door project

is about half done

or better than half done

driver's side door is giving me fits

reconnecting exterior opener has me vexed

any movement at all causes the rod to fall out of place

what you see above is a far cry better than what we had

I wouldn't even have bothered w/ all this if those got am doors worked the way they should

hopefully tomorrow they will

since I'm talking about my truck

I love my truck

people like to make fun of it

I don't wash or wax it

maybe every other year I'll hose it down

it  looks like shit

*pics tomorrow*

well, fuck that there are pics of the truck below

but I've never hit anything with it

I got tapped hindside one time in the snow in flag

by an asshole grandfather w/ his grandchild(?) beside him
and he drove off
go figure

people in the know love it

it's a '91  toyota pickup

hell you know that if you've been reading here

it looks like shit but runs like a top?

I wanted to say champ 'cept there's just one thing 

that needs to be addressed and that's the exhaust leak

that's not my forte

though I think I can deal with it

in time

no ac no music

it's a truck and a tool

a car or truck is a tool used to get from here to there and back

nothing more nothing less

plus I can carry things in it

and people with much nicer cars want to use it

so it's a hunnert years old and other people want to use it

I find that ironic

my truck has relatively little mileage on it

people leave notes nearly weekly asking if I want to sell it

I don't wanna sell it

ever

I like the fact that I've bought two vehicles in my life

and I'd like to see it end that way

I do have plans for another vehicle

but I can wait 

forever if I must

my brother told me that no one drives trucks like mine

I like that

and it's one reason I love my truck

I'm thinking of a paint job

we used to paint trucks way back when I was in the army

redo the camo cuz there was nothing else to do

I camouflaged a fta atop my army rig

and no one realized it until I pointed it out to them

I'm considering the same thing w/ afa

agua fria angling - get it?

and a slick sideband along the bedside

like that'll happen

I'd also like ac and a sound system

BUT...

I've gone so long without

that it ain't gonna happen
hey just use the ipod dipshit

there is about 104,000 miles on it

and it's likely good for that again

that's comforting

I paid about 7 grand for it back in the day

'92 to be exact and how much have you spent since than for your rides?

that's why it's a keeper

I have so much more to say

perhaps for another day

door panels con't

making good progress on this

digital cameras are great fucking tools

after tweaking the working template

we have the finish template

clamped to masonite piece

trace and cut

flip template over and repeat

make cuts and we have the panel foundation

fit and tweak as necessary

I used a rasp to fit the cutouts

cut weather barrier plastic piece

this will need to be sealed prior to installing the panel

as per jeepster's suggestion we'll use duct tape

undercut a piece of batting for each panel

I stuck it to the panel w/ spray adhesive

carefully fit fabric finish layer

somehow or another I picked up the wrong panel when I did this

everything else I did was done off of the passenger door

I picked up the driver door panel

not that it matters...

I screwed it to the door w/ the pull grasp 

the fit is nearly perfect

I could tweak things a bit yet 

again we'll see about that

I'd have shot a pic but it was dark and I don't like to use flash

it looks a far sight better than the ones I replaced

even when they were new

I'm totally winging this

having never tried to do such a thing before

I'm pretty pleased

state of the craftsmanshit address #10 - early '12

usually clearing the bench meant something different than it currently does

that doesn't make much sense, but I will try to clarify

what I mean by clearing the bench is getting all the rods in production 

off the bench and indoors for wrapping and finish work

this takes place in april normally as soaring temperatures

make it impractical and uncomfortable to work outside in the garage

well, this year I had to clear the bench in january

over the course of building 35 rods I've been using borrowed planing forms

for which I'm eternally grateful as it saved me a considerable chunk of money

well, the owner asked for them back 

and I was obliged to return them

thanks matt - I appreciate all your help over the years

and I bit the bullet and dumped nearly a grand into some new forms

and a "back-up" set I don't necessarily need

but the price was right and I wanted to help out a buddy

and I'll be able to pay it forward

again as I feel obligated to

should I get the opportunity to teach someone how to do this

should they be inclined to learn how

I like that

anyways,  it's been two weeks now since I ordered

and I'm still awaiting delivery

and anticipating it every week day

perhaps today's the day

which explains why there is no rodbuilding going on around here lately

there are two rods awaiting components

those are ferrules and reel seat hardware

for those of you who do not know that

I guess they'll be included w/ the planing forms

I will not be building anymore rods for myself

at least for a while

and by rods I mean finished rods

I will continue to do what I call the prep work

aka grunt work

to experiment w/ new of different tapers

but when it comes to finishing the rod

it ain't gonna happen

until I can justify spending $200 to finish the rod

for something I simply do not need

I've got two rods to finish for other guys

two unferruled blanks for myself

which won't be finished until who knows when

and a clear bench

get wrecked and wrock on w/ yer badassselves

about a hundred years ago (piease forgive my tendency for hyperbole)

