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I remember many years ago, when I was a wee little lad in Minnesota, we used a small one gallon metal gas can to fill the lawn mower. I guess it sealed up pretty good, because one day, I went to fill the mower and it was crushed from the outside in, like an aluminum beer can. I guess the last...

Are the powerlines yours or the utility companies, if they belong to the utility.they might take it down for you

Yes, ethanol is a good solvent and will clean a dirty system, but it does not destroy modern rubbers formulated to work with ethanol as most rubbers are in post 2000 equipment. Now methanol is a different story, it very corrosive, but it is not mixed with gasoline. Remember, ethanol is what we...

Similar to electric vehicles; sure, there are no emissions out of a non existent tail pipe. All the emissions occur during the mining and processing of the lithium and at the power plant producing the electric "fuel". Of course, the same could be said of petroleum powered vehicles, emissions...

I never pound on the stud when removing a ball joint, unless I am replacing the ball joint. Don't want to distort the threads. I always whack the side of the joint where the stud goes through, that usually will pop it loose after a few good whacks. I leave the nut on loosely in case I miss and...

I did that very thing on an old Horse Troy Bilt. Had to add weight to the front to keep the tiller from jumping forward while tilling. The Harbor Freight clone is an aluminum case, the original Kohler was a heavy cast iron engine. It ran great with the clone, until I dug in and angled it down...

I had one of those too! Even a party line for a while.

When I sharpen my blades, I balance them the old school way, drive a nail into a stud and hang the blade on it. grind a little off whichever side is heavy until balanced.

Years ago, I built all the cupboards for a kitchen remodel, using a skill saw and a borrowed router. In my current house, I built some and modified some of the cabinets, removing doors and replacing with drawers, adding new countertops, partially porcelain floor tiles and some of it wood...

I sure am glad I live in a relatively corrosion free environment. My cars get washed when the rain falls, if salt is used on the roads once or twice a year, it is often washed off in a good rain a week or two later. A belly wash is driving through a large puddle at moderate speed. My 2006...

Taiwan is not part of the Peoples Republic, but rather it's own, non Communist country, also known as Republic of China (ROC) I don't know how the possible tariffs will affect Taiwan.

I bought a Hercules 20v cordless die grinder last week, used it to cut nails that were preventing me from installing Fascia boards. It seemed to work quite well. Not near as small as an air die grinder though.

My Feb. electric bill from Public Service of Oklahoma was $58.54 for 322 KWh of electric, including taxes and fees. Not too bad compared to many of you!. We are building a new place in North central Arkansas, there we will be totally off grid, too much hassle to bring electric in from the road...

I talked to one of my nephews recently, He lives in Peach Tree City, GA. He said all the utilities in his neighborhood are under ground, but he still has regular power outages during storms, who would have thought that!

I read this in the "perimeter alarm" post, it might just work well for the deer, but probably not for the other varmints!

That might work for deer, what about rabbits and coons?

I have two old batteries I removed from dead cars, one had been sitting dead for about five years, the other was in my van and died in use. I put both of them on a desulfating charger for a couple of cycles and now, I am using one of them in my daily driver, seems pretty reliable battery now...

I don't use my torches too often, usually just for heating tight nuts or cutting them off. I have switched from using acetylene to using propane, much less expensive and easy to swap out at most stores of all types, even some drug stores, plus I use the propane for grilling and running my dual...

Sounds like a good job for the kids, then your knees will last longer.

Sounds like homemade Calk Boots.

Your right, it's Aunt Pearl now, Pearl Milling Company. As I recall, the real Aunt Jemima was rather upset at that name change just to make someone feel better!

What sort of price for one of those fine, restored from the ground up to better than new machines? I imagine the price is better than new also. Maybe still a bargain.

I think Denali is a better sounding name than McKinley, it sounds more majestic, like the mountain. "In Athabascan, "Denali" means "the high one" or "the tall one." It is derived from the Koyukon language, which is spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the area surrounding the mountain."

My old B414 International has a parking brake, similar to what was found in old trucks.

The Postal Board of Governors selects the PMG, not the President. I do recall, Dejoy and Trump were on good terms however.

