madison069
Well-known member
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Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium
- Thread starter Bob Heine
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
Thanks @Bob Heine - I had completely forgotten about band printers (that's what we called them) and paper control tape. In a computer operations class I took a jillion years ago, we had to make a channel control tape and run a program to test it. We also had to learn to dismount/mount reel-to-reel tapes. I mounted one backwards, hit the load button and "Zing!" it unraveled the reel. The instructor made a very dramatic showing by holding the tape up, dropping it into a trash bin, and announcing in front of everyone "Well, that's now trash." I was mortified.....
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Your instructor was an overdramatic fool. A lint free wipe and some drive cleaner, a few minutes, and the tape would be fine to duplicate, then discard, if it was a live tape.
Everyone has done that at least once in their career. For me, it was slamming scratch tapes onto most of 64 drives, and one tape was banded backwards. I grabbed the tape, felt that it didn't need a write ring. Slammed it, slapped the mount button, and on. Maybe 1 second, and I was on to the next drive. I never actually looked at the tape. It teaches improved attention to detail. I learned to palm the write ring, so if I felt the tab then I was OK, otherwise the tape was dropped, a different one got mounted, an I was off.
Found out afterwards we had a new librarian on days and he banded every tape he scratched backwards. He got some appropriate retraining.
No ringey, No writey.
Kay, the Mac and PC thing was all about control. Not having to put in a request for mainframe time made control freaks wet themselves. Didn't matter there was zero security so long as you could have one of your slaves track your data. Didn't matter it took ten times more effort. Didn't matter 90% of the slaves typed with two fingers while staring at the keyboard. I doubt anyone measured real work productivity losses -- everyone typing away at a keyboard looked busy as hell. I still ask nurses if they knew typing would be their primary role when they were in nursing school.
Roger, as I recall, those tape drives could unravel the reel into either chute all by themselves. Usually a microswitch failure was the cause.
Kay, I miss the drive cleaner -- beautiful gold cans of Trichloroethelene. That stuff was delicious. I remember inspecting a tape that had a bad spot the drive couldn't read. Remove the tape from the read/write head and holding it tight against the bottom of an oval vial with clear film on both sides. Fluid in the vial contained iron dust. You tipped the vial back and forth until the dust aligned itself with the magnetized tape. Then you could read the individual dots on the tape and find the missing or mangled bits. Manually enter the correct data at the console, step the tape past the bad spot and duplicate the tape on another drive.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
We had such fun in the old days. Luckily, I'm still having fun.
Nah. It really trashed (wadded up) the tape. They were old tapes to begin with - no way they were going to trust students with live data. It did drive the point home - just like the next story...
He was a character. Another assignment was to print a pretty decent sized file which was part of the operating manual (for the DEC-10). Then, you had to burst/trim/collate the whole thing - it was done on wide paper. A gal ahead of me was setting up the burster for her job. I could see she had the paper in the wrong way. Looked over at the instructor and could see he saw the same thing but he had a big ol' grin so I said nothing. She ran it through and had trimmed the wrong side - cut the printed section right in half. She, of course, was not happy since she had to get back in line to print it again. I commented to the instructor about what I saw and his grin. He said "Well, she'll never make that mistake again."
They were teaching moments for sure - he really was good natured.
Kay, I'm with you! I used to tolerate the unnecessarily negative comments about stuff that doesn't matter but the older I get, the more I appreciate alone time doing things that make me happy. While not technically 'alone time,' I find the GJ to be a positive and fun place to visit.
Roger, the people who let me fail taught me more lasting lessons than the ones who kept me from making a mistake. In my mother's final years she acknowledged that she would have stepped in every time I struggled and how much better it was that Liane treated me like I had the same abilities with or without a left arm
Spent some time on the plantation today. Fruit rats really like dragon fruit. A month ago I discovered they came back to enjoy this season's crop.
I wouldn't mind if they ate the whole fruit but as a charter member of the Clean Plate Club I find this "taste each one" behavior abhorrent. The fruit eventually just rots away.
Knowing these rats are equally fond of Tomcat treats, I keep a bucket of them handy.
