Blatheration

I really should get a calender

Yup, still here.  I see it's been a while since the last exciting update, but....

Actually, we haz been busy.  Gramma Tudi continues to improve, Doclee injured his back and spent most of last week in bed, but is fixed now, mostly.

Mrs. Doclee has been building cabinets and drawers for Mrs. Stumblebump's new digs.  She is so happy I bought her that table saw.  She wanted a dryer, but have you ever tried to rip saw anything with a dryer?  Well it's pretty hard.

The Great Complainer pawned of on an unsuspecting Me, a tiny stripey orange kitty by the name of Oscar.  He is small but ferocious.  Both Buddy Cat and Lucy are learning to steer clear.  He pretty much just hangs out with Dances with Hobos and walks on her keyboard.  Speaking of which, DWH is getting a Real Job, with a paycheck and everything.  She's going to be working in a new restaurant here in town.  I don't know if this tiny hamlet will support a fancy Mediterranian restaurant, but the fact that they have a liquor permit (this is a dry county, like most counties in AR) should help, even if the local Baptist contingent doesn't.

They tried to stop it, but I guess the city attorney told them that there wasn't anything the city could do to prevent it.  They are free to not patronize.  I wouldn't be surprised to see picketing.  Actually, since the bypass went in, downtown has been in slow decline, with local businesses at wit's end trying to get some commerce there.  It's actually a charming area what with the old buildings and brick sidewalks.  I'm glad someone decided to invest.  If they do well, maybe others will follow suit.  Since I'm in downtown, I will only be liable for public intoxication, rather than DWI.  Good for me. 

Clarification

The previous post was not intended as a snub of Mr. #1 Son, but rather an inference that his company vehicle may have been misbehaving. 

As far as I know, he has owned two Toyota pickups, a Chevy S-10, a Chrysler sedan with giant wheels and is currently driving a badass Scion coupe with about a dozen t.v. screens in it.  #1 Daughter in law has a fiendishly yellow Saturn coupe.

We have purchased exactly one new Ford product, a 1988 Ranger, which the dealer did not want to ever see again after the papers were signed (Andy Lewis Ford, Springdale AR)  even under warranty. Used Ranger, 1996 we got from Grandpa John had a very expensive problem with the A/C that we just lived with.

One new GM product, 1990 Silverado, which while it had it's fair share of breakdowns, all was covered under warranty except the A/C ($600.00) and the paint which started falling off after a few months.  It also began rusting through just after the rust through warranty expired. 

One new Chrysler product, 1987 Jeep Wrangler (Mrs. Doclee bought it before the merger) was missing a few parts, but otherwise no complaints.  She didn't keep it very long after it refused to start a couple of times and the dealer wouldn't take care of it.

As I tell my gear head friends, I'm not on any of their payrolls and am not going to be a cheerleader for any company except mine.  "Go Doc Lee!"

I will assume that #1 Son has had some problems with his company owned F-350:  Sour grapes?

As far as I know, he's never owned a Ford, but I have had plenty of them.  To be fair, though, I have never owned one that was less than 15 years old.  All but two were pre-1973 models and I still have them. Both of them have way over 100K miles and one of them has a new engine. One started out as a 1949 GMC, but after the engine mysteriously exploded, it was turned into a Ford product by the simple expedient of transferring it's cab and bed onto the chassis of a 1974 Mercury Colony Park wagon.  It got stolen.

Only one of them even came close to spontaneously bursting into flame; a 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.  Apparently, they do not like to be left idling for very long, because the exhaust gets so hot (turbocharger heat, you know) it sets the rear seats cushions asmolder (neologism, your sign of a quality 'blog).  I had to waste a perfectly good beer putting it out.

Five of them were F100 pickups (brown, black, green, blue, and blue/white)  I still have two, though one is being whittled down (so Ed the body man tells me) to provide grafts for the other.

Speaking of which, Ed the Body Man (ladies, he's still mysteriously single) has not been present for several days.  Since thursday, the shop has been wide open, lights on and the radio blaring, but no Ed. I went to check on him Sunday and after briefly hoping he was not indisposed, helped myself to the facilities.  Now blue/white truck is absent all trim and interior.  Upon removing the rubber floor mat, there was a bit of dismay in discovering that the dreaded tinworm had been busy with the floor pans, but not terribly so.  The interesting find was a pair of 3-pack of Cello brand condoms, unused and still sporting their original though deteriorated cellophane.  I got the truck from an old farmer who bought it new.  

