Oh, Crap! I want another hobby!

On our way back from South Carolina, we stopped in Bryan to visit Dad's Aunt Mallie. It was a nice visit, and for the first time I realized that Mallie was only 10 years older than Dad. Anyway, as we were leaving, Mallie gave us a painting she had done a few years earlier.

A couple of years ago, Mom's Aunt Virginia passed away and Mom brought home a painting she had done. Now I want to learn to paint. Damn!

I have always been a fan of Bob Ross. A decade ago, he was a fixture on the local PBS station, right before the cooking shows. We'd always watch him start with a blank canvas and in 30 minutes have a completed painting. Now that's my kind of painting. Should fit in with my attention deficent problem.

So, I'm going to teach myself to paint. Just what I need. Another hobby.

Radio installation blues

I bought a new radio for my van. The way my finances are going, it could be another year, at least, before I can afford to think about a car. So, I need to replace the old one that doesn't work.

Back in the late 80s, I used to install radios at the drop of a hat. And equalizers. And speakers.

Then I stopped buying radios.

For the last three days I have been working on the preperatory steps. One night I assembled the adapter for my van. One night, I connected the wiring adapter. Tonight, I removed the old radio, and an old add-on thing that hasn't worked in a while. While trying to remove it, I decided to cut the wires. I cut all three wires at the same time and made what Adam Savage of the MythBusters calls the Magic Blue Smoke. However, whenever you make the Magic Blue Smoke, something electronic stops working. Oops.

Well, the radio works, but IT DOESN'T FIT!

Time to walk away. I'll mess with again in the morning.

Argh!