What are you doing today? [Part II]

[BrianF]

Borrowed a friends baby Kubota so we can test out a tiller and box blade. If we like those implements, we will snag some skid steer compatible ones.

We have to butcher the footing in the arena to do some leveling. Tiller worked great but the tractor is just to light to get the most out of the box blade. This thing is tiny!

Then the Swisher bush mower rolled in with a smoked belt. Thankfully it didn't break so I took a measurement but found the tensioner pulley seized something fierce.

 

[azswiss]

"Seized" appears to be the least of its problems.

 

[Mooseman]

On a camping trip on the shores of the St-Lawrence river. Nice park and not busy. It's our first trip since our dog died and the Mrs is having a hard time. Also feels weird to me not having her with us in the RV.

 

[Zaab]

On a camping trip on the shores of the St-Lawrence river. Nice park and not busy. It's our first trip since our dog died and the Mrs is having a hard time. Also feels weird to me not having her with us in the RV.

Awww. Hope you two can both relax and enjoy the trip!

 

[Mooseman]

It's been good so far. We just moved to a campground on the south side of Montreal. Heat and humidity just got turned up all of a sudden. AC is keeping up but the park's power isn't up to snuff, dropping below 108v so I had to hook up my Hughes Autoformer which boosts voltage at a higher amp draw. Saves the equipment when needed.

 

[BrianF]

Fixed up the mower, tossed in a new bearing and riveted the pulley back together. Of course, me being a bit simple in the head, I went to test it and no dice, the belt had slipped off the engine pulley..... and it sliced the belt a bit. Meh, i got it together and now works fine. I'll run the belt until it snaps.

Finally the garden is producing a bit. I gave the beets away, I hate them but figured I'd see how they grew.

 

[Zaab]

Fixed up the mower, tossed in a new bearing and riveted the pulley back together. Of course, me being a bit simple in the head, I went to test it and no dice, the belt had slipped off the engine pulley..... and it sliced the belt a bit. Meh, i got it together and now works fine. I'll run the belt until it snaps.

Finally the garden is producing a bit. I gave the beets away, I hate them but figured I'd see how they grew.

Love the big beets and carrot!

 

[BrianF]

Thanks! Yeah I love garden carrots! Nothing comes close. Im sure the beets are good too...... as a kid I was forced to eat a lot of borscht due to the Ukranian side of things. I hated it then and hate it now.

 

[flyboy2610]

Once the rain moves out, I'll be doing some storm damage mitigation. I woke up about 7:15 this morning, looked out the kitchen window, and saw this:


I'm guessing it came from here:


To put it in perspective, I'm standing under the eave of my next door neighbor's house.


It could have been worse. We could have easily lost power.


There is no broken glass, thankfully. At first I though it had just scratched up the fender, which is no big deal since I have a replacement fender in the basement. The one on there now has some rust cancer going in the lower right corner, so it's going to get replaced anyway. Nope. it's not just the fender!


This would be the point of initial impact. The roofline behind the door is bent somewhat as well. The paint is cracked, so at a minimum that needs to be addressed soon. I'm not sure what to do. If I file an insurance claim, they'll probably total the TB due to its age (24 years). The door opens and closes without issue. I can get another door from U-Pull-It, but the roof is structural steel, and I don't have the tools, know how, or experience to pull that dent out. I may take it to a body shop and see what they'd charge just to pull the dent and get it fairly straight. Most of them around here only want to do insurance work, though.
While I was taking these pics, me neighbor came home and told me there are trees and limbs down all over everywhere.
I took a few pics from my front yard. This towards the west:


Towards the east:


Looks like another branch is about to come down (lower left):


Gonna be a fun day! So much for a relaxing weekend.

 

[TollKeeper]

I would not fix any of it. If the roof bowed in a bit, its now matching the bow on the door edge. You could end up with a leaky spot. As you said, it is 25 years old, let the insurance total it, buy it back, and run it!

 

[xavierny25]

Just popped a few holes in a perfectly good hood.
Of course the kit we got didn't come with a template so I had to run to staples and make my own. My thoughts it turned out amazing! And yes guys this is a show car so it's always garage kept and never see's rain. Of course now he has to be alot more careful when washing.

