CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

I've got a Brother colour laser Mick, It's been absolutely faultless but not good for printing high quality pictures. Not its fault, it's not really the forte of a consumer grade colour laser.

I did look at the HP offerings but went for the Canon as it's more biased towards photo printing.

If that's not good either then it'll be HP's turn to try to impress me.

[Hell Razor5543]

My cousin has been using HP for a very long time.

[myglaren]

I have always used HP as they always work(ed) with Linux. Except the last Laserjet one.
Superb quality but everything had to be emailed to HP who then sent it to the printer.
Until it just started grinding it's gears and asking for updates. Yet to be replaced.

[Gibbo2286]

I use an HP 5646 and subscribe to their ink service now £4.49 a month, works fine never had to go looking for refills they monitor the usage and send new ones well before they're needed.
If Jim wants a free HP printer there's one sitting here unused, my late friend got it new as part of a deal when she bought a laptop but never used so she gave it to me and it's been sitting here ever since. Nothing special an HP Deskjet 2524 but apart from printing a test page it's never been used.

[CitroJim]

Thanks for the printer offer Eric I'm all sorted now as my new Canon arrived on-time yesterday and it all set up and installed without a hitch.

It's good too. Quality is superb and it looks well enough built to last a while... It takes 6 inks. In addition to the usual black, cyan, magenta and yellow it also has grey and red inks...

The ink tanks are big and should last a while. Good job as ink refills are juicy. An amazing difference between the Canon genuine bottles and the eBay 'specials' Replacement printheads are fairly reasonably priced...

I'm happy

Yesterday morning we went out for our running club Christmas run - 66 of us! Afterwards, we completely filled to overflowing the Waitrose café They must have loved us Not only are we numerous, we, as a group, are very noisy and boisterous - at the end of a run we're all sky-high on endorphins

At the mid-run break we sang a running version of the '12 Days of Christmas' I got so into it and waving my arms around so vigorously I set off the Crash Detect on my Garmin running watch It duly sent the alert to my girls who both responded instantly At least it seems they care about me

I had to send them a selfie to prove I was OK... This one with a bit of amazing photo-bombing

Huge fun

Whilst we all made the Waitrose café busy, the shop itself was rather busy too. So much so, they stationed marshals in the car park to direct shoppers to the very few vacant spaces and to control the flow of heavy traffic around the car park...

All part of the Christmas fun

I'm all ready for the big day. I spent some high quality time with my younger daughter yesterday afternoon before she made off with my Picasso.

Effectively, I'm now down to one car for the duration...

[CitroJim]

It's been a great Christmas Lots of time spent with the family, lots of running and lots of time spent generally socialising - just my kind of festive season

Late on Christmas day I cracked open the darkroom, loaded the Christmas film in the tank and mixed up the necessary chemicals

This is one of my favourites from the film

Ilford HP5, 800ASA, Natural Light

Santa brought me some lovely parkrun bling

Best bit of all was this

And yesterday morning, our traditional long Boxing Day club trail run was very much enjoyed - especially the wet and muddy bits At one point we ran through a flooded filed to the depth of about 6 inches... Oh, we did giggle

We took in one of our local trig. pillars during the run...

Reality must now kick in and I have car work to do. Strawberry's 30-day MoT countdown email arrived on Boxing Day and I still have to MoT Bluebell... I plan to present them for their tests simultaneously. But first, lots to do to make sure they're worthy of an MoT...

[CitroJim]

Strawberry is due her MoT at the end of January so yesterday, after a most excellent Redway Runners run, I gave her a very thorough pre-MoT check.

All is absolutely perfect - as far as I could see - except for all four tyres getting close'ish to the wear indicators - next year 'll treat her to a new set.

Two MoT tests have now been booked as although she'll remain on SORN, I'd like Bluebell to have an MoT, just in case I need her in an emergency.

To that end, I replaced Bluebell's starter motor with my spare. Swapping starter motors on an AX is never an easy job although the more times you do it, the easier it gets It's a straightforward job but access is a bit tight, the starter being low down at the rear of the engine. Happily, this time I managed the job without disconnecting the gear linkages

Bluebell started very readily, considering she's not ran in months.

Today, I'll ease her out of the garage and give her another pre-MoT and an oil change.

It made a very peasant change to work on the cars despite the cold. My hands did not find it very pleasant Reynauld's is a big problem for me when it's cold but needs must. My tolerance to it is improving although it's still scary when you see your fingers turning a strange shade of purple

[Zelandeth]

Just don't do what I did last time I had to remove a starter. Had removed the negative battery terminal, but didn't make sure it was firmly enough wedged out of the way. It found it's way back to the terminal and I very nearly ended up with a spanner welded to the main positive terminal on the starter as a result. Much cursing ensued. Now both terminals are removed and at least one of them is weighed down or tied well out of reach.

[MattBLancs]

Oh wow, that'd be rather exciting!

I saved a few of those little plastic "hats" that come with new car batteries, so long as I can remember where I put them, I usually slip one of those onto the exposed terminal and/or like you say, cable tied back out the way

[Zelandeth]

Oh wow, that'd be rather exciting!

