Wow! That happened fast!

One of the deer just passed by and his coat has an awful lot of black in it which says it's going to get cold soon if I am reading it right.

It's actually when their coat gets a lot white in it that I start to cringe because that means snow. The cold I don't mind but I detest dealing with snow.

Yesterday the pair of fawns still had their spots and I wonder when they will disappear.  

I am supposed  to get my garage door by Halloween and I hope to holy hell that we don't get a major freeze before then.

I also see that the backyard maple is starting to turn and that's early.

While I dearly love the fall, I totally detest the winter. 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

"I am enraged" said a lawmaker.

Liar. In a pig's ass you are. You don't give a $hit.

There was a so-called hate crime committed in Montgomery, Alabama and it was basically spray paint graffiti.

The perpetrators were a bunch of screw ups and put the swastikas backwards which means to me a likely false flag op because any skinhead type knows how to make one. White supremist 101 there.

The also couldn't even spell the dreaded N-word correctly. More Supremist 101. Every supremist know how to spell that.

Some so-called lawmaker said he was enraged. Like hell he is. He doesn't give a fiddler's f*** about whoever got vandalized. It wasn't his house or car.

Labeling as a so-called hate crime is a joke.

How do you prove it? You can't prove what's in a man's heart.

It's plain and simple vandalism no matter what the reason is. See it for what it is.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Won't try that one again.

I'm having a pastrami and cheese omelet for breakfast today. It's sorta kinda OK and edible but not very inspiring.

I won't do that again in the foreseeable future.

Still, I'm glad I tried it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

On other gnus, I finished the garage thermostat project and wish I had thought of it earlier. It works rather well. Hopefully the new garage door will render this project moot because it will seal up better than the old door and keep a little more heat in the garage.

The water enters the house from the street via the garage because city water arrived someone got stupid or lazy or both.

It was OK before I insulated and sheetrocked the garage as heat from the basement would flow into the garage via the joisting. Afterwards with the heat sealed into the basement the garage grew somewhat colder on cold nights. 

I heat taped the pipes and built a box to surround the water meter and put a 100 watt bulb in the box. Later I put two 100 watt bulbs in it in case one burned out. (Murphy was an optimist.)

I'd only run it on cold sub freezing nights.

Also the old garage door leaked like a sieve and the new one should be a lot tighter so that should make the space warmer.

Here's how it works. I bought a thing called an Inkbird Wired Digital Temperature Controller Heat Thermostat off of eBay for about $30, delivered. 

I set it to turn the lights on at 35F, leaving a 3 degree margin of error and turn off at 65F. That sounds like a big difference and it is but the heavily insulated box eats up fast and cools down slowly. It should take maybe 15 minutes to heat the box up to 65 F and a whole lot more than that to cool back down to 35 F.

The record low in this area is about -22 and I think I'm easily good for that but every now and then Mother Nature says 'hold my beer' and sets another record low that gets the 'climate change' people all weirded out. I should be OK, though.

Actually with a new garage door which should easily seal up a lot better than the old one the unit probably won't run for the whole winter...hopefully.

I also just bought a little 110 volt buzzer to test the system with. I wanted something small and not an ear buster and it was rather hard to find on an eBay page full of air raid sirens, submarine klaxons and the like. I just want a small buzzer. After all, it's bad juju sending the entire neighborhood to air raid or tornado shelters. I just want something loud enough to hear when I'm upstairs, a small buzzer fits the bill.

It will likely be shut off when the testing is done.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Then again, while I was shopping for the buzzer on eBay I did come across a 140 db air raid siren for $75 delivered...

It's quite a temptation.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Somehow my dad did something that made me understand something

George C Wallace was running third party in 1968 and some of the liberal back room boys in Boston were trying to keep him off the ballot.

There was a petition going around supporting letting Wallace be on the Massachusetts ballot. One of the people circulating the petition asked my dad to sign it and he did. I was stunned until he explained it to me over dinner. My mother was shocked that he had signed it and asked him how he could support the biggest segregationist out there.

