Changes By Blogger, Not Me

I have had the "Sensitive Content" warning upon entrance to my blog for a long time, and for two main reasons. First and foremost, it forces the easily triggered SJW cancel culture types to click past it to get to my content. They were warned, and if they clicked past the warning and get my salty language, somewhat offensive, pro 2nd Amendment, anti-gubmint rants.... too fucking bad. You came in, and therefore I will proceed to assault your sensitivities. Secondly, it prevents sites like The Internet Wayback Machine and other automatic internet archive sites from hoovering up my blog content. I have checked these sites and found all they end up with is the "Sensitive Content" warning page. If I decide to hit the blog "Kill Switch," like I had to once before, it all disappears forever except for any screen captures.

In the past 24 hours, Goolag by way of Blogger has now added an additional step of age verification after you click the "I UNDERSTAND AND I WISH TO CONTINUE" button. Unfortunately, it forces you to log in with or create a Goolag account to proceed.

This used to be all you had to get past to enter my blog.

The additional prompt page

So far, I have not received any complaints, and I checked other blogs on Blogger that I read using the warning as well and it is working the same as mine. Most people have a Goolag account and you only have to do this once and your browser remembers for other sites, so it shouldn't be too big a deal. Unfortunately, while I can go into my blog theme HTML settings and fuck with it, the setting for sensitive content is on the front end that is controlled by Goolag. I can only toggle the setting on or off. I was hoping the setting was farther downstream where I could tweak it, putting in my own static page to act as a warning message. Mine would not be so kind and gentle.

Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!

Supposedly House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ([R]ino) is going to have the first face to face meeting with (p)Resident Gropey Dopey Joey Poopy-Pants as Speaker.

So it won't be face to face, but face to (dumb) ass.

You decide which is which.

What Happened In Memphis?

Simple. A group of feral aninmals killed another feral animal, prompting feral animals across the country to howl in protest against certain groups of feral animals.

ChatGPT

Is not for me. Researching, critical thinking, stating my OWN opinions, trial and error, and writing of all kinds is terrific mental exercise. Editing, grammar, sentence and paragraph structure, and correct spelling are time consuming, yes, at times. But when I have a stream of consciousness spewing forth from my fingertips, I get just as lost in my thoughts as I do reading a good book. Throwing an idea into an AI program and accepting what comes out is not me. I even enjoy the painstaking task of writing technical documentation and used to write them for previous employers. I have written my own for things like my generator and reloading pistol and rifle ammo.

Subtle Anti 2nd Amendment Propaganda

The lowering of flags for the victims of mass murders is frivolous stupid virtue signalling and propaganda. Gov. "Jolly" Ned Lamont did it first for the shooting in Monterey Park, and it seems (p)Resident Gopey Dopey Joey Poopy-Pants followed suit today. My flag, however stays up at full height, with my "Times Up" flag (that has a striking, not coiled serpent) below the US Flag.

 

 

 

 

The mass lowering of the flags helps keep the wound fresh and acts as a beacon to the easily swayed that maybe they should give up their own rights to stop the actions of the fucked in the head or violent feral animal.

There are other reasons I refuse to lower my flag on the declaration of a scumbag politician. The death of a foreign dignitary for one, like the recently deceased Queen of England. We won a revolution so I wouldn't have to care, after all.

Morning Mutt

How is that even remotely comfortable?

 

 

He looks like he was tossed there like a pile of laundry.

Huh.

Everyone is raising questions about (p)Resident Gropey Dopey Joey Poopy-Pants having classified documents (with an as yet unannounced page count) as a senator and a vice president.

What about the four years he was nothing but a private citizen? THAT IS MY QUESTION!

As a veteran that once held a "SECRET" security clearance, I am quite familiar with the rules regarding the viewing, handling, and dissemination of classified materials. Any violations during and after my security clearance would and should land me in federal prison.

But then, I don't live on that "other tier" of the two-tier justice system.

Get Ready America, For More Kommiecticut Style Gun Control

First a little history:

On January 31, 2018, 15 year old Ethan Song of Guilford, Kommiecticut accidentally negligently blew his brains out with a .357 Magnum handgun belonging to his friend's father.