Sorry for the neck breaking photos but I think the new update to the site has something to do with that.

 

[Mooseman]

Now we need to see the whole car

 

[xavierny25]

@Mooseman You asked older photos before the hood scoops.

 

[Blckshdw]

Not nearly as fun as modding a vehicle... It's been on my radar to do something about the heat in my garage for most of the year, as my door faces the west. Last week, for kicks I took the temp of the inside surface of the door when I got home from work and it read 117* F.

So finally got on the insulation bandwagon this weekend. Bought 3 rolls of the bubble wrap style to start with. Likely to add the foam boards afterwards.



Managed to get pieces measured, cut and installed without any difficulty, but even when starting at 10am when the sun was still behind the house, and having a high velocity fan going, I was still sweating pretty good.



After going through the first roll, it was almost noon, so I decided to take a comparison reading, just because. Didn't think there would be this much of a difference when there was still shade on the door, but it's a promising start.



Got to the last roll, for the few remaining sections, and was going to leave one panel open for another test later in the evening, but it's been cloudy most of the afternoon, so no joy there. As of this post, most everything around the garage door is reading 88 or 89 degrees.



Not pictured, changed the oil in the generator, since I plan to do the EXT before next weekend. Since I hadn't eaten pretty much all day, made a burger and fries for a late lunch. Shouldn't need to eat until tomorrow after all that. Now just relaxing and counting down to another work week...

 

[Mooseman]

You may have noticed that I wasn't as active on the forum for the past week or so. Been busy!

I was asked by my nephew to roast a 150lbs pig for his wedding that was being done at the family's 50 acre wooded lot. All summer they've been prepping for this and built their own tables, benches and wedding venue. I had zero experience roasting a pig. I told my nephew that I was giving no guarantees and that he should have a backup plan in case it goes south. I watched a bunch of YT videos and chatted with ChatGPT to try and gain some knowledge on the process. For that size of a pig, it would be a 12-16 hour cook so would have to start the evening prior.

He rented the pit, which was a homemade thing that was poorly designed. The spit was down too close to the fire, it had 3 holding prongs, which was different than all the videos that had two prongs to be able to properly insert into the butts and shoulders, it was an enclosed type and didn't include any back braces.

I enlisted the assistance of a friend to help me with this thing, who also didn't have any experience. So around 7pm, started prepping the pig. Olive oil, salt, pepper and some Chinese Char Siu BBQ sauce seasoned the inside. Filled the cavity with onions, green onions, garlic, more oil, salt and pepper. Closed it up with SS wire and got the fire going. Put the rod through but because of the three prongs, I couldn't put it through the mouth so we just put it through the hole in the neck and tried to insert the prongs into some meat. Oiled the skin with some more salt and pepper. Get the fire going with three bags for briquettes. The pig went onto the fire around 9pm.

It was flopping around way too much and the back would be falling apart if we left it that way. We took it back off and we put a piece of all thread rod on the back and used chicken wire to hold it all together. Back on the fire, it turned much better, for a while...




The fire was way too hot as the skin was already burning. Took out a lot of the coals to bring the temp down. Once we got that under control, we settled in for the night, checking the fire and the pig once in a while, as well as spraying it down with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water.

At some point in the middle of the night, the pig lost its legs. They just fell off and were dangling from the wire. And the head was flopping around something fierce and would have fallen off. It was burnt black. My two Meater probes were telling me that the front shoulders were much more done that the butts and the fire was too hot at the front. The rear was way behind. We made the executive decision to stop the spit and just put a pile of coals near the butt. We were just going to use the spit as an oven because the prongs were just destroying the meat and flopping too much. We were able to control the temps and get the butt done. And we were bringing it to over 200f to be able to pull it all.

At the end, it was ugly. Lots of burnt skin, the head was an unholy black. The wedding ceremony started at 3pm and we took the pig out at the same time as we didn't want anybody seeing this thing. Started stripping it, the head basically just fell off and we unceremoniously dumped it in the bucket. The skin was as hard as hard candy for the most part. However, the meat inside was excellent! The shoulders were a bit dry but the butts and ribs were beautiful. It all pulled nicely. The veggies also came out great and turned into an excellent topping for the sandwiches. Unfortunately I didn't get any after pics but I certainly did not want any of the whole pig as it was ugly.

