Coming Back from Wits End Hell week lasted, well, about a week, maybe a bit longer. It is amazing to see what stress does to a person, especially when that person is you (me in this case). It affected all aspects of my life, from my evenings and an inability to really relax after work, to my relationship to my wife and our having more arguments, to pretty much everything. Interestingly, one of my defense mechanisms, which is to take a nap when I get emotionally exhausted, didn't work very well at all. My brain was so busy, going in tight little circles, it was hard to go to sleep. I am thinking this kind of stress is a really bad thing, and needs to be limited to very short periods of time. I really think that if it had gone on much longer, I would have started looking for another job, which at my age is not something to be done lightly.

Anyway, I thought I would update all of you that read this, so you won't continue to think I am about to explode. I am not sure everything is back to normal, but it is much better than it was.  ¶ 5:05 PM 0 comments

  President's Points - At Wits End

Life has been pretty good for me. I have always been able to do my job, without too much trouble. Sure there are problems, but solving problems is what I do. I'm a software engineer, Yes, I know it's a wimpy job, but it is what I do. Anyway, solving a problem just requires thinking about it for a while, and devising a plan. I used to solve problems while I sleep. I would wake up in the morning and tell Debbie "I figured it out!". This last couple of days though, have been hell for me. I have a new boss, and he is young, smart, and well trained in all the latest fancy software stuff. As it turns out I am old, sluggish, and trained in all the old ways of writing software. My new boss is asking, well demanding and expecting really, that I do things the new ways. Problem is, I don't know how to do what he is expecting me to do. It got so bad Monday, that I broke down in my office twice, while I was trying to figure out how to make progress on a seemingly simple task. I was utterly failing because everything in my head told me that no matter what I did, it wouldn't be acceptable to my boss. I was in a classic insoluble situation. Some people, when they encounter this, quit their job, some people go postal. I broke down and cried. I cried out to God. I told Him I couldn't do this. I cried out for help to the only Person I could at that moment. Soon enough He calmed me down and told me to go to my boss and tell him that I couldn't do what he wanted. He told me to declare defeat. That is the last thing I wanted to do, but it was the only thing I could do. I went to my boss, and simply told him I couldn't do what he wanted, I didn't know how. Amazingly my boss understood, and he is actually going to train me in the new ways. I praise God that He is always there, and he has answers, even when we don't.

Tom Zimmer  ¶ 7:56 AM 0 comments

  Installing Stainless Sheetmetal Covers to the Fork Tree

Today Debbie and Ken worked on installing the Stainless covers to the fork trees. She says it was a four handed job, getting all the parts to be in the right place so you could put the screws in. Then they installed the touring lights, front turn signals and the floor boards. Lots of progress today! Most of the pictures are of Ken, but Debbie really did do a lot of the work, Honest.




Click any picture for a larger version.  ¶ 9:56 PM 0 comments

  Parts is Parts, Plus a Seat

Debbie ordered most of the remaining parts she needs to finish her '73 Shovelhead. She got highway lights, turn signals, front fork tins, and a bunch of other parts. Oh, yes, and she found a seat for her pogo seat mount a the "Alley" locally for a really good price, considering it is in great condition, and was only about 60% of retail.





now she just needs to finish putting it all together. The fenders and tanks are off to the painter for a red, white and blue paint scheme. That would be blue on top, white on the bottom and a red accent stripe between them around the outside.

By the way, the picture behind Debbie was drawn while we were on an outing in San Francisco on her 23rd birthday.  ¶ 10:20 PM 0 comments

  Breakfast with Carl

Another breakfast with Carl on Tuesday mornings at 6 AM (Yes!, I said 6 AM) we get together at the church for breakfast, fellowship, and maybe even some bible talk. Carl almost always cooks, and a great cook he is. Here is today's fare. Sausage, baby potatoes and red cabbage, plus an egg and a biscuit. And yummy it was! carl is the guy about to take the bite out of the cabbage. We do have a lot of fun!





Click on any picture for a larger version.  ¶ 10:11 PM 0 comments

  Ok, It is Starting to Look Like a Motorcycle

Tanks are clean and coated, fender fits, here we are sample checking the position of the tank and fender. Next for the paint!


  ¶ 10:26 PM 0 comments

  Debbie Cleaning out her Gas Tank

Finally getting down to the last few things to be done on Debbie's 1973 harley FLH, she needs to clean out the tank halves of rust, and seal the interiors. KREEM is a good product for this job, a whole 'nother adventure;











This is a process that took the better part of the weekend to accomplish. Most of the time was spent waiting for the tanks to etch with the initial acid bath, then cam the solvent wash, and finally the liquid plastic flow coating on the interior of the tank.


They say you need lots of ventelation to work with this stuff, and it would be good to listen to them. The fumes are really nasty, and should be used outdoors, with a breeze.  ¶ 10:58 PM 0 comments

  Picking the Paint for Miracle at the Gladwin Paint Store

Ok, Ken finished welding the tank supports, where they mount at the front of the tank. Somehow the brackets had been cut off, which would have made it hard to mount the tanks to the frame.


Now we are off to the Goodwin Paint Store with our friend and painter, Marty to select the actual paint that will go on the bike. Debbie has already decided on a paint scheme, which matches the era of Harley that she is building, and she has decided on the general colors (solid blue top, white bottom and a red stripe). Now we just have to find the actual paint. (Click any picture for a larger version)














We arrived at the paint store at about 11 AM, and we made it aout just under two hours later with the cans of paint that we needed. Now that wasn't too painful.  ¶ 10:31 PM 0 comments