Curiosity (Nearly) Killed the Mini (Part I)

Last week I mistakenly thought the falling pine pollen was through for the season, so I decided to wash the several levels of yellow that had accumulated on the Mini. When drying the car off afterwards I raised the hood to towel up any water that might have settled under there and might drip down the exterior when next driven. Because this is like only the third or fourth time I have had the hood up, the first couple were battery related, I looked around a bit.

The battery sits on the left side up against the firewall, under the windshield, and to see it you have to lift a plastic flap. Well, there is another little plastic flap on the driver’s side too. Hmmm, I wonder what’s under there. I unsnapped the top and there was a small reservoir. Looks like it could be for windshield washer fluid. I unscrewed the cap and as I was lifting it off it slipped out of my hand and dropped down. It wasn’t for washer fluid, it was for brake fluid. This became obvious to me when I looked down to find where the cap was, it was tucked neatly underneath the brake booster.

In every other car I have owned or worked on this would not be a problem as the master cylinder and booster have been there in the wide wide open space in front of the firewall. In the Mini there is an enclosed area that runs along the whole firewall that hides the battery on the left and the brake componentry on the right. There was no way to retrieve the cap through the small opening of the flap, there was barely enough room to unscrew the cap.

The plastic cowl cover is in two pieces. The passenger side piece where the battery sits is about 1/3 long while the driver’s side piece covers the remaining 2/3. It tucks under the windshield at the back and at the front it snaps into the plastic front wall of the enclosure and a rubber gasket is pressed onto that to seal the elements out. This picture is not of the Ladybug, but it close enough to show what I’m talking about:

To get in there I needed to pull off the rubber seal, undo the two nuts that hold down the cowl on the driver’s side, separate the top plastic piece from the front one by pulling up hard to unsnap them, then squeeze my arm down in between to blindly poke around hoping to find the errant cap. There was just enough room to get in there, but not enough to get to where I needed. To do that I was going to have to remove the driver’s windshield wiper.

Try as I might it wouldn’t come free. So instead I pulled the passenger side of the cowl off hoping to free the left end so I could get just a little more room. That is when I discovered that the front plastic piece could be lifted off enough from the left side that I could actually slip my arm in to grab the cap. At this point I was bleeding in a couple of places on each arm from scratches with only one requiring a band aid.1

With the cap back on I was no longer swearing under my breath, and occasionally out loud, about selling the %#$!@% car. Then, when I went to reach for the 13mm socket wrench to put everything back together, I nudged the plastic case of the socket set just enough to knock it off it’s convenient resting place on the exhaust manifold shield and spill the entire contents into the engine bay. Double %#@$!

To be continued… in Part II

Jesus Christ Superstar


Got a double dose of JCS for this Easter Weekend. Not only did I watch my favorite 1973 version, but Sunday night Donna and I watched the 2018 John Legend live version on NBC, actually enjoyed both.

The 1973 one will always be my “go to” version for holiday watching, because it comes with the voices I am most familiar with. Probably because several of the movie cast reprise their roles from the 1971 concept album that was my first exposure to the work. But the 2018 one was actually pretty good, the single stage with simple sets reminded me more of the stage play I saw in high school and have to admit that as much as I liked Josh Mostel’s King Herrod in the movie, Alice Cooper’s version was kick-ass.

Oh what a pity if it’s all a lie.
Still, I’m sure that you can rock the cynics if you tried.
So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you’re no fool; walk across my swimming pool.
If you do that for me, then I’ll let you go free.

I wonder if NBC will re-run the live version next Easter?

2018 Spring Steeplechase

Action Photography by Brian

Action Photography by Brian

Again Tom Varallo offered the Masters Miata Club the use of his rail side spot at the spring steeplechase. We, along with three other couples, enjoyed a fabulous day at the races on our Club President. One other member ducked in to say hi somewhere around the 5th race.

