What you do, in 2022

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

37 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

My two SILs.. both trusted me today with their little humans… at the same time!  Every kid I’ve watched has survived so far, me too!

 

 

Why aren’t they helping you in the shop???  or at least getting some seat time??? 

[8ntruck 7,004]

1 hour ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

 

 

Why aren’t they helping you in the shop???  or at least getting some seat time??? 

  Wasn't there some sort of project out in your shop?  Stretched chassis, some sort of moveable load carrying device?  Start them young, ya know....

[8ntruck 7,004]

We drove to our Missouri location yesterday.  There were clear skies over Chicago Land, yet there were several slippery road related wrecks around the I-94/I-65 intersection.  The one on westbound I-94 to southbound I-65 had been cleared by the time we got three, so that was smooth.  Not so on northbound I-65.  That had a mile long backup.

 

Yes @Pullstart, we waved on the way by.

 

Today was sunny and in the 40's.  Weather for the next days is supposed to get colder and bring some snow.  Knowing that, I took advantage of today's weather and cleaned a bunch more bricks.  Used the brush from Menard's today.  Cleaned about 80 bricks, and the brush looks to have another 30 or 40 bricks worth of life.  Believe it or not, the HF 4 1/2" cheapo brush gave the longest life.

[Pullstart 62,870]

The hauling and loading departments didn’t show up today, so I’m taking the day off too… of splitting.

 

Plenty of dead standing and down trees on this 80.  I can have as much as I’d like.  

 

Winter weather advisory, perfect day to hunker the truck down in a ditch and try out that new 4 by 4 system.

[Pullstart 62,870]

Baby duty again today.  She’s a peach!  And LOOK!  She likes tractors!

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,496]

Took a short walk/snowshoe out in the forest today. 

 

Found a nice deep deer bed. Bunches of tracks. 

 

Good walk....

 

 

[Pullstart 62,870]

I placed this snowblower for sale the other day, then remembered the discussion I had earlier that day with my newest BIL and that he got up before work to shovel their driveway.  I promptly removed the ad and gave it to them to use.  I told him if he ever upgrades or decides to do something different, then I’ll get rid of it.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,496]

6 hours ago, Pullstart said:

gave it to them to use

That'll be a game changer for them!

Niiiiice. 

[Pullstart 62,870]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

That'll be a game changer for them!

Niiiiice. 

they were super excited and very appreciative.  I did the same for my other young in-laws and figured it was the right thing to do.  The difference is that this BIL will actually use it.  The other one still waits until they can’t get out and will call for a plow.

[ebinmaine 67,496]

Just now, Pullstart said:

they were super excited and very appreciative.  I did the same for my other young in-laws and figured it was the right thing to do.  The difference is that this BIL will actually use it.  The other one still waits until they can’t get out and will call for a plow.

Oye. 

Well you might as well go get that other machine back then. 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,870]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Oye. 

Well you might as well go get that other machine back then. 

 

 

Yep.  That one was my Grandfather’s.  It means something to me.  This one was on the side of the road not running.

[8ntruck 7,004]

Robotics team build season has started.  I am mentoring the local high school's robotics team again this year.   They compete in the First Robotics program.  This is a worldwide program designed to encourage students to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  This is done by providing a game for the students to design, build, and campaign robots.  There are regional meets.  Winners of the regional meets are invited to a world championship meet.  The team I am mentoring has been to the world meet very year they have been in existence except one.  The team is set up kind of like a company with several departments - engineering, manufacturing, programming, business, and communication.  The game was revealed last Saturday, our first meet is the first week of March.  The game experience is fairly close to real life industry

 

New for this year is we are fielding a second, junior varsity team.  This means we have split our 50 or so kids into two groups, each designing and building their own robot.

 

Anyhow, both teams know what they want their robots to do, and a rough idea of what they will look like.  They are starting to prototype the mechanisms to manipulate the game pieces.

 

I really enjoy watching the kids working through the  process of designing and building - especially when they realize that those algebra or trig classes really do have an application in real life.

[ohiofarmer 3,268]

  Shop to organize . Again.  Making progress every time I try to improve it. The key was getting a bit of space that started with giving away a table saw that was my FIL's  I gave it to my buddy , a first cousin once removed of the wife's.   Old school iron bed Craftsman with the 3450 motor. Then the stuff started melting into more and more compact spaces.  Now i have room for a Bobcat and the big cab and chassis Cummins which needs a new axle in the repair bay at the same time If you ever get a chance to buy those old meat lockers from the fifties, do it. 200 pounds a drawer works for heavy hardware and Wheel Horse parts Every thing I have that is awkward is on wheels to take up less room

  Some of my time will be to take back an apartment from the zombies who were enabled by a governor and two presidents before i can have it back.  Gonna check its value and maybe sell two properties if the tax man says it is time. We could buy real estate investment trusts for tax advantage on capital gains. Getting too old to be a tough guy all the time anyway.

