Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

Wet skin, cool breeze in the window. Warm dog-butt up against my tummy, tummy demands rubs.

Tried a short nap this afternoon but was immediately hit with a really bad attack of cramps. Withstood the torture for 30 minutes and gave up.

Sausages and bread for dinner. Could have been worse, I suppose...

Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette. After a very successful debut album, I've not heard much more from this musician since. Apparently she made a legitimate bundle on that first album so I'm sure she ain't hurting. I actually thought that her first album was pretty good, and if she followed suit on her next, it would have been equally successful. 

Mo refused to come on Garden Patrol this evening, until I went and patted his head and showed him some love. That lets me know that the nasty little beast has done something which even he knows is bad enough for him to get spanx for it. I don't yet know what that something is, but I'm pretty sure that whatever it is, it will manifest itself in fairly short order. 

Watched a silly movie starring Sylvester Stallone and some annoying little kid. Can't recall the name. SS was a retired superhero in hiding and the annoying little kid was playing the part of one of those annoying little kids that turn up in do many movies these days. You know the type. Precocious, too smart for his actual IQ, and so seriously in need of a major whupping you can hardly stand to watch, knowing that he obviously isn't going to get one. Anyway, the movie was as forgettable as it's name. I will no doubt watch other SS movies in the future. The kid? Hopefully, never.

Both feet are starting to cramp again. This afternoon was quite bad so I really don't want a repeat. But it's not looking good.

My dad ran his own business when he was alive, and one of the things he did was welding. We always had welding plant and equipment aplenty in the workshop and mobile rigs for on-site jobs as well. Arc/stick and gas welding (and braising) back in those days. Since we had at least half a dozen skilled welders hanging around all the time, I could get any welding I needed done in a flash (pun). Go-carts, gizmos, brackets for treehouses... Later, car repairs... So I never learned to weld. I've regretted it ever since. A few years ago, I considered taking a class at the local polytechnic. But it was three nights a week for two years and cost $1,800 a year. It was a pretty detailed course. Gas, Arc, MIG (gas/flux), TIG.... But then came certain medical issues followed by the pandemic... 

Why am I talking about welding? Because my chair is about to fall apart. I know what is wrong and I know what has to be done to fix it but it needs welding and I don't have the skill or the equipment. So, pretty soon the chair will break. I will be sitting in it at the time, of course, so I will be injured. And thereafter, for want of a chair, I will have to sit on an upturned bucket which will leave a circular mark on my posterior. All because I was a stupid fool as a lad, and didn't learn to weld when I had the chance.

Life is just too miserable. Tomorrow, I will stew some pork with onions, potatoes and add some boiled plantains at the end. Couldn't find a breadfruit today, unfortunately.

Going to read my book. Mo has been snuggled up against my tummy for quite a while. Asleep, apparently. Will take my blood sugar in the morning. It will probably be astronomical. The amount of sugar I've had today! Mega mugs of tea, plus an 89¢ sweet drink with my lunch and another with dinner! And bread all day! 

So, yes. Book.

[Netfoot]

Good morning, everyone!

Slept well without cramping or other issues. Mo required the door opened at around 5:00 but he was very affectionate up until then. Have not actually seen him since.

I don't know what and all I will.bevdoing today. Want to visit the bank, but right now I want something to eat.

And I think, just possibly, that a hair cut might be in order. Wotcha think?

[andidante]

9 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Watched a silly movie starring Sylvester Stallone and some annoying little kid. Can't recall the name. SS was a retired superhero in hiding and the annoying little kid was playing the part of one of those annoying little kids that turn up in do many movies these days. You know the type. Precocious, too smart for his actual IQ, and so seriously in need of a major whupping you can hardly stand to watch, knowing that he obviously isn't going to get one. Anyway, the movie was as forgettable as it's name. I will no doubt watch other SS movies in the future. The kid? Hopefully, never.

 

 

I love Sylvester Stallone in the first 4 Rocky movies! I thought the first two especially were very well done. And I love Rocky and Adrian's relationship. He is doing a new show now called Tulsa King that I have been wanting to check out. However, I would have to pay for another streaming service and I am not willing to do that.

[Netfoot]

30 minutes ago, andidante said:

He is doing a new show now called Tulsa King that I have been wanting to check out. However, I would have to pay for another streaming service and I am not willing to do that.

I've seen the show described at IMDb and elsewhere. Considered having a look but something keeps staying my hand. Up until now, anyway. The first season (9 episodes) are available and S2 is due to drop in September.

Maybe I will watch an episode or two and report back.

 

[Netfoot]

Found another hank of of Type 1 Accessory Cord, in orange. This leads me to dig out an old globe knot I tied a while back:

Tied with a black accent cord in an OOB pattern in each facet (accent on one side). 

I could go similar to this, but I'd go with a central accent instead, and reduce the orange by swapping it to a BOB pattern in each facet. Sorta like:

A bit of pop from the orange accent but mostly sedate, basic black.

Or any colour with basic black, for that matter. The red? The green? 

And I think if I search around, I might find a hank of maroon/burgundy.

[Browncoat]

I thought about the green with black, but in the photo above, the green looks kind of dark.  I'm not sure it would give a nice pop of color against the black.  I like the orange with the black.

[Netfoot]

11 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I thought about the green with black, but in the photo above, the green looks kind of dark.

Here is an image of BGB and it is a bit dark:

You could compensate for this by switching the colours again, to GBG instead:

There are a lot of options here. I could go to three individual colours. Or make it all one colour. I could go to four passes with anywhere from 2 to 4 colours. (In my experience 3 passes is the most you want. I've done 4 passes and with finer cord, I've done 5 passes. But anything over 3 starts to be PITA.)

