Mr Ryan Mix

This Blog is for Pictures

2006-12-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

As it turns out, I don't care much for blogging right now, but I have noticed that this is a nice place to post some pictures to which I can link from other places. These are some pictures for a fuel filter that I cut open:

My Space

2006-08-29T01:41:00.000-04:00

For the most up to date blog by Mr Ryan Mix, please go to his myspace blog at www.myspace.com/mrryanmix. Many old favorates will be moved there too.

Thanks for reading.

Goodbye

2006-06-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the memories.

How Do I Get This Thing Off?

2006-05-13T14:22:00.000-04:00

These are the fuel pick-ups and returns to the top of my stock fuel tank. Two of them face the front of the bus and one to the left. I'm hoping I can take the cap off the one closest to the camera because it is more accessible.

Back to the Bus

2006-05-10T23:24:00.000-04:00

Bitchy Bus:

I just had a ton of work done just to have my glow plug relay replaced, and now I'm having more troubles. Talk about an reliable vehicle! I didn't have it more than a week before problems started again.

I really feel at home when I'm problem solving though, so I might as well enjoy it even though it's getting me a bit worried. Next weekend I am supposed to pick up my bike, so I need my bus working for that. She kept stalling on me on either tank. Through some investigative work, I discovered that the veggie lift pump was disconnected. That fixed that half of the problem. Now the stock line is getting air locked and starving the IP when it has a high demand.

I could go on, but I'm not sure anyone is interested- it gets real technical and boring. Long story short, I'm going to replace all of the fuel line from the stock tank to the stock filter; the return as well. I'm pretty sure the IP is pulling air through some corroded steel line or rotten hose, but the lift pump alone at idle is not.

Evening project for me once I get all the parts. What fun!

Where did all the blogs go?

2006-05-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

I am moving any Bus related blogs to http://bevbus.blogspot.com. This site will remain as a way to get into my brain. Enjoy.

Prejudism is natural

2006-05-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I received a call in school from another teacher. She told me that out of her three students in a violin lesson group one was absent, one had forgotten her violin, and the third was uncomfortable being alone with men. The teacher asked if it was alright to send a student down without an instrument to avoid an uncomfortable situation.

Of course.

But wow. I could only imagine what makes this girl feel uncomfortable with being alone with men- and in an instant my imagination came up with something that made me sick.

As her teacher, I have noticed that this student is very emotional, and on at least one occasion I have been alone with her and noticed that she in fact was very uncomfortable. At the time, however, I did not know the reason and when I asked if there was anything wrong that she would like to talk about she said that she would just rather play.

I had been warned about giving lessons to individuals while student teaching and even insisted upon to not under any circumstances do this because young girls will make up stories that could get me fired. Fortunately, there are a set of doors in the room with many windows and other lessons being given just on the other side of them. Any false allegations could be easily put down with these witnesses.

This girl's feelings pose many questions to me, but the aspect that most interest me is one of generalization. This student presumably had an uncomfortable encounter with a man and now is afraid of being alone with men- which is a completely natural reaction. Of course humans and all creatures will make generalizations about things in their environment among many reasons; to be safe. Think of the film Crash: a woman is assaulted by two young "thug like" black men and now makes sweeping generalizations about race and clothing in relations to individuals' potential actions and lives.

This is prejudism, but is it justified? I might say "yes, prejudism is justified" if I was not also aware that prejudism (in this sense) in addition to protecting us through fear and lack of understanding, in return, causes problems mainly attributed to lack of cooperation not only for the self, but the group which it identifies and other community members directly and indirectly.

As a society in America, we are trying to rid ourselves of prejudism and I believe this is why- and this is why we have given other words like generalize, racism, and sexism a place under the umbrella of "prejudism." It is a bad word. We don't like it because it hurts people- isn't that just a sweeping generalization itself?

