June 13, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 13, 2024, eBay sux.
Five years ago today: June 13, 2020, my ‘treatment withheld’ list.
Nine years ago today: June 13, 2016, coffee at the Palmdale.
Random years ago today: June 13, 2004, remember Pioneer 10?

           The pundits say this is the trysting day, the ultimate Friday the 13th. I say, since the war in the east is already underway, today is go otherwise un-noticed. Ah, but tomorrow is the big leftard uprising, they say. The MSM say it is the ultimate showdown between the Democrats and Trump, I say it looks like it’s already fizzled out. But then, the Democrats do have a lot of money. We also hear the IRS is tracking down people funding the rioters. Now that could be fun to know.

           Caltier is in the picture again but not in a fun way. They have their new web page up and running with no apparent changes. They want everyone to reset their passwords. I clicked on the link. There is still something out of whack over there and Caltier is notorious for not answering or returning calls. I can’t get started today, so I will force myself to get some work done. Force rarely comes out okay for me, but anything is better than sitting around like some Starbucks gronk. If nothing else, let’s build a box or something. Work with me here.
           How about this remote self-operating coffee trailer? It is designed to be parked and left alone 23-1/2 hours per day. It has been impossible to determine the price tag, but I imagine it to be around $100,000. Payment is by smart phone and facial recognition only. It can be operated remotely, what could possibly go wrong? You first.

           Later, today’s post is a sad day for me, as by mid-afternoon I admit this is the first day of my life that old-age put me out of commission. I did some work on boxes, those are today’s pictures. But as for my old self, I wonder. Anyway, cheer up. Here is a box of mangos, I read if you put them in a cardboard box and cover them with newspapers, they get ripe. I’ve eaten maybe 15 mangos in my life that I know of. I could not tell it from papaya in a salad, but I know it is the ingredient of many a smoothie. This is one tiny batch of mango compared to what is out there.
           Doing my best to get you things you’ve not seen here before, here is the array of z-box cutting templates. There is a fifth plate, over by the drill press for making the thumbholes. Never cut any board around here that is marked with red or green paint. Shown here is the end result of quite a number of false starts, so I prize these templates. These are for the chop saw to cut the front and back, the sides, and to partially size that custom bottom piece.

           I turned off the radio and worked in silence, just a couple of hours. These three stacks are matching sets of lumber prepped for assembly. The significance here is that, even though I know little about lumber, each of these sets select. I’ve learned to chop out the knots and watch for interesting grain patters. These are e-boxes, which I was trying to make look a bit more symmetrical when viewed from above.

           Instead, I screwed up, cutting three bottom panels too short. This said call it quits for the day, so I came inside near the A/C and brought up “Ghosts of Mississippi”, the 1997 movie. The one where Whoopi plays Whoopi, the only part she can play. I never watched it all before, for the reason it is too sucky about integration. The libtards back then had everybody terrified of being tagged a racist. There are two sides to every story, and the fact is, integration is the wrong word for what was going on.
           Same as today, nobody wants to “integrate” except right smack into the middle of a certain, specific, definable, fixed minority group and there is no denying that is what’s going on. I’ve never bought that nonsense that if I don’t want to have anything to do with somebody, that makes me intolerant or something.
           What I do have is better lumber. Shown is wood selected because the grain takes well to yagasuki. No sales so far but the whole box adventure has been great fun. I’m grabbing all the seconds (imperfect boxes) for my own storage and I’m actually making headway with the scads of things I have lying around. I even found the charger for my small drill. The battery has to be removed for charging and I have a question for you. One blob of glue fell off my workbench a month ago. Guess where it landed and what it stuck together.

Picture of the day.
View from the Eiffel.
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           I’m less hesitant than before to smack apart poorly fitted boxes and rework the pieces. Here is a group of four e-boxes today. It’s usually a minor defect and I’ve learned how to knock the pieces off without damage and reuse the good panels. I prefer slapping together new boxes, but as shown here these are too far along to demolish. These boxes are likely slightly ill-fitting, as I use the same jig as for the Z-box.

           The second photo here reveals the need for a finish on the wood. These are glued butt-joints held with staples. You can see a contrast with the end-grain. This is the best way I know to make an economical box, so compare with other photos and you’ll see the yagasuki gives it a better appeal.
           I also used some end pieces to see if I can put together a “pencil box” design. That the format where instead of a lid, the top of the box has a panel that fits into grooves. The is a small catch or dent used to slide the box open. I do not yet have any way to cut that groove as my router is set for boxes with lids that don’t slide. I kick myself for not learning to build basic objects like this while I was a kid.

           One positive side effect of all this time at home is it balances the budget. I’ve cancelled around half my planned activity since the onset of treatments on my back. Can’t blame it all on the baking weather. I’d rather build things than just about anything except play music these days. Without a gig, what’s a Friday except Karaoke, and there is only one show left in town. The nearest live entertainment is a 40-minute round trip. Locally, there are no places left with a home-town atmosphere.

           Not that long ago, I used to stop in a few times a week, but even that has lost appeal since there is no weekday crowds or activity. The people from Las Vegas have changed the equation. I remember when the old club always had a Wednesday crowd playing the juke box. Now when you walk in, the staff, not the customers, start playing canned metal and rap. There is talk the new people will buy the place. But woe if they do. They lost the locals and I know they do not have the financing to weather the inevitable dry spells that eventually creates. If one new club opens up anywhere in this town, it’s doom for the rest.
           This all has me thinking, I’ve tried for years to learn to stay at home and take it easy. If a back injury can put me in that mode, should I not try again? What a boon if I could be content to go out once a week or even every other week. Become a part-time hermit. Who recalls that Norwegian guy from the trailer court who never went out in 20 years even when invited? He used to say there was nothing happening downtown. So he died at home without ever even seeking a good time.

ADDENDUM
           YouTube is trying to outwit the adblockers again. I know I’ve been a harsh critic that the original computer designers did not build in features like security and anonymity, but I’m glad they also overlooked other things. Like how to force themselves on people via intrusive ads. And I’m sporting with their latest round of gimmicks. Their software is not evenly applied. Old movies still play fine, or can be defeated by skipping ahead into the content, then re-applying the blocker. But some still play the ads, although it accelerates to the “Skip” button. That tells me they are working on it. I still call advertising the American Blight and those who do it need to be encouraged otherwise.
           Yep, America, the Empire of Idiots. What a muck-up they have made of computers. Digital should have been the wave of the future. Instead of getting better, each passing year creates new problems to be dealt with. As an example, let me tell you about a total fuppuck in Win 11. A problem that a complete moron would have to work at a long time to really screw people around with. Pop-up windows. They are sometimes handy when you want them. But all too often, they appear by themselves and here is the feeble part. They appear over the item you are working on and lock the screen. You have to stop what you are doing and close the window or move it out of the way.
           Even way back in Win 95, they knew better. Back when there were still a few real programmers left, there was a shred of common courtesy left in computers as a career. Now it is a job, and a dead-end one for simpletons.

Last Laugh