Literary Masturbation

"No, I'm just kidding.  Marriage isn't really that bad.  It must be nice when you can lay together...side by side...in the dead of the night...in separate coffins." - Author Unknown

I cleaned out my wallet a short time ago.  I don't keep much outside of the essentials in it, but tucked inside a folded dollar bill (without serial numbers, but that is another story) was the following scrap of paper:

This was a snippet of text from my college newspaper that I must have been carrying around for the last 20 years.  I remember cutting this out, but don't remember much else about the article it came from.  When I was in college, the internet was still in diapers and I'm pretty sure the college newspaper was only printed in hard copy.  Distributed around campus, it was always interesting to see what was printed and the group of us read it pretty religiously.
Likely, the rest of the article is forever lost to the ether.  I did a few searches online with increasing specificity without any luck.  Hopefully the author might clairvoyantly feel a little pride that I've carried this around and found it, but it is possible, even likely that he or she doesn't even remember writing and publishing this.  The author could possibly be happily married.

My views on the subject of the snippet may or may not have changed over the years, but that is not the intent.  I expect that much like that article, most of what is written is read and forgotten or never read, much like this blog.
Most writing is some form of literary masturbation.  Done by the author and for the author.  Even if read, is likely mentally and physically discarded.
I will occasionally browse blogs.  There are a lot of talented people out there with something to say.  There are also a lot of apparently abandoned blogs out there.  The Library of Congress recently took everything in Twitter and archived it, possibly in perpetuity.  That is a lot of chaff to hold the wheat.  There are a lot of people out there who say something because they can.

"Just when you think you've graduated from the school of experience, someone thinks up a new course." -Mary Waldrip

There was an article posted recently summarizing some research that basically said we think history ends now.  That we've reached a point where we realize we've changed in the past, but will not change in the future.  This is borderline terrifying and probably a good reason to never write anything down, or save anything.

“I gave up writing when I was ten, too dangerous.” “Only if someone reads what you write and so far we haven’t had that problem.” Bill/Hank from the movie Naked Lunch

Maybe some day someone will be searching for a specific article in their college newspaper and now that text will be found by an increasingly specific internet search.
Unfortunately, all that will be found will be the wrong literary masturbation.

Toyota Tacoma Oil Change

Every vehicle with an internal combustion engine needs to occasionally have the oil changed.  I think I probably change the oil a bit more often than is needed, but it is relatively cheap insurance (although I realize it wastes resources in this time of "modern" sensibility).  I almost always change the oil myself.  I've gotten "free" oil changes at the dealership a couple times, but they still want to charge for rotating the tires, or other things which should be done.  Nothing is ever free.  The dealership also likes to try to sell other services at the same time, then berates me when I tell them I do not want my transmission oil changed (since I did it myself not that long ago).
I also like changing oil myself since it gives me an opportunity to continually scan the vehicle for other problems (rust, cables or hoses chafing, fasteners coming loose, etc.).  I had one boss who said all cars only need one oil change a year regardless of miles, but he was really an idiot.  I change on a mileage interval only, without respect to time since I drive quite a bit.  I won't list that mileage, but suffice to say that the old adage of changing oil every 3000 miles on newer cars is bunk.  You may notice an older MGB in a few of these pictures.  This (older) vehicle still gets oil changes on the 3000 mile schedule.  The MGB does burn/leak oil at a non-trivial rate so it is in a constant state of refill with new oil; this is not a replacement for appropriately spaced oil changes.
All cars come with a manual.  Read it.  If you bought a car used and it doesn't have one.  You can usually download one for free.  Read it.  It gives maintenance items not always obvious and other possible guidance.  Read it.

The first step of an oil change is to jack the vehicle up.  In some cases, it is possible to change the oil without this step, but other maintenance items require it and it does make it easier to not be crowded under the vehicle.  Jacks are for LIFTING! Jackstands are for HOLDING!  Lift the car with your jack.  Then secure the vehicle with jackstands.  Treat the jack as an unreliable coworker.  Once on jackstands, test the security of the vehicle by gently nudging it.  Never get under an improperly supported vehicle.

With the vehicle secured on jackstands, remove the oil drain plug.  Ideally the vehicle will be slightly warm to allow the oil to drain quickly, but not so hot that it is hard to work on.  On the Tacoma, the oil drain plug is 14mm.  All drain plugs have a seal of some kind, be it an o-ring, a fiber, plastic or crushable washer, or specialty drain plug.  Inspect the seal and replace as needed.  If sealed with a crushable washer then always replace.

While the oil is draining, there may be other needed maintenance items to attend to.  Many newer cars have no grease points, but the Tacoma has grease zerks on both the front and rear drive shafts.  I find it odd that Toyota chose to go this route, but these duly get greased.  Clean around the zerks and grease with a grease gun using a minimum of grease; it should not be oozing out all over the place.  The Tacoma manual also calls for the "propeller shaft" to be tightened.  I check the bolts each time I change the oil.

During the oil change is also a good time to rotate the tires.  Along with maintaining pressure, rotating tires is a great way to ensure maximum tire life.  Rotate the tires and check tire pressure.  I violate the Tacoma manual in one respect in that I like the tire pressure slightly higher than one is stated in the 2009 manual.  I recently (finally) had some recall work on my truck and the dealer decreased the pressure down to below the lower limit, and told me my tires are dangerously worn.  They are far from dangerous and in fact are near the upper limit stated by most tire companies for minimum depth and significantly above the legal minimum.  The dealer happen to be having a great sale on tires!  Since the dealer lowered the pressure so much, the TPMS light "happen" to come on a few days later during an extreme cold snap.  Effin' Dealer...
When installing tires, always use some method to achieve proper and consistent torque.  This is best done with a torque wrench, but I typically use a torque extension on an impact air gun.  These flex at a specified torque allowing tires to be put on quickly, but consistently.  I used to not believe this, but now admit I was wrong:  Inconsistent torque on wheels results in warped rotors.  Torque the wheels in some appropriate fashion.  No, you can not estimate good enough with a ratchet, breaker bar or tire iron.

