Day 2439

 I woke up about 7:30, got up and did the pet stuff.  Then it was some surfing waiting for Gerry to show up.  When he did we took the shooting stuff to his cart.

It was 68 and when we started, and in the 80's when we finished.  All in all it was nice.  I shot pretty well.  There were actually no shots I couldn't at least make.  Also I made a lot of pretty difficult shots.

We got finished a little before 11.  We put everything away and then I went out to the shed.  I was already hot and sweaty.  I wanted to put the Kraton back together.  I did that, it worked great.  I also spent some time aligning the front tires.  They look good now, too.  I would have tested the servo saver, but the radio was in the trailer.

I went back to the trailer and we left for the post office.  I had to mail the CPAP SD card.  I forgot to yesterday.  After that we went to Jones Farm for strawberries.  I also got a seeded watermelon.  It's the first I've seen this year.

We'd found a teriyaki place in Keizer.  It turned out to be really good.  There was a yogurt place nearby.  It was good, too.

By the time we got back it was in the mid 90's.  We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the trailer.  I watched a couple of movies on the TV over the internet.  Any thing but chick flicks.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner I continued to watch movies.  I quit at 9.  Ellen immediately turned on a goddamn chick flick.

Day 2438

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When I was done I went out to the shed to work on the B6.4.  I wanted to take advantage of the "cooler" temperatures.

I worked on the car until about noon.  I basically did almost all of the steps that I could do without the part I'm waiting on.  I quit because I was tired and it was getting too hot in the shed even with the fan.

I surfed for a while and then had lunch.  After lunch I surfed some more,, killing time until three when it was time to take Cooper to the vet.

We stopped at the post office on the way up.  There were two packages.  One had the part for the B6.4 (it came early), the other was the delayed package.  I was really surprised about the second, as they said it wouldn't get to Gervais until Monday.

The trip up was supposed to be "clear sailing".  It wasn't.  There were slowdowns at both Wilsonville and Tualatin.  We made it with 10 minutes to spare.

The vet visit didn't go well.  Cooper has an infected canine tooth.  It will need to be pulled or have a root canal.  Pulling will cost $1K.  A root canal will cost more.

217 south bound was a parking lot.  We took Lombard to Hall and Hall to 99.  We got on I5 there.  I don't know if it was faster, but it was less stressful.  After getting on I5 it was clear sailing.

We decided to eat at AC Greasy.  When we got home I just had to check the parts for the Kraton.  They work perfectly.  That means work on the B6.4 is going to be suspended.  I decided to spend the evening working on it.  That way I could incorporate the new part as well as all of the sub-assemblies I'd built today.

The evening's work wasn't without pitfalls.  I had to redo one sub-assembly I built in the morning.  I also spent quite a while determining that one of the parts I needed was in another bag that shouldn't even be open at this point (this has happened before).

In the end I have most of the front and rear suspension in as well as the gearbox.  The drive train, shocks, and body mounts are left.  It's a good place to call a pause.  Tomorrow I'll try to get the Kraton put back together.  I'm hoping that the servo saver doesn't need to be tightened.  That would be a big job.  Gerry wants to shoot at 8:30, so I might not get anything done at all.

When I was finished building I put everything away and did some surfing.

Day 2437

 I didn't wake up until almost 9.  Then I played games until almost 10.  When I eventually got up I started on a list of todo items.

I started by setting up the CPAP cleaner and adding water to the machine.  I went outside and used glue to seal the carbon fiber parts for the B6.4.  Then I replaced the batteries in one of the temperature transmitters in the pin box.  That took some care, it's a tight space.  The next item was go to the post office.

I apologized to the clerk about the email the post office had sent them.  I let them know it wasn't their fault.  She said not to worry and that they would contact the Gresham post office.  By then it was after 11 and I was hungry because I hadn't had breakfast.  Arby's was advertising a new fish menu item, so we went there for lunch.

After lunch we went to the factory stores.  I wanted another pair of shorts.  It was over 90, but bearable in the shade.  I stopped at three stores.  Nobody had what I wanted.  Apparently making men's shorts with flys is no longer a thing.  We also stopped at Swavroski and got the nieces some things.

By then the temperature was in the high 90's.  It eventually got to over 101.  We hid out in the trailer.  I switched out the CPAP SD card for one they sent me.  I have another two weeks or so of using it to prove to them I'm using it.

A lady from the Gervais post office called.  They'd contacted Gervais and the package should be here on Monday.

I decided to do some more work on the B6.4.  I did Step 1.  It wasn't long, but it's the only one I can do without the part I'm waiting for.  Then I skipped around and did another 6 or so steps from later one in the build.  Tomorrow I can use the sealed parts to accomplish more.

