Just finished the Orson Scott Card's first novel. With great expectations come great disappointments. I had heard nothing but good about the book, and while it does a great job of building tension up unto the end, it suffers from a one major flaw. Unlike Lord of the Flies, I never believed that I was dealing with children. Even though they were supposed to be uber-smart, they were all apparently uber-mature as well. It never played well that Ender was a eleven at the time of his great victory. The great victory was a cop-out as well. A rehash of another part of the book that somehow works out in the end. Peter and Valentine also change the whole course of world events at 13 and 16... it just begins to get old that these kids are so young and can handle it all so maturely.
It never makes sense how the Formics (ridiculously called buggers throughout the WHOLE novel) can touch Enders mind but cannot learn how to beat him, even with the simple strategy he used in the end, which is never made exactly clear as to how he does it, it just works. Also, the ansibel that can communicate faster than time, there seems to be a bit of a space/time issue with how it works when put with the fact that the ships in the distance are traveling at near light speed. The age difference between Peter and his siblings is understood, but the communication factor seems too handy.
The novel is saved by the bittersweet and emotionally charged prologue: The Speaker for the Dead. A beautiful end to a dissapointing novel, though I did like how Ender becomes an outcast after his great victory. But the epilogue stands alone as the best part of the novel.
Ender's Game: 80... C
Friday, August 6, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Hurt Locker
Not what I was expecting. The pace was slow, but it was a strong character piece about the protagonist Sgt. James. Jeremy Renner did a wonderful job. Came across as relaxed and controlled in every scene. Made the scenes where he lost control all the more powerful. Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty were solid in supporting roles. Had some odd shots that did not seem to fit. Almost, but not quite, captured the alienness of being in danger in a foreign land every day. Wound up a little disjointed. Glad it did not end how I thought it was going to end. Decent movie, but not best picture quality. B--
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Further Adventures of Proto-Mechanic
The Place: Valdosta
The Vehicle: 1989 Cutlass Cierra
The Job: Automatic Belt Tensioner Assembly
Assumed time: 3 hours
So, we get to Valdoata about 5 o'clock. Sure enough, the belt tensioner is shot. I quickly remove the pulley and notice that there is a single bolt running through the actual tensioner. I think, "I get me a Torx head bit and this here is a cinch."
New Assumed time: 35 minutes.
Advanced Auto on Ashley does not have the part, but they do pull up a picture. There seems to be a suspiciously large bracket attached to the tensioner. That does not bode well. Head off to the AutoZone... duna-dunta-dun-ta...AutoZone. They have the tensioner and sure enough there is a bracket with six holes for bolts. Awesome.
Back at the car, I cannot break the bolts off. I have a breaker bar, but the only 13mm socket I have is a 1/4. I have no adapter to go 1/2 to 1/4. Also, the bracket appears to have three of its bolts hidden behind the power steering pulley. A quick call to Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry. Seems you have to pull one of these suckers off with a "Power Steering Pulley Puller." To Advanced Auto we go. No such luck, they are out. Back we go to AutoZone...duna-dunta-dun-ta... Autozone. I get a small set of mm sockets (13mm-18mm: $9.99) and rent the puller.
Back at the car the puller will not fit. The puller bolt is 4 inches long, my clearance is 3 inches. What to do? Call Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry. He says "the bolts have to come out somehow, they cannot expect you to break down the engine to remove the tensioner. " I stumble upon the somehow: the pulley has holes in it you can place a deepwell socket into. Good news. Bad news is these bolts are 10mm and I have no 10mm deepwell socket.
Back we head to Autozone... duna-dunta-dun-ta... Autozone to return the puller and get a small set of mm sockets (8mm-13mm: free because they would not listen to what I was telling them).
On the way back to the car I tell the wife and boy that I got a bad feeling about the last bolt, the underbolt, the one out of the way. "It's gonna be a F_____," I tell them.
Back at the car, One, Two big bolts come out easy, Three is easy. The Pulley bolts are next: Top one comes out. Kind of a pain because you have to use the deepwell until the space to work is too small then you go back to regular socket, THEN you twist it out with your fingers, hoping you do not drop it while you squeeze it aginst the pulley and spin the pulley to retrieve the bolt where you have it squeezzed against the pulley. Middle bolt begins to break AND all the antifreeze in the block come a'pourin' out. I figure as long as I do not see oil, we are okay. It's just antifreeze we are spilling all over this church's parking lot. Bottom bolt proves Proto-Mechanic to be a psychic. It indeed is a F______. And it will prove to be a F_____ again in a few minutes. But, after a struggle with the F_____ bolt, the plate is off and the engine is devoid of antifreeze.
