"Murphy was an optimist!"
It’s not a yard; it’s a prairie. August 31, 2008 3:12 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, House
Why should we cut grass anyway? It’s grows naturally! I say let it go through its full life cycle. After much sweat and many words not appropriate for a Sunday, the nut holding the seat to the frame gave way. Most of it was cut away then after a thorough soaking of WD-40 (as I was too lazy to get my Liquid Wrench), a screw driver and hammer were violently applied until what little piece of aluminum was left began to turn. After that a wrench did quit work of removing the remainder of the nut leaving the bolt in good shape for the replacement nut. The fiberglass body lifted off after unplugging some wires and the fuel line (the tank is attached to the body being removed) but only after puzzling through the proper bizarre twists and turns required to life it off the varies levers. I only almost cracked it once. I am sore, sweaty, and blistered. 
The starter motor remains attached to the engine and the rusted terminals under the key switch make me think it could be the switch (or the rusted terminals and not the starter itself. However I am done for the day.
As I was inspecting the mower, I thought about putting the belt back on. See, last trip out I was in an area that I had not thoroughly policed and I heard this god awful kerthunking noise and the blades quit spinning. I thought I hit a log and threw the belt. I no longer think I hit a log since I was being pretty careful. The mower had a catastrophic failure. The pulley that drives the blades which is turned by the belt connected in a serpentine fashion to the engine broke. I mean the metal of the pulley ripped from the shaft that spins the blades. I suppose I should still check on the starter. This could make a pretty cool go cart…
Update: Looks like I have a melted fuse or other electrical component. So one mechanical and one electrical repair plus maybe the starter motor before I can get my lawn cut again. Ugh.
Lawnmower man update August 31, 2008 12:41 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, House
The computer tries to suck me in but I AM the Lawnmower Man! I have the body ready to be removed but the seat is in the way. The one bolt holding the seat on is so rusted that I think I need to cut it free.
Update: I opened my cordless Dremel and the battery and charger are missing! As a guy who used to have a very specific spot for everything I owned, you know, periodically I’d reorganize my CD collection either alphabetically or by genre and screwdrivers were sorted by type and size, missing tools and a parts drive me up a wall.
add a commentTime out on politics August 31, 2008 11:49 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, House
There will be plenty of more opportunity for politics. If you haven’t had your fill, head over to Knoxviews.com. In the meantime, I am going to turn to describing how to get a riding lawn mower working again…the wrong way. The right ways is to roll it up onto a trailer and take it to the shop. But to do that I’d have to either get the Jeep running or install a hitch on the van. Both of those are just as much work as simply fixing the lawn mower myself. After searching the whole house, I found the key was left on the seat of the mower in the shed. So its now been rolled into the yard. To get to the starter, I have to take the entire body off the mower. That involves tools. So the next bit of searching is for the tools. Have I mentioned I really need a workshop/tool shed?
Still No Change August 31, 2008 11:42 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Politics, Touchy Subjects, United StatesVote Obama!
add a commentSarah Palin comes under the microscope August 30, 2008 4:58 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Politics, Touchy Subjects, United StatesNow that Sarah Palin has been announced as John McCain’s running mate, people are being quick to dig up dirt. The first I came across was an insinuation that Sarah Palin, with her stance against abortion and birth control, promoting ‘abstinence only’ beliefs, is raising her daughter’s child as her own. iReport lists 8 reasons this may true including a picture. Daily Kos added commentary. Next, Palin denies global warming is man made and adds that Palin is no friend to the environment "once attacking McCain for his ‘close-mindedness on ANWR.’". And finally MSNBC chimes in with the ethics investigation: "Palin is under two ethics investigations springing from accusations that she abused her office to pursue a personal grudge."
Update: I think this is a good time to emphasize that we should remain focused on the issues and not on slinging dirt.
Issues that could arise from the baby (which honestly, as a Downs baby it seems more likely to be her baby than her daughter’s): stance on abortion, availability of birth control, and position on sex education in schools. What about honesty and disclosure regarding the child (presuming it is her daughter’s)? A non-issue as that is her personal decision and a simple matter of privacy.
