The timing chain cover just came in for the Z. Degreased and bead blasted, it bears little resemblance on the surface to the beat up grimy one I took off of the car. Now I can begin putting things back together.
I also got in all the nuts and bolts to put everything back together, ad well as a new crank seal and gasket set. By the time I get through getting it all back together it will have cost me about $250 to replace the head gasket. A lot more than I figured. It will be sooooo nice when I get it running again and can drive it.
On another front, there has been a lot of e-mail traffic back and forth between myself, my cousin Ginger, and my newly found cousins.
We have also connected on Facebook. I don't care that much for facebook, but it has been good for reacquainting with long lost family and friends.
One of the things that came out of this all was that two of my cousins are going to be coming to the meeting of the clan in Sandpoint this summer. Ben, who lives in Florida is going to fly up to Spokane, where he will meet up with his sister Ursula, and they will come together.
I have ordered three additional copies of "Candles of the Lord" from the Ursuline sisters in Kentucky. They should be arriving next week. I think my one cousin that lives in Spanaway is going to come over and get her copy. The ones for Ginger and Ben I will probably hang on to until the Meeting of the Cousins in Sandpoint.
It has been an interesting couple of weeks.
You know how when you lean back in a chair, you overballance and feel like you are going to fall over backwards but you catch yourself just in time? My life is like that, except most of the time.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Family
When I was 13 my Uncle George passed away from brain cancer. He was still fairly young, and left behind a wife and a bunch of kids.
Their mother, my Aunt Marge was barely functional. The State took her kids away for a couple of years, but eventually she got them back. To me, they just fell off the edge of the Earth. I never heard from her or them again. Always in the back of my mind was the fact that I had a bunch of family out there somewhere.
Last year I set out to verify some things about my family's time in the Four Corners area of the southwest. AMy dad and all of my Aunts and Uncles were born in the town of Waterflow New Mexico. I was told that my grandfather was the farm manager for a Catholic School, so I set out to find out something about the School.
I googled Catholic School New Mexico and got the Sacred Heart Academy. There was a picture of the schoolchildren in 1938. Two of them were my father and my Uncle George. There was a contact number which led me to the book "Candles of the Lord" which is the history of Waterflow and the Sacred Heart Academy, which mentions all of the Warren family members,
Shortly after I started, I got an e-mail from my cousin Ginger. She had been contacted by a Dale Warren of Kentucky, who was in search of a male member of our family to get DNA tested. Since I was headed down that path already I agreed to be tested.
Turned out we are not closely related to any of the established Warren lines, which was a big disappointment. We are not related to dale, but Dale is related to Terry Warren, who was our Uncle Ben's godfather. Small world.
AT any rate I was trying to get beyond Charles Warren, but was having a lot of troub le. Mainly because the name is spelled a lot of different ways. Warren, Worren Waring Warring etc.
I took a trial membership in Ancestry,com, and already belong to Myheritage,com. WHile doing some research of family trees containing information on Charles, I came across a family tree that contained a bunch of information about Charles' ancestry, so I contacted the owner of the family tree.
Mariam told me that a lot of the Warren Family information was given to her by Ben and Laura Warren. Ben was the son of my Uncle George.
I last saw him in 1961.
I asked if I could get their e-mail address, and was given it and told that they had been searching for Warren Family relatives for years.
We have connected. We shared e-mails addresses and someone set up a group mailbox. We all connected on facebook and had a great time meeting and greeting yesterday. I sense the beginning of a long term relationship.
Besides this, I got the front end of the engine of the Z torn apart so I could fix the timing. It was two steps forward and one step back. I got everything torn apart, gor the timing sprocket back on and the tensioner back in place. Unfortunately I dropped the timing case and a corner of it broke off. Al least things are noe going back together rather than coming apart.
Their mother, my Aunt Marge was barely functional. The State took her kids away for a couple of years, but eventually she got them back. To me, they just fell off the edge of the Earth. I never heard from her or them again. Always in the back of my mind was the fact that I had a bunch of family out there somewhere.
Last year I set out to verify some things about my family's time in the Four Corners area of the southwest. AMy dad and all of my Aunts and Uncles were born in the town of Waterflow New Mexico. I was told that my grandfather was the farm manager for a Catholic School, so I set out to find out something about the School.
I googled Catholic School New Mexico and got the Sacred Heart Academy. There was a picture of the schoolchildren in 1938. Two of them were my father and my Uncle George. There was a contact number which led me to the book "Candles of the Lord" which is the history of Waterflow and the Sacred Heart Academy, which mentions all of the Warren family members,
Shortly after I started, I got an e-mail from my cousin Ginger. She had been contacted by a Dale Warren of Kentucky, who was in search of a male member of our family to get DNA tested. Since I was headed down that path already I agreed to be tested.
Turned out we are not closely related to any of the established Warren lines, which was a big disappointment. We are not related to dale, but Dale is related to Terry Warren, who was our Uncle Ben's godfather. Small world.
AT any rate I was trying to get beyond Charles Warren, but was having a lot of troub le. Mainly because the name is spelled a lot of different ways. Warren, Worren Waring Warring etc.
