On my bike ride the other evening I spotted a couple pieces of angle that were put out for the garbage man. After I finished the ride, I went back with the truck and picked them up. They're a pair of old bedrails. I'm assuming they're old not only by the rust but by the length as well. The one thing to remember about old bedrails is they are made from a high carbon steel - hard to cut and drill, and if you're going to weld on them, it's best to use a low hydrogen electrode like a 7018.
The bag of dirt is for planting flowers. I got the last of them in the planters yesterday afternoon. It was close to 90 degrees out and after the planting I did a couple other little things and called it quits. I need to work my way up slowly to get myself acclimated to the heat. Being an old man and a cardiac patient, discretion is the better part of valor. I need to get out early or late in the day for my bike ride and tending the garden.
There's a couple things on the calendar for this upcoming week but should be able to get back out in the shop and make some progress.
I took a little short hop on the bicycle over to the Industrial Park the other evening and the paving outfit has upgraded their driveway entrance. They used to have just one roller, but now there's two and they're both painted up nice. Once upon a time in my checkered past, I worked for a blacktopping outfit and when I wasn't changing tires or running a scoop shovel, I was rolling asphalt. The one I ran was a little smaller than the ones in the photo, but it paid the bills and my college tuition. Just a small part of my diverse background, but I learned how to drive a tri-axle dump with a 5 and a 3 transmission.
My little orchid I received as a gift many years ago. It's still in the original pot but I'm afraid to mess with it. As you can see from the photo, it seems to be doing OK as it is. When we first moved here roughly 25 years ago, there wasn't a flower anywhere, which I found surprising. No "ditch lilies", iris or multi-flora roses, which were almost always to be found at old farmsteads. That's all changed now. We've got quite a few things blooming around here, it's certainly not a showcase operation, but the place looks lived in now.
The Missus and I went to the movies Monday to see Revolutionary America. It's a very good movie chronicling the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, the war years, and the beginning of the new country. It gives an excellent description of what the founders and the original Patriots went through to form the country. Much of the content came from Hillsdale professors. I was impressed with their presentations. It didn't seem they were just reciting facts, but rather they seemed to truly understand what the founders went through and the importance of preserving the ideals they were willing to die for. I'm of the opinion the knuckleheads running this country, at the very least, should see this movie. It probably won't change much, but maybe they would at least have a tinge of regret for what they've allowed to happen, because there damn sure isn't going to be an easy way to get us out of the mess we're in.
World Bicycle Day today - little late notice but I've been busy.
I saw the above sign along the side of the road the other day, came home and looked it up. Seems there's a bike ride in the near future from one of the big dairy farms (tourist attraction) to the county courthouse. Nineteen miles one way, and that's the problem. One way with no shuttle bus or anything to get you back to the start. Since it's coming up pretty soon, I could be in shape to do the 19, but not 38 if I wanted to ride back to the start. I did find a local ride August 1st that has 40, 60 and 100-mile routes. I'm planning on doing the 40 miler for sure, maybe the 60, depending on the weather, training, etc.
I've been out on the bike the last few days - short hops, but now I've got an event to train for, so I'll get busy.
I came across this on Facebook on a Sprint owners' group, I think. I didn't get the details because I swooned when I saw it. It's a '67 HD Sprint H that appears to be in showroom condition. I bought an identical one 58 years ago when I was a senior in high school. Right side shift, which took a little getting used to, and the handlebars were rubber mounted which also took a little getting used to, but I loved that bike. I saved up my money from paper route, frying chicken and doing farm chores to buy it.
It cost me $650.00 which took me a bit to save up for. When I finally had the money, my mother said I should get a loan to start establishing a credit rating. I didn't much care about a credit rating at that point, but I knew better than to cross Mom on this deal. We went to the bank together so she could co-sign the note, we sat down across from the loan officer, and I told him I wanted $300.00 to buy a motorcycle. He said no because he didn't like motorcycles, and that's when Mom came unglued. She tells the guy the only reason we were sitting there is because she convinced me it would be a good idea and if he's not going to loan me the money, he should get his ass out of the chair and write her a check because she was closing her account where she had done business for over twenty years. The loan officer excused himself, probably to check on Mom's account, and came back shortly with a loan application for me.
I had the bike for almost one year exactly, had put a little over 5,000 miles on it and then it was stolen out of the garage in the middle of the night while we were home. The steering was locked, so there were probably two people involved. One year later I was working nights at the foundry and Mom hollered at me at 8:00 in the morning to get up, the FBI was on the phone and they wanted to talk to me. Seems they found the bike in Tennessee at a gas station. I had already been paid by the insurance company but I asked the FBI agent how it looked and he said it was in pieces. I don't know what happened to it after that but if you ever come across a '67 Sprint H with the serial number 67H17889, that's the one.
