Friday, October 01, 2021
Letter "N" -- -- Weekend Roundup and Street/Reflections
THE FOURTEENTH LETTER FOR THIS SERIES - The Letter "N" Prompts are: (A) Starts with the Letter "N"; (B) "Nuts" (Tom's Choice); (C) A Favorite; (D) Street/Reflections; and (E) A Lagniappe.
(B) "Nuts" (Tom's Choice): Above, this is a small bag of small Nuts and Washers. 
I was the youngest Setup Man they ever had, I think my "some college" helped quite a bit.
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(A) Starts with the Letter "N": The word, "New", starts with Letter "N". We have a New "Judge Judy" type program here in the Houston (Texas) area called "Relative Justice".
It is on local TV Channel 39 and it's law suits are between Family Members. Sort of okay, I liked Judge Judy better, she is hard to imitate. So far we have watched only one program.
They are from my large box of Bolts, Nuts, Washers, and Screws. It was a gift to me, probably for Christmas. The box is pictured on the right.
When I dropped out of college, U of Nebraska, I needed a job so that I could give my father back his pickup. I didn't tell him until I found a job.
The job that I found was at Elgin National Watch Company, there in Lincoln, Nebraska. A part of the aptitude test was to screw on a whole bunch of Nuts onto bolts sticking out of a wooden box. I screwed on every Nut there was before my time went out. I could do this job with both hands which helped me a lot there.
I stayed on at Elgin until I was drafted into the service three years later. I did well at the factory, I hired on as a Degreaser Operator and after about 15 months was promoted to Setup Man with a line of 16 workers to keep happy with parts to work and well adjusted and sharp, if it involved cutting or stamping, equipment.
(C) A Favorite: Do Not Worry. I won't be climbing into that junk. A New Nashville (Tennessee) project doesn't need all this cement and dirt.
(D) Street/Reflections: A Vanderbilt student on it's Nashville campus.
He seems to be hurrying, I was taught to respect those folk with that type motivation.
(E.1) A Lagniappe: Normality like aura in a crowded Nashville setting.
(E.2) A Lagniappe: Six "N" countries we've visited:
Netherland, informally called Holland(yes) — Aruba(yes), Curaçao(yes), the Netherlands (island - no), and Saint Maarten(yes)—are constituent countries, we've not been to "The Kingdom of The Netherlands"(no) Island Country itself.
New Zealand
Norway
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Fine print stuff
- [Click on any picture for larger, click it again for extra large]
- I am linked with Tom of "Backwoods Travel" (Link here to click for Tom's Weekend Reviews)
- I am also linking again this week with James of "Weekend Reflections/Street Photos" (click here for his Street Folk and Reflections Photos).
- The pictures mostly are all mine and rights are reserved to me under Copyright Law.
- Click Here for countries I've visited.
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Labels: Friday's Weekend Roundup 07, Jim in his Younger Days, Jim's Life, Reflect'ions, The News, Work
Friday, January 29, 2021
Letter "E" -- Weekend Roundup and Reflections
The fifth issue this week of my 2021 WEEKEND ROUNDUP postings and ... (THE FIFTH LETTER FOR THIS SERIES) - the Letter "E" Prompts are: (A) Starts with the Letter "E"; (B) "Evergreen" (Tom's Choice); (C) A Favorite; (D) Reflections; and (E) A Lagniappe.
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(A) Starts with the Letter "E": Exam starts with the letter "E". What and When was the last time you took an exam? And or that you Gave an Exam?
The last one that I remember taking was for my FCC Extra Class Amateur Radio Exam at the FCC Office in Boston, Massachusetts. Ham Radio Operators exchange QSL Cards (one pictured above) as a memory device which proves a radio contact was made.
I gave at least six exams for every college course that I taught. Let's do some math. Six for each of my Five class load would be 30 a semester and 12 for my two summer classes, 30 + 30 + 12 = 72 Exams a year for 22 years would be 1,584 Exams given for my teaching career.
