Let's see if I can remember what Blogger puked...

Oh yeah, an apology for limited posting this week. It's already Tuesday- Fat Tuesday actually, so Happy Mardi Gras to everyone! We had pancakes at a church dinner and party tonight and will be back tomorrow night for the Imposition of Ashes, as tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.

Then Thursday night we will be traveling to Salt Lake again for a concert, a Queen tribute band that the BSU wanted to see. So we're going to a concert.

Friday I think I'll see if Kenny can go shooting someplace, just so I can relax!

Just lost a post- Blogger puked it up!

First time that's happened in many months!

My laptop's back already!

Yeah! I must say, overall I am very pleased. I had the work done through Easy Tech at Staples and everything (almost) has turned out perfect. My Outlook Express address book has gone AWOL and that makes me cranky but I may still be able to recover most of it through importation from my Gmail account. I'll try that in a bit. I've already re-installed Bit Defender so my machine is secure and there is a small pile of program discs that I'll procede onto next. And I have to call Comcast for assistance in setting up my Outlook Express email.

My internet favorites file is missing and my Internet Explorer view looks terribly 1990's. I have the majority of my favorites on a memory stick so I haven't lost everything, just anything I've added in the past several months. And I suppose I'll figure out the appearance issue soon enough too.

But at least the registry problems are fixed and my Bit Defender will update every day as it is supposed to and lots of unused junk has been swept into a pile and vacuumed out of my computer. And that makes me pretty happy.

Blogging from my phone

Cause my laptop's in the shop. It's there to have the hard drive
formated and Windows reinstalled. I considered doing all the work
myself but decided not to mess with it and leave it to a pro. I sure
hope he gets it done by tomorrow cause I'm feeling a little lost
without it!
Sent from my iPhone

I don't know why this makes me so happy-

but the 4 pound bottle of Hogden Tite Group gunpowder sitting on my dinner table just really makes me smile.

Sometimes it almost feels like stealing-

This afternoon on my way home from work I stoped in to Target because I wanted to buy a DVD package that I had spied a few days back. It was Lethal Weapon, all 4 movies. I bought the disc set and a 62 Chevy Belair hardtop in emerald green- a Matchbox, and my total bill was less than 12 bucks! I bought 4 full length movies for 2 bucks and a half each!

I thought the set was going to cost me twenty dollars, so when the cashier told me my entire purchase was less than 12 bucks, it almost felt like stealing!

Anyway, I'm still under the weather with this cold that has afflicted me so this weekend might be a Lethal Weapon marathon!

Larry H. Miller passes away

Well a Utah hero and legend, Larry H. Miller has passed away today as a result of complications of Type II diabetes. Larry was a superstar in this state while being friendly, approachable and philanthropic.

The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies began with the Larry H. Miller Toyota store in Murray, Utah on May 1, 1979. Through the years, Miller amassed more than 80 businesses and properties in the western United States. Most notable are the Utah Jazz, EnergySolutions Arena, the Salt Lake Bees, Miller Motorsports Park, Megaplex Theatres, and 39 automobile dealerships spanning the Rocky Mountain West. Miller also developed a vast real estate holdings including commercial and agricultural properties.

A dynamic entrepreneur and business leader, Miller also became known for his charitable efforts. Miller coined the phrase "Go about doing good until there is too much good in the world."

Miller and his wife Gail provide close to 300 college scholarships each year. Larry H. Miller Charities, a foundation funded by monthly contributions from his businesses, fundraising events in the community, and personal donations from employees, has donated millions of dollars to communities in which Miller does business.

Larry was a car collector and racer and son Noah and I even had the opportunity to meet him and sit in his Ford GT racecar at his beautiful racetrack a couple summers ago.

Larry's been ill for quite some time now and his death comes as no real surprise. But he will be missed throughout Utah.

Better. Not well but better-

So after saying last night that I was sick- and I was, I did go into work today. I’m not well but I don’t seem to have any fever, so I dragged my butt into the office. I’ve even been moderately productive, at least for the first half of the day. This afternoon my apathy has overpowered my initiative and I’m struggling to keep going until closing time.

