Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Aftermarket Fuel Pump

The picture to the left here is my 2001 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Lola. Lola is fun, fast, and good looking, but far from perfect (especially mechanically). Recently, I was on a pleasant ride having just filled Lola up with gas, when she completely lost power and started feeling like she was running out of gas. As it turns out, it was actually the fuel pump dying. I considered trying to repoint the pump, but given that I've never done that before and didn't know if that would actually even fix the problem, I decided to investigate another route.

I did a ton of research trying to find aftermarket options to replace the pump because the OEM pump costs about $200 from Kawasaki. Everyone I talked to in every forum I visited said the same thing, "there are no other options, just suck it up and replace it with the OEM pump." None of those people realized just how stubborn and cheep I am :)

I didn't want to spend $200 on a stupid fuel pump, so I went about another option. I started trying to figure out what the specifications on the OEM pump are so that I could try to match it up myself. As it turns out, it's pretty easy to find out that the OEM fuel pump for my bike has a cut-off pressure of between 1.6 and 2.4 psi. However, nobody seemed to have any clue what the flow rate would be. I got guesses everywhere from 5gal/hr to nearly 50gal/hr - not all that helpful. In the end, I just decided I didn't care that much.

I called Facet, a company that makes about a million different fuel pumps and asked to talk to an engineer. The engineer I talked to told me that based on the specs I wanted it to meet, and she gave me the NAPA part number for the pump I should get. The pump is NAPA number 610-1052 and has a cut-off pressure of 2-3.5 psi and a flow rate of 28 gal/hr. I bought it from my local NAPA store and spent an afternoon swapping out all the tubing, figuring out where to mount it, and getting it connected to the same power source as the original pump.

After getting everything put back together and hooked up properly, I took Lola out for a ride (in November......in Michigan). It was not nearly as pleasant as the ride that started the whole process, but, on the other hand, she ran better than she ever has :)

Moral of the story: if the OEM version of whatever you're trying to replace seems to expensive, there's always an aftermarket alternative.........even if it's a pain to figure out what it is...it always exists

Motorcycle on Wheels

There's really no writing going into this, but I needed to share this photo. I pulled this off an add for a car I was looking at online a couple days ago and it is still making me laugh:

Migrating Macs - Outlook Calendar Issue

This is another one of my posts highlighting some of my issues with computers. I am quite certain, at this point, that most of my issues are at least partly self-created. Whatever the case with that, however, they do always need to be solved.

My most recent issue was with migrating from one mac to another. They actually make this process incredibly easy to do so I'm not going to talk about that at all, but I had a few problems after it was completed - mainly with Outlook 2011.

The biggest issue was that after I migrated everything, Outlook imported the new data very nicely, but it put all my mail, contacts, calendar events, etc. into the "on my computer" folder instead of the regular default folders. What I mean is that instead of putting everything into the normal location they would go to when you create a new contact or calendar event or whatever, it was all in a different location. Mostly this was not too big an issue.

To fix this problem for the contacts and mail, I simply selected all using command+A and draged them all to the folder I wanted them in - no big deal really. The big problem was the calendar. I would have loved to do the same thing with the calendar, but could not figure out how to select all the events so I could drag them. I spent a few days messing around with trying to import the calendar in different ways, syncing them both with a separate calendar, etc. and couldn't get anything - then I found the solution I had been looking for. Here's what I had to do:

• Go into the calendar tab on the left and click the "organize" tool bar tab
• In the "organize" menu, choose "list" - this will allow you to drag and drop
• Click in the search bar, then choose the "advanced button in the tool bar below
• Click the drop-down menu that appears below the tool bar and choose "Folder"
• Then make the other two say "Is" and "On My Computer"

This allowed me to see all calendar events for all time in a list, use command+A to select all and drag them to the other calendar folder.

Hopefully this solution will be helpful to other people - I know it alleviated many of my frustrations.

Motorcycle Helmet Law and Seatbelt Law

Dear readers,
It's time for another rant. Today's topic: Michigan's change to the motorcycle helmet law and the comparison to our seat belt law.

For those of you who don't know me personally, I enjoy having fun and I enjoy somewhat dangerous activities now and then. However, I always partake in these ventures in the safest way possible. For instance, I ride my motorcycle quite often in the summer, but in addition to always wearing my helmet, I also always wear full riding gear (armored pants and jacket, gloves, boots...). I also always buckle my seat belt, never drive if I can feel any effects of alcohol, and think if you do anything other than that, you're an idiot. However, that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't be allowed to do (some of) those things (I do think it should be illegal to drive after drinking).

This is maybe a little different from how most people look at these sorts of things, but then, I'm not most people. In my (humble) opinion, one of the best things about this country is our liberty. The Oxford dictionary defines  liberty as "the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's behavior or political views." It is, in short, our freedom from having other people's opinions forced upon us. Now, the obvious and necessary restriction on that liberty is if we are endangering other people with our behaviors - hence the law against drinking and driving.

