SIZE MATTERS

I suppose. We're talking differentials here--specifically, Ford 7.5" and 8.8" differentials.

I'm not a fan of taking the higher-the-number-the-better approach. Making choices based on higher numbers is for insurance companies and people who don't know any better. And it tends to be the more expensive approach. Yet, for those who care to know, a 5.45X39 round shoots farther, faster, and more accurately than a 7.62X39 round. So there's that.

When I purchased a used axle unit to replace the damaged unit in my pickup, I thought I was purchasing an axle with a 7.5" differential. I drove up to Nordstrom's Automotive in Garretson, SD last week, strapped the axle to a carrier attached to Dolly's hitch--Dolly is the name of my '89 Oldsmobile Delta 88, named after its previous owner--and carefully drove home.

#SOTU NONSENSE: RECKLESS RESPONSIBILITY

From tonight's State of the Union:

Misty DeMars is a mother of two young boys. She’d been steadily employed since she was a teenager. She put herself through college. She’d never collected unemployment benefits. In May, she and her husband used their life savings to buy their first home. A week later, budget cuts claimed the job she loved. Last month, when their unemployment insurance was cut off, she sat down and wrote me a letter – the kind I get every day. “We are the face of the unemployment crisis,” she wrote. “I am not dependent on the government…Our country depends on people like us who build careers, contribute to society…care about our neighbors…I am confident that in time I will find a job…I will pay my taxes, and we will raise our children in their own home in the community we love. Please give us this chance.”

Congress, give these hardworking, responsible Americans that chance. They need our help, but more important, this country needs them in the game.

Don't hit. Don't steal.

And don't use your life savings to buy a home, even if it means you owe nothing in terms of a mortgage. There's more to living than owning, especially when you still owe on something you claim to own. Your success may depend on some hitting and stealing, even if you're not the one doing it. 

FA LA LA LA LA, WHAT THE...

I was driving along in my 1998 Ford Ranger the other day, listening to Christmas music in January. It's what I had in the CD player. All was merry and bright until the tune suddenly didn't sound right.

For those who are unaware, my Ranger is not a diesel.

A DYNASTY OF DIVISION (BASED ON A LIE)

Phil Robertson said something.

A mob noticed and reacted.

Another mob did likewise.

The details are irrelevant. The names have changed, but the rule is the same: if you're not gay, you can't say anything less than positive about gays without suffering consequences. Phil Robertson broke the rule. Phil Robertson is suffering the consequences. Popularity aside, there's nothing new here. Just a new application of the same rule.

It's a rule which requires division. What caused the division is beyond the scope of this inspection.

But the division is based on a lie. When you believe a lie, you give it power. When you give it power, you're doing worse than doing nothing (an act which many would term “isolationism”). When you believe this lie, it encourages participation in a coercive and destructive system. It gives sanction to evil. There is no virtue to be gained in choosing sides when the sides are defined by a lie. Don't participate! Show some pride, for God's sake—walk away!

I WELCOME MYSELF TO [YOUR CITY]: THE FORM LETTER

When your company or organization is based on a cluster of blind ambition—and you look to hire the most ambitious person you can find to be your leader, regardless of loyalty—there can be a good deal of turnover at the helm of your organization.

Since turnover can lead to a lack of continuity on your organization's mission statement, code of "ethics," or promotional materials (web site, pamphlets, etc.)—after all, each new person will probably want to say the same thing using his or her own words regarding an introduction—Analog Schemes has created a user-friendly form letter which will allow your organization to skip the pleasantries and simply say what needs to be said.

Simply fill in the blanks, ambitious company/organization, and keep on tending the souls of your flock.

HOW TO REPLACE A KEYBOARD ON THE FORD OF LAPTOPS (TOSHIBA C-655 SERIES)

The dismissal of Ford as an acronym for "fix or repair daily" is shortsighted. All parts break. Ford seems to understand this. So they made it easier to replace the parts (as compared to any GM vehicle I have ever encountered).

And so it is with laptops. Or at least with laptop keyboards--I've replaced four of them in the past two years, and I'm not a violent typer. On two keyboards, the finger-placement nubs (on the F and J keys) wore off, and the third had a Coke emptied into it. The fourth was a replacement that had a bad space bar.

V FOR INEVITABLE?

Just over 400 years ago, Guy Fawkes—one of 13 men who conspired in what is known as the Gunpowder Plot—was caught in an attempt to assassinate King James I and blow up the House of Lords.

The Gunpowder Plot may have been a failure, but the country was in poor enough shape that it eventually fell into civil war in 1642 anyway. At the time, British monarchy was controlling many aspects of their subjects' lives—from what they could wear to how they could worship. The British economy was under the control on a single individual who indebted the state, impeded growth,and inhibited personal freedom. Not exactly a a recipe for long-term success.

Are things so different here today? We have laws regulating everything from tobacco and alcohol consumption to what we can and cannot eat. The federal government is in such debt that no one seems to even care anymore. And like the situation that led to the Gunpowder Plot, a small, elite group controls almost every aspect of the economy—taxation, regulation, and the money supply.

What should make anyone think things will end differently this time?