White Trash Test

I am 31% White Trash.

The white trash in my blood will not keep me from becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but it will keep me from a good haircut and any sort of fashion sense.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

Does having an old window A/C unit on my front porch waiting to be hauled away make me more trashy in a white sort of way? And btw, in these pc times, why is white trash an acceptable term? I'm gonna join the ranks of the perpetually offended over this.

Seen at Jimbo's

For Chaz

I'm surprised I didn't see this at Dustbury:

Mother Road brings Paul McCartney to Oklahoma City

A Bricktown restaurant employee found out something this week about Paul McCartney that most of the ex-Beatle's millions of fans could only guess — he's a big tipper.Toby Whiteside, a staff member at Nonna's Euro-American Ristorante and Bar. "The bills will be paid on time this month.”

McCartney is driving across the country on Route 66, doing it up right behind the wheel of a "classic” 1989 Ford Bronco with his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, 47, at his side.

On Tuesday the couple made Oklahoma City one of several stops on their "Mother Road” adventure, reportedly staying overnight at the Skirvin Hilton hotel and dining at Nonna's.

(snip)

Whiteside, 26, a senior bartender/server at Nonna's, was elected to wait on McCartney and Shevell, who chose to eat in the main dining room instead of the private room offered to them.

"He's very personable,” Whiteside said. "Being Paul McCartney, I really didn't know what to expect. You don't know how these celebrities are going to act, and he was just the friendliest guy, very attentive. ... He said everything was delicious, and he struck up a lot of conversation. I was just kind of trying to serve the food and get out of there and just do my job. ...

"And then they talked to a few guests. There were a few guests that did notice who they were. They approached him and he (was) the nicest guy, had a conversation with a couple of guests and was just a complete gentleman to everybody.

"He signed one of our menus and enjoyed everything. Left with a smile, shook my hand ...”

(snip)

McCartney and Shevell began their journey from his holiday home in the Hamptons, N.Y., on July 31, picking up Route 66 in Illinois on a vacation trip that will take the couple all the way to Santa Monica, Calif., according to newspaper reports from cities they have passed through.

Sounds kinda cool - a trip along the old Route 66. Personally, I'd be in something other than a 1989 Bronco. But, maybe that's just me.

Gunssavelife.com

It's been a while since I drove on Interstate 57 north of Effingham IL, and south of US24. One of the interesting sights are the Burma Shave style pro gun messages posted by gunssavelife.com.

I know I've seen:

WHEN GUN CONTROL
HAS US BEAT
CRIMINALS WILL
OWN THE STREET

and

THE RIGHT TO
CARRY FIREARMS
IS THE RIGHT TO
PROTECT YOUR FAMILY

Pretty stinking cool, since they are just down the road from Daley's corrupt anti gun paradise - Chicago.

And geez, Obama is from there, too. Just about forgot that. I'd like to say I was carrying a gun and driving well beyond the mandated 55mph, but I'd be lying. I just drove 64 (9 over, much cheaper and better than 10 or 11 over) and unarmed, as I always am on the job.

Oh, and the rest area south of Gilman has far better bunghole fodder than the one just north of Effingham. Just so you know.

El Neato

This is a Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds. You can enter the url of you own site so it can pick up the most commonly used words. Kinda kewl.

M89 Near Fennville

We were on I196 south of Holland, MI, when we had to go east on M89. When we get kicked off interstates, it is usually because of road construction (too narrow for our loads) or an overpass we won't fit under. So, we had to take M89 to M40 and go on into Holland.

I don't think all of southwestern Kansas has this many trees. It's cool to look at, but I likes my wide open spaces. Plus, oversize loads are only allowed to run 50mph on four lanes, and 45 on two lanes. We might have broken that law. But, geez, 55 and 60 for trucks while cars are 65 and 70? I get kinda burned out on the slow speeds. Studies have shown (and I'm too lazy and pooped to reference any) that speed differentials are one of the major influences in car/truck collisions.

Oh well, I'll be home at the end of the week, back in the land of straight, fast roads.

Gads

ch080804
Originally uploaded by jeffropo

Has it been this long? 1988?

Pontoon Beach, IL again on the way to - yep, Michigan again. This time it's north of Cadillac. On the way back, I'm hoping to see my Ant Gail and Unka Bill. It's been a while.