Ellen fixed steak sandwiches and salad for dinner.  After dinner I surfed for a while and then watched YouTube on the TV.  I find a lot of interesting videos that way.

Day 2436

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a little less than an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.

I was going to go to McMinnville today, but the ferry is closed for the foreseeable future.  I'm not interested in driving there through St. Paul.  Instead I called the post office to complain about the package in Gresham.

I called their help line and was subjected to 5 minutes of Chinese flu crap.  Then there was more phone tree BS of various types.  Eventually I was put on hold for 20 minutes.  At least the guy that finally answered was American.  I told him about the problem.  He's said he'd start a ticket and response would be 3-5 days.  Later in the day I got an email saying it had been given to the Gervais postmaster.  I'll have to go see her tomorrow and apologize.

I also got an email from Amain about the package.  They basically said it was up to me to hassle with the post office.  I sent a reply repeating what the post office said.  If the post office doesn't come through I'll ask Amain for another part or a refund.

It got hot early today.  I decided to work on the B6.4 in the trailer.  I first glued the tires.  Then I built the differential.  Finally I built the gearbox and installed the differential.  Everything wen pretty easy except for some problematical documentation.  The YouTube build video I'm using helped a lot.

Building the B6.4 took most of the day.  The back of my mind kept thinking about the puppy.  I finally decided it wasn't the right one for me.  I emailed the breeder telling him that.  A dog is a lot of work.  If it turned out I didn't really like the dog I'm afraid I wouldn't put in the time that I need to with it.

Ellen fixed cornbread and sausage for dinner.  It was really good.  After dinner I sat in the recliner and watched YouTube videos on the TV.  It was a lot of fun.  I watched several interesting ones and learned some things.

The only really useful thing I did today was drain the tanks.

Day 2435

  I woke up before 8 and played games until 8:30.  Then it was breakfast and pet stuff.  After a little surfing we packed up and left.  

We stopped at the post office and I asked the postmaster to look into getting the Amain package sent from Gresham.  She said she'd try.  Then we stopped at Baumann's to get corn and zucchini.  We also got candy corn for Vicki.

We also stopped at Costco on the way up for water and batteries.  We got the last case of water that they had.  FUCK BIDEN.

There was a short traffic jam at Tualatin.  We stopped for a hamburger and then went to John and Patty's.  It was the typical talking and drinking.  I also demo'd my 1/24 Jeep.  John enjoyed it.  We had steaks for dinner.  They supplied the steaks and Ellen grilled them.  I napped.

After dinner we watched some more TV.  We left about 8:30.  We've been keeping them up.  We stopped at Safeway for orange juice, bananas, and milk.  The drive home was uneventful.  I was still in the 80's when we got home at 10.

I surfed for a while and then went to bed.

Day 2434

  I woke up before 8 and played games until 8:00.  Then it was breakfast, pet stuff and leave for the laundromat (no breakfast).  Washing the clothes was typically routine until just before we left.  That's when I discovered that I didn't have my wallet.

We made a quick trip home to search for it.  It was no where to be found.  Both of us started hitting the phones.  Ellen cancelled the credit and bank cards.  She had quite a hassle because they didn't want to send the new ones to our out of state address.  I had to get new documents.  I had a real problem with the driver's license.  I probably wouldn't have been able to get it except Covert had a picture of my license.  They sent it to me so I could use its number on the replacement app.

The medical cards were a little easier except for having to make logins to their websites.  I needed help to get the drug card.  They haven't contacted me about it.  It took a lot of the day to get this all done.

I spent the rest of the day really depressed and angry with myself.  I could barely eat dinner, no lunch.Of course I was imagining all sorts of bad things that could happen from having the wallet stolen.

Just before we went to bed Ellen brought me my wallet.  It had been in my pants all of the time.  What happened was I'd put it in my front left pants pocket by mistake when I changed pants last night.  In the morning the phone went in that pocket without me noticing the wallet.  That meant that when I checked my pockets I only felt the phone.  When we got home I changed pants and hung the pants up.  Then I took the phone out.  That meant I didn't notice the wallet then either.  Finding it was a huge relief.  It will be a while before the new card come.

Day 2433

 I woke up before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was supposed to get hot today, so after breakfast I took the Perazzi to the shed to clean it.

I decided to give the gun a complete bath.  In addition to the usual I removed and cleaned the trigger and the ejectors.  I almost had a disaster.  When reassembling one of the ejectors I launched the keeper into space.  I spent quite a while moving things and searching the bench, work table, and shelves.  No luck.  I started looking on the floor and found it immediately.  If I'd just started there I would have saved a lot of effort.

