The Next America

Spring Boarding at Vail

Out to Colorado on business this week. Got there early for a day of boarding at Vail. I haven't seen a lot of blog entries to give people a sense of what the conditions are really like on April 8 for skiing/boarding. Unlike some ski areas (most of the East Coast), Vail does not have an almost fraudulently cheerful daily assessment of conditions during early and late season. Instead, they provide just the facts -- which doesn't tell a lot.

1) Not crowded in the slightest. #30 in the gondola line arriving 5 mins before it opened. Guy scalping lift ticket vouchers within sight of the cashier. Plentiful parking but still expensive ($17/day). However -- Northwoods Express (the only real way to get back right on the mountain) was crowded. Not unbelievably, horribly, as it is during even non-peak times. But still a real line.

2) The bottom of the mountain was in pretty bad shape. Luckily, the bottom of Vail isn't that great to begin with so you're not missing much other than an unpleasant ending to the day. The signs posted recommending downloading on the Gondola are the right idea. Unfortunately, their very nice intermediate terrain park is below the Lionshead gondola making cycling through it pretty unpleasant. The intermediate halfpipe is excellent -- tall enough to practice proper technique, but short enough to be safe. In contrast, the main pipe at Steamboat is ridiculous and the beginner pipe there is useless (far too short). The main pipe at some places on the East Coast is equivalent to the intermediate pipe at Vail.

3) Back bowls/Blue Sky Basin were nice but slushy. The warm weather had actually made much of the ungroomed areas better than it normally would be several days after snow as it had reduced mogul size, probably through melting. Many wooded areas were unboardable due to severe trenching. People focused on the groomed portions of the back area, completely missing out on the best area -- Mongolia Bowl. It had been closed for the past few days, but people assumed it had been skiied off and didn't check it out. Instead, I got run after run on untouched (and a bit slushy) snow, each time with less than 5 people in the entire bowl. A top 5 lifetime day.

4) Wait for the snow to soften later in the morning or stay on the groomed areas (and don't fall down -- rock hard at the beginning of the day).

When Vail is good it is unbelievable. When it is bad (extortionate concessions/lodging/everything, crowding, inconvenience) it is pretty annoying. Will definitely go back at this time of year -- better than a normal day during peak season, though not a powder day :)

Wyndham Andover

Well -- after three months of not posting and miniscule traffic (boy, time flies) I'm now Typepad's best/most profitable customer.

Staying this week at the Wyndham in Andover. 

Pros:

I put the wrong frequent traveller number in my reservation. They actually looked me up and fixed the error.

Said program (Wyndham ByRequest) doesn't give points. Instead, you get free phone calls, free wireless, 500 airline miles, AND a welcome snack of your choice on your online profile (mine is Heineken and chocolate chip cookies) all iced down and waiting for you in your room.

Nice pool and hot tub and a small but serviceable exercise room.

In addition to the beer they had a free bottle of water in the ice bucket. To my surprise, my untouched bottle was freshly iced when I returned today. A small gesture -- but way beyond my expectations for $109/night (I get a killer corporate rate+free breakfast).

Cons:
Most parking is very distant from the front door making checkin/checkout a real pain.

Need for Speed Most Wanted

I spent a good part of Thanksgiving playing this game with my two cousins. It is pretty accessible and fun for a group as you can pass the controller around between races. And the U/I is complex enough that it helps to have a second person to read maps, track police cars, etc.

I've clearly missed out on a lot of technological advancement in the driving game space. Wow.

I Hate Mercury

So I took Friday off to spend a whole day in the "shipyard". It's getting cold and I need to finish things up before first freeze.

While disassembling the water pump (replacing the impeller is smart maintenance every year or two and its hard to know how long it has been with a used boat) a bolt snapped. Finally ended up drilling it out and tapping new threads. As part of this, it was evident that the pump base was cracked and needed replacement. $90 from Mercury.

