Grandpa's Fix

 I dropped by to see my Mother today.  I am lucky enough to be able to do that. Mom lives in apartment in my sister's back yard.

When I pulled up a char to visit with her, I noticed an old fix that my Grandpa used  to put on chairs when they started to get loose.  Mom and Dad bought these chairs ... oh... 65 years ago.  I was a kid, and they sat in the dining room and helped raise a huge family.  I have six siblings.

When a chair started to get loose from decades of us, we'd take it to Granpa's and he would tighten it up.  He'd install small metal rods under the rungs of the chair, then cut threads on the rods and install a small nut.

That is the way the old man would tighten a chair that had gotten loose.  Decades later that chair is still as tight as the day it left his shop.

I thought you folks needed to see that.

Alligator Alcatraz

 I'm loving it, and the Dems are losing their minds, which I also love.

One thing about alligators.  They are ubiquitous in some areas.  As one old black woman said, "If you put your hand in the water, and it's wet, there is probably an alligator living there."

On the old England Air Force Base, just west of Alexandria, LA, there was a bayou that ran along the golf course.  It had an alligator hazard, with rules that took care of the times when the gator was on the fairway.

When Belle and I moved into our current abode beside a small lake, there were gators.  We got them out, because grandkids.

Back to Alligator Alcatraz, I understand there are pythons there too.  I've never had to deal with pythons, so you're on your own.

Doldrums

July  2nd, and it is hot out there. Right now, it is 95 with a wind chill of 106.  Too damned hot to be out in the sun. I know that I grew up without air conditioning, but we didn't do much in the afternoon.  Find a shady spot and hope for a breeze.  We worked the garden in the morning and mowed grass in the late afternoon.  We tried to stay out of the midday sun.

These days I still try to stay out of the midday sun. I am convinced that Willis Carrier is one of the most important inventors of the 20th century, and I intend to enjoy his invention every day that I can.

Water

 The water system went down for about an hour this afternoon.  Belle and I moved here in 2004 and this is the first time I can recall the water system being down. Once in 21 years is a pretty good track record.

That is good work.  We are on what is called the Buckeye Water System.  They provide water to the northeast corner of Rapides parish and they generally do a good job.  To find a problem on a Sunday afternoon and fix it in an hour is excellent service.  Good job Buckeye Water.

I bet we'll be under a boil advisory.

Dated, but Funny.

Lighting

 I built my shop in 2017. It's a 40 X  50 with 10' eaves.  Full metal construction.  You've driven past a million of them. When designing the electrical wiring, my boys and I consulted and decided to mount  8, 110 volt outlets in the ceiling.  We felt that this would give me lots of options for lighting.

I went down to the Feed N Seed and got some brooder lights.  Low cost, low tech, and screwed some twisty fluorescent tubes into them. That worked great for a while, but after a time, they started to burn out, and while I was at the local electrical supply store, I asked them what was new.

UFO lights, they said. The latest and greatest.  High bay application, plug and play.  So, I bought one for $150.00.  Lots of light, lots of bright.  Warranted for five years.  Those florescent tubes continued to burn out, and I went to Amazon to see if I could do better than the $150 UFO lights.

Sure enough, I found these.  A two pack for ~$50.  So, I ordered two packs  Four lights in the door for about $100.  This morning, I got out the ladder and tempted fate, climbing up to the ceiling. Took down the old lights, bung up the new lights and plugged them in.

These things are made in China, and I'd rather buy American, but for ~$25 apiece, it's hard to justify going down to the electrical supply and paying $150.  If I need them, I still have the brooder lights.

June 26, 1876

 I am reminded that on this day in 1876, General Terry entered the Little Bighorn valley and found the spot where Custer was defeated.  Several miles awa he found the remnants of the 7th Cavalry, where Reno and Benteen had mounted a defense and successfully repelled subsequent attacks.

Every cavalry officer since then has come to look at the decisions made and have come to their own conclusions.  My conclusion is that several officers were wrongly judged and that one of the true heroes of that battle was an Army contract surgeon, Dr. Porter , who established an aid station on Reno hill and saved many lives.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a project to complete.

Geese

 The flock of Canada geese that summered over is getting bigger.  The hatchlings are starting to take on the primary coloration of the breed,

This photo was taken yesterday and I mowed today.   I didn't see the geese today, but they generally don't hang around when the machines are making noise.

Opposition

 The opposition in Iran is led by the son of the deceased Shah, Reza Pahlavi. He claims to want to see Iran be free and democratic.  Toward that goal, he seems to be cajoling the Iranian people to reject the mullahs and turn away from extremism.

I wish him all the luck.  The Iranian people deserve better than the mullahs.

Source here.