March 5, 2015

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 5, 2014, coconut's a veggie?
Five years ago today: March 5, 2010, City of New Orleans.
Ten years ago today: March 5, 2005, Calle Ocho.

MORNING
           Okay, I got it. Not until nearly midnight last, but I got it. The bandsaw setting, what did you think I meant? This is Florida, dammit. Part of the problem was the diagram was from a slightly different model than in the directions, which always helps. I impressed myself by figuring out how to measure the 64th of an inch without resorting to a spark plug gapping tool. Look at this diagram and see if you can get it. It is not obvious or in the directions but that round thing called the “thrust bearing” is the key.

           The thing is slightly off center. So if you can hold it in place with one hand and turn the set screw with your other hand and spin the blade wheels with your third hand, there is a spot where the wheel just stops spinning. That’s your setting, it will engage only when you press a piece of wood against the blade with the slightest of pressure. On my more advanced machine (than this diagram) I discovered six such wheels.

           And does that thing cut now. It seems to melt right through boards up to 2-1/2” thick. There is a wider blade installed, which the instructions say is “general purpose”. Essentially, these six little wheels guide the saw blade downward through the work and strive to keep it straight as the work-piece turns. Clearly, this saw is meant to cut a curved line. I have not yet done so. I later learn that two of the wheels are for a much wider saw blade that is no longer sold. Wide as in front to back and not the thickness of the blade.
           So get it together Ryobi. It took me a half day to get the thing adjusted. And just how people without robotics-level experience are supposed to figure out to check the wheel radii is beyond me. Life doesn’t work that way. I only spotted it because I finally went looking for wear marks to see where the factory had set things. And I was using 2.5x magnification lenses normally used for fine solder work. Will you bozos please put in a pocket for the hex wrenches needed to make these adjustments? I only had the right ones because I keep my hex wrenches in a lock-box hidden in the hall closet.

NOON

           "“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.” (Farm wisdom)

           That was JZ on the phone, amazed by my ability to recall precisely what we did ten years ago to the day. That’s because he is a no-tech and has no computer much less ever read this blog. By weird luck, the gear-shift arm finally broke off his old Mazda y’day. Now he’s walking and that will get him over to the dealership for a new vehicle. Finally. I never could understand his affection for that old Mazda. I liked my old cars as well, but got rid of them long before they cratered.

           Do you fancy the look of this place? It is typical of the places that start appearing each spring. This is part of a 3/2 that I practiced talking the guy down. I still got the gift of gab, I had him down to $41k but I have no intention of buying. Still, this was tempting. I cannot shake the nagging feeling that Florida is heading for another bust. There remain 110,000 repossessed houses in Dade & Broward alone.
           The situation is total baloney, as the banks have forged some type of agreement not to lend any mortgage money unless it conveys the false impression that prices are rising. I’m not quite in a position to buy anything, but I’m in a great situation to drive a very hard bargain.

EVENING
           I’ll tell you what is scary. The law that says you have to provide your computer password. There’s an item about a Canadian tourist who refused to allow Customs agents to examine his hard drive. This is where I draw the line. Are they allowed to search the contents, or simply verify there are not drugs in the casing? Myself, I would say no, not without a warrant because such a search is a definite veiled accusation that defies the principle of presumption of innocence.

           Besides, guys, there are dozens of places to hide files that the grade of people who would work for Customs would never have the brains to detect. My point is that the law is plainly working full steam to find ways around the Fifth Amendment. And as we know, once a freedom is gone, it is gone forever.

           The Canadian is facing a big fine and something like three years in the slammer. This is a mockery of our Constitution and makes us a laughing stock of a “democracy”. All I can do is caution the world, that like all North American countries, politics has become a career and the politicians do not represent the will of the people. Gnawing away at the Fifth Amendment is a fundamental attack on society.
           The first thing I managed was to wreck the tracking on my new band saw. You see, it was obviously set wrong, so I set it according to the book. This threw it off, meaning I may have discovered why a brand new saw was in the pawn shop. No matter, I now know a lot about band saws. I will purchase a new blade and try that. Besides, it that last guy got it to mostly work, so will I.
           Mini-discovery time. I had to patch a nail hole and did not quite have enough sawdust, so here’s my logic. Cinnamon is tree bark, is it not? I don’t care for cinnamon but due to a shopping malfunction last year, I have this extra jar of nutmeg. It looks and acts like sawdust and mixes okay with the glue. And when it dries, it smells wonderful. You know, I’ve always wanted a cedar chest, but why not a nutmeg chest?


Last Laugh
And make it a good laugh, the end is near.

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