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October 7, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 2:4

October 7, 2022 /

The fact that I am already looking at the other Ayn Rand books leads me to believe that I am going to be reading more from her. I can say that I am astounded at how astute she was and how this all dovetails together with today. Look closely, this is social justice at work. It is just cloaked in a less, in your face manner.

The chapter starts out at Thanksgiving which happens to be the night before the Reardon trial. The family members behave as poorly as normal with their normal snarky platitudes. Henry listens to one last jab and lays down the line for his brother.

This is human nature. It also seems to be the way that ungrateful dependents act. Having raised a number of other people’s (adult) children, they either get it or they don’t. And when they don’t, they are pretty self righteous about how their problems are someone else’s fault.

But when you look at it objectively, you can understand. They wouldn’t be ungrateful dependents if they didn’t have some sort of deficiency. A lot of it is the lack of ability for self-reflection, accountability and a drive to do better. This causes them to be deluded into the fault of the problem. Of course, they forget about how they got into a shouting match with their boss because they were doing something they weren’t supposed to do which got them fired.

I almost feel sorry for them until I remember what indignant assholes they are when they are in this mode. At some point, you have enough with their pity party and get tired of them not taking a wiser counsel. After being threatened with violence or just tired of confrontation and volatility, you just have resolve yourself that you have done what you can. It is time for them to leave. I don’t consider that a major theme of the chapter, but clearly it struck a nerve in me.

So, now the real theme, the Reardon trial strategy. During the trial, Reardon offers no defense for his trial. That tactic befuddles the judges, who cannot comprehend the situation. Now, as a quick aside, I do not believe that this would ever work in some sort of trial. But, it is an allegory for life.

When you are in the pool, it is customary that when someone yells ‘Marco’ the other people respond with ‘Polo’. If you don’t respond, you have broken the object of the game and it doesn’t work. I talk a lot about the left/right dichotomy and this is the perfect strategy. Picking a side puts you in the game and no matter what side it is, you are involved. Once in the game, the only way to play is with the established rules.

Naturally, if you want to break the game, you cannot operate within the boundaries. You have to stay outside of the game to change it. If you catch my drift, you cannot elect the right people out of the game because they are all playing it right along with you. I suppose that if it your desire to win ‘Marco Polo’, then you have to play in order to win.

Using something more colloquial, imagine a fantasy football league. Assume the premise that all of the players are motivated to win, all are ostensively educated in the rules and ‘game pieces’. What are your chances to win? What happens when someone quits actively playing mid-season and how does that effect the overall outcome?

There is some skill but also luck in winning. If I was tied for first place and lost to the guy that quit earlier in the season, yet my competitor is playing the guy that quit and I am playing the second place guy, he will likely win and I might lose, My point with all of this is we can’t go into a season and know the outcome because we can’t predict how the other players will act, let alone injuries, etc from our teammates. Enough fun and games, I think that you get the point.

End Your Programming Routine: Some very interesting revelations in this chapter. I debated even cutting the enough is enough comments before I started writing. Then, I thought I would just mention it but once I started writing, I debated writing the entire post about that and cutting the second section out. Not playing the game is a theme that was too important to not give full attention. I think that the enough is enough is on my mind, because that is the podcast on that I talked about on Monday.

October 6, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 6, 2022 /

It turns out that an air rifle needs more lubrication than once every forty years. I purchased some a few weeks ago to attempt to ressurect my Daisy 840. Looking at the problem more carefully, I definitely have a seal problem. I noticed while I was messing around that the cylinder was not holding air. Within two minutes, the air chamber was empty.

My initial impression was that things were fine. When I got the rifle from my parents about ten years ago, it was still charged to my surprise (big firearms violation on me?). It was probably set at my parents house for 20 years unused so it is hard to say who left it loaded but it wouldn’t surprise me if I did.

Of course, I haven’t messed with it much at all since I decided to upgrade to the Crossman Legacy 1000. Only when I was doing my velocity testing and I got extremely erratic behavior did I start to wonder if I had a problem.

It is pretty simple to figure out where to put the oil. Where it say “Oil Here” seems like the right place. As to how much, I really don’t know but a good rule of thumb in firearms is that you can always add more, don’t get carried away. Not only are you wasting lubricant with too much but it often causes more dirt and grime to collect on the surfaces that the oil touches.

