Go Say "HI" To Tam.......

She's having a major case of the "mehs".

I know the feeling quite well these days....

Memorial Day 2013 Aboard The USS Iowa

I couldn'r make it, but the association sent me this link.

Enjoy!

Memorial Day

Thank you to all our Military people, especially in these troubled times.

And mere "thanks" cannot express our gratitude to those who gave their last, full measure.

God Bless You All....

Blog Tinkering, Part Deux....

At the request of a very good friend, I've bumped up the font size to 16, and changed to color to black.

I'm completely open for ideas as to color and size, as *my* eyes aren't all that good anymore, either.

Frankly, I'm surprised I can hit the target at 100 yards with the iron sights on my Marlin 336 or 1894, let alone get it in the black better than 90% of the time!

Guess I had some pretty good teachers, and the lessons stuck.

And for those that have asked, I'm feeling better, haven't had a cigarette since May 10th, and my caffeine intake is about 5% of what it used to be.

And I have the gouges in the Radio Room walls from trying to climb them to prove it.......

The hives have disappeared, thanks to a medication/dosage change, but I still get the "itchies" from time to time.

If *I* Could Play The Electric Guitar.....

I'd want to be able to play it like this......



You know I smoked a lot of grass.
Oh Lord! I popped a lot of pills.
But I've never touched nothin'
That my spirit couldn't kill.
You know I've seen a lot of people walking 'round
With tombstones in their eyes.
But the pusher don't care
If you live -- or if you die.
God Damn! The pusher.
God Damn! The pusher.
I said God Damn! God damn the pusher man.
You know the dealer, the dealer is a man
With a lump of grass in his hand.
But the pusher is a monster
Not a natural man.
The dealer for a nickel
Goin to sell you lots of sweet dreams.
Ah...but the pusher will ruin your body;
Lord he'll leave your mind to scream.
God Damn! The pusher.
God Damn! God damn the pusher.
I said God Damn! God damn the pusher man.
Well now if I were the president of this land
You know I'd declare total war on the pusher man.
I'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he run,
And I'd kill him with my bible, and my razor and my gun....
GOD DAMN! The pusher
God damn the pusher.
I said God damn! God damn the pusher man!

Kids Are Gone, Dogs Are Gone, Wife Is Bawling Her Eyes Out......

And the house is strangely quiet......

Between the NO cigarettes, NO Diet Coke, and now NO dogs and kids, this place is starting to feel like something Rod Serling should give the voiceover intro for.

Cue music...........

Beretta To Leave Maryland And Kaliforniastan To Tax Ammunition

And I say good for them.

Read the whole thing here.

And my wife's retirement, and our departure from Kaliforniastan, grows closer each day.

Just hope we can hold out until then.

Kaliforniastan to tax ammunition.

.
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Hives Again........ARRRRGHH!

WELL....changing from Brilinta to Plavix didn't get rid of the hives, and the Prednisone hasn't done anything, either.

Since I have to drop by the lab today for some blood tests, I'll swing by the walk-in to see what they say.

I was up and down all night long, and I've got to stop scratching the damn things because I don't want to get an infection.

I'm gonna need an ocean,
Of Calamine lotion..............!

The Amazing Omegadrill

Every bust a tap in a hole you were threading?

Ever bust off an E Z Out while trying to remove a busted bolt?

If you have, then you know what a PITA it is to get a broken tap out of a hole.

Sometimes you can break the tap up into individual pieces and pick them out, but what if you can't?

When I worked at Hughes Aircraft, if somebody broke a tap in one of the very expensive milled aluminum housings we used, we'd strip the housing down to bare metal, and send it out the have the tap "burned" out with an EDM process.

It worked beautifully, but was expensive and time consuming.

I happened to find several references where guys were raving over how good The Omegadrill  worked at an automotive website I like to visit, and it looks like somebody has come up with an answer to the busted tap problem.

They're not cheap, at $175 for a 9 piece set, but if they get you out of a jam, they're could be money well spent!

HIVES!!!!

Geez....maybe I should start a "Drjim's Medical Blog"....

Anyway.....when I was showering up yesterday I noticed an area on my right bicep that was covered with little red "pimples". I didn't think too much about it, and went out for a short walk.

Still not up to the Grand Walking Tour of the neighborhood, but at least I can go down to the end of the street and back without any discomfort at all. Still not up to getting dragged around the block by one of the dogs, but we'll get there....

Sweet little wife came home about 1630, and sometime later I went into the bedroom to get the hand-carved bamboo back scratcher my Dad brought back from "somewhere" in the South Pacific during WWII.

As I was scratching my back through my shirt, I noticed my back felt "bumpy". I asked my wife to come look at it, and she said it looked like the worst case of measles she'd ever seen!

My back was covered in little red pimples/bumps, and was itching like crazy.

I called the Doctor's office (it was 1730 by now), and got the answering service who took down all the info, and then transferred me to an "ER Nurse" who took it all down again, asked me a bunch of questions, and (probably following a script or "expert system") said it didn't sound major, and to contact my Doctor directly ASAP, meaning this morning when the office was open.

About 30 minutes later, the Doctor's office called to say one of my insurance forms for work was completed, and I could pick it up. Since it was my Doctor's regular nurse, and I had him on the phone, I went ahead and told him about the hives. He checked his computer (the info from my call was already there!), and said he'd tell the Doctor.

About 2015, my Doctor called (does this poor guy ever sleep?), talked to me for a while, and decided to take me off Brilinta (Ticagrelor), and put me on Plavix (Clopidogrel).

He's  pretty sure that switching drugs will stop the allergic hives, as well as help with the shortness-of-breath I've been having.

And it's been FIVE WHOLE DAYS since I had a cigarette!

I still want a smoke, but my wife's decision to "allow" me (huh?) ONE can of Diet Coke per day has helped. Coming down off caffeine AND nicotine at the same time is NOT fun.

Oh, well......off to the pharmacy. My stepson is going to drive me, even though I think I'm perfectly capable of driving the 1.8 miles round trip.

Gee...I could probably WALK it if I had to!

Precision Guided Firearms?

This is neat.

Probably costs more than my Jeep.....