One year ago today: October 31, 2014, remember the ebola bitch?
Two years ago today: October 31, 2013, in New Mexico.
Three years ago today: October 31, 2012, remember Bal Harbor.
Four years ago today: October 31, 2011, she’s actually really pretty.
Five years ago today: October 31, 2010, the beer bike.
Six years ago today: October 31, 2009, the “cell phone” incident.
Seven years ago today: October 31, 2008, tragically familiar.
Eight years ago today: October 31, 2007, R. Paul ain’t D. Trump.
Nine years ago today: October 31, 2006, Momma Tried.
MORNING
Where is JZ, the world wants to know? Not at the appointed time and place, so I went to the bakery until 10:00AM. Working the crosswords. Two of the answers were “tontotototemtome” and “iamamamamamba”, which too a while. But then I returned home to work on the cPod, with the new fancy glides. First problem, they are made to run the full length of drawers. If that were the case, my drawer is 41” deep. Actually, I’ve got that down to 34” but the snag is the drawer glides only open to 19”.
Hopefully Agt. M won’t see this picture. It shows what the rusty ratty old drawer glides look like after they are polished up, refurbished, and lubed back to perfection. He'll want them back.
I may have to revert to my angle iron to a degree. One thing about my design, it would open the full distance. Aluminum would work, but the pieces I need are $19 each. Maybe some type of hybrid system will provide the answer, but the concept is definitely worth the effort if it succeeds. The new camper, buttoned up, would look boxy but two guys could pick it up.
He finally arrives with the company bank statements. This time, the bank has a new category on the report, called “average balance”. It must be some sort of come-on, figure it out. Of what significance is the “average” amount of cash you had last month? Yep, I was thinking the same thing. These banks know that 99% of their “valued customers” don’t have a blithering clue what in blazes is really going on. It smacks of the old “rich on payday” brand of feeling-good.
Then, while reconciling all this nonsense, I played a western movie called “Purgatory”. Interesting, and well-filmed for a spaghetti production. An outlaw gang of unusually large formation rides into a town inhabited by famous crime figures in dime-store novels. Incredibly well-dressed figures, here to await admission on the stagecoach to heaven. They are tried to the limits to avoid everything resembling temptation from booze to guns to the mildest hint at a sense of humor. Those who fail are flung into a fiery pit by an old Indian type, you are to suppose this has great significance, I mean, that Indian is really old. Damn!
NOON
I’ve got two of the camper glides coupled together, but I wonder about the strength factor. I’m bolting two single lengths together. Each link requires six bolts, which are 54 cents apiece. But if you think campers are expensive, try building a robot. The glide appears to work, but due to the complexity of six pieces, four of them moving, I’ve decided to construct another mockup.
JZ finally arrived, but too late in the day to do much but the shopping. That’s fine, the plywood is here and, if you don’t mind the splotchy paint scheme, that’s essentially the major body panels. All the rest is making it fit and work. For example, because it resembles a large drawer, all the working parts such as the fan, power converter (12VDC to 110AC), and the all-important controller must be mounted on the moveable interior.
This means the redesign of the power cable harnesses, but mercifully, only the ones from the solar panels. The trailer lights remain fixed. The total amount of lumber area remains the same, but the sides (left-right-front-rear) are shaved from 5/8” down to 15/32” and structurally, there number of metal angle brackets reduced from 38 to14, but of heavier duty. I use those brackets designed for stair risers.
He reports that weird noise in his truck occurred again. And it was (as I predicted) when he was travelling 57 mph. This time, he reports, it pulled slightly to the left. Folks, this is a 2014 Mazda, an expensive new truck. Alas, it is one of those intermittent situations where he may have to wait until the problem gets expensive to even locate it. It sounds like a flexing door or body panel, but 57 mph to me spells t-r-a-n-s-m-i-s-s-i-o-n.
EVENING
In a moment, I’ll tell you about canceled holidays, but for some first here is a photo of the glides being installed. Ah, some ask, what is with the spackle and patches. It goes like so: even the king of the pilot holes, psssst, that’s me, doesn’t always drill every one of them in the right place first time every time. But temper the criticism with the fact I have never done anything even remotely like this ever in my life before. And building drawers big enough to camp in is not in the shop manual.
Another factor is that JZ does not tightly manage his financial affairs. I’ve often told him to hire a professional for $100 just to pay the bills, but I could say the same thing to a million people who would not listen. The fact is, in six months, those who try it would not do things any other way. It isn’t the “loss” of the hundred bucks, it is the amazing results from having a stable system concerning money. Also, JZ is leveraged in the stock market, which I am not. Because the stock market will cause you to worry and it is not worth it, gang. The stock exchanges are a zero-sum game except for the crooked brokers.
And JZ is convinced, utterly convinced, that the correct piece of real estate is going to materialize and fall at our feet. How’s that for optimism. I’ll grant him one thing, nothing is for sale right now because, thanks to Trump, America is holding its breath. But that just means a glut of sales in six or so months. The issue is, what will be the prices of those places? Butter is now $7 a pound. I am less than optimistic.
ADDENDUM
Expanding the Yesteryear count to back to the first year where full on-line blogs exist has boosted my readership. In fact, that effect is bringing up a feature that most blogs don’t experience. That is, multiple reads of the same post. Sure, there is a year minimum separating each read, but even I like to go back and see. Also, it forces me to clean up some of the older posts. Those were written in days when I had in some cases less than 400 readers per month. And they were not yet adapted to the Internet way of doing things.
For that matter, neither is this blog [adapted] but that would just lead me to say that maybe this blog has a large enough readership to create its own dynamics. It certainly has evolved. I cannot find the original pictures for many of the 2006 entries. Right now, you just get full link lists at the end of October, experimentally. Those month-end links don’t require endless scrolling to set up, which is otherwise the way that blog displays work.
And in 2016, that will be the first year the ten-year cycle begins to take effect. I wonder how that will work out? Readership is climbing, but still miles away from the peak year of 2013.
Last Laugh
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