Minor Win thread - Life is good!

In reply to ShawnG :

what was the practical like for you? I did one in the US several years ago and, while i'm no Jerry Miculek, I considered it laughably easy. We shot 50 rounds total, separated into randomly timed groups at several distances (3 shots in 7 seconds at 5 yards, 4 shots in 10 seconds at 7 yards, etc). I don't think we had to shoot farther than 10 yards away, and the only requirement was that you have to put all of your rounds on the "man sized" target to pass.

I watched the person next to me string all of their shots all over the place at 5 yards away (left shoulder, head, crotch) and still pass, and couldn't help but think that I would not want that person discharging a firearm anywhere near me, even if they were trying to help me

In reply to llysgennad :

I've probably stopped and/or helped a couple hundred ppl in the last two decades, a lot less so now that I have a family and therefore places to be. You'd be surprised though how many ppl have dead cell phones when you stop.

Best one tho was this girl who was out of gas late at night on a not busy part of the highway. She wouldn't roll down her window to talk to me, but yelled it through the glass. I went and got a loaner can from QT (QT policy is/was to always keep a gas can on hand by the dumpsters and if it's missing they will "store use" another one) and a couple gallons for her. I put it in the tank and she fired it up and thanked me through the closed windows and left. Seemed like a good idea to me. Glass isn't so hard to break through but still. 

They were cleaning out an old lab today at work any I got a free table. Two inch thick wood top, powder coated steel base, built in power strip

Fourth day of above freezing temperatures has me thinking about taking the snow tires off the X5 soon.  Yeah, I know it's premature, but it was -15F last week.

Was pretty sure I was going to need to replace the not-winter tires this spring-- went down to look at them, realized I'd already accomplished that last fall when I put the snows on!

Two weeks ago I could barely walk I was in so much pain.  I have been so stuffed up I can't breathe. I have enough problems with dry skin, I don't need these cold temps for months on end. My feet were so dry the skin started cracking, I had no idea it was a thing. But a week with a humidifier in my room, and a short break from the cold, like new again. 

A slew of minor wins yesterday:

• hung out with my buddy Jay,
• went to Autorama,
• ran into Carl Heideman,
• who introduced me to Ron Covell.

For the first time I have a new vehicle. I have bought some for the family but I always had something older. Picked up a 2025 Tacoma today, drove a little under 80 miles home and I love it. 
The dealer was great to work with, one of the few times I left a car purchase and didn't feel worn out. Fox Toyota in Auburn NY gave me a great buying experience. 

Got the roof on the mini cabin today.

Feeling like a twidget but I painted the new master cylinder for my truck prior to installation. 

The head unit in my daughter's Focus took a dump about 6 weeks ago.  She has a repair warranty but with a $150 deductible and the Ford dealer wanted $175 to "diagnose" it, things were sounding expensive.  I had already gone through the basics including pulling the dash apart to check the plug connections, that and replacing the fuse worked...once.  So instead of throwing good money after bad we took a chance and ordered a Chinesium replacement head unit through the river site after reading a bunch of reviews and watching a few videos to narrow the field of candidates. Between the freezing weather, a cold that ran through the house and some other projects I hadn't had time to do anything more about it.

It was sunny and around 50 here today so today was the day.  The "instructions" were pretty much non-existent, fortunately the plugs were decently labeled and I was able to figure out everything pretty quickly.  It was about 2 hours start to finish and we went from 2017 vintage Ford Sync with a back up camera / radio to a 6 x 9 touchscreen with wireless CarPlay and all that goes with it.  Sweet upgrade for under $250 bucks.   She's wicked happy and so is Dad.

Today we repaired a poorly glued and slightly leaking joint in our brand spanking new sewer pipe (yeah, I spoil her, but she's worth it) and backfilled the trench with sand and gravel. It's tamped and stamped and ready to never be seen again, and with that, the heavy work is done and I get to relax. She can throw a little dirt over it when inspiration strikes. Pic for attention.

got married at the Taco Bell yesterday (actually we were already married in a private ceremony and had this one for close friend and family)

In reply to gixxeropa :

Congratulations!

I gained back maybe 9 gallons of air compressor tank capacity...

In reply to gixxeropa :

Congratulations!

We're on a flight to Maui. We used points on our Hawaiian card to pay for first class tickets. I've never flown first class before but I could get used to it. 
 

I get a good bit of teasing from The Dancer for buying things that are a good deal when I don't explicitly need them but know that having them will likely be helpful down the line- never anything remotely expensive and very well within what our budget allows. A few years ago a dual-camera screen endoscope came up on one of the deals sites I check periodically and I snagged it because I figured it would come in handy. It has sat in its original box since, occasionally getting moved to a different place in the garage when I've been cleaning. 

