Echo Lake
Let there be light!
I was as careful as possible not to touch the bulb while replacing it, but I concede these halogens don't last forever, so it probably won't be long until I have to replace the other side. So I have a spare one in my kitchen ready to go. It's fine Walmart didn't have the one pack or the cheapest bulb. I spent $25 rather then $10 on one bulb. Maybe the color or brightness is a bit better on the more expensive bulb, not that I drive that much after dark.
Taken on Monday November 4, 2024 at Big Red.Yup, just another bad bulb
Those headlight bulbs don't last a long time on the Silverados. I think I get 3-5 years out of them on average before I end up changing them. It's not a difficult job but it's still annoying to have to do it after a very dark drive home -- you don't realize how crap the light is out of only one headlight. Plus, I bet the other headlight is far below it's peak brightness, and I got two bulbs but I haven't replaced the other side yet.
Taken on Monday November 4, 2024 at Big Red.Lost my six-inch socket drive this morning
How the heck I lost it and spent a half hour searching my truck and my apartment for it. But I did. It was in my pocket, and it's not like it's a socket or something small like a nut.
Taken on Monday November 4, 2024 at Big Red.Battery’s pulled
It would definately be a lot easier job if I didn't have to pull the accessory battery to replace the bulb but it's not that big of deal one way or the other.
Taken on Monday November 4, 2024 at Big Red.A very dark drive home last night π»
And a very early trip to Walmart this morning to buy a headlight bulb, fun installing it, and now it’s remote work from the library. I was going to ride into the office this morning and work several hours at state office in Menands before heading downtown to campaign committee, but that was all changed when I left home last night — deciding the priority had to be to fix the headlight and then remote work.
Of course when I got to Wally World at 8:30 AM this morning, no basic H11 bulb was to be found, but I was able to get a two pack of the next step up from the basic bulb. I know you’re supposed to replace them in sets but I never do, but it’s good to have one handy as I’m sure the other side will burn out some point in the future. I don’t care if they are perfectly matched, as I don’t do that much driving at night and I’m sure they’ll be good enough. I tell you with only one low beam though it made for a very dark drive home. I certainly did not want to be driving home late at night on Election Night with only one headlight working, especially with deer but also inevitably the cops also all over over the road.
So there is light again on both side of the truck, those H11 bulbs are simple and don’t last that long but also aren’t that difficult to replace or that costly. Usually get about 3-5 years out of them before they burn out and need replacing. It’s annoying with the accessory battery in the plow battery hold I have to pull the battery, and I spent much too long this morning searching for my 6 inch socket extension, which of course was hiding out in my pocket. I don’t know how I could loose such a tool in my pocket but I was searching all over my truck and in my apartment for it, and was ready to hop on my bike and run down to Delmar Hardware and hand over probably what would be $20 these days with inflation for a simple tool that I needed to pull the battery. Once I found the tool, I had the battery out and the bulb in and all was good.
I also bought some draino to get the tub to drain faster, some stevia as I’m addicted to all things sweet, and dish soap which I managed to spill over all the carpet. 𫧠I started to mop that up but then the data jobs started rolling in, as tomorrow is Election Day and I’m getting so much data to process, upload, and send along to folks. I figure the carpet with a little water will get good and clean, or at least somewhat better. My apartment is do dingy and dirty but what do I care. Already eight emails waiting. So that’s the story of the morning. Busy, busy, busy! I do wish I could have ridden into the office, but I would have not gotten much work done regardless, with so many data jobs coming in. I actually thought today would be a lot slower then it turned out. There are so many ways I want to re-write my code and R Script and change the way I do things for 2026. Being busy is good, makes less time to be stressed out about the outcome of the election, which looks to be shitty but we won’t know until everybody’s voted and the judges make the calls on close ones.