Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

I don't know about legend but I was in the hobby way before there was a hobby and certainly before there were computers or hobby clubs. I started 3 or 4 aquarium stores in New York and all but one is still in business and I am not sure that one is still around.

I have spoken at 5 or 6 clubs including Washington DC, Boston, California, Long Island and a few others on video.

I knew one guy about 10 miles from here but he got out of the hobby 2 years ago. I have always been on my own which is why I run my reef 100% different from everyone else.

I use a reverse undergravel filter and keep a natural tank which means no medications, observation or quarantine. I have no need for a hospital tank and diseases are a non issue for me but I find it interesting that so many people allow their fish to get sick when to me anyway, this seems so easy.

Maybe I am just lucky or stupid.

 

[FenrirAysen]

I don't know about legend but I was in the hobby way before there was a hobby and certainly before there were computers or hobby clubs. I started 3 or 4 aquarium stores in New York and all but one is still in business and I am not sure that one is still around.

I have spoken at 5 or 6 clubs including Washington DC, Boston, California, Long Island and a few others on video.

I knew one guy about 10 miles from here but he got out of the hobby 2 years ago. I have always been on my own which is why I run my reef 100% different from everyone else.

I use a reverse undergravel filter and keep a natural tank which means no medications, observation or quarantine. I have no need for a hospital tank and diseases are a non issue for me but I find it interesting that so many people allow their fish to get sick when to me anyway, this seems so easy.

Maybe I am just lucky or stupid.

I don't think you're lucky or stupid. I've always been convinced that life finds a way. A lot of biochemistry is about creating the right parameters for life, but how it sustains itself when introduced to numerous and always changing variables is different. Life adapts. I am hoping with mine if I just get it off to a good start and don't over tinker with it that it will survive just fine without me having to helicopter parent it. But who knows? The automatic testing and dosing stuff looks neat but will I need it? I don't know.

 

[Grumpytank]

Paul Congratulations
I have been following your posts for years. I have in the hobby for sixty years ,the last thirty years in saltwater. May current tank is 11 years old and I three fish that are that old. I am 78 years old and I can no longer mix water or haul buckets. I have an aquarium maintenance guy for the heavy work and I use as much automation as possible

 

[Paul B]

Grumpytank. Nice to meet you. I am 76 years old but except for a few dents, I am in great condition.

 

[Paul B]

This morning I have to go to someplace we all love. A colonoscopy doctor. This is a routine thing and us smart people do this every 4 years or so just for the thrill of it.

He will just talk to me today so he can bill my insurance company for an office visit then have me back for the "fun" day of the actual procedure.

Now they put you to sleep for these "exciting" procedures but years ago, I remember when you were totally awake. They don't hurt but are very uncomfortable and feels like you swallowed a 12' python who just drank 5 cups of coffee and had a bowl of Captain Crunch Cereal.

It didn't help that there was this cute 17 year old assistant holding the "snake" as the doctor shoves it in you with an evil smirk on his face.

Then tomorrow I go to a bone Dr. because I think I cracked my hip which causes me to walk with a very sexy limp and with every step I yell "OUCH".

My fish are in fear because doing the simplest thing is a painful choir.

For both of these fun things I need to get someone to drive me to the doctors and my wife is also incapacitated. But, life goes on.

Oh, I tested my car after I bought a new, cheap multi meter so I could fix my two expensive but broken multimeters and my car has a 1 1/2 amp drain on the battery when I shut the car of. Thats why it goes dead and I doubt I could fix it now.

 

[vlangel]

This morning I have to go to someplace we all love. A colonoscopy doctor. This is a routine thing and us smart people do this every 4 years or so just for the thrill of it.

He will just talk to me today so he can bill my insurance company for an office visit then have me back for the "fun" day of the actual procedure.

Now they put you to sleep for these "exciting" procedures but years ago, I remember when you were totally awake. They don't hurt but are very uncomfortable and feels like you swallowed a 12' python who just drank 5 cups of coffee and had a bowl of Captain Crunch Cereal.

It didn't help that there was this cute 17 year old assistant holding the "snake" as the doctor shoves it in you with an evil smirk on his face.

Then tomorrow I go to a bone Dr. because I think I cracked my hip which causes me to walk with a very sexy limp and with every step I yell "OUCH".

My fish are in fear because doing the simplest thing is a painful choir.

For both of these fun things I need to get someone to drive me to the doctors and my wife is also incapacitated. But, life goes on.

Oh, I tested my car after I bought a new, cheap multi meter so I could fix my two expensive but broken multimeters and my car has a 1 1/2 amp drain on the battery when I shut the car of. Thats why it goes dead and I doubt I could fix it now.

Oh the joys of aging! I have decided that God made aging less than pleasant so that we would actually look forward to heaven. Otherwise we might want to stay here forever and miss out on what eternity has to offer!

