Aquarium Exhibit at Fire House.

The Kellogg Lake/Spring River Development Board has announced that it will sponsor, in conjunctions with the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Show-Me Missouri Fish Mobile Aquarium in Carthage. The aquarium will be located a the Carthage Fire Department parking lot at Chestnut and Garrison. The area will be open to the public from October 13 through October 17 as part of the Maple Leaf festivities. This is the first time the aquarium has been to Southwest Missouri.

The aquarium is 40 feet long, contains 3,200 gallons of water, and will contain up to 25 different species of Missouri’s native fish. Programs will be given throughout the day using a variety of equipment and techniques allowing onlookers to see what transpires underneath the surface.

The Kellogg Lake /Spring River Development Board is taking reservations for large groups to visit the exhibit between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. throughout the time the aquarium will be in Carthage. The area will have seating available.

Groups interested in reservations should call 417-358-4995.

NASCAR to the Max

The bumping and banging on the track during Sunday’s EA Sports 500 from Talladega (AL) Superspeedway more closely resembled the action from a short track than a typical superspeedway race. At the superspeedways, aerodynamics typically plays a large role and any damage to a vehicle, no matter how slight, is a tremendous disadvantage.

NASCAR increased the bore size of the restrictor plates which regulate air flow into the engine thereby slowing speeds, but also increased the size of the rear spoiler. These changes were designed to increase throttle response without increasing top speed thereby allowing for more passing and a more competitive race. The changes seemed to work with 41 lead changes among 17 different drivers. The increased throttle response allowed drivers to close on each other quickly and any time a driver let off the throttle they slowed quickly. Both factors contributed to significant contact throughout the day. The lead pack often consisted of over 30 cars traveling within three seconds of each other. The slightest contact between two cars often led to a domino effect with other cars.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered a minor mishap during an early lap caution period. Several ensuing pit stops to repair the damage resulted in Earnhardt, Jr. losing a lap. He maintained contact with the leaders and during a mid-race caution, as the first car a lap down, regained his lap and began a charge to the front. The race was red flagged (stopped) with six laps remaining to clean up debris from a serious wreck involving Elliot Sadler. When the race restarted, Earnhardt, Jr. challenged teammate Michael Waltrip through the closing laps with Waltrip holding off all challengers to claim his second win of the season by only .095 second, about one car length.

Waltrip and DEI teammate Earnhardt, Jr. have now won nine of the last 12 races contested at Talladega and Daytona.

The series now heads to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, outside Kansas City, KS. The speedway is the closest to this area that NASCAR’s premier series competes.

I read where the mental health experts are seein’ a lotta folks who feel things are just movin’ too fast. Cell phones, pagers, fax machines bein’ toted around. They can’t seem to take an hour or two to get away from the constant barrage of information. They complain of too much pressure.

I wonder if the fast pace is really increasin’ the pressure factor. The settlers in the area who’s livelihood for the next year depended on gettin’ in a crop prob’ly weren’t concerned about communications equipment. The thunderstorm rollin’ in or the locus were most immediate pressures to be considered.

Life and death decisions aren’t anything new, only the implements of destruction.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click & Clack
TALK CARS

By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Dear Tom and Ray:

My mother recently bought a used 1999 Daewoo Nubira. It looked shiny and new, and it ran pretty well. When we inspected the engine compartment, we noticed that the coolant was brown and had an awful smell to it. I recommended that she get it serviced, so she went to the local quick-lube and got her fluids changed. About two weeks later, we checked it again, and once again, the coolant had turned brown and that old, familiar smell came back. What could be causing this? Please help my momma! — Josh

RAY: Josh, it sounds like you "checked the engine compartment" AFTER you bought the car. Switch the order next time, OK?

TOM: It’s possible that the car has a blown head gasket and that what you’re seeing the coolant is oil. That’s hundreds of dollars to fix. So you want to rule that out first. A good mechanic can rule it out for your with a head-gasket test.

RAY: More likely, however, is that she’s just got rust in the cooling system. If the previous owner never changed the coolant, the rust inhibitors would eventually wear out. And then rust could build up inside the radiator and cooling passages. That would explain the brown color and the foul odor. Most people don’t know it, but rust stinks. Big time.

TOM: So if the head gasket passes its tests, I’d get the cooling system power-flushed. That’s where they pump a cleaning solution through the system and try to flush out any loose rust particles. It might not get everything. In fact, she might have to do it several times before the coolant clears up. But it beats replacing the head gasket, Josh. And next time, be a good son and have any used car checked by a trustworthy mechanic BEFORE your mom buys it.