#4 AT&T (yeah, I know...) I was chopping a deep stump out of my yard yesterday, for the second day in a row, pain in the ass, 100 plus degrees outside, so I raised my pick-ax, and promptly ripped my DSL line off the side of the house! (insert *colorful* language) I tried reconnecting stuff, but couldn't get it to sync. So I Made The Call. After chatting a bit, I mentioned that I used to have wire protection, which covers this, but cancelled it. "Let me see what I can do" - She was in a customer svc. center in Arkansas. I had a tech to my house in two hours, free of charge, fixed in fifteen minutes. It was awesome - tipped him twenty bucks.
Thanks for the tip on the generator - been looking for one. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Alex Stanley" <j_alexander_stanley@...> wrote: > > #1 Kessel's Conoco > > Today I drove my semi-retired old pickup truck into town to pick up some > chicken wire and run some errands. As I was heading out west on Burlington > Ave, I hit a red light, and when I mashed my foot on the brakes, the pedal > went to the floor, and I almost didn't get the truck stopped. So, I made my > way to TSC, got my chicken wire, and drove back to town, using the manual > transmission as a brake. I pulled into Kessel's Conoco on the corner of > Burlington and 4th, explained to Steve what had just happened, and he put the > guys right on it. I walked over to Top of the Rock Grille, had a bacon > chicken wrap, and walked back to Kessel's. A half hour later, my truck was > fixed. Brake line had rusted out; not surprising on a 1996 truck that has > seen a lot of road salt. > > I always make a point of not talking politics with Steve because he's pretty > hardcore right wing, but he's totally honest, and he does good work. > > #2 Stretch-Tite plastic food wrap & Wrap'N'Snap dispenser > > I buy most of my grass-fed meat up in Iowa City at the Co-Op, and I wrap each > piece in plastic wrap for the freezer. After years of wrestling with the damn > Saran Wrap boxes, I Googled around for the best plastic wrap and found a > plastic wrap and dispenser system that actually works: Stretch-Tite > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F0RBLA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ULEJBM/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 > > #3 Honda EU2000i Inverter Generator > > For a while now, I've been wanting a decent backup power system for the > house. I had tried putting a high capacity alternator in the truck and > running a 2000 watt inverter, but even with the engine revved up, the > inverter would pull the truck's voltage way down and wear out the battery. I > really didn't want yet another internal combustion engine to maintain, so I > pondered how I could use the tractor's PTO (power take-off, i.e., > engine-driven shaft out the back for powering implements) to drive a > generator. There are PTO generators and there are hydraulic generators that I > could drive with a PTO hydraulic pump, but the cost would be several thousand > dollars, and the tractor would have to be revved up and burning a lot of > fuel. I talked to Tom Traynor about it, and he told me about the little Honda > inverter generator that his boating friends all rave about. > > Most gensets have an alternator directly driven by the engine, and the engine > has to run continuously at 1800 or 3600 RPM, regardless of load, in order to > make 60Hz AC. In an inverter generator, the electronic inverter makes the > 60HZ, and the engine revs up only enough to meet the demand for power. As a > result, a little inverter generator can run all day on a quart of gas, > whereas a conventional genset could burn that much gas every hour. In > researching the little Honda online, I found that it is apparently the most > popular generator in the history of creation. From the factory, with no gas > or oil in it, the EU2000i weighs 47 pounds; mere mortals can lift and carry > it with one hand. Power output is 2000 watts peak, 1600 watts continuous. > Basically, anything you'd ever plug into a household outlet can run off it. > Price: $1000 > > Recently, I put it in the back of the truck and used it to power my electric > chainsaw so I could cut down some dead trees. When I'd first fire up the > chainsaw, it would start and then speed up as the engine reved up and the > voltage increased; stop the saw, and the engine would go back to an idle. > And, it's remarkably quiet, even when the engine is revved up. There is > simply nothing to stop me from falling passionately in love with it. > Recently, the usual right wing talking heads were arguing the usual slippery > slope nonsense with respect to same sex marriage, and I was all "Fuck that > marrying a dog or cat bullshit... I wanna marry my Honda EU200i inverter > generator!" It's a whole new love that dare not speak its name, and I am out > of the closet, baybee! >
