An Oven DIY Update.

Well. That’s over with. A new igniter is installed and working in my GE Profile range

It was not easy. Not the 30 minute job advertised. Noooo. Because, manufacturing. So.

Part arrives. Looks right. Saturday afternoon, I begin.

Turn off power to range. Remove top iron grills and burner covers. Empty bottom storage of the baking sheets and iron skillets. Remove oven door. Slide out from wall. Unplug. Turn off gas.

Now we’re cooking.

Remove racks. Remove two screws from the back on the fire shield. Shift back, lift up and remove fire shield.

It’s all going like a dream.

Locate igniter. Bingo, right there. Remove two screws. Remove two screws. Remove…two…screws…

One breaks off. Fuck Second one just turns and turns, apparently stripped.

Try a zillion fucking ways to get that screw out. No. Go.

Three hours have passed. I’m dripping sweat. I stop for the day. Realize sometime during the evening, I’m going to need to grind off that screw head. I need a tool for that, research options, and make shopping plans.

Ten o’clock. I get ready to go shopping. My wife pops off to a friend’s house. She calls as I’m walking out the door. The friend has a Dremel I can use to grind the head off. His son has it as his place, about two miles from my place. Off I go to pick it up and bring it back.

The friend’s son is a friend and a retired editor and literary agent, so we talk books and publishing for thirty minutes. He’s always a good visit. He’s also just lost his cat to cancer; another ten minutes is spent on sympathy and pain.

Back at home, gloves and goggles are donned, the grinder is plugged in, and the head is ground off. The igniter is freed from its bracket but remains wired in. To get to that, I should remove several more pieces but after that previous screw episode, that is not going to happen. I instead cut the wires to the igniter and remove the plug out the back. Next, I twist and shift my fingers, screwdrivers, and pliers until the new igniter’s connections are through the 1.25 inch through the back. I really could have used four more hands and much longer arms during this process. The igniter is put into place. New screws are installed.

Then, reverse disassembly. Just enough to let me test that puppy. Gas on. Power on. Plugged in. Fingers crossed, oven turned on.

Success.

The range’s empty space is cleaned, then the range is manuevered back into place. Everything is returned to its position and the tools are put away. It’s 2:30.

Time for lunch. Water. And rest.

Sunda’s Wandering Thoughts

You know, they have antique cars and classic cars. Why don’t we have antique rock? Will there come a day when we’ll be listening to some digital stream of antique rock? From my scant research, classic rock was originally rock from the late 1960s on. It evolved into an album oriented format and morphed into mostly arena rock. Based on that progression, maybe the stuff before the late 1960s rock could be antique rock? Which means the Kinks’ 1964 hit, “You Really Got Me”, would be antique rock…

I’ll see myself out.

Sunda’s Theme Music

Clouds have overtaken Ashlandia again. It’s a cool summery start to June, this being Sunda, June 2, 2025, and a pleasant way to ease out of spring, that being the current rotation, as we’re north of 0 degrees latitude.

Did you read about the mutation which they believe give orange cats their color? Scientists track down mutation that makes orange cats orange. The story comments, “It took researchers a century to find the genetic glitch that causes orange coloration in cats.” Turns out the Arhgap36 gene was involved. Go figure, right? They weren’t able to find any explanations for the orange personality, though.

Today’s song is in honor of PINO TACO. TACO, which means, “Trump Always Chickening Out”, has become PINO Trump’s favorite nickname. *snark*. The Neurons came up with it as I was breaking my fast. Into my morning mental music came “Macho Man”, the 1978 Village People song. But instead of the song’s original lyrics, The Neurons were singing “TACO, TACO man. PINO Trump is such a TACO man.” And so on. The revised lyrics don’t make a lick of sense, but it’s a rock parody, and it’s fun singing that PINO Trump is such a TACO man.” Heh.

Now, I must press on. My oven igniter replacement DIY project is underway. It’s been fraught with issues. Blood pressure has probably gone higher than any mountain. So, onward once again. I think I’ll start with some tacos. Some reason, I’m craving them.

