Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

I was looking at Wunderground fire mapping since it was pretty hazy out here.
was surprised at how many fires are going on in Africa. Brazil, sure, they've been burning South America down for a long time.
But Africa? Or is this just the African savana on fire due to lightning or something natural?
It really stands out on this map.
Does anyone know why Africa is on fire?
every fire adds crap to the air.

of course, I'd like a map tracking all methane output from cows and trash dumps.
Bessie, you just have to expel less gas dear.

those oceans are really warm. I bet the turquoise waters in the Abacos are like bathwater.
problem is that's not so good for the coral
can imagine all that warm water will affect wildlife, hope it adapts
guess we'll have bigger crocs in Florida...

the drowning tragedy that happened 15 miles away from here was due to a tropical dump of water, apparently six inches in only a few hours.
That is very uncommon here, we are used to more gentle rains.
I've been through these tropical buckets on your head in South Florida.
you expect it in South Florida, all that heat and it has to go somewhere.
Six inches of water flooding streets right to tops of curbs happened fairly regularly.
But not here. Those folks were washed away by something very unexpected.
That horrible tornado alert that came out of my cell phone a few days ago, woke me up from sound sleep, I wish our
visitors from Charleston had something like that go off on their car radio. Tell them to get off the streets.

We've had plenty of floods here, but nothing like an arroyo out West in a heavy rain.

having visitors from Charleston drown in our area is an eye opener.
There is a reason I live on top of a hill. Always wanted to be near the water but not in it.

Ken, hope your place is doing ok.

 

[KilroyJC]

I was looking at Wunderground fire mapping since it was pretty hazy out here.
was surprised at how many fires are going on in Africa. Brazil, sure, they've been burning South America down for a long time.
But Africa? Or is this just the African savana on fire due to lightning or something natural?
It really stands out on this map.
Does anyone know why Africa is on fire?
every fire adds crap to the air.

of course, I'd like a map tracking all methane output from cows and trash dumps.
Bessie, you just have to expel less gas dear.

those oceans are really warm. I bet the turquoise waters in the Abacos are like bathwater.
problem is that's not so good for the coral
can imagine all that warm water will affect wildlife, hope it adapts
guess we'll have bigger crocs in Florida...

the drowning tragedy that happened 15 miles away from here was due to a tropical dump of water, apparently six inches in only a few hours.
That is very uncommon here, we are used to more gentle rains.
I've been through these tropical buckets on your head in South Florida.
you expect it in South Florida, all that heat and it has to go somewhere.
Six inches of water flooding streets right to tops of curbs happened fairly regularly.
But not here. Those folks were washed away by something very unexpected.
That horrible tornado alert that came out of my cell phone a few days ago, woke me up from sound sleep, I wish our
visitors from Charleston had something like that go off on their car radio. Tell them to get off the streets.

We've had plenty of floods here, but nothing like an arroyo out West in a heavy rain.

having visitors from Charleston drown in our area is an eye opener.
There is a reason I live on top of a hill. Always wanted to be near the water but not in it.

Ken, hope your place is doing ok.

Don’t worry - before long the board will be filled with people complaining about shoveling their driveways…

 

[kenmbz]

Nah, we know how to deal with snow and I spent part of my childhood in western MA.

The rain here is a new phenomenon. We are used to the river flooding, not flooding on the side of a mountain. We have areas that were trashed that have been fine since the 1600's.

Hopefully just a weather cycle and we will get out of it eventually.

This is also the most people killed in one day in the towns history, not a good record to set.
A very sad weekend.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 78F @ 5:45AM. Sunny. Hot. High 106F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Weather guesser vastly over estimated the high temp: Only got to 106F instead of the predicted 110F. So if that pattern continues, we should only see 102F today.

That's way too much rain all at once, Ken. Hope you can keep things above water. This past winter we had public service announcements that said "Turn around, don't drown". Too many people ignore that advice and end up stranded in their cars, or worse.

Welcome TT and JJ, and any new lurkers out there...

Thanks, Ron, but as I recall Get Smart was one of those TV shows only watched when there was nothing better on. You know, back in the day when we only got three channels, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was the spy show to watch?

I did screen the first three episodes of the last season of Jack Ryan, though. It's getting a bit long in the tooth, but still mostly maintains my attention.

Got a little unboxing done yesterday, a shop vac accessory kit for the new shop vac. Longer hose, some brush attachments, and an exhaust port muffler. Except this new vac doesn't have the typical round port you can stick the hose into. Two heavily baffled ports take its place and that's why it is so quiet. But no more blowing stuff off with the shop vac. More stuff to go back to Amazon next time I'm in town.