A note: the suspiciously large bracket/plate attached to the belt tensioner also acts as a bracket for the power steering pump. Awesome. So while you put the bracket back on, you have to hold the power steering pump up in order to get the bolts in there.
The big three bolts go back on easily, the Pulley bolts are a bit harder, but once the Top one is in, the Middle goes in easily. Of course, that leaves up with the Bottom bolt, you remember, the F_____ bolt. I come up with an ingenious plan to hold the bolt in the socket using 1) a piece of paper and 2) my ingenuity, and then get the F______ bolt in by 1) encouragement from Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry who says that "you just fiddle with it until it kind of pops in there" and 2) fiddling with it until it just popped in there. After three minutes of actual bolt tightening and twenty minutes of phantom bolt tightening ("I'm on something. I think. But it ain't tightening. Wait. That's absolutely nothing. I don't understand that S___!) the Belt tensioner bracket that bolts the Belt Tensioner and the Power Steering Pump to the block and holds in all the antifreeze is attached. Logan routes the belt three times wrong, fouth time charmingly and we are set for a test.
Car starts and nothing is leaking. Power steering is squeeling but MOSMaARGG,MPML Terry says he needs a new belt and the sound might just go away, but get the belt anyway. We eat at subway and Logan makes his way home. We drive another hour and fifteen to the house. Another Do-It-Yourself mechanicing job stumbled through. Though this time, I kept my temper pretty well.
Total Actual time: 4 hours with trips.
The Vehicle: 1989 Cutlass Cierra
The Job: Automatic Belt Tensioner Assembly
Assumed time: 3 hours
So, we get to Valdoata about 5 o'clock. Sure enough, the belt tensioner is shot. I quickly remove the pulley and notice that there is a single bolt running through the actual tensioner. I think, "I get me a Torx head bit and this here is a cinch."
New Assumed time: 35 minutes.
Advanced Auto on Ashley does not have the part, but they do pull up a picture. There seems to be a suspiciously large bracket attached to the tensioner. That does not bode well. Head off to the AutoZone... duna-dunta-dun-ta...AutoZone. They have the tensioner and sure enough there is a bracket with six holes for bolts. Awesome.
Back at the car, I cannot break the bolts off. I have a breaker bar, but the only 13mm socket I have is a 1/4. I have no adapter to go 1/2 to 1/4. Also, the bracket appears to have three of its bolts hidden behind the power steering pulley. A quick call to Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry. Seems you have to pull one of these suckers off with a "Power Steering Pulley Puller." To Advanced Auto we go. No such luck, they are out. Back we go to AutoZone...duna-dunta-dun-ta... Autozone. I get a small set of mm sockets (13mm-18mm: $9.99) and rent the puller.
Back at the car the puller will not fit. The puller bolt is 4 inches long, my clearance is 3 inches. What to do? Call Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry. He says "the bolts have to come out somehow, they cannot expect you to break down the engine to remove the tensioner. " I stumble upon the somehow: the pulley has holes in it you can place a deepwell socket into. Good news. Bad news is these bolts are 10mm and I have no 10mm deepwell socket.
Back we head to Autozone... duna-dunta-dun-ta... Autozone to return the puller and get a small set of mm sockets (8mm-13mm: free because they would not listen to what I was telling them).
On the way back to the car I tell the wife and boy that I got a bad feeling about the last bolt, the underbolt, the one out of the way. "It's gonna be a F_____," I tell them.
Back at the car, One, Two big bolts come out easy, Three is easy. The Pulley bolts are next: Top one comes out. Kind of a pain because you have to use the deepwell until the space to work is too small then you go back to regular socket, THEN you twist it out with your fingers, hoping you do not drop it while you squeeze it aginst the pulley and spin the pulley to retrieve the bolt where you have it squeezzed against the pulley. Middle bolt begins to break AND all the antifreeze in the block come a'pourin' out. I figure as long as I do not see oil, we are okay. It's just antifreeze we are spilling all over this church's parking lot. Bottom bolt proves Proto-Mechanic to be a psychic. It indeed is a F______. And it will prove to be a F_____ again in a few minutes. But, after a struggle with the F_____ bolt, the plate is off and the engine is devoid of antifreeze.
A note: the suspiciously large bracket/plate attached to the belt tensioner also acts as a bracket for the power steering pump. Awesome. So while you put the bracket back on, you have to hold the power steering pump up in order to get the bolts in there.
