August 9, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 9, 2025, scummy Historical Society.
Five years ago today: August 9, 2021, the maw.
Nine years ago today: August 9, 2017, 24 wasn’t enough , , ,
Random years ago today: August 9, 2004, a big fat nothing day.

           Sunday, eggs, grits, coffee. Who could ask for anything more? Plus we have a cancellation at 11:00AM next Friday, meaning I may get a leisurely drive and maybe a weekend in exciting Date County, home of the Miller Lite six-pack. This does not diminish that I almost ran out of Jim Dandy (grits) this morning, barely avoiding a panic. Is my elaborate logistics system breaking down? We do not run out of grits on my watch.

           A day of failed experiments awaits, proving Edison’s maxim that he knows a million ways that don’t work. If first, I dunked some boxes to discover the plastic stain tray is too short. The Z-box is designed so the inside length is 12 inches. The tray cannot be made to fit. As normal, I documented some of the important steps.

           First shown is a variety of unstained boxes. I don’t mind the bare wood but also know they will not last
if exposed to any Florida weather. These are just part of a pile I have that would likely never get stain any other way. It not only takes too long, the rough lumber destroys paintbrushes. They also require up to three coats and even then miss spots like the inside of the thumb holes.

           Here is the hope the boxes would fit, showing the longest pieces can be processed by staining a bit at a time, but that is not efficient. I know I have a 13” glass baking dish I’ve only used once. I tried placing the boards diagonally and half deep at a time. We are here to learn things, so chin up, we know the dunking part works and soaks up an eighth of a cup of stain per box. Let’s move on to the next fail.

           Once stained this way, the surface of the wood becomes more resistant to the laser. It takes more passes and any inconsistencies in the wood worsen. I have a product that will seal the wood, but I’m not using it up on rough lumber. The problem is the stain causes tiny natural flecks in the wood to reflect the laser, you are wearing goggles, are you not? This blots out small portions of the printing until you get above a larger font, which takes more time, you know the sequence.

           In the meanwhile, Steve has found the command that trims videos and can now produce footage under my e-mail limit of 25 MB. Some tunes are arriving now, I asked if he’s got us playing Folsom Prison. The Reb will want to hear this because she knows when I am happy with a sound. It’s not bad at all for two guys who have not practiced in a year. Dang, I didn’t want to lug an amp over so I was playing through his Fender, forgetting what a lousy tone that has for bass. It was bad last year, I just forgot how bad.

           I wonder if I can lift the small PA and use that [for bass]. I’ve played through my Gigrac (600W PA) for so many years I no longer own a bass amp. Steve uses a lot of Bluetooth and wireless connections which will one day let him down. I use these features sometimes, but keep cable and the know-how to connect them always handy. Remind me to take my six-banger along next practice, as I have worked out a lot of the strums and no sense starting from scratch.
           If I can edit it right, I might get you a link to some footage of us playing “Stand By Me”, a tune that typifies the struggles I have with mediocre guitarist all these years. It has a synchopated beat that can be played on guitar, but if you have a bassist, put him to work. As I like to put it, any time we are playing the same thing is a wasted opportunity. Once the bass lays down the pattern, and ordinary guitar strum works best—and guitar players either love that or hate it. Steve, once he heard the blend, loves the sound but it was hilarious to watch us try to get him to undo the strum.

Picture of the day.
Unabomber’s Cabin
(Still in FBI storage.)
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           A box for everything. It’s almost comical the number of things I have in boxes. Boxes are so prolific in these parts, even single drill bits now have their own cases, like this one. Mind you, it is a special foot-long bit for repairing the mail box. But I mean really, it’s own fancy wooden box?

           Tempting as it was to make a run to Kooters, stayed put. Here’s the best view I can get of the poor jog the laser does on stain. You may like it, but I’ve grown fond the nice crisp edges the laser can make. Notice the letting is uneven and lipped. This is four passes, a tactic that normally fixes all burn errors. But this is the substrate itself, see how the top of the numbers are faded. And this laser cannot print just part of a design. This is the end piece of a new manufacture Z-box with the 1/8th inch larger thumb hole.

           It’s 10:00PM and I’ve got my sixth cup of coffee. What a day. What I mean is nothing worked right, but I still feel I got enough done to call it even. There is an easier way than brushing on the stain and I’ll find it. What’s this, another bloom, again originating in the Seychelles. 15,000 views in a day? Nope, that's too many, something is up, if you know [the answer] drop me a comment. Is that place another one of those islands where they register sneak tankers, print dorky postage stamps, and host the dark web of such repute?

           My speculation is that the never-confirmed secret international cabal of ghost political writers have Hillary’s other-other server set up in an abandoned tea bag warehouse on the outskirts. Starved for new material, they cull their best material from this blog, bypassing what, in our desperate times, comprises the institutionalized boredom that plagues every other blog in existence. Am I right?

           We have another critter raiding the kitchen. The trap is set. I told how such small mammals can get in here a dozen ways. This one is a little bigger, but not a baby rat. I wonder this time. The kitchen is still messy and we get marauders even though there is nothing to eat. They will occasionally go after the tiniest particles, such as chewing up a metal pot scour pad. This is Florida, it could be an armadillo or dinosaur hatchling. Ha, will I set the game camera up inside the house?

ADDENDUM
           Crap, things can hardly get worse for the Democrats. Now a dozen state attorney generals have been exposed for plotting to sue Trump months before he was elected in 2024. They plotted to accuse him of things he could not have done unless he won, which he did by over two million votes. Another innocent couple has been held at police gunpoint over faulty Flock flags. Hey, I warned about this back in 1990 but nobody listened, so don’t cry to me when it’s libtard face on the pavement.
           Did I just hear the best one yet, the Democrats claiming that poor old Joe Biden was set up by Trump to “do the dirty work”. This is also the first I’ve heard of the “new IRA”, the Irish Republican Army. But if you’ve been here a while, I have questioned what happened to them now that they face another foreign invasion. Seems they are out there and I told you they still had caches of military weapons. The IRA is well aware that no sizeable group can exist without an infiltrator, so they are well-versed in small, tightly-knit cells that appear to be reactivating. I’ll wait for confirmation but the rumor is they threaten civil war if the immigrants are not deported.

Last Laugh