Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

thunder rattled the house for almost 30 seconds

me too! Came out of nowhere, I think the trailing edge of the storm.

 

[riptides]

And you wonder why I call insurance companies the skum of the earth and they will try to weasel out of any claim. Now you know.

My insurance company had their lawyers involved with the claim.

Dispositions and what not. Quite frustrating for us.

 

[Popgadget]

Good Morning
It’s 40 degrees and staying around there all day under mostly cloudy skies.
But the rain is over.

Yesterday I got the shelf up for the center channel, and finished up the home theater set up, except for a bit of paint touch up, and fishing the speaker wire through the wall. Funny that in the picture of the wall plate I posted yesterday I noticed it wasn’t straight. So I fixed that as well.

After lunch, I got the briskets trimmed and rubbed.

It was not a nice night to load the smoker, but got a fire started and loaded it up.

A lot nicer out this morning-

Not much planned for today, the briskets should be ready after lunchtime. Have to do some grocery shopping for the rest of tonight’s meal, but other than that it should be a lazy day.

 

[LouNY]

Lou most people loose common sense in snow heavy rain

I don't think that they have any, much of the time.
Were I live we get snow and freezing rain several times a year. Often nuisance storms of an inch or two, then lots of 2-6 inch snows and depending on the year an ice storm or two, and a few storms of 8-20 inches.
In this area we have many different highway crews from State, County, Township, Village and City departments depending on where you live.
My Town(ship) has Town roads, County roads and State roads all maintained by there respective crews with some sub contracting done, such as State to County or County to Town. Our Town has 91 miles of road to maintain with a 4-5 man crew with a 1/4 of these being dirt roads. It takes quite awhile for the crew to cover all the roads one time, so snow can build up between plowings and sanding.
Myself I have always believed that you are ultimately the only person responsible for your safety and well being. In that vein I have always run snow tires almost always studded in the winter. So I can travel with moderate confidence that I will make it were I want to go and be able to get home.
But, I see so many people that will not buy snow tires or have them put on. Then they seem to think that it is someone else's responsibility to provide them with roads that are snow and ice free even while it is storming out, and that they can go anywhere at any time with there wore out so called "all season" tires.
I used to often pull people out of ditches and up hills, in the last few years I've gotten to the point of stopping to verify everyone is not hurt and they have been able to call for help, then proceeding on my way and just leaving them were they are. Unless it's someone I know.

But as to the stupidity of many drivers;
A case in point, my driveway is very steep and can be a bear in the winter. Christmas day my wifes grand daughter decided they would come up and visit. She has driven the driveway several times and had been told several times that if it's snow covered or icey to park in the turnout area at the bottom. Did she do either nope, tries driving up when it has mostly snowpack with lots of dirt patches showing, in many places the two most common wheel tracks are covered with packed snow/ice. So what does she do tries driving right up the wheel tracks that are slick not get over on the dirt patches. So 1/4 way up the longest straight looses traction spins out starts going backwards with the tire spinning, ends up running into a tree while sliding backwards. So drive down with the pickup and stop were she spunout load them in turn around and take them up to the house, get the tractor and a chain and drag the car up to the house. And here is the real kicker, the year before her grandmother (my wife) and I had bought here 4 studded snows and rims for her car. This past spring she somehow tore out the sidewall in one tire so instead of finding a used snow to mount up the 3 good studded snows are sitting in a storage shed along with the bad tire, doing absolutely nothing.
Often here snow tires are only needed 10% of the winter but so many people rely on inadequate equipment for the situation and somehow think it's not their fault for causing issues.

End of rant for a while,
Everyone have a good day.

 

[m7040]

Good Morning!!!! 42F @ 4:30AM. Sunny. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Still no rain in the 10-day.

There's a lot more to life than money, Thomas. Especially considering your medical history. As we get older, the most precious thing we have is time. The more we waste doing things we don't really enjoy, the more regrets we'll have at the end. And don't forget: Happy wife, happy life.

I found this article on dog's eyes rather enlightening yesterday. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun...

Sorry you didn't get the diagnosis you were looking for, Ted, but hopefully the referral will lead to something better.

