What's made you smile today?

[The Panda Nut]

Could be well worth the 2p per night just to guard against her wrath in future?

I love it when another eccentric old codger like me does the donkey work and takes the bollockings.... Shes not really cross you know. We know that because your still broadcasting which means your not burried in the front garden. Thats £7.25 a year if we multiply that by 20 million or so households thats a lot of money. I was thinking of going in to the boxes and removing the LEDs. That probably wouldnt save much as the boxes would still be standing by. I have turned off the microwave and now we put things in it shut the door and switch it on switching off before opening the door. All the lights and the clock are just not required. Im thinking of disconnecting the cooker clock too. More importantly I think I may install a vent by the freezer in the garage. This would probably actually save more especially in hot weather.

 

[StevenRB45]

Speaking of which...drove past a petrol station yesterday, and it had gone down by a whole 5p.

That still takes the price from "how much??????" to "how much?????" but the correct direction of travel at least.

After weeks of keeping it topped up on the basis that if you used full tanks the price would have gone up 5 or 10ppl over the fortnight think I'll run it down then by which point hopefully it'll be a little cheaper.

 

[Cheest]

A good part of my old crew from before we went corporate and screwed up a good thing. L to R: Audrey, Zac, Roger, Harold, Me, Dana, and Heidi. Also Buster the Wonder Dog. We were a family. Sometimes a dysfunctional family, but we were still a family. Now, the place is just dysfunctional.

 

[bugsymike]

A good part of my old crew from before we went corporate and screwed up a good thing. L to R: Audrey, Zac, Roger, Harold, Me, Dana, and Heidi. Also Buster the Wonder Dog. We were a family. Sometimes a dysfunctional family, but we were still a family. Now, the place is just dysfunctional.
View attachment 409373

Good to have family and friends around

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

A good part of my old crew from before we went corporate and screwed up a good thing. L to R: Audrey, Zac, Roger, Harold, Me, Dana, and Heidi. Also Buster the Wonder Dog. We were a family. Sometimes a dysfunctional family, but we were still a family. Now, the place is just dysfunctional.
View attachment 409373

Great looking bunch of folks. Buster looks somewhat underwhelmed though? The last job I had (for 15 years before retiring) we were a small team like that and we all got on well together. Our manager was a great bloke who left you in no doubt about what you were required to achieve but having "primed" you in the direction he wanted you to go left you to get on with it and measured you by the end result. It was a great way to work. He was then, in my opinion "constructively dismissed" - I think because he wasn't singing the same song as the high ups - and replaced by a target setting manager who wanted almost daily reports on almost everything. We ended up wasting lots of time trying to make what we were doing fit the result this person wanted to see and it destroyed the team spirit as we all tried to make ourselves look good. Luckily I was quite near retiring so I just didn't play the game and although it didn't do my "prospects" much good I was retired within 5 years so it didn't matter. Regrettably our local branch was closed down not long after I retired and I've always wondered if the whole thing was constructed to allow the "higher ups" to demonstrate and justify that closure was required - Or is that just cynical old me again?

 

[bugsymike]

Great looking bunch of folks. Buster looks somewhat underwhelmed though? The last job I had (for 15 years before retiring) we were a small team like that and we all got on well together. Our manager was a great bloke who left you in no doubt about what you were required to achieve but having "primed" you in the direction he wanted you to go left you to get on with it and measured you by the end result. It was a great way to work. He was then, in my opinion "constructively dismissed" - I think because he wasn't singing the same song as the high ups - and replaced by a target setting manager who wanted almost daily reports on almost everything. We ended up wasting lots of time trying to make what we were doing fit the result this person wanted to see and it destroyed the team spirit as we all tried to make ourselves look good. Luckily I was quite near retiring so I just didn't play the game and although it didn't do my "prospects" much good I was retired within 5 years so it didn't matter. Regrettably our local branch was closed down not long after I retired and I've always wondered if the whole thing was constructed to allow the "higher ups" to demonstrate and justify that closure was required - Or is that just cynical old me again?

Constructive dismissal?
Many years ago I worked for some lovely people, but one day they went on an industrial management type course and in their absence work proceeded very well. Touch of "too many cooks"

 

[portland_bill]

Great work with the fan, hopefully it will hold together.
I've never used JB Weld, is it like Araldite but with metal inclusions?
A horrid thought crossed my mind, sorry, but will the fan need balancing (lots of fiddling with a dremel), or does it rotate slowly enough not to matter? Hopefully the latter. Don't really want the bearings failing early, or the casing cracking after all the hard work.

