Occasional thoughts and deeds of an Engineer
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  • Desiderata

    Posted on November 29th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    Desiderata

    Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
    and remember what peace there may be in silence.
    As far as possible without surrender
    be on good terms with all persons.
    Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
    and listen to others,
    even the dull and the ignorant;
    they too have their story.

    Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
    they are vexations to the spirit.
    If you compare yourself with others,
    you may become vain and bitter;
    for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
    Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

    Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
    it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
    Exercise caution in your business affairs;
    for the world is full of trickery.
    But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
    many persons strive for high ideals;
    and everywhere life is full of heroism.

    Be yourself.
    Especially, do not feign affection.
    Neither be cynical about love;
    for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
    it is as perennial as the grass.

    Take kindly the counsel of the years,
    gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
    Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
    But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
    Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
    Beyond a wholesome discipline,
    be gentle with yourself.

    You are a child of the universe,
    no less than the trees and the stars;
    you have a right to be here.
    And whether or not it is clear to you,
    no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

    Therefore be at peace with God,
    whatever you conceive Him to be,
    and whatever your labors and aspirations,
    in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
    it is still a beautiful world.
    Be cheerful.
    Strive to be happy.

    Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

  • Livingston

    Posted on November 27th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    We are happy with the Rainbow’s End and, in fact, signed up for two more months. Our great, great big problem is mail.  I held up the mail for two weeks and once we got to Livingston did a General Delivery address with the post office.  This is totally screwedand now USPS is saying 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.  TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!  So far I have been unable to contact PL USPS lady who did the forwarding and now is leaving.  So much for trust levels.  Where is a months mail?

     

  • Texas: Livingston, College Station, Iola

    Posted on November 27th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    This has been a great year.  The synopsis is that we returned to Indiana from our favorite FL spot and worked on the RV from a protected building. I learned MUCHO on working native Cheery Wood!  The two flat screens, added to replace the old analog worthless variety,  needed cabinetry to make them fit the decor of the RV cabinetry.  Everything worked well despite hundreds of trips from the shop to the RV.

    The trip down was in a storm, while not of epic magnitudes, was trying.  We really stopped for the first time in Texarcana and went to see several sites over the three days we decided to stay.  The highlight was the Moore Ace of Clubs house.  Well worth the $4 for the entry fee.  We stayed east of Texarcana in a reasonable RV park but it was a bit noisy for some but not us.

    The run to Escapee’s Rainbow’s End and was a good  trip and un-eventful on 59 all the way toLivingston.  After that it was a very short run via 146 to the Rainbow’s End.  Now we are here for a month or two or three or ???

  • Posted on November 12th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    I just read an article in Quillette entitled “How An Anonymous Accusation Derailed My Life” and was impressed by the content.  As a product of a small midwest town I am well aware how one malicious person with a vendetta can influence decades of thinking in the small town environment.  The whispers and sage advice offered by local experts on everything cause much damage to otherwise innocent people.  This happens without the person even knowing that it is happening so after the animal is out of the pen it is not possible to put it back in.  Just my two cents for the evening and I hope you read all of the article.

  • Several Trips to the Airport

    Posted on November 12th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    I can’t believe we made 3 trips to the airport today and 3 in days past.  Loading up for the winter.  Today was one of those dreary Indiana Winter days like in January and February. Temperature was about 40°± and this eveniImage result for neighbor in the woodsng on the last trip for today it was raining lightly.  We are almost finished and ready to hibernate until April.

    I went down to see my neighbor Loren and to watch him burn leaves and branches.  It was very exciting and we could hear the sap boiling out of the green branches. We discussed a lot of things but managed to avoid the pitfall of politics, judgemental issues and hunting deer.  Our discussion consisted of things like the water in the lake being too high for the last 5 years and out docks and rowboats.  Then we talked about all the dead Ash trees we have had to cut and detritus in the woods.  It was an enjoyable afternoon and one like my Grandfather must have enjoyed talking with his neighbor.  Life was simple before the invasion of mass media and Goering’s legacy of disinformation philosophies.

  • Cold!

    Posted on November 10th, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    Man, the cold weather came slamming in with cold in teens, snow and slippery roads.  Rick Boyer came over this morning to winterize the cottage.  He has it down pat so his retired rates are very reasonable.

    We want to go to the airport to take a few items to the hangar for the winter; however, the report from Rick is that the roads are very slippery.  Couple that with 15mph and you have a chill factor that makes us reluctant to go outside, in spite of our long-johns. Brrr!

  • Saturday Slow

    Posted on November 3rd, 2018 cwmoore No comments

    Image may contain: cloud, sky, tree, outdoor, nature and waterYesterday I was a bundle of energy and seemed to accomplish a lot.  This included making a tour of my Geocaches, cleaning sticks off the roof plus a myriad of other necessary but little tasks like putting the deck table into the bar, taking the tools out of the truck and putting them in the car and sweeping the truck with my newish Harbor Freight vacuum (It works better than my Sears shopvac). Wow what a day. Surprisingly I was not fatigued at the end of the day.

    Today, SAM had an event at the church, a funeral dinner, and is not back as I write this so I expect I have some time to tell the world of my day.  I awoke at the customary late time, fixed breakfast and cleaned out the dishwasher.  After that I checked email and the ubiquitous Facebook plus checked the weather – yucky for the rest of the week – and just sat and watched the sunshine filtering through the rather leafless trees in the back yard.  You could say we are at peak color but about 50% of the leaves are down due to the rain of several days and whatever E, S, W winds we have had.  Today the winds shifted from SE to SW so I got out the leaf blower and swept the driveway while taking advantage of the SW winds to lift the leaves in the exact direction I wanted them to go – yea. Having a few minutes after lunch, I cleaned out the storm water pickups & drains of our down-the-hill piping system (we are down the slope from the road and in the

    winter the salt/sand trucks deposit a LOT of sand that works its way into the drain system). The Amateur Radio Allstar node has been almost non-stop today and I am listening to it while waiting for SAM to return.

    Next week we are winterizing the summer “cabin” so it is officially the end of the season.  This year has gone fast!  There were few major milestones and few medical events,  I spent a lot of time at the airport this year and moved much shop equipment out there so I could do some woodworking, cleaning and minor repairs needed to Inspiration III. In the course of the summer I was re-introduced to the aviation community that I have let languish since my flying buddy of decades died about 2002. I do not have an overwhelming desire to fly again, certainly not in “fly high go fast” machines, but every once in a while I get a little tickle to go up again in a LSA.  The hangar is bare except for Inspiration III and another dolly.  I will clean them out this week and plug her into home power.

    Opps, SAM just arrived – got to go.  BFN