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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
His posts are always enjoyable. I began to laugh and choked on my Coca Cola when I read "If my lips were bigger I would have put them over my nose and given myself CPR."
Hahaha. That’s great. Paul. Do it did you write for a living
Paul B
NJRC Member
No, I used to live under a freight car and look for handouts.
Last night I noticed one of my long growing corals bleached and croaked. Another one has a bleached part so I had to look for a test kit. I found an alk kit but I think it is old because it’s in a wooden box .
I used it anyway and the alk is so low that that it is only good for goldfish. I quickly searched through my tank and couldn’t find any goldfish.. OMG. I ran to my favorite LFS. And their goldfish were getting last rites so I figured I had to go with my saltwater stuff. I needed to drastically raise the alk.
I had some 2 part stuff and quickly mixed it up. I dumped a bunch in and watched the white cloud spread around the tank.
A half an hour later I dumped more in. (I really like to watch that white cloud).
I tested the alk. OMG. It only raised it half a point so I dumped in more. Then more. I got the alk up to where I can keep kissing Gouramies. I then had to leave to watch my Grand Kids so I am not sure if my tank will make it to 49 years old.
Today I will get home and see what I have. If anything.
Apparently the Long Island Sound water is very low in alk so if the tank is still running I should test it next time I change it.
That, or look for Goldfish
Last night I noticed one of my long growing corals bleached and croaked. Another one has a bleached part so I had to look for a test kit. I found an alk kit but I think it is old because it’s in a wooden box .
I used it anyway and the alk is so low that that it is only good for goldfish. I quickly searched through my tank and couldn’t find any goldfish.. OMG. I ran to my favorite LFS. And their goldfish were getting last rites so I figured I had to go with my saltwater stuff. I needed to drastically raise the alk.
I had some 2 part stuff and quickly mixed it up. I dumped a bunch in and watched the white cloud spread around the tank.
A half an hour later I dumped more in. (I really like to watch that white cloud).
I tested the alk. OMG. It only raised it half a point so I dumped in more. Then more. I got the alk up to where I can keep kissing Gouramies. I then had to leave to watch my Grand Kids so I am not sure if my tank will make it to 49 years old.
Today I will get home and see what I have. If anything.
Apparently the Long Island Sound water is very low in alk so if the tank is still running I should test it next time I change it.
That, or look for Goldfish
The suspense
)
Paul B
NJRC Member
This reminds me of a story. Everything reminds me of a story and 10 years ago I may have posted this on here. When I was about 14 or so I lived in Queens New York. At that time it was mostly empty lots and I used to walk through them to go to school. (Now Queens is more crowded than midtown Manhattan) There was even a horse stable next to my school. Now to find a horse, you have to drive 80 miles out on Long Island to where I live now or look at the ingredients on a dog food can.
Anyway, in those days I had a load of friends and none of us was Sissy Snowflakes and we spent all of our time outside. In one of those lots there was a defunct greenhouse that must have went out of business many years before and all the windows were broken. Of course we helped break the windows.
Next to that thing we decided to build an underground fort. That's what kids did then as there was only 7 channels on TV, all in black and white and TVs had tubes so the picture wasn't very good and there was nothing on for kids.
So we got shovels. Shovels are something your Grand Father can tell you about. They had a wooden handle and a metal blade. There was no USB port, they had no batteries, and they didn't do anything on there own. You actually had to pick it up to use it. (they are heavy so you may have to get an old person to help you)
You put the metal part in the dirt (dirt is stuff outside your front door. You may see some if you have to travel to your mail box to get your new I Phone 15. It's the brown stuff that trees are stuck in. )
You put your foot on the metal part of the shovel and push down, then you pick up the dirt. If you do this long enough you make a hole and you may even get some muscles, (Those are bumps on your arms, girls used to like boys with muscles and didn't much like Girly men)
After a couple of weeks we had our hole dug big enough to put on the roof. That was made from logs, which come from trees. Then we put on plywood (made from flat trees) Then you cover that with dirt.
When it was done we went inside. This was very cool.
In the fort we
made these rubber band guns in there that shot pieces of Linoleum (Google it)
Then it rained. So we had a swimming hole, a very muddy swimming hole. Eventually we got tired of that and we grew up a little and got cars, girlfriends and forgot about that underground fort. When we didn't have girlfriends we spent virtually all of our time looking for girls. That's what men did then. When we found a girl that we wanted to go out with, we had to speak to her with our mouth and actually look at her, face to face. I know this is a hard concept to understand but our thumbs were big and muscular so even if we had a phone we wouldn't go on "So many Fish", "E Harmony", "Match . Com" or "Who wants to Date a Nerdy looking guy . com" like so many people have to do today.
