ShopTalk Sunday: Your Tactility Quotient

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So, there’s this new book I am working on – the first part is due to hit Peoplenomics next week.  It’s about how “People Are Products” and how we are each uniquely genetically coded to do certain things.

As I was working in my shop, I was struck by the high level of tactility evidenced in the shop.  Everything thing out there is “touch”.  The “hobby shop” area has several plastic models to be assembled – including a 3-foot-long model of the Constitution.  Having been schooled by a master model-maker in Portland (hand-carved hulls of all the great sailing ships that he’d been crew aboard at the turn of the previous century) that ultra-slow, exacting detail level is extremely appreciated.

Even the selection of (Testor model) paint had to be right.  Many ship modelers – great as they are – don’t remember – or perhaps never knew – that old square riggers were often plated with a yellowish brass alloy you may have never heard of:  “Muntz Metal” which is a 60/40 copper/zinc.  Comes up in precision model-making now and then at places like Vintage Billing Boats Cutty Sark – Sheathing the Hull? | Ships of Scale.  Even the bottle version color isn’t presact, depending on how long you want the ship to appear to have been out of water…

Wikth winter almost over, model ship building may be moved to the back burner until the Depths of Hades in the summer. Point is?  Well, we’re talking about Tactility today and how different personality types tend toward certain levels of engagement with their work. Physical – touchy stuff.

Gradations of Fineness

Tactility is somehow in the “decision-tree” even for a simple shop operation, like “Which saw to use?”

When you have a dozen and a half options, picking the right one can take time.  Tactility is usually head-to-head with Time, for me.  If Time is of the essence, it will be a power tool.  If tactile experience is the higher priority, then a hand saw, it will be.  Well, unless there is a quality aspect.

Take those times you have a  general purpose 40-point  carbide 10″ blade mounted in the table saw.  Sure, you can slap on a 240-tooth hollow-ground blade.  But, if the day’s planned work only involves one, maybe 3 fine-kerf cuts, a Japanese draw-knife can handle the job.  But even here, the moisture of the wood can figure into it.  Tear-out of the edges, things like that as you settle into your own “grade of work.”

Punching in holes is a different blend of tactility.  Holes are holes, but it’s the jigging that matters.  Again if Time is driving, off to the drill press.  But more tactile is the Milescraft drill jig or perhaps a pocket hole jig. How about a centering jig for an edge hole, the eyeball with the board?  Ah…touch.

Carries into Hobbies: The Ham Radio Example

Tactility was bouncing between the eardrums this week when…I had noticed tactility recently as I was setting up the radio gear for a higher level of play in that area.  Some radios, like the Icom M710 marine radio, recycled from a Gu8lf shrimper (with a Sel-Call unit for $125 bucks a while back) has very little tactile to recommend it.  Set the channel, adjust volume if necessary, touch the clarifier maybe (receiver frequency adjustment) but rarely is it needed.

Just show up Sunday morning on 3806 around 6aM, grab the microphone and start yelling “Hey Larry! Geoff? Motorman? Alex? Ya’ll around today?  John…is coffee goood?”  Turn on the power and talk. Sip coffee. Get impatient and wonder off shortly after the howdies.

And that’s when I figured out my 60-year love affair with ham radio was really all about tactility.  I can probable afford any radio ever made when comes down to it. (Almost bought a Signal One on eBay this week. But the high-end radios have mostly gone to menus, replacing knobs.  Take the Omni VII.  Yes, it sounds even better than some of the old tube-type gear. Of course! But, in place of knobs which you can fiddle with (it’s an ADHD thingy), it’s all down to software and menus.

This is why on ham radio, you will hear things like somone saying:

“Well on the Kenwood 590S, set your”Baud Rate:”  to “115200” (That’s if you’re running the “S” model because on the SG’s there’s a different default value. Confirm in the TS-590S Menu
No.62 or TS-590SG Menu No.68.”

People never had to do that wityh knobs.  The operator just needed “fiddle to fix this” or “faddle to fix that…”  No soul in button punching/

Other of my “modern gear” is similarly afflicted with menu-itis. Kenwood TS-590S has separate transmit and receive equalizers, which are whole realms of “on the air” fiddle and addle (“How’s that sound, Larry?”), sure. But it’s not the same as having ongood earphones and adjusting the microphone gain and how you are “speaking across the mic” to get really great sound (without popping a pee…er…”P.”.

And talk about knobs?  A whole armload of them on the old RME-6900 receiver!

Or the Dtake 2B with the Q-Multiplier…a perfecrt knob add-on if there ever was one!

And dialing someone in happens before we get to twisting the linear amplifier knobs…Especially fun are the ones with crank handles!

Let’s give spins and eye the meter of the antenna tuner. Another crank! A Roller inductor (coil) crank and two Big tuning and loading dials. Hell yeah!

See it? TOUCH.  Twist, Fiddle, and Play!  Not “poke and pray” for programming.

Twisting Tactility

Ham radio – when somehow it’s the tactility of it all – is a perfect blend of a Morse key tactile and sensory feedback – when pressed key, pressed slightly, dims the lights, makes a loud humming sound as the desk begins to shake…and you can feel the amplifier begin blowing off heat from the pair of 4-400A tubes that are taking the chill of the radio room.  You can feel it.

Until the advent of transistors and (forgive me for saying it) chips, there wasn’t much reason for ham radio at all south of Oklahoma – at least in the tube days – until the dead of winter and then only to take the chill off.

Addiction to Checklists?

In one of my books, I went into the depths of how people can become “Victims of Process.”  And the idea is that humans are “scheduled events” in a sense.  While transceivers (with or without menus) are nice and easy to operate, there is no particular “art” to is.  Point and shoot kinda thing.

Just tuning up the Gonset GSB-100 transmitter involves:  13 listed steps in the manual and “preliminary” which is followed by 5-steps to making sure you’re on the other station’s frequency.  And then 13 more steps to get ready for SSB voice.

And no “power and antenna” is all you need on this transmitter.  Try on wiring on the outside back that routes like this:

Now, Keyboards? Digital modes? Yeah, if you like typing, sure.  But I do that all week. This tactile stuff matters, I tell you.

