The other night my brother asked me a question worth pondering:
"Does it half to be so black and white. That there is two teams? Why can't we all just get along and work together to dig our asses out of this deep hole we are ALL in."
And it got me thinking. What am I pissed off about? Who am I pissed off at? The answer is the elected officials of the United States. They are the ones that started this "them vs us" mentality. They are the ones that push the American people to take sides, and we eat it up! It is no longer about what side you agree with or disagree with. It is now about who will stomp on your values and morals less.
America is great because of our God given rights that government can't take away. But we have a government that is hell bent to do just that.
Democrats and Republicans in Washington DC are pushing thru legislation without knowing what they are agreeing to and refusing to listen to and interact with the people they are elected and paid to represent. We The People! I am angry that our children and our childrens children will be paying for the debt created in just the last 6 months alone. I'm angry that neither party stood up and said this is unconstitutional and illegal. I'm angry that racism in our government is only challenged when a white person commits it. It is intolerable from all people! I'm angry that our President has not defended America in a single speech in other counties but apologizes for our greatness. I am angry that I have to worry that my son will see the fall of America and the rise of communism or European socialism in America like that never seen before.
I'm angry that our national guard is hiring and training for internment camp personnel. I'm angry that I can't trust our government to do what is right for Americans and so many Americans are blind to it. I'm angry it has been like this for years and it is just now that Americans are standing up and getting angry in public, and it might be too late.
Our Democrat and Republican leaders are to blame for this. It is their job to protect our rights and represent us. To enforce the constitution and the Bill of Rights. To protect American land and people against enemies inside and out. To enforce the laws we have, not create so many that we loose our freedoms.
I am angry that the people of America don't realize that it is competition and the human element that drives the success of America. Because we are competitive and capitalism represents the true human drive. There are winners and losers. There are have and have not. There are smart people, dumb people and everything in between. There are people that will only be able to scrub gutters and others that will cure cancer. There are those that are truly in need of assistance and those that are just lazy.
This country was made great despite of political correctness and will be destroyed by it. We make our country strong by helping those truly in need and reprimanding the lazy for taking from them. We make this country great by being the best we can be and living with what we earn and not by demanding that those that worked smarter or harder, to support us or share what they earned. The wealthy have always been envied. They have always had more then the poor and they have always been the creator of jobs and helping others become wealthy.
Our government is becoming or has become what our founding fathers tried to protect us from. Our government has forgotten its place. We the people have forgotten their place. It is time the government remembered who we are and what they are supposed to do. It is time We The People stop blaming each other and started holding the elected official accountable.
If a bill is so complicated a lawyer can't figure it out and interpret it, chances are it is dangerous and needs to be scraped. If our elected officials have created so much chaos in the way the system works, then they need to be eliminated and the system reworked. Return to the simple wording. Make the bill about one thing. Do not reference 50 other documents from different branches of the government to bury the true meaning of the bill. State simply the result desired and the means to get there.
I will continue to be pissed at "the liberal" because that is who I see as supporting huge government and squashing the rights of the people. I do not believe in being politically correct to spare the feelings of a few while the rights of many are stomped. I will not be quiet and watch the people be marched to the gas chamber. I will remain pissed at the republican party for not standing up and demanding the laws of this great nation be respected. I will remain pissed that the people we elected to defend us have only found ways to fatten their wallets at the detriment of We The People! I will be vocal when I see an injustice.
There is a revolution coming. It will be bipartisan. When else in history have you seen so many people join together to confront our politicians about the job they aren't doing? Never before have conservatives stood up to be heard so loudly or in such mass. When politicians pay people to fill the meetings in their support, to make it look like they have more support than opposition, they need to be taken down. when the people are locked out of these discussions because they are "being disruptive" but aren't allowed access in any other way, the politicians need to be taken down. Next election, all of these self righteous, egotistical blowhards need to be unemployed and stripped of their golden benefits and life long salary. They need to be like the rest of us, you get fired and it all goes away. They are us! They were hired by us and need to respect us!
So maybe my brother is right, maybe we all need to get along. The way I see it, we can all get along just fine when all Americans are treated equal and politicians remember we are their boss. Stop the corruption! Stop the self designated royalty! Take back our government together! Enough us vs them mentality and find the actual balance that made this country great.
