What are you doing today?

[Reprise]

I can't say that right now. 5 of the last 6 orders have arrived late even though they were Prime and Prime shipping is 2 days after shipping. They've arrived in 3 to 5 days after shipping. I haven't said anything yet, but will next week when the stuff I ordered arrives...5 days after shipping through Prime.

Sorry to hear that. I do have a 'couple' of logistical advantages that you may not...
- While I live in a smaller town, I'm damn near equidistant between CHI and MKE
- Along with that, I don't have near the traffic congestion that you'd find in Chicago (im)proper
- There's an AMZN distribution center within about 6 miles of my house
- There's an AMZN warehouse within 20 mi of me, just over the border in WI
- Both of the above make me near enough for next day / same day, on occasion (although I *never* do this; anything I need that quick, I'll get locally)
- UPS (who Amzn subcontracts with) has a hub about 15mi away
- My local post office (who both UPS and AMZN sometimes use for 'last mile') is pretty good, too
- Chicago is a major transport hub
- probably something else I can't think of, now.

I know you're in OH - anywhere near a larger city? If not, I'll guess that's a factor - ?
Depending on how much you order from them, I'd definitely let them know every time they missed their promised delivery. They will often bend over backwards for frequent customers (and they want that Prime subscription to continue, of course).

(note: I'm not trying to be a shill or cheerleader for AMZN, in the least. But timely delivery isn't one of the problems I have with them).

On a side note (but related)... my fuel pump being carried by FedEx is now "update pending". Who knows where it is? If I could get the (non-standard / non-OEM) pump from anyone else (especially from Amazon), I'd have purchased it from them by now, and just requested a second RMA from this company.

Guessing that maybe (?) FedEx is concentrating on their 'Custom Critical' arm delivering Pfizer vaccine west of the Mississippi this weekend; UPS has the east side. And if that's the case, I don't have a beef with FedEx at all.

Rather, my beef is with having to chase the company dropping the ball 2x, and lying to me (long story; I'll save the rant).
Bears might actually win today, so I'm in a (better) mood and don't want to waste it (or my Sunday buzz). LOL

 

[Matt]

Sorry to hear that. I do have a 'couple' of logistical advantages that you may not...
- While I live in a smaller town, I'm damn near equidistant between CHI and MKE
- Along with that, I don't have near the traffic congestion that you'd find in Chicago (im)proper
- There's an AMZN distribution center within about 6 miles of my house
- There's an AMZN warehouse within 20 mi of me, just over the border in WI
- Both of the above make me near enough for next day / same day, on occasion (although I *never* do this; anything I need that quick, I'll get locally)
- UPS (who Amzn subcontracts with) has a hub about 15mi away
- My local post office (who both UPS and AMZN sometimes use for 'last mile') is pretty good, too
- Chicago is a major transport hub
- probably something else I can't think of, now.

I know you're in OH - anywhere near a larger city? If not, I'll guess that's a factor - ?
Depending on how much you order from them, I'd definitely let them know every time they missed their promised delivery. They will often bend over backwards for frequent customers (and they want that Prime subscription to continue, of course).

(note: I'm not trying to be a shill or cheerleader for AMZN, in the least. But timely delivery isn't one of the problems I have with them).

On a side note (but related)... my fuel pump being carried by FedEx is now "update pending". Who knows where it is? If I could get the (non-standard / non-OEM) pump from anyone else (especially from Amazon), I'd have purchased it from them by now, and just requested a second RMA from this company.

Guessing that maybe (?) FedEx is concentrating on their 'Custom Critical' arm delivering Pfizer vaccine west of the Mississippi this weekend; UPS has the east side. And if that's the case, I don't have a beef with FedEx at all.

Rather, my beef is with having to chase the company dropping the ball 2x, and lying to me (long story; I'll save the rant).
Bears might actually win today, so I'm in a (better) mood and don't want to waste it (or my Sunday buzz). LOL

I'm just near Akron and there's an Amazon distribution warehouse about 10 miles from my house. I pretty much order something from Amazon every two weeks, so I think I'm a pretty good customer.

 

[BrianF]

Went to Crimetown last night with the family. Got home and it was -29c, so somewhat brisk out. Wake up for chores and head out, wondering why it was so warm. Warmed up to a balmy -21c.