As far as pop vs. gaudy: I'd like the charm to be attractive but I don't want to take it out of my pocket and have everyone's head snap around as they say "Wow! Lookit that!" 😃

[Browncoat]

Ooh, I like the green-black-green.

[Netfoot]

Ok, I've done the math... which prolly means I've got the whole thing wrong! But according to my calculations, using three passes, it will take 39.72 facets to cover the 1" high carbon steel ball.

Referring to my Burrhus Globe Knot Cookbook, I find a 40-facet recipe (40GRK) which has been awarded 2 stars out of three for being a "winner" recipe. It is coincidentally Ashley's #2217 which is encouraging. Here is the recipe:

There is an example on the faceplate but a photo of a photo printed in a book looks like crap. 

Here are the notes from "Monkey's Fist & Other Knot Coverings" in my copy of Ashley:

And the accompanying artwork: 

Edited June 19 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

49GRK recipe programmed onto mandrel tool. It's a simple program: all pins C-F extended, all others unused.

Note that I did locate the hank of maroon/burgundy cord I was pretty sure was around here somewhere. Another colour option. 

My shakey math tells me that each pass will require 42¼" of cord, but that is after snugging up on the ball. It will require plenty of extra slack to form the knot before tightening.

I will also need extra to form an attachment loop by which the completed charm will be fastened to (in this case) the keychain. Not entirely sure how to go about this. Could start at the keychain and work out and hide the ends on the ball. Or start on the ball and work back towards the keychain. Will try a few options and see what I like best.

[illdoc]

9 hours ago, andidante said:

He is doing a new show now called Tulsa King that I have been wanting to check out. However, I would have to pay for another streaming service and I am not willing to do that.

CBS is showing the first season starting...I think I want to say July 14. The second season hasn't finished filming (if it's even started---but it has been renewed for season 2 so it will exist at some point). So, you can watch season one for nothing. 

[andidante]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I've seen the show described at IMDb and elsewhere. Considered having a look but something keeps staying my hand. Up until now, anyway. The first season (9 episodes) are available and S2 is due to drop in September.

Maybe I will watch an episode or two and report back.

 

Yes please do if you end up watching it. I am very curious. 

[Netfoot]

On 6/19/2024 at 6:47 PM, andidante said:

Yes please do if you end up watching it. I am very curious. 

I just watched S01E01. I won't say much about it because I don't want to spoiler it, but I enjoyed it. I'm not saying that it's the best show ever, nor that because I liked it that you or anyone else will. But it was entertaining and easily showed enough promise that I'm looking forward to the next episode. Which will be tomorrow because it's bed-time now!

Just heading into bed and found someone asleep on my pillows!

When I woke him up, he made me to understand that he would not object to a tummy rub. 

Of course, after the flea incident of a couple days ago, this have gave me the chance to confirm he had no creepy-crawlies on his little bawlies!

Now, as soon as he will let me, I will go take my shower. But it seems a fair amount of tummy-rubbing must come first.....

Edited June 26 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

NOOOOOOOO!

Enormous post just completely destroyed. 😡 Didn't even move to another app. Just wanted to scroll back and check something I'd typed earlier.

Not going to retype that.

[Netfoot]

Lunch was the leftover pork stew from yesterday. I cooked another plantain to go with it. It actually tasted great

Cut my hair.....

[Netfoot]

Yeah, I know. My own mom used to say she liked my beard because it hid my face.....

In bed, wet from a hot shower. Middle of the afternoon but a great, cool breeze is in the windows. Had to get some of the stubble off me. It took over sn hour, most of which was me buzzing the machine over my head and trying to find odzocky parts by feel. I think I have gotten it all sorted but I won't know for sure until I venture out in public and people start pointing and sniggering.

Mo is snoozing under the bed. He is keeping quiet but two suspiciously familiar black, fuzzy feet are just visible, amongst the under-bed detritus he has accumulated. Maybe I can grab a photo?

Nosie on the left, footie on the right. Everywhere else: trash!

After the first, tasty, non-metallic meal in weeks, a nice hot shower in the heat of the day (followed by a cold-water sluice), a champion breeze blowing, my love-puppy safe and close at hand and an un-pillaged glass of iced water beside the bed, I think I will just take a moment to lie right here and enjoy it all. 

Until the next someone who comes along to explain how I have to tie myself in knots in order to make their life easier.

[Netfoot]

It's a week now, and I can't believe this is still a thing!

Remember, there was no blow to the leg. I crossed my right ankle over my left, with the left laying across the leg of the chair. After watching a movie, the part that was pressing against the chair was sore and painful. The red mark shows exactly where.

It's still painful, slightly swollen, the skin feels rough and leathery, and somehow hot!

I take small comfort in the fact that the affected area seems to be getting gradually less tender and painful. Hopefully that is a sign of healing rather than the opposite.

Been reading in bed all afternoon. Just finished Warlock, #3 in the series of books set in ancient Egypt. Will start #4 this evening. Can't remember what it's called right now. Sun God perhaps?

Will now brew a mug of tea, then find Mo and deliver unto him a bacon treat as a reward for the love-snuggles he bestowed upon me an hour ago...

Edited June 20 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

OK... Firefox Focus just ate a post, fortunately costing me only one short paragraph. So I've uninstalled that and I'm trying something called "Brave" browser. And here is what was lost:

In bed after my second shower of the day. Mo was here earlier and being very affectionate but when I came out of the shower he was nowhere to be seen.

