Remember When
Quote: AZDuffmanI think fire and explosions are part of the genetic makeup of any RBAM (red blood American male.)
In the 50's and 60's every house, even
in the city, had a burn barrel for paper
trash. Everything that's plastic now
was paper and cardboard then. Grocery
bags, milk and orange juice containers,
egg cartons, potato chip bags, we would
fill a grocery bag every couple days
and my job was to burn it.
There's nothing more thrilling when you're
9 years old than a burn barrel and a box
of strike anywhere kitchen matches and
no supervision. I did that till I was 17 and
they finally outlawed it.
Quote: EvenBobIn the 50's and 60's every house, even
in the city, had a burn barrel for paper
trash. Everything that's plastic now
was paper and cardboard then. Grocery
bags, milk and orange juice containers,
egg cartons, potato chip bags, we would
fill a grocery bag every couple days
and my job was to burn it.
There's nothing more thrilling when you're
9 years old than a burn barrel and a box
of strike anywhere kitchen matches and
no supervision. I did that till I was 17 and
they finally outlawed it.
We still do that to this day. We have a lake house in Northern Wisconsin. Up there, since it is a second home, we, and most people do not pay for garbage pickup. There is a dump which you can drive garbage to on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but what we can burn in the fire pit, we burn in the fire pit.
I made a couple of those maybe 20 years ago. The first one had a 3" combustion chamber with a 3' long barrel. I got bored with that one, so I made another with a 4" combustion chamber and 6' barrel! I never had any "accidents" with them. As I understand, if you stick to hairspray, the pressures do not come near the burst pressure of the PVC (if constructed properly). Now, with some other types of hydrocarbons, I could see having some problems.Quote: AZDuffmanGuy my brother knows used hairspray or other home stuff to make a potato gun. Guy is now known as "Lefty."
Specifically Aqua Net! :) The problem with hairspray is that it left a residue inside the chamber. If you didn't clean it out every so often, it would short out the ignition.Quote: AZDuffmanhairspray
Quote: JoemanI made a couple of those maybe 20 years ago. The first one had a 3" combustion chamber with a 3' long barrel. I got bored with that one, so I made another with a 4" combustion chamber and 6' barrel! I never had any "accidents" with them. As I understand, if you stick to hairspray, the pressures do not come near the burst pressure of the PVC (if constructed properly). Now, with some other types of hydrocarbons, I could see having some problems.
Specifically Aqua Net! :) The problem with hairspray is that it left a residue inside the chamber. If you didn't clean it out every so often, it would short out the ignition.
PVC. Lol.
We made potato cannons by taking the ends off of 6 steel beer cans and taping them into a barrel. Parents drank the beer first, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.
They don't sell beer in steel cans any longer, of course, and this is before the flip-top was invented. I don't think aluminum cans would work.for that, even if you could cut the bottoms off evenly. Cans used to have 2 rolled ends, not formed for stacking bottoms.
That's pretty cool. I remember seeing a steel can or two from an old stash somewhere, but by the time I was old enough to fetch Dad a beer from the fridge, everything was aluminum. Still had the pull tabs, though.Quote: beachbumbabsPVC. Lol.
We made potato cannons by taking the ends off of 6 steel beer cans and taping them into a barrel. Parents drank the beer first, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.
They don't sell beer in steel cans any longer, of course, and this is before the flip-top was invented. I don't think aluminum cans would work.for that, even if you could cut the bottoms off evenly. Cans used to have 2 rolled ends, not formed for stacking bottoms.
Hey, don't knock PVC til you've tried it! :) It's actually ideal for potato launchers. I would bevel the inside of the barrel so that the potato was compressed when it was rammed in. More potato compression = more pressure to launch = more distance. With the big one, I would launch the potatoes literally out-of-sight. Never did figure out how to rifle the barrel, though. That would've been awesome.
What did you use for fuel/propulsion, Babs?
Quote: beachbumbabsWe used to burn the leaves after raking. Took some time to pile them high and jump into them first, though.
