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A slow day for me, I'll clear out the driveway, them head out to get a few odds n ends, like like the ingredients for rum *****. I'll make a bunch for work, a few to take to my buddy's house, and a couple for the deli where I bought the rum, the owner suggested that that I drop a few off there to be approved! The deli is nearby, and been in business for about six decades, I'm a regular there.
Hey Mike, looks like some of the fold have returned. Now we just need to get Jim, Clint, Scot, Jouni, Paul, and a few others to remember to join in every so often. Maybe they're busy with Christmas or life right now but it sure would be nice to see them chime in again. Did you get anything done at the shop today or was it mostly just a chillin day? I hope all is ok, you sounded a bit in a funk earlier. I get that way too and usually it passes when some other disaster shows up to refocus me. Stay warm and safe.
Been really busy at work lately, just from woke-up to work, and after that to sleep.
Been resting whole weekend. Now im gonna go heat sauna and eat some beefs.
Not alot of snow here, around ~7 inches, but enough that we can call it a winter.
Someone should do snow-works...
Okay, just turned in to say hello. Have a great sunday everyone.
For me, 4 or 5 days of work, and then my season is officially done. Should have something like 3 to 4 months vacation after it.
More painting on the agenda today. I really don't like the cutting in part because keeping my hands up high has other adverse effects on me. I'll get this time around done but next time I think it's going to have to be farmed out to a pro. They work faster and will prolly do a better job.
Chilly today but no snow in sight. I'm really looking forward to Jan and February. The missus and I will be spending a a couple weeks in cancun away from the cold. We both really like that part of Mexico. The weather is great, and the water is warm. We're staying at an AI and their service is fantastic. We've learned from past experiences that getting a direct flight is the best way to go. Costs more but definitely worth it.
Jim, that's an interesting letter. Is it an administrative way to acknowledge failure is a reasonable option?
Woke up to 55 in the house this morning. That's cold even for me. Furnace wouldn't come on or reset. I hope it's as simple as hitting the reset button outside on the unit. I've been lucky the past three years without my heating and air guy, usually it was every other year I needed something done. I hope my luck hasn't run out.
So yesterday I went to put spark plugs in the Tigermobile. First plug I took out(#4) felt funny coming out. What I got was the top of the plug and the ceramic cone with the tip. The threads and the bridge were still in the head. Looked down in there and it's rusted solid. I sprayed some stuff down in there, and the only thing I can think of to do is use an easy-out. I'm going to try my best and be careful, but I don't see this ending well.
Went to the shop yesterday to work on the new Dodge van. The one I want to take to Australia. The more I looked it over the more I decided it isn't a good candidate. A lot of little things wrong with it, and it's gonna need a trans, and the parking brake is sticking, and, and, and... If I would have seen it before I bought it I wouldn't have bought it. Well, so it goes. All the stuff wrong with it will get fixed eventually, but I'm gonna keep looking for one to go down under.
Today is already mapped out. Work on the AC and the Tigermobile. Wish me luck. Tiger had to stay home from the Awful house today, no way he's getting in the Cruze.
And it rains. That didn't take long. Actually, it didn't take long to determine my gas valve isn't opening. Fan comes on, igniter comes on, nothing. Igniter comes on again, fan turns off. I don't know if this is something I can clean, I may know someone who can help me. I hope I do.
Also, got the easy-out firmly dug into the spark plug remnant, and that thing ain't budging. I left it in there. At least now the lube won't immediately run down into the cylinder, maybe it will last long enough to soak into the threads a little. Man that thing is in there. I was afraid to put too much torque on it, I've broken easy-outs before and I sure don't want to break one now. Maybe the rain actually saved me from this. I'll give it a try later if the rain stops.
Well, the default activity is cleaning house. I'd rather not.
I started out by changing some old incandescent bulbs out to 100W LED that only draw 15 Watts. First one no problem, put the diffuser back on and over to the second one. Taking off the diffuser I hear a crash and broken glass all over the foyer. I know I put the diffuser in properly but maybe I didn't? So a big mess to clean. Fortunately I had a spare diffuser in the basement or that might have been a problem. The last one to change is by the launder room door where the ceiling is 9'. I get the bulb out and put it in the hole on the paint tray part of the ladder. In goes the new, and.... You guessed it. More broken glass to clean from the bulb that fell soon as I moved down a rung.
I can't say enough good things about frog tape. Every part of the oak trim that was taped off has zero bleed from paint. It makes me look like a better painter than I really am. I got the dining room, foyer and stairwell done today. On close inspection it looks like I need to do a few minor touch ups but nothing more than that. I'm tired.