We had grilled chicken and hot dogs to eat along with veggies, fruit and chips to dip. There were cookies for dessert and a retirement cake to top it all off for the club’s latest non-productive member of society. You would think that with the Club logo on the sign right in front of our Miata that it would have brought a question or two about Miatas and/or the club, but you’d be wrong. The Club vehicle that attracted the most attention was our “pick up truck”, a 1987 GMC Caballero owned by Hal & Trudy from the Club.

Between a couple of the races one of Donna’s gym rat friends showed up to chat a bit. We were standing by the rail looking away from the track into our tent and beyond when she asked, “Whose cool car is that.” I almost instinctively said, “It’s ours.”, because this question usually refers to the Miata, but hesitated. I asked, “Which one? The little convertible sports car or the classic 80’s pick up/car mix?” She replied, “The pickup thing.” Hal fielded loads questions about the Caballero from both us and passers by, as well as at least one offer to buy it from him on the spot.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 27, 2018 when I’ll regale you with stories of the fall steeplechase too, because Tom has said that the offer to share the spot will be good for as long as we want. Until then here are a couple of images from the spring event:

Previously on The West Wing

Just the title of this post has been sitting in the drafts folder since January 9th of this year. This not too long after Donna and I decided that maybe we should give one of our favorite TV shows a re-watch. The phrase comes from the intro of the show before it shows little snippets of past episodes to foreshadow what is coming up and to perhaps remind you of characters or events that will be featured in this show that you might have forgotten.

The phrase also perfectly fits our desire to go back to, even if fictional, a less calamitous presidential administration. We wanted a version of the goings on in The West Wing of the White House that seemed to be filled with smart caring people that selfishly wanted to serve in government to better the lives of everyone in the country, not just the top one percent.

We have been watching an episode a day, with the exception of a couple of two-part episodes we watched back to back, and are now two-thirds of the way through season 4. We are a little more than halfway through the, 155 episode, seven season run.

So, after gathering dust in the drafts folder for the last 2-1/2 months, why have I decided to flesh out the post you ask. Good question. I have been having trouble finding a book I want to read the whole way through and after my failed attempt at audio books I started to widen my passive entertainment search and opted to try some podcasts. Wow, there are as many of these things as there are books and finding one I’m interested in is actually harder than finding a book that works for me. For one here is the whole voice issue, with a book, it is my voice, which I really like2, while with a podcast not only does the subject have to be interesting, but the person(s) have to sound pleasant to me.

Sunday I found a perfect one that will keep myself (and Donna) entertained for a good while, it is called the The West Wing Weekly. Once a week the two hosts watch an episode of the TV show the West Wing and talk about it. One voice is Hrishikesh Hirway a musician and composer, and the second is Josh Molina who played the character Will Bailey on the show from 2002-2006. Because of the continued popularity of The West Wing and possibly because of Mr. Molina’s showbiz connections they will occasionally have actors from the show on as guests.

They are doing one episode per week and started doing the podcast 2 years ago. The trouble with this is that the latest show they did a podcast for, 4-17: Red Haven’s on Fire, is exactly the same episode as Donna and I watched last night3, so we are now perfectly in sync. But with the differing time tables we will be soon be long ahead of the podcast. By the time we have wrapped up watching the entire seven season run of the show the podcast will only five episodes into season five.

We have been going back through some of the earlier episodes of the podcast to listen to some of the TV show’s stars guest appearances and then binge listened to the first few of the first season’s shows. I think now we are at the point where we might just jump back to season one of the TV show, starting over, so we can watch an episode and then right afterwards listen to the relating podcast.

25 Years Ago – Spring 1993

Oh, how far we’ve come Internet-wise in 25 years. At the bottom of the article is a 1-800 number to call and sign up for on-line access, someone please call it and let me know who answers in the comments.

Welcome To Miataville

by Member Gary W. Joseff

Do you know where “Miataville” is located? Well, you won’t find it on any map, and you can’t get there by driving your Miata (or any other car for that matter). Miataville does exist, however, and all you need to get there and enjoy its attractions is a personal computer. Miataville exists inside a giant computer located in Columbus, Ohio at a unique place called CompuServe.

