09:13 – It was 30.4F (-1C) when when I took Colin out this morning, with light winds. Barbara is cleaning house this morning. This afternoon we’ll be doing more kit stuff, including filling a bunch of chemical bottles.
Barbara’s notebook is now happily running Linux, with all her data transferred over to it. The system is noticeably snappier with the SSD and Linux than it ever was with Windows. She’s just happy that it works, as am I.
* * * * *
Raining and cool (62F) here. Blew away my plans for the weekend, which all involved outdoor activities.
The very general national weather outlook maps distributed with my daily FEMA activity brief worked very well this week. They were certainly good enough considering that my idea of weather forecasting is “what’s it like out? Gotta work in it? Ok then.” They only do 3 days out, and they were accurate for us. The next few days have some specific rainfall numbers, so we’ll see if that is right or not.
Their space weather forecasts have been almost universally wrong. I only noticed ONE correct prediction in the last few months. I don’t know if this is a problem with them, or with forecasting in general.
Locally my HF reception has been noisy and weak in general for the last week or more. Noise floors are generally rising worldwide, and it’s a real problem for HF comms. (which is why FEMA does a space weather forecast.)
n
Someone mentioned at the last local RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) that digital modes will work over HF when analog modes won’t. Also, he said that’s one of the reasons CW (Morse code) is still so popular.
Finished the wedding in Blanco Texas at the old courthouse. It was raining and thus required pictures and ceremony indoors. Bummer as the bride wanted an outdoor wedding and all the plans were to support an outdoor wedding. But everything went OK.
The pictures I took are at the following link for those are curious or bored:
http://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/Brown
12 here now and 6 tonight; but sunny w/blue skies and a very gentle breeze.
Mrs. OFD off to Moh-ree-all to swap cars; third time’s a charm, I guess.
I’ve made some progress cleaning out the cellar and setting up more food and wotta storage. If the week warms up as predicted, I’ll knock off some more stuff outside.
Great pics, Mr. Ray, as usual. I like the guys’ suits. Cowboy hats de rigeur, eh?
Looked like a pretty good feed, too. Why wasn’t I invited??
Why wasn’t I invited??
You mean you did not get the invitation I sent you. Must have used that UPS address that no one can find when I addressed the envelope.
Great pics, Mr. Ray, as usual
Thanks. A restrictive environment as no good backdrops and locations as we were restricted to inside.
One of my strobes blew, as in sparks, bang, magic smoke. Fried for good. Something shorted out and smoked most of it along with that high voltage discharge. That is why I carry two of everything. Now I have to buy a new flash, about $600 for the unit I want.
Cowboy hats de rigeur, eh?
Texas hill country where pickups and cowboy boots are considered upscale.
Re HF digital modes, yeah, one more thing on the project list…. I’ve got all the stuff, just not enough time.
A texas wedding and not a single “sunday gun” in evidence. Hmmm. Pie for cake was an interesting alternative. It’s nice to see some of the stricter traditions loosen up.
n
Another fun game is living in a city whose name won’t fit into some people’s allowed field size in their database. The the USPS’s database won’t recognize however they chose to abbreviate ‘West Downtownchicagoland Heights’ .
Pie for cake was an interesting alternative
When the brother of the bride got married there was no wedding cake, just several different kinds of pies. Several weddings I have attended, my son’s included, had no cake but cupcakes. Seems to be trend for some weddings, forgoing the traditional cake for something different. I personally like the cupcakes rather than cake.
I know how that goes, I don’t have any HF stuff yet, analog or digital, but I never seem to have the time for the stuff I do have.
Just finished our first “science experiment” with the kids.
They heard there was lead in the water at school and didn’t want to drink it. I told them to collect some samples and we’d test it. So the 7yo did.
Today we set up to test. Had to use the surface lead test kit @$9 which is designed for very high concentrations, much higher than we’d be able to see in water, so it was a bit of a scam on the kids. Still, it let us practice ‘science’ and the wife will collect a sample to be sent away to a lab for testing later. (it was in the news that HISD had lead in their water, our school buildings are from about the same time periods, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find lead.)