If you told a girl she looked nice, she didn't get mad and think you were a Perv. She blushed and said Thank You. And didn't think you were a sexist. WE didn't even have the term sexist.
When you took the girl out, you opened the door for her and you paid for the meal. The entire meal, tip and all. If you were not a Girly Man you knew how to talk to the girl and compliment her and not talk about yourself and show her your muscles or your I Phone.
Back to the fort. Eventually
trees grew on top of it and it looked like the rest of the lot. I was working at a Gulf Gas station across the street from there and they were going to build a shopping center there with an A&P. We had no Supermarkets then (or Supermodels that I can remember). All we had was a deli so our Moms were thrilled.
Anyway, one day I was watching the bulldozer. (real Men love to watch bulldozers because they are big heavy machines that make a lot of noise and break things)
The bulldozer was leveling the land and knocking all the trees down.
As the driver backed up, I noticed that the blade of the thing went straight up in the air and the machine disappeared.
It was then that I remembered the underground fort.
I ran over there to see if the driver was OK as he was climbing out of the hole. Not in a real good mood and bulldozer drivers were Real Men with Tattoos and all. He was fine but he had to come to the gas station I was working in to make a phone call. Cell phones were not invented and if they were, they would have been made out of wood like our TVs were.
They had to bring in a big crane to get that bulldozer out. That was real cool to watch.
Anyway, in those days I had a load of friends and none of us was Sissy Snowflakes and we spent all of our time outside. In one of those lots there was a defunct greenhouse that must have went out of business many years before and all the windows were broken. Of course we helped break the windows.
Next to that thing we decided to build an underground fort. That's what kids did then as there was only 7 channels on TV, all in black and white and TVs had tubes so the picture wasn't very good and there was nothing on for kids.
So we got shovels. Shovels are something your Grand Father can tell you about. They had a wooden handle and a metal blade. There was no USB port, they had no batteries, and they didn't do anything on there own. You actually had to pick it up to use it. (they are heavy so you may have to get an old person to help you)
You put the metal part in the dirt (dirt is stuff outside your front door. You may see some if you have to travel to your mail box to get your new I Phone 15. It's the brown stuff that trees are stuck in. )
You put your foot on the metal part of the shovel and push down, then you pick up the dirt. If you do this long enough you make a hole and you may even get some muscles, (Those are bumps on your arms, girls used to like boys with muscles and didn't much like Girly men)
After a couple of weeks we had our hole dug big enough to put on the roof. That was made from logs, which come from trees. Then we put on plywood (made from flat trees
) Then you cover that with dirt.When it was done we went inside. This was very cool.
In the fort we
made these rubber band guns in there that shot pieces of Linoleum (Google it)
Then it rained. So we had a swimming hole, a very muddy swimming hole. Eventually we got tired of that and we grew up a little and got cars, girlfriends and forgot about that underground fort. When we didn't have girlfriends we spent virtually all of our time looking for girls. That's what men did then. When we found a girl that we wanted to go out with, we had to speak to her with our mouth and actually look at her, face to face. I know this is a hard concept to understand but our thumbs were big and muscular so even if we had a phone we wouldn't go on "So many Fish", "E Harmony", "Match . Com" or "Who wants to Date a Nerdy looking guy . com" like so many people have to do today.
If you told a girl she looked nice, she didn't get mad and think you were a Perv. She blushed and said Thank You. And didn't think you were a sexist. WE didn't even have the term sexist.
When you took the girl out, you opened the door for her and you paid for the meal. The entire meal, tip and all. If you were not a Girly Man you knew how to talk to the girl and compliment her and not talk about yourself and show her your muscles or your I Phone.
Back to the fort. Eventually
trees grew on top of it and it looked like the rest of the lot. I was working at a Gulf Gas station across the street from there and they were going to build a shopping center there with an A&P. We had no Supermarkets then (or Supermodels that I can remember). All we had was a deli so our Moms were thrilled.
Anyway, one day I was watching the bulldozer. (real Men love to watch bulldozers because they are big heavy machines that make a lot of noise and break things)
The bulldozer was leveling the land and knocking all the trees down.
As the driver backed up, I noticed that the blade of the thing went straight up in the air and the machine disappeared.
It was then that I remembered the underground fort.
