Good morning!!!!

[Bird]

Popgadges said, "Yesterday’s meeting with solar contractor was interesting. Looks like we could put about a megawatt of panels on the hangar roofs. That is a lot more than the airport uses, it would generate a considerable income stream."

Within the past month, I've noticed two houses in our neighborhood that have recently had the solar panels added on their roofs. And last month the elder of our daughters and her husband had the solar panels installed on their house in another city about 25 miles from here.

 

[sodamo]

RS, sounds painful. Quick recovery.

 

[PJSprog]

Im not sure what the GM thread is, that people are referring to ? I thought this was all TBN

GM is the Good Morning thread ... this one.

 

[sodamo]

Paul, Diver to jet pilot - quite the extremes.

 

[sodamo]

GM is the Good Morning thread ... this one.

Our special community within the community.

 

[scaredychicken]

STORY TIME ... Bee Stings (true story)

My wife was an apiarist / bee keeper for many years - we had about 85 hives, we were familiar with bees
we were always careful around bees, simply not wanting to get stung - no allergies or epi-pens within the family, but we had Benadryl in the cabinet
the only one terrified of bees was our youngest, the boy was gnarly if a bee was near
my wife would suit up like an alien to work with the hives, bees. I could not do that part as my movements are not fluid enough, and that would invite stings. I could however go into the bee yard without concerns, and do the weed-whacking, wearing a t-shirt and shorts - never a problem
of course, over the years, we'd all been stung

8-9 Years ago
- well one Sunday, my 16 year old daughter, was in the house and packing up her stuff to return to Summer Bible Camp where she was a camp counsellor. I was to drive her back to camp, 35 min away, car key in hand.
- she gathered her stuff from the kitchen table, and while doing so got stung on the palm of her hand, by a Honey Bee
- immediately her palm got red, we gave her some Benadryl (x2) to knock it back, and a package to take with her
- we were on our way to the car, to leave
- moments later ... she was feeling oddly, I said that we'd stop by the Hospital if need be, on our way through town (20 min away) to have things checked over, before dropping her off at camp.
- sitting in the car ... within minutes her hand, arm, face, eye, and leg starting swelling up like I'd never seen, I was worried about her throat starting to swell
- NO TIME FOR THE AMBULANCE (we live 20 min from hospital, 25 min from ambulance), we called 911 to let them know that we were coming ... (police could give me a speeding ticket at the hospital if need be)
- I put the Hazard Lights on, hit the gas and drove as safely and quickly as I could, probably pinned at 140 kms / hr (87 mph), the Lord cleared the way, I leaned on the Horn as needed, passed several cars, got through all but one stop light on a green, one light was red, I leaned on the horn, watched traffic, and drove through. Got to the Hospital in seven (7) minutes, by Emergency entrance, I stopped and yelled for a wheelchair as my daughter staggered out of the car, I yelled bee sting at a nurse that met her at the door. I moved the car out of the way of emergency.
- when I got into the admitting area, I did not see my daughter, thought that she was perhaps in the washroom or waiting room
- I asked at the triage station, where she was ... she was already on a bed in emergency, getting blood tested, heart rate checked, intravenous etc. 2 attendants and the Dr checking things over.
- I had to go back to the admitting / triage area to provide health care card, beckground etc. They asked How long ago was the bee sting ... perhaps 10 min I said. They asked where I came from ... home.
- I was told that the reaction was so severe that 5 min longer and she might not have made it in time
- she now carries an epi-pen.
- she is doing great, very athletic, now a married young mother.
God is Good

 

[daugen]

successful morning
Ken was a big help, took him five seconds looking at directions to see they were worthless.
However it went together ok, filled up, now waiting about 20 hours to warm up.
Ken then installed the power monitor on my electrical panel that tells me/alarms when the street power comes back on while gen is running.
Took the panel cover off, neatly installed everything and hopefully I'll never lose power now....
nice have a friend who is an EE...

painter coming to paint the walls, somewhat skeevy looking.
Then I'll put up bamboo screens on two sides. Foam insulation will get cut to size, then fluffy throw carpets around the tub.
Ken built the steps which have a place to store the chemicals and extra parts.

humidity? no problem... that is, until I allowed the hose to fall while we went upstairs just for a moment..., and found it pumping water all over the concrete floor. Sigh.
Thankfully had a shop vac right there and started sucking. Fan blowing on it now. And dehumidifier running full blast.

hmmm, in about an hour it should be up to 70 degrees, might just take a dip early.

it was a real kindness for Ken to come help me and I appreciate it.

 

[rswyan]

Sorry about the bees rswyan hope you heal quickly

Thanks.

Still in substantial discomfort upon awakening this morning but not near as bad as it was last night when I tried to go to sleep. Wasn't able to fall asleep until after 05:00 after I took a couple of Extra Strength Tylenol.

Now it seems to be more of an intense itching than pain/stinging although there is still some of that too.

RS that must have been a big nest, I only got 2 or 3 stings with my encounter.

