REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Friday, April 19, 2024 17:03
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PAGE 12 of 71

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 4:49 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


The clouds were blown off the mountaintops and now I can see snow. It's sunny, breezy, and 60F (16C). Perfect weather.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Wednesday, January 18, 2023 9:12 PM

JAYNEZTOWN


Walled Garden


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Wednesday, January 18, 2023 11:27 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk and then a pick up game of mah jong this afternoon.

As always... good luck! I hope you get good tiles.

Good to see that the extraction went well. It sounds like your fentsi a very nice and that you're healing well. I hope that no more teeth get broken and that is the last of the extractions!

I don't have a lot of experience with my new dentist. I just switched last year bc my previous dentist was a little far away and it seemed like she was always trying to pump up the bill by doing unnecessary work. But I haven't been making dental appts bc there were just too many other spots to keep.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




Mah jong went pretty well today. On one hand I got over 10,000 points. So I won. Haven't had a hand with 8 doubles in it in a while.

The dentist is very nice and I do seem to be healing well from all these extractions. This should be the last of the extractions as the bottom teeth are in pretty good shape. Though I think one may need a filling. Will have to see after I get the denture first.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2023 11:28 PM

BRENDA


Well I am off to my regular mah jong in the morning then some grocery shopping after.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2023 11:38 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
quote]Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Wow. You've got male dental assistants?

I'm sure we got them here, but I've never seen one before. In fact, the two dentists I've ever had in my life were the only males in the place. The one I go to now is almost a full shop too, with a lot more employees than the first dentist. There are 3 hygienists, two women at reception, and the woman who does the molds for dentures and partials. Heck... there may even be an orthodontist in there too, which would make sense since they've got somebody on staff who could also do molds for retainers.

I really don't care much who my dentist is, although he is a really nice guy. I love my hygienist though. I already told her that even if I move down by my brother out of state I would make it back up here every four months for my appointments.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Yup.

I'm sure there are. The first time I went to have teeth pulled it was a male dentist but these last 3 times my dentist has been a lady. They were training a new assistant yesterday and she was female.

Think he is a hygienist too and like I said he is a really nice guy. Last time I was there he said I could squeeze his hand if I felt any pain. *L*

Not sure who will do the mold for me. Maybe him but that's not till the end of next month.

Most in this office are ladies it seems but they are all really nice and very good. So I have no complaints.



I hear that the suicide rate for Dentists is pretty bad... not sure if that's an old wive's tale or not though. I can't figure out why. They got a really sweet gig. Most of the time they don't have to do nothin' but put their fingers in your mouth for a minute and tell you to quit smoking and the money train rolls right in.



My hygienist though, she's amazing. I wonder if they make a World's Greatest Hygienist coffee mug.

They've got a totally different person doing the molds. I don't know what her title would be. But I'll tell you what I told her... She's the person with the job that's closest to what I do. She fills in the gaps and cracks with caulk and uses a rotary tool to shave down the high spots.




Congrats on the Mah Jong win today.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2023 11:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


So I'm going to try to fix my car myself. I told my buddy about what the mechanic says he thinks the cause is, and he called me a pussy for not doing that myself. I didn't even know he's ever done any work on cars but he said with all the old cars he's owned he's done it a lot and he learned it from his dad.

Unfortunately, I can't go and pick anything up myself. I looked up what my flashing check engine light on the way home from the dentist and food shopping meant last night and it means "PULL THE F*#K OVER AND GET YOUR CAR TOWED TO THE SHOP!".

Well... more realistically, in my case at least, it means that there is enough fuel not being properly burned off and gunking up your already seriously screwed catalytic converter.

So rather than ask my friend who is busy until the weekend to pick the stuff up for me tomorrow after work, I think I'm just going to buy enough other stuff to get free shipping and wait until it comes next week to work on it. I'll probably take the old stuff off and inspect it tomorrow while I'm waiting.

