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Tales From The Trailer Court™
Friday, January 2, 2026
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Thursday, January 1, 2026
January 1, 2026
One year ago today: January 1, 2025, a year with no plans.
Five years ago today: January 1, 2021, some anti-spyware stuff.
Nine years ago today: January 1, 2017, I still need the bits.
Random years ago today: January 1, 1982, I miss Pt. Roberts.
Muffins. And if that is the only thing for today, I’m too over-the-hill to care. The lumber tested 11% moisture and soon as it hits 60°F, I’m heading to the shed, it’s box time. We’ll be cutting lumber this morning. I invested the hour learning a bass score that emulates the piano riff in “Imagine”, with emphasis on the passing notes that aren’t there. I never said it was a bad song, I said it was not suitable as party music theme for my stage act. Um, it might be now, but it is very difficult to play. However, in the famous words of Kennedy, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy.”
I found out why my new stove was half price. The oven takes 16 minutes to pre-heat. It’s okay once you adapt your moves. The increased variety of food makes up for it. Just in time, too, as I removed my hotplate, I found it was about to burn out anyway. That was the good news. I set out the lumber and tools to make five boxes today. It was two equivalent units—my beautiful air compressor finally gave out. I had two units in production at that point and switched to my portable unit.
That small compressor was a find and I do not want to wear it out, so I’m stuck. There is no money for a replacement until March. We can admire the progress is you want. This is the Z-box, which is somewhat streamlined by now using jigs and totally dependent on pneumatic staples. Let’s take a look for the hell of it.
This view reveals the two main Z-box jigs. It is a mortal offense in these parts to cut any piece of wood that has green spray paint on it, just so you know. This is using the big chop saw but if production increases, it is out to the scooter shed for this stage of the operation. The second jig has two purposes, one is to cut the side panels, the other is to center the thumb-hole. You can just make out the spinning drill bit.
The next step is side piece assembly. That Titebond™ glue is pricey, but turns out the only one that does the job. Gluing the end-grain is wasteful, but I’ve read how to use a cheaper glue to seal the pores first. These photos don’t reveal a host of minor details, but the better appearance of the wood is making a difference.
The Mizpah Hotel lobby.
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The compressor is hooped, it is the control and switching module which I doubt could be repaired. These last two pics show a bottom slat being cut and the two boxes of today. One standing on end has some of the bottom complete. At this time, cold, dark, and some mighty brave cold-weather mosquitoes brought us to a standstill. You may not see it, but these boxes are super-nice compared to a year ago. They are overbuilt and each has 42 staples, these boxes are very strong.
The bottom pieces are still hand-fitted, with the final piece shaved to spec. I don’t know, can you see the effect of each box now built from one picket? No mix and match. I could have stayed on and applied the yakisugi finish. But India has pleaded for me to show her and this may be the last opportunity for a bit. I’ve concluded the lady has peered into her future as a small-town divorcee and is really trying to get something going. She may, I say may, even have some management potential.
It’s curious how these boxes have figured in other’s lives. These five boxes are not built yet but I know where some are heading. Agt. M, JZ, and India get these and if time permits, we may get some of the smaller boxes done. They are great for making junk look organized, which has universal appeal for everybody I know.
Glancing at the feeds, I see a Swiss club caught fire. Rumor is 2026 will begin with mass layoffs and people will act like it never happened before. Bitcoin continues to lose $2 billion per month. And again, Boost has somehow shown that I am again over my data limit despite upgrading my plan twice for and extra 20MB. This seems small to major users, but my usage has never changed. In December, I was gone for a week, my usage should fall. As usual, I suspect the system is itself using or activating background procedures. I regularly go into advanced setting to discover dozens of active Windows crap, like Web Experience Pack, which does nothing but download shit you don’t want.
Welcome to 2026.
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
December 31, 2025
One year ago today: December 31, 2024, the mahogany apology..
Two years ago today: December 31, 2023, like an avatar?
Three years ago today: December 31, 2022, me, on yacht repair . . .
Four years ago today: December 31, 2021, a sort-of gig.
Five years ago today: December 31, 2020, I don’t mind port.
Six years ago today: December 31, 2019, $71 worth of TV.
Seven years ago today: December 31, 2018, a workday.
Eight years ago today: December 31, 2017, a thing of beauty.
Nine years ago today: December 31, 2016, home, but wheelbarrowless.
Ten years ago today: December 31, 2015, misplaced notions.
Eleven years ago today: December 31, 2014, nothing, anywhere.
Twelve years ago today: December 31, 2013, this ambitious project.
Thirteen ago today: December 31, 2012, bezoar stones..
Fourteen years ago today: December 31, 2011, a thousand of them.
Fifteen years ago today: December 31, 2010, my very first part.
Sixteen years ago today: December 31, 2009, it’s beginning to show.
Seventeen years ago today: December 31, 2008, cool hat.
Eighteen years ago today: December 31, 2007, Angelface.
Nineteen years ago today: December 31, 2006, 300 pounds, easy.
Twenty-two years ago today: December 31, 2003, the Internet sucks.