Prejudism is natural. It is the result of simple processing of environmental data passed down to us from the cave men. This mode of thinking is fast, easy, and efficient: i.e. "This dinosaur ate my friend. I will, in the future, avoid dinosaurs." What's wrong with this? One word: herbivore.

My students, my program, and myself should not have to suffer as a result of any student's generalization of adult men. My students should also not suffer as a result of trusting an adult man.

Celebrating One Year of Blogging

2006-04-28T16:28:00.000-04:00

Has my internet publishings changed your world, or rocked it?

To Change a Culture

2006-03-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

Could it be ethically viable to change a culture?

I took part in my school district’s superintendent’s conference day (kudos to Dr. Manuel Rivera for being named 2006 National School Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators) and went to a workshop titled Lessons From Abroad. I knew this would good not only because Rochester Teacher Association President Adam Urbanski (genious) led the workshop, but also because I have been intrigued by my students’ culture(s) and their incompatibility with our schools.

I recently read an article provided by one of my dozen administrators titled Cultural Diversity and the School-Family Connection by Nancy Protheroe- printing by Principal Magazine March/April 2006. In summation, it defended students’ parents who are not involved in school because the lack of parents’ visibility by teachers does not imply a disinterest in their children’s education, but rather a respect for boundaries and that parents of varying cultures encourage their children’s education through encouragement and supporting good work ethics. While this may be occur, it most certainty does not explain all my students’ struggles.

Socially, culturally, and economically, the students in city schools all over the country do not work with our education system- which is based on certain expectations in these three components. The trouble is finding the source of the problem: Teachers blame parents for not being a part of their children’s education and parents blame teachers for not doing their job- but what are the students saying?

The students in our system, unfortunately, do not possess the intellect to answer this question, so we look abroad.

At today’s workshop, five guest students from foreign lands responded to questions from RTA members. The students were adamant in believing that America is a great land in which they could learn very much, and they had nothing challenging to say about our teachers or education system. But these students, when they came to America, were shocked at the disrespect that American students displayed to their teachers. This was the single biggest surprise to them when they came to America.

So why? Why is it that students elsewhere respect their teachers and not in America?

When asked about their home life, they all agreed that they spent many hours on their school work- they all approached school as “a serious place to learn” and as their “job.” They saw school as a privilege. Their parents would work long hours too and hardly have time to spend as a family.

Many American teachers believe that lack of parental involvement is the reason why American students lack respect and fail in school.

Why?

I asked the five exchange students, “You said that you were shocked at American students’ disrespect for teachers. You also mentioned spending many hours on your school work and spending little time with your parents. Many American teachers believe that the lack of parental involvement is the reason why American students lack respect and fail in school, but clearly this is not the case in your country. Can you tell us why you think American students are disrespectful to their teachers and fail at much higher rates than in your country?”

I was ashamed in my country and my people.

They told more stories about their disbelief at the things they saw students do to teachers here- things that we take for granted as a classroom management issue. After these embarrassing tales, a very bright girl said that even though she did not spend much time with her parents, they did teach her to respect her teachers.

The others added.

“I complained about the smell of a farm while driving by; my father told me that I should study well in school if I don’t want to work in a job like that.”

“If I got in trouble, my parents would threaten to call the teacher.”

Urbanski followed: If you ask any student around the world why they failed a class, they will all tell you the same thing: “I didn’t work hard enough.” If you ask an American, they will make excuses: It was too hard. My teacher doesn’t like me. Etc. The problem with demanding education for all is that it changes from a privilege to a responsibility.

Children in America view school as a obligational nuisance. They do not embrace a strong work ethic. They do not understand the importance of effort, and this is not an individual problem- this is a wide spread cultural problem all over America. These values are disappearing.

Our education system assumes that students will come to school prepared and work to the best of their ability. Is that fair? Shouldn’t we expect their effort, or does that ignore American culture to make such assumptions? Should we change our school systems to embrace apathy or can we change a culture?

We need to do something, because our country is failing the standardized test.

