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You can use your iPhone, Android, tablet or laptop. The scanner app is free you just need the Blue Tooth OBD2 connector. That's what I use. Fantastic stuff out there for free.
EDIT: Actually you can use either Blue Tooth or WiFi.
Looks pretty ugly outside, very overcast and 25° right now at 10am. Most of what we got thru the night and what we're getting right now "sounds like" sleet, as you can hear it on the windows and roof at times. You can tell that we did get some freezing rain at some point from the icicles on the table in the 1st pic below. There has not been enough accumulation to completely cover the grass, but you can see the road is covered in the 2nd pic taken out our front foyer window. We are in the zone of a continued mix of mostly sleet, changing over to mostly snow later today. Just plain ugly.
Greg - I saw your post on Headlights & it triggered a nerve. Headlight "lenses" on my 2003 F250 are terribly cloudy w/ that kinda yellowish haze. The headlights themselves are fine, it's those plastic lenses which I need to clean. I have more important things on my agenda for several days, but I think 1st thing I'm going to do is remove the front-end grille guard and work to clean those lenses.
Chris - Did you address the ice dam on your roof? What a memory I have, eh? Hope you get another 6"-12" so you can play w/ the snow blower.
Norm - Yes, we had the area that had the ice dam addressed when we had the new roof put on a couple years ago. The area of the previous ice dam was what the Roofer termed a "Dead Zone", an area of very low pitch between the Garage Gable and the Main Roof Gable. The Roofer put a special thicker rubber type underlayment in the "Dead Zone" area that is supposed to ensure there will be no leakage. We haven't had any issues since, but we've had very mild Winters since it was done, with very little accumulation of any heavy snow on the roof.
Honestly, it won't break my heart if I don't have to get out and play with the snowblower.
Oh, forgot to say earlier, my #1 wish for today is that my kids and friends stay off the roads, and none experience any power outages! The power outages are widespread already, mainly south of us which is getting alot of freezing rain.
My 2nd wish for today is that the Lions beat the Vikings tonight on Sunday Night Football to wrap up the #1 seed in the NFC. It ought to be a great game with both teams at 14-2.
Norm, my old F250 has the real cheap ft end and uses old school rectangular bulbs.
-- I have found a lot of this stuff has been reproduced by China repop companies. A example is the clutch assembly used on 87-96 Ford trucks- which I have used on my '56 f100. I think is what happens is-- say the clutch linkage on your 1990 F150 gets worn out, you go to ford to get the assembly, and the price is astronomical!! So Dorman and others has someone make the parts in China and they sell them for 1/2 the price of the Ford part. There is lots of guys who need these parts when trucks are 10 years old or something and Dorman(and others) make big bucks selling their parts. Then the trucks get older and there is lots less demand for them. So they end up on Amazon, etc for really cheap....
-- OK- my point is you may be able to get repop headlights cheap for your truck- maybe cheap enough to make it not worth even messing with your cloudy ones.
My 2nd wish for today is that the Lions beat the Vikings tonight on Sunday Night Football
And this sucks, as I get up at 4:30, and will only watch until halftime. Apparently the NFL thinks that the night game is a badge of honor or something. A 1 pm start would be fine with me.
Chris - I didn't know or forgot you had a roof R&R - sweet. Yes, in my experience(s) regarding that dead zone ice dam a thick rubber under layment is the way to go. Nice. I'm torn between Vikings vs. Lions. Well, no I'm not really - I'd prefer the Vikings over the Lions. Love your '67 Lion's image. You need practice w/ the snowblower.
Greg - You present a decent enough idea. However, it isn't the headlamps themselves, it's the clear lenses over the headlamps. None-the-less, thanks for the idea. I think I'll check into replacement lenses. 😉
I just saw some crazy MF go down our ice/snow covered street on an old fashioned mini-bike. Man, what an accident waiting to happen!
As kids we did that type stuff. Mini-bikes, gokarts, motorcycles & cars. Some places (not many but several) sold big studded tires - some guys used to make their own. We had car races, bike races on frozen-over lakes - big events, really. Blasting down a subdivision street is way fun.
And this sucks, as I get up at 4:30, and will only watch until halftime. Apparently the NFL thinks that the night game is a badge of honor or something. A 1 pm start would be fine with me.
Dan, sorry you're gonna have to miss 1/2 the game. Unfortunately, I think the answer as usual these days is $'s! It's the premier game of the day, and in that time slot there is no competition.
