Good morning!!!!

[Buppies]

Forsythia is blooming bulbs up trees swelling up early spring but still pretty

I know nothing about a drone but willing to learn

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 49F @ 5:15AM. Sunny. High 74F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Once the winds picked up yesterday, it was clear that March roared in like a lion. One early evening gust even blew a couple lawn chairs off the back porch.:shocked: Looks like we're in for a repeat today, which is sorta good, as it'll keep me cooler while I'm pouring concrete.

I hope the Sears guy gets the ice maker fixed in one trip, Bird.

And I hope the pine trees fall without incident, Buppies.

Does your pond freeze solid in the winter, Ron?

If we don't get any more cold temps, Rich, we'll know who to blame!:laughing: I haven't had to light the woodstove in about six weeks now...

Kale and aphids, sounds delicious to me.:yuck:

Glued the last piece of PVC onto the conduit yesterday, and requested an inspection for tomorrow, the earliest available. Spent the rest of the day nudging posts around to get them better aligned, and learning that the holes aren't very plumb as most of the posts are at one side of the hole at the bottom and the other side of the hole at the top. And the one where the auger hit a good sized rock at the start is far enough off that I couldn't get the post aligned with the rest of them. It's in the middle of the top row, and about an inch off. But it'll just have to do. Got out the battery powered saber saw and stuck in a new bimetal blade, and once it broke through the post wall, it cut pretty fast. And it's light enough, I don't think I'll have any problems using it while standing on a ladder. Yesterday, though, the wind kept blowing the hot chips in my face, so I set that task aside until after I get the concrete poured around the posts. Which is what I'll be doing today. I have 60 50# bags of post hole mix, and a dozen or so 60# bags of regular concrete I was going to use for the propane tank pad, but I'll use if I have to. I'd sure like those holes filled up before the building inspector shows up tomorrow...:laughing:

Hope everyone's week gets off to a grand start!

 

[txdon]

Good morning! 64˚F cloudy.
Kyle, insects are not plant based they are based on plants, so no credit from the vegans but the health risk, if any, has not yet been determined.
How To Get Rid Of Aphids: 12 Organic Methods That Work

 

[jbrumberg]

An overnight low of 21ºF, a mixed cloud-sun red sky morning and 24ºF, and a mostly cloudy 32ºF presently. Sometime during the wee hours a coating of snow was deposited. The barbecuedcountry style ribs came out pretty well last ; I need to cut back on the brining a bit.

RNG- I had 6 SYMA X-1’s. Lost 3 by fly-a-ways and impaired judgement, totally destroyed 2 which was/is next to impossible, and still have 1 operational. I actually dropped one on a hen turkey and her brood of chicks accidentally in my lower field when the battery died. When I went to retrieve it she was close by with the chicks under her wings; close enough to touch The SYMA X-1 was/is a 2 (gyroscope) axis quadcopter which required total manual control. It could not even self-level and it had no bell’s and whistles….. made a “pilot” out of me I have not looked into RC quads in a long time, but many of the newer quads have low battery alarms, return to launch if/when the battery gets down to a certain set point, etc. Many also have a return to launch panic button. And when the battery dies the Law of Gravity rules. I had a lot of fun with the SYMA. With the DJI flight controller the “Flying Cuisinart” does have a return to launch, hold position, self leveling, and a return to launch at a set voltage functions. I hate it when I go into RTL= absolutely no control. Just out of curiosity I am going to see what’s in the market presently. I had a lot of fun with those cheapies and learned a lot. And yes I too have to do “the GPS dance.”

Randy- I am sorry to read about the aborted visit. Telephone contact really does not cut it.

Eric- Congratulations on the new lamb. I hope that lamb and ewe are doing well. Nice tracks

Billy- Thanks for sharing your quad make. Is it FCC legal as to video transmission and frequency? Many of the available quads with video a couple of years ago had “illegal” transmitters according to FCC regs. My video TX and transmitter are legal. The range of my video TX is limited. I get around 1000’ before I get video signal loss; I think my transmitter range is ~ 1 mile (line of sight).

