Hi guys, hope everyone has had a good day.

I've had a full day. Did bills and accounting this morning. Had to run the Water/Sewer/Trash payment to City Hall, they do not have an online pay system and I don't trust snail mail anymore. While I was in town I stopped at the grocery store and picked up 8 cans of assorted vegetables. The entry fee for the car show I'm going to tomorrow is food to stock a food pantry.

Got home from town, let the dogs out for awhile (Dawn's off painting again) and then did my lifting workout between 1 and 2:30, then took a 1/2-hour break and went out to mow. Just got in about 10-minutes ago. The yards done though, but I'm cooked. Probably could have waited until later when it cooled off a bit, but I wanted it done so I could get a shower, cool off, and enjoy my dinner. Plus, I still need to load the car up for an early departure in the morning.

The car show I'm going to in the morning I've been to 2 times (pic) previously and never placed in the Top 15. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm. Right now I'm also planning on going to a car show on Friday in Red Bud, IL that I've never been too before. It will be a longer drive than most shows I go to, about 55-miles. I'll see if I still feel like going Friday after spending most of the day at a show tomorrow. I'm really going to try and make every event I can at this point, without punishing myself and taking the fun out of it. Last season by the end of June I'd already had the car out to 16 events. This year I've only made it to 6 so far, mainly due to the frickin rain!



Hope everyone has a relaxing evening!

 

Absolutely beautiful sunset!

 

Red at night, sailer's delight - should be a nice day tomorrow for you.

 

Thanks Art! Weatherman is saying 0% chance of rain. It will be warm, calling for 92°, but that's summer in St. Louis. I'm just thankful it's not supposed to be 100°.

 

Towed the trailer with the riding mower out to the new place today and dropped it off, then went in town and bought a beer sign from my guy. Shot the **** with him, went back to the ranch, then ate lunch. Powered up the big new mower and went off to get the mowing deck which is stored in a separate building for now. Hooked it up; I am getting better at it, but sometimes I just get off and shove the deck on the last bit. Drove it back to the shop, made a couple calls as I could not find the right RPM at which to mow. Manual says set throttle 2-3k, engage PTO, then whatever is fine. I take that to mean set it at 2500 and rock on.

This thing cuts an 8' wide swath at double or more the speed of my riding mower, so about 3 mph cruise. At setting 10 of 17, with 17 being tallest cut, it has no issue with tall grass. It does not like sticks at all; there is so much sheet metal to the deck that hitting a stick sounds like an acorn on a tin roof at 2am. I mowed for an hour on the house field (the big one where the house will go) and the shop yard, and was 3 hours ahead. I then mowed the barn yard and was another 30 min ahead. It's just ridiculous how fast the thing is, and the super wide deck is amazing. It can't go everywhere, so the rider was needed for touch up and I still pushmow the berm building roof. It took me five hours to do what took nine, and that's with washing the deck for 40 min included. If I get the trees trimmed and can keep the tractor stored in one piece, I think I can get mowing time down to 3 hours. Once I put a house out there, and get the dirt off the berm building roof, I think I can get it down to 2.

It does like gasoline, but only maybe 15% more than the riding mower. I think I had a full tank, it's near empty now, and it's 6 gallons, so 6 gallons for maybe 3 hours of use. 4 banger 32 horse Kubota.

 

Good morning everyone.

Everyone came in at 4 this morning and man we've been hitting it hard from the beginning. Going home at noon, which means lunch at Awful house.

John that's an impressive amount of mowing. I think I take the same amount of time but only do a fraction of what you have.

Chris I remember that picture from before. Does the Starsky and Hutch car still come out? I read an interview with Starsky and he said he hated that car. He's actually the one who called it the striped tomato. But the writers had Hutch calling it that.

Norm you need a hot tub.

Four day weekend for me. We're going to be allowed to work 8 hours for overtime on our day off. Monday is my day off but I'm not coming in. One guy said I was stupid for not working, it leaves money on the table. I said, I like not being here. He just gave me a dumb look. Don't tell me I'm stupid for taking time that I'm due.

Okay break is over. Well, the boundaries of breaktime are always fuzzy. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

Mike - I'll be sitting in my scalding hot Whirlpool this evening for an hour jets directed at my back.

 

john, I'm thinking about a Trimax snake Did you look or consider? pros cons

 

Jim - Hot diggity dog biscuits, baby.

 

Currently ecstatic regarding Danze/Gerber product/service support. Never asked for a receipt for warranty claim. Parts I'm replacing are available & in stock. They're being shipped today arrival 5-7 business days. New escutcheon, new thermostatic cartridge (valve) stem handle, new thermostatic cartridge (valve), & new volumetric cartridge (valve). Life is good.

