Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

9:55 @ QEH. It was bumper to bumper the whole way to get here. Terrible. And after parking the van I slipped And nearly fell three times. (It rained; everything is muddy.)

Good news: My number is #823 and they are now serving #811.  No, now #812. So hopefully, I won't be here long. #814....

10:22 @ QEH. Seen the pharmacist, just waiting for the meds now.

10:27 @ QEH. On my way! (Will I fall down in my way to the van?)

10:45 @ Edgar Cochrane. Four near-falls getting away from QEH. Here is why:

Why don't they do something about this? Because this is not on QEH property. They have great parking areas on their property but all reserved for staff. Once upon a time they had staff & visitor parking. Then the staff insisted they needed more parking and visitors have had to use this muddy patch of ground outside QEH's fence ever since.

I am #658; now serving #635....

11:58 @ Edgar Cochrane. Now serving #654 so hopefully it won't be too much longer. Meanwhile the forum is playing up. They've been bleeting on about the upgrade for weeks now. When will it happen? As a former software engineer I can tell you when: as soon as they can get the new code to work.

Now serving #657.....

12:07 @ Edgar Cochrane. My turn...

12:09 @ Edgar Cochrane. Number being served just jumped from #658 to #758. Bacchanal ensues! 

12:11 @ Edgar Cochrane. I think I will buy a loaf of bread on the way home. I wish I had a toaster to go with it....

If I get a big enough order for towel racks, I might be able to afford an appliance. Toaster or kettle? Boiling water in a saucepan is a PITA but at least it is possible. I can't make a decent slice of toast, though. So maybe a cheap toaster. 

12:15 @ Edgar Cochrane. Oudda here!

1:17 @ Home. Van in through the gate. Mo lying on my feet. He gets rice for lunch, I guess I will eat some bread.....

Edited Yest. at 11:55 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Nice "new" monitor? With one corner slightly dimmer than the rest? (I assume the issue was with the backlight.) The dim area was dimmer than before this morning. And bigger. Got back from QEH and the darkness was even larger and dimmer. Took a nap this afternoon. Just got up to find the monitor completely black. 

Took it out and put back the old wood-stand monitor. I wonder what a nice, new monitor would cost? A 21½" LG for $219.00 or a 24" JVC for $269.95 or stick with the wooden stand.

 

[Netfoot]

Little man, bogarting my pillow.

Feeling sort of low tonight. Don't know why. QEH was quite quick today and Edgar Cochrane not bad either. Mo has been very playful and I am well fed. But I feel depressed. I don't mean any sort of clinical depression (which I'm not sure I would recognize) but I'm just feeling like the whole world is not on my side. And that while I've got this far despite unfortunate circumstances, it's entirely due to luck. It could all fall apart tomorrow. Maybe all I need to do is go brew a mug of tea. I'll try that later.

The moon was big, overhead during Garden Patrol tonight. It's just past full by 1-2%. 

Supposed to get a confirmed order for towel racks tomorrow. Along with a cheque for a deposit on the overall price. Sure hope they have not changed their minds!  The cheque will let me buy the required lumber plus glue, dowels, etc. And maybe a new kitchen spatula? Because puppy has finally done the old one to death.

He has gradually gnawed it to the point where the slots are starting to get disconnected at the end to become individual fingers. I think a new one is required. I've considered a metal one. Normally I'd rule that option out because it would scratch up my pans. But my pans are all buggered anyhow. No, I will avoid metal because it might damage Mo's mouth. You know he will immediately start chewing on the new one, right?

Very disappointed to lose the nice, "new" monitor after only what? One day? I don't want to have to add a monitor to my shopping list right now because I can only consider a cheap one and not the better quality monitor I would really like. I've spent much of my life looking at monitors and I decided long ago to pamper my eyesight when it comes to monitor selection. Of course, right now I'm using one beat-up, fuzzy-focussed, terrible monitor after another. So I guess even a cheap monitor would be better than the crap I'm using these days. But $200+ is waaay out of my budget. There is so much more I need right now, not least tires for the van. Toaster. Kettle. Microwave. Parts to service the band saw. The lathe. The scroll saw. 

My friend said he would look at his inventory to see what else (besides towel racks) I might make for them. If I could get more work and therefore make a little more income, life would get quite a bit easier. 

Mo has vacated my pillows now, so I will reclaim my spot. I was able to read about half a chapter at QEH & Edgar Cochrane today. Will try to at least finish that chapter tonight. 

Mean time I will watch some YT videos and in a while, I'll brew that mug of tea!

