Old-time Road Repairs in the Twenty First Century
Rough ride.
I have to go through this neighborhood often due to the one way streets here. You cannot always take the streets you want to take.
Today, they were repairing the street. My suspension was stretched to its max. So, I stopped to talk with them.
To start, someone marks the road with chalk. They mark the spots that would turn into pot holes - though they do not really ever get to that point.
Then they use this machine that vibrates the bricks in order to loosen them a bit. And they start pulling them out and tossing them into a pile.
The idea is to even out the underlying dirt. There is never any cement or other kind of glue, as it were, holding these cobblestones in place. It is just a large scale, IRL Tetris game for grown men. Then they get paid and buy touch screen devices for their little-ones so they can play digital Tetris (and other games).
They do spend some time on their feet as they rake and even out the dirt and small gravel into a flat surface. Then they wiggle and hammer the stones into an even new road. The idea is to restack the cobblestones into a nice dove-tail pattern on the street.
When it seems they have the odd-height cobbles arranged so that they are flat, they are ready to fill in the gaps between them. That is done at the end of this job. They dump more of the same dirt and gravel mix on top of it all and sweep the filling over the surface to fill the gaps.
I stood around talking to these guys, most people spark up a conversation with me because of my strange electric vehicle ( my @s18 ). When I have time, I stop and take an interest in someone else's day as they work. https://blurt.blog/@s18
I have noticed that many of the regular roads are being converted to cobblestones in the oldest part of San Telmo. I may do another one of these pictorials so you can see the results. I will have a better view of how the end result looks at that time.
Thanks for letting me bring this to you.
Trash Talking about Popcorn
It is the end of the weekend and someone wants to take a garbage bag of popcorn to school tomorrow. That guy is @rx7 who some of you met yesterday at the #hivemeetupba - Starbucks. https://blurt.blog/@rx7 https://blurt.blog/trending/hivemeetupba
The reason for this project? "Cuz it would be hilarious!:" was the answer I got. But I know it is more about correcting the norm here in the deep, deep south. They all eat popcorn with sugar on it. We eat it with butter and salt. (hard to find here)
We started out with what I had in the house. several different brands of pisingallo (that is popping corn). When we got a few pots popped, we found that this brand worked the best. Nothing like what Orville makes but the best we found here.
This is our cooling and buttering bowl. It gets a swirl of melted butter, a mix, then another swirl. Then salt, mix, salt, mix, mix. The temperature must come down before going into the bag otherwise it burs through it and makes a mess.
We discovered a lot of cool tricks as we did one pot after another, varying the amount of corn and oil, and using different shaking techniques to end up with the least amount of unpopped corn (old maids).
We also found out that the weight of the garbage bag closely matches the combined marked weight of the seven packages of popping corn. My son will be the life of the party at school as each child dips a hand in and takes a bite of what they each think is something sweet. Lots of surprises at school.
Changing out Rubber on the Big Electric Bike
Strange that we need not deal with the chain
That is not the only strange thing. These tires are tubeless!
So my sons are here and we are using the sidewalk near my apartment building to change the tire. That means that at least one of us has to be there to make sure someone doesn't grab and run with any of the tools. There are three of us so it is not likely to be an issue.
The first victim is the fender and tail light assembly. We will be laying down the motorcycle on a soft leather jacket since we do not have a stand to put it on as of yet.
The brake assembly will come off and then the main shaft that goes right through the electric drive motor.
You can see the flat parts of the main shaft. When the motor torques to make the motorcycle go, those flats are the only thing that the motor can push against. The motor is the UFO looking thing in the midst of the spokes of the wheel.
Now we put the bike on its side and we can begin to let the air out and break the seal where the bead meets the aluminum wheel.
It is a huge project to disconnect the wire that goes to the motor controller, so we are going to work with the tire and wheel on a short leash, so to speak.
I published a video some time back where we were eating and playing with a noise maker. I had explained why our hands were dirty.
This is the post that I had promised to make explaining the project. Yes, it was about a month ago.
Tires are messy business !
My youngest who goes by the name @rx7 takes charge of cleaning the wheel. https://blurt.blog/@rx7
He finds several scars left over from the last time the tire was removed. We also found that the bead was damaged at some point when this tire was patched. @vatman, the owner of this bike, opted for a new tire in order to assure this would be the last time we take it apart. https://blurt.blog/@vatman
The windex is there because we used it to find the leak. We sprayed the entire surface of the tire, but bubbles only accumulated where the tire meats the rim. That is called a **bead leak**.
