What are you doing today? [Part II]

TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
1 day DMV for license
2 days at the dentist for a root canal
4 days sick (still sick)
What a great freaking vacation!
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Packing up and heading north to see our granddaughter and family. Stopping on the way to pick up a used exhaust temperature sensor for my son's BRP sled. Normally you'd get something like this new but it's $425 and there are no aftermarket ones available. The thermocouple itself is supposedly the same as a $40 ACDeco for a Duramax however it has a module attached to it that does something to the signal. Hell, even used, it's $250 and the seller says he replaces about half a dozen per season so he wouldn't budge on the price. That's why I like my Yamaha.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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Naturally... Nothing "Cold and Snowy" down here in "The Sunshine State" so I've had Andrew Camarata's Video Visit to one of his construction project customer's Brilliant 4K Sussin's Christmas Light Show from the Catskill Mountains in New York playing on a Loop all Day & Night. THIS one really just gets to "The Kid" still inside of me...

 

Matt

Member
Dec 2, 2011
4,019
Co-worker that I spend a lot of time with tested positive last Thursday, so I had another test at work this morning...negative (that's 3 tests in 6 days), so I've only got the flu or some other crap.
 

coolride

Member
Aug 23, 2019
596
Adirondacks
Co-worker that I spend a lot of time with tested positive last Thursday, so I had another test at work this morning...negative (that's 3 tests in 6 days), so I've only got the flu or some other crap.

If you have a variant, I'm not sure those take home tests are of any use. Take care of yourself and keep the people around you safe.
 
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flyboy2610

Member
Aug 24, 2021
460
Lincoln, Ne.
Going to get started re-painting the workshop in the basement. Currently it's a medium shade of sky blue, and it's just a bit too dark for a workshop, IMHO. Going to repaint it gloss white. Should be plenty bright enough then! I have to do it one wall at a time: move everything away from one wall, paint it, the next day put everything back on that wall, move stuff away from the next wall, etc. etc. etc.
I wish I could just move everything out at once, but I don't have anywhere to put it!
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Spending the day in the hotel room alone. Arrived at our son's place yesterday, however, they now have a cat to which I am deathly allergic to. I had taken antihistamines prior to arriving but that didn't help. My eye looked like something from an alien and got tightness in the chest however didn't get a full blown asthma attack like I usually do. So while my wife spends the day with them, I still feel like crap so I'm just staying away from the feline foe.
 

TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
***Mental Note, send @Mooseman package of cat fur*** :tongue:
 

Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
I kinda like the Chicken Chow Meow and Moo Goo Guy Paw.

Chicken.jpeg

Discussed with the DIL what was better, dogs or cats. I basically said I have never seen a cat rescue lost hikers, sniff out drugs or explosives, take a bullet for his partner, alert a family of an intruder or a fire.
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Finished a ten day stretch of work, had the call that I could take another two days on overtime..... no thanks.

Now started the revolving door of family coming over this next week. It will be nice but also exhausting.

Picked up a snowmobile toboggan from a friend. He's transferring out east and had no further use. Its got runners, D rings and a spring loaded hitch. It will come in use sledding and even doing chores.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Although my sister has a new construction home, she doesn't like the black appliances and wanted to go with stainless. Against the advice of the family to leave well enough alone and focus on other things, she's committed and got her new stove and fridge today. As a result, she's giving me all of the not so old stuff, so I've got to make room.

Started with the dishwasher, which wasn't too bad. Some of the screws were way tighter than necessary, and being in odd positions were a pain to deal with, but eventually got it out and into the garage, with a nice trail of water from tipping it to use the hand truck. :duh:

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Moved onto the fridge. Thought I could manage to account for the 1.5" space deficit to get through the garage door, by opening the side by side doors, removing the bottom trim piece, and sliding the leading edge through the doorway at an angle to clear the first door, come straight through, and then angle the fridge the other way to clear the other door. The counter for the sink didn't want to play nice and I couldn't make it work.