Ah, a tube sale. Zenith power amp. It’s too late for a New Year’s gig, which this is the year I formally give up even hoping for. That’s a mid-grade tube but still half a tank of gas, so I’m happy. Tampa was right, it was freezing cold this morning. Due to finances, my kitchen does not yet have the planned overhead heater. This means a cozy morning in the back room except for mostly coffee runs. By 9:00AM it stayed cold, so let’s finally get around to reading what’s new in magnetohydrodynamic propulsion. I may talk about roller ships if there’s time. The Miami trip was a mini-holiday and thoroughly needed break. I drove most of it with the windows down
Here’s the end of year photo of the birdie yard. There is work going on—the bird’s have long learned to ignore me moving around this space. So you see the tripod and the wall of the silo with the pipes. Just below center is the birdbath. It is late afternoon and quiet. I may spend the day reminiscing, which I don’t have to do that often because I have this blog thing happening.
New Year’s, in my heyday, was a big deal for a band. I recall 1999 so well because as th century ended, bands were commanding $5,000 for last minute cancellations. What used to be the brass ring for small bands now passes without a flutter. I have had one such gig to speak of,in twenty years, a café in Little Jamaica and it was hardly a sell-out. The Hippie booked it, and he as never filled a room that I know of.
Elliott, the brake inventor guy, is my biggest critic over this issue. His stance is the reason I don’t have a band is because my bass playing isn’t good enough. And the reason he is not in a top band is because other’s aren’t good enough. I’ve met a lot of Elliott’s since then. Think of it this way, Elliott. Over the past 50 years I’ve had 50 great times playing in 50 bands that were not the best. Over the same period, you have had 0 good times in 0 bands. The message is clear, it’s like all those books that never get written. You will die without ever even a taste of the pie.
I’ll be entering my second year without a plan. It’s not unreasonable to suspect 2025 went well due to momentum. But today’s changes are real and they are not positive. I can see if no cure is found for my hands, my bass-playing days are numbered. JZ says I’m slowing noticeably, but then, I’m the only person he has ever known that likes coconut. What happens when I can no longer drive? I am going to have to make plans in a vacuum, a balance act between keeping myself here and being thrown in some nursing home.
Either way, I foresee a tight-budget era. One saving grace is that I’d planned spending ever more time here with my hobbies—and that does not cost much. But this was partially luck, I did not know if boxes and lasers would stay in the mix. Tomorrow the town is closed, so I picked up these five pickets, shown here, all destined for Z-boxes. Experience has taken over every step of the process now. Look again at the pickets.
Seems I’m going to spend more time inside, and a topic I’ve meant to go over is called PLC. It’s an industrial-strength setup, Programmable Logic Control. The Arduino is somewhat capable, and I set out to cover what that entails. What is really needed is a real-time working circuit app. Here’s the rub—this things may already exist, but they do not have descriptive names. I’m also looking at a CLI app because nobody will explain why a Command Line Interface is different or how and when to use it. Ha, one look and you can keep it, I’ll stick with using the IDE. Mitch might enjoy command line programming, but it was created by idiots.
Another look after ten years is the standalone Arduino board. Once a program (called a sketch) is uploaded and running, there is no need for a full-blown (and expensive) Arduino to operate the chip. It can be removed (provided you wisely avoided the SMT versions) by removing the ATMega328 (the big chip) to a smaller board with a power supply and a timing crystal. I hoped to build this in 2016 but then I went and bought a cabin.
What I did manage back then was a grasp on how the ATMega328 chip operates, so relearning it after this gap should not take much. There are at least two small “programs” that can be burned to the virgin ATMega328 using any existing Arduino. I doubt they’ll make it easy but I was about to order the parts when events took over. These blanks are about $5 each and though I’ve seen full Arduino Unos on sale for $9, I want the technology.
I found the chips on eBay, but none of the ads featuring many chips specified if the price was per chip. It’s kind of an important thing, you people. I estimate the raw chips are worth about $4 each, but there are ads asking $24. Some of the ads show SMT (surface mount technology) but describe through-pin models. It’s tough to “buyer-beware” when the seller is a gimp to begin with.
Spring in Oklahoma.
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In addition to my budget (which slates all of 2026 as recovery mode), I have the same issues as others who follow the calendar. Let’s not forget my big $33 pension increase, since we know the rest was shipped to the Ukraine. After 26 years in Florida, I remain surrounded by a very familiar type of people—like my family, they have a sincere loathing for those who possess super-powers. You know, like the ability to save money, finish things they start, and play musical instruments. Careful, I did not say such folks were assholes, rather that they behave exactly like other unnamed people who are assholes, that is, for all the ways it could be worded, even though I’m not saying they are assholes, other people who act like them are. Got it?
The sparse traffic noise and anemic fireworks decided I wasn’t bothering to check downtown. Replace them with drone displays. Besides, fireworks are so last-century, the sound people want to hear these days is firing squads. You heard me, many Americans are for public execution of traitors and I would not be an obstacle to that. But, as some smart aleck posted, executions need to be led by an asshole, but the average American is too much of an asshole to be an asshole, and that makes him an asshole.
I’m still torturing myself with the audiobook “Saturday”. Could be morbid curiosity over how many clichés per disk are even possible. He’s already used up all the standards, it’s not water, it’s mineral water; those are not mere musicians, those are jazz musicians. The book is a study on those pretended behaviors that people with inherited wealth fancy makes them look like connoisseurs.
