Learned something today about a useful tool to reset permissions on a Windows 2000 Server. I'm working with a Domain Controller, so Special Instructions Apply, but this also works with other flavors of 2000. Don't know about other versions of Windows, not my problem at this moment.
M$ kinda buggered up the instructions and setup for doing this on a DC, so here is my all-in-one instruction. Note: ONLY ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU ARE HAVING PERMISSION PROBLEMS AND ONLY IF YOU HAVE A VERIFIED FULL SYSTEM BACKUP. THIS COULD LEAVE YOUR DOMAIN CONTROLLER UNABLE TO BOOT!!!
1. Find your sysvol folder path by typing net share sysvol at the command prompt. Usually the path is "c:\winnt\sysvol\sysvol"; make note of yours.
2. Find your DSLOG path by opening regedit and going to HKLM\System\SurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters and recording what you find under "Database log files path"; this is usually c:\winnt\ntds.
3. Find your DSDIT path in HKLM\System\SurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters under "DSA working directory"; usually c:\winnt\ntds.
DO NOT GUESS AT THESE PARAMETERS!!
4. Now we need to set the variable: assuming that you have the same data as I do, you will go to the command prompt and type:
set SYSVOL=c:\winnt\sysvol [note: we left off the ending "sysvol", that is correct]
set DSLOG=c:\winnt\ntds
set DSDIT=c:\winnt\ntds
5. Open the MMC; since we are sitting at the command prompt just type MMC and hit "enter".
6. On the "Console" menu click "Ad/Remove Snap-in".
7. Click "Add", and then double-click "Security Configuration and Analysis".
8. Click "Close", "OK".
9. Right-click "Security Configuration and Analysis", then click "Open Database". Create a new database file, you can name it whatever you want. I used my name. You will then be prompted to import a security template.
10. In the "Look in" list browse to c:\winnt\inf\. Select Defltdc.inf.
11. After you import the template, follow the directions in the right pane to configure the computer with the security settings in the template.
If you are not working with a Domain Controller, you will skip steps 1-4 and start with step 5. In step 10 you will select, depending on what you are working with:
Defltwk.inf = Windows 2000 Professional
Defltsv.inf = Windows 2000 Server
Defltdc.int = Windows 2000 Server Domain Controller
Note that although this did fix the registry permissions problems I was having, it did not fix my inability to install a program, so I will be looking further.
Hours Later
I got everything going. I'm not entirely clear what happened. I was under the impression that following the above process would restore both Registry AND File permissions. Maybe it did. But the "System" and "Service" accounts had NO permissions in "Winnt" or "Program Files". Once I gave them full perms then everything started working correctly. I'm very glad; I thought I was going to put in 48 hours of work to rebuild everything, looks like it's cleaned up after about 8 hours. Not too bad. I still need to rebuild this server, but it can now wait until the new hardware is here and installed.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Cold Tonight?
The forecast is for -21°F, with windchills around -35°. The block heater on Vger seemed to work great last night (0°F).
Today has been a day of frustration. I'm trying to do the EOY for our Great Plains installation, and it's not going well at all.
Up to (and including) version 8, upgrades were simple. But, M$ was still using the old programming that they bought. With Version 9, they made the break with the old Great Plains and made it more of a M$ program, including using the Windows Installer. Before v9, everything was controlled by .ini, .set, and .dic files. In v9, in addition to using these files there are also many many Registry entries.
Well, to make a long story short, something on the Server in the Windows Installer is broken. Something in the Registry. As usual, M$ suggestion is to re-install Windows. On a server. That is a Domain Controller. That is a DHCP server. That hosts all the SQL databases for the company.
Well, I've been going to demote the server to a member for quite a while, and there is a plan to move most of the databases to new hardware that has just started arriving today. But, the updates to GP must be done before the first payroll of 2009 can be processed (taxes), so now the problems cannot be pushed back any longer.
So, guess what I will be doing New Years Eve and Day? Building a server and restoring databases to it. Just what I've always wanted to do. Got to have it done by Friday morning so that reports that need to be run at the beginning of 2009 can be run before the first Payroll.
yep. A marathon session. yippee.
Today has been a day of frustration. I'm trying to do the EOY for our Great Plains installation, and it's not going well at all.
Up to (and including) version 8, upgrades were simple. But, M$ was still using the old programming that they bought. With Version 9, they made the break with the old Great Plains and made it more of a M$ program, including using the Windows Installer. Before v9, everything was controlled by .ini, .set, and .dic files. In v9, in addition to using these files there are also many many Registry entries.
Well, to make a long story short, something on the Server in the Windows Installer is broken. Something in the Registry. As usual, M$ suggestion is to re-install Windows. On a server. That is a Domain Controller. That is a DHCP server. That hosts all the SQL databases for the company.
Well, I've been going to demote the server to a member for quite a while, and there is a plan to move most of the databases to new hardware that has just started arriving today. But, the updates to GP must be done before the first payroll of 2009 can be processed (taxes), so now the problems cannot be pushed back any longer.
So, guess what I will be doing New Years Eve and Day? Building a server and restoring databases to it. Just what I've always wanted to do. Got to have it done by Friday morning so that reports that need to be run at the beginning of 2009 can be run before the first Payroll.
yep. A marathon session. yippee.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Too confused/busy to blog the last few days. I managed to get off early on Christmas Eve and took Christmas Day and Friday off. I was actually carrying the Master Pager for the group and only got one page the entire weekend, and the problem was solved before I could return the call; so "work" was not the problem.
We'll start on 12/21, when we finally setup the (fake) Christmas Tree.
I think the picture is much prettier with the flash turned off:
Then we move to Christmas Eve, We had a couple of snow storms and some very cold weather, so on Christmas Eve (and Day) the roads were very icy. Driving past the neighbors house I noticed an eagle sitting in the tree looking out over the road and field beyond.
On Christmas Day the roads were still very icy, but the scenery was beautiful.
Spent most of Christmas Day in Bemidji with the kids. This was Phillip's first Christmas. I really remember very little about my childhood, but I do remember that I loved Legos (still do, actually). I have a set of Legos that were always at my grandparents, if you look thru the "Slides" you can find at least one photo of me playing with them. One of the first gifts I gave our kids was Legos, and I decided that would be my first Christmas Present for Phillip, start his collection of Legos. I got him a simple Duplo set to get started with.
Phillip played with Matt and Evolena a bit, he's getting quite the winning smile now.
Matt made up some more burned plaque; Jon got a Dragon and Patty a Mermaid, that face each other.
Evan got a plaque also, the Lord's Prayer - in Finnish.
Evolena also got a plaque of a Dragon
On Friday we took it (more or less) easy. On Saturday Matt and I (and a couple of helpers) went over to Jim's and installed a frost plug block heater in Vger. Haven't had to use it - yet. Tomorrow night we have a forecast for -20, so I'll get to test it then.
Went bowling Sunday with the neighbor's; I figure it's the first time in nearly 20 years I've tried to roll a ball at some pins. I did manage an 86 with a strike and a couple of spares and several gutter balls.
When we got home from Bowling I found Bear under the Christmas Tree
Gas in GR went to 1.659 on Friday, I believe Bemidji was at 1.629 on Christmas Day.
Until Later!
We'll start on 12/21, when we finally setup the (fake) Christmas Tree.
I think the picture is much prettier with the flash turned off:
Then we move to Christmas Eve, We had a couple of snow storms and some very cold weather, so on Christmas Eve (and Day) the roads were very icy. Driving past the neighbors house I noticed an eagle sitting in the tree looking out over the road and field beyond.
On Christmas Day the roads were still very icy, but the scenery was beautiful.
Spent most of Christmas Day in Bemidji with the kids. This was Phillip's first Christmas. I really remember very little about my childhood, but I do remember that I loved Legos (still do, actually). I have a set of Legos that were always at my grandparents, if you look thru the "Slides" you can find at least one photo of me playing with them. One of the first gifts I gave our kids was Legos, and I decided that would be my first Christmas Present for Phillip, start his collection of Legos. I got him a simple Duplo set to get started with.
Phillip played with Matt and Evolena a bit, he's getting quite the winning smile now.
Matt made up some more burned plaque; Jon got a Dragon and Patty a Mermaid, that face each other.
Evan got a plaque also, the Lord's Prayer - in Finnish.
Evolena also got a plaque of a Dragon
On Friday we took it (more or less) easy. On Saturday Matt and I (and a couple of helpers) went over to Jim's and installed a frost plug block heater in Vger. Haven't had to use it - yet. Tomorrow night we have a forecast for -20, so I'll get to test it then.
Went bowling Sunday with the neighbor's; I figure it's the first time in nearly 20 years I've tried to roll a ball at some pins. I did manage an 86 with a strike and a couple of spares and several gutter balls.
When we got home from Bowling I found Bear under the Christmas Tree
Gas in GR went to 1.659 on Friday, I believe Bemidji was at 1.629 on Christmas Day.
Until Later!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Updates
A couple of updates to the previous post:
I'm wishing I had installed the block heater; Vger barely started this morning and the Horizon did not. -20°F this morning, at noon we are finally up to -6°F.
I just heard thru the grapevine that the driver of the semi involved in Friday's accident was DOA at St. Luke's. I do not have any official corroboration of that info.
I'm wishing I had installed the block heater; Vger barely started this morning and the Horizon did not. -20°F this morning, at noon we are finally up to -6°F.
I just heard thru the grapevine that the driver of the semi involved in Friday's accident was DOA at St. Luke's. I do not have any official corroboration of that info.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
20-Dec
Getting a bit behind.
Gas dropped to 1.679 12/19 in GR, at the same time gas in Bemidji was 1.659. Closest it's been for some time.
On the way back from Bemidji about 6:30 12/19 we passed a fresh accident scene. Found out this morning that a semi load of OSB tried to pass a pickup truck just east of Bena, the semi lost control on the very icy highway, side-swiped the pickup, spun, and flipped. The pickup went off the road, the driver was apparently uninjured, the semi looked like it had been wadded up and thrown into the trees, wheels on the tractor were up and the cab was flattened down nearly to the engine; the trailer was bent and twisted with OSB flung over the surrounding area. The driver of the semi was flown to St Luke's in Duluth with broken ribs and a punctured lung. Very lucky. We were about 15 minutes behind the accident, emergency vehicles passed us maybe a mile before the scene. We had to wait while they cleared the highway of debris, then, while they were still waiting for Luke's One to arrive, they allowed traffic thru.
Just about 1-1/2 weeks ago, a couple of miles further east on Highway 2, a VW Jetta suddenly swerved out into an oncoming lumber truck. The driver of the Jetta was dead at the scene, both vehicles were destroyed by fire. The semi driver had minor injuries. The roads were clear and dry at the time, there was no other traffic, and no-one alive today knows why the Jetta suddenly swerved into the oncoming traffic.
Picked up a block heater the other day, O'Reilly's was surpried that they actually received all 3 that they ordered. Still have not decided how or where or when to install the heater.
It's starting to snow again. 4-6 inches forecast for today, 8 to 16 inches forecast over the weekend. I'm afraid we won't be going very far this weekend.
Gas dropped to 1.679 12/19 in GR, at the same time gas in Bemidji was 1.659. Closest it's been for some time.
On the way back from Bemidji about 6:30 12/19 we passed a fresh accident scene. Found out this morning that a semi load of OSB tried to pass a pickup truck just east of Bena, the semi lost control on the very icy highway, side-swiped the pickup, spun, and flipped. The pickup went off the road, the driver was apparently uninjured, the semi looked like it had been wadded up and thrown into the trees, wheels on the tractor were up and the cab was flattened down nearly to the engine; the trailer was bent and twisted with OSB flung over the surrounding area. The driver of the semi was flown to St Luke's in Duluth with broken ribs and a punctured lung. Very lucky. We were about 15 minutes behind the accident, emergency vehicles passed us maybe a mile before the scene. We had to wait while they cleared the highway of debris, then, while they were still waiting for Luke's One to arrive, they allowed traffic thru.
Just about 1-1/2 weeks ago, a couple of miles further east on Highway 2, a VW Jetta suddenly swerved out into an oncoming lumber truck. The driver of the Jetta was dead at the scene, both vehicles were destroyed by fire. The semi driver had minor injuries. The roads were clear and dry at the time, there was no other traffic, and no-one alive today knows why the Jetta suddenly swerved into the oncoming traffic.
Picked up a block heater the other day, O'Reilly's was surpried that they actually received all 3 that they ordered. Still have not decided how or where or when to install the heater.
It's starting to snow again. 4-6 inches forecast for today, 8 to 16 inches forecast over the weekend. I'm afraid we won't be going very far this weekend.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
16 Dec More Colder?
We showed -30°F this morning, by 11AM it had warmed up to -20°F. Neither Vger nor the Red Horizon wanted to start. Finally got Vger to start about 11, Matt got the Horizon to start after he got home from school about 3 PM using ether. Currently -6°F now at 7 PM, I think today’s Hi was about -5°F.
Need to look to be certain, but apparently Vger, the Horizon, and Stripez do not have block heaters. Hard to believe. I think that Vger might have a heater but no cord, but the heater goes on the rear side of the engine in the center frost plug, which means that it is very difficult to reach. We will need to check that tonight when we get home. Tonight’s low is supposed to be -14°F, which is a lot better. The Horizon may still have trouble starting though.
