Thursday, August 05, 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010
The First of Very Few
So a couple of weeks ago the call came in. My iPhone was ready for me to pick it at the Apple Store. I had been wanting (but not really needing) a smart phone for many many years and I finally decided it was time.
[I started this post from my iPhone, but I am finishing it on the PC. I apparently don't have the patient to type several paragraphs on the phone.]
So far I am loving the phone. The coverage leaves a lot to be desired around here but there is not much one can do about that, other than perhaps getting a micro-cell. Yeah, I did. We now have five bars in the house, even with the death grip.
Hopefully Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile will get the iPhone next year and I can make another carrier swap in two years. Until then I will enjoy my new toy and complain about the coverage.
What does the title mean? While I can post to the blog from the phone, I don't expect to do it too often. My typing skills are not quite up to par on the touch screen as they are on a real keyboard and I am rarely very far from a computer.
New Apple fan-boy signing out.
So a couple of weeks ago the call came in. My iPhone was ready for me to pick it at the Apple Store. I had been wanting (but not really needing) a smart phone for many many years and I finally decided it was time.
[I started this post from my iPhone, but I am finishing it on the PC. I apparently don't have the patient to type several paragraphs on the phone.]
So far I am loving the phone. The coverage leaves a lot to be desired around here but there is not much one can do about that, other than perhaps getting a micro-cell. Yeah, I did. We now have five bars in the house, even with the death grip.
Hopefully Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile will get the iPhone next year and I can make another carrier swap in two years. Until then I will enjoy my new toy and complain about the coverage.
What does the title mean? While I can post to the blog from the phone, I don't expect to do it too often. My typing skills are not quite up to par on the touch screen as they are on a real keyboard and I am rarely very far from a computer.
New Apple fan-boy signing out.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Long Story, Short
Blogger discontinued FTP support. Boo.
I swapped to Word Press. "It's not you, it's me." Actually, my ancient web server just couldn't handle running software a decade younger than it. Not Word Press per se, but all the support software.
Back to blogger. No longer hosting on my server.
Will try to back port entries from WP in Blogger. There have not been many so it shouldn't take long.
If happen across a broken link, please let me know.
Blogger discontinued FTP support. Boo.
I swapped to Word Press. "It's not you, it's me." Actually, my ancient web server just couldn't handle running software a decade younger than it. Not Word Press per se, but all the support software.
Back to blogger. No longer hosting on my server.
Will try to back port entries from WP in Blogger. There have not been many so it shouldn't take long.
If happen across a broken link, please let me know.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Roger Update
This week a couple of boxes were delivered. One contained a new gas tank for the Morris Minor. The tank was purchased on Ebay. Another box contained a new fuel pump which I purchased from Amazon (lowest price), and the final box contained spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor cap, points, condenser, coil, and plug wires which I purchased from the web site of one of our local parts house chains. I am still expecting a final box containing a new stainless steel gas cap.
Some of the parts go on the car, some will be used to repay the nice guy who loaned me some parts at the recent car show. Hopefully I will get around to delivering/installing all these one evening this week.
This week a couple of boxes were delivered. One contained a new gas tank for the Morris Minor. The tank was purchased on Ebay. Another box contained a new fuel pump which I purchased from Amazon (lowest price), and the final box contained spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor cap, points, condenser, coil, and plug wires which I purchased from the web site of one of our local parts house chains. I am still expecting a final box containing a new stainless steel gas cap.
Some of the parts go on the car, some will be used to repay the nice guy who loaned me some parts at the recent car show. Hopefully I will get around to delivering/installing all these one evening this week.
Garden Update
The garden is producing nicely. I pulled a couple varieties of tomatoes along with one strawberry, a couple onions and cucumbers to complement dinner tonight. I was hoping for a couple of squash as well but all the squash had been left on the vines too long (I was out of town for the week) and were too tough.
The okra is about knee high now. Several blooms but I did not spot any pods. These plants are mostly from the third planting. Apparently rabbits will even eat okra if they are hungry enough. I decided to put up the chicken wire fence after the rabbits got the okra.
The watermelon and cantaloupe vines are growing like mad. I spotted a couple of small melons on the vines. Looking forward to enjoying more of the results of gardening.
The garden is producing nicely. I pulled a couple varieties of tomatoes along with one strawberry, a couple onions and cucumbers to complement dinner tonight. I was hoping for a couple of squash as well but all the squash had been left on the vines too long (I was out of town for the week) and were too tough.
The okra is about knee high now. Several blooms but I did not spot any pods. These plants are mostly from the third planting. Apparently rabbits will even eat okra if they are hungry enough. I decided to put up the chicken wire fence after the rabbits got the okra.
The watermelon and cantaloupe vines are growing like mad. I spotted a couple of small melons on the vines. Looking forward to enjoying more of the results of gardening.
June, Where has it gone?
I spent this near Jacksonville, FL on business. This was my third trip to this location. I spent most of the week out side and I have never felt so hot in my life. I am certainly glad to be back home.
Last weekend on Friday, I went on a one night camping trip with a David M, and Chad E to Savage Gulf in TN. During this trip, which was also hot and humid, I decided I would never again go camping in June, July, August, and at least the first half of September. I definitely prefer cold weather camping – no snakes and no bugs (especially ticks).
I spent this near Jacksonville, FL on business. This was my third trip to this location. I spent most of the week out side and I have never felt so hot in my life. I am certainly glad to be back home.
Last weekend on Friday, I went on a one night camping trip with a David M, and Chad E to Savage Gulf in TN. During this trip, which was also hot and humid, I decided I would never again go camping in June, July, August, and at least the first half of September. I definitely prefer cold weather camping – no snakes and no bugs (especially ticks).
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Roger's Day Out
Today we took the Morris to a Euro-Brit car show. Lots of Triumphs, MGs, Austin Healeys and Volkswagens. Quite a few Range Rovers, Minis and Porsches. On Ferrari, one Lotus, and one Morris.
The trip, fewer than 10 miles, to the show was uneventful. That is until I stopped for parking directions. At that point Roger refused to start. That has not happened before (when I had gas in the tank – I have already run out twice because the fuel gauge doesn’t work). Fortunately the car is British so no one was surprised when it wouldn’t start.
I popped the bonnet and a bunch of guys leaned in under the hood. These guys were great. And knowledgeable. And prepared. After checking to make sure there was fuel, they checked for spark. The spark was weak. Eventually they had replaced the distributor cap, the rotor cap, and the spark plugs. And Roger was alive again. The amazing part was that they had all these parts with them. And more.
I got the name of the guy that supplied all the parts so I could replace them. I also learned a lot through the process. Basically the car didn’t want to start because the spark was weak – it basically needed a tune up. The weak spark alone was not the problem. The plugs were also really dirty. The plugs were dirty because the car was running rich. And the car was running rich because the electric fuel pump was the wrong part.
Normally these cars have mechanical fuel pumps but they often get replaced with electronic equivalents. The problem was that this one pushes about 5-7 pounds of pressure where the carburetor only needs about 2 pounds. The increased gas pressure basically forces gas through the carb which is what has been causing the car to run rich. This all made complete sense, after it was explained.
The car has been running rich. I had been studying how to tune the carb in order to correct the problem. Using the instructions from my manual, I had tuned the carb down as lean as possible. I was baffled as to why it was running so rich. Now we know. We also know I need to replace the fuel pump. (One of the guys even offered to loan me one.)
I also found out that as the distributor wears out the car loses power at medium to high RPMs. I would say that based on this knowledge I would say my distributor was well worn. The car definitely felt peppier after the meta-tune-up.
And finally I received lots of good advice I plan to follow:
0. Replace the fuel pump. Soon.
1. Finish the tuneup. Replace the plug wires, the condenser, the coil, etc.
2. Carry some spare parts in the boot. Extra plugs, distributor cap, rotor cap. The parts are cheap and don’t take up much space.
3. Buy some extra tools and leave them in the boot as well. With a Harbor Freight nearby, I think I can accomplish this for about $20.
One of guys in my neighborhood invited me to this car show. I already knew about it and planned to attend. I had talked with him about my carburetor already. He was at the show and had brought me a copy of a tuneup guide for my carburetor. (Did I mention these guys were all really helpful.) Ernie is a very interesting and knowledgeable guy. He is also a Fiat guy. I believe he has 4 Fiats, maybe 5, 3 are convertibles. At least one is a parts car. He also has a couple of 1967 Datsun 1600s which are also convertibles and which I think are pretty awesome cars – I mentioned one in a post several years ago when I first saw one in a salvage yard. Most of his cars are still in the project stage and I suspect he is actually working on all of them. (And he is an accomplished brew master.)
Last night the local Euro-Brit car club went on a drive. I had wanted to attend but I was pretty sure Roger wasn’t up to it. It is a good thing I didn’t attempt the drive. Hopefully we will be up to it next year.
Overall, I had a very enjoyable day, even with the breakdown. The kids went with me and I think they had a pretty good time as well.
Today we took the Morris to a Euro-Brit car show. Lots of Triumphs, MGs, Austin Healeys and Volkswagens. Quite a few Range Rovers, Minis and Porsches. On Ferrari, one Lotus, and one Morris.
The trip, fewer than 10 miles, to the show was uneventful. That is until I stopped for parking directions. At that point Roger refused to start. That has not happened before (when I had gas in the tank – I have already run out twice because the fuel gauge doesn’t work). Fortunately the car is British so no one was surprised when it wouldn’t start.
I popped the bonnet and a bunch of guys leaned in under the hood. These guys were great. And knowledgeable. And prepared. After checking to make sure there was fuel, they checked for spark. The spark was weak. Eventually they had replaced the distributor cap, the rotor cap, and the spark plugs. And Roger was alive again. The amazing part was that they had all these parts with them. And more.
I got the name of the guy that supplied all the parts so I could replace them. I also learned a lot through the process. Basically the car didn’t want to start because the spark was weak – it basically needed a tune up. The weak spark alone was not the problem. The plugs were also really dirty. The plugs were dirty because the car was running rich. And the car was running rich because the electric fuel pump was the wrong part.
Normally these cars have mechanical fuel pumps but they often get replaced with electronic equivalents. The problem was that this one pushes about 5-7 pounds of pressure where the carburetor only needs about 2 pounds. The increased gas pressure basically forces gas through the carb which is what has been causing the car to run rich. This all made complete sense, after it was explained.
The car has been running rich. I had been studying how to tune the carb in order to correct the problem. Using the instructions from my manual, I had tuned the carb down as lean as possible. I was baffled as to why it was running so rich. Now we know. We also know I need to replace the fuel pump. (One of the guys even offered to loan me one.)
I also found out that as the distributor wears out the car loses power at medium to high RPMs. I would say that based on this knowledge I would say my distributor was well worn. The car definitely felt peppier after the meta-tune-up.
And finally I received lots of good advice I plan to follow:
0. Replace the fuel pump. Soon.
1. Finish the tuneup. Replace the plug wires, the condenser, the coil, etc.
2. Carry some spare parts in the boot. Extra plugs, distributor cap, rotor cap. The parts are cheap and don’t take up much space.
