The Kids Can Play In The Back Yard

They'll be fine......

The Maritime Museum In Astoria Oregon

Pretty cool place with lots of displays.

You can spend hours in this place and when you get done in there, they have an old Lighthouse ship docked right outside that you can go in and take a look around at.
We have been here before but the last time we got there pretty late and had to rush through it.
This year we got there plenty early so we had all the time we needed to do the touristy stuff.
It costs $14 for adults and the money goes for upkeep.

This is just a sample of what all is inside, like I said, you can spend hours in there.

Letting My Inner Child Out to Play

So we are at the beach.
Seaside Oregon again.
We have been here before but we have the Niece with us so the wife decided to come here so the Niece and our kid can go run amok for a couple of days on the Promenade.
That is basically a year round unapologetic tourist trap.

They have all kinds of crap you can spend money on here, it's almost carnival like.
They even have Bumper cars, Tilt O Wheels and miniature golf.
There are game arcades, salt water Taffy and candy store every thirty feet and T shirt shops jammed in between those.

It's pretty much all on a one way street about six blocks long.
So the wifely unit and them two kids decide they are going to go crawl this thing from one end to the other.
I decided been there, done that, no thank you.
I'm not following some 17 year old girl who "discovered" the Beatles last year through every fucking one of these places looking for Hippy type shit because she is all into that now.

No.
Knock yerselves out, I'm gonna go wander around at my own pace.
So this Hotel we are at is right on the beach, at the end of the street where all this mess is.
There is a kite shop across the street.
I'm not talking kites like me and you grew up with, I'm talking kites that start at a hundred bucks and go up from there.
They did however, have a few stuck away in the corner for cheap bastards like me so I snagged one and hit the beach.

So there is a nice little breeze and there are people,kids, dogs and kites all over the place.
I got it up in the air about fifty feet and then tied it off to my belt loop.
Then I just wandered up and down the beach, people watching.
I had to be a bit careful but not much, most of the other kites were in closer to town.

There were a couple that were up in the air quite a bit more than the rest and of course, the competetive jerk in me just couldn't stand that.

Down comes the kite.
Back to the hotel, into the parking lot and into the trunk of the car I go.
Out comes the fishing pole.
You can guess where this is going from there.
Back to the beach and it's Up, Up And AWAY.

Just for reference, that is the top of a six story hotel. The one on the right in the next picture is eight stories high,

Now see if you can click on this next picture and see the kite. You may need a magnifying glass.

Low orbit achieved, mission accomplished. It wasn't too long before the farthest one up came slowly back to earth.
I'm such a jerk sometimes.
Heh heh heh.

Just A Reminder

It is Summer time, right?
What are you doing sitting on your ass?

The cold and wet will be here again before you know it.

Look Out

I'll be on the road later for a much needed vacation. We have someone staying here to look after the varmints. They are also ardent 2nd amendment fans just FYI.
There should be internet where I am going so I should be able to bother the world in general from a remote location.
You have been warned.

My Homemade Vacuum Canner Actually Works! ( Updated)

There was the usual multiple trips to the hardware store and a couple of first try failures but I finally made it happen.

Of course after I spent dang near thirty five dollars on the copper line and all the fittings I thought I was going to need I wound up using mostly what I already had on hand. It never fails.
I did have to go back and get a compression fitting adapter to go from the compressor to the copper line, the one I had was too big.

Several different attempts at getting it put together but I finally hit on the right combination of parts.
The seals between the fittings that go through the lid were particularly difficult to come up with. I finally found some rubber backed washers and drilled them out just enough to get a 1/8th pipe close nipple through and then tightened the whole thing up with a fitting inside to clamp it together.

There are some improvements already in the works but they will come after I get back from the desperately needed vacation we are going on next week.

I am going to plug up another hole in the top with a proper vacuum gauge just because and I am also going to screw in some quick disconnect fittings where the copper line goes into the lid so I can disconnect it and set it out of the way when I am loading and unloading it.

It does work though, really well.
A little bit of vacuum can be extremely strong when trying to get something loose. Just out of curiousity I tried to get the lid back off the first one that sealed and with both hands grasped around the jar, prying up with both thumbtips hard, I couldn't get the lid to come off.
I am going to have to pry them off with something and probably damage the lid. That little vacuum pump really gets with the program.

A couple of things I had to learn the hard way are;

1. Use a Ball Valve because letting air in quickly to fill the vacuum is a key part of the process.( Update 1, A major Tip 'O' The Hat to B here. He warned me about this in a previous post and I forgot about it, until I was having problems with the twist open valve I had found at first. I remembered someone had said something about it but couldn't remember who it was. That is now rectified.

