47 year old tank

[paul b]

Turns out it is a slug, and not an easy one to feed.

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/12/inverts

[Bruleyii]

Looks like it might be time to start finding some of those worms. The slug looks cool, but I agree, it might be tough to get food for it.

[Keraxis]

Wont be so bad if you get one that eats xenia.... stuff grows like weeds and people give it away

[paul b]

Jeep Recall

 

So my wife got this Jeep Cherokee for about a year and we get a recall notice. No problem, so about a month ago I bring it in for the recall. I also told them that the windshield washer was not working (which is the main reason I brought the thing back) I was driving through the snow and sleet with a squeeze bottle of antifreeze out the window so I could spray it and clear the window.

So they fix the 3 recalls and tell me they needed to order the part to fix the windshield washer and they would call me in a few days when it comes in. A month goes by and I call them to see what happened to this part that I figure must come from Bora Bora. The parts guy tells me it came in 3 weeks ago. No one called.

So today I go there for my appointment to put the windshield washer part in. I used to be a General Motors mechanic (Oldsmobile) so I know how these places work and I bring a newspaper because I figure it will take at least 45 minutes.

2 hours and fifteen minutes later they call me that the car is fixed. During that time I read every word in the Daily News including all the advertisements, who is running for what position and what they are calling the other guys, where to get my teeth fixed, who to call to clean my chimney or walk my dog, if I had a dog, which I don't. I also did both crossword puzles, then erased one of them so I could do it again because i was so bored.

They give me my car and I go out to take it. It was pouring raining out but I was glad to finally get the car. I get in and turn on the wipers which work fine. I go to put on the washer, and nothing happens. Then I try the rear one and nothing happens. Now, I am not a happy camper because I just spent two hours and fifteen minutes sitting there ready to eat my chair, and now the thing I brought the car in for still don't work.

So I go inside and get the service manager. I tell him the car is not fixed. He says whats the problem. The windshield washer don't work. He says, what is the matter with the windshield washer? I say, I don't know, what do you think I have been doing here all day? He says, the car was recalled. I say: it was recalled last month but I came here for the windshield washer. Oh, let me find out. So he looks on the paper and right on the top it says, Customer claims the windshield washer does not work. I say, I waited a month for the washer part that came in 3 weeks ago and now it is here. He says, we put in a module that the car was recalled for. I say, you put that in 3 weeks ago so why did you put it in again?

I get the manager and tell her I am not very happy. She offers me a cup of coffee and a bagel. This is New York, I can't swing a dead catfish without hitting at least three bagel stores. I don't want a bagel, I want my windshield washer working. So she runs in the back and finds the mechanic. He opens the hood, then he goes and finds another mechanic, then they get the guy who sweeps the floor. Now 5 people are trying the windshield washer and they determine that it doesn't work. Like Duh, is it me!

Now they are going to give me a loaner car because they have no idea how to fix it and it will take a few days.

I am waiting for the loaner car for 45 minutes because when they "fixed" my car, they closed out the paper work and can't re-open it again because the computer thinks it is fixed.

I finally get the loaner car (and a bagel) and discover that it has just about no gas in it. I tell them so they don't expect me to fill this thing up.

On my way home I put five gallons of gas in it so I don't get stuck. I walk into my house and the phone rings. My car is ready.

Now I drive back the five miles through traffic to get my car. 45 minutes later they get my car and I finally get in and start to drive home. I get one block and stop behind another car and I notice in his reflection that my running lights are not on. This car has a bunch of LED running lights that stay on all the time.

I park the car and get out to see the lights are out. So I take out the owners manual (which is 800 pages) and I search for running lights. Sure enough, they are supposed to be on.

I go back to the dealer (where they look at me in horror and try to run away) and I say the lights don't work. A mechanic comes out and asks me "what did we do to the car". I said, aparently you broke my running lights because you were supposed to fix the washer. So back in the shop for 30 minutes so they could re-program the running lights.

This is why I hate new cars and always buy a used one. But my wife wants a new, but who do you think has to bring it back for all these stupid things?

[Keraxis]

Sounds like a problem with incompetent work more then the car.  

[paul b]

I have had about 7 Jeeps and I love them. It is not the cars but the service department. But all service departments do the same thing. About 12 years ago I bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee from them and the second day, my wife got stuck. No lights, no noise, nothing. So I said why are you calling me? Call Jeep.