3. Buy some extra tools and leave them in the boot as well. With a Harbor Freight nearby, I think I can accomplish this for about $20.
One of guys in my neighborhood invited me to this car show. I already knew about it and planned to attend. I had talked with him about my carburetor already. He was at the show and had brought me a copy of a tuneup guide for my carburetor. (Did I mention these guys were all really helpful.) Ernie is a very interesting and knowledgeable guy. He is also a Fiat guy. I believe he has 4 Fiats, maybe 5, 3 are convertibles. At least one is a parts car. He also has a couple of 1967 Datsun 1600s which are also convertibles and which I think are pretty awesome cars – I mentioned one in a post several years ago when I first saw one in a salvage yard. Most of his cars are still in the project stage and I suspect he is actually working on all of them. (And he is an accomplished brew master.)
Last night the local Euro-Brit car club went on a drive. I had wanted to attend but I was pretty sure Roger wasn’t up to it. It is a good thing I didn’t attempt the drive. Hopefully we will be up to it next year.
Overall, I had a very enjoyable day, even with the breakdown. The kids went with me and I think they had a pretty good time as well.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Pictures from the Garden
It, the garden, was supposed to be smaller this year, but it ended up larger. That is what happens when your trade in the shovel for a rototiller for preparing the ground.
[UPDATE: Sorry, the picture got lost during the blog shuffle.]
May 3rd and there is already a tomato on the vine.
And a couple of strawberries.
And a couple of strawberries from the wild strawberry vine.
Volunteer. Possibly okra.
Three more volunteers. Probably squash.
Another volunteer. Also okra?
And all the okra that I actually planted.
It, the garden, was supposed to be smaller this year, but it ended up larger. That is what happens when your trade in the shovel for a rototiller for preparing the ground.
[UPDATE: Sorry, the picture got lost during the blog shuffle.]
May 3rd and there is already a tomato on the vine.
And a couple of strawberries.
And a couple of strawberries from the wild strawberry vine.
Volunteer. Possibly okra.
Three more volunteers. Probably squash.
Another volunteer. Also okra?
And all the okra that I actually planted.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Rained Out, But No Rain
The car show that was rained out last weekend was reschedule for this weekend. Again we had rain fore-casted but since no rain was actually falling, I decided to go on. When I arrived at the Athens Town Square, I saw a single vintage car. It didn’t occur to me to check the Cars on the Square web site for the event. It turns out the event was reschedule yet again. This time for June 6th.
The car show that was rained out last weekend was reschedule for this weekend. Again we had rain fore-casted but since no rain was actually falling, I decided to go on. When I arrived at the Athens Town Square, I saw a single vintage car. It didn’t occur to me to check the Cars on the Square web site for the event. It turns out the event was reschedule yet again. This time for June 6th.
Mid-South Live Steamers
My backup plans for the day involved a trip to Columbia, Tennessee to see/ride the trains. Unfortunately the weather prediction there involves 100% chance of thunder storms. This is the second time in a row I canceled this trip due to rain. Checkout the pictures of previous events.
My backup plans for the day involved a trip to Columbia, Tennessee to see/ride the trains. Unfortunately the weather prediction there involves 100% chance of thunder storms. This is the second time in a row I canceled this trip due to rain. Checkout the pictures of previous events.
Friday, April 30, 2010
First
So here it is – same content different software. During the conversion from Blogger to Word Press I thought I had lost 10 posts. Which ones? Who knows. Upon further investigation, I found that I had several draft posts that had never been published … so no content was actually lost.
Perhaps someday I will include the missing posts in the Obsession Box Set release.
So here it is – same content different software. During the conversion from Blogger to Word Press I thought I had lost 10 posts. Which ones? Who knows. Upon further investigation, I found that I had several draft posts that had never been published … so no content was actually lost.
Perhaps someday I will include the missing posts in the Obsession Box Set release.
The blog has moved.
To find the most recent posts go to http://ram92.ods.org/blog/
Update: Now located at rickmartindale.blogspot.com
Update: Now located at rickmartindale.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday night woodworking was not very productive. The greater we managed to make 24 precision cuts. OK, so maybe only 3 of them were precise, but we did try to at least cut the correct boards.
I also crawled under the Morris to find the gas leak. It turns out the leak is in the tank. This is quite unfortunate as the tank is pretty much full right now. And now it is slightly less full. And now ever so slightly less than it was a second ago. You get the picture. So in the very near future I suppose I will be dropping the tank, but first I must procrastinate for a while.
And finally it must be said Danny is now officially a bum. Bring on the summer and shred the list.
I also crawled under the Morris to find the gas leak. It turns out the leak is in the tank. This is quite unfortunate as the tank is pretty much full right now. And now it is slightly less full. And now ever so slightly less than it was a second ago. You get the picture. So in the very near future I suppose I will be dropping the tank, but first I must procrastinate for a while.
And finally it must be said Danny is now officially a bum. Bring on the summer and shred the list.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
What I Did and Did Not Do This Week
Last week was spent standing in a field in the middle of Ohio. I got back home Saturday at about 1:00 AM.
We got a dog Friday afternoon. His name is Yoshi. He is about 1.5 years old.
A camping trip had been planned for the weekend, but it was canceled because several of us could not make it. Turns out we had bad weather too.
There was also a car show on Saturday that I wanted to go to. It was postponed until next weekend because of the weather.
And finally there was a wood working show this weekend and I managed to get there on Sunday afternoon.
Last week was spent standing in a field in the middle of Ohio. I got back home Saturday at about 1:00 AM.
We got a dog Friday afternoon. His name is Yoshi. He is about 1.5 years old.
A camping trip had been planned for the weekend, but it was canceled because several of us could not make it. Turns out we had bad weather too.
There was also a car show on Saturday that I wanted to go to. It was postponed until next weekend because of the weather.
And finally there was a wood working show this weekend and I managed to get there on Sunday afternoon.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Hello Roger
Thursday night while browsing Craig's List, I came across an interesting ad: For Sale: 1967 Morris Minor, yada yada yada.
(To get a good idea how big this car is notice the Volkswagen Beetle in the adjacent spot.)
Thirty-six hours later it was parked in my driveway. When I saw the ad, I knew it would go quickly. I called the owner. He said two others had already made arrangements to come see the car. I made my appointment for earlier in the day!
This car is roughly the same size as a VW Beetle. The interior is spacious but sparse. The exterior styling is reminiscent of cars 20 years older that it. It has a very small engine (1 liter) and a fairly largetrunk boot. The paint looks good in the pictures and from about 20' - closer than that you can tell it needs some attention.
It quit once on the trip home. The previous owner said the gas tank was full. The gauge showed the tank was full. Fewer than 15 miles later I was out of gas. The gauge still showed the tank was full - it was not. In what seemed like a fortuitous event, the car ran out of gas right in front of a gas station. Unfortunately it was an unattended commercial refueling station. None of my cards worked there. My neighbor Brian who was still following me at this point, went and bought a gas can and brought me back some gas. At this point I headed straight for the station and filled up the tank and the empty gas can, just in case.
Did I say it quit once? It also developed a vacuum leak on the way home. This is kind of the opposite of quitting. The leak caused the engine to idle high. Nothing that couldn't be dealt with if I ever made it back home. Because it was idling high, I turned the motor off each time I had to stop for a light. (This reminded me of my hyper-mile-ing experiments the summer of 2008.)
Each time I stopped, there were one or more people there to ask me about the car. Two British car guys stopped to chat, they both wished me luck which I understand one needs when they have a car from the UK. Lots of people waving also. I think this car was getting more attention than the 1925 Chevy truck did. Amazing.
It has a few problems, but nothing we can't live without. I hope to get it running a little smoother soon. It won't be too soon though, my calendar is booked pretty solid for the next couple weeks.
Several folks have asked me what I am going to do with this car. The short answer is nothing. I don't plan on restoring it - basically I just want to keep it running and go get a milk shake from time to time.
Oh, yeah, we have decided to call it Roger, a name that stuck very quickly.
Thursday night while browsing Craig's List, I came across an interesting ad: For Sale: 1967 Morris Minor, yada yada yada.
(To get a good idea how big this car is notice the Volkswagen Beetle in the adjacent spot.)
Thirty-six hours later it was parked in my driveway. When I saw the ad, I knew it would go quickly. I called the owner. He said two others had already made arrangements to come see the car. I made my appointment for earlier in the day!
This car is roughly the same size as a VW Beetle. The interior is spacious but sparse. The exterior styling is reminiscent of cars 20 years older that it. It has a very small engine (1 liter) and a fairly large
It quit once on the trip home. The previous owner said the gas tank was full. The gauge showed the tank was full. Fewer than 15 miles later I was out of gas. The gauge still showed the tank was full - it was not. In what seemed like a fortuitous event, the car ran out of gas right in front of a gas station. Unfortunately it was an unattended commercial refueling station. None of my cards worked there. My neighbor Brian who was still following me at this point, went and bought a gas can and brought me back some gas. At this point I headed straight for the station and filled up the tank and the empty gas can, just in case.
Did I say it quit once? It also developed a vacuum leak on the way home. This is kind of the opposite of quitting. The leak caused the engine to idle high. Nothing that couldn't be dealt with if I ever made it back home. Because it was idling high, I turned the motor off each time I had to stop for a light. (This reminded me of my hyper-mile-ing experiments the summer of 2008.)
Each time I stopped, there were one or more people there to ask me about the car. Two British car guys stopped to chat, they both wished me luck which I understand one needs when they have a car from the UK. Lots of people waving also. I think this car was getting more attention than the 1925 Chevy truck did. Amazing.
It has a few problems, but nothing we can't live without. I hope to get it running a little smoother soon. It won't be too soon though, my calendar is booked pretty solid for the next couple weeks.
Several folks have asked me what I am going to do with this car. The short answer is nothing. I don't plan on restoring it - basically I just want to keep it running and go get a milk shake from time to time.
Oh, yeah, we have decided to call it Roger, a name that stuck very quickly.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Boring Stuff
Plowed up part of the yard for the garden today, right after I called my father-in-law to ask him if he put sugar in the gas tank. Turns out he didn't.
The tiller as it turns out is a bit finicky about being cranked. It will apparently run on old gas but refuses to be cranked using old gas. The trick to getting it to crank when the old gas is in the tank is to pour a little fresh fuel in the spark plug hole. Just enough to get it running. Once it is running, it will run fine on last years left over gasoline. I have learned this twice already in the last month.
Twice.
Plowed up part of the yard for the garden today, right after I called my father-in-law to ask him if he put sugar in the gas tank. Turns out he didn't.
The tiller as it turns out is a bit finicky about being cranked. It will apparently run on old gas but refuses to be cranked using old gas. The trick to getting it to crank when the old gas is in the tank is to pour a little fresh fuel in the spark plug hole. Just enough to get it running. Once it is running, it will run fine on last years left over gasoline. I have learned this twice already in the last month.
Twice.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
I finally got around to uploading some photos. Speaking of photos, I ordered myself a new camera recently. I have had such good look with the last one, a Canon Elph, I decided to get another one. My previous model apparently has been discontinue so after slogging through the specifications on Amazon and the Canon web site, I picked one out.
