Chris, I'm sure you are very proud, It really speaks of what a great grandpa you are !! I would war that jersey everywhere, though you want to keep it nice.. Hopefully you can wear it to Gabe's graduation! Congrats!

 

Good morning everyone.

Chris that is incredibly cool. You might just start a trend.

Good morning so far. I'm leaving at 11, and since I'll be home all afternoon have a couple small projects that need taking care of. One of them is cutting down a tree the rest of the way. A smallish pine that grew from the beginning at about a 45* angle, when it started raining a couple days ago the top snapped off and fell over and started pulling the rest of the tree over. It's interfering with the makeshift gate I have going into the back yard, so it needs to go. Plus if it falls over any more it will take out the fence and then I can't contain Tiger. Hope it quits raining.

Jamesbo how's the eye doing?

Can't wait to see more of the floor done this afternoon. Next up is the hallway and there are a lot of tedious cuts to do. They took all the baseboard off and they are going to paint it before they put it back on. Not something I asked them to do but they want to. Hm. They're also hauling off the old carpet and the boxes from the flooring to the landfill. I said I'll give you money for the landfill. He said no that's okay, I go there all the time. I don't know what that means, maybe they don't charge him. I was just going to throw it all in the basement and get rid of it over time.

We're in a lull, so I think I'll take a walk. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

Mike - Every county is different regarding waste/dump site pricing. Contractors many times pay a select fee by tonnage, they wait until they have full loads before going so this might mean after several or numerous projects until they make a trip. Depends on the county mostly.

 

Have the FICM removed, pigtail removed from IPR valve, next to remove ICP sensor connector clip then another evaluation on how to get to the ICP sensor. This is a miserable job quite honestly. Baby steps…baby steps.

 

Jim - Hope the healing goes well with the 2nd eye. How is your vision with the 1st eye now, are you happy with the result!

 

Thanks Greg, I really appreciate your kind comments!

Mike - I really appreciate your kind comments too! I hope the rest of the flooring install goes smoothly. It sounds like the team that's doing the install for you is really trying to do a nice job for you. Be careful cutting down the pine tree!

 

Norm - Sure sounds like a whole lot of crap that has to be removed to even get to the actual part that needs replaced. I know you'll get there! At least you have the knowledge and skill to get it done. I'm always impressed with your skill set! 👍

 

Good morning guys,

Cool (52°) and wet here this morning. It rained steady all night and will continue thru about 1pm and then move out.

No big plans for today. My neighbor directly across the street that I'm good friends with is on a short vacation to Arkansas thru Friday. I have the security code to his garage and need to go over and take his recycling bin to the curb tonight when I set mine out for pick-up tomorrow morning. Pretty exciting stuff! 😆 🤣 😂

Hope everyone has a productive and enjoyable day! 😃

 

I feel like I’ve been used as a blocking sled for a football team. This is just stupid.

 

Well, there is a Car Show this coming Saturday, and one on November 8th, but the grandsons have hockey games on both days that I don't want to miss, so I am now resolved that my season for this year is over.

I experienced a drastic reduction in my number of events this year compared to the 2023 and 2024 seasons primarily due to excessive rain in the Spring, excessive heat in the Summer, and the scheduling of home repairs from the hail storm in March. In both 2023 and 2024 I had my car out to a total of 34 events each year.
Here are the stats from this season:
- Only 17 total events attended
- 15 of those 17 events were Judged Shows
- I placed in 12 of the 15 Judged Shows

Still a very enjoyable and successful season, but a huge difference from 2023 and 2024. I'm in no rush right now to get the car cleaned up and into storage mode. If we can get a nice sunny day during the next 2-weeks it would be fun to get Dawn out in it for a Fall Colors cruise. It will be plenty warm in the garage thru the end of November for a thorough cleaning and winter storage prep.

