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June 9, 2020 – The final push to the end

June 9, 2020 /

This is typically a week I look forward to. It is a week filled with hope and optimism. I am talking about this week traditionally marks the end of the school year.

I live in a small college town and the Oregon university system has it’s graduation on Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. I don’t know many college kids, only one graduate this year. But it also marks a change of pace for our small town. Traffic lessens noticeably and the everything relaxes a bit. Commencement will be some sort of online ceremony not the typical, hope the sun shines, bask in the glory of completing school on the football field.

High School graduation was last Friday. Had our exchange student not had to leave, we would have been celebrating last weekend. We had a taco cart lined up to throw a combined graduation and good-bye party. They had a single person walk across the stage, one at a time (all day) ceremony. I don’t think that there was an all night party or baccalaureate or even the chance for a senior ‘skip’ day.

Today my oldest will cease to be a middle schooler and will be a high schooler. We have a ‘drive through’ promotion this afternoon. These are all events that I have very fond memories. Real or not, the feeling of accomplishment and the tingling unknown of what the next steps in life will look like have all been diminished a little bit this year.

I also have my own ‘graduation’. June 15 was supposed to be move in day for the apartment. I will have to do that one class in the summer, if you will. My apartment will not be ready by this weekend. Not because of anything I did, the bathroom contractor is behind. The current schedule is carpet tomorrow, window repair on Thursday. There is still the kitchen and some cleaning for my part to be move in ready.

So, for all of the online and drive through graduation ceremonies, here is my digital salute and congratulations to all of you graduates this year. I hope that you enjoy the moment and have fond memories of the year that sort of fizzled at the end. Know this, I am just as disappointed as you are because I feel like something was taken that you didn’t know you were going to have, a yearly reminder of that feeling of new beginnings.

June 8, 2020 – Am I qualified for this role?

June 8, 2020 /

This post started on Friday, like all tasks recently, I got interrupted and never got through it all. Now it is going to take a slightly different twist, somewhat of an analysis. It has been a long time since I talked about my faith on this site. In some ways, it is very personal but religion can also be very divisive.

I mentioned last Monday that I took a class on leading a small group for our church. Because we cannot gather as an entire church congregation on Sunday, this is a two fold effort. I will use my terms – one is to enable people to connect in a deeper and more personal level and the other is to build a deeper and more resilient organization.

I want to divert to religion and doctrine for a minute. I grew up in a church that was more liturgical. That means that the process of ritual and symbolism are important in the worship. I now attend a church that is evangelical and it is more about living values. As I have tried a lot of different things and explored denominations, I have not found one that I feel like ‘this is exactly like what I think it should be’. But, we were attending a different church for a while and one day the message was load and clear – don’t let perfect be the enemy of good (for attending church). If God is going to discriminate on denomination, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

In my introverted, liturgical mind, there are some things that are uncomfortable like asking for prayer and such. But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t agree with them and think that practices are more in line with how I interpret the message. I also often find that if you remain on the outside, these things never get easier or more comfortable. I guess jumping in, leading a small group and becoming vulnerable is a way to overcome that.

So with that, I am going go a little deeper into what we are doing. The following are the core values of the church and our group.

  • Safe
  • Serving
  • Submitted
  • Spiritually Awake
  • Sent

The initial kickoff of the group is to watch the service together and then dig in deeper into the message. There are some questions at the end to help facilitate that.

As I am writing this, it feels as if world is on ‘proverbial’ fire. We have riots and plague to a level that I have never seen in my life. With that, I have personally observed nastiness and name calling. Friends accusing others of racism when they don’t think you are doing your part or to the same level (even when you are agreeing with them). This is my attempt to re-center and lead by example.

The questions of the week are

  • What does freedom mean to me and what has God freed me from?
  • How can I love carefully this week?
    • What is it that you are saying that you think I need to know?

Admittedly, I struggle with empathy and forgiveness. That is definitely something that I need to keep working on. I could probably go on with analysis and so forth. But, I think that providing the gist of small groups and what we are about is a good start today.