One weird thing.  The barrel was pretty dirty, as was the IC choke.  However the LM choke was almost pristine.  By the time I was finished it was noon and getting too hot to work in the shed even with the fan.

I needed to return a servo I'd ordered from Amazon by mistake.  I got the return code and then we drove to the UPS store to return it.  There were half a dozen people in line in front of us.  4 of them were returning things.

After that we went to Lowe's to get some linseed oil.  The stock on the Perazzi has a lot of wear.  I want to freshen up parts of it with the oil.  In passing I noticed that half the checkering has been worn off.  I may try to get that fixed over the winter.  We ate lunch at a pizza place.  It was nice to eat something other thna frozen pizza.

By the time we got home it was hot.  We spent the rest of the day and evening sheltering in the trailer.  It eventually got up to over 102.  Woof.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was surfing and TV.

Day 2432

 We got up about 8, had breakfast and did the pet stuff.  After that we packed up and left for the clubhouse.  We met Gerry on the way.  He was on our squad, so he gave us a ride.  It was nice not having to walk.

The day started out cloudy, but it cleared up and got warm.  It wasn't hot though.  Both Ellen and I shot pretty well.  She shot over 70, and I shot a 90.  I'm not sure where I placed, but I feel pretty good about the score.

It was getting warmer by the time we were done.  We went back to the trailer and put everything away.  Then we took the garbage to the club.  We stopped to buy ammo.  We were going to eat there, but the line was too long.  We sent to the post office and Woodburn instead.

We ate at Arby's.  There was a whole line of cars at the Tesla chargers.  The things aren't worth anything once they run out of electrons.  By then it was getting hot.  We went home and sheltered in the trailer.

Dinner was leftovers, followed by two movies on the internet.  We're not going to need DirecTV anymore.

It kept getting hotter and hotter.  It eventually got up to 98.  It was still 77 at 10.

Day 2431

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games until almost 9.  I was on a real roll.  Then I got up for breakfast.  After that it was pack up and go to the club.

We got our score sheets and then went out to the start station.  Of course it was the farthest one from the trailer.  At least the weather was good.

The shoot wasn't fun.  First of all I shot like crap.  That wasn't the worst thing though.  The floaters in my left eye are back.  They aren't as bad as before, but there were 3 or 4 buzzing through my field of vision all shoot.  To make it worse they are all small black dots that look like targets.

When the shoot was over Ellen got a ride to the clubhouse.  When I got there she was no where to be seen.  I went home.  It turns out she must have been in the can.

Eventually Ellen came home.  She had talked to the owner of a dog from a local wirehair breeder.  She really liked it.  I looked on their website and saw a dog I really liked that appeared to be for sale.  I emailed them.  They replied saying that dog isn't available, but others were.  They wanted me to fill out a long application on the website, so I did.

After the application that said that they wanted to talk on the phone.  I said I could do it next week.  We'll see what they might have.

I also looked into ordering the optional parts for the B6.4.  That's when I discovered that the most crucial one is on back order.  CRAP.  I may end up building it piece meal, like doing the shocks and the differential.

Ellen fixed salad and mac and cheese with ham for dinner.  It was really good.  I fixed myself a strawberry milkshake.  It was good, too.

The evening was spent watching the TV while surfing.

Day 2430

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I loaded everything up and we went shooting.  We both took the 20 ga.

I didn't shoot all that well.  It was kind of usual.  I made some good shots and had some others that I couldn't hit at all.  The whole thing was pretty disappointing.  At least the weather was pretty good, although it was getting warm by the time we were done at noon.

We stopped at the club for a while and talked with people.  Then it was home.  I put things away and then reloaded 225 20 ga.  I'm beginning to run out of all of the consumables.  At this rate I'll have to quit reloading in a year or two.

I had lunch when I was done reloading.  By that time it was getting hot.  I sat in the recliner and surfed.  It was literally impossible for me to keep from napping.  That's what getting old gets you.

Since the Kraton is almost done I started looking at videos on building the B6.4.  One noted several parts that should be replaced as they are problematical.  Of course I started looking into ordering them.

Ellen fixed pancakes and sausage for dinner.  The sausage was really good.

After dinner I kept looking at B6.4 stuff.

Day 2429

We woke up at 6:30 and immediately got up.  I did the pet stuff and went outside to move the truck so the sewer guy could get in.  Then I went to the shed to work on the Kraton.  I thought the sewer guy would show up soon.  He didn't.

I continued working on the Kraton.  I installed the motor, connected and dressed the wires, and added the larger side panels.  Then I connected a battery and programmed the throttle position.  That finished assembling the Kraton.

