Text 1379, 404 rader
Skriven 2012-07-27 22:21:56 av Richard Webb (1:116/901.0)
   Kommentar till text 1360 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Ärende: Darwion award candidate
===============================
Hi Roy,

On Fri 2012-Jul-27 07:45, Roy Witt (1:387/22) wrote to Richard Webb:

 RW> got to find a small air compressor yet,

RW> Mark ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 RW>  I've been looking for a good small one, jsut when I've seen a couple
 RW> money was going somewhere else, otherwise I'll borrow one from a
 RW> friend of mine and do that.

Roy> 8^) you have at least 6, maybe 8 in that truck already. Pull a spark
Roy> plug and use cylinder pressure to do that.

Good idea!!! Hadn't thought of that one, dammit.  You got it right, got eight
of 'em <grin>.

 RW> INstead I've been just stopping and doing the air it up when I check
 RW> tires before it goes out.  But, was thinking all along that soapy
 RW> water is the way to find that bad boy. Funny how that's effective in
 RW> finding all sorts of leaks.

RW> [singing] I'm forever blowing bubbles. Bubbles is forever ehhh
RW> [/singing] 

Got fired from a gig with a show band years ago over that
song.  Was with the horn section, and this guy sings "I'm
forever blowing bubbles ... " sort of a swing beat, then we
play the little vamp, he signs, "pretty bubbles ... " only
isntead of playing the vamp, we sang it, using the words,
"who the heck is bubles."

<snippety doo dah>
 Roy>> Technically, if you're using the truck in 'not hauling for a fee',
 Roy>> anybody can drive it.

 RW> USed to be that way, but I think that some states see that
 RW> oen a bit different.  Texas law still says that.

Roy> California too. All that is required is a sign of some sort pasted
Roy> on the door that says "Not for Hire" ...

Yep, that's as I understood it.

 RW> Even though it's not hauling, but what happens in it is for hire.
 RW> Even though what happens in the box on the back isn't happening when
 RW> it moves. According to our insurance carrier that's what Tn state law
 RW> is on it.  Dad says he thinks Iowa law is too.  That's where they get
 RW> you I think, Tx, La. and iirc Ar. are the way you and I look at it,
 RW> but this state's a bit different.

Roy> Aren't they all. i.e. 48 out of 50 states have will-issue concealed
Roy> carry permits (actually two or three don't require a CHL at all),
Roy> but not all of them are the same. Thus the congressional bill that
Roy> calls for a National CHL provision...

YEah I know, and that was iirc one of the reasons for the
cdl and the unified requirements and certifications, such as passenger
vehicles, i.e. buses, hazmat, etc. etc.

<snip>
<my last truck mechanic>
 RW> Thing is, the young guy he had
 RW> working for him wasn't bad either and was now going to lose his gig.
 RW> I asked youngster last time we went out there for some routine
 RW> maintenance stuff wehre he was going, we'd patronize that shop, he
 RW> said he was going back to school.  <oh
 RW> well>

Roy> Did he say that it was an automotive repair school. That's about the
Roy> only way to get certified these days. The grads coming out of those
Roy> schools are taught well enough to take on a job like that after
Roy> graduation.

Nah, he was doing the switching field.  HE'd arleady done
automotive and diesel he said, but the field was too
saturated so he was going to try his hand at something else.

<old age>
 RW> YEah I know.  I'm wanting to see the next generation in
 RW> digital audio come along that ships multi channel audio down cat5
 RW> cable digitally instead of hauling that heavy copper with 28 channels
 RW> of balanced audio line in from the truck.

Roy> Or better yet, all of that digital stuff being sent by radio from
Roy> one to the other. I've done the 'portable' speaker thing with RF
Roy> interfaces (beats doing all of that wiring) for quite some time, but
Roy> now I see that you can buy it at Home Depot for under $60.

YEah but tough to do with that many channels multiplexed
down rf pipes.  I've got sometimes up to 56 channels, two
runs of 28 channels each.  There's one system that's out
which does this in 8 channel blocks, use an 8 channel analog to digital
converter that feeds what they call litepipe then converts the fiber optic to
something that can be shipped
down cat5, but it hasn't really taken off for the industry
yet, and right now that would limit my choice of mixing
consoles at the truck end, so I'm still biding my time.
I've done early adopter a couple of times in this business
already and gotten burned and ended up with another
expensive gigantic paperweight or worse, so I'm taking the
wait and see approach.


