I have to say that I have been struggling a bit today. I know what I want to write about tomorrow, but today is a challenge. My mind is elsewhere, I don’t really want to be in front of the computer and I suspect that it has to do with some recent job rejections.
About a month ago now, my wife asked me to prioritize some build projects. One was a mantel over the fireplace and the other was a farm table. At that time, I had several concurrent jobs as well as a drywall repair job upstairs where the table is part of the whole scheme. That means now is the soonest I could get started.
I think that the mantel is going to be relatively simple. So that is the project that I should start on first. I am posting a picture of the table inspiration below.
Going out on a limb here, but with constant effort, I should be able to do this in less than a month, including two benches with the table and the mantel. Part of my previous issues included not spending dedicated time on the project. Well, that shouldn’t happen if I am spending my time building a business and partially working (plus my wife wants them).
Now you know the push of the next month’s worth of posts. Unless I score a big job, you can expect more problems and commentary about wood, maybe some tool reviews if I have to buy anything new for this project.
Alright. Now I have shaken the cobwebs out, it is time to wrap this up and get to work. I think that Friday will be how to build a successful project plan.
Have you ever had an opinion that you alone held, especially the one where you believe you are right and everyone else is wrong? That is the kind of thing where you look at yourself in third person and you say how can you possibly believe something different than everyone else.
I guess that is way I can describe my gratefulness ‘gene’. I don’t really see it until I look back on myself in third person. I don’t tend to recognize all of the good things and tend to dwell on the negative.
Here are a list of some of the things that have happened within the last week.
I have had two job interviews this week
I have been helping my in-laws clean-up and organize. I took a load to the dump of their stuff and it included a bunch of mine as well.
My father-in-law gave me a nice string trimmer that he is no longer using
The neighbors gave me a bag full of mushrooms that they foraged this week
I visited the new brewery in town with my wife for the first time. We had a nice time.
I also went out with friends for a social evening on Saturday.
We completed our 2019 taxes and were net neutral on owning money. This was a first in many years.
My daily alignment walks seem to be helping me set daily priorities and be more in touch with spirituality.
I have completed preserving everything that is available to do so. Yesterday I canned peppers as pickled jalapenos.
I completed a job on-time and in-budget.
When I look at the list, almost every single item also has a negative counterpoint. For instance, I had two interviews last week and I also had two rejections. One of them came as I was writing this post; perfect opportunity to practice seeing the positive.
When I look at the list, I am actually impressed with the number of things that seem to be positive. At this moment, it kind of makes me feel like I really am a negative person. I don’t feel that way but comparing my problems versus my reality it sure seems that way. So, it is something that I will continue to work on.
I will keep thinking praying and listening to try and become more grateful. I will keep writing and speaking to show my feelings. I hope to become a better person in the end.
If you are like most people, including myself then you have municipal supplied water at your house. And when that is the case, the quality and frankly safety of the water is completely dependent on another entity the water provider. Now, that is normally not a problem but consider when there is one, you are potentially days away from the beginning of the problem.
It potentially seems wrong but I have seen more problems with water than any other utility outage. Last year, there was about a four month boil order in place for the state capital residents. That is over several hundred thousand residents affected by water quality.
When that incident first occurred, there was a reverse 911 call put into effect. This was in the mid-afternoon and by the next day, water was sold out throughout the entire area. We were not effected because our town has a different source of water, nevertheless the water was gone in all the towns in our area.
This was the beginning of a chronic culture of panic behavior. It was the same with toilet paper or hand sanitizer. People are not prepared to deal with any sort of outage or service disruption. Inventory in stores are not deep enough to service the needs of the entire population.
This is why I store water. Just plain tap water put into seven gallon jugs. I dump the water about once a year to inspect the containers and just refresh the supply. This usually happens in conjunction with our annual hunting trip, because we use the jugs to bring water to camp for the trip.
A minimum recommendation is to store one gallon per person, per day. That is for drinking, cooking and sanitation. I’ve got enough water to last about a week at that rate.
When I was in college, we had a localized flood turned landslide that wiped out a bunch of infrastructure including water delivery. In that case, the water was out for around a week. National guard had setup portable toilets and water distribution within two days of the event and showers came about three days later. While I am not saying any event will follow the others, there are two examples of what can happen.
Water can be saved in any clean container. Opaque is better than clear because it restricts light causing growth of biological life. You can put up some amount of water almost free. Even if you are paying for it at a store, it should be less than $2/gallon. The mark of someone that is prepared is that they are taking advantage of this time of plenty to accommodate if there is scarcity.
I thought that I would write about flashlights today. Now that the daylight situation is rapidly moving towards less than twelve hours a day in my area, it will soon be darker longer than light. Something I carry on my person is a flashlight.
