Trying to kick the sleepy leg over the saddle.

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It is, again, time to ride. I still have limitations. I still have a decent wound. And I still have a ton of business other than my business to do. But it is not only time... I am feeling a very strong urge which in truth I must temper... but everything is back in place for me to begin.

This is never easy. Like grabbing a snake with 4 bodies, heads, and tails, what lies before me is something I cannot seem to get a mental grasp upon and so am never sure quite where to begin. With the kitchen open again, though, I started with the dishes. All but a few that need to be rewashed and dinner items have been washed. I will finish those last before I rest tonight. Laundry will be started, though I will simply pick it up in the morning. Call it a primer to get the pump working in that area. The tools and spare parts I could not return or did not return, are being shuffled into their spaces, as I figure out where they should go anyway. And I am about ready to pick up where I left off in sorting out the kitchen.

I have a spare set of silverware to clean, dry and store. It has it's own storage box, which holds the utensils themselves, along with a host of additional pieces that came with the set. All need to be washed, dried, and stored. I have a number of boxes opened and the items have been sorted to a degree. Measuring cups to china, baking wares to butter dishes. Pots and pans boxes are yet to be opened and sorted. I am hoping I can wash and put away all that is opened and the silverware set in one day and to the pots and pans on the next workday. Sorting by use and then storing as logically as I am able. Some things, of course, will need to be rearranged as the kitchen becomes more functional and I get a better handle on where to store various items. But a beginning must start somewhere, even if it happens to be based on theory initially.

My hand, now, has pretty much closed solidly. There is still a scab about 1/4th to 1/2 inch long and 1/8th inch wide remaining. It is healing, of course, in the reverse of how an onion peels out. The area is solid, swelling still occurs to varying amounts, and it is limited in movement currently. It feels like I have another knuckle there, and on the wrong side of the hand. Though I do not think it wise to begin using it fully, I think it is time to attempt to rehabilitate it. The gyroscopic device, the little one, is what I will be using. I may only use it in that hand until I regain some strength in it. My right hand is already way overpowered in comparison, and it has been being worked exclusively and a good deal on top of that.

I cooked brots and chorizo on the grill tonight. I way overcooked them. It was better than undercooked but a flop. It served some meat, filled a hunger, but I will probably toss them. Nothing like biting into dry cardboard looking hotdogs. I will have to watch this much more closely. That grill cooks very fast, much faster than I thought possible. I will learn. For tomorrow, I pulled hamburger, ribs, and a roast out. I am going to try and cook them on the grill. I will ask my friend if he wants to come over for the event. I am guessing it has been a long time since he went to a 4th of July celebration. Not that I have decorations, all the fancy salads and deserts, or hordes of zombie nommers over (though I hope to have some of each of that when I get more set up). But, for a couple of rough and tumbles, it should do well. Hmm, I need to remember to get sour cream. Oh, and toilet paper, a variation of the cat food I have (I think she is getting bored with what she has... fair enough), two gallons of milk, and... something else or three.

I had hoped for Church today, but I never did find my shoes, I have little in the way of clean clothes, and I was and am just plane tuckered out. I did little, and it was a cool day, but I needed and still need some rest. It will happen, and it will happen sooner than late. If people do not understand that I am currently stretched over my limits and pushing harder than I ever have even been able to stretch without certain medicine, God does know. Will that buy me a break? Only Christ can give that. I certainly do not deserve it, but I do not deserve any break at all, anyway. That is why I HAVE a Christ, a Savior, a Lord. Still, yes, I know... I know!

I will see what can be done tomorrow. A little work before I call my friend, clean up pretty much right after our meal, and perhaps some or all of the opened boxes fully unpacked and washed, dried, and put away. As well, laundry throughout the day to get me back into duds. I still do not have much of a wardrobe, as much of it is still packed. Pieces and parts have shown up from here and there, but little of that has been washed yet. A two week supply of clothes can be tight in a busy schedule and... I keep waiting to have a big enough load to wash while it turns out a big enough load is more than I have to wear! Doh!

And lastly, today, while thinking about it and with the time finally just right, I called my lady friend. We have been playing slow motion phone tag for... a month now. She called, I called, she called, and finally I caught her awake and able to talk. We caught up on each other's lives, discussed weather and a bit, but neither of us are real phone talkers while she is not really a talker at all in any case. One thing she did say that stands out is her emphatic resolution that she will not move again. Well, okay, and? As well, for being emphatic... it was not, really, strong, at all. She should know by now that I read between lines like a laser beamed lawyer and can toss a logic rock between the eyes of a scared running rabbit at 100 paces. Yeah, I got that. And no, unless she wants to stay here a while as she finds a place of her own to stay. BaAM... Sometimes I have it, usually not. (Blond at Any Moment)

Well, that is all. I think. Mostly. Probably. Okay, it is not, but it is what I have on tap. Go, now, and heal thyself... or find a small animal to pick on. Here... kitty kitty kitty. See ya.

A question.

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Okay, dishes are about to be cleaned, laundry started, and life is probably going to go back to when I first moved in. Cleaning up, unpacking, and taking care of standard business is now, again, at the top of the heap and I am raring to go. Further, I have a hike or three plotted out, so even "leisure" events will begin again, and on top of my now regular visits with my friend. But, there is something more I wish to get going, something that is one of the focuses upon which I based my move, the purchase of a home with land, and such. Getting set up for the long haul in a bad or worse or worst case scenario.

It has been a while since I looked into food costs, storage materials, the methods of all of that. I am now in a house and, it came to me today, that it is time to begin loading up, as little or as much at a time as I can do without damaging the other parts of my life. It would be great if I could simply spend every dime I have on food storage, alternative energy forms, a well, and whatnot, and then sleep until the next payday, but that will not do. Even if I could, it would be a slow long road to... to what? You can never be fully prepared for any incident. It is difficult, even if everything stayed simple, to keep a simple home fully updated and functional. Trying to prepare for the worst, even with vast fortunes, would end up being a lick and a stitch, hoping everything was tended.

So, buying smart, storing well, thinking, and learning beyond those is the key. So, to find the best places to begin buying food, storage buckets, and to begin discerning need from want and yet include some want for sanity's sake. I have that link in my wisdom corner. And I will go there. But if so and whositz has been keeping updated links for the best prices, delivery, and advice, that would now be good to share with me. I am finally in a place and time where these things mean something and are attainable. I can store bucketloads of buckets now. I can store this, that, and the other thing. I can set up a wheat grinder when I get one. Heck, I can probably turn certain areas over to whole processes. I know my back covered insulated (but still a) porch will become my meat processing area, for sure. It will probably be where I process anything in bulk, large jobs being easier, cleaner, neater, and more isolated as well there.

It is time for me to begin homesteading, I guess one might say. Growing and harvesting wheat? At least a little soon for that, if I do get to that it will be a summer or two further along. A well? No money for that quite yet either, let alone the water rights first. Goats too, and many other things, processes, and livestock are just too much atm. But food storage I can, should, and feel the URGENT need to begin. So, any help would be appreciated.

Oh, right, you might want evidence.

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I picked 5 mostly random articles. I did some deselecting of articles based on the authors, who have 'hopes for modest' growth. They were written by people who a.) did not see anything bad coming in the first place, b.) did not think what had started to happen was anything but a blip, c.) believed a few months, weeks, or even days ago that we were in economic recover, sorry, but they have nothing to add here. These articles, often, do not always describe any projections. They simply describe what is happening, perhaps some of the why. Others project a bit. But in truth, none of them want to go too far in projection. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE. WE ARE OFF THE ECONOMIC MAP. THEY SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW WHERE, WHAT, WHO, WHEN, OR HOW AND HAVE NO MEANS OF DECIPHERING THAT.

The first piece is about Obama's most recent political home state. If it has nothing to do with him directly. It does explain his political notions if you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear though. This is a middling state, neither really rich or poor, neither purely blue collar nor white collar, neither really big or really small. It does, however, have one of the most powerful "Democratic" political machines in the nation, "bested" only by California and New York City, probably. Well, go read on the uptick of having such a fine machine working for the people, the little guys, and such.

Stocks, bonds, bears, bulls, and liars, oh my! No, Dorothy, we are not in Kansas any more and ruby slippers mean jack squat. Times are tough all over. It might be time for high fliers to take short walks out high windows again, though we will see. I guess suicide is for people so addicted to what they have that they cannot see the value of life? Well, that and for those too ill in other ways as well, as I should know. (Do not go there, you might lose everything and will gain nothing.) Anyway, this article gives you an idea of where our private sector is, shows where our financial concerns are headed, and offers no real projection. I think the author is afraid of heights and he is writing about a view only two stories up!

Ah, next is what an incompetent, leaderless (real leaders), corrupt, broken bureaucracy is about to bring a people who are on the financial brink. This is sure to revitalize the economy and put a smiling face on every man, woman, and child from sea to shining sea. You may thank your dear leaders with emails, postcards, and smileygrams! So many happy little socialists who are out of work because they "believe" are going to be so happy to receive the blood money from those who still work. It is just cheery.

Perhaps this is only one school system. Though I think not. The corruption, poor educational systems, unsound methods, and unions have brought this. Oh, I suppose I should not discount political correctness, ignoring sex differences, or any of the rest, but the list is so long if the architects, in truth, are rather few. Now, however, everyone in those systems is a part of it, and even if they wanted out there is nowhere to go. Even private and parochial schools have been infected by the malicious education of teachers and administrators. Just think, they will be CLOSING 40% OF THE SCHOOLS IN THEIR SYSTEM. I guess some people are beginning to wake up. If the story can be believed, they are trying to fix the mess, but... they have to overcome the students, teachers, administrators, status quo, and plummet in their financing. Good luck with that, no, really. Ha ha ha ha To be honest, it is not a bad plan, it simply is like Custer, a little late, slow, outgunned, outnumbered, and too far away from any kind of help or support.

