Before we forget

We usually do event updates on Friday, but since
Thursday is the first day of another month, we’ll
do them now.

May is almost here. It is a month with a lot of
things to celebrate. May 1st is May Day, Law Day,
Loyalty Day, and this year a National Day of Prayer.

Saturday, May 3rd is Join Hands Day

Monday, May 5th is Cinco de Mayo

Tuesday, May 6th is National Teachers Day

Sunday, May 11th is Mother’s Day

Monday, May 12th is Nurses Day

Saturday, May 17th is Armed Forces Day

Monday, May 19th is Victoria Day

Thursday, May 22 is National Maritime Day

Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day.

Friday, May 2nd is the Show and Shine at Dick N
Sons Lumber Complex in Blue Grass, Iowa. It starts
around 6 pm and if you need more information call
563-380-3220

Vintage Torque Fest will be held on May 2nd,3rd,
and 4th at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds in Dubuque,
Iowa. Admission is $10 with children under 12 and
active military free. For more information go here.

Cordova Dragway Park will have races May 2nd,3rd, and
4th if you feel a need for speed.

Sunday, May 4th is the Car show benefiting Juvenile
Diabetes held on the riverfront in Muscatine, Iowa.
The show runs 10 am to 4 pm. For more information
call Mike at 563-260-4230

May 4th is also the J C Whitney Car Show held at
their building in LaSalle, Illinois. The show is free
for contestants and spectators and runs from 9 am to
4 pm. If you want more information call J C Whitney
at 866-529-4359

And that is a few of the things going on this
weekend. We’d like to enjoy them but will have to
pick one and think about the others.
Comments are always welcome.

Wandering mind

Lately I’ve been feeling like a Gary Busey TV
commercial.

No, I don’t greet my lamp or pants, nor do I say
my name into my phone or TV, but I do sometimes yell
at electronic devices.

This happened, again, while cruisin’ the information
highway and coming across the headline that said
Okla. killer dies after botched execution. I had to yell at
the computer “Are you kidding me?”.

The wife asked who I was yelling at and rolled her
eyes when I said “the computer”. When I explained the
reason behind my outburst I got ‘the look’. I just
can’t see how, if the guy died, the execution was
botched.

Even though they haven’t been used for a while, the
word execution makes me think of the electric chair,
which makes me think of welding.

So I watched this video on welder settings.

Welding makes me think of Bruce Lee because of the
strength of a weld.

Bruce Lee brings back memories or the Green Hornet.

Of course the Green Hornet gets me thinking about
Unicorns.

And Unicorns remind me I have to mow the lawn again
because we don’t have any unicorns to graze on it.
That should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I
am as sane as the next guy. If I could only convince
the wife.
Comments are always welcome.

A TV show, fire, drifting, a movie and a song

When we watched Rebel Road last night we noticed one
of the vehicles was the prison bus featured in our
diversions yesterday. We did like the show but it
left us scratching our head over a couple of things.

The show is about four rod shops building a rat rod
to compete in a car show called a rumble. We thought
that two of the four vehicles weren’t technically rat
rods. Then there’s the fact that the prison bus had
billet wheels. Strange way to build a rat.

We’ve always know that gearheads are resourceful and
that begs the question “how does a gearhead start a
fire without matches?” Here are two different
versions.

If you have to one of the Torque Fests you have seen
this Willys. It is the only one we know of powered by
an air-cooled Deutz diesel engine.

The following is one of strangest drifting videos
we’ve seen. I didn’t know big trucks could move like
this.

We’ll even throw in a movie. Remember “Drag Strip
Riot!”? Yes, a true classic teenagers gone wild movie
from the fifties.

Our featured song was released in November of 1950.
Red Foley sings of a race between a Ford and a
Mercury and it was considered by some to be the first
rock and roll song.

Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys recorded it
in 1951 and it stayed on the charts for seven weeks,
peaking at #5. And eastern radio stations refused to
play it because they considered it Western swing.

Our prayers go out to all those affected by the
recent severe weather.
Comments are always welcome.

Different diversions

Instead of cruising through the fires of Hades to
cover some of the more politically correct stories,
we decided to share some strange news and irrelevant
facts that we came across.

We aren’t sure if this truck pull was a set up or
not, but this pull ends up with one of the trucks
ready for the scrap yard.

Just when we thought we’d seen it all in the rat rod
movement comes a video about a 1932 NC Rat Rod Prison
Bus. We haven’t figured out yet if we like it, but
have to admit it is different.

How about an RC 1/4 scale Peterbilt 359 towing a
Nissan?

If you like things a little faster, and slightly
higher, here is a supersonic flight video we have
shared before.

This video is a walk down memory lane for some of
us Navy veterans. If you were out to sea for any
length of time, you refueled at sea.

And if you like all things mechanical but haven’t
been to a threshers reunion, this will give you an
idea of what you’ve been missing.

Have an hour tonight around 9 pm central time?
The Discovery channel is showing “Rebel Road”.
It sounds interesting enough that I’ll be watching.

Now we have places to go and people to see. Enjoy
the videos.
Comments are always welcome.

An amazing woman

Mandi Gardner was a waitress at the Waffle House
in Concord, North Carolina for 11 years and one of
her regulars was a man named Mike Paradalis,
a veteran who served in the Air Force.

