Hey, it's 40 years old....

So I get the call about 5 pm last night.

"The range won't shut off".

See, there is a neat relay/contactor setup that, when one (or all) of three light switches (left/middle/right)  is turned on, also turns on the air handler and enables the air compressor that turns the target holders. As it had always worked, no one had ever worried.

Until Saturday evening.....when it stopped working correctly. Turn off the lights and the big fan keeps running. Not what is spozed to happen.

As I am the closest member to the range, I get the call.

My first thought was to simply turn off the breaker and wait for another day.... But the breaker that controls the lights and fan also powers the sewage ejection pump and the heater for that small room where the pump is located. (And last time we had issues with the sewer pump, at least one idiot ignored the signs and used the terlet....with messy results)

So I opened the control box, hoping to see something obvious.
No joy.

And, of course, while it appears that (at one time) there was a diagram of some kind for guidance on the door, it fell off or was removed long ago, leaving only the glue behind to mock those who might need it.....

So I had to close contactors one at a time, and follow the wiring (which was really nicely done, it looked like the interior of an Otis Elevator cabinet) and figure out how the thing worked.

And, while it took an hour and a half, I traced the logic and figured which contactor was stuck.
Pried the welded contact apart, and (for now) everything works).
Kinda proud of that diagnosis. Haven't worked relay logic for over 25 years. But I can still do it. So it is (sorta) fixed....For now.

Simply worn out and pitted contacts. But all the others are worn as well.

Someone is gonna have to replace the contactors ....all 5 of 'em.
And, since there are only 3 of us that have the ability (much less knowledge) it's gonna fall on us. And since one is pretty much crippled, and the other is nearly 80 years old, it's gonna be me. 

Remember: all those illegals

Illegal Aliens (undocumented immigrants ...yeah, and the corner drug dealer is just an undocumented pharmacist)

And we are told they just want to come and be in this country.....and live like us and be good productive citizens.
And maybe that is the goal of some of them.

BUT some are criminals. Bad people. Cop killers

Most of the rest just want Free Shit and a less littered (unlike their home) place to live.

Finished installing the dishwasher

Had to cobble up an adapter for the water line yesterday, as some brainiac engineer decided that all new dishwashers should use GARDEN HOSE as the water supply inlet, rather than 3/8 or half inch pipe thread, or compression.

Nothing, it seems, uses precision machining anymore. Rough castings, machined to a minimum, then a rubber(neoprene?) gasket to make the seal.

So on the 26th, I cobbled the water supply line together, and today, I did it right...

Led worklights might not be the pinnacle of invention, but they sure as hell are a good one, and should rank right up there on the list of GoodThings.

Headlights and lightsticks....rechargeable. Really nice.

especially this:



Astro pneumatic 450 lumen LED workight.

You don't yet know that you need one, but you do.

You'll thank me later. 

I discovered something today:

Aerospace engineers should NOT design door latches.

Jesus H Christ on a Pogo stick....there are 2 lbs of unneeded screws in that door.
Plus the latch is extraordinarily complicated and WAY too heavy for the job it does.

Yes, I am doing my own plane maintenance.

And Cessna wants over $400 for a set of lock cylinders. I gotta talk to a locksmith and see if he can fix 'em.

At least the door locks properly now though. 

The Media can't seem to be rational when it comes to TheDonald:

SO they thought he wasn't gonna go greet troops in any war zone for Christmas.

But he did anyway.

And for that, he is a terrible person.
Or something.

Bad, Bad Donnie.
There must be something sinister about his actions. Because Trump.

Merry Christmas everyone!

If you are standing a post or on duty today, then I thank you.

If you aren't, then think about those who are.

Flew to Indianapolis today

Eagle Creek, (EYE) actually.

'Twas a nice flight. Smooth at 7500 feet going down. 17 knot tailwind. 149 over the ground. Skies were clear to space and only a light layer of haze at EYE....which DID make finding the airport somewhat difficult.(First time there, so wasn't sure where, exactly, to look for it) But we found it and overflew at 2500 and then entered the downwind for 21 for a slightly crosswind landing. Not my best, but pretty good.

Had a snack at the restaurant (Rick's Cafe Boatyard) and flew back. The food was excellent.

Flew back at 4500, then asked for 6500. Couldn't find an altitude that had stable winds, so I couldn't get a set crab angle nor power setting and trim for altitude. I WORKED flying back. Could have set the autopilot, but needed the practice. Sadly, my altitude and heading were not as steady as they should have been. The wind was constantly changing, so we wandered a bit.

Plus a 20kt+/- headwind. So only 100 knots over the ground. Back at the home airport, did a landing on 27 that was pretty nice, even with the light gusts from the north. Rolled out and taxiied back to the hangar. Filled one side, but left the left tank about 1/3 full so I can run it empty and find out what the gauges read when the tank is actually at and/or nearly holding only air.

2.2 and 2, as Aaron says.

So the past few weeks, I have noticed that my Android (Google) phone has some interesting quirks:

I get advertisements based on subjects about which I have texted....and only texted (not spoken) about.

Now, we all know that Google reads your Gmail....I no longer use Gmail for that very reason.

But Texts? And then there is the fact that I believe (and have evidence pointing towards) that they are reading emails from other mail services for which I have apps on my phone.

Scary. I mean, seriously. reading texts as well as email? And getting ads associated with that keyword in less than 15 minutes?

So I bought an IPhone. Lots of changes. Lots different. But I knew that going in. The learning curve will be steep for the next couple of days.

Having said that, it works pretty much the same. But the apps available are not the same, nor are they as well implemented. Things like calculators and levels and weather apps and such are much better implemented on Android (Google) apps than on Apple devices.

Having said that, I will adjust. Apple may well be as bad, but they are at least more discreet about their spying on their customers.

It be Donnies Fault:

Except that, as far as I can see, no one has presented a budget bill for his signature.....

So, at this point, Trump hasn't done anything to "Shut the Government Down". He;s merely said he would, and the House and Senate haven't gotten their shit together and sent him a bill he could sign or veto.

How can it be his fault when the other parties can't get their shit together to create a budget?

So, exactly whose fault is it?

9 years

Surprisingly, the Bosch dishwasher lasted 9 years.

Then it failed.  Which was, in part, a Good Thing. Of course, having laid out nearly 3 Large for a transponder just yesterday, the timing could have been better....

The float switch for water level had become intermittent, and then more and more so. From a "didn't wash because no water" once in 10 times, then to 1 in 5, then one in three, then nearly every time. It didn't take much, just a little wiggle of the float to make it work. Once it started the cycle, it worked until it cooled down again. No Bueno.

When I pulled the inspection panel off the bottom to see what I might find, I found water. Seems the drain hose had developed a crack. Lucky for me I pulled the panel when I did. No real damage.

The switch assembly for the dishwasher is still available. 171.83 plus shipping.

A new basic dishwasher is 3 times that. Tough call.

I ordered the new one. It'll be here Wed the 26th.  Faster, stronger, better than the other one. And even more blinky lights to tell me shit I don't care about...and more cycles! (I only ever use the "Pot Scrubber" cycle, but hey, now I go from 4 cycles to something like 23 cycles: half load/full load/delicates/permanent press/Pots&Pans//normal cycle/glasses/silverware only/extra dirty/heated rinse/heated dry/heated wash and dry/beer glasses/shot glasses/wash and rinse/wash rinse wax// spin dry....whatever...I'm only ever gonna use the one cycle).

Can't see putting 1/3 the price of a new one into a 9 year old unit. My luck, the pump motor will fail about 10 days later. Or something else on the unit that is also 9 years old.