I repaired those sorting machines at the Postal Processing & Distribution Center in Tulsa for 30 years, retired now. The machines which DeJoy removed were excess letter sorting machines. With first class and other letter type mail being down in volume, they no longer needed as many. When I...

I get my maple syrup, the real stuff at the store, not many maples here in Oklahoma. Yours sounds real tasty! Aunt Jemima just can't compare!

The whole side of my refrigerator is covered with Rockauto magnets! And these are just the ones the wife let me keep!

Rockauto.com has the Fram PH7575 for $3.83 and the Hastings LF157 for $5.27, both plus tax & shipping

I have a reconditioned Craftsman flux core unit. I don't get to use it very often, but it does everything I need to do. It was $99 at Steve's Wholesale many years ago. Only 10% duty cycle, but it will run quite a while before cycling off.

Four or five years after you found out the trail is not on your property and the neighbor still has not said anything good or bad? I would guess, the neighbor is not too concerned. I agree with most of the others and go talk to your neighbor about it. Then you can sleep with a clear conscience...

Not sure but it moves quite a bit of air. My 3 hp, single stage twin cylinder compressor, can just about keep up with it if I am clearing a bunch of leaves and other light debris.

I will be putting in a new garage after the house is done, so I can be certain to have enough clearance, at least in the center.

You might try one of these. I have one with a 48" wand, the thing blows very hard out the series of small ports at regular air compressor pressures. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/air-brooms/airflow-pattern~90/ It blows much harder than a regular air gun and with a wider pattern. Also easy to...

As I recall, some of the early heavy equipment such as dozers were diesel, but used a gasoline "pony" engine to turn over the diesel engine.

Sounds like a labor intensive way to run a tractor!

That is because automatic transmissions no longer have a rear pump in them, quit using rear pumps in the late 50's or early 60's. Back then you could push start a car or truck with an automatic transmission.

Every time I work under a car or truck, mine or someone else's, I would like to have a two post car lift! One of these days, I may just buy one!

Or a dropped or bent valve, probably exhaust, but that should have made some unusual noise! Regardless, looks like the head at least is coming off.

I use the cans that the premixed fuel came in, made of metal with a tight fitting lid. Pour in the right amount of oil, then fill it with gas and maybe shake it a little. And, it is already labeled as premixed two stroke fuel.

22 sheets of Advantech subfloor for the new house in Yellville.

I highly recommend state highway 536 / 165 in New Mexico between San Antonito and Bernalillo. A little east and northeast of Albuquerque, on the east side of the Sandia Mountains. Very scenic and some history, hiking trails. You can access the top of Sandia Peak for a nice view of Albuquerque...

Outside covered with a tarp, until I get a shed built. Need to finish the house first!

You could try finding some youngster who knows how to do that 3D printing stuff, could probably make you one for a lot less!

I know years ago, here in Oklahoma, there were quite a few trucks that had dual fuel capability, gasoline or propane, but as I recall, they had special carburetors designed for that.

How about a link to the specific video, she has quite a few to choose from.

I tore all the guts out on the one I bought. It still pours a bit slow, but I don't need to press any buttons.

Can also be found along the roadside on occasion.

I thought about that, now if I need some money out of TSP, I transfer a portion into my IRA at Schwab, where I have check writing available. Even after taking out ~58K, my TSP balance is larger than when I started withdrawals.

That chart didn't come out right in my previous post. Other than my TSP funds, I mostly trade stock options, in and out rather quickly. I do hold a few dividend paying stocks, reinvesting the dividends into more shares.

I have a large portion of my retirement funds in the federal Thrift Savings Plan, from my 30 years as a postal employee. Last year, my rate of return was 20.98% using the "C", "S" and "I" funds, all stock funds, no bonds or fixed rate funds. So far this month. I am up 4.08% Official TSP rates of...

No mail delivery today, MLK day. I won't be going to the parade. Stock market is closed too, so I won't lose any money, or make any!

Woke up to 14 degrees with a slight breeze here in Green Country, Oklahoma! Not much green here today, all brown. Another day spent mostly inside. Probably will watch our new leadership be installed! Hope it is a good hope and change!

Currently 17 here near Tulsa, heading for a low around 15, a little colder tomorrow night, then warming back up on Wednesday.