[Lovecat]

Hammer a nail into the wall, too high for the dog to get to.  Make a practice of ALWAYS hanging the spatula on it.  If you're not going to teach the dog not to take your things, you need to teach yourself to prevent him from getting your things.

[Netfoot]

Quiet morning. I started the day with a Croc recovery

and then spent my time working on a spreadsheet. I have listed the various size boards available along with their price. Then I compute how many parts can be rough-cut from each board. I need eight at 36½" and four at 11½". So for a given number (say X) of units I will need 8X at 36½" and 4X at 11½". The spread sheet computes the number of each type of board I need to produce the 36½" pieces and also computes how much scrap will be left. Then it computes how many 11½" pieces can be cut from the scrap, then how many more boards will be needed to produce the remainder of the 11½" pieces. 

The upshot is I can plug in the number of units required and generate a table showing how many boards of each type would be needed to finish the job and what those boards would cost.

For example, if I want to make 12 towel racks, I can use eight 1"x8"@12' which will cost $527.92 or I could use five 1"x12"@16' costing $719.95 instead. Obviously the first option is best from the point of view of reduced cost, but it is only 2¢ cheaper than six  1"x8"@16' for $527.94! (The 2¢ is of no consequence but 12' boards are easier to handle that 16' boards.)

There are other costs involved, such as a pint of TiteBond III glue, etc. But these are the same regardless how many units are required.

Mo and I had a late lunch (after 2:00} of pasta with corned beef, onion and the last of the pak choy and ketchup. I ate mine with relish and Mo finished his in record time. There is enough left for a small meal for Mo's dinner.

One more bag of pasta but not much to make a sauce with.  There is a small piece of corned beef remaining and plenty of onions. Two potatoes and some carrots which I may eat for my dinner tonight. No more tins of milk and only enough premixed for one mug of tea.

It's after 3:00 and no sign of the order and no sign of the deposit cheque. <sigh> That is the big problem with my buddy. He will promise he is going to order by the end of the week but it could be a month before he actually shows. I know he is sincere and any delay really is beyond his control. But it is very difficult to plan for a job when you don't know how many units will be required and when the order will arrive. If the cheque arrived today, there won't be time to deposit it today.

I could go now and buy the required lumber..... if I knew how many units were required! And I'd be spending the rent money. I can't afford to buy lumber for 12 units and then the order is for only six! Because that would leave me short on the rent which is due a fortnight from today!

If I get the cheque this afternoon when he is on his way home from work (which could easily happen - except he is not supposed to be at work...) I could go buy the lumber this evening or (more likely) first thing in the morning, because I would know how many units were required. That would let me work on the job this weekend. 

Damnit, I'm not going to worry about it right now. I will read my book a little instead. 

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Hammer a nail into the wall, too high for the dog to get to.  Make a practice of ALWAYS hanging the spatula on it.

An excellent idea. I have a bad habit of walking out of the kitchen with my hands full of dishes, bowls, etc, and leaving the spatula on the counter.

Quote

If you're not going to teach the dog not to take your things...

It isn't that I am unwilling to teach him to behave. It is that I am not happy giving him a severe beating for stealing a shoe or a spatula. Smax on the botty and a stern talking to don't seem to have any effect.

[b4pjoe]

5 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Hammer a nail into the wall, too high for the dog to get to.  Make a practice of ALWAYS hanging the spatula on it.  If you're not going to teach the dog not to take your things, you need to teach yourself to prevent him from getting your things.

Agreed. The pup would not need to be scolded and your things wouldn't get torn up.

[Netfoot]

13 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

The pup would not need to be scolded and your things wouldn't get torn up.

Again, I totally agree. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of forgetting about it and departing the kitchen with (say) a bowl of soup or a plate of chips and forgetting the spatula or ladle I was using.

Or I could close the door (actually a gate) to he kitchen when I leave it. But I forget. 

So, my fault. Which is why I am not going to punish him severely for something which is essentially my fault moreso than his. 

[Netfoot]

Mo had a super sized bowl of pasta for his dinner. I ate a half-bowl and two slices of bread, plus the two "heels", which is what my mum called the ends of the bread that are all crust on one side. One heel was very thin and the other was as thick as a regular slice. I'd planned to put a very small amount of PB&J but when I checked, the two jars were empty. 

Will have to cook rice tomorrow. Got plenty of rice, lentils, onions, even pumpkin and carrots. No more pak choy and very little bully beef. Should I go and make a minimalist purchase at the grocery? Some bully and some condensed milk? And pak choy or cucumbers?