 

[Subsea]

Oh the joys of aging! I have decided that God made aging less than pleasant so that we would actually look forward to heaven. Otherwise we might want to stay here forever and miss out on what eternity has to offer!

Dawn,
Thank you for a new perspective on Heaven. As an extension of Ying/Yang philosophy:
HEAVEN or Hell on Earth.

Paul,
Remember, I use VA care. Because of hernia & complications, I have had three colonoscopy procedures in last three years. Now that heart doctor took me off Plavix, I can get hernia surgery so a colonoscopy can be completed. My first colonoscopy was at the VA and I was very much awake. I watched the screen that showed inside my intestines.

 

[Paul B]

I watched mine also and when they put me in front of the TV and I started watching I figured it was the movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

That wasn't it.

 

[Paul B]

Sub I don't live far from the largest VA hospital in the country but I don't use them for anything.
I went once to a VA annex for an Agent Orange test. She gave me a blood pressure test. I said, Wait,,Thats it! She said, Yes, this branch doesn't have an X Ray machine. I could have gone to CVS Pharmacy for that and bought a Valantine Day card for my wife while I was there.

Another time I went there for a physical. The next day the 16 year old "Doctor" called me while I was driving and told me to go to a hospital right away because I am having a heart attack.

I was near a cardiologist office so I ran in and told them what she said.

They tested me and said I was fine, so I called the VA doctor back and she told me that that happens all the time because they don't have a refrigerator, so they leave your blood sample on the windowsill overnight and when someone comes to test it, the potassium readings are all off.

I said "Like Really!", And you are actually telling me this? So I don't use the VA for anything.
But they tell me I am 40% disabled due to PTSD. I think I got that from them telling me I am having a heart attack.

 

[Subsea]

An older brother of mine, died due to complications from Agent Orange in Vietnam. As a C123 pilot, they flew so close to the ground they didn’t wear parachutes, but they did sit on flak jackets. As Caribou pilots, their motto was

“The fall doesn’t hurt; It’s the sudden stop”.

In early Vietnam era, the Caribou primary mission was medivac & supply and indiscriminate spraying of Agent Orange.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

It's sad the the government thinks it is okay to experiment with human life instead of asking if a product is safe first.

 

[Subsea]

It's sad the the government thinks it is okay to experiment with human life instead of asking if a product is safe first.

All too common to say unintended consequences.

However, the intention was to make it safer for the troops at a fire base by removing cover at the tree line around base perimeter.

PS: Robert was a true patriot. When the Paris Peace talks faltered, Nixon called for bombing Hanoi and to get qualified navigator/bombarders they transferred Caribou pilots & copilots to B52 Strategic Air Command from Military Airlift Command. Robert had been in Vietnam for nine months but he refused the mission as he would not bomb civilians and for that he was Leavenworth (Federal Penitentiary in Kansas) bound. However, Russel Long, as Chairmen of Senate Military Appropriations Committee, intervened. Robert was put in charge of bombardier training and received a promotion to field grade officer for achieving mission objective ahead of schedule.

 

[Paul B]

In early Vietnam era, the Caribou primary mission was medivac & supply and indiscriminate spraying of Agent Orange.

I know, it was sprayed all over me and it doesn't smell like cologne.

It's sad the the government thinks it is okay to experiment with human life instead of asking if a product is safe first.

Every Monday in Nam we had to take a big, orange pill for malaria. Every day we had to take a small white pill, also for malaria. When I got out of Nam they gave me a 6 week supply of those white pills and I was told to take one every day.

Years later I found out that white pill was experimental and they wanted to see what it did to you. I know it doesn't grow hair.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Years later I found out that white pill was experimental and they wanted to see what it did to you. I know it doesn't grow hair.

Maybe it took away your copper fish empathy too...

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Oh, I tested my car after I bought a new, cheap multi meter so I could fix my two expensive but broken multimeters and my car has a 1 1/2 amp drain on the battery when I shut the car of. Thats why it goes dead and I doubt I could fix it now.

I don't know how old your car is. If it has a computer, then you need to be sure of a couple things. Make sure the key is not in the ignition and it is placed far away from your car. The key can wake up the computer in your car and become the drain. Also wait for a 10 mins before you read the drain. Because the computer has to go to sleep. An old school technique also would be just to pull a fuse one at a time until the drain disappears. But I think you have a jeep and there may be some fusible links in there.

 

[KrisReef]

I know, it was sprayed all over me and it doesn't smell like cologne.


Every Monday in Nam we had to take a big, orange pill for malaria. Every day we had to take a small white pill, also for malaria. When I got out of Nam they gave me a 6 week supply of those white pills and I was told to take one every day.

Years later I found out that white pill was experimental and they wanted to see what it did to you. I know it doesn't grow hair.

Thank you for your service Paul. Your validation of the efficacy of what is now the little blue pill is greatly appreciated by many men who don’t have reef tanks to keep them stimulated.



