I trust all had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving. I know we sure did. We started this morning with a whirlwind of the final cleaning of the house and then ourselves. I made coleslaw, baked beans and a tasty deep fried turkey. Cherry Pie made 3 of her fantastic pecan pies and also mashed potatoes. Other family and guests provided various veggies and such. All ate until we were comfortably bloated. I did get one request for the recipe for my coleslaw. Cherry and our beautiful niece/daughter are going shopping this evening and have asked me to go as the strong arm. Uh, OK? Actually a long time ago, when Black Friday was on, ya know, Friday, Cherry and I always went as a team. She's a little slip of a thing so I was responsible for getting her where she wanted to be, making sure she got what she wanted and then getting her out. We worked that way at bike shows too. When things got to rowdy she would put her hands through the back of my belt and I would go dozing our way out, sometimes with fists a flyin'. The stores never required the use of force just determination. but a good time was usually had. Usually. I gave up on the whole BF shopping ordeal when her sister and others started going with her.
Sleep well my friends!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Notes Of The Morning
I've got quite a few errands to run today. With the coolness and the rain I've got several joints that are screaming for attention so I'm already hittin' the vicodin. We'll see how the rest of the day shapes up.
One short comment, Thanks for all the recent comments. I will see if this particular computer can handle the Kodak camera program. We were once computer rich and now suddenly we are computer poor. I spoke to a friend last night that is in the business of computer maintenance and repair and he's agreed to work on the darn things for us.
One short comment, Thanks for all the recent comments. I will see if this particular computer can handle the Kodak camera program. We were once computer rich and now suddenly we are computer poor. I spoke to a friend last night that is in the business of computer maintenance and repair and he's agreed to work on the darn things for us.
Monday, November 21, 2011
One Ringy Ding, Two Ringy Dingy
About 4 weeks ago I went to the local Salvation Army office to get an application to be a bell ringer. I filled out the freakin' 23 page app and had it back to them the next morning. It goes from there to the Northland office and somehow between there and the KC headquarters the application was lost. After I'm told about this 3 weeks later, I go back to the local office for another 23 page application. I am told that 1. their printer is broke and can't print another app and 2. their computers are locked up. So here we are heading to the end of November and I get a call from the local office saying they have an app for me. So...............tonight I will fill out another freakin' 23 page application to ring a damn bell. All this so I can work for maybe 3.5 weeks at 4 hours a day. It takes less paper work to be a gun dealer
A Redo In The Makin's
We went to my Dads house for a dinner to celebrate his 67th bithday. One of my brothers made some tacos with shrimp, chicken and beef. Way good too. We sat around and shot the breeze for a few hours, nothing big. Every body had a good time.
I had mentioned earlier that I was going to something for Dad for his birthday. I can say, or rather, write what it is now. He had acquired a Winchester 30/30 some time ago. It was a nice pre-64 Winchester with the really bright and shiny bluing on the receiver and a real jen- you- wine walnut stock. Some how the gun ended up under a bed, near a window and the window was left open during a rain storm. Uh hu.That's right water and steel don't mix real well. The gun ended up with a rather large patch of rust on the barrel and magazine tube. I checked it out last night when I got home and the rust has already started some pitting. So here's the deal. I'm going to re-blue the barrel, magazine tube and lever. The receiver is still bright and shiny and I don't have the ability to produce that kind of shine or color of blue. I'll also refinish the wood as it is sticky with something or other. Nicotine is most likely the culprit but who knows. I do a really nice job on wood refinishing so I'm gonna do that too.
So after getting it home last night I removed the rust and coated everything in Rem Oil until I can get time to work un-interrupted on it. It'll be lookin' good when I get it done.
I had mentioned earlier that I was going to something for Dad for his birthday. I can say, or rather, write what it is now. He had acquired a Winchester 30/30 some time ago. It was a nice pre-64 Winchester with the really bright and shiny bluing on the receiver and a real jen- you- wine walnut stock. Some how the gun ended up under a bed, near a window and the window was left open during a rain storm. Uh hu.That's right water and steel don't mix real well. The gun ended up with a rather large patch of rust on the barrel and magazine tube. I checked it out last night when I got home and the rust has already started some pitting. So here's the deal. I'm going to re-blue the barrel, magazine tube and lever. The receiver is still bright and shiny and I don't have the ability to produce that kind of shine or color of blue. I'll also refinish the wood as it is sticky with something or other. Nicotine is most likely the culprit but who knows. I do a really nice job on wood refinishing so I'm gonna do that too.
