Snippets

[Crusty]

Thank you all! It's been a Very Good Day for me.

[Dusz]

Happy belated Birthday. Glad you enjoyed your day. Your meal sounded great.

[Crusty]

Gott’er Done




Today was a day of accomplishment.


It actually started last night. I decided that I had to fix the leaking faucet in the laundry sink, so I watched a few Youtube videos on Sharkbite Fittings and valves. It seemed pretty simple, except for one problem. The water pipes had been painted and for the Sharkbites to work, the pipes have to be clean. And I couldn’t just sand the paint off. Sanding the pipes would lead to leaks.


So, this morning, after David came by to change the bandage on my back, I went over to Home Teapot. I had made a list of items that I wanted; a deburring tool, a pipe cutter, and a ball valve. I started looking at different ball valves and found one that used Compression Fittings. That meant that I could sand the paint off the pipes and the repair would be permanent. The ball valve was about five bucks cheaper than a similar Sharkbite ball valve. The pipe cutter was a nice compact one that didn’t take up much room, so it works in tighter areas. Everything went smoothly and the leak is now cured. Considering how much water a leaking faucet goes through, the valve will pay for itself pretty quickly.


It was a job that I had been putting off, but I’m not sure why. At any rate, it’s done now. I also did a bit of cleaning around the basement, sweeping up loose dirt from the drain pipe repair and washing down the clothes folding table and the outside of the washer and dryer. Then I cleaned up and put away a number of motorcycle related items; that Chineseum POS horn and some other parts that were on the workbench. I checked the gas tank that Roy is coming to get next week and while I did get many things put away, I’m contemplating a serious reorganization.


Earlier this summer, RD and I had discussed visiting the Air Force National Museum up at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It’s the largest military aircraft museum in the world and both parking and admission are free. The drain pipe job has put a real hurt on my finances, but I can afford Free. I have a real itch to go someplace and going up to Dayton to look at beautiful aircraft has a strong appeal. I talked with RD a bit and we have to work out final details, but it looks like this coming Wednesday would be a good time to go. I’ll definitely bring my camera. The Museum has aircraft from various eras, missiles and spacecraft. One thing I saw on the website is that no weapons are allowed and they consider a pocket knife to be a weapon. I’ll have to leave my Leatherman at home.


After dinner (Hot Dogs - it’s Saturday night!) I got restless and took a spray bottle of hot water and a putty knife into the bathroom and released the Cherubs into the Wild. They’re residing in the waste basket for now, but on Thursday morning, they’re flying away for good. They have left the nest. Flown the coop. They’re gone. I don’t know why I waited so long to get rid of them. I can’t afford to remodel the bathroom at present, but it looks a lot better without those ugly pieces of tacky tastelessness.


I think that tomorrow, I’ll go out on the Express and ride some backroads. The weather forecast for the next week shows daily high temps in the 70s and low 80s (F) (22 to 28º C) and sunny. Perfect riding weather. I might as well enjoy it while it’s here. Winter is coming.


OH! I found out who sent me that Grandfather Mug and T-shirt. I don’t know if they desire anonymity; but to be safe I’ll just say that they came from a friend.

[sportsterpaul]

John, keep me posted on the museum, would like an excuse for a ride!

[Crusty]

An Interesting Day





I live one hour away from an incredible place and it took me 6 1/2 years to discover that.



Yesterday, I met RD at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force up at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It’s the world’s largest military aircraft museum and it’s both enormous and amazing. If you’re into military planes at all, you should try to visit it. You won’t regret it. I saw things I’d only read about and learned things I never knew about. The museum is so big that we only got to see a little over half of it and we’re making plans to go back during the dead of winter.



I had checked the route on Gargle and it was supposed to take one hour to get there. I was supposed to meet RD at the museum parking lot at 9:00, so I left home at 7:20; just in case. It was a good thing that I did, because as soon as I got on I-74, traffic came to a stop. It was several miles before I even got into second gear and it took almost an hour to get out of the City. I pulled up beside RD about 1 minute before 9:00.We went in and got to see one of the great Museums of the World. This museum is to Warplanes what the Barber Museum is to motorcycles. By the end of the day, it was like, “Yeah; that’s just another incredible plane.”



