Parts

The cleaning and organizing is proceeding apace. I came across these yesterday - parts and patterns for wheelie bars. If I ever finish a couple of the bike projects currently in the shop, I'll bring the 900 back from storage. I did finish the side car for it, but I want to make some shock struts and a set of wheelie bars so I can go drag racing. I've got some aluminum stock for the struts and someplace I've got the remaining pieces that get welded to the tubing drilled out and ready to cut to shape. 

I finished the head scratching part of the rear brake control on the vintage trials bike. I ordered some clevises from Joes Racing Parts. I had never heard of this outfit, but it came up in an internet search after I struck out with the usual suspects. Two pieces, plus shipping under $15.00. It looks like they specialize in parts for open wheel cars. I've got the spot book-marked for future reference. I need to get a bushing still for the pivot - might be able to get that locally. 

While I was in the shop I figured out a temporary solution for the old welder. I can move a few things around in the back half to make a hole for the old welder and then move the plasma and new welder up front. Moving those two will be easy enough - they're on wheels. It would be better to send the old Miller to a new home, but I think this will be an improvement, anyway.

Looks to be good weather around here for Labor Day and most of next week. It was up to 88 and humid yesterday again. I worked up a pretty good sweat on my bicycle ride in the morning, again when I was working in the shop, and even more when I ran the weed whacker later. It's good to get a sweat up once in a while, though.

Have a safe and healthy Labor Day. It's the day for us working stiffs - enjoy it.

This and That

 

I made the shift lever for the Rickati/vintage trials bike yesterday. Looks like it'll work just fine. The rod is 1/2" in diameter and I was wondering if that was going to be stiff enough, but after bending it, I'm fairly certain it will be. It's a piece of cold rolled that took quite a bit of force to bend, even after heating it up. Now that I've got that taken care of, figure out the brake lever and the fabricating should be about finished - finally! 

In addition to working on the bike, I did a little more on the shop organizing. I need to get rid of my old welder. I thought it was sold but the guy changed his mine. The hole where it's sitting is big enough to hold both my plasma and my "new" welder. I could put the old one in my storage space, but that would involve quite a bit of work due to the size and weight of the machine. And, then of course, it would have to be moved out of there at a later date. 

I pulled the cover off the Sprint that's on the stand in the back of the shop. That's another project that's about 3/4 complete. The seat needs to be reupholstered, new shocks, a few other little things and it could be made to run. The upholstery guy moved a month or so back. I know where he's at but don't know if he's set up to do any work yet. Shocks are easy enough to come by - a credit card will do it. It'll need a set of rings and those might be tough to locate. But the valves have been done and it's got a pop-up piston in it. Should make plenty of power, at least by 1968 standards.

I'll work on completing the vintage trials bike, look up the upholstery guy and maybe order some shocks for the Sprint. As soon as I complete the trials bike I can roll it out of the way and then finish the Sportster. The chest is pretty much healed up - actually kind of snuck up on me. As long as I don't do anything stupid, I should be able to pick up the pace on the projects, and with Surly coming down once in a while to help, should be getting some real progress this fall.  

We're Having a Heat Wave

 

I drive by this place on the way to the grocery store. There're always interesting things in the yard and driveway, but I was surprised to see what appears to be a Jr. Dragster frame and a snow shovel out there the other day - "Now there's something you don't see every day, Chauncy."

Seems appropriate today

The thermometer is in the sun, so it wasn't really over 100 degrees, but rather only 96 on the shady side of the house. However, the feels-like temp was probably pretty close to the number in the photo. Chicago broke the record for the day with 99. 

We were out in the shop for our first lab session at the college Monday night. Due to the construction underway, things are a little challenging, but we got everyone to at least run one decent bead before they left. About half the class has already had an introductory class, the other half total rookies. The smaller rookie group made it much easier to get them started and allowed me to keep a closer eye on them. Looks to be a good group - should be an enjoyable class even with the construction limitations we have to deal with.

Even though it was hot Monday, the lab was actually pretty comfortable. The door to the hallway was open and the exhaust fan was sucking in that cool air. It was the first time in a while I left the house with my steel-toed boots on and my lunch bucket in my hand. Glad I was able to ease back into harness with decent temperatures.   

Shop Update

 

I replaced a fluorescent two bulb light with a 3000 lumen LED over the worktable in the back of the shop. The LED lights are supposed to last 50,000 hours, meaning I'll never have to replace it. Nice bright light that'll last my lifetime for $8.99. How you going to beat that?