Those of of you that are not familiar, not all oil is the same. The tube on the left is the general purpose lubrication that I used on my Daisy. The oil on the right is a special type of oil for spring and pneumatic guns. It turns out that you are supposed to add 1 or two drops every 500 rounds into air chamber. Supposedly, I need a third oil that is for my Crossman Legacy.

To date, I have not been able to save the Daisy. The truth is, I don’t know that it will come back. My brief looking is that these Daisy parts are obsolete. So, it very well may be that the seals are damaged beyond repair. I am hoping that if the oil sits a little bit of time on the seals that they will re-swell to work again. So far, it has only been a week but no dice.

End Your Programming Routine: It might be too little, to late for the old Daisy. I kind of hope not but it really has become obsolete in my fleet. To be sure, I am going to pay more attention to my newer air rifles, hence why I bought the different lubrication products. This represents about $10 of care, I think that it is money well spent.

October 5, 2022 – Modifying a Door to Fit in an Existing Frame

October 5, 2022 /

Sometimes new doors are called ‘slabs’ but this also works for used doors. The most important aspect is the measurements. Precise measuring will mean the difference between fitting and not fitting as well as operating properly.

  1. Measure the dimensions of the existing door and the one that you are wanting to replace. It probably goes without saying, but if your replacement door is smaller than the one you are replacing, this isn’t going to work unless you can figure out some sort of weather stripping to seal the gap.
  2. Pick a reference point to measure. I like the top, hinge side corner. Take a measurement from your reference point to the top and bottom of each hinge. Also measure the top and bottom of your lock set holes. This is for both doors.
  3. Now it is time to do some figuring. Is it possible for your door to fit? Does it need to be modified to do so? And if so how?

If you look at my measurements, the door wanted to use was wider and taller than the door I was replacing, check. The middle hinge was in the same spot when I measure from the top. So, my strategy was to trim the width off the hinge side and reposition the top and bottom hinges so that everything matches. Since I was measuring everything from the top corner, this gave me the freedom to trim the extra inch off the bottom without consequences.

Unlike hinges, lockset holes are a standard 2 3/8″. This means that I really didn’t have to measure the top and bottom of each hole, I elected to just go from the top of the door to the top of the hole. Note that I measured the difference between the the top of the deadbolt to the top of the operating knob. Also note that the spread is different which means that I am going to also modify the strike plate for the deadbolt to work.

For square cuts larger than an 3/16″, I opt for a circular saw to remove. But, when you start getting into tapers or real thin removals, I use a router with a straight cutting bit against a straight edge. You could also use a hand plane or even better a power plane but that is a tool that even I don’t have. I really didn’t want my hand plane to be removing fiberglass either.

After the door is sized properly, it is time to recut the hinge mortises. I use the Milescraft HingeMate 350 for a lot of extra help. This job can also be cut with a chisel, by hand if you don’t have a router. I already owned and used these templates a couple of times so of course for me it was a no brainer. I actually reviewed this product in 2020.

Despite my best efforts, I still had to modify the width after a test fit. I ended up taking another 3/16″ off the strike side. Ideally, I would have left that side alone, but this was the fastest way to get the door up as daylight was fading quickly. Because I created new fitting problems with the deadbolt and lockset. My backup plan was to put the old door back into place for the night.

End Your Programming Routine: None of this work is particularly difficult but I would say that it is not for the DIY feint of heart. If the door that you are replacing was not installed square or your holes are off, you may be in for a difficult time. You are potentially racing against time and the weather to get the door installed. So keep those things in mind before you start.

October 4, 2022 – Here Comes the Rain Again

October 4, 2022 /

It seems like I have settled into a bit of a format. That makes Tuesday and Wednesday kind of grab bags. It wasn’t that long ago that when someone said the phrase ‘Here Comes the Rain Again’ that people would think of this song. I knew that it was from the 1980’s but I guess I didn’t realize that it was from 1984. Wow, that seems like a long time ago now.

But, of course I don’t mean a now obscure 1980s reference. I am talking about the change of seasons. A couple of days ago we had several successive days of rainfall for the first time in months. I cant help that I enjoy it because I am a native Oregonian.

Before we lived in a home with a heat pump (aka Air Conditioning), the change of seasons meant a break from sweating for months. I know it is kind of weird, but I like the dusty smell when the furnace comes on for the first time in months. It brings back memories of time to nest up, heartier meals, etc.