Michigan voters seem to think (and I agree) that the requirement for motorcyclists to wear helmets was infringing upon their liberty - it was an oppressive restriction on motorcyclists' behavior. The issue, for me, comes in when we start to also consider Michigan's seat belt law.

If someone can help me understand why we are spending gobs of money on the "Click it or Ticket" advertising campaign for our seatbelt law and, at the same time, getting rid of the helmet law, I'd appreciate it. Personally, I'd rather have them just get rid of both laws, but it's honestly the apparent inconsistency that bothers me more than anything else.

I was planning on writing more, but I've now thought better of it. As always, please feel free to comment and let me know where we disagree.

Easy Ford Focus Sunroof Reprogram

I drove to work today in my 2002 Ford Focus SVT with my sunroof open and windows down and everything worked fine. When I got to work, I closed the sunroof and still everything worked fine. When I went back out after work, I tried to open my sunroof and it wouldn't open. While jamming the button trying to get it to work, I hit the forward side of the button and it started venting, but then, of course, when I tried to close it with the backward side of the button, it still didn't work.

I got home and was all set to tear the button out and diagnose a wiring problem or something, but decided to call a Ford dealer first and surprisingly they were actually very helpful. They told me that this is a relatively common problem and that what's happening is the logic controller for the sunroof got confused somehow, but that it is easily reprogramed. In fact, the steps for the reprogram are right in the owners manual for the car.






Here's what you have to do:

1. Fully vent the sunroof with the forward side of the button (tilt the back of the sunroof up all the way)
2. Press the same button (the forward part that closes/vents the sunroof) again and hold it for about 30 seconds - the owners manual says to hold it until you see the sunroof move, but mine never did so maybe don't worry so much about that
3. Then release and immediately re-push the same button holding it again - this time it should start moving. It should close, then slide backwards all the way, then slide forward all the way and end up closed again. Don't release the button until it is fully closed (if you accidentally do, then just start this process over again at step 1)

Your sunroof should now be fully functioning again. If you press the backward button now, it should open exactly like it is supposed to. If there is some sort of larger malfunction in the unit, it will enter safety mode on step 3 and will move in about 2 second intervals - if this happens you just need to keep pushing the button over and over until it closes and then you need to probably bring it in to have it diagnosed.

Good luck and happy driving!

Treyvon Martin Shooting & Stand Your Ground

I would like to preface this post in a few ways before I actually begin expressing my own thoughts and opinions here:

Firstly, I am not an expert on law (of any sort - let alone gun laws). I will express my thoughts and views based on my understanding of Michigan's gun laws including how they are enforced and how they are put into practice based on my limited training and reading. I will relate this understanding and experience to the shooting of Treyvon Martin in Florida and how that situation has been handled.

Secondly, I am not an expert on the situation surrounding the shooting of Treyvon Martin. I have read a decent amount in the news and have tried to get the best understanding I can of what actually happened, but I am not an expert.

Here is what I understand to have transpired on the night of this shooting incident:
- Treyvon Martin went out to a nearby 7/11 convenience store during a break in a basketball game. He was on his way back home having purchased skittles and tea when the shooting occurred.
- George Zimmerman saw Martin wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up and identified him as a safety concern for the neighborhood. He called the local police non-emergency phone number where he told them about the perceived threat and informed them that he was following the person. He was clearly informed by the police that he should absolutely not follow the person - he followed anyway and some interaction occurred that resulted in Zimmerman shooting Martin.

Now, on to my actual thoughts and opinions...

I have no idea what actually happened during the altercation that clearly took place. I'm not even completely clear on how/why the altercation took place to begin with. I'm not sure whether to believe that Zimmerman lost Martin and then encountered him again (as he claims). I'm not sure whether to believe that there was any interaction except the brief exchange of words and the shooting. Keep in mind that when I say that I don't know if I should believe these things, I mean exactly that. I'm not sure what to believe about it - I have know idea whether to believe many of these statements or not because there is not much evidence to back most (really any) of it up.

However, no matter what you believe about what happened, George Zimmerman should have been taken into custody right away when the police arrived. It is certainly important to know eventually what happened during the interaction that took place, but when the police first showed up, it shouldn't have mattered one bit. Zimmerman should have been taken into custody immediately.

Apparently this is not the way it works in Florida, but it should be. My understanding is that the Florida Stand Your Ground law says that the police officers who respond are not to arrest the shooter if he/she has a reasonable explanation of the encounter that accounts for their need to shoot. This is certainly not the exactly what the law says, but I believe it captures the idea behind it.

