Happy New Year.... sort of

Last day of the year.  Most people spent the year in fear and trembling, hiding in their homes and shunning crowds and even small gatherings.  We ignored all of that and just lived our lives as normal as we could amid the panic.  We plan to continue doing the same until the panic is over if it ever is.

Today we went to the dentist for a check up and cleaning at 7 AM.  Then came home for exercise, a nice walk, and lunch.

This afternoon, I worked on a welding project outside in the cold and wind.  I have had this bird in mind for quite a while.  I'm using two brake rotors, part of a tow hitch, a brace from a railroad track, 6 railroad spikes and some scrape square stock, so far.  This picture shows my incomplete progress.  I decided today that I need to order a new welding helmet since mine is "flashing" quite a bit.  

An old friend from college sent me the words to a song that he and his buddy once sang in a college chapel service and brought the house down with laughter.

Oh me, isn’t it great to love a gal so big and fat, That when you’re lovin’ her You don’t know where you’re at? You take a piece of chalk in your hand, you hug awhile and chalk awhile to see where you began. Well, one day, I was a Huggin’ and a chalkin’ and askin’ her to be my lovin’ bride, When I met another guy with some chalk in his hand, comin’ ‘round the other side, He had a roadmap, comin’ ‘round the other side.

Meaning in life....

 I've been retired now for 12 years.  My how the time flies.  The more time you spend being retired, the farther you get removed from your purpose in life, or your identity in the community that you once had.  

Well, part of my purpose now seems to be working on my Grand kids' cars.  Today I worked on Ashley's Volvo.  I did an oil and filter change.  Replaced the air filter, cleaned the MAF sensor and ran a thorough electronic code scan.  Later I gave her a nice lecture about keeping your oil above the safe level and keeping your tires pumped up to the recommended pressure.  Time will tell if that had any effect. 

How to defeat Phylaks the Warrior

 I was having a very hard time defeating Phylaks the Warrior.  After getting killed over and over many many times, I consulted 4 or 5 blogs that claimed to have the secret.  All of them said basically the same thing, just keep moving and shoot when you can and move to each of the 3 levels as necessary.  This was not much help to me since I am 73 and a little slow.  I finally figured out how to to it.  I discovered a secret.  Using my method you can defeat Phylaks in one try without getting killed even once.....if your skill levels are average and you are a little lucky.

In this simple procedure, keep in mind that I play Warlock, and my power is 1206.  Things may work different if you play one of the other characters.  I don't know.   A power of 1100 is recommended for the level.

Before you start the level, war around on Europa until you can collect a full load of ammo for your three weapons.  Arm yourself with your best rapid fire weapons.  When you are ready, go to the Beyond Light Campaign marker and start the level.

Phase One:  When you start the level, you will be standing in a short hallway looking out.  You are safe in here, it is a "sweet spot".  Phylaks  (PW) descends when you step out of the hall way.  Step out, then backup into the hallway.  When PW descends throw a grenade then mow down the first wave of goons, sometimes called "Adds" by other bloggers.  They cannot easily get you because you are backed into the hall way.  When they are all dead, shoot PW in the face as much as possible.  Another wave will come, repeat.  If you run low on ammo, dart out of the hallway, pick up all you can and then go back into the hall and turn around to face the next wave.  When PW freezes you with a stasis blast, wait it out, reload, and be ready for an instant attack by the goons.  Continue until you have worn PW down 1/3 of her power.  You can see her power bar which it is divided into thirds.  The floor will then crumble away but you should be safe in the hall way.  It does not crumble.  Catch your breath and calm your nerves.

