Frame Rail

 

Just happened to look out the back window yesterday morning and saw a flock of turkeys on the other side of the back fence. There were at least a dozen of them, with a couple of them perched in one of my oak trees. When they decided it was time to leave, some of them flew and some of them walked, like the two in the photo. While I enjoy the wildlife, I just wish the raccoons, squirrels and ground hogs would leave me alone.

I got one of the rear frame rails tacked together. The plan calls for a crossmember about where the bend is so I welded in a couple of spacers to stiffen that area. I'm planning on running a roll cage and there will be a tube that will extend vertically from that same point, bend 90 degrees towards the front of the cab and then down at about a 45 deg angle to a point about mid-way between the firewall and radiator. There will be a couple of cross tubes tying both outside rails together with the rear one incorporating a provision for a headrest. That will stiffen up the frame considerably and make it safe for the driver - which initially, of course will be yours truly. 

I've been giving some thought to the seat. I haven't decided on an actual seat or forming something up as part of the cab. If I put an actual seat, should I make a bomber style or buy a fiberglass one or something similar. It might be nice to have something that's adjustable. Regardless of what I come up with, I'll need to make provisions for fastening a harness. Lots to do yet but making progress. 

Wildcat

 

When you want to make some fast progress, you break out the big guns. The old 9" Black and Decker Wildcat. It'll make quick work of anything that needs grinding but it'll give you a workout in the process. I used to use one of these all the time at the high school and when I was doing a lot of outside work for people. I used to have forearms like Popeye as a result. Now, it doesn't take long and I've got arm pump and a sore wrist. However, I got my parts ground down nice and smooth.

The side rails for the rear frame rails are ready to weld. I clamped them together and ground them all at the same time so they'd all be exactly alike. With the big grinding wheel it's easier to get straight surfaces than when using a 4-1/2" grinder. After grinding, I ran a flap wheel over them to give them a smoother surface and to remove any burrs left from the grinder. I cut a couple of pieces to make the top of the rails but I don't have quite enough material to make the bottom plates. I'll have to run over to the steel supply and have him shear me a strip next week. I dug out a piece of round tubing for the back cross piece. I might make a couple of pieces to stiffen up the tube and then weld on a couple of push bars.

While I was cutting and grinding, I made the plates for the engine stand for the SR500. I'll look and see if I've got some bolts to fit and depending, I'll either make a trip to the hardware store or grab what I've got here and then head to the storage space and make sure the plates will fit. I get that done I'll make the rest of it.

They're forecasting a serious snowfall this weekend. I got the tractor started, so I'm ready for the snow. Since I don't have enough material to finish the frame rails, I'll tack together what I've got and start on the pieces for the side hustle.  

Rear Frame Rails

 

Pieces layed out for the rear frame rails. 

My piece of sheet wasn't big enough to get all four pieces out of it. I could only get 3-1/2. I cut the other piece out of a drop that I had from another job. I'll weld the pieces together and put an extra piece across the joint on the inside before I weld everything together to reinforce the joint.

It's supposed to be cold today - they're forecasting a high of 22 is all. I'll see if I can screw up my courage enough to go out to the shop and get these ground off and cut the tops and bottoms. I'm planning on welding in a couple of cross pieces inside the rails to give them a bit more strength where the cross member for the rear spring mount will go. 

The bifocal safety glasses worked well under my cutting shield. So I'm still real happy with the cataract surgery and for the most part have gotten comfortable with the new vision. I also had a brain storm while lining up my cuts with the plasma cutter. I use the straight-edge that you can see in the photos whenever possible. I have to move it off the cutting line about 5/8" to get the plasma torch lined up with the cut line. I'm going to make a hinged spacer bar that will  give me the proper offset and once I have the straight edge in place I can flip the spacer out of the way and begin cutting. If I bolt it on to the ends I could also make another spacer for the cutting torch. Pretty simple and efficient I would think.

TIG Job

 

We didn't get all that much snow Monday night/Tuesday morning - maybe 1-1/2" to 2". The wind died down down over night and it was right at 32 degrees so the snow was heavy and wet. I shoveled the porch and walk and didn't have to fire up the tractor. It made for a lovely winter scene around the farm.

I got a call from my neighbor yesterday morning. He dropped the winch he was mounting on his trailer and broke the end bell. And he did a right fine job of it, I might add. The view from the inside only tells part of the story. There were a bunch of spider cracks visible from the outside.

He had sorta prepped it for me by sand blasting and grinding some of the cracks but he made the vee groove wider than it needed to be. The casting had a lot of zinc in it, some remaining oil and sand in the cracks along with oil that seeped out of the casting. It was an absolute bitch to weld. The zinc bubbles up out of the weld puddle and creates a lot of porosity. You have to run the arc along the crack, watch it turn all black, clean it, then attempt to weld it, grind it a little with the die grinder, and then run another bead over the top of it at a slow pace allowing the zinc to bubble out and be replaced by the aluminum filler, and maybe repeat the process once more. And when you get all done it still looks crappy.

