One year ago today: July 20, 2025, not a cloud.
Five years ago today: July 20, 2021, not for $135k.
Nine years ago today: July 20, 2017, politics and mushrooms.
Random years ago today: July 20, 2007, on-bicycle trespassing.
Day 171 and I did some actual work. One post hole is enough to convince me I’m on the way. Maybe not to the Olympics, but just maybe getting some work done on this building again. I would love to have a real kitchen once more. Maybe find out if my new hot water tank still works. I dug the hole, and did so without pausing or getting winded. This is a milestone, a level of endurance I was wondering if I’d see again. I never thought I’d thank a post hole. Let me recount the episode.
I must ship a box to Texas as thanks for support, though I’d rather deliver myself and crash for two months. In October next, I have not been in Texas in ten years. Bryne’s seen more pics of the box than [shown] here and likes the concept, suggesting other hobbyists might be a good market. His suggestions include a radioactive symbol and a far better than plastic first aid kit box. He overestimates my skill, but then he’s the guy who refrets guitars. Poor guy had a tooth removed and has been in pain for six days—and I mean real pain or he would not mention it.
What makes a handle right? Symmetry. Especially the folding type, so avoid the ones that are half-round just for looks. Seek the nice ones that are full size. Here’s your view of the new oak stain I like. No hint of red and look how it spiffed up these two junk boxes. One box is for my USB-B cables which are getting scarce, and the others to separate the knobs from the handles. I may be tired from digging holes, but not too tired to find something useful to do this morning. Here’s another ordinary box, this one is band cables, transformed into a thing of beauty by a coat of stain. This stain, like sex, is best when it is free.
This relates to my guitarist, who is finally out of the hospital. Those bills keep going when you don’t and the odd part is it is not a PPP (poor people problem). Put another way, if you properly keep enough buffer to pay your bills during an emergency, you will not be poor very long. You heard me. Peering just that far enough into the future will eventually turn you somewhat wealthy even without your cooperation. When one door closes, another opens. It’s a door, that’s how doors work.
Before continuing, here is a video clip of the shell of what used to be the best local lumber yard. Bought by third worlders on a government loan that was never paid back as they sold off the inventory and pocketed the money. This does not happen because foreigners are clever, but because America was once a high-trust society.
So, what happened to Ricko, the Ramone’s guitar guy? He fell in the shower and cracked ribs. He got behind on the bills, I had to assure him it was not identity theft when you run out of auto-debit money. It’s from not keeping your records in order. Mine are airtight for good reason. If my account was hacked, you’d not see me accepting the bank’s rehearsed statements that my information was stolen. If so, they stole it from the bank, not from me. And I would go to court that it was the bank’s money that got stolen, not mine.
The bottom line is Ricko is in no condition to play or move equipment. But he did keep in touch. That’s more than most in west central Florida, a musical dust bowl. The best thermometer for what’s available is Bandmix, even if you don’t use a paid account. Keep an eye on the postings and you find people there for years that go nowhere. Don’t wag fingers at me, if any half-decent guitarist came along we could be playing by this afternoon without remembering each other’s names.
Quick, find Pottawatomie.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Negative equity, that’s where you owe more on something than it is worth. Such is the case with almost 30% of cars in the US being traded in. The average deficit is around $7,000 which adds another $20,000 in interest before the loan is paid. The solution, of course, is to not buy on credit and perform basic repair and maintenance yourself. But that is expecting too much from people who don’t know what a standard is, or a window crank.
A tiny error turned all these into fake boxes. One of the cuts has to be “sideways” and it is an easy mistake. All of these have it, making the bottom plates slightly the wrong size. That transforms them from spice boxes to fake boxes. I also had a chance to check on stain properties. The stains are made for a thin layer on smooth wood. The rough wood really soaks the stuff away. I was testing how fast it does this and under normal conditions this is impossibly costly. Ah, but there is a concept forming.
The Prez e-mails to say nothing music is happening. Too bad, plus his wife, who had the same operation as myself, is experiencing the same random recovery ills. Y’know, a better word than random would be haphazard.
The back panel has something I’ve not seen in ages, a serial port. I’ll need to re-read the chapter on how to get that working with microcontrollers. It’s a hassle, just one port, because computers can only use one at a time. And one is needed to upload to the Arduino. I’ll have to think this over since I’ve not used terminal software in at least twelve years. I have some old mouse adapters in the shed, or I’ve seen them on Amazon for twelve bucks.
This would be a boost to my studies, as I have a DOS background and I read that the highly-praised FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) are designed to use HyperTerminal, which I don’t know even a thing about anymore. But serial communication is not a priority around here, just a challege.
ADDENDUM
Social media strikes again. I detest anyone who breaks American law to defend illegals. That also means 84% of Americans agree with me on that. It was a telling revelation that most foreigners who attended the recent sports events came away with astounding stories of how they had been misled about America in their home countries. Let this post assure all that these leftists, trannies, liberals, Karens, queers, misfits, and commies are a tiny minority in the US and they are hated by everyone else. ICE (more properly I.C.E.) has been using water cannons to sweep the streets of protestors.
a) only if the temp drops below -10°TMOR, I would remind you that the press is biased. Most Americans do not like any hint of socialism or communism. It is the media’s mission to convince you there is violence and the left is a majority. I have personally never witnessed a shooting or a riot. And folks, I get around, though not often down the street with the Mexican embassy. I have an example of the American mood—and it will not match the phony “sympathetic” angle pushed by the news.
b) they get a free bath and a little ride
c) use bullets instead
d) also at home in bed at night
e) real cannons for all we care
f) use ink (also glue)
g) a case for the manure cannon
h) are we out of flamethrowers
i) waterboarding as a sport
People do not like these Mexicans and don’t want them here, that’s an 84% polled majority. So when the news announced two “Americans” were killed by Iran, everybody knew they must be Latinos a.k.a. “part of the reason the USA has not won a war since 1945”. That’s not me, that is the main public opinion. The standing joke is the missile hit the motor pool. The Democrats are reported to be pushing death certificates as acceptable voter ID.
