ShopTalk Sunday: Holiday Hygiene, Ham Notes

With Black Friday almost upon us, I wanted to warn you off from a lot of useless “frou-frou” stuff that makes the rounds at this time of year.  Especially when comes to men’s toiletries.

I will only cover three hygiene tips from living on a boat and living off in the woods now for a couple of decades, but they are very useful. A lot of “young bucks” may have never heard this advice before, so feel free to pass it on to anyone under 50.  Kids today are slower learners. Doubt me? Young Adults Are in Severe Cognitive Decline.

Matching Food, Matching Breath

I may have a pleasing personality, and an even more attractive bank account, but that’s not how some old geezer like me ends up with a bunny for a honey and living happily ever after. (For however long that is, anymore.)

No sir, the answer is eating precisely the same foods and even in roughly the same quantity.  Because, like everything else in life, I try to approach things logically.

Food breaks down according to the same laws of chemistry, regardless of who ate it.  Given similar gut biome and paying attention to a few other details.

Therefore, logic screams, “bad breath” is most likely to occur when there is a clash of chemistries.  As an example, if I have a very garlicky chicken piccata con lemon, and Elaine were to have simple bland soup and (non-garlic) bread, she might notice something about my breath going off to Sicilian, Capis?

MFMB – Matching Food, Matching Breath!

On the other hand, if I eat like a mafioso kingpin, and her as my mol, then with the same food, same wine, and so on, it’s a match made in heaven, or at least Sicily mearby.

If you eat the identical foods as your partner, even the bathroom smells (that time of the morning, eh?) won’t be all that diverse.  Because (repeat after me) “Chemistry is chemistry.” (And besides, mine never stinks, what can I say?)

Fine points to this protocol:  We have our teeth cleaned on the same day by the same hygienist. We brush, close as I can motivate myself, at about the same time morning and night. This includes flossing, too, even when out. (Never at the table, though – eoow – Gross!)

About the only difference is I will do 2 six-ounce glasses of Paisano and me lady has one bottle of Wicked Orchard hard apple cider.  Close enough!

And so now you know our secret.  Well, besides her meowing like a cat and me barking like a dog when we get into emotional exchanges of any sort.  Much nicer way to communicate feelings because you can express emotions without the long-term damage of words.  Besides, as she reminds me: All men are dogs.  And her nickname is “Puss.”

Perfume is fine – so is a good aftershave. Don’t overlook the mouthwash! But if you do a Water-Pick, get the kind made for a family or buy one for each.

Shave Like You Mow

The old farmer has – for several years now – been shaving like he handles field work. The twice-over.

I begin with a rough cutting of a field with a bush hog.  Finish mowing, if needed (depends how dressy we want the grounds to look) is a follow-up with the 54-inch riding mower set to golf course height.

When I shave now?  I go over the face with something like either a Wahl beard and whatever trimmer.  Then a finishing cut with the Norelco triple-header.  By itself, the Norelco misses if you have runaway beard growth and it can pull a bit.  But the trimmer is not as smooth.

The answer is two passes – just like a field would be managed.  The results, my breath-matched partner assures me, are more than satisfactory.

Super Showers

Similarwise, there are some great ways to improve the “average” shower.

I like a shower just like the “car wash.” Lots of water, high pressure.

Beginning with a hose wand.  If your shower head is fixed and up in the sky somewhere, how are you going to adequately rinse the privates? Pressure washer paradigm rules. Answer is leftover soap and a less than thorough job.

Go read the reviews and take a look at some on Amazon (here). But remember, the keywords for us are “high pressure” and long enough to reach the flood from the place where it connects on the wall.  Because if it ever leaks a bit when you shower at night, the drips can make you crazy(er).

So that’s the shower set-up.  Just like you were going to pressure wash the patio. Wet it all down, high pressure on the bad spots (ahem) first.

Step 2 is a good quality soap with an agreeable smell.  We don’t use anti-bacterial soaps much anymore. Because they can have chemicals in them we wonder about.  Even Ivory or a fragrant “going out” soap…all work. Because there’s another step to go.

Step 3 is where you take a pump of Hibiclens (yes, the “use before surgery to reduce infection risk” hospital soap). I will use one pump for the pits, and one for the privates and do that area front-to-back.

I can’t think of anything worse than “old man smell” and this stuff not only knocks off skin bacterial like a mobster shorted in a heist, but it also can reduce or eliminate the need for deodorant.

(Oh, yeah – Step 5 rinse (pressure wash on high) like hell until you feel clean then get out and get the biggest fluffiest white cotton terry towel you can afford and towel off.)

Why am I down on deodorant? Well, some people are actually sensitive to its effects on BLOOD PRESSURE.  Yeah, no kidding.

Last point:  Both Elaine and I put something on our skin after showering to lock in moisture.  Some dermatologists have told us over the years olive oil is good.  A drop, or three, is all it takes.  Coconut oil, too. I use some special eczema creme (triamcinolone, thanks for asking) and Elaine uses a woman’s moisturizer lotion. She has a half-dozen choices.

Point is, you can sort of figure out why we don’t have many wrinkles, don’t smell, and like being around each other.

Hell, we should write a book about this, but I think Bunney wrote the book first. That’s Joan Bunney not Elaine, bunny.  With luck a few hints like this will ensure holiday joy is just ahead. Check out “Sexy in Your Sixties.” But if the most exciting thing on your couch is the television, um….remote, you got some shop work to do!

The Mass Ham Radio Project

A made a decision this week to update the stable to replace the DX-60 Heathkit AM and CW (Morse) transmitter on the low power level of the Grand Radio Operators All-Time Dream Station which should be done by, oh, Christmas.

By then, I should have material for one of the most technically dense, boring, electronica compendia every written.

Similar power level (90 watts, plus or minus) but this new transmitter also does single sideband (voice). Meet a Hallicrafters HT-46.

Needs tubes checked, probably replace the electrolytic caps and clean it out a bit while inside it, lube, oil, and filter.  But eventually, I might mate this to the SX-146 receiver, and it will be another Hallicrafters pair.

