I found out what the flower is that I found in the hay field. It is the "Blue Flag" a wild iris properly known as Iris versicolor. The best info I have found on it is at
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/irisver.html.
I used the Wildflower Finder from
http://www.realtimerendering.com/flowers/flowers.html to identify it.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Busy Weekend
Saturday and Saturday night we got less than 1/8" of rain, but it was wet and drizzly all day. While Matt and his friend Nate hauled in a couple hundred bales of last years hay (from a neighbor) and stacked them in the hayloft I worked mostly on building a new tongue for the Horse Mower. This time I took my time and used my head and my tools, we'll see how it works out.
The biggest problem with using a Horse Mower behind a tractor is the angle that the machine is working at. The end of the tongue is designed to be harnessed to a team, and that is a bit higher than the hitch of a tractor. I'm a lousy artist, but this is more or less what I'm talking about:
With the shaft as low as it is behind the tractor, it collects hay and jams the mechanism. I suspect it may put extra load on the tongue.
Every couple of years we break the tongue. The first year was because the tongue was rotten, I suppose it had been sitting out in the weather many years before we got it. After that it has been because we just use whatever chunk of wood I can get my hands on at the moment. Since the outside dimensions need to be pretty close to 4x4 (not 3 1/2 x 3 1/2) I can't just run up to the lumber yard and buy a piece of wood. And I believe the originals would have been made from Oak or Ash. Gee, I wonder what a nice chunk of wood like that would cost nowadays?
This time I bought 3 2x6x97 pieces of lumber. I got fairly good quality fir, no large knots and pretty straight.I decided to try to fix the angle problem at the same time I made this tongue if I could figure a way around it.
I laid a large piece of OSB across two sawhorses. Since the current tongue was cracked, not totally broken, I propped the tongue up on a jackstand so that the angles looked like what I thought they should look like, then measured from the ground to the top of the tongue. I also took measurements from the ground to the tractor hitch as well. Then, I drew the tongue on the sheet of OSB and also marked where the tractor hitch is located, as well as getting measurements for the holes that needed to be drilled.
While getting measurements I realized that the far back end of the tongue could only be 3 inches high, since a strut passed under the tongue. With the cutter bar down there was lots of room, but with the cutter bar up I only had 3 inches of clearance. This provided my first opportunity to adjust the angle. Here is what we've always done in the past to allow clearance:
This time, I went at the relief from a totally different direction:
Now, with the angled part up in the mower, the front end of the tongue is lower, raising the front of the mower just a bit.
I was planning on gluing the three 2x6's together side by side, hoping for some additional strength. But then I realized that every time the mower tongue has broken, it has done so at the back end of the tongue, under the mower. It would appear to me that most of the strain must be at that point, so what would happen if I moved the weakest part of the tongue to somewhere else? The worst part of making a new tongue is boring all the 1/2 holes for the bolts (and getting them in the correct locations), how can I change that?
How about if the tongue is made into two parts, a strong back end and a weaker front end? And, if I made some more angle change with that weaker front end? And make the front end really simple, so that when it does break it is easy to replace? Here's what I did:
I cut the 2x6 that I was working on at 48", and took another piece of 2x6 and duplicated the first. I then took my third piece and instead of cutting it off square at 48" like the first two I marked the angle that I still needed to get the tongue at the tractor's hitch height:
I drilled the holes in each individual 2x6 separately on my little bench drill press. A problem in the past has been getting the holes square, by using the drill press I solved that problem.
I lined up the three pieces and glued them together, also used a few carriage bolts to pull them together as well as a handful of deck screws. I let the glue set overnight.
Sunday I took another piece of 2x6x48 and left the ends square (for now)
(angles rather exaggerated).
I then realized (Oops! missed that measurement the first time) that 5 1/2 inches is rather far apart for the hitch, 3 inches would work much better. So, let's gain a little more here while we are at it:
Here is a photo of the finished product:
Matt and his friend Nate took it out for a short test run:
Later, Matt and I took it out and finished the field that we had started the other day. The mower ran the best that is has, the mechanism didn't get plugged up, and the cutter bar adjuster worked the way we expected for the first time. I may have gotten the front of the mower a little too high, not sure, but it does work great this way.
Matt did mention that it is very weird seeing the tongue flex. That short section of 2x6 flexes a LOT as you are mowing. I'm not sure how long it will hold up to the flexing. In any case, it is relatively trivial to replace the front part. It's not glued in, just 2 bolts and some deck screws holding it on.
A picture of the rose bush this morning.
The biggest problem with using a Horse Mower behind a tractor is the angle that the machine is working at. The end of the tongue is designed to be harnessed to a team, and that is a bit higher than the hitch of a tractor. I'm a lousy artist, but this is more or less what I'm talking about:
With the shaft as low as it is behind the tractor, it collects hay and jams the mechanism. I suspect it may put extra load on the tongue.
Every couple of years we break the tongue. The first year was because the tongue was rotten, I suppose it had been sitting out in the weather many years before we got it. After that it has been because we just use whatever chunk of wood I can get my hands on at the moment. Since the outside dimensions need to be pretty close to 4x4 (not 3 1/2 x 3 1/2) I can't just run up to the lumber yard and buy a piece of wood. And I believe the originals would have been made from Oak or Ash. Gee, I wonder what a nice chunk of wood like that would cost nowadays?
This time I bought 3 2x6x97 pieces of lumber. I got fairly good quality fir, no large knots and pretty straight.I decided to try to fix the angle problem at the same time I made this tongue if I could figure a way around it.
