Good morning!!!!

[kenmbz]

I really enjoy your pictures and they take me back to my Navy shore duty which was at a Navy Air Facility (NAF) in Naples (Bella Napoli).
Rome was cool...but I thought Venice was dingy...
Did you get to Florence? That is a beautiful city!!

I've been to Florence before and we already had a pretty booked itinerary.
Venice is still a bit dingy and smelly when in the smaller canals.
Falling in the water in Venice would need to be followed by a hospital stay !

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 75F @ 6:15AM. Sunny. High 106F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
The 10-day holds a straight run of 100F+ temps for highs and no rain. Ugh.

Nice ride over the long weekend, no mechanical issues but one of the boots I was wearing lost its zipper. Almost no traffic on the roads, and we made a nice day ride to Sierraville for a Mexican lunch. The other half of the burrito made a tasty breakfast the next day. We only had a dozen or so participants, so I think the weather kept some from making the trip. Highs at the campsite were in the mid 90s, but cooled into the low 60s at night for good sleeping. The keg of double bock beer helped, as did a sort walk to one of the lakes for a dip. I was home before noon yesterday, unpacked and sorted through the mail and email. Ready to start the new week, but not sure where to begin. Hope everyone gets off to a good start.

 

[PJSprog]

68°F and dense fog this morning, going up to 89° today. This will be our only mild day this week, as the rest will be 95-100°.

Mowing plans went by the wayside Saturday morning when The Wife decided she wanted to take a trip over to St. Charles MO to hit up a few places to look for better seat options for our kayaks. We started the morning by picking up her brother in Granite City and having brunch at Denny's. I was a bit disappointed. Service was extremely slow, as they only had two servers, and they were out of all kinds of supplies. We made the best of it, though. It is what it is. We dropped her brother off back at home and headed west. We walked through Cabela's first, and didn't find much suitable for our needs. I think we spent more time ogling the gun stuff. We then hit Bass Pro Shop, and came very close to just buying new kayaks, as they had some on sale. We refrained, though, and eventually found some adjustable back seat pads to try. They were on sale, too, at 40% off. We walked through a place called West Marine just across the parking lot from BPS, then called it a day. It was in the upper 90s, so we conserved energy the rest of the day once we got back home.

Sunday was a rain out day ... or at least it was supposed to be. I think we ended up getting a grand total of about 1/4" all day. We really needed some good rain, and we only got that for about 15 minutes. The rest of the day was just nuisance drizzle. Ground is still hard as a rock.

No more activity over at the motel, Kyle. It's all boarded up with a barricade across the entrance, and they set up one of those temporary video systems in front of our building. The gas station is open again, for now, but there is a police officer parked at one end of the lot watching them pretty much all day.

Seems like it wasn't too long ago that Larro popped in here for an update, Chris. However, the search function tells me it was almost three years ago.

Good morning, gents.

 

[daugen]

a few more pics
Ken changing trans oil
Ken drilling and drilling and drilling and drilling
Paul prepping the surface before welding.
What a great crew.

 

[daugen]

Larry Darrow aka Larro. Hope he is well. He was into walkabouts.
Hope he came back...
crocs just hauled off some 80 year old woman in Florida.
never know when the big critters will get you.
Pretty sure Larro was armed. All I could think of were the bugs out at night at his campsite. Snakes.

need to change into painting and messy clothes and head out to garage.

 

[txdon]

When the hearing aid's lithium rechargeable battery need replacing it needs to be sent in and the cost is $130 ea., and not replaceable after 5 years. That's as much as a lawn mower battery. But when an EV car's battery needs replacing it's $14,000, if technology has not bypassed it and the battery can still be found. The new "battery" devices I guess are expensive disposable items.

Florida family says electric car battery replacement costs more than car

The family said a dealership told the family it would cost them about $14,000 to replace the car's battery.

www.khou.com

 

[RoyJackson]

When the hearing aid's lithium rechargeable battery need replacing it needs to be sent in and the cost is $130 ea., and not replaceable after 5 years. That's as much as a lawn mower battery. But when an EV car's battery needs replacing it's $14,000, if technology has not bypassed it and the battery can still be found. The new "battery" devices I guess are expensive disposable items.