To keep them away from Jasmine and the feral cats (even though said cats aren't doing their job) I attach the treats to the rats' fence highway with cheap 3-inch drywall screws. I mount several pair on each side of the dragon fruit plants. The rats finished off two sets already so hopefully they'll go elsewhere after finishing off the third set.
Looks like the season is coming to an end but there are a few fruit that need to plump up.
Today's batch will need to be shared. Pretty sure dragon fruit is a no-no the week before a colonoscopy. Mine is scheduled for Tuesday.
I wouldn't mind if they ate the whole fruit but as a charter member of the Clean Plate Club I find this "taste each one" behavior abhorrent. The fruit eventually just rots away.
Knowing these rats are equally fond of Tomcat treats, I keep a bucket of them handy.
To keep them away from Jasmine and the feral cats (even though said cats aren't doing their job) I attach the treats to the rats' fence highway with cheap 3-inch drywall screws. I mount several pair on each side of the dragon fruit plants. The rats finished off two sets already so hopefully they'll go elsewhere after finishing off the third set.
Looks like the season is coming to an end but there are a few fruit that need to plump up.
Today's batch will need to be shared. Pretty sure dragon fruit is a no-no the week before a colonoscopy. Mine is scheduled for Tuesday.
Denwood
Well-known member
Wow…you’re harvesting lucious fruit and I’m studding tire’s in prep for snow 
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams…
My thoughts are with you and the missus as you navigate your health issues. No one has a better attitude with regard to adversity as you do sir
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams…My thoughts are with you and the missus as you navigate your health issues. No one has a better attitude with regard to adversity as you do sir
driftpin
Well-known member
Many of your Ontario citizens are already in So. Florida. I am now seeing more and more Ontario and Quebec Province license plates. Dania Beach, south of Bob about 25 miles, is already seeing the trailer parks filling up with Canadian fifth-wheelers and dually pick-up trucks from those provinces primarily, occasionally I'll spot someone from the maritime provinces.Wow…you’re harvesting lucious fruit and I’m studding tire’s in prep for snow
My thoughts are with you and the missus as you navigate your health issues. No one has a better attitude with regard to adversity as you do sir
Bob, my friend who's retired from the U of Florida Research Station in Davie (Broward County-Ft. Lauderdale metro area for you out-of-towners) has a Star Fruit tree / carambola which gives her multiple 5 gallon buckets of fruit each season. I keep telling her she should sell them, they're expensive at the store.
This site is $23/lb.
I'm sure there are all sorts of regulations about Dept. of Agriculture criteria for allowing them to cross the FL border going someplace else.
The fruit looks very eye-pleasing in a salad, exotic you could say. Like the monk Dom Pérignon is reputed to have said tasting sparkling wine for the first time. "I am tasting stars!"
Best wishes for Liane and your health issues being resolved.
Dennis, it's an upside down life. We mostly hide inside in the middle of the day during our looooong summer and then spend the winter enjoying the outdoors, mostly in the same clothes our northern guests wear in the winter. They are all in shorts and t-shirts when we're freezing in the 70-something weather.Wow…you’re harvesting lucious fruit and I’m studding tire’s in prep for snow
My thoughts are with you and the missus as you navigate your health issues. No one has a better attitude with regard to adversity as you do sir
Our lives are now controlled by the medical profession. I see the Hormone oncologist Monday morning, drink liquids all day, take a couple of doses of Clenpiq in preparation for Tuesday's colonoscopy. Wednesday is Liane's first post-op visit with the surgeon's staff. At least we're out and about and meeting new people. People who knock us unconscious and have their way with one of our body parts.
Philip, I've eaten star fruit. My mother bought them for the Christmas holidays because they looked so festive. We also ate quite a few in Australia but in both cases the price was nothing like that. Good old Walmart has dried star fruit for $7.12 per pound.Many of your Ontario citizens are already in So. Florida. I am now seeing more and more Ontario and Quebec Province license plates. Dania Beach, south of Bob about 25 miles, is already seeing the trailer parks filling up with Canadian fifth-wheelers and dually pick-up trucks from those provinces primarily, occasionally I'll spot someone from the maritime provinces.
Bob, my friend who's retired from the U of Florida Research Station in Davie (Broward County-Ft. Lauderdale metro area for you out-of-towners) has a Star Fruit tree / carambola which gives her multiple 5 gallon buckets of fruit each season. I keep telling her she should sell them, they're expensive at the store.
