27th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Well, it’s that time of year again. Late March is when the grass really begins to grow here in southwestern Virginia, requiring us to dust off the lawnmower and get to work. I was hoping to put off the first mowing of Spring 2008 a little longer, but after looking at my mom’s yard I knew that it really couldn’t wait.
I had told mom a few days ago that I would come over and mow her yard today, but when I woke up this morning the thermometer read a chilly 38 degrees! But according to Weather.com it was supposed to warm up nicely later in the morning so I reluctantly pulled my push mower out of the garage and got to work draining the stale gas from the tank and changing the oil. By 10:30 Cheria, Madison and I were in the car heading to mom’s house with the mower hanging out of the trunk of the car.
The folks at Weather.com had hit the nail on the head, and by the time I fired up the mower it was comfortable “shirt sleeve” weather. I spent the next hour or so mowing her lawn, then we spent a little while visiting with mom before loading the mower back into the car and heading home. And what did I notice when we pulled into our driveway? My own yard needed mowing just as much as mom’s had, so I unloaded the mower and got to work. And you know what? It was fun - rejuvenating in fact.
Of course after a couple of mowings it will become a “chore” again, but today’s first mowing of the season was a breath of fresh air - much like spring itself.
“Red Light Cameras” make intersections more dangerous
Ξ March 21st, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Technology |
The premise is simple: If drivers know they’ll get an automatic ticket if they run a red light, they’ll be more careful when approaching an intersection. But that premise is also apparently flawed.
Study after study has shown that “Red Light Cameras” are actually causing more accidents and serious injuries than they are preventing, and a recent in-depth study conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida shows the problem to be even worse than previously thought.
There are two primary reasons for the failure of those now ubiquitous cameras to fulfill their lofty mission:
1 - More drivers are now slamming on their brakes at the last second when the intersection in front of them is actually clear in order to avoid getting a ticket, resulting in record numbers of rear-end collisions.
2 - Many municipalities have reduced the time that the yellow “warning” light stays on in order to generate more tickets (and revenue), causing even more brake slamming and collisions.
Of course these studies aren’t likely to prompt many municipalities to remove the cameras from their intersections because of the revenue they generate. But then again these types of “safety devices” and policy changes are rarely implemented in the name of safety - it’s almost always about increasing revenue.
When “Pastors” abuse the pulpit
Ξ March 21st, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
The controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright brings to mind several questions:
1 - How can a “pastor” preach partisan politics from the pulpit without prompting the IRS to strip his church of its tax exempt status?
2 - How can a “pastor” stand in the pulpit and repeatedly take the Lord’s name in vain during a sermon without losing the respect and trust of his church?
3 - How can a “congregation” sit and listen to such vile, filthy garbage emanating from the mouth of their spiritual leader for decades without losing their own collective self-respect?
At least some of the “sermons” that Mr. Wright delivered had no place in a house of worship, and after hearing the course language he used it is my opinion that Mr. Wright had no place standing behind a pulpit in the first place. A pastor’s role is to be the spiritual leader of his congregation, not a politician in disguise who uses the auspices of his church to promote a political agenda.
In my opinion, Jeremiah Wright did a huge dis-service to both himself and the congregation of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, not to mention the shame he has brought upon the Christian faith in general. Apparently “Pastor” Wright has never taken the time to read Galatians 6:7 - “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
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