I'd have put that in a quote but can't find a way to do that. 

Listening to Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. I think this was their debut album and it was quite fun, with several enjoyable tracks, of which this is only one.

Spaghetti with a corned beef sauce for dinner. Again, my eye was bigger than my belly so I ended up with too much. Mo was happy to help. And of course, the meat sauce had filtered to the bottom of the bowl so he ended up with ⅓ of the spag. But ⅔ of the sauce!

Book #4 is called The Quest and paraphrased from the blurb: "Egypt is struck by a series of terrible plagues and then the waters of the Nile that nourish and sustain the land, dry up." Whether this means the Nile actually dries up or whether the vital Inundation of the Nile fails to happen, remains for me to discover, I guess. Not sure if I will read it tonight. I have another book here about the construction of the Locost home-built motor car. A Lotus 7 lookalike. More photos, diagrams and charts and less text. Easier read.

As a teenager I got hold of Allan Staniforth's book High Speed, Low Cost about the design and construction of the Terrapin. Based on the BMC transverse A-Series motor & transaxle (which I knew well at the time), the Terrapin is a mid-engined design, rather than the less sophisticated, front-engined layout of the Lotus 7 and the much later Locost design. Unfortunately, I keep losing my copies of HSLC. I've bought at least four copies in the past and I guess my friends liked them very much because they keep vanishing. It's out of print now, and copies are harder to find and more expensive as the years pass. U$100 these days. Which is why I am reading the Locost book. The design principles and construction techniques at least, are worthy. 

Watched a sci-fi movie tonight. One of the famous ones. I am a sci-fi reader and enjoy the movies too. So tonight: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. After his recent appearance on Jaws I believed they expected a great performance from Richard Dreyfuss. They didn't get it. He was juvenile and silly from the start. And I am not afraid to say I've always thought this movie was hugely overrated. The visual effects were pretty good for 1977 but the story was crap then and crap still. This is one of those "let's throw more mysterious shit at the audience and end with no explanation of anything!" movies. The whole movie is coloured lights flashing in your eyes and then zooming away leaving you thinking "WTF?!??" I wasn't impressed with it in 1977 and I still ain't. But we were told how wunnerful it was..... (Fun fact: if you read the book, the sound system or synthesizer used at the end to communicate with the aliens was supposedly borrowed from or provided by Stevie Wonder.)

And while I'm slaughtering a sacred cow, let me just mention another movie we were told was so wunnerful: 2001: A Space Odyssey. I am sick and tired of being told how amaaaazing the space travel sequence near the end is. No, it isn't. Not unless you've just smoked a quarter of Moroccan (or Lebanese) Gold or Lebanese Red. Through a Sarah's Family bong. Otherwise it's just a series of short clips of various chemical reactions taking place with false colour applied. The story is good (but the very end is just deliberately mysterious), however that travel sequence is a disappointment. The earlier sequences depicting spaceflight, space stations, etc, were far more interesting and accomplished.

But why am I telling you about a movie I didn't watch? I will have to watch it, now! (FYI, the sequel with Roy Schneider - 2010 Something? -  was a far better movie.)

Mo was just here cuddling against my back but has retired to the floor right next to the bed. 

OK, so I will try to sneak out and lock the front door without Mo rushing out and forcing me to keep the house open another half an hour. Then I will look at some pictures in my Locost construct guide book for a while and finally, Cyril, I will hit the hay.

By the way, this "Brave" browser is dumping and reloading the page as well, forcing me to rely on data recovery to bring back my post. Several times already.

Edited June 21 by Netfoot

[Mr. Sparkle]

6 hours ago, Netfoot said:

let me just mention another movie we were told was so wunnerful: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I could never get through it. 

[Netfoot]

Just popping out to get some bread. Will need both of these...

[Netfoot]

Half an hour last midnight and I'm only now getting to bed?

Two Garden Patrols tonight. Mo refused to accompany me in the first. And I soon figured out why. A nice, new tee shirt, fresh out of the laundry basket, found lying on the driveway. Not the usual yellow "rag" tee shirt he usually steals. I have his butt a swipe with it and chased him outside! From there, Patrol #2 proceeded as normal.

Spaghetti again for dinner, with a little chicken and onion. Couldn't figure out how to get plantains involved so I skipped them. Also decided not to include pak choy. It came out well, although the sauce was darker than I expected. Poor Mo was not pleased. There was only dark brown sauce in the pasta bowl when I was done. I bogarted all the spag. and all the chicken too!

Rock Lobster by the B-52's. Not a huge fan of this band but some of their tracks are worth listening to.

Went out to buy bread this morning. Paid $85 at the cashier but I got a bunch of free stuff, including cheese, tomatoes, mayo, tinned channa, pigeon peas and black beans. Had cheese & tomato on sliced white for lunch. No J to go with the PB I have here. They had guava jam but I didn't see any guava jelly. Not much PB remains anyhow. So I will address the PB&J situation at a later stage.

(Mo has just arrived and curled up against my butt. No, wait... He is moving.... Now he is between my shoulder blades.)

Battery down to 11% so I will have to keep it short.

(Mo has now moved down and is lying in my right foot. I can rub his back with my left.)

Watched Interstellar, a recent sci-fi movie with more than one big-named star. It isn't a bad flic and I enjoyed it well enough. Not going to call it a classic but certainly worth a watch.

(Mo now looking out the window after checking the contents of my water glass. It's empty; he's disappointed.)

Well, that guy told me he would come see me Friday, but that was last Friday. And in fact, he said he would come and see me the Thursday as well. No sign. So I have no idea when/if I will see him again. I sure hope so. A few dollars are always welcome. I'd like to see him a little more often, not less.

