Jump to content

mbrood

Expired Membership
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,115

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by mbrood

  1. mbrood
    For the microphone cover, I used a piece of wetsuit material, cut it to size and then sliced it's thickness way down... hasn't hampered the volume/ambient performance. Just got a scrap from a diving shop.
  2. mbrood
    My grandfather had me cutting down the pasture grass on his land using his medium sized garden tractor. The pasture was pretty good size and it was taking me a while. Suddenly I felt that urge to get rid of some extra fluid my body didn't need any more. Figuring I was out in the pasture, I just put the tractor in neutral, stepped off and started to make a wet spot on the grass. About that time I noticed my sister heading out my way with some water refreshment. Not wanting to be too obvious, I turned around so it 'might' look like I was working on the tractor... except I forgot the magneto location... which I was immediately reminded of. Suddenly I was laying on my back, trying to get some breath, wondering why the clouds were spinning and off a little way I can hear hysterical laughter... not a lot made sense for a while. I never got that glass of water but not a word about anything was said, so I thought everything was covered. Then a couple weeks later grandpa said the back pasture needed cut. Just as I was pulling on my work boots my sister giggled and said, "Wouldn't it probably be good to go the bathroom first...?"
  3. mbrood
    I don't think it's necessarily a "veteran thing"... it's a grand American thing to give of yourself... Many people may have forgot about his time in the U.S. Army. He is the son of an Air Force General, and a accomplished Golden Gloves boxer, and he graduated from Pomona College with a B.S. degree, and then became a Rhodes Scholar from Oxford University. He joined the U.S. Army at the prompting of his father. After graduating from Officer Candidate School he attended and graduated from both Army Airborne and Ranger training in the very top of each class. He was selected for U. S. Army Special Forces Training but refused so that he could attend pilot training where he earned his wings, and became an accomplished U.S. Army helicopter (gun ship) pilot, and achieved the rank of Captain. He was about to be promoted to the rank of Major, and appointed to teach at West Point when he resigned his commission from the Army to go into music and acting. You can tell in this video that his time in the military means a lot to him. I won’t give away who it is. You should just watch. I bet you will be surprised!
  4. mbrood
    Another safety tip... watch out when you pull out your card... if there's someone nearby on their cell phone, guard (cover) the card... with so many camera phones, it's a simple trick to snap a pic. Does your drivers license show when you open your wallet... same bad mistake. Make it the second one in or keep it obscrured until needed. Privacy is getting a lot tougher.
  5. mbrood
    you could probably "adapt" them easier with right angle, solder cup, DIN connectors from Digi-Key... http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/SDR-50/CP-1350-ND/352866 http://media.digikey.com/photos/CUI%20Photos/SDR-50.jpg
  6. mbrood
    I had a wake-up call when my wife's radiator started leaking on her 2001 PT Cruiser... the manual starts out.. remove the front grill... The darned thing has to come out the front AFTER all of the framing is removed... lot's of parts on the garage floor just to pull a stupid radiator. Then last year one of the radiator fans went south so I looked in the book... remove the front grill... Yep, it's the last thing available until the radiator is out... sigh !!!
  7. mbrood
    Malibu Headlamp Replacement Rob Spiegel, Senior Editor, Automation & Control 11/23/2011 GM seemed to get a lot of things right when it introduced the new Generation 7 Chevy Malibu in 2008. I got one of the higher-end models with a six-cylinder engine and a very smooth shifting six-speed automatic transmission. I was generally happy with the car until a headlamp bulb burned out. I went to the local auto parts store and bought a replacement bulb for about $12. Then I popped the hood and found that I couldn't get to the back of the headlight assembly. The owner's manual was no help at all -- its advice was to consult the dealer for bulb replacements. A quick Internet search revealed the awful truth: To replace the headlight bulb, you needed to remove the front bumper (among other parts). The dealer confirmed this and quoted $150 labor to replace one bulb. The steps needed to replace the headlight bulb are as follows: Open the hood and remove the plastic cover above the radiator (14 screws). Jack up the car and remove the wheel (five lug nuts). Remove the wheel-well liner (15 screws and pop-rivets). This exposes two bolts that hold the bumper in place; remove these bolts and slide off the end of the bumper. Now, you can reach the three bolts that hold in the headlight assembly; remove the headlight assembly and replace the bulb. Replace everything (29 screws, nuts, bolts, and pop-rivets). If you think you might as well replace both lamps while you're at it, you'll still have to remove the other front wheel, wheel-well liner, the other side of the bumper, and the other headlight assembly (25 additional fasteners). In my Toyota Camry, I could replace both headlight bulbs in less time than it takes to read this paragraph -- without needing a single tool. Just open the hood, twist the bulb socket a quarter turn to remove it, and plug in the new bulb. What's next? Will we have to remove the dashboard to change the oil? Remove the rear seats every time we get gas? I can't believe that there wasn't a way to provide easier access to parts that require replacement many times over the life of a car. Maybe the monkeys who designed the car don't think it's going to last very long?
  8. mbrood
    The first year after my wife and I were married (young, working our rear ends off but making things work as we were able), her step mom was working at Neiman Marcus and her dad was a big accounting executive with Rohr Manufacturing... they splurged and gave me a 6 inch pair of vice grips and my wife got an atrocious pair of waxy looking, green earrings... and the absolute best part was the paperwork in the box made a LARGE point of pointing out that they were 100% genuine acrylic. Gee, can you imagine the expense of finding 100% acrylic? They still sit in the guest bathroom medicine cabinet with attached declaration just to see who gets the joke.
  9. mbrood
    Wife got me a flashlight from Costco for the garage or... It's a little thing at only 16 inches long with a 9 inch diameter reflector running a 12 volt rechargeable with an H4 headlight. She smiled and said, "Will you FINALLY have enough light for working in the garage?" Won't fit in the side bag though !! (I think it's secondary use is as a heater if it's too close to ya.) http://www.bergall.org/temp/venture/flashlight.jpg
  10. mbrood

