Friends

1. There’s a religion called Sufism where everybody is looking for someone called “The Friend”. The Friend is subjective but the ideal is to be worthy of them in the objective world. To say it’s pretty hard is an understatement because well, you live here too and you know how it is, some people are just psychos who live off other peoples good will. It’s hard to turn the other cheek if you know they’re a vampire see, but The Friend isn’t cynical. The parallel between The Friend and Jesus is so similar that it’s hard to tell them apart except maybe by name or birthright. The official solution in both cases is that perfection is just someone’s opinion and a friend would overlook any embarrassment. So we should forgive them and pretend they didn't try to scam us to destitution. With aboulutely no cynicism I can tell you that's not going to happen.

Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

In that regard I’d still say Jesus is a pretty good idea, He sells well as make believe something to look for in the physical world. It's the organization that promotes Him that has pretty much lost the thread; becoming giant bureaucracies supporting charismatic social climbers that ascribe superfluous bullshit to scare, impress, and scam the natives all to support political ideologies that usher in the end times. It’s a sham but actually, I don’t care so long as they don’t impact me personally.

2. Tibetan buddhism is built around an earlier shamanic religion called Bon and maintains some of its practices. For example they make pretend people called Tulpas, that can act independently as company, helpers, lookouts, lovers, or whatever. Other people can meet them and interact without knowing they’re imaginary. (You & me are totally real though for sure) (because I said).

3. There are other species of make believe critters, like all the various cryptids. But both of the above mentioned (1 & 2) come from approximately the same area (South central Asia), have similar traits and uses, and could maybe have survived as rumors for thousands of years just because it sounds interesting, or maybe not. Maybe Jesus was a Tulpa with a good agent.

4. Some Native American shamans say there are beings called Allies that are associated with psychotropic plants. My own experience with Jimson weed didn’t go very far, but I sort of saw where it can go. It completely silences the internal dialog. Absolutely nothing, you can try to babble but it feels false and unnecessary, and is actually a relief to be free of it. So you cast around for something to fill the void. One of the things that comes up is movement and actions going on around you. You relate to whatever it is through previous social experiences and if it’s capable of relating back (or even if it isn’t), your social experience determines the trip. Casteneda says there are a number of other ways to relate there such as dancing & singing. It really helps to stay away from territorial anima. If you’re somehow compromised and they latch onto you, it could be scary or even fatal, if you believe Castaneda. There are said to be ways to control them but I didn’t like Datura much except for the suppression of brain babble, but that was great. My experience was that I chose to be uninvolved because I knew I could be sucked in, and I didn’t have a framework or a teacher. I did seriously look but was apparently not the right material.

Since there are other ways to find a friend, those should probably be researched first. Of these, Jesus looks easiest and has the widest appeal, recognition and support. But (to me) Tulpas have the most credability because they are probably the basis of the Jesus story.

DIY Elevator

• Winch
• Track or guide Rail
• Brake
• Some electronics, simple or fancy
• Potential problems

Three similar designs are used here. One indooor stair-lift, one indoor vertical elevator (one person, or 2 if you're chummy), and one outdoor stair-lift.

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Winches

These winches are from Amazon. They're Chinese, inexpensive ($120), and noisy. Mine have worked well except for some avoidable problems inherent with this use. There are lots of brands and designs. Each seems to have it's own wiring peculiarities. Some fancy push button wiring is included below for the 2 used here, but the control box that comes with it already works and it doesn't really need those bells & whistles. They were added because the handheld switch cable can be in the way and prone to tangle on the stairs. The lift shown here has plenty of room behind the guide rails but indoor stairs might not be the same.

The outdoor winch shown here ---> has a wood block attached to the upper limiting switch. It was supposed to keep the cable from slipping off the spool but the cable sometimes rubbed against it when pulling and would activate the limiting switch to stop the lift. A better solution is Erifs awareness of the possibility of slack so she now watches for it and guides it back on with a glove. Doing that's a bother so she just doesn't let it accumulate slack

Important: Attach the winch cable to the centerline of the chair as low as possible where there's least pressure to tip the chair. With the rails and rollers it won't tip, but unnecessary higher tipping force could cause unplanned wear someplace else. The chair I made for the indoor lift had a higher attachment point and it sometimes chattered till I put an extra roller to press on the brake pipe.

