Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

[Strouty]

I have been trying to buy a preformed rubber bed mat for the 3500, no one stocked anything decent, even tried to buy a “universal” one, backordered. I gave up and got my money back after a few months of waiting. Everyone wanted new prices for a used one for some other style truck, found one for a Ford, guy wanted $20, five minutes with a razor knife and it fits great, matches the patina of the truck too!

 

[Strouty]

I need to do too many things tomorrow, not sure how I am going to make everything happen. I need to get some sleep, last night was way too short.

 

[Strouty]

Also, I have come to the conclusion that I am not doing enough reviewing of my notes, tasks, and emails. Things keep falling through the cracks and lately the cracks have been getting a lot bigger. I am going to try and start a daily review and schedule an hour to see if that helps. I am burning up brain power just trying to remember things, most have been written down, but it appears I don’t trust my systems (for good reason). Last night was a prime example, I had written down to grab blocking and my spare trailer tire, forgot both, then forgot the blocking a second time, so this morning I had to drive to the Salvage Garage just to get the spare and some blocking. I did remember to put the trash out before I left, it gets picked up tomorrow, first time in a couple weeks I have done that. I think the other aspect was that I swapped trucks, I hate doing that, I always forget something. I wanted to take the 3500, but I haven’t changed the transmission fluid or the rear differential oil yet and I didn’t want to go on another road trip before doing that.

I may have to drop my “system” down to only one application, I am using several right now and that is where the “trust” issue lies. Even my phone and watch have been fighting me a bit, the calendar app I use hasn’t been notifying me of any reminders I setup, so I have to see what settings got changed. I use paper still (mostly index cards), but getting them reliably into the digital system hasn’t been consistent. That is where my “review” time would help, basically look over paper notes and add them into the digital side as needed. The paper works great, until you have ten cards with just one or two things that didn’t get done or you have to wait for someone else to do something first. Every time I think I have things under control I either miss something major or can’t find a paper note. That is why I like the digital aspect, the stuff I enter syncs across all my devices and locations so I am ready to go wherever I am. Don’t get me wrong, I am probably 85% effective using my current system, but there have been some recent misses that have set me back further than I would like to admit. I generally can roll with it, but it is getting less comfortable feeling.

 

[Prospecter]

Life got a lot better when I got everything onto a single list. Even better when the list moved to Google Docs so it sync'd across devices, and I did not need to redo the list every time I got a few things done.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I use Google calendar to schedule events, and Google tasks to create the big overarching task list and the daily checklist. I can update it all on my tablet, PC, and phone, and they sync in the background. I'm rapidly moving away from paper. I only had 3 one item shopping reminders last week. None this week. Everything is in the cloud. I hope it doesn't rain.

 

[68400BIRD]

I'm not running near as much as you. But, I write my list down in my notes on my phone. It usually starts with a sticky note at the end of each day or the beginning. Once I'm happy with the list they get typed in. It is also a great feeling when you can delete lines of type.

 

[RacerRick]

Have you tried a kanban board for your tasks?

 

[shakenfake]

I did remember to put the trash out before I left, it gets picked up tomorrow, first time in a couple weeks I have done that.

You have trash pick up at the salvage garage or are you talking about at your house?

 

[jack stand]

I use a "steno pad".

 

[Jayman17]

Just curious, what is the distance and travel time between the 2 shops?

 

[Strouty]

The two shops are about 40 minutes apart, depends on time of day.

 

[shakenfake]

@Strouty Is there trash pickup at the Salvage Garage?

 

[Atlascycle]

Strouty,
Have you tried Trello or Asana for your Tasks?

Manage Your Team’s Projects From Anywhere | Trello

Make the impossible, possible with Trello. The ultimate teamwork project management tool. Start up a board in seconds, automate tedious tasks, and collaborate anywhere, even on mobile.

trello.com

Manage your team’s work, projects, & tasks online • Asana • Asana

Work anytime, anywhere with Asana. Keep remote and distributed teams, and your entire organization, focused on their goals, projects, and tasks with Asana.

asana.com

 

[Strouty]

I haven’t seen that program yet, will take a look this weekend.

