Good morning!!!!

[mpham]

Morning all! 17 here going to 20 with slight wind making it feel to darn cold to be outside. Got quite a bit of errands done yesterday so will conserve energy today. I got a pic of some of the junk that was pelting the house the other day. I think I got hit by the whole forest!
Will have a very big cleanup to do once it warms up.
Hope everyone stays safe and healthy!

 

[pennwalk]

Chis 6 boats?

Actually there are 6 kayaks. Then there are 3 sailboats, a canoe and a aluminum rowboat. Mostly old and a little worn and cheap.
We all know that you can't have too many tractors. Well the same thing is true for boats. Now that I have the top of the barn straightened out a little there is probably room for 2 or 3 more boats.
I hope that we can build a barn on our lot on Deer Isle and get all the floating stock moved to Maine.

One job that didn't get done last year is to take everything out of the bottom of the barn and clean it out and straighten it up. No use having stuff that you can't get to.

Chris

 

[Bird]

Good morning! 57˚F heading to the mid 70s as the wind shifts this afternoon. Another cold front but this time a Texas cold front with low temps hitting only the high 40s.

Drew don't plan anything for 36 hours after you get your second shot. The people who I got my shot from are planing a shot-a thon next weekend. They will be vaccinating for 24 hours straight at a school stadium site. Family Hospital Systems to hold 24-hour, 1980s-themed COVID-19 vaccine clinic

I think Florence Nightingale caught the way germs are mostly spread- with the hands. Even though the Mask mandate will be lifted in a few days I will continue to carry my little spray bottle of alcohol in my vehicle to sanitize my hands after going in a store.

Replanted a few frozen plants that did not survive the deep freeze yesterday.

Today I need to do a few paintings on the cave wall, the subject will have something to do with hunting and gathering.

Don, have you, or anyone else for that matter, heard from Harvey (wronghtn_harv) lately?

 

[PJSprog]

30°F and partly cloudy this morning, going up to 52° today.

Picked up the second kayak on the way home from work yesterday. I have to say, while I've not had great luck over the years finding what I want in stock at that Academy store, their customer service is outstanding. Very friendly and helpful people. The girl at the counter even remembered my name. I'm not used to that kind of treatment from a large chain like that. I need to send them a note today thanking them.

Wife was excited when I got home. She's really looking forward to paddling when the weather warms up the local waters ... almost as much as I am.

Mostly_, we're planning on using them on the plethora of lakes we have around southern and central Illinois. Nice, easy, calm water relaxing stuff. I've done a little map browsing and researched a couple of local FB groups, and have compiled a list of about three dozen decent sized lakes to possibly paddle. That should keep us busy for awhile.

Paul, when I worked for the pipe organ company, they had a Beechcraft Bonanza V35 (they also own an aircraft supply company), and the company president would occasionally fly us to places we needed to get to in a hurry. We once flew into BWI on Good Friday for a fast repair job at a church in Baltimore, so they could have their organ playable for Easter Sunday. I have to say, the people at Signature Services there made that the best large airport experience I've ever had. It's definitely different, though, than just checking your baggage at the counter and walking onto a plane. Pilots put in a lot more work to get from point A to point B than I think most people know, especially if weather considerations require flight plan changes ... which we experienced on the way back home.

 

[rswyan]

28F and very sunny @ 11:00, headed up to a high of 37F for the day.

Squirrel feeder empty again so refilling that will be on agenda. Looks like maybe deer have been pushing on some the bird feeders, trying to get at food ... so maybe put something out for them as well.

Continue with tear down and gravel removal from living room fish tank. Move tile saw to garage to get it out of the way.

More cleaning in basement, need to stack empty fish tanks to reduce their footprint and jigger some other stuff around to make some space.

Need to see if I can locate 3D model of fish room tank racks for dimensions. Not sure, may have been lost in a hard drive crash ... hope not, because I'd prefer to not have to redo it.

Also need to make a call and do a welfare check on some friends.

Do a load of wash (or two)

Left note that there was a sheet cake in oven. Reply: OMG ...

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

 

[daugen]

Burpee catalog came in, couldn't help myself...
instead of buying from local Lowes or wherever, ordered directly from Burpee since they
are only 45 minutes away from home. Ordered plants, not seeds, and they will ship when they think it's ready.
6 tomato plants, three each of two hybrids, and three sweet peppers. Just not going to have room for more
due to potatoes and beets taking up some territory.

I found their planting time web tool helpful:

https://www.burpee.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-BURPEE-Library/default/dw81e4a1ec/Images/Content/PDF/Zones5-6.pdf

Another two weeks to start seed inside. Potatoes go in ground April 1, a full month later than NC.
I set up the grow light for the living room and will do my best not to make a mess in there.
Wind chill is about 26 out right now, looks a lot nicer than it is...

Wonder if all the passing police from the station nearby will wonder what I'm growing with my grow light?

Now I have to figure out how to deer proof this little garden once it gets planted.

