RowdyRebel

I like the subtle ad for military school right next to the article....

Man...I haven't thought about the Damn Yankees since high school....

That's why I like it here on THIS end of the state. Dozer spied a coyote stalking us one morning as I pretripped the truck & alerted me to it's presence before laying down in driveway between me & the coyote and watching it like a hawk. As soon as we were on the road, I called over to the Sheriff's dept. and inquired what the law says about what I can or cannot do the next time I find myself in that situation. "Just shoot it." OK. That's all I needed to hear.

I still haven't turned on the AC here at the house....don't think it's been hot enough to justify using it.

...without an adult chaperone. So the brakes quit working on the Mack yesterday on my way home...light changed ahead of me and when I applied the brakes, it felt as though I had reached up and grabbed a handful of the hand brake. Empty trailer locked 'em up, but I wasn't slowing down. Ended up running the red (thank God it was the intersection it was...a T, cross road to the left, I was in the right lane....& there was nobody in front of me). So when I got home, I dropped the trailer (I was planning on taking advantage of this BEAUTIFUL 104 degree day and change the oil & grease the chassis anyway) and decided to try to figure out what was going on. Going forward, I could apply 30-40 psi on the application gauge (which would normally put you through the windshield if you aren't strapped in) and it was just BARELY easing to a stop...as though I was only applying 5-10 psi to the brakes. In reverse, the brakes worked fine. I grabbed my creeper and rolled underneath...plenty of pad left on the shoes, drums show a little wear (they are on their 2nd set of shoes) and might be a little glazed, but not enough to cause the loss of brakes like this. Everything inside the drums was dry...no grease or oil anywhere it shouldn't be. I was stumped. So today, I dragged my ol' Ranger down behind me to the local Mack dealer, since they said they couldn't get it in today but they should be able to pull someone away for a couple minutes to give it a quick look-see. I told dispatch I needed Monday off, so now that the truck was down there and it was 11:00 before we got it looked at, I decided to just leave it there for them on Monday. No point in me bringing it back home and then I can't get parts 'til Monday if I figure out what's wrong anyway... So when I left the Mack dealer, I swung by the post office to drop some checks in the mail...paying the bills...then went by Sears to make a payment on the credit card. I turned out of the Sears parking lot heading towards the house and that's when I saw it....the new Menards that I've been meaning to go check out since it opened a month or so ago. I pulled in...couldn't have found a closer parking spot if I were handicapped...and left the windows open figuring I'd just be a few minutes. I wanted a couple stringers to rebuild the steps from the kitchen out into the garage. I had broke them a few years ago when I woke up to the sound of water flowing in the crawl space & wasn't exactly "gentle" in my haste to get them pryed off the wall so I could get into the crawl space. ANYWAY...I walk in and spot the electrical section immediately to my right, so I figure what's the harm in looking around? I've been needing to do something different with the way I've run the 220V across the garage to the air compressor and ESPECIALLY to the plug-in for the welder between the garage doors. When I ran the wires initially, I used a pair of disconnect switch fuse boxes...easy to turn the different appliances on & off from the kitchen door. Downside is they use the edison base screw-in fuses....fine for the air compressor (only needs a 20A fuse), but the welder has a tendency to blow the 30A fuses. Can't get 'em bigger than 30A, and I've yet to find a 30A screw-in resettable circuit breaker. Menards had 15A & 20A breakers...but not the 30A. So I bought another box that uses the flip switch breakers....bought a double pole 20 for the air compressor and a double pole 40 for the welder. The receptacle that I'll be plugging my aux box into is already on a 40A breaker. It's confusing to explain....but it works, and that's all I really care about. Once I got that all squared away, I got to wandering into the plumbing section. The hot water on my shower doesn't turn off...handle spins, but it won't actually close the valve. Why the hell are there so many damn different types of these stupid things? I'm going to have to go down into the crawl space & shut the water off, take it all apart, and then just when I'd LIKE to take a shower before heading to town so that I can at least LOOK like a respectable person, I won't be able to because the water is shut off. I'm half tempted just to buy a new set of controls so that I can have the stuff to do the job BEFORE I get started....but that costs more than just fixing what's broke....so the shower keeps dripping. I headed back to look at the doors. I've got to replace all 3 doors to the outside....front door doesn't line up right & either the latch catches, or I have to pry up on the bottom of the door from the inside to get it to catch. So, I installed a dead bolt which lines up when the door doesn't want to latch on it's own, but if it DOES decide to latch, the deadbolt won't line up. At least I can lock the damn thing....but I need to replace it. That and the stupid storm door has seen better days, too. Anyway, they've got storm doors that have the blinds in between 2 panels of glass. They have storm doors that the screen & windows are all self-contained...no more swapping out the glass for the screen & then storing the one that ain't in the door. They even had one that had a doggie door on it, so that when I'm home & the big door is open, Dozer could let himself in & out as he pleases without bothering ME every time he spots a bunny trespassing in the yard. Finally, I start seeing interior trim type stuff, along with the tread pieces and risers....but still not seeing the stringers....so I keep wandering...but I STILL haven't found the back of the store. I found some plans for decks & barns & garages & houses & just about anything else you could ever dream of building. I found 3 decks that I really like, so I got the plans for 'em....perhaps that'll be a project for next summer. I finally asked someone where I might find the stringers, because they weren't anywhere I had been and I really needed to find them. Turns out, they were out back in the outdoor lumber yard....inside the barn. Yup...just when you think the store couldn't POSSIBLY be any bigger, they've got more. I found someone out there who helped find the 4-step stringers...then got a 14' long 2x12 (and they even cut it in 4 pieces 3.5' long for me)....headed inside to the "value lumber" and found enough scrap pieces at less than $0.50/ea to make the new steps self-contained....ain't gonna be attached to the house so that they are easily slid out of the way whenever I need to access the crawl space. Now I need some deck screws to hold everything together...but that's in the tool section that I've been TRYING to avoid. Of course once I was there, I had to see what all they had. Dies....several times now, I've been working on something and needed 1 specific size, and couldn't find them sold individually ANYWHERE....had to buy a set or not buy any at all. Menards had them individually, and a pretty good variety, too. Need to cut a section of pipe & thread the end? They had those dies, too. Ever hear of an air-powered CAULK gun? They've got those, too. Windshield washer fluid for less than $1/gallon...haven't seen that in quite some time (so I bought a case). I'm probably forgetting to mention more than I've remembered to bring up here....oh yeah, FOOD! They had milk, frozen pizzas, ice cream, coffee, cereal, etc....everything a single guy could ever want/need. They had dog treats for Dozer...the good ones that only have 1 or 2 easy to understand ingredients. For example, one just says "Ingredients: Pork". I actually know what that is! How often can you read the ingredients label on ANYTHING anymore and know exactly what they're talking about. Books, magazines, greeting cards, you name it, they've probably got it. Anyway, the quick "in & out" stop I had planned to make wound up taking me about 8 hours to complete....and I STILL don't think I saw everything they had in that store. It's a good thing I didn't have a wife & kids waiting for me here at the house or they would've filed a missing persons report on me. I didn't do TOO bad, though....for all the looking around I did, I only spent $176. Picked up a TON of brochures for stuff I'd like to get at a future date....like this hot water faucet that had it's own auxiliary tank under the sink...capable of pouring 60 cups of 200 degree water per hour. Think about how quick & easy it would be to make instant oatmeal, hot cocoa, or even instant coffee (which isn't near as good as percolated coffee...but better than no coffee at all when you're running late & gotta leave 10 minutes ago)... Like I said, I really need an adult chaperone to go with me to Menards from now on....somebody to grab me by the ear and say "it's time to leave" as they drag me back out to the truck... .

