Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Replacing a 2008 Town and Country Rear Wiper Arm
I’m posting this to save someone else some trouble since I had trouble figuring out what exactly needed to be done. I had a 2008 Town and Country (and I assume these instructions are the same for the 2008 Caravan and Grand Caravan) that had the rear wiper arm begin to turn freely. I also found through researching that the OEM plastic arm had been replaced by Mopar to be a metal arm (which isn’t surprising since the failure was the plastic housing cracking releasing tension on the motor arm).
I ordered the replacement parts on Amazon.com (and Amazon says they do not fit, but in fact they do):
Wiper Arm Cover Cap: 99-04 Jeep Grand Cherokee & 08-09 Caravan T&C Rear Wiper Arm Cover Cap MOPAR OEM
Wiper Arm: Mopar 6807 8306AA, Windshield Wiper Arm
New Wiper Blade: Mopar 6807 8307AA, Windshield Wiper Blade
The most difficult part was removing the metal ring from the old arm still attached to the motor shaft. I had a hard time figuring out that this was a separate piece and not just part of the motor shaft (anyone in the Amazon.com comments that says this part does not fit did not remove this part). For an explanation of what this is and how to remove it (I also used a hacksaw), watch this video — which is for a Passat, but the process is the same. VW and Chrysler must share parts.
That was it, put the new arm on after making sure it has been reset to its “Off” position. Tighten the nut, put the cap on, and test it. Not so bad.
Please leave a comment if this has been helpful.
1 commentTracing Jersey’s Matchers
Finally found the answer to what I looking for: How to figure out what the heck Jersey was doing when matching resources. This answers it nicely:
Jersey now supports the same feature implemented in 1.1.5-ea-SNAPSHOT. Adding the following servlet/filter initialization parameter enables tracing:
<init-param> <param-name>com.sun.jersey.config.feature.Trace</param-name> <param-value>true</param-value> </init-param>
Easy Peasy: http://blogs.oracle.com/sandoz/entry/tracing_in_jersey
Juno Photographs Earth-Moon System
I’ve posted about this in the past, but this type of photograph is my favorite. Juno, the recently launched probe to Jupiter, recently captured a single frame in which the Earth and the Moon were both visible.
I love this because it gives you a radically different perpective on the moon when you look up at in the sky. It seems so close, but in this photo you can see how far away it really is.
I love this because it clearly demonstrates the vastness of emptyness that surrounds us.
I love this because it describes vividly how far humans themselves have been able to explore, from the dot on the left to the dot on the right at its full extreme.
Take a minute to look and ponder.
From: http://www.onorbit.com/node/3747
Just Your Average Swedish Supermarket
Loved this slideshow from Serious Eats depicting a swedish supermarket. Featured: lots of things in tubes.
The Perils of Allowing Your Kids to Grow Up
As parents, we often look to certain growth milestones with longing. Asking ourselves “When will my son start walking?” or thinking out load “Boy, it would be nice if my daughter could talk” — unknowing to the fact that once a child starts talking they never, ever, ever stop.
It’s this latest milestone that my daughter has reached that has begun this whole cycle anew: reading.
When your child can’t read yet, it’s easy to control the information they receive. If you don’t want them to know about some of the options on the menu, you don’t it read them. You get used to have this superpower…and then everything changes.
Today I was walking through Target with my daughter when a non-descript package caught her eye. “Cotton candy?! Dad, that says cotton candy. Can we get some?”. Great.
Oh, I remember the good ol’ days when my daughter was illiterate.
First Solo Cross-Country Flight, Complete.
Your Taste Disappoints You
Great interview with Ira Glass (from This American Life) regarding storytelling, but more generally…creating.
Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Don’t give up.
He goes on to say that the most important thing you can do to get over this is: do a huge volume of work. Basically, practice.
So, I’ll try not to judge myself too harshly and keep working at the things I love…
(from Kottke)