I will probably get banned for this ridiculous post but I am sincere about my appreciation for your military service in far away holes that they put many good young men into. I avoided service because I figured that I wouldn’t be able to pick my own targets.

Turns out I am not good at picking targets anyway.

 

[Reefering1]

 

[Paul B]

I don't know how old your car is. If it has a computer, then you need to be sure of a couple things. Make sure the key is not in the ignition and it is placed far away from your car. The key can wake up the computer in your car and become the drain. Also wait for a 10 mins before you read the drain. Because the computer has to go to sleep. An old school technique also would be just to pull a fuse one at a time until the drain disappears. But I think you have a jeep and there may be some fusible links in there.

Yes, Tangerine, I know these things. About 100 years ago I was an Oldsmobile mechanic. Of course that was when cars were simple and you could disassemble the entire car with a pliers and a Cue Tip.

I waited for the computers to go to sleep with the battery cable disconnected and played a lullaby.
There is still a 1 1/2 amp drain. That Jeep is my 2015 Renegade.



This is when I bought it, it had a big ribbon on it and it is canary yellow. In this picture there are actually 7 canaries on the hood but you can't see them.

Unfortunately I had to bring the thing in for service, something I have never done in my life because as a Man, I don't let anyone touch my pride and joy. Like never, unless I can't walk to well and certainly can't squeeze myself under the dashboard. The check engine light is on and it is the thermostat and I need to get it inspected by the end of this month.

I have way to much to do now, mostly for my wife and just can't waste time working on my car so I bit the bullet and am letting them fix it for me. But the repair shop is American so I am happy about that.

So to make it better and because my Jeep is in the repair shop I took my wife's new Jeep Compass to the airport to pick up some friends coming back from Florida.

It's about 20 miles away. About half way home, I hear this big BANG like the engine wanted to crash through the hood. I didn't hit anything but the check engine light came on and a message appeared on the dash that said "CHECK TRANSMISSION". I didn't even know the car had the capacity to have that message and I never saw a message on my forehead that said "Chech your Sacroiliac"

Then the dashboard went black, all the mileage, speed, rpms and all that went black and it felt like the car was stuck in second gear.

Great, what are the chances that in 60 years of driving and never having anyone fix my car, both cars will be in the shop at the same time. Of course this one is new so it is under warranty and Jeep will fix it. My other Jeep will probably cost me a few thousand or the same cost as a couple of Sunburst Anthius to fix.

The good news is that I don't need a new hip and I didn't break anything. I have been having a sacroiliac nerve problem just because I'm old and need something else to go wrong. The nerve thing is causing a pain in my hip that mimics a broken hip. A broken hip would be better because they could fix that.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Yes, Tangerine, I know these things. About 100 years ago I was an Oldsmobile mechanic. Of course that was when cars were simple and you could disassemble the entire car with a pliers and a Cue Tip.

I waited for the computers to go to sleep with the battery cable disconnected and played a lullaby.
There is still a 1 1/2 amp drain. That Jeep is my 2015 Renegade.



This is when I bought it, it had a big ribbon on it and it is canary yellow. In this picture there are actually 7 canaries on the hood but you can't see them.

Unfortunately I had to bring the thing in for service, something I have never done in my life because as a Man, I don't let anyone touch my pride and joy. Like never, unless I can't walk to well and certainly can't squeeze myself under the dashboard. The check engine light is on and it is the thermostat and I need to get it inspected by the end of this month.

I have way to much to do now, mostly for my wife and just can't waste time working on my car so I bit the bullet and am letting them fix it for me. But the repair shop is American so I am happy about that.

So to make it better and because my Jeep is in the repair shop I took my wife's new Jeep Compass to the airport to pick up some friends coming back from Florida.

It's about 20 miles away. About half way home, I hear this big BANG like the engine wanted to crash through the hood. I didn't hit anything but the check engine light came on and a message appeared on the dash that said "CHECK TRANSMISSION". I didn't even know the car had the capacity to have that message and I never saw a message on my forehead that said "Chech your Sacroiliac"

Then the dashboard went black, all the mileage, speed, rpms and all that went black and it felt like the car was stuck in second gear.

Great, what are the chances that in 60 years of driving and never having anyone fix my car, both cars will be in the shop at the same time. Of course this one is new so it is under warranty and Jeep will fix it. My other Jeep will probably cost me a few thousand or the same cost as a couple of Sunburst Anthius to fix.

The good news is that I don't need a new hip and I didn't break anything. I have been having a sacroiliac nerve problem just because I'm old and need something else to go wrong. The nerve thing is causing a pain in my hip that mimics a broken hip. A broken hip would be better because they could fix that.

Well the good thing is just think about how much time and money you saved on not having to get a new hip…

 

[Paul B]

Well the good thing is just think about how much time and money you saved on not having to get a new hip…

A new hip is actually free. I can get any part of me fixed for free. Jeep repairs cost a fortune, but body parts are insured.