flagmanruss

Family members are disagreeing with me on this... emotionally charged topic as Daughter is married to an African (from Cote d'Ivoire), a very smart man with 2 Masters degrees & numerous languages. (He's working contracted to US military teaching language & translating. Obviously not free to discuss details but has been working with the Seals). But he's black & their daughters are too. But I come back to the mental test... One we can never know the answer to. If one is beaten unconscious, loses control of his weapon, do you end up dead. Even though I had theoretically thought of this issue, when the flag flew (as Cooper would say) is one ready to act. I answered that question for myself... if it's going to be him or me, I'm prepared to do my best to make it him.

Mine has started doing it recently.

I have followed this case with interest. My first statement was I hope GZ did it right as I see to many cases where firearms are deployed when they should not be. I think this is a tragedy all around. GZ is acquitted but will never be free. I know from my years as a Police Officer that often crimes are committed by those who have been there before, who had "legitimate reasons to be in a place or knew someone who did'. Acquaintances, friends of friends brought along to a party, delivery persons... and the list goes on... who use that knowledge to return for illegal purposes. It is entirely possible that TM might have been using his school suspension to scope out the neighborhood, or he might not... we'll never know. But one can not expel every person who DO have a legitimate reason to be there, just because they are looking around while walking down the sidewalk. They are, TM was, within his rights. I am reminded of my own actions when discovering re-enacting... walking around scoping out other's camp set ups so I could build my own. Mighty suspicious! I DO believe that (based on information not allowed into evidence) that TM decided HIS SOLUTION to a "WHITE CRACKER" following him, was violence. The non-admitted information of TM's interest in fighting, leads me to think he was at capable as he bragged of knocking a man down. Yes, I DO believe TM threw the first punch, knocking GZ down. TM had another choice to make... to break off the encounter & flee before GZ could even get up or continue the fight. I believe TM could not resist getting on top of GZ to pummel him further. Prior to the encounter, TM could had his phone in his hand. He could have called the Police himself. WHAT you say? Yes, TM could have called the Police on this guy following him. Responding officers would have collected names & information & sent both parties on their way.As a young kid, I did lots of snorkeling & scuba diving, often hiking into hard to reach spots. In my state, all properties extend ONLY to "Mean High Water" (high tide line). I reached the shore through a public access point & proceeded to hike with my equipment, in front of a private beach club. Someone came out & told me I was trespassing & threatened to call the Police. I told them to do so & they left because I was within my rights. The Police in this abutting community know the law as well as I did. Years later, as a uniformed Officer, I was assigned to protect private property with exactly these instructions. I know as a Police Officer, that any encounter, there is a gun present. MINE! And my partner's. Very many shootings of Police Officers happen with a snatched Police weapon. If an altercation becomes physical, an officer or CCW carrier will have his ability to fist fight & grapple with an opponent reduced because of the need to protect your weapon. I have had a tense stand off as a uniformed officer... thankfully, the uniform prevailed & the fair rules I was required to enforce... but had the person (I recognized him & knew he'd done hard time for attempted murder) moved on me in that instant before my mind processed the scene, he could have taken me. After the surge of adrenalin was past, I resolved if it became physical & we went to the floor, I was ready to rock my 357 out. Much like GZ. (The ending: the opponent sensed my resolve, laughed, chugged his last swallows & left the bar **)This tragedy was avoidable. Both parties played into the scenario that followed. ** The rest of the story is my opponent was later charged with a murder... ambushed a guy from behind striking him in the head with a brick... the victim died. My opponent fled before he could be arrested. He stayed on the lam until a number of years passed, a critical witness died & there could be no prosecution. Not a nice guy.additional: For all you CCW holders. Part of my training included lessons from prior officer deaths... some by edged weapons. One, a Calif Officer on a traffic enforcement trike... a nut case emerged at a distance, making a conspicuous disturbance. Advanced on the officer drew a knife & killed the officer with it. Officer never drew his pistol. Officer was stunned into inaction because the assailant had nothing to do with the officer... the assailant would have attacked any officer or public official he came across. Officer let the guy close on him. Didn't use the trike to keep space (got off on the assailant side, not the opposite). One just can not allow a potential assailant to get that close to a single officer.When we worked crowds, we were taught to stand back & keep distance for over all observation. Move quickly through a crowd if necessary. Get back up if an arrest seems likely.

