Speaking of all things Moronic- Social Security!

What a hassle we have discovered today! It all began last week, when we tried to pick up the BSU's meds from our friendly Sav-On pharmacy. Seems the insurance payer was calling her ineligible for her meds... Digging in a little bit, we discovered that her military elegibility ID card had expired earlier in the month of July. That seemed to be the simple reason for her payment coverage, through our military insurance to be denied.

Friday, we got her card renewed. We also went to the local advisory office and they assured us her coverage was re-instated and everything should be fine with the meds insurer. Friday night, still no coverage. The pharmacist gave her enough of her meds to get her through the weekend while we waited for all the computers involved to get aligned and for her coverage to resume.

Last night- still no joy. Now the phone calls begin! The pharmacy insurer tells me to call the DEERS office to get her re-instated. The DEERS office tells me to call the Medicare office and the Medicare office tells me to call the Social Security office...

The BSU has now been enrolled, against our specific wishes, in Medicare because she receives a Social Security disability each month. But only Part A Medicare, which makes her ineligible for the Tri-Care military coverage. Social Security says that she can't be unenrolled from Part A and that the only way to re-establish her Tri-Care eligibility is to sign up for, and pay for Part B!

So it will now cost us $78 per month, deducted from her disability check to be able to go back to receiving medications through the free military Tri-Care system!

What a pain! The worst part is that it is apparently going to take a month or more to get her into the Medicare system and that until that is done, she can't get her meds that she needs every day- over $1000 worth! I can't afford to write them a check and these are her mental health meds, so she can't live without them for a month!

Sonofabitch! Stinkin government agencies and their contradictory rules!

Terry has a new blog- Revolvo!

Its the central depository of all things Volvo related to his Volvo, commonly reffered to as his Moron Project. Way to go, Terry!

I should do the same thing for my scooter stuff, but I don't get enough daily visitors to WE that I'm willing to drive away towards another blog. So you just have to keep reading the scooter links over there on the right side.

Want to be a Copy Editor?

Or know what a Copy Editor is? Or does? Bill Walsh will tell you everything you need to know while making it interesting and accurate. And he has a blog!

If you have any interest in the use of the English language, this can be a fun web page. Check it out.

Movie Review- Must Love Dogs

No spoiler here, just these comments. Sure, its a chick flick, a date movie, but its funny! Take your significant other and go see it. You'll score points for being willing to see the chick flick and you will laugh. Out loud.

If you need a reference point, think Sleepless in Seattle, but funnier. CNN interviews John Cusak about his role in the film here.

A rainbow on a Monday morning commute

I really need to get a camera equipped cell phone for mornings like today! Its trying to rain this morning and there are dramatic clouds over the Great Salt Lake. But there was also a glorious rainbow peeking through that lit up for most of my morning commute. To the east, from behind the mountains, the sun was lighting the clouds with a vibrant orange wash.

Rainbows are pretty common here but almost always in the afternoons as the sun sets and the rainbows appear over the mountains. This morning's rainbow over the lake was a wonderful rarity and a pretty darn good way to start the week.

Our trip to the beach- by me

So, it only a week late but considering everything, I'm thinking this report isn't too untimely. I mean, we just got back on Monday evening and then there were those two finals and an oral presentation to complete before Thursday. So all things considered, today seems like a good time to write about last week's mini-vacation to the beach.

For the visitors around here, this trip to the beach has become an annual event, started 4 years ago by joint edict of the Sisters. The BSU's sisters, the total number of the clan is 7, the BSU being #6. Here's a picture of 4 of them. And since the rest of the Sisters live in Oregon, the beach is the Oregon coast, not somewhere warm and tropical and inviting. Each year they make reservations at one of Oregon's very nice state parks and then we all gather on the appointed weekend.

For us, its a 1600+ mile trip... Normally we make it into a two day trip going up and that's what we did this year. We stayed in LeGrand Oregon on the way up, had a decent dinner and even played in the motel's pool for a little while before bedtime. The second day was the regular trip down the Columbia River Gorge with a short stop at Multnomah Falls and then finally through Corvallis and over to the coast to South Beach State park on Thursday afternoon.

We got a nice, corner campsite, far enough away from Sister Mary's barking beagle, Riley to not be bothered by him. We took our dog, Sandy and she turned out to be a perfect travel and camping companion. She rested quietly in the back seat of the truck on the road, never made a peep in the motels and took to sleeping in the camper as if she owned the place. The first night there was a terrific storm that blew through the park, lightning and thunder just pounded for 30 or 40 minutes. Sandy, who is normally afraid of any loud noises, slept through the entire storm with nary a wimper. And when the rain came in, behind the thundering introduction, we all slept, warm and dry in the camper. Here's a picture of our camper, set up like a tiki hut for the weekend.




Most of the camping trip involved overeating at the communal picnic tables and feed troughs in Sister Mary's campsite. Everybody brings food, based upon some schedule and directions from two other sisters who are appointed as meal planners. Basically, everybody brings what they like, plus cured pork products and pancake fixings in huge quantities. There was a complete table set up this year to hold the desserts!

When we weren't eating, or preparing to eat or cleaning up afterwards, there was time to sit around the campfire and rest and catch up on family stories. This year there was some nieces and nephews that haven't attended before, so it was god to see them and meet the additions to their families. There was time for the BSU and I to walk over the sand dune and out to the beach with the dog and shiver in the morning's fog. I also excused myself from some of the joviality around the campfire to do homework, trapped in my camper by deadlines that were not going to be extended.

The BSU and I did take a few hours to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. My favorite part of the aquarium was the floor-to-ceiling tank of Oregon Moon jellyfish. There is a webcam on the link you can see but it doesn't begin to display the mesmerizing effect this huge tank, filled with such strange and beautiful creatures had on me while I watched them. The otters were another particular favorite of ours.

So we rested and visited and generally enjoyed much cooler temperatures than the 100+ temps that had been clobbering us in Utah.

We headed home Sunday after another too-big breakfast and disassembling of all the campers, awnings and a good trash pickup. Instead of following the Gorge back home this time, we decided to take the more direct route, through the south-central part of the state, through Sisters, Bend, Brothers and into Burns for our first day's travel. This was a beautiful trip if pretty desolate for the latter half. The first portion was up through heavily wooded wilderness area and mountains with lots of curving, 35 and 45 mph turns. Later it was just high desert and longe range vistas and only occasionally another car on the road. Its an empty part of America!

After another good night's rest we came on home, finally getting onto interstate 84 in Ontario. We did have a tire blow and shred on the camper just after passing through Boise but changing that was no real adventure except for the roaring traffic at my back as I worked. We stopped in Mountain Home, Idaho for a replacement for the in-use spare and then we were back home without incident.

All told, 1651 miles round trip. I didn't keep track of the gasoline consumption but the computer in the truck said 11.5 mpg when we got home. Highest price for fuel? $2.62 at a otherwise decent stop in Eden Idaho. Ouch!

We rented and listened to the audio version of One Soldier's story, Bob Dole's memoir of his time in World War 2. It is a fascinating tale of his efforts to rebuild his life after being injured in battle. We both really liked listening to this and its probably worth buying a copy of the book to keep and re-read. I highly recommend it.

UPDATE: You can see all the pictures I took from the weekend here.

Don't tell my BSU-

But I've given the nod to Bob the Religious Artifacts Dealer to get another artifact for my, ahem gun locker cough. I'm buying a Savage .223 bolt action rifle.

Hey, I don't own a centerfire rifle! And Kenny wants to go to Wyoming and try to reduce the prairie dog population and he wants me to go along and help. And a man needs a centerfire rifle for that, don't ya know? Anyway, the rifle will have a grey composite stock, blue steel, the Acu-Trigger and come ready-to shoot with a 3X9X44 scope already installed and boresighted.

And with luck, it will be here by this time next week! UPDATE: Sadly, Bob the RAD will be leaving on his vacation next Thursday, immediately after work. And the earliest my gun could get here is also Thursday... Meaning that because of the potential for the gun to be delivered late and Bob not to be there to sign for it is very high. And it means I won't get it until after Bob gets back, about the middle of the month. Rats! UPDATED AGAIN: I caught Bob this afternoon, just before leaving for the day and suggested I'd be willing to pony up an extra $20 or so if he could get the gun delivered before his vacation. I guess I won't know until Monday.

Guess I better go buy some ammo this weekend...

One last thing, The suggested retail price on the link is just about exactly $100 more than I'm paying for my gun, delivered, taxed and background check included. How's that?

I am such a geek-

Though you probably already knew that, if you've come around here more than once or twice. Anyway, school's out, the term's over, and I have a three week respite.

