Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Spoonful of Sand Effect

15 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Life, Retirement, Uncategorized, Woodworking

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Imagine, if you will, a large container filled with sand. (Insert the Twilight Zone Music) You come along with a spoon and remove a single spoonful. You and I both know that you’ve removed that spoonful, but to everyone else, the container looks exactly the same.

That’s the same scenario I’m facing in my garage.

I spent all day today throwing things in the trash, moving items around in the shed so I could move other things into it, and generally trying to bring some order to the chaos. Somewhere along the way, I stepped on a few Sweetgum balls (For those that live in the South, you know what I’m talking about), rolled my ankle, and landed face-first on the ground. If there had been judges present, I doubt they would have scored the dismount very highly.

I knew when I started this project that it wasn’t going to be a one-day event. It’s going to take several days, if not weeks, to get this garage looking the way it should. Years of “I’ll put that there for now” have finally caught up with me.

I took the time to cut usable pieces from my scrap wood pile so I could minimize waste. I also found several containers filled with wood screws of various sizes. I sorted them into separate containers and even labeled them. That’s a small victory, but at least now I won’t have to dig through a coffee can full of random screws every time I need one or, God forbid, go purchase more.

This morning, I took some before pictures of the garage. In fact, I had even posted a few of them on yesterday’s blog. Later, I took them down because I was honestly a little ashamed that I had let the garage get into the condition it’s in. Maybe once everything is cleaned up and organized, I’ll share the before-and-after photos. If nothing else, they’ll serve as proof that all this effort actually accomplished something.

A lot of time and effort went into today’s work, with very little visible evidence to show for it. If someone walked into the garage tonight, they probably wouldn’t notice much difference, kind of like that missing spoonful of sand.

But progress was made. It may not be obvious to anyone else, but I know it’s there. The garage is a little better organized than it was this morning, and that’s enough for today.

Besides, the sore ankle and busted kneecap are all the proof I need that I was working.

My Garage Needs an Intervention

15 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Boy Scouts, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Retirement, Twins, Uncategorized, Weather, Woodworking

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I missed a perfectly good day to go fishing.

According to the weather forecast I saw last night, today was supposed to be cloudy with rain. As I sit here writing this, it’s cloudy all right, but there isn’t a drop of rain anywhere nearby. Apparently, the weather forecaster and I have different definitions of “rain.”

Since I can’t blame the weather anymore, I guess I’ll spend the day in my shop doing some cleaning.

The shop is in desperate need of organization. I try my best to keep it neat, but somehow it always ends up looking like the “before” picture on a home improvement show. If the folks from a hoarding television program ever drive down my road, I’m keeping the garage door closed.

My two-car garage hasn’t actually been a two-car garage since my daughters came home from college. Before they moved back in, I told my wife that the girls needed to rent a storage unit for all their furniture. I explained that once their furniture crossed the threshold of our garage, it would become a permanent resident.

I was absolutely right.

Years later, some of that furniture is still sitting there. At this point, I think it’s claimed squatters’ rights.

To be fair, I’m not completely innocent. The side of the garage where I used to park my truck has become home to my hobbies. When I bought a larger truck that wouldn’t fit in the garage, I suddenly had extra space—or at least that’s what I told myself.

That space is now occupied by a motorcycle, shelves full of Dutch ovens, camping gear, fishing equipment, ham radio supplies, woodworking tools, and a collection of items that I apparently purchased because I was convinced I would need them someday.

Someday has not yet arrived.

The side where my wife once parked is home to my daughters’ furniture, my CNC laser, a newly acquired 3D printer, and a worktable where I paint and assemble projects. Unfortunately, the worktable is currently so covered with stuff that I couldn’t work on it if I wanted to. In fact, I’m not entirely sure where the actual tabletop is anymore.

I know it’s under there somewhere.

The garage also houses my table saw, miter saw, drill press, nail guns, sanders, drills, rotary tools, clamps, and enough miscellaneous hardware to open a small branch of Home Depot.

Need a screw? I’ve got 10,000 of them.

Need the specific screw I’m looking for? Not a chance.

I’ve decided that I’m not starting another project until I make significant progress organizing the garage. This is a bold statement considering that starting new projects is one of my favorite ways to avoid finishing old ones.

