Trash Compactor

Anyone who really knows me can verify that I am a man of simple needs. Sure, like most men I'm perfectly happy with a cold bear and a **. But for that matter, what man can't appreciate such baser pleasures?
But yes, I do have other desires. For years I yearned to own my very own rubber chicken. Why? Well you never really know when you're going to need one now do you. Finally thanks to one of my favorite people I do own my very own rubber chicken. It's a splendid device that I'll cherish for the rest of my natural life. No, not laden with frills, just your basic plastic rubber chicken but it works splendidly.

Then of course there is the trash compactor.

Years ago X and I and 'da boys were in a suite in OC, MD for a few days of R&R. Low and behold there was a trash compactor. One quick trip accros the street to the 7-11 provided the nesecary foder for an exciting evening of drinking a beer, putting the empty can in the compactor and pressing the button, it was great fun. Some day I hope to have my very own trash compactor so that I can relive those joyous moments as my heart desires.

Ooops... Almost forgot the airplane.
Some day when I hit poweball, or when the boys go out and get good jobs and they can afford to buy it for me, I need a Cessna.

Oh I don't need a very fancy Cessna, in fact a little C162 Sky Catcher will do. Oh, you've never heard of a C162 Sky Catcher? Me either till recently.

General Aviation just may be back in growth mode with the new LSA (light sport aircraft). Cessna is again selling basic aircraft that could be the trainers to replace the twenty year plus old fleet of Cessna 152's and even older Cessna 150's that have been the mainstay of primary flight training throughout the world.

What has changed? The FAA has established a new category of aircraft based on ASTM specs called "Light Sport Aircraft". The kicker is that the LSA category has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 lbs. Well fitting snugly into that category is the new Cessna C162 which has an empty weight of 830 lbs. Compare that to the empty weight of say an ol' Cessna C150M at 1,104 lbs. Well, they put the 150 on a diet and it lost 374 lbs.
The best diet is the price. For quite some time spending about a quarter million was the cheapest anyone could leave the Cessna or Piper factory with a new aircraft. The C162 Sky Catcher will be a relative bargain at $109,500.00 and that's fully equipped with a glass cockpit instead of steam guages. (that's LCD displays instead of mechanical and electric gauges).

I'll take one to go please. Oh, the money? Well... err... I'll get back to you about that.
Cessna Sky Catcher ,

Check out the Sky Catcher Intro Video under media links, you'll see a handsome man.
Yes, it's true, he's lucky enough to look just like me. Jack Pelton, president, chairman and CEO of Cessna is my stunt double. Maybe I can get a special discount!

Someone Please Remember

Gotta ask...

Am I the only one who was pissed when looking at Google's home page today?

Sure, they put up little green things for Earth Day and Santas for Christmas... and they do all sorts of cute artwork... Shamrocks for St. Patty's day...

But today? Nothing.

Well, George W. Bush may not be the most popular man on the planet these days and the last thing I would ever want to see is another young American make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of some worthless sand box...

Yet I just can't help but thank God every single day that Al Gore ("During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.") was not president of the United States this day six years ago.

Poor Bubba

Well, once again poor Bubba is under the weather.

For thos e that don't know, Bubba is our '92 S10 Blazer.

Well...

T took Bubba to Wally World for an oil change and they topped off the coolant. Well, looks like they mixed red and green... If you don't know it that means BROWN... aka: mud. You see older green and blue antifreeze does not mix with newer red antifreeze. If you mix these two incompatible fluids... it makes BROWN... Brown mud that will not cool an engine.

So, several weeks ago I topped off Bubba with some coolant flush to try and clean out the mess... Well, it froze. Then overheated on C. It was a distraction...

However there was a worse distraction...

While driving Bubba, C reached for an Iced Tea that was in the console... While this distraction was going on, a snow bank jumped in front of Bubba.

Poor Bubba, his right front wheel is now smashed against the fender, and Diad is pissed.

Oh the joys...

Entry for November 23, 2006

20.01 lbs.

I hate those little pop-up things almost as much as I hate the charts that tell you how long the bird has to cook. It got to the point where I was opening the oven door and whacking the pop-up thingy with a fork to see if it was stuck.

Wasn't too bad...

Started getting the thing ready at 08:00 hours this AM. Put the beast in the oven just shy of 09:30... I finally coarched the pop-up thingy to pop up at about 1345. I love those Reynolds plastic bags.

I knew I was forgetting something... You know that feeling in the back of you mind that keeps itching... Had the cranberries, yams, stuffing, olives, bread and butter, gravy. Everything was on the table, or was it. Something was missing. well didn't matter, turned out awesome.

