http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/index/ en rukstir@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-02-09T03:43:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/mine_chapter_3_part_three/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/mine_chapter_3_part_three/#When:03:43:00Z She was out of tears, out of sound, rocking back and forth. The world washed to black, to white, to everything.  The sound of a thousand silences crashed into a million tornadoes.  She heard nothing, heard everything, saw nothing, saw everything. She knew it was her brother holding her.  She knew father was nearby, looking down at the broken body.  She knew every murmur, whisper, breath of everyone near.  This was her entire world, her whole existence, every blink, every creak, every noise recognized. Onieda knew it was hers no longer.  Her brothers arms around her gave no comfort, no closeness. Different. Outsider. Freak. The eyes of her father, that had held nothing but warmth, were now cold, never again to heat.  His stiff posture, rigid, arm held toward Humphrey immobile.  She knew then, she must leave.  There was nothing but pain left here, in the land that had nestled her in comfort, love and safety. 2010-02-09T03:43:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/cut_cut_cut/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/cut_cut_cut/#When:13:37:00Z I’m not emo. I just have a functional table saw. Working on 220v.  New switch.  Cuts like butter, passes the nickel test.  Man, that was satisfying. Like so few of my purchases are. 2010-02-04T13:37:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/my_auction_addiction/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/my_auction_addiction/#When:13:40:00Z I like buying big ticket items on the auction block.  I’m not even sure why I enjoy it, since every time I buy one, I get the shaft while someone else walks away with the mine. My latest purchase was a table saw. Granted, I think I did fairly well on the $10 bench grinder, and the 8 levels for $15 (2 - 4’, 4 - 2’ ), and even the small folding table for $1. But I spent $200 on a table saw, without knowing whether or not it even turned on.  Or what brand it was.  Or if there were even still parts around. All I knew is that it had a cast iron top, a blade, and a bunch of fence jigs. It turns out that it’s an American Machine and Tool saw, which is no longer made.  The company doesn’t have any information on it, and no parts are sold any longer.  The reviews I’ve found online have been decent, and it seems like it’ll be an OK saw. However. When I got it home and unloaded (thanks to one of my coworkers who I probably addicted to auctions now), we first plugged it in to the extension cord I had handily near the saw. BZZZZZ goes the saw.  POP goes the breaker. So I try it in a circuit that’s on a different fuse, without the extension cord.  WRR----POP.  This time, the blade spins, but the breaker blows. The motor draws 16A on 110.  The only breaker I have in the garage is 15A.  Everything else is Olde Timey screw in fuses of the 20A and 15A variety.  I don’t have any extra 20A OTSIFs.  Well, at least it spins. The next day, DW and I head to town for some home improvement shopping, and dinner and a movie with friends.  I pick up some fuses, and decide that I want to wire the saw up for 220V, so that I’ll only need an 8A circuit.  It shouldn’t be a big deal, the garage already has 2 outlets with 220 wired, so I should be able to work of those.  I pick up an end that looks right, and is the only one Home Depot stocks in that layout.  Then we go eat some pizza, and see Avatar. The next morning, I put my new end on some Romex (which is long enough for me to put my tablesaw somewhere on Alpha Centari), and head back out to the garage.  I start taking the switch off, so I can wire in the new power cord, and pull it away from the saw.  Opening it up, out falls a few chunks of plastic, and all the springs. Fabulous.  The switch is a 2 button (Green ON button, Red OFF button) that works with this sliding metal plate and some springs.  Pushing the ON button locks the plate in place and the contacts down.  Pushing the OFF button is a little wedge that moves the plate and releases the contacts.  Only, the metal plate is missing its mount point on one side, and the Off button’s metal wedge is loose and flopping around because it’s plastic broke off too! After cursing some fair amount, I get the pieces back into shape and the switch sort of functional (and not shorting out, this is probably the key that I didn’t think off at the time), and wire in the power. I walk across the garage, and try to the plug it in.  The plug doesn’t fit the receptacle.  It doesn’t even come close.  It’s the right layout, but the plug is much too large for the outlet.  In disgust, I shut off all the power to the garage (which involves a trip back into the house to throw the garage’s breaker), and pull that outlet out.  And decide to take care of it after work the next day. The next day was yesterday.  I did some research, and it turns out that my outlet is a historical throwback known as a NEMA 10-20.  The plug I bought is a NEMA 10-50.  Simple enough.  However, that last bit, the 20 and 50, indicates the rated amps of the plug.  I can’t just throw a 10-50 outlet in place of the 10-20, as the next owner will probably burn the place down or blow fuses out left and right. Luckily, we have a pile of NEMA L6-20 plugs here at work (we replaced them all with 30A), so I just need an L6-20 receptacle.  