Label printer arrived, looks like to be in very good condition, much larger than I expected, not an issue though. The supplies are arriving today, so I should be able to test it out by tonight.

Just had a guy drive from New Jersey to buy one of the oil pans from the Cummins engines, he said they are on national back order. I guess I need to list them on eBay as well.

 

[Strouty]

I think my trouble with all the task manager programs is that they are really based on due dates and almost nothing I do has an actual due date. A lot of my lists are "waiting for" (from GTD), omnifocus is what seems to be the least "due date" oriented. Ultimately the issue is that I am just spread too thin and have become less effective as more gets added. I am about to do a big reset to save my sanity, moving from the Hill should help this, but it is also causing some extra stress.

Next week is essentially gone, between the tower lighting upgrades and the Fourth I am going to have little time to do anything for myself. I suspect that I will meet with the tower crew in the morning, then should be able to escape for a while, I just need to be available in case there is an issue that needs to be resolved.

 

[Johanfpa]

Never easy when you have to keep loads of plates spinning but I'm sure you will eat the elephant of tasks one small bit at a time.
Over the last months you seem to have the bit between the teeth and achieved a lot by prioritising what is needed. as always there will be stuff that doesn't work but as long you keep moving forward overall you are winning.
I appreciate your honesty on this thread, warts and all and know you will get through it in the end!

 

[Strouty]

I am not one to sugar coat things, my life can be a mess, probably more than I would like to admit.

I just ordered two more label printers, why have one that you aren't sure if it works when you can have three, right?

I actually ordered one of the printers that require a computer to function, it will print on lots of media that the standalone units won't print on. Plus the huge supply lot that is arriving today has more than 3/4 of the stuff dedicated for that printer. Then there was a new listing for the latest model standalone unit for $245 including shipping. Once everything has arrived, I can do some testing, if fully functional, I should be able to sell it and pay for the newer version. Lots of hopes and prayers in there, but when they pop up at a steal, sometimes you just have to take that leap.

I have a couple things to do at the SG, then this afternoon I am going to get my trailer unloaded at Dad's. After that I will be able to load the trailer up with some of the Lista stuff and have it ready to go to the SG tomorrow.

 

[Tommo3]

Imagine how far along you would have been if you had stayed at the SG! Keep the Hill as strictly Dads business then it will be so much easier to make the break if you have to. Any chance on restarting negotiations on the house at the SG site? Cutting down on commutes would save you hours most days.

 

[Strouty]

I have tried not to destroy myself by thinking too much about that.

Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[Tommo3]

I have tried not to destroy myself by thinking too much about that.

Hindsight is always 20/20

Yeah now imagine you had the foresight to stock up on hindsight back when it was cheap!

 

[Strouty]

I think hindsight is in the same aisle with spare time, right?

 

[Spareparts]

Would be nice to go back in time and fix our mistakes, but time is the best teacher.

 

[Strouty]

Only if you learn, sometimes it takes a few too many times.

 

[Strouty]

The label printer prints, it needs a cleaning and there is a foam squeegee that needs to be replaced. I have a little more research to do, I ordered some parts for it and I am hopeful that it will be fine for now. It has occasional streaks and I can’t tell if it is from tension on the ribbon or if it is stuff getting past the mangled squeegee. I suppose after I get the other printers, I will have something to compare things to. The good part is that it will print what I need to print, even with the streaks it should not be an issue for the QR codes.

 

[legenddc]

Seems like you’re on the right path with the printers. I would have suggested just sending the QR codes to a local print shop to be done on whatever label type you needed and worrying about the printer setup later.

Good luck getting everything done. Much like organizing, it’s easier to keep track of tasks to do when there’s less.

 

[Strouty]

I looked into having them printed and the problem with that was they would all be different, if they were all the same it would have been a no brainer.

 

[Strouty]

At least the tower crew doesn’t seem like total idiots. I am glad I met up with them, they had some terrible ideas about where to run cables and where to mount the equipment inside the building. I am going to have faith that they will be able to get it done right.

 

[xtremek]

Are you sure that's a wise idea?

 

[Strouty]

Trust but verify...

