October 24, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: October 24, 2024, probably family money.
Five years ago today: October 24, 2020, why I quit caring . . .
Nine years ago today: October 24, 2016, the last guy quit . . . .
Random years ago today: October 24, 2009, “shallow” businesses.

           Extra gourmet rations for all birdies this morning. If there is a Geneva Convention for birdies, I’ll sign it. Another glorious Florida morning and we start with French toast, but not the sliced bread kind. The sliced hoagie bun version that requires two eggs. I’m back in this time zone after an 11-hour snooze. Nothing marked on my planning calendar, so today is open to any adventure of any category.

           For a noon snack, I like crackers and cheese. But here is one mistake I’ll never make again. Who puts pepper in perfectly good cheese? I was reaching for the extra sharp Cheddar and found this when I arrived home. I know about buyer beware, but does that have to apply to the cheese aisle?
           The libtards are calling for a week-long shutdown protest around November 25. I guess the last one didn’t work out so well for them. Remember George Floyd’s family who got $50 million in settlements and donations two years ago? This morning they applied for welfare. The people who got burned out in California are said to be living in ADUs. So I looked, but all I could see were trailers, cabins, and shacks everywhere. Nary a one “Accessory Dwelling Unit” in sight. But these people are so advanced, you know.
           The EBT crowd is issuing more threats. Most say they will resort to stealing food rather than get jobs. That’s a brainiac solution that should last a week tops. Don’t expect much public sympathy, every posted video of the complainers show them at between 200 to 300 pounds.

           Good thing I did not start a big job, by mid-afternoon I was tapped. But I did manage to get the sides of Tonio’s tool box cut and assembled. This has many improvements over the original design posted September 1, such as the stronger carry handle mentioned. This pic shows the lumber selection process, a lesson learned for me. This picket lumber is slightly thicker than normal, with no knots or bark. The marks and tarnish a left intentionally. Box sides are carefully matched and pre-drilled with recessed pilot holes to prevent cracking the 11% moister lumber (considered fully dried.)
           The box bottoms, always custom-fitted here, did not turn out. They warped and cracked when clamped straight. The bottom boards are reinforced with biscuits, so cannot be just bent into place. If this does not cooperate, I may simply plane the exterior bottom flat. The interior, nobody cares.

           Lately I’ve watched some documentaries on various metals, and today it’s titanium. About all I know is the metal is common, but expensive to refine, and is used in turbine blades. Okay, now I learn most titanium is an alloy with aluminum and vanadium. Used a lot in spacecraft, it is apparently easy to recycle, but getting it to that stage is complex and not eco-friendly. It has to be mixed with chlorine and heated way up there. I found this interesting scrap metal site that lists categories by the hundreds. As always, just X-close the lame cookie notice and continue. Don't even try to tell me you cannot survive on the Internet without cookies.

Picture of the day.
Oklahoma fried onion burger.
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           Easy does it, I would have had to quite half-done if I’d started on the floor. JZ has never seen the floor work and I can’t convince him nobody is crawling under the house. The floor boards come up, just not today. Instead, I puttered away on Tonio’s box, because it can be done in short stages once you know how. This view is the template fot the corner joint pilot holes. They don’t really have to be so exact and the slight variation you might spot has a purpose. In case the box has a lid, the screws have to be out of the path of the saw blade.

           Other improvements to this unit include those special brass-colored screws, twenty of them on the box corners. This box should be able to survive a fairly severe drop. The joints are also glued with waterproof TiteBond, the squeeze out can be seen here near the clamp. This box is totally square and holds that shape solid.

           Squirrels. They have not yet got to the feeder but their constant ruckus has got to be bothering my birdies. That won’t do so I have set out the trap. Time for a little drive to the west end where there is nobody to bother. We have three varmints, all young and frisky. Off they go after a wee taste of peanut butter and a nice spell in the cage. Something to tell the grand-squirrels about. I’ve read every book in this house several times and have decided on another major clean out. I see I’ve accumulated some 15 books on the Internet from the early days. All are now comical now since the internet turned out to be a far cry from the intentions.

           Let’s watch a movie. Or the news. Here’s one, there is speculation of a plan to have Vance run as President with Trump as his Vice-President. Then Vance abdicates, giving Trump a third term without being elected, which preserves the Constitution. Trump has also announced that Federal election monitors will be present at polling stations in California and New Jersey in their upcoming November elections.

           Conditions in Ireland don’t look so good. Over here, it’s not so obvious. For the second time this week, I fell asleep sitting in the new office chair, this time for 5-1/2 hours. I said I’d document my retirement, but cannot say this was good or bad. It’s good I can, but I had an equally comfortable chair 35 years ago and the same happened. Next month, it will be 44 years since I started my career in a corporate cube. Now I’m building boxes. You know, I’m going to grab an extra coffee and/or hot chocolate and stay up late and study.

           On topic was these light switches. I have installed an unusually high number of them during the rewire job of this house. This is because there are several remote devices such as the attic fan and porch lights where the device cannot be seen or heard from the switch location. This was good thinking for the number of times things would otherwise have been left on. So what’s the unusual part that gets them air time on the blog? The terrible instructions.

           These are the worst.set of installation instructions I’ve seen on an American product. The problem begins with the packaging. There are six different models that come in the same package, but good luck if you throw the package away or open more than one package at once. The instructions inside contain 13 different diagrams for all six models, but there are no markings on the switch itself to indicate which model you have. It is a sticker on the outside of the package—a sticker which can come loose by itself.

           This is a pair of the model I use, which after some frustrating experience, I now know are model 692. To complicate matters, the instructions presume you know the engineering vocabulary. Is this a night light or a pilot light? Depends on which diagram you follow. The night light is intended to help you find the switch in a darkened location. Myself, I would avoid mounting the switch in a place like that.
           What I want is the pilot light. I need to know if the remote device is on or off. This involves connecting two neutral wires plus a hot jumper. You’ll get it, I mean, but just that the people who make these things are not going to help you any. The trick is to add an extra splice wire inside the junction box, which consists of the extra neutral (white) wire just mentioned.

ADDENDUM
           This, folks, is another demo of why Boomer rulers are superior to GenX rulers. Some smart aleck posted this on Gab, that stellar nursery of ideas.

Last Laugh