I was happy for a few minutes.  Then I discovered that the truck wouldn't steer.  The culprit was one of the after market steering knuckles I'd installed.  One of the balls doesn't fit in it.  It's the ball's fault, not the knuckle.  FUCK.  By then it was getting hot, so I just went inside.  I'll need another ball.  I'll also need to tighten up the servo saver.  That won't be easy.

I ordered more balls.  At least I had a $5 off coupon.  By then it was 11 and the sewer guy still hadn't shown up.  I went into killing time surfing mode.  That lasted until 4:30.

At 4:30 Ellen called the sewer people for the second time today.  As she was talking to them the sewer guy showed up.  I rushed outside and started dumping the tanks when he got set up.  The guy doesn't really know what he's doing and caused a small sewage spill about 1.5 foot across.

It took about 20 minutes to dump the tank.  When the guy was gone I dug up the spill, moved the gravel, and filled it in with new gravel.  Then I put everything away.

We fed the cats and then went to Bi-Mart.  I decided to get a larger diameter hose to connect to the black tank sprayer.  That might speed up flushing it.  We also stopped at Abby's for dinner.  I had a welcome beer.  Then we did a little shopping at Safeway.

We got home just before 8.  I watched some National Geographic shows on Disney+ and then went to bed.  I may have napped during some of the shows.

Day 2428

 I woke up at 7:45 and played games for about half an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.

We had to wait around for the sewer guy all day.  Of course he didn't come.  I did a couple of things accomplished in the morning.  I removed the DirecTV stuff from the trailer.  It really uncluttered the basement, so I rearranged it.  I also brought cat food and real food in from the basement.  Finally, I set up the second hose in case the sewer guy came.

It got hot early and got hotter.  We stayed in the trailer and surfed.  I love the new internet.  I spent a lot of time researching building a box for the system.  Unfortunately the parts were just too expensive.  I gave up and Ellen found a box at Home Depot that was a pretty good fit.

At 5 Ellen called the sewer people.  The guy wasn't coming.  We left for Home Depot.  I got the box and a new hose.  The old one blew up because of the heat.  I had it filled with water in case the guy came.  Silly me.

We stopped at Dairy Queen for dinner on the way home.

When we got home we watched movies.  It will be an early day tomorrow.  The guy will probebly show up a little after 7.

Day 2427

 I woke up before 8 and played games until 8:30.  Then it was pet stuff and leave for the laundromat (no breakfast).  Washing the clothes was typically routine.

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  The padding material for the Kraton body was there.  We went by Jones Farm on the way home and bought some strawberries.  When we got home I put the padding on while sitting outside.  It was too hot to work in the shed.

By noon it was in the high 80's.  Later on it got into the 90's.  That was too hot to do anything.  I spent the day surfing.  Ellen watched TV and played games.

Dinner was frozen food.  About 6:30 Ellen got notified that the Starlink was at Dollar General.  We went and got it.

When we got home we set it up.  It was still over 90 at 7:00.  The Starlink works great.  I'm so happy to have decent internet.  I shopped for a box to put the antenna in.  Ellen immediately tuned in a chick flick.

Day 2426

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a short while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.

My toothbrush has been going to shit over the last couple of days.  The drive pin is loose.  Ellen found a YouTube video that showed how to fix it.  I took the toothbrush and the tablet to the shed and fixed the toothbrush.  We'll see how long it lasts.

I decided to see how old the DEF I've purchased is.  Unfortunately they changed the date code format.  Ellen came through again and found the new one.  None of it is older then March.

I spent the entire rest of the morning sitting outside waiting for FedEx.  They didn't show.  Eventually Ellen got a status that they tried to deliver it at 1:15.  BULLSHIT.  I was outside in the yard at that time.  I think the driver has stolen it.  Ellen had the delivery transferred to Dollar General.  It's a 2 day delay.  I think that if the driver didn't steal it, the illegal alien at Dollar General will.  Fuck.  I should have had it delivered to John and Patty.

I spent the rest of the day pissed off, so I just killed time with surfing and TV.

Ellen fixed steak for dinner.  After dinner was more surfing and TV.  I did do some investigating of additional parts for the B6.4.

Day 2425

 I woke up at 8:30 and played games for an hour.  Then it was breakfast (Ellen fed the cats).  After that I did a little surfing and then went to the shed.

I got out the thermal pads and installed them and the heat sink on the Kraton.  Then I put it aside to dry.  I got out the B6.4 tires and watched a video on how to mount them.  I actually learned some things that made it easier.  I got them mounted, but I need to order some glue applicators before I can glue them.

Gerry arrived about noon.  We went out shooting with him.  I didn't shoot all that well, but the weather was perfect and we had fun.

We stopped at the club.  I asked about stopping by to get the Starlink tomorrow.  Dave wasn't optimistic.  Apparently FedEx is kind of spotty and inconsistent on the days the club is closed.

