Facilitated Variation

2005-12-01T06:33:00-08:00

Last night Cassie, Kristi and I went to see a lecture by Marc W. Kirschner on facilitated variation. Though we’d rather walk, we drove the two miles because the Rover needed to stretch its legs a bit. It hadn’t been used since the cross-coutry trip.

First we learned the hard way that you really, really do not want to drive into Cambridge on JFK at 6:30 pm. Then we heard a pop, steam started shooting everywhere, and the floor was covered in hot coolant. So we parked and went to the lecture. It was packed. We had to perch behind the stairs. It was a good lecture but, maybe because we arrived late, I didn’t understand enough to comment. I did think that Mr. Ten Minute Question should take his acid soil soapbox, worthy as it may be, somewhere else.

And dinner… Yes!!! A truly good Mexican place does exist in Boston. Go to the Border Cafe. Great chips, decent salsa, darn good meal. And they serve New Orleans food too. The remarkably weak ritas are unfortunate but that’s secondary in my book. Thank you Cheridy. (The other suggestions: El Pelon is a pretty good taqueria though their carne asada was somewhat stringy. We still need to try Picante.)

So, the heater core blew. Ouch. Well at least it didn’t do this in the middle of Nebraska. We drove back with the windows down, constantly stopping to fill the radiator, hot boxin like rock stars. This is, of course, how the less fortunate warp a cylinder head. Beware.

The heater box is the kind of repair that is straightforward enough when you’ve got space and at least a day to do it. But try to attempt it from my narrow parking spot? Pay someone the $500 labor to rip out the dash and put it all back wrong? Ugh. Not sure what I’m going to do… Bypass it for now and pray that the part arrives before the ice storms?

Shed Your Head: Facilitated Variation

Facilitated Variation