May 31, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 31, 2024, $1,340 each.
Five years ago today: May 31, 2020, unreliable friends.
Nine years ago today: May 31, 2016, [Unavailable]
Random years ago today: May 31, 2018, smart phones, dumb people.

           I’ve got something. My guess is from visiting that medical clinic a couple days ago. It could mean today is another dud. Aging has another effect on me, in that older injuries supposedly healed, now flare up. Minor, but annoying, worst being my old shoulder issue. If this means stay inside with the A/C all day, I’m okay with that. The Reb is back from the concert tour. She’ll need time to decompress. Let’s check the news while the coffee brews. Something must have happened in the world today.

           Canada is your archetypical welfare state. When times are good, they keep spreading the wealth, but sooner or later the tiny percent of taxpayers footing the bill run out of money, or, like myself, head for the USA . The only way out is to reduce the numbers on welfare, and it says here 5% of deaths in Canada are now medically-assisted suicide. The true north, strong and free, they used to say. Feeling great or not, let’s get something done today. Don’t want folks thinking I’ve gone full-Florida.

           Wait, by 9-ish, the temperature stayed below 80°F and I’m limbered up. I filled the birdfeeders but missed a classic photo for you. The cardinals and woodpeckers now tolerate each other when the food is plentiful. They were side-by-side, the woodpecker totally into the new peanut feeder. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he enjoys the extra work to break the shells. Sigh, I’ve told about my declining ability to see things end-on and it is getting worse.

           This time, I could not find my camera. Turns out it was end-on instead of sideways on the shelf only five feet away from me. It’s not that I can’t see it, when I find it I realize that is somehow blends into the background and the shape does not register. If I get up and move a bit, the shape appears, but that movement scares the birds away. The crisis today around here is not the crummy condition of the world, but carpenter’s pencils. Where they used to give these away free, they are now 65 cents apiece.

           Um, that’s not why both ends of the pencils in this photo are sharpened. I’m not that cheap. I cut the pencils in half because they fit in a pocket a lot easier. This is the blog that dares to feature a pencil, sharpened on both ends. You could do a lot of searching to get this much variety anywhere else.
           Carefully examining the shed, I see the space I had picked to store my projected 24-unit inventory is not weathertight. That’s the last possible indoor storage area that won’t get in the way anywhere else. I don’t mind if the boxes get grey or sun-dried, but wet is another thing. Shown here is a stack eight boxes already blocking my path to the compressor room.

Picture of the day.
Abandoned vehicles in Detroit.
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           I wandered out to the shed and decided to cut some wood. Jim Croce was on the radio and I cannot help think of Sweet Judy from, let me count, fifty-some years ago. So glue the wood, there’s no rush. Might as well staple it and cut the bottom panels. Might as well do the yagasuki. There you go, I built four boxes, finished a fifth, and slapped together a generic box for something to do. (This generic box was the same Golden Ratio, I discovered later it is an excelling size for a 12-20V cordless drill.)

           Here are the five finished boxes, which taught me a lot. I have no experience at this and don’t pretend any. As before, one box in six has some mistake that needs time-consuming attention. Be as careful as you like, there will be a mistaken cut every hour that will not be apparent until the assembly stage.

           One of these boxes is a reject. If they get to this far, they are still good boxes, but have some flaw that I won’t sell it. You would have to loo to find it. One of the side panels cracked when stapled. I don’t yet fix these, it’s not cost-effective at this point. I’ll bet there are pages of advice on-line how to fix wood cracks so it can wait. While doing this work, I’m usually thinking about the process and real costs.
           For example, these five boxes took me 4-1/2 hours. I was doing other things simultaneously. I figure that is a truer measure of the time things will take. Beyond the display at the Barn, I’ve not marketed the box—but people who see them really like them. I’ll get to it in a bit, the whole 100% Made-in America stickers and the $19.99 MSRP tags. Why have I chosen 24 as stock? That’s easy, I can easily build 12 per week and would like to take two weeks off when I feel like it. And if sales are higher than that, I’ve hit the jackpot.

           This next photo is more boxes. What did you expect? And these ones are now taking up counter space needed for household repairs. Let’s hope nothing goes boom. This whole project is well-documented beyond what you see here. The logical question is why not write a how-to? Because it would be an over-simplification and there is already too much of that. To feel right, I’d have to include several chapters about the parts they others leave out.
           There is still time for many things to go wrong. The fence panels are a seasonal item. If I stock up, I’d need even more storage room. If added up, I use around $1,000 worth of tools, of which over $300 is pneumatics. This box could not be practically built without air staples, and I’m using the neighbors $400 table saw for free. The chop saw and drill press are mine, and that press is starting to complain. Each thumb-hole has to be slowly drilled in three steps, or you will stall the motor or overheat the bit.

           The lumber also likes to cup a bit if sawn more than a day in advance. These have to be glued and clamped for 24 hours as staples alone won’t hold the seams tight. What I’ve learned most is that although most of us have done each task at some point (or even built a box like this), BUT nothing prepares you for turning it into production. Each shop session, some new problem emerges, my consolation is that since they never repeat, I must be solving them in real time. I remind you I have zero experience with this work, I’m learning at the same time as you. However, I have done accounting which gives me a better way to stay organized than what else I’ve seen.
           Rather than wait of anyone to ask, yes I have checked into laser cutters and A.I. They introduce other downsides. This product is still hand-made and needs to retain that look. A.I. is, to me, like 3D printing. Wait until it is easier to use. I have no application for any leaded edge technology—but I do foresee troubles ahead for many. A.I. will replace some jobs, but not individual creativity. Deep thought and problem-solving are solitary and damn lonely at times. Here is what I think is likely:
           A.I. will replace mainly routine computer jobs. I’ve worked my entire life with computers and I know that the gigs and hustles out there today are a shallow joke compared to skill levels required for most traditional occupations. Computers create the illusion of skill and sadly the first people fooled are the operators. I compare them to top notch driving instructors who don’t know how to change a tire.
           On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being toll booth operator and 10 being a dental mechanic, most self-employed computer users are about a 2 and A.I. is going to amplify this dismal plight. It is my opinion most consumers avoid “computerization” unless they have no choice. Example, if you saw two pizza parlors. One was entirely traditional, the other was satellite-linked to your credit-card tap-to-pay, the menu was in 3D barcode, and the place was stalling the service by trying to sign people up at the counter, which would you do business with? Fact is, people who see the latter as “progress” have never known any better—and A.I. will be a rude awakening.

ADDENDUM
           It says here there are 32 red flags of childhood habits that become serious problems. Let me see which apply to me.

1. Independence, as in “I can do it myself”. Meaning for some this is a problem.
2. Eating everything on your plate. Okay, I’m guilty.
3. Retreating to fictional worlds. They include reading, saying it is bad for you, duh.
4. Avoiding argumentative people. Gosh, I thought that was natural.
5. Eating ice cubes. Can’t say I’ve ever done that much.
6. Talking to strangers. For me, that’s confined to slim, proportionate female strangers.
7. Nail-biting. I did that, but once I became financially stable, it went away.

           In other news, it is illegal to do DNA tests in Israel. Over in Ireland, Conor drops all pretenses and says if elected, he’ll use the army to oust the Islamics, which is exactly what he means by “foreign invaders”.

Last Laugh