I tease about giving Mrs. Jim an exam during her annual performance review session. Some states start giving physical and rules exam for seniors' driving license renewals. In Texas senior we have to come in person for a visual assessment for ability and to take an eye test, that is every two years for folk my age. I lucked out though, my last renewal merited me a seven year exam. Mrs. Jim does NOT have a 'wives license' although when I was buying her for $25 I did get marriage license.
I also teased my last Sunday school class that I would be giving exams. But I did not require one during my fourteen years with that class before we moved away.
I started teaching Clerk Typing for my first Army assignment and since then have been teaching or training the rest of my life until that last move. Even before the Army I had taught a few girls or ladies driving lessons. The army besides schools requires a lot of learning through OJT and I did that in New Hampshire, teaching the Operation and Maintenance of the satellite tracking station that we, I was an Aerospace Engineer there, were installing. It is still there, west of Manchester. I am not sure it is open for visitors.
But I have been bettered at the younger age teaching by our youngest granddaughter. She has a dedicated play school room at her home. Many times when she comes to visit us she has a lesson planned for Mrs. Jim and me which ends with an Exam.
(B) "Evergreen" (Tom's Choice): These Evergreens are called Poplars or Italian Cypress trees. I cannot tell the difference but my Master Gardner friends probably could. I do believe we ought to know and perhaps that should be a question, the difference, on the Master Gardner Exam. My recommendation.
(C) A Favorite: This Service Dog was helping one of these folks. I do not know what breed dog this is. For sure dog breeds are needed questions on the Veterinary License Exam. Even in high school Ag classes we needed to be able to identify the different weed seeds.
(D) Reflections: This was the little pond between the roadway and the poplar/cypress trees pictured above.
(E) A Lagniappe: The Last Rose of Summer. If you look closely (Magnifier's allowed) you can find the Red Rose and its Reflection.
Actually, our roses bloom year-round so there were more, taller ones to the left and these shorter versions in front of the hedge.
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Bonus Questions:
(1) Tell a bit about your experience or feelings about getting your first Driving License. I don't remember much about getting it as I had a 'School and Work Driving License' since I was 14. I do remember going to the Lincoln, Nebraska, DMV Office to get it in exchange for my 14-year-old's license.
(2) What is your favorite Word starting with "E"? Mine today will be "Ear Rings" and how they make your ear growing action faster. I blogged (click here) about the ear growing bit quite some time ago. One finding is that the heavier Ear Ring the faster the Ear Length will grow.
(3) Anything else you were reminded of here that you would like to tell about?
My going blogs:
Jim's Little Blog, http://jimmiehov.blogspot.com/
Jim's Little Photo and Picture Place, http://jimmiehov6.blogspot.com/
Jim's little Christmas tree farm, http://jimmiehov7.blogspot.com/, and
Ask Dr. Jim (blog), http://jimmiehov8.blogspot.com/
Cars I have owned (32 including the Golf Car) http://jimmiehov3.blogspot.com/2021/01/cars-i-have-owned-toy-cars-not-listed.html
Adi Pictures and Information. Click here, Link to Adi's Meme Adi died in 2012.
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Fine print stuff:
- [Click on any picture for larger, click it again for extra large]
- I am linked with Tom of "Backwoods Travel" (Link here to click for Tom's Weekend Reviews)
- I am also linked this week with James of "Weekend Reflections" (click here for his Reflections Photos).
- The pictures mostly are all mine and rights are reserved to me under Copyright Law.
Labels: Driving Pictures, Friday's Weekend Roundup 06, Jim in his Younger Days, Reflections
Thursday, February 05, 2015
My Alphabe-Thursday (5th), the letter "L" — Some places I've been starting with "L"
"L" is for some places, countries and cities starting with the letter "L" where I have traveled:
- Countries:
Liechtenstein
- States: (I've been to all 50)
Louisiana
- Large Cities over 100,000 population I've liked:
London, U.K. (Check here for some of my past London blog posts)
Los Angles, California
Lincoln, Nebraska
So, here goes:
Liechtenstein is one of the ten small countries of the world, Grenada*, Malta, Maldives, Saint Kitts and Nevis*, Liechtenstein*, San Marino, Tuvalu, Nauru, Monaco*, and the Vatican* (Link -- I've been to the four asterisked ones).