On a good grade of aluminum, as long as it's clean and your amperage is correct, the weld bead will look nice and shiny. With the stuff laden with zinc, as you move along, the edge of the puddle will melt the base metal and cause more zinc to bubble out and leave a hole next to the edge of the bead. Not fun at all. However, this was the first time I tried welding with the new bionic eyes. I wore my new reading glasses under my helmet and at least I could see what I was doing. Quite clearly in fact.

I was on my way to drop it off at the neighbors and I stopped to get the mail. He was just heading home and stopped at the end of the lane and we made the exchange and then shot the bull for a while - long enough that my feet got cold so I didn't go back into the shop and work on the jitney. I made a big pot of minestrone soup instead. Definitely soup weather.  

Whip It - Whip It Good!

 

Whip it - into shape! And that's exactly what I've been doing the last few days. This is the kind of progress I really like to see. Not too much time, but yet, big results. Exhibit A:

Rolled up the second sheet for the jitney cab. Went pretty much lickety-split. The new roller I made works well but I get a bit of deflection of the rolls, so the middle of the sheet doesn't roll quite the same radius as the ends. The cab sheets were full width and the aluminum is pretty springy but overall I'm quite pleased with how it works. If the pipe rollers were a true schedule 40 instead of whatever odd ball size I ended up with, that would have been better but for working on cars and bikes it should serve me well.

I dug out the print for the jitney so I could see what I need for the rear of the frame. It's been a while since I did the frame layout and I thought I remembered the rear of the frame being longer. The pattern is only 23 inches long so I don't need to buy any tubing. I've got material on hand to make both of the rails by cutting out the side plates and bending up the top and bottom strips. I've already got those cut to width, I'll just have to cut them to length, bend them and then weld every thing together. The rear of the pattern is 1-1/2" in diameter. I'll weld a piece of roll bar tube between the two rails as a stretcher. Eventually, I'll make the boat tail and then cover the open area around the tail with a sheet that comes to the edge of the frame rails.

Don't know what I'll get done today. We've got snow and wind, so I might have to get the old Allis out. I put it on the charger the other day so it should fire up, but if not, I'll have some fiddlin' to do along with some shoveling. I would like to get some more done on the car - have to see how the old back holds up from shoveling. 

Cab Sheet

 

I got the second half of the dash hood made up on Saturday. I need to tweak the fit just a bit and then I can trim the pieces where they overlap and weld up the seam.

I made the first half of the back of the cab yesterday. That was pretty straight forward since I had the pattern made up already. I'll see about making the other half today. I'm planning on fastening the back cab to the dash hood using Dzus fasteners - three on a side should do it. I'll put a joggle in the cab sheet so the outer surface is smooth. I'm planning on joining the cab halves with rivets. I've got "real" aluminum rivets rather than pop rivets to use. 

The plan then is to roll a bead along the outer edge of the cab and part way up the side of the dash hood. I'll then bend up a piece of aluminum round bar to fit inside the bead and then hammer over a bit of the side sheets to hold the bar in place. That will stiffen up the edge of the sheets and give me a nice round edge rather than one that's likely to slice me open in the event of an accident. Fitting the bar to the sheet is going to be rather time consuming but I've done tougher. The biggest problem is the bender is in the back half of the shop that isn't heated but if I get the two halves of the cab riveted together, I can set the cab on some horses and work on it a little while I'm waiting on the front part of the shop to warm up after I turn on the heater for my daily jitney session.

I can't go any farther back on the car since I've run out of frame. I've got plenty of work left up front yet, so it's not like I'll have to stop work. I can get started hanging the front suspension or get some more tubing and start making the rear frame. I'm thinking get a little closer to having the cab and dash hood finished and then decide what I want to tackle next. 

Takin' Shape

 

I got the first half of the dash hood fit-up yesterday. It actually looks better than what it looks like in the photo but I wanted a shot of the whole car, at least what I've got done so far. I cut out the piece for the other side and annealed it like I did for this piece. I'll see about getting that one fit up today depending on how much it warms up. I did pick up my material for the side hustle and a piece of stock to make the side plates for the SR500 engine stand head. Next time I get the plasma cutter out I'll get those cutout. It won't take much to make the head other wise I wouldn't even fiddle with it. I do want to get things sorted at the storage space - get the engine stand set up and maybe get some shelves to get the cardboard boxes off the floor. 

Felt good to get back in the shop yesterday. The bionic eyes are working out real well.

Jitney Dash Hood

 

A little bit of a warm up yesterday but it's not going to last. I took advantage of the warmer temperatures to make some progress on the jitney. Since my bead roller and shear are in the back part of the shop that isn't heated, figured it would be a good time to take care of a couple of things that needed to be done back there. I rolled the offset/joggle on the remaining edge of the grill shell and knocked the tab loose that didn't line up quite right. I also filed a slight slot in the bolt holes to make it easier to bolt up as well as deburring them.

After I got that done I drilled holes in the firewall for some Clecos. I was planning on working on the dash hood so I needed to get the clamps out of the way. I already had a pattern made up for the dash hood but I double checked everything, made a couple of small changes and then cut out the sheet. I'm planning on rolling up a curved edge along the top to deflect the wind so I annealed that section. I doubt that edge actually does much to deflect the wind but a car without it just doesn't look proper to my eye.

