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If buying is not owning, then piracy is not stealing.

TMOR (to my overseas readers): this blog
DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.

Warning. This blog has evolved through many phases and earlier posts did not allow for links that go dead or change. I never intentionally link to sites that require memberships, accounts, or log-ins. Same with sites that don't pass my stringent filtering system. Thus, I encourage readers to NOT follow any links that attempt to redirect, use cookies, or are obvious wrong material for this publication, which is essentially PG13.

A reminder to the reader this is not a political blog, but commentary on human behavior. I am not for or against any political party. Liberalism is not a political party, but a social cancer. It is wrong to steal money and it is just as wrong to elect people to steal it for you. One more thing, never argue with a man who buys his printer ink by the barrel.

Here is the movie Citizen Vigilante for free.

If blocked, paste & go this link: https://old.bitchute.com/video/iLjCEmvPzHjO

Here is a cop & murder video The Kingdom (2007).

I attest the uniforms, Arabs, dialog, and portrayal of Saudi Arabia
are exceedingly accurate in this movie.

Be patient, this is a tricky process.
Getting the video to play through my world-class ad-blockers.
Remember to use the back-arrow to return here.
You will forget and get hijacked by Google.

July 20, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 20, 2025, not a cloud.
Five years ago today: July 20, 2021, not for $135k.
Nine years ago today: July 20, 2017, politics and mushrooms.
Random years ago today: July 20, 2007, on-bicycle trespassing.

           Day 171 and I did some actual work. One post hole is enough to convince me I’m on the way. Maybe not to the Olympics, but just maybe getting some work done on this building again. I would love to have a real kitchen once more. Maybe find out if my new hot water tank still works. I dug the hole, and did so without pausing or getting winded. This is a milestone, a level of endurance I was wondering if I’d see again. I never thought I’d thank a post hole. Let me recount the episode.

           The old box had to come out. Examination of the soil shows that the protective layer of tar over paint was only partially effective. Rather than sink one deeper hole, I made a second hole three feet deeper and set a second post as a brace. They are level, but no tamping until that dirt has been soaked a couple times. The old stand needs a replacement board under the old mailbox, but this is nothing for me these days. The most successful Sunday in a while.

           I must ship a box to Texas as thanks for support, though I’d rather deliver myself and crash for two months. In October next, I have not been in Texas in ten years. Bryne’s seen more pics of the box than [shown] here and likes the concept, suggesting other hobbyists might be a good market. His suggestions include a radioactive symbol and a far better than plastic first aid kit box. He overestimates my skill, but then he’s the guy who refrets guitars. Poor guy had a tooth removed and has been in pain for six days—and I mean real pain or he would not mention it.

           Predictably, I’m not frisky this morning. I did a mail run and scored a couple more drawer knobs from the Thrift. To keep record of this activity, it is not quite as easy as scrounging the parts. Knobs are rarer than handles, and not all handles are suitable. If you examine the handles you’ll find there are two categories. Fixed and folding. The folding are best, since they result in a lower or narrower box profile. However, don’t forget to salvage those expensive “32” screws from the handles you cannot use.

           What makes a handle right? Symmetry. Especially the folding type, so avoid the ones that are half-round just for looks. Seek the nice ones that are full size. Here’s your view of the new oak stain I like. No hint of red and look how it spiffed up these two junk boxes. One box is for my USB-B cables which are getting scarce, and the others to separate the knobs from the handles. I may be tired from digging holes, but not too tired to find something useful to do this morning. Here’s another ordinary box, this one is band cables, transformed into a thing of beauty by a coat of stain. This stain, like sex, is best when it is free.

           Identity theft. It has become a modern-day excuse. Most often it ensues from people who pay bills through their bank account. This is not only foolish, it demands a level of skill most people never acquire. And no, Wells Fargo does NOT give you $400 to open an account. They carry it on their books as loan because they know most suckers don’t have what it takes to meet the criteria. What’s more, if you have so many bills that paying them on-line saves you time, you are not putting in the effort—because proper oversight takes longer on-line than manually. Don’t argue with me on that point, grasshopper. This follows my saying that I can tell a person is lying by what they don’t complain about.
           This relates to my guitarist, who is finally out of the hospital. Those bills keep going when you don’t and the odd part is it is not a PPP (poor people problem). Put another way, if you properly keep enough buffer to pay your bills during an emergency, you will not be poor very long. You heard me. Peering just that far enough into the future will eventually turn you somewhat wealthy even without your cooperation. When one door closes, another opens. It’s a door, that’s how doors work.
           Before continuing, here is a video clip of the shell of what used to be the best local lumber yard. Bought by third worlders on a government loan that was never paid back as they sold off the inventory and pocketed the money. This does not happen because foreigners are clever, but because America was once a high-trust society.

           So, what happened to Ricko, the Ramone’s guitar guy? He fell in the shower and cracked ribs. He got behind on the bills, I had to assure him it was not identity theft when you run out of auto-debit money. It’s from not keeping your records in order. Mine are airtight for good reason. If my account was hacked, you’d not see me accepting the bank’s rehearsed statements that my information was stolen. If so, they stole it from the bank, not from me. And I would go to court that it was the bank’s money that got stolen, not mine.
           The bottom line is Ricko is in no condition to play or move equipment. But he did keep in touch. That’s more than most in west central Florida, a musical dust bowl. The best thermometer for what’s available is Bandmix, even if you don’t use a paid account. Keep an eye on the postings and you find people there for years that go nowhere. Don’t wag fingers at me, if any half-decent guitarist came along we could be playing by this afternoon without remembering each other’s names.

