Part 8,103,502,513
I just realized that it's Friday and the date on the calendar is the 13th.
Don't let it bother you...
I'm not
Friday, June 13, 2008
Itinerary Change
Last Minute Cancellation...
I HATE THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
That said, it doesn't mean that I hate everyone that's a lawyer so don't start e-mailing me complaining about that statement.
It's just that after having the experience of working in the field of Forensic Engineering over the past six years I've received a first hand education into how little the truth matters in lawsuits which involve highly technical issues.
It's not about actually finding the reason something failed and injured or killed someone or damaged property and productivity...
It's all about timing and "discovery" and out-waiting your opponents as the legal fees rise and the months on the calendar pass you by.
The sad thing is that memories fade and evidence degrades or disappears in the process, and opportunities are lost as a result.
Take my current investigation--a pressure vessel explosion at a food processing plant here in Eastern Tennessee.
A man was severely burned in the event.
I have been planning for five weeks to attend a test session of a special control valve arranged by the court.
The event was to occur at 10 AM this morning, and since the testing site was over an hour away on the other side of "Knoxtown" from our home I was taking Pat and Missy the Turbo Pup with me on a two night road trip to attend the test and explore the nearby town of Rogersville, TN (looking for relatives.)
Having completed working my latest 4-10 schedule at 5 PM yesterday, we had just finished loading the car with our luggage and Missy the Turbo Pup's Lockers & Sea Chests when I checked my cellphone messages and I found that one of the attorney's had called after five PM and announced that the testing had been postponed.
The reason?
The stupid valve manufacturer had decided that they objected to the testing protocol and had produced their own protocol to be used at a later date sometime in July.
A hurried telephone call to the Holiday Inn Express ensued at 5:40 PM and the mandatory purchase of an un-needed motel room was averted (if we had waited to 6 PM we would have owned the room for the night regardless of our needs.)
Taking a big breath...
What I want to know is, WHERE THE HECK WAS THIS OBJECTION A WEEK OR A MONTH AGO?
WHY WAIT UNTIL NEARLY QUITTING TIME THE DAY BEFORE THE TEST TO OBJECT AND CANCEL?
Could it be because unlike me--a virtual local expert--there are a number of expensive people out there that had already gotten on airplanes or into their automobiles and spent the time and energy necessary to attend the event?
Could it be that if you make things difficult enough you could influence the outcome of the discovery process through attrition?
After all, people do have other things to do than wait for a phone call from a lawyer.
Instead of appearing smart, I think that most of the time lawyers appear insensitive, juvenile, asinine, and some times just plain STUPID.
And, based on my experience, if you think that anything close to JUSTICE takes place in the courtroom when it comes to product liability lawsuits, I have some ocean front property here in Knoxtown I'll sell you...
CHEAP
I HATE THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
That said, it doesn't mean that I hate everyone that's a lawyer so don't start e-mailing me complaining about that statement.
It's just that after having the experience of working in the field of Forensic Engineering over the past six years I've received a first hand education into how little the truth matters in lawsuits which involve highly technical issues.
It's not about actually finding the reason something failed and injured or killed someone or damaged property and productivity...
It's all about timing and "discovery" and out-waiting your opponents as the legal fees rise and the months on the calendar pass you by.
The sad thing is that memories fade and evidence degrades or disappears in the process, and opportunities are lost as a result.
Take my current investigation--a pressure vessel explosion at a food processing plant here in Eastern Tennessee.
A man was severely burned in the event.
I have been planning for five weeks to attend a test session of a special control valve arranged by the court.
The event was to occur at 10 AM this morning, and since the testing site was over an hour away on the other side of "Knoxtown" from our home I was taking Pat and Missy the Turbo Pup with me on a two night road trip to attend the test and explore the nearby town of Rogersville, TN (looking for relatives.)
Having completed working my latest 4-10 schedule at 5 PM yesterday, we had just finished loading the car with our luggage and Missy the Turbo Pup's Lockers & Sea Chests when I checked my cellphone messages and I found that one of the attorney's had called after five PM and announced that the testing had been postponed.
The reason?
The stupid valve manufacturer had decided that they objected to the testing protocol and had produced their own protocol to be used at a later date sometime in July.
A hurried telephone call to the Holiday Inn Express ensued at 5:40 PM and the mandatory purchase of an un-needed motel room was averted (if we had waited to 6 PM we would have owned the room for the night regardless of our needs.)
Taking a big breath...
What I want to know is, WHERE THE HECK WAS THIS OBJECTION A WEEK OR A MONTH AGO?
WHY WAIT UNTIL NEARLY QUITTING TIME THE DAY BEFORE THE TEST TO OBJECT AND CANCEL?
Could it be because unlike me--a virtual local expert--there are a number of expensive people out there that had already gotten on airplanes or into their automobiles and spent the time and energy necessary to attend the event?
Could it be that if you make things difficult enough you could influence the outcome of the discovery process through attrition?