Likewise, I replaced the shop radio as well. It's a C. Crane, not cheap but good. This is supposed to be an improved model of the one I had out there. It's got decent sound and it's hooked up to an external FM antenna. Like the LED light, if it lasts as long as the other one did, good for my lifetime.

Surly came down to use my lathe the other day. He had a job to do that wouldn't fit through the spindle bore on his. He commented that one of us needed to have a better lathe. I looked at the selection of lathes at Grizzly and their gunsmithing lathes have relatively large spindle bores for a 13"-14" lathe. My old 13" South Bend has a large bore diameter due to it having bronze bushings on the spindle rather than ball or roller bearings. However, the spindle is a little loose and the bed is worn close to the chuck, so if you try to turn a shaft such as an axle for a motorcycle, you'll get a slight taper. Also, I can't thread metric parts on it. I'm going to have a talk with Surly and get his input on purchasing a new lathe. If I'm going to get a new one, I should act on it before I get too old to do anything with it and before the US dollar becomes totally worthless.  

5K

 

I did the 5K race walk yesterday. Nice morning, but with a 9:00 start is was starting to get warm out on the road. It was a small event, only 61 finishers, including runners and walkers. Yours truly got an age group win, but as was expected it was an age group of one. I was second overall, even though the official standings listed a man and his 5-year-old son as walkers coming in about one minute ahead of me. I put in a fairly decent performance, not great, but definitely good enough to beat a 5-year-old. Actually, I was behind them for quite a while and they would run a little, walk a little, and then do it all again. No biggie.  However, the guy who came in first was scootin' - 33: 37, or about 10 minutes before I crossed the line. There's another 5K locally in a few weeks that has a walking class. I'm going to try and get a time of 40 minutes or under.

I came across this picture recently, coincidentally after thinking about a color for the Jitney. I remember Ford having some green F-100 models back in the early seventies, some solid color, some two-tone. I found some color charts on the internet but I'm not sure how true the color rendition is on those. The one local auto parts store had the paint books, but they closed up recently. I'm a long way from paint, but that's how my mind works. If I see the finished project clearly in my mind, it's easier for me to stay motivated.

This '71 is in Boxwood green - pretty much the color I'm thinking about. There're a few choices for a two-tone arrangement, or maybe just some pinstriping in a contrasting color. That would be more in keeping with a 1930 Champ car.

Vise +

 

Another beautiful day yesterday - we've been having a string of them. I went to the park in the morning for a brisk walk. I've got a 5K tomorrow, so a bit of last-minute training to keep the legs loose. I'm not looking for a PR, but rather, a solid performance that takes into consideration my chest issue. Actually, a good bit of exercise in the sunshine and fresh air is all I'm looking for. That, and another tee shirt.

I cleaned up the mill and bolted down the refurbished vise after sweeping the jaw with the dial indicator to make sure the vise is aligned with the table. 

From Here

I agree with this 100%. They gave one guy 20 years over this deal, and he wasn't even in Washington at the time. Fauci, on the other hand, is living large with his government pension and his patent monies. It's going to take a lot to get things straightened out and there's sure to be plenty of pain involved before it happens. The end of an empire is never pretty.

Blues

 

I'm not currently suffering from the blues and there's no-one I need to put down for a little while. The class at the college got off to a roaring start - waiting to see if we'll be able to get out in the shop next week. If I'm still stuck in the classroom, I'll be singing the blues then. The good thing about all of this is once we have access to the shop, we can be out there all night with classroom sessions not much more than taking attendance and lining them up with the night's assignment.

Surly came down the other night. He's going to try and make it a weekly thing like it used to be at the high school. He's going to give me a hand with some sorely needed cleaning and organizing. We made the first move by bolting together a stock rack. He seems to think being able to see the corners of the shop might not be a bad idea. I'm a pack rat, no doubt about it, but there's a limit to how much crap I should keep because "I might need that someday."

The vise project is officially finished. I straightened out the screw for the moveable jaw and I found some Allen screws that were just about right in my can of oddball Allen heads - stainless no less - to bolt the jaw liner plates in place. That's why I never want to throw anything away. If I'm going to get things cleaned up, however, I'm going to have to be a bit ruthless, however painful that may be.