June 4, 2020 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

June 4, 2020 /

There is a concept in the preparedness and concealed carry circles about this idea of ‘Everyday Carry’ or EDC for short. The idea is to evaluate what you have on you or with you, always. Those are the things that you will most likely have if something goes south and we are not talking about a zombie takeover, but a car breaks down, you are notified that a loved one was transported to the hospital or the power goes out at the library (or a zombie apocalypse).

I have run the gamut between less and more stuff. Right now, I definitely lean toward the less end of the spectrum. I am talking about things such as keys, wallet, phone, etc. (add facemask for now). Since I have not been working and have been primarily home this last year, I haven’t had a normal ‘get ready in the morning’ routine which now makes me grab and go when I leave.

Example of EDC loadout

There are forums on the subject and some people get really into their gadgets. There are keychain wrenches and gizmos, some people carry USB drives or battery packs for their phones. I have even heard of someone carrying another cell phone from a different carrier as back-up.

What I find is that there is a limit on reasonable amounts of stuff in your pockets. I have literally had my pants falling down from weight at times. This is particularly true when your pants are too big or too small. Women can put a lot of stuff in a purse but I really dont want to carry a ‘man purse’. There is a different level of gear called a ‘get home bag’ for another post.

The concept of EDC is not supposed to change with circumstance. For instance, don’t go to a bad area of town. You want to avoid a gunfight at all costs. However, we are all human. Elastic waste band shorts just don’t hold enough weight to pocket carry a 12oz firearm and phone and keys and flashlight, etc. Unless you are prepared to look like Batman, adjustments have to be made. Cargo pants can help without looking too out of place.

In the past I have enjoyed perusing the forums to see if anyone has had a better idea or some new piece of gear. I always end up enjoying the pictures but not changing anything because there is limited space so it needs to be pretty high value.

There is one more term that is fairly common and that is minimalist. This is the idea that functions are combined and/or reduced to the minimum. Truth be told, I rarely use most things in the picture outside of my wallet and keys. Therefore, I don’t carry most of those things.

Just remember, with all things urban survival, you want to be the ‘gray man’. You don’t want to stand out in any situation.

June 3, 2020 – Making time

June 3, 2020 /

Life is so busy for me right now. I have a significant deadline to get this house livable in two weeks. I am feeling major pressure to find a suitable replacement job. I have a desire to build a lifestyle income and I have other personal interests that I would like to complete.

That said, I took last night off. I have been working from the moment I wake up until nearly bedtime since early March, every day. I took Mother’s Day off and I took the Saturday of Memorial weekend off.

I love what I am doing, I am seriously considering making a go of construction or handyman work. I also have a really hard time turning things off. Even as I sat around the fire, I had to weigh the pressure of my project versus the guilt of my presence. But, I decided to push that all aside.

It was a beautiful evening. We started a fire and popped popcorn over it. The kids roasted marshmallows and made smores. I drank a beer and enjoyed the warmth of the fire as well as sitting down doing nothing for an hour.

I have been accused of being around, but not present. I don’t know if that is something that will ever change, but it is something that can make a conscious effort to be aware of. I am ready to be done with this project. Everyday, all day for months is starting to get old when you want the freedom to do something else at times. So, back to work for me.

June 2, 2020 – My mom is now a YouTuber

June 2, 2020 /

I feel like I am from a different era in life. As much as I am of Generation X, I also feel like I was watching many of the character building stereotypes through a fishbowl. I am aware of the pop culture trends of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but didn’t completely participate.

I wasn’t a ‘latch key kid’, we didn’t get cable, we weren’t allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons or TV whenever we wanted. We didn’t spend our weekends watching rented VHS movies one after the other. We didn’t have a mall in town until high school, but we weren’t permitted to roam just willy-nilly. I guess that is probably why I am the only one in my family who knows how to set a proper table.

I am not one that wants a high degree of formality in life, but it is nice to have the knowledge in your pocket when you want it like for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I lament to my family, probably weekly that their lack of decorum around the table is sad. Some day, my boys are going to want to appear polite for someone else instead of setting the table by throwing out napkins and forks, and forgetting half the items.

