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So I can't tell you how thrilled I am about the house. The crew finished up after 7, and I can tell you that was an enormous amount of work in less than 4 hours. They made a huge mess. Branches, leaves, everywhere. When they left you'd never know they were there, unless you knew what the front of the house looked like beforehand.
Mike - Glad they did a great job for you! 👍 Good luck with the rest of your plans. Hope you have a nice weekend too. 😃
We had about 2-hours of heavy storms roll thru between 10 and midnight last night. Cooler, less humid weather today with a high of only about 85° vs the 94° we had yesterday.
Think I'm going to run down to the DMV in Festus when they open at 9am and get the Registrations/Plates Renewed on the Motorcycles.
Keegan had a baseball game last night but I didn't go. I needed a break and didn’t want to sit out in the heat again. He has a Roller Hockey game tonight I'm going to, and Gabe has one tomorrow night.
There's a Car Show on Saturday only about 15-miles away, but of course there's a high chance of thunderstorms in the forecast right now!
That's great Mike, seems like tree crews are big pot smokers around here. Last guy I had was a conspiracy theorist (JFK) and also believed the earth is flat! But they did a good job for me. Only thing I worry about is if someone gets injured on my property- do they have insurance, or am at at risk of being sued?
That's great Mike, seems like tree crews are big pot smokers around here. Last guy I had was a conspiracy theorist (JFK) and also believed the earth is flat! But they did a good job for me. Only thing I worry about is if someone gets injured on my property- do they have insurance, or am at at risk of being sued?
You're right to worry about bodily injury of the cabbage smokers working on your property.
Mike - Glad those guys did an awesome job for you. Your future plans sound pretty nice, as well. Good Luck. If you put down landscaping fabric use Roundup to kill everything below the fabric first. Use a non-woven thick Geotextile Landscape Fabric or double-layer a woven landscape fabric.
You're right to worry about bodily injury of the cabbage smokers working on your property.
Smoking the devil's lettuce!
This new blood pressure medication is doing fine. I certainly don't want any higher dosage. I wake up with something like 111/77.I am dieting and am down 3 pounds this week. Don't really do breakfast, salad bar at lunch at work, and sensible dinner. I am not seeing any reaction at all to whether I eat red meat or not. If I do, it is dinner, so I can easily go 48 hours without if I have something else for dinner on a night. Wooziness on standing is going away. I had some neck tension low and in front so it seems to be improving. I can walk better, see better, type better, have more energy and for longer. I will try to treadmill next week. Time to lose a lot of weight. Doctor has not called me to discuss results. Next checkup is July 5 or so. I intend to continue with good diet and exercise and have more blood labs done to see improvement.
This new blood pressure medication is doing fine. I certainly don't want any higher dosage. I wake up with something like 111/77.I am dieting and am down 3 pounds this week.
That's great John! 👍 Stick with the sensible diet and exercise, I'm rooting for ya! 😃
12.59v before I left to get some gas. 12.79v upon return 13.99v ALT charging voltage
I'll continue monitoring for several more days. I think there's a slight aging of the batteries. I think I replaced both batteries last summer - they're both Duralast Gold & honestly I don't think they manufacture the best batteries. Each has a full replacement warranty for 3 years. The diesel tractor hasn't stayed inside the man-cave for likely any longer than one month the entire 23 yr. period I've owned it - continually resides outdoors. That will change after I purchase some other car. At that time I think I'll keep a battery tender on the truck while stored inside the man-cave. I'm hoping/thinking I'll store the car inside the open-air detached garage - out of the elements. Need to get moving on the Indian charger - baby steps. Think I'll start to finish up some caulking on exterior side of old open-air detached garage & likely begin to sling some new paint on some of the boards, today.
Need to get moving on the Indian charger - baby steps. Think I'll start to finish up some caulking on exterior side of old open-air detached garage & likely begin to sling some new paint on some of the boards, today.
