May 31, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 31, 2021, NASA sucks.
Five years ago today: May 31, 2017, fossilized non-elects.
Nine years ago today: May 31, 2013, graphene, huh?
Random years ago today: May 31, 2018, heat index 98F.

           Arising extra early to do some quiet reading, I ran across this object I last saw before I was ten years of age. They were marketed to schools as a yardstick compass. You took two pieces of chalk and used one as a pivot. Thus, you could draw a circle on the blackboard of any inch diameter on the stick. So, do you want to know what they were really used for? It’s not very scientific. Before around 1960, it was common for cars to need a valve job. Around every two years, the average car owner had the valves taken out to be reground, usually a requirement for the auto warrantee. This lucrative practice was put out of business by better materials, but the concept here is the valves had to be set back into the same pistons to seat properly.

           Thus, your mechanic had one of these yardsticks and the valves fit right into them pretty holes. Two valves to a piston, eight pistons, and your holes in the stick were two inches apart. Other mechanics used to just punch holes in a handy piece of cardboard for the same effect. As for schools and the declining quality of education, do they even draw circles any more? Which brings up another point. The big deal is the queers taking over sex education class. While the old way (they called it “counseling”) was a disaster, the change in sex class from “tell me” to “show me” was never meant to open a door for the faggots. Thus, these yardsticks might have a use yet, especially if the swatting causes their flesh to pop through the little holes.

           Har-dee-har-har, I hear the latest batch of iPads and iPhones (I use neither) has come out with the button press problem in spades. Users report having to press buttons five or more times, often with varying results. Hey, it’s been going that route since around 200t, when this blog rejected the first batch of so-called “commercial” GPS devices. They were the same crap that is still on the market today, programmed for idiots by idiots and using maybe 15% of the potential. But hey, that’s what idiots buy and buy they did, so much so that it stalled development and put mapmakers out of business.

Picture of the day.
Ten waterspouts, Louisiana.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Here’s a blurry photo of the arcade game from last week. The Reb has found a museum type place with pinballs, so we are plannign a visit. The real tale from today is the lawnmowers. What a treat, we got a donated mower apart and back together using only the knowledge I’ve gained so far. Then without thinking, I fire the thing up right while the Reb is in the middle of a recording session. I could have sworn she said 3:00PM, but it was 4:00PM. The mower had mutliple problems and since that was the afternoon, blog rules say you get to read about them. The thing would turn over but not get gas.

           First thing, check that gas since the last user will tend to recall it is fresh when it is a year old. Sure enough we drained the tank and it was around 20% water. The tank never really empties via the drain, so get the rest out with a turkey baster. Up came a layer of sludge. My guess is this mower was outside at least two years. Earlier, I had swept quite a layer of leaves and dust off. There are so many nooks and crannies it was still a mess and we found a nest of ants which got sprayed with kerosene.

           We removed the carburetor and drained it of water. Talk about cheap, but it had metal working parts. Lem says this are one-shot pieces. If the thing doesn’t work, toss it. This model had the bulb and the carb had a number of sealed off ports. The entire assembly had to be soaked in kerosene and then air dried. The cup was plastic. The filter had to be cleaned and rolled dry in a towel. The gas tank was removed and rinsed with new gas, we found a small clogged mesh screen at the outlet. Cleaning that tank took half the time invested, it also had to be air dried to get particles out.
           Everything got put back together only to find it was leaking gas, so back apart it came. The carb had the usual hinge, replaced just like other mowers, but this one still had to be snapped into a clip mechanism. Lem reports that’s a first. It went back together easy and the unit fired up after some hard cranking. Too hard for the Reb and a real challenge for my bum shoulder. It got easier after a few tries but something tells me it will get worse with storage. This mower required three hours repair and two men, so that’s a higher cost than new. But what price the learning experience. We now know we could make money at this, which remains to be seen.
           For one thing, Lem is like many of us who don't shop every day, making us out of touch with prices and now they are soaring. He gulped when I told him it now sells for $190, that is, a hundred bucks more than when he last checked and myself, the same as I do when I buy groceries these day. He’s got every tool ever needed and it’s top of the line. He has a Grizzly band saw that can make lumber. Myself, the work is within my energy level and uses the muscles that need it, didn’t I already mention this? The shoulder blades that Big Loretta used to mash. This work, which involved minor lifting, produces much the same “strain relief” conditions as the old therapy, so I’m happy with that part.

ADDENDUM
           The world continues to go to the dogs with America leading the way. The world, however, had best be careful because only America has a self-correcting potential in the form of an armed populace. The Democrat party has horribly alienated itself. People don’t care about the Ukraine and COVID when food prices have tripled and they are paying $100 a tank for gasoline. And they know DC has lied too often. Take the Permian(?) oilfields in Texas. The government keeps saying there’s only enough oil for the world for a few years, but there is enough for centuries for America and to hell with the world.
           The popular mood is nobody is going to vote for the mid-terms and that is likely to be just the beginning of their downfall. Nobody is going to forget what they tried to shove on us. They finally convicted one of the January 6 people, but only by allowing testimony that should not have been considered. He was not charged with any hate crimes, yet they heard witnesses say he was anti-Semetic. That is such a setup, he’ll be out as soon as the administration changes. And it will. Things have already gone from displeasure with the regime to outright hatred. Keep it peaceful folks and if not, let the other side make the wrong moves. They’re good at it.

Last Laugh