I took a trial membership in Ancestry,com, and already belong to Myheritage,com. WHile doing some research of family trees containing information on Charles, I came across a family tree that contained a bunch of information about Charles' ancestry, so I contacted the owner of the family tree.
Mariam told me that a lot of the Warren Family information was given to her by Ben and Laura Warren. Ben was the son of my Uncle George.
I last saw him in 1961.
I asked if I could get their e-mail address, and was given it and told that they had been searching for Warren Family relatives for years.
We have connected. We shared e-mails addresses and someone set up a group mailbox. We all connected on facebook and had a great time meeting and greeting yesterday. I sense the beginning of a long term relationship.
Besides this, I got the front end of the engine of the Z torn apart so I could fix the timing. It was two steps forward and one step back. I got everything torn apart, gor the timing sprocket back on and the tensioner back in place. Unfortunately I dropped the timing case and a corner of it broke off. Al least things are noe going back together rather than coming apart.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
A Test of my Patience
I have stated before that patience is not one of my better virtues.
One of my favorite sayings is "Just keep swinging and walking forward and something is bound to fall down eventually".
This does not work well with cars.
In my battle with the Z, It has taken another round on points.
I put the new head gasket on and torqued it down.
When you take off the head you need to make a piece of wood 1 1/2 inches wide by 9 1/2 long to jam in between the two halves of the timing chain to ensure that the chain tensioner remains in place. Otherwise the tensioner drops out and you have to tear the front of the engine apart to get the timing chain back on.
I dutifully made the block of wood, and jammed in between the two chain halves. It remained in place while I worked on the head.
I put the timing gear on the chain and was maneuvering it in place. It was within 1/16" of being in place. The damn stick kept interfering with the bolt that attached the gear to the cam, So I took the bolt and got it started by hand. Then I removed the stick, since there was tension on the timing chain.
You can probably guess what happened next.
The bolt popped loose before I could tighten it, and the gear dropped down, releasing the tension on the chain, thereby allowing the chain to relax and the tensioner popped out.
Now I get to tear the front of the engine apart to get at the tensioner.
I walked away from the car, as I was on the borderline of throwing things and turning the air blue with cusswords and shocking the neighbors.
One step forwards, two steps back.
One of my favorite sayings is "Just keep swinging and walking forward and something is bound to fall down eventually".
This does not work well with cars.
In my battle with the Z, It has taken another round on points.
I put the new head gasket on and torqued it down.
When you take off the head you need to make a piece of wood 1 1/2 inches wide by 9 1/2 long to jam in between the two halves of the timing chain to ensure that the chain tensioner remains in place. Otherwise the tensioner drops out and you have to tear the front of the engine apart to get the timing chain back on.
I dutifully made the block of wood, and jammed in between the two chain halves. It remained in place while I worked on the head.
I put the timing gear on the chain and was maneuvering it in place. It was within 1/16" of being in place. The damn stick kept interfering with the bolt that attached the gear to the cam, So I took the bolt and got it started by hand. Then I removed the stick, since there was tension on the timing chain.
You can probably guess what happened next.
The bolt popped loose before I could tighten it, and the gear dropped down, releasing the tension on the chain, thereby allowing the chain to relax and the tensioner popped out.
Now I get to tear the front of the engine apart to get at the tensioner.
I walked away from the car, as I was on the borderline of throwing things and turning the air blue with cusswords and shocking the neighbors.
One step forwards, two steps back.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Blood Sacrifice
The car Gods were angry with me.
They demanded a blood sacrifice before I could complete the task at hand, which was extracting a broken off exhaust manifold stud from the head of the Z.
The head stud had been broken off at some time in the distant past. I didn't break it, so it must have been broken when I bought it, ten years ago. Since I had never even entertained the notion of removing the manifold, I had no idea there was something wrong. It wasn't making any noises or anything.
After being there for who knows how long, I knew it would be difficulty to get it out.
It was when I broke the third easy-out that I sliced open the side of my thumb. It bled copious amounts of blood. After that, I got the broken out stud out.
First I drilled a small hole in the stud and soaked it in rust buster. Then I broke my first easy-out.
I had to walk away.
So I went down and bought a diamond drill bit to drill out the easy out, which was broken off below the surface of the head.
I drilled a slightly larger hole maybe half way through the stud, tried the next size up. Snapped the very top of the easy-out odd. That left enough that I could get my stud puller on the shaft of the easy-out, which promptly broke. Because I was herking on the wrench with ell my might when It broke, it took a divot out of the side of my thumb.
It left just enough grip that I could get the easy-out removed. I got a slightly larger diamond drill bit and drilled all the way down the length of the stud, and put the larger easy-out in the hole
At last I could get the leverage I needed to extract the stud. And I still have plenty of threads left in the head to insert a new stud.
A lot of struggle over one exhaust manifold stud.
At least that is done, and now I can start putting things back together.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Me vs THE Z
Over a couple of Saturdays, I have torn down the top end of the Z. I have never gotten into fuel injection, so I wanted to take it slow and mark everything and label the wires.
