What did you do today? - 2020 version

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street Helped any old bricklayer lay some block today. He is 68 and not the best of health but needs to keep generating some income. He is very heavy and struggles with the physical task of all aspects of the job. He was very appreciative of the help. It made me feel very I could help him.

You're a good man, street.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Made a good offer on a really nice condo today. Very excited!

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Made a good offer on a really nice condo today. Very excited!

Wow!! That's definitely exciting. Good luck and let us know if you get it.

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street Helped any old bricklayer lay some block today. He is 68 and not the best of health but needs to keep generating some income. He is very heavy and struggles with the physical task of all aspects of the job. He was very appreciative of the help. It made me feel very I could help him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby You're a good man, street.

+1.

[Walt34]

Played around with the R/C airplanes and a powered glider (all up flying weight 3.5 ounces) with a TV camera and transmitter onboard, and a display attached to the transmitter that has a video recorder in it. Then I could import that in to Premiere Elements and actually do something with it. And added a musical score to it, something that until last week I knew nothing about but which is included in Premiere Elements.

When you were a kid, if you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to fly around your neighborhood then a TV camera on a UMX size R/C airplane is the way to find out. The one in the link even has an extra cable included inside to connect to the TV camera/transmitter.

[RobbieB]

Went to the local farmers market, went to my fav local taqueria and got some huevos al la mexicanos to go and built a shelf closet.

[Gumby]

I made a sign to put out at my community garden plot.

[Venturer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Played around with the R/C airplanes and a powered glider (all up flying weight 3.5 ounces) with a TV camera and transmitter onboard, and a display attached to the transmitter that has a video recorder in it. Then I could import that in to Premiere Elements and actually do something with it. And added a musical score to it, something that until last week I knew nothing about but which is included in Premiere Elements. When you were a kid, if you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to fly around your neighborhood then a TV camera on a UMX size R/C airplane is the way to find out. The one in the link even has an extra cable included inside to connect to the TV camera/transmitter.

Is this like the drones people are flying around the neighborhoods peeking in windows! Now b4 anyone gets mad I'm joking

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venturer Is this like the drones people are flying around the neighborhoods peeking in windows! Now b4 anyone gets mad I'm joking

I know you're joking. Some people do believe that it is possible to look in windows with them, but in the price range of the camera I have it just doesn't have the dynamic range to see in a window, at least not in the daytime. $16 & change doesn't buy much in that regard, but on the flip side I'm astonished they can make them so lightweight and cheap. The one I have is similar looking, I don't think it is the same one. I'll have to open an account on youtube or someplace to host it and then post a link to a video.

Today was yard work day, mowed the grass and changed the oil on the lawn mower. It's new and supposedly you never have to change the oil. I don't buy that for a minute. When I poured out the used oil (~3 or 4 hours running time) it looked like it had a lot of silvery particles in it as to be expected with a new engine. I'll change it again at the end of the season as usual from now on.

Out of curiosity I looked up what the average life of a lawn mower is, and it seems to be seven to ten years. Given the lack of maintenance that so many people give them I'm not surprised. I've consistently gotten between 20 and 25 years, but then I keep the oil changed and the air filter clean, the two biggies for long engine life.

So if people don't change the oil and clean the air filters, then it's no surprise the engines don't last long and then you get that "average mower life".

[aja8888]

Walked dog, mowed back yard, did odds & ends and took my second shower of the day. 95F outside here with 70% humidity. Typical Gulf Coast weather.

[Moemg]

We have gotten into a Sunday routine . In the afternoon we go to a local park and walk the trail . We then stop for a late lunch .Today was barbecue the beef brisket was great.

[socca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Today was yard work day, mowed the grass and changed the oil on the lawn mower. It's new and supposedly you never have to change the oil. I don't buy that for a minute.

Home Depot is advertising a 22" Toro lawnmower with a Briggs & Stratton engine that "never needs to have the oil changed." This piqued my curiosity so I went to the B&S website and can't find any evidence of a revolutionary new engine design. I check the oil in my lawnmower before every mow, and it gets steadily dirtier as the weeks go by. I do an oil change when the oil becomes dark brown.

My 22" Toro push mower with B&S engine is still working fine after 5 years. It's a tad under-powered (can't use it to mulch), but it does the job.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I made a sign to put out at my community garden plot.

The best of all possible signs for that location!

[Walt34]

Opened a youtube account and posted my first-ever video, done in Adobe Premiere Elements, of a FPV (First Person View) flight of a UMX Radian, small sailplane, with a TV camera/transmitter on it and recorded with a DVR in a monitor screen. All-up flying weight is 54 grams, or 1 7/8 ounces. Pilots will notice a "wiggle" from the tail, I suspect either from turbulence caused by the TV camera or the stabilization system "hunting" or a combination of both. It's so minor that I never saw it from the ground but it is definitely there.

The score is a freebee that comes with Premiere Elements and is there because there's no microphone on the camera and I just liked it.

And yes on landing it was "too high and too fast" so I had to go around for a second try.

The photo under the link is of the sailplane and transmitter/monitor on the workbench. Needless to say I don't expect to make a penny from youtube. Oh, and my real name is not Irving J. Smaklebits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYz9...ature=youtu.be

[pacergal]

Less shaggy today, Got a haircut!
Salon was 50 % capacity, masks required by all, stay outside or your car until appt and they text you to come in. In and out in about 20 minutes, felt fairly safe.

[1242Vintage]

Today was another exciting day in retirement land.

Workout on my bicycle for an hour, a couple hours pruning trees in the orchard, hit the gym for a late afternoon workout and then took FIL out for an early bird dinner and Father’s Day celebration.

In other news, the calendar is opening up and I signed up for a gravel endurance bicycle race in September. Everything I had on the calendar this Spring and Summer was cancelled. Need something to get the adrenaline flowing again.

[JP.mpls]

I've spent the last two afternoons taking the head off of the chevy small block 350 in my old truck.

I had zero compression on one cylinder.

I found a damaged exhaust valve. Everything else looks to be in good shape.

I will be repairing the valve, and hopefully get this engine running good again.

JP

20200622_161627.jpeg

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP.mpls I've spent the last two afternoons taking the head off of the chevy small block 350 in my old truck. I had zero compression on one cylinder. I found a damaged exhaust valve. Everything else looks to be in good shape. I will be repairing the valve, and hopefully get this engine running good again. JP Attachment 35404

Yikes! I haven't seen a valve lose a chunk like that in 40 years of tearing down engines! Did you find the chunk?

[Ronstar]

Walk/ weights. Changed oil/ filters and sharpened blades on riding mower, deep cleaned the gas grill, and made a large suet feeder in attempts to attract pileated woodpeckers.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAE I have lost about a dozen tomato plants this year also. They grow fine for a few weeks or more, then start wilting, then tip over. The stem just above soil level is very thin, and is being attacked by something..........a fungus, I'm pretty sure. Damping-off fungus is only supposed to kill very young seedlings, but whatever fungus is killing my tomato plants is able to weaken and kill much larger plants. I don't know what I can do about this. The research I have done on soil-borne fungi basically says there is not a whole lot you can do about it, other than plant your tomatoes in a different area next year. The problem is, this is happening at various locations throughout my whole garden, so it's not restricted to just one small area. Frustrating!

I learned this trick from a You tube video a couple of years back. You may have to search for yourself to get exact formula, but the gist is you spray your tomato plants with a aspirin/water solution. The mixture triggers the plants immune system into high gear and keeps the plants healthy.