Burning leaves on your property was legal in Virginia where I grew up at least up until the early '90's when we moved away. Don't know if it still is. I don't mean out in the sticks, either. This was in the burbs; a five minute drive from downtown. I thought it was perfectly normal until we moved and I told my new friends about it and it blew their minds you could just set huge fires in your yard.
I had that job as a kid. Did you ever "accidentally" get an aerosol can in the barrel?Quote: EvenBobIn the 50's and 60's every house, even
in the city, had a burn barrel for paper
trash. Everything that's plastic now
was paper and cardboard then. Grocery
bags, milk and orange juice containers,
egg cartons, potato chip bags, we would
fill a grocery bag every couple days
and my job was to burn it.
There's nothing more thrilling when you're
9 years old than a burn barrel and a box
of strike anywhere kitchen matches and
no supervision. I did that till I was 17 and
they finally outlawed it.
Quote: JoemanI made a couple of those maybe 20 years ago. The first one had a 3" combustion chamber with a 3' long barrel. I got bored with that one, so I made another with a 4" combustion chamber and 6' barrel! I never had any "accidents" with them. As I understand, if you stick to hairspray, the pressures do not come near the burst pressure of the PVC (if constructed properly). Now, with some other types of hydrocarbons, I could see having some problems.
Specifically Aqua Net! :) The problem with hairspray is that it left a residue inside the chamber. If you didn't clean it out every so often, it would short out the ignition.
I would scrap the powder out of caps until I had enough to create a pea size ball in aluminum foil. Then I would put that in a larger foil with bbs. You could then lob it by hand, say over a building and it would explode on contact like a loud firecracker on the other side. Caps eventually stopped using powder and I couldn’t make them any longer.
These days i’d Probably get a felony conviction for that. Also sometimes the scraping resulted in a fiery pre-ignition so it was a bit of a hazard to make them.
I'm not sure burning plastics is a great idea.
Quote: Gabes22We still do that to this day.
Now you have to call the local
fire dept if you're going to have
any fire outside for any reason,
and get permission. If somebody
rats you out and you aren't on the
list, good luck to you.
Quote: billryan
Cops showed up. Fire Department showed up. Fire Police showed up. Fire Marshal showed up.
We used to burn the wild grass every
spring, the stuff that had grown up
the summer before and had gotten
brown in the winter. Huge grass fires.
Try that now and your cellmate will
be a guy named Bubba.
in my hometown there was an old house that sat abandoned in a cow pasture, only used for storing hay. It had been featured prominently in a major movie. It was cool to point it out to out of Towners because if you saw the movie, you remembered the house. A guy I went to school with burned it to the ground. Everybody at school knew who did it and most of us were appalled. Nobody ratted him out.Quote: billryanHad a friend that was a firebug. He ended up burning down his house. A few years later, his brother was arrested for an arson for hire. He was studying to be a Fire Marshall at the time. Two other Volunteer Fireman I knew ended up being arsonists.
Quote: EvenBobNow you have to call the local
fire dept if you're going to have
any fire outside for any reason,
and get permission.
"Permission" lol. Are there no Ron Swanson's left?
Last I was approached sheriff asked if I knew there was a burn ban. I said huh? He said burn ban. I said for what? He said fire risk. I swept my arm as if to say "look at all the soggy green". He shrugged. I shrugged. He walked away. I kept burning.
"Permission" lol
kid and I found a paper bag with a
few hundred .22 rounds in it. So we
did the logical thing, we threw it into
his burn barrel and hid behind a tree.
Pop, pop pop pop, poppity pop. His
barrel looked like swiss cheese when
it was over. For years I thought I could
have been killed. It wasn't till much
later I found out bullets need a gun
to be lethal, the most these could
have done was put out an eye. They
went thru the barrel because like all
burn barrels, it was solid rust.
Quote: FaceI was that guy. Until I met that guy. Best friends since '96 =)
We've so many fire games. "Bag races" are when you get a hot one and whoop a plastic shopping bag over it in an attempt to catch the heat. Do it right and it goes like a hot air balloon. First over the trees wins. Or "Feed the beast". Object is to get as many trees into a hot fire as possible. Game ends when exhausted as you'll eventually get a fire that eats faster than you can possibly feed it. The number of full trees alight at one time is the record to beat from there out. With 5 guys humping our record is 7. Remains the nastiest conflagration any of us have seen. Or "Don't be a bitch". Toss in a full 12oz and wait. Last one to GTFO wins.
