Shampoo and Turtle Wax are the liquids of choice in my shower. At least, that is was my conclusion after my hair cut this morning.
The shampoo is for my chest and the Turtle Wax is for my head.
Category: Unrelated News
How a fuel filter works
Today I changed my fuel filter in my Suburban. As I am wont to do, I cut the thing open to see how it worked. I thought I would share with you what I found out.
First, let me explain and apologize. There used to be a fiber/paper filter connected to some of these metal pieces. Particularly the black burned parts. That is where the apology comes in. I had so much
fun cutting the filter apart and thinking about how it has spent its whole life holding gasoline, that I just knew it would make a neat fire. So my son and I stood back and threw a flame at it. Boy was it fun. The result though is that you don’t really get to see it in all its glory. Sorry.
The first picture is the filter just cut in half. When I got it open I had cut through a paper filter that was connected at the right side (the output), but not the left side (the input). And this connection/disconnection is what makes the filter do its work.
The second picture shows the left side where the fuel comes in from the fuel tank. The little disk would be inside the can and connected to the paper filter, but not to the can. Fuel would pour into the can (through the threaded hole on top) and splash around that disk forcing all the fuel on the outside of the fiber filter (but still inside the can).
In picture three you see where the bottom of the paper filter is connected to the output hole. Gas cannot go out that hole without passing through the filter. Therein lies the mechanics and simplicity of this device.
Again, fuel passes in and is forced to the outside of the paper (or maybe a fiber of some kind) filter. But to leave the can and continue to the engine of the car, it must be sucked through the filter on its way out.
How do you know if you need to change the filter? In México you can just change it every 6 months and you are probably good. I am not sure what the normal recommendation is. If you blow into a new filter, you should be able to blow without much resistance. As the filter does its job and starts to collect gunk from your fuel, then trying to blow through it will provide quite a bit of resistance. The first time I changed my filter here I could hardly blow through it at all. I am surprised that gas even got through.
Does anyone know what the filter is made out of? Is it a paper material? Fiber of some kind? (I can Google, but I am trying to get you to comment).
You can click on any of the pictures to get a bigger version.
Do you Facebook?
I have not gotten into any of the social networking sites yet. Not even something simple like Flickr. I have uploaded 2 videos to YouTube, I guess that is a start. Of course, I have my blog. Technically a blog is not a social network, though some social networks are based on blogging and blogs can be a part of a social network.
I did try Twitter, that is a social network. But, as I suspected, I never got overly fascinated by it and have not sent out a tweet in a while.
I have had a Facebook profile for a few months but have not done anything with it. Last night I decided to update my profile a bit. I even searched for a few friends. It seems like it would be a good place to promote a blog or podcast if you actually got some friends surrounding you. I have 2 right now.
Like Twitter, I will play with it for a while, but I am not sure how “into” it I will get. Come, befriend me and maybe you can convince me as to why I need to keep using it. I have 3 friends requests from people I don’t know. If you are one of those, then leave a comment and let me know so I can add you. I am a bit afraid to just add everyone who requests. Is that a bad thing?
Happy 4th of July!
I spent last week in the US of A. It was a great time. Though I don’t mind at all being where God wants me to be in my ministry, last week showed me why I am glad to be an American.
It could be that I just understand the culture better, but it is my culture and it makes me proud. One cultural difference that frustrated me when I got here (and still does, but not as much) is the whole waiting in line issue. The way it is done in the United States is that people form a casual line always understanding who is in front of them. You don’t have to line up with one person’s nose stuck to the back of the person’s head in front of them. Also lines are wide. Enough for 2 or 3 people to stand side by side and talk.
Mexico works differently. Whoever has their hands on the counter is next. If you are patiently waiting for the person in front of you (which is only ever done by me) then people will lean around you to put their hand on the counter. Out of necessity, lines have to be cordoned off so that it is only wide enough for one person. Otherwise you have people pushing through the line to get their hands on the counter.
I was in a store last week where there were 6 or 7 people casually standing around waiting for a cashier. There were 3 cashiers, so we just took turns until you knew you were there before the next guy. No one complained and no one tried to cut in front of anyone else. How refreshing.
Comparatively, Mexicans stand in many more lines than we do in the US. Yet, they have not learned basic kindergarten courtesy when it comes to standing in a line.
I know that may seem like an insignificant thing to be thankful for, but after you have been pushed out of your place in line twice a day for three years, it is refreshing to be able to stand in line without being assaulted.
Happy 4th! Be proud of your culture.
Only 3 days left!
Have you voted for the New 7 Wonders of the World yet?
I don’t know how important this is in the grand scheme of life, but it is fun to think your vote can be counted to make up the current 7 Wonders of the World.
I mentioned earlier that Chichén Itzá had been nominated as part of the final 21 candidates. I also cast my vote for my list of 7.
I was reminded of this vote today because at breakfast I was given a ballot along with my bill. The new Governor elect for our state (Yucatán) was asking people to fill out the ballot and they would cast a vote for you. I understand her desire to have Chichén become part of the list. I was, however, disappointed in the way the ballot page was presented. It had 3 steps. Step 1: Vote for Chichén Itzá. Step 2: Don’t vote for any of these (then it listed some of the candidates). Step 3: Vote for any 6 of these (then it listed the rest of the candidates). I suspect that the list in step 2 were places that were beating Chichén Itzá in the voting, while those in step 3 were behind Chichén in the polls. It just seemed inappropriate to tell people how to vote.
Looking through the list, I picked 6 of the same ones I picked before. The difference is that in the past I chose The Statue of Liberty (at my son’s request) and today I would have chosen Petra. My thinking is that, while I am very proud of the Statue of Liberty as an American, is it really worthy of being a great architectural, cultural and world-class wonder? I am not so sure it is.
Go vote. You only have a few short days. Make history.