"I don't support him," he explained. "As a citizen I have a duty to help insure free elections. Wallace has every right to be on the ballot. However, as a human being I have a duty not to vote for the son of a bitch."

Mom shook her head. She didn't understand. I thought about it and did understand. Dad was right. Wallace had every right to be on the Massachusetts ballot and I had every right not to vote for him.

Dad wasn't supporting George Wallace. He was supporting free and honest elections.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Years later when dad was dead and gone his son took a lot of flak for supporting some Skinhead type group's basic civil right to hold a rally.

If you don't support the rights of others don't be surprised when it becomes your turn and you lose yours.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Save the skeets.

As usual some idiot wanted to get a sportsman's club that has been there since long before WW2 to shut down citing noise.

I suggested he write Harrisburg and see about getting skeets put on the endangered species list as they shoot a lot of them at the club. Then I pointed out that Naugas are already on the list. After all, when's the last time you saw a Naugahyde wallet?

I also pointed out that millions and millions of skeets are ruthlessly murdered each year all over the country.

To his credit, he didn't take the bait but he did leave himself open.

"That's not funny!" he posted.

"A lot of us think it is," I shot back. 

I got a bunch of 'agrees' and 'laughs' and a couple of 'huhs'?

Later that day I had a magnetic bumper sticker made that reads  'Save the skeets'. 

I wonder how that's going to go over at the sportsman's club. My guess is that some Fudd that has no imagination is going to say something stupid about it.

====================================

One of the neighbors complained to me about the noise coming from the local pool and yada yada yada.

They don't live too close to it and it's not really loud but I guess it disturbs their thought pattern or something.

I pointed out that I saw somewhere where a heavy metal rock band was looking for a garage or something to rent for rehearsing in and said I could us a couple of bucks.

----------------------------------------------- 

I told one that he ought to move next to Pittsburgh International and try and get that closed down like a lot of idiots do.

When people do things like that the airport should take a picture of them and put it on billboards labeled 'Idiot of the month. Moved next to an airport. Complains about noise'.

_-----------------------------------------

Last year I told someone about individual responsibility and that he was responsible for his own problem because he didn't take the time to investigate potential noise sources beforehand.

I got the usual "Yeah, you know, well, I feel" crap. 

Frankly I don't care how somebody feels. It they are suffering a brain blistering hangover and are sitting on the $hitter turning inside out and trying to drag the tub over to puke in it is not my problem, ESPECIALLY because they did it to themselves.

=============================

There is now a 'save the skeets' sticker on my pickup.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Finish your beer! Think of those poor sober kids overseas that have no beer!

I wonder these days if mothers still tell their kids to clean their plates because of the starving people overseas. Probably.

In my case it was the starving people in Europe after WW2 and yes, there was a lot of hunger in Europe for the decade afterwards. That was followed by the kids in Korea and two decades later by the kids in Vietnam.

I would not be surprised to hear that it goes back to the Roman Legions or even Alexander the Great. 

I can hear the wife of one of Alexander's grunts telling the kids to eat everything on their plate. " Finish your supper! Think of those poor, starving kids in that Persian city your father just razed!"

(Some kid answers, "Aww, Mom. There are no starving kids in Persia. After they burned it and plundered it they had a great big barbecue and ate them all.")

I grew up with the starving people in Europe and ate everything on my plate which did nobody any good. The people over there still went hungry. It probably made some of the other kids that got that treatment kids get fat.

That was early on and that's when I started to realize that much of which I would probably be made to do further on in life was deal with stupidity.

I will concede that there is one thing it did do is make me frugal about food. I do my damnedest not to waste it and I am NOT a part of the 'I don't eat leftovers' set. I sure as hell do.

If I cook something it gets eaten and there are several dishes that I prefer to eat as leftovers. In fact this evening I may pick up a pizza to put in the refrigerator to have for breakfast.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

But it's ugly!

Several years ago I bought a Hard Dog roll bar for the Miata that burned up.

I bought it from a used car dealer that had to yank it from another Miata before the girl would buy it. The dealer told me about the sale and when he pointed out that a roll bar is a safety device she replied, "But it's ugly."

I laughed. "Bet she was ugly, too," I said.