Qent back to Crimetown this morning to drop Big Blue off at the dealer to sort out the leak between the transmission and transfer case.

 

[Mooseman]

Good day today hunting for parts. The yard close to me had a RR door handle that broke on the Av as well as an interior temp sensor (mine's noisy). What I was really looking for was the dash filler piece between the windshield and dashboard since mine is cracked. The Escalade there had its piece already taken. The yard in Gatineau QC, which is about 45 minutes away, has two Silverados, an 07 and a 10. Struck pay dirt with both of them. The 07's piece was intact but dirty and paint stained. The 10's was in excellent shape and being a later year, hopefully had its cracking problems resolved.

Also took the opportunity to do a quick visit with my eldest son and pick up some cheap beer and liquor. Tomorrow, taking the Av to the body shop for some rust R&R and removal of the ugly roof rack. Who the hell needs a roof rack on a pickup truck? Makes removing snow a PITA.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Some RE appraisal work for a non-profit since it just felt like the right thing to do in the season. Fire in the fireplace and some popcorn for sustenance to help keep me going.

 

[Reprise]

I'm just near Akron and there's an Amazon distribution warehouse about 10 miles from my house. I pretty much order something from Amazon every two weeks, so I think I'm a pretty good customer.

I'd agree. No excuse, then. As Lance said in the movie... "No trial, no jury, straight to execution"

Went to Crimetown last night with the family. Got home and it was -29c, so somewhat brisk out. Wake up for chores and head out, wondering why it was so warm. Warmed up to a balmy -21c.

Qent back to Crimetown this morning to drop Big Blue off at the dealer to sort out the leak between the transmission and transfer case.

I'll have you know... I spent 20 (!) minutes trying to figure out where you were referring to. Best I could come up with was Edmonton (or, 'Deadmonton' / 'Stabmonton', if you prefer).

You want 'crime', my friend? Come visit me, and we'll drive down to the 312.
Edmonton will seem absolutely pastoral, by comparison.



As for 'me' today... made the drive up to see the Accord. I knew I was pretty far north when I saw the highway sign stating that Green Bay was roughly 38mi away from where I was headed. As it was, I didn't need to travel to Lambeau to experience the frozen tundra -- that's basically the entire state, right now. ❄❄ ❄ Wished I'd worn a warmer coat.

The car was in great shape. But not quite the creampuff I was hoping it was, and the guy thought he had the car of the world; he wouldn't move off the price more than $300.00
Thanked him for his time and told him to go ahead and call those "3 guys waiting after me" to "snap up that deal". All of a sudden, another $200.00 quickly fell from the price. But I wasn't done with him. Took a bit longer, but finally got another $300.00 off on top of that, and decided not to push my luck further, at that point. I'm going to have to put a little coin into it (but nothing like the last three projects).

Yeah, I bought the car. I'm a sucker for a Honda with a manual, I guess. 🏎 I'll want to revise the suspension up front; maybe some coilovers and a strut tower brace, to start, as there's a bit more lean than I'd like while cornering. We'll see. Not looking for 'Fast & Furious', just a nice 'touring' type of feel. It's not 'Buick-y' (that's Toyota's domain), but it's not like I remembered my similar year Accord when I owned it, either.
Should've kept that one - but it had a slushbox, and wouldn't be the car I need 'now', either.

Photo tomorrow; by the time I got home, it was way after dark. The car & trailer are still hooked to the Voy, and both are in my driveway. I'll take the car off the trailer tomorrow, in daylight, since U-Haul gives two days with the trailer by default. Thankfully, the Envoy & trailer just fit; my village has an on-street parking ban from 2a-6a (which is why I'm up writing this at nearly 5am)

Back up to 3 in the stable, and thinking that after I earlier said the Voy would be pried from my cold, dead hands (thanks, Charlton!), that I might actually part with it, now. 'Thinking'... not 'decided'. It's worth a lot more (to me) than I could get for it; except for a new noise that appeared from the P/S windshield area at +65mph, it was a beautiful drive there and back. While WI does have some hills (especially compared to IL), the trans didn't downshift once, the whole trip back. Probably could've towed in 'D', but kept it in '3', to be safe.

