NoVa Roller Derby vs SMRD February 20th, 2016

No Donuts for You!

I like to poke around rental cars to see how the engine and drive train are laided out and the philosophy and features that are included.

This weeks trip gave me the opportunity to play with a 2015 Hyundai Accent. Aside from the nifty fuel economy button (who wouldn't just leave that on in an econobox?) the other thing that struck me right away was the spare tire. I expect most cars to come with a donut spare, and the real question is if there is enough space for a full size spare down the road.

Well, lets take a look.

Surprise! There is no spare! Instead we have what looks to be extra storage, an electric tire pump, and a can of fix-a-flat.

Actually, this is more of a can of sealant. It's designed to connect to the pump, not the tire.

The can is very heavy and the metal feels thick, likely intended to last a long time in the trunk before use.

Back side of the pump. All the hoses and cables are neatly contained.

Front side of the pump. The can slides in from the right.

I had heard that these were becoming common but this is the first time I have seen one in the wild.

At various times I have chucked the spare tires from our cars into the basement or barn and gone with a can of fix-a-flat. The idea is that a small amount of fuel economy can be gained by reducing the inertia that must be overcome to accelerate. If a tire is blown, I can either use the fixaflat, or get The Girly or cab to return me to the barn where I gather my tools and get things rolling again.

However, for trips of distance beyond a normal commute beg for the peace of mind that having a spare, especially a full size spare, can bring. Coming back from a long hike to find the car with a flat and no spare would be expensive and time consuming to rectify. Thus, most of the time, most of the cars have a spare tire because lugging it in and out of the car is a chore.

That all said, I think these little kits probably have a real place in a universe where folks do regular maintenance (and replace tires before they're bald!), stay on blacktop, have cell phones, carry a roadside assistance plan. Especially since mechanics tend to use an air wrench set to 200 ft-lbs to put on the lug nuts. (Good luck getting those off with a tire iron) I've only had one tire repair in the past 6 years, and it's been over a decade since I had an event that required tire removal on the side of the road.

 Even with all that stuff, because of the requisite wait for rescue, it seems massively more inconvenient to wait then just swap.

Car Batteries: About ready to use LiFEPO4 in place of PB?

The ChevOldsmoBuiac has been having some trouble cranking on cold mornings. The battery is just barely 5 years old, so a replacement maybe in order. I cleaned the battery terminals this weekend, and the slow turning hasn't re-occured, so I'm hopefully that was the root cause. In case it is not, I was wondering if LiFePO₄ batteries had gotten big/cheap enough to use as replacements. It looks like we're getting into the space where that's feasible.

The 1990 olds cutlass ciera OEM specification is for a ~650 CCA battery. A 600 CCA LiFePO₄ is about twice the price, and will need some work to adapt the battery terminals. However, if it really does last 2-5 times as long, it would be the last battery I bought for the car.

While googling, I found another person who suffered the same fate and described the requirement to remove the front brace as a "Jigsaw puzzle". Was there truly no way to put the brace elsewhere?

In terms of repair work, the biggest travesty with the A-body Cutlass Ciera is that their huge engine compartment, which would seem to make repair easy, is belying close tolerances and poor organizations of individual subsystems, and an annoying predisposition of the entire vehicle to drop paint and rust. At least the parts are plentiful and cheap.

Snowstorm Scavenger Hunt

Snowstorm Scavenger Hunt

Rules

• Points are awarded for any of the above that are spotted or experienced
• Repeat spotting or experiences count, and gaming the system is allowed
• The winner is decided by the team that accumulates the most points 
• Ties will be broken by leg wrestling match between the smallest member of each team

1 Point Each

• Hot chocolate
• Check weather twice in 10 minutes
• Dog/Cat refuses to go outside
• Smell of woodsmoke
• Unusual silence
• Nighttime glow
• Someone asks if tomorrow is a snow day 
• More hats are worn than are strictly necessary.

2 Points Each

• Snowman
• Snowball fight
• Spiked Hot Chocolate
• Do something you have been putting off instead of going outside
• Sledding
• Snow angel
• Mom calls, not to see if your ok, but really to see if you're ok.
• Cute pet footprints in yard

3 Points Each

• You're drunk
• Out of bread
• Out of milk
• Christmas carols after December, since it is finally white and snowing.
• Shovel snow
• Snow plow fills your driveway entrance just after you finish clearing it
• "Most fun day sledding ever." 
• Identify footprints in snow of animals other than domestic
• Dude(tte) grilling outside
• Snowboot stays put, but the owner kept going 

