October 31, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: October 31, 2022, every lesson.
Two years ago today: October 31, 2021, legitimate means $$$.
Three years ago today: October 31, 2020, confirmed, Mike is gone.
Four years ago today: October 31, 2019, steals my spot.
Five years ago today: October 31, 2018, I drove past the club.
Six years ago today: October 31, 2017, 420 hot showers.
Seven years ago today: October 31, 2016, over the phone . . . .
Eight years ago today: October 31, 2015, glides didn't work well.
Nine years ago today: October 31, 2014, Australian farm tractors.
Ten years ago today: October 31, 2013, metals are not investments.
Eleven years ago today: October 31, 2012, empty shell casings.
Twelve years ago today: October 31, 2011, the old Argus was better.
Thirteen years ago today: October 31, 2010, until I heard the price tag.
Fourteen years ago today: October 31, 2009, at the opera.
Fifteen years ago today: October 31, 2008, the old 12 max number.
Sixteen years ago today: October 31, 2007, $50k a day, each.
Seventeen years ago today: October 31, 2006, a day in Bal Harbor.
Forty-one ears ago today: October 31, 1982, typical calendar post.


           So ends my fiscal year, and it’s actually not the whole tale from the trailer court. The year ends on the last Sunday of November, but I’ve always given myself nearly a month’s leeway. The development is that I’ve once again begun to become concerned about inflation. The very best investments don’t begin to cover that loss and this could be the year of the real housing market crash. The shortsighted might say I’m cheering on a recession, but that’s shallow. I would not mind another market correction. Again, speculators have driving housing out of the price range of the working class, so I should care if some house-flipper loses his shirt?

           Actually, it’s more serious than that because most American wealth is based on bogus real estate values. Something like 70% of the millionaire class would be wiped out if the real estate bubble bursts. They should not be looking to me for any sympathy. They support a system that has been unfair to me since day one. Hence, I see little difference on the long slow pain they’ve inflicted on me if the experience the same total pain in a much shorter period. I was thinknig about this out in the shed all morning, finally clearing some space.

           You see, wooden boxes can’t be kept on the ground. So if I have many boxes, I need shelves to store them on, and that means I need space for the shelves. Secure indoor space. And it took just shy of two hours to clean out under the old work table. I’ve been running the power sifter for an hour. The shed has a dirt floor and all the rakings must be run through the sieve for goodies before hitting the trash bin.
           There should be a picture of the new shelf with 8 or so boxes already filling the space. I did not say they were a matching set. I ran ten gallons of dirt through the auto-shaker and salvages one bolt. Then again, I did not do a lot of work over where the new shelf is. I’m out of peach tea so I have a quart of powdered milk with vanilla and molasses to keep cool. It wasn’t that bad and I put in over four hours.

           Then my Internet connection slowed again. I found the policy and read it until I found something. When you reach 85% of your limit, the system then slows down to allow just basics. I see the logic but I did not ask for this. It also means somehow I am using more bandwidth than is normal. There were some teens caught nearby tapping into people’s lines but there has been no news on that for months. My only reasonable option is to return to paying the bill early and resetting the payment date. I’ll ask if they have alternatives but I think the next plan above the one I have is double the price.

Picture of the day.
Abandoned Dutch Fort Pampus.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Then I took a closer look at Agt. R’s big animal trap. I think all the parts are there. It looks like parts missing because the trigger is so small, around the size of a large paper clip. There is, however, a spring that keeps the trap shut, an obvious concession to the strength of larger animals. It looks like somebody unsprung it thinking it was getting in the way. There was a refreshing breeze out of the west, if that keeps up, I’ll haul the trap over to the driveway and see if I can get it working. Varmint season is fast approaching.

           Then we got the wood conditioner finished for the planned fancy box and moved on to a second stain coating of the speaker box. Since I started so early, the instructions said six hours, I was able to finish a second coat of poly, this time a can marked “clear satin”. It looks flat but the can says use three coats. That means tomorrow as I need a nap and it is nearly time for Festus Tuesday. I now have that surplus scroll saw in perfect but used condition. If John wants to learn it (but not have it and it winds up in the pawn shop) okay, otherwise it is going into the Caltier fund. I prefer using the Dremel, which is virtually identical but easier to change the blade. I never did really catch on how to use that tool.

           After Gunsmoke, I drove downtown and wrote two letters. JZ & Marion. Lots of pictures I confirmed the jam session for tomorrow and wrapped up the last of the loose ends from what has been a very trying but also reasonable successful year, financially. This month brings in enough stats to know my cost of living, all told and due to inflation, is $156.13 more per month for the same basic items as last year, with most of the damage happening early. This might sound like ten bucks a month, but austerity measures have been in place most of this period. Coffee pods have gone from $3.79 to $9.99, so I switched to using the wire basket. It gets mention as my top sacrifice—but don’t go thinking I’m on about nothing. I have few luxuries and coffee is one of them. I’m still looking at Moonwalkers priced $1400 in lieu of spending more money on that scooter, which I can’t drive in the rain either.
           I live in a small city, so the effect of inflation is not that obvious. Stores are generally busy and there are no outward signs of poverty. But these people must be hurting. November is (I just know it) going to set the pace for all of 2024. A drawn-out period of adjustment to a new America that is so many ways going to impact the majority because they live on credit cards. This will have a negative effect on those few of us who do not, as the system has repeatedly bailed out them and their stocks and banks. It is also the first month Caltier begins to flip properties—if I’m not mistaken, I mean. Caltier is tight-lipped about their operations this way, the opposite of what I was expecting. When they sell something, I would like to see the asking price and selling price.

           There’s the scroll saw resting on the ground. It’s used and has paint and oil splotches, but it is in top working conditions. It is the least used of my power tools. I’m offering it to JZ on the condition it does not wind up in some pawn shop but that it becomes a learning tool. The only place he could operate it is on his balcony. Tough, but the sooner the better. The price of these has doubled.
           Tomorrow morning is slated for chasing around, which I can give you some idea of that. It is really the same as most of us except I know in advance what will happen because I have a list. So, you get to see the list. I’m buying oatmeal, turbinado, spuds, bread, hot chocolate, and chicken thights. I’m buying money orders for $38.30, $50.00, $20,00, and $210, mailing three letter, and paying my phone bills for $75. I do most of my own cooking, so that leaves a budget surplus of $219.00 that I can go spend on anything I want. That makes it a question of whether I can think of anything I want.

Last Laugh