"She was really no fox," he replied.

Years and years ago I had a girl I had gone out with a couple of times tell me I ought to get rid of my leather flight jacket.

"I like it," I replied.

"But it's ugly!" she said.

"You're ugly, too." I replied. "Maybe I ought to stuff you into a dumpster and keep the jacket. You, know, cut down on the ugliness in my life."

That ended that MOST riki-tik!

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The tile guy is showing up today to look things over

which means I am getting closer to completion.

This entire job should have been completed MONTHS ago but it has fallen prey to a woman that drags her feet making decisions and it has really gotten on my nerves.

That's been a BIG source of anger. It finally came to a head recently when I decided that not to decide is to decide and I started really pushing things.

The garage door is now on order and will take a few weeks because needless to say, it is not an in-stock item and the door people are also backed up a couple of weeks like every other sub out there.

One of the guys opined that the entire job should have been completed by January first and under ideal circumstances he was right. Fact is that every single sub involved was backed up and it would took at an absolute minimum two weeks to get them to arrive after an agreement was made. A month was pretty much par. Scheduling to get things flowing was damned near impossible.

St. Patrick's Day would have been reasonable under the circumstances to be fair about it. Tax day as an absolute!

The problem lies when a perfectionist can't seem to make a decision about something like what color to paint something or what color tile to use. The whole job stops while someone makes up their mind.

Choosing for them is an option exercises at one's peril because if that is done the screeching followed by the moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth will be epic. I'm surprised Cecil B. DeMille didn't take some film of the conniptions that follow when someone painted a wall or something because the poor bastard was just tired of waiting for a decision. He could have used the film for the laminations of the womenfolk in a movie for a scene where the Huns have razed a village and killed off most of the men and children.

I did finally blow up and push the garage door issue and it has been ordered. 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I have been slack for the first time since Day one.

But I made up for it.

Someone on another forum asked what I like in a woman and I replied "Big tits."

Needless to say, some people do not understand sarcasm. The screeching started.

At least half of a brain helps and a full working brain trumps cup size. 

Then again ya can't get both....Or can you?

Who cares?

Keep 'em guessing.

FWIW the thread quickly disappeared. I was surprised I didn't get a time out.

-----------------------------------------

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Women and children can easily lose their rights.

given to them under the Geneva Convention. (Not that Geneva convention, the other one.)

Society says it's wrong to hit a woman or injure a child but nobody (especially women and children) mentions the fine print under the convention's sdict.

It reads 'so long as they are conducting themselves as ladies and children'. This part seems to be conveniently overlooked a lot.

I've got a friend that once got carted off to jail overnight following a domestic. Seems his girlfriend pulled a knife on him and not wanting to get carved up he disarmed her in a scuffle that landed her on her ass. She called the cops and he got carted off. Lucky for him she was stupid enough to admit she grabbed a kitchen knife 'to try and scare him' and the DA dropped the issue.

Needless to say the 'He hit a woman' crowd chimed in and as usual I came to his defense by pointing out that under no circumstances does anyone lose their right to self-defense when attacked by anyone.

Frankly I give the man credit for not knocking her out cold but that's just me. He probably should have knocked her out.

Fact is, when a woman stops being a lady she loses her right under the 'Geneva convention'. Many moons ago in Kodiak I saw a woman get knocked out for trying to knee a guy in the groin for no good reason. 

Funny thing, she was hauled out and stuffed into a dumpster by a couple of women having a drink. They knew the score and wanted no part of her bull$hit.

I had and still have no problem with it. She lost her rights when she wanted to go hands on.

The news sometimes runs stories of teenagers being shot while robbing someplace or another. The Karens screech, "But he was just a kid".

Fact is the adolescent lost their right to life by picking up a weapon and using it to commit a crime. While nobody in their right mind wants to shoot anyone, much less a kid, the kid willingly gave up his right to stay unharmed when he picked up a weapon and threatened to use it.

The other thing that people lose their rights for is going on record for a cause of some sort publicly. Greta Thunberg is a prime example. When she picked up that microphone and ran her mouth she opened herself up to any and all insult and disagreement that got thrown at her. I made a couple of comments.

