Apropos of Nothing *4*

Palomar · 2005-02-14 13:38:53

*Well, yesterday was fun. Just got my car out of the shop earlier in the week and we decided to be a bit "daring." We could have taken it out on the open road north or south of town, but nope...we felt a bit adventuresome. Took the car up over the mountain pass (in excess of 5300 ft), down the other side and on for perhaps 7 more miles. Found a good turning-around point.

Then the fan belt bust.

Of course he turned the car off immediately. He tried calling a few folks on his cellphone; a couple of lines were busy.

We decided to run the car in 1/4 to 1/2 mile spurts, then let it coast as far as it could to a stop (with the engine off by that time of course). Let the motor cool. Then do this again.

In the meantime he still couldn't get a friend on the phone. Well, no wonder: His cellphone plan doesn't provide coverage for east of that mountain chain! Wonderful, it just gets better. On top of that, we've got that mountain pass to climb again of course (there's no other way back to town except a 100+ mile roundabout way through El Paso...impossible, considering).

After the 4th "spurt" and allowing the engine to cool, a couple in a pickup truck stopped to help. Thank god. I stayed with the car while my husband rode to a *new* parts store 7 miles away (if it weren't for that new store, the drive would have been 15 miles). I wasn't thrilled about staying in the car by myself, totally helpless -- but I wasn't willing to take the chance of getting the wrong part and then having to drive back with our rescuers, only to discover a mistake and have to do it all over again. :-\ And my husband wasn't willing to leave the car entirely unattended; better he go with them for the new fan belt.

All the time I sat there on the highway, no one else stopped to help or even slowed.

The couple who helped us were on their way to church; Baptists from Texas. They didn't proselytize. If they hadn't stopped to help, we would have had a heckuva time getting up over that mountain pass (understatement). It would have been a long and grueling day, that's for sure.

Sometimes only religious people have the heart to help, it seems. :up: And I, agnostic to the core, felt humbled.

And very grateful. We were home in less than 2 hours after the fan belt initially broke.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-02-14 14:07:05

I'm in mild awe that anyone stopped, having always put my faith in basic tools, a roll of duct-tape and some JB Weld.

You can rig up a temporary fan belt with multiple layers of duct-tape. Not a very good one, but it works for a few miles.

Trebuchet · 2005-02-14 14:46:17

It's smart to simply carry a spare belt in the trunk, actually. That, your spare tire, a tire plug kit/Fix-A-Flat, two flashlights, and a bottle of pre-mixed coolant... maybe a quart of oil if your car burns oil.

And duct tape, of course. But that goes without saying.

--Edit--

The funniest advice I ever heard for an 'emergency kit' was the following:

This is my 8" barrel Colt Anaconda and a whiskey flask. Those two items and a Bible were gifts from my dad for my first communion. He told me, "Son, these will get you through most of life's troubles."
And I asked, "But what will get me through the rest of life's troubles?"
And he replied, "A credit card, but you're not old enough for one of those."

Cobra Commander · 2005-02-14 15:01:54

It's smart to simply carry a spare belt in the trunk, actually. That, your spare tire, a tire plug kit/Fix-A-Flat, two flashlights, and a bottle of pre-mixed coolant... maybe a quart of oil if your car burns oil.

About ten years ago I had an old beat up cargo van, in which I carried three spare tires and a case of oil along with all sorts of other repair materials. Actually had to use two of those spares on one occasion.

I probably should have just carried a friggin' motorcycle in the back, but then I wouldn't have had room for the recliner. :hm:

Palomar · 2005-02-14 16:28:26

*From now on we'll have an extra fan belt. :-\ Usually we have "stuff" in the car (and in his truck) for breakdown emergencies; but prior to taking the car to the shop he took all of those items out for safekeeping at home, and forgot to replace them before our little excursion.

::shakes head::

Actually, the situation was more my fault than his. I knew he'd wanted to turn around at the mountain pass overlook and go back to town; it was my bright idea to go down the other side of the mtn and a few miles beyond. (We need an emotion slamming itself over the head with a sledgehammer).

My mother said she'd heard a legging from a pair of pantyhose could duplicate as a fan belt. -shrug-

--Cindy

Grypd · 2005-02-14 16:36:31

Actually im quilty of having to use a set of womens tights as a timing belt in an old beat Nissan sunny

But it worked and got me home.

Another thing I have heard someone do was to have a flat tyre and to fill it with polyfilla a plaster replacement as he had no spare.

Palomar · 2005-02-15 06:27:02

*I dreamed last night I was a colonist on Mars (gee, I wonder how that dream could have come about in the first place...). And I became troubled when, upon stepping out into a habitat area which gave a wide and unspoiled view of the sky, I saw hawks circling overhead; approximately 5 of them. Then, above them -- much higher in the sky -- a large flock of blackbirds flew back and forth.

