Anne N. Mouse: Blog

Yeah we had a bit here. Not as much as I hear hit Texas... But for certain areas of California, snow is an unwelcome event... Now I mostly don't stay in the central valley any more... Working out north and high in the mountains means that I did expect snow, which was there, but not near as much as we might like. Then again the area I work in is high desert for a reason! Like we usually measure rain fall in inches (apart for the drops!) most years.

So will I be writing any more stories? Probably not as long as I'm lifting lumber for a living. For some reason that leaves me exhausted to the point that these blogs are even getting a bit less often....

Safety glasses still fogging... Well it did snow! Boot report: I purchased a pair of Keen Utility Foot wear (read boots with a 6" upper or there about) I like them somewhat. They seem comfortable to wear, but I'm still too much in the sawdust and probably should have picked up an 8" boot. The other issue seems to be that the original laces in these boots will not hold a knot... It is worse than using a leather thong... Which I used for a while in my Georgia Boot Logger style boots. The reason that I bought the Keens was that the Georgia Boot Rumbler style boot didn't stand up to me pushing heavy loads... The upper separated. I may try to get them to a cobbler (if there is anyone plying that trade...) if the pandemic ever eases (Or if Kate Brown ever eases her trip into fascism) I'm of the opinion that at this point the lockdowns are at best counterproductive. Then again I've heard it said that the absolute best that ever results from socialism is mendacious mediocrity....
Take care all!

I'm still trying to find an acceptable solution to the wet nose, fogged lenses situation that winter brings when trying to wear a face mask in temperatures low enough to cause one's breath to condense. I haven't looked up the incidence of e. coli on surfaces other than restrooms, but it might give me some indication of how efficacious masks are...

On the automobile front, I got the lug bolt out of my front wheel on the Geo the hard way... I had to take it to a machine shop... (which meant pulling the hub... lots of skinned knuckles for someone....) pressed the bearing out then removed the broken stud, and replaced it... Was wishing for unfettered access to a FADOL machine tool, as I threatened to cut channels so that I wouldn't face that problem again... Probably as soon as I can find something in the AWD category that I can afford the Geo goes on the market. I've sort of decided that for the time I've driven it I over paid... But then what I didn't know was: 1. It had over sized aftermarket rims on it... 2. Rims required oversized (difficult to find [more on this latter]) lug nuts....
3. Lug bolts are 10! mm (tiny) and require only inch pounds of torque....
4. Back to difficult lug nuts, 10 mm bolts originally come with a tiny acorn nut that can easily pull through after-market rims. Thus need to have oversized (on the outside) nuts... This also means they are even easier to over-torque (reason for one bolt breaking)

Other assorted but not overwhelming (without the lug-nut problem) mechanical issues that one might expect in a seriously down market car of the age of the Geo...

Writing (what you hoped to hear) nothing to post here, but working on something I may attempt to take commercial... We shall see when I get more than a few hundred words done on it. The up side? If I can find all of it, I have a handwritten manuscript that I'm reworking that is in excess of 200,000 words... Even finding part of the manuscript will help.... :) Which I've done... But the part I found is the middle!

I hate computers... Or at least the idea of artificial intelligence. Mainly because it may be artificial but it ain't intelligent at all! Okay I'm ultra paranoid and don't keep pass words anywhere except in my own wetware (notably fallible!) but that is me. Still the fact that some companies (a lot) it seems, depend not just on the very irritating phone tree, but on a 'digital assistant' doesn't help. I lost my cell phone (either kicked it out of the truck or left a door unlocked to run into some place like a gas station) and so need to replace it while keeping my number... (hopefully) but that is looking slimmer and slimmer as the days go by, given what I just mentioned above.

It was cold! 10 degrees F or -12 C on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and never got above freezing. I'm going to do a little more shopping but believe it or not I'm having a hard time finding a balacalava.... Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places...? I know we were issued them as part of our artic gear when I was in Alaska, and I purchased a couple extras, but can I find one now? No! Would I like one? Oh yeah! Will I buy one on line? Probably not!!

If you're Homer home maker and have been doing home improvement projects during this COVID contagion and you live in the USA, you have been helping keep me gainfully employed.