Update 2 He also recommends using a butterfly valve instead of a ball valve. Those can be ordered here.


2. Screw the ring down until it touches the lid enough that you can feel just the slightest bit of drag before you load it up.
Too loose and it won't seal.
It took me a few attempts before I figured that one out.

Update 3 , another Tip 'O' the Hat to B for advising to oil the gasket under the lid occasionally. He recommends any light, food grade oil. Wash it off with soap and water occasionally and reapply some.


We use industrial sized vacuum pumps where I work so this part did not surprise me but someone who is not used to being around them might freak out when they see a bit of smoke coming out of the exhaust port on the little vacuum pump.

This is normal. The ones at work are vented outside through 4 inch pipes because they will smoke you out when they are pulling a hard vacuum.
You just need to keep an eye on the oil level in your pump and keep some handy. They don't use much but they will use some eventually.

I am just tickled that this is going to work out so well, there is going to be a few things get sealed up and put away for later use.
There are a couple of bags of pasta and some White Rice that need to get done, anything that is dry and in a bag is going to get the treatment.
It takes less than two minutes a run to get things sealed up tight.

I love beans and rice but I am pretty much the only one here that does so this will work out great.

If you went out to buy all the parts you need to build one of these from scratch it would cost you at least a couple of hundred dollars.
I already had the pressure canner and a bunch of the fittings.
Then I got a smoking deal on the little vacuum pump because I took advantage of Amazon's offer of fifty dollars off your order when you apply and qualify for their dang credit card.

I'm still into it for no small amount but it is a pretty solid set up that should last for years and years.
It will eventually pay for its self by me being able to do long term storage of goods that would normally go bad from not getting used up around here.


The wife went out grocery shopping while I was working on this project and I had the garage door open when she got back.
She rolled her eyes and asked me what the hell I was up to now so I showed her the upside down jar of beans without a ring on it and told her I was vacuum sealing some stuff.
She just rolled here eyes again and went in the house, shaking her head.

My wife is convinced I am weird and possibly 3/4's away around the bend.

She is probably closer to the truth than I would like to admit but I am trying to take care of my family's long term needs, whether she appreciates it or not.

Besides, I love to tinker with stuff and this was a perfect little project for that.

Lying Liar Lies Again For Clarity

This woman wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit her on one of her fat cankles.
A true to life compulsive liar.

Clinton admits she may have 'short circuited' answers on email controversy

Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton on Friday doubled down on recent misleading statements about her use of a private email server at the State Department, even as she acknowledged that she "may have short-circuited" her answers about it.

At a gathering of black and Hispanic journalists in Washington, D.C., Clinton -- who has come under fire for not often taking media questions -- was asked about her recent assertion that FBI Director James Comey had said she was "truthful" to the public in discussing the issue, a claim that a number of media outlets, including CNN, have debunked.
"I was pointing out in both of those instances, that Director Comey had said that my answers in my FBI interview were truthful. That really is the bottom line here," she said. "What I told the FBI, which he said was truthful, is consistent with what I have said publicly. I may have short-circuited and for that I will try to clarify."
Clinton went on to repeat that she "never sent or received" classified information on her private email server -- a statement that is inconsistent with Comey's testimony on Capitol Hill.
"And I would go back to where I started, I regret using one account, I have taken responsibility for that," Clinton said.
The email controversy has continued to dog Clinton's presidential campaign, particularly as she suffers from the widespread perception among voters that she isn't honest or trustworthy.
Clinton on Friday also called on journalists hold Donald Trump accountable, saying reporters "have a special responsibility to our democracy at a time like this." She warned about her opponent: "He's harkening back to the most shameful chapters of our history and appealing to the ugliest impulses of our society ... He retweets white nationalists."
Clinton also addressed the problematic ways in which Trump has treated reporters, saying it is a "badge of honor" when journalists are kicked out of his press conferences or banned from attending his rallies.
"America is better than Donald Trump," she said. "We need to stand up and say that Donald Trump doesn't represent who we are and what we believe."

I can tell you for a fact that this woman does not represent who I am nor what I stand for.

I have many faults to which I will readily admit to but I have always tried to go out of my way to be a Stand Up Guy.

Well out of my way on several occasions.

You don't ever have to ask me what I am thinking because it is written all over my face and is easily read with a glance.
I try to be honest in my dealings with people and will take a loss on something if I think it is the right thing to do.

