| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
John, I just finished reading all your posts aloud, so that Michele could enjoy them too. She says "you're not a hermit!" We then had a good laugh at Matt's sketch of the "hermit convention." We are both enjoying following your story. Your candid honesty and self reflection are wonderful. Stay positive and keep the faith. We're anxious to read more! | ||
| Crusty |
“Aha! I’ve Got You In My Crutches!” I started putting the clutch back together in the Iron Motor. Of course, I had to clean everything thoroughly (I wish I had a Safety Kleen machine here), and there were parts missing. We went into Brisbane to Morgan & Wacker H-D, and bought a bunch of nickel and dime parts. They had almost everything I needed, and the other two items should be in before Christmas. (Ain’t computers nice when they decide to be helpful?) Plus, the prices were reasonable. I liked the parts guy, as well. Friendly folks with a positive attitude. They also had some Buell stuff on the shelves, which I thought was pretty neat. Nice place with lots of pretty bikes. Of course, the parts I have to wait for will keep the Primary cover off until they arrive, but they had more items than I expected, and I wasn’t surprised. As the parts guy said, “Sometimes it takes a bit to get and keep these Old Girls running”. When she fires up, it will all be worth it. | ||
| Crusty |
Why Are You My Friend? Back in the early ’90s, somebody asked me that question and I had a hard time answering it. I’ve never really analyzed why I like someone. I’ve never felt the need to. There are people that I like and who like me in return. Sometimes, I can see things that make me admire somebody’s character and I’ll say, “That’s why I like him (or her)”, but it’s more than just that. There are different levels of friendship, as well; which adds to the complications. Sometimes people are friends until they get too close, then they move away from each other. They see something that they don’t care for in the other person. Over the years, I’ve gained friends and lost them. Sometimes, I’d like someone, but it wasn’t reciprocal. Sometimes, they liked me, but there was something about them that repulsed me. Friendship can be a tough thing to figure out, so I’d rather not try. I’d rather just consider someone my friend until they do or say something that pushes me away. A couple of days ago, I wrote a rather depressed Snippet about how it didn’t look like I would be able to ride a motorcycle this trip in Australia. It caused people to offer suggestions or try to help out in all sorts of ways. I feel humbled. One bad day and I got a bunch of positive responses. I got over my day of depression and I’ve resumed trying to get the “Old Girl” up and running. Things are looking pretty good, today. In the movie, El Dorado, James Caan makes an ironic statement, “I have a Host of Friends” about his three friends who have all done something different that caused him embarrassment. I guess I can repeat that statement, but without the irony. I have a Host of Friends. Thank you all. (Message edited by Crusty on December 14, 2015) | ||
| Pwnzor |
We're all rooting for you | ||
| Crusty |
Random Tidbits The clutch is together , but the primary cover won’t be back on until I get the final couple of little pieces from Brisbane. They’re supposed to come in by Christmas. In the meantime, there are other things I can do to the bike. Just for the Halibut, I went on ebay and found a new wiring harness. I’m not going to buy it yet; I was just curious about the price. It’s $125 with free shipping in the US. That’s better than I expected. Still, $125 for a wiring harness,$100 for a battery, another $100 for a Primary Chain, $260 for forks and close to the same for shocks, I haven’t priced brake components, 'cause I don’t know what I’m going to need yet. Still, it’s going to be a labor of love. What I’ve pretty much decided is that I’ll try to get it running; then, after I go back to the States, I’ll buy and ship parts over the summer. Then I’ll go through the bike when I return next year. I’ve figured out what I’m going to get Melia for Christmas. Now, all I have to do is figure out how I’m going to be able to get to the store that’s selling it and getting it back home without her knowing what it is. I can’t even mention the name of the store, since she’s on the Snippets mailing list. I have an Idea on how I might be able to do it. We’ll see how that works out. Roni Ann and the two boys have gone back to Melbourne. It will be quiet here in the morning. That’s