DECEMBER 2024

Sunday 2024.12.29

Christmas

My Christmas Day was quiet. As I get older I more and more appreciate the peace and solitude. As is my usual custom now, I made pizza.

Let the Tailoring Begin

As planned, I set aside my LEGO knockoff stuff and prepared to start tailoring shirts again. As I've said previously, I don't need more shirts. I have too many already. But I have some pieces of 100% cotton fabric I want to use up.

Preparation includes clearing the table of my old 1942 Singer industrial sewing machine and giving the fulcrum points inside some oil. The new cotton sheets were laundered and then dried in my new clothes dryer to preshrink the fabric. Then, of course, they needed to be ironed. Find the pattern. Finally, I cleared my dining room table and washed it because that is where I'll do the cutting. On the wall of my office there is a six-day schedule for the assembly. I've blogged about it before; so, no need to write about it again.

After this, I plan never to purchase fabric again. There is a little sense of loss. That old Singer sewing machine is one of my most prized treasures. I got it when I was in college. There isn't a molecule of plastic anywhere in it. It's all steel and despite its many years, now more than 80, it still works perfectly.

Speaking of which, supposedly there is a new law in California that requires old clothing be recycled rather than tossed in the trash. I've always felt I could never let someone wear my custom made shirts that I designed and tailored myself. Store-bought clothing, who cares? But not my one-of-a-kind shirts. One way to skirt the law might be to cut up a garment for rags, which can then be discarded after use.

Paranoia or For Real?

An odd thing happened (actually again) on Amazon Vine. My order for two bottles of super glue was cancelled for lack of inventory. Was I ordering too much?

The same thing happened when I was ordering boxes of small charcoal briquettes to use in my little barbecue grill. I'd see them offered on Vine, but when I ordered them the site would say they were no longer available. I wondered if my account was flagged. I eventually gave up.

To test my assumption, I submitted another order for glue. The product is advertised as "arrow fletching glue," but looking at the bottle it appears to be the same as any other super glue, AKA crazy glue, krazy glue, etc. The order seemed to process okay. I'll wait to see if it is eventually fulfilled.

And Speaking of Vine

Yesterday I ordered another security camera for my home. The previous one, a $440 model, worked, but it filled my tablet with video clips and I was unable to remove them. I had to do a factory reset of the tablet, losing my apps. That camera goes in the trash. The new one, only $170 (but free to me), doesn't need to pair with anything. It comes with its own monitor. If it arrives, I'll place it in my kitchen window to keep an eye on my lawn jockey statue. The presence of a camera might discourage someone from stealing it, or defacing it. One neighbor, who wears her cultural sensitivity on her sleeve like a fashion statement, suggested she might throw eggs at it.

R.I.P.

Rest in peace my old friend. I received an email yesterday saying my friend Jake had passed away. He lived on the East Coast. We communicated regularly by email until recently. I thought something might be wrong when his emails became shorter and fewer in number. The last time he wrote was in November, just after the election, and it was only a few words. I wrote a few times, but he didn't respond.

I've said it many times: As we get older we lose friends and gain doctors. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

Wednesday 2024.12.25

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Day. I think this might be the first Christmas in many years in which I did not buy myself a Christmas present. Or maybe I bought it early. I spent a lot of money on a Kirby vacuum cleaner back in July. I thought I might buy myself an expensive office chair, but I'm not unhappy with the chairs I have now. Maybe next Christmas.

I heard from my twin brother and his wife in Florida. He amuses me. He has been trying to grow tomato plants, but they can't survive the intense sunlight and heat. This year he is growing a native plant, Everglade Tomatoes, that grows wild in Florida and produces small cherry tomatoes. His plants are doing crazy well. They thrive in heat and humidity.

Shots

On Monday I did some shopping at Costco and got my flu shot and Covid booster at the pharmacy there. At 73 years of age, I benefit from the protection. My arms were a bit sore, but it gave me a good excuse for performing poorly at mini golf yesterday. Actually I did quite well. We played two courses and I won one of them.

That Temple Thing

I finally finished assembling the Egyptian temple I've been working on. It is entirely glued together, with the exception of two black cats (which I think might be fun to put in a Halloween set) and the mini figs. One of the figs is a mummy, which I also think might go well at Halloween. Another is an explorer. I set the mummy chasing the explorer, who is holding a gold artifact he stole from the temple.

The rear doors are supposed to slide open to reveal the interior. One works, the other does not, and I'm not going to try to fix it. I'll keep this set for a short while to look at, then it will go into the recycling bin.