I went and told someone what I thought I'd seen. The colony doctor told me I was hallucinating due to eating too much recently (actually I've been *under*-eating lately, but that didn't carry over into the dream apparently! ).

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-15 07:10:17

It must be the season for it, Cindy!

A few nights ago, I dreamed my wife and I were both on Mars.
I was at the bottom of a reddy-brown sandhill, in short pants and a T-shirt mind you(!) .. no pressure suit. I was kneeling down and fossicking in the sand, which I remember was damp and gritty at the base of the dune because it was sticking to my bare knees.
All of a sudden, I found something akin to a large snail or some kind of spiral shellfish. As I picked it up, I noticed something quickly disappear inside the shell .. it was alive!

I leapt up, brandishing this incredible find in the air, and started running up the sandhill toward my wife, yelling something about the "greatest discovery in the history of science"!!

It's funny but, at the time, it didn't seem strange to me that I was warm, comfortable .. and breathing unaided on Mars, and that the sky was blue!
Weird!!

Palomar · 2005-02-15 07:23:36

It must be the season for it, Cindy!
A few nights ago, I dreamed my wife and I were both on Mars.
I was at the bottom of a reddy-brown sandhill, in short pants and a T-shirt mind you(!) .. no pressure suit. I was kneeling down and fossicking in the sand, which I remember was damp and gritty at the base of the dune because it was sticking to my bare knees.
All of a sudden, I found something akin to a large snail or some kind of spiral shellfish. As I picked it up, I noticed something quickly disappear inside the shell .. it was alive!
I leapt up, brandishing this incredible find in the air, and started running up the sandhill toward my wife, yelling something about the "greatest discovery in the history of science"!!
It's funny but, at the time, it didn't seem strange to me that I was warm, comfortable .. and breathing unaided on Mars, and that the sky was blue!
Weird!!

*Well that was definitely a more exhilarating dream than mine, LOL.

The sky was blue in my dream too...but of course blue is the only sky we've ever seen.

It's strange how in some ways the dreaming brain can be less agile and visually flexible than the awakened brain, and yet it can also be vice versa sometimes. :hm:

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-15 17:08:29

Cindy:-
"The sky was blue in my dream too...but of course blue is the only sky we've ever seen."
Hmmm .. true.
Probably wishful thinking as much as anything else. Or maybe a premonition of things to come? .. :;):

I've never really thought of Mars' present state as being it's natural state; my 'Default Visualization' of Mars is quite different. I often see it with a blue sky, lakes, rivers and seas - like Earth in many ways but less stark. The sunlight is softer and less glary, water flows more gently, and the waves on the beaches roll in with less urgency, majestically - their pounding on the sand familiar but more muted in the cool thin air. Everything looks as it should .. but not quite. It's a world so reminiscent of our own but, at the same time, different .. alien. There's an ethereal, almost dream-like quality to it that's not easy to explain.
In fact, if someone doesn't 'get it' without an explanation, an explanation probably isn't going to help.

I guess you just have to be a more-than-slightly-delusional Mars nut!

Palomar · 2005-02-15 19:32:55

Cindy:-
"The sky was blue in my dream too...but of course blue is the only sky we've ever seen."
Hmmm .. true.
Probably wishful thinking as much as anything else. Or maybe a premonition of things to come? .. :;):
I've never really thought of Mars' present state as being it's natural state; my 'Default Visualization' of Mars is quite different. I often see it with a blue sky, lakes, rivers and seas - like Earth in many ways but less stark. The sunlight is softer and less glary, water flows more gently, and the waves on the beaches roll in with less urgency, majestically - their pounding on the sand familiar but more muted in the cool thin air. Everything looks as it should .. but not quite. It's a world so reminiscent of our own but, at the same time, different .. alien. There's an ethereal, almost dream-like quality to it that's not easy to explain.

*Interesting.

Mine is quite different. I see the harsh, stark beauty of the desert: Crimsons, oranges, beiges...jet-black shadows...the glare of white, eye-tearing sunshine...the dryness...the sting of millions of tiny bits of sand whipping against the thin fabric around your ankles (and yet you feel it).

There is power and terrible beauty in the desert.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-16 00:36:08

I definitely see your point of view.
And, given the circumstances, it's a considerably more realistic way to look at it than my way, that's for sure!

Nevertheless, as you know, I'm a confirmed terraformer and my personal feeling is there'd be more variety and beauty in a revivified Mars than in the starkness of its present state.

But still, it would be a sad and boring world if we all thought alike, wouldn't it?!

Palomar · 2005-02-16 05:53:09

Nevertheless, as you know, I'm a confirmed terraformer and my personal feeling is there'd be more variety and beauty in a revivified Mars than in the starkness of its present state.

