leaf

Well, filled this Patrol up:



A bit of wood collecting today.

Cheers

Ray

Who cares! It tasted devine.

Cheers

Ray

I've never had pork belly in my life, but today when we went shopping there was pork belly on special at about $8, so I bought a packet expecting to get some cracking and not much more. Boy, was I surprised. I made a spicy rub for the underside of the pork belly using garlic, chilli, ginger, black pepper, salt and agave syrup; and oil and obscene quantities of sea salt for the rind side and then baked the lot in our turbo cooker. OMG! I don't think I can ever buy a pork roast again, as I have never had a pork roast that comes even close to this.

Cheers

Ray

I use this
http://www.avg.com/au-en/do-not-track

It sits in tool bar and when on this site it auto blocks facebook and google trackers, on some sites it blocks 5-7 trackers.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/us-mum-spends-15k-on-injections-to-get-bootylicious-backside/story-fn9076o9-1226395624468

I have died and the afterlife is another planet.

Cheers

Ray

I wish the price of a 45kg gas bottle was $90 delivered, here it's $127. The wood fire is working brilliantly, keeping the entire house at a nice temperature; a bit warmer in the lounge, but the heat is permeating nicely into the other rooms as well. Drawing the curtains makes an enormous difference to heat retention, as one would expect. The only annoying thing with today's wood heaters is that because of some EPA regulations you can't, by default, close down the flue so that at night the wood goes into a very slow burn. Kind of stupid really, when the solution to that is all too easy. I closed the flue to its lowest setting last night and the fire was completey out by the morning. Part of this was probably due to the type of wood (gum, but not red gum), but also because too much air was moving through the heater box. Remedies are required.

Another thing I found out when I went looking for fireplaces is that many manufacturers are now offering cast iron plates in lieu of fire bricks, as they apparently retain heat better and thus provide better performance. I'm not sure about that, but if it turns out to be true, rather than getting those 'specially' made cast iron plates, which I didn't even ask how much they cost, I might get some proper 20mm mild steel plate, cut to size, and use that instead of the firebricks. The cast iron plates were only about a third the thickness of the firebricks, so a big lump of steel should work a lot better.

Anyway, things are nice and warm, even if the chimney is smoking like a 4.2.

Cheers

Ray

I always like to keep things looking a bit subtle where posible, so after getting my much maligned Aldi winch, I wanted to do something a bit different with the installation. Specifically, I didn't want it to stand out, so this is what I ended up doing.

The winch install is standard, but unlike many who modify the number plate mount so that it sits higher than the winch opening, I modified the number plate mount so that it covers the winch entirely:



I simply removed the part that usually holds the number plate, part of the angle, and install two hinges on to the number plate and what was left of the existing bracket:





The snatch strap is what holds the number plate down when not in use and is easy to undo when needed.



The additional benefits of this modification are that the number plate no longer bends up when crossing rivers and it also keeps the fairlead, cable etc very clean, even when going through bog holes.

Cheers

Ray

A lot of articles don't recommend joining snatch straps together, but I suspect that the main reason for that is because if not done correctly, it could become a severe safety hazard. That said, this is how I've been joining snatch straps for as long as I can rememeber and have never had an issue. Yes, I've broken straps, but the join has never failed (other than one time when a piece of wood wasn't as sturdy as thought, but no damage resulted).

Compared to the method shown in the previous photograph, this joining method is quick and easy (one strap can already be connected to the vehicle to be towed), is as strong as any other method and will never bind:











There is another way to also do this by bringing the first loop back on itself and pulling part of the strap through its own loop, but this is the easiest, especially if you have a fairly stiff strap.

One thing that I forgot to mention is how to use a shackle correctly. Whenever attaching a snatch strap (or winch cable for that matter) to a shackle (a properly rated one), you should finger tighten the shackle pin until it locks and then back off a quarter turn. If you fail to do this, have a spanner handy, as you will not be able to undo the shackle pin by hand.

