Congratulations to the both of you!
What R you doing today?
- Thread starter Tom
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I replaced the cabin filter and the engine air filter on Mrs. IB's 2019 Honda Accord. Only 26,000 miles. It took me all of 5 minutes to do this. The 2 filters cost $24 from Amazon. I saw a report of a Honda dealer quote to replace these of $160. Do not let the dealer do this! YouTube videos are online. It will take you longer to watch the videos! LOL
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
My mechanic actually told me to do those myself. He said he'd be more than happy to charge me, but it literally takes just a few minutes to do both mine and the wife's. Looks like yours was definitely due for replacement.
I finished setting up an electric fence around my vines and took the advice of @ChuckD to run alternating charged wires. All seems to be working fine and I additionally set it up on a timer. We only see the Javalinas in the early morning hours so the fence turns off from 8am till 8pm. No need to rattle any of the neighborhood pets. Next month netting.....
Let's just say when you buy a test meter that reads up to the 7000 volts that the fence wire puts out..... make sure you hold on to only the insulated handles..... ask me how I know it's working......
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In 7th grade shop class, we made voltage testers. Basically a small light inside of a test tube, wires hanging out. Fill the tube with roisin to seal it. We put leads on the ends of the wires.Let's just say when you buy a test meter that reads up to the 7000 volts that the fence wire puts out..... make sure you hold on to only the insulated handles..... ask me how I know it's working......
Instructor told us several times, "hold the wires when testing, NOT the leads."
We had one guy -- really nice guy ... but not the brightest. He immediately grabbed the leads and put them in a 220 volt socket.
On the plus side, it taught me to never be cavalier about dealing with electricity.
I spent a couple of hours today learning, yet again, that the "professional" electrician who wired our house was an idiot.
As part of updating the house, we are replacing the light fixture in the master bath. It is losing the battle with time, with coating peeling and generally looking ugly. So I took it off the wall in preparation for installing the new fixture.
There is no box in the wall behind the old fixture, and it was screwed into the drywall. Better yet, there are two sets of wires coming out of the wall ... one of which was not stripped or connected to anything. I have NO idea why they are there.
We originally had the builder paint the bathrooms white, and we sponge painted over it with blue and grey.
I understand WHY the electrician did what he did. Immediately to the right in the hole is a PVC pipe, probably some kind of vent. On the left is ... nothing. He was supposed to center the bar light over the mirror and made it work. He got away with it for 29 years ...
My solution? I have an ancient 1x10" board in the garage. I cut a 32" piece from it, routed the edge with a Classical bit (makes it pretty), and sanded it. Next I'll cut a 2" hole in the middle for wires. Mrs. WM81 is going to prime and paint it tomorrow.
This will be screwed into the studs and will provide a solid surface upon which to install the new fixture. Plus it's decorative, and no one will know (unless I tell them, but I trust y'all to keep the secret!) that it covers up someone else's mistake.
The board on the right (beneath) is the original board and the one of the right is the pretty one.
Mrs. WM81 is already pleased.
As part of updating the house, we are replacing the light fixture in the master bath. It is losing the battle with time, with coating peeling and generally looking ugly. So I took it off the wall in preparation for installing the new fixture.
There is no box in the wall behind the old fixture, and it was screwed into the drywall. Better yet, there are two sets of wires coming out of the wall ... one of which was not stripped or connected to anything. I have NO idea why they are there.
We originally had the builder paint the bathrooms white, and we sponge painted over it with blue and grey.
I understand WHY the electrician did what he did. Immediately to the right in the hole is a PVC pipe, probably some kind of vent. On the left is ... nothing. He was supposed to center the bar light over the mirror and made it work. He got away with it for 29 years ...
My solution? I have an ancient 1x10" board in the garage. I cut a 32" piece from it, routed the edge with a Classical bit (makes it pretty), and sanded it. Next I'll cut a 2" hole in the middle for wires. Mrs. WM81 is going to prime and paint it tomorrow.
This will be screwed into the studs and will provide a solid surface upon which to install the new fixture. Plus it's decorative, and no one will know (unless I tell them, but I trust y'all to keep the secret!) that it covers up someone else's mistake.
The board on the right (beneath) is the original board and the one of the right is the pretty one.
Mrs. WM81 is already pleased.
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Today I helped my friends check their small batch of Frontenac wine that we fermented last fall after they got a batch of grapes from another friend.
We sampled the wine in the 1 gallon carboy and it is pretty harsh. We decided to leave it alone for a while, so I provided a campden tablet which they crushed and stirred into the carboy. I also had them swap out the bung and airlock with a different one, since it had been more than 3 months since we last racked the wine.
We also sampled the 750 ml bottle, which has been airlocked (universal bung flipped upside down fits the top of my cork finish bottles). All 3 of us decided it's ready to drink! I took my airlock and bung back, and they put a t-cap on the bottle. Then we discussed Mom Nature and Dionysus and other reasons as to why the 750 ml bottle is ready but the 1 gallon carboy is not.
All in all, a fun afternoon!
We sampled the wine in the 1 gallon carboy and it is pretty harsh. We decided to leave it alone for a while, so I provided a campden tablet which they crushed and stirred into the carboy. I also had them swap out the bung and airlock with a different one, since it had been more than 3 months since we last racked the wine.
