Day 3692

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was in the low 40's, so we had to wait for a while before taking the dog anywhere.

I spent the time surfing.  I didn't want to start anything because I wanted to take the dog to the park as soon as it got warm enough.  We left for Circle C as soon as the temperature got to about 52.

The par was drier than yesterday, but there was still a lot of muddy spots.  Abby found a lot of them.  She ran a lot harder than she did yesterday and because it was drier we walked the normal course.  That produced a very tired dog in the evening.  She was muddy again so we decided to take her for a bath.  She didn't enjoy it, but she did enjoy the treats afterwards.

I'd been anticipating going to the post office all day.  Aliexpress emails said that there would be two packages.  There weren't any when I got there.  Disappointed.  We went home after that.

The temperature was up to a balmy 55, so after lunch I went out to the garage.  I cut out the material for the truck bed.  Then I cut the four aluminum pieces for the bed border.  It took a lot of time measuring things out carefully.  I also had to notch the ends of two of the pieces to fit them to the other two.  That took a lot of time with a Dremel, grinder, and a file.  It was 5 when I was done, so I quit.  I'm afraid it will be too cold to work in the garage tomorrow.  If it isn't I'll try to attach the border pieces to the bed.

Ellen fixed chicken and noodles for dinner.  After dinner it was a solid video night.  Some packages came at 8.  There was the anti-skid tape that I ordered for the trailer.  The Corvair body from Amain also came.  The package also had the parts that I need to put the sway bars on the Opel.  Yeah.

After a little more surfing I went to bed. 

Day 3691

 I woke up after 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was still cold, so I decided to do some design work on the flatbed trailer.

I went through several iterations of length and width for the trailer.  I ended up with one that will haul the big crawlers.  However their wheels will overlap the sides of the trailer.  Also, the ramps will have to tilt outward a little in order to clear the back bumpers.  Anything bigger than this really began to look weird.  

Once I had the bed dimensions I built a full scale template of it by taping a couple of pieces of paper together.  Then I looked up the specs for the springs and made up a template with the positions of the springs and tires.  I moved that around on the trailer bed template until I found the spring positions that I liked.

By then it was time to take Abby to Circle C.  The weather was a little cold, but heavier clothes took care of that.  It was muddy though.  We shortened the walk a little and had to wipe the dog's feet before letting her in the car.

The next stop was Lowe's.  I bought the aluminum I'll need for the trailer.  I also bought some softener salt.  We stopped at the Thai place for lunch.  I hadn't had Pad Thai for a while.  It was really good.  The last stop was the post office.  There was a Chinese package there.

When we got home I spent some time with the stuff in the Chinese package, putting it away and logging on to mark them received.  Of course I ended up spending time looking at stuff on the site.  Eventually that turned into some video watching.

Dinner was some leftovers.  After dinner I split the evening between videos and surfing. 

Day 3690

 I woke up a little after 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then it was time to leave for the eye doctor.  I was a little bit worried about the roads, but they were all dry.  There was just the usual slowing on loop 1 around 290.

The doctor told me that it sounded like a visual migraine.  Apparently they can manifest like this.  She asked about stress and sleep.  The weather has been stressing me out some.  Also I haven't been getting a whole night's sleep for about a week.  I wake up early and can't get back to sleep.  She said my eye looks fine.

When that was done I went to the post office to pick up another Chinese package.  Then it was on to HEB to get much needed groceries.  The next stop was circle C for Abby.  It was in the 50's, so she had a great time running around.  It was really muddy though, so we didn't get a full walk in.  The last stop was CVS for the eye drops.  They said the drops would cost $550, so I told them to forget it.

It was lunch time when we got home.  Then I started work on the Opel.  My original intent was to install the shocks and continue with the assembly.  I looked at the sway bar installation first.  The instructions were very confusing, listing parts that weren't there and parts that weren't on the kit.  I finally worked out that some of the kit parts were there, I'd just overlooked them.  Others weren't included or mentioned.  Fortunately my parts collection had what I needed.

That process showed me that I lacked some hardware to complete the kit.  I decided not to do any more assembly.  Instead I collected all of the parts needed for the remaining steps.  That's always a pain since the parts are scattered over different parts bags and plastic part trees.  It too hours, but I managed to collect everything I think is needed except for two screws.  I'll find them when I get to that step.

I packed everything up and then it was time for dinner.  Ellen fixed salmon and rice with beans.  After dinner I decided to look into modifying my current TRX4 to have portal axles and 4-wheel steering.  It would be a lot cheaper than a complete new build.  I can't build the straight axle version because Traxxas doesn't make straight axle TRX4's any more and no one builds spare straight axles.  I've got more research to do.

I messed around on Aliexpress pricing things out until it was time for bed. 

 

Day 3689

 I woke up at 6:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  That sounds early, but I got to sleep an hour early last night.

It was another cold morning, in the teens.  I went back to work on the Opel.  I got quite a bit done.  I installed all four axles.  That included building the CV joins for each axle and drilling holes in the axle housings.  When I finished that I just didn't feel like doing anything more.  I still have to install the shocks, electronics, and tires.  The final bit will be wiring up the lights.

I switched from the Opel to working out a price list for the flatbed trailer that I'm planning on building.  I went back to the garage and found materials for everything except the frame, springs, hitch, and tie downs.  I got on Aliexpress and ordered them.  Of course I spent a long time insuring that I had the lowest prices.  The whole thing should come in for less than $30.