    Common Sense

    mbrood replied to SilvrT's topic in Watering Hole

    You are under the illusion that the younger kids are taught to think. They are being taught to "press the button". If the machine says you get change, you get change. If the menu "button" says sauce... you get sauce. When you get a bill for $4.73, hand them a $5 and 23 cents... if the machine says you get 50 cents back, you get it. If he has to work it out... tripple check the amount. Thinking is not a priority. Schools are becoming recitation centers... names, dates with no relavance to the history, events or the results... just recite the names and dates and write it on the test... you too can be an ""A" student. I went to a Taco Bell the other night and ordered a burrito supreme for my wife. Then I said that I didn't want any enchilada sauce on the burrito. The girl just looked at me. "When you are making the burrito, you add that red sauce right?" "Yes." "Ok, on mine, don't add the darned red sauce." "But it comes with red sauce." I pointed to the bills in my hand. "These are MY dollars, you leave the red sauce off or I walk out with these same dollars and you can explain why the customer isn't right." She went back and told them what I wanted and I paid. I still think she thought she was getting cheated in the deal. Maybe she thought I should pay more to have them leave it off...?
  11. mbrood
    Although a good diet, proper exercise and a good dose of good ole sunshine is the typical first regimine any doctor is going to prescribe, it's real important to have the doctor run the tests to determine just WHAT vitamins and minerals you are in need of for a balanced sysem. Look at your blood like the electrolyte in a battery, it has to be properly balanced to deliver energy, you shouldn't "guess" at requirements, checks are easy.
  12. mbrood
    The parts catalog is a bit fuzzy, year to year... while it shows a two wire for the 84, the 89 appears right. Looking at the 89 which is a VR and it shows... 2WR-83980-01-00 FRONT STOP SWITCH ASS''Y (2WR-8)
  13. mbrood
    I think it would be easier to contact the Texas authorized Firestick ditributor and ask them what they have... Clay's Radio Shop 402 Palo Pinto Street Weatherford, TX 76086 Sales 800-917-6698 Support 817-374-4675 http://www.claysradioshop.com/acc_coaxconnector.htm
  14. mbrood

