10/24/2011

Pontiac HUD

Over a year ago the Heads Up Display (HUD) on my 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP broke. Well the HUD didn't break, the spring holding the mirror came loose. The spring had actually pulled through the plastic.

When this happened last year i looked online and saw that it was a common problem, several people had written about it happening. The reason i didn't fix it then, was because in order to fix the spring i had to remove my whole dashboard.
So i just printed off step-by-step instruction on how to do it.

Last month in October i went over to Katie and John's for the weekend and John helped me fix it.
Pontiac Grand Prix, remove dashboard
I was a little worried at first to remove almost my whole dashboard but most of it wasn't that bad. Everything either popped off or was attached by just a few screws. Also having instructions helped out a lot, there's no way i could have done it without them.
Pontiac, Grand Prix, remove interior, radio
This is the actual HUD taken apart.
Pontiac Grand Prix, HUD, heads up display
It's a little hard to see but we used epoxy to attach a metal washer. That's where the spring would be attached.
Pontiac Grand Prix, HUD, heads up display, broken spring, washer
Once the epoxy hardened we were half way done, we just had to put it all back together again.
repair dashboard, pontiac, grand prix
Now it works just fine.
HUD, from inside car, view, pontiac, grand prix

10/21/2011

Random Photos - Lake Erie

These were taken in October, in Monroe, on the shore of Lake Erie. The water level was about 1 foot lower then it typically is. There were several sand bars 100 feet off shore which are usually under water. Lake Erie receading shoreline
sand shorline, great lakes, michigan
michigan, sandbar, great lakes
Zebra muscles on a rock.
lake erie zebra muscles
Also it was some sort of Monarch Butterfly migration. Every tree branch and bush on the shore line was covered. There were tens of thousands of butterfly's there.
Monarch Butterfly Migration, Lake Erie
Monarch Butterflys, migrating, journey

10/11/2011

Mini Tripods

About a year ago, while checking either Slickdeals or Fatwallet i saw this mini tripod for $1. So i bought it. I didn't really use it much at first, but now that i'm doing more with the CHDK software, i use it all the time.1 dollar tripod, amazon, pocket tripod
It turned out to be one of the best things i ever ordered for a buck. I use it a ton because it is so easy to carry around in your pocket. It's not perfect, but for time lapse photos or long exposures at night it a necessity.
how to use a mini tripod, compact
Amazon has it for sale all the time for $2 with free shipping. It's definitely worth buying. flexible mini tripod, zeikos tripod. amazon
Then recently i bought the Joby Gorillapod.
Joby Gorillapod tripod, mini, flexible tripod
It was $13 and
it works a little better. It's definitely a lot more flexible for gripping. how to use the joby gorillapod
They are perfect because of their small size.
mini tripod review, joby gorillapod, flexible