your latest purchase ! :3

[AniwayasSong]

Bought a bag of these this week at the store.... because they were out of my usually faves - the powdered ones. The chocolate donut itself was a little disappointing to me, as it was practically flavorless, but the outer frosting was the saving grace on them, which still made them enjoyable.

At two dollars a bag, I can't really complain in any case.

I've worked with livestock for too many years to look at these little snacks with a 'SFW' perspective!
;-P

 

[Shyy]

Eeeyyyeeaaahhhh, I'm looking at replacing the entire drive train (engine and transmission) on my poor ole' '93 Ford Ranger. She's been a good little trooper all these years, but trying to use a 'Truck' that only has a 4 cylinder engine is an effort in futility! lol
Gonna drop a V-6 (or 8 if I can manage it?!), and then a manual 5 speed manual (Been driving clutch-operated machinery since my legs could reach the pedals!).
Kee-riste these civilian passenger vehicles though! There's so much involved I have to admit I lack the skills/tools to pull it off and then trust the results, so me and my mechanic are going over options.

(There goes Xmas!)

The engine in my truc that I'm rebuilding is a 13 L Cummins in a 1970 M813 66x6. I'll trade you headaches, happily...
May I offer a suggestion? Turbo and 2.3 go together better than Bonnie and Clyde.

Or, if really <are> set on an entire drive train swap, 4.0 OHV is a cheap drop in factory thing.
(Has 93 Explorer 4.0 in 1984 Bronco II)
PM for deets on V8 swap if serious.

 

[Kellan Meig'h]

The engine in my truc that I'm rebuilding is a 13 L Cummins in a 1970 M813 66x6. I'll trade you headaches, happily...
May I offer a suggestion? Turbo and 2.3 go together better than Bonnie and Clyde.

Or, if really <are> set on an entire drive train swap, 4.0 OHV is a cheap drop in factory thing.
(Has 93 Explorer 4.0 in 1984 Bronco II)
PM for deets on V8 swap if serious.

The 4.0 pushrod engine is a snap to swap in; find a donor vehicle (same year expy or ranger) with a bad body. 5.0 V8s are a tight fit but can be done. Any V8 swap, you need to make sure you have an 8.8 axle or you will shell it. That little 7.5 axle found behind the 3.0 V6 and 2.3 I-4 can't handle a supercharged 4.0. let alone a V8.

I've done 2 V8 Rangers, both 2000 model year, one was a long bed standard cab 2wd using a 2wd Explorer, same year. The other was a 4wd standard cab stepside, using a 2000 Mountaineer as a donor, making the truck AWD in the process. The only difficulty with both were the low fuel sender that had to be put into the Ranger tank, since you end up using all of the Expy/Mountaineer harness, dash and ECU. The Cali Smog Nazis didn't like it much, since the trucks now say they're an Expy or a Mountaineer but they do pass smog just fine.

 

[Shyy]

Nice job, passing that shitty smog requirement!
My V8 swaps are done using the older method of Fox body 5.0 convertible engine mounts, early 1970s 302 exhaust manifolds, early 90's Crown Vic/Grand Marquis Alt/PS stacked brackets, V-6 oil pad adapter and a Crown Vic oil pan.

 

[Shyy]

Cool thing about a 4.0 swap- if you are putting it in an older chassis (84 Bronco II, here) you can start peeling the harness down at the underhood fuse box, starting with the fuel pump and relay. I ended up with 2 fuses, 2 relays and 1 diode. Single cut into existing harness on truck to "turn on" the alternator, add wiring circuit and return line for fuel system.

 

[reptile logic]

Commissioned cover art for my upcoming book.

 

[AniwayasSong]

The engine in my truc that I'm rebuilding is a 13 L Cummins in a 1970 M813 66x6. I'll trade you headaches, happily...
May I offer a suggestion? Turbo and 2.3 go together better than Bonnie and Clyde.

Or, if really <are> set on an entire drive train swap, 4.0 OHV is a cheap drop in factory thing.
(Has 93 Explorer 4.0 in 1984 Bronco II)
PM for deets on V8 swap if serious.

The engine in my truc that I'm rebuilding is a 13 L Cummins in a 1970 M813 66x6. I'll trade you headaches, happily...
May I offer a suggestion? Turbo and 2.3 go together better than Bonnie and Clyde.

Or, if really <are> set on an entire drive train swap, 4.0 OHV is a cheap drop in factory thing.
(Has 93 Explorer 4.0 in 1984 Bronco II)
PM for deets on V8 swap if serious.

