Steve Zoma

Not all hot melt glue is the same.

We have an industrial hot melt glue gun at work and it’s much hotter and uses bigger sticks. It glues a lot more than my wimpy home one.

But glues are different too. You can have plastic, wood, or paper hot melt glues to get better adhesion. So you can get woodworking hot melt glue and do some woodworking crafts or intricate origami.

And I use hot melt glue for my book binding machines, which is a fast cheap way to do perfect bookbinding EXACTLY like what you buy in a bookstore.

It’s used in industry a lot because it’s cheap, works and versatile!

I worked for the railroad for many years and in a few years will collect railroad retirement so I have a soft spot for trains. However, it just does not make sense to ride them here.

It comes down to money, times and convenience.

A few months ago we went to New York City and did NOT go by train. The train out of Maine leaves once per day, and with so many stops takes hours to get to NYC. Worse yet is the North and South stations in Boston which are a few miles apart. That means offloading on the north end, getting a cab or ride to the south station and then going again.

The alternative?

A bus with snacks and bathroom, direct into the heart of NYC that is half the cost, faster and put us midtown where our hotel was. It cost $84 per round trip ticket for the bus.

I love trains, but until trains start really competing with other modes of travel in terms
Of convenience it will be a struggle for them.

thomas rubino wrote:For the first twenty years we lived here, I only had a hand-drawn map of the septic tank's location.
Of course, eventually, the tank backed up and needed pumping.
The Dig was on... OMG, what a nightmare.
Large holes to nowhere in our driveway. We finally had to uncover the line from the house and follow it until we located where the tank really was.
After two days of digging, we finally found the tank!
I was concerned about what kind of "tank" might be buried. Since the cabin was built in 1930, there was a significant chance that our tank would be a 1928 Ford with the drain pipe stuffed inside...
Thank goodness it was a real metal septic tank. The next issue would be whether the tank was rusted out.
The pump truck was called, and shit started moving; as it emptied, I was happy to see that our tank was still solid!

Now I knew for sure where our tank was located.
I foolishly thought it would be 20 years or more before I needed to pump it again... so... I buried it...
Think again, bucko... a few years later, I had trouble again.
Digging up the tank was not a big deal, except the 4' of snow on top...
This time, the tank did not need to be pumped; it had become paperbound at the entry point.
Some "plunging" with a stick had things moving again.
Having muddy, frozen dirt, I opted to use free sand to cover the tank top and put plywood over the rest.

The following spring, I fixed it for easy access.
A 55-gallon olive barrel with a removable screw-on lid was purchased.
I cut the bottom off at the appropriate height (gaining a new drain pan for the shop) and rounded the cut to match the curve on the septic tank.
Mud and snow were long gone, and I used the sand and new dirt to backfill.
Now, just at ground level, I can open the barrel, reach down with the fancy hook I made, and open the tank for inspection or cleaning!
Takes about 5 minutes!  
It beats the hell out of the two days of digging the first time!

You were actually VERY lucky as septic tanks should be pumped out every 5 years. If they are not the solids that typically float on top get flushed into the drainage pipes called the leach field plugging the tiny holes in them. When that happens you need a new leach field where I live the cost being around $7000 . That is just the leach field as the backing up can do damage inside the house.

It really is sound practice to pump out the septic tanks every 5 years as it only costs $150 to do so. Also be sure to cut down any trees an anywhere close to the leach field as find roots grow towards the leached water ruining your leach field. This will save yourself thousands of dollars too.

I’ve cut wood commercially on and off for 35 years and I have never rebuilt one.

A chainsaw is so cheap compared to what it does, whether justifying its cost via the price of a load of logs or what a homeowner saves in oil or gas savings, that $800 chainsaw really owes you nothing by the time it’s worn out.

The last saw I bought a 365 Husqvarna the dealer told me it was a throw away saw. To use it for a year, trade it in for $300, and buy another saw. It just made the most sense.