Finally, if you think we are in rough shape, you ought to see our "betters", as Dem's like to call them. Oh my. The road ahead is not going to be a kind one for us, but "an economic black hole."? Wow, and this from guys who are still hoping for something that cannot be... anywhere. Just so you know, the pieces are out there. Believe what you will, but understand that belief means nothing if it is not based on facts and reality.

Nough said. I have... things... to do...

Blessings.

Ah, but I do not want to leave it there.

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In spite of my name, or because of it if you understand, I do not want to leave people in a dark place. The last post, for many, must seem like a death knell, should what I propose come to pass. It, simply put, is not. A bleak picture to be sure. A harsh reality painted across the canvas of the mind, heart, and soul. A life without much of what we know, including the "pigs" that keep even the thin line between good and bad at bay in a way many refuse to see. (My hats off to many "pigs", by the way, for being the soldiers who with horrible ROEs keep us safer then we imagine. Just like Marines, I do not allow others to 'go there'.)

Anyway, there is very solid hope for even those who think they have nothing and can get nothing to add to their value or survivability, let alone to a community. There are things you can do which will allow you a greater chance in the worst of situations. There are things you can do which will make you a needed and wanted "unit", almost regardless of your condition or self perception. Think boldly, but think light, maneuverable, factual, actual, and with realism.

The first thing you can do is to undertake studies, often offered by Red Cross and through local hospitals, of first aid and first responder type course work. Learn, practice, attend meetings and seminars, and become involved in your current community. Beyond teaching you some amazing and valuable skills, this will also potentially put you in contact with people you want to know should life become harsh. Knowledge travels like little else, depending only on the survival of the one who has it.

Another thing, as I said, and you can start this today, stock up on food. I am not discussing huge supplies of beans and rice and... well, to some degree. Several large bags of rice and beans, a few spices, herbs, and such for flavor, and some options as these will offer little variety over time. Wheat? Meh. I like the idea, but unless you have or have access to a grinder, not so good I think. And if you need to travel, a grinder would most likely not go (or stay with you, think... pianos on the Oregon trail). As well, if you must travel and have some foods, containers and openers are very good. As for water, whether you are staying put or hoofing it, you will need a means of cleaning what you can find. I have a very good device, though I need extra parts and filters even if it is rather long lasting. A few hundred dollars will see to that, and water is more vital than food and for security reasons, starting a fire to boil water is not always advisable.

The next thing you can do, assuming you are not a criminal already, is to buy a gun. No, you probably do not need a "black gun". Such a weapon, if you are not combat ready, will only bring trouble down on your head. A small .22 rifle, perhaps even one that breaks down for easier hiding, carrying, and storage. Possibly one that shoots all types of .22 cartridges, short, long, and long rifle, would be optimal. I will not be traveling, so I do have such a rifle. For hunting small to possibly medium sized game, it is perfect. It is, even being small and light, not a bad self defense item (if too, not close to the best). Buy the gun and practice with it. Optimally, hunt with it and learn just how much it really takes to hit a small moving object. The art of the hunt would do you a world of good (as would getting out of town and into the real, sort of unmapped, world which has no roads, signs, or other things telling you were to go). Plus, being out and walking around is good for you in any case.

The next consideration, if you have any skills or interest, is communications. Having a good, alternatively powered (hand crank, solar, or both) radio might not be a bad plan. As a simple device, no skills or education is necessary. The lower end of communication devices become trickier, not so much because of the complexity of use or testing, but to power them for any period of time, post batteries, one would have to get into minor solar kits. But it is a reasonable thing to do. Further along, ham or short wave radios, especially portable ones, cb's, and other such, require a bit more work and possibly education then testing. I have none of this currently. I am, however, reading about short wave radios currently. Classes and testing are required, and a nominal fee is required to take the test. There are tiers in this field, the lowest one is rather easy and inexpensive. I think even the higher tiers are quite reasonable. Equipment costs are not exorbitant, if too the devices are not exactly handed out in Cracker Jack boxes either. Still, even the skill to use these travels well.

Then there is getting into shape. Begin walking if you are a bit gimped up from age, weight issues, or other problems. There are, even in most cities, places to go. Walking paths to hiking trails abound and were created for your use. Whether in the city or the wilds, ask around a bit on forums, with other people you know, and such, to make sure you choose places that are reasonable for a beginner, interesting, and more safe. Equality ends where people think the law is not looking and in places where prison is seen as a way of life. Start walking, or better even than that, add swimming into your regimen.

For swimming, here is my recommendation: Do not walk in and expect you will do lap after lap, mile after mile, and just become healthy. It is a tough road back. Plan on spending an hour, or even a half hour, at the pool, and then KEEP THAT TIME, stay there, in the water, until the clock says you can go. Several days a week is fine, 3 by itself, 2 if walking as well. If you can only do one lap, or even half a lap, at a time, so be it. Spend your time recuperating in the pool, wading around as you get your breath, playing with the water with your hands, or simply gasping as you lean against the edge of the pool, until your time is up. Over time, whether weeks or months, you will eventually be able to do more full laps, more laps, and, eventually, you will be able to swim the whole time. With this process, in a month and a half, I went from 7 laps over an hour (with lots of gasping) to 1 mile solid swimming in my hour, and I was lifting straight weights 3 times a week as well, all starting out from nothing, essentially. As well, whether walking or combining walking and swimming, do not worry about your appearance. It may, honestly, never change. Look only at the improvements in your distance and speed. Also, do not be discouraged by lapses. Even when I was swimming several miles a day, three days a week (in my youth, mind you), there were days I just could not get into it and I simply did less than my high, sometimes far less. Being fit, especially if you must travel, is vital. Fit is best, fitter than not gives you room to strengthen on the way, unfit will see you in deep trouble. Though, even if you are staying put, even getting water may be quite a journey. Do not underestimate what survival in a broken down world will take.

The other thing is to make social connections both home and further afield. If you are traveling, you will need both. If you are staying put, you may have people trying to come in. Your neighbors are a lot less likely to become predators if they know you. It is no guarantee, but it lessens the likelihood of not just abandonment but of attacks. Further, they can be a source of news, mutual protection, mutual assistance, and simple companionship. We are, after all, social creatures.

You have some things here which should give you, no matter your situation, a better chance at surviving, perhaps eventually thriving in a tough situation. Beyond, even if my little story ends up being just that (keep hoping, I am), these things will serve you well. Whatever you might think to do, perhaps totally different things, just remember to ask whether what you are doing makes you valuable to yourself and to others. If it does not, find other hobbies, interests, and subjects to spend your limited time, resources, and energy upon.

Now I feel like I have fulfilled, to the degree I am able, the opening of that retched can of worms. I felt both opening and fulfilling was necessary. Even if I do not like the first, I am well satisfied in it leading me to the second post.

Blessings!

Along with the bad is the good.

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Economy looking bleak? Housing markets collapsing? Prospects for a recovery look slim, far off, and probably not complete? Yes. And more, the longer we maintain the quota mentality that put the "leader" of our current political will in office, the worse it will get. The longer we decide to keep people who are devoted to spending our national, state, and local way out of debt, the worse and longer this state of affairs will be. How bad can it get? Read about what people did during the great depression. There was no butter, so pieces of loaves of bread (made, not bought, do not even considering buying bread) were covered with lard and then sugar. Fat was needed dieteticly and sugar made it more edible. The good news? We will either choose oblivion, poverty beyond even that, and slavery or we will end our maleducated insistence on equality, egalitarianism, and other false notions.

But more, we will, as our technological wonder and administrative marvel of a public sector crumbles, understand why those things do not work. When machines become too expensive and consume too much energy, men will again be needed for heavy hard work. Women will fail here. As job slots become rare, and employers must become choosy, by hook or crook those who fail to work hard will not be hired. Quotas will end by needs. The foolish notion that public and private sectors should subsidize welfare roles by hiring fools, slackards, the incapable, and the unable or willing will end.

As well, $10 million dollar schools, $30 dollars (as compared to say $14) an hour pay for public works laborers will cease. The government has been stealing money from tax payers to allot to the businesses of cohorts, ideologies, friends, and their own families for too long. Paying billions of dollars to study the expression on the faces of people who pass gas will end. The grotesque stupidity of the world we live in will have to end or become secret as a hungry people look on, intently, at a fat cat world of which they will never have access or even the dream of attaining for quite some time.

Of course, the real fear is that through the manipulation of that hungry mass of people, socialism/communism will become strongly incentivized. Those who have anything may very well become the enemy, the pray. Hitler and the communists did not attack people for anything but there money, though that then extended to those with privilege, learning, religion, or anything else someone else might covet. There are risks of that, in any population. More so in a population that has been traumatized by a socialized education system, pushed to the immoral and amoral as a more solid option than religion and faith, and then robbed blind (by the very people who pushed this sort of education forward). I suppose this is why revolutions eat themselves, always and everywhere, eventually. Socio-economic wildfires, is another way to see revolutions. Wildfires too, eventually run out of fuel and die, if too not without massive devastation.

How to keep civilization alive until the gilded age stupidity passes is a massive trick. I am not sure how it will be done. Machine guns will not quell massive numbers of starving people, especially if they can get their own machine guns or (and) are too hungry to care if they live. Political speeches mean nothing to people who can barely stand, who cannot afford the tv or radio from which to hear it, and who might not even have a home to plug such devices into in order to hear or see it. I am more pleased, every day, that I chose a more secluded place to live. I am glad to be away from the potential urban zombie hordes, and some of the ones who already exist there.