Issues that could arise from denying global warming is not man made: Religion in government, Decision made on religion vs science, teaching of creationism instead of evolution, Kyoto Protocol, environmental choices such as drilling ANWR, mountaintop removal coal mining, drilling the protected coastal shelves, energy policies, war on middle eastern nations for control of oil, clean energy vs nuclear.
Issues that could arise from the ethics investigation: misuse of power, integrity, trust in our leaders, open government, privacy of citizens, Patriot Act
Time to re-evaluate the ads on this blog August 30, 2008 4:40 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, PublishingAdsense just served up a “Vote for McCain” ad on my blog! This could be a sign that I have no business having ads on my blog.
add a commentCheap Web Traffic August 30, 2008 9:22 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, PublishingIf you want some unqualified cheap hits to your blog right now, blog something that includes "vp milf" make a mention of "cats" and "guns" and for the kicker link to a CNN article.
Update: Apparently there is a distinction between searching google for "vp milf" which shows Reality Me as the 2nd search result on page one and searching google for "milf vp" in which Reality Me doesn’t show up until the 2nd page. Oooh oh S.E.O.
add a commentI read your blogs August 29, 2008 11:33 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Daily Life, PublishingMore often I am bumping into people who volunteer, "I read your blogs." At first I would blush over, maybe apologize, quickly explain that some writing is fiction or embellished, and ask, "Do you still like me?" Now I perk up, smile, and respond positively and thank them for reading adding that I hope they continue to enjoy the writing.
The statement is "I read your blogs" – plural. So Cathy and I get bunched together (and possibly Tommy, Sarah, Noah, Amy, and a specialty blog or two. Evan cannot spell yet.) Of late, the "I read your blogs" has a followup sentence that is consistently being said by unrelated people, "Cathy writes really well!" It’s subtle, but there’s a message in there! I’ll get better with practice. (Cathy does write really well. Domestic Psychology should be in your feed reader! Links for her: post feed and comment feed)
add a commentI wish I was three August 29, 2008 4:49 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeI’d kill for a nap right now.
add a commentPowerbar Gel – Yuck! August 29, 2008 3:58 pm
Posted by utterz in : Daily Life, PodcastingMobile post sent by djuggler using Utterz. Replies.
jQuery Support on IRC is on Freenode August 29, 2008 3:55 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, JavaScript, Programming, TechnologyFor those looking, jQuery JavaScript Library support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #jquery.
Update: Also on Freenode, #jquery-ui regarding jQuery UI.
add a commentJS Prototype Support on IRC is on Freenode August 29, 2008 3:52 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : JavaScript, Programming, TechnologyFor those looking, Prototype JavaScript Framework support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #prototype.
add a commentSchool means stuff August 29, 2008 3:18 pm
Posted by utterz in : Daily Life, Podcasting
“She”vp Milf August 29, 2008 11:42 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Politics, Touchy Subjects, United StatesDid McCain just win the election? Please tell me that we aren’t about to have 4 more years of Bush policy because the blood is rushing from the brains of men to cat calls and discussion of whose weapon is larger, and blood rushing from the brains of women angry that Hillary didn’t get the nomination. I hope our society is more intelligent than to be led by "look! something shiny!" Young, beautiful, pageant winner, hunter, gun aficionado (lifetime NRA), 5 children – 1 in Iraq and 1 with special needs (Down Syndrome), has ANWR in the palm of her hand — good move McCain! But I don’t think it’s checkmate. I truly believe that our society is intelligent enough to see that the Obama policies are far better for this country than the McCain aristocracy.
I look forward to the debates. This is going to one awesome election!
4commentsStill laughing at MSNBC picture choice August 29, 2008 8:18 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Humor, Of Interest, TV / MoviesI saw this on Reddit.com and am still chuckling. X-Files star David Duchovny has checked into rehab for sex addiction and MSNBC chose the perfect file picture for the article. Hey hey hey!
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