Took the sample, put it in graduated sample tubes, in the tube rack. Concentrated the sample 2x and 4x by boiling off the water over an alcohol burner. Cracked the reagent, put a drop in each concentration, observed for changes. Thankfully there were none. If there was enough lead for that test kit to work we’d of been F’d!
We wore full PPEs, lab coats, splash goggles, and gloves for the second stage.
As a bonus, we tested ‘lead’ pencils for lead, and tested actual lead weights and pellets as a control and so that they’d see some change in the reagent.
The only thing I had to buy was the test kit. I had collected all the other stuff already- kid size splash goggles, tyvek lab coats (had to cut the sleeves down), sample tubes and tube rack, and the spirit lamp. I used fishing weights and air gun pellets for the control sample.
Fun times, talking about the process, testing our hypothesis, talking about our results, gearing up…
nick
Good for you.
Bravo. I want to do things like this with our daughter. Please feel free to share any further experiments.
Yeah, good deal there, Mr. Nick. Outstanding. Hats off!
I suspect that RBT and I and a few others here did a bunch of our own experiments the further away from parental supervision the better.
Roger that! When my son was about 12 and interested in electronics, we worked on soldering up a Heathkit VTVM. Later, he earned a MSEE.
Finished the wedding in Blanco Texas at the old courthouse.
If you are still in the area tomorrow, the Blue Bonnet Diner in Marble Falls is worth the side trip. They are closed on Sundays IIRC.
They are best known for their pies … if you can tolerate eating more. Maybe it is a Hill Country thing.
@cowboyslim,
I don’t remember exactly when, but it was probably around 7th grade, I completed a heathkit weather station for my orthodontist. He’d gotten frustrated and run out of time, so gave it to me to build. I first had to check every step he’d done, then finish. Great project with lots of thru hole soldering.
As I’m cruising sales now, I come across vintage heathkit gear all the time. Whether it’s old radios or test gear, there’s a bunch out there. The problem is, did the first guy do a good job? did it EVER work? So usually, I move on…not really needing more projects for the list.
Heathkit did a great deal to get gear into the hands of those with limited budgets, and teach them something as well.
n
Have you met the Emperor?
https://straightlinelogic.com/2017/03/05/the-ruler-of-the-world-by-robert-gore/
Forget billions, trillions…blah, blah, blah. Now we’re into quadrillions. Boggles my non-mathematical mind and then some.
There is no way out of this. Chickens are gonna come home to roost like never before.
I’ve done a lot of science with the kids over the years, most with stuff around the house or cheaply purchased.
– Inclined planes: get a sensitive pull spring scale a handful of rolling toys of different weights, and boards that you can make into ramps of different angles. Weigh the toys on a straight lift, then measure the force to pull it up different ramps.
– Pulleys: much the same. 50′ of clothesline and a handful of pulleys, plus a weight and a scale. Measure force and amount of rope pulled to lift the weight a fixed distance.
– Filtering: run sugar water through a paper filter and taste the resulting water and the filter. Repeat for salt water.
– Temperature decline: heat up a cast iron griddle or skillet in the oven, then set it out where it can cool. Measure the air temperature and the griddle temperature every minute. Plot the result. (Note: the results we got from this were nowhere near a proper exponential decline. I suspect the thermometer, an ordinary consumer model, wasn’t accurate enough, but never looked into it.)
– Gyroscopes: spin them up, then see how easy or hard it is to move or rotate in different directions. Guesstimate how this varies based on revolution speed.
– Quite a lot on the way the eyes and the visual cortex work: tachistoscopes, home-made slit viewers for animated drawings, color trickery, development of visual purple and night vision, and so on.
Just a heads up, Safecastle has Mountain House on sale, 33%off. I haven’t compared the final price, ‘cuz I’m not really in the market, but if you are, take a look—
http://www.safecastle.com/30-year-cans.aspx
n
http://www.raymondthompsonphotography.com/Brown/content/P3040514_large.html
I like the bride’s boots… 🙂
And there goes another wacky week of world insanity…
http://takimag.com/article/the_week_that_perished_takimag_march_5_2017/print#axzz4aU5jToi4
Just when you think they can’t get any more divorced from reality….
