With a lot of thinking, and trying several different ideas, I finally came up with a good way to mount these LED headlights. Using the OEM headlight mount and some home made brackets, I've got them looking pretty good. They seem solid, but I've not actually ridden it yet and won't until the rest of the parts get here and I finish the wiring. Currently waiting for the paint to dry on the brackets and then I'll finish mounting everything. Kinda want gloss black instead of BBQ black to match the bike finish, but who's going to notice?

Just sold a case of 45 ACP for $650. Wow.

Done! Now we'll see how it holds up, and tonight see how much better the headlights actually work.

Also, my batch of G43x mags showed up. Two came with loaders which was nice I guess, but the logos are on opposite sides. Knock-offs? The mags seem correct.

That will do.

Rack installed, seems to fit very well. Rode around for a bit and it doesn't really change how the bike handles (empty). A little experimenting with the fuel bottle placement, I may now want to get one of those solid tubes to put under there to protect it and/or store tools.

Tested the 10/22 bolt block widget in the yard. Only 5 shots, but it kept the bolt from moving and eliminated the action noise.

I don't know how this works, but it does. The moped regulator showed up and I wired it in and even though it's rated 20-30v AC input it seems to work with 8-13v and still put out 13-14v DC. It's a touch high, but within automotive standards for "12v" so I added some new spade connectors to the included pigtail and put it into service. Plenty of time to test before the trip.

Talking to Fred on chat, being social, and he sent me this. His kid took his first deer this season with my Ruger 300BLK. OK so Fred paid me for it so it's technically his, but whatever.

Made cheeze-its again, this time using orange cheddar so they look correct. Turned out OK, and we had them with carrot soup for dinner.

Mattress for the van showed up. It's pretty cool how it comes all vacuum packed and then just fluffs up. It's not quite fully fluffed out in the photos, says it can take up to 48 hours.

Trailer hitch arrived today and I got it installed and assembled the bike carrier and did a test fitting. It works, but I need those additional springs before I try to haul it anywhere.

Some baguettes from the other day, the woman said they're the best bread I've made yet.

Dad's giftmas present to us was getting two vehicles detailed. The Kia got the treatment and the truck. Poor van. The truck looks OK, lotta scratches and getting some rust in the rear panels around the wheel arches. Sigh.

I made up a batch of the starter for the baguettes and left it in the fridge for a week, then made some loves. The woman says that this is the best bread I've made of any type. It's amazingly good, especially when you consider I'm using cheap Food Lion flour. This might be worth getting some better flour for.

I made a packet of that boxed pho I found at the store, and... well it's not going to fool anyone that it's "real" but they did include a little package of dried herbs and a packet of hot oil. With some mung bean sprouts and a little shaved beef.... it could be.... well the worst restaurant pho ever but better than the none I've had in the last few years.

Springs showed up today, got them installed with only minor drama. The online version of the instructions say to use the upper hole in the back bracket and the lower in the front. I did them lower on both but there was some contact with the frame rail and the trailer hitch plate so I moved them to the upper hole and now it's all good. The ride seems mostly the same from a comfort standpoint but there is a lot less body roll now. Some of the reviewers said that now when they have a lot of stuff on the roof rack that it would sway a lot before the springs. I can believe that. Now I need to pick a spot to take the minibike as a test.

Woman went to Scott's to get shavings, and tried to trade ammo for these donkeys. No!

Weather really turned toward the good yesterday, it was almost 60F and it's supposed to be warmer today. Got out for a run, played Frisbee with the woman, rode the minibike around, just generally tried to enjoy the weather. Lifted my spirits a lot, been pretty crabby lately.

Not sure if I documented this or not, but I did get into Central Carolina Community College. OK so why? Well, for my 'next thing' after I 'retire' I'm looking at a CNC machining certificate/degree/whatever and CCCC offers one. I've got my OSU transcript on order, and need to talk to an adviser (via zoom) at some point to see what moves over.

In theory this is why the truck HVAC blower won't turn off. A known problem on GM vehicles. The replacement is on order from Amazon, at about 80 0.000000e+00ss than the dealer price. No shock there.

Some better bagel dogs today, I'm getting the rolling technique down.