Daily Archives: May 3, 2023
A Few Pieces of Bakelite . . .
In yesterday’s blog I mentioned how surprised I was to see Polaroid cameras and film still on sale at WalMart.
And this reminded me of a funny story concerning a Polaroid camera and my family. I’m pretty sure it was the Christmas of 1958 when I was 10 since it was the same Christmas that I got my first computer.
An GENIAC analog model like this one. You can read more about it at the link.
As far as my parent’s Christmas, I don’t know how they came to this agreement, but for that Christmas my mother gave my father a mink stole, while my father gave my mother one of those new Polaroid Land cameras, one like this one.
Somehow they both ended up very happy that Christmas.
As for me, the GENIAC started me on a path that seven years later I was programming in Fortran II on an IBM 360 at Vanderbilt University. And it all started with a few pieces of Bakelite.
Tomorrow looks to be Twin Peaks for lunch, the office to drop off an Amazon order, and then the HEB/WalMart up in Webster looking for a couple of things that our local versions didn’t have.
Thought for the Day:
You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time.
Since I know a few of you don’t make it all the way down through the Retro-Blogs™, I thought I’d repost up here our time on our European Viking River Cruise today in 2019.
May 3, 2019
“Ve Know Vher . . .
Melk, Austria 5/3/2019
Our ship left Vienna last night a little before 11pm and when we went up to breakfast this morning at 7am, it was very foggy, with castle after castle appearing out of the mist.
Even this one, that I’m pretty sure must have been home to Dracula at one time. Perched high on a mountain crag, and partially obscured by the clouds, he certainly would have felt right at home.
Especially since it looks like the only way to get up there is by bat.
And of course the many churches. Many, many churches. Just church after church after church.
It’s amazing they had time to do anything else besides build churches. And FWIW these are all in the Baroque style.
We arrived in Melk about 11am, and after lunch, we were off on our excursion to the Melk Abbey, possibly the most famous Abbey in Austria. And that’s really saying a lot since there’s a heck of a lot of abbeys over here.
And it becomes more impressive the closer you get.
Amazingly this place has been an functioning Benedictine abbey for over 900 years.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the abbey, but obviously somebody was, or did anyway, since there are photos all over the Internet of it. So I thought I would share some of those.
It’s really hard to express how beautiful this place, almost overwhelmingly so. But two things bothered me about the visit.
First, they have added some sort of multi-media event, telling you about what you’re seeing, but mostly it seems to concentrate on the present Bishop and his background. The whole thing really clashed with the rest of the tour.
Second, adding even more to the ‘tourist attraction’ feel, is that you exit the tour . . . through the gift shop.
Getting back to the drop-off point for the 200 yard walk back to where our ship was docked, we noticed the high water marks from the Danube flooding the area.
Especially interesting was the one from August 15, 1501.
And just behind this restaurant was a small RV park.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to check out the pedestals to see about the hookups, but we were running late getting back to the ship. But we’ve noticed a number of small RV parks along the river as we’ve cruised.
The Skirnir cast off about 4pm heading up the Danube to our next port of call, Passau. And it didn’t bode well that within the hour, it was raining fairly hard.
Dinner tonight was with our usual group, and as usual, was delicious.
We started off with a real favorite of ours, a Wedge Salad.
And when they put bacon on theirs, it’s two whole strips, not some measly crumbles.
For the entrée, Jan had the Broiled Herb Marinated Jumbo Shrimp with Baby Vegetables,
while I got the Krustenbraten, which is Crispy Pork Loin, marinated in beer, with potato pancakes and Steamed Cabbage.
Then for dessert we both got the Lime Cake, with white chocolate and raspberry sauce.
This place is dangerous to your waistline.
You would swear that the 3 other couples at our tables, and ourselves, were all RVer’s since the staff pretty much have to close down the dining room around us because we’re having so much fun. Of course the free-flowing wine may have something to do with that.
I have become so frustrated trying to use my new laptop with only built-in touchpad, that I had been trying to find a mouse for it. When I bought it in Budapest, the dealer tried to sell me one, and I should have bought it. But I had forgotten how irritating it is to use one.