After all, people do have other things to do than wait for a phone call from a lawyer.
Instead of appearing smart, I think that most of the time lawyers appear insensitive, juvenile, asinine, and some times just plain STUPID.
And, based on my experience, if you think that anything close to JUSTICE takes place in the courtroom when it comes to product liability lawsuits, I have some ocean front property here in Knoxtown I'll sell you...
CHEAP
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I've Been Unfaithful
A New Blog Has My Attention...
Sorry for the light posting the past couple of days, but the effects of 10 hour work days and the demands of my home improvement projects, not to mention the two to four hours spent in the wee hours of each morning finishing up the Certified Construction drawings for the Mississippi stack project just haven't allowed time for much of anything else except sleep.
I did manage to put together the new Knoxville Tenn CANstruction Blog template in about an hour on Tuesday night after Pat and I had lunch with the President of the Eastern Tennessee chapter of the American Institute of Architects regarding restarting the CANstruction effort here in Knoxville after a four year absence.
We're hoping for fifteen teams to put together structures in late October and be able to raise about $25,000 worth of food and cash as a result of our efforts.
Time will tell...I guess.
Time to go back to the AutoCAD drawings now...y'all have a good day.
Sorry for the light posting the past couple of days, but the effects of 10 hour work days and the demands of my home improvement projects, not to mention the two to four hours spent in the wee hours of each morning finishing up the Certified Construction drawings for the Mississippi stack project just haven't allowed time for much of anything else except sleep.
I did manage to put together the new Knoxville Tenn CANstruction Blog template in about an hour on Tuesday night after Pat and I had lunch with the President of the Eastern Tennessee chapter of the American Institute of Architects regarding restarting the CANstruction effort here in Knoxville after a four year absence.
We're hoping for fifteen teams to put together structures in late October and be able to raise about $25,000 worth of food and cash as a result of our efforts.
Time will tell...I guess.
Time to go back to the AutoCAD drawings now...y'all have a good day.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Stop Complaining and Get To Work
That's My Solution
I'm going to be brief this morning, because I think I can make my point in less than 250 words.
My neighbors just recently returned from a golfing vacation in Scotland.
One of the most interesting things they told me about their trip wasn't something about things like the deep vertical walled sand traps on the "Old Course" at St. Andrews.
No...it was that gas in Scotland costs FIFTEEN US DOLLARS per gallon.
I've been meaning to do a little snooping around and I found this page on the Department of Energy Website showing that we've got it easy here in the good old US of A when it comes to filling up our auto gas tanks.
Europe is quite a different story.
Belgium?
$9.20 a gallon
France?
$8.80
Britain?
$8.74
Catch my drift?
Why don't you ever see any of this stuff in the hand wringing news stories showing some Redneck pumping $10 worth into their Mustang after buying a carton of cigarettes, a case of Natural Light beer, and five scratch off lottery tickets?
Could it be that the idiot "professional journalists" want you to believe that you're alone in your misery?
(que the sound of crickets chirping...)
Get a grip, get a life, and get back to work.
That will be all...for now...
I'm going to be brief this morning, because I think I can make my point in less than 250 words.
My neighbors just recently returned from a golfing vacation in Scotland.
One of the most interesting things they told me about their trip wasn't something about things like the deep vertical walled sand traps on the "Old Course" at St. Andrews.
No...it was that gas in Scotland costs FIFTEEN US DOLLARS per gallon.
I've been meaning to do a little snooping around and I found this page on the Department of Energy Website showing that we've got it easy here in the good old US of A when it comes to filling up our auto gas tanks.
Europe is quite a different story.
Belgium?
$9.20 a gallon
France?
$8.80
Britain?
$8.74
Catch my drift?
Why don't you ever see any of this stuff in the hand wringing news stories showing some Redneck pumping $10 worth into their Mustang after buying a carton of cigarettes, a case of Natural Light beer, and five scratch off lottery tickets?
Could it be that the idiot "professional journalists" want you to believe that you're alone in your misery?
(que the sound of crickets chirping...)
Get a grip, get a life, and get back to work.
That will be all...for now...
Sunday, June 08, 2008
A Bird Snake In Hand...
What About TWO Snakes In One Day???
Yesterday was our first official "Yard Day" here at the new homestead in the "Knoxtown" section of Eastern Tennessee.
Being the obstinate SOB that I am, I was intent on standing up all day and sweating my ass off in whatever heat Mother Nature threw at me, but just to be sure I got started by 8 AM and I hired a crew of guys to handle the real heavy lifting.
As I doddered around in the back yard working on my picket fence project surrounding Missy the Turbo Pup's new Country Compound and Resort Hound Spa (hereafter referred to as the CCRHS), I had major chainsaw work going on in the front yard removing a Forest of overgrown shrubbery and two medium evergreen trees that had outlived their positions in the landscape.
