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Friday, May 18, 2007
THat Battery Charger
Thursday I dropped by my LBS after work for its "repeated application of penetrating catalyst," which sort of almost seemed to make things move a little bit... but not really. By my ankle there appeared a thing of beauty - a vintage Montgomery Ward battery charger, cords neatly looped and clamps tidily arranged, with a bolt wedged into it and the words "save bolt" indelibly inked beside it.
HOw many things do we have that are that simply mechanical, reliable, that we're not going to throw out in three years because the electronics will be obsolete? It made me homesick for sheds and workshops with old, reliable tools; you could see how they worked and maybe even fix them when they broke.
I studied it before I used it so I could try to return it as tidily, and there was a bud vase hanging around, so it was returned with a couple of roses from the bush in the yard (which my man who does the yard with that kind of equipment pruned back and it's full of buds and blooms).
My car battery is now fully charged so I can take it to Good Year to get all kinds of things done so it can make the transition from Garage Loiterer to Independent Taxi: New tires, oil change with synthetic, and a good once over - and yes, a new headlight would help. Hmmm... p'raps I should ask about local painters.
THe charger was my only success last night, but today I successfully put that computer on my fast bike. Amazing :) Might just get one for the other bikes too.
Thursday I dropped by my LBS after work for its "repeated application of penetrating catalyst," which sort of almost seemed to make things move a little bit... but not really. By my ankle there appeared a thing of beauty - a vintage Montgomery Ward battery charger, cords neatly looped and clamps tidily arranged, with a bolt wedged into it and the words "save bolt" indelibly inked beside it.
HOw many things do we have that are that simply mechanical, reliable, that we're not going to throw out in three years because the electronics will be obsolete? It made me homesick for sheds and workshops with old, reliable tools; you could see how they worked and maybe even fix them when they broke.
I studied it before I used it so I could try to return it as tidily, and there was a bud vase hanging around, so it was returned with a couple of roses from the bush in the yard (which my man who does the yard with that kind of equipment pruned back and it's full of buds and blooms).
My car battery is now fully charged so I can take it to Good Year to get all kinds of things done so it can make the transition from Garage Loiterer to Independent Taxi: New tires, oil change with synthetic, and a good once over - and yes, a new headlight would help. Hmmm... p'raps I should ask about local painters.
THe charger was my only success last night, but today I successfully put that computer on my fast bike. Amazing :) Might just get one for the other bikes too.