 

I can see why you'd feel like that. Maybe I'm off base, but it seems like you've been pushing yourself pretty hard for the last month or more between the porch work, storm debris removal and trimming, and now the truck repairs. Hell, we ain't 20 anymore Skippy, our old bodies can only take so much, I feel for ya! Take your time and plenty of breaks, both physical and mental. You said it, you've got food for weeks, baby steps . . . baby steps.

 

I have 5" lift on my truck. To work on most anything (especially what I'm working on) requires me to hoist myself into the engine bay w/ a 2-step stool, lay sturdy material across the radiator, cowling, engine, etc. then lay down to reach behind the engine to do anything. My back was modestly recovering from the tree & porch activities & I damn near pulled it out a couple times dismounting from the engine bay - that would NOT be good. I'm gonna hurt tomorrow.

I asked my lead for the afternoon off. By executive order they've granted me time off. I have ~6 spicy meatballs & sauce which require my attention - pasta is boiling at the moment.

I had to remove the FICM bracket from the LH engine injector (valve cover) bank; but, I succeeded in removing the IPR valve - what a nightmare, but a significant milestone. What's left of my knuckles & back I'll save for tomorrow - I began to feel myself wanting to race against the clock & said screw this $HIT! I hadn't planned on this much of a hassle & I haven't even removed the ICP sensor, yet. Plenty of work remains. This afternoon I eat da spicy meataballas.

 

Second & final round of the spicy meat *****...
I may be comatose after eating this much.

 

Take your alka-seltzer.

 

👍👍👍👍

 

Lookin good Norm, I second the Alka Seltzer!

 

John - Last I recall you were going to discharge the capacitor in your microwave oven before accessing the high voltage side of the microwave.

 

Chris, The jury is stillll out. Truth be told the only reason I did this is because the last eye exam. The Dr. convinced me I couldn't pass the driers test w/o the surgery

 

A guy in his late 80s who played golf w/ us from time-to-time at my last club couldn't see the ball ten yards in front of him & his mental acuity was far from normal. He was still driving. Scary who shares the road w/ us.

 

Good morning everyone.

Gonna be a slow start to the day. We don't have any wheels. Hm. The lead thinks that's a good thing. It is getting colder and the wheels don't wear as quickly when it's cold out. So to take up our time a guy is going to Chick fila to get biscuits.

When I was in high school and just getting my license the school nurse said my vision was almost to the point of requiring glasses to drive. I thought great, I'm still good. She wrote down that I needed them anyway. I didn't have the forethought or maturity to challenge her. While I realize I need glasses to drive without hitting things, it would be a lot easier to not have that restriction on my license. I hate when people put their own agenda ahead of what's right.

I don't think the floor guys are going to be done today, but they won't be far off. They are also going to put baseboard and door casings in one of the bedrooms, and fix some facia that's falling down over the back porch. I think they gave me the I don't want to do it price, but they are there promptly every morning and are doing a lot of little things I wouldn't have expected them to do. They've done work for me before and are excellent workers and excellent people.

Norm a 5 inch lift? Does that help with rock climbing? Maybe you could work from underneath. Speaking of expensive new trucks, yesterday I was looking at Suburbans and saw one that was over 100K. Now, I love my Suburbans but Holy Toledo who is going to pay that!

Got a couple wheels come through and I went to sign them off and the system is down. So it's gonna be that kind of day.

Okay see ya.

 

Mike - I can get a lot done under the truck w/ that 5” lift - changing the ICP sensor is not one of them. I priced out a stock 2025 F250 to replace mine it came in at $96K. Price of the diesel alone has skyrocketed. I likely have ~$10K add-ons w/ wheels, tires, chrome step-ups, cargo box, cargo (bed) rails, lift, etc.

 

Removed the ICP sensor this morning, getting ready to install new one. Going to upgrade (replace) ICP sensor pigtail wire connector with a kit I bought, clean IPR valve body, replace IPR valve then reassemble the entire nine yards. Plenty left to do. Ordered a new set of EGR valve gaskets this morning. I’ll clean EGR valve after gaskets arrive next week.

