fritz

With friends like that, you don't need enemies! That's for sure. I have been lucky to have some kin and friends living close by, and just today I remembered that I had left my rechargeable drill battery on when I left home. Not wanting to make a trip back home to unplug it, I called my sister who lives on the other end of the farm. She came over and unplugged it. She unplugged all the other tools also, but that was fine. I have had rechargeable batteries go kaput when left on the charger too long. fritz

Well, I'm not in the market for a bridge (my commisioner just repaired the culvert that he built wrong a year ago). Nor am I in the market for oceanfront property in Arizona (maybe the AzRedneck would be). I am just grateful that we are not getting an influx of foreigners here in South Texas. Now, how would you folks up north like to have some cheap labor? Take a line from the movie about baseball in the Iowa cornfield----build it and they will come. Oh, you say that you didn't build anything, and they still come? There must be something very interesting up there for them to be attracted like a magnet to you. Sure glad we don't have any foreigners sneaking in here. That's because our elected government is going to give them the "guest worker" title. Then they don't need to "sneak" in----they will be invited in! Did you invite the people that you are talking about? fritz

"When welding a bolt handle, how hot do you need to pre-heat the parts?" Not real hot, and it depends on the temperature in the room where you are welding. In S. Texas it gets so hot in the summer that pre-heating is not necessary. You want to lessen the change in the temp of the part before welding and the temp it will get to when welding starts. In cold climates, this requires pre-heat. A metal part at 32 degrees will need to be pre-heated. A metal part at 100 degrees will not. fritz

""We have to find a solution to meet the sexual desire of the youth who have no possibility of marriage," Pourmohammadi was quoted as saying by local newspapers." When I was a youth (many years ago), the boys went to Mexico "to meet the sexual desire of the youth". I guess that is a little far for the Iranian boys to go, so maybe this country could alleviate some of its immigration problems by sending the Mexican girls to Iran. Prostitution? Hell, it's not as bad as fighting a war is it? Besides, it is the oldest profession in the world. Iran, get over it! fritz

"If you’ve recently purchased a new firearm; read the manufacturer instructions and safety precautions included. Then ignore them. Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can't do. For Christsakes, you own a gun!" Ignoring, or losing, the instruction manual that comes with a new firearm, is what keeps gunsmiths in business. Many times I have had to put the parts back into their respective places so as to make the gun function again. Of course it was all spelled out in the instruction manual, but so many folks throw them away after they open the box. The internet has made downloading a new instruction manual very easy, and I have had to do so before starting to repair some firearms that I do not own or worked on before. The firearm's owner could have done it himself, but why tell him so when you can make a few bucks off the pidgeon? Besides, many are too lazy to do so. fritz

"Hey Fritz, they don't list the contributions to the Dems. Don't think they aren't there." What I quoted was the personal campaign contributions of Mr. Rex W. Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil. If you can show me where he contributed anything to the Democratic party, I will eat my post. Until then, I await your research. I am sure you will have to burn the midnight candle before you find such an entry. Perhaps some contributions were made to the Democratic party in the name of ExxonMobil---but what I presented were the personal contributions of Mr. Rex W. Tillerson. I wonder who he will contribute to this upcoming campaign. With his earnings (does he really earn them), he should be able to surpass the schitty little amount (compared to his income) that he did last election. fritz

I don't know if anyone caught it, but in my post about the CEO of ExxonMobil's campaign contributions---did you notice that Rex W. Tillerson moves around quite a bit? Argyle, Tx--where the hell is that? Irving, Tx---we know where that is because that is where the Cowboys play. Richmond, Tx---where Houston begins (well it begins in Sugarland, but sugar would be a dead giveaway. Tomball, Tx---where Houston ends. Bartonville, Tx (aka several other spellings)--is there such a place? I guess Mr. Tillerson has many royal palaces. Sadam Hussein (the dictator) had many. So why should not the CEO of ExxonMobil have such luxuries? Why not indeed? And with the money to buy any candidate he damned well chooses, he chose Bush and Cheney and their cohorts. I bet he didn't have to twist their arm very hard! fritz

