What are you doing today?

[Mooseman]

More driving this weekend. Friday, drove to North Bay, about 4 hours away, to our son's for an Easter visit. Then today, drove back but because the usual road was flooded in one spot, took a detour which took an extra hour. Glad to be back and hopefully take a break from driving long distances for a while.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

In the cube farm

 

[Mooseman]

Smoking a ham and then deep frying a turkey for Easter dinner tonight.

 

[littleblazer]

Drove to work. Working. Class then BBQ tonight.

 

[Reprise]

Took the Envoy to get its emissions cert, so that I could then renew the license plates. Passed (I expected no different). Got the renewal sticker for the plates at the same place (hella convenient)

Then I stopped by a machine shop that was on the way back (my mech told me to speak to them before I spent any money).

After talking with the guy for about 20min about what I wanted for the Sierra, the takeaways were...

- Stick with the low compression, large CC (stock) 317 heads, and don't do anything more than a valve job and a cleanup cut
- Speak directly with the cam manufacturers to get their recommendations (he mainly does high HP / race stuff)
- Give serious thought to a diesel (for me, that would be a pre-DEF Duramax; good luck finding one that wasn't beat to hell / had 1MM miles on it). Told him I'd be starting over from a knowledge / capability standpoint, and preferred gas. He still pushed the diesel option.

My head says he's prolly right. My heart (& my checkbook) tell me different.
Visions of $5000 injector R&Rs are dancing in my head
Still cheaper than 'bulletproofing' a F**d! ROFL

I should probably start my 'build' thread on the Sierra (although I'm not quite ready to do the teardown, just yet.)

 

[Mooseman]

Went and paid for a sled trailer I won at the gov't surplus auction. Then went to Service Ontario to transfer ownership as they will not release it until that's done. There were over 50 people waiting in line! Typical after a long weekend. I'm working nights today and tomorrow. I'll go get the reg done tomorrow after my beauty sleep and then pick it up on Thur.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Working for the man

 

[BrianF]

Easter plans got scuttled so the family and I went to Saskatoon (Sastoon as the locals say) Dropped off two puppies and did some much needed shopping. Wife picked up some horse dewormer, parts for the horse body clippers and I got some filters for the 3500. Got the Baldwin BT7349 oil filter and BF46031 rear filter/water separator. Just need to get some oil from the PetroCan bulk dealer and front Fleetguard FS53000 fuel filter and I am set.

 

[northcreek]

Got the Motorhome inspected today, it's just a safety insp.(lights,horn,etc.) because it's over 25 yrs. old .
Guy said he likes doing my stuff because it's always well maintained, I said " yeah when you're retired you can be as anal as you want" .

 

[Sparky]

Did a "know your numbers" health check thing at work. Did NOT pass out from the needle prick, though I came close. So weird how i can gouge up my hand working on something and hardly notice until I realize I'm bleeding on stuff, yet a stupid little prick results in heart rate and BP drop enough that I pass out or at least close to it.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

In the field office and doing all sorts of productive work. Kind of enjoy it

 

[Blckshdw]

Been reading threads and watching YT videos about rod bearing knock. That not-so-good feeling I've had in my stomach all week, has gotten a lil worse as a result. Will be pulling the belt off when I get home, and saying a few prayers before turning the key.

Trying to consider my options, for different scenarios. Since pouring a bunch of money into the tranny last week, and the good condition of everything else, getting rid of the truck isn't an option. Have wanted to get a commuter car for work, and zipping around town, relegate the EXT to hardware store runs, beach trips, and stuff like that. The idea was to get something newer, but still used. But now, maybe something a lil older to get me by, and then try working/learning things as I go. REALLY hoping it's just the water pump though. :FingersCrossed:

Work is slow today. One of the women on the team almost went into labor last night, her due date is in 3 weeks. Another team member put in her 2 week notice today. So we're going to be short a few people pretty soon. A new LMS system is getting rolled out by corporate, and the boss is behind on everything that's going on. She keeps tagging me in chat threads, that I've already read.

Is it quitting time yet?

 

[Mektek]

Checking brakes on the lumina. Found a warped drum so I went to O'reilly and asked them to machine it. Manager wanted to train a new employee and did it for free!

 

[BrianF]

back to work. I got my new work phone all up and running. Some sort of fancy Samsung S9. Yay... But at least I have not had to have a personal cell phone since 2006. I guess my job has one perk to it. Maybe.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Working in the cube farm and dreaming of the next four days of not being stuck in here.

