Mid 60s and windy with some cloud cover and maybe sprinkles of rain today. Describes yesterday pretty well too. Rain was barely noticeable though.
Spent the day on the garage man door replacement. Door went in ok, but the opening and jamb ended up needing a bunch of adjustment. Dang thing was BUILT as a trapezoid. Trying to make the corrections without tearing it all out took a bit longer. Then the locksmithing took a bunch of time. I ended up re-keying 3 cylinders, one dead bolt, one new handle for the garage entry, and then one new handle for the house entry door. Made them all match the same key. Of course there is more to it.
I didn’t have keys for a couple of the cylinders, so I had to make a bump key to open them. It’s easier than disassembling the whole thing. Had to make another when the first attempt didn’t work. Then I dropped one cylinder and had to re-load it, and get it all back together. They’re in, the jamb is square,the door fits well, and I can reinstall the trim and move to the next job today. REALLY didn’t think it was going to take that much time.
I did start the day playing a game with D2 and W1. And played another at lunch time. Then had venison and brisket burgers for dinner, and played LoTR Monopoly after. First time I’ve ever played Monopoly and had one player bankrupt everyone and win with every single property (save one that no one landed on.) D2 had a heck of a lucky day, winning every game we played except the very last card game. FWIW, the LoTR version of Monopoly is much better than original Monopoly, IMHO. Nice metal game pieces, a nice replica ring, and some tweaks to the rules that make the game much shorter to play, typically.
Today I will either do the dockhouse door, or the posts. Given my experiences with the door to the garage, I might do the posts as something I can walk away from without finishing if time runs out. Doors really need to be installed and working before you leave a property for a couple of weeks. Nothing is ever easy or quick, but even applying that rule the door in the garage caught me off guard.
I’ve improved function and security by replacing the door. I added a few pounds of venison to the freezer, and introduced the kids to delicious deer meat. And I played a bunch of games with the family. Good weekend in my book…
Keep stacking, but find your joy where you can.
nick
Experience has taught me, when doing things with door or windows in an existing house, to measure all four sides and the diagonals and “geometry it up” to see what we’re going to need. Probably measure everything at least twice because the numbers aren’t going to make sense, and if convenient have The Child or other helper come and make sure I’m not making missing something.
The “something missing” sometimes turns out to be the top board of the frame being 3/16″ narrower at the left than at the right, or a side board being bowed, or similar. I love old houses (serious, not sarcastic) but generations of half-posteriored repairs and “improvements” by do-it-yourselfers who don’t know what they’re doing or are using scraps sometimes makes things hard to deal with.
Noted that I’m a do-it-yourselfer who doesn’t always know what I’m doing, but at least I document what I’ve done and why and put it into a binder for the house. Whether the binder remains more than five minutes after I leave is another question.
Yup, totally agree on all points.
Sometimes they never make sense, and you can’t figure out why. I’ve had situations where I wind up just making a best guess, cut slightly too large, and then stuff object into hole to see what part doesn’t fit.
@brad:
Been there, done that.
When we bought our current house, a classic 1929 3-bed semi-detached, the bathroom had a sliding, folding door, and the smallest bedroom (now my study) had a full-size wooden one.
W1, in her wisdom, decided that the bedroom door should be moved to the bathroom doorway, and a replacement bifold door installed in its place. Of course, I was tasked to do it. A carpenter, I’m not.
But I managed it, despite the bathroom doorway being unsquare, to the tune of about a quarter-of-an-inchof height across its width. It was also about the same amount shorter than the door to be fitted.
Cue much shaving of the door, until it finally fitted. Took me about a week, on-and-off. And it’s still there, to this day.
G.
Back in SA!
The Presidential abuse has to stop. A corporation could say “FU” and roll the dice on a Fed response, but are probably too WOKE to do it. Hopefully, the spineless Redumblicans will work up a Constitutional challenge.
Only if you are counting on AI generated fingers. Or maybe I can’t type. 6 & 7 are pretty close. 🙂
There is an old joke:
“An eager young Air Force couple can do in 12 months what takes Marine newlyweds 6”.
Plans for the day– maybe get the Christmas tree up. Pouring down rain. 68F and bucketing down.
The door frame matched the door, and was an inch out from one edge to the other across the top.
n
Added: Incompetent or dishonest tradesmen who certainly should know the difference between grades of plumbing pipe or between hydraulic cement and common cement or between pressure treated lumber and regular lumber, but who use the cheaper kind even if it violates code and the building permit and even if they’re charging the customer for the good stuff.
Well, an interesting turn of events…
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/20/ousted-openai-head-sam-altman-to-lead-microsofts-new-ai-team-ceo-nadella-says.html
This place is like that, home owner built ca. 1989. Drives me nuts. Sometimes I fix it properly, other times just finesse it, sometimes ignore it.
