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

watching me watching you

Big new things coming.

I have two full days and maybe one half day left at work.

Then official retirement.

To say JoJo and I are looking forward to this

change would be beyond an understatement.

Finally, after more than 50 years, we have stopped being insane 
over revolutionary socialism and Fidel in Cuba.

Took a while.........

I've memories of Fidel, Che and their revolution's delegation

coming to the US in the early 60's to speak at the UN.

This was before they announced themselves as communists and

after the revolution was successful.

I remember being fascinated at photo's of them in the NY Daily news in fatigues,

long hair, beards wearing berets, smoking cigars and flourishing sidearms.

Combat boots up on coffee tables at the UN.

I had never seen people as true and honest before or since!

Even at 8 or 9 years old, I knew these were people that did things.

Who wanted to change the world.

Not just talk.

They managed to survive all this time against everything we threw against them.

Worked the world their own way.

I still keep a framed,  photo of Che hanging  in my nerd cave.

Time does strange things however:

Radio Havana Cuba will wind up totally sucking 

 playing Britney Spears rather than 

giving the Island agricultural reports,

and news of projects and production for the people.

It was reassuring to have one, last, remaining revolutionary

shortwave radio station out there still broadcasting !

In many ways for just me,

just for what i remember, what i admired and respected,

I wish nothing would change.

A stupid thing to say, I know, but still----

Season 2 on DVD---Excellent !

Just received not started yet.

"People who think they know everything

are a great annoyance 

to those of us who do."

Isaac Asimov

Close to the edge

A betwixt and between week.

Not yet retired, but not really working either.

Eating goodbye lunches with people but not going just yet.

Retiring over the Christmas holidays makes for this type of weirdness.

People you work with are going to be gone on holiday, but want to say goodbye

before they leave for their families.

It is nice, but feels sort of strange.

As if you were observing your own funeral 

While alive.

SF from China. I really can't recommend it.

Just trying to hack my way through it at this point.

There is an apparent disconnect between cultures in

descriptive writing.

This past short week at work was way too confusing

to attempt to drive the new pocket rocket in.

Lots of things in motion.

It has also been wet, foggy, nasty here in the early mornings.

My clean car OCD rebels at the thought of driving this

car in the wet if i don't have to.

I am tho attempting to develop some normalcy in regards to this vehicle.

I resisted the temptation to immediately bring it into work to

show it off so as to pump up my ego.

The way i imagine myself with the pocket rocket--

The way i suppose i really am with the pocket rocket--- 

I have also made an attempt to contact the local car club--

with negative results so far...and 

I searched for local, cars and coffee, meet ups.

Again with negative results so far.

In retirement i really would like to hang out with the pocket rocket

at a coffee house with other weird vehicles and owners.

I am not done searching yet, but it may be that to do

a cars and coffee thing, i may have to start something?

All hope is not lost, there is still a couple of people I will

inquire to about these types of functions.

Photo's my wonderful wife took during our recent trip to Sedona 

to pick up the pocket rocket.

"Forget the past."

Nelson Mandela