A really weird thing happened in the afternoon.  I came in from the job and sat down at the computer.  A little later I lost sight in my right eye.  My vision was covered wit gray with a few glimpses of normal sight peeking through.  I thought that I was having a stroke.  Fortunately it cleared up in a few minutes.  I called the eye doctor and made an appointment for tomorrow.

The weather here still sucks.  It's really cold over night and in the morning.  It warmed up to the 40's this afternoon.  It's supposed to get cold again starting tomorrow through the weekend.

I decided to go for a walk, mainly so Abby could run.  It is muddy, so I walked up and down the driveway.  During one of my turns at the bottom I noticed Abby coming out from under the deck.  An animal had broken a hole in the wooden lattice by the Wisteria.  I got out the remaining chicken wire and Ellen helped me repair it.  Abby had a really long run while we were working.  She's a very tired dog tonight.

Dinner was leftover steak.  After dinner I surfed and watched videos on the computer while Ellen watched chick flicks on the TV. 

Day 3688

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  There was no reason to hurry to get up, the temperature was 22.

It stayed cold all day.  We may have gotten to a couple degrees above freezing.  The melted some of the sleet on the ground.  Of course that brought out the idiots that don't know how to drive.  There were crashes all over the metropolitan area.  1826 was closed all day a little north of us.  We stayed home like sensible people.

The warm up caused the sewer alarm to complain for a lot of the day and evening.  It does that when there's a heavy rain, too.  It's really annoying because you can't shut it up. 

I started the day looking at what it would cost to build a RC trailer.  I went out to the garage to inventory what I have.  I have all of the metal except the L strips for the edge of the deck.  I also have lots of acrylic for the deck.  Unfortunately the L strips are going to be expensive.  The stuff is a lot more costly than I remember.  Fuck Biden.

Amain sent me an email saying my credits had come due.  I logged on to their site and ordered the Corvair body.  I also ordered hing pins for the MT10 (I bent one) and collars so I could install the Opel sway bars.  That got me to $50 so I could use a coupon.  With that and my credits I got 1/2 off. 

I have more work to do on pricing the trailer, but after that I decided to go back to the Opel.  I started with the differential and immediately ran into an issue.  The kit instructions said us 30K fluid, the instructions said use the 3K fluid that came in the kit.  I ended up on a time consuming internet search to find the correct answer.  I didn't find a definitive answer, but I found a Tamiya videos that indicated use the fluid that came with the diff.  After that building the diff was easy and kind of fun.

From there I went back to work on the kit.  I met the common unclear instructions.  I also found that the ESC I'd bought didn't fit.  I searched, but Hobbywing doesn't make a smaller one.  Luckily I figured out a way to make it fit by using stuff I had in my parts box to modify the mount.  Never throw anything away.

I worked on the Opel until dinner time.  I managed to install the drive line, motor, and the shock towers.  I used carbon fiber shock towers.  That slowed the process because I had to get spare parts to make them work.

Ellen fixed waffles and sausage for dinner.  She put fruit on them.  The were really good.  After dinner I surfed, watched videos, and continued pricing the trailer. 

Day 3687

 I woke up about 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The temperature was in the low 20's, so no chance of going outside.

There was no chance of driving anywhere either.  Last night there was a little freezing rain, enough to cover everything.  Later sleet came down.  That covered everything with a little of an inch of hard crust.  I mean hard. When I walked on it I didn't leave footprints.  Driving on that would have been very dicey.

I started to work on the Opel.  

 Today was a hard day.  I kept fumbling parts and having to double check my work.  It ate up a fair amount of time and effort.  I did manage to construct the chassis, steering links, and install the front and rear diffs.  I'd constructed the diffs a long time ago.  At that time it was time to build the center diff.  I didn't have that in me.

I boxed everything up to keep it away from the cats.  Then I cut out the plastic parts for the inner fenders.  I can use the extra to practice pin striping.  That saves me buying a throw away body. 

When that was done I did some surfing, which turned into an Aliexpress shopping session.  I really wasn't interested in anything and didn't buy anything.  I just needed something to do while the football game was on.

Austin is pretty much shut down.  The doctor's office sent me an email saying that they cancelled my appointment tomorrow.  That's fine with me, I wasn't going anyway.

 

Day 3686

 I woke up about 7:30, played games and then got up.  I wanted to get my prescription from CVS before the ice started so I delayed breakfast and drove there.  

The pharmacy was supposed to open at 9.  I got there at 9:10.  The doors were shut.  There was a guy inside but he ignored me.  I stood there for about 10 minutes and then left.  According to the weather reports that's going to be all of the driving for the next few days.

When I got back I turned on the light in the well enclosure and the heaters in the well house, apartment, and trailer.  The temperature was 36 and I wanted to get a head start on the temperature drop.  The temperature continued to go down slowly all day.  It's 23 at 8:30 PM and scheduled to get down into the teens tonight.  There's also supposed to be significant freezing rain.  That's started.  There's a thin coating of ice on the car. 

I'm really hoping that we don't lose power.  The power company has done a lot of work cutting back trees from the lines.  I hope that helps.  My real worry is that something will happen on the power generation side of things.  Also I don't want to have to cut down any more trees.

I had a late breakfast and then put away the remains of the work on the Mecrob spider.  Then I got out the Opel kit and set it on the table.  That's all the work that got done on it today.  I planned on doing more, but it just didn't happen.

 I watched videos for a while and then switched to surfing.  I'm kind of burnt out on video searching.  Of course I ended up on Aliexpress.  I worked out what it would cost to get parts to build a 1/10 flatbed trailer.  I also found a way to build a hot shot crawler a little cheaper.

