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A reminder to the reader this is not a political blog, but commentary on human behavior. I am not for or against any political party. Liberalism is not a political party, but a social cancer. It is wrong to steal money and it is just as wrong to elect people to steal it for you. One more thing, never argue with a man who buys his printer ink by the barrel.

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Can you spare $1 ?

           The price of quality doggie chow has gone out of my range. I try to donate 50 pounds per month of the best, but this time I had to limit July to 36 pounds. Please join me in providing what may be the best meal many of these doggies will ever have.

You may view more at this GoFundMe link:

Each as if my own.

           My suggested donation is $1. A 1/4 cup of coffee in Florida. If each reader today gave $1, I'd reach my goal. In one day. Send me a dollar. You are in very good company here.

August 28, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 28, 2025, metal tubes.
Five years ago today: August 28, 2021, yep, cramps.
Nine years ago today: August 28, 2017, sandwich wrapper?
Random years ago today: August 28, xxxx, WIP

           The birdies sure love the kudzu canopy, particularly when the mister is on. The vines are only part way across, but it so far creates I’d say 25% shade. See, Nature knows the correct ratios. Y’day was another indicator of how PPP’s stack up to snag the unaware. Normally, I would do chasing around in advance, but I had to hit the bank first and double back to the post office, in all of my 125 mile driving budget remaining, I used up 80 of it (exactly) driving around in circles. I was over to the Thrift for a garden hose and such to find another surprise blood bank thing. They block the road and close for the day. I’ll try again this morning.

           Running some numbers last evening gave me a scare. The Deep State has been messing with the food supply chain for quite some years now. And [they are] spending a lot of money getting everybody’s data on file. I have another PPP for you. My office A/C needs replacing, which will cost $200. Meanwhile, I don’t dare turn the unit off or it may not start again. Thus, it is running 24/7, raising my electric bill, which delays getting the new unit. Round and round she goes. That is how PPP works, my friends.
T           he featured photo is one of several containers I have of spray nozzles. Because they clog easily, I keep a supply soaking in mineral oil to stay working. I have a new spray can, shown below. Not one of these 40+ nozzles fit. Not one. And nope, those spray gun thingees do not work, they only depress the nozzle that is already there.

           It’s still morning and I have, at this late stage in my life, a mother-hen cock-blocker situation. This happens to men at 35, not at 70. But it’s happening to me. At the Thrift, I know the check-out gal and her friend, who is about 1/4 my age.and a total small-town beauty. There is nothing between us, but she has seen and likes my boxes. She has been selling her grandfather’s comic books on-line and found, as I did, eBay is too much work. But, that changes if you can make $20 in one hour each morning. So we talk.

           Enter the skank. There’s this lady who might have been okay-looking twenty years ago in a truck-driving sort of way. I think she might be one of the warehouse helpers, most of whom are doing community service. If she sees the gal and I talking, she’s right between us with suddenly important questions. Her legs are shriveled stilts but she wears this “I’ve-still-got-it” pink shorts that make you gag. The gal and I got a few words in edgewise and I’ll be making her some samples. I didn’t get a garden hose, though I got a strobe that will stop me from forgetting the compressor on overnight. Here it is in action, it washes out when the shed lights are on, but cannot be ignored leaving the main work area.
           And another item I always wanted to try, one of those rechargeable spray cans just like the one I tried to build a couple years ago. Has a bicycle nozzle, you fill it up half-way, then hit it with 50 psi. I’ll let you know. The neighborhood kind of knows I don’t much use my recycle account, so if they have something nice, especially solid wood, they have my permission to put it in my spot. If I cannot use it, away it goes. This morning Howie was a the door. Somebody left an entire chrome shelving display unit. I have no room for something that size, so Howie now has an excellent rack for his covered porch. I think the cats will quickly find it, what a score.

           It appears Trump is going to hold rallies every day between now and the mid-Terms. Looks like he is moving in for the kill. The Amish are prepared to leave New York rather than let bureaucrats pump poison into the schoolchildren. Canada’s Prime Minister says don’t trust America. He owns a house in America and his wife and children live there. Turns out 71% of his investments are in America.
Picture of the day.
PPPM
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           Made my day, a video of the Danish police beating the crap out of some climate-changers whose real goal is to bother other people. That’s right, they know protesting does nothing. But the police, sadly, used rubber batons instead of nightsticks. But the stunned look on the woketard faces that they could not do as the please? Priceless. The US just procured rights to a lot of Venzuelan oil. That could make the place the richest in South America. You can’t run oil companies from a camper van. Did you see the Ceuta population burning out the illegals, or invaders, both are correct.

           IThe blog that dares, this time to feature a can of degreaser that does not work, at least not on gummed up sawblades. I want an 8-inch “plywood” blade on the chop saw to make finer edges. But always test first if you can and I found this 7-1/1”. That size will not miter cut most of the boards I use. See here, the only test blade I have is impossibly tarred up and it will not dissolve. I’m not gonna get a break on this one, those blades are expensive.

ADDENDUM
           Do you remember last year when I paid for an injuction? Let me give you an example of how corrupt the American legal system has become under the Democrats. I want the injunction extended for a year. They won’t do it. They will, however, for the same price, issue a new injuction, but only for three months. It amounts to paying for the same injuction twice. Oh, and the reason for only three months? Because I cannot present any grounds that the other party has “increased the harm”. They couldn’t because I had an injunction, you morons!
           IDid you get that news item about Di Nero whining that his property taxes went up? He spend a fortune getting a communist elected, but I guess he figured that meant everybody except him. Ha, wait until he finds out what “equal pay” means. Later, I did not make it to the silver shop on time, so I made up the difference from my own checking account. And I have $31 left over. But I’ve put 113 miles on the van meaning I’ve gained nothing.

