Mindless ramble podcast
No intro/outro music, just me jabberin’way,,,, Enjoy,,, Mirrored on my sub stack
Backstage at the Workshop
I must admit, there is a certain amount of ‘discomfort’ for me, when it comes to this podcast thingie,,, I have never been one for the limelight: thats why I chose the support field of Audio Production over ‘bein’ on stage’.
strange, productive and strange
gonna start this off by admitting that son of bossman tossed me a bone,,, a little extra on the paychecks. not an insubstantial amount, (though not near what I could be making in a better location, I will say that, but “BETTER”}
And I had to take a short day yesterday because our gas supplier screwed up and dropped us a tank of Tri-mix. 90% helium, 7.5% argon, 2.5% CO2. A TIG welding gas, not MIG. And boy howdy did my MIG hate that shit. I managed one bead and knew something was off. checked the bottle and made the call. Luckily, today was our normal delivery schedule and they made good on bringing my normal refills and replaced that bottle with the ‘right stuff’. I would love to TIG our stuff, but its not profitable for us to use TIG. and its galvanized stuff so quick and dirty MIG is the best way to go. We used to braze this stuff and that went through the roof around six years back. A 10# box of rods for brazing went well over a Benjamin and boss man was livid. I made the suggestion of MIGing everything and Son of Bossman agreed, and even told me later that the MIG had paid for itself in less than 6 months in what it saved them.
They have done well enough that they bought a new Miller-matic 210 dual voltage unit and that thing is just the bees knees in my world. Made for welders, by welders with all the bells and whistles you could ask for and MULTI-PROCESS so I could TIG with it. I have Stick welded with it and its just as smooth as a MIG weld if I crank the amps up (Like you should to some extent.) It even has dual gas ports on the back side: one for the MIG, and the other for TIG. Son of Bossman has mentioned that he wants to buy the gear to do TIG, but I just can’t see the oldman parting the purse strings for that at this point. and not much need anyway. (but it would be nice to weld our aluminum gates instead of ordering them when needed,,,, Just not much demand of them right now.)
Came home, did some logistics with B for the upcoming weekend. We are not only having a get-together of KrazzeeKayakers, we are building him an ergometer too. GOOD, He is my race buddy and I want him conditioned for doing that 13 mile run as well as me. As long as all the parts are in order, it won’t take but a few hours to rig it up, and get things tuned for use. The second version only took me a few hours and we have mine to copy from. easy peasy.
but today FEELS weird. I mentioned that. and its nothing I can put my finger on. Just odd. Strange weather blowing in? I know ol Arthur was bugging me yesterday mornin’; but not today. We either have a lull in winter on top of us, or we are in for a flippin’ heatwave,,,, But I think the bone chilling cold is away for a bit (February is usually our IceBox month,,,, followed by cold wet March and flooding,,,,)
Dunno.
again, it may be that lack of sleep thing, but this time, I have a culprit. GRIZZYKAT!!!!! That little bastard was bouncing in off my head about once an hour last night, yowling about “its Rainin’ Da!!! Makes it stopS!” *sigh*. Rained off and on all night, but didn’t really get cold. I think the night temps actually came up a couple of degrees. It’s January and I did NOT have a fire, two nights in a row,,,, whoa!!! (I do tonight, but mostly to knock down a ‘damp’ house feeling, and the temps are supposed to drop into the low forties tonight.)
Maybe THAT is whats got me feeling ‘off’,,,,
Totally ignoring the world at large right now. don’t want to spoil the vibe I am building for the upcoming weekend. If there is something about to blow up, LET IT. I’ll be cool on my little island of friends, playing with boats and toys for boats,,,,
Oh I SO WISH,,, purrrrrrr!!!! Not to be YET,,,
And the world turns on
I’m actually in a fairly good mood today. Took Blue Jean to Laurel Lake and put a few miles on. Several broad reaches across wide open water: quarter mile and half mile types. Then the sea-doos and yayhoos started running amok, and while I am well used to the waves, what I could never get over is being ran over by one of those fast movers, and from the way they operate, I don’t think they watch FORWARD too well. Saw one fast mover catch air off a wave and the way he landed, I don’t think it was an intentional ‘jump’. No thanks, I’ll get my narrow long self off the water and let y’all play. I had a few hours of goodness out there.