The problem is that I have no idea where to begin. Every time I move one item, I discover three more things that need to be moved first. It’s like playing a life-sized game of Tetris, except none of the pieces fit, and I can’t find the instruction manual.

To make matters worse, I have a storage building in the backyard that’s almost as crowded as the garage. Before I can organize the garage, I’ll probably need to organize the storage building.

Of course, organizing the storage building will require temporarily moving things into the garage, which seems suspiciously similar to the process that got me into this mess in the first place.

Maybe I should have gone fishing after all.

The Best-Laid Plans

12 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in Disability, Life, Pets, Photography, Retirement, Uncategorized

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It’s after midnight as I write this, and I just finished my fourth cup of coffee. Yes, I know. But it’s been a very stressful day, and in my opinion, I deserve my one and only vice. Some people turn to alcohol. Some turn to recreational drugs. Me? I turn to coffee.

It really started last night when I fell asleep in my recliner and didn’t wake up until nearly 1:30 this morning. Not long afterward, I was awakened by my four-legged “daughter,” who apparently believes that 4 a.m. is the perfect time to start her day. She wanted food, snacks, and water—in that order.

I eventually managed to fall back asleep and didn’t wake up until around 7:30 a.m. That’s late for me since I’m usually up by 5:30 a.m., whether I want to be or not.

I knew I had a doctor’s appointment at 1:30 p.m., and I wanted to get some yard work done before I had to leave. My plan was to change the filament on my 3D printer and start a print job that would take most of the day. After fighting with it for more than an hour, however, I concluded that I had ordered the wrong filament.

Just as I was getting ready to head upstairs and put on my shoes for yard work, I heard water dripping into the garage from above.

I immediately called upstairs to my wife to turn off anything that was using water. She couldn’t hear me, so I ended up opening the garage door and yelling up the stairwell.

The dripping stopped.

After cleaning up some of the water, I made enough room to get a closer look at where the pipes came through the floor. At first glance, it appeared the water wasn’t coming from a pipe leak at all. It seemed to be leaking from around the pipe and coming from somewhere upstairs.

I ran upstairs to check the washing machine. Everything was dry.

Back downstairs.

After studying the direction of the pipes for a moment, I finally realized the leak wasn’t under the laundry room. It was under our bathroom, farther down the hall.

Back upstairs.

I checked under the sink. Dry.

Back downstairs.

At this point, I instructed my wife to start turning on faucets and flushing toilets while I stood downstairs watching for signs of water.

She turned on the faucets.

Nothing.

Then she flushed the toilet.

That’s when I heard, “The water’s not going down!”

A few seconds later came, “It’s about to overflow!”

BINGO!

The toilet had clogged and overflowed. Water was escaping around the base of the toilet and finding its way downstairs through the floor.

I quickly made my way upstairs and managed to get the toilet unclogged before things got much worse.

A couple of quick notes. When I said I was “running” upstairs and downstairs, that was really just a figure of speech. With my foot the way it is, I can’t run anywhere. A more accurate description would be that I was quickly limping from one floor to the other.

By the time we got everything cleaned up, it was time to leave for my doctor’s appointment on the other side of town. The yard work never happened, the 3D printer never got started, and my carefully planned day was officially shot. Apparently, the toilet had other ideas.

The ablation went as planned. I’m sore, which is expected. From what I’ve been told, tomorrow will probably be worse before it gets better. Even so, I can already tell a slight difference in the way I sit and stand.

They say it can take up to three weeks to experience the full effects of the procedure. I’ve been dealing with this pain for more than three months now, so I suppose another three weeks isn’t going to make much difference.

Still, after today, I think I’ve earned that fourth cup of coffee.

She Said Yes!!

07 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in Family, Life, Photography, Twins, Uncategorized

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She said YES!

It was the first anniversary of their first date, so it was no surprise that they planned to spend the day together. What was surprising was how the day unfolded.

He showed up at her apartment with a dozen red roses, and the two of them headed a couple of hours north. They spent most of the day exploring antique stores and local shops. In fact, they even had lunch inside an old antique store.

Later, they made their way to Little River Falls and spent several hours admiring the beautiful waterfall and enjoying the scenery.

