A new game... Post pics from your cel phone V.1.0

[BruceK]

I was surveying this house today with this VW in the drive. Got talking to the owner, it is his wife's car, she has owned it since new, purchased it when she graduated college. Everything is original. The engine never opened up. Did not think to ask the mileage.

Looks like a '66 to me.   Fantastic it's still has its original owner.   Having a car like that must just be like having the best kind of mechanical pet there is. 

[Jims5543]

Last 4 days in this thing.

I wondered how long you have to do that for.  How many hours?

Do you have to wear your uniform?  Can you just show up in sweats?  Underwear?

So many questions.   

[Jims5543]

I was surveying this house today with this VW in the drive. Got talking to the owner, it is his wife's car, she has owned it since new, purchased it when she graduated college. Everything is original. The engine never opened up. Did not think to ask the mileage.

Looks like a '66 to me.   Fantastic it's still has its original owner.   Having a car like that must just be like having the best kind of mechanical pet there is.

The husband told me he had a hell of a time finding original tires.... bias ply...  :-\

I laughed when I looked at the tires, they are as wide as the tires on my i3.

I think I have to go back there in a few weeks to locate the new construction he is performing.  At least I hope, I have questions.

Oh!!  He let me open the door and smell the inside.  He laughed when I asked if I could.  I used to have a Bug when I was a teen.  Instant memories of shenanigans in that car.

[94touring]

Last 4 days in this thing.

I wondered how long you have to do that for.  How many hours?

Do you have to wear your uniform?  Can you just show up in sweats?  Underwear?

So many questions.

Use to be much less time, however I'm an instructor pilot now so it's basically double the amount of training/evaluation now.  Typical day was leave the hotel at 3pm, go over stuff in a classroom till 6pm, then in the sim till 10pm, debrief for awhile, then head to the bar.  There were 2 of us line check airmen and a sim instructor getting recurrent, with our assistant of training running the show.  I get requalified in each seat of the jet, doing various approaches, maneuvers, emergencies ect, as well as captain and first officer duties since I teach and do both.  Then when the other pair do their flying I sit in the back grading to get recalibrated on my line check airmen duties for when I evaluate crews in real life.  So I grade and the examiner tells me if I'm giving the correct scores on each item.  There's also the oral portion where we get asked system questions related to the jet, which can be very in depth. But I learned one of the perks to being in the training department is since I have to know everything for the position, they just kind of brush over a few things rather than grill me for a couple hours. 

And bussiness casual but I don't pack 4 days of slacks and button up shirts, so I go in uniform with the tie off and my zipper up unibomber looking hoodie.

[Jims5543]

Does Bottle to Throttle restrictions apply when in the sim?

[gr8kornholio]

Better than flying around in the so called bomb cyclone blasting across the Midwest.

[94touring]

Does Bottle to Throttle restrictions apply when in the sim?

Not that I'm aware of.

[Jims5543]

Does Bottle to Throttle restrictions apply when in the sim?

Not that I'm aware of.

Yeeeeee Haaaaaaa!!!

[jeff10049]

 :D Damn Jim you find the best pics to post. Slim Pickens riding a bomb... Taken from Dr. Strangelove I assume? 

Few shots of Jeppson's Malort and off to the sim.

[Jims5543]

:D Damn Jim you find the best pics to post. Slim Pickens riding a bomb... Taken from Dr. Strangelove I assume? 

Few shots of Jeppson's Malort and off to the sim.

;D

I googled yee haw! Saw a Political image copying the one above, then remembered the Slim Pickens photo and went and found it.


I think they should have Jepsons at the Sim, any time there is a mistake or something done wrong, you have to take a shot. 

[BruceK]

Spotted this in front of me at a spotlight.

A nice change from the typical holier-than-thou postioning typically seen on a Prius. 

[Jims5543]

That is awesome.

[BruceK]

I took my dog to the dog park today where a leash is required from the car to the gate.  Exempt I had totally forgotten the leash. 


So I improvised. 

[Jims5543]

That is awesome!!  My sons dog is always off leash and well mannered. He used to get yelled at when he lived in an apartment complex years ago because he never put him on leash.  The dog is so good he will ignore other dogs and just stay with my son.

My dog on the other hand sucks, she will run off if given a chance and probably never return adopting the next humans she encounters.  No loyalty at all.

Years ago a bunch of us car guys went to Caesars Head Park in SC, one of the guys had a black lab named Sugar.  Sugar is another dog that is never on leash. A park ranger came up and starting hassling about the lack of leash and would not let up. Tim went to his car to try to find something, like a USB cable, anything, the best he could find was Jumper cables. Poor Sugar....

[Jims5543]

The Drive up to CH is a blast BTW - we were shocked to see this up there. My friend Parked his M3 near to it.

The owner was in his late 20's and really friendly, we talked for a while about it and how to drive it.

[BruceK]

Love the jumper cable leash!   

Is that a Model T?

[Jims5543]

I am not an expert on those old cars, I think it was a Model A.