Number one, a flashlight is probably the most used piece of gear that I routinely carry. It is useful when you drop something under the desk or taking a detailed look inside a furnace or diagnosing a basement light issue. I don’t think that it is too hard to try and find the virtues and uses of a flashlight.
A few examples of my flashlights
In today’s phone culture, most people think that the flash LED is an adequate light. While it is true that the one you have is the best one, I maintain that you are better off using this function as a back-up rather than your only flashlight.
A dedicated flashlight is a much better tool than the phone light. Flashlights are made to have the beam focused for longer distance. They can have a much longer run time and create a more intense cone of light. They also don’t take away power from the most important function of a flashlight, communication. Finally, it offers redundant capability.
Even though I have many different lights, consider the batteries. I have some that take AA, AAA, D, CR123 and rechargeable batteries (and even some others). All those different combinations are fine, but for everyday carry use flashlights that might share batteries for other devices like a GPS. That would mean you could carry one spare set of batteries and use them interchangeably if needed.
Flashlight technology has evolved rapidly in the last ten years. LED technology is part of that. The amount of power (usually measured in lumens) and run time has seen an amazing amount of improvement. Ten years ago when I bought the Surefire Executive (pictured in the middle) the high powered flashlights used CR123 batteries and put out 60 lumens of light for two hours. Now you can buy a 200 lumen light for $10 and it will run for 16 hours.
If you have cordless tools, often you can purchase a flashlight that will use the batteries for your tools. Not only is this helpful when you need to work on something in the dark, but they are sure handy around the house for a ready to go, bump in the night light by the door.
From a personal safety standpoint, another reason to have a light on you is self defense. A light can be used to identify a threat or blind an intruder. The shape of the tool also makes it useful as a kubaton. Of course, that kind of proficiency needed training and practice.
For full transparency, I am not always carrying a light. Obviously, it would be helpful to have everything you need when you want it. But in my case, the weight of all the gear pulling you pants down or your pockets jambed full all the time, I make a judgement call. When I am leaving the house I usually think to myself is it likely I will be somewhere in the dark. In the summertime the answer is usually no unless I am going somewhere after dark or going somewhere like a movie theater or mall. That calculus changes in the cooler months.
Besides having one on your person, one by the door and one in your go bag I would recommend you keep one in each vehicle as well. It is almost worth considering replacing old flashlights given how much improvement there has been. If you are looking for a starting point the Streamlight Stylus Pro for $25 is a good start.
This is pretty esoteric, right? I mean it probably ranks right up there with plywood vs OSB or MDF vs solid wood trim in terms of excitement factor. Since I had some issues using both, I actually did some research about the subject myself.
This is the advantage of a scattered and lack of focus blog is that I can just write about whatever I am doing at the time and try to make it seem interesting and that I am an expert. Well folks, if you are reading this either I am an expert (to you) or you are desperate for this very important decision, so let’s get into it.
Drywall became a product in the 1950’s to replace plaster. It came into common use in the 1960’s and there is no looking back. It seems like some specific areas of the country still use plaster (over a backer board like drywall) but it is drywall for most of us.
The primary advantages of drywall are that it is inexpensive, quick to hang and is fireproof. The paper backing will burn but not gypsum (the white stuff). The disadvantages are that it is not waterproof at all and will support hazardous mold and mildew growth with continuous wetness. Also, doing a nice job of finishing requires some skill.
In my area of the country, drywall is finished with a texture to hide the lack plastering skills (or making smooth walls). Other areas of the country, it is more prevalent to see smooth finishing. What we are most concerned about in this post is the seems where two pieces of drywall meet. Tape is put over the seems to cover any gap if the drywall panels expand and contract with temperature and relative humidity.
Conventional wisdom says paper tape is the first, best solution. It is cheaper than the fiberglass tape and seams to be easier to work with. You start by putting a mud bed, the width of one putty knife, I like the four inch knife. It is said that as that panels move behind the tape and you get a more consistent smooth finish.
In the picture above, the paper tape was incorrectly applied without the mud bed behind the paper tape. This has led to the tape pealing off over the years without adhering to the drywall. I have made the repair by adding new tape and top coat. I will use a wider knife (6″) for the next layer on top. The third pass if there is one will be an 8″ knife. You keep building successively wider knives and passes until the the tape disappears.
In this picture you see another manifestation to the same fault. A crack has developed where the paper tape edge transitions. Again, the mud bed was not set behind the tape creating a gap.
Fiberglass tape’s best use is covering gaps. This material is much more rigid and all the grooves allow you to press mud into the tape. I have found that it takes thicker passes to cover the fiberglass adequately, but it does do the job of covering smallish gaps, like less than 3/4 of an inch.
