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need help finding childs toy

Soundguy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:33:43 GMT

Here's the issue... lady I work with backed over a small 2 wheeled john deer wagon that her 7yr old tows behind his big wheel tricycle... it's a big issue as it was his favorite toy...

She knows i do body work for my tractors and brought it to me to fix... quite honestly.. the thing is a gonner... or would at least take lots of time to beat it out, round the corners, remove paint, repaint.. find appropriate decals, replac e the axle, and 2 small 'lawnmower' wheels..

I'm looking around the toy stores and what not simply trying to find something equivalent, figure it would make a good xmas present anyway.

I'm striking out at usual places I might find this.. like cracker barrel, TSC, lowes and HD.. places that get seasonal toys.. etc.

I havn't hit walmart, kmart or toys r us yet.. but will get them next week.

If anyone knows of a retailer selling em, point me in the correct direction.

soundguy

J Stevens 12 ga trigger spring

valley — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:17:49 GMT

This J Stevens was old in 1920 and is missing a trigger spring. I believe it is a flat spring. Have you replaced a spring in one of these old timers?

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Caulking/Sealing Concrete Expansion Joints

Bird — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:25:53 GMT

I have concrete driveways that I guess are 18 years old. As I guess is common, they were built with wood (1 x 2?) in the expansion joints. That wood has rotted and much of it is missing. So dirt, leaves, grass clippings, etc. gets in the cracks. Yesterday I noticed a pedestrian sidewalk at an outlet mall that has some kind of gray, rubbery stuff in the joints. Can someone tell me what that stuff is and where to get it, or tell me something better to use?

Solar-powered clothes dryers disallowed by HOA's

TomOfTarsus — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:20:10 GMT

Ya know, I'm beginning to think we've gone completely knutz in this country. You'd think the folks in Washington, and all the rest of the idiots screaming "Green! GREEN! GREEN!" had invented the concepts of energy efficiency and the re-use and recycling of anything remotely reusable.

Then you read something like this:
Pennsylvania Residents Fight for Right to Hang Laundry - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com

And your jaw just drops. I wonder how that'd go over in Amish country?

A related story: I went to the hardware store to purchase parts to upgrade my solar-powered clothes dryer, and told the fellow that. He was immediately fascinated, wanted to know how it worked. I told him that by controlling exposure to the optimal sun angle and maximizing the exposure area of the damp articles, the solar powered clothes dryer was able to leverage both the incident solar radiation and the secondary solar convective effects, we were able to dry our clothes without ANY use of house power at all! And they smelled wonderful, too!

He was transfixed, and wanted to know what parts I needed. I told him two long pipes, 4 short pipes, 2 "T" connectors (he's taking this all in), and then it dawned on him when I mentioned 8 hooks and 100 ft of clothesline.

It was 5 minutes before he could compose himself enough to start gathering my order.

Have a good one, all! But don't hang your undies in view of the HOA!

Tom

By golly I fixed it!

czechsonofagun — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:10:10 GMT

The screened porch on the back of our house was leaking for years. The roof pitch is very low and it was just getting worse. The plan is to eventually replace the porch - i.e. steel roofing was never an option.

I tried to fix it three times with left over shingles and tarp and it never really worked. Well, this time I used felt paper, glued it together with tar and troweled seams with roofing cement and it is really waterproof now. Maybe another coat of flat roof paint will protect the felt paper from sun and wind and it will hold till comes the time to rebuild it from scratch.

Now to my next impossible challenge - to find a job that pays more than poverty level and when I accomplish that I will move to the challenge of my life:

Learn how to whistle through my fingers:D:D

Feedback on new Dell Laptop with Ubuntu Linux

westcliffe01 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:54:39 GMT

After a worse experience with windows with every OS update, I decided that the next time would be something else. Last time was a Toshiba notebook that came with (drum roll) Vista.... ugg uggg puke.... That particular laptop fairly quickly was donated to a needy soul on an unexpected business trip which allowed me to see my dad and mom in South Africa after not having been there since 2002.

Since last year, I have been without a laptop and a few months ago I began what I consider "serious research" into the laptop and Linux combination. I discovered that laptops seem to experience hardware changes faster than some change their underwear, which can be a much bigger problem when compatibility with Linux is considered. Someone actually has to modify the kernel to suit that funky hardware combination and when only a few thousand of those laptops are sold, it may not be considered worth the effort. And unlike a desktop PC, you can't just swap out the dysfunctional video card / lan card, wireless adapter or whatever.

