Mike's Journal of Semi-Boring Events

10:34am: Mike’s Big Bad Battery Box

A number of years ago I picked this gem up from one of my regular haunts. It was basically just an empty box that at one time housed a Wheatstone bridge. The store clearly exploited my weakness for rugged wooden boxes.



On that very same day, in fact only one isle over, I picked up this power supply. The total of both items came to somewhere less than eight dollars. My thought process was, to build a variable power supply that I could lug about.

From that point on, they both sat in a box. They aged over the groovy 90’s and were hauled from one place to another long into the new millennium.

Fast forward to last weekend.

I was cleaning and taking inventory of the junk in my garage. I was going to attend the Gloucester County Ham Radio fest and wanted to tailgate some of my older and less used equipment. In my garage fumblings, I happened upon the box and power supply again.

Many thoughts went through my head, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that I still needed a luggable power supply, but not just one that you merely plug into the wall. I also needed the ability to have a decent amount of power far away from power line mains.



About the same time that such a thought crossed my mind, my eyes focused on these babies sitting on a shelf. These are two 4.5 Amp Hr 12 Volt lead acid batteries. I pulled these from a small electric scooter a few years ago and could not bring myself to dispose of these.

The pieces were now all falling together. I loaded up all the stuff I was going to sell into the van, and then took all of my project bits into the man cave to cobble something together.



I first had to open the box up to take a peek inside. I used a decent amount of Goo Gone to remove some old sticky stuff that was stuck to the walls of the box. I also had to install two parallel pieces of wood along the bottom so the power supply had something to sit on.



Next I had to assemble all the team members to see how things would be mounted and wired together. The basic ideal was this. I wanted a box that contained, one variable power supply, both lead acid batteries, and a power connector. Each item would have its own power hook-ups. This way the box is multi-purpose. If near an outlet I can use the power supply, if not I can use the batteries in series or parallel, the power connector can be hooked up to either the batteries or the power supply. This configuration also allowed me to use the power supply to charge the batteries. Score one for me.



The problem I now faced was how to make the power supply variable. I am sure there are many ways to do this and Lord knows the way I choose is not nearly as efficient as it should be. However I only was able to use what I had on hand and I was able to make it work for me.

These are voltage regulators. They basically take a larger voltage and make a stable lower voltage, regardless of the load you place on them. The voltages I have on this unit are as follows 5, 8,12,15,18, and 20. The power supply provides around 21 volts. I wired these up to a 12 position selector switch.



Once everything was soldered together it was time for a test. I checked each of the voltages and they all came out to be right on the nose.



Finally I had to make things look nice. I used an old piece of paneling from one of the girl’s walls as a face plate. I cut holes, sanding it down, and sprayed four coats of enamel on it.



Viola! Mike’s Big Bad Battery Box

I still need to screw some things down and fasten the batteries to the inside of the box so they don’t move around, but everything else is functional.

I am pleased.

1:39pm: Testing the Earth
Well I went ahead and tried to set up an apparatus to test soil conductivity but ran into some problems.



This was my test setup. I was going to use a Variac, and two volt meters. One to monitor voltage and the other to monitor current between the two ground rods.

When everything was hooked up, the only thing that happened was that I tripped a circuit breaker. After some initial DC measurements I found that the resistance between the two ground rods was 145 Ohms. The resistance between a pole on the Variac and either ground rod showed to be around 1.4Kohms. (The Neutral wire in my home is tied directly to ground)
Even at maximum voltage a 15 amp breaker should not trip, UNLESS it was a GFI which unfortunately was the case.

For the next test I think I will use an isolation transformer and a non-GFI circuit.
Chalking this one up to experience.

3:53pm:



Well I finally got around to installing a pair of grounding rods. I did not go through with my original idea of using chemical grounds, mostly because I am lazy. It was hard enough hammering in two 8 foot rods into the thick New Jersey clay.

I spaced the rods exactly 8 feet apart. Hopefully in the next day or two I will be able to take some measurements of the soil’s conductivity.

8:02pm: Another Small Step


Finally had a chance to mount and wire the 240 volt outlet to the wall.

Next up, the ground rods and power conditioner.

10:36am: As time marches on
So when last we left off I was babbling about rewiring a 240-volt outlet in my garage and installing some ground rods.

Well it’s not done yet, but I have made progress. I managed to move the wiring and remount the fuse box to its new location. I have not wired it up yet. It’s been pretty hot outside and I have been pretty busy these days. Also, just for fun I mounted a few antennas to my roof for various purposes.

Alas, I have been traveling quite a bit these days and my time at home is nothing short of precious. So with that said, I am just playing catch up, the moment I step off the plane in Philadelphia.



Now, as for the ground rod situation. I also made some headway. As you can see I removed the pesky bushes from my front yard that were in my way. Because New Jersey is full of red clay I am still toying with some idea on how to get a 10-foot, ½ inch copper pipe into the ground.

Eventually I will get all of that done. However thinking forward I started to wonder how I was going to plug this home made equipment into my home’s mains.

Ultimately I would like to have a nice little Tesla Coil running and not have it interfere with anything I might plug into my wall sockets.

I’ve done some reading and saw how power conditioners were used. These are basically power line filters that are reversed to keep all the Tesla Coil noise on the Tesla Coil end of the circuit. I immediately started rummaging through my garage to see if I had anything that could work.

In my garage fumbling I managed to stumble across an old power supply that I pulled out of a Risc 6000 Mainframe that I had laying around. After some rivet drilling and metal cutting I was able to get at the circuitry.




This is what I pulled out. This circuit was coming right off the mainline switch and had a beefy enough looking ferrite choke on it to make me think that this would filter whatever noise I could generate for it.

The power supply was rated at 240 volts at 13 amps, so that equates to 3,120 watts. For my purposes that is plenty of power to play with at this point and then some.




I took task to map out the circuit and draw up a diagram.

I wasn’t even going to pretend to figure out how the circuit worked or why. I did briefly toy with the formula Xc = 2 * Pi * F * C to get some reactive values out of the capacitors, but I was hopelessly lost when it came to get inductor values. I just figured I would hook the signal generator at one end and a scope to the other and see how it handled different frequencies.

As I had expected, 60hz went through the circuit almost untouched, and anything over 600Hz was severely attenuated. So I am happy to say that I think I have a filter that will work for my needs.

I’d like to mount this in a nice box and have a 240 outlet, two variances I have lying around and a few 120 outlets hooked up to it.

This should cover my needs for a decent low power coil using an OBIT (Oil Burner Ignition Transformer) at 10,000 volts / 23mAmps.

3:19pm: Safety First
Well I have talked about it for years. I’ve thought about it and I am finally going to set forward with building a decent Tesla Coil. Now when I say “decent” I really mean, “much better than the one that a friend and I had built about sixteen years ago”. If the secondary coil was anywhere close to being in tune with any of the other components then it was purely by luck.

Now since I would like to get this right from the get go, I would like to make safety a big factor. I have combed through Tesla mailing lists and websites and read up a bit on safety. This is probably the best link I have found for my needs.




The first order of business is to have my own circuit breaker dedicated to my efforts. Luckily I have two 30 amp breakers free on my home’s breaker panel. 13 and 14 right at the bottom.



The breakers are already wired up to another fuse panel in my garage. These are also 30 amp fuses. The receptacle is rated for 50 amps. Unfortunately the panel and receptacle are located in a bad spot. I will need to relocate them to the front of the garage where my RF ground will go.



As if two breakers would not be enough I also have this smaller box used for air conditioning units as my main switch. It is a single 240 volt switch rated for 60 amps. This will be the switch that will activate any circuit I happen to be playing with.



Next up will be the RF ground. In the past I have toyed with chemical ground electrodes to receive distant VLF stations. More on that can be found HERE. The above picture is merely a copper pipe with holes drilled in it hammered into the ground. I then pour brine solution into the pipe and let it leech out of the holes. After a decent amount of brin has been poured in I then stuff the pipe with rock salt. This, I am told, creates a decent RF ground.



For my purposes I will be using two of these spaced about 5 feet apart in this garden along my driveway. I hope that this will provide me with a decent enough ground for my coiling efforts.

3:57pm: Saturday
Events
So here I sit on a Saturday afternoon drinking my coffee. In another 48 hours I will be in Ohio again.

The trip this time around was confusing, interesting, and taxing all wrapped up into a ball that seemed to get stuck in the back of my throat. I signed some papers this week, which insure that I will be employed for the next two years barring any stupidity on my part.