But first thing's first... I will have a quick phone chat with my mechanic and see if his opinion has changed on what the problem could be now that I got the flashing indicator light.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 19, 2023 1:22 AM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
quote]Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Wow. You've got male dental assistants?

I'm sure we got them here, but I've never seen one before. In fact, the two dentists I've ever had in my life were the only males in the place. The one I go to now is almost a full shop too, with a lot more employees than the first dentist. There are 3 hygienists, two women at reception, and the woman who does the molds for dentures and partials. Heck... there may even be an orthodontist in there too, which would make sense since they've got somebody on staff who could also do molds for retainers.

I really don't care much who my dentist is, although he is a really nice guy. I love my hygienist though. I already told her that even if I move down by my brother out of state I would make it back up here every four months for my appointments.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Yup.

I'm sure there are. The first time I went to have teeth pulled it was a male dentist but these last 3 times my dentist has been a lady. They were training a new assistant yesterday and she was female.

Think he is a hygienist too and like I said he is a really nice guy. Last time I was there he said I could squeeze his hand if I felt any pain. *L*

Not sure who will do the mold for me. Maybe him but that's not till the end of next month.

Most in this office are ladies it seems but they are all really nice and very good. So I have no complaints.



I hear that the suicide rate for Dentists is pretty bad... not sure if that's an old wive's tale or not though. I can't figure out why. They got a really sweet gig. Most of the time they don't have to do nothin' but put their fingers in your mouth for a minute and tell you to quit smoking and the money train rolls right in.



My hygienist though, she's amazing. I wonder if they make a World's Greatest Hygienist coffee mug.

They've got a totally different person doing the molds. I don't know what her title would be. But I'll tell you what I told her... She's the person with the job that's closest to what I do. She fills in the gaps and cracks with caulk and uses a rotary tool to shave down the high spots.




Congrats on the Mah Jong win today.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Huh. Don't think I have heard that.

They probably do as they make mugs for just about everything and everyone nowadays.

You have a good point about the mold maker. I'll find out at the end of February.

Thanks. It was a real surprise. I looked down and saw I had 3 flowers of the same colour and the next tile I picked up was the 4th one. Then I got my other flower. I also had the wind of the round and my own wind along with enough tiles of what I was collecting. Not sure what will happen tomorrow.

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Thursday, January 19, 2023 4:34 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I got the distributor cap and rotor off today, and boy that was a trick without taking apart everything else on the side of the engine that was in the way. Didn't know if I'd even be able to do it, but I was able to fabricate a tool to do the trick for me out of other stuff I had lying around. I should be able to get the bottom bolt back in by touch by using hard drive magnets on the sides of my tool to make sure I don't drop the bolt and lose it.

Just heard from my buddy and he's going to pick up the stuff after work, stop on by and help me put it back together.

I don't know if this is actually going to fix anything or not, but it needed replacing. It's obvious both pieces were shot. Also, it said "Made In Japan" on the inside of the cap, and not China, so there's a good chance that part is 2/3rds as old as I am.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 19, 2023 4:55 PM

BRENDA


Back from mah jong and no luck today. Managed to go out 5 times but that was about it.

Had to do a bit of grocery shopping afterwards. Got what I needed then remembered I had to go to the library.

Picked up Season 2 of "Miss Scarlett and the Duke" along with another tv series from the US and Season 8 of the "Murdoch Mysteries" which is a little series filmed up here in Toronto. It's about a police detective. The series starts in the late 19th century around 1894 and now it is into the early 20th Century.

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Thursday, January 19, 2023 5:02 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by JAYNEZTOWN:
Walled Garden


. I think I scrolled too quick for this to load, so I missed it. Glad I caught it this time! Thanks ever so much for the lovely garden tour.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Thursday, January 19, 2023 5:09 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Er, IIRC you don't just take off a distributor cap and put it back on again. It has to be rotated to the right spot so that it makes the spark plus spark at the right moment in the ignition cycle. That's the sum total of my knowledge about distributor caps, and maybe even that's wrong.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Friday, January 20, 2023 1:13 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk in a bit. Dry right now.