Now, for the CW low power station, plan is to pair it with a one of the Drake 2B/BQ receivers which is one of the best CW receivers ever built.  Sure, modern designs with steep-sloped mechanical and crystal filter features are nice.  So is all that processing you can stuff into a DSP box.  But, when comes down to pulling signals out of the mud, ease of listening for days on end? Old Drake receiver is hard to beat, unless you have dialed in an old SX-101 Mark II or III.  Reader Ray, I’m guessing would agree.  Hank? Well, maybe not as readily, lol.

The finished gear? Ready to go into the dream station? All the conventional stuff is lined up on the gun table in the guest/George2 room and getting closer to installation by the day:

Classic gear: Icom 761, TenTec Jupiter, Icom M-710, Drake 2B which is actually a better receiver than the SX-146… The Heathkit Dx-60 and HG-10 don’t really belong in such august company…

Antenna Madness Resurgence!

Something about Turkey, or Holidays, perhaps?  Whatever…

Outside, the big beam antenna – with either a broken coax cable up topside, or a lightning zapped trap, is just BEGGING to have the drone fly over with fishing line and have me back-haul some 700-pound paracord so we can get the “secret antenna” project in the air:

Honestly, with almost no noise out here in the woods, talking anywhere in the world became far too simple as a “point and shoot” exercise with 1,250 watts SSB (out) and the beam. No particular skill to that.

Wire antennas (cooked with Secret Sauce like linear capacitors) and 50-100 watts out, on the other hand?  Now you move from brute-forcing a contact to actual operator skill.  That’s the hot ticket, right there.  Remember Morse capable people are The Original Digital Humans.  No neurolink implants.  Just a set of old (Telex?) earphones.  Which have gotten hard to find, so open-back Sennheiser’s will do.

Wire antennas – and my new linear capacitor antenna – should work out dandy.

But there are always distractions to contend with. And the effing clock.

Solar Gain? Ha!

Happened to be watering the batteries in the solar power center and noticed not as much power as I would expect.  Going outside – even though it wasn’t yet 3 o’clock in the afternoon, here’s where the sun was – lost in the trees about 140 feet south of (and 6 feet of elevation lower than) the panels!

Seems those trees need a haircut, I’d say.  But, before I cut down anything, I need to have that chat with G2 about whether he really wants to buy a Harbor Fright sawmill and cut enough wood for him to build a house. They make a reasonable sawmill, but doesn’t come with enough track (have to add 8 feet to be able to cut 16-footers) and electric starting.  Old men leave that for the under-50 set.

Ure point? Look what the damn trees do to the front panels, now!

See how there’s this “chain linkage” between everything, out here?  Makes me nuts.

Good news is?  The “Drone Stopper” tree that previously kept the greenhouse shaded far too much of the time (the death of which we covered previously) is still in the sun. We covered technique in Drone Logging (2).  Promising results, uh huh…

God plants ’em, I cut ’em down. After the drone marks them. That’s how resource stripping works?  Couldn’t find any biblical references on Sustained Yield Forestry.  I try to keep logs out of my eyes, already…

I’ll see if there is any logging advice in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Urantia Book, and the Sutras as time permits. You can help with some of the forestry research here. May be something to Buddha sitting under a tree – have to look into that, too…

Great Greenhouse News

Wow – right now – with just a few days until Turkey – the greenhouse tomatoes are setting fruit like crazy.  Kid you not!

I’ve had lawns that couldn’t produce that many dandelions – all thanks to the cheap lean-to greenhouse and the reliable heat (knock on wood) from the Chinese Diesel Truck heater repurposed for diesel-fired tomatoes. New “fool line” doesn’t leak.  Now if I could just stop over-filling….

I could go on with the greenhouse adventures all day long, but ever more to do around here, so best be getting after it. The new super greenhouse plans (and website) are coming along nicely.

Consigliere lands Tuesday, Turkey Wednesday, that way we can all BS all day and not do anything approaching real work on Thursday. Prime rib on Friday and for Saturday?

Been working on temp control for the stovetop of the tent heater on the makeshift but useable patio (another ShopTalk adventure).  I think I should be able to make up a passable burgundy and mushroom beef stew.  God knows, no shortage of wood around here.

Too much heat is the real problem, even with a small stove like this “hundred dollar marvel.” A piece of leftover flattened-expanded steel will do the trick. Heavy duty trivet. And give me an excuse to haul out the TIG rig and argon bottle…

Back to the process best described as “Balancing the Ark” – too much on the radio side, not enough on the power side, lots of stored food, need more fresh, then the water supplies… Yessir, always tuning and pruning to do.

For a second opinion on how nuts the world is? See Kit Webster’s site: Home | Contemplating (contemplatingoutloud.com).  And Jim Kunstler’s latest, too. Leaving Blobtopia – Kunstler.

Theory discussions about the Future abound.  Our preferences run more toward actually doing something about the outlooks.  The difference is between reading; “While driving, use caution to avoid…”  and hearing the actual driver yelling “HOLD ON!

Here’s to a happy turkey for all – Yes, the annual refry of the S.S.T. Sandwich/ Hot Brown recipe for leftovers will be along one of these days, too. Chill some white Zin.

