One year ago today: September 17, 2017, that dork Gary White.
Five years ago today: September 17, 2013, why such obscure versions?
Nine years ago today: September 17, 2009, we still even got appendicitis?
Random years ago today: September 17, 2008, tin foil stars.
It’s another scorcher as I was up the ladder again, caulking my nice new canopy and had to quite by 9:00AM. Usually that’s a good sign not much will take place outdoors. I’ll try, for instance, wouldn’t you know it that because of 1-1/2”, I have to go downtown and buy another 8-foot piece of lumber? Check in with me, as I also have to fix a tail light on my wagon and find a car cover that will fit at least over the top of the unit. Otherwise get ready for a big day in the library. The air conditioned library.
The remainder of the morning I list what happened, but I never made it to the library. Instead I fixed the tail light assembly on the wagon, see photo. It had the identical problem my original unit had. This shows they are still selling the wagon with the faulty wiring despite a general recall not that long ago. I can fix it, but it is a fussy process. The burner assembly throws off heat by convection and we got yet another indication the cart had not been used very much. Our onboard cooler began to melt at the edges.
I got the lights working and used the battery charger to test the system. If I had time, I’d rig up a self-test panel, but during the conversation on repairs, something came up. I knew there would be ramifications. Sure enough, the people from the pub up the alley, who were overtly very friendly to Agt. R about his venture, went over to the commissary and warned our lady about all the trouble she could be in if we were not properly licensed and insured. I told Agt. R he should send them a thank you note for being so community spirited. And how neighborly it was to go talk to the other person instead of him.
Which brings up the topic of insurance. It is more like the plural, insurances. It was $429. The basic or general policy is basically $2 million in liability and a few obscure conditions. But the cart itself needs an endorsement, another $199 for fire, theft, damage, and again, more things I wouldn’t have associated with insurance. As mentioned, that is only while the cart is detached, set up, and operating. Not when it is being towed or stored. But for 50 cents a day, and after reading testimonials of people who collected, I went for that.
This next photo is just for balance, it is the almost full “medicine chest”, that is, the box I built to hold my empty prescription bottles so I’d have all my small hardware in one place. It has already proven it’s worth so many times over that I may build another for drill bits and such. I still have not found the right bushing for my dovetail jig, again Harbor Freight sells you something that requires parts they don’t sell. They’ve gone downhill that way, duly noted.
Speaking of required paperwork, did you know there are 16 different agencies in the USA that are collecting intelligence? Since most people could name many four, and they are all concerned with foreign intelligence, what are all the rest up to? There are a further 1,271 government organizations at every level who are involved in this same sort of undertaking. Add in 1,930 more private outfits, like Google, and you have over 3,200 unanswerable-to-anyone packs out there watching everything you do or don’t do. It takes a real idiot these days to call somebody a conspiracy theorist, but they are still the majority.
The same source says 858,000 Americans have top security clearance. It is folly to think that many people could begin to keep secrets, but it also means the other 330,000,000 citizens are automatically on somebody’s suspect list.
Open pit mine.
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Next, and already after noon, I got over to the coffee shop and drew up some plans. I guess I’ll put a metal flashing barrier on the burner table to protect the cooler, but it is rarely a good idea to outguess the guy who first designed things. I could not get the burner knobs off the assembly, though I tried while cussing out the dipshit who made metal burner handles. I will modify the bakelite knobs off the original unit if possible. And realizing I’m not going to get any help with these repairs and modifications, I was over to the lumber yard to buy things I’m unfamiliar with, like rolls of flashing.
I finished the framing on the canopy, which leaves the trim work in plywood. It’s a lot easier working inside, but I’m restricted to what can fit on that chalk table. I’m going place a large shelf or set of shelves in the kitchen and living area that gets all my hundreds of books into one location. I think I’ll fashion it out of solid oak, since I have some extra. As for the rest of the wood on the canopy, we fished the lumber needed out of R’s back yard. I’m beginning to think I can build anything out of 2x2”.
On the other hand, Agt. R is despondent at the amount of work involved. I stayed home and built that heat shield out of flashing and a 1x4”, showing distinctly how little experience I have with metal work. But it works and there was nobody else gonna build it. I estimate I’ve put in, if you include driving time, a good 800 hours of unpaid labor on this project. I do my best to prepare people for this entirely predictable startup hurdle but it scarcely makes any difference. My experience is the average person gets discouraged after the first 50 or 60 hours. It’s no wonder the masses never get anywhere.
ADDENDUM
If you’ve been following my diet, what I’m about to say should not surprise you. I was dismayed how my weight leveled of and around 192 when I was doing so good. Hang on, let me check the appointment calendar for which day this is. Okay, I’m back. I’ve been dieting for 291 days, only exceeding 1200 calories on very few occasions, and even then not by much. On August 23, I bought a new scale, since the old one was too gimmicky and had to be reset every time it was even slightly bumped. I had a gap in my prescription and when I got back on the regimen it didn’t seen to work as well, I still got hungry during the day. That’s why I never suspected anything was wrong.
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