Oh, and I didn't sleep at all! My buddy had a 1.5 hour snooze sometime in the early morning hours but I didn't all. I had been awake since about 7am Fri. By 5pm Sat, I was totally wasted. Went to the trailer where I slept for about 14 hours.

After that, me and Mrs Moose went to a campground on the St-Lawrence for a few days of R&R. It was alright except that the park was mostly empty and the weather was mostly grey and cool with a fire ban so we couldn't have a campfire. Just got back yesterday.

Tomorrow morning, heading to the cottage for the long weekend, back on Monday and work on Tue.

 

[Zaab]

You may have noticed that I wasn't as active on the forum for the past week or so. Been busy!

I was asked by my nephew to roast a 150lbs pig for his wedding that was being done at the family's 50 acre wooded lot. All summer they've been prepping for this and built their own tables, benches and wedding venue. I had zero experience roasting a pig. I told my nephew that I was giving no guarantees and that he should have a backup plan in case it goes south. I watched a bunch of YT videos and chatted with ChatGPT to try and gain some knowledge on the process. For that size of a pig, it would be a 12-16 hour cook so would have to start the evening prior.

He rented the pit, which was a homemade thing that was poorly designed. The spit was down too close to the fire, it had 3 holding prongs, which was different than all the videos that had two prongs to be able to properly insert into the butts and shoulders, it was an enclosed type and didn't include any back braces.

I enlisted the assistance of a friend to help me with this thing, who also didn't have any experience. So around 7pm, started prepping the pig. Olive oil, salt, pepper and some Chinese Char Siu BBQ sauce seasoned the inside. Filled the cavity with onions, green onions, garlic, more oil, salt and pepper. Closed it up with SS wire and got the fire going. Put the rod through but because of the three prongs, I couldn't put it through the mouth so we just put it through the hole in the neck and tried to insert the prongs into some meat. Oiled the skin with some more salt and pepper. Get the fire going with three bags for briquettes. The pig went onto the fire around 9pm.

It was flopping around way too much and the back would be falling apart if we left it that way. We took it back off and we put a piece of all thread rod on the back and used chicken wire to hold it all together. Back on the fire, it turned much better, for a while...

View attachment 117747
View attachment 117746

The fire was way too hot as the skin was already burning. Took out a lot of the coals to bring the temp down. Once we got that under control, we settled in for the night, checking the fire and the pig once in a while, as well as spraying it down with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water.

At some point in the middle of the night, the pig lost its legs. They just fell off and were dangling from the wire. And the head was flopping around something fierce and would have fallen off. It was burnt black. My two Meater probes were telling me that the front shoulders were much more done that the butts and the fire was too hot at the front. The rear was way behind. We made the executive decision to stop the spit and just put a pile of coals near the butt. We were just going to use the spit as an oven because the prongs were just destroying the meat and flopping too much. We were able to control the temps and get the butt done. And we were bringing it to over 200f to be able to pull it all.

At the end, it was ugly. Lots of burnt skin, the head was an unholy black. The wedding ceremony started at 3pm and we took the pig out at the same time as we didn't want anybody seeing this thing. Started stripping it, the head basically just fell off and we unceremoniously dumped it in the bucket. The skin was as hard as hard candy for the most part. However, the meat inside was excellent! The shoulders were a bit dry but the butts and ribs were beautiful. It all pulled nicely. The veggies also came out great and turned into an excellent topping for the sandwiches. Unfortunately I didn't get any after pics but I certainly did not want any of the whole pig as it was ugly.

Oh, and I didn't sleep at all! My buddy had a 1.5 hour snooze sometime in the early morning hours but I didn't all. I had been awake since about 7am Fri. By 5pm Sat, I was totally wasted. Went to the trailer where I slept for about 14 hours.

After that, me and Mrs Moose went to a campground on the St-Lawrence for a few days of R&R. It was alright except that the park was mostly empty and the weather was mostly grey and cool with a fire ban so we couldn't have a campfire. Just got back yesterday.

