I went on vacation. Took a ten day cruise and just got back.

1. Longer cruises have the advantage of very few kids. This is more than offset by the addition of geriatric customers. Imagine everything taking an hour or two longer to make time for all the people in walkers and scooters. Ships were not made for that. Boarding ramps are too steep. Hallways are too narrow.

2. The crew did an excellent job feeding me multiple times a day.

3. Private beaches in Aruba and curcoa were awesome. Warm, clear water and tropical beezes.

Above video was taken on my phone, in a zip lock bag.

4. I am happy to report that after crossing the entire gulf of Mexico and Caribean sea, I did not spot a single plastic straw floating in the water. We can call this one a success and have our straws back, please? I also did not find any floating garbage of any sort.

The democrats are putting a lot into this argument.

I don’t care.

Every agreement with any foreign government, to include all of our treaties and military alliances, is quid pro quo. Every single one. If we aren’t getting anything in exchange for what we give, it’s charity, not foreign affairs.

Well, I ripped out the old tile shower and discarded the broken tiles.

Switched tactics and completed the electrical, lights, walls, paint, Hvac.

Now back to round three on the tile.

Completed the layout. Made a few minor changes that resulted in fewer grout lines and fewer cuts.

I set in the back row along the wall, and the front row along the drain and used tthem as journal reference lines to control the slope of the rest of the floor. The level (yellow) goes from front to back and I can use it to make sure every tile is the right elevation.

My Toyota is falling apart and needs fixing. Serious fixing. Oh, wait, I meant my friends Ford escape is falling apart. My 4runner is just fine.

The Ford though is suffering from endemic rust of the front subframe.

There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to do that. What you need to know about this repair is that the car will fight you on every nut and bolt. I used a torch, grinder and air hammer getting it all apart. Eventually I gave up. I discovered that although the rust looks serious, there is still plenty of metal holding it all together. But what it did need was replacement of all the bushings on the front end. I had a kit with all those parts already so I did that.

Along the way, I discovered the ABS sensor rings on both CV axles were broke and spinning free.

New cv axle is $77 each. Tube of job weld is free (already had some). Fixed.

The car is back on the road and good for maybe another year before the junk ycard claims it.

The story has already been debunked, but congresspeople and news media are still universally talking about it as if it is true.

Same with the Kavanaugh story. It isn’t true. It was never true. The people who wrote the story knew it wasnt true when they wrote it. But congresspeople and news desks are still carrying it like they hadn’t already been discredited.

What the heck is going on?

I thought I would show a little behind the scenes pictures.

This first one shows a piece of luann glued to the back of the drywall. This is where the toilet paper roller will eventually mount. Wood for the screws to bite into and hold.

That black area is the shower niche. The 2×8 blocks to either side, mounted by deck screws. Deck screws have higher sheer strength than other screws and will hold better than nails. This is where the shower grab bar will mount.

Ok. So. I finished chipping out the first attempt at shower tile. Then laid out more mortar and sloped it towards the drain. Then repainted everything with blue membrane.

Excuse me for not seeming to be able to post my pictures right side up.

Then I decided to skip the floor and go to the walls. So….

Framed in the pocket door and mounted it.

Finished the lights, wiring, hvav, and plumbing.

Then hung drywall. Then discovered drywall comes in 3 thicknesses, not just two. So back to Lowes to get the right size. I’ll keep the other stuff for future use.

I framed in the old door space and turned it into a wall. Lots and lots of drywall mud. The crappy mud job the last owners did here has inspired me to do it better. MUCH BETTER. so I’m taking my time and putting on as many coats, sanding, and reapplying as needed. I don’t want some future owner to see ripples in the ceiling and laughing about what a doofus I was.

I have already bought primer and white paint for the ceiling and walls. According to the internet, only doofuses use paint and primer from the same can. Upon reflection, I decided to paint first and then do the tiles. That way, no taping/ drop clothes needed.

IN case you were wondering, I do really terrible measurements for drywall cuts. It probably has something to do with none of my walls being square and true. So when I need to trim off an inch or so, the drywall doesnt break clean and I dont feel like using a saw for 48″. So I score it with a dull razor (I’d use a sharp one, but that train has sailed), and then use this cheap sheet metal bender I got at China Freight (pre-tariff).

American Communists just keep checking off the same old Cold War task list. They don’t even remember why they were all supposed to be for Gun control. It’s not like it really helps their agenda today. It was all about helping the agenda of the Soviet Union to weaken America. Modern Democrat/Communists are like those apocryphal Japanese soldiers found in Asian jungles still fighting WW2 long after 1945. They don’t know the war is over and that they lost.

They are always for more gun control because they have always been for more gun control. They are always for higher taxes because they have always been for higher taxes. They are always for more benefits for the “poor” because they have always been for more benefits for the poor.

They really have no cognitive ability to know how much is enough or to set rational goals that are any benefit to anyone.

America already has background checks for gun purchases. America already has laws against any sort of using guns to harm other people. America already restricts what sort of guns may be lawfully owned and marketed.

Modern American communists need to wake up and realize that a weak America is no longer a goal they should be blindly trying to implement. But the autopilot is too strong. Academia and political elites can never admit they were wrong all along, so they keep checking off the tasks on the same old Cold War marching orders.

As an aside, I find it very amusing that American Communists decry “Russian interference” in American politics, while still applying Soviet agendas in everything they do.