I got a nice 3/0 door at the recycling center a while back. It is sitting in the garage now, waiting to be used in the new house. The jamb was a bit messed up, but the door is in new condition, and free!

You can also go to freecycle.org people list things they are giving away, you can also post things you want. Not a real busy sight, a lot of junk, but I find an occasional hit!

A bakery in Indiana is still using Commodore 64 computers as cash registers. https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/indiana-bakery-still-using-commodore-64s-originally-released-in-1982-as-point-of-sale-terminals

A well rounded model, firm yet supple!

I remember the Olivetti typewriter, but not the computer.

I got rid of my last manual trans in 2019, it was fun to drive, but made it hard to eat an ice cream cone while driving! I learned to drive both a stick and an automatic when I was young and can still do either one with no problem.

Back on the farm in Minnesota, we had a 1970 Sno Prince Hurricane 1. Made in Princeville, Quebec as I recall. Powered by a 24 hp Hirth single cylinder 2 cycle engine. Lots of good memories riding that around. You straddled the gas tank if you sat down and the gas cap, being vented, would splash...

Sometimes, I like to watch a movie with no redeeming social values, just a dumb comedy, like "The Stupids".

Wikipedia lists 12 big name stars in mad, mad world, quite a few for a comedy. It was one of the first movies I saw in the theater. One of my other favorite movies, "How the West Was Won" has 22 listed big name stars, plus narration by Spencer Tracy. Hollyweird just doesn't make the classics...

I listened to the book, I enjoyed it. Borrowed from the library.

Would like to see a before & after

Update on that old (2018) battery, I put it in my van after my old AGM died (build date 2016). That 2018 battery is working like a champ even in the cold we are having here, 16 degrees this morning

I have used gasoline in my poorer days, but I used a torch to ignite the fumes from a bit further away. It worked.

Weed, the kind that makes you hungry!

What part of Oklahoma, a pretty big state with a few different climatic regions.

That white stuff and the stuff that melts it on the roadway, just two of the reasons I no longer live in Minnesota! It is so nice, not needing to break out the hot wrench every time I need to remove a nut or bolt! My van is approaching 20 years old, with almost no rust!!

It is so neat and tidy, organized! How do you ever find anything?!!

A safer way to connect too!

What about an upholstery shop, they can usually recover seats with the material of your choice.

Years ago, I had a 68 Plymouth which had an external propane engine heater. As I recall it was built by Phillips Industries in Minneapolis. There was a small propane tank in the trunk, a heating tank inserted into the lower radiator hose, which was fired by a glow plug. No extension cords...

I know of people who have been "robbed" of their cash by the LEOs, they were pulled over for some reason, and found to have a significant amount of cash on their person, (as I recall, around 60 to 70 thousand $) claimed they were enroute to buy a tree trimming truck. Anyway, right or wrong, they...

I use E-10 in everything I run with the exception of a 1970's era McCulloch chain saw and have never had trouble. My understanding is the rubber used since E-10 introduction is alcohol tolerant and can handle it quite well. I don't store things a long time without starting once in a while, in...

As I recall, the life of a battery is mostly determined by the discharge/charge cycles it goes through, along with how well you maintain it. "Age and Usage Patterns The age and usage patterns of a lead-acid battery can also impact its lifespan. The lifespan of a lead-acid battery is typically...

My son, an OTR driver says SWIFT is an abbreviation for Sure Wish I Finished Training! Looks like this guy needs to go back to truck driving school!

Have you looked at Harbor Freight, they have an assortment of LED light bars, from small all the way to a 22 inch light bar you could mount on the top of your cab for an insane amount of light. The 22" runs about $80, but it turns night into day.

I am quite fortunate here in the north central Arkansas ozarks, my dirt guy dug out my basement with a skid steer, no large rocks! He said anywhere else in the area, he would have been hammering with his excavator.

I haven't bought anything significant yet this week, but today I donated blood. Today made 204 units of blood donated over the years, somewhere around 25 gallons! My 1st donation was when I was 18 or 19, don't recall for sure. God has blessed me with good health over the years, this is one...

So, once you spend the money to fix the "destroyed" engine, what do you plan to do with it, keep it as a spare or sell it?

