Good morning! Are you up yet? What's your plans for today?

[Jshooter71]

Many of you know my story and from that know Killer. His sister texted me today and told me that Killer was transported from the nursing home to the hospital to have some fluid drained from his lungs. Last I heard he was doing well. We care for this man as we would a family member.

I know you do, Bill. Praying for Killer tonight, too.

[avator]

TY John.

[Madd Hatter]

He's in our prayers Bill.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I woke up at 4:40 am and got up.

I plan on removing some more snow off my garage roof today.
I got the house done yesterday and the front of the garage done Wednesday the 28th.
I still have the the back of the garage to do.

I pull off about 1/2 of the snow, from the ground with my snow peeler and roof rake.
I then go up on the roof to shovel the rest.
I am waiting on the delivery on a "power shovel" to make things easier. 

I bought a new rifle scope yesterday. I'd like to get it mounted & sighted in today too.
>  https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=95142.msg156401337#msg156401337

Best Wishes - Tom

[Hoosier Daddy]

Haven't checked this thread since the 27th... Dang you guy's are busy!

I been working 12's and very little time to log on except in the morning with my coffee before work.
 the "shut-down" between the holidays is Maintenance time and we had a MAJOR breakdown just before the holidays.
 Yesterday we FINALLY got the line back up and running so today I don't have to go in.

Bill, I hope Killer is recovering well.


Today I have no plans what so ever.... Hoosier Momma is just waking up so that may change very soon.

Warmer but rainy here so no outdoor activities I hope.

[Jshooter71]

Good morning GTA! Happy Friday!!! Though, I am on call this weekend. I got up just after 0400 hrs CST. I don’t have a call for today, yet… but I already have 42.5 hours in. I believe I will go ahead and have a 3rd cup o’Joe and then get ready for the day. I’ll go see my chiropractor, I don’t remember if I went last Friday… I think I did, I don’t feel crippled yet. I have been feeling a bit better in my back, shoulders and my elbows… slowly, though.

Scott, I’m usually the same way about GTA, etc… I get on here early in the morning with my coffee. If I’m on a job with down time I’ll check in. And then same thing before bedtime. The more work I have, like summer- the less I can check in. I do envy all the retired folks that can do GTA and shoot airguns at any given time of any given day…

I’ve decided that I’m going to stay with my company and work it out for 10.5 more years. I want to retire at 62, like men used to do. I don’t know if that’s God’s plan… but, that’s what I want to do. Of course, I’ll work at something… but I would like for it to be “airgun-related”. That’s my current dream and I’m sticking to it. 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Man, if I could retire at 62 that's only another 2 years... unfortunately my 401k took a MAJOR hit with this recession.
 Looks like I need to work another 7 years... and then something leisure / part time until I am taking a Dirt Nap.

[Jshooter71]

Man, if I could retire at 62 that's only another 2 years... unfortunately my 401k took a MAJOR hit with this recession.
 Looks like I need to work another 7 years... and then something leisure / part time until I am taking a Dirt Nap.

My grandfather did it with no 401k… I just want no debt and I’m doing it. No sense in working til the dirt nap starts. Like I said, I’ll work at something, just not for ‘the man’.

[Back_Roads]

  MY Christmas lights have other holiday themes, so can be left out year round if I so choose Todays plan is to test out my new Kobalt 40 v c14" chainsaw, we will see if it does what I expect it to this afternoon.

James, I have the Kolbalt 14" 40v and the 18" 80v, both are still going strong. I bought the 14" long before the hurricane to work around the yard. With my arthritis in full blast I could not take the pull starting and vibration from a gas operated one, also got tired of mixing gas to keep them running. Bought the 18" during the hurricane and that was the best thing I ever did. I already had fuel for the generator so I just charged the batteries off of it. I like the fact that you don't have to wear ear plugs when using either one.  I also have the pole pruner, lawn mower, blower, and weed eater in 40v. Best investment I have made in the last few years and would do it again.

