Today 28May2023

Sunday was a quiet day for me, and my cough is back and non-stop; this time likely allergies. My eyes are burning, and my nose keeps running, but my lungs seem clear. I also read that there is a virus that causes my symptoms, but I hope this is just allergies.

Sunday started with going nearly 8AM, making breakfast of oatmeal (instant and low sugar), and adding walnuts and dried cranberries. My French Press was used to make liberal coffee to go with breakfast. Next, I got the now-charged battery for my Dremel, put a burr bit into the chuck, and carefully cleaned up the sides of the casting I made a few weeks ago. It was my first time using clay to make a mold, and I had not got the internal lines between clay bits pushed together, so the acrylic leaked into the layers creating irregularities on the button surfaces. As the sides of the bottom are not visible, I just cut the sides down with the burr.

Next, I fitted it, and the casting fit. I mixed up some 15-minute epoxy, covered the base of the casting (not visible at all) with the mix, and placed the casting in its final position. The fit was tight enough to not use tape or screws to ensure the casting was in place when the epoxy dried. 15-minute epoxy is my go-to for non-porous and dissimilar gluing. It should be used when the weight of the glue is not essential, and the glued area will not receive high-temperature exposure. Also, the epoxy works by heating itself, so the materials should not be heat-sensitive. Lastly, it is a poor choice for flying models, notably rockets, as it is heavy, does not sand, and will soften when exposed to heat. CA and wood glues are the choices there, or crazy aerospace epoxy products (often toxic and include hazardous materials) and vacuum bagging to remove bubbles.

I managed to get epoxy on me, my work table, and some of the wood I was working with. Next, the epoxy ran, threatening the new faceplate cover. I wiped it clean and put some tape on the area to stop it from running. I stopped after that. Three mistakes are my limit–I then take a break.

I wrote the 2,000+ for the blog cover just Saturday. I was in a writing mood but ran out of time and could not edit all the typos. Grammarly catches many things, but it also puts some in–Someday, I will have to get a few paragraphs from ChatGPT and run them through Grammarly. I was not done until near noon. Taking a break to water the roses. The daily watering has recovered the blooming, and I am getting full-sized flowers now.

I reheated a piece of lasagna from the freezer (I made it last week) and had that for lunch. Next, I showered and dressed. I discovered the new Dollar Shaving Club (DSC) new razors did not fit my recently purchased handles. DSC was purchased by a multi-national grocery company and has since become less customer-focused, less friendly, and updates the products without warning. I discovered no better replacement online and ordered yet another shaver with more blades to get above the free shipping level. I was with DSC when they were a small company, and I miss the friendly desperation and the well-written advice columns. DSC is now just a zombie brand animated by Unilever.

I headed over to see Susie in Air Volvo and got a tour of crazy driving as I crossed over Beaverton. When I screw up, there is a police person ready to write me up or a photo machine to record the mistake. How do these drivers keep their licenses! For example, on Sunday, the pickup that did a three-point turn on a five-lane road (with traffic) went the wrong way until it finished. Next, the left turn across oncoming traffic diving into the turning lane was impressive. But the attempt to change lanes two at a time was a bit bold and double so with another car in the second lane. The driver managed to stop the traffic on Hall Boulevard when the driver discovered their near collision, and no driver was willing to get near the errant driver until they sorted out where they wanted to be–everyone stopped. Of course, the driver then turned off another fifty feet later!

Surviving Hall Boulevard without damage, ticket, or higher blood pressure (I am just used to it), I arrived at Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was resting in her room on her bed with a blanket (it was a cold day), watching M.A.S.H. on her screen. Susie has Peacock, which has all her old favorite TV shows without commercials.

Susie was in pain in her right leg, the upper part. Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, had placed pillows under Susie’s legs and had her sit up to see if that would remove the pain. It was working, but I asked them to give her a Tylenol (she has an order for it as needed) as I was worried it would come back at night and make sleep impossible for Susie. Susie took the painkiller and was soon better; more likely, the position change helped than the painkiller.

Susie watched M.A.S.H. after we called Leta on my iPhone using FaceTime to see each other. Leta was surprised to see Susie in bed, but the pain was discussed, and Susie was already saying it was fine. Susie is always fine. She seems to get embarrassed when asking for help. Leta was still enjoying her new flowers planted by Susie’s sister, Barb, who was there with Leta, and we got to talk and see her too. It was an excellent meeting.

Soon, after ringing off, Susie was napping and watching M.A.S.H. I sat next to her in a chair. Susie sleeps better when she has company–It always makes it easier to nod off with family. I stayed awake as I was constantly coughing, which kept waking Susie. Just annoying.

Around 4ish, I got Susie moved into her wheelchair, the pain was gone, and we headed outside to the park next door. First, I took Susie down a few streets to see the magnolia tree and the other flowers of the houses in the area. The irises were fading, but the roses were great. We could smell the trees, a banana-like perfume. Next, we enter the park from the far entrance and spent some time just watching folks. It was warm but not hot, and the shady bench was not uncomfortable. We saw the large local butterfly, an Oregon Swallowtail. After being outside for about an hour, we returned to the hummingbird house.

At about 5PM, I kissed Susie goodbye and headed home. Susie was sad to see me leave but was reassured by my promise to return on Monday. So I arrived home without witnessing any extra-legal car handling in Beaverton. Beaverton’s Finest was nowhere to be seen, but the Washington County Sheriff’s cars were out. I stopped in the house for a moment, grabbed my Apple computer, and headed to BJ’s Brewhouse for dinner. My untalented waiter, Nick, managed to have my prime rib dinner (they make excellent prime rib on Sundays) with my salad instead of putting in the order after I finished my salad like the more attentive waiters. I have had Nick before and always tip him; someone has to. I finished with some ice cream and coffee.

Returning home, I returned to the radio project. I cut a 1″x4″ wood and mounted the last push buttons and volume control on the wood (expecting to glue a veneer over it), but the potentiometer (volume control nob) would not fit the whole in the original wood case. It would be risky to drill the hole larger. So I went online and discovered an excellent and expensive nob with a potentiometer built in that should fit the hole. I ordered two (one 2K and 10K resistance).

Aside: If you run 3.3V DC into a potentiometer, you can measure the voltage with a microcontroller analog input. The nob turn increases the resistance and reduces the voltage. In more dangerous builds, you would run the main line voltage through the potentiometer, such as 12V 10AMP DC, to run a motor. The nob would let you control the speed, but the reduction would cause the unused energy to be released as heat in the potentiometer (very Frankenstein)! Usually, low voltage is used in the control panels (seldom you see the huge knife switches so dramatically used in Frankenstein movies) and then routed to high voltage transistors safely behind guards and proper insulation. Thus Scotty would say the relays are blown on the TV show, suggesting power surges had leaked into the low voltage controlling parts, destroying them.

Another aside: Knife switches are cool looking but are made to be mult-times the arc length of the high voltages. Thus the power will not cross the gap when not used. When used in higher voltages, they often arc as they are closed (quite scary) and often smoke as the dust on them is vaporized. They are open power and will kill you if you incorrectly reach for them–they are usually screened. You must reach out to them and never over them unless you want to test the arc! Leave them to the movies!

I stopped and let the glue dry, disappointed that I had to order more parts.

The coughing worsened, and I read for the rest of the night. Finally, I finished the short novel Rose/House by Arkady Martine. A creepy AI story and the loneliness of the human condition. I would recommend it as a clever, weird story; slightly dystopian, something I don’t read, but still imaginative.

I went to sleep after taking my pills, after the coughing settled down.

The painted rose shows a hint of white.

Thanks for reading.