Author Archives: Pat

9mm Cartridges

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I’ve been enjoying the CZ-85B that I picked up late last year, but the Wolf ammo that I’ve been using has become suspect. I’ve had persistent misfeeds with it. Nothing that simply pulling back on the slide wouldn’t cure, but still. So that brings me to the point of today’s post. I’ve got before me three 9mm cartridges, one each from Wolf, Winchester, and Remington. Using my trusty digital calipers, here are the dimensions of each one:

Dimension (in mm) Wolf Remington Winchester
Overall length 29.5 28.0 29.4
Case length 18.9 18.8 18.9
Rim diameter 9.9 9.8 9.8
Neck diameter 9.5 9.5 9.4
Base diameter 9.7 9.6 9.6
Extractor groove 8.9 8.5 8.8

It looks like the Wolf’s a little outsized versus the other two so I’m going to run a bunch of rounds of each of them through and see if my feed issues go away.

The Cats’ Feeder Died

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Well, it’s been acting a little funny for the last few months and just gave up the ghost. It looks like the stepper motor has shorted out internally, and that means there’s really no way to resurrect it.

I placed an order on AutoPetFeeder.com today for one of their medium sized feeders. I bought the refurb instead of new because of the cost, and hopefully it’ll work out. At least if I have problems with a component I can replace it since they’re all modular. More info when it arrives…

Ordered The Dirt

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I got the dirt for the garden ordered from the nice folks over at Living Earth. I’ve got four yards of their Specialty Planting Mix coming over on Friday. It’s going to be a busy weekend shifting all that soil in to the garden frame, but with the planting season just around the corner, it’s got to get done.

Staining The Boards: Part 1

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I set up all of the boards for the raised bed garden in the garage and put down the stain/waterproofing on as much bare wood as I could reach. They’ll dry overnight and I’ll flip/move them tomorrow and finish them off. After that, they’ll be waiting to be put together this weekend. Once they’re in place and happy I’ll be able to get the soil ordered, which is good because the first batch of seeds has arrived and the North Texas spring isn’t that far away…

Super Bowl Sunday

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I had a few friends over to watch the Super Bowl, and even though the Pats lost, it was still a good evening. Good friends, buffalo burgers, homebrew, and some good scotch makes for a great way to spend an evening.

Starting The Raised Bed Garden

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The raised bed garden has been started. Mike and I went up to Home Depot today to pick up the building supplies for it. Here’s the shopping list.

  • 7 10″x12″x10′ boards
  • 12 L-straps
  • 8 straight straps
  • 12 pieces of rebar
  • Screws to fasten the straps to the boards
  • Also pick up some waterproofing stain and brushes

The basic plan is to cut one of the boards in half, using those as the narrow sides of the garden. It will end up being 5’x20′ but there will be a lane down the middle so that it’s easy to walk down, no hard reaching in from the sides to the middle. The rebar is to be pounded into the ground to secure all of the joints so that they won’t buckle with the weight of the soil.

The Jeep Repairs Are Done

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I got the call I was waiting for this morning, the dealer letting me know that the Jeep was ready. I got a lift over there and picked it up. Turns out that they replaced all 12 lifters, reground the valves, and installed new valve seals. It’s running well now, no ticking noises to be heard. The only bummer is that they washed it. I’d worked for years to get that patina on the finish and now it’s all nice and shiny, with a coat of wax even! It is good to have it back, clean and shiny or not.

Another Jeep Update

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I got a call from the service writer this morning. It looks like it was the lifters and they’ve got the parts they need on order. It should be completed some time on Friday. That’s kind of a bummer because there’s things I need to be doing that need a vehicle that has cargo capacity which the Harley lacks.

Wolf Who Rules

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My stack is shrinking. It’s still over a foot tall, but I finished off another book. Wolf Who Rules is the sequel to Wen Spencer’s Tinker and picks up right where it left off. Tinker’s still coming to terms with her transformation and trying to fix the results of her shutting down the gate between Elfhome and Earth. It was a good, quick read and was as enjoyable as the first book. I’m hoping that we see some more stories set in this universe. There’s definitely avenues to explore…

Another Jeep Update

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I dropped it off this morning feeling really frustrated. The engine had been ticking and tapping constantly, until I got about a half of a mile from the dealership. I told them that and they promised to check it out again.

Later on in the evening, I got a call from the service writer. They found the oil leaks. It turns out that both the rear main seal and the oil pan gasket were leaking. And wonder upon wonders, they actually reproduced the noises that I’ve been hearing. Their engine guy is going to take a look at it tomorrow.