That led to watching videos on GLP-1 and a couple of new RC cars.  I also collected some videos on the Corvair chassis.  It's not going to be a first class crawler, but I should be able to make it into a workable one. 

All in all it was a pretty uneventful day.  I hope the next 3 or 4 days are the same.  The weather guy is hinting at another cold snap in a week.  Crap. 

 

Day 3685

I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I played games and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went outside to prepare for the coming ice storm.

I set up the heater in the well house.  When I put the light in the pump enclosure I found that the guys that put in the new pump hadn't replaced the insulation.  That began a pain in the ass.  I climbed up into the apartment attic for insulation.  Then I cut it into appropriate pieces and taped it around the well head.  That involved crouching in the enclosure with light rain coming down on my ass.  When I finally go done I put everything away and set up heaters in the apartment and the trailer.  I'll turn them on tomorrow when the freeze starts.

I got back to the house just in time to go to a meeting at the bank.  We stopped at Dutch Bros first.  That made Abby and I very happy.  Abby got to go into the bank with us.  We had a great talk with the people because they weren't busy.  Oh we also got the CD renewed.

I didn't want to go home, so we had an early lunch at the Italian place.  It is an expensive place, but we had a coupon. 

When we got home we watched the weather report.  Apparently it is going to get very cold here starting tomorrow and lasting at least 3 days.  The temps will get below 20 and never get above freezing.  To add to the whole thing freezing rain is almost a certainty.  I hope it isn't a repeat of the ice storm a few years ago where we lost power for days.

I got an email saying there was a Chinese package at the post office.  I drove over to get it.  When I got back I decided to cover the outdoor faucets on the house and apartment with pipe insulation and duct tap.  They look like duct tape dicks.

I opened the Chinese package and put everything away.  They got one item wrong.  Instead of $2 body clips they sent me a $11 set of shocks.  I was OK with that. 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent on Aliexpress.  I decided to price out what it would cost me to build a 1/10 flatbed trailer.  I can build one with some parts I have and some I'd buy.  Unfortunately I can't find any ramps, or materials to build them.  I spent hours looking.  Oh well, I'll probably try to look some more somewhere down the line.  

Day 3684

 I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep so I played games and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.It was a cold morning, so I went back to work on the Mecrob spider.

I finished the build, but it was a bit of a battle.  One step involved stringing 6 parts and three sub-assemblies on a screw.  Unfortunately the screw was just long enough.  It took a lot of jockeying to get the parts lined up so that I could get the nut on.  The rest of the steps were much easier.  The result is a pretty cool "head" with a lot of LED lights.  Some of them are even light fibers.

When that was done it was warm enough to take Abby to Circle C.  In addition there was a China package for me at the post office and I wanted to get fuel and some more food.  By all accounts we're going to have several freezing days that could include freezing rain.

When we got back we ate lunch.  Then we sat down to watch videos.  I ended up taking a nap (surprise).  When I woke up I put the Chinese stuff away.  I'm getting quite a collection of "baggage" for the Corvair.  

Ellen had suggested getting some miniature ducks for the dash of my Jeep RC.  I thought that was a great idea.  It led to the afternoon and evening Aliexpress session.  I bought the ducks, a stand for the spider, and a bunch of larger magnets for the RC bodies.  The ones that I have now don't hold well enough.

Ellen fixed Jambalaya with the BBQ sausage for dinner.  The sausage is hot enough.  Adding the Jambalaya made it even hotter.  It will take a while for us to consume all of it.

When I finally got sick of Aliexpress I spent the rest of the evening surfing. 

Day 3683

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 60 degrees out, but I decided to work on the Mecrob Spider.

I was going to finish the spider, but I only got 7 of the remaining 29 steps completed.  The steps I did involved a lot of small parts and some confusing instructions.  I ended up fumbling a lot of things and also having to correct assembly errors.  It wasn't fun, so I quit.

The carpet tape came yesterday, so it was time to install it.  We tried to position the carpet with the table on it.  That didn't work out at all.  We finally moved it off the carpet.  It took a long time to align the carpet with the tile.  Later I found that was because Ellen had put some of the useless carpet tape in the middle of the carpet.  That caused the carpet not to slip smoothly as we tried to move it.

Eventually we got the carpet positioned.  The new tape was double  sided and much stronger than the old tape.  We carefully put tape all around the edges and two pieces where the chairs are.  Then we pulled up the top protector and attached the carpet a little at a time.  We were pretty successful with the result.  The carpet is really secure and has held up under the rest of today's use. 

By the time that was done it was time for lunch.  After lunch it was time to run the dog.  I didn't feel like driving, so I walked around the property.  I walked a little farther than normal because it was such a nice day.  Abby ended up very tired.

I got out the Opel kit from the garage and brought it into the house.  I'm going to need something to do on the weekend.  Saturday,, Sunday, and Monday are supposed to have highs in the low 40's or high 30's and lows around 20.  I have to set up the heaters in the pump house, well house, trailer, and apartment on Friday.  I'll also fill up the two empty 5 gal jugs we have with water.

Ellen shortened a couple of sweat pants for me.  One is fleece.  I'll probably need it this weekend. 

 I sat down to watch videos after my walk.  That turned into a nap.  When I woke up I watched a couple of videos on custom RC car builds.  I may try one.  It won't be cheap though.  I spent the rest of the evening on Aliexpress pricing things out.

Day 3682

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then it was time to leave for Ellen's doctor appointment.

