GregH

I've been there, Bruce. Your family is in my prayers.

My father worked at Lockheed Martin in New Orleans back when the shuttle program first started up. They built the external tank there. He retired in the early 2000's and sometime later he and my mother went to Florida to watch a launch. I've got one of their photos blown up and framed in my living room. We went to the space museum in Huntsville, AL late last year for a weekend jaunt. They have a full size mockup of the shuttle and other spacecraft there. It's much larger in person than it appears on television or on the computer. Here's something interesting - compare the view of a launch from the ground - seems to gently lift off the pad: - to the view from the craft. From here you can see just how fast they are leaping upwards: The acceleration experienced at liftoff is very similar to the acceleration felt during an 11 second quarter mile. Hard to imagine such a large vehicle accelerating that fast...

In June, we're planning on going down to Florida for the last shuttle launch. Atlantis is scheduled to fly on the 28th, but will likely be delayed. So, we're staying flexible. While we're there, we'll be heading to Brevard Community College - about 10 miles from Kennedy Space Center - to see their planetarium and observatory. They've got a 24" telescope open to the public two days a week: Brevard Astronomy Department There are a few other activities planned - a really nice wildlife sanctuary/amusement park in Ocala: Silver Springs Ocala - It's got a very interesting history. We'll probably revisit the Museum of Science and Industry on the way down or up, depending on scheduling: MOSI And we have some family living on Anna Maria Island, FL whom we may stay a night or two with:

Fuel pressure under load was 50psi, so I dropped an IPR into it before going further into the high pressure system. The IPR fixed it. Nothing obviously wrong with the IPR, either. Time will tell if anything else is wrong..

Not long after I installed the engine into this vehicle, the fleet manager called me up and told me the check engine light was on. He finally brought it to me this morning to check. It's got a P2290 in memory and pending. Snapshot shows it happened after it had been running for 9 hours, and it was under a high load situation running at highway speed. I take it out on the road - runs nicely. Starts good hot, runs out with plenty of power. Monitor ICP, ICPV, ICP_DES, and IPR. ICP and ICPV track together - KOEO ICPV is .24, hot idle is around .8. Rolling into the throttle all the way to the floor shows an increase in IPR up to 84%. ICP_DES increases from 580psi or so to 3700psi. ICP ramps right up with the rest from around 580psi up to 3700psi. Once it reaches 3700psi, it holds there for about a half a second, then drops to 3000psi. It remains at 3000psi until I ease off the throttle. As long as ICP_DES remains below 3000psi, the ICP system keeps up just fine. When demand goes over that, the ICP system stays on it's ceiling of 3000psi, and the P2290 sets. I'm probably going to drop an IPR onto it just to check, but I'm thinking it's going to require a high pressure pump to fix the concern. This is a 6007 assembly that was installed 4000 miles ago. What is your opinion?

I did that with my barber..

+1 on the faulty ICP sensor. Check it at KOEO, should be .24 volts and 0psi. If the seal or the plastic separator are missing I'd recommend a new connector. In fact, it's probably good insurance to sell a connector with a sensor if either are bad.

Alex - very interesting genealogy... I found an audiobook copy of Mein Kampf. I've got it in my queue to listen to. I'm part way through the Gunslinger series now. I thoroughly enjoyed the Art of War. I've also learned a few things listening to some neurolinguistic programming lectures... You kinda have to glean the good stuff and ignore the irrelevant parts..

New stories based on existing characters: Babylon 5 books and comics list on Wikipedia

We all watch TV to some extent or another. Some weeks I only watch a few minutes of CNN in the morning - the rest of my time is taken up. Other weeks, I watch an hour or so before bed... But, having just finished the Corner Gas series, and considering it to be one of the top 10 shows I'd seen, what do you consider to be a TV show and/or movie that is worth your time? One of my favorites is the Firefly series. Scifi meets western. Likable characters that I can empathize with, interesting plots, overall story arc. Joss Whedon has done some pretty cool stuff (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Too bad the series was canceled so soon. How 'bout you?

I'd like to find out a bit more from you guys... We're not always at work, physically and mentally, and we've talked about some of the interesting things we all do when we're away. What about your reading interests? Do you bring home TSB's and broadcast messages? Do you read Cosmo? What book or magazine or whatever is beside the can in your house right now? For me, my nook is on the nightstand open to "Babylon 5: The Passing of The Techno-Mages 1 - Casting Shadows." Loved the TV series, now enjoying the novels. In the john is April's copy of Scientific American. How 'bout you?

That was a big selling point for us. My daughter can watch it with us, and there is no one telling you when the funny parts happen. We're anticipating the start of the new season of Doctor Who in April. A scifi thriller, with a few lightly disturbing special effects - but no language or sex. Another one my daughter enjoys..

Well, we finished up the series the other day. Glad they finished it on a high... The pink eye episode was the best, I think. We're starting on ReGenesis now. It looks promising.

One is buffered, the other is not.

Second on check the oil level. If it is ok, it might be a good idea to drain what is there and check the magnet, maybe even pull the pan and look at the screen..

I would go with Gabrielle Miller, but I'd be thinking of Tara Spencer-Nairn...

I stumbled across this Canadian show "Corner Gas" the other day. It is a surprisingly good show! Even being Canadian! For those who haven't seen it, it's a sitcom who's main character owns the only gas station for 60 miles, in a town of only 500 people. Next door is a cafe' recently reopened. Various regular characters with their own personality quirks rotate through. Makes me wonder what else I'm missing out on.. I'm getting ready to try out "ReGenesis" next...