And I hadn’t had any luck locating a computer store near any of our stops to pick one up, so I ask Guest Services if they might had a spare that I could borrow, and they said they would check.
And when I went by later, Monika just handed me one. When I ask if I needed to sign anything, her voice dropped from her lilting Scandinavian accent into a guttural German one as she said, “Ve know vher you live’. And then smiled.
But I’m not taking any chances. I’m definitely be returning it before we disembark.
Finishing up, the last blog I posted took over 3 hours of starting and stopping to get it uploaded. So we’ll see how long this one takes.
More Tomorrow from the Blue (grayish, green) Danube.
May 3, 2009
Sanibel Island…
Today we drove about 20 miles over to Sanibel and Captiva Islands.
Sanibel is know as a premiere shell hunting spot and in fact has one of the top shell museums in the country, the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum.
Before visiting the Shell Museum we walked down one of the local beaches so Jan could find some shells.
Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island
It’s not as pretty as Gulf Shores, but it is nice.
Coming home we tried out a new Mexican restaurant we had seen advertised, called Iguana Mia. We were really starting to miss Houston Tex-Mex and this place filled the void. Much recommended.
May 3, 2010
Home Sweet Motorhome…
We left the motel about 9:30 am and starting driving south along the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway. As we passed thru Pismo Beach we detoured down to the pier to check out the restaurant, Pierside, where we were going to eat lunch later on our way back north.
Although it’s called the Pacific Coast Highway, a lot of it is not exactly along the coast, because the coastline is mountains right down to the ocean. In fact I’ve been amazed about how mountainous California, and especially the coast, really is. Los Angeles especially, was a surprise in how hilly it really is. The city is just surrounded by mountains on three sides, and many of the communities are separated by steep hills. Even the famous Rodeo Drive only travels a few blocks before it starts climbing into the hills. And when we took our Homes of the Hollywood Stars tour, almost all the star’s estates are up in the hills. After all, it’s not called Beverly HILLS for nothing.
We followed US 1 (PCH) as far south as Los Alamos before we turned around and headed back north.
Getting back to Pismo Beach, we had a great lunch at Pierside, a place right on the water beside the pier. Friends recommended it to us, and they weren’t wrong. I had the Fish & Chips, and Jan had the Shrimp & Chips. They were both great.
Leaving Pismo Beach, we headed back north along US 101 to catch SR 46 to take us back to Coarsegold and our rig.
Before we got to San Luis Obispo we came across these signs along the way.
We seen a lot of these type of signs along our travels — moose, elk, caribou, mountain goats, sheep, bison, oryx, and others. But this is the first time we’ve seen bears. Of course, as with all the other signs above, we never seen the actual animals, just the signs. Bummer!
We stopped in San Luis Obispo for gas, and to put air in a tire. Then it was on up to SR 46, and then on to SR 41 which would take us all the way home.
We stopped in Kettleman City to use the restroom and get a treat.
Between Fresno and home, we talked to both our kids, Brandi and Chris. And that’s always a treat.
We got home a few minutes after 4, and as usual, it’s always good to be home.
For dinner, Jan heated up the last of the Tuscan Chicken Spaghetti that she fixed in the crock pot a couple of days ago. Like most Italian dishes, it just seem to improve with age.
Then for dessert, we split one of the delicious cinnamon buns that we got Sunday night at Crills II in Morro Bay.
Tomorrow we’ll take it easy as we get ready to travel on Wednesday.
May 3, 2013
Mirror, mirror . . .
Today we just decided to have a ‘do-nothing’ day so we didn’t even leave the rig. But I guess the ‘do-nothing’ is kind of relative, because I spent a good part of the morning on the phone with American Coach trying to find a replacement bottom mirror for our rig.
Right before we left Apache Junction this past Wednesday, I was trying to adjust the passenger side outside mirror and the bottom mirror came loose and cracked when it hit the ground. So now I need a new one and got on the phone with American Coach this morning.
But I quickly ran into a problem. My factory build sheet says that I have Ramco mirrors, but the mirrors I have don’t look like anything that Ramco makes. And the mirrors themselves don’t have any name or numbers on them.
