If I don't do it, who will ?

 

Good morning guys.

It'll take a while to sink in, 2023 vs. 2022. If I write a check I'll be writing 2022 for awhile before my mind/fingers catch up with the change.

Quiet last night. I guess the rain kept the drunks and happy people inside so we didn't hear the usual fireworks or gun shots.

Have a great day guys, and a great new year.

Wait, how long is it "new"?

 

Morning Jim. George (in NY), Evan and all 'ginia and friends. Happy 2023 ya'll. It's new until you quit writing 22 on the checks Jim.

 

Hmm still December here. Have to find a new calendar.....

 

Good evening guys.

Beautiful day. Did a little bit of running around between our youngest son's house and nephew's house taking some stuff to their kids to go with the their Birthdays gifts (small AAA Streamlight flashlights.) Got them a battery charger and 4 rechargeable batteries each so they wouldn't be without batteries when they needed them.

Came home and was going to flush the heater core on the car and just couldn't not get to the clamps on the heater hose. Kept trying till the pliers slipped off and pinched a nice blood blister on my finger. Gave up till tomorrow. I'm gonna have to take stuff off the firewall (sort of a ledge and seals/gaskets so I can rear down to the clamps vs. reaching back between the hoses, the cover, the intake, etc. Hopefully won't take long, but didn't want to start on and then be trying to finish it up in the dark. Always something to slow me down. Sometimes it's even me.

Have a great evening guys.

 

Good morning guys.

Too dark yet to say about the morning conditions. Gotta be warm though. House was 69 F this morning and we ran the ceiling fan in the bedroom all night.

Rain by Wednesday they say. Don't think the ground will dry up much between now and then.

First cup of coffee is about gone and I'm about to nod off if I'm not careful. Sometimes I wish coffee did keep me awake.

Have a great day guys.

 

Morning Jim, George, Evan, all 'ginia and visitors. Have a great Jan 2 ! BTW Jim....it's 2023 !

 

Good evening guys.

Checked temps on the heater hoses on the BMW today after a short drive. Can't tell a darn thing. Hoses are completely different temps. when checked at different spots. Maybe for a good reason. Maybe because of the low flow the hose temps are higher closer to the heater core but the return hose temp. drops quickly as you get further from the heater core. Finally go that darn spring clamp on the upper hose loose with no more slips/blood blisters but could not get the hose off. No room between the two hoses (at the heater core) to get my hand/fingers around it to grab and twist. Just ordered some of those hose pliers to see if that will get me in there to get a good grip on the hose (with the clamp removed/slid off the flange on to the hose) and twist it loose. We'll find out in a couple days when I get the pliers. Next choice is buy new heater hoses and cut the old ones off (without damaging the tubes/flanges on the heater core.) Hate to do that. Hate to replace some of the hoses and not all of them and they don't need it yet. I replaced two back in the spring when I did that oil leak work due to the oil that got on them and the swelling/softening the oil caused. But that car's got more coolant hoses than a big truck has tires. If I have to get into that it's going to cost some money and down time because of the stuff that's got to come off to get to the hose connections. I don't want to get into that. Typical day for me and car work. Got the Coupe back on the road and now the BMW wants attention, too.

Divided up a huge bag of pork stuff from one of the family smokers between the boys this morning. They really enjoyed that. Got one bag left. I asked if they wanted it tomorrow or the next day. They just looked at me.

Have a great evening guys.

 

Good morning guys.

Got to go find some dogfood this morning. Just opened up the 45 lb. bag I got the other day, so I've got a few days. My wife went shopping yesterday and went to Food Lion and Krogers and neither had the brand/style we buy and they're used to (kibbles and chunks/bits). I'm sure if they got hungry they'd eat different food but I'd like to keep them on what they're used to eating. No shortage of grocery stores around here. I'll stop buy Auto Zone, too, and get a jug of premix antifreeze for the BMW and some brake fluid. I sort of miss the days when everything I owned used Prestone antifreeze and brake fluid. Now I've added the special stuff for the Coupe and the special stuff for the BMW and the F250 takes it own stuff (but it's not a problem, hopefully for the next several years.)

Church ladies bible study is back on for Tuesday mornings now that the holidays are over, so a good time to take a drive.

Be careful out there today. Weather is okay, some of the other people on the road are not. Remember, driver's license in the wallet does not mean they know how to drive. It just means the state was glad to take their money for that piece of paper.

 

RE: drivers. I don't think TV programs or movies help when they show the driver taking eyes off the road and turn their head to talk to a passenger.

 

Morning Jim, George all 'ginia and visitors. Jim, have you checked the thermostat on the BMW ? If the temp isn't getting hot enough it can cause your issues too. Has the car have a real temp gauge or just a make believe one like most other cars today?

 

Good afternoon Virginians!! Hope the New Year is starting out well for you!

 

Good evening guys.

Cloudy most of the day, but warm. Car temp. ga. read 72 F as we left Broad St. around 5 PM. Nice day. Didn't get much done except visit with the boys and go up to Richmond with my wife to return stuff she ordered that didn't fit and a trip by the Good Feet store. Listened to the talk, looked at that charts, got measured, tried some different arch supports (by walking back and forth in the store) and my wife had a big grin on her face and told me she'd never seen me walk so well, so normal. Couldn't stand it. Had to ask who she was married to/living with the first 30 or 35 years when I thought it was me? Got that dirty look and she said she meant in the last few years. Never is really different than the last few years. It's why we argue a lot. I go back in a month for another evalution/measurement and then again two months after that. I have to admit, as good as my jogging shoes feel to walk in the shoes they had with the special inserts installed did feel better and I could tell the difference between the different inserts. Most I ever paid for a pair of shoes. Sure hope they work.

George, it doesn't have a water temp. gauge. It has an oil temp ga. and that is running normally. I can check water temp though with a scanner. I should do that. I was looking at the cooling system set up/parts in the repair manual the other day. What a mess of spaghetti that is. Hoses going every which direction My old IROC has four hoses on it (not counting the disconnected throttle body heating lines/system). The BMW has cooling system lines teeing into radiator hoses. The 05 Silverado was like that. Way more hoses than necessary.

Have a great evening guys.

 

Good morning guys.

I can hear the rain hitting the house every so often, so there is some rain coming down now and then - or the wind is blowing hard enough every not and then.

Supposed to be 80 F this afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms. In January. Then the temps drop again. It is winter.

Should be a good day to sit in the house and watch TV while drinking coffee.

Have a great day.

 

Morning Jim, George, all 'ginia and visitors. BMW had to do something to make the price what it is, Jim. Extra parts all over it. Beammer's are notorious for being a tough car for back yard mechs ! So many "special" tools .