Mike, how many miles on the Tigermobile? That same problem you're having was something the dealer here warned me about with my Hyundai. The service interval for plugs is 100k miles, but they said 60k was a safer bet for exactly the reason you have. I really hope you can get that plug out but there's a good chance you might have to take the head off to get that sucker. I hope I'm wrong and you get it. Maybe Clint can chime in and offer a suggestion..
Gas valves? I hope your friend can help. I'd be afraid to play with it and I can't imagine it's any fun waking up to a freezing house. Maybe Tiger can sleep on your feet to keep them warm? I don't recall if you have a wood burning stove or fireplace.
Jouni, good to hear from you. Sounds like you need a break from all that work.
got (most)all the shopping done yesterday. Then did most of the wrapping. The missus went and picked up 16 squares of siding on Friday. I got that all unloaded but haven't had a chance to start installing it. The kid stopped by to help me move some furniture, It was good to see her. Funny she lives about a half mile away, but I sure don't get to see her much.
Well, the weather is spose to go to pot this week. snow and single digits later this week.
Foggy out. Haven't heard if the sun is coming out today, it needs to.
Yesterday I started up the wood stove early and had it running all afternoon and evening. Used up all my dry firewood. Texted a friend of mine who knows a little about AC and he never got back to me. Nor did I get back to the spark plug issue. I did talk on the phone a lot. Talked to my best friend in Denver, I hadn't talked with him in a while.
So right after Awful house I'll call someone to come fix the furnace. And then I'll finish screwing up the Tigermobile and have it taken somewhere. I guess I must have too much money, and need to spend it on these things.
Okay gonna get to it. Hope everyone has a good day.
Another day in the frozen wastelands.... Still more stuff to do.
Clint, you're going to wait for warmer weather till you install the siding? Kids are like that sometimes. Independence has its drawbacks at times. Drop in on her when you feel the need.
Jim, you coming back from up Norte sometime?
5 more days and the rug rats will be outta school whooping it up for a couple weeks.
Glad I was missed and glad I got a little home improvement done
Mike, Scot's the HVAC guru but I can tell ya what happened to mine. There's a satiety thing a ma jig that if one side lights and the others don't catch soon it shut the whole thing off. Ya can wire brush or drill out the crud on the burners and it might help or you may be able to light it by hand
BTW I dreamed I was buying washers. bolts and nuts to build new 2X4 side rails on my [yours now] trailer
Allan, That FB attachment you've sent me still won't open I'd rather someone whip me with a chain than paint
I think the letter you're speaking of simply say "People are different" or I might say "wired differently" There are 2 things I really tried to do that I find impossible, Play bridge and understand astronomy. [I started with the basic Boy Scout manual ] but it still doesn't compute
London, Good work sounds like a very successful fund raiser
Success. I put a wrench on the easy-out this afternoon and the plug remnants backed out easily. What a relief. The other three came out okay but had a definite drag to them so I just took it slow so nothing would gall. I put the new plugs back in with copper anti-seize. The car ran good before but it's smooth as silk now. Allan it has 95K on it, no idea when the last set of plugs were put in. It has Bosch Platinums in it now.
Spent a lot of the day planting trees for my neighbor. She said if I helped her she'd make me breakfast. I said I'd do it anyway but wouldn't turn down free food. After that I did the plugs, so now that just leaves the furnace. Since it's after 5 now that's not getting fixed.
Jamesbo the furnace is outside and I'm not running outside to light it every time I get cold. It's supposed to be warmish this week (70s) so it shouldn't get too cold in the house. Tiger has a blanket on his couch so he'll be okay. I'll get someone out next week.
I need to go buy my Mom a TV. Walmart has them the cheapest but I've heard they are built cheeper for Walmart and they break right after the warranty. I hate going to Best Buy. Everything is on sale so I'll probably go to Best Buy.
Wasn't going to go to the Awful house for my supper but since Tiger hasn't been able to go anywhere all weekend and he's been a good boy today while I've been in and out, we can go to Awful house so he can have a hamburger. Might even go get some ice cream.
Okay gotta finish cleaning up before it gets dark. Have a good evening everyone.
Good morning,
Got breakfast frying on the stove, should be ready in 30 minutes or so. Sort of an improvised potato hash. Hey, it works for me.
More painting in store for today.....sigh....gradually the facelift is becoming more complete. I feel like I'm traveling down the dark side, and looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure feeling tired these days.
