One year ago today: March 6, 2024, the hero is Dirk.
Five years ago today: March 6, 2020, that is, by imitation.
Nine years ago today: March 6, 2016, 90% of people I hate.
Random years ago today: March 6, 2005, the 13 “techno-fallacies”.
I didn’t bother checking outside, but Florida is weird. You can tell when there is a storm 500 miles away. Who cares if there’s tornados in Texas when you’re under a building here? But somebody out there is getting walloped good. And the truth emerges about foreign aid. The Supreme Court did not overturn DOGE, rather ruling that the money must be paid to certain parties that had re-existing signed contractual agreements. They are only a tiny ratio of the waste, not the big “We got Trump” the Democrats are bellowing. By 7:00AM it is not warming up. Wiser than to work my old frame when it’s chilly, we’ll do some planning this morning.
Knowing the Reb’s trip to California cannot be put off indefinitely, we’ll shoot for late April. Hopefully finances will be recovered by then. In fact, if I count the round trip to Skycraft as a business trip, we may have funds allocated for an extra trip this month. Hang on, me see what we can afford. Moments later, yes, we have $71. Can we come up with something adventuresome, that amount has to include gas, food, and anything extra that might arise, the only rule is it has to be more than 50 miles away, same as the motorcycle trips of yore.
There are other rules, but primarily it has to be some place boring people don’t inundate. Isn’t there a Bluegrass festival out near Land ‘O Lakes? The rules had to change, you know. That was due to the Reb. You MUST spend all the money, you MUST spend it on yourself, you cannot buy me anything or invest it or save it or buy food. Try not to get us millennialized, either.
What’s this, an article on how rich people pay off their debts? I’ll skip it, anybody who is in debt is not rich. Is someone a mile from my place who has a $300,000 mortgage richer than me? Let’s call him up and see if he can get away for an impromptu trip, say tomorrow? I stayed close to the coffee maker and began watching a movie called “Death Race”, very unusual. It shows both sides of a fight in North Africa. A downed Allied plane tries to taxi its way to safety, pursued by a high-ranking German officer who commandeers a tank. Starring Lloyd Bridges, there is no mention of Nazis or politics. Plenty of loyalty and personality clashes on both sides.
Boston today.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Take a look at this fencing. I would point out I am not saying anything is going on, only that this is a major development in that part of town. Yet nobody in the area has any idea what is going in there. I’m certain all the papers and permits are in order, but that’s a revelation of how ineffective these notices are to the public. When is the last time you read the zoning application section of the newspaper? One small corner of this lot was a damaged warehouse shelter for a few years. This is the entire block, and at least seven residences were razed.
This next view shows the first permanent beam of this repair now wedged into place. The beam is the newest piece of lumber seen here, a landscape timber, you might be able to make out the stubby 30-ton hydraulic jack near the far end, the dark red object. I estimate this labor saved me at least $1,200 over a contractor. You are looking at over six hours of tough hauling and crawling. My brain said that is enough though I was quite happy to keep going. Nope, extended coffee break now.
I heard at least one of those brittle beams crack. I will reinforce the three that run under the most used section of kitchen flooring. The real challenge will be sorting out that wiring. There are only four circuits in all that tangle but they need to be accurately traced out. I found more of that 14/2 wiring where it should not be. There was a sagging joist in the middle of the room, so I added a concrete block pylon that was not part of the plan. That added an hour.
So it is with chores. I also finished cutting the linden stump out, which meant starting my 2021 chain saw that is getting a little harder to crank each time. I ran some laundry and cut the frame for one of the screens on the new wall along the deck. It stopped the leaf pile-up without having to close in the ends, so that’s more savings. The work is harder on tools and I broke my favorite 4-foot level, it was plastic, faded, and getting brittle. But it is the reason why this cabin, for all its faults, has level floors and walls. So I will try a repair.
Catch me later, once I plunked down I had a half-hour yawning attack. My signal to get settled for the evening. But not before I set out some scraps for granny raccoon. You knew I would. Meaty chicken bones, apple slices, raisins, cereal flakes, pizza crust, and fresh water. She’s been tipping over the bird bath, poor old thing.
After two coffees, let’s see what the media says today. Gotta keep current. What’s this, the Demtards held a little sing-along in the House to protest the treatment of the pimp-cane guy. They are so done with they don't know.
ADDENDUM
I continue listening to “Four Winds” which helps me decide working under a house a my age isn’t so bad after all. The isolation of those poor kids gets to me. I’m reminded that one of the reasons I prefer pretty women is not due to television, but that when I was a kid there were very real threats that if you got caught with a girl who was not pretty that you would be forced to marry her. That held me back quite a lot. I was also taught that slaving away for an hourly wage was normal, but that was before I figured out the trick in life was to think like “them” without becoming one of “them”. You know what I’m talking about.
