OldIronFan

So I went electric for my suburban yard a couple years ago. I have Kobalt 80V equipment. Mower, Blower, string trimmer, edger, hedge trimmer, and chainsaw. It has been fantastic and I have 3 or 4 batteries, a couple chargers and the tools. None have let me down. I ran across a Kobalt 80V snow blower on a local auction site. Looked unused and was said to work so I put in a low bid. To my surprise I won it for not much money so I put it away to wait until we got actual snow. I honestly did not expect to get much use out of it but it cost me near nothing to let it sit in my crawl space and wait. I have an extremely steep front yard and drive way. Steep enough it can not be cut with your typical riding mower or zero turn. Steep enough that anything lower than a crossover, suv, or pickup is probably scraping slightly on the transition. Steep enough that my 50+ something out of shape self is not easily shoveling it safely. And steep enough that if I try to get a car out when it is snowy or icy I could end up in my neighbors living room across the street. Hence the snow blower. It works ok on the very light fluffy snow we got here last year. It blows around a bit too much so you have to be mindful of wind direction and what direction you are throwing the snow with the nozzle. It works great with moderately wet or heavy snow like we got Friday. It goes where you point the nozzle and leaves a nice clean drive. It works ok but begins to fail as the snow gets excessively wet/heavy and begins to get icy. Mostly the nozzle starts to clog with build up and then the rotor starts acting more like a sweeper pushing the snow out the front. The electric works great for the minimal snow we get. Anything more than the 5 or 6 inches we got this last week and I would probably start to hit the limits of the electric unit. If we got 8 to 12 inches multiple times a year I would go with a gas unit for sure. There were a couple of times when I ran my electric full width into a drifted snow bank or berm it would try to bog and stall the motor.

Be ready for some serious cold to start early next week. They are throwing around that "Polar Vortex" term a bunch lately in the 10 day forecast. Highs in the low 20's and single digit lows Monday and Tuesday. We got 3.5 inches in the sheltered area near the house and 5.5 at the deepest spot. It was a heavy fairly wet snow in my area. I got out an cleared the driveway late Friday afternoon as it was tapering off and my snow blower made quick work of it. What little fell after I cleared the drive was gone by the time the sun hit it Saturday morning. They did a good job in my area since they had such a solid forecast. They pretreated the road Thursday evening then plowed twice on Friday. The steep hills on our road that are normally a real problem were a non issue this time. Could have gotten out Friday if I had needed to. We did go out Saturday and the roads were perfectly fine. Even most of the area parking lots seemed pretty clear (so I was not able to attempt any AWD donuts).

Get some ArcaLock mounts. Fixed that for you... I have started running the Area 419 Arcalock equipment on my MK22, AR10 and AR15 setups. Really liking their products and the stability/security of them. I have a 40mm Carbon Fiber Tube Tripod with a 88lb load rating and a 55mm ball head that has been rock solid so far. I have a clamp setup for it as well but only use that for the non tacticool stuff with no M-LOK options. It is no where near as secure as the Arcalock stuff.

Honestly that may just be that Alabama location. I have been to at near a dozen Buc-ee's locations and that one is the only one that has been a problem. Not sure if the near void of anything else in the area or the "newness" of Buc-ee's in the region is driving the crowds but it is worse there for sure. The others I have been to in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee were all easier the get in and out of or less crowded, especially the ones in Texas. It is my go to stop for fuel and bio breaks when I am burning miles cross country in the south. There is not much out there with as many gas pumps or (clean) restrooms. The only issue I have seen has been people leaving their cars at a pump and spending 20 minutes inside. That would really cause issues at most gas stations but the number of pumps has made it a near non issue at a Buc-ee's.

It is just ok for brisket, pretty good for gas station brisket. Chopped instead of sliced knocks it down several pegs and the amount of sauce it is drowned in knocks it down several more. Better than a Circle K warmer burger or a Love's roller dog but not what I want if BBQ is on the mind. Their jerky is on point though. If they don't have a flavor you like you just don't like jerky period.

Leroy had is 6th Birthday last week so he got a cupcake.

