Monthly Archives: November 2018
Mystery Solved . . .
Today was another hardware day at work, so I never did get back on the Shipping program.
We did solve what was apparently a long-running problem though. There are two standard connectors found on the foot pedal controllers for the machines, one rectangular and one round like this.
The problem was that some round connector pedals would work with some machines and not with others. But other pedals would work with those machines and not with the first group. So I was determined to get to the bottom of this.
Grabbing up several machines and several foot pedals, I started running tests by swapping things around, And as I was told, some worked with some and not others. So then I started testing the pedals themselves.
The pedals are just simple microswitches, either on or off, with the switch wired between the two outer pins, while the center shaft is grounded to the metal case of the foot pedal. And an ohmmeter across the pins confirms the switch continuity.
But, confusingly so, other pedals that didn’t show continuity across the pins, worked just fine on some other machines. So, activating the pedal, I checked the continuity between each of the outer pins and the center ground pin. And that was the problem.
Just to be sure, I took apart one of the machines to double-check and found that these machines were wired with the ground pin being one side of the switch, while other machines of the same make and model were wired differently.
Nobody seems to know why this was done. And it’s not just on the machines from one manufacturer. But it does explain why someone can order a replacement foot pedal and some times it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Tomorrow will probably be an errand day, WalMart for more stuff, Cracker Barrel to order Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing, and a few other stops, as well as lunch somewhere along the way.
But a fun weekend anyway.
Thought for the Day:
It’s pretty simple. Life is really all about ass. You’re either covering it, hauling it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, or behaving like one.
sfgfg
It’s Bacccckkkk!
Today I reluctantly had to give up the 2018 Malibu that we’d rented for the last three weeks. Really sorry to see it go.
Jan and I headed out a little before 11, first down to the Capital One Bank by the Interstate to get the cash for the truck repair. When I asked the other day about a ‘cash’ discount, they made the extra trip worth my while.
Then it was back down to Snider Transmission in Santa Fe to retrieve our Dakota. And since I didn’t have Jan on the rental agreement, she got to follow me over the Enterprise office in Dickinson to give back the Malibu. Sob!
It took a little longer than normal because the girl checking me in was in training, plus they do all this on iPad’s and they were giving them problems. As usual, it seems.
We saw the same type of issues with them when we HAD to use them while gate guarding last year. Seems like we fought them all the time, when paper and pencil were so much quicker.
Back in the Dakota we headed north on I-45 to the next exit to again have lunch at Slim Chickens, our new favorite chicken place. Jan likes it better that Cane’s because she says the batter is lighter, and we both like it better because they have a lot of other sides, rather than the just fries and cole slaw like Cane’s.
Jan got the 7 piece dinner with a side salad and her fav mushrooms,
while I got the Cayenne Chicken Sandwich with a side salad. She said to tell you that she got 7 piece because she was sharing some with me, not because she was that hungry.
I got the ‘spicy’ cayenne sandwich because it was free. When we were there last time, on opening day, I signed up for their mobile app which came with a free sandwich. Plus we earn points for every visit.
Their ‘spicy’ cayenne sandwich needs a lot more cayenne, believe me.
Driving the Dakota again after the Malibu is kind of like running in lead boots. It just feels heavy. But it’s running, and shifting great, and it’s really nice to have 3, 4, and 5 gears again.
When I ask Kenny if the new transmission would last another 282,000 miles like the first one did, he laughed and said it would probably last longer than the rest of the truck.
He’s probably right.
I’m really disappointed in my recent 16:40 (not 16:39 and not 16:41) experience in the Devil’s Easy Bake Oven. Based on how much it hurt to start with, I kind of expected more obvious results. but so far, pretty much nothing.
After 48 hours, there’s no pain, no peeling, no scabbing, no ‘my scalp sliding down over my eyes’, and I don’t even glow in the dark.
I mean, what was the point? And it cost me $120.
And then I get to do it all again next month.
Oh boy!
I know all of you out there are desperate to know what you can get me for Christmas. Well, Costco has just the thing, and it’s on sale.
And it’s only $15,999!
Even better, it comes with a $3500 Costco Gift Card, as well as $5000 in flight time credit. Of course, that $5000 only buys you 2/3 of an hour of Citation Jet time.
But it’s a steal at $7,495 an hour.
Of course, if everyone gets me the same thing I’ll have plenty of hours to use.
Thought for the Day:
Some people are about as useful as decaf coffee, or non-alcoholic beer.
sdfgsf