going to seem strange. Tomorrow, we’re going down to Brunswick Heads for some sort of Twilight Marketplace gig. I’m going to get a steak sandwich at the Pub there. One of the best steak sandwiches I’ve ever eaten was at the Pub in Brunswick. I heard that the pub had been sold, and the new owners have Yuppified the place, but I still want to try one of their Steak Sandwiches. Even if they’ve gone downhill, they’d have to get really bad before I wouldn’t enjoy eating a steak sandwich over here. Without a doubt, Australia has the flat out best steak sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. I saw an ad for Progressive Insurance on the Idiot Box. They use an Australian version of Flo. She looks a lot like Flo, but she has an Australian accent (well, Duh!), The ad was different from the ads on US tv, also. It was very interesting to watch and compare. Melia gets lots of sales calls every day. I guess there’s no “No Call List” here. Melia won’t bother answering the phone. Today, while she was gone driving Roni and the boys to the airport, I answered the phone. I was polite but firm. I did’t play any games with them. All of the calls I answered today were from Insurance Companies. Melia says that she even gets Sales calls from the company she already buys her insurance from. What a Royal P.I.T.A. Well, that’s enough for now. It’s 10:00 and time for bed. 4:30 gets here all too soon. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Merry Christmas sir, primary chain is compliments of Matthew & Gretchen. | ||
| 86129squids |
Here ya go, Crusty- years ago I found a book of poems by Louis L'Amour titled "Smoke from This Altar"... filled with great stuff. If I ever participate in a "poetry slam", here's the one I'd do. My Three Friends I have three friends, three faithful friends, more faithful could not be- and every night, by the dim firelight, they come to sit with me. The first of these is tall and thin with hollow cheeks, and a toothless grin, a ghastly stare, and scraggly hair, and an ugly lump for a chin. The second of these is short and fat with beady eyes, like a starving rat- he was soaked in sin to his oily skin, and verminous, at that. The crouching one is of ape-like plan, formed like a beast that resembled man: a freakish thing, with arms a-swing, and he was the third of that gruesome clan. The first I stabbed with a Chinese knife, and left on the white beach sand, with his ghastly stare, and blood-soaked hair, and an out-flung, claw-like hand. The fat one stole a crumbling crust, that he wolfed in his swinish way- so I left him there, with eyes a-glare, and his head cut of half-way. We fought to kill, the brute and I, that the one that lived might eat, so I killed him too, and made a stew, and dined on human meat. And so these three come to visit me, when without the night winds howl- the one with the leer, the one with a sneer, and the one with a brutish scowl. Their lips are dumb, but the three dead come and crouch by the hollow grate- the man that I stabbed, the man that I cut, and the gruesome thing that I ate. Their lips are sealed, with blood congealed, but they will not let me be, and so they haunt, grim, ghastly, and gaunt, till death shall set me free. I have three friends, three faithful friends, more faithful could not be- and every night, by the dim firelight, they come to sit with me. | ||
| Crusty |
Toilets, Trucks and Trees Yesterday was a busy day.It started early when Kayla (my Grand Niece who was visiting for a few days) came into the house to get the keys for the Ute. She and Melia were picking up rocks in the drive (Is it a driveway when it’s a quarter mile long?) so that Melia could use the mower, instead of having to use the weed whacker. They did not want my help, as, “Grandma is paying me to do it” and Kayla could use the money. Did you ever see a 14 year old who didn’t need more money? Anyhow, they were out working at 5:30 AM, and I didn’t really want to hack out a Snippet, so I set up the power washer and started cleaning the front (back?) stairs.What I think is the front of the house is the back, and vice versa. Along about 7:00, Melia asked me if I wanted to go to town with them. They had to get a new battery for the Ute and some diesel fuel for the tractor and a couple of other items, so I went with them. Boy, car batteries are expensive here! The Ute is a rebranded Isuzu Rodeo and I figure the battery would cost about $40 - $50 in the U.S. Here, it was over $160. We also bought a new H 4 headlight bulb for the Suzuki, since one had burned out. It was only $18, which is a