We need to join together and take back our country. We are Americans. Our ancestors fought for our rights to be a free country. To be free of socialism and communism. To be a capitalist nation. where those that work hard get ahead and those that don't, don't. A country where the government is intended for infrastructure and defense, not welfare and control. We tell the government what to do, not the other way around. They represent us, not themselves.
11 August 2009
07 August 2009
The clunker problem
The cash for clunkers program is flawed in so many ways, I can only hit a few at the moment.
We are destroying the opportunity for our young and lower paid citizens to own an affordable vehicle.
When the vehicles are traded in, they are crushed. This removes the low cost used cars available to purchase and sell. It eliminates the used car industry effectively shutting them down, kills the u-pull it style junk yards and adding to our unemployed. Looking for a cheap car to get to and from work or school? Looking for that cheap car as a first car for the kids? Need an older car to teach your kids or yourself how to work on a car? They will soon not exist. Obama is putting a huge wall between the haves and have nots.
Not everyone can afford a car payment and even less should. The way to financial freedom is to live within your means and that includes owning an affordable vehicle for transportation. Crushing our used vehicles is not the answer.
what really happens to those cars? They are "crushed whole and shipped to china for recycling". You betcha! It has been reported in Europe that many of the cars are being resold in Africa. But even if they are crushed and recycled, it isn't happening in the United States. We are shipping them to a country with the worst environmental controls, to melt them down and resell them to us in other forms.
Why aren't the vehicles being stripped of usable parts and separated out into differing recyclable parts? Why are we allowing a country with horrible environmental controls do anything? It has been proven the air pollution from china flows over the ocean and into the central United states and contributes to the air quality damage. America can and will recycle safely and be less environmental damaging. It would also create jobs in America. This could be a win for American, but instead it is a loss in every aspect.
Americans will see a huge amount of these new cars purchased under this program be repossessed. More Americans will have damaged credit an increased feeling of failure. That will lead to a bigger dependency on government and that's what it is all about.
If you are forced out of your cars and on to public transportation, the government will control when and where you go. Think about it. They are already pushing for tracking devices in our cars for tax reasons. The Gov now owns OnStar. You think they wanted GM? They wanted OnStar and its access. Now they have it.
We are destroying the opportunity for our young and lower paid citizens to own an affordable vehicle.
When the vehicles are traded in, they are crushed. This removes the low cost used cars available to purchase and sell. It eliminates the used car industry effectively shutting them down, kills the u-pull it style junk yards and adding to our unemployed. Looking for a cheap car to get to and from work or school? Looking for that cheap car as a first car for the kids? Need an older car to teach your kids or yourself how to work on a car? They will soon not exist. Obama is putting a huge wall between the haves and have nots.
Not everyone can afford a car payment and even less should. The way to financial freedom is to live within your means and that includes owning an affordable vehicle for transportation. Crushing our used vehicles is not the answer.
what really happens to those cars? They are "crushed whole and shipped to china for recycling". You betcha! It has been reported in Europe that many of the cars are being resold in Africa. But even if they are crushed and recycled, it isn't happening in the United States. We are shipping them to a country with the worst environmental controls, to melt them down and resell them to us in other forms.
Why aren't the vehicles being stripped of usable parts and separated out into differing recyclable parts? Why are we allowing a country with horrible environmental controls do anything? It has been proven the air pollution from china flows over the ocean and into the central United states and contributes to the air quality damage. America can and will recycle safely and be less environmental damaging. It would also create jobs in America. This could be a win for American, but instead it is a loss in every aspect.
Americans will see a huge amount of these new cars purchased under this program be repossessed. More Americans will have damaged credit an increased feeling of failure. That will lead to a bigger dependency on government and that's what it is all about.
If you are forced out of your cars and on to public transportation, the government will control when and where you go. Think about it. They are already pushing for tracking devices in our cars for tax reasons. The Gov now owns OnStar. You think they wanted GM? They wanted OnStar and its access. Now they have it.
05 August 2009
Mexican oil
I finally understand why the state and fed are so opposed to blocking illegal Mexicans and why they are blocking making English the official language. Mexico and Venezuela supply the most oil to the United States and our elected officials don't want to risk slowing it down.
Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)Country May-09 Apr-09 YTD 2009 May-08 YTD 2008 CANADA 2,206 2,281 2,395 2,367 2,539 VENEZUELA 1,341 891 1,168 1,171 1,160 MEXICO 1,186 1,289 1,292 1,220 1,319 SAUDI ARABIA 1,079 1,021 1,109 1,604 1,543 RUSSIA 813 779 649 460 421 NIGERIA 600 733 649 918 1,106 ANGOLA 505 462 566 476 478 BRAZIL 386 278 367 338 233 VIRGIN ISLANDS 313 290 313 340 341 ALGERIA 272 612 489 620 546 IRAQ 263 484 490 583 670 UNITED KINGDOM 250 424 261 237 211 COLOMBIA 243 347 277 278 210 ECUADOR 193 237 233 162 203 NORWAY 171 112 129 183 117 Note: The data in the tables above exclude oil imports into the U.S. territories.
So tell me, is it really a humanitarian effort like the left has so aggressively pushed? Or is it really using the citizens of Mexico as currency?
If you are convinced and offended that the war against terror is really about oil, then you should be appalled at the trade of human life for oil. This goes much deeper. Our government is trading the American sovereignty for petroleum. They are giving our tax paid education, welfare system, jobs, language, homes and everything else that belongs to the American people to citizens of another country in trade for oil. Where is the American pride? Where is the American "We The People"? Why are we allowing our elected government trade our America for oil and their own wealth? Be angry that human life is being traded for oil.
What can you do about it? Demand drilling in America for American oil. Demand secure borders and demand the deportation of all illegals from everywhere in the world. Demand that Americans come first for education, welfare, jobs, homes and everything! It is OUR country and we pay the taxes to support it.
Why isn't the left up in arms about this oil deal? What the hell? hypocrites!
31 July 2009
25 July 2009
Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending a mailing
Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing
The Chart
Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents.
The Chart
23 July 2009
Gun Controllers Target Ammunition
Gun Controllers Target Ammunition
Below is an exert from the above link. If they fail to steal your gun, they will try to steal your ammunition.
Below is an exert from the above link. If they fail to steal your gun, they will try to steal your ammunition.
"People would be required to forfeit all personally-owned non-encoded ammunition. After a certain date, it would be illegal to possess non-encoded ammunition. Gun owners possess hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition for target shooting, hunting and personal protection. Consider that American manufacturers produce 8 billion rounds each year.
Reloading (re-using cartridge cases multiple times) would be abolished. There would be no way to correspond serial numbers on cartridge cases, and different sets and quantities of bullets.
People would be required to separately register every box of "encoded ammunition." This information would be supplied to the police. Most states do not even require registration of guns. Each box of ammunition would have a unique serial number, thus a separate registration.
Private citizens would have to maintain records, if they sold ammunition to anyone, including family members or friends.
The cost of ammunition would soar, for police and private citizens alike. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Institute estimates it would take three weeks to produce ammunition currently produced in a single day. For reason of cost, manufacturers would produce only ultra-expensive encoded ammunition, which police would have to buy, just like everyone else."
22 July 2009
Really Mr President?
Tonight I did my best to listen to the President's rant on health care reform as he sees it.
Tonight I almost lost my appetite. Yeah, almost!
I hear all kinds of fear mongering and hype with zero actual facts. Jobs saved and created by the stimulus plan? Really? Can you offer proof? Can you state what jobs? Since your stimulus plan, our unemployment rate has jumped better than 2% and all the other promises have been empty. Banks and many industries have gone bankrupt. Now you want to fast track thru a massive health care program that will change the reality of health care in America. It will destroy the future of America? How?
Let's see. Socialized medicine, Government owned banks and major industry. Massive programs pushed thru unread by our elected officials that affect our great grand childrens' debt. The elected officials have made such a mockery of our government they hired a speed reader to read the thousands of pages of a bill on the floor so fast nobody could understand it. And no one had time to actually read it. Reality Mr President, We the People are getting pissed! We like America as it was intended to be, not how you desire it to be.
