Better late than never updates

April is here and that can only mean one thing.
Hot days and warm nights are getting closer,
we’re that much closer to the cruise-ins, and
the days are getting longer.

Ok, that’s a couple of things. It also means
we haven’t done an update for a while so now
is the time.

We make no secret of liking anything to do
with the green flash at sunset. If you ever
saw one you would know why. We’ve never seen
one like the following though.

We also like to keep up on the latest
weaponry our armed forces are using. With
recent budget cuts this could become a
reality.

Lest you think it was just you, here is a
little something from “the People of Wal-Mart”

And now, a couple real updates. April 1-12
is the free yard waste pick up times for
spring. Just remember to put the leaves and
grass clippings in a city approved paper lawn
bag.

Yard waste in plastic bags will not be
collected.

Then on Tuesday, April 2nd, is the work shop
on the proposed ferris wheel at the ballpark.
The meeting will be held at Modern Woodman
Park on the 3rd floor level and starts at 9 am.

We thank Alderman Edmond for the information
and assume 3rd floor means use the entrance by
elevator and not the main entrance.

Enjoy April Fool’s Day. (the last two updates
are real).
Comments are always welcome.

Enjoy the day

Happy Easter to all!

If you don’t celebrate Easter, happy Sunday.
And if you don’t believe in Sundays, happy
second Saturday of the week.

And if none of that satisfies you, go back
to bed.

Have you ever?

We just heard that our local driver’s license
station was going to move soon. It will move
from its current location to the north end of
the Village Shopping Center.

This brought back memories of when I took my
driving test to get my very first license. I
took it in an old Chevy with a standard
transmission.

The station was then located in the Armory
across the side street from the Brady Street
Stadium. Since I believe that statute of
limitations had run out I will admit to
driving myself to the test.

When I took my test it was raining and of
course I was directed up a short, but steep,
driveway where I had to stop on the hill to
await an opening in the traffic flow.

I was docked a couple of points for spinning
the tires when I took off into traffic, but
aced the rest the test.

I have noticed that kids today don’t seem as
anxious to get their driver’s license as we
were. Some even say they will be the first
generation to embrace public transit.

Green pundits proclaim this could cause the
end of electric vehicles while some of us
remember the feeling of absolute freedom
once we had our license in hand and a car to
use it with.

We were the top dogs, our horizons had been
expanded, and the smile couldn’t be slapped
from our face.

Of course the local police didn’t like our
loud pipes, tire smoking take offs, or our
feeling of invincibility. But tickets were
cheap, we were young, and somehow we
survived.

Comments are always welcome.

Change of plans

We thought we knew where we were going to cruise
to in this post until we checked email. There are
times when our weird motor gene kicks in, and
this was the time.

A friend sent us an email about Burma-Shave
signs and we thought we had a destination. An
email from another friend changed that when we
opened an email with Vega in the subject line.

Since we had a Vega way back when, this post
will be about the Vert-A-Pac system that was
created just for the Vega.

The Vega, which began its run with the 1971
model year, was designed to be shipped
vertically. This was done because almost twice
as many cars would fit in one rail car on the
nose than lying flat.

Each rail car had nine doors per side which
opened from the top. When the doors were all
opened the Vegas were driven up nose first.

When all nine spots were filled, a huge fork
lift would raise the doors into place and
the cars were hanging like bats in a belfry.

This was possible because of the Vert-A-Pac
system and some basic precautions with the
cars.

The cars had to shipped ready to drive off
the doors when they got to their destination.
So GM installed a special baffle in the oil
pan to keep the oil from running out.

The batteries had their filler caps all
moved to rear edge of the case so they
wouldn’t leak, the carburetor float had a
tube that ran overflow to the vapor
canister, and the windshield washer bottle
was at a 45 degree angle.

Then plastic wedges were put in the powertrain
to prevent any damage or leakage. If this
seems like a lot of work to jam twice as
many cars into a railcar, it saved GM about
$150 per car to ship them to the west coast.

And at the time a new Vega sold for $2,000.
The Vega never really took off and by 1977
GM stopped making them and the neat Vert-A-Pac
systems were scrapped.

We’ll mention the Burma-Shave signs in another
post.
Comments are always welcome.

We might get a Patron Saint

We noticed yet another news conference by our
Poser in Chief pushing gun control. Suddenly
Newtown is back in the news with added mention
of enough firepower to hijack a Brink’s truck.

Pundits on both sides of the issue are saying
why we should, or should not, punish the legal
gun owners for the deeds of a few criminals.

Obama’s mantra of a kinder, fairer approach to
the issue has been forgotten. We no longer hear
about helping those with mental issues and have
still heard nothing about the murder rate in
Chicago.

And it now appears Pope Francis may even get
involved with the issue. After 20 years of
urging by activists there could be a Patron
Saint of Handgunners.

The story of Saint Gabriel Possenti is an
interesting tale indeed.

The legend goes that in the 19th Century,
St. Gabriel Possenti saved an entire Italian
village with one shot.

Looters and rapist had taken over the town,
the villagers felt helpless, and there seemed
no end to their misery.

The bad guys had sticks, knives, and brute
strength. St. Gabriel Possenti had a loaded
gun. The legend gets fuzzy in places, but
many agree no human died during this shooting.

St. Gabriel aimed at a lizard in the dirt
road and killed it with one shot. This so
terrified the bad guys they left.

Proponents say this signifies the handgun is
a force for good. And just by coincidence, if
you believe in such, this legend was rarely
questioned until the U.S. anti-gun activists
got involved in the 1980s.