Ford. I've got a pair of Ford Rangers and an F250, along with an old 8N tractor. The first semi tractor I went to look at when I had made up my mind to buy one was a '97 LTL9000. I really liked the truck, but the one I looked at wasn't exactly ready to put to work...and I couldn't afford truck payments on a company driver wages while I figured out why NONE of the dash switches (or anything else electrical) worked. Sure, there were a lot of unplugged connections behind the dash...might have been as simple as plugging everything back in....but WHY had somebody unplugged everything? I walked away from that one & ended up with my '01 CH613.

You always hear about these "studies" that are taking place...usually they either cover something NOBODY cares about, or else the results are so blatantly obvious to anyone with even a shred of brain activity.... ....there has FINALLY been a worthwhile study...one of GREAT importance....one which could potentially alter the lives of future generations in a very positive way....

When my great grandaddy bought his first home that had indoor plumbing, you know what the FIRST thing he did? He built him an outhouse on the hill out back....because you don't do THAT in the house!

Seriously. As much as I HATE government & just want it (at all levels) out of my life as much as possible, some people just can't seem to keep their noses out of other people's affairs. What's got me so riled up this time? Restaurant Faces Investigation For Offering Church Discount. So this motherfucker comes across a website for a restaurant who's owners want to give a discount to patrons who bring a church bulletin with them on Sunday....and even though he hasn't eaten there and has no intention of going there to eat, he files a complaint alleging discrimination. Oh yeah...those nut jobs at the "freedom from religion" organization are representing the jackass. Mind Your Own Damn Business. The business owners made some great points, too... Now they'll have to spend their hard earned money paying lawyers to defend their business against this ridiculous lawsuit....fuckin' bullshit.