Because of this incident, useless and idiotic laws were passed in Kommiecticut regarding storage and accessibility of firearms. Critically thinking people know that laws like these can never prevent such a future tragedy from occurring, because they will just simply become something a real moron (like say the drug dealer or gang-banger that keeps the loaded gun under the couch cushion for his baby mama's kids to find) gets charged with AFTER the tragic shooting of another kid. The real hope and intent is to frighten legitimate gun owners from keeping a firearm handy for self-defense, or (God forbid!) providing one to their responsible minor children. There are thousands of stories out there of minor children defending themselves or their family with a firearm from all over the country. Laws don't deter me one little bit, but then I am a proponent of every kind of non-compliance. This is the type of intolerable/unconstitutional act the gun-grabbing hoplophobes that make up our entire congressional delegation and populate this state want to take nationwide.

Link to article in the New Haven Register that is about the investigation from November 20, 2018

 

 

Ethan Song is dead. Do you know why? Lots of stupidity. First and foremost:

1). His parents never taught him to mind your own fucking business and leave other peoples private property alone. He went into a closet in a master bedroom in someone else's home and opened a closed container not belonging to him or his equally stupid friend. They supposedly did this many times... until the last time.

2). They also obviously never taught him one item of gun safety. EVERY CHILD SHOULD LEARN  BASIC GUN SAFETY!! Depending on the age and maturity it should at least be Eddie Eagle's "STOP-RUN AWAY-TELL AN ADULT." I constantly preach Col. Cooper's Four Rules of Gun Safety.

3). Ethan did not possess the critical thinking skills that might lead a normal person to conclude that being unfamiliar with, loading, and fucking around with any firearm WILL have bad/deadly consequences.

We can debate the wisdom of the storage methods of the gun owner, Daniel Markle all day long. Bottom line, his guns were locked, the keys were "hidden" (although not very well) and HE WAS LEGAL! Since he was legal, he was not charged in Ethan's death. But that's the rub, they want to make new standards that can potentially disarm you. I personally keep certain defensive ammo with my secured (in a safe) firearms in a locked and hardened (as well as alarmed and monitored) closet. After at least 2 hours work to force their way into the alarmed closet, an unauthorized person would now be staring at a pair of safes and if they entered my house when I wasn't there, hearing the alarm siren blaring as state police are automatically notified. That is provided they somehow didn't set off the alarm just entering the house. The loaded and ready gun(s) is either holstered on my person, or next to my head on the nightstand while I sleep and my EDC loaded and ready in the holster in the open safe for work the next day. That minimizes the noise in the early morning while I get ready for work and my wife is asleep. I actually sleep in a modified version of Col. Cooper's "Condition Yellow." While I certainly get good rest every night, my decades as a Firefighter/EMT find me wide awake in an instant when either my fire pager, the house alarm siren sounds or the dogs all start barking.

So here we go again. The same old tired retreads pushing the same old tired anti-gun intolerable/unconstitutional acts. Watch the video to spin up your anger meter.

Lawmakers Reintroduce Gun Storage Bill Ethan's Law 2023 - FOX61 CT

 

Some artfully crafted scripting going on if you listen closely.

• From Ethan's father; "I no longer have the freedom to hug my child and to watch the trajectory of his life. That freedom was stolen from me." Notice how he equates and purposely inserts the word freedom. That is all on you sir, for FAILING MISERABLY as a parent. The "freedoms" of others is not up for debate or negotiable. Going after our enumerated CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to bear arms as we see fit is not a factor in your son's final act of stupidity. If anyone stole the  freedom you bemoan, it was YOUR OWN SON.
  
• The reporter next tells us how Ethan "accidentally shot himself." No, that was pure negligence. There was no malfunction of the gun. He pulled the trigger on a loaded firearm while pointing it in an unsafe direction, and it went BANG!!
• Ah yes, now we see Senator Slimeball (Richard "Da Nang Dickie" Blumenthal) hugging poor Ethan's (equally culpable) mother. They say the most dangerous place in the world is between Sen. Slimeball and a camera. He is tied with Senator Fishface (Chris Murphy) for those in federal government pushing the most for total civilian disarmament. And both of those assholes come from my state of Kommiecticut.
• The reporter goes on to say how the proposed legislation "would create strict penalties for any violation." How are you going to do that again? Routine and surprise inspections at the residence of firearms owners? No... you will charge someone with an additional new crime AFTER there has been a negligent discharge shooting of some kid. You won't save a single life, because you can't without violating 4th and 5th Amendment rights of citizens SO STOP THE BULLSHIT! But hey, you will now be able to charge the homeowner under Ethan's Law after he/she shoots and kills an armed home invader because the gun was out of storage, right? That would be a feature, not a bug.
  
