new dentist for me...

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POTC

 

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Solar job ll

 

 

More parts arrived.  60 amp MPPT charge controller and a 200Ah lithium iron phosphate battery.  These batteries are much more efficient than agm or lead acid and have a long service life (10+ years)...and are incredibly lightweight.  The surplus agm batteries I am using in my systems (10 of them) are 135 Ah and weigh 100 lbs. each.  This 200 Ah battery weighs just 48 lbs.  Moley approves... 89,94,60,0,G

Solar job

 

Doing a little solar install for a part timer who has property near me.  At my suggestion, he ordered Starlink so he and his family (4 kids) will have internet when they come out to visit and so he can work remotely and spend a little more time out here.  Just got some of the panels today and Moley was on hand to check them out. 88,91,48,0,C

often a struggle...

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, 

but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, 

that it may give grace to those who hear. 

Pepino season has begun...

 

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Impulse buy...

 

Been a loyal customer for over 30 years.

You can get these planters here.

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Ready for the client...

 

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another batch of bronze...

 

...and a lot of slag.

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new tool...

 

...to speed up the finishing.  Cost me 3 skulls.

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24 hours

Getting this off the camera and into my video editing software was a bit tricky. I had to upload it to Google Drive, then download it to my computer. The downloaded file plays fine in Windows Media but is corrupted and won't play correctly in Adobe Premier Elements. Had to play it full screen and use a screen capture recording to get a file that would work in my editing software. Time lapse shot at 1 frame per minute over 24 hours. The Wyze Cam V3 can be set up to shoot a time lapse in a wide variety of duration settings and works exceptionally well with nothing but the moon to light the scene. 64,71,62,0,W

walk circumspectly...

 

more skulls...

ready for finishing...

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siesta...

 

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acid bath

 

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testing new gear...

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a little stop action...

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more shipping supplies for the skulls

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try not to be anxious..

 Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Happy Birthday

On this day 3 years ago, I put two tomato plants
that I bought at True Value into the dirt.  

Of those two there are now many...and still producing.  58,64,24,0,C

The psychology of novelty...

Ordered yet another camera to try out.  This one pretty much does all the same things the Blink cameras do - and something they don't.  The Wyze camera can also record long duration video and long duration time lapses (thinking plant cam).  And unlike the Blink system, Wyze cameras have an onboard micro SD card for storage of photo and video files.  The files can be accessed by downloading them through wifi via the app or physically removing the SD card and placing it into a computer.  So suddenly I have 6 extra cameras (7 if you include the one in my smart phone).  All this new stuff got me to thinking about the psychology of novelty.  51,58,42,0,W

10%

Nine times out of ten, the acid etching goes without a hitch.  It's a real bummer when two in a row fail.  When it does happen, I have to sand them down to get back to a clean slate and try again.  74,80,32,0,B 

Dawn of a new age...

 

14 years ago (almost to the day - this photo taken March 19, 2008), Big Bend Telephone hooked up my land line and DSL.  In all these years I rarely had any issues and the 2 or 3 times I did, BBT was quick to resolve them.  My phone that I could only use at home with unlimited long distance and slow DSL (6 Mbs download and 1 Mbs upload speeds) cost me $102 per month.

My new links to the outside world are a Moto G7 Play smart phone I can use anywhere with Mint Mobile unlimited calling and texting for $15 per month and Starlink fast internet (250 Mbs download and 40 Mbs upload speeds) costs me $99 per month.  My new telecommunications services total $114 per month.  I don't have cell service at TFL but the smart phone works brilliantly with wifi calling.  Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network of towers to I can get cell service just about everywhere else.  My DSL with BBT is cancelled but I am holding onto the old land line for another month in the off chance I can port out my old phone number to the cell phone.  I have been going back and forth with BBT, the FCC, and the Public Utilities Commission of Texas for a month trying to sort out the issue.  Seems the FCC has enacted a relatively new law requiring ALL carriers to allow number porting.  At first, BBT flat out told me they do not allow it.  After filing my first complaint with the FCC, BBT then told me they do "allow it" but it won't work with any cell carrier.   Mint Mobile told me they cannot port my number in and every major cell carrier I contacted told me the same thing.  Number porting (keeping your phone number when switching between carriers) has actually been going on for almost 20 years, but for many of those years, small rural carriers were granted a waiver to block number porting.  From what I understand, those waivers are gone now.  It has been extremely difficult to get a straight answer out of anyone and as long as they keep yanking my chain... I am going to yank back.  68,74,34,0,B  

Saved by the bag...

 

This is how 20 pounds of petrobond casting sand 

arrived in the mail today.

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Moley on the job...

Don't be confused...

Psalms 71:1 

In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust:

let me never be put to confusion.  

almost ready to cut the cord...

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Estonians...

It has been 4 years since my friend Herbert Murd (in orange) and 

some friends made a pilgrimage to Texas and The Field Lab.

This is his restaurant in Estonia.

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pig cam

 

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busy bench

 

In production for the next two weeks.  

Today I cast five of 20 skulls on order.

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A day in the big city...

 

Aside from stocking up on food and feed and doing laundry - I turned in the satellite phone I've had for 12 years (and only used twice - and that was just to make sure it worked).  I got it for emergencies because it was a cheap option available for rural communities.  The service used to be subsidized and the initial cost was somewhere around $100 and monthly service for 300 minutes was $25.  They lost part of their subsidy at the end of last year and monthly service jumped to $80.  Also swung by BBT to cancel my DSL and remove auto-pay from my phone bill.  (Starlink is still performing well beyond my expectations with speeds averaging 275 Mbs down and 60 Mbs up, and zero noticeable service interruptions).  I am expecting to cancel my phone service with them in about a week.  More on the cell phone saga soon...  

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