Why does that make me a geek? Because I really strive to get those 'A' grades. I'm just not willing to get anything less! I know that nobody else but me cares about my GPA and I'm mighty certain that it won't be a factor once I get that degree completed, but I really like getting 'A's!

Last night I stuck around a few minutes after my Financial Management final exam since the instructor was grading them on the spot. And I got the grade I wanted, both on the test and for the class. The Organizational Behavior class grades will be equally as good.

I haven't had a 'B' since this time last year...

I have 12 more classes- 6 terms to completion. Then what? A Masters degree? The BSU is saying ixnay to that consideration... Loudly!

You should be reading Trevor's Blog

I don't remember how I discovered Trevor's Blog and I don't get around to reading it as often as I should. But its heart-warming and heart-wrenching and shouldn't be missed.

Go check it out. Tell me if I'm wrong when you get back.

Scooter Related- JJ's Cruisers has a new name

I went looking last night to add JJ's Street & Electric Cruisers to my link list of scooter related sites over there on the right. I found only a single page with an email address at their website. You might remember last fall when I was scooter shopping that I nearly purchased my scooter from those helpful and informed folks and only a lack of the desired color sent me looking for a Vento Dealer.

Today I dug a little deeper and discovered they have changed their name! Now they are Bandit MotorSports. They still seem to be doing a booming business and I continue to recommend them as a source of quality scooters. Their brick & mortar store was a bit too far away from my travel route to the Oregon coast last week to go find them but if you happen to be within traveling distance of Elmira, Oregon, stop in and check out their line of Bandit scoots.

Tell them Nate sent you!

Its finals week-

So don't expect much here till the end of the week...

Sorry 'bout that.

Reporting in from Burns Oregon

Yesterday was a beautiful day of travel through a part of Oregon I've never seen before. Very empty. Desolate. Pretty. We ended up in a decent motel in Burns, an America's Best. We skipped getting into the pool but I did borrow a network cable and got hooked up to the internet while imbibing a couple beers before bedtime.

We're out'a here in a little bit and on the road to home in time for supper. Probably. And I still have homework to do!

So, its gonna be pretty quiet around here

While I'm jaunting off to the Oregon coast with the BSU for the annual Clark Sisters weekend campout at the beach and yack fest. Leaving tomorrow for arrival and check-in Thursday and lowering the camper top and heading home starting Sunday and finishing Monday.

In between there will be some beach walking, too much food, lots of excited, running children, brothers-in-law that I only get to see annually , some I have to see annually , maybe a morning of offshore salmon fishing, fresh crab boiling and eating, homework and just a little bit too much to drink.

Not necessarily in that order... There is 1 week remaining in my school term, so I do have work that must be done. I have a book I hope to read just for fun.

And I'm decorating the camper's screen room like a tiki hut lounge! I've got margarita mix and pina colada mix and Jimmy Buffett on the CD player. Plus some decorations to set the mood!

I just wish it wasn't so many dang miles to get over there!

Evil, Evil! I tell you!

UPDATE: I sent this to my buddy Chris, who promptly shared it with all his friends. Chris has sent me two updates from one fellow- his current score is 23039 points! He is on level 8 and still going!
This game, Planatarity is a huge brain scrambler! I've negotiated to level 3 and 481 points.

Oh, its a tricky one... Found on Dave Barry's blog. Don't blame me for your productivity rates!

Last weekend- some entertainment!

I often neglect to mention the fun stuff that the BSU and I find to do together during my blathering recaps of my weekends. To my readers, you might guess that my life, and our life is just one big drudge of schoolwork and chores. That's really not true. Somehow I just neglect to write about the fun stuff until its way past and then I write again about the droll stuff. So in the spirit of trying to encourage folks to believe that life behind the Zion Curtain isn't as terrible as I make it out, let me tell you about the concert we went to Friday night…

We went to see the Lovin' Spoonful! The band was playing at the Kenley Amphitheater just down the road in Layton last Friday night.

First off, the Kenley Amphitheater is a beautiful venue. It was our first visit but I promise it won't be our last. There's seating in proper chairs for 1500 folks or so and lawn seating just behind the (more) expensive seats. You can carry in your own chair or rent one for the night just a buck. We elected to purchase the reserved seating but there really is no bad seats in the place so its all a matter of preference. There are huge trees shading most of the seating from the setting sun and very nice flower beds surrounding the entrance. It’s a nice place for a show, its close and its priced right- why have we never been there before?

So, enough. Let's talk about the band and the music! It was fabulous! The Lovin' Spoonful's big album from the 60's, Daydream, was the first rock and roll record album I ever owned. My favorite aunt gave it to me as a Christmas present and I remember that my dad was mighty unhappy about the whole deal. But I loved that record and if there ever was a record that was see-through thin from having a needle run through it, it was that record. And because of that record, I became a fan of the Lovin' Spoonful forever.

John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky are gone from the band of course, but the rest of the group remains with the addition of a couple younger guys playing drums and lead guitar. They played all their old hits, talked a little about the times in the 60s when they all met, became friends and band members and played some new songs they have produced in the past couple years. They also did a wonderful medley of the folks songs that were so popular early in the Flower Power generation that was a hit with the crowd.

It was great fun. The band was obviously in love with their place in life and on the stage and their performance reflected their passion and pleasure. The crowd sang along, clapped hands and even struggled with the whistling portion of Daydream. When the music was over the band stuck around to sign autographs and I was really sad that that old album disappeared during one of our many housecleaning efforts prior to moving somewhere back in my AF past. Otherwise, I would have taken it for autographing. I did buy their CD even if I didn't get it signed.

There was even some local TV news celebrities sitting in the row just in front of us. I would not have known or recognized these two attractive folks except that I heard other people talking to them during the break. I know how smitten Terry is with some of his Birmingham news reporters, so I couldn't help but wonder how he would have managed sitting just behind Samatha Hayes and her handsome, sportscaster date, who's name and bio I can't find right now. And since I can't find that info on KSL's website, I think she must be consorting with somebody from one of the other networks… [If I find his info, I'll update this] Anyway, I would not have recognized her from the television but I can assure you, she is a lovely young woman and drew a small continual flow of folks that just wanted to come over and shake her hand.

Afterwards, on the way home we had Baskin-Robbins and the evening was perfect.

Its gonna be a busy week

But I'm only working today and tomorrow. With school both nights. Wednesday starts the annual trip to the Oregon coast with the BSU and the camper so there is much to do before heading out. Over the weekend I got the tires rotated and the oil changed in the truck, had the coolant replaced and bought some firewood. I also finished a term paper, hooked up the Tiny Tach on the scooter and worked on my knocked-down fence.

The fence is not finished after 2 weeks of being down. We had a good windstorm whip through that broke off two of the 4X4 posts where they had rotted at ground level in the concrete mowing strip. Noah started the job during his two weeks off from Job Corp but then his plans got more important than my plans and he didn't finish the work. Yesterday, I bought three new posts and dug out the holes of the rotted wood that remained below the concrete. Digging dirt and wood chunks out through a 4 inch square hole is a little tricky- let me tell you! Anyway, the new posts, because they are new and damp won't fit through the concrete holes... Rats! Old pieces that I have laying around fit right in but  the new posts were sticking and not fitting in. I hope a couple days of drying in the sun will shrink them down so they fit and I can get some cement in around them.

Ninety-two bucks to have the truck's coolant changed on Saturday. I could have done it myself but there just seemed to be enough other chores to keep me busy. That fee seemed like a bundle but I haven't touched the coolant since I bought the truck 5 years and 100,000+ miles ago. So dividing the cost by the years makes it seem not so bad really. And I decided that I would rather get it done in town, at my convenience than doing it on the way to Oregon while on vacation. There is over 4 gallons of coolant in that truck's system as well, so maybe I'm glad to pay somebody else to deal with the disposal issues.

So today I've got 2 briefings to give an hour from now, some online training to complete, a Purchase Request to cancel and an email to write to my instructors explaining my upcoming absences and how I will complete the work before the term ends next week. Gotta run!

Too much time on their hands

I don't know who made this movie but they sure spent a bunch of time playing. Can't say I blame them, really. Its weird but mesmerizing and tough to stop watching. Its got a bank robbery, car chases, crashes and sirens. Enjoy.

Another "mother of the Year" candidate...

Sent to me by my sis, this woman was drunk when she delivered her baby!

A police affidavit says Melissa Tanner had a blood alcohol content of point-two-nine percent when she gave birth June 30th. Police say the baby girl was at point-two-one percent.

Hospital staff had to use an oxygen bag to help the baby start breathing and gave her medication to counteract any narcotics.

Police say Tanner told them she and another person had just polished off a case of beer -- and that she regularly drank during pregnancy.