Loop 1 was backed up from a little past William Cannon almost to the river.  It wasn't terrible though.  We got to the office just in time.  Abby and I sat in the car while Ellen went inside.  When she was done I decided to drive to Hobby Town.  We were already there.

We had fun at the store.  I picked up some paint for the Corvair.  Ellen got some pin striping tape and a present for her sister (Christmas or birthday).  We stopped at the post office on the way home to pick up an Aliexpress package.  I also dropped off my ring at the jewelry store to be repaired.  They'll send me an estimate in a few days.  The last stops were Circle C and HEB.  Abby had a good time at the park.  It was 55 degrees and she met a coupe of GSP's.  Unfortunately it was at the end of our walk and she was a little tired.

We had lunch went we got home.  After that I went through my closet and discarded some things that I won't wear any more.  I also found some good things that I'd forgotten I had.  With that done I started to work on the Mecrob Spider.

I finished putting parts on it.  Then I tightened up some parts that had come loose.  Finally I posed it the way the instructions said to.  I thought I was finished.  Hah.  There was a box B.  It had about the same number of parts as box X.  It basically contains the head.  The assembly is a bunch of small parts.  Some of it is really difficult to put together physically.  I managed to get through 13 of the 29 steps.  It's going to be neat though.  The "eyes" are three battery powered lights.

Finally I went through the stuff from China and put it away.  I now have everything that I need to build five kits: Audi, Dirt Cross, CAPO, Opel, and Corvair.  I'll probably be building the Opel this weekend.  The temperature on Saturday and Sunday isn't supposed to get above freezing.

Ellen fixed baked potatoes with brisket.  It was good.  The potatoes were from Amazon along with the Caesar salad that we added. 

After dinner I did a little more organizing of RC parts.  That led to a long Aliexpress shopping session.  I didn't buy anything this time though. 

Day 3681

 I got up about 8 today, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was another 44 degree morning.  I decided to do some surfing.

The surfing morphed into a long Aliexpress shopping session.  I spent another $12.  I had to go to CVS, so we left for there and Circle C about 11.  It was a cool day and Abby ran a lot.  She also drank a lot.  We walked the long route again.  I plan on doing that very day from now on.

When we got home Ellen fixed scrambled eggs and sausage.  It was great.  Then I sat down for videos.  That turned into a long nap.  When I woke up I watched a few more videos and then switched to an old movie recommended by one of the videos.  It was great.  Ellen fixed turkey burgers for dinner and I ate one while watching the movie.

When the movie ended I tried to find another interesting one that I wouldn't have to pay for, but I didn't have any luck.  I switched off the TV and went back to surfing until bed time. 

Day 3680

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was another 44 degree morning, so after breakfast I went back to work on the Mecrob spider.

I did 17 steps in the instruction manual.  All of them seemed to be constructions decorations of one sort or another and attaching them to the spider.  The result is pretty ornate.  I stopped because I was tired.  I have 6 steps to go.  Only 5 pieces need to be attached.  Most of the steps involve arranging the legs in the correct poses.  There is another box of stuff to assemble though.  I'll have to look at it when I'm finished with the spider.

After that I did a little surfing.  It got up to 60, but I didn't feel like driving to Circle C.  I decided to walk in the lot instead.  Abby was fine with that.  Ellen went out, too.  She only lasted about 3 laps though.  I did 12. 

After that it was lunch followed by some more surfing.  Football started at 3.  There were two games and I didn't care about either one.  I sat in the recliner and surfed Aliexpress while I was watching them.  That cost me $12.  I consider that cheap entertainment.

Dinner was leftover salad and a frozen thing.  The second game went into over time and didn't end until almost 9.

I went back to surfing and then to bed. 

Day 3679

 I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 44 degrees out, so I went to work on the Mecrob spider.

I put the legs and the mouth on the body.  That doesn't sound like much, but there are 8 legs and the mouth is a complicated sub-assembly.  Then I ran into a problem.  The mouth wasn't fitting correctly and the instructions weren't showing me why.  After half a hour of looking through different pages I finally figured it out.  Two of the mouth parts were assembled correctly, but positioned incorrectly.  I fixed the problem and quit working on the spider.  I'd had enough frustration for the day.  The picture only instructions aren't clear sometimes.

 It was still cold, so I started surfing.  Eventually it started warming up.  I ate lunch and then decided it was time to take Abby to Circle C.  Ellen's asshole was giving her trouble, so she stayed home.

I stopped at HEB and the post office before going to the park.  I got fiber drinks at HEB and Aliexpress packages at the post office.

It was cool, so Abby had a good run at the park.  One odd thing was that she never took a drink even though we walked all around the park. 

When I got home I unwrapped all of the stuff in the Aliexpress packages.  There were 10 or so items.  Then I put the items away except for a winch and a front bumper.  I assembled them.  It took a while because the bumper had a lot of parts and the winch barely fit.

I fixed some brisket for dinner and started watching the Seahawks play.  They killed San Francisco which made me happy.  I cruised Aliexpress while it was on.  I ordered 8 items, some of which I was about to order from Amazon for a lot more money.  I also ordered a couple of things from Amazon.

I went to bed when the game was over. 

Day 3678

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When that was over I went back to the Mecrob spider.

I built up the rest of the legs.  It was a lot of parts and a lot of time.  By the time I was done it was almost noon and 72 degrees.  I decided it was time for Circle C and lunch.

Abby wasn't near as energetic today as she was yesterday.   We did the normal walk.  She covered a fair amount of ground, but nothing special.  When we got back to the car she was ready to get in it.