I got the swingarm bolt out of the frame on the Yamaha yesterday. Just like the Mounties, I too always get my man.
The "Killer" singing one of my favorite hymns. Kind of ironic, him singing a religious tune, considering he married his 13-year-old cousin.
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Went to the grandson's graduation Friday night - short and sweet. The whole ceremony only lasted an hour, mostly due to the fact it's a small high school. The Missus and I are quite proud of the young man.
Saturday morning I went to the boxing club - been a while since I was there. Did some bag work and shot the breeze with Jimmy for a bit. Grocery store after that. I'm not shocked by the price of groceries these days but not pleased with how the prices have gone up over the last few years. Anyone considering retirement should gaze deeply into their crystal ball to see what future prices are going to look like. The fixed income thing could leave you in the lurch with unforeseen inflation.
After I got home I managed to watch some motorcycle racing from Road America on the television. The second installment will be on today. I also watched Cool Hand Luke for about the 50th time. One of my all-time favorites. I wouldn't have except it was on TCM, so no commercials.
Some mowing on the agenda today and some exercise, either walking or cycling, along with a little something else as yet to be determined to round out the day.
Hillsdale College has a made a movie that will be showing May 31, June 1 & 2. The movie is titled Revolutionary America and the link here will take you where you can find a theatre showing it, as well as how to get a buy one, get one deal. The Missus and I will be going to support Hillsdale College and as a refresher course on American history.
Surly and I did the Appleseed shoot several years ago and history instruction was included along with marksmanship instruction. Also, I went on a National Endowment for the Humanities summer trip years ago. I was right there where the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" was fired. I also visited the site of Thoreau's cabin. I think it's more important now than it has been in years to know about the founding of the country. Patriotism requires knowledge of our country's history.
I realize this is short notice, but if you can find a theatre in your neighborhood might be worth your while. The movie is a tick under two hours and all the showings that I saw were afternoons at 4:30.
A few of my favorites I don't hear too often. If my buddy Kevin and I would have been able to get our low wattage radio station up and running, besides broadcasting school events, we'd be playing a huge variety of tunes. In fact, Kevin had an uncle I believe it was, who had a bluegrass band, and I worked with a guy years ago who wrote a couple of religious songs that I've got the sheet music for. There should be a place for that stuff.
My first bike trip 23 years ago was on the Katy Trail with another of the shop teachers from the high school. We stopped in a little burg for the night that had a bike hostel and a little bar next door. We got us a couple of beers and a Tombstone pizza and kicked back. Later in the evening they had Karaoke and we were informed it was our turn after the regulars were done. I don't remember what my saddle pal sang but I did the two numbers above. And you can bet your bottom dollar, if Kevin and I would have gotten the radio station up and running, there would have been Buck Owens and Johnny Cash on the playlist.
Not much to show on the project front due to doctor's visits and general life things that are never ending but I did pick up some fuel line and a filter for the trials bike and dug out the carb I'm planning on using. I'm going with a Mikuni rather than a Dellorto that are normally used on these little Ducatis.
The can of Blaster is for another bike project. The grandson is starting to work on a Yamaha SR500 and the swingarm bolt is frozen solid in the frame. All of the usual tricks to get it out haven't worked but I haven't given up yet.
The eye doctor who did my surgery checked out my eyes yesterday and one is real good, the other as good as it's ever going to be, which is what I figured going in. Next week I'm going to see the toe doctor. I imagine that's going to involve some pain and some healing. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.
A couple of observations on Memorial Day weekend. First off, up until I was eighteen, Memorial Day was always the 30th of May. At that time the federal government decided we needed some three-day weekends, four of them in fact. I'm still in the May 30th camp as are many others, however.
Secondly, there are a lot of people who don't know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. When Cuzzin Ricky and I do our tour every year, we only decorate one grave of someone who died in the line of duty. The majority of the men folks were veterans but no point in planting flowers in November here in northwest Indiana. The weather is one of the reasons May 30th was chosen as the date, along with the fact the first Decoration Day was on the 30th.
And, many people just don't have the respect they should have for those who have given everything to secure our freedoms. Especially those in Washington. Our country is in serious trouble with no end in sight.
If you have a few minutes, follow the link to John Kass's Memorial Day opinion piece he wrote in 2022. Kass used to work for the Chicago Tribune and I used to read his columns when I subscribed years back. It's about the best viewpoint on Memorial Day you'll ever come across, in my opinion. Give it a look and remember the importance of the day.
A couple of big skeeter looking bugs and a tree frog on the service door of the garage.
