Cave Cuniculum...

Latin. Means "beware the rabbit."

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Off on a good note...

Today is starting off on a fairly positive note.

First, I finally got to bike into work today. It's been impossible with my schedule of late - overtime at work, errands, etc. Today everything finally worked out, and I was able to hop on Ye Olde Transporte Methode and pedal my way into work. On the way in, I stopped to adjust the CD player and was pleasantly surprised by a small rabbit hopping across the road. Thankfully, the driver of the car behind me also saw said rabbit, and stopped to let it continue across the road unharmed. When it arrived safely on the lawn behind me, the rabbit paused to nibble on some grass; then - after noticing me watching it - casually hopped off deeper into suburbia, presumably to taunt the local indoor cats.

Drivers were a bit more aware this morning as well, and moved over to avoid hitting me. This, however, I attribute either to a precise planetary alignment or excess flouride in the water system. Tomorrow I may well be playing human Frogger along the East Beltline once again. I live for the day when GPS technology will incorporate alerts such as "Hey, idiot. Put down the cell phone and watch out for the cyclist."

I arrived at work ahead of schedule, and had time to thoroughly douse myself to rinse off the road grit before heading into work to change out of my biking gear and start my day.

So far the computers are behaving, and the stress of the day hasn't hit yet. All in all, a fairly decent morning.

Monday, June 26, 2006

No veggies were harmed in the creation of this post...

Post is inspired by this thread on FARK. Granted, a lot of what goes on in FARK posts is bits of trolling and back-and-forth arguments without a lot of backing up, but this one hit a bit close to home.

I've been vegetarian for seven years now; my wife has been vegetarian for a little over ten years now - We're both college-educated folks, and I'd like to think that we know enough to make an educated decision as well as recognizing if said decision was harmful.

Some people go "veggie" for health reasons; others for ethical/moral reasons. Some have their own reasons. I've even run into a couple who went vegetarian because it was "trendy." Before you make the decision to eschew animal products, make sure it's an informed decision. Don't do it because your partner is doing it or because of some new-found activism. This is a lifestyle that requires dedication, and a lot of the time it's not very easy. Let's start with the basics. When you go vegetarian, you'll be giving up a lot of foods you used to enjoy. No more Jell-O; no more marshmallows - these are made with gelatin, an animal product. No more foods with "carmine" or "lard" listed in the ingredients - these too are animal products. You'll be doing a lot more reading, and you'll need to learn what is and what isn't animal based. Most of what you find may surprise and disgust you. Also, be prepared to read a lot of labels when you're grocery shopping.

I went vegetarian for health and moral/ethical reasons, and I really never liked meat all that much. To this day the smell of liver and onions makes me retch. I never really felt healthy eating meat; rather, I felt sick afterwards - as if my body were rejecting something. Since I've gone vegetarian, I've been able to better maintain my weight and many of my allergies have disappeared. As for the moral/ethical reason, I've never been comfortable with the idea that another living thing needed to be killed so that I could have nourishment. Now, before I start getting all the angry "but plants are living things too" comments and emails, I realize and accept that plants are living. A lot of what I eat can be harvested from the plant without killing the plant (tomatoes; cucumbers; bell peppers; etc.). Many of the plants also die naturally at the end of the season, leaving whatever edible parts are left to rot. Additionally, the seeds from these plants can be harvested to grow new plants - something you can't do with animals without a lot of fancy technology and/or other animals. Finally, far less plants are killed by vegetarians than animals are killed by meat-eaters - when you eat meat you're not only eating the animal, you're also eating all the plants that animal has consumed over the course of it's life.

Along that same thought - the grain that's fed to one 1,000lb. steer (which feeds ~100 people) is enough to feed thousands of people. The water used on that steer over its lifespan (several hundreds of thousands of gallons) is enough to float a battleship, which is enough to ensure that thousands of people have water to drink with enough left over to water their crops. And what happens? The waste from these animals runs into the river/stream/groundwater, polluting it and making it nearly unusable. Granted, farming plants leaches nutrients out of the soil, but these can be replaced by rotating crops, composting, etc. Animal urine and feces not only need to be removed, but the soil needs to be decontaminated before anything else can safely be grown. There's a greater environmental impact that comes from eating meat than from being a vegetarian. I also rather like knowing where my food comes from. Organic veggies and veggies purchased from the local Farmer's Market. Tofu and vegetarian products that come from organic companies. Meat? Who the hell knows, and who knows what's in it? Hormones? Antibiotics? Rat droppings? Sawdust?

