Brushing Off The Cobwebs and Reflecting on Franklin

It appears that I've neglected this site for some time.

Many of the writers of blogs I followed started spending more time on social media sites like Facebutt, so I did too.

Since Parkland, though, I've found that I can't tolerate the noise, so I'm back here, and on MeWe, for a while until things calm down a bit.

***

Ben Franklin is credited with something to the effect of "Those who will trade liberty for security deserve neither." 

Let me state for the record: 

You are free to trade liberty for security for yourself and those in your care. 

I do not grant you the authority to make that trade on my behalf, for me, or for those in my care.

Clear enough?

Hmmm...

I work overnights, and have for most of the soon-to-be 17 years I've been with Very Large Global Corporation, so as a result I'm often awake in the middle of the night on weekends and holidays.

I enjoy it, because it's quiet and I can work on stuff needing a bit of concentration.

I started a spreadsheet for tracking fuel consumption back when I was riding the '90 Ultra Classic, and have kept it going for the '07.  I grabbed the odometer reading on Jan 1 so I could update my mileage and figure out how far I'd ridden in 2015.

Along the way, I figured out that my last ride of any significant distance was to Marshalltown in early November for ABATE IA STEAM.  I know I had the bike out a couple of times in December, but apparently I didn't travel far.

Notables from the spreadsheet: 68290 on the odometer, 32022 miles of which I put on the bike since purchase in 2013, 11119 miles of which I put on in 2015.

Now that the ibuprofen has kicked in I think it's time to go back to sleep.

Thanks for watching this space!

Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

Online Countdown Clock

If our Republic survives that long...

Words Fail Me

Condolences to Brigid at Home On The Range.

RIP Barkley.

Solar Revolution

Today marks the completion of my 48th ride around ol' Sol, and the beginning of my 49th trip.

30 years ago I didn't think I'd make it to 21.

Guess I was wrong.

If I'd known I was gonna live THIS long...

This Just In...

...from the Scary Words Make News Scarier Department:

"...the campus was placed on lockdown after reports of an armed gunman."

Do they also lock down the campus if a gunman is UNarmed?

If Women Don't Find You Handsome They Should At Least Find You Handy...

Today was a fix-it day at Casa de MXL.

I replaced a bad motor capacitor in an air conditioner and now have cool air flowing in the dining room and living room again, much to the happiness of the others who live here.

For the record, if I ever recommend you purchase a certain appliance, don't follow my advice.  I seem to have a knack for choosing appliances that only break special-order parts.

On a positive note, don't overlook Grainger as a source for appliance parts.  The motor cap that everyone else wanted upwards of $100 for was only $20 from Grainger, and was available in 2 days versus everyone else's week to 10 days.

I also replaced the lockset in the back door.  The door was made for a mortised lock, but somebody Bubba'd a modern lockset into it.  I won't say that I completely un-Bubba'd it, but at least the brass door reinforcement covers the Bubba job and gives the bolt a solid attachment point.

A few hours of lost sleep is probably worth the domestic harmony my efforts hopefully produce.