Just before I was planning to go on Garden Patrol, Mo ran in, hopped on the bed and began rubbing himself vigorously on me. Then he jumped completely on top of me and began rolling back and forth. The little bigger was soaking wet! Rain was falling in showers. It would rain for 2 minutes and stop for 2 minutes. It wasn't really raining hard, but it's been windy, so the light shower was actually blowing sideways and the drops stinging when they hit. How do I know? Because we went out between showers and we stayed too long. So when we went back inside again I got used as a towel again, until I could get an actual towel. He likes being towelled!

No sign of my friend so I still don't know how many towel racks they require. Hopefully more than zero. I was initially told 12 but then told I should decide how many I was comfortable building; 10, 12, 15, ... I was also asked how much I unwanted to be paid and we agreed on $280. Last thing I heard was that "the boss" would decide how much they were prepared to pay....

Got a movie to watch later. Won't give any details as I have not even started it yet. Might be interesting. With Mark Wahlberg.

Little man is with me now, lying on the bed beside the window. With the on-again, off-again rain and the strong wind, I am opening and closing the window repeatedly. There is a strong, cold breeze blowing in and periodically the rain comes down... and in! But fortunately, the showers are becoming lighter, shorter and less moist. The wind remains strong and cold, however...

Never got around to reading my book last night. When I went to pick it up, Mo was fast asleep on it and I considered waking his arse up! But then I realized I was tired too, so instead I killed all the lights and wrapped myself in the sheet. He promptly got up and moved but by then I couldn't be bothered to turn the lights back on and pick up the book.

The only Hershey's Kisses I could find on the island was a 1¾ Kg. bag. Which I thought was a bit excessive. (You'd think anyone who sold candies would stock up for Valentine's and that Kisses would be obvious think to have in stock.) So anyway, I sent Dr. Kristi a WhatsApp this morning, with a photo of Kisses attached, saying that we were wishing her a happy Valentine's, explaining why there were no Kisses forthcoming this year and pointing out that 1¾ Kg. of chocolate might have a deleterious effect on her youthful appearance. she responded with Happy Valentine's wishes for "her boys". 

Ok, I have 26 videos to watch and then my movie. So I will draw this to a halt and catch up with everyone tomorrow.

Edited Saturday at 02:16 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

5:30 and bacchanal in the pitch black night! Mo looked out the window and immediately started to make such a ruckus I opened the house and let him out. The ruckus redoubled! Eventually I had to get a torch and go out to see what was going on. 

It seems we had two visitors. First, one of the dogs from next door. On the end of a long wire, it had climbed up onto the bonnet of that guy's truck and jumped over the double wall between our two properties. She was lucky she wasn't hung on the wire! But there was enough for her to get all four feet on the ground inside my wall and move a yard or two in every direction. She is more than twice Mo's size so it is well that they were cautiously peaceful. Eventually her daddy came and rescued her.

Not so peaceful for the second unwanted visitor. Mo kicked that kitty's arse coming and going! When I finally persuaded him to move away so I could deal with the kitty it was in a sad way indeed. I put it over the wall to a place where it's owner (no idea who) could find it. Nothing more I could do. It seemed to be quite bright-eyed still. So I'm hopeful that once it's had a chance to catch it's breath it will be OK. 

My main worry was Mo himself. In battles between dogs & cats the pupper may win but might also receive some battle scars to remember. I was most concerned that kitty had not slashed his eyes! Dawn is only now breaking but in the dark my examination shows Mo's eyes to be uninjured. And the best exam I could make in the dark with his black ninja outfit is that he doesn't have a mark on him anywhere.

Now, his head is hot and it will be quite a while before he is back to normal. And while he is wired like he is now, any further examination is not practical.

Draaama! Let's avoid it in future!

Edited Saturday at 10:02 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Garden Patrol started with one shoe and ended with two. Finding the extra shoe took a while - it was under the car!

Cooked Mo some potatoes with lentils and bully beef for lunch with enough for dinner. Myself? Tea.

Watched two movies today. First, Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts & Albert Finney. A good movie. Roberts as a social commentator is an asshole but I like her as an actress. 

Next was a new movie. Mark Wahlberg plays quite a different character from the usual in Flight Risk. A marshal, transporting a fugitive by air discovers that the pilot is not what he seems. Directed by Mel Brooks Gibson 😆. Set mostly in an aircraft built by the same people who built Dr. Who's Tardis. (It's about five times bigger on the inside than on the outside.) Some of the aircraft-related action was oversimplified but putting that aside as not really relevant to the storyline, I didn't have any problem with that.

There were two near-crashes during the course of the journey. The first was overly dramatic but again I accept that as needed to pump up the drama. The second near-crash however, was just ludicrous. I won't describe what I'm talking about. If you watch the movie yourself, you will know what I'm talking about when you see it. Utterly, stupidly impossible. 