Florida family says electric car battery replacement costs more than car

The family said a dealership told the family it would cost them about $14,000 to replace the car's battery.

www.khou.com

I'll wager a lot of people are gonna get screwed buying any used EV

 

[daugen]

88 out and about a million percent humidity. Soaked shirt just came off.
First an attack by the flap disk, then by wire wheel. Did not grind. Don't mind the look.
Now waiting for primer to dry. Had to come in and cool off.

later hope to pick my first tomato.

Don, I wish Costco hadn't turned me down. I was hoping for a silver bullet. They said no go with Meniere's.
I could not deal with tiny batteries. Plug in would be required for me. Boy I bet I'd lose it...

 

[RoyJackson]

88 out and about a million percent humidity. Soaked shirt just came off.
First an attack by the flap disk, then by wire wheel. Did not grind. Don't mind the look.
Now waiting for primer to dry. Had to come in and cool off.

Nicely done!

Boy, it was 90 here yesterday...69 today and I don't see it getting any warmer. I'm sitting here in shorts and no tee shirt...feeling damn chilly!!
Think I'll close the deck door...

 

[daugen]

Thanks Roy.
I need to clean my front spindles. I'm flinging grease everywhere. Tough to clean inside of wheel.

I saw one little cavity in the weld but I beat on it pretty well and with one coat of primer and two topcoats, it's encapsulated history.
That front steel beam could hold up several of these mowers at once. I'll lose traction before that ball came off.

I have a digital torque meter I could use on that ball when I put it back on. I think I'm going to set it at
as hard as you can without hurting yourself, that much.

But that is days away. Going to let that black paint harden several days before putting the ball back on.
I've jumped the gun too many times in the past. Just be patient and let it dry.

 

[sodamo]

69°F and .07 inches rain

Finished PW the PV panels, about 4 hours and I’ve got some sore shoulders as a reminder. They look good. Wonder if they could be sprayed with a wax?

Probably make a PO run later this morning. Should have some Amazon purchases showing up.

Willing guess the Drew-Paul-Ken meetup was a fun time as well as productive.

Zoom Happy Hour this afternoon.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[rswyan]

76F, moist, and cloudy @ 13:00, calling for a high of around 82F for the day.

We finally hit the precipitation jackpot: 1.03" yesterday ... plus another 1.47" today since midnight ...

Everything is pretty well watered at this point, lawn has greened up in the space of about 36 hours.

Yesterday ended up being kind of a conserve energy day although I did get a few items crossed off the list.

Bag changed out on Japanese Beetle trap, the old one had started to stink.

Decided to slather some more silicone grease on the o-ring for the hand pump sprayer and see if I could make it work.

Remainder of EarliGlo bare root strawberries potted, think it was around 15 or so. Compared to the King Kong strawberries these did not look all that impressive. I'll be impressed if they end up doing anything.

Got some coleus I raised from seed repotted as well, hopefully they'll now take off.

Researched planting and caring for the Oxalis triangularis.

Looked up and printed out an exploded parts diagram for the Kubota, noticed that it contained a ghosted portion of the engine that clarified how the front driveshaft and carrier bearing mount is supposed to be. Did not make it up to the shop.

Got a little nap in.

Picked the first of the Yellow Crookneck squash yesterday, sautéed those up with some zucchini, an onion, and a red bell pepper to go along with the Singapore Mei Fun The Woman brought home for dinner.

Woke up late last night and got up to get a drink from the glass I keep on the desk, lost my grip on the glass and promptly dumped the entire thing on the desk top, spilling a good portion of it down into the computer keyboard.

This morning it seemed to have a mind of its own, so I had to go downstairs and get the good Das Keyboard out of the studio and bring it up to use. Hopefully the old one will dry out and regain its functionality.

Seems to be clearing up a bit outside, with the sun trying to make an appearance.

Will be heading up to the shop in short order.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable, productive, and safe Monday ...