Handwashing dishes for a few days. I used to wash dishes in an Italian restaurant/Pizza Parlor when I was in high school. I was pretty good at it and pretty fast too...Lets see if I remember how to do it.

ADS-B

I just ordered my Stratus transponder for the plane. Schedules are already out to mid February for installation.

There are thousands of planes that have not had the installation done. I expect the techs are gonna do a lot of overtime later this year, and that some plane owners are simply gonna have to either not fly, or do VFR-only in uncontrolled airspace at the end of this year.

$2700 deposit for the unit. about half that for installation. I paid for the unit upon scheduling.

Question:

Why are the DNC and RNC so terribly against a Border Wall?

What have they against decent border security?  Against keeping invaders out of our country?
Slowing the flow of drugs across the southern border?

I mean, the Republicans had the chance in the first two years (along with healthcare, but that is a topic for another post) and they chose not to even try....And the Democrat party leadership is admantly against any wall or any "border Security" measure that will actually work.

It's not the money. We waste more than that on other countries yearly in "economic aid" and "foreign aid" and all sorts of other "aid" and "grants" and such. We can easily fund the wall.

Is it because the Wall will stop people (or greatly reduce the flow) without providing enough opportunities for graft?

At least this time the press is admitting that most parts of the "government" are already funded and that it is only about 24% that will shut down because there is no current funding.

I LOLed

Found at ItAintHolyWater

I have no use for Bump Stocks

And I think they are on a level of tannerite exploding targets. Fun for big adult children who have more money than brains, but really a useless accessory. Not that I object to people wasting their money on them, if they want a fast way to turn money into smoke and noise without hitting their target.....

Having said that, I think this ban is stupid.  It will not materially affect any killing statistics, it won't change the crime statistics, it is panering to a bunch of folks that will simply see it as a small victory in their War on Scary Firearms, and it will alienate a lot of folks that might have supported Trump in other more important things.

And then there is the point that MZW makes in his blog post.  (go on, read it....I'll wait).

Kinda scary, innit there, Bubba? 

Lotta green:

I can't verify this, but it is likely true (Or maybe "Fake but accurate"?)

Read it HERE

That, right there, would pay for the Wall

US pledges $10 BILLION for economic development in Central and Southern Mexico

Fuck that.

Instead of spending OUR (US Citizens) money on other countries, lets spend it on our borders to keep people from entering.....And then taking even more money from our economy in Welfare and Health Care and other handouts. And competing with OUR workers for jobs as well. 


Where does the Constitution give Congress and our Government the power to take OUR tax money and give it to other people in other countries?
It's bad enough that they take from the productive people and give to non productive citizens...but this really sucks. Since they can't find the money for the Wall, then they don't have enough money for this.

Or are the Kickbacks large enough for them to piss folks like me off? 

Damnit, Donald

Don't back down. Keep the demand for the Border Wall Funding.

We elected you to fix this. It should have been done by now. Don't back down. Stand firm. The folks who will hate you for it already hate you. The folks that elected you on your promise to do a wall are waiting. Backing down will only make US hate you.

We.Want.the.Wall.You.Promised.  Deliver it. Stand firm. Demand border wall funding or veto any budget.

I could get behind this:

And I'd like to see it enforced better than the current ADA laws for parking for handicapped folks parking spaces are, at least in my area.

.

I have no idea who originated this, so I can't give credit. 

Easy to make not happen:

I am told that the dude who crashed the Cherokee had no gas in the fuel system.

This Rumor, and not confirmed.

But it seems to be a common issue: Running Out of Gas While Flying ....

If true, then a stupid mistake with very fatal consequences. And easily preventable. Checklists are there for a reason, even for preflight. And fuel consumption is easily calculated.  I was taught to do calculations on a worst-case scenario, then add 10%, (plus reserve).

Just like Dick's

Social Justice Warriorism will lead to Bankruptcy.

Seems that the Scouts (formerly "Boy Scouts of America", now "Scouts BSA", soon to be "Insert name here) are filing for Bankruptcy.

Are you surprised? I'm not.

Ever more inclusive, they became something that stood for, and was.....nothing.

The final death Knell was the inclusion of Girls in the Boy Scouts.

And all this SJW bullshit has damaged, if not killed, a 100+year old organization. Declining membership, uninterested members, and a failure to be what boys wanted and needed.

Sad. Very sad. The leaders that have made these changes should be ashamed of what they have turned their organization into, and of the damage they have done.  

Plane crash today near me

At the airport.

10 minutes later, my phone blew up.

"you OK?"

"Was it you?"

"Was that your plane that crashed?"

I appreciate their concern, but it was a Piper, and I fly a Cessna.

Sadly, the dude in the crashed Comanche died.

Eyewitnesses (One of my instructors from my flight school was on final and one of the A&P guys who take care of my airplane was driving up as it happened) said he had just taken offon rwy 9  and he turned to the left sharply a couple hundred feet up before diving into the ground. I'm guessing departure stall....but I really don't know for sure.

Winds were variable (but more or less easterly-ish) at about 8 knots, so that's likely not the cause.

A Comanche is a lot of airplane for a pilot who had just gotten his license 3 months or so earlier.

My prayers for his family. 

Hey, it's a start

A cop actually turned another cop in for punching an unarmed man.

There are, apparently honest cops...cops willing to turn another officer in for misdeeds.

"The report does not match the video of the incident" Shocking, I know.

Of course, what with the whole "Blue Wall" thing, I have to figure that (current) Officer Frederick Dominguez has plans to work and, especially,  live somewhere else....probably another state. 

Gee, whoda thought that might happen?

So lessee here.

You are the CEO of a company that sells outdoor gear. Clothing, fishing, hiking, hunting and other such accessories.......

You decide to SJW yourself into feeling better about selling firearms.

So you do stupid things....actions that make no difference, but look good to your (also SJW) friends at cocktail parties.....

And in doing so, you insult the folks that are the core of your business...

Perhaps you did not realize that the Venn diagrams of hunters, fishermen, target shooters, hikers and other outdoorsmen are mostly overlapping? That these folks are the major buyers of the products you sell?

That you actions are a repudiation of their lifestyle? That you have insulted the majority of your customer base with your shortsighted SJW action?

And you are surprised when they take their (considerable) buying power elsewhere?

Corporate Gun Control Fail: Dick’s May Have to Close 35 Stores Across 18 States

The fact that the stockholders haven't tossed Edward Stack out on his ear is surprising.

Hope that Social Justice Warrior posturing was worth it....

This is like the CEO of Ford claiming all Ford truck owners are inbred rednecks....and then being surprised that they buy Chevy and Dodge pickups instead....

My Dad would likely agree

HERE

Yesterdays weather

(at least, the forecast weather for yesterday) is here today.

And I'm keeping my promise to an acquaintance, and taking him and, most especially, his 10 year old son up for a flight to lunch at another airport.

skies clear, visibility in excess of 10SM, winds easterly(ish) at 2-6 knots along the route of flight.

A great day(if a bit cold) to fly.

I have to wonder

If Amazon realizes the types of folks they have delivering their packages these days.....I mean the non-UPS and non-USPS folks.

'Cause so far, In the past 2 weeks, I've had a really derelict-looking white guy who needed a bath, a shave and a week without drinking MD-20-20 driving a clapped out and rusted out Mazda pickup, a Heroin-thin looking wild eyed ("The CRAZY is STRONG with this one, Luke") chick driving a minivan with no two body panels the same color, and a very fat black woman in a do-rag who was obviously not comfortable in a predominantly white neighborhood (I scared her when I opened the door, but did offer her a can of soda in apology, which she declined before scurrying off), and an old man in shabby clothing and a Gandolf beard who was barely able to get up the driveway (I have no idea what he was driving, it was dark...I only saw him because the motion lights came on as he approached).

