JUNE 2024

Sunday 2024.6.30

The Debate

I tried to watch the debate between President Biden and Donald Trump. I tried twice, but I couldn't watch for more than a few minutes. A doddering old man debating with a pathological liar. It was too distressing to watch. And those are the candidates for the highest office in the land? Is that the best we can do?

A friend called me the following day. We both agreed — too painful to watch. Also on the following day there were news reports of Democrats wanting to force Biden into retirement.

Neither man is qualified to be the president of this country. Trump is a convicted felon who wants to rule as a dictator. Biden is too old.

I think Biden missed his opportunity a year ago. He should have said he was in favor of a younger candidate replacing him. He could have said he would support, even campaign for, a qualified younger person running for the office. Why did he decide to run again? It might be pessimistic of me, but I don't think he has the health and stamina to serve another four years. I sometimes wonder if he'll last into November.

I don't like either candidate and therefore I might not vote this November. Some people I personally know will vote Libertarian, but I don't want to waste a vote on a candidate guaranteed to lose. I think it's better not to vote at all. I know there are some who would say it is my civic responsibility to vote. However, given the current state of the two candidates, I think I'm being more responsible by withholding my vote. Do you want my vote? Give me a candidate who is worth voting for.

Retirement

On the bright side, yesterday was another observance. It was the date of my last day at work in 2011. Thirteen years of being gainfully unemployed and I have never regretted it for a day. I love retirement. I'll celebrate my first day of retirement with pizza this evening.

One of my latest pastimes in retirement has been building made-in-China POS LEGO knockoff sets. I'm reaching a point at which I probably won't order any more. The enthusiasm is waning.

There was a time when I wanted to put the assembled kits (glued together for durability) outside for children to find and take. But then I wondered if I might be setting myself up for a liability. What if a piece fell off and a child choked on it? We live in a time when some people love an excuse to sue someone. So, I started putting them into the trash, one each week. I don't want the clutter.

Grilling

I've been experimenting with a different type of charcoal briquette. They are dense little cubes made from coconuts. They are meant to be used in hookahs, but they work on a grill as well. My little portable grill doesn't require many briquettes; so I ordered them to test. They work. However, they are more difficult to light than the standard charcoal briquette.

This morning is saw an electric starter for coconut briquettes. It's a coil thing like you see in electric stoves. Outside I have an electrical outlet in the area where my grill is located. So I ordered the starter. The next test, when it arrives, is to see if I can use it without triggering the circuit breaker.

The Tomato Chronicles

Again, my tomato plants are not doing well. About two months ago I started again with new plants and new potting mix, another brand that I thought would be helpful. Now I'm wondering if the moisture meter probes are causing the problem. It's the only issue remaining. Maybe the mild electrical current from one AA battery is enough to annoy the plants?

Today I'll prune off the lowest branches again and fill the planter with it's third and final layer of fresh potting mix. I'll remove the probes before giving the soil a good watering. Then I'll wait to see if the plants thrive again like they did last year. If they do, the probes and meter will go into the trash (minus the batteries).

Wednesday 2024.6.26

Inching Closer?

Actually, I'm inching further away. I make many of my decisions either in my sleep of when I wake up hungry at 3:00 in the morning.

Lately I've been thinking of expanding my Kitchen Vlog channel to include videos of me torching made-in-China fake LEGO building sets. I started looking into the procedure of monetizing that channel.

Early Monday morning I changed my mind while lying awake in bed. I'll turn 73 years old in about five weeks. I'm feeling too old to start another major project — building kits, shooting and editing more videos.

I have ten assembled sets on my desk right now and three more are on their way. I am thinking there are two ways of looking at this collection — as an opportunity or as clutter. I am leaning toward the latter.

Meanwhile, I ordered a fireproof mat to place on my kitchen counter near where I position my video camera. The mat is large enough to fold in half and then in half again. That's four layers protecting the surface. The mat will probably go into the trash, eventually. I'll hold onto it for a while, lest I change my mind again.

What I need is a close friend here in town that can talk me through my ideas. The only one I could really rely upon is now living up in Portland, Oregon. I have friends here, but none of them have a technical background that might benefit me. Their enthusiam isn't enough. I need more of, "Have you thought of this? You might try doing it another way. Here's an idea."

