Good morning!!!!

[Looking4new]

Good morning, the low is 54 and going to a high of 75°F. Wind SSE2 mph. 40% chance of showers.

The tarp I had over the portable shelter all winter and this summer, I took off when I put the real roof on is going to be the weed stopper for the platform for the BH. I will put that down first this morning, then set the hoe on top of it with the landing gear down to mark my width and length with the bucket extended in the disconnected position. I have 8 4X4s 5.5' long, repurposed from another project. I don't throw much out if I can help it. Because I cannot enclose it in completely, I will leave 1-1.5" spacing between the floor boards (for the mice to live in), that will give the cats some feed and entertainment for the summer. I am thinking 4 of 4X4s across the front (to hold the weight of the tractor when hooking up and dropping), 2 along the sides for the landing gear, and 2 set closer together for the bucket. That should work without busting the floor boards. I've got a battery powered chainsaw to do all the heavy cutting with. Hold it all together with 3.5-4" deck screws. I think I have 6 or 8 2X8s 16' long left over from another project, they will be the floor boards, cut to length. The leftovers from them will finish off another job I have been forgetting for 30 years. I need 6 of them 8-9' long for yet another job to finish closing the underside of my deck.

buppies, I had 5" diameter pipes on my Chev pickup with a 350 motor, Q-jet and headers with Thrush 'peckertone' header mufflers, WOW! THAT WAS LOUD! I ended up putting a pair of Walker Cherry Bombs on right behind the header mufflers to quiet it down somewhat. 4 bolts and I could take everything off except for the headers.
A cop told me he 'didn't like the sound of my pipes and to do something about them', so I did. I took them off and ran open headers for 2 weeks. Never saw the cop again.

It is always good to talk out your problems, way better than keeping them all bottled up.

Breakfast time.

Have a safe day all

 

[LouNY]

read an interesting article this morning on refresh of Rivian RT1 EV truck.
my goddaughters's husband, a pilot, bought the first four motor one, and absolutely loves it. Rivian has outstanding engineering and apparently they just made this model better with new tech.

Tech that was so good the VW group, largest in the world, just paid
$5 billion to Rivian for rights to the tech. So Rivian electronic tech will underpin much of future VW production. Way to go Rivian.

I also read Rivian loses 30k on every vehicle.
you just wonder how they make that all work.
Well 5 very big ones will sure help.

I still think hybrid vehicles are our future. If we all had been getting 30-50mpg years ago, I don't think we'd be having all the issues we have today. Most of us remember the "gas crisis", not a fun time.
Unfortunately hybrid vehicles almost by nature are so focused on mpg they are not considered much fun to drive. The new Prius may be an exception to that.

but not sure of what engine would push my motorhome and get better than 10mpg.

The best hybrid is the one that Edison motors is making, a smaller engine running a generator charging a battery with the battery being a surge tank to store the energy for heavy loads and the generator to make the energy for the average load and top off the battery on mild loads.
They are doing what should have been done years ago.
Edison Motors

I'm waiting to see how the pickup conversions price out.

 

[m7040]

good morning, 59 going to 82 sunny

Picked up the new glasses. Worked on household chores most of the day. Cleaned and reworked the Larson glass and screen doors and dry lubed the hinges.
Upper floor door out to the balcony is stuck and don't relish the thought of going up on ladder 25 ft to try to push it open.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Morning,
Ct, 48 to start going to 75. Another sunny day and beautiful day ! Slow start, stayed up to watch debate, should have gone to bed !

Buppies, prayers to you and your wife!

Drew, glad trip is going well and thanks for beautiful pictures!

Prayers to all families who lost loved ones in 911, Never Forget !

Time to get going, pack up truck and head north ! Hope all have a blessed day !

 

[daugen]

M7040, please be careful on that ladder or find someone younger

this is looking ugly
I think I may have a very long day after leaving RNG's home trying to get past LA. Wow what a lot of fires, I may just have to keep going to next stop. Currently the place near Pomona where I have a reservation has a fire on the access road to their campground, not good at all... and more in general area.

hopefully in next week and a half this will die down.
this is like Popgadget trying to get around bad weather,
you usually have to go but not through the mess.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 60F @ 5:30AM. Abundant sunshine. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

this is looking ugly
I think I may have a very long day after leaving RNG's home trying to get past LA. Wow what a lot of fires, I may just have to keep going to next stop. Currently the place near Pomona where I have a reservation has a fire on the access road to their campground, not good at all... and more in general area.

A lot can happen in a week wildfire wise, Drew. Both good and bad, just look what the Park fire did over the past month. But we are coming into the worst part of the fire season, with Santa Anna winds in the Los Angeles area and the potential for dry lightning in the northern part of the state. Keep an eye on Watch Duty. When I checked yesterday, most of central Oregon is on fire, but by comparison California is looking pretty good. Except CalFire is fighting 16 major fires, so we just have to stay vigilant and be ready to change plans if needs be.

Got caught up on some paperwork yesterday, and shopped a bit for new auto insurance coverage, trying to save a little money. I kept checking on the new well pump controller delivery, but it looked like Amazon lost it in San Francisco. Then last night it arrived in Vacaville, and then left there this morning for who knows where. But at least it's moving again.

