March 3, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 3, 2024, I shun hard liquor.
Five years ago today: March 3, 2020, cable but no electric.
Nine years ago today: March 3, 2016, remember my wagon?
Random years ago today: March 3, 2017, I still blame SONY.

           She’s chilly again, instead of an early start, I did some research on a circuit I build some years ago, that circuit that made two LEDs flash back and forth. Today, I discovered this was the same wiring as the basics of a single memory circuit. Once again, the experts who publish this circuit on-line did not know the history of the design. I will look at it again in more detail. This is the original way they got electricity to “remember” its last setting, the basics of all computers. This knowledge does wonders for understanding how so many pieces fit together.

           The neighbor’s kids again, this time the police are involved. They were parked outside for three hours, standing around in groups and writing reports. Those are not local cops, so who knows what’s up this time. The son shows up as passenger in a truck, which around here means he’s lost his license. It must be over money since she doesn’t seem to have much else. If sibling groupings are average the son must be over 60. Old enough to be grandparents themselves.

           Here are two new boxes from this morning. What’s different? The cutting and assembly time was carefully measured. I have no jugs, but I have cutting guides and they are still assembled by hand which involves some fumbling. The good news is each was completed in 14-1/2 minutes. It’s an interesting study in my cost accounting skills. Around a third of the time is wasted motion, moving between tools, and correcting small mistakes. I’ll run over the process, since it is still cold outside.
           While the boxes are build identically, they are not. There are slight variances in the thickness of the panels which changes the interior dimensions. The divider is at the suggestion of Bryne so it resembles a fruit or cheese container, but also blocks the spot where I’d drill the thumb holes. It makes the box exceptionally strong and there is a trade-off with staple size and need for glue.

           These boxes are glued as the staples are only 3/4". Remind me to pick up some 1” size. I was using 1-1/4”, kind of a standard here, but on the slightly thinner stock, the position has to be exact, which takes time. I’d rather avoid glue at least until I build some form of rack to hold everything in place.

           The awaited utility bill arrived, $380. Thus, in the past two months, the electric is around $360 more than usual. Let’s put this into perspective. I can live with that because a plumbing call-out these days is $600. Forget the city “rebate”, as the repair has to be done by a locally licensed plumber, over $400, and you only get half of that back. My budget for repairs is $50 per month and nothing has gone disastrously wrong in years. It is easily costing me $1,000 less per month to live here than just about anywhere else. I have no complaints about spending the extra cash to live this well. You’d think I planned it that way.

Picture of the day.
Flood-damaged cars, Louisiana.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The stove is moved outside and the section of the floor is ripped up. It was not easy but my old frame did not complain. The second panel shows the old stove sitting outside near the old van. The oak flooring was too brittle to salvage. I now have access to the full wiring system and I see there is a circuit I may be able to eliminate, making the old break box friendly again. When I moved in there was that monster of a heater and air conditioner in what was the living room. That was to heat the whole building, which it probably could have. I think it gave up on me a few months after I moved in.

           Moving the stove down the stairs was another two-man job. I used leverage. I’ll be eating leftovers from the microwave for a few days. There is no problem with that around here, and all fresh from scratch. The delay will be because the stove had rested atop the main electrical cables and now that I see both ends, some of it is scary. Exposed Marr connectors where there should be junction boxes and at least two 20 amp runs spliced with 15 amp copper. The box is not labeled so I’ll need a half-day to trace out that mess.

           The trailer hitch probably arrived today. I worked until past 6:00PM, too late to make the trip. I said I was tired, not lazy, folks. I canceled a tentative plan to go see the Derry Down show again. Instead, I was so grimy from under the building, I needed an extra half-hour in the shower just to sluice off the dust to get to the grit. It’s a rare trip to the shed that I don’t have to lug something unrelated to the chore and hand, of take care of something along the way. That explains this picture of a tree stump beside my shovel.
           That’s the linden tree I felled, and that is the stump that must be removed as it is smack in the best footpath. This shows how the root system has to be cut or it the tree grows back. I’m digging around the locate the roots which have to be cut with a sawzall, not a chain saw. So, how was your day?

           I’m back inside with a coffee and a big chicken sandwich, well-deserved. Here’s a headline that the Egg McMuffin is 50 years old today. I’ve had likely 100 of them in my life, they are a good meal for the price. I have not had one in at least three years. The Oscars, which I have never watched completely through, came and went without a ripple. The movie offerings are so bad I can’t name one.
           Still nothing from Caltier this month as their Fund 1 remains paused due to something called post-qualification approval. It’s been ten months. But, it is a big operation and all the other segments seem fine. If there was anything wrong, the others would be more tempting targets. I see their blog has been updated. The market is uneasy as the numbers of renters increases, putting pressure especially on low-income households, where Caltier says there are just 37 properties available per 100 families.

           They also quote the number of “experiencing homelessness” as approaching 600,000 for which I have less empathy than usual. These generations love to blame their situation on Boomers, but I see it as having much more recent origins. I can speak from personal experience on that. I warned them about immigration and it was the millennials, not the Boomers who called me a redneck. Same with government overreach, I warned them and was called a troublemaker. And so on. If there are Boomers responsible for the lack of jobs and housing, they are the minority who thought they could have it both ways, usually those who inherited money without which they would be the ones in poverty from bad attitudes.
           Caltier quotes 31.3% of households as being “cost burdened” meaning over 30% of their income goes to housing. With renters, it rises quickly to 50% [of their take-home]. And that’s where my “less empathy” stems from. I have a lot of youthful experience working half the month to pay the rent and an equivalent chunk of experience over what is needed to change that. It would be different if the people unwilling to make the sacrifices only weighed down themselves. My contact with them says they will drag you down to their level and expect you to feel sorry for them. What compassion do I have for some homeless jerk who thinks the solution to the illegal migrant problem is increasing my taxes?
           At the moment, I’m wondering what is happening to all the money being saved by DOGE. Where’s my $5,000? And there is more than enough to boost everybody’s social security up to the maximum.

Last Laugh