So by hook and by crook, I discovered that Dell has started selling some of their laptops "out the box" with Ubuntu Linux. If you go to Dell.com, you would be hard pressed to find the word Linux anywhere. It's almost a secret. Somewhere deep in the fine print I found a link regarding "open source PC's" http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml

That took me to the page where they list their Ubuntu based products. A very nice feature of their store is that they allow many key components to be configured, including most important to me, the BATTERY. I paid an additional ~$50 or so to get a 9 cell battery that will run the laptop for 6-7 hours, not just 2-2.5. Yeehahhh ! The one I configured cost about $600 + shipping and is basically the the N15 with 4gb memory, 250gb hdd and the mother battery.

So how do I like it ? Fabulous ! Starts up in about 20 seconds. Shuts down in about 10. Comes with open office and Mozilla Firefox browser. First application I added is called Wine (like the drink). It is a non windows XP emulation environment. With wine installed, I was able to install MS Office 2007, which I bought earlier this year through a "corporate" deal at a cost of $10. Everything in office works just like before including VB scripts and the like. So now I get to use the windows products I like (Excel, Powerpoint etc) without ever dealing with their sucky operating system ever again.

The "no script" plugin to firefox is the best thing since the day they invented the internet. Makes those dancing ads and the google banner trash disappear like they were never there and the site downloads faster if not downloading all that junk too.

So to those of you on the fence, consider Ubuntu or one of the other Linux distributions. If you have a desktop, migration is safer, since there are more ways to resolve any potential hardware issues. If you know how, create a seperate partition to boot from and try it out. There are some applications like the high end CAD systems that do not yet support linux, but for the things most of us do, and a lot of the heavyweight scientific applications, Linux is good to go.

Please identify this tool

chipsndust — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:24:43 GMT

This is not one of those posts where I know the answer and you have to guess!
I really don't know what this thing is, and I'm hoping someone can tell me.

It was in a box of metal and woodworking tools that my wife brought home from an auction. I got a few nice old tools out of it and this thing was among the stuff I saved. It's made of solid brass, and looks like some kind of measuring gauge. No markings on it that I can see.

Anybody know what it is?

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Magpul Dynamics "Dynamic Carbine" 1 & 2 (a COLT surprise inside)

parallel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:14:50 GMT

I know that this isn't exactly tractor related, but the lesson at the end applies to anyone who uses firearms.

I attended a firearms training course (Magpul Dynamics Dynamic Carbine 1 & 2) for the first time in 15 years from November 6th through the 8th. As most of you know I am former military and former law enforcement. For much of my twelve years in the U.S. Navy, I was a Combatant Craft Crewman in a Naval Special Warfare Boat Unit and a Military Police Patrolman. Firearms are tools of those trades, and just as I still have and use the tools that I used when I made a living as an electronic alarm technician, I still have and use the tools I used back then. Also, I think it痴 fair to say that my current firearms hobby is my version of a mid-life crisis. It reminds of the good ol days when I could run and jump and do things that I just can稚 do any more. The difference though is that, unlike a shiny new Corvette, my hobby can help keep my family safe during a whole different kind of crisis. Hurricane Katrina opened my eyes to the reality of just what can, will and obviously has happened when the basic building blocks of society breaks down (even if for only a few days). Another factor that led me to participate in this training is the change in my physical ability since an October 2000 vehicle crash. I have worked long and hard to rehabilitate my broken body to be able to do the physical activity required to participate in a rigorous training program. I also felt that I needed to know what my physical limitations were/are so that in the event I find myself in a situation to need to use these tools for real, I will have a much better chance of survival. I will get into some of the lessons learned concerning physical ability later in this review.

Anyway, now that I have explained my motivation for taking this course, let me get to the review of the course. As one can imagine, finding a location ideally suited to this type of training is difficult to say the least. We were very fortunate to have a couple of guys from BayouShooters.com who did a great job of organizing this event and even more so to have Tommy and Joe Wong who allowed us to use their very fine private range facilities in Robert LA. The amount of preparation and hospitality was over the top. I will be referring to some of this preparation and hospitality later in this review.

