Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

got all the materials in for working on my car's windshield, the grinding material, cerium oxide, plus
the drill attachment and some polishing pads. Now I need to find a warm garage to do this. Warm garages aren't so
easy to find. Safelite keeps dogging me to buy the windshield I got a quote on, 450 installed in my driveway, so if I screw it
up...always plan B. Early morning sun got me yesterday and I could hardly see through the sparkles.

SS annual statement comes. After carefully opening the envelope which always wants to rip
and not on the perf lines, my new year statement of benefits tells me I'll be paying 200 a month for Medicare.
2500 a year and just one of my mri's costs twice that. Of course my BC/BS supplement costs about the same so all totaled
probably paying 5 grand a year for health insurance. It's a big part of my budget just like I bet it is for many
of you.

lot of click bait articles on huge health insurance premiums coming for large number of folks.
just when you thought it couldn't get any more expensive...
it's the old can't afford it and can't afford not to have it

 

[scott_vt]

Good Tractor Morning,

About 3 steps then he had to sit down and rest

Gee Don, my prayers go out to this man, long hard road for sure

The slab cab Scania looks interesting, but not a truck I would want to drive

GM Bill, I want an engine out in front of me I have driven a Mack Cab Over and hated it That and the square gears in the transmission

 

[Popgadget]

Figured the solution for that would just be to get the wire up and off the floor/wall/concrete.

Thoughts ?

Considering it will be buried behind a new wall, I would drill a hole in the concrete and drive a new rod and run a new piece of #4 THHN to the panel. You could relocate the new rod to make it accessible or closer to the panel if that made sense.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Tractor Morning,

Other then that will be laying low and conserving energy!

Same here Phil, just stronger wind and colder

24 crawling to 39, winds still here...60mph gusts caused SNP to close yesterday.

Same here Billy

my version of Scott arrived, one day after I called
very good company
155@3.09

Drew, the terminal price in New Haven last week was $2.14, as a friend I. Oils give it to you for $.50 cents over Ling commute though

 

[Happy in NC]

Good morning TBN!!
28 this morning and should be close to 50 today and sunny.

Not to much yesterday. I did make a mounting plate for the solar on the bird feeder. Found out my chain choice won't work out very well. I was going to use the little beaded chain for light switch pulls. Had plenty of it but stood the hook up and it broke. New plan is to get some very thin hopefully coated cable to use instead.
Going to town again today to get that and a couple of more things I need.
Just puttered the rest of the day.
Plan for today is town and then finish up the shepherds hook and then maybe get back on the Magdrill. ADHD sucks. I think my NY resolution is to remedy that. I've had it for many years but never diagnosed but I am finding as I age it is very much getting in the way!

Time for a second cup
Everyone have a great and safe day and a safe NYE!!

 

[riptides]

22 outside right now, heading to mid 40's. Light wind, no snow, all is good.

Last day of the year, closing up shops and books, getting ready for 2026. Wow.

Hope all have a great day and a better evening.

Happy New Year to all. Health, happiness and good fortunes to you and your families. Be safe.

 

[daugen]

RS, I agree on the new ground wire. Could be a lot of pinholes in that wire covered over by
green grunge. With all the other work you've done, while it's out and exposed,
tell your wife you had 22 consultants and they all said to change out the wire.

 

[wngsprd]

28 going to 43. Gusty winds still here.

Happy New Year! (in New Zealand, already).

Friends coming over this afternoon to celebrate...we figured we'd toast at 4pm, so it will be ringing in the New Year in Nairobi. They have to leave by 5pm to babysit the grands. One of the ladies is Alpha gal, like my wife, so we will have some unique appetizers that I got AI to plan for us.

Good hike and swim with Della yesterday...she got some nice off leash time to play with Sophie, a Springer. I'm usually quick to detect when Della is going to shake water off when she brings me the fetching stick, so I move back, but yesterday she "got me" 4 times. My left side was pretty wet, at 36F it felt cold until we started uphill.