A sheriff's investigator says the baby has fetal alcohol syndrome.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the syndrome as the leading preventable cause of mental retardation and physical deformity. The severity of the girl's disability won't be known until she is older.

Maybe its not obvious enough, but I have no pity for anyone as dumbass as this woman!

Where the hell is PETA when you need them?

Man dies while having sex with horse.

King County sheriff's detectives are investigating the owners of an Enumclaw-area farm after a Seattle man died from injuries sustained while having sex with a horse boarded on the property.

Investigators first learned of the farm after the man died at Enumclaw Community Hospital July 2. The county Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the death was accidental and the result of having sex with a horse.

But because investigators found chickens, goats and sheep on the property, they are looking into whether animal cruelty — which is a crime — was committed by having sex with these smaller, weaker animals, he said.

The farm was talked about in Internet chat rooms as a destination for people looking to have sex with livestock, he said.

Serves him right! Dumbass!

Scooter Updates for July

Hmm, there's lots going on with my scootering this month. I even met another scooterist in Ogden this week. Jon has a Phantom clone called a Wildfire that he bought off Ebay. Visually it is an identical twin to my scoot, even the color. We happened to cross paths early this week and stopped to chat and compare notes. Jon had to put his together when it arrived from Ohio and the scoot had suffered a little plastic damage that he is trying to get replaced. He's also already discovered PowerSportsFactory and has ordered their HP150 exhaust and variator. He's ordered a racing clutch as well and is planning to have my buddies at Quad & ATV Sales install all the new bits when they arrive. Jon's scoot has a different method of mounting the muffler than the standard Phantoms so there is going to be a little challenge fitting up the new exhaust system.

My HP150 muffler is on its way back to PSF for warranty consideration. I discovered last week that the inlet pipe portion had separated from the outer can portion of the muffler. In fact, the pipe would rotate around inside the cannister. A quick email to Alan, the manager there at PSF confirmed that my pipe's failure was the first of its kind from the 500 that PSF has sold this summer. So I got instructions to send it back and Alan has promised to either warranty it out with a new one or get it welded up for me.

In the mean time, I'm using my JC Whitney megaphone muffler attached to the header of the HP150. It looks really sharp. (pictures later- from home.) With my homemade stinger installed, the sound is deep but not obnoxious, with the pipe open as it was designed, its really, really noisy. Its too noisy for a responsible citizen to impose on the community. And it produces less power than the HP150 muffler! Overall, the scoot just doesn't run as crisply with the megaphone as with the cannister muffler. Taking out the stinger makes it better but the top speed is still decreased and obnoxious. So I'll run it as it is until my cannister makes it back from New Jersey.

I've also purchased a tachometer and a voltmeter for the scoot. The tach is a Tiny Tach and the LED voltmeter came from Wing Toys, a Gold Wing specialist place. . Those 2 shiny bits only arrived this week and so are not yet installed. But they both look pretty slick and I'll get pictures once they are installed.

And- I'm supposed to be putting my Phantom in a motorcycle show at Lindquist Field on Saturday! The show is being called Bike Stock and apparently its supposed to be a concert with motorcycles on display. I've got almost no details but I signed up just on a lark and if I get my term paper for Org Behavior finished, I'll shine up the Phantom and take it down there for a while.

Lots still to do this week before next week's Oregon trip so I gotta run now!

Not any ordinary dumbass...

But a real, no-kidding, ought to be drug out and shot, dumbass- this woman! She left her 3 month old baby in the car while she went shopping in Wal-Mart!

Folks, it was over 100 degrees here today! It was, according to other reports, 132 degrees inside the car!

And this stupid woman was shopping in Wal-Mart. No mention of what she was buying, but what do you suppose, something really important- like a brain maybe?

Dumbass! And I hope she goes to jail for a good long time. Maybe she won't get knocked up again while in jail...

Mr. MaCrae makes it right

Note the post below where the letter to the editor writer complained about the noisy F16 fly-by and questioned why his morning peace was being disrupted. Well, after learning that the formation flight was in fact a tribute to a fallen airman killed in the line of duty, Mr. MaCrae has issued an apology.

I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my unfortunate letter to The Republic concerning an Air Force flyby ("A wake-up call from Luke's jets," Letters, June 23).

I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known.

I have received many calls from the fine airmen who are serving or have served at Luke, and I have attempted to explain my side and apologized for any discomfort my letter has caused.

This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.

I have been made aware in both written and verbal communications of the four-ship flyby, and my heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman and woman in this war in which we are engaged.

I have been called un-American by an unknown caller and I feel that I must address that. I served in the U.S. Navy and am a Vietnam veteran. I love my country and respect the jobs that the service organizations are doing.

Please accept my heartfelt apologies.

Tom MacRae, Peoria

Thank you Mr. MacRae

Well, this won't help my homework any

The Raptors baseball games are now being internet streamed! Sweet! I've been listening to the games almost every night and tonight, when I clicked on the button, I was pleased to see a new page and the option to watch the game! Heh heh.

And I have 5 tickets in my pocket for tomorrow night's game. Vicki should be going with me and my friend Pat and her parents who have just driven out from New York get the other three. It should be great fun.

What kind of scooter rider am I?

According to Scooterlife, I think I must be a Number 3.

As for being an Econowonk- today's fill up was 1.168 gallons. 96 miles.
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82.19 mpg. Down a little bit now that I've upsized the main jet again. Its a 120 now, up from the previous 115. Top speed is improved to almost 60mph indicated. But I'm down to just 82 miles per gallon...

Tom Macrae- Foot in Mouth Poster Boy!

With a hat tip to my buddy Chris who turned me on to this article via email yesterday and to Black Five for having the story of one guy's dumbass letter to the Arizona Republic newspaper posted. Seems Mr. Macrae was offended by the noise of a 4 jet formation disturbing his morning's peace-

Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune!

Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?

Of course there was a good reason for the fly-by and Mr. Macrae got his answer from the commander for the noise source:

Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday):

On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.
At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.

Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the president of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"

The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
Luke Air Force Base

Black Five has the links to the newspaper letters online. No word yet if Mr. Macrae has responded to the answer to his question...

Changes to my blog

I've added another list of links over there on the right, just for scooter bloggers and scooter related websites. Additions will be forthcoming as I find them but for now, go check out The Scooter Scoop. Steve Guzman is the author, he's from Austin Texas and he has a dandy scooter blog.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

I've hung a new flag and mount this morning on my house front. Later I think we are going to the amusement park and I hope to see fireworks from the ferris wheel tonight.

And speaking of the end of the world-

The BSU and I went to see one of the big summer blockbuster movies this weekend. Not to mention any names but its star is a looney tune that has taken to jumping on other people's furniture in public and on television, shouting and yelling...

Its really hard for me to believe that those scary superior beings didn't know about this.

And, no, its not Howard Dean!

The end of the world must be near...

Last night I watched two seagulls repeatedly trying to perch in a treetop in my backyard...
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Consider this picture if you can't understand why that was a curious sight.

Save the Cornatees!

The Cornatee bumper stickers are back online as well as the Possumblog coffee mugs, stickers and mousepads. Check them out and buy yourself something fun, just to poke at our good friend Terry.

I got a new monitor today!

Whee! This thing is wi----de! 1680 X 1050 sized. First the boss came around with a tape measure in his hands, measuring everyone's monitors. Later, a truckload of shiny new Dell LCD monitors arrived and were handed out to those of us willing to disconnect our old monitors and plug in the new one.

And I volunteered. This thing is Napoleon Dynamite sweet and I'm certain it has more capabilities built in than I have yet discovered. There is a USB connection on the monitor so accessories can be plugged in without reaching all the way around to the dusty back corner of my desk. All I know is right now I can get more windows open and visible than ever before. And my homework's done for tonight.

I still need a corporation with a organizational behavior circumstance as subject matter for a term paper. I'm open to suggestions so send them via email please.

Astin is 6 months old already!

And ain't he a cutie? Granny Sunday and I got to visit for a little while last Friday. He's pretty neat.

A picture from my trip

These Possumblog decals seem to be popping up all over!
And a test of Blogger's picture uploading feature.

Vento Phantom Scooter link post

This post will become a permanent part of my blog and have a link added to the front page as I get it implemented. On this page, my plan is to put a link to every scooter post as it goes up on the front page. If you are a visitor to Wasted Electrons and leave a comment in a post from the past, please email me so I'm aware of your visit. Updates as they occur.