Is the story true? Will Gabriel Possenti
become a Patron Saint?

We don’t know. We will have to wait and see
if it comes to pass, and why Obama thinks it’s
wrong if it does.
Comments are always welcome.

It’s official

We stopped our association with AARP when they
backed Obama care. We quit going to their website
to do crossword puzzles when they got an
exemption from the healthcare plan.

But because so many tell me I am the oldest kid
they know an idea was hatched to make me an
official old fart.

After much planning and careful execution of
said plan, it’s official.

We are now members of AMAC, Inc. (The Association
of Mature American Citizens)! That should be
proof that I am not the oldest kid.

Racing in another direction, we offer the
following for your perusal.

With the Supreme Court hearing the same-sex
marriage case we thought to go back to a time
when we could use the word “gay” without
offending anyone.

It was a time when our health was taken very
seriously.

Computers were just getting popular.

Old people were treated with respect.

A time when television was black and white
and beneficial to kids.

And a time when ads portrayed married life as
a little different from some remember.

Those were the days. We’ve somehow lost our
innocence since, or we didn’t have any liberals
around.
Comments are always welcome.

Best laid plans

We fired up our little sports car to cruise
the information highway. We took the on-ramp,
got up to speed, and ran right into a traffic
jam.

So we decided instead to again mention the
East Side Neighborhood Community Meeting to
be held tomorrow at 6:30 pm at the Davenport
Police Station in the Community Room.

If you haven’t been there before, the doors
to the left inside the lobby will put you
in the room.

When we first heard about this meeting we
thought the timing seemed a little off.
Wouldn’t the NETS unit get better results
if they waited for better weather?

It would seem to us that most people forget
most hassles from last summer by now and
only remember their alley getting plowed in.

If you do have concerns, problems, our
a pet gripe, this would be the meeting to
attend.

This would also be a good meeting to
attend if you have any ideas on how to
improve your neighborhood.

But we don’t think they want names of
those you wish would move to another area.
An honest concern or improvement idea
would be welcomed.

If you have questions or concerns you can
contact Officer Quick at 563-529-5316.

And again, we’re pretty sure Officer Quick
does not want to hear about neighbors you
don’t get along with.
Comments are always welcome.

Dragon’z Loyalty Award

We’d like to thank the moorbey blog
for nominating us for this award.
If you get a minute, check it out.

As always, there are rules to be
followed.

You should display the Award certificate
on your blog.

Announce winning the award with a post
that includes a link to who gave you the
award.

Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers
and notify them with a comment after you
have linked them in a post.

Include seven interesting things about
yourself.

So without further ado, here are the
blogs we give the award, in alphabetical
order. We hope.

Brittius

deafinprision

Family Survival Protocol

Ghost

The Grey Enigma

just after words

Reclaim Our Republic

The Return of the Modern Philiosopher

The Rio Norte Line

scoundrel

SettledinHeaven

This Got My Attention

toemail

The War in My Brain

Watts Up With That?

Seven interesting facts about yours truly:

1. I used to have a speech impediment until
I got rid of my ballet slippers.

2. I am among the few former sailors who
doesn’t have a tattoo.

3. I spent 6 weeks in the hospital my senior
year of high school, in traction.

4. I don’t care much for sports unless it
includes engines and wheels.

5. I have been sober since 1987.

6. When not having brain farts, I can type
65 wpm without a mistake.

7. I am a kid cleverly disguised as a
responsible adult.

We would like to end with another thanks to
moorbey for the award. We will finish up the
rest later.
Comments are always welcome.

The senior moment

Last night I made a fresh pot of coffee,
filled the wife’s travel mug, put on my
coat to go out and start the car for her,
and forgot the travel mug.

No problem. I just acted as normal as I
could, got her in the driver’s seat, and
told her to wait while I got something from
the house.

When I got back to the car I handed her the
travel mug and proceeded to open my mouth
and insert foot.

I told her; I wanted to leave your coffee in
the warm house instead of the cold car so it
will be warmer when you get to work.

She started laughing and said; you just didn’t
remember to bring out it out before.

That’s when I should have shut up. Anyone who
has experienced a brain fart should know this.
I looked her right in the eye and said
I unremembered it.

She started laughing so hard there were tears
in eyes. But she really started laughing when
I told her I couldn’t remember the word forgot.

When I finally gained my composure I told her
I had indeed forgot, but I’m not getting any
younger.

She found this hilarious also. So I gave her
kiss, sent her on her way, and believe I
saved a little of my dignity.

So guys, if you ever find yourself in similar
situation, and you are a terrible liar like
me, just keep quiet.
Comments are always welcome.

Observations

We have noticed that the Global Warming people
have been quiet of late, that some people have
now discovered that a rodent is no better at
predicting the weather than a weatherman, and
that spring-like temperatures should return to
Iowa around June.

In about a month, the cruise-ins and car shows
will begin. We can only hope that by then the
high temperatures for the day will get out of
30s.

I honestly don’t mind the snow or it being
colder, but come show season I don’t want to
have to shovel the snow to get a sno-cone.

On another note, we received notice of an East
Side Neighborhood Community Meeting. The meeting
will be run by the Davenport Police Department
Neighborhoods Energized to Succeed Unit (N.E.T.S.).

The meeting will be held Wednesday, March 27th,
2013, at the Davenport Police Department, in the
Community Room.

Discussion will involve any concerns about your
neighborhood and ways to improve it. If you have
any questions, call Officer Quick at 563-529-5316.

If you have problems in your area this may be
the meeting for you.
Comments are always welcome.