The FBI is Watching Me

2006-02-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

Most Wanted:

I have no evidence to support this claim that the government agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation is tracking my purchases, my locations, and my communications, but it would not surprise me at all if they were.

There is a clear excess of vegetable oil and methanol in my back yard; a five foot tall chemical mixer is on the premises; I routinely make industrial and chemical purchases linked to this address and with my own traceable debit card; an oversized vehicle is parked outside my house; there are records of purchases by myself of supplies known to be bomb making ingredients, but all this is just the physical evidence built against me.

I am an outspoken Bush opposer and frequently watch The Daily Show (republicans hate this); I do not see the need for executive powers to spy on its own citizens without an easily obtainable warrant; I have, in the past, voted for members of the socialist party and expressed and shared both socialist and libertarian views; I own multiple films by Michael Moore and have seen him speak in person, and this is the political interest collected on me.

So are they watching me? Are they reading this now? Probably not, but it is fun to think I am important- isn't anyone who makes explosives out of vegetable originated glycerin?

...

Seriously, I am not making bombs. Don't arrest me.

We're All Going to Die

2006-01-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Bringing you the surface news:

It has come to my attention that a growing number of people are becoming dissatisfied with our nation's media- some locally and some nationally. With the ever growing pressure to draw the greatest ratings, I think it's time we, as the public, reflected on what it is we are watching, who decides to put it there, and why we are still watching it if it makes our blood boil.

Most of us want to stay informed, but even more of us want to be entertained. When I watch the national news now, I can't help but to focus my attention on how the news is being delivered, and, at best, the topic of the story. I believe that when I watch, there is a battle occurring inside my mind. One side wants to learn about my surroundings, develop thoughts and views, and discuss them in an effort to better the world. The other side is passive- sucked in by the drama of the story which, often, contains nothing more than a headline of drastitude and a hastfully put together video clip.

The human interest stories: an air marshal (possibly- we really don't know anything yet) firing a gun on a plane; a bird flue which will kill us all; 13 coal miners who may or may not be alive, but we're going to show you nothing else until we find out from a "credible source."

The journalists, no- scratch that- drama queens are so obsessed about being the first to bring you the most exciting story that they will risk losing their credibility, but worst of all, missing out on the real reason we need them. All the while they deliver any follow-up story via demonstrative pronouns as if making small talk in the break room- "Did you hear about those kidnappers?" No, I didn't hear about those kidnappers. How about you speak like a professional journalist and use an indefinite article the first time, then a definite article thereafter the subject has been specified? I don't want to feel stupid listening to the news. Make it journalism, not drama.

Is it really fair to blame the media for giving us what we appear to want? They speak our language. We watch it. They know that. The pharmaceutical industry tells us that we need another five prescriptions to live a fulfilling life, even if it does give us headache, sexual disfunction, irritability/anxiety, insomnia, drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, indigestion, diarrhea, and whatever, but that's nothing a little bit of the pink stuff couldn't cure.

The media and the pharmaceutical industry makes this profitable because they put us in a mind set of constant fear and then offer us a pricy solution. It has, at some times, gotten to the point when we actually watch the evening news with the intention of learning what it is that is threatening us and what we as consumers can buy to protect ourselves.

Take one giant step back and look at the situation.

To an extent, the media is taking advantage of the public's weaknesses, but to a greater extent the public is passively giving up control to the media by allowing this to happen. Again, most of us want to stay informed, so a boycott of the news isn't quite appropriate. (However, I've noticed that the BBC does a nice job, and I think I might start watching them instead of the American drama queens.) There are some days that I am very pleased with the quality of a newscast, especially with my local news in Rochester. I don't want to give anyone the idea that there is a corrupt generation of journalists here- they are what we make them to be. Sometimes they do a pretty good job, but that's for you to judge- actively.

You have a choice. Don't forget it. Now stop reading this propaganda.

I Disagree Part Three: Homomarriage

2005-12-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

Marriage is a human right not a heterosexual privilege:

I disagree, and I will tell you why.