Picture of the day.
Quick, find Pottawatomie.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Negative equity, that’s where you owe more on something than it is worth. Such is the case with almost 30% of cars in the US being traded in. The average deficit is around $7,000 which adds another $20,000 in interest before the loan is paid. The solution, of course, is to not buy on credit and perform basic repair and maintenance yourself. But that is expecting too much from people who don’t know what a standard is, or a window crank.

           Here’s today’s batch, plus I’ll make some small button boxes (another newer term) that I will test with the aforementioned combination paint and poly. These blanks are etched as a possible matching set. Possible because my facilities are not set up to produce such production runs. If it matches, it means I got lucky when sifting through the original picket lumber.

           A tiny error turned all these into fake boxes. One of the cuts has to be “sideways” and it is an easy mistake. All of these have it, making the bottom plates slightly the wrong size. That transforms them from spice boxes to fake boxes. I also had a chance to check on stain properties. The stains are made for a thin layer on smooth wood. The rough wood really soaks the stuff away. I was testing how fast it does this and under normal conditions this is impossibly costly. Ah, but there is a concept forming.

           The stain I use is free and I have never, while at the recycle place, ever taken more than a third of the stain that is available. If I had a stockpile of this material, I can now predict how many boxes can be made. The stain may be free, but after picking up the last batch, I have 128 miles on the van. The pecan stain with the poly behaves, when applied to rough lumber, just like any other stain. Here is the orange-like finish. It’s okay but does nothing for me.

           The Prez e-mails to say nothing music is happening. Too bad, plus his wife, who had the same operation as myself, is experiencing the same random recovery ills. Y’know, a better word than random would be haphazard.

           To wrap up the day, which was pretty ordinary around here, I replaced and assembled enough parts for this computer—but it will not boot. Dells have a funny version of Windows. Shown here, I think I’ll take it into the shop for diagnostics. I’m thinking the problem is these form factors use the hard drive off a laptop and there is some elusive compatibility issue.
           The back panel has something I’ve not seen in ages, a serial port. I’ll need to re-read the chapter on how to get that working with microcontrollers. It’s a hassle, just one port, because computers can only use one at a time. And one is needed to upload to the Arduino. I’ll have to think this over since I’ve not used terminal software in at least twelve years. I have some old mouse adapters in the shed, or I’ve seen them on Amazon for twelve bucks.
           This would be a boost to my studies, as I have a DOS background and I read that the highly-praised FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) are designed to use HyperTerminal, which I don’t know even a thing about anymore. But serial communication is not a priority around here, just a challege.

ADDENDUM
           Social media strikes again. I detest anyone who breaks American law to defend illegals. That also means 84% of Americans agree with me on that. It was a telling revelation that most foreigners who attended the recent sports events came away with astounding stories of how they had been misled about America in their home countries. Let this post assure all that these leftists, trannies, liberals, Karens, queers, misfits, and commies are a tiny minority in the US and they are hated by everyone else. ICE (more properly I.C.E.) has been using water cannons to sweep the streets of protestors.

br />            It is legal to protest in America, but if you want to use the streets, you must get a parade permit. These are no longer granted as automatically as under the Biden administration. So, here are my favorite comments to the question, “Should ICE be allowed to use water cannons to clear the streets?”

a) only if the temp drops below -10°
b) they get a free bath and a little ride
c) use bullets instead
d) also at home in bed at night
e) real cannons for all we care
f) use ink (also glue)
g) a case for the manure cannon
h) are we out of flamethrowers
i) waterboarding as a sport

           TMOR, I would remind you that the press is biased. Most Americans do not like any hint of socialism or communism. It is the media’s mission to convince you there is violence and the left is a majority. I have personally never witnessed a shooting or a riot. And folks, I get around, though not often down the street with the Mexican embassy. I have an example of the American mood—and it will not match the phony “sympathetic” angle pushed by the news.
           People do not like these Mexicans and don’t want them here, that’s an 84% polled majority. So when the news announced two “Americans” were killed by Iran, everybody knew they must be Latinos a.k.a. “part of the reason the USA has not won a war since 1945”. That’s not me, that is the main public opinion. The standing joke is the missile hit the motor pool.            The Democrats are reported to be pushing death certificates as acceptable voter ID.

Last Laugh

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July 19, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 19, 2025, no excuse nowadays.
Five years ago today: July 19, 2021, rare larger box.
Nine years ago today: July 19, 2017, airlines & Amtrak.
Random years ago today: July 19, 2023, the excitement scale.

           Gold is fast being gobbled up. Historically, the price ratio of gold to silver is 16:1. This morning it was 73:1, another demonstration that silver prices are one of the most manipulated of commodities. Silver should be around $250 per ounce. You get many pictures today for a reason subject to interpretation. Is that guy who just had a quad bypass crazy enough to dig a post-hole by hand? For a start, that is impossible. Don’t even think it. Demand proof. It the wee hours while the insects are in tupor, the sensible Florida man goes on Wasp Patrol.

           This routine is where you discover so many other critters love the climate around here. Here is a leather glove with a bit of rat-damage. Now you know why used gloves around here have their own storage box. But these had gotten wet and I left them out overnight. Yes, the glove is still in use. Later, this view was a video, but the file is lost. I hate Win 11. Later, I found the video. Five nest destroyed this season so far.

