July 21, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 21, 2021, they consider it normal.
Five years ago today: July 21, 2017, the futility of music.
Nine years ago today: July 21, 2013, obese-icles, ha!
Random years ago today: July 21, 2011, in the fine print.

           A slick bit of timing let me get the skirts ready for the front of the cabin, or I should say the side facing the street. Timing? Yes, we have another sauna on the say so the tools and such had to be hauled out and rigged up before the sun got over the sheds. You want to fry, go ahead, but I’m working in the shade. It turns out I can use 12” strips, so I can do the two sides of the building that show for around $100. Not bad.

           This photo panel shows the lattice lying on the ground being measured and a later shot with the pieces in place. I till have to tidy this up. I’d asked Agt. R to drop by and help me move those large concrete pieces but no show. This was not a cushy chore with my still-cramped side. The water pipe broke, I had to turn off the street key. The later bottom picture shows how rapidly the sun moved to the point I had to leave it.

           I’m inside now with no water. I’ll get to it when the shadows return. Look again at the pattern on the ground with the skirting, I had roughly an hour and really had to hustle, even with the tools and materials laid out earlier in the dawn light. I’ve pretty much decided on a second big fan for the shed but have not been anywhere near Wal*Mart. The other fan and the mini-fridge full of cold drinks extends my working hours out there, and I’m more inclined to tinker when it’s comfortable.
           Take for instance this old paint handle that I’m adapting. That’s the handle of my pruning saw. The blade looks old and rusty, but for some reason this is the sharpest saw I’ve got. Back and forth a half inch each stroke. The paint roller wire is in the process of being bent into the correct shape to be clamped solid, if you look close you can see the markings where the bends go. This is not a quick-connect design. It takes a while to position the clamps and bolt then down by hand. Even then the blade will move side-to-side, you can’t stop that without risk of cracking that plastic handle.

           And I will tear the place apart to find my PVC cutter. This afternoon, I’ll prep the ground for the pad I’ll build under the ambient water tank. At that point, the plumbing will be relatively easy but I need that tool. I priced out a new unit at the store last evening and they want $31. While I only need three or four cuts I can do by hand, the fact that I’ve misplaced that cutter really bugs me. It’s become a crusade to find it and I start this evening.
           Remember the Boston Dynamics dog, Spot? They said they would not sell models for “questionable purposes”, but knockoffs of the dog have begun appearing on sale at a price of around $3,000. These are remote control, not to be confused with robots, but it is only a matter of time before these team up with drones for the ultimate bank heist. The dogs, covered with explosives, enters the bank in pairs. Once loaded up with cash, they back out the door and hand off the haul to a drones which speed away in various directions. I shoulda been writing movie scripts instead of blogs.
           I’ve linked to the site showing a video of the dog running alongside a jogger. It’s doubtful this dog would be effective defense, since another video shows a kid grabbing one leg and holding it like a chicken. A real model would presumably deliver an electric shock or something. Add another $1, 200 as this “bionic companion” has to ship from China.

Picture of the day.
Sun basket.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           As ever, there are few small problems in Florida. I went to remove the broken plumbing piece and it was so old and seized up that the pipe collapsed. This photo shows the location of the first break, that little piece jutting out was seized. So I had to remove the entire assembly back to where it pipes out of the ground. There is a metal tee that sends the cold water in two directions, one for the house cold, the other to the hot water tank. It is so firmly seized that I will have to break it off, which creates a pipe end I cannot fix myself. I have only one choice at the moment, which is to run in the hot water line and then plan if I can mickey mouse the cold water in the morning.

           You see, while I was out there, I felt the wind change from SW to SE, meaning a rainstorm that can last all night. I barely got most of the tools inside the house when she started. Much later I may have to go overnight without water. Even if the rain quits now, I would be working in the dark and that is not the way to do plumbing. You know, I think I left a cold water inlet capped off when I did the bathroom, in case of something like this. But again that’s not happening until tomorrow.

           I was able to find two mower carb primer bulbs broken in different places. By mating them up, I got one working unit and saved ten bucks. They now sell them in “universal packs” of four so you have to buy the whole set. Millennial assholes. It’s not that they were first, but they had the first real opportunity to correct this rip-off and instead continued it. So, Starbucks is closing locations due to crime, because they allowed their restrooms to become drug dens. In short, go woke and go broke. I never liked their atmosphere, sort of cult like with that smug look when you order a “small American coffee”. If I want some loser telling me what I should like, I’ll go to a craft brewery or move to Ottawa.
           Hornblower is married and predictably been ordered to sail in the morning. I think module 8 is the last. I work while watching and my records show that I did put in an extra length of pipe in case of this type of water trouble. The thing is, I have to lift part of the kitchen floor to get at it. I don’t recall exactly but once I see it the plan will be clear. I cut the metal pipe and use a shark to change to plastic. After that it is easy. But, if I had a shark the right size, why would I not have run it in at the time?
           That takes up tomorrow morning, or the day if I must lift the floor—but I have to do that anyway to get at the 220V line to relocated the water heater. The wire is already run in, so that will save me some. This is not a good indicator of the state of the remaining iron piping. I had not planned on living here anything like twenty years. On the other hand, I’ve recovered beyond any expectations. Which is going to last longer, me or the house?

           Having said that, the front bottom plate of the house is in bad shape. And it is not repairable. What I did on half was run a complete new plate a foot or two back inside the building and scab new joists to the old. It worked great though now it will cost upwards of $400 thanks to Biden. Inflation has me watching the housing market. Remember 2012 – 2016 when I guessed there was some institutional buying going on but had never heard of BlackStone at that time. They’ve bought a mass of houses, causing the rumor that America will return to 1900. That’s when houses were so expensive, on the rich had them and the majority of the nation were renters or boarders.
           The snag with cornering any market is you force prices up and up, which I speculate could account for what’s been going on. Prices rising but nobody can buy. Anyway, the rumor is BlackStone is not only running out of money, but they are over leveraged and in some straits. That would be a most interesting and welcome situation. Other disturbing news is rife that it is not just wind turbines that pose a disposal hazard, but solar panels are wearing out by the millions. Plus they do get cracked by hail and pose other hazards.

ADDENDUM
           I took some time to read over the Reddit rules. I’m not a fan of text-based material of this nature, that is posts that are largely based on gossip and opinion. Reddit requires its post to be IAF (interesting as fuck) but that standard is rarely met. Reddit has a new automated moderation feature I just wanted to know about. I’m surprised with all their rules more Reddit posts are not interesting while admitting that is subjective. Some of their rules I like the most are:

• No youTube videos
• No reposts
• No Top Ten lists
• No screenshots
• No unnecessary sound (idiot rap music)
• No misleading titles
• No text on videos (except dates, etc.)

Last Laugh