Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Scholastic Action Shooting Program
Ruger is offering a 1999 production, New-In-Box P90 pistol in .45 ACP. This is a manual-safety pistol, and you aren't going to find a new one anywhere else. CLICK HERE to read all about it and to place your bid. This fine pistol will sell mid-day, February 28, 2018. $730.58
The Hard Part; Rest In Peace, Little Hobbs
Sweet little Hobbs came to live with us on the third of February. We knew he would be with us until the end, and that it probably would not be long. His owner is elderly and was not able to handle a dog with bladder cancer and the infirmities of old age. Hobbs was surrendered to a municipal animal shelter in Wisconsin. A volunteer for Midwest Schipperke Rescue pulled him out of the shelter and transported him to Illinois, where Michele Kasten picked him up and brought him to us.
We took him to our Vet the next day and found that he also had congestive heart failure and that his time with us would be brief. Hobbs had only one tooth, so we provided him with a diet of soft food, turkey heart treats, and pressure-cooked chicken and beef cut up into tiny bits. He loved feeding time.
Hobbs liked to go out for walks. Of course, he did not walk fast, and he paused frequently. He liked doing his business outdoors, and he liked sniffing around the trees, checking to see if any other boy dogs were in his territory. We always gave him turkey heart treats after his time outdoors, and he really liked that.
This morning when I woke him his little tail did not spin like a helicopter. I took him out and he did his business, but he didn't walk. He settled down on his blue blanket and just breathed all day until he couldn't. He did wiggle his tail one more time for me while I was rubbing his ears and talking to him. We wrapped him in his blue blanket and buried him next to Sheba. Hobbs was a good little dog.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Tuesday Torque: 25 Horsepower IHC Engine
I attended a remarkable crankup over the weekend. The host has one of the most complete collections of International Harvester engines in the country, and if they aren't already running, most of them could be made to run with a few day's work. We will be sharing some of the photos and videos over the next few weeks, just so you can have a little sample of this collection. The first engine we will show is this 25 HP International that was restored over a period of three or four years. The story behind the acquisition is as fascinating as the engine. This engine has been watched by the current owner for many years, and also by others. Retrieving it from the wild had to be done when opportunity struck, and if a crane had not been available it would still be moldering away.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Meadows Mill and 6 HP M
Back To The Old Grind! Video by Jeff Boyer
YouTube has changed their rules for monetizing again, and the new policy is a killjoy for hobbyists who share their videos. You now must have 1100 subscribers to qualify for monetizing, and you may not be allowed to monetize a video until it has 1000 views. A typical engine video will get 20 to 50 views in a day right after you post it, and then it may keep going or it may not get views for a long time. Post regularly, and some of your videos will get a lot of views. Some might get 50 in a year; you never know. The little checks YouTube sends to your bank account are great encouragement to keep sharing what we see at engine shows, and it makes the hobby more enjoyable. If you like engine videos, please subscribe to the channels of the guys who make them and check them regularly to see what they post. It doesn't cost you a thing and you will be encouraging them to keep posting videos for all to enjoy. To see who posted a video and to subscribe, all you have to do is click the YouTube logo on the lower bar of the video when it plays. The Subscribe button will be below the right side of the video.
Bring Enough Hammer!
I had to drop a tree on the pond bank the other day. It was going off center toward the pond, I did not want it to get any worse. I carried my things down from the garage, and just grabbed a Hudson Bay axe for pounding wedges, not realizing how large the tree actually was. Just a bit of frustration followed when the axe would just bounce back off the wedges. Grabbed a bigger hammer, put it on the ground.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Hobbs Is Enjoying Life Here,
but we have a constant feeling of dread. Little Hobbs is sixteen, with bladder cancer and heart disease. He's not quite toothless; he has one. Susan cooks special meals for him, and I carry him out multiple times every day. I quit letting him walk out last week because he had a heart attack while meandering around outdoors. I thought he was a goner, but I did chest compressions on him and he started breathing again. He has blood in his urine because of the cancer, and we know his days are numbered, but he is enjoying his warm bed, laptime, chicken dinners, and turkey heart treats.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Scholastic Action Shooting Program
Ruger is offering a fine one this week. It is a New Old Stock 77/22, blue steel and walnut in .22 Long Rifle, made and test fired in 1985. It will sell mid-day, February 21, 2018. CLICK HERE or on the photo to read all about it and to place your bid. $760
Monday, February 19, 2018
Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945
Seventy three years ago today the Marines invaded Iwo Jima. This battle has been in most Baby Boomers minds all of our lives because we came from the generation that fought World War II. Susan's father, O.T. Bentrup was in the 3rd Division and fought on Bougainville, Guam and Iwo. His specialty was telephones. He strung phone wire on the battlefields of the Pacific, so when War History Online posted this photo, it caught my attention immediately.