Now we're all dads. Our fireside fun now lies in tote lids and glass bottles. Fan it hot as you can and see who can stretch a beer bottle the longest without breaking it. Not quite as fun, but all 7 of our kids still have all of their original skins.
I didn't know you had kids.
I was the pyro person in the group. I used to do 3 things. Spray hairspray or spray paint on a tree and light it, spray aerosol hairspray on arm and light it, and make various bombs such as drano(I think it was drano) and tin foil in a 2 liter, shake it and throw it over a hill.
To this day I still get a kick out of seeing a big bonfire and explosions and fireworks.
Oh yeah, every hold a pack of firecrackers in your hand and light them. Just those little ones, or hold a wick with nothing attached to it, light it and release right before it gets to your hand.
Quote: GWAEI
I was the pyro person in the group. I used to do 3 things. .
Knew a guy in his 60's who lit
a big cracker and pulled his arm
back to throw it and it went off
next to his head. His ear bled,
and to this day 90% of his hearing
is gone in that ear. Moron.
Quote: GWAE.
Oh yeah, every hold a pack of firecrackers in your hand and light them.
A friend of mine thought was fun to light a firecracker and put it in your shirt pocket.
Quote: EvenBobKnew a guy in his 60's who lit
a big cracker and pulled his arm
back to throw it and it went off
next to his head. His ear bled,
and to this day 90% of his hearing
is gone in that ear. Moron.
You knew While E. Coyote?
Quote: AZDuffmanYou knew While E. Coyote?
In some ways that was one of the oddest cartoon concepts ever. Same gag over and over and over. Yet it worked.
Quote: rxwineAnd basically no one spoke. Except 1 time I think.
Wile E. Coyote spoke several times in the later episodes where he was fighting Bugs Bunny.
Also, those cartoons were ridiculous on purpose because they were actually trying to parody Tom & Jerry cartoons, at least in the beginning.
Quote: AZDuffmanYou knew While E. Coyote?
Quote: rxwineAnd basically no one spoke. Except 1 time I think.
There was a cartoon where they broke the fourth wall with two kids watching the cartoon. Is that when you meant?
Quote: AZDuffmanThere was a cartoon where they broke the fourth wall with two kids watching the cartoon. Is that when you meant?
I recall an episode where Wile greets the Sheepdog coming on shift at the punch clock...
Quote: AyecarumbaI recall an episode where Wile greets the Sheepdog coming on shift at the punch clock...
That is a wolf, not a coyote.
Quote: GWAEI didn't know you had kids.
I collect them.
J/k. But adult schedules are stupid, so I steal their kids. Couple kids to fish, couple teens to ride, I haven't heard "can't" since I started adopting =)
I personally only possess one. Most Feared Angler on the East Coast, I tell you hwat
Quote: AZDuffmanThere was a cartoon where they broke the fourth wall with two kids watching the cartoon. Is that when you meant?
Probably. (faded memory)
Quote: JoemanThat's pretty cool. I remember seeing a steel can or two from an old stash somewhere, but by the time I was old enough to fetch Dad a beer from the fridge, everything was aluminum. Still had the pull tabs, though.
Hey, don't knock PVC til you've tried it! :) It's actually ideal for potato launchers. I would bevel the inside of the barrel so that the potato was compressed when it was rammed in. More potato compression = more pressure to launch = more distance. With the big one, I would launch the potatoes literally out-of-sight. Never did figure out how to rifle the barrel, though. That would've been awesome.
What did you use for fuel/propulsion, Babs?
I was a young observer, so I'm not sure, but I believe it involved fuse string and a shot of zippo lighter fluid. It may have involved gunpowder - my dad and his hunter friends did their own reloads sometimes. I remember the zippo smell pretty distinctly, though.
I was marveling at what a good substitute PVC would be for this, not dissing the use of it. I don't see why you couldn't use a Dremel extension arm with a minirouter blade to rifle the bore. Maybe do 2 or 3 joints to make the cannon segments short enough to get in there, then join them.