Speaking of scooters
Sure glad i bought a Phantom last year
Phantom performance quandry
I bought a jacket
More Phantom "Improvements"
July Scooter Updates
101 miles, 1.157 Gallons
Scooter mileage update
I'm really happy with my Phantom- finally!
Another blogging scooter rider!
There's another Phantom!
The Phantom is really getting better!
Scooter Parts!
More Phantom Stuff- Good News This Time
Vento now telling buyers they received "knock offs"!
When fishing boats attack!
Vento Phantom Exhaust Pipe Update
Me? Easy weekend, how about you?
The scooter's working!
School's out, the scooter runs, spring is here!
Phantom scooter updates
My scooter parts have arrived!
My Vento Phantom is getting bigger!
I've become a scooter consumer advocate
Vento Phantom Update
Vento Phantom scooter engine sizes revisited
My first scooter convert!
Regarding the Vento Scooter misrepresentation
My most visited post ever-
Vento Phantom R4i scooters are 125cc!
90 miles today, 1.03 gallons!
Still doing my part to support Scootersdirect2U...
Scooter purchase is Imminent!
My Scooter Choices- Feedback Wanted
Hey, scooter guy, check this out!
More fun with Scootersdirect2u!
SCOOTERDIRECT2U@aol.com
Of Mountain Bikes and Motor Scooters
More weekend fun
More Scooter Shopping-
Something completely different- Scooters!

Story of my trip to Ohio

I expect that this story will go up in several posts simply due to all the stories that need to be told and because of the continual burden of work, school and family man. So, you'll just have to keep stopping by to see how the story goes as I manage to scribble it all down.

First of all, I had a great time in Ohio with all my immediate family. Both of my parents were there, Mom down from Michigan, Dad on his annual sojourn up above the Mason-Dixon line from Florida with his wife Carol. Next younger brother Tim came from Florida as well, I met him at the airport in Cleveland just as planned. Baby sister Melanie, with her hubby Mark and three offspring, Rachel, Joshua and Steven also came from Michigan. Melanie's blog is over the on the right, so we'll see what she has to say about the weekend soon enough. Youngest brother Peter still lives in Alliance, with his girlfriend Debby and we were all there to share in the celebration of the installation of brother Mark as the new pastor of Highland Church of God in Wooster Ohio.

The party actually revolved around Mark and his lovely wife Barb's house in Alliance. This house has been in the family since 1973 which is some kind of record for our family and soon its going to be readied for sale. That's a huge transition in the family right from the start!

So flying into Cleveland was uneventful and pleasant, all except for that 6:05 takeoff time that I've moaned about previously. My flight was right on time, Tim's flight was delayed nearly 30 minutes but we still found each other without any difficulty. We didn't make it to the rental car counter before staring with the "old guy" cracks, asking if I wasn't already getting a AARP discount!

Well, I wasn't getting any discount for my age but I did wrangle a decent discount on an upgrade from the lovely Dollar Rental Car assistant. I had booked a full-size car and was expecting a Chrysler product, because that's what Dollar has for rent. Except that I had a Taurus waiting for me! Yuck! Instead of a clone of the most deserving of being a rental car autos, I upgraded to a Dodge Magnum! Oh yeah! Much better. And, no, it wasn't a Hemi. Too bad about that. 

The internet ate my travel post!

That's right, I emailed into Blogger part of my story about my trip to Ohio. This afternoon. And it hasn't arrived yet. So tomorrow I'll copy and paste it from my email into the posting box for your reading pleasure...

101 miles, 1.157 Gallons

Another scooter gas milage update, just so you know I haven't quit blogging entirely. I had a group presentation to prepare for and deliver last night. Tonight is the Financial Management mid-term test.


That's 87.29 mpg if you're math challenged...

Isn't that too cool? I'm doing my part to save the oil reserves every day when I scotter scooter to work and school and leave my 12 mpg truck in the driveway!

This is only a test-

If this was an actual cat, you would have already been informed to fill his food dish!

Note: regarding the test, you can now post a photo directly from Photobucket into Blogger. Its pretty slick but obviously it doesn't resize pictures to fit your Blogger template. I generally just use the thumbnail and link feature but I had to try out the new trick.

My family

Photo from this past weekend's trip to Ohio. Its just a teaser while I continue to write some substance...


That's my dad, Roger in the back rwo on the left. Pastor Mark is in the center and brother Tim on the right. In the front row, from left to right is youngest brother Peter, your humble scribe, baby sister Melanie and my mother, Joyce.

Some notes of interest- obviously there is NO familial resemblence amongst any of us... Brother Tim is looking ever so handsome with his greying hair and no eyeglasses blocking the view, except that his eyes are closed in this picture! He recently had cataract surgery and is eyeglass free for the first time since he started kindergarten many years ago.

That's my clan. There's not a black sheep in the bunch, really. Heck, I've got more visible vices than anyone else in the family!

Lots more pictures later.

Scooter mileage update

Ninety-seven miles, 1.15 gallons to fill up today. That's 84.3 mpg.

Sweet!  [/Napoleon Dynamite]

And guns!

There were guns involved with this weekend! Big guns! But it still has to wait for a bit.

Weekend Update

There was travel, visiting, church services- twice, and squirt guns. It will be a great story, I promise.

But later.

And in an update- I noticed that the previous post finally did meander in and get online from the emailed effort, almost 4 hours later than the direct post into the Blogger box. I guess the email forgot to turn left at Albuquerque!

SPAM! I hate SPAM!

Ya know, I work on a military installation. There are very highly skilled people who manage the computer networks and servers and send out nasty emails about not streaming music on your computer and blocking our ability to shop for guns on Gunbroker.com or visit Kim Du Toit's blog from our cubicles.

Doesn't it seem reasonable that if they can block me from shopping EBay or sending funny video files to my friends, without the required change to the file extension so that it appears I am sending PowerPoint briefings, that these experts should also be able to keep the cheap mortgage, prescription pill and sexual enhancement offers from coming in to my email?

Good Grief!

SPAM! I hate SPAM!

NOTE- In the previous post, I noted that I had emailed in a post. And now, several hours later, it still has not arrived, so I have reprinted it here and posted it the "normal" way. I suspect, now that I consider it, that using the title above as an email subject line might just have had something to do with my email not getting through to Blogger.

Now, on with the post...

Ya know, I work on a military installation. There are very highly skilled people who manage the computer networks and servers and send out nasty emails about not streaming music on your computer and blocking our ability to shop for guns on Gunbroker.com or visit Kim Du Toit's blog from our cubicles.

Doesn't it seem reasonable that if they can block me from shopping EBay or sending funny video files to my friends, without the required change to the file extension so that it appears I am sending PowerPoint briefings, that these experts should also be able to keep the cheap mortgage, prescription pill and sexual enhancement offers from coming in to my email?

Good Grief!

Interesting-

This email-internet-blogging thingie. As you might be able to surmise, the post just below this one was emailed into Blogger. It arrived and was posted nearly immediately.

There's another post lost out there someplace, also emailed into Blogger, just minutes after the first post. As I write this, it still hasn't arrived and posted.

I wonder how long it will take to get here.

What the hell was I thinking?

Somehow, in my excitement of booking airline travel for this weekend's trip to Ohio, I failed to realize that my flight, tomorrow morning, departs at 6:05 AM! Yikes! What was I thinking? Or, obviously not thinking...

That is a 4 AM wakeup to get to the airport in Salt Lake and get checked in with a little time to spare. And being so early, traffic on the highway and through the airport will no doubt be minimal, so I don't have to pad in too much time.

But still; a 6 AM take off? Its gonna be a long day...

This just arrived from my father!

Subject: Clinton

Bill Clinton started jogging near his new home in Chappaqua. But on each run, he happened to jog past a hooker standing on the same street corner, day after day. With some apprehension he would brace himself as he approached her for what was most certainly to follow.

"Fifty dollars!" she would shout from the curb.

"No. Five dollars!" fired backClinton.
 
This ritual between Bill and the hooker continued for days. He'd run by and she'd yell, "Fifty dollars!" And he'd yell back, "Five dollars!"
 
One day however, Hillary decided that she wanted to accompany her husband on his jog. As the jogging couple neared the problematic street corner, Bill realized the "pro" would bark her $50 offer and Hillary would wonder what he'd really been doing on all his past outings. He realized he should have a darn good explanation for the junior Senator. As they jogged into the turn that would take them past the corner, Bill became even more apprehensive than usual. Sure enough, there was the hooker. Bill tried to avoid the prostitute's eyes as she watched the pair jog past.
 
Then, from the sidewalk, the hooker yelled, "See what you get for five bucks?"
 

Going to Ohio!

I'm getting pretty excited to be heading back to Ohio for my brother Mark's installation service. The service is this Saturday night, I'm leaving on Friday morning and not coming back until Monday night. (Must email instructor to explain planned absence...) The weekend is shaping up to be a great time with the whole family planning to be in attendance and a fine reason to celebrate together.