Need Prozac

I Hate Sandcastles

My Hog Hunt

Steve H. talks about hunting hogs today, and said this:

You don't need much of a rifle to hunt pigs, anyway. The Cubans rely on the .22 LR. I think it would be a little weird, showing up with a heavy-barreled .243 with a scope.

Some of you who found me from Jeff Soyer's People of the Gun page might find this picture a bit familiar.

First, some background. As most of you correctly assume, the header pic is a Google Earth save of my little corner of paradise. The trees under the words "Hedonistic Musings" are a shelterbelt bordering the north edge of the farmstead. To the lower right of the shelterbelt are strings of round bales laid end to end. At the far right is the cow lot of which the north end is basically abandoned and closed off. To the middle left is a round galvanized granary, where my neighbors store seed wheat.

One fine afternoon, I stepped out on the front porch to "get some air" as is my wont - I do live out in the country and could generally run around naked and no one would know or notice. Now that I've put that picture in your mind, imagine my surprise when I heard a metallic bang to the north. I looked thataway, and saw a huge hog lifting the end of a grain auger with his snout and then dropping it to shake loose wheat grains still inside. In retrospect - that was pretty clever. This hog was more than likely one of Ziggy's that he hadn't properly fenced in and turned out depending on the generosity of others. It had gone feral - it's hairs had grown long and a kind of ashy brown.

I got on the horn to my buddy B to see if anyone other than Ziggy had hogs in the neighborhood. He informed me there were not - this was one of the survivors of the old recluse's stock. He said he'd be right there, and to wait for me. So, I loaded up my Savage Model 10 in .243 Winchester. I also have my Glock 22 (that's foutty to teh gangbangers) handy in the console of my pickup. B arrived, and we went scoutin'.

We could hear the big devil in the strings of round bales. They were placed close enough together that there was no way to mow a path, but weeds had grown up and tumbleweeds had settled between them. Now, I dunno about you, but I'm not particularly wild about chasing a six hundred pound animal with long tusks through an area I'm not gonna be particularly handy in - not that my fat ass is handy in the open, but there you have it. B positioned himself at the east end of the bales, and I was on the west side. The hog ended up in the abandoned part of the cow lot, so I waded through the waist high dry weed barrier and looked over the fence. Sure enough, there he was. About twenty yards away. So, I waited to line up a shot. Cattle were in the south end of the lot coming and going from the stock tanks. B would not have been in a very gracious mood were I to ventilate some of his cattle. Can't say that I'd blame him.

So, I finally got a shot, and put one in his brisket from the side. It didn't kill him, so I held off until I had another good shot and tried for the head. Man, that had a reaction. The hogster went into the big electric dance. Micheal Jackson would have been proud - this dude was spinning on his nose. I had him dead to rights.

So, I knew we didn't want him in the lot, stinking it up close to the house and drawing coyotes or whatever. I walked back to my pickup and put away the Savage. I had told B of my plans to tow the carcass out of the lot, and he started to walk into the southern edge of the corral. Suddenly, B hollered at me that the hog was still alive! Well, he can't be long for this world, I'm thinking. So, I grab the plastic fantastic to finish him off. I crawled over the fence and started trotting (remember, I'm 6'3" and 350 pds, so trotting is a major undertaking) to where B was reporting the hogster was. He had strategically placed himself on top of the fence to see better. This fence is fairly tall, and has tin siding nailed to it, so climbing it is a bit of a task. B had a pretty severe wreck in his youth, and is about half crippled, so his perch on that fence was damn impressive. I was the only armed party in this hunt.

The hogster had taken off for the east side of the lot in the pasture. I continued trotting after him. He circled around the north edge of the bales, and headed across the plowed ground for the road to the west. I got to the pasture fence and climbed over it. I was at this point desirous of an oxygen mask. Since none were available, it seemed best to soldier on. It had rained recently, and the worked ground was rather muddy. We have some fairly cleachy soil that really sticks, so I was gathering a pretty good sample of the homestead on my boots. Highly trained athletes add ankle weights to become stronger. This sort of thing just winds fat boys, particularly if they were pretty blown to begin with.

I was being severely beaten in this footrace, so I decided to try to use technology to my advantage. I had been carrying the infamous foutty caliber plastic fantastic, so it seemed to me that I should use my superior tool skills on Mr. Hogster. The range was about fifty yards. I shot five times. I could tell I'd hit him because I heard a "bang" followed closely by a "splat." The hogster even flinched. I could see it. The second time I hit him, I heard the same sound sequence. By then, he'd learned to take the pain. It never even slowed him down. I felt pretty good shooting forty percent hits, really. I hear people train for this sort of tactical situation, where they are winded and tired. I certainly qualified there.