I have the mat and I have the assembled sets; so, maybe I'll do a proof-of-concept video. If I like it enough while I'm editing it, maybe I'll upload it to the channel to see how it flies. The response, if any, might provide the data I need to make an informed decision. Meanwhile, I continue watching Amazon Vine for more LEGO-like sets.

What's in a Name?

I've been going round and round with different ideas for naming those videos. The one I am currently leaning closest to is "Let's Torch The P.O.S.!" You probably know what P.O.S. stands for. If not, Google it. Hint: It isn't Point of Sale.

I Learned Something New This Week

Ants love sardines. Of course. Why wouldn't they? They're protein ants and sardines are a good source of protein. I ate a can of sardines the other day. Afterward, I rinsed the can before putting it in the recycling bin in my kitchen. Despite the rinsing, ants swarmed to it anyway. And therein lies a potential for getting rid of them.

I used to use ground cooked chicken in my ant bait traps. It worked, but sardine meat is easier and more aromatic. It's really soft, and therefore it mashes well with a little boric acid powder. I have plenty of cans of sardines. The empty cans make the process even easier. I left a little of the tail section of a fish in the can, added boric acid, gave it a bit of a mash, then put it in an area where ants like to come indoors. The ants didn't go near it.

Have my ants morphed into a new evolutionary specie that can detect boric acid powder and avoid it? A test was due. Yesterday I opened another can of sardines for a late breakfast. Again, I left a bit of the tail. This time, I didn't add any boric acid. I placed the new bait, along with the former one, under my kitchen sink. That's another place where ants like to congregate. Within an hour they were swarming to the new bait, but not the poisoned one.

One more experiment. I opened the boric acid container and very lightly dusted the new bait with powder. What would the ants do? The ants seemed not to care. The bait was teeming with them. Now, it's a matter of waiting. If everything goes according to plan, the ants will take some of the bait with boric acid back to the nest. That should kill the colony. By bedtime the number of ants swarming around the sardine meat was greatly reduced.

This morning, the ants were gone. Lesson learned: Don't mix the boric acid powder with the meat. Just dust a little on top.

Uh-oh! Again?

Monday evening I suffered my first nosebleed since I cauterized my nose myself on November 18, 2017. I know the exact date because I videoed the process and uploaded it to my Kitchen Vlog channel on YouTube.

A simple thing caused the bleeding. My nose felt a little stuffy; so I used a tissue to blow my nose. There was blood on the tissue. The weather has been a little warmer and drier than usual; that typically causes some people to experience nosebleeds.

As I worked to stop the flow of blood, which took only a minute (it wasn't serious), I could see it was coming from the same place as last time. I still have the box of silver/potassium nitrate applicators I bought without a prescription, even though one is supposedly required.

Six and a half years without a single nosebleed is good. No complaints from me. I'll monitor the situation and if the problem starts recurring regularly like it did back then, it takes less than a minute to cauterize my nose again.

Sunday 2024.6.23

An Observance

On this date two years ago I had my prostate surgery done. I don't have the pain I once felt, but I still need to use catheters to drain my bladder, and that won't change for the remainder of my life. Would I recommend prostate surgery? Only if absolutely necessary. Knowing what I know now, I'd rather endure a little discomfort to be able to use the bathroom normally.

Patio Chairs

I've been looking for a good patio chair in which to sit outside as I cook on the grill. I ordered one from Amazon Vine. It was delivered to the wrong address. Amazon replaced it. And then a second one was shipped. I never liked it. It's too low. Getting into it and out of it required too much effort. It might be more appropriate for children. Both of them went into the trash on Friday.

Meanwhile, Costco has a larger one on sale for around $40 after $10 off. I read the reviews, looking at the most negative ones because they can be the most telling. One older gentlemen fell over backwards in the chair and hit his head on the concrete. Others complained about fabric tearing or rivets popping out.

Here's the thing about Costco: They buy some items in bulk at really low prices because the products are too poor in quality and the manufacturer wants to get rid of them. The Costco price is reasonable, but the merchandise might not be worth having.

I learned this from a $40 made-in-China pressure cooker. The pressure valve was plastic and evidently not heat resistant. After a few uses it began leaking steam. I removed the valve from the lid and kept the pot and lid for cooking. Then I bought an excellent, if expensive, Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker with a stainless steel valve. "You buy cheap, you buy twice."