After that we went back to the trailer and had a really late lunch.  Then it was surfing and ordering the applicators.

Ellen fixed sloppy joes for dinner.  After dinner it was surfing and TV.

Day 2424

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to the shed to work on the Kraton.

I spent a lot of time figuring out the motor mounting.  Eventually I decided I needed to modify the heat sink.  I cut a notch in the side to fit the cable mount.  I also removed part of a couple of the fins to fit the diff mount.  The result fits really well.  I also put the wiring to the receiver back together and modified the body brace pin so it would clear the heat sink.

By the time I was finished it was getting a little hot.  Also, I wanted to run to the hobby shop and get wheels for the B6.4  We drove down there and got the wheels and some more pint that Ellen wanted.  We stopped at Freddies on the way back and bought a bunch of groceries.  The last stops were DQ for lunch and Bed, Bath, and Beyond for pillow cases.

It was too warm to shoot when we got home.  I got some tools and the B6.4 body out of the shed.  I cut the body pieces out on the kitchen table.  When that was done I surfed until dinner.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner I surfed while Ellen watched chick flicks.

Day 2423

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I did a little surfing and then went out to mount the motor on the Kraton.  That didn't go well.

While test fitting the motor I discovered that the ESC position didn't allow me to connect the motor leads.  I ended up having to reposition the ESC.  That involve taking parts off.  I also had to remove the ESC and reposition it on the ESC mount.  That involved drilling holes and using new screws.  I quit when I broke a drill bit.  The bottom line is I worked all morning and ended up slightly behind where I started.  Crap.

I went back inside and had lunch.  After lunch I did some surfing.  I moved to the recliner when I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I immediately fell asleep.  I napped for over an hour.  Then it was back to surfing and shopping.  I located a new temp transmitter for the one that died.  I was going to go shooting, but it was too hot.

Ellen fixed lobster noodles for dinner.  It was OK, but I like the chicken version better.

After dinner Ellen got an email saying the Starlink will be here on Monday.  Hopefully I can pick it up before Wednesday.

The evening was more shopping (tires and wheels for the B6.4), some surfing, and TV.

Day 2422

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games until a little after 8.  After pet stuff and breakfast I started working on a pretty long todo list.

I replaced the SD card in the CPAP and put it in the mailing envelop.  Then I called the Salem GMC dealer and mad an appointment to get its firmware updated.  Then I called the trailer place and found out that the axles will be in in 6 weeks.  Finally we took the truck to get refueled.  We put in $175 of diesel and it wasn't full.  FUCK BIDEN.

The last stop was Bamann's.  We bought some donuts and vegetables.  Then it was the post office and home.

When we got home I went to the shed and worked on the Kraton.  Before that I changed connectors on the power cable I bought yesterday.  Then I modified the body mounts on the Kraton to be screw on.  I think it will be much better than clips.  I also got out the motor.  I installed the pinion gear and mounted the motor to its mount.  I test fit the motor.  It's going to take some work, so I called a halt.

After lunch I did a little surfing and then moved to the recliner to watch TV.  That led to a nap.  Ellen woke me up with stir fry for dinner.

The temp sensor for the back display died today.  I replaced the batteries on the sensor, but it still isn't working.  I'll work on it tomorrow.  I also drained the tanks.  After that it was TV until bed time.

Day 2421

 I woke up at 7:15 and played games for a while.  I got up for pet stuff and breakfast a little before 8.  By then it was time to got to the dentist.  We left at 8:25 for a 9:20 appointment.

The trip up was a disaster.  We ran into a 2 mile traffic jam south of Aurora.  It was caused by the construction at the exit and the three sections of a modular home that was being hauled next to us.  It didn't look like we would make the appointment.  The traffic jam continued after the exit just because people were idiots.  It speeded up some before the rest stop and then slowed down again until past Wilsonville.

There was another jam on 217 north of Greenburg.  Fortunately we got off there and went up Hall.  We were less than 10 minutes late.  It was close.

I spent the next 90+ minutes at the coffee shop playing games.  When Ellen was done we went over to Tammies.  We bought some figurines for the kids and a charger cable for me.  We had lunch at the honey ham place and then went to John and Patty's.

We spent hours talking interspersed with surfing and baseball.  Patty fixed a great dinner.  After that we talked a lot more.  Better yet, the Dodgers won.

The ride home was another disaster.  We were VERY low on fuel due to the traffic jam.  I planned on fueling up at Wilsonville, but it was closed.  The station on 99 was supposed to be open until 10, but it was closed too.  I'll have to fill up tomorrow.  We have maybe 4 to 5 gallons in the tank.  That's the lowest I've run any vehicle ever that I can remember.