No sir, for me it’s the tactility of doing that’s the magic. The vibration of the desk as the power supply in the amp loads up.  The sidetone of the raspy (Ne-2 relaxation oscillator) when Morsing around.

Which is why I concluded that a key learning area to get acquainted with on this “ride through life” is nailing down the “My Best levels (and areas) of Tactility” in your life. Some people are in Aikido, others are into tubes that glow in the dark.  Mastering tactility is something, though – that’s a key to a happy (or learning-filled) life.

It goes in the same mental place-holder as finding the perfet angle of heel when taking a big sailboat to weather offshore.  The boat gets “balanced” and will almost tend itself.  Self-tacking jibs are cheating. Jury here (200 m. inland) is still pondering catamorons. (Stiks gets a pass.) Easier to call BS on 8-foot crank-down dagger boards on anything that floats..

Similarly, trimming the plane perfectly, so a slight body lean forward changes the center-of-gravity just so. On a couple of single-engine transcon’s we did just that.  “Are you leaning back, or are we burning off fuel causing us to climb, dear?”

Radios are like that. A weird way of ADHD-oriented skilling. With an onboard A/D converter in your head for Morse code…

There’s a reason old-time hams called the “rice box riders” Appliance Operators  But it’s extensible, see? In the shop why bother with the metal lathe if you have a 3D printer and some sintering filament you can send off to be reduced to an impossible to machine part?  Well, except one is a skill. The other is more a print file and postage.

T/Q Explains a Lot

“Tactility Quotient” has managed to explain a huge swath of observations over 75-years of life that hadn’t previously made sense.

  • Pappy Ure declined several requests (pleadings, really) to take the fire chief’s exam in Seattle.  As the lead captain of a bordering-industrial station, he was “addicted to runs.”  Being “first in” at a fire, going in with an “inch and a half hose” or repairing people injured in industrial accidents so they could be transported.  His T/Q was very high.
  • My son’s addiction to “high speed life” (and the EMS/Fire service) is also due, I think, to his tactility needs being super-high.  I can’t think of any other reason to get out of an airplane at 16-thousand feet.
  • Another uncle – one who rose to #2 in the Seattle FD – I noticed did more (and bigger) projects around his home, the higher he was promoted.
  • And other people – like Jeff Bezos, who I understand had a grand shop, at one time – again, the hands on part of life.

Crazy Sunday Hypothesis:

Simply goes like this:  While religions talk  “father, son, and spirit” kinds of aspects of humanery, there seems to be an  almost “automation-like subsystem” for each “aspect” (or, to Theosophical types, each ray lighting a person’s path).

Could there be a tie-in that goes “Hand work, head work, heart work” – and that all three must be recognized and honored in some manner?

“But how about when a hand work and a heart work merge, as they do in the martial arts?”

Damn-fine question – go ask Clif.  I have a soldering iron to get back to…

The Radio Detective: SR-400 (2)

Works just great. I mean love it!  Almost up to how my SX-101′s play or the SX-111.  Figured out why I got such a marvelously low price when bid-sniped on eBay.  Listen and learn, compadre!

See, many people don’t realize that on a lot of older ham radio gear, there will be a complex looking plug on the back of the (tube type base) on the set.  A normal (8-pin) octal socket was used in a lot of gear, but others like Hallicrafters, Johnson, and some Heathkits tended to 11-pin plugs.  (The 11 pin plugs that look like they should go into an octal plug, but won’t, and still called octals by knuckle-draggers of the ham radio art.  (OCTAL means 8 – like in Ocho!)

The BIG secret *(not to be shared with non-readers, (on the order of Wuoff-Hang level stuff follows) is that a radio usually won’t work without this plug.  Unlike the Wuoff-Hang which is not required for an antenna to work well…

Sometimes The SECRET PLUG dope is even “hidden” in the manuals.  But with the SR400, it shows up in the schematic (below as the ‘accessory plug’) and you can see the jumper from pin 2 to pin 10.  Radio won’t work without it.

Beer on the side says that’s why the SR-400 was so cheap. Now, if I could get the SR-2000 with the same oversight involved…  (This is why we have a magnifier on the 4K display of eBay ham ad pictures!)

So, in place on the bench, see the tiny blue arrow for a hint where the plug goes:

The little red wire tells the radio to listen for frequency information on Pin-10.  If you don’t have the accessory (remote VFO (frequency unit) HA-20, you’ll put that red wire in to the correct plug and you might be in business. (Or, you could let out smoke if you can’t count pins right…)

The key takeaway is to blow up the pictures (not the radio)( on eBay and see if (buying anything) you can spot some potential “easy to fix” solutions.  Who knows, you might be able to turn a $150 “parts radio” into a “working” $500 dollar radio suitable for collectors.

Who don’t know about octal plugs.

Spring’s Coming

This weekend, the first batches of hydroponic seeds go in for the lean-to greenhouse.  If it looks like no frost in the forecast, we will be able to harden them off in 3-4 weeks and get ’em in the ground early.

If we get frost in the forecast? Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Remember, the Chineseum diesel heater is still in place. Only a 5-gallon jug of diesel, a new fuel line, and a priming await to make the greenhouse plantable.  But to buy much more than occasional frost-abatement, cooling in the dead of winter didn’t make sense.

Especially with 32 stalks of romaine under grow lights in the recording studio.

Drop by next weekend for another chapter meeting of Excentrics Unlimited.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net /ac7x

72 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Your Tactility Quotient”

    • Yes, I saw it with my own two eyes, I left the comment yesterday. At first I was wondering if I had a time warp moment and skipped a day.

      • Yeah that happened to me to… went to the kids last night.. all of a sudden their image of what was going on was exactly like my opinion..
        then we played cards..now I never play to be aggressive or competitive I play for fun and family.. never win don’t care if I win.. I was winning ..I did ask did we enter a time warp or alternate universe..lol lol lol

      • Wait, wait … if ShopTalk Sunday is written on Saturday then loaded to server for Sunday well, it’s fake mews. Wha? Is this some spring forward fakery or what? Do we reset clock calendars? I 41 (for one) do not accept this mind manipulation effort so will simply never look until genuine Sunday arrives. You other folks are on your own.