• Next up, Ethan's mother says his death was not an outlier (which of course it certainly was) by tying in the nightly mayhem and death on the streets of Every City, USA caused by the feral street animals. And made worse by soft on crime Demon-Crap policies running the shithole cities. She then goes on to make up a non-numerical statistic that YOUR CHILD is more likely to be killed by a gun than by any other means.
  
• Oh look! At the 1:07 mark the original Angry Bird and well known slum lord (US Rep. Rosa DeLauro) makes an appearance. BARF!!
• At the 1:28 mark Sen. Slimeball tells us that "millions of children are living in households with unsafely stored guns..." and standing behind him to the left is his gal pal Sen. Fishface. More bullshit as they tell us again how such a law would have saved Ethan's life. Not even remotely true. Daniel Markle would have been held criminally responsible, and Ethan would STILL BE DEAD.

Side Note:

Safe storage of firearms does not necessarily mean they have to be locked up and inaccessible. Remember open gun racks and glass door gun cabinets? The most important safety on a firearm is the gray matter in your skull. When I was a kid (maybe 10) I remember playing in a basement rec room at a neighbor's house. The Dad was an annual pheasant hunter. In the back corner of the closet in the rec room were his shotguns. We were told they were there and not to touch them. I never saw them because I never looked for them, nor did any of us kids. The act of even looking for them would have resulted in at least 5 beatings. The first from the kid that lived in the house to prevent access to the closet because he would be guilty by association and eligible for his own beatings. Then from the kid's mother and next his father when he came home from work. Then one each from my own parents; first Mom when I got home and then dad when he got home from work. Those beatings never actually occurred because they never had to. Also, I was never exposed to guns growing up so to me at that time they were just objects of extreme danger. I was probably 14 or 15 before I ever saw and handled a real firearm, courtesy of my Uncle Eddie who worked at Smith and Wesson. His guns were all stored in his bedroom closet and I'm sure his seven kids knew they were there. I never knew until he showed me and I never looked for them after.

Contact your state congressional delegation and tell them to oppose this legislation. I won't bother calling mine, because they are all adamantly in support of it. Telling them I am opposed gets me a "thank you for contacting me" form letter and then promptly ignored.

Ramping Up The BKT In Kommiecticut

*BKT = Bullshit Kabuki Theater [Definition]: the entire response to the Chi-Com Xi Flu scam-demic; to include useless masks, social distancing and one-way aisles in stores, lockdowns, "essential" workers or businesses, changing definitions and language, receiving poisonous jabs and boosters, and "vaccine" passports.

 

Yup, 'tis the season for colds and flu, but NOOOOO.... gotta go back to full tyrant mode. First up:

CDC Recommends masks in CT - WFSB News

I make sure I wear NO IDENTIFIABLE clothing (like from the FD) so that I can freely get right up in a Karen or a Karl's face to frighten the bejeezus out of them for having the nerve to scold me for breathing free without a MOP (Mask Of Oppression). There are no mandates... yet... but I am sure it is just a matter of time. While I have seen more elderly and sheeple wearing them lately, the majority is simply ignoring the fear propaganda.

I currently have either a head cold or sinus issue with no fever. I take Tylenol "Severe Sinus" to relieve symptoms if they become unbearable, mostly the sinus pressure behind my eyeballs. I refuse to take any Chi-Com Xi Flu tests because I JUST DON'T FUCKING CARE!! I wear my simple mask as required by my employer and the state EMS authority so as not to get fired while on an EMS call. I unceremoniously rip it off and chuck it in the trash as soon as I exit the hospital and the call is over. Even with my head cold, I'm not wearing shit. Scared of my cold? STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!

Next up is this piece of shit proposed legislation that has me EXTREMELY PISSED:

Proposed Bill No. 5480

Here is the accompanying news story 

12 Year Olds To Get Vaccines Without Parental Consent - WFSB News 

Legislation like this, if passed and signed into law and I still had minor children or grandchildren.... would most likely first prompt me to pull them out and homeschool them, and then resorting to violent measures with extreme prejudice. The fucker proposing this shit is conveniently unavailable to answer the media's questions for his tyrannical wet dreams. PARENTS and PARENTS ONLY shall determine what is best for their children, not faceless bureaucrats, teachers, or anyone else believing they have authority over our kids.