My first day out there was terrible. I took Rapid Rover to the airport since I did not want anyone to drive me there and I dreaded the thought of leaving my vehicle in the Philadelphia airport parking facility.

When I attempted to pay the driver my credit card kept coming back canceled. After being violated by airport security I made a few phone calls and found out that my credit card was at it’s limit and they were not willing to extend it. So the remainder of my trip I had to pay out of pocket. Yeah I have 600 bucks just lying around for such an occasion. I managed to scrap the money together to pay for the hotel room so my expense checks better get here quickly so I can pay my mortgage.

A bunch of us took the same plane. VP and programming grunt alike shared the same vehicle of transport. It was nice being able to hob knob with the big wigs.

When we arrived in Cleveland and attempted to rent a car they tried to dump a brand new red mustang on us. Under normal circumstances this might be kind of cool but seeing as how we had to cart 7 to 8 people around I didn’t think we could manage that in the back seat of a mustang. So we had to shake the rental car agency down for an SUV.

That first day was sort of confusing and I really did not know what to do with myself, so I did what I am good at. Being a thorn in people’s sides. I can get a metal for that ability.

Tuesday we had a big kick off meeting and that was about 5 hours long followed by a cocktail hour and then dinner. That was kind of cool. I met so many people I’m not even sure who was who. Lucky for me they were all wearing nametags.

The next two days were training in a classroom environment with absolutely no network or cell phone connection.

Below are some photos of the great white trip.


This was inside the hotel. I could not help conjuring images of a beehive in my mind. It was a pretty nice place.


This is a shot of the parking lot at the office I work at. Guess who cleaned off the car to get there?


This is a shot off of the sixth floor. I wish I had a sled.

Tinkering
Well with what little time I have had available to me this weekend I managed to create a DTS test file in surround sound. I think I might try to get a couple of popular computer voices together and have them have a conversation in surround sound. That might be kind of cool.

Entertainment
Watched “Colasis, The Forbin Project” while out in Ohio. I have to admit the story was cheesy but I love the take on super computers in the early 70’s. I find is truly comedic that a computer that used punch tape for storage could take over the world.

Health
Been eating a little better but not by much. Last week I did not have enough room to pack my gym cloths. However yesterday I packed and sent them out with a variety of other things and sent them to Ohio. So next week I have no excuse to be a loaf. I’m floating at around 170 lbs and that needs to change.

Dream
Been dreaming a lot about Sharon lately since I’ve been away from her the majority of the week.

Weather
Well it doesn’t do me much good to talk about the weather since I am almost constantly going from one climate to another. I will say that so far the Ohio climate REALLY sucks. I had no problem what so ever walking around outside once I got back. 32-degree weather was a welcome break to what I have been enduring.

Daily Good News
I survived a week in Ohio, and was able to get semi-drunk for free.

Opinion
These days I’m starting to realize that having an opinion only requires that I have to explain myself, so why even bother.

Quote
“Foolproof systems don’t take into account the ingenuity of fools.”
Gene Brown

4:35pm: Saturday
Events
Just got through ripping apart the bedroom downstairs that flooded from out last torrent of rain. The floor came up relativly easy , however the nasty red paint that was under it was pretty messy. Sharon scrubbed the floor with soap in an attempt to get up as much paint as possibly. Once that all dried. I took a blow dryer and dried out the holes that were put in by the termite people to dry them out. After this I gave each hole a quick squirt of a concrete patching compund. Hopefully this will dry without issue and then I can paint the whole floor with drylock and hope I never have a flooding problem again.

Not too much else going on. Really just biding my time until I leave for Ohio on Monday morning. I am kind of siked to to go but I know that will all wear off soon enough and it will become more of a chore.

Tinkering
Have really been stepping up my involvment in playing with the SPDIF port on my computer and having my receiver decode the DTS signals I'm sending them to. Without boring everyone to death I will simply say that sampling rates are a real pain in the but.

Entertainment
Lately I have been addicted to an old PS/2 game that my cousin let me borrow. It's called Okami and aside from the annoying sounds it makes its pretty neat. Also I stocked up my Netflix Instant queue to watch a bunch of cheesy old SciFi movies while I'm bored in Ohio.

Health
Been eating a little better and walking more often but I really need to step up the pace a bit. I'm currently 172 pounds and for me that is fat. The hotel in Ohio has a full gym so I think I will take advantage of that.

Weather
The weather has been much warmer as of late. In the mid to high 30's. I'm loving it. In my opinion this is the perfect temperature.

Quote
"Do not bring up small issues during major problems. "
Indian Proverb

12:14am: Thursday
Events
Well it has certainly been sometime since my last post. Never enough hours in the day to find a moment to write. However tonight I am up late as a result of drinking a few cups of strong coffee over my cousin’s house.

To say that there have been changes in my life since my last post would be gross understating of the facts that have been revolving around my somewhat chaotic life.

Indeed since last I put keystrokes to journal my life has taken somewhat of a twist and turn for better or for worse depending on one’s position.

The holidays had come and gone in a blur. They somehow paled in comparison to everything that has happened.

Within this small stretch of time my job has completely changed roles requiring me to be in Ohio four days a week, I have two grown children leaving the nest. One moved out completely, the other in the process of leaving. Both are expecting children of their own within the coming months. Another kid is getting ready to get her drivers permit.

The house has itself gone through some changes. My dryer died on me requiring me to purchase a new one RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS, and the down stairs flooded almost completely from a recent storm requiring me to completely rip apart a bedroom to get things dried out.

All this happened within a two-week period around the holidays. To say things have been stressful would be an understatement.

However the future does look a little brighter. With this new position I am in, I am being fully trained and the incentives are pretty good. I can work almost completely from home once all the traveling is done. Two kids have moved out of the house and into more supporting environments for their situations. This leaves a little more room for the remaining two girls to spread out and have their own rooms now. This has been working out pretty good so far.

Unfortunately my education via college has been put on hold since I have so much travel in the near future. I think I would genuinely lament this if I were not learning something new while traveling about.

I have to admit, I am not really sure how things are going to pan out. I only know that they will indeed pan out in some fashion that I am currently unable to predict. One can only hope for the best I suppose.

Tinkering
Haven’t really had any time to play around these past few weeks. Too much housework and change going on around here for me to actually have a spare moment to tinker with anything.

Entertainment
Been watching a lot of movies and haven’t really been reading too much. I’ve taken a shining to listening to DTS recording of music. I am currently in the process of finding a way to send these recording over a cable digitally to be decoded by my surround sound decoder. Still working on that.

Health
Both my diet and my exercise regime have been nearly non-existent. I am not almost 170lbs and up to about 19% body fat and I have been feeling every bit of it. I have been sleeping entirely too much, eating entirely too much, and sitting about entirely too much.

This indeed needs to change.

Dream
Been having some strange ones as of late but nothing I can remember.

Weather
Well seeing as how it is the middle of the winter, I’m going to venture a guess that it is pretty cold out. Not only cold but extremely dry as well.

Quote
“I could never accept findings based almost exclusively on mathematics. It ain't ignorance that causes all the trouble in this world. It's the things people know that ain't so”
Edwin Armstrong

9:05pm: Transformers, more then meets the eye
Now that I have your attention, I will again take you through the current project I have going on.

The homemade arc welder.


When last we left off, I had my test setup producing around 61 volts with the potential of a ridiculous amount of current. Regardless of the setup’s functionality, it would be negligent to leave things laying about with out a concern for safety or portability. To accomplish this a housing needs to be created.


This is a small cart I built out of some scraps of wood and a few castors I had lying about. I still need to cut out a piece of wood to fasten to the cart for mounting the transformers, and a few more pieces to house it all.


Another concern of mine was the amount of heat that would be generated from having so many transformers buzzing away creating an arc hot enough to melt steel. For this I have a bank of fans that I salvaged from a mainframe I recently ripped apart.


I was able to salvage the mounting bracket for these fans by simply cutting a small piece of metal from the end of the bracket.


Even though all these fans would produce, I would imagine, the necessary amount of cooling, I was left with the problem of how to power them all. Each of the fans runs on 12 volts DC consuming about 450 mA of current. With eight fans going full blast this would equate to 3.6 amps. That’s a lot of current. Luckily these transformers also have a secondary of 12 volts for lower powered devices that I can tap into. Above is a picture of a circuit bridge that will take AC current and turn it into pulsating DC current. One of these secondaries should be suitable for powering the fans.


