Coffee 8-11-12

No need to press one for English. No need to even speak....just enter and point to the coffee pot. We have you covered. OK? OK! I'm thinking French toast for breakfast. Plenty of maple syrup. Enjoy.

If I'm not here next Saturday can someone push the button & get coffee started? I'm not sure if we'll be back. Someone is staying at the house, but they're house sitters, not coffee makers. If you need Marty or myself you'll find us....well... I was going to say "up north", but actually, without darn good directions, you won't find us at all! No phone, no TV, just peace & quiet. This years project is to insulate walls and put V-match on them. The girls got the insulation done this Spring, this week we will cut & nail V-match. There's a nice little lumber yard up in that area that has #3 for sixty eight cents a board foot. Not bad!

When was the last time you saw an internal combustion motorcycle that had no pistons? Heeheee! My buddy has a Suzuki Rotary engine bike.... mid 70's vintage. It's a beast! They only made them a couple of years. The rotary just never panned out, although perhaps Mazda still makes one.

Enjoy the week!

Ahhhhh... coffee..... my head is pounding a little this morning, but not too bad, just gotta rehydrate. I think just a breakfast bar for speed.

Outside temp right now is a terrific 65F. It will be getting into the high 80's today. Ok to work in, well..... better than the 90's or 100's we have been having. And look at those temps they are getting in Oklahoma! I used to live there, but never saw that kind of heat before.

This morning's project is to cap off an old Augered water well thats on the property, so my kids don't do something stupid. I filled it in last year, now I'll dig down 4 or 5 feet and break the ceramic pipe off below graound level, then use the same cap thats on it now to recap it below grade. Then fill the excavation back in.
This afternoon, I gotta head over to a friend's Saw Mill, and start miling up some of the trees I dropped last year. Over the next 5 years, I'll get all my lumber ready to build our retirement house from scratch.

Freddy, those little rotarys really screem! I've seen them small enough for model airplanes too. Awesome.

Plenty of time for coffee this morning. I just put two "Boston Butts" on the smoker and it should be hands off until late this afternoon. We got a out 2" of badly needed rain yesterday, and this morning it is tough to tell that it rained at all. I think the grass sucked up all the water...does that mean I might have to mow the lawn in a few days!?

EFM is still running smooth, I have another stoker on the bench for my brother's 520...with any luck I will have that together this afternoon.

Have fun Freddy; it sure seems like you work a lot and your various projects always carry the mark of excellence. No French toast for me, just coffee for a while. I ate a piece of cherry pie late last night and had nightmares all night. I dreamed about a ghostly lady at the house I'm working at, then a small Tyrannosaurus was chasing me, uphill. Glad I woke up before it devoured me.

Freddy wrote:When was the last time you saw an internal combustion motorcycle that had no pistons?

There was a guy in town here that owned an auto parts store in Phillipsburg. He had one in his garage. Looked like a big coffee can where the engine should be!
That must have been 20 years ago.

I think I picked up some conjunctivitis; that's what eye get for using a wet towel.

I hope the fog here burns off so I can get some work done today.

My buddy went to Maine with the shirt on his back last year; he just bought a little country house on an acre last week, more power to him

Coffee, bagel with cream cheese and a cold piece of pizza; the breakfast of champions…or for those too lazy to cook.

I am about ready to remove a batch off pickles from the canner made with mrs wages kosher dill pickle mix….for those too lazy to put the ingredients together from scratch. We actually made some a few weeks ago with dill weed and garlic and spices, this is an experiment to see what they taste like. I have a gallon of cucumbers fermenting in the cellar, another experiment. I hope they turn out well, I seeded it with bacteria so that the proper bacteria takes hold and not the bad stuff that will make them spoil but I will not be sure until it stops working and I break the seal and test them. I have my fingers crossed; this is my first attempt at making fermented pickles. I also have a few beets sitting here to be pickled tonight or tomorrow, when will it end?

A little more rain yesterday and overnight and the grass needs mowed and weeds need to be killed, so much to do and precious little ambition but I guess I have to start somewhere. Hopefully this weekend goes better than last.