A brass wire brush does nicely to get the rubber fragments off and some fine sand paper did the trick for smoothing out the scarred aluminum.
Getting the tire mounted was a slow six-handed job so it was hard to get pictures of it but my sons got it done together and I taught them how to mount the tire without hurting the bead or the rim.
I have the same bike, though mine is blue, and I am hoping to have this wonderful team of 'mechanics' helping me if I get a flat. I cannot say it was fun because there are better environments and better sets of tools for accomplishing this task, but it **was** actually possible with the rinkie-dink tools we have. @vatman does this every day in a real shop where they sell and repair electric vehicles, while @rx7 is still finishing school. He had a job last summer selling scooters and electric bikes, which he will likely go back to when school lets out for the summer (soon). https://blurt.blog/@vatman https://blurt.blog/@rx7
Rounded Brick Walls and Stumpy- Wheels
Slowing down
I am still processing my last video. You would think that BitChute and other larger video platforms would be able to handle videos this side of 4K but they cannot.
3Speak.tv did not even flinch when I uploaded a 55 minute video (6GB) - no sweat.
So while I am reducing the quality and frame rate over and over in order to get the video down below 2GB for sites that do NOT pay me, I am going to **slow down** and post some of the pictures I took in the Nature Reserve when I was not filming.
I was at the water's edge in a large picnic area, again it was 7:00 a.m. and one or two joggers had been encountered on the way in. There was a sign that told people not to go out on the rocks or near the water.
If you clothes are torn and you do not own shoes, nobody will bother to chastise you for going past the "do not enter" signs.
*sidewalk tiles, rounded bricks, and cement with rebar sticking out of it.*
I was on the wheel you see in the cover photo, and it was early morning last spring. A worker said, "You can go close to the water, no problem." So I did and I started to take pictures of the garbage in the no-go zone.
I was starting to look for interesting things to photograph and another worker screamed at me for being in there. But I did get a couple of shots before putting the two rangers up against each other in a battle of the opinions. There is no law here, just people with uniforms and opinions that often differ.
I imagine a construction worker many decades ago wondering where he could dump the rubble from a downed building...
**"How about the seashore? Yeah, that will work."**
So you end up with sections of brick wall, slowly worn away by the rain and tides. It will all eventually be sand as God renews the beauty of his creation, no matter what the people throw at it.
I was wondering if I could flip this one and maybe the other side would be hollow - a brick canoe, It has the shape!
I also noticed that the cement seemed to be eaten away by the waves a bit faster than the orange brick.
Here is a closer look at that wall, taken moments before the guards differed in opinion. I was tossed out.
Funny how on any given weekend, there are at least seventy people in the water cooling off in the summer, with no regard for the glass and rebar they might be encountering below the water level. I would also like to mention that the water is contaminated. Look up El Riachuelo on any search engine. That river is only a mile up the shore from here.
*image search says: "Top Ten Most Poisonous" is the translation.*
I tend to find beauty in all cycles of life and erosion and I do not want to leave you with the thought of poisonous rivers...
I also wanted you to know that I stopped to smell the roses, and also these little orange flowers that were ever so beautiful if you zoom in and take a really good look at them. You may have seen them flying by during my last post. The video was a non-stop wheel journey, in which I did stop two times to get a glimpse of the high rise apartment buildings through the trees. https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/pztulewk&utm_source=studio
This post, however, is to show some other shots I have taken in the Nature Reserve on days that I did a lot of stopping. Here is one of my favorite flowers that grows there.
All photos in this post were taken by me and have never been posted anywhere else. The Reachuelo came from a search engine - DuckDuckGo when searching the word.
Nature Ride on the First Warm Day of Spring (Video)
https://3speak.tv/embed?v=sponge-bob/pztulewk
Video link ▶️ Watch on 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/pztulewk
Its the first warm day of spring!
I took the day off and did 13 miles (21km) in the nature reserve, plus the to and from home.
Join me on my Kingsong S18 as we do six hours of walking in an hour (Video). But that doesn't mean I was going fast the whole time. I did not add any music this time because I wanted to test a home made anti wind noise solution and I want to see how many sounds will be picked up then I will make more modifications if necessary. https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/pztulewk
At higher speeds, I can still talk 18" from my phone while it is in the stabilizer. Both loud and soft sounds are picked up just fine.
There is the city and Puerto Madero on one side (west) and the Rio de la Plata on the other (east),with lots of trails and wildlife in between. I even saw a fisherman checking his covid-flab, but I did not see it until I was editing at home.
