What R you doing today?

[winemaker81]

I'll be going to town once I get the truck thawed. -16 Canadian today. We've had a couple days of steady flurries. She's here to stay!

At 5:15 AM my wife & I were outside watching the lunar eclipse. (don't ask why, Mrs. WM81 wanted to see it and I was already awake, mother $&#*ing time change). I wore shorts and a tank top ....

I grew up in Upstate NY ... been in NC for 30 years ... I do NOT voluntarily do snow ...

 

[ceeaton]

I have been contacting you guys from the early 2000's with blazing rural internet speeds that will load an image a day. I bit the bullet and ordered Starlink after a few dismal days of pitiful service. Its at the depot in town, so off i go.

Congrats on the StarLink. My younger brother has it up at our cabin, we've been getting at times 100Mb up and down. Our issues are the 1000' canyon walls on either side. Still, it's worth the money since we are in the middle of nowhere, or at least as much as you can get in northcentral PA. No city lights for sure, no cell service unless you bounce your signal off the northern canyon rock face, lol (and have AT&T as your carrier). And the best thing is that it handles the dropouts gracefully, more numerous in the summer with trees in full leaf, notice it much better now that fall has fallen.

If you don't have rough terrain nearby, you will be very happy with the hookup I bet.

 

[Boatboy24]

Do be aware, they just announced today that if you use over 1 TB of data in a month, your speed will be degraded.

A TB in a month!!?? That's insane.

 

[cmason1957]

A TB in a month!!?? That's insane.

Probably plenty for most folks. I routinely download 50-100 Gb database files, at least three to for times a week. But I realize I'm special.

 

[vinny]

Congrats on the StarLink purchase and installation. Do be aware, they just announced today that if you use over 1 TB of data in a month, your speed will be degraded.

"This announcement comes off the back of a recent article by ArsTechnica, showing that Starlink's median download speed has dropped to 62Mbps in Q2 of 2022 as the network struggles under the load of increased subscriber numbers,"

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/11/07/226237/starlink-is-getting-daytime-data-caps

Thanks, I did get the notice right after I ordered. Not sure what my usage is, couple hundred gigs at best I would think. Dinner pics on WMT and a movie before bed on top of some daily browsing. Pretty minimal.

 

[vinny]

I do NOT voluntarily do snow

Do you think I do? If I could control the weather, I tell ya, it wouldn't be snowing!

 

[winemaker81]

Do you think I do? If I could control the weather, I tell ya, it wouldn't be snowing!

I ran away from snow. Well, for the most part. Winter is central NC is not winter as you or I know it. While we have 4 seasons, I've had years where I mowed the lawn at least once each month. In a few years, I mowed the lawn more in December and January, as we were in a drought and in August I mowed dirt and weeds.

OTOH, summers can be brutal. I got good at sweating.

 

[vinny]

I ran away from snow. Well, for the most part. Winter is central NC is not winter as you or I know it. While we have 4 seasons, I've had years where I mowed the lawn at least once each month. In a few years, I mowed the lawn more in December and January, as we were in a drought and in August I mowed dirt and weeds.

OTOH, summers can be brutal. I got good at sweating.

I moved to Alberta from the lower mainland. Born in Vancouver and lived in the surrounding area and moved to Alberta 12 years ago. Vancouver only has 2 seasons, summer and rain. With the occasional snowfall that will turn the place into a circus. I really enjoy having 4 distinct seasons, although winter could be a little shorter.

I've always said I would take a colder winter over blistering hot summers. You can always put on another layer in the winter, but you can't get any more naked when you are drenched in sweat.

The plan was to get a winter home somewhere south, but currently the world is still a bit too whacky for my comfort, so we are holding our cards. There is no way I am permanently moving. I built the property right from clearing the trees. Every building, shelter, water line, sewer line, electrical and all. There are a lot of materials and tools acquired over a long term project. Then add in the home based business.

I have no interest in dealing with all that stuff. That miserable job with be the admittance fee for my inheritors!

 

[Darrell Hawley]

I'll be going to town once I get the truck thawed. -16 Canadian today. We've had a couple days of steady flurries. She's here to stay!

