Good Morning!!!! 65F @ 4:15AM. Sunny. High 86F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
AQI 18 and 140, inside and outside. Ran the furnace fan most of yesterday afternoon and in four hours brought it down from 155 to 9. Not sure an air purifier would be any more effective than that.:confused2:
Could you tell us a little more about the monitoring program you participate in, Don? Seems to me if there's a way to measure plaque buildup in your arteries, doctors should be able to tell you it's time to adopt a plant based diet, then monitor your progress as the miracle of healing takes place. But if you don't have plaque buildup to start with, why bother?
Seems like the Whip really enjoyed her roll in the used hay, Don. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you could keep some at your new place, and let her have her way with it just before you were going to give her a bath anyway?:laughing:
I was cleaning out a closet yesterday, Eric, and came across an old North Face parka. It was made from a blend of nylon and cotton, the idea being that the cotton would swell when it got wet and let the nylon shed water. The idea was better than the result, and though it kept me from becoming drenched, the liner was always damp and cold. It will join various ill fitting shoes, unfashionable pants, and ill chosen shirts in a bag that will go to a local second hand business run for and by developmentally disabled people. The parka's replacement is still a little old fashioned: a waxed cotton horseman's riding coat with tails long enough to tuck under my butt and keep it dry on those wet rides in the side-by-side up to get the mail. Perfectly matched by a waxed cotton wide brim hat, complete with chin strap and slider. Giddy up! But I do use GoreTex: it's in the floss I use on my teeth!:laughing:
Hope the rain doesn't ruin your weekend, Buppies. Any word on the CV19 tests?
The converted cargo container looks like it'll be nice and cozy, David. Are you going to plug the row of vents that run along the top of the walls, or leave them in for ventilation?
Hope you find your moose before he finds you, Thomas. Out here, it's spiders that give the motion triggered cameras fits.
That's a LOT of rain, Rick. Hope you dry out soon...
Broke the plastic quick disconnect fuel fitting on a fairly new BMW motorcycle a good number of years ago, Ted. Then broke the plastic flange it threaded into. Of course, the BMW dealer never heard of such problems, yet the internet was full of people that had the same thing happen. Contacted the manufacturer of the fuel fittings and was told they recommended BMW use the metal version of the same fitting, which I promptly bought from them. Then started my first 3D CAD design to replace the plastic flange with an aluminum one which I machined and welded out in the shop. TEN YEARS later, BMW finally issued a recall for the plastic parts, which I took advantage of because I was selling the bike. Not sure it was a case of better late than never, because their replacement parts were
still made out of plastic!
Thanks for the tip on Boost Controller, DavidMFW. You're right, their prices are good! But I know I'll have the ones I ordered from McMaster-Carr in a day or two, and they had the spring clamps I want to use as well. I even picked up a pair of the special pliers that work with them...
Last time I forgot my wallet, Drew, I was ten hours and 750 miles south of home, on the first day of a month long trip. In a gas station almost out of fuel. On a Friday when every farm worker and their brother was in line at the local bank to cash their paycheck. Had enough in the tank to get to a bigger town, dug my account number out of the iPhone and signed so they could compare the signature, and got enough cash to turn right around and go back home. I lost two day's travel, but it was better than going without a wallet for a month, if such a thing was even possible.
Sounds like they don't even have a clue of how much they're gonna miss you when you're gone, Phil. Be ready for an "interesting" conversation with your old boss in a month or two. How good are you at faking sympathy?:laughing:
I was digging around on a Subaru forum yesterday when I found a post about EGR problems on another fella's engine swap. It seems in California, in the year range of my engine, only cars with automatic transmissions came with EGR systems. And if the Engine Management Unit (computer) didn't sense the auto, it wouldn't even try to talk to the EGR. The solution was to inject 5VDC into another one of the computer's sense leads. So I figgered, what have I got to lose? It didn't seem to make any difference at first, but then I remembered the smog tech telling me that the EGR would only work when the engine was at operating temperature. And sure enough, once it got hot enough, the EGR would open when I blipped the throttle. It didn't open much, but enough to tell it works. I'm hoping the new silicone vacuum lines will help, but I'm gonna bring a DVM with me so I can show the smog tech that the valve is being operated when I go in for the retest next week.
Also got a call letting me know the new oscilloscope shipped yesterday, and I also got an email from Everything Attachments with a tooth bar drawing for me to approve. They finally got their laser fixed and are ready to start work on it. FedEx delivered a few new security cams, too. Good thing I went up to get them as soon as I saw the delivery notice/email. The guy left it on the ground behind the gate in plain sight, instead of inside the lock box. Prolly the same guy that tried to drive off the back of the property a couple months ago. Just can't fix stupid.

And just like yesterday, the smoke cleared out and a gentle breeze on the back porch made for some very comfortable evening sipping weather. Jimmy's first album was one of his best! But just before sundown I noticed a monstrous white cloud building up to the southeast, just like it did when the Bear Fire came to visit. CalFire was conducting another back burn, but hadn't bothered to let anybody know. Social media was hopping with people packing their cars and getting ready to evacuate again, and a sole CalFire rep telling everyone to calm down. Then someone else raised the alarm of another huge smoke cloud on the north end of the fire, and yep, it was another unannounced CalFire "controlled" burn. I'm still here and there's no further news of alarms, so I suppose those fires didn't get away from them overnight. But I'll feel better when it's light enough and I don't see any more thunderhead sized smoke clouds.
Not long before those fire drills, the local Sheriff's Office lifted the evacuation warnings for this area. Made sighting those new smoke clouds even more exciting!
And just to keep us on our toes, PG&E announced "Elevated" chances for another PSPS electrical outage over the weekend. Same story: High winds and very low humidity, again coming out of the north. The fun never ends.
Hang in there, gang, Friday's comin'!