Just another Burkhard visit

I called Burkhard to see if there was anything new with the Model T. Not really, he said, I’ve painted the chassis. Well, I said, since I have to go to our chacra anyway to pick up my mechanical sheep (he has real sheep; I require a four-stroke engine mounted on wheels with a blade spinning really fast to keep grass trimmed), that might be interesting to see.

As I pulled in, I didn’t actually notice this at first: another Model A chassis.

Model A chassis, Uruguay

But as we walked around the garage, I definitely noticed this:

Unresotred Model As, Uruguay

two more unrestored 1929 Model A’s (I had to ask), purchased at auction for $400 each. The better chassis will remain here; the other will go to someone else into this stuff. Burkhard’s end result will be a pickup truck, hybrid of genuine original Model A and Model T pieces. Seems wife had issues with excessive wrecks populating the back yard. Hey, it’s a guy thing; get over it!

Model A's, Uruguay

Meanwhile, in the garage he built between two containers, Burkhard’s restored A is joined by a four door Sedan, which he stores for a friend whose mother drove it – in Montevideo – until 15 years ago. Yes, let that sink in. The black vehicle is all original.

Boggles the mind.

Model T chassis, Uruguay

Meanwhile, here’s the T chassis – upside-down and lovingly painted. It’s very light, and surprisingly flimsy.

I got curious: the Model A versions ranged from about  (USD) $400 – 1,400 in 1929, or ~$5,840 – 20,400 in 2018 dollars. That seems reasonable.

On the other hand, $400 in 2018 would have been worth $27.40 in 1929. I’d say that’s rather a screaming bargain either way.

The nonconformist tree

We were remarking on the extraordinary new growth on the pine trees a few days ago, when I spotted this, a pine whose new growth looks like an upside-down office chair.

odd new pine tree growth

I’ve been watching a couple days now for another example, but haven’t seen one.

What do you suppose “inspired” it?

 

A minimalist German camper van

German camper

Today’s Saturday, and the weather’s much like in this photo, but this is from a few days ago, a pre-season weekday. Today this parking lot would have been full of cars. Notice the sand ladders and crane for lowering and raising the monstrous spare tire. And massive fuel tank. And bunker-like windows. Just kinda automatically makes you feel light-footed and adventurous, nein?

Compare this with the last German camper van I posted:

camper truck from Germany

OK, the Unimog is an amazing vehicle, but – is it just me? – seems sort of, um, constipated as a travel vehicle. Hey, there will be more this summer: stay tuned!

And, oh yeah, I’m being sarcastic about the minimalist thing, in case you missed that.

The nest

I’ve been walking with Syd in the VillAr wilderness* for a few years now, and know my way around. But I don’t have the paths mapped in my head the way he does, partly because he’s been walking there so much longer, and (muchly) because he’s the “Cruise Director” so that, like a passenger in a car (my wife marvels at my ability to navigate Montevideo!), I don’t have to pay particular attention: just along for the ride/walk.

Syd and Gundy have been in Buenos Aires for a couple weeks. Their house/pet sitters apparently saw little benefit in my accompanying them on dog walks (which shocks me; I find my company scintillating — but alas, perhaps therein lies the problem), and adopted no apparent (or at least shared) schedule. So today I took Mocha at 1:00 PM, (an unheard-of hour) so as not to run into them, and we wandered here and there for well over an hour. Several times I walked 50+ meters “the wrong way” down a trail, to see if I was where I thought I was: mapping. Sometimes I was right; sometimes wrong.

Philosophical outtake: when I was 14, I didn’t really perceive my evident cluelessness; things just sometimes worked, and sometimes didn’t. 50 years later, I find my cluelessness amusing – or at least, interesting. Sometimes I know where I am; sometimes not. It’s all good.

Along the way noticed details I might not have otherwise, like this:

tall stump with bird nest

The top hole is obviously a birds’ nest. What kind? Owl? Active? Not? I approached, but it was above eye level. Do owls burrow into tree stumps? What other bird might? In late October (equivalent of late April northern hemisphere), would this be an active nest?

Were I a National Geographic photographer, I might camp out here six hours – or six days, or six weeks – for answers. As it was, when Mocha crunched nearby returning from a thorough sniff-sniff of the area, we moved on. I will try to remember when we pass by again.

 

* about 150 hectares/370 acres of mostly no-man’s land in Vila Argentina Norte

Get thee to the Whoppspital

A couple of weeks ago, I posted Quadruple bypass on a bun, amazed that such an excessively unhealthy thing could exist, even in Uruguay, home of the chivito. The other day, riding the bus back from Montevideo, I spotted this:

Burger King billboard, Montevideo

Curious, I went back to the Burger King site to see what this monstrosity might be. I found no “Ultra Whopper,” but there’s the same photo:

Whopper® Queso Bacon

To refresh your memory, on the product page there is a link to “nutrition information,” consisting of

cake and fries

To add to your gastric distress, perhaps you’d also like artificial chocolate goop or acrylamides via potatoes fried in “vegetable” oil.

But wait, there’s a punchline here, in the last line: Frente a H. Clinicas. So after scarfing down all this “good stuff,” you may not even need an ambulance: they can just roll you on a stretcher across the street to this grim monstrosity,

Hospital de Clinicas, Montevideo
The Hospital de Clinicas.