Yesterday I had to stake some easements lines on a customers 20 acre property.  I was out there with my FJ driving all over it setting stakes.

I keep my work phone in the door handle of the FJ, I hit a few really bad holes (where palm trees used to be) where the FJ really rocked, they were impossible to see. I figured out if I stayed in the lowed spots and off the berms there were no holes, the property used to be a Palm Tree Farm.

Well, one of the jolts knocked my cel phone loose. It bounced out of the door handle and into the grass.  When I am running the GPS I have to keep it locked in with the satellites, it needs an open view of the sky.  I drive with my drivers door open and hold the pole out the door.  I am designing and printing (3D printer) a bracket that I can lock it into, for now I use the armstrong bracket (me).

I would not notice it missing until I was back in town and went to check it to see if I had any messages. Still having my Friends and Fam phone I let me wife know what happened and then trucked back on out to the job site expecting to spend hours looking for the lost phone.

I found the lost phone in 10 seconds. I pulled up to the first place I was staking it and boom! there is was on the ground. I laughed at my good fortune.  Only damage was it being pissed off baking in the sun. I had to shut it down and put it in front of an AC vent. It was too hot to touch.


On my way out to the property I cam upon this retard, and I mean retard.



What I learned yesterday. He was to pick up plants from a local grower and deliver them to Wal-Mart, who buys from him. We was supposed to be there at 8AM sharp, he decided that meant somewhere between 11 and 12.  As he was coming down the dirt road to the farm (same one my client is off of) he called them to tell them he was almost there.  Pissed off the farmer told him to turn around because they cancelled the order.  The farmer was rightfully pissed off.

I had stopped on my way out to the property and tired to offer some help, which was a shovel.  When he popped the clutch I noticed only one wheel on each of the axles spinning. I asked him is he has an adjustable differential.  He looked at me confused. I told him my truck had an electric diff lock that I  can turn on and off. It is typically off.  I told him, his diff is open and he is never going to get out if he is only spinning 1 wheel on each axle.   He looked over his control panel and said there was one switch that said diff with a note on it that said do not use if slipping.  Which made no sense to me. I asked him to turn it on, he did, and the truck was biting, he was making very slow progress.

I told him I had to go up the road and I left my shovel with him.

When I got back I noticed his diff was back open and he had now buried the truck.

I just wanted my shovel back at this point so I could go on.  Then a farm worker showed up in a quad runner.  He asked if we needed a tractor, I made it clear I was just passing by and to ask the driver.  The driver blew him off.  WTF!!  So he came back to me, and asked me again, I told him yes this cat was stuck and needed help.

Morbid curiosity made me stick around.  I was kind of glad I did.  The truck driver had decided at some point if he unhooked his empty trailer he might get out, he did this while I was up the road. I pointed out once he got out he would need to go back in to get the trailer.  Problem now was he was partially unhooked and could not get coupled back up. This was turning into a clusterfuck.


Then Simon from the Walking dead showed up and the owner of the farm.  I liked them both immediately salt of the earth types.  The looked at me like, who TF are you?  They did not have to say that, their faces said it, I just ut my hands up and said I am just a friendly local land surveyor passing through.  The tall skinny guy was a clone of Simon he looked just like him.



The tractor shows up, and damn its a monster.



He had to go out behind the rig first and punch the trailer back onto the 5th wheel. Simon at this point was taking over.



The popped it back together.  Then they positioned the tractor up front.  Simon that asked where his tow hooks were.  Seems they are under the hood bolted to the frame of the truck, I learned a lot today.  For example, while the driver was fumbling around trying to find the right wrench to unbolt the tow hooks, Simon lost his temper and yelled at him, "9/16 you idiot!! Everyone knows that!!" 

I was dying laughing inside watching this mess.

So they hook him up to the tractor, the tractor starts moving forward and does not break a sweat, it pulls the truck right out, all by itself.... yeas all by itself, Simon was yelling at the truck driver to put it in gear and help. Instead he just sat there and let the tractor do all the work, free wheeling his way out, he was lucky the chains did not pop they were not that big.

I stopped the farm owner just before I walked to my truck to leave, I told him he was a good man to help that idiot out despite him screwing them over like he did. He smiled and gave me a nod.


Love bugs are in season, that is what is smashed all over my FJ in the one pic. This evening I gave her a nice bath, I am loving this foam cannon.

[Jims5543]

The Sunrise the Sunset Tour. Easter Addition (suicide vest free version)


We tried to do this trip 1 week earlier and were stymied by booked solid hotels. We pushed it back to this weekend not initially realizing it was easter weekend, then not caring it was easter weekend.

Mother nature is hard to anticipate, she did her best to ruin the weekend regarding viewings, Conversely the weather... you could not ask for better weather.  WE had a cold front come through Friday afternoon evening. I hoped it would clear out for the sunrise but it lingered, the good news is it brought a very nice surprise, temps in the 60's and 50's... in Florida... In April.