If you need to replace the lower end (crank bearing) it is because you are using your saw when it is dull. A dull saw heats up the chain which heats up the bar which bolts to the bar super close to the crank bearing. This is what kills chainsaws. By keeping your saw always sharp you not only are more productive but also extending the our saws life by years and years. It is also very unsafe to operate a dull saw. Nothing good comes from a dull chainsaw.

Josh McDonald wrote:I've written a few novels and self-published one. I've also done a lot of reading and reviewing of other people's self-published novels, so here are my thoughts from that experience.

1. Almost all of the self-published novels I've read were weak. Most had ideas that could be made into a great story but missed the mark on execution--usually due to weak characters. My best guess is that they didn't get good editing or were unwilling to do as much work as their editors suggested. I look at my rough draft as about the 40% mark on writing a good book, as I think some fall into the trap of thinking a rough draft means "almost done".
2. People often recommend learning to format for e-book yourself, but you can also have it done for a couple hundred dollars, so it's really a time vs. money question. I spent the money, but I think the right choice is individual.

I may be available to read an early draft and give feedback: I say "may" because I am careful about committing future time, but I'd also like to help in your mission (and hopefully, I'll simply enjoy reading it). Feel free to PM me when you're ready, or maybe I'll see it on this thread.

I am not so sure on this. I have always said like any creativity there is a huge difference in being discovered and having talent. Take for instance Steven King, he never thought he was good enough and if it had not been for his wife Tabitha sending in his first manuscript he might never have been discovered. I have 20 books that I have done from Legal Thrillers, to Romance, to Childrens books and Memoirs. But that does not mean a person in Tanzania is a bad writer. They may be way better than me, just never to be discovered.

But the things you cite change too on the genre being written about. THE most prolific, successful writer EVER, Agatha Christie SUCKED at characterization, in fact she admitted her novels were void of good characterization, but she did mysteries where she focused on the plot because that was what her readers wanted. But she could not have gotten away with that had she written a lot of legal thrillers where characterization is everything.

Myself I view myself more of a story teller then I do a writer. Writing to me is just how I get my story across to others, but it is all about the story. In fact that is why I started my own publishing company, I HATED how the modern day publishers only care about marketing and not how the story is put on paper. I understand why, but I have two absolutes in my writing:

Focus on making the story the best it can be
Never forget the reader

But while I do not have time to disclose this now, people can print their own books and using the equipment they already have at HOME. A laptop, printer, a few snap clamps, glue, a laminator and a cutter is all that is needed to have a book that is identical to what you buy on the shelf at a bookstore. I even emboss, deboss my covers but granted that takes a cricket machine.

So everyone... WRITE... because you can get it published even if it means doing it yourself.

When we had a commercial farm we went on vacation. As the saying goes, the best time for a vacation is when you don’t have the time to take one.

We had sheep but went on a vacation during lambing season and paid some farm sitters. It was good for them and us and had no over-mortality from it.

And don’t forget, as farmers you can deduct 50% of the vacation off your income taxes!!!

You can flat ship a book at #2 rate for around $10 via the us postal service.

They do have a cheaper $4 rate I can get that is book rate but often say it is only library to library rates.

Vanity publishing is a known scam because YOU pay them to publish your book. But what they really make money on is overcharging you for editing, printing, promotions and those sort of costs to the point where they make so much money on the author they could care less if that actually sell your book.

It’s easy to not get scammed with book publishing: they pay you and you never pay them.

It’s just tough because you have on average one in a 200 chance of being accepted. With 1 million new books every year completion is fierce.

The book publishing market is really archaic and needs to change.

Awesome.

I just wrote a novel too about Permiculture. It is in its second printing now and reviews have been very positive so far.

I got the good stuff in: rocket mass heaters, underground houses, micro hydro, etc

People often forget how powerful words can really be but they hold immense power.

Good for you!