So what's on the agenda this weekend?

[Chrissy]

What's everybody up to? 

Tonight I'll be heading out to Lake Compounce - an amusement park in CT.  They have a fright fest going on and I'm going with a group of people to celebrate my daughter's birthday (it's on Thursday).

Tomorrow I have my bowling league, then unfortunately a wake for the father of one of my daughter's classmates (only 44 yrs. old and passed suddenly).

So a mixture of fun and not so much fun for me this weekend.  What about everyone else?

[Lennyjoe]

Hanging out in Arizona this weekend.

Gun show this morning.  Son's wedding this afternoon and reception in the evening.

Sunday starts off with a trip to the local bar at 1000 hrs to watch the Browns lose another game.  After the game I'm heading to the golf course and then back to the house for some dinner.

Monday is a flight back to WVA and green rolling hills and cool temps.

[Chrissy]

Well if you're heading off to the golf course, you may want to check out my other thread here about a golfer losing an arm during his game!!!   

[Jamisjockey]

Today:  Son's birthday party.  Was suppossed to be at a local park but Mother Nature isn't cooperating, so it'll be at home.
Tomorrow, Iron Cross.  America's longest cyclocross race.
http://www.yellowbreechesracing.org/ironcross/

History

Iron Cross was hatched because of, and is based on, the Three Peaks Cyclocross race in England. Iron Cross offers a style of 'cross racing much different than burning short laps around the local municipal park. It is an "ultra" style event with a much bigger adventure element than most 'cross contests and should attract all sorts of riders, not just 'cross racers. The Michaux State Forest hosts some of the East Coast's most popular mountain bike races each year and we hope to create an event as well-liked and as tough.

The name for Iron Cross was derived from a combination of the history of the race's venue and the shortened form of "cyclocross." The race venue, Camp Thompson, is within Pine Grove Furnace State Park, a notable iron producing center around the turn of the century and before. So, "Iron" was pulled from the area's rich history and reflects the toughness of the event, while "Cross" is simply short for "cyclocross."

[Sindawe]

Took Enkidu (male seal point siamese cat) to the vet this AM for his inital exam and microchipping.  This afternoon Bastet (18 y/o female tabby) is going to that same hated place to be checked out for her lack of appitite and general lethergy the past few days.

Other time will be spend watching the snow fall; working on importing the MBSA xml data about work's 100+ servers and workstations into Excel and/or Visio for ease of access to the information.  Also some poking about in the GUI and database of our new ediscovery review platform; playing with IOR values to get a good simulation of 50% NaOH in Blender; maybe a bit of gaming to follow Monty's plan for crossing the Rhine and ending the way by Christmas '44.

[RocketMan]

Finalizing the faulty memory diagnosis on one client's machine, removing a nasty malware infection from another, and replacing the bad DC power jack on a third client's Latitude D600.
Maybe watching the Nationwide series race this afternoon on the telly, and hoping the cold I picked up in NC last weekend does not get any worse.

[Perd Hapley]

Sadly, I'm sitting in front of the computer, waiting for Pandora to play "Leviathans Home" by The Finches.  I can't find it on Youtube, so...

Not realistic, though.  It could take hours.  Hopefully, I'll catch it later, when I start making an amortization schedule in Excel.  I just wish there were a way you could "buy" music, so you didn't have to wait for the internet to bring it to you.   


Yes!!  It just came on!  :D  OK, that's sad, I know. 

[lee n. field]

What's everybody up to? 

Drop by the gunshop open house, buy a couple more mags for my latest acquisition and register for the door prize.  Resist temptation (Ruger P85 $225, G2 Glock20 used $325 after open house discount.  Sigh.)  Done.

Make a shopping trip to the Big City, for powder/primers/bullets and a probably futile swing through Borders to look for something worth reading.

Find an exact replacement for our front door lock.  Menard's in town has an empty display hanger where they had them last time I needed one.  Maybe the Menard's in the Big City will have one.

[Nick1911]

Finish installing furnace in the house.

Krav Maga training.

Book store, probably.

Cabelas, maybe.

Shooting range, definitely.

[Gewehr98]

Started a 6-gallon batch of fresh Concord grape wine, and have the makings for another 3 gallons of wild grape wine.

We're supposed to have a hard freeze tonight, so I might head out about midnight to pick another 20 pounds as the wild grapes freeze.   

[Viking]

Drink beer. Eat pizza. Listen to good music. Make myself a couple of rum & cokes. Start reading "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail". Drink some more beer. Clean up my apartment, either tonight while I'm completely sh!tfaced (I work good while drunk, because I don't get bored), or tomorrow instead of feeling sorry for my hungover ass. Rub in Ketoprofen gel on the side of my neck to ease the muscle pains there. Try to get hold of my friend and get the number to the eye clinic that did the LASIK surgery on her eyes, so I can book an appointment for a consultation there.

[Lennyjoe]

Forgot to add "watch the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin

[roo_ster]

Picked up 1 cuyd of compost to slather on the garden, to dress up the beds for winter.  Also nabbed 10 red 'mums to plant.