Tomorrow morning, heading to the cottage for the long weekend, back on Monday and work on Tue.

That's an adventure! A whole pig roast!!!

 

[BrianF]

Good on ya Moose, thats a hell of an endeavor!!

I did some fall maintenance on my 3500. Transfer case fluid was around 113,000km but since there is no clutches, it wasn't bad. The ATF was a darker red but no debris on the plugs.

Rear diff done just because. 84,000km and essentially no wear metal. The group 4 based 80w140 is absolute top notch. Just about emptied my 11 year old pail....

Tires rotated again. The Coopers are well down there with about 64,000km. Backs were 4-5/32 and fronts 7/32. She towed many, many thousands of km this year. We plan on minimal winter driving so tires might wait until spring.

Front diff was good so just left it. The hit the engine and cabin air filters. Everything else such as engine, trans oils, brakes etc was done in the spring. For fun I might try to set the valves.....

 

[BrianF]

Because I love a challenge and most times do not know when to quit...... seeing as the truck was sitting in the shop, I decided to check valve lash. As simple as it may seem, it was a PIA.

A little bit of disassembly was needed to access the harmonic balancer, marking TDC and rotating it to TDC 1. I had bought a barring tool for this but in reality, you need to watch it rotate.

Cummins uses these little lash caps between the rocker tips and bridges. Takes two hands to free them from the oil locking them together and getting the feeler gauge in. Cylinder 5 and 6 are a pain due to bring under the cowl and having to lay on the engine bay. But she is done. Used pre emissions lash of .010 and .020. Most intakes floated around .010 but a couple were less than .008. All exhaust were loose but likely around their required .026. Everything brought in, checked and rechecked. She sounds noticeably quieter at idle, which is nice. What's nicer is its done and I wont check again for many more years.

 

[Mooseman]

Today I finally did my poor man's Generac. I've been wanting to do this project for a while but not too long ago, picked up a Rubbermaid shed on sale for $350 to put my 12k watt tri fuel generator in. I had seen others on YT doing this and it was my turn.

Some challenges. This generator was equipped with a rear facing snowblower type muffler that didn't allow connecting anything to it. Took it off and using a 3/4" black pipe floor flange, fabricated a manifold to bolt to the head for the exhaust. I used a mini bike muffler of the same size. The other challenge is that the wheels on the generator made it too wide so I removed them and used a 4x4 block screwed into the floor and the generator frame. This made it fit and also prevents the generator from moving around and also harder to steal.

Mods to the shed. Installed a 12" louvered attic fan and three screened vents for air flow. A 5" hole for the exhaust pipe with a same size metal vent cap cut out for the pipe. It's basically done except I still have to find some sort of door or cap thing for the gas hose and power line to the house.

Initial run was fantastic. Without any added insulation, closed up, all you hear is the exhaust which is quite acceptable. Heat doesn't seem to be an issue but I ran it for only 10 minutes and no load. I will get a wireless temperature monitor for it.

Quite pleased with the results. Now I'll be ready for the next power outage.

 

[Mooseman]

Some more work on my poor man's Generac. Added a 90° fitting for the gas line and an access portal to open and pass through the gas line and 50A power cord. I needed to get an RV 50A extension cord as the 20' one I got with my hook up box wasn't long enough. I also added a brace to the 3/4" exhaust pipe as I didn't want it to shake and break the flange studs in the engine head. Used some angle iron and a 1" u-bolt which I bolted the other end to a bolt boss at the generator end that used to hold the original muffler. Added some wood bracing on the left wall as it was flopping around with all the cuts I made for the vents.

Here's a video of the difference in noise and what that little muffler sounds like.

I might replace the 90° pipe connector with a 45° to point the exhaust away from the plastic wall. And I need to put some exhaust wrap so more of the heat goes outside.

 

[Blckshdw]

It says the video is private @Mooseman

 

[Mooseman]

Strange. It's posted publicly and I was able to open it on my work computer, which I'm not logged into YT or Google.