The Tacoma manual specifically states to rotate tires front to back only (not crossing one set to reverse rotation direction).  I believe this has something to do with the tire pressure monitoring system, but am not really sure.  I don't really like doing it this way, but follow the manual's recommendation.

Remove the oil filter.  I had one vehicle which said the oil filter only needed to be changed every other oil change.  This is another example of cheap insurance.  I always change the oil filter with a decent quality filter.  As I've owned many vehicles and worked on countless others, some have had nearly impossible to reach oil filters.  As such, I have a large supply of every filter wrench imaginable.  I've found the larger "spider" type oil wrenches to be the best as far as universally applicable.  The pictured oil filter works well on just about all vehicles I've tried to use it on with appropriate extension and/or other ratchet unions.

Clean around the oil filter housing if applicable with a rag if needed.  Lubricate the oil filter seal with a thin film of oil and install it.  The oil filter should only need to be somewhere between tight and snug.  It does not need to be thread stripping tight.  Make sure it isn't cross-threaded, the oil filter should spin freely for a few rotations before the seal hits the sealing surface.

During an oil change is also a good time to be sure all the vehicle lights work.  How often are vehicles seen on the road with a tail light or brake light out?  A lot.  Newer headlights are usually bright enough that one can be enough in most cases.  Check all the lights.

Install the oil drain plug and refill the engine with oil.  Do it in that order.  If you change oil often enough, eventually you'll forget and drain out the new oil as it goes in.
Many people hold an unnatural brand loyalty to engine oil.  Some will wax ad nausea about the benefits or absolute horror of conventional oil or synthetic oil.  There is no end to the discussions in automotive message boards about various makers of engine oil - just groan and ignore it.  It is probably best to avoid the very cheapest oil except in a pinch but even the cheaper oils meet API minimum requirements.  Any quality oil of the proper viscosity will do its job.  What is the right viscosity?  Read the manual.  An outdated notion is that vehicles need higher viscosity as the engine ages.  Nope, use an oil in the manual's state viscosity range.

Once refilled with oil, start the vehicle and check for leaks.  Use the jack to raise the vehicle, remove the jackstands and lower the vehicle.  Drive a short distance and clean up any mess from the oil change.

Dispose of the used oil properly.  In most (if not all) locales, disposing of waste oil is covered by law as it is a hazardous waste.  It is a waste product with value and future utility.  Many places will take it for free; even if it costs a nominal fee to dispose properly it should be done.
The vehicle should be good to go for many miles.

Time Lapse: Picture a day for a Year

"The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death."  - Pink Floyd

This project started last year on New Years day.  I had to overnight an Amazon order to get the camera in time, but it seemed important at the time to begin on the first day of the year.  My plan (now completed) was to put up a time lapse camera on the back of the house and take a picture every day.  These then stitched together into a movie would create a real but dead memory of 2012.  What I pictured in my mind was more dramatic than the real thing.  I saw snows coming and going all winter, but the winter of 2012 was the winter that wasn't.  I saw grass growing, wheat growing, trees growing leaves.  All these things happened but slowly and more remote.  I saw animals in the yard, cows moving in the background and these also happened.
But, what the movie actually shows is very little because very little happens.  This is a metaphor for what a year usually is.  Every once in a while, a big year will occur in our lives where something momentous happens - either good or bad.  These things will happen though within the frame of everyday normal life. Grass grows.  Animals move.  Crops are harvested.  Snow happens.  If something important happened, it would have only been important to the camera if it happened within the approximately square mile within the lense.

This is probably a good thing.  The cows moving in the frame shows an occasional stop-motion view that looks like their movement is actually captured near real time.  It isn't of course.  The cows stoically stand in the rain, oblivious to their impending doom on the bun.

So how was this done?  I set up a Wingscapes TimeLapseCam on a 4x4 post attached to the deck on the back of the house.  The apparent "movement" of the earth during the first six months is actually the 4x4 warping as it dried.  The camera housing is listed as weatherproof, but I mounted it so it was under the eaves of the house, offering further protection.  On a relatively frequent basis, I recovered the pictures from the camera and stored them on my computer as a redundant copy.

The camera comes with software (TimelapseCam Director) to stitch the individual images together into a movie.  However, I found more flexibility with Microsoft MovieMaker.  The .wmv file format is a little bulkier than .mp4 format, but is near universally readable thanks to Microsoft's dominance (at least for now).
When I initially set up the camera, I didn't fully understand the settings so an initial few pictures were taken at night.  I did not include these in the finished project.

Personally I have really enjoyed this project.  The fact that nothing happens on camera is why I love my quiet little plot on this planet.  The sophomoric creativity was at least seen to completion.  One entire year of a picture a day.  How many of our adult projects of this level of triviality are never seen to fruition?

I'm actually going to continue this on.  Since I've been playing with other time lapse projects, I've bought a less expensive Moultrie Time Lapse Cam.  It looks nearly identical to the Wingscapes, but does not come with an adjustable objective lense.  The firmware seems cruder as well.  I'm also going to change the time program to take three pictures a day.  I'm not sure how I'll use the 3/day, but possibly this will be another showing of the seasons, as the sun moves north and south, appearing higher and lower in the sky late in the day.

2012 is over.  Outside of the next couple days, I have absolutely no idea what 2013 holds.  If it happens within the square mile behind the house, I may catch it on camera.