This article was posted to the Usenet group alt.hackers in
1995; any technical information is probably outdated.
ObIHateCarsHacks
Article: 8939 of alt.hackers From: aradia@teleport.com (Aradia) Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: ObIHateCarsHacks Date: 25 Oct 1995 19:39:56 GMT Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 Lines: 44 Approved: for(i=0;i>=0;i++) cout << "I hate cars!"; Message-ID: 46m3qc$p4o@maureen.teleport.com NNTP-Posting-Host: linda.teleport.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Status: RO
ok, here are a couple hacks i've had to do. sorta. just remember, no hack too small, eh? <g> Ob"I'm HOW far from home?"Hack... argh! my driver-side windshield wiper has been giving me shit for the past few weeks. my dad looked at it, tried to fix it, but didn't help. so i get out onto the highway saturday going to visit my girlfriend. 30miles down, and i'm driving with -30% visibility in the rain. oh, golly. just what i need. i manage to read a sign that says 'rest area', and pull in. whew. i get out, take a look at the stupid wiper. it's loose. very loose. although my dad had tried tightening the arm down, it didn't help at *all*. ok, what to do...what to do... well, after playing with the windshield wiper a bit, it's really wobbly down at the base, where it comes out of the whole in the hood. if i can force the whole arm foreward, it should put enough pressure on it to work. i dig around in the backseat of my car (a junkyard in and of itself ;), and find a metal bracket, ~5" long, thumbwidth, and a few millimetres thick. i think i was supposed to put that on the back of my stereo when i installed it. oh well, it hasn't fallen out yet. so i grab it, and shove the thing in the hole, forcing the arm foreward and jamming the whole thing so it's nice and tight. bend down the remaining 3", turn on the wipers, and prey that it can hold on going 70mph. luckily it did, and is still there. especially since it started hailing 10 miles later... Ob"HOW much does it cost?"Hack... ok, just to appease the natives, here's another. 2 days ago the u-clamp that holds my turn indicator arm in place, broke. snap. shit. it's virtually impossible to use the indicator now, and to turn on the headlights i have to hold it with my other hand while i twist the knob, otherwise the arm just spins freely. :) we call up the local honda dealer to find out the price on a replacement. ahem. HOW much for the damn thing? hmmmm. <g> i'm driving down to see my girlfriend right after school (in, oh, 1.5hrs), so this morning i had to come up with something so i could use the indicator without ripping the skin off my fingers, trying to get to the little metal thing that turns them on. i find the smallest, thinnest pair of locking pliers i can, and carefully clamp them down onto the little metal thing inside which the indicator is SUPPOSED to be clamped to. it works, tho i have to be careful, since it's a bit heavier than the turn indicator. ;) well, time for class now. oh joy of all joys. :)