lot more like the prices back home. We got back home, put the battery in the Ute and the headlight in the Suzuki and went back to what we had been doing. I finished pressure washing about 11:00, showered and we set off to go to Gatton again. Kayla had an appointment to get her legs waxed, and I needed a haircut. So I checked out the barber shop that Ron has used in the past. The barber was an attractive older lady who knew how to cut hair. She was also very talkative. We discussed snow, (she’s a native Queenslander who’s never even seen snow), Politics and some other stuff. The haircut was cheap since I’m a Pensioner (Australian for Retiree). Melia and Kayla picked me up after Kayla was finished getting waxed and we set off for Brunswick Heads. At one point during the drive down to the coast, we were talking about Christmas trees. There are no Australian trees that look like they would make a suitable Christmas tree. Melia has an Artificial tree here at the house. The closest thing to a Blue Spruce here is a Hoop Pine, and they look more like a Charlie Brown tree than a real Christmas Tree. I took a picture of a Hoop Pine to show the folks back home what they look like. I started thinking about other things that are different here. When we’re going down the highway, I’m constantly amazed by the trucks. 22 wheelers are the most common size for a single trailer, but I’ve seen Tandems with as many as 46 wheels; and I have yet to see a Truck Train. I think they tend to avoid traffic around urban areas for good reason. Another thing that I don’t see is Tire Gators. I wonder if the lighter loads per wheel cause less heat buildup, so the tires don’t lose their tread as often. The roads certainly get hot enough. Since I was thinking about differences, I thought about hoe different an Australian toilet is from what I'm used to. Instead of having a lever on the side of the tank, which is customary in the U.S., there are two buttons on the top of the tank cover. The one on the left does a “half flush”, while the button on the right does a full flush. It’s a pretty smart system for not wasting water. (I just went into the bathroom and took a picture go the toilet tank) Water is very valuable here. Nearly every house in this area has big tanks to hold drinking water. I think the one here at the house holds about 10,000 gallons. The drain pipes from the roof all lead into it. Rain is an important source of water. Melia also has a well that pumps into a different tank, and the water from it is used for all other purposes. That’s enough for this morning. I have things that I need to do today. | ||
| Alfau |
https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone /numbers-and-privacy/do-not-call-register | ||
| Pwnzor |
In the Caribbean, whence the majority of my family tree has it's roots, the houses all have cisterns, and the water you drink, wash, flush, etc with is all rain water. If you run out, you drive to the local well and pay it's owner so you can fill up whatever containers you can carry. Good times. | ||
| Buellish |
John,I guess like me you haven't bought a battery for a car or truck lately.I just looked up my mid sized sedan and batteries ranged from $117 to $215.I haven't had to buy an auto battery in over ten years and it seems like I remember paying around $60 for a pretty good battery. | ||
| Crusty |
Nearby houses with water tanks  Hoop Pines  An Australian Toilet  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Yeah... I just paid $175.00 for a 51R (smaller size) car battery... Absorbed Glass Mat. | ||
| Damnut |
John, they have those toilets here too. | ||
| 86129squids |
 Hunnhhh, WhUT | ||
| Crusty |
The Night Before Star Wars Awakens Quiet day today. I took some more parts off the Iron Motor and cleaned them. It sometimes is painful to see just how bad it got. However, I got an E mail from Mike Kerrigan that said, basically, I have a new Bucket List Item. I guess I do. I’m going to get it up and running. I’d like to do a frame-up rebuild. Send the frame and a bunch of other parts out and get them powder coated. Spend the money to do it right. That’s what I’d like. I think I’ll have to settle for a very slow and gradual process of improvement. That’s OK; I can live with that. I never mentioned how the steak was at the Pub in Brunswick Heads. I had heard that the pub was bought out and Yuppified. When I went there for dinner, last night, the first thing I saw was the Specials board. The top item was Grilled Atlantic Salmon for $27.99. Now, why would anybody want frozen fish from half way around the planet