I laid a large piece of OSB across two sawhorses. Since the current tongue was cracked, not totally broken, I propped the tongue up on a jackstand so that the angles looked like what I thought they should look like, then measured from the ground to the top of the tongue. I also took measurements from the ground to the tractor hitch as well. Then, I drew the tongue on the sheet of OSB and also marked where the tractor hitch is located, as well as getting measurements for the holes that needed to be drilled.
While getting measurements I realized that the far back end of the tongue could only be 3 inches high, since a strut passed under the tongue. With the cutter bar down there was lots of room, but with the cutter bar up I only had 3 inches of clearance. This provided my first opportunity to adjust the angle. Here is what we've always done in the past to allow clearance:
This time, I went at the relief from a totally different direction:
Now, with the angled part up in the mower, the front end of the tongue is lower, raising the front of the mower just a bit.
I was planning on gluing the three 2x6's together side by side, hoping for some additional strength. But then I realized that every time the mower tongue has broken, it has done so at the back end of the tongue, under the mower. It would appear to me that most of the strain must be at that point, so what would happen if I moved the weakest part of the tongue to somewhere else? The worst part of making a new tongue is boring all the 1/2 holes for the bolts (and getting them in the correct locations), how can I change that?
How about if the tongue is made into two parts, a strong back end and a weaker front end? And, if I made some more angle change with that weaker front end? And make the front end really simple, so that when it does break it is easy to replace? Here's what I did:
I cut the 2x6 that I was working on at 48", and took another piece of 2x6 and duplicated the first. I then took my third piece and instead of cutting it off square at 48" like the first two I marked the angle that I still needed to get the tongue at the tractor's hitch height:
I drilled the holes in each individual 2x6 separately on my little bench drill press. A problem in the past has been getting the holes square, by using the drill press I solved that problem.
I lined up the three pieces and glued them together, also used a few carriage bolts to pull them together as well as a handful of deck screws. I let the glue set overnight.
Sunday I took another piece of 2x6x48 and left the ends square (for now)
(angles rather exaggerated).
I then realized (Oops! missed that measurement the first time) that 5 1/2 inches is rather far apart for the hitch, 3 inches would work much better. So, let's gain a little more here while we are at it:
Here is a photo of the finished product:
Matt and his friend Nate took it out for a short test run:
Later, Matt and I took it out and finished the field that we had started the other day. The mower ran the best that is has, the mechanism didn't get plugged up, and the cutter bar adjuster worked the way we expected for the first time. I may have gotten the front of the mower a little too high, not sure, but it does work great this way.
Matt did mention that it is very weird seeing the tongue flex. That short section of 2x6 flexes a LOT as you are mowing. I'm not sure how long it will hold up to the flexing. In any case, it is relatively trivial to replace the front part. It's not glued in, just 2 bolts and some deck screws holding it on.
A picture of the rose bush this morning.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
One Summer's Day
This will be mostly photos. I have cut the quality and size of the photos tremendously, but there's still a lot of data there. and it's not really one day, it's the afternoon of Wednesday and the morning of today, Thursday.
Matt and I started mowing a hayfield yesterday. Actually, Matt and his friend Nate started mowing it a couple of days before, but with the beautiful weather I wanted to get it done. I asked Evvy to come out and take a few photos of Matt on the Mower and me on the tractor.
I took a photo myself from the drivers seat.
Notice all the flowers? While mowing, I would occasionally see one that I thought was really pretty, but I never stopped. Then, shortly after this picture was taken, the tongue on the mower broke, and we couldn't mow any longer. So, I went searching for the pretty flowers. I have no idea what this is, but there was a cluster of them in a very wet part of the field.
You can see there are a couple of these flowers in the pic as well as some daisies, I didn't manage to get any buttercups in this picture, can hardly believe that because there are more buttercups then anything else except hay.
This morning when I walked out the door to head for work I had to stop to take some pictures of the rose bush next to the front door. I don't know what kind of rose this is, we got this from a neighbor whose yard is full of these bushes. It's the only rose I know that is hardy enough to survive the winter up here without special care and attention.
On a different note, I have noticed that there has been some kind of project going on at the watertower on my way to work, with cables and pipes and a giant air compressor and other equipment, but I couldn't figure out what they were doing with all the cables strung around and down from the top of the tower. Now I think I may have an idea.
I think they are getting ready to sandblast and repaint the tower, I can't think of any other reason to erect a huge tent around it.
Have a good day and enjoy the wonderful weather!!! I need to figure out how to make a good new tongue for the hay mower.
Matt and I started mowing a hayfield yesterday. Actually, Matt and his friend Nate started mowing it a couple of days before, but with the beautiful weather I wanted to get it done. I asked Evvy to come out and take a few photos of Matt on the Mower and me on the tractor.
I took a photo myself from the drivers seat.
You can see there are a couple of these flowers in the pic as well as some daisies, I didn't manage to get any buttercups in this picture, can hardly believe that because there are more buttercups then anything else except hay.
This morning when I walked out the door to head for work I had to stop to take some pictures of the rose bush next to the front door. I don't know what kind of rose this is, we got this from a neighbor whose yard is full of these bushes. It's the only rose I know that is hardy enough to survive the winter up here without special care and attention.
On a different note, I have noticed that there has been some kind of project going on at the watertower on my way to work, with cables and pipes and a giant air compressor and other equipment, but I couldn't figure out what they were doing with all the cables strung around and down from the top of the tower. Now I think I may have an idea.