These folks are delivering Amazon packages, but they sure don't have that professional, clean cut look of the UPS folks....

Well, that Blows

So yesterday, I called Pilatus Fight Services to get an outlook briefing, as I was gonna try to take Midwest Chick to see her sister in mid-Michigan...And their prediction matched the other aviation forecasts....as well as Weather Bug and the local TV prognosticators...

Forecast was for broken clouds in the 2000-4000 until 6 AM, then clear or nearly clear for the rest of the day.

So I planned a flight for Saturday morning about 8 AM.

Yeah, not so much. In the following 12 hours, the forecast for the area changed DRASTICALLY to overcast at 2000-3000.

The clear weather was off to the west about 60 miles. At best, MVFR conditions all day for me and points north and east....all day. The clear weather didn't move as predicted. Folks in Mid-Illinois are experiencing the weather predicted for me. So I cancelled the (short) cross country flight. 




If we can't predict the weather 12 hours out on a micro scale, how can we believe that anyone can predict what conditions will be on a macro scale a year from now? 5 years from now? 10-20-50-100 years from now?

Yes, I know, climate is not weather...except it is.....just on a smaller scale. Clouds are clouds. Fronts are fronts, Clouds and Fronts make weather, which makes climate. If your models are so poor that they can't do a decent job 12 hours out, why should I trust anything you claim for periods a hundred or a thousand or more times distant? 

I got Nuthin'

But today is Pearl Harbor day.

Take a moment.

I must be gettin' old....

Used to be, 8 hours working outside in freezing weather didn't bother me...
I can dress for the temperature hat boots etc. My core stays warm.,.,.

But my hands.....

Oh my god... They don't work as well, and they get painfully cold way too fast. Must be too many incidents of frostbite...

Either way,  I can't work outside all day any more. I gotta go in and warm up more and more often...

I'm thinking that's why folks move south as they get older....

Toldya so.

Seems that in some professional circles, the word is to "avoid women at all costs"

All those MeTOO accusations showed that too many women are sensitive fragile flowers that should not be let out without a keeper.....and that all too many others are evil, nasty, vengeful bitches.

The above women have, however, because their own sisters chose to support them rather than smack them down, damaged all the "normal" hard working women who simply wanted to work hard and earn advancement.....and the Movement is going to harm professional women for a generation or more. Bet on it. For men in power or positions or authority, interacting with women can be fraught with danger.

Pence looks smarter all the time, doesn't he? 

Pretty much ALL the Glowball Warmenating "science" as well....

Seems that nearly 4 in 10 "Research" papers (paid for mostly with Government grants) are.....bullshit. These include "Peer Reviewed" studies....

And note that the remaining 62 % include those that "show an effect in the same direction as the original studies.”...not that can be fully replicated, but just kinda can be sorta almost maybe...if you squint hard....might sorta kinda show sorta similar results....

It’s become a profitable industry, where scheming researchers get taxpayer-funded grants to find specific conclusions, then those manipulated and fake conclusions are reported back to the public as if they are real, and then policies and recommendations are made that further cost people money.

This used to be the claim when industry paid for research..especially when they wanted research to show that their products were safe....But now it is pretty much ALL "research"....ESPECIALLY anything to do with Global Warming Climate Change...(isn't it interesting how, once the "warming" failed to show up the researchers and climatologists and the media switched to "Climate Change" and the believers just ate it up?)

And there is no downside to publishing a "research" paper full of bullshit either....it's not like you have to pay the money back or worry about being charged with fraud or anything...

I remember reading Scientific American 45 years ago as a kid....My Dad gave me articles to read and explained them if I had questions....and researchers back then published articles which were clear on the methods used and made their research fairly easy for anyone to duplicate....So their peers could easily check their methods....Those days in that publication are long gone, however....

Remember this when you read or are told by the Media that eating food kept in plastic containers increases your chance of getting some exotic cancer that only occurs in white rats that are exposed to extremely high levels of Cell phone radiation while growing up or something....It has a 1 in three chance that the whole research is bullshit. 

NRA exists for the NRA

Yes, they are a Gun Rights advocacy group...and the largest one, if not the most effective one.

And yes, they are a bureaucracy that exists more for itself than for the members. I've run into that part before.

And, it would seem, it is an organization that now exists to enrich the higher level members of that organization. (WSJ article, and currently paywalled, but probably worth reading....). Millions of dollars...monies given by members either through donations or dues, are spent on firms that have ties to, or are owned by, directors, presidents, managers or other parts of the organization. Profits given to the members of the organizations management....in addition to salaries.  Is it unethical? Maybe. Is it illegal? Probably not. Is it right? I dunno.

A snippet: New filings from the National Rifle Association reveal that the gun-rights group directed millions of dollars over several years to people with close ties to the group, including former top officials.
A separate review of the NRA’s vendor relationships found other business arrangements that similarly benefit insiders.

It looks bad though. Especially when it isn't disclosed. Were those contracts put up for competitive bids? We don't know.

But cronyism looks pretty bad. Much like nepotism in city politics. I don't like it....it smells. Especially when they call me weekly and email me even more often, asking for money.

I'm no fan of the NRA. Having said that, they are useful. And they have done some good. But the optics on this are not pretty.

Thanks to Dad for the heads up.

If true, then it is a disgrace.

And likely, it is true.

HERE

Touch and goes

9 of them.

The wind was good, and, for once the ceilings were high enough for some pattern work (2300ft...the weather has been terrible for flying recently).

So I went and did some pattern work.

Worked on approach speeds...with one person and half fuel, it likes 72 knots (The POH lists from 65-80) with 20 degrees of flaps.

80 is WAY too fast. It wants to porpoise at touchdown. 65 is too slow, control is difficult, although doable. I'm gonna have to practice some short field./40 degree stuff another time.

72 to 75 is Just Right with 20 degrees of flaps.

I did try the advice of another 182 owner....I put 40 pounds of water in the baggage department at the aft end. Really made a big difference in the roundout. 2.5 gallon jugs are cheap and can be removed if needed, but they make a great difference in the landing when lightly loaded.

With fairly cool weather, climb rates were in excess of 1200FPM. easy to overshoot target altitudes in the pattern when one is used to less powerful airplanes.

I'm not sure the fuel gauges are accurate though. Both showed about 5/8 full, but I put 22 gallons in each side......and the bladders are only supposed to hold 37.5 gallons each (35 usable)...the math doesn't add up. I'm gonna run one empty at altitude and see what it takes to fill it...then, if need be, get the gauges fixed. It is possible that the bladders were replaced with larger ones and the  placard is incorrect. I dunno.

If the weather ever gets nicer I'm gonna do me some $100 hamburgers and get some cross country time.

Just under a month

And I went and walked with Dad today for a bit over a mile and a half at the mall. From open heart surgery to replace a valve to pretty much fixed in less than 30 days.

He's doing great. Not back to 100%, but pretty well. And improving every day.

The docs cleared him for pretty much everything but parachute jumping and waterskiing and bungee jumping lifting heavy weights....

I think this was a movie......

Except that movie happened in Florida.

"What we have here is a faaailyuuure to CommuniCate"...I wonder how you say that with a North Texas accent?

Cutting heads of of parking meters will still, apparently, get you placed into the pokey.

First "Winter Storm"

The Media is getting people all excited.

Heavy wet snow, but it is, after all, the Winter season.

At the end of it all, there will be worse.

Deal with it,  folks.

Be a survivor:

I remember.

Boot on the ground:

Murphy is there. At the border.

You can find his posts HERE.

The info on the border starts at Nov 18 (HERE) and continues to the present.

Interesting. You should read. 