Phase Two:  PW jumps across the pond to a high platform to your right.  There is a lower platform beneath that has some short columns on it.  The platform is roughly L shaped.  In the corner of the L there is another "sweet spot" where you will be safe from any attack.  1st you need to "fly" over to the platform.  It takes me two flying jumps.  When you land you will be immediately be attacked by a horde of goons.  Blast as many as you can and quickly run to the corner of the L and jump OFF the platform....there is a ledge down there.....trust me, it is there.  You may miss it your first try and die.  You will soon become an expert at bailing out to the "sweet spot".  While on the ledge, they can not see you and you are safe from attack.  Fly straight up and blast the goons....land on the ledge again.  Repeat as much as you want.  When all the goons are expired you will be faced with waves of "shanks."  They are easy targets so if you want, fly up to the platform and hide very close behind one of the short columns.  Whenever you defeat a wave, pop out and shoot PW in the face.  Repeat until she is worn down another 1/3.  When this happens, the platform will dissolve and you have mere seconds to figure out which way to jump and then make the jump.  If you look to the left and lightly behind, you will see three platforms of different levels.  You can reach the lowest one with a single flying leap.

Phase Three:  You now need to jump or fly to the highest of the 3 platforms.  It is below a large battlefield platform where you will meet the enemy.  This platform is your third "sweet spot".  PW and the goons cannot see you here.  You an fly straight up and shoot and land again in safety.  You will see PW high in the distance.  When you are ready, fly up to the battlefield and run around killing the 1st wave of goons.  One of them will be extra powerful and require many hits spanning several waves.  When your health is low, run to the edge of the platform and jump off.  Land in your sweet spot and rest.  Reload and heal up.  Fly up and kill the goons.  Repeat as necessary.  When ready, fly up to the battlefield and defeat all the goons.  Go back to your sweet spot if necessary.  When you kill the powerful guy, you an pick up his stasis weapon.  It will work in place of your "super charge" weapon.  PW will come after you.  Use this new weapon along with your regular guns to defeat PW.  Go back to your sweet spot anytime you need too.  To activate the new stasis weapon, use your "super charge" feature.

Its all pretty easy and goes a lot faster than I faster can describe it.  Good Luck.

How to make home made yogurt

It is very easy to make your own yogurt.  I make 2 quarts at a time and put it up in 1 pint jars.  Here is how to do it.

You need:

1. Half gallon of your choice of mile (I use fat free)

2.  One small container of plain yogurt, cheap brand, Walmart is fine

3.  Thermometer and various bowls or pitchers

4.  Four pint jars with lids.  (Some plastic wrap - Optional)

Pour the milk into a large bowl and heat it in the microwave until it is between 160 and 200 degrees.  In our 1000 watt microwave, I heat it for 18 minutes.

Remove the milk from the microwave and skim the skin off the top of the milk using a wisk and discard it. (The skin not the wisk)

Place the thermometer into the milk and let it cool until it reaches 120 degrees.  This takes about 30 minutes.

Pour the plain yogurt into the milk and stir it for about 2 minutes until it is completely dissolved.  

Pour the mixture into the clean jars, place a small piece of stretch plastic wrap over the top of each jar and then screw on the lids.  The plastic is used to protect the lids so you can reuse them over and over.

Place the jars in a room temperature dark place for 48 hours.  I simply put them on the top shelf of a cabinet.  Write yourself a note so that you don't forget to remove the yogurt after 48 hours.

When the time is expired, remove the jars and place them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use the yogurt.  When served, add in some of your favorite fruit if you wish.

Note:  You can use a flavored yogurt as a starter but don't expect it to flavor the end result.  The difference is insignificant.  Fancy expensive starter yogurts may not work as well as a cheap plain yogurt.  I buy milk when it is on sale and try to purchase 4 half gallons at a time.  I use 1 half gallon jug and put the other 3 in the freezer.  I purchase 4 starter yogurts at the same time and keep them in the fridge.  Do not freeze your starter yogurt.

 

New Quilt is finished

Today I finished up this crib size quilt that I am making for my new great grand-daughter.

It was cold here today and foggy most of the day.  We ventured out a little bit but not too much.  I noted that there was lots of traffic today along main street.  There was a long line of cars lining up to get into the Lewisville school parking lot for some reason.