Frog close up. I was in and out of the garage but I used one of the big doors rather than bothering the frog. We get all kinds of wild things around here - animal, vegetable and mineral.
My trees showed up yesterday. The magnolia is a Japanese type - not sure what that means, but it should be pretty when it blooms. The outfit I ordered it from had a few other Japanese trees but the yellow one was sold out. That would make for an interesting addition to the other magnolias I've got in the yard.
I got the magnolia and the cherry tree in the ground and cut the back yard. Sprayed some weeds and diddled around with some other yard work.
I went to the small engine place uptown the other day to get some fuel line for the trials bike but all they had was the black rubber rather than the clear. There's another place that should have it not too far from me. I'm going over that way this week, so I'll check while I'm in the neighborhood.
Looks like it's going to be nice all weekend - yesterday was a pip. Going walking with my "tribe" today, and I've got some help lined up for a bit of heavy lifting. Feeling pretty good these days but I still don't have much stamina. It's taking me longer to get back in shape than I thought it would, but other than all the aches and pains from my self inflicted injuries, I'm not doing too bad for a guy my age and I'm real thankful for that.
Getting back into a rhythm finally - meaning I'm once again tackling things with my normal shotgun approach. I ordered a cherry tree and a magnolia while they were 50% off. It'll be a while before I have cherries but that's another reason to take care of myself. I also ordered some racoon & rodent repellent that should be here today. Even though I think I figured out how the racoons are getting in, I'll spray the repellent around for the mice and in the attic next spring for the 'coons.
I pulled the cover off the trials bike to get it back into the rotation. I did a bit on the wiring and installed a filter on the crankcase breather opening. I need to get some fuel line and a small inline filter, finish welding the mounting tabs on the gas tank and then have my buddy come by and see about getting this thing running.
And moving to another project as is my way, I need to figure out what I want to do about the muffler on the Jitney project. I bought an auger type insert for the tail pipe, but I want to dress up the end of the pipe. I'm thinking a fishtail might be cool, but since the tailpipe is 3" diameter the fish tail might be a little overbearing. I've been thinking about another design as well - I'll have to draw up a decent sketch and see how I like it.
Cuzzin Ricky and I are doing the annual Dead Relative's Tour today - planting flowers on the graves of all of our relatives and a few others up north.
Magnolia blossoms that flower a bit later than the others. When looking at the photos both of the blossoms appear to be about the same size. However, the one in the top photo is actually about twice the size of the lower one. The lower one is much more fragrant, though.
While doing my yard work the last few days, I decided I need a pollinator for the cherry tree. The tree is one I planted from seed from cherries I bought while on my bicycle trip pedaling through Washington State. The Magnolias and a few other things I had purchased from Oikos, so I went online to see what was available from them as well as a couple of replacement persimmon trees . It seems they no longer sell trees though, only seeds. Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere.
The garden is all in and the flowers are planted, so I'll just have to stay up with the watering and weed control. It rained really hard this morning, with more forecast for tomorrow, so I won't have to worry about watering for a couple of days, but it'll definitely make the weeds grow.
It looks like it's going to be a bad year for bug bites. I've already been bit several times by mosquitoes and chiggers, and I've pulled a couple of ticks off as well. Last year there was hardly a mosquito to be found. I hate spraying myself with bug spray. I don't like the idea of anointing myself with chemicals on a daily basis - just doesn't seem all that healthy. I have a screen door for the shop I made a few years back, time to get it out of the big barn and installed again.
I think I finally found how the racoons are getting in the shop, which is a good thing because they've done quite a bit of damage to the ceiling. I ordered some repellent that is supposed to work on 'coons as well as mice, so I'll spray up topside as well as down below. It has a peppermint smell that should be much more pleasant than the stuff the racoons have been blessing me with.
I've still have more outdoor stuff that needs work, but I'll be back inside working on projects as well. I've been back on the bicycle a bit and have started the fitness plan. Long way to go on getting back into shape where I want to be, but as my old pal Joey used to say, steady by jerks.
The American Dream is a pretty hard sell these days. Going along with that is the following video from the Patriot Nurse:
I watch her posts occasionally and she always has something to say that's worth listening to. This one's about 16 minutes long but she puts some things in perspective that might be helpful.
The farmer showed up on Thursday and ran the disc over the front fields. That's a shot looking west from the mailbox. The grassy strips have gotten narrower since I moved in years ago. The previous owner wanted a wide green space on both sides of the lane. She also didn't want corn on both sides at the same time because it gave her the "willies" or something when it got up high. She and the farmer did shares on the rent, meaning the farmer would have to harvest the soybeans and take it to the elevator, then swap out the bean head for the corn head on the combine and do it again. We agreed to a cash rent and the same crop on both sides of the lane every year doesn't bother me at all. Made his life a lot easier and as long as I don't have to mow it, my life too.
