Good morning!!!!

[sodamo]

65°F and .04 inches rain

Yesterday went pretty much as expected. My cataract prepping starts tomorrow although no idea when surgery will be yet but if ready I can take advantage of a cancellation.

Dilation recovery seems longer than usual, eyes more sensitive to sun.

Back to caretaker project today.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Dad had cataract surgery several yrs ago, helped him a lot.

 

[RoyJackson]

Dad had cataract surgery several yrs ago, helped him a lot.

So did I

 

[Looking4new]

L4N the CRS2 we use is never above 180 degrees

That goes for the HF 100 we use for surface treating. The AC cement comes into the terminal at about 320 +/-, then they make the HF 100 from it.

 

[daugen]

gstrom, make sure you have enough ventilation with that nasty stuff. Sounds like a witch's brew

320 degree cement. Sure wouldn't want that splashed on you.

one of my closest friends here just had double cataract surgery and is doing very well.
He says he really does see white now, vs a kind of beige. He's delighted.
David, good luck.

headed out to look like a crazy person.
Really.
Going to get in my truck and drive it back and forth over the new gravel to pack it down
To anyone watching it will look very strange...like I'm stuck. Pretty tight quarters actually, I'm constantly setting
off the backup alarms as I stick my hitch into a large evergreen.
Will need 4wd not to spin. May put it in 4H Locked since I'm not turning much or sharply and going very slow

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! The low was a chilly 3°, going up to 42°, sunny, but winds kicking in this afternoon to 35-40 mph w/ gusts to 60.... hold on to the hats.... The high for tomorrow supposed to be 35°.

This forecasts over the past few days have been everything but consistent.... first predicting 6-8" of snow, 12 hours later, no snow..... Then next day back to predicting 2-3", then nothing again..... Last night back to a few inches, this morning, maybe a dusting..... I guess we'll have to just wait and see???

A heads up for you guys down in Tx..... it's comin' your way!

I had an early morning appointment in town this morning and driving back up through the canyon was interesting to say the least.... a very strong headwind and crosswind gusts. The trucks were getting swayed all over. Almost scary when you're driving a small subcompact car in between 2 of 'em..... After about 5 miles, the wind calmed down a little and driving was better. I need to do a repeat of this morning's trip this afternoon.... I hope it won't be as challenging

The wifey's Ipad went kaput Monday while she was paying some bills. We tried hard booting it and then restoring it a couple times.... nope! It would only come back to the same spot that it locked up at, then keep freezing. Gave up on it, so got her a new one. Then, of course , a new screen protector and hard case.... That was a quick $$$ out of the account. We were lucky to find one that she wanted, most places out of stock, even online.
Almost as bad as the R/C hobby, walk out of the hobby store $200 lighter with just a small 2x2" box.... jeez....

When I got home this morning, wifey was at the pellet stove, trying to get it back on.... It through an alarm saying to check the burn pot. Looked ok through the glass.... I'm letting it cool down so I can get a better look inside. Turned on the electric backup heat being it's still in the low teens outside. The little silver disc outside is spinning like a top.....

I guess I better get into the stove and see what's wrong....

Everyone have a great day!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I open my pellet stove while it’s burning, to knock down ashes when it’s getting full, or pull some out of burn pot, or scrape bottom of burn pot.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I open my pellet stove while it’s burning, to knock down ashes when it’s getting full, or pull some out of burn pot, or scrape bottom of burn pot.

Got it done! Apparently, the burn pot got clogged. After I fired it back up, I noticed that I forgot to lower the L&R ash deflectors...... opened the door while burning and knocked them down into place.
I definitely don't think I want to do that often though.....

 

[rswyan]

29F and cloudy @ 14:00, calling for a high of 31F around 17:00 then down to 22F for a low overnight. High tomorrow will be back up to around 37F.

Current soil temp 36F, 24 hour average temp 42.9F, 5 day average 33F.

Sheet cake turned out good. Actually forgot to set the oven up to 375F (was already at 350F from The Woman warming up her chicken for dinner) ... but cake was still done and seemed maybe just a little moister.

Hopper and tube feeders still have little left in them but they will need refilled later along with the deer feeder. Several cardinals and others out around the feeders. No blackbirds though.

Working on negotiating a deal for a Gamo Whisper VH pellet rifle in exchange for a little welding work. Hopefully will be good to take out some of the chipmunks, starlings, and other non-native invasive species. Might even do a little squirrel hunting at some point ...

Finish up some emails and get those sent off on agenda, plus fish room maintenance and see what else crops up.

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable, productive, and safe Hump Day ...

 

[rswyan]

RNG,

Have been pretty happy with the Ariat's I got from Tractor Supply. The soles are still attached on the old pair (as well as the new ones of course) but I still haven't got around to taking them in to have the stitching repaired on the uppers. The inserts do eventually get crushed down ... but those Dr. Scholl's gel inserts that Sodamo recommended seem to be a good solution to that problem at a reasonable cost.

They do offer them in Wide (EE) but no speed laces in the particular version I have.