Although I thought I might be done with LEGO knockoff kits for a while, I saw a museum on Vine this morning. It intrigues me. I might order it for assembly later. I'll need to review it, but it is made by the same company that sells the steam locomotive I built. The same review, with slight alterations, much suffice for the museum as well.

Sunday 2024.12.22

Happy Winter

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice, the first day of winter. It's also the shortest day of the year. Starting today, the days will get longer — not by much, only a few seconds per day, but I enjoy the thought. It means spring and summer are on their way.

Not As Much Fun

As planned, on Wednesday I attended another round of mini golf with people on Thrive Pavilion. I didn't enjoy it as much this time. One of my pet peeves is being interrupted when I'm saying something. I was in a group of five and two or three of the people preferred to be listened to rather than to listen. I gave up and reduced my sentences, when I said anything at all, to two words, like "Well done" or "Good putt." It's what they wanted to hear.

I'll join other games in the future, but I'll keep my expectations low. What matters most is the opportunity to associate with people, even if they're not the most respectful of others. I really do enjoy Walkabout Mini Golf. I play the game alone a few times each week. Playing with others can, sometimes, be more fun.

Glue

My quest for glue continues. It's almost laughable. I continued to wait for my December 5th order to be shipped (see below). However, I saw a four-pack of super glue offered on Vine. I ordered it. Even though I'm not planning to build any additional LEGO knockoff sets soon — especially those that need to be glued together — I see nothing wrong with stocking up on glue I might need in the future.

Meanwhile, the assembly of the Egyptian temple was halted for two days because I used up the last of my glue. The order I was waiting for was finally shipped and arrived on Friday.

Keeping Up the Tradition

As is my tradition every December, yesterday I started reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It's only five chapters, one of which I'll read every evening, finishing the book on Christmas Day.

Christmas Movies I Watched Last Week

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Meet Me in St. Louis
White Christmas
Love, Actually
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
Bad Santa
Christmas in Connecticut
The Shop Around the Corner

How About Some Politics?

Some people in the media are predicting that Elon Musk's days in politics will come to an end soon because he is eclipsing Trump who doesn't like to be put in second place. I've heard some refer to Musk as President Musk. Someone on CNN referred to Donald Trump and Musk's sidekick.

It has happened before. You might remember the early years of George W. Bush's presidency when Vice President Dick Cheney was mentioned too often in the press. Bush eventually reduced Cheney's responsibilities.

Wednesday 2024.12.18

Mini Golf

It seems my days are now more occupied with LEGO and mini golf than with anything else. I like the association. Besides my friends in Kentucky, I now look forward to joining others in Thrive Pavilion for a round of golf.

I've said it before: As we get older we lose friends and gain doctors. At my age, it isn't easy to broaden my associations. Several years ago I tried attending classes in the local Adult Ed program. The classes were fun, but it wasn't a way to make new friends. Few, if any, associated outside of class.

Mini golf on a virtual reality headset is different. I can be with people without leaving my living room. I see their avatar rather than their face, but I hear their voices. An hour and a half with them is enough for me to feel good for a while. That said, later this morning I will be going into Thrive Pavilion to play more golf.

That Egyptian Temple Kit

The fake-LEGO Egyptian Temple continues to go together. Assembly is kind of slow for two reasons. I stop after doing a two-page spread to allow the glue to dry and I'm being extra careful to know where parts go before I glue them into place. Once in place, they're nearly impossible to remove without damaging something. Having attempted the kit (and failed) once before, I know where the worst weaknesses are.

I continue to wonder what qualifications the designer(s) had. I've built enough of these sets to know how the parts should go together. I took photographs of one piece that was not secured at one end. It was just left dangling out in space with nothing to support it from underneath. Pressing a piece on top to secure it into place would have loosened the dangling part and probably other parts attached to it at the other end. I used extra pieces to support the structure and I'll include the photographs in my review.

I did this structural strengthening several times so far in this build. The glue helps, but the design really should have been better. The kit will probably get two of five stars when I review it. The temple looks good, so far, but it is poorly designed for stability. That was the problem with my previous attempt. As it got taller it became more unstable. Glue should help.

Another issue that is slowing me down is that I am running out of glue. One problem with Amazon Vine is that some orders take a long time to ship. An order could take two or three weeks. Vine, unfortunately, doesn't offer the same shipping as Prime. I ordered more glue on December 5th. Here it is the 18th and it hasn't been shipped yet. But, stuff is free; so, I'm okay with that. Of course, I could go over to Home Depot to buy some glue, but it isn't easy to pay retail for something I can get for free on Vine.