The breeze in the window tonight is strong, moist and cold! I want to wrap up! But I may go and make a mug of tea instead.

Mo is curled up on the foot of the bed and I hope he feels snuggly when the lights finally go off. It is still early - only just after ten. I will try to read tonight because for several nights I've just gone to sleep instead. But hopefully I will get some pages turned tonight!

I had a faint hope I'd hear about the towel rails today but not really expecting it. Good thing, because there was no word. If I don't hear anything Monday, I will prolly send a query on Tuesday. 

Watching a YT video about the Dept. Of Education by someone called Brett Cooper. A pleasant enough young woman but perhaps a little too young for me? Not sure we are on the same page as a result. Don't think I will watch any more.

Anyway, I will stop now and contemplate brewing a mug of tea and see how far I get with the book. 

Uh, where is that damned book?

[Netfoot]

Banana plant/tree falls down.

Mo is not happy about it!

If you don't know, banana plants only ever produce one crop of a single stem of 6 (8? 10?) "hands" of bananas. It will simultaneously throw a handful of "suckers"; new banana plants that spring up around the base of the old. 

If you are cultivating bananas you will knock or cut down the plant after harvest and let it rot to feed the suckers. After a short while you pick the strongest looking sucker and eliminate the others.

If you don't do anything with the old plant, it will hang on for a while but eventually it will fall over by itself. It gets weak and the leaves act like a big sail allowing the wind to push it over.

Looking at the photo I would say that the plant which has fallen was an old one. I base this on the fact that the leaves are much more shredded into thin strips than the leaves on the other nearby banana plants visible in the photo. 

Edited Sunday at 09:11 PM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I have a pile of pillows I use to make a pyramid that I people up on when reading in bed I also sleep on them. I (far too often) suffer from reflux and the MG makes it uncomfortable to lie flat on my back. So I make my pillow pyramid and remake it often as it becomes disorganized and falls out of shape.

Anyway, I have a little friend who likes to lie on my pillows. There is usually one pillow at the edge of the pyramid that he can lie on but he prefers to bogart the entire pile. And he commandeers the pillows regularly.

For instance, I just sat up and rearranged the pile of pillows so I could lean back and watch a movie. But before I could lie back down:

He just wriggled into the gap, and took over!

How am I supposed to watch my movie now?!??

Edited Monday at 02:58 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Made rice today. Bully, carrots, pumpkin, onion and lentils. Sadly, no pak choy, cucumber or any other "greens". Mo had this rice for lunch & dinner. I boiled the remaining lentils with a potato, blended the lot and made soup, which I had for lunch & dinner. 

Watched a movie called Time Trap from 2017. A handful of students go in search of a professor who went spelunking and did not return. It turns out that time in the cave runs much slower than outside. This means that as minutes go by in the cave, time races ahead outside the cave. And this affects the ability of inhabitants to exit the cave.

The cast was entirely unknown to me and the budget was obviously low. I didn't expect much. To my surprise, the movie was quite good! Some interesting concepts were floated which made the show fun on an intellectual level.

The lights flicking past the entrance to the cave every few seconds turned out not to be the sun at noon every day but instead the sun at noon on the summer solstice! Also, something which I've never seen addressed before in movies of this type, as seconds pass in the cave, years pass outside, the landscape changes and humanity develops. The world the spelunkers came from soon no longer exists. It turns out that in the depths of the cave, trapped in time, are people from every age of human development. It is the fountain of youth, but once you've found it, you can't actually leave!

It's nice to watch a low-budget, B-movie with an unknown cast and discover that it is actually quite a good flic!

Mo was here fast asleep (guess where?)

when I got up to lock the door. He switched on like a robot in a bad sci-fi movie, rocketed past me and shot out into the dark. But I want to get some shut-eye so if he isn't back soon, I will lock up with him on the outside. Which I don't want because last night someone left the refrigerator door open and it was as cold as hell. It seems tonight will be at least as cold. Mo was very welcome last night and I don't want him outside when he could be cuddling up with me instead!

While on Garden Patrol, I discovered a stolen ice tray. No problem, he'd stolen it from the trash. I used to have sixteen ice trays but now I'm down to four. Chucked one in the trash yesterday and Mo obviously rescued it and took it out to play with it.

Also, thought I heard a familiar buzzing noise in the sky. Nothing to be seen, of course, but it sounded like a "mad bull" kite. ("Mad bull kite" is the name Trinidadians use for these hexagonal or octagonal kites with one or more tongues that make the buzzing/roaring sound. Bajans just call it a "kite".)