This site is $23/lb.
I'm sure there are all sorts of regulations about Dept. of Agriculture criteria for allowing them to cross the FL border going someplace else.
The fruit looks very eye-pleasing in a salad, exotic you could say. Like the monk Dom Pérignon is reputed to have said tasting sparkling wine for the first time. "I am tasting stars!"
Best wishes for Liane and your health issues being resolved.
EDIT: Not sure why a link to Walmart shows up as a "Robot or Human?" hyperlink.
We won't be indulging any time soon because start fruit seem to be toxic for people with kidney disease. Hopefully Liane's issue is over but I'd hate to tempt fate, which isn't smiling on us these days.
"Studies show that eating starfruit can have a harmful (toxic) effect for people who have kidney disease. The substances found in starfruit can affect the brain and cause neurological disorders. This toxic substance is called a neurotoxin. People with healthy, normal kidneys can process and pass this toxin out from their body. However, for those with kidney disease, this is not possible. The toxin stays in the body and causes serious illness.
The symptoms of starfruit poisoning include:
- Hiccups
- Mental confusion
- Seizures
- Death (in serious cases)
Thanks for the wishes. Our family has a new contest going on: Who can spend the most time in or around a hospital.
Our daughter-in-law wins because she's a nurse. Our son, who is being treated for Thyroid Eye Disease with medication, had an ultrasound last week that showed a lump in his thyroid. Earliest a specialist could see him for a biopsy was the day before one of his four son's wedding in mid-November. Biopsy has been rescheduled for December 1.
Last Friday our oldest grandson (soon to turn 32) took two of his children out for a ride on the golf cart, as he often does. They live in a rural part of Florida (Loxahatchee) and their street is unpaved. He hit a pothole that was full of water, disguising its size and lost control. The golf cart flipped over, throwing everyone out, even though his 5-year old son and 3-year old daughter were belted in (but not in car seats). The father suffered a severe cut to his right hand, exposing tendons but he got off easy. His son Spencer also got off easy with severe road rash. Our great-granddaughter Shayne suffered a broken femur and torn liver. Today she was moved from pediatric intensive care to a regular room at the hospital and the tests for internal bleeding have gone from every 4- to every 12-hours. With her connections, working in the hospital, our daughter-in-law has been at her granddaughter's bedside all night, every night and caring for her other grandchildren all day.
I am counting our blessings, this could have been much worse but I do look forward to some happy news when the phone rings.
I need to get rid of my smart phone -- that test of the emergency network scared the **** out of me -- I keep it set to VIBRATE only so I thought "This is the big one, Elizabeth!" when it went off.
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Denwood
Well-known member
Wow Bob…that’s some intense drama. Glad to hear your grand daughter is out of the ICU. Your post is a reminder for me to be very present and appreciative of my family.
…suddenly my calf puncture (biking, small mishap in the woods, got to pull a bit of tree out of leg) yesterday seems very, very trivial.
…suddenly my calf puncture (biking, small mishap in the woods, got to pull a bit of tree out of leg) yesterday seems very, very trivial.
driftpin
Well-known member
MY goodness, that's horrible, but I suppose it could be worse, that accident. I have friends/co-workers fellow retirees from fire-rescue who live in Loxahatchee. Do they drink/consume only bottled water? I believe there are chemical concerns with the groundwater. I am saying prayers for your family.
sawduststeve
Well-known member
Bob, the list of ailments and injuries seem to be growing, best wishes, thoughts and prayers to you all for quick recoveries, especially the little ones.
Steve
Steve
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PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Bob, just sending positive vibes your way; all the best to you and yours.
Dennis, take care of that puncture!
One of the smaller injuries from my accident was a calf puncture. A week or so after I left the hospital I noticed my pants leg was wet below the knee. The puncture wound formed new skin and it was seeping. For the first followup visit, Liane and my father accompanied me and I showed the site to the doctor. Doctor said something about it needing to drain and gave it a squeeze. The surprising amount of fluid that gushed out had no effect on Liane but my father passed out. Doctor told Liane to put the hottest compress she could stand on it until it healed. Pretty sure the doctor meant as hot as I could stand. Our hot water in that house wasn't all that hot so Liane put a washcloth in a pot and brought the water to a boil. It stopped boiling when she shut off the burner. After gingerly removing the washcloth from the boiling water with a kitchen fork, she came into the living room and dropped it on my calf. I was so weak my scream didn't wake either of our toddlers.
