Good morning!!!!

[PJSprog]

34°F and light snow flurries this morning, going all the way up to 36° today. Snow is expected pretty much all day. What was forecast yesterday as 2-5" is now just a dusting with high winds to scatter it.

I used to be the same way with power tools, Roy. After I bought my first DeWalt cordless drill, though, I finally saw the light. They are pricier, but they are definitely worth it. Much better quality than most.

Don't get me started on the "stimulus" funding source, Eric. It'll get my post removed.

My Wife and I were just recently talking about the prices of pickup trucks, Drew. We're looking at replacing our old F150, and are just stunned at the prices we see for new. I was hearkening back to my teen days when you could get a brand new F150 for under $10K. These days, that just the downpayment. Crazy what they get for them now. We'll probably just buy a gently used one somewhere. Not going to pay $40K for a vehicle we only ocassionally drive on the weekends.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Colder down here than up at Roy's this morning...29 and frosty with a pretty salmon sky...rain this afternoon and 53.

Phil I'm happy for you...starting SS and getting wife retired.

Rip, congrats on getting the porch about done while having to deal with so much else...sounds like a nice truck and good reasoning on what you chose.

Ron, amazing good news on your aunt.

David, gold star for getting taxes done...I'm still cleaning old game cam pix and videos off my hard drive to make room for loading TurboTax Deluxe and Business.

Real nice looking coffee grinders, guys. I'd like to have an old one that was in the family, but guess my grandparents drank Sanka. Is that still even in the stores? Don, I'd love to send you a sampler of my roasts, if you're comfortable PMing me your address. If not, I sure understand. Since I buy my coffee green, don't have any recommendations for a nationally distributed bean, but most areas have small roasters that many of the chain stores carry in that locale. I looked on the HEB website...they have some interesting coffees under their own Cafe Ole house brand, including a Texas Pecan that either Rick or Kyle (I can't remember) would love and a Texas Hill Country. Naming coffees has gotten like naming craft beers...wild names...I see one named Jet Fuel, another called Jackhammer, another Bike Fuel...that Mostly might like. I wish I could shop there, I'd probably try a couple...good prices and selection at the Victoria store (that's where HEB's website took me).

Had a real nice hike at a nearby state park yesterday...only saw two people...one lady riding a horse, and another riding a mule.

Patrica likes the HEB Cafe Ole "Houston Blend" .. me not so much.

We use a K-Cup machine here as most days .. it's only me and I'm good for 2 cups max.

 

[LouNY]

We have switched to a K-cup type machine also my wife converted me,
the last 2-3 years it's been a Gevalia Colombian Medium roast.
The price is decent for a good flavored coffee and my 2 or 3 cups a day.

 

[Rich B1]

I only have DeWalt 20V Max tools, batteries, and charger. I only have the drill, 3/8 impact, and the circular saw. 2 std. batteries that came with the drill and 2 5A that I got on sale at Lowe痴.

I only use the std. batteries with the drill, seems like they last a long time between charges. The big batteries are for the impact and saw. The saw is awesome of a lot of the cutting I do. The impact does what I want it to, even has put a new clutch in the race bike.

Not sure if I trust some of the generic batteries.....but that is just me

 

[lostcreekranch]

Good Morning!!!! 49F @ 4:00AM. Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. High near 65F. Winds light and variable.
Rain showers move in next Friday, lasting through the weekend, but accumulation is predicted to be less than a quarter inch.
This weekend temps will be in the low 70s. Looks like Old Man Winter is on vacation so far this year.

"Government Funded Stimulus" is in reality taxpayer funded, so in reality all the government is doing is giving us each a small loan we'll pay back next year after they raise the income tax rates.:thumbsdown: BTW, both were promises made during last fall's election campaign.

Glad the porch project is reaching pretty near the end, Mike. I bet that's a good feeling!

That's a fat little squirrel, Ron. I used to get six hundred dollar electric bills before the solar power system went in. Glad those days are over. In a way, that Covid map is deceiving. It goes by the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, and states with large populations need more vaccine, which is in short supply. So those states will naturally fall to the bottom of that list. Still, though, there's not much progress being made when only a thousand injections are being given a day.

I got used to driving the F250 around town when it was my only vehicle, Drew, but I also did more walking. I always try to get a pull through parking place to avoid trying to back the thing up; too much chance of bumping into something, even when using the rear view camera. Those kind of spaces get rarer as you get closer to the door of the store. Try one of these on your next wayward French fry.:laughing:

I have a lot to learn about indexable cutters, Kyle. I thought I ordered a boring bar that would use the inserts I already have, but the ones it uses are much smaller. I did order extra inserts for the other bar I ordered, but I still need to figure out what to order for the other new one. And run the gauntlet of "while I'm ordering, I might as well see what else I need."

Out here, Chris, those alerts are triggered by atmospheric inversions that trap smoke near the ground instead of letting it rise into the sky. They got really bad last summer during the forest fires.

There's one mineral, and I think it selenium, that is harmful to older folks, Paul, and they leave it out of the "silver" line of multi-vitamins.

Sorry to hear about the wind damage, Ted. Hopefully you're getting closer to your knee surgery?