And- I've discovered CafePress.com! I actually used the artwork that my sister-in-law used for the invitations to make up some commemorative coffee mugs for Mark's service. Here's what the mugs look like. CafePress is really very cool technology. I copied and pasted just the parts of the invitation I wanted into a single jpeg picture file, uploaded it and then chose which of the many items CafePress offers to have it printed on. Coffee mugs. I chose coffee mugs. In less than an hour I had created the artwork, uploaded the file, created the mugs and ordered enough for the immediate family. And the mugs will be delivered to Brother Mark's house by tomorrow! That is very cool. Additionally, I probably didn't buy enough for everyone that wants one, but more can be purchased until everyone is satisfied.

I have to say that this online technology of having limited runs of items produced, on demand, is very neat. One hour to create, one day to produce, two days to ship, all done online and at a very affordable price. I am very impressed. I am also working on some additional products that I am NOT at liberty to divulge at the present time. There's a secret brewing that needs some time to ferment...

I saw a surfer tonight- on the Weber river!

Tonight, my class quit early and so I was home and having dinner with the family by 6pm. Noah grilled up some steaks that were ready as I pulled into the driveway and there was salad and a baked tater too.

So we had a nice dinner, all of us and afterwards the BSU & I gathered up Sandy dog for her overdue trip to the PetSmart for her nail trimming. Sandy needs her nails trimmed every month but sometimes that month stretches into 5 weeks or 6 and then it gets critical. It was time tonight for the trimming.

The three of us headed out, got the trimming accomplished with absolutely no squirming, picked out a new set of nail cutters for the cat to replace the missing set and headed back home. The sun had come out, finally, this afternoon and it was a beautiful evening. And I thought a trip to the kayaker water park in the river might be fun for all of us. We drove over to the road end and followed the path up to where the water play park had been excavated in the river last fall. Imagine my surprise when the first person I saw playing in the waves was not a kayaker but a surfer!

There was about 8 folks all playing in the waves but only one of them was standing on a surfboard! The way the river is dug, there is a standing wave about 3 or 4 feet high and 20 feet long in the river. The wave's tall enough to support that surfer and he was able to move that board back and forth accross that wave just like he was in the ocean. The boaters all took their turns riding that wave, turning in and out of it with varying degrees of success and it was good fun watching them.

The BSU enjoyed the short walk but thought the folks in the water were just too scary. On the way home then, we stopped for root beer floats. Since Sandy wasn't allowed inside the KFC, I bought her a take out box of Popcorn Chicken for a treat.

It was a really pleasant trip all 'round.

PS I trimmed the cat's nails tonight with the new clippers. When I went to put them in the drawer where the last pair lived- I found the old pair! Of course...

A Dave Barry Productivity Enhancer!

Ok, I know I have better things to be doing now that school's back in but this game caught my attention tonight. Its called Poom. It looks simple. Hell, it is simple! But its really fun.

So mind your time, you will burn some if you like this kind of game.

USMC Trained Rat

Just like any Marine, they don't mess around. See the rat in action!

The Great Cat Treat Challenge

From Pammy over at Lollygaggin, a blogger I've never read before. I might have to though if he writes like this post where he shares his kitty's treats, taste tests them himself and is brave enough to blog about it. He calls himself El Capitan and his blog is Baboon Pirates.

Its 43 degrees and raining outside

And thanks to our state-of-the-art environmental control system, its 64 degrees inside!

At least its not raining inside... Good Grief!

This month's calendar-

Includes starting back to school, tonight and every Monday through Thursday night until the end of July. Organizational Behavior and Financial Management. Both classes are with instructors I've had in the past, so there shouldn't be any big surprises. Just lots of hours of class and plenty of homework on the weekends.

One weekend though, I'm going to Ohio for my brother Mark's induction service as pastor of the church where he has been chosen to serve. The whole family's going to be there, Dad, Mom and all the siblings, the first time since June of 1998. So, I'll be leaving on Friday the 16th, meeting brother Tim at the airport to share a rental car and returning to Utah on Monday the 20th.

So I'm excited about going to Ohio for a couple days and seeing family. XSU, if you see this, I'll forward the invite to you if you would like to see it or if you could be in town that weekend. I'm less excited about getting back into the classroom.

Hopefully the work won't be so terrible that I can't figure a way into taking the BSU camping sometime this month too. If the weather ever settles...

More thoughts before heading out to the carport

The Escort I've been working on for Kye & Sara is still not running! I worked on it again all day yesterday, replacing the fuel pump, the fuel strainer, ($90+), and the starter at $110! Yikes!

Both desperately needed changing. The fuel pump was completely crusted with rust and even inside the pump in spite of the strainer. Taking that out of the gas tank wasn't difficult, just a little stressful. And there's nearly a full tank of year-old gas in there, which might be contributing to the non-starting circumstance.

Anyway, its cranking, and firing, but only irregularly, like its not getting al the cylinders sparking or fuel's not getting to all the right places. Which means I'm out to the carport in a minute to remove the intake manifold and the injectors to see if I can do something there.

If its not fixed by mid-afternoon, I'm getting Jim's car tote and hauling it to a garage for somebody elses's attention. School starts tomorrow and I'm out of time.

I'm really happy with my Phantom- finally!

I must admit that the scooter has, in just this past week, turned into the scoot I was expecting from the beginning. Or, I could say that my tinkering with the engine has finally been successful. Either way, the scoot is terrific!

Over Memorial Day weekend, I removed the rear wheel & tire assembly and got it balanced at a local shop. That $10 has smoothed out the ride tremendously! I also finally, decided that the carburetor jetting just wasn't right and so, with the help of another local shop, replaced the 108 sized main jet with a 115 sized jet. I was afraid to make that big a jump in size for fear of going overly rich, but that hasn't been the case.

Instead, my scoot's now about 4 mph faster at top speed, easily getting to 56-58 mph depending on the road flatness. It also climbs the steep hill near my house at 45mph which is a huge improvement. The mid-range power is sweet, easily keeping up with in-town traffic on my commute. And the scoot continues to idle quietly at traffic lights and pull away strongly with no bad habits due to its increased power.

Heck, when the shop receives a new shipment, I might even try a teensy bit bigger carb jet!

Another blogging scooter rider!

There's probably lots more sccoter riders and bloggers if I took the time to look, but I haven't. Instead, I'll introduce you to Victoria and her blog, Scooterlife. She just brought home a new Kymco Super9 and is justifiably proud of it.

Her blog's full of great photos, safety tips and riding comments. Check it out!

Better than a fading magnetic ribbon on your fender!

Do something meaningful to 'really" support our deployed troops! In addition to the Operation Uplink button that resides over there on the right, I'm adding a new link that you can click to do something meaningful for our soldiers and marines. Buy them beef jerky!

The Colorado Beef Council has teamed up with the USO to provide donated packages of beef jerky in USO care packages. So go read the details and follow the link to the USO's donation page.

I'm donating enough for a dozen bags of jerky today. How about you? You'll feel like you are really doing something valuable and maybe either ditch that lame magnetic ribbon or at least feel like your car can wear it with pride.

Working in a meat locker

Is not what I signed up for with this outfit! Its just 60.6 degrees in this building today! Dang!


'Course its just 47 degrees outside, which made for a brisk ride to work today on the scooter.

I did it again!

From: University Advancement
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 10:29 AM
Subject: Dean's List for Spring 2005



Dear Nathaniel:

Congratulations for being named to the Dean’s Honor List for Spring 2005. This is a prestigious honor and you should be proud of your accomplishments.

Park University would like to recognize you by providing the following letter to the editor, if you wish to submit this news to your local newspaper(s).

Additionally, Park has posted your name on the University web site. To view your name, simply visit www.park.edu/deanslist/ and scroll down to your Campus Center. Be sure to select the most current semester and year (Spring 2005).

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your Campus Center director.

Michael Droge
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Park University

Ya gotta see this!

Yes, its late. I'm heading for bed in just a minute. But I found a link tonight over at Ogre's place that you have to see!

Ogre gets the question right, too. Ginger, or Mary Ann? Safe for work- but just barely... UPDATE: If you're trying to see this from an af.mil address, you're going to get busted by the network filters! Ditto for the link below! Wait till you get home!

UPDATE: Here's another must-see video from I Hate My Cubicle! There is a Safe for Work, and a Not Safe for Work side to this guy's blog. If you're at work, you better choose the Safe for Work side...

Explore the other side from home! Great stuff most every day.

There's another Phantom!

In my very own neighborhood! A Vento Phantom scooter, a shiny, bright red one. I've not met the owner yet but I'll be watching out in the future. Yesterday on the way to the house, I stopped for some fresh flowers at the local Albertsons, so that things would be pretty when the BSU got home from her Oregon trip. And in the parking lot, in front of the shopping strip portion of the plaza was another scooter! How about that? Anyway, I of course parked right next to the red one and went to do my buying, hoping that the other scooter owner would see the doubling of scooters in the space and be available to chit-chat. But no luck, the scoot was still there when I came out and no other rider in sight.

