One year ago today: March 25, 2024, stuck with no plans.
Five years ago today: March 25, 2020, “millennialization” begins.
Nine years ago today: March 25, 2016, amazing wheelwright.
Random years ago today: March 25, 2015, and only $49,000.
We awake to confirmation that 7 million people over 120 years old have been kicked off Social Security. No word on who has been cashing the checks and 5 million more to go. It says here five states have banned those Japanese mini-trucks, which I think are called Kei-cars, pronounced “key-cars”. Claiming they are unsafe, this harks back to the argument from the 1980s, where SUVs were said to be safer than passenger cars. (In reality, SUVs are trucks which place the occupants in an armored cage, so the damage is passed on to anything they hit, including pedestrians.)
Five and a half hours, but this picture shows I’m restoring some form of order. Shown here are two of four 14/2 (white) wires that I know for sure. One is the hallway light, the other some outlets. Visible also is the grey wiring for the existing water heater and the orange for the new heater. This is work for somebody a lot younger, but then again it would not have taken him all day, either. It’s dusty as well, as the old wiring had been inadequately stapled and had sagged down, sometimes coated in dust.
The white cabling is a repair and addition of two A/C plugs. However, when you tap into the spider, the runs all radiate outward and there is no real linear patter to each leg. There are five breakers and four runs to the box, located under the middle of the kitchen floor. I’m removing it completely this week, but in one of the runs that radiates out there, I see a junction box with one wire in and two wires out. Aha!
I got ten bucks says the guy messed up and instead of a circuit splitting into two runs, one of those wires goes back the that mystery fifth breaker. I saw this once before at Wally’s Folly. Two powered cables into the same box, in that case it was to a floorboard heater. By 5:30PM, I’m too tuckered to follow up on that today. I’m happy that I was limber all day, crawling in and out of the work area probably twenty times—but with that ease comes a vague deep uncomfort not unlike after an aerobic workout. Except I did not even get winded. So I should be happy.
First Alia manned flight.
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Festus Tuesday was a welcome break but the episode was disappointing. The preview said it was a shoot-em-up range war. It was about the wives stopping the husbands from a gunfight. Have we seen all the good old re-runs? Not a real quickdraw in weeks now. These are colorized so maybe they are later productions when they began running short on themes. This picture shows the old stove wiring box. I intend to move all these boxes up into the building, maybe recessed into the wall behind a decorative plate.
The Prez says I can have the stuff in his garage that he is leaving. I agree, it is a big garage and yard sales are a hassle. There is that gasoline pressure washer, and he’s got this big gas charcoal grill or maybe it is a smoker. I would just let the Texan sell it, I suppose. Remember Mayor Reynolds, “In my day we ate in the house and took shit outside.” At this point I’m mostly only interested in what I can sell, for example, he has this brand new portable basketball hoop.
All of this depends on getting my trailer hitch connected and that in turn depends on this wiring job. Which is maybe 10% done, but at least I know what I’m doing. I’ve uncovered at least one of the big wire coils I left in place. That alone will save hundreds of dollars.
ADDENDUM
The bottom line is once that floor is repaired, I need a convenient way to combat biofilm. The only change in my cooking and washing is things I no longer eat, such as beef. There is no direct cause for this icky backup, yet reading on-line shows it is a common plumbing problem. A few sources say a vinegar rinse works, which I will try, some say baking soda but don’t give instructions. I would hesitate to believe those who say use both. What’s more likely is I’ll install some manner of plug that is easy to remove. That’s assuming they make such a thing, but if not it is evident the material is heavier than water and I can design a trap.
Here’s a good spot to mention to historians why many of my figures don’t add up. First, there is a built-in discrepancy and second, not 100% of my income is included in the budget. I monitor only those outlays that, if not controlled, become pitfalls. It stands to reason I’ll track gas, food, and entertainment. My budget is far from airtight and it is a guideline, not a set of restrictions. It’s plain I will easily run over budget any time I feel the situation warrants. And it is flexible, for example how I stopped budgeting for coffee when it got over $2.50 per cup. It is now part of groceries. I drank coffee downtown my whole life until the price went crazy.
Not every amount that drops is cause for joy. Example, my entertainment budget drops to below $75 a month when I’m not in Tennessee. I may not be having as much fun as I worked for when I’m here on my own.