 

I still feel lousy so I don’t expect to have too big of an evening with the BSU tonight.

I'm sick!

I have a bug. Maybe it's just a cold or maybe it's the flu but whatever it is, I'm miserable. I'm guessing it actually started yesterday because I had a really crappy, off my rhythm day for most of thetime at work.

Today at work the apathy/aches/general malaise continued and increased until I finally felt the shivers indicating a fever about 1:30. So I took a couple hours sick leave, came home and took a 4 hour nap.

And for a while, I felt better. But not so much now. It will be a dose of meds and an early bedtime tonight.

I did finish the reblue job on my Taurus rifle alst night!

What did he say? F*ck the 2nd Amendment?

Well, yeah, that's exactly what Kaveman said- "F*ck the 2nd Amendment". Go read his 3 Rules of Duh and re-read Sword and Tome and maybe you will understand what he's saying.

And you know I agree with him!

Major Announcement!

Due to recent budget cuts and the cost of electricity, gas and oil, as well as current market conditions and the continued decline of the U.S. economy, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for the inconvenience.






It's late and all the good stuff is coming in through my email from my retired friend, Kenny.

1924 Armstead Snow Motors Company concept snow vehicle

It seems appropriate to post this tonight after removing 14" of snow from my driveway this evening. But Kenny sent me a forwarded email with a link to this unique screw drive snow tractor and it's just too cool not to share. Watch the entire video- it's worth your time.

I have to tell you- I'm impressed. This snow tractor really seems well thought out and realistic for winter use anywhere the snow gets deep, like in the Mid-West where I grew up. I might have suggested some chain covers and anti-intrusion fenders over the augers but otherwise the guy that designed it seemed to have it all figured out.

I'll bet I would have liked the guy that designed it.

Why I love the internetz-

Because you can watch 44 minutes of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models frolicing for free! It's in high-def and you can download it to your pc if you want!

Tired this afternoon-

I've just finished some Program Manager training through my company's online training and now I think I'll take a nap until my back and head stops hurting.

That dang snowblower is a maintenance hog!

I've mentioned before that I'm the keeper for the neighbor's snowblower and he lets me use it since I can keep his driveway cleared for his semi-weekly weekend visits. And since I use it, I maintain it. Earlier this winter I replaced the belts and the drive pulley and since then the machine has worked just dandy, even though it hasn't gotten much use for several weeks.

Well this week it snowed and I needed to use it. And it drove just fine but after 5 or 10 minutes the blower quit. Just quit. And I had to park the machine and finish clearing the drive the hard, slow way with a shovel.

Today was another dandy snowstorm and the first chance I had to get the snowblower into the shop to see what was halting the blowing of snow. I had an idea that it was cable related because the cable had gone slack and I couldn't hear the belt engaging when I operated the lever. It took a bit of digging and disassembling but I discovered the cable securing bracket for the blower clutch was broken off the frame.

Crap! There's a bunch of parts to be removed but only 6 bolts that hold the blower portion onto the engine and drive frame. I got everything removed and then bothered the neighbor to help me carry the blower portion out to the truck.

I took it to a young friend that is a very competant welder and he fixed the bracket back onto the blower in no time flat. And then with the neighbor's help again to return the blower out to the shop, I put it all back together.

And it works just fine. I cleared the drive and part of the street and the neighbor's drive too. But it was a dammed hard bit of repair today to get it fixed and I was whupped when it was time to come in for dinner and a rest!

I'm putting my money where my mouth is-

Today I bought a subscription to U.S. Concealed Carry Association. I had a look at the public portion of their website and decided I wanted to be associated with this group. My suggestion to you is to check it out for yourself and see if supporting their efforts is worthy of a few of your hard earned dollars too.

A link is going on my sidebar as well.

For every nanny-state abiding, dial 911 and wait for the police, turn the other cheek, "the disadvantaged just need our help" gun fearing liberal-

You need to go and read Sword and Tome by Dave Kopel. Right now.