Since I had to wait until the sheet cooled off, I called it a day but I'm hoping to get that first piece of the dash hood fit-up today. I also got a text from the boss at the side gig and he needs parts made up. These are different than the last batch I made. I've got patterns already but no material so I'll pick some up today and get started on them either this weekend or next week. But I think the first piece of the dash hood is going to have priority.

Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

Sing it Brother Ray! 

I heard this on the radio yesterday - I'm thinking the disc jockey is a Biden fan or maybe he was just glad to see Trump go. Personally, I think we've gone from the frying pan into the fire. With 26 or 27 trillion in debt and who knows what the real number is when you try to add up all the unfunded liabilities. Regardless of what the future holds, I'm about as prepared as one man can reasonably be expected to be - other than the concertina wire around the perimeter and it might yet come to that. 

There's nothing I can do to change the way things are or will be anyway. I've voted in every election since I came of age and yet here we are at the end days of the empire. I doubt that I'll vote again. Most all of the local candidates are all from the same party so not much choice there. I don't know how much truth there is about the actual outcome of the presidential election but I didn't vote for either Trump or Biden. Neither party seems to be concerned about being fiscally responsible so they'll keep taxing us, and pissing our money away. And if there isn't enough tax money they'll just keep running up the deficit and printing more money out of thin air. There is one good thing to come out of the new administration, The meme posting will be awesome:

Just the beginning

It was cold yesterday - only about 19 when I left the house in the morning to fetch some more vittles. It was actually pretty nice out with a lot of sunshine for a change but it was still going to be cold in the shop, so I didn't do much out there. I drilled the holes in the bottom of the grill shell. One of the little tabs needs to be moved, however. It's only got a couple of small tacks holding it in place so it'll be easy to fix. I've got fender washers under the screws holding the bottom of the grill shell in place now but those will be replaced with something similar out of brass - maybe round, maybe star shaped or something.

It's supposed to warm up some today, so I'll try to get back after it. I definitely need some shop therapy time. 

 

Ain't That The Truth!

 

From Here

There's certainly more than a little bit of truth to that. Shortly after my heart attack I had to have an ultrasound test. Prior to the test I had already read several books about heart disease and how it was possible to reverse the process with diet and exercise. Since the lady administering the test would see first-hand what was happening inside cardiac patients, I figured she'd be a good one to ask if it was in fact true that you could arrest and even reverse the effects of heart disease. Her response? "We don't really do that here."

I mentioned recently having read a couple of books by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, one about Super Immunity and one about ending diabetes. I don't have any definitive proof that I'm currently building any super immunity by following his diet program but I can definitely state that it's had a tremendous effect on lowering my blood sugar level. I haven't been exercising due to the cataract surgery but I'll be able to start up again soon. That will probably help keep the numbers where they should be, will contribute to a bit more weight loss and my overall general health. I don't take much medication now but I'm thinking I should be able to quit taking all of it in another couple of months except maybe a baby aspirin daily. Dr. Fuhrman has a book on heart disease that's available at the local library that I plan on reading as soon as I finish a couple off my own shelves. 

I would imagine most people don't want to eat the "nutritarian" diet Dr. Fuhrman recommends and wouldn't even if their life depends on it, which ironically enough, it does. I personally would like to be given the option of choosing diet and exercise rather than medication when consulting with my physician. The information has been around for quite some time. Absolutely no reason for doctors not to make this information available to their patients. The family doctor I went to prior to my heart attack when discussing my cholesterol numbers told me don't eat the skin on the fried chicken. He could have just as easily told me to spit the damn chicken out and eat more veggies. That might have set me on the right track to not have an infarto cardiaco.

Remember, your body's a temple. Unfortunately for me, temples aren't built from cheap sandwich cookies and pork tenderloins or mine would be a dandy. But beans and greens? They will do it.   

Basket Cases

 

Actually more like cardboard box cases, and yes, that's cases in the plural.

I ran some errands and swung by the storage space prior to my appointment at the eye doc yesterday. I took some tools with me to measure up the engine for a head to bolt it to the engine stand. The stand is a knock down type of my own design that works well for the bike engines. I'll see what I've got for material laying around and get the head made up at my leisure. After I get that made up I'll take the engine stand  to the storage space and get one of the engines bolted up on it. In the center of the top photo is a set of cases peeking out of one of the cardboard boxes and to the right of it in the plastic bag is another engine that's complete except for the barrel and head. I saw a barrel in the pile but haven't seen a head yet but I haven't even attempted to go through any of the boxes.

Since the one frame is mostly stripped, I'll use that one as my starting point when I decide to do something with all this junk. Other projects are much more pressing at the present time. I definitely need to keep working on the jitney project, especially since there is no end in sight to the quarantine. Cuzzin Ricky says we're going to have some catching up to do when it's safe to travel. In fact, he sent me info on a race in South Dakota later in the year. Looks like it would be a great show. Might have to get the atlas out and see what else we could visit on the way out and back. 