Philip, they have bottled water, including a couple of 5-gallon water cooler stations. Our son has lived on one of the dirt roads in Royal Palm Beach for 25 years and all they drink is bottled water as well. His whole family has the bottle water habit. I have personally given up drinking from puddles outside but I still hydrate from the garden hose when working in the yard.
Steve, every time I think we're on the road to recovery, the road takes a bad turn. I'll be crapping out this afternoon. Colonoscopy tomorrow.Bob, the list of ailments and injuries seem to be growing, best wishes, thoughts and prayers to you all for quick recoveries, especially the little ones.
Steve
Thank you Scott. My positive vibes are not working that well so yours and everyone else's is greatly appreciated.
All I can do today is drink fluids so I tackled a tiny project in the garage. Yes, I'm doing something in the garage! It's not the best place today because the window A/C is no longer cooling the air. Another identical one will be delivered Thursday. It's cloudy out so the garage is only 85° today. It's 82° outside but 81% humidity so I'll go with the dry heat.
We have two pull-down attic stairways and shop lighting in the attic. The garage attic stairway doesn't have a wall nearby so I put the light switch at the top of the stairs on the side of the opening. Every time I go up there I forget to switch off the light and have to go back up. The main attic stairway does have a convenient wall so I wired a switch on the workbench backsplash. I still forget to switch off the lights but at least I don't have to climb the stairs each time. It's that lonely little switch at the middle of the workbench.
I am using and refurbishing computers in the garage and it's annoying to rely on really slow wifi so I dropped a CAT6 cable down the staircase from the attic router. It needs to be a permanent installation in the wall so I enlarged the single gang hole to a double gang size. Found a box that has an enclosed AC half and an open low voltage half.
It's an old work box so I didn't have to worry about installing it next to a stud. I did have to change the switch to a Decora so it would match the CAT6 outlet.
Rather than make a custom length cable and punch the cables in the RJ45 socket, I'm going to fish a factory made one down from the attic. That lets me use a double RJ45 socket. Keystone jacks come in so many flavors it makes it easy.
I can stand 85° but even on an overcast day the attic heats up to iron foundry temperatures. For now the jack is in, just not hooked up. Cooler weather is coming....
Yeah, I know, the screws are triggering more than one of you.
We have two pull-down attic stairways and shop lighting in the attic. The garage attic stairway doesn't have a wall nearby so I put the light switch at the top of the stairs on the side of the opening. Every time I go up there I forget to switch off the light and have to go back up. The main attic stairway does have a convenient wall so I wired a switch on the workbench backsplash. I still forget to switch off the lights but at least I don't have to climb the stairs each time. It's that lonely little switch at the middle of the workbench.
I am using and refurbishing computers in the garage and it's annoying to rely on really slow wifi so I dropped a CAT6 cable down the staircase from the attic router. It needs to be a permanent installation in the wall so I enlarged the single gang hole to a double gang size. Found a box that has an enclosed AC half and an open low voltage half.
It's an old work box so I didn't have to worry about installing it next to a stud. I did have to change the switch to a Decora so it would match the CAT6 outlet.
Rather than make a custom length cable and punch the cables in the RJ45 socket, I'm going to fish a factory made one down from the attic. That lets me use a double RJ45 socket. Keystone jacks come in so many flavors it makes it easy.
I can stand 85° but even on an overcast day the attic heats up to iron foundry temperatures. For now the jack is in, just not hooked up. Cooler weather is coming....
Yeah, I know, the screws are triggering more than one of you.
sawduststeve
Well-known member
Triggered 
driftpin
Well-known member
Bob a piece of advice ignore it if you choose. When I was speaking with one of my compatriots from another fire/rescue dept., he was speaking about things homeowners can do to delay an incipient fire's spread. One thing was, "put a piece of drywall on your attic stairs door!" I suspect you may have been to Sawgrass Mills mall at one time or another, in Sunrise, not far off of I-75. He was the newly-appointed fire marshal in the jurisdiction, and his first major project to do plans review and inspect was Sawgrass Mills.
