What are you doing today? [Part II]

[xavierny25]

Got the deck boards last night and finshed the rest off today.

@xavierny25 care to road trip to Ohio week after next to help me build a BBQ shelter? I have a spare bed, beer and can cook!

Thanks for the invite but my hands are tied up at the moment with a mile long honey-do-list.

Who's doing the dishes?

You are if you're willing to help.

Speaking of grill pulled out the pressure washer and cleaning supplies and a bit of elbow grease to prep mine for grilling season.
These Weber grills sure do stand the test of time, use and abuse they also clean up really well.

 

[northcreek]

These Weber grills sure do stand the test of time, use and abuse they also clean up really well.

Yeah, I like that the parts are always available for a rebuild....kinda like a 360...

 

[Mooseman]

Arrived home tonight. Spent last evening and this morning with my aunt in Montreal. Been pretty isolated because of the pandemic and was good to catch up and spend some time together. Now I'm just beat. It's always good getting back in your own bed

 

[Matt]

Who's doing the dishes?

Me, as usual.

 

[Mooseman]

Unloaded that pressure washer from the Sierra with the help of my son. It had old gas in it. Drained it out and I also added a fuel shut off valve. Oil still looked like new as well as the air filter. Drained the fuel bowl and it was relatively clean. Fresh fuel and it fired right up, just like a Honda should. The water pump took a while to go to full pressure but it eventually did. I also put some cotter pins for the wheels because I had to remove them to fit it under my tonneau cover but it originally had metal caps. Drilled a hole in each axle and done. Easier than those stupid caps.

Started up the old lawn tractor after boosting it due to a dead battery and brought it to the garage so I can put a charger on it. Will be selling it since my wife went and bought a new John Deere.

 

[Blckshdw]

Original plan was to be a lazy bum today, but that got tossed out the window. Pharmacy texted me yesterday that my script was auto filled and ready for pickup. It was raining for a good part of the evening, so didn't go out. Did notice the gutter on the screened in patio was overflowing for almost the entire length of the metal roof. Hmm, must be clogged with leaf litter.

So this morning grabbed some gloves and a bucket, got up on a step stool and cleared almost 5 gallons worth of twigs and junk out of there. Oddly enough it wasn't in either of the 2 downspouts, which usually clog on me. Rolled to the pharmacy, then to the grocery store since I was already out. After getting back, decided to try and clean the 2nd row carpet in the EXT, details in the other thread.

Tomorrow, will be going to a cookout at a friend's place, it's been requested that I make a key lime pie, so I'll be doing that later on. Maybe clean the house a lil bit, but other than that, couch potato time and maybe a drink or 2!

 

[TollKeeper]

Just about to leave work... And head to the emissions!

 

[flyboy2610]

Just about to leave work... And head to the emissions!

Hope it passes!

As for me, just relaxing at home after a tough week at work. Thought about heading to the grocery store, but it's chilly, wet, and very windy outside! Tomorrow afternoon it's supposed to be dry, calm, and in the mid 60's. Sounds like a better day for shopping!

 

[Matt]

Going to pressure wash the patio today in preparation for building a BBQ shelter tomorrow.

 

[Mooseman]

Yesterday, took the Caprice out of storage. It had two flat tires and the 12 yo original battery, surprisingly, was still able to crank it. Still purrs like an angry kitten. However, driving it, the tranny is still having issues and has gotten worse. I get the occasional shift flare and it has a weird issue where it will either have no forward gear, as if in neutral, or will bump shift coming at a stop, as if I'm getting rear ended, sometimes twice. This seems to happen after driving at highway speed for a while. And the TCC can't seem to stay engaged. I had the tuner soften the shifts a bit because it gave me whiplash at every shift.