We did the only thing that has turned into a tradition and has survived in the family. All three of "My Three Sons" at the table with me, they don't understand how this once or twice a year ocurance is what keeps me going the other 364 or 365 days. In any event, as usual I had the guys dial the phone....

"In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit amen"

"Bless us oh Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive through Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, amen."

Of course, hang up the phone...

"In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit amen"

Oh yeah...

About an hour after diner we were eating apple pie, then I remembered. The baked potatos in the microwave.

Ok, so I don't have the Mr.Mom thing down perfect, but what fun would perfect be?

What a Moron - Get Over It John, You Screwed Up - Apologize !!!

Apologize !!!

Do you really feel the need to hand the Congress back to the Republicans next week? By God let them earn it. They may want the House and Senate but they don't want you to give it to them!

Well apparently you do. Face it, you opened your mouth and inserted foot. Now you've energized the nation and reminded the red states why they voted against you.

Politics should stop at the water's edge John. Right now past that water line are thousands of brave young Americans who have decided to volunteer to serve in our military. John, they deserve our respect and gratitude.

You may not agree with their mission, you may not agree with their motives. But the simple fact that they are there, does not make them uneducated fools who are simply members of our armed forces because of our pathetic failed public education system. Well who knows, maybe some of them are.

I've got a better idea.

Instead of threatening High School students that if they don't do their homework they'll go to Iraq.... Why not promise teachers that if their students fail, THEY have to go to Iraq.

No... That won't work, you had the Teacher Union endorsement didn't you. Sorry John, maybe you don't have a choice but to beat up on the military. I think I might see your point now. If it wasn't for the military students would have no choice but to do their homework.

Make Money Like a Banker or Mobster

What a deal !!!

Now you too Mr and Ms America can get into the lucrative business of loan sharking !!!

Legally !!!

If you haven't seen the new eBay of the banking world you should check it out. It really looks like a great thing to try with a little bit of play money, or a way to get some play money. It was started by a founder of E-Loan and the website can be found at Prosper.Com .

It's pretty obvious that some of the people who are asking for loans will never be able to pay them back. So why would you agree to buy a piece of their loan? Got a social conscience? Some of the stories are absurd, some are sad but all are good reading. On the other hand you can get mobster like rates and the pay back schedules unlike high interest credit cards actually have a chance of being paid back. It's also a chance to let some people get a fresh start and that's what a lot of them are looking for.

Or, there are people who don't need the money who are looking for loans and willing to pay back at 7 or 9 or more percent. People with great credit so low risk and much better rates than your savings account, you know they don't even give you a toaster anymore when you open an account at the bank and then what can you get 3% ?

Worth looking at.

That Was a Good Martini

That Was a Good Martini,

Or... at least it did what it was supposed to do. It just plain knocked me on my ass and put me to sleep last night. The nice thing about martini consumption is the gin. Gin just doesn't leave much of anything of a hangover. Gins and Vodkas are deffinitely the prefered libation of professional alcoholics. Somehow the clear spirits just don't have the nasty things in them that force one to the bathroom floor resting one's head on the cool understanding porcelin rim.

You see as an incentive to do laundry, I allow myself a martini per load of wash. Naturaly after three loads or more, one wakes up the next day wondering what happend to their clothes. Apparently from what I hear, this is a very common side effect of martini consumption.

Well, the towels are dry, aparently I had the sense to move them to the dryer before becoming completely numb. Undies are still wet, that's ok since I usually go commando. So, all is well with my world.

Entry for September 25, 2006

Not feeling very good today.

Stayed home, I just can't seem to kick this thing. I've lost my voice, the kids enjoy that, dad can't yell.

Entry for September 21, 2006

Took the Plunge.

After 25 1/2 months I'm finally going to have a trash pickup service.

Waste Management was the first to refuse to come up the road. They figured that if they got the truck up the hill they would never get it down. Being a believer in gravity I found that hard to believe.

So, after two years of burning trash and hauling garbage off to a friends house in another township I will now be hauling it 200yds down the hill to the mailbox cluster. Not a big problem now with noble Rex at my beck and call. 26 bucks a month and they don't have a recylce pickup in this township. I still have to haul the aluminum to the Boy Scout trailer and the plastic and carboard to the county trailer that shows up once a month. Which is another thing. The recycle trailer is always supposed to be there on Saturday morning and when I get there it's already full. Well... Apparently they drop it off on Wednesday of Thursday.... Another local secret has been uncovered.