The last time she saw him she locked her keys in her
car and he helped her unlock the car. On April 10 he
had a heart attack and died alone in his van.

For around 14 days nobody claimed his body at the
NorthEast Medical Center and it appeared nobody
wanted to claim the body, except for Mandi.

She told the local news “there’s no memorial, no
headstone, no goodbye, nothing for someone to track
down and find”. So she started a fundraiser to raise
the money needed to claim his body and give him a
decent burial.

People came forward with money and the information
that his funeral might be provided for free since he
is an honorably discharged veteran. After checking
Mandi received word he is eligible to buried in the
VA National Cemetery in Salisbury.

She has raised over $2,000 and since the funeral
costs are covered will donate the money to military
organizations. Mike Pardalis will be buried with full
military honors Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 11 am in
the VA National Cemetery.

Mandi later stated “Instead of being discarded, he’s
getting a Veteran’s funeral”. And that is but one
reason why we feel she is an amazing woman.
Comments are always welcome.

rebel road

Tomorrow, Monday, April 28, the Discovery
Channel will debut ‘Rebel Road’ at 9 pm
central time. It is a show about building
rat rods in Appalachia and looks like it
may be worth a look.

A better mousetrap?

Actually the claim is a better axe. If you haven’t
heard of the Vipukirves Ax yet, we will give you
some information.

The first thing one notices is that it doesn’t look
like like a regular axe. It does seem to split wood
like a woodchuck could though.

The Vipukirves (leverage) axe is designed with the
head off-center and an odd curve at the end opposite
the cutting end. It is said the offset helps to split
the wood easier than with a regular axe.

We aren’t sure we’re sold on the idea as this axe
sells for the equivalent of about $260 here. Not clear
what axes are up to now since I haven’t bought one
in years, but I’d bet one could get 3 or 4 at least
for the cost of one of these new axes.

So if you must have the latest tool that comes along
this may be for you. We heard they are on back order
right now, but that could change anytime.

If you wish more information, want to order one, or
are just curious, go to the Vipukirves Heikki Oy website.

Comments are always welcome.

A really amazing person

This amazing person was born in 1976, died in 2005,
and his story is as interesting as his life. Michael
Patrick Murphy is this person.

Born on May 7, 1976 in Smithtown, New York, he was
involved with soccer and pee-wee football, continued
sports through high school, and had a part-time job
as a lifeguard.

His friends called him “Murph” and early on he was
know as “The Protector” because of his standing up
to bullies picking on others.

He graduated college in 1998 with degrees in
political science and psychology, and in 2000 he
accepted an appointment to the Navy’s Officer
Candidate School. He was commissioned an Ensign, and
began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S)
training.

Then Lt. Murphy was killed June 28, 2005 in
Afghanistan when his SEAL team of four had a single
survivor. He is buried in Calverton National Cemetery
near his home. He was engaged to be married later in
2005.

He was the first member of the Navy to be awarded
the Medal of Honor since Vietnam. Some of his other
military awards are the Silver Star, Purple Heart,
Joint Service Commendation Medal, and Navy
Commendation Medal to name a few.

After his death, a United States Navy destroyer, a post office, a combat training pool at Naval Station Newport, a Sea Cadet unit, a park, and Patchogue-Medford High School have been named in his honor.

Two movies came out last year about his SEAL team
and the events that lead to his demise. One is Lone
Survivor and the is Murph the Protector.

It wasn’t how he died that makes him amazing it was
how he lived.
Comments are always welcome.

Rainy day time wasters II

It is raining outside, I know because when I walked
out the back door I got wet. Putting a roof on in the
rain is a job for a younger man so my day was spent
inside cruisin the information highway once again.

One of the first things I did was grab a Coke.

That got me wondering what would be the wildest,
most unlikely car to stuff a big block in and race?
The answer, of course, was a Smart Car!

And that got us thinking if this Smart Car crashes
at speed, they’re going to need a hearse. And I
wondered if there was a fast hearse around.

When I checked my email I noticed a friend sent a
video about unlocking your car with your brain. If
you have a car with a remote it shows you how to
extend how far you can open it from.

I didn’t forget about current events either when
the little remote reminded me of Harry Reid.

Another friend sent an interesting video about a
Jenga game played with heavy equipment. It just made
sense.

And that brought me down Memory Lane where I asked
the following…

We hope you have a great weekend and thank those
who shared their videos with us.
Comments are always welcome.

Rainy day videos

Since we’ve done nothing but talk politics this week
we decided to do something different. Then when it
started raining and I couldn’t work outside an idea
was born.

We decided to cruise the information highway in
search of strange stories, neat stuff, and things
that nobody needs to know but wants to.

Have you ever seen a police chase involving a Smart
Car? Or one that has music? You can say you have now.

If that isn’t strange enough, how about a police
chase with radio controlled cars made to look like
the Fast & Furious movies.

That led to the following video which shows a car
from South Korea that thinks it’s a turtle.

If you are old enough to remember, and not made
bitter by that fact, you will enjoy this video as
we know it made us smile.

At times all of us wonder how much time we have left
before we meet our maker. This video clears that up
and explains how we will spend that time.

This one made my eyes leak a little, but we like it
and had to include it.

And now our cruise comes to an end. We’ll leave you
with this song from George Strait.

Comments are always welcome.