A little Casita project...

 

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a burro video...

Too cute...

 

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The dead gennie...

So it wasn't a faulty AVR for my neighbor's "reconditioned" generator that failed after only 2 weeks.  Further diagnostics show it is a shorted out rotor.  Too expensive to replace the entire generator head but at least the 7 HP engine is good.  Removed the rotor and stator from the engine and the engine from the cage and going to rig it with a car alternator, some pulleys and a belt to create a 12 volt / 80 amp battery charger.  I always wanted to make one of these... 84,90,63,0,B

fools

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. 21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed. 

Pandemic Saturday

What is it with cowboys and covid?  For 12 years I have bought most of my feed supplies in Alpine from what used to be Johnson Feed & Supply and is now Out West Feed & Supply.  Throughout the pandemic, none of their employees have ever been masked nor have they ever requested patrons to be masked.  Rarely have I ever seen a masked cowboy shopping there.  In addition, several of there employees have told me they have no intention of getting vaccinated.  Since there is now a Tractor Supply right next door, I decided to give them a try for feed.  Not only are their employees masked, they also encourage their customers to wear masks.  I got all the feed I needed at a cheaper price and signed up for discounts through their rewards membership and their Tractor Supply credit card - and I got a free hat.  82,89,68,0,B

new arrival

 

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new eggs

These eggs were laid 15 days ago.  As soon as I spotted them, I reinforced the nest with some cardboard underneath it.  (Doves are notoriously bad nest builders.)  The previous occupant lost both hatchlings because they fell through the nest.  These two eggs both hatched in the past 24 hours.  I'm shooting some video each day now until they are big enough to leave the nest which should be in about 15 - 19 days.  I hope they make it...   84,91,54,0,B

water transfer

 

Moving water from my creek tanks to my greenhouse tanks.  By gravity, the flow rate is about a gallon a minute.  The two greenhouse tanks I am topping off need about 1,400 gallons each.  I get 1,500 gallons per inch of rain off the greenhouse roof, but I can pump 3,000 gallons out of the creek after a fast 1/2" of rain so it is good to have some room in the creek tanks in case that happens again this year. It would be nice to top off all the tanks for a change as it has been 2 years since that has happened.  Total rainfall so far for 2021 is 5.71".  Last year I only got 1.95".  76,83,64,0,B  

Bug life...

79,87,80,0,W

 

robot

sweet savour

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 

Pandemic Saturday

 These kinds of stories of outspoken anti vaxxers dying are all over the news these days and will continue as anti vax idiots keep refusing the vaccine.  They are the new 99 percenters.  The vast majority of Americans who are getting serious cases of Covid-19 or dying are unvaccinated  The simple truth is the majority of deaths and hospitalizations from the virus continue to overwhelmingly be among unvaccinated Americans.  As of August 30, a little over 1.6 million Americans were hospitalized with Covid-19, but only 0.65 percent of them, or 10,471 patients, were fully vaccinated.

Rainbow

 

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special order

 

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new and improved...

After 10 years, it was time for a new (Pepino III) swamp cooler. Pepino is Spanish for cucumber - as in "cool as a cucumber". Pepino II went through 3 pumps, 2 timer circuits, and 1 fan replacement over the years as well as a new cooling pad every year - but it was finally time to upgrade the whole system. After a day of tweaking the settings, the new one works a little more efficiently than the old one but with about the same 20° drop in temperature for the outside ambient air. For now, the timing circuit is programmed for the pump to run for 30 seconds every 5 minutes. The 12 volt cyclical timer has 18 different programming modes. The numeric display as well as the circuit can be turned on and off without effecting the saved settings. As long as I was in testing mode, I double checked the rate of water consumption on a 92° day - 1 gallon per 1 3/4 hrs.

Bringing order to the chaos...

 

Tomorrow I tape and mud.

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fixed the funky corner

 

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Happy is the man that findeth wisdom

Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.  

Pandemic Saturday

This article recently came out with the clickbait title "Questioning the catchphrase: Pandemic of the unvaccinated" - which most likely leads the idiots who are refusing the vaccine (without actually reading and thinking about what the article says) to think it means they aren't to blame after all for the surging pandemic.  The article's key points are as follows:  1. hospitalization rates among unvaccinated adults are 17 times higher than among those fully vaccinated.  2. the virus has reemerged in the southern United States primarily among unvaccinated people.  3.  unvaccinated people continue to account for the fast majority of those hospitalized.  

The reason the catchphrase is in question has little to do with whether or not it's true...it's about the message it sends and worrying about how the public will react to it.  "It is true that the unvaccinated are the biggest driver but we mustn't forget that the vaccinated are part of it as well...the pandemic clearly involves all people, not just the unvaccinated".  Anyone with any common sense is aware of that - but the fact remains that it is the unvaccinated that are the MAIN problem.  The article goes on to say "branding it a pandemic of the unvaccinated is "provocitave" and "stigmatizes the unvaccinated". 

The idiots who remain unvaccinated have an opposition toward Washington and there is concern that the more you stir the opposition, the more it convinces them to not give in. A poll in July found that 45% of adults who had not yet received the vaccine said they definitely would not get it.  2 in 3 unvaccinated adults said they had little to no confidence the shots are effective against mutations like the delta variant - although the data show vaccination dramatically reduces the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death.

Bottom line:  Unvaccinated Americans are still the ones most at risk and still the main ones putting everyone at risk.  Quit following the misinformation and conspiracy bullshit you read on the internet, get over your "opposition to Washington", and if being told you are the main problem in this pandemic is provocitave and makes you feel stigmatized...then tough shit.

 

computed tomography scan

Did my annual lung cancer screening chest scan this morning at Big Bend Regional Medical Center.  Was in and out in exactly 14 minutes.  Won't know the results until next week.  Wasn't able to get the procedure last year due to Covid.  Lucky to get in this year with hospitalizations on the rise again.  A lot of people don't realize there is a trickle down effect of the pandemic.  Covid might not get you...but you might not be able to get tests or treatment for other conditions.  90,96,68,0,B

more ceiling sheetrock...

 

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Fresh casting...

Pre cleaning and polishing - a custom desire chip for a client celebrating seven years of sobriety.  89,95,76,0,B

problem corner...

Working on someone else's construction is always a challenge.  Especially when nothing is plumb, level, or square.  92,97,67,0,B

Sheetrock Day 1

 

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seek

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

Pandemic Saturday

 

COVID GROUND ZERO

Several members of this church on Terlingua Ranch have become ill in the past month.  The self proclaimed pastor as well some of the congregation are Trump supporting Covid deniers - anti mask and anti vaccination.  A relatively new resident out here who was a member of the church, died of Covid related complications 2 nights ago.  At least one other person is hospitalized.  It is difficult to get exact numbers or do any contact tracing as these folks are all being tight lipped about the situation.  It is believed that the deceased was infected by out of town guests.  The ring leader (pastor) is Hat Bailey...long thought of as a harmless eccentric due to his soft spoken nature and belief in bizarre conspiracy theories about government, etc.  Seems he no longer "harmless" as he is sinking deeper and deeper into his own little fantasy world of conspiracies and misinformation and his distorted views on the pandemic have made him a danger to himself, his congregation, and the entire community.

Can you follow the process?

new javelina

 

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squaring the round house...

 

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