I had a cousin that said, "But she's just a child!"

I said she lost her right to protection as a child when she picked up the microphone and looked into the camera. (Then I asked how she'd feel if Greta was speaking out for gun rights instead of global warming and got crickets for an answer)

Still, people have to realize that both parties have to take their share and live up to the responsibilities that give them the right to protection under the rules as accepted by society. Those rights to protection are not unconditional.

The real Geneva Convention gives protection against being targeted to places like churches, hospitals, orphanages and other non military targets but even that is conditional. A cathedral becomes a legitimate target if it is being used for military purposes like storing ammunition or as a command post of some sort. When that happens they become legitimate military targets.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Saturday. A day of driving around and looking at garage doors.

which sucks.

How stupid are people, anyway?

I see these community organizers and big shots in things like BLM. They are activists and so-called leaders and every single one of them thinks that after the revolution or whatever they are going to get to join the big boys drinking brandy in the oak paneled room and be a part of the leadership of the 'new regime'.

Their too stupid to realize that because they have displayed organizing and leadership talents that they will be among the first to be taken out back and be shot.

The big boys don't want the competition.

Somewhere the term 'useful idiots' comes into play here.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Chasing DX now.

I see a new one and I want to bag it.

Also more house drama because someone can't make up their mind.

When push comes to shove I am going to have to make up their mind for them. It likely won't be pretty.

I HATE people that wait until they get to the front of the line to start thinking about what they want. Over the years I have been known to step next to them and say something like "While he/she's making up their mind howzabout giving me a quick cuppa coffee?"

The clerk/barista/server/waitress/ whatever generally does much to the annoyance of the special little entitled jerk that's holding the entire line up.

I've had a couple say something to me and I generally tell them, "You should have made up your mind while you were waiting in line instead of holding up everyone else. Their time is valuable, too. Probably more valuable than yours. Now go to the end of the line and figure out what you want."

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I got a call from someone that asked me where I was.

I told them I was in a supermarket and they asked me what I was doing there.

WTF else would I be doing in a supermarket? Buying groceries might be a good guess. Bubbles don't work there. She works at the club. If I was at the club I'd be watching Bubbles shake 'em.

I said, "What am I doing in a supermarket? I'm selling bibles and preaching gospel. I'm a member of the clergy and am allowed to. Praise the Lord, Brother!" I said to the guy behind me that had heard my answer.

I got lucky. The guy behind me heard and looked at me and said, "Halleluiah! Amen, Brother!" loudly enough for the caller to hear.

"For $49.95 you, too can have a copy of this fine King James bible if you act now! Praise the Lord!" I shot back. "I take cash."

"Thanks for calling," I said to the caller. "I just made fifty bucks!"

A mistake. They were from some bull$hit charity and asked me for a contribution.

"$hit, no!" I  shot back. "That's TUCK money! My old lady doesn't know I have it! I gettin' fifty ones and puttin' em in Bubble's G string at the club tonight!"

Shills, telemarketers and the like get what they deserve from me.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I've started to reread Kipling

Right now I have my nose in 'Captains Courageous'.

It's been several decades since I read Kipling and it gives an interesting perspective toward things.

One of his poems in 'Barracks Room Ballads' puts it into the X-ring with the way soldiers are looked upon. Hated in peace and loved during wartime. Typical.

Actually to some extent that has changed. GIs are now pretty much respected in this country.

Still, I don't see the upper class steering their kids toward military service.

************************

Quick question. How does one enlist in the Space Force?

I guess you sign up on line somehow according to a very cursory Google search.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

At 000001Z I go on the air for a net I generally check in on on

either 7.213 or 7.285 Mhz.

My job is to read the Preamble.

I was asked to read the net preamble once and accidentally on purpose read THE Preamble and they guys said it was now my job to read THE Preamble.

Net Control reads the net preamble.

We're on 7.254 tonight and I'm starting it.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

One of the things I remember about being a sailor

is how others reacted to it.

Mrs Pic once told me one of my mother in law's friends asked her, "Does your husband still have that awful job?"

