Since this is a holiday weekend (no work Monday for many) I didn’t get serious in the shop real early Saturday. Too damn cold. It was 26 F and will be in the high 70’s today. You know the saying: “Pappy didn’t raise no fool.” Besides, I’m grappling with a case of woo-woo. Hell of … Read More
I spend a ton of time in my office chair. Every day of the week, I’m out here in my “office” from, at latest, 5 AM until I knock-off, which is at earliest, 3 PM. That’s when markets close here. Now, to be sure, I try to get up and walk around for a few … Read More
A lot going on this week and so no “ShopTalk Sunday” until next week. With the papal passing, we were dealing with our own loss locally. Our beloved Zeus the Cat passed quietly last night after a long illness. He was 96 in people years. A good run for a feral cat lucky enough to find … Read More
Well, it all worked out: Styrofoam covers over the foundation vents. These will come off when the weather warms to keep radon accumulation now. The “grow room greenhouse” worked great and even when it was on the backside of 8F for a few hours, we were holding over 40 in the greenhouse. Tomatoes will still … Read More
The (super) early Futures pricing wasn’t showing much oomph prior to the GDP figures and the Chicago Fed data just out. GDP first: “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022, in contrast to a decrease of 0.6 percent in the second quarter. The … Read More
Detailed User Note and Follow up first: User Theme is now adjustable. That little “crescent moon and stars thing” in the lower right of the screen. If that icon is black background, you are in Normal (light) theme. If the icon is white background, then you are in dark mode. People like me who have … Read More
The Chinese diesel heater is still working dandy out in the greenhouse lean-to we put up a year ago. Just this morning, there was light rain coming down about 4 AM and Zeus the Cat (dealing with old age issues) didn’t want to come in the house/. One button press, and within a half hour, … Read More
First, a big thank you for prayers on behalf of ailing Zeus the Cat. His appetite is back a bit, and between hand feeding of food, some cat kidney pills plus a gentle application of deworming meds, he’s up and about better than a week ago. Now into the projects of this holiday screwed-up week… … Read More
Before we begin, an unashamed plug for Amazon (“get ’em while you can”) as Cyber Monday Power Tool deals are here. Best seen with your spouse present (and you in handcuffs). If you’re not already maxed out from Black Friday, life is short and power tools are safer fun than chasing something extra (ahem) on … Read More
Let’s begin with news and markets – to work up a good appetite, right? As we told you in advance, expect a rally Wednesday and what shows up? Yes, that’s right – the reason the Bearish Mister sits on his keester. The BIG wave count is in yellow. Next level is white. Then Green. got … Read More
Some time back, I told you I was going on a buying binge for inexpensive Chinese “parking heaters.” These are similar to the Webasto and Espar units that have kept truckers warm for decades. Thing is, these are about 1/1oth the price. In fact, since my shop is part hardware store, off a compact enough shop to make … Read More
A month or two back, Elaine mentioned that a couple of the stair treads on the short stairs (from the BBQ deck down to the shop walkway) were cracked and looking sketchy. This whole BBQ deck was a one-day build 10+ years ago. And those stairs were built with two risers, not three. So, maybe … Read More
I thought it would be fun to roll through an example of how a simple workflow process can be used to tackle almost any home handy-bastard project. Project Planning A number of projects were underway here this week, but they all have something in common: They each went through a planning process where as much … Read More