There are many scenarios which could unfold in little time as the government and private industry, through both unsustainable give-aways of cash and other value packets and egalitarian hiring practices must fire and end that charity. The family, oddly, may very well become a big winner, eventually, when the dust settles. So too will the role of men and women become clear and unconvoluted, distorted, and oppressed. That is, if an even worse group of snake-oil salesmen do not take over the poisonous lemonade stand that is our current government. Perhaps people are too indebted to the lies, too weakened by their "education" to think clearly, and too afraid of responsibility to make good decisions, even after seeing their "hope and change" disastrously destroy, and accelerate the destruction of, their economy? Then again, this might be the right fire to open eyes and lead us back to sanity? Only time will tell. Though, if things get rough, there will be a lot fewer of us, our technologies will fail and the hordes at our borders will simply come as they please, and the wolf at the gates will eat his fill at our house.

I would, if you, prepare for decent food, water, and some other essential supplies. I doubt, at this time, that I will be able to store enough to reasonably see me through years of this myself. Though I have some hope that some food put up, some skills in gardening and animal husbandry, and a few other tricks might eventually see me to more of a stretch... but time... tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. A few months worth for you might see you through a major temporary breakdown of civilization, enough to begin figuring out what to do after that... if you can survive those who have no food who will hunt you, perhaps even cannibals, or the dogs which will be in packs doing the same. Be thinking of where to go if you really have nothing. But honestly, travel or even acceptance if you get where you think you would like to go are dubious propositions unless you have something to offer. Skills, food, the capacity to do hard manual labor as a minimum if the most doubtful of additions. Will the people who live there, the ones you know, be able to feed you if you get there? Do they have a standing in the community to allow you access?

Crazy? Sure. Historically accurate from past failures? Yes. This is not the first time, and unless this is the end, it will not be the last time a major society has failed, or even the first global incident. Look to what happened. Understand that if it were not for secluded monasteries, nothing written or understood from ages past would have made it forward, even while many of those were looted and destroyed for what material wealth they contained or even were rumored to contain (many were quite empty of gold, silver, or anything but rape and murder victims). Understand that this is part of the reason why the Church has built many of these, in every state in the U.S. and most every nation around the world, and maintains them as is possible in a secularizing, religion hating, world.

Well, that's that for today. Just thought I would cheer you up.

A bit more done.

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The dishes are soaking, some where done, and supper was good. Ham and beans, something I cooked almost as soon as I moved in and it has lasted me this long simply storing it in the refrigerator. I changed Sam's litter box out, the "gravel" can only be 'cleaned' just so often and it was time, maybe a little past time. I also looked over the hiker's guide and picked out two suitable hikes. The first one looked to me like a good trial hike, and it has an extra bit of a hike at the end should I still be interested and able. I was very pleased when the author noted exactly what I had thought, that it was indeed a good hike to see if one is ready for hiking easy to medium, maybe more, hikes. The tomato and pepper plants have been watered, twice, and the bucket refilled for watering again tomorrow. There is more to do, every day. More than I can get done. On top of that I really need to unpack, set up, and get going with a home.

I am pleased anyway. I am satisfied with this day. I do look forward to tomorrow, knowing I will probably get less done than I hope, waste more time than I like, and yet still dig through that which needs to be completed sooner or later. Doing more each day, no. Becoming more acclimated to doing more over time, I sure hope. Even if I do not. Even if few if any of my plans are completed. Just living in an area in which I do not dread to forget to lock a door, I do not worry what I will see the next time I look out my window, and I have never felt evil so close to my person and right through my walls that I instinctively put my hands on my .45 and pulled it to me... from a dead sleep I had to shake my way out of to somehow get my hand to my gun and could not even open my eyes for the most part.

If I die here tomorrow, I will die in a place I do not mind resting. But I will not. I suspect, give or take, that I have six months to a few years to kick around and try and live rather than ending up in the grave. Maybe I will not be able to kick it over and ramp it up, and I will die. Maybe this is the right place at the right time to allow me the first step in a long life. That last is my goal, but I have and have had lots of goals, many have never been completed, some never can be at this point. But that means nothing. Each goal in my inventory is as stated until proven otherwise, and will be tended as I may.

Have a great weekend folks. I hope to do something on the 4th for the 4th. If that fails, have a great holiday weekend, remember who you are, where you live, why you are free to live that way, what it cost, and be thankful. Carry no guilt though, those of you who believe in what we are. Those people fought and died, not for your guilt, but for you, me, their own then, and us all. So enjoy that special treasure that only blood and honest strife against tyranny can buy... your freedom.

Trees.

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My home is, relatively, cool. A large part of why it is cool is due to the construction of the house and additions. However, another large part of this are the trees. I do love trees, if I am not quite a tree-hugger. I enjoy the brown, green, red, purple, and other colors which make life more vivid. I enjoy having living neighbors I can, mostly, trust implicitly. I enjoy that trees eat sound, shield from the sun, breath my exhale and exhale my breath, and many other things about these powerful yet delicate beings.

As I am looking over the grounds, I realize the trees here have been here for some time. My guess is that they matured to fully grown some time ago, at least the main shade trees. They do have some time left to them, but not so much as I would like. So, I have been considering the options for new trees, where to plant them, when to plant them, what type of trees, along with other variables.

From what I have heard fall is, generally speaking, the time to plant trees. While that is some time off, time passes quickly. I have considered native trees, and there are a few that might work. Most will not, not for shade. Here, I am sure, naturalists and "conservationists" or more real people who must pay their own heating and cooling bills (or suffer heat for those of us without air conditioning) must part ways. Either we want native trees or we want to cut our expenses (save the environment... I do not think so... but, whatever to those). For me, the choice is clear.

Of course, that still does not settle the thing. Picking the right tree for this environment, which fit my tastes, which grow at a reasonable rate, and which will offer shade is no small thing. I know, there are garden centers and nurseries galore, one of them is right here in my little town if I am not sure whether they offer trees yet. And yet, even with these resources, I am dubious. As with hardware stores, computer stores, and the rest, quite often the worker will sell you whatever you want, whatever gets them the best commission, or ignorantly pick almost blindly. So, I tread lightly when dealing with sellers, and try to approach with some knowledge, a reasonable idea of prices, and the willingness to ask and then check what the person selling something is saying about it against other resources.

In the end though, it comes down to faith. One must, eventually, have faith in the seller, the tree type, the instructions, and one's ability to tend to the tree. Without it, no purchase will occur, no tree will grow (or die), and no shade, no privacy, no comfort, will be derived from the potential offered.

I must admit to enjoying the search. I have always wanted an oak in the back yard (if that is highly unlikely for a number of reasons, the possibility does exist). There are many wonderful trees out there, trees that will grow well here, trees I could potentially enjoy for the rest of my life. Acidic soil, little summer moisture, high temperatures, and placement are all difficulties though, which... keep me from getting too far ahead of myself in this regard. Oh, and of course, the cost of the trees and the work needed to plant them properly... Even then, though, I am pleased to be searching for new friends, family really, from the plant world.

Some things done, certainly not much.

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Showered, shaved, teeth brushed, and away. I made it into town early enough to take the items back to Lowe's and pick up a manual on plumbing. A few coins more, a book I needed to replace a duplicate. Then to the appointment, nothing special there, though I was on time and a little early. After that, I picked up a little food and headed to my watch a show, the Matrix, with my friend. Then home.

It is hot, reaching into the early 90's F at least. The house is cooler, but not precisely what I would call cool, certainly not cold. With the sink going, I should be getting to dishes and then back to unpacking. Should is the operative word. A day or two of rest would also be very good. But not tomorrow. I want to go to church, and the afternoon on Saturday is more sure than the morning on Sunday. As well, I think I can go to confession right before I go to Church on Saturday. Tick tock it is time... past time really. But I need to polish my shoes, if I can find them.

The more I come out of that shell of I life I was living, the more I understand the maturing process. Maturing all over again is not going to be a one day, one week, or any period of life but will be an ongoing process for the rest of my life. However, growing up all over again, learning to track everything from bills to appointments to duties and responsibilities, at my age, is a bit of a steep climb. It is almost like coming out of a coma, which in a way, I am doing.

Beyond the mundane of flesh and the caring and tending of it, comes the more complex process of planning a future, learning to do the work a house requires, and re-evaluating my finances within those things and the mundane things. There is so much I have not done, so much I want to do, and some things I might well end up never doing again after trying them, that with it all whirling around, it is difficult to get a grasp of things. That too, however, is coming along in starts and stops.

Hot, yes, but a good day to be alive. My fresh start, my tomorrow after the long rain, winter, freeze, sleep, or whatever you wish to call it, is here. But I have to get my home situated, tucked in, and tended before I can get to it. And, of course, the sink ended up bottlenecking my plans... or did I just use that as an excuse to short circuit things... or did I do that to slow down to my level as I am not ready to go that fast? I do not know. I do know I keep chugging along.

Next week, with a few exceptions, I am going to try to get back to basics, slow down a bit, and work more on the home fundamentals. Setting up the kitchen and the bedroom, emptying and recycling the boxes, figuring out a storage plan for some of it. Home, after all, is where all things start. I must make this my home, then I can start on the rest. I think.

A difficult waking.

