tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12089203635066595992024-03-05T00:52:22.283-06:00Howdy Ya Dewit!God has apparently decided I am NOT going to be wealthy. As a result, I've discovered that I can make things, fix things and invent junk that a wealthier man wouldn't even bother to make, fix or invent. In case you're in the same boat as me, I created this site to share the "wealth" of experience God has given me as a shade tree mechanic, fix-it guy and back porch inventor.Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-63034259693470319012023-06-07T13:37:00.004-05:002023-06-07T13:37:46.642-05:00Did You Know Your Uber Driver Can Get You Shadow-Banned from Uber?LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT UBER: A recent discussion on Right Angle talked about people's reluctance to give a bad rating to our Uber drivers. Yes, we get to rate the drivers and that can be an attractive way for jerks to harm their drivers. We decent folks are therefore reluctant to trash drivers with one and two star reviews for fear of costing them their jobs. But Uber drivers are not Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-1102879575735910322023-05-30T02:55:00.001-05:002023-05-30T02:55:06.723-05:00Building the Homemade Cajón (Peruvian Drum)You may have never heard of a folk instrument called a cajón. You may have seen one and not realized it was a drum. We smuggled one into our special music one Sabbath. Our church at the time had an older congregation who looked askance at percussion instruments in the sanctuary. We'd have never got a drum set approved by the church board. Turns out one of our kids sat on a a cajón playing soft Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-91889428626181726922023-05-13T13:52:00.007-05:002023-05-13T15:00:09.492-05:00Figuring Out the Fact Check ShuffleThis post (below) keeps showing up claiming that their posts are being limited by a mysterious Facebook algorithm that limits your posts to just 25 people. It will automatically receive the dreaded "false information" tag and be blotted out. This makes people mad because the "KNOW" that Facebook is blocking them with some kind of algorithm. WELL THAT'S NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING. So Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-7067956873869022562022-11-14T00:17:00.004-06:002022-11-14T00:48:14.190-06:00The Art of Using Fonts in Your Writing<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-23277877066246444172022-10-20T13:07:00.002-05:002022-10-20T13:07:49.600-05:00Avoid Zelle Scams on Facebook, Craigslist, Marketplace, Neighborhood, etc.12 Things to Look Out for When Selling Your Stuff OnlineI posted a treadmill I'm trying to sell on Facebook Marketplace. To my surprise I had 3 inquiries right away. They sounded like a sure thing to close the deal, but it soon became evident that all three of them were trying to pull almost carbon copy scams. It works like this:They jump on the posting quickly to put you in a good mood and Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-86674465258613912522021-08-28T01:53:00.006-05:002021-08-28T02:52:36.415-05:00Building the Longneck Squared Eel Banjo
I spent three years teaching English to Chinese children. These
kids are smart and driven (mostly by their parents). I once had
to do a phonics intensive version of See-Saw Margery Daw so I put down
the puppets and ran and grabbed my Squared Eel to play along. The kids
are fascinated by my home-built Mike Gregory classic.
I owe a lot to Michael. He single-handledly restored me
to the Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-24772350602455711802021-08-20T01:36:00.002-05:002021-08-20T01:36:49.980-05:00Why Your Integrated Laptop Camera Won't WorkThe keys you need! The camera on my Lenovo T-410 kept going off. I use it with Skype and Movie Maker and Facebook so it's inconvenient when the thing isn't working. I couldn't figure out why it quit on me. At first, I figured that the camera was broken, but then it unexpectedly came back on. Then it went off again. I looked up the laptop and found the original drivers and reinstalled Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-67086219435663500622021-07-28T17:30:00.002-05:002021-07-28T17:30:28.878-05:00How I Fixed My Printer After a Paper Jam Left It Printing DoubleFIXING MY CANON PIXMA MG3620 - THE SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE SOLUTION:
I have a Pixma MG3620 that I bought for my home office a couple of years ago. It recently started eating paper. Finally, I had a nasty paper jam where the paper was sucked up inside and I couldn't reach up inside the machine to pull it out. I almost dismantled the thing with a hammer, until (God bless YouTube) someone showed Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-51793800521976132312021-04-11T14:27:00.003-05:002021-04-11T14:27:38.096-05:002021 - Facebook Hides Newsfeed Controls....Again!How to Reset Your Facebook Newsfeed to See All Your Friends Uncensored.Facebook really doesn't want to let all that research they did with the US government back in the Obama administration go to waste. There was a study Zuckerberg et al were caught doing some years back in which they screened the posts that Facebook members were receiving. The idea was to find out whether screening out angry Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-83486610130002745662020-06-25T01:19:00.001-05:002021-04-13T17:29:55.930-05:00How to Find Your Missing Friends Again
Welcome to the wonderful world of corporate censorship. We already know that Google, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook shadow ban conservatives. One of the irritating consequences of Facebook's busybody policies is the disappearance of your friends from your Facebook Newsfeed. Here's how it works:
On the Home Facebook page, newsfeed, Facebook sets the default to Top Stories.