Michigan has a law very similar to this Stand Your Ground law they are talking about with regard to the shooting and in every shooting course I've ever taken, they are very clear about a couple of things - 1) that you should try to call 911 on speakerphone so that there is a record of what happened and 2) that you will be arrested when the police show up. Almost without exception, no matter how things happened and what reasons you have when the police show up or what proof you have of your need to shoot in self defense, you will be arrested. Then, if the story checks out and it seems like you are innocent, you'll be released and not charged. This is the way most of these laws are intended to be used.

In order to protect the public from a person who could potentially be a homicidal maniac, the shooter needs to be taken into custody until it is determined that there was a justifiable cause for the shooting. The fact that this was not done with George Zimmerman is already, in my (humble) opinion, a huge breach of proper procedure when dealing with a shooting case of any kind. Regardless of whether Zimmerman actually did shoot Martin in self defense or not, he should have been taken into custody immediately - and from there it could have been assessed whether he should be charged or released.

I understand that this may not be the way the laws in Florida are written and enforced. I'm not sure of the particulars there, but it seems to me that this situation illustrates one of two possible problems. Either the laws in question are written as I have described and are simply not being enforced or used in that way or the laws are actually not written to work the way I have described above. Either way, something needs to change - the laws either need to be enforced properly or rewritten to work in a way that keeps the public safe. Whether or not this shooting was handled in accordance with Florida law, the police response illustrates one of two major flaws with the current situation surrounding the Stand Your Ground law.

With all that being said, I want to acknowledge a few other thoughts. First, that the death of Treyvon Martin,  regardless of why/how it happened, is a terrible thing. He was a young man whose life never should have been cut short because of what appears to be a tragic misunderstanding between two people. Second, I hope that this situation does not cause people to believe that we should have tighter gun control laws. Treyvon Martin's death was not the result of our gun control laws - it was the result of poor decision making which, unfortunately, no amount of legislation (at least while preserving our liberties) could ever correct. No matter what version of the story you believe regarding the events of that night, what happened was the result of bad decisions - the same way they happen all the time ending in car crashes that kill people. We don't blame the cars and we shouldn't blame the guns - it's the poor choices (and possibly lack of experience and training) in both situations that causes problems.

Halo CE Anniversary Skull and Terminal Locations

Skull Locations:

• Iron - 
Level: Pillar of Autumn 

• Location: Located behind a cryo tube at the beginning of the level.


• Effect: "Death carries a heavy price. Dying in co-op resets you at your last saved checkpoint. Dying solo restarts the level."

• Mythic - 
Level - Halo

• 
Location: Beneath the waterfall at the beginning of the level.

• 
Effect: "All covenant AI have twice the health. All Sentinels have energy shields."

• Description: Immediately after stepping out of the crashed drop ship, immediately turn right and head for the enormous waterfall. It will be behind a rock near the waterfall.

• BOOM - 
Level - Halo


• Location: Just before entering the underground tunnel.


• Effect: "Explosions have twice the damage radius. Light fuse, run away." 

• Description: After getting the warthog dropped off, proceed like normal, but instead of going down into the trench towards the tunnel mouth, go around the cliff edge on the right side - you will see it in the middle of the ledge there after traveling along it for a moment.



• Foreign - 
Level - Truth & Reconciliation


• Location: Behind the door that the 3rd set of hunters emerge from in the hangar bay.

• 
Effect: Covenant weapons: How do they work? Player cannot pick up or use Covenant weapons."

• Description: When you enter the large hangar bay (the room with the large shielded openings that the Pelican uses to drop off marines) kill all of the enemies, but ensure you're close to the far right-side of the room when you finish them off. When the music suddenly picks up, be ready to go through the doors that open. Without an enemy near them, they won't open again. The skulls will be just inside.



• Famine - 
Level - Silent Cartographer

• Location: The top of the small plateau on the Beach.

• Effect: "Weapons dropped by AI have half the ammo they normally would. You ight want to pack an extra magazine."

• Description: From the start of the level, after exiting the Pelican immediately turn around and begin walking the other direction. You'll eventually come to a part of the island with a large piece of land right in the middle of it with a ramp going up the side. Scale it and the skull will be waiting at the top (Likewise, if you wait until after you activate the security console, the plateau will be immediately ahead of you as you exit the building. A scarab will now be crashed beside it.)



• Bandanna - 
Level - Silent Cartographer

• Location: At the end of the tunnel on the ceiling in the Security console building (Warning: Grenade jump necessary.)


• Effect: "Infinite Ammo."

• Description: Go into security building and head down the tunnel that leads to the control console. Go into the open room, than grenade jump on top of the structure to find this skull.

• Fog - 
Level - Assault on the Control Room

• 
Location: In the center of the room immediately before you set foot into the canyon. (Warning: Grenade jump necessary.)


• Effect: "The motion tracker is disabled. You'll miss those eyes in the back of your head."

