another cat; photo metadata; brake pads
Mon Sep 7 19:07:17 EDT 2015
In some respects, there's little point in catching up on posting my journal entries until after I find new hosting for my icons and photos, since I'll just be referencing links that will break next month.
Monday 21:37
I've linked all the 2015 photos into the source directory for uploading to the website, and gone through to remove blurry shots and duplicates. They all still need captions. And there are 7 photos in the camera that haven't been copied to the laptop yet (including a couple of shots of my room after anniemal knocked over the furniture, which she doesn't remember doing....
Monday 23:55
anniemal just phoned. They're staying at the hippie farm an extra night, and coming back from Pennsylvania tomorrow. And they're probably bringing back a very scrawny but friendly stray cat they've found at a diner.
Tuesday 00:58
I added descriptions to my 2015 pictures through May 24 (the post-GeoWoodstock geocaching ride on the Western Maryland Rail Trail and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. The next photos are FSGW Washington Folk Festival, a few shots from NC, and then Pennsic.
Tuesday 10:52
I don't think I'm going to wait for the arrival of my bike parts, which are out on the road somewhere for local delivery. Things were strange on the servers over the long weekend, and I should just get in as soon as I can. My mailbox filled up with 3000+ alerts from various servers (mostly related to something we're trying to do in too short a timeframe - we're getting lots of errors, and it would better if dozens of servers were complaining instead of hundreds).
I've added album titles for my 2015 photos.
Tuesday 18:20
The stray cat from the diner near the hippy farm may have rabies. The vet is keeping her overnight for observation. They weren't keen on that, but they didn't think she should come home with us either, and our county animal shelter wasn't answering the phone. (This might be their day off? - yes the Animal Welfare League of Arlington is closed Tuesdays.) Our vet's actually in a different county (we're .45mi/.71km from the line), but the Fairfax County shelter wasn't eager to help, and it's probably a lot farther from our house. (The AWLA was only a couple of blocks off my previous commute when I drove to work.) We're assuming the shelters are more experienced with/equipped for rabies than the vets are. She's anemic and has neurological problems. And she's on the old side rather than the young side. So she may turn out to be expensive, rather than a freebie. And I guess there's no point in naming her anything yet, since she won't be anyone's cat if she's rabid (or has other problems to emerge shortly).
My package of bike stuff hasn't arrived (or it's been stolen from my porch), but the delivery truck may still be roving about. I thought the package would have just gone out with the regular guy doing our route, but maybe USPS has enough daily box traffic that it works out better to do them separately. It's a good thing I didn't wait for it before leaving for work. (Unless it's been stolen, in which case being there when it arrived would have helped.)
Wednesday 02:07
That delivery I didn't stay at home waiting for - it didn't arrive! ☹ It was supposedly out on a local truck Tuesday, but it didn't get here, and the tracking update - says "not updated"! That's a new one for me!
Wednesday 13:20
Well, yesterday I was thinking USPS was doing pretty good to get the package Friday evening and get it to me by Tuesday over a holiday weekend. And I was disappointed not to have it before I left for work, but we can't all be at the beginning of the driver's route. But I still don't have my bike-maintenance parts (and the new bike needs parts I haven't acquired over the years), and now I'm disappointed by USPS. If I recall correctly, they update the tracking site when the trucks return at the end of the day (not immediately on delivery), so I'm not expecting another update before 18:00. But I'd hoped my delivery would have been early today if my package was out all day yesterday.
