Brian G

I've seen the Carver before, on a car-tech show I think. Son of a gun can lean waaay over, can't it? Odd set up....the front leans and the back doesn't. I'm not sure what to think on that one. The Piaggio is very interesting. I love the way the front wheels adjust to the lean, and the whole thing leans as one, but they're so dang close together. I almost wonder if it's worth the trouble to have three wheels instead of two. What I'd like to do is take the front suspension from the Piaggio and put it on the Bombardier, with a slightly rounder back tire and a little more ground clearance. That dog might sho' nuf hunt. [:-thumbu] Gotta love the toys available in the world today, if one only has the funds to play. [:-propell Brian G. Content to Look (by necessity) [:-indiffe

Yeah, that's steep enough to be pretty touchy. The hardest part for me is getting on or off something like that. I try to find a valley to go up, or use the extension ladder to reach the top of a gable. Lower-sloped porch roofs are most welcome. Once you get up around angles like that, if one thing goes wrong and you start to slide, you can't stop without something to grab (quick). [:-wiltel] Brian G. Walk 'Em, Don't Slide 'Em [8]

It's very, very cool looking, but I'll stick with my statement. They show it cornering once from ground level, and a few times from waaaay above. It doesn't lean, but the driver moves around (sidecar anyone?). It's inherently unstable in turns and corners, sooner or later, just like all the others before it. If they could get it to lean like a bike, they might have something. Brian G. Safe Beats Cool for Middle Aged Farts Like Me []

Anything with one or three wheels is inherently unstable. Two and four are the right numbers. [^] Brian G. Six Ain't Bad Either []

I can't think of anyone other than GE and Challenger who made them that way, so they're sort of unique in that respect. The advantages are being able to use any combination of two singles and one double, and not having to replace all three if one went bad. Challenger's singles were kind of goofy though; they made them in a right hand and a left hand, depending on which side of the double you were putting it on. GE's singles fit either side. With the GE you have no hope of putting a half-size in a place they didn't mean for you to. Look closely at the stabs in the first photo; you'll see little stabs coming off the sides at a 90° angle. Those are what the GE half-size breaker grab, not the big stabs. Where there are no little stabs, fugget about it. Brian G. Mobster Brothers; Little Stab & Big Stab [:-slaphap

Originally posted by Richard Moore The only thing I see that needs fixing is that half-size double breaker on the left. I realize there are no conductors to it, which is a good thing. Its position, "jammed" between two two full size mounting tabs is just wrong and I would recommend that it be removed and the gaps in the cover filled with appropriate plates. Actually that's where it's supposed to be. It's a GE panel and their half-size 220v breakers go right between two normal stabs (one of each leg). You can only install 1/2 size 110's on each side of a 1/2 size 220v. Challenger also made a similar 1/2 size line, but they attached to the bus bars differently. Brian G. Bus Bars - Where People Without a Car Go to Drink [:-drunk]

Originally posted by Bain What about water entering around the windows? In the third photo, there appears to be a pretty significant gap between the window and the brick. Possible, but the gaps aren't that big and the damage is all on the surface. Also, the soffits don't appear to be very wide. Overflowing gutters could allow water to work its way into the air space behind the brick. The soffits are very narrow, but no gutters. Finally, maybe it's the photos, or just my monitor, but it almost looks as if there are two layers of mortar in the bottom two photos, as if the problem areas have been pointed. It's just the way it looks. A few spots had been touched-up and one rowlock was totally re-done, but 99% of the mortar was original. Brian G. Mortar Man, Save Me! [:-masked]

Originally posted by Tom Raymond This might be a stupid question, but, any other indication of a high water mark? Since it's not probable that it's frost damage my best guess would be repeated soaking. Does that area flood? No, it's not a low area at all. The severe mortar loss sure looks like water damage, but it's only that bad in a few places. I can't come up with a reason for "here but not there". Why does it skip the first 2 or 3 rows, then start and run 3 or 4 feet up? It's wierd. My instinct is splashback from shrubs that are no longer there, which would account for a lot, but writing that is going out on a limb. Brian G. Bizzaro Brick Co. [:-alien]

The way this one is built is a little screwy. It has piers and beams everywhere, perimeter included, with the veneer continuing right down past the piers and into the grade (similar to the way it usually bypasses block or poured concrete on its way to the footing). It reminds me of the way some historic houses look from inside the crawl space, when the veneer came long after the house was built. I don't think that's the case here though. Brick veneer extending below grade is all but universal down here. I rarely see the edge of a slab or a block foundation from outside, if it has brick veneer. If it looks low to the ground, it is. Any HI with a hint of claustrophobia couldn't handle the crawl on this puppy. [:-scared] Brian G. It Ain't Easy To Crawl While Holding Your Breath Expelled [:-crazy]

