Teaching Stuff

Interesting commentary about why you shouldn't go into teaching here. I'd have to agree with most of what's there. I've had a great career and I'm still doing a little teaching and enjoying it but I don't know if I'd want to do it all over again. I could easily have made more money and had a fulfilling career working with the tools.

And on the subject of arming teachers? Below is from The View From the Porch. The best op-ed I've seen yet in the pro column. Plus, I'm a fan of her writing - refreshingly non PC with the proper amount of sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

"Arming Teachers"

This phrasing keeps popping up, as though there's some nefarious NRA plan to order teachers to form ranks in the gymnasiums (gymnasia?) of America, where they will each be issued a brace of sixguns in a buscadero rig and a GOP party registration form.

The reality of things is that we already have plenty of armed teachers in America, it's just that in all but a few enlightened states, they can only be armed at the grocery store and the mall and the gas station, not at work. In most states, they're not even protected by "gun in parking lot" laws that shelter employees of private employers, since the entirety of school grounds is usually verboten terrain for firearms.

"Well, what will keep some disturbed kid from snatching the teacher's gun?" The same thing that keeps them from snatching the teacher's gun at the grocery store and the mall and the gas station: they don't know it's there because that's how concealed carry works. The same thing that saves me from having long, dull conversations about the best brand of JHP with every gun otaku with whom I'm stuck in a checkout line will prevent the hypothetical gun grabs the antis are conjuring.

"Teachers should be teaching, not the last line of defense for their students!" Hey, guess what? They're already the last line of defense for their students. That's not a decision you or I or even they get to make; the asshole who decided he wanted to grab some headlines makes that decision. Their only decision is how effectively they want to do it. If you want to be an ineffective ablative meat shield, that's on you, honey. I've already decided that I ain't goin' out like that.

Here's the thing: As long as there are guns, there are going to be a certain amount of shootings, just like as long as there are booze and cars, a certain percentage of people are going to drive drunk.

The guns aren't going away. There are more of them in this country than there are people. States that have passed draconian restrictions on the scariest-looking guns report single digit compliance rates. The sort of creative little doucherockets that think the Columbine shooters were role models are gonna be able to get their hands on guns for decades to come no matter what improbable legislation you ram through today.

The single most viable thing we could do to stop school shootings (and most public mass shootings in general) is as unlikely as wishing all the guns into the corn field, and that's to have a near total media blackout on them. But as long as shooting a bunch of classmates remains the easiest way to get to the top of the news cycle, get your own Wikipedia page, and ensure more people know your middle name than the president's, we're going to continue to incentivize these little shits.

That leaves one really effective solution: Eliminating victim disarmament zones. Nothing takes the cachet off your trenchcoat massacre more than being shot in the ear by the pink Kel-Tec .380 of Mrs. Perkins, your remedial grammar/comp teacher.

And that's the thing! There's no need to force teachers to play hunter/killer SWAT commando. The training requirements outlined in Florida's hasty-ass legislation are ridiculous, and I say this as someone with a reasonably extensive firearms training resume.

The shooting problem here is the easiest possible one there is. There's no need to go in search of anybody; just get all the kids out of sight of the locked classroom door, post yourself up in the blind spot against the wall between the doorway and your young charges, and wait. If the disturbed youth somehow manages to force the door, you send him to the respawn point like a proper camperfag.

Bikes, Bikes, & More Bikes

Got just a little bit more done on the motorbike. I forgot that I had to modify the coaster brake lever to clear the new sprocket. It'll be easier with heat and I didn't want to drag the torch out, so I'll take it to work and do it there. I had to attend a meeting at the college the other day and then I worked in the lab on my CNC project. We had a bit of difficulty at first, but after I got it finished I didn't have time to pick up my fenders. I'll get them soon and get them installed. Not much left. I should have taken a photo of the CNC project and posted it. Maybe after I get it back from being graded.

Quickie fixture to machine the levers on my Sprint project. As long as I'm dragging parts to school, I'll take this up there as well and tack the little angles down onto the plate. I machined a bushing to go in the hole where the cable normally goes to keep it fastened down tight to the plate and I'll clamp the lever to the angles and I'll be able to mill some stock off where the pivot hole is at in order to fit in between the flanges that are on the handlebar. Should go quickly. Take a cut off both levers as shown in the photo and then flip them over and reposition to thin off the opposite side. I've got the part that needs machining running parallel with the edge of the plate so it should be easy enough to position it on the mill.

