"Money can't buy love, but it improves your bargaining position." - Christopher Marlowe

See? I told you it would fit.

Memorial Day Weekend so we only have the first hour (worship service). The preacher mentally prepares himself to look out at a sparse group and not let it affect him. So what happens? Most people we've had in weeks, maybe months. Lots of visitors - no clue why - and only a very few of our own out of town.
I dunno. But I'm not going to complain!

I've said that one of the things I like about doing the truck is that many of the steps are new to me, so there's lots of learning going on.
On each side of the bed, where the pocket for the 2x4 is that allows for a "stake bed" arrangement, there's some rust through. I've read that happens when a farmer doesn't clear the hay out of those pockets, the drain holes get plugged, and water sits in there, eventually rusting through from the inside of the pocket out.

The right side door is all boogered up where the hinges attach - somebody attacked it with ??? and made a mess out of it - so I have to order a replacement. This afternoon I decided to cut two small pieces of metal out of the old door to be welded in as a patch for those bad spots. Turns out there's an area on the door's outside "skin" that has a curve matching the curve in this area. Perfect.

I got out my angle grinder, put the cut-off wheel on it, and went to work cutting the two patch pieces. Never did anything like this but said to myself, "How hard can it be? It's just like cutting wood except you get sparks instead of sawdust."
Ah, I should wear my goggles. So, back into the garage to get them. Think safety.

What I didn't think about is that those sparks might pose a problem when they hit the nylon running shorts I was wearing. By the time I realized I'd better adjust the safety guard on the grinder it was too late. Melted.
The good news: they didn't catch fire or melt through both layers. Could have been much, much worse! These shorts are history.

The Fench Open began today, so I'll have some good viewing for my 3 a.m. risings, at least for the next two weeks.

Lots of sad things associated with the mass shootings in CA. One of them is the mention in news reports that the shooter was autistic. That's as relevant as saying he had brown hair. There is no connection between autism and violent behavior, so the mention of it in the coverage of Elliot Rodger's rampage will likely lead some to conclude there is. People with autism have enough to overcome without that association.

The Pope hopes to help bring peace to the Middle East. Good luck with that.
I think the best we can hope for is the absence of open war between the Palestinians and Israel. Maybe "peace" is a relative term that needs to be understood in the context of that region and its history of conflict, which dates back to the time of the OT patriarchs.

We'll be well into the triple digits for the next several days.
That sound you hear is our electric bill taking off.