           Keeping my age-old promise to report the “superlatives” of each day, good or bad, here’s today’s offerings. I finally picked up some new shower curtain rings—in metal. Actually, that is rare in Florida. I cut a dozen labels on the laser. To the trained eye, those look an awful lot like Harbor Freight wood biscuits. Hey, that is one of my least-used tools. The finished product is for looks, not strength. It’s 96°F so let’s find a streaming movie, even a dull-themed millennial remake will do. That’s when they are too dense to come up with anything new, so they find an old movie and have a computer add special effects and pretend it is new.
           An verified report has it rare book dealers have been receiving unusually large orders from Amazon. They placed Apple air tags in some and traced them to a huge A.I. facility that scans the books, then shreds them.

Last Laugh

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August 27, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 27, 2025, short, easy, consecutive.
Five years ago today: August 27, 2021, Pitcairn.
Nine years ago today: August 27, 2017, plan for survival.
Random years ago today: August 27, 2004, multi-banding.

           First thing, after grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, is a trim for L’l Texas. That patch grows as fast as the real thing, grass six feet tall. And trim back the kudzu in baci, of course. Or the squirrels can use it to hang down to the birdfeeders. Before I forget, possum #2 spent the night in a cage and is now back in the bushes. I needed an hour to do the Tennessee calculations, a reminder the money part is my department. True, I live well because I learned the system—but only defensively. I do not know how to rob the system like a Minnesotan. And I came from so far behind, just learning that much (defending my money) is probably what gave me all these heart attacks.

           I’m relapsing, so too bad if I blink off the radar for good, see addendum. This is one of Florida’s more famous C-clamps, and it is a biggie. It has only been seriously used twice in that many decades, but it just saved me a bundle. Of the major repair last day, the frozen brake piston was the only one that brought us to a standstill. This was the tool to the rescue. The screw was fed into the cylinder and cranked, using a pair of vice grips for extra angular torque. It took some doing, while soaking it with creeping oil, but it finally yielded a fraction.
           After that, it proceded much like any brake job and I think I owe this clamp about $200. In the end, the repair set me back $59 for parts because Howie would not accept any payment. And as for boxes, he reports that over the past two years, he seems to have already acquired a lifetime supply. I’m having a low-energy day, but I’m already considering a “C-clamp Appreciation Night” on the town. I’m also brewing up two quarts of iced tea, one each with white sugar and turbinado. The latter is an acquired taste, it also fits into this month’s budget which is projected to be only 94ȼ out, also thanks to a C-clamp.

           The strain from y’day has me down for the count, so I went back at that coffee maker. This thing is a marvel for what it does. Very impressive that they can sell these for $25. The ordinary single serve K-cup model. It’s made of some of the toughest plastic I’ve cut yet. I believe, but don’t know if the piece that detects if the lid I closed is a Hall effect sensor, something I’ve only read in theory. Inside is a mass of sensors, heat, water level, coil temp, all attached to a tiny microcontroller. These are precision components and I am astonished.
           The part that drips hot water is called a showerhead. It incorporates a water flow control to ensure the grounds are saturated. There are tubes and valves to regulate the whole process. Coffee is actually the oils extracted by the hot water as it flows through the grounds. These are not shoddy contraptions, I doubt I would be able to build one. And who ever did knows more about coffee than most of us.

           While I lifted nothing, most of my shoulder muscles are just stiff enough to keep me seated, so I also did more design work on my DIY doorbell. I found my old desk bell and sawed some parts, which I got wrong. The coil that activates the solenoid is a devilish design that can only be put together in one right way and ten wrong ways. A few of the steps need three hands, this component was made to be left along. I have no diagram fo you but is simple. A current raises the plunger, which has a pushrod that cuts off the current, allowing gravity to drop the plunger onto the clapper, which reconnects the current and this repeats as long as the doorbell button is held.
           One problem right away is the contact switch. Shown here, this and all I have TOK (test okay) but they are normally open. I need one to act as a cut-off when the solenoid is fully retracted. I ran a number of tests on gear that has got spread all over the place since last year. Additionally, I bought a grab bag of ICs from Hacktronics back in the day, and I have around 20 I did not know what they were. I’m sure I inventoried them but cannot find the file. So rather than celebrate tonight, I’ll see about that. If so, I’ll print you the list. For all I know some of you have gotten inspired by my crazy puttering.
           Wow, has the on-line datasheet community gone for a dump. Used to be you could look up stuff for free, the shared information concept the Internet was all about. Not so, now they want you so sign up before they’ll tell you anything. Most will not even say the chip’s function unless you create an account. I recall when real estate was first to do this. Leave your name and number and we’ll call you back—after we have established your net worth. There is always something shifty about people who won’t tell you the price until they know who you are.

Picture of the day.
Central Harlem, yesterday.
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           I finished the Archimedes move, it gets steadily cornier with the usual plot of characters switching sides, but you figure long before the end they are talking about the Yamoto. Claimed as the biggest battleship ever, it was sunk on its first mission. I fell asleep in my office chair again, I think one day that’s where they will find me. I woke up and the day was gone, it was past 6:00PM.

           This is the cheapest-ass box I build to be used for tool storage. It will fit a small battery drill and charger, with one small compartment bits. Alas, I found planning a box out of scrap wood isn’t economical with either the lumber or your time, so each of these is come-what-may. Mind you, it does use scrap if there is any super-handy at the moment.

           Once, I had Amtrak on my bucket list, but they messed up. Tripling the fares just before I retired was only one factor. They are spread through this blog, so find them if you like. Today I read the announcement that Amtrak is ceasing the only thing left they had going, the only thing I would still consider: the double deck passenger car. They called it the Superliner and bought 479 of them. When I first planned a trip in 2007 (the trip was to take place five years later in 2012), the price up the east coast, across the north, down the west coast, and back across the south was around $800 dollars. You can still get ten-day rail passes, but to live aboard the train for a complete tour now costs something like $2,500 each way.
           There are package tours and those wanting only travel should factor in half the journey happens at night. Now Amtrack has ceased their last major passenger draw, the double-decker car. I remember reading in 1971 that they cost $1 million each, It would be another ten years before I could afford things like a train ticket My last long train trip was on the City of New Orleans to Memphis and back to Hammond (New Orleans) in November 2013. I sang on Beale street. The only other time I stayed in Memphis was with the Reb in 2020. Today, don’t waste your money or risk your life.

