January 29, 2020

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 29, 2019, dinner at Las Palmas.
Five years ago today: January 29, 2015, jerkasses.
Nine years ago today: January 29, 2011, it was bingo instead.
Random years ago today: January 29, 2016, mmmm, cornbread.

           My first farm fresh egg. Delicious, the yolk is a little more orange that the factory brands. This was a tough day on the house. That cracked PVC drain had to be replaced by removing the closet floor. Keep reading and this afternoon I’ll grab a few pictures of the process. And explain why it took so long. I was listening to Boss Hogg, a re-broadcast about the corruption in Puerto Rico. It would actually be worse than Mexico but for the imposition of US law on the island. Am I against hurricane aid? Yes, and I can explain that. Because the money is not being used for the intended purpose. The Puerto Ricans have adapted to permanently living on American welfare.

           They have consistently voted against becoming a state because they would “lose their culture”. Yeah, let’s take a look at that culture. We sent them a billion dollars last hurricane and they refuse to build hurricane-proof shelters. They build ramshackle and next hurricane they’ve got their hands out again. We tried to send the technicians to help them do things right, but the shipload of equipment sent along with the personnel disappeared. That’s right. When they arrived all the supplies had disappeared.

           Scouting around, they found 13 huge warehouses of hurricane aid, including their gear. They almost got into a firefight with the National Guard to get it. Yep, Puerto Rico, that’s some culture you got there. And confirmation that welfare just breeds a permanent sub-class of dependency. Look at Canada, with its seventh-generation welfare cases. It’s become the family business. Tell you what, I’ll pay you $10 for every welfare case you show me that got off her as and raised her own chickens for eggs. The catch is if she is not still doing it a year later, you owe me $20 back.
           Here’s a little background. We never had chickens on the farm. There was always much talk of it, but I was totally against the idea. Can you guess why this farm kid never wanted farm animals? Easy, for the rest of the family, they would be pets. For me they would be livestock. Guess who’d get stuck feeding and watering? This pattern was already so well-established by the time I was maybe eight years of age that I spent a measurable portion of the next decade arguing that I would refuse to tend other people’s animals.

           It was one of the few times I successfully argued my way out, but it was less my debating skills and more that the legendary laziness of my siblings was so drastic that even those living in denial had to allow for it. Sad? Maybe. I didn’t want any stupid pets, I wanted a motorcycle. I did get one only to learn years later that if I had been paid minimum wage, I could have bought it myself. However, allowing for different levels of involvement, if motorcycles are the chosen currency, the farm owes me another 412 motorcycles. My long-term readers have seen this number before. How is it determined?
           Mainly, it was the amount promised, but that comes to only 37 motorcycles. Part of the remainder comes from extrapolation. If your brother works for an hour and gets paid $5, how long do you expect to have to work for the same amount? Well, there you go. That’s 412 motorcycles I never saw.

Picture of the day.
Today’s college cafeteria.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Here’s the mid-afternoon report. This photo shows the extent of the chore required to relocate that laundry room. You can seen the PVC with added stack in side the closet. Now the explanation of the long delay. The laundry required two new outlets, one of them 240V. The wiring had been installed for the projected Florida room, but that won’t happen. So existing wiring had to be removed and re-routed, which is never easy as the wire coils and twist with a mind of its own. The drywall was old an brittle so it had to be practically shoveled out. Then the tarpaper, shown here half done. These walls will be insulated.

           The water supply was the tough chore. The washing machine requires a new water tank, which in turn means re-plumbing the entire bathroom. That’s why the floor is still torn up. While there, I installed a new exterior hose bib, roughed in the spot for the new tank, and put in the water faucets. I decided against a laundry tub. The pipes are all have that tube insulation. The floor joists had to be scabbed and I’m not looking forward to installing that new closet (toilet).

           Note the many non-plumbing tools needed, and you only see the ones I have to keep handy. In this photo, I’m strapping the pipes in place. There is one plumbing joint to go, but add two hours for that, as I have to hacksaw out the cracked section and it is under the bathtub, where I can’t get at it any other way. Yet I rate this a damn good day. It’s one of the reward days for multi-tasking. I don’t hold it against people who don’t multi-task if they choose not to. That way, they get reinforcement with each completed task. Not so, but once in a while I get a day like this one where a half-dozen items come on line at once.
           I mentioned the egg, I also walked on some solid flooring, did a load of wash, and the dryer this time was properly plugged in. I left the chickens in the coop overnight and most of the day. And I got the proper tags on the scooter. Tomorrow is a day off, but Friday I’m expecting to be roughly $500 under budget for the month. No, Theresa, you can’t have it. Like when I’m over budget, it doesn’t mean I’m broke, that’s a tricky one for you as well. I think I’ll buy a really nice washing machine. The portable unit I have is on its last legs.

Last Laugh