 

They came and towed the car back to the dealer. They gave me a long list of things they fixed on this car that had 6 miles on it.

 

Two days go by and my wife gets stuck again. No lights, no noise, nothing. So again, I tell her to call Jeep. They pick up the car and give me another list of things they fixed on this car that had 8 miles on it.

 

Two days she gets stuck again and I tell her, Don't call Jeep. I tow the car to my house, look through the wiring diagrams in the service manual and find the problem. Near the feet of the front seat passenger there is a panel that comes off to reveal a 100 pin wire connecter that connects everything on the engine to the dash board. One of the pins was bent over so the entire thing wasn't making good contact. I didn't want to straighten the pin because if it broke they would give me a hard time about the warranty and all that. So I made an arrow out of cardboard about 3 feet long. On it I printed: FIX THIS PART AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE.

 

I taped that to the dashboard pointing to the panel that I had left off then I called Jeep to tow the car back.

 

They told me that because it happened three times, by law they were required to offer me a new car. I said, how new is it going to be? This one only has 9 miles on it.

[khh27]

I have had about 7 Jeeps and I love them. It is not the cars but the service department. But all service departments do the same thing. About 12 years ago I bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee from them and the second day, my wife got stuck. No lights, no noise, nothing. So I said why are you calling me? Call Jeep.

 

They came and towed the car back to the dealer. They gave me a long list of things they fixed on this car that had 6 miles on it.

 

Two days go by and my wife gets stuck again. No lights, no noise, nothing. So again, I tell her to call Jeep. They pick up the car and give me another list of things they fixed on this car that had 8 miles on it.

 

Two days she gets stuck again and I tell her, Don't call Jeep. I tow the car to my house, look through the wiring diagrams in the service manual and find the problem. Near the feet of the front seat passenger there is a panel that comes off to reveal a 100 pin wire connecter that connects everything on the engine to the dash board. One of the pins was bent over so the entire thing wasn't making good contact. I didn't want to straighten the pin because if it broke they would give me a hard time about the warranty and all that. So I made an arrow out of cardboard about 3 feet long. On it I printed: FIX THIS PART AND DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE.

 

I taped that to the dashboard pointing to the panel that I had left off then I called Jeep to tow the car back.

 

They told me that because it happened three times, by law they were required to offer me a new car. I said, how new is it going to be? This one only has 9 miles on it.

That's a good one

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[paul b]

 

I have had Jeeps since they were "Man" cars and not just 4 wheel drive Sissy cars. My first real Jeep was a Willys and Willy's was the last "Real" Jeep.

 

[Bruleyii]

Im cracking up over here. I love your story telling abilities. 

[paul b]

There not stories, they are just things that happen to me. Did you read my wasp story?

[Bruleyii]

I did. lol. That was a good one too. Not for you in the end but I had a good laugh.

[paul b]

That was one of my favorites. Not at the time of course.

[paul b]

I have been adding more and more sponges and gorgs just for a change. I love it.

(I also have been taking a photography course and have no Idea what I am doing)

[paul b]

This morning before the reef lights came on I decided to look in the tank for a new slug just to see what it was doing. It was gliding along the front glass looking for it's meal of spaghetti worms which unfortunately is the only thing it eats and won't touch real spaghetti or anything else as I have found out. But as I was searching for him I noticed my bluestripe pipefish all entwined with each other as they often do, I just didn't know they did it in pitch darkness. Anyway, I noticed something go floating by and I am pretty sure it was a couple of baby pipefish. I can't be 100% sure because there is a lot of things floating by in my tank, but it sure did look like two entwined baby pipefish. I am telling myself that's what they were anyway just so I can feel good about it. Of course it could have been slug snot.

The pregnant male is the top one.

[EBR]

Is that a beer bottle?  Might need some help from Save the Sound ;-)

The tank looks great!

[paul b]

There are about 9 bottles in there. 

[paul b]

I have been taking a photography course and am trying things out.

 

 

[paul b]

Still practicing. I am trying to get very clear, sharp pictures but so far I have not mastered that. I took these on Macro or Super Macro with the lens right on the glass.

 

 

[Bruleyii]

If you are using a point and shoot, try not to use digital zoom. That lowers the quality of the photo.

[paul b]

I am not sure where the digital zoom is on my camera!!!

