Stray Things

Evelin was worried that "Lifechanges ... Delayed" has turned into an all-Celeste, all-the-time zone. I know some people prefer that (Hi Mom!), but for those who want some of the eclectic rambling that I would do before becoming yet another self-absorbed parent, I present a couple of rambling entries ...

Corndogs

I always liked corndogs (with lots of ketchup, please), so I'm really glad that Morningstar Farms makes an excellent vegetarian corndog. And now, I have just found out that tomorrow (19 March) is National Corndog Day (and don't miss the NCD blog). I don't think I want to overload on beer and tater tots, but corndoggity goodness sounds like it might need to be on the menu for tomorrow. (Via Enjablog)

Headlights

I don't know if Hyundai makes extensive use of child labor or not, but it takes some serious contortions and scraping of knuckles to replace the bulbs in the headlights of the Elantra. Last week, on my way to work early on Thursday, I noticed that the passenger-side headlight had gone out, so I picked up a new bulb and replaced it while Celeste sat in her stroller watching and offering moral support that afternoon. On the passenger side, the window washer fluid reservoir fill makes the spacing a bit tight there, but I was able to get things replaced without too much difficulty.

On Monday night, on the way back from meeting Evelin, S---, E--- and G--- in the District, Evelin pointed out that the driver-side headlamp was out. I had to drive padiddle Tuesday morning, but I picked up another bulb on the way home. Since I was going to need to pick R--- up at the Metro at some point that afternoon, Evelin took my car to work leaving me the T.R.U.C.K. and the snap-in base for Celeste's carseat, which meant I didn't fix the headlight that afternoon.

When I finally got to it Wednesday evening, I figured it would be easy. Just remove the piece of plastic that was covering the area between the battery and the headlight casing and there I'd be. Well, on the driver's side, there's an air intake under that piece of plastic that had to be popped off, and while it looks like there's more empty space between the battery and the headlamp than on the passenger’s side, it was actually a little bit more difficult to work in that bit of space than it was working around the reservoir-fill pipe.

Eventually, it was done, but not without a bit of cursing and bleeding.

Making things worse is that Hyundai uses the little spring clips to position the bulbs and hold them in place. Getting it back into position was a real pain, especially as the battery blocked any clear view of whether or not the spring and clip were lining up.

Naugahyde

Every now and I then I get a query from one of my fellow editors. On Wednesday, K--- called late in the day wanting me to confirm the spelling of Naugahyde®. That query led to the Naugahyde® website and it's explanation of where Naugahyde® comes from:

The small chameleon-like animals known as Naugas™ [elsewhere on the site identified as being native to either Sumatra or Rome] have long been known as the source of beautiful and durable fabrics that look like fine, soft leather. And since Naugas shed their hydes without harm to themselves, the fabrics they help make came to be known as Naugahyde®, The Cruelty Free Fabric™.

None of it's really that funny (I can see now after a fairly decent night's sleep^*), but I think in my karōshi-induced mindset it cracked me up a bit.

^*No Celeste is not sleeping through the night, but I only woke up once or twice with her, and I let myself sleep in to about 6:15 a.m., so I'm feeling better this morning, thanks for asking.