Number 1 show in a crappy time slot is not worth nearly as much as the Number 2 or 3 show in a premium time slot. Also live TV ratings are not worth nearly as much as they once were in this day and age of streaming. I have not had cable or watched live TV in over a decade now. I have not watched a TV commercial in years either. The only person I know that does watch live TV is my 86 year old Father-in-Law. He has no desire to adapt to streaming. I don't watch new release stuff in general. If all seasons or at least multiple seasons are available streaming I will give a show a try to see if it grabs my attention. I typically watch all episodes and seasons of one show at a time. Once it is done I find the next one to start on. If there are a lot of episodes or season it may take me many months to finish a series since I only watch TV a few times a week. All that said, I have not watched this show but 14 years is a good long run. In my experience anything past 5 or 6 seasons has probably gone to crap anyway. Most major "prime time" network shows follow the same arc. They get a great pitch and pilot picked up by a network. Some big name actors are onboard and the top tier writers are fully engaged. The dialog is sharp and the story is well written. Like most creative folks, writers are addicts, they are chasing the hit, the next exciting or challenging project. After 3 or 4 seasons the story starts getting stale. The writers are not getting that same dopamine hit and they move on to the next project or creative outlet. They are not content cranking out the same work, for the same story, and the same characters for years on end. So junior writers and, quite frankly, lower talent writers step in to carry the series forward. They start more or less phoning it in or worse, forcing the story down strange paths not congruent with the original story. I prefer shows with a pre defined story arc. If the writers know what the end is when they start it is probably a more well constructed show. Not to say that all the dialog and every episode is written but if the outline is clear they can know if it is going to take 2, 5, or 10 seasons to tell the story. If the writers are figuring out what the plot of the next season is at the end of the last one it is probably time to hang it up and move on.

I have ridden/driven the complete length a couple times. South to North on a motorcycle, North to South on a motorcycle, North to South via truck, and partial South to North via truck. The rides were for my own enjoyment. The car trips were work related where I had to get down toward South Mississippi for work and had to the time to take it and stay off the interstates. The North end is very scenic and curvy, lots of pull offs and stops at points of interest. I would frequently stop and hike a small side trail for 10 or 15 minutes to stretch my legs. The South end is very pretty. Tree canopy over the road with filtered sunlight like driving through a tunnel. Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Very old south and peaceful. The middle is like the mid west, fly over. Not much to see, the road is pretty straight and boring, the views are nothing special, the side trips are sparser. There is a ton of wild life on the road, be extremely vigilant, especially near dusk and dawn. No hunting on any of this land and the deer, turkey, and associated small game have gotten the memo. You will see groups of 5, 10, or 15 animals just a few yards from the road and you will see that every 75 to 100 yards for miles. There are some areas in North Mississippi that are nice side trips, especially just west near the Holly Springs National Forest. I went off the trace to do some off road riding in that area and had a blast.

Looks like a P80 to me as well.

Paint them your self. Tons of videos on youtube or elsewhere that show the process. The spray part is easy. The quality of the finished job depends mostly on prep and finishing (wet sanding, cutting, buffing) anyway. From the work you have shown so far you are more than capable of tackling the job.

The REC 7's are being made again but not in pistol/sbr form. https://barrett.net/products/firearms/rec7-di/ 16" DI carbine version is the only one in the current catalog following the rerelease this fall.

I will take it. I have a spare parts Ender 3 that I have yet to repair/rebuild. This would save me (some) time in getting one going.

bump, will consider trade options 6mm projectiles, 7mm projectiles. 44 Mag or 45 LC ammo. 44 Mag or 45 LC reloading dies. 284 Winchester ammo. 284 Winchester Brass and reloading dies. Tang Safety Ruger M77 short action stock. Pistol Scope

bump and some trade options. 6mm projectiles, 7mm projectiles. 44 Mag or 45 LC ammo. 44 Mag or 45 LC reloading dies. 284 Winchester ammo. 284 Winchester Brass and reloading dies. Ruger M77 Tang Safety short action stock. Pistol Scope

Bump and added a trade option

Keys to an great Alaska Cruise. 1) Choose a small boat that can actually go into Glacier Bay. It will cost a bit more but is worth it. Many of the larger vessels can not navigate into the bay. Talk to a pro who knows the route your specific boat travels through the bay so you can book a room with a balcony on the correct side of the ship. That way you can sit in your room and see the glacier faces and not have to go crowd up to the rail on the opposite side of the ship. 2) Book a package that includes a couple days off the boat on the train to the interior of Alaska. Both my parents and my in-laws said the interior trip by rail was the highlight of their Alaska cruises. 3) The above more or less dictates this but book a one way Cross Gulf route. You will see more of Alaska including Whittier and the Hubbard Glacier. You will still see much of the Inside Passage but you will not cover the same ground twice. This comes with a bit more airfare costs since you are booking two one way routes from different airports instead of round trip but it is not that much higher. You can also plan your package with a couple extra days at either end so you spend more time there between the boat and your flights.

