It’s Day 5 of the rather large pool deck repair project, in which every morning I clean a section or two of the pool deck, use the new sprayer to apply Cool Deck, a thick paint. On the section I painted the day before, I then apply a clear sealer. Each needs to dry for at least 24 hours. It’s tedious work, involving lots of prep and cleaning to keep the paint sprayer functioning – those things are a needy tool. Today I should finish, and hopefully won’t have to do this again for 18 months, maybe spring 2028. About 15 months ago I paid a company a stupid amount of money to do this same work, mostly because I had no clue what had to be done after the first re-leveling of the concrete slabs (that involved lots of holes drilled in the slabs, driving the need for surface refinishing). But I learned, and now have traded my own labor for another five figure payout to someone else.

Things have kind of come full circle. When I started working after college, there was no money to pay anyone to do anything. I did it all myself, from the car’s oil changes to house painting and kitchen remodeling. I could afford tools and basic supplies, but not human labor. Then I started making money and having very little free time, so I hired people to do those things. Now I have LOTS of time, so doing many of these things myself is again feasible and in this case, very cost effective. I don’t love the work I’m putting in on the pool, but I do get the satisfaction of knowing I’ve saved a lot.

During the afternoons this week I’ve rested and read a bit, including a very difficult to read book, The Sixth Nik. I bought it at Carmichael’s because it looked interesting, but didn’t do any real research on it. Oops. It started well, but quickly devolved into a Lovecraftian body horror story that was hard to read. I finished it, but I sure can’t recommend it. The author, Daniel Kraus, has a big imagination but…not my cuppa tea.

Here’s an article from The New Republic that made me smile. MAGA types have hosted a “Freedom Fest”, a MAGA music festival, for the last few years. This year’s festival featuring Kid Rock (ugh!) was to be held in KY, but it has been cancelled due to lack of interest. From the article:

The Freedom Fest began in 2022 and has drawn large crowds in the past, while featuring speakers like Donald Trump Jr., Candace Owens, and Eric Trump. But this year saw a massive drop in VIP ticket sales and general interest, possibly due to Trump’s horrendous approval rating, rising costs tied to the Iran war, or an oversaturation of MAGA events (like that barely watched Republican midterm convention).

Once again, everything Convict Donny touches dies. Made me smile, because we don’t need that shit in Kentucky.

There’s a lot of discouraging political news this week, and I won’t bother to chronicle it all. Tariffs, the Iran War, Donny’s embarrassing speech at the UN, California’s capitulation to Paramount/CBS, the White House media ban, soaring gas and diesel prices, ongoing corruption of every single federal Cabinet, ongoing atrocities committed by the American Gestapo, ICE…the zone is indeed flooded with shit. I’d say Convict Donny has finally succeeded in distracting us away from the Epstein Files. Where does one start in trying to fix it, any of it? Voting, I suppose. The midterms can’t get here soon enough. Same with UK basketball season.