CompuServe is the world’s biggest OLIS (On-line Information Service) and can be accessed by anyone with a personal computer and a modem over a standard telephone line. CompuServe offers many information services such as investment information, airline schedules, news wire service, shopping services, games, electronic mail (E-Mail), encyclopedias, databases, and even a “CB” channel where you can talk to other people on the channel via your keyboard.

There are also various group “forums” on assorted subjects such as computers, software, hobbies, sports, etc. In this forum there is also a special category called “Miataville,” which is an area specifically for Miata owners to share information, articles, latest happenings and news, problems, and anything at all related to Miatas.

The heart of Miataville is a message board & a library full of articles, news and gossip submitted by Miata owners.

The messages and articles you can read and/or download are all submitted by other Miata owners in the forum, and cover a wide variety of subjects. A random sampling of some of the messages recently covered a full plate of Miata owner interests such as the `93 models, gearbox changes, new accessories and radios, tires, driving schools, rattles, bike racks and hitches, and even advice on how to remove your sun visors.

The fun part of the forum is being able to carry on a dialogue with other Miata owners around the country via the message board. No message ever goes unanswered, and even when someone comes up with an esoteric question or problem, there is always someone with an answer, related experience, or if nothing else, an opinion. Signing up for CompuServe is easy, and their rates are competitive with other on-line services. You can call 1-800-848-8199 to sign up or to get more information.

See you in Miataville!

Copyright 1993, Miata Magazine. Reprinted without permission.

 

19,000 Holes in My Socks

I made it until retirement with two of those three pairs of brown socks intact. What I didn’t plan on is running out of white socks before the weather warmed up.

Around the house in spring, summer or fall I’m barefoot all the time, but in the winter instead of slippers I’ll rock some white calf-high “athletic” socks. I really don’t want a cold breeze hitting my ankles. The six pack of those kinds of socks I bought last year has dwindled down rapidly to one in the last 2 weeks. It seems like every time a load of wash was finished, I’d lose a sock or two because there were holes in the heel. And I’m sure that one this Sunday I’m going to lose my last pair.

Just outside Graniteville the Ladybug flew through its nineteen thousandth mile.

Ailuropoda Velox

Because it was a little after 1:00 PM as we got back to Aiken, after Saturday’s Coffee and Cars we thought maybe we should get something to eat before going home. As we were verbally ticking off places that we might like to eat at, Donna suggested Panda Express as it was about 500 feet right in front of us. I said sure.

The Panda Express is our fair city’s newest dining experience. As with any new restaurant in town, the place is packed for the first two months because everyone in the entire city has to eat there as quickly as possible so they can brag to their friends that they have done so. And true to form, whenever we have been over that way, be it lunch or dinner time, the parking lot has been jammed and the drive-up line practically circled the building.

Neither of us had eaten at a Panda Express before, so we wanted to check out what was meant by Chinese Fast Food. The Aiken store had been open since around the first of the year, so it had been awhile, but we were still surprised to find that there was nearly no one in the drive-up line nor in the dining area.

As it turned out, fast Chinese food is another way to say “controlled portion” buffet style. All the dishes are pre-cooked and sit in warming trays behind a display case and an employee dishes out a measured spoonful of the meal of your choosing. Donna selected chicken and green beans, I picked the Peking beef, we got fried rice as our side and we added one egg roll to split.

Let’s just say, this is the first and last time we will eat at a Panda Express. Our food was dished up by a less than enthusiastic employee and the food matched. Everything tasted like 3 day old leftover take-out where all the flavor had been absorbed by the baking soda at the back of the fridge. It was luke-warm in temperature and the rice was so dry you were lucky to keep more than a dozen grains of it on the fork at a time. The egg roll was hot enough, probably by random chance, but there was no hot mustard or orange sauce packets anywhere to be found.

This probably explains the uncrowdedness of the place on a Saturday at lunchtime. Everyone else in town had already eaten there, had a similar experience as us and discovered that eating here once was more than enough?