Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 42F here in Yankee Hill, CA. Sun and clouds mixed. High 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Looks like this will be the last warm day here for a while, with rain moving in for tomorrow and temperatures peaking in the low 50s for the rest of the 10-day. Which is calling for rain and snow showers weekend after this coming one. Might have to head south again before that.

I saw the TurboTax display at the Costco down south last week, but will hold off until their flyer to see if they'll offer it for a few dollars off.

there are so many ads on youtube now. Almost like I'm forced to buy the opt out.

I got email from Amazon last week that there will soon be ads on Prime Video. Opting out will cost about $3/month. Nothing like being charged for something that was initially offered as a free benefit. But come to think of it, that free benefit was never really free, but included in the monthly Prime subscription. And now they have to break out the $3, because every other streaming service has a pay wall, too.

Another mostly smooth trip north yesterday. I did hit fog, but it was while climbing over the Coast Range to get to the valley and I5 beyond. Enjoyed a few podcasts along the way, first time I'd tried them. Interesting subjects helped me stay alert behind the wheel. But the infotainment system kept dropping the connection to the iPhone, something probably attributable to the case on the phone not working well with the wireless charging cradle. Next time I'll tether the phone via USB and see if the problem goes away.

I'd been sleeping on an air bed here and was never really comfortable, so I brought back the queen size bed from the guest room and set it up when I got back. Also got a fire going in the wood stove, and was quite comfortable by dinner time. Restoked the wood stove this morning and am waiting for the heat to reach the bedroom.

Last Christmas we tried spiced rum in banana flavored milk instead of eggnog, and actually preferred it. There was some of the milk left over, but no rum, so yesterday I finished it off with tequila. The rum is better, but the tequila worked in a pinch.

Also waiting for the temps to warm outside before having another go at the Vanagon wiring. Making hay while the sun shines. Before it does, I might go out to the last burn pile and limb up a few trees for campfire wood. I took all I had south to use at the cabins over New Years, and burned every stick. But I might not, as my back is a bit sore from the trip, and chainsawing has never been good for it.

TGIF gang!

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning! Low was 25°, only heading to 35°, sunny. Tomorrow afternoon more snow arrives. Winter storm warnings already in place, but no real forecasted amounts.

Even when they do give the amounts, they are so wide ranging..... "we can cover our butts.... just give a large enough range". ---- but half the time that's not correct.

We got about 5" yesterday, it was still snowing late last night. Cleared the walks and drive this morning. At least the majority of the snow was light and fluffy.

Scott, you had to be thinking of a reason to only bring a couple legs..... maybe because you were going back so soon? At least the 'done' ones are looking good.....

Wng, definitely not the 'end'..... but a good mid-point!

Kilroy, my babcia had a butcher shop / corner grocery including a smokehouse in Port Richmond (Philly). All the keibasa and sausages smelled soooo good! Yes, they used whatever was handy to get the job done!

Daughter is returning from Texas tomorrow, stopping by and collecting the MIL. Then we can get back to 'normal' day to day living.....

My motivation came back.... it just took an unannounced vacation.....
Now that the MIL will be leaving, all her bags and personal stuff will be cleared out of the way and the area can be accessible. Then I can get back to the shelves.

Today's agenda is to bring up some more pellets to the porch. Then a conserve energy day. (Again).....

Everyone have a great day!

 

[sodamo]

66°F and .08 inches rain

Weather never did settle yesterday. Get suckered into a nice period of dry, almost sun only to get a blast of rain. Could be related to this advancing cold front I guess. Even fooled my weather app.

Made a chicken version of shepherd’s pie. Nice comfort food.

Guys lost at H&F. Gals dominated from beginning

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[sodamo]

Drew, how wide is the garage window opening? Will a door fit with the existing header? Any electric wires crossing under it? How high is the header? Is it a side wall? Does bottom of wall sit on slab, or a block wall above the floor? What is the existing siding?
Maybe if things look ok using existing header, and no permits required, we can have a spring TBN door install party. A basic 9 lite prehung door probably $200-300.
They are not hard to install.