There are so many reasons to appreciate rain. The first is hunting season has begun. Without some decent rainfall, timber companies keep their gates locked. I have never seen deer moving in nice weather either. Campfires have been banned all over the west for months. I am looking forward to some fall campfires in our back yard. The sprinkler can be turned off of the year.

With the positives, there are also some negatives. Rain signals the end of harvest. We are only about three weeks away from our annual first frost date. The blitz is on to get grapes, tomatoes, peppers and whatever is left off the vine. Many of these things can stand a little rain, but freezing is the end as well as fruit damage.

I took a picture of my paltry garden. I got a handful of tomatoes and a few cayenne peppers. It looks like there is a salad or two’s worth of tomatoes, three serranoes and a couple more cayennes. My primary interest is the tomato plant in the front that has three green tomatoes on it. This was my one surviving seed start that I wanted to harvest the seeds.

Let me remind you that out of a whole tray of plants, this was the one that survived. My hypothesis is that there is some hearty genetics here that I was going to see if I could propagate. I have no idea but I want to try.

The question of our long term prognosis in this house leads me to really question how much effort I want to put into really producing a proper garden. I have mentioned that we are within three years of an empty nest and this house is way too large for the two of us. I still am not really in favor of downsizing considering we have our office spaces, shop and guest house, but there are some things that I would be interesting in changing too. So, stay tuned.

End Your Programming Routine: Never stop learning and dreaming. While I have hinted at the disappointment of my yield, I can say that this year was better than last year. The fact that stuff survived and even produced at all points a lot of the fingers at me. I had hoped that watering when I watered the grass plus mulch would have been enough but I suspect my neglect was a large part of the spindliness.

October 3, 2022 – From Dependable to Dependant

October 3, 2022 /

This is a tough one. Once again I get personal on dealing with an aging parent that refuses to accept reality. This has cause a lot of hurt and anger and talking about this is one of my therapy techniques. I guess that I would say that podcasts are a better forum to get more personal, maybe this is not what you want? Well, it makes me feel better anyway. If you don’t like this line of content, then please suggest some other topics.

End Your Programming Routine: Maybe I should have studied philosophy instead of chemistry. I have come to appreciate the discipline of logic and reason when it comes to the these complicated and controversial topics. I don’t really appreciate being in the middle of it, but I hope that my insight today gives you comfort in your difficult situations. You are not alone.

September 30, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 2:3

September 30, 2022 /

There is some interesting stuff in this chapter. In fact, we get the explanation of the book title here. I won’t spoil it for you but I am going to talk all around it.

In a related note, I was looking up the other books by Ayn Rand and I ended up reading a little bit of bio on Wikipedia. She is originally from the Soviet Union so that explains her super keen insight into socialism/communism. I guess what I find bizarre is that 2020’s USA is following in the very same footsteps (insert forehead slap .gif).

If I skip what I think are the inconsequential events like Reardon gets caught cheating by his wife Lillian, that will keep me focused on the heart of the events of the chapter. This is what happens of significance.

Reardon refuses Dr Ferris’ (SSI) blackmail attempt. Reardon purchased more coal than allowing under Fair Competition Act. Ferris tries to use that information to get Reardon to sell the SSI the metal that he previously refused. Ferris implies that everyone who is successful (and not going to jail) falls in line with this quid pro quo line of actions.

Ken Danagger of Danagger Coal who was Reardon’s co-conspirator in the situation also was threatened by the SSI. The pair of them are put on trial for refusing to cooperate in the blackmail situation. As a result, Ken abruptly quits his business after a visit from a mysterious stranger. This is reminiscent of the Wyatt Oil situation at the end of section one, ‘Let er Burn’.

Finally, I will end the chapter summary with another insightful conversation between Hank Reardon and Francisco d’Anconia. Francisco seems to see the world here as Reardon just plows on through it. Meaning, he is just going to keep going no matter the obstacles in the way. Francisco term’s it as morality or that Hank is willing to work harder to make up for other’s deficiency.

This is eerie. When I look back at my un-happiness at my previous job, this is precisely why I was unhappy and I just figured it out after reading this chapter. I kept working harder to make up for other’s deficiencies. The more I worked, the more success I had but it still didn’t change the paradigm. Once you realize that the situation will never change no matter how hard you work, the only thing left is to pull the chute.