Date & TimeLocationStatus
Fri Sep 4, 2015 @ 22:42NIAGARA FALLS, NY 14304Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility
Fri Sep 4, 2015 @ 23:57ROCHESTER, NY 14606Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
Sun Sep 6, 2015 @ 00:53MERRIFIELD, VA 22081Arrived at USPS Destination Facility
Sun Sep 6, 2015 @ 02:08MERRIFIELD, VA 22081Departed USPS Facility
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 04:30ARLINGTON, VA 22207Arrived at Post Office
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 08:27ARLINGTON, VA 22207Sorting Complete
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 08:37ARLINGTON, VA 22207Out for Delivery
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 22:37Delivery status not updated
Wed Sep 9, 2015 @ 15:20ARLINGTON, VA 22207Delivered, Front Door/Porch
On Time Expected Delivery Day: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Wednesday 16:00
USPS tracking says my package was delivered at 15:20 (and I got the email at 15:30, so that's another upgrade to their system - not waiting for the trucks to get back at the end of the day). Anniemal described the box as much bigger than I expected, but I guess once you get to tires, that's the size box you get (even though my tires are only 20"). Some places do this twisty thing to the tires that gets them into a smaller space, but maybe I had enough stuff to fill the space inside the tires anyway, so why bother?
We're expecting lots of thunderstorms tomorrow (and tonight as well), but I hope I'll be able to take my brakes apart and check - and perhaps replace - the pads.
I still wonder about the box riding around all day yesterday without being delivered. That's a waste of fuel. And space in the truck. And just crazy/stupid.
Wednesday 19:45
The stray cat is here. anniemal's set up a tent on the deck, and the cat is in a dog crate with a litter box, food, and water inside the tent. The tent's in the shade. We've had some hot weather, but the cat's been living outside and won't be expecting air conditioning.
There may be serious thunderstorms tomorrow, so I guess the tent had better be well tied down.
Thursday 04:10
The power has gone off 3 times since 04:00 for about 5 minutes total. The laptop is like having a UPS, but the router and modem dropped out. They do have a UPS, but it needs new batteries. (And Mom's UPS needs a new battery, so there's another shopping project.)
Thursday 11:57
The brake pads did not come with any instructions. They say check the bike's manual. The bike came with a manual for the brakes, but it covers installation of the brakes themselves, not the pads. So much for that.
Looking around on-line, it may be fairly easy. (That's what I was hoping for, and was one of the reasons for going with disc brakes. I hate all the re-adjusting necessary after replacing rim-brake pads.*) There's a lot of variety in how people do it though - remove the brake mechanism from the bike? Or remove the wheel from the bike? One way or another, you need to get the (disc) rotor out of the way. I'm going to go with removing the wheels. It looks like caliper adjustments will be needed after removing the entire mechanism, and that's what I'm trying to avoid.
Also don't have a good idea about how long the pads should last (mileage wise). My pads may still have a lot of life left in them. I won't know that until I can take them off to examine them. ☹ The cable tension may need adjustment from the pads wearing down. I have to pull the levers a lot farther than I did when I first got the bike.
*For rim brakes, you can get brake shoes with slide-in rubber pads that are quick to replace and don't require major re-adjustment (just the cable tension), but they have less space for the rubber, so the pads require more-frequent replacement. And I've never seen these for smaller wheels (like the 20" (50.8cm) wheels on this bike, Annie's trike, and the front of both Vision recumbents) - the arc of the rim is tighter, and the pads don't match that shape.
Thursday 14:11
The new cat is sociable. She's scrawny; her head looks too big because her body is so thin. Her fecal tests are clear. As for rabies, we'll just have to wait and see whether symptoms present.
I took the front wheel off the bike and pulled out the brake pads. It wasn't easy, but I will probably get better with practice. The pads have a lot of wear left in them. Putting them back in wasn't easy either, this first time. Now that I know what I'm looking at/for, I can see that the back brake pads have lots of wear left too.
I've put the spoke reflectors on the bike, 8 on the front wheel and 4 on the back.
Years ago I found an insulated water bottle at the side of the road, same brand as the one I just bought. I've never used it, but Annie says she has. I looked at it today and the rubber valve is broken. Maybe I can extract one from another bottle. (Maybe somebody even sells them, since this isn't my first bottle that would be useable again with a replacement stopper.) The cap on the found bottle is an odd size, and doesn't match any others I can see around here.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/767267.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
In some respects, there's little point in catching up on posting my journal entries until after I find new hosting for my icons and photos, since I'll just be referencing links that will break next month.
