Birthday

Birthday today for Brother Johnny. He's been gone 13 years now. It's kind of a coincidence his birthday is only about a week after my recent heart attack. He passed away about a week after I had my first one. I took the photo of him on the back of my old Chevy truck about 50 years ago.

Like most guitar players back in the seventies, Johnny played some Neil Young, so this one's for him.

Due Infarto

 

I'm currently reading this one, which I can recommend whole heartily. Stockdale was a Navy pilot who was shot down in Vietnam and spent 7-1/2 years in a prison camp. I took the book with me to my dental appointment Friday to have something to read while waiting to see the dentist. As it happened, I had a heart attack while in the dentist's chair. They treated me a little there and then I got a ride in the ambulance to the hospital.

Things at the hospital went well. It seems one of the stents that was installed when I had my first heart attack had closed up 100%. The cardiologist opened it up and put another stent inside the blocked one. I was in a lot of pain prior to the surgery, both in my chest and in both my elbows. After that the pain subsided quickly and I felt OK again. I spent the night in the hospital but was able to come home yesterday. I'm on light duty for a few days but fortunately, according to the cardiologist, no damage was done to the heart. The only soreness I'm having now is at the insertion site in my groin but that should be OK in a few days.

It's supposed to snow again but I won't be able to shovel any. Fortunately, I've got a real good support team that I can count on and a well-stocked pantry. If things get really bad, I can ride it out inside until spring if I need to. I've got lots of books to read and DVDs from the Great Courses to watch. I still haven't watched my Bronson film or the complete Rocky and Bullwinkle and plenty of projects in the shop I can work on.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out: friends, family and medical professionals.

Cold Temps

 

Yep, it's cold outside. Single digits in fact. I took yesterday off and hid in the house except for a short time late in the afternoon to check on the chickens and on the paint job in the shop. When I painted the hood and radiator shell I had the shop warmed up to about 55 degrees, but the heat has been off since. It hasn't gotten below freezing in there yet, but the paint is going to take a little longer to completely set up. 

I've got things going on today but plan on finishing up the radiator tomorrow. It's supposed to warm up some. Hopefully it'll be a great day for radiator repair, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Painting the Hood

 

There's a reason they called him the King. The man could sing anything and everything - rock & roll, gospel, blues, you name it, and do it all well.

I picked up the cylinder head for the tractor yesterday and there's a station I like to listen to on the radio when I head east. Reception's iffy at home but it comes in well on the truck radio when I make it to the next county over. They've been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving. Normally I've about had enough of Christmas by now since it's been promoted since Halloween, but this year I seem to be enjoying the season. Of course it's still early, at least by my standards.

 When I got home from picking up the cylinder head, I painted the hood and the radiator shell. I didn't take it down to bare metal, I just sanded it down with the "DA" to smooth it out a little and scuff up the old paint so it would hold the primer. It came out looking OK for sheet metal that's 73 years old.

The only thing left for me to do is get the fan shroud soldered back onto the radiator without causing a leak and then it'll be in the neighbor's court. However, it's supposed to be real cold tomorrow. I've got some stuff going on early today, but I might try tackling the shroud later. If not, I'll wait a couple of days until it warms up. It'll be nice to get the tractor up and running again. It snowed again Monday night. 

After Action Report

 

I did the 5Kyesterday morning - my slowest time ever - but the streets were snow covered and the snow kept piling up during the race. My goal was to keep from falling on my ass and I managed to do that in spite of having one close call. 

The roads were terrible but the race started just a few miles from my house. I've done a ton of running and walking events starting with a 10 miler in 1976 and I've only failed to not show up for an event I had registered for twice in all those years. Coach Jen decided to walk with me rather than run, so we chatted and she got her steps in for the day. I was surprised by the turnout with the weather and road conditions being what they were, but the overall winner still managed a 19-minute finishing time. I, on the other hand, did 19-minute miles.

I stopped at the grocery on the way home and I heard Elvis singing the above tune on the store's loudspeaker. It's my favorite Elvis Christmas tune and really showcases his voice. 

On a totally different subject, I came across this article:

KLAR: Did You Thank a Farmer This Thanksgiving? - Granite Grok

Since I live in farm country and they've taken thousands of acres out of production for solar farms, this hits pretty close to home. Not a long read, but if you eat, might want to give it a few minutes of your time.

Going out this morning and see what I need to do as far as snow removal. Depending on the outcome of that, I'm planning on getting out to the shop for a couple of hours.

5K Snow Day

 

I got the front end back under the vintage trials bike yesterday. I still need to fill the forks with oil. The nearest I can tell they take 135cc of 10 weight fluid. Fortunately, I have some in house. I'll check that I've got all the bolts tightened up and then see about getting the motor installed. 

I'm doing a 5K this morning - should be fun. 26 degrees and snowing they say. I've actually been training for this one. One of the local churches has a recreation center with a walking track - 8 laps make a mile. I've been walking twice a week for 45 minutes each time. Depending on conditions, however, I might just pussy-foot the whole course. Don't want to break a hip, you know. 

The forecast is anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of snow, so I did get the snowblower running yesterday. It has a 110-volt starter, so I don't have to try and start a cold 8hp motor with the recoil. I've got a couple of snow shovels ready to go as well. Just have to see what develops. Hopefully it won't involve me throwing my back out after a lot of shoveling.  

It's a Heartache

 

The day before Thanksgiving two National Guard soldiers are shot in the nation's capital and as I write this, they are in critical condition. Things in this country just keep getting crazier.

On the homefront, I went in search of a "MC" acetylene tank Tuesday. I thought it was going to be a long haul but about halfway I went by a welding shop that had a sign advertising the fact they are a drop point for the company my tank came from. I did a quick turn around in the middle of the road and "sho nuff", they had what I needed and saved me some drive time. 

While talking to the owner he asked me if I knew Joe B. who was a high school shop teacher and a steel purveyor. As a matter of fact, I worked with him for 14 years and we had a couple of classes together at Purdue. In fact, his shop was right next to mine at the career center and we became good friends. Joe was quite the critter but burning the candle at both ends led to him having a heart attack and passing away at the young age of 42. He left quite an impression on me and I'm sure everyone else who crossed his path, just like the weld shop owner.

When I got home I went to open up the tank and the stem on the valve twisted off. Now I had two full tanks that I couldn't use. So yesterday I head back out to the welding supply. They gave me two tanks with small hand wheels on them, rather than the tanks requiring the wrench. Since I don't do too much soldering with the air-acetylene torch, these two tanks might be a lifetime supply.

The automotive machinist checked in and the cylinder head is going to require a lot of work, which translates into a lot of money, but I told him to go ahead. Again, since I'm working a five-year plan now, old Allis should be serviceable at least that long.

The next few days I plan on getting the tractor radiator finished, painting the hood and grill, and putting the front end back together on the vintage trials bike. They're forecasting snow coming in Saturday along with colder temps. Since the tractor won't be running, might just be hunkering down here for a few days and get some work done.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you're able to spend some time with friends and family and truly give thanks for all your blessings.