I’ve still not got Friendster/Myspace/Facebook/Twitter accounts. Which has given me pause to reflect on occasion. Am I going to wind up a relative-luddite—forever sated with the communication venues that compose my digital-epistemology? Or will perhaps this new b.. bustle, (geeze-louise, almost did it without even trying… they’re sneeky) prove to be my digital music files, to the worlds CDs!

But she/we liked it. Or at least better than the frozen peas & carrots place.

I don’t remember my impression from the last time we attended this restaurant, only that we’d figured out “that dish we really liked when we had Indian with Elizabeth and Carl”, so it was kinda like starting over.

We like to split dishes to try a little of everything. We ordered Mixed Vegetable Pakora as an appetizer, then Navaratan Koorma & Saag Paneer. But this particular place always comes out with a thin savory wafer and sauces as an appetizer to the appetizer.
The sauces were a subject of much discussion. One was tomato based & salsa-like. The second tasted a lot like a cilantro based salsa verde, and turned to be a cilantro & mint chutney. The third was my favorite and was a chickpea & coconut milk sauce. Mmmm.

We really got into the sauces. They ended up all over our Pakora, which was really tasty. By the time the entrees came, I was grinning uncontrollably.
-What’s so funny?
-I just like indian food.
-That’s why you’re smiling?
-Yeah.
-You’re weird.
I ate the dal & sambar that came with our dishes, but by this time we were getting so full that we practically TOGOed it after one bite of the main dish.

I don’t know what happened last time, to make me not remember it so much, so I determined to internalize my experience this time. Note to self, there were no frozen peas and carrots, just so much tasty food, that I couldn’t help but smile.

1. Locate the wires that power the original vacuum pump. They are originally routed through the conduit that runs over the injector lines down between the injection pump & the alternator. I cut the wires on the pump side of the pigtail connector, so I could still disconnect the new pump if I wished.

2. Remove the wires from the conduit enough to be able to run them to a desirable location. I chose to locate it above the transmission, zip-tied to the powersteering lines.

3. Run enough hose to be able to tie into the vacuum system where the old one does—at the metal T in the tubing, which runs along the underside of the radiator/fan, across from the starter.

4. Because I don’t trust the pump’s seals to hold a vacuum overnight, I chose to put a ¼” (the biggest available) vacuum check valve inline.

5. As pictured in the two photos above, it is practical to chaff-protect & zip-tie the hose where appropriate. If including a check-valve, use an adapter and 3/8″ hose to attach the 1/4″ hose to the 3/8″ T under the radiator.
6. If your vacuum-sensing switch is working properly, your pump should turn on/off at about 18-22 inHg. Located under the black plastic shield in the rear of the engine compartment, it is the black-rubber capped dongle that has vacuum hose going in one end and electrical wires coming out the other.
7. Because this pump is a little slower to make vacuum than the stock pump, when it’s colder out I like to let it run for 15-20 seconds after I’m parked for the night. Provided I don’t step on the brakes, this helps to ensure that the vacuum-driven, cold weather timing advance & idle adjustment have full effect for easy starting the next morning.

Parts discussed include; A1/Cardone 64-1501 vacuum pump, replaced by a KNF Neuberger UN86 KTDC vacuum pump. Both 12VDC.

Let me know if there are any questions or thing that need clarification.

New Zealand has always been one of those places.

The summer I turned twelve, the USA was having it’s first go of hosting the World Cup. I remember pouring over maps. I was captivated, infatuated even obsessed with environmental greatests—tallest mountains, longest rivers, lowest valleys, deepest trenches. I ranked places on their possession of such treasures. I was infuriated that Colorado’s tallest mountain was not as tall as California’s, because our cabin was in Colorado and I liked Colorado. I had Colorado pride. California? Everybody was like oohh… California, but really, what’s so special about it anyway?

That same summer, after leaving the cabin—as I poured over the info in the atlas—we drove to Telluride. My uncle managed a bar there, and I got to watch the World Cup finals. Italy lost to Brazil in a shootout. I loved the sport, and I loved how the Brazilian team played so beautifully, thus I was turned on to Brazil. I remember thinking that there were many things there I like—It has the jungles, the longest river, mountains for hiking and the ocean for SCUBA as I was going to get my c-card that year.

But as the summer waned, so did my love for the land of Ipanema. Afterall, the mountains aren’t very tall, and the Ocean it’s on is the Atlantic, the one that is not the biggest, deepest or according to Ferdinand Magellan most peaceful. So I turned my sights on that ocean to the west of me. The Pacific ocean.

New Zealand had the mountains, it had the ocean and they spoke the same language, and it wasn’t California. Hence, at the ripe age of twelve or thirteen, began my obsession with someday landing myself in Kiwi land.

Now, as I find myself appreciating the views in Port Townsend Washington my roomate returns from a place I’ve pined to visit, talking of Kiwis who laud Portland as a relocation destination and I’m thinking, maybe it’s me, maybe I need to let go—to appreciate the place I’m in… Or maybe it’s just that they really filmed Lord of the Rings in the Pacific North-West.

Amit returned from training for his new job in San Diego.

Katja is moving to Eugene, OR to work as a nurse on L&D at Sacred Heart Riverbend.

Mere and Liz are changing rooms.

I’m off to Port Townsend for the boat.

So it was time to have a potluck, and did we ever.


…unfortunately I didn’t take any photos of the spread. I have no idea why I didn’t think of it. I made two large deep-dish pizzas. and all that was left was a single, sampled slice.

Dough (sourdough batter, flour, water, butter, salt)
Cheese (whole milk mozzarella)
Ingredients (bell peppers, broccoli, onions, shitake mushrooms)
Sauce (Tomatoes, baked beets, salt, thyme)
Because we’ve been keeping the house very cold (just above freezing when necessary), the starter has really been slowed, so during proofing, it didn’t grow much. The end result made for some really dense crispy crust, not the bready, fornicary-yeast flavor and texture you might expect of say a pan pizza or foccacia. I have really enjoyed playing with using less yeast than we are used to–being okay with less leavened bread.

Betsy made an excellent lentil & quinoa dish that was really fresh. I want to get that recipe. There were cookies, brownies, pasta and enough good beer that I don’t remember the other dishes… Hopefully the my next post will include lots of pretty pictures from Port Townsend, or PT as they say.