One year ago today: August 25, 2025, wow, only half.
Five years ago today: August 25, 2021, Orangeburg.
Nine years ago today: August 25, 2017, remember “going steady”.
Random years ago today: August 25, xxxx, WIP
Some forward movement, but just early morning. Dammit, that is my most productive stretch and guess which is most affected by my condition? Yep, why it if wasn’t for coffee also running low, I’d start again tomorrow. I have some tools strung out, but lack the upper body strength to unseize the lug nuts. I’ll take a deadblow [hammer] to them—after a decent break. It was a baby possum and I got him overnight. I let those go in the local bush rather than the cemetery. They need the cover. Now, possums are born in litters and that means we are not finished yet. The trap is reset.
The frustration was the lug nuts. They would not loosen even with the hammer. I think the tire shop, noticing one new was broken, used an air gun to super hit the other four. This work requires intermittent strain, which must be done avoiding the chest, so what you see here was twenty minutes work for you. For me, over an hour. The small rests I took were not wasted time, here are two boxes I finished in the same time period. These have the new finer lid cuts, but they are still not as nice as I want.
What are these boxes for? I don’t know. If I hit delay of any kind, the unfinished unit has to be set aside. Like so many hobbyists, if the interruption lasts very long, I tend to forget what the box was for. Now double that if the interval is more than a week. They are great boxes, shown here unadorned to display a snag in my system. The last or fourth cut for any lid is different. When three sides are cut, they can squeeze or spread enough to throw off that final cut. I have a spacer that matches the kerf to hold it steady, yet the slightest variation means loss of precision. Shown here, I’m pointing to where the saw blade scorched the wood.
Noon break for coffee and we designed a doorbell. That design, not build. It the old firing piston from when I only had an electric nailer. The principle is simple. A wire from the doorbell supplies 12V to the coil. Normally held down by gravity, this jolts the piston upwards, where a wire pushrod cuts off the power, causing the piston fall against a bell and re-establish the connection.
Pecos River high bridge.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Nope, I could not get those lug nuts off. Shown here is the five-foot snipe I used to no avail. I’ll find somebody to give me a hand, this has happened to me before, where my upper torso can lift impossible weights (when I was younger) but cannot supply the sharp torque needed here. I switched the computer problem that most of my best software still works on XP units, and I believe I have enough parts to get this last unit operating. It may have to go into the shop and cost more than a good used unit, but at least I’d have my ability to edit video and properly transfer files.
In domestic news, we have another problem in California. I cannot fan any flames, but I will commit to telling who the bad guys are once this is over. Win or lose, there have been some slimy operators along the way. The worst are people who don’t do the job as contracted because they run into difficulties. My point of view is that a contract means they are committed even if they lose money on a given deal. Like the law in California that papers have to be served in person even when it is evident the other party is blocking access. I know such people always make mistakes and there are around five operators who will feel the brunt of my letter-writing ability.
Caltier may come across, but I am not impressed by the difficulty they have putting cash together. A find that size should, in my estimation which is usually damn good, have a liquid fund of 10% of all contributed funds to deal with redemptions that they know are going to occur. At the same time, it is ever more evident we are a favorite over there—something I attribute to behavior. They have always mistaken us for accredited investors, who get the real red carpet treatment over there.
As it cooled, I was back out on the Hundy, and again another fail. I broke progressively stronger snipes, see picture, until I used an iron pipe. You can see the results. Of course, Vivitar won’t Macro (they were born y’day) but as you see, the tire iron itself began to bend. See the S-curve? Never in my life have I seen a tire iron bend loosening a nut. I would have considered it impossible. Here is where it is most serendipitous to have a neighbor who fixes farm machinery for a hobby.
There is another unknown entering the arena. I cannot say much but I will tell you she deliberately pretended to trip and spill a drink on one of our people. Again, I promise details and I will be costing a bartender and desk clerk their jobs. Those are occupations where the instant you take sides, you make it personal. But, that is another tale from the trailer court that must wait its turn. I’m also dismayed by how far standards have fallen. I spelled much of this out 30 – 40 years ago, how some people’s back up plan is pinning the blame on others. But enough about my family.
ADDENDUM
My rule to document my own retirement cannot, in the end, be separated from aging and health. And I realize since late last week I have fallen backwards. It’s what I now recognize as “hospital mode” and this is not a good thing. Random sleep patterns, selective appetite, and gout. These are mild compared to six months ago. Still, they are a reminder how serious things were, that my frame (and maybe the human frame in general) was not meant to sustain such drastic [medical] shocks. But for these expensive operations, I'd be long gone.
To be more specific, what started as a slow morning last week has turned into a backward slide to weakness, though the rate is slowing down. This sometimes portends reaching a better phase of recovery, but never count on it. They only said 50% survive, they didn't say we'd be be to Once again, food has the flavor of burnt caramel and mild fingertip numbness, which does not last. The gout is also maybe 20% but you can’t mistake it for anything else.
Nor do I dare start any project I am not certain I can finish. Like fixing that brake caliper. I must have a drivable vehicle at all times. Tomorrow is risking that rule.
