Unintentional Drifting


I was trimming my hedges and I have a hedger attachment to make my life a little easier. If you haven’t noticed, the trimmers are pretty lengthy. To say its cumbersome is to say the least. If you live in gated communities with houses that are five feet apart from each other, you’ll know what I mean by mobility when it comes to mowing or working on the sides of your house.

Anywho, the trimmer is 65 inches long or around there. Its a little long when you add the hedger attachment to it. So I got to thinking, “Now wouldn’t it be nice if it were a little shorter”. So I did just that. I had to cut it down to the length I desired. It took some welding and grinding to get things to fit nicely. Two hours later and I am done! It looks good so far! A total of 39 inches with the hedger attachment attached. No handle for grip but its fairly light and easily maneuverable. I think my six yr old nephew can start using it from now on=) Who knows, I might shrink the lawn mower, edger and the likes so that he can start doing my chores!

I have to mention though that the shaft is hollow and inside it, is a flexible steel wire that spins the tool(s). The wire is covered by a heavy nylon shell and its separated from ever touching the shaft by rubber bushings that slide over the nylon shell. The only way I could cut that is with my trusty bolt cutter. I cut it as close as I could to the head and welded the rest on very carefully as not to interrupt the engineering of the components.

I did not include all the photos step-by-step but you’ll understand the concept of what it took to complete such a wonderful feat. It only took a little of ingenuity and lots of patience. I’m going to rebuild this motor later on. Its very old I admit, about 6 yrs old 31CC Ryobi weed eater. I will take apart this motor and probably make a scooter for my nephew to play with. I’ll cap the speed to 3 mph for safety.

short Ryobi trimmer : Ryobi weed eater : 31CC Ryobi motor

What a list. I am doing a little upgrade to my current system: AMD 2.4ghz socket 754. The OEM CPU fan is a little noisy and raises my room temperature by 7-8 degrees F. I was a little annoyed by its loud fan noise. It was like a wind tunnel but except in my room! I wanted a new silent fan so went with the Thermaltake CL-P0220 100mm. I didn’t need a GPU fan but I wanted one anyways because it looked so snazzy so I went with the ZALMAN VF900.

The install went quite well. It took me about 4 hours to install and configure everything. The GPU did not clear a transistor so I had to use a dremel to remedy that quickly! The SATA drive was a breeze to install but a little loud. Louder than my IDE drives. Its okay though because I purchased it for speed and performance.

To install the SATA drive, I had to remove my primary IDE drive and set my second IDE drive that I had as [slave] to [master]. Once I had that hooked up, I had to boot from a Nortons Ghost cd and restore my backup to the new drive. The backup file was 10gigs. With IDE, to restore was 11minutes. With SATA, the restore was only 5.5minutes. I could only imagine if I was restoring from SATA to SATA. It would be blazing fast mind you!!!

Anyhow, temperatures dropped from the CPU about 10degrees Celsius. Plus, its much, much quieter- fans running at 1700rpm vs. the stock 5500rpm. I don’t know about the GPU improvements but I know its working! The ATI 1600 video cards don’t come with temperature sensing. Sucks but O well.

I’m so exhausted… I broke ground on Sunday afternoon past drift noon, far beyond lunch. I dug a trench stretching more than eighty feet in length. It was a shallow grave for CPVC piping; not to code but I really did not care. The trench stretched and meandered from thickets to underground concrete, O my! It was very hard work! I was so tired after 4 hours of picking and [bitching]. The reason it took so long was because of the bushes being so thick. Squeezing through from what I can tell, a mismatched ally way made by the house wall and bush giving a meager 8 inches wide walk way- did I say that I was torn up too? Yeah…, I was definitely receiving a [hurt’n] by the thickets. It made trenching so difficult I had to take a few breaks or else I would scream!

I water the plants by hand and for the past three years or so, I’ve been miserable with a bucket of water. No more I say! I laid the pipes and various fittings down neatly. Cut, brazed and glued- I did it all! I had 3 water bibs strategically placed for efficiency. The first one: placed by the two French doors in front of my home; second: placed right by the pool pump and filter which is also located near the back door; third: placed in the back of my home. The logic is that I need water access to water my plants upfront (the ones elevated and that can not be reached by the sprinklers), clean my pool and filter, and water plants in the back.