So after getting it home last night I removed the rust and coated everything in Rem Oil until I can get time to work un-interrupted on it. It'll be lookin' good when I get it done.
Friday, November 18, 2011
New Venture Update
OK, for some reason Blogger added blogger to the URL of our website for the Thrive products. It's fixed now. Sorry for the issue and THANKS!
A New Venture
With the job situation as it is, particularly me being out of work for nearly 3 years now, my wife and I have started a new venture.
With the ever rising cost of food and the uncertainty of the political scene around the world, we decided to become distributors of the products offered by Shelf Reliance. This fine organization produces high quality freeze dried and dehydrated food. We looked at our household grocery expenses and found that we were actually throwing away at least 15 percent of what we bought. Uneaten left overs, spoiled food and out of date products all take a toll on our grocery budget. With the freeze dried products we can use only what we need at the moment. And no more worry about shelf life. An unopened can of freeze dried food is good for 25 years or even more. Once opened they have a shelf life of a year. We have our first personal order on it's way now. I will be giving reports on how our life changes after we start using this food every day.
We have been to 3 Shelf Reliance Thrive parties where we got a chance to taste dishes made from their food, such as salsas, chicken quesadilla's and tacos. We also got to try some of the food that has not been rehydrated. The sweet corn is like eating candy. My wife is really sold on the pineapple chunks and strawberries. I like the raspberries and black berries.
I also look at is as excellent preparedness food. Great tasting, high nutritional content and a long shelf life. Please take the time to look at our web page and check out some of the products. I'm sure you will be as impressed with the food as we are.
www.TempyCarder.shelfreliance.com
With the ever rising cost of food and the uncertainty of the political scene around the world, we decided to become distributors of the products offered by Shelf Reliance. This fine organization produces high quality freeze dried and dehydrated food. We looked at our household grocery expenses and found that we were actually throwing away at least 15 percent of what we bought. Uneaten left overs, spoiled food and out of date products all take a toll on our grocery budget. With the freeze dried products we can use only what we need at the moment. And no more worry about shelf life. An unopened can of freeze dried food is good for 25 years or even more. Once opened they have a shelf life of a year. We have our first personal order on it's way now. I will be giving reports on how our life changes after we start using this food every day.
We have been to 3 Shelf Reliance Thrive parties where we got a chance to taste dishes made from their food, such as salsas, chicken quesadilla's and tacos. We also got to try some of the food that has not been rehydrated. The sweet corn is like eating candy. My wife is really sold on the pineapple chunks and strawberries. I like the raspberries and black berries.
I also look at is as excellent preparedness food. Great tasting, high nutritional content and a long shelf life. Please take the time to look at our web page and check out some of the products. I'm sure you will be as impressed with the food as we are.
www.TempyCarder.shelfreliance.com
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Water, The Tractor and The Dad
Today I went and did some shopping for some basics and then off to Healthy Life Choices for a few gallons of Kangen water. If you have not heard of the benefits of Kangen water, ask around. I have seen several locals that had cancer. After changing their diet and drinking Kangen water they defeated their cancer. One lady had stage 3 breast cancer. She did the diet change and started using Kangen water, one year later she is cancer free. Her doctor is amazed. So, at our house all we drink, well mostly as I still like some bourbon now and again, is Kangen water.
I got to try out the new to me lawn tractor today. Yesterday, I installed the mower deck and charged the battery overnight. Today I mowed up all the leaves. I was very impressed with my new tractor. It's a Cub cadet 2185. In a couple days I'll take the mower off and put the snow blade on as most of the leaves have fallen and the grass ain't growin' no more this year.
Dad's birthday is this week and I'm going to do something special for him but, as he is reader I can't let the cat out of the bag.
I got to try out the new to me lawn tractor today. Yesterday, I installed the mower deck and charged the battery overnight. Today I mowed up all the leaves. I was very impressed with my new tractor. It's a Cub cadet 2185. In a couple days I'll take the mower off and put the snow blade on as most of the leaves have fallen and the grass ain't growin' no more this year.
