Depends, of course, on your viewpoint:

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Was talking with an acquaintance (not a friend) about some stuff, and one of the subjects was the FBI and the fact that they haven’t been trustworthy for MANY years, not just the recent debacle with Trump and the “Collusion” farce.

“Since I graduated High school (likely before, but I wasn’t paying attention before that), The FBI has been a joke as far as the Fidelity and Integrity part of their motto. See also: the debacle with Randy Weaver”

“Weaver was a racist” (nice diversion there)

“No, Weaver was a “Separatist” big difference. Still, the FBI was pretty bad, even back then.”

“He chose to live away from black people. That makes him a racist” (doesn’t wanna talk about the FBI)

“Oh, so YOU are a racist, then, also?”

“How can you say that?”

“You too are a separatist…..You live in a VERY “white” area. What, 3% “African American”? Yet not 15 miles away is an area with much higher black and latino population. Like 25%. Go another 10 miles and you are in an area that is 80+% black. And it is closer to where you work. Cheaper property values there too…. Yet you choose to live in an area that is, essentially, all white , a longer commute and cost more to live…..Why is that?…Don’t wanna live with the crime, the rudeness, or deal with the cultural issues? Or is it some other reason that you don’t live near many black people?…Are YOU racist?”

So the subject was changed…sharply. But made him think.

Odd, innit, how people cry “racist” and such, yet separate themselves if only by the simple method of cost of housing…and then claim they are “holier that thou”.

SJW types really irritate me.

question for Amazon:

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WTF?

Do y’all vet your Prime delivery people? Or do you just hire the first folks that come in the door? Recruit them in bus stations and rehab clinics? Some government program for unsocialized whacked out individuals?

I mean, really. I get a different person every time that y’all don’t use Fed-Ex or UPS or USPS which is about 3/4 of the time lately….and they’re scary derelict looking folks.  And they obviously Just Don’t Care…..Or, perhaps their workload is such that they feel that it is OK to just toss the package out of the Prime Delivery van onto the middle of the driveway (and my driveway is only 100 ft long).

There is no method on your website I can find to report such behavior, nor give feedback on your drivers. I’d rather you used one of the other three carriers. 

At this rate, I’m gonna have to seriously consider not ordering from you and look hard at your competitors. And I have been a customer for (literally) 20 years. 

’27 Chrysler update:

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Pretty, ain’t it?

Yeah, that’s not the one I am working on. Mine needs some work to look like that.

I was asked for an update with pictures, so this is gonna be pic heavy.

This is the one I am trying to resurrect:

Yes, my garage is…..cluttered. 

Good, solid body. Paint is rough though. Doors close firmly and latch. Trunk as well. Wooden wheels are tight and not rotted, but need some TLC. Tires hold air. Drivetrain is loose, it rolls easily. Running boards are solid, as is the frame.

Engine runs and is tight. Carb is now clean and operable. Carb is NOT correct, but apparently many of these cars were retrofitted from the Carter to the bronze Stromberg that is on the car, apparently due to corrosion in the zinc body of the original Carter carb.

 New plug wires (of course)…filed the points flat and installed a new fan belt…can’t find the right condenser (or the exact points), but the one that is on the distributor is good. . Surprisingly, Gates had a listing for the belt and I got the belt one day after ordering it.

Note: Automotive engineers back then were just as bad as today’s engineers…some things are just a pain to work on or are unnecessarily complicated when they don’t have to be. If there was a Haynes manual for this car every procedure forward of the firewall would start with “remove radiator and support rods”.

New manifold gasket and the manifold bolts that snapped are drilled out and new threads tapped. No exhaust leaks now.

Carb is cleaned and put back together. It works well now that the varnish is gone.

I found all the parts to the vacuum tank fuel pump in the trunk, but can’t make it work. (that is the round thing on the firewall at the upper right in the picture above).

I did make a new gasket for the top, but there are too many worn/dried out parts in it, so I am gonna send it in to a rebuilder. 
Yes, it looks weird, but that is what the gasket that was on it looked like. Offset and one hole at the edge of the gasket.

