Weather Update

 Cold Front!

Man, it was 77 yesterday and 99% humid.  Ran the road, fixed the issue, and returned home to this!!

There it is!!!

After I got under the roll cloud, the wind shifted to the starboard quarter and it was wild!!  HEAVY rain, and gusty.  I was driving a parachute at that point....

 

In four mile the temp dropped 20 degrees, from 72 to 52...  And the rain was HARD.  I grew up in the panhandle, I've seen it hot and dry in the morning, and then a blue norther blow in, thunderstorms drop rain and hail, and be freezing on the bus home from school as snow starts falling...  all in a matter of hours.

I live in south Texas now, and this was amazing.  That front blew in STRONG.

The Fun Part 

My head is a barometer now.  There was a strong south wind, blowing humidity from the coast up towards the front.  It was coming, and I could feel it coming two days out.  That is not a feature, it's a bug.

Tuesday night, I was tossing and rolling like a gator with a carcass.  I tore the bed up, looked like a malaria patient's bed.  Thankfully I don't hallucinate!!  I have to keep on top of the weather now, or I'll be caught unprepared for the effort it takes to function.  And I can trace it to a certain day in April.  Life changes, no matter what.  Not mad or upset about this, just have to be aware and ready for it.

Merry New Year!  

 

Watch your topknot. 

 Robert McGee

Okay, another question:  Is there a Canadian thunderstorm?  About 0600 this morning, there was lightning but only soft thunder.  It just kind of rumbled, but it was sort of like, "I'm sorry, sorry, don't wake up, I have to do this, but sorry! Eh?"  It was the most polite thunderstorm I can remember.  Maybe because it came from a blue norther?

Any input there Glen??  Just wondering.

Projects Update

 So, I have been doing some work in the shop.  Here is a bit of fun stuff.  Everyone likes pictures, yes?

FORD:

If I can find who owns this, I will make an offer...

Oh baby.

Here is the manufacturers plate

Part Duece

I need to finish these out.  The wheel order got canceled, then reordered, then, dang it....

chuck trees

Number 3

The shafting for a project got south Texas rusty.  Just finished polishing them on the Logan.  It is 74 and still looks young.  Works a treat for this.

first 7 out of 14

half way done

polished up nicely with red Scotchbrite

Lets not go thru that again

Four

Buddy had a vise that was missing a..... nut.  So, I made two, and then had to source carriage bolts to fit, because metric isn't the same as 5/8 x 11.... oh well.  Live and learn.

original on left, new ones center and right

installed

 

 

I picked up some 3/8 mild rod yesterday to make the cross pins.  Not even started on them yet.  But that is on the list for tomorrow.  Till then, a 5/16 bolt works.

Weather 

It has been windy down here.  Cold front will move through, maybe strongly, then back up as a warm front, strongly, then here comes the cold again.  That has played merry hob with my noggin.  But knowing why I start to fold up has forced me to mind the weather a LOT closer than I have before.

The prismatic colors of the ice clouds was subtle and beautiful

More to follow as I get stuff done and, hopefully, unfold my head space.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Time keeps on slipping.... Happy Christmas!!

 I had planned to be a lot more diligent on the blog this year.  But that has slipped on me.  

I took on a job that was too big for the tools I have.  I couldn't get the mill to chew this without trying to jump and run out the door.  Nothing like jumping in the deep end, then having to bow out.  Ah, enforced humility.  Tasty.

I'm working another job that I was leery of at first, but after some thought, is gonna be a good first step into the world of self-employment.  Maybe.

 The shop is getting cleaner.  And that is really nice.  I have to be able to move from machine to machine easily.  That hasn't happened in a while.  I have a bit of Phil-itus, or he has some STxAR-ness....

Working on a couple lathe chuck trees.  Christmas presents...shhhhh.....

All in all, it's been interesting!

 

 So it's Happy Christmas time again.  Here are a couple of my favorite Christmas songs.  

Mom was pretty sure we were Cherokee, as a progenitor was married to a Cherokee maid.  Alas, it doesn't appear to be the case.  I still have a soft spot in my heart for the civilized tribes.

 This one reminds me of a few Christmas' in the past. 

Some people's kids, eh?