How far down, from the top, is the hole drilled? If it is like halfway down, outside of the combustion chamber and below ring travel, why not just JB Weld it and give it a good honing, as long as nothing passes over it other than the piston skirt?

A couple years ago, I found a like new 4 foot Werner 300 lb cap fiberglass stepladder, lying beside the curb in a cul-de-sac. Retails for $100 at HD, still using it.

I bought a SIMPSON STRONG-TIE Quik Drive Cordless PRO300SG2 Decking System with DEWALT 2000 RPM Motor A standup screw gun to use installing the subfloor in my new house. Along with a box of screws. A real back and knee saver!!

I remember listening to the audiobook of "One Second Later", a rather realistic look at what happens after an EMP attack, as I recall, an aerial nuclear blast, not damaging much physically, but wiping out most things electrical. Most didn't even know what happened, all radio, tv, internet and...

Heck of a lot better than any raise I received working at the Post office! Usually less than 2% per year. I imagine their benefits are better too!

Nice raise if you can get it! In my days at the Post Office as a electronic tech, the best the union could do was 1% to 2% per year, better than nothin! Being a federal job, it was a right to work job, so some of us stayed scabs and did our jobs. When I retired earlier this year, my base pay...

Years ago I worked on propane forklifts, often the problems we found was mainly contamination as mentioned previously. As I recalled, we would clean them and maybe install a new diaphragm rather than replace them. Of course most shops these days opt for replacement rather than repair. Can you...

I have my dad's McCulloch Mini Mac with a 10" bar. I use it for small stuff like trimming. I rebuilt the carb when I got it and it still works pretty good. A small lightweight machine. He bought it new back in the late '60s as I recall. We used it and another McCulloch, probably a 14 or 15" bar...

Recently I had a similar situation, I have a small, 6" or 8" pipe wrench I used to break a fitting loose. The jaws were narrow enough to fit in there and grip it, then I used a socket and extension as a cheater pipe, could also use a small diameter pipe.

A friend of my wife had me look at their daughters car when the engine started making a hammering noise, I knew right away it was too late. Her car had an idiot light too, glowing bright red too, trouble was, she had a picture of her boyfriend or someone sitting right in front of the idiot...

I can't even buy Walmart oil for $13 anymore. I think it is about $18 now + the filter

Many years ago, I had a side hustle delivering pizza for Pizza Hut. Once they gave me a "bonus" of a free oil change at the local K-Mart; see, it was a long time ago! I normally do all my own automotive maintenance and repairs, but, since it was free, why not let them do it. Well, The...

My understanding regarding the life of a battery is, it is the number of cycles cycled which determines, to a large extent, the life of a lead acid battery. In other words, each battery has X number of cycles in it when new. Each time you crank the engine up, you use one cycle. Of course other...

He could have also gone forward to bring the back of the truck back onto the ground.

One of my many complaints, is people who say they will show up for a job or whatever, then don't show up or if they do, are quite late. Also salesmen who know less about their product than I do!! Ok, off my soapbox!

Someone down the street was cleaning out the garage, or something, I pulled 3 weedeaters, a big fan a fire department used to clear smoke from a house, a couple lawn mowers, scrap metal, some good angle iron and a vintage Montgomery Ward gasoline horizontal shaft engine. All the lawn equipment...

The U.S. also bought into the scam, only a few didn't unfortunately. Hopefully, we are more aware now and would not go along without proof of a real danger!

Maybe you should talk with the neighbor to see what they did to get it started and maintained. I am sure water and fertilizer would be involved.

Back when I worked in a machine shop, job shop not production, we would pour babbit bearings every so often, then hand scrape them in. I always liked doing them in the winter, as the heat in the shop wasn't the best and the air conditioning was an open door and window. We would also hand scrape...

I try to do my outside work in the morning, before the heat gets oppressive and in the shade if possible. Keep a good fan handy if the wind dies down. Also can work later in the evening into the night. Sometimes, I simply must work out in the heat, then, keep plenty of water handy and go for it...

I sure don't envy you guys up north! Every time I watch a Youtube of someone working on a rust bucket from the northland, I remember why I don't move back to Minnesota where I lived my 1st 18 years! Here in Oklahoma, rust is not much of a problem, I seldom need a hot wrench to fix cars and they...