There was another article in the Epoch Times addressing the issue of "Why Billion-Dollar Warships Were Prematurely Retired and Destroyed." I really liked the part about using many of the ships with years of service life left in them being used for target practice. I went to the grocery store yesterday and a can of whipped cream and a loaf of rye bread cost me $9.58. I'm really glad the Navy is using my tax dollars to create fish attractors in the middle of the ocean while my grocery bill keeps creeping up.

It won't be long and we'll all be singing the blues. 

Done, Almost

 

The completed vise looks pretty nice now. The screw is bent a bit like someone had dropped the vise. The bend starts about where it's at in the photo. There's enough slack in the fit to allow it to tighten up the jaw but it binds. I'll give it a couple of whacks with the lead hammer and that should take care of it.

The jaw liners were held in place with hex bolts but the thru holes are counterbored, so I put socket head screws in. Unfortunately, I have 1/2" and 1" - one's too short and one's too long. I'll check with the hardware store and see if they've got any 5/8". Probably won't have them, but I can cut down the 1" ones I have.

Anyway, the vise is back together and I put some white lube on the moving parts. Fix the bent lead screw and get the proper length screws and I'm in business.

Vise & Rod Holders

 

In process photo of the vise repair. The sliding jaw is there to check the fit before breaking the setup. 

I put the vise body back in the blaster to clean off any slag remaining from the brazing flux, taped off the parts I didn't want painted and then sprayed the parts with Ford gray from a rattle can I had left over from another job. I'll strip the tape off today and get it assembled.

The grandson came down yesterday to make some rod holders. The students and I made a bunch of these when I was at the high school, the green one being one of them. I did all the bending on the new ones, he did all the cutting and welding. He did a little TIG here when he was coming down before starting college, and he did a little in his Intro class there. The welds look decent, and even if they didn't, the catfish won't care.

He brought a speed square with him that he salvaged from the scrap bin. Someone had stepped on it or run it over and broke the hypotenuse on the triangle. I cleaned it up and put a small bevel on both sides while he was welding the rod holders. We changed the machine over for aluminum welding, I gave him some advice and cautioned him about controlling the heat so he didn't get a big hole in it. Sure enough, he got it too hot and got a big hole. Grandpa came to the rescue, however.

Start back at the college tonight. Hopefully, things go well.

Elvis and a Vise

I turned the television on after coming in from the shop and showering up. Definitely needed to shower. I cleaned out the blast cabinet, added more glass bead and then bead blasted the drill press vise. After that I brazed up the holes and worked up a sweat which made for a nice mix with the glass bead dust on my arms and hands. The shower was mandatory, Elvis was optional. 

While most of his movies were pretty much cornball, I like watching one every once in a while. It's a shame what he did to himself. I wouldn't trade my life for all of his fame and fortune, especially if I only made it to 42. I'm going to be 74 in a couple of weeks. I've had some ups and downs, but it's been a good run and I'm looking forward to many more, God willing.

The man sure could sing, no argument there. This is one of my favorites.

While I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, I'm pretty sure Elvis couldn't braze weld a raggedy-ass drill press vise - or Heli-Arc two beer cans together either, as far as that goes. I'll get it cleaned up on the mill and then get some paint on all the pieces. It's a nice size to bolt to the mill, actually. The big one I've got is almost too big for me to hump around. It definitely is for a guy with a rectus abdominus or arms like a stick figure. 

The base for the vise cleaned up real well without bead blasting - wire wheel on a side grinder, then some abrasive cloth and Scotch-Brite where the degree numbers are stamped in. I was thinking the vise would be handy for cutting the angles on the shift lever. Regardless, it'll be nice to have it done.

Pretty Shifty

 

I made another piece for the shifter on the vintage trials bike. I need to cut the angles on the sides and cut it to length, but it should work. I drilled and tapped a set screw to hold it in place but I'll probably pin it once I get everything positioned correctly. I'll weld the shift lever on the opposite side to the shaft. There's room behind the lever on the cross shaft for a bushing. I'm planning on using that as the pivot for the brake lever. I'm planning on working on that a little bit more today.

I dug out my materials for teaching my upcoming class at the college and signed my contract. I also looked at the course syllabus and modules on the computer. It doesn't look all that user friendly to me, but the boss and I have discussed my being able to modify things to make it more to my taste. I had him as a student and he sat in when I taught the blueprint class, so he knows how I teach and trusts me to do the job. Plus, if he doesn't find another instructor, he'll be wanting me to teach next semester as well.  

