Photo Dump And Other Pieces Of Crap

  Well my two day vacation was bundled with a weekend so I had four great weather days off. I mostly did stuff around the house like pressure washing the whole house, cleaning some windows, painting the garage and installing a door. I did get a little riding time in and I have no regrets. This stuff all needs to be done and 2020 is already a bust so why not now. 

 Enough about DIY stuff, lets just do a photo dump of some pics taking up valuable memory in my phone. 

 One of the guys at the shop got a Mohawk hair cut and I used this pic to compare his look to our friends here. 

 I have a pretty decent collection of hand tools but I couldn't find a driver for the top screw.

 This is from this years calendar. I didn't noticed any of the highlighted dates till the end of the month when I was ready to flip the page.

 I like to keep accurate notes for the customers so there is no confusion as to the state of their equipment.

File 13 bound.

 This carburetor pump diaphragm came from the factory installed like this. You don't need to be a mechanic to know its more crooked than a politician. The funny thing is that it ran for weeks before the customer brought it to us complaining of lack of throttle response.

  I've been seeing a lot of these crappy little engines lately. A store was having a sale on them and of course they can't do warranty work but we can so I get to deal with them. In the pic above this plastic piece warps and creates an air leak that eventually ruins the engine. Two pics up a bolt was over torqued and broke, resulting in a bitched engine as well.

This pic may have made an appearance here once before but its worth showing again.

 And finally, an everyday classic. The complaint was that this piece of crap we sold them starts fine when cold but is very hard to start warm. Its funny how its always the fault of the equipment and not the operator. Somewhere under all that fuzzy looking debris is an air filter. I wonder if they've ever even looked at it before? When I showed it to the guy, (and this is the response from over 50% of the people) "Oh, I borrowed it to so and so and he must not have cleaned it". Now I understand that belittling a customer, even a dickhead customer, isn't the right thing to do. Is it ok to draw an "L" on the inside of my mask with my tongue while some loser is blaming his neighbor for his own shortcomings?

Later.

Ramblings

 This blog has pretty much just been a series of ramblings that mean nothing to anyone else. You won't find political or religious viewpoints, current event opinions or much of anything that will stir the pot. At one point you could find some tech tips but I haven't posted anything like that in a long time. As far as ride reports go well I haven't been anywhere in a while. I've considered backing off from two weekly posts to one but I don't want to give up that little piece of real estate I own in the back of your brain. Sucks to be you.
 Normally I thumb through my phone and look for pics to remind me of the weeks activities and look for something blog worthy. I'll post some of that but first a few observations of things that are not pics in my phone. The first is SiriusXM which my subscription now allows me to listen to online. I know a lot of people refuse to pay for music but I really enjoy this service. I've been listening to a lot of the comedy channels but also the oldies channels like Classic Vinyl. This is music I grew up with and still enjoy. I can sing along (when no one is in ear shot) because the lyrics are pretty much clearly spoken and all the words used can actually be found in the dictionary. Some of the new music I hear on the radio at work is ok but the radio stations ruin it for me by playing the same tunes four times an hour. I don't even want to hear my favorite jams that often.
 Teens working a drive through window. OMG. To all store managers please remember that these kids are the face of your business. When their stupidity pisses off a customer, that customer doesn't rush back to do business in your store. Maybe a little screening during the job interview is in order so you know where they need help. My suggestions are as follows: Ask potential employee to grab two ranch dressing condiments and bring them to you. I'm sure the results of this one simple test will be quite varied. Now ask them to read the names of some of the things on the menu. Big Mac is easy but see what happens when they get to balsamic vinaigrette. Now ask them to make change for a dollar. Any mix of coins will be fine. The results of these tests should clue you in on how pissed off they will make customers.
 Now on to the phone pics. The first one struck me as having some kind of comedic potential but I can't seem to come up with anything. Its two upside down automowers in the back seat of a little shit box car. What I was thinking when I took the pic escapes me.

 The next pic was at work when three of us were playing scrap metal can Jenga. The game started when someone pointed out how freaking lazy people can be. Rather than deal with a full can they will balance stuff up till they can't get any more on the pile. Oh btw, I didn't lose the game and didn't have to clean up the mess the game created when the pile fell.

 The final pic is of a note that was handed to me when I was paged to pic up line three.