For several months, Sawgrass Mills was the largest mall in the USA. Then Mall of the Americas opened.
Anyway, back to the attic access. He said he had seen multiple fires originating in garages, where the fire quickly spread into the garage attic because of a lack of drywall gypsum board on that access.
For several months, Sawgrass Mills was the largest mall in the USA. Then Mall of the Americas opened.
Anyway, back to the attic access. He said he had seen multiple fires originating in garages, where the fire quickly spread into the garage attic because of a lack of drywall gypsum board on that access.
Philip, funny you mention that. When my son is back in action and the weather cools a little, he and his youngest son are coming over to help me replace the wood staircase to the main attic. The screw holes are too close to the edge of the aluminum frame on the new one so I was planning on recessing the thing the thickness of the garage drywall (5/8"). I also have a patch to make for the leaking roof aftermath. Looks like I'll need the best part of a 4' x 8' sheet of 5/8" drywall for both stairways and the ceiling repair.
shortykorte
Well-known member
Wow another year, another year younger. Happy belated birthday Bob.
LeonardY
Well-known member
Bob, What about installing a limit switch in line with the light?All I can do today is drink fluids so I tackled a tiny project in the garage. Yes, I'm doing something in the garage! It's not the best place today because the window A/C is no longer cooling the air. Another identical one will be delivered Thursday. It's cloudy out so the garage is only 85° today. It's 82° outside but 81% humidity so I'll go with the dry heat.
We have two pull-down attic stairways and shop lighting in the attic. The garage attic stairway doesn't have a wall nearby so I put the light switch at the top of the stairs on the side of the opening. Every time I go up there I forget to switch off the light and have to go back up. The main attic stairway does have a convenient wall so I wired a switch on the workbench backsplash. I still forget to switch off the lights but at least I don't have to climb the stairs each time. It's that lonely little switch at the middle of the workbench.
I am using and refurbishing computers in the garage and it's annoying to rely on really slow wifi so I dropped a CAT6 cable down the staircase from the attic router. It needs to be a permanent installation in the wall so I enlarged the single gang hole to a double gang size. Found a box that has an enclosed AC half and an open low voltage half.
It's an old work box so I didn't have to worry about installing it next to a stud. I did have to change the switch to a Decora so it would match the CAT6 outlet.
Rather than make a custom length cable and punch the cables in the RJ45 socket, I'm going to fish a factory made one down from the attic. That lets me use a double RJ45 socket. Keystone jacks come in so many flavors it makes it easy.
I can stand 85° but even on an overcast day the attic heats up to iron foundry temperatures. For now the jack is in, just not hooked up. Cooler weather is coming....
Yeah, I know, the screws are triggering more than one of you.
When the ladder is down it will allow the light to be turned on but cuts the circuit when you close the ladder.
Another option would be to put a timer switch on. Crank it to the desired time.
Or even a motion detector.
Of course with your knowledge you could take one of your old computers and sample the air for sweat. As long as it detected the moisture the light would remain on.
Here's something to be wary of: a coworker of mine had a similar kind of injury while clearing brush behind her house. A few weeks down the road, she fell asleep on the couch and woke up to find her dog applying doggie first aid (lick lick lick lick) to the wound. I'm not sure of memory but it got infected or she had to get on antibiotics preventively.
madison069
Well-known member
No trigger here, but I did admire the clean workbench you have going on!
Yeah, I know, the screws are triggering more than one of you.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
I’ve heard dragon fruit is tasty but can’t recall ever experiencing it.
Hope your tests come back with great results cause you need some good news. Here’s to both of you feeling better every day or at least not feeling worse.
Love all the old computer pics. When I designed a program in high school about 1973 I recall sending in a box of cards to local college and it took weeks or maybe month or more to get results. You were one of the guys making those huge computers work so thanks for your service.
Hope your tests come back with great results cause you need some good news. Here’s to both of you feeling better every day or at least not feeling worse.
