I did a little homeowner work yesterday and then made my first move on the oil tank for TVI. The weld-in bung is pretty short. It was designed to be poked down into the tank until it bottomed out on the flange so it would be only about 1/8" proud of the sheet. However, TVI wants it to be parallel with the bottom of the tank, rather than at the 8-degree angle of the top sheet. I'm going to weld the bung into a tube that I'll cut at the proper angle and then weld the tube to the top sheet.
So how did I arrive at the 8-degree angle, you ask? Let me count the ways. First, I checked the angle with a protractor. Second, I used the trig formula tan A= a/b and looked up the number in the Trig Tables in Machinery's Handbook. Third, just to get a little better with the calculator on my phone, I ran the numbers and figured out how to enter the second function on the tangent. The protractor gave an approximate 8-degree answer, the trig tables gave me the answer in degrees and minutes, and the calculator gave me the answer in a decimal format. Sounds like a lot of work but it only took me about 5 minutes.
I'm still contemplating my sequence of operations for putting this thing together. There are quite a few fittings that need to be welded into the tank and each one of them will potentially warp the edge of the sheet. I'll give it a little more thought before I jump in.
I think the safety posters only work if people can figure out the message, even at that, no guarantee.
I went to check out the oil tank job yesterday. TVI had purchased all the fittings and the sheet metal a while back, he was just waiting to get his engine back to check the fit of his pattern. We talked over a few other bike things and shot the breeze a bit - nice chat.
Beautiful day, so when I came home I swapped out the mower blades and then cut the front yard. Did a bit of tinkering as well. Looks like the next few days are going to be nice - be a real blessing for the storm victims. I'm going to try and get some more outside work done while it's dry, myself. Maybe get out on the bike as well.
We've been reorganizing and doing a serious clean around the house. I went to Menards yesterday, bought a set of shelves for the laundry room, some buckets with the Gamma lids and some other items. The shelves are for the cases of water, soda, laundry supplies, etc. The buckets are for pasta and cake mixes. The air-tight lids will keep the pantry moths out of the food stuffs for long term storage. The laundry room will be this week's job when the cleaning lady comes back.
Cut the back yard after getting home - managed to finish up right before it started raining again. I want to cut the front yard today, but it might be too wet. This is usually the time of year when the grass is all brown and dormant. I did sharpen the spare set of blades yesterday, so rain or shine, I'll swap out the blades to be ready when it's dry enough to mow. I also poked around on the Jitney a bit trying to remember where I left off. If it doesn't quit raining soon I'll have to start on an ark.
Going to look at TVI's Harley project today. He sent his engine out to get rebuilt and it finally came back. He wants me to make a new oil tank for sure and maybe more. I'll find out this morning.
I'm not so sure this in an unpopular opinion. I went walkies on Sunday with Coach Jen - 4 miles. Stopped on the way home at CVS to pick up a prescription for Larry Joe Cocker and they had a new sign-in screen gizmo at the counter. I typed in my name and birthdate as required and nothing showed even though they had called and said his script was ready. The screen said if nothing came up go to the drop-off window. So I did but that's like no man's land. One of the ladies finally had pity on me and got me hooked up. I just need to remember to type the dog's name in next time. However, I might just bypass the counter and use the drive-up instead.
I got my blood draw yesterday that I wasn't able to get last week due to the storm damage. Had to check in at the kiosk there as well. That went pretty smooth because I had already checked in online prior to my first visit. But this is also the place that couldn't do any business because even though they had power, they were dependent on the internet for all transactions.
A couple of side notes:
All the roundabouts that have been installed up there actually are a plus when the traffic lights are out. So that's a good thing.
I picked up the spare tire kit for the wife's new car yesterday while I was out and topped off the tank. The station I stopped at usually has donuts, but the bakery is still out of power, which is not a good thing. Not that I need donuts, but since I had to fast for the blood draw a donut was sounding good.
The parts I ordered for the quick-change rear on the Jitney project showed up the other day - oil, gears, gasket and studs for mounting the brake backing plates. Need to get the trials bike buttoned up so I can get it out of the way and then get the car back in the queue. Hard to find the time right now with the mowing and weed control, cutting and splitting wood, doctor's appointments, and all the rest, but I'm doing a little something every day.
Here's the young man that was in the photo a few posts back that was sparring when I went to Indy with Coach Jen. He won a split decision in his bout in Texas and ended up with a title of some sor. Coach Jen didn't know exactly the belt they were fighting for, but he beat the hometown champ, so he must have fought well.
Speaking of Coach Jen, she's selling Earth Magic Body Potions now. All natural products for both men and women. I'm thinking about trying some of the beard oil. Check it out, or better yet, order a little something and help her out.