Have a good day and enjoy the wonderful weather!!! I need to figure out how to make a good new tongue for the hay mower.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Weather: Incredibly nice weekend. A couple of brief showers both days, enough to settle the dust but not enough to register in my rain gauge, maybe 5 minutes each time.
Gas: Ran to Bemidji Saturday. When I left GR gas was 3.899. Gas in Bemidji was at 3.789. When I returned to GR one station was at 3.879. This morning everyone in GR appears to be at 3.849.
When we primered the W6 grill it looked good, but when we tried to put the color coat on it didn't turn out so well. Not sure if the problem lies with the painter, the gun, the paint, or the thinner. Touched it up a bit with the same paint in a rattle can, looked better. I'm not too worried about it, I'm planning on re-doing it again anyways. At this point I'm mostly trying to protect the metal.
Sure looks a lot prettier than the pink primer with rusty patches that was on there before.
As of Saturday afternoon Matt and I were going on the tractor run with the club. We installed a shelf on the back to make it easier to stand on the back of the tractor and we installed a shelf on the right side of the frame by the engine to carry the cooler (picnic lunch) and can of gas. Everything was washed up, everything was lubed, we had a full tank of gas. I decided that Matt and I would take the tractor on a drive around the block to see how it ran down the pavement and to see how much fuel we would use. I told Matt that it shouldn't use very much, it's less than 5 miles around the block. I figured it should use maybe about 1/8" on the dipstick and if it used more than 1/4" we probably wouldn't go because we wouldn't have enough fuel.
Just for comparison, here is photo from when we brought it home:
Tractor ran great on the pavement, almost threw Matt off the back when I hit a bump while turning a corner. Just hummed along. But, when we got home and checked the dipstick we discovered that we were down 1.5" of fuel. WOW!! That's way too much. I don't think we can handle that, at that rate we'll need to fill up by the time we get to Blackberry. No way.
Then Matt noticed that the fuel line was dripping gas right where the line comes out of the fuel bowl, so he grabbed a wrench to tighten it. It was a bit loose, but the drip continued. So, we shut off the fuel and pulled the line off. Looked like someone wrapped teflon tape inside the compression fitting around the ferrule to try to stop it leaking once upon a time. I cut the end off and then we discovered that the pipe was actually cracked just behind the ferrule. This was about 7PM, and all the hardware stores in town except Home Depot are closed by now. I ran up to Home Depot, they don't carry soft copper tubing and fittings. Damn.
Sunday morning I ran down to L&M to be at the door at 9AM when they opened, must have been twenty other guys there at 9 AM, but the door didn't open until 9:05 AM. Finally found the 5/16 ferrule ($2!!), got it home and installed it. I could have caught up with the group by running direct to Warba, but decided that maybe we shouldn't do that.
So, we stayed home. Plowed and disked the garden once more, then I started transplanting my tomatoes and peppers. Matt also plowed and disked the front yard where we tore it up this spring moving cars and fencing. Then Matt went on to plow most of the 10 acre field. At the end of the day the fuel level hadn't dropped more than 1.5" from where we started in the morning. So, after fixing the leak, we would have had plenty of fuel to make the run. Oh well, we needed to get the garden in.
So, the garden is finally started, the tractor is in better shape than ever. Looks kinda funny with just the grill painted, hood will have to come off next and get the treatment. I won't rush that job quite as much as we did the grill, might even buy some better paint than the Rust-Oleum equipment paint.
Moved the cars around so Matt could plow the lawn. Pulled the battery from 92 Voyager and put it in the 69 Catalina, pulled the battery from the 65 Ford PU and put it in the 77 Catalina, pulled the battery from the WC and put it in the Ford. Both Cats fired and drove (no brakes). Brought the 88 Horizon home from Steve's with no brakes but I have all the parts to fix that. I need to remember to call the insurance and take the 92 Voyager off insurance. It does run but I need to pull the head and check out the coolant leak. After the 88 Horizon stops.
Gas: Ran to Bemidji Saturday. When I left GR gas was 3.899. Gas in Bemidji was at 3.789. When I returned to GR one station was at 3.879. This morning everyone in GR appears to be at 3.849.
When we primered the W6 grill it looked good, but when we tried to put the color coat on it didn't turn out so well. Not sure if the problem lies with the painter, the gun, the paint, or the thinner. Touched it up a bit with the same paint in a rattle can, looked better. I'm not too worried about it, I'm planning on re-doing it again anyways. At this point I'm mostly trying to protect the metal.
Sure looks a lot prettier than the pink primer with rusty patches that was on there before.
As of Saturday afternoon Matt and I were going on the tractor run with the club. We installed a shelf on the back to make it easier to stand on the back of the tractor and we installed a shelf on the right side of the frame by the engine to carry the cooler (picnic lunch) and can of gas. Everything was washed up, everything was lubed, we had a full tank of gas. I decided that Matt and I would take the tractor on a drive around the block to see how it ran down the pavement and to see how much fuel we would use. I told Matt that it shouldn't use very much, it's less than 5 miles around the block. I figured it should use maybe about 1/8" on the dipstick and if it used more than 1/4" we probably wouldn't go because we wouldn't have enough fuel.
Just for comparison, here is photo from when we brought it home:
Tractor ran great on the pavement, almost threw Matt off the back when I hit a bump while turning a corner. Just hummed along. But, when we got home and checked the dipstick we discovered that we were down 1.5" of fuel. WOW!! That's way too much. I don't think we can handle that, at that rate we'll need to fill up by the time we get to Blackberry. No way.