We went to the restaurant by Tomlinson's for lunch (actually brunch).  We had these great french bacon pastries.  I had a prosciutto and egg sandwich.  It was very good.  When we were finished we went to Tomlinson's to by cat food.  We also got Abby a birthday cookie for her birthday.  Her birthday was actually 6 days ago.

When we got home I handled something that I've been meaning to do for quite a while.  The insides of the windows in the Audi are filthy.  The back window is bad enough that it's hard to see out of.  I cleaned all of them.  I also cleaned the outside of the front windows and the glossy black parts of the interior.

With the windows done I went inside to watch videos for a short while and then went back to work on the spider.  I'm not sure what I built, but I think it was the mouth.  After that I was tired of building it, so I switched to researching Corvair station wagons.  I found all of the colors.  A couple of them are ones I might use.  I could also try something less standard.  We'll see.  I also looked on Aliexpress for lights.  I'll have to wait until I get the body to buy any.

Dinner was leftovers from brunch.  Ellen spent the afternoon and evening on chick flicks.  I watched the rest of a 2 hour video on Russian soldiers in Ukraine.  It was made by a Russian freelancer.  It was interesting, but I still don't have any sympathy for them.  Then I switched to videos on the chassis kit for the Corvair.

In general people aren't too impressed with the kit or it's instructions.  I've looked over the instructions and I don't like them either.  I did find a couple of good videos to follow along on.  I also looked at some trail riding videos.  The chassis makes concessions in the name of realism that limit it's performance.  However I think that I can make it work fairly well if I install real shocks.  I'll probably also end up loosing a lot of the dress up parts.  That's fine with me.

The temperature is supposed to drop significantly tomorrow.  We'll see. 

Day 3677

 I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I had to decide on the next build project.  I decided to build the Mecrob metal spider.  I'm a little tired of building cars.

I got out the kit and started building.  It took me a little while to get into the swing of building Mecrob stuff.  I got out a plastic box and organized the parts bags.  Then I started bolting things together.  I had a coupe of missteps in interpreting the instructions, but got over them.

It was sunny and about 70 by noon.  We took Abby to Circle C and let her run.  She was really happy.  I walked a little farther than normal because she was having so much fun.  I planned on going to the post office next, but got waylaid by an Estate Sale sign.  There wasn't much of interest, but I did pick up a 2'x2' piece of 1/4 inch plexiglass for $1.  After that we did get to the post office.

The last stop was HEB for eggs and bananas.  Of course that expanded into a lot of other groceries.  We didn't get home until 3. 

I had a very late lunch and then watched some videos that ended in a nap.

Ellen fixed baked potatoes with BBQ sausage for dinner.  The sausage was definitely not Martha friendly.  After dinner I went back to the spider for a while.  I got tired of that and finished the evening with videos and surfing. 

Day 3676

 I woke up at 7 and played games until 7:30.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we left for Dripping Springs.  We got to Malone Diesel 10 minutes before our appointment.

We stayed while they changed the oil and fixed the backup lights.  It took a little over two hours.  There was a large field behind the shop.  We took Abby there to throw the Frisbee and let her run.  It was cool and she had a great time.  The field was large and she covered as much ground as she would have at Circle C.  After that we sat in the shop and read our phones.

When that was done we stopped at the breakfast/lunch place in Dripping Springs.  Ellen had breakfast and I bought a piece of cake for us to taste test.  While Ellen was eating I bought some BBQ next door.  We stopped at Dutch Bros on the way home.

When we got home I went to work finishing up the Slash.  Programming it was the normal amount of work except I had to use my complicated programmer.  It took a little while to get it working correctly.  I ended up updating the firmware in both the programmer and the ESC.  I dressed up the wiring and closed up the receiver box.  Then I cleaned up everything about the Slash.  I packaged up the parts and manuals and put away the tools.  I may start another car tomorrow.

After that I rotated between surfing, Aliexpress, and videos.  There might have been a nap during the videos.

Dinner was something frozen. 

After dinner it was Gutfeld followed by a couple of documentaries on FOX. 

Day 3675

 I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was another cold morning, so I went back to work putting stickers on the Slash.

I put the remaining ones that came with the kit on.  Then I got out my sticker selection and put on some from it.  The stickers didn't really cover up any of the painting problems, but I think that they made it look better.

With that done I did a little surfing.  That got boring fairly quickly, so I got out the soldering iron and started wiring the Slash.  It wasn't hard, but it was time consuming.  I was finished about 2:30.  By then it had warmed up to about 60.

Ellen's asshole was giving her problems again, so I took the dog outside.  I walked in circles for about 2 miles while Abby ran all over the property.  She was tired by the time we were finished.  I think that she's getting past the puppy stage.  She comes right away when I call.  Also she listens and obeys immediately when I tell her to go inside.  That's a big difference from the running off and making me call more that she used to do.  I like the behavior, but it makes me sad that she's getting order.  I need to live in the present, because there aren't many tomorrows left.

I watched videos and fought napping when we got back inside.  Napping won a couple of times. 

 Ellen fixed steak stir fry for dinner.  It was good.  After dinner I tried to watch videos, but got bored and watched a movie instead.

Day 3674

 I woke up at 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 44 degrees outside, so outside wasn't an option.

Instead of working on the Slash I decided to do a cleanup.  After finishing 2 builds I had extra parts scattered all over.  Plus, some of my parts holder were in desperate need of reorganization.  I put all of the extra screws in the parts boxes.  This lead to a complete reorganization and relabeling of the 10 slot M# box.  It's going to make things much easier.