• Description: After crossing the first bridge and taking the elevator down to the ground floor, the skull will be on a raised platform in the center of this room and will be surrounded by fog. It will require a grenade jump to reach it

• Malfunction -
 Level - Assault on the Control Room

• 
Location: On one of the pipes sticking out of the giant gorge in the large underground room.

• Effect: "Every time you respawn, a random element of your HUD is disabled."

• Description: When you enter the tunnel and you come to the large room, you will notice pipes that stick out of the gorge in the middle on both sides. Not 100% certain which pipe the skull is on yet, but there aren't many to pick from. Will update this segment as more definitive information is made available.



• Recession - 
Level - 343 Guilty Spark

• 
Location: Located to the left of the Facility in a little drop behind a shade turret.

• Effect: "Every shot is worth twice the ammo. Save those bullets, playa."
 

• Description: When you cross the fallen tree, you'll see a shade turret blow up and assault rifle fire coming from the structure. Instead of going inside, immediately go to the left and keep against the back wall. you'll come to a turret with a small drop behind it. Slide down the drop carefully and the skull will be waiting for you at the bottom.



• Black Eye - 
Level - The Library

• Location: In the back of one of the vents before entering the Index chamber for the first time. (Warning: Grenade jump necessary.)


• Effect: "Your shields only recharge when you melee enemies. Bash your way to better health!"


• Description: On the first floor at the beginning of the level, you will notice squarish openings in the ceiling that the flood use to enter the level. Before entering the round, yellow room, find the vent closest to that door and do a grenade jump into it. The skull will be waiting for you.

• 

Eye Patch - 
Level - The Library

• Location: Behind the Index on the final platform.

• Effect: Auto aim features disabled for all weapons. You'll miss it when it's gone."

• Description: Instead of running onto the platform to grab the Index, instead go around as far from the Index as you can. The skull will be waiting on the ground right behind it.



• Pinata - 
Level: Two Betrayals


• Location: On the snowy ledge directly above the exit to the underground tunnel.


• Effect: Punching enemies makes them drop grenades. Beat them 'til candy comes out!"

• Description: In AotCR, there will be a wraith tank on it as you're entering the tunnel. This time, get to the end of the level and grab the banshee, than fly back and land up there to grab your skull.



• Grunt Birthday Party - 
Level: The Maw


• Location: On a railing near where Foehammer is shot down.


• Effect: "Kill a grunt with a headshot and see a spray of confetti, to the delight of children everywhere."

• Description: If you stop the warthog on the spot where Foehammer is supposed to pick you up, the skull is on the end of the pipe/railing thing in front of you and to your right just before you leave that bridge.

Terminal Locations:

• Level- Pillar of Autumn

• Location: At the beginning of the level make you're way to the bridge. After talking to Keyes and regaining control of the chief, find the glowing red computer console to find the terminal.



• Level- Halo


• Location: After entering the underground tunnel, proceed like normal, but instead of jumping the gap like normal, find a small side tunnel in the immediate area and you'll find the terminal at the end of it.



• Level- Truth and Reconciliation

• 
Location: After defeating the Zealot on the Bridge, just stand on the raised platform in the center.



• Level- Silent Cartographer

• Location: When heading for the Security Building, you'll encounter two hunters in the center of the island. The terminal will be located on the wall of the structure in the center of this area.

• 

Level- Assault on the Control Room

• 
Location: Toward the end of the level you will come to the Pyramid with the Control Room at the top. You'll notice a long, flat piece of the structure running straight down the middle of it and going into a crevice in the ground below. Go inside this crevice and you'll find a terminal mixed in with a large amount of hidden ammo supplies.



• Level- 343 Guilty Spark

• Location: After making your way to the Elevator that will allow you to escape the underground facility, you'll find the Terminal above the doorway you came out of. It can be reached by activating the Elevator, than timing it correctly and jumping off onto the platform below (this may take a few attempts, but the elevator can be activated as many times as needed.)



• Level- The Library


• Location: On the third floor, you'll come to a room with a large circular room (the Index platform will be above it. Go right and use the crouch jump to jump over the barriers and you'll come to a room that looks like the rest of the level, but is disconnected from the regular game. The Terminal will be plain as day before you even reach it.

• 

Level- Two Betrayals

• Location: In the control room at the beginning of the level, walk around the the circular platform and you'll find the terminal directly across from the control console.



• Level- Keyes

• Location: After finding Keyes absorbed into the Proto- Gravemind, kill the Covenant and Flood that attempt to ambush you, than search the sunken crevices to the side of the raised platform. The terminal will be down inside one of the two.

• 

Level- The Maw


• Location: Play the level like normal until you reach the Cryogenic Storage Bay where Sentinels will be busy fighting the Flood. Once you climb the ladder to the upper level, go to the back of that room where the computers are. A glowing Control console on the computer island-type thing holds the final terminal.