           The citizens of Ceuta are blocking the Red Cross from feeding the illegals. The days are already noticeably shorter, which results in more reading around this place. I think January-February is time for a major replanning and overhaul of my system. A lot of things will be gone, again judge me by the projects I got done, not the fifty unfinished when I kick the bucket. Already I can see boxes will play a part and the biggest box will be something like the new K-box, the smallest maybe something like electronics.
           I have a sketch for you, that’s the term Arduino uses for its “programs”. This looks simplistic, but I challenge 99% of people to do it. This light is not just blinking, it is speeding up and slowing down. Most Arduino demos that control motor speed put a piece of tape on the spindle so you can see it. I’m testing a method of having a light blink, what I need is the speed slowed down to below human POV (persistence of vision), and some of these tiny motors can spin 5,000 rpm.

           To the naked eye, the light is blinking. Yes, but. It is blinking to the speed of a motor that is not there yet. While the motor speed is controlled by PWM (pulse width modulation), this cannot easily be used to flash the light. Is it even possible? That is what I’m checking.
           While I’ve got you here, allow me to issue some warnings and heads-ups, because you are looking at a system with some very profound and real drawbacks. The dangerous ones involve IoT and A.I. Right off, I warn that the primary danger is ALWAYS that the connection between the source and the readout exists only in the imagination of the coder. Show of hands, how many people know an imaginative coder? Tesla doesn't. MicroSoft hasn't any. They have never existed at IBM. Etc.

           First, there is no off-switch, this will run forever if there is power and nothing breaks (the wires running off screen carry power only, no signals). Danger? You bet, because the blinking (in this case) is being directed by a motor that is not even there. That’s correct, this, and any fly-by-wire setup, has no physical connection between what you see and the instrument.
           In the hands of a dumbo writing code for things like sensors or cockpit displays, you’ve got huge potential problems. They don’t call them idiot lights for no reason. There are other concerns you never see, I’ll describe just one.
           Microcontrollers have limited memory. There is not a lot of room to start adding in safety modules. The code just to make this LED blink to a simulated PWM setting chewed up 1,656 bytes. You can expect some fail-safe features but I doubt any such device can ever be made human-grade safe even by law. What you see here alone took 14 hours of proramming time and research and it is not finished.

ADDENDUM
           Yes, I am aware the composite photos in this blog do not display well on most smart phones. But this blog is formatted for a desktop computer. The blog roots are for a coffee-break or rest spell and I have no intent to tinker with that. To get the best enjoyment from this now million-plus hit site, please get an extra cup of coffee, and enjoy. You tell them I said it was okay.
           Last April I began experiencing symptoms that led to my surgery. I should be half-healed, but those very indications are appearing as I lose energy slowly and periodically still after more than 200 days. The most persistent is waking up with a mild headache for the first hour that disappears after I take my pills, none of which are painkillers. I quickly get okay each day, so I’m not in a panic, but we are watching very closely.

Last Laugh

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August 26, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 26, 2025, yep, pure oxygen.
Five years ago today: August 26, 2021, 5:00AM near Orlando.
Nine years ago today: August 26, 2017, real estate comments.
Random years ago today: August 26, 2014, tea, book, and storm.

           Good morning and remember all those horrible thing I said could happen one I got at that brake show? They did. Every bolt and piston was seized, every part was worn, the new parts came without necessary brackets, nothing fit right without a fight. In the end we got Howie’s “tractor factor”, which allows him to stand on the end of the lever, to finally loosen Polks most famous pair of nuts. Howie, who has worked on countless sucy repair vehicles, said he has never seen that, or the bent wrench. See, this blog is full of firsts.

           It was as bad as I said. Forty minutes of sweltering grunt work to pry the old pieces off and remove the brake parts. Not the pads, the parts. There were no pads. At this point, we notice the piston was seized about 25% closed. Soaked in oil and squeezed with a 8” c-clamp and whacked with the orange deadblow seen here, would budge the thing. Then Howie hit on an idea. Why not install the bad parts back on the rotor and hit the brakes, letting hydraulics have a go. It worked.
           By how, we are drenched in sweat and the mid-morning sun is about to attack. I had the forewisdom to park in the narrow space where would be shade the next day, so we carried on in the heat. We replaced everything finding it fought back also at that phase. Each nut and bolt had to be rachetted the full distance, poor Howie got stuck with all the heavy lifting. The rotor is totally scored, but I’ve driven with that halk my life without incident. Here’s she shoe worn down past the metal. That’s likely the source of the heat that got that piston.

           This was the full brake job, including pumping the fluid. We did not use Elliott’s fancy brake tool. Just before noon I spun it around the block to find everything seated nicely and worked. Whew! There was a mild but perceptible better feel to the brakes. I think Howie just saved me $350 or $400. Now, I can get back up to speed, gawd I’m so behind, reminding everyone other items on the Hundy have been complaining lately.
           It was a 1-1/2 quart of iced tea job, requiring about 30 different tools, cables, and products. Seven man-hours, if you count my time as sort of equivalent. I was able to avoid any direct strain across my chest, but across my back, that hurts already. I got the tools out of the yard, but not put away. You can forgive me for an extra nap in the middle of the day. It feels like I was pressing weights, is that a good sign?

           Later, I figured I’d best sit down and think about these pains. I see a pattern. These are not heart troubles, in fact my heart has not given any difficulties. It is the rest of my parts giving me the old everything hursts behavior. I realize I’m getting the same signals as people around me ragged about—but I wrote that off because they all had something in common. Watching TV. How was I supposed to take the word of people who’d been watching pain and allergy commercials all their lives? Of course there is no cause-effect here, but there is a pattern. I better not get post-nasal drip or loose stools, because then I’ll really start pointing fingers.