I went shopping for block heaters. Apparently, by noon today everyone was out of stock. NAPA, Car Quest, O’Reilly’s, L&M are all out. No frost plug heaters, no magnetic heaters. There are a couple of tank heaters out there. O’Reilly’s has ordered 3 frost plug heaters, but my parts guy says they will be lucky to get 1. I’m going to try to get there when the doors open and grab one, $20. Won’t get to install it until Saturday, if then. Not sure which car will get it. Vger is going to be retired when Stripez is complete, but right now Stripez is buried in a snow drift. Probably, the heater will go in the Horizon. As long as we have at least one car that will start at -30° it will be OK, we can work around that.
With the school closings Monday and the generally very poor road conditions, work was pretty quiet. But today things were jumping, and when I tried to dial in the best I could get was an occasional 19.2 Kbps working between mostly 17 Kbps. Was very glad to get Vger running and get to my desk.
To get an idea how cold it was, here is a picture of the inside of the front door this morning. Yes, that is frost on the screws, striker plate, and lock knob. In the heated (68F) entry way.
Need to look to be certain, but apparently Vger, the Horizon, and Stripez do not have block heaters. Hard to believe. I think that Vger might have a heater but no cord, but the heater goes on the rear side of the engine in the center frost plug, which means that it is very difficult to reach. We will need to check that tonight when we get home. Tonight’s low is supposed to be -14°F, which is a lot better. The Horizon may still have trouble starting though.
I went shopping for block heaters. Apparently, by noon today everyone was out of stock. NAPA, Car Quest, O’Reilly’s, L&M are all out. No frost plug heaters, no magnetic heaters. There are a couple of tank heaters out there. O’Reilly’s has ordered 3 frost plug heaters, but my parts guy says they will be lucky to get 1. I’m going to try to get there when the doors open and grab one, $20. Won’t get to install it until Saturday, if then. Not sure which car will get it. Vger is going to be retired when Stripez is complete, but right now Stripez is buried in a snow drift. Probably, the heater will go in the Horizon. As long as we have at least one car that will start at -30° it will be OK, we can work around that.
With the school closings Monday and the generally very poor road conditions, work was pretty quiet. But today things were jumping, and when I tried to dial in the best I could get was an occasional 19.2 Kbps working between mostly 17 Kbps. Was very glad to get Vger running and get to my desk.
To get an idea how cold it was, here is a picture of the inside of the front door this morning. Yes, that is frost on the screws, striker plate, and lock knob. In the heated (68F) entry way.
Monday, December 15, 2008
After the Blizzard
I guess for us technically it wasn't a blizzard. I believe that the technical requirement for a blizzard includes "visibility less than 1/4 mile". I think that visibility was less than 1/4 mile for several brief periods, and it was less than 1/2 mile for most of Sunday.
Right now it is -11°F; NWS says that the wind chill is -36°F. We have an honest 1' of snow, and 2' drifts in the yard including right in front of both cars, so we will need to dig thru those before we can even think about going somewhere. I think once the drifts are gone that Vger can get thru the driveway, but more work will be required to get the Horizon down the driveway. Still haven’t got the plow tractor running yet.
Not going to make it to my desk today; instead I will be working from home over dial-up. Ah, the pain.
Right now it is -11°F; NWS says that the wind chill is -36°F. We have an honest 1' of snow, and 2' drifts in the yard including right in front of both cars, so we will need to dig thru those before we can even think about going somewhere. I think once the drifts are gone that Vger can get thru the driveway, but more work will be required to get the Horizon down the driveway. Still haven’t got the plow tractor running yet.
Not going to make it to my desk today; instead I will be working from home over dial-up. Ah, the pain.
Friday, December 12, 2008
12-Dec Colder
The thermometer at home said -20°F, the NWS says -10°F. I was shivering too much to read the thermometers in town.
Ran ourselves out of propane at home; not sure how. I'm sure the gauge read 30% last Friday, but it is empty now. Might have something to do with all the house cleaning and traffic thru the house all week.
Vendors have been sending "Customer Appreciation" gifts of fancy chocolates all week, I'm eating myself sick.
When I call my UniCel phone I get a message that service has been suspended. All the cell phones owned by the hospital say that when you call them.
Gas in GR is still at 1.699. We'll be going to Bemidji tonight, see what it is there.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
11 Dec - Cold
-10°F this morning at home; NWS says -2°F, sign in town says -5°F. Cold enough for me. Got maybe 2" of snow yesterday, plus a lot of drifting. The roads kind of vanished for a bit as the blowing snow made it hard to see where they were and obliterated the tire tracks. Driveway isn't bad enough to worry about yet.
Matt got the Suburban finished yesterday afternoon. Went together easier then it came apart, mostly because he already had it figured out. After the owner replaced the bald tires last night it handles the snow very nicely.
Vger's temp gauge didn't get to 180°F until half way to town, and it has so many leaks that it never did warm up inside. Need to finish the engine on Stripez so Vger can be laid to rest and parted out.
Got the new cord on the heater. What a pain that was. And, it is only a 45,000 BTU heater (the other is 115,000 BTU), not nearly enough to keep the garage warm. And I think I need to clean the nozzle or something on it, the flame isn't nearly as bright and there is a distinct smell of diesel exhaust; I ended up opening the garage door a couple of feet, the wind and snow were then blowing straight in the garage so I finally turned the thing off and just used my little sunflower; at least that doesn't smell and there's no wind and snow so I can warm my hands up momentarily.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
10 Dec
Gas went to 1.699 yesterday.
Snowing to beat heck outside, 1"/hour. Forecast 5-7 inches today. And the snow plow tractor isn't done. Ah well.
Economic news continues to get gloomier. There are even rumors of layoffs at Blandin here in GR. Since Blandin makes coated paper usually used for adverts and mags they typically see steady or increased business during economic downturns as businesses increase advertising, but with the rise of global e-business many companies are turning to the Internet to increase their visibility, and mags have been losing subscribers steadily over the last few years as more people use the internet. Blandin's warehouses are reportedly full now, so they will need to cut back sharply soon. Since they are one of the major employers in the county it will be a big blow here. However, they still seem to be shipping paper since I still see the special train delivering clay and hauling away 5-8 boxcars of paper daily. We'll see.
I'm still waiting to see the new Sherwin-Williams paint store close. I was very surprised when they opened it last spring, back on a side road behind the new Super Wal-Mart. I have never seen any other cars in its parking lot other than the two employees. I have been in twice looking for paint products that they do not sell only to end up at my usual hardware store where they do sell the product I'm looking for. I suppose that they are primarily aimed at the professional painting contractor rather than the homeowner or hobbyist, and maybe contractors will keep them open. Our local ProBuild (formerly UBC) never has any vehicles in the parking lot, but rumor is that most contractors in the area use them and that is how they stay open. They must give contractors a pretty deep discount if that is true; every time I have priced them they have been nearly twice as expensive as any other source in the area.
Need to go get parts to fix a heater. The heater we used while working on the Suburban needs to go back to its owner today; and the one that is to replace it needs a new power cord. The ground prong was bent over and when I tried to straighten it the prong broke off. Since we are working here with diesel and electricity I want it to be properly grounded when we plug it in. Would have been easy to just put a new plug on the cord, but the cord is only 2" long to begin with and there just isn't room to cut it off and start over.
Snowing to beat heck outside, 1"/hour. Forecast 5-7 inches today. And the snow plow tractor isn't done. Ah well.
Economic news continues to get gloomier. There are even rumors of layoffs at Blandin here in GR. Since Blandin makes coated paper usually used for adverts and mags they typically see steady or increased business during economic downturns as businesses increase advertising, but with the rise of global e-business many companies are turning to the Internet to increase their visibility, and mags have been losing subscribers steadily over the last few years as more people use the internet. Blandin's warehouses are reportedly full now, so they will need to cut back sharply soon. Since they are one of the major employers in the county it will be a big blow here. However, they still seem to be shipping paper since I still see the special train delivering clay and hauling away 5-8 boxcars of paper daily. We'll see.
I'm still waiting to see the new Sherwin-Williams paint store close. I was very surprised when they opened it last spring, back on a side road behind the new Super Wal-Mart. I have never seen any other cars in its parking lot other than the two employees. I have been in twice looking for paint products that they do not sell only to end up at my usual hardware store where they do sell the product I'm looking for. I suppose that they are primarily aimed at the professional painting contractor rather than the homeowner or hobbyist, and maybe contractors will keep them open. Our local ProBuild (formerly UBC) never has any vehicles in the parking lot, but rumor is that most contractors in the area use them and that is how they stay open. They must give contractors a pretty deep discount if that is true; every time I have priced them they have been nearly twice as expensive as any other source in the area.
Need to go get parts to fix a heater. The heater we used while working on the Suburban needs to go back to its owner today; and the one that is to replace it needs a new power cord. The ground prong was bent over and when I tried to straighten it the prong broke off. Since we are working here with diesel and electricity I want it to be properly grounded when we plug it in. Would have been easy to just put a new plug on the cord, but the cord is only 2" long to begin with and there just isn't room to cut it off and start over.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
9 Dec
Gas in GR went to 1.729 sometime yesterday.
Changed oil in Vger and the Red Horizon on Sunday to Valvoline 5w-30. Vger barely started after the cold night and we had to jump-start the Horizon. Neither car has a block heater, not sure why I didn't get one installed on the Horizon while it was apart. I need to see about doing that soon. Vger has an oversized battery, but I don't know of a bigger one that will fit the Horizon, it needs a small, reversed terminal battery and doesn't have room for anything different.
Matt got the steering box out of the Suburban and removed the old pitman arm and put on the new one, just need to figure out how to torque it to 160 ft-lbs. Need a big vice on a big bench or something like that. The 115,000 btu heater makes a big difference in the garage. If I had $3-400 I'd get one.
Changed oil in Vger and the Red Horizon on Sunday to Valvoline 5w-30. Vger barely started after the cold night and we had to jump-start the Horizon. Neither car has a block heater, not sure why I didn't get one installed on the Horizon while it was apart. I need to see about doing that soon. Vger has an oversized battery, but I don't know of a bigger one that will fit the Horizon, it needs a small, reversed terminal battery and doesn't have room for anything different.
Matt got the steering box out of the Suburban and removed the old pitman arm and put on the new one, just need to figure out how to torque it to 160 ft-lbs. Need a big vice on a big bench or something like that. The 115,000 btu heater makes a big difference in the garage. If I had $3-400 I'd get one.
Monday, December 8, 2008
8 Dec
Well, I think we can say that winter has really come in. Saturday night we officially hit -11° (although my thermometer showed -20°) and we got an honest 2" of snow on Sunday.
Roads are very icy this morning; as I followed the UPS semi (with doubles) into the round-about about 75 ft back at 10 mph and barely managed to keep from hitting him, the road was solid glare ice. Traffic on Hiway 2 that is normally 10%-15% over the speed limit was 10% below this morning.
Went to Bemidji on Saturday, good trip and lots of fun. Spent Saturday trying to help Matt work on the neighbor's '97 Suburban. The joint between the pitman and the drag link has a lot of slack, so we are replacing the pitman. Normally shouldn't be that hard of a job, except that in this case the pitman barely clears the front frame crossmember and so the steering box must be totally removed from the vehicle to R&R the pinion. We made it as far as getting the box loose, we just need to figure out how to snake it out of the hole now. Fortunatly we are working inside the neighbor's garage, so we are out of the snow and wind, but the garage isn't heated. We used my little "sunflower" yesterday, but that mostly just lets us warm our hands occasionally. I think we are going to have a 150,000 btu reddy-heater tonight which should make it easier.
Friday, December 5, 2008
It's Friday!! (again)
Well, it was only 7°F this morning, I'm disappointed that it didn't get below 0°F (just kidding). Snow is on radar, might get a couple of inches this afternoon thru tomorrow morning.
I've created a new page "New Slide Collection" to organize the new scans of the old slides.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
4 Dec
Gas this morning is at 1.829.
Temp this morning is at 5°F with a light dusting of snow. Forecast is -3° tonight, first below 0°F.
Pain level very high this morning; don't know how much longer I can sit at my desk; may need to go home and take some pain killers.
I have restarted scanning the slides, my new scans are much better than the old ones, so I will be replacing the old with the new. I'm doing good to get between 5 and ten slides an evening; takes nearly 10 minutes to do each one. These scans are approx 3000 x 2000, I will be posting approx 800 x 600 but originals can be emailed or made available for download upon request. Here's a sample:
The filename is 19790632-M-LoneCypress.jpg. Format is YearMonthNumber-size-Info; in this case the date and sequence number printed on the slide indicate that it was developed June of 1979 slide number 32, Medium size (could be Original or Small) and I happen to know that this is the Lone Cypress. Info may include what is written on the slide or the names of the people or place pictured when I know it.
Temp this morning is at 5°F with a light dusting of snow. Forecast is -3° tonight, first below 0°F.
Pain level very high this morning; don't know how much longer I can sit at my desk; may need to go home and take some pain killers.
I have restarted scanning the slides, my new scans are much better than the old ones, so I will be replacing the old with the new. I'm doing good to get between 5 and ten slides an evening; takes nearly 10 minutes to do each one. These scans are approx 3000 x 2000, I will be posting approx 800 x 600 but originals can be emailed or made available for download upon request. Here's a sample:
The filename is 19790632-M-LoneCypress.jpg. Format is YearMonthNumber-size-Info; in this case the date and sequence number printed on the slide indicate that it was developed June of 1979 slide number 32, Medium size (could be Original or Small) and I happen to know that this is the Lone Cypress. Info may include what is written on the slide or the names of the people or place pictured when I know it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
December already
Yup, today is December First, or in Xanth, Dismember First. Or, maybe, Disremember First.