So I'll be watching and maybe I'll even print up some cards to say hi when I find another scooter unattended. Maybe we can share some ideas and sneak off for a ride just for fun.

My scoot's doing pretty well right now though I had to table the megaphone muffler plan again. It caused my engine to run so lean that performance really suffered. Last night I bought 2 bigger main jets and hopefully I'll get to experiment with them later this week. After the rain stops. Again.

A couple interesting points

Not those points! Though one of the points is related, I suppose. Point 1; isn't it interesting that in spite of my having left a post with the word lingerie prominently displayed, the blog ads spiders have not picked up on that salacious word and found me some interesting advertisements. If I post the word "scooter" or "blog" or "college", the ads change in very short order. But apparently "lingerie" doesn't click with the advertisers. BTW, I didn't leave it up there to be rude or salacious, I've just been keeping pretty busy.

Point 2: How about that fancy font in the previous post? Isn't that pretty cool? That post I emailed in from the job. Previously, I used to have problems with emailing in posts because Blogger only accepted plain text emails. Which, I forgot about and just forwarded that Dr's office joke using the html format that my boss used when he sent it to me. And, surprise! The html format shows up in the post looking just like it did in my inbox! Isn't that cute? I may have to exploit that new capability a little bit!

Finally, I'm pretty amazed that none of my recent posts have garnered enough interest to rouse my capable readers into a comment or two...

A joke from my boss

I recently picked a new primary care physician. After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing "fairly well" for my age. A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I'll live to be 80?"

He asked, do you smoke tobacco or drink beer/wine?"
"Oh no," I replied. "I'm not doing either."
Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"
I said, "No, my other Doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!"
"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?" No, I don't," I said.
He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"
No," I said. "I don't do any of those things."
He looked at me and said, "Then why do you give a $hit if you live to be 80?

The Crash of the PowerPoint Briefing

Sung to the tune of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
(And with all regrets to Gordon Lightfoot...)

The legend lives on from the Fifth Corps on down,
of the thirty meg PowerPoint briefing.
The software its said never gives up its dead,
when the God of Electrons grows angry.
With officers galore, maybe a hundred or more,
it was said that no one could outbrief them.
The good ACE and crew was a bone to be chewed,
when the God of Electrons came calling.

There's more, including the rest of the verses to the song and it's the source for your PowerPoint Ranger embroidered patches. Its at Jim Placke's PowerPoint Humor page. I found this today over at Castle Arrgghh!

I went lingerie shopping tonight-

Actually, I paid for a new bit of undergear that the BSU insisted she had to have, after she went bra shopping. And I dawdled around the lingerie department waiting, well, because they didn't have a chair for me to plunk down in until she was satisfied.

And during my meander through the slinky bits of color and lace, I found these things, adhesive nipple covers for when you don't want the fact that you're naked under that t-shirt to be quite so obvious.

The instructions said, "Do not apply to sensitive skin."

Ah, they're supposed to cover nipples...

Now I'm no expert, though I once might have been, and as I recall, nipples are generally pretty sensitive creatures.

I thought the instructions were funny. Your results may vary.

That Phantom "Moron" project-

I did receive and get installed my new HP150 exhaust from PSF. Its pretty terrific and looks great. It is quiet, no louder than the stock muffler. Installation of the muffler was not quite as simple as it should have been but I did get a satisfactory fit. Pictures will be forthcoming.

I also got the adapter made Friday afternoon so I could use the JC Whitney megaphone muffler. The adapter works perfectly. The muffler is TOO LOUD. Wow. It was obnoxiously loud! I pulled out the baffle pipe to discover just a modicum of fiberglass sound deadening wrap and so bought more to see if I could make the volume acceptable. Repacking the muffler helped but not enough. Bummer. My grand idea stifled...

But its not dead yet because I've come up with a new plan! It requires sheet metal cutting and drilling and welding and a little experimentation. Which I think I'll be trying out this weekend.

In the mean time I'll just use the HP150 muffler and be happy. And try to finish that Escort

The thieves are back!

Looks like its past time to upgrade the security system for the driveway- again! Beloved Spouse rang me early today, right after the boy discovered that his Tracker had been tampered with in the driveway! Seems the crooks made off with his stereo/CD player and CDs.

Dammitall! I've been lax in using the video recording side of the system that I installed the last time this happened because the bench where the equipment sets is inconvenient to reach and it's a pain to be continually rewinding and re-inserting the tape. So now the crooks have struck again and all I did was light up their work area!

It occurs to me that now I have a spare PC that could be pressed into video recording duty instead of using a VCR. I guess I'll be doing a bit of research this week- in my spare time of course...

My own Moron Project- Update

Unlike fellow motorhead and admitted Moron Project adopter Terry, I'm not even smart enough to pick a project that's drivable. Instead, I chose projects like Kye & Sara's Escort to wile away my free weekend hours. I've mentioned already that I decided to install a replacement motor in the car for them in an attempt to increase their mobility and encourage them to bring my grandbaby Astin around to visit more often. So, how many weekends has it been?

Weekend one was the "bring the engine home from the junkyard" and "drag the car to Ogden." Weekend two was "get the old motor out" and "get stuck needing a dealer part." This past weekend was "put the new engine in the car." Note that I did not include, "get the car running" in this weekend's effort...

I got close. Really close. The engine went back in nearly flawlessly on Saturday and since I was working alone, I was really quite pleased that, a: everything fit back in as designed and, 2: that I managed the entire procedure without injury! Sunday then was dedicated to re-installing the power steering pump, the alternator and the AC compressor and the really big aluminum bracket that holds all those items to the front of the motor. Installing the new accessory drive belt required 3 hands but I managed with just the two I was issued. The starter went back in just fine. Wire bundles were re-connected to their proper respective locations. Fuel hoses snapped back into their connectors. Things were looking good for a mid afternoon startup attempt...

But there are connectors left over with no place to connect them... There is a tube connector on the EGR tube that I can't find a corresponding hose for. There's an intake hose attached to some sensor and an open ended hose... The fuel vapor containment system has a disconnected hose and no logical place to connect it. What's an EFCA? According to the decal under the hood, that's what is supposed to be attached to that open end. Except I don't know what it is, what it looks like or where Ford supposedly installed it. And the repair manual I have doesn't even mention it...

So I did not get the car working. I guess I've got to visit my friendly local Ford dealer (again), for some parts advice and maybe some pictures. After that I hope I can figure out what's missing, what needs replaced and what can be safely capped off and still make the car pass an emissions test. I've still got to make a stop for coolant, power steering fluid, and transmission fluid. It looks like it might be a good thing that I've made no big plans for Memorial Day!

The Phantom is really getting better!

My Vento Phantom is just about finished with my tinkering. At least for now... I replaced all the panels and pieces that were damaged by the incident with the runaway boat last weekend. I've also been working on the carburetor and the interference fit with the chassis caused by the bigger intake manifold. I did have to take everything apart for the second time for further clearancing as the fuel inlet hose was rubbing and threatening to fail. So I went back to work with the die grinder and got less shy about cutting away metal that might just be needed to hold the engine in place.

Anyway, I cut myself some room for the carburetor and everything when back together much easier. Except now the fuel float and needle is not closing and every time its running, its leaking fuel... I guess its coming back apart tonight.

I've also received my new HP150 exhaust pipe and muffler from PowerSportsFactory! It looks terrific and I'll be installing that tonight. And I found a nice gentleman at a muffler shop today that is building the adapter so I can use my JC Whitney muffler on the PSF header pipe if I choose it over the PSF muffler. I'll get some pictures taken when everything is installed and post them here later!

So I'm excited! The scoot's been running very smoothly since I added the new intake manifold and seems to have much more power. I've not had a chance to test it for a new top speed but it seems much quicker from zero up through 45 MPH. Once the new pipe is installed I'll try to see if my top speed has increased significantly.

Its definitely riding season right now too!

Women in leather...

Why do men's hearts beat quicker, go weak in the knees, get dry throats and think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?









BECAUSE SHE SMELLS LIKE A NEW TRUCK !!!

Thursday Three Time and Funny Clothes!

SkinnyDan has the questions for today's Thursday Three, and as it is, (or might be) the season finale, I better jump in early. Unlike most weeks where I might get around to responding to the Thursday Three on Friday- or never. So, to the questions!

1) What is, or was, your favorite style of dress, or a particular item of clothing you remember fondly from childhood?