The big three bolts go back on easily, the Pulley bolts are a bit harder, but once the Top one is in, the Middle goes in easily. Of course, that leaves up with the Bottom bolt, you remember, the F_____ bolt. I come up with an ingenious plan to hold the bolt in the socket using 1) a piece of paper and 2) my ingenuity, and then get the F______ bolt in by 1) encouragement from Master of Sport Mechanic and All-Round-Great Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry who says that "you just fiddle with it until it kind of pops in there" and 2) fiddling with it until it just popped in there. After three minutes of actual bolt tightening and twenty minutes of phantom bolt tightening ("I'm on something. I think. But it ain't tightening. Wait. That's absolutely nothing. I don't understand that S___!) the Belt tensioner bracket that bolts the Belt Tensioner and the Power Steering Pump to the block and holds in all the antifreeze is attached. Logan routes the belt three times wrong, fouth time charmingly and we are set for a test.
Car starts and nothing is leaking. Power steering is squeeling but MOSMaARGG,MPML Terry says he needs a new belt and the sound might just go away, but get the belt anyway. We eat at subway and Logan makes his way home. We drive another hour and fifteen to the house. Another Do-It-Yourself mechanicing job stumbled through. Though this time, I kept my temper pretty well.
Total Actual time: 4 hours with trips.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Proto-Mechanic Teaser
First, I know I should be known as Neo-Mechanic, but I just like the sound of Proto-Mechanic: First Mechanic, First Time Mechanic...
So, Logan calls with loose belt. Seems his belt tensioner is out... or so it seems. Proto-Mechanic will be leaving at 3 today in order to try and fix the issue and not screw the pootch. Update on the Blog tomorrow.
Of course, Logan made it out to Terry like I thought it was the alternator. I simply told Logan that without the belt running the alternator would not keep the battery charged. Now Terry thinks I misdiagnosed the issue, which I did not.
So, Logan calls with loose belt. Seems his belt tensioner is out... or so it seems. Proto-Mechanic will be leaving at 3 today in order to try and fix the issue and not screw the pootch. Update on the Blog tomorrow.
Of course, Logan made it out to Terry like I thought it was the alternator. I simply told Logan that without the belt running the alternator would not keep the battery charged. Now Terry thinks I misdiagnosed the issue, which I did not.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Further Adventures of Pete Bush: Proto-Mechanic... and some Movies
EGR Valve
So, the van cuts out on Christan down in Jacksonville. She takes it to Advanced Auto and comes up with two codes: P0404 and P0406... both dealing with the EGR valve. Never heard of it before, but the guy at Autozone told Christan that "it would be 30 or 40 bucks and was a a plug n'play piece." At that point I felt good about the whole project. Right in Proto-Mechanic's wheelhouse.
The EGR valve was seventy-seven bucks. That should have been an omen. Should have been. Got an air filter as well. Ninety bucks at the Autozone. Awesome.
Got up late Saturday. This was the day I fell in love with my chainsaw. Nate and I took down a fallen limb, chopped it into bits and were done in fifteen minutes. I love my chainsaw. On to the EGR valve.
Easy to find. Top bolts are 5/16, bottom bolts 10mm. Makes sense to me. First three bolts are EPJ. Then, the fourth bolt.
The fourth bolt on the EGRV is located just above the alternator, and I mean just above. So just above that a ratchet will not fit into the gap. I had an inkling about what to do, but called Master of Sport Mechanic Extraordinaire and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry who agreed that the alternator would have to be loosened.
The top bolt and mounting bracket both came out with little issue, just time consuming as the ROM for ratchet work is negligible. Unfortunatly, the second bolt is in a wee gap under the belt with even less ROM and in order to get to it with a ratchet you need to go by feel. This took a long time. And once these three bolts were out... the alternator would not budge. At this point I lost control.
According to my tear filled phone call to MOSMEaARGG,MPML Terry, there is a third bolt toward the front. I found it. If you had no air conditioning setup, it would be easy to get to. I have AC, so it was not. No way in Hell or God's Green Earth a ratchet will get in there and, of course, the alternator is held on by 15mm bolts and I only have a smattering of SAE wrenches. Off to Ace Hardware: $23.86 for a set of metric wrenches. I find that I have to buy tools for every job I do.
Alternator moves once third bolt is loosened. Have to impress Nate into service. We finally get it off, get the new one on. Total time: 4 hours. Assumed time: 45 minutes.
Good news: the van starts up.
Air filter takes three minutes to remove and install. Right on schedule.
At this point, the gym has assumed the "no chance in hell" status.
Proto-Mechanic became DJ Yardman on Sunday. Mowed all three yards and swept up small backyard and front yard. Gots to weedeat, rake and trim trees next weekend.