Marriage is a partnership in the views of both the church and the state. Whether or not they chose to view homosexual partnerships as a marriage is irrelevant to the human rights issue.

A human right, if such a thing exists, is something that is above both the church and state. Rights are something that a society imposes on itself, not something that either the church or state imposes on society- just because the government says you have the right to life and a couple other things does not make it true. In fact, you do not have the right to life- the church (God) handles that department, but the government has the right to tax.

Agreed.

I Disagree Part Two: Faith

2005-12-25T10:58:00.000-05:00

You gotta' have faith:

I disagree, and I will tell you why.

The idea of believing in something with no logical evidence is something which has both puzzled and disgusted me my entire life.

Why is it then that I have turned to science to explain the things that religion attempts to answer, but really just questions? Science is a system of proofs built upon dogmas no more, (perhaps less), than any church. I would like to think that my acceptance of scientific explanations do not embody faith, but the proofs and checks and experiments and theorizing and all that is science which appeals to a mind like mine.

When someone tells me that I "gotta' have faith," I think of a few things to say:
1. Why?
2. No, I don't. I'm just fine without it. Thank you.
3. Au contraire, faith needs me.

I usually go with option number two to avoid further confrontation, but when I feel like an argument, I will ask "why?"

The typical response is something based on me having faith in the first place. I will quickly realize this and get out before I find myself in a circular argument.

I must admit, I have never tested the third statement for reactions, but I do believe it to be true. Without the human faith, all the world's religions amongst other things (perhaps sciences) would die and faith would die with it. Simply put- faith needs us to stay alive.

Agreed.

I Disagree Part One: First Impressions

2005-12-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

You never get a second chance to make a first impression:

I disagree, and I will tell you why.

I have not once in my life met someone and on that first meeting came to a conclusion on the person's character which was then confirmed without variation upon subsequent meetings. Considering this, it seems far to say that one will not gather an appropriate quantity and quality (if such words can be used to describe a person's traits) of a person's character to accurately judge such character in just one meeting.

It must be interesting to see how such a simple argument would stand up to the opposition (which I presume to be): That's just the way people are.

Agreed.

Endlessly Fascinating

2005-11-22T17:29:00.000-05:00

People actually read this?:

Is it the depressing and frustrated blogs that keep people reading or the vegetable oil? (Out of context, that might not be very clear, but here we all know.)

I realize that this blog- which I believe it to be the intention to inspire, motivate, or entertain others- sometimes if not all the time becomes an outlet for the turbulent adventures of Beverly the Big Blue Bitch of a Bus (Bev for short), but please do know that as a simple result of proximity, I am not always at liberty to note success on the road: I am not into audio blogging quite yet.

So blogs turn to rants sometimes. Is that fascinating?

Last week at school a spokesperson from one of the district's retirement planning organizations talked to me for quite a while because I had no room in which to teach and hung out in the teacher's lounge all day. She told me I was fascinating and I didn't even talk about the setbacks.

Is this blog endlessly fascinating?

Is it me?

Is it rubbernecking?

It must be the vegetable oil.

The Internet is Noisy

2005-11-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

In a world where everyone has a voice and every voice is infinitely loud, who is to hear the voice of reason?

100 Gallon Day

2005-10-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

Grease everywhere:

I am a squirrel, gathering for the winter.

Thanks to the new heat exchanger I got for collecting and filtering grease, I was able to clear out all the usable grease from a local eatery in two hours- totaling just over 100 gallons.

Most of this will be used to make biodiesel once my processor is done. The rest will be used as is (heated).

Why aren't my blogs getting posted?

2005-09-28T16:38:00.000-04:00

Song of the Absent Road

2005-08-23T16:25:00.000-04:00

Home again:

A failure or a victum of the times? This question pleuges me now as I return home unemployed and most definately not college bound this fall.