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Guide Rails

Above is a vertical elevator using 1/2 inch water pipe for rails. The winch cable shown on the left shows a pulley that halves the power and double the speed. it's not necessary, goes fast enough and doesn't need complication.
The blue and green stripes are scales, in feet.
Below is a drawing of the stair-lift that rides on wooden 2x4 tracks like the pictures above. The light tan board structures are the seat frame shown twice, not part of the rails. I used 1/2 plywood for the back instead of 1x4s shown and 3/4 plywood for the seat, including a box for a foot rest. Erif wanted some extra space for laundry and groceries. I later added another 18 inch shelf on her right that folds up. There was bending in the upper rail when someone is on the lift. All the weight pulls it to the side, so a shroud wire was connected to the upper rail to hold it upright without interfering with the rollers.

The 1/2 inch water pipe rail guides have 3 inch angle brackets welded so they clear the lift rollers, and aligned to connect the guide rail/pipes with studs inside the wall. It may seem like a no-brainer but don't put both pipes up till the width of the lift platform is hooked onto one rail guide already to fine tune the fit. It's infuriating (and dementing) to shim the wheels afterwards if they don't line up.

Rollers that fit on a 1/2 inch pipe

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Brakes

A brake isn't a bad idea even when it's only a few feet off the ground, but at 8+ feet, it's brilliant.

The winches from Amazon have 9/32 inch dia cables. They probably won't fail soon but nothing is certain and life is short enough already. Thus the Brake.

The brake (above left) consists of 2 main parts:

• Half of a pony clamp (above left) that will slide up but not down unless the brake tabs are depressed.

• a 1/2 inch black (un-galvanized) water pipe, anchored on both ends to the wall & floor.

There are several ways to connect to the brake: The lower end of the brake wire, (above left) loops through a 1/4 inch nut braised to the outermost brake tab. It doesn't support the weight of the rider.

Right is a drawing for the outdoor lift brake. It uses a 5/16 inch rod u-bolt that passes through holes drilled in angle iron, the angle iron presses on the brake tabs. The u-bolt rod supports the weight of the rider, there's no separate brake wire. (drawing should show nylon lock nuts, tisk!)

The brake tabs are four rings and a spring that binds their edges against the pipe like teeth, locking it in place till the tabs are pushed. The weight of the elevator cart/chair/platform is enough to keep the tabs pressed so the lift slides up and down freely, but if the hoist cable breaks, the tabs are released, locking the platform to the pipe.

I haven't tested any clamps to destruction but I've used them to make furniture, tightened them till the pipe bowed and never had one slip, they should at least hold more than the winch can lift (400 lbs). The brake pipe on a vertical lift in my house doesn't bow even when I jump on it. If you're still wary, use more or bigger pipes and clamps, or both. To be sure, if you plan for a lift big enough for several people, you should get a bigger winch, heavier cable, and maybe several brakes. Multiple brakes can be "tuned" so they all release and engage at the same time, with a seperate turnbuckle connected to each brake wire. To be on the safe side, the pony clamps all depend on an internal spring to engage the locking rings. That spring should probably be checked every few years if the lift is someplace where things rust (like in coastal redwoods or something).

Commercial iron water pipes are 1/8 inch bigger inside than their rated size so a 1/2 inch pipe is actually closer to 5/8. Add to that 1/8 inch thickness of the pipe so the outside is around 7/8 dia. Pony clamps are made to fit black iron pipe, not galvanized pipe. I tried 3/4 inch clamp once but it bound up and wouldn't slide predictably. That may have been a fluke, but I knew 1/2 inch pipe would work so I didn't pursue it.