French patio doors are about 1/8” out on one side for example, so it sticks. I have put off fixing because I am planning on a new door eventually (more glass, less frame), but maybe I should take the hour (or two, or four, because as Nick attests above these things often go south when you actually pick up tools).
>> French patio doors are about 1/8” out on one side for example, so it sticks. I have put off fixing because I am planning on a new door eventually (more glass, less frame), but maybe I should take the hour (or two, or four, because as Nick attests above these things often go south when you actually pick up tools).
The project’s not finished without at least one trip to the hardware store. Luckily there’s a well-stocked Ace Hardware just five minutes away. Saves at least 10-15 minutes from going to Lowe’s instead.
My Dad was a Marine. Can’t tell about the 6″, never saw him nude. But my little brother and I are not lacking below the belt. German blood.
He would like the joke.
The rain stopped and the sun even came out for a bit. Still not going to start a major project in the rain so I’m doing the myriad of little things…. and eating lunch.
I got the trim around the door back up, and now that project is done. I’ll fill the small gap in the exterior trim when I paint, IE much later. looking at the exterior trim, the door opening was built that way. Tight joints in the brick mould, no evidence of settling…
I think I’m going to do some electrical to get the carport light working again. It’s covered, and I can walk away if I don’t get it done. The other choice is lighting in the garage, which is sorely needed. Might splash a line in the lake too.
n
Over The Hedge: Growing Up
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2023/11/20
I am 63 and my wife of 41 years asks me the same question at times. But no more than once a day.
“Backdoor Gun Grab: Congressional Dems Push Background Checks on Ammo Purchases, Seek to Criminalize Middlemen Buyers”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/11/backdoor-gun-grab-congressional-dems-push-background-checks/
“Under the Ammunition Modernization and Monitoring Oversight Act, businesses selling ammunition must possess the same federal licenses gun dealers are required to obtain, according to the bill’s sponsors.”
“Furthermore, ammunition vendors must conduct background checks on purchases under the bill.”
No.
Microsoft just executed a stealth takeover of OpenAI.
Gotta wonder who dropped the dime on the board and how many are closeted pedos, druggies, etc.
Gates sent a limo to the Borland HQ parking lot when he wanted do a stealth takeover of that company by stealing their best compiler developers, including Anders Hejlsberg, who went on to create C#.
Of course, Phillippe Khan had the last laugh. Having been kicked out of the Borland CEO position in 1995 and viewed by Gates as a poseur, Kahn invented the camera phone in 1997. Maybe you’ve heard of it.
I may stop buying Levis and Dockers. I wear one of the two every day of the week.
“Levi’s Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job but Gave Me My Voice Hardcover – November 15, 2022” by Jennifer Sey
https://www.amazon.com/Levis-Unbuttoned-Woke-Took-Voice/dp/1958682241?tag=ttgnet-20/
“Jennifer Sey was on track to become the first woman CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. As the President of the Levi’s brand, she was widely celebrated as a versatile and inspirational leader who had helped save the iconic brand from bankruptcy. Formerly a self-described “left of left of center” progressive, she was beloved as the embodiment of the company’s “profits through principles” ethos.”
“But everything changed when Sey publicly opposed the closure of San Francisco’s public schools at the height of the pandemic. In response to her ‘wrongthink, ‘ management gave her a choice: shut up or leave. She decided that defending at-risk children was more important than the job that she loved, and so she resigned. After more than two decades at the company, she gave up her professional future in order to retain her voice.”
I did not realize that the crazies in San Fransisco closed the public schools for a year and a half during Covid. That is totally crazy.
Ok. It is The Valley. They’re all into some kind of deviant behavior.
Producing the documentary “Athlete A” documenting the antics of Larry Nassar is probably the real issue.
Vanguard is up there again in terms of ownership of Levis, but the other two usual suspects, Blackrock and State Street are either MIA or hold smaller amounts of the stock.
I think that every corporation has some policy or ad campaign or public statement that you’ll object to. If you boycott every corporation which says or does something stupid or offensive, or whose parent or subsidiary says or does something stupid or offensive, you’ll never do business with any corporation again. Which may be fine in the abstract but is rather limiting in today’s society.
Just call him … Bubble Wrap.
“Happy Birthday, Joe, Now Retire: Staff Has to Pull Out ‘Bubble Wrap Strategy’ to Deal With His Issues”
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/20/happy-birthday-joe-now-retire-staff-figuring-out-new-ways-to-deal-with-bidens-issues-n2166581
“Now there’s a name that has leaked about the strategy to protect old Joe: the “Bubble Wrap Strategy.””