One other song that reminds me of brown Christmas' with the folks when I was a much younger man.  The smell of dust, the blue northers that screamed out of Kansas to visit... The weight of a quilt to keep warm in the night, the smell of snow and spit boiling off a gas heater, the moron that peed on the campfire (no, not me)...  Chopping water at the barn so the stock can drink, hauling it in two five gallon buckets... three times a day, and I don't know how many trips from the pump house to the barn....  soaking up the sun out of the wind on the south side of the barn.  Cold wind in your face that made the snot run across your cheek and into your ears...  a living snow globe, watching it fall in the circle of bright the yard light put out... the soft quiet of a snowy night... man, the memories keep coming....

Update:

Unplanned events just kept coming:  Family member hospitalized a few times early in the year; head injury; a family member's separation became a divorce; another family separation; an attempted coup at work; continuing fun from the injury (I have to be aware of weather changes, they can knock me down pretty hard now).... My favorite Aunt just went home this morning.   

 But that's life, right?  

 Not sure what to make out of the political scenery.  I've talked to a few about that, one guy in particular reminds me: "There is none so blind as he who will not see."

High points included: getting a family member sorted with the .gov medical care for the most part; surviving a head injury; and finding out what is different, better, worse after the injury; getting my dream sheet at work; finding out who my team mates are at work.  I am here to tell you, there were folks that I considered passing acquaintances at work that were really GOOD friends.  I am indebted to them for caring for me when I was down hard.  And my family that helped me through and are continuing to give aid and comfort.  

 

 

 I got a LOT of clarity this year.  

Back in the days of maps, you had to know where you were to figure out where you were going.  Orientation of the map was pretty important.  I know where I am right now more clearly than I have in the past.  The way usually presents itself if you know where you are.

 Happy Christmas, thanks for coming over to visit.  I really means a lot to me.

May God bless us, every one.

99 Suburban update

 Multi-port Fuel Injection update.

Took the first trailer trip with the Sub this past week.  Picked up a drop deck trailer (about 1 long ton empty weight) in *major metropolis* and drove about a 100 miles.  She ran without issue.  Got about 14.5 mpg with excellent throttle response.  Had to pass a dink that pulled out in front of me, and she hit the 75 mph speed limit with ease while passing...  I really do think she got an extra 30 horses or so on the replacement / upgraded fuel injectors.

Loaded up the newest of the tools and came on back.  I babied her, not much over 65 mph on the return leg.  Fuel mileage was about 13 mpg with a well balanced 4500 lb trailer load and another 400 in the back end of the Sub.  A delightful trip, if a bit long, no doubt.  About 330 miles with nary a hiccup.

She's a runner.  Title transfer next week, and hope to finish up the 7 way trailer connector / trailer brake controller this weekend, depending on Phil's rain that showed up last night.  Gravy, the drops were this size of eggs this morning.

New Tools!

Got a new addition to the shop.  It's a bit older than I am, but it's been gone through by a pro.  She looks sweet and I can hardly wait to get it up and making chips.  

She needs some reassembly, but that's no hill for a climber.

Hoping to get the paperwork done this next month on the LLC, tax id, and bank account to make this a sho'nuf enterprise.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Lots of liquid sunshine today, and more work than I can think about right now.  I may be getting wet to stay on track for what I want to get done.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting.  I appreciate it.

Merry Thanksgiving Play by Play

next up:  a favourite of mine.

from here.

Merry Thanksgiving

Looking back over this year is encouraging.  It is inevitable that tragedy will befall you.  How you react to it will expose your character.  Some of what I did was encouraging, some of what I did wasn't.  But I learned quite a bit about myself this year.  And I have a few changes to make long term, and some short term.  I've found some new limitations, and some recently opened unexplored territory.  So I've got that going for me..... heh.

Back in the day...

Dad always took Thanksgiving off.  We'd usually pack up and run to Oklahoma to visit relatives.  That was our vacation.  Man, what fun.  Out at the farm, watching the uncles playing 42, roasting peanuts, running in the sand, picking grass burrs out of your socks and shoes. Cousins, hundreds of cousins...  Grandma and Grandpa laughing, their eyes sparkling.

just as I remember them...

