One year ago today: June 23, 2019, not the autobahn.
Five years ago today: June 23, 2015, featuring Ann Coulter.
Nine years ago today: June 23, 2011, Linux: nice but whacked out.
Random years ago today: June 23, 2017, the mysterious Variable X.
This flu bug is throwing off my circadian. I doubt I got an hour’s sleep—so I got up and baked ten pounds of chicken. You know, so I don’t run short any time soon. The heat index is slated for 104° but there’s some unexpected cloud cover. Aching joints or not, I’ve got work to do. I was unable to taste my morning coffee so imagine the mood I’m in. I activated Forex trading for the week and have noticed they’ve really messed things up. And dead silence from the illustrious cadres of trainers, mentors, and support staff. The thing appears stuck on GBPNZD (pound-kiwi) transactions only, which is producing but I can tell when they’ve got themselves in a pickle.
Pictures should start inching back into daily posts, but my illness just peaking now over the past two days is a reminder this blog is prose-based and any pictures are an extra. How about this photo of the door trim on my car? That’s fixed by Agt. M last week, and when the robot club fixes something, it stays fixed. Note the countersunk matching metal screw.
The new bathroom circuit gets full coverage today because little else happened. One switch, six and a half hours, and it has me tired to the point I can barely sit. The reason is that today was a rare combination of clouds, a breeze, and I’m already running a fever. So I was able to get working on that attic wiring in 104°F heat index and barely notice my own temperature. I kept pushing on until the job was done. I’ll likely pay for this in the next 24 hours, but it was get this attic work finished or it might not happen until November. Normally I get delayed installing junction boxes. Today that was the easy part.
The detector where the old light switch was and I had to chop out a stretch of wall to run the 3-wire. This is an expensive product, but I don’t remember the price. Way up there. It has to sense both heat and motion, and has a memory for false alarms. When activated, it stays on until five minutes past the last reading. It also has an over-ride where you can turn it off or on manually, which is handy because we do have the odd cool day in Florida. You got to like these Internet-style pics, all clean, no cobwebs, no dust, looks easy.
In this mode, it stays on or off for the same five minutes, then reverts to normal mode. I felt having the whole process built in would save headaches down the line. I also opted for a switched outlet rather that hard wiring the fan. Because I don’t know if the fan is the right size or durable enough. It can be replaced in five minutes. I chose to use the old switch location, because the door now swings open the other direction, blocking the sensor. Thus, it only operates when someone is in the bathroom and closes the door. Nifty.
Mr. Bangle's big bench.
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Leaving the trim work for last, I got the project wired in and it worked right the first time. I had to make a few changes in the old wiring, as it has several spots where the switch is at the end of the run, so even when it is off, there is a hot wire at the socket. Here’s a better view of brand new NM cable being run into a 70 year old switch box. Think millimeters to spare. Nearby should be another picture of the fan mount. The switched outlet is in the upper right, missing the decorative plate cover. This installation came just in time as closing the door in this weather almost instantly makes the room uncomfortable. If this works, congrats for not having to buy a special air conditioner.
An inspection of the perimeter shows another spot of damage from the roof valleys. What happens is the debris builds up, forming a dam just over the downspout. Water collects in there and is able to seep under the shingles and onto my nice rafters and beams. And where is my epoxy glue for that fancy crystal doorknob. They don’t make those anymore. Tomorrow, because right now I’m exhausted. By late afternoon, the fever broke but I saw myself in the mirror, my tee shirt plastered against my torso. The west coast Indians had a sweat lodge, well that’s what I comparing it to. No more fever and a bit of flavor is returning.
How about that faction that wants Father’s Day shared with single mothers. I tell them to stick it. Once again, it is not about the idea, it’s about the concept of forcing other people to observe it. If you want to attach to a movement, how about demanding a news channel that is nothing but “a dry recitation of the facts”? Here’s a quip that says there’s a sizeable group out there who paste their passwords, which shows they’ve missed the point. I could see Google users clicking the “remember” box, because Google appeals to naturally stupid people.
Apple has the right idea. They are making there next generation of computers a tough go for ad trackers. Even so, I support legislation that makes every tracker appear on your screen with the option to block all. Have you ever watched brilliant.org, a series of science documentaries made for youTube? That narrator has to be the worst of the worst, whoever thought this guy was easy to follow has been chewing too many disco biscuits. I’m not a member because of privacy concerns (even the “free” trial requires links back to you).
Later, maybe I spoke too soon. Instead of fever I’ve got the sweats, yet turning the slightest fan on to alleviate things causes barely controllable shivering. Can’t even nap because the general pain won’t let me drop off. Am I worried? Nope, I’ve been in this zone before. I tend to keep busy, in this case, I fixed that fancy doorknob. That area needs a fancier floor, but nothing permanent until I eventually install the new water heater. I can’t really move around without feeling unstable but not as bad as vertigo. It’s like walking in a daze coupled with an internal exhaustion. It’s been four days now, maybe five.
It’s more like a super low-energy jet lag. It’s not that I’m prone to such conditions either. For instance, most people who get on an airplane have their smell and taste organs thrown off. This is the source legendary “bad” airline food. Not me, I rather like airplane fare, but I heard they don’t serve it any more. I was further surprised to learn there has never been a verified case of predatory pricing. It seems when a party complained the competition was selling at less than cost, they meant their cost, not the competition’s.
ADDENDUM
So much for recovery, instead I’ve entered a new phase with all the classic flu or cold symptoms. It’s uncomfortable enough that I wake up every half-hour and in no time at all, I exhausted to the point of putting everything on hold. I can’t even read, my usual pastime when activity is enforced. Blog rules, I have to record this, and I’m so light-headed I can’t focus on what I’m reading. So, I did some research on SpaceX, probably the only hope in my remaining lifetime of a Mars landing. That would be the culminating event of my era.
I’m more interested in the construction and design. They are finally mass producing the boosters. The projection is a moon landing in 2024, I hope that doesn’t bog down into another near-Earth debacle like that insipid space shuttle. The people behind that one should be prosecuted. The heavy booster can lift "five times as much", so keep an eye on that. Also they want to do an Arecibo on the back side of the Moon. Although these structures tend to have dubious goals, it would be sheltered from electromagnetic waves and it might find something useful. As an example of useless, they are looking at the magnetic fields of exoplanets when the focus should be Mars, Mars, Mars. (The mention of this mission on this date in 2004 is an anniversary coincidence.)
SpaceX is falling prey to the old NASA boner of putting people on board not because they are the best qualified, but because they are women, black, ethnic, or whatever. You think they'd learn by now.