“We’ve heard a little bit of it already — about using the short stairs so he’s less likely to trip for example and wearing shoes that are less likely to make him slip. But there’s more. Looks like it includes the doctor’s spinning and some extra “enlightenment.””
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Nick sometimes refers to “W1” and other here have picked it up. It’s close to RBT’s “my first wife”.
That’s ok but it’s not as punchy as it could be. “My ex-girlfriend” would be accurate but nicely misleading. “My not-yet-ex-wife” would be the same but turned up to 11.
Please make a note of it.
Try finding Lee right now. They are Hecho en Mexico and have serious supply chain problems.
Yeah, dementia. Trump tho.
Try finding Lee right now. They are Hecho en Mexico and have serious supply chain problems.
I would go back to Wranglers but it looks like they are woke too.
I just want comfortable jeans that fit my fat posterior well.
https://texasjeans.com
https://www.round-house.com/collections/round-house-made-in-usa-jeans-dungarees-pants
https://schaeferoutfitter.com/collections/mens-jeans-trousers?sort_by=title-descending
They are out there, but you have to go to the source.
Home sweet home.
Power went out at the BOL as I was starting my truck to leave. Had to stick around and make sure it wasn’t just me.
Drove home kinda slow as it was slick and patchy fog out in the country…
————-
Caught my first bass today! Took a break from cleaning up when the weather cleared for sunset. Big fish were hitting top water stuff, so I thought, why not? Tried my vintage jitterbug lure. Tried a swimmer. Then realized that everything I saw them hitting was on the surface so tried a “popper”. Fish hit it on the first cast, but I didn’t hook up. Second cast I got him and he put up a good fight. Small mouth bass, according to the ID guide card, and 19″. Didn’t get a weight. Gently let him go to catch another day. Pretty exciting actually. Kept fishing but the activity slowed and stopped. I could see them stirring up the muddy bottom, but they’d stopped hitting top water, and I packed up rather than switch bait again.
Power went out just as I was getting ready to drive away. Hope it’s not out long.
—————–
Not raining in Houston, but occasional drops are hitting my face and the wind is really blowing.
n
Levis did something else worthy of a boycott years ago.
I haven’t owned or worn blue jeans in decades, and haven’t worn my tan or black ones in at least 15 years. I realized that, and picked up a pair for the lake and for home. If I need to dress “not like me” jeans ought to do it.
n
I used “current wife” she replied with “sooner to be ex-husband”.
Almost home. Spent two days with my granddaughter. She’s doing better. Took a side trip to Minneapolis, to get the engine I bought which was not exactly what I thought it was – cast iron block instead of aluminum but much stronger and easier to work with however instead of saving 100 pounds it is 50 pounds heavier to fix weaknesses in the stock block. I’m pleased with the change.
I’ll be spending the next three days with my wife’s family. Almost no drama with these people which will be a nice change.
Funny how there comes a point where “no drama” is much more desirable than “exciting”.
Same thing happens with women, if you make it past the desire to ‘stick your stick in crazy’.
n
In what universe are the thugs pictured “baby faced”?
Baby-faced ‘killer bullies’: Mugshots of four teens accused of beating Las Vegas boy, 17, to death are revealed after they were charged with his murder
n
Comfortable Jeans: I’ve had excellent luck with https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/blue-mountain-mens-denim-5-pocket-jean-regular-fit. They’re comfortable, fit well, and inexpensive.
Hurray, Nick! Now you have to start telling tall stories about what a monster it was….
Baby-faced? Um, no. They look like thugs to me. Young’ns, but definitely thugs.
They should have a chance to get hard in prison…
———–
the scroll wheel on my mouse worked when I left home, but doesn’t work now. It’s a dell mouse and I use the heck out of it, but shouldn’t there have been some “sometimes it doesn’t work right” as it failed, if there is a mechanical problem? Sudden “just stopped working” always seems like a software issue to me, but DANG, if so, how do you get the mouse wrong in this day and age?
I’ll try another mouse tomorrow. Now I’m off to bed.
n
@stevef:
As do I, following Nick’s example. Reminds me of former (and maybe still is) nomenclature in the amateur radio fraternity, where one would refer to one’s girlfriend as “YL”, and, by extension, wife as “XYL”.
I have even seen that on engraved name badges, when the lady in question attended a rally with her licenced husband, appended to his callsign, viz. “G8KBZ XYL Jane” using myself as example, although we never did it.
G.
It’s easier to type W1, than SWMBO… and it seems weird to say “wife” instead of “my” wife, but whose wife would you be doing something with? and “the” wife is weird too.
Plus in-group slang is a unifier…
n