A year ago I thought I would be heading off to school, but the workload of student teaching and the extention of the initial teacher certification relaxed my graduate school hunt and soon enough the deadlines had passed. I had just assumed I would spend a year or two in the work force before returning to school, but the workforce, it seems, has no place for me.

Does not one of the twenty plus schools in which I applied to work have even interest enough to hear my interview? Sadly, not a one of those- but I am about to go to my second interview for a job of which I had not applied. Go figure. It's not who you are, it's who you know (or who your family knows). Both of these interviews stemed from three separations of aquaintance between myself and the employer- including family relations.

Now I have emotioally given up hope of finding full time employment this season, yet, I continue to apply, and in this case interview. Next year and beyond have my attention:

Where to go and why?

Upstate New York because my family and friends are here and schools have good programs.

Too bad.

Plan B.

(There is no plan B.)

Oops.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to a Free Ride

2005-07-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

In the past month I watched the price of diesel fuel at my local fueling hole rise from $2.39 to $2.63, but I watched not as a helpless pumping victim, but as a commuter- a passer byer. Not once in this June 14 - July 14 span of time did I pull into this station and make a purchase of this less than but still crude oil, and I forecast that the next saturation will not occur until next month.

I have most likely saved myself $50 in fuel in the past month thanks to local fryolators and the kitchen staff that allows me to take the leftovers. The addition of the Vegtherm electric fuel heater has greatly reduced my switchover time, and now nearly all of my commute is done with waste vegetable oil rather than diesel fuel.

A whole month of daily commutes and trips to the grocery store and bar and still a quarter tank leftover. How fantastic.

Parking, Parking, Traffic!

2005-06-26T21:16:00.000-04:00

As a younger student, I used to dream about one day being a teacher and giving my high school students a daily driving tip. Three recent bus related confrontations/false accusations has reemerged this idea, and they are as follows:

Parking: My land lord told me that I may no longer park in the spot the designated to me because there are some oil stains on the black top. Apparently, my bus is leaking oil... according to him. He is wrong, so I continue to park there.

Parking: Ever seen those fake parking tickets people give out? I got one of those the other day for blocking someone in. Apparently I am an inconsiderate bastard. But wait, did this individual consider that the car in front, not the bus behind was the one to block their car in? I will never know, because I basically got a slap in the face by someone who choices not to identify oneself. I would like to say, "I'm sorry this happened to you, but when I parked there there was no one in front of you." What can I do? Is it inconsiderate of me, or is it inconsiderate of the person who left the note?

Traffic: On consideration, how about not beeping your horn so much? If the person knows you are there, but chooses not to let you in, beeping your horn does not help. It wakes up and annoys the people the live right next to the merging lane. Like the house at the end of the dark street that always gets the high beams through the windows- Let's all try to be a bit more considerate, but also, be a bit more tolerant.

Road Trip Excursion Leeds to Small Town Parade

2005-06-03T18:04:00.000-04:00

ITHACA: Hippie town.

From Rochester to Albany, Albany to Crystal Lake, back to Albany and then to Ithaca, I culminated this 700 mile grease trek with a stop in the place of my bus's greasecar installation. Anything related to Ithaca and being a hippie was in a parade which went through the commons, and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it with my Liquid Solar installed Greasecar Vegetable Fuel System.

The trip, however, was not all easy. During the parade I almost ran out of vegetable oil and I got some air in my line. This air didn't cause any problems until several miles down the road when it started to sputter again. Purging the line and cleaning the filter should do the trick. Successful prefiltering on the go still seems to be a bit distant from me, but once I get a heat exchanger and heat up the oil a bit, it should pass through the filters much easier.

That's all for now, greasers. Check my site for pictures.

Zen and the Art of Bus Maintenance

2005-05-28T09:06:00.000-04:00

Yes, I fixed it, and not a moment too soon. No, really, it was late as a matter of fact, but I learned a great deal about how my bus works, and more importantly, I was reminded of the art of problem solving in the form of automotive maintenance.