Then Matt noticed that the fuel line was dripping gas right where the line comes out of the fuel bowl, so he grabbed a wrench to tighten it. It was a bit loose, but the drip continued. So, we shut off the fuel and pulled the line off. Looked like someone wrapped teflon tape inside the compression fitting around the ferrule to try to stop it leaking once upon a time. I cut the end off and then we discovered that the pipe was actually cracked just behind the ferrule. This was about 7PM, and all the hardware stores in town except Home Depot are closed by now. I ran up to Home Depot, they don't carry soft copper tubing and fittings. Damn.
Sunday morning I ran down to L&M to be at the door at 9AM when they opened, must have been twenty other guys there at 9 AM, but the door didn't open until 9:05 AM. Finally found the 5/16 ferrule ($2!!), got it home and installed it. I could have caught up with the group by running direct to Warba, but decided that maybe we shouldn't do that.
So, we stayed home. Plowed and disked the garden once more, then I started transplanting my tomatoes and peppers. Matt also plowed and disked the front yard where we tore it up this spring moving cars and fencing. Then Matt went on to plow most of the 10 acre field. At the end of the day the fuel level hadn't dropped more than 1.5" from where we started in the morning. So, after fixing the leak, we would have had plenty of fuel to make the run. Oh well, we needed to get the garden in.
So, the garden is finally started, the tractor is in better shape than ever. Looks kinda funny with just the grill painted, hood will have to come off next and get the treatment. I won't rush that job quite as much as we did the grill, might even buy some better paint than the Rust-Oleum equipment paint.
Moved the cars around so Matt could plow the lawn. Pulled the battery from 92 Voyager and put it in the 69 Catalina, pulled the battery from the 65 Ford PU and put it in the 77 Catalina, pulled the battery from the WC and put it in the Ford. Both Cats fired and drove (no brakes). Brought the 88 Horizon home from Steve's with no brakes but I have all the parts to fix that. I need to remember to call the insurance and take the 92 Voyager off insurance. It does run but I need to pull the head and check out the coolant leak. After the 88 Horizon stops.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Nice weather this morning. Had about .25" rain yesterday and overnight last night, brief showers off and on. Enough to settle the dust for a little bit.
I don't know why I didn't think to take a photo of the W6 grill before I stripped it and after I stripped it. I think that 3 months without a camera didn't help. Matt and I primed it last night, first time to use the new HVLP gun I got last year. Worked beautifully.
I was going to take a picture of the grill this morning, grabbed the camera out of my laptop bag where it has been languishing for the last week. Open the lens, dead battery. Well, crap. And the battery was, I think, full when I but it in the bag. Something I will have to keep an eye on. At least with the Vivtar I always expected a dead battery and alway tried to keep spare AA's on hand. Guess I will just have to get in the habit of using the camera more often.
Stopped by the DQ parking lot last night. Lots of musclecars, a couple of hot rods. I'm not really into 55-56-57 Chevs, but there was a Pro Street and a shaved 4 door there, both looked VERY good. Steve had his red 72 Torino there, there were a couple of late 60's Firebirds, and couple of Harley's, a couple of Galaxy's, a Comet, '69 Torino fastback, lots more.
I don't know why I didn't think to take a photo of the W6 grill before I stripped it and after I stripped it. I think that 3 months without a camera didn't help. Matt and I primed it last night, first time to use the new HVLP gun I got last year. Worked beautifully.
I was going to take a picture of the grill this morning, grabbed the camera out of my laptop bag where it has been languishing for the last week. Open the lens, dead battery. Well, crap. And the battery was, I think, full when I but it in the bag. Something I will have to keep an eye on. At least with the Vivtar I always expected a dead battery and alway tried to keep spare AA's on hand. Guess I will just have to get in the habit of using the camera more often.
Stopped by the DQ parking lot last night. Lots of musclecars, a couple of hot rods. I'm not really into 55-56-57 Chevs, but there was a Pro Street and a shaved 4 door there, both looked VERY good. Steve had his red 72 Torino there, there were a couple of late 60's Firebirds, and couple of Harley's, a couple of Galaxy's, a Comet, '69 Torino fastback, lots more.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
It's raining.
Driveway was almost dry. We did disk the garden last night, a couple of soft spots still.
Pulled the hood and grill from the W6 last night, stripped the grill to bare metal on the outside and got all the loose stuff off the inside. Had a couple of dings, the worst had a bunch of body filler on it. Matt banged some of it out, but there are actual gouges in the metal, they are not just dents. I might try leading it before I prime it tonight. I will probably save the hood for later and put it back on the way it is. The grill had the body filler and primer put on a couple of years ago with no finish coat, made the tractor look funny with a rusty gray grill. I'm hoping that by Saturday it will be a straight red hood. Got a quart each of Rust-Oleum primer and IH Red enamel, will try out the new HVLP sprayer I got last year and see what I can do with it.
Driveway was almost dry. We did disk the garden last night, a couple of soft spots still.
Pulled the hood and grill from the W6 last night, stripped the grill to bare metal on the outside and got all the loose stuff off the inside. Had a couple of dings, the worst had a bunch of body filler on it. Matt banged some of it out, but there are actual gouges in the metal, they are not just dents. I might try leading it before I prime it tonight. I will probably save the hood for later and put it back on the way it is. The grill had the body filler and primer put on a couple of years ago with no finish coat, made the tractor look funny with a rusty gray grill. I'm hoping that by Saturday it will be a straight red hood. Got a quart each of Rust-Oleum primer and IH Red enamel, will try out the new HVLP sprayer I got last year and see what I can do with it.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tractor Run
Wow! Beautiful weather last couple of days. If it holds for another day or two I might be able to get the garden disked again and finally get it planted.
