The community I live in had a big pow wow with the County Sheriff this evening and I was amazed at some of the comments. After being told the number of deputies on duty at any given time, which was very few to cover 900 square miles, one person asked why there hadn't been a follow up on the information he supposedly had on possible suspects for the rash of burglaries we've had recently.
It seems the 16 year old daughter was home alone and a couple of men drove up trying to sell an asphalt driveway. Since the length of the driveway would have supposedly made the cost prohibitive, it was automatically assumed it was just an excuse to case the place and see if anyone was home. Without any laws being broken, except maybe endangerment to a minor that was left alone, the Sheriff was supposed to drop everything and send his understaffed deputies out to check on the report?
Another question was whether the state provides information of recently released prisoners. When told the parolees were reported, he wanted to know if those who had served their time were also reported to the sheriff. I always thought when you served your time, your obligation was fulfilled, you were free to go and do as you pleased and the offense wasn't continuously held against you.
Crime, especially burglary, is on the rise due to the economic situation. It's part of the fall out from a failure of the government's stimulus efforts, where there are many people out of work because of policies and laws passed in the last year or so. The government has taken over industries, which is far removed from the powers invested in them through Constitutional directives. There are unfunded mandates that are passed on to the local communities, which are creating economic hardships at every level of society.
There isn't a sense of propriety in much that is taking place now. The people seem to have lost any sense of what is proper in their quest for more things and have allowed the government to dictate what will or will not be done. The existence of the "nanny state" is evident in meetings, like what was held tonight. "They", the Sheriff's deputies, are supposed to protect property and prevent crime from ever happening, which is a ridiculous concept.
I have a gun that goes with me to meet strange vehicles. I don't leave the premises unoccupied very often and that in itself is a deterrent to crime. My wife is proficient with a shotgun, which is probably the best defensive device to use, especially when it's loaded with buckshot. We have made a living right here on the farm since 1987 and were satisfied with what we had (not having a television probably helped keep the "wants" under control). It would probably be better if everyone would heed these words: Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Contentment with what we have would ease a lot of economic burdens and bring over extended credit cards back under control. Taking care of yourself has always been part of being an American, so why would anyone expect the Sheriff to provide protection?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Lunch on the farm!
It seems like politics and such have been the focus of attention too many times, so how about a visit for lunch?
Meals get harder to prepare when there are only two at home, but it can still be done and my wife excels at it. Much of what we eat is still grown here, which gives us good variety and it reduces the food bill tremendously, especially when it's red or yellow bell peppers and tomatoes that are consumed (fresh asparagus could also be included).
It really doesn't take a lot of time or money to grow your own food and particularly if it's more along the specialty food line. As we advance in age, we look for easier methods to allow us to enjoy fresh food, so we have started what we call "tub gardening". The winter molasses feed for cows has provided an abundance of containers that can feed a pretty large plant and also gets it up higher to eliminate much of the stooping and bending to weed and harvest. Here's a portion of this year's garden. The tub garden is to the left of the outdoor luncheon that was prepared.
All sorts of fruits and vegetables can be grown this way, to include strawberries and blackberries.
We still have a traditional garden, but it's mostly for crops that need more production to supply our needs, like green beans and peas.
Lunch today was a combination of vegetables and leftovers that took the form of beef stew.
Of course, no meal is ever complete without some cat head biscuits.
And a cherry shortcake dessert with real whipped cream!
One of the side benefits of affordable food is the ability to share with others. A portion of this meal will go to a neighbor whose wife is in a nursing home. Home cooked meals are a premium for people in a situation like that and are always appreciated!
Meals get harder to prepare when there are only two at home, but it can still be done and my wife excels at it. Much of what we eat is still grown here, which gives us good variety and it reduces the food bill tremendously, especially when it's red or yellow bell peppers and tomatoes that are consumed (fresh asparagus could also be included).
It really doesn't take a lot of time or money to grow your own food and particularly if it's more along the specialty food line. As we advance in age, we look for easier methods to allow us to enjoy fresh food, so we have started what we call "tub gardening". The winter molasses feed for cows has provided an abundance of containers that can feed a pretty large plant and also gets it up higher to eliminate much of the stooping and bending to weed and harvest. Here's a portion of this year's garden. The tub garden is to the left of the outdoor luncheon that was prepared.
