May 25, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 25, 2025, I discover fire.
Five years ago today: May 25, 2021, Zoom sucks.
Nine years ago today: May 25, 2017, no blog – nobody remembers.
Random years ago today: May 25, 2025, nobody will believe me, anyway.

           Finally! Day 122 and overnight I crossed some threshold. Other than the physical wound sites, I feel 100%. I’m not fooling myself, but this is a welcome day. Now back to work. No word from the guitarist. I’ve got a hand dolly to fix and the shed beckons, this is an outdoor but in the shade day. But I’m also tired, so let’s see what wins out. Aha, I told ya, we will see a trillionaire in my lifetime and it will likely be Musk. The primary contributing factor is inflation.

           Not bragging, butI checked my e-mail, fell asleep in the chair, and woke up at 3:30PM. Here’s hoping you get to do that when your time comes. Nope, no contact from the guitar guy, but I dealt with that like a Kennedy. Remember that old sequence, if not, see the addendum. I have an overall sensation of returning vivality and I’m heading to the shed. This is the high point of the day unless Taylor shows.
           She’s taking her time, but I understand, being a billionaire isn’t easy. Here is a generic photo of the cabin on it’s tenth anniversary last Saturday. You get a bunch of blurry pics today because I hit the wrong button during the download. Here are some random examples. First the fleet, two vehicles in the driveway. The KIA has the hood up to tend to that low battery. That would not please me to find an electrical problem as that battery is brand new.

           I set it on recondition mode, the one that is supposed to shake the molecules loose. But it was over in two minutes. Still, I don’t trust it and I’ll be watching. I told the guitar player if he can get over here, we can test his battery and see what gives. My battery tools are stored in one of the first large boxes I ever built, which today I discover has a leaky lid.

           The center pic is the slightly oversize new tire on the rear of the Hundy. Kind of racy, don’t you think? I don’t, it’s just a tire to me. I did manage to slap this box together while in the shed, mainly to suppose I did something. The ends are mitered, this box is to test a design for small devices, like my moisture meter and laser tape measure. Stuff I can never find in the drawer when I need them.
           Another returning capability is flexibility. This morning I could again work at chest height, that is, lift light items as high as my shoulders. We have a new pair of birdies, no pic yet unless they stick around. Greyish brown with black and white at the shoulders and around sparrow-size. You see, chest-high for me is filling the birdfeeder. Remember the 5x7 LED? I got it rigged up and was able to get predictable lights to word—but it is wired so wonky it took this mess of 14 wires and a mini-board. There has to be a driver chip, nobody does this by hand.

           I cut this custom strip of perf-board and it still took a hour. I had to solder the jumpers in place to get them to stay put. This component would require a microcontroller to make it display anything fancy at all; O dpibt an ordinary binary to decimal chip would produce anything remarkable, try as you might. Last, I have these wood labels that are now drying, these were dunked in the solution. It’s not great but it’s prettier than before. I don't want folks thinking I was sitting around all day like I was from Florida or something.

Picture of the day.
Lotte – world’s ugliest tower.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The next view is my idiot snag of a rag—into the blades of my planer. On the left you see it jammed solid and no way to release the roller. They build them so you cannot do that. Next photo is after a half hour of pulling the threads out by hand with a pair of end-cutters. These pics, I know are hard to see, but trust me, that rag is snagged and I have the plastic roller cover removed. Do those end-cutters have a proper name? I call them nibblers.

           How about some generic views? Here’s a close-up of the battery charger, this is in recondition mode. See the LED printout? It makes the too very easy to use. Then there is the empty mailbox. This, around here, is a sign of success. There is nothing like being far enough off the grid you don’t get junk mail. You will never guess what that last picture is. On the side of the roof with peaks, there is a small decorative trim. This piece is cut fill the small pot between the eaves and the gutter. Probably the only cosmetic wood on this building.
           It fell loose years ago and has been sitting waiting for me to get off my tush and pain the house. It finally got a coat of paint, drying in the back yard, waiting for me to set up a ladder to fasten it back in place.

           That’s no idle comment. It means moving the ladder and climbing it. The thought alone has me refilling my coffee-maker, let’s make that the benchmark for tomorrow. Can I muster the wherewithal to affix that in place and take a photo of it for you? I would so love to repaint my little cabin and I’ve been saying that ten years now. Don’t even mention the shingles. Dang, the origin of this blog as a captain’s log is telling on my laziness.


ADDENDUM
           The referral here is to the 60s, a historical message from Moscow reached the White House and Kennedy was about to accept the terms. Then a second message arrived that was unacceptable. Nobody knew what to do until Kennedy’s brother suggested why not just answer the first message? It worked.
           So I pretended my day was not wasted and sent a text hoping his car was back on the road soon and we should reschedule. If he’s a true band member sort, he’ll go with that.

Last Laugh