I remember the first Earth Day. I think I was in 4th grade or there 'bouts. I'll be the first to admit that the US is a hell of a lot cleaner than it was back then. Not that you'd know that by listening to all the environmentalists. But that's another subject for another rant. Or maybe not.
Fuckin' GreenAss, Commie MoFo's. OK, I couldn't resist a quick shot at the Watermelons. Yeah, Watermelons. Green on the outside - Red on the inside. It took me a while to realize that the "Green Movement" hadn't anything to do with keeping anything cleaner. It was and is, just another avenue to political power and control.
I wonder if that asshole, Paul Ehrlich will still be bloviating about The coming Ice Age tomorrow. That was one of his big gigs back in the day. That and how we were all gonna starve to death by 1985. Last I heard he had converted to a Global Warming Guru. That Douchbag has been 100% wrong for as long as I can remember. Smart money stays away from any bet on him. My guess is he'll be quoted far and wide tomorrow.
Daddy always said "Don't shit in your own nest". It's hard to argue with simple logic like that.
Back on the Road ........ Got the last little piece for the brakes today and put her all back together. Bled the brakes real well and there you go.
Took her out for a short ride and started bedding in the new pads and make sure everything worked ok. And, as Fat Albert would say, everything worked Obe Kaybe. That's a nice change.
Except it started raining again. That's ok. I can now ride it in the rain if I choose to. I couldn't ride at all yesterday.
Daydreaming of the Isle of Man TT ... One of the trips I want to take someday is to the TT races at the Isle of Mann. I've about squeezed a semi-serious commitment from the youngest son, Dogboy on an 07 or 08 trip. I'd go for pushing the credit card limit to the max to make that trip.
Postcard from 1980. Maybe I'll be able to send you all one next year.
Here's a couple of retro pics for the meantime. 1959 Going up the Mountain Road.
Couldn't have an IOM post without a Norton Manx now could we?
Oh hell, Here's a Manx motor cutaway too.
All images courtesy of - http://www.raceclassics.co.uk/ This is a really nice site that I will probably add to the links on the sidebar.
All of the Unks Children were at the "GrumpyUnk Command and Control Bunker" this evening for a belated Easter Dinner. The Grumpy Grandma was in attendance, to fill out the table too.
After dinner, we got a pistol, very similar to the one above, and proceeded to make a bunch of noise in the back yard.
I like to periodically fire off 50 - 100 rounds just to keep the neighbors honest, but today was special. I wanted to get the 2 older children involved. Therapy Boy has had an abnormal fear of weapons for a long time. The Daughter unit has never been around 'em to much and needs to get familiar. (I'll tell ya more about why later.)
So I grabbed a box of 100 and some ear plugs and away we went. Dogboy went to the barn and brought a couple of Feedsacks up and we mounted them on the Sycamore tree in the backyard we use for this stuff.
Yeah, it's nice living in the country.
I gave everyone the standard range/gun safety lecture and a demo on loading and clearing, etc. All safety, all the time. No, I'm serious about that shit.
Anyway, it only took a few shots for both of them to settle down and start having fun. This is good. I'm hoping to get them both more involved in shooting.
I'm hoping to be able to buy all of the kids a pistol this year, get them trained and CCW licensed. It's going to be a big expense, but I'm gonna figure out a way to do it.
It's getting time for me to go, so I'll have to tell you about what happened to the Daughter unit tomorrow. Yeah, it was scary and it has jump started me on getting the kids trained up.
My bad as a Dad. Only 1 of the 3 is proficient and comfortable with firearms. I'm gonna fix that this year.
When I started the Concours Caliper rebuild last week, I'd found I needed a couple of things that weren't included in the rebuild kit I'd ordered from Murph. Bummer.
I went to the local dealer and of course, He didn't have them either. I ordered them and went home and spent a day cleaning everything up nice and purdy.
Today, I picked up the, extremely overpriced springs and crush washers and went home to finish this job. So far so good. Started on the rear caliper and it all went back together quite easily. Moved up front. Knocked out one of them.
Started on the last one and ... WHAM! Damn, if I didn't break one of these little bastard springs that keep the brake pads in place. (If you're really retentive it's Part number 92081. I should've noticed that it was worn when I cleaned all this shit up last week I guess. Snapped one of the little Titties off as easy as you please. Shit.
Called around to several dealers in a radius of 1 hour or so driving time. Nope. Nobody's got one. More shit. Called the local dealer and ordered a pair of the little bastards and now I'm deadlined on finishing this till next week.
Oh well. Can't get to worked up, it'll get done eventually and the weather lately has been mostly rain and Tornados anyway.
I'll just add a picture of Pandas fucking here as an illistration of things that don't seem to work out right as often as hoped.
Unk is getting ready to go to work. Gotta go save lives and make sure the Zombies get their Holiday narcotic buzz. It'll be a friggin' zoo in there again today. Holidays are like that.
