I'm not as prolific of a poster here as I used to be. Way back when, I actually had people reading this blog, and although I still do, let's just say that I'm not exactly making it in the Nielsen ratings. To be honest, that doesn't really bother me. Occasionally there will be a post that returns views. Like deer hunting near Willcox AZ. Or about that guy who counterfeited nickels. Maybe I need to lead a more interesting life? Folks, I've had enough unusual things happen to me.
That said, it's time to catch up.
I was contacted by one of my former employers yesterday about a job in Houston. I'm going to break with tradition, and identify that employer: Jacobs. Jacobs is a damn good company to work for, and is one of two that can hold a candle to where I'm working right now.
I turned them down. The job would have meant a relocation to Houston, and I'm not in a position to relocate right now. Even if I were, I can't say that Houston is on the short list of cities I would want to live in. I could easily find work in Houston if I wanted to......if not Jacobs, then NASA, or Axiom Space, or Lockheed.
I told the recruiter that I felt that Jacobs is an excellent company to work for, but that I couldn't do it.
I guess this means that I should touch upon where I'm at now. Maybe one day I will identify this company, but not today.
Work is going mainly well. I will admit that this job comes with frustrations. Those frustrations are what comes with the territory, and it is its own unique set of frustrations and can be seen as an improvement over previous collections of frustrations. I won't get into them in detail. I will tell you that I won't trade these for another set if I don't have to.
Life. Well I have that to take care of too. We've had a heavier than usual rainfall this monsoon season, and the weeds are taking off like crazy. Each day I go into the front yard and pull out the worst offenders. Each day I go into the back yard and do the same. With the heat it's advisable not to be out there that long. As we slide into September and get into the equinox, I'll be able to do more.
Also, because it's a fun diversion, I am working a little with wood......something that I haven't done since high school. I had some shelves outside that needed replacing. These reside inside of a metal frame. My recollection is that I put these together in the 2004 timeframe. Last week I noticed that the pressboard that those shelves were made of needed retiring, after all those years of being exposed to the elements.
I had two choices. I either buy new shelving, and throw away perfectly good metal frames. Well, almost perfectly good. I should paint them. But for the shelving, it occurred to me that I ought to go to ACE Hardware and have them cut some shelves for me. You know about ACE, right? That's the one that Pat Sumrall goes too. Or does he? Is he still with us?
I went to the one at Tanque Verde & Bear Canyon. Paul McCartney is said to have been there several times, back when he and Linda were maintaining a home here on my side of town (I've been by it). Now I didn't go there because Paul McCartney goes there, but I go there since I like them. The fine folks there had the shelves cut for me. I can't say that it was cheap, and I did not select a cheap grade of wood either, but in the long run it's better than buying new shelf assemblies and it was an opportunity to be handy so I took it.
Then I had to learn about weather sealing it. I asked some knowledgeable people about it, and did some online research. I have started sealing these with boiled linseed oil. I have some more to do. I am thinking of adding another finish on top of that and I may experiment with the scrap of wood that ACE gave me. I'll admit.....this is fun!
Now on to radio. I've been having a lot of fun with that too. Sunspots and solar flux slid down, but I've been able to get Europe on some evenings and Japan on most mornings. I'm gloating over getting Bulgaria on the 30 meter band, along with Western Australia, also on 30 meters. I can get the eastern states of Australia when conditions are right but Western Australia is something of a challenge. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back for those.
OK, it's time to sign off and catch up on some other things. Like supper.
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
