charles statman

boring model airplane post:

Walgreens Tissue Update: Because I am CHEAP, sometimes my cheapness offends even ME - I cannot pass up a good bargain, the Walgreens Inspirations (tm) white tissue is on sale at half price. $2.50/100 sheets. I now have over 500 sheets of the stuff.

Inspired by Tom, I built a shrinking frame. (lesson, be sure to measure ID and OD - before cutting, and yes, I built another one to maximize space and minimize wasted tissue) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Hap0gT9Pg Shown here being glued with super duper antique framing jig inherited from my dad who used to make frames and canvas stretchers for my mom - who was an artist.

Glue-sticked the walgreens special to the frame, let dry, sprayed with water, and this is the stretched-tight, grain-visible, ready to cut and mount.
NO, it is not super duper double-throw-down Japanese Esaki.
NO, it doesnt come in colors, only white
NO, it is not the lightest-trickkest stuff in the world
NO, I have not learned how to feed it through my inkjet (as clearly shown in Tom's video, to put cool graphics or color on it....

but! $2.50 for 100 sheets??? that's @0.025/sheet?? I cannot go too far wrong...

If ya live by a Walgreens - you owe it to yourself to drive by and pickup some while its still on clearance.

My dad was infatuated with Zeppelins. Specifically the Graf Zeppelin. LZ127.



he had a full set of first day stamps that "flew" on each of the zeppelins.. at one point, they were worth enough to stamp collectors to have paid off most of my college. They are in my safe now, he left em to me with a letter and instructions on what they were worth, and how to sell if I wanted to. Nah, they will go to Saul for sure. he can toss em.


When I was a kid, we went to Dallas one weekend every month to visit the grandparents. We would alternate staying with my maternal Grandmother, Grandfather and Aunt one month, then my paternal Grandmother the next month. Really, my folks loved seeing their parents, but they also would go out with friends, and leave us with the grandparents. a good arrangement.


every so often, I'd get to ride around with dad on Saturday. We went and did some errands for his mom, or hung out with Uncle Irving. Went to movies, went to the Jewlery shop (a pawn shop they knew the owner, he made my dad some awesome deals on high quality, but super ugly stuff my mom loved)

and on super-duper-special saturdays? -- just me and dad? --- we would stop at a hobby shop. I am not sure where it was, I think Highland Park. I know it was in a fancy-schmancy neighborhood, in an upscale strip shopping center. Sometimes he'd buy me a wood and paper kite that we would fly once we got home to longview. My pop was one of the best at rigging stick and paper kites. we could fly out as many rolls of string as we had.

anyhow, this hobby shop had a stick and tissue kit of the Graf Zeppelin. I think he wanted $40 for it, but in the 70s? money was a little tight, and dad would not just spend money willy-nilly, unless it was for stamps. Which, he collected, catalogued, resold, and had a nice profitable side-business from.

I can remember him hemming and hawing, asking the owner to drop the price $5. this went on for a few years. We would stop in, the same Graf Zeppelin model would be there. Pop would beg, the owner wouldn't budge, and the kit got dustier and dustier.

one weekend we went, and there was the dreaded "going out of business" sign. he was retiring, and no one wanted to run the shop for him. Half Price, CASH ONLY. --- dad did not have it, we drove like crazy to UNcle Irv's house to get cash, and drove back.... to see? a teenager walking out of the shop with the Zep under his arm.... Dad almost cried. ALMOST. He was super badass, and did not cry.

for years, he would tell the story of the Graf Zeppelin, and how he SHOULD have bought that kit.

flash forward a few years. Well, more than a few. I was out of college, married, divorced, moved to California... and? I saw a company, Megatech, was reproducing the Graf Zeppelin kit. I bought one INSTANTLY from Tower Hobbies online, and had it shipped to my dad.

Mom said he cried when he opened the box. He called me shortly after to thank me. And told me I was an okay son.

Do NOT spend your life wanting something, and let it slip through your hands

be a good kid, if your folks are still alive - buy that thing for them, if you can



may he rest in peace.

so my knee is trying to grow more bone

i need to have the excess trimmed down surgically

the amazing Dr. Barry is ready - just waiting on the insurance

in the pic, south of the patella (kneecap) you see a shady looking area with some dots? yeah, thats excess bone growth

yay me??

Today I arrived early for work. While I was waiting for people to get in, I picked up trash.

for the last 2 months, the engineers have been dumping boxes and pallets in the parking lot. I ask "why the F are you not taking it to the dumpster?" and get some BS response about being busy.

my boss? seems okay with this. I dont know why.

today? i was done. I picked it up, and filled 3 dumpsters.




before



during





after





you can bet I told every engineer I saw, their momma doesn't work there, and they better start cleaning up their own messes

pal is asking for help naming a new dog. Reminded me of a story decades ago, one of my artist mom's artist pal's family had a dog named "thats not our dog" whenver anyone visited, the conversation was the same: What a cute dog, whats its name thats not our dog whose dog is it ours well whats its name thats not our dog. etc... they called her "thats" for short. I remember Tom Livesay, he was director of the Longview Museum of Fine Arts they had a daughter named Heather, who we called Feather wonder where she is now the daughter, not the dog ... pretty sure the dog has passed.

 how can Saul be starting High School?  he is way too young for that

but?   today - I dropped him off early, his demand - so he could look around and check things out

I hope he makes a friend or two. 
I hope he does not come home with an 'atomic wedgie'
I hope he learns, has fun, gets good grades, and pursues his interests

i hope he has a better time than I did in High school