September 12, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: September 12, 2021, it’s am ohmmeter.
Five years ago today: September 12, 2017, a credit course nowadays.P
Nine years ago today: September 12, 2013, an inside job.
Random years ago today: September 12, 2007, probably a ‘calendar’ post.

           That’s encouraging, the radio says 30 minutes of exercise, like walking, is all you need to keep in shape. But if you want a hard body, expect 600 minutes per week. Still, I get that much back and forth to the shed. Good morning, another big breakfast, I’ve decided to take the carburetor off the red scooter myself. Let’s see what we get done today, it is pre-dawn and already in the 90s. That was the Reb on the line, the wireless printer won’t connect. And I can’t troubleshoot that over the phone. Plus, our terminology differes, I call all of it wireless if it has no cable.

           Close examination shows that all four door handles on the KIA are identical. Until I find a replacement, I think I’ll take the least used handle, which is the passenger door. The rear doors are needed for the cargo bay and I can reach the passenger door from the driver’s seat. Wish me luck. Bryne sends a not he’s got shingles. That makes most everybody I know, where I’ve never had chicken pox. And I honestly tried to go outside for a while and no thanks.

           Indoors, I test built another set of sawhorses, once the power came back on. We had an hour outage, so I practiced my acoustic guitar. I can manage the full hour [of strumming] now without a break, the whole process uses different muscles. And at the end, my left wrist is sore. So, out to the shed where this photo shows the cross-brace of the sawhorse, called the “I-beam” I’ve learned. That’s when the Reb called and the printer is acting up. This is why I refer too all of it as wired or wireless. They all work on the same principle and I’ve learned not to rely on folks calling it the proper term. If all else fails, keep a printer cable handy and you’ll never get stranded.

           It’s wise to read the instructions twice and I see the on-line plumbing advice says not to use electrical brand solder on copper water pipe. None of them said why. I solder copper wire all the time but I’ll obey the rules. The alloy is tin and copper with nothing toxic. Maybe it’s to do with the strength of the bond. I found my pound of missing plumber’s brand, it got stowed inside the box holding the propane torch. Much as I want those fixtures in the bathroom, I’m not going to start the project if there is any chance of the power going out.

Picture of the day.
Firefighting school.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Hence, today was occupied by shed work again. Here is a view of the legs for the next set of sawhorses. This is to test the best way to cut the pieces in batches, I stress there is no assembly line to speak of. These are the leg pieces, clearly showing the rows of mail holes from the pallet slats. The wood varies in moisture content, some of the pieces are surprisingly hefty. Nor have I build any of the jigs for rapid construction. This means each piece is manhandled into position for each step. There is no peach tea out in the shed cooler, but plenty of expensive apple and orange juice, so I surprised myself by working up to three hours without a break.

           About that time, juice won’t do so I’m into the cabin for coffee. At least we have a good crop, so took the time to throw on a big pot of rice. I remind you the dick-head to decided that ¼-cup of rice was a serving is still on the run. I’m still not a vegetarian but the Reb has had real impact on my diet and I wound up eating a cup and a half. Thus fortified, I was back out to work and we have our first production set of sawhorses completed. As long as the lumber is free, the most expensive component is the 21 wood screws in each horse.

           The 3” screws don’t grip enough and the 3-1/2: poke through. And I’ve searched the town for the good old 3-1/4” to no avail. Despite the rain it was great working weather and a dozen chores got finished. The ironing board and iron are on the deck,I found that special cable for the old DVD player, and measured out some small counter space in the shed in the blind spot beside the door. All in all, the equivalent of six hours work, that is, six times what was ever expected. I might make 70 years yet. See the picture of the prototype sawhorses. I’ll let those who want to examine them for signs of experience and efficiency. The most obbious is the cross beam utilizes the pieces with cutouts for the fork lift blades, so if you saw that, it doesn’t count.
           The chokepoint is attaching the legs. This takes far too long and the pieces have to be turned over and around if built inside. The 16 pilot holes can’t be pre-drilled until I make a jig and this set has a basic carpentry mistake. The screws on the I-beam use a different driver bit than the legs. Mind you, the 3-1/2” screws are used to attach the legs so these horses are extremely sturdy and fell like it.

           Fifteen years ago I quit using the toll roads in Florida for the same reason I quit toll roads in general. You don’t just pay the toll, they take your license plate picture and enter your driving profile into a database. True, at first nothing happens, but read this article. After a while, so much data is collected that the police are tempted abuse the system. They get away with it because of most people’s attitude that nothing has hurt them personally. So far. Good for the people who listened to me so long ago.
           Just don’t be thinking the authorities are going to stand idly by and let self-driving cars on the road without knowing who is inside. The primary purpose of driving laws is identification and tracking, there is little attention paid to ensuring anybody is a good driver. Rumor is, they are working on legislation that you must have a driver’s license to buy and register such a vehicle.
           While I’m pointing out these things, watch for abuse of the royalty system. The way the “digital rights” system is set up, the law cannot be enforced without monitoring your personal activity. Myself, I’fr more likely to play music than listen to it, so I’m probably under the radar for now. As I pointed out long ago, the problem is with recorded music. Prior to recording, most people lived their entire lives hearing one or two music shows, such as opera. My radio stations favor talk shows, but yes, I hear music but I do not sit down and listen to it unless I’m learning to play it. Anyway, there is software pending that wants to charge you for any time you are within earshot, whether you are paying attention or not.

ADDENDUM

           Following the pattern with software, it tends to only advance when some nefarious purpose is found for it. Here’s one I can appreciate. Hollywood, in a disgusting move, has begun to replace white actors with “browns”. Snow White as an African? Give me a break. Anyway, using A.I. somebody has apparently been able to take the new releases and revert the black characters back into their original white forms. This is rumor, I have not seen any detais, but this picture (of the mermaid) is making the rounds. The picture on top is rendering of the black actress on the bottle panel back to a white person. And the black community is, they say, furious. Apparently they feel something they created has been usurped.

           And the memes, which I credit as being the computer era’s only impactful art form, has taken up the charge. With hours this work of art appeared. Here’s my dig—I like the format because I was doing it myself with pen and paper back in 1984, when I published the fake company newsletter know as “The Probe.” I am especially following this development because of the reactions it gets. I’m hoping the effect is long-term if not permanent.

           And there is another aspect to it in my eyes. You see, my experience tells me that all innovation and creativity in the computer software field is exclusively the product of one tiny group of people who have one defining characteristic. They have something their new-found enemies cannot duplicate, so to me that explains a lot of the cold sweat that accompanies the loathing of jealous bastards. It is one thing to be a critic, it is another to belong to a group that doesn’t have the collective talent to do a thing in retaliation. Maybe that's why so many guitar players don't like me? (That's a joke, Ken.)
           For the record, the advertising trailer for the Black “Little Mermaid” got 2 million dislikes the first day.

Last Laugh