All sorts of fruits and vegetables can be grown this way, to include strawberries and blackberries.
We still have a traditional garden, but it's mostly for crops that need more production to supply our needs, like green beans and peas.
Lunch today was a combination of vegetables and leftovers that took the form of beef stew.
Of course, no meal is ever complete without some cat head biscuits.
And a cherry shortcake dessert with real whipped cream!
One of the side benefits of affordable food is the ability to share with others. A portion of this meal will go to a neighbor whose wife is in a nursing home. Home cooked meals are a premium for people in a situation like that and are always appreciated!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Marie Antoinette?
There's quite a bit of coverage of the Michelle Obama "vacation" in Spain this week. Some of the comments revolve around the concept presented by Marie Antoinette, of lavish living while the working people are having a hard time making ends meet.
There seems to be a real disconnect between the Obamas and reality for the average American. Most are struggling with fewer available jobs (we lost another 131,000 last month and May/June was 91,000 less than reported), or even keeping the job they had. Times are certainly getting better with the economic recovery we're supposed to be in. In fact, it appears to me the recovery is a figment of someone's imagination!
We have an incompetent administration, from the top down, and their bungling has cost America dearly. To make matters worse, we have Republicans voting with these incompetents on every available occasion. That may explain the reason for their 11% approval poll rating.
Elections are less than 3 months away and hopefully much of the damage can be averted by a change in personnel. There are some who have maintained a consistent appreciation of the Constitution and its dominant position in American politics (Louie Ghomert R-TX is a good example). They are who we need to be retained in the next election cycle. There are many who are demonstrably detriments to our survival as a free nation. They are the ones needing to be in the unemployment lines, looking for a new job.
There seems to be a real disconnect between the Obamas and reality for the average American. Most are struggling with fewer available jobs (we lost another 131,000 last month and May/June was 91,000 less than reported), or even keeping the job they had. Times are certainly getting better with the economic recovery we're supposed to be in. In fact, it appears to me the recovery is a figment of someone's imagination!
We have an incompetent administration, from the top down, and their bungling has cost America dearly. To make matters worse, we have Republicans voting with these incompetents on every available occasion. That may explain the reason for their 11% approval poll rating.
Elections are less than 3 months away and hopefully much of the damage can be averted by a change in personnel. There are some who have maintained a consistent appreciation of the Constitution and its dominant position in American politics (Louie Ghomert R-TX is a good example). They are who we need to be retained in the next election cycle. There are many who are demonstrably detriments to our survival as a free nation. They are the ones needing to be in the unemployment lines, looking for a new job.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Some changes aren't an improvement
Once upon a time, the SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute) pressure standard for the old .30-30 was 38,000 cup (copper units of pressure). That’s according to Speer #10, page 214. That amounts to 7,000-8,000 cup less than the .357 Mag, by the old SAAMI pressure standards (some say as much as 46,000 cup being the max). Since the piezo transducer method of measuring pressure does have a 3% error and the copper crusher has a 5% error, it still doesn’t add up to the current specifications!
The current SAAMI standard is 42,000 psi for the .30-30, however, the current standard for the .357 Mag is 35,000 psi. What I’m trying to figure out is how the psi pressure goes up by 4000 for the .30-30 and goes down 11,000 for the .357 Mag, when both are compared to cup units of pressure?
Some seem to think there’s some sort of voodoo that is in effect with hand gun cartridges, that makes them behave different than rifle cartridges. Voodoo aside, pressure is still pressure, especially if it’s derived by using the same method.
If the copper crusher method had been thoroughly discredited, there wouldn’t still be a reference of 38,000 cup in Speer #13, page 263 for the .30-30. So, it can only be concluded that copper crusher pressures are still within the standards allowed by SAAMI. That also means the .357 Mag is a higher pressure cartridge than the .30-30 when measured by copper crusher, and there’s no getting around that fact. It’s also a fact that more pressure can’t be less pressure, regardless of the logic being used and/or the higher degree of accuracy afforded by using a piezo transducer.