 

[portland_bill]

- and replaced by a target setting manager who wanted almost daily reports on almost everything.

Whilst still working in an office, our small team were beavering away achieving results despite management interference, when one manager decided we'd have daily 'progress report meetings'. We were already trying to do more work in less time than a previous almost identical project, so time out for meetings would only make things worse.
I looked the idiot in the eye and said, "Do you want progress meetings, or progress? They are mutually exclusive.". It took a few hours for him to work that out, then cancelled the meetings.

 

[bugsymike]

Whilst still working in an office, our small team were beavering away achieving results despite management interference, when one manager decided we'd have daily 'progress report meetings'. We were already trying to do more work in less time than a previous almost identical project, so time out for meetings would only make things worse.
I looked the idiot in the eye and said, "Do you want progress meetings, or progress? They are mutually exclusive.". It took a few hours for him to work that out, then cancelled the meetings.

A friend of mine had a saying in similar circumstances "Me profit , you overhead !"

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Great work with the fan, hopefully it will hold together.
I've never used JB Weld, is it like Araldite but with metal inclusions?
A horrid thought crossed my mind, sorry, but will the fan need balancing (lots of fiddling with a dremel), or does it rotate slowly enough not to matter? Hopefully the latter. Don't really want the bearings failing early, or the casing cracking after all the hard work.

Hi PB. I've used Araldite for years and definitely rate JB Weld as a better, stronger product. Still use the Araldite a lot too though - easier to find and works well on most things. The armature spins at a good old rate but I don't detect any difference in vibration compared to before. Mind you it is an orbital sander so vibrates all over the place by definition! I've given it a wee trial on some scrap wood and all seems well. However I don't use it a lot and if it does last even just a couple of years more it will have been well worth the bother. I really quite enjoyed doing it anyway! The really annoying thing is that it was undameged until I started levering against it - should have used the puller from the start - DOH!

 

[Cheest]

Whilst still working in an office, our small team were beavering away achieving results despite management interference, when one manager decided we'd have daily 'progress report meetings'. We were already trying to do more work in less time than a previous almost identical project, so time out for meetings would only make things worse.
I looked the idiot in the eye and said, "Do you want progress meetings, or progress? They are mutually exclusive.". It took a few hours for him to work that out, then cancelled the meetings.

Same thing here, but my response to that certain manager was “Reports or results, pick one. And if you show up in my shop to stir up sh!t, you will be physically escorted out.” He left me and my guys alone.

Audrey and Heidi were in Customer Service. Audrey could be a PITA but knew her job. Heidi was great with us Service and Field guys and the customers loved her. Zac was in sales, Roger and Dana were in Shipping. Harold was my boss.

I guess Harold had a talk with my missus about how much that GNA(the former MTM)needs me and that they want to hire me back as a consultant for very very many dollar signs. She did tell him it wasn’t the money, it was the excessive travel AND management not listening. Harold and I are having breakfast on Tuesday to discuss this.

Buster had a very full belly.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Got a "distress" call from my youngest boy yesterday. They are a long way from home down in Devon at Mrs J's sister on their holidays just now. The old Astra he drives is getting decidedly geriatric now, it's a 2007 with well over the 100,000 miles on it so we did a comprehensive overhaul and service on it before they went and I'm pleased to say it went well all the way down there. "Dad, I've broken a front spring. The car's sitting about 2 inches lower on that side, d'you think I can drive home with it like that"? "Probably not son, depending on how it's broken there's always the risk the broken end of the spring may puncture the tyre and you could have a serious crash, 'specially if you're on the motorway at the time". So he rang my sister in law's local garage, where she's been taking her car for many years, "sorry, can't even think about it for at least 3 weeks" That was when he rang me. Then he started ringing round local garages and got much the same story from them all. The last garage he rang recommended he ring a particular small garage, which he did and the first thing they asked was where was the car? I think the chap thought the car was stranded? When my boy gave the address there was a pause then the chap said isn't that where Sam P***r lived? Yes, that's right said my boy. Well blow me down said the chap, My dad used to drink with him in the local pub! How is M******t (sister in law) I haven't seen her for years? and so the conversation went on. Finally my boy got him back to the subject of the spring and said they need to drive home on Saturday, any hope you can help? Of course I can. Does it still drive? Well yes, right now it does. Turns out his garage is only about 8 miles away so it's to be delivered at 8am on Friday morning and he'll ring when it's done which won't be later than that night at closing time.