I have been through a LOT of firearms training programs in my life and I was bracing myself for the kind of 杜y way or the highway format that has been the hallmark of the vast majority of training I have attended. I was pleasantly surprised by the very down to earth, fact based instruction provided by Chris Costa, Travis Haley & Mike Lamb. Their lack of ego was surprising given their backgrounds (I had to google the names as I didn稚 know until after I had signed up for the class just how extensive those backgrounds are). These guys truly do live (or at the very least train) by their motto; *eality. Efficiency. Consistency. The weapons handling techniques that they teach are aimed at helping their students live by those principles as well. They show the student the technique, then it is up to the student to try it and decide if it works for them or not. If a person is truly honest with their self and gives the technique a fair shake, it is very unlikely that it won稚 work better for them. That is not to say that a student might not happen to have a better way. That was one of the things that just simply amazed me about the Magpul Dynamics instructors. During our lowlight/night shoot, there was a suggestion made by one of the students. Travis thought about it for a second and decided that they would see about getting a helicopter and give the suggestion a try, if it proved superior the new way will be implemented not only into the training program, but also into any future operations that the instructors may be a part of. THAT to me was VERY impressive. It showed me (and I知 sure many others present) that when these instructors say that they are only interested in what works the best, they mean it.

I am not going to go into all of the weapons handling techniques that are part of the course. There are several very good reviews of these courses that do a great job of breaking down the mechanics of this course. Brannon LeBouef of NOLATAC did one such review. Efficient motion drives every technique, as well as gear choices and placement. When done well the result is more accurate rounds on target in a shorter time. These techniques take into account our body痴 natural response to what they call 澱ody alarm reaction? As Brannon LeBouef of NOLATAC pointed out in his review, 鍍heir techniques work in conjunction with your body痴 natural reactions instead of against them. I couldn稚 have said it better myself so I didn稚.

During this training I experienced a few things concerning my personal mindset, physical ability and gear. Some I had feared I would, and some that I had hoped I would. I will share the realizations that these experiences have brought even though some of them are a bit embarrassing. I do so in the hope that anyone who has never experienced these things, be they the realization of a failure point, or of a better than expected performance, find a training program that fits them and do so. As Travis said so many times during the three days we trained with them, 妬f you do not fail you aren稚 training hard enough?

My ability to actually finish this course without injuring myself again was my biggest concern going in. I had to find my limitations and I did so. In many ways I was pleasantly surprised that at 325+ lbs I could move pretty well and my back was holding up well. At the same time though, it was obvious that if I were going to able to be truly effective in a firefight, I would need to get into better shape. This was never more apparent than when I was trying to shoot reaction side, modified urban prone (fetal) behind the front wheel while trying to shoot a target from under the front of a Jeep Wrangler. I was flopping around out there like a fish out of water. My belly (while certainly beautiful in it痴 Buddha like glory) literally got in my way at times. It made shooting prone quite difficult, and while trying to perform the above-mentioned technique my knees were pushing my belly into my lungs and I could barely breath. That is just simply unsat! I have my work cut out for me in this area to be sure.

The biggest thing that I took from this course was that if that had been a real firefight I might not have survived due to my lack of physical conditioning and my gear issues. My mindset was/is pretty good with the exception that I realize now that it was my mindset that allowed me to kid myself about my physical ability. I do move pretty damned good for a 325lb + guy, but that is exactly what allowed me to kid myself that I would be able to handle myself in a bad situation. My speed on target and accuracy suffered from being arm weary after a few hours of training also. Although, carrying a SIG556 SWAT with a TA11 ACOG optic (several pounds heavier than my Colt 6920) didn稚 help either. I will get to the drama that ensued when I switched to my Colt 6920 soon enough.

As for gear issues, there were several. Right away I had an issue with the vest that I had bought on a whim. I had bought the vest with the notion that I could load it up and hang it in the closet. Then, if I ever did need to use these tools, I could just grab the pistol and carbine out of the safe, put on the vest and go. When I got out to the range and began to don all of this stuff it occurred to me that the vest was overkill for my situation. I will likely still load it up and hang it in the closet, sort of like a bail out kit of sorts. However, the Blade Tech AR-15/M16 Kydex Magazine Holders that were loaned to me were the best way I seen to handle the extra magazines. I will be buying some as soon as I remember that I need to when I have the time to order online.

