What are you doing today? [Part II]

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,780
Tampa Bay Area, FL
After being a long time Adobe suite user, I've been meaning to branch out into other software packages. Had heard of DaVinci Resolve for video editing, as a free alternative to Adobe Premier, and since I needed to do some video clip splicing this morning, downloaded it and gave it a try.

Took a little bit of time to figure out where things were, and how to get from point A to B to C, but I got there after poking around. This is my last day off work, since the 2nd week of December, so have to remember to go to bed on time, so I'm not dragging in the office tomorrow. :sleepy:
 

azswiss

Member
May 23, 2021
1,015
Tempe, AZ
Went to replace the leaky seal around the fuel level sensor on the XC70 and made two unfortunate discoveries. First, & foremost, the lock ring was not tight!! This is the first time it has been checked in 18 years so it was either loose from the factory or the o-ring seal has shrunk. Second, the opening for the level sensor is below the top level of the tank. Consequently, since the tank is almost full (naturally) as soon as I start to loosen the lock ring gas starts coming out. Decided to tighten up the lock ring and drive off some of the gas in order to bring the level down below the fuel sensor opening. Fortunately, access is very straightforward from the floor of the rear seat so I did not have to drop the tank or remove excess interior stuff.
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BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
It's short lived but the cold is back. What's normally worse is after it's done, the cold that blows back over from the south east is worse.

A buddy is coming by early next week to pick up some hunting gear and we are planning a sled ride.

The other day I used some light silicone spray on the starter pully bendix. I use the term bendix as it's a cammed pully sheave that engages a pully to the flywheel. Anyways, they always stick so it's just easier to pull start. Well they freed up quite well. They now crank over very well.
 

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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,229
Ottawa, ON
-37c? Might use more pellets in the smoker and put on a sweater :laugh:
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
That poor trailblazer seems to do all the shit work when it's cold. I can't recall how many times it's pulled this duty.

She's finally slightly warming up. Hit -20 today but still a bit bitter with the wind. So of course my 14 year old and I hit the trails and burnt some 2 stroke. Came up three cow moose on the trails. We stopped about 50 metres back and they thankfully took off. No pictures because I left my phone at the house.
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
So this idiot had ordered some extended headlight dust covers for my 3500. Found a company a few hours away that 3D prints them. So I messed up on my address, trying to bypass the issue of certain companies not shipping to a PO box, but they will to the civic address. Regardless, my parts never arrived but ended up in a shipping warehouse in town. Went there and snagged them before they got returned.

So I made time to work on my truck today and finally get those LED high beams installed. While the process is straightforward, a few quality control issues arose. First, the new dust caps had a crude finish on the locking tabs, which needed a clean up. Secondly, the one rings on the old halogen and new LED's were on the thin side, making a loose fit. I was able to find a thicker o ring at a smaller diameter that snuggled things up.

Took over an hour of me lazily putzing about. As you can see in the one picture, there is a drastic difference in light color and output. I'll run these for a bit and decide on getting low beams.
 

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Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,780
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Even though it's not summer, there's always some yard work around my house. Mango tree has been dropping its leaves, so decided today was a good day to rake and shred them. My collection bags are showing their age, and probably won't last through this season. Went in a different direction with the bags for the shredder, as the tarp-style bags seem to deteriorate faster when crinkling them.

Bought a couple of cheap mesh laundry bags, that have draw strings at the top and they worked perfectly. Gave a nice solid fit around the bottom rim of the shredder, the mesh style let me see just how full the bags were, so it was easier to know when I needed to stop because it was full, vs when the lines in the shredder were beaten up to the point they needed to be swapped out.