Don't expect this to turn into a photo blog. That would be too much work.
Don't expect this to turn into a photo blog. That would be too much work.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Somehow I ended up in Florida again. Two weeks ago I was here but in a different part of the state. This week I am here on business. Last time I was at Disney, this week I am in Jacksonville.
The weather was really nice when I arrived. I was disappointed when my rental car turned out not to be the yellow 2010 Corvette convertible parked next to my Ford sedan, or as the Europeans would say, salon. Maybe next time. Ha!
Trivia for the day - what group of workers went on a national strike in 1877?
Answer - Railroad workers.
The weather was really nice when I arrived. I was disappointed when my rental car turned out not to be the yellow 2010 Corvette convertible parked next to my Ford sedan, or as the Europeans would say, salon. Maybe next time. Ha!
Trivia for the day - what group of workers went on a national strike in 1877?
Answer - Railroad workers.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday I spotted a '69 Chevy LWB pickup parked at an auction lot. The truck looked to be in good shape, probably parked in a garage for an extended period of time. Out of curiosity, I emailed yesterday to find out what they wanted for it. The response came in this morning - a very reasonable $1100.
I went by at lunch today to get a closer look. A mere 3 hours later it was already gone.
Missed it!
I went by at lunch today to get a closer look. A mere 3 hours later it was already gone.
Missed it!
Tuesday Night Woodworking
Tonight we did absolutely nothing. Not exactly true. I asked David about borrowing his roto-tiller. He broght it with him. He says it hasn't been cranked in 10 years.
Of course it didn't want to start right away. Fuel, fire, air yada yada yada. Spark - check. Air filter clean - check. Gas - check. Not running. OK, perhaps the gas is old. I don't remember when I bought it. Fresh gas - check. Still not running. It cranks fine when starter fluid is sprayed into the air filter but it doesn't seem to want to pull gas from the tank.
Next step - clean the carb.
Tonight we did absolutely nothing. Not exactly true. I asked David about borrowing his roto-tiller. He broght it with him. He says it hasn't been cranked in 10 years.
Of course it didn't want to start right away. Fuel, fire, air yada yada yada. Spark - check. Air filter clean - check. Gas - check. Not running. OK, perhaps the gas is old. I don't remember when I bought it. Fresh gas - check. Still not running. It cranks fine when starter fluid is sprayed into the air filter but it doesn't seem to want to pull gas from the tank.
Next step - clean the carb.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Randomness
Last nights sawdust session progressed at the standard pace. Slow.
I have arranged to borrow a rototiller from a friend. This should ease the ground breaking for the garden this year, assuming I can get it crank. Dave says it probably hasn't been cranked in 10 years. Should be fun.
I need to change a password. I keep typing in my home password at work and my work password at home. I think I will change them both to bullwinkle.
Next week the kids are out of school for spring break. It will be an awesome week.
Keep Austin Weird.
I rx'ed a book I had ordered in the mail today - "wxPython in Action".
Seven.
Last nights sawdust session progressed at the standard pace. Slow.
I have arranged to borrow a rototiller from a friend. This should ease the ground breaking for the garden this year, assuming I can get it crank. Dave says it probably hasn't been cranked in 10 years. Should be fun.
I need to change a password. I keep typing in my home password at work and my work password at home. I think I will change them both to bullwinkle.
Next week the kids are out of school for spring break. It will be an awesome week.
Keep Austin Weird.
I rx'ed a book I had ordered in the mail today - "wxPython in Action".
Seven.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
The Guild
Remember Dr. Horrible's Sing-along blog. I recently found The Guild. Three seasons worth, each episode is about 3-8 minutes long. The first two seasons are available on Amazon, or Netflix. (It can even be streamed from Netflix - watch it now!) The final season is available online at http://www.watchtheguild.com/
Unfortunately there is no singing in this one.
If you need some singing, Dr. H. is available on Netflix also.
And if you still need more singing it may be time for "Oh Yes Wyoming!", again.
Remember Dr. Horrible's Sing-along blog. I recently found The Guild. Three seasons worth, each episode is about 3-8 minutes long. The first two seasons are available on Amazon, or Netflix. (It can even be streamed from Netflix - watch it now!) The final season is available online at http://www.watchtheguild.com/
Unfortunately there is no singing in this one.
If you need some singing, Dr. H. is available on Netflix also.
And if you still need more singing it may be time for "Oh Yes Wyoming!", again.
Camping - Winter 2010 - Sipsey
I went camping this past weekend. We camped in Sipsey Wilderness again, but in a different area. This time we parked at Thompson trailhead and followed 206 in a short ways.
I had previously located a nice site right on the water. Fortunately there were not a lot of other campers out for the weekend so the site was empty even though we didn't arrive until dusk. (The forecast had the temperature down to 24F at night and up into the mid 40s during the day.)
First order was setting up the tents. Flashlights we required in order to complete this task. Afterwards we wandered the forest gathering wood for a nice warm fire. I don't think anybody really got cold. We were all prepared for the cold.
We only stayed a single night. I had been out of town the weekend before and wanted to spend at least one night at home this weekend.
Saturday we were buzzed many times by a helicopter. We also met many many people who were out searching for a lost hiker. We eventually found out a 76 year old man had gotten lost in the woods the day before. I read in the paper on Monday that they found him about 10:30 Saturday next morning. He had gotten lost and spent the night under a rock overhang covered with leaves to keep warm. Glad to hear he was ok.
I went camping this past weekend. We camped in Sipsey Wilderness again, but in a different area. This time we parked at Thompson trailhead and followed 206 in a short ways.
I had previously located a nice site right on the water. Fortunately there were not a lot of other campers out for the weekend so the site was empty even though we didn't arrive until dusk. (The forecast had the temperature down to 24F at night and up into the mid 40s during the day.)
First order was setting up the tents. Flashlights we required in order to complete this task. Afterwards we wandered the forest gathering wood for a nice warm fire. I don't think anybody really got cold. We were all prepared for the cold.
We only stayed a single night. I had been out of town the weekend before and wanted to spend at least one night at home this weekend.
Saturday we were buzzed many times by a helicopter. We also met many many people who were out searching for a lost hiker. We eventually found out a 76 year old man had gotten lost in the woods the day before. I read in the paper on Monday that they found him about 10:30 Saturday next morning. He had gotten lost and spent the night under a rock overhang covered with leaves to keep warm. Glad to hear he was ok.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Just finished packing for a camping trip. Heading out tomorrow afternoon. The weather will be dry but cold - 24F. tomorrow night.
Ready for a sing-along? It starts with Jethro Tull and goes from there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqZmtq5LhFo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlUlFvkQL0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYnnmQ9x5tQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ5TajZYW6Y
Ready for a sing-along? It starts with Jethro Tull and goes from there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Woodworker Progress
Tuesday night was the weekly woodworking session that doesn't really meet every week because we sometimes have something, anything, better to do.
Last week, we worked on re-sawing and then planning down some maple boards to about 0.6" The S4S thickness will actually be 2/4" but we didn't know that at the time. Woody says "Plan your work and work your plan." During the planing (not planning) process we had no plan (but we did have a plane), just a vague notion that it was Tuesday. Without a plan, it is hard to plan your work. Without a plane, it is hard to plane your wood. We did have a plane though, so we did plane the wood. Not sure if we were following the plan though. At this point you may be asking yourself about woodchucks and woodchucking.
This week's session was very different. We still had no plan, though we still had a plane. The difference being that this week we forgot to pretend like we were making progress. That means when the guys arrived they sat down and watched as I pretended to clean off the work bench. After spending 15 minutes putting away many of the things that were piled up on the bench, I got tired of being heckled, and perhaps a little disgusted at the lack of benching top that I could see. So I sat down too. And they continued to heckle me. At least for a little while.
The conversation then switched to politics as it often does with these right-wing-wing-nuts. (Make sure you read both wings.) Health care reform, yada yada yada. I think we fixed it all.
Not a single piece of wood was harmed during the creation of this post, nor in the events that led up to the creation of this post. What does that make our average cuts per minute per person fall to? Don't answer. Speaking of numbers, I had no takers on a 40.
Tuesday night was the weekly woodworking session that doesn't really meet every week because we sometimes have something, anything, better to do.
Last week, we worked on re-sawing and then planning down some maple boards to about 0.6" The S4S thickness will actually be 2/4" but we didn't know that at the time. Woody says "Plan your work and work your plan." During the planing (not planning) process we had no plan (but we did have a plane), just a vague notion that it was Tuesday. Without a plan, it is hard to plan your work. Without a plane, it is hard to plane your wood. We did have a plane though, so we did plane the wood. Not sure if we were following the plan though. At this point you may be asking yourself about woodchucks and woodchucking.
This week's session was very different. We still had no plan, though we still had a plane. The difference being that this week we forgot to pretend like we were making progress. That means when the guys arrived they sat down and watched as I pretended to clean off the work bench. After spending 15 minutes putting away many of the things that were piled up on the bench, I got tired of being heckled, and perhaps a little disgusted at the lack of benching top that I could see. So I sat down too. And they continued to heckle me. At least for a little while.
The conversation then switched to politics as it often does with these right-wing-wing-nuts. (Make sure you read both wings.) Health care reform, yada yada yada. I think we fixed it all.
Not a single piece of wood was harmed during the creation of this post, nor in the events that led up to the creation of this post. What does that make our average cuts per minute per person fall to? Don't answer. Speaking of numbers, I had no takers on a 40.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Working!
Abyssws, PHP5, MySQL, and WordPress on Ubuntu 9.0.4. (And on AndLinux 2.6.22)
I got an email from blogger a couple weeks back that said they were ending support for FTP. At this point I decided I needed to look at other options for posting my blog.
I looked at a few and decided to continue hosting it on my own server but to switch to WordPress.
After making the decision, I spent a couple days running through a trail setup of WordPress, Php, MySQL, and Abyssws on my laptop using AndLinux. (AndLinux installs on top of Windows and can cooperatively carry a coconut. The Linux applications run along side the Windows applications on the Windows desktop. It is really nice. Check it out.) I took notes as I performed each step during the installation process. Once I had it all working, I was ready to do the install on the web server.
But first I decided to upgrade the OS on the server. I was running Red Hat 8 and had been for many many years. Re-installing the OS would require me to tar all my files and back them up. I decided to upgrade to Ubuntu 9 so while the tar files were being backed up, I burned an ISO of the Ubuntu install cd.
At this point I said my farewells to Red Hat 8, put the CD in the drive, and sudo'ed reboot. An hour layer I had a clean install of Ubu. Shortly thereafter I had my new web server up and running - I went with Abyssws this time over Apache. I never liked Apache. It was a pain to config' it.
I have all the aforementioned software installed and running now though I am still currently posting from Blogger.
As I was writing this, it occurred to me that the word support has many meanings. Did they mean they were turning off their FTP clients? I am using SFTP - are they discontinuing it also? Did they simply mean I could keep using FTP, but they weren't going to answer questions any more? What did they mean?
Did I waste all that time getting the new stuff working? I guess I should go read the blogger blog and see if I can shed some light on these questions.
