Ted, today's probably your curling night? Just a heads up the Tim Horton Brier starts today.draw one goes at 3:30 ET on TSN. Lucky me I get to watch pretty much all the weeks draws. It's in cowtown this year at the saddle dome.

 

Sunday mawn'in breakfast WORM

 

Mawnin everyone

Jim, fried er poached? Quiet her on de weekends Huh?

Mike, what's on the Sunday menu at AH? From the sounds of how the Saturn is Running I'm going to be taking that replacement alternator out and finding one from the boneyard to rebuild. This thing is almost as noisy as the old one. Not looking forward to that job again, but I hate the noise worse than the work. According to my multimeter the alt is doing its job, just really noisy. Sigh...

Ted, how'd things go yesterday? Ont and NO seem to have really good representation at the Brier this year. Kevin Koe on the other hand should take up baseball or something that doesn't involve ice....he really let his team and province down yesterday. Can you tell I'm not one of his biggest fans? Sad news, Jeff Stoughton stepping back from the game after all these years. He's one of the legends I will truly miss. Love his attitude and style.

Spoda be nicer later. Right now it's only -12. Time to git at er and put de koffee on. Love these quiet mornIngs.

Enjoy your day.

 

Mornin All,

No weather report until I wake up to something other than cold

Allan, had a scheduling problem ...my son needed a lift to his football camp. Time was noton my side, so I am hooking up with my curling friend on Wed....they have practice.

I see the average age at the Brier is pretty young. Good for the sport! So the winner goes onto the Worlds in Halifax?. Is the Brier part of the Grand Slam events?....I see Stoughton is around 50...is that pretty good to last that long in competitive curling?

Have a Day All

 

Ted, action about to get underway as I type. Yes on the Worlds. Remember there are several different tiers of world comp though, all the way from juniors to seniors. No the Brier is not part of the Grand Slam events. There are now 5 Slams to compete in and some of the Ol faces will be back for those. Winners get CTRS points that will give them overall standing in the CCA and will help with overall positioning. It's nice to see the torch being passed, but sad at the same time. Even though the ages are lower now, many of these competitors have been dedicated to the sport from as early as 5 yrs old! Ok, game just started - AB vs NO on TSN 1,3,4,5

 

Muggy in the 50s in da' swamp w/ 30% chance of Elsie visitation.

Whelpt, got to wish my MIL "Happy 90th" on Thursday; we took her out to eat at an Italian restaurant named Biagi's and a dood time was had by all. The downside was that it was -6 the morning of her bithday. I guess if I can survive Minneapolis in February, I can survive Peoria. Mike, I have two words: yuck and yuck. 'Twas snowin' pretty hard up there this morning. Better half is still up there and she's prayin' her plane will be able to take off tomorrow afternoon -- it should, but they're expecting another 3-4 inches today.

Had a real odyssey gettin' home on da' plane Friday. Long story short: luggage cart rammed the plane while plane was parked at the terminal. I had gotten to the airport at 9 a.m. Unfortunately, they boarded us on the crunched plane at 9:30, "un-boarded" us at 9:45, and we essentially sat in the terminal until the flight was ultimately canceled around 3 p.m.

The airline put me on a taxi to Moline/Quad Cities, where I departed for connection in Hotlanta at 5 p.m., and I made it to N.O. at 10:30 and was home at 11:30. What a day! Could have been worse. I was definitely thinking of you, Mike.

Jamesbo, I hope Hiawassee Heaven still has a roof... and I hope I adequately drained the pipes... I have my doubts about the latter. I do have styrofoam "muzzles" on the exposed faucets, but at the sustained temp's we're talkin', not sure how much good they'd do if there was H20 in them.

Glad the tree missed the important stuff at your place, & hope the crew does a good job gettin' rid of it. Sounds like you won't be needin' no more firewood runs -- at least after this stuff cures if you use it. Red oak is desirable for firewood, ain't it?

Sammy, you have mail ('bout the same speed as USPS ).