Tractor run is this weekend. I'd like to go. According to the old sales literature, the W6 was supposed to be able to work for a day on a tank of gas. The run is for one day. Of course, I don't think the tractor will be working like it would be when plowing a field; I would probably be idling along in road gear. But still, a tank of gas, that's 21 gallons, at todays price of 3.899 that would be $82 for gas. I don't think I've had more than 7 or 8 gallons in it at a time; I usually just dump in a 5 gallon can when I think it's running low.
OK, let's do this right.
CONS:
Need to change valve cover gasket on Vger
Need to pull head on Stripez.
Need to finish brakes on Red Horizon
$82 gas money
Need to finish plowing 10 acre field
Tractor might break down
Need to plant garden
Need to make Bemidji run
PROS:
Rare opportunity
Spend time with other club members (heck, I don't even know who most of them are! I've never made it to a meeting.)
Take a day off and play
Dunno. It's easy for me to think of cons, against my nature to think of pros. Or something. Stay tuned, we'll see what happens.
Tractor run is this weekend. I'd like to go. According to the old sales literature, the W6 was supposed to be able to work for a day on a tank of gas. The run is for one day. Of course, I don't think the tractor will be working like it would be when plowing a field; I would probably be idling along in road gear. But still, a tank of gas, that's 21 gallons, at todays price of 3.899 that would be $82 for gas. I don't think I've had more than 7 or 8 gallons in it at a time; I usually just dump in a 5 gallon can when I think it's running low.
OK, let's do this right.
CONS:
Need to change valve cover gasket on Vger
Need to pull head on Stripez.
Need to finish brakes on Red Horizon
$82 gas money
Need to finish plowing 10 acre field
Tractor might break down
Need to plant garden
Need to make Bemidji run
PROS:
Rare opportunity
Spend time with other club members (heck, I don't even know who most of them are! I've never made it to a meeting.)
Take a day off and play
Dunno. It's easy for me to think of cons, against my nature to think of pros. Or something. Stay tuned, we'll see what happens.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
HP R837 Digital Camera
Sitting at the Hospital. Betty MIGHT get to go home today with walker and oxy tank.
Need to talk about my new HP R837 digital camera.
Here are my requirements from a previous blog entry:
1. Must have Viewfinder. While the display screens on the new cameras are very nice, it is still quite difficult to see them in direct sunlight.
-> No viewfinder on the R837, but the display is bright enough to see in daylight. Really, no kidding. I was pleasantly surprised. I was resigned to this being a problem with this camera, but it is not. Yet.
2. Must have rechargeable battery. The old Vivitar went thru AA batteries almost as quick as I could shove them in. I was lucky if I could get 30 photos before the batteries went dead. And, it didn’t turn off automatically, so if, for instance, I left it attached to the PC while downloading photos and forgot to turn it off it would be dead in an hour. Easily.
-> No problem, I have taken 50-60 flash photos and barely moved the battery indicator. It goes to sleep after a couple of minutes with no activity and awakens with the touch of any button. When you open the lens cover the camera turns on; when you close the cover the camera turns off. Couldn't be more convenient in my opinion.
3. Since I have Palms and PPC’s and other devices that use the mini-USB interface both to connect to the PC and for charging, the camera must also use the mini-USB interface for charging and downloading. Since I have several devices that use this interface, I have chargers and cables scattered around the house, in my cars, and at work. I have been slowly replacing devices with other interfaces with newer ones that use the mini-USB interface, I want to continue that process.
-> hehehe, the R937 recharges from the USB!!! While downloading photos!!! Yeahhh!!!!!
4. I want both digital and optical zoom capabilities.
-> 3x Optical zoom and 8x Digital zoom. There is a noticeable degradation in picture quality when using the digital zoom, but not enough to bother me so far.
5. Must have good flash and some control over exposure settings.
-> Plenty good enough for me. You can turn off the flash, set different exposure levels.
6. Must use SD cards of at least 4GB capacity.
-> Supports up to 8GB SD card. That's over 1,000 pictures at best 7 MP quality on my 4GB card. It has 32 MB of on-board memory, enough for 90 VGA pics.
7. Ease of use: I don’t insist that a 5 year old can use it, but that the basics should be discoverable with a few moments exploration for a person of normal intelligence, and the manuals should be clearly written in English. Not Chinglese.
-> What manual? It came with one but I haven't looked at it yet. There is an excellent help and documentation system built right into the camera.
8. Less than $200, prefer less than $150.
-> How does $99 including shipping sound? From Beach Camera and Amazon.com.
My only gripe so far with this camera is an ergonomic one. It is barely possible to take a photo with one hand; it really takes two. With the display taking up most of the back of the camera and controls using the rest of the real estate, controls using most of the top of the camera, the easiest way to hold the camera is from each side between the palms of both hands.
One of the nice things about the camera is that the lens doesn't protrude from the body like so many do now. I have heard of several cameras where the lens mechanism got dust or grit in it and jammed up. Once that happens you have a paperweight. Since my camera goes with me in my pocket, in the bottom of my backpack, while I'm working on the car, it seldom resides in a clean environment. All the moving parts except for the lens cover are enclosed in the camera.
Need to talk about my new HP R837 digital camera.
Here are my requirements from a previous blog entry:
1. Must have Viewfinder. While the display screens on the new cameras are very nice, it is still quite difficult to see them in direct sunlight.
-> No viewfinder on the R837, but the display is bright enough to see in daylight. Really, no kidding. I was pleasantly surprised. I was resigned to this being a problem with this camera, but it is not. Yet.