About an hour into the morning's ceremony yard guy #2 (also known as "Mr. Leaf Blower Man") reported that we had (A) a Mockingbird's nest full of baby birds in the aforementioned overgrown shrubbery and (B) a large rat snake chasing said birds in same.
After a little program plan adjustment and screwing around, the Baby Mockingbird's nest was salvaged and Mr. Rat Snake--a four foot long specimen--shown here, was captured and relocated to the back yard (is that Mr. Leafblower Man or some just some Construction Hippy that showed up in my yard?):
As the sun rose in the sky and the heat index climbed past 100 degrees F, I switched into my middle aged yard wimp mode and came inside to shower and make a trip to the grocery store in anticipation of our weekly upcoming Pizza night extravaganza.
By Three PM my hired yard crew had cut and hauled away two thirty foot trees and a bunch of overgrown shrubbery and departed the scene, and while preparing for the late afternoon phase of the day's work I found yet another smaller Rat Snake moseying across the back lawn toward the house:
As you can see, I captured the little booger and returned him/her to the tree line behind the house. What blew my mind was that not thirty minutes later I had to capture the Son of Gun AGAIN within ten feet of his first known position.
I don't mind snakes of the non-poisonous variety, but I also hope that we've seen most if not all of our scaly slithering friends already this weekend and that I don't spend my time chasing snakes through the balance of the summer.
Yesterday was our first official "Yard Day" here at the new homestead in the "Knoxtown" section of Eastern Tennessee.
Being the obstinate SOB that I am, I was intent on standing up all day and sweating my ass off in whatever heat Mother Nature threw at me, but just to be sure I got started by 8 AM and I hired a crew of guys to handle the real heavy lifting.
As I doddered around in the back yard working on my picket fence project surrounding Missy the Turbo Pup's new Country Compound and Resort Hound Spa (hereafter referred to as the CCRHS), I had major chainsaw work going on in the front yard removing a Forest of overgrown shrubbery and two medium evergreen trees that had outlived their positions in the landscape.
About an hour into the morning's ceremony yard guy #2 (also known as "Mr. Leaf Blower Man") reported that we had (A) a Mockingbird's nest full of baby birds in the aforementioned overgrown shrubbery and (B) a large rat snake chasing said birds in same.
After a little program plan adjustment and screwing around, the Baby Mockingbird's nest was salvaged and Mr. Rat Snake--a four foot long specimen--shown here, was captured and relocated to the back yard (is that Mr. Leafblower Man or some just some Construction Hippy that showed up in my yard?):
As the sun rose in the sky and the heat index climbed past 100 degrees F, I switched into my middle aged yard wimp mode and came inside to shower and make a trip to the grocery store in anticipation of our weekly upcoming Pizza night extravaganza.
By Three PM my hired yard crew had cut and hauled away two thirty foot trees and a bunch of overgrown shrubbery and departed the scene, and while preparing for the late afternoon phase of the day's work I found yet another smaller Rat Snake moseying across the back lawn toward the house:
As you can see, I captured the little booger and returned him/her to the tree line behind the house. What blew my mind was that not thirty minutes later I had to capture the Son of Gun AGAIN within ten feet of his first known position.
I don't mind snakes of the non-poisonous variety, but I also hope that we've seen most if not all of our scaly slithering friends already this weekend and that I don't spend my time chasing snakes through the balance of the summer.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Rhetorical Inquiries
Answers To Questions I Shouldn't Have To Ask...
As I continue to re-arrange the carport this morning, already having made the obligatory trip to Home Depot in anticipation of the day's projects, I just noticed something amiss.
The problem occurred since earlier in the week, probably while I was sitting in the Hospital having my monthly dose of radiation induced photography.
The nice pile of wood scraps and sawdust I had swept up and left lying beside a stack of 12 foot 2x4's was gone--the wood scraps actually scattered around randomly beside the Suburban.
As I continued in my efforts, I realized that I was yet again the victim of...
A DUMBASS A LAWNWORKER WITH A LEAF BLOWER.
(Que the ominous music here please...)
Is there some law written somewhere that states that you have to be atotal freaking idiot mentally challenged just plain stupid in order to purchase else otherwise be allowed to operate a leaf blower on other peoples property or the right of way of public streets?
Or do leaf blowers somehow suck the brains out of otherwise intelligent men?
Possibly they emit cosmic rays or some as yet unknown beam of insanity inducing particles and waves that temporarily disable the mental faculties of otherwise normal people?
I wish someone would explain to me why you would start at the back and side of a carport and blow all of the lawn debris and dust and dirt all over $25,000 worth of automobiles, bicycles, tools, and other personal property.
Wouldn't it make sense to wader to the front of the carport and blow your way out?
Wouldn't it make even more sense to tap on the storm door (adjacent to the open kitchen door) and ask the homeowner to move their cars out of the way?
Just wondering...Is it just me?
As I continue to re-arrange the carport this morning, already having made the obligatory trip to Home Depot in anticipation of the day's projects, I just noticed something amiss.