I made a mad bull in England when I was a student. Just to show my English friends what they looked like. It was not well made. They doubted it would fly and scoffed at the thought of it roaring. So, we had to go fly it.

Ended up on a putting green next to the highway and nearly caused several car crashes as motorists focussed on the kite as it roared  away nearby, instead of keeping their eyes on the road.

If I remember correctly, just as we were going out to test fly the kite, we met a pretty brunette on our doorstep. We had advertised for someone to come share our digs as we had a spare room. The brunette had come around to check out the place but ended up flying a kite with us instead. Sarah did move in a few days later.

She was fun. I wonder what ever became of her? Long after we'd all moved out of that house, I ran in to her in the street and persuaded her to let me buy her dinner. We chatted as we waited for our meal and she took a box of matches and laid out 11 in a simple pattern. "Move three matches and make a manhole!" she challenged. I couldn't get it and when she showed me the solution I was shocked! Shocked, I tell you! I thought she was a nice girl!

Chest pains tonight. Not bad. But I want to go to sleep. So I am going to take a Nexium and see if Mo wants in or out.

Edited Monday at 04:59 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Bad day. 

Had The Belly from the first. Took my last two tablets to help but there was little reduction in the complaint. Blood sugar: 5.2 mmol/L. 

Went to buy lumber but couldn't get anyone to assist. Bought a pint of glue and left. Back home again. 

Went to dish out lunch from the rice pot. It was bad! I don't understand how! But I can't eat that nor expect Mo to do so. It was cooked yesterday lunchtime from all-fresh ingredients and put in the fridge as soon as it had cooled.

After lunch (bread) I went to the pharmacy and bought a small box of meds for my tummy. $13.98 but I don't want to live in a house without anything to help deal with this!

Back to the lumberyard.

Originally I was told 12 racks, $280 each and 60% deposit up front to buy lumber & supplies. Yesterday I was told 10 racks, $275 each and $400 deposit. ($400 is about 14½%.)

The deposit was not sufficient to buy all the lumber for ten racks so I bought enough for five racks. My spreadsheet analyzed 12 different ways to buy the lumber I would need for five towel racks. I chose to buy three 1"x12"-12' because the spreadsheet indicated this was the most efficient use of the deposit. But at the lumberyard I discovered my spreadsheet had the wrong prices in it! I should have bought four 1"x8"-14' which would have saved me money. However, I may get six towel racks instead of five which will earn me an additional $275. 

Got home to find my neighbor's dog standing on top of my wall. I tried to take a photo but before I could snap the pic she jumped back over onto his property. 

You know, when you buy a 1"x12" board it is never 1" and it is never 12". You used to get ¾x11¾" and the lumberyard would tell you that the saw kerf was ¼" and you had to pay for that. My last 1"x6" board was ¾"x5½" so I guess they are using thicker saw blades now? But the 8", 10" and 12" boards are all nearly a full inch narrower than nominal. I had to measure each board and hunt for boards that were the widest in the pile, and they are all more than ¾" narrower than nominal. The 8", 10" and 12" boards are all just under 7¼", 9¼" and 1¼" 11¼" respectively. It's a scandal but they've been getting away with that for hundreds of years. 

I remember back when monitors were huge cathode ray tubes and they were advertised like *19" Monitor! (18" Viewable) *. Bloody rip-off! Only thing worse would be * 16" Pizza! (15" Edible) * 

Mo was here a short while ago

but he has vanished. I expect he is under the bed. I'd look but my tummy is feeling tender and I don't want to temp it.

I should be cutting down the boards I just get fetched from the lumberyard. I got nine at 37" by 11-3/16 wide. This should give me 54 pieces 1¾"x37". It takes four legs and four rails at 36" to make a towel rack. So six racks is 48 pieces with 6 left over. There are also 18 pieces of scrap 32⅝" long. From each of these I can cut 2 stretchers for a total of 36. I only need four per rack or 24 for six racks, with 8 left over. 

But don't be fooled. The pieces are not all usable. There are bits of wain, inopportune knots, sap pockets, etc. which make a piece unusable. I just hope that there are enough unblemished pieces to make the six (or at very least five) towel racks. If inlet him have them, then I will.get $1,250 for them, which will allow me to buy the wood for the remaining racks.

But even though I should be working, I am feeling very tender-tummy right now. I think I will lie here, snooze maybe and hope what ever it is goes away by tomorrow. 

Mo isn't under the bed. So, where is he then?