Regardless, I am now ready to make the switch. First I have to import the blog into my database though. It will wait a few more days or weeks though.
Abyssws, PHP5, MySQL, and WordPress on Ubuntu 9.0.4. (And on AndLinux 2.6.22)
I got an email from blogger a couple weeks back that said they were ending support for FTP. At this point I decided I needed to look at other options for posting my blog.
I looked at a few and decided to continue hosting it on my own server but to switch to WordPress.
After making the decision, I spent a couple days running through a trail setup of WordPress, Php, MySQL, and Abyssws on my laptop using AndLinux. (AndLinux installs on top of Windows and can cooperatively carry a coconut. The Linux applications run along side the Windows applications on the Windows desktop. It is really nice. Check it out.) I took notes as I performed each step during the installation process. Once I had it all working, I was ready to do the install on the web server.
But first I decided to upgrade the OS on the server. I was running Red Hat 8 and had been for many many years. Re-installing the OS would require me to tar all my files and back them up. I decided to upgrade to Ubuntu 9 so while the tar files were being backed up, I burned an ISO of the Ubuntu install cd.
At this point I said my farewells to Red Hat 8, put the CD in the drive, and sudo'ed reboot. An hour layer I had a clean install of Ubu. Shortly thereafter I had my new web server up and running - I went with Abyssws this time over Apache. I never liked Apache. It was a pain to config' it.
I have all the aforementioned software installed and running now though I am still currently posting from Blogger.
As I was writing this, it occurred to me that the word support has many meanings. Did they mean they were turning off their FTP clients? I am using SFTP - are they discontinuing it also? Did they simply mean I could keep using FTP, but they weren't going to answer questions any more? What did they mean?
Did I waste all that time getting the new stuff working? I guess I should go read the blogger blog and see if I can shed some light on these questions.
Regardless, I am now ready to make the switch. First I have to import the blog into my database though. It will wait a few more days or weeks though.
Tuesday evenings wood working session reminded me that some of the tools don't get used very often. Starting with a piece of rough cut maple, I had to ask myself "where do I start?" to get a nice S4S board (surfaced four sides) .
After thinking about about it for a minute or so, it all came back to me. Surface an edge with the jointer; surface a side with the joiner with the surfaced edge against the fence so the two surfaced sides will be a right angle; using the table saw, make the second edge parallel to the first edge; and then using the planer, make the top side parallel to the bottom side.
I intended to resaw the boards on the bandsaw after the second step, to have a few pieces of thin maple instead of converting them directly to saw dust, but unfortunately the board was so twisted that it would not be feasible. So much for trying to plan ahead.
So, anyway, the current project is to make a few small boxes, approximately the size of a cigar box. Notice I did not say a jewlery box as these will be far to nice for storing silver and gold. The plan is to make two apiece, the first being maple with purple heart accents and the second being black walnut with maple accents.
We should be done in, oh, a year or so. Don't ask.
After thinking about about it for a minute or so, it all came back to me. Surface an edge with the jointer; surface a side with the joiner with the surfaced edge against the fence so the two surfaced sides will be a right angle; using the table saw, make the second edge parallel to the first edge; and then using the planer, make the top side parallel to the bottom side.
I intended to resaw the boards on the bandsaw after the second step, to have a few pieces of thin maple instead of converting them directly to saw dust, but unfortunately the board was so twisted that it would not be feasible. So much for trying to plan ahead.
So, anyway, the current project is to make a few small boxes, approximately the size of a cigar box. Notice I did not say a jewlery box as these will be far to nice for storing silver and gold. The plan is to make two apiece, the first being maple with purple heart accents and the second being black walnut with maple accents.
We should be done in, oh, a year or so. Don't ask.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Well I have been working through getting Word press working on Linux (AndLinux) using php5 and MySql using Abyssws. Once it is functional, I will work through the same installation process on my web server but until then I am leaving it along.
AndLinux is based on CoLinux and Ubuntu so I will actually be putting Ubuntu on the server, but working with AndLinux is convenient for now.
Once it is all working, I will make the swap and probably write up a few things that I identified as confusing during the process.
My favorite part of this is that in order to import my blog from Blogger into Word Press, I have to reconfigure blogger to post the blog on blogspot, because the importer does not support FTP. The is the irony, because if Blogger hadn't announced their discontinuing of support for FTP, it would all be moot.
And the word moot reminds me of ...
"Who gets the car? The question is moot! I get the car" - Rev. Jesse Jackson playing the host of a fictitious game show "The Question Is Moot!" from Saturday Night Night (many years ago).
AndLinux is based on CoLinux and Ubuntu so I will actually be putting Ubuntu on the server, but working with AndLinux is convenient for now.
Once it is all working, I will make the swap and probably write up a few things that I identified as confusing during the process.
My favorite part of this is that in order to import my blog from Blogger into Word Press, I have to reconfigure blogger to post the blog on blogspot, because the importer does not support FTP. The is the irony, because if Blogger hadn't announced their discontinuing of support for FTP, it would all be moot.
And the word moot reminds me of ...
"Who gets the car? The question is moot! I get the car" - Rev. Jesse Jackson playing the host of a fictitious game show "The Question Is Moot!" from Saturday Night Night (many years ago).
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
I received an email from blogger today announcing their discontinuation of FTP support in the very near future. Because I am hosting this blog off my own server, I use the FTP feature to transfer the material to my server after generating each post.
So it appears I have a choice, either let them start hosting my blog, or migrate to another blog provider. I am leaning towards the second. Looks like I may becoming acquainted with word press in the near future.
So it appears I have a choice, either let them start hosting my blog, or migrate to another blog provider. I am leaning towards the second. Looks like I may becoming acquainted with word press in the near future.
We, the Madison County Woodworkers Guild, started our 2010 project tonight.
You might think we are getting a late start, it being February already, but we are not. We are fast workers so we will make up any time we have already lost. As an example, we actually made an average of 1.6 cuts per worker tonight in a 3 hour period. That is about 0.55 cuts per person per hour. Not bad considering we were using power tools. When you average that out over the past four weeks the numbers get unbelievable.
The wood we have selected for the project is a maple with purple heart accents on the first, and black walnut with maple accents on the second.
You might think we are getting a late start, it being February already, but we are not. We are fast workers so we will make up any time we have already lost. As an example, we actually made an average of 1.6 cuts per worker tonight in a 3 hour period. That is about 0.55 cuts per person per hour. Not bad considering we were using power tools. When you average that out over the past four weeks the numbers get unbelievable.
The wood we have selected for the project is a maple with purple heart accents on the first, and black walnut with maple accents on the second.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Not So Handyman
OK, I got around to the oven today. Long-long-long story short, the oven now works though I tried really hard to mess it up. Now that the oven is functional, I believe I will be making some biscuits in the not so distant future (Saturday).
And in other news, I put the freshly charged battery back in the Miata today and it started just fine so I went out for a while. And then when I got back home, I left the headlights on. Doh! I discovered this about an hour later. Hopefully it will stick crank on ... Tuesday.
All the signs indicate that today was a very bad day for me to try to be useful. Indeed, I did not try to fix anything else. I believe this was a prudent move on my part.
OK, I got around to the oven today. Long-long-long story short, the oven now works though I tried really hard to mess it up. Now that the oven is functional, I believe I will be making some biscuits in the not so distant future (Saturday).
And in other news, I put the freshly charged battery back in the Miata today and it started just fine so I went out for a while. And then when I got back home, I left the headlights on. Doh! I discovered this about an hour later. Hopefully it will stick crank on ... Tuesday.
All the signs indicate that today was a very bad day for me to try to be useful. Indeed, I did not try to fix anything else. I believe this was a prudent move on my part.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Errh, Errh, Errh
...is the sound your car makes when the battery is mostly dead.
Sunday afternoon the Miata needed to go out for a while. It hadn't moved in a couple of weeks but I was still a little surprised when I put the key in and turned it only to hear the motor go errh, errh.
Being determined to roll, I jump started the Miata and all was good, that is until Friday morning when I tried to start it again. This time it only went errh. Since I was on my way to the office, I left it be and drove the Charger in that day.
So this morning it occurs to me there aretwothree things I need to do today: 1) replace the battery in the Miata, 2) install the oven element that finally arrived, and 3) take a nap.
Replacing the Miata battery turned into a magical mystery tour. It turns out the battery is different. Three stops and I had not found one. At the third stop, they did offer to test it for me. According to the technician, the battery was just under charged. A good trickle charge and it should be ready to go. Hmmm.
I assumed the battery was dead and needed to be replaced because it is old. This is the battery that was in the car when I purchased it almost 6 years ago. I also assumed the recent cold snap had finished it off. It also probably didn't help that the car had only been run about once a week for the last month or so.
So I brought the battery back home and put it on the charger, which I probably should have done in the first place if it hadn't been so old, and so cold. Tomorrow I will put it back in the Miata. Hopefully next week it will still be fine. If not I will have them order me a battery.
Only two of the three items on my list got tackled today. I got my nap in as well.
...is the sound your car makes when the battery is mostly dead.
Sunday afternoon the Miata needed to go out for a while. It hadn't moved in a couple of weeks but I was still a little surprised when I put the key in and turned it only to hear the motor go errh, errh.
Being determined to roll, I jump started the Miata and all was good, that is until Friday morning when I tried to start it again. This time it only went errh. Since I was on my way to the office, I left it be and drove the Charger in that day.
So this morning it occurs to me there are
Replacing the Miata battery turned into a magical mystery tour. It turns out the battery is different. Three stops and I had not found one. At the third stop, they did offer to test it for me. According to the technician, the battery was just under charged. A good trickle charge and it should be ready to go. Hmmm.
I assumed the battery was dead and needed to be replaced because it is old. This is the battery that was in the car when I purchased it almost 6 years ago. I also assumed the recent cold snap had finished it off. It also probably didn't help that the car had only been run about once a week for the last month or so.
So I brought the battery back home and put it on the charger, which I probably should have done in the first place if it hadn't been so old, and so cold. Tomorrow I will put it back in the Miata. Hopefully next week it will still be fine. If not I will have them order me a battery.
Only two of the three items on my list got tackled today. I got my nap in as well.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Of things unspoken I shall now mention. Our oven decided to stop functioning in a normal manner on Thanksgiving day. Fortunately or unfortunately we did not notice until the next day. By that statement I mean that the oven did not impede Thanksgiving in any way whatsoever so we had that going for us. Something to be thankful for, yes.
At this point your eyes should begin to glaze over just like my wife's when I begin to explain how something works. Here goes: what happened when the oven quit functioning normally is that when it was turned off, it did not turn off. By that, I do mean the controls indicated the oven to be turned off, but the oven was hot, indeed very hot because the broiler was on - on at about 450 or 500 degrees.
My first guess was that a relay had welded itself shut. Way back when this happened I disassembled the oven and after looking at the main control board, decided to simply replace the entire control board rather than trying to replace a single relay. I made this decision because the relay in question did not appear to be stuck shut when power was removed from the oven. I believed that was the correct call then and I stand by it. Even though replacing the main control board did not fix the oven and has thus proven me wrong. (I now have a spare controller board in the event one quits!)
