| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
If you sent me an e-mail at the first address I put in my last post, please send it again to the corrected address as it now appears. I had a brain fart or somethin' when I typed it and typed the wrong address. MY correct mailing address is: nmwprime*at*gmail*dot*com. I apologize for my mistake. | ||
| Ourdee |
Sawrite | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I worked with a guy that commuted 70 miles each direction. Drove one of those geo metro things and changed the oil pretty much monthly. After a good number of miles, the engine started to rattle a bit more than usual. Each day, it would be a bit louder until it finally let go with a bang on the way to work. ONE of the cylinders let go and the other two kept pushing. Limped it to work like that with a top speed of 45. I guess one of the valves dropped and the piston hammered it back through the head. It actually dented the hood upwards and was only leaking a little. I never saw an engine let go upwards like that. If he had cared to look in the valve cover before it popped, I would wager he would have seen something cheap and easy to fix. | ||
| Crusty |
Time Change, Writers Block and New Boots Last night I went around the house resetting all my clocks. Now, I don’t really mind doing it that much. I live on the western edge of the time zone, so the sun comes up almost an hour later than it did when I lived in Massachusetts. I tend to be a morning person, so having the sun come up early seems right. I remember heading out for work at 5:15 AM in the summer and the sky was fully light. Yesterday morning, the sun didn’t come up until after 8:00 AM. Now, the sky is light at 7:00 AM and the sun will be up soon (7:09 according to Weather Underground). But it will be dark by 6:00 this evening. Now; in 2-1/2 weeks, I’ll be in Queensland. Queensland doesn’t do Daylight Saving, though some of the other Australian states do. Anyhow, it’s approaching summer there. That means that it will be fully daylight at 5:00 AM. That’s nice. It’ll also be hot. Having been in Air Conditioned Comfort most of the summer and now, having the heat on to keep the house warm, I wonder how long it’ll take for me to adapt. One thing that I’m looking forward to is getting a good suntan. I’m also hoping to get more exercise than I’ve been getting. I’ve become pretty sedentary and don’t really care for the results of that. I’ve put on way too much weight. I’m hoping that I’ll be more active and possibly lose some of the lard. I’ve had a number of people request to be put on the e-mail list. This does good things for my ego, but it also makes me a little bit nervous. It’s almost like stage fright and it makes me overly critical of what I’m writing. I’ve started two different Snippets the last couple of days and couldn’t finish them because they seemed trite and boring. I’ll get over this (soon, I hope), but I figure that if I write about it, It’ll happen sooner. One thing I’ve learned is that I should look respectable when I travel to other countries. If I look like a bum, Customs officials are drawn to me like a magnet, and not in a good way. The other day, I was in Wally World picking up some stuff and I noticed that they had some side zip boots for sale at a cheap price. My present boots are old and tired and look it. If I wear them, I’ll be as attractive as a bucket of honey at a Fly convention. I could wear a nicer looking pair of shoes and pack the boots in my luggage, but I think it would be smarter to buy a new pair of boots. I just won’t wear them much until I head out, so they’ll look good. Besides, I need a new pair. One of the zippers on the old pair is getting ready to break. Plus, I haven’t bought a new pair of boots in a couple of years. I’m overdue. I think I’ll head over to MallWart and try a pair on. If they’re comfortable, I’ll buy them. I’ll also check out a new sweatshirt. The idea is to look neat and not too shabby. Relaxed clothing is acceptable, but it can’t look like crap. My blue jeans look new enough, so they aren’t a problem. Of course, I can look neat and presentable and still draw the attention of Customs people. I have the kind of face that they think should be framed – by bars. I know this from past experiences, so I’m especially careful to not do anything wrong. When the stewardess hands out the customs forms on the plane, I’m quick to list any foods I’m bringing. This pretty much guarantees that I’ll have a conversation with one of the Agents, but it’s better for me in the long run. The last thing I want is to have Customs people take me away. Being in jail in a foreign country is not an experience I care to have. Remind me sometime to recount the time when I overstayed my Visa in Kenya, and the head Customs Officer told me I was going to jail. That experience taught me the meaning of scared straight. Well; I hope everybody who needed to set their clocks last night. Some of you live in places like Arizona or Queensland and don’t need to go through that malarkey, but most people live in places where it’s necessary. I’m going to get my sheets out of the dryer and put them on the bed. Then I’ll go look at some boots. | ||