Came home, and took the new to me boat back on the river for small spell. Last night, talking to B, decided to try moving the seat position back a notch (1″) and see if that slows down the turning transition in her. Not that it was out of control, but I had to make a lot of corrective strokes to keep her in line, Moving things back did seem to help ‘some’, but I think the nature of the boat is for that sort and nothing else. A boat I have to grow into,,, That ain’t a bad thing.
And kittehs,,, The boys are off sowing their wild oats. Grizzy finally hit his hormonal levels, and is staying out all night now. Haven’t seen him or Zooms in two days, with the exception of a few minutes in the wee hours last night: Grizz came in around 3 am and greeted me/demanded more food in the bowl. I’m hoping the little rat will keep out of trouble, but he is a Tom, with the gear, and I know better. He’ll get his butt kicked and come home to be tended to for awhile, then when he gets that urge again, back at it. I know that one day, one or both of them won’t return home because they went ‘too far’ and met an end. I could ‘alter’ them, but after the experience with Voodoo and his alteration, I swore I would never subject another animal to that travesty, no matter what, and all the ‘its better for the animal’ arguments, won’t sway me an inch,,, IF God had intended them to be ball-less and hormone neutral, he’d have made them that way: Who am I to think I know better. The only argument that might sway me is the “so many homeless pets”, but when all of my pets have been abandoned by others,,, That argument is bunk as well. My boys have a good home, if they chose to stay here 24/7 and its far enough out that their efforts will be few and far between in success, so even that argument doesn’t hold a lot of water with me.
ON THE HOME FRONT,,,, As if I needed any more incentive to want to move from my location,,,, Who ever said that God doesn’t have a sense of humor. One rather like my Da’s: Morbid and twisted, but kinda funny after the fact. The property next to mine was owned by one cousin for years. He never did a danged thing to it. There is an old abandoned house on it that finally succumbed to gravity a couple years back (after a couple of poplar trees had grown through the roof). 3 acres, mostly returned to a natural state.
Well, Seems Cuz 1 needed cash in a bad way. Cuz 2 just sold a house in a neighboring town and wanted to buy something ‘closer to his roots’. Doesn’t sound too bad so far does it? Problem is, Cuz 2 is a wastrel, and his kids are known thieves, and there have been several instances of him and Ol’lady having rather loud and intense squabbles that usually involve police. (and this area is on the edge of two counties, so jurisdiction gets questioned or shunted off a lot, and State Troopers have to pick up the slack. Time to response is usually measured in HOURS and occasionally in DAYS unless a body is involved.)
For the first time in seven years, I started locking my house and shed. I had to shift some things around in the shed to store the tools I used to keep on my porch for working on kayaks. I’m locking my truck and its tool box up, at home, where I used to not worry about such. (I had to dig through keys to find the door keys, if that says how comfortable I have been leaving my place unlocked. Not anymore,,,)
He moved a fifth-wheel camper in last night, says he is going to build a house there. He is a masonry guy, but knowing some of his history, I see that camper becoming ‘the house’ and a shed or two added in to spread the family around, but a house??? Not so much. At best, I expect him to lay a block foundation and move in a trailer, maybe. Yeah, its family, but being family does not automatically earn respect, it only gains you forgiveness others would not be given. This particular case has, in my opinion, worn that forgiveness paper-thin. Also, my opinion: He and His are the epitome of “White trash”,,, I don’t hold it against Cuz 1, but danggit, my little corner of the world just shifted in a bad way, and I don’t like it.
At least I don’t have to worry about him or his stealing my kayaks. There is no way they could sneak them off this hill without passing 4 places that would see it. It’s the little stuff like tools and computers that I worry about. And the pets. Not sure how the brats will act around animals that aren’t people shy.
Elsewhere is sure looking damned good to me right now,,,, And I don’t even know where that is,,,
But I am still in a better mood than I was 12 hours ago. Water therapy is a wonder,,,, Wave actions do amazing things to lower back pain too.
Straits of Meh!
