The main ingredient in soap is tallow products. For those who don't know what tallow is, here's the definition: Hard fat obtained from parts of the bodies of cattle, sheep, or horses, and used in foodstuffs or to make candles, leather dressing, soap, and lubricants. Hmmm, sounds kind of disgusting. So basically we wash ourselves in animal fat. Yuk. Who thought of this? Ok, I use soap too, but this does sound pretty nasty.
I've been giving some thought to something. It seems to me that every living thing on this planet depends upon the death of something else. It appears that life itself depends upon death. We sustain ourselves by consuming and digesting other living things in order to survive. Plants and animals alike serve as sustenance for us. This seems to be the way of things here. Something has to die for us to live. I can't think of a single living thing that doesn't derive it's life giving sustenance...
I was just watching an educational program called South Park and according to their writers the true cause of global warming is...farts. According to their expert Randy Marsh-Son of a Bitch, this presents a real dilemma as his research shows that farting is releasing too much methane into the air which is causing global warming, but holding in your farts can lead to spontaneous combustion. At this point in time the best solution seems to be only to fart in moderation and only when it's...
My air conditioner is just not doing the job right now. I can't really blame it. It's just a small window unit and the sun here in Florida this time of year is brutal. During the day the place stays bearable, but just barely. So today I picked up a fan. As the air conditioner is mounted in the bedroom, I set the fan in the opening between the bedroom and the kitchen/living room to help move some of the cooler air into that area. It helps a bit. If I keep this place I'll buy another air ...
On my way to Ft. Bragg, NC I stopped at Strauss Tobacconist in Florence, KY to pick up some of their Losantiville blend. As I walked in I told myself "I am only here to buy some tobacco. Nothing else." So here's the two pipes I bought.
I just got home from the mall in the next town West of ours (Brandon). I had to go over there to get a Med Alert Necklace engraved. I am deathly allergic to the iodine IV dye they use as a contrast for CAT Scans and in case of an accident in which I am not conscious they need to be alerted to that fact so they don't kill me with that stuff. I have worn one of the alerts for a number of years but at some point following my accident in 2004 it had been removed at one of the two hospitals an...
Today I dug out my old double edged Weck safety razor. I know the razor is old and was made in Germany, but beyond that I don't know much about it. I know there are some folks out there who collect vintage razors and I'm hoping maybe someone can fill me in a little on it. It has "WECK" engraved on the top, "Germany" on the under side, and on the bottom of the handle is the profile of a man (kinda looks Roman or something). No idea how old it actually is so I'm hoping someone will know a bi...
Working out in the sun and warmer temps the past week or so made me decide that the beard had to go and my hair needed cut despite my previous decisions to the contrary. Last night I solemnly broke out the scissors and cut away enough of my beard to get at it with a razor. Four 4-blade razors later it was history. Today I rode over to the barber shop and had my mane cut down to a more reasonable and cooler level. I have to admit it does feel a lot better and doesn't look too bad either. I ...
When I arrived at my delivery point today in Ocala to deliver two back hoes I did my routine and detached the front of the trailer and removed all of the chains and straps so they could be driven off the trailer. About the time I had it all ready the guy came over and pointed to an area and said "Just park them over there." I informed him that he would need to drive them off and he could park them wherever he liked. A heated discussion ensued during which I pointed out : A) It's his equ...
Yesterday I delivered a truck to Ft. Bragg, NC and picked up two end loaders from Caterpiller that I'm taking down to Ocala, FL and then I'll go home for a few days from there. It'll be nice to spend a few days relaxing at home before getting out and doing it all again.
I visited a flea market in Lebabon, IN. It was a typical low budget flea market much like ones found all over the country. There were booths selling everything from used clothing to knick knacks to memorabilia. I wandered around for a bit trying to take my mind off of the idiots I had encountered while trying to navigate my rig through traffic. One booth was selling a variety of houshold goods. I paused and examined the various junk displayed on the long table. A small brass oil lap caugh...
One of my semi-regular stopping places is this truckstop on I65 just North of Indianapolis. It's an ok truckstop, one of the big chains. More importantly it has a bar at the edge of the parking lot. A very good quality for a truckstop. On my walk over to the bar I scared up a rather large snake. It looked like a basic garter snake to me, but at 2 feet long and a good two inches around a lot bigger than any garter snake I had ever seen. I grabbed it, picked it up, and examined it more clos...
Ever get one of those really annoying small injuries that just drives you nuts? Like a paper cut or a small splinter? I pricked my finger on a small piece of wire today. It's not anything serious, just a small puncture hardly worthy of notice. But damn! it's annoying. It just continually reminds me of it's presence. Not even overly painful, just annoying. I hate when that happens.
The past week has been...interesting. I had more close calls while driving my rig this past week than I normally have in six months. Maybe it's the change in the weather now that we're going into what I call the "nice season". Maybe it's just the areas I've been traveling through. Whatever the reason stupidity has been alive and well and it's name is "driver". In NC, when I was on my way into Charleston I was bobtailing down the on-ramp to merge onto the interstate. I glanced into my m...
As I mentioned in another post I stopped in KY and purchased the Calabash pipe I had been wanting. Well, when I got to the yard today I found that the churchwarden I had ordered off the internet had arrived. Yippie! I had been really looking forward to getting my grimy paws on that pipe. The top one is the Calabash, the bottom one is the mail order pipe. It's the same pipe smoked by Gandalf in LOTR. I've already started breaking it in.