New Englander

Cruise control limit + 5 generally. I get passed by most traffic, especially the MA, CT and NY on their way to/from their summer lake homes. There's been so many crashes at the confluence of I95 and Rt 16 that the NH State Police use their airplane to spot. It does circles and radios the patrol cars. They even put temp signs on the shoulder SAYING that's what they're doing but many idiots ignore them at their peril. There's been so many crashes that end up in the opposite direction lanes that a new median barrier is under construction. AI summary: In November 2024, former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu announced a strict enforcement crackdown on Interstate 95 following a series of serious and fatal crashes. He directed state troopers to issue tickets to any driver pulled over on I-95 regardless of the reason during the holiday season to curb aggressive driving.

Interesting amount of water needed for ladder trucks. The hydrant at the end of the driveway is red topped, so it's not going to be close to feeding one. The pond, however, was built as a fire pond in the days before the water main was installed. The local FD did give it a try a few years ago and it seemed to work. There's almost no flow into it this time of year so it's essentially water table - stays to the top of the dam and spills a bit with any rain. I've no idea what the usable volume is. Blue: 1,500 GPM or greater (Very Good/Superior Flow) Green: 1,000 to 1,499 GPM (Good for Residential/Standard operations) Orange: 500 to 999 GPM (Marginal/Fair flow) Red: Less than 500 GPM (Inadequate flow capacity)

I saw it on Clarkson's too and wondered how it possibly could survive. Looked pretty cool though. The same episode had a NL farmer who was beating the system in some ways by making his property an airport thus skating the onerous drone rules to enable him to use high tech autonomous drones to selectively spray his fields. He had some impressive yields and all new equipment.

Water line was installed in the road in the '60s. We're still on a well due distance to road and pond crossing needed. Hydrant is conveniently at the end of the driveway. It's coded red so I guess the flow is on the low side. Pond in front of the house was built in the '20s by damming a small stream. I guess we'll have enough water. Local department, somewhat unfairly, has a reputation for saving the cellar hole and chimney but Portsmouth is next door with big equipment and can knock down a structure fire.

I had several Ford PUs back in the day - 360s 390s, etc. They were simple machines that worked well. I ended up with GM as my wife had Suburbans and the like so having commonality was an advantage. Ford's breaking spark plugs, transmission problems etc. all point to poor engineering choices. That doesn't mean GM is without sins either - junk torque converters and the like. I've been perhaps lucky and haven't encountered any of those. Pick your poison.

I don't have anything with one anymore but I was always amazed at how much they caught in the oil even at short clean-out intervals. Certainly cheap to maintain.

FIL had targeted radiation for a complete fix. His doc had been watching his PSA and doing the digital for some time when his PSA suddenly spiked, so it was caught early. I get mine checked every six months as a MRI spotted something. So far, so good. PSA at 1 or less. It's a good reason for all of us to get routinely checked and also have our colonoscopies, I'm having mine this week and of course I'm looking forward to it - not. 😄Soft food and lots of liquids starting today. Good luck! I sure hope yours is repairable even if removal is the only option.

Rock Auto's look up - rocks! Local parts store often looks up parts on their site then cross references it. Since my sister retired I order from them unless in a hurry.

Because there’s little market for 50hp 1600lb cars with no creature comforts and that can’t meet current safety standards. While hybrid vehicles can get that mpg AND have all the bells and whistles people want. You and your wife are the rare couple that accept the very basic transportation. We had a Suzuki Jimmy on St. Lucia this year. It’s a cute little 4X4 suitable for that island but I wouldn’t want to be on I95 with the behemoth vehicles and distracted drivers with it. Great mpg but not available here due safety standards. For the folks who don’t know what the Metro is: https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/geo-metro

Because there’s little market for 50hp 1600lb cars with no creature comforts and that can’t meet current safety standards. While hybrid vehicles can get that mpg AND have all the bells and whistles people want. You and your wife are the rare couple that accept the very basic transportation. We had a Suzuki Jimmy on St. Lucia this year. It’s a cute little 4X4 suitable for that island but I wouldn’t want to be on I95 with the behemoth vehicles and distracted drivers with it. Great mpg but not available here due safety standards. For the folks who don’t know what the Metro is: https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/geo-metro

Bosch heat pump and furnace here based on as much research I could find.

An old saying goes “if you want to learn something well, teach it!” CFIs, if they really want to do a good job, submerge themselves in the material. Student pilots can present some interesting learning opportunities 😄. I thought about getting a flight instructor rating but built time by ferry flights and being a mechanic I had opportunities that others didn’t. Through the years and a bunch of ratings and countless simulator training sessions and check rides I’ve come across all sorts of instructors. The best sim instructors were guys with actual time in the model. I had some really good primary and instrument instruction as well as some fine folks in jets. I just added a seaplane rating competing my check ride last week. I had two different instructors, the younger was okay, the older better and the examiner was excellent. Why a new rating in my 70s? Well, every pilot needs a biennial flight review or any kind of check ride. Getting a 135 ride every six months I’ve never needed one but since retirement I would by December. I could have simply hired an instructor for an hour but what fun would that be? Skimming across a lake at 65 mph, visiting different lakes you can’t really see except for in the air, and just learning something new. I’m a firm believer in training. Did the training in a 1947 Piper PA-12s on EDO floats.

