One year ago today: August 9, 2017, these tunes were dumped.
Five years ago today: August 9, 2013, hidden 55cc engine.
Nine years ago today: August 9, 2009, remember the Chevy 3600?
Random years ago today: August 9, 2014, cracking Enigma - a cover story.
See this photo? It is 97° out there and I made the decision to quit screwing around with the burner rings. At 7:41 this morning I was in Miami, at 1:47 I was in Polk County extracting these rusty old screws from the firebox. I did not want to undertake this level of repair, but the frustration of trying to find parts in the land of the blissful forced the act on my hand. There are only so many people you can explain what the piece is before you yank the entire burner unit out and replace it. And people still dare to ask me why I have so little patience with these people.
Stopped in Sebring for coffee and found a nearly ideal chest of drawers for my bathroom cabinet remodeling. I say nearly, it is 1-1/4” too long. I’ll be taking some very careful measurements, since the piece is sold wood and it might be oak. If I can possibly shoehorn the thing in place, it would make this month for me. The guy only wants $ 45 for it.
That means I’ll be putting a thousand extra miles on the car this month. The good news is that Alaine has got an offer on their old house, six figures. If everything works out for her, I may be making both trips towing the old cPod, now converted to a cargo wagon. My fingers are crossed, they really need to sell that place. There is another something funny going on, as in prices are rising but nobody is buying. And the frantic edge is off on the Miami traffic the whole time I was there. The lack of traffic jams is always a leading indicator of bad times in the deep south.
I crashed at her brother’s place in Miami and he just got back from that cruise. He got himself a fat girlfriend for the two weeks. Too bad she was husband hunting which women don’t understand takes most of the fun out of going on a cruise. I thought about hanging around for the weekend, but JZ had to work every day. Again, I bought the ribs and we feasted. But this morning, we took a vote and had coffee and spaghetti for breakfast. With curry and hot sauce. The good thing about batching is you don’t have to be so great with protocol. This is the same pal of mine who will not go see a doctor unless he is dying and this time he had an infected big toe.
So what does he do? Soaks it for two hours in epsom salt, to “soften it” he says. It seems to have worked because he could walk without limping around like an old lady. But this is what I’m saying, until I got there he was just taking aspirin. This is a guy with four doctors in his family. Taking painkillers for an infection. Same guy who took his Social Security early, which I told him was a dumb thing to do because he didn’t need the money, which is basically like talking to a stone wall.
Tuskegee airmen.
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Here’s a gander at the cassette deck mentioned last. It’s a Pioneer CT-W703RS with some buttons called CD-sync. Some mysterious function I’ve never heard of, but I’m willing to learn fast. It seems to be in new condition. Those are my test tapes seen in the viewports. I’ll leave this a day or two, I’ve got matters to follow up on, including replacing that burner unit. We are ready to go now, except for delays caused by those who don’t listen closely enough to my instructions. I have a tendency to say everything twice and now you know the reason why.
In a day or two, I’m bringing in an electrician to professionally wire the parts of my building that are most likely to ever be inspected. Like most, inspectors tend to look for what isn’t obviously right before digging deeper. I’ve always viewed city employees as lazy, although they consider themselves harried. I say it is the inherent laziness that contributes to them feeling that way, if you see the connection. So I’m banking that if they pop the lid on a panel and see an ace job of the wiring, they are less incentivized to suspect the buried wiring isn’t to the same standard.
And, in that classic bemoaning of the homeowner, I need more storage space. The only thing available is the sheds, which are already full. However, I have a proportion of my “stuff” that can be stored outdoors in the proper containers. As long as it is out of the rain, I could make a shed in the back that cannot be seen without trespassing on the property. What brought this about is the new blind for the hotdog cart. Agt. R’s property is quite large for a city lot. To the north is an existing privacy fence that has now be hinged and put on a roller. It is plenty the right size to wheel the cart in there and prevent observation by those whose judgment abilities are never up to their pay grade.
Here’s the photo. Can you see it is a gate? No. And I paid for an extra $182 in materials to make it capable of holding three units. Return tomorrow for photo. I am now decided to include an extra chapter on my report concerning unwanted interference. I should know that once you try anything to get ahead, some people utterly cannot leave you alone.
ADDENDUM
Later, as in 11:41PM this evening, I measured and measured to ensure I could move one stud and fit in that dresser. It is a support stud, however, so no chance to just remove it. But there is room to set it in there sideways and still have it do the same job. Between the spreadsheets, playing bass, that firebox, and filling out another hour of government paperwork, I finally got to read another few chapters of “Battle Hymn”. It wavers toward and away from being interesting to being predictable. The plot smacks of realism enough to keep me going, as in the big plans fail over little matters, the good people die, and the double-crossing is held to a believable level.
These shorter trips to Miami often use up enough resources to halt my replacement of worn out gear. But it also shows up defects in items I used to unquestioningly trust. Example, the new Zippo lighters look and feel the same, but they evaporate dry in a matter of days sitting on a desk. The good old type would still often light after going through the wash. Everything has gotten cheaper and the system will get away with it because the millennials will assume if it is newer it is better. Sigh.
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