RowdyRebel

....almost as much fun as the "cuts back in too soon for no apparent reason"...

....ah, the infamous double-yellow passer....

Apparently, they thought my left turn signal meant "please pass me on this side"... I almost wish I had been driving a truck I didn't care about. Had I kept going, they would've hit me somewhere between my drives and fuel tank. Had they hit me, it wouldn't have ended well for them because I would have CONTINUED DRIVING until I had cleared the tracks (trains come through quite frequently, so I'm not going to sit there waiting to get creamed)...even if that meant dragging my trailer completely up over the top of them....and if THAT didn't kill them, I would have finished the job as soon as the truck was off the tracks....which would have PROBABLY bought me a reserved room at the gray-bar motel for a while.

Do they make thumb-sized hard hats?

We were putting plastic up in the hay loft...keep the hay dry if the tin roof leaks. My staple gun broke...so I bought a new "heavy duty" one. Well, when you squeeze a little and it doesn't shoot the staple, you don't have to re-squeeze....it's already cocked. I didn't realize that and got my thumb between the trigger and the body of the gun and when I leaned on it a little "POW". A string of words I can't repeat in a public forum flowed from my lips....quite loudly, I might add....and then I got back to work. It was a long couple of days over that weekend...cleaned out the loft, replaced quite a few rotten boards on the floor, and hung the plastic getting it ready for hay to be cut....and it was late the 2nd night when it happened. I'm hard on my hands, though....got more scars on my hands than dollars in my wallet. Probably be another hour or two for the video....first one just now finished uploading, so it's starting the one from last night.

OK...video's uploading to Youtube...then gotta trim out the boring crap so it's not a complete waste of time watching it. Dummy me, I qued up another video to upload ahead of it...so it'll be a while. It IS on it's way, though...

That thumbnail ain't going anywhere. Whacked it pretty good with a staple gun a couple months ago...that dark spot just keeps moving out as the nail grows.

...got stuff to do today, though, so I'll get the video uploaded later this weekend. HOPEFULLY it shows up pretty good...will be the first "night time" dash cam footage I've looked at. "To be continued..."

With the obscene cost of new "full size" trucks, the "compact" needs to be considerably less expensive, not just $5-6K. That's why Ranger sales were on the decline...for what a decently equipped Ranger could be had, you could get into a basic full-size F150...and the fuel mileage wasn't all that different between the two. Compact trucks ought to be affordable...so people who can't afford to buy or fuel a full size truck but still need to haul stuff around can afford to get one. A basic model compact truck ought to be in the $10K range, and fully tricked out with every possible option MAYBE tickling $20K, but try to keep it below that. Fuel economy? My '92 Ranger (v6/5-speed) gets 25 mpg driving it like I stole it. No reason a new one can't be 30+...40 if you try to "save" fuel...and still be fun to drive. Ford also needs to keep a manual transmission as an option for die-hards like myself who would rather shift gears in a rusty old beater that is ugly as sin than drive a new truck with an automatic. Ford lost any chance I'd buy a new vehicle from them when they discontinued the manual transmission in their trucks. As the owner of 3 Ford trucks, buying a competitor's truck never crossed my mind as even the most remote possibility...until I'd HAVE to in order to keep my manual transmission. The Ranger should have one, even as just a special order option.

'round here they are called jeeps...spread the weight out at the front of the trailer over more axles, just like stingers and flip axles do on the rear.

Now you can go truck it up with this guy:

18 as the age of consent is really screwing her. If she'd been from any other state in the northeast (besides NY @ 17), she'd only have missed the age of consent by a few months when the boy turned 16. While it still may have been a problem for her, missing the AoC by 3 months will likely get more sympathy from a jury than missing it by 3 years. Whether it was a hot & horny teacher or in this case, an NFL cheerleader seeking revenge for her husband's affair, I always wondered WHERE THE HELL WERE THEY WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL?!?!?!?!? Kid's got a story to tell...nothing to be upset about unless she gave him some STD he's stuck with for life now.

1) What engine do you have, and where is it's sweet spot? 2) What transmission do you have, and what are the ratios in low (startability) and top (cruising) gear? 3) What rear end gearing do you have now? 4) What size tires do you have on the truck? Until that is known, there's no point in offering up suggestions or opinions on how to go about making changes.