A week or so ago I went to try and break the crankshaft bolt loose on the 2013 Escape I've been working on changing the head gasket on for a friend and the (apparently very) cheap specialized tool to lock the flywheel in place snapped with the piece of the 'tooth' that broke off falling down into the bellhousing. I was pretty pissed, figuring that I'd likely have to unbolt the engine and transaxle to get the piece out so it didn't wreak havoc. While I was contemplating how to get it out, I remembered having seen the endoscope in the garage earlier and figured that it wouldn't hurt to try and get eyes on the piece to see what I was dealing with. So I grabbed the endoscope, charged it up, and set about feeding it down along the flywheel and eventually found the piece exactly where I figured it would be- below the flywheel.

OK, so now I know where it is... but I still can't get to it easily. I'd tried feeding my telescoping magnetic pickup tool down there, but it just latches onto the steel flywheel (alright, since it's an automatic that should likely be flex plate and not flywheel, but it's easier to type...). I'm thinking about it and go, "Hmm. Well, I know I can feed the endoscope down to it... I wonder if I can attach a magnet to it somehow..." Something is nagging at the back of my brain, so I go and look in the box the endoscope came in- there was a small ziplock bag with some things I didn't immediately register as to what they were... but that on closer inspection I realize are several things that screw onto the finely threaded tip of the endoscope. One of which is, miraculously, a magnet. 

So I screw the tip onto the endoscope and feed it back down into the bellhousing- and eventually am able to use the magnet to snag the broken piece and pull it back up and out...

Then again a few days ago the thumbscrew nut on the new set of feeler gauges I picked up to check the valve clearances on the camshaft comes off and drops down into one of the recesses on the head- and I end up using the endoscope magnet to fish it out as well. 

So if I never end up using the endoscope again I would say it has already more than paid for itself...

170.2 lbs

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

That's a great reminder to keep the magnet attachment to my endoscope in mind when running into trouble. I love it when a tool comes in clutch.

That moment after you've lit a local political fire when one of the scorched politicians calls you asking to back off...and you let it go to voice mail. I'm tired of local politicians who are more interested in helping each other's careers versus the people in the city. Hope they feel the heat at the meeting tonight.

This week seems to be 'tools that Ash has had for a while but never had occasion to use before' week (beats the hell out of infrastructure week).

I spent some time over the middle of the day working out on the Escape since it's far easier when it's a) warm (it's in the 60's, for now) and b) sunny outside, so I figured it worth working a bit later tonight and wrenching during the daylight than work a normal day and be wrenching in the dark when it's cooled off (and is supposed to be windy and potentially start raining). The last thing that I did before putting things away in preparation for the storm we're supposed to get was to put the valve cover on- and the initial torque value for the bolts (3 stages of torque for them...) was 44 inch-lbs (not even 4 ft-lbs after conversion).

My 3/8 torque wrench doesn't go down that low, and I thought, "I really wish I had a 1/4" torque wrench..." but then stopped and wondered if perhaps I did have one- so I looked in my toolbox and lo and behold I did have a 1/4" torque wrench! I seriously doubt I've ever actually used it before- it's so cute! 

(picture is a bit blurry because it was taken when my phone was in the ziplock bag I keep it in when working out in the garage...)

we picked this up YEARS ago when the older kids were little, but after the move here it was left at my MIL's place. I came across it today and my 4 y/o just spent a big chunk of time playing with it, acting out scenarios and stuff. And I happen to enjoy playing with toy excavators, trucks, boats, and trains at least as much as she does, so double win there - spending quality time with the pumpkin that's enjoyable all the way around!

I drove the WRX with the 4 puck clutch today.  Figures I start seeing a sea of brake lights on I-75 this morning, couldn't be yesterday with the Crosstrek and its automatic.

But then I never got below 35mph.  It went back up and down for some reason, weird for that area.  But I never had to ride the clutch pedal.  I call that a win.

I did it.  I made it to 40.  A milestone birthday I've been preparing for but also not that worried about. 

This time last year I was at a miserable job, about 20lbs overweight, and just overall stressed out.  Was up at odd hours of the night all kinds of stressed and anxious.  Decided in May  '24 to make a "health recommitment".  Down 25ish lbs, I'm sleeping through the night, running 3-5 miles a day at least 5 days a week and preparing for a half marathon.  I'm coaching my kids sports teams and playing sports myself for the first time since I was a middle schooler.  I'm not saying I'm perfect because even the best version of myself isn't the best, but I did try to improve on what God gave me.  Hope the next 40 years are this awesome. 

This is truly minor...

Used the Mini to take my dad to a doctor appointment in NYC. Checked tire pressure, oil, and visual once over before heading out from central Mass. 

Saw a guy changing a tire on the side of the highway on the way home and only then did I realize I hadn't put the spare tire in the car (I normally leave it in garage).

Luckily I didn't need it, but did feel relieved after the remaining distance was below 100 miles and I knew I could have AAA tow it all the way home.