Over lunch my coworker and I head to the HD to see what I can find to damage my wallet, and I pick up a l6-20R for $15 and a cheapo 110/220v circuit tester to make sure I don’t electrocute myself.  Later in the day, I order a new paddle switch from Grizzly for the saw. Last night, I get home and put in the receptacle, and turn power back on.  Everything lights up like it’s supposed to, and the circuit tests 110 where it should, and 220 where it should.  Realizing that I have a new switch on the way, I’m going to have to wait to wire it in.  However, I do have some new 20A fuses, so I figure it can’t hurt to give the saw one more try on 110.  I wire up the power cord, and while making sure nothing is shorted out, plug it in to the 20A circuit. Then I push the On switch. And wouldn’t you know it, the saw starts. And runs. And doesn’t blow the fuse. And keeps running. And shuts off when I gingerly push in the stop button (so as not to short it out). VICTORY! Well, it’ll be victory when I get the new switch.  And I still think I’m going to switch it over to 220V, at least to keep the amp draw down. Oh, and the blade? I think it’s a good deal. 2010-02-02T13:40:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/because_i_only_update_when_its_about_the_guinea_hens/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/because_i_only_update_when_its_about_the_guinea_hens/#When:00:07:01Z Egg?!So Soon? 2010-01-23T00:07:01-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/hot_chicks_get_bigger/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/hot_chicks_get_bigger/#When:00:58:01Z More food, double the size… Hot Chicks Bigger! 2009-07-09T00:58:01-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/hot_chicks/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/hot_chicks/#When:22:41:00Z Just when I thought the house couldn’t get any more crowded, 12 chicks moved in. You wouldn’t believe the insanely cute peeps they make. More here 2009-06-29T22:41:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/yes_im_alive/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/yes_im_alive/#When:14:10:00Z Yes, I’m alive. Yes, I had my gall bladder removed. No, there weren’t any complications. Yes, I’ve resumed normal activity. More activity 2009-05-22T14:10:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/teh_update/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/teh_update/#When:00:25:00Z I went ewe too no, ICANN sea threw you’re plain. Anyhow… Onion. 2009-05-07T00:25:00-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/yet_another_health_and_wellness_update/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/yet_another_health_and_wellness_update/#When:11:30:01Z I know it’s a little delayed. The endoscopy came back OK.  OK in that the only thing wrong with me are the gallstones that have taken up residence. The procedure, well, I’d say it was aweful.  I’d even say it was great.  In all honesty, I don’t remember any of it. I arrived at the hospital, filled out the standard “sign this” forms and waited in a nondescript waiting room.  I’m sure I made some jokes about cameras, and offended other waiting room...waiters. When they called me back, they didn’t have me undress, I just put the gown over the top of my clothes.  Up on a stretcher, sit and wait some more.  The nurse came to give me my IV, and I directed her to my left arm.  My months of selling plasma, in addition to the $40 a week, taught me that needles in my left arm work better, and cause me less pain.  She was appreciative, seeing the necessary vessel right away.  More waiting.  Hearing the lady on the other side of the curtain talk about her shingles on her arm.  Watching them bring the same blood pressure machine to me.  Hope I don’t get shingles. A short bed ride into the ambulatory surgery area, and more (that’s right!) waiting.  A brief conversation with the assisting nurse, where I assured her I wasn’t allergic to anything except for cameras with fiber optics on them.  More waiting.  Finally the doctor arrives.  Asks me how I’m doing.  Tells the nurse to begin.  She injects me, and tells me to open my mouth.  She sprays in some aweful tast… ..I’m looking at my arm.  How did my arm get in front of me?  Oh, I’m on my side.  How did I get on my side?  Where’d the room go?  Hey, there’s DW.  Wow, good drugs. The next few hours (ok, the next 30 hours) are pretty much a haze at this point.  I remember specific things, but its like they happened years ago, instead of days. And tomorrow, I get to go back in, and have the gall bladder removed. I’m hoping for more time warps, and an end to the pain that woke me this morning at 4:30.  At least this time, I was only wishing I was dead for 2 hours.  25 hours from now, I’ll be back on a stretcher, and waiting some more. 2009-03-23T11:30:01-06:00 http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/because_its_the_highlight_of_my_life/ http://www.goodasany.com/index.php/site/because_its_the_highlight_of_my_life/#When:16:13:00Z Tomorrow I’m going in for an endoscopy.  They’re going to ram a camera down my throat, and take a look at the problem. Wiki and WebMD say that they’ll probably put me under for this, but what’s the fun in that? I want to drink some mild numbing agent, and watch the whole thing on TV.  Listening to the noises my body makes while its being abused by fiberoptics. Good times! 2009-03-16T16:13:00-06:00