Write when you get stuffed,

George@Ure.net

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George Ure
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53 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Holiday Hygiene, Ham Notes”

  1. Another reason you don’t have body odor is because, as you once told us, you drink a lot of water.

    “One of the most unknown facts about dehydration is that it can lead to unpleasant body odor. This is because water helps release toxins through sweat, and when your body is not properly hydrated, it is unable to release these toxins and bacteria. This buildup of toxins and bacteria can lead to an unpleasant odor, especially in areas like the armpits, feet, and groin.”

    https://www.takecareof.com/articles/signs-you-dont-drink-enough-water

        • I worked with a guy years ago.. slow.. he was slow witted.. and he would always go god dam.. what do you think.. and smell wow.. well he would always tell us about his girlfriends.. and we would go out for breakfast once a week.. one day we were in there this gorgeous woman comes up to this stinky guy puts her arms around him and tell him how shes missed him.. by the end of the breakfast about eight beautiful drop dead ladies came up to him and told him what a stud he was and he should visit..
          after he left for home I told the other guy working with us.. we have to bottle that stinky sweat and use if for a cologne …. then we found out why the ladies were dropping their drawers to be with him.. he had the very first dollar he ever made.. was rich… it had nothing to do with whether or not he was attractive.. ( he wasn’t.. big sweaty and what most would consider ugly LOL it had to do with the cash he had in the bank and all those ladies were bank tellers.. )
          Now.. would he have had the same great fortune IF he was poor.. not on your life.. makes me curious about the big HB… what made him so lucky even with family members is dear old daddies power in office that he could sell compliance to their wants and whims….

    • Amen to that! With the onset of arthritis in my hip joint I have been doing what I can to help rebuild the joint with supplements. I have found that radically increasing my hydration helps flush the crap out of the joint and reducing the pains. Living in the tropics I was always aware of my hydration somewhat. Watching for the beginning of the telltale headache when I was lax. But lately I have gotten on an aggressive schedule of regularly ‘chugging’ at a minimum of 10-12 swallows of water at key points in time throughout the day. And it makes a huge difference in how I feel. Running to the bathroom is a small price to pay for the health benefits. “Water is Life”.

  2. Mr. Ure-
    Solar.. please do yourself a favor and move up to LifePo4 batteries. Much more efficient. My dad is off grid (outside of shawnee if you want to eye it up) and the conversion from flooded LA to LifePo4 has truly increased the capacity of the system.. with no boiling of electrolyte during the equalization at the end of each day of charging. Highly recommended!

    • I have to agree but at the time we brought the system up, flooded cells offered the best cost per watt over time. As prices of the next tech in LiPO3s come down..and agree they have a far deep depth of discharge than flooded.

      • Also better charge cycling. If you take a LiFePO4 only down to 50% charge, you can cycle that batter nearly 10,000 times. It will be the last battery you ever need to buy. And no water maintenance. I built myself a ‘ham can’ of 512wH into an ammo can for my ham rig, with a custom solar panel 100w charger. I plan on willing it to my heirs it will last so long.

  3. George:

    We micro mangle market cycles but fail to pay attention to Maw Nature and … end up cold. Nyet. Talked with Mrs. Egor yesterday and she agreed (note on calendar, she agreed?), though not so cold, the 3-4 things done in the house are already making impact.

    It’s a sizzling 33F as I tap (any temp above freezing qualifies for warm descriptor). My young(er) helper fella is due at heat of the day, which will be high sun. The next ten days serve up lows that start with a 2. When it starts with a 2 and the high sports a 3 … chill is coming.

    We have two trees to drop and then the fella can fireplace length the logs whenever he feels spunky. I am laying in good woods for the next split-a-thon. It’s heavily wooded around here so we only save, cut and split (I’m mostly administrative) the good stuff.

    There is a Mulberry with a broken top which endangers the barn. It’s just close enough that I won’t wait to see what damage might be. Then I’m anxious to close a loop, remove a weak link on the heated wood-shop. I’m going to apply 1″ rigid foam to the monster double doors. There is a 220 forced air furnace and the shop is insulated. It’s a place to retreat to and … I have a classic poker table ;0)

    It’s also the annual fuel buying day. I will top off the enormous pontoon tank, a few tractors, and then refill (lots of) cans. I’m also going to fresh fuel the generator and spin it up for 15-20 minutes. This won’t be cheap but it’s predictable power in an outage (or worse). Without consulting the Mrs. I have made an exec decision and plan to extend gen. power by 2 weeks. Kaching. Whatever. We have tractors. It won’t spoil.

    Radio dish. I have an inexpensive to be set up if needed radio set. You make my eyes swim and head hurt on radio detail Yorge. But, it’s a question not posed so: OTA Radio and TV signals are interesting here. I have a 70′ rise behind and a 1 mile reflective dish out front, to the south. How does that figure into short wave? Just curious George?

    The Bird. Made another exec. decision yesterday. I don’t like Thanksgiving without putting Tom on the bbq. The work-a-round at an Italian restaurant is so we can take my elder spinster sis somewhere. I have 4 days after Thursday so plan to fire up the Weber. Smoked turkey cooked in the round is awesome. Fire in the fireplace and some hot jazz muzak.

    Awesome news for me is I am now rooting for ice. The fella who heps me is also my Padawan learner in sailing. He went from a back-fleeter to on the podium two years running. And, he just picked up the DN Iceboat!

    Class site https://www.dniceboat.org/
    NA site https://www.idniyra.org/

    This ^ acquisition caused heated workshop to jump the list. I believe there’s a mast base fix to get skating. Epoxy. Check. Aluminum works. Check.

    Hmm. Feels like it’s going to Bloody Mary.
    Have a fine weekend alles,
    Egor

    ps – farmers have cut all the cover and deer are on the move. It’s shotgun season so looking bright (pink it replacing orange?) is dress of the day. Single shots are hits. Guys wailing away 3-4 times probably missed. I have a master buck in the area again. Shhh

    • Answer (“a 1 mile reflective dish out front, to the south. How does that figure into short wave? Just curious George?”) is

      A rise in elevation is usually a great thing. On AM broadcast you won’t notice it. On the low ham bands, up to 10 MHz, or so, not too much impact.

      Above 10 and to 30 MHz (varies by MUF maxi usual frequency) the rise will matter if you are working low takeoff angle long distnce (DC) Still, not too bad until the height of rise is lower than 10 degrees, or so (which is what a damn fine HF arrray can do, but to do that, they would usually have to be 60 feet and higer,, which is more than a rise?

      Above 40-MHz or so, ignoring unpredictable 6-meters – earnug iut iyr :Kinda like going fishing wqith about the same odds of catching something” award… Above the height port of antenna wins, hands down.