Surly came down yesterday and he used a couple of the tools to make a little headway on his Sportster project. We also talked over a few things concerning the bikes. The grandsons drug out the recumbent bike I made years ago and we found the back tire wasn't up to the job. Surly found another wheel out in the junk bike parts that should work. It was missing a tube but the tire is good, I had a tube in my stash, so I put that in the tire but decided to hold off on swapping it out on the bike. I've enough irons in the fire.

The weather's supposed to cool off again next week and we've got a bunch of rain on the way. I'll see if I can't force myself to get out in the shop and finish the motorbike and the Sprint levers in a timely fashion. I'm liking the look of the motorbike - anxious to see how the fenders are going to look on it. That might be all the incentive I need to get it buttoned up. 

Motorbike Progress

Kind of a slow start on the motorbike re-assembly but it's been chilly and when the Missus also came down with a cold, I figured I'd take it easy, rest up a bit and take care of her. It is going to be in the 50's all week, so that will help both of us wrap up the battle with the colds. I'll pick up the fenders today for the motorbike and I should be able to get the rest of it put together this week. When I get it all assembled I'll push it to the back of the shop and finish up the sidecar on the 900. That won't take long - just electrical, paint and then fasten down the diamond plate on the floor. Finish that part up and bring the BSA up front and see what Surly and I can come up with on that one.

I still have a little bit more to do on the taxes before I meet with the tax lady at the end of the week but I'm real close on that. I've got some other odds and ends on the list that need attending to as well but since the weather's warming up and there's some longer days, I should have a little more motivation to tackle them. Need to start getting out on the bicycle and do a little brisk walking. I've got a work/exercise schedule made up. Just need to get after it. I have lost a bit of weight, however, I think another 10 pounds should put me just about right. Just real glad it's warming up and it's comfortable to be outside without long underwear and a heavy coat. 

Dead People

Don't know why but Rory Gallagher popped into my mind. Probably something to do with St. Paddy's Day and the hazards of drinking too much Irish whiskey. Dude was one helluva guitar player until his liver shot craps and he passed away at the age of 47. Not the kind of music I listen to much these days but there was a time.

Speaking of dying, here's a recent conversation between the Missus and I:

Missus: "Didn't you work with a lady by the name of Genevieve at the KFC?"

Me: "Yeah, Why?"

Missus: "She died."

Me: "I'm sure she did. She was old when I worked there and that was fifty years ago."

Missus: "No. She just died. She was 101 years old."

Me: Whoa! That's something!

Pretty remarkable to make it past 100. She was a nice lady and a pleasure to work with.

I also just heard that a former student of mine was killed in an industrial accident. Forty years old. I just saw him a couple of weeks ago when Cuzzin Rick and I were out for breakfast. He was cutting up scrap metal and something fell on him according to the paper. Damn shame. Rest in Peace Josh and Genevieve.

Ending on a more cheery note, Frankie Flood left a comment a couple of posts back with a couple of links to videos on making the finger plate. They show the whole project from start to finish. The videos are as well made as the finished product plus there's an addition to make cross drilling small round stock easy. Thanks again Professor.

Bicycle Repairman

When I got the call from my buddy the other day, in addition to talking about perhaps taking a bicycle tour this summer, he wanted to know if I would be interested in welding up a part for the bike shop where I just had my bike overhauled. That's the bike above - expensive piece of gear. Aluminum frame with carbon fiber seat post and fork and top notch components. The bracket that the front derailleur bolts onto was broken. It's a small part, thin, and brazed onto the frame. I was a little concerned about getting it too hot when I TIG welded the break and loosening up the brazed joint. That along with not wanting to scratch or mar anything else. It was hard enough finding a spot to attach the ground clamp. Anyway, I got it done, looks good with minimum damage to the paint, and I swapped my labor for a pair of fenders for the motorbike.

I started back teaching this week. Looks like a pretty good class. I've had most of them in class before one time or another. Should be fun. It's only eight weeks and it'll pay for a trip to Alaska.

I came down with a cold - knew it was too good to last. I made it all winter long with no cold or flu and then I start having symptoms on the first day of Spring, I've got the scratchy throat, itchy watery eyes, runny nose, and a cough. All the classic symptoms. So far it's not too awful bad so it shouldn't slow me down too much. Just doesn't make me happy. Oh well, better days are coming.

