Meet the Weird Neighbors

The info about these tools is at my restoration blog:

Diversity of home made card scrapers.

I have (had?) a website that is hosted in Moscow Russia. I wasn’t 100% determined to move there; but was looking into it pretty seriously. The possibility is still open. One of the purposes of having the site was so that it had age and traffic before I moved there.

One of the features at the site was a series of pages I call “The Papa Challenge”. I say “was” because The site went down a few weeks back, and tech support hasn’t replied to my submitted tickets. This isn’t the first time it has happened, but I realized that SEO work is a joke if one’s site is down that long. One can only speculate the details of why it happened; maybe hosting is much more reliable at other companies. I used the one I have because getting a payment to any company over there was difficult. This company took Paypal, which made it easy. Somebody else might laugh at how much trouble I had, they know of an easier way. Well OK, but I don’t. There’s a payment system through the big search engine Yandex, maybe I should look into that. For now, I’m setting up a VK social media account.

I wanted fathers to be challenged in a friendly way to do projects with their children. Being that I’m losing confidence in my other site, I think I’ll start putting the Papa Challenge pages here. The first one is about learning to read maps. It’s a page at this site, here’s the link.Also, some more cloud pictures. These are beautiful to me, I hope others like them too.

I finally completed a giant paint can I started several years ago. Read more at THIS SITE.

Here’s an unusual adaptation for a truck grille:

I probably posted the graphics here before, but I finally printed the card out. For those days when you’re bad for doing the right thing, or not the thing the other people wanted.My sister lives in California. I called her recently to get her address, because my daughter is getting married, and wants to send out invitations. She lives on a street called Janette. She said you can spell it 3 different ways; the postal deliverer said so. I said you’re kidding right? Are there 3 street signs with different spelling? Answer: yes, Janette, Jannete, and Jannette. Has pot smoking made its way into government offices?

Other people say the have the best sunsets or sky scenes in the world, but I have to wonder. There are some great ones right here in East Tennessee. I saw this multi colored cloud the other day; then, I went around a few curves and corners, and saw this second image. I’m pretty sure it’s the same cloud, without the colors.Here’s the back of my truck, I’m shocked at what’s happening in America right now. Maybe more shocked that others aren’t making a public outcry. Shouldn’t every church sign have some mention of the abomination in the land? I’m not seeing it.

Dear reader, my apologies if I repeat myself. I barely have time to make posts, and with their varied topics, searching past posts is about impossible. The biggest problem is that I go through my everyday routines, rehearsing how I’ll word a topic, then, a few days later, when I go to actually post, I wonder if the memory is a past post. You probably do the same thing all the time, thanks, that’s comforting.

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The John Hancock club…one thing that should be obvious from the recent failed coup in Turkey, is that a list of dissidents already existed. Within hours of the failed coup, thousands of professors, judges, and military personnel were arrested. So why do people here think they’re names aren’t on a list? Maybe they -do- think they’re on a list, but hope nothing will come of it. Good luck with that.

So…legend has it that John Hancock signed the declaration of independence so large because he wanted to be sure the fat old king could see it without his spectacles. If so, he knew that you couldn’t be a -little- bit on the list. It’s binary, if you’re on it, you’re really on it. More later.

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I saw a nice looking sticker on the back of a car, that said “In God we trust”. I wondered where the people sent their children to school. A comparison from tonight: If a county’s economy is judged not by the wealth of the richest, but by the living standards of the poorest, then is our spirituality judged by what we teach children? Highly esteemed seminaries and popular preachers aren’t the measure; it’s that we teach most children there is no God. And now it’s worse.

One of the first principles a Christian must abide by is to first consider the beam in his own eye when finding fault in others. So I’m frequently praying that I’m not the one who is irrational to the point of psychosis. I’m seeing irrationality show up in a number of ways, the biggest being a lack of shock. PEOPLE! Do you not remember how shocking it would have been a couple decades ago to have the government mandate that kids must participate in pervy bathrooms and showers? Bizarre, disgusting, shocking. “Oh, but that was so six weeks ago.”