 

[daugen]

Top Poster Of Month

Really? This is new...
Congratulations Industrial Toys
Personally I nominate Toppop due to his superlative character, unending wit and many talents.
Where's my button to click for that?

And as always, my vote can be bought.
Having a three for two special right now.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I'll bet that designer is looking for a new job. Probably designing prams for Barbie dolls.

From what I've seen with Kubota FEL mounts, that Sears designer either started with Kubota or ended up there...

 

[sodamo]

63°F and .25 inches rain

Craftsman back together but not tested. Won’t start. Pout it on the charger.

Off to Hilotown. Sophie has her ophthalmologist appointment.

I need to get my glasses checked I get some distortion close up., like left side of anything I’m reading looks slanted.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 44F @ 8:45AM. Sunny to partly cloudy. High 69F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Weather guesser on the TV last night fell more in line with the Weather Underground forecast, dropping his accumulation total for the next week from 3" to 1". Meanwhile, WU is now saying only 3/4" for the same time period.

Our governor has been accused of delivering more vaccine to the major metro areas than out here in the sticks, so yesterday he released a map showing which areas would be involved in the distribution of 40% of the total available vaccine. I'm not excited, as I apparently live in one of the safe zones. Never mind that the grocery store is in one of the zones that will get more vaccine...

Deaths and total new cases have been dropping off for the past several weeks, so there is some good news.

Sounds like you're working on an emergency food supply there, RS.

Now how ya gonna get two boats in your car, Paul?

Opened up the old gate opener yesterday and put labels on all the wires. Found water inside the case, which is probably what killed it. Skimmed the new install instructions to see where the wires will end up. Doesn't look too complicated, at least so far. Also worked out a plan for mounting the new actuator on the gate, but need to make up an adapter plate, and didn't have time for that before the town run.

Once again, I forgot my wallet, but did manage to have some cash in my pocket, so got what I needed. Reminded me of my starving college student days counting down from what I had as each item went into the grocery cart. Made it with five bux to spare.

Tried to mail a box that came to me with cans of Gunk engine degreaser in it, and the PO clerk wouldn't accept it because the marks on the outside of the box didn't match what was inside of it. Had to go back out into the parking lot, take the box apart and turn it inside out, then use their tape to hold it all together. What a mess. Then another clerk wouldn't accept the pre-printed shipping label provided by ebay, saying it wouldn't cover the postage. Ended up costing me fourteen dollars to return a twenty dollar item, plus the five bux the ebay ticket cost me. Good thing money grows on trees around here.

Gonna try to get the gate opener installed today. Probably be some kinks to work out, so we'll see.

TGIF gang!

 

[PJSprog]

Now how ya gonna get two boats in your car, Paul?

Shoehorn and a little lube.

Wife's Niro has rails on the roof. My Rio does not. We ordered a couple of cross bars and a set of four kayak roof rack brackets (foldable) last night. We looked at possibly buying a kayak trailer, but boy are people proud of those things. We're going to replace the F-150 at some point, so eventually we'll carry them in whatever that ends up being (likely a Ranger).

I've also considered building a kayak/bike trailer from one of the Harbor Freight utility trailers. That's still not off the table either.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Shoehorn and a little lube.

Wife's Niro has rails on the roof. My Rio does not. We ordered a couple of cross bars and a set of four kayak roof rack brackets (foldable) last night.

Probably the most practical solution, but don't forget what's on the roof before you try to park in the garage. A neighbor did that with mountain bikes on the roof of his brand new 4Runner, and it wasn't pretty...

 

[pennwalk]

Tried to mail a box that came to me with cans of Gunk engine degreaser in it, and the PO clerk wouldn't accept it because the marks on the outside of the box didn't match what was inside of it. Had to go back out into the parking lot, take the box apart and turn it inside out, then use their tape to hold it all together. What a mess. Then another clerk wouldn't accept the pre-printed shipping label provided by ebay, saying it wouldn't cover the postage. Ended up costing me fourteen dollars to return a twenty dollar item, plus the five bux the ebay ticket cost me. Good thing money grows on trees around here.

Does it seem like there is a problem with the Post Office? Might be disgruntled employees. Might be incompetent managment. I don't know.

 

[Looking4new]

And now for a different slant on the news we go to sodamo in HI.

 

[pennwalk]

I've also considered building a kayak/bike trailer from one of the Harbor Freight utility trailers. That's still not off the table either.

From time to time I see small boat trailers cheap on craigslist. I especially like galvanized trailers. It is not hard to rig them to carry kayaks. Especially if you have cross bars and kayak racks. Depending on how heavy the boats are it can be a pain to load them on the roof. Our kayak trailer sure makes loading easy.

Chris

 

[PJSprog]

From time to time I see small boat trailers cheap on craigslist. I especially like galvanized trailers. It is not hard to rig them to carry kayaks. Especially if you have cross bars and kayak racks. Depending on how heavy the boats are it can be a pain to load them on the roof. Our kayak trailer sure makes loading easy.