 

[Thomas]

72F slow soaking rain may t storm7-8pm than back to slow steady rain ending about daybreak tomorrow...much needed rain.

Was good day at work and I squeeze in short nap soon.other than that just waiting to see what the rest of the day might bring.

Enjoy your day all.

 

[daugen]

done
now to be patient for a day or two.
I had moved the mower inside the garage, due to rain later, but very dark out.
Sure enough, two minutes after it went inside, a brief downpour. Good timing.
So no rain on the paint but two little bugs came to make their permanent acquaintance.

paint didn't look so ripply up close, maybe the camera sees better than I do. Might have to give it one more coat.

 

[txdon]

Finished PW the PV panels, about 4 hours and I’ve got some sore shoulders as a reminder. They look good. Wonder if they could be sprayed with a wax?

Something to consider.

"For anyone planning to put any chemicals besides soap and water on their panels. Some panels (if not most) are coated with transparent resin on top of glass to give it texture for better off-axis light capturing. I recommend to check with your panel manufacturer before applying anything."

Car wax on a solar panel?

Has anyone ever tried putting auto wax on their solar panels? I was wondering if a slick coat of wax might assist in snow removal/accumulation.

forum.solar-electric.com

 

[scaredychicken]

Good Morning,
looks like it is becoming a busy day, but coffee first
- clean the totes and return them to Salv Army
- scraps pick-up at Salv Army (it's what I do for them 3x week) ... chicken feed
- package up a box for New York, and mail out other cards, items
- attack the garage
- wash more eggs
- bookkeeping and some associated tax work
- critter care - chickens, rabbits, dog
- new battery clamps for my 1990 GMC Tracker (hopefully that will be the fix)
- pay bills

My son (23) called me yesterday, lives in Vancouver about 6 hrs away. Three weeks ago he was in a financial crisis (needing to move so damage deposit, extra rent, student loan in arrears - meaning that his loan application would be denied for the coming year, etc). I / we are by no means wealthy or even "comfortable" at this point, but we have been blessed. There is a history of loans ignored, so when I sent the $$$ he said You Won't Regret This (I said I hope not) - After shifting monies around, I could tighten our belt, and help him out. He now called to say Thank You, and that everything was sorted out, student loan application approved, ready for Sept etc. That was worth it.

txdon - surprisingly there is no back up battery to the chair, and it is not a cheap chair either. That blew my mind when I realized that a few years ago ... I mean even 50 year old clock radios had a back up battery.
as far as the
medical expenses / tax credit, (I'm not sure how that works in the USA) but here in Canada the Out Of Pocket expenses can be claimed, and there is only a tax advantage after reaching a cumulative financial expense threshold (3% of income)... so in your case, that would be $1000 towards that 3 % (example $1500 cost minus $500 covered = $1000 claim on taxes) I don't know for your situation. (I have to nickel and dime every expense, because we are at about $20k annually on a modest income.)

kenmbz - great photos

BEF - the grapple is my best friend great for cleanup

RNG - I'd love to ride, the views are great. Saving for a Trike

PJSprog - glad that the hotel is no longer an issue

Have a good day all, stay safe. Prayers continue

 

[mpham]

Afternoon all!
Much needed rain has been falling all day. Wife and I got to enjoy our first vege's out of the garden today.(hand full of string beans and some summer squash).
I'm on the mend from surgery last Wednesday. Getting better daily and am already off of the pain meds. Without getting gross I'll just say I won't be sitting for a while!
Hopefully that will be it for me medically for a while!
Wife is doing ok with heart problem. Her eye's are doing great!
We celebrate 36 years Thursday! My how time flies! Hoping I'm well enough to go out to celebrate. Doc says it can take up to a month to heal completely!
I'm about 50 pages behind so sorry if I missed important dates for others!
Hope everyone stays safe and healthy!

 

[Bird]

Just went out to get the mail; 105° out there at 2 p.m. and forecast to go to 110°.

 

[pennwalk]

Larro Darro that's him. He was another of you guys who seemed to stay pretty busy. As for me. I'm thinking about a nap.

Chris

 

[sodamo]

Larro was always interesting. One of many missed on GM