Stay very safe!

At least in gas marine engines... the rpms were kept low. Used to be set to WOT (Wide Open Throttle) at 4000 rpm. After I got out of the business, it was upped to 4400 or so. The prop (load) was selected so that the motor could not rev above that limit with the vessel in question. In that era, the equivalent auto/truck engine would red line at 6000.

I am seeing this as being caused by someone driving the truck too close to the water. Was the engine running when it went in? Did it inhale water? If it was, I'm suspecting the motor hydro locked, came up on a cylinder of water. Likely bending the connecting rod on that cylinder. I've seen in a Marine Diesel conversion. The motor was rebuilt / saved but costly.

The battery terminals Don't have visible corrosion but are grey oxidized outside. I will fire up the multi-meter & see what the battery voltage is. Come to think of it, during my hour drive, after jump starting... battery voltage meter read pretty normal. It was too hot outside & I was getting MS-brain (inability to focus thoughts). Surely the first step is to pull & clean the battery terminals.

so it groaned but wouldn't turn over. I called a friend & he had a booster... not enough initially but after a few minutes of charging, it lit right off. I took it to town & it seems ok now. But I gotta get a Booster. Good ones? Bad ones?

I wonder what she's been doing with her time & (his) money but greedy is as greedy does. Actually, if there isn't equity in the house, letting the bank take it eliminates a big cause of fighting. He will lose everything he has in it but so will she. Like I said about settling. He should not increase the money stream but he must stick to the contract so she is in breech. It's like paying an extortionist... there's no end. If he must pay bills, he should do so directly & not let her divert the money. Give her reason to want to settle.

Initiating a newbie into the finer points of the Artillerist. Gun is a replica 1756 (F & I War) breech loading swivel cannon. Black powder blanks. Pond not shown to right. "Fire in the hole!" Smoke

Been there, done that. Seen too many as well. Divorce brings out the worst in people... mostly greed & using the children to get back at the former spouse. In the end it is a waiting game... who can hold out the longest to get what they want. NO ONE EVER gets 100% of what they want or even deserve. In the end it is to discover what each party is willing to settle for. Every body settles. They have to. The bigger hurry one is in to move on, the worse bargaining position one is in... especially if the other party knows about it. The lawyers are always the winners, the former couple are the losers. The challenge is to not harm the children any more than necessary. And divorces are not necessarily the worst thing for a child. Living in a home where the parents fight constantly is surely worse. No matter what the ex-spouse did or did not do... the children did not do it. They did not cause it. They should be kept out of it. Do not have the children move goods for you. Or relay messages. Use the lawyer if necessary but keep the kids out of it. My sister's girls got together & refused to carry messages between parents... A neighbor & his ex... each poisoned the children against each other on a daily school pickup so our daughter refused to car pool with them! An inlaw, paid his ex in cash from his Saturday job... after 3 years she claimed she'd never been paid & he hadn't kept receipts.Same inlaw had his kids so poisoned against him that the child screamed & would not get in the truck to go down the block to McDs. He ended up signing off on the kids & he surely didn't deserve that. I feel, of course, that my ex got more than she deserved. Maybe she did. But the fact is I AGREED to the settlement. It's difficult to not harbor resentment... I guess I still do 25 years later... over her actions. But the settlement is best put behind each. I was fortunate I did not have children which present a huge challenge. Do not even think of hiding money. Bank accounts & valuables will be discovered... safety deposit boxes opened and it pisses the judge off. The thing is that no one knows your living expenses once you are separated. Gambling. Eatting out. Good old cash... coin of the realm does not show if you have a secure place to keep it. You should get control of deeds, documents, titles & tax returns. You WILL have to produce them in court or have them available. If the other party has them, make note of that fact. In this era of Credit Cards... I would want to close them & open new. Need a lawyers advise on that.

I'm afraid to weigh my tongue weight! With the rear fixtures gutted from the Toy Hauler, and just my mobility scooter... the trailer is very heavy TW. I'm clearly exceeding the cap of my 750# WD hitch bars. The weight shift with a full black water tank going home is enough to make it a white knuckle trip. I moved heavier items to the rear & even added (literally) ballast bars to the rear.

