What's everybody doing today?

[Magus]

No family of raccoons in the basement and putting raw shrimp behind every light switch?

 

[LadyLocust]

No family of raccoons in the basement and putting raw shrimp behind every light switch?

Behind the lightswitches!!!!! Naw, I like Pearl. I'd only do something mean like that to someone I didn't like

 

[Magus]

Behind the lightswitches!!!!! Naw, I like Pearl. I'd only do something mean like that to someone I didn't like

I know. I just like a good joke now and again.

 

[DrJenner]

Fun day. Bobcat broke and we can't get the dump truck started. Ugh.
Tomorrow they are coming to pour concrete into the forms for the quonset hut and the sonotubes for the cabin foundation.

 

[Magus]

Took out the trash, made breakfast, took a nap, thinking of dinner. Baloney n tomato sandwiches maybe. Maybe garlic bread french toast and marinara.

 

[Amish Heart]

Ha Ha...watch out Pearl!
I hurried and did animal chores this morning, them off to the bigger town for husband's MRI on his shoulder. Then filled a cart at Aldi, since it was right there. I think tomorrow is the allergist appt or something. I would love a day of retirement sitting on my butt, but nope. Does not happen. Got into it again with the Mennonite Manor billing for mom's monthly bill. They promised me last time, a month and a half ago, that they would keep her bill straight, send it to me once a month, and I would go right in and pay it in cash. They hadn't kept a bill straight for 3 months, and I'd call them, I'd meet with them, I begged them...And they finally did it...so I wrote those checks for $25K total, and they Promised a proper monthly bill each month. Nope. I'm in my second week of calling. I received a bill that was half a bill, and then it said I was overdue $4K. No sense at all. I told them I wanted to talk to the CFO. They do not like me at all now. I don't care. I told them they had till Monday, then I'd be shopping around for another place for mom. Husband says not to do that, it would take too much of my time, and I have to take him to his appts almost every day. But oh well. This is too important. I would do it out of principle. And then he says it would make mom unhappy. I don't think so. She has no clue where she is anyway. Some place must want to take her money.

 

[dademoss]

Found out our house came with a cat, the {REDACTED}REDACTED}{REDACTED}REDACTED} previous REDACTED owners left him behind.

I liked em till I found out they left a cat behind. The couple next door have been feeding and watering, and leaving their garage door ajar so he can go in and out.

Soon he will have a family again.

Meet "Brutus". When at least one of us is there full time, he can live in the shed, it has a pet door and we can supply food and water till he gets vetted, then maybe a life of luxury inside.

Lori has already held and petted him, she is the cat whisperer.

 

[Tommyice]

View attachment 116009

I’ll join in that raspberry to @Supervisor42 .
I have 1772 more days

 

[Bacpacker]

I’ll join in that raspberry to @Supervisor42 .
I have 1772 more days

I'm down to 841 days

 

[Mountain trapper]

I asked husband a few days ago why we can't put the charge controller and the inverter in the house and just run a long electric line to the panels and he told me this: DC electricity loses more power in lines than AC, or something like that ( he is the electrical engineer). We run an extension cord from the inverter to the house. All the equipment is right next to the panels outside in a wooden box we built
Our inverter just broke and we replaced it ( it lasted about 7 years, so ok)

The distance from my new solar panels to the building that houses the inverter, charge controller, generator and battery bank is 200+ feet. I used 10 gage wire for that run. When I checked the voltage just now, I was getting 177 volts at the solar panels and 177 volts 200 feet away at the electrical building. I'm far from an electrician but I can read a volt meter. More importantly I called the experts who sold me this system and I followed their advice. My 2 solar arrays are about 250 feet apart, and are independent of each other, and will have 2 charge controllers.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I have an anniversary today: 5 years of blissful retirement!
My first no-work day was 09-13-2018.
I planned it that way, since it was right after 9/11 it would be easy to remember.
My to-do list for today:
1. Not go to work.
2. Sit on my butt.
3. Empty some beer cans.
4. Burn up some cigs.
5. Watch the ticker-tape on TV.
6. Take a nap.
7. Post silly stuff on the internet.

Congratulations on your anniversary. I retired 9 years ago at 57. Best thing I ever did, should have retired sooner.
The only problem is I'm working more now than ever before. I need to follow your lead. Maybe after I sell the ranch......

 

[Neb]

... When I checked the voltage just now, I was getting 177 volts at the solar panels and 177 volts 200 feet away at the electrical building. I'm far from an electrician but I can read a volt meter.

Was there a load connected when you read 177 in the electric building?

Curious

Ben

 

[user 4402]

Crocheteded all day. Tiller is down

 

[Mountain trapper]

Was there a load connected when you read 177 in the electric building?

Curious

Ben

No. I haven't made the final connections yet. I just checked the wires coming out of the conduit. I'm planing on mounting the charge controller tomorrow and running the wires inside the building. So I should have everything connected by tomorrow PM.

 

[Supervisor42]

I'm down to 841 days

There is a pot of golden days at the end of the rainbow .
Pull the plug at 62 and start drawing your SS at 62.
If you don't believe me, read all of the posts from people that wished they had pulled the plug sooner.

 

[Tommyice]

I'm down to 841 days

That was cruel.
Congratulations!

