Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

Oh... I forget to mention that the part is cast aluminum...

Now that the Kid finished working on Dad's truck (valve job on my '01 Dodge Ram 3.9) he gets to work on his "new" boat, a 1979 Correct Craft. It has a few minor issues, of course, but is fundamentally sound. It has a total of 511 hours on the Hobbs meter, and had been stored in the corner of a shop for the last 18 years. So one of the issues is a leak in the port side exhaust manifold "log." Should be a simple gasket replacement, but...! the "elbow" will not separate. Note the picture below - the "elbow" is fastened with four nuts on a flange that mounts on stud

Cyrus, thanks for the afternoon grin~!

In 2002 a local officer intended to TASER a man handcuffed in the back seat of her cruiser, but mistakenly shot him with her "department issued handgun." A few days later I had a conversation with the recently retired Chief (SASS member and fellow King's River Regulator). After noting the timeliness of his retiring, the discussion became serious. The Chief told me that the potential of mistakenly drawing a handgun instead of a TASER had been recognized; he and others had strongly recommended against wearing the two on the same side, and he had initiated a policy change toward t

Well, of course they do. After all, the Hollywood types are the Illuminati, don'tcha know. (Bunch of dim bulbs, if ya ask me). Sheesh... back in '02, even Mr Elmo Monster (aka Elmo the Muppet) testified before Education and Appropriations Subcommittee.

I saw a Chevron station with premium for $4.75 a few days ago. Must be why I never buy gasoline from Chevron.

The Kid just had me watch this with him. Quite cool!

Well Pat... are ye a fan of Spinach~?

Naw... That'd be "Falling Soo-Flay."

Lordy I hate those things. Not so much for off-road stuff, but the vast majority of 'em - around these parts, anyway - never see the end of the blacktop. The characters who drive 'em here 'bouts are damned inconsiderate. Very often they'll have unintelligible sound (can't call it "music") blaring from hidden speakers, with bass so powerful it literally will rattle my dishes as they barrel on past. Mud and snow tires (that seldom, if ever, see either mud or snow) that sound like amplified sails ripping in a gale. And elevated headlights that blind me even in my fairly tall Dodge

Sheesh... and I thought it was just me. I think I'm morphing into a hermit~!

So my cousin's 22-year old son has been drooling over the the prospect of buying a Garand. Well, last week he sent off all required documentation and a cashier's check for something like $1,080 to the CMP for a Service Grade "Cornbinder" - an International Harvester M1. And today, the CMP posts the following: I hope he made it under the wire! Maybe he got the last one...? Otherwise, it looks like all they have left that's functional are H&R or Springfield (no choice) in Field Grade ($650) or Service Grade ($750). Twenty-seven

There does seem to be a vacuum with deleted posts - and especially deleted threads. I'm not saying that there was not some transgression, but sometimes it would help if we had some sort of feedback, rather than the implied "You know what you did!" Sometimes we really don't know what we did. Or didn't do. And it's not just the "Wire." Here's an example: I recently bought some socks from Amazon. A few weeks later, I received an email asking me to post a review, which I did: I thought that was pretty benign; evidently, I

Reminds me of my li'l she-cat, Sherwin...

Not my story, but I’ll share it anyway. As told me by my old pard Hank: I guess it was over thirty years ago... Hank and another buddy had gone to the “Mud Drags.” Evidently some sort of tractor races in a muddy field. So as he told the story, it was a hot summer day, and as with most country activities, a large crowd of folks consumed an appropriately large quantity of beer. And to accommodate those folks and the beer sellers, a number of portable outhouses – “Port-a-Potties” – had been brought in for the occasion. Well, at some point late

I'll see your bird and raise ya a chicken: I came across these to gals about three years ago... thought they were dead, then one of 'em turned her head and glared at me. Just nappin'~!

Is April sponsored by Binford...?

Generally, no... but I have in my lifetime salvaged many a meal of marginal "steak" with a judicious application of ketchup. Actually made a barely tolerable hunk o' burned cow somewhat enjoyable. But generally, no. I do agree with Bob ~ mushrooms are fine!

At least you're allowed to use lead balls. In this state we are required to use lead-free ammo, which means expensive copper with sabots. That rules out my Ferguson.

What Sassnetguy50 said is correct. Also, since it takes an absolute minimum of 19 - 20 months to earn the Eagle Scout rank, a special one-time extension was made available to allow girls who were at least 16 on Feb 01, 2019 and joined by December 31, 52//2019, a more realistic opportunity to earn the rank. Even then, it's still quite a challenge. (And, in the interest of "fairness," boys would also qualify for the extension). Keep in mind, this is a path that typically takes four to six years. Many kudos to Mud Marine! As impressive as earning the Eagle rank may b

Down and down hard.

I've seen exactly two. Escorting ol' Barry O'Bamma, when he took an aerial inspection tour of Central California during the drought - they managed to shoehorn it into his golf trip. He evidently told the gov'ner that he was sympathetic. We were then told by ol' Moonbeam that we needed to stop using so much water. But the birds were beautiful~!!

Yup! Last Saturday, at the local airport. My buddy Doc Pierce's 16-year old granddaughter having a fun ride in an 80-year old PT-17.

Ya sure that ain't someplace in Florida...?