      The Satcoms discussion is a lot more complicated by things lkike overhead cones of silence (which we got smart about, lol) and then there’s polarization and APT-4 antennas…eme…oh god, lwetterized world up there..

    • Egor, there are plenty of BTU’s in that Mulberry tree, 25.8 Million BTUs per cord, just above red oak at 24.6 M BTUs per cord, and just below white oak at 26.2 M BTUs. Some experience with Mulberry, properly seasoned it burns like a champ. Heated an uninsulated 1941 cape cod for the first winter with Mulberry in a fireplace. Burned 3 cords that winter. Shortly thereafter bought a fireplace insert (quadrafire) and used it for next 25 years, replaced fire brick and gaskets after 10 years. Upon installation of insert, lined chimney with 8 inch stainless pipe cleaning monthly with nylon brushes (helps one to sleep at night, chimney fires are scary). No more cutting, splitting and stacking firewood here in the sunshine state. Really don’t miss it.

    • A bunch of West Michigan is sand that’s settin’ on iron, which really messes with signals.

      All of West Michigan is sand, which is nearly impossible to establish a ground into.

      It is an environment a body has to learn to cope with, all on their own. Your turf will be different than, and play by different rules than, your neighbor’s property, so firm rules rarely apply.

      • My first AM radio station as a young engineer was a directional three tower array in Western Wisconsin. Quartz sand all over. In doing the field strength readings for the FCC we found the sand had a propagation conductivity of 1 to 1.5… seawater is 5000. Poor growing soil also, unless spiced up with lots of organics. Now days they discovered this quartz sand has replaced artificial ceramic balls for petroleum ‘fracking’. The railroads in NW Wisconsin spent tens of millions of dollars to refurbish old, nearly abandoned lines to haul out frack-sand by the trainloads .

  4. I like a sponge for showering, I was told that to much dairy can cause body odor, no wonder I stink, to much cheese.
    we all need cleaned up including the Gov, the dirty lying bastards disquised as Trump supporters flashing his badge

    “An undercover operative disguised as a Trump supporter flashes his badge to police officials as he enters the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/11/breaking-j6-video-undercover-officer-disguised-as-trump/

    they accuse US of an insurrection while they perform a coup,,, the politicians stole the election and we all know it, just some slow folks still need it to fully shown to them,,, they just don’t see it

    THEY REALLY FEAR TRUMP,,, I love the smell of fear they reek of, they need a good turpentine/corn cob scrubbin.
    Happy thoughts and happy songs and roasted turkeys

    • he’s feared because he wasn’t compliant to their desires..
      when they decided to oust him all he had to do was a jimmy.. or gore..give congratulations on their political superiority and fade into the background.. I believe from. what I have read that the January 6th. demonstration got out of hand as a political setup.. BLM and Antifa was just a diversion.. the billions of dollars worth of damage the people pillaged raped and even killed were heralded as hero’s for freedom and liberty even put in for the international peace award..even though they destroyed some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods..
      when I read online copies of the messages sent to blm members telling them to show up Jan 6 wearing Maga hats backwards and a video showing individuals that we all seen over and over on msm news reading scripts of what they were to do..then fox news showing security cameras of the capital police showing a completely different demonstration then what we all have been said that it was… for myself that all of it was obviously a setup..
      https://youtu.be/Opy7MLGAPBk?si=ezo_G9_BZpgASygyinstigate..

      https://youtu.be/cKUtVlXweqM?si=qMemJsh7OL0Oh9V4

      now we hear that there were agencies sending people yo instigate..and blm multimillionaires didn’t even get a you shouldn’t do that..

  5. We each have our own bathrooms. Cleaning is the responsibility of the owner so mine is always the more pristine one, ISYN. Pun intended. Frequent showers and avoidance of deoderant and aftershave for me but Diana has a thing for Beautiful perfume. Stands to reason, name fits the wearer. We both agree the other always smells enticing. I have standing orders to remove any feces encrusted, her words, boots in the mud room along with any soiled garments. Once I thought I would give a subtle hint to Diana and walk through the house butt nekkid. Middle of the day mind you, I was carrying the contents of all my pockets in my hat and my gunbelt strapped on. Walked into the kitchen and there was my lovely wife unbeknownst to me with 2, yes 2, young coworkers sitting at the dining table. I had only 2 options. One was to return to the mud room and violate my standing order regarding the aforementioned feces encrusted clothing and the other being to just continue on into the bedroom. Since it was too late, the curtain was already raised, I chose option 2. Results were mixed;
    Diana – Oh my God with raised eyebrows and a little sideways smile.
    Coworker #1 – Shriek! Fluffing her hair with one hand while digging into her purse with the other.
    Coworker #2 – Wide eyed stare and playing with her necklace.
    I walked across the kitchen which I always thought was kind of small but now seemed like a 40 acre pasture. When I got near the door to the bedroom I noticed movement behind me and there were the 2 young ladies each with sly little smiles and $10 bills in their hands that it appeared they wanted to tuck under my gunbelt.
    Happy Thanksgiving to all.
    Stay safe 73

  6. looks like Andy shared a little victory dance on his ‘X’ PAGE
    https://twitter.com/ore_train_11

    Happy Thanksgiving, roasted turkeys, smashed taters, dressing & gravy, green beans w/bacon,, cranberry sauce
    PUMPKIN PIE w/Real whipped cream made fresh
    Yahoo ROASTED TURKEYS

    • Yo tobD,

      it is my pleasure to share with Youse all a Philadelphia style dessert that goes GREAT wit Thanksgiving Dinner, AND, AND this recipe is totally vegan, no Minces or any other little furry creatures were harmed in anyway in making..