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Friday, January 20, 2023 3:51 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Er, IIRC you don't just take off a distributor cap and put it back on again. It has to be rotated to the right spot so that it makes the spark plus spark at the right moment in the ignition cycle. That's the sum total of my knowledge about distributor caps, and maybe even that's wrong.



It's pretty easy-peasy on this one, at least as far as timing is concerned. There's two bolts. One on top and one on bottom, a bit cockeyed. You can only put it back on right side up or upside down. I don't know what would happen if you put it in upside down, but I'm not going to try it and tell you. Also, the rotor inside of it can only be put back in the exact position it was taken out.

My car seems to be much different than a lot of other cars when it comes to the whole distributor thing, so it was really hard to research and I couldn't even find a video that really applied directly to my situation. As far as timing is concerned, I think the only way I'd have to worry about that is if I were to remove the entire distributor and replace it. I'm hoping that I won't need to find that one out.

Unfortunately, the "common knowledge" that my car is super easy to work on didn't apply here. My cap is on the side of the engine and extremely hard to get at instead of facing upward and easy to access. I did manage to put it back together. Twice, actually. After I still had a misfire I decided to take it apart and try one more time. No dice. Normally you'd have to take apart a LOT of stuff for proper access to this thing, but I was able to fabricate some tools to do it, and because I have a good sense of touch I was able to unscrew and screw back in the bolt underneath that you couldn't even see from any angle.

But after doing this and changing the spark plugs, yet again, it isn't misfiring nearly as badly as it was before, and even after a few miles of local driving the check engine light hasn't come back on yet. Bad for trying to diagnose a problem, but super improvement from having the flashing light of death a few days ago. It's still no good though, and I can't drive it much other than trying to get it to throw a code for more info.


The cap and rotor were OG original with "Made in Japan" inside. That means they were more than a quarter of a century old.

I'm sure the wires are the same story, so that's the next thing to do. None of the auto parts stores carry these things in their store, so since I had to order them and have them shipped anyhow, I looked online and found an NGK set for almost half the price I could have gotten it for locally. But I can't do them now until mid-week next week when they arrive. Changing those out will be a cinch. Probably won't take me more than 5 minutes.

I did see evidence that they're not in great shape. By the distributor cap end a few of the plugs are malformed. This doesn't look like damage due to it being improperly sealed either. It looks like they may have melted a bit from overheating (maybe from all those attempts at trying to get the car to start a few weeks back).

If changing the wires doesn't work though, we might have a serious issue on our hands.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Friday, January 20, 2023 6:32 PM

BRENDA


Back from my walk on a almost Spring day. Fairly warm out. But I got all done for today.

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Friday, January 20, 2023 8:08 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Just got back from local driving. Light is back on and flashing again. :(

I did pick up the dialectic grease I need for the new wires when they come in though. Got some grocery shopping done and pretty much maxed out the free after rebate stuff through the first week of next month.

There was more to be had, but really... you've got to draw the line somewhere. Some of this stuff I wouldn't even know who to give it to, and why buy stuff that you're not ever going to use and is going to end up going to Goodwill even if it is free?

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but it was something like $191 worth of stuff that will cost me less than $21 after taxes. It was really good this time. Spent something like 11% of what it all would have cost. And that's not even including the savings from the sale prices that some of them already had before rebate. The percentage will probably will end up being only in the single digits once I figure it all out.



Power bill should be coming soon. Looking for a good laugh when I see how little I used this month. Can't wait for the energy report to see how I stacked up against the neighbors.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, January 21, 2023 8:44 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Power bill should be coming soon. Looking for a good laugh when I see how little I used this month. Can't wait for the energy report to see how I stacked up against the neighbors.