Only downside to the mesh, is all the dust that blows out. Depending on which side I was standing, and which way the wind was blowing, my shorts, legs, and shoes were heavily coated. :dunce: Lesson learned, next time I'll bring my big fan, and put it at my back, problem solved. :biggrin:

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Rolled both bags up the the front yard, and dumped them in front of my dining room window, and around one of the shrubs by the garage. Gotta love free mulch! My only issue now, is the neighborhood cats, that like to dig toilet holes. I caught a number of them doing that last year after I dumped fresh clippings. :hissyfit:
 

mrrsm

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
8,344
Tampa Bay Area
Re: Post #2,242 for @azswiss ... and Followers-Readers facing this same "D-Fueling D-Lemma":

12 Volt DC Fuel Extraction Pump Kit:

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,,,Pumped into up to 20 Gallons of Safe, Temporary Fuel Storage:

1736726918246.png

 
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BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
Nothing too much. Had a few days off and the weather was nice but unfortunately did not have time to fire up the sleds. Oh well, supposed to snow a bit more tomorrow before dropping down to -30c again.

So, as much as I went back and forth between Timbrens and air bags, I decided on air bags for my 3500. Not sure if I talked about it at all but I had a so so experience running bags on my old 2011 1500. Great performers, great adjustability and ride but issues keeping the damn fittings from leaking.

Not like that 3500 needs much help, our new to us 6 horse gooseneck neck does squat the truck a bit. Nothing crazy but enough that I want to level it. Keep some weight on the steer axle and keeping the headlights pointed where they belong.

Timbrens allow some sag before they engage unless you install spacer plates to engage them sooner. Issue is there is no easy adjustability. With air bags you can adjust to whatever you need. So..... a local shop sells and installs Airlift systems. I am getting a quote on 88295 bags and 25980ez compressor. My wife and I really like the dedicated wireless remote, it just makes leveling and adjusting really damn easy.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
8,344
Tampa Bay Area
After having the Two Back To Back Hurricanes in October and just after helping my son and DIL and our two Grand Kids get a very nice rental 3 BR & 2B Home to live in very nearby and settled when they returned from North Florida, my Wife and I were surprised to get an invitation to spend Thanksgiving Day with them. It was everything we could have hoped for, too (...Think "Hallmark Card- TV ROM-COM " Good...)

Anyway... during the period we were gone for eight days back then between October 7th to the 14th... of course Duke Energy Linemen and others from supporting states were all struggling to return power to millions of Florida Customers, all of the food I had laid by for our ordinary celebration meals had spoiled. So my son had been good enough to clean out the Freezer and the Fridge for us a few days before we drove back home from Gainesville.

That said, no sooner had we returned than I ventured back out to the local Publix Supermarket and had re-stocked up with "The Thanksgiving Works" and ever since, those "Goodies" have been sound asleep and Ice Cold in our freezer. At least that was the case until today when the inspiration came to prepare the food in concert with the stern instructions of "She Who MUST Be...Obeyed" and for my part, I got to play the role of "The Scullery Maid" with most of the Food Preparation.

The results are always fascinating to me because in order to make these celebratory meals a success, an awful lot of "Busy Work" and Potato Peeling" falls to the Old Man and yet, that seems to add to the satisfaction in the end when you can sit down to a plate of food ...that looks like this,

We've been doing this together for Half A Century now...and if we make it to our 50th Wedding Anniversary, I'm going to ask for "Good and Gain Time" be applied to my sentence of KP Duties in 2025. THIS repast was well worth all of the *Fuss*:

TURKEYDAYREDUX.jpg


PS

I've never been much for playing "Schadenfreude" against my Fellow Man whenever they are beset by Major Troubles. There is just never anything Funny about Real Tragedy. But I remember somebody here chiding us Floridians just after those two Hurricanes hammered Florida with comments about his 10 Year Old Son saying, "Gee Dad...if they know this is going to happen again...Why Do They LIVE There...?" I really didn't appreciate "Feeling The Needle" being poked at us in this manner...and IIANM...that individual ...mentioned that he Hails from The State of California.

Like so many other Americans, my Wife and I try to vector our concerns for others in practical ways...like sending Money to Californians hurt by the Wild-Fires through Red Cross Donations. I hope that Dude and his Boy were not affected by the Horrors of those Fires and that he has since had a chance to pause and reflect upon being so directly callous towards us. Perhaps he has had a change of heart since then about the logic of insulting people merely for living in states ...where disasters can occur.

