Follow Up on the Lawn Tractor . . .

Well I could not install the new drive belt.  It takes a special tool to get the drive pulley off the engine.  There were three pieces of metal that kept the belt in place on the engine pulley.  So one has to remove the engine pulley.  If I had a air ratchet it would have been a piece of cake to remove the pulley but alas I did not have the tool so I kept the old belt on the machine.  May have to visit Harbor Freight and get a cheapo air ratchet aka pneumatic driven wrench.  I have the air compressor so I can power the wrench but I do not have the wrench.

I did make a run with the new spindle and the mower is almost silent.  Well it was quiet and did not make a lot of noise.  The most noise came from the engine as it should.  So things are back to normal.

One thing I did was really pack the grease into the new spindle as well as the other old one.  I must have put 8 or 9 pumps off the old grease gun.  Now I know the bearings have lots of grease in them and the potential for failure goes down.  The lower bearing, the one that failed, has one open face that faces upward.  So the extra grease will be there to keep it lubed up.  The old spindle seemed to have grease but apparently not enough of it to keep the bearing from failing.  My opinion is that the design is such that the lower bearing is doomed for failure because there is not enough grease getting to the bearing.

And the mower is ready to go again.  Just needs to gassed up and I am off and cutting.

Another comment.  I bought the new spindle for $23 and change.  I was shipped in two days and the shipping was free.  That is Amazon Prime for you.  But I noted I could have gotten the replacement bearings and installed them in the old spindle.  But the difference in price was negligible and I did not have do the bearing installation job.   So it made sense to get the new spindle.  Another one of those marketing issues.   So less work and same money.

Another successful job done.

John Deere Spindle . . .

The spindle was delivered on Memorial Day, amazing to me but then it is Amazon, right.  

I installed the replacement spindle.  It looked right, it fit but it was a fight to get the old retention bolts to work.  It appears the threads in the new spindle were just a tad undersized.  So it was fight to get the bolts started but "I got er done."  Now with tearing up one knuckle and opening another tear on the top of my hand thus a little blood spilt it is finished.  Band aids and Neosporin took care of that.  And the tight fit means nothing is going to come loose.

Since I had the deck off I thought I would replace the drive belt on the tractor.  So off to Home Depot to get a new belt and some other stuff we could not live without.  It was Memorial Day and there was a army of people swamping the aisles of Home Depot buying every thing in the world.  We did find what we want but no drive belt.  We were told the only people who had that in stock was the John Deere dealer.

I find that ridiculous.  It is just a belt.  It is of a certain size, etc. and should be available at any hardware store that stocks belts.  But we do have a brand spanking new John Deere dealer so I know they will have it in stock.  It is a common item for a number of models of their lawn tractors.

I get really fed up with marketing that tries to BS the customer.  For instance, I replace the oil filter annually on the tractor.  The John Deere oil filter goes for about $14, the Briggs and Straton oil filter (really the same item in a different package) goes for about $12.  The Fram equivalent oil filter goes for about $7 and guess what the Walmart brand filter, an equivalent unit sells for $3.45.  Give me a break, this is silly.  Profit upon profit for essentially the same equivalent item.  It is even getting hard to find cross reference for the filters, they are all trying to hide the simply known facts to make more money.  I would not be surprised to find out the same manufacturer made all of them, with different numbers and paint colors but the innards are identical.  John Deere will not generally provide a parts breakdown for their tractors.  The good news there are dealers on line that do provide the data and sell the parts (cheaper but one has to wait for delivery).  Dealers are counting on ignorance and the urgent for instant service.

Well in a fit of timeliness, I will get the belt from John Deere.  The old one is 9 years old so I thought while it is available and open, get it done.  Preventive maintenance was something I learned in the USAF, it pays off.

Any way I have some hot work to do putting the mower back together again.  Got to rehang the mower deck on the tractor.  Not hard to do, just a space and weight issue.  The deck must weight 60 or 70 pounds.  Drag it around and hooking it up will be a hot job in the sun.  But once in every 9 years, well that is not so bad.

I'll soon be cutting grass again.

Windows 10 Pro Version 1803.