I told my wife, enjoy this, we will not see these temps again until October.

We woke up at 6 Saturday morning and wandered out to the beach, we kind of knew is was not going to be worth the 10 minute drive, we decided to go anyway.

We were greeted with an obstructed view of the sunrise. At least it was tranquil and relaxing, a nice start to a long day.



We went home, made breakfast, drank coffee then packed and packed the car for our trip over to St. Petersburg.  Maps says 3 hour drive, we did it in 4.. LOL!! We made a lot of stops.

Early on in the trip we drove along a favorite local road. The oaks make a canopy over the road, it is really pretty along here.



We stopped for a pee break, in a town called Myakka, a really middle of no where town with nothing but a small convenience store. The bathroom was horrendous.

Trying to shake that off we moved on.

We stopped again in Sarasota before jumping on I75 to head towards the Sunshine Skyway.  We hit up a Chic File  and a car wash.  We hit a LOT of love bugs and the E30 was a mess.

Off we went and over the Skyway.




We checked into the Hotel Indigo then walked around down town, we had our dog in tow, it was our first dog trip. St. Pete is supposed to be VERY dog friendly and it was. Tons of options for dinner many with outdoor seating and lots of dogs in attendance.  The weather was more than perfect for out door dining, wife and kid were in sweatshirts.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and grabbed the E30, we had a 15 minute ride to the beach.

We got there with time to spare.


As you can see in the above pic, mother nature was once again not cooperating. It was really windy and chilly. The clouds made for some cool colors!






Mission accomplished!!

We trucked back to the Hotel for the evening.


Up the street was a farm to table market, Lucie, our dog was very confused about her new home for the evening.



We had her crate with us, except she was barking when we left the room, she NEVER barks.  I decided to chill in the room with her and let the wife and kid go to the market. They were after late night snacks.

The next morning I was up early with Lucie, we went for a long walk around town.

Here are a few pics of the town as I walked around it this morning.




Lots of different style architecture from different eras of this town.  Here we have a more New Orleans type of look.


I dig this old house, I think it is an office building now.


This is the backside of the hotel, it was built in the 1920's. Notice the windows stepping up. Inside as you walk down the hall, you go down a few steps and then back up. I forgot to ask why it was like that, I am imaging an addition was made, possibly adjoining two buildings. I have no idea.



A cool feature from the 1920's that has either be replicated or preserved are these cool water dispenser.



The vintage elevator was pretty cool too.




We could see the old girl from the room, as she beckoned us to drive her some more.  We covered another 400+ miles on this trip, I was most impressed with the trip back, we used just over 1/4 of a tank of gas, getting close to 40 MPG.



I feel like we need to drive to Key West next....

Back to work, I have a Monday from hell ahead of me trying to get a head start.

[Jims5543]

Flogged Molly last night...  went in my first mosh pit.



5 seconds after entering mosh pit this giant Brutus from Popey looking mutherfucker leveled me. Then grabbed my arm and picked me back up.We are friends now.






The in this is Dennis from the band, he recognized Laura, my buddy Johns GF. After the concert she jumped a fence into the VIP area to say hello to Dennis and security was all over her.  Dennis told them to let her in, they said how many more can jump the fence as they were escorting her out.

Dennis, said fine and jumped the fence out of the VIP area and stood in the rain, taking pictures with fans and talking to us for over an hour.

See this pointy part of the scaffolding?



Last night I learned my buddy Jon and his GF climbed up there in the middle of the night 20 years ago and had sex.  Probably a TMI moment but the story had us all in stitches last night.

I have not been playing much lately, it was fun to go out and adult for a night.

[gr8kornholio]

Aww, the violence and compassion of a good mosh pit.  I stay on the edge and enjoy the energy. Gonna be a bunch of crazy moshing this Wednesday at the Slayer show 🤘

[Jims5543]

Aww, the violence and compassion of a good mosh pit.  I stay on the edge and enjoy the energy. Gonna be a bunch of crazy moshing this Wednesday at the Slayer show 🤘

I am peaking late in life, 53 and hitting my first mosh pits.  I can safely say far from my last. 

Highlight of the night was riding on my friends back giving out high fives to everyone in the pit.   Many laughs were had.

I jumped on his back right at the drop in a song and all hell was breaking loose in the pit.

Mrs5543 was sure I was going home on a stretcher.  LOL!!!

She told me to look at my fitness tracker this morning, seems we both ran over 2 miles in the concert.   ;D

[BruceK]

 I went to a big British car show here in Dallas today. Some interesting cars here. 

That last car is a Berkeley with a twin rotary engine installed.  At probably 1000 lbs should be fairly quick!

[BruceK]

 And this Facel Vega used to belong to British comedian Terry Thomas.    And built in France but obviously heavily influenced by Detroit iron. 

[BruceK]

An Amphicar took a swim in the lake! 

[BruceK]

This new AC supercar model surprised everyone.  I had no idea it even existed. 

It looked fantastic.  And sported an honest manual transmission instead of flappy paddles.