New Englander

EPA. If the light is on then it's likely that tailpipe emissions are being exceeded and more importantly, you're using more gas than you should $$$$$$$$$$.

The emission requirements are the very reason cars get such good mileage now compared to older cars. Yep, electronically controlled fuel injection, ignition timing, cam timing are the very reason for it. Manufacturers at first did stupid things like air pumps and all the other "smog" stuff that people ripped off. Now we have engines that make unheard of power while sipping gas. It was all the emission mandates that drove it. I realize you may simply be referring to diesel emissions but remember it all started with gasoline engines and took some years for the good solutions. As for government money grab: The state of New Hampshire gets a whopping $3.25 per sticker which does cover administration costs and generate some revenue. The inspection fees at the stations are strictly up to the station and should reflect the labor costs. Yes, there is a financial incentive to become an inspection station. Finding 4 bad tires is a quick legit sale. Changing a burned out stop light doesn't make much but sure appreciated by other drivers. A new wiper blade is an eye opener for the driver who hasn't realized the slow deterioration. Know your shop! If the shop says it can't pass because the shocks are damp take the rejection. Take it to a good shop and if there's really no problem report the shop who was trying to rip you off. If it's a good shop and they find a ball joint about to fall off it might just save someone's life, maybe you, maybe your child. Watch YouTube just rolled in to see the scary stuff shops find in non-inspection states.

Fee in NH is set by the shop and most are in the $50 range for car and light trucks and around $25 for motorcycles. An honest shop can do the inspection in about 20 minutes as I've seen it done at my friends shop. He's not looking for business, just doing his job as a service to his customers. In reality it involves plugging in a wireless OBD connector, taking a look at tires for wear bars and measuring if a close one is found, checking lights, horn and wipers, running the car up on a lift and using a light and mirror for brake pads and doing a quick visual, dropping the car near the floor for a ball joint and steering check and it's done. Sure if it's a POS it's going to take longer and probably need some repairs. He and the other shops I know won't lick and stick. I'm sure some do and there's bound to be dishonest auto shops. I do know of one shut down locally due to complaints. As soon as you plug in the OBD2 it will show drive cycle not complete and it's out the door if someone has just cleared the codes, or, it gets diagnosed and fixed. Sometimes people go to Autozone and they shoot the parts cannon at a code and clear it. Maybe it's fixed and just needs drive cycle or maybe not.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction just days before the program was set to expire and just days before all my vehicles needed an inspection due to my January birthday. I know there's much debate about the effectiveness of mandatory inspections as statistically crashes are more likely caused by driver distraction than by bald tires, worn out brakes and suspension parts. Personally though I'd rather the other vehicles on the road have working lights, windshield wipers that are not just smearing across the glass and descent tires and brakes. Here in the salt belt it's not uncommon for frames to be completely rotted out and for suspension parts to just become disconnected. A mandatory inspection sends most of those to the crusher, a few skip by utilizing the lickum/stickum inspection stations. There's the issue of the economic hardship on those who need transportation but can't afford to keep up their cars, not the inspection fee but replacing the tires and brakes when they could get a few more miles out of them getting to work. In addition to the safety inspection it's also an emission inspection for anything under 8600lb as a check engine light is unacceptable. Essentially no check engine light and drive cycle complete means emission compliance. I wonder how the EPA lets that get by on states with no inspection? Black tape on the dash ok? As of tomorrow I, and probably everyone else with a January birthday, will be lawbreakers.

Wow! Minutes from disaster! It's an example of why I think it's a good idea to have a separate industrial for serious loader work; they're really built for it and relatively inexpensive for one retired from full time work but still quite serviceable for farm work. Shuttle shift or hydro with fwd/rev pedals are good for material handling.

I added the UV as our wells are shallow dug and and tests always show some coliform but never E. coli. I became concerned that less benign coliform and possibly E. coli were a threat as we now have as many as 50 turkeys landing and taking off to their roosting trees and just hanging around leaving their droppings. We have a sediment filter that generally stays pretty clean the exception being when I just replaced the foot valve and stirred things up. Overall connecting to municipal is going to be a win for us and very expensive for the USAF.