I had the best of intentions yesterday to get out into the garage and get some work done out there, but wasted most of the day at the computer and on the telephone tilting at windmills.

I did have a good talk with an old friend about the new generation vans, Sprinter and Transport. He has four Sprinters in his small business fleet, and is a really big fan. But like the Prius I was chasing, they're still in short supply and new ones aren't that much more than used ones. But the good news is that the supply issues seem to be easing, at least in his experience. He said he put 60,000 miles on his Sprinter last year, and lives in it while he's out on jobs. And did his own conversion, and can point me in the right direction when it comes time to do mine.

Also talked to another friend that also lives in the mountains, and who lost two shed roofs to the same winds that took off my porch. His road in involves a creek crossing, and he left before the heavy rains and winds started, and so came home to quite a mess. Not enough of a mess to consider moving someplace else, though, but then I've got a fair number of years on him, and I don't think I'm quite as stubborn.

One of the contractors bidding on the roof job hasn't heard from the insurance adjustor yet, so I left a rather stern voicemail for her yesterday and will call the claims administrator this morning. We're enjoying a patch of dry weather right now, and the contractor is available, but I don't want to start work until I get the claim settled, as the funding available will impact the scope of the work. And the second estimate isn't due in until early next week.

Finally Friday. TGIF gang!

There are lots of videos on converting Sprinters into living on the road Rvs from mild conversions to full Rvs. We have not converted ours but we were considering it earlier. I have it set up as a wheel chair lift on the side door which works really well. Wife has recovered and is now walking and can get into the van with the help of a step but I keep the lift in case it is needed in the future and in the meantime it can function as a lift platform for heavy items. I took out 2 rows of seats and only left one 3 seat row seat in the back so it gives lots of space for going to HD and so on. At 190000 miles it works as good as when it was new. The V6 is a good engine. I am leary of the 4 cylinder diesels. Maybe they discontinued those. Maintenance on the factory recommend schedule is key.

 

[m7040]

Popg, do you wrap the briskets at the stall temperature and what temperature do you take it off. How long do you do let it rest?

 

[Popgadget]

Popg, do you wrap the briskets at the stall temperature and what temperature do you take it off. How long do you do let it rest?

I do not wrap them. I monitor the humidity in the smoker, often use a water pan. Pull them at just over 200, wrap them in foil and put them in a Cambro, until ready to serve, usually 2-5 hours.

 

[m7040]

I do not wrap them. I monitor the humidity in the smoker, often use a water pan. Pull them at just over 200, wrap them in foil and put them in a Cambro, until ready to serve, usually 2-5 hours.

so you load it it with charcoal and set the temperature and monitor until done. And place a pan of water in the bottom? Add wood on top of the charcoal I assume?

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low was 17°, going up to 37°. Chances of snow coming in this afternoon and tonight. Forecasted amounts vary from 1-2" to 4-6". All the remaining snow from the previous storm is gone except for some patches.

I am more level headed this morning..... this situation is just another set-back, which I should be used to by now. Insurance companies are spending more time and money fighting claims than they pay to settle claims. I am sure the algorithms used keep them on the green side of profit.

The doc has heavily restricted walking, standing, sitting to very short periods. Basically forbids carrying / lifting more than 15lbs, no kneeling, squatting, climbing any ladders, stairs limited to 4. The insurance has all these records.

There is a lawyer involved already. After the last video 'interview' I had with the insurance, the lawyer 'advised' that there would be a final decision within a short time. This 'interveiw' really didn't get into any medical issues.... basically asked a lot of questions about my jobs, positions, and salary. They made a decision 2 days later....??? I guess I made too much......

Dennis, it is strange how your short term disability gave you a hard time.... mine was the exact opposite. No problem at all getting the 'short term', the long term is giving me a hassle. Surprisingly, work comp was really easy to work with throughout the initial injury, rehab, and long recovery for 3 surgeries. But, when I reached MMI, they fell off the radar.....had to do arbitration at the end.

Waiting for a call back from the lawyer now..... I would have thought this would all be straightforward.

Not sure what I'll get into today.....
Everyone have a great day and start to the weekend!

 

[m7040]

Ted, how did you hurt yourself. Fall at work or some accident?