Then I tackled some of the other boxes.  This was basically reorganizing things and filing away some parts that had been laying around on the bed.  All of this took time until after lunch.  By then the temperature was 70.  Ellen's asshole was giving her fits, so Circle C was out.  I walked around the yard for over half an hour while the dog ran.  According to the watch I walked over 2 miles.

When I got back inside I watched some videos interspersed with short naps.  Ellen wasn't making any dinner, so I cobbled together something out of what was available.  Then I sat down to watch football.

The game was interesting for the first half.  At halftime I did a little more reorganizing.  When the game restarted it was clear who was going to win.  I gave up on it.

I finished the reorganizing and then attached some stickers to the Slash.  I have some more stickers to do, but it was bed time.  

I rate the reorganization as a big improvement. 

Day 3673

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was in the low 40's, so I just went back to working on the Slash.

I didn't have much to do, just attach the front end and attach the servo saver to the servo.  That showed the need to adjust one of the steering arms, so I did that.

By then it was warm enough to take Abby to Circle C.  It was also cool enough that she went full out.  There wasn't a wind like yesterday, so we were pretty comfortable.  Abby got a little extra running in because Ellen needed to go to the can when we got back to the car.  The extra running caused her to be pretty quiet in the evening.

We stopped at HEB on the way home for bread, bananas, etc.  It was packed.

We has lunch when we got home then I went back to the Slash.  That's when the trouble started.  The only thing that I had left to do was the sway bars.  That's when I discovered that I'd installed the front shocks wrong.  That would have been simple except that the shocks didn't fit in the place they needed to go.  I trotted out to the garage and spent the next 1.5 hours using a Dremel to remove material from the front arms.  It sucked.

After that I got the front bar on fairly easily.  The rear was harder.  It was difficult to install the brace on the assembled car.  Also the bar barely fits because the brushless gear case is different than the standard one.  I'm not sure that it will be effective at all.  At this point I don't care.

Ellen fixed strawberry waffles for dinner.  It was great.  After dinner I went back to the Slash and finished the rear sway bar. I was tired and should have stopped there.  I didn't.  I put the body mounts on the body.  That wasn't difficult.

The final task was to put roof skids on the body.  That's when I discovered that Ellen hadn't aligned the roof stripe correctly.  I decided to center the skids on the roof.  It looks a little goofy, but it's functional.  It doesn't really matter.  Parts of the paint job are a complete disaster.  Elle just isn't careful enough with the masking. 

I wasn't done with the Slash until after 9.  I still have to do the wiring, programming, and cleanup.  I hope that it goes better than today's work did. 

Day 3672

 I woke up about 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold, 44 degrees.  I did some surfing and then decided to continue work on the Slash.

 I installed the servo and the receiver box.  I also installed the receiver.  I didn't install the ESC because the chassis is designed for the Traxxas ESC only.  I needed to come up with some sort of adapter.  I finished some other chassis things and attached the rear end to the chassis.

By then it was after 11 and the temperature had warmed up a little.  There was a strong north wind though.  We loaded up Abby and drove to the gun show in Dripping Springs.  It only had 10 or so tables and very few buyers.  Prices on pistols and AR's seemed OK.  Some of the other prices were ridiculous, particularly the guy selling magazines.  I didn't spend much time there.

We went over to the soccer fields because it was really cold out in the wind.  We could use the trees there as shelter while we walked.  That mad it relatively pleasant.  On the way home we stopped at Dutch Bros.  It's the first coffee I've had in weeks.  It was great.

When I got home I went back to Aliexpress.  I spent hours finding the absolute best price on 4 or 5 items.  That ran until dinner time.  After dinner I went out to the garage and made a mount for the ESC.  Then I installed it.  By then there was a football game on.  We'll have to see who wins.

It's supposed to be cold for the next few days.  I predict a lot of in the house activity. 

Day 3671

 I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for quite a while and finally got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that Ellen and I hooked up the flatbed trailer to the truck and went to pick up the mower.

I was a little worried about the hassle that might happen, but picking it up was painless.  We got there just after  they opened at 8 and were the only people there.  I parked out front and they drove it out.  Alla in all it cost over $1,500.  We hauled the mower home, parked the trailer, unloaded the mower and put it away.

With that done I called the diesel place to get the truck fixed.  The appointment is for next Wednesday.  After that I did some shopping on Amazon and Aliexpress.  I ordered all the rest of the stuff to supply the electronics for all 6 kits I have.  It took quite a while to find the best bargains.

It was after noon when I was finished.  The temperature was 70, so we took Abby to Circle.  It was cloudy so she didn't get hot.  She took advantage of that and ran hard all of the time we were there.  We made the normal circuit.

It was almost 2 when we were done.  We went to Torchy's for lunch.  I had a bacon, egg, and cheese taco.  It doesn't seem to have affected me.  When we got home I sat down for videos, which quickly turned into a nap.

When I woke up I started building the front end of the Slash.  It didn't go well.  I kept making mistakes that cost time.  Also more option parts that I had purchased didn't fit.  They were expensive, too.  Crap.  I didn't eat dinner and it still took me over 4 hours to complete the assembly.

I called it quits on the Slash when the front was done.  I surfed for a little while and then went to bed. 

Day 3670

 I woke up at 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was a cool morning, so after breakfast we took Abby to Circle C.

Abby hadn't been to the park in several days.  She had a great time.  The weather was cool enough that she could go full speed for most of the time that we were there.  We walked the full route.  She was a little tired when we were done.  She was great today, always checking in and obeying.