OMG's! The M-Series of trucks are AMAZING! (Papa's is still running strong!)
I've been something of a wrench-monkey from my earliest days. Where most girls were playing 'Dolly' or some other such fluff, I was pestering my older brothers or Papa about anything/everything they were doing, but especially all-things-mechanical. Papa operated heavy machinery (dozers, graders, backhoes, etc.), two of my older brothers followed in his Path, so hell, we were always coming home slathered in dirt, oil/fuel/lubricants of various varieties, and catching hell from Momma before being allowed to sit down for evening supper!
I took this zeal into my Service in the Marines, and my first M.O.S. (outside of the standard 1300), was as a mechanic for anything/everything wheeled. Gods, how I LOVED IT!
To this day I prefer working on such equipment, when I do. It's simpler (as a standard rule, but again, modernity has complicated things beyond any semblance of rationality), and you have so much more room to work/insinuate yourself into/under/over/etc.. I look at civilian vehicles, and as I said, my own little Ford Ranger, and usually utter cuss words for how these damned things were designed/put together! I needed THREE different tools just to remove my front headlights, and TWO of them were metric! For a FORD!!! (that's merely one teeny-tiny example of everything else...) I truly miss the good ole days of using a timing light, feeler gauges and such to do basic tune-ups!
So yeah, I admit I'm over my head in upgrading/replacing the heart of this beast. That's alright. I'll be right there with my retired mechanic, doing as much as I can and learning as much as I can about the entire process. If I can manage it, I'll get and post piccies of the surgery, and results!

 

[Shyy]

I would love to be able to call you "family"!
BTW, we have a 1970 Deuce and a half that is still multi-fuel and a 1977 Dodge M883 in the family, as well.

 

[AniwayasSong]

A gallon of ethanol-free lawn mower gasoline.

Get yerself a goat or few... They'll keep yer foliage well-groomed all by themselves! (How these little critters consume prickly black/raspberry bushes, I'll NEVAH understand?!)

 

[AniwayasSong]

Brand new natural gas fired water heater. A cool $1,000 USD installed.

?!
EEP!
I bought an 'On Demand' LP Water Heater, with pump/filter at 10 gallons/minute, for HALF that!
What sort o' contraption have you created?

 

[Luxibutt]

Sushi!!

 

[VipersKiss]

Some Amiibos (for Splatoon 3), a new journal, and a copy of Uzumaki by Junji Ito.

 

[Connor J. Coyote]

a copy of Uzumaki by Junji Ito.

Uzumaki sounds like an interesting read..... I Googled it after reading your post just now..... it sounds weird, but a good read perhaps.
---------------------------------------------
Anyways..... bought a bottle of this at the store this week. It was sixty-four ounces.... and so, it was still a full half-gallon's worth of the stuff. (The cost was $3.14 plus CRV) which I thought was an odd price, instead of just $3 even or whatever.

I debated whether to get the unsweetened kind or the "sweet" version..... and I picked the sweet one and was pleasantly surprised that it had just a slightly sweet taste to it, as opposed to a real sugary "syrupy" type of taste (like what's in Kool-Aid or Fruit Punch).

It wasn't too bad..... and was a refreshing drink after our meal earlier tonight. We'll probably buy it again, as it was a good black tea that wasn't too sweet or too bitter.

 

[Shyy]

47 gallons of diesel at $5.17/gallon....

 

[AniwayasSong]

47 gallons of diesel at $5.17/gallon....

I foresee a massive resurgence of horse-travel in our future...
(The Amish are gonna make bank)

 

[Shyy]

I'm starting to make 3/8ths thick steel shields for all of my vehicles fuel tanks...

 

[Kellan Meig'h]

?!
EEP!
I bought an 'On Demand' LP Water Heater, with pump/filter at 10 gallons/minute, for HALF that!
What sort o' contraption have you created?

Yeah, well, our hard, mineral laden water is known to kill tankless water heaters and we have no natural gas piped to the second floor, where that little baby would have to live. The new water heater is an AO Smith 40 gallon skinny tank unit @ $615 USD out the door. I paid a pro plumber to hook it up (family friend) and he earned his keep by marrying the heater to our piping that sorely needs replacing. The cold supply line is PB, not PEX so he had to round up a Sharkbite fitting to go PB to copper, then the hot water out was PEX so he had to marry PEX to copper. The damned gas line was hard lined in with black pipe so he had to do some re-piping there, too. He dinged us $300 USD for his time and materials and I bought a new hand truck to move said water heater down eighteen steps to the basement and the old one out of the basement. That was $79 USD. So, a cool "C" note more or less to get hot water.

I'm starting to make 3/8ths thick steel shields for all of my vehicles fuel tanks...

