5-17-26

 W: 314.2                BS: 114

Good evening yesterday.  Peoples over.  Feasting.  Much laughing.

Today?  Many tired. Such Lazy. Wow!

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5-15-26

 W: 317.0            BS: 80

People tomorrow.  Feasting, fire, drinking, etc.  MUCH work to get ready. Have to push a bit.

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It's wabbit season!

It's duck season!

It's wabbit season!

No... It's egg season.

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So there I was....

This story happened when I was just a wee lad of 20 or so.  Time enough to have a GM master certificate, but still very young and a bit headstrong.

I was working in a shop down Tampa way. Big place, having a large body shop with full spray booths, my two bay mechanical shop, a full radiator shop, a fleet of wreckers, and an impound lot favored by local PD and State Sheriff officers.

My duties were keeping the wreckers in top shape, repairing mechanical issues on wrecks in the body shop, and whatever customer work wandered in.  I got the job while working in another (Goodyear) shop, and they brought me a car that nobody could decipher.  I fixed it in minutes for free, and a job offer came out of it.

So... the  radiator shop.  For a time it was the solitary den of a greasy little weasel who despite his objectionable character could do a good job on radiators.  Come to find, reported by other radiator shops in the city (They all drank together), Sparkles was stealing and selling supplies.  Even whole new units still in the box.  How it worked was he would slip out back and drop the stuff over the back fence and his wife would quietly pick it all up.  She was the one who flogged the stuff off to other shops, I suppose thinking nobody knew who she was.  Pretty sad little plan, when you come down to it.

The boss of this family shop was notified, who then let the local PD in on the gag, and it took less than a day to nail them both 'lead handed', so to say.  Sparkles got to ride in the nice officers backseat, trussed like a sheep in a slaughterhouse, while Mrs. Sparkles was kicked loose to sweat it alone for a few days.  No idea why.  Not my problem.

I told all this, so I could tell this last part.

Sparkles vehicle was parked out back, right next to where Mrs. Sparkles picked up the booty. Boss man asked me to 'have a look' at the car, which I was glad to do. 10 seconds to grab a couple things, and five minutes alone with the mid-sized GM coupe.  Back in the office.

Old Ed asked me what I could do in only a few minutes.  I showed him my tools, a pencil and a pair of wire cutters I had dulled years before to use as crimpers.  "You cut the wiring?" he asked.

"Nope.  Too easy to fix.  See, that pencil is graphite.  You go over the ignition system with that, and you can just draw where you want the juice to go.  Invisible.  Do the distributor cap right and you might get the exhaust to blow clean off the car".

"What about the wire cutters?" he asked.

"Crimpers, not cutters.  Crimp the trans cooler lines in an out of the way spot and the trans will burn up.  If they don't see the crimp, every trans they put in will burn up too.  Same with brake lines.  The pressure gets past the crimp, but will stay applied after the pedal is let up.  Miss the crimps, and the brakes lock up no matter what they replace".

He just looked at me, and after a minute said "You are an evil fuck.  Hope you never get mad at me".

"Naw boss.  I like you. Most honest crook I ever met".

45 years ago.  Like my old man often said... "Statute of limitations is my friend".

5-13-26

 W: 313.2                BS: 122

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5-12-26

 W: 311.6                BS: 108

Running on almost no sleep.  What happens, happens.

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5-11-26

 W: 314.0                BS: 114

Taking care of our critters, as usual.  Chickens, rabbits, big ducks, baby ducks, cats, fishies, etc.

This week only (so far) also doing the neighbors critters.  Goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, and guinea pigs.

Very critterly around these parts.

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Parmesan butter rolls, for meatball subs.

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5-10-26

 W: 312.6            BS: 141

Mother's day.  Pamper the woman.  Got it.

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5-8-26

 W: 314.2            BS: 150

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5-7-26

 W: 316.2                BS: 117

Friends over.  Much laughing. Too much whiskey gone from the bottle this morn.  Ugh.

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Multiple socialist cities and states are running out of OPM faster than a fat kid rolling down a hill.   Those dogs are not going to lay down to a peaceful dirt nap before they get to destroy everything they can.

Friends in those places, consider *not* being in those places; also, the Tribe cannot steal what it cannot find.  Leave nothing behind to fuel their crimes.

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The current two-party system...

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5-6-26

 W: 316.2            BS:

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The butter bread recipe, with herbs and done as dinner rolls.

• Garlic
• Black peppercorns
• Red peppercorns
• Thai basil
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Kosher salt

All spun up together in a spice grinder.

11 identical rolls, done by weight.  12 minutes at 450.

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I'm becoming more and more convinced the single biggest problem our society has is not enough people receiving impact therapy to genitals and knees.  'Ye shall know the villainous by their limp".