Edited Yest. at 11:42 AM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

[Netfoot]

Crashed out this afternoon and didn't awake until after 7:00 PM. Threw out all the rice. Cooked potatoes & corned beef for Mo. He ate half. I had tea.

Dumping two days worth of rice has not helped the food budget. Not sure what we can do now. Other than cook more rice. Got potatoes but no ketchup. So chips are not really in the cards unless I make corned beef gravy and turn the chips into poutine. 

Feeling somewhat better. Took the tummy meds around 2:00 before crashing out. Tummy not troubling me right now. But feeling aches and pains in every joint and muscle. 

Got no work done today and I need to complete the towel racks before month-end because I need the money to help pay rent, and month-end is less than two weeks away. Can't afford to be sick.

Can't remember if I have any movies to watch. Oh, wait! Got one about a shark. But don't know if I'm in the mood tonight. Despite sleeping for nearly 5 hours, I still feel tired and drowsy. 

And I was going to shower this afternoon but didn't get that done. It was cold last night. Not as cold as night before, but still uncomfortable. And it's shaping up to be cold tonight as well. I just can't face a shower right now. The water is scalding hot, and will take your skin off if you don't mix in enough cold water. But it's after you get out of the shower and you are sitting around damp, in the chill breeze. Can't bring myself. 

Watching YT videos to pass the time. I watch woodworking projects, automotive chassis design, and a bunch of other stuff like that. But I also watch news and all the news articles are about "Big Balls" & DOGE. Apparently the next audit will be at Fort Knox. (Last time those gold reserves were audited it was by Pussy Galore.) 

Mo is asleep on the corner of the bed. He was excited today to go out for a short drive, not once but twice! But he has a bad habit of barking excitedly. Loud and shrill and directly into my left ear. Or at everyone he sees out the window. Which is cute to see how excited he is, but can be highly annoying.

Heidi went away "for a month". That was 34 days ago. No indication if she's returned or not. I've begged her for years to let me know when she goes away and when she returns. I'm not trying to pry into her business. But if I fall down and break my leg, it would be helpful to know whether it makes sense to call her for help or if she is in holiday in Uttar Pradesh! She never lets me know.

I had a mug of tea for dinner. And I feel like another. Maybe not immediately; maybe in a while. Don't feel like getting up to make it though...

When walking around in that vast lumberyard today, I kept looking around and fantasizing about all the things I could make with all that lumber! There is a ton of stuff I would like to make. But lumber is hugely expensive these days.

I'm going to post this now. And lie here vegging out, telling myself why I'm shouldn't bother to shower, the pros and cons of making another mug of tea, and hoping Mo will wake up and come share my pillow pyramid. Wait! Where is he?!?? My little ninja had vanished again....

[Netfoot]

Been cutting some wood. I got 9 boards, 37" long, from the lumberyard. I cleaned up one edge then cut them lengthways to give 6 pieces per board, or 54 pieces. These are the pieces from which I will cut legs and rails.

Each rack needs 4 legs and 4 rails, or 8 of these. 54÷ 8 = 6 racks and 4 pieces left over. But not all of these are any good. These two, for instance, were highly stressed and when I cut them they fought like a pirate and decided they wanted to become bananas. (The riving knife on the saw prolly prevented these two cuts from being much more "interesting".)

So, I hope when I carefully inspect each one looking for unacceptable defects, that I end up with 48 to make 6 racks. Or at minimum, 40 to make 5 racks. Any extra good ones can go towards the next batch of racks. Not-so-good ones might also be cut down to create extra spreaders or separators.

Because each rack needs 4 spreaders. These are 11" long at final dimension. Fortunately, the boards from the lumber yard gave a piece of scrap 30" (ish) which I cut down to produce 18 of these:

That was no fortuitous accident. Use of scraps was taken into account when buying the boards.

When cross-cut, I will get 36 pieces at 11" plus 18 short scraps around 8" long. (What should I do with them?) For 6 racks I will need 24 spreaders so 12 spreaders spare, to use in the next batch of towel racks. However, these too must be checked for unacceptable blemishes. 

Like this:

[Netfoot]

After closely examining the boards, I discovered several boards which have bananad. One bananad in both directions!

There were also three boards that had chips, knots or cracks and can't be used.

If I eliminate those right boards from my total of 54, I'm left with 46, or insufficient for six towel racks. Five, but not six. 

I am dedicating the afternoon to an attempt to un-banana the least bananad of the bananas.

I clamped these down with a piece of scrap as a shim underneath the middle. The idea is to bend the bananas back up on themselves and hopefully remove the banana or at least reduce it until it is acceptably small.