I just can't see spending $99 for a battery operated grease gun. I have my old reliable pistol grip with a long flex hose, the battery is within me and never runs down! Biggest problem it gives me is running out of grease at the next to last zerk! I do like the extra long hose on that Bauer gun...

No skeeters around while using that, but EPA might want to shut you down!!

That happened once to Gordon Lightfoot. He tells the story of driving around Toronto, I think it was, listening to the radio, when he hears the DJ say something about Gord had died. He pulls over and calls the guy, tells him, he is very much alive! Sadly now. he too has gone on.

It got John Prine too, heck of a writer and acoustic guitar player, never received a lot of air play for some reason.

They don't rust like they used to, I had a '68 Plymouth Fury, had been driven in Minnesota, year round, until I took it to Oklahoma in '77. The unibody was rusted almost clear through, I don't know what was holding the torsion bars in place. I had a wreck in it, a very clean '64 Nova ran a red...

With a name like that, GM might have found her in a convent. Reminds me of a girl I once knew in Honduras, her name was Mary Theresa, don't recall her surname. Good times there in La Ceiba!

We had an old International, I think, corn binder on the farm when I was much younger back in the '70s. it was originally horse drawn but had been modified to be pulled with a tractor. We had an old 8N. It was an amazing thing to watch it work, stacking the stalks, then bundling them and tying...

Do you have a wiring diagram? Troubleshoot the circuit starting at the source in an energized condition, got it, got it, don't got it, there is the problem. Guess you could always replace all that safety stuff with a toggle switch to power the solenoid, just be sure to put an inline fuse in the...

Got my first CAT hat when I worked for Caterpillar, waay back, early '80s as I recall, same with Halliburton.

A little north of Dallas, don't know what he is hauling, but it looks a bit heavy for the truck. Bet he is wising that axle was a little more forward!

Happens a lot with cars and trucks too, I guess people need extra room in the glove box for important stuff like extra napkins from the drive in!

Maybe the best thing would be to have a small "shed" for charging separate from the house, garage, barn or shop made of a non combustible material.

You mean like people that buy shirts, hats, etc. with company names on them? I always figured, if I am going to advertise a company, such as Old Navy or Disney, etc. the company should at least give me the shirt or whatever rather than make me pay a way over priced price for it. I guess that...

One must be careful when playing with fire!! Guess who didn't have a hot meal waiting for him that night!!

I don't know about Florida, but in Oklahoma, if you have an account, you get a little tag which affixes to the windshield and is read by the scanner overhead. I was in Florida just this past week, their toll system also accepts Oklahoma's Pikepass system, so that should show up on my account...

I would call that rv a single story with a loft, not a two story. Probably over $100,000, he doesn't say.

When my 1st wife died, I had our kids get whatever they wanted, then invited her siblings, nieces & nephews to get whatever they wanted of her stuff, after they picked over the stuff, I had three or four yards sales, bringing in a pretty good haul and getting rid of a lot of stuff. Finally, I...

When it dies, does it spit and sputter, or does it just shut off like you turned it off? Is it a diesel or gasoline?

Don't forget to rotate your supplies, keeping the oldest product in the front, moving the newly purchased or self preserved goods to the rear. Fermentation is an effective, healthy and tasty process for preservation too in addition to traditional canning.

I'll be giving it a try in a few weeks when I get back from some travels.

I finally got around to modifying a couple of old bent blades to see if this will work or be a flop. Now I need to wait for the grass/weeds to grow more. That shouldn't take too long!

I would say the real reason the safety switches are there is because there is a bureaucrat, somewhere in the depths of the Washington swamp who feels it is his/her job to keep us safe. Sometimes their decisions actually make sense, sometimes not so much!

It may be that if the transmission is in neutral the engine will stay running, but if you get out of the seat, or are bounced out in a freak accident while in gear it will kill the engine. Don't know for sure, just a thought.

Not California, way too many fruits & nuts there! My property is in north central Arkansas, the Ozarks, lots of big rocks giving birth to many more smaller rocks. I have already cleared many rocks, but there are always the ones you miss on a walk through! Guess I will try some chain, I don't...