Since this is Freddy’s Coffee House how about a special song for all those special people named Fred.

Morning everybody. Cup of Gormet Supreme and bagel for me. That french toast and maple syrup sounds excellent Freddie! Maybe tomorrow? My sis got a gallon of local maple and gave me a pint. It's awesome and on the thick side too! I made it one year and you really have to be careful towards the end. It can go from almost thick to solid in a minute!

Cool story last week on the trial Freddie. You were like, a weekend warrior. I too loved it all. I can remember a practice one time at Unadilla, Ny. I thought I was hauling butt and no one could go as fast until a guy named Roger DeCoster flew by like I was standing still! Back then he was World Champ and the sport was just taking off. My first trials I saw was in the UK. Up north in Scotland. I was hooked. Check out the old pix.

I'm off this morning to get a sticker on the old Accord and then a haircut. The old Honda needed a windshield and now a sticker. $200 installed is not to bad though and it was amazing the difference, I could see again! Mrs. Colbeth will pump me for the latest gossip for Machiasport while she cuts my hair, but for $10, how can you go wrong. Have a great weekend everyone.

PS: Thanks everyone for the kind comments about my little old cat. She did pass on here with me last Sunday morning. It was relatively painless and I was with her. Really glad I didn't have to bring her in. She's got a nice spot now over by the apple trees.

Good morning all, just a quick cup for me, the neighborhood work crew is gonna start soon, weather permitting. We had a wind shear come by yesterday early evening, I had two pear trees that lost major limbs & I don't think the trees will make it but I'll let them try. We got some major trees down & a lot of fence line to replace, the original area farmhouse has some pretty good roof & siding damage, couple of barn doors ripped off to kindling then we'll start working our way up the road. Haven't had any good amount of rain all summer & now it all came at once. The state is even suggesting that people get their pontoon boats out before the water gets too low. Guess we'll see what the winter & next year may bring.

SteveZee wrote:Thanks everyone for the kind comments about my little old cat. She did pass on .... and I was with her.

She had a good long life. No one likes the idea of being alone when they die and I'll bet kitty was very much at peace because she could be with you at the end. Thanks for caring for her.

I could tell a trials bike story every day forever I think. For those that don't know, the sport is called "Observed trials". A judge watched each rider ride a "section", and each time you lose balance & put a foot to the ground, you get a point. At the end of the day, low score wins. The sections are extremely difficult terrain.... logs, hill climbs, stream beds, mud, corners so tight that you can't drive them, you must hop your front (or rear) wheel in order to negotiate the corner. You rarely shift gears in a section, you mostly you just start in whatever gear it's going to take.
I remember one hill climb in PA. You had 15 feet across a stream to get going, then up, up, up. Just before the top, hang a U-turn & back down, and must stop and turn hard left at the bottom. I was looking at it before my ride. A rider next to me asked "you think 2nd gear?" I said "No way! That's third for sure". He happened to go before me. He used third, did everything right, yet, failed. In my head I said "Oh my God, it's fourth". I had never used fourth gear for a hill climb. I did that time. Standing still in fourth gear, engine wide open full throttle... lot's of clutch...across the stream, and up, up, up, oh my God I'm going to make it! Dabbed a foot in the U-turn, then both tires nearly locked all the way down. I made the turn & out the gate. I was happy as heck to get only one point! SO many sections are still clear in my head, and my heart beats a little faster just to type about them.

Oops... I'm rambling! That's because I'm a little bit special.

That's awesome Freddie! The first time I saw a trials exhibition, they had set up a show inside of a hocky rink. The guys came out and I said to Kim, "how are they going to get into the rink?" since there were no doors open. Just then, they just hopped over the boards! After that one guy took his front wheel off, started from a stop and ran this little course on his rear tire alone. After that I saw an actual event in Scotland then back home here started to follow whatever was going on. One of my old scrambler pals Steve Forsley ended up doing Observed Trials and his daughter Louise turned out to be a heck of a rider.
http://www.newenglandtrials.org/Newslet ... mber08.pdf

Hey Freddy, we're a lot special!

Freddy wrote:

SteveZee wrote:Thanks everyone for the kind comments about my little old cat. She did pass on .... and I was with her.