…and I’m pea green with envy

 

[Mountain trapper]

There is a pot of golden days at the end of the rainbow .
Pull the plug at 62 and start drawing your SS at 62.
If you don't believe me, read all of the posts from people that wished they had pulled the plug sooner.

I started drawing SS at 64. Didn't need the money. Everyone's situation is different. The wife retired at 55 and is planning on waiting until 65 to start SS. Retirement is great. I started Medicare last year and love it.

 

[Neb]

No. I haven't made the final connections yet. I just checked the wires coming out of the conduit. I'm planing on mounting the charge controller tomorrow and running the wires inside the building. So I should have everything connected by tomorrow PM.

Thank you. That makes sense.

With no load there is no current flow so no voltage drop through the wire resistance.

I would like to read what the numbers are like with a typical load. It could help me out if the losses are low.

Back story
I have in storage a complete solar and wind system with multiple charge controllers and inverters. Two things have held me back from installing it. Batteries and copper. Big ticket items. The delay in batteries may have been good because battery tech has come a long way. Copper, not so much. I was figuring on 150' of OO conductors.

So if your numbers are good I could back down the wire size.

Thanks

Ben

 

[DrJenner]

@Mountain trapper any chance you know how to fix a 1962 Ford dump truck LOL
I'll buy you a cigar

Or hell....a case of cigars.

 

[Pearl]

So this means you're gone for the day??? Awesome! I will have time to short sheet your bed, put bubble wrap under the throw rug in your bathroom, add some salt to your sugar dish for your morning coffee, and feed Buddy some sugar cubes so he's good and hyper

Sounds like you've done this before

 

[Neb]

That was cruel.
Congratulations!

…and I’m pea green with envy

If you aren't already doing so I highly recommend keeping a count down timer updated daily ( I wrote a program to show the number of days in a small window on my work machine). It helps knowing there is a goal coming closer.

THEN create a calendar and cross off days when you leave work each day.

Sea story
I was about 11 days short of retirement when my boss did his usual handing me a pile of project specs. I looked at them then to my calendar then to gim asking...

Do you really want to get me involved with I project now?

He said " yup" and gathered up the specs and found someone else.

Ben

 

[Tommyice]

If you aren't already doing so I highly recommend keeping a count down timer updated daily ( I wrote a program to show the number of days in a small window on my work machine). It helps knowing there is a goal coming closer.

THEN create a calendar and cross off days when you leave work each day.

Sea story
I was about 11 days short of retirement when my boss did his usual handing me a pile of project specs. I looked at them then to my calendar then to gim asking...

Do you really want to get me involved with I project now?

He said " yup" and gathered up the specs and found someone else.

Ben

I announce the number of days every morning when I get to work. Some of my customers even come in and ask me how many more days. Lol I joke and tell him I made hashmarks on my garage wall when I pull out in the morning.

 

[Bacpacker]

That was cruel.
Congratulations!

…and I’m pea green with envy

Sorry.. NOT

 

[Bacpacker]

@Mountain trapper any chance you know how to fix a 1962 Ford dump truck LOL
I'll buy you a cigar

Or hell....a case of cigars.

Hell I wish I was close by. 62 Ford aren't that hard compared to new vehicles.

 

[LadyLocust]

@Ifitaintbroke a day or so ago, you mentioned the vibe from folks in general- in society. I mentioned this book over in the reading thread when I received it, but I think that was before you joined. Thought you would find even this excerpt interesting.

 

[Bacpacker]

There is a pot of golden days at the end of the rainbow .
Pull the plug at 62 and start drawing your SS at 62.
If you don't believe me, read all of the posts from people that wished they had pulled the plug sooner.

I'm looking forward to hanging it up. More so every day.
I'm holding off on SS until 67. That will max out the wife Spousal and Survivors benifits. I want to leave her in as good a shape as possible if I go first. I'm already 62, 63 next month. That just wasn't in the cards due to multiple reasons

 

[user 4402]

@Ifitaintbroke a day or so ago, you mentioned the vibe from folks in general- in society. I mentioned this book over in the reading thread when I received it, but I think that was before you joined. Thought you would find even this excerpt interesting. View attachment 116017View attachment 116018

What did I say? I don't recall what thread that was in.

 

[user 4402]

What did I say? I don't recall what thread that was in.

And yes I did find that interesting. Very true. But people still have these romantic ideas of everyone banding in brotherly love and unity when things get rough. The words of Jesus are particularly relevant here.

 

[LadyLocust]

@Ifitaintbroke a day or so ago, you mentioned the vibe from folks in general- in society. I mentioned this book over in the reading thread when I received it, but I think that was before you joined. Thought you would find even this excerpt interesting. View attachment 116017View attachment 116018

What did I say? I don't recall what thread that was in.

Okay- guess I’m going wonky. It was @Peepaw from Tex not you that commented about how people were acting. So I guess my response should be “Why can’t you remember what you didn’t say?”

 

[Heartbroken]

Life is chaos. Trying to do this repair/paint/pack/move thing by myself is killing me. I keep doing stupid things, like today tried to move planter beds and messed up the tailgate on my brother's trailer; destroyed one of the beds. Yesterday I sat down to eat lunch and woke up two hours later, missing a work meeting. Seems like everything I try to do goes sideways and I drop stuff or break stuff or hurt myself. Sitting here with an ice pack on my ankle after slipping off the running board of my truck. Daughter is coming to help this weekend so hopefully she can break me out of this valley of stupidity.