I busted the second head bolt. Twisted it right in half. You shouldn't be able to do this. The head bolts were WAY over torqued. They must have been at 120 ft/lbs. It took everything I had to break them loose. And of course since I broke #2 I sweated every bolt.
When I pulled the head off there was about 1/2" of head bolt sticking up. Just enough to engage my stud puller. Big WHEW" there.
When I took off the intake/exhaust manifolds, I saw that the first and last bolts were broken off in the head. As soon as I got the head all cleaned up and the left over gasket material removed, I set out to remove the ends of the studs. Drilled the first one, engaged the easy-out. And of course snapped off the easy out. Flush with the block.
Well, crap. Went down to Lowe's and bought a couple of diamond bit. Now I will have to gingerly drill out the easy-out, so I can try it again. Pain in the A**.
The EGR tube was also broken. It has been broke forever. I am surprised I didn't hear the exhaust leak. But the if it has always been broken, I would have probably figured that was the way it was supposed to sound. The engine always ran strong, so It ought to run even better when I get through putting it back together.
That's WHEN not IF.
I busted the second head bolt. Twisted it right in half. You shouldn't be able to do this. The head bolts were WAY over torqued. They must have been at 120 ft/lbs. It took everything I had to break them loose. And of course since I broke #2 I sweated every bolt.
When I pulled the head off there was about 1/2" of head bolt sticking up. Just enough to engage my stud puller. Big WHEW" there.
When I took off the intake/exhaust manifolds, I saw that the first and last bolts were broken off in the head. As soon as I got the head all cleaned up and the left over gasket material removed, I set out to remove the ends of the studs. Drilled the first one, engaged the easy-out. And of course snapped off the easy out. Flush with the block.
Well, crap. Went down to Lowe's and bought a couple of diamond bit. Now I will have to gingerly drill out the easy-out, so I can try it again. Pain in the A**.
The EGR tube was also broken. It has been broke forever. I am surprised I didn't hear the exhaust leak. But the if it has always been broken, I would have probably figured that was the way it was supposed to sound. The engine always ran strong, so It ought to run even better when I get through putting it back together.
That's WHEN not IF.
Thursday, May 01, 2014
Karma
I must have done something good.
Yesterday I came out of the restroom, and of course I washed my hands. When I went to go through the gate to get back in my work area I noticed my wedding ring was missing. I figured it must have come off when I was drying my hands, so I grabbed the trashcan liner and all the paper towels in it and dragged them back to my desk, and went through the paper towels one by one. No ring.
Well, there were two cans, so I did the same with the other. No such luck.
I had to go home and face the music. I figured it was gone for good.
I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of people asking them to keep an eye out for a yellow gold mans ring with a white gold insert.
I got a phone call from the office in the next bay over. Someone had found it and turned it in.
I went down to the office, and sure enough, There was my ring.
My Karma was strong.
It restored my faith in humanity.
Yesterday I came out of the restroom, and of course I washed my hands. When I went to go through the gate to get back in my work area I noticed my wedding ring was missing. I figured it must have come off when I was drying my hands, so I grabbed the trashcan liner and all the paper towels in it and dragged them back to my desk, and went through the paper towels one by one. No ring.
Well, there were two cans, so I did the same with the other. No such luck.
I had to go home and face the music. I figured it was gone for good.
I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of people asking them to keep an eye out for a yellow gold mans ring with a white gold insert.
I got a phone call from the office in the next bay over. Someone had found it and turned it in.
I went down to the office, and sure enough, There was my ring.
My Karma was strong.
It restored my faith in humanity.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Convergence
When separate elements approach a common point, not necessarily by any plan we know of.
I had to work last Saturday, not an uncommon occurrence. I work every other Saturday.
I work an eight hour "Split Shift" so called because it covers two shifts First shift (:00 to 1:30)
and second shift (2:30 til 11:00)
My shift is 9 to 5:30.
So the sun was up, it was a beautiful spring morning. The early flowering fruit trees and ornamentals are in bloom, The world is coming out of it's Winter hibernation.
I pulled into the parking lot, and an open space was fairly close. As I pulled in I noticed the car next to me
It was an early Japanese little pickup, all tricked out. Custom metallic bronze paint job with blue pin striping. Lowered until it was sitting on the ground. spray-in bed liner, custom interior, killer sound system.
As I turned into the parking spot what came on the radio?
LOW...
RIDE.....
ER.......
Oh YEAH
CONVERGENCE.
I had to work last Saturday, not an uncommon occurrence. I work every other Saturday.
I work an eight hour "Split Shift" so called because it covers two shifts First shift (:00 to 1:30)
and second shift (2:30 til 11:00)
My shift is 9 to 5:30.
So the sun was up, it was a beautiful spring morning. The early flowering fruit trees and ornamentals are in bloom, The world is coming out of it's Winter hibernation.
I pulled into the parking lot, and an open space was fairly close. As I pulled in I noticed the car next to me
It was an early Japanese little pickup, all tricked out. Custom metallic bronze paint job with blue pin striping. Lowered until it was sitting on the ground. spray-in bed liner, custom interior, killer sound system.
