Random Thoughts – A Darker View

The Futility of Going Home

I had not been back for over four decades.

My parents sold my childhood home shortly after I joined the Air Force in the mid 1980’s. They abandoned the suburbs and bought a very nice home in the city, which they still own today. It is this home I stay in when visiting Portland. For four decades, this is now “home” in many ways, but not the house I grew up in.

My childhood house is still there, along Sunrise Lane in the far southwest of the Portland metro area. This is the home featured in childhood memories spent roaming deep forests and neglected orchards. A green childhood of trees, sheep and chickens, endless mowing, picking blackberries and plums, or wandering a wonderland created by another ice storm.

Hurricane Lala

Lala was not our first hurricane.

After two decades of island life, we have been through a few hurricanes. In general, our location on the island, in the lee of a 13,802ft mauna, has protected us from the worst. Stiff winds and heavy rain from some, while a couple of hurricanes have passed with blue skies and almost no wind for those of us in the lee.

Lala was not our first hurricane, but it was the most serious yet.

A wee bit late to work…

The usual morning run, cruising down the Queen Kaʻahumanu highway to Kona and work. Running chill, with the tunes on and a beautiful day for a drive.

Repairing a flat tire — Repairing a Flat Tire

The polite but also very rude chime of the tire pressure alarm annouces a bit of trouble.

The tire pressure is down into worrisome territory and dropping lower as I watch. I pull over and confirm, the rear passenger side tire is indeed losing pressure. Closer to home than work I turn around and limp back to the house.

Salmon Roast

Roasting salmon over open coals in a traditional manner

Greenwaste Run

One county service I make good use of is the local greenwaste facility. A well practiced routine… load it up, tarp it down, and off.

Another load off to the county green-waste facility.

Happy 4th of July

Fireworks over Palm Trees — A fireworks display over the coconut palms of the Fairmont Orchid resort

The state just enacted some stiff new penalties for illegal fireworks, effective immediately. This is in response to a really bad explosion at a house on Oahu last year that left a couple local families greiving. Wondering if this will have any real effect on the huge amount of illegal fireworks that get lit in our neighborhood for the 4th and New Years.

A Productive Weekend

I usually try to accomplish something each weekend, something I can look back upon and tell myself I did not waste my days off.

A pot roast assembled and starting to simmer, dinner in eight hours!!

This weekend I accomplished a bit more than usual.

I did start the weekend with a fairly long todo list, one that still has unfinished business despite a good run at it. And, of course, a couple more items got added to the list as the weekend progressed.

Yet Another Hurricane

It has been a wet weekend here as yet another hurricane makes a swipe at the island.

This has meant over an inch of rain and some strong winds at the house. A pair of 14,000ft mauna between us and the oncoming storms has worked as usual.

The windward side took the brunt of the storm, but this was a marginal hurricane. In general there have been no major impacts on the island beyond some localized flooding in the usual places and downed trees blocking roads.

I did deploy a new rain gauge this weekend, just in time for the deluge. An electronic tipping bucket of my own design that seems to be operating quite nicely.

Hurricane Hone passing south of the islands bringing wind and heavy rain the the Island of Hawaii on August 25, 2024

Welcome Interference

As I sit typing away I have a slight interferece to deal with. Rasalhague is sleeping just above my keyboard.

He came for the scritching, then eventually fell asleep as I worked on a user manual.

Not much interference… Just push his tail under the monitor rather than in front of the screen. There is a soft paw to push out of the way if I need to type numerals at the top of the keyboard.

Ras is deep asleep, his paws twitching slightly as he wanders in an unknown dreamland. Chasing Geckoes about the house? Or running off the doves that frequent our lanai? I have only guesses.

Whatever his dreams I am sure it is more fun that configuration registers, control loop settings, and relay connections.

Favorite Tools

For someone who works with their hands tools are important. We all have our favorite tools, that one we always use as we have for so many years. There may be a dozen screwdrivers in the rack, but that one is used almost every time.

A veteran Weller WES50 soldering station

Thus is with great sadness that I announce the death of my longtime soldering station.

A good soldering iron is a basic tool for an electronics engineer. A multimeter, a soldering iron, and a set of basic hand tools are absolutely necessary for any electronics workbench. To this end I had bought a very good iron, one that has served me well for several decades.

I wonder just how many soldered connections I made with this old soldering iron… Thousands upon thousands certianly, so many circuit boards, connectors, and wires.

There are no available spare parts for this long obsolete soldering station. There are many conversations on bulletin boards and chat rooms lamenting this as others have had their beloved soldering irons fail. The WES50 was long ago replaced by the WES51, and the parts are not interchangable.

With sadness I remove the old soldering station from the bench. I replace it with a new Weller WE1010NA station. I wonder just what work awaits the new soldering iron, how many solder joints will it see in the coming decades. I hope that this new iron will outlast me.