I know him, he's opinionated but is a straight shooter. If he says it, it's the truth. And much  the picture he paints of the shennanigans down at the border isn't pretty.

Tough choice...But I went flying

So there was a match at the range today....I was tempted. Practical Pistol match. I haven't done one of those in a while. 

But then again, the weather hadn't been good for flying all week and today was good, if a bit windy.....and it isn't forecast  to be good for next week either.....

So I went flying.

Flew to KCMI (Champaign, Il) for lunch. Took MidWest Chick with me...

39 knot headwind, so it took a while to get there (1.2 hours for a bit over 115 or so miles) (we tried as high as 6500 feet, same winds...ForeFlight said they were even worse higher up so we stayed at 4500) , but we got there. Smooth flight, no bumps. I'm falling in love with the STec-55 autopilot. Set it and forget it.

Not my best landing though...Runway 14 had winds at 160 variable at 18 gusting 32...pretty much at my limits. I debated not landing for a just a moment as we approached the airport..but decided to try.

I landed anyway. A long base entry approach as called for by the approach controller and the final was a nightmare of gusting winds...so much so I almost aborted the landing twice....what with the ATIS warning of potential windshear on final and all... But I got down and it smoothed out on short final so I landed. ....and got blown by a gust about 3 feet from touchdown. Very nearly did some agricultural taxiing for a moment. But I got back on centerline and landed and taxiied to the FBO.

Took a crew car and went into town and ate (Chinese AND Pizza). We were gonna look around for a bit, but the visibility was falling back at the home airport earlier than forecast, so we went back, preflighted, and took off for home. We had a 41 knot tailwind at 3500 feet on our way back, so our ground speed was about 175 knots. 39 minutes on the return trip. I did some hand flying just for practice instead of using the autopilot. Very smooth flight though, only one big bump. 

Winds at home were 170 variable 11 gusting 26 on final, lots of updrafts due to mechanical turbulence from the trees a half mile from the end of 18.....so I planted the plane in a shortfield landing to get it firmly (but smoothly) on the ground. Firm, but not hard. Hit my marks too. What with the headwind, I was nearly stopped in about 350 feet. Lots of other planes in the pattern were having issues on landing. 'Twas a good day for practice.

1.9 and 2 (as Aaron puts it). All in all, it was a good trip. even if I did push up against my limits.

I'm LOVING the 182. So much smoother than a 172 or a Warrior or Arrow. More stable and a lot easier to fly... and about 30 knots faster in cruise than a 172 for not much more gas.

I'm glad I didn't go shooting instead.

Thanksgiving

Please, while you are stuffing your Pie-Hole with Pie and Turkey and stuffing and taters and gravy and bean casserole and bread or rolls and all the other stuff we eat on this day....plus desserts afterwards...

and while you are enjoying (or not) the company of family and friends.

Please, do these two things for me:

Take a moment and reflect on why we have this holiday. Appreciate the fact that we are so rich...so wealthy...that we have such a holiday, where the abundance in our lives lets us eat and have a celebration of thanks for all that is good in them.

And take a moment, and think of a serviceman away from his family, out on a post somewhere, his very presence on that post helping to protect that life I discussed in the paragraph above this one. Remember him or her. Perhaps they got a turkey dinner at a mess hall on land or on a ship , or perhaps they got MRE's on the line or on patrol. 

Either way, they ain't where they'd prefer to be. But they are there. Say thanks for them, as well. 

It is entirely possible

That, as a whole, there is a more inept organization that the folks at Wells Fargo Bank.

It could be that I have just not encountered said organization.

Then again, if there were a group more inept, they would probably not be able to breathe or eat on their own, use dangerous objects such as forks and blunt scissors without hurting themselves or use machinery more complicated to operate than elevators or doorknobs.... much less do any sort of business.

I, the previous owners, and the title company are still trying to get the title to the plane fully cleared. It will happen, but demonstrably not with any sense of urgency nor any demonstration of competency on the part of Wells Fargo Bank employees.

One would think they would understand the process and the verbage needed on such a simple document as a lien release...especially one this old and with a zero balance for years. 

Enough to piss me off

Got the new plane, and since then, the weather pretty much has been MVFR and IFR either at my home airport or at any destination I would like to travel to.

I think Murphy and Mother Nature are cooperating to jam it to me here.

Hopefully, they will smile upon me this afternoon. 

You can check out any time you like....

So I left the house for a while yesterday....several hours...

and when I came home, I found a TERRIBLE mess.

Seems that a mouse had gotten into the house (It happens every year, after the first frost or two...I've never been able to find out where they get in and I only get one or maybe two in the fall....and, having cats in the house, it is usually not a problem: I find a small, cold, mouse corpse on the floor, pick it up and dispose of it, and that is that...).

This time, as per usual, the cats had found the mouse and had dispatched it.

Sadly for me and the floor, they apparently punctured an artery on the mouse before playing with it unto death.

There were bloody trails across the kitchen floor...ALL ACROSS THE FLOOR. I mopped, and I scrubbed, and I mopped some more.

Then I got out the floor scrubber.

Used it twice.

Finally, the floor stopped looking like the killing floor in a slaughterhouse.

Cats, just doing their job, and being cats. 

But Lord, what a mess.

Heh:

Ain't it the truth?

Here

ETA: This is true as well.

And, HERE

he's got a point:

Aesop has a good one.  Even small actions, in concert, will have a great deal of effect.

The hard part is doing so without getting caught..... or, in planning, not giving the government notice when someone informs.
Easy to plan, much more difficult to execute on a meaningful scale.

The comments, however, are priceless.

Just a fun flight

2 hours of learning.

Flew for 2 hours. The strobe control box came in (finally) at 10:30, they had the plane ready at 1.

Pulled it out, fired it up and taxied to 27 for a left turnout departure. Flew around south of the field and got a feel for the AC. Then I climbed from 2500 to 10,500 MSL and flew west for about 20 minutes. No wind to speak of and had a ground speed (according to both the 430 and ForeFlight) of 137 knots.

Turned and descended to 5K, and had a GS of 128.

Banked and turned and played with pitch, power and airspeeds leaned and played with cowl flap settings. (I did stay out of the approach path to Midway airport, which was about 10 miles from my "play" area....those SouthWest 737's are often overflying at 5500 feet).

Turned towards home and did a downwind midfield entry to the pattern for 27. First approach was too fast, but it worked. Winds were calm to 5 220-300 variable. extended my downwind for inbound straight- in traffic.

Second one was better and the landing was a greaser. So was the third.

I can't seem to find the point wherein people claim that the 182 series is nose heavy on landing though. Flare was easy and touching on the mains first seems to be normal. I don't understand how folks bang the nose/damage the firewall. My worst landing might have been a little flat, but it wasn't hard.

Taxied back and topped up the tanks (44 gallons) with 100LL avgas and put it away. The POH says I can use as low as 80/87 or 100LL. I might try the UL94 available at nearby airports just to see how well it works (it ain't much cheaper, but no lead to contaminate the oil....)

Tomorrow, weather permitting, it's gonna be touch and goes at a few close-by airports and me and the STec-55X are gonna get acquainted. If not, then the day after that. Gonna do a short cross country on Sunday if the weather folks don't change the forecast again, so I gotta gain some confidence in the aircraft first.

This plane flies like a Cadillac after the Warriors, Arrows and 172's. Not a screamer or a truck, but a good, solid, comfortable sedan. Smooth flier, fairly light on the controls. Easy to fly well.

130 knots will take me where I need to go at a decent rate, even if not as fast as I would wish....all at 12.3 gallons per hour.

Spending money

As I expected, the new plane is costing me money. (this was negotiated OUT of the purchase price.)  Like a boat, a plane is a hole in the air which one tosses money into....

