Kieckhefer Stumbles Out of the Gate Early

While it still may be early in the political season, some mistakes can say a lot about your whole campaign.

For Example #1, see what happened to Nevada State Senate candidate Ben Kieckhefer. 

That's gotta hurt.

Nevada State Fair Carnival a Good One

Just back from the 2009 Nevada State Fair and while it continues its downward drift in size, the carnival was pretty nice.  Paul Maurer Shows has that concession and did a good job. I always thought one way to judge the quality of a carnival was how many burnt light bulbs were on the rides.  If there are a lot, it makes you wonder what else they skimp on or overlook -- like safety.  But glad to say the Maurer carnival was in great shape.

Besides the all-time great Zipper, they also had the Giant Wheel, Gravitron and something you usually see at amusement parks, the Super Shot.  Plus they had quite a good selection of kiddie rides to round out the experience.  One word of advice, stop by Scolari's and pick up your Ride Wrist Band ticket.  It's only $16 (instead of $26 at the fair) and gives you all-day access to all the rides.  And considering the bumper cars alone take five individual tickets (at a buck a pop), even a wrist band purchased at full price will pay for itself very quickly. 

Scolari's also has fair entrance tickets for $8, instead of $10 at the gate.  Parking is free.

How to Change the Rear Wiper Blade on a 2004 Nissan Xterra

The internet is a great thing for finding those little bits of info that automobile owner manuals tend to leave out.  Case in point, changing the rear wiper blade on a 2004 Nissan Xterra.  You'll notice it isn't connected the same way as the front windshield wipers are.  But a quick perusal of the Xterra manual's (.pdf ) page 8-27 shows a very detailed description (unlike the great mystery of changing a bulb in the third brake light) on how to easily do it.  Plus there are numerous Q and As on the web telling you how to do this, if your manual isn't handy.

Basically it is this:

1.  Lift the wiper arm away from rear window.
2.  Push the wiper blade in (to your left) and then pivot it (pulling the right part of the blade towards you) off the arm.
3. Snap on new blade.

Simple and quick, once you figure it out.  But then comes the part nobody seems to mention anywhere.  What do you replace it with?

If you go to a Wal-Mart or someplace with one of those push-button machines where, after inputting all your info, it tells you what you need, you will be greatly disappointed as they are wrong.  Anco, Pylon, Tripledge, Bosch?  None of them worked.  For some strange reason, Nissan decided not to have the common loop- or bayonet-style connector on the rear.  It's a like a rectangle box.  I figured the solution would be to pop out the swing-arm connector piece most of the replacement ones had.  The remaining hole was a perfect fit width-wise, but it was always way too long in length.  Giving up, I called the Nissan dealership and was told they did have one, but that it was $13.99.

I then decided to try a different Kragen's and look for just a wiper blade refill, not the assembly.  I figured I'd just reuse the blade holder and do my small part at keeping the Reno landfill a little lighter.  But apparently that thinking is old hat as it was next to impossible to find just blade refills.  Resigned to overpaying at the dealership, I happened to spy the Trico brand wiper blades.  Not only were they cheaper ($6.99) than the other brands, well at Kragen's, but the connecting slot was a lot shorter.  In fact, it was short enough that it actually fit.

So to complete the blade changing process:

1.  Buy a Trico brand 14-1 wiper blade.
2.  Use some pliers to remove the connecting swing-arm piece.  It's plastic and you kind of push it back through.  
3.  What's left is a pin in the middle.  I tried to push it through but eventually settled on some wire cutters and snipped it out.
4.  Attach blade like in above directions.

How to Change a Third Brake Light Bulb in a 2004 Nissan Xterra

Why should something so simple be made so difficult?  After having my oil changed, the shop mentioned one of the three bulbs in my 2004 Nissan Xterra's third brake light (or, officially, the high-mounted stop light) wasn't working.  Naturally I figured I could at least do that myself.  After all, the designers at Nissan had included a handy pop-out door for easy access.  Unfortunately the same designers weren't in charge of the owner manual's illustration.  Go ahead and look at the manual (.pdf) and page 8-36.  WTF?

So is it telling you to just yank the bulb holder straight back out of the assembly, or the bulb straight out after you somehow figure out how to pull the holder out to reach the bulb?  It's a joke.  But there would soon be a bigger joke.  Calling the dealership.  Or, more accurately, three different Nissan dealership service departments (in two states no less!).

I figured I'd start local and called the Reno dealership.  The guys there told me it just pulls straight out.  Not just the bulb, but the holder as well.  It didn't budge.

Tried the Carson City dealer and the guy was at least honest, he asked around before coming to the conclusion that they didn't know.

Then I decided to try California and called Future Nissan in Roseville.  The guy did ask around and apparently looked up something as he came back on the line and told me "Do you see those two bolts?"  I told him I had.  "You need to unscrew them to take out the light assembly to change the bulb."  I thanked him, but knew that couldn't possibly be correct as the third brake light assembly is about twice as big as the pop-out door Nissan put there for access.

So I called Reno again and once again was told to just pull it straight out and that it could be a snug fit.  Since it hadn't moved at all the first few times, I grabbed some pliers to give another try.   Seeing how the whole damn light assembly is plastic I was a little wary of putting too much pressure as I pulled.  Then I figured I would try and twist it to loosen.  It did.  In fact it twisted itself right off.  Like it was designed to do.  Not pulled or removed entirely like Nissan service departments claim.

So, since I couldn't find anything on the web to help, and there might be someone else wondering how the hell do they do something that should be a piece of cake, here goes the easy steps to change the third brake light bulb on a Nissan Xterra (or at least the 2004 model).

1.  Open rear hatch.
2.  Look up and remove little pop-out door in paneling.  I used a key, but a thin screwdriver would do (though I would suggest wrapping it with cloth or something so you don't scratch the plastic).
3.  You will now be looking at the rear of three white plastic knob-like bulb holders with wires in them.  Grasp the one that needs changing and turn counter-clockwise about a quarter turn.  If yours is like mine, you might need some pliers for leverage.
4.  Pull bulb holder back out of the assembly to access bulb.
5.  The bulb easily pulls straight out.
6.  Replace with a 912 bulb.
7.  Reverse steps.

Kerak Shrine Circus in Reno this Weekend

The Kerak Shrine Circus hits Reno this weekend, March 27-29, at the Livestock Event Center.  It's the local Shriners big fundraiser for the year and if you know even a little about what this organization does (think Shriners Hospitals for Children) go out there and support a great group. 

Tickets range from $12 to $18, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. on Sunday.  Tickets are available at the box office or local Scolari's.  You can also call 856-3330, 688-5771 or 688-5722 for more information.