I'll wait.

Back already? Now you understand what I believe. Those reasons so clearly spelled out by Mr. Kopel are the reasons I carry a handgun. Those are the reasons I am stridently opposed to any politician- from our president, Barry, and his minions, Chuckie Shumer, Diane Feinstein, John F'n Kerry, mayor Bloomberg from New York and the the Brady Bunch. All of those people have forgotten that the right to defend oneself trancends government and government's man-made laws.

I'm adding a link in my sidebar to this valuable article so that it can be a constant reminder to me and to anyone that stops by this humble spot on the internet that self-protection is not just a luxury afforded to a few but instead is the right of every person.

Probably the freakiest video I have ever seen on the internet!

and I've seen a few freaky videos on the internet... But this skydiver doing loops with a parachute really tops them all!

Unbelievable! Thanks and a hat tip to I hate my Cubicle.

My Stevens is finished!

As some of you might remember, I had a disasterous problem in my gun locker some months ago. One of the rifles that suffered the worst damage was my Savage replica of a Stevens Favorite. It took the worst of the corrosive liquid down it's barrel and receiver. It looked really terrible.

So over the past weeks I have been refinishing it. I took it apart to the last pin, stripped the rust and original blue finish, sanded and steel wooled all the damaged metal and then re-blued everything. I've been at it for a couple weeks now. Last night I finished the reassembly.

It looks terrific. I am very pleased with the results. Tonight I'll get some pictures and post them for your viewing pleasure.




As always, click the thumbnails to see the full size pictures.
Next- the Taurus rifle!

Time to hit my PayPal button- hard!

You see if everybody that stops by here would just hit my PayPal button for a couple hundred dollars for a couple weeks, then I could afford a new boat! And I really want a new boat for the upcoming fishing seasons. So won't you all do your part to help me with my dreams of regular fishing trips with my buddies?

You see, Kenny and I went to the boat show this weekend. And we saw lots of really nice fishing boats- big ones, bigger ones, and smaller ones too. We compared Lund and Crestliner and Fisher boats. We even ogled a couple very fancy Skeeter boats but we both knew those aren't the boats for our simple needs.

But we really did have a great time walking around and looking at the shiny new boats. Just steps inside the front door we ran into a buddy of mine who is part owner of a fishing tackle business and he invited us to come over to Flaming Gorge in the spring for a fishing trip on the company's very fancy boat. You know I'll be following up on that invite to make it happen!

So, if you can, dig deep and donate often to my "Need a Boat" fund. It will do wonders for my mental health and I promise to share the fishing trips with my buddies, making their lives better too!

My laptop is really getting on my nerves!

I still haven't had enough time to really dig into all the different issues with my laptop but so far, I have been unsuccessful getting pictures onto the memory card I puchased last week! That's seems just crazy! I did update the drivers to my memeory card reader and that didn't help anything. I also discovered that what I bought is a SDHC card, not just a SD card, so it is entirely possible that my card reader never will be up to date enough to make this card work.

I also downloaded a SDHC card formatting program from Panasonic and that doesn't seem to be fixing my problem either. Which makes me believe that it might be my laptop's age that is the problem.

Tomorrow I think I'll go buy another memory card, this time one that is just SD and see if I can finally get our digital picture frame working!

And I haven't had any time to figure out the registry problems at all!

Computer problems at the ranch- SD cards need to be formatted?

Kenny just had to take his computer in to the shop for an expert’s touch to remove all the bugs that had infiltrated his system and although I’m not having bug problems, my beloved HP Compaq laptop has been causing me to curse a little bit over the past couple days.

 

It all started with the receipt of a belated Christmas gift from son Noah, a Kodak digital picture frame. Of course I had to go out and purchase a memory card for this new digital toy and when the BSU and I were in Wal-Mart the other night, I bought a 2gig SD card to fill up with pictures. First I spent an hour installing and updating the always annoying Kodak photo sharing and manipulating software which always gripes me with the overabundance of cutesie options that somebody must really want because every package comes with it. I don’t want it, so I installed as little of the package as was possible. Next I went through the software and selected a grundle of pictures to install on the memory card destined for the picture frame.

