1st: Butterfly update…
I will confirm it today but yesterday I noticed what definitely seemed to be a hole in the monarch butterfly chrysalis (how sad huh?!) :( … anyhow, Steph M had emailed me to say she got 3 in some sort of “kit” and 2 died… one because it couldn’t get free of the shell. Soooo yeah… I think that’s what happened. We had some super cold nights so I’d suspected that it was not likely to thrive in them (near frost nights).
2nd: BITTY update…Lisa G mentioned in a phone conversation the other day that some folks were getting anxious and some thought it would be months longer. Not true! :) I tried to take some pics the other day but the camera I had at the time just wouldn’t focus on the wee spots I was trying to show. Essentially however it’s like working with wood. It’s porous and “grained” with lines because the material to create the mini 3D object from the digital data is built up in layers. These layers basically give you a final object that could be stained like wood. Which is why I primed and then have been using thinner to get the primer into the gaps. Anyhow, at first (I showed him to folks at a show) the “fuzzy” look (think balsa wood maybe?) hid a lot of detail however when I used solvents to flatten out the microscopic fuzz more detail than I expected popped out. Very pleased! I still have basically been smoothing out a material that works very similarly to balsa though through. I’ve been staying at the farm to save gas and working on him there… where I not be tempted by evil computer for the most part! Lol! On Friday thru the weekend it’s pandemonium there so this saves on gas… will get to car troubles too in a minute.
Anyhow, the bottom line with bitty bosco is that I’m really just smoothing out and touching up details here and there now. I will add on the mane and tail with thin epoxy (which is why I sanded them so flat) that will basically be a one-time effort to get right (it hardens in 3hrs but there’s really only a 1.5hr window to work in whatever your doing when it’s at a good consistency for hair). I expect by mid-October I should have him done. I’m pretty excited because I really dig him and honestly can’t wait to paint a few!
3rd Life intruding on art.. lol!Let me just say (*#$@*(#&$ … cars.
The radiator sprung a sudden and serious leak last month which ultimately resulted in my car needing a ride itself (towed on a flatbed) back to the farm where my dear sweet boyfriend replaced the thing. The very next day this super special “AT Oil Temp” light started coming on when I was on a hill. To my boyfriend’s skill’s credit this is not uncommon apparently.. it could mean a # of things however…
I live in CT so it’s basically impossible for me to drive even the short 7miles to the farm without encountering 2 hills. By taking the flattest ones I’ve been able to avoid getting the warning light again though for the past few weeks. The service manual says (get this) if the light comes on simply avoid driving on steep grades or in stop and go traffic. … ! … Oh.. is that all? Ok, I ask you if you’ve ever been in a traffic jam. How exactly should you avoid this. Nevermind being stuck on a hill. You can’t coast these automatic transmission vehicles in neutral and have steering or brakes worth mentioning either…(small voice -> I’ve tried! It’s scary!!!). Soooo yeah. But I managed to avoid this until last night. I had to drop off a key across town and found myself in nighttime highway road work. No warning light though until I was returning home. However then it decided to come on in raging blinking flashing ominous screaming warning…!!!! Cargoingtoblowup!!! Cargoingtoblowup!!!
Sooooo it was a loooooong night trying to get home. Stopping. Engine off. Waiting. Distress. No one answering their phones… sigh… (at least there was no accompanying RPM or gear issues that I’ve heard of now after intensive googliation….). However I’ve just GOT to share the layman’s diagnostic I found on several sites on how to determine the exact meaning of this “AT oil temp” (AT stands for Automatic Transmission – not “at” as a normal human might assume…)… ready? This is funnier than finding buried “eggs” ( http://lifehacker.com/371083/top-10-software-easter-eggs ) in software..
In any event, the flashing AT Oil Temp light indicates that the Transmission Control Module (TCM) has detected a problem and is trying to tell you about it. Here's the procedure for interrogating the TCM for the 2002 Impreza (all variants). It's one of those secret handshake procedures reminiscent of the pre-OBD ECU days. I swear I'm not making this up.
1) Warm up the engine
2) Turn the ignition switch OFF
3) Turn the ignition switch ON
4) Start the engine
5) Drive the vehicle at speeds greater than 12 MPH
6) Stop the vehicle
7) Depress the brake pedal and move the gear selector to "1"
8) Turn the ignition switch to OFF
9) Turn the ignition switch to ON
10) Move the gear selector to "2"
11) Move the gear selector to "1"
12) Move the gear selector to "2"
13) Move the gear selector to "3"
14) Move the gear selector to "D"
Now examine the AT Oil Temp light again:
If the light's blinking 4 times a second, then the problem is most likely a power supply or ground problem.
If the light's blinking 2 times a second, then the TCM believes all is normal.
If the light's on solid or not on at all, then there's a problem with the light's circuit.
Since it came on the day after the radiator incident it’s pretty clear something is not connected right OR when the radiator got hot it clogged something. In any event… pray for me. I just bought hay and do NOT have a spare cent to donate to the dealership people who are typically the only ones who know these secret handshake’s meanings… and the last time I went they wanted $900 to replace the entire nozzle/tubing that you pump gas into -> for a “leak” that we determined was only in the gas cap. We saved $879 by simply buying a new gas cap. We did however have to remove the whole line and submerge it in a tank of water and pump air in… airtight.. ‘cept for the cap. (more language ->) (*#$#@$ dealership CROOKS!
Right, so this special issue here is probably something simple. I’m crossing fingers and toes all the same. I’m REALLY grateful I can tote my tiny bitty around to work on while my car is getting healed… and since I’m likely to be away from the computer while I get rides… I’m going to ask that Lisa tell whomever asked the timeline here for bitty. Since if it’s online I sure as heck haven’t had the time to search for that whilst looking up these fun secret code meanings to the mysterious Forester. :-/
!!!
Lol ;)
