TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Continuing my work on fixing the Frog Van , today I've removed both the inlet and exhaust manifolds to reveal the damage to the gasket (see image below). Manifolds removed with the metal gasket still in place. From the image above, the circular holes are for the inlet manifold whilst the square holes are for the exhaust manifold. Around the square hole on the far right, the top of the gasket was severely damaged with an obvious leak. Having never seen a new version of this gasket I'm not sure if it is simply a metal gasket or a metal gasket with a black coating on each side? I've since watched a few Youtube videos on changing a manifold gasket where all the gaskets are metal only. Leading me to believe that possibly, the person who installed this gasket, coated it with a product called 'gasket goo' on both sides.  Which may have been fine except, with all the overheating trouble the Frog Van has had in the past, the heat may have been more than the produc...

I don't buy spanner's that often so the price of quality spanners tends to be a minor shock to the system. I needed a 10mm fixed head spanner in order to continue work on fixing the Frog Van that I started yesterday . Looking at the range of spanners in my local auto shop I could either get a high quality, single spanner in just the size I needed or, for two dollars less, get a pack of six cheaper spanners that includes the one I need. No brainer, right? (I bought the cheaper spanner pack). Rather than go into a long blog post about disconnecting a few wires and pipes and undoing four bolts with my trusty new 10mm spanner I thought I'd just post a before and after picture... Before (above): This photo is looking from above directly into the top of the carburetor (air filter removed). Notice all the pipes and wires around the top. I'm sure a skilled mechanic wouldn't be daunted but this is me and, as I said in my previous post, I'm not a natural mechanic....

I haven't written about my Frog Van for some time because it's been sitting under our back veranda waiting for some much needed repairs. The last time I pulled bits of the engine apart was to remove the radiator, which I had reconditioned then reattached . Since then, apart from a dead battery stranding my sister and I in Kapunda , the van had been running particularly well. Well enough for me to trust it driving all over the place and know that it wouldn't break down. It still had problems with running on and backfiring but at least it worked. When Enigma and I moved house in September of 2010 we used the Frog Van to move all of our furniture to our new home. It took a few trips over a few days but I reckon we probably saved quite a bit by not hiring a moving company (which we did price to see what kind of cost was involved). Unfortunately on the van's very last trip between houses it died after progressively getting harder and harder to start and keep going. ...

"Alien Landing" Art by TET Aliens are definitely watching us. To illustrate, this is going to require some background on my last few trips to the doctor... Late 2010 I was getting chest pains but couldn't see a specialist until February 2011 who promptly hooked me up to an ECG, sent me off for an ultrasound of my heart and had me do a heart stress test (which involves being wired to a machine and walking very quickly on a treadmill). Results were 'nothing'. Everything normal. I'm fit - apparently. Since they found nothing I'm thinking, maybe the aliens have got to me with some kind of undetectable implant that's causing chest pains every time it broadcasts back to the mother ship? Don't believe me? Well, I'll continue... Recently I've been getting cramps in the lower left side of my abdomen that have varied in intensity. Not excruciatingly painful but enough to raise some alarm bells and get me off to the doctor. After doing t...

It is both with interest and trepidation that the news, Ridley Scott to Direct New 'Blade Runner' Installment for Alcon Entertainment , finds me. It's great that Ridley is back on board, as this definitely gives me some confidence. Especially after reading How Ridley Scott came to Direct the New 'Blade Runner' . Although I didn't get to see the original in theaters, I've been a fan of this movie since it was first released on VHS video back in the early nineteen eighties. I'm also one of the minority (it seems) that likes the original theatrical release with Harrison's voice over. I also like the subsequent cuts of the film and own a copy of the Final Cut but I felt the narration made it feel much more like a detective story than an action/sci-fi film. It's interesting that the producers are hoping to come up with something new and fresh but without Harrison Ford I'm not too sure. He was such an important part of the original film. That s...

...or anything for that matter. Sesame Street Workshop recently made a statement saying that Bert and Ernie were just  'Best Friends' and outing them as not having a sexual orientation as they are 'puppets'. The full statement, which can be found on their Facebook page reads as follows: Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.  Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets™ do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation. The statement is a response to a recent online petition and Facebook page requesting that Bert and Ernie be allowed to get married on Sesame Street as a way of supporting LBGT teens. The petition’s creator, Lair Scott, was inspired by the “It Gets Better” series of videos launched by columnist Dan Savage . That's the history o...

Jac's Back , Acrylic on Canvas 30x40cm, 4th August 2011 Buy Prints from RedBubble . Jac's Back is my latest artwork and my first in just over a year away from painting (more than two years if you exclude the single horse painting I did in 2010). At 30x40cm it's a small artwork but after so long not painting I didn't want to start anything too ambitious. Which was also the reason I chose to paint yet another version of Jac making one of his crazy flutterby leaps. Start with what you know. If you're not familiar with my cat paintings you can see quite a few in my RedBubble Gallery  where you can buy prints of my various artworks. Jac himself is not really any one particular cat but these days refers to a style of orange and black stripe cat that I've painted many times. The name Jac is actually an abbreviation for Just A Cat and was given to the very first official Jac artwork, Happy Cat Jac , by the person who bought it. Whilst painting Jac's B...