Entry for September 13, 2006

Entry for September 10, 2006

It's been a while since I've blogged anything, it's been a rough few weeks actually. This weekend I have to work the Radnor Concours. Not too bad, but I would rather be home on the porch consuming alcohol.

Yesterday morning we arrived to find the Porsche tent leaning to one side. Apparently a member of the hunt club decided he wanted to unload his horse trailer right where the Porsche tent was sitting, so he backed his trailer in to it. He probably did several thousand dollars worth of damage to the tent. Could have been real interesting if the tent crashed down on the Carerra GT, it's a basic no option car, only worth $440,000.00. Oh, the Turbo Carrera? It's cheap stripped down car too, only $125,000.00. The people from Porsche were walking around in a daze imagining what that conference call would be like and the stack of forms that would come their way

Whenever I have to get involved in something like this there are a few things that always come to mind. One is that people with old money are very nice people, they don't worry about trying to impress anyone. Convesely, people with new money are f***ing assholes. Lastly, money is inversely proportional to comon sense.

 

Entry for August 20, 2006

Gotta call T

I forgot to remind him to go to Austin, MN. Sparta is just a short 2 hour and 2 minute drive to Austin Minnesota where one of the most important landmarks in North America can be visited, The Spam Museum.

M was in a hurry last night to get down the hill to meet his ride so he asked if he could drive Bubba down, foolish me I said yes. Well, M forgot that he took Bubba down the hill so when he came home he walked up the muddy driveway in the rain. Oh, did I forget to mention that since he as usual has lost his keys he borrowed mine. Well Guess What !!! M naturally lost my keys so Bubba is sitting down the hill in the parking lot of the Mennonite church in a keyless fashion. M doesn't understand why I'm pissed off.

C really acted up yesterday and pushed my button. Then he forgot to go to work at 5:00, he tought he was on call.

 

I was so terribly foolish when I thought parenthood was something I could afford and enjoy !!!

Entry for August 19, 2006

Today Bubba will be jumping to the top of my attention list again. Just when my fingernails were getting clean again... I'll sure be changing that today.

Still have to give Bubba his new bumper brackets but there are other things too. I started to compile a list of the things that need attention on Bubba and it is an impressive list. Bubba needs some brake work, both his rear shoes and his front pads need to be changed out. He really could use a new set of shocks but I might hold off on that expense for now... Oh, and sneakers. Bubba's sneakers are getting a bit long in the tooth. I'm certainly not anxious to buy Bubba new sneakers, the ones I would like to get him would run about $500. Bubba is currently wearing BF Goodrich Comp T/A KOs, truly an aggressive manly tire, Bubba can certainly park proudly in any lot. I’ve got this thing for the Comp TA KO tire. Rudy wore them too, as did his other two S10 ancestors. In fact his sibling Rex wears a mighty fine set. Don’t tell Rex but when I first saw him. I wasn’t really attracted to him as much as his brand new set of Comp T/A KO tires. Monetary considerations just might force my hand to choose generic donuts for Bubba this time, that would be about $300. I’m sure Bubba won’t really mind. Afterall, we all know he would look good wearing any old set of Maypops.

Entry for August 17, 2006

Pressure is off

a bit for now. T made it to Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon. He was able to make the trip in about 25 hours, which was good news, it means he didn't push it too much. It's about 16.5 hours drive time so he did stop and sleep and eat. I've done the straight thru and it's too tough. I asked him Rex was on the trip, he said thirsty. Whereas Bubba in a good mood can do over 25mpg on the highway, Rex is more hefty, brutish and has a more agressive axle ratio... Rex is lucky when he can do 20mpg.

 

Haven't done a thing with Bubba

since the weekend. The bumper brackets arrived Tuesday but M has been out by the time I've gotten home and doing the bumper thing is not a one person thing.

 

M is working.

He started his new job on Mnday, from what he says it sounds like he's doing pretty good.

Entry for August 13, 2006

The Bubba saga is almost closed.

Bubba is starting to look like a Blazer again. I ordered a new one piece grille and two bumper brackets that should be in early this week. In the mean time we'll probably put Bubba's old broken grille back on as the salvage one is missing headlight doors. The grille in the photo is from a '89 and is a three piece style, Bubba being a '92 uses a different one piece stlye. The headlight doors are where the side marker lamps mount so without them, it's not really completely street legal. Right now the bumper is being held in place with coat hanger, might be fine for WI but certainly not good enough for PA. Since my drive to work takes me into PA State Trooper Territory I have to make him as legal as possible, Troopers memorize the Motor Vehicle Code, they really need a new hobby.

Another beautiful day.