The problem occurred since earlier in the week, probably while I was sitting in the Hospital having my monthly dose of radiation induced photography.
The nice pile of wood scraps and sawdust I had swept up and left lying beside a stack of 12 foot 2x4's was gone--the wood scraps actually scattered around randomly beside the Suburban.
As I continued in my efforts, I realized that I was yet again the victim of...
(Que the ominous music here please...)
Is there some law written somewhere that states that you have to be a
Or do leaf blowers somehow suck the brains out of otherwise intelligent men?
Possibly they emit cosmic rays or some as yet unknown beam of insanity inducing particles and waves that temporarily disable the mental faculties of otherwise normal people?
I wish someone would explain to me why you would start at the back and side of a carport and blow all of the lawn debris and dust and dirt all over $25,000 worth of automobiles, bicycles, tools, and other personal property.
Wouldn't it make sense to wader to the front of the carport and blow your way out?
Wouldn't it make even more sense to tap on the storm door (adjacent to the open kitchen door) and ask the homeowner to move their cars out of the way?
Just wondering...Is it just me?
Friday, June 06, 2008
Quote O' The Day
Things On My Mind...Eloquently Expressed By Others
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.
Edith Wharton, US novelist, (1862 - 1937)
My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)
I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old - many, many people do not have that privilege.'
Earl Warren, Chief Justice (1891 - 1974)
Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.
Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)
And finally, this wise thought for those overly healthy individuals out there that can do no wrong in the health department and beat you to death verbally with their successes:
I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect.
George Burns (1896 - 1996)
That will be all...for now...
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.
Edith Wharton, US novelist, (1862 - 1937)
My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)
I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old - many, many people do not have that privilege.'
Earl Warren, Chief Justice (1891 - 1974)
Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.
Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)
And finally, this wise thought for those overly healthy individuals out there that can do no wrong in the health department and beat you to death verbally with their successes:
I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect.
George Burns (1896 - 1996)
That will be all...for now...
Someone Beat Me To The Thought
The Old Doctor Had It Right...
A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.
Hippocrates, "Regimen in Health", Greek physician (460 BC - 377 BC)
A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.
Hippocrates, "Regimen in Health", Greek physician (460 BC - 377 BC)
A Brief Unwelcome Intermission In My Life
Learning From Medical Interruptions...
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to report that I'm back to my self designed reality again tonight, after a little over a day and one half--two entire workdays actually--spending time waiting on various "medical procedures" and thinking about what it means to be healthy, and how often we take it for granted, no matter what form "healthy" takes in your life.
In my current existence, "healthy" has quite a different meaning than it did twenty-five years ago or even five years ago, but then again, in the slightly amended words of of Forrest Gump...
"Stupid Healthy is as stupid healthy does..."
That said, what I went through the past couple of days only serves to remind me how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the day to day quality of life Pat and I have built for ourselves here in Eastern Tennessee.
In the early morning silence of my expensive "hotel room" last night, all I could think of was missing my girl and my dog and my bed and my new job and all of the projects I had going on around my new house in my new home town.
I was self important enough to worry about the three engineering projects I had going on at work and the current Mississippi stack project and the fate of the new stack bid I was working on located out in the Midwest.
The funny thing is, when you think about it...all of that work would have gotten done somehow by somebody somewhere, regardless of the outcome of last night's personal scare and my ongoing medical prognosis.
I guess what I'm saying is that the little philosophical tidbit which I came away with from the latest events is a renewed appreciation of the everyday and the "mundane" things included in every 24 hour cycle of life.
I'm quite pleased to be able to arise early tomorrow morning, traverse the 3.9 mile distance eastward to my office, and smile and grin through my day sitting upright in my office chair in front of my computer.
My brush with the alternative of spending days on end with IV's and other various tubes hanging out of my body, sucking down pain medications, while total strangers stop by and attempt to casually discuss with me my urine output and the recent performance of my bowels makes me quite thrilled to sit through every minute.
I truly hope that everyone's day is as good as mine is going to be...
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to report that I'm back to my self designed reality again tonight, after a little over a day and one half--two entire workdays actually--spending time waiting on various "medical procedures" and thinking about what it means to be healthy, and how often we take it for granted, no matter what form "healthy" takes in your life.
In my current existence, "healthy" has quite a different meaning than it did twenty-five years ago or even five years ago, but then again, in the slightly amended words of of Forrest Gump...
"
That said, what I went through the past couple of days only serves to remind me how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the day to day quality of life Pat and I have built for ourselves here in Eastern Tennessee.
In the early morning silence of my expensive "hotel room" last night, all I could think of was missing my girl and my dog and my bed and my new job and all of the projects I had going on around my new house in my new home town.
I was self important enough to worry about the three engineering projects I had going on at work and the current Mississippi stack project and the fate of the new stack bid I was working on located out in the Midwest.
The funny thing is, when you think about it...all of that work would have gotten done somehow by somebody somewhere, regardless of the outcome of last night's personal scare and my ongoing medical prognosis.