A couple years ago an engineer and I were tracking a fuel leak into the crankcase on a 6.4. We added dye to the system, then ran the engine looking for the glow. After several minutes of no glow, we decided to crack a line to verify dyed fuel was getting to the injectors. After verification, we retorqued the line. It continued to leak under high pressure. I would not reuse any of these crush fitting lines unless the cost of failure was very low...

How is the Wheel of Time series? I listen to audiobooks on my way to and from work (one hour each way) because it beats the hell out of NPR. But I'm between books now, and have thought about that series...

Maybe they alternate banks?

The P132B can be caused by an early calibration. Have you programmed the truck?

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check these when the truck arrives. From the top - the tires were considered suspect by the other dealer. They were not proper for the truck, and seemed like a likely candidate. Swapping to the correct tires did not affect the condition. Based on that, the tires are low on the list of suspects. That's a good idea about having someone follow me. I just had it that one night by myself, and I wasn't able to see anything with just the rear view mirrors. Front bearings are good, rears have not been checked yet. I'm not sure about the steering gear being suspect. I will check it closely as you all have described, but the issue really seems to be in the rear. Did this chassis have a rear track bar? I don't recall seeing one - although I don't recall not seeing one either... Again, thanks for the help!

We earned a customer that owns a tow company recently. His '08 F-450 rollback had some sort of drivability issue, another dealer worked on it, came back with more problems, finally got fed up. Brought it to us and we fixed the drivability problem correctly on the first visit. So we're golden. However, this customer had a second line on his RO. Stated that at 45mph and above, if you have to turn the steering wheel sharply (avoid a box in the road, or drift onto the shoulder and jerk the wheel back) then the truck swerves drastically and makes you feel as if the truck is going to swap ends. Vehicle has about 110,000 miles, on his third or so set of tires. He's been living with it for the last 6 months to a year, and at the suggestion of the previous dealer he bought new tires for it - no improvement. Tires are correct for the vehicle. Front end pieces are not worn. No issues noted with the rear suspension. No suspension modifications related to the rollback. No obvious wreck damage. The owner cannot identify a specific event corresponding with the onset of symptoms, although he is sure it hadn't always handled this poorly. I test drove the vehicle extensively on their first visit. I live 60 miles from work, and I drove it home one night. I didn't believe the customer when he said how poorly it drove. I was wrong. On a straight stretch at 60 miles per hour, I moved the vehicle so it straddled the center dotted line. I then turned sharply about 5 degrees, as if to make an aggressive move to pull out and pass someone. It felt as if the rear end was on ice! The truck heeled around, and I automatically steered in to correct what felt like a slide. Of course, the truck was not sliding around, and my abrupt correction was a fraction after the truck caught itself and stopped yawing. The result is that by reversing the direction of the steer, I induced a second rotation event in the other direction. Ack! Quick turn the wheel back! Three or for oscillations later, I got the truck under control by using little nudges on the steering wheel. Below 45mph, the symptoms are gone. On the return trip to work the next day, I experimented again. At 60, I jerked the wheel again. But this time, I did not try to correct what felt like a slide. I got the impression that the rear end moved over in the opposite direction of the steering wheel direction. Almost as if the rear axle were able to move side to side, or the rear sidewalls were exceptionally weak. It felt so much like it that I tried it several times while keeping the left rear wheel in the rear view mirror. Obviously the rear axle did not move side to side that I could tell. I told the owner that after a thorough inspection and test drive, I did not find a cause for the condition. I explained gently that it appeared to be a vehicle characteristic, and I did not have a repair to recommend at that time. The rear axle is located at the center point of the rollback platform, and there is a wheel lift under the rear of the rollback. So the vehicle's center of gravity is much further back than on a stock truck. The owner was cool with it, and was happy that we were able to fix the drivability problem. However, I heard today that he is bringing it back for a small oil leak, and could we please look into the handling problem again? Anyone felt something similar?

A month or so ago, I had this blister come up on my foot, on the inboard side of my heel. Looked like a regular blood blister, but there had been no trauma there. Hurt like hell. So, I put some Lamisil on it (also have mild athlete's foot flareups every now and then) but it had no effect. Put some antibiotic ointment on from the medicine chest at work, and it cleared right up. Two weeks ago, I get this pain in my nose like a pimple on the side of my nose. Both nostrils. But no marks on the outside. After a day, I smear Bactroban inside my nose. Took a solid week before it cleared up. Pain got really bad. One weeks ago, I notice a pimple on my thigh just above my knee. That day at work, I'm pulling the left side head off a 6.4, so I was constantly leaning on it. That night, it looked angry. Fast forward to Friday morning, 5 days later. I can't walk on that leg. It will not support weight without feeling as if the affected area will explode. Ok, go to the doc. Staph. Got an antibiotic, so now I've got the shits. And this son of a bitch still hurts. Looks like a freakin' horror movie! WTF? They didn't have staph ten years ago. I never took antibiotics as a kid - I stayed sick until I got better. I never even take ibuprofen. If this bacteria got so bad in such a short time, what will we be fighting in another ten years? What will my daughter be fighting when she is my age? Obligatory tie in to work: Had to take Friday off due to lack of ability to walk. Must go back Monday, because we have no sick leave here - all time comes from our vacation allotment, and that is already small enough... I'll quit complaining about my sore !?@#%! now...