🔧 But do we reeeally need to fix that?
Ep 61: A weekend watching tens of thousands (but one in particular), the changing of time, and a very satisfying solution to an automotive malady.
Wow, two weekends in a row in New York City! That’s right: last weekend we were in the-city-so-nice-they-named-it-twice to see Xander on Explora I. This weekend we cheered on Elizabeth as she ran the New York City Marathon. We had a lovely stay in a Marriott near World Trade and enjoyed mad dashes throughout the boroughs to cheer her on, along with tens of thousands of other energetic spectators.
It was a bit on the warm side for the runners, but we spectators were quite comfortable. I might do a blog post about how we made all the stops. I’m even more grateful for Amy, Elizabeth, and Xander’s efforts when they spectated for my running of the NYC marathon in 2014. Spectating is tough, albeit gratifying, work. Congratulations to Elizabeth on a great race: you rocked it!
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Advocate for your professional advancement. Strive to grow and learn, regardless of your tenure. These opportunities are rarely given to you: you have to seek them out! I’ve rarely been turned down after asking for professional development opportunities. Employers are happy to learn that employees are thirsty for more knowledge. They’ll have a more satisfied employee and you’ll gain new skills you can apply on the job. Opportunities abound with online learning libraries, professional development, conferences, and seminars. Look around and see what you’re interested in!
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. IBM sponsored a usability conference in the late 1990s called Make IT Easy. I loved going, getting a finger on the pulse of the industry, and meeting people who worked on UX in many different industries. I’ve also enjoyed a few of the conferences put on by Smashing Magazine. Virtually, I’m grateful to my company for sponsoring memberships to LinkedIn’s Learning Library. There’s a ton of great content in there!
#365DayDraw
I drew this and wrote the accompanying annotation as part of my #365DayDraw project 7 years ago today.
This chili's been chopped, and is all ready to be pressed into spicy service
Was this inspired by a dusky drive-by of our local Chili’s restaurant? Or, could it have been sparked by chopping up one of the last peppers from our summer CSA share? This summer’s pepper haul was spectacular, by the way. I had a dozen plants and they put out peppers like they were trying to beat the tomato plants. I think it was a close competition.
Commentary
I’m good with computers. I’m a good painter and all-around handyman. I have a decent eye for design. But ask me to do anything with a car and I’m not your man. I go online anytime I need to jump a car, and I rely on a mechanic for oil changes. I can change the windshield washer fluid, though! When our backup camera failed on our Honda Pilot, my first plan of action was to ask the family if we really needed to fix it. Xander relies on it pretty heavily, so that answered that question.
I called Honda of Ithaca to ask if they had any ideas about what could be wrong. I described the issue: the display changed to show the camera when I put the car in reverse, but all that appeared was a field of black and some guidelines. “Oh, that’s a veeeerrrrry expensive repair,” the Honda service tech exclaimed. “Define expensive,” I replied. They quoted at least $500 and offered to make an appointment. I said I’d call back after checking a few things. My next call was to Mike, a local mechanic we use for practically everything. He also assumed the camera had gone bad and while he was willing to take a look if I could find the part, he warned that there was no guarantee it’d fix the problem.
I went online and searched for the part I’d need. The camera was sold as a harnessed unit that also plugged into at least 5 other things, so it looked a bit like an octopus. Depending on the retailer it’d cost $150-$350. I called my local Napa store to find out if they had access to the part, and to my surprise, they said that Honda wouldn’t let them sell anything other than the official part. The cheapest option was at Walmart so I sprung for that and waited for it to arrive.
The package’s well-timed arrival coincided with my lunch hour. I brought the rear assembly into the house for better lighting and started to figure out how to disconnect the cables to reattach the new ones. Each one was a bit different, and I relied on the new cable to understand how to disconnect the old cable. At the end of the process, I had a brand-new set of electronics attached to the assembly.
I crossed my fingers as I attached it to the liftgate of the Pilot, threaded the harness through to the interior, and plugged it in.
You should have heard my scream as I put the car in accessory mode and dropped it into reverse. It worked! I felt so satisfied with the repair. I put all of the trim back on, shut the door, and put my tools away.
I had pulled the Pilot quite far into the garage to do the work with the door shut, so one last task was to back it up a little so I could more easily navigate the garage. I opened the door and went to start it up. Instead of the engine springing to life, I was greeted with a click-click-clickety-click. My heart sank, and for a moment I wondered if I’d somehow messed up the car’s electronics with my repair. I opened the liftgate, removed all of the trim again, and disconnected the harness from the car, isolating the new part from the electronics—same clicking, which was somewhat good. I called AAA to do a jump in the garage, hoping that there was some issue with the battery. I left the trim disassembled in the back in case that wasn’t the issue. Much to my relief, an hour later, the car sprung to life as the AAA tech explained that the battery wasn’t bad, just low. The car hadn’t been driven nearly as frequently as it used to, so that tracked. And there you have it: a confluence of unrelated events, as is usually the case. And now I have a new backup camera and a brand-new skill.
Miscellanea
We enjoyed watching Captain Phillips the night before the marathon. I’d seen it before but Amy and Elizabeth hadn’t. Made me cry again.
How is it November already? And how are you doing with the time change from the weekend? This reminds me, that it’s time to check in on the status of the bill to make daylight saving time permanent. It’s not good news.
Wow! I'm not sure which I'm more impressed by, Elizabeth running the NYC marathon or your putting in a new car camera! Congrats to you all!