Love all the old computer pics. When I designed a program in high school about 1973 I recall sending in a box of cards to local college and it took weeks or maybe month or more to get results. You were one of the guys making those huge computers work so thanks for your service.
GeddyT
Well-known member
Exactly what a robot would say... Nice try, Bob.
Sorry about that Steve! My bad habits die hard.Triggered
Thanks Shorty!
Leonard, I don't know why I didn't think of that. I did put a micro switch on the garage attic staircase but for a different reason. I installed it in the garage door opener circuit to prevent the garage from opening when the ladder is down. I did that after the second time I crashed it.Bob, What about installing a limit switch in line with the light?
When the ladder is down it will allow the light to be turned on but cuts the circuit when you close the ladder.
Another option would be to put a timer switch on. Crank it to the desired time.
Or even a motion detector.
Of course with your knowledge you could take one of your old computers and sample the air for sweat. As long as it detected the moisture the light would remain on.
@Squankum, today's data processing equipment doesn't need that big a can of oil. "A little dab ll' do ya!"Well, dang! That's what my life has been missing! Computer repair oil! Will this reduce my download speeds?
Idiocracy comes to mind.
I prefer to lick my own wounds but sometimes I can't reach them. All kidding aside, I try to avoid infections by using the medically approved methods. When the doctor took out my appendix years ago, he may have left something inside. When I complained of a 103°F fever the doctor invited me back to his office. Learned how fast things can go south that day. By the time I got to his office I was feeling faint and my temperature was 106°F. Back in the hospital (across the street) for a do-over. Had to let that 2-inch puncture heal from the inside for a month or so. Heavy lifting was easy to avoid but re-packing that puncture with gauze was gross.
Cody, that should be past tense. Today the first six feet has been turned into a coffee bar and the other eight feet is the project pile. You know, the parts have arrived and are waiting patiently to be installed.
Drives, I would put dragon fruit in the same category as kiwi fruit. Not as tangy but same level of sweetness and seeds.
Today was endoscopy and colonoscopy day. Endoscopy showed stomach is fine but I have a hiatal hernia. Not critical but it does explain my acid reflux. Colonoscopy found two polyps, one of which was large enough to require a clip. The clip is tiny and passes out but it means waiting before having an MRI. My radiation treatments were delayed until after the colonoscopy and I don't know what targeting system the CyberKnife uses. They call us patients for a reason.
Your smart phone does everything you ever tried to do with those card decks and so much more. We used to have to go to a drag strip on the right night, pay money and wait in line to know how fast our car was. Now you can do it with an app on the Interstate.
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Nope! When he was in the service, if he wanted to communicate to the artillery in the rear, he had to drag a spool of cable. When he was a boy around the age of 12, he and some older teens scraped together all of their spare change and bought a used Model T for $12. He flew on a commercial airline before the war and the bathroom was basically an outhouse in the sky.
So, think a generation older.
Think about it. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery seller in America. They want the human race to continue, so we can keep buying food. Wal-Mart is our last line of defense against the robot takeover.
Catching up a bit here
Very sorry to hear of your and Liane's fondness for spending time in medical facilities was spread to others in your family, though thank goodness it wasn't more serious! Hard at times to see "ICU" and be thankful it wasn't worse but hopefully the only lasting thing here is a new found suspicion of puddles!
And that dragonfruit looks tasty! We had some the other night that had been frozen...everyone liked it! Next time we're down south will have to see if we can find some fresh stuff and see how it tastes
Very sorry to hear of your and Liane's fondness for spending time in medical facilities was spread to others in your family, though thank goodness it wasn't more serious! Hard at times to see "ICU" and be thankful it wasn't worse but hopefully the only lasting thing here is a new found suspicion of puddles!
And that dragonfruit looks tasty! We had some the other night that had been frozen...everyone liked it! Next time we're down south will have to see if we can find some fresh stuff and see how it tastes
@Squankum, that would be my father's generation. My father was 28 when WWII broke out and he died in 1968 so he never saw a PC or Apple computer. I tried to get my mother to use a PC but I chose to get her a PC Jr., which turned out to be a mistake.
