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Underground Lair of the Squankum

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Squankum

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The Packard drill site:

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interestingengineering.com

Camouflaging Oil Wells within a City - Uncovering Los Angeles' Hidden Black Gold Wells

Los Angeles was once nothing more than a forest of derricks leaching oil. Although the country has since evolved into an entertainment metropolis, its booming oil industry has not vanished, it has simply hidden from the public's eye.
interestingengineering.com interestingengineering.com

If you want to poke around in Google Maps/street view yourself:

maps.app.goo.gl

5733 W Pico Blvd · 5733 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019

Building
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl

Here's the neighborhood around it:

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And yeah, some people breathe fumes and get sick and don't know why. See The New Yorker article linked in the previous post for more about that.

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Squankum

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If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it.


Daniel Day Lewis is an acting cicada who shows up about every 7 years to collect his Oscar. This movie is in the Top 250 of movies rated at IMDB.com, #138, 8.2 stars average review, 697,000 reviews.

I wasn't sure when I saw it where it was set. I thought maybe TX. No, it was set in southern California. (And filmed in LA and TX.)

www.imdb.com

There Will Be Blood (2007) ⭐ 8.2 | Drama

2h 38m | R
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com
 
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Just stumbled across a few more data points regarding the adoption of wings as downforce generators on race cars. Not the invention of, but still some hints:

From the Wikipedia entry for Smokey Yunick:
"In 1962, one year after Art Malone set the world closed-circuit record at Daytona in Bob Osiecki's Kurtis-Kraft Indy roadster with two inverted wings, Yunick mounted a single wing on Jim Rathmann's Simoniz Vista Special Watson Roadster. The wing, designed to increase downforce, allowed Rathmann to reach cornering speeds never before seen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but created so much drag that it caused the car to record slower lap times. The United States Automobile Club (USAC) immediately banned the use of wings, but they soon began to appear on cars competing in Can-Am and Formula One. By 1972 USAC once again allowed their use."

I looked up Bob Osiecki's car. Looks like he remembered the Opel RAK rocket cars!

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The record he broke was the 180 mph barrier at Daytona, and Bill France gave him a $10,000 check for it.
 
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It was before my time, so forgive me... I just learned that the Dodge Charger Daytona...

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And Plymouth Superbird...

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were two different cars developed separately.

"At the time, Chrysler’s racing programs weren’t united. Each brand went its own way, doing its own thing, competing not only with GM and Ford on the racetracks, but also with themselves. " (Quote from the link below.)

I have previously posted a link to a story about the development of the Dodge, involving rocket scientists. Well, Plymouth had their own rocket scientist and he went on to spend his career devoted to wind tunnels and how they could improve race and street cars. Also, he liked wind tunnels.

www.autoweek.com

The actual rocket scientist behind Richard Petty's Plymouth Superbird is dead at 85

Gary Romberg helped NASA in the space race, then Mopar, Petty and others in stock car races.
www.autoweek.com www.autoweek.com
 
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kyrbz

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Squankum said:
Adam Savage brings on some guests from Lumafield for a look inside 18650 batteries. Variations in quality in lithium ion batteries is bad! These are the same folks that did the digital X-ray CT scans of charging/data cords a while back.


Lumafield's quality report:
https://www.lumafield.com/battery-report
Click to expand...
Interesting. I recently found out my Rad e-bike battery were starting lots of fires. In fact so many, they’re actually filing for bankruptcy because they can’t afford to replace the batteries the government is wanting them to recall. Because of that and my wife’s fear about all the lithium batteries we have for various devices and tools, I decided to buy ammo boxes to store all our lithium batteries in. Now at the end of the day, all my tool batteries go into ammo boxes. Needless to say, the Rad bike battery is also stored in an ammo box.
 