We drove through Liechtenstein two times and took a bus once. What struck me each time was a row of large homes and castles lined up just before range of mountains start.
Where did we eat? McDonald's all three times. European hamburgers aren't as good as they are in the U.S. I prefer fish sandwiches in the McDonalds overseas.
And don't expect to get your passport stamped. Crossing between countries in the E.U. is like crossing state border in the U.S. Liechtenstein does require a special automobile tax stamp be displayed in the windshield. Our rental agency had provided for this for our car.
Before eating fried seafood (catfish, oysters, shrimp, crawfish, alligator) my two SILs and BIL decide on whether to use the restroom or not before eating. As shown in the left of the left picture is a sign giving directions with arrow for the restroom out back of the restaurant.
I give the restroom a One out of a possible Five. My ratings depend on cleanliness and on how much of the equipment needs to be touched with clean hands. Here, I wash my hands someplace else after leaving.
The food was delicious, using the toilet was an adventure. There are lots of water and bridges in Louisiana. Watch out for alligators.
Louisiana is our neighbor state where Mrs. Jim was born at Alexandria, a small city in the middle of the state. Once a year we have a family reunion there.
Lincoln, Nebraska is where I lived for five years after I graduated from high school. I attended the University of Nebraska for three semesters with a possible Geology major. My grades were not good so I withdrew before it became possible for me not to return. The thing I learned there best was to play a really good game of chess.
I don't go back there anymore but do have a lot of memories. My first girlfriend and I dated there but that didn't last forever. I had a job in the Elgin watch factory and worked there for three years until the draft caught up with me and I went into the Army.
The plant closed while I was in the service and there was a bad recession when it was time to leave so I re-enlisted for an electronics school at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas. That gave me a carrier in Aerospace Engineering which would serve me well for the next 20 years.
While at Lincoln besides working I learned how to fix cars (Ford specialty) by working on a 1934 Ford Coupe which we raced as a Modified Stock Car at the Lincoln race track. It was a pretty car, painted 'baby blue' with the number 88 painted on the sides and back in big white letters.
It ran very well, fast too because it was bored and stroked and ran a special racing cam. For fuel we used a mixture of alcohol and nitromethane (link), which BTW, causes flames to shoot out of the exhausts when the car slows for cornering. Occasionally I would drive but we had a steady driver who was very good.
My personal car was a nice 1952 Ford Tudor for which I had rebuilt the motor. It would out run any 1955 or 1956 Chevys (fastest street cars then) I could find, even the ones with the 'Power Packs'.
- Jenny is now on her tenth series of Alphabe Thursday. With 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet she is now in her fifth year. I am linked to her blog, GO HERE for more participants and their offerings.
- Countries:
Liechtenstein
- States: (I've been to all 50)
Louisiana
- Large Cities over 100,000 population I've liked:
London, U.K. (Check here for some of my past London blog posts)
Los Angles, California
Lincoln, Nebraska
So, here goes:
Liechtenstein is one of the ten small countries of the world, Grenada*, Malta, Maldives, Saint Kitts and Nevis*, Liechtenstein*, San Marino, Tuvalu, Nauru, Monaco*, and the Vatican* (Link -- I've been to the four asterisked ones).
We drove through Liechtenstein two times and took a bus once. What struck me each time was a row of large homes and castles lined up just before range of mountains start.
Where did we eat? McDonald's all three times. European hamburgers aren't as good as they are in the U.S. I prefer fish sandwiches in the McDonalds overseas.
And don't expect to get your passport stamped. Crossing between countries in the E.U. is like crossing state border in the U.S. Liechtenstein does require a special automobile tax stamp be displayed in the windshield. Our rental agency had provided for this for our car.
[click on picture for larger view size]
I give the restroom a One out of a possible Five. My ratings depend on cleanliness and on how much of the equipment needs to be touched with clean hands. Here, I wash my hands someplace else after leaving.
The food was delicious, using the toilet was an adventure. There are lots of water and bridges in Louisiana. Watch out for alligators.
Louisiana is our neighbor state where Mrs. Jim was born at Alexandria, a small city in the middle of the state. Once a year we have a family reunion there.
Lincoln, Nebraska is where I lived for five years after I graduated from high school. I attended the University of Nebraska for three semesters with a possible Geology major. My grades were not good so I withdrew before it became possible for me not to return. The thing I learned there best was to play a really good game of chess.
I don't go back there anymore but do have a lot of memories. My first girlfriend and I dated there but that didn't last forever. I had a job in the Elgin watch factory and worked there for three years until the draft caught up with me and I went into the Army.
The plant closed while I was in the service and there was a bad recession when it was time to leave so I re-enlisted for an electronics school at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas. That gave me a carrier in Aerospace Engineering which would serve me well for the next 20 years.
This is a 1934 Ford Three Window Coupe.
In the mid 50's we raced one of these on
an oval dirt track in Lincoln Nebraska.
Ours had no headlights and the fenders had
their outside surfaces, showing here, cut off
While at Lincoln besides working I learned how to fix cars (Ford specialty) by working on a 1934 Ford Coupe which we raced as a Modified Stock Car at the Lincoln race track. It was a pretty car, painted 'baby blue' with the number 88 painted on the sides and back in big white letters.
It ran very well, fast too because it was bored and stroked and ran a special racing cam. For fuel we used a mixture of alcohol and nitromethane (link), which BTW, causes flames to shoot out of the exhausts when the car slows for cornering. Occasionally I would drive but we had a steady driver who was very good.
My personal car was a nice 1952 Ford Tudor for which I had rebuilt the motor. It would out run any 1955 or 1956 Chevys (fastest street cars then) I could find, even the ones with the 'Power Packs'.
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- Jenny is now on her tenth series of Alphabe Thursday. With 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet she is now in her fifth year. I am linked to her blog, GO HERE for more participants and their offerings.
Labels: Alphabe-Thursday [5th], Cars, Jim Does, Jim in his Younger Days, Restroom Rating, Travel 2
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Two Pictures — My Alphabe-Thursday (4th), the letter "R"
"R" is for racing. This is a 1965 Ford Shelby Cobra. It has been a while since I took the picture, I cannot remember whether it is the real thing or a modern made replica. ( Idea link )
This is a 1934 Ford Three Window Coupe. In the mid 50's we raced one of these on an oval dirt track in Lincoln Nebraska. Mostly I worked on the car but occasionally I was able to drive it.
Our car was a modified stock class car. That meant we could "hop" it up using any means that would not show. The car had a bored and stroked Ford V8 engine. This increased the displacement of the engine giving it more power. All the work was done inside so that nothing would show.
The engine burned alcohol with nitroglycerin mixed in with it. It was such cool running fuel that the carbonator would often be covered with frost.
We were allowed to cut off the fenders and to put on more heavy duty bumpers. We cut the fenders to be much thinner, sticking out only about four inches. The inside was gutted and only one racing seat was installed.
We had it painted a light blue, almost baby blue. Our number "88" was painted in black on the doors and on the trunk lid. We had two sponsors, one for the engine and car and the other furnished our tires.
The car would often win its heat races but seldom would it win the "A" feature race. Most often we would hold it back or I would drive it so that it would win 3rd or 4th in the heat race so that it could run in the "B" feature race. We could win on that level quite often.
I do not know what happened to that car. The engine blew but we put a sleeve in the damaged cylinder and put the engine into a nice 1940 Ford Coupe. That car was a nice street racer.
Our next "88" car was a 1936 Chevy Coupe with a 302 GMC engine made to look like a bored GMC 270 engine. Any engine 300 cubic inches or larger had to run in the model car that it could have come from. This was to keep out the 1950's Oldsmobile and Cadillac large overhead valve engines. The 1950's cars were way too heavy for racing on our 3/8 mile oval dirt track.
A practical benefit of working with the racing cars was that I learned to work on my own cars. I built a 'hot rodded' engine for my 1952 Ford that would outrun any 1955 or 1956 Chevy with the new overhead valve V8 engines.
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Today I am linked again (this is the first one of the fourth series for me) with Teacher Jenny at her Alphabet Thursday Letter "R" blog (Link) (My Older series post links, 1st, 2nd, 3rd)
Labels: Alphabe-Thursday [4th], Cars, Jim in his Younger Days, Jim's Life
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Six Word Saturday (he's eating again)
Picture courtesy of S T A T E . F A I R, http://corndogs.com/
My first corn dog, in Monterey
I was 31, it was a sunny Sunday afternoon on a pier in Monterey, California. I was in Palo Alto attending a month long Lockheed school on a new piece of electronics, a telemetry PCM digital ground station, for NASA. Corn dog was not in my vocabulary until that day. They are one of my favorites now.
Do you like corn dogs? Here is the link for the 55 cent off coupon: http://banner.couponfactory.com/banner/6b899be363ffe0f0eadf00cf01ce227951385d8d/
My choice is the Classic dogs, in the 16 count package like these. I get them when Kroger has them on sale, perhaps $1.50 off, more or less.
Six Words Saturday fine print:
Describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words for Six Word Saturday. Click the box at right to visit Cate's blog with Mr. Linky showing all the other blogs participating this week. Cate is the boss at Six Word Saturday. She would like for you to participate.Labels: First Times, Jim Does, Jim in his Younger Days, Six Word Saturday
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Zuider Zee — My Alphabe-Thursday (2nd), the letter "Z" / Thursday Two Questions —
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"Z" is for the Zuider Zee.
What do you know about the Zuider Zee?
When did you first hear about the Zuider Zee?
The map above is from Wikipedia (link). The second map, here,is from Google Maps of "Zuider Zee" (link-you may have to select Zuider Zee, the Netherlands on the left of your map).[You can make either map large by clicking on the picture once or twice.]
I first learned about the Zuider Zee in my country grade school from the poem, "The Leak in the Dike" (link). You won't see the sea named by the Zuider Zee but that was it. The Zuider Zee was mostly recovered by land using a series of dikes. In the 1600's through to the 1900's the dikes would break and tens of thousands of people perished. Also see the Wikipedia article here (link).
The gist of this poem, and the legend that became before and after was all about The story of the little boy who averted a flood disaster by sticking his finger in the dyke. This story is famous all over the world . Mary Mapes Dodge (1831 - 1905), an American author of children's books, wrote the story and published it in her book around 1865. (link).
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==> You can see other "Z" letter posts by visiting Jenny's blog post, Alphabe- Thursday. My letter "Z" portion of this post will be critiqued by Head Mistress Jenny. I always hope for a good grade from her..
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[please click on the picture to make it a bit larger -- I am the boy in back]
This was my school. I suppose I was about in the 6th grade and my sister in the front left was in the first or second grade. Beside her was my first cousin as was the boy on the right. So half the school kids were either brother-sister or first cousins. I don't know the tall girl beside me. The girl beside me and the girl in front by my boy cousin were sisters.
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Now for my Thursday Two Questions.
My post last week was about the "Y" word Youth. and fishing.
Please do not forget to observe this May as National Hamburger Month.
My Two Questions for this week (you can answer just one if you wish):.
1. What do you know about the Zuider Zee?
2. When did you first hear about the Zuider Zee?
1. What do you know about the Zuider Zee?
2. When did you first hear about the Zuider Zee?
Bonus Question(s):
1. What is your favorite "Z" word?
.==> My Questions here are for Amanda at her Thursday Two Questions blog, Self Sagacity. Please visit her there for her questions and links to other partakers of her fun blogging idea.
Labels: Alphabe-Thursday-[2nd], Jim in his Younger Days, School, Thursday-Two-Questions
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Good Fences: Make Good ________? -- Things in a Row -- Two Questions --
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Good Friends Good Neighbors Make
Good Friends Good Neighbors Make
This is a split rail fence with posts buried in the cement foundation. I haven't seen many rail fences set in concrete but a lot of back yard chain link fences are. That keeps the dogs from burrowing under and out. This one occasionally has a couple or three ponies grazing inside.
I took it for the century plant (cactus) but it came in handy for today's post. A student once brought me a century plant back from his visit to Mexico. It was fairly large but in a very cold winter one year it froze and was killed.
These posts are keeping cars where they belong. To the left in the picture is a crawl down place that edges on the Colorado River in Colorado.On the opposite bank a rafting company sells and guides river rafting tours. Or one can do his own thing with a smaller raft. I have never done river rafting and it is not on my bucket list.
Below are some fence pictures taken while visiting our neighbor who has a ranch near Telluride, Colorado. You can click on them to make a screen size picture.
The fence on the left is for cows, contented ones who don't need a strong fence to keep them in. This works good for the deer and elk you see who came to graze. If they trip when jumping the fence it will give way and not hurt the animals except for a scratch by the barbs.
The center picture is on our neighbor's property while the one on the right is a neighboring rancher's fence.
The fence on the right is a Zig Zag fence (my name for it). This type of fence is free standing and the posts do not have to be dug in for it to stand up even under the very strong winter winds.
The center picture is on our neighbor's property while the one on the right is a neighboring rancher's fence.
The fence on the right is a Zig Zag fence (my name for it). This type of fence is free standing and the posts do not have to be dug in for it to stand up even under the very strong winter winds.
Here you see some animals meant to be contained. First is one of our neighbor's horses. Isn't she pretty? Next is Katrin with her child doggy gate that keeps her from going upstairs.
If she does go up she likes to go out on the balcony above the back porch. The main problem with her upstairs is that she eats the Amber's cat food the first thing.
If she does go up she likes to go out on the balcony above the back porch. The main problem with her upstairs is that she eats the Amber's cat food the first thing.
For more things in a row please visit Pat's Things in a Row post. You might like to post your own 'Things in a Row.'
Pat didn't make one this week but the link takes you to her blog. She has other travel posts with the last 'Things in a Row' post being March 22. I hope she keeps on with this meme. You could leave her a comment telling her how much you like reading about row things.
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And now for my Thursday Two Questions: (See Thursday Two Questions by Self Sagacity for more reading. You could also make your own by checking in at this link.)
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Last week I didn't post as I was doing income tax and getting things ready for some travel. The week before you told me about the local parks you liked to visit. Not many of you knew your state flower but said you were going to look it up. Google knows all. If you did look yours up you might mention what it was n your comment for this post.
My Two Questions for this week:
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1. What is your feeling about fences.
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And now for my Thursday Two Questions: (See Thursday Two Questions by Self Sagacity for more reading. You could also make your own by checking in at this link.)
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Last week I didn't post as I was doing income tax and getting things ready for some travel. The week before you told me about the local parks you liked to visit. Not many of you knew your state flower but said you were going to look it up. Google knows all. If you did look yours up you might mention what it was n your comment for this post.
My Two Questions for this week:
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1. What is your feeling about fences.
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My opinion is that sometimes they are a necessary evil. Necessary for various reasons. I really don't like the ones along the road which silence the road noise for the people behind the fences. Houses or farmsteads are much prettier than a noise fence.
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2. If you have a pet, do you ever contain it and how and why?
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Besides not allowing them upstairs with the cat, we also keep our dogs fenced in our bedroom with us at night. I dread even having to think about them roaming around the house at night while we are sleeping.
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My opinion is that sometimes they are a necessary evil. Necessary for various reasons. I really don't like the ones along the road which silence the road noise for the people behind the fences. Houses or farmsteads are much prettier than a noise fence.
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2. If you have a pet, do you ever contain it and how and why?
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Besides not allowing them upstairs with the cat, we also keep our dogs fenced in our bedroom with us at night. I dread even having to think about them roaming around the house at night while we are sleeping.
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Bonus Question: Do you remember any experiences you have had with a fence, pleasurable or not? (You could tell your favorite fence joke if you haven't.)
In a previous life before ever getting married I remember a late teenager night when a bunch of us climbed a country club fence and went swimming in their pool. That was a fun night.
Labels: Colorado, Jim in his Younger Days, Things-in-a-row, Thursday-Two-Questions