Firewood

 

I went to my meeting at the college Tuesday evening. On the way there I passed a garden tractor with a trailer hooked on to it that had a load of firewood on it. It also had a sign on the trailer saying the wood was free for the taking. There was a lot of traffic on the road at that time, so I drove on by. However, surprisingly enough, there was still quite a bit of wood still left on the trailer on my way home, so I loaded some up. The remaining pieces were pretty big in diameter, so I left them - didn't want to chance screwing up the chest. I unloaded the truck yesterday and moved some of the small diameter pieces from the Hawthorne trees that were recently cut down. Depending on the weather, I'm planning on renting a log splitter in the next few days, so I can clean up the yard, first of all, and second of all, get the wood split open so it'll be dried out enough to use this winter.

I got some good news at the meeting at the college. We'll be in a classroom the first week of the semester, but we'll be back in the shop after that. The construction isn't complete, but they worked out a way to do the new exhaust system half the shop at a time, which will be fine by me.

Tuesday was the Missus' birthday, but since I had the meeting to attend, we went out last evening to the little restaurant in Brook, Indiana. Cuzzin Ricky and I have gone to Our Place for breakfast and lunch, but we've never been there for dinner. The Missus and I both had the chicken and noodles special - just like grandma used to make! Good time with the "old girl". Looking forward to many more birthday celebrations for the two of us.

Surly left a comment on the last post with an idea for the positioner. He suggested bolting a sacrificial aluminum plate to the positioner and then bolting a cheap vise to that for holding small parts for welding. As soon as I read that I remembered making a welding vise when I taught the fab class at the college a few years back. Since I do nearly all of my welding in the shop with the TIG process, I don't know that I would need the aluminum plate to protect the positioner from sparks. I do have some anti-spatter I can spray on it if need be. I think I'll dig the vise out and do what needs to be done to bolt it to the positioner before I paint it up. That Surly's always thinking!

Vise Squad

 

The general consensus concerning the Ham Fest on Sunday was just not enough people coming through. Why that was, no definite answer. Another Ham Fest not too far away had a similar turnout. My opinion, definitely a sign of the times. People are pretty much tapped out. Also, I wouldn't have known about it if I wasn't a member. However, I got a free hat for showing up and helping out and a coupon from ARRL worth $50.00 for books and resources. I used their book to get my technician license and that worked out well for me, so I think I'll order their book for the general license.

Vise that was a donation. It's in pretty rough shape. Besides all the rust, there's quite a bit of damage to the frame from some ham-fisted dude unfamiliar with the concept of parallels. 

Positioner that was also donated. It too has some rust issues but other than the locking handle, doesn't need much more than rust removal and paint.

I'm going to put new glass bead in the bead blast cabinet and put a new protective cover over the glass and clean up both of the items. I'll braze up the holes in the vise and then machine it flat. I'll get both of them painted up and they'll be ready to put into service or storage. I'm thinking the swivel vise will be handy to use on the mill. I don't currently have any need for the positioner, but if nothing else, it'll look good for the auction.

I did get started on the vintage trials bike again. Not much to show for my efforts but I think I've figured out what I need to make to finish up the shift mechanism. 

Coach Jen sent me some info on another 5K - this one's in September and it's close to home. They've got a race-walking class, so I'll be signing up for that one. We want to do the 50 mile bike ride in October again also. Now that I've got a couple of events to train for, time to pull the rag out of my ass and get busy.

Ham Fest

 

There's a reason they called him the King.

I got up at 4:30 yesterday morning to go to the Ham Fest. There was a time years ago when I got up at that time every morning while working a construction job during the summer - totally uncivilized in my estimation, and dark. 

Since this was my first Ham Fest, I didn't know what to expect but I think the crowd was much smaller than the same event in past years. I worked the "overflow" parking area along with a former student of mine. We had a swell time chewing the fat and he worked his portable radio set-up, but we didn't have to do much as far as parking cars. We were under a canopy, so it was a nice day to be outside even though it was a little chilly early in the morning. I did learn a little more about ham radio while there, so that's a plus.

Since I got home a little earlier than expected, I did a little organizational work in the shop and cut some grass. Going to finish up the work on the shop today, do a little work in the shop, get some exercise and go to the monthly meeting at the ham club. I imagine there will be an after-action report on the Ham Fest. Should be interesting.