 

[Mooseman]

After sleeping this morning after a night shift, went and picked up the trailer I won at the gov't surplus auction. Good deal on a 12' enclosed sled trailer.

Browse recently sold items

Search for federal government surplus using keywords, location, category and posting/closing date

www.gcsurplus.ca

Then, got it home and transferred the sleds from the old trailer into it. Did a few things to the old trailer, took pics and put it up for sale:

Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds

Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.

www.kijiji.ca

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

In the my local office and have the 3 year old with me. She never gets to hang w dad at work and its awful nice to have her here and so excited.

 

[xavierny25]

Nice day off so I went to the DMV to got my enhanced driver's license.

Also got a chance to stop by my brothers shop and look at a few things he is working on.
He extended the color sample display.


This bike is just amazing from every angle.

 

[Beacon]

replaced the wheel bearings on the liberty, broke a half inch craftsmen breaker bar on the lug nuts I hand tightened. i still don't understand how that happened.

 

[wstuckey1]

Bedlined the insides yesterday with tan spray on bedliner. Today I’m installing all the ribs and the cross brace and buying an oar. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I can set it in the water and give it a whirl

 

[wstuckey1]

Got the ribs in the canoe. Leaks pretty badly so I’m planning on lining all the seams with caulk tomorrow.

 

[Blckshdw]

As long as you didn't sink out there...

Been a pretty lazy day over here. Lots of TV watching, a few naps on the couch, and relaxing. Contemplated running some errands, but I'm a little sore, so procrastinating until tomorrow.

 

[wstuckey1]

As long as you didn't sink out there...

Lol. I’m kinda surprised I didn’t fall through the bottom. 185 pounds in a ~40 year old canoe made of .050” aluminum with water leaking through the seams. It was a little nerve racking.

 

[northcreek]

Maybe call, that Flex Seal guy...

 

[Mektek]

Yeah, you could have a screen door on the bottom of your canoe and it wouldn't leak with a bit of flex seal!

 

[Matt]

Maybe installing my new rad skid...if Jay ever wakes up!

 

[Mooseman]

Was supposed to go to a birthday party for a friend but has been cancelled due to illness. When it warms up a bit this afternoon, I'll replace the VTEC solenoid on the wife's CR-V. I've had the part for over a week but either I was working, busy or the weather was crap.

 

[wstuckey1]

I thought about using flex seal. It’s pretty expensive though. I’m going to line all the seams with caulk

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Swung intot he office after church to do a little work and then thinking I will hit up grocery store and turn on the pellet smoker/grill and cook up some grub

 

[xavierny25]

I'm sure Amazon does this in other cities but what we have is called treasure truck. Amazon account holders get an text as to what item and what location they will be out through out the city. You pay via your Amazon account and pick up the item at the time and location it or they will be at. Today I scored pretty big under 30 bucks for a few of the chemical guys products I've been wanting to try.

Lucky for me the deal was at a location about 4 blocks away and between the hours of 4:00pm and 6ish I believe. Got there after work at about 4:40 and picked up my goodies.
There also different games and activities one can do to get other freebies. I've gotten other stuff from the Amazon treasure truck but didn't feel the need to post this being car care items I figured why not.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Never heard of that at all, but pretty sweet deal.

Today is another cube day. And a huge parental mental stress day. Sometimes life can be a bitch

 

[Blckshdw]

They have the treasure truck here, while I haven't checked it out myself, many of my coworkers have.

I did get an email from Amazon prime, about being able to deliver your items INSIDE your garage! Had to look at that real quick. While the safety and security of having your packages dropped off and unavailable to porch pirates is a great idea, giving some random stranger access to the contents of my garage is enough to outweigh it. If the garage door to my kitchen didn't lock, that would take it off the table completely.

**linky pic**


So far, this morning is cruising along. I've been dead tired since the weekend. Got a good night's rest, but still woke up tired. Downed an energy drink when I got to the office, so at least I'm not yawning as much as I was before. Hopefully the rest of the day goes by without any drama. Work seems to be slow for everyone, which means it will be slow for me too.

 

[xavierny25]

They have the treasure truck here, while I haven't checked it out myself, many of my coworkers have.

I did get an email from Amazon prime, about being able to deliver your items INSIDE your garage! Had to look at that real quick. While the safety and security of having your packages dropped off and unavailable to porch pirates is a great idea, giving some random stranger access to the contents of my garage is enough to outweigh it. If the garage door to my kitchen didn't lock, that would take it off the table completely.