And reminder, this is Jun 1. Big demonstrations planned for Jun 14. Be there or be a MAGAt. Cheers

Memfloofesis

Memfloofesis (floofinition) Term which describes the impression that an animal reminds others of another animal. Origins: first described in “The Floofilogues of Floofto”, circa 400 BC.

In Use: “When Pandora joined the household, memfloofesis arose among the other housefloofs that the new black floof was uncannily like their old black mate, Sugar, starting with how silent Pandora was to how they ate and slept on their back with their legs in the air. The memfloofesis was such that they were sure Sugar had come back to them, which made all very happy.”

Happy Belated Reminder

This reminder comes to you courtesy of Mock Paper Scissors. I tried reblogging it, but, WordPress. So here it is, with a link to them. Respect to them for the reminder, this felon is the leader of the former GOP, which is now the Greedy Old TACO Party, GOTP. The Trumplicans who were once Republicans sometimes weakly mew with indignation have certainly demonstrated that they are, like him, racist, greedy, unprincipled, with little regard for due process, the oaths they swore, or most of their constituents.

LET’S GO, TACO.

Frida’s Wandering Thoughts

Out walking on break today, a Honda Civic passed.

1983, and silver, I saw. As sis had.

Sis’s Honda suffered from cancer rust. This one was in good shape. A Sarah Lawrence College decal was on the back window.

I was taken back. I’ve never been to Sarah Lawrence College, but it’s been in pop culture in sufficient settings that I knew it’s located in New York city. How did that car with that decal end up almost all the way across the nation, in Ashland, Oregon?

I wondered about the car’s history. Was it a gift to a student freshman attending Sarah Lawrence College? Conversely, maybe they bought it for themselves after graduating and beginning a new job. Maybe, though, the car was located here, and a Sarah Lawrence grad bought the car and put their alma mater on the window.

So many questions. When I returned to the coffee shop, I did a distance check between here and Sara Lawrence College: 2901 miles via I80. Take note, though: there’s a lot of construction enroute between here and there, and toll roads. But traffic is light. It’ll take just under 42 hours if you drive straight there.

I wonder if the car would make it. I imagined it returning to its home, like salmon returning to their spawning waters. Then it all veered along science fiction lines and became a tale about cars gaining intelligence and becoming homesick for their first owners, and then seeking them out.

Guess I’ll call it “Tires & Wheels”. That’s the name of the two main characters: a red and white 1985 Chevy K10 pickup called Tires and a 1983 silver Honda Civic named Wheels.

You know what? I think it’s a love story as much as an adventure.

Frida’s Theme Music

Got up early, cut the grass. It’s Frida. Gonna be 95 F plus here in Ashlandia today. It’s 85 F now, all pretty typical for May’s penultimate day, the 30th, in 2025. Connectivity issues are stalking me in the coffee shop, which is also typical for when it’s hot, cold, wet, snowy, windy, or stormy. This post took an extra chunk of time because connectivity drops, and the categories and tags would disappear. Sigh of frustration.

Papi has taken early to his hot weather hidey hole among the vinca on the house’s side yard.

The photo was taken through the window glass, between the blinds, with my phone. Papi is usually hyper aware of sound, so I didn’t want to move the blinds and risk waking him. That’s me, don’t-disturb-the-cat Michael.

The news spin is so fast, it’s like trying to catch Road Runner. Just ask Wile E. Coyote how challenging that is, and he’s a super genius. Tariffs are on hold, tariffs are back, the Roberts Court ruled for TACO, the SCOTUS ruled against TACO. Senators are speaking against Trump, speakers have just supported his agenda. The stock market is up, the stock market is down.

Speaking of super geniuses, TACO sent the stock market tumbling with accusations that China has been caught cheating on tariffs. Given TACO’s usual M.O., that means the TACO Regime was probably caught cheating. Or they’re playing squirrel again, trying to distract us from news and information which TACO finds upsetting and doesn’t want us to notice. It might just be that he’s trying to make us forget that we’re calling him TACO now.