Flap limit switches, New strobe power supply, throttle control cable.

But, it's fixed, and as soon as the weather is VFR (Wed, supposedly, according to the "expert"prognosticators) I am gonna go do touch and goes at all the nearby airports to wring it out and see what else is wrong, if anything. Plus burn some of that old avgas.

I've got most of the manuals read, and have spent enough time on the ground working with the assorted (non-obsolete) avionics that I am comfortable.

More later as it happens. 

One wonders

Exactly how many ballots will "suddenly be found" in Arizona and Florida?

I mean, this is like Chicago in the '70's.

Will the citizens allow it?

Will the Feds allow it?

Can the Republicans beat the "Margin of Fraud"? 

Flew Saturday.

The Insurance company wanted a 1 hour checkride and endorsement with a Flight Instructor before solo flight in my new plane.

My instructor had an opening (student cancelled) on Saturday. So I dropped everything and went to the airport and preflighted so I would be ready when she was.

I had no flaps, but she (and I) did not seem to be bothered by that fact.

So we flew.

Steep turns, climbing turns, spiral descents, slow flight (harder without flaps), straight and level flight, etc.

Kinda like any other checkride.

3 landings. (Still no flaps though)

I am signed off for the aircraft. Plus High Performance endorsement.

Yeah. Now I can fly it whenever (VFR conditions permitting, of course) I choose. 

Today

Take a moment....Thank a Vet.
Today is Veteran's day.

Speak English in this country? Thank a Vet

Live Free? Thank a Vet.

Feel safe from Russians or Chinese governments telling you what to do, or taking your country...limiting your freedoms? Thank a vet.

Get to speak your mind????Thank a vet.

Not all fought. But they Served.

And their Service kept your country and your Constitution safe...so you could live as well as you do...better than most citizens of any other country on this mudball.

Thank a Vet today. They, by their Service, kept the Wolves at bay.

To all who Served: Thank you with all my heart. 

It is mine

Yes, it has some warts. It is, after all, a 1976 vintage.I knew that going in, especially after the Pre-Buy inpection. I didn't, after all, have the scratch for a brand new one. But this one is good, even with the warts, and it does have the instrumentaton that I wanted.....So, despite the warts, I bought it.

But it is mine.

There are some issues that come from any piece of machinery that sits for long periods of time....This was owned by an older couple that didn't fly much the past few years.

Something flakey with the flaps (they won't always deploy), but that is easily fixed (likely a limit switch, according to the mechanic) and that did, indeed, affect the purchase price.

I'm gonna have to do the prop, as it it out of date (not time (514 hours since 2005)..)...which also brought the price down.

Other than that, she's cherry.

Garmin 430W freshly upadated
STec 55X with all the goodies
KMD 150 MFD (needs a database update)
King 197
KNS 80
Dual HSI with glideslopes

514 hours on a factory reman

It will need ADS-B (Probably I will get a Stratus)

New(er) interior and paint in 2010

Trued out at 143 knots at 5K on the altimeter.

It was interesting during the test flight not having the flaps deploy (oddly, they worked on the ground and on the second approach, so I dunno). Made for an interesting first landing in that particular 182.  Easy though, especially with a 7200 foot runway.





I got a lot of manuals to read.

By the time you read this

I should have closed on the 182.

Back home

So from open heart surgery for a heart valve replacement on Wednesday to going home on Tuesday.

I picked Dad up from the hospital Tuesday night at 6 pm. They kicked him out.

He ain't ready to rassle allygators, but it still is amazing that he can be discharged after only 6 days. And he is doing very well.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Turnout

Voted today at 8 AM. In the rural precinct that I vote at, there are 982 members eligible.

by 8 AM there had been 184 votes cast.

I took my Mom to her voting place, and they said turnout was the highest they had seen since 2008.

At least folks are choosing to exercise the privilege of voting.

The fun part about voting where I do, in Northern Indiana, is that they greet me by name at the door:

"Hi, B"
"hi, Anne"
"I need to see your ID. "

'Cause that's the law, you know.

No dead people voting in my Precinct.

If you voted, early or today,  for anyone, I thank you.

If you voted MORE than once, I hope you suffer a crotch fire.

Praise all the Gods

It is Election Day.

Which means that, finally, for a while  anyway, the damnable election ads will cease.
Have you noticed that few of the ads say "This is why you should vote for me"? Instead, they say "this is why my opponent is a rat bastard" ...Even as they undermine their credibility and veracity because of the half truths and outright lies they say about said opponent.

But after today, for a while, they will cease.

In the meantime, if you haven't voted early or by mail, PLEASE get out today and exercise the privilege.

Women never lie

Especially about Rape
Ever.
At least that is what the folks with an agenda tell us.

BelieveAllWomen

She should face charges and a sentence that is at least as great as what the accused would have faced.And, in this case, it should be doubled since her lie  was used in an attempt to derail Kavanaugh's  nomination to the Supreme Court.

Plus, Defamation of Character charges, with civil penalties.

This woman is a slimeball.

And if women really felt that rape was a terrible crime, and had any honor, they'd lead the charge to ostracize her for her false accusation. But they won't.

I find it interesting

How the media, once the entire non left or right coast voter base (of both sides...blue AND red) yawned at the idea of Sayoc's bombs being real, or that he was a terrible person and a Trump supporter (which no one with two synapses to rub together believes...except those that think whatever the DNC tells them to) or that the entire story was anything more than an attempt to garner a bit of a sympathy vote from fence sitters...

But innit amazing how, once it became evident that not only did no one believe, but NO ONE CARED....

How quickly the DNC lackys Big Media dropped the story. 

Looks like I'm gonna own a plane

The offer was accepted, and, pending the A&P inspection on Wed finds no major issues, I will own a 1975 Cessna 182P.

'Tis interesting:

Somehow, "Defunding Planned Parenthood" becomes "Taking a way a woman's Right to Choose"...

Interestin', innit?

If it ain't free, then  the right to do it is taken away.....??

At least according to Democratic political ads in Chicago, that is.

It is amazing, really...

Open heart surgery on Wednesday.

Walking the next day.

Walking a quarter mile on Friday.

Expected to leave in another 2-3 days.

Full recovery in 6-8 weeks.

Sadly, the state of innovation of the medical arts will stall once we get rid of the profit motive with Socialized medicine if the DNC types get their way. 

So far, so good

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Dad is doing ok. He's wired like a Google internet server though, and is comfortable as can be expected.

If ya got a minute

I and my family (and especially my Dad and Mom) could use your prayers or good thoughts for my Dad,

Today is the day for his heart valve replacement.

Supposed to be all but "routine" and all, but still....open heart surgery.

So whatever good energy you can send his and her way would be appreciated.

Thanks

B

Geh

Made an offer on a decent 182P today. We shall see. I have verbal acceptance, but nothing in writing.



Also did some pattern work. 3 landings and a go around. There was only a 45 minute window to rent a 172 today, and the following week is gonna be too busy for me to be able to fly. The three landings were decent, and the wind gust caused me to weathervane at about 5 feet before landing, so I saved the tires and went around instead of skidding sideways.

As Aaron puts it, 0.6 and 3. (and 9/10, but that doesn't really count)

This morning

My prayers are for the victims and families of the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue.

Apparently, they didn't garner enough sympathy in the US

Or, perhaps, they didn't get the  liberal and undecided  voter base as energized as Soros and the DNC thought they would.

So, apparently, someone pulled the funding for transport and Food and Water and other logistics...

And, oddly, the Migrant Convoy has splintered...with about a third of them turning back, a third staying in shelters along the southern Mexican border, and a third still undecided. 

Probably most of 'em don't wanna continue now that they aren't getting paid without any food/water/sanitation/transport provided...

