April 28, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: April 28, 2022, that shed’s not moving.
Five years ago today: April 28, 2018, her ugly friend.
Nine years ago today: April 28, 2014, floating malls, really.
Random years ago today: April 28, 1981, wow, 1981!

           How about the latest mass defense against treason by those who committed ballot fraud? They know what’s due if Trump gets in, so they are building defenses now. They claim they were tricked into destroying ballots and such, but are now blackmailed so they can’t speak up. Pretty flimsy, and sooner or later one of them will spill the beans. Today is time off, kind of like y’day when so little got done. I’m chipper, but why push the envelope? Trump, whom the D-people have long since labeled a non-entity, continues to be the most mentioned name in their lives.

                      A leisurely time of it but that does not override my rule since the day I turned 12 that something productive must be accomplished every day. And this is it, see that set of saw ponies, the ones in front. The lumber was already cleaned but including moving it, the cuts and assembly, I threw this one together in 29 minutes 15 seconds. That’s without jigs and only workspace for a single unit at a time, that is, no assembly line.

           Not bad, that means at my pace I can construct two per hour. Did I mention the Reb may have found a source of pallets? I don’t mind hauling lumber back from Tennessee, plus I do have enough gear up there to make the units, though I’d prefer to just do the prep. The ponies are now down to a science. All seven pieces on each is an identical cut. I know which side faces outward, which pilot holes to stagger, where to leave screws unburied until the final pieces are in place, where to leave a little wiggle and how to match up pieces for the best output.
           The storage for the lumber will take a lot of space. Each set requires five stringers. That means I have enough space for lumber to crank out fifty-five pairs, but I’m thinking. Where to sell these? It’s funny in a way, but I’m experiencing a form of “living like Harry”. You see, all my logistics are paid for, so it looks like every bit of work turns into productive labor. If I stop work, I don’t fall behind like some working stiff, it just means I get ahead at a slower rate. That reminds me, I wrote a letter to Harry last week.

           The other side of the project is the work. I know what to expect for a given effort, but I also know which muscle groups get sore, which pieces are the hardest to lift and work with, and how far it takes to walk, that’s 320 paces for each set. With some easy changes, such as the jig to hold the piece while drilling and fastening, I calculate I could make three sets per hour without breaking a sweat. If it came to that.
           I’m aware you may get contradictory data on the time it takes for these horses. The explanation is that I’m not always timing the same events. Much more got done in the 29 minutes of today than the 26 minutes of last time. Plus, here is a short clip of building the box lid, since I’m kind of proud of that. Here it is for historians to chew on in 2073 when they need true, non-millennial, non-Internet facts about what went wrong in the twenties. Before the war.

Picture of the day.
Laconia, New Hampshire.
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           I left the radio off again, I figure we’ll hear about Capt. Tuck’s next move all too soon enough. Looks like he is really costing the Murdochs enough to really take notice. The network also let that Bongino guy go. He was okay but it took too long to watch his videos for the amount of information they contained. Rumble, I think he was on that platform. I heard the pillow guy is offering them prime time on his network, but if I was those two, I’d really consider the opportunities here. Once source says Tuck produced a show in his basement rec room and got 16 million views.

           During all this I’m gluing up panels, shown here with eight clamps on one. That’s all the small clamps I have, folks. The bigger clamps are not used in the box building process. I had time to look at two power tools while glue was drying. The planer. It was set up funny or used wrong. Now I know exactly what needs to be adjust, and as Internet luck goes, that make and model is not included on the user manual page. I was able to run the pallet slats through and make a much nicer looking joint, there should be a picture. Normally the lumber is slightly warped, which I used to ignore.

           The other took is the table saw. That fence is adjustable, when I get around to it. So is that flange I complained about last day. This saw was probably never set up right and the various pieces have seized up where they are. I gave all such parts a good dose of penetrating oil to work overnight. I’m not heading, as planned, for a holiday this weekend.
           I’m pointing at a seam that is tight in comparison to what’s gone before. Those pencil markings on the wood are for orientation, as the pieces get moved a lot for the biscuit joiner. The plan was to sand them away but now I leave them. It adds to the rustic ambience, or something. The difference in wood coloration and texture, you get used to. As for ruggedness, you prefer it. Please note these pictures make the boxes look nicer and neater than they really are. Much nicer.

           Back inside by mosquito time, I took the tough interview test. You know, the job where they ask you questions to see your reaction. I was on to it by the time I was 16, but it seems the latest generation are just cluing in. The least favorite question was how many gas station in the USA. Duh, people, it is asked for a reaction.
           Anyway, I went along with it explaining I figures the big cities had five hundred stations and that out in the countryside the stations would naturally establish themselves a half-tank of gas away from each other. I guessed 90,000 stations, knowing they were interested in how I got there. Then I looked it up. It’s 115,000.
           The weight-loss people, Jenny Craig, have announced bankruptcy is pending and there could be a mass layoff. But I found no number to verify what they mean by “mass”. I mean, how many people work there? Even 10,000 is hardly big news. The company originated in Australia and I know them only from watching their share prices. I concluded way back in the 1990s that these people were not very good money managers.

Last Laugh