I'm ahead of you - 1/2" 7075-T6 aircraft aluminum, bent and welded. Squeals like a pig when you try to drill it. No way I'll sleep through that if some scumbag tries to drill my tanks. Mounted with button head tamper proof Torx bolts, loctite blue and all metal top stop nuts. Fukkem. Actually, fukk me if I ever have to take those tank shields, er, skid plates off.

 

[Connor J. Coyote]

Had this for dinner earlier tonight, with a slice of wheat bread on the side.

It wasn't too bad. The meal was frozen solid at first, but I microwaved it in about five minutes.... the mashed potatoes were tasty, and the corn had a slight taste of sweetness to it. The beef patty itself had a bit of a mushy consistency at first, but was still tasty, especially with the gravy on top. The apple compote (the dessert portion) was excellent also...... so overall, I was satisfied.... (the cost was $ 1.99 per meal).

Had it with a glass of milk, and then a cup of coffee afterwards.

 

[Shyy]

Yeah, well, our hard, mineral laden water is known to kill tankless water heaters and we have no natural gas piped to the second floor, where that little baby would have to live. The new water heater is an AO Smith 40 gallon skinny tank unit @ $615 USD out the door. I paid a pro plumber to hook it up (family friend) and he earned his keep by marrying the heater to our piping that sorely needs replacing. The cold supply line is PB, not PEX so he had to round up a Sharkbite fitting to go PB to copper, then the hot water out was PEX so he had to marry PEX to copper. The damned gas line was hard lined in with black pipe so he had to do some re-piping there, too. He dinged us $300 USD for his time and materials and I bought a new hand truck to move said water heater down eighteen steps to the basement and the old one out of the basement. That was $79 USD. So, a cool "C" note more or less to get hot water.

I'm ahead of you - 1/2" 7075-T6 aircraft aluminum, bent and welded. Squeals like a pig when you try to drill it. No way I'll sleep through that if some scumbag tries to drill my tanks. Mounted with button head tamper proof Torx bolts, loctite blue and all metal top stop nuts. Fukkem. Actually, fukk me if I ever have to take those tank shields, er, skid plates off.

I would love to have access to to sheet aluminum at a reasonable price!
I'm using the steel due to cost, availability and because I know me... skids plates are a necessity! I crushed a 20 gallon tank down to about an 11 gallon tank sliding down into a creek. The tank DID HAVE a skid plate. The plate looked like a popcan that got hit by a truck.

 

[Shyy]

That, and most of the cordless drills don't seem to run long enough to get through thick steel. Not the ones that the clowns get caught with around here, anyways.

 

[Kellan Meig'h]

That, and most of the cordless drills don't seem to run long enough to get through thick steel. Not the ones that the clowns get caught with around here, anyways.

Along with cordless reciprocating saws and angle grinders. Oddly enough, I have a DeWalt 18v 1/2" brush drill that's 20 years old, still runs just fine. Actually it runs better than new after I had the commutator turned and the armature balanced by an electric motor shop and pre-radiused the new brushes. I bought the adapter to use the new 20V batteries, never looked back.
BTW, that aluminum sheet was costly, since we had to buy a 4' X 7' sheet from his supplier..

Besides, 7075-T6 tends to be a total beeotch to work anyway. The guy that did the fab work and welding for me said it gave him grief just bending it. Yeah, they "Skid plates" are on there so well, I'm pulling the bed to change the fuel delivery modules. He's also fabbing me a transfer case skid plate and a front diff skid plate. I get them cheap, since he plans to sell more or them after we do the prototype work.

 

[Shyy]

Well, T-6 <is> about the highest heat treatment you can normally acquire, so, yeah... bending it sucks. Farking <hate> the tendency to stress fracture. 7075 for exposure to a potentially corrosive environment is a good call.

 

[Connor J. Coyote]

Well, had this for supper earlier tonight.... a "Tai Pei" frozen brand Chinese entree, (the Orange Chicken variety).

Cooked it in the microwave in just under five minutes.

The vegetables were a hearty portion of broccoli, water chestnuts, red peppers, carrots, and a little bit of celery......which blended well with the sauce and chicken cubes all mixed inside this one paper bowl. I was pleased at the taste overall; as the chicken and vegetables weren't mushy, and the sauce had "just a hint" of orange flavor to it, which wasn't overbearing and in turn, give it a "knock of" kind of flavor that mimicked traditional take out.

Overall not bad.... I'd certainly buy this again ☺; and perhaps I'll try one of their other varieties at some point in the near future.

(The cost was $3.99 each)...... which is a bit on the "higher end" for a frozen meal probably, but was still worth it I think, as the quality was good.

 

[RamblingRenegade]

Ghostbusters spirits unleashed for Xbox

 

[Matt the Terrier]

Breakfast at Hardees and some pumpkin spice cappacino from a local gas station.