 

[m7040]

good morning, 23 going to 36 and the wind is down to normal levels

Wind gusts to 75 MPH were reported 2 days ago not far from here. Estimated it to have been at least around 60 MPH at our location
Will make a trip out to the back 40's to look for trees down

Wearing light Duluth overalls over blue jeans makes sense today and keeps the chill out without the heavy weight of the Carharts
Truewerk seem to have a nice line of winter clothes that I may try out

 

[daugen]

this may sound fairly strange...but I'd love to take a class taught by Temple Grandin in Colorado.
The movie they made about her continues to just grab me emotionally.
No it's not a deficit
it's a gift
then I think of Kyle and I know this chocolate and roses ending is not
realistic for the more profoundly affected autistic kids.
but wow, to give a young person hope?

hope can be a powerful gift
of course I'm hoping for world peace
hope is clearly not always rewarded...

over half of Texas's cattleyards have equipment designed
by Temple Grandin. More contented cows is not only more humane but
efficient and profitable.

have any of you met her personally?
she just defines inspirational and her gift is that she can see
the world in ways that you and I cannot.

 

[ArlyA]

Good morning tbn crew! Its 18 here this morning and temps will be falling today. Got a nice dusting of snow overnight and we are seeing a normal winter lake snow pattern here, albeit cooler than normal temps. Leaving for camp this am.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Tractor Morning Paul and Dennis,

2001. Wife wants to go to Stowe some time, visit the Von Trapp lodge.

I would love to go myself, farther north from us but it would be worth the trip. Since I speak some German I can identify with Austria

Scott, are you anywhere near the American Precision museum

GM Paul, it’s over on the other side of the state, probably fairly close to Thomas.
Looks to be a 1 1/2 hour ride from here, probably going east on Route 4. That’s the problem with Vermont, not many good east and west routes

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I grew up in an area where everything was at least an hour away, and we would sometimes go 2 hrs each way just to eat out, but that was good amish food.... I still do that, will run up to Lancaster PA for amish food over 2 hrs away.

27 deg. I fell asleep in lazyboy last night with pebbles asleep in my lap, went to bed about midnight. Now tonight, that schedule would work out perfect.
went to friends house last night for supper. I'm at the point I hate driving after dark, at least in the winter with deer everywhere. supper was good, we played some games after.

My one sister in OH got 10" snow yesterday. Had a dusting at the farm, but overnight got more. Winter storm warning for very western MD today.

already filled pellet stove for the day, so will be a stay warm day I hope.

 

[daugen]

it's pruning time in North Carolina.
First of the year, a month earlier than up here
but it gets warm in March there so always an issue of degree cooling days
where fruit trees stay happy and actually produce more than leaves

so I'd drag that ladder up and down the rows
grew up pruning fruit orchard on family farm, old hand with loppers.
knowing to cut the ones aiming inward vs out, and to prune the peaches totally different
than apple trees. I think/am guessing something about needing more air for inside part of tree
related to pollination. My knowledge is not peachy...

I really would love to see how those fruit trees are doing. And the dozen+ nut trees I planted.
in my own way I left my mark on Terrapin Track road.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

it's pruning time in North Carolina.

I'm tempted to prune my couple apple trees with a chain saw, about 2 ft off the ground. Never produced worth a darn in over 20 yrs now.

 

[LouNY]

Morning all;

A nice nippy 22F this morning with a gentle breeze so the real feel is 8F.
After sanding the driveway yesterday, the forecast updated to an inch or under of snow, HA.
Woke up this morning to about 5 inches, so I'll have to plow again and most likely sand again.
Forecast has a couple of 1 inch nuisance snow falls predicted.

