A Leslie Wong Blog

I think because my 1979 Alfetta Sprint Veloce has an air conditioner, engine cooling seems marginal when the ambient temperature is above 80 F (27 C).

When running at speed, the temp gauge indicates a normal 175 F. But when stuck in traffic, though the engine doesn’t overheat, the gauge goes halfway between 175 F and 250 F (79 C to 121 C).

I had the radiator checked at a radiator shop; they said there’s nothing wrong with it. I’ve bled the cooling system at the pump and thermostat and use Red Line Water Wetter in the coolant.

In an effort to help with cooling when the car isn’t moving, I replaced the stock electric fan with a new one. My reasoning was that a fan with a modern design might be more efficient. I bought a model 390 Flex-a-lite S-Blade fan. It’s a 10″ fan that advertises 775 CFM. The space behind the radiator doesn’t allow dual fans or a larger fan. The new fan doesn’t seem to make an difference in cooling.

I also thought about using the new fan to replace the one in front of the A/C condenser but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to remove the old fan without removing the radiator and A/C condensor. I know the old fan won’t come out through the gills below the bumper. I haven’t removed the grills yet. I cleaned a few bugs off the condenser, but even when the A/C fan is on, I can’t feel much air coming through if I put my hand behind the radiator.

Over at the CandlePower Forums mod discussions, the Seoul Semiconductors Z-Power LED P7 has been one of the most popular LEDs. The reason is simple: it puts out 700-900 lumens at 2800 ma. That’s very bright.

In the Home Made and Modified Lights section, jirik_cz modded his Ultrafire C2 flashlight with a SSC P7. For power, he used a Li-Ion 18650 3.7V battery directly driving the LED. It is a simple and elegant mod.

I happened to have a spare Ultrafire C2 flashlight waiting for a great idea like jirik_cz’s mod. I already had the P7 emitter (C bin) mounted on a heat sink base. An advantage of having the P7 emitter on a heat sink base is that the positive base of the bare emitter is isolated from ground.

I used a Dremel to enlarge the Ultrafire pill so the P7, on some heat sink compound, fit perfectly.

For the positive battery contact side of the pill, I stripped a 17mm diameter circuit board and soldered the LED leads to it. To accommodate the larger diameter LED, (the Ultrafire C2 uses a Cree XLamp® XR-E LED), I enlarged the hole in the reflector with a reamer.

Thanks to jirik_cz, now I have a 5″ (130mm) long flashlight that is a bright as my Roar of the Penguin.

“Joan Wulff handles a fishing rod with grace and explosive power. In 1960 she set the women’s unofficial world record for distance casting—an astonishing 161 feet. Now the grande dame of fly-fishing at age 81, Wulff has not lost her touch. Standing on the banks of the Beaverkill River near her fabled fishing school in New York’s Catskill Mountains, she raises and points the tip of an 8½-foot rod just over her shoulder, gives a sudden backward snap of the wrist and sends 40 feet of line sailing straight back behind her..”

The Whip-Like Physics of Fly Fishing

Posted using ShareThis

HONOLULU–In an announcement with grave implications for the primacy of the species of man, marine biologists reported Monday that dolphins, or family Delphinidae, have evolved opposable thumbs on their pectoral fins.”I believe I speak for the entire human race when I say, ‘Holy fuck,’” said Dr. James Aoki. “That’s it for us monkeys.”

read more | digg story

I don’t get it.

Diddy’s parked Gulfstream IV-SP