Scot, me liked Paul Harvey, too. His shoes will likely never be filled. Unfortunately, I think he influenced my purchase of a brand new Husqvarna chain saw, and it was the biggest POS I've ever gotten. In the shop more than it was cutting trees. Two oil pumps, cracked case, numerous chains, ignition module, etc. Lesson learned.

Darrell, sweet job! I envy the "bodywork capable" among us. Sorry about the pooch. What a helluva thing to have to do... On a more pleasant note (thread), that's quite a cool pod you got there... Hope it works out great.

What up, Sandy?

London, be careful w/ dat DVD player. As soon as the bikini-clad babe makes her appearance in the movie, chances of a collision increase logarithmically.

Allan, is that shifter handle the same one used on the full-size '64s (i.e., Starfires)? The button mechanism/lockout on mine sure leaves a lot to be desired. I was going to take it apart one of these years, but Lord knows when I'll get to it.

Y'all have a great day, Oldsmofriends.

 

Hey welcome home John! Sorry your travels got messed up but sounds like the visit was great. Last year I saw the luggage cart swerve and dump someone's case on the Tarmac. The dufus didn't stop to pick it up, in fact he ran over it on the way back to the terminal. Peeps like that make me question why anyone would ever buy new luggage.

Koe continues to disappoint. O-2 now. Too bad his front end and third got saddled with him. Kennedy, Hebert and Laing all came from teams used to winning. Wanna bet they're having a team "chat" later today? More drama unfolds this afternoon and eve.

 

Hi everyone.


Overcast right now, but we sure got a downpour this morning. We were sleeping, all three of us, and it didn't seem to bother anyone. My boy was lounging on the bed with me, and my girl was on her seat right next to us.


Pretty much any time now that I don't know where my boy is, he's up on my bed. It's warm and comfy, but I have a feeling his bones are starting to feel their age and it feels better than the couch. I hate to seem them get old. They still bounce around like puppies, just not as much.


Oh John. We're supposed to be the number 1 airline in the world. How can this happen? I hope they gave you some other form of compensation other than a ride to a different airport, even if it was Moline.


Jamesbo you're going to end up with as much firewood as me. Glad it didn't take out anything. At this rate you'll have all pasture in no time.


I drove a Corvair for a couple years when I was a kid. Bought an alternator for it and put it on and it made noise, made the belt slip, got hot, so I took it back and the guy said, oh it was rebuilt, but they put the old bearing back in. Got another one no problem. Lucky Corvair alternators are easy to replace.


Work tonight. Might get out early Tuesday because I've got 4 hours vacation left, and Wednesday is my anniversary and I get new vacation. We can't carry over vacation and I'm not in the business of giving back time off. It will be 21 years with Big D. Seems like an eternity.


Okay off to work. Have a good night everyone.

 

Mike - congrats on the pending anniversary. How many years? Prolly feels like 100??

John - so when yer uppin Hiawassee do ya dig up seng to sell? I hear it's a big (but dangerous) business there.

De boy is makin din din. Yikes, he was gonna make rice using 2 parts rice to 1 part water. Dat woulda bin crunchy yuk. It was a good intervention. De missus is down there now heppin him avoid a katastroffee.

Lessee if Koe can crash and burn tonight. I'm betting... yup. Worst of all he's on 'home ice' in Calgary.

 

Slight drizzle but spose to hit 50 today Zo, I'm gonna try to go smack whitey around

John, Welcome back. If ya want me to check out your house in de mountains jes let me know. I turn off de w water every time I leave but don't drain de pipes

Mike, I use to love to fly but it jes ain't no fun no more.

GTG

Enjoy de week Olds friends

 

Mornin all. Yup getting ready for more of that white crap tomorrow.

Have a day all.

 

Morning everyone

Cold and windy, light snow in the forecast means drifting. We live in just the wrong part of AB and seem to constantly get the Siberian high descending on us.

Ted, sorry but Koe got lucky last night against ON. The news was saying his lackluster performance was due to food poisoning but I don't buy that. I think the boys tuned him up in the hotel after draw 3.

Jim, ditto.