Of more practical use, I noticed when the fence panels dry to my standard of 11%, they will absorb any oil that gets on the surface. The aroma of that oil persists long after the wood ages and forms a less absorbent patina. A year ago April, I painted a box of wood scraps with a bottle of that essential oil from the dollar store. I notice even left in the open all this time, the lavender scent is still evident. I’ll look into it, but not to be creative, I’m sure it has been done, but hoping it adds to the product. I have a bottle of cedar oil around somewhere.
Same goes for my space heaters. They are in the silo and it is too cold to march out there and get them. So now my fingers are cold from making muffins in a cold kitchen. Real bass players don’t care for cold fingers.
ADDENDUM
Roller ships, those bizarre vessels, are not as far-fetched as they seem. Mankind has long known it is easier to push a ship across the top of water than to plow through it. Why not roll a ship across on wheels? Can’t. The wheels just sink into the water like any other shape.
Another weird engineering oddity was the US Black Widow, a WWII night fighter. If you read the pilot accounts, they had to fly it with one eye on the fuel gauge. The engines burned fuel fast enough at combat speeds that it limited fight times to minutes before having to head for base. Crazy engineers, imagine designing a plane like that after these parameters were known.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
December 30, 2025
One year ago today: December 30, 2024, great boxes.
Five years ago today: December 30, 2020, 13 minutes.
Nine years ago today: December 30, 2016, some awful one-liners.
Random years ago today: December 30, 2003, make everyone happy.
As silver climbs past $76, the pundits are out in force. I was in dreamland since I got home, so the best excitement is seeing what they attribute these prices to. Go get a coffee and mee me back here. There, now let’s get started. A quick glance told me this was the Hunt Brothers again. They knew the same game was foot in the 80s, that big banks were depressing silver prices by trading in paper. They knew that sooner or later, some big fund would demand physical silver and there was not enough of it. They thus tried to corner the physical silver market—and it almost worked.
See this birdie? That’s what got me up this early. I had left for Miami without stocking the bird feeder. So take it easy, I have already been chewed out.
It was in the 40s overnight and stayed cold past dawn and I’m glad. Back under the electric blanket. I passed the old club on the way home last night and stopped to talk to Wilford. He’s not kept up with his studies, so I’m taking this morning of to study the analogread() command. I was only there ten minutes bur heard something new. A small group of patrons who were raised in this area and just met at the pub tonight. All were soon talking about which pieces of property they had inherited over the years. It was the only thing they had in common, other than being dull.
The New York Times has published a Trump hit piece warning that his “persecution” of illegals is endangering our nation’s shrubs. Companies, they report, are turning to automated means and this will “force” American wages to go up—a threat to our decorative hedges. There is, NYT cautions, a limit to how much even pro-shrubbery wealthy people are willing pay for topiary.
Jill Biden’s ex-husband just killed his wife. Later, I entered the budget and those ribs I bought on Saturday were $33.39. No wonder they were so damn good. Starbucks is closing 400 locations, good riddance. This is amusing, many Democrat billionaires are beginning to refuse paying their party dues. Silver traded as high as $78.60, which is good, but still not panic.
Air Bermuda.
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This trip was different and Miami has a different character. There’s probably a complicated explanation but there is also the easy one, namely: the free ride is over. And this kid’s ride is an example from the market last weekend. Normally, there would be a half-hour line-up. Now you see it operating with two riders. Two. Is this a sad scene, or is it some indication of how bad the problem had become? Most people would say the latter. Enough is enough.
You might say in a way this is sad, but you’d be wrong. People who support these illegals are usually remote from the problems and America knows they twist the statistics anyway. Make one visit to a welfare office and then try saying these immigrants are not a problem, or claim they are good for the nation.
Yep, this trip was very different. I’d say even if the system eases up after another stolen election, the illegal immigrant party as we know it is over.
One more thing to mention. Today I moved less than any other day in my life. Except to the can and the kitchen, I remained sitting quietly all day. That is, from 5:30AM to 10:30PM. I would not have thought this possible six months ago.
ADDENDUM
Another year without a New Year’s gig or a band to play it with. Florida has proven one of the hardest places to keep a ban together, though there are plenty who would argue that. I get a laugh out of musicians who point out my bands are no the best. True, because my focus is not to win music awards. The fact is, no names mentioned, my not-so-fantastic bands have a 60 year history of playing out while your better bands have never gotten a gig. I wish the Prez was back so we could pick up where we left off. We were the best country duo in Polk. We were the ony country duo in Polk.
Monday, December 29, 2025
December 29, 2025
One year ago today: December 29, 2024, a tiki bar in Lakeland.
Five years ago today: December 29, 2020, larger than a penny/
Nine years ago today: December 29, 2016, -- in theory . . .
Random years ago today: December 29, 2003, back at work.
Today, I’ll keep to human interest material since the rest was medical. I had to have some straight talk with hospital staff since it looks like I may be in for a stay. It concerns booking the appointment. They demand a phone number which I don’t have. As usual, the excuse is they want to confirm and I say we can to that right here and now. Of confirm by e-mail, which has worked right for years around me. They were enlightened to the fact that their system would also entail training me to walk around holding my phone like a zombie and I charge for that.