Beware of down loading the update of Windows 10 or Windows 10 Pro to install version 1803.  It has bugs.  I ruined not one but two of my computers.  As a result I had to get a new computer, actually I got two of them.

The first was a HP cheapo from Walmart.  I has a small key pad, 14 inch screen and solid state hard drive (means not much space).   But it was about a $100 cheaper than a 9 inch screen Samsung tablet and comes with Windows and some other bundled software.  It gave access again to the internet and that is where I learned version 1803 was screwing computer after computer and Microsoft has been very blaze' about it all.

When I called Microsoft they said Windows would not run on my Dell Inspiron 530.  I knew that was BS because my good old Inspiron has been running Windows 10 Pro since the software became available.

But that led me to my second computer purchase.  I got from a Walmart source (actually a Walmart contractor) a Dell OptiPlex 790 with Windows 10 Pro on it, Intel i5 CPU, 8 Gigs of RAM, 2 Terabyte hard disk and a optical disk (aka DVD read/writer) shipped to me for the princely sum of $207.

I got that computer, hooked it up and it was DOA.  Called the techs and they said probably a memory stick was dislodged.  Sent me a link to a YouTube video that showed how to get into the computer.  It is neat, no screws, it all snaps together and plugs in to its various cables.  So sure enough, I opened up the case (no screws just a big latch), followed the video instructions and reseated the memory sticks.  I actually moved them around and reinstalled them.  Closed up the computer and powered it up and it is running like a champ.

This machine is much faster than my old reliable Dell Inspiron. I dislike the compact design but for the price it is worth it all.  The computer came with a host of bundle software, some is open source and some is not.

I am typing on it now.  I had to go get all my old addresses and plug all that in.  But it is mostly back in operation.

Now I have to go fix my old lap top, it is about three years old, not used much except on trips.  But I checked in with a computer shop in town and got a colossal load of BS.  They said it was a bad hard disk.  I already knew about the Microsoft fiasco regarding version 1803.  I am sure more will come out and I expect a big class action suit to transpire.

John Deere Tractor

Today is the hottest day in the year so far.  I started out to cut the grass.  First I edged.  And it was still relatively cool then.

Then I fired up the John Deere lawn tractor and began cutting grass.  As usual for some time now a lot of deck vibration.  But everything was working.  Just about finished cutting the entire front lawn, really not much but . . .   And then the vibrations got really bad.

I knew then that I had ball bearing failure in one of the mower deck blade spindles.  A spindle has a large pulley on top, a disk that the mower belt loops through.  On the bottom of the spindle is the grass cutting blade.  The spindle bolts on to the mower deck.

I pulled up in front of the garage and grabbed my grease gun and gave both spindles a shot of grease.  That really did not make much difference.  I pressed on and cut most of the rear yard and pulled up in front of the garage.

I got out the old instruction book and sure enough it gave instructions on how to take the mower deck off.  I got that done pretty quick, though had to take a cooling off break as I was sweating like a stuck pig.  Hot day, remember.

I parked the tractor in its spot in the garage and move the mower deck over to some shade.  Sure enough one of the spindles was bad.  I removed the bad spindle and took it apart thinking I would just replace the bearings.  I found some pretty bad wear on the internal spacer so I elected to get a new spindle complete with bearings.

I found one on Amazon Prime for $24 shipped in two days  Well I do not care if it comes in one day or three days, I do not have to cut the grass for a while yet.  I have at lease a week before that comes due.  I ordered up the spindle and will in the mean time sharpen the blades and grease up the remaining good spindle.

It will be another sweat job to get the mower deck back on but it is not to bad of job.  It looks pretty simple as I took it off.  All the work is close to the ground and that is an irritant but cheaper than taking the deck to the John Deere place to do the work.  It is after all something I can do.

And the beat goes on.

Another Step Down the Road . . .

We switched eye doctors and both of us now have Ophthalmologist taking care of us and our eyes.  My case was simple and I found out my Optometrist was indeed way out in left field doing unrequired tests on me and saying I was a candidate for Glaucoma.  My current doctor says no, I have normal pressures in my eyes and I do not have Optical Hypertension.  End of that story.

