R.E.D.

I am now officially retired.

No going back.
I am going to miss the people i worked with.

The formal exit from work went well.

It is so very strange to now be in a state of being,

for which you have no reference.

No concept of how existence will play out on a day to day life basis.

There is no frame of reference.

Prior to retiring.

We'll just have to discover how this works 

on a day to day basis.

We lost the irreplaceable Joe Cocker.

It will be some time before i leap into the pocket rocket

project with both feet.

There are so many things to do, to work on at the homestead first

in my new state of retirement.

I am, at the moment, researching installation and utilization of 

a Scangauge diagnostic readout for the pocket rocket.

what is a scangauge

Installing a scangauge would allow me to not only

monitor fuel consumption scientifically, but monitor many other

vehicle status parameters as well.

Such as turbo condition and operation.

It also allows one to check vehicle warning lights for diagnosis

and reset them if necessary. 

All valuable tools contained within one small digital instrument.

I am at the moment considering how to mount the small gauge so that it is visible

while operating the pocket rocket.

I will have to develop my own dash mount design.
I do not wish to just stick it onto a surface.

I am considering something along the lines of the

below displayed home made mounting.

A scangauge is the first item on the to-do list 

for the pocket rocket upgrade when i can get to it.

I am looking forward to this project and I'll keep you posted.

Lock picking.

It is not like in the movies, it's a bitch (for me anyway) to learn.

Nothing quick and easy about it the way the hero always makes it happen.

I have repeatedly attempted to master this skill

via a book and a starter set of picks versus a variety of padlocks.

As of this moment i am honestly the world's worst lock pick.

I managed to accidentally, accidentally mind you, open one padlock

one time, never to be repeated.

I am keeping at it.

These first few days of retirement i have to force myself
not to leap into any one of the huge number of projects i have planned.
I cannot barely wait to leap into painting and redesigning the 
bungalow.

The horrible thing about work is that your home comes
fourth on the must list after work, car, family.
It is just terrible especially if you believe
as we do that your home, it's design, vision and operation
are representative of one's internal spirit.

Work drains you of this spirit and creates a 

world where there is nothing left over for 

you and your home.

My intent is to change this by focusing on our

home.

To create it into the beautiful refuge we want it to be.

I am looking forward to attacking this circumstance.

It will be a pleasure to do so.

I need to develop a retired guy look---a style--you know?

I am thinking Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes look?

Sort of the old artiste' kinda thing going on?

I don't know, still thinking on it--maybe this

combined with army surplus?

That's the ticket!

The guys I worked with gave me a Ruger LCP .380 pistol 

as a retirement present.

It is an excellent little pistol.

I purchased a Galco Tuck n' Go inside the pants holster
for concealed carry.

It is the perfect pistol 
for the neighbor old guy to carry around unobtrusively while 
doing important neighborhood old guy stuff.
The LCP.380 will also easily provide the necessary
don't push on the old guy or
he will shoot your shit off factor. 

"Things do not change; we change."

Henry David Thoreau