During my next trip to Home Depot I'll look for a patio chair, preferably something durable and stable, and folds for storage during the winter.

Some LEGO Knock-offs

I've been building these made-in-China POS fake LEGO kits. One was a cricket that I suppose is supposed to be a take on the Disney character Jiminy Cricket. It's mostly black and brown with gold trim. In my review I didn't hold back from saying it was ugly. I added, "No amount of gold trim could put enough lipstick on this pig." I called it a steampunk locust.

I also completed the gray helicopter that had some missing parts.

He sells a lot of pieces and he had the ones I needed to finish the build. He also sent me a cute little mini set of a hovercraft, which was easy to build.

And From Vine

I've blogged about my little folding portable grill. I use it a lot. However, I never really liked the cooking grate. The stainless steel rods in it seem flimsy, like the grate won't make it through the summer. On Vine I saw some grates that are for a different grill. I measured carefully and I could therefore see they would fit my grill. I ordered them. They fit perfectly.

There are three in the box, but actually four. One of them is divided into two sections, the same width but half the distance front to back. That lesser one is actually an excellent size to cook two chicken pieces or some shrimp on skewers.

I used the smaller grate yesterday to cook chicken for my dinner. It worked well and the grates fit inside a walled baking sheet, which is how I like to clean them. Let soak for a while in water with a little dish washing liquid, then sponge clean. It's easy, and better than scraping them with a wire grill brush.

Blood Glucose

Yesterday morning I recorded my best test ever on my glucose meter — 5.6 mmol/L. A concentration of 5.5 is ideal and that has been the target I've been aiming for. This morning it was not as good, but still safe.

Wednesday 2024.6.19

Happy Juneteenth

This federal holiday is now observed annually to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. My friends in Kentucky and I will play a round or two of mini golf on our virtual reality headsets later today.

Coffeehouse

I finished assembling the little "Starcoffee" coffeehouse that closely resembles a Starbucks.

The build went reasonably well. I don't know who might want it. I'll leave it on my recycling bin when I roll it out. If no one takes it, I'll put it in the trash bin — or (see below)…

Missing Pieces

Thankfully, none of the pieces were missing from the coffeehouse kit. There were no extras either. I've encountered a couple of incomplete kits lately and I can't help wondering if each next kit will have all the required pieces. If it weren't for the fact that I glue these kits together, I'd cannibalize some kits for parts when I need them.

I have another tank to build. I already built one identical to it. I might just sort the pieces by type and put them away for when I need something.

Quick Clamps

Do you know what quick clamps are? I do, but I didn't know they are called "quick clamps."

I have a few of them. It turns out they're useful for more than clamping glued pieces together while the glue dries. I've been using them to provide extra pressure when gluing building kit bricks together. Sometimes it takes just a little more persuasion to set them correctly. I've been using mine so often, I keep a pair on top of my desk.

How Do They Melt?

I saw an interesting channel on YouTube. Someone puts a torch to things to see how they burn. It might be a little plastic model of a car. Whatever. However, his channel does a lot better than my Mobile Home Gourmet channel.

So I started looking for grills on Amazon Vine. If I could get something small, something I don't need to care about, it might be fun to fire up some charcoal briquettes. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the grate and then put one of these made-in-China POS counterfeit LEGO kits on top. Video it while it melts. Do that outside, of course. Anyway, that's a possible plan for the future.

Sunday 2024.6.16

Happy Father's Day

Hopefully you gave your dad that necktie or those cufflinks he always wanted.

Happy Me

My e-scooter was delivered on Friday, a day earlier than expected. Meanwhile, I read about the laws that govern its use. It is against the law to ride an e-scooter on a sidewalk. The laws are similar to those for bicycles. Thankfully, on the other side of the avenue there is a very good bike lane, separated from the road.

There are a few crosswalks at traffic signals that I can use. Again, it's unlawful to ride in a crosswalk, but I can certainly walk the scooter to the other side of the street and then ride. And, I suppose, there is nothing that stops me from riding just outside the crosswalk lines as I cross the intersection. But why push it?

Helmets are not required for those who are 18 years old or older. That's a new law in California, enacted this past February. I'll wear one anyway because it is not a hardship to have one on my head.