I'da whacked it with a hammer

.

But they simply turned it off and then back on again.

Apparently, it worked though. 

As I said:

Some Suspected Mail Bombs Were Not Capable of Exploding

Pretty inept, whoever the perpetrator was....If they wanted to do more than scare people and make a big HuHu.

I still hope that whoever he or she is, they catch him and incarcerate him for a long time.


ETA: Apparently a suspect in Custody....and (and this is significant!) they used his cell phone to track him down. (For good or for bad, having a cell phone in your name destroys your privacy. Even a burner phone, once you take it home, can be linked to you. If it is co-located while  turned on with your "normal" phone, it becomes linked to you, especially if you drive with both phones powered up.  So don't do illegal shit , and the authorities won't have a reason to use your phone to track you)

macabre

Seen on a car near a police station in Indiana:
Wasn't a Police car, as far as I can tell.

Kinda macabre, but still, pretty cool.
I may have to get one for the front of my truck though.

Indeed:

" A lot of Democrats have openly called for civil unrest. They've excused and condoned violence for political purposes. Well, this is what that looks like. If they advocate this sort of chaos and lunacy, they shouldn't act surprised when they become targets of it."

Be careful of that for which you wish....you might get it. 

Why some women come in second

This woman tried being assertive....and, oddly enough, people LISTENED to her, and took her as....await for it....A LEADER....Odd how that works. She gave direction rather than asking for a consensus...she made statements that left no room for prevarication, she gave FIRM timelines...and, guess what? People treated her as they would any leader.

She, of course, claims it is "Entitled White male "swagger"" that made it all work for her....not, the fact that she was decisive, didn't try to reach a "Consensus",  wasn't "inclusive" didn't try to make sure everyone was satisfied...didn't take excuses, didn't give extended deadlines, just, like any real leader, expected results and was, like any real leader, firm and clear and gave orders.....and expected those orders to be followed. In  other words, she acted like a boss and got treated like a boss. Like a leader.

Her story is a perfect example why women are "underrepresented in leadership roles"...why so few are top bosses. Why they are fewer in upper management. (Hint, it has everything to do with timidity, and culture of women and failure to take charge, and little to do with your actual physical gender).

Act like a leader, and people will follow. Act like most women do and they won't. Assertive behavior works.

Re: mail bombs

Does anyone think that these are real? That they are anything but either really poor amateurish attempts to make bombs, or (more likely) to make something that LOOKS like a bomb? (Or at least the type of thing that looks like a bomb as seen in the movies.


PVC? Hard to get any decent pressure to make ....well, either you understand or you don't. I'm not gonna give any clues. Coiled wires leading to a box from the ends? Yeah, it looks like a movie version of a "bomb"...meant to be seen and identified when the package was X-rayed. I'm surprised they didn't write "Bomb" on the side in bright red marker just to make sure that it would be identified properly.

Plus of course the "timer" as means of detonation. I'm surprised they didn't use a "Baby Ben" alarm clock (kids, ask your parents).....

Plus, of course, those 6 stamps...even though the packages were delivered by a courier, not the USPS.

But hey, it makes for good press don't it? Lots of pictures and something for the Talking heads to talk about. And, of course, a mostly uneducated audience to believe.

I tried

I tried to give "FBI" on CBS one more chance......but I hadda stop watching.

THis one was about Nuclear Power plants....and the errors to make the plot work were....huge.

Plus, I think the intelligence level of the target audience is about 85...with a 9th grade education.

(and, the writing sucked and the acting was....marginal)

As an engineer with some small level of technical training (but a broad, if not deep, level of knowledge), I find shows like this.... poorly written and (obviously) done without a technical consultant of any kind....to be painful to watch. 

But, seriously, if this "New! Hit! Series!!" is aimed at a mainstream audience (or, God help us, a new Millennial audience) then we, as a nation, are circling the rim.

I think I'm gonna have to change my routine and find something else to do on Tuesday nights..,

Short field practice:

Spozed to be winds of less than 10 knots for when I had scheduled the airplane.

and they were....but the occasional (mostly not too "Occasional" though) gusts to 24 made me rethink that.  On the other hand, it ain't like I will never encounter gusty wind conditions...But I didn't wanna waste my money and not learn anything.

However, in the end, I went up with an instructor and (mostly) hit my marks.... Crosswind shortfield landings in gusty conditions are a challenge though.

Frustratin'

Buying a used airplane is kinda like shopping for used car....in craigslist/want ads....only a LOT more expensive and with even more deceptive advertising and creatively done photographs. The dealers are just as much liars as the private individuals...

It might well be worth going through a broker and paying him/her a fee to find what I am looking for.

Gotta wonder:

So I was watching TV Tuesday evening, and happened to catch the opening scenes of the "New Hit Series!" on CBS...."FBI".

The scene was about a shooter. A sniper. In NYC.

And the character's speculations about the gun used tell me that they believe that most of their audience has never held a rifle and has never read a gun magazine.

Are the majority of Americans that truly ignorant of rifles in general?

Or is it just writing by east coast urbanites trying to explain the plot details to themselves?

Some of that "Civility" they were talking about:

Try this sort of shit in the  "Red" states.

See how well that works for ya.

Be sure you are enrolled in ObamaCare first though.

I doubt the outcome will be what you want, though.

This time, however, everything was peaceful....'cause it stopped when there was no support from others. I expect, however, that at some point that will change.

I hate Emoji's

and I think they are one of the stupidest things the cell phone industry has come up with. They are a poor and childish embellishment to a basic communication.

I am only slightly less derisive of those who use them regularly in their conversations via text.

Most of us aren't 7th grade girls, we shouldn't act like it.

Time to Grow Up. Act your age, 

Welcome to the blogroll!

So... Garry, from Thomas Whispered is now a part of my blogroll.

Go over and check him out.

I'd post more, but I'm planning on being out all day looking at junk used airplanes

I really hate folks who falsely advertise products on the web.

It's not like I'm not gonna see those flaws when I come to buy it.

Waste of my time, and theirs.

ANd stuff like this is exactly why some folks need their asses beaten.

Change.org wants little known (even on campus)  "Clarence Thomas Building" renamed because "Some students feel unsafe because of the name".

I sincerely hope that the campus administration tells 'em to go pound sand. 

The Cherokees don't care

But Lizzy Warren keeps pushing it, cause she knows we all know she was lying about her connection to the indian nations just to get special treatment at the university... a

She did (finally) take a DNA test...which was, as we expected, inconclusive anyway..
(ETA: Apparently she is less indian than the average white American citizen)

And the Cherokee nation stated:

"A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person's ancestors were indigenous to North or South America. Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation. Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong. It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is prove. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage."

- Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr.


ETA2:

Yep

Truth HERE.

But not to Liberals.

Words mean something here in my world.

But to liberals they are only tools (much like the liberals themselves) to help their Party get what it wants. 

It never happens..

Women never lie. 

Especially about "sexual assault".

Never. Ever. And they always deserve to be believed.

Always.

groped. By a 9 year old.

W.T.F.

I hope they charge her.  Especially for claiming to be a police officer.

Was there a racial component here?

WOMAN  forced to apologize after accusing a 9-year-old boy of sexual assault. But CCTV footage proved something else.

Women like this harm the credibility of women who have truly been assaulted.

Much less Ms Ford's testimony and the harm it has done to real victims. 

Why no arrests?

Why can't the Portland police arrest anyone for this anarchy and civil disobedience? Yeah, standing aside and letting them fight might be entertaining, and later breaking up the fight with pepperball rounds is no doubt fun, but why even allow this sort of shit to happen?