After that did not work, I took another look at what could possibly be the cause for the oven broiler being stuck on. (This is what you would the shot gun approach to trouble shooting an appliance.) On all the time that is. Well, not really all the time - if you unplug it, it does turn off. Or if you turn off the breaker. But anyway, after checking all the obvious stuff, I was just sitting around on the cold-hard-tile floor behind the oven trying to decide what to do next. Perhaps a walk in the park. Since I had a schematic and nothing was making much sense, I decided to check anything and everything I could based on the diagnostic information available on the schematic. - It turns out there are several interesting diagnostic modes built into the stove that working by pressing a super-secret-sequence of buttons. .
I eventually discover that the lower element in this oven (it is a dual oven) was open. By that I mean it measured zero ohms between the terminals. The schematic indicated what the resistance should be, but it was not. This did not make sense to me. One element is out, so the other one is on all the time. How can that be?
So anyway, even though it makes no sense whatsoever, I decided to go head and replace the faulty element (it really is bad, unlike the controller board). Once the element arrives I will install it and we will see if the oven magically starts working correctly. I don't really believe it will so therefore it probably will just to spite me.
To recap. The oven quit ON over a month ago. My first attempt to repair it was costly and a miserable failure. My second attempt to fix it is not so costly thought I don't expect it to work. And it has taken me about a month to get around to ordering the part which is not available locally. Why did it take me so long to order the park? Because I don't believe it will fix it. Why am I trying it anyway? Because the oven hasn't worked in almost six weeks.
And because the other oven is not cooperating with my homemade biscuits. :(
At this point your eyes should begin to glaze over just like my wife's when I begin to explain how something works. Here goes: what happened when the oven quit functioning normally is that when it was turned off, it did not turn off. By that, I do mean the controls indicated the oven to be turned off, but the oven was hot, indeed very hot because the broiler was on - on at about 450 or 500 degrees.
My first guess was that a relay had welded itself shut. Way back when this happened I disassembled the oven and after looking at the main control board, decided to simply replace the entire control board rather than trying to replace a single relay. I made this decision because the relay in question did not appear to be stuck shut when power was removed from the oven. I believed that was the correct call then and I stand by it. Even though replacing the main control board did not fix the oven and has thus proven me wrong. (I now have a spare controller board in the event one quits!)
After that did not work, I took another look at what could possibly be the cause for the oven broiler being stuck on. (This is what you would the shot gun approach to trouble shooting an appliance.) On all the time that is. Well, not really all the time - if you unplug it, it does turn off. Or if you turn off the breaker. But anyway, after checking all the obvious stuff, I was just sitting around on the cold-hard-tile floor behind the oven trying to decide what to do next. Perhaps a walk in the park. Since I had a schematic and nothing was making much sense, I decided to check anything and everything I could based on the diagnostic information available on the schematic.
I eventually discover that the lower element in this oven (it is a dual oven) was open. By that I mean it measured zero ohms between the terminals. The schematic indicated what the resistance should be, but it was not. This did not make sense to me. One element is out, so the other one is on all the time. How can that be?
So anyway, even though it makes no sense whatsoever, I decided to go head and replace the faulty element (it really is bad, unlike the controller board). Once the element arrives I will install it and we will see if the oven magically starts working correctly. I don't really believe it will so therefore it probably will just to spite me.
To recap. The oven quit ON over a month ago. My first attempt to repair it was costly and a miserable failure. My second attempt to fix it is not so costly thought I don't expect it to work. And it has taken me about a month to get around to ordering the part which is not available locally. Why did it take me so long to order the park? Because I don't believe it will fix it. Why am I trying it anyway? Because the oven hasn't worked in almost six weeks.
And because the other oven is not cooperating with my homemade biscuits. :(
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Finished up Bri's bookcase today. I can't believe I spent more time painting it than I did building it.
We had some snow Thursday and Friday. The schools shut down so the kids got to stay home.
I walked out by the creek in the backyard today. There was some ice along the edge of the water. I walked on it, so technically I was walking on water.
We had some snow Thursday and Friday. The schools shut down so the kids got to stay home.
I walked out by the creek in the backyard today. There was some ice along the edge of the water. I walked on it, so technically I was walking on water.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Someone finally did it. They created a sarcasm font. Now if you could just explain to me how to use it in my post.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Whew!
Where did 2009 go? I have been remiss in blogging for a few months. Let me catch you up. I will start with December.
Had I been writing recently I would have mentioned helping my neighbor Tom remove the V8 from his 1966 Mustang convertible. (Yep, there are two old convertibles on my street.) Why is it always cold outside when an engine is being pulled?
I would have also mentioned a couple of hiking trips - a few around Rainbow Mountain and a trip to Sipsey. The Sipsey expedition explored a few trails I had seen in quite a while. We visited Happy Rock and Ship Rock as well as locating a couple of great camp sites for possible use in the near future. We also successfully located an alternate route for returning home after leaving the trail. Some would say we got lost. I would disagree. Those were some of the nicest dirt roads I have ever driven and the GPS was quite aware of their existence. I will stick to the route I know next time though.
Progress on the '72 GMC truck has been pretty much non-existent since August. Hopefully I will get the dust and cobwebs cleared off in the not so distant future.
The Tuesday evening woodworking sessions did see us all (David, Danny, and myself) complete some nice little boxes this fall. As usual, I have not taken any pictures. Worse, I don't even know where the camera is right now. It has been MIA for better than a week. I am also in the process of finishing up another bookcase for Bri. And I started some benchwork for a model railroad that J and I will be building.
Time to make some biscuits.
Where did 2009 go? I have been remiss in blogging for a few months. Let me catch you up. I will start with December.
Had I been writing recently I would have mentioned helping my neighbor Tom remove the V8 from his 1966 Mustang convertible. (Yep, there are two old convertibles on my street.) Why is it always cold outside when an engine is being pulled?
I would have also mentioned a couple of hiking trips - a few around Rainbow Mountain and a trip to Sipsey. The Sipsey expedition explored a few trails I had seen in quite a while. We visited Happy Rock and Ship Rock as well as locating a couple of great camp sites for possible use in the near future. We also successfully located an alternate route for returning home after leaving the trail. Some would say we got lost. I would disagree. Those were some of the nicest dirt roads I have ever driven and the GPS was quite aware of their existence. I will stick to the route I know next time though.
Progress on the '72 GMC truck has been pretty much non-existent since August. Hopefully I will get the dust and cobwebs cleared off in the not so distant future.
The Tuesday evening woodworking sessions did see us all (David, Danny, and myself) complete some nice little boxes this fall. As usual, I have not taken any pictures. Worse, I don't even know where the camera is right now. It has been MIA for better than a week. I am also in the process of finishing up another bookcase for Bri. And I started some benchwork for a model railroad that J and I will be building.
Time to make some biscuits.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
This weekend G and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. We drove up to Nashville for the weekend. On Saturday we drove even further north. G surprised me with a trip to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY. That was a very nice surprise.
Funny thing happened there. I saw a Hawaiian style shirt that I liked. Obviously it was covered in vintage Corvettes. I walked over to check the price. Zowie! $75. I have a rule when buying those shirts and it goes something like this. It must be somewhat tacky and it should cost less than $10. It doesn't hurt if it has an old rusty truck on it as well. No way I am paying $75 for any shirt, much less an Aloha shirt.
Saturday evening we drove over to the Opryland Hotel and viewed the sights. While inside we enjoyed a pleasant meal at an Italian restaurant.
Funny thing happened there. I saw a Hawaiian style shirt that I liked. Obviously it was covered in vintage Corvettes. I walked over to check the price. Zowie! $75. I have a rule when buying those shirts and it goes something like this. It must be somewhat tacky and it should cost less than $10. It doesn't hurt if it has an old rusty truck on it as well. No way I am paying $75 for any shirt, much less an Aloha shirt.
Saturday evening we drove over to the Opryland Hotel and viewed the sights. While inside we enjoyed a pleasant meal at an Italian restaurant.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Songs of Ascent
It is a widely known that fact when U2 releases a new album, I put it in my CD player and leave it there. For a very long time. I don't remember how many years All that You Can't Leave Behind stayed in the CD player. I put that one in the day it was released and it was still there when the next one was released. It had spun around so many times some of the 1's were starting to look like zeros. Well times are a changing. No Line on the Horizon may not get the extended play that How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb received and All that You Can't Leave Behind before it.
What sayest thou? How fore can this be? U2 has already announced the release date of the next album. 2010. Bring it on I say.
Full disclosure: The CD changer in my car currently contains by NLotH and HtDaAB. I imagine there is room for one more U2 album without removing either one of these. Actually it contains 5 U2 CDs at this point. This was done a few weeks ago in preparation for the concert.
It is a widely known that fact when U2 releases a new album, I put it in my CD player and leave it there. For a very long time. I don't remember how many years All that You Can't Leave Behind stayed in the CD player. I put that one in the day it was released and it was still there when the next one was released. It had spun around so many times some of the 1's were starting to look like zeros. Well times are a changing. No Line on the Horizon may not get the extended play that How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb received and All that You Can't Leave Behind before it.
What sayest thou? How fore can this be? U2 has already announced the release date of the next album. 2010. Bring it on I say.
Full disclosure: The CD changer in my car currently contains by NLotH and HtDaAB. I imagine there is room for one more U2 album without removing either one of these. Actually it contains 5 U2 CDs at this point. This was done a few weeks ago in preparation for the concert.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
No school this week
This week was Fall break. The kids and I hung around the house most of the week, with the exception of the concert trip on Tuesday. Now that the week is almost over, I can't recall what I did this week. I suppose that is a good sign.
My plan for the week was to do nothing over the weekend, followed by nothing on Monday and the concert on Tuesday. Having gotten that out of the way, my schedule was all clear to do nothing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. More of the same was planned for the weekend.
Saturday was Brianna's Birthday. She is now nine. She had a busy day between Girls Scouts and going out for a nice B-day dinner.
This week was Fall break. The kids and I hung around the house most of the week, with the exception of the concert trip on Tuesday. Now that the week is almost over, I can't recall what I did this week. I suppose that is a good sign.
My plan for the week was to do nothing over the weekend, followed by nothing on Monday and the concert on Tuesday. Having gotten that out of the way, my schedule was all clear to do nothing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. More of the same was planned for the weekend.
Saturday was Brianna's Birthday. She is now nine. She had a busy day between Girls Scouts and going out for a nice B-day dinner.
U2 - 360 Tour
Tuesday night Jordan and I went to Atlanta to see U2 at the Georgia Dome. We rode over with Ken and his son. Upon arrival we met up with my sister and his daughter.
Muse opened followed by U2. I had never heard Muse. They were quite loud. I must be getting old, because I did not comprehend a single word from their performance. Not even the speaking parts. Actually this probably had very little to do with my age and more to do with the fact that the volume was so loud the amps/speakers were being over driven.
U2 was great. This part of the show was not as loud. The show was easy to see thanks to the 360 degree overhead screen.