The next stop on the agenda was Cherokee Rock Village. I had never heard of the place before, but apparently it overlooks a lake and offers some breathtaking views.

The proposal was supposed to happen around 3:00 p.m., but when 3:30 came and went without a phone call, we started to wonder if something had gone terribly wrong.

We were on our way to my parents’ house to pick them up for the planned celebration dinner when the call finally came.

She was so excited and emotional that she could barely get the words out. As it turned out, the reason for the delay was simple: there was no cell service at the overlook. Her boyfriend had also arranged for a photographer to capture the moment, and they spent some time afterward taking engagement photos together.

Everything went exactly as planned, and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

She made it official this morning by posting pictures on social media. I had promised her that I wouldn’t say anything publicly until after she did.

What she still doesn’t know is that we’ve known for weeks that this was going to happen. I have a feeling she might be a little annoyed when she finds out that small detail.

Now they have us looking at wedding venues on Tuesday. Personally, I think that’s moving a little fast, but it’s not really up to me.

Congratulations to both of them. I wish them all the happiness in the world as they begin this exciting new chapter together.

Time to Take a Break From Life

03 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Uncategorized

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Time to take a break from life.

Tomorrow, I’m heading to the river to spend some time resting, fishing, and gathering my thoughts before I go completely nuts. It’s been a rough week.

If you’ve ever had to deal with AT&T, you probably understand my frustration. This is just one of the many things I had to deal with this week. The others will come in a later post.

When you call or chat with technical support these days, you’re often not dealing with a person at all. You’re dealing with AI. I’ll be the first to admit that AI can be useful, but it isn’t nearly as smart as some people think. It’s only as good as the people who program it.

If it doesn’t understand what you’re asking, it tends to circle back to a previous question, and before long, you’re stuck in an endless loop that eventually ends with the chat session closing without warning. And if you’re hoping to speak with a live person, you had better pack a lunch and prepare for a long wait.

This whole saga started last Friday when my dad asked me to come by on Saturday and help connect a new router that AT&T had sent him. According to them, the old router was bad.

As it turned out, the router wasn’t the problem at all.

Dad had already spent time with technical support trying to resolve the issue. Nothing they suggested worked. He asked repeatedly for a technician to come out, but AT&T seemed convinced that he could solve the problem himself. Eventually, they simply disconnected the call.

That’s where I entered the picture.

Friday evening, I spent an hour and a half trying to reach a live agent. After finally getting through, I was able to schedule a service appointment for Monday between noon and 5:00 p.m.

Monday came and went.

By 6:30 that evening, it was obvious that nobody was coming.

I then spent three and a half hours on hold trying to speak with someone, only to have my phone battery die before I ever reached an agent.

I called back and scheduled a callback for 9:00 the next morning. By 10:00, nobody had called.

Once again, I called AT&T and sat on hold for about an hour before finally reaching a representative.

To his credit, he was polite and listened patiently as I explained everything we had been through. By this point, the appointment had been moved to Friday, and Dad had discovered that the real problem wasn’t the modem at all. Phone lines in the area had apparently been cut—or possibly stolen—which explained why nothing was working.

I told the representative that, in my opinion, customer service had lost sight of the customer. If customers were truly important, there would be a way to speak with a real person without spending hours fighting through automated systems and AI chatbots.

There are some problems that technology simply can’t fix. Sometimes people just need to talk to another person.

The representative assured me that our conversation was being recorded and that he would escalate the issue. He said someone from AT&T would contact me regarding our experience, although it might take a week or two.

We’ll see.

After dealing with all of this, I am emotionally drained. The one thing I’m proud of is that I managed to keep my cool throughout the entire ordeal. I could have unloaded my frustration on the representative, but I knew he wasn’t responsible for what had happened. He was simply the person caught in the middle.

So tomorrow morning, Rick and I will launch the boat around 5:30 and spend a few hours on the river.

At this point, I honestly don’t care whether I catch a fish.

What I need is some peace and quiet. I need time away from hold music, automated systems, and frustration. I need to be reminded of who is really in charge.

And for me, there are few better places to find that reminder than sitting on a river at daybreak, watching God’s creation wake up around me.

