Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

They probably don't stop when they run into Brad Pitt. In fact, they might back up and hit him again!

If they see Alec Baldwin, they may back over him 3 times. I know I would. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Victoria M]

Paul, that is wonderful.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Early this morning, like all mornings I took my hour long walk. When I got close to my house a school bus stopped next to me. The driver, a nice Lady about 50 opened the door and came out to give me a hug. She said the (grammar) school kids on the bus told her about my interview on the news so she had to give me a hug.

You can't make this stuff up. I wonder if school bus drivers stop Brad Pitt to give him a hug. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

So are you officially the Long Island celebrity we all knew you'd one day become :P

 

[BeanAnimal]

Early this morning, like all mornings I took my hour long walk. When I got close to my house a school bus stopped next to me. The driver, a nice Lady about 50 opened the door and came out to give me a hug. She said the (grammar) school kids on the bus told her about my interview on the news so she had to give me a hug.

You can't make this stuff up. I wonder if school bus drivers stop Brad Pitt to give him a hug. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

That's so sweet Paul... not as sweet as a busload of bikini models stopping to hug you on the way to a photo shoot, but still sweet. I guess that only happens to guys like Lloyd and Harry.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

If they see Alec Baldwin, they may back over him 3 times. I know I would. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Just make sure he is not pointing a prop pistol at you...what too soon?

 

[BeanAnimal]

Just make sure he is not pointing a prop pistol at you...what too soon?

No, the pistola de utilería joke is Hilarias :zany-face:

 

[Paul B]

Bean I was working in Manhattan and a tour bus stopped in front of me. The most beautiful girl stood up on the top. Then another one, and another. They were like gorgeous but dressed like they were going to a ball.

I stood there and more stood up. Like OMG. Then about 20 of them were there.
They all got off the bus and I found out it was a Miss America contest photo shoot. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I docked myself for the rest of the day and stayed there to watch. My boss called me to ask why I took the afternoon off. I told him. The next thing I knew, he was next to me so we "wasted" the afternoon together.

I also helped build the New York Playboy Club and Penthouse magazine. (as the foreman construction electrician) I was in each one for 2 years. I would have worked in those places for free, but they insisted on paying me.

My wife, who was in her 20s then, visited me in work sometimes because she also worked in Manhattan and they offered her a job in Playboy and Penthouse. We decided it wasn't a job we thought she should have because we had a baby on the way but she would have made three times as much as me and all Playboy bunnies did is serve drinks. I realize most people thought they did other things, but I knew all of them and thats what they did.

Many of them were Broadway actresses and only had to appear in a play once or twice a week so they worked in Playboy the rest of the week.

I have a Bunny suit. But it doesn't fit me. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[BeanAnimal]

I read it for the articles Paul, doesn't everyone?

 

[Paul B]

Of course. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
In Penthouse I knew many of the models and used to "help" them pick out the picture for the centerfold. They didn't have digital photos then so they were all prints. Now all they have to do is Photoshop the picture but in those days, they had to paint right on the model.

I became friends with the photographer and he gave me some lenses and filters for my camera and photo tips.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Of course. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
In Penthouse I knew many of the models and used to "help" them pick out the picture for the centerfold. They didn't have digital photos then so they were all prints. Now all they have to do is Photoshop the picture but in those days, they had to paint right on the model.

I became friends with the photographer and he gave me some lenses and filters for my camera and photo tips.

Joking aside - there are two very memorable Playboy articles that I read.

1 - was about US fighter pilots (jet drivers, as you would call them and they would call themselves). Lot of very interesting data about ejection seats, carrier launches and recoveries, etc. Interesting takeway was (at least then) they carried a literal "gas card" that allowed them to purchase fuel at any civilian (or foreign) airfield worldwide.

In that light, I suggest the "Carrier" series from PBS. Amazing. ("Submarines, Sharks of Steel") is worth it too if you are going down that rabbit hole and may as well watch "Trinity and Beyond" to round out the wartime science and tech ;)

2 - was about top fuel dragsters and all of the insane stats that go along with them.
This is the "modern" version of what was in the 80's playboy article.


Both (drag racing and war planes/carriers) are and have always been areas of extreme interest for me, that and Apollo, especially the Rocketdyne F1 and every aspect of its mechanics, physics, development and use.
I would list some Apollo and F1 videos and series, but there are just too many good ones to try ;)

 

[Paul B]

They certainly did have some good articles. I also enjoy "anything" mechanical and am at this minute, (well 2 minutes ago, I came in out of my garage to warm up) I am now designing and building a mechanical, movable top shelf thing that will move out and drop down large kitchen cabinets so you can reach them.

