"I Love Summer" - Heywood Banks is At The Bottom

I have a little knowledge about air conditioning. It helps at some times, but reveals things that are upsetting.

Over the last week, I noticed my truck AC was not as cool as it should be. It's gradually became worse, so I hooked up the gauges, with the hope a little freon would solve the problem, but was rewarded with more of a problem.

I checked the static pressure, and it was good. I turned on the truck, checked the gauges, found the low pressure was high, and the high pressure was low. In fact, the pressure didn't change, which means the compressor isn't compressing, and a little freon  will not fix this problem.

For those that don't know, the ambient gas pressure is directly proportional to the temperature. So, when the gas pressure corresponds with the correct gauge pressure, the problem is not with the amount of gas. This leads to more troubleshooting.

A compressor, when it works correctly, "sucks" the substance it compresses, which lowers the pressure. At the discharge, it has higher pressure, and this indicates the efficiency of the compressor. A lower difference indicates inefficiency. With no difference, it indicates failure.

So, it's time to change the compressor, which should be easy, but it's another thing about summer that makes life difficult.

For your enjoyment, I offer the following....don't stop a baseball with your face.....you've been warned.

Memorial Day

I posted this in 2013. The words are what are on my mind today. 

I'm not a veteran. I never served in the armed forces, so I only have a glimpse of what they face.

I've been away from home, had things happen I had no control over, and suffered with worry until I was home in a relatively short period of time. It was nothing like what our armed forces face, when they're thousands of miles from home, everything turns to crap and they have to keep on doing what they're doing, in spite of the fact they've lost family, or their house burned down, or their spouse moved on....the list goes on forever.

When you add all the adversities life presents -  and death -  those that served were removed from all they loved, cherished, hoped for and were anticipating. They left this earth, while the problems continued and their family, and friends, were left with only memories; embellished by a loss that's too deep to express.

The loss of a loved one is never something to be taken lightly. The loss of a member of our armed forces accentuates the dangers the world presents and society can only observe the damage, without any real method to repair the damage. Those left behind only have fragments of their former life. They scrape up the pieces and try to put  it together again.

Honor those that left while serving this great nation. It's a tiny thing to do, when compared to their sacrifice.

Where the Constitution Fails

I'm guessing too many attorneys were involved with the writing of the Constitution. It's apparent that of all the branches, the Judiciary operates almost completely unchecked, since federal judges are not only arbitrary, they ignore laws, and manipulate the citizens with capricious opinions. With those opinions, and the rules of courts, not only are laws written by elected officials nullified without a good reason, those sworn to uphold the law are faced with criminal charges if they don't comply.

What's the solution? Term limits for a start. That, and a Congress with the backbone to impeach judges. Even if not successful, the impeachment process not only besmirches the reputation of the judge, it demands the justices behave as intended. While the judiciary may like the power they have, they also know their power is tenuous. They operate completely on opinion, and their opinion only has the weight allowed by the citizens.

Stopping For Gas

I had pulled to the pump, the pump was starting, put the spout in the tank, squeezed the handle, and heard the screech of tires.

The convenience store I stopped at is on the corner of two highways. One runs straight through the intersection, and the other ends at the intersection. A light controls traffic, but traffic on the opposite side of the intersection does not stop for the light. I was on the opposite side of the pump, with my back to the traffic.

The turning lane for those wanting to travel on the intersecting highway is long, since the evening traffic is always heavy. Sometimes, when there is a refinery expansion, traffic backs into the inside travel lane of the two lanes that don't stop for the light.

The speed limit at this intersection is 55 mph, and increase to 65 mph right past the intersection. For those that spent a long time in traffic, this is the opportunity to make up for lost time, but for those not paying attention, there can be consequences.

I've seen a few wrecks at this intersection. Usually, they occur when someone tries to pull from the turning lane, or is following too closely and runs into the stopped traffic. Most are fender benders, but with the speed limit, some lead to cars that won't be fixed, and terrible injuries.

A friend's mother and father were killed at a cross street that is right beyond the start of the turning lane. The traffic was heavy, backed into the inside lane, and a good Samaritan let them in. They pulled into the outside lane, a fast moving car couldn't stop, and the car slammed into the side of their car. They were just visiting, the visit was over, and they were on their way back to Illinois.

I was turning to see what caused the screeching tires, when I heard the thump. For those that never saw, or were, in a car wreck, the sound is unmistakable. The larger the thump, the worst is the wreck. This sounded like someone took off a mirror, or sideswiped a vehicle.

As I finished my turn, I saw a small section of burgundy trim flying in the air, and a small, gray pickup squealing to a stop on the far shoulder. Since the pickup stopped in the turning lane was the same color of the trim I saw flying, I assumed the gray truck hit the burgundy truck, but something didn't seem right.

All these events, and thoughts, happened in less than five seconds. Thinking it was just another fender bender, I turned back to verify the pump was pumping, before turning back around. I would now spend more time observing the scene.

I was trying to surmise the accident. I couldn't determine how the gray truck hit the burgundy truck, since it was obvious the driver was not trying to pull into the other lane. I was thinking: "Maybe the driver of the gray truck was distracted, and veered from their lane." Before I could complete my thoughts, I saw a young boy running from a house across the highway. He was hollering, ran to the edge of the highway, and was holding his hands next to his head.

My initial thought was the boy knew somebody involved in the wreck, but when I realized a small group had gathered around what appeared to be a bumper on the road, my thoughts went into another direction. People don't gather around bumpers, and I started wondering if the accident happened because someone was avoiding a dog, which was now laying in the road.

I had to spend a few more seconds examining the scene, before it all became clear. It wasn't a bumper, and it wasn't a dog... it was a child, who was laying without moving. One woman was crouched next to the child, and she appeared to be saying something. A young woman was approaching from the house across the street. She was crying, shaking her head, and obviously in shock.