Here's where it gets confusing. 43055a4 is the "old base" which uses traditional gaskets. 19282a1 is the "new base" with integrated silicon gasket. The difference is explained well in the tech manual. I had a "new base" which broke. I had purchased on Ebay a 43055a4 for $40 (which came with a bonus 43055a2, 2 being an earlier revision, apparently the same except for no new spacers). When I got it, I realized this was the old base, so went to order directly. The tech manual was confusing, since it said that the new base could not be used with old pumps, but was silent whether old bases could be used with the newerpumps. I found 19282a1 is no longer available, replaced by 19282a2. So I opened up my 19282a2 from Cape Marine -- and it was an old base too. Not only that, it was completely identical to the 43055a4 with the same manufacturer markings on the base. Two different part #s, two different prices ($86 vs. $88), identical products.

So what happened? I'll get back my $90 (-10% restocking fee). Apparently the silicon bases were unreliable (surprise, maybe like how mine broke), so they moved back to the old pump base. And I've got a 43055a4 for sale for $40+shipping (I installed the a2 freebie).

Oh, and completely undocumented (another waste of $50), the two seals come preinstalled on all bases, so neither the 2 $10 seals nor the $30 tool for seal placement is necessary.

Repairing the Lifecycle 5000

One of the stranger things of modern life is that the more stuff we get, the more stuff breaks. Yet the TV repairman is nearly out of business. Many things can only be repaired in distant specialty shops. And some of it is hard to transport -- getting an exercise bike out of the basement, into an SUV/pickup, dropped off, picked up, etc. is a lot of work. If I were looking for a small business for a mechanically/electrically inclined high school student, exercise equipment repair would be ideal.

So here's my Lifecycle 5000 story. The first computerized bike with variable resistance (though only one resistance program). Built for gyms, lasts forever. Doesn't require electrical power -- everything is powered by the alternator you're driving by pedal. Bought it used in 1997. Stopped working in 2001 (dead battery). From 2000 on, had problems where after 5 minutes or so, "surges" would occur requiring intense peddling far beyond normal to keep going.

1) Get to know National Gym Supply. They are your friend. The manufacturer could care less about individuals. NGS is tuned to small gyms, but they'll work with you. They provide phone technical support for troubleshooting -- not always the best help, but beats banging your head against a wall. They also offer exchange service, so you can have both your old and new parts on hand and really determine if the old part is broken. And a good catalog. Other sources have fewer parts at pretty much the same price.

2) Replace the battery ($25). That's their first advice. It may be wrong. I'd already replaced it in 2001. If you don't have a high enough battery voltage, the field won't flash on the alternator, thus power won't be produced at the right voltage. Being off a volt or two can cause a range of tricky problems and behavior. But if you can get "correct" behavior (select time, select level, pedal a couple of minutes) its not a battery problem. If the battery is below field flash voltage, you can't recharge it. Unless you flash the field with an external battery (one for power tools worked well for me)

3) Replace the alternator control board ($55). The "difficulty" of pedaling is controlled by adding artificial load to the alternator. The more power you're producing, the tougher it is to pedal. The ACB "bleeds" power through the huge honking resistor attached and has a circuitry to control the amount of power. Seems like the culprit, but its not. If this had failed you would likely see no change in perceived resistance, or a consistent increase.

4) Replace the alternator ($85). Interesting job -- get out your muscle wrenches. Ultimately, this fixed the problem. The alternator produces power based on the load applied. Once the power got beyond a certain level, the damaged brushes couldn't carry enough power, thus resistance increased exponentially trying to "force" the extra power demanded. Requires removal of the crank which requires a bearing puller (available at any auto parts store). There's a funny looking thing that looks like a setscrew on the crank -- ignore it -- just pull it off. If you could figure out another application of the same alternator, you could probably get it cheaper somewhere else.

5) Replace the alternator brush ($10.50). Probably an easier solution. I'd already bought the alternator so was committed. But on further reflection, probably would have solved the problem. No evidence of a general alternator problem, just a problem handling high power. And brushes are the wearable part.

Things I Have for Sale

The great thing about the web is that if you're selling something obscure, and you're accessible by google, people will find you.

