Good morning!!!!

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Cooler weather has arrived at last, forecast for next ten days are highs in the 80's and lows in the sixties, even going down to 63 tonight. More rain due in today, then clearing. .73 inches yesterday, only 1.07 for the month. About what David/sodamo gets in morning dew....

grocery shopping this morning. Big day, trying out Piggly Wiggly instead of Food Lion. My local Food lion has awful produce and awful meat. So I'm going to try the next closest supermarket and see if the wiggling pigs are better...

today close friends of mine are doing an informal survey of a boat I'm considering, which just happens to be in the marina where my friend and I used to keep boats twenty years ago at the top of the Chesapeake on the Bohemia River. Mostly fresh water up there so nice one's boat gets a fresh water flush when headed back to the marina. Long way from NC though...so they offered to look at the boat before I made the long drive to see it. Since the last time was a strike out, I'm going to not get my hopes up on this one. 15 year old Carver 450 Voyager, much larger boat. This model has a lower helm that is just to die for, uh, figuratively... Now that all the depreciation is out of the boat, I can own it for a number of years and sell it for almost what I paid for it. And likely diesel fuel isn't going to get any cheaper, so I figured now was a window of opportunity to own a boat that normally would use far more fuel than I wanted. 8.3 ltr 450hp Cummins diesels, funny, about the same size diesels as my last boat, but use almost a quarter less fuel.

When i decided not to build the big garage down by the barn, at issue was what else to do for fun. Some of the best times I've had is with friends out on the boat, and if I buy a bigger boat we can all go cruising together. Particularly with a close friend who just bought a retirement home in Boca Raton on the intracoastal...he wants me to come down and go to the Abacos with him. I have done that once in my own boat, and always wanted to go back. Maybe someday I will.

more motors....always room for one/two more.
I hope the inspection goes well today; the seller is a very wealthy guy with multiple homes and multiple boats and this one sat outside for many years at his private dock on the Chesapeake. And got pretty sun bleached doing so. So the issue is condition, as always. But it only has 435 hours on the engines after 14 years. Very low use, and as we all know, those kind of hours on diesels means the engines are like new, if maintained. The broker said the oil had 100 hours on it and would be good for oil analysis. I asked why the guy was selling an expensive boat without changing the oil ahead of time.
silence. The very wealthy apparently don't have time to think of these things...

So, instead of insisting the oil gets changed prior to survey, I'm going to get the oil analysis and then have it changed. Sort of reading the engine tea leaves a bit, though elevated levels of metals of some sort always gets the negotiation going... Not going to do a compression test on such low hour engines, particularly if the engines get to proper rpm and the boat goes the speed it should. Which means the engines are putting out rated power and if they don't overheat, other than a ton of preventative maintenance, they should be good to go. I mean, would we have a mechanic look at the engine of a used tractor with 430 hours on it?
Water hoses all need to be changed, due to age, impellers, intercoolers cleaned, etc. All normal maintenance.
Getting a bit ahead of myself at the moment. Weekend dreaming...

I would be worried most about the sun faded glass and top coat. I used to scrub off the oxidation on my sailboat only for it to return soon. A boat like that needs to be covered. Just wondering what a covered stall at your local marina costs per month? 14 years in the sun is a loooong time for fiberglass gelcoat. But it is a very nice boat. Have you ever thought of just renting a boat? Or is the "euphoric high" of being captain beckoning you like the song of the sirens? Remember, even Homer had to put some bees wax in his ears and be tied to the mast...

 

[txdon]

Good Morning! 78˚ heading to the hundreds, still no relief from the 100˚ temperatures in sight on the 15 day forecast.

I need to replace a crumbling old cement culvert for my Dad so I need to put the BH90 back on, get a culvert to the road. take out the old one and etc. . . . a four morning project -starting next week or so. . .