3.6 amps is a lot of current albeit dramatically less then what the welder will be putting out. Still 3.6 amps going through a little circuit bridge is enough to produce quite a bit of heat. To keep things a bit cooler I needed to mount a heat sink to the circuit bridge.
Above, I proudly present to you my solution.

I used my tap and dye set to thread a finishing nail into a screw suitable to go through a hole I drilled in an old processor heat sink.


I was pleasantly surprised that it all came together rather nicely.


I added a small mounting bracket to the assembly to allow me to bolt it onto a future wall in the arc welder.

I was pleased with the progress I made tonight. There is something rather rewarding in working with metal and fabricating. As I was merrily using the tap and dye set to create a make shift screw, I thought back to my childhood when I would observe my father carefully using similar methods to work the world around him into a functioning solution. Sure there would be a lot of cursing involved, and many trips to the hardware store but the main difference between him and I is that I was experimenting with nothing much to loose except scrap parts where as my Father used such methods as a final resort after snapping a screw off in say, an engine block.

I would imagine that many such men of yesteryear cursed equally as loud in similar situation since now a days there are tools specifically designed for removing broken screws, and it only cost civilization the wearing nerves of our patriarchs.

8:42pm: Monday
Events
Not a lot going on today. I finally had a moment to head over to the college to get my transcripts entered into their system. Unfortunately, I also needed my high school transcripts before being able to schedule an aptitude test. Lucky for me the high school is right down the road. I managed to fill out all that paper work and hopefully by next week I can schedule the test. I know for a fact I will need remedial math because I’m stupid like that. And that will be the only course I will take. I want to test the waters a bit before I go full steam into the college thing.

Tinkering
Ok so I decided to get rid of that blasted mainframe computer sitting in my garage. I can’t bear with the fact of merely trashing the unit so I decided to give it the once over and take out all the parts that I think I might use.

I ended up scoring a gigantic power supply, about a dozen fans and two dozen hard drives.

I harvested the hard drives and managed to pull out THIS many rare earth magnets.


Yup dats a lot of magnets.

Also it appeared that each hard drive unit had a small 20-pin CMOS microcontroller. I pulled these out as well, in the hopes that I might be able to flash program them in the future.

Entertainment
Watched half of a lecture by Jocelyn Bell Burnell the discoverer of the Neutron star. Pretty good stuff.

Health
Still no exercise but I did eat well today. For lunch I prepared veggie sushi rolls, and sliced oranges. I must admit that my proficiency in rolling sushi has increased over time. They are now properly formed and packed with plump goodness.

Dream
None

Weather
Cool and sunny, tonight it is raining.

Quote
“Science is an imaginative adventure of the mind seeking truth in a world of mystery”
Sir Cyril Herman Hinshelwood

6:44pm: Sunday
Events
And so it is, I am blogging one week to the day of my last post. We are still ridiculously broke. HOWEVER the good news is that the bills are indeed paid, so we have breathing room. Money is tight but we are getting by. Normally this would be a big concern of mine but there is no use in bitching about something you really cannot change at the moment. We have food, we have shelter, everyone is healthy and I am warm. No complaints.

This past week has been pretty tough on me mentally though. What, with all the chaos going on at work, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the malaise of confusion. Especially, if you’re not sure you are wanted by your employer. Add to that, the fact that I have a dying skill set that is valuable to have only if you know someone who needs it. This conversion to SAP has some folks scared including me.

I’m not the type of person that will gradually fade into oblivion. Instead, I am the type that makes a lot of noise and makes people feel uncomfortable with the questions I ask. I have been doing this with my superiors as of late and I need to be careful about this.

I suppose so long as I do a good job, and remain a hard worker, I can only hope that people see this as a value to them and maybe they would be willing to retrain me. But alas I am only a lowly branch employee and not one of the corporate elite. I would feel better about all of this if I had originally worked for the corporate office, but I don’t.

Rumor has it that I do indeed have a place in this new epoch of corporate organization. This makes me feel a little better. I’ve also just recently learned that a potential new manager has to have all of his ducks in a row before he can even approach me about a position. Let’s hope for the best. I’ve converted companies to other systems for five straight years, I know what’s to be involved. A lot of the heartache I can see coming a mile away. This is both a blessing to the company in the long run and a curse to me as I sit and wait to be included.

These are the things that have for the most part been keeping me up at night, making me drink more beer then I usually do, in addition to becoming lazy in my diet and exercise. I guess I really shouldn’t let such things get me down. You only get one life and it makes no sense to waste it on worrying.

On the good news side of things, I finally got around to updating the software on our Xbox and am now able to watch Netflix movies on it. This is pretty cool since Sharon and I were discussing a way to stream video to the plasma TV downstairs. Now we have a way of doing this.

But for every positive action in my household there is an equal but opposite action that takes place. Might I add that nothing spells a relaxing weekend like having to rip apart a wall to fix a leaky shower.


This is the wall I had to rip apart to get to the plumbing. Luckily for me it was in a closet, and I had some leftover subfloor that I used to cover things back up. It makes for one hell of an access panel.


And here is the troublesome leak. To say the least, I suck at sweating pipes. I wasn’t about to get in there and sweat the pipes back together. I instead used press on fittings to fix this. In the end it all worked but I also had to fix the area where the shower pipe screwed into the pipe in the wall. I also had to use my drill to convert my water saving shower head to the normal type. This reduced the pressure in the pipe and helps stop the leaking. Out of it all that was the toughest part.

I’m keeping my fingered crossed that there will be no more leaks.


Mmmmm fall.


What the? Winter?!?!

Tinkering
So it is safe to say that I have had arc welders on the brain. I don’t know why I want to play with these things, I just feel compelled to, and that’s all.

Seeing as how I have no money to actually buy an arc welder, I’m left to my own devices to cobble something together and hope that it will work.

I know that arc welders require quite a bit of current to operate properly so the first order of business was to insure that I had a receptacle in the garage beefy enough to handle my experimenting.


I have a small fuse panel in my garage with a service set up for 240 volts. Here we see a 20 amp receptacle. I felt that 20 amp service would not cut it so I decided to upgrade this.


This is a 50 amp receptacle. This should be able to handle the beefier currents I need.


The next problem I faced was how to isolate and convert the high voltage from the 240 volt outlet into a lower voltage with more current. A few months back I was fortunate enough to inherit six transformers from a group of spent battery backup units. My employer was throwing these away and I told them that I would give them a good home.


Since I knew virtually nothing about these transformers I would have to test them and measure their outputs. I had no idea what was the output and what was an input so I needed to use a variac and a multi meter to figure some things out. A variac is a tool that allows you to vary the amount of A/C voltage you apply to something. For the purposes of this test I would apply around 4 volts to what I thought were inputs. As it turned out, when I applied roughly 12 volts to these wires I would read around 120 volts on the another set of wires. I was fairly confident that those sets of wires were designed for line voltage. I then applied line voltage to these wires and sure enough I received 12 volts on the beefier wires. This made sense since I could see how the line voltage was needed to be stepped down and use the excessive current to charge a bank of lead acid batteries.


I was now fairly sure that I could phase the transformers together to work collectively in giving me a decent voltage and be able to deliver a real punch in the current department. Here we see four transformers phased together. I have two transformers hooked up serially across the 240 volt line in parallel with two more transformers in series.


I had no way to switch the power on or off so I had to improvise and put something together. This is the fruit of my labor. It looks ugly, and is dangerous as all hell but it does function. I used pieces from and old metal shelf bracket to mount a 30 amp circuit breaker to a few scraps of wood. Live wires were heavily exposed and I had to use extreme caution when testing this setup.

Sure enough when I had everything wired, I snapped the breaker into the on position and there was a big click followed by a low hum coming from the transformers. IT WORKED!


The switching arrangement had me a bit scared of the whole apparatus so I dropped 15 bux into getting a circuit breaker box for an air conditioning unit. It’s a 60 amp breaker which is a bit more then I need but it also allows me the room to expand into higher currents if I ever upgrade my main box.


This is the entire test setup, with power applied. You can see that the meter read 61.4 volts. I think this might be enough voltage to get a small arc going. It should at least work with a 3/32 welding stick.

All looks well with the setup. Now I just need to insulate everything, and place it all in a box with at least half a dozen fans on the transformers to keep them cool. I can use a small oven thermometer with an alarm to warn me if things get too hot.

