I'm using penetrating oil to try to get the rust off of some of the boat tools in my emergency tool kit. This is a harbor freight special that I bought at least seven years ago for my camper. I moved it onto the boat when I started boating. I never use these, but the charter company requires me to have a set like this on board. if I can get the rust off and clean them up, I can save about $100 on another cheap tool kit. The penetrating oil can says it "dissolves rust." We'll see.

While using the Internet to determine whether lockmaster -- the person who controls a lock on a waterway -- is one word or two (it's one), I stumbled upon this great info piece about going through inland waterway locks (which happens to be what I'm writing about now):

https://www.passagemaker.com/technical/the-key-to-locks

#boating #GreatLoop

In the meantime, the weather in the passes looks horrible for the upcoming week. Am I nuts to be considering driving all the way down to Oregon, following the Columbia River west, and then going all the way up I-5 to Bellingham? Total distance is 500+ miles but I could probably do it one day next week. Or two days because I won't drive 9 hours in a day with that load.

I was accepted to an art show in Bellevue but the booth they offered me was a 6 x 10 far end space on a road that was not closed to traffic. Minimal potential for walk-bys. Check out the attached map. They offered me B11. The absolute worst space in the show.

There would be no way to put up my 10 x 10 tent to protect my displays and work, so I'd have to break down my entire booth every night for three days in a row.

I declined the invitation.

@WarnerCrocker I'll join in, but I seriously doubt there will be any impact.

I remember the pink pussy hats. 🙄

I have a self-imposed moral dilemma.

In autumn, I bought a Mac Mini and a Dell 27" monitor to go with it. The computer and monitor support multiple monitors. I want a second one to go with it.

I can buy it on #Amazon (where I bought the first one) for $434, which is $160 LESS than Dell and still considerably less than other sellers. This is a kickass price.

The dilemma: I'm challenging myself to go a whole year without buying ANYTHING on Amazon and I've been doing great so far.

What do I do?

The reason I want THIS monitor is because it'll easily daisy-chain with the other one and because it's exactly the same size, etc., I can set them side by side for seamless use. The picture is great. They also have USB-A ports that I can use to connect older devices, like the portable hard drive I use for Time Machine backups. And did I mention that the monitor can be rotated for portrait view? I'm thinking this will come in handy when it's time to lay out my book.

Damn.

I pulled the trigger. It arrives next week. I feel like a failure, but wow! Saving more than $100 is not something I can feel ashamed about.

This is retail therapy at its finest. I can't wait to have a two monitor system again. I went two years working mostly on a laptop after years of a 27" with a 24" next to it. I've been struggling to edit video and work in multiple apps at the same time. This will make my life easier for getting computer work done.

In this morning's cereal, my blueberries are from Peru and my raspberries are from Mexico. How long before my winter berries become unaffordable or simply disappear?🤔

I can't believe I nearly missed this: moonset moments ago from my home. #FirstLightIsBestLight

When life hands you lemons, forget about them with an Irish coffee.

Unfortunately, I have discovered the OTHER reason Americans don't take trains. My train is delayed 10 hours. They have arranged to put us all on a bus (or two? Or five?). So now I have to wait around for three hours to get on a freaking BUS. I hate buses with a passion brighter than the sun.

My mistake. It's delayed 15 hours.

Also, for all you Europeans trying to make us feel guilty for flying instead of taking trains, there is just ONE TRAIN PER DAY between Chicago and Seattle, two of the largest cities in the US.

And the train that has been delayed has already been enroute for 2 days.

Sure, the train is great. When it works as advertised and meets your scheduling needs.

I think what pisses me off the most about this is that they must have known about the delay yesterday. Yet they waited until midday today to tell me. I could have made other arrangements and been home by now.

And they keep sending me texts like this, despite the fact that I clearly know what's going on after speaking to three different Amtrak people and getting a new ticket from one of them. 🙄

Entertaining and informative video about why we buy #books we don't read. (You know who you are.)

https://youtu.be/Bh3EnIPVwIE

#bookstodon

Some of you may recall I was having some difficulty yesterday redeeming a key code for some software I purchased through humble bundle. The problem was that I had to create an account on another system and that account could not be created until they verified my email address. The verification email did not come. The problem was resolved relatively quickly, once I found an email address to contact with my problem. Three emails were exchanged.

Well, apparently the guy on the other end, Michael, decided that my initial request for help wasn't polite enough for his British sensibilities. He found it necessary to write back to me this morning to scold me for being rude in my initial contact. For the record, I don't think I was rude. I just think I was to the point. Getting his defensive, scolding email when it was not necessary resulted in me sending him the same.

I think the point of the story is not just related to customer service and the inability of a system to work properly. (I do have to wonder how many accounts were not created and how many potential customers were lost because of the system failure.)

I think it's also related to the constant feeling of being on edge because of what's going on in the world outside the protective bubble I'm trying to create for myself. (1/2)