I got stocked up on Xmas leftovers and stopped at Fred’s.for the mail. Whoopie, the Ukraine gets another few billion and I get $33 more per month. I don’t recall voting for this. The interesting mail was the result of the law that says med places must reveal their prices. The list from my 16 steroid shots last summer appeared on this statement. $310 each. Note, the pain returned the day after the follow-on physio stopped six weeks later.
Fred and I talked outside for 15 minutes as I’d cautioned his wife about my cough. The bright Florida sunlight let both of us know we met 21 years ago. He was in his sixties then and there is no more pretending it is time to make alternate plans. I was amazed again by the ease of driving in post-ICE Dade. I made it from Sheridan to his place in driving time. Nobody tailgating and laying on the horn. No maniacs weaving lanes, no booming shigga-booga at every intersection.
The Brit Royal Family.
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ADDENDUM
Aha, there is a clip of the old computer shop. Westbound on Hollywook Blvd, you can just see it for a moment on the far right. A horrid pink-orange color. There—did you see it?
Saturday, December 27, 2025
December 28, 2025
One year ago today: December 28, 2024, a prefect day.s
Five years ago today: December 28, 2020, with the motor removed!
Nine years ago today: December 28, 2016, most blogs = cats, food.
Random years ago today: December 28, 2012, my first nailer.
Pork chops for breakfast, then reality arrived. We are both tired from that tiny spot of work and shopping y’day. There is more hilarity to this than it seem, you see, JZ’s new big screen TV went on the blink. I have my Arduino book and trust me, I am not the most sympathetic of helpful guy to know in that situation. Don’t as me why some millennial remote won’t work because I’ll curse the millennial. Seriously, I’m no help, so I re-studied the chapter on PWM for four hours while JZ used trial and error and finally got the free TV stations back. I have permission to tell you all this.
But he believes the top news story of the hour for the past three weeks is Zelensky meeting with Trump. My ability to tune out both TV and TV people means I got a lot done during the quiet spell. I’m not exaggerating, JZ was in a near panic for four hours, desperately trying to get that screen to work, while I could only glance over occasionally and remind him that’s why his brother gave him that nearly new junk TV.
Worse for TV addiction, over time I have taught JZ how to make good coffee and good grits. Wait, take that back. He always made great grits, I just helped fine tune matters, like how to keep the grits frozen, how to never buy more than you’ll use in a month, and insist on Jim Dandy. While JZ was getting steamed about missing Bruce Lee reruns, I was learning the nuances of the analogwrite command. This explains my lack of pity for the pure agony of TV withdrawal syndrome. Geez, JZ, I’d really like to help, but you know my TV IQ is lower than Joe Biden’s ratings. And so on. JZ, did you know for years my parents struggled to put food on the table? They were dwarfs.
I mentioned that I liked the lack of traffic helicopters in Miami, wondering if they had been replace by drones. Despite thousands of hours of “study and research”, JZ had no idea what I was talking about.
Wagon Mound, NM.
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Finally, after 60 pages of study, I got this brilliant idea. Let’s drive all the way to that open market on Dixie Highway. It was a breeze, hitting every green light and finding a parking spot near the front gate. This whole ICE thing is getting better all the time. You should see the farmer’s market now. Only a few food stalls, but around two acres of imported counterfeit merch. We bought great channel lock pliers for $5 and I spent the bucks to buy coconut juice from the fat Cuban gal to celebrate Florida Xmas 26.
It turns out that an appointment with the DMV cannot be made without a telephone—unless you go sit in the office and hope for a turn. That’s real GenX consideration for you. And nobody is about to drive him there and wait. That is, until I make a special trip to help. This got an old idea revived about JZ visiting here. He knows I’ve made the trip by train and as far as I know, he’s the only one he knows who has ever made an impromptu trip out of town. That is, JZ has been out of town more often without family than his whole family. Got that.
Now the southern terminus of the rail system is an eight minute walk from his condo. I could work something like this. I often cut short important visits because I don’t like to drive after dark. But if he drives back here with me, it means he gets to travel, we get caught up, see a few new venues, and could help me do some repairs. He could turn around and catch the 2:00 o’clock train back same day.
December 27, 2025
One year ago today: December 27, 2024, boiled bananas.
Five years ago today: December 27, 2020, below water level.
Nine years ago today: December 27, 2016, pink-eye.
Random years ago today: December 27, 2002, my zero hour report.
Tampa says a cold wave is approaching, so I’m not sticking around for the week. This video would make a good comparison to the view from JZ’s hallway if you could ever find the files from 25 years ago. When I first stood on this balcony, the trees had just been planted. They did not form the shady scene you got here. Another beautiful creekside Miami lawn that nobody as ever really used. Snapper Creek. Walking distance to the Dadeland Mall. If you hear referral to the “ghost balcony” this is the location.
This creates a curious situation. You see, he knows all kinds of people who are doing this same thing and failing. From his own admission, every last one of them is a flop—and some of them are quite influential in his life. He knows only one person who does it [successfully save and invest] and that one example is showing him the whole lot of his other people are wrong. (For that matter, too many of them are lying to him.) And time is a-wasting as the spread between silver bid and ask continues to grow and persist. Ha-ha, silver has brought investment or lack thereof into real focus.