Gas yesterday 11/30 in Bemidji was 1.719, in GR it is still 1.899.
Some days I don't know why I bother looking at the news. Officials found 9 headless bodies in Tijauna Sunday. Over 4000 people have died in drug related violence this year in Mexico. A seige of Mumbai, India left 172 people dead over three days last week. A temp worker at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream NY was killed as Black Friday crowds blew down the doors at the 5AM opening. GM owned Saab and Ford owned Volvo are having financial problems and Ford and GM are asking the Swedish government for help. Chinese manufacturing orders dropped sharply last month. Black Friday sales figures appear to be down from last years. Since Black Friday can be 10% of a stores annual sales, and sales are already down this year, most retailers books aren't going to make it into the black. Japanese factory output is down.
Sunday while in Bemidji I noticed that I was approaching an odometer milestone, so I tried to photograph it. Almost succeeded; I was on a quiet stretch of road, getting into position, when three cars suddenly came up behind me, so the picture ended up being really poor, but here it is, Vger hitting 222,222.2 miles at 22 mph:
If only I'd been an hour earlier it would have been even better.
Pretty nice weather so far this winter. No snow to speak of yet, we haven't been below 0°F yet.
Codex Alera: Princeps Fury arrived in Friday's mail. Wow. Jim Butcher has outdone himself. In the penultimate book of the series he has opened up many more questions. He answered the question of Invidia Aquitane with a question. He answered the question of Attis Aquitane with a question. He answered the question of Raucus Antillus with a question. He answered the question of Kalarus Brencis Minoris with an final answer (I think).
Gas yesterday 11/30 in Bemidji was 1.719, in GR it is still 1.899.
Some days I don't know why I bother looking at the news. Officials found 9 headless bodies in Tijauna Sunday. Over 4000 people have died in drug related violence this year in Mexico. A seige of Mumbai, India left 172 people dead over three days last week. A temp worker at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream NY was killed as Black Friday crowds blew down the doors at the 5AM opening. GM owned Saab and Ford owned Volvo are having financial problems and Ford and GM are asking the Swedish government for help. Chinese manufacturing orders dropped sharply last month. Black Friday sales figures appear to be down from last years. Since Black Friday can be 10% of a stores annual sales, and sales are already down this year, most retailers books aren't going to make it into the black. Japanese factory output is down.
Sunday while in Bemidji I noticed that I was approaching an odometer milestone, so I tried to photograph it. Almost succeeded; I was on a quiet stretch of road, getting into position, when three cars suddenly came up behind me, so the picture ended up being really poor, but here it is, Vger hitting 222,222.2 miles at 22 mph:
If only I'd been an hour earlier it would have been even better.
Pretty nice weather so far this winter. No snow to speak of yet, we haven't been below 0°F yet.
Codex Alera: Princeps Fury arrived in Friday's mail. Wow. Jim Butcher has outdone himself. In the penultimate book of the series he has opened up many more questions. He answered the question of Invidia Aquitane with a question. He answered the question of Attis Aquitane with a question. He answered the question of Raucus Antillus with a question. He answered the question of Kalarus Brencis Minoris with an final answer (I think).
Friday, November 28, 2008
SVCHOST Finale
Well, I don't have svchost errors anymore.
Disabling the "server" service stopped the errors from happening, but it also stopped a bunch of other stuff that I wanted. So, I was going to do a repair install of XP and brought a CD home to do it with.
I have two types of WinXP CD's lying around; I usually keep them labeled appropriately. One type is just a basic, standard CD that is slipstreamed with current patches (at this time, up to SP3), and the other is my "rebuild the PC and get it on the floor CD" that automatically boots, reformats, installs, and configures everything to our desktop standard so that when the install process is done in about an hour it can go straight to the floor. As I said, I try to keep them labeled, but I grabbed an unlabeled XP CD and it was my auto CD. Most of the data is backed up to about 2 months ago, so it isn't a total loss, and it is probably better this way anyways, clear up a bunch of junk.
Had a great Turkey Dinner yesterday at Jon and Patty's place. After dinner Jon showed me a book he got recently; an Anthology of Dragon stories. The first story was by Anne McCaffrey. I've just never gotten around to reading any of her writing, but after reading that short story (the beginning of the Pern saga) I realized that I've been missing some great reading. I'm going to have to get the "Dragonflight" book and start reading about Pern.
Jon and Patty gave me the latest Mannheim Steamroller CD, "Christmasville". From the Mannheim Steamroller Website:
"This record was born out of a once-in-a-lifetime project: Universal Theme Parks commissioned Chip Davis to create music WITH vocals-- for a holiday show called 'Grinchmas'. Thus, for the first time, you'll hear Mannheim Steamroller with voice as the final instrument"
I'm afraid it's not one of the better Mannheim efforts. Actually, it's the worst Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Album yet. It's very short, about 30 minutes. Only two (I think) of the tracks are actually Mannheim Steamroller, the rest are some kind of a bastard Mannheim/Universal cross.
Chip, I really hope that this is indeed a "once in a lifetime" album.
Gotta remember to pick up the head for Stripez at the machine shop today.
Gas in Bemidji was 1.719, in GR 1.899 on T-Day.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
SVCHOST errors cont.
I'm continuing to have problems with the svchost process crashing, so I continued my research. So far, the most helpful website I have seen is http://www.huguesjohnson.com/svchost.html. I took a hint from his writing and disabled the System Event Notification Service. Well, that didn't stop it (didn't really expect it to). In reading the event logs I did see that the errors followed the successful load of "Performance counters for the WmiApRpl (WmiApRpl) service". I'm not using WMI so I have disabled that. Also, one (just one!!) of the errors references the acgenral.dll; all the rest say "unknown module". AcGenral.dll is part of Application Compatibility, not sure what the connection is. I also updated to the current Java since it seemed as though the errors would come up on certain web pages, no change yet. I have disabled System Restore and it's services, we'll see what happens.
Gas in GR was at 1.899 when I got off work yesterday 11/24.
Hip O Select is the online store for Universal Music Group. I wanted to order a limited edition album from them, the website said (still does) it was in stock for immediate shipment. Well, two days after I ordered it I got a backorder notice (but the website still says it is in stock for immediate shipment!!). I've seen enough of that crap, so I asked them to cancel the order. It took 3 days, but they have finally acknowledged and canceled the order. It's a lousy website. I guess I'm spoiled by Amazon.com and its wonderful Customer Service.
Well, it still crashes. I've rebooted twice since the last entry. For entertainment I' have disabled the server service. I typically disable it on workstations, but it is enabled here because this PC shares resources. If that doesn't work I need to remember to bring home a copy of UBCD4Win. I should bring it home anyways just to see if it shows me anything.
Gas in GR was at 1.899 when I got off work yesterday 11/24.
Hip O Select is the online store for Universal Music Group. I wanted to order a limited edition album from them, the website said (still does) it was in stock for immediate shipment. Well, two days after I ordered it I got a backorder notice (but the website still says it is in stock for immediate shipment!!). I've seen enough of that crap, so I asked them to cancel the order. It took 3 days, but they have finally acknowledged and canceled the order. It's a lousy website. I guess I'm spoiled by Amazon.com and its wonderful Customer Service.
Well, it still crashes. I've rebooted twice since the last entry. For entertainment I' have disabled the server service. I typically disable it on workstations, but it is enabled here because this PC shares resources. If that doesn't work I need to remember to bring home a copy of UBCD4Win. I should bring it home anyways just to see if it shows me anything.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Codex Alera
Received an email late last night from Amazon telling me that my copy of Princeps Fury is on the way, expected arrival date 12/1. Cool!
Now, back to fighting with the home PC. After about 15 minutes online some process related to dial-up networking crashes and I lose my Internet connection. The funny thing is that everything looks OK but nothing works. Playing with the Sysinternals Process Monitor trying to track it down now.
I thought that it might be a problem with Firefox. The last thing I did before the problem started was upgrade to Firefox 3. So, I uninstalled that and re-installed Firefox 2. That didn't help. It doesn't matter whether I use IE or Firefox, I lose communication. Although, I did notice that while examining the event logs that M$ Help and Support Center still had Internet access.
Watching Process monitor, I noticed that the last thing to happen before the crash was that Firefox was making calls to WMP. I looked thru the Firefox options, and Firefox was set to call QuickTime dll's for nearly all Media functions. I changed those to Irfanview and WinAmp, we'll see if there is any difference.
Just happened, "Faulting application svchost.exe, version 5.1.2600.2180, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x001f1cb0." But Firefox is still functional to some degree, or at least it says that it saved this post. Guess I'll find out in a moment.
The only way I have found so far to recover is to reboot the PC. The svchost crash takes out a whole list of services; I still haven't figured out how to manually restart them.
Yah, it is still functional. I feel fairly certain that when I click the "Close" button on the error message my connection will die, here goes
Later:
Had to go spend some time deer hunting. Now I'm back at the PC. Matt and I need to make a bunch of sausage. I bought a $30 sausage stuffer at L&M that was a piece of garbage. It was so poorly made that all the sausage would blow back out the back instead of going into the tube. THEN I started to do a little research, looks like to get a decent sausage stuffer (i.e., one that works) you need to spend a couple hundred bucks. Ouch. Maybe we will continue making sausage patties. I did find one sausage stuffer that looks neat for under $200, it includes parts for making Jerky as well. It's water powered, hook your garden hose to it and go. Although, in searching for reviews it sounds as though many people have modified theirs to work with air pressure instead, not as messy. I haven't seen any complaints about it yet. www.dakotahsausagestuffer.com.
Well, I'm still waiting for the connection to die. This time I have been on for 35 minutes and my connection is still alive, I'm rather surprised. Too good to be true? Maybe.
I really should get busy helping Matt. Temps are now (11:30 AM) pushing 30ºF, and we have been storing the venison in the back of Stripez for the last couple of days. Don't want it to thaw before we can finish cutting it up and get it into the freezer.
Matt's screaming at me know, better go. 40 minutes and haven't lost connection yet.
It crashed at almost exactly 45 minutes, suspiciously close. After reboot I will log on with a different account and see if it does the same thing.
I'm trying to upload a jpg of the error messages. The first came at about 45 minutes, the second one appeared at 60 minutes. I have not totally dropped the connection, but just now at 75 minutes the first error has come up again. DUN appears to still be functional and I have not yet totally lost the connection.
Connection is still going. I have not closed any of the three error messages, I just moved them off the side of the screen. So far I'm at 90 minutes.
Well, I'm going to "ok" the error messages now. bye-bye!
Now, back to fighting with the home PC. After about 15 minutes online some process related to dial-up networking crashes and I lose my Internet connection. The funny thing is that everything looks OK but nothing works. Playing with the Sysinternals Process Monitor trying to track it down now.
I thought that it might be a problem with Firefox. The last thing I did before the problem started was upgrade to Firefox 3. So, I uninstalled that and re-installed Firefox 2. That didn't help. It doesn't matter whether I use IE or Firefox, I lose communication. Although, I did notice that while examining the event logs that M$ Help and Support Center still had Internet access.
Watching Process monitor, I noticed that the last thing to happen before the crash was that Firefox was making calls to WMP. I looked thru the Firefox options, and Firefox was set to call QuickTime dll's for nearly all Media functions. I changed those to Irfanview and WinAmp, we'll see if there is any difference.
Just happened, "Faulting application svchost.exe, version 5.1.2600.2180, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x001f1cb0." But Firefox is still functional to some degree, or at least it says that it saved this post. Guess I'll find out in a moment.
The only way I have found so far to recover is to reboot the PC. The svchost crash takes out a whole list of services; I still haven't figured out how to manually restart them.
Yah, it is still functional. I feel fairly certain that when I click the "Close" button on the error message my connection will die, here goes
Later:
Had to go spend some time deer hunting. Now I'm back at the PC. Matt and I need to make a bunch of sausage. I bought a $30 sausage stuffer at L&M that was a piece of garbage. It was so poorly made that all the sausage would blow back out the back instead of going into the tube. THEN I started to do a little research, looks like to get a decent sausage stuffer (i.e., one that works) you need to spend a couple hundred bucks. Ouch. Maybe we will continue making sausage patties. I did find one sausage stuffer that looks neat for under $200, it includes parts for making Jerky as well. It's water powered, hook your garden hose to it and go. Although, in searching for reviews it sounds as though many people have modified theirs to work with air pressure instead, not as messy. I haven't seen any complaints about it yet. www.dakotahsausagestuffer.com.
Well, I'm still waiting for the connection to die. This time I have been on for 35 minutes and my connection is still alive, I'm rather surprised. Too good to be true? Maybe.
I really should get busy helping Matt. Temps are now (11:30 AM) pushing 30ºF, and we have been storing the venison in the back of Stripez for the last couple of days. Don't want it to thaw before we can finish cutting it up and get it into the freezer.
Matt's screaming at me know, better go. 40 minutes and haven't lost connection yet.
It crashed at almost exactly 45 minutes, suspiciously close. After reboot I will log on with a different account and see if it does the same thing.
I'm trying to upload a jpg of the error messages. The first came at about 45 minutes, the second one appeared at 60 minutes. I have not totally dropped the connection, but just now at 75 minutes the first error has come up again. DUN appears to still be functional and I have not yet totally lost the connection.
Connection is still going. I have not closed any of the three error messages, I just moved them off the side of the screen. So far I'm at 90 minutes.
Well, I'm going to "ok" the error messages now. bye-bye!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Finally
Gas in GR dropped to 1.999 yesterday.
