Good morning!!!!

[RoyJackson]

Good morning,
I'm at work, but I think I'm going to take a couple days off after the audit closes (around noon today)

 

[toppop52]

94 today! Then 66 by Saturday. Fall is here. We need rain badly, in a moderate drought now.
Flu shot and over 65 pneumonia shot today, plus a blood draw.
Hope you all have a great day. Prayers all around.

 

[ronjhall]

Need to pour first cup of coffee. 68° with mostly cloudy skies this morning. Heading to 57° with thunderstorms. All the forecasted storms went north of us yesterday. May not be that lucky today. Lawn got cut and decided to do another project instead of the pond. Going get back on rewiring electrical power to the 2 barns. I think I have all the material. But it's been laying on bench since June.

Roy, glad it was not heart problem.

Thomas, I remember my last days at work. It was enjoyable. But some goodbyes were tough after 36 years with same company. I and my field service partner were the only ones left at the company with more than 20 years. Enjoy these last days.

Buckeye, hope you get insurance figured out. Apple works very well as does Android. But the learning curve can be frustrating.

David, glad you had a nice dinner.

Drew, hope you get porch done without any added pains to the body.

Mostly, 6-7 days on a battery charge would be good. I get about 36 hours on my iPhone 8 plus.

Good Morning All.

 

[txdon]

Good morning! 75˚F heading to the mid 90s. Send a cold front down here, we are tired of Summer.
Drew. I used a penetrating type stain on my porch and cedar walls of our little cabin. I still had to give it a coat every 3 years on the parts that the sun hit but no sanding, just cleaning with a brush.
Roy those symptoms will cause enough stress to cause those symptoms.
Mostly, the hearing in front of the RR Commission will be in December, I'll find out then if a water test will be helpful. This is a new LLC business and their first well, if there are any problems I think they will just go bankrupt. I would feel better if Exxon was drilling it.

The quest to find the tractor graveyard:
We are starting to blaze a new trail today. The first markings are for the CA tractor to mow the waist high grass/weeds so we can access the areas of underbrush that need to be removed. This may be an opportunity for me to edge my way onto another tractor. This trail is so dense we will be doing a foot at a time for a few miles. A true all winter project. The new house section opened and already 10 houses are occupied. This area has big open areas where the 4th golf course was suppose to go but hiking trails won out on the resident surveys. Of course we are putting the trails in the rough area under the trees that have never been cleared. Someone said back in the brush they is an old tractor grave yard, I'll be looking for that.

During Firewire clearing yesterday I mentioned to a lady helping that I have not seen a snake since I moved here (well just a baby on the street), she promptly turned on her phone and showed me about 30 rattlesnakes she has run across just this year. Big Ones. I'm breaking out my snake boots today in the waist high brush/grass there is no ground visibility.

New truck has not made it home, it's getting a spray-in liner. I was undecided about the color of the seats the dealership owner signed a note to me that I have 30 days to like the color or they will re-cover the seats for free ($1500 value) with black leather, could not refuse that offer. Negotiating at the final hours of the month paid off. But I'm starting to like the lighter color so maybe he won the gamble.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

been reading that I'm an environmental hog asking Amazon to deliver in two days. Going to consider going to their one day a week delivery for
non rush items. I love the way they are starting to color the eco delivery boxes green, peer pressure from neighbors who see you haven't gone green?
I admit I do use a lot of their cardboard packaging to start my burn pile, so I'm doubly bad by not recycling everything.

Did you know that burning a piece of cardboard releases precisely the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as letting it biodegrade on the ground (or in a landfill)? Fire just works quicker, is all.

And if, instead of ordering from Amazon, you got in your truck and drove to a brick'n'mortar store, like in the old days, would that make you an even bigger eco-hog? Prolly not, 'cause UPS, FedEx, and the PO have their delivery routes figured out so they make the deliveries in the shortest time for the lowest cost, which includes the cost of the fuel they burn.

So recycle your cardboard, or burn it, it doesn't make any difference from an environmental standpoint, and, if it's free, keep using one and two day Amazon delivery. :2cents:

 

[daugen]

RNG, I signed up for Once a Week with Amazon, but can override it on any one item.
I have no bricks and mortar option left, my favorite hardware store closed down, gone.
All I have left is Lowes, Walmart and Tractor Supply.
So I continue to make Mr Bezos even richer, which he surely now needs after his divorce settlement.

any of your motorcycle friends using one of these?
I bet it becomes standard soon in CA.........
Airbag Jackets for motorcyclists

 

[RedNeckGeek]

My wife says you need to add Laura Ashley's soft furnishings store in Nantwich, Cheshire to that list. If that's destroyed your plans for this week, maybe Randy knows an alternative place to get those cushions for your Vanagon

Done. Laura Ashley's is now at the top of my list of stores to avoid from now on, Eric. Please thank your very thoughtful wife for me!:thumbsup::laughing:

And good luck with the weather. Maybe keep an eye on the radar map just to be safe?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

As I enter shed last evening ruffle grouse decided to exit same time...that was interesting for moment. :shocked:
Today I clean out my goodies from over the years at work and start my walk about visiting places and saying my good bye's.