I've been turning the main (yard) water valve ON/OFF in the yard. Because I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I noticed last night there is a separate/independent ON/OFF valve for both HOT & COLD located on the body of the thermostatic mixing valve assembly. This has revealed itself since I found the original installation instruction manuals last night. Shuttling back/forth to the water main has been a PITA. Now, I have both HOT & COLD H2O turned off - that's a big bonus.

Since my back is busted up. I'll likely resolve to a deep soak in the hot Whirlpool each night until parts arrive.

With some remaining time (today) I just might drain/flush the water heater, R&R the two heating elements & R&R the sacrificial anode. This is a rather messy job.

 

Jim, I didn't know about this thing. I looked at it now.

Pros: Will really, really mow maintained grass, like a golf course, or a natural cemetery. If you have the tractor already, it seems great. My car plant, TMMI, uses contractors with large John Deere's with a triple finish mower behind them in this layout. They dodge the occasional tree, but they have probably 50 acres to mow.

Cons: mowing around anything.

Does your business have marker stones? If it is one big field, this thing would be ideal. It's wider by 2 feet than my wide area mower Ventrac deck. The thing I like about the Ventrac is it's in front of me so I can come somewhat close to things going around them.

Edit: I bought the ventrac because I need to do other things than finish mowing sometimes, and I need a power unit. Plus, I have to dodge things so working in front of me is good.

 

Norm, I fully intend to have the following water shutoffs in my new place.

Main cold in
Cold in to WH
Hot out of WH
All toilets cold in
All sinks cold and hot in
All showers / tubs cold and hot in
Washing machine cold and hot in
External faucets cold in, well inside the basement for additional drain protection.
A low tap to drain the system.

 

Had I read my shower faucet Thermostatic valve assembly I would have known I have both HOT/COLD shutoff at the self-contained shower - took me awhile to find the manuals. I (personally) performed a complete R&R of all (galvanized) pipes w/ PEX in the dark/dank crawlspace~18 yrs ago. Took me ~1 month to fully complete the job - it was brutal. At that time I also installed (crafted) a distribution manifold.

My Whirlpool hot tub has both HOT/COLD independent shutoffs in addition the Whirlpool hot tub water lines are separate from all other plumbing; therefore, they share no plumbing with any other faucets/appliances. In addition, I installed dedicated main service panel GFCI breaker(s) for the Whirlpool hot tub.

I removed (sacrificed) the 3rd bedroom & created a new bathroom, w/ walk-in glass enclosed ceramic shower, hot tub, double vanity sinks & walk-in closet.

During many of the various upgrades I removed the old terracotta sewer lines (which originally tapped into a septic tank prior to incorporation of city sewage) & replaced w/ Schedule 80 PVC pipe.

I'll mention two additional upgrades I made to my plumbing (including sewage lines) you should be mindful of while formulating your plumbing diagrams/schematics:
(1) Evaluate best locations for installing clean-outs; and,
(2) Incorporate as many additional vents into your water drain lines as possible. New plumbing construction basically provides additional vents/venting. Far, far different than the old one single plumbing vent through the roof (which you'll still need). However, you can & should install additional vents in plumbing lines to take advantage of atmospheric pressure. Many of the newer styles are fashioned to contain both a vent & clean-out (style) top-cap.

It was a fun & rewarding project. Walk-in shower glass is 5/8" thick.

 

As always Norm nice job with the bathroom, you're so talented.
Went for a nice long ride, too many cars on the roads though and too many red lights. The last few rides I've done where I get stuck in traffic the temp on the gauge will creep up to almost 220 degrees. It hasn't boiled over and when I check the radiator level the next day it's right up to level. The only thing is when it gets that hot and I pull away from the stop it'll bog down and sounds like a backfire.
Still working on my 4 way flasher idea, waiting on a different switch.
Hope your back gets to feeling better.

 

Hi Art - Thanks. I look fwd to the next 4-way flasher iteration. Back feeling much better today. Thanks for asking. I spent ~1 hr. on the davenport watching Breaking Bad w/ a heating pad wrapped around my side & back last night. Looking forward to a LONG sit in the scalding hot Whirlpool this evening.

 

The H2O heater heating elements I removed appear in great condition. Compared to the new elements I purchased yesterday I think the elements I replaced some years ago are of much better quality than these I'm installing. Sacrificial anode has been removed. Barely ANY deterioration of the Magnesium anode. That anode and the previous anode were both Magnesium. The original anode (17 yrs. ago) was Aluminum & it definitely had deterioration. I'm installing an Aluminum anode this time because I didn't feel like waiting to order a Magnesium anode & they had Aluminum anodes in stock. Draining the tank is ALWAYS a mess & labor of love (I guess). I have cousins who believe I've lost my mind when I tell them I drain my H2O heater & change the anode - tough ****. This H2O heater is ~20 yrs. old. I've performed this routine on several (numerous?) H2O heaters over the years. I've never had a H2O heater fail - YET. Since they run between $600 - $800 smackers, I think I'm better off in the long run? Besides, I sure don't like having to change out a complete water heater unless required.

