What did you do today?

[Spicoli43]

My dad wasn't on the best path before he joined the Army. 8th grade dropout. Had a cop who personally hated him & harassed him all the time. Army taught him discipline, skills, & paid for his college. He saw some messed up stuff, but he learned he wasn't dumb and he used what he learned from the Army in INS. So, it was good for him in some ways, but it caught up to him toward the end. The undiagnosed polio as an infant didn't help.

Yeah, I get that, but there's always a nasty trade off. I don't want to sing Koombaya around a campfire with the VA, I want them to do their job or scrap the whole worthless agency. Nothing I have is diagnosed, but I have a general idea that I'm broken in several places. They did send me a nice letter saying that if they detected I was above the poverty line, they would reassess my disability status... I guess if I won the lottery, my back would no longer be shattered or something.

 

[shan2themax]

I guess if I won the lottery, my back would no longer be shattered or something.

I have a friend who has severe degenerative disc disease, he had a multi-level cervical fusion and while he was not out in the field, he was still in a lot of pain in his office job (not entirely sure what the title was) and he still had to wait several years before they would approve his retirement. Also my ex-fil had gone to the VA for a couple of years with hip pain..... turned out he had prostate cancer that had metastasized to his hips and he died about 2 years later. He also rolled his riding lawn mower on a hillside and broke his arm. They sent him home in a sling for a few days before admitting him to do surgery on it.


I just don't understand the medical field sometimes, and I work in it.

 

[Flyover]

I have a friend who has defensive disc disease, he had a multi-level cervical fusion and while he was not out in the field, he was still in a lot of pain in his office job (not entirely sure what the title was) and he still had to wait several years before they would approve his retirement. Also my ex-fil had gone to the VA for a couple of years with hip pain..... turned out he had prostate cancer that had metastasized to his hips and he died about 2 years later. He also rolled his riding lawn mower on a hillside and broke his arm. They sent him home in a sling for a few days before admitting him to do surgery on it.


I just don't understand the medical field sometimes, and I work in it.

An ER doctor I was shadowing once gave me a meaningful look and said "It's not a science."

 

[Eddie_T]

I once applied for VA benefits mainly to get the ID card. After jumping through all the hoops I was told that I had too much income to qualify but they would keep my application on file in case the rules changed. A few years later they announced that all veterans could get an ID card even though they didn't qualify for benefits. I submitted my request but they didn't recognize my service number as it wasn't my SSN and they couldn't find my record. The situation was getting almost as complicated as trying to rescue a dog from being euthanized so I gave up. Fortunately it was decided the "real ID" could include veteran status so I went that route. Bottom line; now that I have the ID people accept my word and I have never been asked to present it. Some may wonder why I resent (and resist) authority. It has become ingrained in me over the years by constant exposure to people of lower IQ in positions of a little authority.

 

[Spicoli43]

I have a friend who has defensive disc disease, he had a multi-level cervical fusion and while he was not out in the field, he was still in a lot of pain in his office job (not entirely sure what the title was) and he still had to wait several years before they would approve his retirement. Also my ex-fil had gone to the VA for a couple of years with hip pain..... turned out he had prostate cancer that had metastasized to his hips and he died about 2 years later. He also rolled his riding lawn mower on a hillside and broke his arm. They sent him home in a sling for a few days before admitting him to do surgery on it.


I just don't understand the medical field sometimes, and I work in it.

Degenerative Disc Disease? I have that, I don't know any Military ground pounders that don't. Sorry about your ex FIL, that doesn't surprise me at all though. They don't make any attempts to save people, they are 100% Pharma, one of their biggest customers.

 

[Eddie_T]

I guess I have it. I used to be 6'2" now I'm only 5"11". Prolly flay feet took some height away as well. My jump boots were size !0.5 now my shoes are size 12.

 

[Flyover]

Today I cut the legs for a low table I'm building. They have a square profile, so next session I've gotta make a 45˚ jig so I can lay them on an edge and make diagonal notches for the tabletop to fit into.


The table will have a small lip or rim, which is by design. It's gonna be backpacks and stuff that I put on it and the rim will help keep straps from dangling over the edge and getting snagged as I walk by.

As it stands today:


Now to get the sawdust taste out of my mouth...

 

[Ron Van]

Ron, hit the earth tab at bottom left for controls, you can pick wind, then click the mouse right by the wind lines of the storm, see KM/H and switch to Knots or MPH etc... Lots more controls to play with...

Here's another site with controls...

https://www.windy.com/?39.096,-103.017,5

Thanks! Very nice! I am familiar with Windy, we used it for flight planning, especially in Alaska.