 RW> Those 300 foot runs of 28 pair cable get kinda heavy to wrestle, in
 RW> fact age and arthritis was a big deciding factor in me not remaining
 RW> in the live sound reinforcement business.  Wrestling those road cases
 RW> racks and speaker stacks tells on you.  When I take a gig with enough
 RW> stage hands it isn't bad, but sometimes ...

Roy> There used to be a guy in San Antonio who did that at the AT&T
Roy> center (maybe he still does, I don't know). He was also the
Roy> moderator of the HAM echo at one time. Jeff Edmonson and his little
Roy> gal friend did a lot of manual labor in setting up shows there. He
Roy> was never forthcoming with that kind of info, but she just couldn't
Roy> help herself...

YEah have heard of him, might have met him when I was in
FIdo before, I go back to Lee Laird and those guys there.
Yep, these cables, 28 pairs in a cable, and a 300 foot run,
I think I've got four runs, two 300 footers and two 200
footers, so if i'm needing all 56 channels I can put the
truck 500 feet from the stage, if 28 or less will do I can
go quite a distance.

 RW> Can relate to that.  IF we were located in southern Iowa I'd know
 RW> three or four good ones just for the same reason, my dad knows them,
 RW> guys I know who farm etc. know them.

Roy> Might be a good place to leave your truck for a while.

YEah I've thought of that too.  Wanting to save some
shekels, get dad to come down, run the rig up there and have plenty of cash in
hand to have one of the guys we both know
up there really go over stuff and make sure it's all
copacetic instead of put out little fires all the time.
There's a lot of things I'd like to do with that rig, newer
engine of same type but with all the gaskets etc. of modern
formulation that won't be degraded by the alcohol additives
in the fuel, etc. etc.  But, getting oen of those guys that
really has a few clues to go over that braking system would
be priority #1.

<snip again>

 RW>> They tell me he's one of the best in the area if you need an
 RW>> automatic tranny rebuilt though.

 Roy>> That's a plus. A lot of them will blow smoke and give you something
 Roy>> that won't be right. A good transmission re-builder is a great
 Roy>> find.

 RW> I also think that's really all he wants to do, but Kathy's
 RW> choice for mechanic when we first brought it up here, and
 RW> discovered the shoddy work on the braking system did the
 RW> midnight disappearing act, and since he already had money in hand
 RW> from us he basically left him the truck, the balance of what we'd
 RW> given him not yet taken care of and our phone number.  Kathy and I
 RW> had probably one of our worst disagreements over her trusting him to
 RW> do the work in the first place.

Roy> I got ripped like that just once. I was 16 and saw a 38 Ford coupe'
Roy> sitting the yard of an automotive shop. I inquired and the guy I
Roy> talked to told me it ran good and was for sale @ $100...I plunked
Roy> down $50 and went back later to finish paying it off and take
Roy> delivery. That guy didn't even work there. I did't even have a
Roy> receipt to prove the loss...

YEah that one does make you mad.  I know, Kathy's buddy
tried to do right by her on that deal by sending it to this
other guy when he decided to do the quick disappearing act,
but I was starting to get rather unhappy with him anyway,
and Kathy and I were already butting heads over it.  She
kept doing the "but you don't trust anybody Richard ... '
thing.

 Roy>> One of those, eh...I would have let the Rottie off the chain and
 Roy>> watch that little loud mouth run home or be eaten.

 RW> I really would have too, but Kathy was more mobile and agile at the
 RW> time and she grabbed our dog.  i was also fairy new in the
 RW> neighborhood, and was trying to not be too disagreeable.  I did tell
 RW> her next time that's just waht I'd do though.

Roy> When Andrew comes over, he brings 3 of those yappers with him. My
Roy> dog will sit at the front door and if there's someone on the
Roy> property, will let me know about it. His dogs sit on his lap,
Roy> looking out that same door and yap at everything that passes by. If
Roy> mine isn't growling or barking, I know theirs is a false alarm. Mine
Roy> is just a small Blue Healer, but she's very aware of what's going
Roy> on.

Have seen that one before.  Schotze's pretty good about
sounding off when there's stranger about.  The only false
alarms she gives me is this stray cat wanders the
neighborhood, neighbor lady's felt sorry for it so she's
left it food outside, so the cat thinks our porch is a good
hang.

