April 23, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: April 23, 2017, making bannock.
Five years ago today: April 23, 2013, no stereo, no cooler . . .
Nine years ago today: April 23, 2009, Savannah Candy Kitchen.
Random years ago today: April 23, 2008, free, but they get your liver.

           It’s our soda cooler, with an all day one-fill capacity. Why, a fancy enamel paint job and you won’t recognize this is a week. Events change rapidly and I think we need to get into the hot dog industry. I’ve begun to set aside operating funds in addition to what is in place for equipment purchases. Let’s just say I’ve warned several people that working long hard hours is not the answer, you will burn out and lose every gain you imagined you had. I was proven horribly right last Monday, but just found out about it today. Sorry, no details, the message here is use your brains, not your back and your time. Money is no good if you have no time to enjoy it or you get too old before you can.

           I buy 5% rated components when available, and got into the habit of looking to see who did the rating. A new lab came up with very high ratings. I couldn’t find them under electronics so bypassed the link. Until today. I had to do a double-take. It was not an electronics company at all, but a pancake factory. I did the virtual tour of their testing facility and it has every step and test I could recognize. They test each batch of pancake mix, including the taste test. Impressive. In my younger days, I would have volunteered on weekends, being a bit of a pancake officianado and all. The outfit is called Harvest Hill. Given time, I’ll look into that.

           Last evening I said I’d look at the Joplin bass line to “Bobby McGee” and it is full of holes. That is, it is a sparse bass line that makes you think there’s a lot there. What’s really happening most of the time is the guy is syncopating a three or four note riff and that walkdown actually occurs only once. Not no more. And that piano break that comes in at 3:25, talk about easy piano. So easy, one could almost play it on the bass . . .
           I can hear Ray-B already. Not good enough I steal the neat lead parts, now I’m taking over the piano. Relax dude, you got twenty plus years to do it before I did.

Picture of the day.
Italian cavalry school.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           This is my first ever molding job. I made these myself. First, take a gander at the worst of the termite damage on this window frame. Except for some permanently wet joists under the bathroom floor, this is by far the worst damage. It’s weird how termites prefer one strip of wood, but ignore the same pieces attached next to it. Must be something with the grain? These pieces, including the one shown here, are repaired with either bondo or rock hard putty. There’s not a wooden window I can’t repair now.

           The problem here is the clearances. Over the years these windows have been repeated painted shut and then pried open. This weakened and widened a strip of wood technically known as the interior stop. I got them off in one piece, but they were not doing the job any more. I looked closely at the situation and realized I could make better replacements with the tools in my work shed. Not too many mistakes later, I’ve got some excellent pieces, though I made a few mistakes.

           Just below is a picture of the pieces laid out to dry the primer. If you look close, they are nicely made, with routed edges that look much nicer than the plain design they are replacing. While out in the shed, it clouded over enough that it was pleasant inside all after noon. So I took to cutting a round wooden plug that will convert one of my clay flower pots into a birdhouse. Return tomorrow for pictures of that. I didn’t write down the size of the opening, which is critical to bird survival in these parts. Invasive species can get at the baby birds if the hole is a fraction too large. And squirrels will gnaw the opening wider if you don’t tack on a metal protector.

           Drop back in a day or two for photos of the finished product. They won’t look brand new, just much better than before. The windows rattle in the wind when partially open and I’ll be looking at what technology is available for that. Maybe just install some weather stripping. It is only the bottom moveable pain that makes the noise. For the record, each strip in the photo has predrilled nail holes spaced 8” apart to avoid splitting the wood. Expertly drilled on a drill press to fit the correct size of finishing nail. And I shelled out for a set of store-bought counter sinks. I’m sincere when I tell you I regret I didn’t find out sooner I like this type of work. Now that I know, I can’t really go at it more than three or four hours every other day.

ADDENDUM
           Play in a band. It‘ll be fun, they said. You’ll make money and friends. So far, I’m $386 in the hole. That includes the prescribed auto expense of traveling to rehearsals and gigs. The alternative point of view says since this is a hobby, none of the expenses count, in which case, I have a small stipend. And if reality plays a role, then I’m up the amounts I would have wasted looking for other musicians, the nights I might have gone out and spent money instead, and the free libations from the house. Y’know, I just thought of something. From my budget, it should be a cinch to calculate the dollar value of that benefit. You see how that works?

           Okay, I know exactly how much, on average, I spend going out each day, week, and month. This band is 20 weeks old. A quick look and I don’t even have to add it up. I’ve already made a profit, you might want to call it a social profit. Trust me, standing on stage making people happy is a great way to spend a Sunday. I’m still shy to show it, but I have video of the crowds. They are not behaving like other crowds [around here], I’ve got them singing, clapping, all of them seating around the side of the tables where they can watch the band. You just don’t get that anymore. Contemporary music, with all that talk-singing, just doesn’t fire up a crowd.

           Now the action photo. There’s that handsome actor that shows up everywhere I go. What’s he doing, a mop up in the air? Well, see that tarp of a roof? It doesn’t fit so snugly after the last hurricane. So it collects buckets of water that don’t spill over the eaves. During rainstorms, it is necessary to go around with a mop and push up on the water bubbles to empty them over the sides before they empty themselves all over your expensive band equipment. It’ll be fun, they said.
           This is nothing. Back in the day I told how we used to get into the band hall early, and chop firewood to light up the pot bellied stove. Had to get the hall heated up from frozen before the dance started. The stove would sometimes get red hot and the farm boys would light cigarettes on the pipe. No, I’m not talking about 1870, I’m talking 1970. Some people don’t realize how far back on the farm I was raised. The hall rent was $15 and a successful gig netted us $30 between the four of us. Two gigs a month doubled my income. Gigging and making serious money at it goes back a long ways with me.

Last Laugh

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++