Replacing Cast Iron Radiators

Two posts in one day, wow! I've also been working on a heating project in which we were frustrated to find that 7 of 11 radiators in the home burst due to poor winterization. For replacement radiators, I'm looking at Myson radiators. They have a very broad selection, and even publish their pricing! Visit Myson: http://www.mysoninc.com/

Garage Door Torsion Spring Repair

Thankfully, I haven't performed this operation yet! One of my coworkers said that his spring broke over the weekend, and I was ashamed to admit that I didn't know the particulars of the repair he'd need to undertake. Through the wonders of Google, I located this helpful site. Click Here to visit Richard J. Kinch's torsion spring how-to. Warning! Kinch is just a little pessimistic about the honesty of contractors. :)

Cameraphone Captures Headache

If you look closely at the picture, you'll see that I left a little piece of me on the end of this spigot. This demonstrates 2 things. First, I'm forced to retract all the statements I've made regarding the uselessness of camera phones. Were it not for the camera on my recently acquired phone, I wouldn't be sharing this moment with y'all now. Second, EVERYONE should ALWAYS stand up straight when walking. Cranial impact was only possible because I was bent over so as to align the top of my head (6 feet) with this spigot end (5'6").

I was helping my friend Steve last night with some home repair when this happened. As fate would have it, both Steve and Zac were on cell phone calls when I collided. Screaming seemed pretty useless with everyone preoccupied, so I was left to sit down on the floor for a moment and ponder life. The sore spot which remains today balances nicely with the spot left on the other side of my head after a stellar 9th grade basketball pump-fake.

The deserted dozen: The saga of the pork chops

Yes, the rumor of the pork chops is true.
We traversed 2 portages and 3 lakes in 4 hours Wednesday afternoon/evening on our way into the BWCAW. We selected a site at 7:30pm, after our first 3 candidate sites were occupied. Everyone was tired, but we consoled ourselves with the promise of freshly grilled pork chops:) As we began pulling out tents, lighting fires, and generally settling in, the pork chops were nowhere to be found.
They'd been packed in a small soft sided cooler which no one remembered carrying on either portage, or in their canoe. Perhaps we'd left them in the van? No, Jessica distinctly recalled packing them into a canoe at the entry point. Clearly they'd been left on one of the portages, but it was getting dark Wed. night. Lacking pork chops, supper was going to be rather sparse... or was it? At this moment, everyone began admitting to the "little bit of extra" food they'd brought in their pack. Bagels, tea, gum, 2 gallons of beef jerky, 2 pounds of peppered beef sticks! Apparently we could have survived quite nicely even if the entire 60 pound food bag had been misplaced.
Thursday morning arrived and, I still hadn't had my fill of paddling... or pork chops. Uncle Jim and I hopped in an empty canoe, and set out at cruising speed to retrace yesterday's path. It was early; after 45 minutes of paddling, we began to see groups on their way in from the entry point. At the first portage, we realized that we should be interrogating these groups in case they'd picked up OUR pork chops and were making plans for THEIR lunch. I approached three young ladies who turned out to be from the Twin Cities. "We misplaced a pack on our way in last night, and we're going back to look for it," I explained, "Have you seen it?" "Did it have pork chops and cheese in it?" they asked. "Yes!" I celebrated. "Well," they said, "Your pack is at the beginning of the first portage, but we ate some of your cheese."
Encouraged by the girls assurances that the pack was still there and the pork chops were still cold, Jim and I paddled even harder. Each group we passed confirmed that the pack was sitting on a rock... except the very last group. 1/4 mile from Pork Chop Portage, we passed a family group: 3 adults and 3 kids w/ 2 canoes. They denied ever seeing the pack, and we wondered if they were hiding it in their canoe. But, we decided to assume the best (and chase them down if the pack wasn't there).
Fortunately, the pack was there. Most likely, the pack's camouflaged exterior had disguised it from that last group... and our group the day before. As an added bonus, one of the little boys in that group must have had a large box of malted milk balls. The entire 80 rod portage was sprinkled with freshly dropped candies. Having no packs to carry, Jim and I selected the least gravelly ones, and ate our fill as we walked with the pork chops.
The entire rescue mission lasted 4 hours, and we ate pork chop pita sandwiches for lunch. The double-time paddlinig took its toll though, and I avoided any paddling for the next 48 hours.

Chloe the wonder dog.

We enthusiastically welcomed a new mammal to our household on Saturday; her name is Chloe. We found her at an adoption site a week earlier, and we spent the whole week preparing for her. Alas, we still found our house to be far from puppy-proof. Chloe is a Lab and German shepherd mix; she's 4-6 months old, and is desperately hoping to eat one of our shoes when we're not watching. Stay tuned.
Big thanks to Pet Haven, who rescues and re-homes cats and dogs.
Also, Petfinder.com is a great site to search for your next pet.

Teltone TLS-4 User's Manual

Here's a link that only 1 or two people will find useful, but cyberspace is a wonderful place to keep things from being forgotten.

Click Here for the Teltone TLS-4 User's Manual

Comparisson of BTU Output From Traditional and Alternative Fuels

Though the media enjoys talking at great length about alternative automotive fuels, there is already a plethora of choices for home heating fuels. If you've ever wondered just how these various fuels stack up, I've compiled a quick cheat-sheet which shows each fuel's BTU output. Enjoy!
Pellet: 1 pound = 6500 Btu
Corn: 1 pound = 7000 Btu (@ 15% moisture)
Electric: 1kWh = 3413 Btu
Gas: 1 therm = 100000 Btu
Propane: 1 gallon gas = 91690 Btu (@ 60 degrees F)
Propane: 1 pound gas = 21591 Btu
Fuel Oil 1 gallon oil = 139000 Btu

Using some basic Price assumptions, here's the cost of heating with each fuel
Electric: $2.05 per therm (100,000 Btu) assuming 7 cents per kWh
Electric(2): $0.90 per therm (100,000 Btu) assuming 3 cents per kWh
Gas: $1.20 per therm (100,000 Btu)
Corn: $0.57 per therm (100,000 Btu) assuming 4 cents per lb
Pellet: $1.15 per therm (100,000 Btu) assuming 7.5 cents per lb
Fuel Oil: $1.62 per therm (100,000 Btu) assuming 2.25 per gallon

For all you corn fanatics out there:
1)There are 20 bushels in 1 cubic yard
2)Corn weighs ~56lbs per bushel
3)Corn costs ~$2.35 per bushel

Clearing up the RS-485 Confusion

I'm forever struggling to keep the relationships between the various manufacturer's markings straight. Therefore, I've researched briefly, and post this graphic for posterity.

Ryan's Motorcycle Diary

Went out w/ Johnny Z., Zac, and Uncle Jim last night. The goal was to look at a motorcycle, but the bike owner was still at work so we were forced to kill time, and eat dinner, at Buffalo Wild Wings first. Much hilarity ensued as John ordered the Blazin' wings. Many beverages were consumed in rapid succession, and John admitted that I do have superior "hot stuff" tolerance.
We finally returned to see the bike, which I'm considering purchasing. It's a Yamaha XS 500. It's either a '77 or '78, and has only 8000 miles. Here's a link to a bike which looks almost identical to it. http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/456134/