March 12, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 12, 2017, even sh*t doesn’t work in FL.
Five years ago today: March 12, 2013, on the state of the Internet.
Nine years ago today: March 12, 2009, $13 lousy bucks today.
Random years ago today: March 12, 2008, 10,000 feet thick.

           Woo-hoo. Brand new in the package, a heavy duty T-50 stapler for six bucks. End of good news for the day. But I did go shopping and got a few good buys. Avoid the flea markets on Wednesdays unless you want to get up at 4:00AM. That’s for people who never got anywhere in life and are trying to get here now. Double ha. Another reason I want the other room finished is to have my small work desk back. For privacy, I keep it in the corner of my bedroom, and that is also the room with the view of the birds. Did I mention I found one of those spray nozzles you throw on the end of a garden hose that creates a mist. It’s supposed to be for kids to play in, but for some time now I’ve wanted to rig something up to attract more birds.

           The extra hour of sunlight makes a difference on my work schedule, I know the detractors say no such thing. But even if it is psychological, I like working more, even indoors, if there’s light outside Today I began to tarpaper the north wall in preparation for drywall. But let’s not be renting the room out yet, there is still a lot of prep work. Like those nails I didn’t pull out last year. They are some of the

           Next on the agenda, I took stock of my PA equipment. I’ve got two complete sets of speakers and microphones, not counting my Fishman. All checked out and are ready to go, either of the sets of speakers will handle a small room, and together almost any room except and auditorium. The larger speakers were more than enough for Jimbos, and that was twice the size of any place around here. The Fishman makes for a third and highly portable PA, what I don’t have is plenty of cables. And the cable mafia has taken over, have you seen the price of those things lately?
           Additionally, I’ve got a drawer full of microphones. They range from the high-class Shure to the opposite, Nady. But you know, there is no difference in sound quality. These don’t get used any more for the simplest of reason. I learned to sing around 2010. Or more accurately, I learned I could fake singing in an extraordinary convincing manner. Now, how does that stop me from using microphones? Those of you who’ve been here a while can answer that. It is because I’ve never had a bass lesson in my life.
           Huh? Well, I learned to play base by pattern. Certain piano riffs, which I play on bass all the time, have a characteristic pattern. Unlike piano keys, the bass frets vary in distance apart and since day one, I’ve been compelled to watch my left hand as I play. The best sound results when playing a great bass riff while singing, so this means I cannot both watch my left hand and sing into a microphone at the same time. I use a headset. I don’t mind telling you this all over again because this is going to be on the exam.

           [Author’s note: I broke the new stapler on the first try. You know those metal plates that go over the studs to prevent nails from spiking the electrical wires? Yep. Hit one on the third staple. Broke the little internal wheel that releases the staple driver. Not repairable. Heavy duty, my eye.
           Plus, on my diet I’ve stopped losing both pounds and inches. Nothing has changed in eleven days. This is most certainly the disheartening part of the whole undertaking. My last report that it was day 91 of my diet was an error. It was day 101, and this is day 103. While I’m not hungry, I’m past that part, it is exasperating because I am easily burning off an extra thousand plus calories every day doing the renovations. Easily.
           How was your day?]

Picture of the day.
Pamphylia (Turkey).
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           I found the type of ceiling fan I was looking for. When I stayed in India, I saw several hotel rooms with two small fans instead of one large. The fans could rotate very slowly, and silently, and not blast your papers of the desk like the large overheads. They ran with a belt drive off a salvaged sewing machine motor and I never forgot the concept. Today I tried for find such a thing. But I found a design copy I recognized because the fan blades were the same airplane propeller type. Except the fans in New Delhi really were wooden propellers.

           No luck. The fans I saw here were all around five feet across. The ones I want are maybe half that. The other style I saw in Venezuela was two small oscillating fans in the corners of a room, but mounted high on the walls. Curiously, the two fans also minimized another problem, that of condensation on any cold glass. Two fans seemed to create less perspiration on the glass, though this could be due to other factors like my imagination.