 

 

OK I really got a Canon SX 20is

Edited February 29, 2016 by paul b

[Bruleyii]

Ha! I think I have the Kodak version of that.

 

And I dont think that camera has a digital zoom on it, so you should be good on that part.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Bruleyii

[paul b]

Early this morning I got out my flashlight and looked at the tank before the lights came on. I normally get up way before the rest of the world does and nothing is open so I look at my tank. I usually will see things swimming or floating by but it is so fast that I rarely get a chance to see if it is a fish fry, amphipod or UST (underwater swimming thing). This morning was no different but I did see about a dozen bristle worms and they seemed to be having a party while doing the Macarana. Bristle worms don't bother me much but there are so many of them so I sucked them out and flushed them. (they hate that) They get kind of big and I just don't trust the big ones.

As I keep saying, I have way to many fish and they are growing. I was surprised to see my clingfish yesterday because that is one creature that you will rarely, if ever see. This type of clingfish is not the cool looking one with the stripes that swim all the time. This one is brown, about one and a half inches long and looks like an elongated flounder. It sucks itself to the rock and becomes part of it. I only see it if a worm floats near it, then it attacks like a great white shark before again sticking to a rock. Very few people will want such a creature but to me, that is my main thing. People go into LFSs and I see them drooling over colorful wrasses, tangs and angels like they are looking at Supermodels while I am looking under rocks for some indiscriminate organism that no one ever wants or even knows exists. (Of course if there were a Supermodel there, I would be all over her) I can always get tangs, wrasses and angels and I can see them in any tank, but to me, they are boring. Of course I used to like them along with moray eels, puffers, jacks and all that, but now I go for the un-ordinary.

Today I was happy to be asked to be interviewed on a small Long Island Radio Station in April. It won't be about fish, at least I don't think so. It is a station that caters to "Mature" people (which is a nice way to say old) They discuss finances, pensions, investments and how people spend their time. I have a lot of hobbies including fish so I guess I fit the bill. For the last 45 years I have been SCUBA diving mostly in the Long Island Sound and this station is also into environmental causes so I think we will also be discussing the state of the Sound. I know they also have some Veterans from Korea and Vietnam so we will also be discussing my time in Nam. It should be interesting and fun for me at least. Maybe I can even put some people to sleep.

 

[paul b]

Since we were inexplicably on the subject of Jeeps, I remembered a Jeep story that happened to me. If you don't like Jeep stories, or me, go and watch Oprah.

It was 1969 and I as in Colorado in the Army and we were going to play war games. It was also snowing and in Colorado it can snow a foot an hour. Me and this Lieutenant were supposed to drive this Jeep across these plains near Pikes Peak and lay out COMMO wire from the back of the Jeep. We had a couple of miles of wire on this big reel and we start driving out in GaGa land in the dark. It is snowing up the Gazoo and the Gazoo is almost full. I was freezing, it was dark and Army Jeeps don't have tops on them and the steel helmet they give you is the opposite of insulation. So after an hour or so of laying out this wire we are lost. It was like cowboy and Indian movies out in the middle of nowhere. So the genius I am with says: he is going up ahead on foot to find high ground to see if he can see any lights or civilization. I am sitting in the Jeep, by myself covered up to my neck with snow holding an M-16 with no bullets because we were only playing games. I can't see anything but darkness and snow, then all of a sudden I hear, HOWEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLlllllll. Then I hear it again. I realized it was wolves, coyotes or Bigfoot. I didn't really care because my M-16 wasn't even good enough to shoot myself with. If I only had one bullet I could at least shoot the Bozo that brought me out to H-E-double hockey sticks.

Now they are getting closer. Then closer HOWEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLllll and I knew I was on the menu, so I got out of the Jeep and stood on the hood ready to swing my rifle around and hit one of my tormentors. I didn't know if I should swing low for a wolf, or high for Bigfoot. Just then, Howdy Doody comes back and tells me he can't see any lights and has no Idea where we are.

I tell him I know exactly where we are and where ever that is, is connected to miles of wire coming out the back of the Jeep. So I walk in front of the Jeep picking up the wire all the way back to where we started from. That is my Jeep story. I also have a tank story but the Jeep story (which is totally true) is much better.

[paul b]

My tank has reached 45 years old this month. I am kind of proud of that. 

[Origami]

Congratulations, Paul!