Updates will follow as I get them.

Entertainment
I took the reading section out of my journal and replaced it with an entertainment one. I’ve been listening to a lot of audio books and watching a lot of educational material and in my mind this is as equally important as reading a book. I’m sure some would disagree with this, but under the circumstances of having a 45 minute drive to and from work it just allows me to pack more in my day.

I finished the autobiography of Barak Obama “Dreams from my Father” It was pretty good stuff. I liked it and I recommend it to others. I have a sneaky feeling though that a lot of people will sample this audio book since he is the one reading it. In the 12th chapter he says “Nigger” and “Mother Fucker” quite a bit. Oh yeah and he also admits to smoking his share of “Reefer” in his day.

I moved onto his second book, “The Audacity of Hope” It’s not as good and is a bit boring since he talks about his Senate days. It was kind of funny to hear him describe his meeting with Senator Robert Byrd. Ya know that guy that was in the KKK?

Also I have been chewing my way through the series “The Secret Life of Machines”. This is one of my all time favorite programs from the past. It was a series created by the BBC in the late 80’s and it was basically two special effects guys showing people how everyday appliances work. Sort of a pre-cursor to the Myth Busters without all the excessive attitude and egotism. These guys were also much more creative since they had absolutely no budget to work with.

Other then that I have been thumbing through some of the material that Forrest Mims wrote. This was the guy that authored all the Radio Shack Engineering Mini-Notebooks. Its good cheap way to achieve results with electrical components a person might have on hand. I’ve taken a particular shine to his ideas on simple seismographs. I have a train not more then a mile down the road that I wouldn’t mind seeing the vibrations of.

Health
My diet and exercise have been suffering. The cold has kept me from walking, and the fast approach of the holiday season has kept a steady flow of bad foods into my system. I’m starting to feel the effects in my energy levels and I need to get back up on the wagon.

Dream
Had a dream that I worked in a strip mall fixing cars out of an AutoZone type store. All the cars I worked on were classic cars and I had the opportunity to drive each one of them. A few guys were committing armed robbery a few stores over and I can remember standing outside wait for the police to come.

I really cannot remember too much else.

Weather
On Thursday and Friday we had snow. Not enough to lie on the ground but certainly enough to look out the window and say “It’s snowing”. The past two days it’s been nice and sunny and bitter cold. It’s the kind of weather where a person can leave their beer outside to keep it cold.

Mindless Banter
The other day I had an old thought pop into my head. Does anyone out there remember the Eveready battery commercials where Robert Conrad DARED you to knock a battery off his shoulder? For those that do and some that don’t I present this to you.



Daily Good News
Only two real days of work this week, and Thanksgiving is around the corner.

Quote
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature.”
Michael Faraday

10:36am: Sunday
Events
Well we are broke until I get paid again. I paid the bills, went shopping and filled the vans with gas. I don’t even have money to stop at Wawa in the morning for a cup of Joe. Auto insurance has been a pain since I put the other van onto it. I might shop around for a better deal. Also I might start ping ponging TV and Internet services to get them down to 100 bux a month for the first year. Then switch back when the year is up. Money is real tight and two holidays are RIGHT around the corner. I suppose so long as we have a place to live and something to eat we will be ok.

Work has been pretty busy these days. I have a lot to do. One big project and two-dozen smaller ones all topped off with a looming conversion to SAP. Luckily my little birdie has a little birdie of her own that tells her things, and as a result I am brushing up on my Cognos skills until I find out whose ass I need to kiss to get onto the SAP project. We use Cognos to report on our Data Warehouse and as far as I know that will NOT be going away. I think worst case scenario if I get canned (which seems unlikely but you never know) I can always contract.

Sharon and I did a lot of sticking to home this weekend. Again we do not have any money.

There was a lot of running around on Friday.

Early on I had two things I was programming a commission application to secure the way sales managers pay their salespeople, and another program to automatically change web logins when we give a salesperson the boot. Both of which are pretty important security wise.

Sharon was drove Marissa around to get her stitches removed and then we all headed over to the orthodontist to get her sized up for braces. That’s going to be fun to pay for.

Later Sharon and I did our food shopping, and stopped for a bite to eat and a cup of coffee. This is the last time we will be doing this for a few weeks.

Saturday pretty much consisted of me cleaning out the garage. I put a bunch of stuff out by the curb but no one took anything so I dumped a bunch of stuff off at Good Will.

It took me all day in the garage because I was not merely cleaning but organizing as well so I know where everything is. I still have a lot to do in there.

Today I think I’ll take it easy and enjoy the sun now that it has decided to shine down upon me.

Tinkering
Finally got my 240-volt outlet wired up in the garage. Now I just need some space in the garage to play with it.

Reading
Have a bunch of audio books to get through. I need to burn them onto a CD so I can listen to them on my way to and from work. I have two books by Barak Obama. I figure I’ll give them a chance. The dude is a good speaker so I’ll make the assumption that he is a good writer as well.

Health
Been attempting to eat light. Not too much exercise other then cleaning out the garage. I know its pathetic but it HAS been raining for the past week.

Dream
Had a strange dream that I lived in this gigantic house, which was more of a building. Out in the back of it was a small park that lined a river. I remember I used other people’s money to buy this small piece of land. The rest of the dream I was searching for food and more importantly a bathroom. When I woke up I realized that I REALLY needed to go to the bathroom.

Weather
Been getting a lot of rain and warm weather. I was beginning to think that the sun exploded or something since it was nowhere to be found.

Last night a pretty bad storm came through. A lot of rain, and a lot of wind. It pushed on through and this morning it is partly cloudy with gusts of high wind. The temperature is 49 degrees and I slept with my window open. The temperature was a big surprise when I got up to go to the bathroom in my undies.

Mindless Banter
Hmm maybe I’ll go to a park today. It certainly seems like the type of day to do something like that.

Daily Good News
Thirty dollars to fill my tank now. The lowest I’ve seen gas is $1.71

Opinion
Why is it that it seems like all the miserable little goth kids are always LOOKING at me. I mean are they really looking at me or does it merely appear that way with all of their eye make-up? BAH!

Quote
“Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy”
Lao Tzu

9:42am: Wednesday
Events
YAWNBURGER!

A little tired this morning, but not to the point where I drive myself into a school bus full of kids. I did some drinking last night. Experimental drinking to be exact. Sharon and I have been curious about the new Miller product. Genuine Draft 64. It’s a 64-calorie light beer. Man that stuff is light. I can chug them all straight and not feel a thing. However it give you the most delightful burp. All jolly and full of merriment. It’s a good beer if you feel like drinking a beer but don’t want all the ‘ugh’ associated with it.

Last night I went on a flurry of errands. My Father called me up proclaiming that he was going to drop off my brother’s computer for me to look at since it is giving him problems. I told him I would just drop by since I would be out and about.

When I arrived over there I was surprised to see my nephew Nick there. I asked him what he was doing there and he informed me that I would not believe him. He totaled his car. I think this is his third car in about two years. Surprisingly it was not his fault this time. He of course is at the age where he thinks that nothing will kill him and that have a vehicle with a gas pedal means that nothing can kill him AND he can move at excessive speed. Indeed he will learn the hard way like we all did.

After this I picked up some beer, and hit home depot for a few things. Then it was off to my cousin Chris’ place. He had and old circuit breaker box he was giving me to play with.

After all was said and done I settled down with Sharon and we watched something called “God on Trial” on Masterpiece Theater. It was a strange story about a group of Jews in Auschwitz waiting to be gassed. They conducted a hearing in which they put God on trial to decide if he was really good or not. They decided he was not and eventually went into the gas chamber. Pretty Earth shattering stuff.

Tinkering
Acquired a few more things to allow me to hook up a 240-volt outlet in my garage.

Reading
Nada

Health
Did some walking and made sure to pack in the fiber yesterday.

Dream
None remembered

Weather
Pleasant and cold.

Mindless Banter
Happy colored marbles that are rolling in my head
I put 'em back in the jacket of the one I love
Carry that velvet sack full of pretty colored marbles
And I'll ask you for 'em back, when I'm ready and done

Daily Good News
Gas is sixty dollars a barrel.

Quote
"Science is bound, by the everlasting vow of honour, to face fearlessly every problem which can be fairly presented to it."
Lord Kelvin

8:15am: Tuesday
Events
Today I am late to work. Almost by forty-five minutes.