If you’ve been reading me a while, you know the answer is infrastructure—and so does he. Save up all you want, if you do not have a solid framework to invest and protect the money, it fritters away. That means we were NOT talking infrastructure but the cost of instrastructure. The topic was the question he asked that I had not thought out for myself. What does this infrastructure cost? For my best answer, see addendum below Turns out it is frightfully expense BUT is means the methods and attitudes themselves become an asset.
Still the record-holder.
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Don’t quote me, but I think the Grove location is a second to the original Monty’s down on the beach. Remember, the place I worked next door to for years, the Continuum. Never cared for the place for the same reason—if there ever were any receptive women in the place, they were, shall we say, not as married as they used to be. It was not real tiki bar entertainment, either. Too much keyboards and backing tracks. But Miamians are damn easy to please.
ADDENDUM
JZ was easily able to rattle off a list of perceived advantages. I say “perceived” because you will never convince me being born poor was what taught me to get ahead. If that were true, we’d be surrounded by rich poor people. I had to learn every notion I have about money from nothing, often from the molecular level, with no help and full opposition. But the rest of the list was easy to quantify. It costs me money to have my bank accounts, personal privacy, and to fly under the radar. One example is how it costs me $21 every time I take money out the bank—but that is a calculation most people could not make.
Did you include the cost of turning the key in your car to get to the bank, the time, and the lost opportunity? JZ’s last statement says he make 66 transactions last period. I made two, both for the same amount and on a Thursday. Yes, I can answer how much this infrastructure costs and that gives a good indication of why it takes so long—if you follow this next sentence: I invented a new category called a “dollar-year”.
To make an investment last, I found that other resources have to be allocated at the beginning (from the start), but those costs slacked off as the investment aged. I usually called it “protection” and today JZ had me put a dollar figure on it. We did note that JZ (and most people) have nothing on that list, that is, they don't even know there are such costs.. No wonder they fall flat on their asses. I’m not posting the list, no way, but we totaled up the cost and you can have that info. To launch a new investment from a dead start, for each dollar invested, I require between $10 and $11 tied up for one year. Tricky concept? Yes, because they are totals. Taken a little at a time, it is like your parents supplying the house so you don’t have to—the cost is spread over 30 years.
What happens once you start is the structure can be used over and over again. But it is a real leap of faith to get underway because beginners can’t tell it from the investment itself and it is just as easy to lose.
Friday, December 26, 2025
December 26, 2025
One year ago today: December 26, 2024, a quick review.
Five years ago today: December 26, 2020, a devoted friend.
Nine years ago today: December 26, 2016, the $3,000 range.
Random years ago today: December 26, 2022, dazzalating.
Thanks to it, I arrived almost a hour early. A series of preliminary tests show no heart problems. This is not necessarily good news because something is definitely wrong. A steady month of symptoms that affect my bass playing and ability to type fast. This took most of the morning. I walked out into the sunlight and just stood there for five minutes. Is this how it ends?
Well, of course not. I’ll not give in to some stupid symptoms. However, the remainder of today is a nothing burger. JZ and I went to the Pinecrest library, where Google locked me out of my own account again. So I have to video clips for you taken over the upcoming weekend. Here is a rack of “medicine” at the market on Dixie. All Latino type herbs and incenses. Stuff you would get fined for making such claims if you were White.
This average degree of activity still tires me easily, so I sat down and studied my Arduino book. Study never bothers me and today I took a closer look at arrays, though I do not use them that much. I decided to look at multi-dimensional arrays because I rarely use them. I tend to prefer more simpler arrays to fewer complex styles. It’s just a subject I’d like to know more about for a new and different reason—the laser cutter.
My Arduino text was not adequate for this. I’ve noticed many of the laser files use arrays a lot. My experience is limited to “loop iteration” and wanted more info. No luck.
Marfa, the art colony.
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This video is not even until next week. It’s the view from the south end of Lake Okeechobee. The tourist trap they don’t tell you about—you cannot see the Lake from any of the towns along the shore, which is only the south side of the lake. This footage is taken from the opt of the surrounding levee that blocks any view. There is also that kind of moat or canal around the lake that you have to look over to glimpse the actual lake.
Here is the facts. Shown is the “canal” and the strip of land on the other side. You can see the black water. But as for the lake, no such luck. As the video pans across, the lake is only visible as that razor-thin line along the distant horizon. I say again, this is the BEST view of the lake unless you rent a boat or plane, which the bastards would tell you if they were honest.
That’s not picking on them, I have yet to meet a local who will give a straight answer. This photo shows the view of the lake is the horizon. No, you cannot just climb the levee for a look. Except for the two or three designated spots like this, the banks are off limits.
Thursday, December 25, 2025
December 25, 2025
One year ago today: December 25, 2024, year 25.
Five years ago today: December 25, 2020, little Sam is depressed.
Nine years ago today: December 25, 2016, a rebel in the swamp.
Random years ago today: December 25, 2002, because the schools changed.