Monday 21:37
I've linked all the 2015 photos into the source directory for uploading to the website, and gone through to remove blurry shots and duplicates. They all still need captions. And there are 7 photos in the camera that haven't been copied to the laptop yet (including a couple of shots of my room after anniemal knocked over the furniture, which she doesn't remember doing....
Monday 23:55
anniemal just phoned. They're staying at the hippie farm an extra night, and coming back from Pennsylvania tomorrow. And they're probably bringing back a very scrawny but friendly stray cat they've found at a diner.
Tuesday 00:58
I added descriptions to my 2015 pictures through May 24 (the post-GeoWoodstock geocaching ride on the Western Maryland Rail Trail and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. The next photos are FSGW Washington Folk Festival, a few shots from NC, and then Pennsic.
Tuesday 10:52
I don't think I'm going to wait for the arrival of my bike parts, which are out on the road somewhere for local delivery. Things were strange on the servers over the long weekend, and I should just get in as soon as I can. My mailbox filled up with 3000+ alerts from various servers (mostly related to something we're trying to do in too short a timeframe - we're getting lots of errors, and it would better if dozens of servers were complaining instead of hundreds).
I've added album titles for my 2015 photos.
Tuesday 18:20
The stray cat from the diner near the hippy farm may have rabies. The vet is keeping her overnight for observation. They weren't keen on that, but they didn't think she should come home with us either, and our county animal shelter wasn't answering the phone. (This might be their day off? - yes the Animal Welfare League of Arlington is closed Tuesdays.) Our vet's actually in a different county (we're .45mi/.71km from the line), but the Fairfax County shelter wasn't eager to help, and it's probably a lot farther from our house. (The AWLA was only a couple of blocks off my previous commute when I drove to work.) We're assuming the shelters are more experienced with/equipped for rabies than the vets are. She's anemic and has neurological problems. And she's on the old side rather than the young side. So she may turn out to be expensive, rather than a freebie. And I guess there's no point in naming her anything yet, since she won't be anyone's cat if she's rabid (or has other problems to emerge shortly).
My package of bike stuff hasn't arrived (or it's been stolen from my porch), but the delivery truck may still be roving about. I thought the package would have just gone out with the regular guy doing our route, but maybe USPS has enough daily box traffic that it works out better to do them separately. It's a good thing I didn't wait for it before leaving for work. (Unless it's been stolen, in which case being there when it arrived would have helped.)
Wednesday 02:07
That delivery I didn't stay at home waiting for - it didn't arrive! ☹ It was supposedly out on a local truck Tuesday, but it didn't get here, and the tracking update - says "not updated"! That's a new one for me!
Wednesday 13:20
Well, yesterday I was thinking USPS was doing pretty good to get the package Friday evening and get it to me by Tuesday over a holiday weekend. And I was disappointed not to have it before I left for work, but we can't all be at the beginning of the driver's route. But I still don't have my bike-maintenance parts (and the new bike needs parts I haven't acquired over the years), and now I'm disappointed by USPS. If I recall correctly, they update the tracking site when the trucks return at the end of the day (not immediately on delivery), so I'm not expecting another update before 18:00. But I'd hoped my delivery would have been early today if my package was out all day yesterday.