| Crusty |
Motivation This afternoon, I watched the local weather on the News. Today, it made it all the way up to 60 F (15.5 C). It’s the highest temp in the forecast for the next two weeks. Next Thursday, at 10:00 AM the temperature is supposed to be 18 F (-7.7 C). The weatherman also said it’s going to snow a couple of times in that time frame. I can’t think of anything that could motivate me more. Any lingering doubts I’ve been having (and there are always lingering doubts) got pushed aside once I heard that. Now, I really want to go. I returned the boots I got at Walmart yesterday. They were not even remotely close to what I want in a pair of boots. The way they were made, I’d have to unlace and re-tie them every time I put them on or took them off. I don’t even know why they had a side zipper. I found a pair that look good on Amazon, and I’ll have them by this Thursday with FREE! Shipping since I accepted a free trial of Amazon Prime. Once the boots arrive, I’ll cancel my membership. I talked with Melia last night. I’m going to be bringing a few cans of B&M Bacon & Onion Baked Beans, a bag of Wint-O-Green Life Savers, some salt water taffy, some powdered sugar coated Hostess Donettes (the little donuts) and possibly other gifts for everybody. I have to find a name tag for my bag; it doesn’t have one. Since the bag is a plain black bag, I spray painted it a bit with fluorescent orange paint. That way I’ll be able to distinguish it from all the other black bags at the Airport. As usual, I got almost as much of the paint on me as on the bag. Being as poor a painter as I am, I really appreciate the work that people like Vern or Joe do. Vern did the work on the Custom tank that’s on the Roadster, and he performed a miracle. Joe painted my front fender and air cleaner cover and he also did wonders. I’m planning to have Joe do the work on the tank and fenders of my next Roadster. Not only did he do a beautiful job on the fender and AC cover, but I’ve seen what he did with his orange and black Roadster. First class work all the way. My next Roadster is going to be stunningly beautiful. Now, all I have to do is come up with a bike and the money for paint. I already have a gas tank and rear fender. The new sheath for my Leatherman arrived today. The old sheath was really worn on the bottom and was half way worn through. The new sheath is different, but it looks pretty durable. That’s about all the prep I can do for the trip, right now. I can’t start packing yet. But I’m starting to get a little excited. Sixteen days ‘till kickoff! | ||
| Ourdee |
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| 86129squids |
For whatever reason, 16 is my lucky number. Fare Thee Well, O Crusted One. | ||
| Crusty |
Rain Turning Into Snow It’s a cold, wet and raw kind of day. The kind of day to hunker down in. When I got up, it was 44 degrees F (6.6 C) Now, three hours later it’s 40 F (4.4C) and the forecast is that by sunset, it’ll be 21 F (-6.1C). Oh; the current rain is supposed to turn into that ugly white crap around noon. So I’m focusing on doing indoor things. The chances are that I’ll be in for the duration. There are several things that I could be doing and I’ve already accomplished a couple of things already, this morning. I decided to use up the bacon before it went bad. I fried a few slices and made a BLT for breakfast. The lettuce was starting to look pretty rusty and I wanted to use it up before I had to throw it out. Then, I got a bit more ambitious and cut up and fried the remaining bacon into small pieces and added chopped garlic, stewed tomatoes, basil and oregano. I let that simmer for a while, then added some Italian Green Beans. I let that simmer for a short while then turned it off. Now, I’ll let the flavors all meld until tomorrow and I’ll have a wonderful side dish for dinner. The bacon is used up, the rusty lettuce is in the garbage, my belly is full and I have a bit of a treat waiting for me for tomorrow night’s dinner. Mission Accomplished. Now; what should I do to fill the rest of today? It won’t be a whole lot. Intentionally. Yesterday, at Noon, I started getting Visuals. They’re the precursors of a Migraine. The Visuals went away after a half hour or 45 minutes or so and the pain started. It wasn’t that bad, as Migraines go. I was able to function. David and I ran a few errands. His shop ran some sort of Game Tournament and to enter, the players had