Slow, not stoopid
Yesterday, was about as stoopid as I get, and that was only in “shoulda paid attention” to the weather liars.
Today? Well, the wind is slated to be a constant, with a weather system blowing in from the west (out of that seriously kold arctic inversion thing goin’ on) and I have ZERO clue what my J.O.B. entails today (I never do, and sometimes that carries through the entire day. Make it up as I go along.)
So, I busted out the thermos gear. Yes, I have an actual evacuated glass thermos’; its probably as old as I am. Keeps a triple cuppa, hot for HOURS. I have a smaller one, that isn’t evacuated glass but does fine, and that one is loaded up with steak and potato soup. My issue yesterday was keeping the core warm, and why it took so long for the shivers to start and subside later. I had nothing warm to put inside me: Problem alleviated today.
Now, I have had a thought, totally NOT related to yesterdays post, and the more I think about it, the more I believe it needs to become a podcast thing. Key subject points: War on Drugs, Afghanistan, drug boats go boom, Poisoning fishing waters,,,,
I’m gonna leave it there as those are more like notes for me; where I can’t lose them. SO, if I have another day of waiting, no J.O.B. that day and thumbs under ass,,, PODCAST,,, May be something for y’all to look forward to (but don’t go praying for it, I need the income.)
more laters,,,
L.L.L.L.L!
(, ‘)
It’s a question of Sanity,,,,
I’m sure Mike in FLA will concur,,, I’m NOT sane,,, Purt-certain he ain’t either,,,,
NOT TO SAY, that we are certifiably Nutzoids,,, Just not “Normal” peeps in this great wide world. Fact is, most of those that I call my closest of friends probably don’t fit “Sane” very well.
The definition of Sanity: mentally and emotionally fitting in with the majority of a society.
Yeah,,, that ain’t me.
But there are times where my version of insanity backfires, coughs and sputters, and gets in me own way. THAT is close enough describing the last couple of weeks in my little world: Five steps forwards, three steps to the left, spin in place 7 times, and 20 staggering steps to the north by northwest into the headwinds, Trip, stumble and fives steps forward,,, Now where was I? Where was I headed? Whats my name?
Caught some of the newz feeds when I stopped in at Da’s checking in. Hmmm,,, Sure seems like I’m not the only Krazee in the world,,,,
So, does that make me Sane? Shushh,, don’wanna know that answer,,,, I rather prefer being the overly tall nail in a perfectly level floor,,, More exciting than “chasin’the’dream” of the rat-race (been there, done that, still have the scars to prove it.)
Ok, ok, maybe not more exciting, but far more fulfilling in my opinion. May not have a bottomless bank account (Whats that?!?!?) or insured income in perpetuity (is there such a thing?) BUT, I do find I rarely have mornings of waking up and saying “I hate my life”. actually, that hasn’t happened in YEARS,,,, (and its usually attached to that “one good day job” that is completely stable and predictable like the motions of the planets.
(I miss that band,,,)
SO whats rubbin’ Dio so funny this afternoon/evenin’? Probably the fact that I was near hypothermic all day at the J.O.B. Shivering began around noon, when the temps actually exceeded 40F: I have been home in front of the fire for over an hour and my fingers are still ‘ticklish’ from the cold.
My brain is fried, numb, and seeking Only Dawg knows what,, My thoughts awhirl with “Whats next?” “How do I,,,?”,,,,, Well, you might or might not understand,,,,
If you do, you’re one of my sort of people. Welcome to the Krazee, it grows on ya, I swear.
Live
LOVE
LAUGH hysterically and scare the neighbors
LEARN
LOAD!
In addendum: To fill in some blanks from above. Ya’see, this Twuck and my desire for it to be my “MCguyver” Swissarmyknife Twuck, keeps giving me nudges in one particular direction: Mobile Mechanic.
I know its something I am fairly good at: system analysis being a big part of a good Drivability tech, which is what I was way back in the past,,, SA being a big part of my skillsets in any endeavor to be truthful.
Fact is, I am not 100% comfortable with that idea. I don’t like the newer vehicles for one. I look under the hood and my gag reflex kicks in: You should be able to SEE an engine in the engine bay, and these ‘hicles these days have so many Cosmetic Covers (I was told, by a Body designer, this is to appeal to the Femmes .) that you spend near as much time removing them to get to the problem, as you spend on the problem itself. And, there would be a ‘small’ investment in a reliable scan tool, capable of ‘looking into’ the vehicle. This being one such, at the bottom of the price ranges.
Does Dio want to go down this road? Thats the question. Doable? Yes. Desirable? Ummm,,, dunno,,,, I like variety in my ‘work’ but there was a reason I left the wrenching on others POS,,, Mine, no worries, at least I know its getting done, and getting done right: you can’t always say that when you take it to a shop (and believe me, I have seen some serious “Hacks” out there. Heard of more and NOT from mechanics.)