She had a good long life. No one likes the idea of being alone when they die and I'll bet kitty was very much at peace because she could be with you at the end. Thanks for caring for her.

I could tell a trials bike story every day forever I think. For those that don't know, the sport is called "Observed trials". A judge watched each rider ride a "section", and each time you lose balance & put a foot to the ground, you get a point. At the end of the day, low score wins. The sections are extremely difficult terrain.... logs, hill climbs, stream beds, mud, corners so tight that you can't drive them, you must hop your front (or rear) wheel in order to negotiate the corner. You rarely shift gears in a section, you mostly you just start in whatever gear it's going to take.
I remember one hill climb in PA. You had 15 feet across a stream to get going, then up, up, up. Just before the top, hang a U-turn & back down, and must stop and turn hard left at the bottom. I was looking at it before my ride. A rider next to me asked "you think 2nd gear?" I said "No way! That's third for sure". He happened to go before me. He used third, did everything right, yet, failed. In my head I said "Oh my God, it's fourth". I had never used fourth gear for a hill climb. I did that time. Standing still in fourth gear, engine wide open full throttle... lot's of clutch...across the stream, and up, up, up, oh my God I'm going to make it! Dabbed a foot in the U-turn, then both tires nearly locked all the way down. I made the turn & out the gate. I was happy as heck to get only one point! SO many sections are still clear in my head, and my heart beats a little faster just to type about them.

Oops... I'm rambling! That's because I'm a little bit special.

SteveZee wrote: his daughter Louise turned out to be a heck of a rider.

I taught her when she was first starting out! She's a good rider. She pays attention & doesn't quit.

Ahh the mighty RE5 Rotary! Too bad they didn't make more of those. Very similar in operation (except without reciprocating motion) & sound to a 2-stroke, so of course, I approve BIG TIME. We had one of those in class parked next to a mint condition "Water Buffalo" - the GT750 - the very first liquid cooled Japanese motorcycle.



Took a ride with a buddy to go pick up a 2011 Camaro SS convertible with the RS package the other day. Of all the days to forget my cell phone!!! He laid the widest, smokiest patches I've ever seen! If you live in CT it went across Rt. 169 from Rt. 171. About 100' in first gear .... a 8' gap ... then another 50' or so in second. MAN what a MINT car this thing is!! Loaded, all leather with heads-up display that looks like it's hovering out over the hood, heated seats, and the best part: 426 horsepower & 420 ft. lbs. of torque out of the 6.2 liter LS3 V8! YEEAAHH!!! All black with white stripes down the hood. Just when I lost all faith in GM .... although I have heard of transmission problems on some of the earlier manuals. This one is a 6 speed manual. The shift throw is literally 3" long - it's the best shifting transmission I have ever seen. No, I didn't get to drive it, but I got to sit in it at least & play with the shifter.

I do have a vid that my buddy sent of the interior at night time. Looks like a spaceship in there LOL! Never seen lighting like this in my life.

Freddy wrote:

SteveZee wrote: his daughter Louise turned out to be a heck of a rider.

I taught her when she was first starting out! She's a good rider. She pays attention & doesn't quit.

That's too cool Freddie, Small world! Her dad, Steve and I grew up in Lenox, Mass and went to high school together. When I got my Ossa, he bought a Husqvarna 125. We had a Czec guy with a CZ and a few others who practiced on our own track we made in Lenox Dale. Sooooooo long ago!

SMITTY wrote:parked next to a mint condition "Water Buffalo" - the GT750

Ahhhh, yes, the water buffalo. I never owned one, but knew a few. I can tell you what to do if it takes to backfiring..... SELL! They had this "little" issue of the crankshaft pins turning in their journals. Once the moved enough they would allow the exhaust ports to open at the wrong time and the overlapping firing sequence would make them backfire. There was two and only two cures.... a new crankshaft, or SELL! From what I saw there were darn few of them that saw 50,000 miles.

I never go to my Facebook page, but if you were to go there I'm pretty sure you'd find Louise as a friend of mine. She's still riding trials and still kicks butt where ever she goes.