The H2O heater tank is drained (mess on the floor) soaking, wringing out numerous towels sopping up the H2O, upper element installed, bottom element is fighting me. Dumped a full gallon of vinegar into the tank (through the anode hole/orifice) to help dissolve salt residue/particles at the bottom & letting it set ~1 hr. Having the anode removed also helps to flush the tank. Might as well take advantage of the 14.7"Hg atmospheric pressure when draining the tank since it's normally a closed system.

Alright, back at it. I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

 

John, it looks like you git it figured out.

 

Norm, a computer question for ya. Why would my computer, on it's own, create a photo album, and promptly store photos in it? Ever since I had the hard drive replaced in my Dell, i have nothing but problems with the pictures uploading and storage. Yesterday, while trying to upload pics from my micro card (to no avail) I noticed a folder titled "legacy album", of course as it's my computer, I knew that I did not create it, as all of my folders are named and dated for the date and event, for example "Red Barns Spectacular 2025". I opened the Legacy folder, and it had hundreds of my photos in it, across different years, and different subjects. Sunsets, mixed in with car pics from over the last 10-12 years, and wildlife pics thrown in. WTF? A.I. taking over my photo albums?

 

Dan - What OS (Operating System) do you run?

 

Dan - No worries. We'll get it aligned, configured properly/correctly for you to your liking - not a biggie. I'm finishing up the H2O heater but happy to address this moving forward for you. It's (very) likely we/you simply need to move some things around to tidy things up a bit. Again though, what OS are you running. If you're on W11 then the Photos Legacy app in Windows is simply a leftover (likely if you performed an UPGRADE from W10>W11) - not to worry. Time being, evaluate your folder structure(s) and anything associated w/ Photos Legacy app. I'll assist in helping you bang it out later. Ask questions in the meantime.
NOTE:
A "legacy album" is associated with the
Photos Legacy app in Windows. This app is the older version of the Microsoft Photos app that was used in Windows 10 and earlier. The Photos Legacy app specifically offered features like:

• Collections and Albums: The ability to gather photos and videos from various devices and organize them into albums.
• Video Editor: A built-in video editing function.
• People tab: The option to group photos by faces.

 

Hi guys,
Will try to get caught up with all the goings on by tomorrow. I've been at a Car Show all day. It was warm, long, but rewarding. 3rd time I've been to this show in the last 4-years. I had never placed in their Top 15 format, but somehow managed to today! Time to go get some food!

Here's a link to the pics if you want to check them out and a sneak preview.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...7/#post1637774

 

Electric restored to water heater @ 6:52PM (EDT). Looking forward to see how long it takes to reach established (120°F) temp. setting - I suspect 120' - 145' (dual upper/lower 4500W elements). First order of business - fill the Whirlpool hot tub for a major soaking.

 

Norm good job on the heater project and the hot tub will make it all worth it.

The fireworks was going to go off just down the street from me and it just started thunder and lightning and rain. The weather has not been nice all this season.

 

Art - You're certainly right about an abnormal frequency of rain and severe weather. It's going to definitely be dry here on the 4th. For most that would be a good thing, for us, not so much. Our male dog is deathly freaked out by lightning/thunder/fireworks. The 4th is never a pleasant evening for us unfortunately.

 

Blame the Chinese, I guess. Nearly everyone (on this site) appears quick to admonish the Chinese for everything/anything automotive might as well toss in fireworks.

 

Windows 10. Per Microsoft, not compatible for a Windows 11 upgrade. Time to use my employee discount, and get a Lenovo. Chris, nice pics. Always have liked the color scheme on the '67 Camaro Pace cars. I have a nice print of one, plus a 1/18 diecast of one. That Chevy pick up, Gray? green? about a dozen pics in. Really like the BSA as well.

 

Dan - I'm in the same boat too, Windows 10 and not compatible for Windows 11 upgrade, or so they're telling us? Been shopping around some, gonna be hitting Stormin Norman up with some questions soon.

Thanks for the compliment on the pics! Yep, there was alot of nice iron at the Show today. I was extremely surprised to make the Top 15.

 

Dan/Chris - You both likely do not meet the minimum h/w configuration(s) for a W10>W11 upgrade. I've been on W11 for what - 3+ years, I guess. I build my own stuff & have only a PC desktop. If you're going to purchase a new laptop, tablet, PC, etc. I'd suggest purchase of a device w/ W11 already installed/configured. If you guys want any advice on configuring any h/w &/or s/w just let me know. If you need me to hold your hand, I can perform a simple remote desktop connection to your device and configure it for you. Options abound.

