This teensy little sumbitch got me back on four wheels after a few hours plugged into a wall socket (the four-wheeler, not me).
Almost forgot: Sue Baroo the Fearsome Furster is back on the road after a few hours hooked to the Schumacher SC1301 Fully Automatic Battery Charger.
So, yay, etc.
I must’ve triggered one of the 2,485,397 interior convenience lights somehow. When you only fire up the four-wheeler every couple of weeks this can pose a problem re: infernal combustion and the application thereof.
Happily, the SC1301 was on sale at O’Reilly, so with all the moneys I saved I added some jumper cables to the order.
Even so, I think I may start using bicycles and the Vespa for errands more often, because (a) I really don’t enjoy driving in Albuquerque all that much, and (2) I rarely venture far from home in this, the Year of the Plague. So why not make my outings more funner?
Mad Blog Media 
May 22, 2020 at 9:32 am |
Patrick, Friend of mine got caught twice by that small light in the roof just inside the back hatch. Cost him a new battery that turned out not to have been needed. He just needed to turn off that light! Good luck finding the culprit.
May 22, 2020 at 1:28 pm |
Bruce, it looks like the passenger-side map light got turned on somehow. No idea how. But that would do ’er over 10 days.
May 25, 2020 at 9:31 am |
I love how the lights now auto-dim over 5 minutes, so the only way to know if it’s off is to start the car back up and sit there and wait. None of the lights in our Jeeps that are within kiddo arm range have a noticeable recessed=on feel to them, so it’s like inserting a USB cable — 50% chance of getting it right and yet always seems to be a 90% rate for getting it wrong.
May 22, 2020 at 9:53 am |
Speaking of the Vespa, were you and a partner riding on Live Oak just East of Tramway yesterday around 6:30? I saw a couple on one as I was driving East.
May 22, 2020 at 12:43 pm |
Nope, wasn’t us. There are a few Vespas in the general vicinity, some with a tad more git-up-and-go than mine. I kinda covet the touring model, but there’s that whole motorcycle-endorsement issue again. And the insurance. And the painful demise, funeral expenses, burial plot, etc.
Looks like the electric models are out, and holy hell, do they ever cost a ton. Plus I wonder whether a motorcycle endorsement might be required based on top speed.
May 22, 2020 at 11:28 am |
I got me a ‘Merican bike hauler that came with all the bells, whistles and butt scratchers. I bought if off my brother-in-law to help him out. If I make the mistake of adjusting the power seats or power windows too much with the ignition off, I can be up sheet creek without trump paper. Being a sophisticated piece of machinery that would make Rube Goldberg smile, it has self adjusting air shocks that utilize an onboard compressor. It so happens that if you’re at a building supply store loading up with various house project supplies, and happen to adjust the front seats, lower the windows and hear the air compressor kicking on and off to adjust the rear of the van for the load, all with the vehicle not running, you can be sure that your boat has broken loose from the dock and your on your way down into Cataract Canyon without even a recyclable plastic spoon. After being bitten a couple of times I’m more careful now and keep a set of jumper cables tucked away in the vehicle, a trickle charger ready and waiting and my auto insurance with the “get a free jump because I’m an idiot” clause, paid up on time.
BTW: Does anybody want to buy a Ferrari Red Minivan with all the tasty features that your grandparents would like? It has a new battery. Did I say that it has enough electric stuff to make Elon light up? I’d sell it for a value conscience price and I might even trade it for a “bike transport limited” Subaru with a problematic back hatch light.
May 22, 2020 at 1:31 pm |
See, this is why I don’t want to buy a new car. Too much stuff going on in there these days.
Sheeyit, when I traded the Tacoma for the Subie, I got introduced to the miracles of power windows, heated seats, and the external-temperature readout. That’s all the tech I need, thanks. I’ll stay stuck in 2005 as long as possible.
May 22, 2020 at 12:22 pm |
It must catchy! Yesterday, I tried to start the wife’s Toyota Vitz for the first time in a few weeks & guess what?
I’m blaming COVID
May 22, 2020 at 12:36 pm |
I blame Obama.
May 22, 2020 at 1:32 pm |
But … her emails!
May 22, 2020 at 2:29 pm |
Lock it up.