While disassembling the dash, I did manage to find in the glovebox a reciept from Anderson lumber and...Mrs. Doclee's camera.  I was attempting to lay the blame at the guilty feet of my bride but was reminded that it was not her own self who drove to Anderson's on the grounds that this particular vehicle has non-power assisted steering.  Mrs. Doclee believes that it is unseemly to be seen grunting and groaning while attempting to maneuver such a machine.  I don't know.  That crowd at the lumberyard might just enjoy such a sight.  all we need to do now is find the little gray cable that sticks into the computer.

In other automotive news, Peach the Barber has acquired a new treasure.  He is now the proud owner of a barn fresh 1965 (it's really a 1964, but I'm not telling him that) Falcon Ranchero.  Ford, that is.  Pluses:  It has the Deluxe trim package, factory 289, all the impossible to source trim, save a rocker trim, and was fitted with the fairly rare original tonneau cover.  Minuses:  name it.  Floor pans gone, left rear quarter rotted through (Damn you tinworm!), windshield shattered and interior entirely mold eaten.  Otherwise solid.  Even Mrs. Doclee, who HATES ElCaminos (but loves Chevelles, strangely) opined that she would not be sickened by the presence of such a vehicle.

So it's set. Next project:  Anyone who has a line on a cheap, restorable pre 1966 Falcon Ranchero, contact me.  doclee462@yahoo.com

Since we're being all scienc-y here, I thought about something I heard a long time ago back when I was a mere larva;  that the purpose of science is to understand our surroundings.  That means that it has limitations.  Science can observe and count just about anything, but isn't real good for the "why" part.  F'rinstance, we know through observation (and wizardry, I think) how many atoms are in a given sample of an element.  12 grams of Carbon contain 6.022 x 10²³  

^{This is what scientists call "a very large number indeed" (also Avogadro's number).  That is because atoms are believed to be very small, so you can put a lot of them in a small place. (That's 6022 then about 20 zeros, BTW)}

How many atoms in the known universe?  Easy, 10^{80  _{Again, a very large number.  So we know what's in the universe, we still don't know what it's here for.  Discuss among yourselves.}}  

In other news, Miss Lucy is currently keeping me from being attacked by a bear.  It isn't really a bear, though.  It's Mr. Buddy the black (hearted) cat, who only appears to be a bear if you are a juvenile Plott hound.  At any rate, the "bear" is not being allowed entrance into the clinic.  This is good because some people are allergic to cats, I mean "bears".   

And in case you're wondering if having a vicious dog in a healthcare facility is appropriate, it is, for the cool ones.

In other news, Dances with Hobos (formerly Miss Crabgrass) has done a crackerjack job in cleaning this facility.  Toiling until the wee hours it now sparkles.  Nice job. 

Also, my truck is still not done, though progress has been made.  The chassis has been moved from one place to another so the mower could get by.  Still....

Dr. Science Guy Speaks

Dr. Science Guy here with some interesting Scienc-y stuff and some context:

Just so you know what your elected representatives are up to, as well as your many, many unelected Federal Agencies,  Go to this link:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27509.html

Ms. Murkowski is concerned that the EPA is going to do what they said they would do (and when it comes to restricting the freedom of individuals, they always do).

Why is this an issue?  Because limiting Carbon Dioxide, CO2, is the big brass ring for Statists.  If they can control output of this compound, they can control almost all commerce.  That's correct.  All.  Statism (or Nannyism) isn't out for your best interests, in case you are unaware.

I know what you're saying, "But Doclee, CO2 is a pollutant, and we don't want to pollute."  Well, if you think that, you have been sorely misinformed.  It is untrue.  CO2, may be a greenhouse gas, but at the highest atmospheric level it has ever been measured, back in the 1970's I think, it composed a whopping 4 parts per 10,000.  Your (and my) atmosphere is composed of oxygen (O2, 20.9), Nitrogen (N, 70%) and the ramainder is all the nasty, scary things (Argon, helium, CO2 etc.) we keep being told are going to destroy life as we know it. 

The problem is that CO2 is a natural byproduct of respiration of oxygen (if you live in Watts, OK, that means breathing) in animals (maybe not those ones who live around undersea vents, but you get the idea).  We are all animals, so if we breathe, we exhale CO2 (except for Beam Builder Billy, who is made of Iron and subsists entirely on Diet Coke and never, ever exhales).  

But what about plants?  They breathe.....CO2 and when they exhale, they exhale O2.  Slick, huh?  So what happens if there gets to be too much greenhouse gas?  (Trivia question:  What is the #1 greenhouse gas?)* Then, supposedly the earth heats up, then the oceans evaporate, which exposes more land, which causes more plants to take root, which make more O2, which allows more animals to breathe, which produces more CO2...and so on.  Scary, huh?  But wait, that has already happened.  Oh no!  It's happening right now.  Keep this in mind when someone starts yapping about man made global warming.  Remember, Warm is good.