People have seen me on the S18 and other unicycles for almost ten years, but they seem to be surprised that I am not on a bicycle (invented in 1817) and none have moved onward to the one wheel world. I was hoping to avoid a lot of the screaming and pointing (plus questions on how it works) so I could have a quiet ride through the nature reserve.
There were some small outbursts inside and a bunch of wows as I exited the reserve.
Although my hands are free as I drive with my feet, it is still hard to drive well, while manipulating a joystick on the gyroscopic stabilizer. I will do more dialogue now that I know that wind noise is not a factor. What do you think (suggest)?
Updating on the Bug Eaters over Winter.
They are not pretty in the dead of winter and they are hard to photograph well in the cold.
The dew attracts insects and when they get caught, they get stuck.
These are two photos (above and left) of the same plant. Close up, it is beautiful but the whole plant looks appears drab. The one that has no green has spent the winter right next to the largest of my sun-dew plants and for some reason it looks like it has not survived. Time will tell I guess.
Days have been hitting highs of 56 degrees and nights are as low as 41 degrees. I read that these can take the cold and four of them did survive. Fifteen others are definitely dead.
Here is another sun-dew that appears to be surviving. This one looks like plants I had seen on other's videos showing the dormant phase of the plant. Mine appears to be conserving its energy in its core and roots. That could be the case with some of the dead looking ones too but I am not sure.
In past years, I had kept nearly a hundred carnivorous plants inside using a grow light but many did not make it because of lower temperatures and humidity. I am still learning to produce these amazing plants.
These two are the other thriving specimens, the one on the right is the only one that survived indoors but it missed its dormant phase so we will have to see how it turns out.
Low humidity makes it hard for the plant to produce the sticky substance that catches the bugs.
Once I find the best way to keep these kinds of plants alive, I will be buying more of the Venus Fly Traps and Pinguiculas because I like to sell these exotics in the summer. All of these were outgrowing their pots when the cold hit, so they have all shrunken to half their summer sizes. Bugs are few and far between also over winter, but I am happy that they will make it. Yesterday hit 70 degrees so spring is in the air!
Jwee-jwee Video Number Two
▶️ Watch on 3Speak
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/izsdntxy
A slightly longer video on sounding crazy.
The second of two crazy videos that started as a '**yes**' answer to a request for a stupid gimmick being sold in the streets.
When my son enjoyed it, shown in the first video, I made it a point to go and buy a few more and give them to the other "**kids**". Yes, these are my kids and they are still kids to me.
Here is that video as promised.
Note, we had just finished changing out the rear tire on my son's electric motorcycle. We had ordered food and headed out to his girlfriend's work to bring her food.
Dirty hands are in the video so I wanted to say that. Plus there will be a step by step on the tire-change project in the near future (not a video though).
*left to right we see* *@rx7* *@vatman* *and* *@art3mis13* https://steemit.com/@rx7 https://steemit.com/@vatman https://steemit.com/@art3mis13
Fun Stuff!
Video Link ▶️ 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/izsdntxy
Multi-tasking Lunch
Chili!
My other one stopped by yesterday to visit and do some laundry. I put him to work on one of our electric vehicles that is out of commission (the bicycle).
Mac!
He found the problem, because he works on those kinds of things every day (Surrons, scoters and EUCs) at the shop. It is a bad HAL sensor causing the problem.
Chilimac !
Since it was Sunday and there were no parts stores open, I set him to making my home-made chili recipe. He did all the work, I helped him eye-ball the ingredients.
With Cheese on top
I have not had this dish since I had lived in the United States - it came to me as I thought of something for lunch. I thought I would tell you how I got the chili and what I morphed it into.
Just finished the post and also my lunch!
*I am seriously thinking grabbing another bowl though.*
Jwee-jwee Video Number One
▶️ Watch on 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/zahrvkhk
A short video of some strange air guitar.
My youngest and I head out to find new and interesting places and stuff on weekends. He used to point at street vendors and ask, "Can I have one?"
Since then, he wants transportation, clothes and the teen kind of stuff. This weekend his kid side was sparked and he asked for one of those little items. I missed that!
He was really surprised at how easy it was to get me to fork over two hundred for this little device. That's seventy cents as the paper money here turns to banana peels - value wise. He still thinks that a hundred peoso is a lot of money, cuz it says 100 on it.
The context of this video is: When he learned how to make it work - I was surprised it **did** work. I was laughing my ass off and shot a short video demonstration.
Take a look - take a guess at what kind of toy could may you sound like this. I will at some point reveal the secret it.
▶️ 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/zahrvkhk
Snaker update. Playing on the clean laundry.
