After a not-too-late evening with our neighbors by their outdoor fireplace, and not-too-many beers with same, I wasn't all that excited about the waking up part of getting up to go surf this morning.

But I was out the door by 6:05 and had a nice session. The waves weren't good. Almost good, but not quite. It was, however, stunningly pretty out there. Glassy, light wind, birds soaring, sun streaming through scattered clouds onto a clean and deserted beach. Hard to complain! The best part is that I was out with three other people, all of them friends. So even with mediocre waves, it was a great morning.

Doesn't hurt any that my last wave was my best, and dropped me off considerately in about 6 inches of water.

I love it when that happens.

Labels: surf, tamarido, weather

I'm not a big fan of wiring. So I've been leaving a few projects on the "to do later" list because they were mostly electrical in nature. Yesterday I finally had to tear into the dash/instrument cluster in order to complete another project anyway, so I finally got around attending to the problems.

Whew! Hot day in the sun doing contortions to get into/under/around the steering column and such.

I'm still not done, as of today, but once I get things re-assembled, I will have repaired several questionable ground wires, re-routed some wires in the engine bay to make them look neater, stay cleaner, and generally be better-protected, fixed the oil pressure gauge in the dash, tried (and failed) to fix the lights on the AC controls (need parts), hooked up the switch for my rear locker and air compressor, and fixed the turbo indicator bulbs in the dash cluster. I also (hopefully) fixed some rattles in the instrument area while I was there.

Doesn't sound like much, I admit, but I'm pleased with the results (so far).

Labels: landcruiser

It may seem hokey, but I'm a big fan of the idea that the Obamas could plant an organic garden on some of the 18 acres surrounding the White House.

It isn't my idea, I heard someone advocate it on NPR. You can read more about the idea here.

Just think, instead of an ongoing cost to maintain the grass, some of that land could actually save the government a little money. A very, very little money, true, but something is better than nothing!

Labels: garden, news

Katie reminded us today that raisins are poisonous to dogs. Her pooch ate about 8oz of them, and for that she got an hour of vomiting and a trip to the vet, with a day or two of "watch out for renal failure". Not a very fun day for anyone involved.

To a lesser extent, grapes could be problematic too, but for sure, watch out for raisins!

NB: chocolate and onions are also "normal" foods that are bad for our canine pals.

Labels: dog, food

Whneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

We were awakened this morning by the dreaded whine of a circling mosquito.
There are few sounds that are less tolerable in the wee hours than that of a mini vampire searching for exposed skin, especially if you live in the tropics and sleep without AC. There is usually plenty of exposed skin. After getting a bite or two, I jumped up, flipped on the lights, and started mozzie-hunting. It took two tries (we were both too bleary the first time around), but I finally hunted that sucker down. By then it was 4:30, and we were wide awake. Since there wasn't much point in trying to get back to sleep, we brewed up some delicious Olga's coffee (best in Tamarindo) and drove up a nearby mountain to watch the day begin.

pre-dawn, quiet sea, boats are resting	There's the sun!	Surfers in the lineup, they still can't see the sun (the mountain we are on blocks it from them)
Cabo Velas, Cortez Amarillo tree	beautiful morning light, so brief here in the tropics	dry grass waving in the breeze
Caly, Serious Pose.	Happy dog pose	So while Caly's perfect morning was stick-fetching...
...Jocelyn takes a minute to meditate, starting her day with a fresh outlook and a peaceful attitude...	... and Steve decides to drive the truck up onto some rocks, for no good reason other than ... "I can"	Note the mutilated headlight? Nothig to do with rocks, this is what happens when you don't pay attention on Costa Rican roads-- a telephone support wire was smack-dab in the center of the lane.
Of course, the least meaningfull/productive activity is the one that gets the most photo coverage. Total poser shot. Boy I need bigger tires.	A more artistic view. Still total poser shot. At least the tree is pretty.	Jocelyn takes a minute to include a pretty flower, amidst the total poser shots, and to provide a pleasant close to the update.

Labels: Costa Rica, dog, landcruiser, photo, sunrise, tamarindo

Pretty sunset tonight

Labels: Costa Rica, photo, sunset, tamarindo

I finally understand automotive grease! Mostly. I think. Ya see, it breaks down like this: "Moly" is good for metal on metal where it doesn't spin fast, but has high pressure. Like knuckles, tie rod ends, and slip yokes. Its usually black.