 

Nprm, Seeing a ball [drive] 240 yards out was difficult

Mike,In 98 I bought a 3/4 ton 4x4 truck, 3/4 ton 4x4 S8vurban and a 4x4 Tahoe for 90 grand Today, that's ONE truck That's why mine has a cate motor and 335000 miles

 

My automotive Comprehensive covers replacement of my truck should it (accidentally, of course) burn to the ground. It came close to it, yesterday! 😂

 

ICP sensor installed, wiring in a new pigtail connector. A milestone w/ each baby step.

 

Well that's a little disconcerting! I hope when it's all said and done you get the level of results you were counting on. 🤞

 

Good deal Norm, you're getting there! 👍 Until you're finished, maybe you should remove all potential fire sources from the mancave? Just sayin . . . ??? 😆😅🤣

 

Good morning guys,

Cool start to the morning (40°), but bright sunshine and headed towards a high of about 56°. It's gonna be a beautiful Fall day! We've only had the one frost so far, so you will see in the attached pic there is still alot of "Green" left in the trees. Depending on what kind of weather we get we're probably still 2-weeks out from peak Fall colors, which is very late for here.

No big plans for today. Dawn is going trick-or-treating with our granddaughters tomorrow evening and I'm staying home with the dogs so they aren't totally freaked out. We're both going over to my daughter's house for just a few minutes in the late afternoon tomorrow to see the boys' costumes and get a couple pictures. Over the weekend Gabe has a game on Saturday evening and Keegan one on Sunday around noon. I'm looking forward to those, football on TV, and maybe starting in on some leisurely cleaning of the 4-4-2 in prep for storage.

Hope everyone has a great day! 😃

 

Entering into this incessant seemingly never-ending fall weather...

 

And that's a good thing right? It looks like we're about 8 to 10° lower for both highs and lows compared to what you're getting there.

 

Chris - Can't put anything past you. LOL

I possess a sick & twisted personality. Admission is the 1st step to recovery they say.

 

Finished wiring in the updated ICP sensor pigtail connector. Installed the ICP sensor. Cleaned the IPR valve & installed a new screen & O-Rings onto that valve. Fitted the IPR valve into the HPOP (High Pressure Oil Pump) housing, but it isn't aligning as it should for its own electrical connector. Things are progressing better than expected, thus far. I might remove the IPR valve (again) to see if I can re-clock the electrical connector w/o much fuss. If it becomes too laborious I just might call it quits on the truck today and begin hauling off the last of the tree debris to roadside for pickup. More sunshine outside the man-cave than inside the man-cave.

 

Had some cosmetic dental work done this AM. My center incisors had a gap from orthodontics that my dad resined up years ago. Resin was failing, so my current dentist took it off and reapplied new. Got the color right.

 

John - Good deal, eh.

 

Put the Olds into storage yesterday, and of course today I remember the fuel stabilizer. Jeesh.

 

Dump it in the tank, kick the tires a couple times, good to go. LOL 😂

 

Pulled IPR valve again, re-clocked electrical connector & still have time left to clear tree debris.

 

Jim, I hope the cataract surgery went well. I have had both my eyes done now and everything is much clearer- though I still need glasses and knew I would. Right now I am using generic dollar store reading glasses- they suck!! Now i know what it's like to lose my glasses and find them tipped up on my forehead! I went yesterday and ordered glasses that will stay on all the time.

 

Blasphemy, you should be stoned! When you go to add it, be sure to run it for a few minutes to get it thru all the fuel lines, fuel pump, and carb!

Edit - Dan, unless you already have a bottle of regular StaBil in the garage, I would highly recommend you get a bottle of the StaBil 360° and use it instead. In addition to stabilizing the gas from degradation over the long storage period, it contains other additives that neutralize the harmful effects of ethanol, and additives to clean fuel system components like lines, fuel pumps, and carburetors. I swear by it.

 

Norm - Glad you were able to get it back to the correct orientation without too much hassle! 👍