Mike, good for you! It's always a nervous time when things go wrong, and reason to celebrate when they work out. I'm glad your solution worked out and the Tigermobile is back in action. It would have been terrible to spend a lot more money especially after it just got a fresh coat of paint.
Jim, I can only speak for myself but home renovation is a slippery slope. It totally disrupts the flow of daily living and puts a lot of stress where there wasn't any before. Not to mention it's not cheap either.. I'll be much happier when it's finished, whatever that is. I think it's one of the perils of ownership, but also necessary maintenance I guess. In addition to the inside reno this year, also count new: roof, hot water tank, furnace. I tHink I need some of Mikes money
Clint, watch those roofers. They were not very careful doing our house and there was siding damage. They of course did nothing to help repair it so I gave them a negative review. Are you doing the siding yourself? Vinyl is prett easy to work with.
Anyone see or talk to John lately? I keep wondering how captain star fire is doing. Hopefully he's well but I miss him.
Quick visit again, just came to pay bills on internet. 2 or 3 days anymore.
God, were doing bigger jobs than in summer now to get everything done.
Talk about exhaustive work. Just came home, payed bills, now to sleep, then back to work. Not even time for sauna!!!! BLASPHEMY!!!!!
Will catch you all when i have time, friday or saturday.
Just finished the living room and hallway to the laundry. YAAAAYYYYY!!! That means just the kitchen (smaller wall space but lots of inconveniences like taking off cabinet doors) and the main floor baffroom! I already bought the new wax ring for the terlot cuz it has to come out so I can get a ladder in there.
Jim, when I sent you that pic it had been snowing. It was me going to work in the snow.
I was quite a bit younger back then, and scaling ice cliffs was kind of a fun hobby. Right after this was taken an avalanche came down the chute right beside us. Instant cold and no light.
Jouni, since you don't have time I'll take a sauna for ya! Mebbe even have a beer?? You must be close to shut down now I would think.
Didn't feel like doing anything so I slept in until almost 1. Got a couple little things done and ran an errand.
Clint it's a 2010 Ford Transit Connect. Pretty sure it's an aluminum head. No idea why #4 plug rusted in half, but I think my solution to that happening again is I'll pull the plugs out once a month and inspect them, and if they look corroded I'll replace them.
Jamesbo I wish you'd dream a little harder because I want to build sides for that trailer. Trouble is, the pockets on the side are smaller than a 2x4 and tapered on the sides.
Okay work. Only three this week then it's off to Mom's. I wonder how the airport is doing to day with electricity. Have a good evening everyone.
So, two more days of my Christmas Grotto then I’m done. So far raised over £5000 for my two charities, one a children’s hospice and one an adult hospice. The Mayor is personally thanking us on Thursday with tea and cakes in her parlour! Also made all the local newspapers this week so lots of good PR for us.
London weather, gray and damp but not too cold around 50 staying mild till the big day.
Mike, the anti seize should take care of your issue. the biggest problem I see is the plugs loosen a little (hot cold cycles) and then the carbon works its way into the threads.
London you sound too busy to me. good on ya.
Jamesbo, since you're a mod I think you should be the one to hire up an assistant for this thread like tooltime had.
Allan, Yes, I'll be doing the siding. I doubt I'll be able to get far on it before they roof now that the weather is turning. My roofer is a friend of mine form school, He's always taken care of me in the past.
I was in contact with John a few weeks ago. He's still working on the SF. He seems well.
I need to call ole John boy and wish him a merry Christmas
[and give him a little Saints raz]
Mike, All ya gotta do is use a skill saw to taper the bottoms. I had sides on it forever. Wish I could remember when I took them off and where I put them. I give ya them for Christmas.
BTW What was your day like when the rat chewing on a wire shut down the whole frigging airport?
Allan, I can remember being young and foolish but THANKFULLY I survived.
Clint, Bring on the assistant, I am ready for something more interesting then listing to paint drying stories
Jouni, Don't they believe in letting up for the Holidays
London, Gongrats on a job well done.
So yesterday, I saw a memorial service 1st. When the service was over they played this and the family left with the "Hook em horns" hand sign
Last curling game before Christmas. This is just a fun game that doesn't count towards standings. Mixed teams with different rules. Should be interesting.
London, soldier on.
Clint, sounds like you have things under control. It's a chilly -12 here this morning so no outside stuff planned. I took the Malibu for a spin yesterday and it's a very nice riding car. The I4 engine and 6sp transmission move it along nicely. The sound adjusting radio is a really nice feature. The onstar feature is disabled but will still talk if the button gets pressed. It encourages remote activation of the system, but I saw how expensive their plans are and no thanks. BTW, how come you haven't hired an assistant like that? It would be great for business....