In other words, I have some morals.

Hillary Clinton couldn't even rent morals.

They are one of those things that aren't for sale, anywhere, for any price.

Something she wouldn't understand.


She also obviously missed an early life lesson that most people pick right up on.

When you lie, you have to remember that lie and when caught at it, have to try and tell another lie to cover up the first one. She is the perfect example of this that people should use to teach their children with.


There is only one truth, tell the truth and that is all you have to remember.

Something she is incapable of doing.

If you trust this woman for anything she says you are dumber than a warehouse full of rusty hammers.

Fat Fuckin' Chance Cankles

Hillary trying to win over White Working Class Males in this country?

They would either have to be gay, commie or just plain fucking stupid to vote for her.
It would be voting against your own best interest and hoping for a long slow and very painful death.

Hillary Clinton Looks to Win Over White Working-Class Male Voters

DENVER -- Hillary Clinton's campaign is riding high. Polls show she's way ahead with women, minorities and college educated voters -- a coalition that's fundamentally large and strong enough to send her to the White House.

But Donald Trump is a wild card of a candidate if there ever was one. So as her campaign looks to the election's final 90 days, cementing her victory in November is becoming all about one group of voters: White men who haven't gone to college.

Clinton campaign aides know the former secretary of state won't win them overall. President Obama lost badly with this group to Mitt Romney in 2012.


But if Trump is going to win the White House, these voters -- working-class white men in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and maybe Wisconsin and Michigan -- have to hand him the keys. That's why Clinton's team is working so hard to hold down losses among that group -- everything Clinton's campaign has done since the convention is aimed at convincing them that the Democratic candidate isn't so bad.

Excuse me for a moment while I go puke into the nearest garbage can.

Not so bad?

They can say that with a straight face?!





In case you haven't been paying attention to what your paycheck buys these days as it is, just vote this tax and spend bitch into office and see how ya like what she has in store for ya.

I swear that half the people in this country are clinically fucking insane.

Let me show you a typical Hillary Clinton supporter.

Louisiana Sheriff Deputies Raid Home Looking for Blogger Posting Anti Corruption Info About The Sheriff, Other Local Politicians.

This is going to be messy, the house belongs to a deputy and the pretense for the raid was criminal defamation directed at an insurance agent who is buddy buddy with the Sheriff.

What an "alleged" tangled web we weave, eh Sheriff? There is no end of Good Old Boy network stuff going on here it looks like to me.
That's just my opinion of course. As far as I know, I'm still allowed to have one even if I do tend to use it indiscriminately at times.

Of course he is denying any wrongdoing but I'm thinking there must be something "there" or whoever is behind it wouldn't have gone to the trouble.

There are Free Speech issues here also.
Like I said, messy.
I'd like to see what comes of this.

Terrebonne Sheriff raids house to expose 'Esposedat' anti-corruption blog

HOUMA, La.—Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s deputies raided a home Tuesday in hopes of uncovering who is behind an anti-corruption blog aimed at Sheriff Jerry Larpenter and other local politicians.

“Exposedat” is a blog, claiming to be “Terrebonne Parish’s Underground Watchdog”, that started publishing short articles about politicians and their business dealings in June.

The first post titled, “Black Man and a Noose”, outlined a civil rights lawsuit filed against a company owned by now-Parish President Gordon Dove called VACCO, Inc.

Subsequent articles have called into question business dealings and relationships of other top Terrebonne Parish officials, including Sheriff Larpenter and District Attorney Joseph Waitz, Jr.

Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant on a home in Houma, seizing computers and cell phones, alleging the blog’s author committed criminal defamation against the parish’s new insurance agent, Tony Alford.

The home belonged to Houma Police Officer Wayne Anderson. He denies having any involvement in Exposedat. Deputies took two laptop computers, one of which belonged to his children, and five cell phones.

Anderson is a long-time police officer, formerly serving as a Terrebonne Parish deputy and a New Orleans Police officer.

“I’m not sure if they believe Mr. Anderson is actually the author of such work,” said Matthew Ory, Anderson’s attorney.

The search of Anderson’s home was one of three warrants executed in the Sheriff’s attempts to expose Exposedat, according to Larpenter.

The other two were for computer and Facebook account information.

Exposedat’s Facebook page was created by an account using the pseudonym John Turner.

While Anderson denies any involvement in the blog, even if he did create it, legal experts agree it would very likely be protected speech under the 1st Amendment.