The visit to the eye doctor went well. Distance vision is just pert near 20/20. I go back in three weeks for another check up and to get fitted with glasses. He said I can start easing back into my normal activities, just don't go crazy. So it's not full speed ahead yet but I can start getting back out in the shop. 

Goodies

 

Car goodies for the jitney project. Upper photo is the remote oil filter kit that was back ordered for about three months. Lower photo is the steering box. It'll be a while until I'm ready for either of them but I've been buying parts and tools according to my monthly budget allowance. 

Since I hit my savings goal for last year, when I received the email from Arc-Zone about the sale on the tungsten grinder kit, I bit the bullet and ordered it. I do most all of my welding in the shop with the TIG welder now. If I need to work on something that requires stick welding I do it outside since my space is limited and has some flammable things so I don't want to risk burning the shop down with an errant spark. 

If you're not familiar with the TIG process, it uses a non consumable electrode made from tungsten that needs to be sharpened to a point if on both AC and DC current if you're using an inverter power source. The older transformer power sources would use a balled tungsten on AC. Either way, the tungsten is in very close proximity to the work piece and it's pretty easy to contaminate the tungsten if it comes into contact with the weld puddle. Then it's off to the grinder to clean it up. I'm hoping that won't be as frequent now that my eye sight is improved. I've still got fairly steady hands but if things can't always be positioned on the bench where it's easy to get comfortable, it's pretty easy to bury the tungsten in the puddle with one foot on the pedal, one hand holding the torch and dabbing in the filler rod with the other. The tungsten grinder is a bit of a luxury item but it will give me nice consistent points on the electrodes that should improve the quality of my welds, especially some of the thin stainless and aluminum I work on.    

What Condition Is Your Condition In?

 

This one hit the airwaves in '67 - about the time I was starting my senior year in high school. Interesting times back then. However, the way things are going 2020 and 2021 just might be a whole lot more interesting. I should have invested in plywood futures what with all the board-ups from the riots and the precautionary board-ups on many of the state capitol buildings now. And just wait until all those people who haven't been making their house payments start getting evicted. The banks and landlords will have to be boarding up those houses and apartments to keep the squatters out and to keep the pissed off former residents from throwing rocks threw the windows. 

Slow Joe says he's going to throw another $1.9 trillion at the economy, though. I'm sure that'll fix everything right up - unless Trump pulls a wild card out of his ass and Joe doesn't make it in the front door of the White House. I saw where they were stringing razor wire around the capitol. With all the troops in the building and the perimeter secured, it would be pretty easy to round up all of our senators and representatives all at once, like they do in South America every once in a while. That'd make for an interesting scenario. 

Meanwhile back at the shack, I'm easing back into the projects while I'm awaiting official clearance to resume normal activity. Catching up on the reading a bit as well as doing some cooking to support my new diet program - hominy and pinto bean soup a few days ago, pasta e fagioli without the meat yesterday. I made it nice and thick - more like a stew than soup. I've been going through the wife's cookbooks looking for hearty meals. She's got a collection of around 300 and I've got a few vegetarian and vegan cookbooks I bought after my heart attack, so there's a lot to choose from. Just need to keep the diet heavy on the beans and leafy green veggies.

It'd be a good time review your emergency plan this afternoon - check your supplies and bug-out bag. Fill up the gas tank on the vehicle, make sure the batteries are good in the flashlights and portable radio, make sure everything is handy and everyone knows the evacuation plan and rendezvous spot if you get separated, whether that's a result of a weather or fire incident, or civil unrest.  

Eye Glasses

 

The glasses on the lower left of the photo are my prescription glasses I was using prior to the cataract surgeries. They're not quite as thick as Coke bottle bottoms but I was seriously myopic. The two pairs in the middle are obviously sunglasses. The heavy duty ones in the back came in the little ditty bag I received from the surgery center. The spiffy pair in front are a freebie from Linde who was a sponsor at the Shell Eco-Marathon I went to out in California. Not sure why I picked them up other than to have them as a spare if a student needed to do some cutting and didn't have any dark lenses. The lower photo are my new readers and behind them are my new safety glasses. They have clear lenses on top with a bifocal of the proper strength. 

Because I wore prescription glasses most of my life and as a welder I needed plastic lenses, I never wore sun glasses or got a pair of the transition lenses. So with the UV I got from the weld shop along with the UV I received from spending a lot of time outside, not really a surprise I ended up with cataracts. Much like my hearing loss, much of the damage could have been prevented with a bit of common sense and making a small investment in PPE - "too soon old, too late smart."

I've been wearing the new safety glasses all day long since I got them. I can read and watch TV simultaneously like is normal with out having to take the reading glasses on and off while switching back and forth from the newspaper to the television. Since I've been wearing bifocals for years, no adjustment necessary. It's my understanding that Medicare pays for one pair of glasses after a surgery like mine, so depending on what the eye doc tells me next week, I think I'll get myself a pair of bifocals like the safety glasses only a little more fashionable. 