Speak of the Devil...

Those sons of bitches raised the price on gas again this month here. Still cheaper than in Illinois, but after they got theirs dropped by 1/3rds in January, the nickel or so it ticked up here is bringing us pretty close.

I still win though...

My gas usage was down 43% from last year. And that includes the entire 7-day cold snap from Christmas Eve through New Years from the bomb cyclone.

87 THERMS MUFUKAS!!!!!!!

That's only 10 more therms used than the mild month we had before, with an extra 4 days on the billing cycle.

Electric usage was down 7% too.

Bill was still just short of $200 which is a sin, but still $35 cheaper than last year.

But that means I'm up on them $31 so far for the winter over last year.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, January 21, 2023 7:05 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I'm waiting for our January gas bill. SoCalGas says expect more than double from last January.

Quote:

"Not The Weather": What's Behind California's Skyrocketing Natural Gas Bills

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/not-weather-whats-behind-californi
as-skyrocketing-natural-gas-bills


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, January 21, 2023 7:11 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Had a weird problem this AM: very low water flow at the kitchen sink. I thought maybe the valve was bungrd or the aerator was clogged, so I tried the laundry tub. There too! So I tried a hose bibb bc it's on a different shutoff. There too! So I checked the pressure gage at the demand water heater... hmm...20psi instead of the usual 60psi. So I looked for big gushing leaks up from the ground. Then I checked the water meter... no flow. No leak. So I thought maybe it was a bad meter but I texted a couple of neighbors. It wasn't just us. So I called the city water dept emergency phone #, and the first thing I heard was "**** Fire Department. Low water pressure?" "Yes" "It's affecting the whole city. The city is working on it".

Well! At least it's a problem I don't have to fix!!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, January 21, 2023 10:19 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I'm waiting for our January gas bill. SoCalGas says expect more than double from last January.



You're armed with the knowledge.

You could choose not to pay them double.

I did the math, and my bill would have been no less than $320 this month had I used the same energy as last year. So not only didn't they make $85 more off of me this month, but they got $35 less than they got from me last year. I only used 87 therms even with that week-long cold snap from the bomb cyclone and last year this month with 1 day less in the billing cycle I had used 159 therms.

Thanks assholes. You just paid for my car battery.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, January 21, 2023 10:22 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Had a weird problem this AM: very low water flow at the kitchen sink. I thought maybe the valve was bungrd or the aerator was clogged, so I tried the laundry tub. There too! So I tried a hose bibb bc it's on a different shutoff. There too! So I checked the pressure gage at the demand water heater... hmm...20psi instead of the usual 60psi. So I looked for big gushing leaks up from the ground. Then I checked the water meter... no flow. No leak. So I thought maybe it was a bad meter but I texted a couple of neighbors. It wasn't just us. So I called the city water dept emergency phone #, and the first thing I heard was "**** Fire Department. Low water pressure?" "Yes" "It's affecting the whole city. The city is working on it".

Well! At least it's a problem I don't have to fix!!



Ohhhh... Sounds like something happened to you like when the pipes burst on our block last year.

If they haven't issued you one, you should have gotten a boil notice. Hopefully you haven't drank any of that water in the meantime. I drank out of my coffee thermos all day after that happened and I only had about 10% water pressure to fill it up. Coffee gets hot, but it doesn't boil.

I was sick for DAYS after that. Hallucinating even at night. I remember semi-lucid moments while I was in between sleeping where I was convinced that I had cancer and that somebody intentionally did it to poison my water.

I hope they fixed it for you and none of you get sick Sigs.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Sunday, January 22, 2023 1:28 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Yeah, it was fixed by about 4PM. They never issued a boil water notice, and - stupidly- we DID drink water that day! Fortunately none of us got sick. I can't imagine what went wrong bc the FD said it was the whole city, which has several dozen wells (we even have one on our street) so it's not like there's only one source of water.