I hooked up my Battery Tender Plus 1.5Amp maintainer to the diesel tractor shortly after returning from the gas station ~12:00noon, when BATT voltage was 12.79V. I use this maintainer on the Indian motorcycle & it performs nominally. Hooked up to the diesel tractor it wouldn't climb down in charging voltage - at least based upon the idiot lights of the charger. It remained a solid red (charging) for 5 hrs & the metal enclosure was quite warm & toasty. After 5 hrs. BATT = 13.08VDC. I don't know how (exactly) this maintainer "maintains" voltage, but I suspect it has something to do w/ more than simple measured DC voltage. At any rate, it's doubtful this Battery Tender is sized appropriately to maintain Duralast Gold Group Size 65 Battery and i have two of those batteries (in series). The truck has been through A LOT over the past year w/ many starting cycles (Interstate 95 meltdown in South Carolina, back/forth for ICP sensor). A Duralast Gold Group Size 65 battery costs me ~$225 x 2 = $550 and change. An Odyssey AGM Group Size 65 is $400 - $450 x2 = roughly $900 Green Backs. I think I'll dig around a bit & see if maybe I can purchase a heavier duty, more appropriate Battery Tender, instead.
Hot & humid all day. Plenty of sunshine for sure. Lots done on the garage exterior. Nothing more on the Indian starter (I think I said Indian charger earlier in the morning hours). Takes me awhile to awaken.
Mad magazine For you old folks used to say A rolling brawl gathers no fuzz [police]
Jim - I don't recall that saying but I was an avid fan of Alfred E. Neuman. I bought that rag weekly just to fold the last page together if for no other reason.
Well, my dual batteries are NOT wired in series, they are wired in parallel. So, two batteries in parallel delivers twice the amperage at the same voltage (12VDC). Each battery delivers 1000 cranking amps. Or, 2000 cranking amps in parallel. That's an A$$LOAD of amperage.
I hooked up my Battery Tender Plus 1.5Amp maintainer to the diesel tractor shortly after returning from the gas station ~12:00noon, when BATT voltage was 12.79V. I use this maintainer on the Indian motorcycle & it performs nominally.
Norm - I have both motorcycles on Optimate 1.5A Smart Chargers/Maintainers which work fine for them. When I bought the 4-4-2 I did a little research and bought a slightly more powerful Schumacher 2.0A Smart Charger/Maintainer which was recommended for larger car/truck batteries and I've been happy with it. With your 2 heavy duty batteries in the tractor you may need even more amperage???
Norm - I have both motorcycles on Optimate 1.5A Smart Chargers/Maintainers which work fine for them. When I bought the 4-4-2 I did a little research and bought a slightly more powerful Schumacher 2.0A Smart Charger/Maintainer which was recommended for larger car/truck batteries and I've been happy with it. With your 2 heavy duty batteries in the tractor you may need even more amperage???
Chris - Thanks. I have my trusty ancient Schauer Solid State 4A/6V - 4A/12V charger but it isn't a maintainer. A two wire gem w/ nothing more than a transformer & two diodes inside. I'll review several models included the one you mentioned & see if I can arrive at a decision.
Chris - Thanks. I have my trusty ancient Schauer Solid State 4A/6V - 4A/12V charger but it isn't a maintainer. A two wire gem w/ nothing more than a transformer & two diodes inside. I'll review several models included the one you mentioned & see if I can arrive at a decision.
Originally Posted by Vintage Chief
Bought this. Charges & maintains Lithium, AGM & Flooded Lead Acid in any of three (15/8/2) amperage modes.
Norm - I swear you can't kill those Vintage chargers. I have a 43-yr old Schumacher I bought in '83 when I first moved to StL that's still firing on all cylinders (pic). It has 5A trickle/10A charging/50A starting modes. I always appreciated having that 50A starting mode if I had a completely drained battery from something like lights left on, etc.
That's a very nice new charger/maintainer you got! 👍
Yeah the old school chargers will charge a battery from a zero state of <10.5VDC. These newer so called “smart chargers” won’t charge a zero state charge <10.5VDC.
Norm, amps on batteries is effectively how long it can make power for. Volts is oomph. Put them in series for oomph, and put them in parallel for long charge and redundancy. I think almost all factory rigs are parallel in trucks to stay 12V. Golf cars have them both ways.
Went to game night with my friend's family. Pizza did not help the diet, but I feel fine. Felt very tired afterwards but woke up an hour after going to bed and read for a bit. Navigated a 9 year old through Clue; he did all right.
I do well most often w/ pizza, but it has to be a very good pizza. Pepperoni is basically a death sentence. My go-to handmade pizza is mushroom + onions on a very thin crust. I don't believe I've played Clue in 40-50 years.
Began slinging paint as the birds began to chirp - 6:00am. Sun is directly overhead & it's 90°F w/ 82% RH. I'm baked & calling it quits. A very off chance we might see a pop-up shower later this afternoon - we could seriously benefit from some rain.