However, I think glue would be an easy way to work toward my goal of 80 reviews each six months to remain in good standing in Vine Gold. It's easy to store.

Change Pastimes

I think I mentioned it before. Starting in January I am going to set LEGO aside and start tailoring shirts again. I don't need the shirts, but I do need to use up some fabrics I have.

One thing is different this year. I have a clothes dryer. I need to pre-shrink fabrics before I cut them. The fabric is 100% cotton and that can shrink a lot in a dryer. I used to use the park laundry machines. Now I don't need to.

Sunday 2024.12.15

Ginormous Movie Screen

I learned something new this week. Microsoft now allows a Meta Quest 3 headset to be paired with a Windows 11 computer. That allows a person to see their computer's desktop in the VR headset. When I purchased my Quest 3 a year ago I wondered if I could use it with my computer. Now I can.

The setup ain't easy. There are a few hoops to jump through. I'm old, 73 now, and some of this newfangled technology really tests my limitations; however, I was able to complete the process and see my laptop's desktop. (It's the only computer I have that runs Windows 11.)

That done, I opened up my copy of Cyberlink PowerDVD. A huge movie screen appeared in front of me in my living room. I started a movie playing. The resolution on the screen was good. The sound came through my headset. It was almost like being in a movie theater, but in the comfort of my own home. I love it.

Maybe worth mentioning: I can connect my laptop to my home theater system and watch movies on my flat screen TV. It works, when I don't mind the cabling. However, this new method with my VR headset is better. The screen is much larger and the sound is better.

On the negative side, it sure uses up a lot of battery power quickly. Thankfully, my headset has three additional rechargeable battery packs. Two will get me through a movie. And, sadly, a cable attached to a wall charger isn't enough. That's another new thing I learned this week.

If a charger is rated at 120 watts, that doesn't mean it puts all that wattage into whatever it is charging. The output is governed by the thing being charged. It is draws only 20 watts, that's the limit. And that's why my charger, even though it is 120W, isn't enough to keep up with a movie. The charger that came with my Quest 3 VR headset is 18W.

Which is Better?

Lately I've had a craving for hard boiled eggs — not a lot, but one once in a while is good for a snack. What is the best way to hard boil an egg?

I looked online. Put eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, cover and remove from the heat, let stand 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool. That is supposed to cook an egg without the yolk turning an ugly gray-green color. It works, but the shell doesn't come off easily.

The best method for a shell that is easy to remove is the pressure cooker. But that cooks the eggs at too high a temperature and that causes the ugly color in the yolk. The color, by the way, is harmless. It's just not very appetizing.

Having tried both methods, I'll go with the pressure cooker. I can overlook the discoloration in favor of an egg that is easy to peel.

Walkabout Mini Golf

As planned, I joined a group in Thrive Pavilion in virtual reality to play a round of golf. They were all strangers, but fun to play with. Good positive attitudes. Maybe a dozen people came. Four of us teamed up and played the new Holiday Hideaway course. I did the poorest, which was okay. I had fun associating with them, and I'm looking forward to joining a group again in the future. If I remember correctly, they gather for golf once every two weeks.

Egyptian Temple II

The replacement LEGO-fake Egyptian temple kit arrived yesterday, two days earlier than expected. I started the process of assembling it again, but with glue this time.

Normally, I wouldn't attempt it again. One frustration is enough. However, it was offered for free again on Amazon Vine. When I saw it, I couldn't resist.

There isn't much to see yet. I've only just begun. And maybe worth mentioning: I'm being super extra careful not to make any mistakes. After a piece is glued down, it is very difficult to remove if it's in the wrong place. Meanwhile, I ordered more glue from Vine.

Christmas Movies I Watched Last Week

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
The Santa Clause
Elf
An American Christmas Carol
Carol for Another Christmas
Scrooged*
Arthur Christmas*
The Grinch*
Home Alone*
Holiday Inn*
*Watched in my Quest 3 VR headset

Wednesday 2024.12.11

Not A Lot Today

It has been kind of boring here so far this week. Other than playing mini golf with friends, there hasn't been much to do — just chores and fake LEGOs.

And speaking of LEGOs, last night on TV was the first part to the LEGO Masters Christmas Special. If you're not familiar with the show, contestants compete at building LEGO challenges. In the special shows the winnings go to charities.

There were two challenges. One was to build a house with traps like in the movie Home Alone and the other was to build an animal to guide Santa's sleigh.

Walkabout Mini Golf

I think I've mentioned it before. Most fans of the game now know there is a staff break room hidden beneath the caddy shack at the start of the game. It wasn't easy to see and therefore few people knew about it. When the shack was expanded to make room for more golf clubs, the way into the room became a little visible.