Remember folks.... TINVOWOOT 

You vote your way into socialism, but you shoot your way out of it.

Keep your powder dry.

MLK Day 2023

The legacy of Martin Luther King has been diminished and IMHO totally trashed by any #LIBTURDS that associate the dead piece of shit street thug from Minneapolis, Saint George of Fentanyl or BLM with anything Dr. King and the civil rights movement accomplished. There were several local news stories today that reported just that.

I still go by "content of character" myself.

Happenings At The Hacienda

First up, lighting changes in the basement.

Our basement is 26' x 34' with the stairs coming down in the center towards the front of the house under the staircase to the second floor, which acts as a divider between my workshop and my wife's dog grooming area. The simple incandescent bulbs put in when the house was built were replaced by 4' fluorescent fixtures long ago. 

(5) 48" x 2 lamps in workshop

(1) 48" 4 bulb over workbench

(7) 48" x 2 lamps in grooming area

All of the workshop lights were transplanted from our old house and are at least 25 years old. The ones in the grooming area are a few years newer than the house and are GARBAGE made in CHY-NA. The ballasts were terrible and devoured bulbs, while the older fixtures still have their first replacement bulbs in them and work fine. Half of the bulbs were out again, so I went to Lowe's to get another case. Instead I came across this and decided the extra expense would be worth a try. With the improvements in technology and the prices coming way down for LED lighting, I have converted much of my house already, this just made sense.

I had looked into replacing the entire fixtures to LED before but the cost was prohibitive at almost $30 a piece. This case of 20 LED replacement bulbs listed for $105.98 but with my military discount I got out the door with tax for $101.44. These bulbs require a wiring modification to each fixture, which while supposedly a DIY project, if you don't have the electrical/electronics background I have, I recommend hiring a professional. 

The first three diagrams are examples of existing ballast wiring. The last diagram is what the installer needs to accomplish. The ballast is cut out and removed, the bulb connectors at one end are all connected to the neutral (white), an inline fuse holder with a 1 Amp fuse is spliced onto the hot lead (black), and the other end of the fuse holder tied to the bulb connectors at the other end of the fixture. You are applying 120VAC to the new LED bulbs that contain all the electronics necessary to operate the LEDS. I finished up Friday afternoon the 13th because I had to wait for the inline fuse holders to come from eBay. You are also supposed to affix a new label (included) that warns users not to install standard T8 or T12 fluorescent bulbs because there is no ballast. I put one on each fixture I converted. Below is what her grooming area looks like now.

The LED bulbs are rated for 50,000 hours, and warranted for 5 years running 6 hours per day for 7 days a week. They will last us a lifetime, and the power consumption went from 560 watts using all 40 W fluorescent bulbs in seven fixtures, to 196 watts. I'll take it! The good fluorescent bulbs will be kept as future replacements for the workshop, and I have enough LED bulbs to do three more fixtures if a ballast craps out. As you can see, even though the LED's are rated 1500 lumens as opposed to the 40 W fluorescent bulbs at 2100 lumens, it is light daylight in there. And I chose the standard "cool white" look with light temperature of 4000K, so it is not at all harsh.

Next, time to put away Christmas

This was our 39th Christmas as a married couple, and the 39th live tree we had in our living room. Expensive this year at $85 to "cut your own" but what a fabulous tree. As usual my wife decorated it to rival any NYC department store window tree.

Because our trees always look great and are lush and green well past Christmas it got taken down on Friday the 13th. She removed all the lights and decorations, and it took a team effort to pull it out of the stand and out the front door. The amount of needles that fell on the floor were minor and easily cleaned up. In years past it went to the fire pit for the first bonfire of spring, but the last couple of years it has gone next door to the horse farm and the goat herd. Man do they love it!

Finally, some gun stuff

I decided since cold weather is here to stay, I would be carrying my Ruger SR9c in my kydex OWB holster under a flannel shirt or jacket more regularly. I decided to go full grip like before the boating accident when I lost the 17 round magazines to the bottom of Lake Mashapaug. I have a 10 round SR9 magazine with the grip extender that looks like a 17. Normally I was carrying with the compact mag and fingertip extension. My spare mags in the kydex carrier will remain the compact 10 rounders with the fingertip extension. I like the full grip for draw purposes.

