Gas: went from 2.89 to 2.99 last night/this morning.
Got a good inch of snow and sub-zero temps last night. Most of the snow blew away in the wind.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday November 26, 2007
Great Weekend. Put a new battery in Cricky on T-Day, plus had lots of good food. Worked some on Friday, had a problem PC in the ER at work and there was no-one else around, so I took care of it. Got all the parts ripped of the parts van on Saturday and it was shipped back to its owner on Sunday. We got the bumpers, seat belts, doors, hinges, latches, ceiling console, windshield visor, spare tire carrier, and interior lights off of it. Spent Sunday putting up Christmas lights in the yard, we got the tree out front re-lighted plus put some lights around the front door. Most we've done in years.
Gotta remember to pickup a fuel filter for the 89 Horizon and a thermostat for the Gladiator this afternoon, that should solve all of their current problems. Hopefully.
Well, lot's to do at work, the new network switches arrived Friday, all sitting around the office. Need to get them distributed to their closets so we have room to work.
Gotta remember to pickup a fuel filter for the 89 Horizon and a thermostat for the Gladiator this afternoon, that should solve all of their current problems. Hopefully.
Well, lot's to do at work, the new network switches arrived Friday, all sitting around the office. Need to get them distributed to their closets so we have room to work.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Friday November 23, 2007
Gas 2.89 now. Drove to Bemidji on T-Day. Feels like Winter is coming, low was about 10F last night and high yesterday about 25F. Today a bit warmer (28F) but windier.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tuesday November 20, 2007
Drove to Bemidji Monday. I find it very interesting that all the stations in GR are between 2.94 and 2.96, with one at 2.94 and one at 2.96 and the rest at 2.95, but the stations in Bemidji are between 3.01 and 2.96 and two stations next to each other will have different prices. Hmmm.
Busy week here, short because of T-Day and so I'm hopping right now. Too much to do and not enough time to do it.
Later!!
Busy week here, short because of T-Day and so I'm hopping right now. Too much to do and not enough time to do it.
Later!!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Wednesday November 14, 2007
Drove to Minnetonka and back Tuesday, Averaged 12mpg with headwinds both directions. Thank God for the new headlight setup and windshield, since most of the trip was made before sunup and after sunset.
Gas prices are still at 3.09 in GR, with a couple of stations at 3.08. I used to stop at Hinkley for cheap gas, they had 3.19 at the stations next to the freeway. Drove on down to Pine where it was at 3.05 and filled up, and then filled up again at Pine on the way back. Gas in the Twin Cities appeared to be pretty much in the 3.05 area.
Gas prices are still at 3.09 in GR, with a couple of stations at 3.08. I used to stop at Hinkley for cheap gas, they had 3.19 at the stations next to the freeway. Drove on down to Pine where it was at 3.05 and filled up, and then filled up again at Pine on the way back. Gas in the Twin Cities appeared to be pretty much in the 3.05 area.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Sunday November 11, 2007
My how time flies!
Gas: by Saturday evening all were at 3.09, managed to fill both van's at 3.05 before all the stations were at the new price.
Got a new, larger propane tank to match the new propane furnace, filled it Thursday 262.6 gallons at $2 per gallon. We'll see how it goes.
Bought another car and another tractor Saturday. Well, sorta. I bought a 1986 Chevy G20 conversion van all except the drivetrain. Guy is dropping it off here in the next couple of weeks, I pull off all the doors and other parts I want, then he hauls the shell and drivetrain away so he can sell the engine and tranny. There is a little rust on the doors, but nothing like the rust on the Gladiator. Plan on rebuilding these doors then installing them on the Gladiator. Also has a tire rack on the back that I can replace my rotted out one with. Has a few other parts I can get off of it. Also bought another old AC WC. Someone started to rebuild the engine but stopped before they put it together, all the parts appear to be there, and it has a front blade and hydraulics. We will start by putting the blade on our running AC WC and then go from there with it.
Time to get busy now, it's 30F outside but supposed to get near 50F today and I have a lot of work I want to get done today.
Gas: by Saturday evening all were at 3.09, managed to fill both van's at 3.05 before all the stations were at the new price.
Got a new, larger propane tank to match the new propane furnace, filled it Thursday 262.6 gallons at $2 per gallon. We'll see how it goes.
Bought another car and another tractor Saturday. Well, sorta. I bought a 1986 Chevy G20 conversion van all except the drivetrain. Guy is dropping it off here in the next couple of weeks, I pull off all the doors and other parts I want, then he hauls the shell and drivetrain away so he can sell the engine and tranny. There is a little rust on the doors, but nothing like the rust on the Gladiator. Plan on rebuilding these doors then installing them on the Gladiator. Also has a tire rack on the back that I can replace my rotted out one with. Has a few other parts I can get off of it. Also bought another old AC WC. Someone started to rebuild the engine but stopped before they put it together, all the parts appear to be there, and it has a front blade and hydraulics. We will start by putting the blade on our running AC WC and then go from there with it.