The Missus reminded me that my driver's license specifies that I need correctional lenses. I received a card for each eye after the surgery documenting that I have a corrective lens in the eye which should suffice for that. 

If you've stayed with me to this point, the bottom line is the cataract surgery is nothing short of a miracle. Seventy years old and I no longer need glasses. The other point to be made here is protect your eyes properly and you may not need surgery. Likewise, protect yourself from falls, chemical exposure, loud noises and all the rest of the hazards of the workplace and around the house. The Missus used to work as a beautician back in the day and she was in contact with permanent solutions and hair dyes, along with breathing in who knows how much hair spray and cigarette smoke. Just might have contributed to her developing cancer a few years back.

Flat Track

 

I bought myself some reading glasses, so while I'm laying around the shack I've been browsing a bit on the computer looking for some ideas for the SR500. The above is the Ron Wood "lightweight" Norton. You need to click on the pic to appreciate all the detail work. The one thing I noticed right off is the rake angle. Seems to be pretty straight up and down, almost like a speedway bike. I've done a bit of frame work over the years and have read most everything I could find about frame geometry but I know very little about flat track bike construction. I've raked at least 50 drag bike frames and made several complete frames both drag and road racing but other than the oil tank I made recently I've never done any flat track work. The way my mind works, that's reason enough enough to build one.

Here's before and after photos I stumbled across. The bike in the bottom photo actually has a tiny headlight that peeks through the number plate and an after market swingarm. I wouldn't need a headlight and I can make a swingarm - I've made quite a few of those over the years. The difference in the rake angle is pretty obvious when comparing the Norton and the Yamaha. I'm going to have to do a bit of research on that. 

I might take a ride to the storage space over the weekend to go through the boxes. I want to get a better idea of what all I ended up with and see if there's a shop manual in the pile. 

I bought screws to fasten down the grill shell on the jitney on the way home from the eye doc earlier this week. I want to drill the holes in the shell and get the bottom fastened down. Might sneak out to the shop this weekend and take care of that. I get that done I can make the braces on the top that will hold the grill shell and the top of the radiator. I'm also itching to try TIG welding with my bionic eyes.

Lone Wolf

 

I had the second cataract surgery yesterday. Things went pretty much like the first one, which is to say very well done by all at the surgery center. I see the doc later today for a check up and then I should be done with him. The new vision is going to take some getting used to. I used to look through the bifocals to see things up close or just lift my glasses up. In fact for TIG welding I'd just take them off. Now I can see distance but not things up close. No surprise, I knew that was coming but I'm going to need some reading glasses real soon. I typed this up last evening and I was able to put this together but I had to use a magnifying glass to read the newspaper. Project work will be next to impossible unless I get some glasses for near vision.

Lots of craziness going on politically. Talk of impeachment or using the 25th amendment to rid the country of the President. Talk also of the President using the Insurrection Act. I read some interesting things about that. First of all, if he determines that there's a threat he can put the wheels in motion without having to have go through Congress and he can keep it going as long as he sees fit. He can call up the National Guard, the naval militia and the civilian militia. I didn't even know there was a naval militia and as for the civilian militia? All able bodied men between the ages of 17 and 45. It'd be real interesting to see how that would work out. I don't know how all this is going to shake out but I wouldn't be surprised if President Trump decides to get last tag.

I got a bit more info on the CSA and I'm planning on signing up for the season. They've got three levels that you can buy into. The mid-level is for two omnivores and is less than a hundred bucks for the season. I'm not an omnivore, except when I cheat on the new diet but that won't be happening much in the future. I'm now a "nutritarian". When I quit going to the gym last year my blood sugar and pressure started creeping up to the point it was becoming dangerous. I don't want another heart attack or a stroke or have my toes lopped off, so I did a bit of research and came across a book by Joel Fuhrman, MD on beating diabetes.  I've been on the program a couple of weeks and I haven't done everything by the book because I was using up some items in the cupboards and the fridge but my blood sugar was 109 and my blood pressure was 128/77 yesterday morning prior to the surgery. Not bad for a 70 year old dude. Diet and exercise - the fountain of youth. 

Regardless of what 2021 throws at me this year, I've at least got my plan now. Eat my veggies, do some aerobic and strength training on a daily basis, avoid crowds and work on the projects. Since I'm basically a misanthrope, I can get along quite nicely with a minimum of contact with the outside world - as long as I get some glasses, that is. 

Keep your heads down, people. Spicy time is upon us.

Backyard Farming

 

The current Hoosier Farmer newsletter has an article featuring the backyard flock of chickens the Indiana First Lady keeps at the governor's residence. She built the coop this past year with some help from friends. She also has a vegetable garden and a beehive. The article mentioned she has one Sapphire Splash chicken as in the photo. I'd never heard of that breed which is why I looked it up. They also mentioned a resource for small flock poultry fanciers like my self. You can access it here.

I took care of my girls yesterday - fresh straw in the nesting boxes, along with enough food and water to last a week so I won't have to do any more than gather eggs this week.