After Jeff at AC Parts went back and forth in the catalogs and manuals, we finally figured out that my coach was a ‘special-build’. Apparently the original owner didn’t want the normal door-mounted mirrors, but wanted the front cap mounted ones. Which meant mine are actually Velvac mirrors, not Ramco. With that info I was able to track down replacement parts.
I can get the entire assembly for about $50
But since my mounting plate seems to be OK, I’m hoping that I can get by with just the mirror for only $15.
Guess which one I want?
I’m just glad I don’t have to buy an complete new mirror. They’re $627.00. Ouch!
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While I was on the phone with AC parts, I got the name of the cabinet latches, or really, catches that I was looking for, but couldn’t find.
They’re called Bulldog Catches, and once I knew the name, I found them on Amazon and several other places. In fact both of the local Camping Worlds are supposed to have them in stock, but they didn’t know anything about them yesterday. But now that I have an actual Camping World part number, maybe I’ll have better luck. We’ll see.
We had a nice call from Brandi this afternoon. They’re planning on moving into their new house in about three weeks and they’re really getting excited.
Tomorrow I think we’re going to check out the buffet at the nearby Boulder Station Casino, and then maybe take in a movie. We’ll see how it goes.
May 3, 2014
Not Much . . .
Happened Today.
With the nice weather the last few days, we’ve sat outside with our coffee and muffins every morning. And today was no exception. The real problem is Mister. He’s an attention hog and just won’t let me alone.
Jan wanted to be sure that I pass on some information about her mammograms. Recently, based on numerous healthcare recommendations, she had started getting a mammogram only every other year. In fact, it had been two years since her last one.
And in fact, some sources are saying you can go even longer if you don’t have any family history of breast cancer, which Jan didn’t. Of course, now she’s very glad she didn’t wait another year. Things could have been a lot worse.
So she says, Get Your Mammograms Now!
Lowell posted this photo of Landon as they were leaving Starbuck’s. Looks like Landon’s not planning on sharing that Frappuccino he’s clutching. Hope Lowell got his own.
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Bad Dog!
Our daughter-in-law Linda posted this about their dog, PJ.
This guilty-looking creature just ate 17 meatballs that were cooling on the kitchen counter. Guess who’s sleeping outside tonight?
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Our son Chris likes to fly kites. Here he and our granddaughter Piper are trying to get a big kite aloft down on Galveston Beach.
As far as today, I did pretty much nothing, just a few small chores around the rig. And no, I didn’t install the new slideout shear pin. But that’s for tomorrow before we leave here for the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails on Monday morning..
For dinner I fixed up another batch of Chili Five Ways, but like the last time, I used elbow macaroni instead of spaghetti. And as before, I added a can of Habanero Rotel Tomatoes and a can of Red Kidney Beans. Very spicy and very, very good.
May 3, 2015
An Interesting Day . . .
or Jan has finally unclenched.
About 11:30 this morning on our from Las Vegas to the Verde Valley Thousand Trails, something tumbled out from under the wheels of a passing semi, and BOOOM! our passenger side front tire suddenly looked like this.
It was an FUN 30 seconds or so until we finally THUMP-THUMPED to a full stop.
It’s late and I’m tired, so I’m just going to do pictures tonight and fill in the blanks tomorrow. We’re fine, the rig is fine, though a little worst for wear, We’re now parked at an RV Repair place in Prescott, complete with 50 amps.
Besides the blown tire, the fuel hose was torn away between the fill cap and the tank, a wire bundle at the front of the wheel well was shredded, and the vibration broke off the bottom outside mirror.
More Tomorrow.
May 3, 2016
A Daddy’s Girl . . .
More website stuff today, so more fun for me.
About 3:30 I drove into Columbus to Brookshire Bros. for a few things, including some PowerBall and Mega Millions lottery tickets. Tonight’s Mega Millions is up to $128 Million, and tomorrow’s PowerBall is almost $350 Million.
Of course, my odds of winning aren’t very good, but they’re a lot better than if I don’t play at all. I mean, otherwise, I’d just waste it on booze and wild women.
Jan has decided that Karma is just a Daddy’s Girl. She won’t really have much to do with Jan, and only let’s me hold her. She loves to cuddle up on my shoulder and then snuggle against my neck, rubbing her head against my face.