<snip>
<snip>
Roy> Andrew's mother comes down from Minneapolis to visit every winter.
Roy> What started out as a two week stay has grown to a two month stay
Roy> during Feb and March. Last time she rented a small travel trailer on
Roy> the river in Sequin, just 14 miles south of here. The first time I
Roy> was aware of her coming ca2006, I rode along to the train station in
Roy> San Marcos, about 15 minutes north of here. Sitting on an open
Roy> waiting platform at trackside in the Texas winter evening hours
Roy> wasn't too bad, but then when we got word that the train was stuck
Roy> just above Austin because of a freight train break down, it got even
Roy> colder. If it wasn't for cell phone technology, we'd probably still
Roy> be waiting.

That's the one downside of train travel.  About the only one I can think of
though.

 RW>> We didn't do the bunks, but we agreed to a compartment if we ever
 RW>> did a trip like that again.

 RW> I could see that.  The compartments are nice if you're
 RW> traveling with a companion, but even a bunk's nice on the
 RW> long trips for sleeping.

Roy> That trip we spent in the recliner seats, but only for an evening.
Roy> The rest of the time we wandered about, to the scenic car for a view
Roy> and the piano car for a sandwich and a beer or the dining car for a
Roy> meal.

THat's the beauty of train travel, you can move the body.
I'd probably spring for the bunk on a cross country though
at my old age <grin>.

<snip>
 Roy>> Some of G-ma Witt's family came from that area, but they lived in
 Roy>> Indiana...

 RW> YEp, that uncle moved over across the line into Indiana
 RW> eventually, Crown Point at the last.  They kept having to
 RW> move when they outgrew their old quarters.

Roy> Those people were her mother's side of the family and although they
Roy> were great to see, that only occured once a year at a Scott/Dahm
Roy> family reunion...they had a lot in common with my dad, being in the
Roy> automotive repair and truck stop business in Indiana.

WAs the opposite with me, I saw dad's side, the uncle with
all the kids more often than I saw mom's aunt.  Saw mom's
aunt when I'd go on the trips to Chicago with grandma, but
dad and mom's aunt didn't see eye to eye on much.  Dad
thought she was a snob, etc. etc.  But, we went over to
dad's brother's place east side of Chicago or Indiana on
holidays quite a bit.

 RW>> Makin' all them babies tends to do that.

 Roy>> I used to call that 'f**kin' yourself away from the table'...
<snip>
 RW> That'll do it.  YEah I still call that the same thing you
 RW> do, but was trying to be nice to the more sensitive among us <grin>.

RW> OK.

 RW> I remember when he left that company in Chicago and started his own
 RW> with a partner in Bessemer, Al.  They rented this big old 13 room
 RW> mansion basically, and used most of the bedrooms <grin>.  I'll still
 RW> remember freaking my mom and my aunt out climbing up the clothes
 RW> chute from the basement in that house and tapping on the door on the
 RW> second floor.

Roy> LOL! That would have freaked my parents out too.

YEp, a dare from my cousin, and naturally I had to give it a shot.  WAsn't a
bad climb, the cross bracing of the chute
and the brick wall made for lots of hand and toe holds
<grin>.

<hitch receiver and mast>
 RW> Might do that too, but might look at those universal hitches you were
 RW> talkign about at Walmart, see if that might negate all that.

Roy> You might have better luck at an automotive oriented store, but you
Roy> might get lucky and find one at Walmart. It has the usual insert
Roy> with a locking pin, but it also has a verticle piece that can be
Roy> adjusted up and down and pinned in place. The verticle piece is
Roy> meant to raise or lower the ball height to match your trailer
Roy> level...

YEah was thinking that too, that might just be waht the
doctor ordered, i'll look around, Autozone and Harbor
freight as well, actually lay hands on one and see what I
think.

 Roy>> After having your machinist friend make a tapered insert to slip
 Roy>> into the bottom of the pipe, place it on a piece of plywood under
 Roy>> the antenna mast and use it to ease the task of rotating that mast
 Roy>> and antenna from a sitting position at the operating table. I
 Roy>> havn't thought this whole thing through, but you could also use a
 Roy>> rope with a couple of turns around the pipe and each end tied to
 Roy>> each end of a 'steering' stick at the center tent pole for easier
 Roy>> turning of a heavier antenna, like a beam.