Good thoughts all. I'm thinking of leaving the well connected to the garage. I'm also thinking I'll leave the UV sterilizer connected to the house as it's cheap to maintain and does not restrict flow; I don't see a downside to killing any bacteria that slips through however unlikely. I've heard of boil water mandates in the news, never here but $hit happens. An issue not addressed yet is the pool water which we fill from a different well. They don't test it but have tested the pool water. I'd like them to continue that testing but I don't think it's a requirement they have. The thought on testing pool water is that apparently PFAS don't evaporate, truly forever chemicals, and will build to unacceptable levels over time as water is replaced. The good thing is that remediation is taking place at the original sites - fire fighting practice and actual crash sites, so levels of PFAS should in theory drop.

It may be a phishing scheme and not a real text. Delete and report. I get realistic looking texts all the time that are just phishing. Never ever click on one of those links as then they'll know you're a real person and bombard you with more phishing. EDIT: The misspelling is a good clue.

The flow markings were explained to me. Here's 2024, 2025 not found. PFAS mitigation system being installed.

My acquaintance in Portsmouth works is well versed in the issue and answered my questions. He, as everyone here said, go with the municipal connection as you don't want a water treatment setup in your basement. He said my town, Newington, will insist on a 1.5" copper. He said not to worry about crossing the water, they'll find a way. He's familiar with our house as our daughters were on the same teams and we alternated driving, etc. Portsmouth water rates are competitive, here's an estimate. I'll find a quality report and post it. We may not have the expense of the softener. There's no sewer connection.

I know there are qualified municipal water system operators here so I'm asking for comments. We live very close to the former Pease AFB. During its life the base used plenty of firefighting foam both for practice and for actual events. The PFAS in the foam is just one of the many contaminates released into the environment during the cold war but it's the only ones that are classified as forever chemicals. We have two shallow wells: one supplies the house and the other is a former irrigation well that just fills the pool now. Since the house well is shallow and subject to bacteria we have UV sterilization along with a sediment filter. An Air Force contractor regularly tests the house well for PFAS and two monitoring wells they installed on the property. We don't currently have any exceedance the last one marginally over EPA limits occurred in 2018. The Air Force is under pressure to finalize all remediation. We've been offered two solutions: They'll hook us up to municipal water which is the Portsmouth city system. I don't think they realize the difficulty and extent of that solution as it's over 1000' to the supply and the line that they say will be buried 5' below grade will have to go under two culverts on the causeway that's the ROW drive to our house. They estimate the water bill will be $500. +/- per year. Most government estimates are usually wrong by half in my experience. The second solution is they'll install a POE system consisting of three tanks with carbon filters. After installation future monitoring and filter replacements will be on us with an estimated annual cost approaching nine grand/year! I suspect we could get a lawyer involved but the municipal hookup seems the best option especially when we finally decide to sell. I have reservations about the municipal system as the hydrant at the street is a red top or low pressure. They are green, yellow or red. I'm going to call the water manager today. He's an acquaintance and should give me the straight scoop. Municipal water line was installed around 1960. Thoughts?

It's called Normalization of Deviation. We all do it. We get away with something so often that it just becomes normal to us. I started to write some examples but deleted my thoughts. We all know it when we see it. It's up to us to stop it.

Sadly no Northeast stops.

Boeing BBJ ‘Freedom Plane’ Now a Flying Archives Exhibit A Boeing BBJ painted in patriotic “Freedom Plane” livery and carrying original founding-era U.S. documents will be visiting museums across the country this year to celebrate the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, of the nation’s founding. The Boeing Company, which owns the aircraft, is providing the BBJ for the traveling exhibition and offering operational support. The traveling exhibition—dubbed “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation”—will stop at eight U.S. cities from March to August, and it will be open to the public with free admission at all venues. The National Archives and Records Administration is organizing the tour in partnership with the National Archives Foundation, with support from Boeing, Comcast, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble. Artifacts on board the Freedom Plane include an original engraving of the Declaration of Independence, an original copy of the 1774 Articles of Association, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, an early draft and voting records of the U.S. Constitution, and oaths of allegiance signed during the Revolutionary War by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. The tour will kick off on March 6 in Kansas City at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. It will subsequently make approximately two-week-long stops each in Atlanta; Los Angeles; Houston; Denver; Miami; and Dearborn, Michigan, before concluding in Seattle on August 16. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-01-23/boeing-bbj-freedom-plane-becomes-flying-archives-exhibit?_hsmi=400711773