OUCH!! The trailer nose & hitch seems a lot like my very old trailer. Very scary. We have frost heaves in New England, often times despite the best intentions of the road builders. I remember as a kid, seeing my first real frost heave. I had a buddy flying copilot in New Hampshire when we went by a sign that said "Frost Heaves next 3 miles". I slowed about 5 mph & Charlie says, "You better slow down." I said "I did." He says "More!" We came around a bend & there was a Frost Heave over 2 feet high. I slammed on the brakes... went around it... there were more, some 3 feet high! They were as high as the hood of my mini-truck. Then another section of 5 miles. I hope your repair comes out ok... Russ

Thankyou. Just what I needed to know. They got a break from PayPal & all donations are bring passed through with out administrative costs being deducted. I feel much better to know my donation went directly there. I have posted a link on FB & my web site as well.

My local areas are rural with the tanker shuttle being standard procedure. The first crew drops an open "tank" (forget what they're correctly called). The local tankers & surrounding mutual aid responds with their tankers. They back up & drop the load & go for a refill. Meanwhile a pumper sets up art the nearest water source. A lot of ponds... from public sources, fire ponds in local streams, even a golf course... have dry hydrants. The pumper refills the tankers as they arrive. Our local station has a "brush truck" pumper... formerly from Shore city of Westerly & has a bronze pump for pumping seawater. The built up areas have city water but sometimes a mix in a given community.Our local fire district volunteers started a trend when they got the new truck with CAFS foam. Such good success all new trucks will have it. Surrounding communities have seen it in action & the equipment is spreading. I know this first truck has front mounted turrets... they can foam a structure before the crew is even off the truck. It has already saved lives.

I'm not finding a link to give. Would like to send a donation to the right place.

Just reading about it. All 19 deployed their shelters. 20th crew member was assigned elsewhere. This is horrible. There are many ways to Protect & Serve our people & our country to boldly go in harms way. Another debt that can never be repaid. My heart goes out to the families of these heroes. There just are not words for this.

I think a very good idea to activate hazard flashers when traveling substantially below the speed limit. I use my hazards when backing out of parking... when in reverse... it can be difficult to see around other vehicles. So it creep back a little, look again, creep back, etc... I can't prove it helps but at least I'm trying. WM & grocery lots with high foot traffic are the worst.

That's not too far.

A section of I95 in Mass headed North from Providence, RI to Boston... I was passed by a car at crazy fast speed (not like I was driving slow). A couple of miles up the road, the car was pulled over with a Trooper writing a ticket as I passed by. I was a few miles up the road when the same car passed me again going like the devil himself was in the backseat.Yup, I crest a hill & a second Trooper had the same car pulled over... writing another ticket... in the space of 10 miles... Sometimes it does a heart good!

After I pulled in, snuck up in my blind spot, dropped the carriage beside me & took off. I have used my car bumper before to gently nudge carts out of the HC spaces, if aimed the right way. I can not believe the stupidity of some HC persons. (Did not know their HC was mental!) Borrow a store scooter & leave it in the parking lot. Then users wonder why they are not charged? I'm taking my own TravelScoot with me these days (so my need to open doors on both sides), but sets up in 1 minute (2 if I'm slow).

If this is the rant thread... yesterday I went to the market. Pulled into the HC space, hung my placard from the mirror. Some other shopper pushes a carriage up between the vehicles & leaves it in the cross hatched area so I can't open my car door. It should be obvious but the cross hatched area are not carriage returns. Now I'll say, leaving a carriage forward (where the front wheel is) is not necessarily a bad thing. Why? Because my earlier self used them as a walker to shop... and if all the way forward do not block the door. I NEED the extra space because I need to get the door wide open so I can get in/out... and it's not easy.

I'm always surprised, even the lightest trailer dips my MPG. Put it in the bed if you don't otherwise need the space.

Grounds?? Not just power to each wheel but also a return path. I've seen trailers where the axles weren't grounded except through the springs... and others where the grounds were bad & grounding was sometimes through the ball... Check the simple stuff first! While you are at it, check your trailer plug at the truck bumper... can be no better than that. Approach it logically.