The great thing about the warm temps is that it has allowed me to do some work on the trusty RAM 1500, in this case dealing with some small rusty patches in the bed of the truck. I don’t want the trusty RAM 1500 to become the rusty RAM 1500. I saw that happen with the trusty Ford F-150, the predecessor to the RAM. I also touched up the bed of the truck with some Rustoleum to cover the surface scratches, again as a means of keeping the truck rust free. It will be undercoated again during the week of Thanksgiving. It’s also getting some new tires before winter as I doubt the existing tires have enough tread left for another winter. I need to do what I can to extend the life of the trusty RAM 1500 as long as I can because I don’t want to pay $40K to $50K to replace it (which is what I figured a good used pickup will cost if I have to replace the trusty RAM anytime in the next 5 years).
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With the warm weather we’ve been experiencing I have regretted pulling the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout out of the water last weekend. It’s been perfect boating weather. Then again, the weather is warmer than average we see this time of year. It could have just as easily been below freezing with snow and freezing rain.
Who knows, if I had delayed pulling the boat from the water it’s likely that’s what we would be experiencing right now...and it would have been all my fault!!
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It appears I hadn’t done my research before I wrote yesterday’s screed against changing back to Standard Time.
The US Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent, with a few exceptions. However, the bill stalled in the House.
Some have made the argument that year round DST would be harmful and suggested year round Standard Time. I can counter that with the same argument I made during yesterday’s post, New Hampshire (and Maine and Massachusetts) being at the extreme eastern side of the Eastern Time Zone, where Standard Time means the sun setting well before 4PM. That isn’t healthy either, the report from CNN to the contrary.
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I made the mistake of watching some of the political reporting on TV yesterday, and to hear it, some of the media is claiming the Democrats will retain control of the House, gain full control of the Senate by winning two more seats, as well as take the governorships in a number of states.
But RCP is saying that isn’t so.
RCP adjusted some of their numbers based upon previous errors in underestimating GOP numbers, which has shifted their results. But even I have my doubts about RCP’s prediction. However, there is one ‘poll’ in which I have more confidence, that being the “Betting Poll”, something that John Stossel delves into.
It seems Las Vegas has a better record of predicting the winners than the polling organizations. Maybe it’s time to look at the betting line for the Midterms than the pollsters.
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PJ Media asks the question “Are Lithium-Ion batteries safe in the home?”
My first response is “It depends.”
I deal with lithium-ion batteries as part of my job and I can say there are some manufacturers I trust and some I don’t. There have one or two trusted manufacturers who had batteries that were manufactured incorrectly that caused problems, one being Panasonic who, many years ago, had a production run of cells that had a propensity to ignite under normal use due to a contamination issue.
We’ve also seen issues with lithium-polymer batteries in smart phones, specifically one of Samsung’s new phone lines that had issues with the batteries igniting. (The reason for that problem was never released though the speculation was it was caused by an overly aggressive charging profile since the problem occurred with batteries from two different manufacturers.)
If the lithium-ion batteries are made by manufacturer with a good track record, the proper safety/control circuitry, and a proper charging profile, they can be safe. Otherwise all bets are off.
Here at The Gulch we have a number of devices with Li-Ion batteries: two laptops, two cell phones, two tablets, and a pair of hearing aids. All are from reputable manufacturers as are their batteries, so I don’t have too much concern...but I will not fully trust them.
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And that’s the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the air is warm, the leaves are almost gone, and Election Day is two days away.