I should've taken it to the Cat scale... the U-Haul guy estimated the trailer at about 2,000lb, and the Accord weighs about 3,200 (-?) -- so I had about 5200lb on the back. Nothing I haven't done with the Envoy, before. But since there's no weight distributing load bars on the U-Haul trailer, it sagged a little more than I'd have liked, at first -- until I remembered to air the tires up! Once I put the rears at 44psi, and the fronts at 40, the stance looked a bit better.

I have to wonder... did GM really think adding a tow/haul mode to at least *some* GMT360 / 370 V8 trims was going to cannibalize from the Tahoe / Yukon twins? If it weren't for the fact that I have the Sierra, I'd finish activating it on the Envoy; something I planned on doing, but dropped it when I decided to beef up my tow vehicle (and after that, the trailer!)
'First world problems', as the kids say, these days.

 

[BrianF]

Yes, dear old Crimetown, as us locals so vehemently refer to North Battleford.

While not as bad as some big cities, it scores high on the crime index per capita. Its also a dirty, dirty town. Ridden with gangs, drugs and rubbies.

 

[BrianF]

On a brighter note, the dealer called back and confirmed it was the transmission output seal leaking. Now they will change it and the transfer case input seal since they are in there. Bad news is one of the seals has to come up from the US. So will book in close to two weeks from now.

No big deal, the truck works and all is well in the world.

 

[Matt]

Just found out another person in my department is being laid off and her stuff is being handed out...I just got another area to bill. That's 2 people gone in the last couple of weeks and we're now down to 5 from 7. And an extra kick in the balls is one of us (not me) is getting less to do...

 

[Mooseman]

Going to a big and tall shop for some Xmas shopping for my eldest son. Might grab something for myself too. Shouldn't be too busy compared to big box stores. I'll sure miss the heated seats and remote start in the Av since the TB has neither and it's -18c this morning

 

[northcreek]

Going to a big and tall shop for some Xmas shopping for my eldest son. Might grab something for myself too. Shouldn't be too busy compared to big box stores. I'll sure miss the heated seats and remote start in the Av since the TB has neither and it's -18c this morning

Just don't go near the Post Office, lines are out to the street, geez... even a curmudgeon like me knows how to do online postage/shipping.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Working and working. Had the fridge die and couple grand to replace means it is time to step up the side work and make that jack.

 

[BrianF]

-18? Holehhhh all balmy and warm!! Just jokes, it was -5 today with lots'o sun! Got some odds and ends done around the house. Couldn't move any snow because we had some wamr weather the other week and it was solid as all fck.

So the neighbor came by with the skid steer and made quick work of it. Now off to toon town tomorrow for my wifes surgeon appointment.

 

[mrrsm]

While we watched as the Sky literally turned Green... a Tornado came Ripping and Tear-Assing through the mid-peninsula on the Gulf Coast last evening. One unlucky owner of a Silverado had his Truck lifted airborne and flipped upside down and 'Turtled'. The Stills and Short Local Video tell the Story of a Tropical Tornado occurring in the Middle of Winter... What NEXT?

 

[BrianF]

And thats why I live in this cold and desolate wasteland.

 

[mrrsm]

Jesus Palomino...You have just GOT to Love Chevrolet Trucks... Watch the part in this Video where the Silverado Owner ...Starts it Right Up...

 

[Blckshdw]

Day 1 of my holiday staycation for the rest of the year. My home office had slowly morphed back into a messy storage dump, since I've been using the dining room table as my work from home space due to the 3 monitor setup. So wheeled in a big trash can and the vacuum cleaner, and got to work. Cleared off most of the desk space, threw out a bunch of stuff that wasn't needed, and got some things into bins so they were organized better. Went through some of the bins/boxes on the shelving units and got rid of a bunch of stuff.

Found a failed mod box from YEARS ago, when I tried to make silicone molds of the EXT roof rack caps, back when I wanted to make my own version of Northface lenses. That brought back memories, trying to do mods in an apartment kitchen. Also found a bunch of old computer components that never got tossed out, so set that box aside to be taken for recycling. Now I've got plenty of desk and floor space in that room again.