to contribute some cans for the food bank. David’s car was full of canned food of all sorts. So we went to the Food Bank and dropped off many boxes of cans. We also went by David’s house so I could print out my Itinerary for my trip. My printer took a dump and won’t work. We also went by Jungle Jim’s and did some food shopping. I love Jungle Jim’s. Where else are you greeted by a six foot tall talking ear of corn with a three foot tall stick of butter as a side kick? Or see a 1920’s Boar’s Head delivery truck (restored) above the Deli counter? Or listen to the General Mills Cereal characters playing 60’s rock and roll on the deck of the S.S. Minnow? I went with the purpose of getting some taffy to bring with me on my trip, but I wound up getting over $40.00 worth of stuff. I do that when I go grocery shopping. Anyhow, David dropped me off around 5:30 and I fixed dinner. I did a quick meal; a toasted Ham & Provolone sandwich with Grandma Utz’ BBQ potato chips. The headache, however hadn’t gone away; in fact, it got progressively worse. I took some Excedrin Migraine, hit the recliner and put on the idiot box thinking that maybe the pain would ease between the drugs and the food. I guess it did because I was sound asleep by 8:00. My full bladder woke me a while later and I debated whether it would be best to go to bed, or maybe stay up for a while. The pain seemed to have eased a bit. I did get to bed, but I woke up early this morning, and the headache has returned in full force. So I’m in for the day, and I want to get something accomplished, but I ain’t hurryin’. I could do a (very) little packing. I’ve got some stuff I’m bringing over for everybody. Candy, B&M Baked Beans, little trinkets and toys for the little kids (and the adults, too); that sort of stuff. Or I might just hit the recliner and hope that the headache eases soon. That doesn’t seem like a bad idea either. | ||
| Pwnzor |
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| 86129squids |
Taffy? In Gatlinburg there's the coolest old candy shop where they make a lot of things in-house, including taffy... https://www.olesmokycandykitchen.com/ I used to love going there as a kid, now I just walk around and look at things, taking in all the smells too. Neat place. | ||
| Crusty |
Migraines and Toys I’ve written about my migraines several times but each time I mention one in a Snippet, there’s somebody who has also had the misfortune of having experienced them, as well. Usually they try to offer helpful suggestions, which is understandable. If you’ve ever had one, you know just how miserable they can be and if you’ve found a source of relief, you want to share that with other sufferers. To put it bluntly, migraines suck. One of the interesting things about migraines is that there is no one thing that helps everybody. Every “Cure” works on percentages of sufferers. This helps 78%; or, if you take this daily, it will reduce the frequency; or, this doesn’t work for you in a pill form, but if you inject it, it will abort the headache; and so on. I’ve had migraines all my life. The earliest one that I remember was from when I was 4 or 5 years old. I’ve seen numerous doctors and Specialists over the years; I even spent several months going to the Faulkner Hospital’s Headache Center having every possible test and trying different things. I charted my headaches; I charted what I ate, when I got one, my stress levels. I tried self-hypnosis, and relaxation therapy. I’ve tried more different drugs than I can recall. The end result is that I’m one of those individuals that gets migraines, period. My migraines have changed over the years. Up into my 20s, when I got a migraine, it would be extremely agonizing. The pain would invariable have me vomiting repeatedly until I was able to pass out. Once I woke up, the headache would start to subside. Once I hit my 40s, the migraines started getting less intense. I was able to continue working if I had one at work. I remember when that started happening. I was miserable, but I could still do my job. I’d lost several jobs because of my migraines, so to be able to work while having one was a major accomplishment. My migraines have changed in other ways as well. In the past decade, or so, I’ve had Visuals (Aura) without having a headache afterwards and I’ve had Migraines without any precursor Visuals. The intensity of the pain varies between headaches, too. Sometimes it isn’t that bad, while at other times I’m back to vomiting levels. Sometimes the Visuals get so bad, I’m almost totally blind, and sometimes they are just a light shimmering that isn’t that bad. The strength or duration of the Visuals doesn’t seem to have any relation to the severity of the pain from the headache. The bottom line is that I get Migraines. I don’t know what triggers them and I’ve