We are a democracy and our economy is based on capitalism. We are not socialist or communist. We declared Independence from those forms of government long ago. Do we have to do it again? We will. Get your greedy hands off our money, our jobs and our freedoms. We will revolt and take it back. It is the American way. Our military is made up of Americans; they will NOT support your hostile takeover of our government. They will defend America. They will defend We The People!
Keep pushing thru every communist or socialist program you can before you are found incompetent. Why else would you try so hard to pressure everything thru so fast before anyone can read it and question it? You know your time is limited.
Joe the plumber is the perfect example of what happens when you question the President. This is America! We are free to question you!
Socialized medicine will increase the gap between the haves and have nots. There will be the health care the elected officials and uber-rich have and then the health care the rest of us have. There will be the American royalty (those in currently elected office and those that are very rich) and then the rest of America. Sounds and looks like The Soviet Union to me. The very wealthy that all have a hand in government and then the rest of us. Next is waiting in line for toilet paper. Government run Medicaid / medicare, Social Security, Veterans care, IRS, you name it, is out of control and not effective.
Government has proven every single time to be a failure! How about our education system, roads and other infrastructure? In what instance has the government actually been successful? It is time the government focus on the intent of government and leave the rest alone. Infrastructure, defense and basic law. Read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. Limited government! Restricted government! Enough Mr President! You're right, it isn't about you. It's about We The People! You were elected by us to to the job we told you to do. Enough of your corruption and underhanded tactics. It has been 6 months and you have already spent more money then any other president in history.
Here is another reality: Unemployment numbers reported are not complete. The numbers only represent the current number of people receiving unemployment. It does not include those that are underemployed or have been removed from unemployment because they have used up their extensions. That's right, those that are unemployed and no longer eligible for unemployment aren't counted. They didn't cease to exist, they just ceased to be counted. Your numbers have not panned out since day one. Honesty and transparency is what you promised, where is it? when is it? Who the hell are you? Where were you born? School transcripts? Time and clarity to read bills before voting? All lies!
GET OUT OF MY PRIVATE LIFE AND QUIT DESTROYING AMERICA!
Tonight I almost lost my appetite. Yeah, almost!
I hear all kinds of fear mongering and hype with zero actual facts. Jobs saved and created by the stimulus plan? Really? Can you offer proof? Can you state what jobs? Since your stimulus plan, our unemployment rate has jumped better than 2% and all the other promises have been empty. Banks and many industries have gone bankrupt. Now you want to fast track thru a massive health care program that will change the reality of health care in America. It will destroy the future of America? How?
Let's see. Socialized medicine, Government owned banks and major industry. Massive programs pushed thru unread by our elected officials that affect our great grand childrens' debt. The elected officials have made such a mockery of our government they hired a speed reader to read the thousands of pages of a bill on the floor so fast nobody could understand it. And no one had time to actually read it. Reality Mr President, We the People are getting pissed! We like America as it was intended to be, not how you desire it to be.
We are a democracy and our economy is based on capitalism. We are not socialist or communist. We declared Independence from those forms of government long ago. Do we have to do it again? We will. Get your greedy hands off our money, our jobs and our freedoms. We will revolt and take it back. It is the American way. Our military is made up of Americans; they will NOT support your hostile takeover of our government. They will defend America. They will defend We The People!
Keep pushing thru every communist or socialist program you can before you are found incompetent. Why else would you try so hard to pressure everything thru so fast before anyone can read it and question it? You know your time is limited.
Joe the plumber is the perfect example of what happens when you question the President. This is America! We are free to question you!
Socialized medicine will increase the gap between the haves and have nots. There will be the health care the elected officials and uber-rich have and then the health care the rest of us have. There will be the American royalty (those in currently elected office and those that are very rich) and then the rest of America. Sounds and looks like The Soviet Union to me. The very wealthy that all have a hand in government and then the rest of us. Next is waiting in line for toilet paper. Government run Medicaid / medicare, Social Security, Veterans care, IRS, you name it, is out of control and not effective.
Government has proven every single time to be a failure! How about our education system, roads and other infrastructure? In what instance has the government actually been successful? It is time the government focus on the intent of government and leave the rest alone. Infrastructure, defense and basic law. Read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence. Limited government! Restricted government! Enough Mr President! You're right, it isn't about you. It's about We The People! You were elected by us to to the job we told you to do. Enough of your corruption and underhanded tactics. It has been 6 months and you have already spent more money then any other president in history.