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kyrbz said:
Interesting. I recently found out my Rad e-bike battery were starting lots of fires. In fact so many, they’re actually filing for bankruptcy because they can’t afford to replace the batteries the government is wanting them to recall. Because of that and my wife’s fear about all the lithium batteries we have for various devices and tools, I decided to buy ammo boxes to store all our lithium batteries in. Now at the end of the day, all my tool batteries go into ammo boxes. Needless to say, the Rad bike battery is also stored in an ammo box.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that video made me start thinking about how to do charging outside. And to not run my battery chargers unless I'm around and awake!
 
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@Squankum - I just received an email from Lumafield following up on my download.

Quote: "Most people who grab it are either 1. just curious about the topic or 2. interested in chatting with our team down the line."

I warned him to expect a spike in downloads and gave him a link to your post with the video.
 
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Squankum

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rharman said:
@Squankum - I just received an email from Lumafield following up on my download.

Quote: "Most people who grab it are either 1. just curious about the topic or 2. interested in chatting with our team down the line."

I warned him to expect a spike in downloads and gave him a link to your post with the video.
Click to expand...

My usual complaint about 18650's is tracking them down for sale on Amazon! For all of their ubiquity, that search can be a tussle. And whatever you bought last time... ****. Gone.

I'm not super handy with electronics, I just love the basic HF "Braun" magnetic work light/wand that takes these. I charge batteries in a separate charger just for 18650's and unscrew the base cap and pop in a fresh one as needed. This is also why I eschew the HF Icon brand version of this kind of light, as you have to fiddle-dee-dee with a USB port charge. Soldered in place also means that when the battery dies or leaks, they expect you to buy a new light.
 
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A tour of the Harry J. Epstein's hardware store in Kansas City, MO; also, the Ko-ken USA sales rep talks about Ko-ken tools.


(Note, when looking for Ko-ken tools at the HJE website or anywhere else, uh, don't worry about spelling it right, some things are filed under Koken,)
 
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Squankum

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I thought I talked about ancient radiant floor heating, starting with the traditional Korean "ondol" system going back 5,000 years. A small amount of firewood can be used for cooking (outside) and its heat/smoke are used to heat the mass of the entire floor, no cold spots, then the heat rises from the floor. Lots of thermal mass to hold the heat overnight.


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Lately refined by the South Koreans, using science!

 
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Squankum

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This is John Jacob Astor, the first multimillionaire businessman in the United States.

1770742468301.pngHe came from Germany when he was 20, seeking his fortune. The boat he paid for a ride on left England in November of 1783, headed to Baltimore, MD. The ship entered the Chesapeake Bay in January and got iced in. After weeks of waiting, in late March he had had enough and climbed down from the boat and walked across the ice to town.

This was when the Little Ice Age was still in effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

Anyway, he went on to make a vast fortune in animal pelts from the frontier, opium, and when the animals were all gone, New York City real estate.

I just happened to be reading a book lately that mentioned all of that. I bring it up because even though our winters aren't like the 19th century anymore, the Chesapeake Bay still has ice problems. Here's a video about a small icebreaker that helps people with their ice problems:

 
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More ice! In this, gathering it, like we did in the olden days when we didn't have a lot of options. Free ice is generated by nature in the winter, and all you have to do is merely... merely saw it out of the pond and drag it onto a wagon and then store it in an insulated barn, block by block.



The location is the living history farm Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago, IL.

Kline Creek Farm

Step back in time to experience life on a working farm in the 1890s at Kline Creek Farm at Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in West Chicago.
www.dupageforest.org www.dupageforest.org
 
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Two grand old hotels of Yellowstone National Park:

The Old FaithfulI Inn, built in 1904, out of many, many logs:

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Canyon Hotel, in its 1911 form, which survived until 1960:
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I'm reading a book about the history of the park during winter, and the author is at a bit of a loss as to how construction went on during the winter. Lighting, heating, sleeping, he could not find any documentation as to how the workers lived and worked. He did point out that in these years there were no hand held electrical saws. Even if there were, what electricity?