Gloves

 

When I took the Himalayan out the other day I put on my gloves like I normally do, but I decided that's it for them. There's a couple of holes in the thumb, but I'm going to miss them. I've had them since the eighties. You can't see it in the photo, but at one time they were embossed with the signature of Jimmy Adamo. Adamo was the Battle of the Twins champion back in the eighties and competed in several Superbike events on Reno Leoni prepared Ducatis. I saw him race a few times and was a fan of his and of Ducatis. Unfortunately, Adamo perished in an accident at Daytona in 1993. 

I think I'm going to put these on my wish list for my upcoming birthday - Joe Rocket Classic gloves. I don't need a pair of either the fancy road racing or motocross gloves. I'd classify the Himalayan as a dual sport type of bike. In my case, however, I don't see me doing anything of sporty nature, at least not on purpose. I just want to protect my hands if I ever do go down - dress for the crash, not for the ride as the old saying goes. As little as I ride, should be the last pair I'll ever need.

Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah

 

My, my, my, my what a wonderful day! That was yesterday around here. Temps in the mid-seventies, blue skies and sunshine, and just a hint of breeze - perfect day. 

I picked up my veggies in the morning, stopped by the park and walked a bit on the way home. Got showered up and then rode the Himalayan to meet with the financial guy. 

He's always sunshine and lollipops, which is a nice counterpoint to my paranoia. With the recent drop with the stock market, the computer "glitch", the $35 trillion national debt, the world wise malaise and the lack of qualified leadership in this country, hard for a guy like me to be too upbeat about the future, whether that's financial or political. However, the outcome of the meeting was I won't need to be looking for a spot to park the van down by the river. Like the old joke goes - "I'm working on my 2nd million. I gave up on the first."

 

Rare photo of Shop Teacher Bob to appear here in the blog. Jimmy took the photo while I was working on his 4 wheeled dog sled the other day. The old drill press is like a Timex - Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. I don't remember where I got it but it's been a while ago. I had to swap out the 3-phase motor that it came with and put on a single phase one. I bought the motor from Grainger that's supposed to be some sort of energy efficient thing - or at least it was 30 or so years ago. I have similar ones on my lathe and milling machine. 

I looked up a one-horse motor on Grainger's web page and it spec's out at 5 amp draw at 230 volts. Pretty effective for a small shop owner like myself. I was shocked by the current sticker price on that motor, though - over $500. I've been thinking about buying a new drill press, but I'm sure the motor on a new imported drill won't be near as good as the Grainger motors I've got on my machine tools.

Who Do You Love?

 

I saw these guys years ago. I've seen a few shows over the years, but never a show that pumped out the energy like they did. The venue had a good sound system - it was a great place to see a show - but the volume was cranked so loud it was distorting the speakers. If I was ever to decide to become a guitar player, I'd like to play like George with that Bo Diddly beat. 

Had a busy day yesterday - Jimmy brought his four wheeled dog sled back for some work. He mounted the wood that the tubing fastens to onto the buggy utilizing two 3/16" x 1" tabs that were welded onto the buggy. When he fastened the tubing to the wood, the whole works bent down. I made up a couple of brackets that bolt to the wood and the frame. That should solve that problem. Have to wait and see what, if anything, needs fixing in the future.

I put 5 miles in on the bike before Jimmy showed up and went south to the health club afterwards. While I was down that way I ordered our propane for the winter, picked up a salad for the Missus, came home and policed the poop park and then cut the grass in there. No problem with the chest later in the evening. 

I'm looking forward to adding a bit more weight when I'm at the health club. The Epoch Times finished up their series on muscles, and yep, you don't have to have a build like Arnold, but muscle mass is a great contributor to longevity. When you're my age, you think about these things. 

Tree Trimming

 

The tree trimmers showed up Saturday morning early and cut up the Hawthorn that came down in the storm a couple of weeks ago along with the other Hawthorne and a pine tree.

I had them trim back the oak that was overhanging the house while they were here as well. The oak has to be at least 200 years old. I had one blow down a few years ago and I started counting the growth rings on the stump. I gave up at 200 and there were still quite a few remaining. The one they trimmed and the one next to it developed a lean after the same storm that took down the other one. I was surprised they survived even though they were partially uprooted. A couple of the limbs are hollow, but nothing should be coming through the roof if the trees or branches come down.

They came back Sunday morning to grind the stumps. They took out the ones from the freshly cut trees and a few from other trees that had been cut down previously. 

