Clarity...

This won't be about machining.  This is more personal.  If you don't want to read it, that is fine.  I'll be back to machining soon.

 

Pintrest

 

I have begun to crave clarity.   I know I've mentioned it before.  Seeing clearly is such a gift.  As I've aged, my eyes have started to do what all old eyes do.  One eye has gotten better at distance, while losing near vision, and the other has done  just the opposite.  Vision changes as we get older...

Did you ever think that vision could be painful?  I had a close call last year with a detachment of the vitreous in my eye.  A big purple streak in one eye, like an arc flash, on a cloudy day while I was driving.  No reason to have that, and it lasted for well over 90 minutes.  I had two laser treatments since, as I have a family history of detachments of the retina.  Both eyes are doing well.  But those treatments were very nearly torture.  The bright flashes of a green laser and pressure on my eyeball were tough to endure.  But I still have good vision.  Clarity cost me a bit of pain.

Clarity of position this year has been quite painful too.  Seeing family members suffer without any ability to mitigate it put me in my place in January / February.  God is the only One who can mitigate that type of suffering.  Slamming headlong into my own physical weakness through the head injury was sobering.  Having family abandon me in the midst of being unable to care for myself showed me their priorities.  It also showed me that I could manage just enough to keep body and soul together, God gave me strength to do that.  I didn't have it in me to.  Having a coworker submarine me was harsh, but I needed to negotiate for myself. And I was successful, but only with God's intervention.  Watching the .gov abandon all pretense of integrity has clearly shown me that God is the only one that cares for the people under His authority.

I follow scripture as best I can understand it: "a man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh."  I started a family, and they are all adults now.  I've had setbacks, but they have brought clarity.  Knowing where you stand is priceless.  It's painful too, but I'm not focusing on the pain.  I'm focusing on the clarity.

So, here I present something I have shamelessly borrowed.  I found my path coming close to this already.  It was oddly prescient.  Prescient: adjective, having or showing knowledge of events before they take place.

Manifesto

1. As I am a Christian and as such will continue in my Christian beliefs and expect myself to live in the confines of orthodox Biblical Christianity, seeking like minded believers.  I must never be complacent in study and reading of the Bible as it is the revealed Word of God, Himself.*
   

2. As I am an adult responsible for providing for myself, I will live, invest, and save in the expectation that no-one can or should support me.

3. As the power to tax is the power to destroy, I will do everything in my power to legally minimize the amount of taxes that I have to pay.

4. As the growth of government is the growth of the ability to control the individual and impede freedom, I will do all I legally can to slow or deny this growth.

5. As physical fitness enables all other aspects of life, I will do all in my power to maintain my body in as healthy and strong a state as I can.

6. As privacy is the ability to live one’s life free from interference and oversight, I will do all in my power to eschew public and social media attention.

7. As money is the ability to act in an economic world, I will buy only that which is needed and planned for, buy used before new where sensible and possible, and seek to use, reuse, and extend the life of all items I own as long as possible.

8. As independence from the cash and debt based economic system is the ability to act freely, I will seek minimize my needs and to provide as much of them as is possible.

9. As we have become a society which values number of contacts over the depth of those contacts and has given those contacts the right to judge the individual, I will seek to narrow my relationships to like minded individuals with whom I share an active, ongoing involvement instead those based on a distant, social media relationship or those who feel even a vague acquaintance gives them the right to judge my fitness to participate in society.

10. As as student of Holy Writ, I will seek to continue to train my body and my mind to live in harmony with the precepts of it, seeking the enlightenment that comes from truly understanding the Author of it, as He reveals Himself through the Word, in me, to affect my sphere of influence.*

     *edited

     You are reading his blog every day, right?  

     Feel free to ask how the progress is progressing.  I welcome accountability.

    To those of you who commented last year, the encouragement you gave was needed and appreciated.  I can't even tell you how much.  I'd punch you in the arm if you were standing next to me.
    

    Okay, back to normal, scheduled programming.

    

    borrowed image
    

    
    
    

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.