***

Been busy busy busy altho I get to the end of each day and I'd be hard-pressed, most days, to point to any one big thing that I've accomplished. But since I've been so busy I figure I'm getting SOMETHING done, just chipping away at multiple things bit by bit.

When I get past these "yapping Chihuahua" chores I can tackle a few bigger things.

A couple days ago I sprayed the weeds. Today I'm going to get that pocket reciprocating saw out again and do some more trimming/cutting down.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Monday, January 23, 2023 12:02 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Glad you didn't get sick.

By the time I got the boil order it would have been way too late anyhow. Lesson learned though... if my water pressure is 10% in my whole house, I'm not drinking any water until I call the city first.



Just got back from my buddy's house. Got all the new outlet covers up, then we mounted his TV and soundbar. We're making this man cave super efficient. Nothing is in the way of playing pool, and there will be enough room on the other side of the basement for some low profile recliners that we can move out of the way to the corners of the room when it's pool time.

He also bought some shelving that can be folded down to the walls or raised whenever the need arises, and he's going to get some nice coushoned bar stools to go along the walls underneath them. There's also going to be plenty of room on the side of the table to put a dartboard on the wall too.


Played a few games of pool before I left, then went back to my 46 degree house.

I suppose I should turn the temp up.... Just a little bit.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Monday, January 23, 2023 11:31 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I think I'm going to finish painting that piece of furniture today. My old man is coming to visit some time this week and I want to give it to him so it can get where it's going. Already borrowed a moving blanket from my friend for the task.

I just have to paint the bottom of it a few coats that I won't bother primering just to have the whole thing look really nice, even if you never seen the bottom, and do my intricate garnishes and a few minor touchups where the colors meet while I've got my artist brushes out.

I'm also going to rub soap on the bottom of the drawer and where it meets inside of the piece because the drawer is too big on all dimensions to install any proper slider hardware and it is quite sticky at the moment. I'm going to install a few brackets on the back/top/outside of the drawer as well that you'd have to "scoop" into place so the drawer wouldn't accidentally fall out if you pulled it too far.

I will have pictures to show of that piece when it's finished. I know the both of you are going to love it.



Then it's more re-org and cleanup. I've got to find places to start storing all that free stuff I've been accumulating until I get my rebates and start giving a lot of it away. At this point I could practically start opening up my own ebay store, so I'd better start giving the rest of the old stock away because I don't want to start hoarding again even it it is all new stuff in the package.


I can tell the temperature has dropped again. It's been less than 2 hours and my furnace kicked on twice now at 49 degrees. Two days ago that would have gone about 6 hours in between cycles.

That's alright. No huge bomb cyclones in the predictions, and even though it's set to get really cold for about 5-7 days by the end of this month into next month, it's nowhere near the cold we had on last bill. Plus it's probably going to be a bill for 5 or 6 less day than last months, so this time my goal is to finally have a February bill that is cheaper than the January bill.





--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Monday, January 23, 2023 2:15 PM

BRENDA


Checking from my local library. My internet is down. Went down Friday evening. Got to see about getting fixed.

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Monday, January 23, 2023 2:27 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hope you get it fixed soon, Brenda. :(


One coat left to go on the piece, then I can install the knob and the brackets, and get some feet protection on the bottom of it and soap up the drawer. I'm also going to put some small rubber bumpers on the back of the drawer so the paint doesn't stick to each other when the drawer's closed.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Monday, January 23, 2023 11:26 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Oh... My poor little car never stood a chance. :(

Well after learning what I learned tonight, it's now obvious that no... The distributor cap (and possibly the rotor as well) were not original from the factory. If they were, the electric leads inside of them wouldn't have been slathered with an ounce of dielectric grease each.

I'm not going to give whoever did that "repair" at least 15 years ago too much shit. YouTube was only a year old and had nothing but cat videos on it.