I had the snakes out today.
It has been a long hard recovery for Goldie, my albino Burmese python. Somewhere at the beginning of March, she was burned or infected with something and was blistered over 70% of her body.
I was prepared to have her put down, but the doctor set me up with antibiotic injections and many creams / ointments. It killed me to inject her daily for weeks on end, but she was good and never hissed or complained.
Here they are playing on the "tender" (for hanging clean clothes).
They love climbing on anything thin like wires, rope, string or pipes. Pancho is the bigger snake that has been with me since he was a baby. He is very protective of Goldie and has helped me take care of her for the second half of her recovery.
Goldie has been feeling a lot better lately and is very active now. She has healed up nicely but her back is heavily scarred. She is eating chicken wings - one per week -and only has a few scabs healing up toward the end of her tail.
I wanted to make an update to the previous posts on the injuries and Goldie's progress. It is winter
now and I do not take them outside much when it is cold out. Some people I know on Hive have met both of these guys when I stopped off on the way to and from the doctor's offices. Among them are @pdc, @m36, and @juanselago to name a few. I am not sure if any of them have posted the selfies they took with them. https://steemit.com/@pdc https://steemit.com/@m36 https://steemit.com/@juanselago
I know what you are thinking...
no, they don't bite.
no, they do not get the clothes dirty (they are like living leather).
yes, they do know me and will climb up on me or my kids.
I don't leave them loose in the house. They would be fine but could hurt themselves or get out of the house and get lost.
I cannot help posting about my kids, plants and pets. If it gets to be much, I would refer you to cat owners across read.cash.
Much love!
One Wheel Maintenance.
This is my steering wheel
If I do not have a good grip between my feet and the peddles, then I may not be able to avoid a car, a person, or a car.
Today I saw the sandpaper-like grip tape starting to curl up on the edges. Some wheels have peddles with spikes where this could never happen. But all my wheels have had grip tape, so I am used to it.
If you catch it right away, you can glue it back down before it rips or folds and breaks. I use crazy-glue (here it is called 'la gotita'). A bit of alcohol to clean the metal and the back of the grip-tape, then a drop of that super fast glue. Finished.
I have a thousand kilometers on this vehicle (621 miles). I use this one for short errands where I have to go inside a lot of shops and carry shopping bags. For these trip, I do not use a helmet - too much to juggle.
For medium trips or all day riding on the bike paths or in the forest preserve, I wear full gear. It is necessary when you will be riding on rough terrain or going fast on trails. Putting on safety wear and taking it back off again is no fun, but it is worth it when riding long distance or doing tricks.
For extra long trips, I just take the motorcycle. It is twice as fast as this one, but I must stay on the roads and cannot ride on the sidewalks to skirt some miles.
Several electric vehicles needing to be charged renders a fair size electric bill. Mine was 9,000 pesos in local currency, which is only $41.00 in USD. That was the highest electric bill I have ever paid here and it is still less than I ever paid when I lived in the U.S.
Life on the cheap!
Brakes - The Do-It-Yourself Way
I did the rear brakes
*My son gets to do the front ones next weekend.*
Here you see the old brake pads, and the new. So let's take a look at how the brakes work and all the steps necessary to change the pads.
The calipers slide on ***Centering Pins***. When the brakes are applied, the piston pushing on one side, causing the entire assembly to center itself around the spinning brake rotor (the disk).
When I had my shop, I had the ability to resurface the brake rotors and rebuild the hydraulic parts if needed. This bike only has 4,000 kilometers on it, so I know we can simply change the pads and get back on the road.
Brakes are very similar on all brands. This post should help you figure out your set pretty easily.
First we are going to remove the ***Brake Assembly Mounting Bolts*** which will allow us to remove the ***Caliper Assembly***. We loosen the bolts first and then place a flat head screwdriver between the rotor and the brake pad - then ***Twist*** gently to retract the hydraulic piston. You will see fluid returning to the master cylinder if yours are translucent like mine.
It is not necessary to open your the reservoir during the process. Just know that it is happening. Keep changing the position of your screwdriver to open the gap between the caliper piston and the brake rotor. I usually fully retract the piston at this point to make room for the new brake pads. If your pads are completely worn out they piston could pop out if you disassemble the brakes without pushing it back in.
Also, never pull the brake lever with the caliper removed. One pull and the piston will pop out, and you will need to call someone who knows hydraulic systems. What I am showing you today is a fifteen minute job.