Frame's Done

I got the motorbike frame all welded up and painted. I was looking at a picture I had of it when it was assembled and I got to thinking some chrome fenders might look nice. The only problem being there's no place to bolt a rear fender on so I made up a piece of tube to run across the chain stays with a hole drilled in it. Hopefully it won't interfere with anything else. The paint job is just a rattle can job, so it wouldn't take much to cut the tube out and touch up the paint if it doesn't work. I'm going to give the paint a few days to set up and then I'll see about getting it all back together again. Additionally, I've now got a couple of hooks and chain to hang things up so I can paint them. 

I got the new Cycle World and was surprised by the new format. It's now like Motorcyclist - more of a motorcycling lifestyle magazine, rather than the old road tests, expert columnists and race results. I'm about a fourth of the way through it. So far some good articles but it's now a quarterly rather than a monthly also. I like the way things were with one of them monthly and one quarterly as well as different takes on the sport. Looks like now they're both the same again. I figure that means one of them will be gone soon, at least with a printed copy.

I got a phone call from the salesman at the HD dealer last Friday. He said the new Sportster came in and that they were having some kind of shin-dig for St. Paddy's Day. I wanted to check it out but I went to the gym in the morning and I already had a date with the Missus to go out early afternoon. I'm going to try and get up there soon and check out the bike and see if they'll do anything on a trade with my Suzuki. Right now it's kind of a coin toss between the Royal Enfield or the Harley. Two bikes that aren't a thing alike, I know, but I'll see which one speaks to me the loudest. I do regret selling the other Sportster a bit. This one would be a bit more practical with a larger tank and an electric starter. To be honest, as a guy who's had a heart attack, I was a little concerned about having to kick start that old one. Once they're dialed in they're pretty reliable but if it didn't start on the first few kicks, I'd have to either call for help or an ambulance. 

Now it's make the fingerplate and get the fixture finished for machining the levers on the Sprint. I'm shooting for at least three projects with wheels to be completed this year. The motorbike will be the first. I'll get to work on the BSA and finish the wiring and paint on the sidecar project next. Need to stay busy - it's officially Spring as of today.

The Missing Link

Frankie Flood left a comment in the post that showed the small drill press hold-down. Apparently, it's called a fingerplate and he left a link in the comments to a site that has a nice explanation of how it was made with photos and in English, too. All the threaded parts are metric 4mm which would work out to being equal to a #8 machine screw. I'm going to make one up but I think I'll use #10 threads on the stud and hold-down simply because I'm kind of ham-fisted and I think the larger size will be more durable and convenient. I don't know if I'll cut the hold-down groove in the edges. I've got that nice little toolmakers vise I can put it in that should work just fine. I could set it on some parallels or I could machine a rabbet around the edge of the plate so it would sit down on top of the vise jaws when it gets clamped in. Regardless, thanks Frankie for the link.

I posted this one a few years back - the link to where it came from no longer works so all I know is there it is. That plus I really like the look of this thing. I'm thinking a similar look for the BSA might do it for Surly and I. I'll have to get his take on it. I'm planning on tackling the sidecovers for the Beezer as soon as I put the finishing touches on the motorbike.

I'm also working on a little fixture to modify a couple of clutch and brake levers for one of my old Sprints. The originals were steel and made to fit into brackets that were welded to the handlebars. I'm going to use aluminum levers from a Sportster but I have to mill a bit off the part that slips into the handlebar mount. I don't have a lot left to finish on the Sprint. Even if it doesn't actually run, I want it to the point where all it would take to make it go is gas and a battery.

Here's where I left off. I'll keep working on it off and on until I've got it all put together. I get the levers done and then I can get the clutch and brake cables made up and the front fender mounted. Nothing hard here, just needs my attention.

The latest Cycle World e-mail has a short write-up on the Royal Enfield Himalayan. A tad over weight and under powered but it's got its place according to them. Especially when you factor in the price. I'm thinking there should be one in the dealers within the next month or so. I definitely want to check one out.

A Little Something Done

Photo frame is finished - need to get a piece of glass for it and then I can get it hung up. Looks a little better in person than it does in the crappy photo. It'll be fine hanging on the wall of the woodshop.

Got a chainguard for the motorbike. This is an old universal fit that was on my Elgin. It was pretty rusty but a little elbow grease and some steel wool got it looking decent. Good enough for this job anyhow. I need to make a little tab to bolt the back of it onto the bike frame and a couple of other tabs but other than that, it's about ready to finish weld and paint. Depending on how things go today, might have it all welded up by this afternoon.. The frame is pretty rusty due to sitting around in the barn with no primer or paint on it after I retired but it cleans up well with emery cloth. I'll hit the spots where the tubes come together with a wire wheel and it should be clean enough to paint. I'm going to mount a couple of screw eyes into the ceiling so I can hang the frame up from some chain when I paint it - that'll help out when I'm ready to do a couple other bike projects as well. I can run the heater to get it warm enough to paint so it should be ready to re-assemble before the weather warms up. That'll be one done. Need get at least two more projects with wheels finished this year as well. 