The copper crusher method was the dominant standard until sometime later than 1975. If the general run of loads in pre-1975 publications is higher than what we see now, that should be ample indication of things being downloaded despite the protestations of SAAMI and their minions.
A look at the 1971 Sierra Reloading Manual, page 205, shows a 125 gr bullet in .357 Mag using 19.0 gr of Hercules 2400 and a CCI 500 primer for 1500 fps. For some reason this is showing up as a suspect image site, but the site is mine, so try this link instead http://www.bbhfarm.com/albums/album16/aab.sized.jpg
A similar bullet in Speer #13, page 528 says (the Alliant website duplicates this data) 17.5 gr produces 1409 fps using a CCI 500 primer.
Reloader's Guide Alliant Powder Reload Recipes
Pistols and Revolvers
357 Magnum * 125 gr Speer GDHP
Minimum OAL (inches) Bbl Length Primer Powder Charge Weight(grains)
Velocity
(fps)
1.58 10 CCI 500 Unique 9.6 1,343
1.58 10 CCI 500 Power Pistol 10.5 1,345
1.58 10 CCI 500 2400 17.5 1,409
Speer #8, from 1970, page 371 says 19.5 gr of 2400 with a CCI 550 produces 1514 fps using the same bullet as Speer #13. For some reason this is showing up as a suspect image site, but the site is mine, so try this link instead http://www.bbhfarm.com/albums/album10/aap.sized.jpg
That’s two copper crusher loads using 19.0-19.5 gr of 2400 with one piezo transducer load at 17.0 gr, so there’s a minimum reduction of 2.0 gr, or roughly 10%, using the same canister powder.
So, let’s look at another powder, Unique, using those same 125 gr bullets. Speer #13 says 9.6 gr with a CCI 500 at 1343 fps. Sierra says 10.0 gr at 1500 fps with a CCI 550 and Speer #8 says 10.5 gr with a CCI 500 at 1545 fps. Again, the later publication uses less powder than the earlier publications.
Further comparisons are difficult due to the powders being reported on having changed over the years, not in composition, but with common powders in the 1970s being out of production now, i.e. Alcan powders.
There are two conclusions for the reductions in powder weights, either the data from days gone by were dangerous due to incompetence on the part of the testers, or the standards have changed to a lower actual pressure.
My experience with Speer #8 loads indicate real world velocities that pretty well agree with what they got in 1970, not what they report now.
The current SAAMI standard is 42,000 psi for the .30-30, however, the current standard for the .357 Mag is 35,000 psi. What I’m trying to figure out is how the psi pressure goes up by 4000 for the .30-30 and goes down 11,000 for the .357 Mag, when both are compared to cup units of pressure?
Some seem to think there’s some sort of voodoo that is in effect with hand gun cartridges, that makes them behave different than rifle cartridges. Voodoo aside, pressure is still pressure, especially if it’s derived by using the same method.
If the copper crusher method had been thoroughly discredited, there wouldn’t still be a reference of 38,000 cup in Speer #13, page 263 for the .30-30. So, it can only be concluded that copper crusher pressures are still within the standards allowed by SAAMI. That also means the .357 Mag is a higher pressure cartridge than the .30-30 when measured by copper crusher, and there’s no getting around that fact. It’s also a fact that more pressure can’t be less pressure, regardless of the logic being used and/or the higher degree of accuracy afforded by using a piezo transducer.
The copper crusher method was the dominant standard until sometime later than 1975. If the general run of loads in pre-1975 publications is higher than what we see now, that should be ample indication of things being downloaded despite the protestations of SAAMI and their minions.
A look at the 1971 Sierra Reloading Manual, page 205, shows a 125 gr bullet in .357 Mag using 19.0 gr of Hercules 2400 and a CCI 500 primer for 1500 fps. For some reason this is showing up as a suspect image site, but the site is mine, so try this link instead http://www.bbhfarm.com/albums/album16/aab.sized.jpg
A similar bullet in Speer #13, page 528 says (the Alliant website duplicates this data) 17.5 gr produces 1409 fps using a CCI 500 primer.