LET’S GO, TACO!

There. Don’t know if he got that. It’s our version of “Let’s Go, Brandon” that made the right so happy last year. Maybe if more of us did it, TACO will get the message. So, let’s all amplify it via social media:

News reading and wondering what fresh bad news is rising for TACO has The Neurons firing up “Duran Duran” with “Is There Something I Should Know?” from 1983 in the morning mental music stream. I suppose it could be the Propublica and Texas Tribune article (shared here via Alternet) that the Trump Regime knew that the Venezuelans they deported were not the criminals claimed. Maybe there’s worse economic news coming that’s prompting the Trump Regime to shout, “Squirrel!” Time will tell.

Hope your Frida works out well for you. Hope mine works out for me and my family, too. Let’s make it the best one we can. Coffee is at hand. Here we go again. Cheers

Thirstda’s Theme Music

After a beautiful Ashlandia day yesterday, today has improved to a better version of itself. Yesterday punched up to 89 F under rich sunshine. Today’s sky is bluer and cloud-free. But other conditions have been checked, so our high has dropped to the low 80s region. 60 degree F air armed with a cool mountain breeze moved through the windows and open doors this AM, kissing us with a refreshing chill. Little too chill for my wife, who turned on her little space heater.

This is Thirtsda, May 29, 2025. We’re sailing on through the second quarter of 2025. What a time it has been. Trump has earned a new name, based on his cowardly behavior. TACO means “Trump always chickens out”. Calling him TACO Trump would be repetitive. Should just be PINO TACO, or as I frequently absently call him in my mind, “Little PINO Trump”. Now, air warning: Donald Trump doesn’t like his new nickname, TACO. Feels it’s hurtful, mean, unfair. As he’s never flinched from smirking and bestowing hateful and cruel nicknames on others, I think we should spread it far and use it often.

Other Little PINO TACO news has the mango boi losing out in the courts and getting sued more frequently.

Donald Trump, Karoline Leavitt Sued by Deaf Association, “This Practice Abruptly Ended”

Judge extends order blocking revocation of Harvard’s enrollment of foreign students

Stocks waver after a federal court halted Trump’s tariffs

NPR sues Trump over funding cuts amid ongoing battle between administration and press

Oh, and as Republicans try to gush about how wonderful Little PINO TACO is doing, they’re getting facts in the face:

‘Easily Checkable Lies’: Republican Senator Roasted Over Wildly Inaccurate Post Trying to Hype Trump’s Wins In Office

The Pretenders own my morning mental music stream with a 1984 offering. The Neurons found it in my mental basement and cued it up after I read more news stories last night and this morning. My response has often been, “Time will tell.” Reacting to that, The Neurons gave me “Time the Avenger”. The song is a story told to a 1980s rock rhythm about time’s influence on lives and relationships.

The writing mind is getting greased and primed by a new load of coffee. Here we go, on into another day. Cheers

More FAFO News

Here we go again. We didn’t know…we didn’t think that it meant — yeah, fill in the ending. It’s classic ‘leopard ate my face self-pity.’

In this case, the ending is Carol, a woman in Missouri. They love Trump in Missouri. Voted strongly for him. Now they’re shocked — shocked — that it turned out that voting for Trump and his policies meant that someone beloved in their community would be affected.

A Missouri Town Was Solidly Behind Trump. Then Carol Was Detained.

“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” said Vanessa Cowart, a friend of Ms. Hui from church. “But no one voted to deport moms. We were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs, the people who came here in droves.”

She paused. “This is Carol.”

So, yeah, they were okay when it was other people’s lives being torn apart and disrupted as people are deported under PINO Trump’s monstrous, careless, unthinking, and cruel deportation policies. They were okay when it was, say, someone in California, Michigan, North Carolina, Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona, or any of the rest of the states. You thought Trump was compassionate? Thoughtful? Actually, what the fuck were you thinking, Missouri?

This is what you voted for, Missouri. I hope you start thinking more deeply about things in the future in the ‘show me’ state. Carol and the rest of us would appreciate it.

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