Sometimes the best therapy isn’t found in an office, on a phone call, or behind a computer screen.

Sometimes it’s found on the water.

A Father’s Heart Isn’t Always Easy to Explain

31 Sunday May 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Twins, Uncategorized

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I’m fortunate that I don’t have any doctor’s appointments this week. That doesn’t mean I’m completely free from medical matters, though. I still need to drive across town to one of my labs to pick up a copy of the results from my latest MRI, so I can take them to an orthopedic doctor next week and have him take a look at my back.

Earlier this afternoon, I received a text inviting me to go fishing tomorrow. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have jumped at the opportunity, but I had already made plans to pick up my medical records. I politely declined and told him I’d try to make it another time.

The good news is that I had already told my wife I wanted to go fishing at least a couple of times this week. I mentioned that to my daughter today, and while she has commitments every morning, she does have one afternoon available. The plan now is to spend an afternoon fishing with her and then head back out the next morning on my own. One advantage is that I’ll be able to leave all my fishing gear in the truck overnight and won’t have to unload everything until the following day.

Saturday will be spent giving my truck a thorough cleaning. I don’t want my parents riding across town in a dirty truck when we take them out to dinner that evening.

As of right now, my parents have no idea why they’ve been invited to a nice Italian restaurant. To the best of my knowledge, the daughter who’s getting engaged is still somewhat in the dark as well. She believes it’s all going to happen on the 13th. The ring won’t be a surprise—they picked that out together—but walking into a restaurant filled with family and friends who have gathered to celebrate with her afterward certainly will be.

I’m very happy for my daughter, but if I’m being honest, I’m a little scared for her too. Marriage is a life-changing step, and like every parent, I wonder if she’s ready.

She left the nest several years ago when she and her sister moved into an apartment together. At the time, it felt like a major milestone. This feels different. More permanent. More final.

I’m having a hard time putting my feelings into words. There’s joy because I’m proud of the woman she has become. There’s excitement because a new chapter of her life is about to begin. But there’s also a touch of sadness because another chapter is closing.

Maybe that’s just part of being a parent. We spend years teaching our children to become independent adults, and then one day they do exactly that. We celebrate their success while quietly realizing that they no longer need us in quite the same way they once did.

I suppose that’s what I’m feeling tonight—a mixture of happiness, pride, excitement, and just a little bit of melancholy. It’s not a bad feeling. It’s simply the realization that life keeps moving forward, whether we’re ready for it or not.

The Sunday Before Memorial Day

24 Sunday May 2026

Posted by in Family, Life, Photography, Twins, Uncategorized, Weather

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For the past couple of years, my son has taken it upon himself to grill steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs for lunch after church on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Today was no exception—except for one small flaw. It rained the entire time.

That meant no standing over the grill, no smell of charcoal drifting through the yard, and no pretending we were all professional pitmasters for the afternoon. Instead, he improvised. The hamburger patties were fried indoors, the hot dogs were broiled, and even the corn on the cob ended up under the broiler.

No matter. He still did a good job.

My wife made brownies and cut up the watermelon she had brought. My daughters made a special dip that disappeared almost as quickly as it hit the table. There was food everywhere, and thankfully, there was more than enough for everyone.

My son invited his girlfriend over, and one of my daughters brought her boyfriend. My other daughter’s boyfriend had a prior church commitment and couldn’t make it this time.

This gathering was also the first time we had been back to my son’s house since the water leak. The contractors did an excellent job rebuilding the damaged walls and replacing the flooring. Honestly, it looked like nothing had ever happened—which is exactly what you hope for after a project like that.

It was also the first time my son had met my other daughter’s boyfriend. As a father, you quietly watch those moments. You wonder how everybody will get along, whether the conversations will flow naturally, and if things might feel awkward.

But everything seemed easy and comfortable. Everybody laughed. Conversations bounced around the room. People drifted from the kitchen to the living room and back again. It simply felt like family.

At one point, I caught myself sitting quietly and just listening.

I admired how much my family has changed in what feels like such a short amount of time. One minute, there were no boyfriends or girlfriends around the table. Now, one relationship is likely headed toward engagement, and another is already hinting in the same direction.