I've seen it a lot looking for parts for my boat engine. There's the dealer network (slow, expensive, high shipping) and everyone else (access to non-OEM replacements, good customer service, quick shipping). Mercury outboards are particularly obnoxious since they don't fulfill your order. Instead, they pass it to a local dealer who may or may not feel like fulfilling it in a timely and complete fashion. After two weeks when you call and its magically shipped the next day, you realize the internet revolution has yet to hit that dealership. So I buy a lot off Ebay and small sellers where I can.

Occasionally you get the wrong thing. Or have to buy a minimum quantity. But my theory is that I can resell these items quick. Because they know they're coming from a real person like themselves. And they're well described. And I ship at reasonable prices (listed is UPS/Fedex Ground; upgraded shipping at my cost; love to combine; pickup in RI). I could do it on Ebay. But the power of google means people will come to me...eventually.

Here goes:

(10/06) 91-13949 $35+5 -- installer tool -- used for installation of seals into a water pump base. Hint: unnecessary if you buy a new base.

(10/06) 26-43035, 26-43036 $16+2 -- seals for water pump bases

(10/06) 43055A 4 $45+5 -- aluminum base (cover assy) for Mercury water pump; with gaskets. Factory sealed. Identical to 19282A2 (the silicon bases originally sold as 19282a1 are no longer sold)

(10/06) 22 816856T 3 $13+4 -- Fuel connector; female connector that accepts yamaha-style two prong fuel line. Factory sealed. From Mercury minimum quantity is 2.

(10/06) Quicksilver Needle Bearing Assembly Grease -- $8+4 Tough to find; Essential for certain lubrications inside the powerhead. Found mislabelled on Ebay as boat trailer grease.

(10/06) 1395-823635 4 -- carb rebuild kit, 1395-9594 Fuel Float, 3 carb gaskets $54+4 -- Not really interested in selling; Will if you need them bad enough.

From my Corvette parts collection. GMpartsdirect.com is pretty good so you'd probably have to be local for these to be worthwhile.

(10/06) 1028-3575 Front Deflector -- wrong part

(10/06) 10419313 Lower Fascia -- right part; wrecked the car and insurance paid for repairs prior to installing

(10/06) 16267411 Interior Thermostat -- right part, still not sure if it would help

Glass roof with cracking in middle layer (cosmetic, no structural issues). Classic problem. Good as core for refurb or a temporary.

And my small Jeep parts collection:

(11/06) 56006867 Underhood lamp shield $8 + $3 -- didn't need it for repair.  

American Standard Faucets

On Sunday, I installed a new faucet in my kitchen. The old one had been leaking.

Last week, I went to Home Depot and found the perfect faucet. $100. Not too bad. American Standard trumpets their lifetime warranty. Powerful sales tactic when your previous one just failed. Very nice packaging.

On Sunday (after two trips to the hardware store), I installed the faucet. The cold water didn't work. Just a trickle. Lots of hot water. I disassembled the faucet and looked at the cartridge. No visible problems.

Like most big vendors in big box stores they had a flyer in the box. "Do not return this item". The tremendous negotiating power of Home Depot and similar means the manufacturer eats return costs, shipping, etc. $30-40 down the tubes. Call <b>us</b> if you have any problems. The first key that they were not serious was that they had no hours on Saturday or Sunday which is when amateurs fix their houses. So I waited until Monday morning. I spoke to a nice gentleman who wanted me to disassemble the faucet which I had already done. I insisted on a new cartridge. 7-10 business days.

Now 7-10 business days was fine when my outdoor fireplace was missing a few bolts. It could be assembled regardless, just not as sturdy. This is my kitchen faucet. No water for cooking (at least not hot water -- I had reversed the hoses since only cold water is better than a scalding). No washing hands or hand washing dishes. For two weeks.

I told the gentleman I would be returning the faucet to Home Depot. Which I did. Their feeble attempt at customer service "call us first" only served to annoy me. They should have offered to fedex the part next day or simply told me to return the product. Either would preserve the relationship.

