One year ago today: December 24, 2023, prices have soared.
Five years ago today: December 24, 2019, the right to perform.
Nine years ago today: December 24, 2015, testing an instant.
Random years ago today: December 24, 2018, me want workshed!
Usually I’ll find something to do just walking across the yard, but today is slated for box-building. I’ve decided to invest in some precision measuring tools, having concluded one of my hurdles is seams that don’t match up despite my best efforts and slightly-off kerf cuts. It should be warm enough by noon, so I made up my Xmas feast today. Roasted chicken with rice. Rice so good, it is often a meal in itself. I turned off the phone, I would like a complete day of rest with the exception of a possible Festus Tuesday. Let the neighbor call that one, he bases a lot more on “family” holidays. Myself, give me a good book.
Which I sort of got, the weird story of a codebreaker captured by the enemy as it applies to computer hacking today. It’s a long book of disjointed but very descriptive incidents. Here’s a montage of the books I’ve read or referenced in the past 48 hours. This does not include letters, magazines, newspapers, or anything on-line. Just books. The one just referenced is on the far right, “Cryptonomicon”, weighing in at a hefty 918 pages. I’ve learned to gloss over chapters dealing too much with Manila or the Vietnam war. As the meme goes, the US military no longer fights for anything the average American would recognize as freedom. I know how to interpret the exact meaning of that, because I wrote it.
Now I said I referenced the books, I’ve already read most of them earlier. Note the books in 3rd and 5th position, they are about economic collapse and doom. I don’t base much on these constantly-appearing crap, but there are so many [predictions] somebody is bound to be right sometimes. The reality is that I read them because I know my competition does, kind of like the way I read horoscopes. Remember how I said I don’t believe in them but I know a lot of sexy women who do. The 4th book is backwards, but trust me, it is a Nautical Almanac. I wonder what the TV-addicts have read this week. Or should I say month or year? Ha!
Just like Google A.I. is fake and nothing to do with the real thing, now they are announcing breakthroughs in quantum computing. Again they are lying, but such is the pressure to be first to market, they will continue to make these wild claims. Other fakes include VPN and cloud storage. These “marvels” are just enough to dupe the unsophisticated.
By early afternoon, it is still below 70°F. Without the winter sun high in the sky, it gets just as cold in Florida as it does on the other side of the Gulf. I’m setting the alarm for a siesta until 3:00PM.
Largest model train set.
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It warmed enough to assemble a box and the neighbor came over to confirm Gunsmoke/Festus. You bet, I just never figured anybody would be home Xmas Eve. Turns out he was to dinner earlier and wisely wound things up before dark. He texted at noon, but I’ll never be a phone person. In this colorized episode, Matt gets shot in the arm and quits his job. He’s back with an injury that might heal in twenty years in just three days.
We got to talking about our old jobs. It is 25 years to the day, Xmas Eve, that I arrived in Miami. Driving a baby Cadillac with my newly-earned accounting degree, and my electric bass in the trunk. This got me thinking about the phone company, I believe I mentioned how, being the only single man on the crew, it was customary whoever worked Xmas Eve also was scheduled for Xmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Years day, resulting in 60 hours regular pay and 30 hours at double-time-and-a-half. Until 1990, when they hired a batch of late millennials and early GenX types. Who immediately decided is was “more fair” that these holiday shifts be shared.
I tried to warn them, but they were way too smart for that. It worked great for two years, until the guy stuck on one of the shifts realized after taxes, he broke even and had missed Xmas with his family. By 1993 they were begging me to take the shift back, but then I was doing well enough to tell them to shove it. The shift work went to forced scheduling and I never missed an opportunity to remind them how fair that was. My seniority meant I never worked another Xmas, but they did.
Another NYC immigrant attack, again on the subway. The Democrats are up to something. When the jackpot is big enough, I buy one MegaMillions, sometimes two. It is rate to get even one of the six numbers. The next jackpot is a billion or so. If I win, I’m buying a luxury van, for sure.
Before you read the addendum, there is a vague accounting principle maybe I should clarify. Deficits are not necessarily an overall loss. I’m referring to a profit over direct materials and management, not labor. Think of it this way, if two men both have a stock of materials and tools. One man builds nothing because he would be making less than $10 per hour for his labor. The other man keeps working and makes only $1 per hour. At the end of the day, who is further ahead? Accountants call the $1 the “contribution margin” because it helps to defray any fixed costs. And I don’t really have any fixed costs.
There is a series of videos from a company called “Brilliant”, which are on-line tutorials. Rather than sign up, you can find most of the best material on youtube. Just find any one and the rest are just links from there. This is one of the sources I used to understand the use of transistors as computer components. I get the theory, which is helped by how I figured out some of it on my own, though some help would have been nice. If you are curious about the level (and limit) I can understand, watch this video on memory
ADDENDUM
Did a small wooden box make the blog? You bet, and I’ll go over how this one embodies quite a number of features significant to me. Most importantly, this was the first box I’ve built that if I sold if for $20 I’d make a profit. It was designed, cut, assembled, and fastened in just 40 minutes without any advance planning. There are a few shortcuts but the box is just as solid and durable as any other I’ve made. You can stand on this box and it will not break at the joints.
Next, I’m proud of this box, it is a significant step for me as I managed this one without any mistakes. It is also the first box made with entirely with powered tools. The chop saw, sander, and brad nailer only. I have a small jig to ensure square corners. All joints and seams are glued solid. It was simple to get that lumber brand [mark] in the center, the lid is slightly recessed. Seam gaps are visible but all that part is finishing work, which I’ve learned is best kept a separate trade.
What’s left to do on this box is cutting the lid, the hinges, and the hasp. You can spend as much as you want on the finish, including smoothing the seams. If I was going to stain a lot of boxes like this, I would dunk them in a bath. Yes, this is pallet lumber. This box is for my loose drill bits, which over the years manage to find their way into drawers, tool boxes, magnetic holders, and jars that get misplaced. The lid is four easy saw cuts. The pneumatic nailer is adjustable, but this time I let it punch the nails and it left those puncture marks. I would soon switch to staples and may fill in the holes as they are larger than I expected.
Another invisible component is nothing on this box was measured. All pieces were marked using a sharp nail and cut by eyeball alone. This used to be challenging, now it’s a breeze. Two changes I would make is thinner lumber for the top and bottom, which I have just read up on how to best do that. Since I have to slice lumber to 1/2” thickness for that, I’ll also try my hand at smaller boxes. Today’s box is about as small as I want anything in 3/4”. Mind you, the 3/4” size has never let me down I have no reason to change that for tool boxes. The stains I use are meant more for furniture; I’ve never decided on an exterior coating. I read a couple articles and that is a science in itself. I figure my cases are more for storage than transport, so that explains all the poly finishes.