I guess what I'm saying is that the little philosophical tidbit which I came away with from the latest events is a renewed appreciation of the everyday and the "mundane" things included in every 24 hour cycle of life.
I'm quite pleased to be able to arise early tomorrow morning, traverse the 3.9 mile distance eastward to my office, and smile and grin through my day sitting upright in my office chair in front of my computer.
My brush with the alternative of spending days on end with IV's and other various tubes hanging out of my body, sucking down pain medications, while total strangers stop by and attempt to casually discuss with me my urine output and the recent performance of my bowels makes me quite thrilled to sit through every minute.
I truly hope that everyone's day is as good as mine is going to be...
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Technical Difficulties
Anatomical Anomalies...
OK folks, don't go getting all excited when I say this, but I'm back in the hospital--this time in Knoxville-- because of the uncomfortable day a spent yesterday with my stomach problems.
We hit the emergency room about 8:30 last night...
Turns out this time was basically a scare that resulted in some CAT scan and expensive X-ray testing to prove nothing was seriously wrong, but the final results are not due in until later this afternoon.
Wish me luck...if you will.
UPDATE 2:10 PM
GOING HOME SHORTLY!!!
Talk to y'all later...
OK folks, don't go getting all excited when I say this, but I'm back in the hospital--this time in Knoxville-- because of the uncomfortable day a spent yesterday with my stomach problems.
We hit the emergency room about 8:30 last night...
Turns out this time was basically a scare that resulted in some CAT scan and expensive X-ray testing to prove nothing was seriously wrong, but the final results are not due in until later this afternoon.
Wish me luck...if you will.
UPDATE 2:10 PM
GOING HOME SHORTLY!!!
Talk to y'all later...
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Someone Call Fox News
I've Got A New Philanthropic Endeavor...
I was flipping around between TV channels tonight in a fit of old aged induced insomnia when a story on Food Network caught my eye. The moment I saw the idea that the people over at the Canstruction organization had I knew that I had to organize a local event here in Knoxville.
At least I'm going to try...
What they do is enlist local Engineering and Architectural Firms, and even schools and churches to solicit donations of canned food, and then they have a competition where the individual teams build intricate models, structures, and artwork using nothing but the cans and a little wire and tape for support.
Then after much fanfare at the local mall or other public venue and judging of the work by a jury of local dignitaries, the structures/artwork are photographed, torn down, and the can goods donated to local food banks and charities.
You'll have to excuse me while I go play in the pantry now...
I was flipping around between TV channels tonight in a fit of old aged induced insomnia when a story on Food Network caught my eye. The moment I saw the idea that the people over at the Canstruction organization had I knew that I had to organize a local event here in Knoxville.
At least I'm going to try...
What they do is enlist local Engineering and Architectural Firms, and even schools and churches to solicit donations of canned food, and then they have a competition where the individual teams build intricate models, structures, and artwork using nothing but the cans and a little wire and tape for support.
Then after much fanfare at the local mall or other public venue and judging of the work by a jury of local dignitaries, the structures/artwork are photographed, torn down, and the can goods donated to local food banks and charities.
Stuff like this is possible:
You'll have to excuse me while I go play in the pantry now...
Monday, June 02, 2008
An Eighteen Foot Deep Hole In The Ground
Two Feet At A Time...
This morning I have to go back to work after yet another three day weekend.
It's a good thing, because I need the rest after living through what I did on my "days off."
Besides hauling nine panels of pre-fab picket fencing back to Lowe's (after paying them to deliver it a month ago), on Saturday I wandered over to Home Depot and came back to my driveway with TWO HUNDRED individual pickets and the lumber necessary to support them on the 4x4 posts Lowe's delivered with the faulty fence panels.
The other thing that snuck into my truck on the way home was one of these:
That would be a little "One Man" Auger designed to make holes in your yard for fence posts or plants.
On the first hole my rented auger drilled itself into the hard Kentucky clay so deep that it could not be extracted with human strength (limited as I am by recent maladies.)
Fortunately my auger was stuck against an old clothes line post to which I could connect my "come-along" and jack the little beast out of the ground.
After drilling about four two foot deep fence post holes, my auger needed one man and one woman to hold it stable and keep it from killing someone in the hole drilling process.
After about two hours there were nine nice clean post holes spaced on 12 foot increments along the sides of Missy the Turbo Pups newpen enclosure country recreational compound.
Yesterday the rain delayed most of the outdoor progress although I did manage to get four fence posts set and one 12 foot section of fence put together. Thank God for my air compressor and finish nail gun.
While the rain was falling I managed to get wire shelving installed in the guest room closet, leaving the office closet awaiting my efforts tonight after I finish another eight hours of injuneering.
All I want to know is...Who's idea was this any way?
This morning I have to go back to work after yet another three day weekend.
It's a good thing, because I need the rest after living through what I did on my "days off."