Jeep Cherokee Side Mirror and Door Handle

 I ordered a new passenger side mirror for my 91 Jeep Cherokee.  It came today and I put it on this afternoon. In order to put it on, you have to remove the window crank, the arm rest, the door hand and lock combo, and the upholstered side panel.  After that, replacing the mirror is pretty easy.  Three screws hold it on.  Remove the small triangle trim by unscrewing the single screw at the bottom, then remove the trim.  Next remove the 3 screws and replace the mirror. 

Now here is the catch.  Once you remove the inside door handle and lock tab, it is difficult to put them back on.  It is hard to hook up the rods.  There is a small clip that holds each rod in place.  Chances are good that  they are close to being worn out.  They may break with you disconnect the rod to remove the handle.  The secret to putting it back together is to snap the plastic clip onto the hole in the handle, then put the tip of the handle into place.  Using long needle nose pliers or hemostats, or some other tool, insert the wire rod into the clip and snap the lock over the side of the rod.  Do the same with the lock button.

Home made Christmas Quilts

I started making quilts back in 2009 after I purchased a new sewing machine for my wife and she wouldn't use it.  My first quilt was a disaster but I learned.  Here are three Christmas quilts that I made over the next few years.

Since we have all the quilts that we need, I have been making crib style quilts lately and giving them to the Options 360 pregnancy center.  They give free ultra sounds to pregnant women and encourage them to keep their babies rather than choose abortion.

A New Owl for the Yard.

This is an owl that I welded up the other day made of some scrap metal.  I used a shovel, two ball joints off of my Jeep, three square washers from a rail road track and two curly pieces of metal off of some shelf brackets.

I will hang it up on a post along with a "branch" that will pass through the feet.  The branch will be a piece of re-bar painted brown.

Cookies

Susie has been in baking mode for the last few days.  She works so hard and then complains about all the work.  She does make wonderful goodies.  We usually give away nice plates full of goodies to all the neighbors but this year I am wondering if anyone will eat them.  People are so full of irrational fear.

Today we will put the icing on the cookies.

The other day we went to the Dollar Store.  I was leaning on a column outside waiting for Susie to come out.  I was not wearing a mask as usual.  Some young woman came walking along, saw me and stopped short about 20 feet away.  She refused to walk by but started pacing around talking to herself (no she was not talking on the phone.)  After about 5 minutes of walking and pacing and giving me "stink eyes" she went into the store to mix with the big crowd.  Others walked by with no problems.  The walkway is only 12 feet wide.

If you look closely at the cookies you will see that some of them are wearing masks, especially the sugar cookie guys.

Some of the cookies have masks.
But no social distancing.

Today in the local paper there was some typical Covid propaganda.  It is all in the headlines.  Most people only read the headlines.  It said something like "Clark County Cases Exceeds 10,000.  Hospitals are 80% Full"  The implication is that there are currently more than 10,000 cases and that the hospitals are 80% full of Covid patients.  Not true.  The cases are counted from the beginning of the pandemic and the hospitals are mostly full of other types of patients.  

Surveyors in the field.

The surveyors are in the field today and it looks like they are laying out a roadway that will go through to the next neighborhood to the North of us.

My guess is that soon they will start work on putting a road through to it.

This morning I went to Walmart to return a diffuser that I purchased their two weeks ago.  I actually purchased it twice.  The 1st one did not work so I turn it back for a refund and bought another one.  It seemed to work for a while and then we just decided that it was real puny compared to our previous one that we bought on Amazon.  I obtained the refund our new diffuser from Amazon arrived yesterday.  It works great.  I also had to go to Napa and return some extra AT fluid that I purchased for my daughter's car.  Seems like today was a return day.

Shopping at Safeway, I picked up a NY Stripe Roast that was on sale.  When I got it home I cut it into steaks and sealed them using my Food Saver vacuum sealer then they hit the freezer. 

Susie is making Christmas goodies

New glasses. Here is my honey doing her thing baking Christmas goodies and she is sporting her new glasses that came in the mail today. 

My Daughter left her Volvo here last night with the check engine light active.  I used my MaxiDas DS708 to diagnose the codes, clear them and reset the light but this is not a permanent fix.  I also tinkered with some of the sensor wires to check for bad connections.