           Bryne to the rescue again. He replies to e-mail 5:00AM Texas time with another “box” idea. He recounts having a jar labeled “Naughty Things”. It’s English humor, but he’s the guy who came up with the logo idea that let to the laser. Next, I have a treat for you, some ancient box wisdom, lore from 2021, now with today’s technology. That’s my best shot at making this morning sound mesmeric.
           Left to right, this demonstrates the problem with cutting the lids. Here is a box absolutely clamped in place so that the saw cuts would line up—and look at the result. A good 3/8” off around this small perimeter. Um, relax, the stain makes the box look nicer than it is.

           And that is why I tend to blame the tool, yes I know the old saying. That’s why I tested and tested. In the middle are three unfinished boxes that are nice. And I don’t want to wreck them by a mismatched cut. I can fix the cuts by sawing the pieces again, but the grain never quite matches up when you do that. The last photo is unusual. This is a small parts box built to withstand most anything. It is glued and carefully fastened with long (2-inch) brads. The uneven finish is unequal sanding, but this style of box is not meant to be pretty. It will contain microscope lenses.
           Yes, the small box on top of the middle pile is supposed to be a little off square. Good eye. I’m disappointed as one of my favorite on-line puzzles, a word challenge, has changed their format. It used to be timed just right to make myself a cup of cocoa. Now I am regularly defeated by British phrases and sports teams I’ve never heard of. Pity.

           Frankly, I don’t have any plans to do much except more boxes, as I know that any forward motion is better than what goes on with most people. By that, I mean 2032 is the projected collapse of Social Security, and those who do not prepare now are kind of stupid. Even if it never happens completely, and hard facts are nowhere to be found, the plan will be funded only by new contributions. That will not go far. Neither will boxes. But do not discount the possibility that boxes are at least something when others don’t even have that. Boxes are a better plan than sitting around for the next 72 months hoping the predictions don’t come true.

Picture of the day.
French tractor factory.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The question on everyone’s lips, did that Boomer actually fix that mailbox by himself? I know without real video, this is not proof. But these photos seem to suggest the work got done. Tell you what, if you return tomorrow, I promise a video of the dig—if in fact, the tale from the trailer court is really true. Did that hole get dug like I said? Perhaps.

           I chose a six-foot post, as the proximity of big trees means I will be hitting big roots. Rather than replace the short older post, I decided to double them up. The old post was painted and in pretty good shape. This time I will chop roots to get right down to the yellow dirt that underlies this property everywhere I’ve dug so far over ten years.
           The process is evident in the sequence shown. Match up the sizes, then positioning the post, then as the sun creates deep shade, you can barely see the post so I put the yellow level across the top. Note the neighbor’s John Deere in the background. I missed the shot, but remember my DIY humidity gauge? It was flat this morning. So I know it works.
           Let’s build some boxes. Or at least launch into the process, for I’ve got the motive to check the stains picked up y’day morning. I prefer the lighter stains because they show the laser better, but notice the darker hues suggest (correctly) that the wood has been repurposed. I cut four more sets of blanks, then assembled and stained two junk boxes. Whaddaya know, I found a darker stain that I like, it is called “Golden Oak. Sure looks nice, though I remind us for the nth time, this lumber really soaks up the stain. That makes it only possible if the stain is free, a supply that cannot be guaranteed.

           I know I’m getting better at technique and should bring us up to date. As said, around one box in six has minor defects. That’s down from 100% when I began, no joke, and the defective boxes are now usable rather having to be reworked. Other than using the wrong length of fastener (a very easy mistake), most defects are cosmetic and I’ve somewhat learned a variety of fixes. What’s new is that the opposite is also happening. Around one box is six turns out super nice. Both outcomes are unpredictable. I reserve the nicest for installing hinges. I still have not succeeded producing a good hinge jig.
           Here is a beauty of a yard mushroom. They grow best in the front yard, but I can’t open a farm because they grow best where the van tires roll.

ADDENDUM
           Florida claims success over dumping leftovers into the Gulf of America. And they may be right. Do your own research, but the State began dumping hundreds of tons of oyster shells back into the water. That was around twenty years ago. From restaurants and factories, what I admire is that nobody knew if this would work, but they went ahead. Ocean stocks have been declining for decades. Here is what appears to have taken place, I am not a biology/botany sort.
           When the shells sank, they formed reef-like anchoring shelves. Why is any of this on my agenda? Because the anti-biotic spray that was upsetting my taste buds was to prevent formation of biofilm. This is good for bacteria, not good for you or hospitals. So I read how biofilm grew all over these shells, which alters the chemistry of the nearby water, what with all the calcium. New oysters tend to grow where there were oysters before and they filter tons of crap out of seawater. Which is why I won’t eat them.
           But damn, I saw the photos. Turtles, fish, dolphins, swarming around the piles that quickly began to grow coral. I have not seen coral in the Gulf for years. And you don’t see dolphins unless the water is good. Time permitting, I hear there are tour boats out of Clearwater and I’d like a look.

Last Laugh

July 18, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 18, 2025, a day off.
Five years ago today: July 18, 2021, the Peltier effect.
Nine years ago today: July 18, 2017,a lengthy critique.
Random years ago today: July 18, 2022, early pallet apparatus.

