ShopTalk Sunday: Ground Up Reframing a Senior Shop

Is this really ShopTalk?  

Maybe: It’s really about aging, agency, risk, and dignity.  Let me read you in.

Every so often a reader letter lands that isn’t really about tools — it’s about starting over.  Two things stood out in this week’s mailbag:  First, it comes from a long-time reader – she’s 73.  And she lost everything because of a container of “pool shock” which (as you should know) releases dangerous fumes (chlorine) which doesn’t go well with much of anything.

In her case, everything metal corroded. Tools, buckets, handles, wiring — gone. Not just rust, but slime, corrosion, and that unmistakable “something is chemically wrong here” feeling. She did the right thing – tossed it all.  But that gets us right (hip deep) into the quicksand.  How much “shop” or “how many tools” is enough – and at what age are the key break points?

First We Focus on Constraints

Back in the “single right answer” world, you might expect a simple answer.  Something like 68-3/4 is when you come off ladders, lay down power tools, don’t tinker with electricity.  And that would be that.

Except, in an increasingly complex world, all of your decisions are becoming “constraint bound.”  What I mean by that are the “related, but important details.”  In the case of our reader (Eleanor) we don’t have quite enough data, but we all need to “start thinking constraints.”  In other words, what limits our answer range?

To illustrate, let’s roll through some examples of constraints we all need to face – someday.

  • Age:  Eleanor is 73.  Yes, that’s a “soft constraint” but not a hard one.
    • Example: lots of outdoor and gardening activity – likely just fine – and life extending.
    • Going up on a roof via a ladder – with no assistant or phone – bad idea with “downside potential:” if you follow.
  • Mobility:  We assume the question to come from an able-bodied person.  But all bodies begin to degrade over time.
    • Example:  at what point will she not be able to “horse around” a live skilsaw or 1/2 HP mother-torquer of a drill?
    • Can she stand at a bench long enough to make the tool useful?
    • Are there missing limbs or “weak spots” (gout, diabetic feet) that change shop prospects?
  • Experience: Does Eleanor already weld, mow lawns, do serious wiring?
    • Great to keep learning new skills, but at 73 we wouldn’t recommend doing much 480-volt 3-phase power wiring, for example.
    • Or all-day long electric weld beads if America were ever to get back into building Liberty Ships, for example.
    • Why, even bouncing around bush-hogging 5-acres at a stretch lost a good deal of its approachability when I passed 76.
  • Money:  We don’t know how much money she’s willing to throw at this “tooling problem” but there are always two sides to accounting:  (Put on your green eyeshades, George is going B-school for a second.)
    • Even if Eleanor could buy every tool on God’s green Earth, how many more uses (like cycles are used in airline accounting) would she realistically get from any tool she buys?  I bought a $600 Evolution table saw recently.  I cannot build enough cabinets to cost-justify it. But George2 (the son unit) is coming along behind and he’s got the time and skills to wear it out.  But not everyone has a named inheritor.
    • The other monetary angle is Time.  When you get to a certain age you start measuring time versus money.
      • Eleanor might want to hire a high school kid to till the garden.
      • She might opt to skip in and read on till-free gardening.
      • Move into hydroponics and/or aquaponics.
      • Or, help someone out who needs a little “walking around” money.  (A call to a local high school can sometime hook up with a school counselor who has an actual community interest and can plug in good kids willing to work for a little money…be creative, but always eyes wide open.)
  • FUN!  Yeah – this is a constraint too. Around here? Elaine likes to weld.  She’s not big on cutting up metal, surface prep, fixturing, ordering consummables and running power cables.  But, what about Eleanor?
    • Does she like a certain kind of creative work?  Gardening? Changing timing belts? (You never know, right.)
    • Wood as a medium?  (Carving, old school or CNC?)
    • Metal fab for her racing car?  (Kidding…but get the gecko on the line…)

So, when we talk about “rebuilding from the Ground Up” what we are really talking about is a Graceful (Ontology provided break) which CAN resolve downsizing for Exit time, OR Upsizing for addition fun and adventure.

That, dear reader is a terrible choice.

Location, Location, Location

One more biggie to cover:  Where does Eleanor live?  Detached house, single level, one-step up, with provisions for a ramp if ever needed?

  • OR are we talking a condo with a small gardening area?
  • OR can we go over to some else’s house?