Oh yeah, answer to trivia question:  Water Vapor.  You know, clouds and such.  Humidity.

Science, look it up. 

Plants

 

Also...

Happy 43rd Birthday Mrs. Cuddles.  You thought I forgot.  Actually I did.  Nothing personal though.  I've been known to forget my own birthday.  Is it just me, or are birthdays getting more forgettable?

The big annual Tontitown car show and swap meet was held this past weekend.  All the usual suspects were on hand.  The increasingly tedious old car with the small block chevy conversion was well represented, but otherwise a pretty good show for a town of 1200.  Mrs. Doclee coveted a '56 Mercury pickup and a pair of '56 two door wagons as well as a shiny 1949 Ford f-100 and a 1912 Yellow Taxi.  On the swap meet side, there were piles of parts, though not the elusive 3 pc. rocker moulding for my project.  I did have a brief dalliance with an '63 Olds F-85 (after that they were called Cutlass) but alas it had had it's  personality (and aluminum turbocharged 215 c.i. V-8) removed and replaced with a, you guessed it, Chevy small block.  That means the owner was crazy to be asking $18,000.  In case you happen to see one, here's the car I'm saving myself for:

1964 Oldsmobile Starfire.  The rumor is that this one belongs to Jay Leno.  I'm pretty sure he owns at least one of everything.

Mrs. Doclee and Miss Sunshine (FMG) finally got the trim up in the chamber of horrors, so it is technically ready for Mrs. Bumblestump to occupy.  I got off easy, being tasked only with a bit of wiring, so my time was well spent organizing my new tool box.  This one, unlike my previous Craftsman model, has drawers that actually open AND close.  I was able to consolidate the contents of my previous 3 boxes into one big box of awesome.  It even has round wheels that go round and round instead of the multi-sided ones that leave skid marks like a WalMart shopping cart.  It also locks.  Take notice Mrs. Doclee.

The Holley 4160c carburator for the elTrucko project is about halfway done, but no hurry because Ed the Body man is still not done.  Surprise!

Are they this dumb?

It's only a rumor, but if it's true is really, really scary:

Screw you, allies!  What the hell?   I hope it's a rumor.  I hope they cancelled it because they have something better instead.  I hope they know what they're doing. 

Do they know what NATO is for?  Let us pray.

I can sort of understand the thinking that those closest to the problem, those at highest risk should be the most proactive in seeing to their own defense, but when they were promised something (like a high tech missile defense system) and plan their defense around it, reneging on it is paramount to failing to repay a loan. 

Maybe that's the plan with China, who owns most of our debt.  When we decide that there's too much debt to repay...we just don't.  Heh, screw you, slanteyes. Kind of like my old buddy Wally when he couldn't make the payment on his pickup.  "Well, that's what they get for loaning money to someone like me.  Nice.

In other, less depressing news.  Gramma Tudi continues to improve, though is irritated at having to endure another round of chemo.  The plus side is that Mrs. Nautifish and Mrs. Cuddles have supplied her with a variety of fabulous clown wigs.  I offered her a fez, but she has declined.  She continues to insist that she is bald, but it is patently obvious that she is mistaken.  

Miss Lucy is visiting Dr. Woody to have her reproductive system modified, and didn't seem too happy about the prospect.  It's kind of like breaking the mold, isn't it.

New session of Doc Lee's Boot Camp^R has begun and fun is being had by all. Luckily, it has been raining all week, just making it that much easier to "embrace the suck". (Doc Lee's Boot Camp is a wholly owned subsidiary of ETS industries and copywrighted in a lot of very important countries)

I, on the other hand, have to get back to "work" now.  Will be back with more as soon as the U.S. Government does something really irresponsible.  Shouldn't be long.

Responsible journalism update

A few curt phone calls have uncovered the cause of last week's consternation.  It seems that the fine folks at Ft. Dix checked the wrong box on some form and a news release was sent to the local paper.  An explanation was published in the Sunday edition, so the Herald Leader is off the hook...for now.  

More later.  Busy.

Addition

If anyone would like to communicate to the editor of the previously mentioned newspaper:  garyb@nwanews.com

It's like it's not hard enough to have to shut down a business for extended periods and pay all the money to get re-established without the main media outlet putting out the word that it's closed.  As the old First Sergeant would have said, "War's hell, Son".