           Okay, what’s the joke? I still got way too many blog hits on July 22, 2012. It must be some so-called metric I don’t get. Here are the drawer pull pics promised, these are the best for the spice boxes. It is the addition of the knob that changes it, the laser logo is optional. I guessed accurately, twelve are a matching set. Remember to salvage the screws, they are normally an expensive fine thread. You can see two of the knobs have been painted over, which often turn out to be real gems. There are also five well-worn brass pieces that usually respond to a good buffing.

           For anyone curious, this is around $120 in hardware. These are heavy solid made-in-America pieces. I stopped at the club last evening to give Wilford his souvenir fake silver ingot and ran into Olivia, who is again divorced, single, whatever. She also has a marketing account, great timing as India has [essentially] dropped out of the picture. Sooner or later I will connect with somebody who can do the job.

           Ah, the sun has appeared. Check back later to see if the world will leave me alone long enough to build some boxes today. Also, we need a trip to the dog pound, I have already put 75 miles on the van, almost half my budget, but there are reasons for all that. A leisurely breakfast of your done-right spam and onion omelet and the Tampa news, or actually the counter-news. Because they always spin it opposite.
           Once again, as elections approach, the attacks from the left are not on policy, but on Trump. I loathe the radical left, not Democrats, but sometimes it hard to tell the difference. I’m tending to agree with the theory that Trump is exposing the 2020 election fraud with an eye to bypassing the corrupt justice system. I’m not up to speed on how it works, but that can only be done by declaring martial law—exactly what the Democrats had planned for him. The trick is to do it without infuriating the public.

           If you listen closely, Trump is stressing the foreign interference. Under law, the President can declare any American citizen who collaborates with enemies to be a combatant. And that means military tribunals. Quick, fast trials with sentences carried out immediately same day. (It [dead convicts] cuts down on the endless appeals.) But he has to be certain the people know it is necessary. He still has to put a few more people out of business. Like revoking the press licenses of networks that did not cover his speech?
           Only the lamest on-liners think the low numbers to date are unknown to Trump. He is, methinks, focusing on bigger prey and satisficing the small stuff. Satisficing is a 1980s word meaning to not fix a problem, just make it go away and deal with it later. Things like appointing some guy's sister, thinks like that. Trump could be just refusing to get bogged down--he learned his lesson on that.

           To bring it up to opening time [in downtown Winter Haven], I watched a video on extracting gold from old computers. By half way I can see why it might be easier to dig the stuff out of the ground. I was past the tech shop returning from the doggie place and dropped in to check on old gear. Seems it’s been a while since they’ve even seen a 486. They’ll keep an eye out but it looks like I may have to build one myself.
           Near the doggie place is the used paint shop. This [see photo of can] is a product I have not used because I don’t trust paint, and by extension stain, as combined with any other step. This says stain and poly, we shall see. I know it is 13 miles to the pound, then the bank, the total mileage was 53. I’m closely monitoring the gasoline to adjust my budget. Like many, I wonder how the miles can stack up using half my allotment in a third of the time left.

Picture of the day.
Transfagarasan road.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The old black cat is a goner. She can’t cross the yard any more so I’ve taken to feeding her extra milk and meat trimmings. At the recycle, I saw this for the first time. It’s a pallet made entirely of wood chippings and bond. The material is brittle, I saw a few cracks. It’s also light and seems durable. Does this mean the end of pallet-scrounging? Or just something I missed? Pallet wood is vital to the brotherhood of amateur woodworkers of America. If Benjamin Franklin didn’t say that, he should have.

           I opted to read some evidence transcripts from the old Scott Peterson case. That’s the guy whose pregnant wife disappeared on Xmas Eve, 2002. I have no interest in that particular trial, but after reading the book, I automatically suspect any trial in which the prosecution pays for “expert witnesses” who have, all too often, simply been wrong or outright lied.
           Think about it, the "witness" knows without a conviction, he'll not see such easy money again any time soon. The accused does not have equal access to the money and labs being stacked against him. This means he cannot have the "best defense possible" which he is entitled to under law. Once the Innocence Project takes on a case, there is something afoul about the trial every time--you can bet your ass on that.
           So what is the issue? The big picture is that the court is allowed to declare exculpatory evidence “inadmissible”, which is unconscionable. The small picture is that the age of the fetus in her womb is different than the prosecution witness determined by ultrasound. More accurate DNA tests show the mother was alive at least five days after the date the court ruled she was murdered. I’m not even suggesting he is innocent, but I think he deserves a new trial. I do not trust any trial where the witnesses are paid by the prosecution or by the conviction, which is unequivocally the environment here. For clarity, the court people involved are NOT disputing the new evidence--they are fighting the Innocence Project like hell to stop a new trial.
           Think that one through. Most people are unaware that "expert witnesses" are under no obligation to reveal any exculpatory evidence they find. They are thus a hostile witness at the minimum.

           The rain kept it in the temperate zone, so I was out to the shed to do some cutting. In this case, four boxes. Shown here ready for lasering. The [for me] perfect workout therapy largely because all the tools are arranged so I must be standing up. Try that with stamp collecting. Don’t underestimate this until you’ve had your turn. I also had a drawer I could not get the handles off, so I brought it home. It seemed an easy and fast box to simply cut the joined pieces to spec. Nope, I was most careful on four tries and they all come out slightly off-square. They are still nice boxes if you want them.
           The price on these boxes is [you] listening to some advice. I’m remeasuring the construction process. I know the reason for no sales is lack of advertising. Boxes are a gigantic market and these are good boxes. I will stumble across something that works, or somebody who is not all talk. Again, the holdup is I cannot be at the computer all day waiting for orders or ship according to somebody else’s schedule because he’s broke. That is a modern-day work protocol designed by people who have never had a proper job, if you ask me.