 A customer that had an automower installed by us had some questions. I guess she wanted to talk to me. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a dig on the tall one. This is my badge of honor for all the time I've spent learning about automowers. Someone noticed and wanted to ask me a few questions. The tall one knows as much or more about these units on the installation end of things but I may have the edge on the technical end. He also has a little ammo if he wants to fire back like the time we spent twenty minutes trying to calibrate a guide wire. Turns out I forgot to hook it up to the charging pad.
Its all good.

Later.

Buzzed Blogging Is Drunk Blogging

 Its Saturday night and I'm trying to write this blog entry whilst enjoying a prettty good buzz. My wife and I just returned home from a dinner date. I guess thats what we do now that the kids have flown the coop. Actually its kind of nice to be looking back at having raised a family rather than worrying about getting the kids pointed in the right direction so last night was her turn to enjoy martinis and tonight I enjoyed quite a few old fashioneds.

 What does this mean to you? Well, I could babble on about some nonsense or just narrate a few pics. I choose the latter.
 Lets start with my Automower named Mowby Dick. He lived up to his namesake twice this week when he drove off the curb in front of my house. Once while I was home and the other time when I was at work. I drove home to rescue him because I didn't have my security cameras set up yet and didn't know if he was in the street. According to the neighbor he was in the street and that was confirmed yesterday when he pulled the same crap while I was home. Of course this isn't his fault. I had the wire buried too close to the curb but hes still a dick.

 On the same topic, these mowers are the hot ticket in the Husqvarna world and are getting updates all the time. Here I'm feeding Mowby a fresh set of 1's and 0's.

 In work related news, we got another new to us truck. This one will pull the tent crew trailer around. Its amazing how tight these medium duty trucks will turn. If you crank the wheel while going forward, the cab and the trailer will hit each other. Thats pretty impressive.

 Not sure whats happening here but I gots me a pic of it.

 And finally for the pics I offer you this:

 I don't normally wear my reading glasses while standing at the toilet. At my age I know where to find everything without having to look, but I had to put them on when I thought I noticed some writing on this roll stacked on the toilet tank lid. Sure as shit (see what I did there) someone wrote on it. I feel sorry for the guy that felt the need to write the message. Its just another case of young punks that don't have their mommies here to wipe their hiney and clean up after them.

 Enough of the pics. I've been thinking about this used truck purchase coming up and realized I'll be heading south in a few weeks for vacation where the trucks are not as rusty. I think if I'm still in the market then maybe I should take advantage. It would give me something to do between rides and I'd be happy enough truck shopping while on vacation. The part I can't quite work out is the logistics of getting me, a truck, and my bike all home together. See I've been looking at short bed trucks and even if I found a way to get my Ultra up into a bed, I would need an 8 footer to haul it. Of course there are other options so for now I'll just roll with it and see what happens.

 Finally, I want to wish Deena a very Happy Birthday from Scotty too Hotty!

Later.

New Phones

 I'm a techy kind of guy so when my wife dropped her phone and cracked the screen I have to admit I was a little excited. Not pissed off excited, rather "time for new phones excited". See I've figured out that my wife and I need to have the same phone so I can answer any questions or show her tips I've learned. Not that she can't do these things on her own if needed but I'm already actively seeking these things out so why not take advantage of that. BTW, "techy kind of guy" can be translated to "sucker for gadgets".
 Monday after work she texted me to stop at the cellular store and "pick up some new phones", as if it were as easy as running through a drive up window. I really wanted to just go home and lay in my recliner. If you remember I fell out of the rafters of my garage and I was still feeling like I had been tackled by the Green Bay Packers defensive front line. Then she called and I gave in to her request but insisted she stop at the store on her way home. With the price of phones and extras I really felt we should make these choices together.
 You never know who yer gonna get as far as experience level when you plop down in the chair in front of the phone geek salesman. Some are new and just need a job. Some are experienced and rush you through the process but we got the guy that had a pretty good clue and wanted to make sure we had all our questions answered. Cripes the whole thing lasted an hour and none of that was wasted deciding which phones to get. I asked which was the latest and greatest android phone out there. He said the Galaxy S9 plus and I said, "two please". Mines black and hers is purple. I don't know if these guys work on commission but if they do then he ate good that night. With the cost of phones, screen protectors, cases and wireless chargers, I could have bought a really nice used bike...or fixed the dent in the BMW roof or painted my house roof. I'm not complaining, just pointing out that this crap is a big drop in the bucket. I, and many of you, use our phones all the time. We do stuff on them that was unheard of when our parents were our age. I don't mind dropping a little coin on something that is always within arms reach and ready to serve. Of course it sucks that the technology usually is obsolete before the phone plan expires but they got us techy people by the balls. If you want the latest and greatest then you gots to pay.
 No reviews. The phone has been out long enough that if you are into it then you already know what it does. The camera is awesome, it has more storage than my S7 and the screen is nice and big to compensate for my aging vision. Actually, the phone is kinda big and when I whip it out I feel like I'm sporting a boom box on my shoulder. Look at me and my big phone.
 The worst part of a new phone is transferring your apps, pics and stuff from the old phone. They've made advances in this over the last few years because it went fast this time. The next worst thing is trying to remember all those log-ins and passwords to access those apps. One other thing I found out about some of this new technology is that its not always very good. Here's a pic of me.