I saved a few of those little plastic "hats" that come with new car batteries, so long as I can remember where I put them, I usually slip one of those onto the exposed terminal and/or like you say, cable tied back out the way

Definitely got my attention! Not quite up there for the most rapidly strung together expletives due to electrical issues while working on a vehicle though. That honour falls to the day where I had a practical demonstration of how high voltage a spike the magnetic field of a starter solenoid coil can generate as it collapses. I was helping track down an intermittent starting issue on a coach and on releasing the key (old Bedford, so just a normal car type ignition barrel rather than button on the dash or anything). I was folded up in the foot well between the driver's seat and the steering column and had a meter probe in one hand which I was using to confirm whether or not we had a solid 24V on the relevant pin of the connector when the key was turned to start. It's just 24V after all, so I was just holding it in place by hand (as access without dismantling a whole bunch of brittle near 50 year old plastics is awful). First few tests went fine. Then however as I released the key the fourth time (and I clearly remember it was the fourth time), I got an absolutely *almighty* belt as a couple of hundred volts suddenly found a path to ground going in via my left thumb, through me and then out through my right buttock where it was wedged against the seat frame.

I made a surprisingly high pitched and entirely manly startled yelping noise and launched myself straight out of the door, directly into a pile of exhausts that were waiting to be stuck in the scrap bin, which I promptly knocked over, before stumbling a few more steps before finally falling over and landing firmly on my backside, still looking very stunned.

My mate I was working with pretty quickly figured out what had happened - quicker than I did I reckon - and promptly just about started dying laughing.

Hilarious looking back at it, and kind of obvious when you think about it (that is literally how an ignition coil works), but it absolutely wasn't something I saw coming and it got me completely from left field. Was a proper old belt it gave me as well.

[CitroJim]

Just don't do what I did last time I had to remove a starter....

Oh gosh!

Definitely got my attention! Not quite up there for the most rapidly strung together expletives due to electrical issues while working on a vehicle though. That honour falls to the day where I had a practical demonstration of how high voltage a spike the magnetic field of a starter solenoid coil can generate as it collapses.

In my career I've had a few 'brushes' with very high voltages - inevitable really as firstly a TV engineer and then latterly working on high power radio transmitters. However careful you are and whatever precautions you take one or two will get you in the end... Happily, in my case, all non-fatal

Low voltages at very high currents can be just as much fun too

The battery on the AX is not a problem as it has to come out to do the starter motor so it's quite safe. In fact, it has to co me out to do quite a lot of engine bay jobs...

Another good day of work yesterday Bluebell was rechecked for her MoT and all good

I treated her to an oil change...

That sump sucker is so, so good

And here's one of Strawberry watching as her little sister gets all the attention!

Things here are really good in general. I'm currently enjoying a 10 week Strava activity streak - mostly running - and my Garmin smartwatch has recorded some very high quality sleep recently

I think I'm fully recovered now from the surgery Given what was done it took a while longer than expected. In actual fact, speaking to others who'd had the same procedure, My recovery time reflected theirs fairly well. I was told I'd be back running half-marathons after 8 weeks and that was about right

Here's to 2026 being a much better year with rather less issues than in 2025 and may my only hospital visits be for the ongoing 6 monthly check scans...

In retrospect, 2025 was not a good year in general although it did have some real highlights New granddaughter, getting the 'all-clear', rediscovering my immense love of a little place called Blue Anchor' and some great outings with Mick to distant corners of England were very significant

[Huskyxantia]

Looking good them little cars there Jim , your mot will be a successful one, as for purple fingers , been there got the badge oh and the nose so cold it runs like a tap and half the time you dont notice

[RichardW]

Those familiar with the twin pot engine will know it is effectively in line, with the gearbox behind, and the starter mounted over the gearbox, with the terminals at the back. One day I was working on something on the top of the gearbox on our twin pot Visa and I was wearing a metal banded watch. Sudden burning sensation on the inside of my wrist - I had managed to short the power terminal to earth via my watch took it off after that....

[CitroJim]

oh and the nose so cold it runs like a tap and half the time you dont notice

Oh yes, that'll be right Husky And thanks for all the MoT best wishes

Sudden burning sensation on the inside of my wrist - I had managed to short the power terminal to earth via my watch took it off after that....

Oh ouch As apprentices, it was always drummed into us to remove watches and rings before working on anything where there was a risk.

Not only was there a risk of electric shock but around transmitters, RF burns. They are very nasty indeed.

We even got to watch some gruesome films to hammer home the point. And that as way before H and S became a thing.

It's so second nature, I still do it without thinking even though my watch has a plastic body with a plastic strap!

Happy New Year one and all

[myglaren]

A long time back, early sixties, I was in the camera club's studio preparing for a portrait session and somehow managed to discharge the pro flash unit through the camera and then me. Couldn't let go of it. Luckily only a few seconds but very scary seconds, I was there alone, model not due for half an hour.
This wasn't an on-camera flash unit but a big thing the size of a 25L can, stuffed with huge capacitors.

This sorta thing:-

Turned out surprisingly well, girl was pleased with her portfolio and snagged some modelling jobs with it.