As I turned into the parking spot what came on the radio?
LOW...
RIDE.....
ER.......
Oh YEAH
CONVERGENCE.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
All the news what's fit to print
The Westfalia should be back on the street tonight. I think someone tried to steal it. The little half-moon tab on the bottom of the ignition switch was suddenly broken off of the key switch, like somebody tried to force it. The replacement process is a little long, but not expensive. Pull the steering wheel, pull the turn signal collar, pull the wiper collar, pull the electrical connections. Slip the housing out, Remove the switch half. Drill a 1/8" hole in EXACTLY the right place, pull the key barrel. Buy new key barrel. Reverse everything. I should be done putting it back together tonight.
I ordered up the parts for the 280Z, they should be here on Saturday. At some point I have to decide what I want to do while I have the head off. If I want to go with a performance cam, now would be the time to do it. The only real problem is that you can't just replace the cam, you will need new lifters and rockers and lash pads and springs. So the total is about $800.00. A little pricey and definitely not in the car fund. The car fund is tapped out since I just got the Z painted.
It is my turn to work overtime this weekend. I really don't want to work any overtime, but the extra money comes in handy. I really want to stay home and tear apart the Z. Oh well, I'll have plenty of time.
For our anniversary we are going to Cannon Beach for the weekend, some time after the weather turns nicer.
V. gets home from Army AIT tonight. He won't get in until about 10:00. I won't be waiting up for him, since I have to work tomorrow. Hopefully we can go out for a beer and Pub Grub soon. He mentioned that he has a week of emergency Medical Training to do starting Sunday, for a week, so it may be a while.
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
The Z is Mocking Me
Ten weeks the Z was in the shop. I saved car fund money for two years to get it painted. The final bill was around three grand. It is SOOOOO pretty.
So why does it hate me?
New wheels, new tires, new seat covers, new carpets, new paint. Lots of cars would be happy, lots of cars would be proud. Not mine.
Sunday I backed it out into the driveway to do a couple of small things. Reconnect the speedometer, figure out why only one speaker is working. Little stuff.
When I backed it out, I noticed a large puddle on the ground.
I pop the hood, and I see a small pool of green liquid on the motor mount. Antifreeze. This could be small or this could be huge. A leaky hose is a relatively minor thing. Since I can't tell where the leak is, I clean off the side of the block, fill the radiator, and start the engine. Go around and look at the side of the engine to see antifreeze seeping out of where the head meets the block. No water in the oil, no oil in the water. These are good things It means the leak is only from the water jacket out. It means a new head gasket.
A big pain in the butt.
So for now the car sits in the driveway sparkles and mocks me.
So why does it hate me?
New wheels, new tires, new seat covers, new carpets, new paint. Lots of cars would be happy, lots of cars would be proud. Not mine.
Sunday I backed it out into the driveway to do a couple of small things. Reconnect the speedometer, figure out why only one speaker is working. Little stuff.
When I backed it out, I noticed a large puddle on the ground.
I pop the hood, and I see a small pool of green liquid on the motor mount. Antifreeze. This could be small or this could be huge. A leaky hose is a relatively minor thing. Since I can't tell where the leak is, I clean off the side of the block, fill the radiator, and start the engine. Go around and look at the side of the engine to see antifreeze seeping out of where the head meets the block. No water in the oil, no oil in the water. These are good things It means the leak is only from the water jacket out. It means a new head gasket.
A big pain in the butt.
So for now the car sits in the driveway sparkles and mocks me.
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Take a load off
If you come around here at all, you know that the state has taken two of my grandkids and put them in foster care. I have lost a lot of sleep over this, because I know foster care is a flawed system.
I have heard the stories, have been involved in a few of them.
My feelings towards DSHS is distrustful bordering on paranoid.
I got some pretty glowing reports from Grand daughter A about the Foster Parents, something that surprised me.
Sunday she helped set up a visit with Mrs A and I her and Neeko and the foster parents and the two grandkids. We met at a Micky D. with a playland, and of course it was total chaos, with kids of all sizes running around screaming and yelling. It was not the best situation for a meet and greet, but it was OK. We had some good conversation, and I came away feeling much better about the situation. I hate to think of how much sleep I have lost worrying about it and feeling helpless.
If you accept the situation for what it is, The kids are in about the best place thet can be.
I have heard the stories, have been involved in a few of them.
My feelings towards DSHS is distrustful bordering on paranoid.
I got some pretty glowing reports from Grand daughter A about the Foster Parents, something that surprised me.
Sunday she helped set up a visit with Mrs A and I her and Neeko and the foster parents and the two grandkids. We met at a Micky D. with a playland, and of course it was total chaos, with kids of all sizes running around screaming and yelling. It was not the best situation for a meet and greet, but it was OK. We had some good conversation, and I came away feeling much better about the situation. I hate to think of how much sleep I have lost worrying about it and feeling helpless.
If you accept the situation for what it is, The kids are in about the best place thet can be.
Friday, March 07, 2014
An oldie but a goodie.
