What are you doing today? [Part II]

[northcreek]

Watched the eclipse and even though mostly cloudy (WNY..!) we got a good view,
Nice to sit on the deck for the 1st time this year and down a few ales ….👍

 

[Mooseman]

Left work early so I could pick up Mrs. Moose and head south so we would be in the path of totality. Tons of traffic heading down there and even more heading back home! We did get to a spot however it got cloudy but not heavy enough to completely obscure the eclipse. After making it back to town, went to our favourite B&G for some discounted appies and beer.



Was really weird as it got dark, the frogs started croaking and all around was dark and looked like a sunrise or sunset. Waiting for it was like watching paint dry though.

 

[Matt]

We all stood in the car park like dorks to see it at work.

 

[Blckshdw]

No eclipse for me. Took the week off to celebrate being old, so I spent most of the day at the beach yesterday. Today will run a few errands, and then check out a restaurant in the area I've been meaning to try. Tomorrow will be another beach day, and lunch with a friend. Gotta enjoy the weather while it's perfect to be outside, cuz in a couple of months... 🥵

 

[azswiss]

Repaired the shifter mechanism on our 2006 Volvo XC70. A couple of Swedish engineers got a little too clever when they added a manual up/down shift mode to the standard auto shifter. When the shifter is placed into "D" the driver has the option to shift manually ("Geartronic" mode) by pulling the shifter towards the driver's side and then pushing forward to up-shift or backwards to down-shift. There is a so-called "claw" mechanism that clamps around the shifter shaft that is used to hold it either in Auto mode or Manual mode. The claw is comprised of two plastic halves that are spring loaded to maintain a grip on the shifter. It is a common failure for the lower half-claw to break and to then subsequently get wedged into the shift mechanism thereby stranding you in either Park or Drive. In my case it was Drive. Fortunately, I was in my driveway so no major crisis there. Getting access to the claw mechanism is a royal PITA entailing removing plastic panels (all plastic snaps, no fasteners !@#$), removing the entire center console, and then partially disassembling the shifter assembly. Replacement of the claw is straightforward once you finally reach it! BTW, typical dealership charge is $600-$800!! (Edit: the OE part costs less than $20.)

 

[Blckshdw]

Another ho-hum day in the office. Put out a few fires, helped people crunch some numbers for their boss' reports, and a bunch of the usual day to day activities.

Needed to call the solar company, as one of my panels is not making any power. Looking back through my history, it started having issues last summer, under-reporting here and there. Then finally in December it stopped making power altogether.




I had emailed them last month, but there were some issues. The company I originally bought them from, SunPro Solar, got bought out by ADT Solar. On the ADT website they said they are no longer doing any new installations, just servicing existing customers. It took almost 2 weeks for them to reply to me that a case was being opened. And then nothing happened for another week after that. A service manager called my work number while I was on staycation last Thursday, so I never got the voicemail that they were sending a tech out on Friday, until this week, Tuesday.

I was actually home when the tech showed up Friday morning, but I decided to take advantage of the cool morning temps to check the fence at the back of the property and drive screws into any of the loose boards. The tech called the number on file, but that rings to my work office, not my cell, so he ended up leaving.

Got ahold of someone, and had them update the contact number. He had all the case info in front of him, he said he'd contact the service dept and a manager, so they can reschedule another tech to come out. My panels produce more juice than I need, so it's not adversely effecting anything, but that's juice I'm not selling back to the utility company for my annual credit which was much lower this month, than it had been in previous years. Lesson learned, I need to monitor my system more frequently to catch stuff like this as soon as it happens, and not 8 months later.

 

[BrianF]

Got my Trailblazer plated and back in action. I sure missed driving it. We had been throwing miles on the rez van, which works but it sure doesn't drive as nice. Still need to sort out the ac and abs issues but I'll just pay a shop as I am always short on time for lengthy projects.

The other morning, Im about to hop in the Tb for work. I notice a coyote milling around the foals. Thinking I wont have time to grab a rifle, I half ass scare it off. Piss on it, I still grab the rifle. My 15 year old comes out and spots a second one. The first disappears into the tree line but the second stops to give me one last fck you! 100m standing supported and the .308 made quick work.