Instead, they polluted their brand and won points for Home Depot, since they come off as the defender of the consumer.

Note: I returned a bathroom fan purchased 10 months ago to Home Depot last month. Never got around to the project. The cashier was quizzical, but I was more than happy to get store credit.

Easy Returns

Joel Spolsky has an interesting post today on why he makes returns so easy for his company.

Amazon has really easy returns (though a little slow to process). But they're happy to let items cross in transit. No talking to people involved.

Home Depot and Lowes are very easy on returns. I once returned a flat of plants several months after planting season. No question refund. They encourage you to buy both and return the one you don't use (or your wife doesn't like). Last weekend I purchased three increasing levels of new stuff for grinding a hole in a steel plate, fully intending to return the unused ones. Lucky for them, everything was opened and no return.

Target is good on returns. My wife will frequently buy gifts, show them to me or find something better, and return them.

Some stores (especially women's clothing) are cracking down. And I know many women who deserve to be cracked down on (returning a worn dress is surprisingly common and pretty crass). But they should be very careful to distinguish between great customers who spend $300 and return $150 unworn and bad customers who spend $200 and return $200.

Your best customers may return quite a bit. And buy even more.

The Ceasefire

I'm an idealist. I believe in foreign aid, global free trade, et al. I even believe in idealism in war, in operations such as Somalia and Haiti, which at least had good intentions.

There is something very different between a strong country undertaking an idealistic military action and withdrawing under casualties and Israel's recent performance.

When the stakes are survival, you cannot mess around. Yet you cannot start wars without a clear and achievable result. Israel may have created a failed state next door which will leave Hezbollah as a dominant political power. The Lebanese Army will be easily coopted to serve the true military master of Lebanon. In fact, I would not be surprised to see Lebanese unit leaders swear allegiance to Hezbollah in a stunning PR move after Israel withdraws. While the government of Lebanon was weak, it was democratically elected. So instead of Hezbollah being kicked out in a year or two (as the Syrians just were), they now will likely end up in control of Lebanon.

Arab support for the US occupation of Iraq has been dealt a death blow. It has been conclusively demonstrated that the US acts in its own interests in the Middle East, not by a sense of what is right. It is hard to justify killing 50 innocents over 2 soldiers in any absolute measure of right and wrong. Even though turning South Lebanon into a parking lot was completely justified by the same calculus. Israel would have been much better off to accept a few more casualties and a few less targets struck as part of allowing an orderly civilian evacuation of South Lebanon.

America thought the war in Iraq was about attack -- they have struggled since it was actually about reconstruction.

Israel thought the war in Lebanon was about destroying Hezbollah and punishing Lebanon -- it was actually about demonstrating precision strike and targeting. When a third world country attacks civilian convoys and the UN it appears backward, stupid, or ignorant. When a first world country does the same, it appears callous and self-centered.

Hezbollah has gained thousands of recruits and will be twice as strong in twelve months time, in most scenarios I can envision. When planning war, you must consider all likely results, not those that align with your hopes and dreams. The second and third order political effects on Israel and the United States will be subtle but far-reaching in the next five years.

Mercury Outboard Parts

The best part of buying a boat is fixing it.

Not really, but you save a lot of money that way.

If anyone has any hints about removing the fuel pickup (also called the fuel withdrawer) from a plastic built-in tank, please share. Can loosen the nut, but can't figure out a solution -- more force will break the tank. Leaving the nut tight and twisting the pickup (which should force the pickup upward) doesn't seem to make any progress. I suspect my screen is clogged (fuel suction problems after continued use, rest of system replaced, aux tank works)

Outboard manufacturers (Mercury in my case) aren't really that friendly to home mechanics. Or dealers for that matter. When I ordered a part, the dealer was forced to buy two. So I have an extra fuel fitting for an early 90s large outboard, if anyone is looking (22-816856T3). It was a bear to replace. The key is to chill the fitting (with the gasket) in ice water before pressing into the cowl. $13 + shipping if you want it.