Time to get busy now, it's 30F outside but supposed to get near 50F today and I have a lot of work I want to get done today.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Monday November 5, 2007
Snowing off and on today, too warm for it to stick, although I hear rumors that some places in the area had as much as 2 inches at one time.
As I was running errands at 5PM I noticed that some gas stations were dropping prices from 2.96 to 2.91; by 5:30 all but one station was at 2.91. Filled up the Gladiator. Filled up Stripez on Saturday at 2.96, ouch. But, when they are on empty ya gotta put gas in.
Darn PPC 6700 is really acting up. Part of the touch screen has died, right in the center. Tried a hard reset, but then couldn't complete the screen align, it was stuck in a loop. Finally located a utility (from CodeFactory) designed for people with vision problems to allow them to bypass the touch screen alignment. I'm waiting for the local UniCel store to decide what to do with the PPC, but I can't go without it, too many people need to talk to me and I keep too much data on it. Having a bad touchscreen makes it much harder to use, but at least it is better than nothing, I know since I went most of the day without it while trying to find a way past the alignment screen. So now the center of the screen is dead and the rest of the screen is not aligned, so it can be EXTREMELY difficult to navigate some screens, but at least I can look at my spreadsheets and notes and make calls from my contacts list (I can also dial from the keyboard if I have to). I've only had it a couple of months now. When I google "6700 screen align" I see that I'm not the only person to experience these problems.
We did get the snow tires installed on the Gladiator, also got the quad hi-beam adapter installed. The daytime running light adapter requires something to activate it, I can actually turn on the lights by running my hand along the wire, presumably I'm inducing a current when I do that. The instructions recommend taping a loop around a spark plug wire which would induce a current, or by tapping it into any source that provides a signal when the engine is running such as the oil pressure gauge. I will need to pull the doghouse off to access a plug wire, so that didn't happen Sunday afternoon, although the rest of the hookup is completed. Matt worked on trying to swap the dimmer switch, but it requires some special wrench (I didn't look at it) which I don't have, so he couldn't complete that and just put it back together.
Between having the headlights properly aligned (first time since we've owned it, 3 years?) and having the quad hi-beams it is almost nice to drive at night. If I can get the holes in the body patched it would look a lot nicer and be a bit warmer inside, and if I can figure out why it is so sensitive to crosswinds and fix that it will be a pleasure to drive day or night. Should try new shocks next, after that will look for a rear sway bar, I know they are available.
Still waiting for the Horizon to get fixed. Matt worked on it Saturday, the engine is now back together and it has brakes, but the fuel lines are rotted out and need to be replaced. Matt also removed the back bumper; the drivers side supports were totally rusted off and apparently there is no place to bolt the bumper to. He was going to replace the bumper with the bumper from the '83, but the problem is not the bumper but the body. So now he needs to find good steel and weld on a plate that the bumper can bolt to. And I was hoping that it would be easier to fix the '89 Horizon than to fix the '83 Horizon. Well, I still don't have a tranny for the '83, but maybe I should start looking.
As I was running errands at 5PM I noticed that some gas stations were dropping prices from 2.96 to 2.91; by 5:30 all but one station was at 2.91. Filled up the Gladiator. Filled up Stripez on Saturday at 2.96, ouch. But, when they are on empty ya gotta put gas in.
Darn PPC 6700 is really acting up. Part of the touch screen has died, right in the center. Tried a hard reset, but then couldn't complete the screen align, it was stuck in a loop. Finally located a utility (from CodeFactory) designed for people with vision problems to allow them to bypass the touch screen alignment. I'm waiting for the local UniCel store to decide what to do with the PPC, but I can't go without it, too many people need to talk to me and I keep too much data on it. Having a bad touchscreen makes it much harder to use, but at least it is better than nothing, I know since I went most of the day without it while trying to find a way past the alignment screen. So now the center of the screen is dead and the rest of the screen is not aligned, so it can be EXTREMELY difficult to navigate some screens, but at least I can look at my spreadsheets and notes and make calls from my contacts list (I can also dial from the keyboard if I have to). I've only had it a couple of months now. When I google "6700 screen align" I see that I'm not the only person to experience these problems.