Needless to say, I’m tired and beat. I have glue all over, nicks and bruises here and there, and a swear jar full of quarters! I would like to get some help but that will be many years down the road until the little ones grow old enough to render any use. Right now, all they do is eat and sleep, poop, and drive me crazy! I bet I would be done sooner too. It took three days to complete. I’m very happy with the results. I had to poor concrete around the bibs for a more solid footing. The pipes I ran were CPVC but at every bib, there was copper for added dexterity. Twisting and bending with CPVC is fine but when you have them under the ground for quite a few years, they become brittle and will eventually snap cleanly in two if tension is applied in a vertical movement or occasional shakings.

I was going over a friend’s house to do some PC upgrades. It was a new motherboard + processor, 530watt psu, and a 512mb pciE_x16 video card. During the long drive, I had the urge to call my friend. We have not spoken to each other for awhile. I didn’t give up on her. So I contemplated for a wee bit to see if I should give her a call. I did. Every tone was a heart ache for I assumed she wouldn’t pick up and that I would have to leave a message. Finally on the third tone, she picked up. I was relieved for I had no clue what to say if I had left a message.

She hadn’t picked up for two whole weeks- mind you, I was a nuisance but I didn’t mind. Her friendship meant a lot more than my embarrassment. I guess I was ready to make a fool of myself to admit all wrongs whether I was right or she was wrong- it didn’t matter. When we talked, it was like something new; I didn’t know what to say nor how to put things. I was in the rough and I knew it. I hadn’t the slightest idea of how I would react when she said “Hey” but its the norm.

Two weeks of calling. There were many moments passed that I would flip the phone and speed dial 10 but find myself closing it right afterwards. I wrote many e-mails- all replying to the same letter, drafts, all of them drafts. Each letter I would hover the mice over [send] but stop myself and saved it as [draft]. I’m a fool, embarrassing myself in front of a mirror- all alone. Pity. She is my friend. A friend I have not lost hope in. A month has passed.

There is tension that is between us. From her to I but not from I to her. I’m resolute. I honestly don’t know where our friendship shall sail because I’m onboard but she might be hesitant. I’m happy that she picked up and it was soothing to hear her voice. I missed her quirky jokes and funny giggle. That too, comforts me. Now that I know (an assumption) we can still talk, I don’t think its up to me anymore whether we continue or fall behind. She has me if she but to ask. I’m foolish and misunderstood. One of many flaws I bare. I hate to lose a friend like her since I have so very few to begin with.

What I ordered:

*POWER SUPPLY ANTEC TPII-550ATX RTL
*CPU FAN|BIG TYPHOON CL-P0114 TT RT
*VGA SPHRE|X1600 PRO 512M
*Wacom 6×8 Tablet
*Misc. cooling fans

Its feeling like a little kid again that makes it all worthwhile. I had it shipped 2days express for an extra fee but I have a preferred membership and the order is rushed anyways, so it was a waste of money for the shipping. Anyhow, I’m very happy with my new gizmos and toys. The fan is so normongous! I just love it! It’s very quiet- quieter than the stock pentiumIV fan and heat sink combo.

I work a lot in photoshop and the likes, and so I purchased the wacom tablet for easier manipulation with my photos. I don’t know what use it would be but I’ll find out. For some reason, I think it was a waste too! It takes a little getting use to but I’ll manage!

Okay, I finally trapped the little rascal whose been running around my whole neighborhood causing such havoc under people’s homes! I heard one neighbor had holes running from one side of the house to the next! I’m sure it was this armadillo! I did the whole community good by catching this critter! Well, okay… the trapper caught it but I want some credit too- I checked the trap everyday if that counts for anything!

This critter doesn’t look as mean as the possum I caught the other day! I’m just glad its done with! I was worried of future infestations that I went around my yard trimming all the hedges at least 8 inches from the foundation/wall of my house. I’ll need to do it to the side where the trap resides on because I left it for last. I have to admit, my bushes look way cleaner than usual not to mention all the bugs that were in the thickets when they were full!