The main distraction yesterday was continued silence from the home seller. Then about 10AM I noticed that the open house they had scheduled for the day had been canceled. My realtor hadn't heard anything, so all we could do was sit and wait. I'd already given up and started an interaction with a developer putting in a bunch of new homes elsewhere in town. That neighborhood isn't as nice or convenient, but the homes will be brand new and I can pick colors and such. But the current phase is sold out of 3-car garages, and I really don't want to wait another year. Then last night about eight I got the home seller's decision to accept my bid for their home. Took their sweet time, didn't they? If things go right escrow will open today. Then if we can get through the inspections (including my own, since I haven't even stepped foot in the place yet), we'll close in 25 days. Gonna be a long, tired, summer...

 

[kenmbz]

RNG - fingers crossed this all works out and the engineers report comes in clean.

 

[daugen]

made a first pass at mapping trip out West.
weather is a big part considering Glacier National, Colorado passes, etc. so timing this is important.
And not sure which direction to start in, Southern or Northern, that of course will depend upon weather.
I'm figuring six weeks on the road. Spring or Fall. Primary goal is seeing sister in Muir Beach CA, just above SF.
and her four grandchildren I have never met. Uncle Drew is coming to town...

I've seen a gazillion pics of the Utah parks, both my best friend and my sister have sent pics multiple times.
Since I can't walk far, can't hike, I need scenery I can mostly see from the highway.
Pretty sure the Northern Rockies will give me that.
But absolutely not driving in snow so this leaves about a four month window.

the part through Texas is very flexible. I figure on staying in a few spots there a few days.
I realized I could get to my relative's home in Salida CO on the "southern" route and not the northern as before.
Not interested in Las Vegas.
Interested in American Indians.
Interested in small town America with diners and home made apple pie.
Interested in meeting GM buddies.
Always like seeing water, lakes, rivers, oceans.

(already planning a trip to Outer Banks this Fall...)

this trip is for the byways, but have to use highways in many places or trip gets too long.
can't have a veggie garden as it is, big downside of this trip
and every three or four days I have to stay at least two days in one spot.
That sleep in morning makes it more fun and easier on me.

once this becomes a reality and not just a plan, I'll move this to another thread.
Head West Not So Young Man II

To do this will likely require a new High Country Silverado with Super Cruise or an F150 Lariat with Blue Cruise.
I have to be able to stop gripping the wheel for short periods. My hands and wrists get swollen and puffy as it is.
hoping tech will be an enabler here. But that's another deep topic.

I will expect everyone's tractors to be washed and ready for pics.

 

[txdon]

85˚ must be the new 75˚, actually felt cool mowing the front yard an inch higher at level 4. Just a few spots in the shade were cut but now it looks even.

Drew as time gets closer we will try to find you a way off of I35 close to Austin. 130 is a 80 mph toll road. I looks like your Austin stop is only about a mile from the new Tesla plant. Tesla should be making the trucks by then.

RNG what are your plans on the place you have now? Will the new house have enough shop room?

 

[scott_vt]

Good Morning Guys,
KilroyJC,

Thats the way I test my planes also, I have used water stones for many years with great success ! I keep 4 different grits in a water buckey in my shop, I think my finest is 1200 grit. I also use a plane holder from Veritas I believe.

M7040, nice job on stacking all that wood, those little mules are very handy, I have the Polaris Ranger and use that to shuttle wood.

Popgadget, nice progress on the speaker project !

77 degs at the moment going to 84, lots of humidity.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG what are your plans on the place you have now? Will the new house have enough shop room?

The new house has a slightly smaller garage, but it makes up some of that by a large mezzanine over the back half, complete with a flight of stairs to get up there. And it opens into the attic, which right now has somewhat haphazard flooring, but that's inexpensive to improve.

What little gardening stuff I have left will fit in a little shed in the back yard. Speaking of yards, they're both small, and since water is so expensive, I'll probably replace much of the lawn with drought tolerant plants and large rocks. I have an abundance of large rocks here, and they will make good reminders of better times here.

There's also a 10'x30' bonus room stretching across one side of the house with its own door into the garage. I'll set up an office just inside that door, and probably store a handful of motorcycles in there, too. Be nice to have an inside bench for other pursuits and crafts as well, and lots of book cases.

Last time I moved took several months, and I've got a lot more junk now than I did then. I'll be going through it all and will likely get rid of a lot of it. Not sure how long all that will take, but the plan is to get the old house on the market by March of '24. So I'll still have one more Spring's worth of tractoring, then the tractor, all the implements, and the side-by-side will get sold off after the home sells. That'll be the end of the F250, and hopefully the VW as well. That's as far as I've thought it through, and it'll undoubtedly change with the circumstances. Haven't even opened escrow yet, and I've yet to experience one that didn't have a few bumps along the way.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

then a local AC service call that was just operator error. Thermostats are getting smarter than the people that use them. There is a lot to be said about the simplicity of a mercury vial on a bimetal coil.

Ain't that the truth.