I have been contacting you guys from the early 2000's with blazing rural internet speeds that will load an image a day. I bit the bullet and ordered Starlink after a few dismal days of pitiful service. Its at the depot in town, so off i go.

Then onto the snow covered roof for an install... I could have definitely timed that better. At least its shingled and not tin!

View attachment 95017

Vinny, look on the bright side, YOU get to start your "ICE WINE" before anybody else here in the USA.

 

[winemaker81]

I've always said I would take a colder winter over blistering hot summers. You can always put on another layer in the winter, but you can't get any more naked when you are drenched in sweat.

That's pretty much what I say -- I can always put on more clothes, but there is a limit to what I can take off without being arrested.

For us, moving out of NY was a given. NY has been hemorrhaging jobs for 40+ years, so staying wasn't a good option. Central NC had a building job base, so it became our destination, and it's been a good one. However, I wouldn't feel bad about moving 50 miles NW as the higher elevation has more moderate weather, even if I'd have to deal with some snow.

 

[ceeaton]

However, I wouldn't feel bad about moving 50 miles NW as the higher elevation has more moderate weather, even if I'd have to deal with some snow.

My older brother wasn't quite in the mountains, he was in Winston-Salem when in med school (Bowman Gray-Wake Forest). They would get an occasional snow and like Vinny said in Vancouver, the circus commenced. My brother said the med school hospital emergency room would just fill up with car accident victims. The idea that it might take longer to actually stop in snow was a foreign concept to the natives.

He'd escape just west to the mountains and there were a few places he could trout fish. I think he liked the area while he was there, I loved to visit, very beautiful.

 

[winemaker81]

My brother said the med school hospital emergency room would just fill up with car accident victims. The idea that it might take longer to actually stop in snow was a foreign concept to the natives.

Based upon 30 years of living here, the native North Carolineans are NOT the problem. It's folks from northern climates who believe the situation is what they grew up with, who are the problem.

Central NC does not have the snow treatment equipment, and if we did, our personnel does not have the experience, and won't get the experience as the instances are too infrequent. Practice makes perfect, and we don't get the consistent practice (not that I'm complaining!).

I grew up in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains of NY, and we'd get a foot of snow at a time. School buses arrived on schedule, 'cuz this was normal. Snow would be in the air and the trucks would already be out. It was normal.

I recall one year I was commuting 26 miles to a community college. First snow of the year, we had 26 cars in the ditch during my commute before 7AM. The number sticks in my mind as there was 1 car per mile. Folks forget to slow down, and pay the price.

A week later we had another snow dump (in NY terms, that's 6 to 12 inches), and there were a dozen cars in the ditches. A week later after another dump, there were zero cars in the ditch. It takes folks a bit to wake up, but they get with the program and it's business as usual. Even natives who should be used to the situation, take time to get their heads on straight.

For those with 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive, keep in mind that neither means "all wheel stop".

 

[ceeaton]

For those with 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive, keep in mind that neither means "all wheel stop".

Yeah, I had a four wheel drive truck earlier in life. It only helped you get into a more dire situation if you ignored the road conditions.

I guess I never thought about the road prep, it's not like it snows down there every year, and lately it's not like it snows much up here (south central PA). I'll go to work the morning of an afternoon snow and there are trucks with plows and salt just waiting for the precip to fall.

Anymore, we either get rain/freezing rain, or 15+ inches from a Nor'easter. Global warming has been rather noticeable around here since on our bigger snows, 40 miles east of here in Lancaster County, it normally is a few inches then rain as the warm air comes in off the coastal storm.

 

[vinny]

Ketchup and tomato wine.

It was sunny and plus temps today. I took a couple hours to route the wire for starlink that I left hanging, and a couple other outdoor errands. Ketchup and 3 gallons of wine (posted in its own thread), for the most part took me all day.

Happy not to waste the tomatoes, though. They were on their last days.





And some must!

 

[BigDaveK]

Completely forgot about this, hidden in a corner of my barn.
My dad bought this in '95. He passed away in 2000 and I never used it or even tried to start it.