Here is another reality: Unemployment numbers reported are not complete. The numbers only represent the current number of people receiving unemployment. It does not include those that are underemployed or have been removed from unemployment because they have used up their extensions. That's right, those that are unemployed and no longer eligible for unemployment aren't counted. They didn't cease to exist, they just ceased to be counted. Your numbers have not panned out since day one. Honesty and transparency is what you promised, where is it? when is it? Who the hell are you? Where were you born? School transcripts? Time and clarity to read bills before voting? All lies!
GET OUT OF MY PRIVATE LIFE AND QUIT DESTROYING AMERICA!
18 July 2009
16 July 2009
Ouch!
On June 29th I crashed my bike. Took a round-a-bout to fast and didn't anticipate the line right and hit the curb. I was lucky enough to land on the grass between the street and the sidewalk and only did minimal damage to myself and the bike. When the wheel hit the curb I went over the bars and the back of the bike followed.
First the bike: Miss aligned bars, forks twisted, headlight bucket broken and some missing paint.
Me: scraped the side of my helmet slightly and landed on my back right side. Managed to only bruise and dislocate several ribs and broke the toe on my left foot. My guess is I kicked the wheel as it came to an abrupt stop
God was just giving me a reminder that day. Here I am a few weeks later feeling much better. The toe aches a little and only truly hurts when I put too much pressure on it. It is broken in 3 places on the top knuckle. The ribs and muscles attached to them are still pretty messed up but as the bruising subsides everything gets better. I should be up to working on the bike in the next week or so and should be riding again immediately after. Just hope it's not too expensive for some replacement parts.
First the bike: Miss aligned bars, forks twisted, headlight bucket broken and some missing paint.
Me: scraped the side of my helmet slightly and landed on my back right side. Managed to only bruise and dislocate several ribs and broke the toe on my left foot. My guess is I kicked the wheel as it came to an abrupt stop
God was just giving me a reminder that day. Here I am a few weeks later feeling much better. The toe aches a little and only truly hurts when I put too much pressure on it. It is broken in 3 places on the top knuckle. The ribs and muscles attached to them are still pretty messed up but as the bruising subsides everything gets better. I should be up to working on the bike in the next week or so and should be riding again immediately after. Just hope it's not too expensive for some replacement parts.
21 June 2009
Added to the box
I painted the box satin black and added some stickers from my favorite coffee shop. Since I do pick up coffee every day I figured it was appropriate and the stickers should make people notice me better. Not the best paint job but I figures I was gonna cover it with stickers any way.
Side note: Satin textured paint is a pain in the butt to get stickers to adhere to.
Side note: Satin textured paint is a pain in the butt to get stickers to adhere to.
06 June 2009
Tiddler upgrades
I had some time to work on the Tiddler this weekend and thought I would share it.
A friend had an old metal box he got with one of his machine shop tools and never used. I mounted it to the diamond plate he cut for me and now I have a secure metal "trunk" for the Tiddler.
I used allen head bolts from underneath and wing nuts on the inside for security and easy removal. Steve has some great ideas, guess that's why he's the machinist/artist.
While I was at it, the wife has a daily demand for me on the way home from work in the morning (I work nights). She's a little high maintenance and "doesn't care for drip coffee". What ever.
So she demands (let me tell ya, I hear it when I don't do it) her morning iced latte from Dutch Brothers. What the hell? I'm riding a motorcycle from 1969! There aren't any cup holders!
Well now there are.
I cut some thin cardboard from some old packaging I had laying around to fit inside part of the inner frame work of the box. Placed in 2 cups side by side and filled the remaining space with foam insulation from a can. It expands greatly so I had to cut off the excess but now I have 2 cup holders on a 1969 ct90.
And it stores all my crap with room for a strategically placed helmet
Not bad for a little extra time on the weekend.
Yeah, I know the box is blue and the bike is yellow. I didn't take that much time! There are other weekends
A friend had an old metal box he got with one of his machine shop tools and never used. I mounted it to the diamond plate he cut for me and now I have a secure metal "trunk" for the Tiddler.
I used allen head bolts from underneath and wing nuts on the inside for security and easy removal. Steve has some great ideas, guess that's why he's the machinist/artist.