      Cranberry Wooder Ice – if Youse dont pronounce the WOOD sound when saying WATER, youse would be WRONG;

      1- Cup granulated Sugar
      1/2 – teaspoon Orange Zest
      1 teaspoon grated Ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
      1 Cup Cranberry Juice, unsweetened
      1 Cup Pomegranate Juice, unsweetened

      Medium Pot
      whisk together the Sugar,zest,ginger until aromatic and oils start to release.
      add the juices, and heat over med-high until simmering.
      Allow to cool- 10 mins.
      Pour mixture into 9×13 inch pan amd place inFreezer for 30 minutes.
      Repeat this process until all of the juice has turned to Slush.
      Store in freezer until ready to serve.

      E- A-G-L-E-S , EAGLES! MNF – Go Burds..

  7. “Because (repeat after me) “Chemistry is chemistry.” (And besides, mine never stinks, what can I say?)”

    Boy can I relate to that statement.. I leave out a little aromatic bubble flatulence.. and someone walks into it..will stop and sniff and say dam I think they are making strawberry shortcake … or something like I really would like some strawberries lol lol lol..
    well no not really.. I had a sinker…you know those.. they drop to the floor until it slowly mixes with air and rises..
    one day I was stocking shelves..had sinkers sitting on a milk crate and I thought dam..if I drop that here I will b we smiling that joyous aroma for an hour..so since the isles were empty I did the obvious. I walked to the end of the isle dropped the aromatic egg and went back to work.. along comes a beautiful young mother a baby in the cart and her young husband.. she stopped eyes grew as big as pie pans she grabs the baby puts its butt up to her nose and give a great big sniff..places the baby back in the cart and starts smacking her husband saying I thought I told you to never do that in the store..lol lol lol all the way down the hall he was saying but honey it wasn’t me lol lol
    there was a guy that use to do that to me.. one hot day the air was out in the TS vault.. ( no it wasn’t slo Joe’s garage floor ,table or toilet ) I went in posing to check on a file.. dropped an egg and followed protocol and secured the door on leaving lol lol

    • I used to treated the main elevator at corporate the same way..would get on there just to crop dust..on way down to lobby/cafeteria area.Dusted just prior to door opening in lobby, right before new passengers boarded. By the time my victims realized what was going on – it was too late as the doors were closing…bwahahahahahah – Sales Guys..

      61 yrs old and I still get my GrandDaughter to “Pull My Finger” so I get airlock release from (confuzzled fart), and GD gets funny sounds! win-win, plus it warns innocent bystanders of approaching bad gas cloud..a triple!

      Beware, The barking Spiders.

      • My boss at the county had horrible farts.. LOL LOL LOL we had a cat.. dynomite… thing was a rat catching machine.. anyway.. he laid an egg in the recliner.. the cat walked in.. jumped into the seat.. kind of shook its head.. and then tried to claw the stuffing out of the recliner to bury it.. LOL LOL LOL
        He was one that loved to leave a sneaky where he went.. LOL I get a chuckle out of when it is really hot.. driving down the road.. shut the air off.. then let out a sneaky and wait to see how long it will take to crack the window open to shotgun that fart right past their nose LOL LOL LOL
        Put a fart machine under my boss at works chair LOL .. it is probably still there LOL LOL LOL…
        I use to run a cleaning crew.. well when I worked a year in exchange for a surgery bill.. ( hell year.. 140 plus hours a week.. phew) one of the positions I had was as a housekeeper… as we were going around and they were showing me my job.. ( they didn’t have a clue that I did that for a long time) the head of housekeeping told me yes and we wash the windows once a week.. little did they know but if the windows get washed.. its a once a year job.. if your really good on a big building it is twice a year.. unless you hire it done. How I would check my guys on the crews work was I would leave a greasy face print on the window.. and to see if they were vacuuming.. I would toss a piece of popcorn under a chair or in an obscure corner.. LOL LOL LOL in retail store under a clothing rack.. it was good and efficient.. and I knew at a glance.. anyway..
        so I was curious.. did they.. how did they do that. or was the house cleaning supervisor blowing pulling a head of a us govt agency and blowing smoke up my ass… NOW.. that was in 1992….except for where they have done construction.. I think they got one of them LOL LOL I go there once in a while just to check and see if anyone has done anything.. for over ten years.. the security guard and I watch a piece of popcorn stay under a chair in plain site.. He would say.. I am going to pick that popcorn up.. and I said no.. I want to see.. the popcorn is gone.. but dam it I think he picked it up he wife when I asked her to ask him said he pleads the fifth…. LOL LOL
        the thing is.. to keep the budget under control many facilities take out the tile and put carpet in.. carpet hides a lot.. and then they cut housekeeping staff supplies etc…. its the lowest position on the employee list and lets face it.. the big boss needs his million dollar a year salary more than a hospital needs clean floors LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.. I get a tickle out of visiting to see me in my late thirties.. its quite nice.. when I run in to check once in a while I will add an older me to one of the windows then want to cry LOL LOL .. LOL LOL I put one on the administrators window. my thought was.. the administrator would obviously see it and then bitch at the head of housekeeping and get the job done.. NOPE…. I guess they are just to busy counting coins to notice ….LOL LOL LOL
        I tried that once here at home.. the boss.. ( my boss and significant other.. ) got slightly irritated and came up to me and said.. Honey I hope your going to clean up your mess I am not your maid LOL LOL LOL LOL point taken LOL LOL LOL