Clint, hang in there. Won't last long.

Hmmm, guess I best go wake up de kids so they can git off to college.

Enjoy your day.

 

Mernin', all....

I'm busy buildin' the Ark, as it ain't quit rainin' since I got back. Looks like more o'same thru Wed, at which time the wintry winds return to deliver a near-freeze to the deep, deep south yet again.

Jamesbo, we, too, at least turn off the water when we're gone; hopefully, if something did break, at least it won't be flooded inside; it would (very hopefully) be an exterior faucet, or at worst, a garage pipe. Then, the water wouldn't be floodin' anywhere, at least until we turned the water back on. I do appreciate the offer. Really lookin' forward to seeing the place again relatively soon.

Whelpt, got my artichokes stuffed for the better half's return tonite. I could make her real happy and clean the house, but not sure I want to go go that far ;-) I just may, if the rain relents, try fixing a few more holes in the gravel road. The rain (and lunatic neighbors) really do a number on it.

Allan, what's "seng"? My axeing that question prolly answers yours, in any case ;-)

Have a warm & dry day, Oldsmofriends.

 

Afternoon all. Well, I have a longer wait to get the ankle overhauled, went in this morning for physical therapy, and to commit for the surgery, and they don't have any openings until May...4-6 weeks in a cast, messing with the car show season. So, at least with the discussion with the phys. therapist, I won't be so limited in my ambulatory skills! I will be back there for therapy one more time, as to save insurance coverage for the therapy after the cast comes off, in the mean time I have a bunch stretches to do on my own.

 

Dan - bummer on the wait time. Sounds like you have some alternatives till then.

John - Ginseng. Yup, I guess I dint need to ax. I hear it grows up in Hiawassee. Worth more dan gold so I hear.

 

Hi Goodbye everyone.


Running really late today. All afternoon my boy would come get me, make some licking/gulping noise, and I'd get up so he could go out and eat grass. So I stayed in bed until a quarter to five. It's 6 now and I'm still not ready to go and I need to be out the door. So, have a good night everyone.

 

Mornin all.

Mike stop and smell the roses.

Allan. We all had to learn how to burn water before we could make a decent meal. Did it end up ok?

Dan. Bummer about the delay. Are they casting it just to keep it stable? Or are you talking about after the surgery? Sounds like you get outta shoveling the rest of the winter.

John, Lets think twice before inviting some of the insects on your ark this time?

Clear and a big bright moon this morning. The system must be blowing in quick as they are still calling 3-5" today. Not sure if I smile anymore or just grimace. Have a Tuesday all.

 

Slight drizzle

Sloshed around de course yesterday. Played like a goat cause it's been 4 weeks since I got de chance to smacky whitey around.

Mike, Ya know when you're standing still you're still travel'in a few hundred miles and hour around de sun. So don't take these incremental adjustments in spped/time too seriously

Dan, Good luck wit de physical terrorist

Clint, My Monday Golf partners 103k mile suburban smokes like a SOB every now and then. Smikes/ stops for no apparant reason. He keeps tak'in it back to de dealer and getting a wall job [where they park it for a day against a wall and do nothing] Care to venture a guess. I told him it's sum kinda computer glitch [Cause I ain't got the foggiest]

Welp, Have a great day Olds friends

 

We got all of London's fog this morning... quite the scene out there. Hi temps + hi humidity + cold bodies of water = fog, I presume. Pea soup near the Hammond Airport.

Clint, I left out the 'skeeters, but doubled up on the gnats.

Whelpt, got a contractor coming to da' Plantation today to replace 5 windows. I'd much rather a trip to the dentist, but I really need 'em replaced. I've never been wild about strangers trampling up & down the house, but whatcha' gonna' do.... ? Hope they come out good.

Y'all have a great Day of Tiu, Oldsmofriends.

 

Jamesbo. what motor does this burb have?

 

Not sure, it's only a 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive. Says "Flex Fuel" on de side The utter day, It smoked so bad in his garage de fire department showed up. Next day doesn't smoke at all

 

Mawnin everyone

Ver brisk and windy here at -28. I spose we can take a few more days of this as the big melt is Spoda start up on Thors day.