2. Must have rechargeable battery. The old Vivitar went thru AA batteries almost as quick as I could shove them in. I was lucky if I could get 30 photos before the batteries went dead. And, it didn’t turn off automatically, so if, for instance, I left it attached to the PC while downloading photos and forgot to turn it off it would be dead in an hour. Easily.
-> No problem, I have taken 50-60 flash photos and barely moved the battery indicator. It goes to sleep after a couple of minutes with no activity and awakens with the touch of any button. When you open the lens cover the camera turns on; when you close the cover the camera turns off. Couldn't be more convenient in my opinion.
3. Since I have Palms and PPC’s and other devices that use the mini-USB interface both to connect to the PC and for charging, the camera must also use the mini-USB interface for charging and downloading. Since I have several devices that use this interface, I have chargers and cables scattered around the house, in my cars, and at work. I have been slowly replacing devices with other interfaces with newer ones that use the mini-USB interface, I want to continue that process.
-> hehehe, the R937 recharges from the USB!!! While downloading photos!!! Yeahhh!!!!!
4. I want both digital and optical zoom capabilities.
-> 3x Optical zoom and 8x Digital zoom. There is a noticeable degradation in picture quality when using the digital zoom, but not enough to bother me so far.
5. Must have good flash and some control over exposure settings.
-> Plenty good enough for me. You can turn off the flash, set different exposure levels.
6. Must use SD cards of at least 4GB capacity.
-> Supports up to 8GB SD card. That's over 1,000 pictures at best 7 MP quality on my 4GB card. It has 32 MB of on-board memory, enough for 90 VGA pics.
7. Ease of use: I don’t insist that a 5 year old can use it, but that the basics should be discoverable with a few moments exploration for a person of normal intelligence, and the manuals should be clearly written in English. Not Chinglese.
-> What manual? It came with one but I haven't looked at it yet. There is an excellent help and documentation system built right into the camera.
8. Less than $200, prefer less than $150.
-> How does $99 including shipping sound? From Beach Camera and Amazon.com.
My only gripe so far with this camera is an ergonomic one. It is barely possible to take a photo with one hand; it really takes two. With the display taking up most of the back of the camera and controls using the rest of the real estate, controls using most of the top of the camera, the easiest way to hold the camera is from each side between the palms of both hands.
One of the nice things about the camera is that the lens doesn't protrude from the body like so many do now. I have heard of several cameras where the lens mechanism got dust or grit in it and jammed up. Once that happens you have a paperweight. Since my camera goes with me in my pocket, in the bottom of my backpack, while I'm working on the car, it seldom resides in a clean environment. All the moving parts except for the lens cover are enclosed in the camera.
Friday, June 13, 2008
11 PM sitting in Betty's hospital room; she's back on oxygen.
Trip to Bemidji went pretty good, got oil & filter changed on Jeep (99 Cherokee), Cricky (81 LeMans), and RumJohn (92 Tempo). Driver side mirror on Cricky was broken, replaced with a cheap plastic aftermarket mirror. Still need to lube them, and RumJohn appears to be running rough once it is warmed up, need to look into that problem. Vger ran like a champ.
A couple of pretty heavy showers went thru Bemidji while we were there, causing a couple of short breaks in the action.
Bought some gas while in Bemidji, paid 3.819 there, it is 3.919 here in GR.
When we got back home we fired up Stripez (92 Voyager) and went grocery shopping. Runs pretty good. I had forgotten, but just before everything turned sour with Stripez I had purchased new belts and hoses for it; still need to get those installed. Also, the steering rack seals are leaking, need to investigate the options for repairing that. Stripez uses nearly a quart of Power Steering fluid a week, that will get real expensive real fast.
As near as I can tell, it didn't rain at home while we were in Bemidji.
Trip to Bemidji went pretty good, got oil & filter changed on Jeep (99 Cherokee), Cricky (81 LeMans), and RumJohn (92 Tempo). Driver side mirror on Cricky was broken, replaced with a cheap plastic aftermarket mirror. Still need to lube them, and RumJohn appears to be running rough once it is warmed up, need to look into that problem. Vger ran like a champ.
A couple of pretty heavy showers went thru Bemidji while we were there, causing a couple of short breaks in the action.
Bought some gas while in Bemidji, paid 3.819 there, it is 3.919 here in GR.
When we got back home we fired up Stripez (92 Voyager) and went grocery shopping. Runs pretty good. I had forgotten, but just before everything turned sour with Stripez I had purchased new belts and hoses for it; still need to get those installed. Also, the steering rack seals are leaking, need to investigate the options for repairing that. Stripez uses nearly a quart of Power Steering fluid a week, that will get real expensive real fast.
As near as I can tell, it didn't rain at home while we were in Bemidji.
Bit less than 1/4" rain overnight; pretty spectacular line of severe thunderstorms.
Got Stripez (92 Voyager) running again last night. Towed the car down to the neighbors house to borrow his cement floor to work on, thought the fuel pump had died. Turned out that a hose clamp on the fuel line broke and the fuel pressure was bleeding of thru a loose hose!
Heading to Bemidji to do maintenance on the three cars there.
Gas last night at 3.939.
Got Stripez (92 Voyager) running again last night. Towed the car down to the neighbors house to borrow his cement floor to work on, thought the fuel pump had died. Turned out that a hose clamp on the fuel line broke and the fuel pressure was bleeding of thru a loose hose!
Heading to Bemidji to do maintenance on the three cars there.