Looking east from the deck yesterday morning. I didn't talk to the farmer, but I'm thinking it's about time for soybeans this year. From what I've been seeing, fertilizer is hard to come by this spring. It would make sense to plant beans, since they're a legume and legumes add nitrogen back into the soil the corn removes.
I planted the garden yesterday and some flowers, along with mowing the back yard. I've still got a little more flower planting to do but it's supposed to rain the next few days. Since those are from seed, I'll try and get them in as soon as I can so the rain will get them to sprout. I've got quite a few tomato plants planted. I might have to get the Missus to give me a few lessons on canning. Food preservation is going to be important in the future, I'm thinking, and going hungry is definitely not part of the American Dream.
I got an email from Low Brow Customs about the Sportster off-road adventure ride coming up in June. If you click on the link you'll get the details and see photos from a past run. It looks like a lot of fun but I think my time for that sort of thing has come and gone. However, it'd be a lot of fun building an "Adventure Sportster". There's plenty of old Sportsters on Marketplace - buy one cheap, go through it and then go play in the dirt. I've done a few self-contained long distance bicycle rides, so I know how to pack light and what equipment to bring. Things like changing tires is a lot tougher with a motorcycle than a bicycle, and wrestling a 500 pound bike is a whole bunch harder than with a 25 pounder, especially for an old dude.
Surly needed a replacement pulley for a sander and couldn't find one that was going to be here in a timely fashion, but since he's a machinist, he made his own. Like a lot of things these days, you'd play hell trying to find someone to machine one, and if they had the capability, it would be cost prohibitive. Planned obsolescence might not have been the intention when designing or spec'ing out the original pulley, but there's a whole bunch of stuff out there you just have to toss out if it breaks. And if you're going to throw it out, no need for people with the skills and the equipment to repair it. However, I came across a place than can restore your project, whether that's machine work or making new replacement parts. I'm sure it's not the place I would go to for the old junk I work on, but if you had a high dollar project, they might be just the ticket.
I hooked up the pull behind sprayer yesterday to kill some weeds. Things were going quite well until I went to park the mower and sprayer in the barn. I looked back when driving through the door and there was no sprayer behind me. The hitch broke about 50 yards from the barn and that was that. It broke once before when I jackknifed the sprayer when backing up. I didn't do that yesterday, but it broke in the same spot again.
I welded the broken piece back in and then welded a piece of 1/4" steel to reinforce it. I can make the hitch strong enough it'll never break again but I don't want to make it so stout it'll twist the tongue. Hopefully, this will do the trick.
The forecast called for chilly temps last night so I held off planting anything in the garden. I think I should be safe now to get the veggies and flowers outside. I've been reading a lot about the havoc the Iranian situation is liable to cause this year. In addition to the oil shortage, fertilizer is also going to be in short supply. And even if the ships started sailing through the pinch point today, it'll take quite a while for things to get back to normal - if they ever do. Good time to get your preps in order. No telling how this is all going to shake out.
Not the best photo but the bright sunlight outside the window made getting a decent exposure difficult. The phone might have a way to adjust the exposure but I'm more of a point and shoot guy with a cell phone. I did turn on the flash which filled in the shadows a bit, but it would never make National Geographic. Regardless, the point of the photo is the fact I painted the windows on the north end of the shop and washed them. They would look better with a second coat, but this was the first time they've been repainted since I installed them years ago. Definitely brightened up the place.
In the top left of the photo you can see a hole in the ceiling. I cut the insulating board yesterday to replace a 4' square that has suffered some racoon damage. I'm planning on making a scuttle where the existing hole is so I can set traps for both coons and squirrels. Unfortunately, that's going to require a road trip since the lumber yard in town closed down.
The corollary to that of course is if all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The school where I started my teaching career is having a 50-year class reunion around my birthday - meet and greet the first day, reunion the second, and on the third day a picnic at the city park that is only a few blocks from where the high school was. I might go to the picnic just for the heck of it. It was a good job during some interesting times. If you've ever watched the movie Cooley High that'll give you a pretty good idea of what my school was like. Very fortunate to have worked there for my first four years.
Mert Lawill passed away a couple of days ago. He was the AMA Grand National Champion in 1969 and part of the Harley Davidson "Wrecking Crew" back then. He was very successful with bicycles, designing mountain bike suspensions. He was also featured prominently in the movie On Any Sunday. And in my case, one of my personal heroes of the motorcycling fraternity.