Gotta go in for curling practice today so just time for some surfin an a shower. Took last week off since we had a bye last Sunday, now it's back to normal.

Jim, as him to check his oil and see if it's down. Is it white smoke or blue smoke. If it's white he could be burnin trans fluid or have a bad head gasket? Ax him if it overheats.

Clint, yup it turned out fine. Kinda hard to mess up stir fry though. Not complaining cause at least he tried hard.

John, what kinda windders? Wood or plattik frames? I know they're not cheap but you should get an install warranty with em. We have double pane argon filled here but I shoulda gone with triple pane knowing what I do now.

Mike, how's de boy feelin today? Usually when dey eat grass dey gots indigestion or sumpin. Ready for awful house?

Switched to tea on Monday. Peach ginger this mawnin. Not bad.

Enjoy your day.

 

Clint, the cast will be after the surgery, where they will put one or two anchors in my ankle. They called this morning with the official appt. date, May 22nd, jeesh, what a wait, I'll certainly be on crutches for Homecoming. Thanks, Jamesbo, her cuteness makes it better...too bad she's married!

 

Hi everyone.


Rain, big surprise. Got our early last night, got to bed by 7 and had some good sleep. I took all of tonight off, I added 8 hours of comp time to my 4 hours of vacation. I thought that would be a much better thing to do.


My boy is feeling better today. No funny noises, no eating grass. He scarfed his breakfast down this morning like there's no tomorrow. Lately they've both been in a funky mood about eating. I guess they'll eat if they're hungry.


Got lots to do this week to get ready for my trip. Not the least of which is find where I put my passport when I got home last year. Also need to find a bunch of money I had left over when I departed. It's nice to have some local money in your pocket when you get off the plane. That way you can get something to eat or buy that extremely overpriced item in the airport without finding an ATM and paying a big fee right away.


Guess I'll get going and make something of the day. Hope everyone is enjoying Tuesday.

 

Allan/Clint

No dash lite on at all, Coolant good, oil good.

 

Depending on year and engine could be lots of things. The 5.3L had an updated valve cover (with a different baffle) to reduce oil consumption. If you get me some perticulars I'd be happy to look thru the Technical Service Bulletins for you.

 

Jim - just a thought. When was the last time he changed his PCV valve??

 

Good morning everyone.


Ah, March 4. Twenty-One blissful years at Big D. I remember my first day distinctly. I thought, what have I gotten myself into. My first job was in the Baggage Service office. So everyone I talked to was upset. Since I was as green as could be, none of the other people liked me. They had all been there since the 70s and had no patience for anyone who didn't know what they were doing. I don't think I lasted two weeks and I swapped with a guy on the ramp. He was a little prissy and didn't like working outside. Best move I could have made. But I've been in maintenance for 18 years. Yow.


Jamesbo I don't think your friend should worry about the smoke. It's just the car letting off excess pressure. Like dragsters. How do his back tires look?


Foggy as can be this morning. Supposed to hit 72 today. I'll believe it when I see it.


Going this evening to buy that van. I'm confident it will be a reliable vehicle and it should perform the duties I expect of it. And the price is right. Even if it turns out to be a dog I can always take the wheels off and turn it into a storage shed.


Dan what if your foot starts feeling really bad, will you be able to move things up in an emergency, or will you just have to grin and bear it?


Okay I'm up and running a little early but I can head to the Awful house anyway. Got some running around to do this morning, then need to dig out the other trailer so I can take it tonight.


Have a good Hump Day everyone. It's Hump Day!

 

Mornin.

10F


snow


Humpday.

 

Yep Froggy as all get out

Mike, Ya might of known my ex brother in law. He borrowed money from everyone on de ramp at D

Well Clint, Allan best I can figger out from what de service manager told my non gear head golfing buddy. It's sum kinda crank case ventilation problem and they should be put in jail for what they're charg'in [and how long it's gonna take] to fix de thing.Thanks fer all of your help. Fer someone that ran a multimillion dollar company, my buddy ain't got enough sense not to keep going back to de dealership.