Dunno, just a thought running current,,, and not one I am locked into, despite the fact that Bloo is her own mobile repair shop.
(and there are a series of legal hoops to attend to if I go that route, including but not limited to hiring a lawyer (Hey, Ulis!!!) to make me a boiler plate contract to cover my ass, and establish an LLC (which I should do anyways.) to protect my investments and myself. That first part is a bit harder if I am just “McGuyvering” though I am sure a shark could word it rather openly,,,
Anywuzyamacullitz,, those are my thinks since I started this day,,,,
That lucidity thing
TRULY strange dreams this AM,,, Don’t wanna even attempt to ‘interpret’ them,,, Just really wyrd and F!ed up,,,
And nothing related, not even remotely, to the story I was reading,,, (‘Darkship thieves’ by Sarah)
Coy-dawg attack, Dood from the J.O.B. that I would never hang with IRL,,, MONSOON RAINS,,,
Dunno,,,
STRANGE,,,, or maybe Strainge would be the better term as it was definitely straining my mind this morning,,,,
I’m resigned to the shit-uation with Bloo at this point: nothing else TO BE about it. I will take the weekend to do my thing, ASSUMING that crankshaft is in within the newly promised timeline,,, I’m betting that the reman place canked out at the last second, and the place I bought it from fell back and punted by ordering from Summit Racing. The reason I say that: I checked on line (which I should have done FIRST) and Summit racing has brand new, STOCK, Cranks for sale, and with the free shipping, falls right in the time frame I was quoted. HAD I GONE THIS ROUTE, I would have saved myself $260 and be in the same timeline I’m currently in. Live and Learn,,,
I’m not gonna sweat it at this point, but if things go any stranger, (strainger) I know the route I will go, with better customer support and OPTIONS for warranty.
But, its back to the J.O.B. today, at least I hope so: No text this AM, but will see once on site.
L.L.L.L.L!
(, ‘)
Just takin’ a little time,,,,
called about the Crankshaft at the ‘expected’ time.
“Should be here Wednesday or Thursday”
oh shit!!! Ok, thank you,,,,
Holding expectations causes grief,,, I know this. The above Meme is about the suffering I am giving myself for this taking longer than projected.
At least Da is being cool as fuk about it,,, He actually laughed when I told him,,,,
Didn’t make me feel any better about the shit-uation though. I’m hopin’ like hell the work lines up the rest of the week because I can’t afford any more days off SITTING/WAITING. I won’t be expecting anything until Thursday at this point, maybe even Friday, because to “expect Better” is only setting myself up for disappointment: Hell, I may be disappointed with those expectations as well. Seems like there is a small curse on Bloo and myself right now.
ON A POSITIVE NOTE: I did find the Horn, as in ONE horn, and why she sounded so frellin pathetic,,, That was this eve as I was waiting on the parts place to call me back, so I now know where and how to get to “It”, and have the pair to replace it with, just in case, there are any more ‘days off’ this week. Something to do constructive-like that doesn’t get me ahead of myself in the engine refresh. Believe me, I want to do something, but seriously, I can’t,,, I spent the morning cleaning the parts that I will be putting back together, but that was the upper limit of ‘what could be done’,,, Lord how I hate that word “Can’t”. Dirtiest word in the English language as far as I am concerned.
I have been over the various aspects of what when and how of this refresh in my head: I can about do it with my eyes closed right now. Once that crank is in hand, its likely only a day of work to get her back together, where I can pull her out and fire her up, AND re-weld that exhaust pipe back in place. NO, I will NOT be firing her up in Da’s basement: Far too many new parts that will be putting out strange smells and smoke and you name it. Like that new Manifold: you know that thing is gonna start smoking within seconds of the first rpms. Were this my actual shop (wheres that?) No issues. This basement has a direct path to his living quarters above and NO WAY to separate the two. I have been bending over backwards to keep the smells down; taking things outside to clean them in the solvent (Odorless Mineral spirits? HA! That shit still makes a stink.) His garage was only intended to keep his ‘hicle out of the weather, and for woodworking/beekeeping, NOT Wrenching and making Old Dinosaur fart smells.
Nuff said at this point, Otherwise I just start stirring the stewpot,,, Time to crack open a book and ‘escape’ reality for a bit before the sheets call my name for the night.
Live
Laugh
LOVE
Learn
LOAD!!!
called it again
“No work today”
sigh,,,
won’t be idle though. Going ahead and cleaning up what I can while I can. Lots of goop on those parts in Bloo/from Bloo: tar like Goop,,, prolly why she burned out that bearing, too thick to move and plugged up passages. Da thinks it was like that when she was parked and why she was parked, and I can’t say he is wrong. BUT, y’all heard her when I first got her runnin’. Smooth quiet-ish (seeing how she had NO exhaust), definitely not knockin’.