Picture of the day.
Kilimanjaro.
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           Remember the Tennessee coffee maker? It’s here since it quit working, and that caused by dunces who try to heat things other than water. So folks don’t go thinking I did nothing all afternoon, I took it apart because I liked the fancy switches. Boy was I wrong, for example, I thought they worked like an old percolator system. Heck no, there is a motor and a pump in there. I have to zip over to Winter Haven, stopping in Bartow, but I’ll get back to you on this. Consider this a test drive so it does not come off my 125 mileage limit to end of this month. Austerity rules.

           Thanks to Florida, that’s all I have to report. Getting a late start plunked me into south Lakeland traffic. The congestion is not that bad, it is the idiot drivers. There are not that many rear-enders on four lane, except with idiots. Here is yet another such crash, most caused by driving in somebody’d blind spot. The delays meant it require five hours to do the logistics. A lot of it PPP, which can rapidly compound. Like as I left, I checked the exchange to notice they now close at 4:30PM. Youch, I cannot be there and the post office at the same time.
           This means the letters to Tennessee missed the post, so they will not go out until tomorrow, and may not arrive until Monday or Tuesday Two more collisions means I didn’t get into Winter Haven until 5:30PM. Wait, I have some good news. The lumber place gave me a sheet of thin plywood for free, the correct thickness for box panels. Sadly, for the first time in my retirement (in 1996 by the way), I had to put back groceries that were too expensive. The tag said $2.69 for four apples, the register said each. I don’t have $10 for apples. The clerk said, with apples, it has been happening all the time lately. I also canceled a transaction at a key-cutting machine. The machine charged tax but only accepted bills (or a credit card for you people who like data centers knowing what your house key looks like), and I don’t spend $7 for key.

           I took the old coffee maker apart, and yes, there is a beautiful small water pump assembly, but that and none of the parts are recyclable. The motor is 24VDC and I have no such transformer. I’m a 5VDC man from the word go. The neighbor lady came over to chat while we worked on the tire. Turns out they know people in Haines City, where she was born. They missed being bought out when the secret teams of Disney people were circulating in Orlando. Her family lived on a ten-acre ranch near Davenport. Between them and Disney was a 240 acre ranch that would not sell. But she says, they got to watch the Disney fireworks for free.
           Of course we talked a about Dolly Parton. I don’t know that much about her except she was one of 13 children raised with no electricity or running water. And she would have been a billionaire if she had not given away hundreds of millions. She had a soft spot for children that could not read. I guess I would have knownher better if she’d helped smart kids who, through no fault of their own, had to use that to stay alive instead of using that brainpower for good. Never assume if somebody was smart they would also be rich, it don’t work that way.

           The Roman telescope is due to launch next Monday. Roman is just the name of the project leader, the unit will orbit the same distance as Earth but on the other side of the Sun. It uses some strange theories to work a telescope that could, in theory, find other planets like Earth. All exoplanets to date a found indirectly, by measuring the slight dimming of far-off stars as the planet orbits in front. If the pattern is regular, they can calculate the rest.
           In the background, I’m watching a Japanese movie based on a math student hired to calculated the cost of a battleship. The “Great War of Archimedes” got my attention, and now so does the attention to detail. The model ships are the most accurate I’ve seen, also the uniforms, cars, and portrayal of Japanese character. I could not cut the plastic casing on the coffee pot, so I melted through it with a grinder. And got myself covered with tiny flecks of plastic that won’t wash off. Later, they do wash, after three showers. The movie continues, they actually reconstructed a railway carriage with authentic whistle sounds. Even the giant sushi they used to eat, not the mini-rolls of today.
           The good news of the day is that all green card appointment interviews were canceled. First, all the immigrants were told their final interviews had to take place in their home countries and not on US soil. Ha, now that’s self-deportation the way it should be. Fifteen percent of the US population, 50 million people, have no right to be here. Out they go. Talk is that Trump, after his landslide in November, will ramp up deportations to 50,000 per day, including every immigrant who ever went on welfare, social security, Medicaid, or got food stamps, college, or stole anything from the US taxpayer. Immigrants who did that, including “legal” one, lied on their applications where you have to declare you are self-sufficient to even get here.

ADDENDUM

           This is a move in the right direction. While there was immense opposition at the strategic level, a tactic provides an answer. The post office will imprint every mail-in ballot with a bar code. The voter’s info is still required but the Democrats know a way around every one of them. But not around a bar code. Expect them to go ballistic, since the post office kind of did this overnight without announcing anything. Guess who is behind that and a hundred other woes facing anyone who tried to cheat in November.
           At the other extreme, a Democrat caught photocopying 64,000 votes for Biden faced no charges, she just got fired. So she is free to go do it again. Of course, this was up northeast. Where else? That’s where the bulk of America’s parasites reside. Wait, there is one other place I know of for sure.
           Under the drip pad of the coffee maker. These photo, the best I have these days, show one end of the ribbed shell. It the size of a two pieces of cooked rice. Hey, warm, water source, intermittent food supply, I’m should be glad some third worlders didn’t show up with some Karens in tow demanding equality.
           Did I just say “forewisdom”?

Last Laugh

August 25, 2026

Yesteryear
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.

           Here’s the vehicle situation. While I can drive the Hundy, the brake makes noise that attracts attention and that I do not need at this point. However, I cannot afford to be trapped with two unworking vehicles, which means that brake issue must be addressed before getting the KIA into the shop. Make sense? I have no guarantee that the shop won’t find it needs a bigger repair or parts that take days to arrive. So I was out there this morning to experience a failure, that is, I had to stop work.

           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.

Picture of the day.
Pecos River high bridge.
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           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.

           Here is the computer, minus a hard drive, but these days I use externals anyway. U have another very similar unit that can supply spare parts. At this moment, the Reb called. Dolly Parton has passed away, apparently quite peacefully. If I was at the phone company, somebody would ask if this means there is a job opening. The Reb was a great admirer of Dolly. This goes way back, I think at some point they had the same management company. I’m more the sort that likes individual accomplishments and it seems Dolly was into everything from gas stations to amusement parks. I’ve never seen either.

