Good morning!!!!

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The story I heard was that the band was formed by a number of blokes who regularly attended an unemployment job center and U2 was the G/ment form number they had to fill in each week to get the unemployment benefit.

I was more impressed by the SR71 which replaced the U2 although the SR71 is now no longer flying.

UB-40 the unemployment band. I think the SR71 was most awesome. Read up on Kelly Johnson skunkworks if you like a good read.

I’ve driven that stretch many times. Got a nephew up that way now in pataskala area.
When I lived in Columbus during college, I was a basketball official, so drive to the suburbs a lot to make me $25 lol.
My aunt and uncle lived in Whitehall on East side.

Now that was a dangerous job I bet. Nowadays, even the cheer squads get in fights at basketball games.

https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article240057408.html


My wifey and my date went well. We were not able to get a reservation at original choice, but a good substitute was found.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 53F at 4:45AM. Sunny. High near 65F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

Thanks for posting that septic tank video, Wng. It's been ten years since the one here was pumped, but it was designed for a family of four, and with only me living here, I figure it's about time to do it again. I don't remember the septic guy using a gauge on it last time, but he was doing an inspection prior to sale that required that the tank be pumped. We'll see if he does it this time. We'll also see how much the cost has gone up in ten years; last time it was $600. Another reason I waited so long is that one of the plastic lids on the tank was cracked, which stunk up that part of the yard. I replaced it, but then learned that whoever installed the tank somehow bowed the opening so that the lid doesn't seal. I tried using drywall screws on it, but that didn't help, so I covered it with a free HF tarp and buried it in pea gravel. I'm not looking forward to digging it up again.

The MRI they used on me three weeks ago was made by GE, and I don't remember it being particularly warm in there. As others have mentioned, it was rather confined, which doesn't bother me. It was LOUD though, even with the headphones they gave me to wear. At least they let me pick classic rock to listen to, during the pauses between the clicks and buzzes.:laughing:

Hope all that ice didn't cause too much damage. I noticed yesterday that last weeks high winds here took out another live oak here, toppling it across the empty firewood pallets, breaking a couple of them. Maybe that tree was extracting vengeance for for all its brothers and sisters that were stacked on those pallets?:laughing:

You're a good man to help out the widow like that, Drew, and I hope you find she's in good financial shape. I also hope there's something they can do for all the aches and pains!

Nice shot of the moon, Ron. Just goes to show what you can do with a good camera/lens, and a steady hand. Never had any luck trying to shoot the moon with a cell phone camera; the images just show a fuzzy white blob. Moon rise here was about an hour before sunset, and the moon was very large and bright as it peeked over the horizon. What time did it rise for you?

Spent all day yesterday in the tractor seat, mostly working on the terrace cut for the generator pad. Still not as smooth and level as I'd like it, just too many rocks and hard patches of clay for either the box blade or bucket to cut evenly without gouging or catching on something and skating. But it's probably good enough, as I can get some gravel down and just level that. Got the spoil cleaned up on four of the six holes, too, but then the tractor ran out of fuel. Put more in but it wouldn't start, and the thumb wheel was broken off the bleed valve. I'd purchased a new valve last year, and was even able to find it. Even better, swapping just the gland nut and needle between the old and new let me leave the old valve body in place, making the repair fairly painless. And there was just enough charge left in the battery to get the tractor going again. Job 1 this morning is to top off the tank, and refill the 5 gallon jug that got emptied into the tractor...

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

UB-40 the unemployment band. I think the SR71 was most awesome. Read up on Kelly Johnson skunkworks if you like a good read.

I read somewhere this week that the boys in the Skunkworks are busy again designing a replacement for the SR71, Kyle. Wonder how long it'll be before we get a peek at it?:confused2:

 

[ronjhall]

Ron ... great moon picture! Please remind me which telephoto lens you bought.

Prayers to all.

Great pictures.
My big lens that I used for moon and many of my pictures is a Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary. They also make same size in a Sport model. It is almost double the price. And weighs over 2 lbs more.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low of 25, going up to 55 today. Wind finally dropped off at around 3 am.