Last night I grilled up some ribeyes. Started on the Traeger, then seared on the gas grill and finished on the flame. Cant complain.

Caveat: these are clearly staged after the fact. Although one could ask questions on how I sequentially loaded the pictures....

 

[Blckshdw]

Yesterday, took advantage of a cold front pushing through to get a lil yard work done. A bunch of leaves had accumulated along parts of my fence under the larger trees, and cats and possums would make too much noise walking/rummaging through them, since it's still nice enough to have the windows open at night.

Managed to fill 2 of my 72 gallon yard bags. Pulled out the leaf shredder and it continues to amaze me how much volume reduction you get when the leaves get chewed up and all the air is removed. Probably gets down to 1/3 of the original volume. Wheeled that bag around to the front where I replaced some of the weed barrier around some smaller trees and dumped the shredded leaves as free mulch.

After getting cleaned up, needed to address my phone case which was coming apart where the rubber surround was glued to the plastic backing. Have had it for 2 years, and it was rock solid until a couple months ago when the finish started peeling off.



I considered buying a new case, but the official Samsung case for the Fold 4 had mixed reviews, many of them saying the case didn't hold in place. I used to always get Otterbox cases, and their version also had a number of bad reviews. So I opted to let the mod bug have at it. Pulled out the Gorilla glue, and a tooth pick, applied a bead of glue along the edge and left the case face down overnight.

Worked quite well for the most part, but would have been better if I had kept an eye on it and cleaned up the glue that expanded to the inside of the case. Sorry no pics. Ended up taking my smallest Dremel router bit and using that to clean out the inside of the case as well as some of the glue that oozed to the outside. The finish already looks crappy so some minor scratches won't be any worse.

Case feels solid again, and the rubber edge no longer pulls off when I unfold the phone, resulting in half the case falling off every time.

 

[mrrsm]

I was just *Thinking* about what a "Palindrome" is... My Name "BOB" is an Example...

palindrome at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

But I mention this because Today's Date is ALSO One of THOSE...

4-24-24

:>)

 

[northcreek]

Have you ever heard of a double Palindrome ?
Like the word boob, where the actual item is also the same when viewed L-R or R-L ....

 

[northcreek]

Working on my gas powered yard golf cart. Removed the troublesome cable shift linkage and fabricated a rod type shifter which is much more positive now....

 

[mrrsm]

@northcreek Re: Post #2,063 In my considerable experience over the years (up close...and personal) the (L) Ones are usually a Just A Little Bigger due to the position of the Heart and Blood Supply.

Nonetheless... The WORST Ones I've ever seen... Were WONDERFUL... Oh...and My wife uses your 'Double Palindrome' expression in the pejorative sense directed my way ...from time to time..

 

[Mooseman]

Took the Caprice to work today. One of the guys also has an old CVPI. It's literally all painted with bedliner

 

[azswiss]

Noticed a moisture stain at the base of the exterior wall by the kitchen. Upon closer inspection I could see that it was slowly seeping. Went back inside and I could hear the faint, but clear, sound of a leak inside the wall. Rather than tear into the cabinetry I decided to go through the exterior wall. Good thing too, because the leak was located in between two studs and would not have been accessible from the inside. Caught it early as there is no rust on the nails or braces.



Expected to find a leaky solder joint but to my surprise it was actually a pinhole in the 45deg elbow. As Eric O. would say, here's the money shot . . .

 

[CaptainKD]

Attempted to fix my parking brake. Yes......parking brake. '07 SLE with 180k. It has finally given up the ghost and no longer works. Failed NC Inspection and can't register the old beater with the state before deadline tomorrow. Just gonna have to ride dirty Adjusted the bananas out of the back shoes with no gold, both sides. Twice. My hunch is the cable has rusted to hell, given the truck lived the first 11 years on the salty roads of Chi-town. Finger-fiddled the lever up front based on the ancient artifacts of an article by The Roadie many moons ago, but my luck had expired and did not find gold either. I was hungry, it was getting dark and the gnats were winning the war of dive bombing my head. Packed up my wrenches, including the ones that landed across the yard after yelling F@#k several times!

Any which way.....Glad to see some OG's still hanging around and new G's keeping it real. Life and work got me tied up like a dog and I don't got time to hand around and whore it up.