This evening we watched the new Mulan on TV.  It is not as good as the cartoon in my opinion but it was still good.

I sent this photo and some of this post using the Email method.  I just wanted to try it out.

Flew my drone for a few flights this afternoon.

Goofy Gift Card

 My sister sent me a gift card the other day so I could use it to buy some cheese to send to her.  She cannot buy Tillamook cheese where she lives.  I ended up paying cash for the cheese and just kept the card for my own use since I paid more for the cheese anyway.

Last week I tried to use the card and it was rejected, so I logged into the web site to check the balance.  Sure enough, it showed $60 available.  The next day I bought some diesel fuel for my Jeep and tried the card at the pump.  It worked fine and did not as for the required PIN number....hmmm.  I though OK that's nice.

The next day I went to Ace hardware to buy some stuff and used the card again and it worked great, again not asking for the required PIN number.  A few days passed.

We went to Walmart and had a large grocery bill to pay, a little over $100 so I asked the attendant at the computer check stand to help me with my gift card because I knew the balance was small and I wanted to use it up.  She helped me and made two tries.  Both times the card was rejected.  So I paid up with my regular Visa and we went home.

Yesterday evening I decided to check up on the card to see what happened.  Here it is....   The website claimed that I spent $23.80 at Ace, $42.74 for Fuel, and TWO payments of $36.28 to Walmart for a total of $139.10.  It then deducted the $60 value for the card and left me with a balance of $29.74 still on the card.  Using a spreadsheet I tried many combinations of the numbers and there is NO WAY to come up with $29.74.

I checked my paper receipts.... I actually only spent $41.34 for fuel, and $23.80 at Ace.  So.... how can you start with $60, spend $65.14 and still have a balance of $29.74?  And why did the card pay the whole amount at ACE when the sale exceeded the limit?

How is it that their records show $139.10 of purchases when in reality, the card was rejected?  I tried the card again today at an auto parts store and it worked fine, and asked for the PIN and since I was buying more that $29.74, I had to pay the balance with another card.

Is this just "New Math?"  Hmmm.  I think I figured it out.  The company that owns this card is probably owned by Dominion, the company that makes voting machines.  It is very plain to see why you should not trust a computer to count your votes for the most important office in the world.  Also, you should also never go to Vegas and play "video poker" against a computer.

Shopping today.  We headed out to Walmart in our Jeep.  About a block from home, we encountered an old Russian man standing by his big tricycle looking rather lost.  We stopped and asked if he needed help.  Of course he could not speak English but he pointed to his tricycle chain.  It was off so he could not ride.  He was also so feeble, or tired that he could not bend over to fix it or push the trike either.  I got out and fixed his chain then helped him back on the trike.  He was grateful and pedaled off toward home.

Average crowd at Walmart.  Being a rebel, I wore a mask to get in the door, but once inside, I took it off and put it in my pocket.

This afternoon I finished up a quilt that I have been working on with at "Cat" theme. 

We went for a walk this morning and one of the neighborhood streets was so trashy that Susie wanted to come back with the car and clean it up.  So we got some gloves and some trash bags and headed out.  Did the job in short order.

This afternoon I spent a lot of time welding up an Owl.  It is made out of a shovel, 2 lower ball joints from my Jeep, some curved metal from a shelf bracket, and some RR jamb washers.  It turned out pretty nice.  I found out that it is hard to weld a ball joint onto a shovel.

Tonight I spent all evening trying to order custom tee shirts online.  It ain't easy.  Not if you want a his and hers match that is NOT unisex.  Female Tee's must be fitted not just a potato sack with a logo.  Then you have to match color, font, design, etc.  When you finally go to purchase, then the surprises hit.  Amazing how it goes from $12.95 to $24.95.  That was 3 hours spent.... not very well.