I was looking at the barometric pressures during this last wind event and the storm moving up to the East / NE. It was 29.7 in. on Feb 6th at 2:30 pm. Went up to 30.05 this morning at 6am.... no wonder we had wind... everything was getting sucked into the low pressure.

Now we are forecast for maybe 5-6 inches of snow for Monday and Tuesday. Why couldn’t snow happen BEFORE the wind.... would have kept the dirt down.

Drew, good to hear that you are doing better. Hopefully the MRI won’t show anything of major change. Nice that you are helping the neighbor.

RNG, I bet you are feeling a bit less anxious now that all the pieces / parts have arrived. Sounded like some good seat time!
Wow! ... $600 for pumping the tank? We paid $200 to pump ours a couple years ago. It is a 1750 gal tank. Now that we hooked up to the community water system, they charge $5 a month for septic service.... they pump it every two years now.

Watching the news this morning saw lots of damage reported up and down the East coast. Now they are reporting heavy flooding in parts of the PNW. They interviewed a couple that just completed their new home about a month ago, it got totally destroyed by flooding, now threats of mudslides.

Some quick errands this morning... need to get some brad nails for my pneumatic finish gun so I can assemble the end table project. I was going to mortise and tenon the joints.... wifey said not to waste my time.....ok, that’s easier ...

Everyone have a great weekend!

 

[ronjhall]

Tractor has a new battery. Drove up to back auto service door at Walmart. Guy working service desk had me in and out in 5 minutes. Was a lot of crud behind battery blocking air flow to radiator. Cleanup and back together. Used tractor to clean up latest accumulation of snow.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Ron, neat picture of the moon... it sure was bright out last night. I used to do a lot of photography back in the 80s.... I still have my Nikon F2. Only have a 52mm and a 135mm lens. I haven’t touched it in 15 years..... too easy to use the phone now....

 

[Looking4new]

I just got back from the drug store. The temp according to the computer in the Dodge was -18°F. I don't think I will work outside today and the tractor can sit there in the cold.

 

[sodamo]

60°F and no rain.
Plan is to start erecting carport this morning. Slow and easy.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[Scrambler82]

I've had a few people suggest bringing the ad to the dealership, I think most don't bring it !
I am disgusted with the Dealerships, it is fraud, plain and simple.

I went to the Dealerships looked and talked, went home, found an add for an Overland Jeep Gladiator, with a price of $41 K.
Went to the same Dealership and their excuse is the "Dealer Installable Option Charge", WTF is that ! Your ad stated $41K for this truck and nothing changed.
I was looking for the Gladiator Sport that was in stock, turns out the Dealership decided to take the Sport and put a Lift Kit and some other Off-Road Mods on it... raised that price to the high side of 40K.
There is no winning with Car Dealerships, so I am stepping back, fixing up my old Girl, a 2003 Ford Ranger 4x EDGE, she still run well enough and I get the same if not better MPG than most of the trucks being sold today.

The RidgeLine, it has too much of a Cross-Over Look,(the Wife loves the Ridge Line), the same as the new Ford Ranger, that look is not for me. Its like the Manufacturers have buildt a reworked car and calling it a Truck. I'm still hooked on an F-250, Race Red, with a few extra option, might take me a little longer but I will keep my eyes open for a good deal.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I read somewhere this week that the boys in the Skunkworks are busy again designing a replacement for the SR71, Kyle. Wonder how long it'll be before we get a peek at it?:confused2:

I want to say I read where NASA has got multiple designs they've been working on. I'm kind of hoping they have a few tricks up their sleeve in reserve. The world has been a bit crazy in some areas...

Watching your progress. You could have a party with that genny and never notice the power going off.

They were showing a new concept Mercedes "Vanagon" Van for popup camping. They didn't say the price.

Right now, around here, if anyone opens up an RV camp, no matter how ugly, it gets filled almost immediately. I'm guessing mostly due to oilfield, but wondering if property taxes are driving some of it???

