OUR DEAR FRIEND HAS CANCER FCS

[timebuilder]

Ya I'm starting to feel like I shouldn't be either lol, I just can't seem to do anything about it. I used to mason tend and was fit as a fiddle, now not so much, kids take to much time.

When I was 21, I had a job called "bricklayer's laborer. At the end of the first week, I thought I was going to die.

By the end of the summer, I could pick up two 12" hollow blocks in each hand and place them on a plank higher than my head. I was tanned and tight, an actual "hardbody."

In the past two years, I dropped 50 lbs and gained back 30, and since December I dropped 15, so I am close to my goal again. It took becoming aware of the calories I took in, and being willing to limit their intake.

[timebuilder]

I haven't been in 30" pants since highschool....

I just fit back into 38s...

LOL!

My pants in school were 30 x 32!

Two years ago, they were 38 x 30.

Now, they are 34 x 30.

It will be very hard to get to a 32" waist......

[timebuilder]

Good morning, Bret and everyone!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!

[jpsmith1cm]

When I was 21, I had a job called "bricklayer's laborer. At the end of the first week, I thought I was going to die.

By the end of the summer, I could pick up two 12" hollow blocks in each hand and place them on a plank higher than my head. I was tanned and tight, an actual "hardbody."

In the past two years, I dropped 50 lbs and gained back 30, and since December I dropped 15, so I am close to my goal again. It took becoming aware of the calories I took in, and being willing to limit their intake.

Never did a job like that, but when I was in my early 20s, I'd work 10-16 hours a day, get home, eat 2 snickers bars, chug a mountain dew and fly back out the door to go rock climbing, or just running in the woods.

LOL!

My pants in school were 30 x 32!

Two years ago, they were 38 x 30.

Now, they are 34 x 30.

It will be very hard to get to a 32" waist......

Married life has been good to me. I was a 34x30 on my wedding day.

My "fat jeans" are 40s.



Being aware of what you take in has been my issue, I tend to be a mindless snacker, but I'm figuring ways to stop that.

[Joehvac25]

When I was 21, I had a job called "bricklayer's laborer. At the end of the first week, I thought I was going to die.

By the end of the summer, I could pick up two 12" hollow blocks in each hand and place them on a plank higher than my head. I was tanned and tight, an actual "hardbody."

In the past two years, I dropped 50 lbs and gained back 30, and since December I dropped 15, so I am close to my goal again. It took becoming aware of the calories I took in, and being willing to limit their intake.

That's exactly what I did, make mud and make sure they had block to lay. I look at it this way, I had to move the whole basement worth of block, the 3 of them split it up. The 8" hollows I could hand to over my head no problem, then the 14" retaining wall block up to my shoulders anyways.

[Moonrunner]

'Afternoon and Happy Easter Bret and everyone. Mine's still a month away

[jpsmith1cm]

Happy Easter, all.


Tried to have a nice, fat and lazy day today, but that just never works out...

Dogs off to be groomed at 10:30, fixed the grandmother's garage door broken after than, got home in time to run and pick the 4-legged idiots up ($126 + tip, thank you), home for some dinner, then got the oil changed in the drowned ATV and got 2+ miles in on the bike.

Hey, Doug, How in the do you keep that think upright and moving forward in the mud? I tried a short section of muddy, uphill trail and wound up walking it the last 30 yards or so. I just couldn't catch any traction. Yes, I've got knobby type tires.

Anyway, it was a nice ride and almost enough to compensate the the few jellybeans and malted milk eggs that I ate today.

[Joehvac25]

Happy Easter, ate some dinner, played with the kids, it's snowing again so can't really do much outside. How'd the oil. Look Jp?

[jpsmith1cm]

Happy Easter, ate some dinner, played with the kids, it's snowing again so can't really do much outside. How'd the oil. Look Jp?

Black as sin.

The quad has been sitting more than it's been riding and I've waited Waaaaaaay too long to change it.

