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So as I understand things, there are three things one does not discuss in the wardroom¹ of a ship of the United States Navy - politics, religion, and sex².
Why? Well, those are the things that many folks might get upset about, so for the sake of good order and discipline, stay away from those topics.
So guess what I've been chafing at the bit to write about?
No, not the third part of that triumvirate of taboo topics. (Whoa, Sarge, alliteration, really?)
Lately I've been keen to give voice to my views on both politics AND religion.
Seems safe enough. (Yup, the sign says minefield, can't be that many mines. Right?)
But no, not right now.
For now, I'll just smile and wave boys, smile and wave.
Addendum to that very short post above ...
Okay, a busy day on Thursday, getting my automobile ready for the haul down to Annapolis next week. She was almost due for an oil change so I figured, do it now. Cuppla other things automotive had to be attended to as well (tire rotation, other fluids, filters, ad infinitum) and the back window wiper blade had joined the choir invisible as well.
So I did that. Cost me money but hey, I don't care. It's another case of I could probably do that if I had the right tools, a garage with a lift, the expertise, and a shop with genuine Honda parts attached to the domicile. Not to mention the patience, I do have the time, but Lord knows I don't have the patience.
Had a troop who worked for me at SAC HQ once remark to me, "I don't understand why people don't work on their own cars." He did, loved doing so.
I told him that it was something I did not care to do but was more than willing to pay someone who enjoyed doing that sort of thing to, well, do that sort of thing.
Anyhoo, I've got a few ideas for a new fictional series but need to do the research before doing so. It's nice to be cognizant of historical stuff, but to make a good story, one must understand the underlying details.
An idea takes time to marinate. So yeah, that's what I'm doing and yes, that is my excuse.
Be seeing you.
¹ The wardroom is where the officers of the ship take their meals.
² Apparently that maxim extends beyond the Navy and to polite society in general, or so my research indicates, shallow though that may be.
I used to work on my cars. Simple things, tune ups, oil and coolant changes, changing the alternator, changing the starter, that kind of thing. I didn't like it, but it was doable, not too unpleasant, and saved me mones. Now? No room to work on the engine, need a degree in computer science to do half of it. Left it to the professionals.
ReplyDeleteSine proposito, Didjaall see the latest rapid unscheduled disassembly?
I did not see that, didn't even know there was a launch. All the political circuses have hold of my attention lately.
DeleteThe Penguins of Madagascar may be thf most brilliant animated group of our time. Their characterizations are great. If you have never watched the movie of the same name with the grandkids, I highly recommend it (to be fair, I just love watching it myself).
ReplyDeleteHere's a dad joke for them. Elon Musk made an electric car. A Lemur Madagascar. https://youtu.be/NaNcYU4wl9s?si=XB9qMM-hhCcKV0gi&t=77
DeleteTB - Yes, I've watched it a couple of times. I even have a small version of Skipper in my computer room.
DeleteTuna - I'm not sure I get it, but I liked the clip.
DeleteIn days of old, those who didn't have time used to be able to leave their cars with those who did have time and expertise and said individual would be happy to use the Auto Hobby Shop to fix whatever was wrong. There were guys who were extremely talented in every portion of mechanics and repair. Dents, paintings and all sorts of things were taken care of to the satisfaction of all involved. Then someone of authority stepped in and said that such activity was abusing the hobby shop. So ended the ability of the gearheads to make a bit besides the AF pay and those who were working long shifts were sent off base to the sharks.
ReplyDeleteFor those who don't know Air Force history, LeMay was the man behind all of the hobby shops and even encouraged drag racing on the runways on weekends when they weren't in use.
Dave
The Hobby Shop was a godsend overseas. The AAFES garage was worse than off base, the guys who ran the Hobby Shop were always available as Learned Counsel and our shop at least was well-equipped. Just the thing for a single guy ( and the occasional stud-muffin gal) to do on a Saturday morning.
DeleteBoat Guy
Dave - Those were the days. Odd how the shoe clerks like to ruin everything they touch. Didn't know that about Lemay.
DeleteBG - If you thought the AAFES garage was bad, try a CANEX one sometime. (We had CANEX on our NATO base in Germany, we called it the NATEX, but it was Canadian operated.)
DeleteFortunately this isn't a wardroom right? RIGHT?!? Otherwise I'd have no place to vent! haha. I gave up waxing political on social media for lent. I figured it was time considering a few of my recent posts have generated a bunch of comments- some in support, some in polite disagreement, some down-right nasty. And some seemingly in response on their own pages that weren't quite so polite, including one in which a former close friend and KofC brother angrily demanded that anyone who felt different than he wrt a particular issue or politician unfriend him NOW! I didn't take the bait, just stating that I don't need to do that over just political differences. Another brother wished him well and asked him to let go of the hate, that's it's not worth it. We'll see what happens. Until Easter, and maybe thereafter, I'll just take your advice and "just smile and wave."