Finally, there's the myth that vegetarians/vegans need to take lots and lots of vitamin supplements to replace what's lost from not eating meat. From personal experience, I can honestly say this isn't true. So long as you're eating a reasonably balanced diet - not just chips and iceberg lettuce - you should be fine. Leafy greens, legumes. Fresh fruit and nuts. Real vegetables, not just the ones found in Doritos.

In short, vegetarianism isn't just for hippies anymore. Granted, it's not for everyone - but those of us who've decided to not eat animals shouldn't be criticized any more than those who eat meat.

Don't tell me I'm wrong for not eating meat, and I won't launch into a diatribe of how you're wrong for eating meat. We can be friends, really.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a portabella mushroom stack with smoked gouda and balsamic vinagrette that's calling...

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Friday, June 09, 2006

[photos] This car bites!

As promised, the war wounds from my battle with the car.

This sucker came from my battle with the O2 sensor. I put a wrench on the sensor, then proceed to bang on it with a breaker bar to try to break it free. On one swing, my hand got in between the breaker bar and the wrench. Immediate blood blister.

After it swelled up, I lanced it so I could get back to working on the car...


This little beauty came from the frame while yanking on the wrench to loosen the sensor. Nice little scratch.

In the end, however, it all worked out. I vanquished the sucker:
[warning: photo contains objectionable gesture by a slightly demented human]


What have I learned from this?
Cars want blood.
This explains why mechanics look like they've run through razor wire and dived into a pool of broken glass.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Fighting the car - UPDATE

Well, it apparently wasn't the O2 sensor that was causing the problem. Now the other possibilities are spark plugs, PCV valve, or the MAF sensor...
...maybe I should just chuck a dart...

Now it's off to Autozone, and hope that they have someone there that knows how to use their FREE diagnostic tool and that they have the parts that I need. As an added bonus, it'd be nice if they know what the hell I'm talking about.

For those of you expecting pictures of the war wounds, they're coming.

Monday, June 05, 2006

I fought the car and I won.

Fuel filter: $20.
Heated downstream O2 sensor: $50.
Beating the hell out of the car while swearing like a drunken sailor on leave: priceless.

This past weekend was an adventure in automotive repair. Armed with tools and replacement parts, my wife and I set out to replace an O2 sensor and a fuel filter in the Hyundai.

Mind you, we started with all the best intentions. But - as with all car repair - stuck bolts and ill-fitting components caused a brief flareup of tempers. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and we managed to get the fuel filter replaced. The O2 sensor was pre-empted by a massive thunderstorm which dropped hail, of all things.

The next day, I returned to the scene and resumed beating the hell out of working on the car. After a good two hours of sweating, swearing, grunting, general malaise, and copious quantities of bolt loosener, I finally managed to get the O2 sensor out, and put the new one in. Pictures to come, including some of the war wounds.

I highly endorse people working on their own cars whenever possible. Self-sufficiency is nifty. I'm not suggesting that your average suburban dweller attempt to replace their exhaust system, but something as simple as changing out the plugs or replacing an alternator can be done with a minimum of difficulty. Besides, you'll save a couple hundred dollars in labour by doing it yourself.

Just remember:

  • 1. You'll need elbow grease. Lots of it. Metal likes to stick to itself.


  • 2. Sparks + gas/oil/other car fluids = BAD IDEA. Your car is flammable. If you're too close to it, so are you.


  • 3. Wear old clothes. Oil and grease are magnetically attracted to whatever you're wearing. Don't start whining when that $50 shirt you got from Abercrombie and Fitch gets ruined by 10W40.


  • 4. Swearing can and will happen. It's normal. I'm fairly certain Mother Teresa dropped a couple of f-bombs while changing a fan belt.


  • Finally, when you're all done and everything's put back together and the car runs, nothin' beats a nice hot shower and an ice-cold beer (or three).