Fortunately, I don't have to go back to work ever again. Yesterday was my one-year anniversary of my second, or third, but definitely my last retirement. I'll keep piddling around doing some work for friends and family, but that's because there aren't any welding shops around anymore or they don't do general repair work. Mostly, however, I do them just to keep my hand in. I spent a long time learning the trade and I want to keep my skills sharp, especially since I have so many projects of my own. If you don't use it, you lose it.
I saw this yesterday while I was out. It's a Volkswagen ID-Buzz. According to the VW website it starts at $59,999. That's a lot of money but nothing comes cheap these days. It's a cute thing but I'm not in the market for a van, especially an electric one. If I was still working at the high school, I could recharge it by running an extension cord out back like I did for the block heater with the old Ford van. Of course, someone would complain so the order would come down from on high there would be no charging of vehicles on the company's dime.
First cut with the new router setup. The angle is a little too steep, but I cut the rabbet pretty shallow to get a look at how it was going to work. Once I got the feel for it, it was easy enough to move along and get a nice cut. I'm going to shim the fixture some to change the angle. When it looks right, I'll machine it to the proper angle. Looks like about a 3-degree change of angle will do it.
Rain and cool temps lately - big storm came through Monday night and a little more rain yesterday. The grass is growing like crazy, so I'll be mowing the next couple of days along with some project time. I did finish the windmills. The pieces had been galvanized and vinyl coated, and the broken cups the bearings fit in were paper thin. Not the easiest things to weld, but just like the Mounties, I always get my man.
Good day yesterday - chilly but productive. I left the house about 7:30 to pick up the flowers for "The Dead Relatives Tour" and it was just a little above freezing. The sun was out and it warmed up rather quickly. I had to pick the flowers up at the fairgrounds, which are only a short hop, skip, and a jump from Coach Jen's house, so we did breakfast. She's got a lot going on these days, so we got caught up on a couple of things, but it doesn't look like her and I will be involved with any boxing training together any time soon.
After I came home, I went to work on some yard work, walked the dog, put the finishing touches on the router fixture and then watched the Kentucky Derby - good race. Surly and I stopped at Churchill Downs when we took the sidecar trip to Eastern Kentucky about 40 years ago. Looking back, I've been really lucky to have done all the things I've done and traveled to all the places I've been to, both home and abroad. I've got a couple of places I'd like to visit this summer, including a Buc-ee's. I'm thinking my life just won't be complete unless I see one of those before I die.
The grandson is scheduled to come down today to help me with some chores. He's a big strong lad - just what I need since I'm not anymore. A couple of days should really help me whittle down the to-do list.
Little by little as they say. I want to put the finishing touches on a few jobs that have been lingering in the shadows. So of course, another job shows up on my doorstep. This one is for my wife's sister. The El-cheapo windmills twisted the necks off the fans over the winter. I just glanced at them, but it doesn't look like too difficult a repair.
My last year at the high school I started building a wooden boat. I was making good progress, and the students were learning. And then I had the heart attack and that was the end of boat building along with the end of my high school teaching career. The boat got moved into my woodshop and basically has been languishing there ever since. The original plans came from Wooden Boat magazine with the author building the boat step by step with hand tools.
Since it's a lapstrake boat, the bottom edge of the planks, actually the top edge since the boat is built initially upside down, have a relief cut so the next plank will lay in nicely with a 3/4" overlap. I only got one plank done using a rabbet plane and a chisel. It came out okay but extremely time consuming. Harbor Freight had a trim router at a good price for their club members, so I bought one for the express purpose of cutting the rabbets figuring I could make a piece to bolt on that would allow me to cut a nice even width and at the proper bevel angle. As soon as I finish cutting the corners off the aluminum plate in the photo, that piece should be done. However, I'm going to need some longer screws to fasten it to the router and they seem to be some odd ball thread. They appear to be 4mm diameter, but the standard pitch is .7 and these are .75. This is going to take some looking into.
I finished the lead pot yesterday. It's a bit larger than what it needs to be for making lead soldiers, but I think the hammer mold is still over at the high school and I'd like to make a couple more. Plus, I might get ambitious and see about making some ammo for my muzzle loader - certainly not a priority since I haven't shot it in at least 10 years. However, since Surly was talking about a job, we've got everything we need now.
After cleaning up the shop I did a "walk-a-bout" to see what's what around here. I've got lots of half-finished things around here - need to get busy and see if I can complete a few of them.
Surly bought himself a mini-bike recently. He and a couple of his buddies have decided to fool around with these things and see who will be the first one to break a wrist or a collar bone. I picked one up years ago when he was a pup, fixed it up to give it to him for Christmas. I ran it down the sidewalk and figured it was an accident waiting to happen, so I got rid of it.
The one in the photo is a Ruttman Spyder, or was originally. It has been modified some and we modified it more yesterday. Actually, what we did was more on the order of getting things straightened out, both functionally and cosmetically.
