One year ago today: October 12, 2023, not the greatest.
Five years ago today: October 12, 2019, fewer chickens.
Nine years ago today: October 12, 2015, Starbucks? Me?
Random years ago today: October 12, 2011, graphite.
Two and a half days without power. I’ll see if I can tap the hotplate or microwave off my single working line. If the blackout lasts past the weekend, I will have exhausted my emergency fund for store-bought food. It has not been updated since 2021 when prices were 135% lower for what I would consume. I’m enjoying the quiet now that the distant roar of generators has been silenced by the lack of gasoline. I stepped outside at 5:30AM into dead calm and silence, so rare in the USA of today. It is rare there are not even cars on the road. I still have 5 gallons in the Hyundai for an emergency.
Polk County Sheriff Judd has issued a shoot order for looters, so it will only be time until somebody screams “racism”. Most of the streets have been cleared of deadfall but the grocery shelves are bare. No such thing as a battery for sale. (I have a supply of 50 in the shed, still in the new packaging.) My fancy emergency solar powered lantern does not fully charge in the sunlight and I was right about that special charging cable. It was lost long ago.
Dawn is not until past 7:00AM, so let’s check the news. The beyond desperate Left has resorted begging votes from the very people they hate most, that is, single White males. They even brought Obama out of his cage to do the begging. As a service, the US gives visiting heads of State free laundry service, but since most stays are short, it is not much used. Except by the Israelis, who bring bags of their dirty laundry to get washed for free. DNA evidence from a shawl has finally proven Jack the Ripper was a Jewish immigrant from Poland.
The Democrats, to protect Biden’s stolen election from being contested, changed the rules. Now it will bite them in the ass when Trump is elected because they can’t pull the stunt in reverse. If Poon is thus forced to certify Trump, I will take that day off and go get snorked. There are two likely outcomes left at this point. The most massive landslide in history, or election rigging on an unprecedented scale that may not work anyway. There are other options, but if they bump off Trump now, they will never again be safe themselves. He’s too popular. Twenty-four days to go.
Time to think, we have not used last month’s budget for exploration, that is, local travel. But nor do we want to have to run low on gasoline. Where would you spend $65? The category is open to any new venture, or a repeat of something worthwhile last time. It can even apply to some new food or trying a new hobby, but you cannot save or invest it. No becoming a grinch, you have to get out and do something. Skycraft leads the list, but I don’t want to go there again unless I have $200 to spend. It’s pretty flexible, so let’s make a big lunch for here and ponder this. Return in an hour to see what I’ve come up with.
Here’s something, but too big a task for just now. A wooden sundial. Get this, a soldering iron with a flat tip is also called a pyrography pen when used for woodburning. The difference is about fifty cents on the dollar. That’s the way the sundial plans marked the wood, which must be painstaking. The first extension cord ends just outside the shed, so I have the option of temporarily unplugging the house and working out there. Man, would I love a hot shower. We do not waste days around here, so maybe work on a box while thinking how I could make a wooden sundial. Of note was the emphasis on the angle of the gnomon. It should match your latitude.
None of the material explains why this angle is important, although there is mention of the length of the shadow. That doesn’t make sense to me, as most sundials are round.
University wrestling team.
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Ray-B checked in. He’s not up to meeting up for coffee and I cannot insist. Harbor Heights called, they got two feet of water inside the house. I was never keen on houses built on a river plane and not the near to the ocean. I’m prepared to head over there if they need any help. I chose to stay near home and work on my latest box. I changed the belt on my new sander, Truns out you have to half-dismantle the thing to get at it. Having just the one light bulb, I did most of the work by hand. The other neighbor’s power came on at 11:00AM, my place nothing. He gave me a hand standing the big ladder into place but we could only get it halfway up the tree.
Checking in on the back neighbor, he was not at all looking well. I am at a complete loss, my most realistic medical training was the phone company safety course. I advised him to get to the clinic, he opted for a nap. I moved all his gear back in the shed and tidied up the back where all the tree limbs are piled. That generator was heavy enough to tire me out. He finally went in to see the doctor and sure enough, he has pneumonia and what to me sounds like appendicitis.
At 4:31PM I heard the radio come blasting on. We have power. I dropped everything, pausing only to roll up the extension cords while the tank warmed up. Then into my first hot shower in 3-3/4 days I could have fallen asleep in that stall. Twenty-five minutes of bliss, I have a small plastic stool in the shower were I can sit I’m glad I stayed home and I used the shower time to plan on spending some of my $65 on gourmet food. There are some coffee brands twice the price that I would no try otherwise, stuff like that.
Cancel my plan to drop in at the old club. After that shower, I toweled off the dumplings and fell asleep until past midnight.