**linky pic**
View attachment 88358

So far, this morning is cruising along. I've been dead tired since the weekend. Got a good night's rest, but still woke up tired. Downed an energy drink when I got to the office, so at least I'm not yawning as much as I was before. Hopefully the rest of the day goes by without any drama. Work seems to be slow for everyone, which means it will be slow for me too.

Iirc they did advertise dropping stuff to the trunk of your car as well but I think that was for newer cars that have the option to open the trunk/locks via a smart phone app. I guess that was more advertised for ppl to get there stuff to them while at work and not left out on there porch all morning/day long.

 

[Blckshdw]

Just got a call from the solar company, the utility company came out and installed my new bi-directional meter after approving my application. So when I get home, I can activate the solar array and start making some power! Excited to see the change in my electric bill starting next month.

 

[BrianF]

Started fixing fence. Then the snow came.... got a buyer interested in my old sleds but wanting some better pictures, just need so.e decent weather.

 

[Mooseman]

Whore's morning, then went in the garage to set up my "new" tool chest. Also fixed the garage door opener which kept sensing blockage and would not continue to open. It's an older one that has a weird sensing mechanism so I just disabled it. Also put the small pump into the pool tarp to drain it since they're calling for a bunch of rain tomorrow.

 

[Blckshdw]

Slow day so far, no meetings, conference calls or anything on the schedule, so trying to keep busy.

Had some difficulties getting logged in to access the solar system last night, had the project manager send me an activation email this morning and now I'm in and poking around. Pretty cool stuff, can see how much the system is producing, how much the house is consuming, and how much is going back into the grid.

Read through the email from the utility company to get the details on how the net metering works. They'll roll over any production credits to the following month. Anything not used at the end of the annual cycle, they'll cut me a check for. Will have to wait and see my next bill to see if the cycle starts over now, follows the calendar year, or the month I started the account when I bought the house.



I can tell from the larger consumption spikes, when the AC kicks on. In other views, I can check things out down to 15 minute increments. In some cases, I could tell when the garage door was used, or the water heater kicking on from the shower. Will be nice to see how things start to level out after several days/weeks/month of data get collected. As part of the package, I got one of those Nest learning thermostats. Haven't really played much with it, but a friend of mine who also has one, says he has his reduce the AC during the day when they're at work all day, and then kick on 30 minutes before they get home, to cool the house back down. Seems like a good idea. Might give that a try this summer.

 

[TollKeeper]

Did you pay for the Solar outright? All the solar companies I have checked with here, you dont get any check, or any credits, until the system is paid off. That looks to be a interesting system you have where you can see effectively whats going on. Do they offer a battery bank with it?

 

[Blckshdw]

I financed it, yes. There's a 30% tax credit, that I can get on next year's taxes when I file. And the solar company gave a rebate check to the utility company that's supposed to cover the account fees, taxes and stuff (non electrical usage) for 1 year. The idea was to zero out the electric bill for the first year.

I gave them a couple of abnormally high electric bills, from when my sister was living with me, and she ran lights, fans, and other stuff 24/7 even when she wasn't home So I knew I'd be producing more than I needed, but at least that gave me some flexibility with how much usage I could use up or give back. I did have the idea of installing attic fans at the north and south gable vents and run those in the summer off thermostats. I don't have to be up there very often, but when I do...

They did have battery banks available, and that was something I really wanted to do. But the salesman was cool, and most importantly honest. He said they offered some between $6-13K but not to touch them, as the technology isn't where it needs to be, and probably won't get there for another 5 years. He said at best, with the Tesla Wall, you could run a few circuits in your house (fridge, lights, and some fans) for maybe 6-8 hours and it would be dead. If you're looking to run the whole house, (which is what I would want to do) get a standby generator instead. So that may be an investment down the road for me.

 

[gpking]

Might be getting ready to get a deal... or waste my time.

I've been looking for a second daily to take the burden off the TrailBlazer in the range of around $4k, and a guy in my town has a '12 Impala LTZ listed at under KBB private sale, claims nothing is wrong with it other than the spoiler broke so he took it off. Looks clean in the pics (other than missing spoiler).
I've never been a huge fan of modern GM cars, but there's something I like about those Impalas. And I hear they fly with the 3.6L.
Shoot, we'll give it a look.