Paul B's thread

OMG something happened that I have not seen in decades. A dead fish inside the tank. I normally find them on the floor. It was the female stripped cardinal.
It was hanging, stuck on a thread from a spaghetti worm. How appropriate as I love spaghetti.

Yesterday she was eating and spawning, or trying to spawn anyway. She constantly spawns and the male never leaves her alone.
I removed her to do an autopsy because she looked very healthy and not hardly old enough to die of old age. The only thing about her was that she was filled with eggs. A little to much I thought.
The autopsy revealed perfectly clear gills, no internal problems, no cuts, bruises or infections but she was egg bound. That is what killed her and for some reason that has happened a few times in my tank. I lost 2 female mandarins that were egg bound.

I don't know if it has to do with the fact that fish in a confined tank are just constantly harassed by males and they can't get away or they spawn to much because of the constant harassment.
I never read anything on why some fish become egg bound in a tank but if the fish can't lay the eggs, they start to rot and expand causing the internal organs to become compressed.

I think thats a flaw in the design of all fish due to the enormous amount of eggs they carry and I assume sometimes they either form more eggs than can fit or one or more eggs die and start to decompose infecting the rest of them.
At least it is interesting and gives me something to research. I will not replace her now because I am moving and will probably lost a lot or everything soon.

 
I am going to take down my worm tank because of the move. I have so many white worms now that I can use them for a while. I will set up the black worms in the new place if I have a reliable source for them. I wil also make another white worm tank as they grow very fast and are easier to take care of at least until I re build my workshop which will probably take a year or two.
I ordered red wood for my new stand. Redwood warps the least out of the lumber except for cedar which is very weak. The legs will be pressure treated 4X4s.
 
New






My wife is great. I see a lot of posts where men have trouble buying things because their wife has other plans, but so far, in 45 or so years, my wife has never said anything about what I spend on the tank or even my collection of Speedo's.
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She even bought me many of the fish, pumps, ozonizers and other things and her Mother (rest in peace) bought me the tank. Of course we are moving soon and need to rent a tractor trailer to move her shoes.
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Maybe she has a boy friend
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o_O
 
The beginnings of my Industrial/Steam Punk King size bed for my new home. It still needs stain, more wheels, a middle, other side, etc. The wall behind the bed will be barn wood from a barn and I am building a barn door in the center. This will be finished like that. I already beat up the wood. I think it will look very cool.
With the mattress on all you will see is 4" of those 4X6 lumber on the sides and ends.
It will look like a giant, industrial dolly with steel wheels.

 
So I had to have a drug test to renew my Coast Guard Captains License. Two weeks ago I made an appointment and went to my Union's medical dept to get it as they have a drug test facility there.
I get the test and make an appointment and hand deliver it to the Coast Guard in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan which is a pain to get to from my house, but I figured if I mailed it, they would say they didn't get it and I would have to do it all over again.

The bubbly 15 year old looking cute girl working there at the Coast Guard tells me the drug test is illegible and they can't read it. OK, I call my union to fax over a better copy. I am on the phone with my union as they faxed it about 8 times but it never came in the the Coast Guard where I am standing.

I ask Goldilox if this is the correct fax number. She assures me that she is positive thats the number. They fax it another 6 times, and nothing comes through so Goldi tells me "you have to leave because they are very busy today". I look around and me and the guy sweeping the floor are the only people there. She gives me a form telling me I have 60 days to fax over the test results.

I look at the fax number on the form and it is one number different from the fax number she was positive was correct.
I call he over and show her, she insists it is the same number. I tell her, well "most" of the numbers are the same but this "4" is a "7" on this form.

"Ooh, I must have made a mistake." No, the Coast Guard made a mistake when they hired you. So I call back my union and they re fax it and to my surprise, it gets there.

Now they look at it and say, it isn't readable. It's blurry.

OK, I go all the way into Queens to my Union and pick up a good copy and fax it to the Coast Guard.

Two days later I get a letter from them saying the drug test is no good for all these reasons, and they give me two sheets of paper almost all highlighted with things wrong. The test results are fine but it's the wrong format, they don't know the doctor, it doesn't have the proper chain of command, they are not a federally designated drug test facility, Ameila Aerheart didn't sign it, Who is Dr Zhivago, etc. etc.

So I make an appointment with a Federally designated drug testing facility and go there this morning. I had an 8:00 am appointment and the place is not in the best neighborhood. There are courts all around and I think they use this place to test the jail inmates before that go to trial as most of them looked like ax murderers, car hijackers, Jay Walkers and those people that remove those tags on new furniture that says "Do not remove under penalty of the Law".

I got there 45 minutes early because I didn't know exactly where it was and I purposely didn't go to the bathroom before I went because this is a urine test and I wanted to make sure I could go there.
Now I am in my car busting a gut because i really have to go. They let me in and I tell the girl to hurry up and give me the cup.

"Oh No we can't do that, you have to be processed in, finger printed, fill out these forms, try speed dating etc. So I say, I really got to go so where's the bathroom. She says "Really" look around. The place is nothing but tiny bathrooms, smaller than my refugium. I run in and try to just go a "little bit". That is hard to do if you ever tried it.