9°F this morning. Single digits. At least it's not negative yet, and I don't see any negative temps in the next week. Maybe another light dusting of snow.
But I still haven't seen any deer, and the season ends Sunday afternoon, and I still have two tags left to fill and Matt has one tag left to fill.
Saw something on the BNSF track in La Prairie this morning on the way to work, I'm guessing it was a work train of some sort. It was lit up with flood lights all around, so it was hard to see in the dark, but it looked to be an engine and maybe 8 cars. It was just sitting on the track in La Prairie, not moving. Maybe it will be there still when I leave work early to go hunting.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Winter's (almost) here
Gas in Bemidji Saturday was at 1.919 while GR was at 2.199; today gas in Bemidji is at 1.869 while GR is at 2.069.
Whatever.
'Bout 1/2" snow last night, quite chilly. Just enough to make everyone slide around the street.
Got the (correct) Alternator swapped out on Vger. O'Reilly's kept trying to sell me the NipponDenso alternator when mine requires the Chrysler Alternator. Slight differences in the mounts. Afterwards we realized that it has been noisy for a very long time. It sounds so much quieter now. I hope to see some increase in fuel mileage as an incidental byproduct.
Finally got the living room put back together after completing the inside part of the Window Project.
Got Evan's Tempo here (Saturday's project). The cable that runs from the shift lever to the auto trans is broken. Dealer-only item, about $250. Here's another instance where I will need to decide what we want to do. I've already got close to $2K in it and it needs the shift cable, driver's seat belt mechanism isn't working properly (about $800), and I don't yet know what else might be wrong. Oh, and it needs new front tires ($120) and maybe an alignment ($50). Is it worth it?
I'm getting ready to migrate our old DHCP server to a new (recycled) (temporary) box. Our current DHCP server is also the AD controller for a domain no longer used, and it is also our primary SQL server. I need to demote the server and join it to our current domain. I figure the SQL auth might be my biggest problem, and if I can get the DHCP moved to another box that will be one less item to worry about. Time to start writing the plan for the migration.
I hear that a lot of folks on Face Book are getting scammed by people hi-jacking the account of a friend then asking for money to help out "hey, I need $100 for ??". Don't fall for it!
Did you see the news item about the Oregon woman that was scammed $400K in a Nigerian scam? I still can't believe that someone is stupid enough to do that. http://www.katu.com/news/34292654.html.
Whatever.
'Bout 1/2" snow last night, quite chilly. Just enough to make everyone slide around the street.
Got the (correct) Alternator swapped out on Vger. O'Reilly's kept trying to sell me the NipponDenso alternator when mine requires the Chrysler Alternator. Slight differences in the mounts. Afterwards we realized that it has been noisy for a very long time. It sounds so much quieter now. I hope to see some increase in fuel mileage as an incidental byproduct.
Finally got the living room put back together after completing the inside part of the Window Project.
Got Evan's Tempo here (Saturday's project). The cable that runs from the shift lever to the auto trans is broken. Dealer-only item, about $250. Here's another instance where I will need to decide what we want to do. I've already got close to $2K in it and it needs the shift cable, driver's seat belt mechanism isn't working properly (about $800), and I don't yet know what else might be wrong. Oh, and it needs new front tires ($120) and maybe an alignment ($50). Is it worth it?
I'm getting ready to migrate our old DHCP server to a new (recycled) (temporary) box. Our current DHCP server is also the AD controller for a domain no longer used, and it is also our primary SQL server. I need to demote the server and join it to our current domain. I figure the SQL auth might be my biggest problem, and if I can get the DHCP moved to another box that will be one less item to worry about. Time to start writing the plan for the migration.
I hear that a lot of folks on Face Book are getting scammed by people hi-jacking the account of a friend then asking for money to help out "hey, I need $100 for ??". Don't fall for it!
Did you see the news item about the Oregon woman that was scammed $400K in a Nigerian scam? I still can't believe that someone is stupid enough to do that. http://www.katu.com/news/34292654.html.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Gas Redux
Gas in Bemidji dropped to 1.959 yesterday, gas in GR dropped to 2.199. I see on www.minnesotagasprices.com that some Twin Cities stations are at 1.859. Whoa.
While it's a good thing at the moment, I'm not certain that it is a good idea long term, but I guess we will find out.
While it's a good thing at the moment, I'm not certain that it is a good idea long term, but I guess we will find out.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Uh-oh PII
Yep. the alternator bearings on Vger are dying. Pulled it out last night, can barely turn it by hand. $127 exchange.
Rain, Sleet, Snow arriving here in the next couple of hours, better get moving.
Later: No, they are NOT the same.
According to the Rock Auto website the 92 Voyager and 88 Voyager alternators are the same part number. Accorning to the O'Reilly's website they are different part numbers. Will find out tonight. Drove the Gladiator today. Temp was 10°F this morning, Gladiator interior (and windows!) were just starting to defrost by the time I got to work. That big box takes a lot longer to thaw than the small box.
Brrr.
Rain, Sleet, Snow arriving here in the next couple of hours, better get moving.
Later: No, they are NOT the same.
Computer-Aid.com.au
Found an excellent resource at http://www.computer-aid.com.au/. Good blog with lots of technical expertise, and well written also.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Uh-oh
Pretty sure the alternator on Vger is dying. $150 for a new one. I think it is just the bearings that are going, it's VERY noisy when it starts, less so after a few moments of running. Bearings are about $10 ea for front and rear bearings. Wonder if I have the tools for it? I need to dig through my pile of parts and see what I can turn up. I'm not certain, but I think that all my other alternators like this died electrically.
Might have to tear into it and drive the Gladiator for a few days while I sort it out. brrrr.
Might have to tear into it and drive the Gladiator for a few days while I sort it out. brrrr.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Deer Season
Well, Deer Season came in with a BANG!! Sitting out on my stand, about one minute after my watch said "time", from all around I heard bang! bang! bang-bang-bang-bang! bang!
I haven't seen anything yet. Matt, hunting with his friends a couple of miles away, tagged a nice doe and a button buck first thing this morning. He took the button buck with one perfect shot through the lungs; it dropped and never moved. Should be some good eating there.
Thursdays rain was part of a large system centered down near Sioux City. The center stayed there most of Thursday, wrapping Gulf moisture and warm air up and around onto us. Overnight Thursday it moved East across MN and Friday we continued to get some rain and drizzle as the temps began to fall. Saturday (Deer Season Opener) started out with some mixed snow and drizzle, but the ground was warm enough that the snow disappeared right away.
Today, Sunday, the ground has cooled enough that the snow is staying. We are only getting a few flakes at a time, and the puddles aren't frozen solid yet, but it's about 20 degrees F out right now and that North wind is coold.
Gas is at 2.259 this morning.
I tried to buy a pair of 195/75/R14 Winterforce tires at L&M on sale, but they were sold out Thursday night. Said they would transfer a couple from another store and I could get them Friday afternoon. Stopped by Friday afternoon and then later that evening, still haven't arrived.
Decided to pull the pair of Winterforce tires off Stripez. They don't have many miles on them since Stripez blew the head gasket soon after it got the new tires. They are on Vger now. While I had the front drivers tire off Vger I checked the trans oil, it was down nearly 2 quarts. Trying to remember when I checked it last and topped it off, hopefully I blogged it (no, I didn't. September?). Still have a funny noise under the hood anytime the engine is running, suspect that I'm about to lose the alternator or waterpump soon; or perhaps the timing belt idler? Hope not. Too cold to mess with it right now, it needs to keep running until we can get Stripez back together.
Need to pickup the head for Stripez from the machine shop, $220.
Need to pickup the starter for the Allis-Chalmers from the rebuild shop, $195.
Need to put a pair of Winterforce tires on the front of the red Horizon, $100
Got a bit of a shock Thursday afternoon. My current Auto Insurance policy was due to be renewed Friday, and I asked my insurance agent to check around for a better price, was paying $900 every 6 month's for 5 vehicles and 4 drivers.
Well, Evan's car is titled in his name, he is not a student, and he lives in Bemidji. Jon has his own family, is not a student, and lives in Bemidji while driving Betty's LeMans. Turns out that, although we have been paying for the insurance coverage, if they had an accident they wouldn't have been covered. So Betty gave the title to the LeMans to Jon and they are not on our new policy, which dropped the price a bit.
Here is what we learned. If the driver is a full time student and/or lives at home, they can be covered under our policy. If the title to the vehicle is in mine or Betty's name, it can be covered under our policy. Otherwise, NOT.
So, when Matt gets his truck running, we leave the title in my name, and he is living at home, then he and the truck will be covered under our policy. When Matt titles the truck in his name he will then need to get his own insurance. When Matt leaves home, he will need to title the truck in his name and get his own insurance.
OK. Didn't know that. And we've been paying for Jon and Evan's insurance that wasn't going to cover them. Thank God they didn't have any accidents.
I haven't seen anything yet. Matt, hunting with his friends a couple of miles away, tagged a nice doe and a button buck first thing this morning. He took the button buck with one perfect shot through the lungs; it dropped and never moved. Should be some good eating there.
Thursdays rain was part of a large system centered down near Sioux City. The center stayed there most of Thursday, wrapping Gulf moisture and warm air up and around onto us. Overnight Thursday it moved East across MN and Friday we continued to get some rain and drizzle as the temps began to fall. Saturday (Deer Season Opener) started out with some mixed snow and drizzle, but the ground was warm enough that the snow disappeared right away.
Today, Sunday, the ground has cooled enough that the snow is staying. We are only getting a few flakes at a time, and the puddles aren't frozen solid yet, but it's about 20 degrees F out right now and that North wind is coold.
Gas is at 2.259 this morning.
I tried to buy a pair of 195/75/R14 Winterforce tires at L&M on sale, but they were sold out Thursday night. Said they would transfer a couple from another store and I could get them Friday afternoon. Stopped by Friday afternoon and then later that evening, still haven't arrived.
Decided to pull the pair of Winterforce tires off Stripez. They don't have many miles on them since Stripez blew the head gasket soon after it got the new tires. They are on Vger now. While I had the front drivers tire off Vger I checked the trans oil, it was down nearly 2 quarts. Trying to remember when I checked it last and topped it off, hopefully I blogged it (no, I didn't. September?). Still have a funny noise under the hood anytime the engine is running, suspect that I'm about to lose the alternator or waterpump soon; or perhaps the timing belt idler? Hope not. Too cold to mess with it right now, it needs to keep running until we can get Stripez back together.
Need to pickup the head for Stripez from the machine shop, $220.
Need to pickup the starter for the Allis-Chalmers from the rebuild shop, $195.
Need to put a pair of Winterforce tires on the front of the red Horizon, $100
Got a bit of a shock Thursday afternoon. My current Auto Insurance policy was due to be renewed Friday, and I asked my insurance agent to check around for a better price, was paying $900 every 6 month's for 5 vehicles and 4 drivers.
Well, Evan's car is titled in his name, he is not a student, and he lives in Bemidji. Jon has his own family, is not a student, and lives in Bemidji while driving Betty's LeMans. Turns out that, although we have been paying for the insurance coverage, if they had an accident they wouldn't have been covered. So Betty gave the title to the LeMans to Jon and they are not on our new policy, which dropped the price a bit.
Here is what we learned. If the driver is a full time student and/or lives at home, they can be covered under our policy. If the title to the vehicle is in mine or Betty's name, it can be covered under our policy. Otherwise, NOT.
So, when Matt gets his truck running, we leave the title in my name, and he is living at home, then he and the truck will be covered under our policy. When Matt titles the truck in his name he will then need to get his own insurance. When Matt leaves home, he will need to title the truck in his name and get his own insurance.
OK. Didn't know that. And we've been paying for Jon and Evan's insurance that wasn't going to cover them. Thank God they didn't have any accidents.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
rain rain rain rain
It's raining/drizzling/tstorming outside, take your pick. Very dark also.
Gotta break down and buy tires for Vger today. 2 blowouts in two weeks and I'm out of all my spare tires from all the other vans. The spare I'm running on now has a STRONG pull all the time, have to fight to keep it on the road. I'd like to buy WinterForce if I can find a good enough deal on them, we'll see.
I'm hearing reports of 1+ ft of snow in North Dakota, we are supposed to get hit starting tomorrow night. We'll see, I haven't seen a flake yet although measurable snow has been forecast several times in the last 3-4 weeks. But, with deer season starting day after tomorrow I guess we are overdue for some snow.
Suiburban Tailights (and Chevy/GMC/Yukon/C-series/K -series 1988-2008) Was working on a neighbors 1997 Suburban the other day. Brake light burns out every few days. Sometimes it might last a couple of weeks, but usually a couple of days.
I was talking about it at the parts counter, when the counterman showed me that they keep 4 ea R/L socket assemblies in stock at all times. "Some people replace them every year, sometimes twice a year." Wow. So, I grabbed a pair and installed them on the neighbors Suburban, problem fixed. Then I took apart the unit to see what was wrong. I STILL can't believe that GM engineering is SO STUPID to come up with this idea and use it for so long and NO-ONE has forced them to fix it???? This should be a warrantable engineering/manufacturing defect, and GM deserves to go out of business for perpetrating this kind of CRAP on their customers.
Here is a photo of the unit I removed from the Suburban. I have cut off the plastic retainers so that I can lift the board covering the connections.
Here I have removed the board. You can see that it is just a very simple circuit board, and the socket assembly has contacts on it.
Here is where one of the brake lamp contacts meets the circuit board. See the corrosion? You can also see it in the above photo if you look closely. The matching contact also has a spot of corrosion on it.