I haven’t looked into it, but do community centers or senior centers have group gardens?  Too many times, the ones I have read about are a lot like “planted pot” locations.  “Sit over there. Eat this (schlock) food.  Watch that TV. Your day to own the remote is Tuesday…”

Clearly, Eleanor is NOT going to that kind of place. She’s a doer – not a watch like a mushroom sort. Still, we each need to figure a migration path that will run the aging life from 50-vigorous-and-going-like-hell, to 80-something-and-a-few-constraints.  On out through “90-100, hearing-reading-dream-work-and-planning-the-exit any time.

Facing “Shop Mortality”

Last constraint is making an honest estimate of how long you will likely live.  Because that will be a constraint that matters in terms of activities, where you live, and so forth.

Remember there are two terms used and this is critical to engineering-grade answers.  “Lifespan” is how long the lungs and pumping and you can “still fog a mirror.”  “Healthspan” is having vitality and still wanting and able to do things on your own.  The two are much different and you can read up on them to “up your own span.”

Here’s a peekaboo inside the process we use:

  • Basic Social Security actuarial data.   If you health is good, medium, poor at at X, how far off is statistically problem time Y?
  • Medical/Nutritional plan implementations.
    • Exercise can extend like 10–20 percent
    • Good sleep and conditional controls can add 10 percent
    • Advanced antiaging protocols can add 10-20 percent
    • BUT everyone’s outcome is different

If you go to the couch, get a pack of remote batteries and eat junk food?  You will die sooner, say the stats, than a person who is walking a mile or two a day, sleeps 8-hours, controls blood pressure, takes a solid antiaging stack, and keeps weigh realistic.

Long answer to a “How to Rebuild the Senior’s Shop”?  You bet.  But there are lots of constraints, and like Pappy always taught “You can only spend it once…”

Five Simple Shops for Seniors

The first one is so simple, I am almost embarrassed to write it.

Start with a solid $100-class homeowner tool kit.  Amazon had a 259-piece tool set in a blow-molded case on sale for $63 earlier this week, so I snagged one. (Don’t ask if we needed it – that would be rude…)

No, the tools are not Snap-On or MAC but they will have a great deal of what you need to fix basics around the house. Change a light fixture, tighten a loose chair bolt, assemble this or that.  Handled.

What you give up?  I have several complete full-sized screwdriver sets.  You might miss those.  Specialized assorted Channel-Loc’s and yeah, a drawer full is good.  Big table saw?  Oh, hell, yeah.  But to keep the lights on?

I Want Power Tools

Sure, you do.  We all do.  But now’s when “constraints” peek in.  There was a part in her note that drove me to consider the power tools part:  “I even threw out 5 gallon buckets because the handles were disgusting and electric things because the plastic on the wires were coated with slimy something.”

The big problem with “electric things” is that as we age, these things called cords can kill.  In 2023, **over 41,000 Americans aged 65 and older died as a result of unintentional falls — a number that has been rising over time.  Pencils out to 112 deaths per day nationally.

Biggest causes of falls?  Well, sure, loose rugs. Untrained pets, stairs without solid railings.  But somewhere in the list of electric things…and that we can do something about.  While still scratching the “power tool itch.”

Good quality drill, impact driver, and (for the brave/strong/healthy/immortals) a circ saw and/or jig saw.  (Always count fingers before and after each use.

I would start off on the Amazon drill, driver, and saw search page (here) after doing some soul-searching.

Yes, the nearly $500 DeWalt has most of it, BUT now we get into that “years of use” constraint.  At the new end, I was fascinated with the one power-head does it all.  it comes with “12-Tool Set : 1* brushless drill body, 1*impact driver; 1*impact wrench; 1*drill attachment; 1*impact drill; 1*oscillating tool; 1*reciprocating; 1*Jiasaw; 1*4″chainsaw; 1*sander attachment; 1*circular saw attachment; 1*grass shear ;1*hedge trimmer; 2Pcs 2Ah battery; 1*charger, 1pcs accessories set, 1pcs injected plastic box.”   Lots of tools for $220, but I am not one of those people who uses a “multiple tip screwdriver” either, so I’m likely a poor reference point.

I went with the Craftsman V20 series and the same in Black and Decker on the theory someone would still have battery pack in 3-4 years.

Thing is, the Craftsman kit came with an impact driver (which bounces off concrete surprisingly well and keeps working). But the B&D has the junior version of a Sawz-All and for outdoor pruning work (with an aggressive after-market blade pack) it’s almost as good as one of the mini-chainsaws.