I go to sit down and now I have to go EVEN MORE. I mean I am climbing the walls. The nurse, book keeper, secretary or whatever comes over to me and starts speaking to me in Spanish.
I am Italian but was born in Brooklyn like my parents so the only word I know in Spanish is Ricardo Montalban.
I tell her I only speak English, but she continues in Spanish anyway.

Now I really can't hold it any longer, she hands me the cup and I run and burst into the tiny bathroom anticipating relief. I open the cup and......AND,,,,And...I CAN'T GO. Like REALLY!!
It's not like I can lay down, have a beer and watch TV for an hour, there are people on line. If I could stand on my head, I would. I am trying to think about Niagara Falls, my power heads, my old leaky fish tank, but nothing.

Eventually I manage to fill the cup. Before I come out of this closet my phone rings. I didn't want to answer it because I didn't recognize the number but my house is for sale and I figured it might be someone with a wheelbarrow full of cash outside my house so I answer it.

It's Goldilox from the Coast Guard and she is her bubbly self. She tells me that my drug test that I sent in last week that they said was no good is fine and they are processing my application.
I say "WHAT!!" I just spent fifty bucks on a new drug test and nearly burst a kidney and besides you sent me two pages of things wrong with that test. She says, Oh that. That letter was a mistake. Have a nice day.

I mean, you can't make this stuff up. Is it me? Dealing with the government is like watching Seinfeld and the Twilight Zone at the same time while you are on LSD and Rogain. :eek:
 
It’s sad they put that much responsibility ( answering a phone ) on a disqualified person o_O
 
Your stories are great [emoji23]


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Can You Guess How Old This Man Is?

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end.
It may blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.

The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
'television
'penicillin
'polio shots
'frozen foods
'Xerox
'contact lenses
'Frisbees and
'the pill

There were no:
'credit cards
'laser beams or
'ball-point pens

Man had not invented:
'pantyhose
'air conditioners
'dishwashers
'clothes dryers
'and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
'space travel was only in Flash Gordon books.




Your Grandmother and I got married first,.. and then lived together..

Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every woman older than me, "mam". And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir".

We were before, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Bible, good judgment, and common sense We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.. We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while running to catch the school bus

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.




We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings

We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam....

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, ... but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:
'"grass" was mowed,
'"coke" was a cold drink,
'"pot" was something your mother cooked in and
'"rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
'"Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
'"chip" meant a piece of wood,
'"hardware" was found in a hardware store and
'"software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
How old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you ready ??



This man would be 70 years old today.
71 years ago was 1947.

I was born in 1948. :eek:

This is me and my main squeeze standing in front of my Dads 1947 Pontiac

 
Jim, your a Geezer. :)
Chris, I have socks older than you :cool:

I think I liked it back then better. I liked actually meeting a girl face to face and moving your mouth to speak to her. Then doing things in front of her to try to impress her. Then take her out and actually spend money that was paper and green. I liked it that no one could call and text you all day long to ask if you want to save money on car insurance, clean your chimney, reduce your acne or feed your cat.
I liked to have a car that i didn't need a degree in rocket science to fix and you had to work to eat or you would starve, good incentive. I liked it when you had to buy your own car, wedding and home.
People were actually patriotic and loved and respected the country rather than wanting stuff for free.
I liked it when we respected the police.
I liked it when you had an argument you went behind the school and fought it out like a man and didn't just emoge someone with a sad face like a Sissy, girly wimp. I liked it if you did a bad job you got fired.
Life was better than.
 
And they call that evolution. Except they forget someone has to do all those things for them anyway
 
This reminds me of a story. Everything reminds me of a story. Last year I was invited to this small conference at the east end of Long Island for the study of a problem with pollution they are having with this huge salt pond there. The pond is surrounded by some of the wealthiest people in the world like Spielberg and others.
It is about 50 yards from the sea and every year or so they bring in bulldozers to clear a path to the sea to flush it out.

The problem is the pond gets loaded with algae, then the algae dies and it stinks bringing in flies and other nasty things.
This happens because there are no sewers there and all these people have cesspools that eventually end up in the pond and their many acres of impeccable lawns dump loads of fertilizer in the pond every week so the algae can't help but grow.

So every ten years or so these people get a committee going to "study" the problem. I was there I guess as the fish and invertebrate "expert", but there were real scientists, hydrologists, sewage experts, climatologists and a few other ologists.

WE spoke about the problem, the pH, the nitrogen, the algae, the sludge and all sorts of things causing this. But we all knew what was causing it.
There is even evidence that the native Americans knew about this situation a century ago but I am sure it worked itself out then as no one had cesspools or dinner parties on the pond.

So after a few hours "studying" the problem they decided to put another buoy in the pond to "study" the pollution and observe it.
They have been doing this for decades while the problem gets worse.

I stood up and made a suggestion. I said instead of studying the problem which is the same thing as doing nothing, why don't they use this empty few acres near there that isn't used for anything and build a small waste treatment plant. I mean, these are the richest people in the world, a couple of million bucks shouldn't mean much.
It went over their heads as that would fix the problem, but no one wants that because these scientists get paid to "study" things, not fix them. After it was fixed, what would they do?
 
We have the same problem here in Falmouth Ma after years and years study by some of the brightest minds in the Marine community at our disposal they decided a sewer system and treatment plant should be installed town wide, its now being installed. The scientists here can now get back to studying Squid they have been studying Squid since the town was incorporated back in the 1800 hundreds.

Jim
 
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