So here we are, The Good Ship Dio’s Workshop, aground, rudder fouled and rigging shot through by ScamDemic fallout. First Mate Voodoo is running about 30% both physically and mentally, and the passengers, Grumpykat and her boys, are wondering when we are going to hit a good port of call, not this barren mess they see off the bow. The WindGenny (called J.O.B.) is moving enough electrons to keep the bilge pumps running so the lower holds aren’t flooding, but not much more. We may be aground, but we are not sunk, so there is still hope of better to come.(and the corollary of that: could get a shit ton worse, but we’ll strive for the better.)
TIme for Cap’n Dio to strike out land-bound and get a lay of the area, maybe see if any of the charts we have on hand match what I see. Currently I am looking at a peak on this shoreline; a peak I am calling mount WTF!!! and I will head there to get a better view horizon to horizon. Maybe there is a way off this rock yet.
We all make choices, some times those choices work for us, other times against. Some of my choices, solid when made, did not hold up to current events or the black swan of a purpose made virus and the gullibility of sheep. Nor were my choices made with the idea that maybe, the federal government would make the same stupid fricking mistakes it made in the 1920s and collapse an economy. If you aren’t feeling it yet, stick around, you will. While I knew the economy was tanking, I missed the ‘slowly, then all at once’ aspects of things. And I admit, I floundered in the good times of Trumps economy. When I should have been sticking to my guns, I started playing a bit more than I should have.
Went to a local grocery store, one where I am a regular and have a decent rapport with the manager. They were in the middle of a floor renovation this last week. Took out one entire row of shelving, split the remaining rows in half and ‘added’ a middle walkway through them. I asked what was going on (this is not a big place) and was told, byt a regional type working there at the time ; “we’re remodeling to bring the store up to date”. Talked to the manager as I was leaving and her response was “they cut the shelving down to make it look like we have more stuff. Too many products we can’t get anymore.”
Think this is going to wrap up with some Selection cycle? I think not.
I personally think this is just the top of the hill and that the snow is still falling while the ice shelf below the snow is creaking frightfully. I haven’t paid much attention to what the markets are doing the last month or so, but I would say that they look a lot more shaky than that ‘To Infinity and beyond” shit they have been doing since 2008.
Choices. I have some choices to make and sooner than later. You all know one of them and that one keeps getting put off; I won’t go into details of that right now. Another choice is to take one of the several offers I always have laying around, but there is that ‘grass is greener’ thing, that is never the case. One master traded for a different master is still being owned by someone else. And that is where my angst with all of this is laying. I don’t WANT another J.O.B.
I’m getting a view, and looking for some landmarks to shoot an azimuth for: Figure out just where the hell I am currently. Maybe I can get something to make sense on the Straits of Meh.
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I wrote the above yesterday afternoon, and scheduled it. Between then and what you are reading now, I chanced upon this post by Sarah at the Mad Genius Club. This is her group of fellow writers and a hella resource for up-n-coming writers (such as meself) so may not be for everyday reading for most peeps, but is on my daily check out. With all the fun and games of fouled rudders and no bearings on upside-down charts, I missed this post the other day.
Let me face one fact, right up front: My problem right now is as simple as this: Depression. Yup, I’m feeling more than a touch depressed right now, between Dawg, finances, and lack of relief by kayak/camaraderie of friends, I hit my slump. What really tipped the scales was seeing my tax documents for the year,,,,, No need to share that figure, but it was quite a bit lower than I expected, to the tune of ten grand lower.
Soooooo,,,,,, I read Sarahs “Be the unicorn” and sat back and thought about things a bit. She’s right!!! In my mind, (and it’s something I work hard against) I am so flipping average as to be flat boring. Its a self image thing, one reinforced over decades by some that would have me be ‘just that!”. High school counselors, some of my teachers, a few acquaintances that I thought were friends, all fed the self-image that I am not worth the mould that God made for me.