And today Jan said when I left to go to the store this afternoon, Karma kept walking back and forth in the rig, crying loudly, and then jumping up in the front window to see when I was coming home.
Tonight’s dinner was Jan’s great BCTs (Bacon, Cheese, and Tomato) sandwiches, along with another salad. Then for dessert it was a square of the Sopapilla Cheesecake she made yesterday.
I also posted the recipe for Jan’s Crockpot Spaghetti and Meatballs under the Jan’s Favorite Recipes dropdown. A quick, easy, and delicious meal.
After supper, we watched the latest Castle from last night, and then started in on our last series left over from our gate guarding time – Fargo.
Supposedly this is last year with Stana Katic’s Beckett character on Castle, so it will interesting to see where the show goes after that. They have said they plan on continuing the series, and it does seem that they’ve set up a couple of different possible paths for the show to take.
We watched Fargo two episodes tonight, leaving us 8 more to go. There’s something really nice about being able to binge-watch a series in a couple of days, rather than stretching it out over 10 to 22 weeks.
Fargo has been renewed for a 3rd season, that will start up in early 2017.
May 3, 2017
Traveling on the Al-Can Highway . . .
We were up at 7am, later than usual, since we didn’t have much to do to get on the road. In fact we didn’t even put out the satellite dish last night, but just listened to music on our Amazon Echo.
We had a nice site that I just treated as pull-in, easy due to how the power pedestals were configured.
Of course we had to have another breakfast at the Hi-Lo Café once again, especially since it was right up the hill and we had the free tokens for coffee that we got when we checked in the RV park.
Since we both had leftovers from yesterday’s breakfast, we decided to go smaller this time.
So rather than the full waffle, we got their 1/2 waffle combos.
Still delicious, just less of it. And no leftovers to try and fit in the fridge.
The first time we ate at the Hi-Lo in 2011, I noticed this logo on their coffee cups.
When I ask about it, they said it’s true. US97 begins in Weed and runs all the way up to the Canadian border where it becomes PH97. Then PH97 runs up to Dawson Creek where it picks up the Al-Can name. The Al-Can stays US97 until it becomes PH1 as it passes from British Columbia into the Yukon Territory right before Watson Lake..
So I think they make a pretty good case.
Back at the rig we were pulling out of the park by 9:15, Jan following me in the truck so we could hook up on a side street.
Driving through the park, everything was fine and I had speedometer readings on both the dashboard and the Silverleaf.
That is, until I hit a bump. Then the problem was back.
Bummer!
Jan, as before, said other things.
So I just circled back around through town and right back into our space at the park. Looks like I was going to have to change out the sensor after all.
After I got shore power hooked up and the slide out, I walked up the hill to the office and told her that we were either back for an hour or so, or a day or so until we could get towed to Redding. She said no problem.
I did see this really nice 1949 Oldsmobile coupe parked by the office.
The emblem on the rear deck indicates that the original buyer paid the almost $200 extra cost for the optional HydraMatic automatic transmission,more than10% of the vehicle’s cost.
To make it a little easier to work under the rig I raised it up on the rear levelers as high as I could, giving me plenty of room. Next up I put a call into Jay, the Allison Tech Support guy, to ask him a question.
“When I pull this sensor out, am I going to have 150° Transynd pouring out on my head?”
He said, “Good question. I don’t know. Let me check.” And when he came back, he said, “No problem. It’s dry in there.”
Glad to know that I don’t have to worry about that.
Gathering all my needed tools, I was under the rig at 10:10 and done at 10:45.
The only slowdown was that I had to come out from under the rig to get my 18” cheater pipe from the truck to break the bolt loose.
Pulling the old one out, I smeared a little oil from the O-ring on the old one to the new one, stuck it in, and then tighten the bolt back in place.
So now for the big test. Either on to Bend, OR, or towed to Redding, CA in disgrace.
After I got cleaned up, we were pulling out of the park by 11:30 with Jan again following me in the truck. I told her that if it was working, I was going to make several loops (about 1/2 mile each) around the town. If the problem returned I would just pull back into the RV park.
Otherwise I would go round and round a few times until I was satisfied, and then pull back into the large parking lot where we were parked yesterday when we drove the truck to Redding for the part. Then we would hitch up there and get on US97 for Bend.