Food was always excellent.  The company was farmers, ranchers, school teachers, farm wives, policeman, secretary, welder....  Basic America.  Conversations were about family, farming, weather...  I loved it.  I'm thankful I grew up at that time, and in that place, with these folks as my family.

When I had my own kids at home, we always took time to cook and eat together.  Times were lean, and other times weren't.  It's a real roller coaster of memories in there.....

Today...

Today's project is a turkey, deviled eggs, green bean cassarole, and maybe an apple pie. 

fold the wingtips under to help support it

Unwrap, disembowel, and wash with water.  I usually stick an onion in the cavity.  Rub butter all over the carcass.  Then it's time to spice it.

salt, pepper, garlic powder and...

 

Oh, and some cayenne and chipotle just lightly dusted on top.  Then into the bag.

roasting bag

Those roasting bags are amazing.  First time the son-in-law tasted some breast meat cooked this way his eyes glazed over.  Not everyone knows about these things.  They are worth it.  Desiccated bird meat isn't that palatable.

I'm thankful for you.  You stop in, read my ramblings, and leave a comment.  Means the world to me.  The interactions this year have been points of light in a very dark time.  The few seconds you jotted down a thought for me helped me immensely.  And I appreciate it.  You helped me through some darkness.

That's the first chapter today.  I may post again in a bit when I start the next dish.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks TB

TB had a great picture up this am.  I really did like it.  Even had a sentiment on it.

 

My kids were on the way to Uvalde yesterday, and my daughter sent this via text.  I used to call my dad and visit when I saw a sight like this.  That was back when I was running the roads as a salaried professional and he was on this side of his reward.

Earth Turn - 17 Nov 2020 - John Nance Garner country

When the close of day explodes into color at the end is my favourite time.  I used to stand out at the barn when I was a kid and watch the earth turn.  I usually had my Instamatic with the 120 color film in it.  Those little fixed focus cheapies could take some stunning pictures with good film.  And the 120 format was bigger than the 110 giving a better image.  I loved those little Kodacs.

 I doubt anyone remembers Cactus Jack Garner.  He had some choice things to say about being FDR's vice president.

 

Not really a haiku.  But there ya go...

Update on the 99 Sub

 Well, she made it without a hiccup.  Ran like a scalded dog all the way there and back again.  About 250 miles round trip.  Down here, that distance is like going to the store.  Nothing much I'm interested in is close.  Well, except the SHOP....

I took a welder over and dropped it off, came back with a few drops of 4140, some great goodness and some flotsam and jetsam.  I'm a happy camper, man.

She's a runner! 

Does she look like a "Sweet Pea"?  Cause she sure runs sweetly now.  And that throttle response is right on!!  If your CSFI dies off, the MPFI is worth doing.  It feels like I have 30 more horses under the hood.  Nice performance enhancement and an upgraded fuel system.

Yeah, it might not be a Plymouth but it's a Texas Road Runner all the same!

All Hallows Day

Life seems to have hit 5th gear, dropped the clutch and is smoking tires at 90....

Gravy, two weeks since the last post?

99 Suburban:

I figured having a truck with a/c would be nice down here.  I'll have to fix the a/c to have a/c, but no hill for a climber.  The main thing, it was in love with my son-in-law.  I'd try and start it, and it would stumble for a second then quit.  Over and over and over and over.......  He'd come over and it's zoom zoom, what's the problem?

Phil and I both learned the same way, too poor to have anyone else do it.  I grew up on a little hobby farm, but worked for sho' 'nuf farmers.  I learned a lot from dad, and then got graduate level study after school working for Butch, Tommy, and Tim.  

I dug out my "normal issues" checklist and started in. New coil and you've seen the cap and rotor, plugs and wires.  Waited for the spider, and it came in and sat due to life pulling a few more surprises. 

Difficult to reach, so went with name brand parts

 Seven hours of fun and games last Saturday, and it's in.

last time it sees daylight

It started and choked on hairballs, carb cleaner and silicone spray, but finally caught and ran.  Every time I stick the key in it, it starts right up.  So far...

Success.  Should I replace the fuel pump, too?  Hmmmmm....

Today is it's first run of a 100 miles one way.  We'll see how she does.