I shop at a Neighborhood Walmart (only groceries) and normally only one of the three checkout registers has a person operating it. There are eight self-checkout stations, four of which have conveyors. Several times I suspect the door greeter sends some special signal out and a second manned register magically opens as I approach the professional size self checkout station. Apparently they don't share my view that it's fun watching a one-armed old man with $300 basket of groceries checking himself out.
Logan, it's like it's contagious. Our great-granddaughter is home and recovering. The wound on our grandson's hand keeps opening up because both the 2-month-old and the 3-year-old have to be carried and the cast is adding to her weight. She's not happy about the cast but for now has plenty of distractions.
She came home from the hospital Thursday and is enjoying time with her big and little brothers.
I think dragon fruit is like tangy tapioca with chia seeds. At our house it's feast or famine. We get bananas by the a bunch, which is around 20 hands! They mature at different times but it's always way more than we can eat. Same with the dragon fruit. It shows up when the days are longer, around June, and continue to fruit all summer. The last half-dozen are plumping up now.
Jasmine escaped into the neighbor's yard last week and we couldn't find the hole in the fence she used. Suspecting it was behind a row of cardboard ferns, I hacked my way through along the fenced. The cardboard ferns have short thorns on their stems, the neighbor has thorn-covered bougainvillea growing on his side that comes through to our side and at the far end of the line of cardboard ferns we have dragon fruit plants which also have thorns. I never found an opening (we lined the bottom of the fence with 1'x8' strips of salvaged 3/8" T1-11) but my arm was covered in ****** scratches. Thank you Eliquis.
It has been raining almost every day for a couple of months so the sprinklers have been turned off. On a tour of the yard last week I discovered a broken pipe on one sprinkler head. Rather than replace the schedule 80 18" riser, I cut new threads. While checking the six zones, I found a Rainbird oscillator that wasn't working. Rather than dig up the whole thing I blasted the inside with a pressure nozzle and removed the guts. I don't know how one would get one of these sprinkler heads unscrewed from the housing without the special tool. It's a piece of cake if you have one of these tools to hold the shaft in position while loosening the sprinkler from the housing.
Back in April 2022 I replaced the pathway lights in the front yard with sturdy aluminum LED fixtures that cost about $15 each.
I like them a lot and expected them to work for years, just like the other LED lights I've installed around the yard. A couple of months ago two lights wen out. The seller claims they're good for 50,000 hours. I run them from sunset to 1:00 AM so 5 to 9 hours a day. I've had them for 555 days so the two that crapped out lasted less than 5,000 hours. I was pretty sure my connections were the problem but when I dug them up and tested them with a 12v power supply, the fixtures themselves had failed. I thought it would be a simple LED replacement but when I opened them up it turns out each fixture has a potted module containing electronic components.
The near one only shows overheating but the one behind shows an explosion and melted wires.
I ordered some 12V surface mount LEDs and will try to wire them up without an electronic module. I bought an additional 6 fixtures just in case so new ones have been installed and all is well. I'd still like to try repairing the dead ones.
It has been raining almost every day for a couple of months so the sprinklers have been turned off. On a tour of the yard last week I discovered a broken pipe on one sprinkler head. Rather than replace the schedule 80 18" riser, I cut new threads. While checking the six zones, I found a Rainbird oscillator that wasn't working. Rather than dig up the whole thing I blasted the inside with a pressure nozzle and removed the guts. I don't know how one would get one of these sprinkler heads unscrewed from the housing without the special tool. It's a piece of cake if you have one of these tools to hold the shaft in position while loosening the sprinkler from the housing.
Back in April 2022 I replaced the pathway lights in the front yard with sturdy aluminum LED fixtures that cost about $15 each.
I like them a lot and expected them to work for years, just like the other LED lights I've installed around the yard. A couple of months ago two lights wen out. The seller claims they're good for 50,000 hours. I run them from sunset to 1:00 AM so 5 to 9 hours a day. I've had them for 555 days so the two that crapped out lasted less than 5,000 hours. I was pretty sure my connections were the problem but when I dug them up and tested them with a 12v power supply, the fixtures themselves had failed. I thought it would be a simple LED replacement but when I opened them up it turns out each fixture has a potted module containing electronic components.
The near one only shows overheating but the one behind shows an explosion and melted wires.
