Newsletter #98

Geezer's PRT

OK, the date is finally set for Sunday March 2nd. Unfortunately, business demands prevented us from going to the Causeway on the last Sunday in February. Come on out and join us at 7:00 AM in the big parking lot on the left going toward Country Inn on the Causeway. Don't worry about whether you can pass the Navy standard for your age group, let's just get started on getting back in shape. Send me an email (henry@panamartire.net) if you plan to be there.

Earth Box

You may have seen this product on Fox News. It's a box with a water reservoir in the bottom and filled above the water with potting mix. It has been extremely successful for growing food crops in places where the soil is less than ideal and where there may be a shortage of water for irrigation. I've been wanting to try this method, because my back yard is less than ideal for growing beans, etc., but it is not available in Panama, and at more than $50.00 per box, would be more than I would want to spend on an experiment. So I did a little research and found it wouldn't be hard to build them myself. I bought two plastic storage containers, one (54 qt) for $7.98 at Riba Smith and one (88 qt) for 17.80 at Noveys. I've completed the smaller one and detailed instructions and pictures are available on the website if you'd like to try your hand at it.

http://www.panamaretire.net

Click on 'Living in Panana', then 'Garden in a Box' under Dollar Stretchers.

I have the first seeds sprouted and transplanted and am waiting for the Speckled Butter Beans and Cream Peas to sprout. Uh-oh, I've let the secret out of the bag. I plan to become the Bean King of Panama City! I also have Purple Hull Peas on order. I'll keep everyone posted on this project as it goes.

Product Report

Last year my son took my Jeep Cherokee off-roading and ripped off one of the rubber side moldings, about 8 inches wide and as long as the door is wide. Now, this is not a biggy. You go off-roading and things get dinged, and that's what a 4X4 Jeep is for. The damage was very minor, and I set the trim strip aside until I had time to take the Jeep to my neighbor, who does body work. The longer I waited the more I convinced myself that I could stick that trim back on. I even bought a tube of Goop, which had proved useful before for sticking stuff together. Time passed, and I made another small repair to the Jeep with the Goop and that's when I realized that getting the ~ 30 inches long trim to lie perfectly flat on a vertical surface long enough to dry was probably not going to work. Back to the drawing board.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through the adhesives section of Do It Center and noticed the commercial glues. One, a contact glue caught my eye. After reading the directions, I decided this might be just the stuff to stick that trim back on the Jeep, so I bought a pint of it. This stuff is called "Lanco Industrial Brush Grade Contact Cement". I followed the directions (this is not always my preferred way to work, but this time it paid off) and cleaned both surfaces, then applied the glue to both the Jeep door and the back side of the trim. Then I waited 30 minutes. Heeding the warning to make sure that the piece was exactly where I wanted it to be before making contact, I very carefully put it into place and then smoothed it down. It worked! I give this product three thumbs up, with the caveat to make sure that the pieces you want to join are where you want to join them before you push them together. When they say you won't be able to reposition it if you goof, they ain't kidding.

Bring Back the Magic