What I did today -instead- of Rocketry.

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gdjsky01 said:
Day 52...
Ah this one is simple.
Served court document at door. I am being sued for CC non-payment. Lovely. I don't have enough to worry about... any lawyers out there?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure of the details (and its none of my/the forum's business for sure) but when I lost my mother-in-law years ago, I was suprised to learn that the credit card companies basically voided the debt once they found out and the proper paperwork was submitted. My father-in-law was still alive and far from poor, so I assumed he would have needed to pay the debt, but as the credit cards were in my MIL's name and not both of their names, the debt was forgiven.

I don't know if this applies in your situation, but if it does, I would try to contact someone at the company to see if that is how it is handled in your part of the country/modern times.

While I do understand that banks/credit card companies do need to pursue getting paid the money they are owed, I find it horrific how companies treat honest people who are going through hardships. In my mind (I'm probably wrong, but its the way I want the world to work. . . ) they should have contacted you and said "Jeff, we understand you're going through hell right now. We do want our money, but give us a call in a year to figure out how we can square up. We're going to cancel the card for now, but won't charge interest. We're giving you a chance to get life back in order as best it can ever be, but please don't screw us over later."

I know that scenario can never happen anymore, but I hope that it could have happened once upon a time and wish it could again. I hate to see you getting kicked again while you're down.

Stay strong.

Sandy.
 
Well lets see

Day 52 continued.
* Called an attorney who is open on Saturdays with good reviews. He said "You make too much for Chapter 7, so your best bet is Chapter 13. But I don't do Chapter 13. Here is a guy that does..." I have no problem with trying to reorganize my debt. No problem at all. Just so long as it is not crushing me monthly.
* Took a bunch of donations to Goodwill again. They sort of know me by name.
* Took a bunch of stuff to trash.
* Well this is gonna be a SHOCKER. I cooked something. That's right.
  • I sprayed a pyrex square (yeah square) pan with PAM and cracked six eggs into it.
  • I poured 1 ounce of water in to the instapot, and put the pan on pressure cook for 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime I chopped 1/2 an onion (only one left that was okay I think, the other two had soft dark centers)
  • chopped two stalks of celery, (When I say chopped, understand I am not like a chef (yet?). I was lucky I did not hurt myself)
  • took 3/4 a cup of of mayo,
  • some paprika,
  • some chives,
  • some yelow mustard,
  • and mixed all of that in a bowl.
  • Once the eggs were supposedly done, I chopped it up in small bits using my newly acquired chef's knife recommended by America's Test Kitchen and mixed the egg into the bowl. Viola' Egg Salad.
I tasted it and it tastes REALLY good. But have not yet eaten a sandwich with it. So if I die from food poisoning, you'll know what happen.
Then I cried. Because I THINK she'd have been proud of me. And I wish she was here to celebrate.
 
Sandy H. said:
I'm not sure of the details (and its none of my/the forum's business for sure) but when I lost my mother-in-law years ago, I was suprised to learn that the credit card companies basically voided the debt once they found out and the proper paperwork was submitted. My father-in-law was still alive and far from poor, so I assumed he would have needed to pay the debt, but as the credit cards were in my MIL's name and not both of their names, the debt was forgiven.

I don't know if this applies in your situation, but if it does, I would try to contact someone at the company to see if that is how it is handled in your part of the country/modern times.


Stay strong.

Sandy.
Click to expand...
She applied for and got debt in here name. Those I write a BRIEF letter to them with a copy of the death cert and tell them she left no estate, which is true. However she applied for and got debt in my name as well. I was blind. I love here nonetheless. She was using credit to keep us afloat. And she was not well. There were opioids for pain and such. I should have taken control. But she considered it a source of pride that she handled the bills. I make enough that apparently CC companies were will to simply say "Here, take our card." HOW she got CC cards in HER name is a mystery. She had no income for the past 20 years (other and a paltry SSI).
 
Cape Byron said:
Added to my recovery tools. Family gave me a Ryobi pole saw for my 64th trip around the sun. Takes the same batteries as the pruning saw I got a few weeks ago and extends to 2.9 metres (9.5'). Should be quite the handy beast.