 

[Mooseman]

Sold the pair of ACDelco rear shocks from the Av that were on for only about a month. Then went for some errands with the TB. I actually missed driving it. I had forgotten how much smaller and nimble it is compared to the Av and can get up and go fairly quick. And oh so much cheaper on gas!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Returns to the post office and to UPS. Waiting on kids to get out of school and a client to come pick up a report. Been knocking out another report all morning and it seems that I will be able to start the vacation from work until Jan 4 tonight as I had hoped!

 

[BrianF]

Things went well in the city for my wife. Healing great and out of the cast. She can begin physio and some weight bearing. She's pretty happy!

The kids got a riding lesson from friend and got to ride an Andalusian. Both were pretty happy!

Then to top it off we surprised them with an early Christmas present, a maremma puppy.

 

[mrrsm]

@BrianF ... Dogs and Horses? (YAY!) BEATS having a *dinky* "Friday Surprise Box" (meh) as 'School Performance Motivators'...HANDS DOWN.

 

[BrianF]

Lol!!!! Living out here has some benefits, thats for sure. Hell, we will be turning into a regular funny farm soon. Planning for chickens this spring and maybe some goats or even a miniature donkey in the future.

 

[Redbeard]

Planning for chickens this spring and maybe some goats or even a miniature donkey in the future.

Check out "Kyle the Rooster" on youtube. He puts out several short videos a week that the mrs & I watch during our lunch, but one of the neat things is all the different characters the different animals have. They each have their own personality! For the past 2 or three years I have feed a pair of chickens that come over to my home and spend the day. I believe the bush they liked for cover got cut down in their home yard and low and behold a bush in my backyard has about the same dimensions as their old bush and they spend most of the day under my bush. They are enjoyable to have around. And in the last week they have graced us with three eggs! First time ever.

 

[Blckshdw]

Vacation day 2 in the books. Since the desk space in the office was finally clear, decided to take on a mod project that's been way down on the priority list for years. My computer case has red LEDs for power and hard drive activity, and I always wanted to change them to blue, but never really looked into it. It doesn't have LEDs crammed into a hole in the panel like most, there's a PCB, with the switches, lights, front audio connections and stuff in it. Took that apart to have a look.

Hard drive LED was your run of the mill 3mm, soldered through the back of the board. Power LED turns out to be a 1.5mm that's buried inside the switch itself. While testing, I sent too much juice to the power LED and smoked it At least I won't have red anymore. Got the HDD light out, put in a 5mm blue one and soldered it in place. Mistake. Test fitted it inside the case panel, and it was too tall, didn't clear. I had some room to adjust, but in desoldering the joints to push the LED down, the + pad lifted off the PCB Fortunately there are also pads on the front side, so will attempt to bend the LED legs to make feet and solder them on that way tomorrow. Put the electronics down after that.

Decided to go through my filing cabinet, which was pretty full, and get rid of old crap. Tons of old paperwork from past jobs. Old insurance papers that got dumped in a folder. The way I had my chair parked in front of the shredder looked like those TV shows/movies where someone's expecting a visit from the feds. I've got 1 small garbage bag full of cross shredded pieces, will add those to the compost pile this weekend. Had a Dr appointment, a couple of things the doc wanted to keep an eye on are improving, everything else was in good shape, so y'all are stuck with me for the long haul.

Haven't decided what's on tap for tomorrow yet, but I've got a pretty healthy list of projects to choose from

 

[Reprise]

Finally got my replacement fuel pump from Quantum late this afternoon, so I can throw that in tomorrow and get the Sierra back on the road. Looks like a nice piece; there's a ton of little marks made in marker, where someone apparently used to mark off the various things they checked on the module assembly.

Went and got a couple of gallons of gas for the Accord, as it had very little in it (and no plates / insurance on it, yet). I hate the newfangled gas containers, btw -- but at least they don't leak fumes inside the vehicle, when transporting.

Put the gas in and started the Accord up. That's when I realized that the e-brake isn't adjusted properly (I pushed the clutch in and started rolling down the driveway). Had suspected it was inop, based on how high the lever pulled up (and with no resistance). Looked up whether it had switched over to the electronic e-brake, or still had the cable. Still has the cable, so I can fix that. Access is underneath the center console, inside the car. Will look at that soon, after I get the Envoy fixed (it appears to have a slow coolant leak, and I don't yet know where from.)