Much to her credit she set the woman straight.

"He likes his job and makes a decent paycheck. It's anything else but awful. He works for three weeks and gets three weeks off.," she said.

--------------------------------------------------

She also managed to get my mother off of my back early on.

When I first licensed I made a copy and sent it to her. She called when she got the copy but I wasn't home. My wife was.

When she answered the phone and was chatting with my mother, mom told her she wished I would go back and get my degree.

My wife told her, "That license IS his degree."

My wife later said to me my mother was speechless for several seconds.

"I guess it is," she replied and never bothered me again.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

A heavily armed gunman robbed the 7 Eleven on Elm and High this morning

It is believed that that the heavily armed gunman is not the same person as the lightly armed gunman that robbed the First National Bank yesterday afternoon.

Police are looking for two gunmen, one heavily armed and one lightly armed.

WTF. Who cares how big a gat some thug is packing. A .22 can (and will if used properly) make a person just as dead as a .50 BMG.

In fact if you Google around you can find robberies committed with BB guns.

Heavily armed gunman my ass.

If you have a gun and are committing a crime you are 'heavily armed'.

FWIW the NRA considers a 'high powered rifle' to be ANY CENTER FIRE Rifle.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I had a chance to talk to my little sweetie who isn't little anymore.

She was three when she became my sweetie because she was very shy and overcame it when I offered my hand to her to walk across the street and see their Christmas lights. It was precious and I don't forget.

She's now 15 and seems to have grown up to be what I used to call a 'cool chick'. She's a wonderful laid back comfortable young lady and is already interesting to talk to, unlike most airhead 15 year olds.

I offered to take her to lunch sometime just to talk and she said that she just knew someone nosy would start trying to listen in and figure out why an old man is there with a 15 year old.

She knows me rather well and said that she knew I'd say something outrageous for the benefit of the busybodies to wind them up and she would not be able to keep a straight face.

She's right. I probably would. I'd have to or not be able to look myself in the eye. It's what I do.

I said to her, "Something like 'Gee, honey! Time flies! It's been a wonderful ten years since we married and you've given me two beautiful kids! Happy anniversary!'"

"Yes," she blushed, laughing with her beautiful smile "Something like that. I couldn't keep a straight face."

Her older brother laughed like hell. He's one of my younger friends that is sharp as a tack. He's an aerospace engineering student and when I once told him I was awarded the Legion of honor for shooting 38 A-rabs off the back of a camel he whipped out a calculator and pointed out the average weight of the must have been about 13.15789 pounds apiece. No flies on that kid!

Anyway, I like watching people grow up. It leaves me feeling positive about things. 

Edited to add, I remember posting the Christmas lights story back when it happened about 13 years ago.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The basement is eye scorching bright now, and the garage is pretty damned close to it.

because I had the electrician install a couple of extra lights in the garage.

I also installed an extra string of six lights in the basement. 

The walls of both the basement and the garage were DryLoked white. The sheet rocked garage ceiling was painted flat white and the joisting and floor overhead were given a couple of coats of white shellac. It reflects light for certain!

It's a lot better than it was before the fire.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Ooooh! YuckI I have to run my water for five whole minutes to clear it up!

Some kindly soul posted an FYI notice on Nextdoor explaining that the water people had fixed a leaking pipe of some sort and as a result her water was kinda lemonade looking.  So she took the initiative to call the water people to report it and they told her what had happened and the cure was simply to let the water run for a few minutes until it cleared up. Kudos to her. Thank you.

Enter some whiner that griped about having to to run her water a whole five or six minutes to flush her pipes. BFD.

What?

I wanted to suggest she grab a couple of buckets and walk to the local creek. I've lived without electricity and running water for over a decade during my life and have benefitted tremendously from it but that's another story. I'll tell it sometime. I've hauled water before. A LOT of water.

The thought that someone has to actually DO something for themselves seems entirely alien to some people. They don't know how good they have it. 

Last night I woke up and had to pee. My feet hit the floor and I spotted the dim light of the head. (bathroom, restroom, $hitter, whatever you call it. I'm a retired sailor and we called it a head. I still do.)