After it finished we drove back home. This was bad planning on our part as we did not get back home until after 3 am. Next time we will definitely spend the night.
-726277.JPG)
Tuesday night Jordan and I went to Atlanta to see U2 at the Georgia Dome. We rode over with Ken and his son. Upon arrival we met up with my sister and his daughter.
Muse opened followed by U2. I had never heard Muse. They were quite loud. I must be getting old, because I did not comprehend a single word from their performance. Not even the speaking parts. Actually this probably had very little to do with my age and more to do with the fact that the volume was so loud the amps/speakers were being over driven.
U2 was great. This part of the show was not as loud. The show was easy to see thanks to the 360 degree overhead screen.
After it finished we drove back home. This was bad planning on our part as we did not get back home until after 3 am. Next time we will definitely spend the night.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
So I was driving along in the zoom-zoom today when I noticed the climate was approaching ultimate camping weather.
Early in the day when I was walking about 100 yards in the rain with a heavy backpack on my back, I had the same thought, Hey this is camping weather.
Yep, the next camping trip is in the planning phase.
Early in the day when I was walking about 100 yards in the rain with a heavy backpack on my back, I had the same thought, Hey this is camping weather.
Yep, the next camping trip is in the planning phase.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
U2 - 360 Tour
Ever since last May when I heard U2 would be in Atlanta this Fall I had been thinking I would like to go to the concert. Unfortunately it was scheduled for a Tuesday night and that would require me to miss at least part of one day of school, probably two.
About two weeks ago I decided I really-really wanted to go and started trying to work through the logistics: transportation, a sub, etc. And then today it was pointed out to me that the concert was the week of Fall break. Well that makes it so easy!
I just finished ordering 3 tickets: One for me, One for J, and one for my seester. I'm ready.
Now I need to start saving my dimes for a t-shirt.
Ever since last May when I heard U2 would be in Atlanta this Fall I had been thinking I would like to go to the concert. Unfortunately it was scheduled for a Tuesday night and that would require me to miss at least part of one day of school, probably two.
About two weeks ago I decided I really-really wanted to go and started trying to work through the logistics: transportation, a sub, etc. And then today it was pointed out to me that the concert was the week of Fall break. Well that makes it so easy!
I just finished ordering 3 tickets: One for me, One for J, and one for my seester. I'm ready.
Now I need to start saving my dimes for a t-shirt.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Mundane Post #1109
A nice three day weekend. School has been keeping me busy.
Today I tried to catch up on some of the chores that needed to be done. Really exciting stuff like replacing a toilet and a door frame. The plumbing task is complete but the door still needs a little work.
The oil and plugs in the Miata were replaced this weekend, the odometer reading 111k miles. Filling up the tank today produced a a result of 31 mpg.
The garden is still producing tomatoes, peppers, okra, and cantaloupes thought it is mostly unattended.
I just completed a nice box made from black walnut and cherry sapwood. Perhaps that is premature, it still needs to be oiled.
A nice three day weekend. School has been keeping me busy.
Today I tried to catch up on some of the chores that needed to be done. Really exciting stuff like replacing a toilet and a door frame. The plumbing task is complete but the door still needs a little work.
The oil and plugs in the Miata were replaced this weekend, the odometer reading 111k miles. Filling up the tank today produced a a result of 31 mpg.
The garden is still producing tomatoes, peppers, okra, and cantaloupes thought it is mostly unattended.
I just completed a nice box made from black walnut and cherry sapwood. Perhaps that is premature, it still needs to be oiled.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I have been busy for the last two weeks. I have had several thoughts in that time I wanted to share here but they have escaped me. Oh well!
Something odd happened with the odometers last week. On Sunday G's Tahoe rolled over 100,000 miles. On the same day, my Charger rolled over 20,000 miles and then on Tuesday the Miata hit 111,111 miles.
Something odd happened with the odometers last week. On Sunday G's Tahoe rolled over 100,000 miles. On the same day, my Charger rolled over 20,000 miles and then on Tuesday the Miata hit 111,111 miles.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Life is a Beach 2009
We hit the beach this week (Sunday-Thursday). Per our normal routine, we went to the Destin/Fort Walton area of Florida. We stayed at the Island Princess on Santa Rosa Blvd again.
We had nice weather for the week - one rain shower and temperatures in the 80's. It couldn't get much better.
Our diet consisted almost entirely of seafood the entire week. Sunday upon arriving in Destin we went straight to the Back Porch for a late lunch/early dinner. Monday we dined at Pompano Joe's, Tuesday we visited Louisiana Lagniappe, and the Wednesday was Graffiti's. Ginger's favorite was definitely Graffiti's.
Jordan was pleased to visit the water park and The Track (go carts) while in town. Brianna got to drive a go cart on the family track all by herself. She did very well and even passed a few carts. Go Bri!
It would have been nice to have stayed a few more days, but I had to return to HSV. The Summer of Rick is officially over. I started back to work today.
We hit the beach this week (Sunday-Thursday). Per our normal routine, we went to the Destin/Fort Walton area of Florida. We stayed at the Island Princess on Santa Rosa Blvd again.
We had nice weather for the week - one rain shower and temperatures in the 80's. It couldn't get much better.
Our diet consisted almost entirely of seafood the entire week. Sunday upon arriving in Destin we went straight to the Back Porch for a late lunch/early dinner. Monday we dined at Pompano Joe's, Tuesday we visited Louisiana Lagniappe, and the Wednesday was Graffiti's. Ginger's favorite was definitely Graffiti's.
Jordan was pleased to visit the water park and The Track (go carts) while in town. Brianna got to drive a go cart on the family track all by herself. She did very well and even passed a few carts. Go Bri!
It would have been nice to have stayed a few more days, but I had to return to HSV. The Summer of Rick is officially over. I started back to work today.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Logging
My neighbor, Mike, recently mentioned his buddy had some trees knocked down during a recent storm. Several of the trees were red oak. Would I be interested in having them cut into lumber. Certainly.
He we see Brian's truck ready to tow the first load of logs to the mill. It was no small feat to load the trailer using only a come-along and a couple of chains.
Here are our logs nicely stacked at the mill (H&K) waiting to be cut.
Here is the center of the operation - basically a pole barn and the mill.
And here is the mill.
We should get a call in a few weeks to retrieve our boards. Now I need to decide what to build.
My neighbor, Mike, recently mentioned his buddy had some trees knocked down during a recent storm. Several of the trees were red oak. Would I be interested in having them cut into lumber. Certainly.
He we see Brian's truck ready to tow the first load of logs to the mill. It was no small feat to load the trailer using only a come-along and a couple of chains.
Here are our logs nicely stacked at the mill (H&K) waiting to be cut.
Here is the center of the operation - basically a pole barn and the mill.
And here is the mill.
We should get a call in a few weeks to retrieve our boards. Now I need to decide what to build.
Friday, July 24, 2009
'72 GMC Update
My goal for three consecutive summers has been to get a rolling chassis. This year I finally reached the goal. Sure, there is still a lot of work to be done but no hurry here. After all, I am on afive ten year schedule.
I finally got the transmission all cleaned up and painted. The paint is from Eastwood and is called aluminum blast or something like that.
After painted the transmission, I cleaned up the torque converted and painted it. I used some of the leftover paint from the engine block on the transmission. Again the paint was from Eastwood.
Here is the engine reconnected to the transmission.
And here is the entire drive train mounted in the frame.
I still need to clean up and paint the water pump, alternator, fan, etc. Expect me to still be talking about these items three months from now.
My goal for three consecutive summers has been to get a rolling chassis. This year I finally reached the goal. Sure, there is still a lot of work to be done but no hurry here. After all, I am on a
I finally got the transmission all cleaned up and painted. The paint is from Eastwood and is called aluminum blast or something like that.
After painted the transmission, I cleaned up the torque converted and painted it. I used some of the leftover paint from the engine block on the transmission. Again the paint was from Eastwood.
Here is the engine reconnected to the transmission.
And here is the entire drive train mounted in the frame.
I still need to clean up and paint the water pump, alternator, fan, etc. Expect me to still be talking about these items three months from now.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Buggin' In July 2009
This weekend was the annual air cooled volkswagen show. This is usually my favorite car show of the year. The entire show consists of fewer than 100 cars but usually draws from a larger radius than most car shows. And the cars are all air cooled VWs. Surprisingly every single car is unique.
No surprise that the same weekend of the show, I found a very nice '65 Beetle nearby. The car was still mostly original and unmodified. My intention was to bring the car home and take it to a few shows while I continued to work on the '72 GMC. Unfortunately someone else bought it while I was still trying to make a decision. I will think faster next time I find an original car in that good of shape.
Happy Birthday Danny!
This weekend was the annual air cooled volkswagen show. This is usually my favorite car show of the year. The entire show consists of fewer than 100 cars but usually draws from a larger radius than most car shows. And the cars are all air cooled VWs. Surprisingly every single car is unique.
No surprise that the same weekend of the show, I found a very nice '65 Beetle nearby. The car was still mostly original and unmodified. My intention was to bring the car home and take it to a few shows while I continued to work on the '72 GMC. Unfortunately someone else bought it while I was still trying to make a decision. I will think faster next time I find an original car in that good of shape.
Happy Birthday Danny!
Friday, July 17, 2009
The kids and I drove over to Tuscumbia today to have lunch with my Dad. It was originally Terry's idea but we decided we should invade her plans.
On the way out of HSV I stopped to fill up the Charger. (Jordan pumped the gas.) Using mild hyper-mile-ing techniques I managed to achieve 25.5 MPG on the way to Tuscumbia. The original sticker listed the car as 18/25 so 25.5 was pretty good. Unfortunately the trip to lunch and then a short side journey dropped the average below 20. I did manage to get the trip average back up to 23.2 by the time I returned home though.
The side journey I mentioned was a quick trip out to Cane Creek Canyon Preserve for a short hike. Unfortunately everyone did not have good sensible shoes for hiking so we had to cut it short. We did get to see the water fall though so all was not lost.
On the way out of HSV I stopped to fill up the Charger. (Jordan pumped the gas.) Using mild hyper-mile-ing techniques I managed to achieve 25.5 MPG on the way to Tuscumbia. The original sticker listed the car as 18/25 so 25.5 was pretty good. Unfortunately the trip to lunch and then a short side journey dropped the average below 20. I did manage to get the trip average back up to 23.2 by the time I returned home though.
The side journey I mentioned was a quick trip out to Cane Creek Canyon Preserve for a short hike. Unfortunately everyone did not have good sensible shoes for hiking so we had to cut it short. We did get to see the water fall though so all was not lost.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Okra
A friend of mine has been encouraging me to try grilling some okra so on Monday night I did just that. It turned out well. I brushed the okra with olive oil and sprinkled it with seasoning including red pepper. Try it yourself.
Today I decided to try another okra recipe. This time I fried the okra but instead of using flour or cornmeal I used Parmesan cheese. This was surprisingly good as well. My motivation for this attempt was a recipe I saw while trying to memorize the entire internet. I didn't follow the recipe per se, but I did find motivation there.