I'm torn between Vikings vs. Lions. Well, no I'm not really - I'd prefer the Vikings over the Lions. Love your '67 Lion's image. You need practice w/ the snowblower.
I think on any given day the Lions, Vikings, or the Packers are capable of beating any of the other teams in the NFC if they play their best ball. There is so much parody in the NFL these days that many of the games come down to a turnover or stroke of luck. If I was going to plunk some $'s down today on who would win the Super Bowl, my money would be on the Bills.
As kids we did that type stuff. Mini-bikes, gokarts, motorcycles & cars. Some places (not many but several) sold big studded tires - some guys used to make their own. We had car races, bike races on frozen-over lakes - big events, really. Blasting down a subdivision street is way fun.
Ya, we all did all that crazy $hit up in the Great White North. Another one was skiing with a tow rope behind a 4x4, Quad, or Snowmobile. It's a wonder none of my friends or I ended up paralyzed or dead! Good times!
We used to 'skitch' (hanging onto the bumper, door, side mirrors with our hands) & tow behind rope, as well - sporting good fun wonder how we made it. We'd skitch hanging onto the bumper of a city bus - got reamed out good by several bus drivers.
On a normal everyday bicycle I was once riding w/ my friends through our subdivision - no hands, one hand, watching girls, talking away - next thing I know I'm tossed into the air & laying on the trunk of a parked car - I ran directly into the guys trunk/bumper. My gawd did we laugh our asses.
We used to 'skitch' (hanging onto the bumper, door, side mirrors with our hands) & tow behind rope, as well - sporting good fun wonder how we made it. We'd skitch hanging onto the bumper of a city bus - got reamed out good by several bus drivers.
On a normal everyday bicycle I was once riding w/ my friends through our subdivision - no hands, one hand, watching girls, talking away - next thing I know I'm tossed into the air & laying on the trunk of a parked car - I ran directly into the guys trunk/bumper. My gawd did we laugh our asses.
Yep, certainly a wonder we every made it to adulthood!
Have I expressed the joy/jubilation since replacing my GPs? Wasn't sure.
Who names a bank the Empty Bank? True story I'm driving w/ my friend Barry (same nightmare Barry who accompanied me to my eye surgery) into downtown Baltimore, Jan. 3rd, 2003 (Titans vs. Ravens), AFC Wildcard Playoff, game/parking tickets in hand. Approaching Baltimore listening to radio we both look at one another after listening to numerous Empty Bank radio commercials. Getting closer to the stadium live radio broadcast announcers are saying the Empty Stadium parking is beginning to fill & lots of tailgating going on. I look at our tickets - it's the M&T Bank & it's the M&T Stadium. Try rolling that off your tongue & tell me it doesn't sound like Empty Bank. Had a blast, great AFC rivalry game.
Spending the past week doing touch-ups inside the house - scraping, sanding, staining/painting, caulking - doors, windows, entrance ways, floors, flooring thresholds, base boards, 1/4-round, this **** never ends. Good winter indoor activities so I'm not worrying about this stuff once golf begins in earnest.
Who names a bank the Empty Bank? True story I'm driving w/ my friend Barry (same nightmare Barry who accompanied me to my eye surgery) into downtown Baltimore, Jan. 3rd, 2003 (Titans vs. Ravens), AFC Wildcard Playoff, game/parking tickets in hand. Approaching Baltimore listening to radio we both look at one another after listening to numerous Empty Bank radio commercials. Getting closer to the stadium live radio broadcast announcers are saying the Empty Stadium parking is beginning to fill & lots of tailgating going on. I look at our tickets - it's the M&T Bank & it's the M&T Stadium. Try rolling that off your tongue & tell me it doesn't sound like Empty Bank. Had a blast, great AFC rivalry game.
Chris we only got about 2" of hard crusty stuff now. We aren't getting hit this time,... yet....
Greg - It's continued to sleet/snow throughout the day and the grass is completely covered now, with more to come overnight in the form of snow. Hard to believe we have more than you guys in January! We've got 4 or 5 days coming now behind the storm with highs only in the low 20's and lows in the single digits, so what.snow we have is gonna be here awhile, which is also unusual.
Greg - Thanks for thinking of me. 2003 F250 6.0L Superduty Lariat 4-door Supercrew. I looked at the link you sent. Those don't fit, but I did a couple searches & you're right, Amazon has tons of these headlights. I just need to narrow down to vehicle fitment. Too much on my plate at the moment but I'll research this more very soon. Thank, again.
