Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

Ol' Hardpan... Hallowe'en frat party, circa 1970. I wuz inspired by the "Wizard of Id."

A profound observation indeed!

"Piso Mojado~!" Saw it on a sign the other day...

Sometimes whiskey's in short supply.

Dang, Henry... that'll bring tears to a man's eyes! So, is there a background story behind those two pieces? A fire, maybe?

Whadda ya mean, "could have?" Why... I had me a glass o' Cabernet just last night!

I once lost and found another Swiss Army Knife on the same day. Lost a standard, corkscrew model. Plumb lost... A few hours later I thought I found it - lying on the ground was a red pocket knife. Picked it up... it was a Tinker! Phillips screwdriver in place of the corkscrew.

Pikes Peak Council, Cyrus...? I think I "volunteered" for staff duty at our Klondike Derby in February. I'll be prepared, too, but still ~ Brrrr.....!

Some poor fella's oxygen machine wouldn't work without power ~ he died. Surprised to only hear of one.

Sometimes we pronounce it "tah-PAY-sho." Rhymes with "ratio." Usually gets a smile outta the waitress at the breakfast diner...

I know. It sunk on it's maiden voyage... only made it a few hundred yards. Hence... the Norwegian navy's motto. Remember The Battle of Copenhagen?

Note: The Donkey Nostrils above is the 500th contribution to this thread!

So... is the Norwegian Navy's motto "Remember the Vasa...?"

Get a couple of used, banged-up, dirty boolits you can toss inside the ribcage.... Mebbe a rusty knife!

Got 'er done~!! Thanks all for the advice! 'Twas a pile o' work, but the outcome was worth it - bunch of happy, smiling kids. Unfortunately, the self-drilling/tapping screws didn't work worth a damn. No prob ~ clamped the piston halves onto the plaques , drilled through then tapped and used 8-32 machine screws. Countersunk the backside for the screws and routed a keyhole slot for hanging. But I came up with a dandy idea for the wrenches! Got a mess of rare earth button magnets, JB Welded two to each plaque, and Bingo! just stuck the wrenches on. Kids loved being able to take 'em off and play with 'em. Oh... used new ones - cheap, a set of 33 for under $20 from Harbor Freight. Ended up only needing 27. Thankfully - this project was a major pain in the patootie.

Well, he did it. Signed FIFTEEN new "gun related bills" into law. And then said, "No state does it as well or comprehensively as the state of California, and we still have a long way to go...." Wow. THAT is alarming!! At least I can say I signed the recall petition yesterday.

I actually have that framed, hanging in my downstairs bathroom.

California's Perpetual Drought...

Actually, no.... And on the lighter side of the news - we pay fuel taxes to pay for roadway infrastructures. In the last three years we've seen an almost 70% increase in these taxes... mostly to replace the existing fuel taxes which have been redirected to High Speed Rail. So a few days ago it was announced that some of the new taxes are going to be "redirected" to... High Speed Rail.

Well... if you're planning a trip to the largest west coast state and expect to stay in a hotel - bring your own shampoo. We now have a new law making it illegal for hotels to put out those little bottles of shampoo for guests. Doesn't take effect 'til 2023, so we have time to get used to the idea.

Number 4 is generally not the case with the electrical stuff (although there have been notable exceptions in other areas... just ask the good citizens of San Bruno!). PG&E is required by law to maintain the transmission line rights-of-way, and they used to do a good job of it. However, there's now a history of being repeatedly blocked in those efforts by enviro-nuts and the courts. Here's a typical argument (article link below): "Some members of the Save the American River Association and the American River Parkway Coalition and others are fighting to stop PG&E from cutting down what they estimate could be 100 cottonwood and oak trees near a major electricity transmission line that runs through the parkway near Discovery Park...." Is PG&E going too far? Otherwise, there's no shortage of other issues to get grumpy with 'em about. And don't forget the so-called PUC (Public Utilities Commission), who have a history of just about giving PG&E a rubber-stamp "Okey Dokie!" every time the company asks for a rate increase.

State government solution to the problem created when the power companies were barred from brush/tree clearing near transmission lines. Removing said brush and tree branches would be an environmental tragedy, don'tcha know. B'sides... it might be the natural habitat of a previously thought extinct or heretofore undiscovered bug or sumpin'.

Forty, you never fired Mr Stoner's Masterpiece...? Okay, I hate to admit it, but my eyes aren't recognizing "29."

Watching the Pedersoli video on the TV... and I'm experiencing "bandsaw envy."

I'm sure Gov Gav would be happy to make 'im an honorary californian. Heck... he might've already done it! That'd sure explain a lot!