Will rip out remaining veg from the garden.

Burning DVDs of movies I have ripped from my DVDs so I can send them to my dad, who is recovering from surgery* and will be doing so for better than a month.  He is a "watch once & toss" kinda guy.

* Ripped him open and were going to take the entire top lobe of his lung, but only took out a bit, looking for a tumor that turned out to be only a little cancerous.  It takes a normal healthy person 1 month to recover from such surgery.  12" slice between his ribs, spread them, cut & yank, then sew him back up.

[Fly320s]

Club level IDPA match today, only 4 stages but lots of fun.

Tomorrow is the big match: Maine state IDPA championships. Starts at O-dark-ugly and it will be cold, but it is the last match of the year so I'm going.

[Tuco]

I gotta drop the transmission pan on the Rover to remove a broken off drain plug that's rattling around. 
This involves disconnecting the catalytic converters from the manifolds,  spreading the frame with a bottle jack to remove a cross member
and disconnecting one end of the tie-rod.  I was draining off a gallon of fluid as a periodic maintenance.

I overtightened the drain plug, broke it off in the hole and pushed it in there with an easy-out.

While I'm in there, I'll change out the gasket and filter, and I may replace that cracked RH exhaust manifold.  This frightens me because removing exhaust studs from an al-u-mini-um engine should never be taken lightly.

I'm also removing the driveshaft because the u-joints are a little sloppy (lifted suspension).   I'm ready to up-size the tires and this is needed maintenance.

This is called Shipfitter's or Shipwright's disease.  At least it has a name.

I got into all this this morning as the result of a strange vibration and howl that was caused by a cooked wheel bearing on the right rear.   The races were driven out, new ones fitted, some Green Grease smeared all over everything while I tried to reassemble the grease gun, and the endfloat adjusted.  Of course, the brake rotors are out of spec, so new ones were ordered.  They will live in the garage with the chipmunks until the pads wear out or the bearing races settle in, requiring another endfloat adjustment.

I am here in my underpants smelling like 87 octane (which would cut that Green Grease off the tools and my hands)  searching the internet for tech notes.  I need to take a shower.  I'm cold, and suspect I'll feel this way for another 6 months.
After a sunny morning, it dropped to 40 degrees, the wind shifted to the north and it rained.

SO, tonight I need to steal a chicken and slaughter it on the hood, letting the blood drip onto the oil stain in the driveway.  Tomorrow morning,  after pushing the 5500 lb vehicle uphill away from it's marked territory, I'll read the pattern of pooled blood and oil as I drink a tea (Oolong, I suspect) and let it tell me how to commence.

[grampster]

Spent the afternoon babysitting our newest grandson, Lucas.  13 months.  Started walking a month ago.  Worked on teaching him some new words.  Watched Michigan State win beat Illinois.  Probable read a bit tonight.

Sunday we'll have breakfast with neighbors at the local eatery like usual.  Probably watch our pathertic Lions get their butts kicked by the Steelers.  They'll have a better year this year.  Will go 1-15.  They've already got the 1.  Maybe drink a little homemade wine that one of our neighbors makes.

[Tuco]

I gotta drop the transmission pan on the Rover to remove a broken off drain plug that's rattling around.  
This involves disconnecting the catalytic converters from the manifolds,  spreading the frame with a bottle jack to remove a cross member
and disconnecting one end of the tie-rod.  I was draining off a gallon of fluid as a periodic maintenance.

I overtightened the drain plug, broke it off in the hole and pushed it in there with an easy-out.

While I'm in there, I'll change out the gasket and filter, and I may replace that cracked RH exhaust manifold.  This frightens me because removing exhaust studs from an al-u-mini-um engine should never be taken lightly.

I'm also removing the driveshaft because the u-joints are a little sloppy (lifted suspension).   I'm ready to up-size the tires and this is needed maintenance.

This is called Shipfitter's or Shipwright's disease.  At least it has a name.

I got into all this this morning as the result of a strange vibration and howl that was caused by a cooked wheel bearing on the right rear.   The races were driven out, new ones fitted, some Green Grease smeared all over everything while I tried to reassemble the grease gun, and the endfloat adjusted.  Of course, the brake rotors are out of spec, so new ones were ordered.  They will live in the garage with the chipmunks until the pads wear out or the bearing races settle in, requiring another endfloat adjustment.

I am here in my underpants smelling like 87 octane (which would cut that Green Grease off the tools and my hands)  searching the internet for tech notes.  I need to take a shower.  I'm cold, and suspect I'll feel this way for another 6 months.
After a sunny morning, it dropped to 40 degrees, the wind shifted to the north and it rained.

SO, tonight I need to steal a chicken and slaughter it on the hood, letting the blood drip onto the oil stain in the driveway.  Tomorrow morning,  after pushing the 5500 lb vehicle uphill away from it's marked territory, I'll read the pattern of pooled blood and oil as I drink a tea (Oolong, I suspect) and let it tell me how to commence.