Yesterday was incredible. These Zombies continue to reinforce my belief that Darwin was right about some parts of his theory. Today will be more of the same. Only people will be more rude than usual. If that's possible.
The weather looks like we're gonna have some big storms. That's good. It'll keep down the number of injuries and lacerations - maybe. The bad news about that is the Choppers won't be flying if they're needed. We used 'em yesterday.
Wear your helmet and gear! I know of at least one Dumbass that's got a Halo screwed into his skull this morning.
From Denny at GrouchyOldCripple (link on the sidebar)
It was the first day of school and a new student named Pedro Martinez, the son of a Mexican restaurateur, entered the fourth grade. The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American history. "Who said 'Give me Liberty, or give me Death?' "She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Pedro, who had his hand up. "Patrick Henry, 1775."
"Very good!" apprised the teacher. "Now, who said, 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth'?"
Again, no response except from Pedro: "Abraham Lincoln, 1863."
The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed! Pedro, who is new to our country, knows more about its history than you do!"
She heard a loud whisper from the back of the classroom: "Screw the Mexicans!" "Who said that?" she demanded.
Pedro put his hand up. "Jim Bowie, 1836."
At that point, another student in the back said, "I'm gonna puke." The teacher glared and asked, "All right! Now, who said that?"
Again, Pedro answered, "George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991."
Another student yelled, "You're INCREDIBLE!"
Pedro jumped out of his chair waving his hand and shouting to the teacher, "Bill Clinton to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!"
Now, with almost mob hysteria, teacher said, "You little punk... If you say anything else, I'll kill you!"
Pedro frantically yelled at the top of his voice, "Gary Condit to Chandra Levy, 2001."
The teacher fainted, and as the class gathered around her on the floor, someone said, "Oh crap, we're in BIG trouble now!"
Pedro whispered, "Saddam Hussein, 2003."
Finally someone throws an eraser at Pedro and another student shouts "Duck"!
Teacher, just waking, asked "Who said that?
Pedro answered: "Dick Cheney 2006!"
OK, Big storms brewing up here. Gotta go batten down the hatches. Later.
I had a recent complaint in the comments about my abnormally sunny disposition as of late. Yep, I have been focusing on the positives more. If I concentrate on how despicable the disloyal, America Hating, Commie RatBastard, Race Based Poverty Pimps that comprise the leadership and brain trust in the Democratic party are ....... It depresses me.
And if you had read the article on what happens to your brain when you get all stressed and depressed I posted about yesterday ( http://tinyurl.com/nftg9 ), You'd know that I don't want to lose any more brain cells.
If you really do know me - You'd know I have always been entirely capable of destroying brain cells without any help from Democrats anyway.
Anyway ........ Back to the main focus here.
Democrats plan a race-based campaign against a candidate who aims to be Maryland's first black man elected to the U. S. Senate, according to a confidential Democratic Party campaign document obtained by The New York Sun. The target of the emerging smear campaign is Michael Steele, the Republican nominee for a seat vacated by Paul Sarbanes, a liberal Democrat who has represented Maryland in the Senate for 30 years. I do not understand why the Democrats continue to be supported by minority folks. Nobody gets treated worse by liberals than a minority that jumps ship and strays from the party line. Jebus H. on a crutch! They've been throwing Oreo Cookies at this guy!
Mr. Steele has long been a focus of Democratic fire. In previous campaigns, Mr. Steele has been pelted with Oreo cookies for allegedly betraying his race. Two Democratic campaign staffers resigned last year when they illicitly obtained copies of Mr. Steele's financial records. Look at how they have treated Condi Rice and Colin Powell. Oh yeah, They work for Darth George. Sorry, I forgot that trumps everything.
Hozabout Bill Cosby? Heard anything from him lately? Not since he started speaking "Truth to Power" about personal responsibility. Truth to Power - Damn, that's a funnyass phrase. Sounds so sixtyish and powerful, but it's really meaningless.
I love the way liberals are just crazy in love with Alberto Gonzalez too. Another minority figure to reach higher than any Hispanic ever has before in government that liberals hate. Ooops. He was appointed by Darth George too. I'm seeing a pattern here but I will have the good graces to not mention that a republican appointed all these minorities to unprecedented positions.
But hey! They DOlove some Hispanics. Felons. Yes, illegal alien means I-L-L-E-G-A-L. As in, against the law.
And don't forget the whole "Culture of Corruption" Bullshit. That one really makes me laugh. Gateway Pundit put up a short list of some of the more recent corruption things nobody ever hears about. http://tinyurl.com/lxy5y
Oh Hell. This could go on for days and I'd never even make a dent in how many ways the Friggin' Dems are bad for America and the world.
When Iran gets their Nuke and uses it, I wonder who the first Democrat will be to blame Bush for not stopping them?
OK, I'm tired of this. I can feel my brain shrinking already. This was mostly to keep Surlys Mom on her toes and let her know I still have an intense dislike for these vermin. So blame her for this rambling mess.