 This is how I posed when I took a pic to create an emoji of myself. Its a new feature of this camera. This is how the phone translated it:

 Who the hell is that supposed to be? The eye color isn't even right. I like the "get off my lawn!" version in the first pic better although you will catch me throwing out a peace sign every so often.

Later.

Day Off Photo Dump

 Day off in the middle of the week. What to do. I may wander off and search the used car lots for a replacement pickem up truck. The problem is that every truck that catches my eye is triple my potential budget. Oh well, it doesn't hurt to look.

Todays mini photo dump includes this hole in the roof of an enclosed trailer. Of course the driver has no idea how this could have happened. What we know for sure is that the trailer was moving and the door was all the way open when that cable broke, whipped around and bitch slapped the roof.

 I got a notice on my phone that the automower at the shop had a problem. "No drive" was the error message. When I investigated the problem the mower looked fine until I lifted it up and discovered it was dummy hung on this weird little piece of wood. These mowers are wonderful little machines but you really need to make sure the crap is picked up in your yard.

 And speaking of automowers, I was participating in what will become Americas new favorite pastime...tipping back a cool one and watching a machine manicure the lawn. As it came to the driveway edge a few clippings shot out onto the blacktop. I couldn't help but notice how clean of a cut this thing was making, even on this weedy grass. You don't always see this with a conventional mower.

 And finally a bit of bike related content. I may have mentioned that I had ordered a new "up" valve for the air ride on my Ultra. I installed it the other day and also removed the air tank to check it for moisture but found none. I know some dirt was getting in that valve so I also have a filter to install. I'll need to get some fittings before that can happen. Until then we'll just keep riding the beast and stop to clean the valve if it plugs up again.

Later.

Pillion Pics

 Yesterday we had some really nice weather. I know this because every customer that came into the store let me know how decent the weather was. My standard reply was something along the lines of "that depends which side of the counter you're on".
 Once my work day ended and I was on the freedom side of the counter I arrived at home to find my wife ready for a bike ride, and so we did. The following are random pics from her point of view on the back of the Ultra.

 We had a nice ride mostly on back roads but maybe we stretched it out too long as I clearly heard a groan from her when she dismounted. I guess I made a grunt or too as well when I got off the bike. Still, good times and it was nice to get out for a ride.

Later.

Ice Storm

 A lot of moisture pushed through the state Monday and Tuesday. The weather liars were calling for a half an inch of ice and power outages for our area and people were scrambling. We sold a lot of salt and applied an awful lot to our accounts. By 4:45am  I thought we were caught up and ready for workers to start pulling into parking lots, then it started raining hard.

 One minute I had these docks melted and wet but temps were below freezing and a few minutes later ice was building up on them.

 As far as ice storms go, this wasn't much but the roads were treacherous for a while. One coworker claimed it took him an hour to travel about ten miles but he drives a Chevy so that might just be how long it normally takes. Bazinga!
 Of course when you have ice build up on trees you get some interesting looks. These trees looked cool enough for me to stop and take a pic. If you squint just right that bright light in the background almost looks like the moon. Squint harder and those storage silos look like a majestic mountain range. Keep squinting and those trucks look like grazing cattle along the edge of a river. Go ahead, most of my pics require some sort of imagination to make them any good and squinting at this one is the closest thing I have to a bike ride out west. Ya, I'm ready for spring.