Drew, hope you and your medical team can get you comfortable. I don't like MRI's either. I have shoulder pains and they want me to put my arms above my head for extended time...which hurts.

Ron, nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

Sodamo made me laugh the other day, passing the concrete pad "torch" off to RNG.

My elderly mom traveled to San Diego with my sister. She left her car here. It needs a new battery. Headed to Wally world later for a "NeverStart". I have to go pick her up from the airport this afternoon.

Just went and picked up some small Celebrity tomato seedlings about 4" high. 2 six packs.

Don, please remind me where you all get that special nuclear growing dirt that does so well?

L4N, I'm glad you like cold weather.

I was just looking at the 10 day forecast to see if there are any freezes predicted. None. They show one night getting down to 37F, with rain coming. We need some. These warmer days have me wanting to put stuff in the garden. I did plant some early last year, and they froze. A $3.95 setback.

I need to get my septic tanks "slurped" out. I want to say about $400 if I dig and uncover all 3 lids. Makes me wonder if they recommend re-filling with water to keep them safely in the ground?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

There is no winning with Car Dealerships, so I am stepping back, fixing up my old Girl, a 2003 Ford Ranger 4x EDGE, she still run well enough and I get the same if not better MPG than most of the trucks being sold today.

You'll get no argument from me on that, Scrambler, and I'm sorry you've been treated that way.

Maybe not what you want to hear, but Jeep products have gotten pretty much bottom of the barrel ratings for years for reliability on Consumer Reports. Ford's are better, but still only middle of the road.

They'll have to pry my '00 F250 SuperDuty from my cold, dead hands.

 

[mpham]

As promised driveway pic.Wasn't as slippery as I thought it would be.

 

[RoyJackson]

Boy, it's cold!

Got most of the frozen snow out of the snow blower chute but the hydraulic rotator won't rotate. I hit it with a blow dryer for a while, but still no rotation...I hope the motor hasn't gone belly up.
Tractor's plugged in and, hopefully with a bit warmer weather tomorrow, I can get everything functional...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Watching your progress. You could have a party with that genny and never notice the power going off.

The inverter is pretty fast at switching, and I'm pretty sure all power for the house will now come only from the batteries, so there should be no blink when the utility power goes out. But I'll be able to configure it so that I get an email or text message if utility power goes on/off, or the generator starts/stops. Sure beats heck out of having to go out to the electric meter to see if the LCD display is on.

They were showing a new concept Mercedes "Vanagon" Van for popup camping. They didn't say the price.

You know what they say: "If you have to ask, you can't afford the price!"

Sodamo made me laugh the other day, passing the concrete pad "torch" off to RNG.

We'll see about that. I might get a start with one of the posts today, but first I need to finish cleaning up the spoils from the last two holes, then get the steel unloaded, then get the posts cut to length, then fire up the concrete mixer to make sure it still works, then put new tubes in both of its tires. Not likely I'll get through all that today...

She left her car here. It needs a new battery. Headed to Wally world later for a "NeverStart".

Been using the WalMart batteries in the Kubota tractor and side-by-side for years, and a marine battery from there at the gate, too. And I just put a new WalMart battery in the van. They still get good reviews.

I need to get my septic tanks "slurped" out. I want to say about $400 if I dig and uncover all 3 lids. Makes me wonder if they recommend re-filling with water to keep them safely in the ground?

I don't remember refilling my septic tank after it was pumped out the last time, Kyle. I thought the video Wng posted said something about it, but I couldn't find it when I watched it again. Maybe Wng can comment after his pumping experience today?

 

[wngsprd]

The inverter is pretty fast at switching, and I'm pretty sure all power for the house will now come only from the batteries, so there should be no blink when the utility power goes out. But I'll be able to configure it so that I get an email or text message if utility power goes on/off, or the generator starts/stops. Sure beats heck out of having to go out to the electric meter to see if the LCD display is on.



You know what they say: "If you have to ask, you can't afford the price!"



