Barbara and I decided unilaterally that Jon's kids needed to experience rock polishing, so we gathered up the relevant junk and made a pilgrimage their home in Gilbert.
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It is not a location you would stumble on during a Sunday afternoon drive, but fortunately there is a GPS living on the dashboard of my car, and we drove straight to their abode without any problem.
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Even more fortuitous was the fact that said GPS knew how to get to AJ's house after we left.
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Daniel and Kaleb both displayed an interest in how polishing rocks is accomplished. Since the entire process takes four to five weeks, it remains to be seen how long that interest persists.
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We had an enjoyable visit with Lindsay. She seems to be doing well. She showed us some projects she had made using paint to which a small amount of plaster-of-paris had been added. It gave an unusual finish, but I did not capture any images of it.
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Desirae, at my request, operated my camera (quite enthusiastically) and since images of the person behind the viewfinder tend to be rare, we came away lacking her visage.
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Several of my family members decided to attend the monster truck show at the University of Phoenix Stadium (the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team), held on the day before Super Bowl Sunday. On being urged by both AJ and Barbara, I decided to join them. The price on my ticket was $15.00. That didn't seem too bad. However, after we were totally engulfed in a sea of vehicles and had no hope of turning back, we learned that renting a parking spot cost $20.00. A mile walk and a 6 story climb got us to our seats about 15 minutes after starting time. The events were as interesting as they were loud, and were presented as if they were a competition. I strongly suspect the outcome was already known. Given the acceleration (both positive and negative) experienced by the drivers, there must have been a superlative restraint system securing them in place. At least 60% of the vehicles had to be towed from the arena after jump events. Typically, they would be repaired in time for their next event. To me, that was one of the most impressive features of the show.
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After visiting for awhile, Barbara drove our vehicle home, and Will Ramsay was kind enough to give me a ride home after attending the Monster Truck event. The next day, after taking care of my responsibilities at the church, Barbara and I returned to AJ's house for the Super Bowl events.
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This was well attended, but since no one had a favorite team playing, the verbal jousting and kidding were not up to their normal frenzied level. I had to content myself with giving AJ a hard time about technical trivia.
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I enjoy interacting with my family, so the event was fun. On the trip home, I experienced the first problem with my 2015 Corolla. The light indicating an open door remained on, accompanied by a constant beeping. Inserting a couple layers of cardboard between the door and the switch was a temporary solution. To this point, a permanent solution has eluded me.
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It has become my habit to entrust my camera to a grandchild with the injunction, "Go take some pictures." Many of the resulting images are a waste of perfectly good 1's and 0' (the electronic equivalent of silver halide grains), but some of the photos demonstrate a latent flair for drama. (Either that or beginners luck.) What do you think?
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I believe in training kids at a young age, but AJ and Brittany have me beat. It looks like AL3 is already helping to identify the relevant food sale ads.
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I purchased a metal lathe. I have been looking at them for the past couple of years, and upon finding one down on the river "near San Manuel," the temptation was just too great.
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It is a heavy beast, estimated to weigh 385 pounds. Nathen and AJ "volunteered" to help move it, and I pressed into service Ken, the son of one of Barbaras' friends (who is also the father of Patrick, one of AJs' friends in high school). I appreciate his help. It would have been nigh impossible without his bulging biceps.
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We (more correctly, they) moved it into the shed, stopping to rest only a "few" times.
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The lathe was probably built in the 1960s. The belt that drives it rides in a "V" pulley, and is composed of links. I had never seen any thing like it before. The lathe came with only one tool and, when that tool was clamped in the tool post, the shank of the tool touched the 5/16 inch work piece before the blade (translation, wrong size).
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After failing to find them at Harbor Freight, I ordered some tools from ebay. While awaiting their arrival, I cleaned and cleaned and oiled and greased, and watched several Youtube videos on how to use a lathe. They all stressed the importance of adjusting the tool height. When the tools arrived, I found they sat at the wrong height.
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So, after muttering some choice words under my breath, I ordered a set of different sized tools, only to find, upon their arrival, that they also didn't have the right geometry. At that point, I disassembled the tool holder and replaced its' four ball bearings with smaller ones. This modification allowed the first set of tools to fit perfectly. Enter Brian Cox (a machinist by trade) who stopped by for a different reason, and volunteered to fabricate the shaft I was preparing to start. I was simply flabbergasted when he intentionally used a tool height different from that mandated in the Youtube videos. Just for the record... Ignorance can be both frustrating and expensive. |
Kyle accompanied his father (they stopped to complete his hunter safety course while en route), but he wisely chose to avoid the grumpy old men and hung out with Grandma.
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I recently learned that Andrea was promoted to First Sergeant. I don't know enough about military rank to coherently comment, but my impression is that this one is both difficult to obtain, and highly prestigious. Kudos to Andrea!
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| For some time now, I have had a small growth on the inner aspect of my left eye socket. A week ago, I yielded to Barbaras persuasions and visited a dermatologist. He diagnosed it as a basal cell carcinoma (a slow growing, non-spreading skin cancer) and confirmed that diagnosis with a biospy. I am currently awaiting a scheduling call from a surgeons office. Stay tuned for late breaking news... |