May 5, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 5, 2018, on the Hoyt Hotel.
Five years ago today: May 5, 2014, separate discs.
Nine years ago today: May 5, 2010, FireHow, my eye.
Random years ago today: May 5, 2004, Ocean Reef, 15 years ago.

           I knew the trim work was going too easy. I used one of the older pieces as a template and noticed it was not exactly symmetrical. I managed to get every second piece up there backwards. But you know, it is hard to see the error, so I’m going to leave it. It’ll be fine. It’s another lesson, and this trim work always takes longer since I find each piece has to be fitted no matter how well you measure. Boss Hogg has a rebroadcast of that national show of hits from the past. Today they are playing the 1970s, but where are they getting this bad music?

           Listen, I grew up in that era and heard all the stations, I was a rock fan back when it was real rock, and I never heard more than one in four of the pieces they are playing. A lot of hits on the rock parade were not hits, the prime example being Michael Jackson’s cover of “Rockin’ Robin”. What big hit? Anyway, the station is working its way through material by Cat Stevens and Aretha Franklin that I know I’ve never heard. Possibly, my ear just tuned out music that really was not rock. I have selective hearing that way.

           The big project was getting the A/C through the wall at the right angle. The opening is not square, since it was cut before the far corner of the room was leveled. There’s clearance enough and you can see the dedicated 20 Amp receptacle just below. The trim does not match the window, but I that’s one more thing I can live with. I have the lumber for the exterior canopy, but that’s low priority.
           The good news is most of the floor molding is salvageable. This photo shows the 12-foot pieces that now fit better than before because the floor is level again. I found a matching brand at the lumberyard but they want a fortune. I’m stripping these 12 footers and we’ll see tomorrow if they’ll take a matching stain. I’ve got them mostly down to bare wood and patched with plastic wood. It saves a couple hundred bucks right there.

           For siesta, I threw on a documentary of naval warfare. I’m leaning more toward the opinion that the Bismarck was scuttled, not sunk. She was designed to resist plunging fire, which is the type the British preferred at long range. This damage is normally above the waterline. The way she sank thus does not make sense. But I could not finish the video due to the way the Brit commentator was pronouncing Exocet. Damn Pommies, it’s an ‘X’, not a ‘G’, so quit saying “Eggs-o-cet”, you have no idea how annoying that is.
           But then, never having gotten over selling out the Empire to make war on Germany, they do have a reputation for doing things just to bother people. It’s what you expect from the tribe that thought they could control international diplomacy, the forerunner of political correctness. It’s a very crooked process. You sit around discussing cute solutions to an intractable problem as it gets worse and worse until the wronged party fires the opening shot. Then you collectivelyl act mortified and label him the aggressor.
           If that doesn’t work, carry on to call him a dictator, a fascist, a fanatic, a madman, a racist, a pervert, and bent on world domination. Have I left anything out? What? I did? Okay, got it. And he only had one testicle.

           I found the reconciliation that’s been bothering my estate executor for two years now. In the end, yes, a check bounced, but it bounced because the money was co-mingled with her private funds, which is why I always advise people to use separate accounts in these cases. Because rates rate fluctuated over the period, she’s convinced she was shorted $300, but the fact is, I’m out $123.00. This is only a partial solution, there is still another outstanding item. It’s mentioned today because I was caught in the coffee shop for three hours because I still have no WiFi at the cabin.

           Here’s another “breaking news” story that finally caught up to this blog. How many years now I’ve been saying I won’t use bike lanes until they are barricaded with concrete that severely damages errant drivers?

Picture of the day.
Pole dance studio.
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           The summer afternoon rains found me indoors fussing with more trim, but the hard work of former years is beginning to show accelerating good results. Things fit and look right again, and trim work means while I could use a helper, at least the heavy lifting is a minimum. I’m going to invest in a burning barrel, but the only place that sells them in all this area is up in Land-o-Lakes. I would not mind the drive, so watch for that shortly. It’s a 55 gallon drum with the lid cut off, just like back on the farm. Except I have a duct that allows me to connect the leaf blower and really get the job done.

           Here is the view from the shutters toward the front yard. It sure makes the room look luxurious, huh? The rest of it isn’t, since the leveling procedure is never exact. But hey, as long as it looks nice another few years, that’s all I’m expecting to be around. This will also look out onto the Paradise Gardens, the turtle estate.

           I found another navy documentary featuring new ships designed in this era. I’m skeptical that these large and expensive targets have any real role in the age of GPS guided munitions. We know from the Falklands that aluminum burns and that some grunts in a zodiac can blast a hole in the side of the most modern destroyer afloat. Also, carrier battle groups are not really designed for defense and I don’t personally believe the peacetime US navy should have any other role. We have no business “projecting” force around the world.
           There have been other disquieting events, particularly in places like Somalia. They saw the lauded US Marines scatter like chickens after a few shots. I mean, that is how it will be interpreted, but I suspect the reality is the soldiers involved decided not to risk their lives for any Somalian causes. This is what you get with a volunteer service. Weekend soldiers and a lot of misfits who can’t hold a regular job. I support the military, but I do not support the use of the military for political causes such as we’ve seen in my lifetime.

           I emphasize my interest is not in warfare, but the technology. For instance, the newest US carriers are finally dispensing with steam catapults, which have not been significantly changed since World War Two. (The designs are still so top secret you’d have to call the Russians to get them.) And while I totally disagree with naming capital ships after presidents, particularly any still alive, the Bush class carriers will probably use a rail gun arrangement to launch.
           My verdict remains the same, that at sea, these massive floating cities are a waste of resources. Time and again ships have been knocked out by a single missile strike. I find it astonishing that the Chinese are copying such weapons when they are known to be so vulnerable. Possibly the carrier is following the same path as the battleship. Where it becomes a floating liability to costly to risk in any fight except a knockout blow. And such navies danced around each other throughout both world wars without ever contributing much considering their expense and upkeep.

ADDENDUM
           Harumph, where’s my bird book? I have a small cabinet of field guides and my bird book isn’t there. I’ve got guides to stars, insect pests, seashells, fruit, trees, flowers, minerals, hammers, hedges, rifles, spices, airplanes, and tube radios. But not my bird book, not that it was all that great. Feeding Gramps means I’m in the yard a few minutes more than was customary, so I’m seeing more of the birds that visit the feeder. Today we had the cardinals, a bluejay, a couple of small birds I can’t ID, and a red-headed woodpecker. I thought woodpeckers were insectivores, but there she was, picking at the goodies. Yes, the female is my guess by the paler plumage. I’ll build her a better feeder so she doesn’t have to work so hard.
Enough birds visit the feeder to empty it daily. The service interval used to be a week. Time, maybe to rig one of the larger feeders. The birds all shun the corn based feed, indicating it is genetically modified. This could mean the food does not have to be identified as mutant if it is not intended for human consumption. That is so wrong.

Last Laugh