When we got home we surfed a while and then went to bed.

Day 2420

 We woke up, did the pet stuff, had breakfast, and left for the laundromat.  Washing the clothes was just as uneventful as normal.

When the wash was done we went to Safeway for groceries.  One of the items I wanted was Heath bars for a homemade blizzard.  They didn't have any.  I stopped at BiMart.  They didn't have any either.  I stopped at Coastal, their herbicide shelves are completely bare.  We went to Walgreens, they didn't have Heath bars either.  FUCK BIDEN.

We stopped at Wally World.   They had heath bars.  We also bought 24 rolls of TP.  No telling when Biden will decide we don't need it.  We stopped at the post office on the way home.  The last thing I need to complete the Kraton was there.  Yeah.

By the time we got home it was too hot to work in the shed.  We put everything away, had lunch, and surfed.  Eventually I got bored.  I brought in what I needed to complete the Kraton lights from the shed.  At least I got one thing completed in spite of the heat.  The lights look really good.

By then it was over 90.  It was back to surfing.  I wanted to make the best of the Starlink.  It goes back tomorrow.

Dinner was a TV dinner.  After dinner I surfed until 8.  Then we packed up the Starlink and watched TV.

Day 2419

 I woke up at 8 and played games for about an hour.  Then it was up for pt stuff and breakfast.  After that I went out to the shed to work on the Kraton.

I started by soldering bullet connectors on the B6.4's ESC.  They came out well.  I'm getting good at soldering connectors.  Then I found some screws that I'll use to attach the heat sink to the Kraton motor (I still needed the clamps).  I couldn't finish the LEDs because the heat shrink I bought yesterday was too small.  Si instead I started installing the aftermarket front hubs.

I put up a YouTube video on the process.  It used similar parts to the one I was using.  The whole thing went reasonably well with only minor hiccups.  The result was elimination of the wobble that was in the front end.  I'm happy.

I finished up by making a shopping list.  I'm tired of having to stop something because I didn't have something.  To help identify what I needed I made a list of all of the things I need to do to finish the Kraton.  The shopping list had four items.  There's half a dozen others on order.

It was getting too hot to work in the shed even with the fan.  Eventually it got to 95.  I went back to the trailer, got Ellen, and we took off to do errands.  We stopped at the post office and picked up packages and mail.  There were some parts, so I can work on the Kraton todo list.  Then we stopped at Brooks HW for Kraton stuff, the Salem farm store for strawberries, Harbor Freight for heat shrink, and Mickey D's for lunch.  After that it was home.

It was way too hot to shoot or work outside.  I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and watching videos.  I did order the last thing I think I need for the Kraton.

Ellen fixed chicken for dinner.  She started a fire.  I made her take the pan outside until the fire was out.  I figured that was better than using the fire extinguisher.  I spent the rest of the evening watching videos.  I'll only be able to use the StarLink tomorrow Wednesday it goes back.  Ellen ordered one for us today.

Day 2418

 I woke up at 8 and played games until after 9.  Then it was up for breakfast - Ellen had already fed the cats.  After a little surfing I went out to the shed.

I started by replacing the connectors on the B6.4 battery cables.  That allows me to charge them using the XT60 charger cable.  I was going to solder on the connectors to the ESC, but I didn't have big enough heat shrink to cover them.  I decided to work on the body instead.

I put the LEDs in their holders except for the large ones.  I need larger heat shrink for that.  Then I got out the door edging an put it all around the edges of the body.  I wanted to do a little more, so I got out the heat sink.  I played with it for a while and came up with a way to tighten the fit.  I'll need a couple of hose clamps.

It was getting pretty hot in the shed, so I went back to the trailer for lunch.  We had lots of leftovers, but I wanted a sandwich.  When lunch was done we drove to Harbor Freight to get heat shrink.  We also stopped at Roth's for milk.

When we got home I unloaded all of the stuff that I'd left in the car last night.  Then I drained the tanks.  The rest of the afternoon was looking at videos about the heat sink.  I ended up ordering a thermal pad which should increase the heat transfer.

Dinner was leftovers.  Ellen fixed strawberry milkshakes for dessert.  After that she watched TV and I watched videos for the rest of the evening.

Day 2417

 We got up at 8, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  After killing some time surfing we put the guns in the car and left for Tri-County.  The drive up was normal except for one thing.  We only had to stop briefly for one light from the time we left the freeway until the time we got to the club.

The weather was great, sunny but not too hot.  I didn't shoot very well.  For some reason I just couldn't connect with the targets.  I definitely wasn't in the groove.  The targets themselves were fairly difficult, but good.  We were shooting super sporting.  It's a slow game.  It was made slower because we followed a squad of 6 (everyone else was 4 or 5) that shot REALLY slow.  We waited at every station.