After pushing back the piston, you can slide the caliper side-to-side which checks to see if it is free floating on the ***Caliper Centering Pins*** (there are two). If it free floats, we can assume that there is sufficient grease inside the ***Grease Boots***. If it does not free float back and forth, then you will need to disassemble the assembly and get any corrosion off of the pins and fill the boots with grease.
If I am not sure, bit it free floats, I will fill a hypodermic syringe with grease and inject it into the grease boots. Then work the caliper back and forth.
Now we remove the ***Brake Assembly Mounting Bolts*** and we can lift up the whole assembly - caliper, pads, everything. Nothing will fall out because we have not removed the ***Retaining pins*** for the brake pads.
At the thin end (left) of each pin, there is a cotter pin that keeps the retaining pin from falling out. Remove the cotter pin by uncurling the bent ends enough to slide it through the hole (save these). Then slide each pin out of the caliper. If you break the cotter pins, you will need to take them to a hardware store or parts store and get new ones. It is likely that they will break if the brakes have been done several times in the past. This is the first brake job on mine so I was able to save them.
The brake pads will fall - I like to take them out when free and examine if there is a difference between the inner and outer pad. If so, you need to note which kind is on which side. In my case there is no difference.
You can see in these photos that the centering pins, along with the boots that cover them, are in different positions. I am noting that here because it may not have been clear in the above photo.
Reassembly Time
We will reverse the process next. Install new brake pads with the friction material facing toward where the rotor will be. You will need to push upward, against the thin piece of metal shown, until the retaining pin lines up with the ear of the brake pad. You can Lubricate each of the retaining pins (lightly) to prevent rust if you want but in normal operation, the pins do not slide back and forth except when changing the brakes. Be careful, we do not want any oil or grease to get on the friction material!
You can start one of the ***Brake Assembly Bolts*** to keep things from flopping around, but I do not tighten everything until I have the brake pads secured in the caliper assembly. I sometimes get the brake pads secured in their spot before putting the caliper assembly in place. Other times, I need the assembly to be in place (as shown in the photo) in order to put pressure on the bottom of the pads to compress the clip at the top. Just pry upward on the bottom of the brake pad until the retaining pins line up and slide into place.
They don't always go in by pushing with your thumb, especially when heading toward lining up the second brake pad ear. You can use a small hammer to tap them into place. This never requires hard hammering!
When both pins are in place and the cotter pins are secured (the ends bent over), then you can tighten the ***Brake Assembly Mounting Bolts***. Make sure that everything you took apart is all back together. Then recheck that the first bolts you took out are in and tight.
Lastly, you need to pump the brakes until the piston comes out far enough for the brake pads to actually squeeze the brake rotor. Now it is time to test drive the vehicle, make sure the brakes work, and heat up the brakes at least one time. It will take a day to "seat" the brake pads, and they will work better after a few days as compared to the first test drive.
That is the end of the post. Yes, I did the job in fifteen minutes which included going back in the house for other tools I needed. If you do not do a lot of brakes, it may take you longer. Take your time and make sure they are safe for another x-thousands of miles and on into the future.
Scrubbing Bubbles 💦 First Bike Bath
"Today I just got my first bath." said the little Surron...
All kidding aside, it is a big thing to wash one of these vehicles. The batteries are lithium based and these bikes have only been out for a little over a year.
Lithium and water don't mix. So there's a good chance of fire if you ride in the rain or if you spray it with a high pressure hose at the car wash.
**controller**
There's no telling how much testing was done on the vehicle when it was produced. Did they test it? In how much rain or what level of water? There are warning stickers saying that you should not ride in 'deep' water or get the controller wet.
As a precaution, we wash the EVs with a brush and rinse with a low pressure sprayer.
We have not been riding much because it is winter. We are also close to the end of life on the brake pads. So there are lots of reasons not to ride right now.
But it is also hard to resist the urge to zip around on this freaky-fast little bike. We took some of our electric fleet out for a photo shoot. Those are the pictures you see in this post.
Silence is Golden
Long(er) distance transportation
It is winter here and temperatures are now in the mid fifties during the day but when I got this bike, it was still pretty warm.
" You would be surprised how many people walk out in front of you when they can't hear you coming. "
Where's the chain?
So if you were wondering where I have been, you would be right to guess that I was getting insurance, not getting a driver's license, riding everywhere on this used ***electric motorcycle*** and getting used to the messed up traffic laws. More about that later...
I know what you are going to ask about the Super Soco TC.
Range: 62 miles (100km) per battery
Batteries on board: 2
Top speed: 47 miles (75km) per hour.
Bought used with 1990 miles (3200km) on it.