Even if you setTom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-90543808290418426952018-11-30T02:37:00.000-06:002018-11-30T02:38:39.959-06:00How I Saved My Dying Hard Drive
I've got this 13 year-old 320 GB Seagate hard drive that has been my D: drive in my 3rd computer now. It's venerable to say the least. The power out here in the Fifteen Acre Woods likes to cut out. It used to do that a lot back when we lived out at Lake Palestine in Texas, so I bought a battery backup to preserve the drives in my computer because they said you ought to do that. Well Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-41527010579266686512018-05-07T04:23:00.000-05:002018-05-07T04:23:19.516-05:00Managing Energetic Kids - The Fox & the Hounds Game
Age and Intelligence beats youth and energy, but only if you actually use your aged intelligence. Kids are notoriously energetic. It is the purpose of every teacher and youth leader to wear down kids so they will take a nap and give you a badly needed break.
The great traditional game for wearing out children is "Tag". There's only a problem with Tag as played with today's precious Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-46856535305170180372018-01-25T01:05:00.002-06:002018-02-12T00:43:48.970-06:00Quick Odd Way to Relieve Leg Pain
Okay, this isn't going to be anything racy. It's just that when I looked up leg pain for a picture, there was nothing but pictures of women rubbing their legs. I tried to find the least stimulating one I could find since I hope to be taken seriously here. My wife, Sheila has trouble with leg pain and we've tried Tylenol, Tylenol and Ibuprofen and leg cramp pills. We've tried ice and heating Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-14072050769419297872017-12-20T03:29:00.000-06:002018-02-09T04:38:03.589-06:00How to Fix a Sleep Number Bed Wired Controller With Hard to Push Buttons
Okay, I'll fess up on this one. The controller buttons on my wired Sleep Number Bed controllers had been getting harder and harder to push. I looked up the cost of replacement controllers and after they removed the defibrillator I was struck by the knowledge that I would have to see if I could fix them. I still stalled until after the warranty ran out even though the controllers weren't Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-64014740945372400942017-10-22T04:36:00.001-05:002017-10-22T04:36:40.642-05:00A Quick Emergency Stretcher
Rule 1: Don't move an injured patient, unless his life is in immediate danger. You can do more damage moving them, so in most cases wait for the paramedics. If, however, the injured person is in a dangerous place like near a fire, rising
water or bad weather or dangerous animals are approaching you absolutely have to move an injured person, here's a way to make a quick sturdy stretcher using
Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-16998410278532919112017-10-15T22:58:00.000-05:002017-10-15T22:58:39.026-05:00Recycling Candle Jars
Bathroom Epsom salts storage jar.
Thrifty folks like me just hate to throw away those lovely candle jars when the candle is burned away to nothing but a puddle of candle wax, a little metal square and the black smoky residue on the sides. These things make nice canisters for all sorts of things like canisters for dry ingredients like Epsom salts, coffee creamer, sugar, salt, and even Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-81949928727592863862017-09-02T02:54:00.000-05:002017-09-02T02:54:52.187-05:00Greeting Card Campaign: 9-2 National Blueberry Popsicle Day
Click here to download card
Today is one of those days we have to go with food holidays. Nobody seems to be celebrating anything else much except a few obscure saints and some tiny countries' independence days and such. So today is National Blueberry Popsicle Day - probably the least likely sort of food to get its own national holiday. The odds of actually finding an actual blueberry popsicle Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-38953791834956510662017-08-30T16:54:00.000-05:002017-08-30T16:54:49.335-05:00How to Read All Those Numbers on Your Car TiresAnd make sense of them.....