Below is the back of Erifs wood rail outdoor lift showing the brake. It presses against a piece of 1/4 thick angle iron with a 3 inch leg which is bolted to the chair frame. The bolt heads between the bottom rollers (lower right pic) are the ends of roller guides that look like this below on the left (this one is actually on the upper rail) it's made of a 3/8 bolt and a 1/4 inch brass pipe nipple for a roller (inside diameter is 3/8" because manufacturers add 1/8"), way cheaper than buying brass bushings. I slid on an extra "tire" of a piece of 5/8 vinyl tube but they fall off. There's no roller on the back of the lower rail to keep the chair from falling off because all the weight of the chair & rider is pushing from the other side and they also hook over the top rail. Even rollers maybe unnecessary in this case because a piece of waxed tin flashing glued to the wearing surface of the chair will slide as well if the ends are curved around the end of the frame so their edges don't catch on the 2x4

2 inch cast iron casters $4.25 Amazon, support 125 lbs each. 2+ required

1/2 inch pipe pony clamp $15 Amazon

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Electrical Wiring

It's possible to just use the hand held control switch that comes with the winch but it's electric cord could be a problem when the lift follows a stair at an angle. On the outdoor lift there's plenty of room behind the rails, but the indoor lift has a wall. This wiring diagram is for a remote that hangs on the lift chair back and controls the lift like a garage door remote. It only uses 2 out of four channels but it was the only kind I could find when I made it, so there's 2 extra for something, like upstairs / downstairs lights.

Of the 2 channels used, one turns the motor on or off in case of some emergency, and the other button reverses direction. If you're into electronic circuits, you can probably think of a better way.

There is a built in switch on the winch that stops when the load reaches the top. I added another limiting switch to turn it off when it reaches the bottom. (diagram lower left)

The green items in the lower right are a 4 pin automotive relay from auto parts store or amazon search, around $4 - $9, they can be around 5 amps, but 40 won't hurt, and some kind of momentary switch to energize it. This thingie was added later because during storms when the power cuts off and then on again, the elevator springs to life with no warning, sometimes in the middle of the night. So the green items turns it off when the power is cut till you push the reset button the next morning, thus preventing any heart attacks. A drawback is that this always draws a couple of watts of power when it's not being used. So maybe choose one with a low static draw.

the DPDT relay replaces the handheld control switch that comes with the winch. Just pull the wires off the the native switch terminals and plug them on the corresponding terminals on the relay, same setup.

These are 2022 prices from Amazon.com. Also probably available from RadioShack.com, NewEgg.com and others.

12v automotive relay: $5, 1.8 watts standby
Momentary switch: $5, Radio Shack
12v relay SPST: $15, Newegg
12v relay DPDT: $12
Lower limiting switch: $12
4 channel 433 Mhz RF remote control wireless receiver/transmitter: $19
12v lighting power supply: $15, 60 watts.

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Potential Problems

These are some glitches that have cropped up, please don't let them put you off (there's probably more someplace). If you make this lift for someone who isn't handy themselves, plan to be available for the next several months to iron out any problems till everyone gets the hang of it. This was an affordable solution for a friend who thought she'd have to move out of her home because of stairs and osteoporosis. She has a class K residence (treehouse) and local housing is insanely expensive, it'll be good for a number of years but there are no permanent solutions to anything.

• When the lift/chair reaches the bottom, and for any reason the motor doesn't shut off, it will continue to spool out cable and make loops on the floor or wherever. Then when the cable is retracted without tension, the loops will tangle around the spool causing kinks and knots that hamper easy functioning in several ways that require pulling the cable out by hand and re-winding it under light tension. That's a group that all have the same cause, so plan ahead*.
  • *Put a good limiting switch at the bottom that actuates against the chair/lift, with access and plenty of space to function.
• Don't shorten the cable even though it's 5x longer than you need. Extra length might come in handy if the cable kinks and its wires start to crack. If the cable is shortened to the exact length, it'll begin to rewind when it reaches the bottom but the built-in shutoff switch at the top won't turn the motor off because the up-circuit and down-circuit are separate and it'll still think it's running downhill, so by winding up backwards it'll crunch the chair at the top and then overload. It will stop though (whew!). The hand held control switch that comes with the winch has a Kill button if the other switch buttons are un-responsive.

