New Texas State Laws beginning Sept One.

A few of the brand new State of TX laws that go into effect on Sept 1, 2011 are listed below:

1. You gotta take a birth cert or passport to renew your TDL to prove you are a citizen.
2.Catfish Noodling will be legal in TX
3.Cutbacks in hours and svcs at state parks...but none closing.
4.Gun owners can keep ammo and guns in their cars at employer parking lots (except schools)
5.Legal to hunt and shoot feral hogs from your helicopter now (woohoo! now where's my copter?)
6.Closing the Sugarland state prison, since 1932. Had a cannery and meat packing operation there.

many more listed here...
See Texas Tribune DOT org...."31 days, 31 ways article"

what's hotter than "hot"..???

These are fuzzy pics I just took at 2:15PM of the two thermo's I have nailed to the wall and under shade all day...on the back porch here west of FTW. ........dangit boy.!!

Just checked the temps outside...113 here and 96 in TR...wow.! ..(BOTH per weatherunderground site)

Yesterday about this time it showed 116 to 118...for an hour or so...couldn't believe it but both gauges showed about the same.

I think a huge solar flare got turned on and the switch is stuck and it's aimed right at Texas.!!

Got up a little early today and with Nephew Joe's assistance, we got about half the tin roofing installed on the carport Packard Shack. We quit around 10AM or so, mixed up a couple big tumblers of GatorAide and sat in the house under the clg fan and cooled off. (maybe some pics next time when we get back to it around January when it may drop into the 70's.)

Seey'all

BF

done been eat up with beggar lice..!!

I spent about 20 minutes picking these things off my leg hair. And not sure I'm even gonna try to save the socks. But I will clean up my brand new $59 "on sale" tennis shoes.

After wading thru a back yard of nearly knee high beggar lice weeds earlier this week, out behind one of my dad's old Sh*t-hole rent houses, I was looking for some scrap iron and an old fireplace I had stored back there 16 years ago. I found the scrap and fireplace, but these little hanger-oners found me.

These were the original "natural" version of the Velcro (hook & loop) connection design, as I recall reading somewhere.

Anyway...

Nephew Joe sold his pickup truck for $550 (see prior post).

Littlefoot landed a high school science teacher job at a suburb just north of FTW. Long days as she has 6 classes a day, but she is enjoying it.

I had an interview in Dallas yesterday with an outfit from DC (District of Corruption)...they are gonna be doing a rehab on an old apt project in Irving. Lotta asbestos abatement, rip everything out down to the studs, new AC/plbg/elect....new gable trussed roofs to cover up the old flat roof system. Gotta build a new, ground-up, office/club bldg and swimming pool.

It's a HUD job, but I've done one or two of them over the years. Hope I get the nod and make the cut....supposed to start Oct 1...and runs 10-12 months. A paycheck again...if only for a year would be sweet.

Still hotter'n hell here....was 110 yesterday here late afternoon....damn, I've been living her in TX since I was 1 yr old....and I ain't NEVER felt it this bad, this long.. for summertime.

Not much else to say nowadays.

We are planning a very fast trip to TR this coming weekend....drive down Fri late afternoon...drive back Monday. Looks like it's cooled off a tiny bit down there...but it's still always at least 10 degrees cooler there than up here per weatherunderground.com.

At least gas prices are down a tad...still oughta be alot lower now. When oil per barrel was at $112 gas was right at $4...now oil has been in the low $80's for a couple weeks...gas SHOULD be down to $3 even now...but it's around $3.38 here.

Later y'all..!!

Packard Shack & LED lgts - in the making ...(& still hot)

I started building a free standing carport/shed at the beginning of summer...but the hot weather has slowed that process waaaayy down. At the time I had two 1948 & 1949 Packards to house in there.....but now only one.

My nephew Joe was "sweet talked" into spending the night here so we could get an early start on getting the roof rafters up. Went fast with me on the ground and him on the ladder...done with this stage by 9:30AM. Next is 1x4 nailers run cross-ways and then the tin. I used 20 ga metal studs for rafters.

Joe is trying to sell an old truck that was passed down to him from an older brother. '84 Ford F150 short bed with a 302V8 auto. He only wants $650 for it, as it needs a tad bit of TLC, but will start and run. We had to go find a battery for it today...got a good deal on a 1yr warrantee 600cca batt for $30. Hopefully someone will nab this thing off Craigslist.

