A modeler named mike

What ya get and what did you get.. ?°° seems the same to me. It's all "model" related, No? ?

Finally.. For the past week I've had a chubby little Grey squirrel that's joined the gang of squirrels that come for peanuts daily. He seems more friendly and less timid than the others. I usually prop the screen door open about a foot so I can toss out a nut to them one at a time. When you get 8 or 9 squirrels together there's bound to be some chasing and bumping going on. When chubby showed up he walked right up to the wooden threshold, sat up and put both front feet up on it then scoped out the bowl of peanuts sitting next to the door. I toss him one and off he went. When he came back I was waiting with a long nut pinched between my fingers. He did exactly the same as before but this time I handed the nut to him. He leaned towards my hand and placed his paw on my finger pulling it towards him as he bite the nut. He let go of my finger and was on his way again. I was flabbergasted.. Than the next squirrel in line also took a nut that I pinched. I guess monkey see monkey do? Definitely the high light of my day! I was able to get some video of him just taking a nut. A bit shakey but I captured it. Next, mixed nuts and an open hand..? here's a screenshot from a video of him.

Way ahead of ya buddy.

I've seen this ugliness before with friends and other family members and believe I'll have the same situation with my brother when our dad passes. When dad was in the hospital this last time, he didn't come to visit in the 6 days dad was hospitalized. He didn't even visit on Christmas! But when we thought dad wouldn't pull through the 50 questions from my brother started. How much is the house worth? How much is his life insurance policy for? How much cash is in the safe? This type of BS makes me sick!

Both the above post, Marty and also Keith's irk stories are horrifying and absolutely proof of today's lack of respect for others knowing that there's no repercussions that will happen. Welcome to our new ? of lawlessness supported by the insane individuals who govern our laws! A story that I was made aware of recently. This individual who I know only from being brought into our lives by another family member. He is a low level drug dealer with family members who all have multiple pages of criminal charges and convictions on record. Everything from credit card theft to writing fake prescriptions for narcotics to sending individuals to easy write RX doctors to obtain oxycodin and other narcotics to resell on the streets. He he has been caught multiple times and has a 20 year sentence hanging over his head from a pryor case where he beat and left the guy for dead. He served 5 years and was awarded probation with stipulations for that crime. He's been caught many times since for a variety of drug and assault charges but he seems to be always left free?? Anyway he claims to do handiwork for a fictitious company his brother runs and supplies the jerks with w-2 forms for court and tax time. He was doing work for an elderly man who lived by himself but has family that lives a few towns away. He somehow talked or tricked the guy into signing over the title to his house and property, added himself to the man's bank accounts and made the man's legal guardian. The family found this all out when the man's doctor called and wanted to know why was their dad missing his appointments? They went to the house and was told to leave by the crook. This is an on going investigation and I hope to God this punk gets what's coming too him finally!

?° I really like that van..

Another box to check off on the list! Arrived in the mail today. The decals are questionable and it's missing the instruction sheet but the chrome is perfect and all the parts are present. ?°°So now the paper hunt begins!

Hey Bill.. It's been a little over a week.. I hope you've over come the miserables and are back to your ole self.

As I said before I sincerely appreciate all and any advice given from this great group of individuals on this forum. Whether it be modeling or life experiences.. You all Rock in my book!

I've never had the pleasure as most here have of going to a local or neighboring Ollie's. I wish we had one nearby. Desirable kit subjects or not you can't beat those kits prices. But I will say that if I saw that a kit appears to have been re-shrunk wrapped I would walk away from it. Same goes with buying off the internet such as on eBay. I scrutinize every photo for authenticity before buying. I've passed up several kits that looked like it had been shrunk wrapped improperly or vintage kits with the improper parts from a later issued kit. There's always a scammer somewhere trying to make a fast and easy buck..?

After all the decisions, views, praises and gripes are given I say Great! I'm Looking forward to seeing what's in store to come. Any regenerated old kits or new kits are a welcome in my book whether I care for subject matter or not. You just can't please all of us all the time.

Very nice neighbor indeed! Love the '70 Challenge and Monte Carlo box art..?

Mackerel ?°° wasn't that a barracuda kit from AMT? ☝? yeah the Mad Mackerel.. I don't have one of those. Should've picked one up when they were reasonably priced. I'm just trying to check off all the boxes on my must/gotta/die if I don't have list.. ?

Since I'm here I might as well share some more hard to get kits that I've acquired since my last posting. Still have some hunting to do! Just made an offer and was able to score it two days ago. Still waiting for it to arrive. Sealed but has a puncture wound in the box top..? Open/complete Open/complete Open/complete.. Nice! This kit was built as the stock hotrod leaving the FC parts unmolested. Open/complete but both a pillars are cracked. Still need to be repaired, Thanks to a few members here I was set straight on how to tackle that job. ? Open/complete Open/complete

I've always liked the unusual and this one fits the bill. I've come close to pulling the trigger on this kit a few times but something more and enticing gets me excited. Neat kit!