Besides hauling nine panels of pre-fab picket fencing back to Lowe's (after paying them to deliver it a month ago), on Saturday I wandered over to Home Depot and came back to my driveway with TWO HUNDRED individual pickets and the lumber necessary to support them on the 4x4 posts Lowe's delivered with the faulty fence panels.
The other thing that snuck into my truck on the way home was one of these:
That would be a little "One Man" Auger designed to make holes in your yard for fence posts or plants.
On the first hole my rented auger drilled itself into the hard Kentucky clay so deep that it could not be extracted with human strength (limited as I am by recent maladies.)
Fortunately my auger was stuck against an old clothes line post to which I could connect my "come-along" and jack the little beast out of the ground.
After drilling about four two foot deep fence post holes, my auger needed one man and one woman to hold it stable and keep it from killing someone in the hole drilling process.
After about two hours there were nine nice clean post holes spaced on 12 foot increments along the sides of Missy the Turbo Pups new
Yesterday the rain delayed most of the outdoor progress although I did manage to get four fence posts set and one 12 foot section of fence put together. Thank God for my air compressor and finish nail gun.
While the rain was falling I managed to get wire shelving installed in the guest room closet, leaving the office closet awaiting my efforts tonight after I finish another eight hours of injuneering.
All I want to know is...Who's idea was this any way?
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Government Inaction In Action
We Have A Severe Lack Of Space "Facilities"
Will somebody tell me what the heck is going on over at NASA, otherwise known as the National Aeronautic and Space Administration?
First, nearly half of the "probes" that have been launched toward Mars in the past forty years have not made it, then they tell us that it's going to take until the year 2015 to get back to the moon on President Bush's mandate, and finally now we find out that the restroom on the so called "International Space Station" is a one hole'er.
That's right my fellow taxpaying ladies and gentlemen, we're sending a couple of guys and gals up into space to live for months at a time and to be visited every now and then by a Shuttle full of visitors, and all they have is a single toilet to handle nature's urges when the time comes.
What ever happened to having a back up system?
Is this the way we want our scientists and engineers handling things?
And another thing...why is it taking us seven or eight more years to get back to the moon, when we did it in less time back in the 1960's with a bunch of guys wearing pocket protectors and using slide rules to solve the formulas.
Is it a BUDGET PROBLEM?
Why don't we all pass the collection plate and make a donation to NASA to pay for a second toilet on the space station?
All I ask is that we just keep Congress out of the process, else they'll add some kind of resolution on Iraq and funds to build a new outhouse in every town in every state in the Union.
All I know is that it's a good thing I'm too old to be an astronaut and go to the Space Station, because after a pot of coffee and a few bran muffins in the morning I'm afraid that the entire crew would have to abandon ship when I opened the bathroom door and the fumes burned out the computer system and warped the Dilithium Crystals.
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that....
Will somebody tell me what the heck is going on over at NASA, otherwise known as the National Aeronautic and Space Administration?
First, nearly half of the "probes" that have been launched toward Mars in the past forty years have not made it, then they tell us that it's going to take until the year 2015 to get back to the moon on President Bush's mandate, and finally now we find out that the restroom on the so called "International Space Station" is a one hole'er.
That's right my fellow taxpaying ladies and gentlemen, we're sending a couple of guys and gals up into space to live for months at a time and to be visited every now and then by a Shuttle full of visitors, and all they have is a single toilet to handle nature's urges when the time comes.
What ever happened to having a back up system?
Is this the way we want our scientists and engineers handling things?
And another thing...why is it taking us seven or eight more years to get back to the moon, when we did it in less time back in the 1960's with a bunch of guys wearing pocket protectors and using slide rules to solve the formulas.
Is it a BUDGET PROBLEM?
Why don't we all pass the collection plate and make a donation to NASA to pay for a second toilet on the space station?
All I ask is that we just keep Congress out of the process, else they'll add some kind of resolution on Iraq and funds to build a new outhouse in every town in every state in the Union.
All I know is that it's a good thing I'm too old to be an astronaut and go to the Space Station, because after a pot of coffee and a few bran muffins in the morning I'm afraid that the entire crew would have to abandon ship when I opened the bathroom door and the fumes burned out the computer system and warped the Dilithium Crystals.
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that....
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Join Me In Belching Some Carbon
Urrrrrrrpppppppp
I was wandering around the Internet this morning and was quite pleased to find out that I am no longer alone in my TOTAL DISDAIN for the global warming guilt trip currently gripping much of our planet.
The folks over at Grassfire.org are planning a "Carbon Belch Day" where they want people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars."
I'd like to add burning a few old tires, having a bonfire, or leaving your gas guzzler idling in the driveway all day to that list, as I wrote in "My Personal Earth Day" back on Earth Day on April 22.
Time to go take a nice long water and energy wasting shower and go do some engineering now...
I was wandering around the Internet this morning and was quite pleased to find out that I am no longer alone in my TOTAL DISDAIN for the global warming guilt trip currently gripping much of our planet.
