Joiner's Musings

Alfa Romeo Spyder  My wife and I attended the New York International Auto show in April 2015 during our trip to New York City. It was indeed a thrill. It is the largest auto show I have ever attended and it did not disappoint. The Javits Centre, where it was held, is a huge complex allowing for many manufactures to displays their latest cars. It was impossible to see all the cars that were there so we focused on just a few manufacturers, cars that particularly appealed to me. One minor disappointment. Where was Tesla? The first photo is of an Alfa Romeo Spyder. I love the lines of that car. Simple, purposeful and obviously built for precise handling on a winding road. The photo only hints as it's true beauty. Acura NSX Here is the Acura NSX. The profile looks great but the front and rear of the car are just too busy almost as if the designers had a fight and couldn't agree. I'll bet it handles like a dream. Acura NSX  The NSX front is just too angular with...

Mauthe Mantle clock circa 1950s  This is a German Mauthe mantle clock. It is a fairly nondescript clock with unique applique scrolls on either side of the front facade. A very practical design and not particularly attractive in my view. It is a three train clock with a rod and hammer Westminster chime which actually sounds quite nice. It chimes on the quarter, half, three quarter and on the hour as well as striking the appropriate hour. Now this can be quite annoying to some folks but to me this is the sound of music. I can imagine that many people did not wind the chime side because of this. I got it at an antique store about 20 minutes from where we live and at a pretty good price. Why, it is not the high season yet and anyone with an antique store will give you a pretty good price at this time of the year (March) just to keep store traffic and stock moving.  On top of a 1947 Stromberg Carlson console radio Here is what I know about the Mauthe company drawn from...

Beach  We had a wonderful one-week (7 nights) vacation in Jamaica. We stayed at Couples Tower Isle which is about 10 minutes from Ocho Rios. The resort is smallish, about 270 rooms and just the right size for us. This YouTube video sums up the experience. Front lobby We had a comfortable room located in a quiet area overlooking the ocean. The room was comfortable and the view was quite something. The balcony was quite private. The food was wonderful easily the best we have had in the Caribbean. Through the week we did not dine once in the main dining hall but took advantage of the specialty restaurants of which there are three; one offered Asian cuisine while the other two, the Veranda and Eight Rivers serve great meals with all the accoutrements and thoughtful service. On two mornings we had breakfast in our room. Local dishes combined with North American fare satisfied us on each day of our vacation. Main pool See my travelogue of the resort at YouTube at th...

Mader, one hour before his passing  The first photo is of Mader taken about an hour before his passing. He looks normal....from a distance, but the photo belies his true condition. Did Mader leave this earth peacefully? No! It took more than necessary to tranquillize him. The vet who came to the house to preform the procedure was genuinely surprised by Mader's fury and his desire to hang on till the bitter end. It took four shots to end his life. After the first two when we all thought he was going under I grabbed his collar to steady him for the final injection. He immediately spun around and bit me in the hand. Following that incident the vet's assistant had to go back to the clinic to get something "stronger". Meanwhile I was quickly bandaged up. My wound required a trip to emergency after the vet and Mader left the house, something we had not planned on doing that Wednesday evening. I am now bandaged up, on heavy antibiotics for the next 7 days and in ...

Daniel Dakota made in China movement #1 This is a Daniel Dakota wall clock movement. Sounds like an American name but no, all Daniel Dakotas clocks are made in China. I would have taken a photo of the case but the clock is so nondescript that there is no point, besides the case is beaten up a bit. Spring barrel disconnected from the time gear. #2 I got this clock for free and of course, getting something for free means that it is not working. This clock was probably made in the 60s or 70s - just a guess. It was mass-produced and there are likely thousands of them made at the time. Are any working today? Not many, I would guess. These are clocks that folks bought because they looked attractive and they were relatively cheap but most folks did not maintain them at all. Would it be worth bringing a Daniel Dakota clock to a horologist for repair? No, it would cost many times more than it was worth to repair it. But some folks are sentimental enough that they will pay. That's ...

Buried car  Well. its near the end of February and while we have only had about six  weeks of real honest to goodness winter I can speak for most Nova Scotians when I say.....we're sick of it! The dog is the only one in the family who seems to think it is fun. The car above is a spare and it can stay there till the spring. I'm not digging it out! Mader has fun in the snow The trouble with winter is not the amount of snow. I am sure that the weather scientists (meteorologist) will tell us that the snow amounts have been normal, perhaps a little above normal, maybe. The difference in the past month is that we have had very few thaw cycles. Deep freeze all the way. The result is that the snow we get simply accumulates, deeper and deeper it gets and there's not much you can do about it. What the hell! Build an igloo. Mind you, we have not been pummeled like PEI and New Brunswick. The poor saps are constantly digging out storm after storm and it has to be frustra...

Seth Thomas Dome clock I wrote about this clock a few months back and at that time it was only running for a couple of days. I was pretty happy with my purchase since I had picked it up at a junk / antique store just about a 1/2 hours drive from here. It has, in fact been running wonderfully for several months now. It's a bit idiosyncratic in that despite being an 8-day clock it does not like being wound right down because the count wheel for the strike gets confused and strikes the hour on the half hour instead. Could be it needs some adjustment. Keeping it wound without it stopping has proven to work. It also ticks quite loudly but it is in our dining room and certainly not intrusive in that location. It has been oiled and seems to runs just fine. The walnut case is in excellent condition and a good rubbing with Murphy's Soap has virtually restored the cabinet. I make it a point not to redo the clock finish if it has minor nicks and scratches. I have an assortment of ...