Saturday, February 1, 2020

Consequences





There are no actions we can take as we journey through the whole life thing which aren't attended by consequences. Only rarely are consequences singularly positive or negative. Navigating actions and consequences is a lifelong learning process, and the skill we ultimately develop is an ability to foresee consequences based on previous experience and then execute a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether negative will outweigh positive and therefore whether we should essay the action we contemplate.

Being ape-lizards and somewhat less than omniscient, it's not uncommon for us to discover at a later date that our action carried unforeseen consequences. Some of those are good, some are bad. It's an ongoing journey of discovery. Which is a pretty good definition of life for the ape-lizard.

Some years ago, back in the early 2000's, my Mom and Dad decided to refurbish the old ranch house and turn it into their dream retirement domicile. At the time they lived in town. The ranch house became an available target for renovation following the death of my Grandma Helen.

So they embarked upon this journey, and hired a local contractor to do the work. I'm not entirely certain why they picked this particular contractor, for he was known far and wide for doing shit work.

At the end of the process Mom and Dad moved into a renovated ranch house which kinda-sorta looked marginally nice. That was a positive consequence. Under the paint and siding and shingles however, the work was shit. That was a negative consequence.

Some of the negative consequences have now been bequeathed to the next generation. It's just what it is. It's simply the reality of the ranch house, and living with the shit work is all part of the deal. It's neither good nor bad, it's just the way it is.

A few days ago Mom started having problems with the door knob on the back door, which as on many ranch houses in this neck of the woods is the de facto main entrance. The door knob had become loose over time and Mom was having trouble locking and unlocking it as well as opening and closing it.

This morning I picked up a new lock set for the door which features a fancy euro-lever rather than a knob. I think it'll be easier for Mom to manipulate.

When I took the old knob off it became apparent that the shitheel who installed the door gooned the job when he drilled out the opening for the lock set. He placed the hole too far inboard and then spent rather a long time applying a shit fix to make it kinda work. The shit fix finally collapsed, and so here we are.

I got the new lock set installed and working, but I'm going to have to go back and fix it right before long, because I had to make it work within the framework of the original shit job, adding my own shit work to the previous shit work.



As I noted, it's just what it is. Having to deal with the shit job is simply a negative consequence. The positive consequence -- and there is one -- is that I now have a challenge to accept and an opportunity to learn a new skill. The reality of the situation is that it's neither good nor bad. If I choose to whine and cry and suit up as a professional victim, then that's my own personal negative consequence, and not the fault of the shit contractor at all. If I accept the challenge and learn to do the ultimate repair correctly, that's a positive consequence owned entirely by me.

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Following yesterday's psychotic post where I twisted Browning's words into a snarled exposition on what might be charitably called a way of ape-lizard being, John Blackshoe commented that he hadn't realized that John Moses Browning had done poetry in addition to his other legendary work.

Of course I was referencing Robert Browning, which John knew quite well. His comment was quite amusing in a delightfully ironic way.

My first thought, however, was that John Moses executed his own brilliant brand of poetry in the perhaps more useful medium of steel.

Boy howdy! He did indeed.

Legend holds (and whackopaedia repeats) that John Moses died at his workbench in Liège, Belgium in 1926 while inventing his final poem, the Fabrique Nationale (FN) GP35. The design was finished by Dieudonne Saive, released for production in 1935, and became the world-renowned Browning Hi-Power.

I've owned many Hi-Powers and loved them all. The one I presently own is in .40 S&W, rather than the original 9x19/9mm Luger/9mm Parabellum.



At the end of the day I'd have to say that while Bobby Browning was a dab hand at wordsmithing, John Moses Browning was altogether a much more useful and successful poet.

##########

Today the weather conditions are quite warm and windy. Tomorrow it's forecast to be warmer and far less windy. If the prediction holds up, tomorrow could be a remarkably lovely day.

It was also February 1 this morning. Brexit happened last night. The year of 2020 is speeding by smartly.



The sunset was quite pretty this evening.





Monday is forecast to be sharply colder as a big winter weather system begins wending its way across the area. I'm all for that. I don't kike a lot of warm weather in winter, and that's what we've had since Christmas. So bring on the cold and snow I say!




Be well and embrace the blessings of liberty.




19 comments:

  1. Nona seems to be wondering who you're talking to, she's keeping an eye on you I'll bet.

    Consequences, ah yes, reminds me of what's behind that door - the lady, or the tiger? Some old story I heard somewhere.

    Nice looking shootin' iron.

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    1. She doesn't think I can drive and talk at the same time.

      Pretty smart dog.

      Thanks, that Hi-Power has a lot of rounds through it and a lot of carry time. It's a good one.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sarge!