Merry Xmas to all. If you are reading this, I am on my way to Miami. I took the old direct route via Lake Placid and Moore Haven, arriving in the late afternoon. Nothing to report, I’m still listening to the worst audiobook yet. Out of morbid curiosity I must listen over how bad it can get. Here’s a typical passage: “I stumbled past the pornographically rumpled sheets in the room where I had studied Shakespeare to the point of nausea and opened the shutters to see the pigeons displaced by the upraising arms of a man faking surrender to a woman from the historical society who was wearing stout shoes and wondered if my son, the blues musician, had this morning shampooed both his mustaches.”
Typical “modern” coffee shop.
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Got into Miami before dark and scored the second vacant guest parking spot near the condo door. This is not your typical Miami experience. JZ was just getting back from Xmas dinner. I plunked down and fell asleep for five hours. My appointment is in twelve hours. So much so for Xmas 2025.
To liven this page up, I thought to find one of those generic articles of what men do not like in women. I meant things like lack of inventiveness or no savings. Instead the first dozen(+/-) all listed traits associated with juvenile immaturity. I wanted to compare, so I may keep looking. It doesn’t take long to notice dishonesty and “I’m-only-joking” insults figure in most lists.
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
December 24, 2025
One year ago today: December 24, 2024, who’s further ahead.
Five years ago today: December 24, 2020, $81, organic.
Nine years ago today: December 24, 2016, classic Rebel adventure.
Random years ago today: December 24, 2013, Santa in 2013.
Another perfect day partly wasted, as I had trouble getting underway. I fell back asleep until one of the pleasures of Florida living woke me. A bit of deadfall strikes the roof and rolls off the edge, sounding exactly like a small animal on the run. Freaks out newcomers the way it can stop and start again. Festus is reslated for 5:00PM today, so be sure to get the latest on that. I’ve never minded Xmas Eve alone, it’s kind of an acquired preference watching others pretend to have fun. And I still have not spent y’day’s tube money.
This is the pallet wood from last week, now upgraded and matched to thickness for each pair of opposite sides. It took two slats of similar dimension for each box, and the long sides represent the best of the pieces. Each is built from five pieces of wood, these are grooved to accept a 1/8th inch hardwood panel for a bottom. They are not meant to box heavy items, but nails are okay, that’s where these are destined—screw bins. The knobs are from a big bag of drawer pulls I picked up for next to nothing. They do give the appearance a bit of a nice boost, don’t you think?
The panel bottom has proven the easiest style to make around here and they (the bottom panels) are purchased from the cull cart. The pallet lumber is often dry to the point of brittle so some skill is needed to work the chop saw for the upgrade. It has to lack visible cracks and felt for invisible cracks because you see the construction tends to flatten any cupped boards, which get a good whack from the pneumatic stapler during assembly. The boxes are not corner-squared, it turns out they are within parameters just tapped into place using a carpenter’s square as a guide.
Why, they even look a little bit “official” once the laser-etched labels are applied. One of the boxes was 70% finished last day, but here is today’s run. Did I get much accomplished today? I dunno, compared to what? Compared to whom?
Another look at the recent test of a rail gun by Japan. Just by looking, you can see they have scaled back the size. Makes sense, the US model was vast overkill and the value of direct fire hitting targets way out of visual or sensor range is questionable. Same with a projectile punching through ten steel plates. What for? The propellant is a plasma that is rumored to chew away at the rails after just a few shots. So a slower, lighter, less capable system might be the better idea. Something that can punch holes through ships from just out of gun range.
Then I viewed some footage of the Russian tanks being knocked out in the Ukraine. There are no T-90s but I saw plenty of T-62s. Some of these machines are nearly as old as me. Ukraine claims 2,000 tank kills which does not surprise me since electronics has changed the rules. There is a connection here with my Arduino studies caused by my condition. I had hoped the study of Arduino would teach me about how the sensors worked. It does not, instead Arduino is only concerned with the coding needed to act on the sensor output. I hope to look at sensors independently because they are not doing something right.
The first people I’d blame is the coders. That is why Waymo (Google self-driving taxis) keep running over pet cats and driving past school busses. I heard one drove through a police shoot-out or something. What I want to understand is the principle some of these sensors use.
Lake Michigan formations.
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It was a great Festus show, even if all he did was walk in one door. It was about Newly who meets up with a fake priest bank robber, but this episode had more drama than the last three put together. No really pretty gal this time and of course the money was hidden behind a stone in the fireplace. Great coffee, even if I do bring it with me. I’ve had hours to catch up on my reading, and that terrible last audiobook had me look again at Algeria.
That had to be one of the most useless revolutions in history. As mentioned few of the tribes living there under French occupation were natives, but arrivals from the east when the place was governed by the Ottomans. I had also read about the special indoctrination given to Algerian officers captured at Dien Bien Phu. What I look at the chain of events after they returned home, the pattern emerges. Suddenly the “natives” are protesting for things they had no traditional concepts of, such as nationalism, voting rights, and self-determination. They did not know what these things were, much less miss them until they were told they did.
Yes, there was the same undercurrent of tribal unrest under colonialism as everywhere else in the world, but Algeria is where you had a large contingent of battle-trained officers who were also ex-POWs. Thus, I am talking not about what was the same in Algeria, but what was different.