Now that my bus works, people ask "will you go on the road trip?" The answer, unfortunately, is maybe... someday. For now, I am planning to do some short (several hundred mile range) trips across the state to be sure that no more problems arise. If that works out, I may be able to make the road trip happen next year. The problem with this is that if I get a full time job, I will have no time between the end of the school year and the beginning of the Tanglewood seasonal work. It's too far ahead to say for sure.

Now to the thing that keeps me up at night- the lady that I want just right. My bus. I do not deny that I have had several sleepless nights tossing and turning while thinking about her, but it's not as simple as it sounds. Once the mind gets thinking in problem solving mode, it's difficult to shut it off. I was tossing and turning alright- not thinking about her body, but thinking about her plumbing: the fuel lines.

Being the person that I am, I don't think it's good enough that it's working now. I must go on and make it better, or as some have pointed out, make it worse so that I have a reason to make it better. I am an ENTP- Inventor. This is what I do. I believe, now that I understand the system better, that I can reduce the time needed to warm up the vegetable oil by adding an electric heater to the fuel line. The thing that keeps me up now is which heater to get and where to install it. There are so many possibilities that it makes my mind spin.

I love it.

Road Trip Canceled

2005-05-21T14:41:00.000-04:00

After staring out my window for the past hour, wondering where I went wrong, I am now publicly announcing that my cross country road trip has been canceled.

They say "when it rains, it pours," and this nicely describes my situation. I feel like a waste right now. I'm very depressed and I can't motivate myself to do anything, and I have nothing but external sources to blame.

In a matter of a day, I got two rejection letters from prospective employers, a nasty sour throat and sinus connection, and came to the conclusion that, despite thousands of dollars and countless hours of investment, the secondary fuel system in my bus is not functioning correctly, and therefore, I can not go on the cross country road trip that I have been planning for ten years.

The vegetable fuel forums have been helpful to the extent that they gave me advice which will solve this problem and cause another. Allow me to explain. Diesel engines take more fuel than they burn and return the excess back to the tank. Since I have two tanks, the diesel is returned to the diesel tank and the vegetable oil is looped within the line, rather than sent all the way back to the tank. Apparently, air is getting trapped in this loop with no way to get out. When the air gets to the engine, it stalls. I can't use the secondary tank at all.

I guess the solution is to run the return line from the vegetable oil back to the tank, where the air will simply float to the top and no longer be a problem. Then the problem would be that I have a long line of vegetable oil that would solidify in the cold. I would either need to purge the line or heat it. There's no easy solution, and not enough time to figure it out and still make this narrow window of an opportunity to make this trip.

Now, I believe blogs are different than online journals because they offer some kind of insight on issues that are not self centered. I don't have an online journal. I have a blog. This entry sure seems like a journal entry to me, but allow me to spin it in a commercarial (new word I just made up- noun: commentary on commerce) sort of way.

The vegetable oil fuel system industry is growing in popularity and business faster than it can provide the kits and services it provides, but what is pertinent in this blog is that the industry is growing too fast for the research department to keep up. Little attention has been given to the variety of vehicles on the road today, and how their differences will demand a change in the semantics of how the additional system is constructed and installed.

In my case, I had to install an additional lift pump. This lift pump has a one way valve in it, so I can not purge the line beyond this point. This creates a longer hose than the designs intended in which the fuel is not purged back to the tank before shut down, leaving any air trapped in the loop. Of course, this is all theory. I have yet to rip the damn thing apart and figure it out for myself, but as I said earlier, I've lost all my motivation so I'll just keep looking out the window and hope someday it will work.

Finale be damned, I'm switching to Sebelius!

2005-04-28T19:12:00.000-04:00

I've been putting it off for too long and perhaps it has contributed to my lack of output for the past two years, but finale (no pun intended), I'm switching to Sebelius! It was this discount software company called sprysoft that got me motivated because they sold Sebelius to me for way cheaper than I have seen anywhere else. Way cheaper. I saved $70- no kidding. Go there. Buy. Now. Bye.