The glass screen protector on the new iPhone keeps coming unstuck in one corner. It's not much of a problem now, but when dirt gets under there, the rear facing camera won't work very well. OtterBox has been great to deal with in the past, so they're on my call list for today.

I've been trying to chase down the salesman at the Reno forklift dealer to see when they'll have more of the pallet jacks I'd like to purchase, but the fella just doesn't return my calls. Apparently he's the owner's kid, and you know how that goes.:irked:

I did get some parts ordered for the new shotgun, or I should say backordered. Apparently they're in high demand.

Felt the need to get away from the desk for a while, so fired up the splitter and loaded another pallet full of wood. Instead of throwing the scraps on the ground, they went into the bed of the side-by-side, and when the splitter ran out of gas, it was nice to just drive over to the campfire ring and have plenty of wood to build the fire.

That FedEx from my insurance company came a day early, and for once it had a little good news in it. They've agreed to renew the homeowner's policy for another year, but warned that would be the last time. The letter came from their Chief Council, making it clear that they were trying to weasel out of the California Insurance Commissioner's stay on non-renewals. Maybe they figgered California had more lawyers than they did?

View attachment 683249 View attachment 683250
Fooled around a little bit with the cameras on the new phone, and I'm likin' what I see. The color is closer to reality, not as orange as the old phone, and the 5x zoom is better, too. Framing the photo is a lot easier on the bigger screen, as is viewing the photos. Apparently Apple has come up with a new file format for the images, and it was selected by default. TBN didn't like the format, and I had to use the Preview application on the laptop to convert them to .jpg. The night time shots are nothing to write home about, but they're much better than the old phone. Still gonna have to pony up for a dedicated camera before I can post anything close to what Ron can do, though.:laughing:

TGIF gang:drink:

iPhone 8 Plus fire pit photo;




Golden hour;

 

[txdon]

You need those BacoBeans, coffee beans infused with bacon! LOL

:shocked:

Good morning! 36˚F, sunny heading to the upper 50s.

Got another dead end e-mail from a vaccine distribution place where I signed up last week:
"Texas Governor Abbott announced the new hub system COVID-19 vaccine distribution program on Monday. At this time, we have been notified that healthcare organizations in our area will NOT be designated as hubs.
We expect NO NEW SUPPLIES of COVID-19 vaccine at ARC in the near future.".
At the only "hub" the web site is still broke and nothing but busy signal on the phone number. I need a app that does auto dial till it get's a ring.

Wngsprd, Sure would like to sample some of your coffee as long as it's natural and not infused with strange things, especially not BACON! They were filling up the bins with whole beans at HEB yesterday, they come with all sorts of flavors but unlike Kyle I just like the natural flavor of a good unadulterated black coffee. Are your beans just beans?

Popgadget, that was a close call with your friends charger, I think I need to unplug any chargers when I'm not around.

 

[RoyJackson]

Same here Roy....well said "but finally bit the bullet and went for better quality tools"
Looking at DeWalt battery impact set.

This ne looks pretty nice:
DEWALT 2V MAX XR Brushless Impact Driver and Hammer Drill Combo Kit, Premium 4.Ah (DCK299M2) - - Amazon.com

I'd kinda like to get the impact wrench, but the Ryobi I got (on sale at Home Depot) is practically brand new...
Can't say I've ever had need for a hammer drill though...

 

[lostcreekranch]

When it comes to cordless tools, look carefully at the variety of tools offered for the battery platform, it’s a safe bet that the companies with a broad range of tools will support that battery for a longtime, and not orphan you and your tools.
I settled on Makita 18v tools and the Milwaukee 12v platform. So far I’m happy with my choice. I’ve had the Makita for close to a decade, the Milwaukee for a couple of years. I’m sure that I have a combined total of over 20 tools from grease gun to chainsaw and a lot in between.

I went Ridgid 18V partially because of the lifetime warranty but also, as you point out, a wide range of tools. So far I have;

Drill
Impact driver
Reciprocating saw
4 1/2" grinder
Compact router
Job site blower
Radio
3 gallon vacuum

I bought a couple extra of their 4.0 ah batteries as well. Some of the above were bought "bare tool".

Edit:

Also have three of the HF 40 volt Lynxx tools;

Pole saw
Chain saw
Blower

Seems they're now discontinued?

I use my Lynxx pole saw for the majority of our tree trimming and just installed a new chain yesterday.

 

[Peter 315]

I went Ridgid 18V partially because of the lifetime warranty but also, as you point out, a wide range of tools. So far I have;

Drill
Impact driver
Reciprocating saw
4 1/2" grinder
Compact router
Job site blower
Radio

I bought a couple extra of their 4.0 ah batteries as well. Some of the above were bought "bare tool".

I also have Ridgid tools this set here and a table saw..https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-5-Tool-Combo-Kit-with-2-4-0-Ah-Batteries-18-Volt-Charger-and-Contractor-s-Bag-R9652/205883898

 

[Popgadget]

How old were the batteries, Paul?...

2 months old. It was even scarier than it appeared, the shop was in a hangar full of antique airplanes and projects.

Sure erased any thoughts that I had about knockoff batteries.