Ace-Garageguy

CDs (as in certificates of deposit) had annual yields as high as 15% back in the 1980s, but I doubt we'll ever see returns like that again.

Anyone who's been paying attention knows that today, "facts" are often cherry-picked, "interpreted", denied, or just flat made up depending on the agenda of the one reporting said "facts". This is NOT a "political" statement, but rather a sad reflection on human nature in general. That said, there are certain irrefutable and undeniable hard facts emerging about this horrific situation, available to anyone with web access. They're painting an interesting picture. One fact is that two people (as of yesterday) in the general area have been detained in relation to behavior that could ultimately implicate each of them as an arsonist having some responsibility for at least one fire. One person, apparently a middle-aged male carrying a propane torch, was seemingly emotionally disturbed or under the influence of something. The other, an older female, was caught in the act of setting a fire that was extinguished before it spread. There are other undeniable facts regarding the situation that I'll refrain from mentioning so as to not veer too close to anything "political", but they are, likewise, available to anyone with web access and possessing rudimentary critical thinking skills.

I believe that, had the US automakers taken a firm stand when the gubmint began trying to tell them how to build cars, a lot of this could have been avoided. Of course "consumer advocates", people like the self-appointed-expert-on-everything-automotive Mr. Nader (who didn't even drive), riled up public indignation by playing to public fear and ignorance, as always, so manufacturers mumbled and shuffled and caved rather than losing the sales they thought might disappear if they fought. And once the regulatory camel's nose was allowed in the tent, the rest of the camel followed, and here we are. EDIT: Electronic engine management systems and CAD-influenced combustion chamber, porting, and cam engineering are quantum leaps beyond what was possible with carbs and slide-rule engineering from the standpoint of fuel efficiency and pollution...a good thing. But these systems can and should be entirely discreet stand-alones, robust and simple to diagnose and repair, without every add-on system in the rest of the vehicle having anything whatsoever to do with them.

Them fellers at say "happy wife, happy life" has allys kinda made me wonner how much you sposed ta giv up ta make er "happy".

You live next to a lake of molten lava? Coooooooool.

Apache AH-64 helicopters were developed to replace the AH-1 Cobra.

Nice work. Love the color, love this kit too. EDIT: And thanks for the paint mix and spraying info too. Details like that are really helpful.

Ride that gravy train, and game the system for everything you can get for free, 'cause getting something-for-nothing is what it's all about.

Saw is what you do to cut wood, or what you used to do when you were trying to see.

Looks like cat to me.

The precip here blew out late last night without a lot of ice buildup on the trees. The electric co-op has already restored power to all but 10 clients, and there's not much likelihood mine will go down at this point...but never say never. Temp is holding right at 32F so nothing's melting, the street in front of my house is solid black ice, as is the parking lot across the railroad tracks. The main road appears to be pretty clear, but I have everything I need and have no intention of going anywhere, other than possibly a walk around the neighborhood while the snow is still around. I always used to go for hikes in a national park a few miles away on snow days, but neither operational vehicle currently has good snow tires, and I'm not risking either one. Snow tires are useless on ice anyway, and I'm not chaining up for just one day.

In the tide there are sharks and garbage and flesh eating viruses and contaminated needles, and if those don't getcha, the wildfires will.

We used to get at least one or two snowfalls or ice storms every year, and the state and county DOTs had a few plow trucks and dumps with sand spreaders on the rear. Past few years...no snow. So I'm guessing some gubmint spenders figgered "climate change", so there wouldn't be any more snow, ever. Surprise.

Limit your consumption of inkohol unless you know somebody who's 3D printing new livers. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10457767/

Yup, a tune up'll fix 'er right up.

Temperature dropped one degree, ice is starting to build noticeably on even the smallest branches. Went outside just now to open the door on the Blazer and clear it to try to prevent freezing in case I need to charge my phone from it later. As I was outside, two decent size limbs cracked and fell in the wooded strip just to my south. Looked online at my electric co-op's outage map, currently about 2500 people fairly close by are in the dark. It may still get interesting. EDIT: Think I'll make a pot of coffee. Can always reheat it in a pan on the propane burner later, better than cowboy coffee full of grounds.

I had that appear a couple of days ago while trying to make a post. Thought for a few minutes maybe I'd committed some new "political" transgression and been locked out again. I copied my response, logged out and back in, everything worked as normal when I pasted the response in the reply box. Ghosts? Gremlins? Boogeymen? Aliens?

Video games played to excess are said to inhibit development of in-person social skills.

Snow...and nobody foolhardy enough to play moving-target for the clueless.

Looking out the window, I'm seeing the first sign of icing on trees. There are a couple of drops on a branch that are too long to be drops...unless they're frozen. Temp right at 32F.

Ketchup on ice cream isn't very good, unless it's hot-dog flavored ice cream.

For a while. Sorta. Most electrical tape isn't even a permanent solution for what it's supposedly made for, unless it's the self-vulcanizing kind that fuses to itself.

So...besides everything else, some clueless civilian's drone, flying in restricted airspace, struck one of the firebomber aircraft...which is now grounded with wing damage. Smooth move there, sporty. Stupid NEVER takes time off.

"Sir (and I hope you don't find that offensive, as you have a bushy long beard and are wearing full biker regalia), would you like fries with that?"