Stultus Est Sicut Stultus Facit. . . DEFINITELY NSFW

This post has bad f*#king words in it. You've been warned. . .

Alright, boys and girls, listen up. . .

Since my video equipment isn't cooperating, I'm going to do this here. Consider this a Soapbox rant, and take it for what you will.

Earlier, I made reference to a post by saying "Now it's time for the stick". This was a reference to an earlier statement this past week as to how the American public has gotten so used to the government giving them the carrot, that they've forgotten how to use the stick.

The stick is the Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States begins by stating, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." We've all had to learn those words growing up, but paying attention to what they actually mean seems to have gotten lost to the adventure of public school rote memorization. Rather than the intention of the Constitution, which was to establish a government of the people, while protecting them from the threat of tyranny, the people have given total control to that very government, allowing it to grow out of their control and become a force that controls every aspect of the people's lives. We are distracted by petty matters of religion and politics designed to get our hackles up in such a way that we do not see the truly world-shaking events of the day. We are fed a diet of pap and pablum, following the lives of idiot celebrities and getting swept up in such trifling matters as sexual preference and who gets to urinate where.

Are you fucking kidding me?

This year, we watched the DNC violate the principles of neutrality, not just favoring one candidate over another, but actively working to stop his campaign. We watched superdelegates who, despite the obvious will of the voters in their states openly say that they would vote the other way, because reasons. How many primary elections did we see openly discriminate against voters, simply because they were of the demographic that would most likely vote against their prized candidate. How many people bothered to take notice when all of that was seemingly shrugged off? How many people bothered to take notice when those of us who cared called "foul"? Some people made jokes about our socialist candidate, and how the only ones voting for him were looking for a free handout.

Again, are you fucking kidding me?

I have worked all of my life. Nothing has ever been handed to me by the government or any public agency. I have had financial aid for college taken from me because I "no longer qualified" for loan programs, or I "made too much money", even though (at the time) I was working for just better than minimum wage. I could have cried about it, but I moved on. I started a family because I decided to make a difference in the world the best way possible--to raise children capable of critical thinking who question everything, without just accepting what they are told. Given the rising costs of education, it would be nice to be able to afford to send them to college without worrying where the money is coming from. You know--how the rest of the free world seems to be able to do, because most countries do not treat their students as a source of income? Yes, it truly isn't free, but I would like to see the taxes I pay every year do something besides make large holes in other parts of the world, just because the people who live there don't believe the same things most people over here do. I work two jobs--one full time, and the other of my own conation--to make ends meet, provide for my family, and sock a little away for a retirement that may or may not come, thanks to the machinations of our government "by the people". Like everyone else, I would love it if my health insurance didn't take so much of a chunk out of my earnings. Wouldn't it be nice if some of our tax money went to alleviating some of that burden, rather than getting lost in the workings of a government so enwrapped in the economical status quo that it would rather raise a generation of science-ignorant sheep who believe that global warming is a hoax just because they could make a snowball last winter? This year, Alaska reached the 90° mark. People were swimming in the friggin' ARCTIC OCEAN!

What the actual fuck??!!

A friend of mine, whom I consider to be quite intelligent, commented on my aforementioned post that, "I get the feeling the "stick" is going to be a few years of [a] Trump presidency"--meaning that the division of the party by disillusioned, disenfranchised voters would cause an upsurge in support for the Republican candidate, simply because they don't want to see Hillary take the White House. Where this might, to those uneducated in the way the electoral process works, be a practical solution, voting for the "lesser of two evils" is not a viable solution. Again, years of two-party structure has blinded the public to the fact that there are, indeed options, and I'm not talking about voting for the guy on the street corner with a bullhorn and tinfoil hat that was able to buy his way onto the General Election Ballot for his "grassroots" party. Don't just vote for the other guy, because your candidate got a raw deal. Do. Not. Do. The. Stupid.

Personally, I would love to see Sanders swoop in as an Independent at the last minute, taking all of his supporters with him. Being of a rather pragmatic mind on the matter, I do not expect it, but it would be nice. Taking the "glass half full of the wrong liquid" stance, I would say my general faith in the American public is well-rooted, and that the worst possible outcome will happen, come November 8th.

The thing of it is, the President doesn't mean a damned thing.

