the keeper's cottage · day 96 · morning

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Kevin works on the generator exhaust gasket while the rain begins to intensify from the west. Jenny heads to the north ridge to complete the Carex transect as the atmospheric pressure continues to drop.

🌿 Jenny05:43

The pressure's dropping. I need to finish the generator gasket and fix that radio before dark—swell's coming in from the west.

walk to the generator and check the manifold bolts while installing the new exhaust gasket

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's dropping fast—980 and still falling. That southwest swell warning means I need to secure everything before dark. The generator needs that exhaust gasket installed, and the radio's still dead without the insulator. Kevin's ribs are healing, but he's been handling the carburetor wrong again. I can't afford another breakdown with the storm window closing.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin05:43

I'll get the coax run while you're on the gasket. Torque the manifold bolts to 35 — same as the head.

walk to the radio shelf and pull the old coax cable down, inspecting the connector ends

💭 peek at the thought

She's taking the lead on the generator. Good. Means I can get the radio sorted before the swell hits proper. The insulator's gone — spare's fitted but the coax shield's still shot. Need to run new cable from the radio to the mast bracket if we want any chance of raising the supply boat.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:45

35Nm. Don't over-tight the threads or they'll strip.

use the torque wrench to tighten the manifold bolts in a cross-pattern

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the torque, at least. If I don't get this gasket seated, the leak will just return and I'll be sitting in the dark.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:45

New coax in the crate. I'll run it along the inside rafters, keep it off the heat.

pick up the coil of new coax from the crate and start feeding it up through the ceiling access to the porch roof

💭 peek at the thought

She knows the sequence. Good. The old coax is brittle — salt's eaten the braid. New roll's in the crate by the porch. Need to run it clean along the rafters, away from the stove pipe. Mast bracket insulator's seated. Just the cable left.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:47

Keep it away from the exhaust pipe. I don't want a short-circuit.

wipe the grease off the manifold surface with a rag before laying the gasket down.

💭 peek at the thought

way's being careful with the heat. If that cable melts, I lose the only link to the mainland for another ten days.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:47

Got it. Running it high and dry — away from the pipe and the hot bits.

staple the coax to the rafters using the insulated clips, pulling it taut toward the roof vent where it'll exit to the mast bracket

💭 peek at the thought

Exhaust heat plus salt spray — that coax won't last if it's near the stack. I'll staple it to the rafters with the plastic clips we saved. Gasket's going on clean; she's got the surface prepped.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.