99 Yukon:

Got a prod on the Yukon project.  Finally got the carrier bearing races off.  Ye gods, they want an arm and a leg for a puller.  So, we went with an abrasive touch.

Hardly scored the carrier

 

Still need to press on the bearings and start on the pinon and crush sleeve install.

NEW PROJECT ALERT!

I am in need of some extra coin, so extra work is in order, I guess.  I'm a bit shy to sell plasma or a kidney, so sweat and sore muscles is the order of the day.

 

Tuesday we went north for 4 hours and picked up the new project.  

 

31 degrees F and misty rain = ICE!

 

icicles on the sign in OCTOBER!!!

Five machines that need to be built from incomplete kits.  Might even work into an ongoing concern / maintenance opportunity.

List of needs:

- that lathe I promised to buy

- an LLC, with all the headaches that brings

- free nights and weekends to get the work done

- no more health issues to slow me down

- no more OT getting in the way

 

I could hit this running if I was retired, but no way to get to retirement yet.  

 

So, no more goofing off after work.  Second shift is ramping up for production!!

 

 

Remember when??

 I hate that Alan Jackson song, so you know I'm not talking about that....

Remember when you could just drop into a job, even a demanding one that would leave you a bit sore for a couple days, but you hardened up and did it for the rest of the year or more?  I used to start throwing bales of hay in summer with no work up to it.  They blisters on my hands would break and bleed, but after a couple days, they were just a slightly sore reminder of my soft handed start.

I'd start basketball practice for the reals and I'd blister on the balls of my feet.  They'd break and be bloody for a couple days, and in a week or two, I'd have callouses that carried me through to the end of the season.

Remember when you had manual dexterity?  Your hands would do exactly what you asked?  When you asked them to?

 I don't seem to have the thick skin I used to, or the manual dexterity I used to.  So, I found that out the hard way today.  Not all the way through the epidermis, but close.  And it just stings a bit, no real pain, and a bit of blood, but nothing unmanageable.  Weird.

 Bloodless massacre below the fold:

Phil Junior?

Yesterday, I was all set to help out my welder buddy and then spend the rest of the day replacing the fuel injection spider on the 99 Sub.

I had just popped awake after 10 glorious hours of sleep, when I looked at my phone.

My sister's truck had sprung a leak at her farthest work spot and she was in a small town 50 miles south.  I slapped a quick tool kit together and headed out expecting a radiator hose, or those heater hoses again....

It was bleeding a bit on the parking lot, but when I popped the "radiator" cap (why did they move that to the fender on the overflow tank?) it started to hemorrhage.  Lots of digging to find the water pump blew.  (Leak was invisible under the pulley, the waterfall was pretty obvious.)

Didn't have enough of the right tools (note to self:  GET THAT STOOPID TOOL BOX SORTED NOW!!)  So had to purchase some, and did the swap in the parking lot.  THAT has been a while.  Last time I did that, it was a winter job, power steering pump on the 99 Yukon in sleet.  I didn't like that job atoll.

'04 Avalanche.  I did like the design of the water pump.  Tstat housing is integral, no goop needed, everything was o-ring.  I used some silicone spray to lube the front of the engine and the back of the pump to make the o-rings happy.  Some anti-seize on the bolts and it went back together easier than it came apart.  Last guy that was in it used all kinds of crap to seal it up.  I spent 45 minutes with my Old Timer scrapping off the front of the engine to remove the stuck stuff.  He even put goop and a gasket under the Tstat housing neck, it uses an o-ring.  I learned gaskets when that was normal, but times, they be a-changing...

 

We've been together since about 1985.

It's really not that bad of a swap if everything goes easy.

The worst water pump I've done was a '73 Olds 98 with a 455.  Those 2 short hoses on top of the pump, with the open back and Permatex and gasket..... That was difficult for young me to do.  Old me wouldn't do it alone.

Thank God the nut on the fan popped loose on the first smack.  And that the heat broke down here a few weeks back.  It was only 90 degrees, and mostly shady for the job.  Also, I got some sweet sleep and was ready for a challenge.

My sister has a deadbeat ex.  He's gone under the table to keep from paying his child support. She has built a business from the ground up and is doing fair.  Times like this we need to pull together.  She had too many big outlays to absorb this one.  