The folks over at Grassfire.org are planning a "Carbon Belch Day" where they want people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by "hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars."
I'd like to add burning a few old tires, having a bonfire, or leaving your gas guzzler idling in the driveway all day to that list, as I wrote in "My Personal Earth Day" back on Earth Day on April 22.
Time to go take a nice long water and energy wasting shower and go do some engineering now...
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Aren't You Glad We All Have Government?
Busy Protecting Ourselves From Ourselves...
This morning, for your reading enjoyment, I offer this story about a woman in England who has been told by her local officials that she needs A LIFEGUARD AND SPECIAL INSURANCE for her toddler's 2' deep wading pool:
PORTSMOUTH, England, May 27 (UPI) -- A Portsmouth, England, grandmother says her local government has ordered her to have a lifeguard on duty for the 2-foot-deep wading pool she put in her yard.
Lourdes Maxwell said she has been putting the small pool out in her yard at the start of summer for more than 20 years for her children, grandchildren and neighborhood kids to play in, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
However, she said the city council issued a health and safety edict ordering her to empty the pool after she wrote the council to seek permission for a larger pool outside her house. Maxwell said she contacted her member of Parliament, who convinced the city to allow Maxwell to keep the pool, provided she pays for insurance and has lifeguards watching the pool at all times.
"I asked around for insurance and they just laughed at me. No one offers insurance for paddling pools," Maxwell said. "I'm always there to supervise but they're trying to tell me I need lifeguards for a kiddies' pool as well -- it's crazy."
I'll save the blithering and let you make up your own mind here because I'm fairly certain my regular readers know where I stand on this kind of bureaucratic crappola, other than to say that you can expect this kind of "nanny state" mentality to continue to creep into your life while you're busy working to pay for your house, kids, and cars.
Next we have this story which strikes a little closer to home here in Tennessee about a rare bottle collector that had his million dollar collection of Jack Daniels bottles (full of Jack) stolen by the Government:
NASHVILLE - Prosecutors and defense attorneys are negotiating to settle the case of a Nashville-area man indicted on charges of illegally possessing up to $1 million worth of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
Randy Piper, 47, of Goodlettsville is free on $25,000 bond and is due in court in Lynchburg on Aug. 12 to have a trial date set.
But District Attorney General Charles Crawford and Raymond Fraley Jr., Piper's attorney, both said they are optimistic the case can be resolved.
Piper was indicted in Moore County last January after state liquor officials seized 2,400 bottles in October following a tip that someone was selling alcohol without a license. They raided two warehouses owned by Piper and a home in Lynchburg, the small town about 65 miles southeast of Nashville where the famous Tennessee sipping whiskey is distilled
...
Piper, a plumber, has said he's a collector of Jack Daniel's bottles, and Fraley has said his client was singled out for selling one bottle for approximately $350 and charged with illegally possessing the others.
"It's unfortunate it got this far for one bottle of whiskey," Fraley said. "They took his entire collection when there are collectors around Moore County (Lynchburg) who possess a lot of bottles of whiskey."
...
ABC officials have said the value of the seized liquor has possibly been driven up by the value of the antique bottles, which range from 3 liters to half-pints.
One seized bottle dates to 1914, with its seal unbroken. ABC agents have estimated its value at about $10,000.
Piper and his attorney have claimed that Piper was selling collectible bottles, not whiskey.
...
"The ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) and my office have tried to coordinate what Mr. Piper should get back and what should be destroyed or put in a museum," Crawford said.
Can you believe this CRAP?
The government of the by-God State of Tennessee has gone out and taken a citizen's property, paid for over a lifetime with his hard earned after tax dollars, and is in the process of "collecting" the "illegal bottles" from their rightful owner considering placing them in a museum...while at the same time hiding behind "bootlegging laws" and preventing the owner of the bottles from enjoying the profit from their sale.
Either they are collectors items or they are illegal alcohol...they can't have it both ways, I believe.
If the bottles contained urine samples, ketchup, or "Dr. Rogers Funky Foot Remedy" and somehow there was a collectors market for the sealed containers everything would be hunky dorry, but because it's Tennessee's most famous liquor, produced in a county of the state where it is still illegal to sell alcohol on a retail basis in the year 2008, this poor guy has been arrested, sent to jail, and forced to post bond to gain his freedom.
Are YOU happy with the governments of the world spending YOUR tax dollars protecting you from women with unguarded, uninsured wading pools and vendors of antique liver killing fluids?
Or wouldn't you rather just go back to the idea of the government promoting your right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and let the individual decide the meaning of same?
That will be all...for now...
This morning, for your reading enjoyment, I offer this story about a woman in England who has been told by her local officials that she needs A LIFEGUARD AND SPECIAL INSURANCE for her toddler's 2' deep wading pool:
PORTSMOUTH, England, May 27 (UPI) -- A Portsmouth, England, grandmother says her local government has ordered her to have a lifeguard on duty for the 2-foot-deep wading pool she put in her yard.