Note: Both sides come looking for a fight. Neither gets my sympathy. It is just plain wrong.
Their behavior chases decent people off the streets and makes the city and the police look like incompetent idiots.

And, at the end of the day, no matter what your motivation, you are acting like a criminal. And you should be treated that way.

Most boys grow out of such behavior about 16 years of age. These morons, obviously didn't.

Y'all that call your self part of the Right? Get off my side.
You morons on the left? you aren't doing your side any favors with your behavior.

I think they all need a bit of 1968 Chicago riot behavior modification lessons. Perhaps some of the old "Hickory Shampoo" applied liberally to both sides would temper their ardor for a fight.

Well, that was cool

I didn't know there were any in the area. Was a bit north of the intersection of US 41 and US 30 in NW Indiana on Saturday and, while waiting at a stoplight, I watched a Bald Eagle fly circles over the marsh to the east of US 41.

I was unaware that there were any Bald Eagles in the area.

Perhaps the DDT issues have helped make a comeback? I dunno

I grew up about 20 miles to the east of there, and this is the first time I have ever seen a Bald Eagle in NW Indiana. And I am over 50 years old.

Your call, Hillary

"You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about,”

Ok,, sister, then lets open the ball:
Here are some of the things YOUR party stands for that I find objectionable.

Statism over individualism.

Ever increasing restrictions on rights, rather than freedom.

More and more groups gaining privileged status over the mainstream.

Sociologist government policies.

Ever increasing governmental agencies, who set rules and regulations with no legislative oversight. 

Increasing dependence on government paid for by the productive people in this country.

More and more "Social Safety Nets" paid for with taxes, instead of those taxes going to infrastructure, and military as is Constitutional.  

Less and less attention paid to our Constitution and to the restrictions it imposes upon Government. 

Entire government agencies which don't produce anything. 

Tax and monetary policies which punish success and hard work, encourage failure and laziness, reward stupidity and penalize intelligence.

An ever increasing percentage of urban dwellers(encouraged by your party and their policies) who produce nothing, but whose very existence is paid for by my side's work. 

Ever increasing ILLEGAL immigration.

More and more (and more blatant) voter fraud. 

Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

I can make a longer list of "things I stand for, things I care about" that your philosophy and your party condone ...that I find offensive and objectionable. But so far, at least, MY side has retained "civility" about our disagreements.

Wanna lose "Civility"? We can go there. You won't like it. So far it has been the Ballot Box rather than the Ammo Box. .....But that can change if Civility is gonna go away.
How "uncivil" do y'all wanna get? Y'all wanna destroy that which I stand for and care  about...can I get all Uncivil too?

Do you really want the gloves to come off? The only thing keeping you and yours alive and fed and housed and/or out of prison is "Civility" and the rule of law. Take that protection away and you won't like how it ends.

We have hard working people with a work ethic, who are well able to take care of themselves....who can think for themselves, are intelligent and skilled...who simply buckle down and move forward when life gets tough.....who plan ahead....Who are polite and decent and law abiding and moral.
 You have a bunch of  spoiled lazy people who can't figure out which bathroom to use and have to be led to get them to do anything and who weep and demand help when life gets difficult...who can't really DO anything...and have the attention span of a chipmunk and the intelligence of asparagus.....and who can't think ahead farther than their next meal....who are rude and already uncivil and who don't generally follow laws of society.
Which side do ya think will win if we get rid of "civility"?

So do you REALLY want to get rid of "Civility"? So far, that' "civility" is what's keeping you and yours safe.

Acute flaccid myelitis

Seems to be popping up in larger cities.

It started, apparently, in Minneapolis. Which took in HUGE numbers of Somalis and other Eastern Africans.

And, oddly, the disease is MUCH more common in East Africa than anywhere else. (still rare, but MUCH less so).

Now, correlation is not causation. Be aware of that. But still, it is likely that the vector for the disease is the population that has moved from a location where it is more common to a place where it is rare....almost unheard of. It could be Global Warming, or Bush's fault, but I doubt it....

And it seems to be appearing in many "sanctuary cities" as well. Might just be the larger number of immigrants, might just be statistical noise.

But I doubt that the reason why matters to those children who are US citizens who are now in Iron Lungs or under care to relearn how to move their limbs. I doubt that they care that the DNC got to feel good by resettling a bunch of Somalis in places where they would not assimilate.

Hope and Change, ya know.  I bet little Suzy Whitebread who caught it at school will be in favor of immigration when she grows up...If she lives.

I think it is a damned good question:

If the Republicans can band together to confirm Kavanaugh, WHY CAN'T THEY GET TOGETHER AND REPEAL OBAMACARE??


Because the Insurance companies have bought and paid for some of our finest politicians I'm not sure why they can't do it....

Toldya

It is happening

I expect that women are gonna next complain that this isn't fair either....that the relationships and deals that are made outside of the formal office environment, and the mentoring that occurs after hours that they will lose out on are valuable parts of business and that they are being treated unfairly by being excluded...

But if I were still in business, I'd never be anywhere with a woman that was not my wife or girlfriend for fear of being accused....and found guilty simply because "she said so and women deserve to be believed" or whatever the current catchphrase of the feminists is.

Mike Pence won't do dinner or anything else with a woman...unless his wife is with him.....He looks smarter now than a few months ago, doesn't he? 

0.7

Needed to clear my head, so since there was an hour where there was a rental plane available, I chose to do some pattern work. I hadn't flown since 9/27 either. when one is new at this game, it is easy to get rusty

Wind was varying 180 to 210, 12 gusting 20. No one in the pattern when I started.

Taxiied out and did the run up at the threshold of 18, took off, entered the pattern and did a crosswind landing on 18. Not my best one, but adequate.

Later, rinse, repeat. 5 times.

By then the pattern was full of airplanes,  spaced almost too close for my comfort. Planes arriving every minute or so. Congested for an uncontrolled airport. Plus there were 6 planes stacked up waiting for departure and complaining that no one would let them out. I landed and taxiied out to the end of 18 and parked the plane back at the flight school.

0.7 and 5.

And focusing on the pattern procedures and the landings cleared my head tremendously.

I really need my own aircraft though. 

One wonders

What leverage was used to push her out?

Nikki Haley Reigns as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

I liked this lady. She kicked ass. Made the rest of the UN pantywaists realize that there was a "new sheriff in town" and the US wasn't gonna be pushed around like it was during Barry's terms. She was making changes in the UN's mismanaged and shortsighted profit centers programs that wasted money too.

Finished!

So the pushbar and adapter and such for Ed's 182 is finished, and it fits and works really well.

The adapter bolted right up to the tractor. Fit the first time.

The hitch adapter for the pushbar is the right height. And he can pull one pin and take it off when he mows the grass.

The pushbar itself handles the grades up the ramp and into the hangar and is the proper length.

The paint looks decent enough having come from a rattle can of Rustoleum .

I did have to anneal the spring bar at the point of the new weld so it wouldn't crack like it did (which was why we used it in this application) before. (you can see the new blue pushbar in the background)

It handles the change in elevation from the hangar to the ramp as planned.

Not too shabby for a napkin sketch and a bunch of scrap. The only parts not made from scrap are the pin for the pivot, the lynch pin to hold the pivot assembly together and the reused (broken) pushbar assembly. Oh, and the four 3/8" x 1" carriage bolts and the nuts and washers.
All the rest was from my scrap bin.

Took about an hour to figure out what, exactly, I was making and sketch that, about an hour to search out the bits and pieces, an hour to cut, fit, and tack together, and another hour to actually weld it, smooth it and round corners with a hand grinder, and another hour of actual time to prime and paint (took all day for the painting, but I was doing other chores so I could come back after the primer and each coat and paint it again). Since he won't let me pay even for the gas for the two hours (at 12 gallons an hour) I have spent flying it, I figure I am still WAY ahead of the game.....But Ed is happy with his new pushbar. He seems to feel it is a fair trade.