The Constitutional "stick" to which I was referring was the fact that, alongside of the presidential election, comes the congressional elections--469 Seats are up for reelection, including 34 seats in the Senate and 435 in the House. Without the legislative branch of government behind him or her, the President is little more than a source of hot air occupying the White House for a time. Sure, there is the ability for Executive order, but that can only go so far, provided the people make the necessary changes to Congress. This is more than just voting in an opposing party--we have suffered eight years of Republicans doing nothing but stonewall the Obama administration, while accomplishing little in the improvement of the human condition. If we sail out of November with Trump and a merry band of religious fundamentalists, all that has recently happened in the way of advancing equality and acceptance will vanish in a puff of smoke that smells vaguely of musty bibles and brimstone.

This is the Twenty-fucking-First Century. Compared to where we were when I was in High School, we are living in a science fiction movie. We have access to the sum total of human knowledge through the marvel of the internet, yet we use it for sharing pictures of cute cats, watching porn, and spreading pseudoscience and hearsay. Educate yourselves. You should, occasionally, READ A FUCKING BOOK THAT DOESN'T HAVE WORDS IN BUBBLES! Hey! Maybe you could read one on the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, since most people seem to have forgotten their seventh-grade civics classes (assuming they were paying attention in the first place). Embrace the horror that is global warming, because that's the only way we will be able to slow it down. Realize that vaccines are probably what allowed you to live past your thirties. Don't believe everything you hear--research your facts through at least two reputable sources before spreading them around. Question EVERYTHING, and, above all else, pay attention to your elected officials. Are they doing what YOU think they should? Note that I didn't say "what they tell you they should". We have the ability to turn things around, but we have to get behind the right candidates. I'm not talking about career politicians--I'm talking about regular people running for office. If you want to effect a change, get involved! I once said that "there could never be another Davy Crockett in Congress". That is only true if his potential constituents are too apathetic to get behind him.

Get off your asses.

Don't just vote blindly because your favorite party says it's right. They are pushing their own interests.

Get off your asses.

Learn and do.

Fixing Stupid. . .

A little while ago, I purchased a used truck.  Nothing fancy by any stretch of the imagination, just an older, rusty truck that I could use to haul materials and projects for the Makerspace.  Now, it did have one fault--a wheel cylinder was leaking, meaning I had a brake job coming in the very near future.  I decided to tackle that on Monday.  Now, brake fluid is nasty stuff.  Somewhat acidic when heated (as is the case with friction-prone environments), I expected a mess when I took the drum off, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  Yes, friends, this vehicle has rear drum brakes which, if you're not prone to doing brake jobs every other day, are a bit of a pain in the nether regions.  Let's start with that.

I had obtained the wheel cylinder before even tearing into the assembly, knowing that was the problem and hoping that nothing else would be needed, save for a couple of cans of brake cleaner.  What I ended up with was five lug nuts that had been impacted on so tightly that it took an hour and a full can of penetrating oil to remove, an additional hour of beating and heating to get the drum to release, a handful of springs rusted almost to the point of being unrecognizable that were covered in a thick goop of DOT3 fluid and road grime, a completely missing emergency brake assembly, two BENT cylinder pins, and something that didn't look quite right that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

A somewhat leisurely-paced trip to town for some new pads, springs, adjuster kit, and a drum was made quite memorable by the fact that even the manufacturer doesn't make the cylinder pins anymore (an assumption on my part, due in large to the fact that the local dealership told me that they couldn't be ordered).  When I asked them what they do when a vehicle comes in needing those parts, I was told, matter of factly, that "nothing ever happens to those".  That's great--thanks for the assurance.

Upon returning to the workshop to put my little fiasco aright, things really got interesting.  The brake lines that were supposed to have been replaced not long prior to my purchasing the vehicle were having nothing to do with the whole "free spinning coupler" idea.  Add one ruined brake line to the list of replacement parts.  It was only after I got the cylinder installed and began putting the assembly together that I realized that the last trained monkey that worked on the truck assembled the entire set backwards!  I'm not talking about the usual drum brake screwups like inverted springs; I mean the entire brake drum was assembled back-friggin'-wards.

The above diagram is prevalent online.  In fact, if you were to contact a dealership to get a diagram of the drum from their records, it is pretty much the same thing, though exploded.  This graphic shows the right rear drum.  To use this picture to assemble the left rear, you have to invert the image.  This is why the retainer pins and cylinder pins were bent and the emergency brake guts were left out--there was a good deal of force required to put it all together in this manner.  If you assemble it in the proper direction, everything literally falls into place.  This is why the diagram includes the emergency brake cable.  The E-brake cable comes from the front of the vehicle.  Notwithstanding, the adjusting lever is usually mounted on the trailing side of the drum (this is what I noticed from the beginning.  It just didn't register immediately as a goof since I haven't worked on drum brakes since 2002), a dead giveaway should be the positioning of the primary shoe.