Attorney Mary Ellen Roy said the U.S. Supreme Court has found Louisiana’s criminal defamation statute unconstitutional when it is used “…to punish public expression and publication concerning public officials, public figures and private individuals who are engaged in public affairs.”

Oh, there's more, you can read about it here, plus there is a video.

This Is How You Deal With Radical Muslims

You don't fuck around.
One thing Putin seems to understand while our politicians grovel at their feet and want to import thousands more of.



You know damn well that was not an idle threat.
He could darken the skies with cruise missiles with one phone call.

What's not so funny about that is so could we.

Instead we get lied to our faces and sold down the river by an appeaser.

What The Cheerleaders From My High School Are Doing Now

The same fucking thing they were doing clear back in 1979 I see.

How Zoomie Stays Busy During The Day

This is Way Old School.
I'm wondering if that isn't a Detroit Diesel screaming away and that splitter box shifter is just too cool. The thing sounds pretty healthy to me.
The whole rig is way cool, love the dashboard.




H/T to EHOWA for yet another bitchin' link.
Ernie is the shit.

Comcast Finally Gets To Be On The Receiving End

Because I know for a fact that they troll the Blogosphere let me just say this up front,
It's about time.

Comcast Hit With $100M “Deceptive Practices” Lawsuit By Washington State AG

Filed in state court in the Evergreen State after negotiations with Comcast broke down in July, the complaint (read it here) seeks injunctive and other relief. “Comcast has violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act over 1.8 million times through unfair and deceptive acts and practices relating to its Service Protection Plan, service call fees it charges consumers, and deposits it obtained from consumers,” the suit says.

“Comcast grossly misrepresented the SPP to consumers to induce them to purchase the SPP.” says the 17-page complaint filed Monday morning, claiming over $70 million in improper fees being collected in the state for the nationwide plan.

Snip

Up until very recently this year, aka “the eve of litigation,” the AG claims that Comcast “grossly misrepresented” its protection plan to more than 400,000 consumers in the state. That misrepresentation resulted in “deceiving them into paying at least $73 million in subscription fees over the last five years for a near-worthless” service. While the protection plan promised in sales calls and more that it would eliminate any additional fees for “inside wiring” service calls, improper service calls fix codes and more, the fine print of the roughly $60-a-year plan and the charges consumers paid out revealed that was not the case.

Along with seeking the return of about $73 million in fees, the Washington action wants to see the company pay out more than $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act as well as other restitution and a clarification by Comcast on what services its plans truly offer. Additionally, more than 6,000 unnecessary credit checks were done by Comcast, says the AG, even in some cases where new customers already had paid a deposit to avoid such a check, which can affect credit rating. Ferguson said today that the investigation into the matter started more than a year ago, after an employee of the AG’s office had an unwelcome credit check, but more complaints soon followed.

They have a virtual monopoly around here and I have had to deal with them before after they jerked my wife around and pissed me off.
Trust me when I say that I know how to get peoples attention on the telephone.
Especially people who think they can play fucky fuck games. You REALLY don't want me to come down to your office either.



So Comcast is finally going to get some of the fucking that they have been handing out.
My heart bleeds purple piss and peanut butter for them.

Parsing The Propaganda, News Reports Of "Major Casualties" in U.S. Bombing Raid In Libya

Read the following carefully and see if you notice what I did.

US opens new front against ISIS with airstrikes in Libya

The United States launched a new round of airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Libya on Monday, Pentagon officials confirmed, opening a more persistent front against the terror group that had no specific "end point" as long as the fragile Libyan government needed U.S. help.

President Obama authorized the strikes after the United Nations-backed Libyan government made its first request for this type of aid, the Pentagon said. It marked the third round of U.S. strikes in Libya since November.

"I don't want to predict the pace" of any future strikes, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters at a news briefing. He denied the U.S. was leading from behind, describing the strikes as "providing military support for a partner on the ground."

Fayez Serraj, the head of the U.N.-brokered presidency council, said in a televised statement that American warplanes attacked the ISIS bastion of Sirte, "causing major casualties," adding that no U.S. ground forces were deployed. The precision strikes targeted an ISIS tank and two vehicles, officials said.

"Major Casualties"?

They targeted one tank and two vehicles and managed to inflict major casualties?

Those two vehicles must have looked like this then,

Sigh, another day, another attempt by this administration to blow smoke up our asses.

I've Been REAL CLOSE To Being That Fucked Up.

I know I've seen colors that don't exist in nature before, dripping off the walls, that were moving in and out like someone breathing.

Does that qualify?