Pretty much my thinking as well. But even if not same measurements, I think the garage wall is just open studs, so easy.

Drew, post a couple pics inside and out and I bet someone can render a pic of the work/door to show landlady.

 

[daugen]

David, thank you.
Frits, checking bolts smart idea.

well my experiment with the one into four USB did not work.
it performed exactly the same whether I had two USB cables plugged into two spots in the pc
or the one adapter plugged into pc with two audio usb cables plugged into that.
Recognized both Klipsch The Fives and PS Audio as separate and only gave one choice for selection.
oh well.
I did order a better quality USB cable to go to the Sprout amp from the pc.
did a lot of A-B comparisons on music, had fun with that, each speaker has its own sound and the Klipsch speakers
seam to project more, but the KEF speakers sound highly accurate. I guess what musicians want in a studio monitor.
Where the Klipsch speakers with those big horns project out into larger rooms more powerfully.
But then the original Bose 901s were considered phenomenal speakers for their time due to dispersion,
but not due to accuracy.

I have a Nividia U32R59X sound card in my pc. Have no idea what the audio specs on the sound board are.
Noise is a big deal, quieter the better. If it all starts on that sound card, I wonder if a better sound card would help.
It's going into a very good DAC in the Sprout integrated amp, which converts digital to audio.
Does digital have "separation" like audio? I'm sure it has measurable noise.

my understanding is that pc audio/video cards come in different resolutions, speed and memory.
But what about the audio portion?
what do they ever tell us about that?

I think my relatively inexpensive bookshelf speakers sound as good as they do because they are driven by a
very low distortion amp.

I've worked on the output to the speakers, now wondering about the input to the amp.
I spent 59 bucks on the least expensive higher end usb cable. Amazing how many 300 and 400 dollar usb cables are sold.
so that's about forty bucks of better copper and more noise insulation, possibly better connectors.
I will A-B the old and new usb cables and see if I can tell the difference. Unlikely but it's a cheap cherry on top

If I were a musician, I'd be wondering if I needed a new/better guitar.
But I'm not, so I'm wondering if a better signal would help.
you computer wizards will need to add intelligence here.
I do know there are internet sites/stations that stream only hifi music,
or exceptionally well recorded music where a decent stereo can show all the detail.
I was thinking of getting a turntable, but need to research online digital first.

owning a radio shack, I sold an awful lot of wire. And yes I carried one line of speaker cable, nice 14G stranded copper with a good cover, that was
"better" than Radio Shack's store brand. If they needed 16, I always gave them 14.
Would not sell more expensive cables, was more value oriented.
At least the more expensive cables are usually super durable. Tech will change before the cables wear out

 

[scootr]

Daugen, you probably already checked for an updated driver for the audio card?

 

[kenmbz]

David, thank you.
Frits, checking bolts smart idea.

well my experiment with the one into four USB did not work.
it performed exactly the same whether I had two USB cables plugged into two spots in the pc
or the one adapter plugged into pc with two audio usb cables plugged into that.
Recognized both Klipsch The Fives and PS Audio as separate and only gave one choice for selection.
oh well.
I did order a better quality USB cable to go to the Sprout amp from the pc.
did a lot of A-B comparisons on music, had fun with that, each speaker has its own sound and the Klipsch speakers
seam to project more, but the KEF speakers sound highly accurate. I guess what musicians want in a studio monitor.
Where the Klipsch speakers with those big horns project out into larger rooms more powerfully.
But then the original Bose 901s were considered phenomenal speakers for their time due to dispersion,
but not due to accuracy.