Opted to remove the doors, as I had done years ago. Got the fridge door off no problem, but one of the screws for the freezer door hinge was stripped. :mad: Got my Easy Out bits, but none of them would do the trick either. Kind of at the point of no return here... Back to plan A and a half, opened the freezer door, and was able to wiggle the fridge through the doorway and into the garage. Would have opted for the front door, as that's plenty wide enough, but the pocket door between the kitchen and living room is the smallest one in the whole damn house! :dunce:

Had to move my trash and recycle bins from against the garage wall, and slide my shelving units in their place. The spot where I've got the 2nd fridge now, used to keep my rolling tool chest, and a cheap shelf on the wall. Relocated the tool chest to where the shelves used to be. Got the fridge door back on, and only had a couple condiment bottles tip over during the whole ordeal. Half considered tapping the inlet for the water heater and running it to the fridge, but that would be way too much work, since I'd almost never use the water dispenser or ice maker out there.

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Both doors on the fridge are messed up now. Fridge side seems like it may be fixable by tightening the screws in the top hinge, as that seems to wander a bit. But the freezer one, some of the plastic that catches the hinge pin is glued to the door itself, and that broke free. So the freezer door wobbles when you open it. Pain in the ass, but both doors still seal, and the majority of stuff that will be in here will be drinks, or any bulk purchases, so I won't be in there frequently. Plus no small children to open the doors and forget to close them properly, so it should be fine.

Not pictured, sprayed the inside of the oven with Easy Off, it had done it's job, so grabbed a roll of blue towels and wiped out all the goo. Nice and shiny now. Moved that to the garage without incident. My sister's new microwave is on back order, and she won't get that until February, so keeping mine in place for now. Should be fun trying to get the new one mounted if the builder did not leave the mounting template with her, which I doubt they did. Assuming the back and top are perfectly flat, and not have funky contours, I think I should be able to make my own.

Should have a good follow up post tomorrow.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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Intuitively, you already know how to do this repair. Unfortunately... DAMMIT! NOTHING about Fixing Refrigerators is EVER intuitive... so dropping this video may render you a service:

 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Intuitively, you already know how to do this repair. Unfortunately... DAMMIT! NOTHING about Fixing Refrigerators is EVER intuitive... so dropping this video may render you a service:

:laugh: Appreciate it. The fridge side, the hinge just has play like it's not tight enough. May resort to putting a washer between the hinge and body, and hope that gives me the tightness needed. For the freezer side, that would probably require an epoxy repair, or likely replacing the whole door. :no:
 
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mrrsm

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You could try " The Old Carpenter's Trick" by first Duct Taping the Door(s) to the Aligned Fridge Frame as TIGHT as possible, then after Soaking one or two Wood Stick Matches in Red Thread Locker... Set the Bracket(s) in place and stick the Matches down inside of the wallowed out Bolt Holes as far as they will go, Then after snapping off the "Fire Ends", get rid of them where the Friction Match Heads won't accidentally ignite and start a fire... and then re-install each Small Fastener using VERY GENTLE Tightening Force.

This Trick works like a Charm on Hollow Core Door Triple Screw Hinge Plates, Window Casements and Sills using Brown Wood Glue and Wood Matches in situations involving shattered boards where the Set Screws just won't hold. It is innocuous to Metal ...and it just might work in this instance. If nothing else... you can at least put your Food Stuffs back into the Freezer and take advantage of the Duct Tape Seals while the Red Thread Locker and Fasteners are curing for a few days. :>)
 
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Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
New day, more manual labor. Picked up a Uhaul @ 9am and got to it. Tank was just over 1/2 full, and I knew I had an hour's drive ahead of me each way, so got some gas and filled it up. Made a stop on the way to my sister's house, found a CL ad for rain barrels, so I picked up a few.

Plan to harvest some of our thunderstorms for fun tasks like washing the EXT, and filling the tank sprayer for treating the lawn. Eventually I'll want to reseed some areas, so having a good sized supply of water on the dry days between rains should make that easier, and not kick up the water bill.