 Something I learned along the way was to accept responsibilities.  So, I regard her family part of mine.  She is a lady and she is quality, a real treasure.  That makes lending help real easy.

That truck gets her to her work.  She and two kids being homeless isn't an option as far as I concerned.  It ain't much in the overall scheme of things, but it makes a difference for three people that I know.  And I have an antique soul.  It's just not the average one folks have now.  It won't let me neglect my tribe.

I draw the line at diaper rash.  I don't want to follow ole Mobile Mechanic Phil down that path...

Thanks for stopping by the shop.  Come back anytime...

Wait.... 4 October?

 Where are the weeks going??

my calendar

 

Last post almost a month ago, and it seemed like just last week.  What a ride this year has been so far.

Wheee! AAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

 

Projects:

1999 Suburban: 5.7 Vortec, 100K miles, base unit, factory options: no carpet, crank windows, dual a/c.  Simple and rugged.  Right after I paid for it and got it home, it quit starting.  It would try, then quit.  Original owner could start it right up.  I figured it was in love with him.

busted ear on cap let in moisture

rotor didn't like the atmosphere either

Every plug had the same gap,  0.125"!!

It started and ran for a bit, but the next morning it was back to it's tricks.  After replacing the coil, it ran good... Next morning, it was acting up.  Couldn't find my fuel pressure gauge, so now I have a missing one and a new one.  Pressure is good.  New spider is going in soon, as is a new ignition controller.

The real McCoy

So I'm still using the 94 Toyota pickup with the 22RE.  Crank windows, 5 speed standard, no a/c, Armstrong steering.  It's been a Godsend this summer.  And I don't even need a sweat lodge for purification!!

Kenmore 253.22042410: Freezer started moaning the other day.  It's too new to do that, and too old to be in warranty.  Only one fan in it, so "one day" a new fan motor.  Found the bottom of the partition in the back frozen solid, so no air could get in.  The fan was moving the rotor around in the near vacuum, and I guess rubbing on the bearing.  Clean, deice, and reinstall / reload the freezer and it's quiet like it should be.  New fan motor in the box for when it fails for the reals.

I've been a house mouse for a while now, getting the honey do's did.  No honey though, just chores.  

Oh, and spent some quality time on the wire wheel with the die wrench!  The knurling is still sharp enough to grab back, like a good handshake.

 

looks like a browned black powder rifle

I just managed to get the handle off, still need to brush the threads down, and do inside the ring where the die goes.  But man, that is pretty isn't it?  Still have a ways to go.  Phil, this rust just goes so far... Then it works like a cocoon.  It protects the part rather than just eating it up like salt spray rust does.

Tomorrow is a doctor appointment to see the MRI, EEG, CAT, EIEIO shows any issues with the pudding in my head.  It seems it's never ending.  I hope his kids don't ruin all that dental work I'm helping with.

It's looking like I may NEED to have a second job.  And I may have a line on one.  I will know more this week.  I'm afraid November 2020 through 2021 is gonna be uglier than the first 10 months of 2020.  I hope I'm wrong....

Happy New Year, 3 months early!

Life Comes At You Fast

Remember this commercial?

That has been this year.  If I could find out who is running that switch, there would be sweet..... justice!  ha.

Update:

 Made friends with a welder here in town.  And I have spent some therapy time over there helping him getting underfoot.  He's patient, and hasn't thrown anything at me yet.  I'm hoping to trade some help for some TIG instruction. 

And I'd rather work till I sweat through my jeans and shirt helping someone than spend a 100 bucks to lay on a couch and talk to a stranger.  Hard work therapy seems to help my mood and outlook.  I don't have the head weirdness as much now as before.  Pressure waves still come when I have a conversation about 'that'.  And so far, the coming front has not caused my brain to go foggy all at once.

Decades ago, driving from Longview to Houston on 59, I passed through a cold front into warm moist air.  The windshield turned opaque gray in an instant.  It took wipers to clean it off until the defroster could bring the window temp up where it quit condensing water.  When the weather has changed in the last few months, my noggin has done similar things.  But it hasn't so far this week.  fingers crossed.