(for an explanation of how this canister works as a fuel pump, go HERE… It is a kinda Rube Goldberg-ish, but apparently they work well when complete and in spec (which this one is not!)). I have a low pressure electric ordered in the meantime. 2 psi MIGHT be too much for this carb, have to see. 
So, it starts and runs when the starter motor decides to work. I pulled the starter and switch out and took it to a rebuilder. Should have it back on Saturday. Hand cranking is dangerous! 
When running, it has decent oil pressure and doesn’t smoke. I changed the oil and cleaned the pickup screen. Have to see how long that oil stays clean…it is already getting dark after about an hour of runtime. Lots of Gunk in the crankcase. Haven’t gotten to check the generator, but those are easy to work on, as is the voltage regulator, so not a worry there. 
I’m still not happy with the distributor. That’s the next project. Lots of play in it and it has skipped time once again. Something isn’t put together correctly. I’m trying to find an exploded view before I pull it apart.  I can time it and the engine will start and run…then suddenly after 3 or 4 or 10 or 15 minutes it will backfire and die and the timing will be off by about 20 degrees. Someone else was in the distributor and it’s associated drive before I bought the car, so I don’t know what they did or if it is put back together properly. The drive gears are sharp and not worn, on both the distributor and the cam. I painted the distributor gear with a Sharpie, and the engagement is good. I dunno. More research before taking it apart though. It’s been about 20 years since I rebuilt a distributor. And it isn’t like I can order another one from AutoZone if I screw it up. 
I got about 5 gallons of evil smelling varnish old gas out of the tank, and flushed it with new(ish) gas (Thanks to my brother for his help there). Left some good gas in the tank to soak the bottom.  Lot of icky stuff in there. Probably gonna have to coat the inside of the tank after I get all the varnish out.
After that will be trying to get the clutch to move on the splines. I think it is just rust in the splines. Having said that, I will have to see if there is a cover or inspection plate to let me look, or, if need be, I can easily drop the driveshaft and pull the trans. 
The brakes, including the parking brake, now work. The radiator holds water and so does the block, so I got that going for me. 
One step forward, three steps back. Everytime I fix one thing, I find more yet to fix, or an issue that was masked by the thing I fixed.  And the distributor is just plain pissing me off. 
Lots of work, but it keeps me out of the bars. 

thing is…

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It isn’t unusual…especially in any large urban area. Happens all the time, has been happening practically forever.

But, like many things in Chicago (Voter Fraud, bribery, etc), it is so BLATANT. They don’t even try to hide their misdeeds. They just do it and the people (and the Media) let them get away with it.

I want a Border Wall.

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But I am against this sort of shenanigans:

The Pentagon has formally greenlighted the transfer of up to $1 billion towards the construction of “roads and fences” as well as lighting along the US-Mexico border wall, as part of a crackdown on drug trafficking.
In a memo to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen, acting defense chief Patrick Shanahan wrote that he authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to “immediately begin planning and executing up to $1 billion” in support of the range of activities necessary to seal “11 drug-smuggling corridors.”

The money was allocated by the Congress of the United States to the Pentagon for military uses . It isn’t the Pentagons to give away for other purposes, nor is it Donnie’s choice where that money goes.

I gotta say, this comes close to bordering on unconstitutional and illegal actions. 

So next time…

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Someone commits a “hate Crime” or a “Hoax crime” will the prosecutor let them go as well?

Or is it only stupid, gay, half black, actors who get off for crimes? People of a protected class.
I mean, this seems to be as much justice as Hillary Clinton got…

“yes, the accused is guilty”
“Yes, their actions had costs”
“but no, we won’t force them to do any punishment, nor even pay for the costs of, nor the consequences of their actions.”
“In the end, they re gonna get away with it.

Yes, the Fix is in.

What’s next? If I know the right people who are willing to make the right calls to the right people, can I get away with Murder too? I mean, if I am rich and powerful enough…..

Next time some person actually commits a Hoax Crime, or gives false testimony, or makes a false accusation, do they get off as well?

What happened to “Equal Protection under the Law?”

Who has to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for the investigation of this hoax?

The Chicago Way.

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So it would seem that Jussie Smollett, while guilty, has finagled things so that the charges against him are suddenly dropped. No trial. And the case is, oddly, sealed.

I am sure that there was, in this case some sort of “agreement” made between some parties…It is, after all, the Chicago Way. Been happening that way since long before my father was born. If it isn’t the Cops, it is the Politicians, or the Unions, or the Judges….Power Brokers make some difficult things happen….For a price.

First Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Magats said that he thought Smollett was guilty but that ‘based on the facts and circumstances’ of the case and his ‘lack of criminal background’, the decision was made not to pursue the 16 felony disorderly conduct charges that a grand jury returned. 


It came after a furious press conference from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson who decried it as a ‘whitewash of justice’ and said Smollett got off ‘scot-free’ because he is famous.

Odd, how 16 felony charges of lying to police and other charges were expiated over $10,000 in bond forfeiture and 16 hours of phantom community service….