Reloader's Guide Alliant Powder Reload Recipes
Pistols and Revolvers
357 Magnum * 125 gr Speer GDHP
Minimum OAL (inches) Bbl Length Primer Powder Charge Weight(grains)
Velocity
(fps)
1.58 10 CCI 500 Unique 9.6 1,343
1.58 10 CCI 500 Power Pistol 10.5 1,345
1.58 10 CCI 500 2400 17.5 1,409
Speer #8, from 1970, page 371 says 19.5 gr of 2400 with a CCI 550 produces 1514 fps using the same bullet as Speer #13. For some reason this is showing up as a suspect image site, but the site is mine, so try this link instead http://www.bbhfarm.com/albums/album10/aap.sized.jpg
That’s two copper crusher loads using 19.0-19.5 gr of 2400 with one piezo transducer load at 17.0 gr, so there’s a minimum reduction of 2.0 gr, or roughly 10%, using the same canister powder.
So, let’s look at another powder, Unique, using those same 125 gr bullets. Speer #13 says 9.6 gr with a CCI 500 at 1343 fps. Sierra says 10.0 gr at 1500 fps with a CCI 550 and Speer #8 says 10.5 gr with a CCI 500 at 1545 fps. Again, the later publication uses less powder than the earlier publications.
Further comparisons are difficult due to the powders being reported on having changed over the years, not in composition, but with common powders in the 1970s being out of production now, i.e. Alcan powders.
There are two conclusions for the reductions in powder weights, either the data from days gone by were dangerous due to incompetence on the part of the testers, or the standards have changed to a lower actual pressure.
My experience with Speer #8 loads indicate real world velocities that pretty well agree with what they got in 1970, not what they report now.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
New Car Fever?
I kinda got out of the new car rat race a long time ago. 1977 was the last time we bought a new car for a family vehicle and it was a full size Chevrolet station wagon. I had determined it was to last us 10 years, so the cost of owning it, not including driving it, was only $600/year, plus license plates and insurance. At the time, that broke down to about $75/month, just to own it.
Things have changed a lot since those days and prices are much higher now than they were then. That car cost about $6000.00 and gasoline was about $0.70/gallon (over 3 times as high as it was when we got married in 1966!). Insurance was about $120/year, instead of $160 every six months. It still wasn’t too easy to make car payments of $200/month, especially since I had taken a 20% pay cut and was only making $12,000/year.
There had to be a better way and being a little mechanically inclined, I began driving used cars only. Being pretty selective in what I would drive reduced the cost by a large amount. I didn’t buy it unless it got at least 20 miles per gallon (MPG). I disdained automatic transmissions, because they use more fuel and are more prone to problems. I reverted back to the days of my first automobile, a 1961 VW Beetle, and thought of durability and economy of operation. So, we drove a lot of VWs, Toyotas and Nissans.
Owning a foreign car repair shop made me aware of the strengths and weaknesses of many of the brands and the problems and attending costs of certain features. “Bells and whistles” are nice when they’re new, but they’re money pits when they get some age on them. As far as I’m concerned, computer controlled cars and accessories are a nightmare to work on and expensive to repair, so I avoid them if possible.
I was successful for many years in having simple, easy to repair automobiles, because I bought carbureted, non-fuel injected vehicles. They operate on a 3.5 pound fuel system that’s much safer than the 30+ pound fuel injected systems. It used to be rare to see a automobile fire, but with fuel injection’s rise in usage, it’s much more common now. The simple reason was mostly because of electric fuel pumps, that continue to run after an accident, spewing high pressure gasoline to be caught on fire!
Some will object and claim fuel injection makes for better fuel economy, but it’s hard to beat 35 highway MPG that was obtainable with a 1600 cc 1975 Toyota Corolla, even with the A/C on! My 1973, 1976 and 1979 Datsun 620 pickups would get 25 MPG, with the A/C on, and 30+ years later the new fuel injected trucks aren’t doing any better.
