Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[alaskaleftybass]

I've been off work all week. Wife had an ear rebuilt for the 2nd time. Expected they would attempt to fix a hole and just skim off some thickness from the replaced eardrum, both via laser. externally. When we got there, we found out he was going into the inner ear. So that involves pulling the ear half off and going in. He grafted the hole, better chance of success, lasered off the eardrum to about 1/200th to 1/500th of what it was, by his post op description, and enlarged the ear canal a LOT, as he described it. She's had a lot of trouble with this ear, and her very tiny ear canal makes an ear infection much more likely. The result is she's in a lot more pain than we expected, but hopefully better off in the long haul.

While taking care of her, I've been struggling to maintain my normal routine at work, no more than one task per day. In addition to that, I've had to wake up every day at the crack of noon and start prepping myself to be on the receiving end of another 12 pack of Guinness, so I just haven't been so chatty with all I have to do. Right now, in a rare state of sobriety, I type words for you. So I have not participated much since page 325.

Returning to where we were:


That extended deep into the culture and we did not get along very well at all. When we got our 3 CH-53's, the new and modernized FOD, they came with enough AIRpLANT enlisted and pilots to almost double our manpower. Such delicate flowers... It was a big mess for a long time. They were always waiting on parts, so we did get some help on our 3 to 4 H-3's and 14 Skyhawks. The '53's were pretty amazing during the brief moments they were not down or falling from the sky. We had a video of one taking a gutted out C-2 hanging on a cable to the bomb runs for target practice. We also pulled out and returned to Cubi a Marine H-53D in teh same manner. That one got stuck in the mud. The '53D's were said to be reliable, no folding tail, shorter and only two engines (plus the APP).

Now, I still need to do my task for today, replace the blower motor resistor pack in my Jeep. It's getting late enough that I'd better multi-task, taking a beer with me.

I understand how awful it is watching someone you've loved for decades suffer in pain. My prayers are with you and wife. May she heal up well and may her pain go away quicker than expected. Enjoy your beer, bro @BadExample , you earned this one for sure.

 

[rust_preacher]

Okay, I am on a trip from how our hunt went last weekend. We bagged three moose calfs, and my dog was responsible for pressuring two of them to the stands, while I shot the first of the bunch a day earlier. The only downer was that when opening the belly my knife slipped and now I go around with my left middle finger up in the air, bandaged, with 8 stitches. I couldn't make band practice on Monday because of this. Life is life, I guess.

 

[BadExample]

Well, on the bright side, at least the doc was thoughtful enough to bandage the finger in the proper position for use as an expression. Glad you had a good trip! Moose burgers!

 

[BassmanPaul]

The only downer was that when opening the belly my knife slipped and now I go around with my left middle finger up in the air, bandaged, with 8 stitches. I couldn't make band practice on Monday because of this. Life is life, I guess.

Well if you go around killing defenceless babies you deserve everything that you get!!

 

[BadExample]

But the babies have the most tender meat!

 

[Al Kraft]

But the babies have the most tender meat!

That's cold man!
Hey I just noticed your new avatar...it's hard to tell, but it looks like a Checkertail bird (at least it appears to be a UE tail code). Were you a VC-5 guy?

 

[BadExample]

That's cold man!
Hey I just noticed your new avatar...it's hard to tell, but it looks like a Checkertail bird (at least it appears to be a UE tail code). Were you a VC-5 guy?

Yes sir I was, for 5 years. They had all gone through humpectomies before my time (83 - 88, after a year in A and AFTA 82 - 83 in Memphis where I met Joe Walsch)), but only one was Navy cammo (flat greay top/white bottom back then). That NC-8 is probably the most dangerous thing in the pic besides the canopy. Also 02 was an "E" and all the TA-4J's moved up to the upper numbers, 12, 14 and 15 IIRC. My DO died riding one the the T-birds into the bay, flamed out, evidently to keep it out of the overpopulated city. 05 was a goodun', 03 sucked because a Marine pilot took it for a ride and hooked the IFR probe on a logging cable, and gave it a nose job. It then went to depot, singapore where the evidently hire the blind to rewire the new nose. There's a pic of that one floating around somewhere.

Ah, there is what a logging cable does to a Skyhawk:

There's one of our drones:

And getting one back after firing it at a ship:

(although that one is a newer model or belonged to someone else) Ours just had the stub wings. Fun to watch launch at Poro Point, fire dept is there, the grass all catches on fire within maybe 30 ft of the drone launch, then they put it out. I think that one was after my time too, I don't think 40 ever flew. We had 40 through 43, one of 42 and 43 were usually up SAR/Nights/IFR, sometimes both, 41 might be up nights/IFR or no nights/IFR, and 40 dead, getting mauled for parts. The fleet would take the best every year or two, and give us a new 40 or 41, nasty corroded and usually had down gripes they were flying it with. Worked a lot of weekends getting our fleet stolen stuff replaced.

 

[Al Kraft]

So you were there at Cubi Point in the final years of squadron - it stood down in the early 90's after what, like 46 years of operations. You guys literally flew everything and were the last of the genuine composite "do it all" squadrons. Truly challenging aviation work, especially with CAGs switching out rust bucket hangar queens for the birds you had groomed.

