Well, I think I should first explain about “Jim”, who’s seem to have fallen right at the exact moment of me taking these pics. Poor Jim, he had a really rough night last night. He was at the bar last night, forgetting he had to work this morning. Good thing he’s the foreman at Stanley Stove - so, if anyone’s going to shout at him for coming to work drunk, it’ll be Jim, shouting at himself. … [Read more...]
Build of Stanley Stoves (part 3 of 4)
July 11, 2017 By
Much happier now, repainted the windows a second time (3 times total); I just did not think the repainted yellow windows fit in. I added the tar paper to both roofs, and then colored / weathered the tar paper, and added some “roof patches” to a few spots. Mostly, in addition to what I just mentioned, I spent “a lot” of time taking some sandpaper to the walls to weather them - makes it look more … [Read more...]
Build of Stanley Stoves (part 2 of 4)
July 4, 2017 By
Another post of pics without words. I first painted windows a dark brown (too dark), and then changed them to yellow (yuck). … [Read more...]
Build of Stanley Stoves (part 1 of 4)
July 1, 2017 By
I didn't say anything when I first posted these. … [Read more...]
Build of Starman’s Spindles
June 13, 2017 By
Well, I’m calling “Starman’s Spindles” pretty much completed. This evening, I added the roof top sign, the front sidewalk, and a company sign on the back of the building. The kit came with the casting of a pile of leftover debris that I added some “color” to since it was just gray straight out of the kit box. Eventually, once I move these buildings onto a scene/diorama, the debris will sit nearby … [Read more...]
Choosing dental plans – “choose wisely”
May 24, 2017 By
So, we're not going to mention the fact that when I was hired by my contracting agency last summer to work at Thrivent that I was given a choice of two very different dental plans, and that I thought I made the right choice in my choosing between said plans. We also won't remark about how (when I was making my choice), I misread one of the plans where it mentioned "annual maximum" being $1,000, … [Read more...]
First post from the WordPress IOS app, to auto-publish to Facebook.
May 24, 2017 By
"First post from the WordPress IOS app, to auto-publish to Facebook." Welcome to the new world, Brian. It's going to be a brave new world. You are such an early adopter at times, then other times, you are so reluctant to change or to try out things. No more typing into a FB small text entry window with all of its quirks and/or bugs. This seems a lot easier than typing up your post in FB, and then … [Read more...]
Build of Busted Knuckle Garage
April 24, 2017 By
This is a structure I built last night and "painted" (weathered) tonight. Still needs roofing shingles to be put on, as well as the signs. I know now why the "expert" modelers paint/weather the walls/pieces, before glueing them together. I didn't do that this time (nor for the other half dozen kits I've made), but I'm beginning to "learn" that it would be much easier to weather, then glue … [Read more...]
Corruption in the presidency
March 21, 2017 By
I was only thirteen yrs old in 1972. Something stupid and crazy happened in June of that year. It happened so silently it was only a blip on the radar, and probably only a couple of the local newspapers carried the story: a local hotel and office complex had been broken into by a few guys, in the middle of the night. It wasn't anywhere near a national story, and even if it were, at the age of … [Read more...]
A simple petty burglary, and with that, a president is disgraced
March 20, 2017 By
I was only thirteen yrs old in 1972. Something stupid and crazy happened in June of that year. It happened so silently it was only a blip on the radar, and probably only a couple of the local newspapers carried the story: a local hotel and office complex had been broken into by a few guys, in the middle of the night. It wasn't anywhere near a national story, and even if it were, at the age … [Read more...]
President Trump’s State of the Union Address – “unemployment”
February 27, 2017 By
President Trump stated tonight (once again) in his State of the Union address that there are "94 million unemployed Americans". Let's take a few minutes to dissect that number to judge the validity of that statement. There are roughly 323 million people living in the United States. If there were 94 million people unemployed, that would mean, the unemployment rate is now at 29%. In 1933, in the … [Read more...]
iPad camera roll vs albums – not
December 27, 2016 By
A geek post regarding Apple devices - you might not understand if you don't have an "i-xxx" device. A month or ago, I looked at all the photos on the iPad (copied from my phone) and decided to finally organize them (more than a few thousand taken over the last few years) into "albums", in order to reduce the size of my "camera roll". This also includes any screen shots or pics I've downloaded … [Read more...]
Lailah, xmas presents and Mouse Trap Game
December 26, 2016 By
One present of the several I bought for Lailah this Christmas that i didn't wrap (since I obviously had bought too many), was Mouse Trap. I set it up today (for the next time she's over baby sitting me), and while it seemed similar to what I grew up with, it was different. So, I did some of my usual Wikipedia research, and found a pic of the '60s game which then led me to another game I played … [Read more...]
Trump and nuclear weapons
December 23, 2016 By
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, when asked to clarify his recent comments about expanding U.S. nuclear weapons capability, said "Let it be an arms race!", and that the United States would win it (as reported on Friday by MSNBC). According to one source, there were a total of ~70,000 nuclear weapons world wide in the mid to late 1980's, and as of 2010, the total was down to ~20,000. Another … [Read more...]
The Big guy and his blue eyes
December 22, 2016 By
A month ago - for all his life (since fifth grade). The big guy stares into the mirror. All he sees is a face with glasses. He's able to remove the glasses, of course, but then has to stick his face three inches from the mirror in order to see his face clearly, and, of course, since he's so close, he can only see a fraction of his face. The big guy works in an office building where you have to … [Read more...]
Knight and Day – With me, without me
December 22, 2016 By
From the spy comedy movie "Knight and Day": Tom Cruise is talking to Cameron Diaz, about her life expectancy...raising his hand, then lowering it, raising his hand, and lowering it. "...out there on your own, with me, without me, WITH ME, without me." [guess you had to be there - to see his hand gestures.] The scene is about one minute and twenty seconds in. youtube of knight and day … [Read more...]
Bus and Lite Rail courtesy
December 22, 2016 By
Ugh. Sat next to a young man this morning on the bus, while he spoke on his phone in a low voice, thinking he wasn't disturbing everyone. Didn't remember I had my headphones in my briefcase. Was getting very cranking listening to him jabber on. Thirty minutes worth of someone's conversation I didn't care to listen to. Across the aisle was a young woman - doing that thing that should be done … [Read more...]
Christmas Shopping
December 21, 2016 By
Left work a few minutes later than normal this evening, got off the bus around 6:30. Forced myself to drive the two blocks over to Tar'get and do my Christmas shopping. Intended on only shopping for a few toys and clothes for the girl. Not going to mention how many "toys" (dolls, and games, etc.) I ended up getting. Not going to mention the number of different clothing things. Not going to … [Read more...]
The West Wing parable and President-elect Trump
December 19, 2016 By
Tonight, as I try to fall asleep, I'm reminded of an episode of "The West Wing", (from Season One, Ep 14, "Take this sabbath day.") President Bartlett had to decide whether to "stay" an execution that was scheduled to happen in less than 48 hours, and he consults wth a variety of people (his staff, the Pope, a Rabbi, a Quaker, and finally a Priest), and agonizes over the decision. Finally, a few … [Read more...]