*Actually, I think Mars might be terraformed "by default." After months and months of looking at rocks, boulders, mountains, thin clouds, (dust devils might remain indefinitely interesting to watch though)...well, eventually it'd probably be enough to drive a person buggy. I enjoy all the pics we've gotten back from the probes and robots, but after a while the realization settles in that you might want to see a green-leafed twig poking out of the ground and wouldn't it be nice to see the shadow of a bird of prey gliding across the ground. And yes, a bubbling brook...

Maybe some people could do Red Planet indefinitely; I doubt I could. I do like Mars aesthetically in its present condition and I still think plans for terraforming are too premature given we've only begun studying that planet via robots in less than 40 years' time...

But eventually humans will probably want to terraform to break the tedium if nothing else, LOL.

I do believe my seeing two types of birds -- in actual flight -- in that dream is an indication of how much I connect life to the desert. Nothing like seeing a bird of prey's shadow swooping over the desert floor nor the bird itself drifting aloft on a high breeze. (And if we keep up with the terraforming vs none talk, we may as well take it to the Terraforming folder, teehee).

:;):

--Cindy

REB · 2005-02-16 11:36:38

Birds on Mars. I wrote about that in a story about 10 years ago. I dug up that part. I might have to dig this whole story out and rewrite it.

From War Against Gravity

Cal walked over to the glass balcony doors of his apartment. The air smelled fresh and felt cold against Cal’s slim body. Lightning flickered in the distance, originating from a storm over the Hellas Sea. The storms were a sign that spring in Mars’ Southern Hemisphere was coming. Cal felt glad. It had been a long cold winter.

Mars had four seasons like the Earth, but Mars’ seasons were almost twice as long as the Earth’s. Despite all the specially made greenhouse gasses, wintertime at the Hellas Sea could be like Russia’s worst winters on Earth, or so Cal had heard. He would never experience a Siberian winter.

A sea bird perched on the end of his balcony. An Osprey? Cal wondered. They were rare around these parts. It was a powerful bird and Cal admired it. Like all birds on Mars, it had an easy time flying in Mars gravity.

Cal watched the bird and for a second their eyes met, then it soared out towards the sea. Lightning flashed behind it. Cal watched it vanish in the darkness.

He felt that desire to fly himself. Flying had been his passion, his love, until his father’s death. It wasn’t that his father died while flying that changed his heart. It was that a Terran mistake caused his father’s death. A stupid Terran tourist, unaccustomed to Mars gravity, leaped out of his seat and ran into Cal’s father, who was in the process of landing his shuttle. This caused Cal’s father to jerk forward. The shuttle craft veer right and crashed into the ground.

"Stupid Terrans," Cal thought. He shook his head. "Always meddling in Mars business. They trash our land and they think they are better than us. They think they own the Solar System. They think they are the Solar System. I’m going to change all that. When I am done with them, they will respect Mars, or they will perish."

Grypd · 2005-02-16 15:46:28

Cal didnt grow up into CobraCommander did he?

But it is an interesting thought. I wonder if the future colonists of Mars will become aggrivated with the people of Earth to the point they revolt.

Is this not how all colonies become nation states?

REB · 2005-02-17 08:31:25

Cal’s (Calet) hatred for the Earth goes back to his childhood when he and his father were visiting the Moon. He saw the blue Earth shining brightly in the lunar sky and he asked his father when they could visit Earth. His father said, “We can never visit the Earth. Its gravity would kill us.”

From then on he looked at Earth as an enemy, something that would kill him if he got too close.

And now the Terrans were terraforming Venus, giving them another world to possess- another world Cal could never land on. “No!”, he would not let that happen. If they would not meet his demands, he would use the very technology the Terrans were using to terraform Venus to make the Earth uninhabitable.

Because of Cal’s actions, our heros are stranded on Venus. With colossal rainstorms pounding on them, lightning as their only light, they have to make it to higher ground as a new ocean is rising around them.

Cal survives but his gang is destroyed in their terrorist attack on the Venus terraformers. He meets up with them our heroes in Part two, as they explore the Alpha Centauri System, and discover some strange aliens.

I almost got the story published. I had a publisher interested, but I didn’t like the publisher’s contract, and I wasn’t happy with certain parts of the story. I have plans on rewriting it.

Palomar · 2005-02-17 11:12:21

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … ss]Vatican University classes

I thought the RC church had basically recently denied matters of this sort, and were going for a more psychological/secular explanation?

-*-

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … 5]Slightly different story with religious connection

No wind farm there. Looks like an intriguing place to visit. Probably best to leave it as is.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-02-19 01:17:21

When drunken Karaoke leads to drunken Aikido, sober man calls it a night.

???