           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.

           Folks, I had to call in the heavy hitters. It was me or those lug nuts. I ask myself, what would Rocky have done? There is a time tomorrow morning when those nuts become history. Yes, there are two of them, I got two nuts causing me nothing but grief. Vengeance will be mine, Howie reports he has a tool that is the master of every nut in the known universe, and part of California, too. Everyone can rest easy tonight knowing that there will soon be two fewer stuck nuts in Polk County, Florida.

           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.

           Perhaps just to demo it is my heart giving out, not my brain, here is a calculation. Except for the black on white Hollywood shit, I like the movie “Last Sentinel”. There is a scene where they examine that location data of the supply ship, showing 040° 17.6228’N by 030° 01.4572’E. So let’s use maps.ie to find that location. They are sailing in a farmer’s field just east of the Moldavian frontier. Nope, I cannot, due to lack of anyone to practice with, get the Morse, except that each transmission ends with the letter L. (Later confirmed as the message is always “EVENTS NIL”.)

Last Laugh

August 24, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 24, 2025, lowest IQ cube eh-ver.
Five years ago today: August 24, 2021, lost & confused.
Nine years ago today: August 24, 2017, instant band, again.
Random years ago today: August 24, xxxx, WIP

           Another issue to face to day is again guitar players. They all want the 80s back and to front ready-made bands. This will not happen in contemporary Florida. Steve cannot rehearse again until September. I answered a Craigslist posting for a duo looking for a lead player (duh), but said he could strum. If he responds, here we go again. Says he likes to gig 4 – 6 times a month. Where he plans on doing that is such a mystery, I had to send him an e-mail. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with another morning of Tampa radio. The topic today (and many a day) is how long to wait with a new date before you bake the cookies.

           The talk is 90 days. I would not make it. That’s for friends only, in which case make it years, not days. The hilarity was listening to the callers. It would seem most people who take a strong stance on this one have an ulterior motive. Guys know there is nothing like some unmarried broad with a high body count who now wants to sink her fangs in. I have eight women who played significant roles in my live and there was no such waiting period.
           I found this today, one of the original tiny boxes I made with a scroll saw out of solid block of wood. When closed, all the grains match up. It’s done by making all the slices very thin. When glued back together, the cut is imperceptible. I no longer have the patience to make this kind of thing. By mid-moring, the day was written off. I worked in the shed instead of doing things I was supposed to.

           I’ll tell you what is funny. How rapidly even the purest A.I. programming, when left alone to create neurals, quickly becomes “White”, “nazi”, “supremist”, “anti-Semite”, and pro-apartheid. Even when outfits like Google pour in millions to counteract this unexplainable bias, it keeps returning. Several otherwise big apps have been quietly purged because they could not be “fixed” or made “woke”. This photo shows the result when an MIT grad asked AI to make her photo more professional. Before anyone goes lame trying to say it was bias by the coders, she’s the one who wrote the code.
           America is waiting, as Trump moves to deport Ilhan, the one who married her brother to sneak him into the USA. It’s a very popular move in what I believe Trump has planned between now and the mid-terms. He has certainly caught the Democrats with their pants down.

           Breathalyzer cars. I don’t know anything about them. I would have thought there would be a market for used cars with the device already installed. My logic is easy to follow on that one. Not so, there are none I could locate. Once again, I find an item that is not for sale even on eBay. Yes, you can buy the gadget for $30, but in Florida it has to be installed by a certified shop for up to $1,500 and you must return every month for recertification.
           Hinges remain on of the slowest parts of building a box. Several times I have failed to make a simple jig to rout the shape but today I got a Dremel tool to create the correct depth, though it was too difficult to keep it on a straight line. This would be solved by moving the wood instead of the tool. I’ll do some thinking about this. Today’s small project is to test and Arduino controlled H-bridge, the standard approach to making an electric motor run forward and backward. DC only.

           I ran further tests with the combined laser print patterns. Careful, they will print, but with quirks. One being they print in the order placed not left-right-top-bottom. Watch your template preview. I’ve also begun to standardize the laser speed at 3500 mm/min, except 3000 for the new large generic box. I may see if the Thrift is interested in letting me set up a small display. I estimate except for very desirable donations, they don’t make much of a markup once all is considered. With these boxes, they would make $3 each. It’s worth a shot.

           I now have these following designs, small to large.

Button box
Small square
Spice Box
J-box
KL-box
Z box
The new generic box

           The most produced box is the Z box, the most popular is the Spice box. That is partially due to how easy it is to make a Spice, and almost any lumber can be used because the outside dimension is always the same. That means there are dozens of variations of this model, also because most lumber over six feet will make two, kind of a matching set. And they are handy to work with the chop saw. This picture is a dunked tool box drying in the sunlight.
           It’s important to me this fine-testing for ever simpler box design. I admit to myself I’m suffering a relapse, so be prepared with the simplest, if you follow the logic. I'm fallen back to tired, selective tastebuds, although, my sense of balance is returning, though not up to par. I don’t bump into things as much. I’ve maintained my appetite for porridge. My overall energy level has backed off to about a month ago. This is day 207 of 360. I am disappointed.

Picture of the day.
Japanese flavored Kit Kats.
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           Finally, I have time to look at Musk’s new factory in Texas. As seen so often, the barrier to market entry is not the technology, but the startup costs. Rumors are he’s sinking $25 billion into it. They re betting on gate all-round, a type of transistor where the current is carried on nano wires, look it up yourself. My interest is the factory. The technology is not new but the design allows for very fast switching and less signal loss. The chips are overkill for consumers so that leaves A.I. as the primary customer. It also takes back chip dominance from the Taiwanese, who sort of stole the know-how, and this factory could leave China in the cold. Musk says most of the computing power will go to “space-based A.I.”, but we have heard such claims before.