 

[Strouty]

So I just spent a solid hour on the phone with Brady asking questions about the printers and I think I am just going to resell everything (should be able to turn a decent profit too) and buy an Epson that will do what I want. I should have just done it in the first place, but I didn't want to spend that much money. The Brady has very specific labels and very specific "ribbons" that can be used with certain labels. They have a brochure that shows compatibility, but it is from 2014, the buy I talked to said that it is not accurate and you can only use a certain ribbon (the most expensive) on the label stock I would like to use most. They were kind of rude about it, the guy didn't even believe me at first, not until he saw it on the website. Then he kept telling me that I have to buy all new ribbons and that it won't work, except he couldn't tell me why it wouldn't work. I may keep one unit just so I can direct print to magnetic label stock, but Brady also has windows only software and you have to pay $305 for it. Epson has free software and it works on my fruit computers natively. In the next week I will have everything to be able to test the prints side by side. The best part about the Epson is that I can print the QR codes in different colors, the bad part is you get to chose your favorite shade of white for the background. I would say about 90% of what I am doing, white is perfectly fine.

 

[walrus]

Strouty, the place that had the 2 waste oil burners, is taking out the last one. You want it?

 

[Strouty]

Sent a text.

The first tower is done, I worked with the guys at the end of the day, decent group. My Spanish is really rusty, so I can’t tell what is going on most of the time.

The guy from Brady got back to me and now has changed his tune, he says I can use the cheaper ribbon on the materials I want, he has not explained what the difference is though. I am going to quiz him on that, inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Strouty]

Another nice day, should have the second tower done this afternoon. I have a few things I need to get done at the Hill and in the office.

 

[Strouty]

Bought a new addition to the Salvage Garage, should be helpful while I am in transition, not sure if it will be a long term thing.

 

[Strouty]

They got the second site done and want to prep for the third, so I am meeting them there. I think we can get most of the electrical portion figured out, then they will deal with the tower aspect tomorrow. We have both FM stations scheduled to shut down for the work, can’t change that on the fly unless there is a real emergency.

I have to pick up the yard donkey Sunday morning, it is fully operational, only needs new air lines for the trailer hook up, not a big expense and won’t take more than a few minutes to do.

 

[Strouty]

I feel like a yo yo this morning, I am going back and forth between office, tower, shop...

Next up is errands, then a couple company related things, after that is tower again. At least tomorrow I will be left alone so I can try and actually get something done!

 

[Strouty]

The tower guys are definitely not used to doing anything outside of the “normal” installation. They had to move the mid beacon lights up 12’ and I discussed how they should do it, but they did it their way. Of course they also didn’t start at the top and work their way down, so neither one of the FM stations can power back on yet because they are just getting to the top of the tower. It was weird, because they had “new” brackets they could use for the new lights, so I told them to just remove the mid beacons with the light (all as one piece), the crew chief said that it wouldn’t make sense, he want to leave the bare mounts on the tower?? Once I told him they would have to be taken down, he said that they would reuse them and move them up the 12’??? I am not sure if something was lost in translation, but I wasn’t going to get in his way, just didn’t make much sense. We all do things differently, some people do it the proper way, other people just do it the hard way.

 

[86turbodsl]

Ya aren't paying the crew by the hour are ya?

 

[Strouty]

It’s funny, they just told me that they need until 8:30 to get out of the way enough to turn the FM stations back on. Yesterday they were going to start at 7, then it was 8, then it was 8:30. I had the first FM down at 8 based on a 7 AM start. The crew chief is trying to tell me that moving the mounts for the two mid beacon lights was really difficult and that is why things are taking so long. The lights were on the ground at like 2:00, the mounts are literally two u-bolts. It was harder to remove the lights from the bracket for sure.

 

[Strouty]

We are doing this as a lease agreement for five years, everything is included in the monthly price, repairs, inspection, monitoring. The lights would have a 5 year warranty anyways, but troubleshooting any issues or replacing warranty parts would have otherwise been on us. This covers lightning, ice damage, etc, etc. We pay $1 to buy it after that, then we can use them or not moving forward. It ended up being about half a percentage higher than had we borrowed the money for a five year term. I also got a discount of 10% for doing all three towers, so that helped sell it even more.