        Back to winter here though our forecast suggests above freezing temps for the next couple suns (not that we can see the sun but). Though many around here are grumping about Phil the predictive rodent, I am glad since the new crystalline snow will insulate our ice cake from above.

        Our lake has an annual winter gathering next weekend and it’s been too long since the pahtay has featured ice games. 7-8 years down our wake the host set up ice bowling and a few more crazy outdoorsey games. I’m setting up SnowQuet (croquet on the ice) and have arranged for the DN Iceboat to make an appearance.

        Maybe a few ice fishermen (the real nutters hereabouts) will also set up fishing holes with gear. I can almost sorta imagine fishing inside a nice heated shanty. The guys sitting on a 5 gal. bucket while hoping to catch fish? Nuh uh.

        Stay warm all. Phil aside spring is coming!
        Always, Egor

        ps – wordslinger : “ship building may be moved to the back burner” and … that’s how models get handed down generation to generation unbuilt. I have two more large America’s Cup yacht models to assemble, and numerous half-hulls to hang but … am not sure Mrs. E is ready for them. Up next? Ranger. The ultimate J Class.

        http://sy-ranger.com/

      • Damn close Elanor – thank you. It’s why rural people are still sane while people in the melee…
        But the actual is: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world” (which I didn’t know until I looked it up… thank you again.)

        • Dude G – youse dont know what Ure missing !

          4-H Mud/Spring sale in Chester County, Pennsyltucky (Downingtown) is an amaze ballz event – Old School farm implements(Horse drawn), Kids& Their Critters Show (s) – the after show Critter auction, the PennsyDutch Foods/Treats, Mennonite & Amish wagons by the hundreds parked alongside road. Food here is off the hook wholesome goodness..cept maybe the ShooFly Pie, a lil sticky sweet for my tastes.

          You jonesing 4 noodles, onions and cabbages, hot and quick like – Haluski! .
          – Pennsy Pollacks and Dutchies agree.. Pennsylvania Dutch Kluski Egg Noodles – a better egg noodle Youse will not find..YUM!

          Whats in Ure Noodles? Are You sure? Do you trust them?

  5. UPDATED 2:46 AM EST SUNDAY — : Egypt MASSING TANKS on the Border of Gaza at Rafah…

    The armored vehicles and tanks are apparently stationed in ‘Zone C’, a designation originating in the 1979 Camp David Accords, the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

    According to the treaty, Egypt is only allowed to station 22,000 troops, tanks and artillery pieces in ‘Zone A’, 4,000 infantry troops in ‘Zone B’, and only Egyptian civilian police & UN forces are allowed in ‘Zone C’.

    By stationing regular troops and even main battle tanks in Zone C, Egypt continues its subtle re-militarization of the Sinai Peninsula, which has gone largely under the radar.

    https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/flash-egypt-massing-tanks-on-the-border-of-gaza-at-rafah

    Nostradamus Sixain XIX (16)
    Six Hundred and five [1605-2010], six hundred and six [1606-2011] and seven [1607-2012],
    It will show us up to the year seventeen [1617-2022],
    Of the pursuit of fire anger, hatred and envy [nuclear weapons],
    Under the olive tree [Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty] for a long time hidden,
    The Crocodile [Egypt] has hidden on the land,
    That which was dead, will then be alive. [State of War between Israel and Egypt].

    https://theageofdesolation.com/nostradamus/2023/10/27/egypt-prepares/

  6. https://youtu.be/UNvxdqS4ll8?si=ylvyT8FmBGwhVwIn

    that’s the guy I love making fresh pasta..

    https://youtube.com/shorts/R514fbJDJOI?si=BRe_jUPUefRqiAc6
    https://youtu.be/-wxoMDSueRA?si=qO5Dn5zkB-fBoK2d

    now I have made rice noodles
    peanut pasta
    and oat pasta
    there is a reason its called comfort food..Made for thousands of years.
    ancient Sumerian and Egyptians were among the first.
    Itriyah: A pasta-like dish from the Middle East made from flour and water, seasoned with local ingredients .. today a similar flour and water dish is snack ramen..
    Laganon: A dish from ancient Greece made from layers of dough and sauce
    Laganum: A type of pasta from ancient Rome made from wheat flour and water, cut into strips, and cooked Nisaba was the goddess of grain writing and taught the value of grain and you guessed it…pasta..
    Barley was used as the first official currency and another old grain..Like the creeping jenny.. it was baked and brewed..Tutankhamun’s Cook Book was written by ancient writings of what was honored in it is pasta.. a version of that dish is still made and loved as comfort food Turkish pasta and goulash are variations. t-hedj was probably the first Taco..
    t-hedj. It was used in hieroglyphs and was represented by a figure with a
    pyramid-like shape. If it was drawn alone or held in a hand, then it
    referred to the letter di and meant ‘to give.

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1349279/1/454702_vol1.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi4hbOQpqWLAxVpJTQIHZHJKvkQFnoECCwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0hSLBwi8nkCuJfeBOPknO0

    • I asked Ai a question I have wondered about for a long time..fresh pasta is amazing ..super good and so much better than store bought..but dam it makes a ton of pasta.. so can you freeze it
      (“Freezing Pasta Dough
      Shape the dough: After making your pasta dough, shape it into a ball or a disc.

      Wrap it tightly: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out and to protect it from freezer burn.

      Place in a freezer bag: Put the wrapped dough into a freezer-safe bag or container. Label it with the date so you can keep track of how long it’s been stored.

      Freeze: Place the dough in the freezer. It can be stored for up to 1-2 months.

      Thawing Pasta Dough
      Defrost in the fridge: When you’re ready to use the dough, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

      Bring to room temperature: Once thawed, let the dough come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before rolling it out and shaping it into your desired pasta.

      This way, you’ll have fresh pasta dough ready to go whenever you need it. Enjoy making your homemade pasta!”)

      make it in the golf ball sized balls or rolls for the pasta press make what you need then package it up and freeze the rest..

  7. It’s a sad day for this Canadian with many friends and relatives in the USA. As US tariffs come crashing down on us and as our leaders prepare to impose crippling tariffs on the US, I know that a lot of economic pain is coming for us both.

    I am old enough to remember what Jimmy Carter did for us while putting his own health in danger over 70 years ago.

