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August 1, 2024 – End of an Era

August 1, 2024 /

About two months ago, we turned off the home phone service. The picture in the box below is the old phone equipment that used to be around our house. It has been cluttering up my reloading bench all this time. That is OK since I haven’t been home much anyway.

I will let you in on a little secret. It wasn’t a true land line. It was actually a cell phone that had a cable connection to hook up to the old phone line system. We added this line in the late 2000s. This was long before fifth graders had cell phones. The main purpose was provide phone service for baby sitters and later our kids to get ahold of us, if necessary.

In the last couple of years, we go really no calls on the line and it sometimes lead to confusion. Old contacts (like doctor’s offices) would sometimes call and leave messages on the line. We never checked it because 99% of the calls were junk. We would have to weed through satellite TV offers and car warranties on the voicemail every couple of months just to clear it out.

I would have kept the line except for the fact that it was costing $360/year. I was under the impression that it was only costing $10/mo for many years. This is one of those vampire costs that made little sense. My in-laws would call when the kids were young but since they have both died, nobody calls the number.

At one time, I had an extension in the shop. I liked it because I could more easily hear the ringer and see the light than the phone in my pocket. But then again, my wife would not call the line anyway so I would have to listen to the ‘I couldn’t get ahold of you’ speech each time. This was one of the reasons she bought me the smart watch.

In the true spirit of redundancy, I like the idea of having redundant communications. The idea however is that you would have a different provider or a different technology. A landline or a different carrier even is a much more robust strategy for that. Adding another line does very little unless you are using the phone for a specific purpose, like a business.

End Your Programming Routine: I remember the day you would schedule the service and wait for the phone to be hooked up. It was the same era that if you didn’t have a phone book, you lacked fundamental knowledge for navigating the world. I would like to just give away this techno junk if someone wanted it. Unfortunately, it has very little value to anyone. I may give it a try, but most likely it is going to the electronic recycler. It is not worthless, just not practical. That makes me sad.

July 31, 2024 – I Am Starting To Get Angry

July 31, 2024 /

Something has definitely changed. It could be that this company stopped making batteries in the US in 2016. I suspect that the components to make them have gotten cheaper/flimsier/worse. This was a battery that I took out of my weather center next to one of my computers in the basement.

Maybe it just feels good to complain. But this really pisses me off when alkaline batteries do this. It also seems like it is more normal than less at this point. This is the reason I have started switching over to rechargeable batteries. My strategy has been to replace them as the alkalines die. Hopefully, it is not too late.

The failures seem to be more prevalent with batteries in use in the basement. All the remote controls, decorations and things that get cast off or forgotten seem to have a much higher degree of failure than upstairs. It still happens when the climate is more controlled but it also seems to be less frequent. This leads me to believe that the problem is with a seal that contracts too much due to temperature.

As you know, not all of my relationships with alkaline batteries is bad. As I wrote in 2021, I have a working set of batteries from 30 years ago. These batteries are in a bicycle head lamp. The have been in my garage since I moved 20 years ago. So they have been subject to near freezing temperature up to 120 degrees with no ill effect. In true transparency, I dont think that I have checked on them since that article. So, a follow-up is due.

Funny thing, I probably should start checking my topics before I start writing. As I was searching for the link to my 30 year batteries, I ran across something I previously wrote. Turns out, I also wrote about batteries failing in 2021. So, shame on me for not checking previously if you remember that one.

My experiment. With rechargeables has been less than stellar. They are advertised as as holding 90% charge after a year but I have ran into dead batteries in less than six months. The Panasonic Enloops I chose to go with take several hours to charge on my charger. The also don’t seem to last as long. I have gone through multiple sets this year in my remote hygrometer sensor. While less than perfect, I am anticipating that they are not going to ruin my devices.

End Your Programming Routine: No matter what, I am going forward with rechargeable batteries. I can no longer trust the major battery brands for alkaline batteries. Remember when they were $8 for 4 and now they are going for $20 for 48 at Costco. There is no way that cost savings is just in volume.

July 30, 2024 – Terrible Photos, Fun Time

July 30, 2024 /

If there is one thing great about a wife with cancer, it is that people invite you to do things they otherwise wouldn’t. Think about it like a less fatalistic ‘Make-a-Wish’. We were invited to go down to the pits and hang out during a race called the ‘Lucky-Dog’. This is an endurance race that spans over two days.

