One year ago today: July 26, 2018, the hotdog blues.
Five years ago today: July 26, 2014, iconostasis.
Nine years ago today: July 26, 2010, “netbook”, my eye.
Random years ago today: July 26, 2009, visiting Key West.
Zonk. Today I spent in recovery mode. It was fun with two hours in the coffee shop and another on the phone. That’s it. Nothing else this morning. Except I did make sure that bass line that woke me was up to par. It was. Let’s see what goes on around here on a nothing rainy day. There’s the chicken. And the six-blade razor. They had my number at the checkout, how can I resist six. To date, my daredevil lifestyle has gone for five. Now, you might think five bljavascript:;ades still gives you lots of shaves. Nope, so the ones you get should be super even if the razor only lasts a day or two. Just think, six blades. Any guesses what’s next?
Boss Hogg was back on track for the day, with the two half-wits playing songs about rivers. Da-yum, a lot of blues singers were born on rivers, or is it they never sing about much else? Fester and Tater are back to their antics, the favorite of which is if too many callers complain, they will take a tune off the air. They even have a fake record needle scratch sound effect.
My gumption returned enough to run in the new wiring for the bathroom lighting. And I found a source of the vanity bulbs—Dollar Tree. Spending six bucks each is nuts. For that I can shave in the dark. I have uber-razors, y’know.
My verdict on the bathroom lighting is to run in the wiring by default, and cap it off until needed. There are three circuits, one for the vanity lights, another for the sconces, and a third for the GFCI outlets. The logic here is two light circuits, so a single tripped breaker doesn’t black out the room, and the dedicated GFCI line is required by code. Once again, all wiring and devices are rated at 20 Amps, so I don’t anticipate any problems.
The service on this building will handle 32 maxed out branch circuits, and I’m using just 21. What’s more, none of them have anything like the 12 allowable boxes. In many cases, the circuits have only one appliance each, such as the A/C units, fridge, and washer. You would love the wiring in this place. Sadly, that entire box of GFCI receptacle from the thrift store all turned out defective. Don’t you hate a-holes who “donate” stuff like that? Before we let them in by the millions, you didn’t even have to lock your car. Screw the liberals and what they did to Sweden. Used to be paradise. Now all we get is monkey-talk drowning out my Boss Hogg on a Friday. Mr. Trump, we’re counting on you.
And have you heard the latest on-line scam? Fake health insurance. It still mystifies me how anyone could be stupid enough to buy such a thing on the Web, but it’s a real issue. It was bad enough when banks pushed bogus credit insurance—this blog warned against that the day it was announced. This credit “protection” is still advertised despite being exposed as a $700 million scam. Some people don’t want to learn any better. But phony health insurance, that’s a nasty one.
I blame most scams in the USA on the ruling class since the mid-1900s. They continually ramped up requirements to get ahead until only fanatics willing to sell their souls could make it big. What’s left once they repress that fundamental quality that once made America great? Thievery, like in England. A few early birds like Amazon got lucky on the Internet. As for the rest, such as myself when I was young, I never stood a chance. The heartrending part of it all is that in America, there is more than enough to go around, if they’d let the people who worked for it keep it.
Redington Long Circus.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
I got the cable holes drilled and again came up to that spot in the house where there is a 7-inch wide spot that doesn’t fit into any room. It’s too small for storage, yet I hate to just panel over the space. I think it could serve as a mini-pantry, or in my case, stationary supply. Here’s my cheery bathroom mat, wipe your paws indeed. I use these as floor mats in my car as well. Face it, the doggies are part of the routine until further notice.
Okay, twist my arm. Here is a picture of the baked chicken. That’s minced onion and shredded coconut on top. The sauce this batch is curry based and the sausages are bratwurst, my reward for being such a nice guy some or most of the time. Taking a break because I managed to drain all my drill batteries at the same time, it made no sense to go hungry. Am I right? I sent the basic recipe to some friends, but I rarely follow a formula myself.
You get this timely blog because I went out to find Wifi service after dark. I again wound up in Bartow, listening to another solo guitarist. This one was distinctive for two reasons. He seems to have developed an impressive way to play the CAGED system on his own. And he was one of those egotistical sorts who had memorized fifty tag-phrases on how to pretend otherwise. Funny, because his guitar ego kept surfacing no matter how he tried to act like your humble local guitar player type. The place was dead, it’s the last payday weekend before rent time. Dawn was on duty and the guy was trying to pick her up. I finally asked her how many times he said he lives alone with his cat. She shrugged saying maybe in his universe women find that alluring.
[Author’s note: here’s a little aside to this tale from the trailer court. This guitarist had been going on about how he retired because music had been so good to him. He noted I didn’t look or act like the regulars so I suspect somebody told him that I had retired around music as well. The difference is, I never made a living at music, rather I used it to save up most of my paychecks until I could live without much worry.
I make it no secret I play in a band for the extra dollars. At my age the other attractions have been bumped from first place. I think all this because when he got back from break, he had to change his angle on the retirement thing. You see, if he retired recently, that means it not only took him twenty plus years longer, he is a good ten or fifteen years older than me. And looks it, you know, the high-carb diet, the jeans that don’t fit, the untucked shirt that fools nobody, and the Freudian slips about bands that were long gone even before I was around.]
I got there late, so was still typing after he left, leaving just Dawn & I in the place. We chatted a wee bit. Her brother is working in Tampa. Poor gal, she knows she should have accepted that invitation two years ago. I’m pretty sure her mother talked her out of it. Even so, I don’t much care for women whose mother has that much influence after the daughter is over 30.
ADDENDUM
I’m approaching the
Lumber: $1,700 (mainly shed repair)
Hardware: $620
Plumbing: $1,300 (so far)
Tools: $930
Consumables: $420 (nails, glue)
Flooring: $400
Exterior: $400 (soon to change)
Concrete: $270
Paint: $120 (I get most of it free.)
Yard: $490
Note some items are indirect, like tools. This category is included because most are tools I would not have purchases except for this building. Like that pipe wrench, and the chopsaws. Everything was bought on sale or at discount where possible. My budget, including finishing the kitchen, may double what’s shown here. However, it is notable to me that sometime during last month, this place passed the breakeven point with the rent I would otherwise have been paying. And for the record, that was the lowest price pad rental on the Atlantic coast in the area. So technically, I could have spent $20,000 so far and still be ahead of the game.
My reasonable estimate of what this place should sell for is $82,000. But I would never sell it for that. Too convenient, too comfortable, too everything I need excepting a big workshop. I’m buying $300 worth of bathroom faucets tomorrow and that dead spot I mentioned between the old wall and the new bathroom can be just deepened to 8” minus any trim. That’s 16” x 8” x 32”, too small for linen, too small for linen. Candidates are a mini-pantry, a battery recharging station, pet food storage, tankless water heater, stationary cabinet, cleaning supplies, lock box, and DVD shelving.