Hey Rat, There's only one surefire way to be sure--post a picture of yourself here. Karl, that goes for you also. Emul8, I would like to see what you look like, but it's OK if you decline. Women's rights. Jerry? Jim? How about it? Surely you cannot look worse than fritz in his Pancho Villa garb! I should be ashamed of myself for masquerading as a Mexican, but since I live amongst them----- fritz

When you have friends in high places, you must take care of them. Read this about the campaign contributions of Exxon/Mobil---- Rex Tillerson , 55 (bio) Exxon Mobil chairman, ceo > $24,200 Republican $10,000 special interest total: $34,200 < Contributor Candidate or PAC Amount Date Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Bartonville , TX 76226 Exxon Mobile Corp/Executive NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ® $1,500 primary 03/22/07 Tillerson, Rex Argyle , TX 76226 Exxonmobil/Senior Vice President REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS ® $500 primary 02/26/07 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle , TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $1,100 primary 01/16/07 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Mobile Corp/Executive NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ® $5,000 primary 11/02/06 Tillerson, Rex Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Mobile Corp./Chairman & CEO BURGESS, MICHAEL C DR. ® House (TX 26) MICHAEL BURGESS FOR CONGRESS $500 general 10/17/06 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Mobile Corp/Executive NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ® $2,500 primary 06/28/06 Tillerson, Rex Irving, TX 75039 EXXON MOBIL CORP/CHAIRMAN & CEO EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (EXXONMOBIL PAC) $5,000 primary 05/16/06 TILLERSON, REX IRVING, TX 75039 EXXON MOBIL CORP./CHAIRMAN AND CEO HUTCHISON, KAY BAILEY ® Senate - TX KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON FOR SENATE COMMITTEE $2,100 general 03/29/06 Tillerson, Rex Argyle, TX 76226 Exxonmobil/Senior Vice President REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS ® $500 primary 02/27/06 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $1,000 primary 01/18/06 Tillerson, Rex Bartonville, TX 76226 EXXON MOBIL CORP/PRESIDENT EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (EXXONMOBIL PAC) $3,000 primary 05/27/05 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 03/28/05 Tillerson, Rex Argyle, TX 76226 Exxonmobil/Senior Vice President REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS ® $500 primary 02/16/05 TILLERSON, REX W MR. BARTENVILLE, TX 76226 EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION/PRESIDENT BUSH, GEORGE W ® President BUSH-CHENEY '04 COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE INC. $2,000 general 06/08/04 TILLERSON, REX BANTONVILLE, TX 76226 EXXON MOBIL CORP/PRESIDENT EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (EXXONMOBIL PAC) $2,000 primary 05/10/04 Tillerson, Rex Argyle, TX 76226 Exxonmobil/Senior Vice President REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS ® $500 primary 04/29/04 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Mobile Corp/Executive NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ® $250 primary 01/27/04 Tillerson, Rex W Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 01/16/04 Tillerson, Rex W. Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 12/16/03 Tillerson, Rex Argyle, TX 76226 Exxonmobil/Senior Vice President REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS ® $500 primary 12/16/03 TILLERSON, REX W MR. BARTENVILLE, TX 76226 EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION/PRESIDENT BUSH, GEORGE W ® President BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC $2,000 primary 09/23/03 Tillerson, Rex W. Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 07/18/03 Tillerson, RexW. Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 05/08/03 Tillerson, RexW. Mr. Argyle, TX 76226 Exxon Corporation/Executive REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $500 primary 11/13/02 TILLERSON, REX W RICHMOND, TX 77469 EXXON CORPORATION REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $200 primary 10/11/00 TILLERSON, REX W RICHMOND, TX 77469 EXXON CORPORATION REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ® $300 primary 06/22/00 TILLERSON, REX W TOMBALL, TX 77375 EXXON CO USA FIELDS, JACK ® House (TX 08) FIELDS FOR CONGRESS $250 general 07/10/92 fritz didn't get any