I’ve left a few photos. It’s pretty interesting how the trapper set it up. You can see that there are two boards running from my neighbor’s house and mine. The board purposively directs the critter into the trap so that it would be easy to catch. They would follow the boards and step right into the trap! Its ironic but if I was caught, I would lose my apatite: this critter didn’t because the bait was licked clean!

I work on the garden a lot and my Coronar pruners constantly loosen during use. I got fed up with it and decided that I shall weld the nut to the bolt. The design is to use a nut with plastic inlaid within to stop the nut from unraveling from the bolt. It works quite well but when you combine that design to something that moves on an axis constantly hundreds and thousands of times, its not going to hold its own.

It was quite easy to do actually. My welder looks brand new since I’ve used it less than a few dozen times. I always store it in it’s original box. I was thinking of purchasing the gas conversion kit for it but decided I do not use it enough to warrant such a purchase. It’s a Lincoln brand; a brand trusted by NASCAR!

coronar pruners : loosening nut : welding

I have two long rows of hedge on the sides of my house and my neighbor knocked on my house the other morning telling me of surprising news: I have a possum digging underneath my house! I didn’t notice such because I’m usually not paying attention until the hedges need tending. I was a little freaked out so I called a local trapper. He caught it and release somewhere far, far away.

I would have caught it myself but I don’t want to buy the trap and having to keep it too. I caught a cat in an attic once using the same style trap the trapper used. I had rented that trap but I don’t know where to rent one around my town. Plus, it was inexpensive to call the trapper out.

My friend walks up to me and says, “lets eat it”! Knowing that he’s only joking=) Its a feisty little critter I would say the least. To say its docile would be an understatement! This thing packs a punch with lots of sharp, sharp razor teeth. I wouldn’t want to get bitten by it.

I reworked my “garden” yard and I put in two dozens of Lily of The Nile flowering plants. I have to say that I’m very impressed with my work! I love my yard a little more now- it’s much more bearable. I had added 40 bags of mulch the other day and the mulch is 2-3inches thick. Now I have a problem with my sprinkler heads being too short! That must be remedied.

The company that came to do my borders, broke my sprinkler head without telling me. I had to find that out myself today and that included 4-months of high water bills. Unappreciated I tell ya! They should have just told me when they broke it- its not like I’m going to go berserk. Good heavens. Now I have to make a repair that I could have done many, many months ago. All that money down the drain because of a broken sprinkler head. I would frustrate others but I’m not. I’m content.

Seven hours of back-breaking labor and lots of money spent, I have completely planted all my plants. My whole idea and thought of approach to the design is to get the Lily of The Nile plants to meander around my borders and caress the sides to make for subtle views and create a centerfold that will help lay out all my various plants that I have planned in my mind. It will subdue the butterflies and confuse the bees to much of my surprise!

It stunned me to know that the ladies’ room is cleaner than the guys’ room. Not to mention the seat was spotless and there was soap left to wash your hands! O, the air was a lot more crisp. The guys’ room is more like a [shit-hole] – nice and dirty with piss all around. It was a rude awakening to step into the ladies’ room and notice the tremendous difference in the two.

I took my niece out for lunch and I drank three ice tea (non sweet please) with nachos and wings. Needless to say, I had to tinkle like a horse! I dropped her off and drove home for the afternoon. I was out of gas and I was very [antsy]. It was nerve racking when I hit traffic. Unbearable! The ironic thing is there was a pool of water shimmering in the median that enticed and teased me. I arched my back while driving as to somehow relieve the pressure off my bladder or was it to suppress my need to tinkle? It had to be one of those moments out of the two!

Thank god I live near a city with lots and lots of gas stations- they’re like dandelions in an oyster bed of twirling and twisting asphalt. I stopped on by and parked at a pump station but first I had to go [pee] really, really bad! I ran in and some guy was using the restroom. Just as I turned away, the ladies’ room was available. I thought childishly, “If not another lady, than its going to be me-” so I snuck in while she stole around the corner. I was in and out fairly quickly!

I had soap to wash up and the floor was spotless- no pee and pooh scattered on the floor. I’m glad I ran in to the ladies’ room for it I had waited one more minute; I would have soiled my pant! Thank god for clean bathrooms! Got out, purchased 23USD worth of gasoline and left!

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