Unsure exactly how big it is, because I did not get any closer than 15' - 20' when I went back to spray it last night. But it does appear that they may have tried to construct it in an old groundhog hole, the paper of the nest was probably 5" to 6" (at least) that I could see.

Have you tried sliced onion on the stings

I have not.

RS, ouch!!!

Indeed.

I would be in ER with that many stings.

Consider myself very fortunate in that my reaction wasn't all that bad - mostly just minor swelling in places.

BENADRYL - keep a supply handy

Woman says we currently have none ... so it looks like it will be hydrocortisone at least for the moment.

ouch, that hurts reading about it RS, sure hope you are ok this morning.

I'll survive it. But in quite a bit of discomfort still.

My Epi pen is quivering....

Yeah ... should probably pick up one of those. Seems like I recall reading that one's sensitivity can increase over time, the more one is stung.

Happened to me once on the old MF203 tractor. Jumped off but tractor was still in gear and it ended up in the ravine.

Glad I had the hydrostatic on the Kubota and it was on level ground when it happened. It probably sat over there for an hour idling before I went back and turned it off. Waited until it got completely dark (after I had sprayed the nest at dusk) before I went back and started it up and brought it back over to the house.

Hope you're OK, RS.

Will likely be several more days before I can make that claim.

Those yellowjackets just keep stinging, and biting. But I guess by now you know all about that.

Oh yeah.

Put out a few drops of Fipronil 9.1% on some cat food for them, and those troubles will be over in a week. Somewhere out on the 'net there's a page on making a bait station from an old Gatoraide bottle...

Good to know.

Yesterday I noticed a bunch swarming below the garage mandoor here at the house, so I'll have to do something about that.

Also got a text yesterday from a friend who was looking for a piece of square stock of a particular size so I went up to the shop to check. Ended up not having it, but I noticed the amount of Yellowjackets flying around inside was the worst I had ever seen it (a portent of things to come apparently)

So last evening before we went over to retrieve the Kubota at the barn I went up and opened the door to the shop. There were probably several hundred (easy) Yellowjackets on the block of the door opening ... which I promptly sprayed down with wasp spray. Had never seen that before ... dunno if they were the ones from the nest in the junk wood pile looking for a new home or what. Keep in mind I have treated that nest several times before with Apicide.

RS, sounds painful. Quick recovery.

Yeah it was ... very.

Thanks.

 

[m7040]

Just a little on transportation: When my wife and I arrived in LA California from Montreal in 1968 we quickly realized we had to have a car to do anything. We set out to a dealer that had a used Volvo P544 for sale. Being a mechanic familiar with Volvo's I knew how to fix them if needed. Now LA area is huge and we did not know the area. Only about an inch on the map. Turned out to be way out in the north canyon area somewhere. Took forever to get there but we bought it. And we drove it all over California to see sights. We had no money but driving was about the cheapest thing we could do. Gas was 17 cents per gallon and you got promotion gifts on top on that. So for 2 dollars we had a full tank that could get us 3 to 400 miles of driving and coming from the winter in Montreal it was wonderful

 

[Thomas]

Thomas wrote about his boss cutting hours to keep from burning out the help. I have wondered about the whole help situation. I noticed that several of the restaurants in the Deer Isle area work a 4 day week. My wife used to waitress down at the Jersey Shore when she was in High school. They made their year in the summer. They worked 7 days long hours. You see help wanted sighs all around. I have talked to several contractors with long waiting lists who would build more houses if they could get more help. So where are all the workers?

Chris

Guess our work ethics are different than the youngsters now a days.

 

[Alien]

RS, sorry about the stings. Those yellow jackets sound just like our paper wasps. Stuck my hand in the mailbox a few months ago and found a new nest of them. Just like being hit with a red hod poker. Easy to kill with fly spray fortunately. I am allergic to them so I had to go to Dr straight away. Always unexpected unfortunately.

 

[m7040]

So continuing the transportation story: The Volvo lasted until we adopted several kids and then it was changed to a full size sedan. When the family added a sibling group of 3 more kids we changed to 15 passenger van. And when more kids arrived we went to a large motorhome that could house the 4 kids in diapers and 5 older kids. When camping we towed the van after the motorhome to be able to easily leave the campsite for local trips And then it went to motorhome, van and utility trailer in tow to get all the gear with us to the beach in Galveston TX. It was a wagon train and amazingly we never got stopped by police. I was aways careful not to end up on a dead end street. Turning around was a major PITA

 

[sodamo]

Just a little on transportation: When my wife and I arrived in LA California from Montreal in 1968 we quickly realized we had to have a car to do anything. We set out to a dealer that had a used Volvo P544 for sale. Being a mechanic familiar with Volvo's I knew how to fix them if needed. Now LA area is huge and we did not know the area. Only about an inch on the map. Turned out to be way out in the north canyon area somewhere. Took forever to get there but we bought it. And we drove it all over California to see sights. We had no money but driving was about the cheapest thing we could do. Gas was 17 cents per gallon and you got promotion gifts on top on that. So for 2 dollars we had a full tank that could get us 3 to 400 miles of driving and coming from the winter in Montreal it was wonderful

Those were the days my friend.
These day would not think of just jumping in the car fora leisurely day of driving/exploring. Heck, just a trip to town is over $10 just in gas.