"It's BS and he is just being the mouthpiece for big oil on that topic. " Of course he is. While there has always been the old rule of supply/demand setting the prices of commodities, the oil industry (with the help of Bush and Cheney) no longer needs to follow that. Remember the big tax breaks that Bush and Cheney gave oil companies two years ago? The same years that the oil companies were reaping record profits? Now come on fellows, does a skunk have to be in your lap before you smell him? It's one thing to fool some of the people some of the time, but when the administration is trying to fool everyone all of the time? Perhaps I should not resent high profits on behalf of the oil companies, since I am expecting them to drill a well on my land. In which case I would reap some of the profits that the high price of oil brings (to the tune of 22.5% of the oil from the well). But I still have reservations on how these high prices are sustained. Supply and demand just don't cut it anymore. No, there is more to it than that. Regardless of what Fox News (and the other GOP controlled talking heads) contend. fritz

"We were told that it was a feral hog," Mike Stone said, "and we hunted it on the pretense that it was a feral hog." Yeah, yeah. I have heard that before. ANY hunter that can not tell the difference between a feral hog and a pet domestic hog should not be allowed to be turned loose on a parcel of land to hunt. I have a distaste in my mouth for these "canned hunts", and that is all the hell this was! I also dislike the baiting of deer (a game animal) so that a hunter need only set in a comfy blind along a sendero and shoot the biggest one that eats his corn (or the corn put out by the "guide", ie preserve manager). That is not the way I hunted. But I guess it is the way that hunts are conducted nowadays that money talks, and talks loudly. I am getting about fed up with the high-fence (but I noticed that article mentioned low-fence) style of hunting. It will someday be examined in the Texas Legislature how putting up a high fence around your ranch (and fencing IN native whitetail deer which are the property of the State of Texas) can allow this practice to continue. Exotics are exempt from hunting seasons, but not native whitetail deer. If you put a high fence around your ranch, you are fencing IN all deer, not just the exotics you introduced. Feral hogs are not a game animal. And it goes to reason that domestic hogs are not either. I would consider anyone who shoots a pet hog and perpretrates a story such as this to be a sorry excuse for a hunter. Or maybe he just had enough money to make himself look like a "big shot". Jerry, I guess we have once again learned to listen to the old saying----"Believe nothing you read, and only half of what you see". fritz

I have to admit that I have a habit of slicing the ball, but instead of a cow pasture there is a nego Baptist church just to the right of #1 fairway. Just about where a long tee shot could reach. I am not sure, but I believe I have a few golf balls under the church. I may have even hit a stained glass window on it. But it didn't break. Lately I have developed the habit of aiming to the other side, but sometimes accidents happen. fritz

All these examples do NOT imply that gasoline is cheap; it just illustrates how outrageous some prices are.... You will be really shocked by the last one!!!! (At least, I was...) Compared with Gasoline...... Think a gallon of gas is expensive? This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective. Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ... $10.32 per gallon Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ..........$9.52 per gallon Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 .... $10.17 per gallon Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ......... $10.00 per gallon Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ......... $33.60 per gallon Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ... $178.13 per gallon Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 .. $123.20 per gallon Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ....... . $25.42 per gallon Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .....$84.48 per gallon And this is the REAL KICKER... Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER and the buyers don't even know the source. (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.) Ever wonder why printers are so cheap? So they have you hooked for the ink. Someone calculated the cost of the ink at................ you won't believe it................... but it is true......................... $5,200 a gal. (five thousand two hundred dollars) So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil or God forbid, Printer Ink!!!!! fritz

",One day a mother died. And on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of her bedroom, the daughter was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. No more hugs, no more lucky moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, No more "just one minute" Sometimes, what we care about the most goes away. never to return before we can say good-bye, Say "I Love You." So while we have it . . it's best we love it . . And care for it and fix it when it's broken and take good care of it when it's sick. This is true for marriage .... and friendships .. And children with bad report cards; And dogs with bad hips; And aging parents and grandparents We keep them because they are worth it, Because we cherish them! Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, No matter what. Life is important, and so are the people we know And so, we keep them close! " fritz