Lourdes Maxwell said she has been putting the small pool out in her yard at the start of summer for more than 20 years for her children, grandchildren and neighborhood kids to play in, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
However, she said the city council issued a health and safety edict ordering her to empty the pool after she wrote the council to seek permission for a larger pool outside her house. Maxwell said she contacted her member of Parliament, who convinced the city to allow Maxwell to keep the pool, provided she pays for insurance and has lifeguards watching the pool at all times.
"I asked around for insurance and they just laughed at me. No one offers insurance for paddling pools," Maxwell said. "I'm always there to supervise but they're trying to tell me I need lifeguards for a kiddies' pool as well -- it's crazy."
I'll save the blithering and let you make up your own mind here because I'm fairly certain my regular readers know where I stand on this kind of bureaucratic crappola, other than to say that you can expect this kind of "nanny state" mentality to continue to creep into your life while you're busy working to pay for your house, kids, and cars.
Next we have this story which strikes a little closer to home here in Tennessee about a rare bottle collector that had his million dollar collection of Jack Daniels bottles (full of Jack) stolen by the Government:
NASHVILLE - Prosecutors and defense attorneys are negotiating to settle the case of a Nashville-area man indicted on charges of illegally possessing up to $1 million worth of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
Randy Piper, 47, of Goodlettsville is free on $25,000 bond and is due in court in Lynchburg on Aug. 12 to have a trial date set.
But District Attorney General Charles Crawford and Raymond Fraley Jr., Piper's attorney, both said they are optimistic the case can be resolved.
Piper was indicted in Moore County last January after state liquor officials seized 2,400 bottles in October following a tip that someone was selling alcohol without a license. They raided two warehouses owned by Piper and a home in Lynchburg, the small town about 65 miles southeast of Nashville where the famous Tennessee sipping whiskey is distilled
...
Piper, a plumber, has said he's a collector of Jack Daniel's bottles, and Fraley has said his client was singled out for selling one bottle for approximately $350 and charged with illegally possessing the others.
"It's unfortunate it got this far for one bottle of whiskey," Fraley said. "They took his entire collection when there are collectors around Moore County (Lynchburg) who possess a lot of bottles of whiskey."
...
ABC officials have said the value of the seized liquor has possibly been driven up by the value of the antique bottles, which range from 3 liters to half-pints.
One seized bottle dates to 1914, with its seal unbroken. ABC agents have estimated its value at about $10,000.
Piper and his attorney have claimed that Piper was selling collectible bottles, not whiskey.
...
"The ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) and my office have tried to coordinate what Mr. Piper should get back and what should be destroyed or put in a museum," Crawford said.
Can you believe this CRAP?
The government of the by-God State of Tennessee has gone out and taken a citizen's property, paid for over a lifetime with his hard earned after tax dollars, and is in the process of "collecting" the "illegal bottles" from their rightful owner considering placing them in a museum...while at the same time hiding behind "bootlegging laws" and preventing the owner of the bottles from enjoying the profit from their sale.
Either they are collectors items or they are illegal alcohol...they can't have it both ways, I believe.
If the bottles contained urine samples, ketchup, or "Dr. Rogers Funky Foot Remedy" and somehow there was a collectors market for the sealed containers everything would be hunky dorry, but because it's Tennessee's most famous liquor, produced in a county of the state where it is still illegal to sell alcohol on a retail basis in the year 2008, this poor guy has been arrested, sent to jail, and forced to post bond to gain his freedom.
Are YOU happy with the governments of the world spending YOUR tax dollars protecting you from women with unguarded, uninsured wading pools and vendors of antique liver killing fluids?
Or wouldn't you rather just go back to the idea of the government promoting your right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and let the individual decide the meaning of same?
That will be all...for now...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Quote O' The Day
Listen Up...
"A slip of a foot you may soon recover, but a slip of a tongue you may never get over."
"At 20 years of age the will reigns, at 30 the wit, at 40 the judgment."
"Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none. "
"God heals, and the doctor takes the fees. "
Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
And finally...this gem:
"As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything."
George Carlin (1937- )
"A slip of a foot you may soon recover, but a slip of a tongue you may never get over."
"At 20 years of age the will reigns, at 30 the wit, at 40 the judgment."
"Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none. "
"God heals, and the doctor takes the fees. "
Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
And finally...this gem:
"As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything."
George Carlin (1937- )
Sunday, May 25, 2008
New Book
Look At What I'm Bidding On On E-Bay...
Yes, that's a 1957 first printing edition of Ayn Rand's epic "Atlas Shrugged"...all 1,100 plus pages worth.
Why don't you go buy yourself a copy and loan it to a couple of your favoritefascist, socialist liberal friends to read before this November's election.
Yes, that's a 1957 first printing edition of Ayn Rand's epic "Atlas Shrugged"...all 1,100 plus pages worth.
Why don't you go buy yourself a copy and loan it to a couple of your favorite