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  2. RE: The door. Consider replacing the whole setup including the jamb. Foam the area around the jamb before trimming it out. Maybe step up and get a four hinge door. A steel door with magnetic weatherstripping might be good if the door faces prevailing winds.

    I've done several. The job can be done in a half a day. Best to do it before mosquito season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQBCsVXrL4

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    1. Good tips. As they say, never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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    2. I second Well Seasoned Fool's motion.

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    3. I hate to replace an adequately hung door just for a botched hole. I'm trying to think of a good way to make the hole whole again so I can cut it properly. I'm thinking a pinned and glued plug will do the trick. Being a cheap-ass and interested in trying to see if I can fix the thing rather than buy one of those nork-manufactured doors. Butt I'm still cornsidering options.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Scott!

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    4. Cutting a plug that fits snugly and is well glued in place would work, as it would renew that part of the door. I think you have the door drills to put the new holes in?

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    5. I'm completely confident that I can plug the hole correctly. They I'll almost certainly goon it when I cut the new hole.

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  3. I'm still finding all kinds of bubba work here after over two years. Some of it makes laugh manically, and some of makes me scratch my head and wonder what they were thinking.

    Oh, well....as I find 'em I fix 'em.....the right way.

    We're expecting about 1"~2" and some pretty cold weather (highs of 20, lows of 0) the next few days. Be careful out there in the predicted "Wintry Mix"!

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    1. Bubba work is vexing when you have to fix it, but it's also an art form. I mean the sheer scale of pre-failed ingenuity is breathtaking. Lizard-apes are ever remarkable creatures. And I are one!

      The nws is having a very hard time with their forecast, which runs completely counter to the death of planet erk they've established as their highest forcastical priority. That clashes badly with their second priority which is to terrify people about storms -- blizzards, tornadoes, hot hail, meteor showers, monsters eating the sun, etc. It's just not easy to be a government propagandist these days.

      It'll be fun to see how nature disobeys the dictates of the central weather production committee.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting drjim!

      Delete
  4. My USP45F was a Browning design. HK thinks of the USP as the Government Model Browning would have made, if he add access to the materials.
    Always look for the Sacred Letters HK!

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    1. Browning cast a very long shadow. I'm a Sig fellow these days. They fit me better than HK's and I shoot them better. I've plinked coyotes with my P229, and that's a sell in my world.

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    2. I have two SIGs, a P250C/45, and a P250F/9. The 250C/45 is the only gun I ever gave a name to. Since I bought it as a birthday present to myself, it is named Precious!

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    3. I'd never before considered naming a shootin' iron. Maybe I'll call my M-4 Emmafortia.

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  5. Yeah, the shit work is always an issue down the road. The get it done mentality versus do it right in contractors has been a problem for years and I too have been guilty of sort of fixing their shit work to get buy until it is time to just fix the damn thing myself. Not a carpenter or anything else with my hands and it takes me three times as long usually to do a simple job, but at least when it is done it is done the way I want it, not the way it was. :-) Our weather is pretty decent, cloudy a lot, but not sub zero and the snow is slowly leaving the area. Too early for that and it will mean a dry, hot summer most likely.

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    1. It's always something. The upside is the challenge and staying clear of the recliner, and also having something to bitch about, which is important! ;-)

      Looks like we're in for more winter weather. I'm hoping we don't have to endure a drought this year, but if we have to, we have to.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Harold!

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  6. The hole in the door could be drilled for a 2-3/4 inch backset instead of the more standard 2-3/8 inch backset. Many lock companies will sell a latch that fits the correct backset or is a convertible with a twisting motion to either 2-3/8 or 2-3/4. this presupposes that the the hole is actually drilled to one of those standard backsets. https://www.lowes.com/n/how-to/determine-the-backset-of-your-door

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  7. I have seen a lot of doors with damage to the door handle area, and many were repaired with a sheet metal reinforcement...not sure if you had considered that?

    And has anyone ever seen a Hi-power chambered for .45caL?

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    1. I hadn't considered it until now. I'll give it some serious thought. I'd like to fix the thing properly. If I goon the repair I can always buy a pre-hung door, but I want to flex my repair brain just a bit.

      I've never heard of a Hi-Power in .45, but I'm far from and expert. Seems doable for sure. A quick search reveals the existence of the FEG ACK/GKK-45, also marketed in yurp as the Mauser 90DA. It seems to be a Hungarian clone of the FN GP35 or Hi-Power, with the trigger group replaced with the Smith DA/SA trigger (M-39/59). It certainly looks like a mashup of the Hi-Power and a Smith 59.

      Good question. Thanks for stopping by and commenting cT!

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