• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

2023 Projects

C

Cardboard55

Major Hide Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 1, 2021
1,897
2,315
PA
Whatcha got planned for 2023? New projects, personal development, you name it.

Reading lists?

Here's a book a week from MIT researcher & interesting podcaster Lex Fridman:

Reading List - Lex Fridman

What: I’m reading (or re-reading) a book a week in 2023. Classics, sci-fi, nonfiction, or anything people highly recommend. Some are short stories, some are long books. Suggestions: The following list is not final until the week of the book. I’ll keep adjusting the list based on suggestions and...
lexfridman.com lexfridman.com

Homepage (fascinating vehicle stuff) & YT interviews

lexfridman.com

Lex Fridman

AI researcher working on autonomous vehicles, human-robot interaction, and machine learning at MIT and beyond.
lexfridman.com lexfridman.com

One of many excellent interviews:



New glasses, dangit

Another year of hacking on the guitar

Fender.com/play

Fixing the cars / house / it never ends

New bike or too old? Decisions decisions...

image1-1024x682.jpeg


With those wheels: Babe Magnet.

PT
 
Keep working on finishing all of the home improvements we started .
More training time with my son . He's going to start competing in Steel Challenge and maybe Action Pistol . Gonna let him decide what route he wants to pursue . For all I know we're shooting USPSA or IDPA before the end of the season .
Last but not least me . And yeah a never ending project . I jacked up my ankle Rucking and it derailed my fitness goals .
Couldn't walk without crutches for a little bit and stopped going to the gym . Haven't been back since .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55 and oneshot86
Some minor stuff on the wife's 66 Olds. A few things on my 77 Monte Carlo. Fixing the crap radio on the 17 ultra limited and getting the 91 Heritage updated.
Starting on the clutch today. Got some wide whitewalls and mustang seat on order, and then some true duals.
PXL_20221215_214650374.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Balor and Cardboard55
DarnYankeeUSMC said:
Some minor stuff on the wife's 66 Olds. A few things on my 77 Monte Carlo. Fixing the crap radio on the 17 ultra limited and getting the 91 Heritage updated.
Starting on the clutch today. Got some wide whitewalls and mustang seat on order, and then some true duals.
View attachment 8035475
Click to expand...

I put a Twin Cam era clutch pack in my Evo Road King and it was a good upgrade.

Finding neutral was a sweet effortless event and you get more friction surface.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Average guy, Cardboard55, DarnYankeeUSMC and 1 other person
Start my AR builds and get most of my NFA items.
Get my skiing equipment.
Get my music studio finished.
Save up for my Tacoma.
And if I have the time and money left over, finish fencing in my yard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55 and Alphatreedog
Shoot more.. Join a shooting club close to the house they have out to 200 yrds. good enough for some initial testing, zeroing, checking velocity. Nice handgun range. Even if I just go out and shoot .22 lr, IDC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
I'm going to finish this by mid summer. It's being painted now. Everthing else is done. It's been a frame off restoration. Start to finish will end up being 1.5 years.

20221209_091158.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
not trying to grab a thread. just adding some to the excellent book lists above : the camp of the saints-raspail; suspect-crais; the true believer-hoffer; ordinary men-browning; starship troopers-heinlein.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
One guy here once said that he thought everybody who flew an ultralight eventually crashed it. I didn't want to hear that, but since I did it, I'm gonna agree with it, in my case anyway...

I bought it in mostly flyable condition, fixed a fuel hose leak, then flew it. I came in too slow, ground looped, and nosed it over breaking the prop & bending the frame a bit.

Disassembled it, straightened the frame, got a new ground adjustable prop. Adjusted it with slightly too low of pitch & too high of rpms. Flew, but revved too high at top rpm. Then I made two very critical mistakes. Well, three.

After re-adjusting the prop pitch, it was about 400 rpms too low; a bit too much pitch. First mistake: I thought it would be OK. It wasn't. Second mistake: I took off with a 4mph breeze, when I should've took off INTO the wind. That 4-5 mph difference caused the aircraft to barely take off, and it wouldn't climb. I got to the end of the airstrip and it was either mush into the trees at the end of the runway or try to turn a right 180 & land. I didn't make it. At about 20 feet altitude I turned right, lost lift (stalled the wings by not enough airflow)(rpms were full throttle, just not enough because of the too much pitch) and mushed into the ground. Flattened the landing gear, bent the forward airframe, broke that brand new propeller by digging into the ground, and damaged the wing structure, broke the windshield, etc...

Since I was strapped in with a 4-way harness, I wasn't hurt. Not even a bruise, except to my ego & self esteem. Wasn't going even 30mph.

Now I have to disassemble the engine & inspect for prop strike damage to the reduction drive & crank, piston rods, etc. as well as cut away the bent frame parts, re-build, weld new, inspect & repair the wing frame (made of wood btw) buy or fabricate a new windscreen, etc.

My 3rd and biggest mistake was not having any training. I'll get a light sport license to fly the Airdrome Dvi.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
Join a local gun club if they have an opening.

Organize the attic. We moved right at the end of Spring and it got to be too hot.

Maybe build a short barrel bolt gun in 300 BO. Buy a suppressor and a mid range thermal. This will be for night time hog hunting.

If prices and availability return close to normal replace the components that I've shot over the last 3 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55 and LilGucci
I've already got in progress in the garage: a 2001 TJ frame swap project and a 1982 C10 LS swap. History being a great guide, Ill probaby find 2-3 more foolish flips to to follow me home, thereby making the other two take that much longer to actually finish and gtfo of my way.