I became involved w/ an email mailing list 

that revolved around a favorite band

and for a good long time that thing fuggin' wrocked

I met (in person) a couple handfuls at least of really cool people

smart and opinionated and willing to talk about anything and everything

and generally speaking agreeing to disagree

w/out scorn or chastisement

new members were always welcomed and encouraged to contribute

though not without a few pokes in the ribs

it was dynamic and thought provoking even intoxicating in a way

lately though it has been dying

I guess as a result of a mass migration to facebook

and perhaps the fact that we all grew up a little bit over time

and have real lives to pursue

nevertheless I miss it and the interaction dearly

most of all I miss all those people

anyways,  around Christmas every year we'd make a comp cd for a random member

upon completion, people would offer up they comps to whoever asked for it

I usually asked

and received

in spades

I think that's about 3/4 of them

the rest are in portable cd carrriers

I like to think that the people who put these things together put their hearts and souls into it

and that's why I treasure them and my memories of all the shit we yammered on and on and on about

when you try to explain to others what was so special about this place

you can not do it

if you were there for it you understand

working weekend?

what I'm working on...

it ain't fishin' tyin' or rod buildin'

it's fixing the doors on my truck

opening/unlocking my doors finally became too much a pain in the ass

so I ripped the old door panels out

fixed the latching/locking mechanisms

 now we need to make new panels

kept the old pieces for templates for the new

first template underway

this is gonna take a while

sheesh - good thing I don't have anything else to do

I've been watching the carp mouthing scum  from the backyard pond

for the last two daze

working template installed
now we have something to work with

these things

nearly had a hand in killing me

that was quite a while back...

the tubes

I'd really like to get silly with this title

remember the tubes?

white punks on dope

don't touch me there

I'll talk to you later

su-su-sushi

and "totally tubular"

wtf is that?

anyways, I'm just getting started w/ the tubes

starting simple

the last hurrah

visited congress yesterday to say good bye to a very good friend and my mentor

it's nice to have brothers in bamboo around

I will dearly miss bother shay

adios amigo and Godspeed

anyways...perry and mike

one a dose guys snapped a pic of me, but y'all have seen enough of my ugly mug lately

I'll spare ya this time

stop the presses!

I fished today

it wasn't all that long ago I could say that I had no fiberglass flyrods

that's no longer the case

now I have three...

from front to back 

cabela's 50th anniversary model 6ft 8in 4wt

above sila-flex medallion MF90SH-2

heddon pal 9ft 8wt

I cleaned up the grip on that heddon

I haven't really fished the two big rods

as both are relatively recent acquisitions

hell I just got the heddon today

that little one casts and fishes right nicely

unless the wind is blowing

then yer fucked 

unless you've got back-up

always carry back-up

kinda like raingear

or a sandwich

it's always nice to have a sandwich in yer gear

playoffs?

I feel obligated despite my dismal performance this year so far

hey I won my fantasy footballl league

giants beat the niners in a close one

say 24-20 or so.

ravens over the pats in a shocker

 30-17

heh heh heh he said shocker

we'll see

I can't wait

holding court

or talking shit?

hey seuess crisco I'm looking bad

snaggletoof old goat....

notice the uncombed hair

I can't remember the last time I combed my hair

the hair dresser chick combs it

that's when it gets combed

hey I don't have dreadlocks or anything

very cool development

this handsome fella wandered into california from oregon

looking for love

unlikely he finds it

soon he'll prolly wander back to oregon

if he wants to find a mate

okay...the niners worry me

they've proved that they can put points on the board like the saints

assuming the pack beat the g men tomorrow

they'll have a handful w/ the niners

so I've been jrinking the tebow kool aid

can he deliver the goods against brady belichek and company?

I don't think so

but I hope so

ravens packers in the super bowl

w/ the trophy staying in titletown

you read it here last

maybe not first, surely last...

*tebow don't slide

gronkowski is the best tight end in football
say it again
and again
yet again (is it over yet?)

look at old man magahee
is it closer than the score?  I don't think so*

it would be nice to see the pack whoop the pats in the super bowl again
that would be fun

*...* indicates during game commentary

fishing - a look back and forward

over the past hundred years or so

I've met and fished w/ an awful lotta people

in an awful lotta places

fallen into a few rivers (yes I have)

frozen my ass off sweated my ass off

I always claimed that the very nature of friendship is transitory

dependent on any number of factors

the fact is, very very few of us have life-long friends

w/ which we continue that relationship

I guess you can judge the strength of a friendship

by whether or not it can weather these differing phases of our lives

this morning I found out that my favorite fishing partner

is going on disability retirement

which is good (and potentially bad - I guess)

and for that I offer congrats

I met steve in the summer of 2003

in the middle of nowhere

the valle vidal wilderness area of new mexico

little did I know I was meeting I guy I'd fish with for the rest of the decade

and hopefully it continues through the next one

though we are both getting old

anyways, anita and I were camped  along the stream

steve's truck was a reasonable distance downstream

brooks showed up from albuquerque

there was some guy from georgia of all places fishing w/ his son

and, yes, it was a smallstreams streamside meet

steve shows up at his campsite

he is quiet nearly uncommunicative

very wary leery and canny

kinda like he's sizing us up

so brooks and I head off upstream to stick some tricksy little cutthroats

a half a mile I sit on the bank and say,

"I don't know about you brooks, but I'm gonna sit down and enjoy a cool smoke"

which I did

steve stumbled up and shared

steve and brooks were struggling setting hooks on these insanely quick hitting trout