The original braking was with a drum brake in the rear wheel. Someone added a scrub brake on the rear wheel that was somewhat functional but butt-ugly. We made a new lever, added a better set-up for the return spring and added a stop bolt to adjust the resting position of the lever. I cut a couple of brackets off and extended the kick stand. That should be all of the fabricating.
Surly will have a nice little rig when he gets it all done. I had a great time working in the shop with him yesterday - it's been a while since we've worked on a project together.
When Surly came down the other day he mentioned he wanted to pour some lead for a job and found the ladle, the army man molds and the little electric heater, but not the big lead pot I made years ago. I took a look around later and I couldn't find it, either. I think I might have loaned it to the high school instructor, but rather than checking with him, I decided to make another one. Not much to it - a piece of pipe, plate on the bottom, a little tab to grip with a pair of vise grips, and a pour spout made from a short piece of angle. In this case, the pipe had a cut-out where the spout was going, so I had to make filler pieces. I've still got to make feet and a bail, and clean up the welds on the inside of the spout - maybe today.
The Blues ain't a thing around here - life's pretty good these days, all things considered. Eye sight's not all that good, same with my hearing, cardiac patient and have more than a few aches and pains, but still kicking and haven't lost my marbles yet, so I'll just ride this train as far as it'll take me.
The weather's been good the last couple of days - just like spring should be. My new insurance policy on the bikes takes effect today, so I need to get a plate for the Sportster and take it out once in a while. Time to get the bicycle out as well. I haven't got my fitness plan finalized for the summer but I'm going to be setting aside time every morning for riding the bike and/or some Tai-Chi work and get caught up on some yard work and shop time. Looking forward to a productive summer in spite of what's going on with world and national events. The Empire as we know it is sinking fast. Since there's nothing I can do to fix it, I'll just count my blessings and enjoy my time on this earth.
I made a couple of loaves of rhubarb bread yesterday morning. Not the most attractive photo, but I can assure you they tasted better than they looked. Bad lighting, and the dark color makes the bread look burnt, but such is not the case. The Missus gave me a new recipe and it called for sprinkling a mixture of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon over the top of the batter prior to baking. Didn't help with the appearance but did enhance the taste. One loaf for eating, one loaf for freezing.
Afterward cleaning up the kitchen, took the dog to the vet, weed whacked his poop park, and then mowed the back yard. Fairly productive day. Haircut and mowing the front yard on tap this morning. Nothing definite planned for later.
Surly came down yesterday to give me a hand turning the garden over. By giving me a hand I mean doing all the work. I'll need to finish up some things but the strip on the left was sod, so the help was greatly appreciated. The lower right spot has some strawberries. I'm going to put some type of edging around them. The green spot in the middle has asparagus plants there. I'll clean that up with a hand trowel and get the edge next to the rhubarb cleaned up as well.
While Surly was here I had him help me load my "T" argon cylinder in my pickup. In this case I actually did my share. A full tank weighs about 130 lbs. I used to hump those things around solo, but as Clint said, a man has to know his limitations. The big cylinder holds twice the gas as the "S" cylinder I just refilled. Since my torch is no longer leaking, I just might have a lifetime supply now.
It was cold Sunday night. The water in the birdbath was frozen yesterday morning. I gave a quick glance at the fruit trees, and they didn't seem to be hurt but I'll know more in a couple of days. Lots of work to do, both inside and out, but I'm looking forward to knocking out a few jobs on the "honey-do" list.
I was looking through Market Place the other day, primarily to find a used rototiller cheap and close to home, and a couple of early eighties Corvettes popped up. I'm not in the market for any automobile presently but I was surprised at the prices - $5,000 or $6,000. I always thought a Corvette would be a good investment and would appreciate in value. I knew they were slugs as far as performance went. They were no longer "the only American sportscar" as they were once marketed but became cars old men with deep pockets bought.
I looked up the specs on these dogs and it's pretty easy to understand why they're selling so cheap on the used market. A 350 CID engine making 200 horsepower with an automatic trans behind it. If you were to compare the specs of a 1962 Corvette, you could get a 327 with the solid lifter cam that was making 340 horses and a 4-speed trans.
I had a '62 Impala like this one. It also had a 327 and a 4-speed. There were several engine options, including the 327 in two different states of tune - 250 hp or a 300 hp version. The straight six with the 3-speed had about the same performance as the '82 'Vette.
So going forward twenty years, it appears the Corvette went backwards in performance, rather than forwards. I realize much of this was due to federal smog requirements, but it seems like GM decided the answer was to shave the lumps off the camshafts, lean out the engines and make sure you couldn't adjust the carburetors.
