Red Dot on the Can

 

I've mostly given up on Facebook due to a difference of opinion over a post I put up celebrating my anniversary a couple of years back, but I still like looking at some of the "reels" on there. One of the outfits that posts interesting auto repair reels is Royalty Auto Service. The majority of the reels are not anything I'll ever use, simply because the newer vehicles are way too complicated for the average guy to work on. Royalty has all the required tools and equipment, including being able to pull the cabs off pickup trucks in order to be able to service the engines. 

However, on one of the reels the other day the owner, Sherwood, was talking to a distributer of PB Blaster and during the conversation I learned what the little red dot on the top rim was for. That indicates the location of the feed tube inside the can. Depending on the position of the can when spraying, position the dot so the juice will be picked up in the tube, then rotate the nozzle to spray where you want it to go. Rather clever. I'm just surprised it took me 75 years before I learned the secret of the red dot.

I was embarrassed by my buddy Kevin when he showed me his reading list for 2025. Since his life has settled down a bit with work and domestic life, he's reading like he used to. Me on the other hand, only managed to read 10 books last year. However, since most of the magazines I was subscribed to have given up the print versions or just called it quits completely, I'm planning on spending more time reading books again. 

The Swiss Family Robinson one above I bought from Dover several years ago. I started on it at the beginning of the week and finished it this morning. I took it with me to the urgent care and the emergency room visits the other day and knocked out about 100 pages. The book's been around a long time and there was a movie made on the story back in the sixties. I think it was a Disney film that was shown on Sunday nights. I read the book sometime after the movie came out, meaning roughly 60 years ago. The story was a little more believable when I was a young man, but it does show the value of having skills if you ever find yourself marooned on a tropical island. 

The other two books in the photo came from Thriftbooks. The Aircraft Welding book is a Lindsay reprint. I had an original that I inherited at my first teaching gig. The previous instructor taught welders during WWII and the book was his copy. The book came up missing over the years but it's a real good reference, especially if you're planning on welding chrome-moly tubing with a gas torch. I miss Lindsay but I understand him wanting to retire.  

The Indy book likewise is a dandy. It covers the development of Indy cars from the very beginning up to 1980. I've also got a couple of books on machining coming. Shipping cost was very reasonable for the four-book order. The two in the photo came separately, not sure if the other two will come together or individually, but no extra shipping cost regardless. I'm sure I'll be ordering more in the future.