I only plan to drive this short distances during the week because of the insane traffic flow here in the deep south. When I ride my S18 EUC, I can divert to bike paths or even sidewalks when people are going insane, but this motorbike has to obey all the one way streets and must be driven in the mix with cars.
Long rides are done on Saturday or Sunday mornings - some are done late at night on weekdays but only in warm weather.
At the top, I asked "Where's the chain?"
Well, you can see it in the back, locking the rear wheel to a sign post. That is the only chain this bike needs.
If you are looking for the motor, you can see it plainly in the center of the rear wheel. That is the same kind of drive mechanism as I have on my EUC. It is called a hub motor.
What looks like a gas tank is just a door that opens up the battery case. There are two batteries in there that weigh 25 lbs. (11kg) each.
The three speeds do not have anything to do with torque off the line. They limit top speed. If I drive under 30mph, the I will get the full range stated above (100km). But sometimes traffic flows much faster and I have to switch to a higher speed for safety (and to avoid people honking at me). Running in 2nd or 3rd drastically reduces the range per battery. Staying in 3rd all the time will give you 45km range, so slightly less than half. The power is satisfactory, but this is not like riding a Honda 750 like the one I had in the 80's.
This is, however, transportation without needing to register a vehicle with the bureaucracy of the era. Here, anything with a license plate gets tickets all day long. They are issued by cameras and fines are sent to your house. No way to fight them or get out of them. Though I could, I do not speed or blow red lights. I have no intention of speeding up the eventual laws that will be passed against these vehicles.
Another good thing about this vehicle is that there is no need to have a license to drive it. I have pulled up next to police bikes and passed police cars on the street without even a hint of worry. I have talked to more than thirty of them and they all agree that there will be no problems for now.
I realize that this window of opportunity, the one where there is no law on the books yet, is a limited time offer. They say they want *green energy* and I am sticking that in their faces. I like living outside the system and will keep doing it as long as possible.
***Oh, that reminds me. I have to see if my bank account is still open.***
***I have not touched it in years.***
Shot Time 🪱 Snake Care 101
▶️ Watch on 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/calgrsvf
A bit of background
This is the younger of my two snakes. She's an albino Burmese python and her cagemate is a 10-year-old boa constrictor. Goldie and Pancho are their names.
Last time I went to feed them, everything went well but Goldie had some red marks on her back. Goldie usually bites herself when eating smaller prey and I thought that she had opened up an old wound so I gave her a bath afterwards.
The marks did not come off. As a matter of fact, the latter half of her body was a giant water blister.
All that happened on March 16th of this year and since then, I have been to and from the veterinary clinic many days in a row followed by every week once a week until now. I am continuing to give her shots every day along with baths and ointment for her entire body in order to help her survive whatever caused this. Up till now, the cause is unknown.
I mentioned how they curl up exactly how they want to in the video, here's an example. https://hive.blog/appics/@sponge-bob/appics-v1-appics-im-67836
See the video for my thoughts and methods as I run a reptile intensive care unit out of a backpack on my kitchen table.
▶️ Watch this video on my 3Speak channel. (no need to sign in or register) https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/calgrsvf
I wanted to let everyone know that I have opened a second account dedicated to features, support, tricks and tips, and repairs on our new e-bike - the Surron LiteBee X. The channel will be dedicated to this one topic, but it is my channel. Here is the link: read.cash/r/surron
Thanks!
Nursing a sick baby back to health (video)
▶️ Watch on 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/mpxqzwgv
This is the younger of my two snakes. She's an albino Burmese python and her cagemate is a 10-year-old boa constrictor. Goldie and Pancho are their names.
Last time I went to feed them, everything went well but Goldie had some red marks on her back. Goldie usually bites herself when eating smaller prey and I thought that she had opened up an old wound so I gave her a bath afterwards.
The marks did not come off. As a matter of fact, the latter half of her body was a giant water blister. So, for the last two to three weeks I have been shuffling her to and from the doctor's every day which involves waiting...
I had tried to leave her there for observation but the doctor has nowhere to keep her, so I am stuck playing doctor for my sick snake in a **do it yourself** kind of way 🧐
*watch the video for the whole story*
If anyone knows what might have caused this condition, let me know in the comments.
▶️ 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/mpxqzwgv
Can you pick up a Ferrari on the way home?
We happened upon this surprise.
One of my films detailing the smooth ride of the S18 unicycle had us passing through Palermo and it was on that trip that we ran into this delicious treat.
To see some of these cars with his own eyes, my son was flabbergasted. He was immediately sending messages to his friends and to his better half as soon as we discovered it.