Maybe. Hopefully i have immunity after getting flu or whatever the flavor of death being unleashed on the world is or has been or will be. I hope the same for the rest of you. Gonna hit seventy and finally take out my full Social Security benefits. Daughter is coming down the stretch to an advanced degree. I hope and pray i can have the vision and temperament to handle all that is coming.

[wh500special 2,183]

On 1/12/2022 at 12:02 AM, 8ntruck said:

…especially when they realize that those algebra or trig classes really do have an application in real life.

That line gets my vote for best quote of all time on Redsquare. 
 

Not a day goes by at work that I don’t use trig or algebra for something.  Powerful stuff. 
 

Steve 

[ohiofarmer 3,268]

Yes on the math.I think I could have dine much more with math if we would have had the advantages of using calculators. The closest we got to that was the slide rule. Can you imagine a kid today doing long division method of solving of an answer that required a square root?  I knew the steps to get there but my mistakes were little math mistakes using pencil and paper.

   It still was valuable in the understanding phase of my carpentry profession as I could calculate any rafter or stair of any pitch or an oddball span and basically cut out the entire building frame on a set of saw horses.

  We have progressed from using cross hair transits to being ale to pick out the corner points of a building on hills and slopes with automatic lasers

  But  my own kid was amazed at how quickly I could figure out how much paint a room would take, and she had two more years of math in high school and stats and probs (and really good at it] in college.

  Just the other day a computer engineer wanted to lay out the interior of a high end ham radio circuit board to line up with some pre drilled holes in the edge of the box. I looked at him and said, " Template"  He looked back at me and gave me that look of "Holy crap how do you know this solution so fast and why didn't i think of that?"  Not saying I have high knowledge skills, but do have some common sense that comes from farmer engineering application ideas.

Edited January 16, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[ebinmaine 67,496]

2 minutes ago, ohiofarmer said:

common sense that comes from farmer engineering application ideas

 

I've learned over the years that hands-on life learned skills such as you have may very well be the best. 

[ohiofarmer 3,268]

4 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

I've learned over the years that hands-on life learned skills such as you have may very well be the best. 

   

   Well, at least i would not have located the emergency Diesel generators that ran the pumps that cooled the Fukoshima nuclear reactor where a tidal wave would knock out their function.

Edited January 16, 2022 by ohiofarmer

[wh500special 2,183]

5 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

Yes on the math.I think I could have dine much more with math if we would have had the advantages of using calculators.

I bet you’re right. 
 

I know I (we all?) have a tendency to think what we did as kids was the golden age of learning, but I think the epoch that existed when the scientific calculator became available but before the graphing calculator became ubiquitous was the golden age.  This was probably the mid 1980’s through the mid 1990’s. 
 

Before then, math and science calculations were incredibly tedious.  Slide rules and lots of notebook paper reigned supreme. After then, many relied too heavily on the tool and neglected developing their math skills and ability to estimate and intuit.  
 

Still, I’d hate to give up the numeric integration my TI-85 can do.   Lifesaver for when your math skills have atrophied like mine have. 

 
 

Steve

[ebinmaine 67,496]

1 hour ago, wh500special said:

Still, I’d hate to give up the numeric integration my TI-85 can do

I still have the scientific calculator I got back in 84 or 85(?) for high school. 

Back when they had literal substance. 

Haven't used it in 2 decades but it sits happily in the top of my tool box. 

[Pullstart 62,870]

Second dead load of the day.  By the time we get home, I’l be ready for my nap chair!  Zero G, heat, massage, I’m almost relaxed already!  Being MLK day, Jada’s out helping load and stack the truck 

 

 

[Lee1977 6,659]

On 1/1/2022 at 2:36 PM, stevasaurus said:

Well, it was a noisy start this year.  Lots of M-80's and more going off at midnight all around the neighborhood.  We were already in bed.  Then at 4:00AM, I hear 7 shots out side the house from what sounded like a 45 cal.  then another 3 or 4 shots from what sounded like a 38 cal.  Thought it was road rage going on, and then I heard one car take off.  Pretty scary start for the new year.  Looked for bullet holes this morning...found none.  Might be just shooting in the air.  

   No...I did not get up and look out the window.    

Might need to look for holes in the roof, they got to come down some where.

[Pullstart 62,870]

We have a family friend (elderly) who recently started dialysis, got COVID, then pneumonia.  Then while recovering from the rona and monia she got a blood infection from the dialysis port.  Rough few months.  She’s in a rehab u it now, working on balance and some strength.  I went over this morning and swapped out their throne for one a bit taller.  Hopefully it’ll ease bathroom duties once she returns home.  On the way home, I picked up another bag of Traeger pellets.  Smoking is so much fun!  Meat that is.

[Pullstart 62,870]

Sometimes things need to look worse before they’re better.  Rearranging things to make room for my new pellet smoker, under a vent stack.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,496]

Studying for recertification.  NCCCO crane. 

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,496]

More crane training. 

Test today...