    From ChatGBT.

    “In 1952, Jimmy Carter, then a young U.S. Navy officer and nuclear engineer, helped lead an emergency response to a nuclear reactor accident at the Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, Canada.

    The Chalk River Incident
       •   The NRX reactor at Chalk River suffered a partial meltdown due to a combination of operator errors and a mechanical failure.
       •   A power surge caused fuel rods to rupture, leading to radioactive contamination inside the facility.

    Carter’s Role
       •   Carter was part of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine program, working under Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “father of the nuclear Navy.”
       •   Since the U.S. and Canada collaborated on nuclear technology, Carter and his team were sent to assist in the cleanup.
       •   To minimize radiation exposure, the team devised a highly coordinated approach:
          •   Each worker was allowed only 90 seconds inside the reactor to complete specific tasks.
          •   They practiced their movements on a mock-up before entering the contaminated area.
          •   Carter himself entered the reactor room, removing damaged fuel rods and contaminated parts.

    Impact of His Efforts
       •   Carter’s quick response helped contain the situation, allowing the reactor to be repaired and restarted later.”

    I also remember the 1980 hostage crisis in Iran when we helped get Americans out to safety.

    From ChatGBT.

    “During the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979–1981, while 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, six American diplomats evaded capture and found refuge with Canadian diplomats. This covert operation, known as the “Canadian Caper,” involved the Canadian government and the CIA collaborating to safely extract these six Americans from Iran. ?

    The six Americans were sheltered by Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor and his colleague John Sheardown in their personal residences for approximately 79 days. To facilitate their escape, the Canadian government provided the Americans with Canadian passports and identities, while the CIA developed a cover story that portrayed them as a film crew scouting locations for a science fiction movie titled “Argo.” ?

    On January 28, 1980, the six diplomats, equipped with their new Canadian identities, successfully boarded a commercial flight out of Tehran, effectively evading detection by Iranian authorities. This operation not only highlighted the close cooperation between Canada and the United States but also showcased Canada’s significant role in resolving a critical situation during the hostage crisis.”

    Sorry this is so long but as the tariff pain grows over the next few weeks and months, hopefully we can remember the good things we did for each other over the years.

       • 

    • BIC: Don’t despair just yet. There are lots of bluffs and lies from the new admin. Cry in a month if the tariffs are still there.

    • Boy do I agree.. what should have been done is when they outsourced industry and services way back..they should have increased the taxes on US companies that chose to outsource..not the country of Industry..
      the countries that provide our goods and services didn’t originate this..it was greed for personal profits on executives..they in turn took the money that was normally used to support our communities and country and shipped that to other countries. the executives would get huge bonuses..
      chat gpt
      In 2023, the United States imported a total of $3.173 trillion worth of products from around the world. This includes a wide range of goods such as electrical machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and more. The top trading partners for the U.S. are countries in Asia, North America, and Europe.

      Biden screwed up my getting a replacement snow tire… they were made in Russia..great tires but they said no sale in the usa..
      now what will replacement parts on everything come to..will they just say the hell with the usa.
      consider the grid..how much does the usa depend on these countries for fuel..nuclear reactors etc.
      chat gpt
      The United States imports nearly 99% of the uranium concentrate (U3O8) it uses for nuclear fuel. In 2023, U.S. nuclear generators used 32 million pounds of imported uranium concentrate and only 0.05 million pounds of domestically produced uranium.
      The primary sources of imported uranium are Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

      now I thought..push the noodle give out stimulus to keep the economy moving ..use the printed borrowed money to replace what has been destroyed..then figure out a way to keep his station in society.. the default on the federal reserve and our oversized deficit throw the oligarchs to the four winds and destroy the worlds economy .
      start up a national currency digital ..

        • Money serves as a medium of exchange and a measure of value, but it is not wealth itself. True wealth can indeed be seen in tangible products, resources, and the skills or talents people possess. These are the things that have intrinsic value and can directly contribute to well-being and progress.
          Products represent the fruits of labor, creativity, and innovation, while talents are the capabilities and expertise that individuals bring to the table. Both of these elements drive economic growth and improve the quality of life.
          It’s a reminder that while money is a useful tool, it’s the real assets and abilities that create sustainable prosperity.
          Bitcoin is only a number..on a computer server somewhere in the world..Now if they owned a quadrillion peanuts..that’s real wealth.. gold how much gold can you carry..bury it and you end up with another oak island mystery for the future..
          you can’t spend it.. the one selling it to you is the one to buy it back.
          I don’t know what the future holds..but dam from every angle I look at it it seems like a rough road dark path..as long as a digital fart is valued or seen as value ..it will be..
          in 80 there was a similar group..barter group.. the group you traded your services for servivces.
          one ten foot section of the house..the frame was so heavy I could not lift it..I traded my help in cutting three trees down and cleanup for the two guys that needed assistance with the trees.. for their brute strength lifting the wall section..

    • Similarly companies that replace people with robotics each robot should be taxed by how many people it replaces..

    • Apparently there is more bad diplomatic blood than what I would have guessed. I’m curious as to what Canadian tariff will cripple the US ?

      • I don’t believe its bad diplomatic blood… but more of a Marie Antoinette let them eat cake.. Temple University had a great study on trumps bankruptcy..
        Trump is in the B-Club.. he doesn’t want to start from square one..
        “Trump has justified the bankruptcies as ‘an effective and commonly used practice…to restructure a business and ultimately save jobs,’” Lipson wrote. “While that is one reason Congress created chapter 11, the evidence shows that Trump twisted the process to benefit himself, even as the casinos continued to hemorrhage jobs and lose money.”