By law, the scooter cannot exceed 15 mph. My scooter has a maximum speed of 19. But at my age, I don't plan on going very fast. I don't even reach those speeds when I'm on my e-bike.

And, as is my usual practice, I read the user's manual thoroughly after opening the box. The scooter's battery needed to be charged anyway; so there was plenty of time for reading. The manual said charging time can take up to four hours.

With all that in mind, yesterday I rode to Costco with a backpack to carry my groceries home — two half gallons of half and half coffee creamer (which I drink like milk), a box of table salt and a prescription. I folded the scooter and put it in the shopping cart. As I mentioned earlier in this blog, it weighs only 25 pounds. Using the shopping cart was easier than also carrying a bike lock with me.

Although I will need them soon, I did not buy a carton of 60 eggs.

As a thank you to the UPS guy who delivered my scooter, I gave him one of the toys I've been building to give to his son. He likes LEGOs.

And a big sigh of relief. As I was unboxing the scooter, I heard the trash truck coming. I rushed outside with the styrofoam pieces just as the truck rounded the corner. Then, as the truck drove away, I wondered: What if the pieces I need for assembly were tucked into a pocket in the styrofoam? Thankfully, they were not. They were packed in the plastic that wrapped the scooter. The kit even included a spare pair of inner tubes for the tires.

Charging took around three hours; so I went for my first ride on Friday evening — just a little loop around the trailer park. It will take me some time to get my sea legs, but I think I'm really going to enjoy using this scooter. It will certainly be better than driving my SUV when I only need a few things at the store.

Some things I like: There are directional signals on the ends of the handlebars. There is a headlight (I doubt I'll ever ride at night) and a blinking red light on the rear that blinks faster when I apply the brake. There is only one brake, on the rear wheel, but it's a disk brake, which is safer for stopping. And it came with a small hard shell storage case to keep the charger and accessories in.

The Helicopter

Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the build of the helicopter I mentioned in Wednesday's blog post. Two parts were missing, small round flat bricks with a stud in the middle. Actually, one was included but it was blue rather than gray. Needless to say, the kit did not get a good review on Amazon. However, I have a friend who has a LEGO store on the internet. He is sending me the two pieces I need.

And I Learned Something New This Week

LEGO bricks are made with so many types of plastic they are considered unsuitable for recycling. Supposedly, most recycling centers will not take them.

More Off-Brand LEGO Kits

Two more kits also arrived on Friday. One is the little red sports car I mentioned below. I did that one first, as it's only 302 pieces.

I gave it a poor review on Amazon, even though the finished build looks good. Two small pieces were missing. However, I was able to substitute with identical pieces from my supply of extras. Although they were the wrong color, they're deep inside. They don't show. And one piece cracked when I pressed it into place (also deep inside). Genuine LEGO kits are made with high quality plastic that holds up well, not only for assembly, but also for play.

The other kit is amusing. It's in the architecture series — a coffeehouse that mimics a Starbucks in every way without actually using the name. The green logo is similar and the name is Starcoffee. At 581 pieces, it will take a little longer to build, but it should be easy.

As usual, I glue the pieces together so that I can put the toys outside for the neighborhood children to find and play with without pieces falling off.

Huh?

An odd thing happened yesterday. An unexpected box arrived from Amazon. It was another patio chair. I don't know why they sent it. They already replaced the one that was never delivered. Now I have two. And the saddest part of all is that I don't like either one of them. They're too low. I might as well sit on the ground. I'll hold onto it for a while, but I think both of them will eventually go into the trash.

Wednesday 2024.6.12

Not Much Today

I haven't got much to write about today, unless I fill this blog with boring stuff — it's been cloudy for weeks, the daytime temperatures are on the cool side, some fog and drizzle lately, and I keep working on off-brand LEGO kits

I finished the boat and also completed another tank.

The boat was pleasant to work on. The pages in the instruction book were large with easy-to-follow steps and big pictures. On the other hand, the tank was a nightmare. The graphics were small and each step used so many pieces, the build was complicated. The first step alone took me about an hour to figure out before I glued any pieces together.

I'm working on another helicopter now. That assembly is going well. Unlike other builds, the numbered bags are used in sequence and the instructions are logical and easy to follow.

I now have six toys to put outside for the neighborhood children to find and take. I like to put them on top of my recycling bin, which goes out every other Friday.