(Mo has departed.)

Phone now down to 7% so I'd better think of putting this to bed.

(Mo is back, lying on my arm and giving me mega-kisses.)

I will end here, do the dance with Mo to get the door locked, maybe refill the water glass and then consider calling it quits. It's one minute to one in the morning!

Edited June 22 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

As you may know, from time to time I play with knots. Occasionally, knot all the time! Over the years I have accumulated a number of tools for working with cordage and knots, and a few books on the subject as well.

Recently, I thought of a project and when I opened my little box of tools, most of them were missing. I looked around but couldn't find the rest.

Today, while looking for something else, I found a box marked "Knots" and when I looked inside, there were all (or at least most) of the missing tools. The only thing I can't find is a large Turk's Head jig I made from PVC pipe, with a choice of spacing options as per a Golomb rule.

I have to find - or make - a case or box or something to keep all this stuff in. So it doesn't end up spread all over the house again. Not sure if it would be practical to include the TH jig. Especially since I seem to remember making two of them...

Considering this as an attachment loop for my keychain charm:

Two snap hooks at the end (to make doubly sure it is securely attached), a couple of knots bracketing a bead, a length of cord followed by another two knots bracketing another bead. The length of cord in the middle TBD. The four separate central strands might also get plaited into a 4-cord square braid (also known as a 4-cord round braid).

Traditionally, cording projects are decorated with skull beads. I have a couple of choices I could use. But while I'm all for tradition, I think the plain bead would suit my purposes better

Loose cords on the right of the photo to be knotted directly onto the high carbon steel ball.

The colours shown here (black & orange) are not necessarily the colours I will use for the charm. I'm just using these two cords for test tying because I have them here.

Here are a few 4-cord square/round braids.

Obviously, the smaller cords produce a smaller braid. The larger braids are tied in 550 Paracord.

[Netfoot]

Just completed Season #1 of Tulsa King which unsurprisingly ends with a cliff-hanger. Looking forward to S2 which is due in September.

[Netfoot]

Sorted out my cording needles. Here they are:

The largest set, the 18 on the left, are for 550 Paracord. The longer, brass ones are considered the Rolls Royce models and they do work well, but their longer length makes it problematic when getting to the end of the cord. If the needle is longer than the remaining cord, they can no longer be used easily. The shorter ones can operate with less cord remaining. The stainless ones on the far left have all been spun in my drill press and reshaped with file and sandpaper. I honestly didn't know I had this many of these, and I recall giving three needles each to a couple friends who expressed an interest.

Over on the right are other needles sized for finer cords. The far right two are really cute miniatures of the large, Rolls Royce ones for 550 cord.

Here are a small collection of more conventional needled with cord holes through the side of the needle rather than into the back end.

[Netfoot]

Cool breeze in the window. The ground was wet when we went on Garden Patrol because it rained earlier. Last night we had 100% lunar illumination (full moon) but tonight it was peeking through a veil of cloud.

Mo just did a side fall onto my bad leg. Ouch! Fortunately he fell against the inside of the leg. Still hurt because in falling on the inside, he preseed the outside down into the mattress... An now he's gone.

Listening to I'm Dying by VAST. I like this band and their debut album had a number of excellent tracks on it.

No dinner. Couldn't be bothered. Had tuna & thinly sliced tomato on sliced white for lunch. Tasted terrible so I only ate a little. Been drinking sweet tea and (one glass) lime squash.

Retired much earlier tonight than yesterday. Don't know why I was so late abed last night. Intend to read my book for a while before locking up and killing the lights.

Can't remember if I watched any movies today. I did watch some TV episodes. I could switch to another app and log in to my desktop and query for a list of most recently viewed shows, but since that would practically guarantee a reload of this page with a high risk of losing this entire post, I won't.

Similarly, I've just spotted that one of the speakers I listen to music with in bed has mysteriously fallen apart! It still works, but it is now in three pieces. I'd post a photo but again, switching to the camera app at this time will very likely cost me the entire post. I have just snapped it back together again and it's fine. But I can't help wonder who bust it?!?? No idea! I guess it will have to remain a mystery.

My phone had $0.00 on it. Last time I checked it was just under $5 and then, without my making or receiving a single call or text or using the data feature, the balance mysteriously goes to zero. And I keep forgetting to "top up". I've got $15 in my wallet so I could put a few bux on the phone... If only I could remember.

Mo just walked in and immediately went over to the speaker and checked it out. What a coincidence! Now he is playing a particularly vigorous game of Tunmy Trampoline. Boy, I must really love my puppy! Now he has somehow pulled the fitted sheet off the mattresses at one corner. How & why I just don't know.

I gotta tell you, I wish I could find one single thing that was consistently tasty enough and non-metallic enough that I could eat it every day. Because I would love some palatable grub right now. But all the things I am fantasizing about would all most likely taste like drywall screws while costing me more than I can afford.

Mo has decided to curl up in my left armpit. He is licking his feet, which motion has my left arm and the phone wobbling all over the place. No, wait! He's departed. This will give me a chance to get the sheet back on the bed. So I will sign off now and get that done, then I will read my book for a while.

Edited June 23 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

More cording tools:

A thread nipper, a pair of side-cutters and a utility knife & blades. Plus a #4 scalpel handle and a couple of choices of blade. Oh, and a tape measure.

[Netfoot]

A couple of hemostats, an adorable little vice-grips and a tiny hammer. (You might be surprised how many times a complex knot has to be beaten into submission!)

