A Mother's Reckoning

If you are a guy like me, you probably soon get lost when women speak of the age of their babies in weeks.  Personally I need to do the math in my head to translate "17 weeks old today" into a meaningful (at least to me) unit of time. There was a stand up comic (his name escapes me) who did a bit about his mother still referring to his age in weeks even when he was into his late thirties - that's in years of course.  Something to the effect of , "she called me on my birthday to tell me how proud she was of her boy who was 2028 weeks old today!" 

Yes, it would seem that a mother has a little different perspective on time when it comes to their children.  The whole "weeks" thing just does not resonate with the male half of the population.  Most of the time this is little more than a barely interesting object of whimsical musing, good for little more than the good natured jab of the aforementioned comedian.  But earlier today it struck me that in some cases this mental block exhibited by some of us is detrimental to our full appreciation of the horrors which plague our godless society.  This minor eureka moment came to me while reading a report concerning the method that some of the child murderers in this nation have come up with to get around the law against partial birth abortion. 

You remember "partial birth abortion" don't you?  That is where the baby is partially delivered, all but the baby's head, and then a sharp object is driven into the brain so that the baby is dead before the delivery is completed.  This of course is a mere technicality, so that the murderer cannot be charged with murder, and the mother cannot be charged as an accomplice (or for hiring a hit-man?), since the baby was not born alive.  Neat, huh?  You may also recall that two of the more well known of those who vigorously opposed the ban on this barbaric practice are our sitting President and one of the major party candidates for that office.  In fact, don't forget that unequivocal support for abortion is enshrined in the party platform that they both affirm. 

But now it seems that those who love death have devised a way of getting around the ban on partial birth abortion as well.  This method involves injecting the baby with a drug which causes a heart attack.  Again, once the baby is dead, the body can be removed without fear of legal consequences.   This is where the concept of weeks comes in.  The information I read about this practice mentioned that in some parts of this nation, it is carried out in the 35th week of pregnancy.  Now any woman (at least with any motherly instincts) will immediately be aghast.  Me? ...I had to do the math first.  Even men remember that the time from conception to birth is commonly deemed to be 9 months.  So let's see, if you figure about 4 weeks to a month, and 4 times 9 equals 36, then ...  Oh my!  They are killing these babies only a week before they are born.  But at least the baby doesn't feel any pain, because ask anyone who has had a heart attack, it is painless.  Oh, wait...

I would also point out that it is a sad commentary on our society that the murder of babies about to be born seems more distasteful than the same crime committed against them earlier in their existence.

"It's not a baby, it's a fetus," they argue to justify themselves.  Well, they are half right.  "It" is a fetus; Fetus being Latin for offspring or child.  Just doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?  Terminate a fetus, or murder your offspring, the act still has the same smell of death. 

There was another comedian who used to do a bit where he poked fun at conservatives for being anti abortion and yet supporting the death penalty for 1st degree murder.  A very rough paraphrase of his punch line would be, "I guess they just want to let 'em grow up before they kill 'em."  The liberals in the audience seemed to think it hilarious, apparently unaware of the inverse they affirmed.  Kill those who are the most innocent and vulnerable, but have mercy on the one who has proven himself a murderer; yeah, pretty funny.  The Bible has something to say about that subject:  Isaiah 5:20

Quick and Easy Magneto Check

This is a simple check that can save you some time, aggravation, and maybe even some money.

You have a used mag, or you are swap meet shopping for one.  Is it in working condition?  How do you know if the mag is not in a bike and/or the bike doesn't run?  Or is that magneto equipped  bike you have had for decades becoming harder and harder to start, and you suspect it may be more than just symptoms of an old leg?

Easy.  And best of all, a minimal investment in test equipment.

That's right, two 3/8" bolts and a rubber band.  Even with the mag out of the bike and spinning it by hand, a magneto in good condition should be capable of jumping the gap between the two bolts.  If you take that tiny little drive gear and give it a vigorous twist, it should produce a spark.  Obviously then, if the mag is still in the bike, it should do the same at "kicking" speed.

I learned this little trick over 25 years ago from the local magneto guru, Neil at Electro Mag Specialties.  Well, Neil is no longer with us, but before he passed on he served as a mentor to a gentleman I recently had the pleasure of dealing with, that being Rudy at RebuiltMags.com. When I mentioned the trick that Neil taught me so many years ago, he confirmed that a magneto in good condition should be able to jump a 3/4 inch gap.

One caveat to mention, however; if your magneto is of recent vintage with "rare earth magnets" or has been updated with them, this trick will not work.  I suspect it is because these new "hi-zoot" magnets produce just enough more drag to prevent you from getting enough speed into your twist.

Another point I might add. It has been my experience that if your magneto has weak or no spark, and its not the points, then its usually the case that the magnet needs a re-charge.  This is especially suspect if the mag worked fine and rather than failing while in use, it was left unused for a long period of time or gradually became weaker. Here is a situation where a service such as Rudy provides can really shine.  His charge to service a magneto is only $45, plus a mere $15 additional to recharge the magnet.  That means that if the rest of your magneto is good, then for only $60 it can be back in tip top shape.  And when it comes to starting a magneto equipped bike, that can save a young guy from having an overly muscular right leg (it makes you look weird to have one leg twice as big around as the other), and for we who are older it could prevent a heart attack.