*cough* Look out on your porch at those kayaks YOU built, Dio. Look on that book shefl where the books YOU wrote are sitting, Look at the ‘me wall'(I can’t, its in boxes still) with pictures and backstage passes from all the years touring with ‘rockstars’. Look at the White House Communications Citations from 2004,,,,,,,,,,
No, I am not average, no matter what my self-image is. I may not be that wildly successful person that my Da wants of me, but, DAMMIT, I’ve done shit,,,, DO SHIT, that ‘average’ people only dream of. (and thats part of why I don’t want a J.O.B. I have enough skills and talents that I should be able to make my own way without the ‘one good day job’.). And with the writing thing, I may be way behind on ‘paying my dues’, I am quite aware of that, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it pay SOMETHING, in the meantime. I am no Terry Pratchett, nor Heinlein, but I can spin a tale, and get people to forget about things around them for just a few minutes. Thats not ‘nothing‘.
Still, I need to get my bearings. Things are changing in the world, in my world, and seriously, after seeing that W2 for 2021,,,,, No, that shit can’t stand. I did ‘alright’ seeing how I am not buried in debt, but that level of income does not bode well for moving forward either. As I stated above, the J.O.B. has been keeping the bilge dry, but sure isn’t powering the radar or GPS or the radio in the Goodship Dio’s Workshop.
NO, This is NOT a bleg for donations. If you feel the need to support me in anyway, buy some of my books and give them out. I would much rather that than someone sending me ‘sympathy monies’. (Sarah had a special case and as many donators said, they were just returning the favor of good work provided non-gratis, previously. I know I am not in that boat, yet. )
I’ll be working on that ‘getting my bearings’ for a bit-while yet; I don’t jump just because it looks good; I like a certain amount of insurance/assurance as well. (and no, OhioGuy, the lottery ticket DIDN’T Pan out, or this depression would be kicked like a bad habit.). I’ll keep posting, just wanted y’all to know that I ‘feel better’ now. Knowing is half the battle, Right GIJoe?
Not happy
Sorry for the lack of posting, been busy, its cold, and days are short, so I squeeze in what I can while I can. Staying up on the latest outrage of the FRAUD is at the low end of that list (but I do keep a weather ear out for sudden shifts in tyranny to make sure I am not caught broadside)
Trying something a little different with the kayak. Its not new; others have done it and reported good results, but I am not happy with what I am seeing. Ok, gotta bring y’all up to speed here. In both Serena and Duh!kee, I used a two part polyurethane system from Spirit-line. Good results, but it can be finicky about repairs and re-finish. Most people just ‘deal’ until such time as its time to re-skin. Well, this time around I chose to go with regular spar varnish and pigment it like I do the two-part (very successfully at that).
MEH!!!
It soaks into the fabric very well, maybe better than the two part stuff does (less solids, more carrier solvents). and it takes pigment pretty well too: nothing separating out when it gets on the fabric. BUT,, That finish is totally lacking any luster or appeal. Its a smooth satin and I had to double check to make sure I hadn’t picked up a satin varnish ( ( didn’t, its high gloss). It looks ‘Okay’, but it certainly lacks the ‘POP!” that the two part gave to Serena.
*sigh*
And I am to far along and committed to a system to make the change to the other. Heck, once that first line of coating went on, I was committed with no recourse for correction.
But I will not be using it again.
And I already told myself “Self, you shoulda tried it on a peice of scrap FIRST”. Self responded that at the price I am paying for spar varnish, I was committed to the system and a test strip would have done little to my resolve. Both selves are right. I would have found a use for the spar varnish elsewhere, but at $18/qt and I bought a gallon, I was determined to use the crap on this boat. Should’ve stuck to ‘tried and true’. Live and learn, and I did learn and won’t be repeating this little screw-up.
Honestly, it looks like I painted the hull with a satin house paint, not varnish. Blech!!!
On other fronts, I have a 2 gallon pot of chicken parts stewing on the woodstove, and will be adding my dumplings in tomorrow after I skim out all the bones and other inedible parts. That will keep me fat and happy for a week. And the Kittehs are digging on the ‘other parts’ that they were given. Grizz is especially fond of the livers and did something out of character for him: He growled at Mamakat when she went sniffing at his share.
It’s winter, chicken n dumplin’s are winter food and after a week of Chili, I needed a change-up. (but DAMN that last bowl of Chili was EX-SEE-LANT!!!).