I have a Nividia U32R59X sound card in my pc. Have no idea what the audio specs on the sound board are.
Noise is a big deal, quieter the better. If it all starts on that sound card, I wonder if a better sound card would help.
It's going into a very good DAC in the Sprout integrated amp, which converts digital to audio.
Does digital have "separation" like audio? I'm sure it has measurable noise.

my understanding is that pc audio/video cards come in different resolutions, speed and memory.
But what about the audio portion?
what do they ever tell us about that?

I think my relatively inexpensive bookshelf speakers sound as good as they do because they are driven by a
very low distortion amp.

I've worked on the output to the speakers, now wondering about the input to the amp.
I spent 59 bucks on the least expensive higher end usb cable. Amazing how many 300 and 400 dollar usb cables are sold.
so that's about forty bucks of better copper and more noise insulation, possibly better connectors.
I will A-B the old and new usb cables and see if I can tell the difference. Unlikely but it's a cheap cherry on top

If I were a musician, I'd be wondering if I needed a new/better guitar.
But I'm not, so I'm wondering if a better signal would help.
you computer wizards will need to add intelligence here.
I do know there are internet sites/stations that stream only hifi music,
or exceptionally well recorded music where a decent stereo can show all the detail.
I was thinking of getting a turntable, but need to research online digital first.

owning a radio shack, I sold an awful lot of wire. And yes I carried one line of speaker cable, nice 14G stranded copper with a good cover, that was
"better" than Radio Shack's store brand. If they needed 16, I always gave them 14.
Would not sell more expensive cables, was more value oriented.
At least the more expensive cables are usually super durable. Tech will change before the cables wear out

Some audio cards allow dual USB music, some don't, mine on the dell and Lenovo does not allow second device simultaneous.

Need to find the documentation on your card.

Can also get a USB to Audio splitter, plain old USB to 2 sets of analog jacks.

 

[rswyan]

Greetings GM'ers !

31F and sunny @ 16:00, calling for a high of 34F. Low this morning was 16.9F ... ... brrrrr !

Just got done refilling hopper, 2 tube, and 2 suet feeders + cracked corn and split peas scattered for the ground feeders. Also took a bucket of whole corn up and tossed it in the deer feeder.

Garage had been holding at a little over 40F (without me out there in it) until yesterday morning when I noticed it had dropped to 38F.
So fired up the torpedo heater last night after I got back from Menards and brought in the 4 gallons of diesel that I picked up @ the cheap on the way back.

Speaking of which, I noticed that gas had fallen to $2.47/gallon so I went ahead and topped off The Woman's car while I was at it. Diesel was $3.69/gallon ... so we still have a little work to do there ...

Washer developed a leak so after going around with The Woman on it, I tore into that to see what it was.

She was wanting a new machine and I was willing to pull the trigger on a new Speed Queen ... but She didn't want to spend that kind of money.

And I wasn't inclined to go low-end and have something that didn't hold up and last for more than a few years.

After tearing it apart, I discovered it was only the pump ($21), did some further research and located a good price on a new inner basket. The enamel on the old one had gotten dinged and was rusting in one spot.

First time I had looked into pricing a new inner basket (back in 2019 when I repaired the drain hose) the price was over $500 IIRC. Managed to locate a new genuine Whirlpool part for $148. Will replace the brake/clutch lining ($25) while I'm at it ... which will hopefully get rid of the grinding noise when it comes out of the spin cycle.

Advice I got from 2 different repair techs was to hang onto to this washer (Whirlpool with a direct-drive motor) because after they stopped making these they went to crap.

So we reached a compromise: spend a couple hundred to fix the outstanding issues and hopefully we'll get another 20 years out of it (we purchased it in 2003)

Well, probably not us ... but somebody might ...

Had to shut the water off going to the kitchen and laundry while I tore into it because I was never able to get the shutoff valves for the washer freed up.

Last night I was finally able to get the hose bibs removed from the pipes in the wall they screw onto so I ran down to Menards and picked up a new pair of hose bibs and a new set of hoses.

So I'm about to go stick those on ... so I can turn the water to the kitchen and laundry room back on.

