combatskatyr

This past spring, a coworker asked if I could adopt four wild newborn ducklings. They had been stranded in a sewer grate. I already have six pet ducks. I accepted. Tried to raise them more like a wildlife rehabilitator. Not as pets. Had success with three of them. The fourth was attacked by a cat. Nevermind.

Anyway, they grew into healthy adults and flew the fence. They used to come back and hang out and then fly away again. Last weekend, only one came back. She seemed lonely. The stupid cat tried to chase her and she flew off. Do lone, wild mallards easily integrate into other flocks? Is she probably destined to be just a loner? My domestic Khaki Campbells never really accepted her. Can she survive, out there, without companionship?

A coworker asked if I could take four baby mallard ducklings. His brother works for the highway department and they were found in a sewer grate. I already have six domestic ducks, mostly khaki campbells. I took the babies.

I have them in our 100 gallon drum with water, lettuce and meal worms. They're getting bigger. When/if I decide to release them, what can I expect? Will they be hard wired to know how to make it in the wild? Will they circle back and want to stay and be pets? That's fine too. I do have one male mallard. He can fly. He always comes home because where else would he want to go?It's going to be heart wrenching to make the leap of faith and release them. Will they be okay? Or, will they fly off and starve to death?

Not the most serious question. I do intend to buy replacements plugs today anyway. 2015 Yamaha Star Bolt. Purchased new. Just crossed 3,000 miles (I have two other motorcycles that I ride more often). Was riding up a hill and it started exhibiting the symptoms of having bad spark plugs. Spitting and hiccuping. Rode back down and went straight to the local gas station to top it off with some fresh 93 octane. Took half a tank. Problem was still there.

This Yamaha does have an old fashioned air cooled motor. I'm used to liquid cooled bikes that go 20,000, or more, miles between spark plug changes. Has this bike taken me back to a time when I used to change plugs every 3,000 miles? Bad old days. My first bike was a 1975 Suzuki GT380.

2005 Suzuki C50. 54,000 miles. Runs fine except for one thing. When ascending a steep hill, and it needs a little more throttle to maintain speed, a Fault Indicator (FI) C28 code appears. The bike continues to run fine and sound fine. Youtube videos would have you think only GSXR owners are the victims of this problem, but it happens to cruisers too. This error code has to do with the secondary throttle butterfly position. Youtube suggests re-soldering the connections to the stepper motor that controls these butterflies. The factory scrimped on the solder. That fix worked for a while, but the problem is back. This is just a throttle butterfly position problem right? It doesn't affect the fuel injector duty cycles right? It doesn't feel like it's running lean and hurting itself. Thinking about ignoring it. Suggestions?

Recently left my 1996 Ford Ranger at the garage. They had it for a few days because they had a difficult time locating the new converter. I found one that would fit on a local auto parts store web site. They said that one was fine for me to buy if I installed it myself, but they had recently been audited specifically for catalytic converter sales. They needed an exact replacement... significantly more money. I do live in New York where bureaucrats are pricks. Were they telling me the truth?

I'm really not sure anyone can answer this one. I appreciate the effort anyway. This subject came up in a talk radio show today. I would like to elaborate on it.

Does anyone remember Mario Cuomo's record as New York's Governor (1982 through 1994)? Can anyone point to a comprehensive source? Wikipedia is woefully inadequate.

As a 50 something life-long upstate New Yorker, I remember him as a lousy Governor. He never saw a tax he didn't like and he chased away 40% of the Fortune 500 companies that headquartered here during his three terms in office. For example, he signed a law for a 10 cent per quart "lubrication tax" on motor oil sold in New York. He wanted to tax businesses across state lines. He even proposed a tax on the trade-in value of your used car. He proposed nebulous "holistic" budgets. He presided over a lost decade in New York while the rest of the country prospered during the same time.

I'm sure my memory is missing most of his new taxes. Unfortunately, he came and went before the Internet took off. Research on him isn't as easy a doing a Google search. Thank you for any help.

Any Suzuki authorities out there? I have an '05 C50 Boulevard. Purchased new. Creeping up on 43K. About 50 miles past its 2,000 mile oil change. It'll get done tomorrow. Oil level is almost over full on the sight window.

Hot day, today, in upstate NY... around 90 degrees. Let it sit idling in the driveway after my ride until the cooling fan turned off. The red Check Engine Light started flickering along with that little oil-can symbol on the speedometer. That light means oil pressure, coolant temperature, or a fuel injection problem, depending on the LCD symbol accompanying it.

Looks like I was getting a genuine "low oil pressure" warning. That's new. Does this model have a history of pressure sensor problems? Is there any Suzuki pressure gauge I can install in place of the idiot light? OR, is it actual mechanical wear and I'm going to be looking into a replacement motorcycle soon?

Back-ground information. Oil changes done pretty much on time, but it gets a chance to use all of its meager 50hp often. Coolant changed for the first time last winter and rocker arm clearances checked 7,500 miles too late (last year). They still didn't need any adjustments. So, good on some maintenance and lacking on some.

We had an Ash tree fall behind our house last night. My wife and I also own a coop with 37 chickens in it. These are young chickens. We hope they will be laying eggs in a month or so.They free range during the day and they seem to have an appetite for anything. I had this bright idea to see if our chickens might like to eat some of the leaves since the branches are all over the yard anyway. They certainly love to eat cut grass. I have read the Oak leaves are bad for chickens. What about Ash leaves?? Any problems?

My '05 Suzuki Boulevard just crossed the 30,000 mile mark. Went to my local dealer to ask if now would be a good time to replace the coolant hoses. He said that, although he would like to make the sale, the hoses are still just fine.

Thought I would come here for a 2nd opinion. Thanks.

Security questions and torture aside... which is more expensive to operate? Guantanamo Bay or Supermax?? Someone told me that Guantanamo Bay is really VERY expensive to run and that Supermax is actually cheaper. However, Supermax is already full and is terribly understaffed. Thank you, Scott

A little back ground first; Yesterday, my young cat got out of the house and got a hold of a dead squirrel. It was on the shoulder of our road. By the looks of it, it had been whacked by a car. But, because of where it was, it hadn't been flattened yet. I'm sure I saw it there two days ago, so it had been sitting, and fermenting, for a whole day before Romeo found it. My question is: If a squirrel has been dead for 24 hours, is there any chance that it may still have any rabies virus alive in it? Romeo is up on his shots. I'm not too worried about him, although, I'll still keep an eye on him. Just want to know how long the rabies virus can survive in a dead critter.. if anybody knows. Thank you, Scott.