One year ago today: January 16, 2022, “only” 15,000.
Five years ago today: January 16, 2018, they’re out of gas.
Nine years ago today: January 16, 2014, an entrenching tool.
Random years ago today: January 16, 2009, I don’t play standup.
A freezing night with both heaters on full blast. When will I break down and get a real heater? It’s not like nothing happens in the freeze, here’s what twenty pounds of cooked chicken quarters looks like. With my biggest pot, right there, this is a three hour task. There’s enough for everybody. Let’s get a coffee and check the news feeds. Here’s a sharp dude who spells it out. The only pilots getting hired are the unvaxxed and I hope they shaft their employers. Lost wages are not enough, you must now charge them enough to prepare for them to ever be so stupid again. That’s how I did it.
My primary use of the Internet is documentaries, which also explains why I crab when I get lousy ones. Anyway, these documentaries tend to arrive in waves, all saying much the same thing. One that is happening now is the comparison of early guns to arrows in terms of killing power and accuracy. And they’ve all got it wrong again. Even when they do get around to talking range, they miss the point that the concept of any such weapons is to increase the range at which it can kill. For some reasons, Europeans got this concept more clearly than earlier places that had guns. Those armies held to the tradition of face-to-face battle for a long time.
Europeans, on the other hand, had a long search for weapons that could keep the opponents ever further back from each other, creating a dead zone that had to be crossed before battle could take place hand-to-hand. Sort of like taking the concept of no-man’s-land to the extreme. It works far better than individual valor in keeping the enemy’s head down and making sure you don’t have to have bigger and stronger soldiers. To make it three dimensional, you build a bomber force and your people never even see the dead.
Somebody needs to discover a new way to cross that gap and that’s why I’m semi-following the technology of invisibility. I suspect there have been fantastic inroads but the science is hush-hush. NPR is doing a special on ghosts, one of their favorite supersititions. This time, they have a set of flashlights that answer yes or no. And the possessed are too predictable for me. If I met a dead relative, I doubt I would be asking them if they were happy (like, what can they do about it) or if they liked how I remodeled the house. I’d ask my father what in hell did he do with all the money?
After the drive y’day, I still have 8-1/2 gallons of gas if I want another tour. There’s little to see to the southwest but vacant ranches and mine tailings. I drove through listening to a lady on NPR describing foot-racing, which got me thinking how she was also talking bass playing. Most people draw a big distinction between winning as an individual or winning as a team. I value both. She described things I’m familiar with, if you take the front position early, you don’t have time to look back or know if anyone is gaining. If you hold back, you can pace yourself and pour on enough speed to win when the goal posts are in sight.
I admit to going along with the least expenditure of energy but there comes a time when that vocalist or guitarist is going to try to take over. This is where I draw a distinction. There are two types of people who pull this stunt. Those who have what it takes and those who do not. When they don’t deserve or merit, that’s where I will vastly out-play them just because I can. The result has been standing ovations and hundred-dollar tips, so don’t bother saying it was not worth it or that I was showing off. Crowds don’t appreciate a show-off.
Jundah general store.
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Three hours fixing the door step. As I dug down, I kept finding layers of other times it was repaired. It would see three times. So I dug up all the pads and this time will reinforce the whole assembly. It only has to last until I’m gone. Feel free to hop into the dirt and give me a hand. The blue paint is from the recycle and I do not know if it is exterior. The lumber is not treated, but it is resting on tarpaper and has three coats of paint. These are standard repairs and chores that do not count toward my goals of finishing the renovations. If JZ shows up, that would get things happening in a hurry.
Texas chicken pie. It must be cool weather again, but here comes the good eats. I’m pondering what can be done about the leaves coating the laundry deck and my next move is to train the time-lapse camera on the area. One expects leaves and berries to fall down, maybe hitting the reinforced roof. But not get past the roof, then move sideways, then climb up to the deck level. What will we find? Maybe nothing, the camera only works a few hours at a time. And don’t expect any help from SONY. It has that feature if it detects no movement, it shuts itself off.
The percentage of Americans living paycheck to paycheck increases, some say it is now over 80%. But that’s on-line with no stats. Mind you, I don’t doubt it. It reminds of when I worked for the union, my last read job. Often we’d get a raise on January 1 that was not effective until April 1. There would be a lineup at my desk on January 2 because it was known I could do a calculation they could not. It was to calculate, based on that raise, the extra amount of money they could borrow and spend.
This is a 9.25” circular saw. The explanation is that in Australia, the framing lumber is the full 2” thick. This and other unusual tools are marketed by a company called Triton (no link). They offer such gems as a pulley hoist run by your electric drill. I found them while searching for my nail punch, rejected their model with its $400 price tag. They sell a gas can that feeds from the bottom, flexible drill bits, and a that elusive trash bag that stands up by itself. Ah, did I not say a while back there was no such trash bag? No, I said it was nothing affordable, and Triton wants a buck each for the small ones. And if you want your garden hose heated in cold weather, they can help you with that.