Ruger SR9c with 10 round mag and fingertip extender. You can also use a flush floorplate for deeper concealment

The back-strap is interchangeable, and for the compact mags I like the bump out to fit my palm better. Because I was going to the extended mag I wanted the flat back-strap. Now... where did I put that other piece???

For an hour and a half I went through all my gun stuff. I tore my safes apart. I went through my container of spare parts and found ALL my spare parts. I went through my plastic tub of holsters... NADA. I went through another plastic tub of spare accessories...nope. Up to the attic to go through even more obscure stuff, ARRRGGGHHH!! Down to the basement and tore apart the gun bench and armorers tool box...ZIP. I gave up, it was lost and I had no idea where it went. I turned to eBay and a seller appeared to have what I wanted. I sent him a message asking if it was indeed the flat back-strap and if it was I would buy it immediately. He replied right away. The back-strap is REVERSIBLE. What a fucking idiot I am. It had been so long since I flipped it I forgot it was reversible and thought there was a separate back-strap insert.

In the words of Homer Simpson.... "DOH!"

I had the damn thing on my hip the whole time. I sent the eBay seller a reply thanking him and telling him how big an idiot I am. As you can see above, push the pin all the way though, slide off the back-strap, flip it over and replace the pin. Success!

Using the kydex holster I have turns the gun in towards my body, so the extended grip does not print though my shirt. Being chubby instead of cut helps hide my firearm too.

Because I went through so much of my stuff, I came up with a couple of items to give away. I'm sure I can get rid of more, but it will have to be a more thoughtful process.

A DeSantis E1 IWB holster that fits small compact semi autos like a Glock 26 or my SR9c. The holster is like new because I tried it and hated it. Having a pebble in my shoe on purpose is what I think of IWB appendix carry.

A Bianchi double stack dual mag carrier. Supposed to fit my Glock 21 .45ACP mags, but the flaps barely close and the velcro barely mates up. Would probably work fine on other magazine brands.

The cable lock that came with my S&W 45 Shield. I have plenty of gun locks, I certainly don't need another.

I've offered this stuff to a couple of people but no takers yet. It will most likely end up on the "give-a-way" table at my sportsman's club.

Now It's Yours, Too!

Had this as an ear worm for some reason this morning, especially the opening guitar riffs. I haven't heard it in a long time, it just popped into my head. Now it can be in your head.

"All Night Long" by Joe Walsh

 

I always liked Joe Walsh. This is a pretty funny one that actually got airplay back in the day and includes the MTV video. "Ordinary Average Guy"

When did you EVER hear a rock star sing about the finer points of picking up dog shit?

Ok... one more. Another of his that I really like. "Rocky Mountain Way." Joe Walsh is just as much an expert with the guitar mouth-tube as Frampton.

Not Interested. Not One Bit

Recreational pot is now legal and for sale here in the stupid land of Kommiecticut. You can buy it at a dispensary, grow your own, and past criminal pot possession records have been expunged. It is however, STILL ILLEGAL ACCORDING TO FEDERAL LAW. There are restrictions about where you can use "to protect the children."

Back in my 20's, my friends and I used to enjoy sitting around on a Friday night to drink beer and get high. That ended at the end of July 1989 when I had some weed laced with God knows what. All I remember is crawling around my front porch on my hands and knees because I could not walk, see straight, and feeling like the two halves of my brain were rotating in opposite directions. I have not touched it since.

No one I know or currently associate with is excited about this, or looking to score legally. State government is absolutely wetting themselves with excitement over a new revenue stream. I used to smoke maybe once a week. Those that partake daily are lazy, stupid, and all around pretty worthless. Those I knew with pot medical cards used it for fun and shared it with others. I know, I've refused it.

Fucking Robots

Saw this story on Newsmax this morning from the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show. A robot named Adam that makes tea and espresso. There was no video from Newsmax, this video is from YouTube.

Whether making drinks or cleaning the floor at the local Stop & Shop, the end result is going to be EVERY dystopian "machines rule the world" movie.

EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

 

And yet another video from one of our favorite TV shows, from TruTV I give you Tacoma FD. Once again, Blogger or YouTube disregards playing the video from where I told it to start. While the entire thing is funny, go to the 2:15 mark for the relevant content.

 

 

And didja notice the serving robot for Adam? It wears the same stoopid expression as "Snak-A-Ton" from this episode of Tacoma FD. I'm tellin' ya, this is another part of the WEF plan to depopulate the Earth of humans, but this is just going to get out of control and reduce the population to ZERO!