I was on my way around back to see what kind of shot I could get through the window.
There is my boy. He had parked his bike and was cupping his hands around his eyes to get a clear view of the high horse power machines inside.
The dealership has been smart enough to locate itself right across the street from the River Plate stadium where there are guards who have handled every conceivable type of riot or attempt at crime.
As a further precaution, there is a Federal Police academy just down the street as well. I am not sure how far someone would get if they were to rob this place, but it seems they had all kinds of precautionary measures put in place before opening the showroom.
The best shots I got
Here are some of the shots I got when I moved to the side of the building.
I wish my son would have written this post, because he knows a lot more about Ferrari models than I do. I am more of an American muscle car enthusiast because that is what I owned and worked on back in the homeland.
This was a bonus day for both of us though. I will definitely look and see was they have on display the next time I go through this neighborhood.
Sideview Mirrors for Your EUC 🪡
As many of you know, I ride an EUC and I have to constantly twist my head around to see what is coming up on me from behind. See my last video below if you don't know what an EUC is or how we get around town.
▶️ Watch on 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/wccbzzjd
or ▶️ Watch on Bitchute https://www.bitchute.com/video/3TwQshIepKfL/
As I get more and more accustomed to riding on the streets and in traffic, I needed to get pads, gloves, and a helmet, but something was still missing
Mirrors
But since I have no handle bars, I have nowhere to put them. *So it's invention time.*
I ran to the motorcycle supply and all the had were handlebar mounted mirrors. Then I went to the glass store but the curved mirrors they have were for sidewalks, to help drivers see around corners.
I finally went to the auto parts store and lied about what I wanted because in this country, they never take kindly to hearing that you want to invent something that does not exist already. They are funny that way.
I asked for round stick on mirrors that you can add you your car to give you a wide angle. He said he was all out of them. Then I pointed to the silver dollar size ones on the wall. My mind was already thinking silicone glue, on my gloves, and lifting my hands to see what is behind me.
I was able to persuade him to sell me these gems. By the time I got home, I was already pulling out needle and thread. I could not imagine the adhesive tape staying stuck for very long.
Can you sew a button?
I pulled out my smallest drill bit and moved to avoid the glass and punch a hole in the plastic casing. That after making sure not to align the holes with the non-nutonian fluid bags in the glove.
I was able to persuade him to sell me these gems. By the time I got home, I was already pulling out needle and thread. I could not imagine the adhesive tape staying stuck for very long.
I stuck them on and then sewed them to the glove itself so that I do not lose mirrors in the rain or wind.
I was able to give them a try last night on my way home from my son's birthday party. There was light rain, threatening clouds and gusting winds. They held !
I did have to dry the water from them once or twice on the way, but that is not anything that a bit of car wax will not solve. Hoping you will notice them on my next video out riding around on one wheel.
I Almost Went to Hell for a Pizza 🍕
I have been more mobile lately and today I was riding a bit farther from home.
As I keep expanding my range, I see more things on the way to wherever. Sometimes I smoothly pull over on my unicycle. This time I hit the hooks because the street I was on was one way, 45 mph. I did not want to go back against traffic - but I did want the photo - turns out I had a good shot of what caught my attention.
I was thinking of grabbing a bite to eat, but there were four lanes of high speed traffic to cross. I was also thinking, "**I bet it's hell in there.**"
If it's **Hell's Pizza** and the Pizza is made right inside this storefront...
If the pizza is **Hell's**, and it is from this restaurant...
Then the pizza is made in hell...
I am not going in there!
You all know I take crazy photos like Trippin' and ShitTake.
This is just another one. I hope you are slightly entertained.
If Only I Were...
There were no acid heads seen coming and going when I was there. I did look for mushrooms among the half dead plants out front. None there.
I took this on Sunday and apparently, the place was not open for bizzzzznesss. If it were, I would have gone inside to see if I could franchise this idea and also be Trippin'
It has been so long since I have taken a trip. The demic-pan has wrecked all our trippie aspirations for travel and now, there is but one way to take a trip in the post infection world. I would maybe put my destination in my eye or under my tongue. I would never inject it.
*all puns and wackiness intended*
I don't take no Sh#t-ake from anyone!
Photo taken by me, and mini-me. Yes, we both saw the store-front, and we both turned to capture the Sh#t-ake out of it.
Since they were kids, my clones have gotten used to stopping and grabbing things on SD-card whenever something interesting is in view. They used to hem-n-haw over every pause in our weekend adventures but now, my youngest seems to have caught on to my obsession. He has his copy and I have mine.