The war was nasty, as some of the French families had lived there long enough to have real claims to their positions It was the Algeria after independence that is the laugh. The French left, but shortly thereafter so did the telephones, the street cars, the postal system, safe drinking water, and most of the electricity. There was instant Civil War between the Arabs and they had to keep some French units to stop greedy neighboring countries from invading.
The natives then proceeded to muck things up so badly that the Western oil companies were invited back. There is oil in Algeria, but not enough to mask the big economic problems of no educated workforce, no real alternative economy, and no meaningful export trade. Just oil, which is best left to foreigners. With nobody left to blame, the Algerians are now, less than two generations later, trying to sue France for “reparations” just to stay afloat a while more. But with 30% unemployed youths wandering the streets, the whole country is like Detroit. No amount of free money is going to teach them a damn thing about responsible living.
Here is a completely wooden box from last year that I cannot recall why I built it. That’s top story. I wanted to avoid magnetism for something or other, but only got around to finishing it today. It’s quite a nice box, really. I got to wondering if other amateur box-makers get such animated, adrenalizing moments?
JZ called and sure enough, he’s up against an on-line form neither he nor all the geniuses can get it. This I got to see, because these folks still don’t believe I know anything about computers even though I owned an Internet café twenty years ago. I said I’d look when I get there, which is good because it means they’ve all given it their best shot. I like that scenario. Fair warning, I told him how easily I get tired. Now that he’s had that stroke, he believes me. He can go visiting his relatives, I get the sofa that I’ve crashed on a hundred times before.
He’s late at the game but wants to invest, which he says is my influence. I suppose, but these days I’m more interested in trying new things on-line. His zero computer skills is a barrier because even the classical things he’d want have at least some parts accessible only via the web. I’ll try, just remember I never said my way was right, just that if you do it my way fewer things will go wrong.
ADDENDUM
Here’s a report a rover on Mars found sulfur. This is different than the common sulfates, where sulfur has been dissolved in water and then dried out. Turns out the Curiosity rover, which weighs more than a VW Beetle, ran over a rock that cracked open. Pure sulfur means it’s from volcanic activity and it is preferred by all life forms to sulfates. At least that’s what I read. Some Arduino research. I did not like libraries for the same reasons I don’t trust C code. They are written by unknown people of unknown caliber, and there is no easy way to discover the strange new commands they require.
In Arduino, these are called keywords and once again there are no standards. If you search to find directions, all you get is page after page on how to used them. I needed a plan, so I chose one library that I knew what it had to do, and worked backwards from there. The small 16x2 LCD display was my target.
Don’t be poking around in your Windows directory unless you know what you are doing, but if you find the Arduino folder, you will also find the subdirectory of the libraries that come with the Arduino IDE. You must navigate to the file folder, you can’t do this (view the code) from the IDE. You are looking for a folder that contains 4 files, of which 2 have the .h and .cpp suffixes. The trick is to open these files without running them. Good old Notepad to the rescue. It would appear these keywords are called to subroutines.
For those who follow such things, Arduino was recently bought by a cell phone company. They have released a new version of the Uno (the one I use) called Uno Q. It has a built in LED display and an operating system on a chip. Linux, I believe. But I will stick with my Uno for one good reason. The Uno Q must use a cloud IDE. And that would represent a level of trust in the Internet that has never existed around here. That’s all for now.
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
December 23, 2025
One year ago today: December 23, 2024, a busy enough day.
Five years ago today: December 23, 2020, a freezjng day in Georgia.
Nine years ago today: December 23, 2016, Rebel in the swamp.
Random years ago today: December 23, 2012, the barter system.
Aha, silver has broken through $70, this morning while I was baking corn muffins, with turkey gravy. It is already reaching for $71 and the coffee is ready. What price will cause the big panic, the breakaway, the scenario I’ve been awaiting for 15 years? I didn’t win the Powerball so that was two bucks down the drain. So, let me out to the shed and I’ll be happy. I awoke while it was still dark, so read in deep detail how that milli() command works with the Arduino. Interesting. It used the on-board clock (which is not a clock) to update a counter every 1,024 thousands of a second. There’s a recognizable number.
The way if pulls back right after breaching another dollar barrier is proof to me the banks are full tilt at it. $71.23, and according to the on-line diagnosis, I have the seasonal flut. Dry coughing, sore throat, that’s it. Right after that clinic visit last week, the only time I was close enough to anyone. It’s still a bother and adds effort to everything.
This photo is just a dollar store light and a sprout on the back window linden tree. It seemed picturesque, a word I first encountered in the fifth grade. I’m allowed to reminisce and this stands out in my memory. Back then, after lunch, the teacher would read a chapter from a storybook. It was one of the rare times you were allowed to fold your arms on the desk and fall asleep. Books like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were popular. By then, I’d been reading the only books at home, a set of encyclopedias. It follows my reading skills were very advanced to those around me. In fact, very, very advanced I was regularly accused of cheating.
Yeah, I know. Exactly how does one “cheat” at being able to read? But this gives you an accurate enough picture of the caliber of bohunks and unaccomplished half-wits I was raised around. I can explain, they were not saying I could not read, but that I could correctly pronounce words that had not been taught in reading or spelling class. This infuriated some for there is a bit more to the tale. You see, before I came along, the readings were only done by the prettiest and brightest of the girls in the classroom.