Personal slow day for me. Between the rain precluding outdoor work, and the inner ear infection combined with the meds for it wiping me out mentally and physically, I’m just not getting anything done today.
Every time I think “Hey I’ll get a bunch of stuff done on X day” I get clobbered with something else.
Even mindless work like breaking down the pickup load of tech I am taking to the scrapper is a bit too much. I almost took off the tip of another finger yesterday on a sharp piece of metal. Steristrips to the rescue again. And no working with tools while on powerful meds…..
n
quick note on the economics of thrifting (or yardsale -ing)
yesterday on the way to the post office, I made a quick stop at a yard sale. Picked up for resale- kubota tractor oil filter, kubota v-belt, and remote control switch for a deer feeder @ $1 each. Each one sells on ebay for ~$30. All new in box.
One stop, 5 minutes, $3, and I should make $75 easy.
There is money everywhere, laying on the ground for the taking. Just pick it up…
n
ADDED- so I spent $75 on cans of FD food….
“Personal slow day for me.”
Hey I’m more worthless than you. Wicked slow day here. Wife is organizing chit in her studio. I’m doing nothing. Two days of hauling chit around in an awkward position in the cellar (see hobbit physiognomy as attempted by an orc) kinda took the piss and vinegar out of me. And speaking of piss, the BP meds make me go about a hundred times a day. While the Gabapentin makes my mouth and tongue dry as dust. Get the picture?
“There is money everywhere, laying on the ground for the taking. Just pick it up…”
You’ve been at it a while and can recognize all kinds of deals like that. I should make more of an effort to hit gun and tool auctions and related sales, but we also don’t have the population and activity you’ve got down there. I get the Firearms News which used to be Shotgun News and make note of gun shows in the greater AO, i.e., northern New England and north-country New York. I need to get off my ass and look at stuff that I know something about myself.
Well, this week I’ll be off my ass and getting out into meatspace, with the selectboard meeting, the Town Meeting Day, the gun club, and the town development committee meeting.
Anything New In Box that isn’t chinese mass produced junk is worth looking at.
In this case, I’ve been working on my auction lawn tractor, and every little thing on it costs about $25 when it doesn’t cost $100….
I’d be willing to bet you’ve got some awesome farm auctions and estate sales out there in the country. Don’t know where they’d be listed, local paper? Notice board at the supermarket?
Hitting a yard sale on your way somewhere else is quick and easy.
Hitting a pawn shop on the way somewhere takes a bit more time, but can yield higher margins. I haven’t sold it yet, but I picked up a Panduit label maker on the clearance table for $20 that I have listed for $400. It’s in great working condition, but not something the patrons of that shop would be likely to buy. So it sat until they dumped it. I’ll drop the price soon and should still clear a couple of hundred. Not bad for 15 minutes killing time while my truck was getting smogged next door.
n
I have to admit, I’ve lost money on the guns I bought to [keep for a while and enjoy but was forced to] sell. I overpaid so much for one really nice ar that it’s still in the safe.
n
A sunk cost is a sunk cost.
@nick – I do enjoy hearing about your finds, but selling on eBay, CraigsList, etc. gives me the heebie jeebies. Too many stories of buyer scamming and eBay wants too much access to your bank accounts.
So what is the real world of eBay? You must have some good/real advice for us that is not included in “eBay for Dummies”. Beyond the obvious of taking good pictures and accurate descriptions. There seems to be some important/fine points of setting up your “business” that are really going to make or break your business.
“Hitting a yard sale…”
“Hitting a pawn shop…
Yard sales here from late spring, such as it is, into the fall, maybe. You’ve got summer all year long down there. Summer here is the July 4th weekend.
No pawn shops in this county that I know of and none listed in the Champlain Valley Yellow Pages.
I’ll check farm and estate sales, but again, we don’t have the population to support all that kinda stuff on a regular basis, plus the climate. And even the majority of the gun shows, believe it or not, are down in MA and over in NY.