May have a winter paddle forthcoming with B. Watching weather and if things look stable, we are planning on a day trip out in the frosty cold waters of somewhere here local. Maybe my fugly boat will get to make her first trip. Even though the ‘paint job’ is shitte, there were a lot of cool features added in that I really want to try out. That hard deck, the bulkhead foot brace and a slight shift in the hull design. Yeah, I should make one change, try it out then incorporate it into another boat with another change: thats proper protocol when doing things like this, but then, I am anything but a proper kayak designer. I figure if any one of the changes is bad, I will know right up front seeing how this is ‘almost’ the same boat that I started with. (same length and beam, new ribs but same profile other than less rocker, which is a change I do know the results of.)
Ok, Grizz figured out I am seated and not moving, so its lap time for him. I’ll post more soon.
addled mind, addled day
I really need to start working on a full time internet access point here at the homestead. I sat down to write no less than four posts today, and the lack of internet access ruffled my feathers enough that I just gave up. Its later in the day and the signals have settled down enough that I can now write,
Something.
Certainly not any of the posts that I tried to write earlier since they were blown out of the water before leaving the dock,,,
BUT,,,
I wasn’t sitting on my duff doing nuttin’ all day. Been quite busy as you will see. I had that coaming about 2/5ths done last night, and today was spent ‘putting the polish’ on it. Mostly warping wood so that it followed curves.
This isn’t so much woodworking as sculpting. Each piece glued into place, then rough shaped with a flap-disc, a non-orbital sander to follow up and knock down the rough marks, followed by hand sanding of three grits to get baby butt smooth. I even went over it with some double aught steel wool to get that silky feeling to the final surface before a light wetting down with water. Another round with the steel wool when that was dry, wipe down with a dry cloth, and ready for varnish. I am not going to forget that lesson of needing a middle-man with fiberglass/resin.
I even put two of my skirts on it to make sure things were good to go. The XL deck skirt fit best, but the L deck went on too, with only a little bit of a fight.
And here she is in all her glory with linseed oil soaked frame and hard-deck coaming under varnish. I will do the glass later this weekend, or even over the Christmas break (between family events).
I just noticed that there is a plethora of dust on that gunwale and it looks ‘dry’. It isn’t, just looks that way with all the dust on top. Wiped down, it is just as dark as the fore gunwale.
Glass, final coat of varnish when that is cured and sanded, then SKIN TIME.
Ordered my two-part but it looks like it won’t be shipped till after Christmas. That means that I may not have this kayak finished until sometime in the New Year. Depends on when I get that goop. Skinning it won’t be that rough, but I don’t want the skin sitting there getting dirt on it while waiting either. It will be a situation of skin it, shrink it, and goop it up as fast as possible. Don’t want any fish-eyes in this skin like Serena had. (no one ever said anything about them to me, but I saw them EVERY DANGED TIME I was around that boat. kind of irritating.)(and with kittehs running rampant and bored by foul weather, even the best efforts would end up with dirt and gunk on it if I let it sit around for more than 5 minutes. That was my biggest problem making that coaming: Grizz kept wanting to help and with Cyanoacrylate, that was NOT going to be a good thing. yeah, I used quite a bit of superglue putting that coaming together. Better that then the alternative of wood glue and needing days to set up. The bond is tougher than the surrounding wood and I ‘filletted’ the joints with sanding dust to add strength. I can pick up the kayak by the lip and not hear any creaking or warnings of something about to give: She is TOUGH.)
It’s getting dark out there now, and supposedly the temps are going into the basement tonight. (cloud cover usually keeps them steady, but the forecast is near freezing by daybreak. Lovely,,,,). SO, I need to start getting the wood stove ready, just in case. (if temps hover over 45, I leave it alone and dress accordingly, otherwise, I am opening every door and window by 3am to cool the house down and not kill pets or myself.) and now you know where all those little end-cuts and shavings and what not that happen when building a kayak go to (and why I prefer building them at this time of year, besides the fact that the water is witches teat cold,,,)
More tomorrow as I catch up and maybe one or two of those blasted out of the water posts will make a come-back.
Dio's Workshop 