I don’t know a ton about it but from what I was told, it is a step up from 24 hours of Lemons. In that race, you are supposed to run a car that cost less than $500 for a 24 hour race. Lucky Dog had three classes (don’t ask me what they are) and the car has to be older than 15 years. I could use my pickup or my Navigator next year.

Because there were three classes, I saw Corvettes and Mustang GTs but I also saw VW Rabbits, a Sirroco, many Miatas, a Pontiac Fiero, Nissan 240 and many BMW 3 series. My host was running a Mini Cooper. Who doesn’t want to win? But the main object is to have fun.

My son is very into cars and I have been a race fan for a lot of my life. I have been to open wheel races and NASCAR multiple times. These days I am more race adjacent than I am an ardent fan. To really get into it, you need to have a driver to follow and my last driver retired five years ago. Also, without cable or a sports streaming package it is extremely difficult to watch the races. Networks share the season and races jump time and channels depending on how popular they are. What I am saying is there is no consistency so unless you are really following, it is pretty easy to miss.

The truth is, most racing in this country is bootstrap, like the Lucky Dog. This is the passion of everyday guys that wrench on their own cars and trailer their own cars and spend the weekend at the track for no money. Depending on what part of the country you live in, there may be a dirt track in every little town. There sure was in South Carolina.

A friend of my wife’s husband was racing. I have only met him once and that was over a year and a half ago. After my kids met us in the hospital for a visit with mom, we headed to the track. We had the pit number and I had in my head what he looked like. But after wandering around in pit row for a while I didn’t see him.

I had a deadline to be home, someone was bringing us dinner. So we started heading to the car. I told my son that he didn’t have to leave because he had his own vehicle. I was itching to go home. My son said “well you are leaving, I might as well”. I responded with “Do you wan’t me to ask around for you”? He said “I guess”. It is not my strong suit to inject myself into strange social situations but I suspected that he would want more if he could.

We meekly wandered to the pit area again. This time, I asked the first person I saw “Do you know so and so”? The young man responded “No. Never heard of him. What does he drive?”. I said “No Idea”. Then he chimed in with “Check with the next door team, we share a pit space.” So off we went to check with some old guys wearing racing suits. Turns out, our host was on the track (not surprising).

We watched and chatted as long as I could and then I had to leave. I asked my son if he wanted to stay and he said yes. There was only about another hour remaining anyway in the race. He stayed until the end with two guys he didn’t know. I wish to have sat in a chair all day and watched but I was ready to get home after four straight days at the hospital.

I told my son that if he was bold enough, he could probably volunteer to help with the car and races. The guy lives a couple of miles from us and who would turn down help. We will see if he steps out of his shell and that ever comes to fruition. I suspect that he would prefer to be the car owner rather than crew but you have to start somewhere.

End Your Programming Routine: I am glad that I stepped out of my shell and we made that memory. My son asked if I would drive if he put a team together. I said yes. I don’t know exactly where my love of racing came from, it was just something that I got interested in as a teenager. Thanks cancer. I doubt we would have ever done this without you.

July 29, 2024 – Sweet, Sweet Summer

July 29, 2024 /

Sometimes the gloom and doom gets too much. As much as the news is ripe with topics to spawn plenty of opinion talk, I choose to leave it alone as it doesn’t age well. Today I relive memories about why I look forward to summer. You don’t have to identify with my experiences but allow yourself to go into those good times of the past. This has been far from my favorite summer but based on the track record, it is bound to be good again.

July 26, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto XXIII – XXVII

July 26, 2024 /

This is the eighth level also known as the fixed stars. In some ways, it is kind of fitting because the fixed stars are the rock stars of Christianity. This is the level that we get to meet some of the apostles and Dante get’s a test of his worthiness.

I was doing some math and it seems like there are more than nine levels to Paradise. Next week I will be talking about the Primum Mobile. That isn’t’t the end of the story, there is still one more week or level or however you want to phrase it called Empyrean. More on those two things in the following weeks, I just wanted to acknowledge that I will be talking for more than nine weeks on the content of Paradise.