I've been giving some thought to the garden. Since it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time at home again this year, might not be a bad idea to expand the garden a bit. I did find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that's only a couple of miles away from me. I need to get some more info as to cost and what you get for your money, but I like that idea. Food prices have been going up and there have been shortages. I went to the grocery last week and there wasn't any bagged salad. I talked to one of the workers there and he said the store had been notified they weren't going to be receiving any salad and he had no idea when they would be getting any. Might be time to look into a greenhouse, window box or a grow light set-up down the basement. If I plant some lettuce down the basement, I won't have to worry about the bunnies getting it.  CSA locater here.

Lots of uncertainty these days. Lots of hungry people as well. If you haven't been preparing for hard times, I wouldn't wait any longer.

Scooter Stuff

I picked up a truck load of Yamaha SR 500 stuff a couple of weeks ago. It appears there's most of two bikes. Definitely two frames with wheels and I saw a couple of engines but they weren't fully assembled, so I'm not sure what it would take to make at least one of them into a runner. I stuck them in the storage space, so one of these days I'll get over there and sort through the stuff. I've got an engine stand for motorcycle use that I made years ago. It has a head for the Kaw 900 motor but no reason I can't make a head for the Yamaha and set that up in the storage space. There's no electric there but since it's only 5 minutes away I can get one of the frames set up and start sorting/making parts a little bit here and there. Keep everything in the storage space so I'm not tripping over anything else in the shop.

The big question is what do I make out of all this stuff? 

I'm a big fan of cafe bikes. The middle photo above is my old SR500. It's a '78 as is one of the frames, I believe. My buddy, who I got the bikes from, has a SR500 himself that's all set up in the classic cafe style. He said I could borrow his big aluminum tank for a pattern if need be.

A flat tracker would be cool - just the ticket to ride down to the mailbox and cut a few laps around the barn, slinging gravel out in the yard that I can hit with the mower later. Instead of the fiberglass seat, maybe go old school solo saddle with a pillion pad mounted on a short fender like the BSA above. 

I've got several things ahead of this to finish up first. I definitely want to bring the jitney to the finish line along with the Rickati trials bike. I'll be getting back on those as soon as I get the OK from the eye doc and get myself fitted for glasses if need be. If I pull the rag out of my ass, I should have both of them knocked out by the end of July. That's a definite must do. Especially since the cooties will still be hanging around at least until summer.

I received an e-mail from Hitchcocks, where I bought the headlight grill for my Himalayan. They've put the Royal Enfield workshop manuals on their site for both the older bikes made in Redditch and the newer ones from India. I took a look at the one for my Himalayan and they look like they are very well done - they even list the tools required to perform all the operations. As little as I ride mine, probably never need any info beyond what's in the owner's manual but it's nice to know the info is available if need be.

I've got a couple of little things lined up for today - no heavy lifting but some things to get me out of the house and get me set for laying around the shack again next week.

EAP BD

He's been dead as long as he was alive. Glad I never had to live with all the pressure of being rich and famous. I've had 28 more years than he did & I wouldn't give that up for all the money in the world.

Just been laying around the shack the last couple of days. The after surgery instructions don't leave me much wiggle room - no lifting anything over 20 pounds, no bending over, no power tools, no exercising, and no alcohol. So I've been doing some reading, watching old movies and surfing the web. However, with what's been going on lately, surfing the web is starting to be as upsetting as reading the newspaper and watching the news on the television. Normally a week of laying around the shack would be a welcome respite but since I've been in lockdown mode for going on ten months now, I need to lift things more than 20 pounds, bend over, use some power tools, and exercise a bit. Or just start day drinking. One more week or so and I should be back at it.

 

HOW, WHAT & WHY

 From the Title Boxing blog:

Boxing Training: New Year, New You

For many people, starting a new year means creating a new you or at least improving the old one. The first day of January becomes about a reinvention and creating new, healthier habits. What it's really about though is getting back to the foundation and fundamentals of living right. Some people get so far off track that they're not even sure what those fundamentals were. For starters, you can break them down into three basic questions to ask yourself: WHY, HOW, WHAT.

WHY?
It is the underlying reason you try and strive to be better. It is the core of your existence and the root of what really motivates you. When deciding on your next fitness, financial or personal goal, you should first ask yourself WHY you want it. WHY do you want to lose weight? WHY do you want to be rich? WHY do you want to be a world champion? Be sure your answer is truthful, sincere and rooted in powerful emotion. If the thought of achieving it doesn't make your heart sing or your blood boil, you may be missing the mark. For instance, if becoming a world champion is your goal and your WHY is because everyone will think you're a badass, that may not be strong enough to motivate you when the going gets tough because it’s simply not emotional enough. Sure, being BA is goal-worthy, but it's also prideful and it's kind of trite. Shallow goals won't make you dig deep. If, however, you want to be a world champion to take care of your Mom, who raised you on her own, sacrificed everything for you and you want to pay her back, that's real! Or maybe you want to provide for your kids and be able to give them things you didn't have growing up and have them look up to you, respect you and want to be like you because of it. You want to personally and profoundly feel the innate pride and self satisfaction that comes with achieving "champion" status against all odds. Now THAT'S emotional. That is something worth fighting for. Having a strong, meaningful WHY is the crucial first step.