(I am sure that that there was more than $10K involved as well)

This is blatant. A terrible injustice. A manipulation of “Justice”.  Jussie, for whatever reason, somehow got out of his wrongdoing.

Lots of “influential” people were trying to make Jussie’s misstep go away…apparently, enough people with enough pull were able to make that happen.

And this sort of thing is why I don’t believe that we can trust the integrity of the votes coming out of Chicago either. Politicians, Aldermen, government workers, prosecutors and Judges don’t even TRY to hide their blatant misdeeds and twisting and manipulation of the laws… There is not even shame to keep them in line….most are willing to sell their integrity. One must expect that Kim Foxx and her minion, Joe Magats, are either retiring soon or have been well compensated by someone…

ETA: Good question: Can we whites start rioting and burning and generally commit mayhem since a black man was let off for a crime?

444 miles

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3.5 hours. 126 knots.

The day (Saturday) was clear and warm(ish) and not much wind. The Weather Briefer said it was gonna be awesome there and back. She was correct.

Pulled the plane out, did a preflight, checked the fuel and called for a top off . Was told I was number 5 in line for 100 LL. (The Self Serve fuel being out of service, so it is fuel truck or nothing)

So I warmed up the motor and cycled the prop and did all could do while waiting and moved it farther down the taxiway while we waited.

Got fuel after a 40 minute wait and then waited 10 more minutes to check for water. Found none.

Fired up, taxiied to the end of the runway, waited for two planes in the pattern to land, called my runway and took off with a southbound departure. Set course for Evansville (EVV).

Called for Flight Following and the Chicago departure controller was cheerful and professional. She handed me off to Champaign approach, who handed me off to Hulman aproach, then to Evansville. The winds were negligible at 6500 feet MSL, so our groundspeed was pretty much our airspeed.
1:40 wheels up to wheels down.

Evansville Regional (Evansville Indiana) is a pretty nice set of runways and is well maintained.  I did a nice slight crosswind landing, barely even chirped the tires.

Evansville tower sent me to Tri-Star (the FBO at Evansville field) for transient parking. They gave us a crew car no questions asked and we went to do our errands and then have lunch.

Lunch was Mission Barbecue…yes it’s a chain.  Good chow. Great folks. Nice, polite, happy to see customers. Awesome respect to Veterans.

as you walk up: right in front of the door, right next to the Handicapped spaces. 

tons more like these all over the walls.

The food was good, the prices fair, For a chain, this is pretty good barbecue….and sides.

After eating, we drove around a bit more, then decided to beat the clouds building to the west (Perfect conditions for icing!!) and went back to the airport. Fueled up and that’s when my impression of the folks at Evansville field took a nosedive.  The nice, polite crew that had greeted us at first call had obviously gone home and another crew had taken over….The clearance woman was pretty much a snotty bitch. She was GREATLY offended when I asked her to speak slowly enough that I could understand her. The Ground controller took the cue from Clearance, and the Tower controller was also a snot.
Departure controller was nearly impossible to understand (Hint: take the wad of chaw out of yer mouth when giving heading instructions to folks on a radio!) I wasn’t the only pilot who had to ask him to repeat his instructions either. Was really glad to be out of their airspace. While I haven’t got that much experience, that is the first time I have ever felt unwelcome at an airport.,,,also the first time I have ever encountered unprofessional attitude in a controller.

The trip home at 7500 MSL was mostly uneventful after that, except for the dude with his transponder on standby that passed us in a steep dive from left to right about a quarter mile in front of us…passing through our altitude at about 200MPH (really,, that fast) He didn’t show on the IPAD on ADSB until about 2 minutes later…I don’t know if he had his transponder off, on standby, or what….. MC saw him as he passed through our altitude, before I saw him. The controller didn’t warn us about him either, so I don’t think he saw him. I dunno. We didn’t hit him, so all was good.

Other than that small bit of excitement, it was an uneventful flight home. I hand flew for practice rather than use the autopilot. I did let “George” fly for a moment while I took a couple of pictures of some gravel pits/mines . (there isn’t much else to see besides wet and soggy fields in Indiana right now.)

yeah, that is about 1.6 miles long, taken from 7500 ft MSL…figure 7000 AGL more or less. A  big trench.

Time to get home was only 1:38. Did a 45 entry to the downwind and a decent approach. But a slight bounce at the end. Not bad, but still, a bounce that shouldn’t have happened.

overall, a good day. Left in the daylight, landed just before dusk.

3.8 (what with taxi and runup) and 2.