You've also got to take into consideration where the engine likes to run. Mack engines prefer the 1400-1450 range, so spec'ing a rear that is TOO "fast" in order to run 1100 or 1200 RPM down the road isn't doing you any favors. Find out where the "sweet spot" of the engine is, then decide how fast you want to cruise down the road. Then, pick a transmission and rear gears so that your final drive ratio will put you there. If you have a direct-drive (1:1) top gear in the transmission, you'll probably have higher (lower numerically...faster) gears in the rear to make up for it, where an overdrive transmission (.71:1) will have lower (slower) rear gears to compensate. It is all 1 system working together...engine, transmission, rear gears, and tire size. Changes to any one of them could force changes in others to become necessary. Engine might have a different "sweet spot"...and behind that, every change affects the overall ratio determining what speed the engine turns at what road speed. Spec it around the engine's sweet spot for the road speed you want to cruise.

Now that's just insulting stupid people to lump her in with them...she's about 50 paces and a stone's throw BEYOND stupid.

Heard this little tidbit on the news rolling out of Peoria yesterday afternoon: http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Woman-drops-baby-while-shoplifting-at-Walmart-322442832.html

...when the EPA is the one doing the spilling? I don't ever want to hear another PEEP out of them over the little puff of black smoke coming from my little ol' stacks. At least the rivers and drinking water are still safe at the end of MY day! Can they say the same? NOT ANYMORE!!! Damn hypocrites...

I use the Cobra 29 BT CB. If you can find one of the older ones, get it. The new "digital" one likes to kick the phone call back to the handset after 5-10 seconds. I "upgraded" for the caller ID on the digital face and have regretted it ever since. My old phone I couldn't see who was calling...now I have one of them "smart" phones and can view its screen where it is mounted. I'd put the old one back in the Mack, but it's already installed in the wife's Suburban... Anyway, I like that it's hard-wired...no batteries to keep charged or headset to walk around looking like a damn air traffic controller...

I've heard rumors that an "upgrade" from a standard steel spring walking beam suspension is in the $10-12K neighborhood. Not sure if that's JUST the cost of parts, labor extra on top of that...or if that is the typical on-the-truck-ready-to-roll price. Yeah, I'm dreaming of the day when I can find a nice walking beam cut-off with 44-46K Mack rears to upgrade with the air springs and put under my truck...might have to win the lottery first, though...

They can remotely hack in and control the engine and transmission. The hackers admitted to being able to control steering in reverse, and that they were still working on forward control. I certainly don't want to be anywhere near that vehicle when they DO figure it out.

Call me crazy, but I prefer the out-dated "technology" full of mechanical linkages and relies upon direct physical inputs by the person wishing to control the vehicle. If somebody wants to take control over the vehicle I'm driving, they should have to find a way inside and take my place behind the wheel. Hell, what's next? Hacking into a parked car's system, firing it up, and driving it to the chop-shop from the comfort of the couch in your mother's basement?

Yup. Posted the video link this morning. Here's the article: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/03/navy-official-not-ruling-out-charging-service-member-who-fired-on-chattanooga/?intcmp=hpbt4 Absolutely disgusting...not surprising with this administration, but disgusting nonetheless.

New development: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4393449902001/officer-who-fired-at-chattanooga-shooter-could-face-charges/?intcmp=obnetwork#sp=show-clips I'd like to say this is a new low for the Obama administration, but it was predictable based upon his record. When he was in the Illinois Senate, there was an incident where a military vet had moved into a Chicago suburb and brought his handgun with him not realizing there was a handgun ban in that town. He also didn't have a FOID card yet. His home was broken into, and several items taken...including his keys. A few days later, the crooks returned...this time while he was home, and while his kids were asleep. So, he did what ANY good father would do and he shot the MFer who had invaded his home. The shooting was deemed "justified", but he was prosecuted for violating the handgun ban AND "illegally" possessing a firearm without a FOID. The state legislature quickly moved to create an affirmative defense to those charges if the ONLY reason you were caught was because you used the weapon to defend your family/self inside your home. Obama, of course, voted against the measure. So, with his history I'm not surprised his administration is looking to punish the GOOD GUY who was able to help STOP a deadly attack because he made sure the bad guy wasn't the ONLY one with a gun in the alleged "gun free" zone. If charges are filed, I hope people rise up in defense of common sense and put a quick end to the trial as well as the political careers of all involved in the decision to press charges. IF EVER there was a case for jury nullification, THIS IS IT!

I dropped my insurance a couple years ago when the premiums jumped in order to subsidize those too lazy to work or unwilling to make room in their budget to pay for their own damn insurance. I work hard for what I have, and I refuse to pay more so that people who don't work nearly as hard as me can have a better quality of life than me...ON MY DIME! Screw that. If they want insurance, they can pay for it themselves. Once I dropped my "grandfathered" policy, it was pretty much a done deal. I cannot in good conscience buy a policy anymore because I find some of the "mandatory" coverages morally repugnant and fiscally irresponsible. Until the UNaffordable care act is repealed, I will remain uninsured.