In my bathroom that I just completed, the contractor used fiberglass tape exclusively and it came out great. So, it is not that it can’t be done but I think it takes more experience to do a nice job.
The secrets that I have learned are as follows.
Do not overwork knife when applying joint compound. Less is more because you can always add more later.
When using wide knives, work the joint compound out of a tray rather than the container you purchased. You need to be able to continuously scrape your knife edge clean and get an even layer of compound on the knife. That can only be done when you container is big enough to hold the knife.
Big, blobby mistakes can be sanded down but it is a dusty mess and surprisingly a lot of work. Use a sanding screen rather than sand paper to do this job. Screen is found around the sandpaper in stores and doesn’t clog nearly as quickly.
For texturing, I layer a bed of joint compound and then dab at it with wadded up plastic bag. I then knock down all of the dimples with a clean trowel or knife to get the effect.
Don’t feel bad if you are intimidated or don’t get it right. This takes practice to do a nice job. I have only recently gotten the confidence to do whatever, whenever. I used to do everything possible not to disturb the drywall for fear of finishing failure. Now, I find it easier to cut out a whole wall if it will make it quicker to do a job.
So, you see the answer depends on the situation. Both can work and both have advantages with different variables.
I am definitely not pretending to know the answer. I don’t know how many people have ever seen a beef liver, but I would estimate the size to be around 10 pounds. That is a lot of meat that many people probably don’t think they like.
When I get one, I try to pre-process it a bit. I cut it into chunks, de-skin it and make it generally more easy to cook straight out of the freezer. The question still remains what to do with it. Maybe it will help if I talk about what I do and what I have tried.
There are at least a few tips that I use pretty routinely.
Soak the liver in milk overnight. I suppose you can use milk, cream, half and half or buttermilk. I usually try to use was seems to be on the verge of expiring and cut with the balance of milk. This technique seems to remove some of the minerally taste that is usually part of the turn-off for liver.
Cook liver rare (or medium). One of the things that turns it into shoe leather is over cooking. It also seems like overcooking also brings out the stronger flavors and the rarer it is, the more mild it is.
Prepare only what you think you will eat for the meal. Reheating results in over-cooking.
Here are some things I have tried over the years with liver
By far and away, it seems like the most successful preparation is liver and onions. I think one reason is that you can avoid over cooking.
Boudin – a cajun sausage that is made with pork, rice, and spices. My result was OK, the problem was that it was too dry and needed more fat. I am going to try this again someday.
Chili – I thought that maybe I could spice my way out of liver, but it still ended up being pretty livery, so not recommended.
Fake foie gras or pate – I have tried grinding cooked liver with butter and spices but I didn’t find it terribly appetizing on a cracker.
Hash – This one has some promise. Fry with potatoes, onion, pepper, bacon, and serve with eggs.
Traditionally, liver is a fresh meat. It has been one of the first cuts and eaten immediately after butchering. The lore is that organ meat provided a source of essential nutrient when choices are limited.
I think that it is also worth observing that organ meat is the first thing animals eat when eating other animals. So, there is something to this, I am still looking for the right combinations of recipe and technique. Until then, I would be interested in other people’s ideas because I still have a lot of liver in the freezer.
I have been working on a video on the repair of an old leaf blower since the fifth of July. The reason I know that date is that I wanted to use the blower to help clean-up the mess that our fireworks made and I couldn’t get it started.
Now, this doesn’t surprise me in the least. My dad gave me the leaf blower in 2007 or so, someone had given it to him. When he did, the tank was half full of two stroke mix. I ran it a couple times but then it sat in the shed until about two or three years ago when I tried to sell it at a garage sale.
At that time, I again started it to verify that it would run but it didn’t sell. I thought that it was too valuable to just throw away, so I put it back into the shed. Finally, when I wanted to use it this summer I couldn’t get it started. I thought that this would make a good project to film in short, helpful video.
As many things, it turned out to be more challenging to fix then I anticipated. While, I solved the initial problem on the sixth of July, my lack of knowledge and my time restrictions put it aside until late August. When I tried again, I did actually get the leaf blower running, but still not reliably or well. So, I tried again in October now wanting to actually use it in the yard and I think that I got it working.
Why is the post about roulette? After editing my video clips together, I have been waiting several hours for it to convert (or export as it is termed). I was waiting to write until I could actually embed the video into the post, but I am running out of time.
In fact, I am not sure why this isn’t working. I have used this software for most of my video editing. I know that I have not done much of it, but each time I use it seems to get clunkier and less reliable. I don’t know what is going on. It is part of the Pictures app on the Microsoft 10 operating system. I probably need to investigate another editing software if I am going to do much more of this type of work because this one is really painful.
