Ones and Zeros

It was time - past time - to change the oil in the plane. It’s legal for me to change the oil on the plane - pilots are allowed to do preventative maintenance. But airports like all businesses, want to present certain appearances. Our plane is at a tie d0wn instead of a hangar due to the expense. And our tie down is prominently located at the airport too, so that isn’t a very discrete for an scruffy project like this. Changing the oil near the terminal isn’t one of those appearances this airport wants to present.

So, I loaded the necessary oil and oil change equipment into the plane and after a flight (so the oil was warm) I taxied to the far end of the airport. Traffic was taking off from the opposite end so it was quiet - and discreet - where I was.

So naturally, once I took the cowling off and got started, the airport was “turned around” and traffic started using my end for takeoff. No matter, it’s near the end of the day and traffic will be falling off soon. I got the cowling off and got ready to drain the oil. And found my oil sample kit was back at the tiedown.

I said a few words choice words and started the 3/4 mile walk to get the oil sample kit. On the way I met one of the line guys driving the gas truck who offered me a ride. So much for being discrete. He was kind enough to drive me back too - saved me a lot of time there.

I drained the oil, got my sample, and took off the old filter. I caught most of the oil falling from the filter, but had to clean up the rest. After the oil had all drained out, I closed the quick-drain valve, put on and safety-wired the new filter, and started refilling with the new oil. By now it was dark, I was near a light, but still had to use my flashlight.

While doing that I made the log book entry and cleaned up. We had 65 hours on this oil, more than the usual 50 hour amount and the oil showed it too. In a couple months we’ll change to the winter oil, but this needed changing now.

I put the cowling back on. This took a long time. It’s difficult to get the bottom cowling on a Cessna 172 single-handled. This ended up taking almost as long as all the work so far! I finally got it on and put the top cowling on as well, that’s easier. Next time I’ll get a hose to drain the oil so I don’t have to remove the bottom cowling.

I started up to taxi back. And swore again. I’d forgotten to reconnect the taxi and landing lights in the lower cowling. Nothing to do but take the top cowling off again, reach down and reconnect the wires. Only 28 or so screws to do that.

That’s when I got busted. I hear a voice saying, “I thought I recognized you”. It was a friend who also is the chair of the airport commission. He helpfully pointed out the airport regulations that I didn’t know and had just broken as we pushed my plane to his hangar. In the light and with his help it was a lot easier reconnecting the taxi and landing lights. I even got them right first time. And he found a spare screw for one of my cowling screws that had gone missing. (In older airplanes a cowling screw will, once and a while, come loose and leave the airplane in flight. There’s enough extra that this isn’t a problem. I even had a door lock disappear in flight once.)

Turns out that EPA regulations prevent oil changes except at specific locations with oil-water separators - like the maintenance hangar that’s operated by the FBO.  Reasonably, they don’t want  dumped oil to run off into normal drainage water.  And, I suspect that the Airport Commission over the years has liked that policy too, it gives them cover as well.  All the DC metro area airports want to attract the corporate aircraft with a nice appearance.

But the oil change is done, although I’ll have to find a new - and acceptable - place to do that in the future.

I used to make bread semi-regularly. I stopped because of the time factor when I started a small company. Well, eating fine dinners at several friend’s houses in WV where the hosts served home made bread inspired me again. This is my third in a series of bread-making experiments. I wasn’t happy with the first two, so didn’t post them. (You didn’t miss anything.)

I start with wheat berries, the whole-wheat kernels that are ground to make flour. I do this because when I was making bread earlier I found that the wheat goes “off” quickly. That’s why there is white flour, it stores better and lasts longer. The oils in the kernel go rancid relatively quickly, so white flour has that kernel removed. But we like the taste and nutrition of the whole wheat. I use the “hard red spring wheat” to the right. It’s better for bread due to the higher gluten content. Other wheat is lighter in color and softer too.

We have a grain grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer to make the flour from the wheat berries. (Fresh whole-grain flour makes wonderful light & fluffy pancakes and waffles too. The fresh flour has a slightly nutty taste.)

One thing I’d forgotten was that grinding a cup of berries makes more than a cup of flour - even when shaken down. Recipes should be measuring by weight in ounces, or better yet in grams. But at least in the US we tend to make recipes by volume, “4 cups of flour” for example, which the loaf below uses.

In the last two batches of bread I was grinding 4 cups berries and getting almost 6 cups of flour. But I was adding salt, yeast, water, honey, and oil for just 4 cups of flour. So I was guaranteed to be wrong. This time I measured the flour instead of the berries and it worked nicely. I kneaded it by hand 600 times, did two rises and a final proof, and it’s good. Much better than the store! (Except for Great Harvest bakery of course, I can’t touch them.)

Maybe I’ll try French baguettes some time.

The New York Times recently reported on an issue that most Prius and other hybrid car drivers know about: “stealth mode”. When running solely on the electric motor, hybrids don’t make much sound at all. Most of what we think of as automobile sounds are from the gas engine.

Some people out there don’t bother to look before crossing a road in a parking lot and apparently just listen for a car. Many hybrid drivers have a story about someone walking in front of their car without looking.

Now, pedestrians do have the right of way and drivers do need to watch and to give way. But let’s be rational. Pedestrians shouldn’t walk directly in front of a moving car either! When I’ve been driving and this has happened to me, the offending pedestrian often looks up indignantly at me.

Niven and Pournelle would consider this evolution in action. True enough, but a little rough. I consider it a learning experience to become more aware of our surroundings.

The NYT article talks about adding noisemakers to hybrids. To an engineer this would be a kludge. That is, an unsatisfactory and cumbersome fix to a problem. Besides, I think a little less noise in the world is a good thing.

In the end a social change will result if hybrids and electric cars continue to become more common: People will start looking both ways before they cross a road - even in a parking lot. This is just like our parents trained us to do when we were kids; it’s not exactly a radical new idea.

Technology changes society (think about cell phones), and society changes technology too (the web). Neither controls the other, but in the long term they’re locked together. Both society and technology are created by humans and are just aspects of ourselves. We’re both toolmakers and social animals.

So watch where you’re walking! And if you don’t, then don’t be surprised when a hybrid screeches to a stop at your feet.

I just sent the following text to the President via www.whitehouse.gov:

Congratulations Mr President on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. This puts you in the same class as President Carter, whom I also voted for. However, despite my affection and respect for him, President Carter has been a much more effective ex-president than he was as a sitting president.

For you to be an effective president you should, now that you have a Peace Prize, end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, close Guantanamo, and change American policy to stop creating future problems for ourselves! We set up Afghanistan originally and had it backfire on us, we were originally supporters of Hussein in Iraq. These are two examples of the many.

In domestic politics, stop being conciliatory to the GOP, they’ve marginalized themselves even within their own party. Follow your ideals, not your compromises; follow the constitution, not government forces against personal liberty. Take the high road and lead, dammit! We’re begging for a leader, the GOP and blue dogs aren’t it, neither are Pelosi and Reid. Your place is ready and the bully pulpit is waiting for conviction, not for a politician’s “on the other hand” statements.

The Nobel committee has given this to you on your promise, not your accomplishments. You haven’t yet had much time as president. So make them proud. Better yet, make us all proud, those that worked for you, voted for you, donated, and cheered your win after eight dark years.