The fixed stars specifically focus on faith, hope and love. Now there is a Christianity that is more familiar to me. It is none other than Peter who interacts with Dante about faith. That would be Peter the apostle and Peter the founder of the (Catholic) church.

The answer is pretty much what you would expect from a lay person. In fact, I have gone to baptism class multiple times in the Catholic church. I think that it was six weeks of evenings where we were questioned and taught to assess our worthiness of being god parents. I feel like I got a little bit of a pass there because the entire class was in Spanish. We believe mostly the same things. I won’t promise to raise the kids Catholic but I will raise them to know God should that need arise. At this point, there is only one minor remaining anyway, but I digress.

Dante’s answer is I have faith because of all the miracles documented in the Bible. Because the Bible is true, then I have faith in God. That was totally an answer that I would have heard in that parenting class. It is not wrong but I feel like faith is so much deeper than that.

I don’t know how I would do on the spot but I think that my answer is a little different than that. Faith defies concrete proof of its existence. Faith is blind in its acceptance. Faith exists despite the ability to provide facts and supporting evidence. I have faith because of what it is and who I am. My faith would only change with proof to the contrary, that God does not exist.

There have been certain times in my life that something came into my head like a message or an answered prayer. I choose to believe that validates my faith and confirms my bias towards the existence of God. I mean, a better answer from Dante would have honestly been, “How else do you explain this wild ride I have been on”?

Dante also meets James on the test of hope and John on the question of love. Throw in a little Adam of the original man fame in there as well. After Dante passes his tests, Peter doesn’t miss a chance to flame the current church as well. Lord knows they likely deserved it. We are still seeing some of that fallout today.

End Your Programming Routine: If you are keeping mental tally, each level we go up, the bigger the personalities are. This level also contains some angels as it is written but it is all about what you did on earth to earn your spot. This is a theme that will continue to the end. Next week it will be Cantos XXVII- XXXIX for the final level paradise.

July, 25 2024 – Fat and Slow

July 25, 2024 /

Things have clearly slowed down for me on many fronts. One of them for sure is my air rifle shooting. I told myself that the next schtick was testing out those speed loaders I had with different pellets and different rifles and getting used to handling those rather than individual pellets. It has been less inspiring than I really thought and I have been dragging my heels.

Since I started this journey, I have been on a quest to try all different kinds of ammunition. I have gone through a lot of different ‘heavy’ pellets and now I am on the lightest of the bunch. The current group I have been shooting is the Gamo Blue Flame. I am going to talk about my impressions of this particular load.

The Gamo Blue Flame is a lead free, pellet of 5.4 grains. It is commonly referred to as PBA or Performance Ballistic Alloy. It is made of tin even sometimes plastic and the theory is lighter is faster is more energy. This also comes at a cost of about $0.12/pellet versus about $0.02 for lead.

While I clearly understand the value of energy, I think it comes with a compromise of other factors. Take noise for instance. Air rifle pellets can break the sound barrier causing a supersonic crack. I am also not convinced that they are as accurate. The rifling is optimized for projectile weight and my testing has yielded less than ideal groups. You can see from my picture that I have some scope work to do to get them on target but the grouping is rather large.

I think my biggest complaint is the quality of the product. The picture does not show it well but at least five of the pellets came out of the can severely deformed. One in fact was not even able to be loaded. Four of the pellets had the blue polymer tip fall off in which I painstakingly hand applied and re-crimped. By my calculations, that is a 9% defect rate. And just think that only two of these pellets equals one 9mm cartridge in cost.

Another reason things slowed down for me is that I was last shooting 14gr pellets. As a result of my testing, I feel like my rifle performs best in the 7-10 grain range. My personal favorite right now is the Crossman Piranha at 10 grains. It is just a little harder for me to find on retail shelves. I know Walmart carries it but I do not have a Walmart close and I despise ‘mommy may I’ games.

This last one isn’t on the pellets but the rifles. Just like you never get EPA rated mileage, I have not gotten manufacturer velocity results. I have published my results but truthfully I have only seen about a 5% increase in velocity and 250 fps less than advertised. I am measuring no where near the stated potential.

End Your Programming Routine: Granted, I have primarily done most of my shooting with the Crossman 1000, results could change with different platforms. My honest opinion is that PBA pellets are not worth the money. I am sticking with the fatter and slower loads because they are also significantly cheaper as well. Dead doesn’t come in degrees but accuracy and money do.