I have copies of the tunes before he softened the shifts and after as well as the stock tune and he basically just put the stock tranny tune back except for a couple of the shifts (4>5, 5>6). I'll put all the shifts back to stock and see if that helps. I have a feeling that the pump or pressure regulator is having issues. I've already watched a bunch of 6L80 teardowns that my eyes are bleeding tranny fluid and I know where the weak points are. Hope I don't have to drop it

 

[Mooseman]

Today, took a load of old tech, metal, batteries, etc to a collection that the Scouts are doing to make some money for a trip to Finland this summer. It's incredible the amount of crap that accumulated.

Then worked on the Caprice a bit. Changed the tranny tune and it helped a bit. Doesn't flare as much but still did the neutral and shift bump thing. Still have two more things I wanna try before I decide to drop the tranny. Return the engine and tranny to the stock tune and put the full performance tune back and do an adapts relearn, which the HPTuners one is different than the one in the Tech 2. So far though it ain't looking good.

And I also wanted to investigate a front wheel shimmy. Jack up the right side and notice a slight wobble. Take the wheel and spacer off (that I added for the wheels to clear the Brembo brakes), cleaned the rotor and wheel mounting surfaces and remounted and that seemed to take care of the wobble on that side. Check the left side and I see that it has a dent. There was also a chip in the powder coat at the spot. It's not a big dent and the tire is minimally affected but there's still a slight shake. So now I search for another set of wheels and tires because it also needs those. May have found a set with good tires for a reasonable price, and a size bump from 19 to 20", but not fond of the chrome.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[Mooseman]

Lots of stuff today. Finally got our taxes done, owe more to Justin (Trudeau, not Bieber ). Put up the old lawn tractor for sale. Works fine, just surplus after the wife decided to buy a new JD. Then took a 45 minute drive to pick up those wheels. All of them were cracked and welded mutliple times but the tires were mint. Dealed him down to $400. Even if I chuck the wheels and get another set, I'm saving on the tires. Then after fielding a bunch of messages regarding the tractor, sold it at my asking price to someone local. That's going into my wheel buying fund

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention, everybody in the house except me has the Rona. I'll probably get it too but trying not to.

 

[mrrsm]

@Mooseman ...

FWIW... Check out this GM TSB about "Caprice 2-3 Shift Flare"... Pay particular attention to the information concerning the TIS2WEB Updated Calibration for this issue for the 6L80E Transmissions ...High-Lighted in Blue

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10119022-9999.pdf

 

[Matt]

Almost finished my project. Just have to run electric for lights and an Alexa and speaker.

 

[Mooseman]

@Mooseman ...

FWIW... Check out this GM TSB about "Caprice 2-3 Shift Flare"... Pay particular attention to the information concerning the TIS2WEB Updated Calibration for this issue for the 6L80E Transmissions ...High-Lighted in Blue

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10119022-9999.pdf

Thanks for that however I didn't have this problem at all before I got it tuned. I may try it JFTHOI. I fear that the very harsh shifts from the tune self destructed it internally.

I'm feeling a bit off this morning, runny nose and tickle in my throat but still negative. My eldest son, who only spent the weekend here, also tested positive this morning but is just feeling a little off. I probably have it, just the rapid test isn't detecting it yet. So far nobody is having serious symptoms. Thanks Omicron.

 

[mrrsm]

@Matt .... Having seen many of your On Yard and "Green Thumb" Property Projects... it must be said that you have a Serious, Genuine Talent with all of them. Superb, Creative Work!

 

[Matt]

@Matt .... Having seen many of your On Yard and "Green Thumb" Property Projects... it must be said that you have a Serious, Genuine Talent with all of them. Superb, Creative Work!

Thank you mate. I like thinking of and building stuff.

 

[northcreek]

Hosing down the garage where my dog sleeps and apparently had a shit fit last night, poor guy is down in the dumps today.
Might be intestinal parasites so got a script from the Vet. If no improvement by tomorrow he'll have to go in and the Vet will have another boat payment....