The traffic this morning on I-295 was crazy. It took me thirty full minutes to move a quarter mile. I was beginning to lose it. When the traffic finally broke I thought I would at least be rewarded with seeing a wrecked car, but there was nothing but a dude picking up traffic cones. I must admit that I feel somewhat ripped off.

Last night Sharon finally corralled me into watching the movie Atonement. I give it a wholehearted “Eh”. The movie just didn’t speak to me, and in the end I was glad that the old lady was dying of a horrible condition. She deserved it for what she did, and the fact that she wrote a book about it all just to make herself feel better made me want to brain her with her typewriter. I don’t care how horrible she feels, at least she GOT to live a long life.

Over the weekend I watched the new Futurama movie. Now THAT I liked.

Tinkering
Cleaned a little in the garage. I really need to hit this full force so I can get in there and start messing around with stuff.

Reading
Read a few articles that my Aunt gave me about black holes. Interesting stuff.

Health
165 lbs and I need to eat better and exercise more. The story of my life.

Dream
None remembered.

Weather
A cold 38 degrees, sunny and dry out. FINALLY sunny and dry out.

Mindless Banter
Who would win in a fight? Croft puppets or Muppets?

Daily Good News
My face finally feels clean since I shaved.

Opinion
I was a bit surprised this morning when I heard that it was Veterans Day on the radio. Wow there is a holiday I NEVER remember, and yet it’s a marked day specifically for people to remember. So THIS is why the kids have off of school.

Quote
“I never trust a fighting man that doesn’t smoke or drink”
Admiral Halsey

10:12am: Monday
Events
Well it’s been a busy weekend for me.

Friday I had the pleasure of having lunch with my Sister and her husband Tony. We haven’t had an opportunity to just sit down with them in a while. It was nice. We had veggie sushi rolls. Mmm.

Also I managed to get several irons going in the fire at work. It’s crunch time. I have about twenty different things that need to get done, not enough time, all while I have the grim specter of possible layoff hanging over my head. So I need to identify whose ass I need to kiss and what skill set I need to learn. Eh, at least it’s not dull.

Friday night was a bit confusing. Originally Sharon and I set out to do some shopping to get out of the way for the weekend, BUT we received a call around 8ish from Marisa. She apparently walked into a street sign up at the mall and had a big gash in her head. By the time we got down there the ambulance was there. UGH!

They got the bleeding under control but we had to decide if we were going to the hospital or not. I was against it. I don’t like waiting six hours in a room with sick/dying people to get a few stitches. The bleeding had stopped and the wound was cleaned. It wasn’t until we got home that Sharon convinced me otherwise.

We were all in the bathroom and I was swabbing the wound out with peroxide. I said, “It doesn’t look that bad” To which Sharon replied, “Look at her eyebrow!” Sure enough I did not noticed that her eyebrow was actually in two pieces and one of the pieces was pointing straight up and down. Once I got tuned into that logic, I dropped her and Marisa off at the emergency room.

I was surprised that it only took about two hours. Five stitches later and she is as good as new, except she has a big crack in her head, and it looks like a goose laid an egg on her eye.

Saturday, Sharon and I ripped apart the closet in our bedroom. The closet organizer that we had was just too flimsy to put up with the weight that we loaded it down with. We removed all of that and I installed a heavy-duty pole with supports to have a nice shelf up top. It afford us A LOT more room, and allowed me to put all my A/V equipment on the top shelf.

Saturday night I went over to my parent’s house to meet up with my aunts and uncles. My Aunt Jean was up and was celebrating her birthday, and five years of being cancer free. So we partied. I always have a good time watching my aunts and uncles drink and be merry.

Sunday was a little more leisurely. I finished hooking up my A/V equipment, and cleaned up the back area a bit. Also helped my cousin Chris with a light post in front of his house as well as moved some furniture.

It was a decent weekend but it flew by.

Tinkering
Picked up a few odds and ends to get a 240 Volt outlet in my garage so I can play with some transformers.

I need to get in my garage and clean things up.

Reading
My mind has been rotting lately. I’m not up to reading a book, but I am still thirsty to learn something. Welding has been on my mind.

Health
I’ve been eating poorly and not exercising. I have been religiously taking my fish oil pills with the exception of one day.

I need to get back into the swing of things.

I know I’m slacking when I stretch my legs and I can feel a charlie horse coming on. That means, “Hey STUPID, get up an exercise!”

Dream
Had a weird dream that I was walking around New Sharon in the middle of a workday, and I was taking note that I never realized how many little stores were in the area. Off to the side there were houses with Plexiglas fronts on them so you can see inside. It appeared each house was a big soup kitchen and they were feeding poor people. Then I noticed there was a bunch of crazy people with sandwich boards proclaiming things.

Then I woke up.

Weather
Well it seemed for a while there that the sun was never going to show itself again. I thought I had offended it in some way and was getting ready to sacrifice a goat. This morning it peeked out and let me know it was only kidding.

Mindless Banter
Bipartisanship is tearing apart my kitchen. Are you a Tastycrat or a Fingerlician?

Also today is the day in 1969 that Sesame Street first aired.

Daily Good News
The sun is FINALLY out.

Opinion
After this election season I am so sick to death of opinions it’s a wonder if I didn’t burn out the opinion-processing module in my brain. Something once told me, be it a person, a TV or a poster in Spencer’s next to the bodacious boobed centerfold model, that “opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.”

Does this mean that every opinion really just has a crock of shit spewing out of it? Would the opinions with undigested food in them have less credence since the method of digesting said opinion did not go through a rigorous process of being broken down by stomach acid, bile, and a healthy does of empiricism? Within all the opinions out there, which one can we honestly say is credible enough to listen to? I’ll tell you. The lightly colored, unscented firmly packed turd of truth.

Quote
“America makes prodigious mistakes, America has colossal faults, but one thing cannot be denied: America is always on the move. She may be going to Hell, of course, but at least she isn't standing still.”
E.E. Cummings

8:49am: Good time! Anytime you need it Baby!
Events
Whelp we now have a black president. A stark difference from the red or blue ones we have been forced to deal with for the past 232 years (minus the Whigs of course). Indeed, with one swipe of his minority baptized hand he will make all the ills of our society disappear, with an utterance of “Yes we can”.

We can finally afford the gas to go into our monstrously oversized suburban assault units for getting groceries. Yes we can.

We can finally stop looking over our shoulders for coffee colored guys wearing bed sheets on their heads and now look over the counter at them to order doughnuts. Yes we can.

We can finally stop assuming that every wedding will have a bride and groom. Yes we can.

Obama is not such a bad guy. I myself voted for him. YES! ULTRA WHITEY ALL AMERICAN VOTED FOR AN EVIL DARKY THAT WAS THE PRODUCT OF AN ILL-CONCEIVED MATCH FROM BEHIND THE WOODPILE WITH AN AFRICAN!

Did you get that hatred out of your system yet? Have you figured out that although the flapping heads on the TV want you to believe that it’s about race, it’s really not?

Actually I think Obama is really just Abe Lincoln reincarnated. They are both pretty tall, they both have curly/nappy hair on their head, and both seem to sport an oddly shaped CoCo puff attached to their face. They are both from the same state, they both OPPOSE slavery, and they both hate Joe the Plumber. Note: Abe Lincoln is assumed to hate plumbers since he pooped in an outhouse.

I couldn’t help noticing last night a few choice appearances in the audience of the abdominal Obama party.

I most definitely saw Opera. It took me a moment since it appeared that she was feasting on the carcass of a stereotypical male, but once the blood finished dripping from her fangs I saw a glimpse of the TV Opera that we have all come to be hypnotized by.

Then of course there was Jesse Jackson. What minority acceptance speech would be complete without the token black preacher lamenting in the audience? I must admit that I was a bit confused. Jesse Jackson was clearly crying but I could not tell if he was crying because he finally had seen his people overcome adversity and watched them gain the respect and acceptance by all or because he himself finally overcame and accepted the notion that he would now have to get himself a REAL job.

I must admit, I am a bit happier today folks. Not because we have a black president, not because we have a democratic president, but because we finally have a president that does not seem to stammer in public speaking, that appears to look the American people in the eye instead of in the forehead with an eye cast on their wallets. We finally have a guy that is sick of slogans and catchy phrases and preaches that nothing is easy without hard work and determination. And yes America we finally have a president that can palm a basketball, and this makes holding the Earth in the palm of his hand all that much easier.