Now that both machines are up and running, I'll keep better track of the oil changes and other maintenance stuff.


I can't say enough good stuff about that Seafom. From an engine that wouldn't hardly rev up past 1/3 throttle position to an engine that starts with a tap of the starter button in a couple of days with nothing more than a half-pint of Seafoam.

I dribbled a little into the crankcase, too, just to see what happens.

I can tell you that, in addition to Sta-Bil, that stuff will stay on the shelf in the garage. It's certainly earned it.

[Joehvac25]

Ya that sea foam isn't cheap but it works for all sorts of stuff, I got lost in the woods one winter and had to use stabil to start a fire that night to stay warm, so it's good stuff to lol!

[jpsmith1cm]

Ya that sea foam isn't cheap but it works for all sorts of stuff, I got lost in the woods one winter and had to use stabil to start a fire that night to stay warm, so it's good stuff to lol!

That's a matter of comparison...

I bought a 16 ounce bottle and paid a little over 8 bucks for it.


What would a shop visit have cost me? $150?

That bottle just got REAL cheap in my perspective.



I try to keep Sta-Bil in all of the gas that I buy. A local grocery/C-store chain does a 'points' type system where for every $50 you spend, they give you $0.10 off gas. Since I work in these stores almost every day, we can rack the points up pretty quick. They give you 3 months to build the points before you lose 'em.

We've gotten free gas more than once and we always fill all of the cans that we can. It helps keep the machines running.

[Joehvac25]

That's a matter of comparison...

I bought a 16 ounce bottle and paid a little over 8 bucks for it.


What would a shop visit have cost me? $150?

That bottle just got REAL cheap in my perspective.



I try to keep Sta-Bil in all of the gas that I buy. A local grocery/C-store chain does a 'points' type system where for every $50 you spend, they give you $0.10 off gas. Since I work in these stores almost every day, we can rack the points up pretty quick. They give you 3 months to build the points before you lose 'em.

We've gotten free gas more than once and we always fill all of the cans that we can. It helps keep the machines running.

In that context it's cheap for sure but I have never paid a shop to fix anything so I don't always look at it that way. My problem is I'm cheap. If I was at the store and saw lake foam next to sea foam for 2 bucks cheaper I would buy the crappy stuff then complain it didn't work, then buy the good stuff lol. That sounds really stupid but I can't help it!

[jpsmith1cm]

In that context it's cheap for sure but I have never paid a shop to fix anything so I don't always look at it that way. My problem is I'm cheap. If I was at the store and saw lake foam next to sea foam for 2 bucks cheaper I would buy the crappy stuff then complain it didn't work, then buy the good stuff lol. That sounds really stupid but I can't help it!

See, like I said at the beginning of this, I'm NOT an engine guy.

I've tried, but I've never really had anyone to mentor me and to teach me. I understand all of the theory from how the parts all work together to how a carburetor works, but that doesn't mean that I can fix it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9en6AcVkBo

These guys are me when it comes to engines. Really!

So, the SeaFoam was do-or-die. If it didn't work, it was getting winched up into the truck bed (because it wouldn't go up the ramps under its own power) and being towed to a shop for a proper cleaning and repair.

[Joehvac25]

See, like I said at the beginning of this, I'm NOT an engine guy.

I've tried, but I've never really had anyone to mentor me and to teach me. I understand all of the theory from how the parts all work together to how a carburetor works, but that doesn't mean that I can fix it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9en6AcVkBo

These guys are me when it comes to engines. Really!

So, the SeaFoam was do-or-die. If it didn't work, it was getting winched up into the truck bed (because it wouldn't go up the ramps under its own power) and being towed to a shop for a proper cleaning and repair.