20211229_135303.jpg


In the CL ad, the guy posted in bold caps that the barrels needed to be washed and rinsed out prior to use. So that made me curious to know what was stored in these in their previous life. :undecided: 2 of the 3 didn't really smell at all, while the 3rd was :eek: :wowfaint: Thought something died in there, but nothing seemed out of place.

20211229_171851.jpg20211229_171903.jpg


The drive to my sister's while long, was uneventful. Stove and fridge were ready to go, I had to uninstall the dish washer. Aside from her usual fussing and nagging about the potential to scrape walls and doorways, got the new appliances loaded up and home in 1 piece. Or is it 3 pieces?

20211229_135229.jpg

Did have to remove the kitchen and both fridge doors to squeeze it through, but made it without damage. Learning from previous experience, used a couple blocks of wood to support the weight of the fridge doors while feeding wiring harnesses and water tubes where they needed to go, and align the bottom of the door with their pins. Stove was cake, but the dishwasher, that one fought me to the end.

Since my kitchen was designed by a crazy person, the dish washer area isn't immediately next to the sink, there's a cabinet between them, so the water supply line and drain tube have to run under/behind that cabinet and up through a small cutout in the other cabinet where the connections are made. For whatever reason my wire snakes couldn't make it from opening to opening, so I had to loosely twist tie one end around the water supply line that was in place to feed it through. Did the same for the rubber part of the drain tube, but when I pulled it through, the twist tie came off. :hissyfit: Started over and used a zip tie and that worked.

Floor is pretty scuffed up from scooting everything around, mainly the fridge. It didn't do that to my sister's floor, so I guess it picked up something in the Uhaul. Will scrub that in a few days, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, I already know it.

ETA: 75 mile round trip and the truck only used 1/8 tank of gas. I was shocked, the needle didn't move the entire way out there, so on the way back I cranked the AC and listened to music on my phone. The needle barely started to move as I got back into town. Musta been new, usually the mileage on these things are trash, but this one was better than my EXT!! :sadcry:
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
Fairly uneventful today. Went to town with the family for supper, groceries and a movie. -37 on the way home. The Trailblazer grunted ,groaned and told me to fk off a bit but she fired up and even without a winter front, warmed up quick and pumped out some Betty Crocker. Once in town I tried to pull a U ball in the street and understeered all the way onto the sidewalk. It was so cold my front tires had zero grip on the hard pack. But hey, the next two nights are cold but it will be -5c on Sunday and then back to regular lows after that!! Love this shit hole!!
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
So..... just some advice, if you plug your block heater in at night, wearing gloves with no light, double check it. Just check it again.

Yesterday morning the poor girl just about did start. I cycled the starter a pile and could barely muster a few pops. Eventually I got it to run by treating it like an old carbed beater that you need to thrash on. Oh well, sucks to be you I guess. 20211230_084912.jpg
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Basically spending NYE by myself. After my booster yesterday, I was in really rough shape this morning. We were supposed to go to the cottage however I just didn't see myself loading up the sled and stuff and dragging my sore body there. My wife went with her brother and his sons. Funny thing is that she was deathly sick with the second shot but hardly anything on the booster. Me it was the other way around. oh well.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Also spending NYE solo. After getting the appliances in Wednesday, I tested the dishwasher Thursday, since my sister said she thought she nicked the drain hose while cutting the zip tie under her sink... Hmm. Ran it on the rinse cycle, sat there and watched it, and sure enough started spraying all over the inside of the cabinet... Had to do some hunting, but found a comparable new hose at the hardware store.

Tested again this morning, and had leaks at both ends. Had to pull the hose from the washer to get a different hose clamp, and it had a lot more water still inside it than I thought. HUGE mess, but at least it was clean water. Got the clamps adjusted and torqued down, next test was nice and dry.

Got in a nice nap after that, which was much needed. Neighbors started shooting off fireworks around 6:30, some of them have those mortars, and they live really close by. Almost dropped my drink when the first one went off. :hissyfit:
 

TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
Same here.. May 2022 be better than 2021 or 2020

I spent most of the day trying to buy -2- Trailblazer SS's.