 

[Mooseman]

So far my symptoms have been mild. Runny nose, light cough, a slight headache. Went and picked up a set of 20" Camaro wheels (outside and wearing a mask of course). Not perfect but not cracked like that other set (pictured). I dealed him down from $400 to $300CAD + $30USD. I might try my hand at fixing them myself à la Chrisfix. Don't know if I'll go the powercoat route again.





No way I could trust those wheels. 3 of the 4 were like this one. One had a bend.

Then went to Wally World to pick up a grocery order curbside since it's not a good idea for me to roam around the store. Arrived at 6 as scheduled and it took 45 minutes to get my order. Nobody was answering the phone, talked to a guy that came out 15 minutes later for someone else and asked about it and said he would send it out. 30 minutes later, still nothing and another got his order before me. Called again and got someone. Finally got it.

Was exhausted when I got home.

 

[Blckshdw]

How do you even do that to a rim? Let alone 3 of the 4?

 

[northcreek]

How do you even do that to a rim? Let alone 3 of the 4?

You might not know(living in Florida) but, we have Tim Hortons coffee/doughnut shops up north that have drive thru lead-ins that must be designed by cross eyed engineers. They are the worst, the curbs are black from tire scuffs, my wife's Nox cannot match the radius in one swipe.
I would bet that the previous rim owner had a bad caffeine habit....

 

[Blckshdw]

You might not know(living in Florida) but, we have Tim Hortons coffee/doughnut shops up north that have drive thru lead-ins that must be designed by cross eyed engineers. They are the worst, the curbs are black from tire scuffs, my wife's Nox cannot match the radius in one swipe.
I would bet that the previous rim owner had a bad caffeine habit....

Curb rash on the outside I get, but that causes cracks on the inside of the rim too? I never knew that

 

[northcreek]

Curb rash on the outside I get, but that causes cracks on the inside of the rim too? I never knew that

That was my tongue in cheek reply, no doubt the damage was the result of potholes which plague the snow belt areas in spring and have a sweet tooth for aluminum wheels.

 

[Blckshdw]

That was my tongue in cheek reply, no doubt the damage was the result of potholes which plague the snow belt areas in spring and have a sweet tooth for aluminum wheels.

I've been out of the midwest for so long, I forgot how bad some potholes can be. The ones I see down here tend to be pretty small & shallow, so wheel damage isn't much of a concern.

Hoping for a calm and quiet day on this end. Yesterday the powers that be at work decided to start having our monthly all staff meetings in person, instead of on Zoom. They kept it to 90 minutes, instead of near 3 hours like they used to, which was good. Those flat backed stacking chairs are murder on my back.

I think my long running home insurance nightmare from last summer may finally be resolved. Managed to get a good rate on the house insurance in February, then it was time to handle the flood coverage which was to renew this month. Tried to roll my flood coverage to the same company that I moved the regular policy to, but they aren't providing flood coverage here, why, they wouldn't say. The broker I had been dealing with before gave me a quote a few months ago, and it was almost 3x higher than before due to FEMA rezoning me. The renewal docs they sent didn't have the new zone listed (or any for that matter) and the numbers were the same as the old coverage which didn't sound right. Checked with my agent, who was able to confirm they are giving me the same premium and coverage as before, at the same rate, but with the new zone. No idea how that worked out, but was the best news in a while. More importantly, the bank accepted it and confirmed, so I won't have an anxiety attack every time an envelope shows up from the bank, thinking they're complaining like they did every month last fall.

Got a bunch of project updates sent out to a few managers, so hopefully I can goof off for a lil while. After seeing the work @xavierny25 and @Matt have been up to, I started looking for another big project around the house, cuz I don't have enough already. There's a short deck that comes off my shed extension where 1 post has been sinking bit by bit each year due to being on the edge of that lake. Didn't used to be a big deal, since I only kept scrap wood and old ladders on it, but the slant is getting a bit iffy. So the plan (at some point) is to jack that corner up, get some sort of temporary support and hope the otters that hang out under there sometime don't mind my presence, fill the hole with sand and figure out what sized paver needs to get put in place for that post to sit on. Should be pretty simple, or so I think, but my projects never follow the path of least resistance.