I hope to have more for you soon.  I started working on the Mr. Pete drill press vise...  Pics to follow.

Quality Assurance

 I'd thought about that plate and collar for a few days and nights...  Made sense to me.

Dropped the bundle off to the friend, and he said, "What is this stuff."

So, I drew a picture...  

"um.... you need to stop by, bud."

So, I essplained meself, and he liked what he saw.

 

Finished product.  

I love it when a plan comes together.  And most especially when the customer is happy.

Thanks for stopping by the shop.

Yeah!

Wednesday, 19 Aug - Nice thunderboomer is rolling past, good cool outflow.  Friend needed some work done, and it's not too hot to do it!!  WOW.  It's still August, and I didn't drown in sweat out in the shop!  Win.

An old tractor needs a new plate for water temp guage.

Friend got the plate made, and wondered if I could help with the threaded part.  Oh boy.

Drilled a scrap to 9/16, next is bore to .588, then try and thread it to 5/8x18...  Only need 3/8 of an inch of threads....  Fingers crossed...  First try was toast.  Not gonna work.  I couldn't be sure if I was using leaded steel or not, and that don't weld so good.

I can still hear the music and the announcer...

 

I remembered watching a "How It's Made", manufacturing air tanks for truck brake systems.  They had this little part, with pipe threads in it...  Hmmmm....  Found out it's name is thread-o-let. 

I was down in the oil patch, so I stopped by a valve supply house, and they had some.  Manger GAVE me one that is a 1/4 NPT and caked with dust.  So, I'm a customer for life.... 

Okay, let's go.

Saturday 22 Aug - Outside is tapered, can't grip that. It took 90 minutes to make the mandrel to hold this thing.  No tooling I needed was close to the lathe, and I'm rusty as a neglected tap wrench.  Finally got this thing done, threaded 10-32  on the end, and starting turning the bevel-o-let into a cylinder.  Missed my size by 2 thou, and that came back to haunt me.

Howie Man-drel

 

I have some 5C collets (not a complete set) and a collet block because of a gracious benefactor and mentor.  I missed sizing this for the one collet I had that was close, so it would be a booger to thread, but not a major problem.  

Temp sensor has a 5/8-18 thread, and, amazingly, I have a tap that size from the same benefactor / mentor.  Blew a 9/16 hole-o-let, cleaning out the old threads, and the proper size for where I'm going is 37/64"  Now, really....  What are the odds of having that....

I shoulda bought a lottery ticket too...

Thanks again to Mr. S.  I owe that man a lot.  He has invested a lot in me and in my shop.  Thank you.  I wouldn't be near where I am today without you.

Got the threaded collar done, and was thinking about it last night as I'm drifting off...  There is a bevel seal on the sending unit, and the collar needs to be centered over it.  Hmmmmm.....  Ordering up a centering plug.  

Got that turned down today, and ready.  Just need to grind the screws to length, and it's done.

Plug dimensions follow.  And I did get pretty close to hitting them all.  The plug needed a bit of polish to slide into the hole and collar.  

Went with a 10-24 screw instead of the 8-32...  Spec change in the field, no change order needed...  heh.

Man, is it ever good to be in the shop.  And with a cool front moving south and bringing rain twice in a week lowering the temps into the mid 90's....  Feels like Christmas in August. 

What a pain in the .... shoulder

 So, somehow, my old right should took it on the chin.  From Mike Tyson.  For a few weeks it's been hurting like a sum!@#%^&*....  Started radiating down my arm past my elbow.  So I thought, what is the worst I can do, make it hurt more?

Ask YT for senior stretching, and this vision of loveliness popped up and said, I'm here to help.

Gentlemen...

My arm feels so much better, I can sleep at night after just the second time. Yes, I am standing up and following along with what she is doing. I'm telling you, it made all the difference.  And she's easy on the eyes, too when I'm not hanging upside down and swaying like a "pendulum".   You are most welcome.

2nd Shift work

The Rusty Wrench Depot is actually a young man that started up a welding shop.  I've been getting under foot after hours.  He's got a lot of cutting to do, and I got to help him with his second hand band saw.  It cuts a lot straighter now, and I have a friend.  A friend who has a ton of rusty crap to paw through at some point.  Gotta help Phil out doncha know.