HOW?
Next, is having a clear goal and, at least an idea of how to get there. Knowing your destination without a general plan of action, is like wanting to get to a very special, secluded vacation spot without a map or GPS. You don't have to have an exact roadmap. When you're close and zeroing in, there will be signs that let you know you're moving in the right direction. You just have to be sure you are driving a reliable vehicle and know what direction to start out going. If it's a new workout plan, a schedule change that will allow you to hit the gym more regularly, the idea of staying late two nights a week to work towards a job promotion or buying a box of candy once a month to improve your marriage, whatever the plan is, you have to have one.
Keep in mind though, that having one route and one route only can sometimes lead to disappointment. Life, careers and wants take many different twists and turns that are unexpected and sometimes discouraging, but as long as all roads lead to the end goal, that's all that really matters. Be willing to change your plan if it's not working. Don't just abandon your goal.

WHAT?
This is the final piece of the puzzle. WHAT you're willing to do, give up or endure to achieve your goal is a critical question to ask yourself. If losing weight is your goal, you may be giving up soda, late night binging, partying, chocolates, a variety of indulgences or any number of cravings. If you're WHAT is "I'm willing to do whatever it takes, I am willing to give up watching TV, I am willing to spend more time in the gym, at work or with my family, they all make your WHAT stronger and your "but..." weaker. Your WHAT will help you eliminate those excuses that start to creep up when things get hard.

It all comes down to choices and what's really important to you. Your first steps to success are to clearly define WHY you want something, HOW you can reach it and WHAT it will take to achieve it.

You can set a goal, make a plan and intend to follow-through with it, but you know what they say about good intentions... the road to hell is paved with them. That may be a little extreme, but even if it's not literally hell, if you're sacrificing your personal happiness for short term satisfaction or a fleeting moment of feeling good, over time it may feel like your own personal hell.

As this new year begins, take a moment to decide what your HOW, WHY and WHAT are. That will put you in control to make a thoughtful decision and a life-changing determination to do better, be better and live life on your terms... as you have clearly defined it.

While the main audience is obviously boxers, good advice for all of us. And there's always the "give it  10,000 hours of your best effort." I'm just about too old to devote 10,000 hours to try and master anything new at this point but I am going to try and have something to show for the next five years of my life, God willing. I've got the HOW & WHY pretty well figured out. Need to do a bit more on the WHAT. Of course, yesterday's events in Washington might lead to a new wrinkle in my plans.

I scheduled this post a couple of days ago not realizing the pro Trump rally was going to lead to the siege of the Capitol. I watched a bit of the television coverage and found it interesting that all the "talking heads" seemed to be surprised that the people have finally had just about enough. Bitter clingers and deplorables are only willing to tolerate so much. A hinky election, talk of gun confiscation, giving the little people $600.00 while giving billions to other countries, millions out of work , and they're surprised that people are pissed. Looks like maybe it has hit the fan. 

Hope you all are prepared for whatever comes our way. 2021 just might put 2020 to shame.

Package Arrivals

 

Both of my packages showed up. The one from Speedway that was delivered to the wrong address was on the porch this morning. The neighbor must have dropped it off on his way to work - thank you very much. The one from Jegs showed up at about 4:00 pm. According to the Fed-Ex website they tried to deliver it on Monday. Don't know why it didn't make it but I've got them both in house now, ready to go when I get back to work.

I went to the doc for my check up yesterday. After a few tests they sat me down in a little waiting room in the back area while waiting for the room to become available for the doctor's consult. Another older guy came in and I recognized him even with his mask on as a guy I used to work with at the school corporation. Seems he had cataract surgery yesterday too. There was a young lady sat down also and when I introduced myself to the other guy, she asked me to repeat my name. Turns out she was a former student of mine. Quite the coincidence.

Anyway, the check up went well so I'm on schedule for the left eye next week. I also got a phone call from the print shop about a job I dropped off quite awhile ago. They said it's done and they've been trying to contact me for a month. I put their number in my phone right after I dropped the job off so I'd be sure to recognize the number and answer if they called. Even if if I didn't recognize the number yesterday is the first time I got a message from them. Who knows? I need to go out and pick up some fresh produce today, so I'll run up to the print shop and pick up the order. Maybe pick up a couple donuts at the church bakery since I'll be right there. I don't need any sweets but I can score some solid points with the Missus. 

My Soul's Been Psychedelisized

 

I had the first cataract surgery yesterday. I was first up on the menu. I had to be there at 5:50 in the morning, so it was set the alarm for 4:30. I had to have someone drive me home due to being sedated (maybe I should have led with the Ramones), so the woman who normally gets out of bed sometime on the south side of noon went with me, and with no complaints I might add. They told me I would not be completely under but after they put the sedative in me the next thing I knew was I was waking up with the nurse telling me I was all done. When I first looked through the eye everything looked like one of the old hippy posters or a movie scene from the sixties with some dude trippin' on LSD. Far out man! Eye was scratchy feeling most of the day but no pain. Everything is much brighter now. When I look through the left eye everything seems to be sepia toned. When I get that one done, things should be really improved.