Tinkering
Been playing a lot with UPS transformers to get some SERIOUS current into my life.

Reading
In case the above didn’t clue you in, the suggested reading has been “I am American and So Can You” by Stephen Colbert.

Health
Eating ok and haven’t been exercising.

Weather
Shitty to mild.

Daily Good News
I can now listen to Johnny Nash with my windows open and be proud. REDNECKS be damned!

Opinion
I drink my chocolate mollies Compton style YO!

Quote
“Baby carrots are making me gay.”
Stephen Colbert

4:37pm: Adventure in Bathroom Remodeling Part II

I think the single biggest pain in the ass about this whole project was the bathtub. Mental note people. MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY. Very important. You see, we made the mistake of purchasing a tub that we simply liked, without a care for any sort of measurement. This afforded us much grief in the form of having to replumb everything related to the tub. Lucky for us my brother had his wits about him. Although he is not a plumber, the combined efforts of him, my Father, and myself prevailed. This is a shot of the new tub in place. As you can see there is no green board behind it. The tub and surround are made of fiberglass and are ridged enough to be mounted directly to the studs. This also eliminates the chances of have water get between the surround and any green board.


Once all the cussing and praying had been completed in regards to the tub and surround, my brother and I set task to getting all the green board in. Here we see the industrial strength 100CFM fart fan in the ceiling.


Here is a shot of where the sink will go. The walls are all taped up and ready for two more coats of Spackle.


Sharon and I took turns working on the bathroom. She would Spackle, and when she could take no more of that for the day, my Father and I would start on the subfloor. Here you can see we had some tricky cutting to do with the vent and such.


Once the subfloor was complete, it only took Sharon and I a little over 2 hours to lay the faux Italian Marble stick tiles.


Without missing a beat Sharon gave the bathroom two coats of paint the next day.

And finally after all the painting, we installed all the fixtures. And here is the finished product.

5:53pm: Adventures in Bathroom Remodeling Part 1
Few things in this life have the power to sway my gag reflex. Indeed the mightiest crocks of shit and the mountainous peaks of puke, both baby and drunkard alike have ill effect over my unintentional ability to purge all that lies within my gastrointestinal tract.

However I do have one weakness. My poison laced kryptonite, with a chaser of spine chilling heebijeebies. That which at its very core can trigger projectile vomiting, from the most empty of stomachs with the sturdiest of constitutions. It is the evil of a foul bathroom. And one of these my dear friend lies within the heart of my very own home.


At a ten to fifteen-foot glance, things don’t appear all that stomach retching. Aside from the retro-regurgitated pink color that proclaims that the 70’s puked all over my bathroom, the room is functional, and somewhat tolerable even if the appearance is a bit oppressing.


Zooming in a little closer we can start to see more detail. This picture was taken while standing on the tub. Even from this distance and angel one can get a sense of the bathroom’s age. Aside from the ridiculous color of the sink, a person can easily pick out the rapidly splintering faux wood of the medicine cabinet and towel holder.


Panning down a bit more highlights the thirty plus year old vanity. Although it is hard to make out here, the drawers are crooked, bearing testament to the shoddy craftsmanship of ugly bathrooms from years past. Also note that the Wainscoting is peeling from the wall, which is right above the crud encrusted vent.


And speaking of crud encrusted vents. I now present this masterpiece of water closet functionality. This is the ancient fart fan that looms above our heads whilst we are squatting in the most compromising of positions. It is dirty and it is noisy. It spent the last thirty plus years inhaling the poo stink of at least two generations of asses before ours. Although extremely noisy, the fan’s effectiveness left much to be desired. It was old and tired and served the anti-stink effort well. I almost barfed when I pulled this thing out.

For when I removed the cover there was a half-inch layer of micro-sized toilet paper bits clogging the fan up. I briefly imagined how a person’s lungs would fair up to such punishment. In fact I ventured to believe that such a thing could be deemed as a bazaar form of torture in some distant country frozen in an Orwellian state of madness.

“If you do not want to follow the law of our grand exalted leaded then you shall be locked in the TP room!” Into a steel boxed room, a poor lackey is thrown. The walls are covered with the exhaust ports of a thousand of my bathroom’s fart fans. Each attached to the bathroom of noble, well groomed servants of the leader. At once they are all turned on, blowing little bits of soiled TP all around the room and clogging the atmosphere, to choke away even the strongest of breaths. Soon the lackey dies of slow asphyxiation. What a terrible way to go.

But I digress.


This is what told me that the walls simply had to go. What you are looking at is the original drywall. It is old, crusty and too many nails and mounting bracket have compromised it. They really just need to be changed out. In addition to this the walls had two coats of wallpaper on them that have been painted over several times. I must admit that I would be lying if I didn’t have a wandering thought that it was that the smell of the bathroom that actually started to peel the paint.

LET THE DEMOLITION BEGIN!


To facilitate the pooing needs of six people under one roof, it became necessary to keep this bathroom functional for as long as possible. I took the sink out to remove the old drywall and then quickly replaced it. Plastic was stapled up in some places where there was simply no wall behind the bathroom. In the upper left corner you can make out a piece of a hidden room in my attic.


Luckily for me I did not have to remove the toilet to take out the drywall behind it. The sewer pipe coming up from behind was actually made of asbestos. Ewww.


I think I was horrified the most when I took down the tub surround. Yup all that black stuff is ancient fungus. The FUNGUS IS AMONG US!


This is another area where the fungus crept out.


Finally when there was simply nothing more to remove, I took out the sink and toilet. This then allowed me to remove the subfloor since there was no way I was going to reuse that. To the right the old fart fan is peeking out of the trashcan. The old wax ring around the toilet flange was simply horrible to clean off. Ancient poo and wax had boiled down over the years into a type of Vaseline like grease that stuck to EVERYTHING.


I know that it might have been overkill, but I was just so appalled by the state of the bathroom once I revealed that, what was underneath the ugly exterior was an even uglier interior, I just went nuts and removed the ceiling for good measure.


Out of the entire demolition process I think the biggest pain in my ass was removing the tub. Here we see a big hole in my floor and exposed plumbing. For these two things I am thankful. Removing the plumbing from the tub was a snap. Now removing the tub from the bathroom however was NOT. Because the tub was so old it was made out of cast iron. Now for those of you that are not privy to the weight of cast iron in the shape and size of my ugly old bathtub, allow me to fill you in. 350lbs. That’s right, it weight slightly less then Jared before he started eating Subway sandwiches and walking. Imagine trying to lug fat Jared out of an 8x5 room and down a flight of step and then out to your curb. That task was FAR from easy. It took a total of three people and an ancient Egyptian technique for moving heavy objects.

After all was said an done, I was showing a friend the progress we had made and he then informed me that rather then giving myself a hernia I should have just hit the tub with a sledge hammer and it would have shattered to pieces.

“Day late and a dollar short”, I simply said.

5:40pm: Thursday
Tinkering

Well here it is. I made it home from work in time to give the heater a test run. The sun was setting and it was about 4:45pm so things were starting to cool off.

I was surprised by the results. The ambient temperature was 75 degrees and in seven minutes the temperature of the air coming out of the heater was 125 degrees. So there was a jump in of 40 degrees in seven minutes! I’d say that was a mild success. I need to do some more tinkering with this set up on a purely sunny day.

8:00pm: Wednesday
Events
Well got some good news. I received my back taxes from the government in the form of a few grand. Tonight Sharon and I went out and bought pretty much a new bathroom.

Got a tub, a surround, a super flush toilet, some flooring, and a 100 cfm fart fan. Not a bad price tag of around seven bills.

Been pumping out the programming at work, hopefully that will lead to greener pastures.

Tinkering

Well, when last we left off I had the back fastened onto the frame. Here we see a bit of painting. I painted the edges and exposed surfaces white to reflect light.


Next I drilled two holes for the vent pipes. These were actually a pain in the rear since I did not have a bit that would cut a hole to fit 2 inch PVC.


Here are the vent pipes all glued together and ready to go.


The top vent pipe needs to fit under the metal absorber (screen) so I had to cut a little bit off of the top.


Yeah, well what do you expect from a guy who is cross-eyed.


Here is the box with the radiant barrier installed.


Almost ready to put the glass on. First the vent pipes and then the absorber (screen) need to be installed.


The only way I could get the vent pipes to stay in was the glue them with liquid nails.


Here is the whole assembly with the vent pipes installed.


