Monday August 6, 2018

Monday August 6, 2018

The temperature was in mid 70s this morning.  Rain predicted for most of the day.   Nancy heads to MVP and I stay home and do my entire calisthenics and stretch routine.  

Showered, dressed and left home in a heavy rain.  I drove to Panera and had an oatmeal breakfast.  

The Alpena News reported this morning that AHS was preparing to offer a new class for freshman called Mechatronics and Algebra 1.  It is suppose to combine engineering and math.  I have mixed feelings about this type of class.  I think that I was a good engineer, however, as a freshman in HS I was not ready for a Mechatronics type class combined with Algebra.  I think Algebra is so important it should always be a stand alone class.

Many young engineers take advance placement Algebra and Calculus in high school.  If they pass these classes colleges waive the need to take them.  No way I was mature enough in HS to take Calculus.  My senior year the AHS offered a semester of trig followed by a semester of a class called solid geometry.  I never took Calculus until my second year in college.

The rain is suppose to continue until late afternoon.  After Panera I drove to Meijer’s to purchase some paper napkins.  Next stop was Costco.  I bought Nancy an office chair.

Lunch and then I started my chores.  Nancy’s chair needed to be assembled.  The instructions were quite good.   Think Nancy likes her new chair.  Will give the old chair to Good Will.

Getting my kayak rack built was much harder than the chair.  I had to saw a 2x4 into several measured pieces.  Really did not have a decent saw, used a small dull hack saw.  Also cut a piece of 1” plastic pipe to a measured length.  

Need to bolt the wood pieces together.  No work bench so I took the wood outside and used an old plastic trash barrel as a bench.  I drilled the holes. Attached the rack to the trailer hitch.  It fit perfect.

The humidity this afternoon was in the 90s.  So before a shower I took a walk around the block.  No bike ride today but all the assembly work wiped me out.  

I am reading the Clinton/Patterson book and the main theme is that bad guys are going to hack into the electric and create havoc.  I have read several articles lately about Russia/China or other countries hacking into our electric grid.  Apparently we are unprepared to protect the grid.  Scary!  I can’t believe that we can not reciprocate.

We had a light dinner.  Watched a new show on Prime, the name escapes me.  After Nancy headed to bed and I watched a show called Britannia.  It is about the Roman invasion of England in 45 AD.  Gruesome but interesting.