Stories you might read here are mostly true
Thursday, June 15, 2006
My Life as a Chicken Hypnotizer.
When R. was small, I decided that she could use a little experience in the feeding and care of farm animals, but since we live in a more-or-less urban area, although it is unincorporated, there are some restrictions on what you can do, not to mention the restrictions on space (I only have 1/4 acre).
I was tearing an old dilapidated deck off of the house, so I used the pieces to build a chicken coop in the back yard. Then we went down to the feed and seed store, and bought a couple of Banty chicks that became Rusty and Dusty, our two laying hens.
R was fascinated that without benefit of a male chicken for inspiration, they would produce eggs on a regular basis. Not only that, they weren't white or brown like normal store bought eggs, they were a grey-green and smaller. She used to like to take hard boiled Banty eggs to school because most people had never seen anything but regular eggs.
One day she had a couple of friends over, and she was showing them the chickens, and I asked them "Do you know it is possible to hypnotize a chicken"
"NO WAY! Could show us?"
So I did.
Later R. asked me "Dad, where did you learn to hypnotize chickens?"
As I have mentioned ad nauseum, we had a farm, and raised all kinds of things. We always had two batches of chickens, One batch of laying hens, one batch of fryers. One of the kids jobs was to go out to the hen house in the morning and gather the eggs and feed the chickens. It was always a little like a treasure hunt, because you never knew what you were going to find. Taking the eggs away from the hens could be an adventure too, as some of them took objection to us removing their eggs. After all it wasn't easy producing them.
The fryers life was short and pretty good. They were fed and watered and didn't have to produce anything to earn their keep, just put on weight. The down side was that before things froze up in the fall, would come slaughter day.
Everyone hates slaughter day. It is nasty, smelly work, but it puts food in the freezer for all winter.
The little kids were chicken catchers. Grandfather was the headsman. Uncle Fred and Dad were the gutting crew, and everyone else were Chicken Pluckers. It was our own little assembly line.
My job was Chicken Hypnotizer.
After the little kids caught a chicken, they would bring it to me. I would stick it's head underneath it's wing and then pump it (the whole bird) up and down for about 30 seconds. Then you could set it down on the ground and it would stay where you set it. Eventually it would sort of shudder, pull it's head out and look around like "Where the hell am I?", but on slaughter day, they generally never came around. If they started to, I would just grab them before they got any ideas about running off, and re hypnotize them.
It always caused me to wonder "How did someone figure this out? It would seem logical that it would be someone who wanted to transport chickens quietly and easily. Like maybe a Chicken Thief? How did my grandfather, who was from the hills of Kentucky and taught me the fine art of chicken hypnotizing happen to be in possession of this particular bit of information?"
It wasn't until many years later that I learned that this is a technique used by bird hunters to train their bird dogs. They will hypnotize a chicken and set it down in the brush, then get the dog and lead it around close to where the chicken is, then reward the dog when it finds the bird.
I have always wanted to put this on my resume'. Chicken Hypnotizer. That alone should be good for a first interview, and once you get your foot in the door anything is possible.
I have never found a use for this very rare skill in the modern world. I mean you can't exactly pick up a newspaper, and there on page 13 of the classified ads you find "Wanted: Chicken Hypnotizer. Full time. Full benefits. Must be experienced. Top Wages."
Any one need a perfectly good barely used Chicken Hypnotizer?
When R. was small, I decided that she could use a little experience in the feeding and care of farm animals, but since we live in a more-or-less urban area, although it is unincorporated, there are some restrictions on what you can do, not to mention the restrictions on space (I only have 1/4 acre).
I was tearing an old dilapidated deck off of the house, so I used the pieces to build a chicken coop in the back yard. Then we went down to the feed and seed store, and bought a couple of Banty chicks that became Rusty and Dusty, our two laying hens.
R was fascinated that without benefit of a male chicken for inspiration, they would produce eggs on a regular basis. Not only that, they weren't white or brown like normal store bought eggs, they were a grey-green and smaller. She used to like to take hard boiled Banty eggs to school because most people had never seen anything but regular eggs.
One day she had a couple of friends over, and she was showing them the chickens, and I asked them "Do you know it is possible to hypnotize a chicken"
"NO WAY! Could show us?"
So I did.
Later R. asked me "Dad, where did you learn to hypnotize chickens?"
As I have mentioned ad nauseum, we had a farm, and raised all kinds of things. We always had two batches of chickens, One batch of laying hens, one batch of fryers. One of the kids jobs was to go out to the hen house in the morning and gather the eggs and feed the chickens. It was always a little like a treasure hunt, because you never knew what you were going to find. Taking the eggs away from the hens could be an adventure too, as some of them took objection to us removing their eggs. After all it wasn't easy producing them.
The fryers life was short and pretty good. They were fed and watered and didn't have to produce anything to earn their keep, just put on weight. The down side was that before things froze up in the fall, would come slaughter day.
Everyone hates slaughter day. It is nasty, smelly work, but it puts food in the freezer for all winter.
