#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!