The paint on the 1973 Datsun is still pretty good, it’s just regular enamel, without a clear coat. I made a mistake about 5 years ago, breaking my rule, and bought a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee with clear coat paint, automatic transmission and lots of bells and whistles. When the clear coat began to peal, I checked the price to repair it and was shocked at the suggestion it would take $2500 just to strip and renew the clear coat! Then the overdrive quit working and mileage fell to 16 MPG, another $1500 to repair that. Then the computers started acting weird, so I just parked it and bought another vehicle. It would have taken more to repair it than what it was worth!
Now, I’m driving a 1984 Chevrolet 3/4 ton diesel pickup. It gets 20 MPG on the highway and can haul what needs to hauled, including a 20 foot gooseneck trailer. I bought it for $500 and it only has 104,000 miles on it now, after I’ve been driving it several years. No computers and it has a standard transmission. I replaced the Jeep with a 1987 Mercedes Benz 300 D Turbo. No computer, no clear coat and it’s a diesel. It has over 200,000 miles on it, but may last up to 1,000,000 miles (Mercedes has mileage awards, in the form of medallions for the grill, for 5 levels, beginning at 155,000 miles and going to 1,000,000 miles) . It gets close to 30 MPG, with the A/C on. It was less than $4000, but I had to drive to Austin to get it. (250,000 km is the same as 155,000 miles)
So, tell me how many years you have to drive your new vehicle to make those $300-$500/month payments for 60 months look a little more economical. It certainly won't pay for itself in fuel economy, because new fuel injected cars and trucks don't get any more miles per gallon than the older models did.
Things have changed a lot since those days and prices are much higher now than they were then. That car cost about $6000.00 and gasoline was about $0.70/gallon (over 3 times as high as it was when we got married in 1966!). Insurance was about $120/year, instead of $160 every six months. It still wasn’t too easy to make car payments of $200/month, especially since I had taken a 20% pay cut and was only making $12,000/year.
There had to be a better way and being a little mechanically inclined, I began driving used cars only. Being pretty selective in what I would drive reduced the cost by a large amount. I didn’t buy it unless it got at least 20 miles per gallon (MPG). I disdained automatic transmissions, because they use more fuel and are more prone to problems. I reverted back to the days of my first automobile, a 1961 VW Beetle, and thought of durability and economy of operation. So, we drove a lot of VWs, Toyotas and Nissans.
Owning a foreign car repair shop made me aware of the strengths and weaknesses of many of the brands and the problems and attending costs of certain features. “Bells and whistles” are nice when they’re new, but they’re money pits when they get some age on them. As far as I’m concerned, computer controlled cars and accessories are a nightmare to work on and expensive to repair, so I avoid them if possible.
I was successful for many years in having simple, easy to repair automobiles, because I bought carbureted, non-fuel injected vehicles. They operate on a 3.5 pound fuel system that’s much safer than the 30+ pound fuel injected systems. It used to be rare to see a automobile fire, but with fuel injection’s rise in usage, it’s much more common now. The simple reason was mostly because of electric fuel pumps, that continue to run after an accident, spewing high pressure gasoline to be caught on fire!
Some will object and claim fuel injection makes for better fuel economy, but it’s hard to beat 35 highway MPG that was obtainable with a 1600 cc 1975 Toyota Corolla, even with the A/C on! My 1973, 1976 and 1979 Datsun 620 pickups would get 25 MPG, with the A/C on, and 30+ years later the new fuel injected trucks aren’t doing any better.
The paint on the 1973 Datsun is still pretty good, it’s just regular enamel, without a clear coat. I made a mistake about 5 years ago, breaking my rule, and bought a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee with clear coat paint, automatic transmission and lots of bells and whistles. When the clear coat began to peal, I checked the price to repair it and was shocked at the suggestion it would take $2500 just to strip and renew the clear coat! Then the overdrive quit working and mileage fell to 16 MPG, another $1500 to repair that. Then the computers started acting weird, so I just parked it and bought another vehicle. It would have taken more to repair it than what it was worth!