 

[mrrsm]

Please forgive my sudden disappearance from the GMT Nation Forums... without giving so much as a "By Your Leave"... but several months ago I suffered a catastrophic injury to my Left Shoulder and Arm that nearly destroyed my ability to raise my arm above my my waist or use it in any appreciable manner without feeling mind-numbing pain.

In a post action incident that qualified as "The Straw that Broke The Camel's Back" while performing a Dual Battery Swap from under the passenger seat of my son's 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee... The following remarkable destruction occurred to all four of the Trapezious Muscles-Tendons inside me where they attach to the outer orbit of the Upper Left Arm (Humerus) Outer Ball portion (called strangely 'The Footprint') at Four Anchor Points in the Upper Arm Bone.

If this happens to you... there will only be a few ways out of this nightmare. I'll shorten my usual proforma and use these images to give a visual shortcut of the surgery I will be having in less than 48 hours. I'm offering this information for anyone suffering with even "Minor" Shoulder Pain to avoid ignoring or ...pun intended... "Shrugging Off the Pain" and get an MRI ASAP:

The Problem:

The Pure White Tendon and connective tissues that binds our muscles to their skeletal fulcrum points for leverage and power ...can very easily become damaged from improper or over-use... and the fact that the nutrition and blood supply necessary for ordinary healing and repair is virtually non-existent therein. Almost as soon as even the slightest Tendon Injury occurs...THIS is the cascade that will ensue as a One Way "E" Ticket Ride to Pain and Suffering ending in only three possible Surgical Interventions... Mine is at #5 in this inexorable direction and THIS requires the Last Ditch Version of Surgical Intervention:



How Does The Shoulder Work?

Four Small Trapezius Muscles along with the Deltoid Muscles allow the Shoulder the greatest freedom of movement of any other joints in the Human Body. The "Ball" at the top of the Humerus is loosely held into the "Socket" called The cartilage lined Glenoid mounted inside of the Scapula and stabilized by other support from the Collar Bone. This is how they are arranged:



The shredding and tearing of the various nylon-line like filaments making up the mass of each white colored tendon bundle can occur either gradually and accumulate over time (as in my case... over the last 76 Years) or quite suddenly from a sports injury or by an accident involving the shoulder by impact, misdirection or severe strain:



In my case... this involves a radical surgery called a "Total Reversal Left Shoulder Replacement". The diseased and damaged components shown above are both scalpel sliced free or cut loose using a vibrating bone saw. in their place ...but reversed in this Ball and Joint R&R ...the Ball portion is installed into the Scapula quite precisely using a centering Screw Fastener surrounded 120 degrees apart by three other Screws of appropriate enough length so as not to penetrate all the way through the different thicknesses and risk damaging soft tissue structures on their opposite sides.

The diseased portion of the upper Humerus is sliced flat and clean to a precise angle and the upper Humerus is also hollowed out so the "Socket" portion can be hammered down inside and cemented in place where it will eventually heal and become as strong as the living human bone.

This operation only takes around 90 Minutes and is performed in an Out-Patient Surgery facility under light anesthesia and a rather dramatic Left Arm and Shoulder chemical Nerve Block in the Cervical Spine that can last up to 72 hours after the repair is done. Once the 7 Inch Shoulder entry cut is stitched closed, the healing and rehab period can take up to a an entire year with the Arm and Shoulder immediately held in a special cushioned sling with no movement or driving, etc., for the first 6 Weeks post surgery.

Then the patient is discharged to Home Care on the same day, a few Follow Up Visits and Xrays are scheduled as needed and later on, modest exercises used to strengthen and retrain the Deltoid Muscle to take the place of the "Lost Trapezius Muscles" must be cautiously achieved.

THIS is what these Space Age Prostheses look like:




If you are younger than 60, the other two methods either involve the use of Screw - Anchored Dacron Needle and Threads to literally Sew the remaining Tendons back down to the "Foot Print" of the Humerus if the damaged and disconnected Trap Muscles have not been ruined to the point of shredded Tendon ends ...like mine are...as if Frayed Hemp Ropes. They will have to be fished out and extended with long forceps from where they will have snapped loose and contracted like four rubber bands and thus, largely become useful to their original design if your "Tailoring" Surgery can be done and holds them in place from then on. Mine are beyond repair:

A Surgical Screw-In and Knot-Tying Practice Block... These Tools deserve a write up n the "Tool Talk" section along with the Surgeon's YouTube Video showing this elaborate surgery.



