Zero Knievel

Well, insurance won't pay for an in-lab study since I did a home study and insurance doesn't see the need for the lab study. Just as well. Been trying to sleep with a CPAP mask for over a month. Can't go more than an hour before I need to remove it to go to sleep. More so, it appears that around 50% of people who are prescribed a CPAP don't really need it, and their apnea can be treated/resolved by less cumbersome methods.

Short, short summary… How starvation helps cleanse your body of nasty things.

You certainly want to ensure anything that came lose doesn’t get caught up elsewhere.

Yes. All that actually happened.

Piston connection to the crankshaft. The guy either didn’t torque one down properly or didn’t use a threadlocker.

I’m not a fan of motor flush products, BUT would something like that help “de-gunk” any oil passages? As a side note, my first motorcycle had that issue. It resulted in a nut coming loose from one of the pistons. I never did a tear down because my dad told me not to fuck with it. When it failed, the nut broke the primary chain and it fell into the oil pan. Could have seized the gearbox. To be fair, I bought the bike from someone who rebuilt the engine, so likely not the case here, but it started with a noise like what you describe. If high octane fuel and flushing the motor doesn’t make the sound stop, I’d do a tear down just because it’s not worth risking total failure. If it’s a blocked oil passage, it will lead to issues in the future.

I thought this was odd…but at least it prevents one from accidentally blocking someone by tapping the wrong part of the screen.

You just described my last boss. He got a big, red Silverado, and when the chromed parts started showing up at the office, I dubbed his new truck the “redneck Cadillac.” 😆

That looks almost exactly like what I’m using. It’s possible I just can’t get used to sleeping with a mask. It’s not just the mask, but the hose, I curl up and toss and turn as I get sore from staying in one position too long. Once I’m aware of the hose, I wake up enough to keep from pulling on it, which only disrupts my getting sleep. I have no chronic health issues attributable to apnea, so I would be worse off if the solutions negatively impacts my sleep rather than improve it. That’s why I’m using my mom’s machine. I’d like to see if I can acclimate to it before the sleep study. I’ve already decided to do the study fully medicated so any apnea events won’t be the cause of allergies or congestion…which might have been what the home study picked up on.

Been using my mom’s CPAP. Nasal mask doesn’t work because eventually my mouth relaxes and opens. Regular mask is only tolerable for an hour or so. Then I have to take it off so I can sleep. The most it’s done for me in blow in moist air which has helped with my sinuses drying out before I wake up in the morning. I have no intention of buying a new CPAP if I can’t find a mask that lets me sleep through the night. I sleep on the side and turn frequently…hoses are a problem because I don’t want to yank the unit off the nightstand.

Fair enough. Diet gets the blame, but look at what Americans are back in the 40s and 50s. Nowhere near the health issues we now have…attributed to how few had cars and most had to walk or bike in their daily activities.

With what I now see, it appears my repair held very well but I didn’t get the crack to bond because there was no space for the glue to get in between the pieces.

I wanted a tight fit, but the acrylic would not slide more than about an inch. I preferred lube to get it in rather than widen the hole any more. If it dried with a death grip, that would be perfectly fine with me.

I fixed this before with plastic weld and a strip of fiberglass (on the inside). I noticed the crack returning this year and added a strip of electrical tape to ensure it doesn’t get worse. Taking the photos now, while the crack seems to remain separated, the fender does not flex too much…indicating that the fiberglass/plastic weld on the back is holding strong. If my past research is right, I might have to drill a hole where the crack terminates then carve out enough plastic to widen the crack so plastic weld can get in and bind the two edges together…then sand and paint.

Okay. I had that coming. 😂 I have a spare because insurance replaced the one I originally had, so I have the original part and the replacement one.

There is a crack in my front fender. My last attempt to fix it didn’t hold, and the crack came back. I have a spare fender which I can swap out…leaving me plenty of time to fix the cracked one. I was debating sending it off to someone who repairs and paints motorcycle plastics, but I wonder if it’s that hard to DIY with the right tools. Any recommendations for resources (web pages or videos) that show how to do it in detail, step-by-step, and with what tools to get it done?

Finally done. Had to keep boring out the one hole until the insert fit…then a bit more as inserting the rod made it swell out and not let the rod in. Only did the one side as I saw no way to pop the rod loose from the other side without risking damage, and no tool I had would work with the minimal space between the rod and the hole. Shot some silicone lube to get the rod in, and even then it took effort. Unless it comes loose during normal use, I won’t cement it in place.

The parts arrived, but I haven’t had time to install them.

Security guard at work is getting one. He’s been told if he doesn’t use it a given percentage of time, insurance won’t keep paying for it. I told him to verify that claim because normally, after x months of rental (10 for me), the unit is fully paid for and yours. There is no way he should be renting the unit indefinitely unless they are paying less per month than what my insurance was going to be charged. Of course his insurance will not pay for an in lab study. FYI, my lab study is in mid February. So no updates until then. FWIW, the nurse was surprised the tech at the DME place didn’t make more of an effort to help me be comfortable with taking home the CPAP he had for me, but she agreed with me that if I couldn’t breathe with it, something was not right and I shouldn’t just take it home and “figure it out” alone. It could have been as simple as my sitting upright compared to lying down. Some places just want you to sign on the dotted line and take the kit home so they can start billing insurance. I wonder if I should seek equipment from a different DME supplier…maybe the tech I got just didn’t have any fucks to give.

Slip over rod. May have to widen hole. Should lock rod in place. If I can get the rod out completely, I can make it symmetrical.

Just got the email saying it’s shipped. Surprised it took this long to ship.

Our last dogs loved carrots. Current ones...not so much.

Nice find.

Likely so….I’m sure either mom or dad tried to get up or keep from falling by grabbing the rod several years back. Now she uses a shower mat for traction.

Everything after this is redundant.