Well Bubba will only get a little attention today, have to get Rex ready for T to take him to Wisconsin. Rex needs an oil change and a bath, that's about it. Have to check out AAA and see if I can sign up, just in case.

Wally World

Went to Wally World after dropping C off at work, saw KK. K and I were born one day apart, he was born the day after me but since I was premature I always point out that he's really older. We compared notes on our offspring, seems he's dealing with issues too. We long for the simpler days of taking the boys to Hawk Mountain Scout Camp, sleeping in the woods and polar bear swims.

Entry for August 12, 2006

SEX

I just added "Sex" to my 360 interests. It is afterall one of those things I think about more than once in any given day. Then... I searched local for women who share my interst in "Sex". To my surprise there were ony 4 females (40-51) in a 25 mile radius that are interested in "Sex". It's very discouraging, yet I also find it hard to believe. I know for a fact that there are more than 4 women within 25 miles who care about "Sex". In fact, I've met some who that's all they think about, and that's a good thing. But I think it's high time that the women of SE Pennsylvania come out of the closet and admit to having had sex, and the continued desire to experience it again.

Incredible, such a beautiful day.

M has the camera somewhere or I would have taken a picture of the extrodinary sky and tree line. Perfectly clear, cool... right now probably about 70... What a great day to be flying. So at least I put up a photo of a Van's RV-4, someday I will build one. It's both a very strong and very fast aircraft with tandem seating, it will do 200mph on 180hp and climb at an astounding 2450fpm, It also has a well proven track record with over 4,700 RVs completed and flying. Someday I see it overtaking the Cessna Skyhawk as the most produced General Aviation  aircraft.

Bubba

continues to occupy my time. The motor mounts have proven to be next to impossible to change on the dirt driveway. Today T and I will be attacking the task once again. It looks like I will have to unbolt the body from the chassis so that I can lift the engine high enough to get the new mounts in. After many struggles in the dark over the past week nights in the dark we were able to finally get the old mounts out. We took a break last night, it's been daunting and we both needed to escape Bubba so we could go at it fresh this afternoon. The weather is grand, lots of other things I would be rather doing. The first paragraph in todays blog reminds me on one of those things. Yet we will shortly be putting our shoulders to Bubba's wheel once again. Yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered Bubba a brand new grille, should be here one day next week. I hope he appreciates the thought and cooperates, letting us install his brand new mounts.

 

 

 

 

Entry for August 11, 2006

A Toast to The Brits, Three Cheers to Our Allies in the UK

But couldn't you have gotten the scum on a different day?

Had international visitors yesterday and I missed out on very nice steak-laden lunch since they had to leave early so they could get through the hightened security and still make their flight.

Well back to the Bubba thing. Progress has been slow, but it is progress. The bucks have gotten to be a real problem as T and I struggle to get Bubba back in shape. Life marches on.

While lifting the engine last night we discovered what it was that stung me the other night on the hand. Seems there was a nest of "deads" living inside the beam of the engine hoist. They were wasps, but now they are deads.

Entry for August 10, 2006

Bubba is at a difficult time right now. His motor mounts are a reap PITA to change. Componding it, by the time T and I can work on him each night it's already getting too dark to be safe. I have isues with placing my hands between his fully dressed 500lb engine and the frame to change the mounts while his engine is hanging from a hoist that is older than he is... in the dark... on the ground and not on a lift.

Part of the problem with having been a mechanic during my mis-spent youth is that I know how much easier things can be when you have a properly lit shop, a lift and all the right tools organized and right at hand. It also scares me a bit whenever T puts himself in a spot that might be a little less than safe.

But, have to try and get Bubba done and rolling. I might end up letting T take Rex to Wisconsin if by the time he plans to leave Bubba isn't in my eyes safe for the trip. Problem is Rex gets about 5mpg less than Bubba gets on the highway. With the price of gas, that's an issue.

Entry for August 09, 2006

Not enough time to compose all I want to say right now, just a quick update for anyone who wants to know... Bubba progresses, slow but sure.

Entry for August 08, 2006

Yesterday I managed to get absolutely nothing done on Bubba. When I came home I took all of about 15 mins to relax and then got on the tractor to cut the grass, it had been too long it was a real mess.

I spoke with the neighbor who will be bringing by a cherry picker (engine hoist) tonight after work. It will make things a lot easier, the one big thing that needs to be done to Bubba now is replacing the engine mounts and it will make it a lot easier to lift the engine fro mthe top than trying to jack it up on the oil pan from underneath. Once that's done the only things left to be done are cosmetic.