Ready For Spring

I saw this on Pinterest. I went to the site but all the text is in Russian. There is a sketch that shows the hold-down clamp as being two inches long. The bottom of the plate is drilled and tapped for screws so you can fasten it to the drill press table. I've got a million and one projects now but something like this could come in handy in my basement shop.

And speaking of the basement, I put some stain and varnish on my picture frame and the other little gizmo you see in the photo. I used the one step stuff where you stain and varnish at the same time. Works OK for what I'm doing - things that'll get hung in a barn. Don't know that I'd use it on a fine woodworking project, not that I do much of that anyway. I need to scuff it up a bit and then put another coat on it today and then I can finish both pieces. The light's not real good for this sort of thing down the basement but at least it's warm enough. It was spitting snow again yesterday morning but I did see a bluebird while I was out doing my chores. That did my old heart good.

Went to the gym last evening and Big Ernie was there. He's a great coach but he works out of town quite a bit so he doesn't get a chance to come to the gym too often. I got a chance to work the mitts with him a couple of rounds - he had me huffin' and puffin' pretty good. I need some more of that.

I got a phone call the other day from a guy who used to race vintage bikes when I did. He does a lot of bicycling and he just retired. He's thinking of doing a long distance tour. I'd like to try that Cowboy Trail in Nebraska. We might be able to put something together. I need to start training.

Monday, Monday

The birthday party for my aunt came off well. She was surprised and happy. Lot of friends and family in attendance. She's doing pretty well for someone who just turned 90.

One of the relatives brought some old photographs to the party. We were only able to identify a few of the people in one of them that looked to have been a big family gathering of some sort. The photo was probably taken late 20's/early 30's. We took a group photo at the birthday party and I can't even identify all of the people in that one. I'm going to print a couple of copies and get all the names right so if someone cares enough 75 or 80 years from now to try and figure out who these people are, at least they'll have the names.

My brother stopped by the house after the party to check out the family history I've been working on. We've got a plan now to get it finished up and published. I've got just a bit more to do on my wife's side of the family and then I can call it done. It'll be good to get that finished. Typing everything all up has been a pain in the ass but I'm glad I've got things written down. Like it or not, with just two exceptions, my brothers and cousins are the "old" generation now.

Talked to Cuzzin Ricky and his brother at the party. Looks like the three of us will be going to Alaska. Rick and I can go most anytime but the his brother is still working so we have to get a date that will work with his vacation time but looks like it's a go! Hot damn!

Anniversary today for the Missus and I. 47 years and still going strong. The photo was taken about 50 years ago along the Erie tracks that ran by her grandparents house. My older brother and his wife said to mark the calendars for a day in September when they'll be celebrating their 50th. Pretty rare in this day and age to have marriages last as long as both mine and my brother's. Might not say much for my brother and I but sure says plenty about the women we married. Bless them both!

As Uncle Pete used to say: "Keep your end gate up."

Makin' Plans

Photo From Here

They don't get much prettier than this one, now do they? 

I'm on Spring Break now - not that it's going to change my schedule much. I only go in one day a week, anyway. Looks like the weather's going to stay chilly while I'm off but no rain in sight for the next week or so. I've got the basement dried out and I'm doing a bit of clean up down there. I cut some parts out for a picture frame but it needs to be 60 degrees for the glue. Might be April before that happens around here, so I'm going to take the pieces and the clamps downstairs and glue it up. Not really an important job but one I've been wanting to get around to for a while.

Birthday party today for my aunt's 90th. Went to a coaching clinic in Indy a week or so back for my boxing license. Made a trip to the dentist for a root canal a couple of days after the Indy trip. Read a couple of more chapters in my textbook and another quiz. Did breakfast with Cuzzin Rick and another guy yesterday. Closed out a couple of bank accounts and started up replacements since the local branches are closing down. I've got some computer training for the college I need to do along with finishing up the tax prep. I've got nine books read so far this year and I've made a dent in the magazine pile the last few days, so nothing big going on but keeping busy just the same. 

Cuzzin Rick and I have been tossing around some ideas for our travels this summer. We've got some midget, sprint and silver crown races we're looking at, plus, I think we've got the Alaska trip figured out. Still some details to work out on everything but I'm excited about Alaska. Going to probably hire some help to get some of the work around the shack done if I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling but that's fine by me. 