One of the things I did on Mother’s Day weekend was to help my mom edit a video on proper table setting. I didn’t actually watch it until last night and I learned a few things. Here it is so that you can finally learn how to make a proper table setting.

June 1, 2020 – Aghhh… to many things going on!

June 1, 2020 /

I know that it seems like I dart around from subject to subject. And to a large degree that is true. But, this is a creative outlet that will eventually pushing to something larger. This is why I make it a priority every weekday to post. As everyone is influenced, my favorite podcasts are ones that are not strictly business but intermingle personal life into the subject matter. That is why I do it.

First and foremost, this is my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday mom. It is sometimes difficult to step back and see your parents move from “senior citizens” to very near elderly. My dad is moving toward mid seventies now. I am starting to keep an eye on them more to make sure that they can continue to be healthy and active, but behaving age appropriate. As the years move on, I need to be more involved as I am definitely the closest geographic child.

Friday night, my wife and I took a class in hosting a small group in our church. The idea is that people are allowed to gather in small groups at this time and it harkens back to a format of early church where people met in their homes. Additionally, relationship is the foundation of strong spiritual connection and growth. This is supposed to start next Sunday, I am thinking of writing more about our plans on Friday.

Saturday marked the much anticipated opening of Tractor Supply. This is the biggest retail opening in nearly thirty years in this town. It was the mid-nineties when the last grocery store (one of two) was built and a complimentary establishment to other businesses in town. I do believe that it will impact other businesses in the area, but we didnt have great options to buy things like pet food in town. I am not sure about their hours, but for a town that starts to roll-up after five, I can see myself frequenting them because other hardware options are closed.

After we inventoried Tractor Supply, we headed to Costco for our major monthly, grocery shop. I picked up a new laptop, an HP Pavillion 15.6″. This is my first experience with HP as my last three home computers and six business computers have been Dell. I am not going to try a completely justify the purchase, but in these days of school and working from home, having a device that I can use to build my site will be nice. I have been wanting to start podcasting and more video editing and now I feel like I have a dedicated home to work.

After the chores have been done, back to work on my apartment. I wont talk about it too much now, but a photo grid from the weekend.

And now, back to work.

May 29, 2020 – The Vinyl Experiment

May 29, 2020 /

Fridays tend to be the days that I think about music. I think that it is because you are looking forward to the weekend and it is kind of a day to celebrate. Back when I was working, I would create a playlist that would capture my mood or summarize the week. And I would open it up for other team members to add their selections.

I mentioned it previously, but my nephew gave my wife a record player for Mother’s Day (a story for another day). I believe that I have a few records at my parents house, but they were out of town. So last weekend, we looked up a record store in a nearby town. We probably browsed for around an hour.

I have been interested in the vinyl re-revolution. I am old enough to remember and even have records. I started thinking about the format changes and theory of Occam’s razor. I will summarize in that changes tend to go to the extreme. So, vinyl begot 8-track (because it was more potable) back to vinyl to cassette to CD and then digital download. Each change vacillated between clearer audio or more control or more portable formats.

There are still a lot of records around. The problem is that like all album collections, there are two or three songs that I am interested in, the rest I can take or leave. I also dont have a lot of time to sit around and really listen to full albums. So, I think the perfect tests are new releases of ‘best of’ type collections (of old music). I also think that for records, I want music to belong to the era that they were originally produce.

We tried the new record player. It is one of those all in one, suitcase types. It was definitely an nostalgic experience. I had one as a kid that took a lot of abuse. We listened to most of all of our new purchases. We did have some difficulty with all of the used records, When I look at them by eye I dont see a problem, so I suspect that it is the quality of the player itself.

I hooked the player up to the receiver to try and get the full audio experience. Because this is one of the all in one units, the phono amplifier and the record player didn’t get along too well. I could hear the much richer undertones, but a lot of scratches and feedback and noise. I switched the input to the CD port and the sound was much clearer, but there was no low end to the music.

I did a comparison from vinyl to YouTube video and I have to say that I much preferred the sound quality to the digital version versus the record. That being said, I am going to blame all of the problems on the player and not the format or the records themselves. This has lead me into looking for a reasonably priced record player that I can hook up to the receiver for a better test.

