Another month has flown by and this one has been a mixed bag.
Car Stuff
After the recent car silliness (water getting in, air getting out), I thought this month was going to involve smoother motoring (when required), but upon backing off my drive the other week I heard the tell-tale sounds of a knackered CV joint. This was a strange one because the problem had gone from non-existent to painfully grating from one day to the next. I’m pretty sure this car is trying to tell me something that I am refusing to hear (except for that grating noise because that is impossible not to notice when reversing whilst turning the steering wheel). I’ll ignore all of this until the car gets its annual checkup which is due soon and then decide what to do about things. I decided to finally address a dashboard light issue ahead of this checkup and was reminded that any time I work on a car I seem to end up with grazed knuckles; I thought I’d be safe within the cockpit, removing simple screws and prizing off some plastic trim, rather than attacking rusty and seized nuts and bolts on the outside, but no.
Cycling
I had a nice week of cycling this week though, between days of yet more wind and rain. Perhaps my bike is trying to show me which is the best vehicle of choice and being extra kind to me. I didn’t clock up a mass of miles this month but I’ve been trying not to go overboard as this seems to leave my energy-levels all over the shop.
“Gardening”
Outside I’ve also done some work in the garden, mainly clearing dead stuff and encouraging and relocating daffodils so they are more spread out in places rather than residing in clumps as some had tended to do. I like daffodils. I’m eagerly awaiting my rhubarb plants to show signs of life since I separated the one big plant last year into a number of separate ones. I’m not really very green fingered; I tend to plant things that either fail, or they make an attempt and then give up.
Failed Fixings
Back in doors (where there are a few more things growing in pots) I have been listing and selling more things on ebay and trying to fix other, but generally failing at the fixing part. I had the idea of replacing some worn out battery cells in one of the battery packs for my cordless drill. This involved soldering, and, well, it didn’t go as easily as people on Youtube claimed or showed it would be. I couldn’t get the solder to take to the cells, and with one cell left to do (after already far to long struggling) my preferred soldering iron for the job decided to give up (these cheap ones tend to do this once left on for so long, and the job was taking far too long). Then when I switched to using my soldering gun (as one of the Youtubers had been using) that was being just as challenging and in the end I had to give up when that began to overhead and gave out a nice stream of smoke.
The model railway has seen a little progress; I’m still working on loops and gradients to get track from one area to another. I bought a sheet of plywood for the job but it wasn’t enough and I’ve yet to head out in the clunking car to get some more.
Reading, Watching, Consuming, Writing
I’ve just about finished reading David Icke’s book The Biggest Secret. The title claims that the book will change the world and in some ways I’m sure it has changed mine. This week I’ve also rewatched The Matrix trilogy and that is certainly something that has changed my world, since way back in 1999 when I watched the first installment on my first proper PC when DVDs and Internet access were a new thing to me. I still think the third installment, Revolutions, is a bit naff, but I have a greater appreciation for the second, Reloaded, now that I’ve had the opportunity to watch them back-to-back. I think Icke (and others) have taken a lot from The Matrix without properly acknowledging the fact.
There have been a number of things I’ve wanted to write about, from the books and films I’ve consumed, but also news and general stuff, but seemingly shied away from doing so, either through focusing on getting the book read in its entirety first, procrastinating about a topic, or not being sure if I want to write about something in particular, or how to broach the topic.
Sometimes my efforts to limit my time online seem to hinder my ability to write freely also.
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