 

Thanks, Norm. What pisses me off, is I had a new hard drive installed 2 years ago, at $400 +, and it's not compatible with 11. That just burns me that a well know computer repair shop in this area would do that. No future business from me. In other news, I had the radiator top plate, and fan media blasted, and got a new fan clutch form Inline tube. Hopefully I can get that stuff painted up and installed in the next few days. High humidity may thwart the painting.

 

Dan - I'll "attempt" to give it my best shot on saving your $400 investment. There may be a chance to salvage your $400 HDD.
(1) You know the HDD is not compatible - how? (2) You ran the MS h/w compatibility checker? Or, (3) it is not "listed" in the h/w compatibility documentation?
If you recently (2 yrs ago) installed that (assume) new HDD, there's a great chance it's compatible.
What type computer is the HDD installed into - laptop, PC desktop, tablet, etc.?
I certainly hope it is not a SSD (Solid State Drive).
"If" you know the manufacture & Model # I can evaluate W11 compatibility perhaps more thoroughly for you. Many loophole areas depending on the HDD & compatibility. Hell, Dan, I do have a SSD but I'm also running HDD drives well over 10+ yrs old.
Finally, if you happen to run the W11 compatibility checker, you can post or send to me the results and I can review it.

 

Man what a busy day. Signed 60 wheels at work, and we got out 45 minutes early. The lead must have had plans. I of course hit the Awful house. Got home then went to Mom's to finish up mowing. Of course it's time to start all over again.

My water heater must be leaking at a seam underneath somewhere. The pan is always full of water and I have a pan under the pan's drain. It usually has about a gallon and a half in it a day, which gets dumped out into the yard. It isn't too old, 2018, but I want to replace it with an electric heater. Not as efficient I know, but it will save me a gas bill in the summer.

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. Sleep in a little, probably just putter around the house. Saturday I'm going up north of the city. Supposed to be nice all weekend.

Okay have a good evening everyone.

 

Norm - I appreciate the offer of help. I bought my HP laptop in 2018 when I retired. I like having a laptop due to space constraints. When I bought it the 3 things I was mainly concerned with were screen size, internal memory, and processing speed. My current one has a 17.3" screen, 1TB of internal memory, and I can't remember the processing speed but it was right up there with the upper tier units back then. One thing I've noticed after looking around just a little bit, is it's now hard to find one that has 1TB of memory or more without the use of a secondary memory card that comes with the unit. I'm not sure I like that rather than it being totally internal to the hard drive? Anyway, I'm gonna put together a list of 4 or 5 that look promising, and maybe you could look at.the specs and give me pros/cons, because to be honest, I don't understand all the jargon? We'll see, I never do these things very fast?

 

Mike - An electric water heater is very efficient. Thing about water is once it's heated to any desired temperature, it remains at that temperature longer than any other liquid substance on the entire planet. Amount of energy it takes to maintain that temperature is minimal and varies w/in pennies on the dollar between gas & electric.

One and one-half gallon of water leaking from a water heater in one day is significant. Unlike the human ***** which drips when someone gets the clap, there are no antibiotics to resolve a leaking hot water heater. The hot water heater I have is a Whirlpool 50-gallon. Very happy w/ its performance.

 

Chris - You don't have 1 TB of memory. I think you're talking about 1 TB of "storage". A supercomputer might have 1 TB of memory.

 

Chris - Yourself & Dan should start living on the edge and go for a Quantum computer. The smallest available at this time, & I mean the low end of the pole, costs ~$5K. Industrial units are now available between $500K - $1.5 million. My gosh are they changing the world of computing.
The main difference? Glad you asked. Unlike bits & bytes which are configured to represent & use a 0 or a 1 (in binary computing). A quantum computer can use BOTH a 0 & a 1 - hold your socks - SIMULTANEOUSLY!!!! Instead of a bit (0,1) of information, it employs the qubit.

 

Yep you're exactly correct, and what's sad is I do know the difference and still used the wrong terminology!

 

For any of you nerds, here's a decent fast read about a qubit (Quantum Bit):

What is the physics of Qubit?

You may have or you may not have studied quantum mechanics/physics. I'll give you the quickie run down on the Qubit. In normal binary language we consider the "state" of information represented as EITHER a 0 (bit) or a 1 (bit). Regardless how you define a bit (0 or 1), a binary bit (unit) exists in a planar dimension - occupies a sine wave along the x & y axis (linearly). A Qubit exists in a three dimensional sphere employing x, y & z axis. They do this via Superposition(ing). Just like bits (0,1), the Qubit can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously; x, y, & z.

It's the ******* shiznitz baby!!!

 

No worries.

 

Norm, Microsoft sent me messages telling me that it wasn't compatible, and still does every week or two. I also did a PC health check, which stated the same.

 

I think I first learned that concept watching Capt. Kirk and Spock play 3-D Chess!