While I was at it, the wife has a daily demand for me on the way home from work in the morning (I work nights). She's a little high maintenance and "doesn't care for drip coffee". What ever.
So she demands (let me tell ya, I hear it when I don't do it) her morning iced latte from Dutch Brothers. What the hell? I'm riding a motorcycle from 1969! There aren't any cup holders!
Well now there are.
I cut some thin cardboard from some old packaging I had laying around to fit inside part of the inner frame work of the box. Placed in 2 cups side by side and filled the remaining space with foam insulation from a can. It expands greatly so I had to cut off the excess but now I have 2 cup holders on a 1969 ct90.And it stores all my crap with room for a strategically placed helmet
Not bad for a little extra time on the weekend.
Yeah, I know the box is blue and the bike is yellow. I didn't take that much time! There are other weekends
15 May 2009
Are you kidding me?
I moved away from political blogging for a while, but this head line caught my attention and I have to put it out there:
Compare this to Chicago - 509 people were murdered in Chicago 2008.
People, Mexico is DANGEROUS and the border cities are some of the worst.
We need to do something, because soon, those murders will happen on our side of the border. We need to protect our border and our people. We need to stop this crime from flowing over.
Killings of 4 Americans in Tijuana sow fear
Then in the article I read "President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 45,000 soldiers to combat drug cartels in the country whose turf battles have killed more than 10,750 people over the last two-and-a-half years."Compare this to Chicago - 509 people were murdered in Chicago 2008.
People, Mexico is DANGEROUS and the border cities are some of the worst.
We need to do something, because soon, those murders will happen on our side of the border. We need to protect our border and our people. We need to stop this crime from flowing over.
02 April 2009
James Bond
Over the last few days I have had the pleasure to watch the original first 3 James Bond movies from 1963 and 1964
The special effects are sometimes laughable to today's standards but that forced them to involve more reality and risk to get the desired effect. A few such laughable are the obvious fast forward during car chases or prerecorded film in the windows to simulate a live chase from inside the car.
Ignoring these, I find these movies more believable then most made today.
the vehicles are real and the weapons, if not real, are plausible. Fight scenes are the best. This is street fighting, not professional martial artists. It's what you expect to see in real life. People tackling eachother, headlocks, missed punches, using what ever is in the room as a weapon like chairs, bottles etc.
The response to being hit is more real then todays super hero type recoveries. You get hit in the head with a bottle, you get knocked out. You take a couple punches to the head, you get knocked out. You get shot you die. In todays movies, it seems the only way to get killed is to be beheaded or blownup and even then thats only a maybe.
There was more reality in the James Bond films. I hope I get to wath the rest of them soon.
James Bond is not a "super Hero" in the sense of super powers etc. He is an attainable human. He fights hand to hand like any other man, uses everyday weapons or what will one day be. He can be injured. He lives to a standard of integrity and honor. He fights the terrorists of the day and out smarts them and out fights them because he is smarter, faster and better. What ever happened to that?
Todays movies it's all about fantasy and super / unattainable powers. No human could perform in such a way. A child could grow up to be James Bond with education and training and practice. And in these films you learn that being hit or shot hurts and there is a deadly consiquence.
Hmmm... Maybe thats what I like about JB, The bad guy loses and there are always consequence for action. Oh, and Bond always gets the sexy woman.
The special effects are sometimes laughable to today's standards but that forced them to involve more reality and risk to get the desired effect. A few such laughable are the obvious fast forward during car chases or prerecorded film in the windows to simulate a live chase from inside the car.
Ignoring these, I find these movies more believable then most made today.
the vehicles are real and the weapons, if not real, are plausible. Fight scenes are the best. This is street fighting, not professional martial artists. It's what you expect to see in real life. People tackling eachother, headlocks, missed punches, using what ever is in the room as a weapon like chairs, bottles etc.
The response to being hit is more real then todays super hero type recoveries. You get hit in the head with a bottle, you get knocked out. You take a couple punches to the head, you get knocked out. You get shot you die. In todays movies, it seems the only way to get killed is to be beheaded or blownup and even then thats only a maybe.
There was more reality in the James Bond films. I hope I get to wath the rest of them soon.
