I am looking for a new set of tires for my F-150. I still have another 10-15K miles left on my tires I like the looks of these, but I am not sure if they will look right on a white one like mine.
Friday, July 20, 2007
1960's F-150
Now, here is another really cool work truck. These are tough conditions for four-wheel drive trucks. However, two wheel drive trucks with positive traction rear ends where preferred by the real Green Swamp workers.
1960's F-150
This is a photo my family made of a controlled burn in the Green Swamps. Note the forestry company employee sitting on top of the tool box watching the fire.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Cleaning my Truck in the Summer Heat
It's definitely time to clean my truck when someone writes "wash me" on the surface.
Even if your truck hasn't reached that point, a good cleaning of the inside and outside prevents the buildup of damaging chemicals and dirt, reduces the potential for rust and helps ensure the visibility needed for safe driving, according to the Car Care Council.
The first step is to remove the clutter from inside the truck, including items that have accumulated in the truck bed and under the back seat that can add extra weight and reduce gas mileage. Once this is done, thoroughly clean and vacuum the inside and wash the windows.
When washing the outside, make sure to include the tires, wheels and the underside of the fenders to eliminate any road salt or grime. The Council recommends cleaning the wheels and tires with a mitt and using a separate mitt to wash the body. This will avoid contaminating the vehicle's paint with debris from the wheels and tires.
The body of the vehicle should be washed using a product sold specifically for cars. So, put that dish washing detergent back in the house. Starting at the top, wash one section at a time, thoroughly rinsing away the soap as you go.
Work your way down toward the front, sides and rear of the vehicle. Clean the fenders and bumpers last, since they will have the most dirt and grime that can contaminate the wash mitt.
The car should get a final rinse by removing the spray nozzle from the hose and letting the water cascade down the surfaces of the vehicle. To avoid water spots, dry the vehicle with a chamois (I prefer the synthetic chamois).
The last step is to wax the truck according to the manufacturer's instructions for application. Waxing should be done out of direct sunlight and every six months. It goes a long way toward protecting the vehicle's finish and makes subsequent washes easier.
If you identify any stone chips, rust or other problem spots while washing your vehicle, the Council suggests having these taken care of immediately to prevent further damage.
Even if your truck hasn't reached that point, a good cleaning of the inside and outside prevents the buildup of damaging chemicals and dirt, reduces the potential for rust and helps ensure the visibility needed for safe driving, according to the Car Care Council.
The first step is to remove the clutter from inside the truck, including items that have accumulated in the truck bed and under the back seat that can add extra weight and reduce gas mileage. Once this is done, thoroughly clean and vacuum the inside and wash the windows.
When washing the outside, make sure to include the tires, wheels and the underside of the fenders to eliminate any road salt or grime. The Council recommends cleaning the wheels and tires with a mitt and using a separate mitt to wash the body. This will avoid contaminating the vehicle's paint with debris from the wheels and tires.
The body of the vehicle should be washed using a product sold specifically for cars. So, put that dish washing detergent back in the house. Starting at the top, wash one section at a time, thoroughly rinsing away the soap as you go.
Work your way down toward the front, sides and rear of the vehicle. Clean the fenders and bumpers last, since they will have the most dirt and grime that can contaminate the wash mitt.
The car should get a final rinse by removing the spray nozzle from the hose and letting the water cascade down the surfaces of the vehicle. To avoid water spots, dry the vehicle with a chamois (I prefer the synthetic chamois).
The last step is to wax the truck according to the manufacturer's instructions for application. Waxing should be done out of direct sunlight and every six months. It goes a long way toward protecting the vehicle's finish and makes subsequent washes easier.