Failing this "Stitch Repair" is another Surgical Repair they call an "Anatomical Shoulder Replacement" where the Natural Socket is over-layed with a Screw-In Synthetic Hard Plastic and metal one while the New Shiny Metal Ball portion is attached to the Upper Humerus after shaping it and screwing the thing in place.

In closing, I hope all is well with our Regular Member Crew and it may be quite some time before I can come back and participate in this Grand Experiment. The terrible irony that comes with knowing how many Automotive and Aviation U&L Ball Joint repairs I've done over a half century all took more time to complete than this one will is so very weird and still... a bit funny.

But THIS operation will be the only way I can hope to return to Using Tools and Turning Wrenches and Fixing Things that require the Strength of Two Arms again, and if I have to become a "Cyborg" in order to do so... Then So Be It. Here is hoping all is well with everyone here at GMT Nation. Enjoy the coming Holidays, Folks... Stay Healthy, Stay Sane...and Stay Safe! :>)

 

[Blckshdw]

Strange. It's posted publicly and I was able to open it on my work computer, which I'm not logged into YT or Google.

It plays now, dunno what the hang up was

Prior to setting mine up to run in the garage, I watched a number of videos where people made their own enclosures like that. Pretty cool, and always fun to let the mod bug stretch its legs.

 

[Blckshdw]

In a post action incident that qualified as "The Straw that Broke The Camel's Back" while performing a Dual Battery Swap from under the passenger seat of my son's 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee...

Bob, gotta take it easy, Mr Spring Chicken!!

 

[azswiss]

Hey @mrrsm, was starting to worry, man. Sorry to hear about the injury, but glad to see you back in the mix. My buddy had the exact same procedure; it was a journey but he says he would do it again in a heartbeat, unequivocally. Getting old sure ain't for the faint of heart!

 

[Matt]

Just arrived home from Baltimore. I took my son to the Ravens home opener.

 

[Mooseman]

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, for $6 million dollars.

Take it easy Bob, we'll keep the tools warmed up for ya.

 

[BrianF]

Hope you are on the mend there @mrrsm! Wow, i couldn't imagine that happening! My messed up SI joint is bad enough....

As for me? Completed quite a few days off fencing in the excruciating September heat. Normally its not super hot by it was enough foe heat stroke.

Now, I am up north for work, back on the 23rd. Damn near the end of the road at a place that could only be described as Vietnam with a temperate climate and zombies. This place is fcked.

 

[TollKeeper]

Yesterday.... Lets just say I had a day..

 

[azswiss]

Yesterday.... Lets just say I had a day..

Damn wind turbines, no doubt. Glad you are OK.

 

[TollKeeper]

Damn wind turbines, no doubt. Glad you are OK.

I wasnt the driver, luckily. But I am the company safety and hr director, so I had to go out and deal with the cops, DOT, HazMat, recovery, etc. Was a 12 hour day.

 

[BrianF]

As usual, spending some time in the more northern side of the Province. Drones and sat phones. But the little kettle makes a nice treat.

 

[mrrsm]

As a Post Operation Follow Up to Thread Post # 2,423 on September 17th,2025, It is worth anchoring down the reality of what all of this entails, should any of our Members (or Lurkers) find themselves in similar Dire Straits in need of Total Reverse Shoulder Replacement Surgery. Some thoughts on your preparation prior to going "Under The Knife":

(1) THIS is a VERY BIG SURGERY... The Brochures that explain the Space Age Metal and Plastic Parts and Pieces that are being used for this repair do not explain how much "Organic Stuff" they will have to chop or cut out from your innards. For Example... In order to get to THIS Stage...