For sh*tsngiggles I wondered if it would do anything. Yesterday I cleaned the float bowl, changed the oil, added gas and that's it. The damn thing started with one pull! MADE IN AMERICA!!! Tecumseh engine made in Wisconsin, bag in great shape and the zipper works. Mice, cats, and raccoons all left it alone. I was shocked and so darned happy.

We need to make things again.

 

[Jovimaple]

Cleaning in prep for Christmas decorations as well as company coming for Thanksgiving.

If I have time this weekend, I will rack my 3 gallon pure peach wine - it's a little overdue to get off the lees.

If I get the peach racked, I plan to start another RJS Cru Specialty Toasted Caramel kit as well as a 1 gallon batch of lingonberry from syrup for a friend. I had told her I wasn't going to make it again but changed my mind and bought more syrup. It's one of those that leaves a lingering smell in the bucket but since I don't really do 1 gallon batches anymore, I decided I don't care if the bucket is smelly afterward.

 

[cmason1957]

Today the Winery dog became a brewery dog as I brewed a milk stout with chocolate added. It was way too cold (30F) to brew outside so in the basement I was.

 

[winemaker81]

The following isn't from today, but from 9 years ago. It was an "interesting" day:

--

We replaced the side door on the garage last weekend. The door was installed wrong in the first place, the frame had bad spots, the hinges had rusted badly, and the 18 year old door was generally losing the battle with time. I judged the easiest thing to do was to replace the door with a pre-hung model that doesn't rust and frame that won't rot.

When replacing a door it should require a pinch bar, a hammer, and a screw driver.

Right?

Rip off the molding, remove any screws (down here doors may not be screwed in, just nailed through the molding (<eyes roll>). Rip out the door, put the new ons in, shim it, sink a few screws and we're done.

Right?

Not right ...

In addition to the above I used: electric planer, belt sander, pneumatic hammer, multiple wood chisels, a concrete sanding block (for smoothing concrete and brick), a drill and drill set (for punching holes and screwing in screws). Plus probably a few other things.

Why?

Because the guys who did this door cut the opening barely wide enough for the original door frame. I mean "barely" as in they had to pound it in to get it in. My new door frame was 1/2" too tall ...

So I used the cement sanding block to smooth the brick underneath, used the belt sander to thin and smooth the top of the new frame. The truly fun part was counter sinking the nails in the top of the frame enough to shave 1/2" off it. Planers don't cut through nail heads very well, nor do nail heads do the planer any good.

Pounding nails upwards into 20 year old wood doesn't work, even with a 24 oz claw hammer and a punch. Ten minutes of that convinced me that my arms were going to fall off. Then I remembered my pneumatic hammer and a punch bit. Two minutes later those nails were so deep Indiana Jones would never find them.

Note to self -- when planing a board over your head expect to wear sawdust, and to later find sawdust in places you didn't know you had.
It took a bit (like all day) but we now have a new door in place! Even better, I can reuse the original inside molding so we don't need to cut and paint it!

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Completely forgot about this, hidden in a corner of my barn.
My dad bought this in '95. He passed away in 2000 and I never used it or even tried to start it.

For sh*tsngiggles I wondered if it would do anything. Yesterday I cleaned the float bowl, changed the oil, added gas and that's it. The damn thing started with one pull! MADE IN AMERICA!!! Tecumseh engine made in Wisconsin, bag in great shape and the zipper works. Mice, cats, and raccoons all left it alone. I was shocked and so darned happy.

We need to make things again.

View attachment 95216

I’ll never forget the time up north when I started the lawn tractor up after a long winter. The pea seeds that the mouse had stolen all came flying out the exhaust (ping ping ping ping) then the mouse came flying out and ran away smoking.

 

[vinny]

Today the Winery dog became a brewery dog as I brewed a milk stout with chocolate added. It was way too cold (30F) to brew outside so in the basement I was.
View attachment 95228

Is a brew kettle that big needed for a kit? I was looking at a Peanut Butter Porter in the same kit brand you have on the bottom shelf of your cart. I have a 75k btu Blickman burner, but my biggest pot is maybe 10 quarts. Just a tall stock pot