I'm suspicious that "auspicious" isn't quite the right word to describe this last month or so. But it has been a pretty fair month, and the dictionary and thesaurus seem to indicate that my usage is permissible and within range if not "deadly accurate."
This "post card view" of rice fields, mountains, and coconut trees was outside the back door
of one of the meeting-places I attended recently. I provided transportation for some of
the group at a day-long seminar. Some day soon I will correct the date and time on the "new" camera, which seems to be about 12 hours behind; actually I'd prefer to turn off that
function if I can find the "menu" to do it. This camera was "battery-dead in a drawer" for about three years, and I got to looking at it one day, and it re-charged just fine - - and has worked OK for several weeks now.
For nearly a year, we've been intending to get started on the "Bamboo Hut Replacement" project. High-quality bamboo (not available here since the typhoon in 2013) will last for about 5 years, mostly because of insects munching, and the little structure shown below was beginning to fall apart, almost exactly "on schedule."
Above, shortly after completion in January 2013. Right, looking up through the remnants of roof, before beginning demolition. The posts all remain but they are paper-thin from being eaten from inside.
- - - through being stripped - - -
- - - to nothing left but a bare spot.
Material was removed by tricycle, for "recycling;" low-grade
construction projects and cooking fuel.
As the digging began for the replacement construction,
workers excavated this termite colony, also made with
material recycled from the bamboo hut, processed by
the ever-diligent insects into a form of papier-mache
for their condominium development.
We will use few, if any, "organic materials" in any
construction from now on. Lumber and bamboo
have increased in price and decreased in quality
and availability, to the point of abstraction. So
these days, we think in concrete terms - - -layered
around cement blocks and reinforcing steelwork.
"Day four" of construction saw all the foundation
of the new building in place and block-walls laid
up to waist-line. Today, 10 days later, is "day five"
since I've absent several days and the weather
has been rainy on other days.
As I write, the walls are nearing the ceiling level
and tomorrow seems likely to be the pouring of
the first posts and possibly part of the top-beam.
Dropping the Hammer?
(goofy projects division entry)
Our nice little hammer showed up in the workroom with its handle broken off at the neck, and quite a coating of cement-slag on it. I don't know exactly how it happened to break, but obviously one of my workers had unrealistic expectations of it. This is not an unusual sort of hammer, though I suspect it is quite a few decades OLD, and bears the mark of "SM Germany" forged into one cheek. I like it because of its balance and because it is the "just right size" for small- to- medium jobs. It seems a little lighter than a standard 16- oz. carpenter's hammer, but I've never weighed it. So I never thought twice about getting a handle on it, especially when the available hammers here are not "quality."
It took me a few months to find the right sort of wood, which
must be tough but not brittle. Mahogany, for example, would
tend to gradually splinter and crack with the repeated impact of
hammering. The piece of jackfruit wood (usually a good choice)
immediately above the original handle, turned out to have an
unseen cross-grain which fortunately BROKE just as I was
beginning to shape it. Not too much time and effort wasted.
The branch-wood near the saw blade (species "banate" or
"bulog") was gotten by "a cousin" specifically for me, for this
project. It is very straight- and fine-grained, and tough to
work, like it had thousands of tiny fibers interwoven.
The first "freehand" flat cut (previous photo) created a starting
point for me to saw other parallel sides and make a flat "blank"
slightly over- sized of the original handle's shape.
I traced the needed outline on the quite-rough blank and
cut away excess material on all 4 sides with the saber-
saw, moving the piece in the vise and cushioning it with
an old glove as needed.
I thought that I would have a lot of work with a spoke-shaver
and hand-rasp, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the
and hand-rasp, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the
flappy-disc in my little angle grinder, plus the 1/4 sheet palm
sander combined to do a nice job, fairly quickly. I actually had
to be quite cautious with the disc, not to cut away too much.
Still, it took several 20- and 30- minute sessions at various
times for the blank seen in the vise above to take the shape
times for the blank seen in the vise above to take the shape
of the original handle.
Fitting the handle into the head turned out to be quite a
struggle, trying NOT to remove too much wood and cause
too loose a fit. I think I test-fitted it more than a dozen
times, before I got it all the way into place - - just a tiny
bit crooked but jammed too tightly to risk trying to re-set it.
Having the nailing-face slightly angled towards the user
may turn out to be an ergonomic "plus," anyway.
This "hobby project" was worthwhile since it restored
a high-quality tool which has just the right "feel" in use.
I noticed how bright and multi-hued greenery was highlighted
by being framed in the minimal-structure of our kitchen-service
area at Batonan - - so I grabbed the camera and caught it.
Many of our meetings here are in open sided structures.
Our tropical, high-precipitation area surprises me
sometimes; quite a few varieties of cactus show
up in all sorts of odd places.
SIGNS and Labels
Numerous handbills posted "everywhere" are quite the norm
for advertising in our area of the Philippines. There are very
few local TV and radio stations, with quite limited range and
audience. I like the handbills much better than I like the mobile
PA- sound system vehicles which also rove the area (more
in large congested places than in our little Tibiao, thankfully).
This finance company advert seems "too good to
be true" for limited-income pensioners. I think, no "knight
in armor with a Millennium Falcon" is here, but more likely a
millennium shark.
I don't find it reassuring that the margarine company and the
floor-wax company have the same name. I THINK they are
different manufacturers - - but I'm not absolutely certain.
"Yardage" is the raw material for a tailor, so this one kind of
makes sense to me.
(RANT WARNING)
I was in fact sitting when I saw this sign. I was waiting in a
I was in fact sitting when I saw this sign. I was waiting in a
"blessedly SHORT" traffic delay near a bridge construction
site in Miagao, ILOILO Province. Nearly everything in signs
and in print these days seems headed towards unexplained
initializing and acronyms. As I read news and other articles I
quite frequently have to do "google searches" etc. to define
all the alphabetic GARBAGE being spewed. Sad that
sources and writers can't simply print "the President" instead
of POTUS; the Supreme Court instead of SCOTUS; to
mention only TWO of too many "PRINT Ciphers" I'm
constantly bombed with.
(W-T-H-? has INK gotten to be so terribly expensive?)
(W-T-H-? has INK gotten to be so terribly expensive?)
Too many businesses and organizations are rabidly picking
up this crazy trend of always "speaking in code." The above
institution, which apparently can't afford a proper and fully
comprehensible sign, is ILOILO Science and Technology
University. Maybe they believe that passers-by simply can't
handle reading such BIG words. Beats me. The purpose of
such a sign seemingly would be to IDENTIFY the place, and if
such a sign seemingly would be to IDENTIFY the place, and if
you already KNOW the acronym, then you don't need the sign.
("off the cuff" RANTS division entry!)
Motorcyclist cautiously setting a good egg sample.
SOMEHOW I missed posting this photo a few months ago. Not a wildly vivid sunset
like some that I have posted, just quietly elegant.
I'm going to end up leaving out quite a lot of things this time. I had several days of travel plus meetings in the last week of August and first week of September, and just now getting settled down to take care of things at home. This morning (Sep. 11) the work continues on the new building, but later in the week a major storm will be passing about 300 miles north of us, close enough that there will likely be several days of heavy rain here.
We hope that all goes well for each of you!
TJ and Bernadette Larson
Tibiao, Antique Province, Philippines