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With sleep being a bit off last night, this morning saw me clawing my way out of bed. I almost awoke in time to visit city hall, but not quite. I was technically up well early enough but the motor simply would not gear up to get me there, and I will not leave my home without taking a shower. Still, I should be fine for making my appointment and grabbing a couple of movies to watch at with my friend. I am also going to take the unopened parts and pieces back to Lowe's. As well, I realized when I returned home that I had somehow bought two books on wiring and none on plumbing, so one of the wiring books is being returned though to be replaced by a book on plumbing. How did that happen? I am usually pretty good at those types of things. I suppose on a hot day, with little sleep the night before, while juggling 15 oddly shaped parts, rifling through several versions of each type of guides, I simply lost track. Still, it is embarrassing. At least I have the receipts and these things should go back easily. I will not be able to fax the material, or all of it, as I did not get my printer up and running. I did not even start that job.

With the tickets purchased for my mother to visit, I decided to try and get wheelchair services set up for her. So, this morning, I got online and found the ticket information, located the most probable number to call, and called in. They wanted to know when she would be at the airport, where she would be parking, and... more information than I have. So we agreed to let her set this up. I then called to let her know the ticket(s) is purchased, the flights are non-stop (woot!), and to give her all the information she might need along with a phone number to arrange her wheelchair assistance (they actually come and pick her up!).

She has had one hip and both knees replaced (at least), two or three foot surgeries, two back surgeries, and she is not a spring chicken anymore. Still, for all that, she is still a power house. Even at our respective ages, at any time in life, I have learned when she does what she does it is best to simply get out of the way. A little guidance is sometimes very good, some planning, and maybe ensuring she has what she needs where she needs it, then HIDE! She definitely IS a force of nature. And, she is learning, if she wants real work from me, the best thing is to help me set up the work, make sure I have the tools and the job is reasonable, go over some planning, and then to get out of my way. Neither one of us is necessarily (to each other, though okay with some others it seems) good to be around when doing more difficult work. She can clean and cook like a madwoman. I can do what has to be done, if left alone (though a little pressure of expectation helps, something she is not as dependent upon... and she is a better worker at her jobs than I am at mine, no doubt).

So, a few things off my list and a greater certainty that my Mom will be visiting handled on my end. A little easing of a worry on her end. Plus the information at her fingertips so she does not have to go looking in order to finish that task, and perhaps get a quicker pass through airline security (I suggested she also make some calls so her boarding is easier). As well, in a timely fashion and with flight times that make it really easy for her and a non-stop flight. This job has been one of my few one-shot success stories in a while!

Oh, I had to tease her though. She asked about the date and time, and I initially said that it was up to her. I was sending her a broom! We both, thankfully, got a chuckle out of it. Oh, have no fear little ones, payback comes in bucketloads... and, in all truth, she is better at this game then I ever will be. Nag! :p

Cool enough.

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But it just did not work, I could not sleep. So, I finally did do some things I had hoped to do earlier. I think I could not sleep because they were on my mind, all day, in spite of which they did not get done.

I checked my credit cards, and set up payments. I am not sure what they were jabbering about, but... All of them have been being payed on time and ahead of schedule. One of them, the non-functional one, was so close to being paid off that I bunted and... done with the stinkers. The other I paid a little lightly, not realizing the other would be paid off. And, I scheduled payments on it equally lightly under the impression that I would be paying higher on the other one. I will fix that later. And, with this information comforting my weary mind, I went ahead and bought tickets for my mother to fly here and looked for tickets for my lady friend. It seems, no matter what, tickets between Thanksgiving and Christmas are simply rather high, twice as high as for my mother's tickets and she will be flying non-stop to boot. So it goes.

Now, perhaps, I can lay my head down and rest. At least I am plenty cool to rest. Maybe I ought to take a midnight swim anyway? No need to divert eyes, ladies, I would not think to do so dressed in anything less than at least trunks and perhaps a t-shirt. Probably...

Well, good night.

Just as hot today.

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Actually, it might be hotter. And yet, after switching tobacco, life is much sweeter (or cooler really) to my senses. The heat wave probably was a diabetes thing. Not that it is cool at 91 F, but it is tolerable today. Hmm, still, a window ac, or at least some fans, might help a bit more. Human physiology is such a strange duck sometimes...

Done, I think!

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A little more cutting, fitting, pushing, and shoving, but I think the faucet and drain in the kitchen is done. I had to cut and paste a bit, for sizing. I had bought several pieces just for that though, so I was not completely making up the patches as needed. Too long here, too short there, a bit too high, then... just right. I had one last problem to overcome. The old system had a plastic nut connected to the original metal drain pipe which would not budge. Not with both hands. Then again, none of the huge plumbing wrenches would grab the nut. I thought about cutting it off, or chiseling it off, but decided NO! I could just see ruining the threads on that little piece of drain pipe and having some huge repair bill while someone else figured that out. NO! So, I just used it as I was able to use it. Shoving the exit from the plumbing system I built in as far as I could and calling it good is what that ended up being. I checked, it works. No drips, no fuss, no muss... so far. I will keep a close eye on it while I begin using the kitchen to clean what I unpack, after I do the dishes that had piled up while I was messing with the thing.

I took care of a little business today as well. I needed some numbers to fax a few items for insurance business of various natures. I got those numbers, I then asked for and received the rest of the steps to do a few more of the processes required. With the fax numbers, a letter I will need to write and print, and a drive into town, I should be done with that, but probably tomorrow. This also means seeing if my computer, now that it has been fixed(?), will use the printer, by the hardware and software being set up... somehow. Oh, and I found out that the policies I canceled due to creating a new policy with my house insurance... is still active and pulling money out automatically. They did not end that set of policies on my car or apartment (the one I have not lived in for a year) in spite of me changing my address with them when I moved, changing policies recently, or asking them to cancel those even more recently. It is not like I do not trust them. Hmm, I definitely did not just say that.

I still need to call my Mom (after I get her tickets, sometime), contact my credit card companies (one of them I am just paying off as they canceled me a long time ago) as they are yammering about something. Then I need to... do more than I can possibly get done in a lifetime in the next day or two, or that is how it feels. You know, it is at times like these when the whole notion that an extra hole in the head actually has some merit. Ha! Too busy for that though. Is that part of the trick of life, to stay so busy you cannot realize you are hopelessly outgunned, outnumbered, and against it? Maybe... maybe... Well, the good news is I AM learning to ride that bike. *look Ma, no hands... wee...*

Bah, I am just fussing. Anyway... I do not think a trip to town sounds fun at all. I have a day off, it is too late to get much done there, I have things I can do here at home, and traffic at this time until 22:00 or so will be insane. So, I might dig into the credit card problems, now that I have found my secrets scratch pad. I might do a round or three in the yard, picking up sticks and watching Sam hunt wild and crazy grasses, shadows, and very possibly me. I could then look over what means I have regarding getting my mother tickets to visit. If I actually get any of that done, I will almost be surprised. Who says I need a dubious woman to remind me of what I have not done, what I said I would do, or to hassle me in any other way? Well, actually I probably do. But the stinkpots are in my head. Thus the story of Athena... Yeah, and it goes with my whole '...hole in the head.' thesis too. Please, just hit my head with a hammer to make her go away! Ah well, go figure.

I best get to procrastinating if I am going to get any of this done by next Friday. Later!

A shower does help.

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Too late to save the night completely, but a cool shower helps. I think, tonight if I am hot again at 20:00, I will take a whole shower, then if that does not work, take a body shower later. I hate going to bed with a wet head, so only took a 'body' shower last night, as I was trying to sleep immediately. It did see me, after a bit, to sleep. But a whole shower would have been far better. Well, there is that. I did not get to sleep until around 3:00 and was able to wake at 10:30~11:00.

I did not wake well enough to get to city hall, but with a new plan, I think tomorrow will... Hmm, no... The 4th of July thing may mean everything is closed until Monday or Tuesday? Still, I can try and do a dry run. I am just waking up now. My work list has not been started. Well, I have more daylight, so...

Have a good day.

It is me.

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Hot!

I can feel the cool, nearly cold, low 50's air around me. It does nothing to help me cool off. I am burning up. I might as well be sitting in my vehicle, parked in a big parking lot, at noon, somewhere where the temperature is in the 80's or 90's. It is not a fever though. I suppose that will not matter if I do not cool down. If any stress goes on long enough, it morphs into normal illness, or creates similar affects. Cause and affect, in some instances, can be interchanged. A cool to cold shower might help, though I have seen that have the reverse effect as well, causing me to become warmer... not always though. And it feels humid though I am pretty sure it is not.

I used to get this... thing, and sometimes fevers at other times, before I was diagnosed with diabetes. Long before any such diagnosis, actually. So I suppose I should not be so quick to chalk it up to diabetes now. Still, with what I realize now to be a steady 'diet' of sugary goop for several weeks, it is possible. Unless I can cool down though, I will get no sleep again tonight. Perhaps some organs or a large number of random cells are overworking for some unknown reason. Ah, my brain! I am at genius level! Bah! I will take that shower, try to sleep, if still to hot, hit the shower again.

I have no appointments tomorrow, but I would like to get to city hall, get the plumbing in, take care of a few other items, and then review the hiker's guide and make plans for my first hike as a relaxing afternoon event. Oh, and pick up some sticks in the yard. That could be good. A lawn mower would still rip my hand up, but I want to have one purchased and have the yard ready for mowing by the time my hand is ready. As well, I am going to try and speak with the gentleman who so kindly offered to help me finish moving to see if we can get that finished. He would need help, as I am still out of commission regarding moving even 25 pound weights, let alone those between that and the 100 pounders. My only other option is to pay a mover service $170 to $255, plus tax and whatever else, to do the task.

I might find myself, again, in town tomorrow as well (the other other town). I need to get some faxes to the insurance agency, to several different departments. I will see what I can get done. Less if I cannot sleep well or at all, of course.