Anywhuzamacullzit,,, things to do while I wait, so its yet another “hurry up and wait” day,,, Polish boots, press fatigues, dust the already dusted crannies of imaginary fae poop,,, or in this case, a bucket of solvent and toothbrush to scrub caps and oil pump/strainer clean. Little things to help insure a good install. (and yes, some of the scrubbing will be done on my back in the truck, getting those rods cleaned up.)
more laters as I get my day along a little further.
L,L,L,L,L!
(, ‘)
twiddlin’ thumbs,,,
Since the key component, a Crankshaft, is enroute, and I can’t do a damned thing until that is in hand (I don’t want to open the bearing packs until I KNOW that the journals are Factory spec, which is what my bearings are for. Can’t return them opened up,,,) Well, a might borin’ day, it be.
Whats a Wrench puller to do when the wrenches must sit idle?????
THROW STICKS!!!
LOL,,, thats a truly fancy way of saying “archery” >snark off<
And I found YET ANOTHER way that a certain Pittie, no longer gassy or itchy-scratchy Pittie, Bent me over and laid some shit in my world.
Some of y’all know I do most all the aspects of my archery tuning meself. From canvasing the shafts so they all match, fine balancing the shafts with points that match, Fletching my shafts with TURKEY FEATHER because I despise the plastic-y ‘vanes’ (sorry, a pet-peeve of mine, like calling a magazine a ‘clip’. Clips load M-1 Garandes, Mosin-Nagants, SKS’s, magazine’s load most everything else. I digress,,,,)
Wellsah,,, went to reflectch some of my shafts today, brighter feathers, cleaner feathers since some of the current ones look rather abused and in one case, barely hanging on, ready to leave this plane of existence behind in the next shot.
ONLY,,,, The Fletching clamp for my jig is Buh-Bye,,,, Nowhere to be found. And I know I had taken it from Cozzie at one point: but dummy me, put it back where it belongs. Right where Cozzie found it to begin with.
sigh,,,, And that particular jig is no longer in production as I found,,,,
Bite the bullet, buy a new one: one similar so I am not on a learning curve when I get it, though they really aren’t all that different (straight or helical, left or right, pretty straight up.) Cheap version, as some of those are out-flippin’-rageous in price (seriously, I saw one that didn’t look at all different from what I ordered, priced at $300 STICKER SHOCK! That thing had better fletch the arrows for me and play song while doing it, IMO.)
thanks Cozz-dawg! Luvs the mutt and I am glad as hell the chewin’ phase is over. Still workin’ on the Nip phase when playing (and I hope the other puppers he plays with teach him some etiquette there. (Kats do this, teaching the young’uns about teefers and klawbies, and when to keep both sheathed.) He’s still a puppy, though he is physically about as big as he will ever get (still putting on muscle, but I think the bone growing has slowed if not stopped.)(side note: the little miscreant can RUN!!! He was trying to catch me in Buffalo the other day, wanting a ride, and I raced off. He kept up until I passed the 30mph mark! NO SHIT!!!)
As for the other things goin’ on: Bloo, J.O.B., WINTERBLAHS,,, Upcoming campin’ trip was mutually cancelled by the potential attendees. We looked ahead at the weather liar predictions (which, tend to ‘surprisingly accurate’ in the winter months.) and decided to hold off. Testing equipment is one thing: pushing the limits of exposure for some Male bonding thing? Not so much. Temps were slated to be in the LOW TEENS all three nights,,, Brudda B and I did that “hell froze over” camping last year, and knocking the frost out of the inside of the tent was a new experiance for me. Not the sort of trip you want to introduce a newb with (Brudda J is the newb).
BUT, I still want to shorten my work-week at the J.O.B. so that I can focus on getting Bloo out of my Da’s basement. Running that 1ton HVAC unit is costing him mad right now. (and why he wanted that monster to keep that house cool is beyond me. Is whu-t’is!) I’m making no plans at this point because with the weather, the crankshaft may be later than ‘promised’. Can’t say one way or the other, but everything else I have ordered the last couple of weeks has been ‘off schedule’ by at least a day: one week in one items case. In fact, weather has slowed us down at the J.O.B. more than once. Even though we set some poles in concrete last week, the chance of them being set this week is SLIM TO NONE,,, Its been that kold,,, Can’t hang wire on green concrete,,, I may get the text in the morning that ‘no work today’, seeing how its set to rain/turn to sleet overnight.
don’t get mad about it, do something, anything, even if its just tossin’ sticks around. And I am getting more comfortable with my newer bows, that shoot off the knuckle, not a shelf. Getting to where I can call the shots with them, like I do with that Bear Grizzly. Takes time to adjust to the primtive methods after years of ‘modern’ set ups.
blah, blah-blahblahblah,,,, I’m ramblin’ again, t’ain’t I? Poligies,,,,
Live
Learn
LAUGH
LOVE
LOAD!