Palomar · 2005-02-19 10:04:21

*Found http://celestialmechanic.com/]celestialmechanic.com through a link just now. It's a 5-part series of e-mails. I'm an agnostic...it looks interesting.

Mr. Marshall promises not to give your e-mail address out for sale or rent.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-20 19:53:16

*Bummer. We want to get a new car, and I've lost the title to my car. I last remember having that title in my hand in 1997. We moved in the interim -- twice -- and now it's nowhere to be found. Have spent a couple of hours today looking through old boxes, filing drawers, etc. ::sigh::

My husband thinks we can get a duplicate of the title through the Division of Motor Vehicles Dept., but I don't know why they'd have a copy. Or the county courthouse. And the bank which initially financed the car has since merged; I can't find hide nor hair of the bank existing as an entity today, nor do I know with whom the bank merged.

There seem to be a few online services which can obtain duplicate car titles for people.

--Cindy

clark · 2005-02-21 10:17:58

Moved to another thread.

Mundaka · 2005-02-21 13:16:18

Oh my Lord! Dana -- that's my ladyfriend -- just walked in with three presents for me, no occasion: 1) The complete five years of Babylon 5 on DVD, 2) The B5 Movie Collection on DVD, and 3) Crusade, the Complete Series (again on DVD.)

This woman knows me AND my inner nerd. :band:

Palomar · 2005-02-22 12:15:49

Oh my Lord! Dana -- that's my ladyfriend -- just walked in with three presents for me, no occasion: 1) The complete five years of Babylon 5 on DVD, 2) The B5 Movie Collection on DVD, and 3) Crusade, the Complete Series (again on DVD.)
This woman knows me AND my inner nerd. :band:

*So very nice of her, Mundaka.

Now if only my husband would buy me "Dark Shadows 15 and 16" DVD sets. :-\

[And by the way, am I the only person here who cares that Roger fell down the staircase yesterday because his young son (acting under the influence of the malevolent ghost of a long-dead and vengeful ancestor named Quentin) strung a wire above the 2nd-to-top stair?? :realllymad: Poor Roger. He's having a brandy and will be okay; doctor said so.]

By the way, our cat is missing. Haven't seen him since he went out for a good prowl on Saturday night. He's never been away this long (he's in his teen years...it figures). Husband is on his way to the animal shelter, to see if someone picked the cat up and took him there. Our cat has slipped his collar and tags more than once. :-\ Might be time for "snip-snip" so he'll be more settled and willing to stay at home. I just hope he's still alive and well wherever he is, and home soon.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-22 14:06:02

*Nope, Radar wasn't at the animal shelter. Now I'm really getting worried about our cat. The longest he's been away was for 1-1/2 days. He's usually always banging on the outer metal door (he pushes his claws through the tiny slats and rattles the door that way, to let us know he's back) soon enough to be let back in for food, water and all the soft cushions he likes to sack out on for a good snooze later. Hopefully he'll come home later this afternoon.

On another note, we're getting a new car today. I'm going to miss the car I've got now; lots of memories attached with it. Despite our other vehicles, I've kept this one out of sheer sentiment. But it's time to let go.

Hopefully the cat isn't going the way of the car. Or hasn't "gone" by way of another car.

Cats and cars...I need a vacation soon.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-02-22 14:17:34

Hope the cat turns up soon and in good health.

Though there's something mildly humourous about losing track of Radar. ???

Despite our other vehicles, I've kept this one out of sheer sentiment. But it's time to let go.

I usually keep old cars out of sheer poverty.
That, and you can't fix the new ones without grossly excessive effort for even the simplest repair.

Ooh, snow again. And slushy roads, this is gonna be fun. :bars2:

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2005-02-14 13:38:53

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#2 2005-02-14 14:07:05

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#3 2005-02-14 14:46:17

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#4 2005-02-14 15:01:54

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#5 2005-02-14 16:28:26

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#6 2005-02-14 16:36:31

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#7 2005-02-15 06:27:02

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#8 2005-02-15 07:10:17

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#9 2005-02-15 07:23:36

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#10 2005-02-15 17:08:29

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#11 2005-02-15 19:32:55

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#12 2005-02-16 00:36:08

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#13 2005-02-16 05:53:09

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#14 2005-02-16 11:36:38

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#15 2005-02-16 15:46:28

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#16 2005-02-17 08:31:25

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#17 2005-02-17 11:12:21

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#18 2005-02-19 01:17:21

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#19 2005-02-19 10:04:21

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#20 2005-02-20 19:53:16

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#21 2005-02-21 10:17:58

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#22 2005-02-21 13:16:18

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#23 2005-02-22 12:15:49

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#24 2005-02-22 14:06:02

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

#25 2005-02-22 14:17:34

Re: Apropos of Nothing *4*

Board footer

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4

Re: Apropos of Nothing 4