 So far I am impressed with the 14" 40v Kolbalt chainsaw. I cut till the battery went dead, had to wait a few seconds, but had enough juice to finish the cut, try that on an empty tank of gas LOL. Battery life = the amount of wood I cut with a tank of gas, filled my truck and then some.
 I like the fact that if one has to clear brush etc. from the work area, just set the saw down, and grab and go as soon as the site is clear.
 Had the crossbow on the ready incase deer were curious as to what was going on, but no luck there

[avator]

Man, if I could retire at 62 that's only another 2 years... unfortunately my 401k took a MAJOR hit with this recession.
 Looks like I need to work another 7 years... and then something leisure / part time until I am taking a Dirt Nap.

My grandfather did it with no 401k… I just want no debt and I’m doing it. No sense in working til the dirt nap starts. Like I said, I’ll work at something, just not for ‘the man’.

We're doing it without a 401k.  December saw the last payment on my truck now we just have the Honda ATV to pay off at $100 per month and we will be debt free. We made a few other adjustments such as cutting the cable and dropping one cell phone (we have 1 cell and a house phone).
What is amazing that many of us don't realize (we didn't) was the cost of going to work everyday. Gas, clothing, (mostly shoes) food, (always stopped for a biscuit and a cup of coffee) snacks from vending machines at work and the list goes on.
At the end of the day, I worked so we could enjoy doing the things we do everyday now. We just don't have to cram it all into a weekend. We can now adjust what we do and when to the weather or whether or not we feel like it.
The biggest bonus which can't have a monetary value put on it is, I am not subjected to the demands of others. The stress has all but been removed.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I am not subjected to the demands of others. The stress has all but been removed.

Sounds like Heaven... That is our world right now. 

[avator]

I was the senior supervisor for the materials department for a large automotive metal stamping and assembly facility. We ran 2 12 hour shifts never less than 6 days a week and often weeks were 7 days and I supervised both shifts. I carried a company cell phone everywhere I went 24/7/365. We used a Korean messenger app that ALL management had access to. I usually had it set to vibrate and it was like a constant buzzing in my pocket or on a table/nightstand next to me. For the first week after I turned that phone in I couldn't figure out what was missing in my life.. it was that dam phone buzzing.   

[Madd Hatter]

So I guess you're just going to have to get buzzed some other way.🤪

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I am glad that I am retired.

I worked 6 years for Ingersoll Rand Corp. as a field service repair mechanic in their Mining Division.
I was on the road a lot. It was 75% outside work at various locations in MN. SD. ND. WI. and the UP.
Year round weather was a big factor.

I worked for Dana Corp. for 25 years, at their 2 Gresen Hydraulics manufacturing facilities. ( Two Facilities 10 miles apart )
I was a Class A (Master) Repair Machinist / Millwright working in the maintenance and repair department.
I also held a Maintenance Electrician's license and was certified for HVAC.
I worked third shift for 15 years, second shift for 8 years and day shift for 2 years.
I also had a company cell phone plus a company credit card.
I never had a Christmas off with my family. We worked full bore two 12 hr shifts,  24 hrs a day, 7 days a week over the Christmas/New year shut down.
Anytime there was a paid holiday off, we did the same thing.
I worked 10 hrs a day the whole time I was there with a 2 hour overlap between shifts.
If a machine went down and I had the work order for that machine, the phone went off constantly.
Management wanted to know the Exact Day & Time that the machine would be back in service.
The Maintenance Dept. reported to the Plant Engineer but the A Maintenance guys also reported to the Plant Manager too.
How long I took to repair a machine was tracked and compared to the other A Maintenance Guys.
My safety record was tracked.
All that came up during quarterly efficiency reviews.
The cost of the parts I ordered and from where, also was tracked by Purchasing.
That came up in the quarterly reviews too.
There were also peer review ratings and manufacturing supervisory management assessments of all aspects of my employment.

