Commercial Items Identified on my Commute

-
Image
I see a lot of interesting commercialitems on truck on I-75. When you make the commute many times you start to see the same items over and over again. Sometimes it is huge equipment tires, sometimes heavy equipment of different types. I see these huge blocks of aluminum going North. I think about what the mill must look like and where it is going. And how much aluminum foil a block like this will make. Using the Tesla Full Self-Driving (supervised) allows me to look for these things on the highway. The FSD also helps me through the crazy stop and goes. Easily over 70MPH and then sudden traffic at dead stops, frequently. I see accidents every trip. It is amazing there aren't more. A side note- aluminum foil has a shiny side and a dull side. The reason why is that the foil is folded as it goes through massive rollers. The shiny side is the side that faces the steel roller. The dull side faces itself - aluminum.
Post a Comment

Chased by a Bear

-

It was/is good to hire others to do the work on the house. It is very uncomfortable at times, but it accelerates things. I am unhappy with the craftsmanship. The most prized skills for this kind of work is speed. Quality skills comes in second. In the normal DIY home improvement strategy you do the inside work first then do the outside work. If you do it the other way around your taxes will go up while the inside is not worth it. I always say that property should have higher tax assessments on property that is not kept up, not higher taxes for property is kept nice. The poorly conserved properties are a drain on civilization. There should be an incentive to keep your property in good repair. Well, you might say, ""I dont want the government judging what should be done to my house". The fact is they are already judging your house with an assessment that penalizes only on how how nice your house "looks" as well as some basic stats (which are good and should be part of the assessment). It's backwards today.

I feel good about using cedar on the front gable with boat varnish. I have to do a few more coats to put on. The other thing about hiring work out is the work that I have to do, both during the project and after.... and also pay for it!

The roof will be soon.

I have been very busy at work, home and church projects. When I get overwhelmed and stressed, I force myself to turnaround and look to see if a bear is chasing me. There has not been a bear there yet. It helps smooth things out and things become manageable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ditches, Vents and Drains

-
Image
Beautiful morning on the lake. I needed to put some vents in the basement. It's never about just one thing. The vents through the brick was one thing. Getting a window well to allow proper airflow and a drain to ensure the window well doesn't fill with water are other things. I had some fun with my bobcat and digging in the dirt. I am glad its over. We went out to dinner at the American Legion Post in the neighborhood. It only made sense to drive my M998 and pose next to the tank. The humvee has been my grocery-getter lately.
Read more

Knives and Septic Systems

-
Image
I went to the largest knife show anywhere. It was in Atlanta. https://bladeshow.com/home/ It's not like I am crazy about knives. I am however, interested in intense human efforts and world class passion in particular areas. I find myself having very involved discussions with folks that are sharing their passion and expertise. I met with folks about knife making from the US and Western Europe of course, but also South Africa, Finland, Australia. It's a effective and pleasant way to learn. I had an issue (sewer pipe was broken by my stump grinder) with the septic system here in Duluth. Of course, I had to ask lots of questions and do inspections and assessments myself. Septic technology is interesting. Nothing to be scared about and although the technology is ancient and sometimes unplesant there is a lot to know. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1421&title=a-beginners-guide-to-septic-systems Having that knowledge is especially important if you...
Read more

The Electromagnetic Spectrum --DC to Daylight (and actually well beyond)

-
Image
Besides carrying my scintillation detector with me looking for ionizing radiation (over 2.46 petahertz) and decaying isotopes, I have been playing in the more friendly "basement" of the electromagnetic spectrum (under a gigahertz). A pic of my radio bench. I sold my IFR ( http://blog.theguysatwork.com/2025/02/updates-storm-and-other.html) . I needed to replace the function (at least a lot of it) with a cheaper digital produt. So for 1/10 the sale price of my IFR, I ended up buying a TinySA Ultra+ ZS406 Spectrum Analyzer. It is indeed tiny. It does what I want it to do and it's a fun new toy. Our autographed copy of the "Fall of Civilizations" arrived from the UK. Paul Cooper does such a great job with his pobcasts and videos. I felt compelled to get a personalized copy of the book. ( https://www.paulmmcooper.com/ ) Seeing this licence plate on the front of a pickup truck seemed fitting-- not so much as contrarian, but as a Komatsu equipment fan. It's g...
Read more