We also sampled the 750 ml bottle, which has been airlocked (universal bung flipped upside down fits the top of my cork finish bottles). All 3 of us decided it's ready to drink! I took my airlock and bung back, and they put a t-cap on the bottle. Then we discussed Mom Nature and Dionysus and other reasons as to why the 750 ml bottle is ready but the 1 gallon carboy is not.
All in all, a fun afternoon!
That is a great discussion to have with novice winemakers, especially with the evidence in their glass.
Mrs. WM81 got right to painting yesterday, priming the wood (post #18,948) and putting on the first coat. This morning she did a second coat, and it's so hot the paint was dry in an hour.
So I got right to installing the new base that covers the original electrician's mess.
This type of thing isn't hard. I identified the center of the board and used a hole saw to cut a hole large enough to pass wires through. The base plate has a few protrusions on the back, so I had to notch the board so the plate would rest flat. This took a lot longer than expected, as gotta locate tools, run back and forth as I identify what are really minor issues.
I had a hard time identifying the studs. The stud finder gave me inconsistent readings, so I did recon by fire (e.g., drilled holes where I thought the studs are, not caring about any extra holes as the wood will cover them). I was right on with my guesses.
Screwed the board into the wall, then mounted the light fixture.
Mrs. WM81 is very happy. But not happy enough to hug me, as my t-shirt is soaked in sweat -- it's hotter-n-heck outside, and every time I go outside I sweat a fresh batch. I'll get a hug after I shower ...
All that's left is to putty and paint the screw holes. Mrs. WM81 will take care of that -- painting is her thing. She recently re-painted the bathroom, then patched-n-painted holes from old drywall mounts when I replaced the towel rods.
So I got right to installing the new base that covers the original electrician's mess.
This type of thing isn't hard. I identified the center of the board and used a hole saw to cut a hole large enough to pass wires through. The base plate has a few protrusions on the back, so I had to notch the board so the plate would rest flat. This took a lot longer than expected, as gotta locate tools, run back and forth as I identify what are really minor issues.
I had a hard time identifying the studs. The stud finder gave me inconsistent readings, so I did recon by fire (e.g., drilled holes where I thought the studs are, not caring about any extra holes as the wood will cover them). I was right on with my guesses.
Screwed the board into the wall, then mounted the light fixture.
Mrs. WM81 is very happy. But not happy enough to hug me, as my t-shirt is soaked in sweat -- it's hotter-n-heck outside, and every time I go outside I sweat a fresh batch. I'll get a hug after I shower ...
All that's left is to putty and paint the screw holes. Mrs. WM81 will take care of that -- painting is her thing. She recently re-painted the bathroom, then patched-n-painted holes from old drywall mounts when I replaced the towel rods.
I just finished the plastering the addition. Nice view of the vineyard from the tub!
I saved about $10,000… unless you put any value on my time. In that case it probably cost me triple what a pro would have
I saved about $10,000… unless you put any value on my time. In that case it probably cost me triple what a pro would have
You have the pride of doing a good job. That is priceless.
Helped a neighbor with a downed tree from a hefty storm a few days ago. The tree ended up having a honey bee nest inside up to the point of the storm obliterating the tree base. After a half a day cleaning up comb from the tree and ground, and cutting from the base out to the remaining limbs near the “top” we found the swarm that had been inside… they’re now safely tucked away in a hive.
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Testing out my homemade trommel for sifting compost. I get free leaf compost from a neighboring community. Unfortunately it comes with sticks, stones, asphalt, and trash because the city uses commercial shop vac trucks to suck up everything in its path.
This system sure beats my manual, panning for gold, box. Even with the compost being relatively wet this trommel cut the sifting time in half.
This system sure beats my manual, panning for gold, box. Even with the compost being relatively wet this trommel cut the sifting time in half.
I built a riddling rack! I plan to disgorge 2 cases of my 2022 Blanc de Noir towards the end of the year so I put this together from some wood offcuts. It tilts the case at 4 different angles; ~35, 45, 60 and 75 degrees. I plan to give each bottle an eighth turn at each inclination once a day for 4 days, so 16 days in all on the 'machine'. Then when the bottles are on point, give the box a shake/kick for up to a week more to get all the sediment into the cap.
I’ve built many compost contraptions over the years. My sifting method is usually 2x4s and hardware cloth. If I want fancy I put handles on it. Yours looks like the Yeti cooler of compost sifters. Well done! I don’t sift any more. I buy hay and Mrs. Corker’s horses start the composting process. Sticks and rocks get tossed while turning the finished product into the garden boxes.
Black raspberry harvest is done. This week I started the daily task of harvesting blackberries - wild on the left, thornless on the right.
That reminds me ... we finally got our rotten fence replaced last month and now that it's completed, I can plant some black raspberry bushes! I wanted to wait so things wouldn't get trampled.
I was going to make a rotisserie chicken on the grill today, but when I tested the unit yesterday, the "universal" rotisserie didn't fit my grill. I was going to roast a chicken last night as a test, and a fresh one today. Leftover chicken is NOT a problem.
Plan B? I'm smoking both birds.
Plan B? I'm smoking both birds.
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