If you identify any stone chips, rust or other problem spots while washing your vehicle, the Council suggests having these taken care of immediately to prevent further damage.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
June in Carolina
We are preparing for a family day at the lake. Washed the F150 yesterday. It is my Dad's 82 birthday. Got the turkey thawing and the peanut oil sitting beside the cooker. We are going to deep-fry the turkey. I need to charge my camera's battery. More later.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Gas Prices Dip After Memorial Day Weekend
Today, gas in Whiteville, NC was $2.99 per gallon. Still it’s way too high for a V-8 F-150. I pumped 26 dollars worth in this afternoon on the way home from the gym and my gas needle barely made it above a quarter of a tank. I need to trade it in on a diesel engine and have it converted so it can run off biodiesel. I have seen the fuel processors and think I could make the fuel without any problems. As a certified chemistry teacher, I know all the hazards of working with the components of the process. I could buy gas for a while, even at $3.00 per gal for a long time from the amount I would have in all the stuff. I am not sure we will be able to get enough used french fry oil. They will start selling it soon so the cost of bio will be high too.
I laughed when I read today that our teacher's pay is only going to increase this coming year 6%. Hello, but has anyone bought groceries lately? If fruit and cereal continue to go up, I will have to making my own corn flakes. I am definitely going to plant some fruit trees. I am thinking about buying an apple, pear, peach, and plum tree. I need to research this topic.
The more I can save on other stuff, the more gas I can afford for my gas hog truck.
Things on my budget cut list:
I laughed when I read today that our teacher's pay is only going to increase this coming year 6%. Hello, but has anyone bought groceries lately? If fruit and cereal continue to go up, I will have to making my own corn flakes. I am definitely going to plant some fruit trees. I am thinking about buying an apple, pear, peach, and plum tree. I need to research this topic.
The more I can save on other stuff, the more gas I can afford for my gas hog truck.
Things on my budget cut list:
- Internet / DSL- I am going to reduce the speed I have to cut costs. I am not downloading stolen music or movies, so I can stand to wait a little longer. So, this is one item that will get hit soon.
- Going to the movies- Most movies are so sorry, I can just wait until they come on NBC or CBS.
- Satellite TV- Ok, our current provider has one big problem- no local stations, and no NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, or Public TV. Dishnetwork has tried, but they just don't have enough clout. I am moving to DirectTV, so I can watch my local channels. I would use cable, but the suckers won't offer me service because of the road I live on. I have given up on them. Hey, if they don't want my business, I am not going to lose any sleep over it. As for TV, I just want the basics. I may consider buying the package for the ACC basketball game coverage. We shall see.
- Cell phone- I have been having a fit for a smartphone, but let's get real about this. I do not have a circle of friends that I have to call every hour. I hate "texting". I never even check my voice mail. If someone needs to call me, like my daughters or wife, they know how to get up with me. I am not impressed with 1 mega pixel cameras, or 2 or heck 5 meg cell phone cameras. If I want to make a photograph of a chicken crossing the highway, I have nice digital camera handy at all times. Oh, I do not have to pay for a data plan to send photos to a server using a slow cell phone connection. So, I am giving up on the smartphone dream and focusing on paying for my gas.
- Eating out- this one hurts, but it cost money to drive around buying lunch, when I can live off a cold piece of chick between a couple of slices of whole wheat-high fiber bread.
- Buying books- I have never liked reading novels. I majored in chemistry because I hated reading old thick books about dead people. When you read my blog posts you will see that I did not major in English. Sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and such have never been a strong point of mine. So, I can say without hesitation, I am not buying any books. (This will not help increase my gas budget, but it gives me an excuse to not read). Oh, and it cost money to drive to the library and back to return it.
- No motorcycle- Well, I have whined about wanting a motorcycle for a couple of years. I am getting too old to ride on anyway. My reaction time is nothing what it was, and it was never worth a darn to start with. Sure, they are good on gas, but I can drive a few weeks for $15,000 I would put in a Harley.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Black River and the Lake
During Memorial Day, we traveled to Lake Waccamaw and Black River. Our F-150 carried all our coolers, and stuff with no problems. Gas prices hovered around $3.19 per gallon. The truck has around 25000 miles on it now. I have noticed the tires are not balance as well as they should be, because cups in my cup holder are vibrating much more than previously observed. This will be addressed on my nexted scheduled tire rotation and oil change.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
God All Mighty- When will gas prices settle a little?