Hope everyone is having a great Friday ! ...

 

[scott_vt]

Good Evening Guys,

When I retired in 2004. One of the first things I did was have a wholehouse generator installed.

Ron, I would love to have one, and do have two propane tanks ! I don’t know if anyone on here told you, but I’m kind of on the thrifty side !

Scott, you had to be thinking of a reason to only bring a couple legs..... maybe because you were going back so soon? At least the 'done' ones are looking good.....

Ted, this project of building two sculptured rockers for my grand daughters, is a long range project at best ! If these rockers get totally built in the next 2 years I will be surprised! If I was in Vt every day I think I could have them both built and sculpted and finished by spring ! I guess in a way it’s good, because im
Not in a position to rush !

Frits, your ATV looks awesome with that BOSS plow !!

Don, glad your brother is Covid negative !

Date night with Kathleen, using a gift certificate to a nice restaurant!

Hope all have a Great evening !

 

[Thomas]

24F cloudy.
Weather station saying 4' to 6" fluffy snow arrive late tomorrow night,got feel 8 to 10 inches.


Work day zip by home for quick lunch headed outside,5 extra wheelbarrow load wood in basement,was going to cut kindling decided remove 4 game cams from different location will leave 3 game cams watching 3 different ben dens hoping will be used,walk well used deer trail in hopes finding sheds no such luck...yet.

Plans for the evening little as possible.

Enjoy your evening all.

 

[Wagtail]

Good (Saturday) morning. Overnight Low of 16.6C and it's presently 25.5C, mostly cloudy and calm.

Well, I did get up to something yesterday; recyclables/garbage to the tip and then I sent my Mate up the ladder to clean my chimney! We couldn't get the 'cap' off last year, so this year he used tin-snips to cut it off. Yes, I'd already bought a spare cap in anticipation of this... so I'm ready for another Winter's wood burning. Yay!

The Mad Horse Agisting Woman (+ Daughter) have taken their horses down to Bicheno for the weekend & asked to set-up Paddock #1 for their return, so I'll do that this arvo and then have 'tractor fun' chain-harrowing/mulching Paddock #6.

That's about it, take care all.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

23 deg.
Just got home from TN, with stops at 2 Buc-ees today, one was breakfast, the 2nd was lunch. Ran down there wednesday to fetch by wife back, she went down with my oldest son on the 1st to keep him company. Very heavy traffic on way down, for midweek. Came back today because of the pending snow for tomorrow. Roads pretreated as far south as Knoxville I think. Around 1400 miles in 3 days.
cleaned out pellet stove burn pot real well, had some hard crud down in the bottom. Didn't think it was going to light, went to garage to fetch the torch, came back in and it had lit. So must have been the crud in the bottom of the burn pot keeping it from lighting the other day.
I priced a whole house generator last year, but couldn't justify the price, for the very few outages we have.
I see there was another mental kid in Iowa. Sad they don't get the treatment they need.
Kitty's happy we are home, Pebbles got shut up in the other side of the basement today. I saw her on the correct side yesterday via camera.
tired from the driving.

 

[Buppies]

Glad you made it back BEF safe storm for us freezing rain for us and up to above Staunton warm air wins. Got a few things done but not much. Nice snow fighting equipment m7040. Used to do a lot of four wheeling the early mid 70s found Audie Murphy cash site ran thru Catawba lots of times did Range Rover coarse in Asheville NC learned a lot. Good Evening

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. Now safely in Saint Louis. Thursday packed up (took over two hours), then left for Bull Shoals lake where both of my sis-in0laws live. Visited with both. Had breakfast with sil/bil and quickly left when it started snowing. First couple of hour on snow covered roads, had one traction issue going up hill. Made ok time when roads no longer snow covered. After dinner were outside watching the deer and granddaughter put ggd in my lap, and she stayed there much longer than anyone thought she would ! Catch up next week?

