Bed Cover

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but I’ll bet that thriftiness can give necessity a run for its money.   Not that I am a cheapskate, but sometimes I have to solve my own problems when there are no other ready-made solutions.

I needed a bed cover for my pickup, but I couldn’t find anything on the market that would work.  I wanted to keep my toolbox, create lockable storage, and be able to stack items on top of the bed cover.  And I thought it would be great if I could keep this project under $100. 

My pickup comes with a cargo system in the bed.  After a little thought, I came up with angle iron brackets held in place with threaded 1 inch blocks. 

I used ¾ inch plywood and painted it black to match the trim on the rest of the truck.  I also designed the brackets to mount the cover below the top of the bed.  I do not like how bed covers go over the bed, even though that is probably the only way to make them water proof.  In general, you cannot tie objects down on top of the fiberglass or plastic bed covers without damaging them.  Using painted plywood, I simply repaint as needed when bicycles and coolers scuff it up. 

 I used eyebolts to attach the plywood, which allows me to tie things down to the bed cover, such as coolers, luggage, or kayaks.  The tailgate locks, so I can lock things out of site in the bed.  I was unable to make it water tight, but a few $10 totes allow me to carry luggage and other items without fear of rain.  I also use the totes without the bed cover in place.

 As long as the load is evenly distributed, it will hold 400 pounds.  I have jumped on it (180 pounds) without breaking the brackets or plywood.  I built this 3 years ago now and it has more than lived up to my expectations.  The only improvement I could make to this design would be to hinge it so that I can lift the end.

I'll leave you with a picture of the pickup in serious "vacation mode." Believe it or not, tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and firewood are stuffed under the bed cover!

Sarah Palin

If you want a litmus test for intelligence and independent thinking in America, look no further than how people react to Sarah Palin. Those with a liberal bent continue to scream her stupidity so loud, that even those who would otherwise be reasonable are starting to echo the same sentiments. But have you really stopped to think about how dopey it is to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb?

The Katie Couric interview is the original source of the claim that Sarah is dumb. Could she have answered the questions better? Maybe, but for all of you convinced that this woman is dumb, stop and think for a moment: can you go on live national television, one on one with someone who hates you and hates what you stand for, and answer questions regarding foreign policy? Before you answer that, think about the current debacle with President Obama and Egypt and how poorly that has been handled by the entire administration. Foreign policy is too much for one person to handle and neither Obama nor Bush did any better in the court of public opinion. Actually, I don’t recall Obama being asked questions that were as difficult as those that Sarah Palin had to face.

Her governorship has also been attacked. The key strategy seems to be to attack the state itself as small and meaningless, and unimportant in context with the rest of the states. Anyone that really believes this, I challenge you: go pick out any state in the union, and YOU become the governor. Let’s see you stand out, run a successful campaign, and actually win the election. Most of you couldn’t win a seat on your homeowners association or the local school board, much less that of governor.

Sarah resigned as governor, and she has taken flak for that as well. Her family was under attack from a hateful media. Her office was being attacked by every sleazy trick that lawyers could think of, costing the office of governor money and time that taxpayers foot the bill for. One reporter actually bought a house nearby so he could photograph and assault the family paparazzi style. In the end, she felt it was better for her family and her state to resign, and we can second guess that decision all we want, but we can’t say she was stupid for her decision. At worst, we could call it wrong.

Lastly, for those of you who still think she is not a smart woman, she commands $50,000 dollars to speak in public venues. Her book “Going Rogue” sold over 2 million copies – in hardback. Nearly 70 percent of the candidates that she campaigned for won in 2010. She has her own television show that promotes lifestyles in her state. She is considered a potential presidential candidate for 2012. Do you have any of these qualifications on your resume? I didn’t think so.

What Governor Palin does do well is stand on moral convictions, something that seems to be getting as rare as gold. You can debate her qualifications for office and disagree with her personal convictions, but simply calling her stupid is childish at best. Those who resort to name calling have either lost the debate or know they cannot win the public sentiment. Those of you intent to jump on the latest political bandwagon would be wise to stop being stupid and think for yourself for a change.

Christian Acroyms

I guess all of us have seen the WWJD bracelets that have been popular over the last few years. Of course, if we knew or really cared about what Jesus would do, the world would be transformed into something that looks nothing like what we see today.

Around the world, and even here in the US, there is a hatred for Christians that I could not imagine 20 years ago. The bible predicted that the earth would come to hate Christians, and I have lived long enough to see that prediction come true. The freedom that is preached in the bible is apparently too much for the dictators and communists around the world.

Anyway, at the risk of inciting fresh hatred for freedom loving and Jesus worshiping Christians around the world, I am listing a few acronyms that are helpful in bringing about the right attitude for getting along with people:

THINK (before you speak, is what you are going to say:)
Truthful? Helpful? Inspirational? Necessary? Kind?
If the answer to one of these is "no", then don't say it.

JOY
Jesus first, Others second, You last

GRACE
God's Riches At Christ's Expense

PUSH
Pray Until Something Happens

BIBLE
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

There are lots more out there; here's a list I found recently. I thought I would post this while it was still legal to do so!

Back in the workshop

Well, actually it is a stretch to call the tool shed a workshop, but that is what I have to work with. I power the “workshop” with an extension cord from the house. You have to make sure to only use one tool at a time, or you have to go back to the house and reset the breaker. I’ll have to post a picture someday of the cramped space I refer to as the workshop.

We decided to make some cutting boards for the mothers in our lives for Christmas. I had some red maple on hand and bought some purpleheart to add color and character to the project. The maple had some curl in it, so there was real potential to make something that actually looked nice and could be used in the kitchen.

I have worked with maple for a number of years, so I know my tool’s limitations when it comes to this hard hardwood. Purpleheart was a new species for me. It is naturally purple to burgundy in color, and the pieces I bought had a lot of curly grain. Forget running a planer across this species. I used a bench sander to remove excess trim and smooth up the finished piece. The curly figure readily splintered and I had to be careful cutting and gluing the small pieces. The wood is beautiful though, and it’s worth the trouble to incorporate such color into a wood project.

Here is how they turned out…

I made the circle cutting boards on my table saw using a trick demonstrated in this video:

Make a circle on a table saw

The first one I cut out has a small hole in it, but the next two I figured out you barely need a nail holding it and the hole is barely visible as a dimple in the wood. Since these are intended for use with food, I applied mineral oil to them to protect the wood. It darkened the purpleheart, but they turned out really nice.

I tend to play it safe with oak and maple most of the time, but another woodworker told me last year that if I was going to take the time to do something, I might as well do it with wood that is beautiful or exotic in some way. Sound advice.

Rules kids won't learn in school

This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the 1996 book “Dumbing down our kids: Why American children feel good about themselves but can’t read, write, or add” and “50 rules kids won’t learn in school: real world antidotes to feel-good education.”

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.

Rule No. 2: The real world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, people complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: You won't make $60,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents called it “opportunity.” They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Miley Cyrus all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest, try cleaning the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, you get several tries to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself.

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to work.