On the good side sliced finger, auto accident, the move, troubles with plumbing, being behind on many tasks, the move, and whatever else have not dampened my spirits or caused me to simply fold up and quit. I have failed to wake due to sleep troubles, but I get back to what I can do as soon as possible. I have found work-arounds for those things I cannot do. I have continued to plot, plan, and execute jobs, and add to the list in some sort of reasonably thought out manner when more time demanding tasks are finished. And, I have not gotten down a bit, if a little hassled by the pace sometimes. Not bad, not bad at all. Maybe I am not, maybe I never will be, a well oiled machine. I do seem, though, to at least be a happy, slow, patient, tugboat type of machine... chug-a chug-a chug...

Good night, Anne.

A long hot day.

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I could not rise until well past noon. I was an half hour late to my appointment but it worked out. I then tried to call my friend for shooting. He did not answer. So, to Lowe's, where I got the parts I thought I might need, picked up a couple of books on plumbing and home wiring, looked at their weed eaters, and just had a little fun. After getting what I needed, I tried to call my friend again. Again, no answer. So, to stall for time and fill my belly, I went to McDonalds and ate my meal there. After that, another call. No answer, again, so I left a message. I then drove home.

Ah, the plumbing. It is not yet done. However, when looking over why I could not seem to replicate the previous handy work, I realized it would be best not to replicate it. After what I have learned so far, it looks like the crazy configuration was due to a space problem probably created by the last guy to do the work HAVING CUT OFF THE OLD DRAIN SYSTEM UP TO THE CONNECTION TO THE SINK AND TRYING TO PUT A NEW ONE IN ON TOP OF THE REMNANTS OF THE OLD ONE! Yeah, okay. I then checked to see if my system will fit in, as is. Yes. It fits quite fine, especially without trying to recreate the last debacle of a repair job, then having to try and bend things around so as to fit in remnants which then require at least two more bends to get the thing to fit, which it would naturally without the remnant pieces! Wow, okay.

However, just as I was putting on the knee pads (oh, wonderful invention by the way!), my friend called. I suggested we go shooting. He was not sure, since it was raining in Logan. I looked out, and sure enough. Still, it looked as though it would pass soon, so I jostled the notion a bit and he must have looked out too as he finally agreed. I asked where he had been. He said he was at an appointment, that he had told me about it last time, and that when he had suggested I visit afterwards that I had agreed. I told him, yeah, I do that a lot. I am, after all, a pure breed guy. We chuckled.

So, before I could do more than realize the plumbing was going to be fine (most likely), I headed into town. We went to the place, or at least along the same road, we went last time. This time I did not drive all the way through but went about a quarter of the way over the pass. I found a place to set up shop, so to speak, and I put up the target. We shot a good little while, talked about guns, women being funny types, and whatever else came to mind. After that, we headed in to town for a meal. We went to a smorgasbord. The last time he had been there, they were much like Golden Coral. Not any more. It was Chinese food. I found enough that I could and did like to fill me up. He simply was not interested, so ate very little. I even tried a couple of things I had never tried before... mystery food. The only thing I did not like there were something familiar, the prawns. They were overcooked to the point of being mushy. They did not have a rotten taste or anything, though they really did not have any true flavor at all. Perhaps they were merely frozen too long.

I had planned to stop at Wal-Mart for some cat supplies afterward, but completely forgot and simply took my friend home. How rude, as I think he looks forward to going to the store with someone else once in a while. By the time he remembered, we were probably pretty close to his home, so he did not say anything. Anyway, I let him out and headed home myself. About halfway home, I realized I needed those cat supplies so I turned around, waded through the Wallyworld hordes, and got my supplies. While I was checking out, the cashier, a heavy set frumpy looking woman, offered me advice on hair balls... pumpkin (in the can if the cat will eat it) or apple cider pills, a quarter of one, crushed and added to the food, she suggested. I thanked her heartily. She has a 24, 22, 19, and 17 year old cat, among others. Her three sons had all gotten cats at their apartments when going to school only to have to get rid of them, so along with her usual entourage, she ended up with 3 or more extra felines.

Oh, something else I realized earlier, perhaps yesterday, about my heat situation... It might, oddly, have to do with the type of chewing tobacco I was forced to buy last time. They did not have my usual type, but they had another long cut version of Copenhagen. Another customer recommended with it, with his lip half full, so, I took it. Ugh, it tastes like Skoal. I have been using that for a while. By the way, did I mention Skoal is a sweet tasting tobacco? It is. There are no indications of what they use to sweeten it (or the Copenhagen taste-alike), but my guess is that it is sugar, corn syrup, or such. Yes, I am quite sure that having sugar in my mouth all day for a week or two might just jump my glucose level a wee. And, when my glucose level jumps, out goes my personal cooling system, somehow. So, today, I finally located my regular (diet, ha!) Copenhagen longcut. I still have a can or two of the other, and I will not waste it. But I will start using it as a rarity until it is gone rather than using it full time. Now that the military and myself have stopped trying to kill me, has the rest of the world taken up the cause? Could BE.

Well, that is all. Have a good, deliciously cool, restful, peaceful night and sleep. You are all blessed, you little stinkers!

Ah, to the lighter side.

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Women have been on my mind, for a hundred and one reasons. The obvious, of course. They are attractive to most of us, and that is as it should be. But there is more. The conversations about equality, thoughts on past relationships, and some time as I figure out how to sleep right again and being awake but still too tired to truly do anything useful other than thinking.

It seems that I either love or like women, both on an individual basis and as a group. I suspect that if I find a woman I both love and like at the same time and most of the time, I will have found Her. Why, I sometimes wonder, do I keep looking? Then again, it is not as if most of my womens cheated on me, stole from me, lied to me (mostly), or did other bad things. Most of my loves just went away or would not go with me in my travels. And yet, I have never found Her, or even thought I had. I found love. I found companionship. But I never found the right mix and more.

Today at the chiropractor, my doc suggests he knows a woman who might be right for me. He seems to know, though I am pretty sure I never mentioned it, that I am looking for a woman who has never been married and does not have children. He thinks he might know one. All I know about her so far is that she is not bus sized, she has never been married, and she is 36 years old. I asked if he knew if she wanted children. It was something he did not know. To be honest, I am a little excited. I hope she is interested in meeting with me and going to the park, meeting at a museum, or having coffee or tea somewhere.

I will not date, not in the traditional sense of the word (modern traditional). My idea is to, once we are on some kind of level of mutual trust, to do work with each other. If she needs some painting, a few (minor) repairs, or something, let us go do that. If I need some help raking the yard and picking up sticks, let us do that. If we do these things for a while and all goes well, then a dinner after might be nice once in a while. I simply refuse to wine and dine and court in a loud and obnoxious manner. Hmm, gardening... I wonder if I could help her replant some potters, plant some flowers, or help with her garden, and learn? Anyway, that is the plan going in. If, of course, she is even interested in meeting.

Anyway, that has added to my thoughts about women. My anger with women is not something simple. My distrust is deeply rooted and is based upon living in a feminized world which I reject outright. This, of course, is my baggage. It is something with which I must contend on my own. And yet, she will, as almost all women these days, exhibit some or all of the issues with which I must contend. I will not lie, I cannot lie, not for hamburgers today knowing I could skip paying tomorrow.

Women are, too, precious to me. Beautiful, talented in ways and crafts and designs I cannot and do not understand. If humble, they can wow me with the power of that. If kind, I can be a teddy bear. But what they are is not about me. What they are is as distant from me, in truth, as the moon is from the sun. They are their own entity. If they decide to be cooperative, they can make any task nearly infinitely lighter. Or, they can conversely destroy the prospects for success. Their need for attention and their want of it is a balancing act, that to be truthful, it takes a man to handle. Without that balance most women fall into a hypersensationalism where touch, smell, feel, scent, and such are all they crave, all they can understand, all they want.

Man, without woman, becomes craven in our own ways. We need attention, but in vastly different ways. Sex, of course, is more important to us, but affection on a regular basis is too. The feeding and handling of a man, by comparison, is a simple task. Does this bore women? Do they need drama and shouting and disagreement to... maintain sanity or balance or a proper fit in the world?

Anyway, women are beautiful. Even the homely and this and that... Most women have some nature about them which can be quite good. It is not merely a physical thing, or something for my or other men's interest. It is something special that is all their own. I want to be around that, and to some degree, share in a part of that. Much like smelling blossoms on a fine day. But what is beautiful, resplendent, charming, and all not only can but must, as the laws of physics seem to imply here somehow, have an equal and opposite. Can I deal with that?

I do think men have been missing some of their responsibility. Though too the state has annulled many of the rights and responsibilities, and disturbing the family balance with unbalanced law has made it difficult for men to know where that line is. Are women, essentially, married to the state through a man? Is the state the arbiter of home control, having an iron fist and a gun? Yes, to both. So, finding a woman who can be trusted means finding a woman with her own vested interest in the marriage, a fact which strips stay at homes moms of worth to a degree. And yet, that is all most family oriented men want. I do not want a working woman who is a part time wife. She then, beyond being married through me to the state, is also beholding to another (usually) man and job on top of that.

Anyway, just so you know, I do find women to be fascinating, funny, beautiful, sensuous, well designed creatures who can make absolutely world changing helpmates. I fail to understand a word out of their lips at times... for several and varied reasons. I do not always trust but could learn to have faith in a particular woman. And I am amazed at just who they are, what they are, and what they can accomplish. Equal to men? Again, no. Better than men, sometimes... sometimes... At one time, much more often.