I have always collected signs that look strange when read in English. So, here is another one.
I guess they have Sushi - could not try it because the shutter was down - probably to protect the all glass... no, wait. Anyway, it was closed but we got a picture of the funny name and cute art work.
I have always done this...
I remember the first odd photo I had captured - The Pussy(cat) Club - on Av Cordoba. It was on the north side of the street, downtown, about eight blocks from the river.
It was supposed to be an exclusive dinner spot or something, but the owners forgot to include the word "Cat" on the huge sign. Since I mentioned it, I had to go find the photo. I remember having to scan it in order to put it on my web sight.
So glad to have to have the block chain to publish my odd sense of outrageous collectibles instead of the ad-driven lunacy of that 'don't not be evil' company. There are so many things that I find out there. I may not always frame them well, but I grab a shot.
You know me, I am easily amused. My goal is to get you to shake your head and ponder the ludicrous along with me.
I hope you all are having a wonderful day - I certainly am.
Teen Bakery 🍩
Long Weekend
The kids were over for the weekend. It was my son and his girl who came to stay. We did the normal things, walks, cards, movies, games, and out to dinner.
Then Sunday afternoon came and my son offered a trade. They wanted to make cinnamon rolls, but it takes more hours than there are left in the day. We will trade you cinnamon rolls for another day here.
He did not have to trade anything, but don't say anything to her about it.
She has some recipes in her bag of tricks that I would love to learn and her is what I observed.
She took dough made of flour, water, oil, and yeast and let it rise. No photos because I was not home when she did that.
She made a mixture of melted butter, sugar and egg as a pre-oven glaze. It was my job to watch that while my son watched his better half doing her thing.
I was supposed to make a cutter out of guitar string and dowels. She was rolling out the dough that had risen and smearing with a thick mixture of cinnamon, sugar and water.
The guitar string came off my guitar easily and we were tying it around the dowel pins. She cut them up and had them placed into the brownie pan. Dang! I know I bought one of those silicone glazing brushes, now where did I put it?!
At first I was upset that she had preheated the oven for what seemed like hours before baking, but then I saw that she needed a warm place to let these things puff up. Another long wait for the rolls to rise up again.
Take one last look at them before they go in to get their tan!
There is a strange thing that happens with teenagers. They like to play games on the computer. They set a timer for what it *should* take to cook these, but they do not get up to check on them. Ovens here have numbers that represent a certain temperature, but if you take a look under the hood, there is nothing in there turning the flame down or up according to the thermostat. There is no thermostat at all.
That coupled with the gaming is a disaster. Well, usually.
These came out perfect. A little more golden than is visually pleasing, but delicious on the top and the bottom. The final glaze is made of powdered sugar and water, which needs to be chilled after applying it. We ended up breaking off three and glazing them - to the fridge - to the mouths. Then three more.
I will leave you with a larger version of the cover photo. They left last evening and I had the last two this morning for breakfast.
***This was a great project for which I gladly extended the weekend.***
KingSong S18 Ride Video 💥 Crash Included
KingSong S18 Ride Video 💥 Crash Included (at the end)
**sponge-bob (70)** https://steemit.com/@sponge-bob
in #video • 57 seconds ago https://steemit.com/trending/video
Fun on One Wheel
<iframe width="640" height="360" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" src="https://www.bitchute.com/embed/3TwQshIepKfL/"></iframe>
▶️ Watch on 3Speak or watch on BitChute. https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/rynlusnu https://www.bitchute.com/embed/3TwQshIepKfL
Epic Ride on One Wheel!
*Read.Cash Version*
I have made this journey many times but never while filming and never this fast.
I snagged this video just after buying the new KingSong S18. You will notice that I did not crank up the speed at first. Actually this wheel is capable of doing 35 mph but I stayed well below that on my first ride.
rideRiding home from the Electric Unicycle dealer though grass, dirt, forest, and spiral ramp at the end. The video ends when I had the bright idea to ride down a staircase. I have only ever ridden down the occasional curb on my previous wheels.
The helmet was purchased after I narrowly escaped the fall presented on this #video - I ask that you all take a moment and knock on wood as I tell you that I have not fallen while on a unicycle in over five years. The wood need knocking now that I said it. Oh, and I let that taxi pass me... https://steemit.com/trending/video
Copyright Free music source. chosen because it had no drum solos or other overtly obtrusive parts, plus it went well with the crash footage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zI7RttA4c
▶️ 3Speak https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sponge-bob/rynlusnu
@sponge-bob