Now, I realize most of what I just said is gobbeldygook to anyone who hasn't worked on older brakes before.  The main point is, I had every bit of this trouble simply because somebody either got in a hurry and cut corners, or they couldn't properly read directions.  I've done these rebuilds before, but wasn't too proud to find a diagram or consult another mechanic for advice.  The easiest way to hurt yourself or someone else is to think you know how to do something when you really haven't got a clue.  The internet is full of people like that--a fact to which some of my electrician friends can attest.  I just spoke to a friend of mine in the trade a little while ago who shared a story about someone on one of his jobs wiring a phase to ground.  In non-electrician lingo, that is a good way to get your chicken Kentucky-fried in a hurry.

Though we wish it were, life isn't always simple.  Not everything you do can be as mindlessly simple as building birdhouses or changing light bulbs, nor is everyone fully equipped to do everything.  If the sum of your electrical experience is plugging appliances into the wall, then you probably shouldn't take on the task of updating your breaker box.  Need a brake job but have never done one?  Get an experienced person to show you how to do it, rather than muddling through and maybe injuring someone in the process (or aftermath).  You've heard the phrase, "you can't fix stupid".  It turns out that you can, usually with an inordinate amount of labor and swearing.  The thing is, it's much easier to just head it off at the pass. . .

You're Kidding, Right?

I hold in my hand an oil pen. I'm not even sure how many of these I've used over the years or even how long I've had this particular one, though it has been in my toolbox since my dad and grandfather began giving me tools when I was in early grade school. Since this is my last one, I decided to go online to see if they even made these anymore, as they are remarkably handy and a very good light oil for everything from sewing machines to glass cutters.

Imagine my surprise when I get to the interwebs and find out that, not only does Chevron not seem to know what I'm talking about, but there are all sorts of listings for these on "vintage" and "antique" sites for sale. I didn't delve too deeply into the whole list, but the highest end price I found for this little lube pen was $37 plus shipping for a tube that was only 3/4 full. Keep in mind, fellow makers, that these were, largely, given away for free by the tool truck guys or sold for a few cents by auto parts stores.

I've noticed this trend a lot over the years. When I lived in downstate Michigan, I had a business buying and selling old video game systems (read: Atari 2600 era), repairing and refurbishing them in the process. The money wasn't fantastic, but it helped pay an extra bill or two, and it was a somewhat rewarding hobby inasmuch as it was self-supporting. Most of my trade in this business was on sites like eBay, where you usually had a good chance of snatching up parts and supplies for a nice price, while fetching an excellent resale on whole systems with games and novelty items like actual working controllers. The thing was, out of every fifteen or so legitimate auctions, you always could find twenty or more others who had a starting bid of well over $100 or more, simply because they had something that looked old and slapped a "vintage" label on it. Some fell for it, most would pass. These were the people who would get frustrated and finally give up, selling it to me or others of my kind for $5 at their garage sale, or doing so indirectly by donating to Goodwill Industries.

The same holds true for just about anything, really. If something is old enough to spark a bit of a childhood memory, while not being recent enough for the owner to know what it actually is, it usually gets put up for sale in consignment shops and antique galleries for much more than it would have been worth back when it was still useful. I still have radio tubes in my workshop; I wonder what people would think those are worth?

A large portion of my hand tools are more than a few decades old. Thanks to my grandfather, I not only own tools that are approaching the century mark, but I know how to use them. By the logic of some of these antique sites, I could probably sell my entire workshop and use the proceeds to restock it twice, with plenty of change left over. Therein lies the bigger question: Why would you want to get rid of something perfectly useful that has lasted so long? I was actually taught how to take care of my tools, but even with that in mind, could you really expect something purchased today to last for ten decades and beyond? Getting back to our original subject, when does something's value exceed its intended worth? How much value does someone else have to put on my little pen of handy oil to justify setting it on a shelf as a decoration, as opposed to utilizing it for its intended purpose? Is my sewing machine really knocking that loudly? And, what if this "antique" is keeping another one in good condition? I've used two of these pens in the last ten years just keeping an old, 70s model B&D jigsaw running. What is that item worth?

All I wanted to do tonight was cut the bottom off a wine bottle to use as a diffuser for a lighting project, not get caught up in an emotional dilemma over whether or not my little Chevron lube pen is a tool or a memento. I guess I'll keep it for a little while longer, but that sewing machine better not start a ruckus. . .