And two additional items: a wire loop that can be slid under cordage to pull additional bights or ends back through. And a fid, for prizing tight knots apart. These last two are a bit annoying because the round nature of their handles mean when you are looking for them you should check the floor. Because they insist on rolling off the table! I've been thinking about flattening two opposed sides since uvehsd I've had these but I've not gone ahead with that as yet.

I have a few homemade tools similar to these that I have not shown, such as a small fid made from bamboo and a wire loop made with finer wire.

Edited June 23 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

A few other items: three- and four-row globe knot jigs. Also a set of very small Allen keys. The silvery one is the one used to spin the pins in and out on these jigs. Because they get used most, they get lost more often, so I bought a couple dozen spares and they are silver instead of black.

In the foreground, a drill and tap for the grub screws used for pins. With these I can (and have) made jigs of different sizes. My Golomb Turk's Head jigs for instance. Which I still can't locate. I also bought 250 spare stainless grub screws, which I keep in my "fasteners" collection, so I'm not showing them here.

I also had a cigarette lighter for melting cords to prevent fraying but I can't find it. It was here a minute ago...

Edited June 23 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Ok, read it!

Medical issues.

1) Cooked and ate my dinner. Did not bite my tongue. When the meal was over I found this in my mouth.

Spoiler

Not at all painful, but ugly. I think I'd better get Dr. Kristi look at this in the morning. Been avoiding her, but think this might need attention. 

2) Bent down to pick up a carrot and when I stood up again, the corner of the door to the cupboard intervened. Don't look like much but it hurt like hell!

Spoiler

Watched an old sci-fi movie called Freejack, starring Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo and Mick Jagger. Estevez was meh, Russo was gorgeous as usual (she will never get old) and Jagger was the same asshole he is in person. Movie was so-so, but props for their depiction of futuristic vehicles.

Mo was outside earlier and there came a thunderous downpour. Shortly thereafter he was at my side demanding to be dried off. I told him he was a silly boy for getting wet and that I didn't have a towel to dry him with. That was a mistake because he immediately ran off and before I could catch him, was drying himself in my bedclothes!

Well, I suppose if I can come out of the shower damp and jump into bed, he must think he's free to do the same.

History by The Verve. This is from their A Northern Soul album which isn't my favourite, but still pretty good. (My personal fave is Urban Hymns which is a real corker of an album, just packed with great tracks.)

Poor Teddy was rescued from the grass during Garden Patrol and brought back into the garage to dry off. Teddy is Mo's responsibility so if he gets left out in the downpour that is Mo's choice, but I will rescue him if I think he needs rescuing. Mo looks on nervously when ever such rescues are underway, like he expects to be punished afterwards. So I always have to go and give him a pat on the back and a head snuffle to make him know he had not done anything wrong. 

I've had a quick butchers and can't find my Golomb TH jig(s). Found a couple earlier, more primitive jigs but these proved to be problematic. Which is why I went the Golomb Ruler route. Still not sure if I made one or two. May have built a shorter and a longer one. 

The rain is howling down again with a strong breeze blowing. I had to shut the window. The question is, when the squall passes, will my puppy come running in and jump into bed wet? Or dry? 

I have not been complaining about the wobblies recently. That's because since Dr. K. reduced the dosages of the meds, it's been greatly reduced. Not eliminated completely, but much reduced to the point where for the most part it's mild enough for me to completely ignore. It's no longer common for me to have to hold on to furniture as I move around. If I see her tomorrow about the other thing, I may as well get my blood pressure taken as well, seeing as I'm already right there...

Anyway, it's after eleven, and I will go read my book. When the puppy joins me, wet or dry, I will lock up and fetch a glass of water.

You know, when Mo was I tiny little boy, I went and bought a small plastic bowl so he could get his own water or milk or whatever. When I got the package home I discovered it was actually two bowls.

He got milk in one of the bowls that night, and by morning he had completely destroyed it. The next night he got more milk and by the following morning he'd destroyed that bowl too. So no more bedroom bowl for Mozie. Now he gets his vittles & water out of industrial strength bowls that are set down into a wooden feeding station where he can't pick them up and carry them away.

The little ninja! He sneaked into the room and is lying on the floor alongside the bed! He is also  perfectly dry. 

Right! I'm posting this now and fetching a glass of water for myself.

Edited June 24 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

As I said in my previous post, the "boo-boo" in my mouth was absolutely painless. I only knew it was there because I could feel it. 

During the night, I woke with a small, but distinct pain from that very spot. Upon examination, it appears the boo-boo had vanished leaving a very small lesion in it's place. Waking this morning, I can advise that there is absolutely no discomfort from that area at all.

So, no real reason to visit Dr. Kristi. Always enjoy visiting her but I find I'm less inclined to discuss medical issues and prefer to chat about her kids and her new puppy. Meanwhile patients that need her attention twiddle their thumbs in the waiting room. So, I avoid unnecessary visits.

Meanwhile, after a rainy night which forced me to keep closing the window, it's pouring again. And no idea where Mo is, so prolly outside getting nice and wet!

[andidante]

12 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Ok, read it!

Medical issues.

1) Cooked and ate my dinner. Did not bite my tongue. When the meal was over I found this in my mouth.

  Reveal spoiler

Not at all painful, but ugly. I think I'd better get Dr. Kristi look at this in the morning. Been avoiding her, but think this might need attention. 

I have not been complaining about the wobblies recently. That's because since Dr. K. reduced the dosages of the meds, it's been greatly reduced. Not eliminated completely, but much reduced to the point where for the most part it's mild enough for me to completely ignore. It's no longer common for me to have to hold on to furniture as I move around. If I see her tomorrow about the other thing, I may as well get my blood pressure taken as well, seeing as I'm already right there...