And even though I was deliberately hitting bumps, the problem never returned. And it never returned during our 4 hour trip up to Bend, 195 miles north. Smooth as silk.
We got in to the Bend/Sunriver Thousand Trails about 3:30, parked the rig in the big lot, and drove the truck around looking for a site. We found a nice one with 50 amp and water, and what I though was a good satellite shot. But no luck on that front so far.
The last time we were here in 2013 all these front sites had sewer hookups, but no longer. The caps are sealed at the sites, and the literature says several times that there are no sewer sites available. Guess they must have had problems with their septic system.
Wrapping up, I found it really funny that all of the techs I talked during this recent transmission unpleasantness were amazed that I was actually working on this problem without hooking it up to a diagnostic computer first.
“How will you know what’s really wrong with it?”
As I said yesterday, I was very, very happy to hear it was a sensor problem. Sensor problems are easy. 95% of the time it’s one of two things – bad connector/wiring and a bad sensor. That’s it.
And I always play the odds.
In addition, I really wanted to keep the rig out of the shop. The one time our rig was in the shop was in 2012 when we were coming into Los Cruces, NM and the engine just quit running.
Towed into a Rush Truck Center, I was already down $500 just in diagnostic costs by the time they found the actual problem. That turned out to be a sensor on the fuel line feeding into the fuel injection system. Another sensor.
Then it was another $200 to actually fix the problem. But in the meantime they’re finding a lot of other stuff that “really needs to taken care of.” And some of it I did do.
But if I had done everything they suggested it would have been a little over 7 grand. As it was, my bill was almost $3000.00.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less hectic.
May 3, 2018
Never in the Right Place . . .
at the Right Time!
Yesterday, on I-70 in Indianapolis, IN, the back doors of a Brinks truck flew open and what seems to have been hundreds of thousand of dollars scattered across the highway.
Just our luck not to be in Indiana.
Several people have asked about the LED’s that I spec’d for my 50 amp tester design, and why 3 of them.
Well, I couldn’t buy just one, and besides they were only $5.48 for the trio. But more importantly, they fit perfectly in the existing hole in the box. And 220VAC LED’s aren’t all that available either. And you’ve got your pick of colors.
I updated my truck’s Garmin GPS a couple of days ago, somewhere around 2.6 GB is size. But I’m always disappointed that I have no idea what the updates are for. I mean, did I just spend 2 hours and 2.6 GB of date to update back alleys in Saskatchewan and dirt roads in Tijuana? At least give us a list of cities or states that are updated.
I made a few more reservations this morning for our upcoming June/July trip to Illinois and Alabama. The only one left is one for the Jackson MS area for our trip on the way to IL.
The only one I’ve found in the vicinity is about 10 miles south of Jackson, the Swinging Bridge RV Park in Byram. But I’m still looking before I make a final decision.
I’m also still looking at my possible battery upgrade using heavy-duty model made for farm equipment, this Deka 12V 1005 Amp Farm Equipment battery.
Someone asked me if the cables would match up since the Deka has its connections at one end. And the answer is probably not. But that’s not really a problem
Several years ago I had a battery cable break off at the connector due to vibration and was pointed to a nearby West Marine location. There you can cut your own lengths of the 00 gauge cable needed. They also have the solid copper connectors and the heavy-duty crimping equipment necessary to install the connectors.
Our mailman told us this afternoon that they have no idea where my missing keyboard is, so I ordered a new one. Now to figure out how to get reimbursed for the missing one.
May 3, 2019
“Ve Know Vher . . .
Melk, Austria 5/3/2019
Our ship left Vienna last night a little before 11pm and when we went up to breakfast this morning at 7am, it was very foggy, with castle after castle appearing out of the mist.
Even this one, that I’m pretty sure must have been home to Dracula at one time. Perched high on a mountain crag, and partially obscured by the clouds, he certainly would have felt right at home.
Especially since it looks like the only way to get up there is by bat.
And of course the many churches. Many, many churches. Just church after church after church.
It’s amazing they had time to do anything else besides build churches. And FWIW these are all in the Baroque style.