(my struggles will come later)

at one point we decide to 4 wheel it up to latir lakes

state record trout  (species not remembered)  taken from up there

it was the longest steepest straight climb I've experienced

butt rough for sure

brooks had to hold onto the radio knobs to keep from being bounced from the truck

anyways, we've been fishing and camping together every year since

well nearly - we missed last year sadly on three different occasions

I'm gonna go through my iphoto library

and share some of my favorite pics  of steve

good luck and all the best amigo

let's go fishing!

this is sick

praline bacon

back in the day

this book is a treasure assuming you can find a copy

there may be one at the library - the big one downtown

I could tell you a story (or two) about that building but won't

I wanna talk about bill valentine

bill valentine wrote a fishing column for the arizona republic and gazette

from 1962 - 1978

and this is a collection of those columns

he is witty and observant and man oh man does he like to fish

and he enjoys telling fish stories

of which it seems there are hundreds here

in the 630 pages of prose and packed w/ black and white fishing photos

from a bygone time...

plus - he was a pretty ding danged stylish dude...

valentine was also a skilled cartoonist/artist

following all the fish tales (full disclosure - some are rather similar)

are some maps he's drawn of the rocky point/cholla bay area he so loved

there are also several dozen nifty little illustrations for fishing derbies and the like

it sure seems a glorious time to be fishing the salt

apparently he had a love for mermaids as well

who doesn't?

love that he lists the species being 95 - 125 lb
she's a "merrymaid"

I guess that'd be a keeper

copyright info on this book merely lists

"Copyright C (circled) 1990 Jessie and Mike Valentine  All Rights Reserved"

the book appears to be self published by the family

p-adams

I don't like tying parachute flies at all

love to fish them though

so I deconstructed it

and approached it like building a house perhaps

the result is simple to tie and tidy

my very first attempt ever at a step by step photo tutorial...

pinch down hook barb
start thread eye width back from eye
trim tag end after a dozen abutting turns
tie in post w/ half dozen figure eight wraps
wrap post up and down eight turns
tie in prepped hackle feather
advance thread to tie in

dub a thin noodle and wrap a thorax to just behind wingpost

wrap thread back to bend of hook make thread bump
tie in stiff hackle fiber tail nicely slayed
dub a nicely tapered abdomen
add to the thorax if necessary

turn fly in vise as shown above

make four turns of hackle
ti down w/ four wraps
four turn whip finish
trim wing post

finished fly

isn't that nice?

a christmas gift from my wife

she got me this very nice japsaw

especially for cutting bamboo

are you fucking kidding me?

fiesta bowl played tonight in glendale

right up the street

oklahoma state cowboys vs the stanford cardinals

I'll take the 'pokes...

parking fees are a pet peeve of mine and I generally do anything I can to avoid them

paying $5 or $10 to park for a concert in some shitty lot in some shitty part of town

makes me want to pull out my hair

so I don't do it

I'll walk two miles before I pay $10 to park my truck

anyways, a single vehicle parking pass for tonight's fiesta bowl is $30

fuck that...

today's other big bowl action is this afternoon

wisconsin badgers over the oregon ducks in the grandaddy

too bad the badgers are no longer in the championship picture

I hate the bcs for any number of reasons

currently because they give us a rematch of the 1-2 game from earlier this season

which was the biggest stinker of a rotten egg of the season

well, other than that fucking hail mary up in lansing...

a new year's gift for you

this was my favorite musical release of the year

I used to make a top ten list every year

last year two artists tied at the top
(john mellencamp and black dub)

unlikely allies if you will...

http://www.mediafire.com/?5z0co4e0tl7uu46 

dig it, eh?

2012

a new year is upon us

I don't have any idea what's in store

the previous year for me has been mostly marked by hardship

I've managed and will continue to do so

I've spoken in the past about the inanity of making resolutions

especially those of the health and welfare type

which we enter into w/ good and cooperative spirits

until we realize how much got am hard work we've set ourselves up for

and how comfortable it would be and is to relax

that said I have made two minor resolutions this year

health and welfare related

I will not be sharing the resolutions

though I may periodically update you on my progress or lack thereof...

last year I failed in my main goal of lowering my golf handicap to a single digit

I guess we'll have to continue that one...

anyways, at some point in the next two weeks it appears as though I'm gonna lose my planing forms

I guess I just thought they were mine...

and it is frustrating

which means I'll have to figure out the means of procuring a set of bellingers

and rather quickly at that

I am a firm believer that when you replace something anything

you should replace it w/ something BETTER

fortunately all the rods on the bench have all the grunt work done

which I guess means I'll be turning bamboo blanks into fishing rods

as this season progresses

at any rate, we'll manage, it's what we do

"hey, I've got an idea - let's go fishing!"

the holidaze season is over - get yer lazy ass back to work!