I have quite a few rocks and uneven terrain on my property, on which I keep the weeds down with a 42" riding mower. Needless to say, the occasional blade striking a rock is rough on the blades and spindles. Has anyone tried or considered taking an old blade, cutting it short and drilling holes...

We have a 1/2 acre city lot n Sand Springs, Oklahoma, were we currently reside and 9.25 acres in Yellville, Arkansas we will be building on and moving to hopefully later this year. Waiting on permits to be approved. The property has two creeks, one seasonal, the other spring fed, runs year...

It is part of the equation, the cause of the tremendous price increases! I bought a well used International B414 at a fair price I think. It is old and needed some work, but I can do it myself, I can also do modifications if needed. Of course parts can be a bit harder to find and I only use it...

My wife read about that and is giving it a try, not sure of the results yet.

I have repaired a few rodent/squirrel damaged wiring harnesses over the years for customers and once on my wife's car. I don't replace them, just splice in good wire and heat shrink tubing to repair and seal the damaged part(s)

Me too, actually, I am retiring March 31st, so I won't need to take off from work. My property in Yellville is in the path of totality, so, unless lots of clouds show up, we will be there to watch it. I was in Topeka for the 2017 eclipse, but storms moved in that morning. We high tailed it to...

Where are they free? I have seen some for sale, but none for free! Are the free ones real or cheap counterfeits

I have not started on the build just yet, still waiting on the permit. The land, 9.25 acres in the north central Arkansas hills with two clear water creeks, one spring feed, runs good flow year round $83,000. We have the well and the septic in, 1000 gal septic with four lateral lines was ~...

Agreed! From what I am told and my personal belief, it is beyond belief! And if I am wrong? Well, I enjoy a good sleep too!

Today would have been my dad's 105th birthday. He died back in the early '90s forget exactly which one. He had prostate cancer, was bed ridden for about 6 months as I recall. He was only 71, but he had a good life. Died at home with my mom and God watching over him. The way my mom described it...

I have used ATF and Marvels Mystery Oil over the years, as I recall, the MMO has a rather pleasant scent.

Spinosad also works, sometimes I combine them for the corn silks and cabbage.

Don't think I would want to eat much after spraying a dose of Round-Up. I lay down a thick layer of leaves, preferably oak between my rows, works quite well at keeping the weeds down, moisture in, then after harvest, it gets turned under for natural organic matter. Great soil builder too.

I have an older Yardmaster 3 way chipper/shredder 6.5 hp that has done a wonderful job over the years. The hopper will lay down at ground level, if you want to rake in leaves or other small debris, or you can tilt it up and drop small branches in. It will handle up to 3" branches on the chipper...

Does anyone know if HF cordless tools can use a Dewalt battery? The connections look similar. I never remember to take a Dewalt battery in the see if they would work.

I like their aluminum frame floor jacks. I use one quite often on car repairs, lifting it in and out of my work van is A LOT easier than a steel frame floor jack! They hold up pretty well under daily use, I can pick it up and move it with one hand if needed. My first one lasted quite a few...

I just asked my son who drives over the road for Pepsi, he says the oils in his 18-wheeler truck get changed every 30 to 40 thousand miles, every 3 to 4 months. But of course, he has only one cold-hot-cold cycle per day with many miles in between. It really does depend on your driving style!

If you work your equipment 8 hours a day, that is only 50 days to reach the 400 hour interval, 2 hours a day is only 200 days, a little over 6 1/2 months between changes. 50 hours seems a bit too often to change oil unless you only run your equipment for short periods, never letting it warm up...

It all depends on your driving. If you start your car and get on the highway, drive for a 1/2 hour or more is a lot easier on your oil, engine and transmission than the person who gets in their car, drives to the grocery store, shops, then drives to the hardware store, then maybe the donut shop...

Why not cut out a small triangular cut on the broom side of the square tube, near the plate it is attached to, leaving only the one flat side of the square tube connected. This would enable you to bend the square tube into the proper position, then weld the cut back together and add a tie plate...