The folks at the surgery center were all first rate - friendly and professional. I'm not so sure I'd be that chipper with a six o'clock start on a Monday morning. I see the doc today for a check-up. I'll see what he says about a cheater lens for the welding helmet or reading glasses for my work in the shop. I think he's going to do some sort of scan after the second surgery. That might tell the story.

I got a phone call yesterday from the lady across the tracks. Seems the steering box I ordered from Speedway got delivered to her house. She said she'd bring it over but it was too heavy for her. I explained that I'd just gotten home from eye surgery and wasn't supposed to even bend over, let alone pick up something heavy so she said she'd have her husband bring it by after he got home from work. Unfortunately, no show. 

My remote oil filter that I ordered September 29th was finally shipped but it hasn't shown up either. I went to the Jegs website and typed in the order number and it said it was an invalid number. There were a couple of other things you could type in for your search but those didn't work either. I'm going to have to call Jegs apparently to figure out where my order went. As much merchandise that has been delivered here these past few months, you'd think the drivers would be able to find the house blindfolded. 

Ice Cold Tabs

 

Things were both icy and foggy yesterday morning. After the ice coated everything we got a little bit of snow. We had a few broken branches but nothing serious. I took a walk around to check things out and snapped a few photos. The temperature was just above freezing and it was nice and calm. Rather nice to be out, actually. Not so much the night before. Lots of slide-offs and accidents. In spite of the cooties and the deplorable road conditions apparently people just had to be out on New Years.

I got the tabs for the grill shell welded on and I clamped it in place ready to drill the holes. I received an e-mail from Speedway and Jegs that my steering box and remote oil filter were shipped. They'll both probably show up Monday but I won't be able to do anything due to me having the eye surgery. 

I'm excited about the surgery. If all goes as planned I might not need glasses at all, other than for reading or fine work, which means this will be the best my eyesight has been for over 50 years. After I see my own eye doc after the surgeries, I'll see what I need for reading glasses. With any luck at all I can just get some decent off the rack safety glasses to use in the shop and a cheater lens for the welding helmet. Here's hoping.  

 

Welcome 2021

 

Well the new year started off with an ice storm yesterday. Hope it's not an omen of what's to come this year. 

The power blinked on and off several times and went out once long enough for the generator to kick on. I was planning on doing a bit of shop work but gave up on that with the uncertainty of the power. One of my friends from the high school I traveled to Europe with posted a reminder on social media about filling the bathtub and keeping the house warm and toasty. Someone asked why fill the bathtub? Obviously not someone having any experience living in the country who has had to deal with power outages. We had a big storm quite a few years back and were without power for 4-5 days. I filled the bathtub prior to losing power and we always keep some bottled water on hand anyway - both drinking water for us and the animals. We were just about out of water for flushing when Surly and one of his buddies showed up with some water. We still had the water heater I could have tapped into but I was at least prepared for a week. 

I've got a couple of cases of bottled water and three five gallon jugs of drinking water on hand along with the generator, so I should be good. I don't want to be totally reliant on the generator and I do have the outside well with the pitcher pump I drove a couple of years, but now is a good time to be thinking of how well you're prepared. Experiencing Mother Nature's wrath is bad, of course, but I read the other day of someone sabotaging the natural gas supply in Colorado. So who knows?

I've been watching some videos by Jeremiah Babe posted at Running 'Cause I Can't Fly2. He's been assessing the current political and financial status and been offering advice on how to prepare for the upcoming events as he sees them. He's been dealing mostly with the financial aspects but might be worth your while to take a gander at a couple of them. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. 

Back in the shop today. As to the photo, Rocky's birthday was yesterday.

Finally Done

 

Glad that's over. Now we try it again in 2021. From what I've been reading, however, things are going to be worse instead of better before too much longer. The $600 dollars all of us will be getting is a typical government response to a problem. Many people don't need the money and for many it's not going to do anywhere near enough. When the rent and mortgage forbearance runs out, there's going to be a lot of evictions, homeless and hungry people. I don't know but I won't be surprised if I have to pay income tax on the stimulus money. I have to pay income tax on my Social Security check which is money I paid as a tax, so if they can tax a tax, they can tax you're relief check. Have to wait and see about that one.

On the home front, I got my Covid test yesterday. Just got my throat swabbed, rather than sticking the Q-tip up my nose. I should be good to go now for the cataract surgery. I'm hoping this works out as well as what I was told. The eyesight has really deteriorated over the last year. I was welding on the inside of grill shell the other day and I moved my head to see under the gas cup and had to use just my right eye due to my position and everything went fuzzy. Pain in the ass. 

I'm not making any resolutions for the new year. I've got an exercise and diet plan in the works already so all I'm really interested in doing is continuing progress in the shop and around the house. Everything else will depend on how things go with the virus, the economy and the political situation. Play it by ear, roll with the punches, do what I can.

I wish all of you the best. Hopefully it will be a good year for you in spite of my pessimism.