Here's a passage about a journalist visiting the construction of the larger Canyon Hotel in the winter of 1910/1911:

IMG_7527.jpeg

This is another example where the author is not sure what went on. My initial reaction was, "You touch cold steel nail after nail in that climate and your fingers will feel it sooner than later!" On second thought tonight, I also thought, "So add more stoves! They could use all the heat they could get inside that place!" (The practice for both hotel projects was to get as much of the structure and exterior built before winter arrived, so the workers could be inside without cold and snowdrifts coming in, and work on interior projects.)

Since reading about the nails-on-stoves a few weeks ago, I have since stumbled across a better explanation:


My theory is that they were melting paraffin onto the nails, to make them easier to drive. And the gasoline method mentioned in the video, I suspect not, gasoline was not a common supply in those days. Maybe kerosene, sure, but this was a remote job site. Supplies came in on horse-drawn sleds.

That video did receive a quality comment from an old framer:

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I recently met a restoration carpenter who works on old buildings like these in the park and if I get the chance to see him again next winter, I'll pick his brain about this.
 
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How the Germans build a biathlon rifle:


These athletes, while their hearts are racing and they're huffing and puffing, have to put .22LR rounds into a 45mm (1.8") target when on their bellies (prone.) Targets are 115mm (4.5") when they're standing -- from 50 meters away.
 
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A loud noise in the Underground Lair! I was outside the lair, in the fresh air, around the corner and up the hill, when I heard a big whump/clang. Was it those darned neighbors across the street? What was that?

I got back to the garage door and it was closed, which was how I left it, went to open it and... ugh. Heavy. Very heavy. Once I got it open I found out that one of the two assist springs was no longer connected. I'd heard it break. The spring has a safety wire going through its middle so it didn't fly or go whacka whacka and hit something.

Here's where it broke:

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I didn't find this little piece until a few days later. Given the luck of the BMW and flying or falling objects, I'm glad this hit no glass on the way down.

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At some point in the 13 (?) years since I moved into the Underground Lair and Shabby Abode, I wondered if the springs were still good, and assumed that like most things on this generally original house, maybe they needed replacing. So I replaced them. Pretty much copied what the last installer had done.

Measured the now-old springs and checked the paint code and went on Amazon and ordered another pair. After about a week with only one spring, I must say, two are much, much better.

I'm just going to assume that they don't make 'em like they used to.
 
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A little BMW maintenance in the shop today. Power steering fluid change! Just under a liter sucked out with ****-O-Matic (a Capri pneumatic brake bleeder and a little bit of copper tubing) and almost a liter of fresh Pentosin CHF 11S added.


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Volume markings are cast into the side of the vacuum container, but not painted at the factory. I gave it a quick go with a Sharpie marker which is why the markings don't look very good, but they're a lot more visible. Also, I had some other oil sitting in this container before today's little project so the used oil being over 1.0 liter does not reflect what got sucked out of this car today.

I love this ****-O-matic for things like this, brake fluid reservoirs, what old oil is looking at me when I remove the BMW filter cartridge from the cast aluminum filter/bypass spring/thermostat housing on the side of the block during an oil change.
 
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Squankum

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Area man in Canada owns a Subaru with the upside down oil filter, wonders if the anti-drainback valve really keeps oil inside it when he removes it. Answer: yes.

 
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NightSky

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Squankum said:
Area man in Canada owns a Subaru with the upside down oil filter, wonders if the anti-drainback valve really keeps oil inside it when he removes it. Answer: yes.

1774214463019.png
Click to expand...
Interesting device that he used to cut open the used filter cannister. Did he steal that from the kitchen or is that made for opening filters (& why, if so)? I haven't seen anything like that before.
 
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gooned

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NightSky said:
Interesting device that he used to cut open the used filter cannister. Did he steal that from the kitchen or is that made for opening filters (& why, if so)? I haven't seen anything like that before.
Click to expand...
I’d say that is a specific tool, not that I own one…I also noted he neither pre-filled the new filter not put a dab of oil on the dry seal…both of which I do on anything I care about.
 
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