One year ago today: May 9, 2019, what part of duo . . .
Five years ago today: May 9, 2015, on unbundling.
Nine years ago today: May 9, 2011, missing post, I'm looking.
Random years ago today: May 9, 2009, my last 8-hr gig.
The ditch is finished. In the end, taking it easy, it was probably 500 pounds of sandy dirt. Here’s a clip of testing the slope, at this point the water is going through 46 feet of drainpipe. That’s the part that was easy to dig, hard to install. The remaining ten feet is most of the dirt that needs moving, but simple ten-foot piece. I guess I’ve learned a lot about drainpipe after all. The slope can’t be too steep either. That can cause turbulence and noise. This video shows the constant flow rate needed to carry a bed load. That might not be the plumbing term, but how many plumbers study geology?
A quarter on of shovel work is good exercise so I’ll know by tomorrow if I got limbered up. I took regular breaks to do lighter tasks and finally got a layer of undercoat on the wood of the new planter. None of the paint touches the interior. These days all paint is really a layer of plastic so that will not touch the food-growing area. I examined the weed clothe they say to use as liner and it is plastic anyway. Is it possible to live any more unless you contact this artificial material every day? I celebrated the completion of the drainpipe with a grilled peanut butter sandwich. What? Well, you’ve heard of grilled cheese, haven’t you? Peanut butter has been back on my diet for some years now. I just don’t eat it in the volumes I used to.
The drainpipe is more than done, you might say. Just like other parts of this place, I paid the extra few bucks and added in the capability for expansion later. I’ve never regretted that. There are three cleanout plugs in not the best spots along the short 58 feet of pipe. But they are located strategically should I decide the other two sheds need the capability. It is now evident the economy will never return to what it was and the overall distrust of the bureaucracy is at an all time high. Everybody except the NeverTrumpers knows he had nothing to do with this fiasco. Nobody knows what happens next but everyone suspects it is planned.
That’s why I also began raking the potato patch. I’ve read on-line about a way to grow the potatoes above ground by using straw. That would cut down on the back-breaking labor I associate with that crop. The prognosis is that every dollar sunk into planting vegetables returns $8 in crop. Look at that peach tree already, and I got that on sale for $29. Plus tax. And now, I’m hunting for an avocado tree. Not the usual big Florida brand, but the smaller Mexican style, with the dark wrinkled peel. I find out when grown from seed, these do not provide tasty fruit. One tree is enough, they grow fast if not pruned, and I have only one area in the yard suitable. I am looking for a nursery that sells grafts. They aren’t cheap.
Jungle traffic lights.
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The acid test. I ran two loads of laundry in the new location. I haven’t finally decided what the lean-to should be used for, but it makes a huge difference being able to work in the shade. The big laundry is on the north side of the house, but I really need that spot for a new exterior water heater. The passive solar heat is fine but even in Florida is not entirely reliable. We can get days at a time of cloudy skies. The lean-to is also the first new storage area since I fixed up the white shed, when was that, 2017? I squawked about the $400 cost on that project, but the indoor work space has paid for itself many times over. It is still not air conditioned, but the thermal chimney is positioned on the south wall.
Look closely at the photo, see the standpipe to the right? It turns out the washer pump does not have the oomph to get the water running out to that height. That means lower the pipe—or raise the washer. Notice how the appliance fits back against the wall of the white shed? That’s a small recess created by the pattern of the new floor. I think I will raise it to working height and create a small storage cabinet underneath. How do you like that? The floor is not in yet, the washer is resting on a couple of skids to test for vibration. I will need the full 55 gallon drum for the grey water even from this small unit. That means a drive to Plant City. I am pleased with how this laundry idea worked out and ran two loads.
I didn’t get the memo. A lot of clubs re-opened last Tuesday by the expedient of getting that food license. It’s loosened up to where a bag of chips qualifies. You still get all the ridiculous rules, mainly designed to see if you’ll obey. No standing at the bar. No entertainment. No sniffing the juke box buttons. I can’t believe I just said that. As far as social distancing in a drinking atmosphere, it’s about as effective as it ever was. And Bill, the Karaoke guy I respect but think is a dodo has broken another few bones. Including his shoulder this round, seems it was a motorcycle accident. Knowing this guy, it was single-vehicle. Nobody breaks more bones that I know of.
At this moment, I’m taking a break to play a few of the songs I decided were too long. It seems the people who most like long guitar solos are guitar players and I have no incentive to cater to them. I’ve learned to use Audacity to make seamless cuts and transitions. It’s a free download and does everything I need. I’ve used it more in the last month than the past three years. Garage Band is overkill, and methinks, over-rated for casual usage.
ADDENDUM
A Craigslist search on “clothesline” typifies most of what has gone wrong with the American advertising industry. The rest can be found on the so-called new youTube. I got zero clotheslines but it came back with a toy wagon, a speedboat, a tri-fold aluminum ladder, a silver chafing dish, and an acrylic oil painting of a French lady smoking a cigar. President Trump, advertising needs to be curbed. There are precedents, like the volume controls on late-night TV and bans on certain products. You see, the millennials have bastardized advertising just like everything else they get their grubby hands on--anything except get a job and work for a living.
Their goal seems to be annoying people into buying things. The angle seems to be the old Hindu-style "give me money to leave you alone." As if you don't know that would just encourage them. Advertising, rather than assisting the buyer, has become the most pervasive American form of begging. Everywhere you go, people begging for money. Like I saw in Delhi, beggars standing beside work that needed doing, but they don't like work. Yep, it certainly explains the top-knots.