 

[scootr]

Good evening everyone. Cold nights. Low 30s in the AM. I'll pass on driving the open hot rod to the car meet tomorrow. Instead plan a trip to the gun store with a friend. Looking for a new EVC. So many good ones now to choose from. P365, Shield plus, Hellcat, PPK380. Will have to see what fits my hand and my wallet. lol
Stay warm and safe.

 

[Looking4new]

Good morning, the low is 13 and the high to 19°F. Wind ENE 11 mph. Cloudy with periods of snow. About an inch they claim. They also claim about 2" overnight.

I have no plans regarding travel until next Friday, so it can snow all it wants.

Have a safe day all

 

[ronjhall]

Poured hot cup of coffee. 28° with light snow this morning. Heading to 34° with cloudy skies. Got some January paper work done yesterday. Sassy walk was nice but chilly. Figured out what it is going to take to switch mower parts from on tractor to the other. May get started on that today.
Someone has to walk out on the ice to see if it is safe.

Scott, I am thrifty/cheap also. But sometimes you have to give in and spend the money to make life easier as you age. I preach that to my neighbors all the time. They think I am going to live forever.

Everyone stay well and safe.

Good Morning All.

 

[Helogabals]

Good morning !

-12 C = 10 F. And few inches of super-fresh snow.
I don't know how it is by you, but here it's very rare when it's snowing while so cold. Such snow is very dry. As I am plowing it flows like water, light powder.
Easy to plow but as there is no "lubrication" between blade and asphalt, so blade is making noises. But brush is working great

Roads are rather dangerous, lot of reports about accidents coming in news.
Not because of snowy roads but as for eastern part of state (where my is "rancho") forecasted -25 ... -30 C / -22 F I canceled "rancho run". Makes no sense to drive there as I would not work outdoors if it's that cold. It's easy to loose fingers in such cold. At news they were reporting about few guys with amputated fingers. Hobos. I wouldn't say - homeless like classical poor, but just "freestylers". Now laying in hospital bed, crying, "well manicured".
And from news I have learned there is another benefit from cold - no more border trespassing. All those sent by russian "engineers" and "doctors" cant stand this cold.
I think I am on very thin ice here, so let's change topic

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was rather productive at work. Had no orders from customers so involved my technicians to assist electricians (contractors). They have made great progress.
Have made a lot of jokes that within such gang it's easy to make mistakes and results will be like with this guy. But at the end all was great, no faults

Have involved daughter (witness) in sorting of spare parts. She is doing great since that unfortunate incident..
Lady which takes care of that job on everyday basis was really happy about her
Fancy workplace she have made for herself:

News says Russia is using North Korean missiles, and pursuing getting more Iranian missiles. Crazy world we live in.

Our news try to find that "golden edge". They are declaring that Kim's missles are old, very often doesnt reach target, even explode in barrels
Meantime UAF start to use shells from India
Don't know how UAF get them, but I always have been very positive about Indians. They don't disappointing this time either
Iran is playing amazing game, not only there but at Red sea too. They have encouraged guys in flipflops to attack USA Navvy.
Frankly I am wondering why those guys are still alive. Answer should have been much harsh. Maybe because it's election year. I don't know

Scandinavia is getting socked with some serious snow, YT videos coming in from Norway and Denmark of what looks like four or five feet of snow.
I like watching the Fendt or JD tractors clearing it

what a lot of shoveling
I could not do it

there are so many ads on youtube now. Almost like I'm forced to buy the opt out.

yeah, there is rather crazy. At this side of Baltic sea we have got only light shadow from that storm

 

[plowhog]

Low 30s in the AM. I'll pass on driving the open hot rod to the car meet tomorrow.

Good plan!

27F here in beautiful Northern Nevada. First "real" storm of the season due in later today. Maybe a foot of snow over Donner Summit, then numerous more storms coming through next week. We need it here, been a bit of a dry winter so far.

 

[wngsprd]

Sorry for poor quality.