Where’s the Fire? (update after the fold)
Some of y’uns might be thinking I am rushing at finishing Bloo with a vengeance.
ya might be right
several points of order to address here. One: The Da. I’m using his charity of letting me use his basement Garage for these repairs, out of the weather. The downside, he’s paranoid of my burning his place down due to the fact there is a FULL fuel tank with 30 gallons of gasoline sitting 20′ from his woodburning stove.
And now that tank of fuel is sitting there for even MORE days beyond planned. I’m only catching minor grief over it currently, as its pretty obvious some of this is out of my hands,,, Like delivery of a certain key part, and without that part, there is ZERO forward movement. Yeah, I ‘shoulda’ seen it coming and prepared accordingly,,, Woulda-shoulda-coulda’s get people killed in war. I didn’t, but He did see how quickly I jumped on a solution as soon as it was OBVIOUS.
SO, yah, thats one reason,,,,
Second reason: This truck is supposed to MAKE MONEY,,, not drink it like the spiked punch at a Homecoming dance. So far, she has wracked up a SUBSTANTIAL bill, and thats on my labor rates ($0/hr) If someone had taken her to a shop to do all the things I am doing,, that bill would be triple or higher of what I have already spent, and on a truck that bluebooks for $4000.00. I have easily spent that amount as of todays last minute scamble purchase.
Third Point: Buffalo is NOT getting any younger or BETTER by my using her everyday as the Gopher Truck. The intent of having two trucks was so that she could get a rest and I could put some of the finances in her stall and get her back up to snuff. SO far, Bloo is center stage,,,
Just before I made the final call to buy Bloo, I was torn by ‘portents’. Those portents are what you are reading about here, as they are coming true. MY THOUGHTS at the time were ‘Hard choices, easy live, easy choices hard life” and the hard choice in this case was to make the buy, invest in the truck, and make it DOABLE as my escape route from the Armpit of Kentucky, or at least into a future where I have more control over my work conditions. She is already proving her worth on those points as I haven’t needed to revert to ‘going and getting tools’ from Buffalo or my shed at the house. All of the tools I have used in this project are already in her boxes, right there, ready to be put into use.
And hooo-boy are they getting used. I had some that were showing signs of rust: No longer,,, They are all getting re-lubed and wiped down regularly in this project. But I digress,,,
Point of fact, her ‘Functions’ are being ‘tried by fire’ and coming out ‘perfect’. Its the mobility issue, and that is being addressed in these repairs. I could have shortcut things like the Clutch, but dangit, I know the false economy of re-using old parts, even if ‘Good’. (fun fact, Cleaned up the flywheel of dust and odd rusty sections. You can still see the factory grooves in the face. BABIED CLUTCH!!!, never abused. No high RPM clutch dumps on this girl.) I’m in there, its getting replaced.
I would honestly, prefer at this point to do a full build on this engine, but finances prohibit that, timing prohibits that, SPACE prohibits that,,, PLUS, I really need to consider that option for Buffalo FIRST,, seeing how she has over a 100K MORE on the clock than Bloo.
“Dio, with what you are spending on these two trucks, why dont you just buy new?”
Good question, with a BETTER answer. I just read where a certain car company just made it so you are not ALLOWED to do your own work on their car. You buy, it, you own it; only, not really,,,
on top of that, almost everything after 2000 has gotten so computer controlled, that even swapping out a radio in the dash causes computer issues. (fact, after 2015, there isn’t a radio in the dash, its a touch screen interface and the ‘radio’ is IN the BCM,,,)
so the real answer to that question above: I don’t WANT a new car,,, I’ll take the 200000mile beater and make it better, and be HAPPY with it, and the manufacterers can kiss my lily white ass.
There may come a day where buying car parts is akin to bootleggin’, and I will take my chances on that. It’s all part and parcel of that “you will own nothing and be happy” schtick,, Fuggem!!! I have no problems living in debt, but I do have problems with not being able to claim the fruits when that debt is paid off: and thats what Klaus Schwab was saying in that statement,,, You’ll live in debt with no claim to the fruits of that debt. THAT IS SLAVERY,,,,
I ain’t a slave.
I may slave away, but I am NO SLAVE. I can walk away from anything at anytime, and continue to hold my head high that NO ONE OWNS ME. I could even walk away from this debt, but that goes against my ethics,,, I took on that debt KNOWINGLY, I will pay it back intently.
So, stepping away from the soapbox I suddenly found myself on,,, y’all have a good night.
Live
Learn
LAUGH
LOVE
LOAD!
Talking about ‘Planned obselence” and ‘you’ll own nothing and be happy’,,, This guy popped up in my utoob feeds
I’m not alone in my desire to be the “repair it” guy
Dio's Workshop 