           The primary goal today was to map out multi-tasking. I cut the boxes rapidly, and know I can glue and assemble four per hour. That is the number shown in the photo. The logo and drawer pull are huge selling points but also extra steps that take time. The small laser is slow, but I’ve arranged for that to happen while I’m editing blog material. Four boxes, one logo each, takes 40 minutes, the daily minimum time allocated for blogging. Minimum.

           I think I got this pretty fine-tuned by planning in advance. And I got lucky with a box, this is nifty. I had planned for the 4V screwdriver to stay in the car because, get this, it does not require a separate charger. Just plug it into any USB-C. But the box has to stay in the car to be useful. I’ve had to drive past good finds because I’d left the drill on the charger back in the shed. Anyway, share my delight at this perfect fit!
           I finished the laser step on time, discovering another trick of the trade. The American-made drawer pulls can be heavy. Some will over-balance too small a box, or a box not long enough to begin with. Watch that center of gravity, guys. I need to mull over this fundamental change in procedure, but one thing the Boomers did no lie to you about is to find some work you enjoy. Mind you, they are still mostly useless because they don’t tell you how to do that. Plus, too many people enjoy farting around. They don’t tell you because they don’t know and think you don’t know they don’t know. (GenX only think they have a monopoly on stupid.) Nor do they [Boomers] tell you it can take fifty years to find your boxes.

ADDENDUM
           A couple years ago a meteorite crashed through a ceiling in New Jersey at 32,000 mph. The quick-thinking owner, noticing it smelled of sulfur, capped it in a glass jar. It is now the purest such object ever found and is 4.5 billion years old. The two-pound rock reveals it was once soaked in salty water. That, and its chemical composition, show that it could, in those conditions, produce all the chemicals necessary to create life.
           There is more tech material available at Science Advances, but what got me is none of the sophisticated detection gear picked up the sonic boom after the strike. Instead, it was recorded by doorbell cameras.

           In other news, Amazon is returning to the original rule that no team should be larger than can be fed by two pizzas. Makes sense. Everybody on a team should know what all the others are doing. And Trump continues to hit the Democrats below the belt, that is, in the wallet. They have been illegally misdirecting Federal money for ages, including using it as election funding and handing welfare checks to illegals. Rumors are hard to confirm, but he may have just cut Illinois off some $8 billion. That’s the state run by that FF called Pritzker, a.k.a “Twinkie”.
           A CNN poll shows that 125% of Americans don’t believe Trump about election interference. Sick New Jersey has lost their crazy bid to ban rifle and gun publications.

Last Laugh

July 17, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 17, 2025, excess glorification.
Five years ago today: July 17, 2021, Wiki admits bias, duh.
Nine years ago today: July 17, 2017, planning at least 6.
Random years ago today: July 17, 2006, another whiz kid.

           Typical of MSM shock news, we hear of Texas flood water turning “blood red”. Then the claims it was diesel fuel. Wrong, it is the dye used to stain untaxed diesel used for farm machinery. Like most dyes, it is harmless unless you inhale it or get it in your eyes. It is toxic to aquatic life, but this spill was one 44-gallon barrel. As for Trump’s big speech, it was nothing new and in most ways a disappointment. The big issue remains illegals.

           Here is an ounce of silver scored to be broken in half. Silver has fallen 10% now that I’m selling, how do they know? It’s really a PPP, the problem of having to liquidate an asset at the improper time. This ounce is worth around $51 today, still a good enough sell, but down from $80 recently. This money goes to Tennessee. Even if it is good money after bad, I no longer trust the system to provide anything. Now they talk of cutting off pensions in 2032. They won’t, but there is talk. Shall I take a chance of flooded roads and make a run downtown?

           I made the run and got stranded 3 hours, the black clouds doubled back, yep, it’s wet out there. Rather than waste time, I went shopping. Here is a box of American candy. I had to buy it just to get you a copy of the ingredients. This is ordinary candy displayed at the checkout where children can buy it any time. There are some repeats but I count 112 ingredients. Almost as many as a Diary Queen burger which I think weighs in at 155 per the Internet.

           Using my old motorcycle skill-set, I tried the usual series of shortcuts, which were also flooded. This sent me down some side roads, where to my delight, I found a pile of old curbside dressers. In a flash, I was out in the raid salvaging the drawer pulls and got myself around 24 of them. Of these, roughly half are a matching set.

           And I tell you, that hardware is getting pricey. Similar knobs sell for close to $9 a pair at Wal*Mart. Return tomorrow for a photo once I see what I’ve got. Few things spiff up a wee wooden box more than a logo and a tarnished old knob. At this time, I’m weary but the delay gave me time for lots of pictures. So here are the best of the lot in any order. This also provides some insight into how selecting timely photos for your favorite blot isn’t a walk in the park. Very few of the photos you’ll see here are (unless specified or evident) more than 30 hours old. Most are same-day.

