Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

40 K Volt ("Let them eat cake)"

40 K Volt… “Let them eat cake.”

My blog writing is streaky. That describes it and the evidence is on that little calendar that highlights the days in the month when you wrote. In addition you get an email if you fail to post in a timely manner. Maybe the reason I fail to post more regularly is to get an email…

Today was another dismal day. We went from 50 degree weather straight to the 90’s and are now back in the 60’s. Why can’t the temperature just stay in the 70’s and 80’s? These old bones don’t handle well radical shifts in temperature.

I have a John Deere Gator as a utility vehicle on the farm. When my brother was here helping me and Linda settle our parent’s property, he was “hot-doging” with the real estate agent and hit a branch and cracked the right front fender and back passenger panel. I priced a new set and they want close to $250 dollars for the pair. That might not sound like much for an insurance repair but that is a lot for an out of pocket expense, living on a fixed income.

The patch panels are that green plastic so I decided to repair them myself and looked at some different processes today…. I went by the body shop I patronize and they have a plastic welder but they didn’t want to fool with anything under $1000 dollars. Told me $250 was cheap and I needed to pony up the cash over at the John Deere Dealership. It’s easy for them to say.

Anyway I decided I will rivet a piece of sheet metal behind the cracks and epoxy up the seam. That is the low cost solution and won’t look all that bad if this epoxy that claims to work on hard plastic does the job. It’s not like I’m asking it to weld the seam together. I have a lot of equipment I repair and if it doesn’t look like it came out of the body shop or any other shop for that matter and who is going to see it but me anyway?

Seems like I wrote a blog recently on “Are all things worth doing, worth doing well?” I guess it all depends on how you define "good". If one defines it as …. “To the best of your ability,” I’m on solid ground. If you are talking ….”Just like new.” Then my efforts always seem to be a bit lacking.

I look at cars and trucks people drive with rust holes in them and think… I know they probably can’t afford gas much less a new car, however there are things an owner can do to make a vehicle halfway respectable without emptying the check book.

I had to laugh that GM is grousing about Gas Prices and wants to add another dollar in taxes. This is so they can get more people to buy the Volt that lists for around 40K. The people who can afford to buy a Volt can afford to buy gas. The people looking for a job are happy to have any kind of beater, preferably one that is fuel efficient. I bought a 1996 S-10 for 2K. Another 250 for title and taxes. Then I put another 1K into it to bring it up to speed. I drive it every day and it gets good gas mileage, has a 5 speed transmission and drives nice. It will be ten years before the value of a Volt gets down around her to the point where average (On the margin Americans) can afford one used…. Only the Yuppies can afford them to tell their neighbors...."Look at me, look at me I'm GREEN... These are the same clowns who drove the ecomomy over the cliff to begin with....Oh! let the Taxi driver buy that quarter of a million dollar home.....What the banks won't lend them the money...? .why we'll sick ACORN on them.... Anyway what are they worried about? Fanny May and Freddy Mack will buy their worthless mortgages and "Repackage" them and foist them off on AIG the rest of those dumb assed morgage lenders, whowere "Too Big to Fail.".

Ahhh, Sorry, I promise not to get on a harrang today.

The point is that as things get worse with the economy people with next to no income will be gleaning the used car and truck markets for something to enable them to survive another week until the food stamps and welfare check kicks in. For the average young American, the dream is dead and nobody but the growing unemployed seem to realize what bad shape this country is really in.