Watched movies:
Firefly
A great TV series that never got a chance. Great acting (except for Adam Bladwin who tries too hard to be doltish), great stories, fantastic CGI, Hot Chicks and Hot guest stars. Nate and I watched the whole single season series this past week. Wish we could have seen more about Shepherd Book and the bounty Hunter Jubal Early. A-
Serenity
As icing on the cake we went with the movie of the series. Enjoyable movie that waffles between looking like good ST movies and bad ST movies. A little bit of a disconnect between the relationsip between Mal and the Tam's but is acceptable. Good self-contained story, solid acting and Chiwitel Ejiofor... my man. Little far fetched in the end, but good fun. Sad to see Book and Wash go. B+
Hot-Tub Time Machine
Back to the Future meets The Wedding Singer. Not as smart as the first, not as funny as the second. The best part was catching the Better off Dead references. Had some funny stuff, but just did not work. Clark Duke, the unknown, was the funniest guy in the movie. Ridiculously perfect ending, not to mention a whole time travel continuity issue. C-
The Book of Eli
Better than I anticipated, but so slow. The Road Warrior meets The Road. The revelation did not make a ton of sense to me, but it was cool... I guess. Gary Oldman chews through his scenes. Denzel was great in a subdued role. Contrast this with Training Day and you see the chops. Actually liked Mila Kunis in this. Still, the thing meanders to a questionable end. Kind of derivitive outside of the main story line. I liked the vaguity about the reason behind the war and the book burning. B-
Mr. Wrong
Ellen Degeneres vehicle from 96. Starts off hilarious and ends up ridiculous. Bill Pullman plays the unbalanced whit wonderfully and Degeneres actually does a very fine comedic job, never over-doing it. Still, a waste of time. D+
So, the van cuts out on Christan down in Jacksonville. She takes it to Advanced Auto and comes up with two codes: P0404 and P0406... both dealing with the EGR valve. Never heard of it before, but the guy at Autozone told Christan that "it would be 30 or 40 bucks and was a a plug n'play piece." At that point I felt good about the whole project. Right in Proto-Mechanic's wheelhouse.
The EGR valve was seventy-seven bucks. That should have been an omen. Should have been. Got an air filter as well. Ninety bucks at the Autozone. Awesome.
Got up late Saturday. This was the day I fell in love with my chainsaw. Nate and I took down a fallen limb, chopped it into bits and were done in fifteen minutes. I love my chainsaw. On to the EGR valve.
Easy to find. Top bolts are 5/16, bottom bolts 10mm. Makes sense to me. First three bolts are EPJ. Then, the fourth bolt.
The fourth bolt on the EGRV is located just above the alternator, and I mean just above. So just above that a ratchet will not fit into the gap. I had an inkling about what to do, but called Master of Sport Mechanic Extraordinaire and All-Round-Great-Guy, My Personal Mechanicing Lifeline Terry who agreed that the alternator would have to be loosened.
The top bolt and mounting bracket both came out with little issue, just time consuming as the ROM for ratchet work is negligible. Unfortunatly, the second bolt is in a wee gap under the belt with even less ROM and in order to get to it with a ratchet you need to go by feel. This took a long time. And once these three bolts were out... the alternator would not budge. At this point I lost control.
According to my tear filled phone call to MOSMEaARGG,MPML Terry, there is a third bolt toward the front. I found it. If you had no air conditioning setup, it would be easy to get to. I have AC, so it was not. No way in Hell or God's Green Earth a ratchet will get in there and, of course, the alternator is held on by 15mm bolts and I only have a smattering of SAE wrenches. Off to Ace Hardware: $23.86 for a set of metric wrenches. I find that I have to buy tools for every job I do.
Alternator moves once third bolt is loosened. Have to impress Nate into service. We finally get it off, get the new one on. Total time: 4 hours. Assumed time: 45 minutes.
Good news: the van starts up.
Air filter takes three minutes to remove and install. Right on schedule.
At this point, the gym has assumed the "no chance in hell" status.
Proto-Mechanic became DJ Yardman on Sunday. Mowed all three yards and swept up small backyard and front yard. Gots to weedeat, rake and trim trees next weekend.
