What Manly Things Did You Do Today?

Installed a new stereo in Ole Black Betty

 

Sweated a new brass ball valve on the pipe feeding the sprinklers outside. The gardener had put a PVC valve on a few years back and it failed last month. We found out about it when we opened our water bill this month and knew something was wrong.

 

Took my wife and her friend to the range today and taught them how to shoot an M1 Rifle. Paper targets at 100 yards and steel targets at 300 yards. They learned safety fundamentals, started developing good stock weld and sight picture technique, and both scored hits they could be proud of.

 

Everything I do is manly!

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I took apart my ROOMBA to clean it. Then I put it back together, WITHOUT any parts leftover. After that, I made a batch of scouring powder from scratch.

 

We had an ice storm early this morning so I got out and tossed salt on my drive and sidewalk and my neighbors (single woman taking care of her elderly mother).

 

Before the storm got here today, I did 30 miles in 25F / -6C on the bike this morning.

It took a while to feel my feet again.

 

Brrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!
It was 45 outside, this morning, and I decided to pass on the bike ride. That, and I am getting all full of excuses. In my youth, in college, I would bike in almost any weather, as long as it was above freezing 20-30 miles a day. Then go work out. Now I make excuses, and ride the bike at the gym instead.

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Hahaha. I completely understand and regularly use those excuses. 45F is shorts and a long sleeve for me on the bike.

 

I've been in Houston too long.


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The coldest I ever have experienced was an early morning in February 1987 taking my bike to the work, -18F.. , 2.5 miles. Not that long but cold enough.


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I repaired a 22 year old GE microwave by replacing the magnetron. Not particularly difficult, but rather satisfying to save something that still runs like a top in this throw way society. Repaired for less than $28 ........ AWESOME!

 

I was wondering why the lights suddenly dimmed.

 

Funny, in the first house my wife and I owned, they wired the house on so few circuits that if the microwave, coffee maker was in use and the refrigerator cycles on the breaker would pop. Later I re-wired the kitchen to be on 4 or 5 circuits (stove, microwave, lights, counter outlets and refrigerator).

 

My microwave is a GE that's approaching 40 years old. Yours is just barely broken in.

Having once been a culinary professional, I've often wished it were one of the Panasonic commercial microwaves I used at work. But I can't bring myself to replace something that works flawlessly.

My living room radio is a Philco 40-120. The 40 indicates the year it was built...1940. Had new capacitors and a couple of new tubes installed on it about 10 years ago. It's especially nice to use in the wintertime as it warms up the room a bit...

 

I'm all over the vintage items ..... as I sit here I'm listening to Al Jolson on a Newcomb EDT-15C (1970).

 

Earlier today, I finally installed a replacement motherboard in my eMachines computer that died about three years ago. Found the exact replacement motherboard in eBay this past summer, brand new, for about US$15 and didn't have the time or energy to install it until today.

Glad to have my old friend back in service for just $15 and one can of elbow grease. It's old enough to run Windows Vista 32-bit to support all my vintage software and old peripherals and Amateur radio gear that require parallel and serial port connections, yet still has enough guts to run 64-bit Windows 10 and modern versions of 64-bit Linux. It's the one computer I own that can do everything I need a computer to do.

 

Loppers. Hand saw. Chainsaw. Woodchipper.
(followed by ice pack, Aleve - I'm getting old)

Repeat next weekend.

 

Have an antique enameled pitcher and cup, both that a red-orange color. Chipped but not eaten through. Found that Rustoleum Lobster Red is a 95% match, more than close enough. Happy with the results.