I went out to the shop Friday evening and found a bunch of torn up foam insulating board on the floor. Looking up there was no doubt where it came from - a new hole in the ceiling. It didn't take long for a raccoon to get in there after repairing it. I had set the live trap and sure enough, had a 'coon in the trap. I disposed of the varmint, so now I'll patch the hole and reset the trap after doing a little work to keep the trap anchored in place. I'll also once again walk around the building to see if I can figure out how they're getting in.
A little more rain in the forecast for today and tomorrow. Looks to be dry and pleasant for at least seven days after that. Let's hope so. We don't need any more rain anywhere in the state now.
As per Bob Dylan, a hard rain is going to fall and will continue for a few more days. As I mentioned in the previous post, lots of rain, downed trees and power outages. NIPSCO which is the power company for most of the customers north of the river, says 300,000 of them were without power on Wednesday. In fact, that was the worst power outage they've ever had. I had to zig-zag a bit on my way home after getting shut out for my lab test, but it would have been much worse had I tried to go north. Long lines at any gas station that still had power and I heard of a couple of stations that ran out of regular.
So, my advice is first of all never let your tank go below half full and as long as you have a place to safely store it, get a couple of 5-gallon cans, treat them with Sta-Bil or something similar, and a funnel or pump so you can pour the gas into your vehicle. Most 5-gallon cans when full are going to weigh about 45 pounds and, depending on the spout on the can, it'll be tough lifting the can up and getting the gas past the flap in the vehicle's filler neck without thinking it through in advance.
Get some shelf stable grub to keep on hand as well - canned goods, rice, pasta, etc. Having a freezer full of food is great but depending on the ambient temperature and how often you open the door, frozen food won't stay frozen long without power. And of course, you need to be able to prepare the food. If you have all electric utilities, need a stove of some sort or figure on cold meals. Peanut butter on bread or crackers works well in the short term. I have a gas stove in the kitchen plus several types of camping stoves.
Water is a definite item to keep on hand. I have a well and a generator, I keep a few cases of water on hand, and I drove a well a few years back with a pitcher pump. You need water for drinking, cooking cleaning and sanitation. I keep some paper plates, bowls and cups on hand along with plastic utensils.
Fortunately, even though it's August, the temperatures aren't ungodly hot but weather disasters can occur anytime of the year. We had an ice storm years ago in March and were without power for 4 days. This was before we had the generator and the weatherman predicted the storm accurately, so I filled up the bathtub in order to wash up and flush the toilet. I have a small gas heater that's safe for indoor use, put a kettle of the stove and kept a fire going in the fireplace. It wasn't toasty warm in the house, but not uncomfortable, especially for a guy who has camped in all kinds of weather.
The point of all this is: don't get caught with your pants down! If you need meds, get some to keep on hand. If you've never done any camping, maybe try a couple of nights at a park to see what type of equipment you need to live unsupported for a couple of days. With all of my bicycle camping, I've got it down to a science - travel light and stay hydrated. Dress for the weather and carry a good flashlight and first aid kit.
Most importantly, don't be a dumbass! If you have to wait in line for an hour to get fuel for your rig, or you don't have any cash on hand. that'll definitely put you in the dumbass category. The Governor has declared the whole state a disaster area so remember the Scout motto: Be Prepared.
A little old school jazz - music to soothe the savage beast and all that. I need something on the soothing side after what I went through trying to buy some socks.
I went south the other day and went to Walmart to see about buying some socks since the two different orders from Amazon didn't work out. I found some with a high cotton percentage and the right length but they were just a little small for my big feet. Since they were what I was looking for, I decided to order the bigger ones online from Walmart even though I would have to pay the shipping cost - at least I would have the type of socks I wanted.
And this is what I got. Instead of 6 pair of Golden Toe crew socks, I got three size 14-16 Hunter Green polo shirts. I filled out the paperwork and printed it out to take with me when I headed north to get some lab work done. However, I didn't realize the storm on Tuesday was as bad as it was. My first clue was going through the little town north of me and there was a line about a mile long of people trying to get into the gas station. The next station north wasn't as bad but backed up. The lab was closed, as was the college which was going to be my second stop. I abandoned the rest of the stops, except for Walmart, due to more rain coming down and all the traffic lights being out. I was able to return my socks and as long as I was there, I figured I'd check out the sock aisle.
And I got lucky - 12 pairs of 78% cotton crew socks big enough to fit me for $21.16 with tax. I did have to stand in line for a bit. The line wasn't that long but the lady in front of me was dragging two carts through the line and I figured since all I had was my socks, she'd let me go ahead. She never acknowledged I was even there but there's no law saying she should be courteous when shopping at Walmart. Besides, I was pretty happy to stand in line since I finally got new socks.
Celebrating the Missus' birthday today. Just going out to eat locally since there's still a lot of power outages if we try to head north, not to mention the roads that are closed due to flooding and downed trees. Birthdays aren't as big a deal as they were when we were young. The most important thing is we keep having them.