Pipeline patrol, banner towing, sky diver flights are all avenues for accumulating the requisite 1500 hours now needed for a right seat airline job. Many foreign airline use an ab-initio training program that put candidates in with very low hours but intense training, sort of what the military does. Ab-initio seems to work well but I wonder if the experience the old school of us gained flying junk and gaining some real hard experience is lacking. Probably doesn't matter but when I think of the Airbus stalled all the way to the ocean by one of those low time guys I have to wonder. Fly by wire plane failed down to direct laws. The proper action is do nothing, the plane is trimmed up and will continue to fly fine while you run the checklist and recover a higher flight control law.

Propane, being heavier than air, is a concern on boats. The locker with the tank has to naturally vent overboard and there are several other precautions that I don't remember now. I used alcohol/electric stove that was cantankerous on alcohol but didn't require starting the genset. SS flex pipe in my house has a heavy copper ground wire to prevent a hole in the case of a lightning strike which isn't too much of a concern in a basement run, however, propane aux heaters in attic air handler installations have blown up a few houses after getting hit by lightning. Apparently the line gets holed but not ignited. Propane leaks drifting downstairs and accumulating until a combustible amount finds an ignition source and BOOM! Home owner unlocks the door smells gas, turns lights on and.........

I have a 6.0 so I looked at it yesterday. Idle @ 30, increases to 40 off idle. It's been that way since I've owned it. Last 6.0 and 5.3 were similar but I'll keep an eye out for any changes. It doesn't look like fun to get the sump off a FWD especially one that's dripping PB Blaster Surface Shield all over it.

Site seems to have a problem with pictures. Anyway, the FMC picture with chem trails and the like is an altered Delta Airlines dispatch message that some bored pilot changed to read Chem Trails, Mind Control, etc. I'll bet there are some who see it and believe it like flat earthers and the like. Cloud seeding is a real thing in an effort to increase rainfall. It doesn't actually create a cloud but certain clouds that have sufficient moisture in them can be encouraged to release it with a tiny amount of silver iodine. Everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it! Well, cloud seeding actually does but in very limited cases - increasing snow in the mountains for spring runoff or maybe just for some rain on crops. There has to be clouds and they have to have moisture in them enough to encourage to freeze and fall.

Light is probably the answer. Unfortunately it probably couldn’t be made today and pass safety requirements. I’m really becoming sold on hybrid technology. Last week my wife and flew to Bar Harbor, rented a Toyota Camry hybrid, drove it all around then up to Lubec and East Port and back getting 51 mpg in a very nice car. I’ve had some other hybrid like Prius but they were not as nice. My wife has a ‘24 Traverse and it gets around 22 in mixed driving. I think a Highlander hybrid will be the next one. It seems batteries are lasting just fine and you never have to seek out a charging station.

It's hard to compare older gas auto engines with the later ones. Things like VVT increase fuel mileage by up to 10%, generally around 6% in all-around and reduces emissions without EGR. Fixed cam timing cannot match it. Direct port injection computer controlled along with variable ignition timing is another advantage vintage engines don't have. Watch a scan tool's data stream while driving or preferably while someone else is driving and see how much the engine computer is varying everything to maximize efficiency and driveability. AF ratios vary according to load as does timing. There's no way a vintage carburetor engine with fixed everything can match it. Driving down the highway in an older car the only thing that might change is ignition timing due to the vacuum advance responding to higher manifold pressure. Watch the timing on just a constant speed mild downgrade in a computer controlled engine go waaaayyyy advanced. A/F ration will go leaner too.

i replaced a completely worn out C221 in an Industrial 3616 with a C301 from a combine. It has way more power for loader work and consequentially drinks more gas. It gets used often. Since the C301 is, after swapping lots of parts around, drop in, It would make little sense to convert to a diesel that never lived in it. It was a good rescue of an older machine.

Nice straight tin. Time for a bath!!

Yeah, cab, heat, AC.

Doesn't weld worth a crap either. Looks great!

Industrial loaders are built as loaders but if you need another ag machine …..

My MIL was in the early stages of dementia, not too bad but really shouldn't be driving. She wouldn't listen to any family member so my wife called the DMV. They needed a signed letter and, apparently to prevent any malicious intent told her that they would reveal who dropped the dime on her mother. She did it anyway and then had a conversation with her mom telling her what was coming. That didn't go well. A couple of days later when driving to the Senior Center she mistook a new wide sidewalk with a tiny pedestrian stop sign for a road, jumped the new high granite curb and blew three tires. Unaware, she parked the car, attended the Senior Center event, called her husband and told him she had a flat. Other than the tires the car was undamaged. The DMV letter arrived and she flunked the written test and decided not to take a retest. She had begun a rapid decline and shortly after ended up in a nursing home draining my FIL's finances. After a few months became hospice care with an estimated 4-6 weeks that turned into a year. Wife's brothers live in CA and FL so it's been all on her. It's been a relief for both her and her dad when her mom finally passed. Make the call to the DMV and take the consequences rather than let someone get killed because you don't want to be the bad guy who took away an elder's independence. Get them an Uber app.

Drive or driven gear? I wonder if there's enough wear that the load side is cocking the gear a bit? Drive gear being loaded a bit by shaft?