Chocolate Mysorepa

You all must have tasted or at least heard of mysorepas.. What kind of Mysorepa will a US citizen like? Surely, a flavored one? So, tried making one and you could visually see how lovely it is! Find below the recipe and the instruction (a patent is pending)

Recipe:

Things needed - Pillsbusy brownie mix, a banana, oil, bowls, a baking tray and a stirrer

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Follow the instructions in the box, just don't add eggs and replace them with fruit jam or a banana if you feel like adding more twists!

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When you bake the 'mysorepa' if the instruction says 20 mins, make it 40. If the temperature suggested is 350F, choose a random number between 200 and 300F and keep playing with it. To appear like a professional, regularly open the oven and poke the 'mysorepa' with a toothpick to see how much it has cooked. Do not draw any inferences. It is just to be involved in the process. After 40 mins remove it and allow it to cool down.
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Make sure you finish it the same day, the older it stays the biting strength required gets multiplied.
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P.S - It is highly likely that your mysorepa could be totally different from mine. Do not lose heart, keep trying until you perfect the art. It just comes by practice, though I figured out the recipe in my first attempt.

Mech Engg revisited - Part 2/2

Synopsis - My car's Check Engine light was on and it had a very rough idling but otherwise ok. I am trying to fix it myself.

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... contd from Part 1
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So, after that embarrassing moment, I again decided to take things in my own hand. This time with a little more preparation. I google for the problem and find pictorial solutions. It gave a step by step instruction including the tools I need and the set of things that I need to do. One of the lines read "You might want to buy a pair of gloves to avoid your hands getting bloody"!! Wow, this is 'interesting' I thought and yes I did buy a pair of gloves finally. Went to autoparts and got an entire tool box set (shallow and deep sockets, levers and the like, a carbon cleaner that could potentially clean the EGR valve).

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There were even videos on how to clean the EGR valve. But they were for different models and makes and so were not of much use. My father warned me of penny wise and 'dollar' foolish, as I was dealing with critical parts of my car. But, given my excitement of doing a surgical operation on my car I set my fears aside. I opened up the outer skin (hood). The first thing was to give it some anesthesia (disconnect the terminals of the battery, it is a paradox here that you cut it open and then give the 'dose'). This is to ensure my safety rather than the car's though (sorry for the PJ).
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The EGR valve was supposedly beneath the inlet manifold, terms which were familiar but of no practical use. It took me a while to identify the manifold and remove the inlet hose. This was to clear the 'clutter' to reach the EGR valve. I was excited to see the throttle valve. It is a cylindrical disc that controls the flow of air to the engine. When you step on the gas, it is this disc that moves to feed more air (and hence more fuel). I had seen 2d diagrams of it but was quite thrilled to see it after reading it more than 4 years before.
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Pulled out some more plugs, some electrical connections like ignition plugs to finally see the EGR valve. It was way down, almost an arm's length, and the bolts were rusted really bad (my car is about 7 years old). I had to remove it first to clean it. But, none of the tools I had could make the bolts budge. I understood the reference to 'bloody' work. It was indeed. Alas, I am limited by the simple curd rice I intake, I thought :( . The entire adventure turned out to be a dampener! Is that all, couldn't I finish the race after coming so close? It was frustrating, but I was left with no other option but to put things back where they had to go. Thankfully, I was able to start the engine again, which meant at least I had not messed up anything.
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P.S - The problem started getting worse and I finally made up my mind after the anti-climax to take it to a nearby mechanic. He was not sure of the EGR and asked me to change the spark plugs and other regular maintenance and after all those permutations and combinations finally said he will rather replace the valve than clean it. The problem got resolved and the car is running fine as of now..

Mechanical Engg revisited Part 1 of 2

After a hiatus, finally I write something.. I really envy the frequent bloggers.. How do they churn out so many creations every now and then..
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I had got a car in April, a 2003 Mazda Protege and it was running well. Driving in the US is a pleasure. In India, you can trust your fellow road users to MAKE mistakes, suddenly swerve the car to show their prowess at the steering wheel, test your reflex by turning on the indicator at the last second and test your brakes by crossing the road exactly when your feet is about to give some gas. In the US, I can trust my fellow road users to adapt to MY mistakes. Pedestrians are super careful and will dare not cross until all cars come to a complete stop or disappear from the horizon, and drivers follow lane discipline and traffic rules to a T. It is credits to them and Him that with very limited driving experience in India, I managed to take my parents and my sister around when they visited me. ~3000 miles in 4 weeks was something even I did not imagine! I am in no way blaming the Indian traffic (which I have every right to). I know the root causes are in population density and there is no way individuals can be made to follow traffic rules unless it is ingrained in their blood. Alas, this article is not about traffic rules!
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So, the car was running well. Suddenly, sometime in the middle of August there were first signs of craziness. One good thing about mechanical things is that they do not suddenly fail. They wear, giving you enough time to act and then if you are lazy come down crashing. So, the signs that my car gave me was rather rocking! Yes, when I started the car or when I was idling, it will rock and vibrate as if it wants to throw me out as though I am in a bull fight! But curiously it will stop misbehaving if I step on the gas (accelerate). The technical name for such a thing was Rough idling!
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Just like how when a child misbehaves and the mother will give stare , where in it will stop misbehaving only to start causing embarrassment at the opportunistic time, I figured out a way to handle my car. Every time I idle, I will switch to neutral, keep one foot on the brake and one foot on the accelerator. It was extremely funny (and dangerous, as even if I miss one action, I am sure to get into trouble). Soon, the car was unhappy with the attention I gave and the check engine light (CEL, the miraculous light that shows up in the dashboard if it detects some malfunctioning in the engine) was on. So the Mazda dealer said he will charge me $50 for just diagnosing. I thought I could do better and went to Autoparts to get the diagnostic kit for free. The kit gave me two codes P0401 (EGR Insufficient flow) and P300 (cylinder misfire). Don't ask me what the codes meant. they sounded as crazy as my course codes.
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But, I figured out that the problem was with the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculator) valve. It is some valve that controls the exhaust gases (which you know is nasty smoke) and the valve is blocked. Quick googling actually hinted that it is a common problem with Mazda protege and can be fixed by anybody. Call it adventurous, audacity or sheer stupidity I thought I will do this myself. So, I decided to brush up my mechanical engineering (not that I learnt anything close to practicality, but did remember studying about this EGR, in theory that is), opened the hood and tried to locate the EGR valve with no idea on what it would even look like. I disconnected the battery. Removed some wires and tubes and still had no idea where this stupid EGR is. Somehow managed to put everything back and ensured the car started again and the brakes were working. Of course the problem remained. Removing the battery and putting it back obviously would not have solved this problem.
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So one day my department wanted me to engage a visiting person for break fast (recruitment drive). And I had to take my child along:P . I thought I am just going to drive it to the hotel (5 mins) and then have breakfast at the hotel and then drive back. And so I thought. But, as luck would have it, the person said let's go out for breakfast.. Ahem ahem.. Err.. 'Don't you have a car?', 'Of course I do, Let's go' came my spontaneous reply. Funny moments ensued with my car sensing the right moments (traffic lights) to play some rock and me trying to calm it by feeding it some gas. Somehow managed to finish breakfast at Bruegger's and drop him back at the hotel.
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To be continued (Next week)