One year ago today: October 29, 2024, a commanding lead.
Five years ago today: October 29, 2020, eulerian scripts.
Nine years ago today: October 29, 2016, a spray of sawdust.
Random years ago today: October 29, 2012, a less permanent arrangement.
8:00AM and I’ve been GenXed already. I need another sheet of flooring plywood, so how about we price out what we need. Can’t do that. Here is the entire aisle of Home Depot, again and again and again, with the prices of what you want not marked. We’re off to a good start. D’ya think that guy in the parking lot skybox is just watching so they can scramble somebody to remove the price tags when you hear for the lumber section? Because that is an accurate theory.
But all that is incidental because of boxes. Yep, you heard me. She had noticed the small tool box Wilford had left behind the bar. She has a local marketing firm that is always looking for products to promote. It was just the small “toy” took box, but her and her friend loved it so much, I kind of let them know I had built it. They were impressed. I’ll see if I can find you a pic because is not a regular item I build, they were meant for free samples. And the yagasuki (burnt wood) finish was an instant hit.
This gal is a babe, but my interest solidly focuses on her ability to market this box. Listen, guys, I want to you pay close attention to these pictures. That’s the sample box I donated. She has several marketing systems so I want you to look for some time at these two. These two photos of the box she is handling. You will recognize this as an ordinary Z-box, but in her obviously capable and experienced hands, the possibilities are endless.
Note, this is not the box to be marketed. This is a Z-box and you will have to read down to this afternoon to see the chosen style, a small tool box. She inspected that unnamed tool box earlier, but it belongs to Wilford. And as they say in the Army, you get what you inspect, not what you expect. I don’t really have any good photos, as the box was thrown together for my own hand tools. Yet, it would not be the first time in history an empirical designed turned out to be a winner.
Now I have to explain why it took me two hours to write that letter. Shall we say, I was indeed as distracted as I set out to be. I did not get around to zapping Tonio’s logo on the box, I opted for a leisurely breakfast of French toast and now cannot get kick-started. The laser at this setting has to be monitored, as it is the same as dealing with open flame. I’ve also discovered how easy it is to accidentally set the speed at 10x too slow. This will sear the wood—but I’m wondering if the wood is thin enough, can I cut it?
This unit was not designed for cutting. A couple months back I found a sheet of plywood around 1/8th of an inch thick. Not laminate, but looking more like it is a skin intended to cover old work or something. Burning these logs takes time, it’s one of the quirks you get used to trying it out. Be patient, or like I do, find something to do nearby. Also be aware the process produces smoke and aroma—and with the necessary computer, it is unlikely you will burn much outside. I’m going to try something new, burning the logo onto an assembled box. That entails bringing it from the shed to the office and seeing if everything fits.
We have two new birdie visitors. A perfect specimen of a bluejay. He does not feed but lives the birdbath. It’s quite a youngster, and so is the other newcomer, a red cardinal. Except this one is not red. I have got to try getting pics for you. Male or female, I cannot tell as the plumage is exactly between, a golden orange. Aha, at 12:10PM we have another, this is a juvenile male woodpecker. He’s discovered the suet feeder. The two main feeders are 6-1/2 feet apart. Any closer and they get skittish of the other. Wait, the new woodpeckers are a mating pair. They are a matching set, the male just showed up.
Flower market, Wilmington, Delaware.
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Here is the box, I guess the best name for it here on the books is an Empire. Some parts that reflect experience are the position of the end plates. It’s not so important on this smaller box, but this is the weakest part of the unit. The end plates are now outside the box, as it turns out every millimeter of the interior is precious space. They are also taller, so a regular size mason will fit as well as other taller cargo—but careful you don’t overbalance anything.
The return of a slight “click” in my shoulder says take time off, do some reading. Tampa radio says Friday’s the day for Civil War because Trump cut off the food. TMOR, I’ll explain the scam. The Democrats want Trump blamed because his government has a majority but won’t pay the bills. The reality is bills require not a simple majority, but a 60% majority, to pass. Thus a tiny group of Republican party traitors are enough to block passage of the bill that would end the shutdown.
Why would they do this? Because they are RINOs, that is, Democrats pretending to be Republicans. The Democrats know they cannot win another election without buying votes. So to pass the bill, they are demanding an extra $1.5T to fund things like free health care to illegals. And the American public is staunchly behind Trump saying no money to illegals. And they know, except for a tiny group of the brain-washed, it is the Democrats causing the shut down.
Saturday morning will be some kind of showdown. One of the reasons food is so damn expensive is 41 million people are getting it for free. Same goes for medical. There will be some legitimate suffering, but the popular mood is 99% of people on food stamps should be kicked off. Also predicted is a massive drop in foreign remittances when they have to buy their own food. The ballast has shifted, people who don’t care enough to feed their own kids are moaning that strangers don’t care either. Hypocrites who last week were screaming against the government now screaming for the government to save them. This week will be interesting, indeed.
ADDENDUM
Here is the “Valdosta” logo from last day. One limitation of the laser logo is the more letters, the smaller they must be to fit in the allowable dimensions. Printing more than one pattern on a single side can produce a visual clash it’s best to avoid. Along with this potential market trial, I have to make other decisions. Every product for sale that has a production stage experiences constraints. The other issue is the vacuum tubles. Sales have tapered off and I’ve mentioned eBay is not user-friendly to casual sellers. Their policy pressures into basically being their daily sales force.
The logos shown here with Tonio’s box require 8 minutes each to burn, making them a special order. The cheap logos can be run off in a minute, but that’s what makes them cheap. A couple other things to watch for, the coding that operates the laser is millennialware. Don’t trust it. Examples are if the power is interrupted (a Florida thing), the unit does not remember where it left off. If you click it back on, it will start again at the beginning, ruining what you already had done. The opposite is the case if you stop and start. This one I’ll have to explain.
To make a truly indelible lasting mark, you should make two passes minimum. This isn’t so much the laser as inconsistencies in the lumber. Thus, I normally leave the “passes” counter at 2. However the software is geared differently. If you pause the laser, say you want to leave the room and grab a coffee, then turn it back on, it resets the counter and will make 4 passes instead of 2, you get the idea.
More [laser] passes does not mean a better product. The laser, after the first pass, is aiming at already charred wood, and it heats up faster. It’s wise to watch for tiny tinkers that glow over-long after the beam has passed. They glow because they are that hot, you don’t want to find this out by mistake.