I have been thinking about having Friday’s as my music day on this platform. So, today I am going to put together a playlist for my recent vinyl purchases.

May 28, 2020 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

May 28, 2020 /

I grew up in a thrifty family. I also grew up in an era (so I am told) where reloaded ammunition could be significantly better than factory purchased. For years, I saved every piece of brass that I ever shot for that one day that I would reload myself.

I think around 2010, I purchased my reloading setup. But first, I had to build a bench to use it. Well that took me three years of barely working on it. I started on a good streak, with a simple idea. Then, the cat had kittens in my shop and you know how projects go… I put it down for a couple of years.

After that, I had to invest in components to actually reload. There are a dizzying amount of powders, primers and bullet combinations. I guess that it took me forty years to start. One of the very useful companies that make products for this niche is MTM. They make a lot of inexpensive but high quality, plastic boxes, holders, cases and accessories for shooting and reloading.

For around $4, a box can be purchased that hold 20/50/100 rounds. They are caliber family specific but not specific to a caliber. What does that mean? The box that I have 45 Colt could also be used for 41 magnum, 44 special, 44 magnum, 454 Casull or 460 Smith and Wesson. So, the same box works for any of those choices. I have quite a number of them and I am going to give some reasons to own them even if you are not a reloader.

They come in multiple different color combinations as well as each box has a set of colored, marking stickers on them. The OCD in me uses different colored boxes for similar cartridges as well as different colored stickers to keep everything organized.

It also should be noted that there are competitors as well, but I do not own any of them as the MTM product is the most available in my market. Another reason is that all of the MTM products stack nicely with each other with interlocking feet to lid connection. I have stacked other brands without as secure of connection with the MTM, so I stick to the same brand because I feel like the organization is better.

To find these things in the store, they are usually around the reloading section or supplies. What I have done is pick-up a couple at a time until I have the number that I want for a particular caliber. Many stores do not stock a high number of these things, so if you want 10 at one time then you are going to want to order them. The most I have seen at one time is six in any store.

The most common variety that I see at the store is the black with clear green top. If you want to color match a particular caliber, my experience is that those are less stocked. I have seen them out at a box store for months in good times. So, you might want to order less common colors, if you are in a hurry to get organized.

If you are a reloader, it seems pretty obvious why you would use these. It is a place to store your product. MTM provides a load card or sticker so that you can reference your box to your particular load that you made. I also occasionally pick up brass at the range and I batch up the brass until I have a full box to reload. But why would you use them if you are not a reloader?

The first thing that I use them for is to break-up bulk pack ammunition into range size quantities. That is unless you are going to shoot 250 or 1000 rounds at a session, I don’t. This is part of the way that I keep track of round count through my firearms.

Another use I have found is a place to put leftovers. It isn’t so much my trips to the range, but it seems like there are always leftover shotgun shells after trap or sporting clays. I have also had days where things are not going so well and I just pack it up for the day. Another leftover scenario is that when you load a six shot revolver for self defense purposes, there is one or two rounds leftover by the time you load up a couple of speed loaders as well. This keeps leftovers from just rolling around.

If you like organization like I do, then give them a shot. They wont break the bank and they are quite useful.

May 27, 2020 – Review: Makita Cordless Circular Saw (XSS02)

May 27, 2020 /

I have been using this tool for the last couple of months. I have got to say that it has become the go-to circular saw in my inventory. I am going to give some ins and outs of my experience.

A cordless circular saw should not be your only circular saw, but probably your first one. Once a certain level of efficacy is achieved with the engineering of the tool, all the additional drawbacks are secondary. What I mean is that a smaller overall blade means less cutting capacity and a battery means limited runtime. But, for the ‘one’ cut or the awkward cuts you cannot beat a small, lightweight and cordless tool.

I am going to compare and contrast some of the other saws in my line-up to try and build a case for this one. My first saw was a traditional home-owner grade Skil. Nothing really wrong with that, I have done a lot of projects and it is serviceable. The number one thing that improves accuracy (for a right hander) is having a blade to the left so you can see the blade cutting the line as you push the saw.