           Here’s a photo of the ones I looked at. Note these do not have a light fixture built in, another feature I would like. The two fan system is better, even with the blades spinning very slowly, like one turn per second. The staff said there is a specialty fan shop in south Winter Haven, remind me while I’m out there this upcoming Wednesday. I went on line and found smaller fans closer to what I remember. But at $670 apiece, they were not at all the same thing.
           And yes, I’m balking at some of the prices, even the cheapest Chinese copies of anything. I’ve begun to look for bargains for any materials that don’t show in the finished product. Cheaper screws and cheaper nails, but that is not really part of the design. But what is happening is pretty insane, it’s the dollar becoming weaker and weaker. At the hardware store, I got some advice I could not confirm on-line, but nor did I find anything against it. What I have is an entire roll of the 12/2 wire. Even running in the porch eventually gives me some surplus.

           What I wanted to know is if it is okay to run 12/2 wiring to my lights. The logic is the lights are made for 15 Amp circuits and would not care if the wiring was a higher standard. But I noticed that receptacles have a distinct label and blade shape. Does the same reason apply to light sockets? My entire place was 20 amp service run through 15 amp parts, but it is also obvious that was never inspected. My logic goes that even with the 20 amp receptacles, they are designed so a 15 amp plug will still fit.

           So I’ll have one more go at reading on the topic, and go ahead with the 12/2 wiring. That includes the bathroom fan and the sconces. I picked up a couple of cheap ones on the theory that if I don’t like those, I have another place to put them. Here’s me pointing at the attic access hatch. Yes, that is damage on one edge already. Everything going into that attic has to fit through this dimension, and you can’t really see it but the rafters are almost immediately in the way.

           What I was really looking into was the sub-panel. I read chapters for eight different books and none of them gave a totally clear set of instructions. By amalgamation, I gather I need a 30-amp double breaker wired the same as a 240 volt. This runs by 10/3 wiring from the main panel to the sub-panel. At this point, the instructions get contradictory. Some say use only a purpose-designed sub-panel, others give instructions on how to convert a main panel to a sub-panel. Way to go, you electric people. None of the books explained the why of anything, just the how-to.
           Another annoyance was the only panel boxes I could find were either 2 breakers or 12 breakers. What I need is a 6 breaker. Four circuits and two left for future use, if any. It looks like I’ll be back shopping in Winter Haven again. It’s no use asking the staff if they don’t make them or if the store is out of stock. I have the Lowe’s catalog and it does not mention sub-panels at all.

Remember what I said about graphene?
ADDENDUM
           Hmmm, you know how these box fans like to shed their flimsy blades the first time you tip them over? The come with those ridiculous little plastic feet that are supposed to keep them stable. Very funny, but I have a collection of the motors that work just fine. That got me thinking, I still have the robot program for gear ratios and sizes, you remember my wooden gears? Well, the shafts are the same size as roller skate bearings. As an exercise, how about I plan out a set of pulleys that works on a belt drive? I’m trying to remember a club I once played in that had this system. My walls are high enough to permit plenty of leeway with such a rig.
           I ran in the 12/2 wiring for the entire room except the ceiling light. That’s attic work, be my guest. It was me and Bushnell adultery radio for six hours. I need a break. See you over at the club in around twenty minutes. Bring money. Later, it was a night of better entertainment than they’ve been getting there on weekends. We had the tough guy blocking the aisle just daring anyone to brush past him, while claiming to the barmaid he was just a softie. And the vastly overweight gal pretending she was light on her feet. Or the chain smoker who fancied himself impressive by knowing the location of every specialty tobacco outlet in the county. Or how about that guy who sits way over by the window with the notebook, apparently minding his own business. What? Oh, wait. That’s me. Ooops.

           Return tomorrow for a rare picture from my microscope. I’m going to build a super bright lighting system as this microscope seems best at taking surface photos. That’s what I’ll have for you tomorrow, plus an idea I’m flagpole-ing for another project along those lines. I say that selling used cars is easier than we think, if only one could do away with all the waiting around for buyers. We can’t make the car talk, but . . .


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