It’s funny because the first video I ever created has become wildly more popular than I ever expected. In fact, I never expected anyone to care I even misspoke about the tool’s model number. It was right in the tagging, but I never thought anyone would ever watch it so I really didn’t put much effort into it.
Looks like my number finally came up… It only required some .NET updates and an application reset and multiple restarts.
I have not personally vetted the information, nor am I an expert. That being said, this is an excellent interview about the the potential concerns and future implications of privacy. The bent of the conversation is about freedom as we think we understand and believe but likely not a reality.
Every project has some tailing loose ends. This one is no different. When I said that I was done, I meant that the tenants could move in, the tools got put away, the remaining supplies were stowed for future projects and the garbage was removed. Like almost every other building the project the landscaping was still on the list.
Part of what I was waiting for was I had a lot of dirt to move, I would estimate around four yards. A wheelbarrow would not cut it, fortunately, I have a friend with at tractor.
I needed to remove one raised bed and the dirt from two others and regrade everything away from the house. Another reason why I was waiting was that I was hoping my beds would produce before I tore them down. It turns out I got five green tomatoes, which we fried for dinner and ate with liver and onions and grits. A very southern meal.
Alas, I could give my pathetic garden no more time. I needed to get this job done before the weather changes. That is happening tomorrow as the fall weather patterns are starting. This was pretty good soil for the most part. I was adding several inches of compost every couple of years. So you can see in the third picture a pile all the way on the right. This will get repurposed into the new front yard garden next year, hopefully.
I did this work a little over a week ago. I put out a couple of pounds of grass seed and I noticed that it is starting to sprout up today. I would call it success as long as the squirrels and birds don’t decimate my seed. They have been all over it today.
To be honest, I have a couple more to-do’s. I need to put in some drainage for the downspouts and I want to add a drywell. It can get pretty wet back there and it also doesn’t get a lot of sun in the winter. Another reason to move the garden. For that, I am waiting for some rain to soften the ground because that will be dug by hand.
“Shoot or don’t shoot”. No, I am not talking tactics, I am talking the price and availability of ammunition at the moment.
These magazines have been loaded since March. It was my plan to do this next range trip before all the pandemic hullabaloo, before the six month remodeling project and before ammunition disappeared and the price skyrocketed. In fact, I bought the Sig Sauer ammunition pictured in March.
I have been periodically checking local stores for inventory of ammunition. There are shotgun shells, most typical hunting calibers and 17HMR rimfire ammunition available. What is not available is any handgun ammunition except some really weird ones like 50AE and no rifle ammunition that fits semi-automatics and no 22 rimfire.
On a whim, I checked an online source for 5.56×45 and a case (of 1000) was available at $724. That is $0.72/round and that in a bulk price. For the individual packages, it is running from $0.80-1.00/ round. The last time I bought any I paid $0.33/round. So, I guess on the one hand it is available just maybe it is not at the price I want to pay.
My grand plan was to rely on reloading as my ammunition source. During the last run (2012-2015) primers were impossible to find. Good news for me is that I have plenty of primers but not bullets. I do have some powder but it definitely depends on what I am reloading. I think I could reload 30-06 for the rest of my life but I have almost no powder for .223 Remington.
What I really am weighing here is should I shoot some of the ammunition I have given it’s scarcity and my scarcity of money? Don’t get me wrong, I am not empty in either case but it is preparedness mindset. Well, I have decided that I am going to and here are my reasons.
One – I have owned this rifle since 2015 and only fired it once. This was kind of an impulse purchase. To tell you the truth, I was convinced that the Hillary Clinton was going to win the presidential election and that I would lose the opportunity to make this kind of purchase in the future. It turns out that I can get caught up in ‘tin foil hat-ness’ too.
Two – it has an optic on it that has never been sighted in. Having a tool that isn’t calibrated or has unknown accuracy is not reliable or useful for the intended purpose. I thought that it might be useful to start my son out hunting on because of the low recoil and adjustability. It turns out, he can shoot my old rifle that I started on just fine and it is sighted in well. Nevertheless, I want to have some confidence that I can hit where I am aiming.
Three – Despite the fact that I have only shot this rifle once, I have made some modifications and changes. At this point, I do not know if it is functional or reliable as a result. This is the biggest reason that I want to take it out now. Swapping out parts can have some pretty negative consequences. It is best to find out before you really want to use it.
I do feel like I have some compelling reasons to shoot up some of my hard to acquire at this time ammunition. Throughout all of the shortages, it seems like shotgun ammunition has always been consistently available. Probably a good time to focus on trap, skeet and sporting clays (as well as hunting).
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