Anyway, when I saw the night light I grinned and muttered "Thanks, Chief." I don't take a lot of things for granted. It was a reference to the Chief Engineer that is responsible for generating the vessel's energy, electrical and propulsion. Along with pressurized potable water, sewage and a number of other things.

Actually the 'Chief' at the power plant generating my electricity was probably some highly paid electrical engineer that was possibly wearing a full dress uniform consisting of a T-shirt, cutoff sweat pants and flip flops with his feet up monitoring a console that way because the 'suits' were not around. Suits usually work 9 to 5.

We live in an amazing world where running water is delivered to our taps and electricity is delivered to out outlets and light fixtures. I won't get into WiFi.

Anyway, some group of people were working all night to repair a busted main of some sort and got it complete by oh-dark-thirty so the people they service could wake up to running water.

Please note that these people were busting their tails working in the weather while you were asleep enjoying dreamland. he had a pretty good night to work in. It was seasonably warm and they likely thanked their lucky stars it wasn't in early February during an ice storm. They work in  all kinds of weather.

My suggestion is for you to open your eyes and look at the world around you and realize that the infrastructure around you is run by human beings manning all sorts of mechanical thing that break down once in a while and giving these people a break.

How about doing your share and making it easy for those guys.  

Simply run your water for a couple of minutes this one time and make it easy for the guys that work to make your life easy . It's not going to kill you.

It's not a whole lot to ask.

Besides, it's a lot better than drinking muddy lemonade colored water.

Then again I grew up in the age where mothers told their kids to either eat it and shut up.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Sometimes I think they ought to make a law that electric car

owners recharge their vehicles from only 'renewable' sources like wind or solar.

If you are going to play the game you ought to play it right.

What they are doing now is like handing out recyclable paper straws in plastic wrappers.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

SS DD.

At 2359Z I made a quick QSO with a Cuban ham and waited 2 minutes and called back. He answered and said, "Hey, I already logged you a couple minutes ago ago."

"That was yesterday," I replied.

"I guess it was," he laughed.

Funny how that works.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Never need a toilet again. Free download.

You're really that stupid, aren't you?

When I told you there was an app that meant you would never again have to use the the john again you just had to Google it and see how to download it on your phone, didn't you?

On the other hand, some of you were just wondering what kind of bull$hit story I was feeding you.

You know who you are and if the shoe fits....

==========================

To the regulars, this refers to the previous post.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

There's an app for that.

In Homeless Depot someone asked me where the men's room was.

I told him against the far wall, halfway down and as an afterthought said, "There's an app for that now. I downloaded it onto my phone a couple months ago and haven't needed a toilet since. It's a free download."

"Really?" he asked, somewhat wide-eyed and headed off to the rest room.

Fifteen minutes later he passed me at the millwork desk. "You asshole!" he said and walked off.

I got $100 that says the minute he sat down on the throne he pulled out his phone and started looking for the app to download.

Yes, we really are getting stupider and more dependent by the day.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The rifle shoots well. I don't.

Which sucks. I shot yesterday and did poorly.

First time I used electronic targets, too. 

With those and the sensors there's no way in hell I'll going to shoot the offhand portion of the match standing on my feet. I generally have one that gets away from me in the offhand portion. Hit a sensor and the referee throws out a red penalty marker for that one!

Besides half the fun is the bullshit that goes on in the pits and there's no pit duty with electronic targets.

I have to go back and refresh my basics again.

:(

They supplied tablets but next time I can bring my Kindle.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

My rifle shoots!

I just shot a .350 MOA group with it.

That's amazing!

It shoots and I'm taking it to a match today.

We shall see what we shall see.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Up early (as usual)

which is something that old men do. Early to bed, early to rise. 

I spent the previous day hanging out and doing small jobs while the electricians did theirs.

==================================

Women should not have kids past 35 because thirty five kids is too much for any woman to handle.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The electrician came and went

And did a good job. 

Now I have to wait for a garage door and for the tile guy to return.

Busy today.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The number of young girls shooting at Camp Perry has grown exponentially over the past several years

and the young ladies are hammering it hard.