        What he did is use other peoples money.. yet keep his station in society.. I had astronomical medical expenses.. making less than 4.00 an hour the interest alone was three times what I grossed.. I was forced to make a fresh start.. I had nothing.. now that has followed me my whole life.. the company that put that burden on me did the same thing to save the company from the expenses of the research ..
        When base essential services and products were deregulated and industry jobs were shipped overseas to embellish the wealth of the wealthy lower cost products were available money left the community and employees had to take lower wages. Mom had to go to work putting more burden on the families.. latch key kids was born. their lives conveniently placed in the hands of the local gangs and network television gaming systems were born.
        taxes were raised communities services .. education ..since jobs were sent away the only positions available were ones that required a degree..prices kept going up wages of the executives kept increasing ..multi million dollar bonuses to the top..to keep the budget..ten percent of the people on payroll were full time.. since the basic health insurance and community costs kept going up.. well we will only provide that to those that matter in society..the vicious circle was expanded. now in 90 the nurses made less than five dollars. one hospital decided lets dump the nursing staff and they let the vast majority of them go. I believe it was something like five hundred but am not sure.. they ended up having tonite some back..but still to this day..they have one nurse to what fifteen in a retirement center and five in a hospital and clinical service. you go get X-Ray there isn’t a radiologist doing the X-Ray you have a X-Ray tech that does thousands a week..the tech can read that strip as good as the radiologist they just can’t tell you what they see that’s the radiologists job. I had one insurance policy through the hospital that wouldn’t consider radiologist fees.. their response was is your doctor to stupid that he can’t read a strip..
        shortly after that the hospital decided to be self insured. you get sick your usually unemployed and no insurance.
        all in all the worker was the one targeted .. What Trump did with the Tariffs is targeting the worker once again. to target the industry executives that decide to outsource labor and services.. then he would be targeting his position of the one in charge.. if he defaults on the federal reserve then everything he has is gone.. everyone with money in the bank is broke..yet he wants to maintain his status of one of the wealthiest.. and go head to head with the Bric’s..
        the action of targeting the country’s laborers ..is basically his if they don’t like it let them eat cake moment..
        prices on everything imported will quadruple executives that still want to maintain their status will reduce hours..( that’s what happened when the power company had their last increase everyone lost one hour) since big corporations use the good Samaritan programs as a way to inflate their bank accounts and put more stress on local economies.. and these programs will be reduced..this could be quite a big deal.. been there done that for me..
        What he should have done is tax the corporations that outsource and use robots for production ..then give tax breaks for those corporations that manufacture in the usa.
        the only reason why all the fiat currencies are still good and trump hasn’t claimed default is because he hasn’t figured out how to keep his jewels like Marie Antoinette and let it go its course.
        the only reason we have social security and Medicare is because that money is just like my employer so many years ago that took the money the employees were paying for health insurances and was investing it in stocks and precious metals to gain wealth.. our congress rather than use it for what it was meant for has been giving to big to fail bailouts..in 2008 congress gave billions for manufacturing where they closed plants in the usa and opened plants in other countries..some got over a hundred million in bonuses.. a vicious circle..
        at this point after having morons run the country that have never in their life had to face the real world..its broken..
        the cola was so inadequate that we had to make the deepest cuts I have ever had to make..and I am not the only one..now after targeting the wage earners once again..this could go ballistic..
        we are still on track for wars our strategic reserves have been drastically reduced and prices on just the essentials will soar..
        thank god I am not an edjumificared person and this is just a ranting of an old paranoid schmuck in the wastelands..if I had some real edjumication and a colored paper or two hanging on the wall that wasn’t so.e art by toddlers.. then I maybe could see The logic of what is being done..Right now after the life experiences I have had and being just above the homeless level of society..I see what’s happening in another light..
        danger will Robinson danger
        https://youtu.be/OWwOJlOI1nU?si=7tKpTj26HDlnftpb

      • Canada has let nearly twice the number of known terrorists into the United States as has Mexico, as well as allowing a free flow of fentanyl. Canada has population breeding stats which are similar to ours, yet Canada’s population went from 27mln in 2010 to 40mln in 2020. Their increase in population is not from migrants who’re friendly to the historically-typical U.S. Citizen (OR typical Canadian Citizen, FTM.) The Canadian people are our friends. The current Canadian government is the friend of neither the United States, nor Canada…

      • “I’m curious as to what Canadian tariff will cripple the US ?”

        None.

        They export shale oil and Douglas fir to the U.S. in quantity, as well as a significant number of automobile assemblies and sub-assemblies. They export nothing we can’t get elsewhere, or make ourselves. SYP (Southern Yellow Pine) is a better building material than Douglas Fir, but it is both more scarce and more expensive than the Canadian product. Our treated lumber is nearly all Canadian SPF (Spruce-Pine-Fir) and SPF is nearly all Douglas Fir.

        What Trudumb and the Liberals don’t understand is unsubsidized supply and demand. For instance: Canada has been making brakes for American cars for 70 years. If Bendix, New Departure, et.al. relocate to the United States, they will not come back to Canada, and the Canadian economy will suffer significant, permanent damage. Automobile brakes — a small thing, but Canada has many such small slices of our manufacturing and each one, should they go away, will be a knife-cut to the Canadian economy.

        Canada is fast-heading toward a Conservative government. It can not happen soon enough! I hope the idiots in charge don’t permanently fuck the Canadian People before they’re ousted from power and authority…

  8. My problem with tactile anything is the level of electronegativity in my extremities has fallen quite a bit after 65. I usually have to keep a cell phone stylus tip pen around to make things work. I resisted getting a car with a touch screen until there were none available without one.
    I avoid trying to use the radio in the car now, but today’s music generally sucks and I heard everything on the oldie stations 45 years ago.

  9. BIC : hopefully this ends as a political settlement long before there is any “crashing” stuff. Here in the USA there’s been plenty of crashing lately. Tempest in a teapot? TBD. I’m betting on more sound and fury than substance.

    We, the People of the Americas, have always been there for each other. I dunna think border or trade scuffles will change that. I just changed out the half mast Whiskey Rebellion flag for a Bavarian cousin. Mrs. E chided me for slow change but … the halyard was frozen in at the head.