Fortunately, Corvette went back to its roots and decided to build real sportscars again. The bottom of the current line will run you about $70,000 but you can go up to over 1,000 horsepower if you're willing to part with $200,000. Personally, if I was going to consider buying a sportscar that would be fun to drive and wouldn't break the bank with selling price, sales tax and insurance, I'd look hard at a Honda Civic Type R. 315 horsepower, 6-speed transmission and less than $50,000. I'm thinking the fun factor would be right in my wheelhouse.
I went to the Golden Gloves in Indy Thursday night again - late night. There were 30 fights on the card, but several walkovers, we left with a couple of fights left but it was still after 1:00 by the time I got home. Being retired, I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in and finally rolled out of the sack about 9:00 yesterday morning.
It was a nice day to be out yesterday - sunny and warm. I installed the newly sharpened blades on the mower and cut the front yard. Did a bit of puttering outside and mostly just kept my feet moving the rest of the day. Got some errands to run today. Just what gets done will depend on the weather. Big storm rolled through again last night. They're calling for frost coming up. I hope it's not bad enough to harm the fruit trees. Mother Nature seems to be a little cranky this spring.
I picked up a fresh argon bottle yesterday and finished the fenders without any further drama. I picked up an "S" bottle which is just about the limit as far as me manhandling a tank into the back of my truck. I have a "T" cylinder I should drag out, get some help loading and get it refilled. It's a big-un and now that I have no more torch leaks, between the two bottles that'll probably be a lifetime supply for me.
I was staring to work on the weed-whacker the other day and thought it might be helpful to find a parts diagram to see how everything goes together. I found one but it seems the site was infected and passed it along to my laptop. However, I tried the computer again last evening and it told me to reload Edge and that should take care of the problem. Low and behold, it did. So, I'm hoping it's a lasting fix. I did talk to a computer wizard at the ham radio meeting the other night who said he'd take a look, but I don't want to put anyone on the spot. Anyway, I got the weed-whacker apart. I'll see if the tank's the leaking part or the rubber piece feeding the carb. The rubber piece is in stock uptown for $17.00. That'll be cheap enough.
It's supposed to rain the next couple of days, so I'll get the mower in the shop and get the blades swapped out, change oil and filters. The grass is really growing now. It'll be fun putting that $4.00 per gallon in the tank.
Surly sent me a pic of his latest leather working job. Besides being a good craftsman, he's got a good eye. Must have got that from his mother, because I don't have the eye of an artist.
However, I am pretty good at problem solving and cobbling things together. The torch on my TIG machine developed another leak while trying to weld the aluminum fenders. Actually, I think it started while welding the bike radiators. Since this is the second time the hose sprung a leak and it's not really made to be repaired, I pondered the situation for a bit to come up with a permanent and expedient solution. A new 25' torch and hose is $159.00 from Everlast. I wouldn't mind spending the money, but I'd want some assurance the rubber hose inside the braided outer cover wasn't going to give up the ghost like the other one did. I got to looking at the torch set-up from my old welder and decided I could make that work.
The new machine is set for the Dinse plugs, rather than studs like on my old machine. I did purchase a pair of adapters to hook up my long leads with male Jackson plugs right after purchasing the new machine. Using the Dinse to Jackson adapter on the machine, I tapped the inside of a male Jackson plug for a 5/8" bolt where the cable usually goes and bolted the end piece of the old torch to the machine. I shortened up a hose barb and hooked up the gas line. Voila! Done deal and easy to remove from the machine with just a quick twist if I want to change over to stick welding.
No expense, no trip to the hardware store and it literally should last me a lifetime. Just need to get another bottle of argon and I'll be able to finish the fenders.
I had to go to the hospital the other day to pick up some medical records for the Missus and they were making a lift on the new addition while I was there. That telescoping boom is pretty impressive and the cab appeared to tilt to enable the operator a better view when setting the lift up on the roof. I don't have any idea what it would cost to rent that crane, but added in with the rest of the expenses, it would help explain the cost of a hospital visit. My recent emergency room visit and overnight stay was a tick over $100,000. The ambulance ride was $2,400. I don't have any idea what the rehab program cost but as much as I bitch about the government and the wasteful spending of my tax dollars, Medicare does a fine job of picking up the tab. The doctors take a beating, but old farts like me with Medicare and a supplement insurance policy, don't have to worry about medical expenses in our retirement.
I had to go to the dentist yesterday. That's a different story. I've got dental insurance but it's pretty limited. Likewise, my eye insurance. So even though Medicare takes care of the majority of the bills, when you add up all of the costs for insurance policies, you better have a source of income besides Social Security if you want to retire comfortably or hope you never have a catastrophic event, whether medical or with property damage like the folks around here who were hit recently with tornado damage.