 

[zannej]

I can't speak for VAs in other places, but I know the nearest one to me sucks. Long waits, doctors not bothering to show up, constantly changing doctors, hard to get appointments, not enough wheelchairs, wheelchairs don't have foot supports, dismissive staff, more money spent on decorating the place than on taking care of the patients, etc. Constantly denying things and refusing to treat or cover things. I had a friend who was on a ship that stopped 11 miles from Hiroshima not long after the bomb was dropped. They sent him & other crew to shore on lifeboats to check out the area. Many of them got cancer and other health issues bc of it. However, when he applied for help/benefits, they flat out refused to accept that he'd been ashore bc his ship was anchored 11miles off and they said it had to be 10miles or closer to qualify for compensation.

The military lost my dad's records. His weren't supposed to be in the fire due to the date range, but they claimed they were. He had to get letters from former COs and such to vouch for him to get some of his info restored.

I'm not surprised they lost the records at the VA. Their organization system sucks.

That wind globe thingy is so cool.

Flyover, that looks great! Love the dovetail joints.

I am still getting calls from the local hospital claiming I owe them over $800 for bloodwork when I never went to them for it. First off, when I inquired about having it taken and done there I was told it would be something around $200+, not $800+. But the clerk referred me back to my doctor's office instead bc it was cheaper. Less than $100 to have my blood done there. So, I had my blood done at doctor's office, paid in full. They marked my record as paid in full. But hospital is claiming I owe them for the tests and have been texting me (not even sure how they got my number bc I never gave it to them) and sending me mail. I already talked to them and had someone from the doctor's office go over there physically to tell them I paid in full. They are threatening to send it to collections-- which absolutely will not listen if you tell them you already paid or that you don't owe anything.

I took out kitchen trash & went to cut some weeds along my sidewalk. Battery ran out on my cutter so I'm charging it. Waiting on a Fedex delivery now. It was put on truck for deliver at 6:04am. Was out for delivery yesterday but driver claimed he couldn't find the address. I had them put up detailed directions so hopefully the driver won't claim he can't find it. Sometimes they claim that when they don't feel like delivering. Had one lazy driver pull that crap for 3 weeks before I got ahold of the sender and had them light a fire under their behinds to deliver my stuff.

 

[Ron Van]

Today I cut the legs for a low table I'm building. They have a square profile, so next session I've gotta make a 45˚ jig so I can lay them on an edge and make diagonal notches for the tabletop to fit into.
View attachment 31074

The table will have a small lip or rim, which is by design. It's gonna be backpacks and stuff that I put on it and the rim will help keep straps from dangling over the edge and getting snagged as I walk by.

As it stands today:
View attachment 31075

Now to get the sawdust taste out of my mouth...

Looks like a fun project! Nice job on the joints.

 

[Flyover]

Flyover, that looks great! Love the dovetail joints.

Nice job on the joints.

Just to be clear, I didn't do the dovetails. That's an old drawer frame I found in the basement when we moved in. But I am proud of the other joinery, which I did do/am doing.

 

[Spicoli43]

Z, that's how the 2 VA clinics I have been to are, but they have been atrocious during Obama's 3 terms and were great during Trump's years. They had a great attitude because they were being taken care of. I walked in once and was shocked they gave me a Back brace I didn't even ask for.

During Obama's first years, they wouldn't even give me a back exam because I "had one" 5 years earlier... Well maybe the back gets worse, could that be... Huh, I don't know because I'm an idiot. Now, during the current Obama years, I can't get dental help, no referrals, and a lung exam to them is breathing through a straw device, because if I can breathe out, I guess it's all good... I want to get a wrist BP monitor, but they will probably reject that. Maybe if I go in with a very nice letter made out to King Zelensky, they will give me one.

Oh, but they have no problem spending a bunch of money on a "Pride Parade", got an email for that.

I don't have a primary Doc, probably because I made it clear I will never take one of their drugs, ever... Even if I wanted a regular Doc, the wait for appointments is months, so they say just go to the ER for everything.

You need to tell the hospital in no uncertain terms, once you get a collection notice, you will sue them into the Stone Age. When I was deployed, "I" opened a credit card and racked up $4000 something, because that's what I needed on my combat missions was a CC. They threatened collections and I told them no, I was deployed... They sent another couple of demands and I dropped the Stone Age comment on them, and they probably decided to figure out where the charges originated from and I haven't heard anything for 15 or so years.