    Better times are ahead albeit difficult navigation.
    We will get there.
    Egor

    • I sure font understand why the USA is targeting the countries that manufactures our products rather than the top ten percent of the industrial leaders that outsource for interests of their own personal gain..
      shall should be targeted are the industries that would rather ignore the needs of their own communities so that they can be the only ones with prosperity.. it isn’t the with their industrial superiority that is at fault.
      it all looks simple to me..but then who am I.. some sch much in the wastelands that has failed on more Levels than I care to imagine.

      outsource industry takes money out of a community that needs that velocity of cash
      laborers are forced to work at careers that are in standard pay
      putting more stress on the community by seeking assistance through Relief programs meant to assist those suffering cataclysmic events.
      laborers being reminded of their substandard value seek out elements to help them escape the reality of their life struggles
      industry that see their success congratulate and promote their executives through expanded benefit packages and reduce benefits for the remaining laborers.
      laborers seeking a way to be successful succumbed to gambling and drugs to ease the pain of their situation.
      communities seeing the rise of applicants forced to compensate the loss of money in the community by raising taxes and other things which increases the general cost of living for those already struggling.
      its a circle.. only one segment of society benefits..
      https://youtu.be/132XLAomSUk?si=TKvWSlC2dpGjtGX3
      industrial walk through..
      https://youtu.be/WWqGlh94NaM?si=5L3QsnJm8lxlSfBK
      https://youtu.be/mqcoN__f3rY?si=xLhmZFCXQwdLMKW-
      https://youtu.be/z8xv2aGfdyE?si=fU8G8BlpjBbsoxTF

      its not just there hidden in plain sight.. communities left to flounder and die for a others opulence.. if your not involved it doesn’t exist.
      the tax increases should have been put on industries that outsource goods and services not the countries that provide those services.
      just my opinion..

      • “I sure font understand why the USA is targeting the countries that manufactures our products rather than the top ten percent of the industrial leaders that outsource for interests of their own personal gain..”

        BECAUSE THE SOLE FUNCTION OF THIS TARIFF IS TO STOP THE FLOW OF FENTANYL ACROSS OUR NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BORDERS.

        Trudeau and Sheinbaum would rather get in a dick-measuring contest with Trump than do what is right, and would benefit all three of our nations.

        • nope. trump imposed a national sales on all americans in order to raise revenue to offset the mega tax cuts for those who need it least. that’s what the tariffs are all about, funding tax cuts for the rich. on the backs on working americans.

          are you happy about trump’s new national sales tax?

  10. Wonderful, George, to be mentioned in your morning screed. But currently am not a catamoron, although possessed with some real funding it would be easy to accept catamoron lifestyle and today’s great sailing ones (which cost so much but work so well).
    We owned a cat, built by Buddy Ebsen in the late 60’s. It sailed great but had been upside down several times caaught out in too much wind in the channel off Maui. It taught me about the ‘two of everything’ in cats. Thus double the price. That stopped us when we built the current boat, a sort of monomaran. But clever design and light (but super strong) modern construction gives her near cat speed and solid non-rolling performance.
    The one thing that was the deal killer for ‘our’ effort was when the missus read somewhere about the 3 degree thing. When cats reach 3 degrees of heel under pressure they are inherently unstable and have been known to revert to their most stable position… upside down. None of that for her, she said, and any long range cat cruising ideas were thusly in the can.
    Life is good floating and that’s all I care about. HWHL is always the the motto that keeps the fun going.
    Stiks.

    • Why Stiks, I remember as a young man when HWH: meant the Hamilton Women’s Hockey League.
      Then I got married. Number 3 is just finishing training (takes 25 years, so only a couple of months left).
      Elaine once remarked (on our monomoron) thaty “Gentlemen never go to weather’s what the book title said.”
      I had to go easy on her; “At what point did I claim to be a gentleman?”
      Fair Winds and following seas…well, not when the hook’s down, maybe…
      Keel side down…

    • Stiks : though a mostly mono sailor I have owned a wonderful H16 (Hobie 16) Cat and also chartered a few in the Caribbean. A great one-way trip started in Martinique (crazy complex, French port on a Greek owned yacht) to the Grenadines and Union Just N of Grenada). Lots were “feeding the fish” on D1, in a rage sea transit to St. Vincent area. One of the fish feeders kept popping the hatch in cabin sole to dangle feet below the skiff central hull. Took me days to explain what it was for (an emergency exit should we tempt physics (or, psychics?) and roll the damned thing. Still nice to have the deck space … but I sail just one hull nowadays, no spares). Be well, Egor

      • I sailed on a close friend’s 28′ Piver Trimaran. It was roomy., stable, and a lot faster than the mono hulls. I don’t think it was tippy as comparable sized cats.
        I was so impressed with trimarans that I featured them in a couple of my novels.]

      • My dad took over the Hobie Cat sailboat company on behalf of the Coleman Company in 1976. Coleman was hoping to diversify out of camping equipment. Every weekend dad and I sailed out of Dana Point Harbor, honing our racing skills. Started in the lowest rank, and sailed up to the top tier… then I found airplanes.

        During a race I was hanging out on the trapeze while running the jib line… caught some big wind, heeled over, and I went sailing right through the main sail. Turned turtle. The sail was repaired at the factory and we were sailing the next weekend.

        I also took the Hobie 16 with a school buddy into Newport Harbor. Launched the boat with no hull plugs… oops! We pulled the boat up on the sand in Balboa Island, and I walk to the Hobie dealer and bought new plugs. Always a learning experience

  11. One has visions of sugar plum fairies and money falling from laundry chutes all across the globe, wrapped in a cloak of goodness. No Federal Reserve Notes for You!

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/usaid-website-goes-dark-trump-reportedly-plans-shift-agency-under-state-department

    Wondering when the FRN recall and replacement with new RLUSD dollar bills complete with QR codes will ve rolled out this year??????

    Remember, today’s FRN’s are bearer insturments that arent traceable to the degree needed to thwart today’s laundry cycle. Troll’s dont work for free and they only show loyalty to money and power. And Money is energy. And now thats who FRNer’s were…. Ive seen a rhyme somehwere around here…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcoBr3ouN4s

    Flip the switch. Got BTFD dead ahead? Not advice do your own homework

    • Soooo – Youse dont want me to tell them ?

      I do not want to keep a “secret” these days in my old age, they pain me and are a constant distraction – no good!
      So a little peekypeeky at the future..of Moaney, to bee precise, the future of a Satoshi. If you had done Ure homework you would KNOW what a Satoshi is, ..the big news ?

      In the very near future 1 Satoshi will be worth $1 dollar.

      Holy ET spaceships in the Sky GMan!

      You read that right Campers’ – 1 Satoshi will soonly equal $1 dollar.