A friend of mine has been encouraging me to try grilling some okra so on Monday night I did just that. It turned out well. I brushed the okra with olive oil and sprinkled it with seasoning including red pepper. Try it yourself.
Today I decided to try another okra recipe. This time I fried the okra but instead of using flour or cornmeal I used Parmesan cheese. This was surprisingly good as well. My motivation for this attempt was a recipe I saw while trying to memorize the entire internet. I didn't follow the recipe per se, but I did find motivation there.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
2009 Greater Tennessee Valley Antique Car Show
This weekend was the big car show of year. The location this year was at Point Mallard in Decatur. The show seemed smaller this year but it was still very large. (I heard there were over 700 cars but I didn't bother to try to count them.)
I didn't have a vehicle that was road worthy this year so I hitched a ride with my neighbor Brian in his '66 Mustang. We took some chairs, a large canopy, and a cooler and made a day of it.
This was my favorite car this year. Reminds me of my first car, only it was a '76 Mercury and it was yellow.
This weekend was the big car show of year. The location this year was at Point Mallard in Decatur. The show seemed smaller this year but it was still very large. (I heard there were over 700 cars but I didn't bother to try to count them.)
I didn't have a vehicle that was road worthy this year so I hitched a ride with my neighbor Brian in his '66 Mustang. We took some chairs, a large canopy, and a cooler and made a day of it.
This was my favorite car this year. Reminds me of my first car, only it was a '76 Mercury and it was yellow.
Monday, July 06, 2009
How Do You Clean a Transmission Case?
I don't know either. I have tried the pressure washer, engine de-greaser, carb cleaner, WD-40, brake cleaner, wire brushes, steel wool, emery paper, and a 50 gallon barrel of elbow grease.
So far the internet has been no help. I guess I will check it again in case any new information has been added since yesterday.
UPDATE: Easy Off oven cleaner is the best solution I have found. The one drawback is that it dis-colors the aluminum. This may not be a problem if your planning to paint the case.
UPDATE: Easy Off oven cleaner is the best solution I have found. The one drawback is that it dis-colors the aluminum. This may not be a problem if your planning to paint the case.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
For the past couple of weeks I have been walking 3 miles in the morning, starting out usually around 6:00 AM. Like most exercise, if you do it enough, it makes you feel better and you get the desire to do more exercise, so ... I decided to get out the old dumb bells and start pumping some iron again. And man am I sore now. Really sore. All over. Every where. Places I had forgotten I had.
My goal is to keep with the program for 90 days. Then all bets are off.
My goal is to keep with the program for 90 days. Then all bets are off.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
I Have Sand In My Ears
Again! Monday morning I started the day with a walk. By 7:30 am I was in the driveway setting up the sandblaster to strip down a couple of brake drums and backing plates. Sandblasting is messy. Especially on a really hot day when the sand sticks to your sweaty skin. Too much information?
The drums and plates cleaned up nicely and looked awesome after the rust had all been removed. After putting away all the blasting gear, I got out the paint gun and sprayed the parts a nice semi-gloss black. Who in the world paints a brake drum?
The parts are now ready to be re-attached to the rear axle assembly. I had forgotten the backing plates needed to be installed before the axle went back into the differential. I guess I will be pulling the axle out again soon.
The next step will be to install the new brake lines. After that is done I can finally put the engine back on the chassis. OK, that is not entirely true. First I will need to do something with the transmission. It doesn't need to be rebuilt but at a minimum it does need to be cleaned up. I am considering painting it. I don't want to use the same ORANGE paint I used on the engine. I would like some contrast between the block and the transmission. I also don't want to use black. In the event of a leak, black paint makes locating the source difficult. I am considering either silver or gray. I will probably go with gray.
After washing my hair 5 times I think I have gotten all the sand out of it. I am still finding sand in my ears though. Sandblasting is messy.
Again! Monday morning I started the day with a walk. By 7:30 am I was in the driveway setting up the sandblaster to strip down a couple of brake drums and backing plates. Sandblasting is messy. Especially on a really hot day when the sand sticks to your sweaty skin. Too much information?
The drums and plates cleaned up nicely and looked awesome after the rust had all been removed. After putting away all the blasting gear, I got out the paint gun and sprayed the parts a nice semi-gloss black. Who in the world paints a brake drum?
The parts are now ready to be re-attached to the rear axle assembly. I had forgotten the backing plates needed to be installed before the axle went back into the differential. I guess I will be pulling the axle out again soon.
The next step will be to install the new brake lines. After that is done I can finally put the engine back on the chassis. OK, that is not entirely true. First I will need to do something with the transmission. It doesn't need to be rebuilt but at a minimum it does need to be cleaned up. I am considering painting it. I don't want to use the same ORANGE paint I used on the engine. I would like some contrast between the block and the transmission. I also don't want to use black. In the event of a leak, black paint makes locating the source difficult. I am considering either silver or gray. I will probably go with gray.
After washing my hair 5 times I think I have gotten all the sand out of it. I am still finding sand in my ears though. Sandblasting is messy.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Hiking on Monte Sano
Friday AM I went for a hike on Monte Sano Mountain. Our (David M. and myself) destination was the cuts. This is a pretty cool site on the top of a ridge that is basically a split in a large rock. It is probably about 30 or 40 yards total in length including a decent cave.
It had rained a reasonable amount on Friday so the trails were fairly damp. Downright muddy in some spots.
Having not hiked this particular trail in 13 or 14 years I surprised myself to be able to find the destination without a map. The trek required making the correct turn at about 5 forks in the trail. Even more surprising was that I believe I accidentally took the shortest route. Amazing!
Friday AM I went for a hike on Monte Sano Mountain. Our (David M. and myself) destination was the cuts. This is a pretty cool site on the top of a ridge that is basically a split in a large rock. It is probably about 30 or 40 yards total in length including a decent cave.
It had rained a reasonable amount on Friday so the trails were fairly damp. Downright muddy in some spots.
Having not hiked this particular trail in 13 or 14 years I surprised myself to be able to find the destination without a map. The trek required making the correct turn at about 5 forks in the trail. Even more surprising was that I believe I accidentally took the shortest route. Amazing!
What is wrong with this picture?
I put the second coat of paint on the block today. As you should recall, this is the engine from my 1972 GMC pickup. They call this a Chevy Small Block (SBC). And I painted it Chevrolet orange.
Got it? GMC truck. Chevy Small Block. Chevrolet Orange. Yes the GMC's came with Chevrolet Small Block engines painted Chevrolet Orange. Does this strike you as odd as well?
I put the second coat of paint on the block today. As you should recall, this is the engine from my 1972 GMC pickup. They call this a Chevy Small Block (SBC). And I painted it Chevrolet orange.
Got it? GMC truck. Chevy Small Block. Chevrolet Orange. Yes the GMC's came with Chevrolet Small Block engines painted Chevrolet Orange. Does this strike you as odd as well?
Monday, June 01, 2009
Laugh Out Loud
The very same day I planted my garden, I spotted a rabbit in the back yard and put up a chicken wire fence around the garden to keep the bunnies out.
Today I noticed something new. A little hole covered with grass clippings and bunny fur. And inside the hole are three (or more) little gray bunnies. I didn't notice the bunny clutch on Saturday when I was trimming the grass around the garden so I suspect the bunnies are less than 3 days old.
Did I mention the nest is on the inside of the fence? {Cue Laughter}
OK, I have now re-routed the fence to place the bunnies back on the outside. I also battened down the fence in the spot where I suspect the momma bunny may have accessed the garden interior (and cabbage).
On a related note, my cabbage took on the appearance of Swiss cheese almost over night. By that I mean holey. Today I sprayed some pesticide on it and the okra. After spraying the cabbage, several worms crawled out into sight on each cabbage plant. After inspecting each plant and counting the worms, I gave up on the cabbage, pulled them all from the ground and tossed them into the woods so the bunnies could feast tonight. I had been needing to thin the garden in that area anyway to make room for the ever expanding squash and cucumber vines. I don't think I will be planting cabbage again.
I mentioned the okra was also sprayed. The okra has aphids. I didn't notice the aphids, but I did spot the ants which were apparently feasting on the aphids. Hopefully the pesticide will clear that up whole mess. Once the aphids are gone, the ants will leave too as they don't really care for okra - boiled or fried.
The very same day I planted my garden, I spotted a rabbit in the back yard and put up a chicken wire fence around the garden to keep the bunnies out.
Today I noticed something new. A little hole covered with grass clippings and bunny fur. And inside the hole are three (or more) little gray bunnies. I didn't notice the bunny clutch on Saturday when I was trimming the grass around the garden so I suspect the bunnies are less than 3 days old.
Did I mention the nest is on the inside of the fence? {Cue Laughter}
OK, I have now re-routed the fence to place the bunnies back on the outside. I also battened down the fence in the spot where I suspect the momma bunny may have accessed the garden interior (and cabbage).
On a related note, my cabbage took on the appearance of Swiss cheese almost over night. By that I mean holey. Today I sprayed some pesticide on it and the okra. After spraying the cabbage, several worms crawled out into sight on each cabbage plant. After inspecting each plant and counting the worms, I gave up on the cabbage, pulled them all from the ground and tossed them into the woods so the bunnies could feast tonight. I had been needing to thin the garden in that area anyway to make room for the ever expanding squash and cucumber vines. I don't think I will be planting cabbage again.
I mentioned the okra was also sprayed. The okra has aphids. I didn't notice the aphids, but I did spot the ants which were apparently feasting on the aphids. Hopefully the pesticide will clear that up whole mess. Once the aphids are gone, the ants will leave too as they don't really care for okra - boiled or fried.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
After cleaning the block again today with TSP, I finally got around to painting it. Only one major catastrophe occurred. While painting the bottom of the oil pan, I had the gun tipped over too far and the lid fell off. Orange paint went everywhere including the garage floor, my shoe, and my leg. Later I discovered some on my elbow as well.
The block looks good so far. It appears dry but I have resisted touching it. Tomorrow I will check it out and decide whether to apply another coat.
I used Eastwood engine paint, the high temperature ceramic stuff, in the factory orange color. It's looking pretty good so far.
The block looks good so far. It appears dry but I have resisted touching it. Tomorrow I will check it out and decide whether to apply another coat.
I used Eastwood engine paint, the high temperature ceramic stuff, in the factory orange color. It's looking pretty good so far.
This One Goes to Eleven
Yesterday was Jordan's Birthday. The big eleven. He missed the last day of school as we had previously made plans before they scheduled the makeup day.
I started his day with a couple of plate size pancakes smoothered in buter and syrup. His grandmother took him (and his seester) to lunch and a movie and then last night we had pizza and a chocolate chip cookie cake with chocolate icing. He got several cards in the mail and has requested a trip to Wal-Mart and Best Buy in order to acquire some new stuff. Perhaps we will make a run to Wally-World tomorrow.
He seems to be settling into eleven just fine. Only four mores years until he gets a drivers permit. Amazing.
Yesterday was Jordan's Birthday. The big eleven. He missed the last day of school as we had previously made plans before they scheduled the makeup day.
