Monday, September 18, 2023

Radio Terms

Some terms that I never knew the origin of:

Roger is a current radiotelephony ‘proword’ which is a word used to represent a longer phrase.

Roger means, very specifically: “your message has been received and understood.”

Wilco means: “your message has been received and understood and I will comply.”

Affirm (note, NOT affirmative) simply means yes, but is clearer over the radio.

Negative means no.

Over means I’ve finished speaking and expect a reply.

Out means I’ve finished speaking and do NOT expect a reply.

Roger Wilco over and out means I am not a pilot.

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Landscaping

Our exterior landscaping had fallen into disrepair with overgrown trees and shrubbery.  Also the mulch and rock beds were full of weeds that had become increasingly difficult to deal with.  Fortunately our neighbor provided a referral for a small businessman who was willing to take on the work.  His price seemed high at $3500, but the work speaks for itself.  He has been working on and off for the past 3 weekends and I would argue he has 30+20+15+5 = 70 hours into the project (which does not include dealing with haul away of debris).  Considering the effort the price is fair and he is definitely a nice guy who is willing to accommodate the requests to remove a few more branches, clean this are up more, go back through this spot again, etc.

Before and after pictures.

BEFORE















AFTER













Thursday, August 31, 2023

Dental Anesthetics

I had some dental work done today and had a very good experience with Prilocaine HCl (Citanest) as opposed the typical Septocaine (Articaine) that the dental practice usually uses.  

Citanest lasts about 30 minutes

Articaine lasts about 45-75 minutes

The practice sometimes uses Bupivacaine (Marcaine) which can last 90 minutes or longer.  

Procaine (Novacaine) developed in 1905 is no longer because it could cause an allergic reaction in some patients.  It was replaced in 1948 by Lidocaine.  Per the internet, Lidocaine is a relatively weak anesthetic.  I will have to pay more attention to numbing agents in the future.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Cutco Knives

Cutco makes great knives in the USA and have a reputation for quality, maintaining an edge and outstanding customer service.  They are sold through representatives who earn a percentage of sales.  The knives can also be found at Costco and through online retailers.

The sets can cost between $1000 and $2500 with individual knives in the $80-$120 range.

As a family friend was selling the knives, we opted for an in home demonstration and spoiler alert, bought several.

Our current knife set included:
I love all of our knives, but they are occasionally unwieldy for my wife's smaller hands.  She like the look and feel of the Cutco knives.

Our test items were watermelon, tomato and a bagel.

I was very impressed with the Cutco Trimmer.  It put the Wusthof Serrated Utility to shame.

I did not care for the Cutco 2-3/4" Paring.  I really like my Mundial.  I might have been OK with the 4" blade if our rep had one, but I do like a classic handle shape on a paring knife.  The test piece was cutting and pealing an apple.

I was mixed on the Cutco Petite Chef.  I prefer a Santoku, but my wife had a much easier time cutting a watermelon with the Cutco.

Finally the Cutco Slicer made short work of the day old bagel and filled a hole in our current knife set.

We were not in a position to buy a set, nor did we particularly like the table knives.  We do not eat a lot of tough meat and a full set of table knives was silly.

We were torn between getting the Trimmer only or taking advantage of the buy 3 get 1 free option.  In the end we settled for:
  • Cutco Trimmer ($88)
  • Cutco Petite Chef ($166)
  • Cutco Slicer ($137)
  • Cutco Spatula Spreader ($87)
We were also impressed with the shears ($136), peeler ($51) and pizza cutter ($66), but wanted to maximize the value of our freebie.

I also like the Serrated Pocket Knife ($75) but did not feel like I was in a position to buy another toy.  The outdoor line is impressive.

I started looking on secondary markets and Cutco knives tend to hold their value well on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, typically selling for 66% of retail.

When I found a spatula spreader on Facebook Marketplace for $25, I decided to pick it up and we will exchange the one we ordered for the Pocket Knife.

The only other knife brand I have coveted is BenchMade.  I may still invest in cutlery or outdoor knives from bench made.  Of particular interest to me was the Dive knife ($170) and the Triage knife ($260).

I also have been tempted by hand-forged knives.  Coolina had a huge marketing campaign on Facebook a couple of years ago and nearly sucked me in.  Bear Creek Knives is a Colorado based company that has stock and custom hand made knives.  There are several other retailers easily discovered online as well.


Friday, August 18, 2023

1971 Ford Bronco

I had a chance to go by Elevation Motors and it was well worth the trip.  I met Michael who showed me around the Ford Bronco I was interested in and then took the time to show me a couple more that were in the works.  The advertised Bronco was a ground up restoration done by Maxlider Motors (Illinois) and retailed for $150K a few years ago.  Besides Maxlider, I have also poked around on Classic Ford Broncos (Ohio) and Velocity Restorations (Florida), all of them do restorations in the $150-$200K range.  This thing was immaculate.  The owner simply traded it in to get his new toy, a BMW M5 CS (1 of only 2 in Colorado, that I actually spotted on I-225 last week).  It was awesome and per Michael drives really well.  It has fold out steps and premium headlights.  Overall, it was exactly what I would be interested in.

He also took the time to show me a $50K and $90K Bronco.  The $50K was in good shape and came with a lot of extra parts.  It had original interior that was in good shape and a 302 motor with 10,000 miles on it.

The $90K Bronco was restored incredibly well by a builder from Nebraska.  Michael pointed out the winch and chrome tie rods.  You could definitely see where that extra $30K goes in the Maxlider.

He explained that the entry level is around $50K and the next tier is $80-$100K and then $120-$150K.  Past that it is hard to see the difference.

He recommended Hagerty for insurance.  Especially as it is not necessarily a daily driver and will more likely be out and about on nice days and car shows with mileage under 2500 per year.  He said it could be a daily driver and is smooth on the highway at 80 mph.

Finally, the market for Broncos will probably continue to climb and I could drive this for "free" essentially if I got bored with it and wanted to sell it in a few years.
















































1971 Ford Bronco Sport Fully Restored Freshly Rebuilt 302 Ford Automatic with OD Power Steering Front Power Disc Brakes Power Running Boards Family Style Roll Cage Front & Rear Shoulder Belts Premium Lift Kit Custom Plaid Interior New Soft Top New Stereo with Bluetooth 
$119,500
5.0L V8
Automatic
4WD
902 miles
Maxlider Motors Build - $150,000 new (3 years ago)