 

[RoyJackson]

Take care with Beryllium Kyle. It has some good properties, but it doesn't like people. We used it at one time for resiliant electrical contacts. Any cuts people got while handling the stuff would take a long time to heal.

It's also a carcinogen...

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Kids like that deserve another chance.

When I became a very slightly rebelious teenager, my dad always said it costs nothing to smile, would you prefer to be happy or sad and grumpy ? Sometimes sadness comes without any choice in the matter, at all other times since I choose happy.

I have a neighbour who fell out with me over 3 years ago, because I wouldn't do what he wanted (closing our shared access from the road with a padlocked gate. My rational being that the good guys, like the delivery drivers and doctor, have no key to get in. The bad guys don't need a key as they have bolt cutters and battery grinders). He does his upmost to avoid me now and has not said a word to me since. I still give him a cheerful smile and say a pleasant good morning whenever I see him. I feel a little sorry for him, he has been very fortunate to inherit wealth, yet he probably missed out on something in his early years and seems unable to enjoy all the good things in life. My wife doubts it, but one day I may win him over.

Eric, there is much iron in your words. I try to wear rose colored glasses whenever possible. There are people in life that you could stuff a wad of money in their pocket and they'll still go away mad.

Drew, I commend you for giving the young man a chance. Just be careful, and stern. You might be the father figure that he needs. Let him know if he needs something, to ask to borrow it, rather than take it. Many thieves today are the outcomes of drug habits.

 

[300UGUY]

At the my wife's shop now, going to help her, then put in a new light fixture at the rental. Want to get that buttoned up, and then get it rented out. Have a good one!

 

[bakerg]

Morning all, so much for a great weather weekend off, raining here. 66F heading to 79F.

 

[txdon]

Season 8 of "Doctor Who" starts on Netflix today. Doctor Who marathon tonight.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

65F @ 7:00AM. Abundant sunshine. High 93F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

I always check oil level and tire pressure before a trip, and tire pressure about once a month. Otherwise, I don't tend to look at the oil level until it's time to change it. In recent years some auto manufacturers have taken to eliminating the dip stick, so all you have to go in is the idiot light. In most cases that light isn't an oil level light, but rather an oil *pressure* light, by the time it comes on significant engine damage has already occurred. Definitely not an example of a change for the better. BMW is one of those companies, and they've even gone so far as to let the car calculate the oil change interval. The 5 series I had a few years ago routinely went 18,000 on an oil change, but at least it had a dip stick. BMW has also instituted a "life time lube" policy, with such things as transmissions, differentials, and power steering pumps never getting an oil change. All of this started when routine maintenance was included with the purchase price. Sure, the car will last through the 36,000 mile/3 year warranty, but look out as the miles pile up after that. No thanks!

Larro, Kyle, I still love my old school Advent Large speakers. So much so I snagged three more pair before I left the SF Bay Area, re-coned them, and enjoy the heck out of them in the office, garage, and master bedroom. They were cheap because of the cone damage, but the kits were only ten bux or so. Now I'm upgrading the receivers to something a little more substantial, and the audio is fantastic!

Yeah, Beryllium is bad stuff. Management always went overboard on safety precautions when the shop was machining anything with Be in it. Special vacuum systems, respirators for anyone near by, and controlled disposal of the chips. A real PITA, but apparently it was worth it in some applications.

You have a good attitude, Eric, but there was a thread on TBN recently about a joy rider in a Jeep that went through an unlocked gate and caused a lot of damage in a farmer's fields, including getting the Jeep stuck. The cops caught him, but there was a weeks long tussle over who would pay to retrieve the Jeep, and how was it to be done without causing more damage. All that could have been avoided with a simple lock on the gate. Not that I'm taking your neighbor's side, but I do understand his point of view. Unfortunately I've had to take the same approach with my neighbor as he has with you, as every interaction seemed to end with me getting the blame for one or more of his problems, especially those of which he was the cause. He still waves and acts as if everything is fine, while I do my best to ignore him, this keeping my sanity and well being intact.