James Bond is not a "super Hero" in the sense of super powers etc. He is an attainable human. He fights hand to hand like any other man, uses everyday weapons or what will one day be. He can be injured. He lives to a standard of integrity and honor. He fights the terrorists of the day and out smarts them and out fights them because he is smarter, faster and better. What ever happened to that?
Todays movies it's all about fantasy and super / unattainable powers. No human could perform in such a way. A child could grow up to be James Bond with education and training and practice. And in these films you learn that being hit or shot hurts and there is a deadly consiquence.
Hmmm... Maybe thats what I like about JB, The bad guy loses and there are always consequence for action. Oh, and Bond always gets the sexy woman.
25 January 2009
Nicks DIY bike bench
After spending too much time laying on the cold cement of my garage and being too cheap to buy a professional lift, I decided to build my own ct90 work bench.
I decided on a work area that is 2'H x 3'W x 7L' I could have gone a little smaller but happy I didn't.
I figured out my wood needs and went to Home Depot to get the materials and have them cut it to length. I know I could have gotten the wood cheaper at a local shop, but I am not so straight with the circular saw and knew Home Depot would chop it for free. A real time saver.
I also decided on screws to hold everything together and because I knew I would mess up something and have to be able to easily correct the error. I'm a klutz and a little dyslexic and a bit A.D.D. so I leave myself an out. It's also good to know that when it loosens up, I can tighten the screws rather than hammer more nails.
Materials list:
(6) 4"x4" cut to 2 feet
(2) 2"x6" cut to 7 feet
(2) 2"x4" cut to 7 feet
(4) 2"x4" cut to 3 feet 3 inches
(4) 2"x4" cut to 3 feet
(1) sheet plywood cut 3 feet x 7 feet
(54) 2 1/2" wood screws
(32) 2" wood screws
The 4x4 are the legs, 2x6 are the side rails with about 1 1/2" lip to keep stuff from falling off, long 2x4 is bottom support rail and the rest are support ribs under and on the ends of the plywood.
After assembly, I lumbered up on the bench and did a little jig. I'm about 260lbs (+/-) and not even a squeak! Then I pulled the bike up and walked around it and still no movement!
I will add a couple 2x4 or 2x2 to the bottom rails to use as ramp storage. I plan to make a 12" x 7' ramp so I can drive onto the bench rather than keep picking up the bike. Unless I find a cheap plastic or metal ramp beforehand.
Reasons for size: I could easily have kept the stock 8 foot length of the boards but I am strapped for garage space and 12 inches actually makes a difference. 3 feet seems wide enough to have room to walk around the bike and a place to set tools and parts. I can roll the front tire to the edge and then pull the ct90 onto it's center stand and I am now centered on the table.
Besides, Home Depot cut the wood for free so I knew I wasn't gonna lose a finger on this project.
2 feet seems to bring the bike to a comfortable height for sitting on a stool or chair.
I will also drop a piece of scrap linoleum down for easy cleanup of the oil I will spill. My battery charger and a few tools will be hung on the rails.
And for those of you that have dogs, just tell your wife you are building a dog grooming table. Great height for trimming fur, nails etc... And then it "doubles as a ct90 parking throne".
All this for less than $60
I decided on a work area that is 2'H x 3'W x 7L' I could have gone a little smaller but happy I didn't.
I figured out my wood needs and went to Home Depot to get the materials and have them cut it to length. I know I could have gotten the wood cheaper at a local shop, but I am not so straight with the circular saw and knew Home Depot would chop it for free. A real time saver.
I also decided on screws to hold everything together and because I knew I would mess up something and have to be able to easily correct the error. I'm a klutz and a little dyslexic and a bit A.D.D. so I leave myself an out. It's also good to know that when it loosens up, I can tighten the screws rather than hammer more nails.
Materials list:
(6) 4"x4" cut to 2 feet
(2) 2"x6" cut to 7 feet
(2) 2"x4" cut to 7 feet
(4) 2"x4" cut to 3 feet 3 inches
(4) 2"x4" cut to 3 feet
(1) sheet plywood cut 3 feet x 7 feet
(54) 2 1/2" wood screws
(32) 2" wood screws
The 4x4 are the legs, 2x6 are the side rails with about 1 1/2" lip to keep stuff from falling off, long 2x4 is bottom support rail and the rest are support ribs under and on the ends of the plywood.