This photo was taken on Iwo Jima, and we don't know the names, of course; but we can tell you what is going on. A Japanese soldier was concealed in a shellhole. You can see telephone line coming across the hole and a Marine with no rifle looking in. That is the telephone man. While dragging a spool of phone line, the Marine could not carry his rifle. One hand would pull the line, the other would hold a .45 or his Kabar. O.T. did not tell us much about his battles, but he did say to me one time that he sure got tired of sticking his Kabar in Japs. You see, when he dived into a shellhole, he had to look for enemies. He would have to stab immediately if an enemy soldier was in there. That is why we know what happened here. The telephone man dived in dragging his line, saw the enemy, stabbed or shot him (probably stabbed) and then found that it was a live soldier and not a corpse. A medic was summoned, and the wounded man is being given a cigarette while waiting for a litter.
I sure wish O.T. was here to visit with today. He was always quiet on these anniversaries, and always cheerful on November 10, his second birthday.
This photo was taken on Iwo Jima, and we don't know the names, of course; but we can tell you what is going on. A Japanese soldier was concealed in a shellhole. You can see telephone line coming across the hole and a Marine with no rifle looking in. That is the telephone man. While dragging a spool of phone line, the Marine could not carry his rifle. One hand would pull the line, the other would hold a .45 or his Kabar. O.T. did not tell us much about his battles, but he did say to me one time that he sure got tired of sticking his Kabar in Japs. You see, when he dived into a shellhole, he had to look for enemies. He would have to stab immediately if an enemy soldier was in there. That is why we know what happened here. The telephone man dived in dragging his line, saw the enemy, stabbed or shot him (probably stabbed) and then found that it was a live soldier and not a corpse. A medic was summoned, and the wounded man is being given a cigarette while waiting for a litter.
I sure wish O.T. was here to visit with today. He was always quiet on these anniversaries, and always cheerful on November 10, his second birthday.
Tuesday Torque: Out Of The Woods It Came!
This video reminds me of a story by an old-timer in Gas Engine Magazine fifty years ago. He told about helping move a St. Mary's engine to location out in the sticks by rolling it on the flywheels behind a team instead of a crawler. Engine collectors are a wild bunch, aren't they?
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Enough Already!
It's mostly gone already, and tomorrow it will disappear, but it sure made the roads messy this morning. There was an inch and a half of wet slush that was like driving on a layer of grease.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
The FBI Did Not Even Try
The FBI was warned about the shooter last year, and they were lying to the cameras today saying they had no way to find the person who made the threat on YouTube. Any of you who blog and/or YouTube know better; maybe others do not, but we have been told for years that anything you do online lasts forever. I know that YouTube knows exactly where their account holders are if they wish to look. Here is an example of a free service available for bloggers, showing some recent visitors to this blog.
There are many different options for me to search visitor information, and if I do that along with checking comments it is easy to put a name to the pins on the map. The information has changed a bit since many people are not hard-wired to the Internet now, but with warrants, law enforcement investigators have the ability to easily dig deep and come right to your doorstep. The FBI investigators should have gone to YouTube with a warrant, collected information, and then obtained a warrant for the Internet provider, then picked up and interviewed the perpetrator who made the threat. There is no doubt that Google and YouTube hold more information on their customers than we would like them to have. I guarantee their surveillance capabilities far outweigh the free Statcounter I have on this blog. The school administration failed on several levels, too, and those failures are systemic throughout the country in nearly every school system.
Today I was hearing once again, "See Something, Say Something." That happened, and it did not do a bit of good. The Good Samaritan who contacted the FBI is proof once again that if you report a crime or possible crime, you become a prime suspect. Agents showed up on his doorstep right after the shooting and wanted to know what he knew about it. He is lucky he is not in a holding cell right now being interrogated.