We arrived in Melk about 11am, and after lunch, we were off on our excursion to the Melk Abbey, possibly the most famous Abbey in Austria. And that’s really saying a lot since there’s a heck of a lot of abbeys over here.
And it becomes more impressive the closer you get.
Amazingly this place has been an functioning Benedictine abbey for over 900 years.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the abbey, but obviously somebody was, or did anyway, since there are photos all over the Internet of it. So I thought I would share some of those.
It’s really hard to express how beautiful this place, almost overwhelmingly so. But two things bothered me about the visit.
First, they have added some sort of multi-media event, telling you about what you’re seeing, but mostly it seems to concentrate on the present Bishop and his background. The whole thing really clashed with the rest of the tour.
Second, adding even more to the ‘tourist attraction’ feel, is that you exit the tour . . . through the gift shop.
Getting back to the drop-off point for the 200 yard walk back to where our ship was docked, we noticed the high water marks from the Danube flooding the area.
Especially interesting was the one from August 15, 1501.
And just behind this restaurant was a small RV park.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to check out the pedestals to see about the hookups, but we were running late getting back to the ship. But we’ve noticed a number of small RV parks along the river as we’ve cruised.
The Skirnir cast off about 4pm heading up the Danube to our next port of call, Passau. And it didn’t bode well that within the hour, it was raining fairly hard.
Dinner tonight was with our usual group, and as usual, was delicious.
We started off with a real favorite of ours, a Wedge Salad.
And when they put bacon on theirs, it’s two whole strips, not some measly crumbles.
For the entrée, Jan had the Broiled Herb Marinated Jumbo Shrimp with Baby Vegetables,
while I got the Krustenbraten, which is Crispy Pork Loin, marinated in beer, with potato pancakes and Steamed Cabbage.
Then for dessert we both got the Lime Cake, with white chocolate and raspberry sauce.
This place is dangerous to your waistline.
You would swear that the 3 other couples at our tables, and ourselves, were all RVer’s since the staff pretty much have to close down the dining room around us because we’re having so much fun. Of course the free-flowing wine may have something to do with that.
I have become so frustrated trying to use my new laptop with only built-in touchpad, that I had been trying to find a mouse for it. When I bought it in Budapest, the dealer tried to sell me one, and I should have bought it. But I had forgotten how irritating it is to use one.
And I hadn’t had any luck locating a computer store near any of our stops to pick one up, so I ask Guest Services if they might had a spare that I could borrow, and they said they would check.
And when I went by later, Monika just handed me one. When I ask if I needed to sign anything, her voice dropped from her lilting Scandinavian accent into a guttural German one as she said, “Ve know vher you live’. And then smiled.
But I’m not taking any chances. I’m definitely be returning it before we disembark.
Finishing up, the last blog I posted took over 3 hours of starting and stopping to get it uploaded. So we’ll see how long this one takes.
More Tomorrow from the Blue (grayish, green) Danube.
May 3, 2022
2 Holes or 4 Holes . . .
One of the items on my repair list of things to fix while Jan is gone this week is a toilet problem. The 2 rear bolts will no longer tighten down. And I thought the flange may have cracked.
So this morning I spent about 30 minutes disconnecting and pulling the toilet. And as I had thought the flange was broken out on one side and cracked on the other.
First thing I looked at was a flange repair kit, but all the ones I found locally were the newer 2 hole mounting, not the 4 hole ones like mine.
When I replaced the toilet the first time back in 2010, the new toilet had only two holes and required a special mounting adapter plate to make it work with the 4 hole flange in the rig.
Then when I replace it again in February 2021, it was back to a 4 hole model. I wish Dometic would make up their mind.
So now I decided to just pull and replace the flange, and quickly ran into a problem.
When I tried to remove the screws holding it in place, there weren’t any. The screw holds were empty. And a little checking online told me why. The flanges and the downpipe are epoxied in place. So it’s not coming out without serious surgery.
So now I’m looking at other ideas for patching the flange. I think I might be to use part of one of the repair kits to just patch the rear two holes. So I spent some time in the Plumbing aisle at Lowe’s this afternoon getting parts for several different ideas I have.
I also got a ball valve and a coupling to screw into the open water feed to the toilet. That way I’ll still be able to take showers until I get it fixed.
Stay tuned.