Lol pretty rough! I must have tore down my first engine at 13 and by 16 I was building a 57 Chevy pickup, I was a certified mechanic and was about to go to school for it. I got a temporary Hvac job, my stepdad was a master plumber and ran jobs around here. I guess I'm more of an Hvac guy now but still like to get into motors and stuff. I grew up around a lot of mechanics so that helped for sure, doing a basic carb cleaning may not be to hard but you can mess up a lot more then you fix if your not careful! Go out and buy a beater and tear it down!

[jpsmith1cm]

Lol pretty rough! I must have tore down my first engine at 13 and by 16 I was building a 57 Chevy pickup, I was a certified mechanic and was about to go to school for it. I got a temporary Hvac job, my stepdad was a master plumber and ran jobs around here. I guess I'm more of an Hvac guy now but still like to get into motors and stuff. I grew up around a lot of mechanics so that helped for sure, doing a basic carb cleaning may not be to hard but you can mess up a lot more then you fix if your not careful! Go out and buy a beater and tear it down!

Yep, tried that, too. Bought a cheap push-mower and ripped it apart, cleaned every part and put it all back together.

Still didn't work.

I wasn't really out anything, but I didn't really gain anything, either.


When I started in this trade, most didn't expect me to make it. I didn't know how to turn wrenches or screwdrivers. I was a bit of a nerd in school and was really on an academic track before I got a sniff of girls and college was O-VER!

It took a few years, but I managed to get the hang of tools in my hands, but theory is still my strongest point and I think that it always will be.

[Joehvac25]

Yep, tried that, too. Bought a cheap push-mower and ripped it apart, cleaned every part and put it all back together.

Still didn't work.

I wasn't really out anything, but I didn't really gain anything, either.


When I started in this trade, most didn't expect me to make it. I didn't know how to turn wrenches or screwdrivers. I was a bit of a nerd in school and was really on an academic track before I got a sniff of girls and college was O-VER!

It took a few years, but I managed to get the hang of tools in my hands, but theory is still my strongest point and I think that it always will be.

Women ruin everything, them and a good time kept me away from any books, but I was the opposite, always turning wrenches. Don't feel bad my last lawnmower I couldn't get running either lol!

[jpsmith1cm]

Women ruin everything, them and a good time kept me away from any books, but I was the opposite, always turning wrenches. Don't feel bad my last lawnmower I couldn't get running either lol!

I couldn't live without the woman across the room from me right now.

I've largely given up on being an engine mechanic. Not that important to me, anymore. I just don't think that it's in the cards for me.


I'll make any refrigeration system sit up and purr, though, so I guess that counts for something..

[Joehvac25]

I couldn't live without the woman across the room from me right now.

I've largely given up on being an engine mechanic. Not that important to me, anymore. I just don't think that it's in the cards for me.


I'll make any refrigeration system sit up and purr, though, so I guess that counts for something..

Ya my wife saved me from a life of poor choices for sure. Your definitely no slouch on the reefer side, and it counts for more because a mechanic is poverty level wages as far as I know. It's better to master one than be half ass at them all.

[jpsmith1cm]

Ya my wife saved me from a life of poor choices for sure. Your definitely no slouch on the reefer side, and it counts for more because a mechanic is poverty level wages as far as I know. It's better to master one than be half ass at them all.

There are a lot of guys here who have made the leap from auto mechanic to HVAC mechanic.

I'm thinking that there's a substantial wage difference, too.


Some days it would be nice to know more than just how to change oil and brakes, but I'll take what I've got and pass it on to my boys.

[Joehvac25]

There are a lot of guys here who have made the leap from auto mechanic to HVAC mechanic.

I'm thinking that there's a substantial wage difference, too.


Some days it would be nice to know more than just how to change oil and brakes, but I'll take what I've got and pass it on to my boys.

My older brother is a mechanic and I always made quite a bit more than him. Brakes and oil changes go a long way and will most likely be all they need unless they get the urge to learn more. My 2 year old will lay under his big wheel and push cars and act like he's wrenching, I don't even know where he would learn that lol