    jump

    mbrood replied to Marcarl's topic in Fun and Frivolous

    Really quite seasonal and logical... first he was a bit early, second he was next to the chimney. But that still doesn't explain how he can go down a chimney in a red suit and come out clean. And just exactly what DO they feed those reindeer? ('cause I want some...)
  15. mbrood
    My friends and I could do that. We would also then have a handy spot to sell all of the bent and broken parts.
  16. mbrood
    I think this is a classic, so check the basics... you overfill the case, the higher pressure foams the oil sending some up into the front of the airbox, since the sidestand puts the left side lower, the oil seeps along the tube going down to #1 carburetor and then down the carb, lower manifold, onto then the engine cylinder. If you wipe down the upper and lower carb manifold and come away oily... just do your cleanup, insure the oil is at half glass when upright and ride it like ya stole it.
  17. mbrood
    Yes, quenching is a tempering process, forcing an immediate "freeze" of the molecule orientation, while air cooling allows the molecules to naturally orient and relax. Take hardened steel, heat to red and let it air cool... it is no longer "tempered".
  18. mbrood
    Guys, you don't have to replace the copper washer. Over time the washer "work hardens" and becomes stiff. But copper is a neat material. Heat it over the flame of your stove until it gets red then let it air cool... this will anneal the metal and it will once again be pliable, ready to be installed again.
  19. mbrood
    I always feel a little sense of accomplishment when I park in the garage and see that she REALLY needs another good cleaning... those baths I don't mind a bit, she earned it.
  20. mbrood
    A norton commander has rubber mounts so the engine, swing arm and rear tire are one unit and the rest of the bike is another. If not adjusted properly, they will give you a tank slapper that will rip out of your hands at a certain speed. I would check swing arm bushings, steering head settings, tire pressure and drive train mount bolts.
  21. mbrood
    The last post is a very worthwhile cause... there are lots of troops far from home... a little FYI from the Post Office: Beginning on Nov. 17, the Postal Service will stop accepting mail addressed to military post offices in Iraq, Defense Department officials have announced. That's because U.S. forces are scheduled to return from Iraq by the end of the year. Military post offices in Iraq will stop processing mail on Nov. 17, and service members deployed to that country are asked to advise those who send them mail about the approaching deadline. Should postal mail arrive after a military member has departed, it will be redirected to the new mailing address provided. If no mailing address is provided, the mail will be returned to sender, according to the Postal Service.
  22. mbrood
    The idle speed adjust is the knurled knob between the two (empty) drain tube holders on the lower mount plate. The straight slot screw between the carbs balances the sync between carbs 1 and 2. http://www.bergall.org/temp/venture/idle_screw.jpg
  23. mbrood
    It's definitley not nice to plastic or paint... probably not freindly with rubber over time either. But ANY of the penetrants need cleaned off well after use and stored PROPERLY.
  24. mbrood
    Some of you might appreciate this. Machinist's Workshop magazine tested penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts. This was specifically addressed to rusted, other material results may vary The results are below, as forwarded by an ex-student and professional machinist, Bud Baker. They arranged a subjective test of all the popular penetrants with the control being the torque required to remove the nut from a "scientifically rusted" environment. Penetrating oil ..... Average load None ...................... 516 pounds WD-40 ................... 238 pounds PB Blaster ............... 214 pounds Liquid Wrench ......... 127 pounds Kano Kroil .............. 106 pounds ATF-Acetone mix.......53 pounds The ATF-Acetone mix was a "home brew" mix of 50 - 50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone. Note the "home brew" was better than any commercial product in this one particular test. Our local machinist group mixed up a batch and we all now use it with equally good results. Note also that "Liquid Wrench" is about as good as "Kroil" for about 20% of the price. Somtimes grandpa's solution still holds water...
  25. mbrood
    California has those bumps along most of her lane dividers... it REALLY helps remind you to get back and off the line. But a really loud horn is also real handy! It's amazing what a daydreamer will ignore, but something sounding like a semi certainly gains attention.
×
×
  • Create New...