One year ago today: June 7, 2013, gossip & research.
Five years ago today: June 7, 2009, a tenth anniversary.
Six years ago today: June 7, 2008, V-shaped tan lines.
MORNING
Where is the grocery wagon? That’s the sheet of plywood I gave the neighbor a few months back and he affixed a set of buggy wheels. Turns out it was stolen. By the loo-loo lady from up near the casino who walks her cat on a leash. I mean, did anyone actually think nobody would notice that distinct blue iPod (camper pod) paint color. The neighbor and I discussed it and dropped all charges. Instead, I had an extra coffee at the bakery and completed the cryptogram puzzle.
It has a small stand with a 2×2 footprint and if you see a photo of it nearby, that means I had it delivered. Later, the saw is in the shed which I locked before remembering your photo. But you can see these excellent strips of plywood that will armor my stage gear, such as this mini-mixer. It is noisy, dusty and lacks the blade guard, but it works just fine.
While there, I poked around for some cheap quartz clocks. I want the ones that show both the date and time. Guess what everybody is out of, now that I finally want some? Does anyone out there like bozos, you know, ass-hat clowns? If so, you can find a bonanza simply by going on line and asking for directions on how to use a compass to do something other than find north. ‘First you lock-in your azimuth bearing.” About this point you shove the contraption up his nostril and remind him that people who ask how to use a compass are beginners and that he, always a he, is a marginally functional gimptard.
Apple cider vinegar. Now, three months into the regimen, how goes this home remedy? Fine, there is a definite reaction between the vinegar and the causes of basic gout, though I cannot say what. And I’ve found acidic food, such as grapefruit or lemon, has a similar but milder effect. After an initial period of tenderness, any swollen knuckles abate slightly (very slightly) and you get used to the “spongy feeling” in the previously bothersome parts of your foot joints. It never seems to go away, but it is not painful and you adapt to it. Be reminded I am not medically trained and what I report could be coincidental to other matters, such as my new prescription that enzymatically blocks the production of uric acid crystals. Also, two sources have stated that what I have is not gout. It just feels like it.
Here is something more interesting than that movie. This is a sample wedge of the insulation that keeps bait and beer cool for up to six days. EvaKool, that’s the brand name, foam similar to political lawn signs.
AFTERNOON
What’s this, NASA has been deemed unable to complete a Mars mission? Anyone reading this blog knew that in 1985, when they started squandering the money on the Space Shuttle. That was the stage where NASA went into job-preservation mode. They’ve now had thirty years of experience developing the wrong philosophies and being sidetracked by short-range technologies designed mostly to appeal to mental peasants and other budgetary watchdogs. And third rate presidents like Richard Nixon, who stopped the original Mars mission.
When I heard this news about NASA, I took out the sextant, ready or not, and measured the Ha (height apparent) of the sodium vapor lights over on the main highway. I can’t do any of the calculations yet, but the sextant resolved the images with zero error, which is perfect and not just good. My one remaining childhood hope was that they would land on Mars in my lifetime. And find life on another planet.
In other government news, the non-elects are saying the group of soldiers who said they were personally present when Bergdahl deserted are all grossly mistaken in the identical fashion. And why not, all politicians are confused in the same manner. One thing is certain and complicates things: the note that Bergdahl left behind explaining why he became disillusioned with the military proves that he was perfectly sane at the time.
This diagram is not the switch I seek, but representative of the circuit I will try to modify to act as a switch. I will utilize the property, often left off instructions that assume you know, that requires the system to be independently powered even when the mechanical switches are turned off. Don’t memorize that, as when I get it working, I’ll include a diagram of the whole setup. Because I’m a nice guy.
Then it clouded over making it cool enough for me to finally isolate the open in the power cable to my Florida room. I bypassed it [as an expedient] and I now have my overhead fans again. Ah, just in time. If you’re thinking this is one hell of a retirement for me, yep, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I repaired the scooter headlight wiring so I could use all the bulbs I’ve got that only had one of the two filaments burned out. Good, because they cost ten bucks apiece.
ADDENDUM
Trivia. Until recently, celestial navigation was kept a secret. The mutiny on the HMS Bounty could not have taken place unless the first mate was won over. I’ve also read that navigation was kept a secret by various charades by the captain and mate when the crew was watching. For example, they would turn over hourglasses, pretending to be timing various observations. But the only one that mattered was the noon sight. This is the origin of the tale that navigation was complicated.
On a personal note, to me the sextant appears to be "left-handed", adding to the mystique. How strange no other authors point this out. There is a carrying handle on the right side which allows the sextant to be turned toward the navigator where the readings are easy to take, plus steadiness of hand is critical to accurate operations. See, much gain, little pain.
There are two basic types of books about celestial navigation and they cover dozens of methods. So far, the sure things I’ve learned is to use the “sight reduction” method, and that I’m going to need my old Doctors Without Borders map which has decorated my fridge for years. You see, learning maps is integral to navigation and the good old Mercator projection is the choice. It straightens out all navigation lines. Now I dig why the major meridians (north-south) lines are placed 15° apart. These represent one hour increments of time.
I also learned that location does not involve time zones. Time moves smoothly but the zones break the time up into “slices”, and you could be anywhere between the end points. The DocMap shows Florida is between 75° and 90°, and say, Alberta, is between 105° and 120°. Ergo, part of navigation must involve using the time zone as an estimate, then reducing your results to a noon sighting as accuratedly as possible. For me, this will mean three quartz clocks.
The literature says to avoid wind up clocks, as quartz is less affected by the elements and dead batteries are less frequent than forgetting to wind. Plus, you will have two clocks, and I’ve learned [how] to measure their daily accuracy. One clock is LMT (local mean time), the other is GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and the third is a stop watch. GMT now goes by several names, such as Universal Mean Time, and this clock is often replaced by a radio beep. Only one quartz clock is necessary, but yet a good idea for beginners, so I’ll go with that.
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