"Hell, people are so dam blind and in love with the idea of free trade that I got cussed out when I called for tariffs at a UNION meeting." Well, I still remember the days of my early farming. The days that I farmed my land for a decent living for me and mrs fritz. The days that my farming, with its hard work and questionable crops, meant the difference between income or loss. Enter the grain embargo. Enter the use of agricultural products as a State Department ball to use in THEIR ball game. Makes no nevermind if the ball was theirs, or owned by family farmers all over the country. This country used THEIR farmers to gain political points from other countries. Without our permission. But so did the other guy. Hell, why should they need our permission? Just name me one time when our government has asked permission from its citizens before doing what it wants to do? And let's not bring up some other things that come to mind. Let's stick to agriculture, and the way our country has used it as a State Department tool. fritz

The reason for annealing the bolt root prior to work is because it is easier to cut through annealed steel than hard steel. That is the reason given in most manuals, and may have been more important in years past. With the new cutting wheels we have today, there is no need to anneal the bolt root before cutting, and welding with or without annealing first is of no concern. Pre-heating the parts is probably the most important thing to a good welding job. Starting a weld on cold metal parts may be the reason for many failures. The method used to weld is not as important as the pre-heat. Or so has been my experience as a weldor for the last 45 years. Makes no nevermind what you are welding on, if you start a weld on a cold part you are adding to the difficulty of getting a good weld. And more importantly, a solid weld. fritz

Ahh yes, The doubters will always come. But if it takes Fox News to substantiate a story, I still have my doubts. Besides, it wasn't a "feral" hog. Anybody who has killed as many as I have can tell the difference between a true feral hog and a domestic hog that was fed out on a game preserve. fritz

Fellows, Let me add tractor mechanics to the list of craftsmen that you have to wait on. I used to work on my own tractors (back when they were simple 4 cylinder gasoline engines. I overhauled an 8N Ford several times (because in hard use they needed it). I just can't bring myself to tear down the newer diesel engines on my tractors today. Add the fact that I am no longer a young man, and I have to depend (no, I ain't on those diapers yet) on local tractor mechanics to do it. A four week timetable has a habit of turning into a four month delay to get your tractor back. Once they have it in the shop you are at their mercy. They will tear it down and give you all sorts of reasons for not putting it back togather again. Sound familiar to you who send a gun to a gunsmith? fritz

Jason, Amen! I agree with the fact that polls, surveys, etc. can and will be used for a specific end. Jerry, "and other than job security,we still have it better than our folks.I don't think we're any happier than they,but have more opportunity and money to throw around." Agreed. BUT, the job security thing is the catch. I agree that I am no happier than my father was, and while I have more money to "throw around", I don't. That is something that I learned from my father, who went through the Great Depression. Even though he amassed a goodly sum by hard work, he did not "throw" it around. Call that being a cheapskate, a tightwad, whatever the hell you want to call it----the fact that going throught the Great Depression set the way he lived the rest of his life. I do believe that he expected another depression in his lifetime, and he prepared for it. Now, that is the main difference between his generation, mine, and my son's generation. I guess it is only natural that, as generations pass, they forget about the past generations. And polls, surveys, etc. do not take that into play. Schitt, that would be old-fashioned for a pollster, a surveyor, or whatever the hell he calls himself, to understand. Much less to take into consideration in his poll, survey, etc. that he already has reached a conclusion before he starts to write. In case you did not get it, I agree with Jason wholeheartedly about studies put into print in the media of today. Let a man (or woman) who has experienced the real life, the life that may be different from his/her observation of what he/she thinks, let that man or woman write something and get it published in today's media. Good luck! fritz