The NFL was a tax-exempt organization from 1942 until 2015 - I know, hard to believe. The 32 teams which make up the NFL League created/formed a trade association. Thirty one of the 32 NFL teams are privately owned w/ only one team which continues to operate as a non-profit team. This team is home to the oldest continually operating NFL stadium in the country. You go, Curly!
Well the 1st half was a defensive battle by both teams with the Lions up 10-6 at the half. The Lions turned on the afterburners in the 2nd half and ended up winning 31-9. Way to go Lions!
Rain, but I won't complain about it today since others are getting snow and the associated crap. Although I would like summer to come back.
Worked out in the yard after Walmart yesterday. Got everything done I wanted to before it started raining. Today after work I might try to get the lock on my trailer swapped out. I don't know why I'd have luck and the trailer guy didn't, but I can give it a shot. Or if the rain stops I can work on the Mercedes. I'd really like that guy to go away.
We called the hanging on to the bumper thing skeetching. I knew a guy who was paralyzed from doing that. Car hit a bump and he let go and slid into something.
Not a bad start to the morning. Hope we can finish up this afternoon. I have to work all 5 days this week. Who wants to do that? No extra time off for quite awhile now.
Your neighbor's house makes my brain hurt. The vaulted windows don't line up with the peak in the roof, and it appears the double door on the right is only a single door with a fixed panel(that railing!). I don't know how you can look at that every day.
So my friend in Daytona sold her car to a guy in North Carolina. His plan was to hire someone to haul it home for him. He can't get anyone to pick it up, and thinks it would be easier to get someone to pick it up in Atlanta. So she asked me if I'd go retrieve it and bring it to my house and the guy would have someone pick it up there. Now, I'd do anything for this friend, but I'm not a big fan of this plan. First off, this would blow an entire weekend and what would I charge the guy to do this. And I don't want to deadhead to Daytona. Second, how long is it going to take this guy to retrieve the car from my house? And how long until it becomes mine because he takes too long to get it? Hm, possession is 9/10ths, maybe this could work out. My friend just wants it gone, I don't know why he can't look at Uship, or call any number of transport companies. I'm guessing they are more than he wants to pay. There's always Uhaul.
Your neighbor's house makes my brain hurt. The vaulted windows don't line up with the peak in the roof, and it appears the double door on the right is only a single door with a fixed panel(that railing!). I don't know how you can look at that every day.
So my friend in Daytona sold her car to a guy in North Carolina. His plan was to hire someone to haul it home for him. He can't get anyone to pick it up, and thinks it would be easier to get someone to pick it up in Atlanta. So she asked me if I'd go retrieve it and bring it to my house and the guy would have someone pick it up there. Now, I'd do anything for this friend, but I'm not a big fan of this plan. First off, this would blow an entire weekend and what would I charge the guy to do this. And I don't want to deadhead to Daytona. Second, how long is it going to take this guy to retrieve the car from my house? And how long until it becomes mine because he takes too long to get it? Hm, possession is 9/10ths, maybe this could work out. My friend just wants it gone, I don't know why he can't look at Uship, or call any number of transport companies. I'm guessing they are more than he wants to pay. There's always Uhaul.
Mike - Completely agree w/ you on the vaulted windows - ill-placed. The railing! I don't know if it's a single door (w/ a side window pane) or a double door; either way here's my take. The intention was or still remains to install a porch/deck to the back of the house up to the level of the rear door(s). Note the house to the left (right side in the image). That home is identical - minus vaulted windows but w/ a rear entrance overhanging roof above the stairs.
Mike - Post a picture of your friend in Daytona. Is she single?
No, actually, she is not. I'm guessing she wouldn't be your type. But maybe she would be. I had my chance with her and didn't take it. Oh well.
I'm certain that is a single door with a glass pane next to it. Why else would you have a railing there? Maybe Chris can go over and check it out. Apparently the people who bought the place didn't go out back during the showing. A deck would definitely help things out. Might not be enough room in the yard.
You'd have a railing for support so no one busts their ***. Sometimes a railing is required to be code compliant. Still, a nice walk-out (from that rear door) deck is what's needed.
You'd have a railing for support so no one busts their ***. Sometimes a railing is required to be code compliant. Still, a nice walk-out (from that rear door) deck is what's needed.
