What Really Happened At The Suez Canal?

 Susan and I found this video quite interesting. Bank Effect and Finger Traps!

Oh Boy, New Boots!

My work boots are getting old, so I ordered a new pair, and they are nice.  They feel like pulling on a set of kid gloves.  They just need a good treatment of Pecard's and they will be ready to go to work.

Grasshopper 727 Lawnmower Review

Our Grasshopper mower is in its fourteenth year of mowing grass at two homes, and we just did some repairs to keep it going. Here is the rundown on the repairs and maintenance we have had to do on this machine.



The gearbox in the mower deck is the only part of this machine that is cause for dissatisfaction.  Grasshopper could punch a hole in the skidplate assembly to provide access to the oil plug.  Maybe they don't do it because they don't want their customers working under the deck.  There is probably a liability risk if they tell people to do that, and then a deck flops down on the person checking the oil.  It looks like a good modification, though, if you want to make your maintenance chores easier.

News Hacks' Code Words Explained By Colin Flaherty

Just in case you hadn't figured out all these terms...

Rule #5!

Let It Fall! (Knife or gun) CLICK

Unwanted Bucket List

These are things that can really make you kick the bucket! Right now I am being treated for erlichiosis,which is spread by ticks, a critter that bites me regularly. I picked up several last week on an outing in Jefferson County, so I actually know right where I caught this bug. Our little Skipper had erlichiosis a couple years ago, and he caught it right here at home. You can run a high fever with erlichiosis, and organ failure followed by death is one of the symptoms. Read and be aware of this one!

I've had Lyme disease three times and caught it in the initial infection stage each time. If you miss that, you will have a second set of signs and symptoms, and a chance to cure it. If you miss that, it is a disease that keeps on giving the rest of your life.  We have deer ticks, Lone Star ticks, and dog ticks in abundance all over Southern Illinois, so it pays to use Deet and Permethrin when you are afield. Get Tick Twisters to keep at home, in your purse, in your car, and have tape to wrap the tick in so you don't have to contaminate your pocket knife killing him. Mark dates on your calendar when you think you have been bitten.

Back in '93 I went on a river trip in Big Bend country and got sick soon after coming home. Darn near died from that one. Hantavirus is what the doctor figured out. You don't want this one either. You either wear it out, or it wears you out. I used to run before I had hantavirus; never could get that going again. After I thought I was healed up sufficiently, I donated blood and got a letter from the Red Cross telling me to Never Donate Again! Never give a mouse an even break, because those little suckers can kill you.

Bombathon

The Ramadan Bombathon is rolling right along, right on schedule. Don't forget that there were half a dozen major events in the days leading up to Ramadan. Manchester, Coptic Christians in Egypt, kidnappings and murder in the Phillipines. This is a world at war.

Cyanide Boobie Traps Are Legal? Who Knew?

From The East Idaho News:  The article is not clear on whether the United States Department of Agriculture is setting these bombs, or if they distribute them to private individuals for varmint control, but golly; it's ok, because this is the first time since 2014 that one has gone off and hurt somebody.  A pet was killed, a child was heavily exposed, and a parent was also exposed.  Unbelievable!

Our Current Civil War; Watch This Video!

Downed Power Line Survival Strategies

I had always heard to use little hops with your feet together to get out of the hot zone.  Just don't separate your feet very far if you have to escape this situation.

The Face Of A Monster

This is a record setting case, and in a very bad way.  Go Read it.

Do NOT Stop For A Mob

Back up, turn around, or go through the mob if you have to.  Just don't stop.

Are You Prepared?

The boss sent out an e-mail to the field people today because a desperado is loose in Southern Illinois.  This guy is a genuine bad man and he is evidently in deep Southern Illinois now.  He has been wounded, so he is probably as desperate as a desperado can be.  Click Here or on the wanted poster to see the news report about him.

Our boss sent us information about the man, and cautioned us to be careful in the field.  I wrote a response and replied to All.  Then I realized it was a pretty good post, so here it is.

"There are precautions that many of us neglect.  We spend most of our time at home, so our homes should be secured as well as possible.  When you come home from work assess your house to make sure it has not been invaded while you were gone.  If you have been broken into, don’t clear the house yourself.  Call 911 and have police clear your house.  Avoid confronting burglars if at all possible.  Use deadbolts on all entry doors.  Close your garage if you are not working there.  Lock the man-door between the garage and house if they are attached.  Have a visible 911 address sign at your driveway for emergency responders to see.  Keep your guns locked in a safe when you are not using or carrying them.  There was a recent burglary in Franklin County (Illinois) where the burglar stole a firearm and had a rolling shootout with police.  He was shot and killed by police, but that shootout would not have happened if firearms had been secured.  Get firearms/concealed carry training if you have not already done so.  You must stay within the law in your own home if you use deadly force to protect yourself and your family.  Know how quickly you can reach weapons from anywhere in your home. Discuss these things with your family in advance and know what everyone should do during a home invasion. 

Lock your work truck when you are away from it.  Be alert when you return to it.  Do not get in the truck with a carjacker.  You might survive if you resist/run/fight.  You will be killed if you go with a carjacker/kidnapper.  That’s what they do.  Always carry a walking stick or substantial Biltmore stick when you are away from your truck.  Don’t let an attacker get his hands on you unless you want to do hand-to-hand combat to save your own life.  Alertness is a huge advantage. Escaping/deflecting/avoiding an attacker is preferable to fighting for your life.  Your responsibility for your family changes the dynamics of an attack, so do your research, training, and preparation for those possibilities."

