Thanks for the info. Grinding it does sound like a better way to go, and probably less work. I'm thinkin' you might adapt a wringer washer to squeeze it out.

I've cooked fat for the dogs but wasn't looking to pull out lard so hadn't looked into maximizing it. And yeah, the flavor is a feature. :) Costco used to have this wonderful low-salt bacon that I'd buy mostly for the grease -- great on toast!

Here's a good quick breeds resource:
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/swine/
My neighbor got some Mukotas -- they're smallish, quiet, cheap to feed, and seriously lardy (I swear they're as wide as they are tall!). Supposed to be among the best eatin' meat, too. (They do bite, tho. The other pigs they have don't.) I prefer my pork with some fat on it anyway.

How the hell did I go from your link to reading about washing machines??

Waitaminnut -- can you make french fries in the washer??

Any tips to pass along?

I'm thinking about getting a few pigs, and the breed I've taken a shine to is a lard pig, so...

Glad to hear things are improving, at least in your arena. What I've heard from folks visiting the usual tourist attractions, tho -- not so much. :(

And I've found I can no longer leave a comment on Youtube, thanks to some Google+ bullshit. I have a G+ account (albeit not used for anything) and a login, but still -- no go. Fuck 'em.

Good job on the video, tho.

I'm thinkin', given it's Mexico, that the real story is "People taking samples without paying the requisite bribes".

Now that you mention it, I recall a glassblowing unit was part of the fancy Gilbert chemistry set I had as a kid. As a SIX YEAR OLD kid. My dad and I made a number of ugly stinks and goos, but lived to tell of it!!

Whole damn thing would probably be illegal now. :(

I can 'hear' it, the same way I can 'hear' the highest pitch of a variable sonic pest repeller (rather more as pressure than as sound). I expect the nausea effect is because it impacts the inner ear, thus balance.

However, taking such effects seriously doesn't mean every nutjob's complaints are valid. I'm reminded of incidents where people were in an uproar over a new cell tower, how it was making them sick etc., only to learn that it hadn't been powered on yet. Contagious imagination, anyone?

Consider that most hand creams and "anti-aging" creams are glorified vaseline, and marvel that so few of our hands and faces fall off. ;)

I doubt my custom-built flatbed qualifies as crap. In fact it was a bit overbuilt (it probably didn't need axles and brakes of the grade I bought -- the brakes will stop truck, trailer, and all, fully loaded, but that *won't* stop it from fishtailing with the lighter truck). I don't think my commercial stock trailer (older but heavy duty, in perfect condition, new 10ply tires) is exactly crap either. Nor is the (also rather overbuilt) 24' Fleetwood travel trailer. The little trash trailer that IS crap, a Yugo could pull and control (I move it around the yard by hand, cuz the fucker won't back up).

BTW I also use an equalizer hitch and sway bar when towing with the light truck, because that helps keep the trailer from misbehaving. The heavier truck doesn't need either one. It doesn't have the trailer try to "get around in front" on a 6% downslope, either (I have to ride the trailer brakes all the way down with the light truck). That 1600 pounds and dual rear (more weight in back) makes all the difference in the world.

Fact is, if the trailer can pull the truck around, you can get in trouble. Weight matters.

I'll take my realworld experience pulling the same trailers with both trucks, thanks very much.

That's all dandy far as it goes. But the truck's weight is what controls the trailer. Put a heavier trailer behind a lighter truck and if something goes awry you're that much more likely to find yourself at the wrong end of crack-the-whip.

How thick does aluminum have to be, to have the same effective strength as steel?

That wasn't my point; rather, that it was hardly likely to be comparable to the aluminum armor plate on a tank.

I once saw this middle-aged sports car (steel) that had been stripped to the bare metal, polished, and clear-coated. Bright as new stainless, with no paint at all. Looked amazing, tho was a serious visual hazard in bright sunlight!