Jim, you might have to start whacking whitey on different days that aren't froggy.
Mike, the news about the airport losing power made it up here too. I guess it created quite a kerfuffle throughout the airlines. Did it affect the mtce side too or was it business as usual?
Time for a brekkie of champions, aka bowl of cereal and a banana.
My Gawd, the score from this mornings game was like a football game. 26-22 for us. It was a weird format where every rock in the house counted for each team. Repeat next Wednesday.
Jim, sorry ta bee the bearer of bad news.... More Reno on the horizon. The missus now wants all the staircases redone....before end of January. I'm beginning to wonder what $$ looks like cuz it sure has a habit of disappearing fast here this year. That picture was back when I was around 28 or so. At that point in my life being single and unattached had its advantages. I went where I wanted and had a new car pretty much every year. Only bought one chebby and one blue oval truck, all the rest were Oldsmobiles. I wasn't a good negotiator at the time, but I really loved driving new cars. My favorites were my 78 Calais and my 83 Regency Brougham. The Calais was one of those offered with the chebby 350 4 bbl. It was a good little performer. Is this better than listening to stories of paint?
Cs, what Dan said. You have to try harder to do less than nothing. Jim would be the guru of teaching you the ropes on that.
Well Exxon decided to play grinch here. Pump prices just went up 17 cents/L, or about 65 cents/ US gallon. Someone in big oil must have bought a new island for Christmas.
CS Bill, welcome to the fountain of wisdom. Nice to have some new blood here.
Clint, defo too busy, might even get at least one day off next week. I take over a new building on Jan 2nd, loads to keep me busy.
By the way, I have loads of women like that coming for interviews but for some reason my wife never hires them, can’t think why!
Sorted out my outfit for the London parade which is televised nationally, I’m a 6 foot 2 inch tiger. Why do I do it? At least no one will recognise me.
Hump Day. Week and work. I hated the department I was in previous to the one I'm in now, but I loved working three days a week only. Next week it's the same, I could get used to it again.
Welcome Bill. After you do nothing be sure to rest.
My day was great while the airport was in turmoil. Because I wasn't there. I didn't even know about it until night when someone happened to say, what happened at the airport? To which my answer was, uh... Evidently Maintenance was on standby to move stairs around to planes that couldn't get to a jetway. The planes of course have their own power but with the power out in the building the jetways can't move.
Jamesbo check the forest where the trailer sat for 10 years.
So I'm in getting ready for work and I hear Tiger getting into the bathtub in the other bathroom. I thought, I wondered if he'd do that, it was one of Sparky's favorite spots. Then I heard clunking and I thought, oh he's dropped a bone in there. Just then he comes running into the bedroom with a bar of soap in his mouth. He wouldn't give that up for nothing. Finally wrestled it away from him. Nut.
Okay time to go out and then get moving. Hope everyone enjoyed their day.
Mike, LOL at least his breath may be better than my monsters.
London, Thats the spirit. That way you can be there but not.
CS-Bill. Tell us a little about you and your ride.
Allan, Glad to hear that little car is gonna work out for him. I was at costco the other day and they had a new 4 door GMC canyon sitting out front. The daughter has been playing with the idea of getting one that way she won't need to come borrow the Chebby to haul the horse trailer. So I looked it over and this did have the little I4 Duramax Turbo Diesel in it, and then looked at the sticker. $46,000.00 for a midsize pickup. Ummm no. I tell ya the worlds gone completely guano.
Tossed and turned this morning then at 3 finally said screw it and got up. Lightly snowing. Gonna go bring up some more firewood.
Allan, Just look at it as job security. Kind like painting seats at a stadium, ya go round and round and by the time you finish, it's time to paint again
Mike, I can't imagine that the soap tasted very good. BTW, I walk Red dog in the woods and it ain't there. Let me check a few sheds
Clint, I'm with you the cost of these new POS is crazy. I'm considering a crate engine when my Cheby 4X4 goes Tango Uniform
Well this isn't the start of a great day. I did have a post typed up on the iPad earlier and the OS decided to shut down Chrome so it was all for naught. Today should be interesting as I'm not feeling well but have loads of things to get done. Right now I feel like I wanna puke. Most God awful feeling in the world, except for the actual act I guess. I'm getting so used to this it's not funny. It seems like I'm getting worse every day and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Not even the meds seem to be helping.