The mower place called while we were driving.  The mower is ready.  I'll pick it up tomorrow.  We stopped at the doctor's office so I could get another copy of the exercise routine.  We also stopped at HEB for milk and a couple of other things.

The next stop was the post office.  A package from China was there.  We stopped briefly at the pet store to see if the cat food was in stock.  It was and we bought 2 bags.  Abby got a treat.  The last stop was Costco for rolls.

When we got home it was leftovers for lunch.  Then I took the Slash shocks out to the garage.  I'd decided that the plungers should have holes to allow the oil to move.  I did one as an experiment.  It worked great, so I did the other three.  The process took a lot of time.  I had to disassemble each shock, drill the hole, refill the shock and bleed it.  The result was four well performing shocks.  I just wish I hadn't spent so much frustrating work on them yesterday.

I took the shocks back to the house and started working on the rear end assembly for the Slash.  It went together with no problems.  Unfortunately several of the hop up parts that I'd purchased won't work on this version of the Slash.  The suspension isn't standard and many of the parts I'd bought were suspension parts.  Crap.

It was dinner time when I got done with the rear end.  I had something frozen.  After dinner I did a few small chores.  Then I switched to videos and a nap.  When I woke up I continued with the videos until bed time. 

The new pump seems to be working well. 

Day 3669

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games until 8.  Then I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The pump people got there a little after 9.

I got out the Slash to work on while they fixed the pump.  They positioned the truck without needing any more tree trimming.  They moved the pump cover out of the way and took off the well head.  The truck had a crane that extended at least 30 feet.  They used it to pull up the casing.  The casing consisted of 20 foot long sections with metal screw connections at both ends.  There was 500 feet of them.

The pump guy said that 700 feet for the depth of the well isn't unreasonable since they always drill below the pump level in case the water level drops.  They eventually got to the pump.  It didn't look terrible, but it had clearly had some use.  The new one looked about the same.  After that it was the reverse process.

They were done about noon.  We have 62 PSI water just like the failure never happened.  The cost was $8,300.  The estimate had been for $7,800, but the pump guy added a $500 device that shuts off the pump if it starts sucking air.

Ellen immediately took a shower.  I continued to work on the Slash.  I was in shock absorber hell.  Three of the shocks worked reasonably.  The fourth did not.  I worked for hours on it.  I'm at a loss right now on what to do.  I'll sleep on it.  

I ate lunch and then took a shower.  It felt really good.  Then I built the Slash gearbox.  The rug Ellen bought came.  We put it under the kitchen table.  It looks pretty good and doesn't snag the chairs like the cowhides did.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was videos and a long nap.  The pump dying stressed me out.  It took a toll on my sleep and my general well being.  I'm glad it's fixed.  Basically I'm too old for this shit.

 

Day 3668

 I woke up at 8, got up and called the pump company.  They said that someone would contact me today.  Then I did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  After that I continued work on the BRZ.

I started out completing the wiring.  It wasn't hard, but it was time consuming.  The last "real" work was to lower the front body mounts.  This took a while because I wanted to get it just right. 

All of this took until about noon.  The pump people called.  Apparently they weren't quite sure who had come to the house.  They said that they'd call back with an estimate.

I then undertook the cleanup from the BRZ build.  I packed up the extra parts, threw away the garbage, and put away the documentation.  I decided to try to find some decals to cover up the body post holes.  I have a lot of decals.  The effort devolved into a combination sorting and cutting out operation along with the search.  I spent the tie because it was mindless.  I ended up with two small black stickers over the front holes and Amain logo buttons over the back.  I also now have a whole bunch of sponsor's stickers.

Abby hadn't run, so we took her to Circle C.  The pump people called while we were driving and said that they will be here tomorrow at 9.  Abby covered a lot of ground at the park.  She stayed in the shade though because the temp was 84.  On the way home we picked up my Mounjaro.  It's back to $626.

When we got home I sat down to watch videos and fell asleep.  I didn't have lunch, so when I woke up I had brisket for dinner.

After dinner I decided to take stock of what electronics I'll need for the remaining 6 RC car kits that I have.  Three of them are complete.  The CAPO needed two micro servos, the Dirt Cross needed a receiver and a standard servo, and the Corvair needed a standard servo and three micro servos.

I hit Aliexpress and ordered 2 standard servos, a cheap micro servo,  and a receiver.  I also ordered a couple of other dress up parts.  The prices on Aliexpress are still much lower than those in the US, but they are going up.

The shopping took up most of the evening.  When I was done I did a little surfing and went to bed. 

Day 3667

 I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I played games until 7:30.  Then I got up, brushed teeth, etc. and called the pump place.  They said they'd have someone come out.  A little later I got a call saying he'd be there at noon.

I left for Wally World and bought 5 5 gallon jugs of water, 4 1 gallon, and a package of bottles.  When I got home I fed the animals.  I didn't have breakfast because I didn't want to shit.

I worked on the BRZ for the rest of the morning.   I installed the lights in the body and then cut the body posts.  Then I picked out magnets and magnet mounts for the body posts.  Ellen took John and Melissa to Black's for lunch.  They wanted BBQ before they left.

The pump guy came at noon.  After working on it a while he said that the pump was dead.  The cost will be $7K-$8K (probably).  He said they could probably do it tomorrow or Wednesday and would call later (he never did).

In order to replace the pump they need to get a boom truck into the yard.  That required cutting a lot of tree branches.  John came out to help.  I did the cutting while he did the advising and hauling the branches away.  It didn't take long to do, but I was sweaty afterwards and no shower tonight.