I upgraded to a Porter-Cable about fifteen years ago. This is a much beefier, contractor oriented saw. It has the blade on the left, a really wide base. This saw is ear splitting loud and I have some trouble with the blade wandering, could be me but it doesnt seem to be an issue with other saws. However, the first thing that broke was the ‘tool less’ nut to hold the blade on. This happened mid-project so I ended up buying the Skil worm drive saw while I waited on a replacement nut.

The Skil is a beast. If I am cutting framing lumber all day long or concrete block, this is the saw that I want. It is quiet and powerful (and really heavy). Now, I am going to review the roles that each of these saws’ play. The regular Skil is now attached to my Kreg track. The worm drive is for heavy duty cutting and the Porter-Cable I use largely for demolition. That leaves the Makita for everything else.

I think most people in this realm know that once a brand is chosen, you are smart to buy other tools in the same brand because you can share batteries between them. Hence I have the Makita tool system and a number of tools that are in the family. In true disclosure, I dont have a lot of recent experience with other brands. But after fretting for several months on what brand to buy, I think that you probably cant go wrong with any of them. I will say that DeWalt is available at both major home centers whereas Makita is not. The same is true for Rigid, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Bosch and Craftsman, being store specific.

Now, I only have 3 aHr batteries, so to get more run time, an upgraded battery would be an improvement. However, on a full charge I was able to work on siding all day long without changing batteries. The light an compact nature of the saw is extremely useful in tight situations.

On the more downside of things, this saw does not have a ton of torque so it needs a runway to get started with cutting. It can bind relatively easy so you need to pay attention to the cut. Because of the light weight, kick back is much more real because it doesn’t have the mass behind it to counter act the forces of binding. If you add to it more risky support because of the light weight of the saw you need to be careful not to get injured.

ScoreProsCons
Value3/5Uses batteries for my existing 18V toolsCosts as much as a high output electric saw
Batteries requires brand loyalty
Quality5/5Good ergonomic fit
Performance4/5Very happy about the performance of a lightweight, cordless sawHigh battery draw, the brushless saw (for 50% more) would be more efficient and powerful

It should be noted that this was a tool only purchase. At $129 that is fairly steep for convenience. There are options to buy kits where the most common is drill, driver, reciprocating saw and circular saw that would come with batteries and a charger. The saw can be purchased with battery and charger as well, but you are now getting up to the $250 range. At that price I don’t think this is worth the money.

To sum it up, I am very happy. Despite the many drawbacks not having a cord is sure convenient.

May 26, 2020 – When to cope and when to miter

May 26, 2020 /

Most people, don’t install trim properly. I can say that even though I know how to do it, sometimes I have chosen to do it incorrectly, because it can be faster. I already had the saw setup, I didnt want to go fetch the coping saw and making nice fitting joints are difficult, especially when the profile is complicated.

Miter – Incorrect installation

A miter is a joint where two pieces, each cut with 45 degree bevel on the end of a molding profile are put together. When two pieces meet, they should be very close to 90 degrees. Miters should be used when making outside joints, like around the corners, not inside corners like around a room.

Miter – proper installation
Coping cut – the proper inside joint

A coping cut follows the profile of the molding and has a back bevel so the piece is pressed against the adjacent molding. It requires the same initial 45 degree cut as a miter, but then you use a coping saw to follow the molding profile as you cut all of the material away.

The reason to not use a miter is that walls are rarely square. If one corner is 92 degrees (wider than square) then the corresponding miter should be 46 degree cuts on each piece. In my case, my saw only goes to 45 degrees, so then you are trying to cut backward or shimming the piece to try and get more than the saw is capable of cutting (with some guess work too).

On my project, I already had mitered molding which I did not totally remove. So when putting the molding back up, I started with a mitered corner so I did not have to tear the room apart. It also appears that my molding profile is no longer readily available. I am using molding from other parts of the house so that I can make matches with existing trim. The bathroom will be new and we may redo all or some of the trim in the living space.

This room is nearly finished. I am down to the detail work. I am really happy with the results.