Quote: billryanHe was studying to be a Fire Marshall at the time. Two other Volunteer Fireman I knew ended up being arsonists.
It’s unfortunately somewhat common.
When I was in fire academy, an instructor told us “Congratulations, now you are all textbook arson suspects”.
number for glucose in your blood?
Then the drug companies lowered
it to 120 so they could sell more
diabetic drugs. My doctor at the
time was furious, he said it was
a con by big pharm.
I had a physical last week and when
they took blood, they took no urine
sample, which they always do. Nurse
said nope, those days are gone, they
get all the info from blood now.
She said the advances in medicine
are going so fast now, it's almost
not possible to keep up. She said
in 10 years this will look like the
stoneage.
BTW, I went on the high fat/low carb
Keto diet 2.5 years ago. My cholesterol
went down 10 points, the good chol
went up, the bad chol went down,
and triglycerides went down 15 points.
On a high fat diet.
In 1972 I went on Atkins and lost 25
pounds. My doctor warned me not
to do it, that it will 'kill you' to eat
that much fat. When I lived and lost
weight, he fired me as a patient for
disobeying him. He hated Atkin's
guts, said his license should be
taken away and he should be imprisoned.
Today the Pentagon wants to put the
entire military on Keto to combat the
out of control obesity in the military.
Atkins was right all along.
Quote: rxwineIt's plausible I guess,
It's more than plausible, it was reality.
Used to be if you were under 140
you were OK. Now if you're 115
you're 'pre-diabetic' and a doc
is almost compelled to put you on
meds.
Quote: EvenBobIt's more than plausible, it was reality.
Used to be if you were under 140
you were OK. Now if you're 115
you're 'pre-diabetic' and a doc
is almost compelled to put you on
meds.
I have a drawer full of different pills my doctor has ordered for me that I don't take. I stopped arguing with him quite awhile ago. Let him order all he wants. Doctors are quacks. Whatever's wrong with you, you can usually cure it with the right food and/or juice. I use Dr.Google.
Quote: bobbartopWhatever's wrong with you, you can usually cure it with the right food and/or juice. I use Dr.Google.
I fixed my own air conditioner too. Dr.Youtube.
Quote: bobbartopI use Dr.Google.
My last doc hated it if you mentioned
the internet. He'd say trust nothing you
read. I'd say, even the Mayo Clinic site
and WebMd? He usually left the room
about then.
Quote: EvenBobMy last doc hated it if you mentioned
the internet. He'd say trust nothing you
read. I'd say, even the Mayo Clinic site
and WebMd? He usually left the room
about then.
I got a juicer a few years ago and brought down all kinds of numbers. I tell my doctor, and he just rolls his eyes, and writes me up for more pills, that I ain't going to take.
The doctor before him gave me lisinopril, and I almost died. For real. While on the ground waiting for an ambulance, I literally asked myself, "Am I about to die?" Cuz I never felt that bad before. Goddam lisinopril, that's what it was.
Ambulance got there, they took my blood pressure and it was sky high. One of the paramedics asked me if I know my name. I said, "Sure, it's Bob Bartop." Then he asked me if I knew who was president. I answered, "Obama." The one tech said to the other tech, "Uh oh, his blood pressure just went up 20 points."
Quote: EvenBob
I had a physical last week and when
they took blood, they took no urine
sample, which they always do. Nurse
said nope, those days are gone, they
get all the info from blood now.
When did that start? I had a physical earlier this year and they took urine...
first time in 20 years. I was
remembering the days when
the phone was the only way we
had to reach out. The phone
was a big deal in this movie,
in 1975.
But have things really changed?
Watch any cop show and somebody
is on their phone every 60 seconds.
Crooks and cops. There are over
1000 videos of Live PD on Utube.
Countless times when cops ask
people to get out of the car, they
are on the phone or clutching it
like a it's attached to them. Some
get really distressed when asked
to put it down.
Quote: EvenBobI saw 3 Days of the Condor again,
first time in 20 years.
Wow, I just saw a Condor plane fly past my hospital room window. I believe they fly direct Las Vegas to Frankfurt.