Dad's birthday is this week and I'm going to do something special for him but, as he is reader I can't let the cat out of the bag.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A Cut Above
As we all know, times are getting very difficult for many of us. Prices are up for nearly every thing we need to continue our very survival. I can handle most of these increases but some seem way out of line. Things like the announced Jiff peanut butter increase of 60 percent. Or even the little things like razors.
The razor issue is what has been setting me off lately. I have a Gillette that uses 3 blade cartridges. It does give a nice shave. The problem is when I go to buy new cartridges. 3 or 4 packs are 12-25 dollars. That's right. A large chunk of money for razor refills.
I friend and I were discussing this and I commented that I was going to start using an old style safety razor. He said he had just started and got his razor and blades at Walgreens. So, off I go. Walgreens just had a reset. They no longer carry the safety razors. They have the blades but not the actual razor body. I went to Wally World, no luck but I did meet another guy tht was angry at the cartidge price and he too was looking to go old school in the shaving department. We went to Kansas City to a larger Walgreens, no luck there either. At these large drug store I saw shaving brushes, shaving soaps, stypic pencils, bump stoppers but not a razor to be found. I'm looking, I'm thinking, the wheels are turning, the gears are grinding. We made it home later that evening and off I went to dig through my fairly large collection of knives. AH AH! I found it, an antique straight razor. Wow, and it's still sharp too. I then watched online videos of people using a weapon such as this to shave their face the "manly way". In the end I'm ordering a strop and some strop treatment. If I can get pictures to load on this laptop I'll show the equipment. So, wish my face some luck.
The razor issue is what has been setting me off lately. I have a Gillette that uses 3 blade cartridges. It does give a nice shave. The problem is when I go to buy new cartridges. 3 or 4 packs are 12-25 dollars. That's right. A large chunk of money for razor refills.
I friend and I were discussing this and I commented that I was going to start using an old style safety razor. He said he had just started and got his razor and blades at Walgreens. So, off I go. Walgreens just had a reset. They no longer carry the safety razors. They have the blades but not the actual razor body. I went to Wally World, no luck but I did meet another guy tht was angry at the cartidge price and he too was looking to go old school in the shaving department. We went to Kansas City to a larger Walgreens, no luck there either. At these large drug store I saw shaving brushes, shaving soaps, stypic pencils, bump stoppers but not a razor to be found. I'm looking, I'm thinking, the wheels are turning, the gears are grinding. We made it home later that evening and off I went to dig through my fairly large collection of knives. AH AH! I found it, an antique straight razor. Wow, and it's still sharp too. I then watched online videos of people using a weapon such as this to shave their face the "manly way". In the end I'm ordering a strop and some strop treatment. If I can get pictures to load on this laptop I'll show the equipment. So, wish my face some luck.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Bad Child, baad!
Ok, I've got the sheet rock hung and the chimney re-gooped. We'll see what happens with the next rain.
This morning I signed up for another gun give away. Maybe one day I'll get that magic email. I don't have high hopes for that though. The last time I actually won anything I was in preschool. I used to watch this local kiddy show on TV in the mornings. They had a contest and my good mother signed me up for it. I won! The prize was a giant cardboard tootsie roll filled with little tootsie rolls and other candies as well as .......a battery operated boat. I was happily gorging on candy and playing with my boat in the bathtub when my little rat bastard brother came in and sank the boat. It no workee no more. Mad as hell. That was the last time I won anything. My brother broke that particular thread in my life. Thanks bro. One day maybe I'll forgive him for that. HAHHAHA! We're both well over the age of forty and that has been forgiven for a long time.
We lived in the country at that time, off of Route O in Ray county. My folks got us a dog, a Border Collie. The folks told me they were used to herd sheep so I named him Baba since sheep make that sound. I loved Baba and Baba loved me. I was, shall we say, a very active little boy. I remember doing something that I wasn't supposed to do and mom came outside to whip me for it. As soon as she touched me, that dog o'mine growled, bared his teeth and advanced on mom. Mom retreated to the house and I laid there with that dog just smiling. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. After that mom had to get real creative on how she lured me into the house for any whippin's I had coming. And I had a lot coming. And by a lot I mean a whole bunch of 'em.