never found a cure for them. I’ve just learned to accept that fact and I try to live my life in spite of them. Over the year, I buy little trinkets and stash them. I usually do it when I’m at the Supermarket buying groceries. I’ll pick up little toys like a nose that grows 10 times its present size if you put it in water for a day or so, or an egg of Silly Putty, a matchbox car, or maybe a squirt gun. The one common thing is that they are all small and (I think) fun. I save these toys to put in a package for Christmas. This year, I’ve decided to bring them with me to Australia. So yesterday, I sorted out my collection and put it in a bag. There aren’t as many toys there as I would like, but they sure are diverse. A rubber chicken that you fire off your finger tip like a slingshot really looks like fun, to me. Anyhow, the bag of toys got sorted in spite of my headache, and now it’s sitting on my dining room table right beside the bag of taffy and the cans of beans. I really hope I get a friendly Customs Agent in Brisbane. One like last time I went there. With my Luck, I’ll get the one who’s having a bad day and who doesn’t like my face and will confiscate everything, just because he can. I was going to write about sleep and a lack of enough of it, but I’m tired, the remains of the Migraine are still there and I want to fix something to eat for breakfast. I’ll save that topic for another day. | ||
| Ourdee |
I tried reading a book of jokes once while in a migraine. Page after page I droned on. Every joke I read, I would then say that's stupid. What a mess when there is no sense of humor. I re-read it the next day and couldn't stop laughing. I have found that after offering what ever pain meds I have and putting a damp clothe in the migraine sufferer's hand, I leave them alone with the lights dimmed. | ||
| Crusty |
The White Russian Factor Back in the early 70s, my first wife and I went down to New Jersey with Ron and his first wife for the weekend. Ron had some work to do on his car to get it inspected, and Sue and I got to see some of Rural New Jersey, which turned out to be an order of magnitude prettier than what could be seen from the N.J. Turnpike. On Saturday night, the four of us, along with Ron’s brother Jim and his wife all went out to a local club to have a few drinks and to do some dancing. While at the club, Sue ordered a White Russian. When it came, I took a taste, since I’d never tasted one. It tasted like an Ice Cream beverage. So, for the next round, I ordered one for myself. The first taste was good; the second taste was also good, but there was something in the background that wasn’t. The third taste wasn’t that good, at all. By the time I finished the drink, I had to force it down. I never drank another White Russian after that. There are foods like that, too. David had discovered a bag of Hawaiian flavored Potato Chips. When I tasted them at his shop, one day while I was visiting, they tasted really wonderful; so I went out and bought a bag. The first few were wonderful, but by the end of the bag, they really sucked. The funny part is that sometimes, one person will get sick of something, while another won’t. David and I often go grocery shopping together. He’s got a car, and that makes it easier to get bulky items home. I can get by on just the bike, but being able to get four 12 packs of Pepsi, two racks of bottled water and a few 8 packs of Gatorade all in one trip is good. It would take multiple trips on the bike to accomplish that. On one of our trips, David was buying lunch meat, and Boar’s Head Pesto Parmesan Ham was on sale. We both tasted a sample and it was instant love! So we both got some. The ½ pound I got was devoured within 24 hours. I had it for dinner and for lunch the next day, and I had picked at it during the evening. I’ve since bought it a couple of times, and I still love it. In fact, I bought a pound of that ham at Jungle Jim’s last week, thinking it would be lunch for a week, but it only lasted four days. David, on the other hand has gotten sick of it. He compares it to those Hawaiian potato Chips. The principle also applies to motorcycles. The Roadster’s engine let go big time in 2016 and I decided that I should get a “Real” Sport-Touring bike to replace it. So I bought a Kawasaki Concours. At first, I liked it well enough, but as I rode it more, I began to sour on it. After a month or so, I wound up buying an engine from a boneyard and putting it in the Roadster. The Concours was a good bike, but it was the wrong bike for me. I’ve never been able to trust the Engine in the Roadster completely since that first engine ate itself, but it’s still the right bike for me. And a new Roadster will eliminate that fear and restore the trust again. The part that’s funny is that when I try to explain why I prefer