Now, I’m driving a 1984 Chevrolet 3/4 ton diesel pickup. It gets 20 MPG on the highway and can haul what needs to hauled, including a 20 foot gooseneck trailer. I bought it for $500 and it only has 104,000 miles on it now, after I’ve been driving it several years. No computers and it has a standard transmission. I replaced the Jeep with a 1987 Mercedes Benz 300 D Turbo. No computer, no clear coat and it’s a diesel. It has over 200,000 miles on it, but may last up to 1,000,000 miles (Mercedes has mileage awards, in the form of medallions for the grill, for 5 levels, beginning at 155,000 miles and going to 1,000,000 miles) . It gets close to 30 MPG, with the A/C on. It was less than $4000, but I had to drive to Austin to get it. (250,000 km is the same as 155,000 miles)
So, tell me how many years you have to drive your new vehicle to make those $300-$500/month payments for 60 months look a little more economical. It certainly won't pay for itself in fuel economy, because new fuel injected cars and trucks don't get any more miles per gallon than the older models did.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Unique positions in life
I just got back, the early part of this month, from a family reunion in St. Louis, MO. Since my mother was the oldest sibling, I happen to be older than one of my uncles. I was sorta sandwiched in between the last two children and that's actually a unique position. Reunions always bring back memories of the far distant past and this one was no exception. The last visit I had to St. Louis seemed to have encompassed a visit to all of the old "home places" I was familiar with. One on Allen Ave. and one on Oregon Ave. Here's one of the favorite picture taking places on Allen with most of the family, at the time, present (I'm right in the front).
Allen was pretty far back in my memory, but still there. I attended Hogdin Elementary (I don't even know how to spell it anymore) during part of the 2nd grade, while we were waiting to move to Texas in 1952.
Shortly after we moved, they moved too. The "new" house was on Oregon Ave. and looked like this in 1952.
There was a plum tree in the back yard that was big enough to climb in (we don't have any that big around here!). I understand it was an old farm house that had been modernized from its 1850s state, but that may be just "legend".
Part of the year's excitement was after I got out of school for the summer. We got out a week earlier than St. Louis did, so I was there for the last day of school, when a trip was taken to Forest Park Highlands!
The Highlands, as we called it, was originally built in 1896 and burned in 1963, so it had a long history that included being a part of the World's Fair in 1904. Some of those buildings are still in use for their intended purposes.
A tour can be made of the Highlands at this site:
http://www.forestparkhighlands.com (I can't get it to come up as a hyperlink)
There's a video of the fire at that button on the home page, but there's also pictures of the Comet roller coaster and the Flying Turns. It was a great place to visit and provided many great memories!
Sometimes, memories put someone in a unique place, but it may only be unique to that one person. I stayed the week not too far from Herculaneum, MO, in Jefferson County. Most people are unaware of the Doe Run lead smelting operation there and the prominence of making shot and the material for bullets at that location. Here's a mural at the state capitol depicting part of its history. (click on the image for the full view)
I keep looking for a good picture of the shot tower, but never seemed to find one, until now!
The Shot Tower was built in 1856 (By 1813 three shot towers had been constructed on the bluffs) to produce lead shot ammunition. Molten lead was poured from the top of the tower and as it fell, it passed through a series of sieves until it was the proper size for ammunition, and then it landed in a tub of cold water. The balls were then caught in a water basin and taken to an adjoining building to be turned through cylinders to round and smooth the pellets for use as projectiles in firearms. It's one of the few remaining shot towers in the country and the only one west of the Mississippi (barely!).
In 1808 Moses Austin and S. Hammond laid out the town of Herculaneum at the mouth of Joachim Creek near the site of the abandoned New Hartford. "Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was a leading figure in the development of the American lead industry and the father of Stephen F. Austin, a pioneer settler of Texas."
Stephen F. Austin University is in Nacogdoches, Texas, about 25 miles south of here, so it does sorta come full circle and shows the unique way things link together and all brought about by an excursion into the memories of the past.
Allen was pretty far back in my memory, but still there. I attended Hogdin Elementary (I don't even know how to spell it anymore) during part of the 2nd grade, while we were waiting to move to Texas in 1952.
Shortly after we moved, they moved too. The "new" house was on Oregon Ave. and looked like this in 1952.
There was a plum tree in the back yard that was big enough to climb in (we don't have any that big around here!). I understand it was an old farm house that had been modernized from its 1850s state, but that may be just "legend".
Part of the year's excitement was after I got out of school for the summer. We got out a week earlier than St. Louis did, so I was there for the last day of school, when a trip was taken to Forest Park Highlands!