Blathering... Again. I will... figure it all out later.

No sleep, it is too hot.

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Should have guessed, but it is the way it is. I cannot cool off. At least I know, for sure, tonight, why I cannot sleep. Boogers and dreadnoughts.

I did join a Catholic online singles thing. Most are divorced, a few annulments, and some never married but with children. I think, out of nine pages of prospects, two or three had never been married and do not have children. As well, in a totally different look, all but perhaps 5 where over 40. No dice there, as I see it. But I did want to look. There is another Catholic singles online group, and I may sign up for it too. From what I am seeing though, I cannot imagine paying for membership. There are almost none who I would pay to write. With only 2 or maybe 3 who might, and that is tenuous but might, fit the bill and knowing the odds on any one particular woman fitting in, the odds are not worth the cost.

So many women there are either openly feminist or expressing some versions of it to various degrees. First thing... a piece of advise to old women looking for men after having proved incapable of holding onto (at least) one marriage... do NOT discuss your feminist attitude. Do that when you merely want sex at the local meat market, uhnkay? There is a reason you are in your condition. No one wants leftovers, but more leftovers that are revolting. Proud to be a woman? That is fine. But it has nothing to do with finding a mate. If you are trying to get some eggs boiled, do not dip them in iced water and hope. Though, I do hope they get the men they want (and deserve).

I guess I was curious, could not sleep, and had been thinking to join some time back. I did not realize you could join for free or that there would be many on it in this state. Both wrong, though I do not think I will do anything with that one. I may join the other one, the free part, and see if there is much different there. A lot of lonely cats out there, I must say. And seemingly for good reason.

I am no great prize, unless the woman is looking for a meal ticket, really. But that is precisely the type of woman I want nothing to do with. What I do have is a solid sense of what a man is and does, what a family should be, and that I want to be in one. I am not, however, ever going to start with an assumption that we can merely be friends and that will make it. As spouses, there has to be some solid differences, limits, and rules. Not enforcing or upholding those, as if just friends, offers only certain death to a marriage to my mind. I may truly simply be too old to find a still reasonable, unmarried, woman who has no children, and still has at least half of a brain. I do not need Einsteinette, but some of the interviews were... Well, it looked like they were drunk when they wrote them, or something. For women supposedly having better language skills... I tell ya, I am not seeing that either. No, I am no prize winning writer either, but I have a pretty good idea where nouns, verbs, and punctuation marks go.

Without sleep, I am not sure what is going to be done tomorrow. I do have an appointment which I will make, probably. After which I will probably go to Lowe's for the plumbing needs and then pick up my friend for an afternoon of target practice. I will be taking my target setup, one of my .22 rifles, and my .22 pistol. No, nothing fancy, but it works. It gets me out of the house, out of the valley, into the mountains, and keeps me on target. It also gets another man out who has no other means of escaping the stinking (as okay as Logan is, it is still a...) city for a while. And, actually, as I have said before... for having declining vision, iron level problems in his blood, a slow leak of blood, and at his age... he shoots better than one would believe. He is pretty good, if too his methods are sometimes questionable regarding shooting, where to shoot, when to shoot, and what to shoot. He is, how to say this rightly... old school. Maybe right, maybe wrong, but I am strictly uptight about all of it. Shoot to eat or target. Use safeties (yes, my XD has them, if they are... user functional rather than applied). WEAR HEARING PROTECTION, ALWAYS (I swear he tries to get a round off before I have those on... I have, however, made it quite clear that even if he is shooting a .22, do not do that, which seems to have cleared that up). Anyway, he is one guy I like to make sure gets to shoot. Him not shooting would be, I do not know, maybe like having an original unmodified muscle car... in a museum. Why, it is almost a sin.

After that, home and to the plumbing if I am not dead. I will have to be looking for solutions to the heat here. I think most people can handle it, or simply 'rest' through the night. I cannot. At some point, temperature wise, I simply cannot sleep, no matter what. I end up cooling off, but not until late in the night or early in the morning really. And it does mess up my plans, schedule, and everything. Then again, I need to take care the other way. If I allow it to be too cool, I will sleep too much as well. I really need to get a good thermometer and begin checking those things. It is not choice, it is metabolic in some way. I cannot really get past it, that is just the way my system works at this point. Age? Weight? Health issues? I do not know, though I do not think it has always been this way.

Yes, well. I think I will go tinker on something else. Good night, Bane.

Well, plumbing...

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No, it is not completed. Then again, I did not suspect it would be finished tonight (or whenever I got to it). There are a few pieces in the puzzle that do not quite make sense. So, back to the store. I will simply have to look through what I can, as store help seems both very preoccupied and somewhat undergunned. If I really cannot find what I need, I will ask for someone who does this kind of work. Although I am starting to understand that no man really knows enough about enough of this stuff to get any of it absolutely right. As I was leaving the store last time, I had some small talk with a store worker who saw me juggling my purchases and losing and offered a hand. Something about something, then, yes, a plumbing job caused by a faucet job, and it all looking dubious. A quick grin and he said, "Good luck, we are open till 10!" and a hearty chuckle. So... I am sort of on my own.

Still, I have it pretty well set up. The basic shape will work, though with a few added pieces for a secure connection to the sink I will be getting two more bendy pieces in case those other pieces throw the height of the exit pipe connection off. The hacksaw works, but it leaves a very rough finish. I might consider using my Dremel to smooth that a bit, or not. I simply need to make sure the sink attachment will hold the weight of the drain piping, though with the assistance of the drain outlet connection. Never mind, other than that I have to make sure the thing is stable enough against gravity, with and without water in it, and watertight. If I ever get to re-designing the kitchen, I will use metal plumbing if at all possible. Plastic is, well, plastic. Oh, I am sure, that is just as difficult and harder to cut. But once in place, the attachments are firmware, not... software, or hopeware.

It is not too late, I am hoping to get to bed and be able to sleep. A couple of beers might help. It is still rather warm, and my wound is starting to be fitful. A few more problems and I will begin to understand Custard's ordeal, albeit with wakefulness as the enemy that surrounds me.

Good night, I hope, Hawk.

To the plumbing, he said.

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And not a butt muscle twitched. Here I sit, here I sat, right where I wrote what I was sure I was going to do. Well, yes, it happens to the best of us. I, however, am not among those! I will not beat myself up, if I do have some disappointment in the lack of action. I could not sleep last night and I could not wake up, pretty much at all, today. Mind works, body quit. Perhaps I have been shoveling too much coal into the engine of a worn out, run down, damaged device and needed the break. I can never be sure.

I guess that is why we have tomorrows, a little foresight and afterthought, and hope. And, the day is not yet done. I might get to the plumbing before the day is over. No guarantees about anything at this moment. I am not even sure I will be able to sleep. I think it is the heat. We had a little rain and lightning storm pass over then leave just as the sun is setting, so maybe that cooled things off enough for a better rest tonight. And hopefully my off schedule blip into night owl land did not upset the corrective maneuvers I have been attempting in waking earlier.

Sometimes it feels like I am, and am working, on a puzzle without all the pieces. I am both key parts of the puzzle and yet subject to the puzzle as a whole. As I have said though, out here, in the West, more of the pieces of that puzzle are coming together, seemingly all their own. Medicines distracted from that, when tried. And the slow down in winter did not allow as much access as might be more useful to added success. Still, the engine is picking back up from where I left it late last fall. It is not perfect, it will never be perfect, but I am really hoping and working toward a better tomorrow... even when things like this happen. Maybe more so in times like this?

Plumbing? Maybe.

Ah, maybe I am onto something.

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Now, this possibly will be quite boring for most readers. I am doing a little bit of writing about myself regarding some of my social and possibly other issues in life. This is mostly just me trying to track down some of my thoughts so as to get those in one place and reason them through. Read at your own peril.

Today, while I was pondering the pile of work I have to do this week, this month, this year, and into the future (without regards to cost in this analysis), I picked through a number of the projects and work and decided how best I should go about each of several of these in a step-by-step manner. Planning stages mind you, knowing full well that planning is the first step to the trial and error reality of actually doing any job. From how best to go about some yard work, setting up my reloading station while still using that area as my camping and survival gear repository, filling out the garage work space with benches and storage (on the cheap, actually, on that... and well to be honest), and a few other tasks. Of course, while noting, that I was just sitting there thinking and doing nothing and that most of today has been a waste, in part because I could not sleep, so knowing my self control and will power are not always superior. All that aside...

What I noted was that my mind works in a very contrarian manner. I do not look at just what could work, I look at that and try to find what does not work about that. I then develop a work-around, and then dissemble that idea. I keep doing that... well, continually. It does not stop when I actually get to a project. While doing it, I begin looking at the realities "on the ground" as some like to say. So, after hours, days, weeks, even months of planning... I am still ready to re-develop my plans. More than willing, perhaps too willing at times, to change my floor plan, ground attack, thesis, or whatever you wish to call it.

Now, there are aspects of this which are good. Plans always fail to include some variables, sometimes by choice, sometimes by accident, but that is simply how the process has to work for anything to go forward and then be completed. My ability to include more of the correct variables is directly related to my experience in the field of endeavor in which I am planning then working. Plumbing, so far, has been... mediocre at best. Still, I do learn and plumbing planning and work will improve. I am excellent, compared to many others at my same level of experience, at realizing something is not going to work, to a degree even in the planning phases, but more importantly on the ground in action, and taking steps to mitigate my oversights and misjudgments. I can and will do that without second guessing myself on a personal level, knowing full well what I have already written.

