Ups and downs
I decided yesterday that the time had come to cut the grass.
I knew it was getting a tad long as it’s up to Penny’s chest now and the cat just disappears in it [but unfortunately reappears again].
So I went out to check the mower. Of course the battery was flat, as was one of the front tyres. I hauled off the wheel and after an hour or so of fighting I got it inflated again [who the fuck invented tubeless tyres?]. All I had to do then was hook up the charger to the battery and I left it to fill its boots.
I went out today to cut the grass. The fucking tyre is flat again. I know when I’m beaten so I got on the phone, found a place that does weird sized tyres and ordered an inner tube. They’ll have one for me in a couple of weeks. The dog will just have to cope and maybe the cat will ultimately get lost.
On a positive note, this is the weekend when the clocks change. We will get a whole extra hour of solitary isolation. I like to look on the positive side.
Also I managed to place an online order for groceries. I discovered that all I had to do was wait until midnight when their calendar switched to show a new day. Of course that day was all clear for orders so I grabbed a slot and put in a large order.
They’ll deliver it in three weeks time.
If we haven’t starved by then.
Sorry Grandad, I think you'll lose an hour.
clocks go forward 🙁
Hmmm….
I tried the "wait till midnight" trick, it didn't work. I refreshed my browser as the clock ticked over from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 and there were still no delivery slots.
It should work. Unless there is a queue waiting with their fingers on the button to grab each slot? I refreshed at about ten past and all the slots were clear.
I refreshed a couple of times after midnight. Maybe I should have waited a few minutes more.
By the way. I’ve just been informed that I’ll be getting a food parcel courtesy of the NHS. All they had to do was tell the supermarkets to prioritise us extremely vulnerable old gits but no, they had to do it the hard way.
I would just plug the tire. Easier than an inner tube. I plugged my car tire and it holds great. I do on average of 85-90mph because I rather enjoy being reckless. I work on a lot of lawn equipment aside from larger tractors and we do put tubes in them, but plugs work great in a pinch. Probably not news to you, but when you have to do it under the gun so to speak. Also I’ve never met anyone more ornery (aside from the customers when I worked in kitchens) as homeowners. Some farmers are a pain, but homeowners want it yesterday. Can’t mow my lawn yet as there’s still snow on the ground. Then it’s mud season until about mid April/early may.
The problem is that it's an old mower [it must have at least 10 miles on the clock] and there is some corrosion on the rims – just enough to break the seal. I used to have nightmarish problems with a rear wheel and an inner tube did the trick.
I think I would be lucky to reach 85 – 90mph on it, unless I was heading down the hill to the village.
In the rest of Europe the clocks are going forward, not back…
Okay so. Keep looking on the bright side: an hour less of solitary isolation?
If the worst comes to the worst Grandad it's worth remembering the one thing we know for sure kills the virus is alcohol. Just goes to show, there is a God after all.
I have doubled up to be sure to be sure.
Time to change the clocks? (yeah, it's "spring forward" so to speak but like you say–think positive). Over on our side of the pond we changed them back on March 8th. It may have been early this year, I forget the reason why, but it was nice to get and extra hour of sun in the afternoon. They should just leave it that way.
And I always go with installing an inner tube in a troublesome tire in my small equipment. Leave the 'stuff and plug' for vehicles.
For a low-speed, small-wheeled, off-road device, where you don't need the dynamics of air-cushioning, you could fill the tyre-void with expanding foam – that solves the air problem permanently. Less advanced societies have packed them with straw or similar.
That is not a bad idea. Unfortunately I don't have any foam and the nearest hardware store might as well be on Mars.
The plug suggestion wasn’t gospel, just figured if he was in a bind. It’s a good skill for anyone to know really. Considering even with cars, that useless “donut” they give as a spare. Where I work, we usually do inner tubes. The worst is when a tractor tire filled with calcium chloride springs a leak. Gotta pump it out, remove a tire bigger than me and then refill the tube. It’s wicked fun when some of it gets all over. Great smell when the weather heats up. Especially the old stuff that’s been mixed with beet juice. Yummy. As for using expanding foam, it works but ffs if it needs to be changed later, that’s one sure way to piss a mechanic off haha. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or know how to do it so while I appreciate the work, it’s a bitch.