           Left to right, these photos often would reinforce the storyline, such as it exists in this blog. It doesn’t really, since enough happens here to be considered random on a given day. Even all the box photos cannot really be planned too much in advance. So here are the 20 ounces of silver traded in today, including the three discovered fakes. That black cloudy sky was at noon, just before I got flooded in. This tiny screwdriver is a gem, it is a 4V piece I got for half-price because the trigger was broken.
           I fixed it with the plastic repair kit you saw last day, and it was how I got those painted-over drawer pulls off before getting soaked. You see, the tool turned out to be not a toy (like some) because of its power. I don’t know how it is geared, but it is incredibly powerful for around six minutes. That’s ideal for its intended purpose. It has a work light and charges off a USB-C so it can stay permanently in the glove box. You know, it deserves its own box considering what it produced today.
           And the last photo is the “caramel culprit”, the solution that made everything taste and smell like bitter candy for the past few months.

Picture of the day.
Mushroom Rock, Kansas.
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           We’ve been robbed, but it was long ago. Here are two fake silver slugs. They turned out mostly copper but there’s no way to tell for sure without an assay, which involves melting them down. They were part of this morning’s batch. The authenticity is quick-checked with a “sigma” which measures the conductivity of the metal. It pierces the skin to a depth of 0.08” and compares the resistance to a standard. That also means they have to be regularly calibrated.

           The units cost around $2,000 each so they are not a consumer item. The calibration is against a known sample, and I don’t have any gold bars at the moment. The readings change with different sizes of bars, so consider that as well. Both these fakes are stamped ‘German Silver” and the shop says all kinds of these slugs are showing up on the market.

           One thing could lead to another. My records are airtight and for the period of purchase, I may even have scans for these. So there is a better than even chance I could trace these down to who sold them to me. That would require another day as rainy, and I need a siesta. I’m not exhausted yet, so let’s do some sleuthing. Here we go, these counterfeits were purchased one echo m February 15, 2012 and March 12, 2012. I sometimes buy when traveling, but the short time between indicates I was at the same location both times. Let’s pull the business records.
           Not so good news. There were three of these “German” ounces purchased at the same location in February and March of 2012. All at the same place, but I will do nothing as I know the owners and this is an obvious mistake. I show a fourth suspect piece. This will be much harder to trace, but I assure you my records are airtight and each piece is recorded twice for identifying marks. We already know that ounce was purchased December 12, 2011.

           Got it, here is the original scan, this is a view from 2012. It was the 23rd piece of silver purchased in 2011. The German pieces were purchase items 30, 31, and 34, all in February/March 2012. The purchase prices were as shown, plus the bar charges means I was skinned for over $100. There is no law stopping people from selling these, but it would be illegal to sell them as silver. For anyone who thinks I was down and out because I was living in a trailer court at the time, consider what just happened here.
           The records also show a systematic purchasing pattern. The majority of rich people who got that way on their own can tell the biggest difference between rich and poor is self-discipline. The biggest reason I have seen for poverty and hard times in my life? Getting married and having children too soon.

           Why do I know anything about this electronic scanner? Easy, it fits with my current study, in the textbook I’m re-reading. If you decide to look for yourself, let me steer you the right direction. If you choose microcontrollers, as I did, you will find most of the textbooks focus on blinking lights and similar undemanding tasks. I found the best reading to be on sensors, so here is what to aim for. Most sensors output an “analog” signal between two voltages, usually 0V and 5V. It is up to you to scale that signal to match the inputs on your reading device, similar to how you select a range on your fluke meter.
           This means a ton of reading about how the sensor can be connected to a meter, in this case a microcontroller. But add another step by then connecting the microcontroller to a computer. To be accurate, I should specify a “multimedia” computer capable of much more than a read-out. Here’s one of those spots I fully understand and could pass the exam, but I have never actually done any of this. And I am re-reading the chapter on this function with any eye to finally hooking something up.
           It is outwardly simple, you send a stream of data to the big computer, which is then interpreted and follows your instructions. But this demands agreement on speed, voltage, field length, and formatting, to name a few of the parameters. There are several protocols, I’ll choose one and be initially wrong as usual. Seems there is never anyone around to ask. Nothing but useless Boomers. We have our share of those.

ADDENDUM

           More rain, so you get some Hollywood, which has a new mandate to convince you that it was colored people who invented everything. They can’t enforce this integration at bayonet-point, so it’s diversity through the box-office. In keeping with that, here is a photo of the new Helen of Troy. The woketards would by now be force-feeding us this crap if Trump had not happened along. Oddly, this “leading edge” industry is slow to grasp reality, so they continue with this nonsense that just does not work on a public who’s learned they can, like the President, reject DEI.
           So, for your amusement, I have sifted through a thousand comments on this photo to bring you the best or the worst, depending on your woketard index.

a) A mean dog in a Drano commercial
b) Helen of Destroy
c) The face that sank a thousand ships
d) My eyes just took a shit
e) Visual explosive diarrhea
f) Wait for the next horror film
g) Helen of Detroit
h) Looks more like the Trojan horse
i) Her reaction to “per capita”
j) Felon of Troy
k) Mike Obama is not aging well
l) Hominid of Troy
m) Looks like police body-cam footage

Last Laugh

July 16, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 16, 2025, increasingly brittle.
Five years ago today: July 16, 2021, 107,000 they say.
Nine years ago today: July 16, 2017, cloth-wrapped.
Random years ago today: July 16, 2009, not a heat wave.