But Judie, my wife, who has among other things, well many other things, dry eyes.  She suffers from Sjorgen's Disease which dries up your body.  She may have Myasthenia Gravis, yet another autoimmune disease which the Neurologist says she has maybe a 15% chance of having it.  Not much treatment for Sjorgens, no drugs unless you are pretty severe.  She does take a drug for Myasthenia
Gravis and that has helped her with improved upper body strength.

Her new Ophthalmologist took one look at her and said, "Your eyes are not converging like they should be.  You are in fact compensating by closing your non-dominant eye to read up close."  He immediately referred her to the Neurologist because that symptom is common to Parkinson's Disease.

We saw the Neurologist who had treated her before for migraine headaches and she said that was true about the eye convergence, it was indeed a primary symptom of Parkinson's Disease.  But she needed to view a current MRI of the brain to make any definitive diagnosis.  She explained that one can experience Parkinson-isms, or symptoms of Parkinson's Disease and not have the disease.  So she was scheduled for a brain MRI.

That in itself was a sort of trial, the MRI Clinic went berserk over the fact that she had an implanted pain stimulator in her lower back.  She purposely got the kind of stimulator that was impervious to Magnetic Radiation or put another way, not a problem for having an MRI performed.  That was finally settled but not without signing papers etc. to absolved the MRI clinic of any post problems from the MRI.

She had the MRI, saw her eye doctor and got prism glasses prescribed for her to use while reading.  Long distance vision is okay and does not need the prism correction.  We discussed the MRI and the report we had seemed very benign, no issue was pointed out by the clinic doctor who reads the MRIs.  We felt good about the MRI examination.

Then we visited the Neurologist for a post MRI examination discussion.  Well the MRI Clinic docs are ignorant and really do not know much about Parkinson's Disease.  The Neurologist did in fact know what to look for and where to look for it in the brain.  What she found was not encouraging, in fact down right scary.  She said what she saw was probably (note the hesitation to come out with a strong diagnosis) the early stages of Parkinson's Disease.  Additionally, her nodding off at night and in the car was a symptom of Parkinson's.  Her uncontrolled drooling out of the corner of her mouth was yet another symptom of Parkinson's.  And finally the eye convergence issue was yet a third symptom of Parkinson's Disease.

The Neurologist immediately put her on Dopamine with specific instructions to take only two pills a day for the next week and then return of another look see by the doctor.  We are supposing that the doctor can detect some sort of improvement from the Dopamine and that will help confirm the Parkinson's Disease diagnosis.  Otherwise, I surmise she would have only Parkinson-isms.  So she is taking the pills and we will see the Neurologist again next week.  We do not see any immediate improvement but then we do not know what she, the neurologist, is looking for.  We hope for the best but grid ourselves for the worst.

We live now from day to day.  We are kept alive by maintenance drugs for blood pressure as an example and suffer from autoimmune disease like Diabetes and Sjorgren's Disease.  We do not need yet another autoimmune disease to deal with like Parkinson's.  We are in the keep on keeping on mode.  The twilight of our life is upon us.

The Truth About the AR-15 . . .

The commercial version of an AR-15 (and its variants) is a semi automatic firearm.  Like a semi automatic pistol it can only fire one cartridge per trigger pull.  Pretty common amongst modern weapons.  The key word here is "commercial" which means it is available to the general public.  It is not the same as the AR-15 and its variants as used by the US military establishment that in and of itself can fire more than one round per trigger pull.  That gun, is an assault rifle, and can fire single, multiple of three rounds or empty the clip if so selected on one trigger pull.

Many people confuse the general use of "automatic weapon" with the more specific term semi automatic.

As a matter of record automatic firearms have been banned from the general public since the National Firearms Act of 1934.  That includes military assault weapons.  Your local police department or the county sheriff has a literal arsenal of those kinds of firearms.  The general public does not have them, can not buy them and it is illegal to modify the commercial version of the firearm.

So in reality, the commercial version of the AR-15 is no different than any other multiple round magazine rifle made and sold in the US of A.  It looks tough, very military but it is not repeat not an assault weapon.  It uses a common .223 high rifle powered round.  The commonly available AK-47 is similar to the AR-15 except it uses a common 30 caliber rifle round.  It to in the commercial version is available to the general public and is a semi automatic weapon.  In its military version it is a true assault weapon with a fully automatic capability.  We have many automatic shot guns used in hunting all over the place.  The shot gun is really a semi automatic firearm, that is one shot per trigger pull.

