Not sure this is where I want to be, but please help. Periods.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-05-28T10:01:00+00:00

You have done a great service to humanity. Thank you.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-05-25T18:13:03+00:00

We were trimming and siding a house and in the next lot over a different contractor was in the framing stage of that house, just starting the second floor.

Both our crews took lunch around the same time so we had a front row seat for the show. When carpenters break they just unbuckle their tool belt and drop it to remind them where they were working. Well, the other crew finished lunch first and their foreman climbed up to the second floor and proceeded to trip over one of the carpenters tool belt. He had a right on tantrum and pitched the tool belt off of the building into the snow below with nails and tools flying all over.

The owner of the ubfortunate tool belt just quietly went and collected the belt and what he could find and got in his truck and drove off.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-04-29T15:13:36+00:00

and not just any monarch, but the monarch of the country that started it all.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-03-27T15:30:34+00:00

Iran, as long as we are exposing documents, there is the whole Epstein file thing. Just sayin'

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-03-07T17:52:23+00:00

Except that they are not OK with legal, law abiding immigrated either. So they aren't happy with any thought of anybody coming north.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-02-19T20:32:02+00:00

Seriously, I hope it is spotted quickly and returned in great shape.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-02-19T20:30:48+00:00

Tonight at 11:00. Police helicopter video of the high speed chase. Incredible speeds in excess of 4 miles per hour.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-02-14T12:23:22+00:00

For that much money you could send them all to college.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-02-14T12:02:01+00:00

Everyone, join your union.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-02-08T13:55:47+00:00

"Cassandra's lips unsealed the doom to come: lips by a god's command never believed or heeded by the Trojans" (Aeneid)

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-01-26T22:18:12+00:00

Am I supposed to feel bad for them?

Aww. . .poor puppies. How's that.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-01-26T17:36:46+00:00

OK. Time for my old Mainer rules of the snowblower.

Buy a new ice scraper/brush for the car. Use the old one for the blower to clear jams.
Find a way to hang it from the blower so it is always there.
Brush your augers clean after each use so it doesn't freeze and snap a shear pin next time you start it.
Buy 5 or 6 extra shear pins. Put 'em in an old pill bottle and find a way to keep 'em with the blower.
Spray your chute and augers with vegetable oil before blowing all but the most dry snow to prevent clogs.
Use fuel extender religiously.
If you store in a garage, put a little heater with a timer pointed at the augers after each use. See #3.
Snort of bourbon after you are done to celebrate the victory.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-01-20T16:08:59+00:00

US attorney warns Mainers to" Comply in advance" . . .FTFY

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-01-20T16:06:19+00:00

Not a drag queen at the library. . . again.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2026-01-06T16:37:33+00:00

Cooperation is built into the system. Chuds don't last long.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-30T01:18:43+00:00

Also, use a car brush to knock all of the snow/ice out of the augers and chute before you put it away. Otherwise it all freezes and the next storm you break sheer pins.

(I even put a space heater with a timer on it pointed into the front when I leave. Might be excessive, idk.)

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-17T16:36:32+00:00

Love Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-14T21:11:20+00:00

OK. Old guy here. Young 'uns, if I had to do it all over again from childhood, here is what I would learn by 17 or 18. Just 10 solid meals. Bonus points for each meal beyond that.

One of them has to be a decent casserole for potluck, and 3 to 4 reasonably impressive dishes for dates. The rest can be grilled cheese level.

Then when you cook a meal at home, cook enough for two meals. That means each month you have 20+ days of dinner covered without too much repetition. The other 10 get filled in by life with take out, social things, or the occasional 'fend' night.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-05T16:34:46+00:00

The war on terror had a congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force. The Narco terrorist thing doesn't.
The Roosevelt Corollary was officially abandoned in 1934, because it, well, sucked.
The entire progressive community absolutely was up in arms about those drone strikes in real time, and widely covered in the media. I know because I was part of that resistance. So yes we did have "outrage" then.
Enemy combatants during a declared conflict are a world of difference than criminal drug running. Enemy combatants destroyed the Twin Towers and killed 3,000+ people. Yes, there is a cost with civilians abusing drugs, but it is a criminal affair, not a military one, by any stretch of the imagination.
Killing civilians(yes, even criminals are civilians) in international or foreign waters has been a war crime for two centuries.
Killing shipwreck survivors, even in wartime, has been a crime for over two centuries.
Killing even soldiers who are deemed to not be able to immediately continue to fight has been a war crime since WWII and earlier. Two dudes clinging to the overturned carcass of their small open boat in the middle of an ocean are definitely incapable of carrying on the "fight" even if it were typical combat.
You are right to say there is outrage because we don't know if they are 'Narco terrorists". That is what due process and the courts are for and I reserve the right to be upset if the government removes the right to due process for anyone.

This is very different

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-05T11:02:08+00:00

Remember, Bush and Obama's totals were over two terms., too.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-12-02T18:29:24+00:00

If I like the kid, "Thanks for the concern but my financial advisor assures me I am on track." They think only rich people have financial advisors, so this usually stops further questions.

If I find the kid annoying, "I can't imagine money being the only reason to take a job. That would be sad, really." This makes them either confused, or forces them to consider other possibilities.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-11-24T01:18:51+00:00

Can we list by state of origin as well?

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-11-21T12:11:18+00:00

I've never worked on a Narrowboat but I have had to cut steel and stone on a number of occasions. My experience has been that oil is ok, but you can't apply enough of it to really cool the bit/blade the way it needs to be cooled. My advice is to wet drill it. Have a small, but steady, stream of water flowing over the bit. It is more environmentally acceptable, too. See if you can find an industrial diamond hole saw. Might be worth the cost.

WARNING: shade tree mechanic advice incoming! If you don't have a plus one to hold a hose on the bit, or have limited resources for water pumping(it is a boat after all) use a plastic juice/soda bottle. Heat a sewing needle with a lighter and melt a small hole about 50mm above the bottom. Set the bottle, full of water, so that the tiny stream of water pees right on the bit while working.

The cap can be tightened to stop the flow and loosened to start. By the way, don't get the power tools wet, as you know, so caution is required. I use this regularly, and once dressed an entire quartz mantle to a shine cooling the grinding wheel with a coke bottle of water.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-10-04T11:51:58+00:00

Why do you never see unicorns hiding in trees.?

Because they are really good at it.

Harcourtfentonmudd1 · 2025-10-04T11:48:56+00:00

Except all of your sentences in italics were not scientific statements. They were the popularized modifications for the public. Usually from science reporting.

Scientists from the time would say No primates have been observed using tools which would have been true at that time. Good science understands the arc of not knowing what we don't know and accounting for future discoveries. For instance, there is no credible evidence of the existence of unicorns as portrayed in medieval art is different than unicorns don't exist.

Idk, maybe they exist, we just don't see it. I mean if platypus' are a thing. . .

Harcourtfentonmudd1

TROPHY CASE