Wednesday, October 28, 2009

How freecycle SHOULD work.

Angie and I got a new bed a couple months ago. The old mattress and box spring moved into the guest room and the guest room mattress went to camp. That left us with the guest room box spring... We'd procrastinated about getting a dump permit for awhile when it occured to me that as nothing was wrong with the thing why not try freecycle.
I did and yesterday a guy came and got it. He said his daughter's box spring broke and she was glad to have a replacement. Terrific, I was glad to get it out of the house and glad to not send it to the landfill when there was really nothing wrong with it.

Pleurisy?

About a month and a half ago I started having strange tightness in my chest during *ahem* "amorous encounters"... It didn't happen every time and went away quickly so I ignored it.
Then about a month ago I was out cutting wood and felt the same tightness. Over the next couple weeks it happened more and more frequently until I got to the point where I really couldn't exert myself without pain.
I got in to see the doc (when I explained the pain his receptionist FREAKED) who put me on a blood pressure pill (which I needed anyway) and sent me for tests. Blood work and a chest x-ray didn't show anything (except high-ish cholesterol) so I got a stress test which also apparently didn't show anything.
At this point I've ruled out my heart. I'm pretty much too young for heart disease and all the heart related tests are negative. Several people have suggested pleurisy which is an inflammation of the pleura which is the lining between your lungs and chest wall. Everything I've read makes it sound just like what I've got.

Which of course means I've got Elbonian sheep flu...

And then there were 6

I'd been thinking of getting another lantern for awhile now and Sunday when Angie and I took Buster for a walk I decided it was time. Around the corner from our house theres an antique/junk store called "The Barn" where I'd seen a couple Coleman 200As hanging out. We stopped in and they were still there just as I remembered. One had a safe on the bottom with a wrench and a pair of new mantles. Unfortunately that one had a brown fuel cap (probably from a Coleman 275, AKA "the turd") and a wing nut for a vent nut. The other had a proper 3 piece fuel cap and nut and as Angie noticed an old school sandblasted globe like my 202 has. They were marked at $15 each so I took the one with the sandblasted globe inside and asked if he'd take $12. He said yes pretty quickly which makes me think I should have asked for $10 but whatever, its a niceish lantern.

I got it home and drained out nearly a quart of disgusting smelling, but surprisingly clear whitegas. The vent is dirty but doesn't appear to have any scratches or dings. The fount is dent free with decent paint thats only scratched off in a few places. The fuel cap needs a gasket of course but surprisingly the pump works perfectly...
The generator had a 1/16" of carbon right at the nozzle, which probably explains why it wouldn't light with more than a dim glow (of course I tried it).
I've disassembled the whole thing and the found is sitting with BBs and vinegar. It was basically clean except for the filler hole which had some fairly serious rust buildup.

I tried the fuel & air tube from this lantern on my Grandfather's 200A which FINALLY got that lantern working correctly. So my theory that the FA tube was the problem there turns out to be correct. I'll need to order another FA tube. While I'm at it I should order a new generator ($20, gasp) for my 249. I'm trolling eBay for a new fount for that one. The old one is bent, I dunno if I did it when I took it apart or if it came that way but, who cares, its bent...

Friday, October 16, 2009

Whoops!

Didn't mean to neglect posting for so long, things have been busy.
Since my last posting Angie and I camped at Burlingame State campground in RI, that was the same weekend as the annual "ChowdaQ" Mercedes enthusiasts gathering. I took the 202 and the AGM 2572 with us and they worked out great.

We had more light than anybody...
We stayed in a yurt which was okay but nothing I'd write home about
When they say "rustic" they mean it, theres the yurt, the platform its on, the door and nothing else... The quarter operated showers nearby were warm and relatively clean... Apparently the cabins in the park have actual bunks and are more comfortable.

The ChowdaQ was great, as usual the weather was lousy but we had a good group: 6 cars

6 cars and about 10 people, about the same as last year. I did burgers, dogs and sausages on the grill with peppers, onions, mushrooms and bacon fried up on my Coleman 413E which worked out really well.
We took the 190D down because the throttle was sticky on the 240D, that turned out to be the throttle shock. I wish we'd been able to take the 240D its got more space, we were pretty well crammed into the 190D...

Anyway, first snow of the winter was today!