Jamcleat

If you like taxes, you are in pig heaven. Pelosi’s and Waxman’s Cap and Tax Bill pig has flown. Of course it will do nothing to reduce carbon use, which has little to do with global warming. But it does promote the liberal agenda. Tax the poor to support the politicians. That’s what the Democrats have always done. Check the facts and do the math. (That is modern talk for “The proof is left as an exercise for the reader”.) Better, starting this fall and leading up to November 2010, ask the hard questions. You will not be any cooler and you will be somewhat poorer. Make the culprits squirm.

I had resolved that I would not buy any CD’s while the RIAA continues to persecute. An exception is Judith Owen. I liked it so much I bought a copy of Lost and Found for each of my children and one for myself. Courgette Records does not seem to be a member of the RIAA. Instead they distribute through the Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA). ADA is 95% owned by Warner Group which is a member and one of the vicious perps of RIAA extortion scheme.

I learned tonight that Farrah Fawcett has passed away. She was not much older than me. And Michael Jackson. He was always Michael. But Farrah Fawcett was special.

You may have gathered that I am not a big fan of the current governor. His recent confessions have done less than nothing to boost his esteem. But to call for Sandford’s resignation and elevate Andre Bauer, who cannot drive the speed limit, fly or land an aircraft, and perhaps could assemble a truthful sentence as governor of South Carolina is really a reach. SC Democrats, get real. SC Republicans you are clueless.
I am reminded of Jesus’s parable of casting out the demon only to have 7 demons take the place. Keep this in mind as you make your choices.

Well the Governor got back from his trystip. One of these days, the Republicans will learn that if you take the moral high-ground, you have got to live the moral high-ground. Democrats can lie, steal, cheat, pillage, and plunder and get away with it. If Republicans want to protest, they have got to be better than perfect. Some party discipline please. And maybe some training is in order. Carter and Clinton got to be President. Maybe some defectiveing Democrats can provide some lessons in Lie, Steal, Cheat, Pillage and Plunder 101.

In other non-news, Andre Bauer.

Governor Sanford was away for a while. I guess that I would not have noticed if it had not been for the tizzy that everyone seems to be in. He was in Argentina or on the Appalachian trail. Sounds like a game of “Telephone” may be responsible for the accurate information. If Assistant Governor Andre Bauer wandered away I doubt that anyone would notice. Unless he was trying to fly an airplane with the brakes on. Or land with the wheels up.

A mockingbird lives in the neighbor’s Bradford pear. Earlier in the spring, mockingbird was defending territory. One way he did this was by attacking his reflection in the windshield of the cars parked on the cul-de-sac.
The other morning around 3:00 AM, he began his song with a new tune - the car-alarm ba-n-n, ba-n-n, ba-n-n, ba-n-n, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whee-a-oom, whee-a-oom,whee-a-oom, whee-a-oom.
My wife remarked that this bird starts his multi-tune mockingbird song at midnight and indeed last night right at the stroke of midnight he began the song.
Almost 30 years ago, my wife and I had an apartment in Newton Upper Falls, MA next to a restaurant-bar. When we tried to sleep late on Saturday morning, a trash truck would back into the restaurant parking lot with the beep-beep-beep of backup warning. This would be followed by clanking chains, clunk of metal, rev-ing engine, and crash of hundreds of beer bottles into the the metal bed of the trash truck.
One morning, I heard the beep-beep-beep and waited for the crash, the beep-beep-beep again, and still no crash. I looked out the window to see a mockingbird on the fence between us and the parking log, singing the backup song.

I see in the news that Sen. Pelosi has decided that she has nothing more to say about what she may or may not have been briefed on the CIA’s investigative measures. When you are in a hole, stop digging. I suspect that Mr. Panetta will find other things to talk about as well.

The Flower Flyer started as a re-build.  My wife had found a rusted coaster wagon in someone’s trash and dragged it home.  I built a body for it and painted it green.  Phillip made a stencil and painted Flower Flyer on the sides.  It was a pretty thing.

But the outdoor storage was hard on it and it developed dry rot.  Time for a new body.  I was sure that I had a picture of it but cannot find it.  After I took it apart, I took a picture of the body as it was.

Flower Flyer body

Typical Log Planter

My wife likes to garden and in the hard clay soil, some things do better in a planter. Her idea was to arrange the logs in a circle, hold them together and fill it planter with potting mix. My son and I have made a number of them.
Cut a number of logs roughly stove length. If you like uniformity, use a gauge stick or a knotted rope as a measure. How many? About 3 1/2 times the planter diameter divided by the log diameter. For example say 3 feet across. Time 3 1/2 is 10 1/2 divided by 6 inches = 1/2 foot = 21 logs. Or in metric say 1 meter, times 3 1/2 = 3 divide by .15 = 23 logs. Cut the ends square so they will stand on end on the ground.
On previous planters, I used 16 guage galvanized wire. For this one, I used the soft iron wire used to tie reinforcing bars together for concrete. Find it near re-bar and concrete at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Galvanized doesn’t rust, in fact it stays shiny for years. I do not know yet how this darker wire will look or hold up but I suspect the darker color will be more aesthetic than shiny wire in a rustic planter.
If you choose the re-bar wire, you will need to draw it straight before you use it. Twist the end around something substantial, spool out enough to go around twice plus a bit more. In our example above about 15 feet (4 meters). Give a tug to take the kinks out. Do not cut the wire yet.
Arrange the logs in a circle where you want them to be. Put them as close together as they will stay.

Arrange logs on end in a circle

Wrapping with Wire

Wrap the wire around the logs two times keeping the wire close together and 1/2 to 2/3 up the sides of the logs.
Pull the wire hand tight cross and twist it a couple of turns to tie the ends together. Have enough outside the twist to grab. Now cut the wire at the spool.  Do any final arranging of the logs. Pull tension on the twist and begin to twist up the excess to pull and hold the planter together.

Keep the turns close

Cutting the wire

When the twist is about 2-3 inches (5 cm) from logs, stop twisting. This will be tight enough. And if you go to far, you risk breaking the wire.

Twisting with locking plier

I twist by the hand-over-hand method or by grabbing the twist with a locking plier and twisting. Either way keep tension on the twist as you twist it to keep the ends leading smoothly into the twist.
When it is tight enough, cut the twist.

Cut the twist

Then turn the end of the twist back on itself and close the hook.  Press the loop flat so it will not snag on anything.  The cut end is SHARP!.

Bend the end of the twist back on itself