Lumberjack & Engineer

 

That is until they decide to misbehave.

The Russian Elm attacked the Big Leaf Magnolia the other evening. Since it was a Russian Elm, I'm inclined to think it was part of a commie plot - maybe one of the sleeper cells they've been talking about on the news lately.

Kind of hard to tell from the photo, but the big branch of the elm came down dead center of the magnolia. Other than one piece, most of the tree has just been bent outward. Hopefully, it'll straighten itself out now that the weight of the elm has been removed

I wasn't looking forward to doing any lumberjacking yesterday, especially with the heat, but a man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do and all that. The chainsaw work was at least in the shade, but I still ended up with a serious case of "swamp ass".  Now I need to get rid of the brush. A chipper would be nice. I'll see if the rental place has one. If not, throw it on the burn pile. I might consider buying a small chipper since I've got a bunch more scrub trees that need to go. 

I've sworn I'm never going to work for wages again, but if I could get that guy's job, I'd jump at it. If you look close below the train number, you can see the engine is a 4-8-8-4, meaning that's a big sucker. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, just like being a welder on construction. But you don't get to blow the whistle or ring the bell when you've got your hood down.

Miscellany

Just throwing out a few things of differing levels of importance.

First up, an interesting description of our legal system:

Now let’s talk about the legal sleight of hand. Most Americans assume they live under the jurisdiction of the Constitution. But the courts increasingly operate under a hybrid system of statutory and administrative law, often enforced through what is functionally maritime law. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the gold-fringed flag in most courtrooms. That’s not just decoration. It’s a symbol of admiralty jurisdiction, meaning you’re not in a constitutional court. You’re in a corporate tribunal. And speaking of corporations, the United States is defined in 28 U.S. Code § 3002(15)(A) as a federal corporation. You are not a sovereign individual under natural law. You are a legal entity—an asset tracked by a Social Security number and collateralized against the national debt.

I had no idea this was the case, but it does explain a few things. I'm going to have to check with my bailiff friend and see if the local courtroom has the gold-fringed flag. Unfortunately, I forgot where I found this, so I can't credit the source or link to the article. Interesting to say the least.

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The current AMA magazine has a couple of articles on Moto Morini motorcycles. Apparently, they are back in business and available here in the US. I always thought the 3-1/2 model from back in the day was a cool bike. Now they have several configurations of bikes using a Chinese built engine that's been powering Kawasaki bikes for a few years, installed in Chinese built bikes that were designed in Italy. The prices are extremely reasonable, and the bikes look good. I especially like the looks of the roadster and scrambler models.

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I had the local paving contactor rework my driveway. It was expensive, but I figured it would be worth it to get the holes filled in, smoothed out and rolled. They came out Monday and did the job while I was taking the Missus to the dentist. When I came home, I was extremely disappointed in the job. They had pushed gravel out into the grass on both sides of the drive, gravel that came off the top of the drive, making the base thinner and making it impossible to mow the strip of grass between the drive and the corn field. I rode my bike over yesterday to pay the bill and voice my displeasure. Fortunately, the boss man who I know was in the office at the time and came by to take a look at the job. He agreed it wasn't their finest effort and said it'll get fixed. I sure hope so. I don't want to even think about me having to take a rake and shovel to 1,000 feet of driveway.

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Ham radio Field Day tomorrow and Sunday. I've definitely cancelled my plan on camping out. I just don't feel like dealing with the heat and humidity. It was up into the nineties again yesterday, rained and then warmed back up again - miserable, to say the least. If I hadn't retired, I think this heat would have convinced me to do so. I sweated a lot of summers in fab shops. I can still handle the heat, but I see no reason to now. It's supposed to be back down to more reasonable mid-eighties soon. I'll be back in the shop next week - unless I'm shoveling gravel!

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Now might be a good time to check your preps and the pantry, get off the couch or the barstool and work on a bit of physical conditioning. Even though I've decided it's too hot to work on the yard or the projects, I've still been getting out on the bicycle every morning and putting in 5 miles. Remember, if things go sideways, no one is coming to help you. We all need to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. Remember the Boy Scout motto - Be Prepared!

Have a good weekend!

It's Warm Out There

 

I ordered a light set and some reflective tape for the Go-Go and the carrier. Hopefully, when I get this taken care of, I should be done farting around with this project other than loading and unloading as needed.

We came pretty close to pegging the needle on the thermometer yesterday. The reading came up to 112, but the sun beating down on it jacked the temp up a bit. It was supposed to be a little cooler yesterday according to the Chicago weather, but it sure didn't feel like it. I rode the bike about 5 miles in the morning, and it was plenty soupy. I went out later in the evening about 6:30 and it didn't feel too bad then. I mowed until it was just about dark, since they're still calling for above average temperatures and some spotty rain. 