With interest in that room increasing, the creators of the game have been adding to it. Now there are stairs going down to some hallways and locked rooms. Looking through the window in each door, a small construction site is visible inside.

With the release of the Holiday Hideaway course, one of the rooms now has some stuff in it. But the door is still locked. When trying to open the door a sign appears saying it needs to be opened from the other side by means of a door on the course. Which course?

Spoiler Alert

The following gives away the solution to this puzzle:

The items in the room look like those that are in the Shangri-La course. Also, at the other end of the room is a wooden door that matches a door on the course.

I spent a lot of time in the course and found a door near hole 17 that matched the one in the room. It can't be opened in the easy course. A sign says to try the difficult course. Yes, indeed, in the difficult course the door can be opened and it leads into that room under the caddy shack. With the door unlocked, the room can be entered from the hallway. Going through the room and out the wooden door leads to hole 17 in Shangri-La. What good that does, I don't know. But it's a piece of a puzzle that might amount to something later.

And one more bit of good news: In January the creators of Walkabout plan to release another new course, Viva Las Vegas with an Elvis theme.

In the realm of virtual reality in my headset is a place called Thrive Pavilion. It's a place for seniors to gather and associate. One of the activities is to play mini golf together. I tried once to join the fun, but I think I joined the scheduled event too late. The mini golf event is planned for tomorrow; so, I'll try again.

Sunday 2024.12.8

More Patience, and Some Glue

I lost a battle, but not a war (I hope). I was unable to complete that LEGO-fake Egyptian temple I started. The taller the structure became, the more unstable it was. It got to a point where I couldn't add more pieces without other pieces falling off.

To be honest, I should have known better. I suspected it wouldn't go well early in the assembly. As I mentioned in Wednesday's blog entry, several sections lacked support from underneath. I tried propping those up with additional pieces, but the problems were worse than I could solve. Finally, in frustration, I tossed everything into the trash. I wrote a negative review, but I couldn't help thinking I'd like to try this kit again, but with glue.

And then an odd thing happened. The kit was offered again on Amazon Vine. I ordered it. I also ordered some super glue. I learned my lessons the first time. I know where the weaknesses are. Glue should be a great help. And I recovered most of the pieces I tossed in the trash. I don't need them all, but having many extra parts will give me what I need to stabilize the structure from the inside.

And maybe worth mentioning: You might remember that homemade base plate I assembled from leftover pieces. It didn't work. The temple baseplate pieces wouldn't attach to it. Evidently, they're not precisely compatible with genuine LEGO. However, I was able to use the LEGO baseplate I ordered. And then I got another seemingly bright idea.

What if I were to carefully glue together all the baseplate pieces from the set I tossed in the trash? I had them all; so, I laid down a piece of parchment paper (lest I accidentally stuck any pieces to my work surface) and glued the baseplate together. It worked fine. However, something odd happened.

I thought I might make the plate more rigid by attaching spare pieces to the button. I tried, but the pieces immediately popped out of place. The parts don't attach underneath the same way they attach from above. I could glue them into place, but I decided the now-one-piece base plate would suffice. I'll know when the second kit arrives.

Meanwhile, I've been working on the Cousin Eddie's Christmas RV kit I mentioned in Sunday's blog entry. I finished it on Friday afternoon. It isn't perfect, but it went together reasonably well. It didn't come with mini-figs; so, I added my own.

Usually I like to disassemble these later and save them to build again someday. But I don't plan to save this one. It just doesn't capture my interest enough.

Something New

Walkabout released another mini golf course this week. It is inside a small "Holiday Hideaway" cabin. I wondered how they would fit 18 holes of golf in one little cottage. When the game arrived on Thursday and I went inside to explore it, one of my first thoughts was the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. They fit us in by shrinking us down to the size of mice. Better yet, the whole course is beneath and inside the Christmas tree.

It was fun to look at. The cottage was festooned with holiday decorations — huge presents with huge bows and ribbons, huge toys, a huge tree, etc. Furniture towered above our heads. We played the easy course first to find the 18 "lost" golf balls and then the hard course to solve the fox hunt clues and get the custom putter designed from the course — which looks like it's decorated for Christmas.

I've mentioned this before: One of the features I most like about Walkabout Mini Golf is that I can play with my friends in Kentucky. They're more than 2,000 miles away, but it's like we're all together in the same room. I can hear their voices as if they are standing next to me. We play every week and it's good to enjoy the association.

How About a Crazy Idea?

I ordered a package of 24 sponges from Vine. They are those orange sponges you see in hardware stores like Home Depot, often used by artisans who work with grout or mortar. I use them at my kitchen sink.