It would appear that what's been happening is that moisture gets into the socket assembly and eventually corrosion starts eating at the contacts. When the light goes out and you replace the bulb, I guess that the movement is enough to give some continuity for a brief span of time until the corrosion catches up.
But what can be done? Well, in the first place, GM could have done several things when this was originally designed. They could have used soldered connections instead of the circuit board. Or, they could have sealed the interior of the socket assembly to keep the moisture out.
What can be done now? I'm going to solder wires to the connectors and swap and rotate the L/R circuit boards so that the conductive side faces toward the bulbs and the non-conductive side faces toward the wiring circuit. Then, when i put it together I will use a silicone glue in a dry atmosphere to seal the moisture away from the connections.
I will then put the modified socket assemblies away and when the neighbors lights quit working in a few months we can try my modified ones. We'll see what happens.
Something I wouldn't mind trying if I had the opportunity would be to take a pair of new assemblies and, in a dry location, place a thin bead around the circuit board, just enough to seal out moisture. My guess is that they should work fine for several years with just that slight mod done.
Gotta break down and buy tires for Vger today. 2 blowouts in two weeks and I'm out of all my spare tires from all the other vans. The spare I'm running on now has a STRONG pull all the time, have to fight to keep it on the road. I'd like to buy WinterForce if I can find a good enough deal on them, we'll see.
I'm hearing reports of 1+ ft of snow in North Dakota, we are supposed to get hit starting tomorrow night. We'll see, I haven't seen a flake yet although measurable snow has been forecast several times in the last 3-4 weeks. But, with deer season starting day after tomorrow I guess we are overdue for some snow.
Suiburban Tailights (and Chevy/GMC/Yukon/C-series/K -series 1988-2008) Was working on a neighbors 1997 Suburban the other day. Brake light burns out every few days. Sometimes it might last a couple of weeks, but usually a couple of days.
I was talking about it at the parts counter, when the counterman showed me that they keep 4 ea R/L socket assemblies in stock at all times. "Some people replace them every year, sometimes twice a year." Wow. So, I grabbed a pair and installed them on the neighbors Suburban, problem fixed. Then I took apart the unit to see what was wrong. I STILL can't believe that GM engineering is SO STUPID to come up with this idea and use it for so long and NO-ONE has forced them to fix it???? This should be a warrantable engineering/manufacturing defect, and GM deserves to go out of business for perpetrating this kind of CRAP on their customers.
Here is a photo of the unit I removed from the Suburban. I have cut off the plastic retainers so that I can lift the board covering the connections.
Here I have removed the board. You can see that it is just a very simple circuit board, and the socket assembly has contacts on it.
Here is where one of the brake lamp contacts meets the circuit board. See the corrosion? You can also see it in the above photo if you look closely. The matching contact also has a spot of corrosion on it.
It would appear that what's been happening is that moisture gets into the socket assembly and eventually corrosion starts eating at the contacts. When the light goes out and you replace the bulb, I guess that the movement is enough to give some continuity for a brief span of time until the corrosion catches up.
But what can be done? Well, in the first place, GM could have done several things when this was originally designed. They could have used soldered connections instead of the circuit board. Or, they could have sealed the interior of the socket assembly to keep the moisture out.
What can be done now? I'm going to solder wires to the connectors and swap and rotate the L/R circuit boards so that the conductive side faces toward the bulbs and the non-conductive side faces toward the wiring circuit. Then, when i put it together I will use a silicone glue in a dry atmosphere to seal the moisture away from the connections.
I will then put the modified socket assemblies away and when the neighbors lights quit working in a few months we can try my modified ones. We'll see what happens.
Something I wouldn't mind trying if I had the opportunity would be to take a pair of new assemblies and, in a dry location, place a thin bead around the circuit board, just enough to seal out moisture. My guess is that they should work fine for several years with just that slight mod done.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Gas at 2.299 since Sunday 11/2
I'm writing this a week later; I forgot to blog it at the time.
Halloween night the window mechanism on Vger broke. In the ChryCorp minivans of this age the crank drives a gear approx 8" diameter that moves a flexible rack gear bolted to the bottom of the window and running on a track inside the door. The plastic rack gear broke about 6" below the window.
Well, I've tried replacing these mechanisms before and it is a regular PITA, so I wanted to avoid that if possible. I figured OK, I have two other vans, so I'll just swap this door with the driers door from the Turbo Caravan. In the meantime, I stuck a piece of wood in the door to hold the window up.
So, Matt's going to help me swap the doors. I had forgotten, but we parted out an 88 Caravan a year ago, and the drivers door was in pretty good shape. So, Matt dug it out of the barn and installed it. Vger now has a white drivers door and a working window.
The door we took off is in excellent shape, I don't think it has any rust on it, so we put it aside as a spare. When we get around to it we'll replace the window mechanism.
Halloween night the window mechanism on Vger broke. In the ChryCorp minivans of this age the crank drives a gear approx 8" diameter that moves a flexible rack gear bolted to the bottom of the window and running on a track inside the door. The plastic rack gear broke about 6" below the window.
Well, I've tried replacing these mechanisms before and it is a regular PITA, so I wanted to avoid that if possible. I figured OK, I have two other vans, so I'll just swap this door with the driers door from the Turbo Caravan. In the meantime, I stuck a piece of wood in the door to hold the window up.
So, Matt's going to help me swap the doors. I had forgotten, but we parted out an 88 Caravan a year ago, and the drivers door was in pretty good shape. So, Matt dug it out of the barn and installed it. Vger now has a white drivers door and a working window.
The door we took off is in excellent shape, I don't think it has any rust on it, so we put it aside as a spare. When we get around to it we'll replace the window mechanism.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Difference
A co-worker moved to MN last December from Atlanta Georgia, city girl moved to the sticks. She lives nearly 2 hours away from work by 2 lane highway thru woods and swamps. There has been some discussion here about "when she hits the deer", but it hasn't happened. Until now.
The deer wasn’t dead, so the car behind her stopped, got out, and shot the deer, which surprised her somewhat. What really got her was that they then asked if she wanted them to load it in her car or if she minded if they took the deer!!! Of course, SHE didn't want the bloody thing in her car!
I'd have taken the deer. And I'd have shot it myself.
Deer opener is just over a week away.
The deer wasn’t dead, so the car behind her stopped, got out, and shot the deer, which surprised her somewhat. What really got her was that they then asked if she wanted them to load it in her car or if she minded if they took the deer!!! Of course, SHE didn't want the bloody thing in her car!
I'd have taken the deer. And I'd have shot it myself.
Deer opener is just over a week away.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
And the price drops
Gas in GR this morning is at 2.459, although I am told that at 6AM this morning in Bemidji it was at 2.35 (some people I work with live in Bemidji).
Nymex crude is at 68.40, Brent is at 64.24 at the moment.
Been fighting with a Blackberry that doesn't want to sync with Outlook. Even when it does sync it dupes all recurring appts. About half the time the Desktop would crash taking Outlook with it. Finally figured out how to wipe the BB calendar (options, RSET). Uninstalled BB Desktop, rebooted, logged in as another user, deleted all temp files and BB/RIM related files and folders, rebooted, installed the BB Desktop. It appears to be working at this moment. What a PIA. The BB sync process is SO unreliable compared to the HotSync or ActiveSync process. I don't EVER recall having a problem like this with the Palm and when there is a problem like this with Windows Mobile usually rebooting the PC and the device cures the problem. RIM can't make it that easy. And people wonder why I don't recommend the Blackberry.
Nymex crude is at 68.40, Brent is at 64.24 at the moment.
Been fighting with a Blackberry that doesn't want to sync with Outlook. Even when it does sync it dupes all recurring appts. About half the time the Desktop would crash taking Outlook with it. Finally figured out how to wipe the BB calendar (options, RSET). Uninstalled BB Desktop, rebooted, logged in as another user, deleted all temp files and BB/RIM related files and folders, rebooted, installed the BB Desktop. It appears to be working at this moment. What a PIA. The BB sync process is SO unreliable compared to the HotSync or ActiveSync process. I don't EVER recall having a problem like this with the Palm and when there is a problem like this with Windows Mobile usually rebooting the PC and the device cures the problem. RIM can't make it that easy. And people wonder why I don't recommend the Blackberry.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Another Weekend
and winter is fast approaching.
Gas was at 2.519 this morning.
Matt and I got the windows pretty well winterized, better than ever before I think. Spent most of Saturday on that, taking advantage of the nice, sunny, 60 degree day to get some outside work done.
Sunday was colder (40's) and windy, with drizzle and rain off and on. I spent most of Sunday in the shop on a woodworking project I've been wanting to tackle.
I have a small collection of swords, mostly made by Windlass Steelcrafts and purchased from Atlanta Cutlery or Museum Replicas (same Co. for my purposes). Nothing fancy or exotic, nothing antique and just one really special sword. I've been displaying the swords on my gun rack that I made 1-1/2 years ago, but a gun rack is not a sword rack. I bought a small sword rack somewhere (don't recall) but it wasn't more than a scaled down gun rack, and besides, I have more than 3 blades. Also, most of the swords have scabbards, a couple of which are worth looking at, and it's not a good idea to store the blade in the scabbard. And, even if I don't have them now, I hope to aquire more blades that have etchings or other patterns on them, and you can't see them when they are scabbarded.
So, I wanted to build a sword display rack. I also wanted to be able to display the scabbard along with the sword.
Here is what I came up with:
Instead of making one big loop for a rifle, I made a loop big enough for a scabbard, then continued forward and down with a small squared notch for a blade. The squared notch keeps the blade vertical so that it doesn't fall over. You can best see it in the bottom, empty slots.
The rack is currently unfinished. It probably won't get finished until sometime next summer because it's getting too cold to stain and varnish it now. I made it out of some scrap 3/4" oak plywood that has been banging around the barn for a while and it's pretty rough.
I may very well end up building a newer one. The first thing I noticed is that the 3/4" inch plywood is too thick and takes attention from the swords. I first made a practice 3 sword table rack from 1/4" inch OSB, which was ugly, but I think that 1/4" ash or oak would look very nice, so I might try to get some later and try it.
My other problem with both the sword rack and the gun rack is that both are made from plywood. I knew when I made the gun rack from CD plywood that it wouldn't be pretty and that there would be voids, but when I made the sword rack from oak AB plywood I didn't expect to find as many or large voids like I found.
So, I think that on my list of 'things to do when I feel like woodworking' is a new sword and a new gun rack. The new sword rack made from 1/4" or 3/8" ash and the new gun rack made from 3/8" or 1/2" ash. And probably including some kind of storage compartment for polishing/dust cloths.
Oh, and if you're interested, from top to bottom in the sword rack we have the Windlass replica of a Confederate Cavalry Saber, the Windlass replica of Lt Patton's Cavalry Sword, the Windlass replica of an Enfield Bayonet, a Windlass Tai Chi sword, and last a replica of the Dragon Ball Z sword belonging to Evolena that came from Medieval Weapon Art, but they 'forgot' to send the matching scabbard and finally sent a generic one to her. I had problems with MWArt myself; I ordered the Patton Sword from them and after saying it was "in stock" when I ordered it they said that it was backordered. Took several weeks to receive it, and MWArt never replied to any of my emails. Now I see that MWArt has been renamed "Realm Collections"; I do NOT recommend them.
Here's a picture of the gun rack and the purchased sword rack:
The blade at the top is the Windlass "Modern" katana blade, I'm still thinking about what to use for a hilt and grip (I am starting with a Katana blade,but am not making a katana); next is a wooden prototype of a sword design that I'm working on that is loosely based on the blade shape of the Enfield bayonet; next is the Remington Model 4 .22 single shot, probably manufactured about 1920. I inherited it from Dad, it was a very accurate gun, but after the second 22LR shell blew in half I decided it was time to retire it and so it has been made inoperable. Next is a Moisin-Nagant M44 stamped 1946 that has been made inoperable. Bottom on the gun rack is an inoperable 12 gauge double-barreled damascus wound black-powder shotgun dated 1893 manufactured by E. Daoust & Co. that I believe belonged to my grandfather.
Below the gun rack is the store-bought sword rack. Currently, it's sole occupant is "Sting" from "Lord of the Rings" and its scabbard. Sting is my special sword, a gift from Betty. You can see that the rack is just a mini version of a gun rack.
One of the other things I need to change about the gun rack is the loop spacing. In this photo, the barrels on all three guns have been shimmed up so they are sitting level. Part of the problem is that the M44 has 1/4" of shims, the shotgun has 1/2" of shims, and the 22 has 1-1/2" of shims. The only way to get them all to sit level is to shim them or build a custom rack with the spacing built in. When I built this one I built in (as I recall) 3/4" difference between the two sides of the rack, but it wasn't enough for these guns.
And, note how my prototype sword is resting. The hilt end should probably be 1/2" higher than the tip end. I should probably factor that into my next sword rack.
Just had a wild idea after re-reading this. I should make both racks of 1/4" Plexiglas! On second thought, maybe not. 1/4" x 24" x 96" Plexiglas (enough to make 2 of each) is well over $100. I'll have to think about it some more.
Matt and I also worked some more on the living room window, we got it rocked on three sides and Matt has taped and mudded it. I'm hoping I can figure out what to do with the right side of the window so Matt can get it mudded. If we get that done and if we get time, we might be able to paint it next weekend and then I will still need to figure out the trim around the window. Don't have any idea what I can do with the outside; I can't find a source for the asphalt siding that is on the house (and falling off). Easiest thing I can think of is to reside that side of the house, but I don't really want to do that. Probably end up putting some CDX plywood around the window and painting it some color that almost matches the siding.