I didn't want to eat at the roach coach when we were done, so we went to Sherwood and ate at the Spaghetti Factory.  It was just like I remembered it.  After that we went to Hooch's place.  Of course it was a long drive on surface streets with traffic.

We sat on Hooch's deck and talked for hours.  He ordered pizza for dinner.  We stayed until after 9 and then drove home.  Traffic was light and speeds were high.

Day 2416

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When that was over I went out to the shed.

I tested the fit of the motor heatsink I bought.  It's a little too big.  I'm going to have to shim it somehow.  Then I started to work on the lights.  It took forever to untangle the 6 LED harness.  Eventually I got it straightened out.  After that I started soldering.  I soldered wires onto the two large LED's.  Then I soldered them together.  Finally I spliced them into the LED harness.

This whole operation took hours.  Plus, it was getting hot inside the shed.  I decided I'd wait until another day to install the harness in the body.  I think it's going to look neat though.

I went back inside and had a sandwich for lunch.  By then it was warm, but not uncomfortable.  I had intended to do a little more practice shooting.  Instead I just surfed.  Ellen had gotten the TV to play Prime, so I watched what she was watching.  I also ordered a couple of small items for the B6.4.  I'm collecting what I'll need to build it.

After it cooled off a little I went out to load up the car.  Hooch says we can come by tomorrow, so I loaded up the stuff for them along with the shooting stuff.  I also put the RC car in the car.

Dinner was a Cajun pizza.  After dinner was TV and surfing.

Day 2415

 I woke up at 7 (we set the alarm).  We got up.  I did the pet stuff.  The sewer guy showed up while I was fixing breakfast.  It was about 7:20.

The sewer dump went pretty well.  I had Ellen put water in the toilet while I was putting it in the sprayers.  That speeded up things significantly.  The whole thing took 25 minutes or so.

After that I had breakfast.  I did a little surfing and then decided to set up the Starlink.  That didn't take much time at all.  When I was done Ellen got it connected up with no problem.  Then she connected the TV.  That took a little longer.  Then she updated the TV's software and all of the apps that we have access to.  They all seem to work except Netflix.

The Starlink support is pretty good.  At one point Ellen was watching a movie on the TV while I was watching YouTube videos on my computer.  We watched the TV over the internet for most of the day.  It did get spotty in the evening.

After the Starlink stuff was done we ate lunch.  Lee called and wanted to know about the HOA CNR meeting.  I promised to write him an email.  Then we went out to shoot.  I didn't do as well as I'd hoped to.

When we got back I wrote an email for Lee and sent one to Hooch asking if he thought we could come over.  He later replied we could.  The we went to Safeway for bananas and orange juice.  Prices are getting really high and the shelves are getting bare.  For example there was almost NO meat in the deli section.

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  There were packages.  I now have everything I need to finish the Kraton (I think).

Ellen fixed hot dogs for dinner.  After dinner it was TV movies (internet) and surfing.

Day 2414

 I woke up a little after 7.  It was the first night using the CPAP.  I was OK with it except it hurt my nose a little.  I took it off after a few hours when it woke me up.  After pet stuff and breakfast we sat down to surf and wait for the sewer guy to show up.

I got two phone calls.  One was from the trailer guy.  It's going to cost $1,600 to replace.  I told them to go ahead.  The second was from the CPAP people.  They want me to use the CPAP 4 hours a day for three or four weeks.  If not, I'll have to pay for it.  They keep the data on a SD card I'll have to send them.

I did clean the CPAP.  It needs to be done every day.  The cleaner takes a couple of hours to do its job.  Then it needs to be recharged.

The sewer guy never came, so we wasted the whole day.  We suspect that they will show up before 8 tomorrow.  Assholes.

I spent a lot of time shopping for RC stuff on the web.  It was kind of fun.

Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  We ran out of propane while she was cooking it.  I went outside and changed to the other tank.  I think that propane was in the trailer when we bought it.  I'm not sure when I'll fill it up.  There doesn't seem to be much point in hauling the additional propane around.

After dinner we watched a movie and TV.

Day 2413

 We got up at 8, did the pet stuff, had breakfast and went to the laundromat.  Doing the laundry was normal.

I stopped at the post office on the way back.  The CPAP cleaner was there, so it's time for me to start using the CPAP.  I'm not looking forward to it.

It was raining when we got home.  I went out to the shed and worked for a while on RC stuff.  Then I went in for lunch.  By then the rain had stopped, but I just didn't feel motivated to do anything.  So I surfed and watched TV.  Eventually the rain started again.  That made me feel better for not doing anything.

