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FunPersonal

The Ant King

by Al
written by Al

Like most middle-class men living in the suburbs, I grill on occasion. Nothing fancy. Mostly burgers and sausages with the occasional chicken breast thrown in for a little variety. The grill is across the driveway, and I prep most of the stuff in the kitchen before walking out to grill, but it takes a number of trips back and forth to get everything set up. Back in 2024, I decided I needed a table to keep by the grill to make things easier. I would allow me to bring everything out when I started cooking and return it all when I was finished. It also gave me a bit of workspace in case I had to prep anything. I searched …

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CulturePersonal

Reflections of our Past

by Al
written by Al

My wife came into my office this morning, teary-eyed. She had come across an online feed showing a series of images of people in various places, holding up photographs taken in those same places at times past. One had a man holding up a picture of the Twin Towers in New York City before they were taken to the ground by terrorists. Another showed a room with a light beam landing on the floor with someone holding up a photo of their now-deceased dog, lying on the floor, basking in the sun. There were many other similar photos, and the presentation was well done and emotionally impactful. While I didn’t get teary-eyed, I will admit they were very touching, and …

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How ToPersonal

Mice in my Honda CR-V

by Al
written by Al

I seem to be on a bit of a roll lately, complaining about companies and the workarounds and fixes needed to compensate for their marginal designs, so let’s keep it going for one more day. I brought my car into the dealership on Wednesday for an oil change and tire rotation (I had a coupon), and while I was waiting for the work to be completed, the technician came out and informed me that a mouse had built a large nest in the blower and cabin filter assembly. This was a surprise to me, since I hadn’t heard any of the rattling you usually hear when debris gets into the system, and my rather sensitive nose hadn’t detected any bad …

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How ToPersonal

Replacing the AUC15402: Hour Fuel Gauge with Fuel Level Indicator

by Al
written by Al

In yesterday’s post, I complained about John Deere and how much I disliked the way they seem to milk their customers in various ways to maximize their profits. The post was prompted by the failure of the hour/fuel level indicator on my John Deere S160 Lawn Tractor after just three seasons. I have no problem with parts failing; it’s just the way things work, components age, parts can be defective or have unknown manufacturing defects, etc. What I do have a problem with is when a part is intentionally manufactured to fail, as is the case with the AUC15402: Hour Fuel Gauge with Fuel Level Indicator installed on my John Deere tractor. The gauge is powered by a CR2032 lithium …

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CulturePersonal

Taking Advantage of the Customer

by Al
written by Al

I want to support American companies, I really do, but some of them make it so hard. John Deere is a good example of this. Recently, John Deere paid $99 million dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorneys General of Illinois and Minnesota. Deere was accused of restricting farmers’ ability to repair their equipment by preventing them from accessing diagnostic software and tools needed for repairs. Because of this, farmers had to rely on John Deere dealers for repairs. Not only was this more expensive, since the dealers essentially had a monopoly on the service, but it also delayed repairs because there were often waiting lists for access to their services. Imagine being …

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PersonalReviews

Good versus Evil and The Lone Ranger

by Al
written by Al

I like watching old TV shows. The old TV shows were mostly new when I first watched them, so they bring back memories of the more innocent times I lived in. Unfortunately, they also evoke feelings of sadness because they remind me of the America we’ve lost. While some of the old shows are hokey, they often tell strong, ageless stories that are interesting and entertaining. Unlike today, it was a time when we believed in good and evil, and we wanted good to win. Sadly, that’s gone. The waters have been muddied, and we’re no longer allowed to judge. There are no longer absolutes. When I grew up, a guy on the street was a bum, and you didn’t …

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Personal

One of Those Days

by Al
written by Al

Spring is finally in full swing around here (in fact, today seems more like summer with temperatures in the 80’s), so I’ve started working outside again.  Last Thursday, I went to Lowe’s and bought eight bags of mulch, two bags of dehydrated cow manure, and a bag of topsoil.  The topsoil was purchased to fill a trench I dug last year while running underground coax from the house to an antenna for my ham radio setup.   One of the weird things that I’ve noticed is that whenever I dig a hole or a trench in the yard, when it comes time to fill it, there is always less dirt than when I started.  I don’t get it. I dig …

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Personal

Easter

by Al
written by Al

When I was growing up, Easter Sunday was a special day for my family. Beyond the fact that we were good Catholics and it was an important day for the Catholic faith, it was also a celebration of the end of winter. The day would typically start with my sister and me hunting for easter eggs. Most of the time, this would take place inside because spring mornings in New England tend to be cold, but occasionally the eggs would be hidden in the backyard. These weren’t real eggs, of course, but plastic eggs filled with chocolate candy (usually Reese’s). Sometimes we also got easter baskets, again filled with things like chocolate bunnies, little stuffed animals, and tiny chocolate eggs. …

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Personal

Time to Lose Some Weight

by Al
written by Al

Every winter, I end up putting on a lot of weight. It’s not intentional, and as winter approaches, I promise myself that I’m not going to let it happen, but inevitably, it does. The weight increase is a result of several factors; first, I’m prone to being heavy. I know it sounds like a cop out, but it’s not. Even though the medical industry tries to make believe it isn’t the case, body type is a major factor in how much someone weighs. When I was growing up, I had a good friend, John, who could and would eat just about anything. We’d go to Burger King for lunch, and John would order multiple Whoppers, with fries, onion rings, and …

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CulturePersonal

They’re Here… Maybe

by Al
written by Al

I grew up at the beginning of the space age. I remember, as a child, gathering in the school gym, huddled around a small black-and-white TV with rabbit ears and a snowy picture, watching America’s first steps into ‘the final frontier.’ I loved Star Trek, I loved science fiction, and I loved the idea that someday, we would travel to the stars. The librarians at the Thomas Crane Library in North Quincy would try to protect me from all these crazy ideas by preventing me from checking out adult science fiction books; Danny Dunn was OK, Tom Swift was fine, but reading something from radicals like Asimov or Clarke certainly was not. Their attempts did not work; instead of taking …

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