You cannot see the screen but you can see the staples holding the screen on.


Next I installed the weather stripping and the cleaned sheet of glass.


And finally the completed passive solar heater. My job with the molding leaves a lot to be desired but it holds the glass in and that’s all that is important.

I’m going to give it a test run some time this weekend. Hopefully the sun will be shining.

Reading
None

Health
I think I walked about six miles today. I've also been eating pretty good.

Dream
Dreamt of where my lost wedding ring was, and wouldn’t you know, it was right in the place that I dreamt it was. Weird. Also dreamt of pulse jets.

Weather
Rained pretty hard last night and even late today. Other then that it’s been rather cloudy, and cool.

Mindless Banter
Mr. Howell on Gilligan’s Island was also Mr. Magoo.

Daily Good News
Got my government payday check.

Opinion
BLAH!

Quote
“100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in”
Wayne Gretzky

9:28am: Monday
Events
And so begins my Monday working from home.

Things have been rather productive this morning. I finished a program related to sorting a Work Order Queue. That was an interesting bit of logic. It actually involved a bit of math to get things sorting right. Also walked two miles to get the juices flowing.

The weekend came and went. Yesterday we celebrated my Mother’s birthday. All of us kids chipped in a bought her a snooty, expensive purse. I’m not entirely sure that she liked it, but what the hell, we tried. I also stewed up a big pot of meatballs and sausage. I cooked both up on the grill and they turned out pretty good.

Got a chance to see my brother, and ended up lecturing him on diet, incidentally the entire time I could see that he looked as if he wanted to lecture me on exercise. After all, the dude does have some beefcake arms on him.

Not too much else going on just rolling along singing the song.

Tinkering
Worked a little bit more on the passive solar heater. Pictures are soon to come.

Reading
Nada

Health
Been eating a little better and exercising in anticipation of my doctor’s visit on Friday.

Dream
Cannot remember any.

Weather
It rained all weekend but today there are a few clouds, a nice breeze, and the sun frequents a visit now and then.

Mindless Banter
Where did the word “Balderdash” come from?

Daily Good News
My garage is now semi-clean. Soon a yard sale will ensue.

Opinion
If the banks are not lending out money anymore then why do I still get offers to refinance?

Quote
“A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.”
Alexander Hamilton

6:23pm: Saturday
Events
Did some more traveling to Fort Boring again. I managed to get out of a trip down there this weekend in exchange to be close to the computer all weekend if there happens to be an issue cropping up.

Also in work news I am now able to telecommute two days a week. WooHoo! Score one for me. To further make things nice, I am able to telecommute on Mondays and Fridays.

Originally I had approached them with telecommuting three days a week but in all honesty I was willing to take whatever they were willing to give. I have a nice little office area set up in my bedroom now with a desk sitting in front of a couple of windows. So while I work I can watch the world go by.

Tinkering
Been doing my share of tinkering as of late. If it’s not trying to resurrect the old Risc 6000 in my garage, it’s a plethora of other things.


This is a computer power supply I modified.

My flat screen TV in the bedroom needed a DECENT power supply.


This is the one I had been using. The original power supply died when I placed some stuff on top of it. As a result it went into thermal runaway and the capacitors in it bloated up and started sweating PCB liquid. DOH!

The modification of the computer power supply was a little tricky. You cannot simply use the power supply when it is switched on. Most power supply’s these days look for a signal from the motherboard to inform the rest of the circuit that it is now time to turn on. I had to find the wire responsible for this and then short it to ground. Once I did that it worked perfectly.

This was all just kind of thrown together one night. I was rearranging the room a bit, and decided it was now time to get a dedicated power supply for the TV. This other project I have been working on has been floating around in my mind for some time now. A passive solar heater.


Mine is not quite as elaborate as these are, but the principal is essentially the same. A small box with reflective material on the back. A layer of metal mesh, some air holes, and a big sheet of glass on the front. The air comes in through a hole in the lower back of the box. The air heats up when it passes through the radiator that is the wire mesh screen. Since hot air rises it then exits a hole at the back top of the box.


The first step is creating a box. I put something together quickly with some 2x4’s and screws.


Next I had to lay a sheet of glass on the box to see how I was going to fit, and mount this. This glass was an old coffee table and I felt almost guilty at the notion of throwing it away so I hung onto it. I decided that the best way to go about mounting the glass was to route out a trench for it, place the glass inside the trench, and then use molding to hold it in.


I did a quick test with an oven thermometer by placing the box and glass on the pavement and leaving it in the sun. The temp shot up about 20 degrees in 5 minutes.

Next stop is to route out a trench for the glass.


As you can see my routing skills leave a lot to be desired. The important part is that the glass fit, and that was all I needed.


Here is the glass sitting perfectly in the trench.


This weekend I scored some 7/16th OSB for about 7 bux. I cup up a piece to fit the box and was ready to screw it onto the box.


Here is the box with the back on.


And here is the box, with the spacers in place. The spaces will both guide the air and hold the wire mesh screen about the radiant barrier. This is as far as I got today, with everything else going on. I still need to cut some air holes, affix the radiant barrier, install weather stripping under and around the glass, and then finally put the molding on to hold everything in place.

I plan to take some measurements with regards to ambient temperature to get a wattage rating.

Stay Tuned.

Reading
Lately I have been reading a lot on pulsejets and home build turbines. A man can dream can’t he?

Music
Been listening to A LOT of Radiohead. Mmm synth music.

Health
Well I finally got around to scheduling a doctors appointment for myself. I’m only about nine months late for that. I generally like to get my blood and urine taken so they can scrutinize it and tell me things. It’s like a gypsy women reading entrails but there is no knife involved and the prediction they give are a better indicator, then the fiction a charlatan would spew at you.

So for the next week I’m going to try and eat better and do some walking, and with any luck my cholesterol will be good.

Dream
Been having them as of late and really they only stick around for the first few minutes after I wake up. I did have one the other night where a couple that lives across the street were fighting, and their neighbors came out. One of them was a big black dude that was trying to talk sense into them but it wasn’t working. The thing that struck me odd about the dream is that I was fiendishly hiding behind a curtain snooping on them the whole time.

Weather
Love the weather we are having these days. The temperature is constantly between 78 and 52 degrees. As I write this both my windows are open and a cool breeze is blowing the curtains around.

Loving it.

Mindless Banter
What ever happened Squiggy?

Daily Good News

Mmmm telecommuting.

Opinion
Ugh the presidential debate was pathetic, I hope the Vice Presidential debate is better.

Quote
“When people are laughing, they’re generally not killings one another.”
Alan Alda

10:26pm: Tuesday
Events
Wow, holy crap! Has it really been that long since I last posted? Guess that shtick is getting a little old. I’ll spare any potential reader including myself of any reason for such behavior and move on.

Been busy busy busy. Doing a lot of traveling. Mostly to “Fort Boring”, South Carolina. I get the pleasure of going there again this Wednesday to Friday. Looks like Hurricane Ike will be taking its time across the gulf so I shouldn’t have too much to worry about when it comes to flight delays.

Sharon’s parents dropped by for a visit a last weekend and surprised us with a 1996 Ford Windstar that they snagged at an auction. That was a big surprise. More on that below.

Tropical Storm Hanna came and went with little more then some rain. We had Nor’easters worse then that. People were freaking out up here. A little rain and all of a sudden the local super market was completed raided of batteries, milk, and bread. I’m guessing since no one lost power that this week there will be a lot of French toast, PB&J, and chocolate cake being eaten. Stupid monkeys.

Our dryer started acting up again. And by that I mean the tension pulley that keeps the fan belt tight. The bearings on this thing were completely worn away and as a result the dryer made the most hideous/hellish sounds when it ran. Not just a normal squeak here and a ping there. The sound actually filled the house with a shrieking that literally sounded like someone cracking open the gates of hell to take a quick peek inside.

The first go around in dealing with this involved having to overcome a learning curve in how to disassemble the entire dryer. There was a lot of cussing involved with that. The second time I just dropped 30 bucks to get the part we needed. The dryer came apart rather easily the second time. Also, since I replaced the gas pipes and added a shut off valve I was able to work on it without the benefit of getting high from the gas leaking in the laundry room. Score one for my spared brain cells.

Because of the location of this part I had to disassemble everything further then the first go around. I had to literally take the motor out. This afforded me an opportunity the clean all that up. Nothing is quite so invigorated as cleaning out the collected lint of families past. I swear some of that lint could have been parachute pants at one time. BREAK IT DOWN!