Ellen fixed a bagged dinner for dinner.  It was really good.  After more TV and surfing I set up the CPAP.

Day 2412

 I woke up about 8, played games for half an hour, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  John and Patty didn't want us to get there until noon, so we killed time surfing.  We left for their place about 11.

We took the truck.  It needed to be run.  The round trip took 74 miles.  At $6.40/gal and 15.6 mpg that's $30 in fuel.  FUCK BIDEN.  The tri up was fast though.  It's the 4th and everyone knew there wouldn't be any speed traps.  Traffic was fairly light and the slowest vehicles were going 70.

We got to John and Patty's place just at noon.  I helped John unload a 160 lb cart from his truck.  It wasn't hard with two of us.  The weather was really nice and we spent hours on the deck talking and drinking.  John also got out the StarLink and showed me how to use it.  Then we packed it up and put it in the truck.

After that it was more talk and drinking until it was time for dinner.  We had ribs and corn on the cob.  After dinner we talked on the deck until it got cold.  Then it was inside to watch the Dodgers win.  Of course we all surfed and discussed what we found while the game was on.

The trip home was uneventful.  Traffic was very light.  I set the cruise at 70 when we got to Stafford and didn't have to hit the brakes until we got off at Woodburn.  We got to see a lot of fireworks both in town and all across the valley from Aurora south.

Day 2411

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games until about 9.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I did a little online shopping.  I bought some stuff I found last night plus a couple of things I located today.  I even added something for Ellen.

When that was done it was time to go get some corn to take to John and Patty's tomorrow.  We'd made a tactical error though.  All of the farm stores were closed.  We ended up going to Safeway instead.  That was OK, we needed bananas and orange juice anyway.

We stopped at the post office, but no mail.  Sigh.

When we got back it was sandwiches for lunch.  It was a pretty nice day, but neither of us felt like shooting.  We ended up surfing and watching TV for the rest of the day and evening.

Ellen fixed a great dinner - flat steaks, french fries, and salad.  It was really good.

Day 2410

 I woke up at 7:15 and played games until after 9.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was a little cold, under 60.

I went out to the shed to work on the Kraton.  I really didn't have much to do, so I decided to install lights on the body.  The body doesn't really have really good places to put lights, but I installed all 8 LED holders.  I didn't put the LEDs in because I still need to modify the wiring harness.

It was about noon when I finished that.  I got out the shooting stuff and we went shooting.  We only went around half the course.  It was still interesting.  Some of the targets had been changed and shooting some true pairs was also fun.  I'm working on my consistency and I'm slowly improving.

We ate lunch when we were finished shooting.  Then I went back to the shed.  I figured out what resistors I needed for the headlights and soldered them on.  I'll need to get some wire before I can make up the wiring harness.

I went back inside and did a little surfing.  That turned into TV watching.

Dinner was leftover meat loaf.  After dinner I watched a new TV show I've been taping.  Then I watched the Dodgers play.

Day 2409

 We're officially halfway through 2022.  Wow, I sure am getting old quickly.  I woke up about 8 and played games for half an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The cats were really hungry.  We may need to add some dry food back into their diet.

After breakfast I went to the shed to work on the Kraton.  I needed to finish installing the receiver.  That turned out to take  longer than I thought it would because I  had to remove the battery box to do it.  Doing so turned out to be a good thing.  It allowed me to modify the box a little to make the batteries to fit better.  I also reinstalled the dust shields I forgot yesterday.  Now I have to wait until I get a motor fan (more on that later).

There were packages at the post office, so we went there a little before noon.  They were the motor and esc, side rails, and bearing oil for the B6.4.  We went to the Brooks hardware and got mineral oil and frog tape.  We stopped at Harbor Freight and got an Xacto knife.  We ate lunch at Mickey D's and got some lemonade at Roth's so we could make strawberry lemonade later.  The last stop was the Salem farm store for strawberries.

When we got home I went back to the shed and made another shorting connector.  The first one I made had the wrong sex connector.  Dumb.  Then I went back inside to surf and look at the B6.4 motor and esc.  It turns out I'll need 14 ga wire and 3.5mm connectors to wire them together.

I checked Amazon for when the motor fan would show up.  That's when I discovered that I put it in the cart, but hadn't ordered it.  I added connectors for the B6.4 motor.  After a long search in the shed I found some 14 ga wire, so I won't need to buy that.  I also did a long search on the internet to insure that the Hot Racing hubs will fit the Kraton.  Both the Arrma and Hot Racing documentation for the part are out of date.  I finally located a YouTube video that showed they'd work.  This whole thing took the rest of the afternoon and much of the evening.

Ellen fixed sausage and hashbrowns for dinner.