Date & TimeLocationStatus
Fri Sep 4, 2015 @ 22:42NIAGARA FALLS, NY 14304Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility
Fri Sep 4, 2015 @ 23:57ROCHESTER, NY 14606Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
Sun Sep 6, 2015 @ 00:53MERRIFIELD, VA 22081Arrived at USPS Destination Facility
Sun Sep 6, 2015 @ 02:08MERRIFIELD, VA 22081Departed USPS Facility
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 04:30ARLINGTON, VA 22207Arrived at Post Office
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 08:27ARLINGTON, VA 22207Sorting Complete
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 08:37ARLINGTON, VA 22207Out for Delivery
Tue Sep 8, 2015 @ 22:37Delivery status not updated
Wed Sep 9, 2015 @ 15:20ARLINGTON, VA 22207Delivered, Front Door/Porch
On Time Expected Delivery Day: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Wednesday 16:00
USPS tracking says my package was delivered at 15:20 (and I got the email at 15:30, so that's another upgrade to their system - not waiting for the trucks to get back at the end of the day). Anniemal described the box as much bigger than I expected, but I guess once you get to tires, that's the size box you get (even though my tires are only 20"). Some places do this twisty thing to the tires that gets them into a smaller space, but maybe I had enough stuff to fill the space inside the tires anyway, so why bother?
We're expecting lots of thunderstorms tomorrow (and tonight as well), but I hope I'll be able to take my brakes apart and check - and perhaps replace - the pads.
I still wonder about the box riding around all day yesterday without being delivered. That's a waste of fuel. And space in the truck. And just crazy/stupid.
Wednesday 19:45
The stray cat is here. anniemal's set up a tent on the deck, and the cat is in a dog crate with a litter box, food, and water inside the tent. The tent's in the shade. We've had some hot weather, but the cat's been living outside and won't be expecting air conditioning.
There may be serious thunderstorms tomorrow, so I guess the tent had better be well tied down.
Thursday 04:10
The power has gone off 3 times since 04:00 for about 5 minutes total. The laptop is like having a UPS, but the router and modem dropped out. They do have a UPS, but it needs new batteries. (And Mom's UPS needs a new battery, so there's another shopping project.)
Thursday 11:57
The brake pads did not come with any instructions. They say check the bike's manual. The bike came with a manual for the brakes, but it covers installation of the brakes themselves, not the pads. So much for that.
Looking around on-line, it may be fairly easy. (That's what I was hoping for, and was one of the reasons for going with disc brakes. I hate all the re-adjusting necessary after replacing rim-brake pads.*) There's a lot of variety in how people do it though - remove the brake mechanism from the bike? Or remove the wheel from the bike? One way or another, you need to get the (disc) rotor out of the way. I'm going to go with removing the wheels. It looks like caliper adjustments will be needed after removing the entire mechanism, and that's what I'm trying to avoid.
Also don't have a good idea about how long the pads should last (mileage wise). My pads may still have a lot of life left in them. I won't know that until I can take them off to examine them. ☹ The cable tension may need adjustment from the pads wearing down. I have to pull the levers a lot farther than I did when I first got the bike.
*For rim brakes, you can get brake shoes with slide-in rubber pads that are quick to replace and don't require major re-adjustment (just the cable tension), but they have less space for the rubber, so the pads require more-frequent replacement. And I've never seen these for smaller wheels (like the 20" (50.8cm) wheels on this bike, Annie's trike, and the front of both Vision recumbents) - the arc of the rim is tighter, and the pads don't match that shape.
Thursday 14:11
The new cat is sociable. She's scrawny; her head looks too big because her body is so thin. Her fecal tests are clear. As for rabies, we'll just have to wait and see whether symptoms present.
I took the front wheel off the bike and pulled out the brake pads. It wasn't easy, but I will probably get better with practice. The pads have a lot of wear left in them. Putting them back in wasn't easy either, this first time. Now that I know what I'm looking at/for, I can see that the back brake pads have lots of wear left too.
I've put the spoke reflectors on the bike, 8 on the front wheel and 4 on the back.
Years ago I found an insulated water bottle at the side of the road, same brand as the one I just bought. I've never used it, but Annie says she has. I looked at it today and the rubber valve is broken. Maybe I can extract one from another bottle. (Maybe somebody even sells them, since this isn't my first bottle that would be useable again with a replacement stopper.) The cap on the found bottle is an odd size, and doesn't match any others I can see around here.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/767267.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]