Author: David

Over-educated Curmudgeon, Bit-Bucket Tuner and Budding Brewmeister.
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No More “Behinder I Get,” mmmK? ;-)

“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” ~ The White Rabbit, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

No “New Years Resolutions,” no. I’ve made a start on getting on top of my “to-do” lists, and maybe a bit ahead of the curve on somethings; just a start, but it feels good. First of year Bible readings, for example, were sadly neglected. within one day of catching up there, and seeing myself anew, as verses both affirm on the one hand and convict on the other. Appreciate that.

Daily (daily) cleanup chores dealing with the trimmed sycamore wood is feeding a sense of slowly conquering that mess, with the goal of turning every part of it into useful products. It’s not just a dream but a real, attainable goal.

Other daily tasks dealing with the minutiae of life are surrendering to a journal of daily work, and I am almost on top of taking my daily multi-vitamins. *heh*

2020 “big gigs” for me are mostly focused on our home:

  • The wood products from the sycamores — new fencing and building products (deck repairs, additions, too)
  • Kitchen rehab advanced — new “coffee shrine” area, finish new island (add fold up/down area), tile kitchen floor; little things
  • New paint for living room/upstairs hallway; new trim for both
  • Finish work on basement rooms
  • Add storage upstairs
  • Purge closets

Those are some of the major task/project areas for out home for 2020, and I can already see progress in most of them. My “exercise program” (cutting up, moving, stacking, etc., all the downed limbs, etc. outside *heh*), rehab exercises (for lower back pain, right rotator cuff, right knee, strained brachioradialis, cervical pain), diet, and sleep mods are already showing progress, and I am developing habits to make that ongoing. Pleased with that.

All-in-all, scheduling and record keeping seems to be helping me be less hurried and more accomplished. We’ll have to see how things are going forward, eh?

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Sometimes (Actually, Quite Often) Problems Can Be Interesting

*headache* An “old” (more than a decade) Windows Vista computer ended up on my to-do list yesterday (NOT mine *heh* I’ve never had a computer with Vista installed.) It needed to be upgraded to Windows 10. Yeh, sure it could have just had a modern ‘nix OS installed, but the user wanted to see if he could use it once again for gaming (still quite a powerful machine with great graphics), so Win10 it was. But a direct upgrade path to Win10 from Vista just doesn’t work all that well, so. . .

Oh, wait. he couldn’t recall his password, either. Fixed that first.

So, as I was saying, burned a DVD with his desired data. Then. . . no, despite having it as an option in the BIOS, the USB image of Windows 10 for which I had a valid product key would not boot, so. . .

Burned a bootable image of the USB drive to a DVD R(DL)–the last one I had on hand (‘cos I just don’t use those much anymore *shrugs*). Got to 36% of files copied on the installation and. . . borked. Retried and. . . borked.

So, what now? Easy-peasy. Looked up an installation disk for Windows 7 Ultimate in my archives, copied down a valid license key and installed that. (I still have a few legitimate ones for Win7 and quite a few other M$ OSes and products, from “back in the day”)

As soon as it booted, I inserted the USB drive with a purchased copy of Win10 (with legit license) and Bob’s your uncle.

Coulda been a PITA, but was. . . doable. Now to use my bandwidth and data allowance to configure a desired software suite, make Win10 usable, disable all the “phone home” crap, and. . . will have a happy camper.

Fun.

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*smh* Too Much Stuff

A reminder that sometimes “too much stuff” can be “just enough stuff” hit me today. Really nice Asus router (just about all the features I want in a router, mid-range price, etc.) had one critical port–the WAN port–die Christmas Eve. Yeh, getting a replacement not happening, and as for contacting Asus support for warranty claim? Nope. And yesterday was taken up with too much to bother with either, so we’ve been down to swapping the ethernet connection to the cable “modem” between devices. . . that have ethernet adapters.

Started seeing my way clear of Xmas stuff (and a break in wood “waste” cleanup) today and was reorganizing some tech equipment. In the Asus router’s box, found a retired cable “modem” (using one that complies with newer standards) and. . . a lil Netgear router that has never been used, a “fell off the back of a truck store” purchase. (Nah, really overstocks and returns place.) Now, I am not a real fan of Netgear routers, and this one is relatively low end, though it does have multiple antennas and two-band radio, so it’s not all that bad.

So, two is one and one is. . . very close to none, but not quite there, yet, and the local network is now fully “WAN-ed up.”