I bought my tractor about 200 miles away, looked for a shipper, then decided to do it myself. I kept getting emails from shippers wanting to ship my "car". Guess they couldn't read "tractor". Now, almost a year later, I have finally stopped getting emails from shippers. Tomorrow, I will be...

I have done that with gasoline too, but remove the valve core first. Otherwise, it cooled off quickly and pulled the bead apart again. Be careful!

If you make it to the central U.S., you can kayak, the Buffalo National River in North Central Arkansas and visit Eureka Springs, also known as "Little Switzerland". Eureka Springs has the Christ of the Ozarks statue, the Great Passion Play, a bible museum and, if you swing to the other side of...

My wife bakes cookies in "dry heat"!!

If at all possible, I would reschedule your trip for spring or fall to avoid the extreme heat of many places in the states. My wife and I have been to all 50 states, most of them with the grandkids, Baja California and a few Canadian provinces. No matter where you end up deciding on in the U.S...

Why is it you don't want blacktop? We had blacktop back in Minnesota and it seems to have held up quite well? Just curious.

I will be moving to Arkansas after retiring, guess I better stock up!

Well, my "truck" is a 2006 Dodge Caravan cargo van. I do mobile mechanic work in addition to my regular postal job. It works better than a pickup truck for hauling tools and parts around and it will tow up to 3600 pounds. I gave about $1400 for it at the postal vehicle auction, only 74K miles...

Working in the machine shop, we did a lot of machine repairs, both in house and field service, got to work on lots of different manufacturing equipment, replacing brass sleeve bearings on huge presses which stamped out lamination plates, others did appliance panels, sucker rod forging machines...

Speaking of large overhead cranes, my first job in a machine shop was to assemble the gearing/hoist assembly on a large (30 ton?) overhead crane. The mechanic who took it apart had cleaned it all up, piled it all onto a good-sized pallet and quit working there. Had no book or instructions of any...

We had one of those on the farm back in Minnesota when I was in my teens. Ours was a little newer than that, but not by much. As I recall, it had a Lauson engine on it, not the Briggs. Also had a larger shroud over the moving parts.

Does anyone here have a wind turbine or two to supplement solar? I have been looking at smaller vertical axis wind turbines, in addition to solar. No decision yet.

I have two streams at my property in Arkansas, the state says I can use up to one acre foot of water per year with no permits required.

Thats easy to fix, sell play dough in an area designated as "gender neutral". As I recall from my childhood days, both boys and girls liked to play with and sniff play dough!

WOW! I have almost a half acre lot in town with a 1230 sq. ft house plus a separate garage out back. I don't remember exactly but my tax bill was in the neighborhood of $14 to $15 hundred. My tax bill on 9.25 acres in city limits in Arkansas was less than $12.00, not twelve hundred, but just...

Here near Tulsa, the thermometer says 55 and clear, good breeze out of the south. Heading to Yellville, Arkansas later this morning, hoping to dig some fence post holes on the creekside property, then returning on Friday with the trailer in tow so I can haul the fencing back the next time we...

How many panels?

Especially in Washington DC!

A fixed rate never encourages conservation, which is what is needed. If I pay a fixed amount for most anything metered, I will want to get my money's worth. Kind of like going to an all you can eat place. I always overindulge in those places, so I don't go very often!

That is good, lots of jobs being paid for with those exports! Seems our "leaders" would rather see those coal mining jobs go away!

In California, the state probably would require the employer to give the EV owner the day off with pay! Stick it to the job creators.

Peak demand will vary with the seasons and area. During a heat wave in a Texas summer, the afternoon hours will likely be the peak, during a cold snap in New York, there might not be much difference in usage between day and night. But the capacity needs to be present to produce for peak demand...

And some tree hugger may discover a rare, endangered tiny animal that only lives at the construction site that no one ever heard of before. So now they need to do even more environmental impact studies, more delays and more expenses!

You are the rare exception who can and will come up with creative ways to continue on your journey! I once had a fuel pump free itself from the engine (1968 Mopar 318), while driving home from work. The engine died. I got out looked under the hood, saw the fuel pump loose from its mounting. The...

I totally agree, the old cars were typically much harder to work on. I have been turning wrenches since the early 70s. The older vehicles generally had more room to work in, but for some reason, the designs were just more difficult to work with. The cars in the late 70s and early 80s I think...