Two and a half decades ago women shooting at the Nationals were a rarity. Occasionally some shooter would bring his wife and while he shot she went to Port Clinton and played bingo. (Seriously. That's what one couple told me years ago.)

It slowly seemed to develop as one or two of the state junior teams sort of started it by taking the county tomboy along with them. It's grown now at least among the juniors to the point where some state teams have a rather large percentage of young women on them. Few of them seem to be tomboys now. They are simply young ladies competing in a sport associated with men.

They hammer, too and this year I believe it was a woman that won the match following the Small Arms Firing School. Nothing new.

The subject came up over after-match beers and the consensus is that women take instruction better, pay closer attention and (this one's a biggie) are not fighting testosterone. Over the years a number of Army and Marine shooters have told me the same thing.

In general I like almost all the juniors I run into, male and female. Back early on I was assigned to a barracks bunk with about 20 other members of the Texas team. I expected badlam and chaos but was proved wrong as the youngsters there proved to be the best behaved young men I ever ran into.

One of them wanted to get past me and asked, "Sir, could I get by you?"

I moved and laughed and asked him "What happened to "Outta the way, Pops?"

His eyes grew to the size of saucers and he replied, "If I ever said that to you I'd be on the next plane home!"

He proved to be an interesting young man and was aiming to go to school at Texas A&M.  I bet he did and is now doing well.

As for the young ladies I met? Almost every single one of them was sharp as a tack. (After making sure there were witnesses so nothing got taken out of context) I asked a teenaged girl one of the most famous of the Old School Hollywood lines, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

She gave me a confident grin and replied, "Winning."

I was delighted and told her that was the best answer I have ever gotten to that question. Her parents should be really proud of their daughter. What confidence she had!

I'm all for the young people competing!

(Actually it was the best answer I ever got from a youngster. The all time best came from a fellow employee. She shot back "WHO says I'm a nice girl!" but that's another story.)

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

One of the things that is astonishing is the way the various places like the USPS, FedEx, UPS, Amazon etc

can move things so efficiently. It's amazing.

I just ordered something and it's being sent USPS and I signed up for texts to let me watch the progress. I've done it with UPS and Amazon and it's amazing.

Rarely there is a glitch, and in my experience the glitches tend to mean something is arriving sooner than first expected. That's been a pain in the a$$ a time or two. Something arrives when I am out of town.

I used to try synchronize deliveries so they'd arrive after I got back from sea to the point where I'd place the order and ask them to hold it until a day or two before I got home. Either that or not order it until a day or two before I got off.

At first I was amazed at how sometimes something would leave, say Nebraska, go to Oregon and then east to Pennsylvania until I figured out how the hub system works. It makes a lot of sense in making things flow freely and keeping the costs down.

I remember the days a package from Chicago to Boston often took a week or ten days. I know this because I mail ordered something from Chicago that I won't get into here. (It was pre-1968) It took about 2 weeks. The package arrived kind of dog eared, too.

Still, all in all it's pretty damned good when you think about it.

How the guy I bought something from drops it in the mail today as I see he has made a shipping label and the USPS says they don't have the package yet.

Update. I was checking up on an Amazon delivery and saw where I was getting my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun in another eight stops and when they said I was the next stop I stepped onto the porch as he was pulling up.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Today a garage door person is showing up.

While I could probably buy my own and install it, a good pro can be in and out in less than a day...and would likely do a better job.

He's coming to measure and give a bid but I'm also waiting for another bid or two and I already have a guy in mind.

I got a recommendation from someone that pointed out that there's a guy out there that specializes in odd sized doors and mine most certainly is.

I want it done right so I'm not fooling around because it got stuck like the old one did once in a while. The old one was a one piece behemoth and the hardware for it looked like something out of the Flintstone era. 

When I replaced the original opener I jumped the sensors so I could push the button and walk out. I think I'll have the sensors set low enough so I can simply step over the beam so I can still do that.

Anyway, I hope the guy that is recommended to me by someone else, the odd size specializer, has what I want.

Update: Guy never showed. The odd sized guy still has a shot at it.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY