So in trying to get the manifold apart for the ’27 Chrysler to fix the exhaust leak, I snapped off 3 bolts.

Not a surprise, they are likely the original ’27 bolts in an exhaust manifold been heated and cooled man, many times……but I needed some left handed drill bits to try to pull out the bolt stubs and my lefty bits (at least the small ones) were worn and of dubious utility.

So, off to Menards.
Pretty disappointing. Not much selection and what was there were all brands that I had never heard of. I really don’t want to use cheap drill bits that will snap off in the work and compound my problems…

Next stop: Home Depot. Not only NO lefty drill bits, but also the clerk in the hardware section was unbelieving that they even made such things….the look she gave me was one of “Don’t fuck with me, dude, I know they don’t make 5 lb tubs of “Elbow Grease” either….”.
 I had to explain (and show via her internet) that there really are such things as left handed drill bits. She’d never heard of them. So much for qualified folks in the stores…. But Home Depot doesn’t stock ’em . So no joy there.

Lowes online only has “Hanson”, “Irwin”,  and another brand which I haven’t ever heard of, so I think I will pass there as well. Hanson/Irwin drill bits are about Harbor Freight quality in my experience…

I guess DeWalt and Bosch don’t make left drill bits. I really don’t want to use some cheap bits that will break off or some cheaper cast screw extractor that will break inside the work and leave me in worse shape.

I may well track down a Snap-On guy and buy some lefty drill bits…maybe some extractors too Snap-On is pricey, but their tools are good. Not so much with the home improvement stores cheapo ones….The manifold on which I am working is too hard to replace.

do mass murder….And we are told it is terrible to be a Muslim in the US today….
Yet things like what Joe refers to happen often around the world….and the media doesn’t make a big deal about it.
And it isn’t very newsworthy, for some reason.

Haters of all races/cultures/religions are haters. And these folks should be stopped, no matter who they are killing. No matter who you are, as a group, someone hates you. Someone wants to kill you because your beliefs aren’t theirs. Because they think they know the One True Way and younaren’t following it.

But the selective media reporting would make you believe that it only happens to Muslims (and the outcry would make you think that as well).
(Ok, maybe the Jews and the homosexuals cry that they are just as persecuted….) But the statistics here in the US don’t support that. Other countries? Well. they even eat their own.

 Bottom line: If every time they attempted this they’d get shot (early and often), the attacks would stop pretty quickly There are hateful people who would commit mass murder in nearly every society. Don’t be defenseless.  Let them do the dying, not you and your group. Not saying go looking for trouble, but don’t let it happen if it comes to you.

Now, make no mistake, I believe that men and women should be able to rent themselves out or otherwise choose what they do for pay. It really matter little to me if you work 8 hours on a factory abusing your hands to assemble Widgets or on your back…either way, it is renting your body. The only difference is the work you choose to do.

Having said that, lets look at this:
Johnson said often older men have paid for her school, where she lives and even what she drives.

Now, if she and her (ahem) “Sugar Daddies” are happy with the arrangement, I’m all for it. This sort of thing has, in one form or another, been going on informally since the beginning of time. Young women and older/rich/successful men. In the Keys and Bahamas, they have “Boat Bunnies”….in the ski areas, they have “Snow Bunnies”. And it has been going on elsewhere where some folks have “Mistresses” or “Kept Women”.

But this? This is pretty blatant. And while I think it ought to be legal, it is, at best, the authorities turning a blind eye to prostitution.

Yeah, it is a simplistic headline.

But in the end, there are more job openings than there are unemployed people to fill them.

This does not really mean more jobs than people, just more jobs than people that are looking for jobs.
Nor does it take into account that many of these jobs require some skill, not just a strong back or willing hands. (and many of the jobs require a clean blood test and/or that folks actually show up on time and/or work for a whole 8 hours….)
And this is the FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS that there are more jobs available than there are people looking for jobs.

Lets hope that the DNC majority in the House doesn’t break that.

So some dude shot up a mosque in Christchurch.

Now, I totally hate folks like this. I won’t use their name. They don’t deserve any fame.

This sort of act is despicable. I hope they hang him. It would seem that he livestreamed the heinous act. There is little doubt of his guilt.

I also, however, despise the folks who use this sort of act as a Gun Control lever….One where they cannot help but dance in the blood of the victims to further their aim.

Also, I despise the folks who use this sort of act to tell us about how terrible it is to be a Muslim in America….Hint: It didn’t happen here, and it isn’t just white people who kill Muslims. More Muslims kill other Muslims around the world than non-Muslims. You are safer here in the US as a Muslim than anywhere else in the world. (and, the terror attack in New Zealand notwithstanding, in most majority Christian countries). My disgust also goes to the Jewish people who use this sort of act as a soapbox to tell us how THEY are persecuted as much or more than any other group).

The world is an imperfect place. There are folks that hate people of any other religion. Christians are persecuted in many places. Jews in others. Muslims are, for the most part, not persecuted in “Western” countries. Disliked, perhaps. Persecuted systematically, no.

Perhaps, since the genie in out of the bottle, instead of bemoaning the persecution, these folks should choose to protect themselves. With armed security, the asshole of Christchurch would have (maybe) gotten off 3 shots before beginning to assume room temperature. It need not be blatant, but a few vigilant and trained concealed carriers could stop things before they become massacres.

I’m not sure how we stop such attacks. Haters are out there, and one can make bombs, either explosive or incendiary, easily. For that matter, Arson is also easy to perpetrate. Haters gonna hate. Simple vigilance and security precautions can change a massacre of innocent worshipers into a small incident. Choosing not to be a victim is what it takes to stop this.

I hope they try him and his cohorts and find them guilty and kill them in a public and messy way as a deterrent to others who might think such actions are a grand idea. 

Yust in case you wanna watch a Bale Eagle nesting (and hopefully brooding her chicks).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b2dUgK6VV4

Finally, with assistance, found out why the 1927 Chrysler 58 would not stay in time.

Once we found a fix for that, it ran, and ran rather well, at that. I must have gotten the carb setting pretty close after pulling it apart to clean the sludge out of it. Now I gotta get the tank cleaned out and get the (rather odd) vacuum fuel pump working….

Of course, it needs an exhaust manifold gasket, some hoses and belts, and the intake manifold gasket, but aside from that, “She’s Cherry”.

Gonna take some more work, but this is a BIG milestone.

Updates as they happen.

Reference to the “Cherry” comment: (about 1:29) 

We got our first Tornado today.

Yes, It missed me…. and everyone I know….As far as I can tell from the news, it hurt no one and wasn’t much of a tornado.

But still.

I grew up in this area, and these things can pop up quickly and move at over 70MPH.
I’ve had my experiences with spring tornadoes from the time I was in grade school.  I’m a believer.

Pi day.

Act accordingly.

I’ll be at the dentist