I bought motorcycle insurance the other day. The outfit I had the Himalayan insured with, along with car, truck, trailers and property, didn't offer a discount if I added the Sportster in. Four vehicles insured, with only two operators, and only one of us riding motorcycles, they could have thrown in the Sportster for free as far as I'm concerned. After all, I can only operate one of the vehicles at a time and the book value of a '77 Sportster isn't much. I switched to Geico and the premium for both bikes is next to nothing. My coverage is at a minimum, but I don't ride much anymore, nor do I ride like I did when I was a young man.
Insurance is a racket, no doubt about it, but you need to protect yourself. The combined premiums on all of my policies is my biggest monthly expense. I never gave that much thought when I was doing my retirement planning. Something to think about, though.
Very much under-rated singer. I think like a lot of blues/soul artists, she just didn't get a lot of airtime on mainstream radio back in the sixties. There were a couple of AM stations I used to listen to back then that played a lot of black artists, but radio was moving to all mainstream rock and roll, and album cuts on FM, as I recall. WLS was the big AM station in Chicago with Clark Weber when I was in high school and for a few years thereafter. I think they were still broadcasting the Breakfast Club and The National Barn Dance at that time as well. One of my alternative stations featured Daddy-O's Jazz Patio. That's where you could hear Carla Thomas and other Jazz, Blues and Soul artists back then.
They just don't make 'em like this one anymore. And if they do, I don't know where I would go to listen to them. The public radio stations I used to listen to went to a talk radio format. Shame really. If I wanted to listen to people yapping for hours on end I'd sit on a barstool.
I was on the road yesterday and got a call about fixing some aluminum fenders. The photo doesn't reveal the extent of the damage, but lots of cracks to be fixed. I'm guessing some of the cracking was from vibration but judging by the way they are bent, someone was standing on them. I wasn't looking for any work, but he came to me by way of a friend of mine. I still find it odd a small city where he lives doesn't have a weld shop. That's how I ended up welding the helicopter tanks.
Picked up the air and oil filters for the mower and got the first mowing of the season done. I'll get the filters changed and swap the blades out in the next couple of days. My weed-whacker leaked a puddle of gas on the garage floor, so I need to see about fixing that. I got the pickup in for service yesterday, picked up some medical records for the Missus at the hospital, and did some grocery shopping. Doing some household chores and driving the Missus to an appointment today. No rest for the wicked.
I've done a pretty fair job of mixing it up over the years - aren't too many things left on the bucket list.
Cuzzin Ricky and I had beignets at the Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans after riding the City of New Orleans down there and a more recent trip to the Grand Canyon by train.
I've been to Europe several times but I'm done with international travel. There's a couple of places I'd like to visit but I'm not getting back on an airplane again. While air travel is still probably the safest form of travel, there have been some recent incidents that have given me pause, as well as the whole experience at the airports both coming and going.
I've got a couple of places in the US I'd still like to visit, but I don't know when or if that will ever happen. I no longer feel comfortable leaving the Missus on her own and she doesn't travel well. I do feel fairly comfortable with my own health again. I finished up the cardiac rehab on Monday and both the surgeon who replaced the plugged stent and my own cardiologist said no damage to the heart, and I should be good for another 100,000.
Now that the weather has turned warm at least a couple days per week, I'll be tending to some outside chores and doing some inside things on the rainy days.
I've been working on my family history once again. Ancestry has more resources available and other members have posted more information that ties into to my bloodline, such as the above photo. The lady on the right is my great, grand aunt, born 1869. I used to attend an annual family reunion of the descendants of her and her sister for years. These were relatives on my dad's side. Unfortunately, as the older generations passed away, so too did the reunions. Surly hosted a revival several years back, which was well attended and great to see us all together again along with the younger generation.
I've been concentrating my recent efforts on the paternal side but I'm going to start working on the maternal side soon. I've been adding all the new information to my family tree on Ancestry and once I gather all that is easily available, I'll see about getting it all typed up to make an addendum to the book I published a few years back. I think I will have to take a road trip to Tennessee before I go to press on that, however.
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April is National Welding Month. Welding has progressed dramatically since the days of the blacksmith working at his forge. The recent launch of the spaceship that's going to circle the moon wouldn't have been possible without welding. Likewise, your automobiles, bicycles, household appliances, and most everything else in your daily life, either directly or in their manufacture.
If you know someone looking to go into the trade but needs some financial help for a trade school, don't forget the MikeRoweWorks scholarship program. AI won't build the submarines, the pipelines, the skyscrapers, or repair the broken school desk or garbage truck. Only skilled craftspeople can do that and there are lots of jobs available now, so get some skills and get to work.