Just as I entered, a bird flew through the back door into the garage yesterday afternoon, Thomas, and hid behind the blinds. It reconsidered when I wiggled the blinds, and left the same way it came in. Never did see it, just heard the beat of its wings, but I'm guessing it was one of the bluebirds that have been hanging around lately. I bet your grouse made a much more startling noise!

Half way through cleaning out my desk during my last week prior to retirement, a co-worker stopped by and asked me for the various books and office supplies I'd accumulated. Imagine my surprise a week later when a very T-ed off secretary called me to complain I'd left her a huge mess to clean up. I suggested she instead vent her wrath at the co-worker. Just another nail in that coffin, another reason for retiring early. Hope your departure comes without those kinds of surprises!:laughing:

 

[RedNeckGeek]

any of your motorcycle friends using one of these?
I bet it becomes standard soon in CA.........
Airbag Jackets for motorcyclists

Amazon offers free access to various forms of digital media to encourage customers to use delayed delivery options, but the satellite connection here discourages me from taking advantage of that perk. I also don't trust the digital copyright management software to preserve my access going forward; I'll stick with a hard copy CD/DVD/book, thank you very much.

Why yes, as a matter of fact, one friend does have one of those blow up devices. His is more of a vest, and he needed my help getting it untangled from his arms last time we rode together. The air bladder in it makes it kinda stiff, and he wasn't used to how it went on/off yet. It relies on a tether back to the bike to activate, and at each stop on the ride I kept an eye out so I wouldn't miss when he activated it by mistake. I'm still waiting.:laughing:

It uses a CO2 cartridge to inflate it, and his was mounted over his left breast where a shirt pocket might go. It was as big as a double C-cell flashlight, and I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to land on if there were an accident.:shocked:

 

[lostcreekranch]

63F raining upper 60's for high clearing sky later today.

As I enter shed last evening ruffle grouse decided to exit same time...that was interesting for moment. :shocked:
Today I clean out my goodies from over the years at work and start my walk about visiting places and saying my good bye's.
E muffin feed little critters slow roll to work.

Enjoy the day all.

Thomas .... congrats on you final days! How many years!

I retired after 44 1/2 years at the same company, that I went to work for, three days after completion of my USAFSS active duty.

When I retired, I never looked back. Enjoy your retirement!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 56F @ 5:45AM. Plentiful sunshine. High 77F. Winds light and variable.

Very nice weather for tractoring yesterday, cool with a bit of breeze. Finished up a bit more excavation on the propane terrace, and now have a level line/string to show me how much I need to fill in under where the blocks will go. I might have just enough three-quarter-minus-road-base, as they call it here, to do the job. If not, I need more anyway to go under the new shipping container. But a neighbor says he likes using ground up recycled concrete for such things, as the lime in the fines gives a harder, stronger composition to it after a rain or two, so I'm thinking of using that instead. Any of you tried it?

Also spent some time walking around with the laser level, looking for a place for that shipping container to go. Turns out there really isn't much level ground here that doesn't already have something parked or stored on it. And even the gentlest slope goes over a foot of drop in the forty feet the container needs, and that complicates getting a tractor in and out of both ends of the box (I'm hoping to find one with doors at each end). So I think I'll end up just moving the palletized firewood I already have, which I'll need to do anyway, and putting the container on that near level and already gravelled spot. Those pallets are mostly falling apart as well, so it gives me the excuse I've been looking for to try out the plastic pallets, and to start cutting up the steel pallets that the Kubota side-by-sides came on for the stacking loops that will keep the wood in place. Better swing by Harbor Freight and pick up a pack of cutoff discs when I'm in town this week, too.

 

[LouNY]

One thing to consider with crushed concrete or crushed stone with dust and fines is the pH,
limestone dust can be quite corrosive. I have seen a couple of older vehicles that where stored in an old barn with a crushed limestone floor,
they did not fare well.

 

[jbrumberg]

Good Morning Everyone!!!!!!!!

A humid 68ºF for today’s low temperature; a humid 70ºF presently which may be close to today’s high temperature as this pending cold front rolls through. Hopefully it will rain today.

David- I am happy to read that you and your friends had a good time and it ultimately worked out for Sophie and you. Other than the facts that I was not denied on my first SSD application attempt and had contributed to my State retirement plan instead of SS my experience was very similar. I forget how much I was allegedly over-benefited, but it was in the thousands. I never needed a lawyer as I had experience filing SSD/SSI for others, and I had a few paralegals and lawyers from the legal program where Wifey was CFO review my applications; but they found my “paperwork” pretty complete.

Roy- I am sorry to read about your scare. I am happy that you seem to have recovered. I hope the docs can figure out what happened. Enjoy your R&R.