Began slinging paint as the birds began to chirp - 6:00am. Sun is directly overhead & it's 90°F w/ 82% RH. I'm baked & calling it quits. A very off chance we might see a pop-up shower later this afternoon - we could seriously benefit from some rain.
Norm - Wise for you to quit for the day in that heat, the heat index was probably up around a 100° with that kind of humidity! I wish I could send you some of my rain!
Well it ain't morning anymore. Lazy morning here watching the rain fall, dashing any hope of getting the 4-4-2 out to a show today. Man has it been a wet Spring and early Summer here! Spent most of the morning doing online searches to continue to update my 2026 Car Events Spreadsheet. I've got it updated out thru the early September timeframe now.
We're suppossed to continue to have rain rolling thru the rest of the day and into the evening, with some possibly severe. Gabe has a Roller Hockey Game tonight that doesn't even start until 10:10pm. I'm on the fence right now whether I'm going or not because of how late it is and the severe weather threat. I hate not to go because I went to his brother's game last night.
We're going to our granddaughter's (Dawn's daughter's little girl) 9th b-day party tomorrow afternoon. I was the grill master at her party last year and I'm guessing I might be elected again. I'm fine with that, just keep a cold one in my hand!
Hope everyone has a great day and great rest of your weekend!
Chris - You should be creating a Gantt chart for your Car Events - let's get w/ the program. Some rolling small thunder boomers packing ~0.5" of rain would be appreciated. I recall us guys renting out the Polar Dome ice rink @ $600/hr. for one hour of ice time to play hockey & that rate was for 10:00pm. Chris the Grill Master in action tomorrow (as long as there's Cerbeza). Should be a hoot.
Chris - You should be creating a Gantt chart for your Car Events - let's get w/ the program. Some rolling small thunder boomers packing ~0.5" of rain would be appreciated. I recall us guys renting out the Polar Dome ice rink @ $600/hr. for one hour of ice time to play hockey & that rate was for 10:00pm. Chris the Grill Master in action tomorrow (as long as there's Cerbeza). Should be a hoot.
Norm - Having been both a PM and COTR for complex, multi-million dollar contracts, I don't ever want to have to look at another Gantt Chart!
I remember us talking one time about the Polar Dome when one of Gabe's teams was playing up there, and you had mentioned you had actually played there also.
Last edited by Dream67Olds442; Jun 13, 2026 at 10:43 PM.
Toyota runs on excel. Some manager gets a wild hair and they implement new programs which suck, then we go back to excel. Oh well, 5 years and 27 days left.
Went and got bent over at the gas station. Filled the truck with regular, then bought 34 gallons of ethanol free in cans. Had to use another card as my card starting getting declined after 3 purchases. I thought someone was going to yell at me for putting gasoline in a diesel can. I mix 4 to 1 diesel to gasoline for my weed burner. Since I had some left over, I did, let's see..... 1.5 gallons 50/50 nominal left over. 1 gallon gasoline, and the tank was very full with 2.6 gallons diesel, so that's 3.35 diesel to 1.75 gasoline, so that's 1:2.9 gasoline. I remember I can run this thing 1:3 or 1:4, so I should be good to go. I'll wear long sleeves and pants for blast protection when I do.
Came home, mowed with riding mower. Ran it right out of gas when done. Did some push mowing, then loaded the rider on the trailer and off to Boonvegas tomorrow. I may bring the pusher back. My neighbor is pressure cleaning my fence and wants me to pay his grandson cheap for it. Little kid. I shall do so, but I should mow in front of it.
Came home, mowed with riding mower. Ran it right out of gas when done. Did some push mowing, then loaded the rider on the trailer and off to Boonvegas tomorrow. I may bring the pusher back. My neighbor is pressure cleaning my fence and wants me to pay his grandson cheap for it. Little kid. I shall do so, but I should mow in front of it.
Glad you got your mowing done at your house, but I'm a little surprised you were able to get it in. Thought you probably would have gotten hit by all the rain we got here this morning?
Pretty zonked when I hit the rack last night ~8:15pm. Up before the birds @ 3:45am. Hanging ferns on front porch watered, laundry started, dishes cleaned, the usual sundry activities. Hanging ferns get watered twice daily. A little more caulking/sanding/priming this morning & the exterior garage wall will be prepped for remaining top coat of paint. I ordered some larger 20" wide black metal coconut coir lined hanging baskets which should arrive later this week then I can replant at least four of the six ferns. We might get some rain Monday &/or Tuesday.
