Good morning!

The hits just keep on coming, faster and harder!

Talked to my mechanic about my wife’s 2003 Honda Odyssey. It is the timing belt and the valve stems are bent. I’m looking at upwards of 3 grand to either fix it or replace the engine with a better used one. 3K Is what we paid for the van.

Then, the icing on the cake; the brand new Honda lawnmower I bought last year and didn’t use until now, won’t start. It’s got fresh ethanol free gas and oil and the spark plug has fire but it won’t start. Gonna have to take it to the Honda shop to get it fixed.

I’m still trying to find enough cash to replace my roof and hvac system.

When it rains it pours. When it pours it floods. When it floods it destroys. I’m just about at the ark building stage!

Terry

Sidebar, going to be just outside Charlotte NC to see a old high school buddy who just retired in June, not sure yet if we will drop down any further south, want to see Ft Sumter if the budget and time allows

If we make it any further south, would like to meet you & take you & your bride out to dinner somewhere

I'll be looking forward to it brother! If you have the time I'll take you out to my club range.

Terry

Im getting a collapsible travel battery powered “wheelchair” (scooter) from the VA and now we are going to the UP/Mackinac island and I got into Wainright Hall (Ft Myer Henderson Hall) and they have a special military only gate into Arlington National Cemetery so I can wheel into the cemetery and visit friends 

Looking for a high quality flask (leather/glass??) to smuggle whiskey (not sure what flavor) into the cemetery 

These 2 bucket list items are really straining the budget so I’m not sure what we will end up doing

I understand strained budgets! I'm looking for a good used engine to replace the broken one in my wife's Honda. They are not cheap. Still paying off last year's veterinary bill. Still need a new heat pump. Still need a new roof. Got a table at the June gunshow here to sell some guns, ammo and accessories. Gonna sell some radios on Ebay. Wife is starting to sell off some of her Disney ducks comic book collection. Gotta do what we gotta do.

Terry

Good morning! Stuff kept falling off the back of my radio/everything else desk so I finally put a length of 1/4round molding on it. Much better, but now what do I do with all the stuff that I retrieved from behind it?
I got an Amazon credit card, no intention of using it, but it got me a $150 gift card, so I ordered a cheap PID controlled soldering station. I'm intimidated by tiny surface mount components but I did manage to re-attach a transistor without damaging the board a couple years ago, so I guess it's time to get over my fears and mars mod a couple of radios my self rather than rely on friends. I hate funding the chicoms but even the wellers are made there now, so I guess buying this Yehua soldering station isn't a big deal.

Freezing here, turned the furnace back on….ugh it’s snowing in the mountains but only extremely foggy, cold and overcast

This crap really hurts the old bones

Sometimes it's good when things break. I have one drawer for cooking/eating utensils and it jammed up requiring quite a bit of fiddling to get it out.
When I bought this thing it came with the drawer fairly full of stuff and I added a few items since then. I emptied it and cleaned it with bleach and then separated the duplicates and things I don't use. Hey, everything fits nicely now! Why in the heck would somebody have 5 ladles and 8 sets of silverware in a travel trailer? The overflow is going to the free section at the office.

Good morning this evening!  I finally got off my duff and routed my VHF/uhf coax along the sky bridge so I don't have to carefully mow that section. It looks a lot nicer too.  I did the mars mod on one of my icom 4100s. Boy that was intimidating, the two resistors I removed were each about the size of fly specks. The picture is the removed components taped under the cover with a pencil for scale. Anyway, it now works for gmrs as well as amateur bands.  Unfortunately, my programming cable isn't playing nice with my desktop, I keep getting the message be sure the USB cable is plugged in.  Maybe the software update from RT systems needed to be done with the cable plugged in? Anyway, I've had enough for tonight, I'll revisit it tomorrow.  Currently relaxing and listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer while the thick pork chop absorbs the garlic, paprika and pepper. Plain chow tonight, grilled chop, microwave baked potato and the last of my avocado tomato salad.

Good morning! I called Rt systems and Janae said I needed a new driver for my cable. I told her I wasn't good on computers so she did the remote access thing and got me taken care of in short order. While Chirp software is free, I'd strongly recommend Rt systems because of their outstanding customer service! Next up, reduce some apple cider for the cider donuts I'm making for tonight's meeting.

Got back from getting my right arm sliced and diced at dermatology a couple of hours ago. Anesthetic is starting to wear off. I saved a few Percocet pill from getting my neck doe just for this occasion. Going back next Monday to get my left ear sliced and diced.

I bought a replacement used engine for the wife's Honda Odyssey this morning. Got it from a dealer in Virginia who imports them from Japan. It's supposed to have only 62K miles on it. Cost me $1395.00 shipped.

Terry

Dang, your getting sliced and diced…..

Why the motor vs another newer van with less miles on it ?

Dang, your getting sliced and diced…..

Why the motor vs another newer van with less miles on it ?

Because I only paid $1500 for it, my wife likes it and I could afford it even less than I can afford to fix this one. Also, I'd be inheriting someone else's unknown problems.

Terry

Got the wife's van back on Thursday. $2100 For labor, parts and fluids. Runs great now. Gonna change the oil after 500 miles. Got a box of good spare parts.

I finally got my brand new Honda lawnmower running! After checking the spark plug, autochoke & priming the carburetor I decided to check the compression. It had none. Then I noticed a dent in the corner of the valve cover. Took it off and it started right up. I pounded out the dent and now she runs like she's supposed to. The dent had to happen at the factory or Home Depot. It was small and not noticeable unless you were looking for it. It was enough to hold a valve open.

That's 2 down. Now I can wait for the next one to drop.

Terry