Gas was at 2.519 this morning.
Matt and I got the windows pretty well winterized, better than ever before I think. Spent most of Saturday on that, taking advantage of the nice, sunny, 60 degree day to get some outside work done.
Sunday was colder (40's) and windy, with drizzle and rain off and on. I spent most of Sunday in the shop on a woodworking project I've been wanting to tackle.
I have a small collection of swords, mostly made by Windlass Steelcrafts and purchased from Atlanta Cutlery or Museum Replicas (same Co. for my purposes). Nothing fancy or exotic, nothing antique and just one really special sword. I've been displaying the swords on my gun rack that I made 1-1/2 years ago, but a gun rack is not a sword rack. I bought a small sword rack somewhere (don't recall) but it wasn't more than a scaled down gun rack, and besides, I have more than 3 blades. Also, most of the swords have scabbards, a couple of which are worth looking at, and it's not a good idea to store the blade in the scabbard. And, even if I don't have them now, I hope to aquire more blades that have etchings or other patterns on them, and you can't see them when they are scabbarded.
So, I wanted to build a sword display rack. I also wanted to be able to display the scabbard along with the sword.
Here is what I came up with:
Instead of making one big loop for a rifle, I made a loop big enough for a scabbard, then continued forward and down with a small squared notch for a blade. The squared notch keeps the blade vertical so that it doesn't fall over. You can best see it in the bottom, empty slots.
The rack is currently unfinished. It probably won't get finished until sometime next summer because it's getting too cold to stain and varnish it now. I made it out of some scrap 3/4" oak plywood that has been banging around the barn for a while and it's pretty rough.
I may very well end up building a newer one. The first thing I noticed is that the 3/4" inch plywood is too thick and takes attention from the swords. I first made a practice 3 sword table rack from 1/4" inch OSB, which was ugly, but I think that 1/4" ash or oak would look very nice, so I might try to get some later and try it.
My other problem with both the sword rack and the gun rack is that both are made from plywood. I knew when I made the gun rack from CD plywood that it wouldn't be pretty and that there would be voids, but when I made the sword rack from oak AB plywood I didn't expect to find as many or large voids like I found.
So, I think that on my list of 'things to do when I feel like woodworking' is a new sword and a new gun rack. The new sword rack made from 1/4" or 3/8" ash and the new gun rack made from 3/8" or 1/2" ash. And probably including some kind of storage compartment for polishing/dust cloths.
Oh, and if you're interested, from top to bottom in the sword rack we have the Windlass replica of a Confederate Cavalry Saber, the Windlass replica of Lt Patton's Cavalry Sword, the Windlass replica of an Enfield Bayonet, a Windlass Tai Chi sword, and last a replica of the Dragon Ball Z sword belonging to Evolena that came from Medieval Weapon Art, but they 'forgot' to send the matching scabbard and finally sent a generic one to her. I had problems with MWArt myself; I ordered the Patton Sword from them and after saying it was "in stock" when I ordered it they said that it was backordered. Took several weeks to receive it, and MWArt never replied to any of my emails. Now I see that MWArt has been renamed "Realm Collections"; I do NOT recommend them.
Here's a picture of the gun rack and the purchased sword rack:
The blade at the top is the Windlass "Modern" katana blade, I'm still thinking about what to use for a hilt and grip (I am starting with a Katana blade,but am not making a katana); next is a wooden prototype of a sword design that I'm working on that is loosely based on the blade shape of the Enfield bayonet; next is the Remington Model 4 .22 single shot, probably manufactured about 1920. I inherited it from Dad, it was a very accurate gun, but after the second 22LR shell blew in half I decided it was time to retire it and so it has been made inoperable. Next is a Moisin-Nagant M44 stamped 1946 that has been made inoperable. Bottom on the gun rack is an inoperable 12 gauge double-barreled damascus wound black-powder shotgun dated 1893 manufactured by E. Daoust & Co. that I believe belonged to my grandfather.
Below the gun rack is the store-bought sword rack. Currently, it's sole occupant is "Sting" from "Lord of the Rings" and its scabbard. Sting is my special sword, a gift from Betty. You can see that the rack is just a mini version of a gun rack.
One of the other things I need to change about the gun rack is the loop spacing. In this photo, the barrels on all three guns have been shimmed up so they are sitting level. Part of the problem is that the M44 has 1/4" of shims, the shotgun has 1/2" of shims, and the 22 has 1-1/2" of shims. The only way to get them all to sit level is to shim them or build a custom rack with the spacing built in. When I built this one I built in (as I recall) 3/4" difference between the two sides of the rack, but it wasn't enough for these guns.
And, note how my prototype sword is resting. The hilt end should probably be 1/2" higher than the tip end. I should probably factor that into my next sword rack.
Just had a wild idea after re-reading this. I should make both racks of 1/4" Plexiglas! On second thought, maybe not. 1/4" x 24" x 96" Plexiglas (enough to make 2 of each) is well over $100. I'll have to think about it some more.
Matt and I also worked some more on the living room window, we got it rocked on three sides and Matt has taped and mudded it. I'm hoping I can figure out what to do with the right side of the window so Matt can get it mudded. If we get that done and if we get time, we might be able to paint it next weekend and then I will still need to figure out the trim around the window. Don't have any idea what I can do with the outside; I can't find a source for the asphalt siding that is on the house (and falling off). Easiest thing I can think of is to reside that side of the house, but I don't really want to do that. Probably end up putting some CDX plywood around the window and painting it some color that almost matches the siding.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Snow
Snow in Saturday's Forecast!!!!!
Gas is at 2.589, highest I recorded was 3.699 on 8/30/08. This will be a help to the budget, once I get it straightened out again.
Oil is at about $63/bbl, down from a high of about $121 at the beginning of August 2008. They say it will be a month or so before the pump prices get down the rest of the way.
Stock Market is down over 300 points just today, from a NASDAQ high of 2860 Oct 31, 2007 down to 1572 as of 3 PM Eastern.
Gas is at 2.589, highest I recorded was 3.699 on 8/30/08. This will be a help to the budget, once I get it straightened out again.
Oil is at about $63/bbl, down from a high of about $121 at the beginning of August 2008. They say it will be a month or so before the pump prices get down the rest of the way.
Stock Market is down over 300 points just today, from a NASDAQ high of 2860 Oct 31, 2007 down to 1572 as of 3 PM Eastern.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Crazy Week
Winter is fast approaching and I'm nowhere near ready, mostly running in circles around here. Nothing is winterized yet. Had a tire blow-out on Vger. Matt got the Head from Stripez off to the machine shop. Starter died on the WC. Muffler fell off RumJohn. One of my credit cards lowered my limit, raised my interest, and penalized me for going over the limit. My bedroom window is still open. Propane tank is still empty. Matt plowed the garden under. People at work have been making changes without consulting with the affected personnel causing havoc and confusion. People have been making "plans" and starting projects without planning.
I'm looking forward to a long rest. Wish I could hibernate over the winter like a bear. I'm afraid that I will keep looking forward to that rest for too long.
Gas was as low as 2.749, then went back up to 2.799, this morning at 2.769 (I filled up last night at 2.799, of course). Economy is still in chaos, with 'most every government in the world printing money as fast as the presses can spin.
I'm looking forward to a long rest. Wish I could hibernate over the winter like a bear. I'm afraid that I will keep looking forward to that rest for too long.
Gas was as low as 2.749, then went back up to 2.799, this morning at 2.769 (I filled up last night at 2.799, of course). Economy is still in chaos, with 'most every government in the world printing money as fast as the presses can spin.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Busy Weekend
Very busy. Replaced the living room window.
Rain off and on all weekend, I would guess close to .5" (couldn't see it in the dark this morning). More T-Storms on the way now. It was nearly 70 yesterday, 60 overnight, pushing 50 right now. Low tonight supposed to be in upper 20's. Need to remember to put away the rain gauge before it gets broken.
Gas at 7 AM this morning was all over, one station at 3.079, another station at 2.899, another at 2.819, but most stations are at 2.849.
Noon addition: Raining pretty hard right now, temp in upper 40's.
Rain off and on all weekend, I would guess close to .5" (couldn't see it in the dark this morning). More T-Storms on the way now. It was nearly 70 yesterday, 60 overnight, pushing 50 right now. Low tonight supposed to be in upper 20's. Need to remember to put away the rain gauge before it gets broken.
Gas at 7 AM this morning was all over, one station at 3.079, another station at 2.899, another at 2.819, but most stations are at 2.849.
Noon addition: Raining pretty hard right now, temp in upper 40's.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Rain
Almost black outside and water is coming down in sheets. As near as I can tell from the NWS website we've gotten about 1/4" of rain since this morning. It's also a bit chilly, 39 degrees F.
Leaving for Bemidji in a little bit, guess I'll find out if putting Goop on the windshield molding had any effect.
I paid 3.149 this morning for gas. Rumour yesterday said that gas in Fosston was at 2.889. Brainerd is at 2.89. Bemidji at 2.90 to 2.99 today.
Update: Goop didn't do a damn thing.
Leaving for Bemidji in a little bit, guess I'll find out if putting Goop on the windshield molding had any effect.
I paid 3.149 this morning for gas. Rumour yesterday said that gas in Fosston was at 2.889. Brainerd is at 2.89. Bemidji at 2.90 to 2.99 today.
Update: Goop didn't do a damn thing.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Economics
Quoting from www.thegartmanletter.com:
Dennis Gartman, the editor and publisher of the Gartman Letter, has been in the markets since 1974. Born in Akron, Ohio, Gartman received his BA from the University of Akron and MA from North Carolina State University. After finishing his graduate work in the mid 1970s, he worked as an economist for Cotton, Inc. analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments.
In 1977, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures Analyst for A.G. Becker and Company in Chicago, where he also served as an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1985, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Virginia National Bank, and in 1987 began producing The Gartman Letter on a full-time basis.
"...we are more frightened now for the future of the global capital markets than we have been at any time in our thirty+ years of watching, commenting upon and taking part in them. We are fearful... and we mean this fully... that we have passed the tipping point; that things are now spinning out of control; that forces have been unleashed that cannot be stopped without some truly massive, truly strong-handed, governmental action including the closure of markets and limits upon bank withdrawals, et al. These are troubling times, and our fear is palpable and growing. Worse, these concerns are giving rise to the likelihood that the Left shall be in ascension, and that manifestly left-of-centre, interventionist government lies ahead here in the US and in Europe. Higher, rather than lower taxes will be the end result. Greater... indeed very much greater... intervention in the capital markets lies ahead. Trade and act accordingly."
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I'm not sure what to think. I think that there is a lot of "spin" being placed on the news. I think a LOT of companies did some VERY questionable things. I think that a lot of companies should fail. I think that quite a few executives should have their "Golden Parachutes" forcibly removed. I also think that a result of the turmoil will be that Government will become bigger and more Socialist in nature (alreeady happening as the US begins to run more (formerly) private companies). I also think that anyone who thinks that the US government can run a company more efficiently or effectively than they were run before has their head up their a*s.
I have quietly wondered for some time if there was a revolution in the making. Goverment has taken over more and more of the power constitutionally reserved for the People. And the People have been vocal about it. And the Government has doled out pacifiers to quiet the People, and has also taken some forceful measures to quiet the People who would not be satisfied.
But, in times of Economic hardship, People do not revolt. They are too busy trying to feed their families and maintain their homes to revolt. Oh, they may revolt at the end, when they have nothing to lose, if they are not too weak from hunger. However, I suspect that the current combination of crisis, with the Financial Markets collapsing, food supply chains being broken, crackdowns on terrorism, and the general curtailment of personal freedom and the lack of personal responsibility, will combine to bring something like the Dark Ages back.
The Dark Ages? I refer to the general demographic decline, limited building activity and material cultural achievements in general. I think that we will see a loss in our standard of living. I think that we will not be able to travel as much. We may be able to interact more in a virtual fashion (unless the tech police have their way). There will be less freedom to choose our own path in life. The creative arts will be curtailed.
Check out this blog posting here on MSN Money.
Maybe it's the weather, but I do think I am being very pessimistic today, don't you?
Dennis Gartman, the editor and publisher of the Gartman Letter, has been in the markets since 1974. Born in Akron, Ohio, Gartman received his BA from the University of Akron and MA from North Carolina State University. After finishing his graduate work in the mid 1970s, he worked as an economist for Cotton, Inc. analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments.
In 1977, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures Analyst for A.G. Becker and Company in Chicago, where he also served as an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1985, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Virginia National Bank, and in 1987 began producing The Gartman Letter on a full-time basis.
"...we are more frightened now for the future of the global capital markets than we have been at any time in our thirty+ years of watching, commenting upon and taking part in them. We are fearful... and we mean this fully... that we have passed the tipping point; that things are now spinning out of control; that forces have been unleashed that cannot be stopped without some truly massive, truly strong-handed, governmental action including the closure of markets and limits upon bank withdrawals, et al. These are troubling times, and our fear is palpable and growing. Worse, these concerns are giving rise to the likelihood that the Left shall be in ascension, and that manifestly left-of-centre, interventionist government lies ahead here in the US and in Europe. Higher, rather than lower taxes will be the end result. Greater... indeed very much greater... intervention in the capital markets lies ahead. Trade and act accordingly."