Highway 1 would be fun. Don't wait to long. I am a solid 10 to 15 years from retirement and I have been doing at least 1 long trip every year on the bike. Before the one I already mentioned I did a loop all the way around the Great Lakes and crossed most of Ontario. Also did a bunch of A1A with a little I-95 down to Key West and back to TN. After Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, the Yukon, and Alaska I will probably be headed to Baja and other points south. I would love to do South America but that will probably require shipping a bike there or just flying in and buying one there.

Last year I did exactly that. So worth it. I will be doing several more versions of this taking different routes, i.e. more northern or central. My basic route was Middle TN -> Northern NM -> Moab UT -> Grand Canyon NP -> RT66 to Las Vegas -> Death Valley NP -> Joshua Tree NP -> San Diego, CA -> Junction, TX -> Jacksonville Beach Florida -> Richmond, VA -> Middle TN. 17 days, 7300 miles.

Today is the 24th wedding anniversary for my wife and I but 26 years together total. From nearly the beginning we have taken separate vacations and vacations together nearly every year. She likes the beach. If I am near the ocean I need to be on a boat with a fishing pole in hand. Even when we take a beach vacation together we spend our days apart, we do normally go to dinner together though. She also does the girls week at the beach with some of the girlfriends fairly often and I skip that. I ride my motorcycles a lot and enjoy travel by motorcycle including camping off the bike. I ride in excess of 25,000 miles a year many years. She likes to ride for an hour or two and stay in the local area when riding with me. I have no issue riding in excess of 500 miles a day or going to the other side of the country on a whim. Her idea of camping is a 2 star hotel. She does get a touch jealous when I am stopping places she would love to see but not jealous enough to ride there with me. to combat that I have flown her out in the middle of some of my trips so she could spend a couple days with me in a new area/city. Next big ride will be Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I will fly her into Halifax so she can ride the Cabot Trail with me for a couple days before I drop her back off for a flight home while I head to the Newfoundland via ferry and ride the Trans Labrador highway back around to Quebec. She will probably only ride 500 of the ~8000 mile trip with me. For my ~11,000 mile trip to Tuktoyaktuk and Alaska she has stated that I must also be willing to go on an Alaskan Cruise with her so she can see Alaska as well. She has no desire to ride with me in Alaska since she is not comfortable riding pilon off-road. I figured that was a fine compromise since I get to see Alaska twice! We both love travel in general so we will pick a city or country we want to visit and plan a trip together every year or so. We normally spend a week exploring a new place. We love to walk and eat our way through a city. We do some of the tourist stuff but most of the time we try to "live" there for a week and get a feel for the place. We will go to a show/play/concert most places as well if we can find something interesting that still has tickets available.

I went with Rokform before Quadlock had caught on as much as they have now. I have a wireless charger for the Rokform but my issue with it is it is not lever locking. I have used their non powered locking mount on a RAM ball on two of my motorcycles for the last three or four years and 50,000+ miles without issue. I do wirelessly charge with the Rokform case on my phone both in my truck and at home also without issue. When I upgrade my phone and need a new case I may update to a Quadlock just because of the lever lock. I like the look and function of Rokform better but that locking charging base is enough to make me switch since my phone is on my motorcycle handle bar 10,000 to 25,000 miles a year.

My guess would be foot clutch like many of the vintage bikes.

For me it is not necessarily sentimental. Like many when they I was younger and less established I bought guns when I had money, sold them when I did not. I went through a round of sell off when I was out of work and going back to school to start a second career. I do not "regret" selling guns at that time because it was the right thing to do for self, family, and future but I "regret" being in the position that made that a necessity. Now that time is behind me so I have replaced some of those most enjoyed but sold off items with duplicates or similar items. I will never get back all of the $79 SKS rifles, the $49 and $59 Mosin Nagants bolt actions, and a few other dirt cheap items I purchased back in the heyday of surplus but I can buy a few of them back. Just costs a fair bit more now.

How about $175 and a bump.

Bumpity Bump

Lets drop this to $70 and give it a bump.