I'm more concerned about the coyotes stalking me & dozer while I'm out pretripping the truck at 0'dark thirty than I am with chi-town ruffians. Those gangster wannabes are used to being the only ones (besides the cops) with guns....'round here, we all got 'em and we shoot back. There was one incident a few years back over at the mall....some ignorant sumbitch here for school fresh outta Chicago spotted a styrofoam cooler in the mall parking lot and called 911 to report the "suspicious package". Of course the bomb squad is called out and the police put on a serious display of force to secure the location. When they opened the cooler? They found beer on ice. WTF else would you put in a styrofoam cooler?

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental. Can't go wrong focusing your attention/aggression on the ring leader. If the ring leader isn't obvious, go for the biggest guy.

Your 1911 has a clip? huh....that's odd. Mine uses magazines. My garand uses clips....but not my 1911.

The one I've got ain't a foreign-made piece of crap Taurus. Nope...made right here in America by S&W.

Just pulled my dinner out of the microwave....reheated pork roast w/ carrots & taters from the crock pot the other night. Still haven't turned on my AC here at the house...been plenty comfortable all weekend in the triple digits.

Nice thing is that buckshot won't "fill" the barrel, so it won't have the markings that can positively link the recovered chunks of lead to the actual gun that fired the shot...just a random knick or two where the buckshot pellet contacted the rifling on the side of the barrel. That and being a revolver, it doesn't spit out the casings that need to be policed in order to leave as little evidence as possible. I've also got some 7/16oz #4 shot loads @ 1200 fps that do the same thing...albeit with slightly smaller chunks of lead. ...or the PDX1 Defender loads that have 3 copper discs chased by 12 bb's ....or the .45 Colt 225 grain bonded JHP ...or some other 000 buck rounds that are cut back to 750 fps. Less kick, but that means less kick-their-ass, too. ....or if I use the clips, I could load any of my .45ACP into the gun, too. Variety is the spice of life, right? Hell, a round or two of every kind of .410 round you can find would really leave the forensic investigators scratching their heads when you empty all 6 rounds into a scumsucking thieving son-of-a-bitch.

Yeah. 'lectric company came out and did some "work" over on the side of town where the trouble was....and discreetly mounted a surveilance camera. So, when another fire broke out, the sheriff reviewed the tape. Turned out to be one of the kids that lived in the house that burned up....bad enough he burned his own house down, he tried burning down the trailer they moved into....along with the homes & shops of several of his relatives. He's sitting in jail awaiting trial on several felony counts....and the trouble has stopped. The family swears he wasn't responsible for ALL of the fires...but can't deny the one he's on tape starting. If he wasn't the person causing all of the trouble, though, whoever WAS responsible was smart enough to stop causing the trouble when the sheriff made the arrest.....gives the impression that they caught the right guy even if they didn't.

I prefer patching holes in the walls to replacing items a thief made off with...I friggin HATE thieves.

I like girls who go down.... ....oops. Did I say that out loud?

Screw that...

I saw the neighbor's kid walking over, so I went out on the front porch to meet her. She was bringing the number for an HVAC guy the church uses over to me (since I'll probably have to get it checked out before I turn it on...but that won't happen until I'm getting ready to go move the fiance up here...). When I stepped out, I saw her mom & dad walking over so I let Dozer out and walked out into the yard to chat for a bit. Wasn't long before we heard a bunny squealing.....sure 'nuff, he got himself another'n. The little girl was a little freaked out...hiding her eyes in her dad's stomach....us adults were all laughing about it. No need to watch the nature channel...we got it right here in my front yard. That makes at least 4 in as many days...

Don't know how many times I heard that growing up.....never really took it seriously. Maybe I should have.

He REALLY seems to enjoy them. Not sure why a raw bunny wouldn't be good for him, though...seems like a "natural" food source to me....eating the way nature intended him to eat. Besides, the more bunnies he eats, the less dog food I have to buy. ...and I have disliked bunnies ever since I planted a couple blueberry bushes in the back yard. Those damn things kept eating the twigs so I never got any berries. Now they can die. Once Dozer gets 'em all, maybe I can try again with the blueberry bushes.

There's no such thing as a fair fight. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck. ...and never pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll probably just kill you. You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it.

Dang...he got another'n tonight. That makes AT LEAST 3 this week....not good to be a bunny 'round here.