,,,You are going to have to endure THIS Stage FIRST:



(2) Well before Surgery, Contact your immediate Family Members and ask if you can stay with them for at LEAST a Week after Surgery and try to get a commitment to Drive you to and from the numerous Doctor Visits and Physical Therapy Sessions in advance...AND PAY THEM FOR THEIR TROUBLES WELL IN ADVANCE. In my case, my Son and DIL and Grand Kids were GREAT!

I had my own room for a whole week and constant, round the clock care that my Wife would never have been able to render at her advanced age. I made it all worth their while for them being inconvenienced and taking me on as such a huge burden for the time I was over there...and to this day.

(3) Take your Opioid Medicine BEFORE the Shoulder and Neck Nerve Block fade to the point of feeling the Pain set in. Do EXACTLY what your Post Op Instructions tell you to do and don't skip any phases. Period. You should be able to tell from the amount of bruising on and inside of me (only partially shown in these images) that the amount of discomfort you must bear up under will be severe. STOP taking your Opioid Meds B4 they run out... to avoid ANY chances of having Unintended Addiction!!!

(4) Accept it going in... and prepare to be told by your Doctor-Surgeon that "Things were much worse than the MRIs and X-Rays were showing... What usually takes us only 90 Minutes to complete ...took almost Five Hours in your situation." My expectations were adjusted well in advance of this critical "Re-Build" ...so when he told me that he had to sever one of the Two Bicep Muscle Tendons...permanently...I could accept the fact that at nearly 77... I am just Lucky Just To BE Here...and thus, I have NO complaints if I cannot get back complete Strength and Functionality. I am grateful that he took a serious risk in working on an Old Man and trying to fix this HUMAN FUBAR of Worn Out Parts as best he could.

(5) One of the Key Factors in his willingness to do this Major Surgery was that fact that I am a Non- Smoker...AND...a Non-Drinker. They did a whole series of Blood Test and Liver Assays to confirm this because those two habits will seriously impair recovering from this Complete Shoulder Replacement Surgery.

(6) Follow your Physical Therapist's Instructions...and expect to be surprised at how soon after Surgery you will have to perform Exercises while EVERYTHING Hurts so much. The Recovery Period will last between Six Months and a Whole Year. Pace Yourself and be Diligent with your Exercises and get Good Nutrition and Rest! I am determined to make the most of this opportunity, as I would never have been able to use my Left Arm to do ANYTHING without it... EVER Again !!!

(7) Would I Do It All Over Again?.... You BET Yous ASS I Would! So... Best Of Luck To anyone in need of this dramatic "Bionic Man" Operation!

 

[Blckshdw]

...so when he told me that he had to sever one of the Two Bicep Muscle Tendons...permanently... I cannot get back complete Strength and Functionality.

And I was just about to ask, if you were able to lift a vehicle with that one arm...

 

[wbduval]

Don't be surprised if you need to purchase a new A/C Delco (no aftermarket here or the same codes will reoccure!). It is a "easy fix" and resonable cost also. Most folks around these parts (me included) have replaced the fuel cap.

Good advice on the A/C Delco. I bought an aftermarket cap and am still getting the major leak code (P0455)

 

[Mooseman]

Just like all holiday weekends (it's Canadian Thanksgiving this Monday), something has to break. 10 years ago, it was the hot water heater. Well that came back as I was greeted with a wet basement yesterday. Fook! And because it's gas and a forced exhaust, that sucker new is $1600 (I think I paid $850 last time). Spent the whole day getting one at Homeless Despot and installing it. Oh and because it was an old installation, it had a black ABS exhaust so I had to upgrade it to gas exhaust rated PVC. Install went fine, just time consuming. I got a cheap drill pump to empty out the old tank to outside.

Today was a little more normal. Spatchcocked a turkey, seasoned it with a rub I made and threw it on the smoker while I winterized the trailer. Even though I didn't brine or inject it, that sucker came out moist and juicy! Sorry, no staged pics this time. Maybe at Xmas.

 

[Mooseman]

Got home from work yesterday and I got hit with the "man cold". Niagara Falls coming out of my nose, constant sneezing, sore throat, blah, blah. Was up all night since I couldn't breathe. Head about to explode. Today and tomorrow will be sick days and even Friday is iffy at best. At least it's not any of the nastier stuff going around, but man, colds have become worse!