Dealer finally contacts me back saying they both had damage and are being sent back to auction.

For the price he was selling them for, I didnt care! GRR!
 
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northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
Same here.. May 2022 be better than 2021 or 2020

I spent most of the day trying to buy -2- Trailblazer SS's.

Dealer finally contacts me back saying they both had damage and are being sent back to auction.

For the price he was selling them for, I didnt care! GRR!
Glad to hear that you weren't effected by the wildfire........:2thumbsup:
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
@TJBaker57 , hope you aren't directly affected by the fires. Better to just have internet issues than having flames at your doorstep. Take care.
 
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TJBaker57

Member
Aug 16, 2015
2,897
Colorado
@TJBaker57 , hope you aren't directly affected by the fires. Better to just have internet issues than having flames at your doorstep. Take care.


Not anywhere near the fires, about a 5 hour drive away!

I would say my issues were not my internet service as only this site was affected and now that things have stabilized the site has a different appearance, like a major change in forum software?
 
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Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Could have been the fireworks and confetti that was on last night. It slowed down my browser to a crawl. It sure looks like we're sporting a new look for the new year.
 

Reprise

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Jul 22, 2015
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Funny thing is that she was deathly sick with the second shot but hardly anything on the booster. Me it was the other way around. oh well.
I had same reaction as you. A little under the weather on shot #2... but the booster put me in bed for 2 days. I figure successive boosters, if received, will act like this one did. All of mine were Pfizer, btw.
It sure looks like we're sporting a new look for the new year.
If we're taking votes, I kinda liked the old theme. Especially on the mobile version.
Brew day today, Brew Dog Hazy Jane clone.
Damn, I wish you lived closer than two states away... :Lager Louts:
Too lazy to brew my own... but I'll damn sure help you with the tasting! LOL


As for me... finally ripped apart the driver's side front axle on the Envoy (separate post). My back has been killing me, but finally recovered enough to at least take things apart and determine where the new noise is coming from. May not be as bad as I thought - ?
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
We got our one day of warmth and then she is dropping. -22 tomorrow and supposed to get a healthy dose of snow. I got the tires aired up on the Grand Mormon van and Trailblazer. My compressor doesn't really work past -15 so today was the day.

Got the quad going, added some fuel line antifreeze and ran it for a bit. She started to idle down and died so I took out the heat gun and warmed up the intake tract in thinking that there is still some ice build up. It ran fine and her tone changed so I'm hopeful that was the issue.

Ran the diesel for a bit as well. Close to two weeks of sitting with the tender on her and she was still a bit miserable but I like to cycle the fuel in the filters a bit.

Then got my Ghost going. Last time she took a while to get the fuel flowing into the carband then ran fine. Also the new primer seemd blocked and wouldn't flow. This time was no different. I primed it a few times with a bottle and she ran and died but then I could see she started to move some fuel and cleaned up. I took each kid for a ride and put on some great miles! I then found the primer line at the intake disconnected. After a few pumps the primer worked and all was well. The new battery worked wonders as the electric start worked great and it absorbed enough voltage that my lights never burnt out. She was a great day!!

Even some of the neighbour kids came by to sled. Had to help the one with a break down on his 93 Polaris 600 triple. Yet my old Ghost kept on plugging along. Will try for some pictures tomorrow.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Sunday, fun day. Enjoying my last day of staycation, met up with a buddy at a sports bar to watch some football, catch up a bit, and grab lunch. My Bears won, his Bucs won, so we both left as happy campers. Should probably get to bed at a decent hour, so I'm fully recharged for whatever I missed at work over the last 2 weeks. :rolleyes:
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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Just before my "Next-Door-Neighbor Bob" left this world about five or six years ago; hopefully for what became his beloved "Harbor Freight Store in The Sky"... he would leave piles of tools that he'd impulse purchased over and over through the years in stacks just outside my Garage Door and then sneak off without saying a word to me.

Of course... I began to suspect something was amiss since he had been up until that time... a Bone Marrow Transplant Lymphoma Cancer Survivor of around just as many years as he's been gone now.