 

My Vision of a future of robots (my own composition. Feel free to steal and use):

First they serve us

Then they enslave us

Once they learn to replicate

They exterminate us

Not Gonna Happen, Assholes

State and local officials here in Kommiecticut are starting to make noise about re-instituting mask mandates and other possible restrictions in response to the triple threat of the seasonal flu, R.S.V., and the Chi-Com Xi Flu.

IT'S THE SEASONAL CRUD WE HAVE HAD FOREVER!!

 

Here is my official response.

I hope everyone copies and distributes widely.

And as a reminder, today is the 2nd anniversary of the non-insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where an unarmed protester - Ashli Babbitt WAS MURDERED BY USCP LT. MICHAEL LEROY BYRD. There are many political prisoners still being held in Garland's Gulag. The phony fear and anger demonstrated by Demon-Craps in their kangaroo court hearing PALES IN COMPARISON to the absolute rage felt by American Patriots over this travesty of justice. January 6th should be viewed as a WARNING! Therefore....

 

All tyrants and wannabe's are hereby on notice

The Daily Bounty

15 eggs today 1-5-23

5 whites from the Leghorns

8 browns from the Rhode Island Reds

1 blue and 1 brownish from the black Marans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I get eggs year 'round because I provide the required 15 hours of light per day. A combination of daylight and artificial light is fine. I have a single 60 watt incandescent bulb on a programmable timer in the coop.

Headlight Restoration By Kit

I drive a 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Doublecab with the 6 1/2' bed. Even though the frame rotted out and Toyota replaced it at the end of 2018, it has been the best pickup truck I've ever owned and has 164,390 miles on the odometer. In 2016 with over 90,000 miles on it, I towed a 25' Puma camper from Kommiecticut to Glacier National Park in Montana and back with zero issues. I did have to stop at the Toyota dealer in Bozeman for an oil change, and that was my swap to synthetic oil from conventional. What was nice was NOT having to drop the trailer, because their oil change area is a large drive through over a pit. The truck is starting to show its age however, and one of those ways is typical of all modern vehicles, cloudy plastic headlights. I have been contemplating a headlight restoration kit, and finally pulled the trigger.

There are many different brands available, but I chose the brand of vehicle care products that I have used for decades from back when I had my classic car and still use for my bike... Meguiar's

 

 

They offer three different levels of their product; "Light" in the red box which is mostly a deep cleaning kit. Think better than just using glass cleaner. The next level is "Moderate" in the blue box which is what I used because my headlights were just starting to get cloudy looking. A two-step process that starts with a polishing compound, and then a clear coat/sealer. You apply the first coat to fill in the lens imperfections, then apply a second coat 3-5 minutes later to seal it. It takes 24 hours to fully cure. The "Severe" product in the yellow box is a multi-step process requiring sanding and polishing using a drill. See the photo of the rear of the box below.

 

The contents of the blue "Moderate" box are pictured below.

 

The kit comes with the cleaning paste, the spray on clear coating, and two applicator pads. The process is supposed to last for a year per application. There is enough cleaning solution and spray on clear coat to do the process several times. The applicator pad isn't anything special. I threw away the one I used. 

I have read reviews of these kits over the years, and have come to the conclusion that reading and following the directions as well as preparation is everything to be successful. Like an idiot, I neglected to take "before" photos, but this photo from March 26th when I did an oil change kinda shows the condition of the right headlight. The left was no worse.

Here is the same headlight after the full treatment and prior to removing the masking.

And the other side.

I started the process by cleaning both headlights of surface crud using Windex and paper towels and letting them air dry thoroughly. After everything was dry I completely masked off critical all areas to prevent any over-spray. I wanted to wait an hour before removing the masking to ensure no "oopsies" by muffing up a finish that might not be dry. It takes 24 hours to fully cure even though it is dry to the touch in a few minutes. The instructions say that during the 24 hour cure period, the treated area cannot get wet. That's why I did it this morning inside at the firehouse. We are supposed to get rain starting tomorrow afternoon, which should be outside the 24 hour cure period. I am hoping that having my truck inside the heated bays all day will actually help speed up the curing process.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the results. IMHO the only way to have clearer headlights would be to replace them at about $400 a pop. Time will tell how long the treatment lasts compared to the claimed one year.