As a child, I had two jackets that I really liked at two different times. The first was a light blue baseball jacket with red and white elastic cuffs on the sleeves and bottom of the jacket. I wasn't a big baseball player but that jacket always felt pretty cool. Later, it was the dark blue, Ford Mustang, Autolite jacket with the standup collar and the red and white racing stripes. It was just like the jacket Mario Andretti wore in the advertisement in the Hot Rod magazine! I think my dad and I even each had one of those jackets and I thought that was pretty cool when we wore them someplace together.

2) What style of dress do you remember being humiliated by as a kid, but your mother made you wear anyway?

The red snowboots! At first, I hated the red plastic overboots that mom bought for me to keep my shoes dry going to school. They were red! Black, 5-buckle boots were acceptable but apparently the store was out of my size. Instead I got red boots with the little elastic loop to fasten. Those boots did turn out to have one advantage, discovered after school. They were the best sliding boots when we played on the driveway of the unfinished house across the street. We loved to run and slide and a sloped concrete driveway was great entertainment. Those red boots beat everybody else's boots!

3) What dress style/clothing choice do you remember as being unbelievably cool at the time that now makes you cringe? Would you actually burn pictures of yourself in the outfit if you ran across them now?

Hmm, as a teenager in the 70s, I had a very purple shirt that I loved to wear with a pure white tie and grey or black slacks. Terry might forgive me, since it was a long time ago and I'm no longer wearing the same style to the food court for lunch and coming under his sartorial scrutiny!

Did I mention its been raining?

If you're a regular reader here, you might have noticed that the Weather Pixie over there on the right has been hiding under his umbrella quite often lately. Its been raining buckets full and it has even been reported that the animals are pairing up two-by-two and watching anxiously for their opportunity to prove themselves worthy of space on the boat. The rivers are reaching flood stage and the high mountain snow hasn't even started melting yet!

So its no surprise to anybody that the ground everywhere is saturated and muddy and unfit for driving on with vehicles. Anybody except 21 year olds with 4-wheel drive and the impulsive desire to yell YeeHaw and go wheeling through the mud puddles. I'm talking about son Noah obviously.

Last night, in the pouring rain he headed out, with girlfriend Lili, originally to get a tail light bulb for her car. They got back about 3 hours later, just before my bed time, wet, muddy and stuck! Some kind soul had actually given them a ride most of the way home but the Tracker had been left behind, sunk to its frame rails in a field, on city property.

I don't do this often, but I told him I was mighty disappointed. The word dumbass might have been used to describe behavior similar to this outing...

Lucky for me, he doesn't even want my help. He was certain that his 2 wheeling buddies will drive up from Salt Lake to help him rescue the Tracker. Which they do, driving up in the Toyota 4Runner that's already had its top set aside for the summer sunshine... That sunshine that was dumping down last night in buckets, remember? So the three neophyte wheelers head out, shovels and tow straps to the ready to recover the the Tracker from its muddy resting place.

They get back to the house about 3 AM. Now the Toyota's stuck too! Gee, I couldn't envision that happening!

When I left for work, they were stacked like cordwood in Noah's bedroom in sleeping bags and the phone book was open to the towing services. Since then I spoke to the BSU, she told me that they got up and instead of going to Job Corp as normal, they rescued the vehicles and were back home about noon. They were going for food before heading into school, very, very late.

This probably is going to cost the boy his commuting and living at home privileges and put him back into the dormitories at Job Corp. That will mean only coming home on weekends, cut into his part time job hours and his girlfriend hours...

Seems fitting somehow.


UPDATE: The boy dodged a bullet with Job Corp! They agreed to just call him tardy instead of absent and so he won't be getting his privileges revoked. I did learn last night that the only thing that saved both of the stuck vehicles was a friendly guy with a cell phone and a buddy with a 200 foot cable. He showed up with a 1 ton dually truck, kept it parked on the pavement and was able to pull them free with the cable. Noah was exhausted and Lili too since she had been pressed into shuttle service for this ordeal. But alls well, no tickets, no vehicle damage, no trouble with Job Corp. And maybe a lesson or two learned...

Brave or Stupid ?

Bruce over at mASS BACKWARDS admits today that not only did he install new living room curtains with his spouse out of town- he picked the curtains out!

He's braver than me.

Lousy weather in Utah yesterday

We had a storm blow through and it was a doozy! Eighty MPH winds and rain measured with buckets! Even had the interstate tied up for several hours yesterday with 4 tractor-trailer rigs tipped over within a half mile of each other!

Winds knocked out four semitrailer trucks on Interstate 15 at Point of the Mountain and at least two on Interstate 80 near Wendover.

No injuries were reported, but I-15 was closed at Point of the Mountain after three trucks were on their sides in the southbound lanes and one in the northbound lanes. The northbound lanes were reopened later Monday.

It was a wild night and one not fit be out in, and later I'll tell you a story about a young dummy, (related to me) that is proof positive that sometimes its better to stay inside when the weather's bad.

On a side note, I found it interesting that KUTV posts news on their webpage direct from the Associated Press and not from their own reporting staff.

Escort torque converter seal- why from the dealer?

I decided early this morning that since I had the engine out, and the torque converter removed, that maybe it would be a good idea to replace that seal that keeps the transmission fluid inside the transmission. After all, its a 10-15 dollar part and its an engine removal struggle to replace it, so why not just do it now, while I'm looking at it.

Except its only available through the dealer! I tried- 3 places, NAPA, Autozone & Checker without success. I don't understand, its just a normal seal, big but a normal seal, but everybody referred me back to my friendly Ford dealer.

So, I flipped a coin and the decision to wait to reinstall the motor until after I replaced the seal won. I decided that I really did not want to be doing this engine swap another time for a leaky transmission.

Getting the old engine out yesterday single-handedly yesterday was a bit of a challenge but I managed. I did have to ask my neighbor for 1 minute's assistance to hold in the torque converter while I cleared the engine out of the way so it wouldn't fall out and get damaged. Other than that- by myself!

I got the old motor out and the new timing belt installed on the replacement motor. I also had to swap the exhaust manifold to keep the proper EGR system parts in place. I also replaced the fuel filter. It fastens to the fire wall and I don't imagine its possible to change it with the engine in the car. So by the end of the day, the replacement was ready to go in, which I thought was going to be today, except for that seal...

Can I be tired now?


UPDATE: I went to the Ford dealer this very morning and the polite fellow behind the parts counter was able to locate the correct seal on only his second try. More importantly, its cost was just $11.28 which was a reasonable price. And half what I expected to pay since it was coming from the Ford dealer. And it was made in Japan...

Anyway, I'm back in business for getting that engine inserted into the Escort. But its going to thunderstorm... Good grief!

Finally- the yard's mowed!

Get off my back already, I got it done! It would have been easier to airlift in brother Tim's goats for a Utah vacation, but I got it done the normal way, with the Murray.

Seriously, my back yard was a real mess, it hasn't been mowed until today. The front yard has been kept under control with a number of applications of said Murray but somehow the backyard kept getting overlooked. Between studying for class, and finals, and Noah working part time as well as going to Job Corp every day, it just couldn't seem to get done. And the incessant rain hasn't helped at all.

Anyway, I was stymied from installing the replacement motor in the Escort today by the lack of a seal that is apparently a dealer only item, so I mowed instead. First I had to modify the mower and create some brackets so I could install the grass deflector that came with the machine but never fit before. After getting that bit of fabrcation accomplished, I mowed the yard with thw wheels set on full-high.

It was a real chore.

The grass was easily as tall as the top of the mower, if that gives you any idea. But, I cut it all down into long hay rows with the mower in the deflector configuration, returned it to its normal, bagger configuration, set the wheels to the normal height, and mowed the second time...

I filled a 90 gallon trash can with the clippings!

Yeah, I tired. But I'm showered and cleaned up and drinking beer. And Pizza Hut will be here shortly!

Border Patrol Told to Stand Down

Boy, here's another article that will get Kenny's stomach churning. It seems that the US Border Patrol management doesn't want any their people to do their jobs! At least not in the area where the Minutemen patrolled last month.

U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.
More than a dozen agents, all of whom asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said orders relayed by Border Patrol supervisors at the Naco, Ariz., station made it clear that arrests were "not to go up" along the 23-mile section of border that the volunteers monitored to protest illegal immigration.

Kinda makes you wonder what they're protecting, doesnt' it? Our borders or their political careers?

Get your graph paper from the web!

Here's an interesting link to downloadable, printable graph paper online. There's a number of different paper sizes, grid sizes and shapes! There is hexagonal graph paper available, just in case you need something like that.

Pretty neat and worth saving.

It looks like December today!

Good Grief! It is snowing like its the week before Christmas outside today! Big, fat, wet flakes, each one weighs a quarter pound almost. You can almost hear each flake thunking down on the ground they are so heavy! There must be 2 inches on the ground already. The streets are slick and tracked and the freshly leaved out trees all around the valley are bending and burdened with the weight. Reports are coming in of power lines and tree branches coming down because of this heavy snow.

