January 27, 2017

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 27, 2016, even Google stays clear.
Five years ago today: January 27, 2012, a mystery from 1906.
Nine years ago today: January 27, 2008, a capturable essence.
Random years ago today: January 27, 2010, a Studebaker.

MORNING, NOON, & NIGHT
           She’s another cold one, so I could not paint or plant. It was a fun day for me, I learned new things. Here’s the progress on the screen door, I finally got to routing the shape called ogee, which Elliot pronounces with a hard “g”, I say it with a soft “g”. It’s a word we know from crossword puzzles. All I did was route around the edges so the corners are not sharp joints. It looks okay, you can see the shape before I primed. First time I’ve used such a bit, and first time I’ve routed anything like this. Orange you proud of me?

           No philosophy today as I did not even listen to the radio. I watched a long spy movie that was so boring, I did the books waiting for it to finish. Except for a dash up to Wal*Mart for some paint and a cheap ass miter box, I stayed home. That cold wind bites and it’s not like people on a side road give the motorcyclist a break. They want to you tear along at 45 in a 30 zone and freeze your nuts because they are late and taking shortcut.

           Did you know except for tiny metal parts, I’ve never used a miter? Not for wood trim, anyway. Why didn’t they tell me it is kind of fun. I dry-fitted a few of the joints on the back of the openings you see in the photo. The black fiberglass mesh netting is affixed to the other side which will form the interior of the door. That greenish anti-mold primer dried to this dark grey color.
           Last day I read the Wiki definition of a Libertarian and I caution the reader again that Wiki is not a good source for factual or background information. It is almost entirely written by people who want themselves or their pet topics to appear in the best light. Many topics that should be open to critical discourse are presented from politically correct or outright propagandistic angles. I would rate Wikipedia as left-leaning and unreliable as a source of truth, it just isn’t their mandate.

Picture of the day.
Twins in a mirror.
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           The way Wikipedia trashes Libertarianism is to include a wide scope of non-conformist views and lump them into the same category. Utterly ridiculous antics and crackpot theorists are described as if they represent other facets of being a Libertarian. Not so, and I propose that the world needs a new word to define Libertarians who don’t seek anarchy or free food or public ownership of resources. They just want to live in a world where government does not force or coerce them over how to live their lives. It is the narrow “good” parts of Libertarianism that I subscribe to and that is also the model for Planet 107.

           Here’s a close-up of the trim [that was] cut by hand. I think that’s a darn good fit for my first time. I think the topcoat of paint will go right over the hairline gap just visible when you get too close. This is on the door only, the window screens are held in by simple butt joint strips of lath. That old lath they used to plaster with before drywall. If you can’t see the important part of this picture, well thank you, that’s what I wanted to hear.
           The concept here is not the damn woodwork, but what learning this myself is potentially going to do to the value of my property. No more partners.

           I began repairing the window screens that are actually torn or have holes and I see that the last guy took some shortcuts. Also, some of the frames were mounted backwards into the windows so those will have to be redone. Folks, the screen goes on the inside of the window frame. A couple were not just backward and thus warped over time, they had been repaired backward as well. Odd, since I’m only the third owner and maybe fifth tenant of the place.

           Generally the frames are in satisfactory condition, so I’m just sprucing them up. They were mainly just dirty but a few had that same pale yellow compound that’s splattered on the window glass. The next photo shows how I stripped off the pieces and wiped them down, then painted them this decent white color. That’s the same white color the screen door will be getting. It warmed up to 64°F by mid afternoon, allowing me to proceed with painting. That’s another activity I find relaxing, which is good because the whole building needs painting

           Now my book report on “Burma Road”. It was a contemporary of many travel stories of its era, closely mimicking the format that National Geographic still uses to this day. That is, the photos are fine but articles written by photographers tend to be anemic. I know that’s a two-way street, that my pictures aren’t the best—but my prose is vastly more informative than your average (I said average) NG presentation. I have thousands of repeat readers, but how many times have you deliberately read back-issues of NG because you liked the authorship? That’s what I’m talking about.
           Conclusion: the book is a mediocre work notable mainly for its views from the Allied side of the war effort and for sporadic gems of observation on local culture from a moderately strong American point of view. I commend the book for taking pictures in a manner that would be hard to misunderstand. That’s a far cry from the blatant misrepresentations as were to became common during the Viet Nam era, and are now a daily component of the mainstream brainwashing operations known in our troubled times as news sources.

Country Song Lyric of the Day:
“I Shaved My Legs For This?”
           How to you like my bargain basement plastic miter box, compliments Wal*Mart? It seems to work okay but plastic and saws do not, in my experience, form any long-lasting affiliations. I liked doing this work, which surprises me because I’m not that patient with wood as a rule. Please let it be warm mañana and I’ll see if can fit the screen into the kitchen doorframe. The project is dragging a bit for a few reasons. I’m only working on it an hour or two every other day and I’m proceeding slowly in learning mode. I’ve pried apart a number of mistakes and redone several sections for better cosmetics. Like the router, that wasn’t part of the deal. That took a few extra hours because there was no margin for error.

           The country lyric feature needs to be wrapped up. All the really snappy examples are used, but it is a great blog hit generator. What should I replace it with? These are always special features meant to run a couple months, searching for that one that propels me into the limelight. I figure if you get enough 15 seconds of fame, you can make a career out of it. Look at Britney.

           Speaking of frumpy housewives, there’s a tune that has all the ingredients for duo arrangement. Think Maria Lambert. She’s getting a little pudgy, but what, she must be mid-30s by now. The music I’m thinking of—and I don’t know the exact lyrics or message yet—is “Momma’s Broken Heart”. Your typical new country in that it has only one hook in the whole song, usually the chorus. I’ll give it a good listening to soon. I’ve only heard it on the jukebox and it’s half over before I detect the catchy part. One thing I clue in fast is that women like to sing along with that number. And that’s one sound I seem to hear much louder and clearer than any guitar player I’ve ever seen in the state of Florida.


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