It occurred to my superior intellect that by the time I finished running across the muddy field to the road that the hogster would be long gone. I figured to use modern technology again by trotting to my pickup, still sitting at the corral gate. I had the "big" gun there, too.

So, B had dropped from his position of safety and met me there, and off we went. The hogster was about a half mile north of the home place, and still going strong.

I knew I'd planted a good shot in his lungs, and that he would expire without my intervention, but I couldn't just let him go. I had to finish the job. So, when we got close, I broke out the rifle and shot him a couple more times. He finally toppled over on his side with a huge sigh. He was still alive after all that.

I broke out the Super Gang Banging Pistola and finished him off with a couple of close, well placed head shots.

It is B and my considered opinion that a .243 might work for some people. A .22 might work for some people. We are not those people. We, with our love of technology and tools, feel that perhaps something in a .30 caliber might be a bit more apropos, or something a lot faster. Or both. As far as the .40 S&W's effectiveness at fifty yards? I'd say Tiger Woods with a driver and a bunch of teed up golf balls would be harder on the hog. He might hit him in the eye or in the balls - this critter had a huge set.

We figured this bad boy to be in the neighborhood of six hundred pounds, plus or minus whatever significant number we need to cover our asses. Keep in mind, though, that B makes a living judging weights of cattle in various stages of life, and is pretty sharp at that sort of thing. Personally - me - not so much. Like I said, I'm fairly tall and big, and that sucker dwarfed me as far as stockiness goes. You'll also notice the pack of Marlboro Light 100s in my shirt pocket. I don't get winded carrying those bastards around any more.

And yes, that is a Members Only jacket. It still fits, it ain't worn out, and it's comfortable. I'm built for comfort, not for speed, so whether something is still in style or not means nothing to me. When I buy a pair of jeans, I prefer them to be stiff and blue and new, not with worn out knees and "distressed." That is what bums used to wear.

I've dispatched two others of Ziggy's wandering herd with a VEPR in .308, and finished them off with a 1911 in .45. More gun was more gooder, in my humble opinion. If y'all wanna hunt hogs with five inch tusks stripped naked with a .22 and a Rambo survival knife in yer teeth, feel free and have fun, sport! I'm for getting it over quick with less bother is all. Your mileage may vary.

You Got That Right

I'd kinda like more than a steady diet of cotton candy from my ideal presidential candidate. It is interesting to note that many of the liberal editorial cartoonists notice this as well.

Ahh, well, we get the government we deserve. I'll vote to try to keep Obama out more than support McCain, so I can at least say I tried.

Sorry - Not Really

To the gal in the black S10 Blazer who I apparently put into the median today on I69 north of Indy - maybe you shouldn't try to beat me to the left lane I clearly was signaling to move into. When I looked back, the lane was clear and I started over. Seeing how I also need to actually watch where I'm going, too, I didn't see you try to force yourself in that lane to try to "beat" me to it. I looked back, saw the tire smoke, and you coming to a stop in the edge of the median.

I do try to drive to avoid this sort of thing. It wasn't my intention to put you in the median. But, if you are foolish enough to try to race me to a spot and I don't happen to see you - you lose. End of story.

Sadness

My blogfather, Kim DuToit, has decided to hang it up. This is the comment I left:

Well, day late and a dollar short, but oh well.

Kim and Connie, I just want you to know how your efforts affected me. I joke a lot about being an ex-liberal, but it really is true. When I found your corner of the interwebs, I had a lot to learn. I don’t always agree with you, but I find myself on your side more often than not. You and your forum winkled me out as a lurker and made me participate, which has been a very rewarding experience.

When you and the Mrs. hosted your 9/11 remembrance, I came to your house and found you both to be charming, well spoken and very smart. The others there (The Layabout Sailer, Airboss, and Kevin, among others) provided very stimulating conversation and disturbed my worldview. I’ll never forget Airboss starting a round table discussion about who should vote. I had no answer for my position. I’ve discovered that a lot in the past.

I’ve also always felt that if there was to be a time when the nation needed rebuilding that your house contained some of the nation’s best constitutional supporters, and that the country could be rebuilt on the foundations of the minds there.

