Hmmm…

In our local empty-lot-turned-park, this curious addition appeared last week, on its own concrete slab. If it looks like an old refrigerator, there’s a good reason.

But why?

I don’t know, but I decided to install a tribute to the various Mac keyboards that have died on us, partly or fully. This is three of them, retail value here (new) USD 480. I have one more to add.

In the best tradition of AppleEssence™ (Apple [planned] obsolescence) the keyboards are not repairable. I have one more to add, bringing the total to USD 640. *sigh*

Angle grinder

Post mortem for la máquina

I rarely throw away anything that can be taken apart, without taking it apart. La máquina actually had a few challenging bits, and I had to cut apart a bit of a plastic fan to remove screws, so it remains a mystery to me as to how that part of the thing was assembled.

The gear assembly with bevel gears that change the rotation 90 degrees. Quite remarkable to imagine designing or manufacturing things like this.

And this clever spline. The rounded bit goes into the rounded indentation on the shaft, protruding a bit, and the gear slides over it, so that it has to spin when the shaft spins.

Once assembled, it’s held in place by the gear it mates to. OK, enough of this. I must have something more important to do….

Angle grinder, burned out

Cutting a plastic barrel in half to make planters, I noticed the angle grinder (almoradora here, called la máquina by Mexicans) was slowing down. I also noticed pain in a fingertip that I couldn’t quite place.

Turns out it was heat, and moments later I saw a bright flash and smoke.

After 12 years, la maquina is dead. Long live la maquina!

Keso Kacero

I think this is my favorite sign ever. There is literally one letter of it that is completely correct: y.

Queso cacero hongos y más. Homemade cheese mushrooms and more.

Brilliant. I’ve never actually stopped at the stand. I think I need to.

UPDATE: Syd of the Dog Walks: The Keso Kasero is as bland and tasteless as all the others of the genre. She has never had fresh hongos in two or three stops we have made. Y mas is preserved morrones, hongos, too sweet jams, et al.

Local playground takes shape

Last weekend there was a flurry of activity in our local park, building these things.

It’s not clear to me what they’re supposed to be, but I’ve seen people sitting on them. Maybe balance beams?

And then there’s this: a concrete block wall. What’s this all about? Well, I guess one could make the argument that I might know if I actually read the Whatsapp neighborhood group messages.

For anyone who doesn’t use Whatsapp, this means there have been 2,928 messages since I last looked. Hmmm….

Foaming tree

I’ve had this photo a couple months; never got around to trying to find out why a fire-damaged pine tree was foaming one day.

“…what you were looking at is a common bacterial disease among deciduous trees called slime flux. Now, if that is not a disgustingly descriptive name I do not know what is. Another name is wetwood because of the water-soaked marks on the trunk of infected trees.

“There are several bacteria that are associated with this disease and no one single organism has been identified as the main culprit. As the bacteria grow inside the tree (usually in damaged areas of the wood), carbon dioxide gas is released as fermentation occurs.

“This release of gas increases the pressure in the tree and forces sap to the outside, resulting in wet areas on the trunk. This is called fluxing and results in large, dark regions on the trunk once the flux is exposed to air. These wet areas become breeding grounds for other microorganisms – as alcohols are produced in this mess, bubbles or foam form as well as foul smells.

“I am surprised you did not see many insects feeding on the “brew” because this alcohol mixture attracts many bees, beetles and other larval forms to the concoction. Fortunately, the insects do not do any harm and there has not been any indication that the insects can act as a vector for the disease and spread it to other healthy trees in the area.”

source

Burning boat

Toward the end of the dog walk (inland from the coast highway), we saw some black smoke, and we couldn’t figure out where it might be coming from. It was in the direction of the origin of two forest fires where we walk. And it seemed farther away than the beach. So on the way home I stopped at El Águila, one of several eccentric local constructions, and there it was. I asked the car park attendant if it was a boat. He assured me it was. I don’t remember where the island is, I said, He again assured me it was a boat.

But I checked when I got home, traced my line of sight, and lo and behold, it very well could have been the Isla de Flores. Which begs the question: what is there that could burn?

Photo source

UPDATE next day: it was a boat