In general, I’m not likely to find the number and variety of interesting items to pick up in my travels and re-sell online or wherever, that someone in a more populous area might have. I will look into it further, but am also working on some other revenue generators in the meantime.
“I like the bride’s boots… ”
I’m going here tomorrow to get a pair just like that!
http://www.bootbarn.com/Western-Boots/Western%20Boots,default,sc.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAi-_FBRCZyPm_14CjoyASJAClUigO-Q1TGuYEhKWhP8jgsJW3dvNpsGxyOBeGj52RXIh46RoC-Gbw_wcB&prefn1=gender&prefv1=Men&srule=Popularity&cm_mmc=PPC-_-Google-_-c-_-69969955&ef_id=UzipGwAABYdLs7hH:20170305234457:s
I have a Champion generator. 3500 watts. Bright yellow. My bad, it has set, covered, for almost a year in the boat shed. We always run it dry.
Last week it would run just a hair off of full choke and die after a few minutes. We were working on the gate to replace the opener and cutting off excess bolts with the angle grinder. Not a huge deal, but a pain in the backside. A hacksaw is always an option.
Today I pulled the carb and did little. The float bowl and valve are clean. I can’t get into where I recall being where the check valve BB goes…. er, the jet, the screw is staked… and thinking on it, the last carb I rebuilt had the option of “fixing” the carb so it can’t be adjusted. Because California or or something. It runs better now. I blew out a few tiny specks of black stuff out or my hand was dirty with specks that look like rubber. It now runs with the choke open.
Still runs out of gas. Let it sit for 20 minutes and it will run for about 2 minutes.
There is something wrong w/ the shut off valve. I’ve had it off of the tank, worked it with bread twister wire and then some thicker wire. Not much point though… it looks like a ball valve with the in and out offset, the valve stem must have a groove or be hollow. Clear as mud?
With the fuel line disconnected, the valve doesn’t pee enough to break surface tension… the gasoline dribbles out and off of the bowl. Guys, if this happens to you, you have to take a shower. Where other shut off valves have screws, this looks like they left a stud and then crimped it like a rivet.
It’s been suggested to pull the valve and blow it out with compressed air. Uh, no. Valve has a filter screen I can’t figure how to remove. It’s not trash from the gas tank… which has a screen to catch the trash from your gas can. I think the seal(s) in the valve have rotted from ethanol.
Ok, I can replace the valve or replace it with a nipple for a fuel line and use a Briggs & Stratton shut off valve in the fuel line. Either work for me. I think the nipple will be better long term.
Well, better now than when the power goes out and I really need the generator to run.
Fun times, talking about the process, testing our hypothesis, talking about our results, gearing up…
Cool !
@nick – I do enjoy hearing about your finds, but selling on eBay, CraigsList, etc. gives me the heebie jeebies. Too many stories of buyer scamming and eBay wants too much access to your bank accounts.
I keep a separate bank account for things like EBay and the stock broker. Right now, the account is at Columbia Credit Union in Vantucky. Guess I should move it one of these days, but WA State isn’t California … yet.
@dadcooks,
I never looked at the dummies book, but it’s pretty straightforward. There are some common sense things that help. There are a ton of youtube vids by guys that do it for a living, craigslist hunter is pretty interesting to watch. Most of the rest are not.
The biggest trick is finding stuff people want, and that you can get good valuation. The old advice of buying low and selling high still applies.
After that good pictures are the best sellers. It took me a while to realize I needed to get a good pic IN THE CAMERA, so I wouldn’t have to spend any extra time messing with it. Get as close as you need to, make sure it’s bright. I use a beige roller shade as my backdrop, which works for most stuff, and rolls up out of the way. I make sure to expose on the dark part of the object, and sometimes move the exposure slider even after that. Bright! You want bright. About all I want to do on ebay is crop, or rotate. Craigslist doesn’t have any photo tools, so get the right pix in the camera or you’ll waste time in editing pix.
There are a couple of schools of thought too, wrt sourcing. Some concentrate on volume- make $20 on each item, sell a bunch. Some only want more expensive items so they don’t have to pack and ship so much. I’ve found that lately $20-40 sells well, more than that it better be a really good deal or unique item.