ReplyDeleteYou have special dispensation to rant as you do it in a classy way. I'm always on the verge of an unhinged rant, so I try to abstain.
DeleteMy first car was a 1967 Mustang Fastback, and my first truck, a 1947 International KB-1. I knew exactly what made them go down the road.
ReplyDeleteMy current vehicles are a 2007 Ford F-150, and a 2017 Ford Focus. I haven't the slightest idea what makes them go down the road. I suspect it's the black things with all the cables leading to boxes under the hoods. They have a certain enginoucity to them, but I wouldn't bet any money on that belief.
It's all magic these days.
DeleteI could, and did, work on my first "new" car, a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle. No computers involved (in anything then) and the only wires were for battery, lights and ignition and I could understand those. Price out the door was $1,013, but an Ensign's pay was barely $200 a month (before taxes) so it was incumbent to do one's own maintenance. It ran great until Ohio's salty roads ate the floorboards and heater channels so it got sold off at 138,000 miles, which was pretty good longevity for about 12 years use. Between the local VW dealer parts dept and J.C. Whitney you could replace just about ANYTHING on the Beetles, and Bondo, pop rivets, duct tape and bailing wire were easy to use.
ReplyDeleteMan, those things would go in the snow!
Good times....
JB
I remember my Beetles (2) with great fondness Easy to work on, no special tools, everything pretty accessible.
DeleteThese days, ah, um, no.
First job out of HS was at a Service (as opposed to gas-) Station that specialized in all things VW.. Learned.a LOT, but ultimately learned I did not want to turn wrenches for a living. Now I appreciate that I can a) afford to pay someone to do it for me and b) can immediately recognize a good shop from a bad one.
DeleteBoat Guy
Knowledge of what needs doing and how it was done is important. Once you find a good shop, hang onto them for as long as possible.
DeleteI had a very good Dutch mechanic when stationed in Germany who knew my Jetta better than the dealership with all of their computers and fancy Wolfsburg training certs. Some folks are incredible when it comes to machinery.
I know how do fix a car, from top to bottom. Do I want to? No. Do I want to try to fit my overly large hands and overly long fingers into a space that is tight for a child's hand? Decidedly not.
ReplyDeleteI have changed/replaced a unibelt on a Ford E150 on the side of a highway in 30 degree weather. I've changed a starter on a GMC Safari at a gas station on 100 degree weather. Even replaced a starter and an alternator and a whole bunch of other stuff on the not-so-gentle slope of a hill on a Chrysler Imperial that had the front end jacked up on cinder blocks so I could actually get to the pieces parts.
I have the knowledge and most of the tools.
Thankfully we have enough cash to fling at repair shops. Can't imagine trying to wrench on a car these days, between my age and the way vehicles these days are an unholy alliance of wires, pipes, dingly-doos, dohickeys, thingamabobs and what looks like it could be an engine under all of that stuff.
I hear ya!
DeleteFor years I worked on my vehicles. While I wasn't a good mechanic, you couldn't beat my hourly rate. In my dotage, the body says, "Not only no, but hell no!" One residual benefit of knowing how to fix it, is knowing when the mechanic is giving me a load of b.s.
ReplyDeleteRecognizing truth and competence is always helpful.
DeleteWhen I lived in GFND, there was a ramshackle old garage at the end of the street run by a father & son. Honest and caring. I had all my car work done there. When the dad suggested (not to be taken lightly) that I finally get a newer car, I asked his recommendation of a used car dealer. It was a little one up the street that he had bought a couple cars from himself. After six years, it was the best advice I ever took.
DeleteThose who know are the best sort of advisors.
DeleteTook a couple months, but one finally appeared. Color immaterial. It was under 100K miles and cost less than $10K with trade-in (getting rid of the old Blazer). Only been about one $400 car "payment" per repairs since.
DeleteSeek and ye shall find.
DeleteI'm the son of a mechanic, so I grew up working on things. Vehicles aren't complicated to me, and working on them doesn't seem onerous. I figure I'm lucky, in that not everybody is that way.
ReplyDelete--Tennessee Budd
You are lucky. Visits to my paternal grandparents would often find a vehicle in the driveway in various stages of disassembly. My grandfather, my father, and his brothers all liked to work on vehicles. Somehow I inherited none of that desire. Although I'm fairly good at things mechanical, they don't fascinate me to the point of wanting to work on them.
DeleteProbably my loss.
Amateur radio, at least when I was new to the hobby, encourages folks not to discuss these three matters. There are always boors who trample on these ideas but when I hear them, I turn the tuning knob and go elsewhere, after noting the call signs of the offenders in my "Never Worked" list so that I never log any contacts with them down the road. Shunning is still useful.
ReplyDeleteAvoiding idiocy is always smart.
Delete