My mental state was definitely a result of morality. I am not going to expose anything here but there was definitely some shady dealings going on. Nothing was illegal, but morality is usually not a legal question but an ethical one. In my book, an unethical action is also a stupid action and that I can’t stand to be around. I see it as guilt by proximity. I guess that is why I kept fighting for change. And because it never did, I was miserable.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not happy with my new job either. The difference is that I am not really vested in the outcome. I have no power or responsibility other than to do my job. It very well may be the same thing, but ignorance is bliss.

End Your Programming Routine: Wow, I really got a lot out of that chapter. I don’t know whether to be angry or cry or be triumphant. In some ways, this book is getting depressing because all of these things are happening despite what we know. Rand wrote about this in the 1950s, we saw the fall of communism, we heard the stories of depravity and dysfunction yet we double down on the path of failure. I suppose the path to happiness is staying aloof of the outcome, just like my job.

September 29, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

September 29, 2022 /

Rolling around to another Thursday, today I am going to finish off the conversation that I started last week on the ballistics of my reloads for .357 magnum. This was my first trip to the range with my chronograph. Look at all the junk I have to take, I am thinking of getting a larger range bag since mine is chronically full.

Since I provided the raw data last week, I am going to skip entering it this week. But, below I am going to provide the calculations from that data. What I can tell from the data is that charge weight makes very little difference in velocity unless it is the highest charge,

I think that it is worth pointing out a couple of things. Given the choice of charges and based on this data, I would choose the smallest load of 5.8 grains just based on performance. This actually ignores one variable that I didn’t test and that is accuracy. It is possible that one of the four charges is more accurate than the other three. The truth is, that would be the true choice. So, I will have to test that in the future.

5.8gr5.9gr6.0gr6.2gr6.3gr
Velocity9499329259431055
3 sigma327284161131168
Energy316305300312391

What I didn’t get was close to the published velocity. The data suggested that I should get 1050-1150 fps. It could be because I substituted components. I really don’t think so, but it is possible.

Now, theirs was measured on a 10″ barrel. However, I had a 16″ barrel and would expect to get similar to better velocity. To show what a difference barrel length makes, I also shot some factory .38 special on my range trip.

2″16″
17841031
27511094
37731131
47881131
57621154
67831159
77621143
87781143
97761113
Average7731122
3 sigma35117
Energy172363

What is the difference between .357 magnum and .38 special besides case length? It is pressure of cartridge during ignition 35,000 vs. 17,000 psi respectively. What I didn’t say with this data is the bullet is slightly lighter at 130 grains. Granted, this is a lighter bullet but the equalizer number is the energy.

Looking at the energy of 363 ft*lbs for .38 special versus 391 ft*lbs for .357 magnum I would deem this load as inadequate. Energy and velocity are not everything there is something to be said for accuracy as well. At least on the surface, I am definitely not getting the full potential of .357 magnum with this load combination.

If you remember a pound of powder is 7000 grains. And if I loaded 100 rounds averaging about 6 grains each for 600 grains I still have 90% of a pound left. It is good enough to make plinking rounds but given the choice, I would look for another powder.

End Your Programming Routine: I have done this exercise with several different powders and bullet weights. So, expect more of this in the future. Given our current state of reloading component shortages, it is unlikely that I am going to readily find a replacement to try any time soon. Of course, I am going to focus on what I currently have to get the most information on what I have on hand. I found the process enlightening, I hope that you did.

September 28, 2022 – Pre-Hung Doors

September 28, 2022 /

Now that we know how to take a door out, it is time to talk about adding a new door. Sorry if you were hanging on for this after the previous entry, you have now had an open hole in your structure for several weeks! I fully intended to capture the installation of the new door but got busy and forgot.

To make matters worse, I have decided to modify the existing door rather than replace the entire structure. So, I won’t document installing a pre-hung door this time. But, let’s talk about them anyway.

Things to know before buying a new door:

  1. How wide is the existing door? Typical widths are 36”, 32” and 28”. This is how the new doors will be marked for sale.
  2. What is the swing of your door? When on the outside of the door, the side of the hinges will either be left or right. That is the swing.
  3. Know your framing, for depth. Old houses like mine have true, 2×4 framing, new houses are 2×6. By the time you add 1/2″ of drywall, 1/2″ of sheathing and siding, all of this makes a difference when buying a pre hung door.
  4. Do you have a standard door (or opening)? Measure the height of the door, it should be 80″ in height. If your door is less than that, it is possible to modify the door but cutting the frame and door down but is much more work.