And here I am, this whole time, thinking that the dielectric grease not only kept water and contaminants out, but strengthened the electrical connection between two contact points as well.

WRONG!

Dielectric grease is an insulator. If you've got D-grease between the ass-end of your plugs and the wire kit, you've effectively blocked any electricity from getting to where it needs to spark in your engine. And, of course, if you do the same thing to your leads going into your cap, you've blocked those wires from sending the electricity to the plugs before it even even hit the wires.

Holy crap!

15 minutes worth of online searching and video watching just saved me from a catastrophe tomorrow.

I'm still going to have to figure out a good way to get any residual grease from the old wire kit out of my new cap before installing the wires tomorrow. I don't think there is too much in there, but you're not even supposed to put ANY on that side of the equation, so just a little bit is too much. I don't have any q-tips on hand, since the biggest thing you should ever be shoving in your ear is your elbow.



Maybe a neighbor has some. It's not as if I can drive to the store to get some myself right now.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2023 2:03 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Did It, Did It, Did IT, DID IT, DID IT, DONE!



Car's purring like a kitten now after swapping in the new wire kit!

Total cost was around $80, and that includes new spark plugs I probably didn't even need to replace.

She hasn't been this quiet in a decade or more. I bet my MPG even improves by 2 or 3 after all of this.





And now I've also got a few new tools in the tool box between my ears.






In other news, I really want to get the pictures of the piece of furniture I repaired and finished last night, but I'll have to see if I can get enough artifical light to take good pictures. Another cold, cloudy and miserable day outside, and I want a lot of light for the final snaps.

I'll see if I can arrange something while I'm putting together a shopping list. I want to get that car out and test drive it, but with the gas prices having gone up 80 cents again since my car stopped working I don't want to just drive around with no planned destination in mind.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2023 5:22 PM

BRENDA


I'm back. I went to a local office of my provider and they said it was fixed. Got home and it wasn't. So I unplugged the modem and replugged it in with nothing happening. I called the company and talked to someone there and when I turned back to the screen low and be hold I was back up and running. The person on the phone double checked it and said everything was fine.

No idea what went wrong but now I can get to my emails.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 4:33 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Did It, Did It, Did IT, DID IT, DID IT, DONE!



Car's purring like a kitten now after swapping in the new wire kit!

Total cost was around $80, and that includes new spark plugs I probably didn't even need to replace.

She hasn't been this quiet in a decade or more. I bet my MPG even improves by 2 or 3 after all of this.





And now I've also got a few new tools in the tool box between my ears.






In other news, I really want to get the pictures of the piece of furniture I repaired and finished last night, but I'll have to see if I can get enough artifical light to take good pictures. Another cold, cloudy and miserable day outside, and I want a lot of light for the final snaps.

I'll see if I can arrange something while I'm putting together a shopping list. I want to get that car out and test drive it, but with the gas prices having gone up 80 cents again since my car stopped working I don't want to just drive around with no planned destination in mind.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

WOOHOO!!! And CONGRATS!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 4:34 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I'm back. I went to a local office of my provider and they said it was fixed. Got home and it wasn't. So I unplugged the modem and replugged it in with nothing happening. I called the company and talked to someone there and when I turned back to the screen low and be hold I was back up and running. The person on the phone double checked it and said everything was fine.

No idea what went wrong but now I can get to my emails.

SOUNDS LIKE GOOD NEWS ALL AROUND!!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 5:09 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
WOOHOO!!! And CONGRATS!





Yeah. Only put about 20 or so miles on it so far. Drives real smooth, at least right now. I'm not celebrating anything yet though. This is like the 5th time since August that I thought my car was fixed, only to have something else go catastrophically wrong with it a week or three later.

In fact, my brake indicator came on recently, and my mechanic filled it with fluid while I was getting him to test it before I got the new battery a few weeks back. He said that could be normal and not to worry about anything yet. The light hasn't come back on since, but it probably won't be too long until I need the lines on the other side replaced given all the rust underneath the car.