Oh yeah I almost forgot. A few weeks back we all went to Six Flags Great Adventure. That place is most definitely a roller coaster park. Sharon and I went on as many as we could in one day.

For those of you not in the “know”. This particular Six Flags park houses the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, the Kingda Ka. You can read up on it here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingda_Ka

Sharon did not like it, but I must say that I LOVED it. You get shot from a standstill to 128 MPH, and rocket straight up about 450 feet and then just free fall reaching more the 100 mph and then they hit the magnetic breaks. To say the least it is an “experience” that leaves you questioning reality for the rest of the day.

The whole thing was rather surreal. First, these people lock you into you seat. Then two guys walk up and down the train car, scrutinizing you the whole time. If you are wearing glasses they order you to remove them. I felt this was a bit excessive but I complied.

After everything is secure, you hear a compressor in the distance burp a few times and you move slightly forward and lock into starting position. Then all gets quiet. I swear they wait for people to calm down so they are unsuspecting. Then you hear the same compressor start to burp wildly, and before you know it you are pinned to your seat. Now when I say pinned, I am not merely stating that you feel the effects of rapid acceleration, you are actually forced into a position where you cannot move a muscle. If your hand were in front of your face when the linear acceleration began your hand would be glued to your face. Your cheeks, regardless of how fat anyone is or isn’t, start to ripple, and it is about at this point that you start to utter “Holy Shhh”. I don’t think anyone was able to get the words completely out of their mouth before they reach the top of the tower.

A strange thing happens on the way towards the tower. I believe it was at the coaster top speed. It almost seemed dreamlike. As I was gasping for much needed air so that I could scream my head off. I noticed that people had portable electronics literally lifting out of their pockets, staging themselves into what appeared still air for a second and then rocket past us. It was strange. Sharon seen it happen to a cell phone and I seen the same thing happen to someone’s camera. It was like the beginning of the Twilight Zone. One would imagine that at closing time the works would have a King’s ransom of oddly broken electronics.

To say the least you get off of the ride extremely rattled, and there are not too many roller coasters out there that can do that to me.

If you get a chance RIDE IT.

Tinkering
Ok well here it is.

The In-laws gave us a 1996 Windstar minivan with 121,000 miles on it. It made the trip of 648 miles from Anarbor MI to New Jersey but it had some problems along the way. The check engine light was not only on, but blinking as well. That is never a good sign. Luckily for me I decided to pick up another scan tool to diagnose any potential problems in the Dodge Caravan we have.


Here is the van in all of its glory.

After scanning the error codes, I found that I was receiving a P0304 error. This is a misfire on cylinder four. Not good. A little research on this revealed that sometimes this problem could be as simple as a loose spark plug wire or a dirty sparkplug. A technical service bulletin was also released on this make and model stating that the ERG ports on the intake manifold get dirty and clogged up, preventing the correct amount of exhaust gas getting back into the combustion chamber.

Well the simple explanations were out the door since my in-laws were kind enough to get the vehicle tuned up before they drove it down here. So the plugs and wires were all fine. This meant that I would need to take the intake manifold off and scrub it clean. Not an easy job to do.


Here we see the 3.8-liter engine before I did anything to it. It was pretty clean and this made the job a lot easier.


Removing the top components was easier then I expected. Here we see the plenum, air filter assembly, throttle body and battery.


Here we see the intake manifold. The pipes surrounding it are the fuel injection assembly. Looks a little dirty if you ask me.


On closer inspection it looked like the technical service bulletin was right. This is a clogged ERG port. Out of six of them three were packed with thick carbon boogers.


Continuing with my disassembly, here is a table full of minivan parts.


At this point I started to get a little scared. Once the intake manifold came off I noticed that I was now DEEP within the engine and I was starting to wonder if I could get it all back together again.


I pressed ahead anyway and figured that at least an attempt to get it back together was better then not trying at all. This is the intake manifold all cleaned up.


Clean as a whistle and there should be no more problems with lack of aspiration.

In the end I took my time and hit a few snags. I broke a manifold bolt. I was trying to torque it in foot-pounds instead of inch-pounds. DUH! And I had a bad thermostat seal that ended up leaking. I took care of each one of these things as they came up, and made sure not to loose my cool.

I was VERY surprised that it started the first time I turned the key. No idiot lights came on, and when I drove it around the neighborhood there was a decent amount of power that wasn’t there before.


It took two trips on the highway before all the emission monitors came online. Once that happened I got it inspected and it passed with flying colors.

Woohoo! It’s nice to win one, once in a while.


I still need to find a place to get rid of all the crud I drained out of it.

Mindless Banter

This is an onion heart Sharon gave to me J

Daily Good News

This is the Risc 6000 J30 mainframe I managed to get a hold of today. I just need some software, and I hope it doesn’t pop any fuses in my garage. J

7:44am: Monday
Events
And so another weekend is behind us. In one respect they move all too quickly leaving me with the desire to have a few more days off but in another sense, I feel as if I was busy the entire time, and am anxious to get back into the swing of things.

Friday night turned out to be rather pleasant. Sharon and I dropped the girls off at the mall and Sharon noticed that the parking lot of Outback was not full. So we ceased the opportunity to get a table without having to wait an hour to do so.

We were seated almost immediately at a nice big table. We drank a bit and ate a delicious meal (as always). Then we decided to head over to Pitman to see a small jazz band play at our favorite coffee house.

I was actually quite surprised to see that level of activity in Pitman. People were everywhere, and the streets were lined with performers of all sorts. Over by the library that had a sort of impromptu car show going on.

We settled into a bench outside the coffee shop with a few Lattes mixed with soymilk. There was a perfect view of the three-piece band. I must say, these guys where good. They were right on the money and at one point I felt like someone should be showing me a radar map of the area because I could have swore I was actually listening to the groovy music on the weather channel. Everyone there was really nice. Conversation was almost an effortless side effect to everyone being in close proximity. There was not an ill word to be spoken, and this put me at ease. Even the guys in the band came up and shook my hand to let me know that if I played an instrument or knew of anyone that played an instrument that they come to the coffeehouse once a month, set up on their lawn and just jam out. A part of me wanted to go home that very moment and get my Theremin. I don’t think in the history of man that there has ever been a jazz Thereminist.

After we got our fill of coffee and jazz, we walked around a bit. The library was still open so I renewed a book, and then we headed out to look at the car show. I love the old cars.

It was a very pleasant night.

Saturday was all about working in the garage to get things done. Later in the evening, we managed to hook up with my cousin and go out to dinner and then went back to his place to do some drinking. We sat on the back porch for a few hours catching the breeze that was blowing through, while sucking on some brews.

Sunday was more garage work. Around dinnertime I pulled the grill up out front and we grilled up some pizzas, while I restored my brother’s computer.

Not too much else went on but I would say it was enough.


Tinkering
Been pretty busy in the garage this past weekend.

Saturday, Sharon had removed the railings on both sets of stairs and wanted to strip and repaint them. She spent most of the morning applying chemical stripper. Meanwhile I was changing the oil in the van and making sure that it received its 3000-mile maintenance.

Once I was through with that I helped Sharon with the railings.

Also I started removed all the crappy mirrors that were glued onto a cabinet that we will be restoring.

Sunday was spent cleaning the garage. I took inventory of all the computer parts I have and I think I can piece together a computer provided I can drum up a heat sink for the processor. The rest of the stuff I might just box up and post a message on Freecycle for curbside pickup.

Also I am rebuilding my brother’s computer since his sons filled it full of crap. I’m basically just wiping it clean and giving it back to him.

Reading
Not actively reading at the moment.

Health
Friday I walked quite a bit. As a result at about 5am Saturday morning I awoke from a semi-sound sleep in searing pain. I had a terrible Charlie horse in my right calf. It’s always the right calf for some reason. Thinking back I did break that leg when I was younger. I massaged it a bit and was able to return to my slumber. I favored that leg for the rest of Saturday.

Ate like crap this weekend.

Dream
On, off and spotty when it comes to remembering anything.

Weather
Had some pretty severe storms this weekend. Some parts of the neighborhood were without power for up to ten hours. We however lucked out and never lost it. With all this rain in such a short period of time, I would imagine that everything would explode into growth soon.

Daily Good News
Finally got to putz around in my garage

Quote
“For the very first time the young are seeing history being made before it is censored by their elders.”
Margaret Mead