The downside is that I spend too much time in planning at times. Or, put more honestly, I plan until the job is no longer needed. Yes, I hope the dang problem will go away, I will figure out how to pay for it, or other issues will loom large enough that they take priority. Lazy? Yes and no. To the casual observer, and sometimes in truth, I am. But more, I know I have a limited set of resources and only so many functional hours, and that these are often less than what a typical man has AFTER he comes home from work. Still, this whole region of implementing planning, or really, getting to the action, is mushy for me. I know that, my Mom knows that, and most of you readers know that.

The whole point of this is to set out my good aspects along with the bad and take a look at how these things figure into my social interactions. And, so, here it goes.

When I do interact, I must seem like a sour puss of some not small nature. Most things presented to me, more essentially when they are handed to me as fact, are almost outright rejected. More so the less I know about the area being discussed. I begin looking for faults in any set of circumstances, beliefs, processes, etc. Part of this is probing for more information, though I can see where it might be considered... priggish. I am, essentially, saying that I do not believe, and demanding* or asking* for information, proof, evidence, and such (*depending on how the one who states something I object about takes my doubts and questions). As well, I let all I do happen to know about the topic go and assume a stance of ignorance, so that they may "fill me in" on said topic. After some level of mutual understanding of their assessments, I then bring in what I do (think) I know on the topic and we begin the process again.

This type of behavior, to people who are certain they know what they are talking about, must come across as very rude, quite uncivil, racist, or whatever modernists like to call non-believers. And, to be honest, by modernist standards, some of that is probably quite true. Instead of offering proof, however, usually what I face are statements questioning my personal character, doubts about my understandings, but never proof or even an attempt at logic to cover the gap from where I am to where they are.

What this tells me is that both my style and more fact and logic based assessment, devolution, then reconstruction of anything from tasks to social issues, today, is totally against the grain that some things are not to be questioned. Even with people who will "tolerate" differences of opinions, there is not an ability or an interest in outreach, logical assessment reviews, or such. Simply put, my methods are not social... or socially acceptable to a group or class who simply know what they know (where taught, but they seem to have forgotten that it was simply taught, there was never any logic involved on their part, and probably not on the part of their own teachers, until you get to Ayers or Alinksy. And their ultimate teacher's plans have nothing to do with what they have forced into, and is now the rule for, the US education system. What most people do not know is that the teachings contradict, completely, the lip service words that come out of their mouths and what they think they believe with their hearts.)

Anyway, there are other issues, even when not political in nature. Simply the way I think, how I evolve my assessments, and then how I reposition my strategies is an enigma to most who travel the halls of my conversations. There is nothing, it seems, to attack in my thinking. It must, for them, be like being blind while trying to strike at a shadowy figure they can only hear, but the area is so full of echoes they cannot tell quite where to strike. For my part, this is not (consciously for certain) a deliberate psychic acrobatic act, it is merely how I work... until it is time to strike, work, pronounce, or... whatever. I simply do not work the way Joey and Janey and Paul work... or I have gone farther (whether in the right or wrong direction, I may possibly never know), then where most people go.

Yes, I get lost there, too. I think that is part of what happens when I become accidentally transcendental for a bit. I get lost in the shadows of my mind, unable because of the echoes, to know where to go, and then spend "time" simply 'in there'. Oh well. I think I stumbled across a little gem of my own understanding, if too I am not sure it helps me in any manner change the present or future. I truly doubt this helps anyone else either... But it is out of my head and the shadows are receding.

Hmm, to the plumbing! Bah!

Okay, but I did do some things.

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No, the drain pluming is not installed yet. I did buy, I think, more than enough to get the job done, including a hacksaw as I saw where the pipe lengths were leading but saw few options BUT to by the ones I did. Instead of a lengthwise run of pipes, I decided on a t-intersect dual drain connection, if that makes sense? That should allow me to easily cut out the odd rectangular end area (which, because it closed on itself too tightly, did not allow the pipes to completely seal). In any case, tomorrow is the day for it, since I have no appointments but need to make a run into town to fax a few items.

Tomorrow is going to be somewhat busy, but without scheduling issues. I can do what I can when I can without a disturbance in the flow that appointments or other obligations can be. I am hoping to again rise early, get to city hall and get utilities in my name, then come back and work on the drain plumbing. If I need anything more for that job, I will get that as I go in to fax a few items to various insurance agencies. While in town, I hope to remember kitty litter. I am not sure what kind to get, what is best for the cat, easiest to scoop, and... I guess I do not give a sh... hoot about what environmentalists think since I cannot trust them being so embedded in the "liberal" cause as a whole so as to be dysfunctional as an advisory group. Anyway, that is the plan.

I picked up the parts and called my friend about watching a few movies and having some chow. He needed a little time to rebandage his foot, so I first went to the bookstore. I purchased a rather good road atlas of Utah, with trailheads, offroad paths, and other useful information for a newb, or noob if you like, adventurer. I cannot seem to help myself. I seem to drop money by merely looking out my window at times. Anyway, it will go well with my hikers guide. Which, tomorrow, if it fits in, I plan to peruse in order to pick my first hike. Yes, it will be shorter, yes, it will be one with little elevation change, but it will be a start. Then I will pick a target date to do my first of, hopefully, many hikes.

If this week goes really well, I get the sink set up to completion, take care of my insurance and other paperwork to completion, and get my kitchen and bedroom (to the degree possible) set up, I will take the next week off. Yes, off. No work or scheduled work for one week to give my hand a final chance to heal. However, though I will not be working, I do plan to begin my forays on foot to the local "lake" (dam). A 3 to 5 mile hike there, a bit of swimming (or really playing in the water initially) to cool off and still be active, and then the walk home. I will NOT be doing that every day, more like every other day (as an initial plan, to be amended as necessary).

This week, beyond the appointments, I will be visiting my friend Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday we will go shooting. Friday might well be another movie night. We only watched one of the two movies I took over tonight, that being Artificial Intelligence. The next movie on the queue is Matrix (the first of the series). I think my movies are a bit freaky deaky to my friend, but he ends up rather enthralled... when he does not fall asleep. *grins* He is still not sure about me. I do think he knows more about me than what he will ever say. If not an attentive Mormon, he still has attachments, and through those attachments, he knows more. It seems he gets his bits and pieces through slightly unreliable sources though. I fired a test shot over his bow the other day and I thought he was going to shat his pants. hehe I really should not, but I have to check my baffles. Call my Crazy Ivan if you must. Woot! Woot! Chugga-chugga-chugga... hehehe I do enjoy the games. Bah, he is healthy enough for it and plays his own version, so, I am not sweating it.

Oh, that movie, Artificial Intelligence... Normally, a movie so wrongly lefty in every way, I toss immediately. But this one, when I get past most of that (though I still grumble at the obvious idiocy of anything hinting even at center, let alone left of center) I... I do not know. I know that kid. I am that kid. Disposable? Yes, I suppose I am. I was left at the heap, and I have some belief that genocide was attempted. That attempt may well have doomed my hope of being in the right mind to find a woman with whom to develop a family together with in time to do so. My only hope, I guess, is that the fourth time is the charm. I certainly hope, as I sometimes wonder, that I am not in hell already. And that if one of those times (how many people put a loaded shotgun in their mouth and pull the trigger?) I did actually die, that this is purgatory. How would I know? How would I know hell or purgatory, necessarily? And, yes, that too comes up once in a while.

Anyway, it is a bit past when I want to go down. I have a lot I want to do, hope to do, plan to do tomorrow. Oh, and branches out of the yard as well sometime this week, so I can use a weed eater or mower or... flamethrower... to get the grass down to less than 2 feet. Ugh. I really walked into a mess in some ways. And with the hand, I am not honestly sure I can either weed whip or mow as will be needed. Anyway, I will do what I can, when I can, how I can. And I really am getting at it.

Good night, Gunny King.

Another early rise.

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I am not quite an official early riser, or even an earlier riser, though it is headed that way. I am quite pleased however. Mainly that I reversed a sleep trend, and usually I cannot do that. For me to get up earlier, I have usually had to go around the clock on a slow march toward resetting my 'clock'. Sometimes having other people around can help me get up earlier, through fear of a sort. But even that is short lived if I am with them for too long. The fear does not go away, but the power of it, or more the affects of adrenalin from it wax and then wane. After I wake up, the plumbing under the sink is coming out. Because of the shape it is in, this should be a rather minor part of the job.

Good day.

Hand hurts, again.

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But, I got that faucet in, no leaks in that part of the system, so it is almost a go for the kitchen. There is, in fact, a leak. But it is not the faucet in any way. It is, of course, the drain. No problems, as after working under there just a short bit, I knew the drain plumbing, if you could call it that, was going to have to go. Tomorrow morning, when I get up and even before I shower, I am taking that thing out and putting it in a bag, marking the parts so I can reassemble at the hardware store (if necessary). I do not think any type of caulking, glue, or even very good connectors were used in the production of that drain. As well, there is an extra twist or two that really shouldn't be needed (I will check with the hardware people, but I am dubious about them).

The big part, to my mind, is done. The kitchen will indeed go forward this week, and early in it I suspect. For this job, I am going to stay on it as long and hard as I have to stay on it. Three trips to the hardware store? So be it. Five, I will not like it but I will do it. I plan to have this plumbing job done tomorrow.

By the way, I am becoming more and more suspicious that my host and hostess are indeed reading this blog. No problems, I do not care who reads here and welcome the interest. I am sure they have great chuckles about some of it and great woe about other parts. Why do I suspect this? Well, tonight at dinner, something seemed different. And when the Mrs. spoke of the work she was doing, she included the fact that she was doing the linoleum floor in the kitchen, I think, of one of the houses they are working on. When she was discussing it though, she looked at me a little differently. There was something in that look, as I have been pondering (as you all know I do quite often) that told me she had read what I wrote and about my ire and about my disbelief in equality and why. She did not have an answer for it, so either accepted it or just let it go. But she lost some of her fighting spirit on the matter of work and equality, at the least.