Just how lucky is my boy? Talk about falling on your feet! Very relieved he's made this contact - which might be useful for any family members when down there in the future - So big smile on my face! I suppose the garages down there in the west country must be busy with all the "visitors" holidaying and having troubles with their cars while down there?

Enormously relieved to be able to report the boy and his family are back home up here in Edinburgh - well, just south of. The car went into that garage on the Friday morning and mid afternoon he got a call to say come down and collect it. When he arrived the chap said he'd been all over it and couldn't find anything wrong. The car was standing on level ground and looked level my son reported and they were wondering if it had look "lop sided" when checked previously because it was standing in my sister in law's old gravel driveway - which isn't very level. Anyway the whole thing's a complete mystery. The car was making a noise when going over road humps, which now it's no longer doing and there definitely isn't anything wrong with the springs, front or rear, and he's checked all the ball joints. shocks, steering, etc etc. Only took a tenner off the boy for his trouble too - good man.

They actually drove up overnight last night, setting out around 19.30 hours and back home at around 03.00 this morning so they would miss the traffic and he's just rung to tell us all is well and the journey was uneventful.

This chap's garage proved to be very interesting, a row of lockups which apparently was where his father started the business and he's just carried on with it. Sounds like just my sort of setup!

 

[bugsymike]

Same thing here, but my response to that certain manager was “Reports or results, pick one. And if you show up in my shop to stir up sh!t, you will be physically escorted out.” He left me and my guys alone.

Audrey and Heidi were in Customer Service. Audrey could be a PITA but knew her job. Heidi was great with us Service and Field guys and the customers loved her. Zac was in sales, Roger and Dana were in Shipping. Harold was my boss.

I guess Harold had a talk with my missus about how much that GNA(the former MTM)needs me and that they want to hire me back as a consultant for very very many dollar signs. She did tell him it wasn’t the money, it was the excessive travel AND management not listening. Harold and I are having breakfast on Tuesday to discuss this.

Buster had a very full belly.

Quality of life is worth much more than the money.

 

[Cheest]

Quality of life is worth much more than the money.

Harold and his wife, Jane, did say that I didn't look as angry as I usually did since I retired.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

A horrid thought crossed my mind, sorry, but will the fan need balancing (lots of fiddling with a dremel), or does it rotate slowly enough not to matter? Hopefully the latter. Don't really want the bearings failing early, or the casing cracking after all the hard work.

Well it's raining quite hard up here just now and Mrs J is watching "rubbish" on the TV again so I'm sitting here, with a cup of coffee, and thinking about "things". Lots of things. One of them being what you said above PB.

Out of balance forces acting on the armature bearing? Interesting. Electric motors don't usually have much in the way of lateral forces acting on their armature bearings - one reason why stuff like heater fan motor in cars tend to last a long time even though many people never turn them off. In fact, the magnetic field tends to exert a force which keeps everything running in line with the armature axis so reducing the side forces on the armature bearings. The plastic impeller here is a pretty lightweight affair and I doubt if even quite a large blob of adhesive would have much effect. Also there's adhesive on both sides of the hub so I think they would largely balance out. However this all set me thinking about how the device works. If you look at this shot:

Pretty much right in the middle you can see a wee half moon shaped component. There is a hole in the middle of it which fits onto the long end of the armature shaft and round that hole is a "boss" which fits into the middle of the ball race which is in the middle of the big "woggle" plate just below it. Look very carefully at that wee half moon part and you'll notice the hole in the middle - for the armature shaft - and the larger boss diameter are not concentric. This means the boss runs eccentric to the armature spindle which means that, when fully assembled, the base plate describes a small arc around the armature centre line. This is how it produces the orbital vibration which allows it to function. The half moon is obviously there to act as a counter weight to the movement of the base plate but the fact remains that there is going to be considerable lateral force acting on the armature bearing and the baseplate bearing as the baseplate is always going to be out of alignment with the armature axis. The armature bearing is only about half the size of the one used in the baseplate which probably accounts for it failing before the baseplate bearing.

There now, that was much more interesting and stimulating than watching people baking cakes or soap opera or whatever it was my dear other half was watching!

 

[Cheest]

Found a fairly complete quad for the grandkids yesterday. And it was cheap.

The seller was asking $200 US. I offered $180. He said that five others had called about it and I was the only one that showed up, so he said he'd take $150. Almost dislocated my shoulder reaching for my wallet.