This morning I signed up for another gun give away. Maybe one day I'll get that magic email. I don't have high hopes for that though. The last time I actually won anything I was in preschool. I used to watch this local kiddy show on TV in the mornings. They had a contest and my good mother signed me up for it. I won! The prize was a giant cardboard tootsie roll filled with little tootsie rolls and other candies as well as .......a battery operated boat. I was happily gorging on candy and playing with my boat in the bathtub when my little rat bastard brother came in and sank the boat. It no workee no more. Mad as hell. That was the last time I won anything. My brother broke that particular thread in my life. Thanks bro. One day maybe I'll forgive him for that. HAHHAHA! We're both well over the age of forty and that has been forgiven for a long time.
We lived in the country at that time, off of Route O in Ray county. My folks got us a dog, a Border Collie. The folks told me they were used to herd sheep so I named him Baba since sheep make that sound. I loved Baba and Baba loved me. I was, shall we say, a very active little boy. I remember doing something that I wasn't supposed to do and mom came outside to whip me for it. As soon as she touched me, that dog o'mine growled, bared his teeth and advanced on mom. Mom retreated to the house and I laid there with that dog just smiling. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. After that mom had to get real creative on how she lured me into the house for any whippin's I had coming. And I had a lot coming. And by a lot I mean a whole bunch of 'em.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Moose Is On The Loose
Cherries mom passed early this morning. She was up all night with her mother and is sleeping now. Please keep her in your thoughts.
While she was spending time with her family I worked on some cooking and several computer issues. I got the chocolate mousse done and made some raspberry chocolate sauce to put in the bottom of the dish and drizzle over the top. It tastes like a slice of heaven. Light, fluffy and chocolaty. It will definitely be on the Thanksgiving menu.
I did not get the sheet rock hung as planned. It started to actually rain and the damn roof started leaking again. So I placed buckets and containers at all the drips and sat and pondered my situation. This morning I went to to the Super Duper Home Improvement Center and picked up a five gallon can of roof sealer. I hurried home and put about 3 gallons of goop around the chimney before today's rain moves in. So, I sit here with fingers crossed and a ladder waiting. One of these days I'll get around to posting some shit that matters, but 'til then this is what you get.
While she was spending time with her family I worked on some cooking and several computer issues. I got the chocolate mousse done and made some raspberry chocolate sauce to put in the bottom of the dish and drizzle over the top. It tastes like a slice of heaven. Light, fluffy and chocolaty. It will definitely be on the Thanksgiving menu.
I did not get the sheet rock hung as planned. It started to actually rain and the damn roof started leaking again. So I placed buckets and containers at all the drips and sat and pondered my situation. This morning I went to to the Super Duper Home Improvement Center and picked up a five gallon can of roof sealer. I hurried home and put about 3 gallons of goop around the chimney before today's rain moves in. So, I sit here with fingers crossed and a ladder waiting. One of these days I'll get around to posting some shit that matters, but 'til then this is what you get.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Busy Morning
I got up to be greeted by a dreary sky with a promise of rain, one of my favorite kind of days. I called Cherry Pie and found that she diverted to her mothers today instead of going to work. Her mother is in bad shape with cancer and the overnight nurse called her. The nurse says 12-24 hours for her. So that's how her day has been so far. As for me, I have moved the desk top computer off the table we're using for a desk at this time, then moved the laptop to the desk and hooked up the peripherals. The desk top had a fan quit and the mother board over heated. The CPU will only come on for about 15 seconds now. Great. I have years of information stored on that machine. Then I did the daily housekeeping while running a couple of different cleaning style programs on the laptop. Had a meatloaf sandwich for lunch and have started making some chocolate mousse for an epicurean experiment that may become a Thanksgiving dessert. Next I need to hang some sheet rock. Gotta go for now.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout?
So we have 14 freakin' meeellion folks out of work, the last week of October saw another 397,000 new unemployment claims and only 80,000 new jobs were created. Yet the .gov and news outlets say that unemployment dropped from 9.1 percent to 9 percent. Now I'm not a mathmatical wizard but it seems to me these numbers don't add up. By the way that 397K is only the 2nd time in 5 months that the number has been below 400K. Forgive me for being pessimistic but something doesn't smell right....
Thursday, November 3, 2011
What kind Of Interface? Or A Tale of Two Leaks
After Yesterday's cold front passed and the rain moved on we have a cool, clear blue sky morning.
