That was not so joyful.

We expected the 5 year old to break things, not the 45 year old. But it's ok.

Any suggestions on how to free up an overwound ratchet strap?

Der lazywebz only produces results that either say "it's corroded" (it isn't) or "pull really hard" (I tried).

I was thinking about using the truck to pull on it, but that sounds like it could be dangerous.

Do you have too much strap on the spool? A screwdriver against the pawl should do it, but the ratchet needs to be near flat.

I tried the screwdriver thing but it didn't work. I was going to try cutting the strap but I decided it would be better to just drive the truck off a cliff so I wouldn't need ratchet straps anymore.

But before I got to do my Toonces routine, I discovered that this particular ratchet allows for turning the bolt with a wrench while the ratchet is disengaged.
With sufficient leverage that loosened it.

Also, I now know how to use ratchet straps, which has been very helpful in preventing mine from getting jammed again.

A ratchet strap, a piece of rebar, a 10' piece of wood, and my garden tractor were very helpful in re-leveling the ground where I set up my pool every year.
There's normally a small lean on one side, and that's no longer acceptable because I scored a deal on a permanent hard-sided pool. Once it's up, it's up for good, and it's got to be completely level. At the end of last season I decided to leave my Intex up for the winter because the connectors had rusted too much to take it apart and put it back together without breaking. By the time I made that decision, though, I had already emptied it. Late in the winter, a strong wind blew it apart. I think if I had left some water in it, we'd have gotten at least one more season.

For this season, I'm going to hack together some fittings to use my Intex filter pump and SWCG on the permanent above-ground pool. Once it's up, though, it'll provide me with several seasons worth of fun improvement projects. Hard plumbing to an equipment pad in another location. A nice little deck around the pool. Pool and landscape lighting.
Redneck pool heater. It's going to be fun.

Oooh, I forgot to do a post about the finished pool. It was a fun project.

This weekend our vacuum cleaner started giving off a magic-smoke smell, so it's probably close to the end of its life. I'm actually giving a bit of consideration to buying a central vac. Has anyone played around with those?
Apparently the hoses are ridiculously long so I'd only need one or two inlets on each floor, and they're plumbed in with what looks like ordinary PVC pipe.
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Central vacuum is cool, but I don't think they work as well on rugs.... But for hardwood floors, they're great.

Depends on the machine, I think. The good ones have power heads just like a conventional sweeper. We have solid floors in every room except for two downstairs with a low pile rug. I think I'd definitely get the kind that has a motorized power head instead of relying on suction alone to do the sweeping.

Yeah, they have power.... Still meh. I do like the sweep inlet though. That's cool.

The sweep inlet is an awesome idea. If I install a system I'll probably put one of those in my kitchen. I saw one being installed in a video and the person said "Everyone likes sweeping, but no one likes picking up the dust."
Never thought of it that way, but sweeping is kind of therapeutic in an instant gratification sort of way.