I drove the Missus to the dentist on Monday and this was posted in the elevator car. It didn't make any unusual noise until it was stopping on the third floor. Regardless of what the sign says, elevators are not supposed to make those kinds of noises. 

I've an appointment with the insurance agent for the annual review this morning after my bike ride, then boxing later in the evening. 

Field Day for the ham radio club this weekend. I was going to drag my little teardrop trailer over there and spend the night, but it's going to be in the nineties again. I've camped in hot humid conditions more than once and I can't say as I've missed it any. There's a presentation on antennas Saturday afternoon I want to be there for, but otherwise, I'll just help with set-up and teardown as needed.

It needs to cool down a bit so I can be a little more productive. Lots of projects and yard work to do.  

Political Science

 

There's just no end to it, is there?

Changing the World

 

 I too would like to change the world, but I don't know what to do either. This week's Epoch Times had an opinion piece about the price paid for declining civility. In the editorial is a quote from Learned Hand: "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it." It might not have died yet, but it sure seems like it's mortally wounded.  

Surly, the boys and I were talking Vise Grip clamps on Father's Day. I was under the impression the original Vise Grips as designed by Petersen, was bought out by Irwin. However, it seems it was actually the other way around with some interaction with holding companies along the way. 

The pipe wrench in the photo is badged with both names, like the last couple pairs of Vise Grips I purchased are. I don't need a pipe wrench; I've got a good selection - from 6" to 36" - but I like the look of the one in the photo. Most of the work that calls for a pipe wrench is normally not too glamorous, but there's nothing wrong with having a good looking and functional tool in your hand (insert joke here). Probably made in China, however. Between the labor costs and the fact most all iron foundries have been shut down, not much chance of it being American made. It's my understanding the Vise Grip pliers are all made in China now. It'll be real interesting if the US and China enter into a trade war, or a shooting war as far as that goes, and you can't buy a pipe wrench.

I made the pieces for the Go-Go carrier stand the other day. I bolted a 2x4 to the top of them yesterday after giving the paint an opportunity to dry. Next time I have to install the carrier on the car, I'll bolt these down to the mover's dolly and things should be much easier to install and remove the carrier from the car and move it out of the way for storage.

I got some more brush trimming done and got out on the bicycle. It's supposed to be hot the next few days, so the brush clearing will be put on hold. I want to start training for a couple of long-distance bike rides, so I'll have to get out early before it heats up too much. Likewise, get out in the shop early in the day, or go out later in the evening. 

Breakfast, Carrier and Rain

 

I went to breakfast with the ham radio group yesterday morning. The group meets once a month at different locations and different times, sometimes breakfast, sometimes dinner. The restaurant was located in a small town about 30 miles south of me and a little off the main highway. On my way into town I passed a yard with a collection of Trackmobiles. There were a few more out of the photo on the right side as well. Kind of surprised me, especially since there's no rail siding there.

After getting home from breakfast, I installed the carrier on the Buick. This time everything fit well and has plenty of ground clearance. However, when the carrier is in the vertical position it blocks the license plate, which has the Missus worried. Moving the carrier around is hard on my chest, so I was of the opinion, just leave it on the car. She's not going to be happy with that, so I'm going to rig up a dolly that's the right height so I can slide the carrier in and out of the receiver easily and roll it out of the way for storage. I've got a Harbor Freight dolly with the four casters on the bottom that I can start with - shouldn't take too much to make it happen.

Shortly after getting the carrier on the car a storm came in like a hurricane - lots of rain and wind gusts. It didn't last long but it was a mean one while it did. We were just about ready to head down the basement when it subsided.

Today's job is to make the carrier dolly and get the old mailbox I drug home recently cleaned up and painted and get the dog sled pieces fixed up as well. 

Fuel Injection Optimizer

 

Heard this one in the early morning hours on Radio Garden's Irish Pub Radio from Dublin. It's not all that unusual for me to fall asleep in the recliner in the evening, and when I wake up and go to bed it takes a while for me to fall asleep again. That's a prime time to read a few pages of something or do a little computer time-wasting with musical accompaniment. With Radio Garden the choices of music are pretty much endless, which is great for a guy like me who likes a great variety of musical genres.

The fuel injection optimizer from Hitchcock's came in the other day. It shouldn't take too long to get it installed on the Himalayan.

I finished up the Go-Go carrier but after loading the scooter up on it, with the soft suspension on the little Buick, it sagged down more than I liked it. I moved the hole location by welding up part of the holes and then put the tongue on the mill and bored a new hole that will have the carrier angled up 5 degrees. I haven't tried it yet due to the wet paint, but I was confident enough to paint it without installing it on the car - mostly because the wife was on the road with the car at the time. If it doesn't work this time, might have to cut the tongue apart and weld in a piece of tubing to raise it up and change the angle. Let's hope that doesn't need to be done. I want to move on from this one.