the Roadster to any other bike, the people who believe in the superiority of that other bike get offended. I got a bit of nasty backlash from Gold Wing owners when I stated that I wasn’t a Gold Wing kind of guy, that I very much preferred my Roadster. The same is true from “Faithful” Hardley Ableson owners when I tell them I prefer the Roadster to a Garbage Wagon. I suppose the Roadster is a “Girl’s Bike” if a girl owns and rides one. And I’ve never seen a Sportster as a “Half a Harley”. And when I say I prefer the Roadster to a Dresser, I speak from experience. I had a 1988 FLHS that I bought new and put 125,000 miles on. I’ve said it before and will repeat it often; I believe the Sportster is the most underrated motorcycle on the market today. I think it should be named Bike of the Century. Of all the bikes available, the only one that I would give up my Roadster for is a new Roadster. And the Roadster is nothing like a White Russian. In fact; it's the antithesis; it just keeps getting better with time. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I spent a 3 day weekend in Las Vegas with my good friend Steve and "The White Russian". This particular episode of my life could easily be compared to... this  Your bike is you. You are your bike. That little roadster is and has been perfect for all that you do, fits like a glove and runs like a champ. Any mechanical thing can break down. No avoiding that eventuality when you put down the kind of miles that you do. I agree the Sportster is underrated, in fact in my opinion it's probably the best bike ever produced by Hardley. | ||
| Buellish |
I bought a 2001 Kawasaki Concours.It was a great bike,it did everything it was supposed to do and did it well.Like you,I enjoyed it at the beginning but within a four month period I realised that I'm not an inline four kind of guy.Give me a twin and I'm a happy guy! | ||
| Crusty |
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| 86129squids |
Dammit, isn't that Jay Springsteen? | ||
| Ourdee |
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| Crusty |
January Weather It’s cold. The current temperature is 17 F (-8 C). My driveway has a partial coating of ice and snow on it. It’s supposed to be windy all day and tonight, it’s supposed to drop to 14 F (-10 C). Eight days from now, I’ll be on my way to highs in the 95 F range. Today, however; I think I’m just going to hole up and enjoy the output of this nice furnace that I’m still paying off. A thought that hit me when I was pouring my first cup of coffee was that I’m going to be returning in two months. It will be late January; the dead of winter. If it’s this cold in November, how bad will it be in January? And if I’m returning after having spent two months in hot temperatures, how hard will the cold hit me? Well; I guess I’ll find out. I came back from my last trip to Australia in early February, and while it was cold, I was able to handle it. Maybe the weather pattern here will shift and we’ll have a warmer than average winter. I’ve heard predictions of such, but I’ve found long term predictions to be on a par with advice from the Psychic Hot Line. Yesterday, when I went out at noontime, it was 60 degrees F (15.5 C). I had been watching the hourly forecast and it looked like I had a couple of hours before the rain would start. I went to the noon meeting, then set out for Wally World to buy a couple of items. The Walmart I went to was 20 minutes away and it supposedly had the items I was looking for (Wrangler jeans in my size and the capsules (not tablets) of omeprazole that I prefer. I found the store and they did have what I was looking for in stock, so I bought them. When I walked outside, it was raining. Not sprinkling, not drizzling, but raining. I got on the Roadster and headed out to come back home. I’ve been pretty cautious in the rain since my accident last spring, and I noticed that the street outside the shopping center was covered with a thin, watery coating of grey mud. That had me on full alert until I was back on the Interstate; then I was on full alert for different reasons. Slow trucks in the right lane and everybody slowed down when passing them. The good news was that the rain was only a passing shower, and within a few miles, the rain eased up and the water on the pavement decreased. I made it home without incident, but the poor Roadster is filthy. I really need to get it to the quarter car wash. I won’t go today and probably won’t go tomorrow. But the weather is supposed to gradually warm up, so I’ll get her clean before I head out next week. I was hoping to put a nice wax job on it before I left, but I don’t think it’ll be warm enough in time. Well; a good bath and wipe down will have to suffice. I packed my first article of clothing for my trip. My swimsuit is in my bag. I really want to swim in the South Pacific again and if I don’t have it with me, I’ll have to buy a new suit. The sun just came out! It’s still below freezing, but I’ll take that as a Good Sign. Maybe the weather won’t be as bad as the predictions say! | ||