"All purpose" grease is good for areas where you've got bearings that spin around. Less pressure, thinner grease gets into the nooks n crannies better. Also, in bearings, it has been said that a bunch of Moly can make the rollers/needles skid and scoot instead of roll, which could actually shorten the life of the bearing, whereas multi-purpose won't have that effect. Also multi-purpose grease is cheaper. Why not save a little, eh? Good for wheel bearings, u-joints and such.

You don't want to mix grease types. ie: Lithium shouldn't be mixed with aluminum based greases as they can break each other down and you end up with oily goo that slips out and doesn't lubricate correctly.

When all is said and done, most parts that want one type of grease will probably function just fine with the other type of grease, but just won't last as long (ie: 20,000 miles instead of 30,000 miles, or something like that).

So there you go. An overly simple explanation of when to use one vs. the other on automotive applications. Hint: mostly you can just look at the owner's manual, it'll tell ya what you need to know on these points!

Labels: landcruiser

This index is interesting. I'm not entirely sure what it really *means*, as I'm not sure if it includes wages/salaries or if it is more absolute.

image from www.scienceclarified.com

it has come to our attention that folks might wonder if we felt the big earthquake in san jose last week and/or if we were are okay. we didn't, and we're fine. we are generally blissfully unaware of earthquakes and other natural disasters that hit san jose, as we're about 150 miles west and two mountain ranges away.

Labels: Costa Rica, news

The first week of 2009 has been busy. We were lucky enough to have some friends (Katie and Brad from Atlanta) in town, and spent NYE camping at Playa Avellanas, which is wonderful in its own way. The camping trip included some bonfire time, some surfing, lots of reading/lounging, the occasional adult beverage, and building a big ole sand castle on the 2nd. Fun times. There are sandcastle pictures on my facebook page (yes, I joined facebook, I'm not so sure about it yet, but I'm there under Steve Broyles).

Installed a new center console into the Cruiser. That's a custom paint job, by your's truly. Let's just hope it lasts a little while (the paint, not the console, which should last a good long time). now we can take the camera on trips and have some security, which means... more photos! Yay.


We made delicious Thai food. Yummy. Including fresh lemongrass from our very own garden. I love cooking with stuff we've grown. We grew (and ate!) a delicious tomato as well, not with this meal, but all by itself. Didn't even take time to photograph it, just gobbled it right up. Yum!


Pulled, cleaned, rebuilt, repacked, and replaced the knuckles on the Cruiser. This is the mother of messy jobs. You can see the sort of goo that has to be removed in order to proceed. Yuck. I made a few mistakes along the way, including an embarrassing moment of putting the wrong axle shaft into the wrong side of the housing. Rookie move. But I'm feeling great now that the job is finally complete!


The Cruiser's inaugural voyage after finally getting re-assembled was a trip to Playa Conchal. A spectacular local beach that we really enjoy. Hot day, very crowded, but we had our own little slice of sand and enjoyed it.


We also did a day trip to another beach, but had no camera, and we made some food, but didn't photograph it. Enjoyed a very nice bottle of wine- Erath Pinot Noir (thanks to Brad and Katie) and mostly just enjoyed... the week.

**Still trying to sell my 88 diesel Landcruiser, by the way. I'd even consider driving it up to the USA to sell it there, if you pay for the $1,000 or so of fuel that it'll take to make the trip. GREAT truck, motor is in wonderful shape, driver's door got a little dented by an unknown assailant. Please buy my truck, I hate having a car for sale.

Labels: 4wd, beach, Costa Rica, day trip, landcruiser, photo, tamarindo, visitor

Whew! That took a lot more time than I thought it would. Not so much the time I spent doing the work, but rather the days required to find the needed hours to do the work.

Either way, the 80 now has totally rebuilt knuckles. 4wd is smoother, no clicking (clicking is bad), less play in the wheel bearings, and I think that the ride must be smoother, though that certainly could be my imagination!

Regardless, it was an immensely rewarding project that was impressively messy and sometimes a bit daunting, but overall... not that bad.

If you are interested in seeing what I'm talking about- I didn't photograph anything at all due to the massive amounts of grease involved- you can take a look at the IH8Mud writeup of how to do a knuckle rebuild on a Landcruiser. That is about how I did it, except for making one massive mistake and installing the short-side axle into the long-side of the housing, which required re-rebuilding the left side of the axle. That was disappointing! The upshoot is that I think I did a better job the 2nd time around, so I shouldn't have to rebuild it again for 80,000 miles instead of 60,000. Or something like that.

Labels: landcruiser