Other than that, pray more, shoot more, sex more, sleep more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
I really enjoy my work. I get a deep satisfaction from restoration and repair type projects, and not just gun related stuff. Last year was rough with illnesses, ER trips, and surgeries for both my wife and myself. Made me fall behind in my work, and I got a bit lazy, i've upset a few folks along the way, they aren't wrong for being upset with me. Now that my gall bladder has been removed, it would seem that the source of all my problems is gone, and thus, hopefully I will have no more ER trips or hospitalizations at least until i'm 60 (43 now).

I'd like to do everything just a bit better this year. I'd like to improve on a skill I have been wanting to improve on for a while, airbrushing. I have a bathroom that needs a remodel, and some minor landscaping work that needs to get done in the spring. I'm really looking forward to starting my 2nd season of gokart racing. I wanted to start with a brand new chassis this year, but alas, my daughters college tuition is more important, as she'll be starting college this fall. I'm hoping that i'll be able to get my first race win this year. I got a 3rd place finish on race 8 this past season, which might as well have been winning lemans for me. There is some great drivers in my class, so i'll certainly have a lot of work ahead of me there, but it won't crush me if I don't achieve it, after all, it's just a hobby for me, and i'm doing it for the fun, and man is it fun.

I hope you all have a good 2023, hope you achieve your goals, and have a great time along the way.

Branden
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
Mudburner said:
One guy here once said that he thought everybody who flew an ultralight eventually crashed it. I didn't want to hear that, but since I did it, I'm gonna agree with it, in my case anyway...

I bought it in mostly flyable condition, fixed a fuel hose leak, then flew it. I came in too slow, ground looped, and nosed it over breaking the prop & bending the frame a bit.

Disassembled it, straightened the frame, got a new ground adjustable prop. Adjusted it with slightly too low of pitch & too high of rpms. Flew, but revved too high at top rpm. Then I made two very critical mistakes. Well, three.

After re-adjusting the prop pitch, it was about 400 rpms too low; a bit too much pitch. First mistake: I thought it would be OK. It wasn't. Second mistake: I took off with a 4mph breeze, when I should've took off INTO the wind. That 4-5 mph difference caused the aircraft to barely take off, and it wouldn't climb. I got to the end of the airstrip and it was either mush into the trees at the end of the runway or try to turn a right 180 & land. I didn't make it. At about 20 feet altitude I turned right, lost lift (stalled the wings by not enough airflow)(rpms were full throttle, just not enough because of the too much pitch) and mushed into the ground. Flattened the landing gear, bent the forward airframe, broke that brand new propeller by digging into the ground, and damaged the wing structure, broke the windshield, etc...

Since I was strapped in with a 4-way harness, I wasn't hurt. Not even a bruise, except to my ego & self esteem. Wasn't going even 30mph.

Now I have to disassemble the engine & inspect for prop strike damage to the reduction drive & crank, piston rods, etc. as well as cut away the bent frame parts, re-build, weld new, inspect & repair the wing frame (made of wood btw) buy or fabricate a new windscreen, etc.

My 3rd and biggest mistake was not having any training. I'll get a light sport license to fly the Airdrome Dvi.
Click to expand...
I had an ultralight when i was young ... I crashed it. tried to stretch the landing in a tight spot and pancaked, didn't add enough power.
Quicksilver.
 
For the book readers, here's Lex on 1984



Note: it's watchable even if you've not read the book. He gives a good summary at the outset.

I've found it useful to have vids like this for when I take a nap. I'll usually drift off somewhere along the way, so it may take 3 it 4 attempts to get through the whole thing. It's near zero-effort and the repeated sessions seem to enhance retention and understanding. Of course I'm old, so younger folks may absorb everything in one listening.
 
Last edited:
mosin46 said:
not trying to grab a thread. just adding some to the excellent book lists above : the camp of the saints-raspail; suspect-crais; the true believer-hoffer; ordinary men-browning; starship troopers-heinlein.
Click to expand...

The more books the better. If there are video summaries of books, they are also useful. Good for those traveling or "reading" during a siesta.
 
I’m in the planning stages for a new workshop. Small, 20x24, stick built on a 4000psi concrete pad. My woodworking has outgrown the shed which will be repurposed for lawnmowers and motorcycles. The garage can go back to being just for vehicles too, which will be nice. The yards going to look like an industrial complex, but I don’t care.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cardboard55
Still waiting on some rack time for the wife's 66. The 77 hasn't moved yet.
The 91
Clutch is done, white walls are done, mini boards for the wife are done, horn is done and the seat is done.
PXL_20230109_155521521.jpg


Yes, that is a drip pan. As long as it's leaking, there's something in it!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mudburner and darkfader
Continue my adventures in PRS competition to build my skills as a rifleman. Create more content (Jeeps, Shooting and life) for my YouTube channel "Life, Liberty and Adventures", get my cerakote/laser engraving side gig operating and living life to the fullest because you never know when this day will be your last. Pic from range session this morning.

PRS Rifle MPA Matrix Pro.jpg
 
Just got structurals back from the engineer, going to the bank for a construction loan. Any reason to go over 10' for the garage door?

1690551056794.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Blue Sky Country
"Will Not Prosecute". Soros-funded Dem prosecutors allow criminals to operate with no fear of jail.
Replies
10
Views
923
theLBC
theLBC
Tucker301
The Hits Keep Coming - Two More Clinton Suicides
Replies
15
Views
3K
UKDslayer
U
Maggot
Lou Gehrigs last homerun bat
Replies
5
Views
1K
Sean the Nailer
Sean the Nailer
Top Bottom
Back