There... But for God's Grace... Go US All.

"So Shines a Good Deed... Upon a Weary World..."
 

azswiss

Member
May 23, 2021
1,015
Tempe, AZ
The fuel level on my wife's Volvo XC70 was finally low enough so I replaced the o-ring seal on the fuel tank level sensor. Sure enough, the old one had flattened out enough to allow fuel to seep past. The new one went in easily. Will wait to run through a full drive cycle to make sure the evap leak is fixed before I declare final victory (P0442 evap leak DTC flagged & CEL lit).

Not a moment too soon either. As I was pulling out of the driveway this afternoon in the Suburban I noticed small wisps of smoke coming from one of the button clusters on the steering wheel!!

Pulled right back into the garage and disconnected the battery. Last thing I need is an electrical fire right next to that nice big pyrotechnic device smack dab in the middle of the steering wheel.

Clearly a short in there somewhere so I will be pulling the steering wheel tomorrow to inspect the buttons & wiring harness.
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,229
Ottawa, ON
Just ordered from RockAuto enough oil and filters for 2 more oil changes on the Sierra before the possibility of :lipsrsealed: . For now, it's still cheaper to order the ACDelco DexosD oil it uses from the US rather than buying it in Canada, even with the $50CAD shipping. $8 vs $22/qt.

And I still currently have enough on hand for one oil change but I'm at 55% OLM.
 

flyboy2610

Member
Aug 24, 2021
556
Lincoln, Ne.
My son and his GF (wish I could type wife, as they have an almost 2 year old boy together) got an apartment in a town about 20 miles west of here. They moved in on Thursday. The apartment has hook ups for a washer and dryer. Her adoptive dad bought them a set from F***book Marketplace. They got them moved into the apartment and hooked up, but they couldn't get the washer to fill.
At 1:00 this morning he texted my wife and asked "Would dad be willing to drive over and see if he can help me figure out what's wrong?" So about 10:00 this morning I went over to see if I could help him.
The washer is an Amana and has 1 large dial with all the different wash cycles on it. To the right of that is the button labeled Start.
Below the dial is a row of lights labeled Fill, Wash, Rinse, Final Spin, Cycle Complete, and Lid Locked. The last light is lit the entire time the washer is in operation. Next to the row of lights is another button. Above the button it reads "Pause, unlock lid" and below it reads "Cancel Hold 3 Seconds".
When I got there the Final Spin light was on. Pushing the Start button sent the empty washer into the spin cycle. I made sure the water outlets on the wall were on, then pushed and held the lower button for several seconds until the Final Spin light went out. I selected a wash cycle, closed the lid, and pushed the Start button. The washer immediately began to fill.
Apparently somehow the washer got interrupted during Final Spin, and no one canceled the wash cycle, so pushing Start started the cycle from where it left off, Spin.
We ran the washer through the entire cycle, and it worked perfectly!
Boy, was my son embarrassed! I told him not to be, because that's how we learn!
They have a nice apartment, too.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,780
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Took advantage of the slight warm up in weather to get more brush cleared. This time, instead of focusing on clearing a line of sight to the rear of the property, I wanted to clear an area near the house, to allow better access to the retention pond. Had a bit of an added bonus after doing this as well.

Last winter, when I replaced the exterior electrical outlets on the shed. I noticed there was some conduit exiting the bottom of the box going into the ground, and I had zero clue where it went... Until now. The drain pipe that feeds into the pond, comes out right in the corner closest to the house, and the previous owner ran conduit to that location and placed an outlet there. It had just gotten hidden behind about 20 feet of brush and vines. I forgot to take a before pic, but the brush extended to the short plastic tote with the green lid.