when they could have any number of very tasty local fish caught that day? The Steak sandwich, I have to report has been Yuppified. First, it cost $18.00. It no longer is a very tasty steak with fried onions. The steak itself was good, but it was served with a slice of bacon and melted cheese. Instead of fried onions, I got 4 slices of cucumber, 2 slices of tomato, 2 slices of beetroot, and enough lettuce to bulk the sandwich up. It came with Chips (Fries) that were good, but not good enough to justify the price. It was a disappointment. The steak sandwich I had at the bakery in Ferndale was far superior and cost about 8 bucks less. Maybe I should go there for lunch again, one of these days. One thing I won’t do is go to Byron Bay and get a steak sandwich. While I have good memories of the sandwiches there, that Hotel was also bought out by the same people who bought the Pub in Brunswick. That’s one thing about chasing memories. Things change over time. The Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo was like that. I had great memories from the ‘70s, but the meal I got there in August was a major disappointment. However, sometimes I’m not disappointed.Sometimes, I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of a meal that I expected to be, at best, adequate. Like the Pit Beef sandwiches at the Delmar, Delaware Half Mile or the burger I got at the Marysvale (Utah) Diner. Then, there was the Pulled Pork at the West Virginia Buell Rally. I was expecting that to be good, but it was so much better than my expectations, I couldn’t stop eating it; even after I was full. A mosquito bit mr right on the knuckle of my big toe last night, and it’s itching me a lot right now. Just thought I’d mention that. That’s enough for this evening. I’ll probably write more sometime tomorrow. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's a nice... dog. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I was going to say "nice kitty". We might want to take that one down... NSFW | ||
| Reepicheep |
I have removed the photo. Alfau, please don't post a picture like that here again. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Thank you... my wife, children, female coworkers... any of them could be looking over my shoulder at any time. | ||
| Reepicheep |
You would think people would know better... | ||
| Pwnzor |
I was just scrolling downward... showing my coworkers Crusty's pictures of far flung exotic locations... and we were treated to a very exotic location indeed. Thank goodness it was just the guys, and not any of the ladies from the front office. | ||
| Crusty |
Thank you, Bill. There's a time and a place for everything. This is the wrong place for that picture. | ||
| Crusty |
Call God??? Back in the early 80s, my friend Kathryn went to a local carnival in Waltham. She was walking by the old “Test Your Strength” game. The one where you hit a lever with a big ass sledge hammer and try to ring the bell. There were different gradations with He Man up near the top to Sick Duck at the bottom. She was walking by and in a moment of Dyslexia, she transposed the i and u of Sick Duck. She did a double take, then read it correctly. She told us about it, and that Carnival was henceforth known as the Sick Duck Carnival. When I first arrived here, I saw a sign about preventing wild fires. I saw, “To Report a Fire, Call GOD”. When I looked again, I saw that it actually said, “Call 000” (That’s Australian for 911). I chuckle every time I pass that sign. Tonight, we went into Gatton for a street carnival, There were rides fot kids, bands, people singing Christmas Carols, a Meat Raffle, food vendors, all the usual street carnival stuff. I had a great time. We sat and bought tickets for a number of draws in the meat auction (tickets were $2.00 each) Each draw raffled off three prizes the first two were Hams and the third was for a ring of Wurst. The proceeds were to buy a couple of Defibrillators for the town. It was not a sophisticated affair, but I sure enjoyed it. I didn’t win a thing, but I definitely got my money’s worth. Simple, real people having simple real fun. Toward the end of the festivities, Santa Claus made his appearance and all the little kids got to go up on stage with him and dance to Christmas songs. I think I spent a total of thirty bucks, and that included dinner and a Flat White Coffee for dessert. I’ve blown more money and had less fun many times. At one point, just before sunset, a large flock of Lorikeets was flying all over the town making quite a racket. It’s really fascinating to look up and see fifty or more bright red and green birds swarming around in the air above you. The Temperature was perfect, I don’t think it fell below 75º (F) with a very gentle breeze. Everybody is into Christmas here except me. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas. While I’m loving the weather, the warmth and length of daylight feels more like the Fourth of July than December. I did enjoy listening to the Carolers, so there’s still a chance I’ll catch the Christmas Spirit before the Day arrives next week. Once again, it’s 10:00 (PM) and time to get some sleep. Later. | ||