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I watched a flying insect in this room. It was continually smashing HARD into things in the room. I’m no entomologist, which is a bugologist, studies insects, so pardon me if my understanding of their physiology is all wrong. A good contemplation was acquired anyway.

So yeah, this bug must’ve had a REALLY bad headache. My first thought anyway. But then I remembered how bugs have ears and brains in unusual places. I wondered if there was a brain in the head, which recorded pain, made decisions as to discontinue painful behavior, but those tasks were processed in the front of the brain. Routine tasks were handled in the back. The front gets damaged to the point of non function, but the rest of the brain keeps the bug flying around into more collisions.

So if pornography destroys sensibilities about normal behavior, and the harm one is doing to others; is it like a bug that has part of its brain damaged? The user does the routines of going to work, eating, sleeping, and the rest, but part of the mind is gone. Does this apply to other forms of irrationality in America?

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Reading the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament is very rewarding to me. I don’t have time tonight to share all my notes, but here are a few: Some years back, I noticed that the word ‘judgment’ was sometimes used in the OT about the way you treat the poor. I didn’t do a word study on it, but I wondered if it meant that one should wisely do charitable deeds, don’t  carelessly enable people.

Looking at Isaiah chapter 59, I wondered if a lack of judgment meant that the poor get no justice. If I recall, I read years ago that one of the problems with the Mexican economy is that there is no small claims court for small business owners and contractors. If someone shortchanges them, they have no recourse. Actually, it might have been that they weren’t issued licenses, so they had no standing in court.

In Isaiah chapter 58, it talks about what the Lord considers a true fast. It looks to be saying that one shouldn’t humble one’s self and fast; while the poor parts of society are lacking.

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Regular readers know that I have been glad that the Russian Federation has resisted the progressive agenda that has taken over most of the world. I have been getting the family ready to leave the country, should the need arise. I even considered moving to Russia, difficult as that would be.

Much of my survival is done in the physical world, whether I’m being paid to restore something, or doing it for myself. It involves paint, lubricants, cleaners, tools, and a lot of other things. How do these things work in a very cold environment? Is there work in the winter, or does the local economy slow way down?

The language is 4th on a scale where 5th is the most difficult to learn. Until one gets his citizenship, he must regularly leave the country and come back, part of the residency permit, I think. How does one do this with 13 people in the family? Who milks the cow and feeds the horses while you’re away?

Moving there was looking less that realistic; I thought it was like watching a ship travel out to sea, the likelihood was further and further away. On the other hand, sometimes you just do a thing, and work out the details later. Especially if you’re on the run.

As if all that wasn’t bad enough, I now am getting news of recent legislation passed by the Duma. One involves internet security and a requirement that all those wanting to share their faith must obtain a license. I did a little research, and it looks like that might not apply to individuals. Of course, things change in time, and it might be enforced upon individuals in the future.

The other legislation must be the result of widespread domestic violence. It appears that they recently passed a law that bans all forms of striking, including spanking. If this is true, the lawmakers may be well intentioned, but should know that it’s a hallmark of the most progressive countries. In those places, parents merely give birth to, and physical nourishment to their offspring. I suppose that the personnel deciding what is acceptable for your children will have about as much concern for their well being as the staff at the Romanian orphanages did a couple decades ago.

It is easy to rattle ones mouth about events on the other side of the world, events which he actually has insufficient knowledge of. But if these things are true, it is sad to see Russia go the way of the progressives. The ship looks to be beyond the horizon. I still pray every night for Russia.

 

 

My youngest son Nolan completed two projects; you can see them at this link: Get rid of that awful pink.