Life changes slowly enough that you hardly notice it day by day. Then suddenly, during an ordinary rainy Sunday lunch before Memorial Day, it hits you all at once.

The kids aren’t kids anymore. Families grow. New people find their place at the table. Traditions continue, even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

And honestly, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about the day.

QRP, Mountains, and a “Sort Of” POTA Activation

21 Thursday May 2026

Posted by in Amateur Radio, Cycling, Life, Uncategorized

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This post probably won’t interest most of my readers, but for my fellow ham radio operators and radio nerds, I managed to do a POTA activation… sort of… last Sunday.

I managed to get 13 contacts at Park #US-4450 in the Talladega National Forest. I say “sort of” because the cell signal was so bad I couldn’t get online to spot myself, so I just hunted contacts on and off all day and hoped somebody would hear me calling.

For this activation, I used a Lab599 TX-500 portable HF transceiver running 10 watts on 50 MHz. Well… technically more like 7 watts by the time everything was said and done. QRP operation always makes things more challenging, but honestly, that’s part of the fun. Anybody can make contact with a high-powered base station. It takes a little patience, stubbornness, and luck to do it with low power from the side of a mountain.

My setup included one of the original POTA Reels antennas along with a POTA33H telescopic mast that extends to 33 feet. I mounted everything using a hitch-mounted flagpole holder that slides into the receiver hitch on my truck. In true ham radio fashion, I also improvised a little engineering by using the packaging from the POTA33H mast to wedge everything tighter inside the hitch mount. If it looks questionable but works, then it’s officially “field tested.”

The biggest challenge was the location itself. Rest Stop #2 was at the bottom of the hill with mountains surrounding us in every direction. Even with the antenna nearly 33 feet in the air, I still struggled getting my signal out. And having only around 7 watts coming from the radio certainly didn’t help matters.

Still, I managed 13 contacts, and honestly, I was happy with that considering the conditions.

This wasn’t my first activation, though. Last May, I activated from the USS Alabama during one of their Living History events. Over the course of two days, I made more than 200 contacts there. That remains my personal record and probably spoiled me a little when it comes to future activations.

There’s just something enjoyable about setting up a portable station in the middle of nowhere and seeing how far a little bit of wire and a few watts can travel. Some people golf. Some people fish. Some of us throw antennas into the air and get excited when somebody three states away says, “You’re five-nine in Alabama.”

And honestly, that’s probably enough to convince most normal people that we’re all a little crazy.

73’s

KJ4PZI

Thunderstorms, Traffic Jams, and Heating Pads

18 Monday May 2026

Posted by in Amateur Radio, Cancer, Cycling, Life, Uncategorized, Weather

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Yesterday started way earlier than any sane person should be awake. My alarm went off at 4 am, so I could head out and set up my communications station before the Cheaha Challenge bicycle ride began. I left with plenty of time to spare and figured I’d be sitting there relaxed and ready by 7 am.

Well… that didn’t exactly happen.

About halfway there, traffic on the interstate came to a complete stop. Not just eastbound traffic either — westbound traffic was stopped too. Since there were no warning signs or construction notices heading east, I naturally assumed there had been a major accident somewhere ahead.

After sitting there long enough to question every life decision that led me to that interstate at 5-something in the morning, traffic finally started moving. A mile or so ahead, I spotted three state troopers slowly leading traffic and preventing anyone from passing them. Later, I found out the state had scheduled paving work between 6 am and 8 am.

Because apparently that sounded like a wonderful idea.

By the time I finally arrived, I was an hour and a half late. Thankfully, the folks working with me had already set everything up and had the station ready to go before the race started. That was a huge relief.

The ride itself actually went very smoothly. Considering the number of riders spread out across those routes, that’s always good news. We had only a couple of reports of cramps and dehydration. Usually, there are at least a few wrecks or injuries somewhere along the route, so we were fortunate not to have any serious incidents this year.

Today was a completely different kind of long day.

I had another doctor’s appointment to have more cancer removed from the side of my back. The doctor gave me strict instructions to take it easy for the rest of the day. After several mornings of getting up before daylight, I wasn’t exactly heartbroken to hear those words.

So I obeyed the doctor’s orders perfectly.