Also offered in wide square toe and wide square steel toe versions.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Got it done! Apparently, the burn pot got clogged. After I fired it back up, I noticed that I forgot to lower the L&R ash deflectors...... opened the door while burning and knocked them down into place.
I definitely don't think I want to do that often though.....

Good you got it going. When I open the door on mine it immediately changes to a different mode, think it cuts off the fan to the burn but exhaust still runs. So not much smoke comes out and very little flame with door open.

 

[PJSprog]

Working on negotiating a deal for a Gamo Whisper VH pellet rifle in exchange for a little welding work. Hopefully will be good to take out some of the chipmunks, starlings, and other non-native invasive species. Might even do a little squirrel hunting at some point ...

I've been threatening for years to pick up one of the Benjamin NP Trail piston air rifles. One of the regulars over on the Gun Time thread recently suggested taking a look at the DAR PcP rifles. I like what I see, especially at the price.

Barter is an even better price, though. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Thomas]

Noon temp 55F now 36F wind rocking the trees.

Able clean up LOT limbs/branches today,still lot more to go.
Another good day of melting lot farm fields facing south has little to no snow,brooks have many ice jams looks like many more to come.

Not plan this evening dinner good movie early to bed out the door well before day break.

Enjoy your evening all.


Another sign mud season near.

 

[toppop52]

Dad had cataract surgery several yrs ago, helped him a lot.

Mine is scheduled for April and May.

 

[Buppies]

If it’s like mine Toppop it will be a breeze one eye 20\400 other 20\600 now 20\25 I am a happy camper for 20 years

 

[Buppies]

PJ have a Sheridan pellet rifle really enjoy the old boy. My grandfather had it asked me to shoot it once and he picked out the target I hit it not once but twice he said I could shoot it better than he could so it was mine probably mid 70s

 

[RoyJackson]

If it’s like mine Toppop it will be a breeze one eye 20\400 other 20\600 now 20\25 I am a happy camper for 20 years

I remember when I got my first cataract operation...I was given some kind of tranquilizer...something like that, which really, really relaxed me...
I remember singing (or trying to sing) this song

Now, when I sing, I sound like Kermit the Frog...

 

[rswyan]

RS, interesting US chart...would be curious to see it with a line plotted for demand. Production dropped off since demand went down during the lockdown...

Production dropped off ... after the alligators came.

That was a worldwide phenomena ... not just in the US, as the charts I posted clearly showed.

Big part of that was less demand ... but another part of it was storage, as in lack of ...

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Plunged Global Oil Prices

Remember when oil prices actually went negative ?

U.S. could face crude oil storage problem, recovery from COVID-19 could bring respite

Another (secondary, tertiary ?) driver of it was when oil prices fell, rigs were shut down ... largely due to economics.

A grand total of 50 energy companies filed for bankruptcy during the first nine months of 2020, including 33 oil and gas producers, 15 oilfield services companies and two midstream companies.

There was fallout in the oil industry with smaller producers, particularly in the shale oil sector - which itself appears to have been an unprofitable venture overall. Hard to attract investors when there isn't a return.

The U.S. Shale Revolution Has Surrendered to Reality

I wonder if US production has returned enough to keep up with demand. I went to that website but didn't see that as an option.

Well, we aren't seeing "shortages" to the extent that there is rationing and lines at gas stations so I'd say it's a safe bet that the demand is largely being met from somewhere ...

Oil imports expected to rise in 2021 (and they did) and in 2022 ... in order to meet demand.

Another aspect of all this that pertains to retail pricing is the role that OPEC plays ... they're big producers and several of their large producers basically control the "spare capacity" valve ... it's obviously in their interest to see higher prices ... provided that it doesn't excessively constrain demand.

Middle Eastern Oil Nations Hike Prices As Production Falters

OTOH, OPEC Plus probably saved a good bit of the oil industry - by agreeing to slash their production during the alligators.

In July '21 OPEC plus promised to up production by an additional 400,000 barrels a day. For the past several months they have achieved about half that. That just might say something ...

Beyond that, refiners' margins play some role as well ... as they seek to recoup losses caused by those pesky alligators.

Long story short:

There's undoubtedly more to it, but it's a complex situation with many inter-related parts which have the ability to influence other parts ... and probably there is no "magic wand" that is going to fix it overnight.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good you got it going. When I open the door on mine it immediately changes to a different mode, think it cuts off the fan to the burn but exhaust still runs. So not much smoke comes out and very little flame with door open.

Ours doesn't switch modes, so flame wants to jump out and bite you! If the door is just a little bit ajar, you have about 10 seconds before it shuts down and sounds an alarm like a smoke detector. Luckily, if you press the 'off' button, it will shut up.

I wish I can adapt that feature to use on some people I know.....

 

[rswyan]

I've been threatening for years to pick up one of the Benjamin NP Trail piston air rifles. One of the regulars over on the Gun Time thread recently suggested taking a look at the DAR PcP rifles. I like what I see, especially at the price.

I've been following his posts on those - they're actually what got me thinking about it initially.

Barter is an even better price, though.

Might be hard to beat ...

Hope it works out for you.

Me too.

We'll see.

If it doesn't I might well go the DAR PcP route.