I got a late start on the day. Neighbors phart can tuner exhaust woke me at 7:15 which was good I guess. I usually get up around 5:30 so I must have been tired. Got the trash out with a few minutes to spare. Our recycle guy is punctual but the other trash collection seems to have it's own agenda which fluctuates wildly. For some ridiculous reason trash pickup here is close to $50/month. That seems to be really high. I'd rather see the trash fees based on the volume of trash put out. At that rate we'd be around $12.00/month all in. Dream on I guess.
Clint, yeah it's turning out to be a good little hoopty for him. Comfy, reliable and economical. He's taking it on a road trip early in the New Year so he'll see how it fares for hiway mileage. When we were looking at dealers, they had overpriced higher mileage units which we ignored. At the same time I couldn't help but notice how many people were in buying full size trucks. Most were looking at 1/2 tons but there was a lot of interest in the 3/4 tons as well. Price doesn't seem to bother them much and I looked at the sticker price of a few. They ranged from a low of $46k to around the $70k mark. Maybe they have deep pockets or rich relatives? So in the meantime you going to let Tori borrow the Chevy?
Jim, not a bad idea but what about the rest of the parts that will wear out about the same time? Do you ever consider looking at good pre-owned? BTW I'm not worried about job security and the idea of painting seats in a stadium sent shivvers down my back. No thankee.
Mike, what's his favorite flavor? Irish Spring? Never heard of a pup that liked to chew on soap. Everything else yes, soap - not so much. That is kind of funny though.
Not terribly cold here but the wind doesn't help. Heading out shortly to buy the Christmas turkey. My wife says we can get it for free. Never underestimate the power of a crafty woman....
Season is officially DONE!! Now its 3...4 months of rest. Sounds fine. Damn, sounds better than fine.. 4 days, 60 hours. + 8 hours to work-traveling.
Im god awfull tired, sipping quality rum and beer until i fall asleep at couch.
Ah, what a great feeling. Just came to fill last papers to Company for this year, so im off as quick as i came.
But, hey, have a good evening everyone! We'll "see" tomorrow.
Jouni, that's wonderful that you'll have so much time off especially since you'll soon be a new dad. When is your wife's due date? There's a lot of peeps who want to know the gender of their child so they can start prepping the nursery colors. We knew with my son but that didn't affect much. Cribs are cribs and you need to see how big the baby is to get the right side clothes too. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time when the baby arrives. With luck there will be sleep through nights.
Just got back from shopping with the missus. I really don't enjoy it that much but it's better than turning her loose with a credit card. We got off light today. Needless to say my project is now a day behind.....
Mike, last day before you head off to see your mom? I imagine Tiger isn't going to be thrilled when he goes to jail, and I'm sure he'll miss you. Do you buy gifts when you arrive or bring them with you? I guess it really doesn't matter in the long run as long as everyone's together and happy for Christmas. Safe travels and enjoy the family time.
Friday for me, a day early. Last night sucked. Everything I did fought me every inch of the way. Every person I came in contact with was a hindrance. It was almost 6 before I got out, but I was surprised at the amount of work I got done.
Geez I just saw how late it is. I had to go next door and listen to the two of them bicker. That's what put me behind. See you all later.
Mike, How about I just give ya sum 2X4's and sum nuts, bolts and washers for Christmas. My hunt isn't showing much results.
Jouni, Ya can take the next boat over here and help me sell cemetery lots instead of taking time off
Allan, My Christmas shopping has taken a down hill spiral years ago. We just don't need any more STUFF, So we usually give each other stuff we really use ever day. I should be finished today.
I'm actually using a gift card someone gave me to Publix to buy a gift card for Starbucks for a relative [I hate the place] Kinda recycling gifts
I text John Boy de utter day, He said he had a cold but was doing fine. We had a brief exchange about fried chicken. [ His favorite food.]
Well I hate to say this but my great plan of nothingness went down the drain yesterday. I had planned an entire day of watching 3 or 4 movies in between naps but during the first movie I realized I had no signal to the sub. Well after a few hours of poking and prodding I came to the realization that my 7.1 system was only putting out 5.0, it was a sad day
So off to Best Buy to spend some money. Long story short I now have 7.1 again. And I figured while I was making changes I would also change out the old worn out Harmony One remote.
And thank you all for the kind welcome. Lots of great info here. Last week I bought a 70 CS convertible that has been dressed up as a W30. I bought it to drive so the badging isn't important to me, it is the 455 under the hood that I care about It's my retirement gift from me to me, I am good to me lol And I haven't actually retired yet but I will in the next 12 to 18 months, just not exactly sure when.
December 16th, 2017 | 09:54 AM
I'd rather someone whip me with a chain than paint 