Make sure you pick a brand with some expansion, too and get two batteries.

I realize this isn’t a perfect answer, so I mailed Eleanor a copy before Santa Day. But thing is just like flying airplanes or any of the “risky on the surface shit” the Ure’s are known for doing?

Plan your moves, pick your tools, carefully, and read from the Book of Eastwood.

“A man’s got to know his limitations.”

Which most of us have grown..but still…

A battery-powered 4 1/2 inch grinder showed up today.  A battery powered paint sprayer with two 4-ahr batteries is coming.  And a sleeve of paint sprayer bags.  Use the liners and don’t by additional paint cups… I gotta stay away from SantaZon.…but with a sore lower back from putting stain on the new deck?  Well sure – never click in pain. That’s almost as dangerous as clicking on ETOH…

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

30 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Ground Up Reframing a Senior Shop”

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  1. that sought of information is priceless as we age . you have nailed many points that one MUST consider as we age . simple but with enough detail to make us reflect where we are . yep thats the beauty of G crosses all areas of the journey called life . the variety and the usefulness of every single day his work . thats why i been here a long long time couldnt go without the sage . and may i say a street wise , hard sage

  3. corrosion/corruption,,,are we talking tools? are not our US gov elected and unelected employees, supposed to be our tools?
    seems somebody dumped pool shock in DC, District of Corrosion.
    Replacement tooling has begun with Trump entering politics ‘in my opinion’, but TDS afflected will disagree,,, Oh well, maybe I need careful with my box of ‘Well Safe’.
    Corrosive agents or tools that build, we are talking people of both sides.
    takers or builders, which side do you support? do you protect your home, family and country, or let some assholes give it away to ungrateful unwilling to become Americans, but want to change US to their way of degrading our women and children as possessions,, as the diversity drags US down to their level. corrosive takers they are

    Power tools with cords neeed a power source, what is this TAE Tech company, that I see merging with ‘Truth Social’?
    “- Trump Media & Technology ?Group, parent company of U.S. President ?Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth ?Social, and TAE Technologies, a fusion power company, said on Thursday they had agreed to an ?all-stock merger that ?the companies valued ?at more than $6 billion.” from Schwab web site.
    as I see my DJT stock take a jump Thur after this announcment.

    had the best Thanksgiving in my memory, not about turkey but getting my son back!!! ,, the hospital was not fun, but now he is sober,, the PRECIPICE gives one a clearer vision,,, I Thank God, the Source,,, sometimes you have to go outside and speak with a vocal voice and speak directly to Source, even if it is cold and dark out there

    • “the PRECIPICE gives one a clearer vision,,, I Thank God, the Source,,, sometimes you have to go outside and speak with a vocal voice and speak directly to Source, even if it is cold and dark out there”

      I don’t think you have to go outside in the cold and dark to speak directly to the source. Retiring Archbishop Timothy Dolan said in an interview this morning. “God lives in your heart. The only way He leaves is if you kick Him out.”

      Glad you got your son back OBD. A true Thanksgiving and Christmas gift.

      • Thank you Bob,, but it just happened to be cold and dark,,, when I felt the need to go outside and talk directly to God,,,not really a choosing but a calling,,, with a choked up voice and tears,,, I was heard,,, and am enjoying the presence/present,,, Thank you God!
        (ask dLynn, he knows)

        bet I was a sight, out there questioning and asking God

    • “Replacement tooling has begun with Trump entering politics ‘in my opinion’, but TDS afflected will disagree”

      No, they won’t. 20 years ago I was writing politspeak on several known websites and print mediums. I was a Rightist realist in a sea of Democrats and other kinds of Leftards. They were begging for a “disruptor.” A lot of them mentioned Trump as a plausible candidate, trying to encourage him to run for President as the Reform Party candidate.

      The political leadership don’t hate Mr. Trump because he’s “Trump.” They hate him because he chose to run for political office on a Party ticket of which they didn’t approve. The rank & file DUMocrats hate him because they are incapable of independent thought (note our local trolls, who have to be told how to think and are incapable of thought deviation), and the Dem leadership and their media spokesmen constantly tell them to do so. They simply don’t know any better.

      I’m glad your prodigal returneth…

  4. Eating breakfast out this morning. Surprisingly good crowd at my favorite locally owned and managed breakfast spot.
    Good discussion. Craftsman has more than one grade of tools, but all of them are long lived.
    My needs are different because I have tractor to maintain. I have four socket sets, but the one I grab 75% of time is the Craftsman in a red carry case.