We are living in a house that we bought at foreclosure. It needed a lot of work but I'm pretty handy and the price was CHEAP. The two main concerns with a house that needs a lot of work are the foundation and the roof. Both are big money items that can cause a large dent in the account. With the exception of a small place on the roof both items appeared good. We had several rains last spring and summer and they revealed a roof leak that terminated in the houses entry. Great. We spent quite a while chasing the leak and finally found a roof vent that had a really crappy installation. Last Sunday I pulled some shingles off, tore out the roof vent, replaced some roof decking, installed a new roof vent and re-shingled the area. Good to go. Last night the rains moved in, light sprinkles followed by a drizzle of several hours. The repairs I made proved rain tight, however, the rain revealed other leaks. Now we had several rains earlier in the year and these places showed up but we applied some roofing tar to the roof/chimney interface (how do you like that phrase) and that leak stopped. So last night the rci started leaking again. Like it has never done before. Towels, buckets and tubs were all employed in catching the intruding rain water. So, here we are in the first week of November. There won't be many good roofing days to come. So, the first warm day we have, I'm climbing back up on the roof with a 5 gallon bucket of sealant and plastering the living shit out of the that damn thing. If that gets us through the winter( remember that song " If We Make It Through December") I'll tear off everything around the chimney and start fresh. Oh, to add fuel to my internal fire, after my ride yesterday morning I found that the base gaskets supplied with the cylinders I installed on my Harley are CRAP. So this winter I get to remove the top end of the motor and install new base gaskets. A blown base gasket is what started this whole rebuild in the first place. Of course, I wasn't in the best of moods last night, but we have a whole new day before us.
We are living in a house that we bought at foreclosure. It needed a lot of work but I'm pretty handy and the price was CHEAP. The two main concerns with a house that needs a lot of work are the foundation and the roof. Both are big money items that can cause a large dent in the account. With the exception of a small place on the roof both items appeared good. We had several rains last spring and summer and they revealed a roof leak that terminated in the houses entry. Great. We spent quite a while chasing the leak and finally found a roof vent that had a really crappy installation. Last Sunday I pulled some shingles off, tore out the roof vent, replaced some roof decking, installed a new roof vent and re-shingled the area. Good to go. Last night the rains moved in, light sprinkles followed by a drizzle of several hours. The repairs I made proved rain tight, however, the rain revealed other leaks. Now we had several rains earlier in the year and these places showed up but we applied some roofing tar to the roof/chimney interface (how do you like that phrase) and that leak stopped. So last night the rci started leaking again. Like it has never done before. Towels, buckets and tubs were all employed in catching the intruding rain water. So, here we are in the first week of November. There won't be many good roofing days to come. So, the first warm day we have, I'm climbing back up on the roof with a 5 gallon bucket of sealant and plastering the living shit out of the that damn thing. If that gets us through the winter( remember that song " If We Make It Through December") I'll tear off everything around the chimney and start fresh. Oh, to add fuel to my internal fire, after my ride yesterday morning I found that the base gaskets supplied with the cylinders I installed on my Harley are CRAP. So this winter I get to remove the top end of the motor and install new base gaskets. A blown base gasket is what started this whole rebuild in the first place. Of course, I wasn't in the best of moods last night, but we have a whole new day before us.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Cold and Wet, Hot and Buttery
I got up this morning to see a cloudy 60 degrees. Got dressed, fired up the Harley and headed out. It was a beautiful ride. I got about 40 miles north of home and hit a wall, a wall of wind and cold. I crossed over to the interstate and high tailed it back home. The rain finally hit and the temperature is dropping slowly. A Northwest wind of about 25 is driving cold rain. What to do? Break out the makin's and crank out a pot of hot, buttery potato soup. Fry up some smoked bacon, ya know, for crumblin' in the soup and to give me bacon grease to, all you doctors cover your eyes now, pour into the soup. Only 2 or 3 tablespoons. It's the little things that make the difference.
And you know what? I was packing heat the whole time. You should too.
And you know what? I was packing heat the whole time. You should too.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
All Saints Evening and The Holy Grail
Well, we survived another All Saints Night or Halloween. The new neighborhood has 6 kids residing here or rather, 6 kids get on the bus in front of my house each morning. 'Course, I was at a meeting and Cherry Pie was at her mothers tending her and attending a family meeting. So with us gone and the dog in the front yard we have no idea of how many trick or treaters even walked by.