***********************************************************************************************************
I'm not sure what to think. I think that there is a lot of "spin" being placed on the news. I think a LOT of companies did some VERY questionable things. I think that a lot of companies should fail. I think that quite a few executives should have their "Golden Parachutes" forcibly removed. I also think that a result of the turmoil will be that Government will become bigger and more Socialist in nature (alreeady happening as the US begins to run more (formerly) private companies). I also think that anyone who thinks that the US government can run a company more efficiently or effectively than they were run before has their head up their a*s.
I have quietly wondered for some time if there was a revolution in the making. Goverment has taken over more and more of the power constitutionally reserved for the People. And the People have been vocal about it. And the Government has doled out pacifiers to quiet the People, and has also taken some forceful measures to quiet the People who would not be satisfied.
But, in times of Economic hardship, People do not revolt. They are too busy trying to feed their families and maintain their homes to revolt. Oh, they may revolt at the end, when they have nothing to lose, if they are not too weak from hunger. However, I suspect that the current combination of crisis, with the Financial Markets collapsing, food supply chains being broken, crackdowns on terrorism, and the general curtailment of personal freedom and the lack of personal responsibility, will combine to bring something like the Dark Ages back.
The Dark Ages? I refer to the general demographic decline, limited building activity and material cultural achievements in general. I think that we will see a loss in our standard of living. I think that we will not be able to travel as much. We may be able to interact more in a virtual fashion (unless the tech police have their way). There will be less freedom to choose our own path in life. The creative arts will be curtailed.
Check out this blog posting here on MSN Money.
Maybe it's the weather, but I do think I am being very pessimistic today, don't you?
Rain Now
It's pouring rain outside right now, looks like it will continue all morning.
Vger has, for some time, been leaking water across the top of the windshield. A drop here and there. It has worsened over the last couple of months to the point that now my seat was wet when I got in this morning. No, my window was closed. Don't know if there is anything I can do. Might try putting some sealant across the top of the weatherstrip. Might help long enough for the weather to turn colder.
I see that gas in Brainerd is still at 2.999, Bemidji is at 3.119 and Duluth is at 3.299. Grand Rapids is at 3.339 this morning.
Vger has, for some time, been leaking water across the top of the windshield. A drop here and there. It has worsened over the last couple of months to the point that now my seat was wet when I got in this morning. No, my window was closed. Don't know if there is anything I can do. Might try putting some sealant across the top of the weatherstrip. Might help long enough for the weather to turn colder.
I see that gas in Brainerd is still at 2.999, Bemidji is at 3.119 and Duluth is at 3.299. Grand Rapids is at 3.339 this morning.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Gas Ripoff
Had to go to Brainerd twice this weekend.
On Friday 10/3, gas in GR is at 3.429. Gas in Aitkin is at 3.249. Gas in Brainerd is at 3.229.
On Sunday 10/5, Gas in GR is at 3.429. Gas in Aitkin is at 3.179. Gas in Brainerd is at 2.999.
2.999. WOW, thought I'd never see it that low again. And to think I wouldn't have considered that low at all two years ago.
This morning in GR gas is STILL at 3.429.
According to www.minnesotagasprices.com, gas in Bemidji is at 3.119 on Sunday. Duluth is at 3.399.
On Friday 10/3, gas in GR is at 3.429. Gas in Aitkin is at 3.249. Gas in Brainerd is at 3.229.
On Sunday 10/5, Gas in GR is at 3.429. Gas in Aitkin is at 3.179. Gas in Brainerd is at 2.999.
2.999. WOW, thought I'd never see it that low again. And to think I wouldn't have considered that low at all two years ago.
This morning in GR gas is STILL at 3.429.
According to www.minnesotagasprices.com, gas in Bemidji is at 3.119 on Sunday. Duluth is at 3.399.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Gas
On our trip to Duluth yesterday I was interested to note that the gas prices in GR were 3.559, but when we left Itasca County they were at 3.499 all the way to and in Duluth. This morning on my way to work I note that some stations are at 3.559, one was at 3.529, and one was at 3.499. We'll see what happens this afternoon, I need to fill up Vger.
Fall again
Wow, a lot has gone on since my last post, but I will focus on weather and Fall color in this post.
1.75 inches of rain 9/26-9/27.
On Friday afternoon, I happened to drive by Hale Lake (behind the Forest Lake Restaurant. I had to stop and take some photos from the Fishing Pier.
Took a drive Saturday afternoon to look at colors. Started in GR, drove out the Great River Road to Jacobson, took 65 north to 169, and back to GR. Here are a few photos from that trip.
On the River Road, there are actually 2 tractors, (plus one out of the picture) and a couple of old rakes. Yard art, very rusty.
As you drive into Jacobson on the River Road you cross the Mississippi River. This is looking downriver.
This is looking upriver.
Driving North up Highway 65 we stopped at the Boat Landing on Hart Lake.
This last is a panorama view of Hart Lake with the setting sun behind me. This photo was stitched by the camera as I took the photo.
We continued up Hwy 65 to Swan Lake. This is looking toward the sunset across Swan Lake.
Coming past Bovey/Coleraine on Hwy 169.
Coming into Grand Rapids on Hwy 169
Monday morning at the Hospital, the sun is rising up over the building behind me.
Drove to Duluth for an Expo on Monday, the drive was beautiful; but shortly after I took these last photos the sky started clouding over and then became foggy and the photos didn't turn out. This morning I suspect we are at or close to peak color, but it was too dark from the cloud cover to get any decent photos.
1.75 inches of rain 9/26-9/27.
On Friday afternoon, I happened to drive by Hale Lake (behind the Forest Lake Restaurant. I had to stop and take some photos from the Fishing Pier.
Took a drive Saturday afternoon to look at colors. Started in GR, drove out the Great River Road to Jacobson, took 65 north to 169, and back to GR. Here are a few photos from that trip.
On the River Road, there are actually 2 tractors, (plus one out of the picture) and a couple of old rakes. Yard art, very rusty.
As you drive into Jacobson on the River Road you cross the Mississippi River. This is looking downriver.
This is looking upriver.
Driving North up Highway 65 we stopped at the Boat Landing on Hart Lake.
This last is a panorama view of Hart Lake with the setting sun behind me. This photo was stitched by the camera as I took the photo.
We continued up Hwy 65 to Swan Lake. This is looking toward the sunset across Swan Lake.
Coming past Bovey/Coleraine on Hwy 169.
Coming into Grand Rapids on Hwy 169
Monday morning at the Hospital, the sun is rising up over the building behind me.
Drove to Duluth for an Expo on Monday, the drive was beautiful; but shortly after I took these last photos the sky started clouding over and then became foggy and the photos didn't turn out. This morning I suspect we are at or close to peak color, but it was too dark from the cloud cover to get any decent photos.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Gas
Gas this morning is at 3.559. I knew, I filled up last night. Can't win, it feels like I usually fill up just before the price drops or just after the price rises.
More Fall
Got some more Fall pics last couple of days to share. These are on the way home from work on Cty 71 and Cty 434. As you can see, it's beautiful, clear weather. This morning, it's warm and humid with some massive T-Storms up towards the Canadian border, had a tornado warning at 5:30AM near Bigfork.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fall is Here
according to the calendar, according to the weather, and according to the foliage. And people wonder why I moved here from SoCal. These pictures are from my drive in to work this morning.
On Highway 2:
On 10th St SE:
On the driveway at work:
How many people are blessed with a commute that looks like this? Granted, it will look a lot different in 5 months.
Had quite a series of T-Storms roll thru yesterday beginning about 5 AM thru about 8 PM last night, left about 1-3/8 inches of rain in my gauge. As the the photos show, the sky was clear and bright this morning.
The daylight is changing rapidly also. Just a few weeks ago (it seems) sunset was at 9:30 PM, tonight it's at 7:06 PM. Tomorrows daylight will be 3m 21s shorter than today.
Gas is still at 3.599. Got the '89 Horizon back last Saturday, cost me almost $400 to get the 4 struts installed, 2 new tires, and alignment. Goes down the road very nicely now, it's a pleasure to drive.
Makes me want to get going on the '83 Horizon, which needs a ton of work. Discovered the other day when getting it ready for winter that the front wheel hub bearings are loose and noisy. I'm pretty sure they were replaced back in the mid 90's, and it hasn't had a lot of miles since.
On Highway 2:
On 10th St SE:
On the driveway at work:
How many people are blessed with a commute that looks like this? Granted, it will look a lot different in 5 months.
Had quite a series of T-Storms roll thru yesterday beginning about 5 AM thru about 8 PM last night, left about 1-3/8 inches of rain in my gauge. As the the photos show, the sky was clear and bright this morning.
The daylight is changing rapidly also. Just a few weeks ago (it seems) sunset was at 9:30 PM, tonight it's at 7:06 PM. Tomorrows daylight will be 3m 21s shorter than today.
Gas is still at 3.599. Got the '89 Horizon back last Saturday, cost me almost $400 to get the 4 struts installed, 2 new tires, and alignment. Goes down the road very nicely now, it's a pleasure to drive.
Makes me want to get going on the '83 Horizon, which needs a ton of work. Discovered the other day when getting it ready for winter that the front wheel hub bearings are loose and noisy. I'm pretty sure they were replaced back in the mid 90's, and it hasn't had a lot of miles since.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Today's update
Gas is at 3.599 this morning in GR. It's about 50 degrees this morning. Yesterday got to about 75 degrees, very nice, what little I saw of it. Working today, but only supposed to get into mid 60's.
Horizon is still at Warba Tire, the mechanic fought rust all day yesterday and it was finally ready for alignment about 4:30 PM. He'll align it this morning and he's hoping to have it done by noon (I'm sure he wants to collect his money and go home).
Horizon is still at Warba Tire, the mechanic fought rust all day yesterday and it was finally ready for alignment about 4:30 PM. He'll align it this morning and he's hoping to have it done by noon (I'm sure he wants to collect his money and go home).
Friday, September 19, 2008
Hierarchy of Management
This has been posted on the server room wall here (and at the old building) for years, I'm sure it goes back to at least the late 80's. If anyone knows where it comes from I'd be glad to post an attribution.
The President
Leaps tall building in a single bound
Is more powerful than a locomotive
Is faster than a speeding bullet
Walks on water
Gives policy to God
The General Manager
Leaps short buildings in a single bound
Is more powerful than a switch engine
Is just as fast as a speeding bullet
Walks on water if the sea is calm
Talks with God
The Director
Leaps short building with a running start and favorable wind
Is almost as powerful as a switch engine
Is faster than a speeding BB
Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool
Talks with God if special request is approved
The Comptroller
Barely clears a quonset hut
Loses tug of war with a locomotive
Can fire a speeding bullet
Swims fairly well
Is occasionally addressed by God
The Group Manager
Makes high mark on wall when trying to leap tall building
Recognizes locomotive two out of three times
Sometimes handles gun without inflicting self injury
Treads water
Prays a lot
The Engineer
Climbs the walls continually
Rides the rails
Plays Russian Roulette
Walks on thin ice
Talks to animals
The Technician
Runs into tall buildings
Is run over by locomotive
Is not issued live ammunition
Can stay afloat with life jacket
Talks to walls
The Secretary
Lifts building and walks under it
Kicks locomotive off the tracks
Catches speeding bullets in teeth and eats them
Freezes water with a single glance
Is God
Hierarchy of Management
The President
Leaps tall building in a single bound
Is more powerful than a locomotive
Is faster than a speeding bullet
Walks on water
Gives policy to God
The General Manager
Leaps short buildings in a single bound
Is more powerful than a switch engine
Is just as fast as a speeding bullet
Walks on water if the sea is calm
Talks with God
The Director
Leaps short building with a running start and favorable wind
Is almost as powerful as a switch engine
Is faster than a speeding BB
Walks on water in an indoor swimming pool
Talks with God if special request is approved
The Comptroller
Barely clears a quonset hut
Loses tug of war with a locomotive
Can fire a speeding bullet
Swims fairly well
Is occasionally addressed by God
The Group Manager
Makes high mark on wall when trying to leap tall building
Recognizes locomotive two out of three times
Sometimes handles gun without inflicting self injury
Treads water
Prays a lot
The Engineer
Climbs the walls continually
Rides the rails
Plays Russian Roulette
Walks on thin ice
Talks to animals
The Technician
Runs into tall buildings
Is run over by locomotive
Is not issued live ammunition
Can stay afloat with life jacket
Talks to walls
The Secretary
Lifts building and walks under it
Kicks locomotive off the tracks
Catches speeding bullets in teeth and eats them
Freezes water with a single glance
Is God
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Frost
The temps in our area are unpredictable. All three thermo displays on the way to work said 45 degrees, but at home there was a belt of frost between about 4 feet and 6 feet off the ground. Really weird, I know, but there was. No frost on the ground, but there was frost on my patio tomato and fuschia that I had hung back outside yesterday morning. I turned the sprinkler in the garden on and brought my hanging plants back in the kitchen, we'll see.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Cold
Pretty bad cold started last Thursday, finally starting to feel alive today, still a bit of chest congestion. Missed a bit of life for a few days.
Looks like Hurricane Ike did a a bit of damage down south extending up into the Midwest but not this far north. We've had a couple of storm systems pass thru in the last week, about an inch of rain total. Frost a couple of nights, but we've kept 85% of the garden alive by running the sprinkler in the early morning hours or all night.
Because of Ike, gas prices in GR shot up to 3.919 over the weekend, then dropped to 3.899 Monday, then to 3.749, then 3.699. I need to fill Vger, we'll see what it is tomorrow morning.
The missing parts from Rock Auto showed up Thursday. I made an appointment for Friday at Warba Tire to get the shocks and struts installed, two tires and an alignment. Should make the '89 Horizon a much better drive.
