Disconnect the condenser and coil from the breaker points. With an ohm meter confirm that when the points are open that the meter reads infinity or at least very high resistance (meg ohms)between the engine case and where the coil wire attaches. Then, with the points closed, it should read 0 ohms for a dead short. I've had new points not conduct because they were covered with an invisible oxide film. It took a diamond file to get the oxide off, wet/dry carbide sandpaper wouldn't cut it... Check your condenser with the ohm meter too, from the case to the point where the wire to the points attaches. It may initially read low resistance but should then climb to a high value as it charges. Check the resistance from the coil primary wire to the engine case. It should be very low, perhaps even reading 0 on your meter. There should be a much higher resistance from the secondary (spark plug lead) to the engine case. Coils can be tested for spark with a scooter size 6v battery "dinked" across the primary with the condenser across the primary to absorb the back emf when the battery connection is broken. Careful here since if you get it wrong something along the lines of primitive arc welding will result!

I was born and grew up in Haiti so all the birds I saw were tropical and I knew them by their local Creole names. But my grandmother, who lived on the farm where I now live, would send us wildlife and bird books for our birthdays and Christmas. When I was five she sent me a large illustrated Birds of North America book so I memorized the birds, drew and painted them so that when I came here I already knew them. Now I'm finding that the birds I took for granted in Haiti are rare, endangered, endemic species. The White-necked Crows were so intelligent they'd learn human speech just from overhearing it. When I rode my horse the huge mango and mombay trees would echo with wild voices calling my name they'd learned from my Hisponola Amazon Parrot-another intelligent species that spoke 200 words, two languages, and even sang in Creole.

What makes me chuckle when reading this thread is how often book clubs are reading the same books. Fall to Your Knees, The Memory-Keeper's Daughter, Wicked, A Fine Balance (which I loved) Water for Elephants, etc. and I've noticed this in other bookclub-themed threads. My club is 5-6 years old; most of us make a sometimes herculean effort to finish the book out of respect for the person who chose it (though every book we read has been voted on) as well as knowing that the discussion doesn't have a snowball's chance of success if the book hasn't been read. Personally, I could not finish "Seabiscuit" to save my life as I kept falling asleep while reading it. "A Beautiful Mind" was our inaugural book and nearly did our club in as almost noone could finish it. "Wicked" was also an unpopular choice with a number of members not finishing it and so was almost impossible to discuss which I found disapointing. We all read "Crossing to Safety" and enjoyed trashing it, unlike most other clubs who loved it. By and large, our best discussion come when any or all of these factors come into play: most, if not all, members have read the book; the designated discussion leader has come PREPARED with questions, background info, etc.; the book actually has some meat to discuss (please don't ever make me read Sophie Kinsella again); and the book isn't universally liked by the members. My club just had a terrific discussion using "TMKD." Even though I didn't find it well-written, it resonated with our group and had some grist for the mill. So--yes, I usually try to finish up the book, even if it is just a cursory and skimming read. I also thought "The Little Children" was an awful book with flat characters and a nonsense story line and I would have to be "locked in" somewhere to re-read and discuss it. On the other hand, my clubs meets in restaurants for dinner and drinks and I have no doubt that some late nights, the restauranteur would like to lock us out...

I heard a report on the BBC news about Dame Muriel Spark saying her books has been described by a critic as "If you had a cat it is the sort of work you might have expected it to have written, with its claws kept just within its paws." Always a looker-on at events with little room for sentimentality. Dido is too modest to mention it but she has just had her adaptation of Memento Mori recorded by the BBC. It will be on the air during May. If you have 'realplayer' or similar you should beable to receive it wherever you live.