The Highlands, as we called it, was originally built in 1896 and burned in 1963, so it had a long history that included being a part of the World's Fair in 1904. Some of those buildings are still in use for their intended purposes.
A tour can be made of the Highlands at this site:
http://www.forestparkhighlands.com (I can't get it to come up as a hyperlink)
There's a video of the fire at that button on the home page, but there's also pictures of the Comet roller coaster and the Flying Turns. It was a great place to visit and provided many great memories!
Sometimes, memories put someone in a unique place, but it may only be unique to that one person. I stayed the week not too far from Herculaneum, MO, in Jefferson County. Most people are unaware of the Doe Run lead smelting operation there and the prominence of making shot and the material for bullets at that location. Here's a mural at the state capitol depicting part of its history. (click on the image for the full view)
I keep looking for a good picture of the shot tower, but never seemed to find one, until now!
The Shot Tower was built in 1856 (By 1813 three shot towers had been constructed on the bluffs) to produce lead shot ammunition. Molten lead was poured from the top of the tower and as it fell, it passed through a series of sieves until it was the proper size for ammunition, and then it landed in a tub of cold water. The balls were then caught in a water basin and taken to an adjoining building to be turned through cylinders to round and smooth the pellets for use as projectiles in firearms. It's one of the few remaining shot towers in the country and the only one west of the Mississippi (barely!).
In 1808 Moses Austin and S. Hammond laid out the town of Herculaneum at the mouth of Joachim Creek near the site of the abandoned New Hartford. "Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was a leading figure in the development of the American lead industry and the father of Stephen F. Austin, a pioneer settler of Texas."
Stephen F. Austin University is in Nacogdoches, Texas, about 25 miles south of here, so it does sorta come full circle and shows the unique way things link together and all brought about by an excursion into the memories of the past.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A Long Dry Spell
You may be wondering why I haven't posted anything is about a year and a half. Well, would you believe I have just figured out how to reset my password to be able to access the site?
Don't laugh, it may happen to you, when you get as old as I am.
One of the reasons I started this blog was to finally have a media where I can express my views and maybe bring some reason back to the world as I know it. After the Presidential elections, I was really wondering if there were any reasonable people left. For some reason, the idea of putting someone in the highest office we have in America that had zero leadership experience was so completely foreign to me, I was in shock, and I continue to be in shock, as I see my once great nation being dismantled.
I don't know that I can see a redistribution of wealth taking place, as Joe the Plumber was told would happen, but I do know the value of the dollar has dropped drastically in the past 10 years. From 2001, when gold was less than $300/ounce, it took until 2006 for the price to double. From 2006 to the present it has doubled again. From January of 2009 to right now, the price has risen from $800/ounce to over $1200/ounce. That's over 50% in a year and a half! Here's a 10 year chart on gold prices.
As the government continues to spend what they don't have, there are many who are trying to hedge on a devalued dollar by buying gold. But that's not all! Silver has increased by about the same percentage! That's going from about $4.25/ounce to $17.25/ounce in the same period. Here's the chart for silver prices.
This all means, if the precious metal prices are any real indication of buying power, you can only buy 1/4 now of what you could buy in 2000 with the same amount of money.
I looked at my electric bill this month and saw $450 with $103 going to power factors for the production costs. Every time I go into the grocery store, I see higher prices than the week before and this is the change everyone was hoping for? Here's the 10 year prices for natural gas, which doesn't vindicate the gross increase in power cost adjustment.
We have a serious financial problem and no one seems to care what happens to the average person and their abilities to afford what we consider the basics in life.
The charts can be viewed in their full size by right clicking on the image and selecting "Open in a new window", or something like that. That's not the same as what I posted in the comments, but I didn't remember I could edit that into the original post.
Don't laugh, it may happen to you, when you get as old as I am.
One of the reasons I started this blog was to finally have a media where I can express my views and maybe bring some reason back to the world as I know it. After the Presidential elections, I was really wondering if there were any reasonable people left. For some reason, the idea of putting someone in the highest office we have in America that had zero leadership experience was so completely foreign to me, I was in shock, and I continue to be in shock, as I see my once great nation being dismantled.