I’ve also appreciated you as a friend over the years. I’ve known you as an honorable man who’s word is without question - a rarity in today’s world. So, when you say you are gone, I believe you. If you decide to come back, my opinion of you would not change.

So, to paraphrase Douglas Adams - “So long and thanks for all the fish.” I’ll miss you, but I’ll also never forget yours and Connie’s efforts. Take care and may all your wishes come true. Y’all deserve it.

I meant it, too. One other thing I have taken from Kim and Connie is that if something is to be done, it must be done properly. Eating, traveling, reading - you should be devoting yourself to something better than the rest. I'm afraid I fall short of this goal, because my tastes are fairly pedestrian. There are many issues I disagree with the DuToits on - for instance, they are atheists and I am not. But, they are a tolerant couple who don't try to foist their religion or lack thereof on others, and they require the same from the rest of us. A fair exchange.

I truly wish Kim the best in his endeavors to return to his writing roots, and hope he becomes a successful writer. He certainly has the talent and the will.

So, when he says "I'm off to the range" for the last time, it will be a sad day.

Fire On High

Fire on High has been on XM's rotation recently. This is probably my favorite classic rock instrumental, by one of my "desert island" bands. Were I marooned and had the option of bringing along a limited selection of music, ELO would be on the short list. This song still gives me chills when I crank up the volume - which is something I don't do that often anymore.

This is being posted from Pontoon Beach IL - a couple of us are headed to southeastern Michigan, and I'm sure not counting on internet access where we're probably gonna land tomorrow.

Sorry I Wasn't Much Help

While perusing my referral logs, I found this question. It's a legitimate question if you aren't very familiar with older tractors.

Case Model 930 tractors were produced in LP and diesel versions. The diesel version has the fuel controls all on the throttle handle. When the tractor is shut off, the handle should be in front of the throttle stop pin. This position tells the fuel pump not to send out any fuel. To start the tractor, the throttle arm must be lifted over the idle stop and then pulled towards yourself to allow the pump to work. To shut it off, the throttle has to be lifted over the idle stop and placed in the "kill" position. Shutting off the key won't do anything other than ruin the alternator if it is left running for a time. If following these procedures still doesn't shut the tractor off, then the next step is to check the linkage. G_d knows how many hours these old prairie warriors have on them, and things like linkages wear. It may be the linkage has worn enough so that merely placing the throttle in the kill position doesn't move the throttle arm on the fuel injection pump. Since it's mounted on the side of the engine in plain view, all ya have to do is step off the tractor and rotate the throttle lever on the pump. If this shuts the tractor off, then you will either have to adjust, replace, or rebuild the yokes and pins in the linkage. If it does not, then you have an internal pump problem, which is beyond what I know about.

I've never run a propane 930 or even sat in one. It should work just as a gasoline powered car from that era - the key should shut it off. If it doesn't, the motor needs a tuneup. This means points, plugs, and setting the timing and dwell. Newer diesel Case tractors have a fuel shut off knob that has to be pulled out to kill the fuel, and pushed in to allow the tractor to start. As I recall, the LP tractors I've run just had an old fashioned choke knob - pull it out to choke the motor and help start it in colder weather. Maybe some of them might have a fuel cutoff knob - I just don't know. I doubt it, though, because if it's in tune, shutting off the spark is the time honored method of shutting off that kind of motor. LP tractors use carburetors very much like gas cars, and shutting off the fuel to the carb would still allow the motor to run for a while until all the fuel in the system was burned off.

We did have a propane tractor for years - it was a John Deere model 720, made in 1958. It was very finicky about tuneups - it liked 'em regular and often. Points might not last a season. It just wouldn't start or run right when things were rotten - it had no trouble shutting down.

Different kinds of old machinery require different starting methods. Some old tractors have a compression release. The starter wasn't stout enough to spin the motor with full compression, so you had to "help" it out. Lots of old Cat dozers actually have a separate gas motor you have to get running to start the big diesel. So, you have to be a small engine expert to get one of the old Cats up and running. Some old trucks use compressed air powered starters. If you've ever been around trucks with air brakes, one of the hallmarks is that they do develop air leaks. So, you could wake up some morning with no air, and no way to start the motor to build it back up.


