Darrell

I'm enthusiastic about AI. Now, I don't believe one should depend upon it but it is a good way to get started on research. I imagine there were plenty of people who pooh-poohed the internet when it began, thinking that the good old library card category was the right tool for research. I still love the library, but..... AI is going to get better and it's going to help us tremendously. I think that medical diagnostics is going to be among the most important uses of AI, and I'm conviced that there will be new fields that open up that I can't imagine today

Try ammo from a few different manufacturers.

I think if it were mine I'd try several different types of ammunition first. Have you done that?

I bought my Branson (Korean origin, actually Kutje) tractor about 18 years ago, along with a backhoe attachment. The thing has been almost trouble free since I bought it. The one exception has been a head gasket that failed for an undetermined reason last summer, but repair was easy enough. My tractor is 42 hp, which seems just about right for me. It's big enough to dig up fairly large stumps, and the FEL is rated to lift a ton. And it's small enough for me to drive between trees in woods. I'd wanted a tractor for years before I finally bought one, and honestly, I waited far too long. I don't use mine for any kind of commercial work, but it seems like I used it for chores at least a couple times a week. It comes in handy for all kinds of things that you might not associate with a tractor, too. Last year I bought a used four-point automobile hoist, and I used the tractor to move heavy steel parts around, making installation FAR easier than it would otherwise have been. I bought a 6" chipper for it, and that really helps with keeping my property up. Apart from the loader and backhoe, you'll almost certainly want a box-blade, too. My advice would be to find a tractor you like and buy it. If you find it's not being used as much as you thought, you'll be able to sell it pretty easily and recover most or all of your money. (Assuming you buy used.) I've been looking around for a tracked skidsteer, and I suspect I'll find that I really needed it long ago, just like the tractor.

I just took down 20 or 30 fairly large trees, the largest around 20 inches at the base. Only a few were close to my garage, and on those I put a rope up in them and used a rope puller to put some torque on them. Everyone went where I wanted it to go, even those without the rope. But if I had one near the house I'd probably hire a pro. I'm planning to rent a stump grinder on Wednesday. $300 a day, including tax, and $40 a tooth if I damage one. I reckon Wednesday will be a tiring day for me. Good luck with your trees. I know that's a stress-inducer!

She's beautiful! Can she do any tricks yet?

Do you need to carry stuff with you? Will you need to secure your helmet and jacket on the bike? I have a few bikes, each with a little different target, but if I wanted to have just one for commuting I'd probably stick with my BMW F-700GS. At 800 cc it's got plenty of oomph for freeway riding, and as a two-cylinder FI bike it gets great fuel economy, better than 50mpg the way I ride. (I wring its neck most of the time.) Mine has saddlebags that will handle a helmet and riding gear. One benefit to my mind is that the bike will handle dirt and gravel roads really well. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find one under $3K unless it has a lot of miles on it, though. A Kawasaki KLR-650 might be easier to find in that price range, but it's a single-cylinder bike. I've owned three and was happy with them, even at highway speeds, though I wouldn't take a cross-country freeway trip on one unless I had to. I just went on Facebook Marketplace, looked at motorcycles for sale, and set a max price of $3K. There are quite a few bikes listed there, some of which look like a pretty good deal. Bear in mind that for that money you'll find older bikes, or bikes with a lot of miles on them. Good luck!

I give up, are they?

I've visited a few times, and it never fails to move me deeply. Since I'm an old Jarhead, I always make a point to visit the Marine Corps Memorial as well. I found some names of people I knew on "The Wall", too. Powerful stuff. I wish the people who start wars would understand what all those memorials stand for.

I would be unhappy to learn that someone had carried inside my home without telling me first. I'm a strong proponent of our right to carry arms, and to carry concealed. But I do not believe that right extends into another person's home. It's clear from your post that you were okay with it, but I would have not have been.

Yes, this is EXACTLY according to my theory, as I said on March 1. Anyone could have predicted this.

Very interesting to read so many sad stories. I guess I was lucky in that the first couple of times I tried alcohol I got sick and puked my guts out. A couple of times was enough for me. But I, too, have seen friends and family kill themselves or wreck their lives with the stuff. One thing that strikes me is the very positive light that movies and TV shows put on alcohol. One hardly ever sees a movie aimed at adults that doesn't include drinking. And even drunks are dipicted as happy people that are fun to be around.

I think that it might be going a bit too far to allow deadly response to trespass. I see that as opening a really big can of worms.

I have a strong theory, too, but I'm going to wait until the investigation results are made public before I post it here.