Gas last night at 3.939.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Internet Exploder
I just realized that Internet Exploder does not render this page correctly. Everything is there, but instead of showing two columns side by side you get one column, then if you scroll down you get the second column. Need to figure this out. For best results use Mozilla Firefox or some other browser that renders code properly.
Jeez, a 19.2 Kbps connection this morning here at home.
3/4" of rain in last 24 hours, very wet outside. It appears (by radar) that the main storm is past now, but it is either very drizzly or it's raining lightly.
I tried blogging from my phone. PPC 6700 with WM 5, but when I get to the page that I post from there is no text box. Can't have everything.
3/4" of rain in last 24 hours, very wet outside. It appears (by radar) that the main storm is past now, but it is either very drizzly or it's raining lightly.
I tried blogging from my phone. PPC 6700 with WM 5, but when I get to the page that I post from there is no text box. Can't have everything.
Sitting in Betty's hospital room right now. Very rainy and windy outside, gusting to 60mph. Betty tells me that the power was out briefly just before I arrived here; I passed 2 downed trees on Golf Course Road.
Found a tranny for the blue Horizon, it will cost me about $300 to get it here including shipping. More than I wanted to pay but definitely worth it to get a car that gets 40 mpg running.
Filled up Vger at 3.959. Some stations are at 3.969 and some at 3.959, a slight pullback from Monday’s high.
Paging system down right now, nobody told IS until I did just now. Nurse has been trying to get a Doc here to see Betty but no response to the page; I paged myself and didn’t receive it. Our in-house repeater gets the signal from a repeater in Coleraine which gets its signal from another repeater which gets its signal from another repeater which gets a signal from the transmitter in Duluth. With weather like this any one of the repeaters could be down which will put us down. The paging company had a problem last year with the backup generator in Coleraine not coming on line, wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again.
Found a tranny for the blue Horizon, it will cost me about $300 to get it here including shipping. More than I wanted to pay but definitely worth it to get a car that gets 40 mpg running.
Filled up Vger at 3.959. Some stations are at 3.969 and some at 3.959, a slight pullback from Monday’s high.
Paging system down right now, nobody told IS until I did just now. Nurse has been trying to get a Doc here to see Betty but no response to the page; I paged myself and didn’t receive it. Our in-house repeater gets the signal from a repeater in Coleraine which gets its signal from another repeater which gets its signal from another repeater which gets a signal from the transmitter in Duluth. With weather like this any one of the repeaters could be down which will put us down. The paging company had a problem last year with the backup generator in Coleraine not coming on line, wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
$4
On the way to Duluth this morning most of the stations were at 3.899. On the way home this afternoon most of those same stations are at 3.999. Haven't been into GR yet (later this afternoon) but I think it is a safe bet that GR is at $4/gal regular no-lead now. Can't really cut back on the gas use any further, so something else will have to give, don't know what it will be this time.
In mid February 2008 we were bobbing around the $3 mark. We're not quite to mid June, 4 months later, and we are bobbing around the $4 mark. Wow. Need to update my graph in the next few days.
In mid February 2008 we were bobbing around the $3 mark. We're not quite to mid June, 4 months later, and we are bobbing around the $4 mark. Wow. Need to update my graph in the next few days.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Not too bad of a weekend. Ground VERY soggy after the rain last week, but sunny and breezy. Got the engine/tranny ripped out of Da Vench and returned to its owner today.
Gas is back up to 3.899. Talked to my mom in SoCal Saturday; she paid 4.45 for gas that morning.
Took most of Saturday to get everything together; had to find a relatively level place that wasn't under water and where the cars wouldn't sink into the ground; then had to mow that place and put the car there, then transport the jack and engine hoist to that spot.
While I was prepping Da Vench Matt replaced the fan belt and radiator hoses on the WC, also replaced the radiator and rebuilt the carb. The WC nows runs the best it has since we've had it here. Still need to complete the carb adjustments. Need to adjust the carb under load, kinda hard to do that when you don't have anything to run off the PTO so the only way to load it is to pull something, and it's kinda hard to adjust a moving object.
Because you can't roll the engine hoist on the grass, we rolled the car out from under the engine, then I backed VGer up to the engine while Matt swung the engine inside. Good thing VGer has the overload springs; it was squatting pretty good. I was VERY glad to have the load out of VGer when we unloaded.
Photos in "Da Vench" Gallery.
BBQ'd Beef Ribs for dinner last night; hamburgers tonight. Got a little bit of the yard and the shooting range mowed tonight, now it's raining pretty good.
With all the rain last week the grass and hay are growing fast, and the bloodsucking mosquitos are multiplying faster than I can spray them away.
I have to run to Duluth Monday morning; going to see an Avaya Unified Communications demo and visit my friends at Sisu (www.sisunet.org). Then I have the rest of the week off while Betty has surgery.
And yes, these are photos from my new camera. Couldn't find one that met ALL of my criteria, but this one meets the most important ones and I got a bargain on it. More on that subject later, when I get more time.
Ta ta!
Gas is back up to 3.899. Talked to my mom in SoCal Saturday; she paid 4.45 for gas that morning.
Took most of Saturday to get everything together; had to find a relatively level place that wasn't under water and where the cars wouldn't sink into the ground; then had to mow that place and put the car there, then transport the jack and engine hoist to that spot.
While I was prepping Da Vench Matt replaced the fan belt and radiator hoses on the WC, also replaced the radiator and rebuilt the carb. The WC nows runs the best it has since we've had it here. Still need to complete the carb adjustments. Need to adjust the carb under load, kinda hard to do that when you don't have anything to run off the PTO so the only way to load it is to pull something, and it's kinda hard to adjust a moving object.