Tomorrow, will this morning, my truck is going to get a wash job. For the past two weekends, family plans have taken priority over scrub brushes and water hoses. I can hardly tell if my truck is white or gray. Gas prices in Columbus County are below the national average. They will probably hop up this weekend and make it above the $3.09 I saw on my way home this afternoon.
I see a ton of S-10 Chevy small trucks on the roads. They are mostly raged out, but folks are driving them. The ones I have driven did not get more than 20 MPG. I can get near that with my F-150. Driving habits are important. Slow and steady acceleration and stopping. Traveling below the speed limit is a good trick. We have a four lane highway that connects Chadbourn and Whiteville. The posted speed limit is 70 MPH. However, I never get over 65 MPH on it. Now, on my way to work, log trucks, freighters, and mini-vans driven by little moms with cell phones tattooed to their ears, run over me everyday. Aggressive drivers waste carbon, and make how highways a scarily place.
I am sure they say, there goes that old fart, always driving slow and getting in my way. I say to them, buy more gas, the oil companies need the profits.
I see a ton of S-10 Chevy small trucks on the roads. They are mostly raged out, but folks are driving them. The ones I have driven did not get more than 20 MPG. I can get near that with my F-150. Driving habits are important. Slow and steady acceleration and stopping. Traveling below the speed limit is a good trick. We have a four lane highway that connects Chadbourn and Whiteville. The posted speed limit is 70 MPH. However, I never get over 65 MPH on it. Now, on my way to work, log trucks, freighters, and mini-vans driven by little moms with cell phones tattooed to their ears, run over me everyday. Aggressive drivers waste carbon, and make how highways a scarily place.
I am sure they say, there goes that old fart, always driving slow and getting in my way. I say to them, buy more gas, the oil companies need the profits.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Strawberry Festival Time again!
My daughters are home for this year's festival. It is hard to believe it is time already for the parade. The weather this year is much cooler than average. Last year, it was too hot. I just read the weather forecast I subscribe to from WECT-TV.
It has been a few years since we have had rain on the parade, but unless George Elliott is way off, we will be fine for the parade. Just carry your wind-breaker, baseball cap, and an umbrella.
I will post photos later today.
It has been a few years since we have had rain on the parade, but unless George Elliott is way off, we will be fine for the parade. Just carry your wind-breaker, baseball cap, and an umbrella.
I will post photos later today.
Greetings from George Elliott at WECT-TV! Here's my outlook...
We need the rain, and although it looks like a weekend event, we'll have to take what we get. Showers will increase across the area today and especially tonight, and most likely linger into the first part of Sunday. Some spots could see an easy half inch, with isolated higher amounts if an isolated t'shower passes overhead.
A complex storm system to the west will transfer energy along the Carolina coast tonight through Sunday, and this will develop a potent offshore low pressure area. In the process, showery weather will spread across the area, and winds will pick up Sunday into Monday as the storm system offshore intensifies and high pressure from the Northeast builds down the eastern seaboard.
Precipitation should end as the storm system moves (but stalls) east of us by late Sunday into early next week. Eventually, the storm center to our east will weaken and will move farther out to sea.
Mostly cloudy with patchy showers developing today; high lower 70's. Northerly wind becoming easterly 4-16 mph.
Cloudy with showers likely tonight; low around 60. Easterly wind 4-16 mph.
"Deer Hunting" with my F-150
On the way home from work, I noticed what I thought was a neighborhood dog walking down the shoulder of the road. I was in a residential area beside the Whiteville Country Club. It had to be a dog...
However, within a second, the "dog" turned and I could see it was not a dog, but a whitetailed deer. Then to make things worse, two or three more stepped out of the undergrowth and crossed the three foot wide shoulder of the round- BAM! I had slowed to almost a complete stop and was trying to slip by the deer as they grazed on the green grass growing on the edge of the road. I glanced in my side mirror and noticed the what looked like a deer staggering in the middle of the road behind me. It was almost dark. The doe had darted into the road and hit right on my drive side door and scraped the side of my new F-150. I knew it was not going to be good. It was just dark enough I could not see the damages on the side of my truck. I was ready to go home, and knew that the since I was the only one involved and no humans were injured, I did not need to call the highway patrol. It was up to my insurance company to pay the damages.
