Turning a Rough Day Into Raw Satisfaction

Work was a bit rough today, lots of stuff going on. Messed up some stuff. Fixed it. Messed it up again. Fixed it again. One of those painful but necessary cycles I guess.

Found out one of the founder's at Pika (Ben) knows the guys who invented E-Ink and founded the company E-Ink. I was surprised to find out that they didn't actually get that rich. Essentially the technology was created a while before there was a good market for it. Essentially there weren't enough e-books available until Amazon stepped up to the plate and then the stuff took off. However during this lack period, the company raised money from investors who bought pieces of the company and the original founders shares became smaller and smaller pieces of a pie that was growing over time but not exploding. I guess it went on for a while before the company really made money and the inventors walked away with money in the hundreds of thousands. Not that hundreds of thousands is bad.... but it isn't enough to be like "Fuck it, not ever working again".

Ben is awesome, when I talk to him it is like talking to a grown up version of Tyler, Ian who grew up in on off-grid home in Maine. I asked him how many of his friends do start-up stuff and he was like "All the cool ones did, the lame ones went to Wall St."

Oh, yeah so when I got home today I went straight for the bus and cut some chucks off of it. My order from Busdepot is coming in early next week so I wanted to get rolling. Check it out.

Quite a bit of rust but I think the inside isn't THAT bad.... 

I think I'll be able to sandblast/grid off most of the stuff inside as the metal is pretty thick and the rust isn't so deep. Also, this area will be coverer again soon anyways so if it isn't pretty it isn't a big deal just as long as it isn't rusty/rusting. 

Kept working till about 9PM, it was starting to get dark so I bailed. I actually cut clean through to the inside floor. There was some remnants of the wood floor and a bunch of old insulation so I yanked it all out and threw it away. Hopefully the panel I ordered will be good for replacing this. The parts around the wheel arch could get tricky, might have to find another replacement panel. Also, called the machine shop today and my crankshaft is going to be brought over to Butler and McMaster's in Hallowell to be magna-fluxed! Sweet! Anyways, things are rolling on that which is nice and I will stop by and pester the machinist on Saturday. 

Oh this thing. 

Also, a former/current employer called me last week about this thing I was supposed to built for them like a eon ago.... whoops! Anyways it will be a security camera tester/controller all in one box. I cut out the faceplate a while ago and have been plugging away on it the past couple of days but I just drilled a couple of holes in the wrong place.... whoops! So, we'll have to do something about that. I'd like to just get it done so I can not worry about it anymore. Should be neat when it works though. 

The Cholesterol Fairy

Well lunch of three spam/sriracha sandwiches was nice so I washed it down with a dinner of Monster energy drink and beer battered shrimp and fries. BTW, Ian or Tony, if any of you ever get me as a roommate again these cholesterol filled wonders could be yours too. Just saying.

In other news, my current suite mate is really into fish. Like he likes fish. We have like 8 aquariums in here, as well as some Styrofoam coolers being used as aquariums. He has this YouTube channel where gives tips on owning various types of fish in a dorm setting. Its cool stuff. But I just got to star in a bit of footage on what to do with your fish when you go on vacation. I believe I got to say the line "Don't worry, your fish are safe with beer, er I mean me".

Now I gots to go run an open house, hence why I'm posting so early. Than Toby in Toronto tomorrow.

Allons-y.

Neverending Cycle

A Very Havu 4th of July

My plans for the 4th changed about 4 times as usual. Thought I might trek home and have pot roast with the family but then James called and asked if I wanted to have lobster.... well that was just a silly question James.

Long story short my 4th of July basically went like this: adjusted the chain tension on my motorcycle, ate lobster with the Havus, went swimming in this lady's pool, drove out to Old Orchard Beach and met up with the Gerrish family. We were dodging rain storms while we were at OOB and while the fireworks were going off, there was actually an electrical storm that was out at sea. It made a pretty damn cool show with lightening and fireworks both in view. I was impressed.
Here is a terrible picture of a firework...