What works well is multiples of the same item. Make the listing once, sell again and again. I’ve got some radio cables, antennas, microscope parts, straps, and some other things that sell slowly but steadily. It only works with identical items though.
Some people have found that selling new in box stuff thru amazon is easier and pays better. One thing is that you ship all the crap to AZN at once. Not having to ship each piece is great but you give up the ability to set price or terms.
I sell a mix of stuff I source from sales, estate or yard, or sometimes auctions, and the surplus stuff I’m buying from local agencies and school districts. It’s a strange mix of industrial stuff, and vintage or household items. I’m at the sales anyway looking for preps and stuff that fits with my “live better for less” motto, so when I see stuff to resell, I grab that to pay for the other stuff I keep. The industrial and commercial stuff is what pays the bills. With some fun exceptions!
I got a coordinate measuring machine (arm for inputting dims of real objects in 3d space) at an estate sale. Made around $1000 on that iirc. I got a lamp made by a popular artist who does mostly seascape sculptures for next to no money at a thrift store, and made hundreds on that. I recognized that it was good stuff, but didn’t recognize the artist. Took some research to value it.
Lately I’ve passed up items I could have made money on but the value to volume ratio wasn’t good enough. High value, small items store much better than big items. I had to work thru 2 pallets of an item in the last couple months. Sold well at 5-8x markup, but 40 items filled my driveway. Fitting in a flat rate box is best! (although craigslist hunter encourages sellers not to overlook big or bulky if the money is there.)
I’ve heard stories about ripoffs both on craigslist and on ebay. I’ve only been hit by one scammer in 10+ years and ebay eventually caught up with the guy and reversed it. (and it was for speakers, which I won’t sell anymore. Speakers bring out the flakes.) Bad feedback was the only down side for me. Craigslist takes a bit more caution, as you are meeting face to face and exchanging cash. There have been horror stories about armed robbery and murder. I’m always armed when meeting buyers. I try to get a phone number, and talk to them more than once. If it doesn’t feel right, I’m not available. That said, the only time I was really nervous was when I expected one guy to come for a welding machine, and 4 guys got out of the car. I put the sale item in the driveway so they don’t come in or see into the garage, and I lock the house so they can’t get in without going thru me. Now I also get their vehicle and license plate on camera, and can mention that if I feel like it.
The best way to avoid issues on craigslist seems to be “Don’t sell the stuff the thieves want”, like Iphones and laptops. Craigslist is where I put stuff I don’t want to ship or pack.
Some other hints, be as accurate in your listing as possible. If there are flaws, list them. Get photos of any defects and list them. You can put appropriate keywords in you listing, don’t make the title a cluster. Titles should be descriptive and include model number. Most people will search for your item, or have it recommended when they search for something similar. I don’t think people are just browsing ebay at random.
I take returns. Some people don’t. Unless I’m selling “as is” parts or repair, I take returns. Sometimes, you get the feeling the buyer is lying, so I ask for specific pictures or offer the method I used to test. That stops the nonsense. Sometimes, there is something wrong, and I’ll ask if the item has any value to the buyer as it is. Usually they’ll ask for a discount to repair or compensate for the defect. I always just do it if the defect is legit. Sometimes I’ll ask them to return the item, but usually I just ask them to destroy it and send me pix. That sometimes puts an end to their game too. You can usually feel when someone is angling for an “after the sale discount” vs a real problem. Real problems I make right as quickly and easily as possible. If I get that feeling, and I have margin, I might acquiesce, otherwise I use the techniques above.
So what sells? And how do you price? Those are the mysteries. In the beginning, stick with what you know. Do you have a hobby? Or a collection? Then you’ve already got some knowledge and background, and sourcing will be more fun. Can you leverage knowledge from your work? I know a lot about projectors and av equipment. There’s not much money in the used gear though, since there is a crapton of it out there. I can recognize an obscure high end brand though, that someone else might not see.