Some of my gear issues were simple fixes such as switching to the Magpul ASAP sling mount from the Midwest Industries MCTAR-13. The MCTAR-13 is solid and easy to install, but binds/fouls up when switching from weapon hand to reaction hand shooting. The ASAP is a bit more involved to install, but it minimizes the binding/fouling problem. I also switched to a Magpul MS2 sling from a Blackhawk Storm single point sling. I bought the MS2 for it痴 ability to convert to a two-point sling very quickly and because during the training the Blackhawk sling was hanging much too low and I couldn稚 get it to adjust any tighter. The Blackhawk Storm might just need some adjustment that I didn稚 have the time to look into while training, because it is otherwise a damned fine sling.

I had optics issues damned near the entire time but it had little to do with the optic itself (ACOG TA11) and much to do with my having set it up while employing a stance that was significantly different than the stance that I adopted. The instructors helped me prove to myself that the Magpul Dynamics stance is far superior. However, in changing my stance so substantially, I had a difficult time getting my sight picture. I had to move the mount position of the optic in order to get my sight picture. I not only moved it, I switched it from the SIG556 to the Colt 6920 and back. I bought the ACOG TA11 due to it痴 generous eye relief, yet even the 2.4 inches of eye relief was not enough to overcome having it mounted in the wrong place. I never did have the time to get it dialed in after that and had to aim a foot to the right of my target to hit the combat effective zone at 50 yards.

That leads us to the most dramatic Gear failure of all. Once I had determined that I would need to move the ACOG on my SIG (and therefore would need to re-zero it) I decided that I would mount it on my much lighter Colt 6920. The SIG556 was heavier by nearly four pounds than the 6920, so I decide to give the Colt a go. I switched the ACOG to the Colt and got on the firing line. The drill was firing from the urban prone, weapon side position. We loaded and made ready and I waited for the threat command. When the threat command came I went into the urban prone position and fired. On the second round the upper receiver blew apart. It took a few seconds for me to get oriented and realize what had just happened. I checked to see that there wasn稚 another round in the chamber and raised my hand to let Travis know there was a problem. Travis was already on the way as he said that he thought that I was on fire from all of the smoke that was rising from me. There was a medic who checked me out real good to ensure that some shrapnel hadn稚 penetrated my skin anywhere without my being aware of it. I sustained only minor injuries (a bruise on the left forearm and some flash burn to the face). After the medic gave me the green light I went to my Pathfinder and got my SIG556 back out. I put the ACOG back on it and got back on the firing line.

As I told my wife and my mother, who were both incredulous at my nonchalant attitude towards this incident, it couldn稚 have happened at a better time and place. The safety brief each morning consisted of details such as showing a cell phone on a table with a written script that included physical address of the range, directions and descriptions to and of the site from the road and from the air. Latitude and longitude coordinates that were taken the last time a Police helicopter used the facility for a training exercise. There were first responders with their Sheriff痴 Department and State Trooper units with comms and even a medic on site. This was one of the things I was referring to earlier when I said that the organization of the two guys who set up this event was first rate.

Lessons learned from that event? Well, safety gear is a must. This could happen at any time. My eyes were definitely saved by quality eye protection and long sleeves that at least kept my forarm from being burnt as well protected my arm. Also, had this happened during a firefight, I would likely have been shot. A few seconds is an eternity under fire, and I was disoriented for at least a couple of seconds.

The 6920 is on its way to Colt Manufacturing for analysis as of this posting. I will certainly post the results of the analysis as well as the resolution when that information is available. I would appreciate it if the wild guesses as to the cause of this failure were withheld until Colt Manufacturing has had a chance to check it out. I will give a few facts that will help to keep the conjecture to a minimum. The barrel was clear before and after the event and the ammo used was factory XM193. I don't know if the brass was ejected, it appeared to be, however, there could have been part of the brass case left in the chamber, I was too busy trying to get back to training to check, then the gun went via FEDEX to Colt before I had the chance to check because I was trying to catch up on all of the work I had neglected while out running and gunning.