July 24, 2024 – At Least There is A View

July 24, 2024 /

I am going to make a commitment. Unless something goes drastically askew, this will be the last time I write about my current woes. It is not about pity but about my current situation. Since it is first and foremost in my life, it is going to take a dominant position on what I am doing.

Back for my second stint in the hospital, I told my wife that this must be what prison feels like. I don’t mean to say that this is actually like prison because it is not. Each time I leave the floor, I need to have permission to return. I hate begging to be let in so I try to leave as little as possible. That is the part that is like prison, confined to a room.

You may have seen the stories about an uptick in Covid. As luck would have it, there is also an uptick in influenza. Five patients in this ward have contracted it recently. For that reason, they are restricting visitors and procedures even more. Now, I have to put on a disposable gown each time I enter the room. I also have to wear a face mask at all times which includes sleeping.

Have you seen those prison beds? A mat on a bench. That completely describes my situation. To be honest, it isn’t all that uncomfortable and I have had some nights of extended sleep. I probably get more here than I get at home just because there is less to do here. There is the factor of multiple interruptions for blood draws and vital checks. Some nights are far from restful.

My wife has been working on a debt consolidation strategy since before she stopped working in March. As luck would have it, it finally came through. So what would you know, the notary had to come to the hospital (and go through all the sanitation procedures). You always want to put on a good face with these things but it is pretty hard when you are signing papers next to a commode.

Last week when I was here, I was able to keep my mask off. I also used snacks to supplement meals to try and keep the costs down. With the new mask policies, there is no eating allowed in the rooms. This forces me to leave the secured perimeter to eat. This hospital is isolated. Yes, there are about five or six places to get food and at least one that is open 24hours.

I feel bad. I want to like it but the food is just not good. There is that institutional frugality combined with government subsidy factor. All the sausage is chicken. The hotdogs are chicken. The vegetables are over boiled or steamed. For some reason, half the dishes are Indian. I love Indian food and I am sure I could eat it day after day but not on the potato wedges. I paid $8 for a terrible, unseasoned burrito with chicken sausage and potato wedges in it.

Enough about food, at this point it is a means to an end. My shift is Wednesday night to mid Sunday. Consequently, I am working at least two days. I have struggled to keep my computers connected to the Wi-Fi. As a result, I have taken to using my hotspot. It is why we have it in the first place. I am constantly plugging in and wrapping up cords to keep those devices charge. I really appreciate my office at this point especially because I have to work out of two computers daily.

A programmer needs two screens and hospitals are not setup to have someone work like I do. I even had to take a 2 1/2hr sales pitch meeting, talk about a near disaster. Fortunately, I didn’t have to speak or be on camera. It has been really tough to keep up with things and it seem like I am always working to make up for gaps and missed time.

End Your Programming Routine: At the time of my writing, we are solidly in the second week here. With much luck we may get to transition back to family housing some time on my next trip back. I definitely couldn’t look forward to something more. It takes a toll on you physically and mentally. I have said my peace, I am thankful for the opportunity at healing but ready to go.

July 23, 2024 – Are We Done Yet?

July 23, 2024 /

The last major component has been added to my office. Something that started in the winter of 2021 is done… almost. The actual last thing that I want to do is replace my chair with something more becoming of sitting in it all day long. I have decided that my chair sucks a lot.

My chair is not new. Technically that is an upgrade. But the TV is new (to me). This is the component that knits all of my techno junk together. It acts as a second monitor, I have it connected to the VCR, the Blue-Ray player and the X-Box 360. All of those qualify as techno junk in my book.

If you recall three years ago, I actually wired my office for surround sound. My thought was that I was going to finally put those speakers in a home they deserve. I did mess around with them early on but unfortunately, the space does not totally work. My speakers are way too large for the space.

Thinking back retrospectively, I could have built my office differently to accommodate for the speakers I have. That would have involved moving the door more centrally in the space.. But, I would have lost out on some of my usable space for my couch and that does get used.

Like everything in life, it is a compromise. I have considered purchasing some micro speakers like the Bose brand and then I really could make it happen. After all, everything is wired and ready to go. I haven’t totally ruled that out but that would then violate one of my tenants. That is putting to use the techno junk that I have lying around.