We did get the snow tires installed on the Gladiator, also got the quad hi-beam adapter installed. The daytime running light adapter requires something to activate it, I can actually turn on the lights by running my hand along the wire, presumably I'm inducing a current when I do that. The instructions recommend taping a loop around a spark plug wire which would induce a current, or by tapping it into any source that provides a signal when the engine is running such as the oil pressure gauge. I will need to pull the doghouse off to access a plug wire, so that didn't happen Sunday afternoon, although the rest of the hookup is completed. Matt worked on trying to swap the dimmer switch, but it requires some special wrench (I didn't look at it) which I don't have, so he couldn't complete that and just put it back together.
Between having the headlights properly aligned (first time since we've owned it, 3 years?) and having the quad hi-beams it is almost nice to drive at night. If I can get the holes in the body patched it would look a lot nicer and be a bit warmer inside, and if I can figure out why it is so sensitive to crosswinds and fix that it will be a pleasure to drive day or night. Should try new shocks next, after that will look for a rear sway bar, I know they are available.
Still waiting for the Horizon to get fixed. Matt worked on it Saturday, the engine is now back together and it has brakes, but the fuel lines are rotted out and need to be replaced. Matt also removed the back bumper; the drivers side supports were totally rusted off and apparently there is no place to bolt the bumper to. He was going to replace the bumper with the bumper from the '83, but the problem is not the bumper but the body. So now he needs to find good steel and weld on a plate that the bumper can bolt to. And I was hoping that it would be easier to fix the '89 Horizon than to fix the '83 Horizon. Well, I still don't have a tranny for the '83, but maybe I should start looking.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Sunday November 4, 2007
Snow is in tonight's forecast! Only half an inch. Time to put the snow tires on the Gladiator. Matt and I got the headlights aligned last night, discovered that there is a big flat, level slab in Warba, made a target, and did it. Worked great.
Bought a new dimmer switch for the Gladiator a couple of days ago, haven't put it in since I have to drop the steering column to do it, but since I bought it the headlights have worked flawlessly. The morning before I bought the switch I flipped from hi to low dozens of times and more than half the time the lights would go out during the change. Since the new switch has been sitting in the van (not installed!) I have flipped the lights dozens of times and they have never missed. You can't tell me that the Gladiator is an inanimate object!
I have to go work on a network for a private client this morning (in a few moments), I'm hoping that I can get done soon enough that I can get back home, change the tires, install the dimmer switch, and install the new quad relay and alway-on light relay before it begins snowing (forecast for early afternoon).
Bought a new dimmer switch for the Gladiator a couple of days ago, haven't put it in since I have to drop the steering column to do it, but since I bought it the headlights have worked flawlessly. The morning before I bought the switch I flipped from hi to low dozens of times and more than half the time the lights would go out during the change. Since the new switch has been sitting in the van (not installed!) I have flipped the lights dozens of times and they have never missed. You can't tell me that the Gladiator is an inanimate object!
I have to go work on a network for a private client this morning (in a few moments), I'm hoping that I can get done soon enough that I can get back home, change the tires, install the dimmer switch, and install the new quad relay and alway-on light relay before it begins snowing (forecast for early afternoon).
Friday, November 2, 2007
Friday November 2, 2007
Less than a week and I am really behind. I did my last post on Monday morning, when I went home Monday afternoon gas was at 2.84. By Thursday morning it was down to 2.82, and I filled up. By Thursday noon gas was at 2.98, this morning it has backed off to 2.97. And the Horizon isn't ready yet.
Just read a story at MSNBC about the "Baptist Church" in Topeka, KS that pickets funerals with signs saying "God Hates Fags", "God Hates You", "Thank God For Dead Soldiers", and other similar sayings. And they don't do this just in Topeka, but in Maryland, South Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, California, Illinois, and other places around the continent (they currently have pickets planned for funerals in Utah and Massachusetts). Just looking at their website makes me sick from all the hate splashed all over it.
Winter may be finally on its way. 10/30 was a really nice, warm, fall day. If I'd had any steaks around I would have barbecued, but I didn't. Then 10/31 was cold and windy and damp. Snow is in the forecast with lows in the teens and highs in the 20's in the next few days.
Just read a story at MSNBC about the "Baptist Church" in Topeka, KS that pickets funerals with signs saying "God Hates Fags", "God Hates You", "Thank God For Dead Soldiers", and other similar sayings. And they don't do this just in Topeka, but in Maryland, South Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, California, Illinois, and other places around the continent (they currently have pickets planned for funerals in Utah and Massachusetts). Just looking at their website makes me sick from all the hate splashed all over it.
Winter may be finally on its way. 10/30 was a really nice, warm, fall day. If I'd had any steaks around I would have barbecued, but I didn't. Then 10/31 was cold and windy and damp. Snow is in the forecast with lows in the teens and highs in the 20's in the next few days.
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