The next afternoon, I drove down to the insurance office. Those folks are so nice. They reassured me that I had been very lucky. The clerk at the front desk told me several horror stories about deer and automobiles. There was an elderly lady sitting in the office, with a walking cast on her foot. She over heard me whining about the deer and my truck and politely interrupted my conversation to tell how she had spent 5 days in the hospital as the result of a big buck jumping into her windshield, causing her to run into a ditch and totaled her Cadillac. She was going to physical therapy to get where she could walk without limping on her broken ankle.
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON WAYS TO AVOID DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recognizes the growing problems with deer-related accidents in our state. As both human and deer populations continue to grow, some of these accidents are unavoidable. Here are some steps that may help a motorist avoid many of these accidents.
Deer are most active near daylight and dusk and on dark, overcast or foggy nights. Motorists should reduce their speed during these times, especially in areas known to be frequented by deer.
Drive with headlights on high beam when possible. Watch for eyes reflecting in your lights especially at field edges or posted deer crossing areas. If you see deer, immediately reduce your speed, even though the deer may be a considerable distance from the road. Your headlights may cause them to panic and run at any time.
If you see a deer cross the road in front of you, don't assume that all is clear. Deer often travel in groups and one will often cross right behind the other.
Don't place your confidence in "deer whistles" or other "ultra-sonic" devices claiming to prevent deer collisions. We are aware of no scientific evidence that these devices are effective. (My parents swear by these)
Support legal and ethical hunting as a means of keeping deer numbers at levels where they can be enjoyed by all. Please, ya'll get your limit, and help your friends with get their limit too!
http://www.ncwildlife.com/pg06_CoexistingWildlife/pg6a.htm#5
However, within a second, the "dog" turned and I could see it was not a dog, but a whitetailed deer. Then to make things worse, two or three more stepped out of the undergrowth and crossed the three foot wide shoulder of the round- BAM! I had slowed to almost a complete stop and was trying to slip by the deer as they grazed on the green grass growing on the edge of the road. I glanced in my side mirror and noticed the what looked like a deer staggering in the middle of the road behind me. It was almost dark. The doe had darted into the road and hit right on my drive side door and scraped the side of my new F-150. I knew it was not going to be good. It was just dark enough I could not see the damages on the side of my truck. I was ready to go home, and knew that the since I was the only one involved and no humans were injured, I did not need to call the highway patrol. It was up to my insurance company to pay the damages.
The next afternoon, I drove down to the insurance office. Those folks are so nice. They reassured me that I had been very lucky. The clerk at the front desk told me several horror stories about deer and automobiles. There was an elderly lady sitting in the office, with a walking cast on her foot. She over heard me whining about the deer and my truck and politely interrupted my conversation to tell how she had spent 5 days in the hospital as the result of a big buck jumping into her windshield, causing her to run into a ditch and totaled her Cadillac. She was going to physical therapy to get where she could walk without limping on her broken ankle.
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON WAYS TO AVOID DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recognizes the growing problems with deer-related accidents in our state. As both human and deer populations continue to grow, some of these accidents are unavoidable. Here are some steps that may help a motorist avoid many of these accidents.
Deer are most active near daylight and dusk and on dark, overcast or foggy nights. Motorists should reduce their speed during these times, especially in areas known to be frequented by deer.
Drive with headlights on high beam when possible. Watch for eyes reflecting in your lights especially at field edges or posted deer crossing areas. If you see deer, immediately reduce your speed, even though the deer may be a considerable distance from the road. Your headlights may cause them to panic and run at any time.
If you see a deer cross the road in front of you, don't assume that all is clear. Deer often travel in groups and one will often cross right behind the other.