 

Once I had the pictures selected, I tried to copy them to my new memory card- no go. The Kodak software didn’t see any removable memory cards available. Hmm. I looked on the MS File Explorer and it said I had a card installed. I tried to drag some pictures directly to the card- no go. Looking at the properties of the card revealed only 896 megabytes listed as the card’s size, not the 2 gigabytes that I was supposed to have. Hmm. Then a window popped up and said my memory card needed to be formatted but the MS formatter didn’t work. Instead, it failed and afterwards, Explorer no longer recognized the card when I installed or removed it… Dammitall! By now I was certain that the stoopid card was defective and it was bedtime and I was tired and cranky, so I went to bed frustrated, cranky and cursing cheap electronics.

 

This morning I discovered that the problem lies in the laptop, not the memory card. It seems I need to install new drivers for my card reader as the current drivers don’t recognize any cards over 1 gigabyte! It also appears that there are specific formatting programs available for formatting SD memory cards which I may, or may not need. What a pain! Anyway, sometime this weekend, I will have to use these links:

http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197

http://www.ehow.com/how_4697402_format-sd-card.html

http://ask.metafilter.com/54106/Why-cant-I-format-my-SD-card

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00263310&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

to update my computer and get my laptop talking to my memory card so that I can get my digital picture frame running.

 

After that, I have to do some real work fixing my registry to correct an error I made last week that prevents my Bit Defender anti-virus software from updating as it should. It seems I told the installed Spy-Bot software to block the updater from connecting to the internet. Removing Spy-Bot didn’t fix the problem and the automatic remover executable file doesn’t run correctly either. So it appears that I have to delete lines out of my registry manually which should give me lots of chances to screw up. I can hardly wait…

Big Brother is watching!

Buddy Kenny sent me this link of a fantastic bit of digital imagery technology that is just too wild not to share. It's a giant, rotatable and (hugely) zoomable photo of last month's inaguration. It's a truly fascinating use of high-tech so check it out.

National Gun Rights Rally on the Washington Mall?

It seems that the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners has an idea that it is time for all of America to see how many citizens there are that will stand up and be counted for respect of our 2nd Amendment rights. They want to have a National Gun Rights Rally in Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010.

I think it seems like a great idea and today I sent this email to my gun buddies:

I say we rent a bus, load it up with beef jerky and videos to watch and go to Washington! Since none of us jumped on a bus back on Jan 20 to go to the inauguration, maybe this would be the right reason to visit our nation’s capitol.

Seriously. I’ll bet we could fill a bus just with people we know here in Utah.

If the group in Michigan can get this rally organized, I think I can arrange a small contigent from Utah!

Why you should NEVER jump out of a good airplane-

Because the guy in charge during your first tandem jump might die strapped to your back!

What a story!

I saw the neatest motorcycle today-

It was parked outside a local Subway Sandwich shop this afternoon and it was so clean and unusual that I had to get out of my truck to check it out. This little 1977 Honda Trail 125 looked like the offspring of a Honda Trail 90 and a Honda MT125 Enduro motorcycle. Remarkably, the odometer had just 241 miles on it and the bike looked like it was accurate. I don't know if I have ever seen a more original motorcycle than this little trailbike! It was beautiful and if I ever happen to see it with a For Sale sign taped to it, I will buy it. There's no question in my mind that that little bike would be a great commuter and a desirable collector bike. It was a beauty!



As always, click the little pictures to see the full size pictures.

Since it's Superbowl Sunday-

We'll do the math like they do for the football game. Let's see, the formula looks like this: MMIX- MCMLVI. Subtracting starting on the right, it looks like IX- VI=III and MM-MCM=L so I think the result is LIII. If I run this through this converter, the number seems to be 53.

I guess that's how old I am today.

Happy Birthday to me!