Computers

Due to an unfortunate calamity my accounting program ceased to function in the middle of May. It just decided to refuse to take any more invoices. Every thing worked but I could not print an invoice. The program was 6 years old and no longer supported by the company that sells it. They have a 3 year obsolesce policy. In other words, upgrade every year to 2 years and at worst 3 years or you have no support. I have a good backup program in place and did not want to upgrade because the later version destroyed one of my parts programs. I considered the parts program more important than the accounting program because if I can't sell it I don't need to keep up with the money. I have found a platform that will support the accounting program and let the parts program run at the same time so I am trying to get all of the programs on 1 computer for each of us. The computer I am typing on now has a 80 GB harddrive and I have added a 2 terabyte hardrive to put all of the parts books on. Although, I could have put everything on a 500 GB hard drive. I already had the 2 TB drive so I used it.
  My first computer that I bought in 1988 has a 20 megabyte hard drive in it for storage and it was huge!! Today, there are probably no programs that will fit on a 20MB harddrive. The parts book I just loaded on this computer was 6.72 GB. 1 GB is equal to 1000MB and 1000 GB is equal to 1 Terabyte (TB) So this 2 TB drive will hold 100,000 times more data than the computer I started with in 1988.
It would be nice if I made that much more money than I was making in 1988.

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,More data More money?

End of the Month

 I came out of the house at 7:30 AM and it was already 78 degrees. The news is calling for 107 degrees today. Definitely, another hot day! I am setting in the AC doing all of  the things I have to do at the end of the month. Adding,subtracting, totaling and sending out statements. It normally does not take to long but I also have to setup a computer for Linda and change some of the rooutines in the other computers. At least , It is cool in here!

Stay cool today!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts,Cooling it and still working!!

Tractor Pulling Pelion SC 6-9-2012

I went tractor pulling on Saturday 6-2-2012. It was the first pull of the year at Pelion. I signed up for the 7000, 7500 and 8500 pound classes and got 2 firsts and 1 3rd place. So I think it was a pretty good day!
After I had pulled my 3 classes I went to the concession stand and got a cheese burger. Normally I only get a plain cheese burger because I had all kinds of different hamburgers & cheese burgers at tractor pulls.  I was pleasantly suprised to get a burger that was cooked just right in a bun that was toasted just right. I sat around talking to Tony and decided to go back and get another cheese burger and this time I thought what the heck, I ordered it all the way!  This burger was the best burger I have ever had at a tractor pull!!!!!!! $3.25 for a cheese burger all the way. I had burger that cost more that were really bad compared to this . So next time there is a tractor pull in Pelion don't just come to watch the pull, come to get the best tractor pull burger on the East Coast!!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, When your at the pull there are not many places to eat!!!!!

JW

I have known you longer than I have been in business. I've bought tractors from you. I've sold you parts. I've asked your advice on how to fix a tractor. I've shared my meager advice on how to fix a tractor. I have always considered you to be a friend first and second a customer. You were one of the first customers I had when I went to work for myself. We became friends . I remember you and Gene coming down here and walking over my yard and buying a governor off of a 8N Ford tractor. It was the first part you bought from me here at Southeast Tractor Parts. I have a picture of you and Crosby. You were setting on a seat in front of the counter and Crosby is setting there beside you and I know that Crosby is setting next to you now. I can picture you , Gene and Crosby setting under an oak tree in the shade surrounded by 8N's, 9N's and MF 35's and 135's. Each of them running perfectly. Cause the Lord will not temp you to loose your religion over a tractor that is difficult to repair. JW, knowing you and being your friend has been a pleasure. Rest In Peace!  09-30-24 to 04-29-12


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, remembering a friend!

Long lasting!!

Today, I had a customer in ordering parts for his well drilling rig. He need the arms and retainers in the over-center clutch that runs the mud pump. His grandfather started the well drilling business in 1911. He took it over from his father and the business is 101 years old and has been in operation continually since 1911. He said they several months of well drilling to do putting in center pivot irrigation units. He had also inherited his great uncle's cotton gin and is still running it today. As best that he can determine the cotton gin started in operation in 1900 and has been operating ever year for 112 years. I thought it was interesting that one man owned 2 business's that are over 100 years old.


Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, 17 years old and counting!!!

After hours work!

I am setting here waiting for the fiberglass on a fuel tank to set up and cure. I started this last Thursday night and I got a bad kit and the fiberglass set and started to jell in about 30 seconds. I have done a couple of hundred fuel tanks in 30 years and this was the first bad kit I have had.
Tonight, I had to remove the little bit of fiberglass I put on Thursday night before I could start tonight. Some of it came right off with acetone and some had to be chipped off to get back to a good surface. It should be ready in about a hour. I have just got the fiberglass off me and the tools cleaned up.
This was a gas tank for a JD 4020. They will hold water in the bottom of the tank and rust out around the drain plug. It should be ready for another 45 years.

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Fixing them one at a time!!!!!

The Rest Of The Story!! Berts Revenge

On the last day of the National Farm Machinery show at 6.00PM it is time to tear the booth down and load up to come home. Several years ago we decided to go and eat and let some of the other booths tear down and get out of the way so we could drive in and tear our boot down in and load it on the truck instead of carrying it out to the truck. We would have to carry about 1000 pounds of parts about 300 feet. It would take about 150 trips to get everything to the truck.
I had called Linda to get a current weather report and it was bad, a winter weather advisory down the I-75 corridor which is the way we come home. We elected to leave on Saturday night instead of Saturday morning. This put us ahead of the storm and all we saw was rain which made for easy traveling. The next day there were 10-15 wrecks about the Tennessee line where it had snowed and even created a whiteout on I-75 and the highway department closed the road because of condition and wrecks. We would have been in the middle of it !!
I drove the first 2 hours and CB drove the next 2 hours and we stopped in Canton NC at the Waffle House and got coffee and I got "Bert's Best Bowl of Chili". This was about 3:45 AM. It tasted ok but might have been a little off. We left there and got home about 7:30 AM. I went in and set down in the recliner and promptly went to sleep. I woke up about 1:00 PM and made me a peanut butter sandwich and really did not feel good. I spent from 2:00 PM until about 7:00PM in the bathroom and I must have thrown up everything I ate the previous week. I have not been that sick in a lot of years. I think they should rename the chili to "Bert's Revenge" cause it sure took revenge on me!!!!!

Moral of the story. Don't have chili at 3:45 AM and have to drive home!

Eric Benton, Southeast Tractor Parts, Should have left the Chili alone!!!