My 1999 10323 had never noticably surged after 5 seasons of mowing and I did no special maintenance (I.E. add an external filter) until a couple of years ago. However my 2003 10424 surged madly from the day I bought it (brand-new) in May 2005. Since it was NOT my first Duraforce experience, it drove me nuts. Thought maybe it had something to do with the 10323 being self-propelled (always has a drive-load on it) where the 10424 is a push model just spinning the blade. Don't remember if I ever tried swapping carbs between them to see if I could get the one to start surging and the other to stop ... this would have been a good experiment. Then I found this web site and the long "Duraforce How-To" threads, and saw I was not alone. Jetting the 10424 (1 drill size up on main jet if I remember correctly & Suzuki Pilot Jet) stopped the majority of it's surging and lowered the operating temperature. I soon followed suit on the 10323 just to reduce the operating temperature. Later I re-jetted two 10247's ... a good friend of mine and his next door neighbor. Kind of odd they had identical mowers; I believe one was a 1998 and the other was a 2001. These being the Steel Deck Push Model they noticably surged, but not as bad as my 10424. My neighbor accross the street from me has a 2002 10552 that I've never heard surging. He bought it used in 2005, so I can't say if it had been tweeked by someone prior ... it does however sound like the RPM is higher than it should be. I'll have to grab it from him some day and check the RPM ... if ok, I'll have to see if the jets have been altered at all. Doug

Dips, dips and another dip! Years ago i self-appointed to be the designated chef at family gatherings...both families, and full of real, imagined, self-inflicted, moral, or just plain attention seeking dietary needs. (one year my niece and nephew, 6yrs and 12, announced vegan, lol) For game-side i would make dips with every dipper veg available. I ended up getting the list for different diets and made stuff up. Actually ended up being not much different than what we eat with a few adjustments...for example, a humus without beans.... 4 cups peeled & chopped raw zucchini 2 cups roasted califlower, chopped (optional) 3/4 cups tahini (sesame paste) 1/2 cup fresh lemon or lime juice 1/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves of garlic, peeled 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste) 1 Tbl ground cumin tender center with leaves of celery cilantro with stems, to taste -puree in blender A salsa, a bana coda, a goat cheese pesto dip...i use my harvested roasted toms with veggies from the freezer and add lime, cilantro, and red onion when thawed for salsa. I have even included the recipe under the serving bowls, lol. So tired of all the questions of ingredients,...(after a few days when everyone turns kook.) Cooking keeps me out of the chatter for the most part. I make a ton of each, have serving bowls prepped and ready but have back-up quarts for re-filling if needed. (and good left-overs if one dip is not so popular) I like the chicken strips on skewers idea and maybe shrimp. Prepped ahead and popped in the oven if something warm is needed. With a nice Asian nutty sauce. (roasted pumpkin seeds?) A family favorite is tortilla pizza. Low carb, gluten-free, this and that tortilla options in a health food store. Many options for toppings and can be chosen for each diet individually. I prep all ahead in the morning...onions mushrooms simmered, roasted peppers and veg, a variety of cheeses, different meats...a mandoline is key for a thin edge of potato or sweet potato. The tortilla is thin and gets crispy quickly. Not a dough thick pizza...more about the toppings. Seems to please everyone no mater the diet issues. A prosciutto roll up with cheese and veg on parchment is a no crust option. This one is asparagus, mozz, tom and arugula with pesto under the thin potato edge. -my personal favorite is onion, gorgonzola, prosciutto, artichoke heart with an egg, (broken yolk) cracked on top. : )...with a pesto potato edge. This post was edited by sleevendog on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 1:04

I'll tell you what, I definately have a wheat and cheese monkey on MY back, lol! They both have opiate like substances in them apparently, but I'll bet peaches do too! ;) I was reading long ago about the possibly inflammatory properties of wheat gluten, and I went on a wheat free diet for months and months, (along with many other strategies) trying to lessen my severe menstrual cramps and migranes. Did not do a thing! I do have my problem foods, but thankfully it is not gluten. Salt, red meat, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and tea and refined flour and sugar are the things that bother my system. Like I said, I balance carbs with protein and fats to avoid the blood sugar spikes that go along with eating "unopposed" carbs. A sugar binge can trigger a migrane for me. But a sugar binge also piles on the pounds so I try not to do it for so many reasons. But along the way I picked up the idea of eating a balance of whole grains and not overdoing the carbs. Luckily I actually do not like refined white flour or heavily spiced and salted products and really sugary stuff, so I have no trouble staying away from it. Really good bread and cheese is harder for me to moderate myself on. One thing that is troubling to me is the COST of some of these wheat alternatives. I wanted to get some brown rice spinach linguine at the health food store, but it was $3.50 for 12 ounces and the whole wheat Barilla was $1.30 for the same amount. I'm unemployed right now and can no longer afford these types of products. I stick to oatmeal, cornmeal and brown rice for my carb alternatives. Occasionally some quinoa or barley. Pasture raised chicken by me is $3.50 per lb. and the regular old store bought stuff ins $2.00 and below. Needless to say we can't afford that either! And fish is a rare luxury.

Sisto, you need to work with your doctor to set your own goals. Everyone is different. What is ok for one person might not be for another. That said, and just for the sake of conversation, as a pre-diabetic on no medication, here are the goals which my doctor set for me. Waking up (fasting level) 85-110 mg/dl Before meals (4 hours) 90-120 mg/dl 2 hours after meals less than 130 mg/dl My problem is hunger and pickiness as to foods I like. I eat quite a bit of peanut butter (6 carbs per 2T--watch out some has added sugar) and nuts which are high in fat and have carbs too, but I don't have a weight problem. Wheat Thins/Nabisco makes a flatbread which is 12 carbs for 2 crackers which I can melt some cheese on, making a good snack. Half and apple, glass of milk makes a good snack. Eating out, make a good choice, and if it's not a good choice, only eat half, take the other half home for another meal. Besides carb count, quantity eaten is important too. When half a croissant might be ok, a whole one might be over the edge. Sandwich, just eat half. I make soup and stew and use a small amount of barley for the carb part of the recipe. I don't miss pasta, potatoes, rice, and I do eat 1-2 pieces bread daily. I miss the quantity of fruit I used to eat. I miss the big 8 oz. glass of milk at dinner, which I can have but then something else has to go. I fail when the family goes out for frozen yogurt, because I have some too. I failed the other evening when the family ordered delivered pizza, but most of the time I do pretty good. We'll find out for sure when I have the next a1c test. Sorry to ramble on, but it feels good to share with people who are "in the same boat."