I don't know that I can see a redistribution of wealth taking place, as Joe the Plumber was told would happen, but I do know the value of the dollar has dropped drastically in the past 10 years. From 2001, when gold was less than $300/ounce, it took until 2006 for the price to double. From 2006 to the present it has doubled again. From January of 2009 to right now, the price has risen from $800/ounce to over $1200/ounce. That's over 50% in a year and a half! Here's a 10 year chart on gold prices.
As the government continues to spend what they don't have, there are many who are trying to hedge on a devalued dollar by buying gold. But that's not all! Silver has increased by about the same percentage! That's going from about $4.25/ounce to $17.25/ounce in the same period. Here's the chart for silver prices.
This all means, if the precious metal prices are any real indication of buying power, you can only buy 1/4 now of what you could buy in 2000 with the same amount of money.
I looked at my electric bill this month and saw $450 with $103 going to power factors for the production costs. Every time I go into the grocery store, I see higher prices than the week before and this is the change everyone was hoping for? Here's the 10 year prices for natural gas, which doesn't vindicate the gross increase in power cost adjustment.
We have a serious financial problem and no one seems to care what happens to the average person and their abilities to afford what we consider the basics in life.
The charts can be viewed in their full size by right clicking on the image and selecting "Open in a new window", or something like that. That's not the same as what I posted in the comments, but I didn't remember I could edit that into the original post.
What's with the oil spill?
It seems like there has been a loss of interest in the Gulf oil spill spewing from the botched BP well. That's really unfortunate that the attention span has been exceeded and has now moved on to more important things, like Lindsey Lohan deservedly being sent to jail.
There has been so much mismanagement and dereliction of responsibilities it makes one wonder if anyone in the present administration really cares about the Gulf coast's environment. We have out of control bureaucrats making decisions when they don't have a clue about the ramifications of those decisions. They only think in terms of the small niche they occupy without any consideration for the big picture. An example, the worry over whether berms requested by Bobby Jindal would have an adverse effect on the environment, even though it's a forgone conclusion that oil in those wetlands would damage that which they purport to be concerned about.
There is going to be some short term damage, but even that could have been averted if there had been an active effort made to prevent the oil from reaching shore, by whatever means necessary.
It's something that could have been avoided with proper action, but instead we got inaction and hands tied for those who would have done something constructive.
The world isn't going to come to an end with this oil spill, since I have land that is an old well site (that surely had oil spilled at times) and I cut hay on it every year. Here's what it looked like when I first began getting it back in shape.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/Paul5388/Goldenrodtractor2.jpg
(I don't know why I can't get the image to appear, but the link is good for a copy and paste)
It's not exactly a barren piece of ground is it? It hasn't been destroyed to never be in condition to grow anything, is it? However, it also didn't have an uncontrolled amount of oil dumped on it for 3 months like what's happening in the Gulf!
There has been so much mismanagement and dereliction of responsibilities it makes one wonder if anyone in the present administration really cares about the Gulf coast's environment. We have out of control bureaucrats making decisions when they don't have a clue about the ramifications of those decisions. They only think in terms of the small niche they occupy without any consideration for the big picture. An example, the worry over whether berms requested by Bobby Jindal would have an adverse effect on the environment, even though it's a forgone conclusion that oil in those wetlands would damage that which they purport to be concerned about.
There is going to be some short term damage, but even that could have been averted if there had been an active effort made to prevent the oil from reaching shore, by whatever means necessary.
It's something that could have been avoided with proper action, but instead we got inaction and hands tied for those who would have done something constructive.
The world isn't going to come to an end with this oil spill, since I have land that is an old well site (that surely had oil spilled at times) and I cut hay on it every year. Here's what it looked like when I first began getting it back in shape.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/Paul5388/Goldenrodtractor2.jpg
(I don't know why I can't get the image to appear, but the link is good for a copy and paste)
It's not exactly a barren piece of ground is it? It hasn't been destroyed to never be in condition to grow anything, is it? However, it also didn't have an uncontrolled amount of oil dumped on it for 3 months like what's happening in the Gulf!
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