I worked on a Ford Friday. Guy drives in, says it isn't running so hot. I hear the loud puff, puff, puff, I say, it sounds like your spark plug is missing. Look under the hood, #7 coil boot is laying on the manifold, coil still fastened to the intake. The screw holding the coil is directly under...

Those brilliant engineers must design the things to work according to how the even more brilliant designer designed it! It is amazing to me, some of the engineering we see. Some good, some not so much!

Not sure what year your truck is, but for a 2014 F150 5.0 the flat rate for spark plug change is 1.5 hours. Do the math 1.5 x 150 = $225 + parts

Reckon they had to get some clean pants after that!!!

Parts should be available for either one with a little digging. Check out this website for a more detailed comparison of the two. The 2424 is listed as an industrial tractor. https://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/tractor-brands/ih/ih-tractors.html

A few years back, my AT&T landline was around $60/mo. I dropped it and went with VOIP for about $12/mo plus free long distance, caller id, call forwarding and a bunch of other stuff I don't know how to use! It is now around $16/mo and I think I will drop it when I retire to Arkansas. Get very...

You can't really blame the Post office for all the junk mail we get. The Post Office does not create the mail, we only deliver it. Others create the mail, spend good money doing it. It is estimated that direct mailers will spend upwards of $40 Billion on direct mail in 2023. (New Research...

Glad you received your package, the fact that you had an email from the supervisor indicates your call did some good, otherwise, it would have just showed up as another piece of mail. I do machine maintenance at the Tulsa Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), I have had front office people...

It is not too unusual for a package to get missorted due to mechanical problems or jams on the machine. If the person "sweeping" the machine doesn't keep the chutes clear, packages can and do end up in the wrong bin. If no one catches it, your package destined for Tulsa, may end up in Syracuse...

Get rid of Google, switch to a better phone browser such as DuckDuckGo, they don't track your every move!

My wife and I both sell quite a few things on Ebay and we both have worked in a USPS mail processing facility, she retired, I am still there, but my retirement is about two months away. Anyway, I get to see many packages get damaged during processing. Sometimes the contents remain with the...

So you cancelled the order and got a refund, no?

You should have plenty of termites to help out in Tennessee.

I know I am getting old when I am stiff everywhere, except where I want to be!!

Back during the covid fiasco, my wife and I were traveling the country, between Oklahoma and California. We spent a night in Grand Junction, CO and ate at an Italian restaurant attached to a nearby motel. Us and two, maybe three other couples I think is all that were in there, easy "social"...

Down here 2x4-8s are about $3.25 and 4 x 4-8 treated run about $9 at the Home Depot. Almost affordable again.

Kinda like the old timers sayin, ": what I used to do all night, now takes me all night to do!" Too bad, but I can relate.

Why not just run the engine once a month or so, keep it all in good running order.

Reminds me of my youth in Minnesota. Been living in Oklahoma since 1976 with no intention of moving back to those long cold winters! I did enjoy snowmobiling, about the only thing I might miss about those winters! Glad you all enjoy them!

We had a light, dry snow here, since the air was dry and quite cold for Oklahoma. (near zero) About 1 1/2 inches in the Tulsa area last Sunday. Roads have been quite passible, even for Okies! Did not spot any cars in the ditches on my 16 mile drive to work. Today most of it is melting, tomorrow...

Here is an article I read some time ago, about the right sizing of pipes and better routing can help get you hot water faster, without a recirc pump. https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/plumbing/efficient-hot-water-piping_o

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here in Oklahoma, I have my kids listed as beneficiaries on various accounts. They have no access to the accounts until I die. I had a savings account at the credit union, but I didn't want my late wife to have access to the money while I am alive, so I...

And you wondered why the cat was grinning like a Cheshire cat. That cat knew, it was no accident!

Happens with tools too! I just laid down the wrench, now I can't find it!!

I remember using one on the farm when I was much younger, still in high school. It was an old wooden box pull behind, wheel driven, no name spreader. It worked quite well, spread manure all over, including on me, always ending up smelling like, well, manure!

Should probably leave the truck at the junkyard too!!

A lot of dead people in Penn!!

Just half the time????