Tony, First off, thanks for the info. And while I agree that men in their 30's today are not better off than their fathers, there may be reasons for this that were not mentioned in the article (unless I missed it). When I was starting college, they asked in a questionaire, the following question---"Do you expect to be better off than your father?" While my father was by no means a wealthy man (by the standards of the time), I also saw how he turned nothing into something. I saw him as a sucessful man, and I answered the question as NO. Maybe they were missing something in their logic when they assumed that we must be better off than our fathers. Maybe they assumed (that's a word that can be interpreted as making an ass out of u and me) that the kids of that day will normally be better off than their fathers. What they failed to see was this----in my father's generation a man could take a mule and 40 acres and turn it into a bigger farm, worked by the new machinery of the day, and with hard work----make a damned good living. Oh, it may not have been considered "a damned good living" by the standards of the time, but all things are relative. And that is a fact that many studies, questionaires, etc. fail to take into play. Oh, they take into play the time worn-out phrase "inflation". But all things are relative. While I considered myself being sucessful if I achieved the level of lifestyle that my father had, others assumed (there is that word again) that I have to be better off. Well, guess what? Now the studies, surveys, questionaires, etc. seem to say that men today in their 30's are NOT better off than their fathers. I have a son in his 30's, and while he has a very good job with a tech company in Austin, I also see the possibility of him losing his job (and all he has worked for) overnight. And now for the thing that I think that your article failed to mention (unless I missed it)----- How many of the jobs (and thus the lifestyle) of men in their 30's today are affected by the American owned companies (at least once owned by America) closing up shop in this country and moving overseas? I would like to think that may have something to do with it. But what the hell do I know, I'm just a dirt farmer that happened to be as sucessful as his father. fritz

Last night I watched this movie, starring Danny Glover, about several recluse VietNam vets in the backwoods of what appeared to be the Pacific Northwest. It was a very intense look at what some went through after the war. Some just went off to be by themselves, but one had a lot worse case of what that war instilled in him. I recommend it, and while it had some real bad moments, the ending was good. fritz

Jerry, I noticed the same thing today. It seems that Memorial Day just does not mean anything to the younger generation (or the greedy contractors that want to get that house built with his illegals before the INS catches up to them). No, we are losing a bit more of our respect for history and what went on before us, each year. We don't have the respect for true heroes anymore, today on television they showed what the "celebrities" were doing (and had done). We look up to actors in a war movie more than we remember the real people who fought and died in that war. And we make idols of those who "entertain" us in the media, whether it be film or print, or whatever. America is losing more of its respect everyday (not only the respect of those in other countries, but the respect of its own people). I just don't know how long this can go on before we cease to exist as a people, and become just another spot on the map. fritz

"Are you ahead on your rain now Fritz? " Yes, the Weather Channel today compared Victoria to Birmingham, Alabama. We are plus 15.5" and they are minus about the same amount. But that's the way it goes, it flip-flops from year to year. When we are dry, the other place is wet. I'll take wet over dry any day. We got another downpour about an hour ago, had sun all day then it opens up. Well, the weather man said it would rain today. I guess he got this one right. Last night I mentioned that the Weather Service was predicting a dry spring. I thought they said that a month ago, but it was 3 months ago when they predicted no rain until June. Jerry, I feel for those fellows with the hay crops seeding out, and the grain falling over. I have been down that road myself. One of the first years I was farming on my own, me and mrs fritz went to a picture show one afternoon (they still had a theater here then) and when we went in there wasn't a cloud in the sky. When we came out, after a three hour movie, there were tree limbs all over the streets. It seems that a tropical storm had just popped up and moved over us. The weather forcasts were not very good back then. I sweated the entire 15 mile drive back to the farm, and when I got back home I could see all my corn (with big heavy ears) laying down. But we get over these little things, and I still made a crop. I just had to drive the machine one way (against the grain) and dead-head back to the other end. That wasn't the last time I had to do that, there were other windstorms and hurricanes. We're still here. fritz

I would doubt that reamers are undersize, but it has happened to me more than once that I have a tight chamber when I have reamed it so that it closes on a go, and does not close on a no-go. You can polish the chamber out to a smoother fit (recommended) or just ream a wee bit more when it closes on a go. fritz

It looks like it is raining over most of the nation lately. I am getting my share of it, and it could not come at a better time for my grass. I saw where the Indy race was stopped before the full 200 laps, and the golf tourney near Ft. Worth sure had its share of delays. Tony, I read in the papers that there were several drownings in your area, from cars being washed off roads. Today the biggest amounts seemed to come around Gruene (that's your old stomping grounds, isn't it?). I seem to recall a government service called the weather bureau or something saying about a month ago that it won't rain until June. I guess they missed that one. But what the heck, they still picked up their paychecks as if they were really earning them. Let it rain! fritz