One year ago today: May 26, 2024, real coffee? Sold out.
Five years ago today: May 26, 2020, I am full-service.
Nine years ago today: May 26, 2016, [Unavailable]
Random years ago today: May 26, 2017, mostly me grumbling.
Interesting, a big article on English TV was about a lady who got together a mortgage, but in the time it took, the house went up $100,000. Interesting to me, as the same thing happened to me in 1981-84. For me, prices went up faster than I could save the down payment. A voting machine in Georgia has been confirmed to have deleted 74% of votes against the Democrat candidate. Nothing will happen, the Democrats still own the court system. Not a lot of people know the Presidential auto-pen requires five authorized people to operate it.
No word from the Reb yet, which is a good sign. It also shows that I am needed far less than I was just a while ago. It’s not sad, this was one of the goals and I have mentioned that the cost of there and back has gone from $425 to $1132. This is no surprise because until 2021, most of the times I was there, she was not. This is a reflection on the way I tend to treat better as time goes forward but also the doubling of all prices in the same period. Funny, innit, that while I am free to scout around, I have not met a keeper in my 26 years in Florida, lordy knows I’ve tried.
The new spine doc as given me a list of home exercises, which I do not like. They involve lying on the floor and I am not near so bad off. The tasty new prescription (if you like eating rattan furniture) truly helps with mobility and that is why, late this afternoon, I’m planning a timed work period. This has not happened in years and is in view of trying to spread my helplessness over 90 minutes instead of an hour. Check back, as this depends on the weather dropping into the high 70s as promised by Tampa. The semi-finished boxes are beginning to stack up.
I caution anyone following along that what I’m doing is the stuff that so many “start from scratch” magazines crow about—but beware. The days of starting from scratch are gone and what’s left is an illusion. What they herald as a backyard startup makes wild assumptions about how that backyard got there. When I was twenty or even thirty, every penny I made at anything was desperately needed for day-to-day, if not hour-to-hour survival. You cannot get ahead without infrastructure and there ain’t no magazines going to tell you that Their plan is to sell you the program, not to show up after bacon & eggs tomorrow with a truck to help me move the stock across town.
Let’s check the news for what has any relevance to me. Another attack by vehicle in England, where I personally feel the open rebellion will begin. I don’t know how such stats get public, but there is all manner of talk about Democrats having mental health issues. That Fetterman is a favorite target. Shortly after Trump’s visit, the Saudis have begun to accept other currencies in payment for oil. The days of the petro-dollar are numbered. I leave it to you to look any further into this complicated If you don’t know the how this works, it was an agreement between all nations that when they bought and sold oil, payment always be in American dollars. It kept the dollar stable—and now that was destroyed by the Democrat’s printing spree.
Odd, Switzerland is no long in the top five safe travel destinations. Tourists are bidn advice to “take normal precautions”, a result of unrest at recent music festivals. One again, the trouble is linked directly to third-worlders in out midst. They do not share our values or understand or care how high-trust societies function.
Eastern Colorado, I think.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Yes, we got a lot done this afternoon, running a bit over my 90 minutes limit. Anything beats sitting around and I managed a quick time and motion study. I learned that from now on I’m taking the moisture meter with me to the lumber yard. The pickets that are slightly heavier actually contain three times as much moisture at 36%. Dryer wood is easier to work with. Here is my stunt double in complete safety gear demonstrating the assembly process. That was just part of what I was measuring today. Here is what I learned.
It takes an average of 6 minutes to cut each matching set of pieces. I eliminated one cut by turning the board over and slicing off the factory end. The glue holds better with cut ends. Including moving the lumber around and to the next stage, just over 36 minutes total. Now the assembly and this depends on many factors. If all goes well, the batch of 6 is done in 40 minutes. This can be improved, but for now it is the busy part.
I’ve learned to put only half the staples in the sides so it will flex slightly into square when the bottom panel is tapped into position. Do this while the glue is still wet. Fitting this bottom piece is a whole separate step that requires training. Don’t trust eyesight, the edges must be “felt” smooth and each panel has to be custom cut to length. Then comes the tricky part. The final piece has to be cut to width and length. Small variation in the lumber means this step cannot be automated. If you measure instead of mark, the piece will always be a little off.
The last or 6th box of each batch does not get the bottom piece cut. Save that end piece for correcting any mistakes. Each 6th box has three bottom panels instead of two. At this time, I use the neighbor’s table saw, so that takes time. I know from experience not to push, though I went a bit over today. It is likely possible to cut and assemble each box on an average of just under 15 minutes if there are no mistakes. This does not include any finishing, in this case, the yagasuki. Typical mistakes are assembling an end piece with the thumb hole the wrong way and a staple too close to the edge.
What is new to the curve? Well, now I regret not setting up that shop vacuum yet, as dust and shavings are accumulating. If I wind up building these a lot, I will need a better drill press, which competes with the band saw for dollars. This is not a big deal as I cannot keep up this pace. Time to spring the hillbilly out of prison on a day pass. He knows where all the tools are and his rent and food are paid by the State. The ideal Florida employee.
How about that Arkansas police chief in prison for rape and murder? Walked out the prison gate wearing a fake home-made police uniform. Classic.
ADDENDUM
I’m getting through the treasure diving story, but the antics of the lady are now getting in the way. Don’t read this book unless you are into over-30 female fantasy soft-porn. This is a fairly constant theme in a lot of audio-books, the older woman finding her forever-man that an 18-year-old bombshell would be lucky to date. Of course, he never questions her body count, it gets wearisome. There is a mysterious lack of recovery from a treasure ship and I’m intrigued by how much diving has changed since I last did it fifty years ago. Yes, I took the courses and did some scuba. I always had too much trouble equalizing and gave it up for snorkeling, then gave that up as well.
What’s changed is computers. The wreck is modeled on screen with cameras and real-time links following every part of the salvage operation. But loot is still going missing and a couple coins have shown up in local stops. Now, one of the divers has disappeared and the lady’s brother is showing signs of oxygen poisoning. But if he was going over the side at night, he’d be spotted, plus he would need lights to work. And the crew on such boats always piss over the gunwales in the dark and would notice right away. That part of the plot is entertaining.