I'll be able to get away from the military soon. I found a small red sports car (302 pieces) on Vine to build.

The Tomato Chronicles

The tomato plants continue to do well, although one of them looks like it might not survive the summer. It doesn't help that the sun hasn't shined for weeks. In another two weeks I'll add the last of the potting mix to the planter and then cover the top with mulch to prevent weeds.

Something New From Vine

I couldn't resist a battery powered scooter when I saw it.

I thought it might be fun to use for quick trips to the grocery store. The Smart & Final store up the street is on the same side of the avenue as my home. I can ride on the sidewalk the entire way, keeping safely out of the street.

I might be able to lock this thing to a bike rack, but if not, I can fold it and put it in my shopping cart. It only weighs 25 pounds. If I can put a 25-lb. sack of flour in my shopping cart, the scooter should be easy. A friend suggested I wear a backpack to hold the few groceries I would buy. Which reminds me of a story.

I would often stop at Costco on my way home from work. I commuted by bicycle; so I knew to buy only a few things. One day I came out of the store and there was a young woman — I assume a student from the local university — with a full shopping cart and her bicycle. I heard her telling someone on the phone that she couldn't get the groceries home and someone needed to come pick them up.

As for that backpack, I've had it for so many years, I can't remember why I ever purchased it. It was something I got at Costco. I must have liked the price and bought it on impulse. I never used it and it has been in the back of a closet since before I retired 13 years ago. It will suit my shopping needs. And if I decide to cross the avenue (there are traffic signals with "walk" lights) I can shop at Costco too. Just don't buy a portable air conditioner.

Finally, Blood Glucose

I've been doing well lately. This morning was my best test ever. My doctor wants me to get my mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) down close to 100. It was 109.9.

Sunday 2024.6.9

Super Glue Addendum

A friend of this web site emailed me after reading my blog post about glue (below). He said inexpensive fingernail polish remover can also be used to remove cyanoacrylate (CA) glue from the fingers. I added a small bottle to my Amazon wish list. Inexpensive items like that are useful when I need to add one or two more items to qualify my order for free shipping.

And Speaking of Glue…

I finished building the pair of tanks. The green one had problems, but the tan one went together more easily. The wheels and treads kept falling off the green tank; so, I glued the wheels in place. Thus, they don't turn. That wasn't a problem with the tan tank.

As I put these toys outside for the local children to take, my neighbors might start wondering if I have a fetish for military tanks. Besides the three I completed so far, I saw another two-tank kit available on Amazon Vine; so I grabbed it. However, I'm taking a break from the military. I'm starting a fishing boat.

It doesn't look like much yet, but by Wednesday's blog it will probably look complete. This is one of the best kits I've tried so far. The illustrations are large and easy to understand. The steps are not at all complicated.

Next to be built is another helicopter that, hopefully, will go together better than the last one. Then, after that, I'll return to tanks to build those two I mentioned above. As usual, pictures will follow.

Harissa

I've made my own harissa, a North African spice blend. I have a recipe for it on this web site.

I probably don't use it in the way it's intended. I like to mix it with mayonnaise and put that spread on a sandwich, such as pastrami on rye. The condiment comes to mind because I've had a jar of it on my wish list on Amazon. I ordered a jar this week for free shipping.

Oops2

I made a mistake, but so did Amazon Vine. I reviewed the wrong item. It hasn't even been delivered yet, but Amazon published it anyway. It's another pair of military tanks. I tried to stop the review, but there is no way to remove a review until after it is published. Maybe they get so many millions of reviews each day they can't possible check the validity of them all.

The item is supposed to be delivered today. If the boat isn't finished, I'll set it aside and direct my attention to the tanks. I only need to build one of them because the other is exactly the same as one I built and reviewed already. They come as a pair; so I can't be as selective as I'd like to be.