           Surprise, I worked this morning until I got winded. It’s past 1:00PM and I was out there through the entire morning rain. It kept it cool enough and I had boxes to build. Who would have thought I would be overtaken by the urge to build boxes so late in life? I was in the neighbor’s barn trying to get his saw to cut an exact angle, but like my own, it is always slightly off. It was moving the lumber around that I noticed I was going borderline aerobic. I backed off quickly, but for a brief moment, folks, I was there.

           What now, vegetables infected with human-transmitted parasites. Import the third world, become the third world. Let these women who vote for open borders pay for their own rape protection. You can’t have it both ways, sweetheart, I ‘m talking to the caller on Tampa radio.
           This is my best small box design Note the thickness of the container, you can’t really buy anything like this easily. This case is for my handheld microscopes. It is proportionately golden ratio but can easily be adapted to any size up to a foot square.

           Howie came over to check I got the storm warning. These are also called tropical depressions and they can form in an hour over the Gulf (of America). Good, I was using the overcast to work and I wound up disappointed. The boxes with lids are built solid and then sliced open. The problem is that cut must be perfectly vertical and none or the saws I have has that precision. Today, I tried clamping a sled to the neighbor’s saw, the best of the lot. Nope. I will research methods for this must be a common problem.

           Next trouble was the horn on the Hundy. I think the challenge is the worst kind for troubleshooting electrical—a compound problem. Here, I have the horn relay on the bench as it checks out. In phone company parlance, it is TOK, for test okay. I expected that, as Hundy makes excellent fuse boxes, I think they are even dustproof. One thing I have not checked is if the horns are even there. Two horns, one high and one low pitch. But you got to get under and behind the bumper and it started raining,

           That fooled me, it wasn’t the storm. I canceled a shopping trip to stay indoors. The storm never happened, but this blog got a bloom. And unexpected surge of views. Let’s take a peek who’s active. Brazil? Hello, land of Rio, what brings you here? My movie links? Lots of hits on my post of July 22, 2012. Don’t ask me, it seems to have been an ordinary day.
           I tried another trip downtown and got ten blocks to hit solid rain. So I turned around and went shopping locally. The rain stopped. Hmmm, it seems something does not want me downtown today. Let me check silver prices. Fifty-five bucks, so that isn’t it. The sky and the Internet are messing with me. There is something I should record related to this morning’s exertion over the lumber. I got half-way back to the van with my grocery bags and it got me. Draining fatigue, like was common two months ago. The good news is it was hours later and merely sitting down proved restful enough.

Picture of the day.
Non-seashore Hawaii scenery.
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           So I sat down at the old club and talked with Josh. I did not know he was a surfer. I’ve never tried, just watched. I can see the board is falling almost straight down that wave. You can have that. I was doing some calculations and I may be able to scrape together enough bucks to make a difference in Tennessee, but folks, it may be over.

           Later, I began watching condensed versions of Trump’s big speech. So far it has been all election interference and nothing a out accelerating the deportations to 10,000 per day. That is what 84% of Americans want. All of them out, illegal, anchors, immigrants, students, all of them, and we mean permanently. We never want you back because you abused the privilege. Go complain someplace else.
           Trump went on about what most Americans already knew in their hearts. There is no way queers, convicts, haters, misfits and commies ever won a fair election in this country. They were never more that a minority using he media to pretend they were more. And appointing the dead senator’s sister in his place may finally show the American people how useless the position has become when anybody can fill the position.

ADDENDUM
           Ignore this if hospital talk bothers you. The chest incision heals like nothing I’ve experienced. There was some form of internal stitching. They seem to do their job and eventually grow with the skin cells and fall away the same way. Some remain attached to tiny skin cells and these go under the microscope soon as I detect them. Just what you’d expect, ordinary flat skin cells shed by the millions every day. But these have been damaged because they are irregularly shaped. Also, for years I’ve had white chest hairs. The new growth is jet black. It’s probably nothing.

Last Laugh

July 15, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 15, 2025, go boom.
Five years ago today: July 15, 2021, Wal*mart cancels 18V.
Nine years ago today: July 15, 2017, costly indeed.
Random years ago today: July 15, 2008, remember Blaster/Sasser?

           I got junk spam, first in years. The Biloxi Hard Rock thinks I consider their single hotel room a bargain at $324 per night. (Mississippi riverboat cruises average $800 per night.) My, you are up early. Good, help me fix the mail box, now that is leaning over. News this morning is that the US teacher’s union spends four times as much on politics than on members. And nine airliners circling Gatwick (London) are flashing “7700” because the main runway is blocked by a ‘technical issue’. 7700 means too low on fuel. Good morning.

           Outside before the sun, another unexpected repair is the mail box. That’s low priority, first I want the door handle on my Hundy. Something already tells me that will be fun. Here’s a picture of the door panel off, turns out the assembly holding it on to the door is also plastic. And somebody has been here before me. Both the interior and exterior brackets (both mounted inside the panels, have been previously broken and slapped back in using larger screws.

           I can usually fix plastic, it’s a trick you learn being around any kind of “robot” toys the build nowadays. It involves an old soldering iron and many salvaged brad nails, plus epoxy. What’s even more important than a driver’s door handle on your vehicle is the stamina I mustered to get this done—but I’m not finished yet. I’m also using the time to think. While potential only at this time, we have problems ahead and I will not be caught with my drawbridge down.

