Christian Pipe Smokers

I'm playing golf tomorrow, first t-time is 7:30 a.m. It's a group of retirees, and typically there are 11 to 15 guys that show up to play. Each guy ante's up $7 into the pot for the day's game, and $1 from each player goes into what's called the "biggie" pot each week. The biggie pot accumulates for a year or so, until a biggie tournament is held at one of the nicer local courses. Well, with covid, and other things going on before covid, there hasn't been a biggie tournament in several years, and so the money has accumulated into quite a pile. So, today, the biggie was scheduled for next week. And already the emails are flying.

"Everyone putts out, no pick-ups, regardless if it's a tap in."
"Everyone plays out of a sand trap unless there is standing water in the trap."
"No moving the ball to get an improved lie, without gaining a stroke."

This is going to be interesting.

Other things going on include planting some rice and millet in the field where we plan to hunt this fall. Also have been trying to get out into our reservoir while it's dried up, to plant some rice there.
Also, today a new wiring harness for my 2001 Honda 350 4-trax arrived. I already have a new rectifier. I plan to get those installed, change oil, get a new battery, and then see if it will start without blowing a fuse. If it does, then I'll replace all the fluids and grease all the bearings, etc. If it does not, then I'll decide what's next.

Also, I had a job scheduled for next week in CO Springs, but that's now been pushed back a week, so now I have to change all of the reservations. Hoping I make some money with this.

And, I sold some stock this morning for a small profit, so there's that.

sweetandsour wrote: ↑08 Jun 2022, 19:43

Del wrote: ↑12 Apr 2022, 06:11 Recent weeks: Growing a beard.

Currently Working on: my log-in and profiles settings.

I should be: preparing for a big job interview this afternoon.

Hope the interview went well. Did you get the job?

Nope. I'm still playing at being retired. Which kinda sucks, actually.

But it's better than having a crappy job.

This is how you do it up in Tomball on a Thursday night.

My oldest graduated from high school this evening, my youngest promoted to high school yesterday.

Thunktank wrote: ↑09 Jun 2022, 23:33 My oldest graduated from high school this evening, my youngest promoted to high school yesterday.

Outstanding. Great milestones.

Steps to changing an alternator back in the day:
1. Lean over a bit
2. Remove top bolt on alternator
3. Use a pry bar to lever against the alternator assembly so that the belt can be removed
4. Remove bottom bolt
5. Install alternator using reverse steps

Steps to changing an alternator on a newer car:
1. Remove skid plate, three shrouds, fifteen brackets, and eight subassemblies
2. From underneath the car, use a ratchet to try to move the tensioner pulley. Find out that the ratchet is too short to provide adequate leverage. Add a cheater bar. Find out that the cheater bar makes everything too long. Use two wrenches hooked together to move the tensioner pulley. When the tensioner pulley is moved, try to insert a hex key into a tiny hole that cannot be seen in order to lock the tensioner pulley assembly. Find out that the hex key cannot be inserted because the wrenches are in the way. Repeat using wrenches at a slightly different angle. Fail. Try ratchet again. Fail. Try a wrenched hooked onto the end of the ratchet. Maintaining a great deal of force on the tensioner pulley, try inserting the hex key into the hidden hole fifty-three times. The fifty-fourth is a charm, trust me.
3. Remove belt from alternator pulley
4. Remove wiring connections from alternator
5. Move wiring assemblies out of the way of alternator
6. Remove top bolt on alternator
7. Remove bottom bolt on alternator. This step is most easily achieved by simply removing the driver's side wheel, drilling a large service hole through the fender well, and then using a ratchet.
8. Take a moment to curse loudly about the son of a goat at Toyota that designed this alternator arrangement
9. Note that the old lady across the street is staring at you
10. The alternator is now free. Try to lift it out through the top. Fail. Try to twist it into a hundred different positions, and fail to squeeze it through with any of them. Try to remove it through the bottom. Fail. Remove engine to make more room. Remove old alternator.
11. Reverse steps to install new alternator, though adding a few steps as necessary since the belt managed to slip off of all of the ten pulleys it should be wrapped around

Monitoring the pool. Just fired up the pump for the first time this year after setting it up last night. Looking slightly less swampy.

Cleaning & replacing the water in the hot tub. Need to reafix the cover caddy.

I'm working today. Later I think I'll go pick up the groceries if Mrs FredS gets the order in. Prolly tie some flies after that. Taking tomorrow off to go talk to a man about a driveway and some other dirt work in Southern Colorado. Thinking ahead about a picnic lunch with Mrs FredS on Sheep Creek for fathers day. We'll see about that one though. Also looking forward to a meetup with Bloodhound next week.

Oh, and the puppy sh*7 on the floor again so I'll probably clean that up. If I leave it, he might eat it, and that grosses me out because he licks my face to wake me up in the mornings.

[EDIT] Also, laughing at coco's adventures in automotive repairs.

FredS wrote: ↑16 Jun 2022, 12:54 Thinking ahead about a picnic lunch with Mrs FredS on Sheep Creek for fathers day.

With or without a paddle?