I recently saw a beggar at the offramp with a sign that said, "Money to bury my son."
Right.
The good news: the *NOX two speed wiper switch that I bought from an outfit in Grand Rapids for $never-mind$ works.
The bad news: the wipers don't.
When I got it all wired up I turned the switch to the first position and got a horrible grinding noise. The second position produced the same grinding noise, just at a higher rpm.
So now I have to tear into the motor/linkage to find out where the worn gear or ____ is. Unfortunately, the motor and linkage are under the dash and right up against the firewall, which is to say they are very inaccessible unless I take everything out, including gauges, other switches, the glove box....
Hey, we aren't gonna need wipers in Oregon are we?
This morning I ordered all the wood, rails, bolts, and fittings to complete the floor of the bed. I went with pine and steel because it's cheaper than oak and stainless, which are dressy but not the original materials like I'm getting. Note the comparative "cheaper," not cheap.
It will all arrive in two weeks, and then the fun begins. Sand, stain, and six coats of spar varnish on all sides, the same treatment I gave to the teardrop when I built it.
I like days that include mental stimulation, and by that standard today was a very good day. I met with Chad, our financial advisor, this morning. In the first portion of our every-three-month conversations he explains what their doing with our (small) investment account, and I know just enough about macro economics to have a general idea what he's talking about. I'm impressed with his mastery of what seems like a very complex world of economic factors, and I appreciate his work on our behalf, especially because it means we can retire in five months.
This afternoon I went to see John, the tech for St. Jude's Medical Devices, the company that made my pacemaker. He reprogrammed it three weeks ago and this was a specially scheduled appointment to see how I was doing with those changes. The answer: excellent! The pacemaker is working less than 1% of the time (it was at 5% before) and my rhythms are as good as any he's ever seen. I'll go back in October for the regular checkup and by then he'll have a bigger sample to analyze but we've no reason to expect anything different.
On the way to that appointment I was alongside a tired white Chevrolet Cavalier. Early 2000's (they stopped making them in 2005). On the rear window he'd used adhesive letters like you can buy at Home Depot to put on your mailbox or house.
CUSTOM DENTURES
(623) 555-1234
My first thought: I didn't know you could buy off-the-shelf dentures.
Then: who hires a guy driving a 15-year old Cavalier to make their dentures?
Friday is National Donut Day. Thought you should know.
*NOS = New Old Stock, a part that has never been installed in a vehicle but dates back to the date of the vehicle, usually left over from dealer parts inventory)
3 comments:
Great news about your pacemaker!
Between Chad and John, it sounds like you have some good specialists in your corner. Will you have to find new folks in Oregon? I suppose you'll need someone local for heart/pacemaker stuff, but will you be able to keep Chad long-distance?
We'll have to find new dr.'s, including another pacemaker tech. But Chad will continue to be our financial guy, one of the blessings of contemporary technology. Email, Facetime... Plus, he commits to coming to see us twice a year. His firm keeps their guys' client lists small enough that even when one moves they can go to them for a semi-annual meeting. He and his wife (and young daughter) take lots of short vacations to wherever he has clients, and they're eager to see Oregon for the first time. Besides being very good, Chad's a believer, and we see our working relationship with him as God's gracious provision.
Sounds like a win for both you *and* Chad. =)
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