Chris

Yeah, I'm still browsing Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for something already made. Most of the reasonably priced ones I've seen around here would require more work to restore than just building one. Another advantage of making one myself would be the ability to put a bike rack in the middle so it can serve a dual purpose for us. With covers on the yaks, it would also serve as a year round storage space. I'm definitely leaning towards a trailer as the best long-term solution.

The ones we bought are around 43 lbs, I think. They're not hard at all to lift to the top of a Kia Niro ... except maybe for my Wife, who's not quite 5'2" .

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Does it seem like there is a problem with the Post Office? Might be disgruntled employees. Might be incompetent managment. I don't know.

There was definitely an attitude problem with the first clerk I dealt with; she was right about everything and there was no sense reasoning with her. I had two packages to mail, the other I'd tried to purchase postage for on the USPS website. The form took my money, but then wouldn't display anything I could print. I even had it email me a copy of the shipping label, but when I opened the email, all it had in it was a hyperlink that took me right back to the same broken web page. Supposedly the self service machines in the PO lobby could print out the label somehow for me, but the page I printed out and took with me to the PO didn't have the instructions on how to do it. I handed that paper to the first clerk, who took it to her supervisor. When she came back she told me they needed something with a QR code on it to scan, but the paper didn't have it. So while I was out in the truck disassembling the first package, I opened my email and found the receipt for the transaction, and it contained a QR code. When I showed that to the second clerk, he scanned the screen of the phone and it took it. When I asked about the machine in the lobby, I got a dirty look, then he unloaded on me about the ebay label on the first box not having enough postage. I haven't dug into that "bad" label yet, and will probably just let it pass, but I'm pretty sure he overheard the hard time the first clerk gave me and delighted on piling on. I've had a few conversations with my mail delivery person, who has very much the same entitled, worker-as-victim, management-makes-me-a-bad-worker mentality. Can't fire idiots like that because they're all union jobs. Can't break even running a business like that, either, hence all the government bail outs of the PO. I better stop now before the censors get upset...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

After a chilly 63 deg start to the day it has warmed up to a pleasant 78 deg at 8.30. Supposed to get up another 7 or 8 degrees today.
Family coming to stay tonight. Bought a bottle of Drambuie and a pack of Woodstock so looking forward to a fun night to take the aches and pains away.

Prayers you are feeling better.

No mate, we never have earthquakes around here. Been the occasional one in Oz. Was a big one in Newcastle many many years ago but that's a long way from me.

Does the big great barrier reef block your coast from tidal waves?

Chis 6 boats?

Actually there are 6 kayaks. Then there are 3 sailboats, a canoe and a aluminum rowboat. Mostly old and a little worn and cheap.
We all know that you can't have too many tractors. Well the same thing is true for boats. Now that I have the top of the barn straightened out a little there is probably room for 2 or 3 more boats.
I hope that we can build a barn on our lot on Deer Isle and get all the floating stock moved to Maine.

One job that didn't get done last year is to take everything out of the bottom of the barn and clean it out and straighten it up. No use having stuff that you can't get to.

Chris

I'm all out of boats. All my friends have motor boats, and I had sailboats (one with a motor). Chris, that's quite the drive from Lancaster to Deer Isle. Are there a lot of dears there? I'll bet it's nice in the summer.

Got a lot done at work this week, almost worked myself out of work, but some more came knocking late Thursday. I'm off today.

Got computers finished setup, except getting the last data off of the old Vista machine. I have the newer one ready to replace that one.

I have an OLD soundblaster sound card for a PC, and it has old style stereo jacks, to plug in a set of jacks. In the past on my really old PC, I could use it to get music off my old vinyl. I'm wondering if it would fit in the newer Dell 5040..... I would love to pull more music off my old vinyl. Sweetheart of the Rodeo anyone?

I ordered some new replacement headlights for my older SUV. I bought the more expensive ones, but not the OEM ones. Wouldn't you know it....one of the small amber bulbs is not working. I told my wifey to give the supplier some feedback, to see what they say.

Drew, I'm going to look at tomato plants here in a few minutes....I haven't seen any on the shelves yet. Maybe they all got froze up 2 weeks ago.

Buppies, I pray your surgery goes well, and they are able to get it all.

Ron and Sodamo and rs, nice photos.

Prayers for our team, and our country. Boy, our country sure needs it.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Rick, If I were you, and you can still get the overhaul kits for the compressors, I would buy one for each and park them on a shelf out of the sunlight.

My old buzzbomb would still be running if they still had the kits available. But Campbell Hausfield decided that Husky buzzbombs should only run about 10 years, and then you should have to throw them away. I gave the tank to a buddy who has a large shop. He's going to install it on the far end of the shop, to act like a pneumatic capacitor (extra storage), in his air supply. I told him to set it up with 1/2" quick connects, so he can wheel it outside to air up a tire. It has wheels on it still.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My best friend just gave me a donkey BBQ (chewing on some azz). He yelled at me and told me to never, ever leave my compressor on when I'm not using it. He reminded me of another friend who's whole house and detached garage burned to the ground, caused by the compressor overheating and catching fire.