Having turned 50 this year, I am moving into Act II of life. Well, I hope so, anyway. When I was a young lad, I wondered how I would make it alive to thirty. That has come and gone, and now I look at those folks who die at 70 or so, and wonder if I will make it alive till then. But if the optimist in me gets his wish, I will make it to 100, and this is only the half way mark! That would be nice, anyway.
I got a Leatherman in the mail today. I picked it up off a shop on eBay, and already I wondered if I got ripped off with a fake! There are scratches on the pliers from one use! I looked at reviews of the tool on YouTube, and given what I saw there about some of the quality control issues they have had, I can be proud to have only scratches in the black finish. The tool is guaranteed for 25 years, so I suppose if worst things come, then I can take advantage of that. And if I only live to 70, then that guarantee will outlast me anyhow!
Apart from the scratches, there is one other thing that kind of bothers me, and that is the drop of the pliers handle when I hold them by only one grip. Out of the box the pliers swivel was tight and even almost a bit difficult. Then later, it was loose enough to swing by gravity. I closed and opened them again, and they were tight again. I cannot figure out the cause, but I have checked for play in the joint, and found nothing either way.
So the best tool on the market is just a bit funny.
Despite all that, if it turns out to be a genuine tool, and holds up well, then I think I will be happy with it. The worst thing about living on a small farm, and likely a big one too, for those who do, is going out on the land and finding some little job that needs doing, but requires a tool to do it. I expect that the Leatherman will solve a lot of that trouble for me if I remember to carry it always. I have ordered some more tools for it, too, such as the bits and drivers, and will be setting it up on my belt as a near do-all. I am thinking of putting my leather crafting skills to the test and making a pouch to carry everything. I will be a regular Batman with a utility belt.
Took a shower before bed tonight. The new bed has new white sheets on it. I cannot imagine waking up to a husband stain on those! I don’t want to see the look on my wife’s face if one appears! I am thinking on payday we get a couple more sets of sheets for regular changing! Again, as someone on a small farm… Dirt.
It has been hot again today. It got up to 96 today at the high. It could be worse, but I think if the skies were clear, it would have been. Unfortunately the skies were not clear, but instead completely clogged up with brown smoke. We were like this all last summer. California and Oregon burned, and we got smoked over. Now, I am not complaining about this as a comparison of what is worse! Smoke is obviously way better than fire! But if they did not burn, we would not have the smoke, which would be much better for both of us, so that would be nice. If anything, it is a depressing reminder that people’s homes are being lost, and sometimes, even lives, and that is horrible! But it also does not bode well for the west at all. Smoke is no way to fight global warming. With the drought this winter, it was obvious this was going to be a bad summer. We got way too little snow for our averages here, and then the spring rain was next to nothing, too.
Now we are in summer, it is hot, and the rain still is not falling. I put in my own weather monitoring station so I would be able to see this first hand, and I have. The differences between this year and previous ones if stark. It is probably a good time to get out of the West.
For now, it is a good time to get to bed.