Quack 20

[Duck]

Call AAA. 120 feet of 1" hemp is gonna be spendy.

You missed the point about ending up with a cable ratchet & a bunch of cable or rope that's only been used once.

I have two of these things at The Geezer Farm. They're both currently in use, where they've been since 2004, holding a couple of structural timbers together in the east barn together so the barn doesn't collapse internally. (Don't ask, .....)


If I call a wrecker, I spend roughly the same amount of $$$ but I walk away with nothing other than a freed, muddy car that I can drive to the same Farm supply store to get some hay & grass seed. But if I spend the $$$ on cable & a ratchet, I walk away with some NEW TOOLS, ... get it now? Here is an opportunity to BUY MORE TOOLS.

 

[DubbleD]

I haven't found a decent "come-along" worth driving any distance for.

 

[Duck]

I got one of those ratchet things above, and four 30 foot "recovery straps" which are 3" yellow cargo straps with steel hooks on the ends, rated for 3333 lbs. Total: $109 and I get to keep them when I'm done. I didn't like the prices on the cables. Freakin' 1/4" cable rated at 1400 lbs was 65 cents a foot. Sure, .. I only need about 300-400 lbs of lateral pulling force & could have gotten by with a $25 roll of nylon rope rated for 600 lbs but ... what good is that stuff later on? What am I supposed to do with it? Tie up a dog?






Something funny, and scary, .. that I noticed yesterday. Can somebody tell me what's wrong with these three pictures?

 

[ezrollin]

But if I spend the $$$ on cable & a ratchet, I walk away with some NEW TOYS, ... get it now? Here is an opportunity to BUY MORE TOYS.

fixed

 

[Tazz]

Yeah you need a couple more strands of whatever fake rope that is to hold up the 1ton hoist

I thought BW9 lived over there. Why not borrow a chain from him?

 

[Duck]

Yeah you need a couple more strands of whatever fake rope that is to hold up the 1ton hoist

I thought BW9 lived over there. Why not borrow a chain from him?

He's about 70 miles away.

This:


wasn't working because the front end of the car would slide to the left one inch for every inch it moved backwards. At one point the front end slid about 3 feet to the left. I had to steer around the guy wire for that pole too.

So I figured, ... why not just let the front end go the way it wants to? Turn it 90 degrees & drag it up the hill, all the way up to the trees. Once the car is parallel to the slope, it ain't gonna slide sideways.



I kept the car idling in reverse the whole time except when I was letting the ratchet spool out & re-adjusting the straps. The ratchet only has about 6 feet of cable. Well, ... 12 cuz it's effectively a block 'n' tackle.

No more pix til it was out cuz my phone went dead. Conveniently, there was a car right there I could charge my phone in. But the tracks show what I did.



I ended up turning the car about 135 degrees as I was dragging it backward. Used 7 different trees so I could keep the tension at the right angle. Once it was backed up all the way to the trees, I put it in Park & disconnected the straps, put it in gear, ... and gave it hell, downhill and straight, with the car already aimed so it would clear the guy wires & I wouldn't have to steer against the slope. Well, I gave it about as much "hell" as you can on slick grass without spinning the tires. If I'd broken traction I'd have hit the guy wire.



Oh, .. and I kept the front tires on wood the whole time, to minimize damage to the lawn as much as possible. It also made it easier to pull.

I found some duct duck tape in my trunk & used it to keep my new "toys" from coming unrolled. My new toys,... which I wouldn't have if I'd taken the lazy way out & called a tow truck.



I should get a 2 foot earth auger & put it in my trunk. Then I don't have to slow down for snow because if I go in the ditch, I can pull myself out even if there's no trees within 120 feet.

 

[Duck]

Next task, .... figuring out why there's a teenage boy alone in my cousin's double-wide with one or both of her teenage daughters when she's not home.



It's 2WD, .. I checked.

 

[Tim]

There downloading songs from iTunes

 

[hatchettxx]

May be watching Little House on the Prairie, or The Waltons. .............Good Night John Boy

 

[Duck]

There downloading songs from iTunes

They don't have internet. They have to come over here to get a signal on their iGizmos.

 

[Tim]

Ok...........
She might be downloading something.............from him.

 

[Duck]

My aunt just got back. Shortly after, both of my cousin's daughters came over. My aunt asked the little yellow-head if her boyfriend was here today. She got a scared look on her face & said "how'd you know?" My aunt said "I didn't, I just asked!".

LOL. I'd already told my aunt that F-150 was here all day & didn't leave til about 20 minutes before she got home.

 

[Tim]

My aunt just got back. Shortly after, both of my cousin's daughters came over. My aunt asked the little yellow-head if her boyfriend was here today. She got a scared look on her face & said "how'd you know?" My aunt said "I didn't, I just asked!".

LOL. I'd already told my aunt that F-150 was here all day & didn't leave til about 20 minutes before she got home.

BUSTED

 

[Injun]

It's kewl your aunt didn't give you up for rattin' her out.

 

[Duck]

My uncle wanted to show me some bluetooth speaker thingy he got for Christmas. He said to connect to it. I didn't have any music on my phone so I just put one song on my micro SD card & popped it in the phone.

'I Cross My Heart' by George Strait.

Just to see what my aunt would do.

My uncle performed that with an acoustic guitar for her at their wedding 10 years ago. She didn't know I remembered that.

I have no idea how I remembered it actually.

 

[ezrollin]

kids these days... they are always writing 5000 word research papers at the drop of a hat! good kids!

 

[Duck]

If it gets below freezing tonight you might be able to drive it out in the morning before sunrise.

I agree with Tim get up around sunrise 30 and drive out.

I just woke up, got my aunt's slow prehistoric "Keurig" machine knockoff started on a cup of coffee & went outside for a smoke.

Frost on the ground.

Just for the hell of it I walked over to the muddy spot where the car had been stuck.

Frozen. Like walking on bumpy concrete. If only I'd waited another 24 hours, ... I wouldn't have those new toys in the trunk....

 

[Duck]

Drunk.

I should probably turn off the computer before I get to that point where I'm just staring blankly at the TV....



6 bonus points for the first person who knows who the guy in the picture is...

 

[Duck]

Manteno, IL tonight, then Manteno, IL tomorrow afternoon when I wake up. Then if I'm not too hung over, Sheldon Iowa to go steal a piece of **** flower-power Kenworth from this place & drive it around for a few weeks.

Unless I get lucky & a piano falls on my head first....

 

[Rigjockey]

Tis Mick Jagger.