Sometimes, too much stuff is juuuust enough stuff.

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Is There Room?

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

. . .rendered as “inn” in Luke 2: 7, is – loosely – something like “a place to relax/rest,” and more likely referred to something more along the lines of places in private homes set aside to let out to travelers/visitors. So, the verse in the Christmas song,

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

“Home” is, in my opinion, more in tune with scripture than the usual translation of Luke 2:7, “inn”. Is there room in your home?

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“Oh the weather outside is frightful. . . “

Snow (actually, ice) day for schools in America’s Third World County™ (and surrounding areas, as well). While I admit I have submitted to the weather and not gotten on my wood waste cleanup project (yet) today, stew’s on and makin’ for tonight, and I’m-a fixin’ ta head out and work up a sweat, loosen up some of these aching muscles-n-joints. . . 😉

Meanwhile,

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Recovery Taking Longer Than I Like

“Recovery time” between “exercise sessions” (cutting up and moving “wood waste”) is taking longer than I like, but I’m still enjoying both the activity and even the muscle aches and pains.

It’s the little things, ya know? 🙂

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There’s Another Lesson That Can Be Drawn From This

Well, at least one two more on top of, “Shoe, meet other foot. And how can Progressives complain? These are just undocumented firearms in search of a better life.”1

Gun sanctuary movement explodes as background checks near record high

  • Do not own guns that must be registered. Either make your own or purchase in a lawful private transaction.
  • Live in a firearms-friendly locale.
  • Practice good infosec/persec.

It’s just common sense, nowadays.

1J.W.B. II, on FarceBook

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Finally, an Exercise Program I Can Stick With

(Because I HAVE to? *heh*)

Oh, the joys of work. . . even if the pay is only the goal of satisfaction in doing a job well, to completion.

I have difficulty sticking to an exercise program, because such things are BORING. Nevertheless, I seem to have found an exercise program that I can really stick with for at least the next few months: cleaning up this mess and processing all the “waste” into useful things. Of course, at my age, and in my condition, I can only manage one to one-and-a-half hours at a time (with appropriate rest times between), and even then, only about three sessions a day.

And oh! do my muscles ache! (In a very good way, one with which I am quite pleased, in fact.) Right knee (my problematic ACL knee) started aching early, and I felt the thing start to collapse on me but caught it in time. Swollen. Aplied a knee brace and some OTC pain meds, and was back at it. Feels OK. Still sensitive to side pressure, but the brace really helps, and if I take care to carry things on my LEFT side, I am much more comfortable. Typical lower back pain a bit exacerbated, but I’ve put up with lower back pain and pain in my left hip since I was, oh, about eleven, so that’s pretty easily dealt with.

All-in-all, really having fun out there, and looking forward to the projects I have in store for this wood. Sure, most of it (by far) is sycamore–a very “soft” hardwood–but I believe I can get some fencing out of it, as long as I paint it well, and the little stuff will serve nicely as burn material to use in making charcoal out of the elm, maple, and even walnut trees and trimmings that I plan to also take down. Also have some furniture planned for a few of the uniquely-shaped pieces of sycamore. Gonna be fun there, too.

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Repost from 2007: Who Is He in Yonder Stall?

Benjamin Russell Hanby is probably best known in popular society, if at all, for the great yawner, “Up On the Housetop” (click, click, click…), that merry paean to “Old Saint Nick” often sung at the yuletide.

But Hanby had a deeper side. In fact, he wrote one of the clearest expositions of the life and work of Christ that is available in easily accessible song, “Who Is He in Yonder Stall.”

Who is He in yonder stall
At whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He, in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?

Refrain:

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

Who is He the people bless?
For His words of gentleness?
Who is He to whom they bring?
All the sick and sorrowing?

(Refrain)

Who is He that stands and weeps
At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Who is He the gathering throng
Greet with loud triumphant song?

(Refrain)

Lo, at midnight who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony?

(Refrain)

Who is He that from the grave
Comes to heal and help and save?
Who is He that from his throne
Rules through all the world alone?

Refrain:

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

I prefer hearing this sung as a series of questions posed by various choirs and soloists with the refrain sung once at the end in answer to all the questions posed, but that’s not how Hanby wrote it, so usually when I selected this hymn for use, I’d just have the congregation sing it as Hanby wrote it: one verse (question) and the answer repeated again and again in the refrain.

It’s a simple story, simply told and easily grasped.

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!