There are many different options for me to search visitor information, and if I do that along with checking comments it is easy to put a name to the pins on the map. The information has changed a bit since many people are not hard-wired to the Internet now, but with warrants, law enforcement investigators have the ability to easily dig deep and come right to your doorstep. The FBI investigators should have gone to YouTube with a warrant, collected information, and then obtained a warrant for the Internet provider, then picked up and interviewed the perpetrator who made the threat. There is no doubt that Google and YouTube hold more information on their customers than we would like them to have. I guarantee their surveillance capabilities far outweigh the free Statcounter I have on this blog. The school administration failed on several levels, too, and those failures are systemic throughout the country in nearly every school system.
Today I was hearing once again, "See Something, Say Something." That happened, and it did not do a bit of good. The Good Samaritan who contacted the FBI is proof once again that if you report a crime or possible crime, you become a prime suspect. Agents showed up on his doorstep right after the shooting and wanted to know what he knew about it. He is lucky he is not in a holding cell right now being interrogated.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Valentine's Day Tradition
Susan and Pattie sowed lettuce today. Lisa thought Pattie was trying to give her a treat and she packed the seed in the ground for us.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Scholastic Action Shooting Program
This Ruger Convertible Blackhawk in .32 H&R Magnum and .32-20 Winchester is marked with a buckeye leaf on the top strap, and was made for Buckeye Sports Supply in Ohio during the 1980s. It will sell mid-day, February 14, 2018. CLICK HERE or on the photo to read the description and to place your bid. $1025
2018 Valentine Festival! At Last, Etta James
Many Thanks to all who visited this little blog to enjoy the Valentine Festival! We have had a great time picking out songs for you every day.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Whose Birthday Is It?
We are adding this Carson Robison record because it may just be the first Lincoln joke. It works, as did Newhart's routine. Carson's problems with Lincoln jokes had more to do his writers and his delivery.
Tuesday Torque: Fairbanks Morse 2 HP Eclipse
This nice display was at the Evansville SIAM show last June.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
2018 Valentine Festival! A Picture Of Your Sweetheart? A Portrait of My Love and True Blue Sam The Traveling Man
Differing sentiments by Steve Lawrence and Frank Crumit.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Safety Alert From Fortune Cookie 45LC!
This information from Fortune Cookie could be very important for owners of .45 Colt Smith and Wesson revolvers. I am astounded.
Friday, February 9, 2018
2018 Valentine Festival Is In Its Final Week! That Big Blonde Mama, Al Jolson; Waltz Across Texas, Ernest Tubb
Holy Cow, I just took inventory and I have more than fifty unused songs on my list and less than a week until Valentine's Day. Time to post doubles, I say!
Ernest Tubb was born 104 years ago today! He was a good man, a great performer, and he loved his fans!
Ernest Tubb was born 104 years ago today! He was a good man, a great performer, and he loved his fans!
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Are You Ready To Join...
...The Raw Water Movement? Visit beautiful Southern Illinois where the waters are rich with the subtle qualities of snapping turtles, red-eared sliders, muskrats, beavers, otters, catfish, crappie, bass, crawdads, raccoons, and thousands and thousands of Canada and snow geese.
Our own particular blend this month for raw water aficianados is Goose Poop Soup. Don't forget to pack your kaopectate! Mallard duck and coot are no extra charge!
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Scholastic Action Shooting Program
This is the second of two consecutively numbered U.S. marked Mk II pistols that Ruger is selling for the benefit of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program. This pistol was made in 1983 and is New Old Stock; having been stored away in Ruger's vault for three and a half decades. CLICK HERE to read the full desciption and to place your bid. $2130
Monday, February 5, 2018
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Hello In There
Say Hello to Hobbs, the new Old Man of the House. Hobbs is a permanent foster Schipperke for us, and so far he seems to be a very nice old dog, just maybe a little sad. His owner is elderly and could no longer care for him, so we will do that for him. Hobbs is in isolation right now, just to make sure he hasn't picked up any diseases during his transfers. In a couple weeks he can mingle with the rest of the family.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Weekend Steam: Starting The Big Red Engine
Merle picked a good one for us this week! This is a compound Corliss engine with its barring engine for rotating to the starting position. That is a setup that we don't see on most engines, but this one is big and one can't simply walk up to the flywheel and spin it around.