Watched movies:
Firefly
A great TV series that never got a chance. Great acting (except for Adam Bladwin who tries too hard to be doltish), great stories, fantastic CGI, Hot Chicks and Hot guest stars. Nate and I watched the whole single season series this past week. Wish we could have seen more about Shepherd Book and the bounty Hunter Jubal Early. A-
Serenity
As icing on the cake we went with the movie of the series. Enjoyable movie that waffles between looking like good ST movies and bad ST movies. A little bit of a disconnect between the relationsip between Mal and the Tam's but is acceptable. Good self-contained story, solid acting and Chiwitel Ejiofor... my man. Little far fetched in the end, but good fun. Sad to see Book and Wash go. B+
Hot-Tub Time Machine
Back to the Future meets The Wedding Singer. Not as smart as the first, not as funny as the second. The best part was catching the Better off Dead references. Had some funny stuff, but just did not work. Clark Duke, the unknown, was the funniest guy in the movie. Ridiculously perfect ending, not to mention a whole time travel continuity issue. C-
The Book of Eli
Better than I anticipated, but so slow. The Road Warrior meets The Road. The revelation did not make a ton of sense to me, but it was cool... I guess. Gary Oldman chews through his scenes. Denzel was great in a subdued role. Contrast this with Training Day and you see the chops. Actually liked Mila Kunis in this. Still, the thing meanders to a questionable end. Kind of derivitive outside of the main story line. I liked the vaguity about the reason behind the war and the book burning. B-
Mr. Wrong
Ellen Degeneres vehicle from 96. Starts off hilarious and ends up ridiculous. Bill Pullman plays the unbalanced whit wonderfully and Degeneres actually does a very fine comedic job, never over-doing it. Still, a waste of time. D+
Friday, June 18, 2010
Seven Pounds: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson
As someone constantly trying to ammend for his sins, who does not care for himself, who is desperate to make a difference, this movie is powerful, even if I figured out the twist right after the box jellyfish scene. Will Smith plays a fantastically muted version of himself, on the borderline of being broken at any point. Woody Harrelson gives the best perfomance of his career, in my opinion. Rosario Dawson is downright powerful. There is never a doubt that she actually IS the character she is playing, sickness and all. A beautifully acted piece with a just a smattering of too much heavy handed emotion, but whose slap-in-the-face ending is, while transparent, still effective. You wonder how an individual can exist with so much hate for himself and love for others for so long. And in the end love both wins and loses. B+
Thursday, June 3, 2010
David Mamet and Training Log: Bis and tris and "cardio"
Just finished Watching Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner from '97. Even though it is odd, I have always loved Mamet's dialogue and rythms of speech. Rebecca Pidgeon, his wife of nearly 20 years, shines in an adorable role that makes the ending even more shocking. Steve Martin absolutley nails his performance as Jimmy Dell, the con man. He takes to the Mamet style seemlessly. Some say the characterizations get lost in the style with Mamet's work, but it simply lends itself to an atmosphere I have grown to enjoy. Always great to see my boy Ricky Jay in action. Though the plot is the most elaborate con of all time, it makes for good, if not believable, movie watching.
Two points of contention: Campbell Scott characterization IS lost in the style. He never seems to merege with the dialogue and it just gets worse as the movie goes on. That's the first problem, the second is the ending. Incredible let down. That was the problem with Redbelt. Not the problem with Heist. The ending is outlandish and poorly done. A great example of what could have been. B-
Wednesday at AF in Blackshear
Pullups
4 sets of 5... just tough today
Kneeling Pulley Crunch
110 x 12
115 x 12
140 x 12
115 x 12
Standing BB Tricep Extens
45 x 12
65 x 12
95 x 12
105 x 12
Alternating Hammer Curls
30 x 8 x ea
35 x 8 x ea
40 x 6 x ea
35 x 8 x ea
Pushups: feet up, handles
12, 15, 15, 20
Russian Twists
+15 x 20
+20 x 20 x 2
Wide Grip Push downs
65 x 12
80 x 12
95 x 12
Two Hand Pulley Curl
65 x 12
80 x 12
110 x 12
Chris and I walked Around the block twice, hence "Cardio".
Two points of contention: Campbell Scott characterization IS lost in the style. He never seems to merege with the dialogue and it just gets worse as the movie goes on. That's the first problem, the second is the ending. Incredible let down. That was the problem with Redbelt. Not the problem with Heist. The ending is outlandish and poorly done. A great example of what could have been. B-
Wednesday at AF in Blackshear
Pullups
4 sets of 5... just tough today
Kneeling Pulley Crunch
110 x 12
115 x 12
140 x 12
115 x 12
Standing BB Tricep Extens
45 x 12
65 x 12
95 x 12
105 x 12
Alternating Hammer Curls
30 x 8 x ea
35 x 8 x ea
40 x 6 x ea
35 x 8 x ea
Pushups: feet up, handles
12, 15, 15, 20
Russian Twists
+15 x 20
+20 x 20 x 2
Wide Grip Push downs
65 x 12
80 x 12
95 x 12
Two Hand Pulley Curl
65 x 12
80 x 12
110 x 12
Chris and I walked Around the block twice, hence "Cardio".
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