I've been going once a month to listen to a knowledgeable man speak about alternative health care. The first meeting I attended was about a new product hitting the market called Product B. This is a blend of natural ingredients that stimulates your body to produce more of it's own stem cells. If you have been paying attention to the health news for the last several years, stem cells have been the Holy Grail of the medical industry. This product is based on the research the two woman did and received a Nobel Prize for. Right now there are 31 ingredients in this pill. As their research continues there may be more ingredient added to it. The stories of it's efficacy are astounding. Cherry and I are going to sign up to be dealers and I am going to be the guinea pig for all the folks I know.
I've been going once a month to listen to a knowledgeable man speak about alternative health care. The first meeting I attended was about a new product hitting the market called Product B. This is a blend of natural ingredients that stimulates your body to produce more of it's own stem cells. If you have been paying attention to the health news for the last several years, stem cells have been the Holy Grail of the medical industry. This product is based on the research the two woman did and received a Nobel Prize for. Right now there are 31 ingredients in this pill. As their research continues there may be more ingredient added to it. The stories of it's efficacy are astounding. Cherry and I are going to sign up to be dealers and I am going to be the guinea pig for all the folks I know.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
TSA and Tennesee
So now that all the rumblings over getting a quasi sexual groping to board a plane are quieted, the TSA has now moved to the surface streets. Tennessee has become the first state to start TSA check points on highways. It's not enough that they have to subject every flying passenger to a Fourth Amendment violating search and/or feel up. Now they want to impede your right to travel freely without being subject to illegal warrantless searches. The pictures I've seen also show a couple of very fit men wearing ACU combat fatigue uniforms. Uniforms that have no visible identifying patches or insignia. They are also sporting the ever so popular black wraparound sunglasses to complement their desert sand boots. So the question is... are these Fourth Amendment violation also violating Posse Comitatus too? See for yourself.
See all the nice TSA rat bastards in their blue and black uniforms? See the two military appearing dudes on the left? They appear to be standing "at ease". Feet a shoulder width apart. Hands clasped behind their backs. Where have we seen this pose before other than the Boy Scouts and the Royal Rangers. Who are they? Will they becoming to a "theatre near you" soon? Keep your eyes peeled. If you do a tiny bit of looking online, you can find the video of an actual search that shows one of these mystery men taking part in a vehicle check point.
See all the nice TSA rat bastards in their blue and black uniforms? See the two military appearing dudes on the left? They appear to be standing "at ease". Feet a shoulder width apart. Hands clasped behind their backs. Where have we seen this pose before other than the Boy Scouts and the Royal Rangers. Who are they? Will they becoming to a "theatre near you" soon? Keep your eyes peeled. If you do a tiny bit of looking online, you can find the video of an actual search that shows one of these mystery men taking part in a vehicle check point.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
It's Lookin' Good?
After doing some looking around the good ol' www it seems thing are not looking so great...still.
The One Acting As President has finally decided that he should try and do something about the jobs issue. I mean since it's time for electioneering and all that. So he rolls out a jobs campaign. Then Senate killed the dang thang as there were to many onerous, or should I say, odoriferous parts to it. So the blame game and finger pointing continues.
I see that jobless claims are over 400,000 for the umpteenth month in a row. Supposedly employers have added 72,000 jobs (i don't know where) a month over the last 5 months. The country needs something like 100,000 jobs created every month just to keep up with population growth. So the unemployment still hovers at 9.1 percent.
Then I found that there are over 26 MILLION people that are under employed or actively seeking work. I have seen no numbers for the long term unemployed though I'm sure it's high.
The next thing I found was that the misery index is at it's highest since 1983. How the hell you measure misery , I don't know, but they claim to be able to. Anyway they say it's at 13. What ever.
All I know is that even though I haven't had meaningful employment in 3 years I have enough stuff to keep me busy. We live in a paid for home(it still needs a little work), my truck is paid for, my Harley is paid for, we have food in the pantry and in the basement. My wife works in an industry that seemingly will never fail. We have not always made the best decisions in life but we made the good ones that count at this time. A roof over our head and a deep larder with plenty of beans, bullets and band-aids. And so, we just keep on keepin' on.
The One Acting As President has finally decided that he should try and do something about the jobs issue. I mean since it's time for electioneering and all that. So he rolls out a jobs campaign. Then Senate killed the dang thang as there were to many onerous, or should I say, odoriferous parts to it. So the blame game and finger pointing continues.