      * For slow learners, stunods and tubeists (Luddites) there are 100 MILLION Satoshi in a single Bitcoin.

      Frigging cool , no?

      Not impressed, huh? Well then I will not be telling youse about Ordinals – as they are already highly valued over and above regular old pieces of digital tulips…that cost about $100,000 per. Dude you missed that scheisse by several country miles – would be back testing formula (s) used at arriving at that wildly wrong call – pure Ass.

      Never gets old, never gets tired – be here Now with Bitcoin!

      * Sailors note – Mexico/Belize/Guatemala/Honduras/Caribbean – 7 out 10 Sailboats are Catamorons. That is all the Sailing Companys offer down here, like my “trashy” neighbors back here on Placencia lagoon – https://trade-winds.com/

      Write You got the Wind under Ure Tail

      • Environmentally friendly Electric catamarans. So are they building charging stations onshore? Diesel on-boat, or diesel on land. What’s the difference??

  12. Started spring cleaning a little early. I have two rather heavy lawn and leaf bags full of catalogs, magazines, and periodicals ready to go to the curb. While I would be the last of Ure readers to claim that I live in a clutter-free environment, I am slowly moving away from paper deliveries and going to electronic.
    To that end I am going try out some tablet readers to untether me from the desk. I had a small Android tablet several years back, and it was too small, too old, had limited battery life, and I eventually shelved it as being more of a nuisance than supporting lifestyle.
    I am going to try out a newer 10″ tablet that I should be able to access Zinio and Kindle from. Not ready to give a plug yet. OK, I did just plug Zinio. With a 10″ available and 3gb of memory, 64 gb of storage, and no ads for $120, I figured it was worth a try. A case is an extra $20.
    I will probably go back into the garage this spring, and start tossing things I will never wear again, and other useless things. I bought a trunk, last week, for storage for a particular ongoing project, which means I am near maxing out available seasonal storage. Goodwill will be happy to see me, again.

    • When I moved 10 years ago, I had a bookcase full of novels that I just had to keep. But, my failing eyesight made printed books impossible for me to read, and now I’m down to a few reference books, a couple of classic Byte magazines, and the proof copies of my own print books.
      My Kindle, with adjustable font size has saved my insatiable reading habit.
      Most of my former books went to Goodwill. I had a friend, whose hobby was buying signed books from Goodwill, and reselling them on Amazon. He had over 600 signed books there when he passed 2 years ago.

      • I love my ebook reader lol.. I had so many boxes of books that the boss was wanting me to dump them so she could park n the garage..
        I usually have to creatively hide my books and limit how many paper books I have..( I love paper..something about the smell of the chemicals of the paper process and ink..the feel of the page as I turn the pages)

    • I have been cleaning out and throwing out too. Do I need it, do I use it, will I eat it. Nope then it is out. Filled the church’s food box pantry 5 days in a row. Everything taken within 30 to 45 minutes when I checked after running errands. Light bulbs for lamps I no longer own, scrapers left over from wall paper remover from the last house 9 years ago, sprouting seeds from 2011 in the freezer, a plastic sprouted tray never used. 5 bags to Goodwill. So tired of junk and stuff piled everywhere. Got rid of a bookcase and all the books on it. I’m tackling one area at a time…slow but sure. Even put some #10 cans of freeze dried potatoes, onions, green peppers, and carrots in the church box. Freeze dried vegetables float on the surface of your liquid and potatoes are rubbery tasteless things. And I really didn’t need the huge plastic container of split peas from who knows when. I don’t like Spam, why did I buy a case? Why do I have so many cans of stuff I don’t eat?

      • That’s some aggressive de-hoarding. I’m going to hang on to the spare light bulbs. I usually avoid lamps with specialty bulbs. Most of the spares can be used anywhere. I have maybe one nice lamp like that in the garage. I need to try to convert it to a standard bulb, and bring it in the house.
        I may have one or two cans of Spam in the cupboard. I go for variety with canned stuff, albeit heavy on the protein and comfort. If there is something that I really like to eat on sale, I will buy no more than a half-dozen cans. Wolf chili and the high protein Progresso soups come to mind. I have never bought individual freeze dried vegetables that aren’t side dishes. I can see where those would be something to pare down. Having a stock of freeze dried meals is good prepping, but not necessarily particularly good home economics, in times of relative plenty.

        • Lol lol the coffee maker couldn’t be descaled.. I was going through it and planned to harvest some of the components..the wife rolled her eyes and said..toss it don’t you have enough crap already..lol lol lol..

    • For BOOKS, yes books, imo the most perfect reader is a Kindle PAPER WHITE.

      OMG, for my old eyes the type is bright and sharp as can be AND because it uses the old tech of a Twisted Liquid Chrystal Display when you go out in the bright sun, such as to the beach, it is MUCH easier to read than an actual printed book.

      Of course it also has a built in backlight so you can easily read it in a darkened room to.

      For mine I bought for $10 a flip open case, like a book cover, that when you open the case it turns on the Kindle so there is not need to push anything on the touch screen, AND has a flip out stand on the back so you can put in on a table and it is tilted towards you at just the perfect angle for reading.

      Problem? If you are looking for color you are NOT going to get it in this device, it is only a B&W reader but because of that the contrast of the text to background is MUCH higher (and the screen is brighter).

      Also if you want to read complex stuff from the web it won’t do that, it is NOT an internet web reader so you would have to use another device to do that.

      fwiw YOU can send your own stuff to the device, or any book that is out of copywrite, via a portal maintained by Amazon and it will show up on your device, if the wifi connection is turned on, in my experience in less than a minute (you do have to convert what you send to the device to the proper coding, yep even PDF’s have to be converted, but that is easy to do – I have it as a menu item on the display screen of my computer)

      For many books out of copywrite if you poke around the Amazon Kindle book website almost any of them be found for a free download even if the initial search for them only shows “Pay For” versions.

      I wish when Jeff Bezos designed the Kindle they also did a tablet size device that all the magazines and your daily newspaper could have been automatically sent to via your subscription … but alas those publishers wanted nothing to do with changing from hard product (paper) to a common reading device that all publishers could send publications to in the early days since they had so much money invested in their printing plants AND they thought that it would be too easy for competition to their hard printed paper products to enter the market and compete against them.