    • when my mother passed on.. she was the last in our family that had direct lineage all the way back to before the revolution that came on the boat…. anyway we had to notify the DAR ( daughters of the american revolution) and at her wake.. my brother said something that really hit home with me and the boss… he said.. isn’t it sad that you spend your whole life trying to achieve and prosper.. and in the end all that is left is a couple of boxes of assorted crap a few photos and the memories of what you stood for.. the wife and I were talking about this on the way home.. what would the kids and grandkids remember us for.. we were both so busy trying to make a living that there are no fun vacations nothing profound or exciting.. because of my work schedule I rarely was able to attend any school functions.. then the news.. there was a roundtable it had the heads of all the power companies and the PUC on television doing a roundtable discussion on energy.. the comment was no matter what.. energy would be going up five hundred percent in the near future.. Well I had been ranting.. ( who me about my vision of what we should do.. since before I could shave in High school and we were studying solar) and I said honey why don’t we promote solar and wind.. show our kids this is what we should do… accept and utilized the technologies of the past but incorporate the solar and wind into the future.. eventually replacing the need.. ( yup they could hand out solar kits to everyone for the cost of one of those wind turbines.. .. this was before they started putting up the wind turbines to.. and solar was over ten dollars a watt..
      So for our hot water heater we put in the same one that the use on the space station.. ( not worth it.. unless your using DC power only ) and up went the solar.. ( what surprised me and the head of our power company was how efficient it was.. ) my thought is .. put up solar get your rates stabile for a ten year period.. and any excess you produce the power company gets to sell that energy.. and yes.. for the cost of one three megawatt wind turbine they could get two and a half gigawatts in exchange.. but it isn’t profitable and our grid isn’t built to be secure but to be a money maker.. greenscape cities put up co2 filters on every street lamp post.. .. none of which fits in with the business model of stuff big buck billies pockets..
      what was the surprise was .. I to had bought the Bull shizt that everyone is told every day.. ( not the crap they tell about trump.. the other crap to keep the business model )
      and our electric bill is the lowest.. I had friends working in govt.. that argued with me on cost etc.. but he eventually put one in .. his system paid for itself in less than six months..
      We bought a prius prime.. wow.. what a nice car.. put a solar panel landau roof on it and every time you park it.. your recharging the batteries.. the big thing with that.. is the twelve volt battery.. they kept dying.. come to find out.. it only gets recharged when the motor is using gas.. LOL LOL so I put on a battery maintainer.. and no more twelve volt battery issues.. and once a year.. we don’t use the electric to use up the gas so we don’t end up with old gas in the tank..
      since the boss won’t let me drive it.. I don’t even know how to change the radio stations LOL..seems she thinks I am to messy.. who me..

      • I drive a Prius and can see the logic of the Prime and other short-electric-range hybrids. And if I only needed a city commuter, well, maybe a BEV. But promoting BEVs ahead of the necessary infrastructure and in stupid applications (road trips!) seems insane. As discussed here sometime ago, two to three nuclear plants per year would have to be built to electrify transportation by 2030, i.e. not something everyone wants.

        Meanwhile, in Norway the best-selling car in August 2023 was Tesla’s Model Y and in 2022 nine of out the top ten best selling cars were BEVs. Go figure. Must have great incentives. https://www.focus2move.com/category/europe/norway/
        Electricity price in Norway is now about the same as in Florida, but in February 2021 it was $.55USD/kwh.

        • I love the beast.. it is a pickup an older pickup that the kids gave me.. I had a new motor put in it.. and it is a beast.. I love it.. I only use it for dump runs.. the buggy2 is my go to vehicle.. and wouldn’t trade it for anything.. the original buggy was a go getter.. the prius is nice.. the seats are to low.. but it has a lot of leg room at the back seat.. when I took her car to get an oil change.. two years ago now.. they had a four year old Bently.. dam beautiful car.. lots of leg room in the back all the bells and whistles.. it was gorgeaous.. the guy that owned it before obviously didn’t drive it much.. it only had twenty four thousand on it.. but they must have road the brakes.. anyway.. we took it for a spin to walmart.. about six miles from the car lot.. boy it purred like a kitten.. hand rubbed wood dash.. you name it it had it in it.. a sweet ride.. I asked the salesman.. ( a friend of mine ) I wonder what they would need for this thing.. still had the stickers in the window they paid over a quarter million for it.. 267 thousand.. the tires still had the injection nipples on the side of the tires.. the sales man said offer me fifteen grand and you can take it home.. huh why so little.. he said the car lot only wants to get the cost of the front brakes out of it.. new brake pads.. they had to fly someone in from England to put them in LOL LOL …I was tempted.. but would have to park it on the street The wife would never have let me park it in the garage in her spot LOL.. the thought was.. get it then say well lets take the Bentley LOL LOL LOL
          the trip to walmart.. round trip twelve miles was over twenty dollars in gas LOL but then if you can afford a quarter million dollar car money isn’t any object.. Mercedes and caddilacs are the cheapest cars on the lot.. they target single women and poor people that see them taking a leap ahead …. they finely sold it I think in Atlanta ga.. on auction LOL LOL nice looking car.. and it would have been a big joke to get it.. but realistically I wouldn’t drive it.. dam thing is to heavy to use as an anchor or a sinker for a fishing line so it was worthless.. LOL LOL its one of those see how rich I am cars. LOL LOL LOL the prius is a show me car to.. I can’t see it going across country.. well you could.. it would be better if it had a landau solar panel top on it.. that way it is recharging as you drive .. and they should seriously put in it a way that when you are recharging you are charging the twelve volt battery as well at the same time.. Nice but I would be uncomfortable driving it.. the peddles are to close.. and the seats to low.. the buggy now.. my fat ass sits just fine in that.. but it is a wheelchair accessible van.. seems I am always taking people to doctors and appointments.. heavier.. so I had to get small truck tires on it.. otherwise you burn through the car tires like crazy.. went through a new set in less than a year.. ten ply works so much better.. than four ply.. and because it is a wheelchair accessible van.. I had to put a backup camera on it..

        • I don’t need to go anywhere many days, but when I do, it’s at least 200 miles and often 600 miles round trip. There’s no BEV I know of that can do that over mountains. I’ll just drive my old four banger that gives 40mpg.

      • I hear ya mike..the prius.. depending oh who drives is variable.. I get fifty to a charge.. the wife gets 35 the kids would get twenty..
        the wifes round trip is less than thirty five miles a day so no fuel is used..

  8. “I walked across the kitchen which I always thought was kind of small but now seemed like a 40 acre pasture.”

    That made me chuckle. Well played!