This is very good news about the wobblies! You must be so relieved. I hope she can figure out what happened with the other thing.

[Netfoot]

Now what?

My shoe, of course, but the other thing is a drag-chain. A very expensive drag-chain. How he got his mitts on it is a mystery.

And if of course, the shoe.....

.....is a little damp.

Edited June 24 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

According to my calculations, a single pass on a 1" carbon steel ball with this cord should require 42½" of cord. However, this would be the tightened length of the cord, so more cord will be required. Plus any extra needed for an attachment loop.

And initially installed on the jig, the length will also be some amount more than 42½". 

So, since I am far from 100% confident in my length calculation to begin with, I am going to do a test run using this piece of cord I happen to have lying around. It's length is 68½" end to end.

Here it is, on the jig. Measuring the two tails, I seem to have 24" extra cord, so on the jig we require 68½ - 24 = 44½" of cord.

When this is snugged up and on the ball, it should require far less than than the 42½" I computed, which only calls my computational abilities into question!

[Netfoot]

Retracting the pins one at a time and snugging up the cords in between, we get closer to an actual globe configuration:

[Netfoot]

All pins retracted, cords tucked, and transferred from jig to the steel ball itself:

[Netfoot]

A bit more snugging on the ball and we have full (if loose) coverage. Loose is good. Two more passes to get on there which isn't possible if the initial passes are too tight.

Excess tails measure 37" and since we started with 68½" it means that a single pass loose on the ball requires 68½ - 37 = 31½" of cord considerably less than my stupid computations suggested, and also less than the excess cord. So we could attempt another pass with this cord.

Edited June 24 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

With a second pass laid on, the coverage looks OK and there is a small amount of cord left over - about 10" in total:

This knot still has to be tightened which will recover some more cord, but not a whole lot. 

If we zoom out a bit, you might see an example of something I spoke of in an earlier post. 

The needle is longer than the remaining cord it is attached to. This makes it impossible to get the needle through the knot directly. You can remove the needle, poke it part-way through and reattach the cord, but that is a real PITA, since you have to do it for every stitch. This is why the longer needles sometimes have to take a back seat to the shorter ones.

Of course, this usually means you cut your cord a bit too short so it's your fault.... But accurate computation of required cord length is not a thing.

In this instance I would be able to pull out some of the short end and stitch in some more of the long end and still get the two ends to meet, completing the second pass. So not an issue.

[Netfoot]

So the entire knot is doubled. That means two cords make up each facet.

But just right of center you can see that to continue "doubling" the knot, you would actually begin tripling it! You obviously can do that (assuming you have enough cord remaining, which we don't) but if you want to stop at two passes, this is the point to do so - where all facets have been doubled, you have not started tripling yet, and the two ends of your cord have come together. 

[Netfoot]

Now, the original knot with this cord and this ball was computed to require 40 facets of three passes. Unfortunately the scrap of black cord we elected to use for this try-out is not long enough to make three passes. How fortunate that we have another scrap of orange!

Following the existing path of the doubled black, we can easily stitch in a third pass. The contrasting colour can go between the two passes of black (as shown) or to one side if preferred.

It is quite possible to have each pass made from a different cord with a different colour, and I have made some very attractive charms with three colours. I've even done four and five passes with varying numbers of colours. But I find that once you go over three passes it becomes progressively more difficult to make the individual passes lie straight and parallel. 

[Netfoot]

And we're done!

No, not really. If this was a real knot and knot a try-out that will be unravelled, we would now have to tuck & conceal the ends or use them to form an attachment loop. Then we would have a couple rounds of tightening, and finally we would trim off the excess cordage so the ends disappear. 

As seen here, the knot has knot been tightened at all.

The third and last pass in orange got progressively more and more tight and difficult to stitch into place. This is normal. That's why you don't want to make your early passes too tight.

While knot visible in this photo there are a couple of places where I can see a little bit of the steel ball between the facets. This indicates that 41 facets might have covered the ball more completely. However, the area of steel still visible is much smaller than the area of a single facet. So a 41 facet knot might be very difficult to tie, due to there knot being enough room on the ball. The little hammer can help in cases like that. However, the very small amounts of uncovered steel make me feel I can easily ignore them; you wouldn't see them unless you went looking.

I am going to say that 40 facets was the correct choice. All I hope now, is that the cords I actually use to tie the final knot are equivalent in thickness to these test cords.

Wish I had a 1" rubber ball to play with. I'd like to tie two identical charms, one with a steel core and one with rubber. 

Edited June 24 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Just lost 5 paragraphs. ☹️ Will paraphrase in brief.

Returned from the shower to find Mo waiting in bed. So I locked the door. Mo is cross. He didn't get to tax my dinner, and kissed me several times. This is how he finds out what I had for dinner - by tasting my face. Poor Mo! Last thing I had was brunch: corned beef & cheddar sandwiches with tomato, around 10:00 this morning.

A cool breeze in the window. It's been raining off and on all day and there is significant cloud in the sky. The breeze feels cool and damp so we may be in for more rain tonight. 

Watched Transporter today. I believe this was Jason Statham's breakthrough role. It is a bit dated now, but I have not watched it for a while and it was pretty entertaining. It helps if you can't remember exactly what happens.

Also watched a WW-II movie whose name I don't recall. But I was tying my try-out globe-knot at the time so my attention was not 100% focused. 

The knot didn't come out too bad. Now I have to double-check a few measurements before untying the knot. I still have to pick my colours but I will need the high carbon steel ball back in any case. I originally bought a small number of these but I think this is the last one I have left.

