We drive an Econoline E-350 Super Duty passenger van. You do stuff like that when you have lots of kids. It's a great vehicle for us, but lately it's been having some...issues. It stutters and doesn't seem to want to accelerate. Seems like it's worse on damp mornings.
Sounds like spark plugs/wires to me.
I went home from work yesterday intent on correcting this problem. I don't often work on my cars because it seems like they are overly complicated, but I know about this sort of job. Caps, wires, plugs...been working with them since I was old enough to hold a tool.
After a quick change into my manly-working on the car-gettin' dirty clothes, I got all my tools together along with a light (it's still dark in the evenings here) and started on the van. First to find the wires.
Except that I couldn't find them:
No cap
No wires
No plugs
So I stood in my driveway looking very philosophically at the night sky. I was actually trying to convince myself that I wasn't a complete idiot. But looking philosophical was a good cover.
My Dad came over to help. While I'm not grease monkey (I can do basics but that's about it), my Dad is a grease monkey from way back. So he helped me to find the cap, wires, and plugs. Except that they weren't there.
No cap
No wires
No plugs
So we did the only thing two grown men can do when they are stumped about a very manly sort of thing. We ate a large dinner and laughed a lot.
Upon some further research we discovered that there is no cap. There are no wires. There are plugs, but they are sunk in the head (COP system for those who care). Now, although this is something that normally I'd try to tackle, the way my engine is set up I can't even get to them. The repair shop doesn't even think they can do it. So...that's bad.
I got to remembering my old '86 F-150. Loved that truck. I'd sidle a step ladder up to it and climb inside the engine compartment. It was easier to work on. It was simple.
Even in the arena of our vehicles we are constantly restricted because of the complexity of our society. Most engines now are very much integrated with computer systems and emissions saving devices. There are some folks out there very gifted in this area and I sure am glad for that. But there was time when any reasonable person could work on their car. The mechanisms were simpler. Parts were available. People up and down the block knew how to work on them and would help. Today....not so much.
Again, I see how we've shot ourselves in the foot. As we demand safer vehicles, lower emissions, better gas mileage, lower maintenance, and lattes made for us and passed through the glove compartment (I'm working on a patent for that) we are asking for more complexity. Take anti-lock braking systems. Good system. Seems to work well. What was wrong with pumping our brakes?
Now, I know that I could easily get pounded by those would say "But we're so much safer." and "Look at all the good they've done." Well, to be honest, I've not seen any measurable numbers indicating that we are safer. I think we end up taking more chances. I think we end up not thinking because we expect the car to do everything for us. I think we get lazy.
I think I'd forgo a lot of amenities on a car for a simpler model...that would last...and had some plug wires.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Boredom
I have a theory; I think we're all bored. Now, I know, you've got your Itouch out and you're checking out the latest plot line of Twilight while listening to your favorite Barry Manilow song with one hand while you drive your blue tooth enabled hybrid to hang out wherever it is you hang out. So how could you possibly be bored? Right?
I think that our technologically advanced society is, at its heart, bored. I can see it in the average cubicle dweller. We sit at our computers....all day long. Screen after screen of reports, spreadsheets, analysis, etc. is enough to drive any man crazy. So what do we do? Listen to the Ipod and sneak a peek at Facebook to see who sent the latest friend request. We instant message the guy two cubes down from us. Or, some who border on being Amish, actually walk to a cube near them and talk (does that still happen?) to each other. Crazy concept I know.
I think it's really because we're bored. Here's how the theory goes: God created us to work the land. That was His original design. This gave Adam the chance to really pour himself into something. Even after the fall, Adam and Eve's purpose didn't change much. It became harder, but it didn't really change. So they're pouring themselves into their own lives: Adam tends the land trying to provide food. Eve is working along side Adam and caring for the children as they come. They don't really have a lot of other distractions. Their not worried, you see, about who danced the tango last night or who was ripped to shreds for their singing abilities. They worried about themselves and they created a life of beauty. That's the key. They created something together. It was their focus.
It seems to me that we've lost focus. We have so many plates spinning in the air, but with no real purpose. Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone in the world is bored at every moment. No, I'm talking about American society in general.
George Orwell said "War is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent." Although I cannot speak to what he was thinking, the quote seems to indicate that the more comfortable a race is, the more intelligent it becomes. I'm not so sure that's played itself out. Though we've come into a place as a nation where we are most comfortable, I don't see vast intelligence breaking forth. Instead, I see games. I see things to keep us occupied. Instead of groundbreaking intelligence, I see a people who identify themselves with their occupation or hobby and pour themselves into it...because they have nothing else to pour themselves into.
The point is not that any pursuit of pleasure is bad; the point is that no matter what activities we engage in we should get back to a mindset where we pour ourselves into family and each other. The framework of our pursuits should fit around those closest to us. I think that's what God intended. What do you think?
I think that our technologically advanced society is, at its heart, bored. I can see it in the average cubicle dweller. We sit at our computers....all day long. Screen after screen of reports, spreadsheets, analysis, etc. is enough to drive any man crazy. So what do we do? Listen to the Ipod and sneak a peek at Facebook to see who sent the latest friend request. We instant message the guy two cubes down from us. Or, some who border on being Amish, actually walk to a cube near them and talk (does that still happen?) to each other. Crazy concept I know.
I think it's really because we're bored. Here's how the theory goes: God created us to work the land. That was His original design. This gave Adam the chance to really pour himself into something. Even after the fall, Adam and Eve's purpose didn't change much. It became harder, but it didn't really change. So they're pouring themselves into their own lives: Adam tends the land trying to provide food. Eve is working along side Adam and caring for the children as they come. They don't really have a lot of other distractions. Their not worried, you see, about who danced the tango last night or who was ripped to shreds for their singing abilities. They worried about themselves and they created a life of beauty. That's the key. They created something together. It was their focus.
It seems to me that we've lost focus. We have so many plates spinning in the air, but with no real purpose. Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone in the world is bored at every moment. No, I'm talking about American society in general.
George Orwell said "War is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent." Although I cannot speak to what he was thinking, the quote seems to indicate that the more comfortable a race is, the more intelligent it becomes. I'm not so sure that's played itself out. Though we've come into a place as a nation where we are most comfortable, I don't see vast intelligence breaking forth. Instead, I see games. I see things to keep us occupied. Instead of groundbreaking intelligence, I see a people who identify themselves with their occupation or hobby and pour themselves into it...because they have nothing else to pour themselves into.
The point is not that any pursuit of pleasure is bad; the point is that no matter what activities we engage in we should get back to a mindset where we pour ourselves into family and each other. The framework of our pursuits should fit around those closest to us. I think that's what God intended. What do you think?
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