I came home, got settled into my recliner, turned the heating pad on high, and took a long nap. Right now, I’m starting to feel a little more pain creeping in, so I’ll probably take some pain medication before heading to bed tonight.

At the moment, I’m also keeping an eye on the weather radar. We’ve got several thunderstorms moving through the area. Nothing severe, but some of them are putting on a pretty decent lightning show.

Oddly enough, I’ve always loved listening to distant thunderstorms. It reminds me of being a kid when summertime storms were just… storms. Back then, nobody seemed to classify them in three different ways or warn us about them two weeks in advance. They would roll in during the afternoon, cool things off for a while, and move on.

Tomorrow will be another early morning with yet another doctor’s appointment around 11:30. Then, Thursday brings another pain block procedure. I’m really hoping this one works better than the last one did.

Until then, I’ll probably remain parked right here in my recliner with the heating pad doing most of the heavy lifting.

Common Sense; It Should Come Standard

16 Saturday May 2026

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I lost my temper with a stranger today. I’m not proud of it. In fact, I’m pretty ashamed that I let myself get that worked up. I guess part of the problem was that I expected a little common sense from a fellow human being. Apparently, that was asking too much.

Normally, I would’ve filled up my truck right after church, but since I won’t be attending tomorrow due to another commitment, I decided to get fuel while my wife and I were already out meeting our two daughters and their boyfriends for lunch.

The gas station in question was the fuel center at Sam’s Club. Around here, they usually have the cheapest gas prices, which also means they usually have lines long enough to qualify as a minor traffic event.

I noticed the two end pumps had shorter lines, so I eased into one of them. The setup beside a concrete median meant once you got in line, you were committed unless you could somehow back out.

There were three vehicles ahead of me: a small car, a pickup truck behind her, and directly in front of me, an SUV.

At some point, both the SUV driver and I noticed the pickup driver put the nozzle back on the pump. Naturally, we assumed he was finished fueling and simply waiting for the lady in front of him to leave so he could pull out.

Wrong.

The lady left, and instead of driving away, the pickup driver pulled forward to the next pump and started over. That’s when we realized something wasn’t right.

Turns out, the pump he had been using was out of order.

Now the SUV in front of me was stuck trying to get fuel from a dead pump, and I was trapped behind it. I tried easing backward, but another vehicle had already pulled in behind me.

This is where the story takes a turn.

I looked behind me and saw a woman sitting in her car. No one was behind her. All she needed to do was back up a few feet so I could get out.

I got out of my truck and motioned for her to reverse.

Nothing.

I waved bigger.

Still nothing.

I even yelled directions while making motions large enough to guide aircraft onto a runway.

Nothing.

At this point, I honestly couldn’t tell if she wasn’t paying attention or if she simply had no earthly idea what my “wild arm flailing” meant. I’ll admit, I was getting irritated fast.

Finally, I got back in my truck and started inching backward anyway. That’s when she honked at me.

That was the exact moment my temper left the building.

I climbed out, walked to her window, and very firmly — and not exactly politely — informed her that I had been trying for the last ten minutes to get her to back up because the pump was broken.

Her response?

“You didn’t tell me to back up.”

Apparently, years of directing traffic with hand gestures have failed me. Either that, or she had never encountered the universal sign for “please move your vehicle before I lose my religion.”

She eventually backed up… though not nearly enough. I somehow managed to squeeze my truck out and circle around to another line.

As I was doing this, a young guy in the next lane who had witnessed the entire circus was laughing so hard I thought he might need oxygen.

His exact words were:

“Your hand gestures were plain enough for a chimpanzee to understand. I guess you can’t fix stupid.”

Now, before anyone nominates me for “Christian of the Year,” let me say this: I know I was wrong for losing my temper. I absolutely was.

But I will also say this — while my mouth got ahead of my better judgment, there were several things my brain suggested that thankfully never made it out loud.

So maybe there’s growth there.

The whole thing could’ve ended much worse than it did. I may have shown my rear end a little, but eventually she understood the message I was trying to convey:

Put the phone down and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

Because if she had been paying attention in the first place, she would’ve noticed the broken pump… and the growing collection of trapped vehicles trying desperately to escape fuel-line purgatory.