April 26, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: April 26, 2017, you must register it . . .
Five years ago today: April 26, 2013, fringe benefits.
Nine years ago today: April 26, 2009, that shirt, that shirt!
Random years ago today: April 26, 2004, Hawaiian Days, 1994.

           This is the “door” I hope to temp more birds to nest in my yard. It fits into the opening of a clay flower pot to be fastened through the drain hole to the back yard tree stump. This one is more for show as I found out too late I should not have painted the interior, shown here. I’ll get you a photo of the mounted set, I hear the question what is that black material stapled on the bottom. That is a double layer of fiberglass screen mesh. It is to allow the fledglings purchase to climb up to the carefully cut 1-3/16” opening. The size is designed to keep out startlings, wrens, and cowbirds.

           I’ve been reading recently how many native bird species are down to 10% of the population due to introduced birds. The size of the nesting hole is critically important, making me wonder how they ever find such things in the wild. What I’m discovering is the shape of the hole is also a factor. Round is not always the best. Upright slot shapes are better at keep out larger birds because of the way they must spread their wings to light. Such sources also recommend you do away with the perch for the same reason.
           For the sharp-eyed, yes that is a tiny drain hole at the bottom, also covered with mesh. It also helps keep out ants. I did not know there is a species of ant that lives in bird’s nests, although admittedly I did not come across that in the most reliable sources.

           For the first time, I bought real Bondo, the auto repair material. I’ve used substitutes before and they were satisfactory, so now I’ve got the real thing and I’ll get you a report on that soon. I’m planning to try it as a better material for fixing the larger patches of termite damage on the windows. Notably, these are the windows that were housing air conditioners. As far as I’m concerned, window mounts are a mistake. But the good news is, I was forced by sanding dust to move the contents of my front bedroom closet and guess what? All my beautiful dress shirts fit me again. This is day 148 of my diet. All my favorite shirts, and let me say, it is not easy to find the really nice ones in short sleeves, I don’t know why.

Picture of the day.
Third most popular Russian breed.
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           I ran out of paint. At almost done, the last coat was drying under ideal circumstance outside in bright shade, I took some 320 grit to the spots where I’d oversprayed. That’s when I noticed whatever solvent was in the overcoat was able to partially dissolve the automotive primer I’d used. These products are listed as compatible, so it is something in the chemicals I didn’t know about. Despite three thin layers, the lightest sanding exposed the undercoat. To touch it back up, I ran out of paint.

           This made for a whirlwind tour around the countryside to find the same color. A hundred and one miles, in the end. It was a pleasant drive, but still. The excess mileage is due to the Florida penchant for building roads that go nowhere. I finally found the paint over in Lake Wales. From where I started, the town was 16 miles away. By the time I got there, I’d logged 36 miles down zigzag country roads that kept turning away from the destination. There were times I was less than four miles away, but finally emerged back to highway 27 some ten miles south of the city. Way to go, Florida. Bunch of potato-heads.

           Actually, a possible explanation is this was the area that was supposed to become the population center. That was sabotaged by the feds, who built the interstates out on the coasts. Huge tracts of Florida are estuaries and uninhabitable, while the center is higher, dryer, and slightly more temperate. Many of the roads were, I suspect, built where small towns were likely to spring up because that is where the original railroads were built. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense why, in a flat and featureless terrain, they didn’t build the roads directly from one city to the next. There seems no reason one could not build a road perfectly straight for a few hundred miles in this place and save money.
           The picture is the first spring flower in my yard.

ADDENDUM
           So, Bill Cosby is declared guilty of whatever sex crime is in vogue this year. The world’s self-declared first supermodel says he drugged her. The question not mentioned and from outward appearances was never properly asked is what was she doing in his hotel room in Lake Tahoe in 1972 in the first place? And at that time of night? The more so since she at the time knew he was a married man with five children. She says he gave her pills of menstrual cramps. How did he know she . . . what? Such questions are not politically correct? Oh, then by gosh, declare him guilty again. We don’t need no stinkin’ facts.
           Facts like Cosby’s evidence that he was not anywhere near Tahoe at the time. As RofR would say, she was practicing sexual brinkmanship. You don’t get supermodel status without playing the game right. You play the game, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you don’t “remember” you lost until forty or fifty years later. When you are, like, no longer a super-model. Type of thing.

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