Ode to the Mongrel

I love it. I hate it. I built it.

At least I know who to blame. Here's the story on the Mongrel. It's a truck. It's a beast. It's possessed by Lucifer himself. The more time, energy, money, blood and tears I pour into it the more it abuses me. And I love it for that reason.

Yup, I'm an idiot. EEE-DEEEE-UTTTTTT. Idiot.

I built the Mongrel to tow the 57. Great idea huh? Well, it tows the Plymouth. Right up to the point where it breaks. And let me tell you, when this truck breaks, it does it right. Broken axles, wheels parting company with the vehicle, broken crankshafts, oil leaks, gasoline leaks, and incessant exhaust leaks; this truck has done it all. I built it from nothing, the way I want it. It was supposed to be what a brand new truck should be. And it is! It has a manual transmission. It has loud exhaust; the kind that scares yuppies in Audi's and sets off car alarms. It eats up miles and miles of interstate with reckless abandon. All this for $15K. What a bargain. I'm sorry, let me retype that... What? A bargain!?!?! That's what I meant.

Anyhow, it finally runs right. It's a blast to drive. It is utilitarian.

It's for sale.

Time to move on. I want to build another project. I need money. It's been on e-bag, and closes in mere moments. No bids, and there won't be I'm sure. Some guy in Tennessee wants to buy it and says he is coming to look at it this week. I don't believe him. I've been told that too many times.

Well, it's gotta go. I want stupid money for a fake Lil Red Express. But I'm still taking a loss. I guess it will keep taking up space in the shop for a while until someone wants to part ways with $10K.

Not likely.

Wanna buy a key chain with a Lil Red Express attached?

I'm following this road.

Around here, the lunacy never seems to end!!

I started the seeds to plant in my garden, and grabbed the wrong potting media. Looks like I may get the opportunity to start 8 flats of seeds all over again. JOY! RAPTURE!!

Long ago and far away I joined a small internet community for old cars. Yes, I know you are shocked and amazed that I would do so. It's true though. I have been a member of that community for nearly 10 years now. Lately though, the discussion forum has become a stomping ground for nearly illiterate and poorly educated ne'er-do-wells that have little to do but antagonize others. There is one member that accused me of hiding behind the annonymity of the internet while he was doing exactly that. Brilliance!

Anyway, I'm pretty much done there. I've helped many guys with problems over the years, but it's not worth my time to read the forums anymore. Of course they won't notice I'm gone, but that's fine too.

Morale of the story; If you tire of the loathesomeness of a particular website, don't look at it. Instead of trying to change the madness, sometimes it's best to walk away.

I was recently interviewed by the Blythewood Leader newspaper about my involvement in Blythewood Masonic Lodge. Horrible picture but good content.

http://theblythewoodleader.net/htdocs/modules/mastop_publish/?tac=Home

Car show fun.

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WHAT A DAY!!!!

Here's the report from the car show yesterday...

I got there and found that I had not installed the gasket on the lid for the oil filter on my 57 correctly, and it had leaked oil over the side of the motor. So, quick fix of straightening the gasket and it is fixed.

Then my buddy Neal leaves the show to head home. He was our best of show winner and has a beautiful 1969 GTO Judge. He made it nearly to the gate when it stalled and wouldn't restart. My buddy James and I went to boost it off. As soon as we removed the battery cables, it died. James and I had diagnosed it as either a bad voltage regulator or a bad alternator. James left after we called AAA to pick the car up and tow it back to my house. Tows under 100 miles are free, our house was 97.8 miles!!

James got on the interstate and made it two exits before he hit something with a tire and blew the tire out. He did not have a jack or a spare with him in his 72 454 powered El Camino. I sent my tools with another guy from the show who had a Chevy bolt pattern spare to bail him out.

We got home about 9:30, and I sent Neal home in the wife's daily driver. I told him I would fix the car today and he could come and get it. I knew I had a bunch of spare parts that were not being re-used on my wife's 69 Camaro project.

I swapped the good alternator and regulator off Angie's Camaro onto the car, but it still wouldn't charge. I put on an internally regulated alternator I had on the shelf, and wired it like my tractor, and presto! Voltage at battery. So, I started trying to bypass the generator light so it would work right.

Then things went sideways...

I pulled the pigtail off the regulator to make a jumper wire, and the wiring hit the case of the regulator and sparked. I pulled off the battery cable, and removed the convoluted tubing covering the wiring. The charging wiring from the regulator to the alternator was completely fried. So much wire was cooked that I could not fix it on the car. I had to remove the engine harness and fix it on the workbench using half of the old harness off the Camaro for parts.

Just think how bad it would have been if Neal had taken the advice James and I gave him and put on a one wire alternator at the show. Could have burned the car to the ground with that much wiring damage.

So, moral of the story: 1: No good deed goes unpunished. 2: Check your wiring out every now and then. 3: Watch out for stuff in the road, especially if you don't carry a spare 4: Kids are best carried in the trunk (see photo) 5: Sleep, it's what's for dinner!

Free At Last!!

I went to the bank today and made the last payment on our debt.

Yuppers boys and girls; We are debt free except for the house.

That whole Dave Ramsey debt snowball really works if you stick with it. We have finally kicked all those stupid bills to the curb.

Enough of that stuff...

I finally got the Bible I was after. I bought an English Standard Verion Schofield Study Bible. It's not the big ESV Study Bible that is chiropractor approved, but the smaller version that is easy to use and to carry. I couldn't be happier with it. I've put it into daily use, and it's great.

We went to the mountains last weekend. Perfect weather!! 70 degrees and just enough clouds to make the sunsets interesting. Madeline had a great time and really enjoyed demolishing a new area instead of the same old same old.

Been pretty busy with Cooper Home Inspection recently as well.

God has really blessed us this month!!

Something so simple, yet totally perplexing.

I am amazed.

I have literally spent days upon days now trying to find a book.

Just one simple book.

The Bible.

Here's the background. I have a ton of Bibles around here. I think I counted 14 of them around here. That does not include children's Bibles or New Testaments. You would think that I should have no problems at all with a Bible to read. I literally have enough for two in every room in my house if you don't include the kitchen. So there is no good reason for me to need another one.

Well, in reality I don't. I have a perfectly adequate New International Version my parents gave me in 1991. Nothing in the world wrong with it. I read it daily, and take it to church every week.

The "problem" is that I "need" a study Bible to use every day. And I want the most accurate translation available. There's the problem. Who defines accurate. Right out of the box I looked at the English Standard Version. The hottest new version of a 2000 year old book on the market.

WOW! Let's all run out and buy one! I can't wait!

Great idea, unless you read the interwebs. Of course, you shouldn't read the interwebs without consulting me first my children. Like Rush Limbaugh, I'll do your thinking for you.

There are so many commentaries on the various translations that it will make your head swim.

So, have I chosen my next Bible? Nope. But I have a plan.

I'm going to buy something with a pretty color, with those fancy thumb tab thingys, not too expensive, in whatever version my preacher suggests. As soon as he responds to my e-mail question.

Now that's some real objective research!

So, until my next post; nobody move. I'll be right back.

Who Is John Galt?

"So you think that money is the
root of all evil? Have you ever
asked what is the root of money?
Money is a tool of exchange, which
can't exist unless there are goods
produced and men able to produce
them. Money is the material shape
of the principle that men who wish
to deal with one another must deal
by trade and give value for value.
Money is not the tool of the moochers,
who claim your product by tears,
or of the looters, who take it from
you by force. Money is made possible
only by the men who produce. Is this
what you consider evil?"

- Francisco d'Anconia

I read A small book last month. Okay, it was a long book. Real long. It took me over a week to read it, and I read fast. It was Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

What sparked me to read this was a bumper sticker. It simply read "Who Is John Galt?" I didn't know, so I looked on the web to find out. My research led me to the book.

Now let me be clear; I do not fully agree with all of Ms. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. I am intrigued by it and I feel that there is much truth in it, but I do not fully drink that Kool-aid.

I will say that "Atlas Shrugged" is perhaps the best book I have read. Not only is it a great philosophy, but it is great fiction. A page turner that makes "The DaVinci Code" jealous. To summarize the plot, it is the story of how one man destroys the economy of the United States because the government is taking control of free enterprise and capitalism. The book was intended to be a cry against Communism, which it plainly is, but it is also a great foreshadowing of the Socialist-Communist government Comrade Obama-ski is forcing us into now.

I recomend that you read the book. I guarantee it will change your perspective of the world.

"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
- John Galt

Where was I? Oh yes, frugal stuff...

Here's one of my favorite tips.

Angie and I are foodies. We are bonafide food snobs. We like good food, and we are not ashamed to say it.

A while back we tried making some bread, for several reasons. First, it sounded fun. Second, it sounded tasty, and we like tasty. In fact, it turns out all of our taste buds are in our mouth, so we like to taste food. Happy coincidence. Third, it was some cheap fun. We also like cheap stuff.

We tried several recipes, and we tried my mother's bread machine. We also tried a recipe from another blog, that I tweaked to fit my own devious needs. We found that we really liked it. We also found that it's cheap. So for the past few months, we have not bought any bread, but have made all of our own. Plus it's easy.

Here's the recipe, and how to make it without inturpting your busy day of reading this blog. (C'mon, you know it's all you do all day.)

Brian's Big Bad Blissful Bread (Behold, Believe, Be eatin' it)

3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar or honey or brown sugar
2/3 tablespoon of salt
1 1/4 tablespoon of yeast

Put it in a big honkin' bowl and stir it up. Then add 2-4 cups of warm (not hot) water. You may need a little or a lot. It depends. I add two cups, and add more untill it makes a nice firm dough. Knead it mercilessly for five minutes or so. Just imagine it's an IRS agent's head and go to town. Plop it on your counter and wash out your big honkin' bowl. Spray with some no-stick spray or lube as otherwise appropriate. I've use more cooking oil. Re-plop dough back into bowl, cover with towel, and ignore for 3 hours, or untill it doubles. Then punch it down and shape it into a loaf. Put it in your favorite loaf pan, or a cake pan, or whatever oven safe containment vessel you have, it only affects shape. Ignore it for another hour. Catch up on my blog while you wait! Bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes, or, untill it sounds hollow when you thump on the bottom of the loaf.

Let it cool, because hot things burn your mouth.

Slice and enjoy.

Now, how to make it fit your busy schedule...

Get up five minutes earlier on Sunday morning. Make dough. Leave for church. Return home, punch dough. Eat lunch and clean up. Bake dough.

See how that fits so nicely into your Sunday? If you need more than one loaf per week, make as many as you need. The bread freezes very nicely.

You may now return to waiting breathlessly for my next post.