Ran an Autocheck against the Accord, and it was apparently in an accident, back in '08, right after it had been put into service. Didn't see any frame damage, etc., when I'd looked at it, prior to buying. WI makes their accident reports public record, so it listed as "no airbag deployment", at least. Contacted the local PD, and got the details via e-mail. Apparently, owner #1 was 'flying' through his local Costco's parking lot, and hit another car. Nothing on the report on 'where' the damage was, but guessing it was in the front, based on the report language. Also nothing about a wrecker or ambulance being called, etc. So it was (hopefully) minor.

 

[NJTB]

Getting ready to retire January 1st. 20 years on the job, will be 71 end of January, it's time.

 

[Matt]

Smoking ribs for dinner and drinking beer.

 

[Mooseman]

Getting ready to retire January 1st. 20 years on the job, will be 71 end of January, it's time.

Congrats! Is that 20 years on THE JOB? I retired in 2018 after 31 years as a LEO.

 

[m.mcmillen]

Got the stitches out from my shoulder surgery. Ready to get back into the full swing of things at work because I have too much free time and I've been buying a lot of stuff.

Also replaced my old snow blower. My wife had to use it last week when it snowed and declared it junk, which it is.

 

[NJTB]

Congrats! Is that 20 years on THE JOB? I retired in 2018 after 31 years as a LEO.

No, I was a packaging machine mechanic, that was after 20 years as an mechanic at a dealer.
Kind of surprises me, I told the company I was going to retire just before Thanksgiving. They tried replacing me from within the company, didn't work. Then they went outside the company, hired a couple of millenials, and they don't seem to get electro-mechanical work. I was pretty stunned at their mechanical ability, which was poor to none and pretty unmotivated. Fair to good with customer service, good with the computer, though.
Seems like the old guys with that kind of ability are becoming rare.

 

[mrrsm]

Sweet...! We NEED you here with US... (Now... The GMT Nation can have you ALL to ourselves, Brother)

 

[Blckshdw]

Day 3, since it warmed up a bit, decided to do some work outside. When I bought the house, one of the things that bothered me, was this gazebo the previous owner built, that blocks your line of sight to the back fence from the house. At closing, I remembered him saying he built that, as well as all the fencing at the same time. The fence is showing its age, and looking closer, so are parts of the gazebo. Since I have to duck walking around inside that thing, I'm never out there other than showing it to people when they visit. After having a couple of fence panels come loose after the last tropical storm, it's not out of the question that the roof panels could be next. So the plan is to remove the roofing, and screens from the gazebo, which will open up a sight line to the rear fence from the house/shed.



The trees next to it will be happier, as they've been rubbing against the edges for years now.



Most of the screws were rusted, some of them already broken loose. Nearly all of them snapped off during removal. After moving to the 2nd side, I looked up at the center piece, and it looked in rough shape. Thankfully it wasn't attached, just set in place, so all I had to do was lift it out of the way.



That was actually pretty handy, so I didn't have to lay out on the deck and worry about sliding while removing the upper screws



It took a bit longer to get done, and a lot more energy, than I expected. Pretty annoying trying to keep digging in my pocket, as they used 3 different screw heads, so I had to keep changing bits. While I was up there, I did take a quick break, to enjoy the view of the water.




Climbed down to go rehydrate, then back at it to wrap up this piece before sundown. Ended up having to trim a bunch of the tree branches, since I wasn't able to move them out of the way enough to get to some of the screws, and get the panels off of it. Sometime next week, I'll tear the screening out of there, and start removing the decking. I can repurpose the plywood for other stuff. I plan to leave the platform in place, convenient spot to put stuff I don't want on the ground, or to tip over when I'm working out in the yard. Undecided on how much of the framing I'll leave in place.