John, A werd to de wise. I check de failure rate on any duel pane winders I installed VERY closely. De window an door companies go outa business ever utter day and you're stuck with a failed winder/door.

Enjoy de day Olds friends

 

Morning guys

Warming today so that's a bonus. Tomorrow will finally be above freezing.

Jim, some guys are like dat. Sounds like a Burban to just sell and move on from. Too bad he needs to use the dealer, they're way overpriced, but they time stuff by a book rate.

Clint, sorry to hear that. Least it keeps the buzzworms in hibernation.

Mike, congratulation!? Hope ypu like the van.

John, buy from a reputable and long term window supplier. Andersen comes to mind.

Darrell, any further progress on the Riv?

Dan, hang in there. Can you get that done quicker at a private hospital?

Quiet day sapping up. I like that. Enjoy your day.

 

'Twas froggy in da' swamp again; maybe a little worser dan yessiday.

Congrats on that anniversary, Mike! I had an abysmal rate of job retention during my life. 3-4 years was an eternity. My longest stretch was from '93 to '04, which was my freelancing career. Didn't get rich, but boy, I loved it. Of course, back in '93, I bought a catastrophic "Golden Rule" health insurance policy for myself for $40/month. But I don't wanna get started on that depressing subject.

Da' winders came out very nice. They are double-hung vinyl low-e argon filled, Allan. We skipped the grids for the ones in back to give us an unobstructed view of the back yard.

Yeah, Jamesbo, I heard ya'. I bought 'em thru Lowes. They are lifetime guarantee on the part (glass seal and window mechanism), and a year for labor. The company is huge and has been around for quite a while (Reliabilt by Atrium). I've been buying their prehung doors from Lowe's for over 20 years and are happy with them. I included a pic of the double window in the back, but due to the strong sunshine at this hour, you can't see much but the clear glass, the patio, and the yard past the filthy outside patio screen .

Whelpt, have a fab humpday, Oldsmofriends.

 

Mike, I think that if an emergency came up, that they would be accommodating. I am actually pretty mobile right now, just with a twang if I step wrong and soreness in the Achilles area. Allan, they are a semi private in the fact that they share office space and facilities (x-ray, MRI etc.) with the local hospital, but they have their own surgical center about 35 miles from me (they serve West Michigan). The local Hospitals (two) merged a few years ago, and the catholic healthcare group out of Detroit, which owns them, is more concerned with profits than patient care, and as such many local doctors are optioning to have their own patient care centers. The local hospital actually has an excellent cardio care unit, but have a reputation for secondary infections. Many doctors and surgeons have been pressured to bow to the Corporation, so they have been saying adios!

 

Hi everyone. Well, we got 8 inches of snow yesterday, some rain today, and supposed to get another 4 to 6 inches tomorrow. The snow's about 2 to 3 feet deep in our yard right now and we haven't seen the grass in about 7 weeks.

I have to plan all my driving in and around NYC around the weather these days. It's always great when your GPS says your 40 miles from home and it's a 2 hour drive.

Our pooch went to his foster home on Sunday. He has 7 friends there, mostly other senior Cocker Spaniels and seems to get along with everyone. I'm going over to see him sometime in the next couple of days, can't wait.

So far, my daughters asthma seems to be a little better judging by her peak flow tests. Kind of early still to draw any conclusions.

On a funny note, I had this kid in front of my today in a Subaru WRX, his personalized plate read "PNTYDRPN". Can't imagine that the father of any girl he tries to date would be too happy with him.

Allan - no new progress on putting the stuff back on the Riv. Was actually thinking of removing the left front fender to better align the door to quarter panel. It was replaced some years ago and not completely lined up right.

Clint- great winter right? Going down to 7 here tomorrow night, guess it doesn't want to end.

John - the pooch situation is tough, I really miss him.

 

Mornin all.