    I consolidated my wrench sets in a couple of large roll up tool rolls. I keep spares in a trunk. Most are Craftsman, but a few of the small metrics are no-names from Amazon. I keep the rolls in a large canvas GI-style canvas bag similar to this one:

    https://www.amazon.com/Rothco-Canvas-Tanker-Style-Green/dp/B000BFHED0?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

    I like the Capri tool rolls for the wrenches. One for imperial and one for metric.
    I keep screw drivers in a generic tool roll, and no, it doesn’t work that well.
    Pliers and adjustable wrenches go in another generic roll.
    Large equipment tools have their own carry cases.
    Never had a use for a big roll around mechanics cabinet.

  5. If giant oilfields are depleted. How much more economical fuel is there for food production? The fields are elderly

    • That is a very legit point Cc – I have been studying -with great interest – toss it on your research list: Allan Savory is a Zimbabwe-born ecologist and rancher best known for developing Holistic Planned Grazing, a land-management approach that challenges the idea that livestock inevitably degrade ecosystems. Working in Africa’s brittle rangelands, Savory concluded that desertification was driven less by animal numbers than by poor grazing timing and the removal of large, tightly grouped herds that once moved continuously across the land. By deliberately concentrating livestock and moving them frequently—mimicking natural migration—he showed that grazing animals could restore failing soils, increase water infiltration, rebuild grass cover, and reverse erosion on degraded land. Though controversial in academic circles, Savory’s ideas have been widely adopted by practical ranchers worldwide and form the foundation of the Savory Institute’s regenerative agriculture work. $7 bucvks on Kindle https://amzn.to/3MTSQhS

    • I originally started reading oilprice.com articles when everyone was all a twitter bout the end of supply. Nope. Not even close. That was pre-fracking and the new drill tech changed everything. There may still be more undiscovered than what we have used to date.

      We don’t know what we don’t know. Historians have benefit of history to get things right while future planners / forecasters must guesstimate. Some sources were taken offline due to agenda. Hopefully we finally open ANWAR supply (one of many Alaskan sources never tapped). Greens showed images of mountains and river valleys (ahem, not where the Bigs want to drill, hey?).

      George – in practice (pun?) the IRS tables were what I used to guide elderly clients. Adding exercise or sleep may add life to some. Your conclusion “… BUT everyone’s outcome is different …” is the correct notion. You might do all the right things but end up a bug on a Mack truck. The eternal lottery.

      ATL : fighting a bug, chill last night then crazy fevered. Woke in a sweat and stayed horizontal for an entire 12 hours. We nearly reach freezing but the breeze is making outdoors uncomfortable. Christmas comes with high 40s. Now where did I put those short pants?

      Stay warm, stay well
      Egor

  6. The tool/age issue. The motivation for hard jobs also moves significantly downward. Takes longer to work up enthusiasm for some jobs.
    Loved air tools while working in a garage in the 70s. Avoided them at home for decades as they were too easy, useful and lazy. Used hand tools. Kept muscles in shape About a decade ago, for a big brake job, finally relented and got a compressor. Nice, needed that high power air wrench, put the breaker bar away, made it fast and easy. Had a Wagan 12 impact wrench in the ORV. Nice as wife could if she had to, change a tire. During an annual inspection (spend the time to check your tools) it had died for unknown reasons. Non repairable although the magnets were put to good use. Needed to replace. Get the same? No, too expensive now. Found a new 12 V Dewalt 1/2 impact wrench on eBay, Fantastic. Works great. But dislike
    depending on a battery state of charge or condition. Tore apart a battery unit, making sure to use the internal control circuits. Wired in 20 ft. 10 Guage wire (Powerwerx) with battery clamps. Sucker draws 40+ amps when running. Breaks those lug nuts loose easily. Used the old Wagan sockets. All fits nicely in a pelican case. Lives in the trunk. No fuss no battery obsolescence issues. Can use a Dewalt battery or clamp to the vehicle battery.

    • [Reader Note: See why a human has to review all posts? Take this part “The motivation for hard jobs” – Yeah and then “breaking nuts” Being a community-minded censor is…um…well, let’s just say it’s interestng! ]

  7. Thanks George for your insights and advice. One good thing about having the pool shock episode is that my garage now has 4 new metal shelving units and looks clean and rather empty. If I had to move tomorrow I would find it an easier task.