Then there's the question of emissions. I don't have to have it pass for another year and a half or so, but putting lacquer thinner is out of the question next time with a nylon hose for a fuel line. What I'm hoping for right now is that all these fixes will give me a clean catalyst monitor check and that all the rough starts, flooded engines and cylinder misfires haven't destroyed the CAT.

If I can get a clean monitor by mid October, I can get it tested real early and pass the following year. Finger's crossed.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 1:27 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I'm back. I went to a local office of my provider and they said it was fixed. Got home and it wasn't. So I unplugged the modem and replugged it in with nothing happening. I called the company and talked to someone there and when I turned back to the screen low and be hold I was back up and running. The person on the phone double checked it and said everything was fine.

No idea what went wrong but now I can get to my emails.

SOUNDS LIKE GOOD NEWS ALL AROUND!!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




It is good news. I had an email that I had answered at the library then I had to get the reply so I could answer it again. It is someone giving me a hand with my writing.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 1:29 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk in a bit on a dry Wednesday. Couple of small things to do.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 1:31 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Welcome back, Brenda.

Having no internet outside of Winter doesn't bother me too much since I've usually got a whole lot of other things going on, but right now it's 49 degrees in my house and I'm not getting much done today other than cleaning my garage, moving clutter where it goes in the house and my inevitable trek outside today to shovel snow. I'd go bonkers tonight without it if it was out.

I'm going to save any deep cleaning in the kitchen and the bathroom for tomorrow when I'm already going to have the heat up to 60 for when my dad comes over. Assuming he is coming over... if it's snowing he won't be making it.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 4:26 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Welcome back, Brenda.

Having no internet outside of Winter doesn't bother me too much since I've usually got a whole lot of other things going on, but right now it's 49 degrees in my house and I'm not getting much done today other than cleaning my garage, moving clutter where it goes in the house and my inevitable trek outside today to shovel snow. I'd go bonkers tonight without it if it was out.

I'm going to save any deep cleaning in the kitchen and the bathroom for tomorrow when I'm already going to have the heat up to 60 for when my dad comes over. Assuming he is coming over... if it's snowing he won't be making it.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



I go batty without it in the evenings and especially when I was waiting on emails.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 4:28 PM

BRENDA


Back from my walk and at 1pm sat down to call someone who said she was free to talk about my writing. Tried calling her and all I got was "her box is disabled."

Will try this evening and tomorrow at 1pm again.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 5:33 PM

BRENDA


Finally got a hold of the person, I was suppose to connect with at 1pm at 1:20pm. The problem was on her end.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 11:16 PM

BRENDA


Off to mah jong in the morning for me.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 11:24 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Glad you finally got a hold of her, Brenda. Good luck at Mah Jong tomorrow.


I started my car up while I was out in the garage organizing things and throwing stuff I didn't need away. Didn't really have a reason to anymore, but it was just nice hearing how quiet she is now.



Old man's coming tomorrow. I was going to go to my friend's tomorrow night but turns out he and his wife are doing something with the kid, so we're going to hang out Friday night instead.

If the roads are dry tomorrow, which I doubt very much, I've got a big sale to go to... But there's no huge rush since I've got about 10 days as long as they don't sell out.

This time I'm going to be spending $100.34 and only be paying $8.56 for it after rebate.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 26, 2023 5:48 PM

BRENDA


Me too SIX. She wanted a little more background on my book before I get the complete manuscript to her then she will read it and help me craft a proposal. Then I will be back on the publisher hunt again.

Mah jong was terrible this morning. Took me the whole 2 hours to just get to 1,000points.

But I got my grocery shopping done. Then when I got in, I sat down and did some more work on my book. Ch 18 is done retyped and started Ch.19.

So, I good bit done on that.