No idea if this will work. But I guess it's worth a try. I have no facility to steam the wood which would improve the chance of success.

Also looked at the scrap pieces. 18 pieces from each of which we should get two stretchers. Two of the scraps were damaged at one end so I will only get one stretcher from these for a total of 34 stretchers. I will need 20 for five towel rails, 24 for six towel rails.

My guy says he will pass by on Friday. No chance these will be ready by then. So I hope he is coming to bring more money to buy material for the remaining 5-6 units.

Edited Yest. at 05:31 PM by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

No idea if this will work.

It did.

I was able to straighten enough pieces to allow the assembly of six towel racks. The one bent sideways and up/down straightened in one direction but I don't think straightening it in width will work. And obviously pieces with problems other than bananaism could not be repaired.

Here's hoping the straightened pieces have a low degree of recidivism.

Using the table saw to straighten these boards was not an efficient way of doing it. If my bandsaw was functional, I'd build a small wooden tool that allowed boards to be straightened without tying up the tablesaw. I'd hoped to make enough on this project to buy the pieces needed to put my bandsaw back in action. (Shopping cart at Grizzly says U$91.69 and free shipping. Also need a 1" blade like the Timber Wolf 131½"x1" blade with 3 teeth/inch for around $40.) Doesn't look like that will happen, now. 

Tomorrow, I will start on jigs to help build frames, and start putting them together. It's approaching 5 PM and I just had a shower. I'm not planning on any more dirty work today. 

[Netfoot]

Dinner was pasta. Those $1.59 bags of Turkish pasta make a generous meal for Mo and I. Unfortunately, that was our last bag. 

We went on Garden Patrol and

As soon as I picked it up, Mo shot across to the most distant part of the garden and from then on he kept moving so as to be at the diametrically opposite side of the garden. He is still sitting out in the dark, afraid to come in. When he knows he's done wrong he is always afraid he will get punished. Which he hardly ever is. Eventually, he will give up and come inside again. 

Tomorrow, I think I will begin by cutting the spreaders to final length and then I will swap out to the ⅜" blade and cut the half-laps on the ends of the spreaders.

But wait! Once the ⅜" blade is on the saw, I will want to do the half-lap joints on the stretchers and the legs so I can complete the work with the ⅜" blade before doing anything else which requires changing back to the regular ⅛" blade! So I will trim both the legs and the stretchers to final length before switching to the ⅜" blade to do the half-laps, then switching back again. 

Remember how last time I made a magic spacer to facilitate cutting of the half-laps accurately? I still have it here but I will have to cut a new one because if these boards are only a fraction different in width to the ones I did before, the old spacer will give inaccurate results.

So the first thing I will have to do with the ⅜" blade is cut the spacer in half and glued it back together. I wish I had some CA (cyanoacrylate "super" glue). As a modeler I usually have at least one 2 oz. bottle in the fridge but I ran out a while back and never ordered more. I usually use aliphatic glue (white or yellow carpenters glue) whenever possible when modeling but this is an ideal time to use CA. Gluing the two halves of the spacer block together will take at least an hour, during which time I won't be able to use it. White glue has several advantageous properties but speed is not one of them. 

Mo has come to bed at last.

I am having a hard time to find YT videos worth watching. I think I will have to stop watching YT for a couple of days and watch some classic movies instead.

I think I will brew up a mug of tea. It's been a while since I bought coffee. I like coffee from time to time. But a 130 gram bottle of Instant coffee costs $30-ish and will give me 40 mugs unless I make it strong in which it gives me less. For 30 bucks I can buy 275 tea bags.....

Ok, I will go and brew that tea now and try to get off to sleep shortly thereafter.

Edited 16 hours ago by Netfoot

[luv2lurk]

I had a really bad weekend. Was bringing groceries from the car when I fell and could not get up from the heavy snow. After 4 hours of trying I started to yell for help. Someone came to my rescue and then I blanked out . They called the paramedics who then took me to the hospital . I was in and out of consciousness. I recall being in the ambulance, but not being admitted.        

The hospital spent almost 18 hours getting my temp back to normal. It took another 2  days before I was released. During which time my cat was not fed or watered. So lesson learned, I better have  back up plan for the cat.

Hypothermia is real. So the next time @Netfoot complains about being chilled I would like to remind him real cold kills people.

[Netfoot]

9 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

Hypothermia is real. So the next time @Netfoot complains about being chilled I would like to remind him real cold kills people.

I'm very sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience. I hope you are back to normal as soon as possible.

My experience with snow is limited. I don't know what to suggest to avoid this sort of thing happening again. General thoughts that are flowing through my mind:

• Improve surface to reduce risk of falling.
• Carry a mobile phone so you can call for help sooner and more easily.