• 
  Design it with room for access to the various components. The indoor lift I made to fold up against the wall has barely room for a finger behind it much less a wrench. That's bad, there should be at least a couple of inches clearance to access wheels, switches, etc. I put a little door in the back of the seat to clean the brake, but first I had to take the whole chair, brake and brake pipe off several times to figure out simple stopping problems.
  • It was stopping erratically because the brake vibrated (mounted crooked but fixed with a roller that applys pressure on the pipe)
  • Stopping because the pipe collected dust and dog hair that clogged up in the pony clamp brake, grease on the pipe is messy and attracts crud so Erif uses a spray can of dry lubricant (required a piece of a sock on a wire "wiper" to keep the pipe clean)
    

  • Stopping because the wall and brake pipe were both crooked and the pipe would rotate with use, pushing the pony clamp to rub against the wall (glued the upper housing of the pipe with "Goop" to hold it steady).
  • Stopping because the rollers need grease. The wheels and guide rollers definitely do need oil or grease, or they'll squeak and cause the chair to lurch.
• Plan for a contingency to get downstairs when the power goes off. Stairs work great but the vertical lift in my house is supposed to replace stairs because it's a small house (smaller than an M1 Abrams footprint). Stairs take up floor space, but sometimes the power goes out for days. So the lift platform folds up like a trapdoor and there are parkour handholds on the wall for climbing. Pretty cool eh? (till I turn 80) I've used it several times already, and it's slightly easier than climbing out a window, and needs more thinking. Something like a rope or telescoping ladder/firehouse pole.

Here's a nice youtube lift design on a similar idea, but has no brake.

This webpage is copyrighted Bill Cornelius 2022
but the elevator/lift design is not, so go crazy.
Just link :)

Best Creation Story!

(from Oglaf.com)

Tricorder

A high def. Tomograph scan that determines molecular makeup and identifies proteins. Making it possible to identify localized immune response and thus what kind of infection without invasive procedures. AI can presently identify proteins and advise combinants, all it needs is a sensor: a high definition tomograph, which currentlly exists. The future has to start somewhere.

Aircooled VW Oil Beeper

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In a previous incarnation, I VW gypsied for 20 yrs and never once abandoned my bus (I did learn to fix it a lot though). These hacks are my own inventions, the oil beeper saved my engine many times when the oil was simply low, once when the pressure plunger stuck, once when a valve cover dislodged, and once when a sump bolt fell out and it all drained out on the road. There are so many urban legends about VW hacks (like surplus helicopter oil coolers, oversize tires, windshield washer pumps to cool the engine, etc), I'm amazed that nobody ever sold kits for beepers because these actually work. Air-cooled VWs depend on oil for cooling as they always run hot. Meanwhile heat thins the oil, eventually breaking up the lipid chain molecule, and wrecking it. So the engines wear, and sooner or later they leak. The Idiot light that's supposed to warn you of low oil only comes on when the VW engine oil pressure is around 7 - 10 lbs. (it should be above 20 & ideally around 40). By the time it's 10 lbs consistently, like when you start up and the light stays on, or when you look down to see it's been on for an unknown length of time, the engine is already hurting. Fortunately, an early warning is when the light begins to flicker on turns. Unfortunately, that's especially the time you should be watching the road instead of the dash so the fact that it flickers should be news. Wouldn't it be psychedelic if you could like, hear the light and save your engine at the same time? Well now you can! (actually this guy (BBC video) had an implant put in his head just for that, but it cost something more than a person would usually invest in a VW)(not that they arent wonderful cars even though they crush your eardrums when you slam the door and smell like exhaust during winter) BadCoon now offers a cheap way to keep from wrecking your engine: Put a piezoelectric beeper from radio shack or Amazon on the oil light wire duh. They cost $3. (ok that's the point here, the rest is just hype) Connect it to the VW engine oil pressure light wire where it attaches to the back of the speedometer (it's wired in parallel to the bulb, so the red wire from the beeper goes to one of the fuses for power, and the black wire splices into the oil light wire that grounds at the sensor on the engine. If you switch the wires and hook the red wire to the pressure sender, it won't beep at all, ever). You don't have to run any wires back to the engine, it uses the same oil sensor & wire that comes w/ the car. Mount the Beeper next to the fuse box under the dash, inside the cab where you can hear it. Up close they're all too loud (60 to 180 Db) but VWs are usually loud too so an acceptable noise level can be negotiated with a piece of tape partially covering the sound hole in the beeper. The good news is it'll save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in engine repair by waking you from your slack-jawed reverie as you cruze the endless highway. The bad news is you'll want to rip it out every few months because it'll drive you nuts whenever the key's on & the engine's not running, like when you're messing w/ the distributor. I don't sell these, you have to get it from Radioshack (here's some free Radioshack coupons) or Amazon. But you can send me money anyway just out of servile tribute because this idea is the best idea ever and I totally deserve it. The beeper worked out so well that I put a thermostat beeper on my other cars too. (an '85 Accord and a '93 Mazda) because water cooled engines have a bunch of parts that tend to wear out after 10 or 15 yrs (like the radiator, water pump, hoses, thermostat, & thermostat fan switch). They always strand you somewhere inconvenient and give scant warning that you'll have to fork out for towing and a new head gasket, valve &/or piston. This is the thermostat switch to get (it's adjustable). Actually Idonno, it's chinese and amazon stopped carrying the one I use. this looks like it though. Hook it as a switch to a piezoelectric beeper and set the temp to around 82° C or 180° F. w/ a candy thermometer and a pot of hot water. Connect one of the thermostats wires to the hot side of the coil (um, ... not the fat wire, right?). The other thermostat wire goes to the beepers red wire. Ground the beepers black wire to the frame/chassis. You can solder the connections or use wire nuts. The sensor bulb is strapped to the top radiator hose. Break a leg. Here's some other VW hacks: DIY Exhaust Donut. Speedometer rebuild / adjustment