Also, a knot that everyone should know how to tie is the bowline. A bowline is basically a loop that is easy to tie, will never bind and will retain approx 95% of the strength of the original material. It's useful for any sized rope, or string for that matter, and if you should break a snatch strap (which more often than not occurs near the stitching), you can use a bow line to create a temporary loop. This is a link to perhaps the most visual demonstration I've seen on how to tie a bowline:

http://www.animatedk...imatedknots.com

Here's a static image of the four parts to tying a bowline. I always find it easier to tie a bowline by having the loop uppermost in your hand:



Cheers

Ray

And some will be parted:



http://smh.drive.com...0523-1z3u0.html

Why would you even bother?

Cheers

Ray

If there's one company that I detest more than any other, by a long shot, it's Google. There has never been such an intrusive/invasive organisation in existence - ever. An example is what happened just now when I updated Flash (a crap program if ever there was one) and in the process Google Toolbar was installed without an option to not install. In fact it installed before Flash did. So once the install was finished, I immediately uninstalled the Toolbar, but to uninstall you have to go to the Google site and answer a series of questions, to which I simply answered 'fuck off' and only after submitting the response, did the unistall complete.

I'm not sure what the legalities are regarding these unsolicited installs, but the ethics is severely lacking. That's one reason I will not have a Google account, as once you do, it's worse than Facebook with the information it collects and stores. At least with Facebook, you are more or less in control of what information you input. Rant over!

Cheers

Ray

Nah, there's all sorts of hidden talent here and I was interested in what things others have put their skills/interests towards. One can always learn something from the unusual, even if it has no immediate bearing on 4WDs and the like.

Cheers

Ray

I used to use a RAM mount on a previous small notebook, attached to the windscreen via the RAM mount suction cup system, but it's simply not very good because the laptop sits too high and obscures visibility. I wanted something a lot better and which would sit low so that visibility was not obscured, yet gave good visibility to the screen. As it turned out, I found the near perfect solution. OK, this is partly DIY, because the main component has been purchased pre-made, but their is some modification required to suit the dash of the Patrol, which I have yet to fully design and make for the moment, to warrant a DIY moniker.

What I bought was a Kropsson HR-P850FTP tablet holder. It was a bit of a risk not knowing exactly how durable it would be, but for versatility over anything else I've seen, it couldn't be beaten. Anyway, when it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at how well constructed it turned out to be. Some parts appear as if they would not be strong enough, but I think overall it will easily stand up to holding just about any tablet and my tablet, being a Windows 7 platform, is heavier than most.

As I said, I haven't fully fitted it yet and that's because the dash of the Patrol is curved and won't accept the flat suction cup assembly, so I'm going to have to build a platform on the dash so that it has a strong, flat, surface to adhere to. Here are a few shots of the holder placed on the dash to give an idea of how it sits and will work. As you can see, it sits perfectly on the top of the dash and allows you to lower the tablet so that it will rest on the pen tray (I intend to place some foam in the pen tray to provide an absorbent buffer).













While the assembly that holds the tablet doesn't look substantial enough, I've had the holder face down and given it a solid shaking and the tablet has not budged, so I don't have any concerns regarding it coming adrift while off-road. When all the components are locked in, the unit becomes pretty sturdy overall. Visibility over the dash is unhindered and visibility of the screen is perfect.

Once I work out the ideal solution for the suction cup mount, I'll provide an update on how it all comes together and works in real life. My idea is to get a sheet of stainless steel and build a platform from the front of the dash to the bottom of the windscreen, so that it's removeable, but solid when attached.

Cheers

Ray

When I have a look at the old forum, I feel like a stranger for some reason and I can't find it in me to post, even when some of my old threads are resurrected. It's kind of weird.

Cheers

Ray

What browser are you using?

If it's IE, go to Tools/Internet Options/Privacy/Sites and type in the web site address. If the forum is open, you should be able to start typing mypatrol and it will appear in the dialogue box. Click Allow and it will be added to the Managed websites lists and won't disappear.

If it's Firefox, go to Tools/Options/Privacy/Exceptions and do the same as for IE and click Allow.

I might add that for security sake, everyone should do the following:

For IE - go toTools/Internet Options/Privacy/Advanced and select Override automatic cookie handling, check Block in both First and Third-party Cookies, and check Always allow session cookies.

For Firefox - go to Tools/Options/Privacy, select Always use private browsing mode and deselect Accept third-party cookies (check accept cookies from sites).