Darrell. it's about 10F right now. But starting today we are gonna have a good warm up. Spose to be in the 60's next week. I'll be ready for the gutters to melt off not sure if I want to try a new cable or wait til next year.
Hope the kid continues to improve.

Jamesbo. Thats what it sounded like. hope its fixed when they are done

Thursday.

Have a day all.

 

Mornin All,

Cold and sunny...

Darrel, I thought cat dander was the culprit, not dog dander?

Mike..congrats...I have been doing the same thing for 30 years

Allan, curling is getting confusing

John, thanks again for all the great imfo about NO

C'mon Spring

 

Good morning everyone.


What a glorious day it was yesterday. Thermometer showed 78, though that might be a little generous. Sunny and warm though, loved it. Still over 60 now but rain is on its way.


Got up to Winder and back with that van last night. Got home sort of late so just parked in front of the house and when I get back from the Awful house I'll take it over to the shop and unload it and put the trailer up.


Darrell hope the pup likes his new digs. Eight dogs all together? Hope they have a strong pack leader.


John I was the same way when I was a kid. I can't begin to tell you all the inane jobs I had. When I started with Delta I was 27 and I think the longest I had been at any job was a year. After I had been there a year and was making about 8 bucks an hour, I thought I had really made the big time. This was '94.


Okay Awful house then a few other places. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning guys,

Absolutely beautiful morning here at 24. Spoda get up to around 46 later.

Ted, what's the confusion? It's like shuffleboard on ice but much better and more competitive. Jacobs is running the table but I'm thinking Gushue might give him a game. Did you see his last shot in draw 12 to win? That's one of the best called and made shots I've ever seen. Picked Jim Cotters pocket clean!

Curling practice then off to the market for some milk an bread...

Enjoy your day.

 

One of dem swing days. De temps were warm last nite and no dropp'in like a turd from a tall indian.

Mike, John Beside bagg'ing groceries when I was a pup. I've never werked for anyone [translation, I werkd fer anyone who would have me]

Mike, Whatcha do'in inWinder? Dat's whar #1 step son an his squeeze jes bought a house. You could stop by and help dem hang pitchers cause he don't do hammers, screw drivers etc very well

Tanks Clint, I'll report back after monday golf

Have a great day Olds friends

 

Mernin', all. Got all nasty during the night and early a.m.... 'twas about 70 when I went to bed; started blowin' and rainin' around 4 and ultimately dropped to 37*. Spose to be cold, dark, & dank all day, and freeze tonite.

Hopefully, this will be the last bite of winter. We spring forward Sat. nite, so enough is enough... I guess this is also an admission that I need to do sumpin' with the flower beds... they look like nobody lives here.

Wow -- 8" of da' white stuff, Darrell. Maybe you win the prize for today. Sorry about the pooch. Hope y'all have a good visit, and that he likes his new buddies at the place. That would certainly help both you and him, knowing he has some genuine companionship. We have people around us who leave their pooches out on a chain 24x7x365. It's really pathetic. One is a yellow Lab; I try not to look when I pass. Our three kitties don't have a foggy notion of how their neighbors treat their kitties, either. Most have never been inside 4 walls w/ a roof.

Anyway, to move to pleasantries, I think today will be iPod reconstruction day -- a good day to stay inside.

Jamesbo, I'm a proud veteran of the Winn Dixie army during the high school years -- and a little beyond. We kids worked like Trojans, but I do have fond memories (for the most part). I considered myself to be a bagging expert -- that's when it was practically a profession, and before the dawn of the plastic-bag era. Each bag was carefully planned with cans at the bottom, lighter and more delicate things at the top. All cold and frozen things went together, double-bagged. Glass jars & bottles got their own mini-bags. Eggs & bread were always separate. Every night, we'd bring a flat full of assorted paper bags to refill the bins & slots at the check-out counters.

The older I get, the more I feel and sound like my Grandfather, telling me stories of what it was like when he was a kid right after the turn of the (last) century. He passed away in '83, so he didn't even see the dawn of the PC and computer revolution.

Y'all behave yourselves on Thor's day, Oldsmofriends.