 

[Spicoli43]

Just to be clear, I didn't do the dovetails. That's an old drawer frame I found in the basement when we moved in. But I am proud of the other joinery, which I did do/am doing.

I will eventually get a Makita plate biscuit joiner, only about $800 cheaper than a Festool.

 

[Eddie_T]

Just to be clear, I didn't do the dovetails. That's an old drawer frame I found in the basement when we moved in. But I am proud of the other joinery, which I did do/am doing.

I think that's a neat design for the leg/skirt and top joinery leaving the raised edge.

 

[Spicoli43]

Oh, I forgot on the Earth site, you can Left click to mark a spot and it will come back to that when you pull up the site from your bookmarks. For instance, I pinned the Caribbean storm a couple hours ago and just refreshed and I can see how much it moved.

 

[Flyover]

I think that's a neat design for the leg/skirt and top joinery leaving the raised edge.

Thanks! I hope it works out in wood like it did in my head. If it does it'll be a near-first!

 

[Ron Van]

We had a leak in our roof appear in our pantry a month ago and so I started investigating various roof patch products and techniques. We have a metal roof and in the area of the leak, the metal is continuous from the ridge to the edge. There is one roof penetration in this area where the main stack vent comes through.



It wasn't much of a leak but apparently it was leaking long enough to finally break through the sheetrock and made a puddle on the floor. My MIL noticed it first because she walks by this area to get to her part of the house.



There are many products for sealing metal roofs. One product (Turbo Poly Seal) is preferred by the "Flat Roof Doctor."

Flat Roof Doctor

I became aware of a product about 3 years ago that fascinates me made by the Sashco people. Come to find, Sashco makes a roof product called "Through the Roof." Here's their claim:

"Through the Roof! is a co-polymer rubber elastomeric sealant that allows roofers to seal leaks asphalt can’t. It delivers superior bond durability and is UV-resistant, crystal clear, and paintable."

Through the Roof

Anyway, I went up on the roof and tightened all the screws in the leak area. I replaced some screws with the next size larger screw and sealed some areas with sealer. I re-sealed the area around the vent stack as well. I looked at the ingredients in the Through the Roof product and compared it to Lexel.

Lexel

A roofer person I know uses Lexel on roofs (and everything for that matter). They seemed similar enough to where I decided to use Lexel to seal around some things on the roof. Lexel seems like a miracle sealant. It can be applied in wet situations, it is paintable and remains flexible.

It's been a month and we've had over an inch of rain (they consider that a drought in Alabama) and so far, the leak has stopped. I'm calling it a success!

 

[Ron Van]

I had a spot in the LVP flooring I installed last year that had a hollow spot under it. I was concerned that after a while, the vinyl plank lock system would fail and that would not be good. So, after watching numerous videos on how to fix a hollow spot, I stumbled on this guy who I thought had the best fix.

Floor Fix Video

He suggested several products and the biggest difference between his fix and other people's is that this guy stresses a flexible, stretchy product like "Big Stretch." It turns out that Big Stretch is made by my favorite company, Sashco. . .who makes Lexel.

Big Stretch

Some people are injecting expanding spray insulation foam under their flooring but that foam breaks down after being stepped on repeatedly and will eventually fail.

I used the Big Stretch and it worked really well! I used a syringe made for cooking and just cut the end of the needle off. I drilled an appropriate sized hole in the LVP and injected the Big Stretch.

 

[Ron Van]

We got 1/2" of rain in a short period of time last night, so I went out to inspect my yard drain system and everything looks good!






It looks like the water flow got fairly high but the collection basins worked!

 

[zannej]

Spicoli, if they keep bothering me I will go down there physically and tell them to stop sending me bills I don't owe. I'll mention it to the doctor's office again as well.

Ron, that leak sucks. Hope the patching you did will take care of it.

My power went out last night and didn't come back on until after 10:30am. My backup APC thing kept one of my fans running for probably another hour after the power outage but after that it was miserable. Too hot to open the windows. Sat in the truck early in the morning with AC on to cool off and then we went to grab food from McDonalds. I haven't checked the freezer to see if anything melted. We didn't open the fridge or freezer the entire time power was out so hopefully stuff stayed cool. Driving into town we saw the reason for the outage. Tree fell on the lines next to the road.

Waiting on my fedex package and then need to go return the shoes I got. They felt fine in the store, but I tried them on at home and the right one actually hurts my foot. Pushes down too hard on the top and squeezes. It didn't do that in the shoe store. I have high arches. Gonna take them back. They are still pristine looking. Will see if they have other options that fit. Maybe they might have a different brand of shoe.