It involves linear actuators, pulleys, hinges and all sorts of things to make it effortlessly move laterally and vertically automatically.

My last boat which had two inboard engines, I re built almost everything in the engine compartment (Including the cooling system) because I think the engineers who design these things should call the school they went to and get their money back.

I abhor stupid engineering and can usually make it better, cheaper or easier to maintain. For instance, I needed to put oil in the trim tab pump in back of my engines. There was no way to get to them as they obviously installed them before they put in the engines. I called "Sea Ray" to ask how to put oil n them and they said to cut 2- 6" holes in the deck. (In a brand new boat) to access the pumps. Like thats going to happen. If I had that engineer in my hand, I would have cut two 6" holes in his "rear end" so I could access his brain.

I removed the power steering pumps and exhaust manifolds along with the batteries, water heater and a few other things, on both sides of the boat to add oil. A full day job.



Of course I removed those pumps and lengthened the hoses and installed the thing where it was easy to access.
Cost, almost nothing.

The water heater on that boat also croaked after 3 years so I again called "Sea Ray" to ask whats the story. They said the "Very expensive" water heater is only designed to last 3 years. Like really!. I built one for about $20.00 that worked better and will last literally forever. I don't know if they are just stupid or think people will change these things every 3 years when in those 3 years you may want hot water on a boat maybe twice, if ever.

That boat was $120,000.00 in the year 2,000. The brackets those pumps were made out of was steel. What would be the stupidest material you could build something out of that will be partially submerged in salt water all the time? Steel. They were so rotten I vacuumed them out and built them out of 1/2" thick plexiglass which will last longer then the pyramids and cost less.

In VietNam I got an award that said "Creativity in a Combat Environment" My Captain, who I am still friends with and is now a retired General loved me. Whenever a helicopter would crash near by (which happened every week) I would fly out there in a small helicopter and remove parts. Mostly the battery and switches.
I didn't have many tools, just a pliers and hack saw because I was the COMMO Chief.



We had 6 guns, Howitzers so during a fire mission which happened many times a day my Capt had to talk to the 6 guns, helicopters, the FDC (Fire direction control in a bunker) and our rear area.

He had 5 radios with 5 hand sets. I removed a 5 position switch from a helicopter and connected it to the radios so he could use one handset and just move the switch to talk to whoever he wanted. It was much easier.

I built all sorts of things out of nothing but bamboo and ammo cans.



This is one of the firebases I lived on out of 14 of them from the air. It is many miles from a road and surrounded by jungle cleared by Agent Orange



I designed the magazine here on my M-16. They come with an 18 round magazine but our enemy had 22 round magazines which is stupid. I don't remember where I got the sheet metal and springs from, probably a helicopter but I could fire 30 rounds fully automatically. That thing saved my life a couple of times. Again, stupid engineering.



A general came up to my Captain once while I was building a washing machine out of oil drums and I had my duck next to me. The General started yelling at my Captain saying, what the heck is that guy doing?

My Captain said to the General, "Sir, please don't say anything to Sgt Baldassano. He will build anything from nothing to make out life easier and I don't want to get him mad".

He left me alone and never said a word to me.

This was after a particularly fierce battle that they wrote a book about. You can see the tires got blown off the Jeep. We also had a tank up side down.



This was my "house" after the battle.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Would love to sit down and have a few beers with you Paul. Always interesting.

 

[Paul B]

Are you buying?

This thing is coming along rather well if I do say so myself.....And I do. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Hopefully it will be done in a couple of hours except for the varnish and mechanical parts.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Are you buying?

This thing is coming along rather well if I do say so myself.....And I do. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Hopefully it will be done in a couple of hours except for the varnish and mechanical parts.

Of course I am buying, dinner too. I can def plan a trip out your way and spend an afternoon or evening with you and a beer or three.

I designed (and started, but did not finish) a drop down knife storage system for my kitchen. I like high end, hand made Japanese knives, but the warden is hard on knives. She tosses them in drawers, in the sink, etc. We have no counter space, so I need a "James Bond" knife storage system, with biometrics of course. I don't finish things sometimes...

I started some monoblocks in 2019. Went a bit nuts, with copper plated xformer shells, black nickel plated chassis...Hand cut dovetails (chechin wood). LoL - those photos are the state that the project still sits in.

At least you finish things.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

It makes me sad that today’s youth will never experience lost innocence by way of finding Dad’s box of Playboys under the work bench in the garage or cleverly stuffed away in the attic.

Stupid internet.