The little kids were chicken catchers. Grandfather was the headsman. Uncle Fred and Dad were the gutting crew, and everyone else were Chicken Pluckers. It was our own little assembly line.
My job was Chicken Hypnotizer.
After the little kids caught a chicken, they would bring it to me. I would stick it's head underneath it's wing and then pump it (the whole bird) up and down for about 30 seconds. Then you could set it down on the ground and it would stay where you set it. Eventually it would sort of shudder, pull it's head out and look around like "Where the hell am I?", but on slaughter day, they generally never came around. If they started to, I would just grab them before they got any ideas about running off, and re hypnotize them.
It always caused me to wonder "How did someone figure this out? It would seem logical that it would be someone who wanted to transport chickens quietly and easily. Like maybe a Chicken Thief? How did my grandfather, who was from the hills of Kentucky and taught me the fine art of chicken hypnotizing happen to be in possession of this particular bit of information?"
It wasn't until many years later that I learned that this is a technique used by bird hunters to train their bird dogs. They will hypnotize a chicken and set it down in the brush, then get the dog and lead it around close to where the chicken is, then reward the dog when it finds the bird.
I have always wanted to put this on my resume'. Chicken Hypnotizer. That alone should be good for a first interview, and once you get your foot in the door anything is possible.
I have never found a use for this very rare skill in the modern world. I mean you can't exactly pick up a newspaper, and there on page 13 of the classified ads you find "Wanted: Chicken Hypnotizer. Full time. Full benefits. Must be experienced. Top Wages."
Any one need a perfectly good barely used Chicken Hypnotizer?
Getting Impatient
My '77 280Z has been gone for a month and a half now for paint. I am getting a little impatient to get it back. I told my painter to take his time, no hurry, no worry.
I called him last week to see how it was going, and he said he would come by with pictures. He showed up last Friday with pictures of it in Satin Black. It looked so good that I almost told him to leave it as is and finish it up.
Almost. I have this vision of what it will look like with the purple/blue green satin color changing paint that I need to complete the project to make the vision become real.
He said he was going to put on the color changing stuff on Monday. I haven't heard from him since. Of course just laying down the paint doesn't finish the process.
Rust heads were showing around the gasket for the windshield and rear hatch window, so I had him putt both and gave him new gaskets to reinstall them. He told me that once he got the windshield out there were a bunch of pinholes to weld, so that took more time. The body shop is a side line for him, so I know he doesn't work it like a regular job. And I did tell him to take his time, so I have no room to complain.
Besides, the weather has been crap for the last month. Not inspirational sports car driving weather. But I can smell Spring in the air, and I want to be ready.
Patience, patience, patience. Never has been one of my better virtues.
I called him last week to see how it was going, and he said he would come by with pictures. He showed up last Friday with pictures of it in Satin Black. It looked so good that I almost told him to leave it as is and finish it up.
Almost. I have this vision of what it will look like with the purple/blue green satin color changing paint that I need to complete the project to make the vision become real.
He said he was going to put on the color changing stuff on Monday. I haven't heard from him since. Of course just laying down the paint doesn't finish the process.
Rust heads were showing around the gasket for the windshield and rear hatch window, so I had him putt both and gave him new gaskets to reinstall them. He told me that once he got the windshield out there were a bunch of pinholes to weld, so that took more time. The body shop is a side line for him, so I know he doesn't work it like a regular job. And I did tell him to take his time, so I have no room to complain.
Besides, the weather has been crap for the last month. Not inspirational sports car driving weather. But I can smell Spring in the air, and I want to be ready.
Patience, patience, patience. Never has been one of my better virtues.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Life as Defined by Two Photos
SO this little tableau is a metaphor for life.
At one end of the rainbow we have the gold/goal, the beer store. When I get off of work I'm going to The Beer Store to reward myself for my hard work. The Beer is the pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow.
After we have attained our reward, we satisfy our craving, all is well.
Then 6the other end of the rainbow is a shower of gold.
And repeat as necessary.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Valentines Weekend
I proposed to the lovely Mrs A. on Valentines Day 11 years ago. I try to return to "The Scene of the Crime" every year tom commemorate it. So last weekend it was off to The Lake Quinault Lodge.
It is in the Olympic National Forest at the edge of the Quinault Rain Forest.
No phones in the rooms, not TV no cell phone service. Lots of beautiful hiking trails, a decent restaurant in the lodge.
I was concerned this weekend because the weather forecast called for rain followed by rain, with rain expected along with high winds. We have gone there before, and the rain doesn't bother us that much. Only one time have we been there when it POURED rain the whole time.
The drive there was through light drizzle, but not as bad as I had anticipated. We had dinner at the restaurant, and it was OK. They did not offer my favorite, Cedar Plank Salmon for two. So I had a steak. I was disappointed in the steak. Being raise on beef, and our family raising beef, I know a good cut of meat from a bad one, and the quality was so-so. The steak was thin and tough. This was not a $28 piece of meat, it was an $11 cut of meat. At least they had the Marionberry Cobbler, which was good enough to be the reason for the trip.
