quinta-feira, 30 de novembro de 2006
segunda-feira, 27 de novembro de 2006
Car Talk
Someone once told me that Fiat stands for "Fix It Again, Tony." They weren't kidding. In the three and a half years that I've owned a 1999 Fiat Siena, I have taken it to the mechanic no less than a dozen times. And it doesn't even have 60,000 km on the odometer yet!
The greatest recurring problem is that when you push the accelerator down, the car continues idling for some seconds (bringing a chorus of horns if you happen to be caught sitting still at a green light). Finally, it decides "OK, I guess I've rested enough" and then jumps forward at full power. This process repeats each time you shift gears. Fun stuff. Of course, it doesn't do this all the time -- when at the mechanic's shop, it runs perfectly, for example. If you've never experienced someone looking at you as if you are a babbling maniac, try explaining to a mechanic the problem you are having with a car that appears to be running flawlessly. For added fun, try it in a different language. I'm sure this guy is hearing something like: "car no go - go weak when push pedal - work good now but work bad before." Just smile and nod at the weird foreign guy... yesiree.
As per the universal mechanic's code, even though no problem can be demonstrated at the time, this is no reason not to make expensive repairs which utterly fail to resolve said problem. Invariably, about 2-3 weeks afterwards, same problem. First, I had the fuel injector cleaned. This worked great for a month, and then the problem returned. After another halting attempt to explain what was going on, I was told that this didn't have anything to do with the problem, and that I needed to change the sparkplugs. That also resolved the problem for about 3 weeks. This lead to a replacement of the fuel pump, followed by another replacement of the fuel pump because the wrong model had been installed. This was followed by the replacement of the mechanic.
New mechanic? Same drill. I was now tald I had to change a part called the "sonda lambda" - which must be part of Doc Brown's flux capacitor, because I still have no clue what it is or what it supposedly does. However, it did fix the problem... for about a week and a half. Then, the most drastic of all. Disassembling the engine, replacing gaskets and hoses, chemical baths, polishing down bare metal to eliminate water leaks, and native American healing ceremonies for all I know. Success!!! Beautifully smooth acceleration...for about 2 weeks. If I had flushed $2,000 down the toilet over the past 18 months, the results would have been pretty much the same as this "service."
The greatest recurring problem is that when you push the accelerator down, the car continues idling for some seconds (bringing a chorus of horns if you happen to be caught sitting still at a green light). Finally, it decides "OK, I guess I've rested enough" and then jumps forward at full power. This process repeats each time you shift gears. Fun stuff. Of course, it doesn't do this all the time -- when at the mechanic's shop, it runs perfectly, for example. If you've never experienced someone looking at you as if you are a babbling maniac, try explaining to a mechanic the problem you are having with a car that appears to be running flawlessly. For added fun, try it in a different language. I'm sure this guy is hearing something like: "car no go - go weak when push pedal - work good now but work bad before." Just smile and nod at the weird foreign guy... yesiree.
As per the universal mechanic's code, even though no problem can be demonstrated at the time, this is no reason not to make expensive repairs which utterly fail to resolve said problem. Invariably, about 2-3 weeks afterwards, same problem. First, I had the fuel injector cleaned. This worked great for a month, and then the problem returned. After another halting attempt to explain what was going on, I was told that this didn't have anything to do with the problem, and that I needed to change the sparkplugs. That also resolved the problem for about 3 weeks. This lead to a replacement of the fuel pump, followed by another replacement of the fuel pump because the wrong model had been installed. This was followed by the replacement of the mechanic.
New mechanic? Same drill. I was now tald I had to change a part called the "sonda lambda" - which must be part of Doc Brown's flux capacitor, because I still have no clue what it is or what it supposedly does. However, it did fix the problem... for about a week and a half. Then, the most drastic of all. Disassembling the engine, replacing gaskets and hoses, chemical baths, polishing down bare metal to eliminate water leaks, and native American healing ceremonies for all I know. Success!!! Beautifully smooth acceleration...for about 2 weeks. If I had flushed $2,000 down the toilet over the past 18 months, the results would have been pretty much the same as this "service."
Anyway, the only possible conclusion is that the car is possessed. The only question now is whether to begin flushing with singles or just go straight to twenties.
Satan's Sedan...?