I had a great time at this training course. I learned a lot about my gear and myself. We had lunches brought to the site (another over the top aspect of the hospitality of the Wong brothers), which allowed us more time shooting and learning. We all went to dinner together at the Wong痴 restaurants (4 stars for a reason) Friday and Saturday night and we all got along well. Chris, Travis and Mike were a just awesome. They answered questions and gave advise during breaks, at lunch and even at dinner. Chris Costa became ill Friday night and spent much of the rest of the weekend at the hotel. I hope he is feeling better as he looked pretty sick still on Sunday. I WILL attend an advanced Dynamic carbine course in the future. I would very much have liked to sign up for the one they are doing at the same site in March, but I have too many failure points to work on to be able to get the most from the class that soon after this one. For anyone who is looking for a carbine training course that WILL make you a better (or at least a more efficient) shooter, look no further.

Here are a few pictures of the training and of my Colt 6920 post failure. The fat dude with the beard is me.

Ticks???

Bird — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:08:37 GMT

My wife noticed today that our Chihuahua had a tick on the front of her neck.:eek: I haven't even seen a tick in at least 10 or 12 years. I sure hope that's not an indication of things to come. Anyway, I sprayed the yard with insecticide.

Enclosing a trailer

Mosey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:45:05 GMT

I have a 16' trailer that I haul my tractor on. I would like to enclose it, so I can also use it as a "garage" to park the tractor in. I need to keep it lightweight, reasonably aerodynamic, it needs to be able to withstand at least 4' of snow (I live in Colorado at an elevation of 8450'), and last but not least I need to keep the cost down. I know, tough requirements! Any ideas?

Online sheet music?

allenr — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:18:48 GMT

G'day, does anybody know where to find online sheet music - preferably free , but doesn't have to be?

I can find a good choice of guitar tabs and chords online, but actual notes for piano are hard to come by.

I was looking this arvo for Neon Moon by Brooks & Dunn and Gulf of Mexico by Clint Black.

I realize country music is often a less shared than other genre but why should the actual sheet music be so much more difficult to find than guitar tab? Is it a copyright thing?

Another movie thread, The Sullivans

jimmyj — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:56:35 GMT

Just watched an old war movie called "The Fighting Sullivans". If you have not seen it, you should. It's really sad at the end, tore my heart out.

Sullivan brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guess this hood ornament

tallyho8 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:29:32 GMT

I enjoyed the thread "Guess this tool", so I am trying to make another interesting thread. I know that TBN readers are so well informed that they will probably guess it quite easily so I included a couple of extra questions.
Hint: My parents junked this vehicle while I was young.

1. What make vehicle is it off ?
2. Approximately what year?
3. What are the outstanding features of this vehicle?
4. What is their motto, in English, that I covered up with my key.

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Made in the USA

MotorSeven — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:16:36 GMT

I would like to start a thread of current quality Made in the USA products. Levi's,Carhartt, Dewalt, Milwalkee, all of our tractors, etcetcetc... are now gone. There are a handfull of good prducts made here and I would like to support them. Feel free to add to the list, but keep it to current production products.

These are the USA tools I own and are very pleased with their performance:

Logrite peavy hook- LogRite^? Tools logging tools

ITP ATV tires- http://www.itptires.com/pdfs/ITP_Made_USA.pdf ( I have two sets, they grip and wear great)

Maadsam Power-Pull come along- www.maasdam.com (sold at H.D.)

Miller High Life Beer(Very very pleased.........;>)

RD

Civic Duty

Bird — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:58:39 GMT

Not long ago, I read a newspaper article about the small percentage of the people who show up after they are sent a jury summons in Dallas. I hadn't thought that much about it in the past and had no idea so few people show up. Even though a person is subject to a fine for failing to show, I guess they'd have a hard time proving you actually received the summons in the mail, and there hasn't been much effort to enforce that law.

On the 23rd of last month, my wife received a jury summons for today for municipal court in our little town about 35 miles north of Dallas. Not many people request a jury trial in city court. I looked at the docket for today and there were 103 cases on the docket with 2 "public intoxication" cases scheduled for jury trials. As it turned out, the city court had sent jury summons to 30 people and my wife was one of the 7 who showed up; less than 24%.:eek:

Now I know most of us don't want to serve on a jury, but someone has to do it, and I wonder if the response is that bad in other parts of the country.