Sunday, after sleeping in we took a long hike, about four hours. We timed it perfectly. We started out in the drizzle, and were dressed appropriately in waterproof gear. We really didn't need it, because it quit raining and we actually saw the sun, an unexpected bonus. We got in the car and drove around the lake the waterfalls were all going full throttle. Quite impressive.
Nature being a thing of balance it made up for the unexpected bonus by bringing in a howling drenching rainstorm, and the power went out in the Boathouse for five hours. The Lodge has backup power, but not the boathouse, so we were in the dark without heat. No big deal. The lights came back on about 10:30.
The drive back home was a white knuckle drive all the way. Absolutely pouring rain. As much water coming up off the road from the cars as there was coming down from the sky. Traffic would hum along, the blind leading the blind, and suddenly it would stop for no apparent reason. No accident, no stalled vehicle, nothing
we talked a lot , told jokes, got rid of a lot of tension, had some good food, had a great hike.
Couldn't ask for a better weekend this time of year. Just enough negative to make you appreciate the positive.
It is in the Olympic National Forest at the edge of the Quinault Rain Forest.
No phones in the rooms, not TV no cell phone service. Lots of beautiful hiking trails, a decent restaurant in the lodge.
I was concerned this weekend because the weather forecast called for rain followed by rain, with rain expected along with high winds. We have gone there before, and the rain doesn't bother us that much. Only one time have we been there when it POURED rain the whole time.
The drive there was through light drizzle, but not as bad as I had anticipated. We had dinner at the restaurant, and it was OK. They did not offer my favorite, Cedar Plank Salmon for two. So I had a steak. I was disappointed in the steak. Being raise on beef, and our family raising beef, I know a good cut of meat from a bad one, and the quality was so-so. The steak was thin and tough. This was not a $28 piece of meat, it was an $11 cut of meat. At least they had the Marionberry Cobbler, which was good enough to be the reason for the trip.
Sunday, after sleeping in we took a long hike, about four hours. We timed it perfectly. We started out in the drizzle, and were dressed appropriately in waterproof gear. We really didn't need it, because it quit raining and we actually saw the sun, an unexpected bonus. We got in the car and drove around the lake the waterfalls were all going full throttle. Quite impressive.
Nature being a thing of balance it made up for the unexpected bonus by bringing in a howling drenching rainstorm, and the power went out in the Boathouse for five hours. The Lodge has backup power, but not the boathouse, so we were in the dark without heat. No big deal. The lights came back on about 10:30.
The drive back home was a white knuckle drive all the way. Absolutely pouring rain. As much water coming up off the road from the cars as there was coming down from the sky. Traffic would hum along, the blind leading the blind, and suddenly it would stop for no apparent reason. No accident, no stalled vehicle, nothing
we talked a lot , told jokes, got rid of a lot of tension, had some good food, had a great hike.
Couldn't ask for a better weekend this time of year. Just enough negative to make you appreciate the positive.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
A little bit of humor
I was walking down the aisle to the machines to get my morning Fritos.
A rather attractive woman was walking past in the other direction.
She was staring at my crotch.
I thought "What, did I forget to Zip or something?"
No everything was normal there.
As I checked my hand brushed my left hand pocket.
I had a bottle of prescription pills in my pocket.
I realized that it looked like I was "Really happy to see her"
I found it highly amusing.
A rather attractive woman was walking past in the other direction.
She was staring at my crotch.
I thought "What, did I forget to Zip or something?"
No everything was normal there.
As I checked my hand brushed my left hand pocket.
I had a bottle of prescription pills in my pocket.
I realized that it looked like I was "Really happy to see her"
I found it highly amusing.
Monday, February 03, 2014
Coming around
I have not frequented my blog of late. In general, I do not do well in the winter. Whether it is the weather or the lack of sunlight or whatever, Throw on top of that not knowing where two of my grandkids are, and all of the uncertainty with their mom, it is hard to stay on an even keel.
SO I withdraw from the world, read and do genealogy, go to work, work overtime, and pretty much hunker down. I'm OK but the daily slog is just enough of an uphill slog to require a little determination to keep up at it.
I had a great time watching the Seahawks thump the Broncos in the Superbowl. Things are looking up.
But I am still having a lot of trouble gaining traction to go anywhere or do anything.
Oh well, Spring will come, the weather will improve and if things go well, I can retire this coming December.
SO I withdraw from the world, read and do genealogy, go to work, work overtime, and pretty much hunker down. I'm OK but the daily slog is just enough of an uphill slog to require a little determination to keep up at it.
I had a great time watching the Seahawks thump the Broncos in the Superbowl. Things are looking up.
But I am still having a lot of trouble gaining traction to go anywhere or do anything.
Oh well, Spring will come, the weather will improve and if things go well, I can retire this coming December.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
"Z" Paint
I turned over the 77 280Z to the painter today. I have been planning to get it resprayed for some time, and have been saving the money up.
Strictly by coincidence, my friend Gabriel that I lost contact with a couple of years ago showed up a couple of weeks ago, and he came over to take a look at the car to give me an estimate on a respray. I want to do something a little different this time. I love the emerald green to cobalt blue color changing paint, but I got some stuff that also has purple in it. I think the color change will pop better if it is covered with a flat clear.