We'll see about that. I might get a start with one of the posts today, but first I need to finish cleaning up the spoils from the last two holes, then get the steel unloaded, then get the posts cut to length, then fire up the concrete mixer to make sure it still works, then put new tubes in both of its tires. Not likely I'll get through all that today...



Been using the WalMart batteries in the Kubota tractor and side-by-side for years, and a marine battery from there at the gate, too. And I just put a new WalMart battery in the van. They still get good reviews.



I don't remember refilling my septic tank after it was pumped out the last time, Kyle. I thought the video Wng posted said something about it, but I couldn't find it when I watched it again. Maybe Wng can comment after his pumping experience today?

The guy just asked me to flush the toilet several times so he could watch the flow to make sure everything looked good. My tank is a 1,500 gallon concrete one with a concrete lid. $385, after the senior citizen discount. More than last time, a bunch of years ago.

 

[toppop52]

44 and breezy, had 55 mph gusts yesterday and 2+ inches of rain, pretty sunshine today.
Sold my Monte Carlo. Been busy with that.

 

[txdon]

Mostly, here is the bed extender pic requested.

Kyle 400 sounds about right from Ace Hardware in Giddings. If it's not going to rain for a while no water was necessary but if the ground gets saturated you should put water in the septic tank to keep it down. I filled my half full of water the last time I had it cleaned.

My garden soil is a mixture of homemade compost from my 60 gallon compost barrel and mushroom compost and garden club compost and acid compost (to offset alkaline well water). The greenhouse SIG does free PH soil test and my results will be available Tuesday.

 

[jbrumberg]

A mostly sunny 15ºF for today’s low. A mostly sunny 23ºF presently which is probably close to today’s high temperature. My truck which had not moved since before the previous icing event required close to an hour of deicing following yesterday’s icing event just to make the dump run. It was a 4WD dump run this AM. I saw quite a bit of tree damage on the trip.

Eric- Procol Harem fans were/are a unique breed.

Lou- I am sorry to read about your slush management. Operating the tractor in slush conditions is not my idea of fun.

Trails End- Thanks for sharing your pictures of snow and one content looking sleeping dog.

Bruce- Thanks, I would not want to see myself in a dark alley either

RNG- Thanks for sharing your snow picture.

Phil- I am happy to read that your gout and BP symptoms have resolved. Take care on the ice. I see a couple of snow/mixed precipitation/rain events early next week in our futures here in MA.

RonJH- You were awesome steady for your moon picture. Thanks for sharing. If I tried that the moon would look like a lightning bolt. :embarrassed: Good luck with the MRI.

Bill- Since I retired I no longer manage snow in the dark and/or in the rain if I can avoid it.

Billy- Thanks for the wood ash offer. I still have not thrown any ashes around in the driveway. No way am I am going outdoors without wearing either my YakTrax or crampons. We have our septic tank emptied every 3 years.

Drew- It was really nice of you to offer some financial advice to the widow. I really hope that you can find relief.

Grev- Good luck with the truck search.

Thanks for the shared pictures. I appreciate all of them.

I hope that everyone is having a manageable weekend.

My thoughts, wishes, and prayers.

 

[LouNY]

Well afternoon all its warmed up to a balmy 22F today after starting out at 12F this morning.
After all the rain we got yesterday then the snow that followed it had to do some plowing yesterday afternoon and most of this morning.
The forecast 2-4" ended up at well over 8". We got lucky and our power stayed on last night many lost theres and are still out.
Took a few pictures this morning before I got started plowing and sanding;


and a couple of close ups,




Took several hours today by the time I finished plowing,
some places that I hadn't plowed yesterday the ground wasn't froze so working with mud, ice and snow so much fun.
Got ready to sand and the sanders battery was dead, had to boost it off, it's on the charger now.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and stays safe.

Those mri machines are not very big, had my shoulder done last week go in and talk to surgeon Monday,
tendon tear from early this past summer talking surgery and no use of the arm for 6 weeks, we will see.
The fun never ends :drink: