The Bar 2015 Edition

[EspressoDude]

Captain! This may be it! I've seen this several times with hydraulic brakes that dragged! The master cylinder must come all the way back! Ages ago in auto mechanic school they drilled this into us. Likely it is the same with a hydraulic clutch. ("Why didn't I think of that?!")
EspressoDude, you may be a genius! (Well, we knew that.)

p.s. I used to teach high school auto mechanics

[Captain Goddammit]

CG: does the clutch pedal pushrod become completely 'loose' when the pedal is up? this allows the master cylinder refill port to open and equalize/bleed all the fluid from the slave cylinder, tubing, master cylinder, to the reservoir. without doing this there will always be pressure on the slave/pushrod/throwout fork and bearing.

discovered this building a 65 Corvair mid engine 327 crown conversion

Took me reading that a few times to realize you mean the pedal pushrod, not the slave-to-fork pushrod.
Ok I'll check that. That part of the system is still factory stock and the geometry should be right, but I'll make sure it's not worn or out of whack.
I'm sure glad I kept this truck instead of selling it to help pay off the newer Dodge. It's old and simple and nothing on the whole truck can cost what the Dodge tends to consume every time I go near it!
Problem is, I'm also glad I kept the one before that ('83 Chevy crewcab dually) because it's got nearly every part for the similar '86, including that fuel tank that just started leaking that I need to replace.
No one should need THREE crew-cab duallies except maybe Ygmir.

If I had real sense I'd sell this fucking Dodge, it's ultra nice (too nice to use how I want to) and just plain tears through the bank account at every opportunity.

[ygmir]

CG: does the clutch pedal pushrod become completely 'loose' when the pedal is up? this allows the master cylinder refill port to open and equalize/bleed all the fluid from the slave cylinder, tubing, master cylinder, to the reservoir. without doing this there will always be pressure on the slave/pushrod/throwout fork and bearing.

discovered this building a 65 Corvair mid engine 327 crown conversion

Took me reading that a few times to realize you mean the pedal pushrod, not the slave-to-fork pushrod.
Ok I'll check that. That part of the system is still factory stock and the geometry should be right, but I'll make sure it's not worn or out of whack.
I'm sure glad I kept this truck instead of selling it to help pay off the newer Dodge. It's old and simple and nothing on the whole truck can cost what the Dodge tends to consume every time I go near it!
Problem is, I'm also glad I kept the one before that ('83 Chevy crewcab dually) because it's got nearly every part for the similar '86, including that fuel tank that just started leaking that I need to replace.
No one should need THREE crew-cab duallies except maybe Ygmir.

If I had real sense I'd sell this fucking Dodge, it's ultra nice (too nice to use how I want to) and just plain tears through the bank account at every opportunity.

I"ve never known anyone to need several of any vehicle......

[^Rhino!]

On the lighter side.......

A bear walks into a bar in Billings, Montana and sits down. He bangs on the bar with his paw and demands a beer.
The bartender approaches and says, "We don't serve beer to bears in bars in Billings."
The bear, becoming angry, demands again that he be served a beer.
The bartender tells him again, more forcefully, "We don't serve beer to belligerent bears in bars in Billings."
The bear, very angry now, says, "If you don't serve me a beer, I'm going to eat that lady sitting at the end of the bar."
The bartender says, "Sorry, we don't serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings"
The bear goes to the end of the bar, and, as promised, eats the woman.
He comes back to his seat and again demands a beer.
The bartender states, "Sorry, we don't serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings who are on drugs."

The bear says, "I'm NOT on drugs."

AND the bartender says......

"Oh no? That was a barbitchyouate."


Bully for the bear.

[Captain Goddammit]

A bear with a bandage on walks into a bar in the old west and says,

I'm looking for the man who shot my paw

[Thecatman]

Mornin All!

Another 11 degrees this morning.
Got the snow blower running like a top yesterday.
Getting ready to go grocery shopping in a few minutes. Come home and split more firewood.
Damn I don't want to go out in this cold

[Captain Goddammit]

Part (well, most) of the reason for getting the old GMC together is so I can just use it and wait for warmer weather to do the motor in the Dodge! I do not like cold! And BRC sucked in 2015!!!

[Elliot]

Where's that global warming we were promised? There is hail falling in Clearlake! (I love it.)

[unjonharley]

Where's that global warming we were promised? There is hail falling in Clearlake! (I love it.)

What the HAIL!

[Savannah]

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving break with lots of food and peace, in the company of your favorite people.

I made a turkey for the second time, turned out even better than last year, even though it was the same recipe as before. (Roasted the bird upside down, as the claim is that it helps prevent the bird from drying out.) I used as many organic ingredients as I could (celery, fresh herbs, butter, etc), was very generous with the amounts, and put a crazy amount of dried rosemary and thyme on the outside this time.

This was the recipe, for anyone who has never made a turkey before (is there really anyone left? Was I the last one?) . . . & is looking for a relatively easy recipe.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_roast_turkey/

[Captain Goddammit]

I know its "bad", but deep-fried turkey is the best ever!
If someone Sanannah-ed up a deep-fried Turkey, well now that would really be Christmas.

[^Rhino!]

I know its "bad", but deep-fried turkey is the best ever!
If someone Sanannah-ed up a deep-fried Turkey, well now that would really be Christmas.

Now you're talking my language. I do deep fried turkey (20 pounds or more) every other year. This year - slow smoked with apple wood during the last five hours. The stuffing was my secret apple+cornbread+spices and sweet Vidalia onions. The legs fell off when I removed it from the smoker (and right onto the serving plate that I had strategically placed). Tender sliced thigh meat, sliced tender moist and juicy breast meat, and the wings I went ahead and coated liberally with my favorite hot BBQ sauce during the last 30 minutes (Scorned Woman BBQ sauce - hell hath no fury.....). Four pies - sweet potato, pumpkin, pecan, and Key lime when it came to dessert choices. Shots of Gentleman Jack all around to toast....and then.....DINNER! Oh yeah....I put a fairly decent salad on the table as well - Waldorf salad with Waldorf dressing. Hot cinnamon and nutmeg homemade applesauce. Thanksgiving was the culinary "apple of my eye" theme, except for the dessert.

I already have an invitation for Christmas, and the hosts love my spiral-sliced brown sugar and pineapple ham, which I brought last year at Easter.

Thank the training I had in the culinary arts prior to my geology degree, and my frequent references to the "Joy of Cooking".....yes, I own one of those tablecloth cover Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks.

You should see what I do on Chinese New Year. Gung hei fa choy! And that's just around the corner in a month or two.

[unjonharley]

I know its "bad", but deep-fried turkey is the best ever!
If someone Sanannah-ed up a deep-fried Turkey, well now that would really be Christmas.

If the Captain eats turkey.. That would be cannibalism.. Damn turkey-neck.

[Captain Goddammit]

Holy fuck Rhino... now suppose I made a deep fryer and whatever other logistics happen on the playa...

[southern crone]

Rhino, perhaps you would consider, "gifting", cooking classes or Rhino cookbooks at Burning Man. Everything sounds wonderful.

[Ratty]

Rhino, I don't cook. You have henceforth been elevated to a 'God'. Hail the newest cooking God, Rhinocerus. (I can't help myself. I'm reading 'The River God'.)

[trilobyte]

Hello, Bar! Long time no see! I trust everyone's having a great post-season and whatnot.

It's worth mentioning that Scotto's camp, PolyParadise, does a Trash Can Turkey event on the playa. Not the same, but similar. He posted about it last week, the 2016 event will be their 10th anniversary. This is apparently the only time of year he can get 23+ pound birds, so he loads up now for next year's shindig. 93lbs!

Great job on the turkey work, Savannah and Rhino (and anyone else too, I only read a few posts back). I don't do the traditional holidays anymore but did several years of bird-wrangling before then. Since Pandorra had the week off and we were looking for a nice leisurely week of as much relaxation as possible, I booked a smallish ham from the honey-baked people. It arrived the weekend before the big holiday, and we enjoyed it through the week. Then around that, we enjoyed making dishes that worked with or around it throughout the week. I've been working on a scalloped potatoes recipe and made another round of that, and one morning she made a nice scratch hollandaise sauce and we had eggs benedict with some of the ham. There were also desserts in there too, we had fun making stuff and indulging through the week.

I'm off - still getting caught up, as well as digging out and working on the 2016 boards.

[Aurelia]

Hello Dear Bar

Good to hear from you Trilo
I was thinking you had totally left us in favor of virtual

xoA.

[^Rhino!]

Holy fuck Rhino... now suppose I made a deep fryer and whatever other logistics happen on the playa...

**Rhino leans over the Captain Goddammit strategic planning table......, and points out the turkey on the diagram.......**

What you're saying, in a roundabout way, is that you need someone to cook said bird a la deep fried with Buttery Cajun injection......; while prior to this feat of culinary delight, we smoke another 20-pounder bird as well on my Brinkmann water smoker......again, using the appropriate stuffing and spice mix........ and then give Doc Pyro the bird(s) at the meet 'n greet, or something like that.....

Did I catch your drift correctly?

[^Rhino!]

Rhino, perhaps you would consider, "gifting", cooking classes or Rhino cookbooks at Burning Man. Everything sounds wonderful.

Which of the wonderful Rhino cookbooks should I start writing? Mexican cuisine (includes Tex-Mex and Tex-Mix cooking), Italian (with my favorite APB pizza - anchovy/prosciutto/black olive) as well as lasagna, chicken carbonara, and my post-Thanksgiving turkey tetrazzini, or Chinese? Kung po chicken, beef broccoli, Hunan pork, or seven ingredient lo mein.

I do, however, REFUSE succinctly to follow the lead of Master Chu's Buffet in St. Joseph, Missouri. They serve a Mexican-Chinese-American buffet.My first impression of their advertisement was that the place was Cheech and Chong cut loose in the kitchen. That opinion was confirmed when I found burritos made with won ton wraps. Something inherently WRONG there.

[^Rhino!]

Rhino, I don't cook. You have henceforth been elevated to a 'God'. Hail the newest cooking God, Rhinocerus. (I can't help myself. I'm reading 'The River God'.)

Thank you, Ratty. By the way, how did the chicken pot pie suggestion turn out for you? I meant to ask. Hey, I'm no god, though....I STILL make mistakes in the kitchen. Living alone, I either freeze them, or throw them away if they're too rznk.

[Ratty]

I prefer a hersey bar to just about any other chocolate. I mention this because we sometimes grow to love the tastes we know. (However inferior they are.) My loving husband made the pot pie of my dreams. Anyone else would have loved it. I wished he had just bought a cheap ol premade frozen thing. Oh well. Don't know till you try.

[AntiM]

Mmmmm, such good food. I am a good cook, but these days, I don't bother often. I bring my homemade cranberry sauce to the famdamily potluck and convert those who have only had canned. I made an excellent cherry-cranberry pie this year, but I cheated and used pre-rolled pie dough. I haven't hosted a full on meal in years; everyone has moved away. Sometimes I make a feast anyway, just to have leftovers.

I like to roast turkey; while frying and smoking are delicious, they're not my favorite. I like to do a beautiful bird with herbs in a pattern under the skin of the breast. Tons of butter. I make good dressing, and never stuff a bird, I like mine done on the side.

Baking is more my thing. Cookies and treats, bundt cakes and cheesecakes. I send cookies on the road with Larry, the other drivers and people at the yard steal them. And fudge, I make wonderful fudge. I can make baklava too, but it is so much work it is a rare treat. Same with eggrolls. And the strawberry blintzes for Christmas morning. With Larry on the road, I tend to eat simply when alone. Homemade soups and slow cooker meals to eat on for the week. Peanut butter sandwiches or cold cereal for supper. Eggs. Cooking for one is an art too.

[lucky420]

Well now I'm just salivating ^^ yummmmmm


Morning Bar!

[Aurelia]

Good Morning Dear Bar !

Yes as A-M says it,
Cooking is an art
And I have done it ...Now I try not to as I am going for skinny.

wrapping xmas gifts to send in time this year.

xoA.

[ygmir]

drooling indeed, being on a diet makes this worse.
Thanks? AntiM!!

[lucky420]

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we're having a wind event here today in Reno! Semis flipped, trees down, a transformer blown and lines on the ground... Bring it, it's fucking awesome.


That is all, please continue to do what you all do. Cuz you do it so well...

[ygmir]

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee we're having a wind event here today in Reno! Semis flipped, trees down, a transformer blown and lines on the ground... Bring it, it's fucking awesome.


That is all, please continue to do what you all do. Cuz you do it so well...

*happily carrying on*

[Elliot]

...wind event... Semis flipped, ...

Sooooooooo glad I'm not driving those things anymore! In fact, I'm buying a round to celebrate that! Skaal!

[Captain Goddammit]

I still do it but I carry rocks. The wind doesn't have much effect!