We are having big, bad T-storms tonight, so maybe this guy will feel like surrendering tomorrow.

What Did You Learn At Vacation Bible School And Church Camp?

It's hard to recall all that I learned. I saw a kid nearly killed by a baseball to the throat, but he came out of it OK. I really liked Onward Christian Soldiers and other songs we sang. Teachers get all flustered when someone asks "What's a womb?" and those were farm women! Man's primary purpose is to glorify God. That's the big one. and if a kid goes to Sunday School, VBS, and other church activities, that soaks in. What happens in other cultures? That's a hard lesson that you need to learn. I was visiting with a friend who knows about such things, so I asked him,"How many of the mosques in this country are preaching Jihad?" He gave me a look that made me realize that I had asked a very dumb question. "All Of Them! 100%! That's what imams do" You hear that there are good muslims, and that must be true, but you have to understand that every muslim who attends a mosque is instructed to wage jihad against you. You! When you hear muslim leaders say "Death To America" that means you, your family, your friends, your government. It is not a quaint or funny expression. They want You dead. Here is what kids learn when they go to muslim summer camp, from the UK Daily Mail. You don't have to look for motives; this is what the religious leaders teach the followers of the religion of peace.  (Photos cropped, from the UK Daily Mail)

Click on the Religion Of Peace website link on the sidebar every week and catch up on what muslims are doing around the world. Right now there is a ramadan scoresheet with a tally of the mayhem that has transpired during their holy month. It started out with a bang, with beheadings by det cord, and wound up with the masacre in Chattanooga. The news hacks and the government are not going to inform you, so you must go out and seek this information yourself. Hard times are ahead. Educate yourself.

And Heaven Help You if an imam suspects you are a homosexual.

De-Escalate The Situation?

One of Bloomberg's mouthpieces tells us that you should run, fight with your fists, or de-escalate the situation if someone is attacking you with an ax, because it would be wrong to shoot someone if they don't have a gun.  Nettie would argue that, if she could.  Her husband didn't even spend the rest of his life in jail for this axe murder at Gladstone, Illinois.  

The day we were married, the Mrs. told me never to hit her.  I told her that I would never do that, and she said, "If you ever hit me, I'll shoot you."  I bet her daddy told her to say that, but I never questioned her sincerity, and I wish more people could have her attitude and fortitude. 

When someone threatens to hurt you, you might die.  Plan ahead, and act to save your life.

Don't Shoot, Just Whisper

I parked on the shoulder at the end of the gated driveway.  The gate had a 'Beware of  Dog' sign, so I called the house to ask about the dog before I got out of the truck.  The lady said, "Just talk to them.", so I got out and talked to the dogs.  No problem.  These are Pit/Lab mix, and they were just tickled to death to have a visitor who wanted to talk to them and rub their ears.  I have had close encounters with strange dogs for most of my working years, and I have not been bitten yet.  I have only had one dog who wanted to bite me, and she had puppies on the porch.  I exited stage left and made a safe getaway.  The biggest pet problem I have when calling on landowners is turning down all the cats that want to go home with me.

Part of the weekly news cycle in recent years is family pets being killed by police who are making contact with householders and their families.  Sometimes it's done by cops performing mundane activities like writing  parking tickets; sometimes it's done during a SWAT raid when all the cops are gussied up in protective suits  that would turn most dog bites.  Bloggers complain about these regular abuses of deadly force, but the MSMs don't care, and the trend continues.  It is clearly a cultural problem going on in police leadership all over the country, and I think it began decades ago with the federalization of local and county police departments. Cops have obviously been desensitized to killing our four footed companions; that had to come about through personnel management policies and training. A recent confirmation to that is the discovery of shooting range targets with children and pregnant women.  The targets are being used by DHS to end hesitation in shooting "non-traditional threats."  Given the success that training has had in convincing cops that it is OK to kill family pets, we should be nipping these new training scenarios in the bud, and then rolling back the trend of cops killing dogs.

Win A Ford Van!

The Mrs and I were shopping recently in the Sherwin-Williams store in Mt. Vernon, IL, and spotted this contest posted on a rack of Frog Tape.  I don't get too excited about winning contests, but then I got to thinking about this one, and realized that it's a pretty limited audience that is seeing these announcements, and most of those seeing it are busy making a living painting, so not too many of them will enter multiple times.  Anyway, click the photo to see it in a readable size, fill out a bunch of 3 x 5 cards by hand, and mail one in every day.   If I don't win, I would be tickled to death to see one of True Blue Sam's visitors get it, so let me know if you win.  The news release of the previous winner can be seen on this page.  Scroll down to January 6.

Mulch Is A Fuse

 Here is a hazard that we wouldn't normally think about in the urban landscape.  This house recently was sold, and the new owner is in the process of moving in.  One of the helpers dropped a lit cigarette Saturday afternoon next to the driveway; unfortunately, it landed in landscaping mulch which was spread around the front porch. 

Sunday morning a passerby smelled smoke, and discovered that the mulch was smoldering along, and was inches away from being able to ignite the house.  We think about having green space around our homes out in the country, but city dwellers don't usually concern themselves with fireproofing the area around the house.