| Al_lighton |
So up here in the northern hemisphere, lots of our "Christmas" songs are really snow songs...jingle bells, white Christmas, frosty, and a couple dozen others. They're ubiquitous here in the states, but would just make no sense at all down in Australia. Do you even hear any of those down there? And do they have summertime equivalents that they sing instead? | ||
| Crusty |
Al, They sang the traditional Christmas Carols. I didn't hear any of the non specific winter tunes, but I wasn't focused on listening to what songs exactly they were singing. When Santa made his appearance, he was wearing the customary red suit with the white fur edging. Also, it does snow in Australia in places like the Snowy Mountains and in Tasmania, so even though I'm well up north where it doesn't snow, it's not completely tropical. I don't think there's any difference in the songs they sing. | ||
| Crusty |
The Other Sportster I’ve been working on the Iron Motor so much that it’s easy to forget that I have an ’05 Sportster parked in Massachusetts, waiting for my return. I plan to modify it to make it more travel friendly when I get back from here. Maintenance wise, it needs a new drive belt and sprockets installed (an anonymous person named Sam bought them for me). that won’t take very long. I already bought cast wheels. I’ll get them powder coated, install new wheel bearings, brake rotors and put new tires on, as well. I also want to put a 4 1/2 gallon tank from a Custom on it to extend the distance between fuel stops. That means I have to replace the seat, as the bigger tank is longer. Harley makes a Sundowner seat for both the small tank (which is the seat I currently have) and one for the larger tank which has a shorter front “nose”. I’ll have to get one of them when I put the new tank on. I also plan to put an old style front fender on the bike, not only do I like the looks better, it will help channel rain away from me better than the little fender that’s stock. My biggest project will be to get a set of mounting racks for Hepco&Becker hard bags modified to fit so I can have hard bags. I bought a set of mounting racks for a VTX Honda off Fleabay a few weeks ago for short money, so I think that will happen; hopefully without too much Drama. The reason I bring all this up is that yesterday, I was surfing eBay, just pricing things for the Iron Motor and I decided to look at gas tanks. There was a Custom tank that fits my '05 up for auction, so I put a bid in on it. I don’t expect to win it, but it would be nice if I did. Especially since it started at $100.00. I figure that between it being winter and not as many people are looking at parts and the fact that it’s the week before Christmas so people are looking at other things for gifts, I might just have a chance to get a gas tank for a reasonable price. If I win it, it will be a nice little gift for me. I spent a good bit of time yesterday removing parts from the Iron Motor and using the wire wheel to clean corrosion off them. While it’s nice to see improvement, It’s also saddening to see how the years of neglect have taken a once beautiful machine and turned it into a pile of rust and corrosion. She’s coming back, though, and I think it will all work well once I get to the point of being able to fire it up. In the meantime, it was kind of nice to bid on something to enhance the ’05. | ||
| Greg_e |
Have you spun the motor over a couple times to see what kind of shape the cylinders are in? Even looked down the plug holes with a flashlight to see what it looks like? | ||
| Buellish |
Just received a dose of Christmas cheer all the way from Australia,merry Christmas John! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Everybody in the Anthony house was pleased to see a Christmas card from Australia! Good Lord, $2.50 to mail an envelope!!! I guess when you think about how far it came, and how many people must have handled it along the way, it's actually a bargain. Thank you John, we appreciate it! |
