Sleep won out, even so, and very rapidly.
Today I am waiting for the EGR gasket to arrive. I've decided to add a few more foot-pounds to the axle nut on the Jeep, which means it's not going anywhere until I get some more cotter pins. Last night I did the math wrong; 175 foot-pounds is about eighty pounds at two feet (the length of my breaker bar) and I don't know if I leaned on it hard enough. Og's prescription for axle nuts is "Break it off and back off a quarter turn", which is about right; 175 lb/ft is a lot of torque.
The phrase I use is one I got from the MGB's owner's manual: "Just a sharp nip with the spanner," it said, referring to how hard the oil drain plug should be tightened. (I use that much torque with my oil drain plugs and it works spectacularly.) Well, that's what I want to do with the axle nut; one more nip, essentially, rather sharper than most.
One big benefit to replacing the hub is that the lug nuts go on much easier than they ever have. I think something partly munged the threads on the old hub, because even though the lugs were clean and lightly greased with anti-seize the lug nuts never spun on or off freely--I'd have to wrench them all the way. The new hub, I can spin them on with my fingers.
What I'm most eager to do is to complete the reassembly of the Fiero, and then try to get her started.
...but that must wait for the arrival of the EGR gasket.
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Cotter pins: $0.27 each at Ace. I wonder what their cost on them is? $0.02?
Anyway I got four. I'm hoping that I can just put the Jeep in 4WD so I don't have to remove the tire, pull off the hubcap, remount the tire, tighten axle nut, remove tire, install hub cap, and reinstall the tire again. I can't think of a reason that wouldn't work, but with two differentials and a transfer case involved who the hell knows? But in theory, with the 4WD engaged, the front axle should be locked the way the rear axle is (through the park pawl in the transmission) and I should be able to do what I need to do. Here's hoping.
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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," goes the First Amendment. But apparently it's perfectly legal for a state to tell a prison chaplain what he may or may not say is sinful behavior.
Homosexuals et al (LGBGTBLTBBQWTF) are regarded, by the aristocracy, as a "protected class", meaning that they're special snowflakes who are entitled to all sorts of special treatment. That includes, now, forcing those icky Jesus freaks to bake cakes for gay weddings and denying them the right to identify homosexual behavior as sinful according to their stupid neanderthal sky wizard.
And gays mustn't be told their behavior is sinful because that gives them badfeels.
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And how, may one ask, are these tropical diseases getting into the Houston area?
Regardless, probably the best thing we could do for public health is to un-ban DDT. DDT is a highly effective pesticide and it would work wonders against the insects which spread these tropical diseases. Its low toxicity in humans would similarly mean less-safe alternatives could be abandoned.
"Rachel Carson"? Don't make me laugh. That crap was based on the same kind of junk science that gave us global warming and the lipid hypothesis.
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Nighttime on the ground, morning in orbit. The airglow is a particularly nice touch.
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Upper seventies today, low dewpoint--nice day for a motorcycle ride. What a pity mine's in need of repairs.
Riding home from Og's last night, though--as I noted in a comment reply for the last post--I saw that the quality of light from the headlight changed occasionally. I was too busy watching the road to see, exactly, how it changed; but the fact that it did tells me there may be a loose connection somewhere. That means I get to dig into the wiring harness! What a party!
...not today, though. Today I have other fish to fry.