Don't place your confidence in "deer whistles" or other "ultra-sonic" devices claiming to prevent deer collisions. We are aware of no scientific evidence that these devices are effective. (My parents swear by these)
Support legal and ethical hunting as a means of keeping deer numbers at levels where they can be enjoyed by all. Please, ya'll get your limit, and help your friends with get their limit too!
http://www.ncwildlife.com/pg06_CoexistingWildlife/pg6a.htm#5
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Pre-Road Trip
Today, the family is taking a road trip to attend a concert in Greensboro, NC. We plan to make a round trip out of it. The concert begins at 7 this afternoon and who knows when it will be over. Then we will drive back to Raleigh, drop off our daughter and drive home. Motels are more expensive than ever. If we take enough stops and drink enough Red Bull, we can make it in our F150. I hope to take some photos from our road trip and post them tomorrow. I need to go sweep out the bed of the truck and detail it, but it looks like it is going to rain, so no detailing needed.
Trimming Hedges in the Heat
If you are reading this you must have lots of time for thinking, early on Sunday morning. In rural North Carolina, the birds are making their morning noises, and the traffic on old 74 Highway, outside my home, is peaceful. With gas at $2.98 per gallon, one would expect only those with a nicotine habit or the baby needing diapers, or a fool would be on the roads unless it was an emergency. The AC is running and the ceiling fan is on high. As I sit here reflecting on how much difference 24 hours makes, it was 97 degrees yesterday. Going to be hot as heck again today. With a nice breeze blowing and the shade of an old loblolly pine, it was almost pleasant. I convinced myself, with some loving help from my wife, to use my new Black and Decker hedge trimmer to trim four over grown Red Tips in the yard. (product placement time- wink) The hedge trimmer model I bought was battery powered. That tool must have been designed by my clone, because it has a limited run time. The moment both my arms were about to fall off, the battery began to die. Halleluiah Brother! I just smiled at my wife and said this dang battery is about dead. That was all it took. She has known me log enough to know I was so darn happy that be battery was dead. She said it would be ok to stop. My Saturday of yard work was almost finished; Black and Decker battery powered hedge trimmer-- my new best friend. I put the trimmed branches in the bed of my F150, filling it to capacity, and drove them to a brush pile on our property for composting. It was time for a cold shower and a power-nap.
My family deliberately sleeps late on Sunday and I rise early to take the dog for a walk. My arms are still weak from running that hedger the morning before. They will be sore on Monday. I need to get back in the gym. This hot weather saps my energy and I just can’t stand burning four dollars worth of gas to drive round-trip to Whiteville. It might be worth it, but for now, the heat is my excuse.
I really think watching TV depresses me way too much. All I see on TV is death and destruction on the news, violence and sassy-talk on the networks, and sex and drugs on FX, and the rest of satellite TV. If junk food can make one fat, then a diet of junk TV can make your brain fat...hum could this be is a good analogy? Basically, this is one of the issues education is in such a bad state in the US. No one has the guts to really stick there necks out and say, ok, our kids watch way to much brain junk food, they are eating to much crap and developing diabetes and other weight related maladies and we are way to spoiled. Take for example from an AP writer concerning the 10-day power outage in the Queens, New York:
By watching and listening to news from that region, you would have thought they had been hit by a terrorist attack. Special news bulletins, speeches from the mayor, hello, the flipping power grid broke and it takes time to fix it. Federal Disaster? PLEASE, it's a potential scam artist epidemic.
When North Carolina citizens were hit by hurricanes, and the power was off for nearly 15 days, folks just shook their heads and said thank God we are alive. I was appalled by the way folks that were interviewed in the Queens area and were asked how much business they lost during the power outage and one restaurant owner had the gall to try to say he lost $40,000 in business. Ah, from the looks of the diner, he would be lucky to have $40,000 of business in a whole year. Well it isn't a New Yorker thing, do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. Just look at all the reports of those Katrina scams. They are enough to make a taxpayer throw their hands up and demand that the next natural disaster, just let the victims fend for themselves. What is wrong with PEOPLE? This same mentality spills over into our schools.