I've also been fiddlin' around with making some 12V LED lights for use at the cabin, as under cabinet lights for the countertop. I saw these LED flexible strips online somewhere for $3 each. Cut a stick of 1-1/2" PVC pipe in half, used spray glue to hold a piece of wrinkled mylar space blanket stuff in for a reflective surface....now I need to figure out a simple switch...maybe a 12V rocker switch for automotive use type device>?

THIS IS A ROUGH PROTOTYPE HERE...not pretty, but I bet it'll work fine.

(snickers okay...but no guffaws and horselaughs, pls)

These pics were not turned sideways when they were downloaded (uploaded?)..Maybe "Oldfool" can offer some ideas...he helped alot last time with the moving of pics for me.

Anyway....TR has been way too hot for a trip...(even though, right NOW it's 108 here and 98 near Camel's Hump in TR) ...I guess the rainy season ain't gonna happen down there this year....I sure hope it does. Shoulda started by now.

Adios for now, y'alluns.

B-foot

MISERABLE HEAT...and other stuff.

Hello peeps....and sheeps.

I was cruising Craigslist last wknd...and found a 55 gallon barrel of K-1 Kerosene...so I emailed the guy and got it down to $180 cash. Un-opened drum of K-1 that he bought in Feb and did not use. I had to go to his place of work in far North Dallas to get it. Borrowed my dad's F150 pickup, as it could not be handled by the T0wn Car (although I've hauled alot of stuff with the old TC).




Got it home and my smallish Aggie brain came up with a method to unload this 480# barrel from of the truck....and it worked like a charm. The pic doesn't show my large ass in front of the barrel as we slowly rolled it down the landscape timbers and I stood it up at the bottom of the ramp. Nephew Joe holding the tie-down straps hooked to the bumper hitch to make sure it came down easy....worked fine.!!

I made some calls and found I coulda got this same "red dyed" K-1 Kero locally (not dallas) for $4.80 per gallon ...if I brought my own barrel and got at least 55 gallons. At $180 mine worked out to $3.27...PLUS "gettin it" costs.

hmm....paid $180 cash, refilled my dad's truck $34...paid nephew Joe $20 for his mostly windshield time....not sure if I made a good deal or not. If it had been the clear K-1...non red dyed stuff it woulda been better as kero heaters don't need wick changing as often with the clear K-1....but that costs $40+tax for 5 gals in the wintertime here.

AND I did some research and Kero oughta be kept in a cool, dark place for best life of 1-2 yrs....I don't think this one was. (not gonna bring it into the house when it's 110 in the shade daily) I need to add some diesel extender to it....almost the same fuel.

The '49 Packard I sold to a feller in Houston...finally got picked up a few days ago.....fresh WW tires the buyer had shipped up to me so I pulled the wheels and had them installed at Discount Tire for him. Sure looked sweet.

$1000 worth of WW tires on a car he paid $2000 for .....some folks working in the off shore oil patch gots $$....ain't jealous.....good for him.

(He's already got it running now....simple ignition part replaced..$10 part)

And here's my brilliant idea for keeping the ball o'fire Diablo heat from curling the dashboard off the old '85 F250.....a $4 Wally world camp-space blanket over the windshield and part of the top of the cab. Has a nice metallic rattle in the breeze...but ain't blown off yet. Need a giant one for the roof of the house....well, not that giant.

Caren and I, today, went to an early showing of "Cowboys and Aliens" movie today....at 10:50 AM....It was us two...and 3 others in the theater....wow....dark and coool...and a great movie..!!

When we got home we saw the door standing half open into the house....I realized that I shut it when we left( I thought)....put the key in and locked it. BUT the door was NOT pulled and latched shut...and had probably been half open for a couple of hours....luckily, I had hooked the screen door shut from the outside (got one outside to keep it from blowing open if I'm outside piddling)...otherwise we'da been searching for "Jack"....the Pug, all afternoon.

Took our 3 small window unit AC's forever to catch up....still a tad warmish in here at 10:15 tonite. (central unit went out 2 summers ago)...it was up to 112 or so here today. again.

This heat is a killer...but whatcha gonna do.? Stay inside and eat Vienna sausage is my suggestion.

Hope all y'alluns is staying luke-warm....and maybe even COOL>!!

Adios

B.F. & L.F.