           A week of scrambling tells me I’ve entered a new and strange period of investment. I will not live long enough for conventional formulas. And nobody around seems to fathom the importance of watching investments—they want it to be care-free. If there was such a beast, and it paid, I would have found it by now. To make money, my remote friends, you must learn to watch your money every day. People lock their car, but they won’t check their dollars because it is too much work. And many of them don’t even know how.

           Not much later, I had to quit with the door a mess. I can’t get it the panel back on, there must be a trick to it. The interior door latch is still broken, but I have a handle on there that at least opens the door. Beats rolling down the window and using the exterior latch. I see the whole piece has been mickey-moused and Iit is too hot to continue work today. I removed and tested the horn relays, which work okay but I’m not getting a signal from the horn button and I do not want to take that apart.
           Which is good, because I ran to the limit and have now plunked down for the day. I could not get that door panel back on, so I drilled two new holes and just hung it in place, knowing Agt. M likes that kind of work. A one-mile test drive and everything works, but that door handle is going to break again in normal use.

Picture of the day.
Nevada “non-functional” turf.
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           Walking out to the Hundy, I see I have a tree branch that did not miss the window by much. There was not a long enough temperate spell to fiddle with the horn, so I packed up and headed for the shady workshed. It’s nothing to grab the tools when you have as many little tote boxes like the one shown here. As a reward I made a foot-long sardine salad sandwich, the kind with chopped onions and relish. You get a picture of the van instead. Note I use van to mean any covered wagon that is not a pickup truck.

           I updated the joint account, something I do not keep a close eye on. You don’t do that, but would I not notice since August of 2020, $3,900 in vet bills. More than I’ve spent on my horrible teeth, which need serious attention.

           As the shadows lengthened, I thought, gee that sound poetic. I got the post-hole digger out to the front yard. And dragged a six-food post to nearby the mail box. The crowd roared, is he gonna try to dig that hole and right that post by himself. That guy is only on day 170 or so, he isn’t even supposed to be driving. I hefted the digger and, if I take it unusually easy, find no reason I should not be able to punch a deep enough hole in that soft yard soil. Just not today.
           Another orange grove bites the dust. Almost half the orchards sold were right here in Hardee and Polk counties, with Colorado condo developers buying the best land. Orange groves in Florida now produce just 5% of the fruit as when I arrived here in 1999. The blight is unstoppable. Well, it probably has a fix it the government would stop wasting money on the CDC.

           Tomorrow is the big Trump speech. The panic in his opposition is near total. His success will be measured both by the content and the number of people who will listen in. I need another picture here to balance this post, so here is my pro plastic repair kit. Alas, the door bracket was too far gone, but this is now it works (You can find plenty of videos on-line.) Crazy glue the part if possible. The working tool is an old soldering iron that has the tip modified to a flat, blunt end.

           Use this heated tip to melt pieces of metal such as old pneumatic stables 1/16th inch into the plastic like a row of stitches. Do both sides if needed. Old rivet clippings are super for this. When dry, hard, and solid, you can fill the area with more glue and baking soda, then polish and paint if you must. I usually do not bother, plastic is not my chosen medium.

           Y’know whose luck might be better? Sheba, the 100-pound puppy. She would eat me out of house and home, but I fired off an e-mail to Bryne in east Texas. The area is light forest and great doggie turf. He instantly fired back, wanting more info as in age, temperament, and stuff I would not know such as good with cats. Trust me, if that pooch has been with LizJohn this long she is nothing but a sweetheart. Y’know, LizJohn would insist of drivng there to see for herself. She’s never seen Texas and this might be a chance to finally get her to Florida a while. I’ve advised her for years to sell out and rent a nice cabin near Clearwater.
           Today was also kind of my deadline for Ricko to show some initiative. That’s the Ramone’s guitar guy. At neither rehearsal did he show any real interest in taking this project forward. The world is full of musicians who only want to join an existing band. That is, after all the hard work is done. Then, they can set to training “their band” to play only their old guitar music. We’ve seen it all before.
           Desperation, not communism, seems to be overtaking the Democrats. I engaged one in an on-line duel and I think I gave her the apoplexy. She posted the opinion that taxpayers who did not like paying for welfare and ghetto babies were cowards trying to avoid “personal responsibility”. Like raising her brood was somebody else’s job. Hey, all I did was list what I thought she was and the reasons for it. I guess I was pretty damn right because she threatened to kill me. Gosh, how can I ever sleep soundly again.

ADDENDUM
           Trivia. I was always curious about a rare airplane, the twin Mustang. That’s the two fuselages joined to make the F-82 for the long distance flights planned for the invasion of Japan that never happened. They were used in Korea so I was taken aback to learn they were eventually grounded by lack of spare parts. How could one of the most prolific airplanes ever built lack spares?            Turns out, the airframe was mostly new manufacture. The P-51 parts don’t fit.
I mean, I knew it was a new design, but it looks like a Mustang. A parts count got shrugged off because an airplane has so many. But even the fuselage was 57” longer to carry more fuel. This was the pioneering era of airborne radar interception. It was not long before the second pilot was replaced by a radar operator. It always made me wonder why, years later when the Vietnamese started flying MiGs, it took so long to get these night-flying hunters back into action.
           Did you know they carried three radars. One sweep long range, another for target acquisition, and one rear-facing for warnings. For the record, the Vietnamese had radar, but it was ground-based for years, relying on flares and searchlights. There will always be something sinister about night flying and instrument stalking. The Korean war produced aces who never saw the enemy.

Last Laugh