Now, I actually do feel bad if I put the Mr. in a bind. I am sure he has worked very hard at finding a balance. Saying what is needed in a diplomatic front, to make being with a woman less work and more pleasant (as it very well can be). But, if they read here, he will have to go through a boatload of questions and answers on various directly and indirectly related material all over again. As well, I feel bad about disturbing her boat. She has a nice pat view of the world and things that rock that boat cause a lot of doubt and discomfort. Really, that was not my intention, otherwise I would have directly said what I thought. Still, I believe what I said and stand by it.

On another topic, we discussed Marines. There was something derogatory going on and I plainly stated that Marines are not just some of the best fighters, considering they go in when no other significant force often can or will, they are extremely humane. I may not always agree with Jarheads, like their Leatherneck attitude, or even like an individual in the Corpse, I do respect the general notion of who they are, what they do, and how they do it in a deep and personal manner. They, in fact, are my brothers. I will NOT accept the anti-Americanism tripe perpetrated against them for the sake of... anything. I did not go off loudly or angrily, I merely drew the line in the sand, gave them a very solid and healthy pat on the back, and honored them as I could, and then left it at that. It, for me, is not a debate.

Oh, fie, I understand. I am not even sure if they do. She would not have been allowed into academia, at all, if she did not hold these beliefs. Find me 10% of academics (especially before they gain tenure) who support the troops and what they are doing, even if the troops happen to be doing nothing, on any campus in the US (or very possibly abroad). I know the score. I am not sure most academic types do. They were picked FOR their beliefs and any who do not hold them are excluded. Period. I have heard better, and actually quite good and wholly based, debates from the Vatican then I have ever heard on a campus. How many Summers have to be fired for merely mentioning the obvious, women cannot do math or science, for people to realize how dogmatic the education community is (and wrongly, because women do not do as well in application math and science (though they are fine at regurgitating the taught, but as I said, not being able to functionally use it)?

Proof? Let us start with brain size, then go on to other psychological factors (which, at the risk of their careers, scientists and psychologists are coming out with). Every women? No. Most? Yes. Much like interest in sports participation. Hmm, that reminds me, Title IX (I think) has been approved for science and math education at the college level. What does this mean? It means fewer math and science students. Much like sports, when there is a forced parity of numbers in areas women are not interested in entering (even with full ride scholarships offered for the frivolous women's sports), there will only be slightly more women interested in calculus, engineering, biology, and the other hard sciences. So, to create parity, slots will be cut, meaning fewer science and math degrees. Either that or a flood of hopelessly useless degrees in math history and science art, or something. Yummy for us. I do suspect we will see a huge decline in the scientific field shortly, followed by an attempt to modify or negate the effects of the decree through the creation of worthless "science and math programs". Ha, I wonder how many women will be working off $20k, $40k, and even $100k degrees... working at McDonalds or something? Ugh... talk about a drain on the economy though...

The reason that hand hurts is that when I have to apply a lot of pressure with one hand, it somehow distributes that pressure to the other hand. I knew this, to some extent, but during the work I realized just how much pressure that could be. I nearly opened up the wound channel (as the valves are VERY cranky). As well, the number of things I did with my right hand, requiring a decent bit of strength, over the work effort, really did add up. Still, the hard part is done. The drain will not be as difficult, at all.

Anyway, time for bed. I am up WAY TOO LATE!

Ah, the needle in the haystack.

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The financial uncertainty that we are in, in my humble belief, began as a means of conquering China. Or more, of forcing China to change a very dubious fiscal policy. A policy that was problematic to US, and even European, concerns. I do believe that the junk equities (?) traded concerning risky home loans, among many other practices, were calculated to change that policy at the very real threat of world wide financial ruin. Much like the old nuclear threat, this was a very serious showdown. Most people know nothing of it, most people who played a part do not and never will understand it, but that does not change the fact.

Does that mean the world, or even US economy will now simply smile, get up, and heal itself? Well, no. First, there will have to be a bending of what is considered public policy, both domestic and foreign affairs will need to be rearranged, and it will take time to get out the useful idiots and policies, and begin building and stabilizing the various economies and economic partnerships.

My evidence comes in two doses. And, no, Obama was not part of the planning, progress, or in what is about to take place. He was a useful idiot who has outlived his usefulness and will be plagued with failure after failure, except where his policy suggestions are considered useful. His social and political actions are not considered useful or important, no matter what he actually ends up doing (to the real power brokers).

The first piece of evidence, which goes completely against what Obama and the the rest of the yahoo freaks in Capital Hill are trying to do. "Advanced economies have committed to fiscal plans that will at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize or reduce government debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016," said the G20 Toronto Summit Declaration which was issued on Sunday. To put it bluntly, this means everything quota boy has done and everything he has planned to do has been shuffled into the circular file. Agreeing on targets means nothing to the Dunce in Chief, but when he cannot get legislation through, with strong (nearly absolute) majorities in the Senate and House, you know his "productive" days are over.

And, what precisely was the Chinese policy over which we went to global financial war regarding? It was China pegging their monetary value to ours. Whenever the dollar would go up, their currency would go up proportionally. Same with when it went down. The first move in that war, after they pegged their money to ours was a devaluation of the US greenback. I started suspecting that this was the case all along after watching some of the irregularities coming out of the Fed, big banking, lending practices, and some other actions and processes.

Now, what has changed? VC day, that is, Victory over China has finally occurred. I think that is why the G20 did what it did. The two are very close in time and, if you think just a bit, very related to one another. What this means, in the end, is anybody's guess. Though I think, over the course of months and years, the casualties of this war will be buried, the policies which were meant to stifle the economy and devalue the greenback will be... changed, and life will begin to get back to normal. Oh, here is that piece.

Anyway, on to the faucet. I really hope to have that done tonight. I should sleep a LOT better, and maybe wake up easier, having one less monkey on my back! Ugh.

Good night.

Well, I tried again.

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Today, before heading in to have an afternoon meal, I decided to try to install the faucet. Okay, I found the wrench (and it was metric) which fit the top nut to the faucet from the flex hose. I tightened it. I then tightened the lower nut to the cold water valve. The moment of truth came... and... no leaks! I did not tighten too much or too little (which always makes me nervous as the tightness between the two is a gray area). Woot! I did it. I tried the faucet, good, water came out. Now the sprayer... Doh! It started leaking as soon as I turned on the faucet. It was cracked at the base (something I could not have done). Damn! Damn! And again damnation!

So, I got the thing undone, packed up, and ready to go. No receipt could be found. Oh well, I thought all Wal-Mart could do was say no to a refund. As it turned out they offered me a gift card for the purchase price of the faucet. Good enough, there are things I could use, but never again any plumbing, electrical, or other such items from Wal-Mart. NEVER. Three out of three failures for them. So, over to Lowe's (we have a Home Depot, but after their children's gay festival thing, they are on my shit list). I look around a bit, but not much as I am becoming familiar with the store. The difficult thing is looking for a good brand, one that has what I want, and a unit that will fit my application and fittings. I do NOT want to drill another hole, not through a stainless steel sink! My stupid cordless drill has trouble drilling pilot holes in hard wood (grhrhrhr don't get me started... top of the line, they said... perfect for anything, they said). Yes, a good solid corded hammer drill or such is on my list, maybe just a hardy standard corded drill... I am thinking on it. Anyway, I find one, and I stay simple and relatively cheap (my kitchen is not all that, atm, so why put a $200 faucet in an aging (ancient) kitchen at this point?).

On to supper and discussion. Not much rubbing or grinding tonight, it was rather light and pleasant. I know they are working hard on three houses or so, taking care of his parents, trying to live their normal lives, and... they seemed a bit worn. I know I am worn out as well, though this weekend has recharged my batteries and seen me getting up earlier. I brought beer, bread, and my soda fountain (it seems to be a favorite there). Oh, I finally was able to show them my finger, without a bandage. I think from their looks they finally understand why I was not able to help. Even if they sort of believed me, seeing adds much more to believing. And this finger still looks really bad, is swollen, and the wound is not even close to being truly healed over... at all. But it was a great meal, always good company, and things were pleasant. I sort of stepped in it a bit, saying being a minority (non-Mormon) has it's advantages and can, if handled well, propel one socially and financially. Well, two of the ladies who attend are Mormon (and were not sure whether to be offended or not (though one came through and on my side, from her own experiences)). But my hostess (and sometimes the host, though I think he is changing some of his long held views on these things) believe that minorities cannot help themselves, or some such. They have no idea how to see how, if one is productive, honest, and hard working, that being a minority could be very advantageous. I gave it a whack or three then let it slide after that. Either you get it or you do not get it.

I, actually, am feeling much more confident in getting the sink done. I will be trying it in a short bit. I also, finally, cleaned the grill a bit. One thing I finally realize though is that using anything other than steel bristles is not only useless, it is counterproductive on an infrared heating unit. Silicon, heat resistant plastics (for cleaning other even hot grills), and probably anything other than steel, will simply melt on the device when hot. So... I learned. Still, it is finally clean, cooling now, and will be put away shortly before or after I make (hopefully) my last stab at installing the f$*^ing faucet! Arghghghghgh

Oh, that reminds me, I want to put some of the chorizo out to thaw for cooking on the grill tomorrow, but hot or mild? Bah, I will figure it out. Sorry about the cussing. Well, not really but sort of. Have a good night.