Good morning!!!!

[Eric Salop]

Good morning. No clouds to hold the sun back but it still seems a little reluctant to poke above the horizon. Fields are white over with frost and thermometer shows -2C/28F. My most sophisticated temperature monitoring device reveals that most of the night has been warmer and there is no serious freeze up threat.



I put the dedicated "weather bucket" into it's own frame earlier this year, to try and prevent my wife from steeling it for cleaning soil off vegetable roots. I'm sure other precision meteorological instruments don't suffer such indignities :laughing:

We don't tend to get the severe winters that many of you living on larger land masses experience, but it's still really useful to know how penetrating the frosts are, so I know such things as when I to drain off water tanks and troughs that otherwise risk damage from expansion after prolonged heavy frosts. Perhaps some weather stations give that at the press of a button, mathematically integrating a series of temperature samples, for me a humble bucket suffices.

LS, pleased to hear your new computer is bringing pleasure to half the household. In this age I suppose we all have to add "not using too much bandwidth" to that long list needed for a happy marriage.

 

[Buppies]

33 high of 47 very windy later

Prayers for all

 

[Eric Salop]

Don, what an incredible price for a replacement bumper ! You are lucky it was an insured driver who seems only too willing to put it right.

Every time I see the extra charged for fancy paint on a new vehicle, or exorbitant repair costs, I can't help but be amazed at how easily most of us are being manipulated into "wanting" this, when in reality it is all done primarily to fulfil the manufacturers greed. I am as guilty as most in this respect, my last car cost several hundred pounds more because I choose metallic paint over the one plain color on offer, when it would have been better to give that extra money to, say, help people with Parkinson's disease.

A car's main purpose is simply to get us around safely and reliably. As long as it doesn't rust, why do we really care about every vehicle having immaculate paintwork ? Would the world be a better place if only cars more than 25 years old had pristine paintwork ?

If every car had blemishes, we would soon get used to it and accept it as the norm, in the same way we do with just about every other object in the natural world.

What do you reckon ?

 

[wngsprd]

31 and ice in my bucket, too. Should see 52 and sun in a little while.

Jay, that's quite the snowfall, and tractor work.

Thomas, good cheer for clearing snow.

Shelf unit assembly for my MIL rescheduled to Thursday, so got a good hike in yesterday instead...had the park forest to ourselves.

Skunk was out early last night, chased it but it got away...saw it this morning at 4:30 and by the time I got outside it was gone...I spent 10 minutes searching for it...but only saw the raccoon.

 

[ronjhall]

Drinking first cup of coffee. 33° with cloudy skies this morning. Heading to 35° with cloudy skies. Got diesel yesterday. Everything is full. Like having the 35 gallon roll around storage tank. No lifting of cans expect in and out of car. Diesel was $2.999 US gallon. Bought 2 digital deadbolt locks for barn and garage. One of them would not work with a key. On it's way back to Amazon.
Either always made my head spin. Had a couple of surgery's when I was a kid using it. Now a days i do not ask what I am getting to put me out. Just get er done. Pain killers after surgery always make me sick.

Eric, frost level in my area is 42" (107 cm). Leaving a bucket of water to check how deep frost will not work here.

Don, sorry about your car damage. Just put a decal over the scratch.


Roy, hope course is not boring.

Randy, getting up from sitting or laying down. Requires I take a couple of moments to make sure I am stable before trying to walk. I think it is a side effect of the blood pressure pill I take or old age. :confused3: Did you get the truck?

David, do Weathertech window deflectors help to keep wind noise down if window is open a little?

Looking, did your chair get delivered.

Prayers and best wishes to all.

Good Morning All.

 

[daugen]

38 going up to 56 today, sunny day.
Off this morning to get oil changed in rv, then probably work on leaves again.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT AND MAKE SURE THE ROLL OVER PROTECTION BAR IS FIXED IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION.

My BIL is close to my age, has owned an excavation company all this life and last week this advice would have helped.
His bulldozer rolled over and without seatbelts, he is now going in for a shoulder operation to repair the damage from smashing up against something while rolling over, thankfully slowly. Truly lucky he wasn't squashed. Familiarity breeds contempt. My guess is this was a real eye opener for him, plus his only two sons work for him, both out of tech school, and unsafe operation is not what you teach your kids. He never mentioned it to me, I think embarrassed, I heard it from other family members.
first he rolls his bulldozer and then he gets hurt unnecessarily.
if he had worked for a large company, they probably have mandatory seat belt wear, but when you're the boss, it's like riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
Good luck...

still annoyed at myself for putting a dent in my truck. Will go to body shop and get the bad news on that tomorrow.

Don, thanks. I think that is the only model with a beige interior. I also think it's the best looking truck, then I go to build one with a small diesel and it comes up, like its competition, at close to 50 grand. That's what I paid for a loaded full size.

I just read that GM said they don't break even on the new mid engine Corvette until the sticker hits 80K, the 60k ones are pure loss leaders and they lose money on every one. But clearly this is what they call a halo car, and what a winner they have. I wish they would review one without the Z51 handling package, see what the ride was like. Most of us would never approach the limits of handling/adhesion
with the most base model. I don't want a car set up for the track... Half these cars are driven by old guys anyway who aren't going to be starring in any drift movies any time soon. Only option I'd get is the selectable performance exhaust. A 495hp naturally aspirated small block must sound just marvelous with open pipes.

hope you all have a nice day. Roy safe drive home

 

[ronjhall]

Great winter pictures. Nothing but gloomy clouds in SE Michigan.

 

[daugen]

Toppop, we're all pulling for you on your operation next week and I hope they give you some great drugs.
You know, where you dream you are on a deserted island with the object of your desires...and since it's a dream, you
get a get out of jail pass and it doesn't have to be your wife. At our age, Sharon Stone comes to mind. You know, the guy discussions about who
you'd like to get stuck on an island with.
Do not try this at home...
Until then...how are you feeling about that truck?

 

[Looking4new]

Good morning,
the temp is 28 and going to a high of 30 °F. Wind E 8 mph. Flurries and it is flurrieing right now. We got about an inch.

The new chair took about 45 minutes to put together. I was surprised to find that the box wasn't all smashed up having travelled almost 10,000 kms (6,500 miles). The supplier is 607 kms/377 miles away. Ther seat/armrests are 22" away from each other and adjustable from side to side (with a little bit of 'creative machining' can be made wider). The back is adjustable, from a 90ï½° angle to almost 45 ï½° angle. I found that the two little cushions that came with it for lumbar support and neck support are both customizable, they have zippers on the back and you can remove the foam and cut it to fit you. All-in-all, I think it was money well spent. $179.95, I saved $110. Regular price $289.95.

The first ding on a new vehicle hurts like he.ll, after that they are just character marks.

The old chair goes to the dump today, to be repurposed.



Have a good day all

 

[daugen]

Great winter pictures. Nothing but gloomy clouds in SE Michigan.

it was like that here for days and my solar powered xmas lights died. Bah Humbug.
Sun is back out, hopefully bright today, so the show will go on tonight.

lot of snow, really big accumulations for many. Winter is on, game on.