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The concrete block that you see is the bulkhead for the storm water pipe. So in addition to the water that comes out there, so does all the trash that ends up on the street, that washes into the drains. I have a pool net that I use to clean up whatever I can reach. I've considered trying to make some kind of net to catch stuff, but that's more work than my mod bug wants to chew on.

From another angle, the water reaches to the green areas. At this point I've got plenty of real estate to drop a lake filter into, if I was going to start up my irrigation system project again. With this outlet being here (after replacing the outlet and putting a weatherproof box in) it would make it much easier to put the pond pump here, instead of up by the shed. The lower lift height would be easier on the pump for sure, and give me a little more reach into the back yard.

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I'll have to do a better job of keeping up with the brush and vines, not letting them get so out of hand moving forward. But if I do ever need to commit any appreciable amount of time to clearing this crap out, it will definitely be done in the winter. With the bugs in the summer, I don't think I'd survive in there. :hahano:
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,280
Brighton, CO
I am really starting to reconsider my purchase of the Rivian that I bought January 13 2024.

There really isnt anything wrong with the truck itself. Its had a few minor issues, and a on-going rattle that is driving up a wall..

The problem I am having with it is the culture driving the people who own EV's.
More specifically, the forums, like this one, that involve their support of those vehicles.

There are people abandoning Tesla en-mass because of who Elon supports.
People criticizing me because of who I support, calling me a confused Nazi.

It is straight up getting under my skin.

I didnt buy my EV Rivian to be politically correct, or to support one group or another..
I bought it because its the fastest SUV/Truck on the road, hands down, in my budget. It also helps that it has the best warranty of almost any vehicle on the road.

I just cant figure out why these idiots are so polarized by their political affiliation.

It really sucks, they are good trucks... But the people that own them, and drive them, are a bunch of Politically Driven Ass-Hats.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,229
Ottawa, ON
Personally, I don't care what people drive (except Ferds, they can go dive off a cliff with them before their engine blows up, however GM hasn't been any better lately). Drive what you like and F*ck the rest. However I'll still make fun of them up here in -20c and they can't run the heater because of range anxiety :laugh:

So go hug a tree, have a cappuccino, wait in line for a charge, take the money to the bank, give a salute (a single finger one!) and then watch the rest of us wither away as WE become the outliers, in about 100 years.

Love ya! :wink:
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
Well I love the dynamics of electric vehicles. The Mach e is wicked fast, smooth and just all around fun the drive. Aside from range and charging time, it's downfall is its a ford. Shitty interior and switchgear layout and the typical ford complexity. That and it's not a winter vehicle.

So this weekend is our only chance to get away. If we donr physically leave the farm, there is no such thing as days off. So, heavy headwind, snow, poor visibility, we still left for the city. Got to love the old Cummins. Have to shut if off when in a drive through, can barely park it at the hotel but man is it nice to drive. Aired the rear tires down to 55psi and she rides like a Caddy with 10 ply tires.....
 

BrianF

Member
Jul 24, 2013
1,275
West central Sask.
Hell, have been running the truck most of the day with a full winter front. It's funny how these diesels cannot hold temp at idle. It's not even cold yet and best she can do is 81c coolant temp. She just idled up to 1000rpm and no change. Oh well, no cat or DPF to clog up.
 

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mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
8,344
Tampa Bay Area
Poking around on eBay just now and thought these two items would make it a *SNAP* To Keep Good Time... These two Digital Clocks are both clever, and *cute* in a sort of way that feeds into the frenzy of learning and appreciation I have been developing of late after falling in love with affordable, low priced used Snap-On Diagnostics Equipment. So I grabbed both of THESE as they are very unusual and useful collectibles and... because I will enjoy having them around... (Along with a REAL Snap-On Solus Pro arriving in just a few days... :>)

SNAPDIGITALWALLCLOCK1.jpgSNAPDIGITALWALLCLOCK2.jpgSNAPONSOLUSPROCLOCK1.jpgSNAPONSOLUSPROCLOCK2.jpgSNAPONSOLUSPROCLOCK3.jpg
 
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