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layered hyper-tempo melodies
Saturday, May 31 2008
This morning there was Bluejay in one of the pines near the south deck, where Julius the cat (aka Stripey) was sitting on his haunches, minding his own business but nevertheless watching. The Blue Jay was quietly grumbling at Stripey, though at first it wasn't clear that it was the bird that was producing the strange bubbling and twittering noises. Its astounding that such an ordinary North American bird, one not especially known for its singing, can produce such a quivering, boiling, constantly-changing din of non-melodic noises overlain with the shimmering brushwork of layered hyper-tempo melodies. Had I not been so close, I would have completely missed the subtle sonic performance. People aren't in the habit of paying attention to birds, and a great deal of their everyday brilliance goes unnoticed.
While Gretchen made and a series of phone calls (and sent faxes) to New Jersey regarding the problematic paperwork of our replacement hatchback, I made a run to the Hurley dump for the first time in months. This time I carried some pieces of the old destroyed hatchback, including two of the largest pieces. It was a simple matter to toss them in with the other iron scrap; someone else had already thrown in a perfectly good rear hatch of another hatchback. It wasn't the only seemingly-good stuff that people seemed to be throwing out. The dump employees had assembled a pallet full of computer equipment, including a number of Macintoshes. One guy showed up while I was there to throw out his music keyboard, complete with stand.
As always, the visit to the dump was a special occasion for the dogs Sally and Eleanor, who were lavished by the staff with treats. But I had to keep yelling at them to get the fuck out of people's way.
I have a couple welding projects working their way through the pipeline. One is a second version of the metal "match storage" box that I'll be embedding into the front of the woodstove pedestal. I made this one using a bending brake, which allowed me to get the geometry of the hatchback-derived sheet metal nearly true. Also, this time I sanded the metal extensively before bending it so it would be easier to weld. When I was all done welding it, I sanded it some more and then electroplated it with zinc.
The other project is to make a special version of the loop handle which I use to pull the laboratory window closed. There isn't much room on the window's narrow wooden frame for a handle, so I'd put the handle on the bottom in such a way that an incautious person, putting his fingers too far through the loop, could guillotine them in the window frame while pulling the window shut. For the new handle, then, I've welded on a piece of hatchback sheet metal to form a fence at the bottom, making it so fingers cannot protrude all the way through.
As I worked out in the shop, I was occasionally attacked by tiny little flies that left large, painful welts. I don't remember those little fuckers from previous seasons.
The old laboratory window handle with its guillotine danger (right) as well as the new one with the welded fence.
Me holding the new handle, showing its smooth (but discolored) lower surface. That teeshirt I'm wearing reads, "Support Casino Gambling in Woodstock." It was printed by a well-known Woodstock shit stirrer who goes by the name of "Chief." Behind me, on the salvaged ottoman, lies Marie (aka the Baby).
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