I removed a couple smart wall switches, putting back the original switches. I'm having trouble figuring out the wiring for some of the three and four way circuts, but haven't managed to shock myself or start any fires so far.

A couple neighbors dropped by yesterday afternoon to pick up a pile of lumber drops, some of which they'll use, then burn the rest. One of them showed me how the hood release on the firetruck worked, and we replaced a blown fuse. It promptly blew again. Time for some wire tracing and DVM work. Looks like one of them will be bringing his giant backhoe down over the weekend to take down a couple dead and dying trees. One is leaning over the front gate, the other one is over the backhoe for the Kubota. He wants paid in firewood, and I'm only too happy to oblige.

Happy Hump Day, but Never Forget, either.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I fell asleep and slept through the debate, which I regret.

I did watch it, streamed live on YouTube by CSPAN. I regret we don't have better choices because I wouldn't vote for either of 'em if there was one.

Last time I was in Heber City, I got there in a tow truck after having just killed my first deer with a brand new Toyota 4x4 pickup truck. The only deer I killed on that hunting trip.

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, 54 going up to 82 and sunny.
Meeting at school for senior trip to Disney went well and price is not as bad as we thought.

Watched the debate, won't comment here.

Lot's of deer out front last night and they were lying down in the side yard when I took the dog for a walk, six sets of green eyes reflecting back in my flashlight. The Bucks are getting quite huffy when they see us now.

We need to contact the wifes cousin we think the Orange County fire is not too far from her.

Meeting with Dr. was if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail He was thinking rotator cuff, but bruise was too low. I finally spent time on Dr. Google yesterday and found my symptoms almost word for word what I told my Dr. as a torn muscle. He is an elbow/shoulder specialist so kept going in that direction.
Solution on-line, ice, rest and give it 10 weeks or so, if it gets worse then MRI, seems like a more realistic plan that what the Dr. came up with, which was cortisone shot and immediate MRI.

Buppies - sounds like you really need outside help, so sorry you both are going through this.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Today is 9/11 - I was in Midtown Manhattan that day and my brother only a few blocks from the twin towers at his job. I spent a lot of the day trying to find people and find them places to stay.
Cell and landlines were intermittent and my wife was in California on a project and I did not get to talk to her until much later that night.

I didn't find my brother until after lunch that day- he got covered in dust when the towers went down.

I worked in 7 WTC for a few years and was in the towers and that area a lot of those years. I lost many friends and coworkers that day.
When they showed 7 WTC collapsing, it was just another spike of pain.

I now work at 3 WTC, right across from the reflecting pool, I try not to go to that area, it has too many memories and ghosts for me. I work from home mostly, I miss being in the city, but not in that area.

This is the entrance to the former 7WTC, I was here most days. 15th floor, but I was on most of the floors due to my job. If you were on that elevated walkway going away from 7WTC, you would be going into the towers.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Morning Ken,

I miss being in the city, but not in that area.

Very interesting post, thanks for sharing your thoughts !
That morning I was working for Pitney Bowes in Shelton,Ct as a model maker. They had a big screen TV in the cafeteria, and we all went down to see what was happening! Such a terrible day, they sent us all home early that day ! Just unbelievable!

 

[newbury]

I still think hybrid vehicles are our future. If we all had been getting 30-50mpg years ago,

Yes.
I had a VW diesel Rabbit in 1979. Got 50 mpg around town. Ex-wife got it in divorce, ruined it. In 2009 I bought a VW Jetta TDI (diesel), a lot roomier and faster. Got 45 mpg around town, lost it to VW because of "diesel gate". Now I've a 2 liter Ford Escape, can squeeze out about 28.5 mpg around town, better on long trips. None of them hybrids.
Our hybrid, a 2004 Honda Civic gets about 40+ mpg around town. But at ~100K miles it required a hybrid battery pack replacement, has always had the acceleration of a snail and the comfort (for 6' 2" me) of a small cramped box. The battery replacement would have cost ~$1K but we got it under warranty, just barely.
/edit
And I was looking up electric vehicles and there is a Canadian firm, Edison Motors, that "will be" making a conversion kit so one can convert their truck to electric.
So Drew, maybe you could convert your motorhome

 

[Looking4new]

I was on 'light duties' due to a rotator cuff injury and working in the dispatch office (same company I still work for) on 9/11. The head dispatcher came in all flustered (Frenchman) and saying that somebody flew into the WTC. I didn't believe him, but the more I listened to the radio the more I believed. FAA shut down ALL airports in the U.S. and the planes in the east of the country had to re-route to Gander, NFLD. Gander Airport used to be a RCAF base, so they had runways long enough for the bigger jets. The good people of Gander opened their hearts and doors to these stranded travelers. Never underestimate the generosity of a Newfoundlander.

The deck is finished and I have 5 2X8X16' left. More than enough for the other two jobs I need to do before the snow flies. I need 2.5 2X8" 24" long and a half lengthwise of the other half of one of the 2X8s. I can do that out of the scrap from the hoe deck. For the other job I need 6 2X8X8'. I have 5 2X8X16' left. Just enough.