    I will replace the 4 food grade buckets and lids because they are part of my prep. I have 2 sets of water purifiers that work when installed in the top of 2 buckets. (They were not in the garage). I will need a drill to install them so an electric drill would be handy. I never owned one because my hands were so badly deformed that I couldn’t hold one. Post hand surgery I think I could use a light weight one. I will check out Harbor Freight or somewhere similar.

    I threw away a shovel, a hoe, a spade, hedge clippers, 2 rakes, an electric heater, 2 extension cords, and a ton of medical equipment I no longer need, plus lots of random stuff. I have a small electric tiller still in the box so it wasn’t affected, and a solar oven that was covered by a large plastic bag and an old quilt so that is OK, too. I will probably buy a new shovel, a new rake, and I could use a new snow shovel.

    I have a set of tools in a plastic box but the ones on Amazon look much more complete than my set so I will be ordering that one too. I think I would like a new tool rack /caddy to keep them off of the garage floor. My current one is coated in that slime stuff.

    It is amazing what people will take from the curb. All 3 corroded shelving units were taken in minutes. A dozen or so cans/buckets of assorted paints were taken within 2 hours. All the corroded and slimy medical equipment were taken within an hour.

    Thinking about the future was helpful George. I have 2 friends who moved to an assisted living facility at the age of 80. I have been looking at 2 bedroom condos with low monthly outside maintenance fees. My daughter has been looking to buy her own house for over a year. I need to consider that she might actually find her perfect place.

    • “I will need a drill to install them so an electric drill would be handy. I never owned one because my hands were so badly deformed that I couldn’t hold one. Post hand surgery I think I could use a light weight one. I will check out Harbor Freight or somewhere similar.”

      It will be of no benefit, buying a drill that’s too weak to do a job. The best lightweight cordless drills are all Makita. That was how they made their name and reputation. They are not cheap, but they are robust, powerful, and weigh half as much as comparable Bosch or DeWalt drills. The blue drills are professional – the silver ones may be seen being used on virtually every home improvement and auto repair TV show. Home Depot is the best-known dealer.

      Harbor Freight has clones of the hot-shit cordless power tools. Their “pro tools” are quite good, but not much cheaper than the DeWalt, Makita, or Ryobi tools of which they’re knock-offs. Compare the price of the tool, the price of the battery, and the price of the charger, separately. Everything is proprietary. My Makita drills sell for ~$150 each; so does the Makita LXT battery charger, and the batteries are a couple cheeseburgers under a hundred bucks, each. When you can buy the kit (drill, driver, charger, 2 batteries, bag) for $189 (which you can at H-D, a couple times a year) it’s a bargain, and only a few bucks more expensive than a Harbor Freight “Hercules” or “Bauer” drill. I own both Hercules and Bauer tools. They are quality, and powerful. They are not as good as the real thing, but they’re 15-20% cheaper, so they may be good enough.

      My caution, whenever someone goes shopping for cordless power tools is:

      Decide what you need, then look at the entire catalog of each manufacturer. If you decide your ideal drill is a Ryobi, look over the other cordless tools Ryobi makes to see whether they make absolutely every tool you could possibly need. If they do not, find another brand. Batteries and chargers are proprietary, and expensive. If you can run 23 tools with one battery and one charger, you will save a tremendous amount of money. This is what tool sellers call “keeping it in the family” and it is something they will all suggest their customers do…

      • Ray that’sd a damn fine survey – thank you. I have this “Read everything Ray posts on tools – there’s still a chance I missed something” – and there usually is…

    • “It is amazing what people will take from the curb. All 3 corroded shelving units were taken in minutes. A dozen or so cans/buckets of assorted paints were taken within 2 hours. All the corroded and slimy medical equipment were taken within an hour.”

      If there was any metal in those shelving units they were worth at least $50 each, cheap paint is $23/gal (expensive housepaint is north of $60/gal.) The slime is a bacterial growth caused by the chlorine gas killing off the bacteria’s natural enemies. Washing with a common soap gets rid of it, and acid-dip or electrolysis gets rid of the corrosion. We don’t give the letter-generations much credit, but the younger Gen-Z’ers and Millenials are a clever lot, and some are fighting to reacquire the skills old farts like George learned, while they can still teach them.