The pump stopped, I put the spout up, and went into the store for my receipt. The clerk, who was just stepping back inside, said: "He was just in here." As she printed my receipt, she told me he was a young man, and just bought some Skittles.

I was still trying to digest what I just observed. I knew exactly what happened, couldn't fathom how anyone would let someone so young try to cross dangerous traffic, and began wondering about the driver that hit the child. They must be devastated, wondering what they could have done differently, and would not be able to logically determine they did nothing wrong. There will always be the nagging thoughts: "If I had been just a few seconds later, I would have missed them." "Maybe I was driving just a little too fast." "Was I distracted, and not paying attention?" The thoughts will haunt them forever.

The emergency vehicles were arriving in droves, as I started my truck. Pulling from the convenience store, I could see the opposite side of traffic was stopped. As I traveled further, the long line of stopped traffic indicated some would be late arriving home.

I looked at the local news after I reached home. The child was identified as a 10 year old boy, and he was flown to Houston, which is around 100 miles away. Since we have an exception trauma center locally, I could only assume the injuries required the specialists of the children's hospital in Houston. A later report stated he was responsive, but couldn't move.

The only thing new on the news this morning is the name of the boy. Unless he dies, there will probably never be anything more about his condition. Hopefully he survives, but judging by the sound of the impact, if he does, he'll spend a long time recuperating, and may not ever be the same.

The entire evening was bizarre after seeing the accident. While I usually can just forget about such things, this one just hangs on. While my thoughts are still on what happened, I can only imagine the thoughts of the driver that hit the young boy. The news had a picture of him sitting in his pickup, with the door open, holding his head in one hand, and holding on to the door of his truck with the other. You can tell he's devastated, and know he'll never be the same.

It's Called Espionage

According to news reports, confidential information about the terrorist investigation in Manchester was leaked to the New York Times. The New York Times, as usual, printed the information, which now removes any sharing of information with the U.K. authorities. Otherwise, not only is critical information being removed from U.S. officials, it's now apparent the New York Times is not only involved with sedition, they're involved with espionage.

So far, those leaking information are doing so with impunity; but sooner or later, one will be caught, and that person will lead do more, or they'll be thrown under the jail. Their family will become suspect, all their associates will be investigated, and those in charge will find they're under the microscope.

This is going to be interesting, and I'm wondering how the New York Times will handle any demands for sources.

So...We Have a Special Council

Robert Muellor was appointed as special council to investigate the suspected link between the Trump campaign, and Russia. That, and anything else that happens to pop up during the investigation. The latter is where the fun starts.

I was around during the Watergate fiasco, and once owned the book "The Right, and the Power -The Prosecution of Watergate" by Leon Jaworski. It's an interesting read, and would probably have been a good reference before the Democrats started clamoring for a special prosecutor. That, and reading about Koreagate, which Jaworski also investigated. Some of the loudest may find the investigation wandered into their own little corner of the corruption, and suddenly realize they not only exposed, criminal charges may soon follow.

So, here we go again. Days, weeks, months, years of conjectured, meddling, constant theories about the investigation from those subpoenaed, absolutely no real news, and some revelations that will give many in Washington D.C. nightmares. This will be a long ride, but a good civics lesson.

Idiots and Worms

Supposedly, James Comey wrote down his memory of a meeting with Trump, and the memo indicates Trump was trying to get Comey to stop investigating Michael Flynn. This has some of the media crapping in their pants, and most of the rest repeating the demands of liberal politicians that have no clue of how an impeachment works, or the necessary proof to support articles of impeachment.

This is a can of worms only idiots would open. While it's obvious the New York Times wants Trump out, I doubt they realize revealing Comey supposedly had memos of his conversations with high ranking official leads to the same types of memos for the past administration. These memos will now be the focus of investigations of the past administration that are ongoing. If they exist, they'll reveal things the liberal media doesn't want to reveal. If Comey destroyed the memos, or claims they don't exist, what little credibility he has will be lost forever, and any memo he presents can be claimed to be written after the fact in an attempt to punish the man that fired him. Comey is now as worthless as toilet paper to the Democrats.

This will be interesting, but I have the feeling the liberal press has gone to a gun fight with a knife. They can't win, and become more irrelevant daily.

New Commission on Voter Fraud

Trump created a commission to investigate voter fraud. The reactions are all over the board, and some groups are demanding refusal to requests from the commission.

I think this is a good idea. While I think there's much more voter errors from incompetence, and manipulation, the commission will expose these problems. That, and probably discover evidence of how failing to demand identification removes the ability of a voting district to verify if voters are qualified to vote.

Time will tell how this turns out, but I have a feeling the results will expose things voters need to know.  Of course, they'll have to veer away from the alphabet networks to find any facts. That is a bigger problem than voter fraud.

A Reasonable Assumption

With the firing of Comey, the constant leaks to obfuscate, and investigations all leading back to crimes involving leaking national security, it's obvious those orchestrating the current effort to damage the current President are either still high up in government, or former high officials of the last administration. Comey was just the first to fall, since he was avoiding his job. Those next may find they either testify for prosecution, or face stiff criminal charges of their own.

I'll sit and watch this one. It's reasonable to assume the criminal acts of government officials are protecting people they either fear, or fear the repercussions of prosecuting these people.

While all the detractors continue their efforts to cause problems, those responsible for following the laws are stepping up their efforts to find corruption. May they be successful; and may some semblance of integrity return to the nation's capitol.

After some of the things I've read today, I've decided the loyal followers of the Democratic Party are either bat-shit crazy, or so mentally challenged, any event requiring more thought than what color crayon to use is beyond their ability to participate.