I started his day with a couple of plate size pancakes smoothered in buter and syrup. His grandmother took him (and his seester) to lunch and a movie and then last night we had pizza and a chocolate chip cookie cake with chocolate icing. He got several cards in the mail and has requested a trip to Wal-Mart and Best Buy in order to acquire some new stuff. Perhaps we will make a run to Wally-World tomorrow.
He seems to be settling into eleven just fine. Only four mores years until he gets a drivers permit. Amazing.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sipsey Adventure
J' and I went hiking in the Sipsey Wilderness this morning. We hiked a trail I am fairly familiar with as I have camped on it 4 times. J' let me blaze the trail on the way in so I would be the web catcher. We evaluated many campsites for future trips.
The Sipsey River was higher than I have ever seen it but still fairly low compared to the obvious water marks. I intended for us to cross at a fork in the river but alas the water was too deep today.
The color was off in most of the pictures I took today. It seems someone was playing with the camera recently and changed several settings including a color filter which caused an interesting effect on several shots.
In the first photo you see us at the trail head ready to begin our 2.5 hour hike. Looks like someone has been eating too many biscuits. The second photo is J' in the (very wet) cave, about to disappear around a corner. The squeeze through the cave seems to be getting tighter every year. Or perhaps someone has been eating too many biscuits.
J' and I went hiking in the Sipsey Wilderness this morning. We hiked a trail I am fairly familiar with as I have camped on it 4 times. J' let me blaze the trail on the way in so I would be the web catcher. We evaluated many campsites for future trips.
The Sipsey River was higher than I have ever seen it but still fairly low compared to the obvious water marks. I intended for us to cross at a fork in the river but alas the water was too deep today.
The color was off in most of the pictures I took today. It seems someone was playing with the camera recently and changed several settings including a color filter which caused an interesting effect on several shots.
In the first photo you see us at the trail head ready to begin our 2.5 hour hike. Looks like someone has been eating too many biscuits. The second photo is J' in the (very wet) cave, about to disappear around a corner. The squeeze through the cave seems to be getting tighter every year. Or perhaps someone has been eating too many biscuits.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Garden Update
The garden is rapidly progressing towards various stages of completion.
Squint and you can see two tommys.
For reasons I can't determine, the next two photos are being rotated 90 degrees. If I compensate for the rotation, it does not rotate them, yet they are still off due to the compensation. After fighting with the issue for a few minutes I decided the easiest way to fix the problem is for you the viewer to tilt your head sideways while viewing the next to pictures.
Look: two squash
And some cabbage and broccoli
You can straighten your head back now.
The garden is rapidly progressing towards various stages of completion.
Squint and you can see two tommys.
For reasons I can't determine, the next two photos are being rotated 90 degrees. If I compensate for the rotation, it does not rotate them, yet they are still off due to the compensation. After fighting with the issue for a few minutes I decided the easiest way to fix the problem is for you the viewer to tilt your head sideways while viewing the next to pictures.
Look: two squash
And some cabbage and broccoli
You can straighten your head back now.
Patience
Today I prepped the GMC's engine for painting. I had already removed the water pump, fuel pump, alternator, dizzy, etc. I spent a few hours cleaning up the block and taping off the holes. I was about ready to paint when I decided to call it a day. Let's call this practicing a little patience rather than simply procrastinating.
I was ready to paint but knew I should probably clean/degrease the block one more time before painting. By putting off painting one day, I didn't rush the final block cleaning. I expect the final result will be much better because I didn't rush to get the engine painted.
Learning patience is so difficult, especially when you want it now!
Today I prepped the GMC's engine for painting. I had already removed the water pump, fuel pump, alternator, dizzy, etc. I spent a few hours cleaning up the block and taping off the holes. I was about ready to paint when I decided to call it a day. Let's call this practicing a little patience rather than simply procrastinating.
I was ready to paint but knew I should probably clean/degrease the block one more time before painting. By putting off painting one day, I didn't rush the final block cleaning. I expect the final result will be much better because I didn't rush to get the engine painted.
Learning patience is so difficult, especially when you want it now!
Biscuits and Egg Rolls
When I was in high school, I worked at the golden arches for a couple years. During this time I worked a lot of weekend mornings making biscuits. No telling how many thousand biscuits I have made in my life.
Recently I decided I wanted to make some really good homemade biscuits. I have been hit by this desire before but have never found a recipe I really liked. Having recently eaten at Cracker Barrel I decided I would look up their recipe on the Internet. Their biscuits are usually pretty decent. After doing a little bit of reading online, I eventually decided the recipe I would try this time would be the one on the Lilly White bag of self rising flour: 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup butter milk, and 1/4 cup Crisco. Simplicity. Some would say that using self rising flour is cheating. I would say to them, "don't ask me for a biscuit."
After making biscuits four days in a row, I would say I can now make a pretty decent homemade biscuit. I would eventually like to find a good recipe that does not use shortening. Perhaps I shouldn't mess with a good thing though. I still wish I had the recipe Mrs. Tice used.
What's next? I would like to learn to make a mean egg roll before the cabbage in the garden is ready. Anyone have a recipe they would like to recommend?
For the record, I like mustard and bacon on my biscuits. Mmmm.
When I was in high school, I worked at the golden arches for a couple years. During this time I worked a lot of weekend mornings making biscuits. No telling how many thousand biscuits I have made in my life.
Recently I decided I wanted to make some really good homemade biscuits. I have been hit by this desire before but have never found a recipe I really liked. Having recently eaten at Cracker Barrel I decided I would look up their recipe on the Internet. Their biscuits are usually pretty decent. After doing a little bit of reading online, I eventually decided the recipe I would try this time would be the one on the Lilly White bag of self rising flour: 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup butter milk, and 1/4 cup Crisco. Simplicity. Some would say that using self rising flour is cheating. I would say to them, "don't ask me for a biscuit."
After making biscuits four days in a row, I would say I can now make a pretty decent homemade biscuit. I would eventually like to find a good recipe that does not use shortening. Perhaps I shouldn't mess with a good thing though. I still wish I had the recipe Mrs. Tice used.
What's next? I would like to learn to make a mean egg roll before the cabbage in the garden is ready. Anyone have a recipe they would like to recommend?
For the record, I like mustard and bacon on my biscuits. Mmmm.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I am working towards repainting the GMC's engine block. Currently it is black. It will be Chevrolet Hugger Orange when I am done. Before stripping down the engine for the paint job, I decided to turn it over. It hasn't been cranked in quite a while. How many years has it been? After charging the battery, I sprayed a little starter fluid in the carb, hooked the ignition wire to the battery and tapped the starter wire on the (+) battery post. The engine turned over and a few cylinders fired off. Sweet! Oh yeah, and flames came shooting out of the exhaust manifold.
I have been obsessively checking the garden each day. Sometimes two or three times a day. On Friday I discovered I finally had a small tomatoes and squash. On Saturday the count was up to 6 tomatoes and 4 squash. Oh, joy.
I was glad to see the tomatoes coming in. My neighbor had announced a week before that he already had some golf ball sized tomatoes, but he had set his plants out two weeks ahead of me.
I am watching the okra closely as well. It seems too early for okra but I think I have spotted a few tiny pods. Maybe.
I was glad to see the tomatoes coming in. My neighbor had announced a week before that he already had some golf ball sized tomatoes, but he had set his plants out two weeks ahead of me.
I am watching the okra closely as well. It seems too early for okra but I think I have spotted a few tiny pods. Maybe.
Alabama Jubilee
Yesterday J and I went to a car show at Alabama Jubilee in Decatur. The jubilee is an annual hot air balloon rally. Also included is the car show, a antique tractor show, and some other stuff that currently holds no interest for me. This event falls on the weekend Memorial day each year.
J agreed to the car show under a single condition. He wanted to take pictures of the cars. No problem. He did a great job with the camera and we came home with lots of good pictures.
While at the show, I saw a 1968 Corvette convertible, triple black, which was for sale. The price was reasonable as well. I have been thinking about it.
Yesterday J and I went to a car show at Alabama Jubilee in Decatur. The jubilee is an annual hot air balloon rally. Also included is the car show, a antique tractor show, and some other stuff that currently holds no interest for me. This event falls on the weekend Memorial day each year.
J agreed to the car show under a single condition. He wanted to take pictures of the cars. No problem. He did a great job with the camera and we came home with lots of good pictures.
While at the show, I saw a 1968 Corvette convertible, triple black, which was for sale. The price was reasonable as well. I have been thinking about it.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
It has been raining like crazy here for the last few days. Besides a couple of tornado watches today, we are also under a flood watch or three. So you know what that means, right? I definitely don't need to bother watering the garden this week.
The plants are all progressing nicely. I planted some more corn and okra about 10 or 12 days ago. The conditions must have been good because the plants started peeking through after only 8 days. I have even seen a couple of blooms on the tomato plants but I don't expect I will be seeing one any time soon.
I put up a chicken wire fence around the garden the same day I put the first plant/seed in the ground. Good call as I have now seen three rabbits in the back yard, or perhaps one rabbit three times.
What day is it anyway?
The plants are all progressing nicely. I planted some more corn and okra about 10 or 12 days ago. The conditions must have been good because the plants started peeking through after only 8 days. I have even seen a couple of blooms on the tomato plants but I don't expect I will be seeing one any time soon.
I put up a chicken wire fence around the garden the same day I put the first plant/seed in the ground. Good call as I have now seen three rabbits in the back yard, or perhaps one rabbit three times.
What day is it anyway?
Monday, May 04, 2009
The shop has become a complete mess. There are so many partially finished projects and so little time. (Hopefully I will find time to move all the projects forward during the S.O.R.) I spent some time out there the last couple of days trying to do a little bit of organization and clean up. After many hours of effort, there are no visible signs of progress. Woo hoo!
Perhaps I should just focus on the truck. Surely putting a pickup back together will create some free space, unless an assembled truck somehow takes up more space than a disassembled truck. Not likely.
Perhaps I should just focus on the truck. Surely putting a pickup back together will create some free space, unless an assembled truck somehow takes up more space than a disassembled truck. Not likely.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
The Kruse Automobile auction was in Huntsville this weekend. I attended along with a couple of my neighbors. It was definitely a buyer's market.
There were several cars there I wanted to see drive across the block. Unfortunately there were a bunch of cars I had no interest in seeing go across first. We lost interest and went home long before the good stuff started to move.
Next year, instead of arriving an hour before the auction starts, I will arrive two hours after the auction starts. This will still allow me to see all the cars but I can miss the 'junk' that gets auctioned before the cars start moving. Hopefully I will miss most of the five to ten year old SUVs and Cadillac that they started with as well. Who wants to see that? Not me. I was there to see the muscle cars and older.
There were several cars there I wanted to see drive across the block. Unfortunately there were a bunch of cars I had no interest in seeing go across first. We lost interest and went home long before the good stuff started to move.
Next year, instead of arriving an hour before the auction starts, I will arrive two hours after the auction starts. This will still allow me to see all the cars but I can miss the 'junk' that gets auctioned before the cars start moving. Hopefully I will miss most of the five to ten year old SUVs and Cadillac that they started with as well. Who wants to see that? Not me. I was there to see the muscle cars and older.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)