 

[Paul B]

Your hand cut dovetails look much better than my router cut dovetails. My 50 year old jig is useless today so I built a jig which isn't all that accurate but it will suffice for this prototype. If I make a real and finished model, I will have to hone my dovetail skills or hire you :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I am using maple because this thing will have to carry a lot of weight and most of the weight will be on those joints, which is also why I am using maple. Maple isn't to cheap either and I destroyed a few pieces while practicing different joints. I had to throw out my 5 decade old router as the bearings were shot. My router table fit that router and my new router doesn't fit my old router table so I had to drill out new holes to get the thing connected.

It's not extremely accurate and if I was building space shuttles, I wouldn't want to get on the first flight but my prototypes are always a little sloppy because I try to get done fast which isn't always the best way to go.

My wife needs a lot of help so I have to stop all the time to help her with something like put her shoes on.

But I will finish this thing because I want to go on to other things. :cool:

 

[Paul B]

Your hand cut dovetails look much better than my router cut dovetails. My 50 year old jig is useless today so I built a jig which isn't all that accurate but it will suffice for this prototype. If I make a real and finished model, I will have to hone my dovetail skills or hire you :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I am using maple because this thing will have to carry a lot of weight and most of the weight will be on those joints, which is also why I am using maple. Maple isn't to cheap either and I destroyed a few pieces while practicing different joints. I had to throw out my 5 decade old router as the bearings were shot. My router table fit that router and my new router doesn't fit my old router table so I had to drill out new holes to get the thing connected.

It's not extremely accurate and if I was building space shuttles, I wouldn't want to gt on the first flight but my prototypes are always a little sloppy because I try to get done fast which isn't always the best way to go.

My wife needs a lot of help so I have to stop all the time to help her with something like put her shoes on.

But I will finish this thing because I want to go on to other things. :cool:

 

[Paul B]

It makes me sad that today’s youth will never experience lost innocence by way of finding Dad’s box of Playboys under the work bench in the garage or cleverly stuffed away in the attic.

Stupid internet.

I still have a few from when I worked there and Penthouse because I knew the girls. That was about 1975 or so. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I also worked in Penthouse Magazine owner Bob Guccionine's house in Connecticut. His wife wanted flood lights all around the place because it was in the woods and she wanted to be able to light up the place like Madison Square garden if she heard a noise.

He hired me to build an electric rat trap. He took the pictures of the models in his mansion in Manhattan and it was an old building infested with rats. Young female models, especially "dressed" as they were frown on taking pictures with rats. He also had two expensive dogs so he didn't want to use poison so he asked me to build him something.

It came out very cool. The rat would walk on top of the thing which was a box about a foot high wide and deep.
There was a ramp for the rats to get up. Peanut butter was on a little disk on top. When the creature touched the peanut butter the trap door he was on would open dropping the rat on angled brass plates that would send 120 volts through him for about 30 seconds or just before he started to smoke. :squinting-face-with-tongue:

Then the brass plates would part dropping the dead rat in the bottom which was a drawer to empty. Before you opened the drawer you pushed a button which electrocuted them again just in case they lived through the first part. (not likely) The thing would re set itself after each rat. I think he gave me $400.00 for the thing which was probably a week salary in the 70s.

 

[Paul B]

Oh I forgot. After the first rat was in the thing, a red light would go on telling you there was at least one rat in it and you had to empty it before they started to stink. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[BeanAnimal]

Your hand cut dovetails look much better than my router cut dovetails.

Thank you but I am not very good at it honestly. This wood was HARD and that made it tedious work with the chisels. They were not very accurate in reality, but sawdust and glue hide most of the imperfections and the grain on this wood is a huge help too.

Maple is an excellent choice. I use it for most things that need to be solid or not dent easily. I like cherry for some stuff too.

I am parting with my 3hp table saw and Incra fence setup, etc. I don't have room and my "shop" is my gym now. If I ever get back into woodworking I will get the commercial version of the SawStop. I despised the inventor's marketing and attempts to have congress mandate his tech on ALL tablesaws, but the product makes for an amazingly safe saw.

I have a 3hp Porter Cable router and Incra lift too... but they don't find much use anymore either. And in fact, hogging out the underside of that chasis casework (there is a rabbeted recess for the metal chassis) was scary with that router and a 3" straight bit, even with a table. I held on for dear life and still had a a few "Maybe I need to check my fingers and change my drawers" moments. I had to route it AFTER assembly due to the dovetails. If I were to do it again, I would route the single rails and stop before the joints, then use a chisel to finish the inside corners after assembly.