I found this picture here. Ours was a '67 - this one is a '68. Ours had the smaller fenders with a single headlight in the leading edge, an Ansel cab built locally in Liberal KS, and a Great Bend (GB) loader (built, guess where - Great Bend KS). We did have duals mounted - they were clamp-ons. Dad was warned that the axles wouldn't take it, but he was concerned about stability on some of our steeper terraces with me operating the tractor. So, we replaced both axles when they snapped.

We had a water cooler mounted on top of the cab, and thought we were defecating in tall cotton. On rough ground, the water in the trough would slosh into the fan, and blow muddy water all over our heads. We came home digging dry mud from our hair, but it beat not having any protection from the heat at all. There were fender mounted radios available, but you'd never have been able to hear it over the noise in that cab. The first air conditioners were unreliable, expensive and not very effective, so a water cooler was a legit alternative.

I mentioned the throttle was pulled rearward to open it up. When Dad had me climb in and run the ol' sweetheart, he'd slap me on the leg and say: "Pull 'er ears back son, and let's go," shut the cab door and send me on my way. It was Wide Open Throttle all day long.

So, thanks, Lincoln NE, for jarring some good memories.

Ya Think?

Ol' Ted is less than taken with the Obamamessiah?

I'm Charged, Baybee!

386 WATTS Body Battery Calculator - Find Out How Much Electricity Your Body is Producing - OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

This is 54% MORE wattage than the average person

• You could light up 4 light bulbs
• You could power 97 iPods
• You could power 2 Xbox 360s
• 3 of you would be needed to keep a refrigerator running

Don't tell the Goracle - he'll be wanting to put me on "the grid."

Ripped off from Wyatt

I Ripped These Off

From Steve H. For those of you who don't read him, the "cookbook" featured at the top of the sidebar is his work. He's a lawyer who decided writing humor was his calling. I've got the book, but also have no time to read it - for now. I recommend his site - he's a good guy as well. Leah can attest to that.

I Hate to Admit It

But I get a kick out of this song. Focus - Hocus Pocus. XM 46 or 49 has had it on their rotation for a while now. It sure sounds better now than it did on AM back in the day. You know, when Moby Dick was a minnow and dirt was new.

Thank You G_d!

My alarm at home has one time set at 4:15am, and during the summer, that is when I have to get up to get to the job and leave by daylight. So, this morning I woke up at 4:08. I decided to go ahead and get up. In attempting to turn off the alarm, I discovered I had not turned it on in the first place.

Thanks, G_d, for sparing a fool....

St. Louis Bound

Rest area about fifty odd miles east of KC on I70. That is a 12'x35' fiberglass tank destined to hold liquid fertilizer at a coop. That trailer is a "double drop," which means there is a drop behind the front deck and the rear deck. The "well" is the area that holds the tank. The whole rig is every bit as long as a "large car" with a 53' trailer. See how the rear axle is at the very rear? Going around corners with these trailers really can be an adventure.

But, the height of the load is usually 14' or so. Since the normal legal height is 13'6", this is a great advantage as far as routing goes. We either get temporary permits or buy annual oversize permits for certain states. The state issuing the temporary permit uses the load data we give them - height, width and length to determine how we can get where we want to go. With these trailers, we can get under just about any underpass that a "normal" semi can. Our other trailers - not always. Higher loads mean longer trips away from the interstates.

Another interesting thing about this trailer - it was originally made to haul boats. The frame has been lengthened and rails to set the tank supports set in very low, so the tanks will ride very low. We have several trailers just like this one, and similar trailers as well. We have a couple that are tandem axle and extendable.

The other problem with these trailers is ground clearance. High railroad crossings are out of the question, as is rough or uneven ground. So, there are tradeoffs no matter what.

Tomorrow morning is our appointment for a crane to unload us. My crane can handle the weight ok, but it cannot set one of these babies. They are just too tall - the boom would hit the top corner and not center, possibly severely damaging the tank. I may have to "tail" the tanks. It just depends on the crane and the operator. The tanks have to be picked off the trailer using two cables on the crane, or have it hook to the top of the tank and me to the bottom, both picking it up. The crane would gradually take the tank vertical, while I would move the bottom underneath the crane's cable. The tank wouldn't touch the trailer after it was lifted. We've had some crane operators damage tanks trying to stand them up on the trailers.

Just another day in trucking paradise!

Another From the Email Inbox

Yeah! The bobcat kicks some snake a**!