Christmas Decorations

Today we finished up placing out all the Christmas Decorations including the large nativity scene in the living room.  I decided to change out the standard light bulbs that are in each piece and replace them with new LED bulbs from Ace Hardware.  That was an expensive quest....$22 bucks for 6 bulbs.....yikes.

It was sunny for a short while today so I used a bit of that time to paint a couple of welded "Ants" that I had made out of some wire and large RR bolts.

We had some soup for supper and I played D2 this evening while listening to an audio book.

Change your mind about Repentance

They are out there. You see them now and then if you are watching. I’m referring to people

carrying signs about repentance. Is that what God wants us to do....

carry a sign?

I rarely use the word repent because traditionally it has come to mean to “turn from sin.”

Repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation . Luke 24:47 says, “repentance for

forgivness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations.” (NASB) But does it mean

“turn from sin?” If it does, then how many sins would one have to turn from to be saved?

Some? Most? All? Maybe only the sins you know about? How do you turn from something

that is inside of you? That is where sins dwells (Romans 7:20).

If you say that the word repent always means to turn from sin, then you will have a problem

in the Old Testament because you will find that God often repents. (Genesis 6:6 KJV) Does

that mean he turns from sin? No. God is not a sinner.

In the New Testament there are 3 Greek words that are translated repent or repentance,

metanoeo, metanoia, and metamelomai. The basic meaning of all three words is to “change

your mind,” to think differently. You must look closely at how the word is used in its context

to determine the precise meaning of each use.

To be saved, a person must change their mind about what they were trusting in previously

and trust only in Jesus Christ to save them. To believe in Christ means to realize that Jesus

paid for all your sins on the cross and rose again. Believing always involves a change of

mind, that is why it is not necessary to actually say the word “repent” when you tell someone

the gospel. It is included in believing. The stated purpose of the Gospel of John is to produce

faith in those that read it. (John 20:31) Yet, the Gospel of John does not contain the word

“repent”, not even once. That makes perfect sense if the word repent means to “change

your mind.”

If you are honest, you will admit that you have not really turned from ALL your sin. If turning

from it were a requirement for salvation, all would surely be lost. Sin, to one degree or

another, will be right there inside of you until the day you die. (Romans 7:24) Part of our

daily warfare as a Christian is to resist it, turn from it, flee from it, overcome it, and not yield

to it. It is a battle.

When God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), He is not telling them

to turn from sin, He is telling them to change their mind and trust in Christ to receive eternal

life.

DNA Evidence for God

 DNA evidence is often used in criminal proceedings to prove whether or not a suspect was at

the scene of a crime. It is also used to prove that certain convicted criminals were actually

innocent. This can be done because DNA contains unique, meaningful information about the

person from which it came. Coded information.

Meaningful information must come from an intelligent mind, especially if the message is

coded or encrypted. For example, the following pattern is just a random bunch of 1’s and

0’s. It means nothing and it conveys no message at all.

00010100 10001110 10010010 01001001

11101010 01010011 00010110 11010100

00001101 11101001 01100010 11101010

01010111 01101101 10101110 10010010

01110010 00011110 10010110 10100100

01101101 00100100 01111010 10100100

On the other hand, the next pattern is a meaningful binary code.

01001001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01000111 01101111 01100100 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01110110 01100101 01101110 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101000 00101110 

It doesn’t look much different but this set of 1’s and 0’s can be decoded and it has a specific

meaning that can be read and understood. It says, “In the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth”

What is the difference? The first pattern was made by senseless random tapping of the ONE

and ZERO keys of my computer. The second pattern is a string of numbers, actually in

groups of eight, and they were generated by a text to binary converter. The converter was

designed by a programmer and can be used to code and decode information. This pattern

contains a meaningful message that can be read and understood. It required intelligence to

write the conversion program and it required a human mind to compose the message and

convert it to binary using the converter.

The DNA molecule is a complex set of chemicals. It seems impossible that it could

accidentally come into being by chance. But suppose it did, would it do anything? No it

would just be a complex molecule in a pool of primordial soup. Before it could do anything, it

would require some support structure to go with it. But even more important, it would

require some information encoded in its structure, some meaningful information. Where

would this information come from?