I saw legendary aircraft. Planes I made models of when I was a kid. Planes that were in dogfights when my grandfather was a kid. I saw a plane that flew from Los Angeles to Washington DC in an hour and 45 minutes. Planes that can’t be detected by radar and planes that can fly at over 60,000 feet of altitude. I saw the actual B-29 (Bockscar) that dropped the Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki as well as a replica of the “Fat Man” bomb. I saw a V1 Buzz Bomb and a V2 rocket on it’s launching trailer. I saw an actual B-36 with its 6 propeller engines and 4 jet engines. I saw a Kamikazi trainer. I saw German, Japanese, Italian, French and more US planes than I could keep track of. I walked under a B-52 and I saw an A-10 Warthog up close. And we only got to skim the half of the museum that we saw.





I took 43 photos, but many of them didn’t turn out well. (A black stealth plane doesn’t photograph well in low light conditions) I did get some good pix, though and I’ll send some out in a separate e-mail.



One unexpected surprise was the lunch we got in the Cafe. We had pulled pork sandwiches and they were really good! I was expecting bland, tasteless and overpriced fodder, but the sandwich was very tasty!



Finally, about mid-afternoon, my legs couldn’t take any more walking on flat concrete. I knew that I’d be hurting this morning (and I am) and I didn’t care about that, but I just couldn’t walk any more, so we left. RD headed west toward Indianapolis and I came south to Cincinnati.I hit a little rush hour traffic in Dayton and some in Cincinnati, but nothing like I was in on the way north and I arrived home around 4:30.



The kicker is that this incredible jewel is free to visit! I can go as often as I want and it only costs me the price of fuel to get there!



It was a very magical day that has me wanting to make a return soon.

[Crusty]

Early Years Photos

[Crusty]

WW2 Pix

[Crusty]

Friday the 13th


Today is Friday the 13th. If you’re superstitious, you’ll worry about bad things happening. To add to that, it’s also the New Moon. Many people think that things get weird on the Full Moon, but I believe that just the opposite is true.

When the moon is Full, it’s on one side of the earth while the sun is on the opposite side. When that happens, the gravitational pull of the moon helps to counter the pull of the sun; so things are a bit more balanced. But during the New Moon, both the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction, so things get a bit distorted.

Of course, the Human Race is a bit distorted anyway, so maybe making things a bit more balanced just amplifies that distortion.

It’s something to think about when I don’t feel like playing Solitaire. Actually; I don’t think about it. I only give it thought when an event like today happens and not a lot of thought at that time.

I took my last dose of Warfarin this morning, before my “Procedure” on Tuesday. The Cardiologist wants my PTINR to be 1.5 or lower for the Cardiac Catheterization. I’m looking forward to finding out what’s going on with my heart; but at the same time, I’m scared s**tless about it. I know that it’s pretty much a routine procedure any more; but, as Forest Gump said, “It happens”. Joan Rivers (remember her?) went in for a routine cosmetic “Procedure” and left in a body bag.

My dad used to get really nervous about any kind of surgery. He worried when he was having hemorrhoid surgery and when he got Cataract Replacement surgery. When he had bypass surgery, the surgery was a success, but he never recovered from it. That time, his fears came true. Of course, dad was born in 1930 and surgery back then had a much lower success rate; so I can understand why it made him nervous.

I’ve had some heavy duty surgery over the years; I feel like I’m becoming the Bionic Man. I have a mechanical valve in my heart, a bunch of plastic mesh in my abdomen and plastic lenses in my eyes, as well as plastic teeth. I had Titanium down by my ankle, but it had to be removed when the screws started backing out and were pressing on a nerve. If they do put stents in my arteries (and I think they will), that will add to my mechanical list and hopefully, I’ll have more energy and endurance. I guess it’s in God’s hands. I hope he’s in a merciful mood.

I just had a wonderful BLT for breakfast. (Wright’s Bacon was on sale and I bought my limit of 5 packs at $6.99 each). Last night, I cut the strips in half and portioned the bacon out for BLTs. (6 half strips each). I have enough bacon to last me for a while. I think I’ll ride over to that farm stand in Kentucky and see if they have any more tomatoes, this afternoon. I have two more breakfasts before Tuesday. I may as well have good ones.

[ChinCactus]

Best of luck Tuesday John!

[Tim The Grim]

Ditto !! ^^^ I sincerely hope your Cardiologist is as good as mine.