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Thursday, January 26, 2023 6:52 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I wish you luck with your book, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 26, 2023 6:54 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Old man came by today. We had a great time.

Got my house cleaned up and organized before he stopped by, and had just enough time to do that shopping. He pulled up (early), about 30 seconds after I got back home. And my car is still running purrrrrrrrfectly.



I think I'll mostly relax the rest of the night and figure out what I'm going to do to pass the time before I hang out with my bud tomorrow night.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 26, 2023 9:53 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Well it seems like you guys have made, and are making, progress on your projects.

Me? It seems like I work all day, every day, but can only spare an hour here and there which isn't enuf time to get much done. I do spend a lot of time with the family, tho. Maybe that's where all the time is going.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Thursday, January 26, 2023 10:17 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well it seems like you guys have made, and are making, progress on your projects.

Me? It seems like I work all day, every day, but can only spare an hour here and there which isn't enuf time to get much done. I do spend a lot of time with the family, tho. Maybe that's where all the time is going.



You need some you time.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 26, 2023 11:11 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I wish you luck with your book, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Thanks but it's still a couple of months away from any serious publisher hunting.

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Friday, January 27, 2023 10:57 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I wish you luck with your book, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Thanks but it's still a couple of months away from any serious publisher hunting.



Before I blame my self-involvement for not knowing, have you shared what your book is about Brenda? If you don't want to share I understand, but I don't recall what it is you're writing about.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Friday, January 27, 2023 1:17 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I wish you luck with your book, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Thanks but it's still a couple of months away from any serious publisher hunting.



Before I blame my self-involvement for not knowing, have you shared what your book is about Brenda? If you don't want to share I understand, but I don't recall what it is you're writing about.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



You know something SIX. I don't remember if I have or not. I can talk about it. It's a murder mystery and it happens at a rodeo. The owner of the rodeo is murdered.

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Friday, January 27, 2023 1:19 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk on a dry day with the sun trying to shine. Couple of small things to do. Found out that I didn't do all the grocery shopping I needed yesterday. So have to finish doing that today.

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Friday, January 27, 2023 1:40 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I wish you luck with your book, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



Thanks but it's still a couple of months away from any serious publisher hunting.



Before I blame my self-involvement for not knowing, have you shared what your book is about Brenda? If you don't want to share I understand, but I don't recall what it is you're writing about.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



You know something SIX. I don't remember if I have or not. I can talk about it. It's a murder mystery and it happens at a rodeo. The owner of the rodeo is murdered.




JEEZ!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

J/K... I'm sure the mystery is whodunnit!

I wish the muse be with you.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Friday, January 27, 2023 1:45 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk on a dry day with the sun trying to shine. Couple of small things to do. Found out that I didn't do all the grocery shopping I needed yesterday. So have to finish doing that today.




We're having parallel days!

I realized that I bought 20lbs of screws yesterday that were all one size when there were two sizes that were free after rebate so I had to return half of them today and get 10lbs of both sizes.



Not a bad deal. $0.28 tax on each box instead of the $5.25 per box it would have been full price and without the rebates.

I did really great on that one. After taxes and the couple of bucks I had to pay for some cheap levels, I got just over $100 of stuff for less than 7 bucks. I think that's the best percentage I've had yet.


Took that opportunity to pick up a few other things I skipped last trip up there. I got 3 carpet knives with 2 blades each for a buck a piece (when a 5 pack of carpet blades alone costs $2.98 anyhow... so 1 free blade and 3 free knives!), and a few scraper sets and 125 sheets of various grit sandpaper. Didn't do nearly as well on that one, but after the rebates clear I'll have paid about $14 for $35 worth of stuff.




Don't know if I'll get to the post office to send them in today like I wanted to though. That was the only thing I planned to do errand wise today, but it started snowing hard on my way back and all that fresh salt is going to be out on the streets. Until I get the other two break lines replaced, I don't think I want to make them any more rusty than they already are.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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