Satan's Sedan...?sexta-feira, 24 de novembro de 2006
Shiraz youth: Their service and Their arrests
Wow. Incredible stuff. If you are Bahá'í, you may have received this confidential document from one of the 54 Shirazi youth who was arrested earlier this year for performing a service project. If you haven't received this, let me know by email and I will forward you a copy. It is awesome stuff - both the work the youth were involved in and the stories of their arrest and trial. Makes our problems look pretty trivial.
And a Little Child Shall Lead Them...
This past Sunday, Jasmin was to attend the party celebrating João Henrique's first birthday. Sadly, on the morning of his birthday, the unsteady toddler attempted to catch his balance on the front of the kitchen stove, which was on, and burned both of his hands. Explaining to our dear Jasmin that the party was postponed and she wouldn't be able to go, I expected a bout of tantrum throwing (an all-too-common phenomenon in recent weeks). I told her that João had burned his hands and asked her if she wanted to say some prayers for him. She said yes, so we sat down and Jasmin opened the prayerbook in her lap.
A little bit about Jasmin's prayers - she sees Bahá'ís all the time reading prayers from the prayer book, so she knows she needs to look in there. And she hears so many prayers that begin with "Ó meu Deus!" (O my God), that her general style of prayer is to open the book and repeat Ó meu Deus, ó meu Deus a couple of times and then kind of babble random syllables (she does have two prayers memorized, but only brings those out on rare occasions). This time, however, she opened the prayer book in her lap, bowed her head, and softly spoke the following:
O meu Deus, por favor ajuda João Henrique, porque queimou as mãos dele. Obrigado.
(for the English-only speakers):
O my God, please help João Henrique, because he burned his hands. Thank You.
Too often we fail to credit our children - to recognize their ability to understand and feel compassion for the suffering of others. And yet, they often are the ones who "get it" long before the rest of us adults do. It was a big lesson for papai on how to pray with simplicity and purity of heart, as well. (For those who are concerned, I found out today that João Henrique is doing very well and his party is being rescheduled.)
A little bit about Jasmin's prayers - she sees Bahá'ís all the time reading prayers from the prayer book, so she knows she needs to look in there. And she hears so many prayers that begin with "Ó meu Deus!" (O my God), that her general style of prayer is to open the book and repeat Ó meu Deus, ó meu Deus a couple of times and then kind of babble random syllables (she does have two prayers memorized, but only brings those out on rare occasions). This time, however, she opened the prayer book in her lap, bowed her head, and softly spoke the following:
O meu Deus, por favor ajuda João Henrique, porque queimou as mãos dele. Obrigado.
(for the English-only speakers):
O my God, please help João Henrique, because he burned his hands. Thank You.
Too often we fail to credit our children - to recognize their ability to understand and feel compassion for the suffering of others. And yet, they often are the ones who "get it" long before the rest of us adults do. It was a big lesson for papai on how to pray with simplicity and purity of heart, as well. (For those who are concerned, I found out today that João Henrique is doing very well and his party is being rescheduled.)
quinta-feira, 23 de novembro de 2006
Phantom of the Apartamento
What is it, exactly, about the "Phantom of the Opera" that is so captivating? There must be something, because no matter how much critics have panned it over the years, it just keeps going and going and piling up ever-bigger profits. Jasmin, our adorable 2-year-old, has taken to it in a HUGE way. My parents gave us a DVD a few months ago of the recent film made from Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage show. From the moment my daughter happened to watch some of it, she has become enthralled. Over the past 2 months, she has watched it at least once per day and sometimes as many as 3 times! She absolutely adores this movie, and she has seen it so much now that not only does she sing the music, she also recites lines of dialog from the film. I've never seen nor heard of anything quite like it.
I have to say that it's an utterly surreal experience seeing a 2-year-old walking around the apartment sweeping her arms out majestically as she intones, "The Phantom of the Opera is theeeeeere, insiiiiiiide my mind..."
I have to say that it's an utterly surreal experience seeing a 2-year-old walking around the apartment sweeping her arms out majestically as she intones, "The Phantom of the Opera is theeeeeere, insiiiiiiide my mind..."
Introducing Blog #975,446,171
I'm not sure if that's the actual number of blogs in the world today, but it must be close. So here's one more. I don't really have any idea what's going to go here yet - who does? I imagine it's going to be a bit about my family, a bit about the Bahá'í Faith, some occasional Portuguese and Persian postings to add some spice, and whatever else I think is interesting that others might not. If you end up liking what you see, feel free to comment. If not, well... you can still comment if you want to.
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