| Ourdee |
It is cold. How did this happen. | ||
| 1313 |
It is cold. How did this happen. All the natives from the South said it has been hot for too long and that they wanted some cooler weather. DAMN IDIOTS!!! | ||
| Tootal |
Sunday it was over 60 here and I raked and mowed all my yard. Vacuumed out the car and put the Winter mats in. Did some laundry. Then I sat on the front porch in a t-shirt and appreciated all the work I just did while enjoying an adult beverage. Life is good! Monday morning, Fricken 1.5" of SNOW!! Pretty though! | ||
| 86129squids |
Shorts and T-shirt doing yardwork yesterday, gonna hit the teens tonite. WTF?? I'd like to find a solid frozen hill, take my old sled, and find a buddy with an ATV and a rope. We'd switch out vehicles. | ||
| Ourdee |
When you slow down and sit a spell, I don't think the days have gotten any worse. | ||
| Crusty |
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| Crusty |
A Nippy Morning It’s 12 degrees F (-11.1 C) outside which breaks the record for this date here in Cincinnati. According to the Weatherman last night, the record was 14. At this point, somebody living in a colder place will gleefully want to chime in about how much colder it is where they are and how much more snow they got. Well; if they enjoy that weather, more power to them. And if they don’t, why are they living there? Why not move to where the weather is warmer? I’m whining because I thought I’d done just that. However; winters are a lot milder here than in Massachusetts. Anyhow; when I woke up, I was lying in bed and comfortably debating if I should get up or just stay there and enjoy being snug in my own little nest. Then I noticed that the Carbon Monoxide alarm had red, green and blue lights lit, so I jumped up and hit the test/reset button. It wouldn’t reset, so I had to change the batteries. Once I did that, it told me that CO was at 0.00 PPM. Since I was now up, I started the coffee and took my shower. I sat down and read my e-mails. I had a couple of ads for bargains at the supermarket, a few notifications of new responses to threads on the Sportster forum and one e-mail from Melia. Kala has requested that I bring a few specific candies. I’ve got a fair sized pile on the dining room table already, but I’ve got a big bag, so I think I can get everything to fit in it. So I responded and asked if anybody else wanted me to get anything else for them. The size of the pile and my offer to bring even more stuff made me think about Dan Stoley (Stolee?) Dan was another A&P mechanic when I was in Nairobi. In fact we were room mates; the company was paying the rent on the house we both were living in. Dan was going on Holiday (Vacation) for a month and was heading back to the USA. He had people asking him to get them things that weren’t available in Kenya. He took their money and promised he’d bring what they wanted. The one thing that I remember most was the racing pistons for a Suzuki X-7; a bike that was never even sold in the US. A mechanic in another hangar owned and rode it. Anyhow, Dan took everybody’s money and never returned. We had enough people coming by the company’s hanger asking for him and the things he was supposed to be bringing, that we figured if he had returned with everything he promised, he would have had to charter a 747 to carry it all. He was supposed to come back after a month, but he never showed his face in Nairobi again. The last thing I heard about Dan at that time was that he’d blown all his money on Coke and robbed a bank. Then he stood on the sidewalk out front pretending to be an innocent passer-by. He got nabbed and went away for a spell. I got an e-mail this past year about Dan. I think he was running for office in the Northwest, but I just gave the e-mail a quick once over and deleted it. Now, I don’t remember what it said. He’s still alive, though. So here I am promising to bring a whole lot of stuff with me and offering to bring more. The big difference is that I am going to Australia and I’m not taking a cent for what I’m bringing. I’m nothing like Dan; but the quantity of things is sizeable. And none of it is motorcycle parts. | ||
| Ourdee |
I had a pastor that went to visit a missionary in Madagascar. A couple of the items in his luggage was were a deep well pump and brake rotors and pads for a Suburban. | ||
| Crusty |
I've told the story of what my brother put into my bag when I went to Kenya. I'm not letting him near it this time. | ||
| Ourdee |
I wouldn't. | ||
| Crusty |
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