You are correct Les. Just knowing that the alarm was there I was able to relax and fall asleep faster. I'm a lite sleeper and it takes me longer to fall back asleep but the alarm alleviated that stress. I did the door knob switch in the basement door, which is the ball type knob so the locking mechanism is on the other side. I had to remove his bedroom door in order to be able to get the wheelchair through the opening. I have a transport chair also which is narrower but it causes the carpet to start to move, it's wall to wall bounded carpet that's not permanently tacked down over oak wood flooring. I'd love to rip out the carpets but there is wall to wall antique furniture on it in every room and nowhere to move it too so that's a job for another day way down the road, when the time comes..? Great suggestions.. I appreciate your input!

Most definitely! I ordered a bed alarm and used it last night for the first time. Works great! What works in my favor is he can not hear the tone it makes due to his poor hearing. I was on him before he could walk a step away from the bed. I realize the alarm won't stop the get up out a beds but it does lower the risk of him falling while going on a nightly journey.. ?°° that would take ratchet straps or duct tape.. ? just kidding! I also thought about a expansion gate to place in the bedroom doorway about chest to groin height. When I told him of this idea he said "I'll just kick it out!" At least he's still honest so we'll ditch that and stick with just the alarm.

Not enough time to name the irks that have ruled my last two days and especially nights! Hoping the bed alarm will help control one of them. I have found that being creative is necessary in my new line of work. We have an old service bell like you'd find on the countertop at a shop to ring to get the attendants attention.. I place it next to my dad wherever he's sitting. He rings and I come a running.. Works great during the day but at night?? That's when Mr. Hyde emerges and is the cause of needing the bed alarm. The next day when we talk Dr Jekyll knows nothing about it but acknowledges it's wrong and that he wouldn't do that..?

You are correct In the lesson ?°° that they probably didn't learn. In the 30 years of working with wood cabinetry we color matched many jobs. Number one rule was to prep, stain or color spray a wooden sample and clear coat it. After the sample was approved by the customer we would cut the sample in half and give one half to the customer and the other half for our shop to duplicate on the customers order.

That's really cool..

Sorry Pete for rekindling an Irk on a day if rest. I like the idea of using a UV light. Might make me feel like I'm on a CSI show. ? so when it happens again I can call for back up..

A couple things I penned while feeling the cheer. I'm no poet and I definitely know it.. Mike Merry Christmas..What's this? No presents under the tree! Oh my I see Santa didn't show but that's ok. He didn't need to bring me anything on this day. For I had been given a gift that he could not match in anyway. A gift from one who's all in charge and sees that my needs are met no matter how small or large. One who's love is all year round and not just on one night from a bearded clown. As I sat impatiently waiting for santa ? by the Christmas tree I had a sense of well-being that came over me. The lights giving off their welcoming glow and the pop corn string dancing from branch to branch reminds me of days long ago. A top sits an angel a bit worn and not as glamorous as once before. Underneath it all is gifts, all wrapped with love and care. And when you stand back and look at all that's there, you know only one thing! Christmas is here. To Everyone, a Merry Christmas! A day late but I want to share. I wrote this Christmas Eve as dad and I sat in our chairs. Just listening to Christmas music and relishing in the fact that my dad is still here.

I've tried all kinds of remedies but never ChapStick. I've been using Neosporin pain relief ointment and two bandaids. One over the tip and another around the tip over tha last bandaid. I'll have a couple of fingers on average bandaided up during the cracking season. It used to be worse when I was working. I use to spray lacquer all day and the thinner would just suck the life out of your skin. I'll have to try your suggestion ?

My wife and I would sit all day watching Hallmark Christmas movies with a box of tissues.. Did I mention we were cutting onions at the same time..?... ?°° TISSUES? That brings me to one of today's Irks. As I started to pull the clothes out of the washing machine I noticed that I didn't catch that dad had a wadded up tissue stuffed in his pajama pocket..? little pieces of tissue on everything. Unfortunately it's the job of the laundry guy to check these things. So I'll have to have a talk with myself about doing a better inspection on the next load..?

Ain't that the truth! I used to loathed the drive into Baltimore. I had the pleasure two times a week of driving an old worn but still plugging along Ford C-600 delivery box truck on occasion to pick up or deliver parts to a couple of businesses and a Goodwill facility we used to subcontract piece work to. Never a fun drive, had to have eyes up your arse, the patience of a saint and nerves of steel. I couldn't imagine driving there now with crime running so rampant and car jackings on the rise. Hell its not even safe for a cop! Think about that.. Gives surviving the beltway new meaning.. Sad state of affairs... ?