My family deliberately sleeps late on Sunday and I rise early to take the dog for a walk. My arms are still weak from running that hedger the morning before. They will be sore on Monday. I need to get back in the gym. This hot weather saps my energy and I just can’t stand burning four dollars worth of gas to drive round-trip to Whiteville. It might be worth it, but for now, the heat is my excuse.
I really think watching TV depresses me way too much. All I see on TV is death and destruction on the news, violence and sassy-talk on the networks, and sex and drugs on FX, and the rest of satellite TV. If junk food can make one fat, then a diet of junk TV can make your brain fat...hum could this be is a good analogy? Basically, this is one of the issues education is in such a bad state in the US. No one has the guts to really stick there necks out and say, ok, our kids watch way to much brain junk food, they are eating to much crap and developing diabetes and other weight related maladies and we are way to spoiled. Take for example from an AP writer concerning the 10-day power outage in the Queens, New York:
City Council hearings on the blackout are scheduled for Monday, while a state Assembly hearing is scheduled for Thursday. On Saturday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, demanded an investigation of the utility's power grid capacity and infrastructure.
"It's clear we need an independent assessment of what ails the power grid before we have another blackout," the senator said in a statement.
On Friday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, toured the affected Queens streets and called the outage "a classic case of blunder after blunder."
Clinton asked the president to declare the neighborhood a disaster area, a step that could trigger federal aid.
Officials working for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who resisted taking that move, said they don't believe the aftermath of the blackout meets federal criteria for a disaster.
New York Gov. George Pataki asked the federal government to offer low-interest disaster loans to Queens residents who suffered heavy losses.
By watching and listening to news from that region, you would have thought they had been hit by a terrorist attack. Special news bulletins, speeches from the mayor, hello, the flipping power grid broke and it takes time to fix it. Federal Disaster? PLEASE, it's a potential scam artist epidemic.
When North Carolina citizens were hit by hurricanes, and the power was off for nearly 15 days, folks just shook their heads and said thank God we are alive. I was appalled by the way folks that were interviewed in the Queens area and were asked how much business they lost during the power outage and one restaurant owner had the gall to try to say he lost $40,000 in business. Ah, from the looks of the diner, he would be lucky to have $40,000 of business in a whole year. Well it isn't a New Yorker thing, do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. Just look at all the reports of those Katrina scams. They are enough to make a taxpayer throw their hands up and demand that the next natural disaster, just let the victims fend for themselves. What is wrong with PEOPLE? This same mentality spills over into our schools.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Me on my First Motorcycle--Born to be Wild
It was 1968. Our dad bought me and my brother a Honda Dream 305. I am not sure what year model it was, but it was not brand new. I have researched the motorcycle and can only find one for sale on eBay. The one I found was red and was in very poor condition.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Wedding in Tampa
My family participated in the wedding of my wife's sister and her now new husband on Saturday. This picture is of me a my nephew Joey as we prepared to go into the church all decked out in 'tails'. My F150 performs very well on the crowded freeways in and around the Tampa Bay area. My smaller and slightly more fuel economical, 4.6L V-8, even with four passengers has enough power to change lanes and still not make the needle drop when I put my foot in it.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Gavin in the Truck
Thursday, we drove 10 1/2 hours in our F150. Man, it rides good. We had a three-quarters of a tank of gas when we left home. We filled up in Georgia. The weather was nice. Temps in the upper 70s. More photos later.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Prices in NC for Gas- Suck!
North Carolina just raised the gas tax. Gas is heading up. Geez! 2.29, up 7 cents over this week. I read this PSA Peugeot Citroen will unveil two demonstrator models for diesel-based hybrid cars, which seek to cut emissions and reduce fuel consumption, that the carmaker expects to be on the market from 2010. It made me laugh. I made the mistake once when I bought my first and last Peugeot. Maybe Ford, after hearing today that Chevy out sold them last year, will buy the diesel-based hybrid engine for the 2010 F150. Hydrogen cells are the word from Detroit. We need diesels.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)