I ordered some 12V surface mount LEDs and will try to wire them up without an electronic module. I bought an additional 6 fixtures just in case so new ones have been installed and all is well. I'd still like to try repairing the dead ones.
My 15,000 btu window A/C unit in the garage died a couple of weeks ago at the tender age of 8 years.
When I installed the first knob controlled unit, I wired a switch to the far end of the garage by the man door leading into the house and framed the opening to fit the A/C unit's sleeve. When it died 15 years later I pulled it out onto a stack of wood cribbing. It weighs about 100 pounds but getting it to the ground wasn't that hard because I wasn't worried about dropping it.
I was happy with the first unit and ordered another Frigidaire 15,000 btu window unit but this time with a wireless remote. I didn't notice in the description that the new unit was narrower and shorter. Fixed the problem with a couple of pressure treated 1- and 2-by-6s.
Installed the new sleeve and with a little help from a neighbor, lifted the unit onto the tool chest. Lifted one side at a time, inserting the same cribbing until it lined up with the new sleeve.
Put cardboard over the condenser and evaporator coil fins (and wrote a reminder to remove the cardboard from the outside condenser before sliding it all the way in).
When that unit crapped out last week I thought about buying another brand. Then I thought about re-framing the opening for a different unit and decided to replace it with the same brand, same capacity and most importantly, the same dimensions and sleeve. This time I skipped the cribbing and invited our son and his youngest son to help with the swap. They had a small job lined up at a fancy house in Boca that morning so instead of days or hours, the two of them had the old one out and the new one in within a half hour. I paid them about the same amount as Home Depot charges but without the hassle.
When I installed the first knob controlled unit, I wired a switch to the far end of the garage by the man door leading into the house and framed the opening to fit the A/C unit's sleeve. When it died 15 years later I pulled it out onto a stack of wood cribbing. It weighs about 100 pounds but getting it to the ground wasn't that hard because I wasn't worried about dropping it.
I was happy with the first unit and ordered another Frigidaire 15,000 btu window unit but this time with a wireless remote. I didn't notice in the description that the new unit was narrower and shorter. Fixed the problem with a couple of pressure treated 1- and 2-by-6s.
Installed the new sleeve and with a little help from a neighbor, lifted the unit onto the tool chest. Lifted one side at a time, inserting the same cribbing until it lined up with the new sleeve.
Put cardboard over the condenser and evaporator coil fins (and wrote a reminder to remove the cardboard from the outside condenser before sliding it all the way in).
When that unit crapped out last week I thought about buying another brand. Then I thought about re-framing the opening for a different unit and decided to replace it with the same brand, same capacity and most importantly, the same dimensions and sleeve. This time I skipped the cribbing and invited our son and his youngest son to help with the swap. They had a small job lined up at a fancy house in Boca that morning so instead of days or hours, the two of them had the old one out and the new one in within a half hour. I paid them about the same amount as Home Depot charges but without the hassle.
driftpin
Well-known member
Do you refer to the cardboard pieces as 'crib sheets?'
Glad you're able to return to working on projects, and getting stabbed by Mother Nature is 'just part of the fun.'
Awhile ago I had a festering sore on my middle leg, and I finally decided to try to lance it, and a thorn about an inch long came smoothly out. The relief of pain was almost immediate, and with some antibiotic on it, I escaped it becoming infected. I took a picture of it, to remind me that when you're working around such plants, you can end up as a host to something nasty.
Glad you're able to return to working on projects, and getting stabbed by Mother Nature is 'just part of the fun.'
Awhile ago I had a festering sore on my middle leg, and I finally decided to try to lance it, and a thorn about an inch long came smoothly out. The relief of pain was almost immediate, and with some antibiotic on it, I escaped it becoming infected. I took a picture of it, to remind me that when you're working around such plants, you can end up as a host to something nasty.
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I had a pre-senior moment today at the self-checkout, I had taken about four things out of the little shopping cart and was stacking the different shapes into the brown paper bag in ways that made me very happy when it finally dawned on me that I hadn't scanned anything yet!
When I see this kind of talk nowadays, I interpret it as "the LED's we put into this contraption are, on average, good for 50,000 hours, and we'd like to pretend the rest of this contraption is built as well as our LED supplier builds LED's. Won't you join us in our land of make-believe?"