View attachment 585601
Click to expand...
I've got the 240V version of that. Works well. Really tests your core muscles out at full extension.
 
I went to a swap meet. Took some stuff to sell. Knives, guns, gun rests and more. Sold a couple of knives. Made $70. Showed my $1500 custom builds to some people. Both men and women. Talked about the price range. I had parts lists for both of the builds. If someone wanted to check prices of the parts they will see that my price is competitive. Was asked if I had a card. I didn't expect that. I wrote my contact information on a couple of 3x5 cards. Came home and ordered business cards on Amazon. Now my rant. I can not believe some of the things people wear out in public. I felt like the black sheep in a sea of white. Yikes. I won't go into specifics because I could write the rest of the night. Suffice it to say. If your belly hangs over your Daisy Dukes and your halter top doesn't cover your belly maybe something different might be a good idea. One guy, not to be sexist, looked like he hadn't bathed or changed his clothes for a week. I just stood there shaking my head. That's why there is a saying around here. Only in Pahrump. I'm going to Oregon on the 24th. Every time I'm there I say to my friend. Normal people live here. Playing golf with the same guys at the same course. This is my 30th year. We have been going every year and then Covid caused a pause. 12 guys this year. Three nights accommodation and two days of unlimited golf with a cart. $465. We used to do three days of golf. 54 holes a day. Now we are older, so two days. 36 holes a day and we are playing the forward tees. I swear there must be something wrong with my balls. They don't go as far as they used to. And I'm swinging just as hard as I used to. So it's the balls fault. Right.
 
Friday night went to the theater to see Rocky Horror Show. Must be 35 years since I saw it last time.

Found some cheap tickets to see "& Juliette" in a couple of weeks too.

Mowed the lawn here, and poisoned the grass at the rear of the property we will be building on. I won't have to mow that back lawn again for a while.

Been working towards getting my driving lights hooked up on the Jeep. I ran out of steam a couple of years back when doing the wiring to the dash because it was going to be difficult. It is still difficult. Been battling with it but after about six hours I am at the point where I can cut a hole for the new switch now.

Crimped up a loom for the new switch.
20230611_153805.jpg
Worked out where to get the relevant signals off the Body Control Module.

So all I have left to do is wire the car side of the loom to a plug and to the relay under the bonnet (hood), splice into the BCM looms, cut a hole in the dash, put everything back together. Will get to those during the week.
 
gdjsky01 said:
I THINK she'd have been proud of me. And I wish she was here to celebrate.
Click to expand...
She would have been. She'd also be proud of the fact that you're not giving up. It hurts. A buttload (Southernism for you underprivileged folks) of hurt. But you're still here. Someone has to remember her and there's nobody better than you to do that.
 
Resoldered a connector in our 55" Vizio TV that gave up a couple days ago.

The LED board plugs directly in to the power supply board here. It probably gets warm, but there's no stress on this connector. I guess there could be a little vibration, but both boards are screwed down tightly. Just low quality solder here, wrong temp, or what?

IMG_9565.JPG


IMG_9566.JPG
 
tsmith1315 said:
Resoldered a connector in our 55" Vizio TV that gave up a couple days ago.

The LED board plugs directly in to the power supply board here. It probably gets warm, but there's no stress on this connector. I guess there could be a little vibration, but both boards are screwed down tightly. Just low quality solder here, wrong temp, or what?

View attachment 585713


View attachment 585714
Click to expand...
Did it use the no-lead ROHS solder? That's caused a lot of problems that only show up over time.
 
tsmith1315 said:
Just low quality solder here, wrong temp, or what?
Click to expand...
Cheap phenolic PCB, which looks to be single-sided. They do that to keep costs to an absolute minimum. That means there is no barrel though the board to support the joint, leaving just an annulus of solder around the pin to the pad. Throw in some temperature cycling and the brittle crystaline nature of solder, and maybe a little movement, you get cracks around the pin. I suspect the Solder Conservation Society also had some input to the root-cause on this one.

[Edit] Had a closer look and it is double-sided. I assume the soldering was done at too lower heat, or too quickly, and didn't drive the solder through the vias properly. Inspection of the top side would likely fail IPC-610 soldering standard.
 
Day 53.