Sometimes I turn on the local news on mute while I am working. I enjoy it and it makes me feel more connected. Like this is some kind or war room or control center. Technically, it is the home of AltF4 and is probably the single place I spend time in my life. Nine hours of working beats 6 hours of sleeping. That is actually my justification for the chair.

Like all done projects, it is not totally done. I need to wire the TV output to the receiver. I am still on the lookout for a subwoofer. I occasionally see one at a good price but the timing is not right. I want it to be both cheap and easy. I am weighing the real want for surround sound. I don’t have an actual remote for the TV. We have another Panasonic TV. I can use that remote for the advanced functions. It will cease to be a goal and more like a ‘some day’ desire.

End Your Programming Routine: I feel good that all the old misfit toys now have a home. I don’t know if I will ever sit down and watch a VCR tape in full surround sound, but I could. I feel like one of those TV shows where I can hack into any piece of data and solve a crime or get information. Yeah, it is a fantasy but it is done with a $12.50 TV and a bunch of cast off electronics (including the computer).

July 22, 2024 – Summer Stew

July 22, 2024 /

Listen if you want to hear all of my excuses and woes. This is a hodgepodge of different, timely topics mostly because I couldn’t come up with something better. In all seriousness, my primary focus is on my family and healing so I hope that you can understand my position. But, the show is going on.

July 19, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto XXI – XXII

July 19, 2024 /

This is probably the fastest I have ever read and written any single entry in my book review series. I am sitting here in the clinic with nothing to do besides kill time. These two Cantos comprised about 15 pages or so in my book. That means about an hour read and I might as well get started while it is fresh in my mind.

Sometimes, so much time has passed that I actually have to read summaries to refresh my memory of what actually happened. Some books I keep some notes about what I want to talk about as Friday rolls along. My day to day situation varies so widely that it has been hard to keep up with a consistent schedule or routine.

This level of heaven is Saturn, the seventh level of Paradise and the land of the contemplatives. For those of you that don’t equate such fancy words, it is the level of the thinker. In church terms, the thinkers are the monks. Maybe not all of them are monks but all monks are supposed to be thinkers (I think).

Remember too that the higher we climb, the more that the souls are supposed to be closer to God. Dante has two interactions in this Canto. One with a soul called Peter Damiano and the other with the Pope Benedict. They both kind of interplay together so let’s talk about Peter first.

In the Devine Comedy, there has been a battle between free will and predestination. For the most part, the talk has been about free will. It is that freedom that has allowed sin to grab hold of the characters we met in the Inferno and Purgatory. But now, we are starting to run into preordination. What Peter is saying is that it is God’s plan for what level of heaven you will remain eternally. There is not much that a person can do to change that.

When Dante meets Benedict, he is confirmed what Dante already knows and that is there is much wretchedness within the church at all levels. He says that God will eventually punish them when the time is right. Once again we have a theological dichotomy. If everything is preordained, how can God be displeased with the rampant sin and corruption within the church?

I guess that I believe in both as well. I am a believer that everything happens for a reason but I also believe that it matters what we do in that time. As a bible believer, the second the second coming (Revelations) will be the final reconciliation. It seems that I finally agree with Dante on something. But, I am also a Protestant Christian and the ideal of a vengeful or angry God is very Old Testament.

This is the new covenant. If you haven’t heard this language, Christianity differs from Judaism in that there is no intermediary between God and worshipper. No longer are sacrifices required to absolve sin. We can achieve eternal salvation by accepting Christ. So while God may have a final plan for our lives, We can surely help ourselves along. Otherwise, what would be the point?

To put a fine point on it, I think a loving god as I subscribe to has an intricate web of events. Each one effecting the other. I am primarily speaking about the duration on life and eventual death. What we choose to do in that time greatly influences our eternity. We never really comprehend how we affect other people as we move through life. To me, that is the predestination part.

End Your Programming Routine: Since I do not really subscribe Purgatory or levels in Heaven, this is just another week in a long line of things that don’t completely jive with me. But it is at least closer than some. Next week will be the longest remaining group of Cantos XXIII – XXVII and the eighth level. This is the level of the stars.