      Kindle Paper White!! For books it is the best electronic reader out there imo.

  13. ok..since most of them are made outside the usa.. the cost of crackers could seriously go through the roof.. with Ukraine and Russia being the majority of our wheat suppliers.. things could get ugly fast..

    I know it is a cold laminator… which is by basically a dough sheeter…

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7AQKVY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D2VWVMR6/?
    https://www.amazon.com/AMPSEVEN-Stainless-Docker-Roller-Homemade/dp/B07CPP22C5/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?
    there are tons of cracker or biscuit cutters you choose .. I like the small one inch squares

    Butter crackers
    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 teaspoon salt

    1 tsp of baking powder

    1 teaspoon sugar

    1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed ( you can add more fresh butter or some butter flavoring )

    1/2 cup cold water

    A pastry rocker and cracker cutters..

    Bake at 425 degrees roll them thin about an eighth inch. line on parchment paper and bake for about five or six minutes.. salt the tops before baking

    • A local Mexican store/restaurant sells the best crackers in a large tin, the type of can potato chips used to come in, or the Christmas popcorn type cans. Always crisp and fresh.

      • Dam..I wish they sold them here..crackers made in Mexico would have more flour in them.. the ones we have been getting don’t have much substance..they dissolve into mush.. just like the cheap bread.. they reduced the amount of flour..most people don’t realize that’s the difference..grabbing the bag one of each and feel the weight difference..

    • ‘Sky Flakes’ crackers in the plastic box, made in the Philippines, are my favorite. Something about the oil/shortening they use.

  15. IIRC… in the ‘olden days’ of radio most gear was homebuilt. The term ‘Appliance Operator’ applied to anyone who purchased their ready-made radios, knobs and all. So by that definition, Ure an ‘appliance repairman’! (Maytag George?)

    • Depends…

      Some Hallis were available as kits. I’m not sure any Heaths were available ready-made. Are these appliances?

    • Ah, yes. The days long ago when I had a ‘whisker’ moving across the galena crystal to pick up whatever I could find on the airways….

      • My older son and I built (from a kit) a old style crystal radio so he could learn that the “air” was just filled with electromagnetic energy.

        NO battery, no tubes, just a crystal and some other parts.
        You just plugged in the old style plug earphones and could tune around the AM dial listening to the stations.

        I imagine many modern Hams don’t realize that to just receive a radio signal and listen to it you do NOT NEED any electricity from any source … there is enough electricity floating through the air to power the radio and the earphones attached to it.

        Fun build … My son was amazed!

        • That brings back pleasant memories..my father and brother and I made one when I was like five or six..

  16. And one can have a high ‘TQ’ for computers and menus, too. I worked with a station manager who kept her own books and spreadsheets of the station sales, income, and expenses. When new accounting system computer was installed by corporate, she would go thru every menu, every selection, and test each function to her satisfaction. Talk about a ‘Menu Tactile Quotient!’ After a few months of functioning on the new corporate accounting system, she discovered it was making errors when compared to her self-kept spreadsheet books. She called the computer system customer service and explained the problem she found. The first question the customer service agent asked her was, “Why would you do such a thing?” (Keep separate books). The agent said he would get back to her when he got an answer. She dutifully reported the problem and details to the corporate CEO. She never did hear back from the software company, but two months later, upon query, the CEO told her not to worry about it… it had something to do with tax accounting and assigning things to different accounting categories. The tap-dance never satisfied her, and she remained convinced the accounting company was skimming the books… but she let it go and never brought it up again.

    • Early in life when I worked for one of the Big 6 accounting firms (now there are only 4) while out on an audit I fished up my part early one day and while waiting for the other accountants and our Manager and Partner to finish their work I had some time to kill so I just started adding up the detail ledger for a couple of accounts to match against the master Trial Balance of the Income/Expense statement. Good 10 key practice.

      OMG … the totals of the details expenses did NOT MATCH the master Trial Balance. I redid my work twice and it clearly did NOT match.

      Well I got our manager on the job involved to check my work, then the Corporate Controller, then the Corporate Treasurer … before we went to dinner (nice place the Treasurer was NOT cheap!) everybody was scratching their heads … and the Corporate Controller who was one of the best in the US was in a tizzy (had been the Controller for Gannett but after a decade of that and two heart attacks left that because of stress to move to a smaller firm that we were doing the audit of, though Gannett kept calling trying to get him back) .

      The corporation was using the top of the line IBM software package for it’s financial accounting … so how could this happen?

      Over the next few days a flurry of phone calls, software testing by the Accounting Firm’s home office tech people AND IBM’s tech people a software flaw was found to exist in the very very expensive IBM accounting software (which had been out for nearly a decade). HOW IN THE HELL could IBM be leasing out an accounting software package (at tens to hundreds of thousands a month) that had a basic computational software flaw in it?

      Anyway the Accounting firm sent out an emergency memo worldwide to all of it’s office to modify the auditing procedures done until IBM could fix their software.

      Lesson? Do NOT automatically trust any computerized accounting system!! Sometimes old paper, pencil, and a 10 key will give you a more accurate read of what is happening.

      (later in life won a couple of smaller cases against Fortune 500 companies because I caught flaws in their computer data output that they didn’t know were occurring)

      • Excel has the same flaw, I tally 2 sets of numbers, one an actual entry, the other, a double check column with a state and city sales tax formula calculation.

        Simple number × .0825 and the totals in both columns never ever equal.

        Then I go to the state sales tax reporting site and that gets a 3rd number that does not match either of the first 2!!!!

        Since I cannot override the state’s computer calculations, I am forced to go with their number.

        So, yeah, I am an ole 10 key person, plus long-time personal check book keeper, would not work for me!!!!

        Billions and billions of pilfered cents!!!

  17. Sorry to post this a few days late, being it is “shop talk” if you happen to run a computer repair shop, it qualifies. With respect to your Win 10 i7 unit, if the processor meets the SSE4.2 and PopCnt requirements, you should be able to do an in-place upgrade using a Win11 24H2 ISO file, keep all of your data, apps and settings for free. Go to Option 2 and look.

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-upgrade-your-incompatible-windows-10-pc-to-windows-11-in-2025/

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