Quote: DRichWow, I just saw a Condor plane fly past my hospital room window. I believe they fly direct Las Vegas to Frankfurt.
Was Fred Flintstone piloting that bad boy?
What kind of drugs are they giving you up in there? You sure it wasn't a pterodactyl? Maybe it was a Concorde.😀
Quote: EvenBobI saw 3 Days of the Condor again,
first time in 20 years. I was
remembering the days when
the phone was the only way we
had to reach out. The phone
was a big deal in this movie,
in 1975.
But have things really changed?
Watch any cop show and somebody
is on their phone every 60 seconds.
Crooks and cops. There are over
1000 videos of Live PD on Utube.
Countless times when cops ask
people to get out of the car, they
are on the phone or clutching it
like a it's attached to them. Some
get really distressed when asked
to put it down.
Quote: rxwine
I never saw a single one of all
those Charles Bronson movies
in the 70's. I don't know if they
were good or bad. I have Hard
Times on DVD, he very good
in that. In the fight scenes in
the ring, he's as lean and fit
as an athlete, and he's 55 years
old. He was an amazing person.
Sometimes in between shots
on a movie set, he would stand
perfectly still for up to an hour,
not moving a muscle, staring
into the distance.
Quote: DRichWow, I just saw a Condor plane fly past my hospital room window. I believe they fly direct Las Vegas to Frankfurt.
I've taken that flight. Very good value.
Quote: TigerWuWhen did that start? I had a physical earlier this year and they took urine...
They get a lot of information from a blood sample, but if there is blood in your urine, no blood test will detect that.
My good doctors always take a urine sample. The cause could be something simple, or something very serious. They need to find the source.
Quote: DRichWow, I just saw a Condor plane fly past my hospital room window. I believe they fly direct Las Vegas to Frankfurt.
Took a trip to South Dakota ten years ago. While there, we hired a local tour guide to show us around. He was a retired Air force Major. First stop was Ellsworth Air Force Base, where he was last stationed.
Got to see a B-1 bomber take off not far from us, with the after burners glowing.
The Major told us, when Sturgis was having their annual biker rally the previous year, a pilot flew his B-1 straight down main street. Then he raised the nose of his craft skyward and accelerated with the roar of his exhaust pointed downward for maximum effect.
When asked, “Did you buzz those bikers?”, he replied “I just wanted to show those boys with their toys what a real toy can do”.
news reports were 15min long on TV?
Remember when we got most of our
news from newspapers, AM radio and
weekly magazines.
That era feels like horse and buggy days
now, so slow and plodding. I'm reading
that the 24hr news cycle is causing
stress issues for more than a few people.
They have no idea what it was like to
live in an era where it took a real world shaking
event to stir things up. I miss those days.
Quote: EvenBobRemember when the nightly network
news reports were 15min long on TV?
Remember when we got most of our
news from newspapers, AM radio and
weekly magazines.
That era feels like horse and buggy days
now, so slow and plodding. I'm reading
that the 24hr news cycle is causing
stress issues for more than a few people.
They have no idea what it was like to
live in an era where it took a real world shaking
event to stir things up. I miss those days.
15 no, 30 yes. Thing is they could still get it all done in 30. If they did people would be less stressed out as it would actually take something to make it "news." Now they need to cover the smallest things to fill the time.
Newspapers never gave "most news" in my lifetime. They gave two things. Depth of coverage. They used to have beat reporters who would cover the same things day in and day out. This was important because it made the reporter something of an expert on their beat, and you could go to the paper for that coverage. The local paper would have a few good reporters who covered big things with an angle. Fall of Berlin Wall? Put them on a plane and have them check it out. New Pope? Send them over. They would usually find some small pieces the national newspaper or network news did not.
Second was features. People bought the local paper to see what Andy Capp did that day. To read Dear Abby. Features gave a newspaper backbone. Then there was classified ads, where the newspaper made their profit. If you needed a job you had to buy a paper.
Little by little they cut all that out. This month my city's major paper will go down to 3 days a week of print. When I was a kid we had 2 papers and many people on my route got both. Amazing changes.