Now I've got some more yardwork to do. They cleaned up all the branches and raked the top of the ground smooth where the stumps were ground, but I need to see about getting some grass growing in those spots. I also need to move the Hawthorn logs to the wood pile and rent a splitter for the larger ones and some other pieces I've got. I've got some painting to do yet this fall also. No rest for the wicked!

Women's Boxing Part 2

 

I received another email from USA Boxing concerning the women's boxing at the Paris Olympics. It contained a link to a joint statement from Paris 2024 Boxing Unit and the IOC, which follows:

We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.

These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.

According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing”.

The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.

Such an approach is contrary to good governance.

Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.

The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.

The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC’s statement following the ruling.

The IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28.

Pretty clear explanation of how they got into this mess. I remember getting information from USA Boxing about IBA and their suspension and eventual withdrawal of recognition. From what I remember it seemed there was a bit of a power struggle and maybe some politics involved. Even though these boxers have been involved in international competition previously, they shouldn't have been. There must be more to their gender story than what has been brought out since Olympic athletes are normally tested for performance enhancing drugs and blood doping. Looking at the last paragraph above, the IOC is going to make sure this issue gets settled before the 2028 Olympics, and I commend them for that.

However, Clint might have the right answer:

I doubt we'll ever see that included in the rulebooks, though.

Women's Boxing 2024

 Besides the controversy over the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games, there's big stink concerning what's going on in women's boxing. There are two fighters that are male, since they have been tested and have XY chromosomes, that are competing as women. One of them fought a woman boxer from Italy Thursday. The bout lasted 46 seconds - she got hit hard in the face and called it quits. The general consensus seems to be the "female" boxer has an unfair advantage and like in a civilized society, men should not be punching women. Something I totally agree with. However, I received an email from USA Boxing with a statement on their stance on the subject:

USA Boxing is aware of the ongoing situation regarding women’s boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Leading up to the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU) have worked diligently with the Olympic medical staff to provide competition guidelines and standards for all competitors.

All qualified athletes have competed internationally for several years and in the qualifying events leading up to the Olympic Games. The athletes have passed the necessary and stringent medical testing and guidelines put forth by the IOC.

The eligibility rules in place for the Olympic Games have been in place for years and USA Boxing has confidence that the IOC and the PBU's eligibility requirements consider medical expertise and prioritize the safety of the athletes. USA Boxing prioritizes the safety of our boxers and would not knowingly enter our boxers into competitions unless eligibility rules relied on sufficient medical support. All boxers competing in Paris have qualified under their specific eligibility rules and regulations.

USA Boxing supports our Olympic Team and the decision to compete rests with them.

USA Boxing is confident that the PBU has followed, and will continue to follow, medical policies and rules to ensure the safety of all athletes competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

I'm licensed by USA Boxing as a coach. I have to take a test over the rules every two years and take the Safe Sport test on the off years. As a coach, safety of the fighter is paramount and allowing men to compete against women goes against the rulebook and common sense. This nonsense needs to end and soon. USA Boxing should be ashamed of themselves for endorsing PBU's decision to allow the two boxers with XY chromosomes to compete in women's boxing. I might consider making an exception for eunuchs. That would show a serious commitment to their being considered a female. 

Tube Bending and My Roots

 

I got a phone call from my buddy Jim from the boxing club the other day looking for a little help on a project. He bought this 4-wheeled bike to exercise his four Huskies, and he needed some tubing bent to rig up the harnesses for the dogs. Bending the tubing was easy enough, then drilled some holes for mounting and all done. We were out in the shop for about 2-1/2 hours but most of that was spent just catching up. I haven't been going to the gym due to injury, so we had time for a nice chat.

I've been working on my family history again. Ancestry has a lot more info on my ancestors now, so I've been filling in the family tree. I don't know how accurate all the information is. They gleaned info from other's family trees and brought them into mine giving me the option of saying the person is, isn't or maybe is my family member. Since I have no idea on most of these people, I'm assuming Ancestry is the authority and I've brought them into my tree. Not exactly scholarly research, but I have neither the time nor inclination to put all the effort into authenticating all of it. That being said, the above photo is John Armstrong Sr, a Major General in the Revolutionary War on my maternal grandfather's side. Apparently, I'm a descendant from more than just Kentuckey hillbillies and a drunken English ship carpenter. 

Gene Wilder explaining to Cleavon Little about my people. I joke, but I'm extremely proud of my working-class roots. I can only speak for the ancestors I've known, but nothing to be ashamed of in that group.