It all began back in 2009, when the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, set new standards for how tire manufactures mark tires for light trucks and passenger cars. There's a whole lot of information contained in those engraved letters and numbers now. This information includes:
Outer Ring
The type of tire - Start at the tire model name on the Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-18142128613323439492017-06-14T15:11:00.000-05:002017-06-14T15:11:00.197-05:00Water Safety: How to Avoid Capsizing
Well here's another fine mess I've got myself into!
Keep Your Boat From Capsizing
Most boating accidents and injuries in the United States happen because someone's boat capsizes. In fact, capsizing is the number one cause of
boating injuries in the summer. It's June and people all over the nation are hitting the water in small boats. People simply over-speed, over-control, Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-11270412553608664442017-06-14T00:02:00.000-05:002017-06-14T00:02:02.434-05:00Should We All Become Entrepreneurs?
Changing the Way We Do Online Job Hunting:
I represent two sectors that online jobsites tend to ignore. When I
look through the list of "industries" on job sites in order to choose
my particular industry, I find that there are often two
industries that tend to get left out. One is freelance
commercial writing and independent publishing. It's a category that most
people don't Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-8151102322829225522017-05-30T19:02:00.001-05:002017-05-30T19:02:27.681-05:00Organizing a Local Initiative
Who Gave You Permission to Do that?
Someone asked me something like that once.
We were trying to find rides for seniors and people with disabilities
who can't drive so they can get to the doctor, to the grocery store and
to church. He was a development director for one of the largest
charities in town. What he really wanted to know was whether we had the
okay of the local good old Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-51634185178474583862017-05-26T09:43:00.001-05:002020-08-02T20:28:43.456-05:00Casting Toy Soldiers
I have a secret hobby I don't tell a whole lot of people about. I collect toy soldiers. It started when I used to buy bags of plastic soldiers for a buck at Ben Franklin's Five and Dime Store. I've still got my soldiers from way back then. My wife says I'm a packrat. I like to think of myself as a collector.
There are all kind of online and retail stores that sell toy soldiers in a Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-86465550268291389412017-03-16T03:09:00.000-05:002017-03-16T03:09:13.303-05:00Does My Kid Have ADHD?A Cautionary Tale
Is your obviously intelligent child having trouble in school? Does he daydream, have a lot of trouble focusing in class? Is he (or she) disruptive and not doing well in class. Is it time to get the kid started on Ritalin?
A couple of things first. If you are worried about ADHD or autism, find a good child psychologist and have him evaluated. Don't start with a Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-66063561531976847592017-02-08T02:57:00.000-06:002017-02-08T02:57:14.425-06:00Clear the Ice Off Your Windshield SAFELY!<!--[if gte mso 9]>
Normal
0
<![endif]-->
Introduction:
It’s the time of year when snowstorms turn to ice storms
and lay down coats of ice over our windshields. Nothing is worse than
hacking at a sheet of ice on a miserable morning in the middle of a nasty ice
storm and trying to clear the ice so you can go to work. You can run your car
with the heater on and after a while Tom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1208920363506659599.post-26652961868896923652017-02-06T17:40:00.000-06:002017-02-06T17:40:14.054-06:00Homemade Anchors - The Concrete Jug
Spring is approaching and fishing season looms. Here's a quick and cheap anchor for your canoe, rowboat, Jon boat, skiff or other small craft to keep you from drifting while you're fishing.Materials:
Half gallon plastic jug - Use a bottle with as thick a plastic as possible. The plastic protects your boat's finish when you're pulling the anchor back on board. A squared milk jug worksTom Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16700342512275624543noreply@blogger.com3