One year ago today: October 21, 2023, the radio & the dust.
Five years ago today: October 21, 2019, we don’t mind.
Nine years ago today: October 21, 2015, only 19 trillion.
Random years ago today: October 21, 2011, the old battery scam.
Today I opt for an old journal-style entry. I tell you shat happened, you decide if it is good or bad. This is my van at the shop to check the sputtering noise. When your infrastructure resembles mine, very few problems ever occur in isolation, but that also means the connections are not always obvious. Why did I notice that noise two weeks ago? Was it because the defective CD player allowed me to hear it? Or possibly the broken radio antenna? It is the exhaust manifold and it is cracked.
Replacement estimate is $1,300. The part is “half-cracked” so there is an indeterminate time left. When it gives out, you’ll know because it will sound like a tractor. And that is what I have to allow to happen, I cannot afford such a repair until it is imperative. One ray of hope is if silver keeps climbing. One of my Plan E or F schedules would sell 100 ounces if we see it hit $100. In which case all the vehicles would get all they need and then some.
Next issue is a continuation of my recent upper back, where I said we watch for the tradeoff. I walked from the mechanic to the coffee shop, using my walking stick due to my sore back, and that’s another connection. It was too optimistic to say I suddenly improved. A few weeks back I bought a cane to help walk uphill. That’s when I feel the injury. I don’t usually walk that early in the day and I see now that I was able to limber up first. Today I walked that six blocks in the relatively cold morning air.
The first pain was seeing the price tag for a breakfast burger and a coffee. Nearly $8, shown here with my coffee and puzzle. After just 20 minutes or so, I felt a growing soreness. And it where my shoulders loosened up, which I see links to the pressure I’ve been using with that walking stick. The association was not evident as chances are even if there were signs, most of my life I have ignored minor pains or anything likely to be temporary.
While I try to minimize this brand of “medical moaning”, it is parcel with this blog to document my retirement changes. That includes this decline. I see how this sort of dull pang or twinge would have escaped the therapist. Now I must let it run its course, it is too early to know if it is overall beneficial or just the next thing. Here’s another example of what I call the American Blight. Intrusive advertising. How they are toasting the McDonald’s signature M onto the buns.
Blank Africa quiz.
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This runty looking contraption is the 2025 Ford Mustang E, the electric Quite the piece of junk for $45,000 base price. Sigh, because I’m old enough to remember when the Mustang was a real muscle car. But they began shrinking and plasticizing it that by the time I could afford on, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I like the 19” tires but the rest of the design does not do justice to the sports-car muscle-car origins of the features that made it popular.
The neighbor lady owns an apartment in the northwest end. She should have known better than to let them move in because now that she needs the place herself, she can’t get them out. The city ran in some temp power so I’m going over there this afternoon to help with her fence. Lots of place had that kind of storm damage. You go around and find the thrown out sections and salvage some pickets. They are old but they are reusable. Cleaning the nails is a dirty chore, so I’ll string out the air gun, about an hour’s work.
The daughter’s boyfriend was supposed to be the one helping out, but he has not had a car in years. Too many DUIs, and the daughter is in the clinic drying out. So, I’ll lend hand as best I can, but my own fence needs attention. If I have any energy left, I’ll try to salvage some pickets for myself. But you’ve guessed I’m not gung-ho today.
The boards are done, saved her at least 1-1/2 hours of dusty work. Then I got into my own shed but not that scooter lean to. I was busy enough, a load of laundry took me as long as I remember it used to take people half my age. I got to working on the tiny box for my electric screwdriver, then another coat of that weird oak stain, then sorted out a box of my music cable collection. You know, I’m going over to Bartow for a couple cold beers. I’m okay with what I got done but it took too long. And my shoulders are still unhappy about this morning.
A new Indiana law gives citizens the right to shoot police who enter their homes without a warrant. Police are upset, they say. The Demtards are gone utterly ballistic about Trump standing in at McDonald’s yesterday. They are putting about that the operation was staged and that even the people pulling up to the wicket are actors, Pennsylvania is counting ballots already from people who died more than fifty years ago. Two years ago I posted that Trump will get 105 million votes. That means to rig the count, the Democrats will have to plow 71 million fakes into the system just to break even and have to use them all in around 20 targeted cities stations that are being heavily watched this time. And, most of those ballots have to be mail-ins.
How about a quiet evening? Is this how life ends? If so, it just means you are a dolt if you don’t find something else. Unfortunately, playing in a band is not working out like planned. My theory is people just don’t have the money any more. My hobbies don’t cost much and that’s why a quiet time. I chose two subjects. The amplifier and the plotting sheet. Seeking a couple of more advanced videos to keep it challenging, I looked into the biasing procedures that had all those scary formulas. On around the fifth try, I got what I wanted, a video that used relative values. For example, this resistor should be ten times that one, or the output voltage should be one-half the input voltage. I can work with these parameters.
Next, more on plotting sheets. I find them more fascinating as I learn, though all I’ve done to date is plot one or two locations per sheet. It’s not that hard if you follow the directions, but gets rough once those directions are not in front of you. I recommend doing the charts until you memorize each step. This can be done without knowing the theory but that’s not a good idea since you cannot check for reasonableness. I’m at the level where I can plot two positions and measure the direction and distance between them. It’s a baby step that is best learned well.
By bedtime my shoulder condition has not improved. I can now feel internally the gears and levers that allowed me to walk with the cane as they interconnect with bone and muscle. By late afternoon this turned into a cramp just like a stiff neck, except I can’t fully turn either direction. Big Loretta correctly got the correct shoulder blade moving long ago. This movement was never effortless, not in the sense that you don’t much think about the mechanics of, say, reaching for your coffee cup. With this, I feel every molecule of the motion. It’s not that painful but enough to alert you the pieces have not moved in years.
That’s not accurate, they have moved, but in unison. For a long time, the shoulder socket didn’t move without the whole assembly getting in on the act. The process is subconscious while I’m working and active, it’s when I stop for the day that I get the aches. And right now it is the pointy part of my right shoulder blade near the spine. It’s like a pressure that I can lean in the doorway and push it slightly for relief. But it doesn’t like to stay where it is most comfortable.
None of it affects my bass arm, whew! No sense being a hero, I will begin to play sitting down because the bass strap goes over that shoulder and I don’t need outcomes.
