4.6 Liters, the magic size for V8 engines

Way back at the beginning of time (1956) Chevy introduced their famous 283 cubic inch V8. The plain jane two barrel carburetor version produced a mere 190 hp, using the 1950's more generous SAE rating system (no accessories, carburetor inlet temp corrected to 68F) This engine, and its 327, 350, and 307 cubic inch descendants powered GM cars for 40 years. 283 cubic inches is just about exactly 4.6 liters.
Then sometime in the 1990's Ford introduced an over head cam 4.6 liter V8 which is still in production. It started out as power for Lincoln, and spread to the Crown Vic and Mercury Grand Marquis variants of the Ford large sedan. Using the less generous SAE rating system of the 1990's, the first version of this mill had 210 horsepower, and was jacked up to 240 horsepower after improved cylinder heads were introduced right around the turn of the century.
The last entry is the Cadillac Northstar 4.6L engine, an all aluminum, double overhead cam, powerplant for the Deville. This masterpiece produces 275 horsepower, nearly one horse per cubic inchin standard trim, and 300 horse in the performance version. It gives the Deville way more power than the Ford large sedans. The extra efficiency of the Northstar allows the Deville to handily best the Fords on gas mileage.
It seems that 4.6 liters or 283 cubic inches is the optimum size for a V8. Various improvements have raised the specific power output from 0.67 horse per cubic inch in 1956 to 1.06 horse per cubic inch today.
Marketing is more difficult today. Used to be engines were known by their displacement in cubic inches. Numbers like 283, 327, and 409 live on in hot rod song and story, and sold plenty of cars. Lately is has become fashionable to size engines in liters the way the Europeans do, but no such engine has developed the fan base of the older cubic inch mills. The closest we have seen is the "Hemi" marketing campaign by Chrysler.

The Sherman Declaration

Apropriate comment here.

Gary Johnson

A nice guy. Former governor of New Mexico. He is traveling the country, speaking out on issues. He came way up country to the wilds of northern New Hampshire and invited a bunch of natives, including yours truly, to dinner at the Oasis in Littleton. He did a good deal of listening.
The talk was naturally political. There was universal agreement that the economy (i.e. layoffs and plant closings) was the absolutely most important issue with the voters. And the voters are concerned, not to say frightened, about what they see coming at them. If the voters remember in November, many things could happen. On a related theme, the voters are worried about Obamacare. They fear their employers will drop company health care and they fear doctors will stop seeing Medicare patients because of cuts in reimbursement. The state budget mess was another topic. Until November the Republicans don't have the votes to do anything about it. The state is running a deficit between $60 million to $300 million depending upon how you count it and the democrats cannot cut anything, due to the screams of pain that cuts provoke, and they cannot pass an income tax for fear of angry mobs with torches and pitchforks.
Gary Johnson has a platform, I have a printed flyer. He pledges to protect civil liberties from bureaucratic encroachment. He wants to balance the budget, lest the deficit destroy the US dollar, the credit of the United States, and any chance of economic recovery. He would legalize marijuana and regulate it the way we regulate tobacco and alcohol. He is against raising taxes. As a border state governor he is concerned about immigration. He doesn't think fences will work. He wants to simplify the paperwork so that workers who want to work in the US can get work visas, get jobs, and pay US taxes. He is against the "cap and trade" fuel tax the democrats are pushing. He wants to get out of Iraq ASAP. He is against Obamacare.
We Republicans ought to pay more attention to Gary Johnson. We need someone to oppose Obama in 2012 and right now, we don't have anyone.
He has a web site. wwww.OurAmericaInitiative.com

Chrysler to attempt a "Man Van"

Chrysler will attempt to overcome the soccer-mom connotations of the mini-van with a "man van" version featuring hood scoops, light alloy wheels, and black leather upholstery with hot pink stitching.
Chrysler management must still be brain dead. No way can they make mini-vans more attractive to guys than SUV's are. Why bother? Mini-vans make a great family car, with a seat for every kid, room for plywood and sheetrock, as well as furniture from the auction. I have owned three of them over the years and they all gave great service. The front wheel drive is just made for skiers. But utilitarian is the kindest word I have for them, and I doubt that a few tack on gewgaws is going to change that.
If Chrysler really wanted to sell some cars, they need a small sedan with distinctive styling, good handling, and a decent engine. Actually, they had a fairly good concept in the PT Cruiser, but they botched it with inadequate engine power, mediocre gas mileage, pig-on-ice handling and a reputation for expensive breakdowns.

Why oh why

Do they make maple syrup bottles too tall to fit my cabinets? I have to store the stuff on the liquor bottle shelf, being the only shelf tall enough.

On the cover of the Rolling Stone

I read the notorious Rolling Stone article about Gen McCrystal and Afghanistan. I'm not entirely clear on what Obama finds so objectionable. I didn't see any quotes or reporters opinions disrespectful of the President. I did see a long article disparaging the war, casting doubt on the chance of victory, emphasizing internal friction, badmouthing the Afghans, all in all a downer of an article. The kind of hatchet job that Seymour Hersh used to do for the New Yorker. The author also paints McCrystal in an unflattering light. In fact, the article makes McCrystal look way way worse than it does Obama and the administration.
Clearly McCrystal allowed the wrong reporter access to Afghanistan and even granted him interviews. Surprising. We in the military learned not to trust the US press back in Viet Nam. I guess McCrystal forgot, or maybe never learned, that US reporters will write stories that make you personally look bad and discredit your unit and your branch of the service.
Of course, it could be that Obama, impatient for progress, has decided it's time for a better commander in Afghanistan, and the Rolling Stone article is a convenient excuse.

Refinishing for fun and profit, Part 2

The penetrating resin finish is a synthetic form of boiled linseed oil, which is still available in hardware stores and can be used as well. Linseed oil takes a little longer to dry, and doesn't dry as hard as Minwax, but many folk use it instead. Minwax comes in clear (natural the can will say) and with various colors, (stains). Old furniture usually has a lot of wood color, for which natural Minwax is appropriate. If the piece is lighter than you like, a stain can darken it. Stains won't lighten anything. A piece that shows a solid dark walnut color will remain solid dark walnut even after a coat of Minwax colonial pine.
Many pieces look very good done in penetrating resin. However there is some formal furniture that calls for a glossy finish. The easiest to apply is shellac and wax. Shellac is the resins of an Asian insect dissolved in alcohol. It flows on easily and dries rapidly which means the dust doesn't have much time to settle in the wet shellac. Let the first coat dry overnight and then you have to sand the piece again. The shellac raises the wood grain giving a nubbly feel to the surface. A light sanding with 220 grit will make it feel glassy smooth to the touch. Wipe the sanding dust off and you can give it a second coat of shellac to cover the places where you sanded a little too hard and exposed the wood. Let the second coat dry overnight and then you can wax it. I use Butchers paste wax, but other carnauba containing paste waxes, sold for wood floors and bowling alleys will work too. Rub it on, buff it up with a clean dry rag and you are good to go.
Couple of things. Shellac has little to no resistance to alcohol or water. It is not appropriate for bartops or kitchen and bath areas. The wax is pretty good at keeping the shellac dry against water spills, but a spilled drink will dissolve both the wax and the shellac. Shellac has a relatively short shelf life. The cans are dated, and it is not unusual to find out dated cans sitting on the shelf in the hardware store. Don't stock up on shellac, it will grow stale before you get to use it. If there is a question about the freshness of a can of shellac, put some on a test scrap of wood and see if it dries hard overnight. If the test scrap is still sticky in the morning, toss the shellac.