Some ‘spaces’ are very crowded and you’ll be paying a premium to buy and face competition when you sell. Vintage japanese electronics from the 60s and 70s fit this description. Sansui audio gear for example sells well but now there are lots of people that know that even if they don’t know anything about the gear.
Camera gear has very little margin. Especially old gear. If you don’t get it super cheap, and can’t fix it and test it, stay away.
If you have specialized knowledge, or skills, there is probably something you can focus on buying or selling.
Unless you want to specialize in fixing stuff, stay away from projects. Don’t be worried about a missing power supply, or a knob, or some other easy to get thing, but don’t buy old tube radios unless you are restoring them, or selling them on (cheaply) to restorers. (for example) That said, restoring old radios can pay pretty well…
I got started buying stuff for my own use and selling on the extras and leftovers. Then I started buying specifically to sell to offset my purchases. Now, I’m looking for at least a part time living from it, and skimming off the good stuff for myself.
Buying and pricing… I always try to check sold listings on ebay before buying. I see tons of stuff at estate sales and pawnshops selling for more than the identical item on ebay, where it has a guarantee and returns. I want to get multiples of my purchase price when I resell to cover costs and hassles, so I’m smarter about buying something for $10 that sells for $20. Unless you are doing big dollar items, doubling your money isn’t really enough (unless you get super high volume.) I’ll still do it sometimes, esp if it’s an item I like or want myself.
Selling, well, go a bit under the other listings, or offer better terms, or have a more attractive listing. List with “best offer” so people can let you know your prices are out of line. You don’t HAVE to take their offer. I usually do if it’s reasonable/the item has been listed a while/it’s bulky and I need the space/I’ll make money but not as much as hoped. Low offers the first day are a good sign it will sell well if you wait.
There are other places to sell that I don’t have any experience with. Seems that a lot of selling has moved to Facebook. There is also an app called “Offer Up.” I’ve seen it but don’t use it. Our area has several FB “trading groups” that are very local and specialized. Kidstuff, building materials, luxury goods, but they have strict standards for what you can list. They also have the online yard sale for crappier stuff.
I’m currently doing a good part time income and I can increase that will increased listings. That seems to be the best way to actually sell– list a bunch of stuff every week.
nick
(maybe I should clean up and expand this for a post. I’ve been kicking the idea around for a while anyway….)
@nick – thanks a million for your thorough guide, you have once again gone above and beyond in a short period of time. I am looking forward to you creating a “post”, but in the meantime I need to get off the line and get my bank account set up and then get my eBay and PayPal accounts set up as a seller and not just a buyer.
Like greg N, I use the bank account the paypal is tied to just to pay bills. There is rarely much money in it. I’ve never had an issue with paypal taking inappropriate funds, or delaying, except when a buyer used an electronic check and they just delayed until the check cleared. I do leave any larger payments in there until after the item return phase is over so if I have to refund the money is there.
I usually sweep the paypal account into the BofA account whenever there is $500 or more above my ‘minimum’. I like to have about $500 or a little more in the paypal to use when I want to buy something. Some of my online surplus auctions even take paypal.
All in all, I have had good experiences with it, and it is a nice supplementary income as well as a way to finance my own purchases.
nick
One thing, it might be a bit tough to get started. Most buyers and sellers look at the number of completed transactions you have and your feedback.
sellers might not trust you and scammers might be more motivated to take advantage.
You’ll need to be careful and helpful, and alert.
nick
What Mr. DadCooks said; thanks, Mr. Nick.
I’ll probably be focusing on stuff I know something about and through several venues. Once I get going with it, I’ll post my findings here, too.
This is a whole different ballgame up here.
Sorta related: A smartypants lefty shitbird writer for the local commie rag made a big production of going out and setting up to buy an AR rifle from a guy down in Burlap. The deal was cash and they met in a parking lot somewhere. The writer thought this was mindboggling stuff, and just horrible to contemplate, of course, and ran right over to the Burlap PD and turned it in to them and then wrote his little anti-gun screed. “How easy it is to buy an assault rifle!”
Sure. We have no gun laws to speak of in this state; strictly speaking the ATF paperwork shoulda been filled out, etc. But this kinda deal goes down every day somewhere in this country, if not hourly, or every minute.