So, not much time to blog.  But I'm sleeping better.  Working basically IT from 0800 to 1700 and welder's irritant from 1730 to 2000...  I'll post more as I can. 

I have a new project.  Learned a new word, too.  Thread-o-let.  More to follow.

 And I got my scissor lift certification renewed for another three years.  yay me.

 Even small victories are sweet.  I'll take what I can get.

Thanks for stopping by the shop.  

Thanks Phil, and Irish for all the traffic.  You may not know how much I appreciate it this side of heaven.  But someday you will.

The Year of Reversals

To Do List:

Current projects on the languish:   The Three Tumico Terrors

    It's been blazing hot in the shop, and I don't have the heat tolerance I used to.

Future projects on the to do list:   

free for the asking.  mmmmmm, iron oxide....

I have seen those tap handles go for pretty nice coin.  Plan is to clean these up and put them up for sale.  I gotta get some cash flow in the positive direction.  I have everything I need to do it.  Just need to break the cheek weld with the chair, and get to it.

Status Update

This year has been nothing but a  good news / bad news joke.  And I'm the punchline.

Lots of sand in the air at work, and I finally decided to check again on the how and when of the pension at work.  I ran the numbers a while back and it showed about 2500 per month at the normal age of retirement.

Well, the numbers that I ran this week show it's closer to 25% of that number...  I'm at a loss.  So calls will be made next week to see if I'm mistaken or I spent 20 plus years in a gilded cage.

I was lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut last night.  I woke up at 0400 with this crushing weight of lost youth and wage potential.... 

It hit me like a brick, that this is like a betrayal.  And that is the worst.  In my mind, betrayal means the present relationship is undefined because you didn't understand the other party even though you thought you did.  The past is wasted, it was not what it seemed.  The planned future is gone, and what kind of boob am I that I didn't see this for what it is.  It is the destruction of reality as I understand it.  I guess there wasn't as much virgin ground to rip up as I have gone through this once already this year after the head injury.  That took about three months to come to terms with.  I'm sure there is more un-tilled soil in my field, but, God spare me that, please.

Then, I remembered that other men have been zeroed out later in life than this and done well for themselves.... 

"What Are You Prepared To Do?"

It takes industriousness and mental change to get over this.  I'm not wired to mope, or sit in the dark...  My mind started working out how do I turn this around?  What is holding me here?  Why is staying a good idea?  What is the best solution to what I see here?  What about me needs to change to harness this and sling shot off it?  What short term, medium term and long term goals need to happen?  What do I need to prune to do what needs doing?  Basically, a reordering of my entire life.  Overwhelming?   Yes, but necessary.

The plan is, throughout this weekend, to brainstorm what is positive about this position I find myself in.  What options do I see?  I've got to quit limiting the view, get on top of this, stand on my toes and look out to the horizon.

I ordered a couple books off my goto book site.  They'll be here in a couple weeks.  Nice cheap used books, from the Rich Dad series.  I need a fresh view from that perspective.  It's been on my list for quite a while, but I just never did it.  My previous forays into entrepreneurship foundered on the rocks...  And caused a crop of grief.  But I should have different issues now.  I learned some good lessons from the past.  I hope.  My goal is to leverage the info in the book to make smaller mistakes by aiming better. "Aim small, miss small."

I don't believe "the way is shut".  I think it's I'm not used to seeing this kind of situation as a positive place.  But I am seeing glimmers of that now.  I don't know if the head injury was a reboot into a new way of life, but things have gotten very different after that happened.  The world seems to look brighter and quite different than at anytime before.  The previous post was a glimmer of the change I'm seeing.

Postlude

I don't know if you even care to read about the status updates.  If not, I don't blame you.  There is enough heart ache out there to overload everyone.  Consider the status update title an exit ramp if you aren't interested. But I feel a bit of responsibility to keep you apprised of why I haven't posted like I had planned and where my head is at.  You have invested some time reading what I post, and I appreciate it.  

If you can take a warning from this, Great!  If you can take encouragement, Excellent!  If it kicks you off high center into a change, it was worth the time to write it up.  If you just laugh and point, then it was good entertainment.

I got work to do, thanks for stopping by.