Thomas- Good luck with the retirement cleanup and the “goodbyes.” I wish you well on this major life changing graduation from the “slow roll to retirement.

I hope that everyone is having a decent day today; pain and stress free.

My + thoughts and prayers.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

75° ( found the ° symbol)

2 weeks ago marks 36 yrs working full time. With 3 companies. 20,13,3 In 1 more yr I can draw a pension from my first one. I can draw a very small pension anytime from the 2nd one. They stopped contributing to the pension before I left.

According to what I read SSDI starts paying after 5 full months of disability. I don’t know how that effects things. The LTD lady said I had to apply, she didn’t say get approved. If I don’t get approved, will my LTD also not get approved?

See Dr again this morning. Then eat somewhere, maybe mission bbq again.

I don’t worry about how many amazon boxes I get. Got to return an iPhone charging cord that didn’t work. Worked on my sons XR but not my 11. Got another one yesterday that worked. UPS truck has been busy here. They drive by my house every day anyways.

Stink bugs out in full attack mode.

Scanned over 440 35mm slides of my parents yesterday. A couple will get added to my Life on the farm thread.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Good Morning. It's 71° and very foggy here. Forecast says 93° this afternoon .... Texas Summer continues. They say we'll see cooler days next week ... I'll believe it when I feel it.

Don ... good luck with your trail blazing. Hope you get your new Ranger soon. I crossed 10K miles on my 2018 F-350, KR on my return from the Texas Hill Country last week, on the one year anniversary of buying it.

David .... congrats on your anniversary too.

Drew .... when does your shakedown "Cruise" begin? Or did you go while I was internet / cell free in the Hill Country?

BEF ... back in the 1990's I carried a "dumb" cell phone and a Blackberry. Then I transitioned to a Samsung Galaxy smart phone and an Apple iPad. After 2 Galaxy phones (G3, G5) I went with an Apple iPhone 8 Plus, about a year ago. I'm sooooo glad I made the switch as, I no longer have to remember the different procedures to do everything on two different platforms. The iPhone and iPad communicate with each other seamlessly. If I take a picture, with the iPhone, it copies to the iPad automatically. Both get same updates at the same time.

Thomas .... enjoy your last two "slow rolls"!

Roy ... I hope the Docs discover what the issue was.

RNG .... a "Michelin Man" motorcycle safety suit come to mind?

Hope everyone has a great Hump Day.

Prayers to all

 

[PJSprog]

67°F and clear skies this morning, going up to 92° today. Last day of heat. Tomorrow's high is predicted to be 74°, which is much more "normal" for this time of year around here. Lows next week will be in the mid-40s.

Going to see a concert this evening in downtown STL. One of my favorite bands, Dream Theater. The venue they are playing is connected to the hockey arena, and the Blues have their home opener tonight where they'll be raising the Stanley Cup Championship banner. Going to be crazy down there tonight. We'll park at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis and take the Metro Link train over. No way I'm going to try to find a parking spot around there tonight.

Glad you're OK, Roy. As others have mentioned, I would not easily dismiss that.

Consider me more than just a little envious of you, Thomas.

 

[lostcreekranch]

75° ( found the ° symbol)

2 weeks ago marks 36 yrs working full time. With 3 companies. 20,13,3 In 1 more yr I can draw a pension from my first one. I can draw a very small pension anytime from the 2nd one. They stopped contributing to the pension before I left.

According to what I read SSDI starts paying after 5 full months of disability. I don’t know how that effects things. The LTD lady said I had to apply, she didn’t say get approved. If I don’t get approved, will my LTD also not get approved?

See Dr again this morning. Then eat somewhere, maybe mission bbq again.

I don’t worry about how many amazon boxes I get. Got to return an iPhone charging cord that didn’t work. Worked on my sons XR but not my 11. Got another one yesterday that worked. UPS truck has been busy here. They drive by my house every day anyways.

Stink bugs out in full attack mode.

Scanned over 440 35mm slides of my parents yesterday. A couple will get added to my Life on the farm thread.

You might investigate a wireless charger for your new iPhone.

This is the one I got and will order a second for the shop. No cord issues.

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-RAVPower-Compatible-HyperAir-Qi-Enabled/dp/B07WD4784J

FWIW the 2020 Corvettes have a Q1 enabled cell phone charging storage pocket in the console. I expect to see this feature in more vehicles soon.

 

[PJSprog]

Stink bugs out in full attack mode.

We seem to be having a bigger than normal problem with wolf spiders. We've killed half a dozen or more big ones inside in the last week. I found one again last night wandering around in front of the television. Wife sent a picture of one she saw a couple nights ago to the bug man. She was not pleased. The service that comes in and sprays has seen some turnover recently. We never had this problem with the guy who did it for years.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My son says I can change keyboards, even use an android keyboard.

 

[lostcreekranch]

My son says I can change keyboards, even use an android keyboard.

Should work .... they're Bluetooth.