SS annual statement comes. After carefully opening the envelope which always wants to rip
and not on the perf lines, my new year statement of benefits tells me I'll be paying 200 a month for Medicare.
2500 a year and just one of my mri's costs twice that. Of course my BC/BS supplement costs about the same so all totaled
probably paying 5 grand a year for health insurance. It's a big part of my budget just like I bet it is for many
of you.

lot of click bait articles on huge health insurance premiums coming for large number of folks.
just when you thought it couldn't get any more expensive...
it's the old can't afford it and can't afford not to have it

Yep, $202 for Medicare then my Supplement is $335 and $42 for prescription coverage.
So just a bit shy of $600 month or $579 mth or $6948 per year.

 

[daugen]

So just a bit shy of $600 month or $579 mth or $6948 per year.

that's because you are older than I am
wiser too...

 

[LouNY]

that's because you are older than I am
wiser too...

Not to sure about some of that

 

[ponytug]

Time for a little consultation with the TBN brain trust.

Below is a picture of the (sole/only) ground rod here at the house:

View attachment 4666317​

It appears to be a galvanized round pipe, roughly 1" in diameter. It also looks to have been replaced (or maybe just installed after the floor was poured ?) No idea as to it's length ...

The two solid copper wires connect to 1. 200A main breaker panel, and 2. 125A subpanel which fed from No. 1.

So far as I know we are not having any grounding issues, but I have not tested the ground rod to see if it has good ground.

No idea if there is a ground wire connected to the household plumbing at any point (perhaps through one of the circuit breaker panels ?)

There is an issue in the main bathroom with (at least) one light fixture where if you touch the light and grab the faucet at the same time you'll get a fairly nasty shock.

The present location of this rod would place it behind a wall as I finish off the room.

Have read that galvanized ground rods do not last as long as copper and since I think I have several 8' copper-clad ground rods was considering replacing it.

The picture below shows the amount of corrosion that has formed on the copper wire running from the main panel to the ground rod ... likely from the efflorescence from the concrete and being along the floor.

View attachment 4666318​

Don't figure that the corrosion is really too much of a problem as the wire should be solid copper, but thinking it can't be good long-term.

Figured the solution for that would just be to get the wire up and off the floor/wall/concrete.

Thoughts ?

With the caveat that I am not an electrician, yes I would get the wire up.

You may have what is known as an Ufer ground (after the engineer who invented it, Herbert Ufer), where the grounds are attached to the rebar in reinforced concrete. It is a much more effective ground than ground rods. I bring this up as a reason why you might not want to get rid of the existing ground system.

IIRC, my recollection is that the ground wire(s) around here need to be visible, as does the ground rod top itself and the connections, so inspectors can verify that the connections are tight, and functioning, but I don't know if being behind an enclosure door counts*. The NEC was updated recently to require two ground rods, or the testing of a single one to a resistance of 25 ohms or less. Bear in mind a new second ground rod needs to be at least 8' away and at least 8' in length, 5/8" in diameter, and be driven so that the UL markings are visible, e.g. right end up. I have known of inspectors who have been known to quibble whether the 8' burial rule means the top needs to be buried or not.
(* Does the UFER Ground require to be visible? says doors are allowed.)

https://www.mikeholt.com/newsletters.php?action=display&letterID=2291

As always, I would check your local codes. My $0.02 would be to replace the wire, and put the ground rod and wires behind a door, as driving a new rod would likely require the enclosure door, and a second rod driven outside, and wired in, or two rods outside, because I suspect driving an 8' rod in your basement might get tricky.

All the best,

Peter

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, 32 going to 33 and sunny.
Spent some more time sanding and salting the shared road.
Putting the trash cans down would have been too much of an adventure otherwise.
Then we went out to see the new Avatar movie, to me it was just a repeat of the other two movies.
Did work on a signal generator project where they package the parts and a board and you assemble. Got that done and working pretty quick. Now I have the built in generator on my 'Scope and an external to "run" things.

Tonight off to Friends house for New Years eve.

Our ground rod is outside and the wire is about a foot high off the dirt.

Be well,