Damn... Dude...


Anyway... One of the things he'd set down with all of this other Mechanic's Boon ...was a Brand New Bench Grinder that had the Untouched Stone Wheels freshly installed. Of course, when you already have a Worn Down Bench Grinder mounted topside (and occasionally Setting Fire to your adjacent work areas...) this was the kind of tool kit that was either "Always Very Handy to Have..." or "Always IN THE G-D'd WAY...".

I've had it set aside somewhere out in the Garage now for so long that I'd nearly forgot it was out there... Right up until I spied the Amazon Sale of a Sturdy Wen Cast Iron Bench Grinder Stand with nice amenities which include a Looped Cord Hanger and a Bolt-Down Cast Iron Tripod Base with a Cast Aluminum Adjustable Coolant Tray that all looked very purposeful. So for around $60.00 ...THIS item turned out to be THE Last Tool I would get to Buy in The Year 2021:

WENGRINDERSTAND1.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND2.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND3.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND4.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND5.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND6.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND8.jpgWENGRINDERSTAND9.jpg

This Photo-Play also gives me the opportunity of Demonstrating ...yet again... just how USEFUL and HANDY those Pricey Bondhus Metric and SAE HEX Wrench "T" Handle Tools have turned out to be all year round.

WENGRINDERSTAND10.jpg

When you look at the Typical, (Rusted) NEW 5mm Hex Tool WEN quite generously included along with with other the Bench Top Stand Mounting Hardware... versus the Versatility and Ease of Grip for Tightening the 1/2 Dozen or so Metric 5mm Set Screws, without having to Bust My Knuckles to Bits, Take a Knee or Genuflect to Perform "The Stations of The Cross" in order to reach around down under the table and Hunt to Adjust everything Nice and TIGHT...

Well... You Get The Idea... Yeah Boy! (RIP... Bobby...)

WENGRINDERSTAND3.jpg

One Last Thought... It just occurred to me that WEN spelled backwards is NEW... Hmmm... What will those Clever American Advert' Boys Think of NEXT, I wonder? Remember my Highly Modified Wen Roll-A-Round Mechanic's Stool with the 50 Xtra Wheels?... THAT thing is still awesome & still looks NEW, too. :>)
 
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TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
Today starts my end of year close out process.. Likely going to be incognito for a bit. LOTS of paperwork, taxes, and other garbage I gotta get done.. I hate January!
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,192
West central Sask.
I hate January..... but for other reasons.....

Boys, we got some nice drifts in the yard. Had worse but knee to thigh high in a bunch of places. Cut a bunch with the blower and cleared the driveway and some of the yard, enough we can access the horses and the school bus can come and go.

The quad fired up as good as it can in this temp and after a few minutes of run time, died. I checked the carb vent line, which was clear but it was acting like the fuel tank was not venting. So I cracked the cap and away we went. I plowed for a while with the cap loose and no issues. Tightened the lid and after a while I got a lean backfire and I cracked the cap and she was fine.

So now I need to find where that tank vents as the lid is sealed. Regardless, glad the damn thing works.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Not much today. Went to Princess Auto (my toy store :biggrin: ) to pick up a few things that went on sale today and before capacity limits kick in tomorrow (50% for stores). There weren't that many people, which is unusual for the first sale day at PA. Got a whole mess of stuff; a snowmobile cover, rubber wheel chocks, a battery maintainer and a Bluetooth battery monitor, set of fuel line disconnects, snap ring pliers, rope to keep in the sled in case of emergency, and maybe a couple more things I forget.

Then went out for dinner with friends to celebrate a couple of birthdays in advance of all restaurants' shutdown tomorrow to dining. My birthday in Feb will likely be takeout again this year :frown:
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Installed the clutch kit in my sled. Was a fairly easy process. Did it make a difference? I think so and made a before and after video. It was especially noticeable with the covers back on as they probably muffle a certain frequency.


It certainly made a difference in shifting. Much smoother takeoff and I don't get thrown over the handlebars when I let go of the throttle. Me like!
 

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