Have a good weekend!

It's Always You

Lola Albright who portrayed Edie Hart, the love interest of Peter Gunn. Did a search and found out she just died about a year ago at age 92. Not the greatest voice but a talented and beautiful woman just the same. I don't know who the backup band was on the show but the music is always good. I'm a big fan of 50's jazz and, it seems, television re-runs from that era as well.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I piddled around the shack while the weather was nice over the weekend. I have a light over the service door in the new barn that takes small halogen bulbs. They seem to be very sensitive to shock. Depending on the weather, the door closes easily or won't close all the way at all and will stick in the jamb. Slamming the door seems to shorten the life of the bulbs in the light, plus it's a pain in the ass wrestling with the door when it's stuck. Adding a touch more clearance to the jamb is pretty much an annual event, but Sunday I  decided to shave down the side of the door a bit from top to bottom to clear up the problem once and for all. I had to remove the lockset and mortise the part in the edge of the door a bit deeper which added to the fun. Since it was warm enough I put some primer on it when I was done and touched up the edges on the tool-board I made the other day while I had the paint out. The door opens and closes easily now - probably be able to throw a cat threw the gap this summer, however. Replaced the bulb in the light while I was working there so should be good for awhile. Nice to be working outside without having to bundle up. Looks like that will be short lived, however.

I got some peppers and tomatoes started for the garden. I need to see about tending to the grape vines. The knucklehead farmer behind me blasted them with weed killer often enough that I quit trying to grow them but he's been pretty decent the last couple of years, so I'd like to work on getting them back into production. My gooseberries haven't done much the last couple of years but that's on me. I should plant a couple more bushes and a couple more blueberries and see to it that they get a bit more TLC. I won't be working this summer, so I should be able to tend to the garden and fruit as I should.

The remaining three chickens are starting to lay again. I was thinking about getting a few little chicks but I would probably be better off just getting a couple more pullets from the sale barn rather than dealing with the chicks. Baby chicks limit my freedom to travel and the first race in Terre Haute is only about 7-8 weeks away and I'm still trying to put together something for Alaska.

I've got another quiz and a couple chapters to read this week in the machine shop class. We'll be making our next project also. The program runs quickly but it does give you an idea of what can be done when you add an auxiliary 4th and 5th axis to the 3 axis CNC mill. We started on that last week and made one part. The cool thing was the way the tool offsets were calculated. There's an actual tool setter on this machine. You bring the tool in close proximity to the setting gizmo and the machine then brings the tool down and records the value. Likewise, there's a probe that comes down and touches off the part to locate that height and then you know where everything is at in relationship to each other. Pretty spiffy.

Roly-Poly

The weather is looking like there's hope for us around here. We've still got lots of flooding, though. The water in the front field has mostly gone away, the basement is about dry again and we've got a couple more dry days on tap. That's a real good thing. I'm wanting to get out on the newly serviced bicycle before I turn into a Roly-Poly.

Since it warmed up a bit I made it out to the woodshop on top of the new barn. Cut out and routed a little board for mounting a turtle shell to add to the skulls and things I've found out running and walking.

I also made up a shelf/toolboard for the basement lathe. The material was from a left over job and the magnetic strip I attached is one of the free things you get from Harbor Freight when you make a purchase. I'm going to paint the bare edges white so it looks a bit more finished. I can't see me gluing any laminate on the edges. After I get it hung up I'll see what else I need to accommodate the tools and tooling and make whatever hangers necessary and then screw them onto the board. The white surface should reflect the light nicely as an extra bonus.

I'm going to do a few outside things today and maybe get out into the shop depending on how the mood strikes me. As long as I get out of the house and it's not raining, I'll be happy.

Golly Dolly

When I went to the bike show in Indy recently, there were people handing out information about cool places for riding motorcycles, most of which were down south. One of the folks was handing out info about Sevierville, Tennessee. I was there once and I've been thinking about taking another trip down that way so I picked up some literature and had a quick chat with the man. Dolly Parton's name came up in the conversation and I remembered hearing about her giving out $10K to all the families that had been affected by the fires down that way. I hadn't heard about the second round. That's right, she gave everyone another $10K at a later date. And as if that's not enough, she has been giving away books to all the young-un's down that way for quite awhile now. In fact, she just gave away her 100 millionth book. What a woman! Get the details here.

Here she is with a little help from a couple of her friends.