Hawaii was both a common destination and a fuel stop and crew change for me. I've been to the Arizona many times and never could keep my eyes dry. I got to visit all the islands you can visit, did low passes over Kilauea, high speed passes over the mountains and down the beaches of the big island, tours around Lanai and Molokai, landed on Lanai at night coming in from Japan on what looks like what I imagine an aircraft carrier looks like - just runway lights in blackness as there are almost no lights on Lanai. Airport is 1000' above the sea ending at a cliff with a big downdraft off the end. Quite the challenge after a demanding 'round the world tour. I took my wife to Oahu, Maui and the big island on our honeymoon and we took the kids there when they were 7&8. If you go must see is the Arizona on Oahu and Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii. Kilauea has been erupting for years now but I was there many years ago when it had been silent for a decade or so. I got to witness a surprise two day eruption up close and personal with just a few others. What a sight! I've been a lucky guy to see the places I've seen Go. Rent a car, get away from Waikiki. Plan ahead for the Arizona during peak season. see the other islands, they're all different.

Yep. Two out every day within sight of the Micky D's hiring sign. No way I'll give them money.

I've not had a problem as yet but I know Toyota and others had an issue with mice chewing insulation and apparently now have added a deterrent. Mice will chew any wire because that's just their nature. If it tastes good I guess they just keep at it. When I remodeled our master bedroom and pulled down the ceiling I found numerous bare spots in the Romex as well as s boatload of rodent turds, nut shells, and a couple of red squirrel skeletons. There are sprays but I have no ides if they work. Sometimes the effort to be green has unintended consequences.

Freezing point Jet A -40f; Jet A1 -53f (-47c). Engines have oil/fuel heat exchanges. Many planes route the flight control hydraulic lines through the tanks. Hydraulic actuators have a calibrated small leak through so everything stays warm, relatively. Ram rise helps keep fuel warm too but we do have to watch fuel temps and have minimum temp before we have to change altitude. I've been close to minimum fuel temp of +3c over freeze point but never hit it. Hangar I once worked out of had the underground storage tanks removed and above ground installed. They didn't replace the heating oil tank, just metered Jet fuel off so no aviation tax or airport flowage fee paid. Burner service guys showed up and said someone must have just changed the fuel filters on the heaters as they're perfectly clean. Nope, Jet fuel is just that clean. I was always amazed at how dirty my home heating oil filters were every year and the sludge in the bottom of the tank when we converted to heat pump/LPG. Cut the tank in half to dispose of it and there was 6" of sludge in the bottom with a channel to the outlet.

If you're making your own I suggest you get marine cable. It's extra flexible and tinned, so no corrosion. West Marine has it by the foot in all gauges.

I like it. I have an old Mossberg that sounds loud even without my hearing aids.

I bought a heated jacket liner and gloves to hopefully extend the riding season but they arrived too late. I wired an SAE connector into my open station loader and plow in comfort. What a difference it makes!

Last roof I did was with my FIL on his garage - easy 6/12 roof. My barn and house are 10/12, shop 12/12. No way. I hire them out and let some young hard working and agile Guatemalans scamper around. Shop roof is over 20 years old and occasionally looses a shingle to the wind. I do replace them but with a bucket truck. That truck was one of the best investments I ever made. You can't beat them for repairs, rebuilding, painting, fixing the TV antenna, etc.

One of the neighbors adventurous girls did a season at McMurdo just to say she did it. She worked in the kitchen. Typical of that girl. Nurse and Doc next door had FIVE daughters, all so very different. Funny that all of the daughter's kids are boys, must be ten of them by now. Retired now, sadly the doc is being ravaged by Parkinson. Mind still sharp, body out of control.