(click to embiggenize)

Hopefully, he won't fall this winter trying to push his plane back into the hangar by himself. Bad idea for an 80 year old man to fall at night at an airport, much less in the wintertime temps. He could be out there 'til morning. 

Y'know....

If our justice system was as good as it should be, ALL of our judges, Liberal or Conservative, male or female, religious or agnostic, Muslim, Christian, Jewish....Catholic or Protestant....Wiccan or Bhuddist, would be interchangeable.

It really shouldn't matter.....

Because our justices, Circuit or Supreme (or any of the lower courts) would adjudicate from the letter of the LAW, not from their beliefs.

No Liberal (or, to a much lesser, but still there, and still wrong) or Conservative or religious biases...no "Legislation from the Bench".

No human is perfect. None of us can be entirely objective. But if a judge at that level cannot be impartial, and set aside his or her feelings and judge cases based upon LAW, and the Constitution, then they should not be a judge at all ...especially at that level.

In fact, if our justice system had decent judges, we should be able to take any Federal Circuit Court judge's name and any Court of Appeals judge's name and put them in a hat and pick one.....and get a decent judge that was qualified for the Supreme level.

Sadly, we don't have that.

We have political animals, and biased judges and those who Legislate from the Bench....and who play politics.
And those judges are failing in their oaths. 

Truth:

I fully expect

That Ms Ford will now disappear back to wherever the Democrats dug her out of, only with a pocket full of cash and other prizes (Plus the GoFundMe which is reputed to be near $1 million) and that the Dems will dump any contact with her...She will be abandoned, having done the job they used her for.

Unless, of course, she meets Vince Foster. 

I find it disturbing

That the military and our government are just now realizing that this is a problem....that the manufacturing base that is so necessary to fight a war (which, hopefully we don't have to do again) of any large scale no longer exists in this country Raw materials are one thing, the ABILITY to manufacture things from those raw materials is another.... ...and we don't control many of the sources of raw materials, anyway.

Should large scale conflict happen, especially with the Chinese, how long can we wage war without the electronics and other products that the CHINESE exclusively produce? Yes, the Japanese and the Malaysians and the Singaporese can take up some of that slack, but they are in, essentially, the Chinese backyard. How long will they last? Even if they do, how will we transport those components they produce (and we DON'T) from them to us?

Global manufacturing is a great idea...as long as everyone is at peace. But the military is about defending the citizens of this country and taking the fight to the enemy should that be required....and they need the tools with which to do so

How much of that manufacturing...of chips, other electronics, exotic smelting and refining, chemical processes, etc has left our country because of taxes and, especially, our environmental regulations? How much because our trade practices made it easier and cheaper to outsource? How do we get enough back under our control and security to make us able to defend ourselves (much less wage offensive war) for an extended period?

"every Blade of Grass" is, indeed, a thing. But that only works so well, for so long.  Real weapons of war take more infrastructure and more manufacturing. Remember: In WWII, the real reason the US (and it's allies supplied by the US) was the ability to produce more weapons and tools of war faster than the opponents...More ships, more guns, more ammunition, more fighter planes, more of the tools of war for soldiers to use. We OUT-MANUFACTURED our enemies as much as beat them man to man. At the end of the day, no matter how valiant the fighter is, he needs guns, and food, and clothing, and the other tools of war to wage war. An empty rifle is just a club, and a fighter jet without missiles is just a fast plane. ...a submarine without torpedoes is just a boat that submerges.

Pretty much the truth:

Roberta has it in a nutshell.

HERE. 

All this hoorah hasn't really changed much. I doubt if it influenced any votes one way or another. The Dems weren't gonna vote for Kavanaugh no matter what.

For folks who think the way the DNC tells them to support the Democrat party , Kavanaugh is the Devil. For those with a working brain, there is doubt of that. 

Big trial in Chicago

Coming to a culmination.

Some cop shot some black teenager who was high on PCP and wandering the streets terrorizing people.

Cop drove up to the scene and in less than a minute, shot the teenager 17 times. Teenager was carrying a knife. I don't see where the cop had reason to shoot at all, but I wasn't there. But he was black, so the professional agitators have something to work with....

I'm glad I don't have to decide this murder charge. Look up LaQuan McDonald.

But the city, both the police AND THE BUSINESSES are girding for protest, riots, and looting. Schools (public and private) have contingency plans for closing as soon as the verdict is announced.... Same same businesses...not just retail, but manufacturing has shutdown plans, or, if they can't shutdown, have plans for limited operations with their staff staying....Behind secure fences and locked doors. They expect riots or other unrest....They are realists.

It'll happen no matter what the verdict is. Bet on it.

And it won't be folks from the north side. Southsiders...Bet on it. One officer I know says that they are praying for heavy rain the day of, and the day after, the verdict is announced. 

Women always deserve to be believed

And they don't lie about things like that.

Except when they do. Which is, I think, more often that one might think.

SOME women lie abut many things. Somme act as if they are still in 7th grade.

But don't tell the #MeeeTOO!movement. It might undermine their credibility.

Via Kenny

Does this lack of news surprise you?

I mean, you don't hear much about this on the Liberal media, do ya?

Seems that Kanye West pissed off the entire SNL crowd as well as the managers of the show. 

Most interesting:

Another viewpoint on the Kavanaugh debacle.

He might well be right, however.

Gonna have to give that some cogitation though. 

classic fascism:

But they claim that the Conservatives are the fascists...

Yet it is nearly always the DNC supporters that do these things.

Really classy folks. 

The really sad part

about this whole attempt at obfuscation and delay until after the midterm electons deamnd for an FBI investigation is that we are expecting the FBI to do an impartial investigation, without letting politics interfere......which, sadly, we can no longer believe might happen....not since the whole pre election failure of the FBI to do any real investigation on Hillary Clinton, and the post election antics (supported by FBI management) of Peter Strozk and his compatriots and other incidents that have thrown the while Fidelity,Bravery, INTEGRITY, motto of the FBI into doubt.

Neither side will ever believe, at least not in your or my lifetime, that there is any reason to believe that the FBI will be impartial in any evidence gathering about such a politically charged allegation with such powerful consequences.

I have known several FBI agents. Most were not the sharpest knives in the drawer....not steely eyed lawmen, but they were honest, decent, thorough investigators, who ferreted out and reported FACTS.

Sadly, not so anymore. Those agents have retired years ago, and I have no doubt that they were embarrassed by the actions of the current FBI agents (and, apparently, FBI management) in the events before and after the election of 2016. 

Will either side be willing to believe that the investigation onto Kavanaugh and Ford was conducted without an agenda? I can't honestly say that it will be.

What say you? 

In a just world

Kavanaugh could sue Ms Ford for Defamation and win such an award for her trashing him with unproven (and likely unprovable) statements.

Jury awards ex-Army colonel 8.4 million dollars from blogger who defamed him. 

The parallels of the two cases are many.

One can hope. I mean her GoFundMe is at or near a million bucks.

A most interesting point

HERE

Interesting, Innit? 

Just to stir trouble:

Forget Chevy vs Ford (Dodge, actually, is the correct answer, BTW)

Forget GLOCK Vs 1911 (Y'all know my answer to that one).

The real question we have here today, the one that matters,  the one that chooses where you stand, what your lifestyle is, the one that makes us all take sides in life and choose our friends and all that....The one that defines WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU STAND FOR....:















Creamy or Crunchy peanut butter? Smooth or chunky?

I'm withholding revealing my choice at this time, but please, feel free to say your preference in comments.