carchaeology

Friday, January 21, 2022

Adaptation

Tumbler Images of creative designs that caught my eye...

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Starbucks on Wilshire

Drove CM to her doctor's appointment on Wilshire Blvd. (Santa Monica).

Waited for her at a Starbucks a couple of blocks down on Wilshire.

They don't have any outdoor seating.

There weren't too many people inside so sat at a high table inside and read Classic & Sportscar magazine, with a coffee.

Kept my mask on, except to take a sip.

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Years...

Went to pick up prescriptions for CM at the local Pavillions.

I was next in line after this elderly lady.

The EL was pretty disheveled.

She had one of her pants legs inside her short sock and the other not.

Her white shoes were pretty dirty.

She had a small scarf hairpin' d in place.

Her jacket was somewhat dirty/stained.

She didn't look homeless.

I would guess that she's in her 70s...

She didn't have anything to pick up.

Instead, she asked them where she can find something. The person behind the counter told her where to find it.

Then the elderly lady (EL) asked about getting a Covid booster.

The person behind the counter (PBTC) explained that they accept walk-ins on Monday through Friday 9-11 AM.

Then the EL asked for a business card.

The PBTC checked and told her that she didn't have any.

Then the EL asked for a piece of paper.

PBCT looked around and found a piece of paper for her.

Then the EL wrote something down on the paper and stuck in in her small notebook.

Then the EL asked about the booster again and the PBTC gave her the same information about the walk-in times again.

Then the EL asked where she can find something (her original question). The PBCT patiently told her where it is again (down aisle 3 which is directly next to the pharmacy area).

There was a lot of pauses for the EL to ponder her follow-up question or to ask the same question again.

While I was waiting and listening, not perfectly patiently, my mind wandered.

I imagined the EL as a young elementary school girl.

Then as a teenager.

Then as a young woman.

Then as a young adult.

Couldn't really create a good image since I only heard her speaking from behind. It's difficult to paint a clear picture but I could make a fuzzy image of the EL as someone younger, in the 1950s or 1960s, with her whole life ahead of her.

Wondered what passed in all those years for her to be where she is now.

Any tinge of impatience left & I felt slight regret for feeling any impatience in the first place.

All in my head...

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

MGB Starter Button...

Nothing happened when the starter button was pushed, repeatedly.

It finally started after about 20 times of trying...

The car is a normal key twist start.

But, something must have been messed up with the key ignition switch, or someone decided to change the starting setup for some reason.

Now it's a button start...

Not sure if the problem is the switch, wiring, connection, or a drained battery, or an issue with the starter, or starter wiring?

I replaced the starter and the battery not too long ago.

Will start with looking at the starter button/switch.

The switch panel is held in place with two screws on either side.

The panel can be pulled back and rotated enough to get to the switch from the back without disconnecting anything.

Took off the finger nut on the front side.

There's three thick washers on the back side to space the switch back (only 2 are shown in this picture).

Two connector points so a simple spring loaded momentary contact switch inside.

The screws holding the connectors were very slightly loose so tightened them.

Looked up this switch online.

It's a very common 12V 20A switch.

Available online for less than $10...

Will order one and replace it to see if the issue is internal resistance in the switch.

There's this component/relay(?) mounted to the structure behind the switch panel. It's pretty strange looking. Not a typical relay...

These, mounted near the top of the structural panel (instrument panel to center tunnel) look more familiar.

The black item is a pretty standard relay (low amperage circuit controlling a higher amperage circuit) and the cylindrical item is a typical flasher unit for the turn indicators.