Like Father, Like Son

The SCSon called me at work today.  "Hey what'd you get on the SAT?"
Me:  [redacted - the actual score unimportant to the story]
SCSon:  Hey, Me Too!   (apparently his results arrived today in the mail)

True story - we tied scores for the college entrance exam.  Though the split is significantly different.  My score was about 2/3's math, 1/3 english.  His was 50/50 even steven.  Go figure.  My english teachers didn't earn much respect while my math teach's did...  The feeling was probably mutual.

Then again... I did fine with Eng 1A in college... (and spelling has never been a problem.)   so where was the problem?  Oh and I later had an 8 year run of a monthly column with very few editorial corrections...  I bet none of them ever had a word in published on print.

I received the "we tied" news with a little sadness.  Going into the test I wished him to beat my score and told him same.  Today I am sad that he didn't but proud that he tied!  Good onYa!

SCSon @17

The SCSon had a b-day the other day..  (or not..  as personal security goes)...

He requested a trip to the range.  Hey good idea... I'll take the afternoon off and we'll enjoy a quiet day at the range.  What do you want to shoot?   "The Garand!" (apparently that was a dumb question)

We also shot a couple ePostal entries.  Dang this was a tough target!  I had a near miss on a bomber but the thin white line rules against the hit.  All my targets scored nil, but you'll see them in the results anyway.  The SCSon had a couple hits.

PS.. Congrats to Gamamiel on the free plug.  FTC disclaimer We have not received any compensation from them, save for buying a really quality and comfortable T at a fair price.  In fact buying this T is the only business we have ever conducted with them.  This T just happened to be at the top of the stack as the SCSon dressed.  And thanks for seeing what a quality T-shirt really is - inexpensive advertising!  In quantity, you made a small profit in selling me the quality T, and now you are getting a free web plug.  Small businesses take note!  Offer me a quality T shirt at a reasonable price (@cost or slightly above) and I'll buy us one each.  Never know where the pick might pop up!

PPS.  The green strap across the SCSon's back in the above pic is a bandoleer of 10x 8 round Garand clips.  For the sake of authenticity, natch.

informal ePostal extention

While it is not my place to set/change rules for the SCSon's ePostal match...  I will let fly a bit of insider information..  He's is presently off the grid at JROTC camp through Friday.  And we're busy with the move... also we have not yet seen a June match posted yet,  therefore entries to the May match will* be accepted through the next weekend.

We both took a number of tries at the target.   While there was a near miss on  a bomber on one target, there is a clear white line so it's a miss.  Still I missed "my base" on all three so I am declaring a 0 point victory!"  and all three will be scored entries.

He did  better connecting with a couple targets.  I blame my aging eyes :-(

* The SCSon is the matchmaster so I am loathe to speak for him, but this seems a no-brainer call.  But his word is law... when he returns.  Will he be able to reject a score dated June x when he hasn't declared a deadline?  I personally would find it difficult.. If you have scores that can beat my 3x nil, suggest get them in before he can say otherwise ;-)

Fallen Soldier Tribute...

... As seen at our local Chick-fil-A:

I caught word that Chick-fil-A had a tribute to fallen soldiers somewhere in my AM webwander.  The SCSon and I dropped in to see it.  And here it is...    Click on the images to embiggen.

On arrival I was happy to see a Mother clutching her ~7/8YO daughter, explaining the meaning to her.

We ordered lunch and I took a seat where I could observe the display and those that stopped by to check it out. Most spent enough time to understand it (in chrono order):  Young African-American family, 70-ish YO (WW-II vet?  I wonder), mid 50's guy with a bicycle helmet, etc.

Thanks Chick-fil-A!  Nicely done.

"Always Clamp the Work!"

Sage words of advice from a friend who is currently sitting in ICU hoping that the surgery to re-attach his thumb takes (the first one didn't).

He was using a power miter saw to slice off a piece of aluminum.  The saw snagged the work piece and twisted it sending his thumb through the blade before he knew what happened.

Thank $DIETY for modern medicine that makes even attempting to reattach a severed digit.  Seems not very long ago Dr's wouldn't have even tried.

"Always clamp the work!"

Kitchen's are overrated!

The main two projects we need to complete before making the big move is to renovate the kitchen and replace the single pane windows with dual pane windows.

Step 1 in the kitchen:  Remove the existing cabinets.  The SCQueen found a contractor that would remove them and take them away (presumably for resale).  Total cost to us: $0.

The cutouts in the tile kinda show where the cabinets were.  Kitchen sink below the window on the left, stove on the right and refrigerator far back right.

Next the contractor will rip off the drywall to deal with some mold (surprise!)  But now is the time to deal with it.  Also they'll raise the drop ceiling about a foot.  How much?  Don't know... contractor still hasn't responded with a quote.  And that worries me.  It's just bad business.

Then we can bring in new cabinets and top with granite counters.  Finally we'll finish off with a new dual (and deeper sink) and new garbage grinder.

I think we can do all this in less than 1 month and under $10k.

Tonight we finished job #1 - changing all the locks.  First we changed out all the deadbolts because the existing ones were 35 years old and looked everyday of it.  One door also had to be replaced* (insecure window and a doggie door big enough for 2x sized me to squeeze through) as well, including the hinges and relocating the striker plate in the door jamb.

But the SCQueen got a heck of a deal on the new door.  The first HD had one for sale at $122 (turns out it was the wrong size).  The HD nearer the new SCbase wanted >$200 ("But you're other store had it for $122?"  "We don't price match our other stores."  YGTBSM!  She went back to the original HD, where they had the correct sized & configured door for .... ~$65!  Boom! Score!

The new door is also better insulated with double pane windows and a fiberglass core.  I care about that because this is a South facing door will see a lot of direct sun exposure.  And I pay the power bill!

Shredder revival

I thought I'd covered this in the previous post.. but looking back I see a continuity error:
So  here's the deal..  the shredder died.  After several hours of hard use, it was INOP.  I'm hoping for a thermal fuse...

Next am... no such luck.. Tap *here* and the readly lite glows... but then feed  it and it dims :-(

I took the shredder apart... fully expecting a blown fuse.  But then my finger brushed a large cap and it moved as if it weren't connected.

To quote a line (switch to  New Jersey accent)  "*well there's you're problem!*"

Somehow the cap had broken one leg off the circuit board!   I repaired it with a section of multi core, probably 12-14 gauge, wire soldered to fix the now broken trace.

So it's back in battery and ready for battle.  So far so good.  I shredded a veritable mountain today and it's still running.  I think it's good.