But they often and regularly had to stop and ask the teacher about unfamiliar words. I was finally given a chance and my delivery was flawless and uninterrupted, and yes, I know it. To the consternation of Shiela, Marjorie, Patsy, and Caroline, I became the class reader and favorite, but that’s another story. And that, my friends who also must like to read, is why I recall that word, actually it was a phrase. Nancy Drew saw a “picturesque panorama” and I had to ask for help. Their glee was not boundless, for I had make them wait.
The Ft. Knox vault door.
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No Festus, just a quick visit. The neighbor, I’ll try calling him Dave, got invited to a Christmas concert. Turns out his minister’s granddaughter is in the pageant and this is a small town, so he’s obligated. We postponed until tomorrow and move it up an hour to 5:00PM because it’s dark so quick. This, folks is the type of things that, by comparison, are now blogworthy. Is this the pace of my remaining days? But always stick around, in the life of yahoos like me, there is always something noteworthy happening along.
I quit handling lumber and went inside to word on side small boxes. That was the correct pace and I’m finding a use for long narrow boxes. Turns out they are easier to shift around. Glance around for pictures, I’m not walking out there in the dark. But at 7:00PM, I’m driving to the south end to view these Xmas lights. I paid more attention to design with these boxes, again I do not know what would sell. The dimensions are Golden Ration, but half the width. It still looks good. Maybe call it the half-box. For stuff like nails, where today taught me a full size box is ultimately going to be too heavy for me. Fair warning, I get it, but I figure this is why the Big Guy invented coffee. Silver just hit $72 per ounce.
The evening was chilly, so I set off to view the Xmas lights. So did half the town. The congestion was total, with horse drawn buggies and hay rides. I decided against the radio and movies, just the driving tour. I’m copying the few photos that turned out (badly) but once again my Vivitar camcorder proves not up to the task. Worst feature tonight: no way to get it to stop focusing on the window glass, even with auto disabled. This is the era of dumbing down for gimptards so much that normal people can’t use things. This year was not as nice as back in the teens, with many blocks not participating.
There are many loudspeakers and pony rides. And many “honk if you love Jesus” posses on the sidewalks. Honk if you love peace and quiet. The area is well-lit but many drivers, especially the ones behind me, liked to leave their headlights on. As or the moving displays, it’s the same principle as Halloween. It was worth having a look but I doubt I’ll go again on my own.
As I drive back through town, I saw the lights on in the old club, and it was empty. I stopped in for one, it is a mere shadow of the down-home pub it used to be. A couple people came by, nobody I knew. Except for India, which is something to talk about. You see, she is half by age, but has taken a real shine to me, and it is not all motherly, I can explain. It appears she is serious about selling things from home and I want to see her setup. She is single and that club is the closest thing to a singles bar in Polk County. Consequently, she has heard most every bit of bullshit, but not from me. I’ll tell you again, she is very sexy and blonde and svelte.
I certainly understand what she goes through, let’s say I have some idea what it is like to keep meeting lots of what you do not want. Hence, she glommed on to me immediately for two reasons. Actually three, because it was her that approached me. Reason one, I never talk sex in a bar. Two, it was not just talk, either. I handed her a sample box. That distanced me from every man in the place, permanently. And over the months since, she has become aware of the infrastructure that, shall we say, is lacking most everywhere.
She has come to know what makes me tick and aware of two things: my limitations and how I respect them. She has a genuine concern for my well-being and has offered to help at home if I need it. I just met her thirty years too late. I will, after my condition improves, make plans to find more about her business operations and she has long been asking to learn about how these boxes are built. It’s nothing at the moment, but imagine having an enthusiastic helper who could operate the small chop saw or do the yagasuki.
ADDENDUM
My pal is depressed and won’t admit it. JZ never learned to drum or strum, and now is faced with the consequences. I don’t empathize much, which is understandable because I’m the guy he didn’t listen to about that. My take is that when I’m not around, it is obvious there is nobody to chum around with but I have also warned him about that. The past few years he has taken to reading parallels with my situation which have never been there in his life. He’s never had a Reb, a woman with shared goals, but nor has he gone as far as I have to look. He does not even have a definition of a boring woman. So, yes, he does draw some unfair conclusions, mostly that the Reb and I were lucky to meet.
Not so, she and I met in a scenario where we both wanted out of where we were. I’ve commented how with both faced the same barriers. But where she tackled them from a position of talent, and had only instinct, and anyone who has lived in the wild knows instinct is red in tooth and claw. Our methods often clashed, for I’m first to admit I cannot face life’s challenges from a position of good looks, money, and personality.
If possible this next trip, I plan to drive the extra 33 miles and check in. He’s one of the few I talk dollar amounts with and that is overdue. That woman of his is gone (for now) so he’ll have some freedom and cash. But he will ask about the Reb and as I just said, it creates comparisons that do not go well. I don’t think his lady has an album being released or just moved into a condo in Franklin. I’ll plan to stay a bit because he gets behind on his computer paperwork. And he knows better than to ask the whiz kids who surround him.
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