OMG I woke up in a funk. Just massively depressed. Did not want to even THINK about living this day or getting out of bed. But I got the heck out of bed about 10am. I always try to avoid 9:44am.

  • Gathered up as best I can all the debt papers attributed to me (in my name)
  • Gathered up as best I can all the debt papers attributed to her (in her name)
  • Just CC debt. Not even the any medical debt not covered (apparently) by insurance. Like $3k for an ambulance.
  • I just figured that and my income statement will be what any attorney will want to see.
  • Looked around. OMG. Not a single soul in the country (or anywhere else) is gonna take pity on my... not with my income... I just was blind and did not see. Can't be a unique story, but no 'programs' cater to people in my income bracket.

Then what?
  • Went to the basement (sort of) and gathered three trash bins worth of stuff. Took it to the curb for pickup tomorrow.

Tomorrow I presume I'll get a call back from an attorney. If I don't I'll make more calls. I have < 30 days according to the cover letter to respond to the lawsuit,

Though about I MAY need to find some counseling. Right now, the sadness and loneliness is not getting better. It's not getting worse. But when Penny leaves me, it will. But grief counseling will not stay the creditors.

Painted the lower tube of the @AeroTech Astrobee-D flat white and f'd it up. Nothing some sandpaper won't fix. Unlike me. Oh - wrong thread. Oh well. JHC I miss her.
 
John Kemker said:
She would have been. She'd also be proud of the fact that you're not giving up. It hurts. A buttload (Southernism for you underprivileged folks) of hurt. But you're still here. Someone has to remember her and there's nobody better than you to do that.
Click to expand...
Well John, the thought of giving up crosses my mind now and then. But then... well... I am either not that brave, or not that cowardice. Both might be apropo
 
gdjsky01 said:
Though about I MAY need to find some counseling. Right now, the sadness and loneliness is not getting better. It's not getting worse. But when Penny leaves me, it will. But grief counseling will not stay the creditors.
Click to expand...
Staying in touch with friends (like us and others) and family (like your sister) is a great place to start. But if you think you need more help, by all means get it. There's only so much that well meaning amateurs can do for you.

And I'll try one last time then stop badgering you: tell us more about Kim. Stuff like how she taught you a course in wine appreciation; there have to be more things like that to tell. Of course you miss her, and you always will. Tell us so much about her that we can miss her with you. (Because, as a well meaning amateur, I'm sure that will help.)
 
OverTheTop said:
Cheap phenolic PCB, which looks to be single-sided. They do that to keep costs to an absolute minimum. That means there is no barrel though the board to support the joint, leaving just an annulus of solder around the pin to the pad. Throw in some temperature cycling and the brittle crystaline nature of solder, and maybe a little movement, you get cracks around the pin. I suspect the Solder Conservation Society also had some input to the root-cause on this one.

[Edit] Had a closer look and it is double-sided. I assume the soldering was done at too lower heat, or too quickly, and didn't drive the solder through the vias properly. Inspection of the top side would likely fail IPC-610 soldering standard.
Click to expand...

Single sided. I usually reduce photo resolution for forum posts, so it's not too clear.
 
gdjsky01 said:
Well John, the thought of giving up crosses my mind now and then. But then... well... I am either not that brave, or not that cowardice. Both might be apropo
Click to expand...
Jeff,
Don't go down that path. That's called "stinkin thinkin". Could instead of should. Try to remove those negative words. Fight for every second of life. One minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. Don't give up. Like you have said, one foot in front of the other.
 
Sooner Boomer said:
I think I've got everything useful copied over. I've found some *amazing* stuff I'd forgotten about. I'll have to see what I can post.
Click to expand...
Make external backups of anything important, multiple backups if you have anything really important.
I've had old laptops that could be completely shut down by holding down the power button. I thought this was somewhat universal among laptops but maybe not.
 
The non-rocketry today was mostly monitoring Kilauea eruption. I met my wife in Hawaii in '85, after the '83 eruption started. It was still an almost nightly news item on the local news in '85 yet. We got back to Hawaii about a year ago and got to the park and was able to watch the lava fountains at night. When the eruption restarted this week, I started pulling up the links for the webcams, thermal cams and live feeds again. It's just so fascinatingly to watch.
 

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