 

[Mooseman]

How do you even do that to a rim? Let alone 3 of the 4?

Checked online and apparently it's a problem with Boss wheels. Would have been worse on my car since it's maybe 1000lbs heavier than a CTS.

 

[xavierny25]

Just some thing I came across that might help out @Blckshdw
Looks like they screwed a 2×4 onto the side of the post and used a paver so that the jack doesn't sink into the ground.

 

[Blckshdw]

Just some thing I came across that might help out @Blckshdw
Looks like they screwed a 2×4 onto the side of the post and used a paver so that the jack doesn't sink into the ground.

Yeah that's pretty much the same idea I was gonna go with. I have the air jack, and it has a wide flat base, and IIRC there's a big flat-ish rock, or it might be concrete as the outlet from the pump station is right in that area, that would be convenient to lift from. I might snap a pic or 2 when I get home, to get opinions from the peanut gallery.

 

[BrianF]

As usual, been busy at work and busy at the farm. Of course my wife just came down with covid and is about as sick as she has ever been. So some projects will have to wait now.

On a cool note, a new toy was delivered today. Talet Postmaster. Skid steer mounted post pounder. Hydraulic tilt and grapple option. This will be the cats ass when building paddocks in tight spaces. With the grapple option, pounding posts can be a one man job. On an even better note, its built right next door in Alberta. Got to support local.

But fencing can wait, got to have some personal time. So a chicken is going on the Traeger and the 17HMR is coming out for some gophers.

 

[Mooseman]

Of course my wife just came down with covid and is about as sick as she has ever been.

And nobody else in the house got it? That would be a small miracle. It was brought home by the DIL and spread like wildfire. Still feeling like utter shit but no serious symptoms.

 

[northcreek]

Just some thing I came across that might help out @Blckshdw

Funny that you should mention it but, an old jack that I had lying around and some caster wheels made the old double recliner in the garage real easy to relocate as needed.

 

[BrianF]

Whats funny, not funny is that we got our boosters in January and sometime in February, the girls and I got it. Mild symptoms but my wife, who was sick first never tested positive. Now this go around, the girls and I are fine but she is in very rough shape.

She is about as sick as she was early 2020 when we suspect we all came down with it. She can barely walk, out of breath just trying to sit on her recliner and very ill.

 

[NJTB]

Whats funny, not funny is that we got our boosters in January and sometime in February, the girls and I got it. Mild symptoms but my wife, who was sick first never tested positive. Now this go around, the girls and I are fine but she is in very rough shape.

She is about as sick as she was early 2020 when we suspect we all came down with it. She can barely walk, out of breath just trying to sit on her recliner and very ill.

Wishing she gets better fast. Good luck.

 

[TollKeeper]

Currently, laughing my ass off, and had to share...

 

[Matt]

Just tested positive myself. Getting another test to be 100% sure. Feels like a flu.

 

[Mooseman]

I'm just starting to feel better today. Was like a bad man-cold. Runny nose, slight cough, phlegm, low grade fever for a day, felt like a dying sloth. Was almost the same for everybody except our son (1 dose) who got over it quickly and the DIL (unvaxed) which is lingering longer. The wife and I, both 2 doses and boosted, lasted a week with the same symptoms. So far, nobody's lost the sense of smell.

Today, since I'm feeling better, the wife will crack the whip and get me to open my favourite thing... the pool

 

[mrrsm]

This idea won't hold much appeal for the "Young & Restless" among us who lead very busy lives and need no additional incentives to 'Keep Their Minds... SHARP'. However, for those of us living in the Autumn of Life... sometimes getting too sedentary poses a slippery slope of losing mental acuity if not regularly stimulated to remain 'Nimble of Thought'.