“strictly speaking the ATF paperwork shoulda been filled out, ”
not in most states, for private party sales.
n
added, right?
https://www.nrablog.com/articles/2016/3/buying-and-selling-a-firearm-private-sales-explained/
https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/vermont/
And us Yankees recognize yer TX permits:
https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/texas/
I was outta line on how I phrased that ATF paperwork comment; I’ve been filling out a bunch of it myself lately and was thinking about serial numbers and Ghost Gunner stuff. IIRC, the seller sold that AR to the commie reporter for $500. And said reporter knew/knows jack-shit about ARs or probably any other kinda firearm.
And here’s some late Sunday night/early Monday AM reading on all our fake nooz for the past thirty years:
http://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=9758
I’ll see your power outage and raise you a cyberwar:
https://risky.biz/20170306/
We are being played.
Six ways from Sunday.
At home and abroad.
We got somewhere between three and four inches of rain today. 67 F now at 11 pm. Another inch of rain yesterday.
I’ve got 1.9o on my digital rain gauge, and another 1.25 on the manual. Somewhere between the digital and the sum, is the truth in my driveway. Which is a bit surprising.
the NOAA forcast called for over 2 inches of rain and I didn’t believe it. Well, here we are….
n
Raining in Texas and raining missiles near Japan now…
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/uhhhh/
The 25,000 gallon concrete pond in the backyard caught five inches of water between yesterday and today. It overflowed sometime this afternoon. I need to add a french XXXXXX freedom drain to the backyard as there was four+ inches of standing water at the back fence for a while.
@nick
Thanks for the eBay info.
I think I’ll continue to pass on that, but it’s good to think about it,
even with lots of assorted junk that would be good to liquidate.
It sure ain’t as bad as the Shaklee (not unlike Amway) foof
an acquaintance tried to sell me, having to recruit one victim
at a time.
I like stock trading for some extra money, for well-arranged,
fairly safe deals with hundreds or millions of others, for neatly
negotiated prices.
…
Oh, but… Sansui? Really? I loved my old 40w x 2 receiver well
enough to still have it, but whichever scratchy potentiometer
(or selector switch) long ago made it impossible to use.
I miss the days and nights of destroying my hearing while
earthquake testing this old house!
The local police department set up a Craigslist sale meeting spot just outside the police station. It features a street sign the size of a No Parking sign with their phone number on it. At first I didn’t get it, but like a lot of ideas it has grown on me.
A family friend once told me he has two computers, one for general surfing and one for sign in to sites where the security really matters. At first I thought, “that’s a little paranoid.” After a little time though, it has reached the “that’s a very good idea” stage.
Smart Kids Are Being Held Back
No, really? Knock me over with a feather.
Yup, Sansui. All the jap stuff except Sony, unless it’s REALLY early, sells well. Some of it astonishingly well. British turntables sell briskly too, but pricing is all over the place.
I keep thinking one of these days I’ll walk into a sale and there will be one of those turntables with the 6 inch granite slab as the base, and it will be marked $20 ‘cuz it’s so heavy…..
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The stupid kids are being held back too.
Here in Smallville, one of the teachers has been tutoring a group of kids on her own time. Half of them are slow and trying to learn, the others just don’t care. Teacher is tired of doing this on her own time and accomplishing little because half the kids are disruptive. So she’s going to stop tutoring all the kids rather than tell half the parents that she’s tired of tutoring their kids on their own time.
Cowboy Slim wrote:
“I’m going here tomorrow to get a pair just like that!”
I can’t fit into boots like them – my feet are too broad. Tried boots once with a zip – they were a disaster. But I do like these…
https://portphillipshop.com.au/b530y-the-yearling-boot-by-rm-williams-20732.html?gclid=CIrXyLmgxNICFYGZvAodmPsBNA
I have a dozen or so pairs of R. M. Williams (may peace and blessings be upon him) elastic sided boots like them. Various colours, leathers, etc. Some are wedding, Sunday best or job interview grade, some are fit only to be worn working in the garden, and many in between.