Oh to backtrack a little, while we were at the pool I met some guy who repaired machine tools. He told me about this museum in Vermont somewhere that is about the history of machine tools and shows a progression of how modern tools came to be. Gotta check that out sometime.

Anyways, the Gerrish family send their greetings! They were fun to hang out with for a while. You know Sharron doesn't settle for a half assed vacation, nope. They have been on the beach for 2 days, going to a Greatful Dead concert in Boston tomorrow, looking at colleges then headed to Rockland for a few days and then up to the Bangor waterfront for a Ted Nugent concert. After that I guess they might go back to the county? Quite the whirlwind vacation. Anyways, Sharron is doing well and I guess technically has three jobs right now cause she is such a boss.

Oh, and she gave me a beer. I'm glad that day finally came.

Today is the First Wednesday of the Rest of this Month

Had a lovely Google Hangout last night boys and girls. Spent today at the observatory using the charcoal grill to make burgers, dogs and potato/carrot/tin foil melody. Then we used the HD projector up there to watch Captain America, because you know, MERICA.

Now I'm working on planning a Katahdin hike with my Alfred friends. Looks like I'll be trucking five Alfredian bitches up to the county the second week of August for a Tour d'Aroostook and Katahdin Hike. There will be much Moxie/Poutine/RedHotDogs/Shipyard/Allens/(Have you bitches tried Raye's Mustard? Makes pretzels into HOLYFUCKS) to be had. I'm kind of pumped to get them up there, as I know them all pretty well and I know what to show them to get 'em hook line and sinker. Elliot will like the dark skies. Josh is a food tourist, so poutine poutine poutine. Wolfgang, I will show him a Toby if I can manage it. Bellisant/Ned, plenty of beautiful views for the interested couple to brood on together. I like brooding. It is something I should do more often. Though brooding is best done on decks...

Any bitches who want to hike Katahdin, I will be doing it the second week of August. Tony, tell James for me. He's been wanting someone to hike it with him for some time so tell him he's invited. Then you should make him bring you too. Because mountains and good folk that's why.

Also going to see Toby in Toronto this weekend, so I probably won't be able to post Friday/Saturday as my phone will not data well in Canada. Stay strong gents.

'69 in 8 days (Happy 4th!)

A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose.  The book describes the building of the Transcontinental Railroad which would bridge the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, bringing people and business closer together and accelerating travel times significantly.  This was long before the Panama Canal, so you could take a ship around the Horn, travel by Wagon, or if you were in a hurry a Stagecoach which still took a month and was extremely unpleasant.

The story is decidedly reminiscent of our space program in the 1960s.  It only happened because of massive government intervention and a president who believed very strongly in its merits (in this case, Abraham Lincoln).  A large percentage of the educated population thought it was absurd, if not impossible.  It would not be replicated  by another nation for some 25 years.  In short, it was decidedly American.  An audacious task undertaken perhaps before its time but finished nonetheless and setting a very high bar for all other accomplishments to live up to.  I also noticed that the last spike was driven in 1869, and another '69 is pretty famous in American History too...

(Okay... so this is actually Apollo 17 but it is a great picture!)

So, in 1869 Americans drove the Golden Spike and it took 8 days to go from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  In 1969 Americans built the Saturn V and it took 8 days to go from the Earth, to the Moon, and back again.  What does 2069 hold?  Happy Birthday America.

 "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Issac Newton insulting Robert Hooke

And in the words of Alan Shephard -- "Don't F$#$ Up."

Nuts Circuit Troubleshooting Today

So, I'm getting tomorrow off which should be cool. Maybe having a family shindig for the 4th or something. 

Came home to a little cookout with James and some students from UNE. A classic Havu gathering. Currently watching Spartacus. 

Got a phone call today saying that a bunch of the stuff I ordered for my bus was on backorder for a month. Lame. So, I'll be seeking alternative suppliers for that. 

Also, since we are having a joint birthday party... I asked Olivia to turn this image

into an awesome picture for our party. I will be sure to post what she comes up with. 

Also, hell yes to Ian's previous post.