Listening to Rainy Days And Mondays by The Carpenters. When ever I listen to an artist who left us before time, I  always reflect on the music we never got to hear. Janis, Jimi... A day or two ago it was Jeff Buckley but I think that entire post got eaten, do I don't know if I ever did post it. Hmmm. You don't suppose the letter "J"...

How strange! The very next track on random play is Satisfied Mind from Buckley's posthumous "Sketches..." album.

Gotta go shopping tomorrow. Can't cash my welfare cheque before Friday, but there is no more grub in the house for Mo. And no rice either. So I will have to dip into my $35 cash reserve so my baby can eat. After all, he can't rely upon taxing his daddy. A bag of grub is $18 and change. (Maybe I will remember to put $5 on my phone at the same time.)

Now, I do have some potatoes and he will eat potato raw, so I presume I could cook him spuds and he would chow down happily. Especially if they were accompanied by a nice corned beef sauce. But I don't have that many potatoes. Thankfully, there is also some pasta. 

Maybe I should make a big pot of watery corned beef gravy and just dip a ladle of it over potatoes, pasta or what ever else I cook. But I think a bag of chow would be a good idea, either way.

My bruised leg is still painful but there is no doubt it hurts a little less every day. Also, that ugly think on my tongue departed in the dead of night, last night. It's departure was a little painful (I woke up) but by this morning there was absolutely no discomfort at all and the only sign of it's ever being there was a slight rough spot on my tongue. Apart from worrying a bit that I might bite the spot, it has not troubled me in the least, all day. (You know hoe if you bite your cheek or tongue you are in increased danger of biting it again.)

Mo is at the foot of the bed, dead to the world. His front end is lying on his side while his back end is lying on his back. Very strange. I'd take a photo but not at the risk of losing this entire post by switching to the camera app. 

Well, I suppose I'd better post it now and go read a bit of my book. We are approaching midnight and I don't want to be up all night or I won't want to get out of bed in the morning!

[Netfoot]

He got spanx for it this time!

It was nice while it lasted...

[Netfoot]

Just back from the grocery. $18 dog chow: Out of stock. Next best thing: $28 dog chow.  

So no, I did not top up my phone. I bought Mo some food instead. 2Kg. Plus 2Kg of rice for me at $6. Only one tin of bully beef remaining but have pigeon peas, black beans and channa.

[Netfoot]

A YT video of a 2:22 scene from a movie. When I first saw this years ago, I honestly thought I was having a heart attack and was about to die laughing.

[Netfoot]

The snip from above is from a movie that is full of cameos. The star of that clip appears in exactly that scene and no others anywhere. When I watched for the first time I was sure I knew what was going on but had no idea who. It wasn't until the "Oh, no!" moment that I discovered who that star was. And I doubt I could have guessed if I'd a whole year to puzzle it out. The movie by the way, is a corker and a bit of a cult favourite too. 

I cooked corned beef rice today, with onion, pak choy, carrot and pigeon peas. Half went for my lunch and the remainder was my dinner. It tasted pretty awful at lunchtime and even worse for dinner. Don't know why. I made no mistakes and it came out great except for tasting like a zinc plated bucket. At least dinner didn't leave me with belly cuttings like lunch did!

Listening to As I Lay Me Down by Sophie B. Hawkins. I have 2-3 of her albums and they are quite good, if you are in the mood. This despite my having heard her music described as "pornographic" by more than one person. I wouldn't necessarily agree. While she does have a couple of tracks that are unashamedly raunchy, it isn't like every number is going to have you clutching your pearls!

Mo is now lying beside the bed. I left my glass of water next to the bed when I went to lock up.  I could hear the lapping sound as I walked back up the passage towards the bedroom. Can't make out how he got the water down to such a low level!

It was dry all day but around six this evening we had a downpour and I had to try and dry him off before he dried himself on the bedclothes. The grass was very wet when we went on Garden Patrol. 

Watched two movies today. First, The Dirty Dozen. Classic Lee Marvin WW-II flic with a host of familiar faces. Earnest Borgnine, Telly Savallas, Donald Sutherland... Just in case you've been living in a cave since 1967, a band of death row criminals are recruited from military prison to be trained for a special mission...

The second was The Magnificent Seven. Not the recent one but the 1960 version. Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn et al. A village "south of the border" recruits seven gunslingers to help them eradicate a marauding band of sombrero wearing bandits. 

James Coburn is inspiring me to go looking for Our Man Flint for tomorrow afternoon! In fact, I believe they made two movies with Flint... But I have a warm puppy sleeping between my knees right now and I don't feel like getting out of bed. So I will hopefully remember Flint tomorrow. I not sure I'm selling Flint right. Flindt?

Left hand cramping.

Anyway, it's nearly midnight. The "sleeping" puppy is now nibbling my toes. And I want to get to my book. 

It's been a decade since the last Inundation of the Nile and Egypt suffers terribly. The cause: A mysterious, powerful and evil sorceress who is determined to steal the skills and abilities from eunuch and former slave (now a powerful wizard in his own right) before destroying him utterly. Meanwhile a new, beloved character has been introduced and I don't see how she can be anything other than the evil witch in disguise. But if so.... Well, I'd better read on and find out! 

The puppy has fallen asleep again. No, he's awake, has taken a place on my pillows and is licking his balls.

[b4pjoe]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Watched two movies today. First, The Dirty Dozen. Classic Lee Marvin WW-II flic with a host of familiar faces. Earnest Borgnine, Telly Savallas, Donald Sutherland... Just in case you've been living in a cave since 1967, a band of death row criminals are recruited from military prison to be trained for a special mission...