I was observing that my wife of nearly 50 years now (Retired since 2016) was falling into a dull routine or easy pattern of sameness enough to give me pause. In response, I remembered that just as the Muscles and Joints require regular, vigorous exercise to remain strong and flexible, so too does the Human Brain and the Mind inside of it as well.

It occurred to me to suggest to her that using Word Puzzles at some time during each day might stimulate and surprise her thinking apparatus just a little... but in a pleasant sort of way. At first, she seemed insulted at this idea... but nonetheless, I laid out a few of the depicted "Adult Word Puzzle" Booklets for her to look over ...and I left it at that:



It wasn't long afterward that she asked me to locate some more of them as she was churning and burning through them like Water through a Sieve. "No Problem, Baby Doll..." I said with a smile... and since these are readily available and number quite a few in their variety from many online sources, I ordered a stack of them for her.

I suspect that these might also interest The Kids too... Say... on Snow Days or when occasional afternoon boredom sets in, from time to time. Besides that, it certainly does no harm to work on One's vocabulary, especially when One's ordinary problem solving acumen will improve ...almost by accident.

There is also that kind of cool, satisfying sensation that comes whenever one solves Puzzles, Riddles or Problems, so all of this is a completely harmless 'Mental Exercise' that may prove helpful over time. :>)

 

[xavierny25]

Today, since I'm feeling better, the wife will crack the whip and get me to open my favourite thing... the pool

Well looks like I'm doing much of the same. Pulled the cover off last weekend and now allowing mother nature to fill it up since its been raining off and on during the week and most of the weekend.
Guess the gallon and 1/2 I used of winterizer pool mix worked cause the water is super clear. Still going to shock, scrub and vacuum as usual.

 

[flyboy2610]

My wife likes doing those word puzzles, too!
I went shopping today, at both Home Depot and Menard's. It would be great if one store had everything I wanted, but nooooooooooooooooo!
From Home Depot:
3 1lb. boxes of 3" Deckmate III coated deck/construction screws.
1 box of Simpson SD9112 1-1/2" connector screws.
16 SPAX 1/4 x 3 lag screws.

From Menard's:
2 9-packs of hot dipped galvanized 3/8 x 4 lag bolts.
6 Mitek coated 2 x 6 joist hangers.
6 Mitek coated 2 x 4 joist hangers.
2 AC2 pressure treated 6' 4 x 4's.
9 AC2 pressure treated 6' 2 x 6's.
2 AC2 pressure treated 6' 2 x 4's.
3 AC2 pressure treated 4' 2 x 4's.
5 AC2 pressure treated 6' 1 x 6's.
Total cost before tax was $266.53, but I had a HD gift card my daughter gave me at Christmas, plus I had a Menard's in store credit for $43, so that helped some.
I bought all this because I plan to build a 6' x 2' heavy duty outdoor workbench. All I have outside right now is a cheap plastic table from an outdoor dining set. Not real reassuring when you have something heavy and need a place to set it!
When I got home I took my sliding miter saw outside and cut the 4 x 4's in half to make 4 36" posts. These will be the corners. I also cut some of the 2 x 6's and the 4' 2 x 4's into 21" lengths. The 2 x 6's will be the ends and cross pieces for the top, and the 2 x 4's are for the lower shelf. 21" plus the 3" total width of the 2x side pieces will give 24" total width. The remaining 2 x 6's will make the top, and the 1 x 6's will be for the shelf.
The top will have a 3" overhang on each end to allow me to clamp something to the bench if needed, and the front will have a 3.5" overhang for the same reason.
I'm not real worried about anyone stealing this bench, because they'll need a forklift to load it onto a trailer! She'll have some heft to her!

 

[Mooseman]

Well looks like I'm doing much of the same.

At least yours is blue. Mine looks like a swamp.



Today, picking up a ton of chlorine and shock to try and clear that up. Then planning and starting prep to add some louvered privacy railings to the back deck, something like this:

 

[Matt]

Confirmed both my son and I are positive. Mum sent me a message that she also tested positive back home.