Senator Diane Feinstein had an federal act passed that tried to define AR-15 and like weapons in the commercial version as assault weapons.  That law expired and in spite of the many attempts by the gun toting Senator (Senator Feinstein has a conceal carry license and is said to carry such a firearm at all times when in the public) to renew the act, the Congress of the US has refused to do so.  The act was failure.  The act was an attempt to change the definition of the rifle.  It did not work.  Many states, including Senator Feinstein's home state of California have banned the weapon.  But in general it is not an illegal firearm in the US thus is readily available in next door Arizona or Nevada.  Nothing prevents you from buying the weapon in Nevada and bringing it back (albeit illegal in California) home in California.  No one that I know that had such guns in California rushed to turn their weapons to the authorities in California.

A word about the National Rifle Association (NRA).  It came into existence after the Civil War and its objective was the protect the guns rights of the former salves.  Many people, especially in the southern US, were afraid if the blacks got weapons they would rise up and slay people.  That most assuredly did not happen.  And because of the NRA, the US Constitution 2nd amendment remains intact.  We, the citizens of the United States, have the right own and bear arms.  It is said that the Japanese in WW-II ruled out any attacks against the continental US would fail because the general population had so many guns.

Remember it is not the firearm that kills, it is the human that pulls the trigger that kills people.

Dentist . . .

Dentist.  About a month a go I had a tooth ache, I rarely have them.  I mean I have a tooth ache about once in 20 years.  But it was tooth the local dentist had done a root canal on and then capped the tooth with a crown.  I took a couple of Aleeve's and that took care of the pain.

I followed up with one more Aleeve and called the dentist.  They squeezed me in and promptly took an X-ray of the tooth.  The dentist looked at the X-ray along with his dental assistant and said they saw a spot.  That could mean a cracked tooth with an infection or abscess under it or just an abscess from the original root canal.  But that to keep the tooth I would have to see a specialist.

So off I went to see the Ondodontist, or dental surgeon.  He looked at the X-ray sent over by my dentist and said pretty much what the dentist had said.  So we scheduled an Apiecoctomy.  That is basically, cutting a flap in the area, and drilling down to the base of the tooth.  Once down in there clean out the residual infection and fill in the area with literally concrete.  Well, maybe it is not real concrete but it is back fill material that gets as hard as concrete.

Well I went through that Thursday, two plus hours in the dental couch with him cutting, scrapping and drilling and finally sewing me up again.  The dental surgeon said it was a large lesion, and the infection was sort of like cyst growing down under the tooth.  He back filled the area and sew up the incision.

I drove home after stopping at Walmart to pick up pain killers, Amoxicillin, and some Ibuprofen.  The pain killers are Tylenol 3's and Tramadol.  Judie takes Tramadol for her back and it is mild opiate.  So once at home I popped in a Tramadol and got in my chair and watched the stock market on TV.  The Novocain gradually wore off and the Tramadol took over.  Basically, everything was pretty painless.

The second day, Friday was okay, no issues to worry about.  I took the Ibuprofen and that seem to do the trick.  Today is Saturday and not so fast, things are a little sore or achy, so I took a Tylenol 3.  Everything is tolerable but I still feel the tooth in the back ground.  I did the salt water treatment, basically washing out the mouth with warm salt water.  And I rinse with my mouth wash after.

I think as the Tylenol 3 wears off I will see if the Tramadol will quite it all down.  Eating soup is beginning to get old.  I have a hankering for steak but will end up with a "cup or noodles" instead.

I get the stitches taken out Thursday.  I am sure it will be another Tramadol or Tylenol 3 day for me.

And perhaps by then we will get a biopsy report on the material he sent in to be examined.  At my age that is a wise move as it could just as well be cancer.  You never know what is going to happen and of course one's mount is full of all the worst kinds of germs.  It is said that a dog's mouth is cleaner.  I wonder about that but . . .

As I said before, it is hell getting old.