DNA contains a code similar to a computer code. Computers uses 1’s and 0’s intelligently

arranged in meaningful sequences by programmers using various languages and code

compilers.

DNA contains 4 chemicals abbreviated ACGT that are used to code information. These

chemicals are arranged in a meaning code comprised of base pairs. This code describes the

particular life form that carries the DNA in every cell. The very simplest life form has about

500,000 base pairs of coded information within its DNA. Human DNA has about

3,000,000,000 base pairs of coded information. This code can be read and understood by

scientists who study DNA. They have even learned how to modify the code to bring about

“beneficial” changes in some plants and animals. This is called genetic engineering.

If the DNA code was just a random pattern of chemicals there would be no message, no

meaning. It would not describe a living being and would not function. Just like the simple

binary code shown above required a human mind to lay it out in a meaningful pattern, a

super intelligence (God) was required to create the information contained in the DNA

molecule.

When you look at the DNA molecule, you are looking at concrete evidence that God exists

and that He created the heavens and earth as he said. Meaningful information must come

from a mind. The DNA molecule with its complex code of life came from the mind of God.

Easy 13 Question Quiz

 National Anthem Quiz…

1.  What was the original name of the poem  that became the national anthem

a.  Star Spangled Banner b.  Wave Old Glory

c.  Defence of Ft M’Henry d.  The Battle of New Orleans

2.  What year was the national anthem written

a.  1776 b.  1812 c.  1778 d.  1814

3.  Who wrote the national anthem

a.  Ben Franklin b.  France Key 

c.  William Beanes d.  Major George Amistead

4.  How many verses does the national anthem have?

a.  4 b.  3 c.  2 d.  1

5.  Who made the flag that inspired the writing of the national anthem?

a.  Betsy Ross b.   Rebecca Young

c.  Mary Pickersgill d.  Caroline Armistead

6.  The flag that inspired the national anthem had:

a.  13 Stripes and 13 Stars b.  15 Stripes and 13 Stars

c.  13 Stripes and 15 Stars d.  15 Stripes and 15 Stars

7.  How large were the stars of the now famous flag.

a.  6 inches b.  24 inches

c.  12 inches d.  8 inches

8.  During the night of the now famous Battle, how many flags few over the star shaped fort.

a.  2, but not at the same time b.  14, including one for each colony

c.  5, one at each point of the star shaped fort d.  Just One flag

9.  The final assembly of the large flag took place in what building?

a.  St. Jude’s Church b.  Johnson’ livery stable

c.  Claggett’s Brewery d.  Baltimore Courthouse

10.  How many Americans died in the Battle that fateful night

a. 409 killed, 1200 wounded b. 4 killed, 24 wounded

c.  24 killed, 400 wounded d. 12 killed, 49 wounded

11.  What popular tune became the tune for the national anthem

a.  Greensleaves b.  Sheep may safely graze by Bach

c.  To Anecreon in Heaven d.  Our God a shelter from the storm

12.  What year did the national anthem become the National Anthem?

a.  1778 b.  1814 c.  1896 d. 1931

13.  For what  work was the author of the Anthem also known?

a. Writer the Pledge of Allegiance b.  Founder of Baltimore Flag Company

c.  Co-founder of American Sunday School Union d.  Founder  China Inland Mission

Mowing and Raking

 Today, after a rather laid back morning with breakfast of waffles, Susie and I headed to the church to do some lawn care.  I jumped on the Bad Boy mower and used it to rake all the leaves in various parts of the campus.  Susie spent a lot of time cleaning up the area in front of the church entrance.  She wanted more time so I proceeded to mow the whole campus lawn except for the ball field.  After mowing, Susie still wanted to clean up the cedar tree droppings around the machine shop parking area, so we did that too.  It was a hard afternoon of work.

This evening we relaxed and watch two episodes of The Mandelorian.  Afterward, Susie played some video games while I worked on my blog.  We listened to a couple of short stories in the form of audio books.