I was hoping the battery in my B&S powered Honda would fit but it was a half inch too wide. That'll be a trip to Walmart, if I can stand it. I've already purchased what's missing or doesn't work, so hopefully it will be running by the end of the month. Besides working on this, I'm also swapping out the radiator, water pump, and timing set on my Jeep. I'm not spending a lot of time on either, though, because it's hot here, too.

I got the little CPOC (chinese piece of crap)running today and it runs surprisingly well. The sound reminds me of the old Honda S90 I had in high school. Basically, the same engine, just 10cc bigger.

The big problem with it was the starter. The armature was shorted. The next niggler was that the brake light switch is also a safety switch and it was toast. One needs to squeeze the brake lever to get the juice from the starter button to the starter solenoid. The final one is that the battery I purchased is too gutless. It's a 3AH battery and I should have gone 4AH or larger. That battery will turn the starter over all day, if the spark plug isn't in the engine. Once the plug is in, it can barely turn the engine over compression. I'll have a 5AH here tomorrow.

I cleaned up and rerouted some of the wiring and quit there for the day. I'll have the oldest grandson, Eli, helping me try to finish things with it tomorrow.

 

[StevenRB45]

Extensive testing of the C3 continues..it broke up under load once today. However when I backed of to below the RPM I did it at..then put my foot down again didn't do it again as it passed the same RPM again. Still wonder if it's more the ECU not quite having the measure of it yet.

Think today was probably in the category of Italian tune up, few stills off the dash cam.

Through Weardale and Tynedale to Alston.

Ride on the train...

Then back home..

Seemed to be fighting fit by the time I encountered a plank in a 218 "msport"..(that would be a 3 cylinder 1.5 litre "sports coupe") which overtook me in a 30 zone...while I was passing a line of parked cars to make it 3 wide.

He disappeared off...unfortunately for him he did it at the bottom of the climb into Weardale..up which I had the faster car, the rest straights are heavily washboard effect and which allows extremely efficient bump stop testing if you have "sports" suspension. Then spent the next 20 miles mildly harrasing him for my own amusement..

 

[portland_bill]

Seemed to be fighting fit by the time I encountered a plank in a 218 "msport"..(that would be a 3 cylinder 1.5 litre "sports coupe") which overtook me in a 30 zone...while I was passing a line of parked cars to make it 3 wide.

He disappeared off...unfortunately for him he did it at the bottom of the climb into Weardale..up which I had the faster car, the rest straights are heavily washboard effect and which allows extremely efficient bump stop testing if you have "sports" suspension. Then spent the next 20 miles mildly harrasing him for my own amusement..

There's a country road near here that I use a lot, and without traffic can be taken briskly in sections, although around the equestrian centre needs care of course. Exiting a small town, whilst still in the 30 limit, a small British Gas van overtook us. I had a learner driving, but one ready for test, and actually very good. Once past the National Speed limit signs, my learner added speed, up to the limit, and quickly caught the van, then like you, proceeded to gently harrass him. Being harassed by a learner, and failing to achieve the limit (lack of ability), must hurt somewhat. Very naughty, great fun.

 

[StevenRB45]

There's a country road near here that I use a lot, and without traffic can be taken briskly in sections, although around the equestrian centre needs care of course. Exiting a small town, whilst still in the 30 limit, a small British Gas van overtook us. I had a learner driving, but one ready for test, and actually very good. Once past the National Speed limit signs, my learner added speed, up to the limit, and quickly caught the van, then like you, proceeded to gently harrass him. Being harassed by a learner, and failing to achieve the limit (lack of ability), must hurt somewhat. Very naughty, great fun.

Mild harassment is always fun...not the sort of stuff that ends with someone stuffing it but gently prodding someone who's made it clear they are a prat.

Awareness of the cars around you goes a long way..if someone had been playing with me to the extent I was I'd have let me go personally. Every up hill section I'd adjust the following distance from reasonable to "Audi" in a gentle reminder that he was holding me up.

On the way out I'd spotted an Audi SQ3 and Porsche Cayman having a dice in the mirror and just literally pulled over before they caught me and rejoined after on the basis the rate they were catching me at and the section of road I was coming up on things would probably get silly otherwise. I then ended up behind them anyway as they caught a transit who was not similarly happy to let them get on with it. In general if I'm happy at a pace and someone comes steaming through I'll let them get on rather than set up a situation where an ill advised overtake is possible, but few other drivers seem to bother or take it as a challenge.

 

[bugsymike]

We get a lot of drivers from taxi drivers to old ladies, who go to the outside lane of a dual carriageway from the roundabout and then stay there for several miles at 45 mph in the 70 Zone totally unaware of the outside World.