I have a house with some odd brick problems; odd for around here at least. First off, this is the patient: 1960, 1563 square feet, conventional foundation. These photos are a little big on purpose, so you can click to blow 'em up for a better look. Image Insert: 167.96 KB All of the windows have a gap under the rowlock; this is the worst one. At the back of the gap the rowlocks are still sitting on the veneer, like they were forced down at the rear by swelling windows or pressure from above (but the windows don't seem swollen). Image Insert: 165.77 KB I found a few large areas like this; mortar loss, faces popping off of certain bricks, etc. They all seem to fall between 1 and 4 feet off the ground, and it looks like the deteriorating ones are all light orange. My first thought was splashback, but there isn't anything to splashback off of. Image Insert: 152.87 KB Image Insert: 203.46 KB The mortar itself is still rock hard, even where it looks bad. You can scrape a joint with a screwdriver and not more than a few grains will fall out. Then we have a wide assortment of stairstep cracks in the usual places, an individual brick here or there that's been replaced or poorly remortared. No visible weeps, but that's extremely common here. None of the mortar joints look squashed; not even the badly deteriorated ones. The house has the usual slight dips and lumps you would expect for the age; nothing drastic. The crawl space is low and not particularly well ventilated. The land in that county has expansive soils in places, ranging from mild to pretty bad. And it's Mississippi, so any theories involving freezing are highly unlikely. Any thoughts, theories, or questions? Brian G. Mayhem in the Masonry [:-boggled

I can't top a square toilet, but how about a trip to avacado hell? Image Insert: 50.77 KB One of those wonderful 70's colors. [:-yuck] Brian G. Remember "Poppy"? [:-blindfo

Good grief. I think your builder is totally off his rocker. Blair my man, for the sake of the dial-up and low-grade DSL guys, as well as the better interests of bandwidth and storage for TIJ, please reduce your photos before posting them. Those files are huge. 75 - 100KB is plenty if you do it right. Brian G. Venting Appears to Be Adequate []

Ditto. Dumb, dangerous, and generally ridiculous. Whoever designed that needs a sharp kick in the butt (I volunteer Chad for the job). Brian G. Style Is NOT an Adequate Substitute For Substance [:-dunce]

Richard, that's an interesting looking bike. I was disappointed when I looked around recently. It seems like every cruiser built in the last 15 years looks like a Harley. I've never been drawn to the low, wide, heavy look, so I had to reach back a ways to get something that suited me (1992). And I agree with Kurt, 100%. My last ride on the back half of a seat got me six weeks on crutches and multiple patches of road rash. Never again. If I can't hold the handlebars, I ain't going. My son-in-law just bought a bike tonight. We're running up to the southern tip of Indiana to pick it up on Saturday. Another all-day ride for the Bri-Man. [:-crazy] Brian G. Pass the Caffine [:-bigeyes

I can disagree with almost nothing he said, but it's always easier to throw stones at the other guys. If it weren't for his group (contractors) being just as guilty as a profession, we wouldn't even exist. Most of us stink, most of them stink, most realtors stink, most mortgage brokers stink, etc., etc., etc. Life goes on. [8] Brian G. Another Day, Another Pundit [:-sleep]

Those aren't two separate wires, someone just twisted the wrapped ground into two or three bundles instead of one (makes it easier to terminate at the neutral bar). Long story short, you only have three conductors and no way to correctly wire a sub panel with that cable. Brian G. Bearer of Bad News [:-indiffe

CW, I'm a little confused. How does the SE cable have two separate grounds that aren't jacketed? One is usually wrapped around the two primary conductors, just under the outer jacket...where is the other one? Brian G. Dazed & Confused [:-boggled

Hah! Good one Tom. [:-slaphap Brian G. Take It Easy Mister....Now, Just Put Down the Loaded Words and Nobody Gets Hurt []

I'm with Richard. I don't like these type breakers, but at least the Square D has an intelligent design for the lug. Brian G. "Square D" Sounds Like A Dude Ranch [:-cowboy]

Manufacturers were supposed to design their panels and breakers so that the tandem/dual/half-sized/whatever breakers could only be installed in designated spots. The idea was to keep some knothead from getting more than intended maximum number of circuits out of a given size panel. Unfortunately almost all of the manufacturers failed miserably at doing that, so you might find a 40 circuit panel with 57 circuits in it. If so, it ain't right. Check the label against what's actually there (if you can see the label). Brian G. Knotheads Find a Way [:-dunce]

Bad Chad! Bad! [:-dev3][:-slaphap[:-eyebrow[}] Brian G. Choose Your Agent Carefully [:-blindfo [:-hspin]

Mine came a week ago, but I've been too busy to monkey with it. Brad, did you actually communicate with someone at Magic Jack about the local numbers? If so, what did they say? I'd love to be able to keep mine; even to the point of keeping the higher service for a little while, if it'll make the difference. Brian G. What's a Little More Blood After All These Years [:-mischie

I spent several months visiting over at the Inter-N board once, to see the lay of that land for myself. During that time the leadership over there, at least most of it, repeatedly attacked the NHIE. I and others posted rebuttals and dared any of them to produce the infamous internet answers, but truth was not a match for propaganda among Nic & the High Priests (one of which was Bushart). They've been told the truth; they know the truth; they deliberately ignore the truth. He can't honestly say he didn't know. Brian G. Slam the Slanderers [:-thumbu]

Cluster_____! (fill in the blank) Brian G. I Know You Can Do It []

That's how they see it here too. Mine runs about 15 feet into the house to reach the panel, and I had to set a service disconnect at the outside wall. Brian G. A Extra $227 (at the time) [:-weepn]