peejman

I've got a 35 year old Homelite hand-me-down that runs like a top. It runs on 35:1 gas, smokes, and is loud as hell, but it runs great. I think the newer power equipment designed to run on 50:1 or leaner ratios have such small passages that it makes them prone to getting gummed up regardless of how often they're used. That said, my bow saw and loppers get a lot more use for simple pruning. Add a pole saw for tall stuff and that's really all you need.

I was using metal cages. They'd have fallen over weeks ago without them.

I forgot to mention that this last round of storms blew most of my tomatoes over. The plants seem ok so far, but picking fruit is a lot more difficult now.

Yes. Twice. Stupid dog.

That's interesting. I'd always assumed Pandora and similar services were under the same "pay per spin" type agreements as traditional radio stations. What about satellite radio (XM)?

Mark, go ahead with the fall seeds. Seems weird to start them in the heat of summer, but that's what needs to happen. In addition to the salsa we canned, we also made 3-4 cool whip dishes full that we'll freeze. I prepped another 4 qts of maters for freezing because I'm out of jars at the moment. I do the canning on the side burner of my gas grill. Keeps the heat out of the house and the mess should something go wrong.

The PSA kit or complete upper is just as good as the M&P Sport.

I don't see parts getting cheaper or more available than they are now.

I think so. That underfolder in the classifieds here is sweet.

That kit does not go through an FFL as there's no lower receiver. You'll need to get one somewhere, and that piece only goes through an FFL. With a complete upper, building one is like Legos. The first one will take a couple hours because you'll have to do a couple things 3 times to get them right. After that... 30 mins or so. Work inside a clear plastic bag when installing the springs and detents. It'll catch them when they get away instead of launching them into the far reaches of the Galaxy. Use tape to protect adjacent surfaces when installing pins. Else you'll have an idiot mark or two when you're done.

That doesn't appear to be a hunting rifle that you'd be carrying for miles through the bush, so who cares how much it weighs? A balanced rifle will feel lighter than an unbalanced one.

What they said. Add some weight to the stock to balance it.

Here's our first attempt at canning. In the past, we've just frozen what extras we had but we recently got a hand-me-down pressure canner to we decided to give it a shot. 3 jars of Roma tomatoes, 6 jars of salsa, 7 jars of sweet pickles, and 4 jars of chow chow. I think we're gonna have a ton more maters before they're done, but we're gonna have to get more jars. We've only got a few left.

If that's a few, how many is a lot? .

Stay loose on the bars. If you can't flap your elbows, you're too tense.

That looks like a newer version of the one I have. If it works out of the box, it should work fine for a good while.

My 3 ton Harbor Freight jack has lasted through something like 15 yrs of oil changes, brake jobs, starters, ... The trick to making them last is only use them for lifting, jack stands are for holding. I'd guess most any modestly priced jack will be made overseas.

And I'll add.... Find a good mentor. Worry more about the skills your riding buddies have than how cool they look. Take the rear brake lever off the bike and ride it for a few weeks. Practice threshold braking... Start at about 50 mph and squeeeeeze the front brake lever until the tire starts to howl. Feel the forks load up. Hold it there and downshift until you're nearly stopped. Accelerate and repeat until you can do it smoothly and quickly. The point is to not develop the habit of stomping on the rear brake. Nothing will get you into trouble faster.

First, I hate the term "biker". I'm not a biker, I'm a motorcyclist. Otherwise, what they said.... Get good gear with armor. Like walking? Get real riding boots with ankle protection, not cowboy/work boots. Like wiping your arse yourself? Get real riding gloves with gauntlet type closures so they stay on when you don't. Ride like everyone is trying to kill you, because most of them are. After a few months riding, marvel at how much you never noticed driving.

Do I recall someone here having thornless blackberries? If so, what's the skinny? I've got a jasmine on a short fence row that died and I was thinking of replacing it with a thornless blackberry.

"Keep your toes behind the yellow line" takes on a whole new significance.

Nonsense. I want one of those AR-1,000,000's he mentioned. That would be awesome!

I suspect your friend is referring to the trivial differences between mil-spec guns and commercial spec guns. Otherwise, what they said.

Why not upgrade DV or make it upgradable to a felony?

Thanks for the links, hadn't seen those before. If only they came in purple...