All in all the 2 jobs above, paid really well and I liked what I did...BUT there was a lot of Stress that went along with the job.

Aviator & Hoosier Daddy KNOW exactly what I am taking about.



Best Wishes - Tom

P.S.

After Dana went bankrupt, the factories were all sold off and the work was parted out.
The last 14 years of my life I worked for the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.
While at DHS, I fixed their stuff and I was a certified Tier 1 & Tier 2 Repair Technician.
I was also certified to do explosives assessments if necessary.
I worked overnights at DHS, 7:30 pm to 2:30 am.   
I added the six years I spent in the U.S. Army to my retirement and retired from DHS at age 65 with 20 years credited service.





 

[Rick67]

If I do retire I might end up in the Philippines.

Still have my house over there and a bit of savings in Peso.

Built it years ago, and I don’t owe anyone money 

Might have to acquire dual citizenship if I ever do it though so as not to pay taxes for overstaying.

[avator]

Just enjoyed an awesome breakfast and went out to pick up around the fire pit where Betty Lou, the dogs and I enjoyed last evening.
Today I have some more quarry rock to gather and put around the fire pit. Most likely pick up some more tree trash and burn it while I go.
Before we took over the place, someone decided to bury a cast iron bath tub for a fish and water feature. We don't like it at all. Basically it attracts unwanted critters.. creepy crawlers and such. I'm going to hook a log chain to it and yank it out of the ground with the GMC 4x4 Sierra. Then we'll fill the hole from the old turkey shoot dirt backstop. There are also some really large low spots in the driveway that water pools in when it rains. We'll work on filling those as well.
Again, we'll do this at our own pace. It don't have to be done all in one day. 
In the interim I might get a bit of shooting in.

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

Good morning!

 This morning the scales said 200.4 lbs 
 I have been having slow and steady weight loss. I have been more active and just eating two meals a day. I think it has been more than 5 years since I was down to 200lbs. I am eating whatever and however much I want when I do eat those meals. I have been having a Fuji apple as a snack if I feel like having a snack.
 I am not going to set a goal but just hope I get to 180-185 and maintain that. I guess that is actually a goal, but I am not striving towards it, just hoping it happens naturally.
 It is easy for me to eat twice a day and ignore feeling hungry in the mornings most of the time because my wife usually skips breakfast nowadays too.

 I have a load of stuff in my 69 GMC to haul off, I may do that later today. The weather is cloudy with a high of 58°F today.
 I didn't get to the bank yesterday so I need to do that.
 I have some bills and mail to go through and pay too. yuck! 

[buellm2]

54 degrees in south NH.   I'm going out to pick up blown down branches and cut brush.   Maybe do some more tree pruning.   And shoot of course.

[avator]

How quickly plans change....
Betty Lou wanted to hang some tea cup hooks above the coat rack to hang keys on. So she sent me on a mission to find the hooks and a drill for pilot holes. I knew where they were. In the laundry/indoor tank fill station room.
While in there I noticed that my fill station bench was in disarray from moving stuff to the Red Shed. So I spent the next hour organizing. More than half of that time was discovering stuff I had misplaced or forgot I had. I also sorted overstock pellets into calibers and stocked the shelf.
That door to the left leads to a small deck and steps down to the Red Shed.

[maraudinglizard]

How quickly plans change....
Betty Lou wanted to hang some tea cup hooks above the coat rack to hang keys on. So she sent me on a mission to find the hooks and a drill for pilot holes. I knew where they were. In the laundry/indoor tank fill station room.
While in there I noticed that my fill station bench was in disarray from moving stuff to the Red Shed. So I spent the next hour organizing. More than half of that time was discovering stuff I had misplaced or forgot I had. I also sorted overstock pellets into calibers and stocked the shelf.
That door to the left leads to a small deck and steps down to the Red Shed.

I have the same problem, I go to look for something and it turns into another clean up project only to find stuff that disappeared months ago. There is no such thing as "Plan B", I just go with flow and enjoy the ride.