Archive for March, 2024

Check In Absentia

Mar

27

2024

What is the point of checking in online before you get to the airport? The point of checking in, in general, is to confirm you are there. It shouldn’t be possible to check in, in absentia.

Maybe if they’d have picked a different term for it, it would make more sense to me. Use RSVP or something.

The companies that are getting it right are the grocery stores, when you order for pickup. When they send us the notice that the order is ready, we can click a button to let them know we are on our way. Then, once we are there, we can click a button to check in and let them know we are physically there.

We tried once to check-in as we were getting close to the store. But it actually declined us, because they noticed the pickup spots were empty. They must have had some cameras.

And most of the stores nowadays make you indicate which parking spot you are in. You can’t check in without being there, because you don’t know which spots are going to be open.

Anyway, I dislike the airlines use the term “check-in” for “let us know you’re still planning on flying with us soon”. Maybe RSVP isn’t a good term either, because it really is just “print your boarding pass now” or if you’re going with Southwest it’s “is your trigger finger faster than the rest of the people on this flight”.

For even though I am absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your orderly manner and the stability of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:5

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Waterfall Loop

Mar

20

2024

I took some photos of a small waterfall up at Dead River Falls last summer. Not even a waterfall, just a slight elevation change. But here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

It was a set of 10 photos taken in burst mode, I just strung them together into a GIF.

animation loop of water going through a small waterfall

Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.

Psalm 42:7

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Cam Gear Lock Tool

Mar

14

2024

When I had to do some engine work on the minivan, I was able to get a tool to lock the camshaft gears/sprockets/phasers in place so that everything would stay at top-dead center while I unbolted things.

Like this:

image of an cam gear sprocket holding tool

That’s for the Dodge 3.6L engine, which was in a bunch of vehicles for a long time, so it has good support from a variety of sources.

But now I’m doing a bunch of work on my car with a Chrysler 2.4L engine, from the early 2000s, used in Neons and PT Cruisers and some other things. It also uses the same cam sprockets (simple gears, no phasers) as the 2.0L, so this would work for that too.

Anyway, I was looking for a similar tool to hold the camshafts in place so I could do things like unbolt the crankshaft pulley and unbolt the camshafts themselves without rotating the engine.

But unlike the many options for the 3.6L tool, I found nothing for the 2.4/2.0 engine. There were some references to a prybar-type tool which is supposed to be the official way of holding the car gear in place, but I didn’t find a source to buy one. And even if I did, my guess is it would have been more than I wanted to pay.

I wanted a simple insert with teeth, like the 3.6 thingy. And it just so happens that my son got a 3D printer last month. So I decided to make my own.

It took a couple of iterations on paper, plus one really thin 3D-printed sample, but I did make my own and it works. Here it is in action:

image of a cam gear sprocket holding tool for the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth 2.0 and 2.4 liter engine

image of a cam gear sprocket holding tool for the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth 2.0 and 2.4 liter engine

And, in case you want to print your own, here is the STL file.

STL file for 3D printing a cam gear holding tool for Chrysler or Dodge 2.0 and 2.4 L engines

Note that it is a very tight fit, so don’t expect it to slide right into the gears. The goal is no gear movement at all, so it needs to be as flush as possible. Be prepared to coerce it into place.

Also note it is about 2 inches deep. The pictures show it only halfway in. Afterwards, I pushed it until it contacted the backstop, and it stuck out just a little bit, enough to still be able to grab the sides.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Posted in Technical | 2 Comments »

Blood Pressure Terms

Mar

6

2024

We were driving home from some event, and the topic of conversation turned to blood pressure. One of the kids asked what the two numbers were, and I couldn’t remember the term, so I just said the top one was “apostolic”.

The funny thing was that it sounded close enough so that people just went with it.

I then admitted what happened and the kids were throwing out other options, just about anything that ended in -olic (but not -holic).

  • apostolic
  • anabolic
  • diabolic

Those are the terms I could remember. Feel free to use any of those next time you’re discussing blood pressure.

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart

2 Corinthians 4:1

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