One year ago today: October 24, 2015, testing solar panels.
Five years ago today: October 24, 2011, on dating clubs.
Nine years ago today: October 24, 2007, 13 years for $120 million? I’m thinking.
Random years ago today: October 24, 2012, interesting shopping links.
MORNING
Around ten day ago I sawed a tree limb that was blocking the back walkway. Today I noticed these plants growing on the bark. Is this a parasite? Symbiotic? The limb I cut off was growing at a 90° angle, shown here. I don’t really have time to identify these, what, bryophytes? Where all those horticulturalists when you need ‘em?
So I made perogies and went over the site elevations. I can’t follow the first instruction, that the porch be 7” lower than the step into the house. I re-measured and same as before, that would put the porch too close to the ground to use 2x6” joists and still have adequate termite clearance. Thusforth, I drove around town and spotted a number of houses that have the porch as an integral part of the foundation. I saw even more porches that had eventually been closed in to become added living space.
To level the living room and kitchen, I have to remove, or at least loosen, the siding along the entire front of the building. That’s where I will direct the laser level to get things done right. Would that not be a perfect opportunity to adjoin an equal-level ledger to a porch? Then, I could move the stairs to the doorway out eight feet, the planned width of the porch, and use that as the stoop. I’m just speculating here, but let’s not forget the curb appeal that porch will add. If you just got here, the house faces the farmhouse to the south, not the street. A porch will camouflage that.
I choose E) none of the above.
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This local band had their bassist quit, so I said I’d take a look at their short list. It’s not what I want, but I can play about 2/3 of the list. They have a gig on November 12, so I asked for the whole list. This can be a formula for wasted time, because no matter how fast you learn their material, they will just presume that’s because “bass is easy”. I said I’d take a look, but no more big bands for me. If I do team up, it is on a gig by gig basis. Which makes me what is called a hired gun. Only there for the gravy, the paying gigs, but otherwise unconcerned with the workings of the band.
For when I hear that a bass player quit a working band, I can largely guess what the problem was. It’s worse than being taken for granted because their ideas about bass are so fixed. You’ll grow old having that same conversation with every guitarist in the world, if bass is easy, why can’t they play it? Well, because that’s your job. And ‘round she goes. Let’s wait until I see the list, if they send it. Like, where else they gonna find a bassist by November 12?
Getting back to the renovations, I know how slowly things will go now. Decisions still get made and I’ve decided I need local haulage more than I need the cPod. Off comes the canopy in the next day or two. The wagon is registered and insured, and has been sitting there because I want to see the Smithsonian. That dream will continue to fade because I want furniture and materials.
I need supplies, so once again planning takes precedent over the same amount of time doing what others would call “work”. It took a while to admit the [original] hardwood floor in the master bedroom is history. The lumber remains in the back yard. So why am I buying furring strips and such? The oak appears to be around the same thickness (I’ll measure it tomorrow) and if so, I’ll treat it as a sunk cost. Cut it up for partition slats and forget it is solid oak.
It transpires that Agt. R has three or four bottle (hydraulic) jacks. Like myself, he only uses them few and far between, so I get to borrow them pretty much indefinitely. Tomorrow I begin designing the scale model. With four jacks, I would not be opposed to raising the entire building a bit too high, then setting it down. I’m learning. Turns out he’s done the same brand of renovating and hates it as much as anybody except me. Now I didn’t just say I liked it, only that it bothers me less than most people. He also confirms that most porches he’s seen are level with the interior, so go ahead with that plan.
If you tally up the last ten days, I’m doing more planning than construction. Don’t judge to hastily, since I’ve installed mirrors, raked leaves, and kept up with the chores. Including this blog and keeping the cardinals happy.
This is a photo of the back yard by the garden. Those are small lengths of oak flooring on the ground, part of the shorter length pieces I’m still working on. The red shed is in far worse condition than it appears in this photo. The bottom edge is completely corroded, so the wind and water gets through.
I realize now I was ripped off on the wagon. The guy told me the tires were just flat because they had not been used in a while. Fact is, they won’t pop out onto the rims. If I buy new wheels, which seems to be the answer, they cost $32. Which negates the $40 I spent on the wagon. That is, I was ripped-off. The sumbitch knew the tires were flat and lied to me.
As a treat, I dug out some DVDs of old WWII newsreels. It’s the same old propaganda, that fighting some evil enemy over some godforsaken island or desert was “vital” to the defense of America and democracy. Let’s get the next war happening and make the world safe for the corporations. One thing about these newsreels that always got me confunded was that really stupid “patriotic” music they play during the opening credits. It’s a bunch of guys singing, but you can never quite make out the lyrics. And none of those songs ever became hits.
Last Laugh
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