           I’ve warned for years, decades actually, that there was a reason the digital world was collecting all your information. Yep, I was a conspiracy theorist, and laughed as people willingly parted with their personal info, thinking nothing had happened to them yet. Ha, now listen to them howl about Flock cameras and data centers. (Flocks are useless without the databases to back them up.) I even get to say I told you so. Sure, my life history is also on-line, but I control the narrative.
           My shed operation is a bit smaller. My big deed was building this nail box. It’s an F-box, no finish on the wood. The jigs for this piece are cutting only. I have none for the assembly stage. But If I ever get around to it, this box is an 8-minute build if all goes well.

           I’ve nothing else for you. Hang on, I have some editorial. It seems some people are again bashing the National Enquirer. Methinks it is an attempted distraction from the real fake news from New York. Hang on, this just in, it seems the National Enquirer has themselves relocated to the Big Apple. Some smart aleck just posted that was because in Florida, 80% of their conspiracy theories started coming true. Unlike WAPO and CNN, the Enquirer admits it pays for its hot tips, known as “checkbook journalism”.
           The tabloid has been the source of tips that led to solving crimes, but I recall various times they were almost bankrupted before being saved by Mafia money. What, you never noticed the lack of Mafia stories? It is from organized crime that the Enquirer began publishing lottery numbers.

           The Ansens are in the news again. That’s the Aussie couple who have now passed the 500 day mark at sea. Instead of paying their cash for a nursing home, bought 51 back-to-back cruise line tickets and live at sea for $100 per day each. No, not for me, I get seasick walking past a Laundromat. One thing on these boats, the entertainment is free.

ADDENDUM
           My property taxes are now annually over 5% of what I paid for the place. And 80% of the tax is for schools where I don’t have any children. Something is going to break the back o that monster. It is far past any argument that so much money is producing a good citizen. Their academic record is appalling, plus I do not agree with the NCLB, the no child left back. It promotes the stupid by taking away from the smart. I say, give the smart ones a fair shake first. That is who will become the future net contributors. And deal with the others with what is left over. Preferably out of your own pocket.
           The saying goes that you cannot comfort the afflicted by afflicting the comfortable. I can agree with some policies that address problems into the future, but not using today’s money to redress matters from the past. Reparations, my foot, unless I can get money for being an “Alamo Survivor” or something. I grew up in a world where dumb students got the bulk of all educational spending, but I had to borrow money to attend college. Don’t even talk to me about other versions of “fairness”.
           I told you about the athletics storeroom, tons of gear in a town that had never produced a pro athlete, but the science lab did not have a single working piece of equipment. It was also the local economy. You could not take a job that paid off later in life because you had to pay rent now. By age 21, of my graduating class of 36 people, 9 were on welfare. A lot of the strife in America today is the result of these unfair handouts to the wrong people, the people who should learn being stupid means a life of damn hard work. There is a reason the rich view poor people as stupid.

           There’s also a rash of videos showing intentional violence by black female athletes against Whites. Time and again, the referees ignore it. I think the leagues would wither and die without the White players, from what I saw, it is something to consider. The leftists continue their age-old demoralization campaign against Trump, but due to the Internet, they no longer get away with each lie very long. This can get amusing in a way, like the big CNN deal being made over the “failure” of Trump’s endorsement. Seems one loss lowered his success rate from 100% to 97%. Some victory, libtards.
           Am I the only one who noticed once USAID was cut back, the BLM and Antifa rioters have disappeared?

Last Laugh

August 23, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 23, 2025, me, evening school, 11 years.
Five years ago today: August 23, 2021, damn good company.
Nine years ago today: August 23, 2017, soundproofing, meh.
Random years ago today: August 23, 2007, my best hat ever.

           So much for the dire warnings of fiery crashes. I crawled under the Hundy this morning and I’ve been driving without a rear passenger brake for years. No apparent degradation of the braking performance, but the whole assembly needs replacing. I will try to release the piston with a clamp, and old farm trick, but that thing is not moving without serious effort. The only station coming in is “FLR” (I think), the one I call the Samantha Carpenter station. Where, if you can identify mystery sounds like changing the batteries on a remote, you can win a free tattoo. And a humanoid robot just broke the record for the 100-meter dash.

           Sundays you do not do as you please around here because I have very nice neighbors. Make a plan which for me was no noise until noon and then a look at the brake. Just as the shade reached the work area, so did the storm. And it was a good one, kept me in the shed. Is another box day another wasted day? Depends because that is no longer a yes-no question. A lot can rest on how many weeks you recently could not walk across a room. One day, with luck, you will find your boxes, just be wise enough to get underway before you are too old.

           Here is my kudzu canopy, it finally figures out I want it to grow across the top and shade the birdie area. I’m not sure if the birds will take to that, they may prefer open flight paths. So far, they could care less but you can see the vines are just beginning to form an over head on the wire mesh you can’t see laying atop the swing set. One of the boxes today was to hold the pneumatic chisel, I chose to leave room for accessories. The rain trapped me in the scooter lean-to a while, where I found that by very careful attention, it is possible to cut a lid from a box without a special saw table. It takes too long, but I got it. A box build for my wire stripper.
           Boxes with floating panels were never a big item, so it’s no surprise I ran out of panel material. This is part of a general clean up of old lumber. I can now glance at a plank and see what box to build. Will I make a small K-box from the smaller pickets. Nope, turns out those are virtually identical to a generic fake box, which I already have prepared jigs. The same radio station was clearest on the shop radio so I just had my brain rattled with several hours of rap music by what I am sure are manic depressives. I’ve got two sick vehicles in the yard and some raspy-voiced lady wants me to care that she wants to live in another part of the city or kill herself, she can’t make up her mind.