I see that jobless claims are over 400,000 for the umpteenth month in a row. Supposedly employers have added 72,000 jobs (i don't know where) a month over the last 5 months. The country needs something like 100,000 jobs created every month just to keep up with population growth. So the unemployment still hovers at 9.1 percent.
Then I found that there are over 26 MILLION people that are under employed or actively seeking work. I have seen no numbers for the long term unemployed though I'm sure it's high.
The next thing I found was that the misery index is at it's highest since 1983. How the hell you measure misery , I don't know, but they claim to be able to. Anyway they say it's at 13. What ever.
All I know is that even though I haven't had meaningful employment in 3 years I have enough stuff to keep me busy. We live in a paid for home(it still needs a little work), my truck is paid for, my Harley is paid for, we have food in the pantry and in the basement. My wife works in an industry that seemingly will never fail. We have not always made the best decisions in life but we made the good ones that count at this time. A roof over our head and a deep larder with plenty of beans, bullets and band-aids. And so, we just keep on keepin' on.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The HD Is Up And Runnin'!
FINALLY! My Harley is up and runnin'! I'm going though that ever so dull break-in process right now. The urge to twist the wick is greater every day. But to ensure a good, long life motor I gotta take is easy for the first 500 miles, then I can go a little harder for the next 500 then it it's full on. I can't express how good it is to be back on two wheels. Right now all indications are that it will be a real good engine with a shit load of torque. I believe that next spring I'll make a run to the east coast to see the new grand daughter. Right now though, it's slow and easy. A few more miles every day.
Here's all we did to my ride:
Here's all we did to my ride:
- Bore cases to accept bigger jugs taking it to 88 inches
- Install Truett and Osbourne TorqueMonster flywheels connected with S&S shafts
- Recondition the old rods
- Balance and true the rotating assembly
- Take .o45" off the heads resulting in a compression ratio real close to 10:1
- Install 1.6 inch intake valve
- Install heavy weight valve springs by Isky
- Install an Andrews model 59 cam with .560 inch of lift
- Install an Ultima ignition
Machine work was done by Larson Machine...816-877-1909
Parts from Hyatt's Custom Cycle...816-699-2434
Parts and assembly by KC Cycle Service ...816-591-1731
If you are in the Kansas City region and need work done on your scoot give these folks a call.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Jeep Hope is Closer
Yesterday I had expressed a hope that Chrysler would start building the prototype JT compact truck or the modern version of the Scrambler. Well, last night I got my newest copy of 4wheel and Off Road magazine and while perusing it's pages found a snippet that had a picture of something similar to the JT. Apparently you can use your 4 door Wrangler unlimited or buy one then buy this $5,499 dollar kit to create what Jeep dubs as the JK8. If your not real handy with tools your dealer can perform the transformation. No telling what that would cost. So, shell out 12 to 30 thousand dollars for a used Wrangler Unlimited. Tack on 5,500 for the kit and most likely an astronomical amount for the dealer to install the kit. Woohoo, what a deal. NOT!
There is another way of doing a JT/Scrambler build. Cough up around 13,000 bucks for a Brute kit that actually lengthens the frame of the vehicle. So once again we are looking a very expensive conversion. Using it though, you or your fabricator can end up with something like this.
I like the Brute kit better but it does take a lot more fabrication skills than most people posses. Using purchased skilled labor will send the cost through the roof and that goes for the JK8 too. So, we are back to spending what today amounts to a small fortune to create a compact 2 door 4x4 truck.
If there is enough demand for these kits, both the JK8 and the Brute, isn't that enough demand for Chrysler/Jeep to bring the JT to fruition and deliver a factory made fully warranted vehicle?
There is another way of doing a JT/Scrambler build. Cough up around 13,000 bucks for a Brute kit that actually lengthens the frame of the vehicle. So once again we are looking a very expensive conversion. Using it though, you or your fabricator can end up with something like this.
I like the Brute kit better but it does take a lot more fabrication skills than most people posses. Using purchased skilled labor will send the cost through the roof and that goes for the JK8 too. So, we are back to spending what today amounts to a small fortune to create a compact 2 door 4x4 truck.
If there is enough demand for these kits, both the JK8 and the Brute, isn't that enough demand for Chrysler/Jeep to bring the JT to fruition and deliver a factory made fully warranted vehicle?
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