May 5, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 5, 2025, the required signatures.
Five years ago today: May 5, 2021, a generic day.
Nine years ago today: May 5, 2017, my then-new shed.
Random years ago today: May 5, 207, my Yamaha speakers.

           Should have been off to a great day, instead we got another varmint ready for the long ride to the bone orchard. I’m slow-starting, beginning by answering all my e-mails over endless coffee, the benchmark of my abilities these days. A note from Mitch, who reports asthma symptoms—which is why I don’t pursue any athletic hobbies, folks. Then again, crawling under a KIA doesn’t pass for leisure activity either. To betray this blog’s founding as a daily log, here’s a synopsis of this morning’s so-called quiet retirement time.

           This is not a video of breakfast, rather y’day’s feast. My sense of taste has returned enough to enjoy this cholesterol binge. The story is not what you expect. This video contained a warning, see addendum. Howie came over to check on my repair, I had to borrow his jack stands. What the heck did I do with mine? Anyway, back to this morning.

           I was back and forth to the shed every few minutes as I discovered I could not get at the hose to make the repair. Here’s as far as I got today. The hose must have been installed at the factory before the engine was put into the frame. I may get it yet. Howie reports last day he heard a whump noise in the yard and was going to check on me, but informs me the when the neighbors hear me playing bass, they know I’m okay. Makes sense, if I can play Jethro Tull, I’m not on my last legs.
           Working on the ground was never easy for me. Around mid-morning I took the latest rat for the ride. Turns out they finally are paving Himlar, the street to the west. So I took the long way around. One thing I do to make the rats take a fast exit is no water in the morning. This rat was a lively one, check out today’s addendum. When he got out of the cage, he scaled a nine-foot wall because there was a splashing pond sound over there.

           When Howie first started with the city, he was a grease monkey. We talked music and how he played most everything except blues. Like me, he could not name a single Ramone’s tune, it was listening music, not playing music, and we both play instruments. I had to stop half-way getting the jack stands under the axle and call it a morning. Any unusual movement drains my power cells and today it was backing up a block because of the pavement crew at work. An old motorcycle hand, I don’t trust mirrors when I can look, and I half-twisted around. That led to a 2-1/2 hour nap.
           All but the shortest naps have me read something first and today’s topic was “distance made good." This is the process of charting the actual movement of a ship, of which celestial navigation is only one part. There are winds and currents at work, plus the inaccuracies of calculations on the rolling deck at sea. I have a hunch the real improvements in navigation came after the British began building ships that cost so much more than the cargo they could carry. There must have been many a case where the navigator and the ship’s pilot (responsible for recording speed and direction changes) must have been at each other’s throats. I must learn more about distance made good, though it is unlikely I will ever set foot on a ship again.

Picture of the day.
3D printed from meteorite.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Chain stores are shutting down in New York City, Greece is banning mosques, and CNN is warning disaster victims that White people who help them out could be “supremists”. Yale Medical School findings report “long COVID” is a form of vaccine-induced AIDS. McD’s is removing all self-serve soda stations due to “changing customer habits”. As one poster put it, “changing customer habits” stole my bicycle.

           Who remembers these early gears? Yep, I cut those by hand. Most are gone but I kept the two largest ones. They are not efficient but they work very well. I’ve long forgotten the teeth ratios. If nothing else, they are a unique sculpture. Eahc of those teeth was cut on a scroll saw.
           Finally, I found my Sight Reduction table booklet, noting I have the middle volume of the onc that comes in three sets. But it is in the format listed in the text, the method that makes sense to me. Maximum latitude is 40°. If I was to get on a boat I would not sail much further than that from warm seas. In any case, for study, this book is all I need.

           Festus Tuesday. All the real westerns are gone, tonight’s viewing was another nice-guy gunfighter. And Matt’s neck of the woods is full of good-looking widows who are single-handedly raising kids while operating the old ranch. A lot of redheads, as well. The acting was reasonably good.
           Then a half-hour in the shed, it is not light until 8:00PM. I’m not a moment closer to fixing that hose, will I have to drive the Hundy to Miami? That’s taking several chances and my luck recently kind of sucks. I got inside under the fans and finally went through five or six live versions of Clapton’s “Heaven’s Door” until I found a bass version that I liked. It’s a syncopated blues bass progression that needs a guitarist with precise focus. I dislike the simplistic Clapton bass lines but this one I’ve heard before and that means, if I dig deep enough, there is a tab.
           Moments later, I found the tab in Songsterr, having only two stars. Makes logic, those tabs are rated by guitarists and many don't like this style.

ADDENDUM

           This is a clip of food avoidance. Ha, if you thought it just another animal trap scene, that animal has a message’. The rat was very active all night. On thing consistent is while in the cage overnight, they eat every scrap of food they can. Not a crumb of bait remains. Except today. Shown here, the rat is energetic which must contribute to the hunger reflex. To the left side of the cage, note a French fry. It had dropped on the floor, so I threw it into the cage as additional bait.
           Yet you can see the rat will not touch it. Rats won't eat french fries, how about that? It does not even sniff the object as a food item. What message is this for me? I ate half a plate full of them last day. I read that Ritz crackers are banned in dozens of countries. Something like 64% of the ingredients are artificial. Apparently, the bakery uses the flour that nobody else will touch, which accounts for the heavy chemical cheese flavoring.
           I have not eaten the equivalent of a box of Ritz in maybe 30 years, but it’s good to know I missed the toxins.