Because you can't roll the engine hoist on the grass, we rolled the car out from under the engine, then I backed VGer up to the engine while Matt swung the engine inside. Good thing VGer has the overload springs; it was squatting pretty good. I was VERY glad to have the load out of VGer when we unloaded.
Photos in "Da Vench" Gallery.
BBQ'd Beef Ribs for dinner last night; hamburgers tonight. Got a little bit of the yard and the shooting range mowed tonight, now it's raining pretty good.
With all the rain last week the grass and hay are growing fast, and the bloodsucking mosquitos are multiplying faster than I can spray them away.
I have to run to Duluth Monday morning; going to see an Avaya Unified Communications demo and visit my friends at Sisu (www.sisunet.org). Then I have the rest of the week off while Betty has surgery.
And yes, these are photos from my new camera. Couldn't find one that met ALL of my criteria, but this one meets the most important ones and I got a bargain on it. More on that subject later, when I get more time.
Ta ta!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Gas is still at 3.899, but Jon and Patty came to visit last night and expressed surprise at how expensive our gas was, Bemidji is running about 3.75. Hehehe. GR is getting ripped off as usual, along with the tourists that get conned into passing thru here.
I had a very unusual visit to the Optometrist this morning. For the past 43 years I have needed new glasses about every one or two years. First unusual thing is that it has been three years. Second unusual thing is that I do not need a new prescription. "So why does everything look blurry?" The Doc went into a verbose description about how the lens changes to focus objects, but as you get older the lens becomes less elastic, and eventually, in many cases, starts to become cloudy. My lenses are beginning to be just a tiny bit cloudy, i.e., I am starting to develop cataracts. Nothing I can do about it right now except that if my vision gets cloudier I should have another checkup, and have my eyes checked at least once a year now (instead of putting it off).
Ouch. I thought cataracts were something that happened to old folks. I don't feel that old, but I guess it's my time.
Raining today, and a bit chilly at 45 degrees F.
Jon left me some video of Phillip; I need to get it edited and posted on his web page. And I have a couple of conference calls and three webinars to attend yet today. And Matt wants me to burn a DVD of the School Days at the NCMFAAA. Better get busy.
I had a very unusual visit to the Optometrist this morning. For the past 43 years I have needed new glasses about every one or two years. First unusual thing is that it has been three years. Second unusual thing is that I do not need a new prescription. "So why does everything look blurry?" The Doc went into a verbose description about how the lens changes to focus objects, but as you get older the lens becomes less elastic, and eventually, in many cases, starts to become cloudy. My lenses are beginning to be just a tiny bit cloudy, i.e., I am starting to develop cataracts. Nothing I can do about it right now except that if my vision gets cloudier I should have another checkup, and have my eyes checked at least once a year now (instead of putting it off).
Ouch. I thought cataracts were something that happened to old folks. I don't feel that old, but I guess it's my time.
Raining today, and a bit chilly at 45 degrees F.
Jon left me some video of Phillip; I need to get it edited and posted on his web page. And I have a couple of conference calls and three webinars to attend yet today. And Matt wants me to burn a DVD of the School Days at the NCMFAAA. Better get busy.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Beautiful Weekend! Summer has at last arrived in Northern MN. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, sunny skies, occasional t-storms, and now MOSQUITOES are here.
We got the new pasture fence completed Saturday, a huge relief. Finished off the last bale of hay Friday night. We cut some hay Saturday morning, gave it to the animals, and then set out to finish the fence before the hay ran out. Had to run to town twice for supplies, but we did it.
Fan belt broke on the WC last week. To replace it you must remove the lower radiator hose. So, we ordered both upper and lower hoses from Steiner Tractor, as well as the fan belt and a carb rebuild kit. We are hoping they will arrive before the weekend so that will be the main project next weekend
Spent part of Sunday crushing the old fence into the old topper shell. We put the shell upside down on the big trailer and Matt is filling it with scrap metal. Even though we gave away a LOT of scrap metal last year, I figure we might still be able to make 3 or 4 trailer loads, all of which will go towards his Europe trip.
Worked on the garden a little bit, it is now well plowed, well disked, and fairly level. It would be nicer if we could till it. $33 to rent a walk behind tiller overnight. Might consider it.
Still don't have my shop organized yet.
Gas was still at 3.899 this morning.
Mostly sunny and 61 outside, so says the NWS. I haven't been outside in 6 hours.
We got the new pasture fence completed Saturday, a huge relief. Finished off the last bale of hay Friday night. We cut some hay Saturday morning, gave it to the animals, and then set out to finish the fence before the hay ran out. Had to run to town twice for supplies, but we did it.
Fan belt broke on the WC last week. To replace it you must remove the lower radiator hose. So, we ordered both upper and lower hoses from Steiner Tractor, as well as the fan belt and a carb rebuild kit. We are hoping they will arrive before the weekend so that will be the main project next weekend
Spent part of Sunday crushing the old fence into the old topper shell. We put the shell upside down on the big trailer and Matt is filling it with scrap metal. Even though we gave away a LOT of scrap metal last year, I figure we might still be able to make 3 or 4 trailer loads, all of which will go towards his Europe trip.
Worked on the garden a little bit, it is now well plowed, well disked, and fairly level. It would be nicer if we could till it. $33 to rent a walk behind tiller overnight. Might consider it.
Still don't have my shop organized yet.
Gas was still at 3.899 this morning.
Mostly sunny and 61 outside, so says the NWS. I haven't been outside in 6 hours.
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