Good Grief, its the 11th of May. Its supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny. Or 75 degrees. Instead its 33 degrees and dumping snow. The weather guessers are promising proper May weather by the weekend.

They better be right!

Grades are in! Yeah Baby!

My grades from last term have been posted, I got A's! The microeconomics instructor added a booster to everyone's scores and either that or I did well enough on the final, (or both) was enough to push me into an A. I am very pleased. The management class was easy and a given that I would get an A, but that econ class really gave me grief.

I'm very happy that all that term's grief and hard work payed off.

Michelle Malkin reports on illegal immigration (again)

Kenny, you're gonna love this report from Michele Malkin on her visit to a rally of illegal aliens demanding that the state of Maryland give them driver's licenses.

Make sure to read the police officer's comments in full, but here's a taste:

Lt. Hack amiably told me the protest was "a good thing." When I asked him why, he said "everyone should have a voice."

Asked if the Department of Homeland Security had been notified of the illegal alien rally, Lt. Hack emphatically said no. "We're here to help them."

Even if they're here illegally? I asked. "We don't want to initimidate anyone," said Lt. Hack.

This is a problem/circumstance that America needs to get control of in the immediate future. Kenny, over there at Coffee in the Morning has a much better grip on the subject as a whole than I do but I think this illegal immigration circumstance cannot be ignored indefinitely.

Its Hummer Time!

So break out the baggy parachute pants and silk shirts!

Oh. Wait. Never mind the baggy pants. Just break out the sugar and red food coloring because the hummers are back! The hummingbirds! My tiny, buzzy friends are in the neighborhood and at my feeder again. So far I've only seen one but I suspect he's an advance man for the main flock.

Anyway, the feeder is up and filled and we're ready for the fun.

I bought an engine today too!

Or, I bought another engine today, I might say... this one is in a Ford Escort, a 1.9 liter motor for Kye & Sara's currently busted second car. I found it at only the second place I stopped, at a price, $425 + tax, that I was willing to pay and from one of the friendlier wrecking yard operators in our town. If the weather's tolerable tomorrow, I'm going out to pull it and drag it home.

Then next weekend I'll drag Kye's Escort up to the house and work to get the bad motor swapped with the good one.

I have an ulterior motive for my efforts... If I can get their 2nd car running for them, not only will it increase Kye's mobility during the day while Sara's working, but he'll be able to visit and bring my grandbaby to visit more often!

But you already figured that out I suppose.

we went to the movies this afternoon

and we saw Crash, strictly because the BSU knew Sandra Bullock was in the film and she likes Sandra. And we went early- at 4:15 because we could and because its always much less crowded and noisy.

Except today. There were 8 people in the theater. Two of them sitting just 3 rows behind us talked constantly through the entire movie! They ignored a couple shushes from both the BSU and another viewer and carried on as if they were getting paid to critique as the film played out.

After the moview ended, I spoke to both of them and suggested that the next time they wanted out of the house for a two hour talking jag date that maybe Starbucks would be more appropriate. The man had the nerve to suggest that they were unaware of their causing any disturbance and the woman simply offered that I must not attend too many movies with crowds or children. And I told her no, I came to the early show to avoid those crowds and noisy children! She was totally unapologetic, saw it as her right to yack away disrupting anyone else's space as she felt.

The movie is very good. Suspenseful and dark and intriquing. I really liked it and the BSU did too. I recommend it but won't spoil it. So go see it for yourself!

Isn't this a Google bomb?

I think that's what its called when Google only returns one hit for a search. Turns out, I've got one. Just discovered today, rooting around in my referrals was this one, "i'm bald and short".

Yup. That's me alright!

One more night-

Cue the Phil Collins CD, because that's exactly what I have left in this term- one more night. Tonight. As previously mentioned, my group in Management class is giving a presentation for our final requirement. We've practiced, we've timed it, we've teaked the charts to match our text and we have agreed upon business casual dress instead of our usual jeans and sweatshirts and whatever's comfortable.

We are going to go first of all the groups, letting us set the bar for the rest of the class to try to reach. We've got great charts, visual, informative and simple and they end with the Monorail song from the Simpson's tv show.

It should be fun. And afterwards, I'm done for a month! Instead of schoolwork, I'l have yard work and vehicle repairs and camping plans to attend to.

I am SO ready. Unless the instructor offers up some extra credit, I'll only be getting a B in microeconomics, only my second B since I started this school effort. That does not make me happy!

But I've got a month off to rest up and get happy before plunging back in again!

YEAH!

Hey car guys!

Get your speakers cranked up and get over to endorphin.com to check out the fantastic race car videos! I found this today thanks to jalopnik.com and what a treat! Scroll down until you get to the former Roger Penske/ Mark Donahue Sunoco Camaro and really let your cubical mates have it with the sound of that full race Chevy smallblock in full song. It really is musical. The interview and video of Brian Redman talking about the 3.5 BMW is really good to.

Music. Its really music!

Do you hate that plastic packaging in use these days?

If you hate that tough, clear packaging plastic that seemingly everything I want to purchase comes trapped in as much as I do, then you want one of these OpenX tools. I really do hate this latest method of securing items from thievery that seemingly every manufacturer has resorted to. Its frustrating and hard on knife blades and scissors and it just generally makes me grumble when I'n trying to rescue whatever little gadget that I've just purchased.

So I'm buying an OpenX. They're available at Target, Office Depot and online. There's video of how they work on the media page if you want to check it out.

The BSU hates my new t-shirt...

But I knew she would. That's NOT why I bought my Nation of Riflemen t-shirt. But it arrived today and I'm wearing it right now, and I like it...

Thanks Kim!

The next shirt is going to be this Celebrate Diversity shirt!

Busy, busy, busy

But what's different today than any other, right? Is finals week so I'm just about ready to be less busy but first I've got to get through 2 tests and a group presentation between now and Wednesday night. There is good news, one of the tests, management is a take-home and the instructor is an idiot, so that test should be a no-brainer. The second test, in microeconomics, is a proctored test and also open book. I have NOT been looking forward to this test because I have not done as well in this economics class as I would have liked. Fact is, this is the toughest class I have taken so far in my degree pursuit. I only discovered last night that the test would be open book and with that variable solved I think I've got at least a fighting chance of getting out of there with a B grade.

The group presentation for management should actually be fun, we are presenting our fictitious high speed monorail company, the Northern Utah Transit. Yes, our slogan is "Ride the NUT." The group I am in is without a doubt the best of the groups in the class and we work pretty well together. Yesterday we met for a couple hours to review each others material, coordinate our numbers and build the PowerPoint slides to support out presentation. And of course, since the company operates monorail trains, we end our slides with the monorail song from the Simpson's TV show... In our first presentation a few weeks back we used the Springfield Quickie-Mart as part of our introduction skit. This time we are playing it straight throughout the briefing and then ending with a light hearted note.

Noah is officially a grown up, his 21st birthday was this past Thursday. We celebrated at Famous Dave's for a barbeque feast with his (still) girlfriend Lily. Kye, Sara and Astin joined us too though Sara wouldn't let me give Astin a rib bone to gnaw on. Not yet anyway...

Friday was a trip to Heber City with the BSU to pick up some off-roading parts for the Tracker for the boy's b-day present. It turned out to be a very nice day for a little drive and both of us had a very nice day. Lots of green in the farmlands along the river right now and the pastures were home to many gangly calves and frolicking lambs to entertain us as we passed by. We even stopped at a neat gift shop in Heber where we purchased a piece of steel house art that will require my installation attention later.

Saturday was all homework and grocery shopping, Sunday was more homework for the morning, followed by the previously mentioned presentation review and kart racing at Speed Street in the afternoon. That was Noah's request for his birthday, so he brought along two of his buddies and we spent a few hours racing, playing video games and shooting pool. And eating pizza. It's a terrific way to burn up some money and get the adrenaline flowing!

Anyway, class finishes up on Wednesday, then I'm free until the first week of June! I've got yard work to do, the scooter parts need installed and I've promised to get the camper out and spend a weekend or two just relaxing with the spouse in the woods someplace. I should also be hunting down and installing a replacement motor in Kye & Sara's second car and the truck needs some maintenance this month. Lots of relaxation, right?

I've got a search function!

Check it out! Its over there on the right hand side and it searches just here at Wasted Electrons! This is something I just stumbled across tonight reading some blogs I've never visited before. But there it is.

You can get it for yourself at Fusion Bot.com Just follow the simple instructions for the FREE search engine and they will create the code for you to copy and paste into your template.

If I can do it, you can!