           My mini-lesson today was to get the laser to print two different fonts. There are no directions and I’ve managed it by carefully lining things up. All this would apply to graphics, as well. The other option is to put several different fonts and print them one section at a time. The answer turns out not to be a laser command at all, but the simple WordArt tool of dragging a rectangle over the entire shebang and clicking on “make object”.
           Then a good search for vector graphics turned up nothing. I don’t want fancy eagles and 3D bookmarks. Just some interesting designs because vector print so rapidly. I need a stock of standard easy patterns that print in seconds, not minutes. I don’t want to create an account or sign up for air miles. The problem is, again, the misuse of the word “free”. I locate the files, suffix SVC or DXF but when downloaded, they are HTML format. I see several references that PDF files are vectors, but no instructions.
           The web sites were quickly flooded with A.I. generated images but I have yet to see one that shows any real originality. I managed to download a PNG file, but they take just as long to print. I never understood why these web page people can’t give straight answers. The dominant click-bait site is Vecteezy, rhymes with sleazy. The license is free, if you want anything they advertise, it’ll cost you.

Picture of the day.
Rusty’s Roadside.
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           There’s the wire stripper tool in its box with the nearly perfect lid. Thinking ahead, I picked up extra rations of Columbian coffee. Now settled into my office chair, where is that documentary on the rotary aircraft engine? It was quite the machine of its day and now I want to know why it needed an odd number of pistons and such.

           I have a tale from the trailercourt for you. I was downtown last night and there were no females both single and up to standard, but there were plenty of them all told. I’m not keen on associating with paired off women, but that is highly dependent on individual factors. Like how blonde and slim she is. So here is a tale of how I met seven women last evening, each a work of art, had they been single. I already told you, past age 14, there are no single women in Florida. This is not that kind of tale. This is about why I do not listen much to men who say they can’t even meet the gals.
           There is no magic, I’ve told you many times how, if the place has no potential, I will take out my booklet and write a letter. Last evening, JZ and Hersh got updates. I learned 40 years ago this activity is very highly conspicuous to females. I have a theory on that and it is what you’d expect. 100% of women quickly learn that 99-1/2% of men are goofs—and that is a conservative estimate if they are in a bar. Yet, if you don’t go to clubs you won’t meet any worthwhile men at all who aren’t taken. From experience, I can tell you most women have never, and I mean in their lives, ever seen a man write a letter.
          If you assume I would truly push this to the extreme, you are wrong. I usually find a quiet corner, which has the secondary effect that to approach me, the lady must walk over. And last evening, seven of them did. Years ago I’d say just curiosity, but it is pretty plain it is a letter. Do not do this, guys, if there is any hint you are scouting. You really have to be writing a letter or you will make a fool of yourself. I’ll tell you why in a moment. This is one of those points where you have decide if I’m lying or not—because most cannot accept that I do not do this to pick up women. You heard me.

           I do this for myself and the notice the consequences. I’m not blind. It is another foolish man who underestimates what it takes for a woman to approach a solitary man and ask what he is doing. For most men, it would be a unique experience, both the approach, and doing something interesting in the first place, Ken. I know it takes roughly 45 minutes for the bravest one to be first. If there is no potential, my cover story is I’m designing a chicken coop. For the others, I tell them I’m writing a letter, at which point they comment I have “very nice writing”.
           I’m fully aware that because I restrict my on-line presence (which often entails curtailing idiots) that I have (in some lower order circles), a reputation for secrecy. One good laugh is men (it is always men) who think I’m paranoid, guys, a fellow who is paranoid does not post his daily history on-line. Anyway, to all those detractors, here’s the next step. I let the lady read the letter. By the second paragraph, they are somewhere between happy and crying and in love.
           So, am I lying? Did seven gorgeous (but un-single) women really approach me last evening? The last three were after I brought the house down with my rendition of “These Boots”, so it is hard to say specifically. But to most men, any such contact is a hit, so yeah, I was hit on seven times. More than the rest of the bar put together. By my reaction, you’d think I’m used to it. No, Wallace, these were not bar bunnies by any standard. I understand the tendency to say I’m exaggerating, got it. We both have ten fingers and ten toes and put our trousers on one leg at a time. The tide raises all boats. But if I was making this up, why write it down? What’s the motive? To invite flak from the peanut gallery?

ADDENDUM
           I was up late, catching up on current events. Carnival Cruise lines, it is rumored, has banned rap music, minors, and something called “hand fans”(?). Blacks are screaming racism, go figure. They don’t want their own bicycle. They want yours. (If you hear that quote, I coined it in 2020.) The new Apple speaker is watching you, you must click on “OK” to make it work.
           Rumor has it the EBS will be activated. That’s the Emergency Broadcast System. It is supposed to issue warnings and keep working after a nuclear war. It also regulates every cell tower and communication satellite. For years, the Democrat Deep State controlled the media, throwing people in jail and unaliving whistleblowers. But they forgot to control the broadcast system and now Trump apparently has the codes. Whatever stunt the left has planned can only work if they can spread the disinformation to cover it up.

Last Laugh

August 22, 2026

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 22, 2025, yep, they went under.
Five years ago today: August 22, 2021, just the down payment.
Nine years ago today: August 22, 2017, “sensitive”.P
Random years ago today: August 22, 2012, not quite a month,

           Means little to others, but over at the Dade condo, I noticed JZ was no longer using an older box, being that his place has lots of newer ones, fancy that. Examination showed it to be one of the four originals. The unit was ID’d instantly by the rough—but not sloppy—workmanship and the gaps where the bottom panel had shrunk. What a find, I retrieved it for my posthumous box museum, to be established once society advances enough to recognize what resources had to be created to make that first batch. It got some use, as the cracks have the bits and pieces. Walnut shell, rice grains, insulation scraps, shreds of steel wool, and a small button.

           I’m biking over to the hermit’s place to see if he’ll remove that brake caliper. I stress that it has never worked properly, and that has made no difference in the tens of thousands of miles I have operated that van. Just disconnect it, the more because the days of its long-distance hauls are over. It was worn out by PPP. It still works fine and I’m seeing about rewiring the starter once the noon shade covers the hood.