As for 'Tit Puss, I don't know enough to say but I wouldn't like Mo to miss two meals far less two days! Perhaps there are mechanisms you can use to provide a longer supply of food & water in case your return is ever delayed. A self-refilling water bowl and some sort of automated feeder? I don't know what to suggest.

As for hypothermia, I am sure it is terrible. When I lived in the UK you would hear about old folks dying in their bed at night during the winter. Terrible.

Of course, when I'm bitching about the cold, I am saying I am feeling cold in comparison to my experience in this environment. Please don't take my comments as some sort of belittlement of real cold weather.

Around here heatstroke is what you have to look out for. A couple years ago when I was working in a shipping container in the sun, in the hottest summer on record, I was suffering from mild heatstroke on a daily basis. It affects your brain and you may not recognize it. One particular day on my way home I nearly hit the car 6-7 times! Thankfully this is a rare occurrence.

Anyway, less from me! Pamper yourself until you are fully recovered. Look at ways to reduce the risk of falling. Examine ways to keep Kitty fed and watered for at least a short period in your absence. (Water would be much easier to achieve than good food, I think.)

('Tit Puss = French creole from Trinidad meaning "Little Cat").

Edited 5 hours ago by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Just cut my scraps into 11" stretchers. Need 24 for six racks; cut 30 and have enough scraps to cut 22 more. I discovered that the scraps are a little longer than expected. I can get three from each piece of scrap, not the two I was counting on. These extra stretchers will go towards the next batch of towel rails and save me from having to buy as much lumber. 

Swapped in the ⅜" blade. In the process I dropped the arbor nut into the saw. (Never did that before; I am always extra careful to avoid dropping the arbor nut and/or arbor washer into the saw.) I tried digging through the sawdust well but no luck. So I had to clean out the bottom of the saw. The ShopVac needed fiddling with. It has a wonky on/off switch. Then the hose was blocked so I had to clear the blockage. I don't have a stick long enough to go right through the hose so I pushed the blockage back and forth several times until it worked itself loose and dropped out. Vacuumed out the saw and found the nut. No problem but it took time. 

Trying to find out if I can buy acre placement switch or whether I have to buy a whole new vac. (Neither of which will actually get bought.) And come to think of it, my DeWalt random orbit sander had a wonky switch as well. 

Made the magic spacer block. That ⅜" blade is scary at best and since I don't have a ZCI for that blade it is even scarier. The block is glued up and drying.

I should really make some new ZCI blanks and dedicate a couple to my ¼" and ⅜" blades. The one I use on my standard ⅛" blade is pretty beat up too so maybe a replacement for that.

[Lovecat]

10 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

I had a really bad weekend. Was bringing groceries from the car when I fell and could not get up from the heavy snow. After 4 hours of trying I started to yell for help. Someone came to my rescue and then I blanked out . They called the paramedics who then took me to the hospital . I was in and out of consciousness. I recall being in the ambulance, but not being admitted.        

The hospital spent almost 18 hours getting my temp back to normal. It took another 2  days before I was released. During which time my cat was not fed or watered. So lesson learned, I better have  back up plan for the cat.

Hypothermia is real. So the next time @Netfoot complains about being chilled I would like to remind him real cold kills people.

That is horrible, I am so sorry!!  Everything intact, no broken bones or other injuries, I hope??

[Netfoot]

30 stretchers cut to length and half-lap joints cut. 

Two are suspect due to my error: I failed to lock the fence and there might have been movement of the spacer. So I will not use these unless necessary. 

Back hurts, tummy rumbling, lunch needs to be made and eaten. Mo agrees with me on this point. Potatoes & carrots with corned beef & onion sauce, I think. 

Will need to trim the legs to length, round one end slightly and then cut the half-laps on these as well. Will make a start after lunch but I don't know if I will finish them all today. Will do my best.

Edited 3 hours ago by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

In the middle of cooking lunch, the gas ran out. It's 49 days since I last changed the cylinder on 1st January. The average life of a cylinder was 58 days. 

Had to bundle Mo into the van, go and get cash from an ATM, buy a cylinder refill and put some gas in the car to ensure we made it home. 

By the time I was sitting down to lunch it was already gone two o'clock. Now taking a breather after the meal and thinking about a mug of tea. I want one but if I brew one up and take my time to enjoy it, it will be three o'clock before I get back to work.

Mo is under the bed. I know, because I can hear him under there trying to dig a hole in the tiles. I wonder about that boy.....

Edited 1 hour ago by Netfoot