Not to mention Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Clint Walker, John Cassavetes, Trini Lopez etc...I have watched that movie more times than any other movie. If I run across it I can't not watch it. Plus Donald Sutherland died this past week.

[Netfoot]

5 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

Plus Donald Sutherland died this past week.

Wow! I had not heard that news!

He played roles so many and varied it's hard to get your head around it. And looking good right up to the end. 

[Netfoot]

I've pretty much decided on this layout for an attachment loop:

I may add an additional metallic bead right at the top (immediately after the snap-hooks) or add a fine, cord-wrap between the hooks and the first knot.

Why is this simple charm taking days and days, when it should go from idea to complete in an hour or two? Because I only spend a few minutes on it it a day. 

[Netfoot]

I did locate the two Flint movies! Apparently there was a third but Coburn declined to participate so I declined to watch. Not that I watched the first two! I will save that for another day.

Instead, I watched a movie called Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. They are Pennsylvanian (I think) railroad workers who find themselves the only people positioned to intervene when a large, runaway train with dangerous cargo threatens havoc to local communities along the tracks ahead of it's path. Not bad. 

Did not cook much food today. Had a couple slices of white bread with PB&H (honey). Found a bottle in the back of the fridge with a teaspoonful in it. Sweet stuff usually tastes pretty good (hence all the sweet tea) esp. when it's very sweet. The PB&H was not too bad but the bread wasn't all that good so I only had the one. Dinner was spaghetti with onion, sausage and pak choy. Again, not very tasty. But I was very hungry so I made myself eat it all. 

Mo just arrived and curled up behind me. Have seen very little of him today. He has been barking up a storm outside and I've been hollering at him but little actual contact. He was 1½ hours late coming to remind me it was time for his lunch! And given how much he likes his vittles.... He was very much on time at dinner, though.

I have a scheme in place WRT water. I bought a glass full of ice but with no water. Instead, I bought a bottle with water in it. So if I want a couple swallows of water, I pour some onto the ice, drink it, and leave a glass with ice but no water. I do not think it will take him long to devise a plan to gain access to the water, but we will see!

The ice melts quickly, though. I've often wondered if a fat heat sink and one (or more) peltier cooler(s) would slow the melt. 32° cooling should be noticable, I'd think. Wonder what a 3" peltier cooler would cost? And how much juice it would burn?

Checked. They are pretty cheap on Amazon. About $10 each, cheaper in bulk. Run 12v at 6A. But. The biggest I can see is 40mm which would be smaller than the bottom of the smallest glass or cup. I suspect these are for overclocking computers by placing them between CPU and heatsink to improve cooling. Larger units to fit a glass or beer can (or coffee mug, if used upside down for heating) are probably going to cost a fair bit more.

Mo is now lying on my left foot. On the inside. A week ago that would have been excruciatingly painful. And it still would be, if he were lying on the outside of the foot. I guess that means progress. Now, he is looking out the window.....

Listening to Cico Buff by Cocteau Twins. Vocalist Elizabeth Frazier likes to use her voice as if it were a musical Instrument rather than a means of expressing language. Which can make it very difficult to work out the lyrics she is singing. Some of her songs were written by stringing together words that she just liked the sound of, and not because they combined to deliver any comprehensible or meaningful thoughts.

Mo has ninja'd away. I guess he will be back soon. I hope so, because I still need to lock up the house. But I can read a while if he takes his time coming back to bed.

Oh! He's back. Looking at me as if he expects to be entertained. I told him he has to do less barking in the day and more sleeping at night. Now he's looking out the window. Actually, when he is barky during the day he usually sleeps better. It's when he sleeps during the day that he is a PITA at night. New he is lying on my right foot...

 

Ok, going to post and read and lock up and sleep. Dunno what to do for food tomorrow. Got four sausages and two eggs. Got potatoes, carrots, pak choy. Got tinned channa, black beans and pigeon peas. A litte bully beef. A small piece of white cabbage. Rice and pasta. Not much else. Could boil up some of the veggies with a little bully and make soup. Put half of it through the blender and leave the rest whole to make it chunky! Might be good with toast. Looked at toaster prices, BTW. From $89 for a 2-slice made by Godnozehoo up to $130 for a Proctor Silex or Hamilton Beach 4-slicer. So not even the cheapest within my price range. 

Baby now curled up between my shoulder blades. G'night! 

[Netfoot]

Well, as you know, I've been struggling not to fall for several months now. And I just lost the battle. 

I was at the top of the steps, putting chow in Mo's bowl when I fell. Thankfully I didn't fall off the steps and land in my head in the concrete several feet below. Instead I fell backwards, into the house. I scrabbled and grab Ed grabbed at everything I could, to stop the fall. I dropped the jar with Mo's food in it (plastic, thankfully) and quite a bit of chow was scattered to the four winds.

And of course, I managed to cut myself. Bloody photo follows: it is a superficial scrape along the back of my firearm, but it really looks bad so spoilering.

Spoiler

While I'm posting, I will also show a photo of a globe knot I tied a while ago:

Considerably larger than my 1" steel ball. This one is tied in 550 Paracord on a golf ball. Remember those missiles fired  at the Heart of Gold by Slartibartfast from Magrathea? Well this item is intended to deliver a complimentary scalp massage to any uninvited visitors discovered wandering around my house.

Have not started on my new keychain charm as yet. While much smaller, it is made of steel so with the weight, it can serve in much the same capacity.

Edited June 27 by Netfoot