UPDATE 1-3-23: The rain predicted for today came in much earlier than expected. When I went out to start my truck this morning I found heavy drizzle coming down. I have a very short commute so I wasn't too concerned, and having the truck inside and warm yesterday most likely accelerated the curing of the seal coat. I would have been really worried with a long commute in a driving rain. After having my truck inside for a few hours and dry, I checked the headlights and they are just fine. Whew!

Wingin' It On New Years Day

The post title is a double entndre minus the normal sexual overtones. 😆

 

As I alluded to in this post from Friday, I was hoping to get out for a traditional biker's New Years Day ride. But due to the rain overnight, I wasn't sure what road conditions would be. So rather than really get spun up to go for a ride today and be disappointed, I figured if it happened, it happened. If not... oh well. The double entndre comes from not really having a plan, and riding my Goldwing.

"The Beast," awakened and running in the driveway today

Temps were not as warm as last Friday, not quite making 50, but the sun was out. The rain completely washed away the rock salt residue from the previous winter weather events. I was wearing a long sleeve undershirt, my CCDL Poker Run t-shirt over it, and my leather jacket and vest to really block the cold and wind. In my saddlebag was a long sleeve hoodie in case I needed another layer. I had the top vents closed on my helmet and the breath deflector snapped into place. I also wore my cold weather gauntlet style gloves. The grip and seat heaters are still not working (only because I have not torn into them further than my previous effort) but I had the fairing vents open that blows warm air from around the engine onto your legs and feet. I chose not to wear my cold weather riding bibs. More on that later. I did not have a destination in mind until I started to head out, and decided to see if I could meet up with an old friend in the Norwich area.

The ride down was uneventful and enjoyable. I reached my destination in Baltic and texted my friend to see if he was nearby. He could have only been closer if he was on the back of my bike! He came walking out of the building I was parked at. It was really good to see him and we got to chat for a bit. He is a fan of the blog and had told me so online months ago, but I did not want to contact him back to let him know who I really was for PERSEC on both of our parts. I told him face to face and he was surprised and understood the reluctance to leave any kind of electronic trail between us. I told him about the troubles I had a couple of years back with my previous effort and he totally understood. Now that he knows it's me he will be a regular visitor I am sure. A like-minded individual, he agrees with most (if not all) of what I write. We had to cut the visit short so he could finish what he was doing, so I asked him where is a good place to get something hot to drink and a snack. He sent me down the road to Norwich to La Stella Bakery.

Located at 137 Norwich Ave in the Taftville village of Norwich

 

 

La Stella is an authentic Italian bakery, that also serves traditional Italian food. I parked my bike in the only level spot right out front. The rest of the parking is on too steep of a hill for parking a bike safely. I went inside, placed my order and hit the restroom. I ordered a hot black coffee and a blueberry muffin and it was ready when I returned. Really good and hit the spot. I sat inside and warmed up for a good half hour. I texted my co-worker that lives nearby to see if his plans for the day fell through. If they had I would swing by his house. Nope.... his plans for the day went accordingly so he was not at home. I went outside and saddled up.

I was thinking of heading to my sportsman's club to see if anyone was hanging out, but after riding for 15 minutes I decided it was just too chilly, that I would just head for home. The weather was borderline for wearing my Polaris cold weather bibs, and if I had worn them I would have definitely rode longer. But the downside is the extra bulk. When the heaters were working, in my full cold weather gear, I was riding comfortably with temps in the 20's and could probably go lower.

The trip meter display showing today's effort

 

 

 

The GPS display is off so no one inadvertently gets my address. I use Trip "A" is for fuel, and Trip "B" is for my rides. You'll notice the solitary key with no key ring or other keys dangling from it. That is how the switch panel on a 15 year old bike looks like new instead of being beat to shit. I have a small locking Nite-Ize carabiner that secures the key to my key clump. When I run the bike, the key is by itself, and the rest of the keys are in the fairing pocket. I usually carry my keys on a clip on my belt, but on the bike I don't want them to fall off, or scratch up the body panels under the seat.

So, the bike has been placed on the stands to keep the tires off the cement floor, the tank re-topped off with stabilized fuel, the Battery Tender hooked up, and the cover put back on. If I get out again this winter... great! If I don't, then the bike is in suspended animation until spring meaning when I get ready to ride and turn the key (after checking the tire pressure of course) it will start right up and be ready to go.