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5-5-26

 W: 316.6        BS: NA

• 
  

Life with 'people' is a big game of 'choose your battles'.  I like things neat and orderly, and the 'people' I live with have no experience with neat and orderly. This leaves it to me to clean up after myself, AND them.   My energy is limited by the heart thing.  Over the last five years I have learned to pick and choose, and not push beyond what my body agrees with.  I've done that... it didn't end well.  It would take a team of ninja maids to clean after people who can't even SEE* the endless trash and clutter they create.  I am in no way a team of ninja maids.

Well, we have people coming for dinner tomorrow.  Something I usually avoid for exactly the  reason I am dealing with today and tomorrow.  I am ashamed of this home, and it cuts deadly deep that I must make the choices I do.

I'll spend today and tomorrow trying to first-pass the place into an acceptable condition.  Even while the 'people' continue to recreate their chosen environment right behind me as I clean.  I will not succeed, but I must try anyway.

* I have come to understand these people really don't see the trash and clutter.  It's their normal.  They will happily step over a piece of paper laying in a hallway for months without ever registering they did so.   Months... or forever really.  It's not that they expect someone else to clean up after them.  They have no idea at all anything needs cleaned up.  Both sinks and the counter can be (and have been) covered in stacked dirty dishes, and not one of them would even have a notion towards doing dishes.  They don't see them.  On a fairly regular basis I take photos of the worst piles and messes, and text them to my wife.  Each time I get "OMG, I didn't realize!" and something may...may... get done on a short term.   The reality is it's too late for these people.  Their life pattern is set, and it's under a nice comfy pile of trash and debris.

I am not equipped for that battle anymore.  I did it my whole life.  Just can't anymore. The worst part is knowing they don't care what it does to me.

I think I'll just go drink till *I* can't see it either.

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Butter bread recipe

 

I call this 'Butter Bread', for obvious reasons.  Tender, rich, and yes... buttery.  Also dead simple to make, slices like a dream, and makes wonderful toast and sandwiches.  I use a kitchenaid to do the bulk of the work, but by hand is a winner too.

 1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees).
 3 cups bread flour. 2.5 cups for dough and .5 cup to adjust dough and flour the board.
 1 stick salted butter, melted and well warmed.
 2 teaspoons sugar.
 1 teaspoon salt (to taste).
 2 teaspoons dry yeast.

• In your mixing bowl, put two teaspoons of dry yeast, one cup of bread flour, and one cup of warm water.  Add two teaspoons of sugar.  Whisk till well combined, and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes in a warm spot.  If the yeast is good, a very active and bubbly sponge will be formed.
• While the wee yeastie beasties are having sexy time, melt a stick of butter in the microwave. Melt, not boil.  Preferably salted butter, as that's what the recipe allows for.
• When the sponge is bubbling well, add one teaspoon of salt, all the melted butter, and 1.5 more cups of bread flour to the bowl.  Using the bread hook, run on speed 2 till the dough pulls together.  We are looking for a silky and slightly sticky dough that just leaves the bowl clean, but maybe sticks and pulls just a little.  If it looks too sticky, add a spoonful of the reserved flour every minute as it kneads till it looks right.  It's far easier to add flour than it is to add water.
• Knead (Machine or hand) for three to four minutes.  Put the dough in an oiled bowl (I just use the same mixer bowl, spritzed with olive oil) and cover.  Place in a warm spot for thirty minutes to rise.
• After thirty minutes place dough on a lightly floured spot and flatten it out.  Fold it back in using letter folds in one direction, then the other, till the dough gets too tight to work easily.  Place it back in the oiled bowl and back to the warm spot for another twenty to thirty minutes.
• After the dough has relaxed and risen more, form it into the desired loaf shape, or place in a bread pan if it's to be sandwich/toast bread.  If using a bread pan, butter it well or line with parchment*.   Turn the oven on to 450, and allow the dough to do it's final rise while the oven preheats.
• When the oven is ready, and the dough has risen well, brush it gently with egg wash and slightly score the top if you wish.  Now is time to sprinkle on toasted sesame seed if that is to taste.
• Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes, and then start checking internal temp with a quick probe. 190-200 degrees is the goal. Lower means more tender, and higher means crustier.
• Allow the bread to cool completely on a rack before slicing.

*Parchment lined pan hack:  If you have two pans the same size that nest, place a parchment sheet over one greased pan, and use the second to press that parchment into place.  Weight the second pan with canned goods and let sit till it's needed.  The parchment will be shaped to the pan perfectly, with no cutting and fitting.

5-4-26

 W: 316.6                BS: 134

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5-1-26 Meme Dump

 W: 315.6            BS: 109

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