After that I went back to the BRZ.  I ran into some problems because two of the mounts wouldn't conduct electricity.  I finally figured out a solution.  Yes, it involved a Dremel.  The solution required redoing the body posts, but I was tired of working on it.  I sat down with John and we watched videos until dinner (leftovers).

After dinner we sat talking as they are leaving tomorrow.  I worked on getting some of the wiring on the BRZ body done.  I should be able to finish it easily tomorrow (famous last words).

I wish that they could have stayed longer, but we can't compete with a trip to Hawaii. 

I'll call the pump people tomorrow morning and find out what the plan is. 

Day 3666

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I got out the BRZ and started putting on stickers.

I had about 50 stickers to cut out and attach.  Most of them were odd shapes and hard to position correctly.  I worked on it until a little before noon.  Abby hadn't had a walk, so I went out to the garage so she could run around while I was there.

I attached the receiver labels to most of the cars in the garage.  I have three more to go.  I didn't have a label for one, and I couldn't identify two others.  John came out while I was doing it,  He was concerned about the oil in the Polaris so we went out and checked it.  It's fine.  By the time were were done Abby had had a fine run.

We went back inside and had leftovers for lunch.  Then John watched football, Ellen and Melissa made cookies, and I went back to stickers.  Those activities took up all of the afternoon.  I finished with the stickers just before dinner (more leftovers).  We talked for quite a while.  The cookies were great.

After dinner John and I watched football. John and Melissa left a little early. I surfed and listened to the rest of the game.

Day 3665

 I woke up at 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I took Abby with me to run errands.

I stopped at the post office, got gas, bought $182 of cat food, and took Abby for a long walk at Circle C.  When I got home Melissa and John were at the apartment where John was getting a haircut.  I'd brought the BRZ and Slash bodies in, so Ellen and I started working on them.

The BRZ turned out really well except for the front of the hood.  The masking had failed and there's some black paint on it.  The Slash was a great example of what happens when you don't do a good job of asking.  Most of the areas have failures of one sort or another.  I put the Slash away and went to work on the BRZ.

I put together a wing to use on the BRZ.  Then I carefully measured out where to punch the holes to mount it.  It worked out perfectly.  By then John and Melissa had come over.  John suggested that we work on the Polaris, so we did. 

We pumped out the old gas and put in the new.  While I was doing that John installed the new battery.  After a little bit of messing around the thing started right up.  We ran it around the neighborhood and it ran really well.  We'll have to take it shooting when John and Melissa leave.

Ellen, John, and Melissa went to Costco while I was putting everything away.  I had lunch and went back to work on the BRZ.  I attached the wing and started work on the decals.  There's at least 55 of them.  I spent a lot of time "improving" the rear view mirrors, and finally did it Tamiya's way.  I only got about 10 done before it was time for football.

Ellen fixed steak on the Traeger.  When it was done we talked and watched football.  The game was over late, but John and Melissa stayed to watch the news about the Venezuela invasion. 

Day 3664

 I woke up at 6:30, played games, and then got up and took Abby for a walk around the property.  I walked in a circle for half an hour while she ran all over the place.  I put in 1.5 miles.  She went a lot farther.

When we were done I had breakfast and went to the garage to do some painting.  I'm finishing up both the BRZ and the Slash.  After that I went back in the house and surfed until 10.  That's when we agreed to leave.

We left when John and Melissa came over.  We drove to a place a few miles outside of Fredericksburg.  We'd been there before.  It's a combination wine and plant place.  They didn't buy anything, but Ellen got a small plant and some seeds.

After that we went on to Fredericksburg.  It was really crowded, but we found a perfect parking place.  The first place we went was the brew pub for lunch.  I had a kid's lunch.  It was plenty.  After that we walked up and down the main street.  We stopped and a few of the stores, but John and Melissa just seemed to want to walk and enjoy the sunny and warm day. 

We left after a couple of hours.  On the way hoe we stopped at Amy's across from Belterra for ice cream.  It was a hit.  The car said that we got 36 mpg on the way home.  I hope it's correct.  I've been a little disappointed with the mileage so far.

When we got home John and Melissa went to the apartment.  I did a little more painting.  The Mohave Grom parts and the frame kit from Amain were here.  I put the parts on the Grom.  I also did what I think is the rest of the painting.

When John and Melissa came over She and Ellen did crafts while John watched videos.  Eventually I joined him.  We decided to watch movies.  We watched two.  Ellen and Melissa multi-tasked.  It was a little past the normal bed times when the second movie was done.

Day 3663

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was too cold to paint, so I started assembling the wings that I'd purchased for the BRZ.

Unfortunately I'd bought two of the same wing.  That gave me three choices of wing.  I'm not sure which I'll use, but I'm not spending any more on wings.  It took quite a while to put them together because they all used really small screws to hold the parts together.

John and Melissa showed up while I was working on the wings.  I continued to do that while the women worked on crafts and John watched football.  It also got warm enough that I would go out occasionally to paint the BRZ body.  I put on 3 or 4 coats.  I think it's almost ready for the silver.  Ellen says the masking has to be removed from the Slash and then it will be ready for white.

I joined John at football when the wings were done.  After the first game John, Melissa, and Ellen went to HEB.  I stayed home and walked around the yard for half an hour while Abby ran.  She was sufficiently tired by then.  When the others got home we all went back to doing what we were doing before.

Ellen fixed pork chops for dinner.  She left them in the Traeger for a little too long, so they were perfect from my point of view. 

After dinner we sat around the table and talked for several hours until it was bed time.