  9. A Heath DX-60B was my novice ham transmitter in 1970. Good old 6146 final. The original receiver I got from another ham was a Knight Kit (Allied Radio) R-55a tube job with a BFO and alleged ‘expanded dial’ for the ham bands. No where near accurate on the readouts, and even after a half-hour warmup it was so unstable that just resting my elbows on the desk in front of it would cause it to drift… or maybe ‘jump’ is more accurate… about a kilohertz. Absolutely useless for even making a crystal controlled CW contact. Things improved after I got a Radio Shack DX-150 solid state receiver and finally made my first novice contact with that. Now that was 53 years ago and I have no desire to live in that past.

    You must understand that being an active TV broadcast engineer building TV stations that I lived and worked through the digital TV conversion. I had to learn technology that defied the laws of physics that I grew up with. I worked on the first licensed DTV station in the nation. Information came at us like a firehose, and if you had a good memory you might capture a few cupfuls… and learn to apply it to the newest digital gadget you were trying to make pictures with. I was an old dog learning new tricks every week for a couple of intense years there. Technology marches on, and so I love my IC-7300! :-)

    “Been working on temp control for the stovetop of the tent heater”
    Back in the 60s we had moved into town from a rural setting, A neighbor farm lady had lost her husband, and since my mom was her best friend, she invited us out to the farm for Thanksgiving turkey dinner. I was just grade school age, but even I marveled at how the old lady of 83 put together the perfect turkey dinner, with all the trimmings, on her WOOD STOVE! Her kids had bought her an electric stove that she used a little bit ‘for convenience’, but that old lady knew her wood stove cook plate and oven better and preferred it for making a big meal. It still boggles my mind to remember it.

  10. Agree Totally on Chemistry, especially hydration.
    Agree on the high pressure wand to clean Up as well as Down. Also every shower head is dissected to remove the Government mandated 2.5GPM flow restrictor.
    Agree on the Shaving/Mowing, my beard grows in several directions, and I can’t get it all just shaving up and down, have to mow with the terrane. I have to be smooth to the touch even now, as requirements for wearing an Army M40 gas mask on site, which we are still carrying around slung until giving us the “all clear.”
    A point on mowing:
    I got a book from my Dad that was the ‘Readers Digest Book of Lawn Care.”
    In it was an early chapter on Grass and Mowing, written by a Florida State U (golf course experience anyone?) professor of Agronomy.
    He stated in a very pol incorrect style of the time,
    “Women, especially Southern Women, want to mow a lawn either of two lengths: Too Short, or Way too Short.”
    He said that on the typical southern style grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia, you had to let them grow long enough to choke the weeds out.
    Since I am out of town working my wife has taken over the lawn care and proved the professor correct.
    I would come home and raise the mower height, she would take it to the retiree across the street who would lower it back down.
    She finally got another retiree across the street who has started a lawn service business to come do it her way. I’ll have to go talk to him when I move back next year.
    The gauge I have found to be perfect to keep the weeds down is very handy.
    Let it grow until it reaches the knob on the side of my ankle and then cut off about one third. This is probably 3-1/2’ then lower to 2″ and let grow again.
    Works for me. YMMV in your lawn.

    Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

    • boy do I get what you mean about your beard.. I have so many cowlicks that when I let it grow out I look like albert einstein LOL LOL LOL its everywhere.. so I keep it short.. when I know its time to get a haircut.. my hair itches.. LOL LOL LOL

  11. George,
    Have you really thought about all that buying a home sawmill entails? First of all you are going to need a grapple attachment for your tractor to move the logs from where they were felled to the mill. If your tractor is not big enough then you will need a bigger one. You may also need a forklift attachment to move the boards to your kiln. Lumber needs to be dried before using. I have heard that building with green lumber is a path to heart ache and sorrow. Years ago I started to follow a sawyer on YouTube at “Out of the Woods “. He started with a small Woodmiser saw out in his field. He now has a pole barn that houses the biggest model saw that Woodmiser makes as well as several other outbuildings for the other tools needed for his business. Your penchant for tool collecting is well documented. The acquisition of a small saw mill may be a portal to worlds waiting for exploration.

    • do Rammed earth .. or straw bail.. sand bag.. rammed earth.. it is what I would like to build.. I have thought about it a lot.. rammed earth.. great.. I had considered doing one .. using preforms.. and then put the form on the outside so when you rammed the earth in.. it would be insulated inside and out.. thermal mass.. and you have the setup for the wiring and the sheet rock etc..
      I bought a CEB press for a mission once.. and got one for myself.. the cost of the one for the mission was hardly anything at all for shipping the missionaries were wanting to build a chapel and a clinic school and houses…. but for shipping to me.. dam if it wasn’t an arm and a leg…

      https://youtu.be/PKB869OW57I?si=jJdTJUSIHCrVbDj9
      now if you don’t want to buy a block press.. then here is this video
      https://youtu.be/XRLUPx1a9pI?si=7CaTj-GWyeEHsXBb
      https://youtu.be/a8sB9ovxvwE?si=GQuprAZtmkSwtdP7

      https://youtu.be/TjyGOOtOFik?si=0VG__n2KMBYfyREL

      https://youtu.be/fJyAilELhkE?si=X8pa8b_-E2nfP3u8

      • LOOB – Those are building methods for young guys with stout backs and limited funds. Same goes for being a lumber jack. I keep a box of sandbags around for emergency use, but I don’t really want to use them. I’m still recovering from manhandling a half dozen Sackrete bags.