           I did get outside, and yes, more boxes. Two important prototypes. First the K-box to the full length of the Z-box, but it proved unwieldy. Still a good box, the one I am pointing to here, these “mistakes” are quite handy for storing bucked electric cords. Bucked? Yes, when an old appliance is trashed, save the cord until you have around 15 assorted. Then throw out after that, or, replace what you got with better styles. By noon, it clouded over, so I took a chance I can wait for it to cool a bit and get that starter switch happening. Who is with me?
           Think of boxes as my barometer of health. If I can drink coffee and build boxes, there is no immediate danger of anyone named Shaniqua beating me to death in an old folk’s home. Bring on the boxes. Here’s the antique, the J-box, that is same dimensions as the quasi-popular Z-box, but with the thinner picket lumber. It’s hard to perceive but, the lumber has moved and shifted and there is now a gab between the slats.

           I’m pointing to a spacer I used to custom saw to fill the bottom which was just under two slats wide. This ties in with the box made this morning. This design is centered on ease of manufacture in the small shop space and tools available. I think I’ll attempt a box that is two panels wide. It won’t be Golden Ratio, but these boxes need only be close enough. Look for yourself, if you were selling tomatoes or onions, these make great decoration.

           A look at the records from 2004 reveal a mess of pictures and blog items. There was no blog, really, but I have list of daily notes that reflect the goings on of the time. And lots of photos. But MicroSoft buggered the filing system. You can no longer open several file pages side by side and watch the files move. The way my system was set up was to have the photos separated into weeks and months. As a picture became used, drag and drop it into the used folder of each file. Can’t do that. The photos must now be handled one-by-one and the window closes after each selection.
           There is a way, but it will involve one operator and two computers. Trust MiicroSoft to screw with something like that. I need that 486, or even a 386, where I can pre-sort the photos before each blog post. With Win 11, posting each photo from an earlier date, then flagging it as used, is an 11-step process. Each photo.

Picture of the day.
Scotland fringe festival.
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           Move quick and get the job done, though I’m still going to moan it took two hours. The electric is easy for an old robot hand, but feeding them wires and making automotive connections, you can have. Or find a backyarder and let him fly a it. Shown here is the top-quality spool of yellow 18AWG robot wire being fed through the dash port drilled last week. This is an unsung advantage of robot experience, a lot of the work is done on automotive wiring. Agt. M knew exactly where to drill that port and kept it accessible from both in the cab and under the hood. I would be afraid of drilling into something
.

           Double interesting, as Agt. M’s neighbor comes over because he sees us working on cars. Takes one look that we are fixing wiring and decides he has to go turn over his compost. I’m not going to ask what is it with mechanics hating electrical, because I know exactly why some would rather see a dentist. And this is not complicated. It is a simple DC tap off the battery that grounds the starter with a momentary switch. What’s that? It is a switch that is on only when you activate it. As soon as you release it, the switch returns by itself to the normal “off” position. Yet so many people have never given this a second thought.
           Momentaries are usually a toggle, like this one, but you’ve used them as buttons (an elevator) and guitar foot pedals. Wwitches are not that simple once you get past turning on the overhead. This switch has to be a momentary to disengage the starter motor once running. In electronics, there are around a dozen types, a common one often confuses with a momentary is called an “alternate”. When you push it, some of them release like a momentary, but you have to push it a second time to turn it off.

           Here is the finished project. The starter switch is now located in a blank accessory bay. You can see this as a black object exactly in the middle of this picture. Actually, the work is not finished, as part of robot home-schooling (yes, we got the jump on that, too) is built-in “upgrade-ability”. The plastic housing behind the switch had to be modified, to you may spot two black bands above and below the toggle. Zip ties, in case anything has to be moved.
           The connections to the old [starter ] system are temporary, if they prove reliable, they’ll get a shot of solder and shrink-tubed. There is also an extra 18” [of wire] coiled inside just in case. Y’know, of all the zip-ties around this place, I could not find the ones I needed. It’s like they planned that.

           The benefits of health are slowly returning, I was able to complete this task [the starter switch] with one break for a soda. Laugh if you will but without realizing it, I put on my work cutoffs without grabbing on to anything. I suffered and shamed greatly over this since January. You cannot maintain balance putting on a pair of trousers. The vertigo mechanism will not obey. Until today, it was over before I knew. Hey, this is the blog where I can brag about putting my pants on. What’s more, that’s the usual sequence now, you discover you just did something you used to. See, maybe I should go out for a brew later.
           Later. Taking stock, I have $55 left because JZ and I did not go out last weekend. We stopped for one beer and I chatted up Amanda because she had a perfect 1970s figure. But something like that is private stock. And I take it back, my records show a few instances, with intervals measured in years, JZ has indeed paid for a round or two. Then, I never specifically said he never did, what’s never happened is we went out on a $100 scrunt-hunt and he picked up the tab.
           As for buying women drinks, I don’t really find I have to. Part of my style is to not be that obvious and it works fine. If she is interested enough to stay, and I never stop them from leaving, usually they’ll buy their own unless I insist. Hey, when you got it, you got it.

           How to say I told you so without saying I told you so. I went over to Kooters, noting they had 60 people , nearly a full house. But no music so I backtracked to the old club. Just in time, they are closing forever in a month. This is one of the most third-party documented failures ever. I was there to witness the whole decline and made accurate predictions of every mistake they made. I watched the place topple from great neighborhood country music bar, downward. Smaller bands, then solos, then Karaoke, then DJs, and now out of business. In Florida, the liquor license is the real commodity.
           But, whoever buys it will sink so much into it the place will (same as Hollywood) become another shigga-boogah sleaze joint. There’s a slim chance of becoming a micro-brew but prices will be astronomic. I would have good reason to say this once-iconic bar failed because they did not take my advice, but that would be mean, so I won’t.

ADDENDUM
           Politics is fun if you don’t believe a word of it. Some smart aleck posted that he could not believe his grandfather, a Republican, was now voting Democrat. He says that would never have happened if his grandfather was alive.

Last Laugh