Finished off the day with some laundry, burgers, ibuprofen, and some rum. Not necessarily in that order. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

 

[mrrsm]

I was just thinking ahead about your Ryobi Electric Riding Lawn Mower accidentally running over any of THESE with those Large Pneumatic Tires and going Flat at the worst possible time (including Folks running Bare Foot or wearing Flip-Flops);



...unless you get one of THESE to roll around the yard a LOT first:



We have to look out for each other.... :>)

 

[aaserv]

Have to start tomorrow cleaning up around here. Have to haul off the parts car, going to be sad to see it go. Im bringing a public records request to the City tomorrow to get the documents to file suit against the city and a neighbor. Ive got them over a barrel and they will not be happy so Im sure they'll be over here looking to write me up for any violation they can find. I think the parts car is the only thing they could find so might as well get it out of here now.
Warmed up enough yesterday to finally look at the power steering leak. Looks like its coming from where the lines go into the rack. Spent most of the afternoon tracking down the only set of seals in stock around here. $46 for 2 little rubber seals.....Couldnt find them cheaper online either. Sure hope it fixes it.

 

[TollKeeper]

Saturday..

Gal local to me was parting out a XUV. I want to grab a bunch of parts, but I just dont have storage for them. Would love to grab the whole truck, same problem.

I did grab the XUV TailGate thou. Fairly simple to remove. I just want to grab parts off it, unless I need it. It was the same color as mine.. Micro-switches, 3rd brake light, latches, wiper motor, wiper blade, those are the main reason I grabbed it. Hoping I can figure out how to rebuild the latches.

That XUV was completely totaled thou. Both sides of the frame were completely screwed!

 

[northcreek]

Bummer of a day, had to put down my old buddy Sam. He was only 10 but, had end stage hip dysplasia (could medicate for that) but then developed nasal cancer and bled constantly from his nose for 3 months, he was a trooper to the end.
Buried him up on the hill like the three before him and me and the wife had some Ales.

Date is incorrect

 

[cornchip]

Bummer of a day, had to put down my old buddy Sam. He was only 10 but, had end stage hip dysplasia (could medicate for that) but then developed nasal cancer and bled constantly from his nose for 3 months, he was a trooper to the end.
Buried him up on the hill like the three before him and me and the wife had some Ales.
View attachment 99341
Date is incorrect

All dogs go to heaven. RIP Sam.

 

[Blckshdw]

Another day in the yard. Took a rest, then back at the gazebo to remove the plywood decking. Got into a good groove with the prybar, and was getting panels popped loose and tossed off, and then hit a snag. I should have figured this, from how the PO used multiple fastener types for the metal panels. Well in addition to nails, he also used screws, and in some cases extra long screws that had the tips bent and hammered flat on the underside of the rafters. I didn't notice this right away, until some of the rafters busted. That joist you see, and it's twin right behind it, are at eye level for me.




Got all the way around to the last section, and had one panel that kept fighting me. The last few panels were full of screws all over, so had to get on top to back those out, but even still, the last one in one section wouldn't let go. I could see it had a couple nails in it, and eventually tore it out, damage be damned I just wanted to be done at that point.




Did come across a number of wasp nests, and some ant colonies in some of the gaps, so I'm sure they weren't too happy to see me. Just like Friday, wrapped up just as the sun was starting to set. Tore off all the tar paper, and tossed the plywood in the shed. I'm sure there will be random uses for scrap wood at some point. At least the hardest parts are out of the way now. Can't imagine doing this in the heat of the summer.

...unless you get one of THESE to roll around the yard a LOT first:

View attachment 99323

I've actually wanted to get one of these for the garage, cuz I always drop stuff, and don't find them until days/weeks later it seems. I'll definitely be getting one to run around the work area. I made an effort to catch all the loose nails and screws, but you never know....

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Dog got a vet visit, then kids got to see santa, now internet and wrapping presents. Such a wonderful time of the year

 

[mrrsm]

@Blckshdw ... Not only will you find more Nails and other "Ferro-Stuff" all over your Beautiful Property than you can imagine... (I found a Gnarly, Old Railroad Spike once) but you'll also be picking up all of those Long Screws and Nails that the Dude who built that wood edifice dropped long ago... too.

Make at least three passes: North to South. East to West ...and throw in a few Diagonals for Good Measure. Each time you do this... You'll hear the Distinct Metallic *Clinks* inside the Roll-Around Unit as the Strong Magnets grabs these items up from the Grass and Dirt. Better if found and dropped into a Large Zip-Lock Bag Now... than being extracted from the feet of Loved Ones and Friends in the Emergency Room, or from your Ryobi's Tires ...Later.