Wednesday 2024.6.5

Super Glue, AKA Crazy Glue

I could teach a class on Super Glue. I've learned a lot about it since I started using it to assemble LEGO-like building toy kits. Here are a few things I've come to appreciate:

It's all the same. Glass glue, plastic glue, ceramic glue, whatever — cyanoacrylate glue or CA glue. Some versions are thinner (more watery) and others are thicker, but they're all the same. They bond in 10 to 15 seconds and fully cure in 24 hours.
Forget the nozzle. After only a few applications it will become clogged and useless. Instead, use something like a piece of bamboo skewer to dab small amounts of glue in place. You can cut the cotton swab off one end of a Q-Tip and use the cardboard rod as a dabber.
Less is more. I found it's best to use small dabs of glue. Larger amounts tend to spread and get on my fingers and work surface. And if a mistake is made, slightly glued pieces can usually be taken apart without too much difficulty.
Bring out the Vaseline. Spread a little petroleum jelly around the threads that hold the cap in place. Grease all the way to the top. This will help prevent buildup of dried glue on the top of the bottle. If any does collect, it can usually be wiped or picked off easily because of the jelly. Apply the Vaseline as often as necessary.
Get a bottle of cyanoacrylate remover. My bottle says Un-Bond. A drop or two on the fingers will remove any glue on the skin. You can also use it to clean up a spot where a drop fell onto your work surface. You might need to repeat the process a few times.
Wear rubber gloves. Nitrile examination gloves work well. They're thin enough not to get in the way of your manual dexterity.
For the smallest pieces, tweezers work well for positioning them for gluing into place.
Cover you work surface with a protective cloth or paper. I like parchment paper, which is inexpensive. When a sheet gets messed up, throw it away and use a new sheet.
Forget about glue thinners. I've looked. I couldn't find any. Therefore, always keep the bottle tightly capped to prevent evaporation, which makes the glue thicken. You can stretch thickened glue a little further by adding some thin glue and mixing well. I just throw out the bottle and open a new one. Buy small bottles.
Secure the bottle. If it tips and spills, you'll have a terrible mess to clean up. I wrap the bottle with layers of bubble wrap and push that down into a shallow glass jar. My glue never tips over anymore. Two spills were enough.

Meanwhile, I finished assembling the helicopter and now I'm starting on another military tank.

A Little More Political

On Monday there was news saying nearly half of Americans believe Trump should withdraw from the race. That's not going to happen until his followers stop sending him money.

Sunday 2024.6.2

A Little Political

I can help but be a little political, maybe more than a little, after the events of this past Thursday. I was sitting at my desk with CNN on all day. I saw the verdicts as they were announced one by one. All 34 guilty verdicts.

I was satisfied with the results. In a case like this, in which the verdicts must be unanimous, not a simple majority, there is always the risk that one holdout will result in a hung jury. I was also not surprised. This case did not depend solely on the testimony of witnesses like Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen. There was documentary evidence. The documents don't lie. The signature is either Trump's or not. Also, the numbers don't lie.

I don't want to see Trump go to prison. For me, that isn't necessary. He'll probably appeal the case for the remainder of his life anyway. What did matter to me was the possible affect on the upcoming election. I don't want Trump to win the presidency for another term.

During his first term in office he had to exercise some caution. His handlers did the best they could to keep him within boundaries. He needed to be careful because he wanted to win a second term.

In a second term, there is no need for controls. He can say and do almost anything he wants, depending on the House and the Senate. If there is a majority of Republicans in both houses, another impeachment would unlikely result in his being removed from office. Unless his crimes were criminally heinous, the Senate wouldn't convict him. Can a president be impeached for ruling like a despot?

Trump will continue to keep his base of dedicated followers. They are already donating millions of dollars for him to use to pay his legal fees. However, as I've said in earlier blogs, his base is shrinking. As his actions and words become more and more outrageous (because he thinks his antics win him followers) his base dwindles.

It's Gone

Saturday (because of the Monday holiday) was trash pickup day. I put the off-brand LEGO plastic tank outside on my bin with a "FREE" sign on it. By 10:30 that morning it was taken. They are certainly welcome to it.

I've been working on the WW2 propeller plane. I finished it yesterday evening.

I don't usually put the decals on models, but in this case they worked well to hide some of the glue smudges caused by my clumsy fingers, even though I wear rubber gloves to keep my fingers clean.

Like the tank, I'll keep it on my desk for a week or two to admire my hard work. Then I'll tape a "FREE" sign on it and put it outside for children to find.

Next up is a WW2 military helicopter. And I tossed the bottle of glue in the trash. It was getting too thick. And, the spare glue nozzles I ordered arrived and they don't fit any of my bottles of glue. I have five new bottles. I'll use the nozzles only as caps. A piece of bamboo skewer works well to dab a little glue here and there where I need it.