 RW> YEah that would work good!  mOst of the time for these apps
 RW> though if I'm using a beam antenna it's in an application
 RW> where it's an aim it and forget it deal, such as a vhf
 RW> yagipoitned at a repeater or net control on simplex.

Roy> That's no fun.

Nah but it works.  Because I've got that sort of capability
though suually at these public service events they assign me the spots that are
hard to get out of, because a lot of
these guys with little more than a handheld can't get the
job done.  There's one spot on the ms 150 mile bike ride out of Memphis they're
always assigning me if I'm not net
control because I've got the tripod and can get an antenna
up at reasonable height, I've also got 50 watts and plenty
of battery power.

 RW> IF it's being used for net control then I'm using an omni.

Roy> That works.

Oh yeah, quite well actually.

 RW> This is if I take the van.  If I take big truck, I use the
 RW> frame that holds the hvac unit over the cab to anchor a mast with
 RW> some U bolts, and then the top of my mast is at about 25-30 feet
 RW> depending on how many mast sections I use.  For that application when
 RW> the mast goes up top section has a pulley and rope on it, so that if
 RW> I want to pull up the center of a wire dipole or something I can just
 RW> attach it while standing on the ground and haul away.

Roy> That's cool. I like that setup.

Oh yeah, thought of that one right away when I was rigging
up the jerrybuilt mast bracket for truck.

 RW>>> I was quite sure of that one.  I thought I was taking a
 RW>>> shortcut down a hillside in the woods one afternoon, ended
 RW>>> up going down what was vertical bouncing off the rock after
 RW>>> I belly flopped when I tried to run off the cliff,
 RW>>> unbeknownst to old blind man.

 Roy>> I thought of a friend of mine who, years ago, was out in the
 Roy>> desert, riding his dirt bike, when they both went off a cliff. The
 Roy>> bike landed on two wheels, but the bike collapsed under his weight.
 Roy>> He was hurtin' for quite a while afterwards.

 RW> Bet he doesn't want to repeat that ride!!!

Rpu> He was laid up for quite a while from that one. Last I saw him, I
Rpu> was moving out of San Diego to a small town just north of SD and he
Rpu> was moving to the east county region. Might have seen him off and on
Roy> in the meantime, but lost contact with him years ago. When we met,
Roy> he had a brand new 1970 Firebird TransAm and I was driving my 63
Roy> Corvette. Last I saw him, he had broken the rear end of that bird
Roy> and he was driving a POS Honda car, w/air cooled engine. His wife
Roy> was a buyer for Jack-in-the-Box coorporate, just across the street
Roy> from where I worked at the time. Lot's of memorable lunches with
Roy> her.

I'll bet so.

 RW>>> NOw if i don't carry the white cane in the woods I've got a good
 RW>>> sized trekking pole that I can use to feel around in front of me
 RW>>> <grin>.

 Roy>>> Blind men aren't supposed to be trekking through the woods on
 Roy>>> their own...get a seeing-eye dog for that... 8^)

 RW>> OH yeah?   PRay tell why not <grin>.  USed to do it all the
 RW>> time.  SOme of my favorite fishing spots couldn't be reached any
 RW>> other way <grin>.

 Roy>> I take it you can see objects, but not make out what you're seeing.
 Roy>> Kinda like some of my friends during their better days; blind in
 Roy>> one eye and can't see out of the other. 8^)

 RW> Basically that's it.  A dog can help, but even when I had a
 RW> trained dog I still like the trekking pole in the back
 RW> country.  Remidn me to tell you stories about me training
 RW> that dog for guide work myself some time <grin>.

Roy> OK...during the mid-60s, I rode bikes with a guy who had really
Roy> thick glasses and the poorest eyesight I've ever seen. While riding
Roy> down a road lined with cornfields on both sides, he rode off into a
Roy> cornfield and wasn't seen for about 5-10 minutes. Then, out of the
Roy> blue, there he was, pushing over corn stalks with his Triumph,
Roy> trying to get back on the road.

<rotfl>  Have seen things like that with blind folks
pretending not to be <grin>.

Roy> After a ride like that, everyone would gather at his house for BBQ
Roy> steaks (bring your own) and Sunday evening color TV programming;
Roy> Doris Day show, Bonanza, etc...

Remember those on Sunday nights.  I could tell lots of
stories about folks like that <grin>.
Regards,
           Richard
---
 * Origin:  (1:116/901)