Spring Update

Well another 6 months has raced by since I last visited Desert Madness. Early this month my company terminated me, since our employee manual says they can if I've been off work for any reason for 6 months. While I did make a couple of efforts to return to work there was just too much damage to my knee and the pain was too distracting for me to continue test driving safely. My surgery was on Jan 14th and while I'm having good results with PT, my knee is basically too far gone for exercises to help much. My surgeon say when-not if, for a knee replacement. I'm wondering if Worker's Compensation will pick up the tab? Doubt it. I hope they make a fair settlement for dragging the process along so far that I lost my job as a result.

So, now I have some time on my hands. Desert Madness is sure to follow.

My objectives for the near term are:

Spring cleaning of the entire spread and reorganizing my workshop.

It has long been a dream of mine to build a wooden sailboat big enough to take out on the ocean for a little coastal cruising and to enjoy some of my favorite lakes in California. The first question is if I'm physically capable of pulling it off. So, I intend to build a less ambitious boat project. A 17 foot or so outboard using all the same techniques required for building the ideal boat will come into play. If I can build the smaller utility boat, I will at least then have a durable and usable boat for fishing and exploring (and later sale, perhaps). Then I'll start on my sailboat...If I live that long!

Ham radio projects:

I upgraded to General Class Amateur Radio operator last summer and am looking forward to making the final upgrade to Extra Class. So, my goal is to build a first class ham shack with DC to Daylight radio coverage and the ability to work all modes. Naturally, top shelf Ham gear is painfully expensive so judicious shopping, scrounging and home-brewing are all part of the mix. Of course then I'll be spending more time in the radio shack.

Bus conversion:

I bought a 40 foot transit bus (1975 Flxible Transit Coach) around the time my knees started failing, seems like so long ago, in 2004. I have much, much work to do on it. Next post we'll go over the bus in some detail. If you want Desert Madness I got your Desert Madness right here...