I hope that everyone is having a decent day.

My + thoughts, wishes, and prayers.

 

[wngsprd]

Thanks, WNG! It's $225 at Amazon now, and you can use a $25 coupon, too. Just for grins, I typed the make and model number of the HS700D into YouTube, and found a video showing the calibration procedure, and another that featured it, but also several other drones that were recommended for beginners. The calibration procedure looked pretty rediculous: Do you really have to spin around three times, twice?:laughing:

I'd looked at Holy Stone drones before, and they're the ones that I first read about fly aways. And the HS700D has almost 100 1 star reviews, most of which are fly away complaints. One guy even had one hit a palm tree, drop onto his Tesla, then take off again, hit the tree, fall on the Tesla, and than do it all again before he grabbed it, badly cutting his finger in the process.:shocked: I'm delighted you've had no trouble so far, but several of the reviews say theirs worked fine for five or six flights before it turned into Mr. Hyde...

The guy that did the beginner video made another one six months later, and now it's about six months old, so I think I'll watch that one and maybe check out some of the recommendations. An absence of Amazon 1 star reviews I think will figure highly into my purchase decision.:confused2:

Good luck on your search. I just looked at my laptop files, where I moved the photos and vids, and I've flown this drone on 12 days, multiple flights on most of those days. I was gonna go out and get "Lucky 13" done this morning, but the wind already picked up. That's another thing I avoid...windy or wet days.

 

[wngsprd]

Jay, the owner's manual says it complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules, so I guess it's good to go (very complete instruction manual). I did register it with the FAA (instant online for $5) and got my official FAA Certificate.

 

[jbrumberg]

Billy- Thanks for the information. I applied for the FAA certificate when it was free. I have my registration proudly displayed on my landing skids. My membership with the AMA just expired. If my memory serves me correctly the certification required membership in some supervising authority/body to be legitimate, but that requirement may have been waived. The "FC" is just a hangar queen conversation piece at this point. Setting up a launch is more like a NASA space launch.... and for an ~ 9 - 11 minute flight with all the weight it carries now.

 

[sodamo]

64°F and 1.84 inches rain. Hoping a drier day today.

The guys managed a win in H&F in a game that went both ways.

Hosting Happy Hour here at the house today.

Would like to get started on final roof section, but wx dependent.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[Buppies]

Gotten very windy no more trees but almost moved all of brush pile if one cannot succeed at one task move to another

 

[PJSprog]

45°F and cloudy this morning, going up to 53° today. Should be sunny and around 60° for most of the week here.

Well, the work trip to northern Illinois was a complete bust. Got about 500 feet from my exit off the interstate when my car suddenly lost power and started to shudder. I pulled off onto the side of the exit ramp, where I remained for most of the day. I was pretty much 20 miles from anywhere. I called the Kia Roadside Assistance number and they arranged a tow for me to the Kia dealer in Rockford IL. Called the customer and explained my situation, and they guy was quite understanding. I also called the Kia dealer to let them know I was coming in. After a few hours of waiting, I called the tow company (out of Chicago, of all places), and was told it would be about another half hour. An hour later, I tried to call again several times, but they weren't answering the phone anymore apparently. Called Kia back, and got stuck in the computer void a couple of times, so I called them back again and canceled the service. A Google search found the best rated tow service in Rockford. They had a flatbed truck there in 20 minutes. Four-and-a-half hours later, I was on my way to the dealer. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they did not have enough time to look at my car, as they were two techs short that day. They wouldn't get to it until Monday. Options were to get a hotel room and hang out in Rockford all weekend, or rent a car and drive home. Enterprise was right across the street, so that became the best option. They were able to get me into a brand new Dodge Grand Caravan right away, so I took it. Finally got back home around 10pm.

Just got the call from the dealer a few minutes ago ... the engine is toast. Two of the four pistons have blown rings. $5K-ish for a rebuilt used engine, or $7100-ish for a new Kia engine. Neither of those options sound attractive for a 5-year-old car with 175K miles. Looks like I'm car shopping today.