 

[pennwalk]

Thomas, my neighbor told me it is because of all the free government money but I never could figure out how to get in on that so I am suspicious.

Chris

 

[txdon]

Guess our work ethics are different than the youngsters now a days.

where are all the workers?

After 17 years of being retired, I'm now working again. Finished all my training today and had a few customers. Title of my new job is "Tractor Driver". The trainer was my age and the other trainee was just a few years younger.
My work tractor:

Tractors - Specialty - M6H | Kubota

Browse through Kubota's M6H Specialty tractor inventory, filter search by features to find the best fit for you, or even build your own. Then find a dealer close by with your desired product!

www.kubotausa.com

 

[daugen]

Don, that's big news. Tell us more

 

[sodamo]

My little BBQ privacy walls are up. Eventually there will be a small sink, work counter, and Durock tiled.

This is what its hiding

 

[txdon]

Don, that's big news. Tell us more

Not too much more to tell at this time. The "Adventure Farm" is gearing up of their fall festival that starts in the middle of this month but in October/November when it gets cooler they expect to have very large crowds on weekends and will have 3 shifts each weekend day driving 2 tractor wagons. In October weekends at dusk there will be campfires and fireworks and flashlight corn maze. The rodeo even gets involved for the mutton busting for the kids. I'll get a pic of the giant 20ft. cannon on the back of an antique firetruck that uses a propane tank of compresses air to shoot out a big big bag of candy shotgun style. There are about 38 different outdoor activities to do to get the kids out from behind their video games.

 

[Buppies]

Wish I could Drew a little bit of a hike for us. Nice new job Don, PJ if that’s what you want I hope it works. Nice parking lot today done by 3:00 today got home by 4:30 took nap. First job cleaning mobile homes nasty, then for steel fabricator in summers learned how to grind burn fit weld fit. While in college worked as foreman. Next summer trained to install jail equipment Va Beach and Upper Marlboro Md among others.

In the school season September to June worked at two gas stations first one accused of stealing battery went across street got evening shift 4:00 to 10:00, after I left other station the owner walked across the street said he found out who stole battery the man who told him I did. I told him he needed the money more than I did lesson here do not accuse anyone of stealing unless I see it myself, good life lesson.

After getting married and graduating college went to work for steel fabricator started as Estimater moved to sales in detention equipment and rose thru the ranks. Retired early did what I wanted and had a ball with our son as well as wife (did I mention she is wonderful). Was diagnosed with diabetes looking for outdoor work started paving company from scratch, really enjoy this line of work.

Spent a lot of time with boats in my youth nothing as big as Drew 30 footer learned to run on a lake at 7 years old last boat I has sold in 2006 have not been on one since miss it alot.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Interesting drive today.

Went over to WV and did some exploring for land. Just a gorgeous nice day.
We passed what appeared to be a good local restaurant before we got to town. Looked good by the number of cars there.
We pull into town, wife wanted to eat before looking at the lot but I missed seeing a place I had in mind. Has food lion and a TSC. We stopped at DQ for restroom break, and I decided to go back and check out that little restaurant.
We walk in, all tables taken, small place, 5 tables and a few bar stools. Nice inside.
Couple guys and a woman sitting at a table said they were about done, we could join them. 3 of them, 5 chairs at a round table. The lady works there, she got up and went back to kitchen area. We’re sitting there chatting with these 2 guys, they were just as friendly as could be. One first guy retired there from MD about 10 yrs ago, his wife waitresses at the place, they came for lunch and shoot the breeze, the other was his neighbor, who had also lived in MD at one time before moving here while in HS. The first guy said he bought his land, dug well and put in septic, and camped on his land for years before retiring and building a house. They have lots of advice, recommended well drillers, real estate people etc. then another friend of theirs came in and sate with us and chatted some more. The first 2 left when our food came, we chatted with this other guy until some of his buddies came in and he joined them.
Great food. Homemade everything. Everyone we meet as friendly as can be.
We eventually made it to the lot we went to see
Beautiful with minimal restrictions.
This 5.6 acre lot is almost perfectly flat on top.
North view

East view

SE view

S view

West view, pear trees on another lot

There’s a big old tank, I’m guessing once used as a water tank on this lot, with old building beside it.

It is priced for the view, at least double other lots it’s size
What’s weird is the lots developed in 1986, has over 30 lots, this 2nd largest. Most 2-3 acres.
There are only 2 houses, 1 looks like original farm house. There are 5-6 lots currently for sale. Homeowners responsible for road maintenance, most roads in development have no gravel but are cleared nice. Main Road is in good shape.

One of the no gravel roads.

Decisions decisions. A bit steep in price. Only the 1 lot has the views. Most are down in the woods around this one.

2 miles out of town. Less than 3 miles from food lion, TSC and the county hospital. all roads paved until this development.