After assembly, I lumbered up on the bench and did a little jig. I'm about 260lbs (+/-) and not even a squeak! Then I pulled the bike up and walked around it and still no movement!
I will add a couple 2x4 or 2x2 to the bottom rails to use as ramp storage. I plan to make a 12" x 7' ramp so I can drive onto the bench rather than keep picking up the bike. Unless I find a cheap plastic or metal ramp beforehand.
Reasons for size: I could easily have kept the stock 8 foot length of the boards but I am strapped for garage space and 12 inches actually makes a difference. 3 feet seems wide enough to have room to walk around the bike and a place to set tools and parts. I can roll the front tire to the edge and then pull the ct90 onto it's center stand and I am now centered on the table.
Besides, Home Depot cut the wood for free so I knew I wasn't gonna lose a finger on this project.
2 feet seems to bring the bike to a comfortable height for sitting on a stool or chair.
I will also drop a piece of scrap linoleum down for easy cleanup of the oil I will spill. My battery charger and a few tools will be hung on the rails.
And for those of you that have dogs, just tell your wife you are building a dog grooming table. Great height for trimming fur, nails etc... And then it "doubles as a ct90 parking throne".
All this for less than $60
14 January 2009
Recently I acquired a Honda ct90 K1 from my father-in-law.
Being my first motorcycle, I have a lot to learn. First, I have to learn how to get this thing street safe and while I am doing that, I have to learn to ride. Yeah, I know it should be easy but since I have never been on any bike other than as a passenger, I figure I should do it right and then create the bad habits.
If I take Basic Rider Training then I do not have to test at the DMV
I would much rather learn and test from a trained pro instructor than test for some DMV employee. Yeah, never had much luck with DMV testing people. That's another post.
I am told this is a simple bike to work on and riding it should come easy.
On my side links you can find a few sites with parts, history and pictures. Honda Japan is still producing these for Australia for the postal service and they are referred to as posties there.
This ct90 has not been running for about 4 years and yesterday I got it started and drove it around the yard for a bit. It has quit a bit of pep and torque. And I got my first offer to buy it! Not for sale.
They were advertised to the outdoors person with the ads showing men and women driving them in the woods with rifles mounted on the side and secured to the back of campers with a simple carrier.
They are also street legal without modification!
I began this experience by going to the local dirt bike shop and asking if they carried parts or knew anything about the ct90. I was answered with "those things are money pits and I hate them". As you can imagine, I won't be spending any money at that shop.
Since then, I have found great resources on the internet and even a few within 20 miles of the house. I have also learned that far from being money pits, these bikes were (are) known for being almost bulletproof! Like many old vehicles, you can spend more money repairing and restoring than what you can sell it for. But unlike most new vehicles, you can actually work on it yourself and most parts aren't equal to buying a new one.
I joined a Yahoo!! Group that has more resources than I thought would exist.
I figured I would have to scrape the bowels of old book stores and parts houses to find wiring diagrams and manuals etc. But I found them and more with this group.
I’ll try to remember to take pictures as I disassemble and reassemble “old yeller”
If you are interested where I have found parts and info, drop a comment and I will be happy to share my resources.
18 November 2008
Polysomnography
Sleep is an interesting phenomena. We spend almost half our lives asleep and
more often than not, we don't think about it until we have had a bad nights
sleep. We wake up tired, sore and irritable.
Why?
what causes this?
What can we do to correct it?
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003932.htm
more often than not, we don't think about it until we have had a bad nights
sleep. We wake up tired, sore and irritable.
Why?
what causes this?
What can we do to correct it?
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003932.htm
Polysomnography is a sleep study. It measures your sleep cycles and stages by recording brain waves (EEG), electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rhythm.
A specially trained health care provider will directly observe you while you sleep.
There are two states of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
REM sleep is associated with dreaming. Your body muscles (except your eyes and lungs) do not move during this stage of sleep.
NREM sleep has four stages distinguishable by EEG waves.
REM sleep alternates with NREM sleep approximately every 90 minutes. A person with normal sleep usually has four to five cycles of REM and NREM sleep during a night.
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