Drew, sounds like you've stumbled across another neglected orphan. I hope this time the issues are limited to cosmetic ones, but you're pretty good at sniffing out more serious trouble. Hope it works out for you!

Good you're taking some time off, Roy. All work and no play lead to burn out, and life's too short for that.

Clear skies this morning but a ton of smoke in the air has the sun casting an unusually orange cast over the landscape. Visibility is down to ten miles, and the normally blue skies are bluish gray. The Rocky fire near Clearlake to the south has reached almost 70,000 acres but is little more than half contained, while to the north fires in Humbolt, Nevada, Shasta, and Trinity counties have eaten through almost 35,000 acres. All of them were started by lightening from mostly dry thunder storms that passed through over a week ago. And more fires happen every day, some also started by lightening but others caused by carelessness. The firefighters have been great about jumping on the new ones and limiting them to small acreage, but resources are so thin we're drawing units from all over the country to reinforce the lines. There is so much fire activity that one local TV station has an entire section of their web site devoted to coverage: Wildfire Week | KRCRTV.com.

Had to replace a brand new LED light fixture in the master bath, as it was buzzing like an old fluorescent with a bad ballast. Had to get a clerk at Lowes to help me find one, they were behind the correct label on the shelf but pushed waaaaay back and out of sight! Fortunately it was a five minute swap, and the new light doesn't make a sound.

Most of yesterday was spent chasing parts to go with the cylinder heads that just went out. New high compression pistons, hotter cam and lightened lifters, all of which demand premium prices here in the US. With the strong dollar, those prices didn't make sense, so I started poking around the Internet and ended up finding a source in Germany. Their web site was in English, they had everything I needed and then some, and even after shipping I saved about 30%. US manufacturers may be struggling with the strong dollar, but US BMW riders are sure making out! So far so good with the order, but the charge hasn't hit the Visa card yet and I expect an instant fraud alert when it does. Maybe I'll try calling BofA today to let them know it's coming?

Apparently the work done a few weeks ago to fix the water softener didn't address the root cause, as the water is harder than ever and leaving white deposits on everything. A check of the brine tank revealed that the water level was again too high, which was the original problem that prevents the system from regenerating. So the repair man has to come out again next week, and in the mean time I got to fool around with a siphon hose to get the level down far enough to let regeneration happen again. Sigh.

Finally finished the last of seven concerts on that Yes Progeny box set last night. I played them in chronological order, and have to admit that the first couple were pretty rough around the edges. The sound guys had trouble balancing the volumes between the players, and the instruments themselves, particularly the keyboards, were troublesome. At one point, Anderson's Mellotron was picking up a local radio broadcast that could be heard through the PA system! But by the final two everything was pretty well sorted technically, but it was clear that the musicians themselves were tired. Not that they were making lots of mistakes, but the playing wasn't as crisp, there was less improvisation, and a bit more simplification was taking place. Still it was all a good listen, and now I'm wondering how it would sound if I were to listen to the same song from each of the concerts played end to end. Would the differences in venue and freshness be even more apparent? Would one particular recording rise above the rest? Or would I bail from boredom after the first few renditions? Perhaps, but for now I think I need a little more variety in my musical diet for a while.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[daugen]

Season 8 of "Doctor Who" starts on Netflix today. Doctor Who marathon tonight.

you are showing your age you old Texas hippy.
doo doo doo doo
That particular slice of British humor must have gone over my head.
I actually remember watching Flash Gordon though.
All those warbling sounds. Early sci fi just loved warlbly sounds like some music tech geek was playing
with an oscilloscope dial...wowwowwowowwow

So much of that early stuff is coming true...
I guess it's extra funny when you expect stuffy Brits to play the fool...
Our only Brit is a Lord of his manor. And clearly no fool.

 

[daugen]

RNG, you are the only person who can make me look like a man of few words...
We both must have taken the same typing class