The Local Views

Overlooking Kentucky and the Mighty Ohio

Clearly, I am finding it difficult to post regularly now that I am working full time. However, I am dead set on getting something up here at least twice a week.

We celebrated on Sunday night after our first stumble-through of the The Foreigner. It's always a relief, and as our amazing director Ken Albers says, 'These are rehearsals to survive. You don't have to do anything but be standing by the end of the day.' And to tell the truth, while some things are difficult at this early stage ("seeing text on your retina" -- again, Ken) we've been having a ball.

Monday, my day off, I took the pups and we explored Mt. Adams. Here are a few things we saw.



A panorama of the river and across, from near the top of Mt. Adams.



Houses -- these seem to typify the style on Mt. Adams. Many of them are very old, dating to the mid-late 1800s.



On the edge of Eden park, I came upon this crumbling bridge, leading to nowhere. The parking lot and modern road right next to it could be a summation of what you'll see up here. Very very old structures surrounded by super-modern architecture. In the west, I think it's less common to see things like this. Yes, in San Francisco and tucked away in places in Los Angeles, but in Cincinnati, this strange juxtaposition seems to be everywhere. Being a newbie, I'm still fascinated by it. In Manhattan it's certainly present, but everything is so overwhelmingly crammed there, that I'd never really appreciated it.

Best to you all, and thank you for reading,

Nell

FUEL!

Here's my latest recommendation:

The Fuel Film

I saw what I believe was a rougher cut of this in the winter of 2007, and it's simply the best movie around about Biodiesel and fuel independence and sustainability. Josh Tickell, the writer and director of The Fuel Film, is essentially the foremost expert on Biodiesel in the country, having driven thousands of miles in his "Veggie Van" on his own biodiesel. He's a scholar, an activist and an extremely brave person, and it was his book From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank that inspired me to quit it with the gasoline and move over to biofuel. I just ordered his other title, Biodiesel America, so I'll probably be blabbing about that on here when it arrives and I gobble it up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see The Fuel Film for awhile, as it's only playing in select theaters for the time being. Josh's history is pretty amazing, and although the movie encompasses a lot of excellent science, solution and testimonial, his personal story is in some ways the most important part. If you have interest in seeing this amazing film, check out the site; there are showings in Santa Monica, CA right now, with upcoming dates in WA, NY and a few other places.

I've been car-less for almost a week, and I can't tell you how nice it is! I feel healthier and happier walking up these hills to the theater. Soon I'll be running them, I hope, with the little terrier muts in tow. They had to put on their sweaters for the first time today...there's a dusting of snow, and it's crisp and clear. Lovely!

--Nell

On the Absence...

...oh, it's been so long.

Getting myself and two dogs to Cincinnati ended up taking most of my time over the last two weeks. It was an incredible (nerve wracking) adventure, and I am glad that we are here and settling in and won't have to do it again for another couple of months.

Rehearsals began for The Foreigner on Friday the 13th, with an incredibly well-cast bunch in the miraculous hands of Kenneth Albers (who was in the original cast in Milwaukee and was a friend of Larry Shue) and a capable and courteous stage management team. I feel rusty and scared, but I think that I'll pull myself together and have a wonderful time with this. It's such a funny, dear play.

There is no recycling here at the apartment, though! So...I'll have to figure out how to get around that. I've already located a paper bin along a trail that leads to the theater. The plastics and aluminum will prove more difficult. But this might fortify my Reusing abilities.

Cincinnati is a surprisingly striking and beautiful town, for the most part. Its sister city is Rome, I am told, because both are built upon seven hills. I have the fortune to be staying on one of said hills, Mt. Adams, which looks out over the Ohio river and into Kentucky, which is just a bridge-walk away. There are wonderful museums within walking distance for me to explore, and being on the edge of Eden park has made taking the dogs out a breeze.

More later. Glad to be back...

Nell

O-Ring...yeah...you know what I mean

So I changed the fuel filter in my 2004 VW TDI Jetta myself (well, my roommate helped me).

I mention it because it was MUCH easier to do than I thought -- yes, I cursed a fair amount, but I'm told that that's to be expected whenever you work on a car. Also, I learned that fuel filters are not always in the same place (yeah, I'm a moron), depending on the make and model; while my filter is easy to change because it sits over the right wheel in the engine compartment, my roommate's is not so easy because his is in the trunk under a lot of other machinery.

This is a large step for me towards self-sufficiency. I purchased the Haynes manual for VW Golf, GTI, & Jetta 1999-2005 which is pretty comprehensive. Since I don't have a warranty for the vehicle, none of my repairs are ever covered when I take it in for service (I didn't want to buy a warranty and have the dealership tell me that Biodiesel use voided it...which sometimes, but not always, happens -- if fuel is foudn to be out of spec, the manufacturer can claim that you're liable for the repairs). Here's the kicker: I paid $25 for the fuel filter itself and spent probably about 30 minutes doing the work...but I figure I could do it in 10 or 15 now that I know how.

When I had a dealership do this, it typically came out to around $100 for parts and labor.

So, for a little elbow grease and a quarter (!) of the cost, I figure I don't mind doing it myself. Next time I'm at it, I will photograph the whole process and write up a primer for anyone else who might be reading that owns a similar Jetta and wants to give it a go. However, I do plan to check the job every couple of days -- none of my viton o-rings would fit under the fuel control valve. So I'm o-ring-less. But I couldn't find any o-ring when I pulled the valve off, so I'm wondering if maybe my model doesn't require one here...?
Old, crusty filter...

...with black particulates inside. The new filter, which I didn't photograph, looked perfectly white through that little hole. My car is idling a lot more smoothly and starts more easily since (I was truant and had not changed it for over a year -- VERY bad...with Biodiesel, you want to change it about every six months, since Bio is such an amazing solvent; it takes all the gunk out of your lines and dumps it in the filter -- which is a good thing for your engine but can be bad if you overload the filter).

I think I'm hooked on this auto mechanics thing. Next, it's replacing a front headlight that's out. Of course, I'll still leave the big jobs to the professionals (like when my clutch when out last year...ehhh...)
-- Nellamity and Horace the Jetta.