I ran over there to see if the driver was OK as he was climbing out of the hole. Not in a real good mood and bulldozer drivers were Real Men with Tattoos and all. He was fine but he had to come to the gas station I was working in to make a phone call. Cell phones were not invented and if they were, they would have been made out of wood like our TVs were.
They had to bring in a big crane to get that bulldozer out. That was real cool to watch.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Diana my cousin built a home near where I live now which was all forest then in the 50s. He even dug the basement with the help of his friends. They used shovels and wheelbarrows. He was on the Ed Sullivan show for that as he built it when he was 16. The house is still there.
Thank you. Sponge, I write like I talk. I did write a book but our Daughter is the writer in the family. She wrote the Foreword in my book and that is the best part of the book.
Thank you. Sponge, I write like I talk. I did write a book but our Daughter is the writer in the family. She wrote the Foreword in my book and that is the best part of the book.
Diana my cousin built a home near where I live now which was all forest then in the 50s. He even dug the basement with the help of his friends. They used shovels and wheelbarrows. He was on the Ed Sullivan show for that as he built it when he was 16. The house is still there.
Thank you. Sponge, I write like I talk. I did write a book but our Daughter is the writer in the family. She wrote the Foreword in my book and that is the best part of the book.
Well don’t leave me hanging. What’s the title
Paul B
NJRC Member
The book is here. Reader Review: The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist
But all the information is on these forums. I don't think the book is still on an E Book and I have not paid any attention to that. (I also don't know how to re instate that. I think it is still on Amazon in a paperback, or seaweed back.
But all the information is on these forums. I don't think the book is still on an E Book and I have not paid any attention to that. (I also don't know how to re instate that. I think it is still on Amazon in a paperback, or seaweed back.
Paul B
NJRC Member
We always had money and didn't know that we were poor. (My dad died when I was 10)
Money was all over the place if you were not a Jiboni. After a softball game there were empty bottles scattered on the ground. You got 2 cents for a small bottle and a nickel for a big one. You made a buck or two with a bunch of bottles. Remember it was only 75 cents to go to a movie and you saw 2 movies for that.
Then if you needed more money we went to Main Street, where busses and trains were. Subways always have grates over them for air to get down there and a bus ride was 15 cents. People dropped change and it would roll down into the subway grates that were about 10' deep. We would have a fishing sinker and bubble gum. Put the gum on the sinker and lower it down to pick up the coins. Lots of them.
Then I used to rummage through empty lots for used tires. All tires were American and they had a warranty on them. When I found a fairly good tire with a big hole in it, I would take it back to a gas station and get a new tire for it for maybe half the price of a new tire. Then I would sell it.
As I got older I would buy junk cars for 10 bucks. (That's what the junk yard gave you for a car.) I would take that car, get it running, clean it and sel it for a few hundred bucks. I remember buying a 61 Chevy Impala for 10 bucks and I had to re build the carburetor to get it running. The carburetor rebuilding kit was 8 bucks. I got it running and sold it for like 400% profit.
I remember getting this "Simca" (Yeah, I know) for $75.00 and getting over $200.00 for it.
This doesn't sound like a lot of money, but remember a few years later I got a job as an electrician apprentice and I brought home about $69.00 for the week.
I am the one on the roof with the hair
Money was all over the place if you were not a Jiboni. After a softball game there were empty bottles scattered on the ground. You got 2 cents for a small bottle and a nickel for a big one. You made a buck or two with a bunch of bottles. Remember it was only 75 cents to go to a movie and you saw 2 movies for that.
Then if you needed more money we went to Main Street, where busses and trains were. Subways always have grates over them for air to get down there and a bus ride was 15 cents. People dropped change and it would roll down into the subway grates that were about 10' deep. We would have a fishing sinker and bubble gum. Put the gum on the sinker and lower it down to pick up the coins. Lots of them.
Then I used to rummage through empty lots for used tires. All tires were American and they had a warranty on them. When I found a fairly good tire with a big hole in it, I would take it back to a gas station and get a new tire for it for maybe half the price of a new tire. Then I would sell it.
As I got older I would buy junk cars for 10 bucks. (That's what the junk yard gave you for a car.) I would take that car, get it running, clean it and sel it for a few hundred bucks. I remember buying a 61 Chevy Impala for 10 bucks and I had to re build the carburetor to get it running. The carburetor rebuilding kit was 8 bucks. I got it running and sold it for like 400% profit.
I remember getting this "Simca" (Yeah, I know) for $75.00 and getting over $200.00 for it.
This doesn't sound like a lot of money, but remember a few years later I got a job as an electrician apprentice and I brought home about $69.00 for the week.
I am the one on the roof with the hair