Only allow permanent cookies from sites that you trust.

Cheers

Ray

I can understand the desire to extract some form of profit from the efforts put in to establish and maintain this forum, but one important feature that will make or break the forum are its contributors. Rome wasn't built in a day and it's still early days and the forum needs to establish its credentials and like any business; it doesn't get that in a day or even in a year. So it may be prudent to consider a break even situation for a period of time, to build that cred and potentially get formal advertisers/supporters to the forum.

Consider that the Patrol4x4 forum started off as a business venture, fizzled out somewhere along the line and was then maintained on a shoestring budget by a few dedicated moderators for quite a number of years. Domain name registration cost is a relative pittance, forum software is free/inexpensive, hosting costs aren't a huge impost, but will grow with increased bandwidth and personal input is a cost only the individual can attribute. I think taking what would be a relatively small monetary risk in the early days may well pay dividents in the long term.

Cheers

Ray

A little know fact is that you could get an infraction if some number of people complained about one of your posts. I once pointed out to a member how he was proposing to do something incredibly dangerous and got abused in return by the OP and told to piss off, and then others complained about me and I received an infraction. People may not always like my opinions, but when it's not politically related, I'm generally stating cold, hard, facts. The way that issue was handled right royally pissed me off.

Cheers

Ray

Accurate weather forecasting is so important, as pointed out, but what gets me is that despite the tax dollars spent on the BOM, and now they want advertising dollars, they can still barely get a forecast right one day in advance; yet they seem to agree that it's possible to forecast the climate 100 years in advance! So the new computers will deliver 12x the power of the previous models. What? Were the previous model's accuracy only 0.001% of reality? And I'm not sure why you need 10 (extra?) flood forecasters. If you're going to have heavy rains, you're likely to have floods. Can't the existing meteorologists figure that out?

Cheers

Ray

Maybe there needs to be a tips, tricks and techniques section, such as the Snatch Recovery Technique thread, so that they don't get lost in the run of the mill sections.

Cheers

Ray

Responding to another post, I was reminded of the ever present danger of accummulating pin stripes while in the bush. I've found two things that help significantly in reducing, but not eliminating, pin stripes.

The first thing is to ensure that you car has a very good coating of polish/wax, the best that you can afford, and keep it up to scratch (pun intended) by regular re-coats. The stuff that I use is Mothers, which comes in a three part application kit that cleans, prepares and coats the paintwork with a good layer of protection, and then only requires periodic updates with the waxing. Mothers also has a great product called Scratch Remover, which is one of the best products that I've ever used. It will clear away all of those brown and black marks left by branches on the paintwork, without removing huge swathes of paint in the process. After particularly aweful bush trips, the scratch remover is worth its weight in gold.

The second thing is, when encountering dense bush, do not to drive fast. Go as slow as you can, so that the branches, bushes, etc have a chance of sliding as smoothly as possible over the bodywork, don't get caught in mirrors etc and slap the paintwork. On our last trip we went through scrub where at times we couldn't even see the sky, yet when I got back home and washed, scratch removed and polished the Patrol, the paintwork looks amazing. You can't avoid scratches, especially from dried blackberries and branches, but you can mimimise the effects considerably by slowing right down. I've done this when I had my GQ, which had a simply aweful quality paint job, and driven through what has effectively been low scrub akin to a scouring pad and come out to live another day. Anyone who has ever been down Corn Hill Tk from the back of Mt Buller to the Striling Rd (track now closed) will know what I mean.

White paint of course helps immensely with keeping the outside looking good, but I have owned two silver Patrols and managed to keep them looking quite good by following the same principles. It's even more important nowadays to frequently wax your paintwork, as the paints used are water based and no where near as hard as the old solvent based automotive paints.

I bought this kit from Aldi, to which I added a snatch block I already had. Everything fits into that bag and it still has room for perhaps a tree trunk protector.



Cheers

Ray

I think most of the knowledge base is much the same here as over there, so I doubt you'll be lacking any information that you might need. Sometimes a fresh start isn't a bad thing (funny that, coming from a conservative arsehole).

Cheers

Ray

No, this is not politics, it's just about another whinger like Gerry Harvey.

Cheers

Ray