December 1, 2022

Yesteryear
One year ago today: December 1, 2021, doggie fencing.
Five years ago today: December 1, 2017, the Tamiami moonscape.
Nine years ago today: December 1, 2013, the fake Alamo.
Random years ago today: December 1, 2019, with drizzling rain.

           I’m here and the warm weather isn’t. Right at freezing this morning, I had one hell of a time getting underway. But three coffees helped and we took the doggies for a walk. I had been working on my XP computer since 6:00AM and it will not boot. It beeps but it has been so long I have forgotten what that diagnoses. Go on-line and they want you to sign up to “Beeps-Are-Us” before you get any help these days. It was off to the recycle depot and that lovely field for dog-walking is no more. It is more condos, the ultimate temporary dwelling for people with temporary lives.

           What luck, somebody abandoned a brand new pallet, with just the kind of lumber best suited for repairing dog fences. What sort of lumber is that? It’s called free lumber and it cannot be beat. Here is a view of using the storage tank with the nail punch. The tire pump will charge the tank just up to 80 psi, which is enough to punch 90 nails. I chose this pallet, which was particularly well-constructed, to test for the number of nails. This pallet was overkill so must have been for some high-end item.

           There’s a bitter chill in the air which cut the doggie walks short. We still got around even with the pesky neighbor to the north. Didn’t I tell you about that guy? He emerges only to walk his dog and if that was all there was to it, who’d call him pesky. You see, he must wait most of the time until he sees us outside, and sure enough that’s when he decides to walk his dog, who is friendly but high-strung. He intentionally takes the dog outside when he can give everybody the “don’t bother my dog” look. Apparently he’s married but I’ve never seen the woman in six long years. He looks, acts, and moves old so imagine my reaction to learn we are the same age. He could easily pass for 75.

Picture of the day.
Durban, South Africa.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Once again, the Yeti disappoints. It seems to meet all the specs listed on the box, but it does not seem able to “kick start” any tool or appliance other than small computer accessories. Taking apart the pallet provided 13 slats and four short 2x4’s, though we’ll need some drastically better weather before I’m out in that back yard. Here are the results of the reverse engineering per the metal. The pallet shown above had these 91 ring nails recovered. Allow for 5 lost and another 4 during the building process and that’s 100 nails for a superb pallet. Now we have something to work with. These are not spikes, but the smaller 2-1/2” type, which makes for a smaller, lighter air hammer.

           Well, we know something is wrong down in Miami. JZ’s phone goes direct to messaging, which is not unusual in itself. He gets few incoming calls so has no problem skipping the due date on his bills. He has been lucky before that they did not reassign his phone number. Anyway, from what I gather, he’s got himself in some kind of a bind and won’t say.

           An hour on the computer and I don’t think this one can be salvaged. There is something not right with the motherboard, unless it is the power supply. Neither I can fix on the road. So I called up that guy on Elm Hill who can slap a unit together for $50 and he’ll have something tomorrow. When it is supposed to be warmer. XP units have become predictably rare, both due to age and demand. This will have Win 7 or 10 both of which I highly distrust for spyware right in the system. Treat all computers after XP as if they have built-in keyloggers. Because they do.
           The Reb sent me on a mission to get dog food, but did not specify any schedule, so I pulled over at Shooters and spend $30 carousing. It’s mostly new staff but we get along great and somebody was choosing excellent tunes on the juke box. I had my notebook and went over the offerings for HookerJet. You mean I never mentioned them? It’s the HondaJet leasing service, I’m sure I said something about it. They built this excellent executive jet but have no infrastructure to market or service them. What’s the next best thing? Leasing, and all the ads look like those scenes from 1960 or 1970 where the rich old man has what he thinks is a young babe. She’s a 28-something with frizzy hair that looks like a hooker, so that’s where this comes in. You can buy shares for as little as $350 and I’m considering it. The shares, Ken, not the hookers.

Last Laugh