Funny Story ........ A very self-important college freshman attending a recent football game, took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.
"You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one," the student said, loud enough for many of those nearby to hear. "The young people of today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing ....and," pausing to take another drink of beer......
The Senior took advantage of the break in the student's litany and said, "You're right, son. We didn't have those things when we were young........so we invented them. Now, you arrogant little shithead, what are you doing for the next generation?"
I love these kind of stories. It makes Unk all warm and fuzzy. This would be a good bedtime story.
This is a fascinating Article .... And you should read it because it'll make you smarter. Really. No really, go read it. http://tinyurl.com/nftg9It's a fairly long article, but I have faith in you.
I saw the link over at Bane's site (see links on the side). He always seems to have a lot of interesting trails to follow.
It's sad, but one of the first things I thought of while reading about the research was .... Damn, The little Zombie Kids I see in the Emergency Room ........ REALLY DON'T HAVE A FRIGGIN' CHANCE.
Being born and raised in a Zombie home, just makes for more Stupid, Government dependent, Zombies. Who know a lot about Cable TV, Government Checks and NASCAR.
The New Work Schedule ..... Really makes it hard for me to post anything. I'm gonna have to figure out a time management answer or just quit. Frankly, either option is acceptable to me. I'm gonna continue to jerk off here for now and we'll just see what happens.
The Bike?. A Suzuki X-6 Hustler. I had one of these little gems. It was one of the first real Bikes I owned. And the most fun of any I've had. I loved that thing. Mine had a shitty aftermarket paint job on it, but was the same bike, high pipes and all. I thrashed the shit out of it and sold it with the motor in pieces. I beat the shit out of it for close to 30,000 miles though. All day everyday redline. Crappy maintenance and all, it held up a lot longer than it should have.
I'm seriously doing things. I've gotten a bunch of "Honey-Do's" done today already.
Bought an AWESOME new horn for the Connie this morning. Check this Baby out: http://tinyurl.com/7odwd
139 Decibels of rich, ear shattering, goodness. Oh, it's great. Only $35.00 + shipping. God loves us.
I'm heading out to the garage to start tearing down the Calipers on the Connie. Murph will have the parts here by Monday or Tuesday, because his service is just all that and more. So when I get time next week, I'll be ready to finish the job. I'm gonna miss a couple of days riding with this delay, but what the hell. Connie deserves her maintenance.
Looking at the brake pads, it appears that the pistons have been sticking for awhile. One pad (The easy one to see) looks pretty good, but the inner pad was worn down to a nub. Lucky I looked closer or I'd be buying rotors too. See, more reason to be happy!
Dan Crary Guitar Workshop .... Monday afternoon I got up and smiled. I had finished my last night shift Monday morning.
My Pal and guitar buddy, Lonnie had us set up to go to a guitar workshop Monday evening, put on by Taylor Guitars. Taylor's are some really, really nice guitars. Pricey, but worth it.
The Taylor spokesman was Dan Crary. Holy Shit. The man can play. Easy to see why he is the spokesman. He gave a very nice presentation, playing and explaning things. He told a lot of good stories that tied into what he was trying to get across to us too.
Very informative and fun. Here's a link to his site, where you can listen to some clips of his playing. http://www.dancrary.com/
I Have Been a Busy Boy ...... You should be proud of me. No, Really!
Soooooooo much going on here lately, I don't know where to start. OK, maybe I do. First and best. I worked my last scheduled night shift last Sunday!!! I've been on nights for 10 of the last 12 years. I had a couple of years on days about 6 years ago, but then I pissed off the boss and had to go find another place to work. Shit happens, they ended up firing the Bitch, but I had to go back on nights somewhere else. Now I've got both jobs (I work part time too) lined up so I'm working 11am -11pm. The new schedule is Saturday and Sunday at the full time job and every Tuesday at the part timer. All on the new schedule. I worked the 11-11, Tuesday and come Wednesday morning, I felt like a million bucks. Lord, it's nice to sleep at night again.
I've felt so damn good I've been working like a fool around here. Cleaned up the garage and went down and helped a friend in the afternoon, Wednesday. Did a half-assed cleanup on the barn today. Started tearing down the brakes on the Big Blue Plastic Kawasaki this afternoon, but found that I'm gonna need to rebuild the calipers. Spent awhile looking for parts and getting sticker shock, till I remembered to check Murph, at Murph's Parts (see links). Saved myself about $175 over Kawasaki. So I bought a new set of Allen head screws for the fairing and still saved over $100.
Monday night, I went to a guitar clinic. I'll tell ya about that later. It's about time for bed.
Saturday Morning Cartoon ..... This seriously made me laugh.
Don't know who did this as the lettering on the side is to small for my blind ass. Yes I enlarged it, but it made the print distort and that reminded me of the 60's. And that's Never a good thing.