I’m continually amazed at the luxuries brought by mass production. In the first picture is a new brake drum for a 1987 Toyota truck. The dark grey areas are the original surfaces left by the casting process. The lighter silver areas are where it’s been machined. I got this for 30 something dollars, I don’t recall exactly. But all that work for that price?!?!? Amazing! Next is a small plastic spoon, I was going to throw away. But I looked at the lines, and marveled at how nice this simple disposable object looks and works. Notice the two angles indicated by the red lines. Notice how cool the curves and varying thickness is in the blue circle. Notice the slight curve, probably for ergonomics, indicated by the green line. We are surrounded by luxury.I’m doing the body work on my 1987 Toyota truck. While it’s in the primer stage, I can play around with lighter and darker primer. Here’s an effect I’ve wondered about for years. It’s supposed to look like raised, embossed squares. Inspired by the large space craft of the original Star Wars movie. I should have used a grey for the ‘lower’ edge, instead of black. The stencil is made of magnetic sheet, and is uber-easy to use.Speaking of body work, how would you like do do this next project? It’s a replacement fender for a huge articulated truck. The metal is about 5/16ths inch thick.Lastly, a picture of the moon behind clouds.

Of all the things I’ve ever done or shared, this is the most important, save for talking about a new life in Christ. This is the Bible study method I’ve been using for years. I call it Synapse family Bible Study, because I’m not only trying to raise children who know His word, but whose minds cross reference by ideas, and not words only. This first one isn’t edited for length, it starts out a bit slow, but the pace picks up around the 21 minute mark. Skim it to learn our method, watch it to learn about the Bible. Thanks.

(P.S. There’s a permanent page in the bar at right)

BIBLE STUDY at Youtube

Here’s a collection of interesting pictures from the last several weeks. The first picture is from a place where I do restoration work; it’s crawling with Brown Recluse Spiders. These are very poisonous. Their bite causes a large chunk of flesh to die and rot away. Notice the back facing violin shape behind the head. The second picture is of a motorcycle exhaust pipe. What’s interesting is how it shows the range of colors a blacksmith looks for during certain heat treating operations.Next is what I saw upon awakening from a rest on our leather couch. You can see my two white socks in the picture. See the face? The next picture is closer. Maybe anybody would have seen it, maybe I’m more sensitized by my work with graphic art, maybe I need help…or maybe you’re just in a WEIRD place.Next is a picture of a Diesel-electric locomotive being scrapped. Actually, the frame will be used in manufacturing a new one. I show this picture so you can see how it works. The cab is still intact, the motor is the large thing in the middle, and the generator is between the cab and the motor. The generator makes electricity to drive large electric motors on each axle. That’s actually what powers a Diesel locomotive; electric motors. Now what do I call the frames after disassembly? Why, Loco Bones of course.Next is the exhaust manifold of a 1978 Toyota truck, which only gets driven every week or two. A Mud Dauber made a nest here. After a drive, the contents were quite crispy, as seen in the picture after.Below is how the dust from sanded glazing compound forms into little mounds. Other materials don’t do that.Next is a ventilation cover of a battery box on a rail passenger car from the 1940’s. The top half has been needlescaled. It’s good to have numerous tools around to tackle different parts of a job.The first two pictures below are from the July 4th weekend. One is a sunset scene, the next is my daughter Jacqueline’s Toyota truck, which we spent the entire week prepping to paint. I painted it late Sunday afternoon, amid a series of bad setbacks. I’ll make a web posting about the project at my restoration blog. the last picture is of my family, except my oldest son, who was gone at the time. This was taken a couple months ago. Grainy to be sure, but it’s a scan of a printed photo. I’ll try to get a better image.

Following through on the idea of promoting benefits, here’s one about HR Clinton. The first image is a free vector file, the second one is a rater image, you can share it on the internet.

 

In advertising, it’s often a better idea to promote the benefits of a product or service, rather than the product itself. Tire companies pitch family safety, air conditioning companies pitch home health and comfort. So maybe we ought to describe the consequences of policy, rather than assume people have thought it all the way through.

The first image is a free vector file; which can be made into any size sign or web message. the second image is a raster image, which can be used for web pages, social media, and small printed things.

Here’s an image of the revised graphics I made for the back window of a truck. What your seeing is the actual vector file, which is a little unusual. Normally all internet images are raster, which is pixelated. What all this means is that you can have this file for free, enlarge it big enough for banners, signs, whatever you want. there is also a PNG one farther below, which you can use on social media, or other web places. Also, I’m making a page that will have numerous vector files on it.