Three of six manifold studs snapped, so BOTH manifolds came out.
The rotors were installed, another set of races pressed (whacked) in, and a scored and scorched stub axle replaced.
After the exhaust was re-assembled, I discovered the frame cross member in the bed of the truck, so off came the y pipe and the sway bar AGAIN.

Three weekends.  I'm glad that's finally done.

[Fjolnirsson]

Three of six manifold studs snapped, so BOTH manifolds came out.
The rotors were installed, another set of races pressed (whacked) in, and a scored and scorched stub axle replaced.
After the exhaust was re-assembled, I discovered the frame cross member in the bed of the truck, so off came the y pipe and the sway bar AGAIN.

Three weekends.  I'm glad that's finally done.

And this is why I don't work on my own vehicles unless I simply MUST. I consider it well worth the cash to avoid the disease, which I am afflicted with...

[Brad Johnson]

Spent Thurs, Fri, and Sat at the GF's, puppy- and sick-people-sitting.  She has Archie, a Yorkie puppy that the SOB owner didn't wean properly, if at all, and it was malnourished. It was so bad when she got him he would go unresponsive from hypoglycemia if not fed every 30-60 minutes.  For a couple of days it was questionable whether he'd even live.  Thankfully he's gotten much better.  Unfortunately "better" is relative.  Last Thurs his feeding schedule was two hours.  Every two hours.  Day and night.

Unfortunately Kathy came down with a head-splitting migraine, the kind that makes you totally unable to do much more than sit there and cry (I hate it for her when it happens.  She's in utter misery and there's nothing to do but try to keep her comfortable as possible and wait.  It makes me feel so damned helpless).  On the same day her daughter, who had come to help with the puppy, came down with a screaming sore throat and high temp.  Her elderly mother is physically unable to feed the pup so it fell to me. 

The result is I spent almost three straight days tending to both man (in this case woman) and beast, scrambling back and forth from the office during the day and getting up every couple hours at night.  They are all better now, thankfully, and Archie is up to a four hour feeding schedule.  Hopefully he will start eating on his own within the next day or two.  At least he's finally acting like a puppy, althernating between copious snuggles and attacking every toe within reach.  (Me? No change.  I still act like a goofy five year old.  )

Brad

[esheato]

It was the duck opener this weekend...managed to get out both days...drake mallard on day one, and a limit comprising of mallards and woodies day two. Looks to be a good season, and it sucks that I'm leaving.

Both afternoons I came home and tore the house apart for the movers next week. The man cave is officially in hiatus until our triumphant arrival in Texas.

Ed

[Monkeyleg]

I worked in the office yesterday and this morning. Raked leaves for two or three hours, then went looking for a jewelry store that was open. My 91 year-old mother has a $60 watch she bought over twenty years ago that doesn't work. She's never wound it nor replaced a battery in those 20+ years, but she's convinced it can be fixed.  :rolleyes:

[erictank]

Trooped the Air & Scare (Halloween) event at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly on Saturday, as one of 45 costumed and plainclothed volunteers from the 501st Legion (and many more from other groups, as well), entertaining thousands of kids and their parents at one of the coolest museums in the DC area.

Worked a regular 12-hour shift at the water plant last night.

Saturday was much more fun.

Working again next weekend, for Halloween (dayshift, at least), but I'm staying up late Saturday to help with my stepdaughter's Halloween party, which will include a "haunted trail" through our backyard.  Won't have time for any really involved costuming, but I'll toss in my vampire teeth and my UV-glow contacts, which ought to be sufficient to scare a bunch of 12-year-old girls  .

[vaskidmark]

I'm coordinating the VCDL table at the new gun show in Doswell, Virginia this coming weekend (10/31 - 11/1).  That means arrival at Oh-too-freaking-early (for me, a non-morning person WRT "the public") both Saturday & Sunday.  Still debating if there should be Trick Or Treat candy to give out.

If you work the table for a shift (the morning or the afternoon) you get in free with an exhibitor badge.  Of late some exhibitor-to-exhibitor discounts other than no sales tax (don't ask, don't tell if buying for resale or not) are slowly returning.

The only saving grace is there will be (better be!) free coffee for exhibitors during set-up hours.  I'll see if I can  run an IV line from the concession stand to the table.

If you are in the area, come on out and stimulate the economy.

stay safe.

skidmark

[jackdanson]

Go to job #1.
Go to job#2.
Sleep.
Rinse and repeat until Saturday... then
Go to job#3.
Sleep.
Enjoy sunday by attempting to not do anything all day... fail at that.

[coppertales]

Went laptop shopping on Sat.  Had the usual martini supper Sat night.  Got up Sun and went to buy laptop she wanted.  Came home and watched her play with it.  Got a phone call today, Mon, and she whined.....the laptop is too big.  The laptop is too heavy.  The laptop is too hot when it is in my lap.  I want a smaller one.  I got a bigger one because she is an old lady, blonde I might add, and has not the best eyesight.  I cannot win.  I sure could have spent the 800 bucks at the gun show next weekend.......chris3