      That stuff was worthless to you, because it would have taken more time for you to rescue them than you were willing to spend. To someone who needs a shelf and doesn’t have either the shelf or the money to buy one (even the cheapest resin shelves are over $40 now), those shelves are pure gold. I’m currently building a shelf out of pallet wood — building because I need a very odd size (19 3/4 x 52 x 11 1/8 inches deep, and pallet wood to demonstrate to my (sometimes wasteful and, dare I say “snooty”) children the meaning of the adage: “Waste not, want not.” I will cheat and use a table saw to standardize the slats for width but I’m not going to get fancy on the joinery — Titebond-3 and then I’ll make like Jed…

      …and Clampett 8-)

  8. If there’s longer duration of use potential and/or inherentor, consider power tool selection based on battery pack. Both Milwaukee (M18) and Dewalt (20v) have good user ratings. And both have a huge selection of tools for their battery packs. On Amazon, there are other manufacturers of devices that run on the Milwaukee and Dewalt batteries, and aftermarket batteries are also available.

  9. zBITX operational report. I have discovered a defect! The little white plastic stylus included for the touchscreen is about worthless. It’s not conductive enough. Frequently the screen ‘buttons’ will not respond to this little toothpick. Fortunately I have a few of the conductive black rubber styli I use on the IC-7300 screen, and they work well on the zBITX also.

  10. George
    Man you sure keep ordering the tools, how many do you need?
    I have lots of tools too, It’s a disease we have.
    Box after box, building after building. The same sockets are always missing from all the kits. How many angle grinders do you need. Its the same with the screw bits. The ones I need are missing and in the drill hiding under all the angle grinders in the corner. So I order more to get the job done. You need to hire a “hoarder specialist” to clean out your sheds and find the lost tools.
    I had my cousin help me. We found more stuff than I ever thought I had.
    I had three huge tool boxes. I sold two of them and now I can find everything.

    Merry Christmas
    Farmer Jim of the North Lands

    • “I had my cousin help me. We found more stuff than I ever thought I had.”

      Must be nice. My 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, and 10mm sockets and wrenches all grow appendages — either legs or wings, and leave forever. Oddly, so do #2 Phillips and T-25 Torx, both in screwdrivers and driver-bits.

      One needs three angle grinders – 8, 5, and 4 inch, and a 3″ cordless (will go through proof chain or lock shackles at an average of 1/16ips and is much more robust than a Dremel Moto-Tool). The 8 and 5 can double as polishing or buffing tools. If’fn you have air, a 3.5″ air grinder or an arbor attachment for a die grinder may be justified.

      I will admit to owning three “antique” orbital sanders — two in their original boxes…

  11. any aliens turn up yet ? sure seen a lot more brain dead , dopamine freak , vaxed zombies around . dunno if they are alien . was gunna ask a few but 2 scared to make contact . anyway great sunrise in gods country down under so i thanked him and get ready for another shorting week on the rock in this boom economy .

  12. Today we are removing a bunch of heavy stuff… tools, snuba hoses, backing materials, a big prop puller, and happily feeling lighter and faster all the time. Got to get ready for the 80th birthday on an offshore passage. Age in numbers is total BS. Had nothing to do with anything, including making rules about don’t do this, don’t do that. If you keep the internal power plant fully charged, by whatever me

  13. …. inadvertant posting… means you find works, you have little to lose even if you do fall overboard and become one with the Mother Ocean. Life is what you make it, minute to minute, especially at sea, and prep goes withourt saying.
    Happy Solstice… down under the longest day. Light rain, thunder in the distance.
    Breathe.
    Stiks

  14. re: must be the pierniczki (gingerbread) cookies!
    feat: rolling in dough season

    The “Times of Ukraine” Telegram channel has posted a festive note from Ukraine-Poland border services. A reported 67,000 people departed Ukraine via the Lviv region alone in a single day with some exits requiring 20 hour waiting queues.

    Obviously citizens paid heed to President Zelensky’s Friday visit to Warsaw where the Polish PM remarked in English that his guest held some good cards. Today’s public social media broadcast from a white room somewhere in Kyiv by a black-shirted returned traveller celebrated a €90 billion windfall from the EU.

    Let’s join DJ George in studio with a Fab 4 number allegedly composed after an esteemed member attended a psychedelic presentation, “The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream”, at the Alexendra Theatre in 1967. (The venue is named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark, wife of King Edward VII.) Platter up from the “Magical Mystery Tour” album with “Baby You’re a Rich Man”!

  16. I have a single support license costing a bit over $30 for a very old Oracle product which renews every August yet I’m getting nagging reminder emails to review my Support. Larry must be hurting for cash again.

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