Well-rested, we are fit to tackle the day with the persistently long To-Do list. Still, one of my items on the list got done Saturday and it only took about 20-minutes. A Paint Can Shaker. Patience is not Mr. Ure’s strong suit. Like most on this prison planet, while we’re all milling around for the … Read More
I know about accident chains having flown a hundred thousand miles, plus or minus a pee stop, in our own plane. Part of the F.A.A. WINGS program includes the study and understanding of “accident chains” and how to break them. Prevents falling “out of the sky.” What’s not widely appreciated though is the accident chain’s evil … Read More
Yessir: ShopTalk Sunday. As we await the opening of the “crooked casino” now part-owned by the Federal Reserve (as presumably you as a taxbleeder), we go to our Person Caves to Create. “Directions Are Wrong” Added a few more items to the stores this week. Which meant assembling another 48 X 14 x 80 inch … Read More
We used to spend $600+ per year on pest control. Now? Less than $150 and a little bit of time. Pest Control and Time This is a dandy example of the UrbanSurvival philosophy in action: Select the lowest cost Vendor. And remember, you can be the Vendor! Begin by remembering that your time is worth something. You … Read More
Couldn’t resist: From LOOB: I Got a request for peanut butter cookies from a cake mix from an old friend that asked me to share it. so here it is.. thank god for my daughter who first turned me on to making cookies with cake mixes.. they are the best.. although when shopping for cake … Read More
A garden note to begin with. I have been happy with those “poo pots” for starting plants in. However, one oddity this week. Went up to the garden to water only to discover that an animal had dug out a couple of them and had taken a bite out of the container. I suspect a … Read More
Project pictures toward the end. Let’s talk theory first. Being a management sciences-trained geek-at-heart, I thought it would be useful to do a “ride-along” on a typical Sunday in the shop (and ranch) project. Give you the feel for the “Maker Mindset.” This is the “as it happened” time log. 07:00: Days Start with Planning … Read More
If a discussion about toolboxes and whether a ShopSmith (serious multi-tool) seem like an odd pairing, relax. It’s not. Both have everything to do with how you get “the job” done. Let’s Do Toolboxes First It always struck me as odd: That Pappy Ure’s shop was constantly piled with tools and projects. Yet, when we … Read More
The arrival of spring! This weekend has really ramped up the workload around the old rancheroo, though. Among the projects in our household right now: Finishing up a visual theme in the master bedroom. We decided to theme it as an art studio. (What goes on in there approaches “art” [sleeping, lol, perv!]. That led … Read More
Daylight Time dawns over America. Yet-another example of the Grand National Delusion we’re under. As the Native American sage explained: “White man the only ones who cut a foot off the bottom of their blankets and sew it on the top – and then claim their blanket is longer…” Or, as this once IAM-751 R&E … Read More
One of my favorite “toys” died Saturday. A mysterious death: the power would not cycle on for my (formerly) reliable Heathkit SB-220 linear amplifier. Dead as the proverbial door nail. Things like this usually happen when I’m planning something not in agreement with Universe. Specifically, the Major and I had penciled in a 75-meter ham radio … Read More
There is an old saying – beneficially learned growing up in a racially homogenous community – among Chinese: Crisis is often accompanied by opportunity. In fact, though I don’t remember the characters for it, they are similar. Now, in the wake of the BlizTex21, is a good time to remember this linkage. There are steps … Read More
Since I’m updating my book “How to Live on $10,000 a Year – Or Less…” over on the Peoplenomics side of the house (free there, update will be $4-bucks here when done), this whole matter of America’s Assinine Auto Addiction (quadruple A) was my focus Saturday. Cars as Investments Pappy always taught that cars were … Read More