They came compressed and vacuum sealed. I wondered what would happen if I were to vacuum seal one of my sponges in a plastic pouch.

It compressed the sponge really small and supposedly it expands back to normal when placed in water. I had to test this; so, I left it compressed overnight and then cut the packet open in the morning. Without even going into water the sponge sprung back to normal size.

Movies

This is the time of year to enjoy movies with a Christmas theme. I've watched these already:

Ernest Save Christmas
Fred Claus
Just Friends
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version).

I watch them mostly in the order of how they're rated on IMDB.com, getting the lowest rated ones done first as I move up to my favorites.

Wednesday 2024.12.4

A Little Patience

Wait long enough and you're bound to find what you need for free on Vine.

I have a portable air conditioner in my bedroom. Most of the year it is stored in the closet, but for really warm nights I like to use it to stay comfortable while sleeping. However, the window where it needs to exhaust is high in the wall and the hose isn't long enough. I ordered a second hose, but trying to attach the two together was difficult. I managed, but the outcome wasn't ideal. There is only so much you can do with duct tape.

When I first joined Vine back in May I saw a hose coupling I thought I needed. I ordered it without doing any measurements. The coupling was four inches. The hose is five. I didn't waste any time tossing it into the recycling bin.

This week Vine offered a five-inch coupling. I measured carefully and then ordered it. It arrived yesterday. It took only a few minutes to join the two hoses together. I couldn't ask for better. The fit is perfect. So, okay, it took seven months, but anything worth having is worth waiting for, especially if you can get it for free.

More LEGO-fake

As previously mentioned, I have an Egyptian temple to build. It was free on Vine and I need to write the review. I've been working on the kit.

This is one of the oddest kits I've seen. First, they included a bag of "Complimentary Spare Parts." That was thoughtful because I did need them. One piece was not fully molded, but there was a duplicate piece in the spares.

Second, bag number two also contained surplus pieces, with no explanation. I was careful to follow the directions in the book closely. Maybe those extras are complimentary spares too. I don't know.

Third, this kit lacks some structural integrity. It helps to have a mechanical aptitude. As I've said in the past, I used to repair typewriters for a living. (And thankfully I don't need to depend on that career anymore.) Some of the pieces in this kit are fastened by only one stud at one end and the rest of the piece is simply left dangling without any support from beneath. It makes it nearly impossible to attach additional pieces on top without sections coming loose. I used extra pieces where needed to build up the integrity of the structure. It helped a lot.

I'm halfway through the assembly, having completed three of six bags of parts. I'm really looking forward to this kit being done so that I can upload my review on Vine.

Movies

And, finally, this being December, it's time to watch Christmas movies again. I have quite a few. Yesterday evening I watched Ernest Saves Christmas. It's a silly movie, but fun to watch. I start with the films having the lowest rating on IMDB and then work my way up to my favorites. Next up: Fred Claus, which I think is better than its 5.6 rating.

Sunday 2024.12.1

Thanksgiving

I enjoyed a quiet holiday. I didn't do any special cooking. I enjoyed two bowls of my chicken soup made with a little pasta and some of the frozen mixed vegetables I dehydrated.

A Pleasant Surprise

This past week I watched the movie Harvey, one of my favorite films. In the first scene when Elwood is leaving the house there is a lawn jockey statue in front of his home. I never thought much about it before, but having restored the one I received from a neighbor, it really caught my attention.

Mine is a lot smaller and not as fancy, but I really like it.

A neighbor doesn't like my lawn jockey. She thinks it's a reference to slavery. Why can't it be a reference to the slaves freed by the Emancipation Proclamation? I think she just uses it as an excuse to parade out her cultural awareness.

LEGO-fakes

The Arc de Triomphe LEGO-fake kit is disassembled and stored. If I remember, I'll build it again in the fall. With the way the pieces are all organized now, assembly should be easier. And one little thing worth mentioning: I discovered there were a few pieces I missed when putting the kit together. I thought they were extras; so I set them aside. The missing pieces didn't affect the structural integrity; however, it's one more reason to organize the parts the way I do. I won't accidentally omit those pieces next time.

I have one Christmas set to build. I've mentioned it before — Cousin Eddie's RV from the movie Christmas Vacation. I also have a new kit, the Egyptian temple I mentioned in last month's blog.

There was one kit on Vine's "Recommended for You" page and I was tempted. It was the Greek Parthenon. However, I could see in the images several pieces were held in place by only one stud. Those fall off easily, unless glued. I passed. I don't need the frustration.