People forget that the that A-4 guys pioneered buddy store tanking - a tactic that has survived and used with Hornets today. Modern aviation owes a lot to the A-4 guys in terms of tactics IMO. I remember when I worked with RADM Bill Newman he frequently talked about his time as CO of the Blue Angels (1977-1978) and what a pleasure it was to strap on that aircraft and go flying.

 

[rust_preacher]

Just to clarify our moose culling policy: We have a summer population of about 160 000 moose in Finland. About 60 000 are hunted each fall. We have a sustainable hunting policy: 50 % calfs, 25 % male moose and 25 % female moose. Females with calfs are protected... until the calfs are shot.

Bagging a moose with a huge rack is really rare in these parts.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Well, GOF's tonight I'm grumpy. Maybe more grumpy at my own stupidity than the actual con job itself. So I was on eBay, and I'm always on the lookout for cheap lefty Ibanez basses. Believe it or not, a lot of left handed bass players buy basses and for some reason give up. Something to do with left handed maybe? Anyway, I found one and it was $83 plus shipping. The shipping pushed the price up to $142 and change. When I received the bass it was a total piece of doo doo. It was wrapped in some sort of black cloth bag covered with orange cat hair. The bass is greasy with dirt and God knows what. No volume or treble controls, rusty bridge, rusty screws on the pickup, banged up headstock, the back is all scratched up. It's really in disgusting condition.

The guy had nearly 400 positve feedback with no negatives. I had a gut feeling I shouldn't have pulled the trigger but I did, and didn't cancel within the hour. I sent the guy an email (at midnight Alaskan Time) to cancel the transaction and auction, as I no longer wanted the bass. To my surprise, he sent the bass the very next day. He claimed he had the bass wrapped and the shipping label printed when he 'saw' I was going to win the auction. Then, the next day, he had a medical emergency and had to go to the Emergency Room. But he printed out the shipping label and his kind sister finished packing the bass and mailing it to me! Come on!

Well, I'm going to include a picture of the original listing on eBay. I really should have passed on this one guys. So you are welcome to rib me about it and make outrageous suggestions on what I can do with this piece of junk. By the way, I did file a claim for a refund with PayPal. They are very good at getting money back to the buyer. Without further adieu, here's the bass I hallucinated myself into buying:

 

[agedhorse]

Restoration candidate?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Restoration candidate?

Thanks @agedhorse . Always the voice of reason and optimism. I actually ran that around in my mind. The possibilities are there. The bass is in good mechanical condition. I have never stripped down and taken apart a bass completely before-- always piecemeal work. This might be a fun restoration project for weekends. I had already envisioned using a pro hot air gun to peel off the paint job, remove all the hardware and electronics, and possibly upgrade the P pickup to something a little more expensive, maybe a Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder or Nordstrand, who knows. I'd like a bassy punchy pickup. I would have also added some of the smoked chrome higher end hardware I can buy directly from Ibanez.

So that is a thought. However, if PayPal requires the buyer to refund my money and create a prepaid shipping label I think I would use it. I did not expect ot receive a bass that was so nasty. But then maybe I should give it a chance cuz I was pretty hopeless when my wife found me 30 years ago!

 

[agedhorse]

I would be careful using heat to remove the finish. I have a funny feeling this might cause problems that can not be easily fixed, especially anywhere near the neck.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I would be careful using heat to remove the finish. I have a funny feeling this might cause problems that can not be easily fixed, especially anywhere near the neck.

Agreed sir. If I should undertake this project, the neck would come off. It's in need of a deep cleaning anyway. Got nasty all over it....
Complete disassembly. Hey I did it with an M-16, I can handle a few bass parts..... maybe??? LOL

 

[Ken Morgan]

Well...this is special. 22 jr high kids in Odessa get busted for drinking Fireball whiskey at school.

Junior High. Dang, y’all.

 

[Stumbo]

Hey, GOF's,

Heading out to go under the knife in a couple of hours. Doc is supposed to fix interior of my nose so I can breathe properly and get a good night's sleep...ahhhhhh sleeeep.

Hopefully about less than 10 days recovery.

Hasta la later, GOF dudes!

 

[Al Kraft]

Hey, GOF's,

Heading out to go under the knife in a couple of hours. Doc is supposed to fix interior of my nose so I can breathe properly and get a good night's sleep...ahhhhhh sleeeep.

Hopefully about less than 10 days recovery.

Hasta la later, GOF dudes!

Best wishes for a speedy and uneventful recovery!

 

[BassmanPaul]

Bagging a moose with a huge rack is really rare in these parts.

I wonder why if you are shooting the Calfs!

Sorry this is just a subject that I cannot imagine. On my weekend trip to a friend’s cottage we saw a doe and two fawns. I was transfixed by the sheer beauty of the scene. Wanting to pull out a gun and kill any of them is something completely alien to me.

 

[BadExample]

Bagging a moose with a huge rack is really rare in these parts.

I live in a large enough city that it's pretty easy to bag a moose.

Yet it's a small enough town that you'll want to be careful your friends don't see you.

Maybe a weeknight instead of Friday or Saturday night. Bars close at 2 AM.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Best wishes for a speedy and uneventful recovery!

May I add my thoughts and best wishes to Al’s. I hope you don’t end up looking like a Rhino!!