Looks like Hurricane Ike did a a bit of damage down south extending up into the Midwest but not this far north. We've had a couple of storm systems pass thru in the last week, about an inch of rain total. Frost a couple of nights, but we've kept 85% of the garden alive by running the sprinkler in the early morning hours or all night.
Because of Ike, gas prices in GR shot up to 3.919 over the weekend, then dropped to 3.899 Monday, then to 3.749, then 3.699. I need to fill Vger, we'll see what it is tomorrow morning.
The missing parts from Rock Auto showed up Thursday. I made an appointment for Friday at Warba Tire to get the shocks and struts installed, two tires and an alignment. Should make the '89 Horizon a much better drive.
Monday, September 8, 2008
9/8/2008 Gas Prices
- Date GR Bemidji Hibbing DOE Nymex Crude
- 9/8 3.649 3.579 3.569 106.33
- 9/3 3.699 3.619 109.35
- 9/1 3.699 3.639 115.46
- 8/26 3.579 3.579 116.27
I'm trying to reformat things to make it easier to read and find things.
Rock Auto
Just received word that Rock Auto will (finally) be shipping me the missing parts from my order. No word as to when, yet.
Sand Blasting
Sunday we went over to a friends shop to do some sand blasting. Matt has some white-spoke rims for the 65 Ford that a previous owner had (very badly) painted black from a rattle-can and they were pretty rusty. I had a couple of rims for the Horizon and a few for the Caravan that had some light rusty spots that I wanted to see if I could clean up. We brought 200 pounds of sand (crystals about the same as 100 grit sandpaper) with us.
First Matt tried the siphon feed setup. After finishing the first bag and not the first rim we stepped back to rethink the problem. While thinking, I pulled out my two Horizon rims and blasted the rust off of them, which took another 1/2 bag of sand. A large part of the problem with the white spoke rims was that the black paint had an almost rubbery texture, I could get under it with my pocket knife and peel it and pull off large chunks, but the sand just seemed to bounce off of it (just a thought, wonder if they used undercoating spray?). So, we hit the rim with a wire wheel on an angle grinder which burned off a lot of the black paint and took off some of the loose rust.
Then my friend dug out his pressure blaster. He hasn't used it in a few years because he felt that his siphon blaster did a better job. After cleaning the tank, fittings, hoses and valves of caked material we commenced blasting with the remaining 50 pounds of sand. It took a bit of trial and error, but we finally determined the best settings on the three valves, and Matt almost finished the first rim. The pressure blaster seemed to Matt and I to cut much more efficiently.
We think that we know what to do now to finish up the rest of the rims:
We've got a couple of weeks before I can buy 600-700 pounds more sand, that will give us time to work the remaining 9 rims over with the wire wheel. I'm still hoping we can get it done before it gets too cold to paint the rims, although we might be pushing it.
First Matt tried the siphon feed setup. After finishing the first bag and not the first rim we stepped back to rethink the problem. While thinking, I pulled out my two Horizon rims and blasted the rust off of them, which took another 1/2 bag of sand. A large part of the problem with the white spoke rims was that the black paint had an almost rubbery texture, I could get under it with my pocket knife and peel it and pull off large chunks, but the sand just seemed to bounce off of it (just a thought, wonder if they used undercoating spray?). So, we hit the rim with a wire wheel on an angle grinder which burned off a lot of the black paint and took off some of the loose rust.
Then my friend dug out his pressure blaster. He hasn't used it in a few years because he felt that his siphon blaster did a better job. After cleaning the tank, fittings, hoses and valves of caked material we commenced blasting with the remaining 50 pounds of sand. It took a bit of trial and error, but we finally determined the best settings on the three valves, and Matt almost finished the first rim. The pressure blaster seemed to Matt and I to cut much more efficiently.
We think that we know what to do now to finish up the rest of the rims:
- Go over them with the wire wheel on the angle grinder.
- Get a better hood/eye protection.
- Get coveralls.
- Sandblast using the pressure blaster.
- Bring 75 pounds of sand per rim.
We've got a couple of weeks before I can buy 600-700 pounds more sand, that will give us time to work the remaining 9 rims over with the wire wheel. I'm still hoping we can get it done before it gets too cold to paint the rims, although we might be pushing it.
'89 Horizon
Filled the '89 Horizon this morning, second fill on the new tank. Got 29 mpg, not as good as I hoped. Still, we now know that we should be able to get about 350 miles on a tank of gas. I am also pretty certain that there is an oil leak, probably as Matt says from the rear of the valve cover gasket, since I smell oil buring on the exhaust.
Gas still at 3.649 this morning.
Frost on windshield this morning; first this year although official low was 40 degrees F. Hopefully, running the sprinkler all night will have protected the garden, but I'm a little worried about whether or not my fuschia made it. Guess I'll find out tonight when I get home.
Gas still at 3.649 this morning.
Frost on windshield this morning; first this year although official low was 40 degrees F. Hopefully, running the sprinkler all night will have protected the garden, but I'm a little worried about whether or not my fuschia made it. Guess I'll find out tonight when I get home.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Chrome Install
As I feared, when I tried to install Google Chrome at home over my dialup connection I had a problem. After 3 hours of the installer working away, it finally gave me an error message that pretty much translated as "screw you, I can't download the file in a timely manner". I did some more searching and discovered that others had the same issue and had discovered a "stand alone" installer, "Chrome_Install.exe" I found it on Google's website here. That file took just a bit over one hour to download, I ran it and here I am, using Chrome right now. And now that I have the full installer, It will be much easier and faster to install it on the other 3 PC's I use here at home.
Since I see that many others are having similar problems, and since I see that quite a few of the bugs I have seen publicly reported have to do with the installer, I have high hopes that these errors will be fixed in the next release. I hope.
The main Chrome dev site with bug reports is at http://code.google.com/p/chromium/.
Since I see that many others are having similar problems, and since I see that quite a few of the bugs I have seen publicly reported have to do with the installer, I have high hopes that these errors will be fixed in the next release. I hope.
The main Chrome dev site with bug reports is at http://code.google.com/p/chromium/.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Google Chrome
I like Google Chrome a lot, but there are a couple of changes I would like to see:
Things I have seen other people request and why I don't think they may be such a good idea:
Things i really like:
- Installer: Like most thing Google, you download an installer app that then downloads and installs the application. I think the app needs to be self-contained or that at least there should be an option to do an "off-line" download. I'm still using dial-up at home, and it is MUCH more efficient for me to download the app at work and then copy it to my home PC and install it. That did eventually happen with the Google Toolbar, so I have high hopes it will happen for Google Chrome.
- Google Chrome needs to be portable or have a portable version. I think that where Google Chrome will really shine is when I can have it on my USB drive, plug it into any Internet-connected PC, and access my apps thru it. And keep my personal data on my USB drive.
Things I have seen other people request and why I don't think they may be such a good idea:
- I have seen others whining about the lack of Firefox Plugin support and how they miss their plugins. Most of these plugins are (IMHO) things that would clutter up the "App-Front-End" feel of Google Chrome. As long as I can have Jvm support and support for things like pdf's and flash and other "web standard" apps then I'm happy. If I want toys I can always use Firefox or IE. I want to use Google Chrome for my online apps.
- I have seen others whining about the lack of support for the Google Toolbar. I just can't understand that one, when you can navigate and search from the one place why add a second item to clutter up the interface? And, it's not like the way IE is setup with the "Search From The Address Bar" option that I always turn off because it is sooo obtrusive. M$ doesn't know how to do search; Google does and has come up with my answer 100% so far in searching from the nav bar.
Things i really like:
- Searching from the nav bar.
- The way I can control password saving.
- The way Google Chrome handles downloads.
- The uncluttered interface.
- The useful error messages.
Dreary
Raining and 50 degrees when I went out at noon. I also noted that gas was down to 3.649; a little better but still not enough considering that oil prices continue to slide downward.
Not happy with Rock Auto
Occasional showers forecast all weekend, so maybe it's a good thing that the rest of my order from Rock Auto won't show up today. I asked them a couple of days ago what the chances were of getting those items here by the weekend, and they basically told me that they could cancel the order and then I could re-order them. Maybe I should have done that, I could then have O'Reilly's get them for me, I would have gotten them the next day and for less then what Rock Auto wanted to charge me for next day shipping.
I'm thinking that I will only order from Rock Auto when O'Reilly's doesn't have something on hand and if O'Reilly's can't get it next day. I'm a bit disappointed with the Customer Service at Rock Auto. I recognize that Rock Auto is in uncharted territory with their business model, but it's still not good service to argue that you shipped something when the shipping records clearly show that the product was not shipped. And then to argue about it for 3 days before finally deciding to ship the product and not expediting the shipment or doing SOMETHING to compensate the customer is just not the way to do business, especially in this competitive climate. Especially when every order I have placed with them has had some kind of screwup involved. Granted, none were this big, but still. I still think that Rock Auto has the BEST parts catalog and the BEST parts selection, but they need to work a bit to get some better customer service.
I'm thinking that I will only order from Rock Auto when O'Reilly's doesn't have something on hand and if O'Reilly's can't get it next day. I'm a bit disappointed with the Customer Service at Rock Auto. I recognize that Rock Auto is in uncharted territory with their business model, but it's still not good service to argue that you shipped something when the shipping records clearly show that the product was not shipped. And then to argue about it for 3 days before finally deciding to ship the product and not expediting the shipment or doing SOMETHING to compensate the customer is just not the way to do business, especially in this competitive climate. Especially when every order I have placed with them has had some kind of screwup involved. Granted, none were this big, but still. I still think that Rock Auto has the BEST parts catalog and the BEST parts selection, but they need to work a bit to get some better customer service.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Grand Rapids Rip-Off
Date Gas Prices GR Bemidji DOE Nymex Crude
9/3 3.699 3.619 109.35
9/1 3.699 3.639 115.46
8/26 3.579 3.579 116.27
This graph shows the average price of gas in the state of MN and the price of Crude according to GasBuddy.com. If that doesn't show that GR is getting ripped off I don't know what does. Not that there is a lot we can do about it, it's not worth it to drive to Bemidji or Brainerd or Duluth to save $.05/gallon, but it sure pisses me off that these people can do it and get away with it year after year after year. Someone up here is raking in the dough, and it's coming off of my skin. Wish WalMart would open a station here. I probably wouldn't buy gas from them, but at least it would force a change in the paradigm.
9/3 3.699 3.619 109.35
9/1 3.699 3.639 115.46
8/26 3.579 3.579 116.27
This graph shows the average price of gas in the state of MN and the price of Crude according to GasBuddy.com. If that doesn't show that GR is getting ripped off I don't know what does. Not that there is a lot we can do about it, it's not worth it to drive to Bemidji or Brainerd or Duluth to save $.05/gallon, but it sure pisses me off that these people can do it and get away with it year after year after year. Someone up here is raking in the dough, and it's coming off of my skin. Wish WalMart would open a station here. I probably wouldn't buy gas from them, but at least it would force a change in the paradigm.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Chrome is OK
The weather has certainly changed. A bit less than 1/4 inch of rain from the system yesterday, but temps are 20+ degrees cooler. Gonna have to find my jacket.
So far, I must say that I like Google Chrome. Far fewer bells and whistle's, but it does 98% of what I want with minimal mouse work. In general, it uses much less RAM than even Firefox, until you get a few tabs open. Because Chrome opens each tab in a new process, there is a memory price to pay, but when you close each tab the memory is immediately released to pool, and a rogue in one tab won't have any affect on the other tabs. I like that. I like that a lot! God knows how many times I have been editing something in one tab in Firefox only to have something crash in another tab and lose all my work.
Some folks are griping about the memory cost, but I don't think they see the point. Chrome is MORE than just a browser. Chrome is a front end to email and word processing and calendaring and blogging and spreadsheets and all those other online apps. Think back to the days of Windows 3.11 or Win9x when crashing one app would bring down the entire PC. Now look at Vista where I can crash several windows and not affect the work in other windows. Same thing here. I can crash the app in one tab of Chrome and it won't affect the apps in the other tabs.
Chrome is not just a browser, it intends to be the next step beyond the browser. I've been playing with G.ho.st. Very useful, but I think that Chrome takes that concept a step further. I don't have to login to a virtual machine on the web, I just open Chrome and I have all my virtual apps at my fingertips.
I like it.
So far, I must say that I like Google Chrome. Far fewer bells and whistle's, but it does 98% of what I want with minimal mouse work. In general, it uses much less RAM than even Firefox, until you get a few tabs open. Because Chrome opens each tab in a new process, there is a memory price to pay, but when you close each tab the memory is immediately released to pool, and a rogue in one tab won't have any affect on the other tabs. I like that. I like that a lot! God knows how many times I have been editing something in one tab in Firefox only to have something crash in another tab and lose all my work.
Some folks are griping about the memory cost, but I don't think they see the point. Chrome is MORE than just a browser. Chrome is a front end to email and word processing and calendaring and blogging and spreadsheets and all those other online apps. Think back to the days of Windows 3.11 or Win9x when crashing one app would bring down the entire PC. Now look at Vista where I can crash several windows and not affect the work in other windows. Same thing here. I can crash the app in one tab of Chrome and it won't affect the apps in the other tabs.
Chrome is not just a browser, it intends to be the next step beyond the browser. I've been playing with G.ho.st. Very useful, but I think that Chrome takes that concept a step further. I don't have to login to a virtual machine on the web, I just open Chrome and I have all my virtual apps at my fingertips.
I like it.
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