        • I hear ya.. I wanted to build one like that since I was twenty… I watched one that they used it and then coated both sides with truck bed liner paint.. thing took a two by four shot out of a canon and a stick of dynomite outside of it.. amazing.. they use to teach it at the university.. when wood was expensive.. at the time.. I delivered newspapers.. and at one of my stops there was a barn that was build by the college.. I had to look at it.. at that time it was forty years old and dam nice.. built like a storm shelter..
          my wifes uncle built a building on his farm.. out of straw bales.. it is over a hundred years old now and nice.. there is a bar in it now.. when I was in a wheel chair.. I went to help the kids at the college build a house out of straw bales.. except for the footings and the stucco finish etc.. they built the whole place in a few hours..
          these things trip my trigger.. now G2 is young.. G is a metal worker.. shipping containers are two grand a piece.. and there are multiple home designs using shipping containers.. and they can be dropped on site.. again.. you would have to have the footings.. wiring insulation etc.. except for the straw bale house you would have to put insulation in it.. and stud out the inside..
          G2 is young and vibrant… he could do it in no time.. my thought was rammed earth..in the IFC forms.. simple easy and takes the work out of putting in insulation and studs.. conduit and electrical conduit can be pre placed just like they do when they build a mobile home.. rebar.. they make some really inexpensive rebar and the thing would last a lifetime.. seal the outside of it afterwards and you don’t even need siding..

  12. On chemistry, we’re all different. Eating and digesting the same foods might contribute to similar odors, but that’s not guaranteed, especially if you’re from radically diverse climates or have significantly different ethnicity. It’s a good start though, and certainly simplifies food preparation.

    Regarding soap or the American variations: I’ve found that most American soap is more oil and other aliphatics than can be washed off easily. I’ve no idea why bar soap went out of favor. Part of taking a shower(for me) is to get the oil off, and not just add more. The Mexican laundry soap “Zote” cleans the skin admirably, though it may not be for everyone.

    I’ve hacked every faucet in the house except the bathroom sink units. Not just shower heads, but significant surgery on the valve units themselves. The showers work as they should and have no major restrictions, and the kitchen sink flows as much as a pot filler – especially useful when I fill the Burkey filter.

    On a more serious note, it seems that Israel was responsible for the attack on the Nova trance festival! Whether deliberate or not, IDF targeted them and killed up to 364 innocents. Hamas then apparently rampaged and kidnapped others of the 3500 attendees:

    https://www.businessinsider.com/idf-mistakenly-hit-festival-attendees-while-targeting-hamas

    Things are getting worse. I’m really glad a friend decided to cancel her trip there in January. She was going with a Christian church group, and she’s too old to easily handle that kind of risk and drama.

    • Never considered the ethnicity angle to B.O. I don’t go there.
      Maybe we shouldn’t go there. Sounds too much like an arrest warrant in the making (or, depending on results of course, a hate crime, lol…)

      • George, that’s a large part of why we can’t get honest science today! The government funds most universities, and grants magically disappear if you don’t write proposals and reach conclusions according to the latest wokeness.

        No malice was intended or implied, but I’ll go with the flow on this one.

    • “An Israeli police investigation into the music-festival massacre on October 7 indicates that the IDF mistakenly shot some festival attendees while firing at Hamas, a report suggested.

      The alleged debacle was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing an unnamed police source.

      The source told Haaretz that their police investigation said an IDF combat helicopter fired at Hamas fighters after arriving on the scene. While targeting the perpetrators, the helicopter also hit some festivalgoers, the source said.”
      _____

      So, the IDF shot up the festie before their fight with Hamas really got going?

      They got a full-dress, fully-loaded assault helicopter on-scene, north of Egypt and two miles from the Gaza strip, in six minutes, and kept its sound out of all the videos being shot on scene.

      I sense a logical discontinuity…

      What’s Ray’s First Rule regarding war?
      (hint: “The first casualty in any war is always the truth.”)

      Haaretz is like our Rolling Stone or Village Voice. Their political philosophy is fascist-progressive (their “Palestinian strategy” is appeasement, not defense), and their management does not like Likud. I could say the same about Business Insider, which is not only a commie rag, but is still actively pursuing “Trump/Russia collusion…”

      …And “yes,” I AM shooting the messenger. Neither BI nor Haaretz have a shred of journalistic integrity in the political arena, and haven’t had any for a long time. I have no respect for either.

  13. “Old Drake receiver is hard to beat, unless you have dialed in an old SX-101 Mark II or III. Reader Ray, I’m guessing would agree. Hank? Well, maybe not as readily, lol.”

    Speaking of, did you just acquire that SX-146 off eBay? There was one listed a few weeks ago which I toyed with bidding on, but then looked at the “unfinished projects list” in my head, and passed…

    • Yes! The difference between us Ray, I never consult the WIP queue (work in progress) when deals are about. This is why I will need to live to 140 something just to finish current WIP.

  14. “Shave Like You Mow”

    “Why am I down on deodorant?”

    Hmmm, thought I was the only one. I use a Wahl hair clipper to do the rough-cut, followed by a Norelco, or occasionally one of them fancy-pants razors, if the humidity is high (sweating makes the electric shaver pull instead of cutting cleanly.)

    Our bodies are designed to perspire when we’re hot, as a means of cooling off. The basic antiperspirant/deodorant interferes with the body’s cooling function. Because of that, I will only use a deodorant (unscented) if I have to be in a place with lots of people, for an extended period of time, or about once every 3-4 weeks.

    BO from perspiration is caused by bacteria, growing on your feet, privates, pits, and top of your head. Technically, the smell of BO is the smell of the bacteria’s shit. If’fn you wash the places which perspire, with enough frequency to inhibit bacterial infestation, the bacteria will never poop under your arms and cause you to reek.

    I was raised on “washing.” “Washing,” according to my parents, was washing/rinsing one’s face, neck, ears, arms, hands, and body above the waist, with a washcloth and soap. (folks today would likely call it a sponge-bath.) We “washed” when we got up and also before supper, and took baths before we went to bed. My parents also “washed” when they got home from work.

    I use high-test rubbing alcohol as an “after-shave,” and will follow it with a dab of cologne if I’m going out to be in mixed company. I detest people, younger guys especially, who douse themselves in stinky stuff, often in lieu of bathing, and vowed many years ago, to never allow myself to be confused with one of these nasty children.

    • Lemme see: Disassember, minimum of 20 big welds of t-post (material Cost!)
      Or a bucks worth of gas in the chainsaw… hmmm…10 min versus 3 days…mm…

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