This is the reason that I modified the door rather than the casing.

It’s not a great picture, but the reality is the frame of the front door is half an inch wider than the current frame in the back door. The main house is framed with true dimensional lumber where as the back of the house is framed with modern lumber. Instead of 4″ thick, it is actually 3 1/2″ thick. If you have this situation, you are going to either have to cut down a door built for 2×6 walls, add onto a frame that is framed for 2×4 walls or order a custom door.

The truth is there are no good options. I made what I thought was the easiest and quickest method by trimming the door and moving the hinges. Guess what, it worked. It takes some fussiness and careful measuring but it can be done.

The nice thing about a new door is that all of the weather stripping is new. Everything should operate smoothly and easily like the handles and latches. Today, you don’t even have to mortise the lockset in many cases. This is secretly one of my least favorite things to do. If it is a used door, take the time to fix the weather stripping, paint when everything is off, make it install ready.

The next thing to having the right fitting door is to make sure that when installed it is plumb and level. The door will never operate properly if it is not. Do everything possible so that the door can be installed plumb and level including modifying the siding, drywall or structure. I can’t express the frustration you will have over the life of the door if you do not.

End Your Programming Routine: Since I cannot show the installation of the door, I will leave it at that. We got lucky in that I was able to modify both doors to make them work. It very easily could have not worked out because I wasn’t paying attention to all of the variables when my wife ordered the door. Trust me, I have made all of the mistakes before, including ordering a door that was too small for the framing, installing crooked doors that don’t function, having to add onto the structure, removing sheathing., etc.

September 27, 2022 – Tortilla de Patata

September 27, 2022 /

Our exchange student was gaga over this dish. I had never heard of it before and unfortunately, he had no real cooking skills. So, we didn’t really try this until we went to Spain last summer. It is very simple, comfort food that I made following the recipe in Canelle et Vanille for our September meeting of the Left Coast Culinary Book Club.

Eggs, potatoes, onion, salt and oil, it cant get much simpler than that. First peel and fry the potatoes and onions. The recipe called for three medium Yukon Gold potatoes. I used four shriveling, nearly rotten ones cooked in 3/4 cup of olive oil. In the mean time, scramble 6 eggs, I used 8 medium eggs.

I don’t know if this is the key or not, but after the potatoes are fried, you put them into the raw eggs and then dump the whole mixture back into the skillet. The key to the whole thing is that you need to flip the tortilla once. This is where our exchange student went wrong the couple of times that he attempted it as he never flipped it.

Aran said that you need to use a good, quality non-stick pan. Well, I dont have a good one and the truth is, I really don’t have a ‘non-stick’ (teflon coated) pan, so I used my cast iron skillet. And it worked perfectly fine.

Finding something to flip the tortilla onto was also a challenge. If I were to hazard a guess, I think this recipe would work better in a 10 inch pan rather that a 12 inch pan. My feelings are that the the over all product was too thin, but it worked just fine. I think the texture came out a little to rustic compared to the pictures I have seen (as well as real life) because of the ratio of potatoes to egg and the overall size.

We frequently make eggs and potatoes for breakfast. This combination is nothing new. I guess what is that every time I have mixed raw eggs and cooked potatoes is that the eggs seem to coat the potatoes and disappear. So, taking them out and mixing with the eggs before cooking seemed to be a better way of doing it.

End Your Programming Routine: As soon as we arrived to the dinner, the tortilla was served and nearly eaten. I would say that it was a success. Like I said, a little tweaking of the recipe could make this an easy stand-out. I say, not bad for the first time.

September 26, 2022 – Adding More Adventure in Your Life

September 26, 2022 /

On the heels of my recent evaluation of my goals and accomplishments, my wife isn’t completely happy with what we got done so far this year. In fact, we had a conversation about selling everything to free us from the obligations of maintaining a home. I of course am pretty tepid about the idea preferring to see what we can do with what we have where we are at.

Today, I am talking about some my mindset issues and how I got to where I am. But it is not just problems, I look a what I want to do and ways to approach them. Hopefully, it is a good way to compromise with everyone.

End Your Programming Routine: I am within three years of having an empty nest and life changing thoughts. I am inclined to sit tight until that point, but who really knows what will happen in the meantime. I am open to consider change but what I really don’t want is moving for change sake and then moving again a few years later when the kids decide ultimately what they do.