5 Points Each

• You are both drunk
• Snow is deeper than the top of your boots
• Someone shoveling in shorts and a t-shirt
• The sound of a leaf blower
• Spend time with your kids since it's snowing (vs. time with your screen, otherwise)
• Throw out your back
• Car battery that was fine last week is dead now
• Yellow snow
• Get hurt sledding 
• Out of beer already
• Snow storm has been given a name
• Someone slides/spins a car on purpose
• Snow down back of pants
• Footprints in snow lead to the perpetrator
• Run the snowblower/snow plow over the same spot more than twice in an hour
• Family photo in snow to commemorate the event 

10 Points Each

• Legible, 4+ letter word written in yellow substance
• Snow plow refuses to plow your street, calls for backup
• Cannot make out object 100 ft/33 M from window due to low visibility from blowing snow
• Snowball with a rock in it
• Newspaper jammed in snowblower
• Snow sculpture resembling genitals 
• Slip on ice and fall on your ass
• Some part of you is numb enough to operate on
• The roads are closed, yet the bar is full
• Interstate Highway is closed
• Sleep somewhere warmer than your bed
• Child's first snow experience
• It doesn't matter how deep it is, snow removal is the duty of only one spouse
• You find your headache isn't carbon monoxide poisoning: it's your family.
• Snow plow on a garbage truck
• Buses won't start due to cold
• Someone uses tire chains on their car
• Child decides to store as much snow as possible in the freezer
• Someone skis or snowshoes down the street
• All your cold weather gear is soaked, but you need to go out again
• Enjoy warmth form a heat source that does not have a thermostat
• Telecommunications utility outage
• Smores made or chestnuts roasted using fire

20 Points Each

• Geo Metro or Suzuki Swift, occupied by two or more teenagers, making good headway on unplowed/icey roads.
• Jeep or other off-road design vehicle in the ditch
• Marks in the snow from where your pets genitals are dragging
• Snow deeper than the top of pets head.
• At the time you finish clearing the driveway, you turn back and see that you can't tell that you did at the point where.
• Frost bite
• Someone rides a bike down an unplowed street
• Snow accumulates so quickly that kids are unable to return home and must stay at neighbors
• There's an igloo or quinzhee
• Pipe freezes
• Sled or person on skis towed by a car or truck
• Pay teenagers to shovel your property
• Governor declares state of emergency 
• A second snowstorm of equal magnitude predicted within 24 hours of the first.
• Walk to the store to get supplies or more booze
• Unable to make it to a hospital and without a midwife, someone gives birth at home or in a car.
• Snow is so deep now you'll probably just wait until spring.
• Find supercooled liquid that turns to solid at the slightest touch
• Break any accumulation, accumulation rate, wind speed, wind chill, or temperature record.
• U.S. Postal Service does not deliver
• Order a snowblower online to avoid the agony of shoveling ever again
• You're running out of places to put the snow
• Plow hits a car or a mailbox
• Warm alcoholic drinks are consumed
• Snow accumulation exceeds maximum predictions by accepted authorities by more than 6"
• Basic utility outage (water, gas, electric)

50 Points Each

• Avalanche
• Announcement is made that storm was predicted by religious, spiritual, or mystic figure, or that it is the result of climate change.
• Cars cannot be moved from their parking spots
• Someone knocks on your door searching for bread and milk
• The door is blocked by snow
• Plow hits fire hydrant
• Forget to turn off the car after warming it up, find it melted off completely and out of gas.
• Harley Davidson goes by on unplowed road
• A tree or building collapses due to snow load
• Ticket for not shoveling sidewalk 
• "Storm of the decade/century/millennium!"
• Snowplow driver compliments you on your shoveling job.
• Someone goes down the street on a snowmobile
• School or work cancelled for 2 or more days in advance
• President declares state of emergency
• Use of vacuum cleaner, or other device which was not designed or intended to move snow, to move snow
• The network news crew is spotted
• Spike in birthrate is noted by demographers 9 months after the end of the storm (teams must be prepared demand a recount to use this).
• HOA or Zoning Department letter saying your snow is not compliant and must be removed
• Snow being trucked out of the city and dumped elsewhere
• Someone decides to change career or life to avoid living in areas where it snows
• Snow accumulates on snow that is more than 8 months old 
• Old person does not remember it ever being this bad
• Hospital, Police, or Fire organization announce they are unable to cope
• Snow disaster exceeds one week in duration

NoVa Roller Derby, December 5, 2015, Super NoVas vs Capital Offenders

NoVa Roller Derby Super NOVAs vs DCRG Capital Offenders

December 5, 2015, Dulles Sportplex.