Aircooled VW Speedometer Adjustment

This How2 was the product of necessity. My '66 VW bug speedometer started squeaking and chattering and eventually stopped working after it ate 3 VW speedometer cables. A new (rebuilt) one costs $225 (incl. core charge). A used one cost $25 to $130, but it's the principle of the thing. I couldn't find any how2 online advice at the time, so I decided to post one because the repair job turned out ok. Since then I've discovered other good ones at TheSamba.com, and Kentucky Hot Wheels. This type VW speedometer was made for about 20 years. I'm sure there are design variations and unknown unknowns.

1.

Were looking at the back of my VW beetle speedometer, still in the car.

Before you pull anything off, take a picture w/ your cellphone or draw a map of the wire connections to the back of the speedometer case. Like in medical illustration, drawing is superior (even mine) because overlapping veins and wires can be confused in a photo. Your wires might not have the same colors as shown here, so go by them and not by these. Mine were covered with black mold.

Here's an official schematic drawing of the same thing showing where the wires connect at both ends.

2.

Your speedometer is >30 yrs old so it probably has dirt & corrosion that makes it hard to dismantle. Use WD-40 and carefully pull the wires from the light socket spade terminals, if they're stuck, the sockets have plastic parts that can break. If they do break, you can buy new ones at Wolfsburg West or MaMotorworks. They also sell dashboard gaskets, and new red & green colored plastic gels for the indicator lights.

If the wires don't come off easily, Pry the light sockets out of their mounting holes with a knife blade and WD-40.

Unscrew the VW Speedometer cable from the back. There's 2 big philips head machine screws on either side of the speedometer that fasten it to the dashboard, only the right screw has to come all the way out. Rotate the speedometer counter-clockwise slightly to unhook it from the screws. It's probably stuck to the speedometer gasket. Pull the case out of the dashboard.

3.

Tube Cup Support Bracket Wheel Magnet Tab & Slot
Fastener High- Beam Indicator Hair Spring Brittle Yoke Odometer

This drawing represents the inside of my head, it's not to scale and some reference points are either skewed, upside down, or backwards, it's all there though (.. yep). The labels line up with arrows (or not) depending on the browser. They're in Ascii instead of on the jpeg so they will translate to other languages.