At any rate, that's what I'm going to get it sprayed.
Strictly by coincidence, my friend Gabriel that I lost contact with a couple of years ago showed up a couple of weeks ago, and he came over to take a look at the car to give me an estimate on a respray. I want to do something a little different this time. I love the emerald green to cobalt blue color changing paint, but I got some stuff that also has purple in it. I think the color change will pop better if it is covered with a flat clear.
At any rate, that's what I'm going to get it sprayed.
If I decide I don't like it flat, I can always get a shiny clear sprayed over the flat. I've seen a couple of examples, but only tesr swatches. There's no hurry, so it will be a couple of weeks at least.
Pictures to follow when I get it back.
Grandkids
I said goodbye to my two grand kids on Sunday.
I may never see them again.
"i" was out of control, a situation made worse by CPS. The won't allow you to punish a kid that is placed under your care by the courts. I am not a proponent of beating kids, but find nothing wrong with the application of a wooden spoon to the "seat of knowledge". If you completely take that tool away from parents/guardians then it becomes almost impossible to control kids.
When a five year old is telling you he is going to kill you, and you find him stuffing paper in the electric heater, there has to be a more rigid form of punishment than giving the kid a time out.
Since they were having so much trouble controlling "i", they had to find some place outside the family to send him. They found someone that would take both kids. X is five months and the cutest little thing you ever did see, but the objective is to keep the two kids together. Since the place they are going has no other kids and a stay-at-home mom, she should be able to give the constant attention to "i" that he will need.
But Grandparents have no rights, so I am just SOL.
So I took the day Sunday to go up to Concrete and say goodbye to the grand kids.
Tough day.
I may never see them again.
"i" was out of control, a situation made worse by CPS. The won't allow you to punish a kid that is placed under your care by the courts. I am not a proponent of beating kids, but find nothing wrong with the application of a wooden spoon to the "seat of knowledge". If you completely take that tool away from parents/guardians then it becomes almost impossible to control kids.
When a five year old is telling you he is going to kill you, and you find him stuffing paper in the electric heater, there has to be a more rigid form of punishment than giving the kid a time out.
Since they were having so much trouble controlling "i", they had to find some place outside the family to send him. They found someone that would take both kids. X is five months and the cutest little thing you ever did see, but the objective is to keep the two kids together. Since the place they are going has no other kids and a stay-at-home mom, she should be able to give the constant attention to "i" that he will need.
But Grandparents have no rights, so I am just SOL.
So I took the day Sunday to go up to Concrete and say goodbye to the grand kids.
Tough day.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Pothead
Anyone who comes around here regularly over time know I live in Seattle, or as I like to put it, Latteland.
Maybe I should start calling it Potlandia, as the infamous weed is now legal in the State of Washington.
Of course just to make things ridiculous, there is no way currently to purchase it. Distribution centers have yet to be set up.
It takes about 500 politicians a couple of years to roll one joint.
One thing that is in place is Medical Marijuana. If you have one of certain medical conditions, you can get a prescription. Well, I have Glaucoma, which is one of the few recognized universally conditions that can be treated with Marijuana. Glaucoma is excessive pressure in the eye, and pot relaxes the muscles of the drains for the eye,
The main reason was really insomnia. I haven't had a decent knight's sleep in years. So I wanted to see if it would help me sleep. Cost me $100.00 to go see the Naturopath, 11.00 for a gram of weed. They gave me a sample of a chocolate with THC, said it would help me sleep.
It did the opposite. I was up all night. Mainly because my mouth got so dried out. My sinuses swelled shut so I couldn't breathe through my nose, and when I breathed through my mouth it dried out my tongue so bad I had to take a sip of water.
Miserable night. It DID relieve the pain in my neck and shoulders. Maybe if I take claritin before I indulge, it will work out. But not on a work night.
Maybe I should start calling it Potlandia, as the infamous weed is now legal in the State of Washington.
Of course just to make things ridiculous, there is no way currently to purchase it. Distribution centers have yet to be set up.
It takes about 500 politicians a couple of years to roll one joint.
One thing that is in place is Medical Marijuana. If you have one of certain medical conditions, you can get a prescription. Well, I have Glaucoma, which is one of the few recognized universally conditions that can be treated with Marijuana. Glaucoma is excessive pressure in the eye, and pot relaxes the muscles of the drains for the eye,
The main reason was really insomnia. I haven't had a decent knight's sleep in years. So I wanted to see if it would help me sleep. Cost me $100.00 to go see the Naturopath, 11.00 for a gram of weed. They gave me a sample of a chocolate with THC, said it would help me sleep.
It did the opposite. I was up all night. Mainly because my mouth got so dried out. My sinuses swelled shut so I couldn't breathe through my nose, and when I breathed through my mouth it dried out my tongue so bad I had to take a sip of water.
Miserable night. It DID relieve the pain in my neck and shoulders. Maybe if I take claritin before I indulge, it will work out. But not on a work night.
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