 Later.

This Week Photo Dump

  Sometimes I see things that I think will make a good picture and other times I see things and think WTF? Either way, my phone fills up with pics, most of which are crap, and I'll share a few with you before I delete them.

 What? Motorcycle related content on The Greasy Shop Rag during the winter months? Yep, thanks to some brave soul on a dirt bike. This pic was taken while I was fueling my warm truck. It made me wish I had acreage and a dirt bike. 

 Earlier in the week I was painting a hallway above a spiral staircase. Before I had textured the walls I was able to use my fancy new ladder that folds into a kazillion different positions. That won't work now so I had to use a brush on a stick. If there is any painting done in Hell, I'm sure some poor bastard is doing it just like this.

 If you look at this pic and just see two trains then I don't even know what you're doing on this blog. What I see are two trains hooking back to back to see which one can pull the other. If I were running one of those, this is the day I would get fired. BTW, the train on the left won.

 Git r done! I suppose there are a dozen ways they could have routed these snow plow control cables and this may not even be the worst choice but it sure looks redneck to me.

 And one artsy fartsy pic. With its warm glow it reminded me of one of those floating lanterns. I think if I had the time and ambition and even a smidgen of photographic talent I could make this an interesting picture. Since I have none of those you'll just have to suffer with this phone pic of a skid loader in a salt shed.

Later.

Ride To Eat

 By early Sunday morning we could see the day was gonna shape up nicely into a good riding day. Where to go, where to go? That's always the question. The answer usually involves eating. If you're gonna go for any kind of long ride a meal usually lands somewhere in the time frame of that ride. With that in mind we just set a lunch destination and headed out. This time we chose LaCrosse which is a two hour ride on the interstate. Of course we didn't take the hiway and our route through scenic backroads took three hours. We arrived, ate and got back on the bike without even thinking about doing anything else. Besides the walk from where we were parked to the restaurant, no talk was made about doing anything else. We just needed an excuse to go for a long ride and this was as good as any.

 Yesterday after work it was quite warm. When I rolled up the drive and saw my wife sitting in a lawn chair I knew we were gonna go for a dinner ride. I swapped out the sportster for the Ultra and we headed out to Berlin to visit Brooke and Mike. The first order of business was to swipe some peaches from a tree in their back yard. After that we rode into town and enjoyed each others company and had a nice meal.

 Our ride home was decent. The temp had dropped into the upper seventies which actually felt kinda cool after the eighty something temps of the day.

 Locals will recognize this house and its location. My wife says it got in the way of a sunset pic she was after. Except for the fuzziness I think it turned out just fine.

Later.

Rain or Shine

 We've had quite a lot of rain this year and much of it is pop up storms in the evenings. The other day after work my wife and I decided to ride about sixteen miles to a grocery store. Ya there are closer stores but we were looking for an excuse to ride and the timing involved in the ride and shopping would be just about right. As we were checking out the cashier figured we were on a bike and showed us a radar image. It didn't look good and when we walked outside it looked worse. I would have got a pic but there just wasn't time. We had to move now or get hammered.

 Based on the quick look I had of the radar I thought I might be able to take the long route home and hook around the storm.

As the storm front started catching up with us the wind picked up. As you can see my wife has full faith in my route selection.

 At one point I got caught behind a slow cage and couldn't be patient any longer. I grabbed a gear and shot the big Ultra across the double yellow just a little early and sped around the car. As I did this I caught sight of a squad car pulling out of a lot. I was easily twenty over and he had me dead to rights. My wife said she looked at the cop, looked at the big nasty clouds and then looked back at the cop. He left us alone. We still caught a few miles of rain but not that strong wind bullshit, and with temps in the low eighties it was kinda a relief.

 Not all our rides are threatened by nasty weather. We got out yesterday with no destination in mind.

 We were on some seldom traveled roads where we disturbed the locals. They'll get over it. We also stumbled upon a little Amish country store that we'll certainly seek out in the future. My wife is the official GreasyShopRag field photographer and she snaps a lot of pics. It seems she is taking pics even when she doesn't know it.

 The forecast today is for more scattered showers. Try to ride around the clouds, get wet, dry out, repeat.

Later.