The White Knight Rides Again !

After going 5 days without the truck, I was able to get it repaired and running today (Friday 11 May 07). The White Knight would not start at the end of the work day last Monday and I had to leave it on the fourth and top floor of a parking tower near where I work in Cheyenne for four nights which was a little unsettling and worrisome while I waited to get paid.

The problem was in the wiring as I suspected as some ground wire had failed over time with the temperature extremes the vehicle has been exposed to over its near 30 year life and the solenoid and ICM/voltage regulator mounts were not as firmly mounted to the wall of the engine compartment as required. I had put in a new set of spark plugs on Wednesday morning (first time I have ever done that at 7:30 in the morning), gapping them at the recommended level of .44 ( I included this so I can refer to it again in the future), but that also failed to solve the problems like my earlier parts installations.

For around $200 I got the problem solved which only wiped out 43 % of my paycheck instead of the feared greater amounted that I believed loomed. At least the expense was offset by not having to use 80 % of a tank of fuel that would have been consumed during the work week commute which is about $40 with our gasoline at $2.90 per gallon here in Cheyenne with increases on the near term horizon. Thank goodness for Chad being able to take me into town and bring me back out as part of his daily trip back and forth to high school. I bought him and his brother some ice cream treats at Dairy Queen as a small token of my gratitude.

I sure hope that this will be the last unanticipated repair expense that occurs for several months; but I do need in the coming few months to get an alignment done, replace the temperature gauge sender unit, an oil and lube, and purchase a wheel as the one I got as my spare is flawed and causes the Ford to shake when at freeway level speeds. I also need to get some inside door handles, install my rear view mirror so I don't have to strain my constantly painful neck, and tighten up the passenger side view mirror so the wind does not keep knocking it loose. And it is about time for a truck wash which I usually get done about three times per year. Ah, the travails of vehicle ownership when the truck is going on 30 years old...

Friday 11 May News Articles and Observations

These are some recent news articles that caught my attention and my reactions to them.

A. The Promise of the Employee Free Choice Act

This legislation being considered in Congress is one of the most outstanding pieces of legislation to be taken under consideration in many years. I hope it survives and is improved on before it is sent to the new President in two years as the greedy Bush junta is totally out of touch with the vast majority of the citizenry and would veto it if the bill was submitted to the president. I enthusiastically support this bill and believe the bill would be of tremendous benefit to many American citizens.


http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/05/10/labor_law_reform_not_just_for_unions.php


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B. Near Term Effects of Global Warming on US Temperatures


This study by NASA strongly forecasts a rise in average daily high temperatures across the eastern US within 70 years. One can safely conclude the same would be true across the western US as well with a good likelihood that the numbers will even be higher due to elevation, terrain, vegetation, rapid changes in topography over relatively short distances, and the ever expanding heat island effect.

What this means is that places like Phoenix will have average highs in the mid 70s in January and the mid 110s in July and August; Albuquerque will average in the upper 50s in January and over 100 degrees for daily highs in July; Denver will average in the mid 50s in January and near 100 in July and early August; Las Vegas will be around 70 degrees in January and in the low 110s in July and early August as average daily highs; and Cheyenne will be near 50 degrees in January and in the mid 90s in July and early August.

Of course high temperatures can often be as much as 25 degrees above the normals and averages any day so one can see the profound ramifications of such phenomena -- low 80s in Albuquerque, upper 90s in Phoenix, around 80 in Denver, 95 in Las Vegas, and 75 in Cheyenne on Christmas Day some year; and low 120s in Albuquerque, over 135 in Phoenix, 120 in Denver, 130 in Las Vegas, and low 110s in Cheyenne on Independence Day some year !!!

One can safely assume we will see some years spike to these levels on an isolated basis within the next 10 to 15 years and increasing in occurrence beyond that until it becomes the norm about the time todays youngsters are geezers.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-hot-future,1,1797473.story?coll=chi-news-hed


C. The Genius and Wisdom of Mike Marshall and MLB's Ignorance of It


It is truly a shame baseball and pitchers everywhere are ignoring the sage advice and scientific research done by this former standout major leaguer.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Apk10uwj8nzz0lVh14FxK3w5nYcB?slug=jp-marshall051007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


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D. The Haplessness of the Pittsburgh Pirates Ownership

The Pirates and their fans (including me and my brother HBL) have endured 14 consecutive losing seasons and there is little if any optimism that this embarrassing streak will end anytime soon. If the streak reaches 17 years, the record will be broken which is held by the Philadelphia Phillies of the 30s and 40s. If only Mark Cuban or someone else of the level of his ownership expertise could become the Pirates' owner...


http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1108&Itemid=42


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