Single door. Norm's correct, temporary steps for egress to backyard. Owner opted for rudimentary stairs for the time being and railing required to meet code. The owner is still trying to decide if they want a deck like the house to the left, or an elevated concrete slab like the home on the right.
Hey guys,
Got a workout this morning. Spent about 3 and 1/2 hours outside between shoveling, scaping ice, and running the snowblower.. Went out first to shovel off the deck and stairs down to the backyard. Then shoveled around the gate into the backyard so I could get it open and get the snowblower down there. Then shoveled the front porch and the walkway from the driveway to the front door because the space is to tight for the snowblower. While I was doing all this, my neighbor was going to use our snowblower to do his driveway. He couldn't get it started so I had to stop what I was doing to go help. The snowblower had sat for a whole year, so I'm sure the carb was bone dry. There's a Primer Bulb to initially fill the carb and he was afraid he'd flood it. I got it going on the 2nd try. By the time I got done with my prep work he was almost done with the snowblower. Brought it over to my place and did my drive and then took it down to the backyard and cleared a large area for the dogs. It works surprisingly well even in the grass. Couldn't really get all the way down close to the concrete on the drive because of the freezing rain that fell early during the storm, but was able to clear the 5-inches of snow on top. At least it will be easy getting in/out of the driveway.
The vaulted windows don't line up with the peak in the roof,
I'm not an architect, but I'm guessing whoever came up with that design. wasn't either. Chris, I went to bed at halftime wondering if this was going to go south for the Lions. I woke up at 11:35 because my back was killing me, and decided to get a drink of water. of course I had to turn the TV on, just in time for the post game. Gibbs looks like he could still be in highschool.
Chris, I went to bed at halftime wondering if this was going to go south for the Lions. I woke up at 11:35 because my back was killing me, and decided to get a drink of water. of course I had to turn the TV on, just in time for the post game. Gibbs looks like he could still be in highschool.
Dan - Did you see that shot Gibbs took from VanGinkle in the 1st Half? I really had doubts Gibbs would even get up. It was as hard a hit as I'd seen all season on anyone. Not only did he come back in after getting checked out, I'm sure you know he had a monster 2nd Half. The kid is tough as nails. The announcers, after discussions with Lions officials, seemed to allude to Montgomery being able to be back for the 1st playoff game, which would be a bonus, although the 3rd string Back they had filling in last night definitely did a great job. I am so glad they get the 1st round bye and can hopefully heal up a little before their first game.
Rough 36 hours. Snow began yesterday morning and had 5 inches or so down by the time I got up. It stopped and swapped to freezing rain at 11 am and continued till midnight. Many branches broke under ice and fell with loud noises. Many lost power, I went to bed thinking I might have lucked out, but lost power at 2 this morning. Other than taking the pictures, heaving the tarp off my grill, and checking the snow and ice, I stayed inside. I can walk on the stuff and crunch through safely, but shoveling it seems to be a no go.
Moved firewood inside and ran a fire for 12 hours. Also used a supposedly indoor rated propane space heater some. I was half asleep as it was getting dark and noticed my timered table light was on, but nothing else. By the time I realized I was seeing a real time voltage climb in the grid, power was back. My sumps ran for 30 seconds, the alarm got bitchy, and stuff was back. The heat is climbing its way from 58 to the normal 67 now. There are 42k people without power around here. CenterPoint energy fucked up big time by saying it couldn't afford to trim trees this year. I expect the media will make hay with some poor mother about her cold kids. Someone should hang for the amount of problems. They got 10% of the people back running today, I guess I am lucky.
I'll be iced in for a while. I have supplies for a week. As long as the power stays I am fine. The thing under the tarp is my grille, and the rest of the pictures are trees and the 300k mile Tacoma.
Rough 36 hours. Snow began yesterday morning and had 5 inches or so down by the time I got up. It stopped and swapped to freezing rain at 11 am and continued till midnight. Many branches broke under ice and fell with loud noises. Many lost power, I went to bed thinking I might have lucked out, but lost power at 2 this morning. Other than taking the pictures, heaving the tarp off my grill, and checking the snow and ice, I stayed inside. I can walk on the stuff and crunch through safely, but shoveling it seems to be a no go.
John - Sure glad you got your power back! It certainly looks like you got much more ice than we did, the pics look brutal. Also glad you have supplies for at least a week. I sure hope your power stays on. Hunker down and stay safe.