 

[rswyan]

76F and sunny @ 12:00, heading up to around 85F for the day's high. Winds light and variable.

WU shows nothing in the way of rain until next Wednesday with highs in the 80's and high 70's every day ... suspect that will have us heading back into drought territory ...

Got all the tree trimmings up along the road picked up yesterday and moved to the brush pile up by the shop.

Hopper and both tube feeders refilled, also scattered some seeds for the ground feeders.

Picked up most of the sticks under the oak and maple trees over on the west side of the house.

Made up another gallon of stink juice, probably set that out in the Sun today and give it another day to ripen.

Got text from ATT that repairs are complete. Never saw the ATT repair person yesterday, so assume that they were able to fix the problem without actually having come to the house.

Woman reported around 10 young deer came down the east side headed towards the woods in the back. Said none of them went in the garden ...

I just gave her the first dose of ear drops for the day and She's back in bed. She seems to be going better and not coughing as much ... but still can't hear much. Hope that is not permanent.

Agenda for the rest of the day:

Deposit reimbursement check from insurance for Her new glasses, schedule one bill for payment.

Head up to shop and check on a couple of items to see whether they are in stock for a friend.

Check live trap, re-bait if necessary.

Remove leaf mold on planting bed under the maple trees at the northeast corner of the side yard.

Swap out light material bucket for the shrub bucket and dig out some hosta, day lilies, and maybe one of the hydrangeas which has a new hole already dug for it.

Maybe spray some glyphosate in various areas.

Otherwise see what else comes up.

Hope everyone is having a decent Wednesday ...

 

[Looking4new]

RNG, if your parts arrive here, I will overnight them to you.

 

[sodamo]

72°F and .05 inches rain

Interesting day yesterday. First time I’ve had audio exam without being in a booth. Actually, after the interview it was 4 exams. In addition to the usual mash the button when you hear the beeps there were 2 involving repeating the word you hear. The 4th was a contraption that sat on my head for bone contact and mash the button when you hear the beeps. No results shared with me as this was part of my VA disability evaluation. Not sure it got off to a great start as it appeared some of the documentation may have been in error, incorrect dates.

Nice flights and was able to change to hour earlier for return. Took Sophie to dinner.

Today will be back to mowing. Grass may be growing faster than I’m cutting.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[txdon]

Dr. visit went well, I can start driving, and can start going longer without sling, one lateral movement he warned me of not to do and to take PT slow. all bandages and steri strips are off. X-ray shows ball but not socket because it is some type of plastic material that does not show up in X-ray.

 

[m7040]

M7040, please be careful on that ladder or find someone younger

Yes for sure, looking in to going out through the window. I am not very flexible any more but maybe if I line up a small table in front of the window I can slide on top out through the opening. And then bring a BFH ( Big Fuxxxxx Hammer) and wood blocks to hammer at it. The binding is on the bottom so likely will have to take the door off the hinges. Plane it or saw it? Not sure what is best

 

[daugen]

I am in the Mountain Valley rv resort in Heber City Utah, outside of Salt Lake. Had a lovely drive here on route 80 almost all the way, and very very pretty. Lots more traffic but a nice ride. And wow is this campground nice,
rated 10/10/10 by Woodalls and it's gorgeous. Has an adult section I'm in, along with rows and rows of gigantic motorhomes and 40 foot fifth wheels.
sites are concrete, everything is paved, but beautifully landscaped

and the best part, their pool is still open, and they have a hot tub for adults only. Not sure I'll get there today but definitely tomorrow.
I wanted to see what a "really nice" place was, should be for 95 a night, but
this was a planned spot to slow down and chill. Driving those mountains
requires a little energy conservation now.

very windy out, had to bring awning in, as expected, higher winds this afternoon which I did not want to drive in. I don't care, let it howl, I'm in and plugged in.

I took a lot of pics on the way the unsafe way doing it one handed while trying to be safe with a buffeted rv...while no one was around me.
I took at least three of everything, have no idea what turned out.
that's for later.

just looked at weather, wow it's dropping to 32 here tomorrow night, talk about a cold front coming in.
thinking maybe I should rally later and do the hot tub today

 

[Thomas]

Dr. visit went well, I can start driving, and can start going longer without sling, one lateral movement he warned me of not to do and to take PT slow. all bandages and steri strips are off. X-ray shows ball but not socket because it is some type of plastic material that does not show up in X-ray.
View attachment 1075340

Dang for some reason didn't realize what the new replace would look like...darn gald recovery going smoothy.

 

[plowhog]

Hope everyone is doing well. No time to catch up, will do that later.

Started prepping to evacuate at 3am. 11 hrs later finally sat down, ahhh. The forecast high winds are now here. Makes predicting fire behavior impossible. Authorities are making grim predictions but neighbors and I are not leaving unless forced out. Heard rumors of homes burning not far away, but not sure if that is true. The fire is definitely close and very dangerous, but what is weird is that we barely see any smoke due to the wind speed and direction. The next 12-24 hours are going to reveal a lot.

We are packed and ready to bug out and are hoping we don't have to.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

RIP Colonel USA.