Aww, what a lonely little log. Needs some company.

He wasn't alone for long

Project: Resume weight/resistance sessions
Status: Absolutely Pathetic

The day before yesterday my PICC-line was removed and I was cleared to resume training sessions the next day. After over a month and a half off, I expected some muscle strength/mass and endurance loss. A gross understatement, as it turns out. I knew I was unlikely to hit 12 solid full pushups per set, and didn't. I didn't even hit 10. First set I managed 8, the final three being questionable. Set two I struggled for 5. Third set was a goose egg. I resorted to "knee pushups", which I should be able to do twenty of in my sleep. I struggled for 10. Dumbbell exercises were no better, with some scares when one arm or the other totally gave out during a "lift". My Bullworker and resistance sets went better since those somewhat adjust to whatever I'm able to do.

Ever a glutton for punishment, I attempted a traditional "light" session this morning. (Tomorrow will be a day off, weight/resistance-wise.) Which makes sense since it utilizes lighter weights. Still, I again goose-egged full pushups, resorting to knee pushups, of which I did two sets of 12.

Oops, just got a call from the place that installed/removed my PICCline. Someone is on the way here to check on my health! Later all!


It's later.

My visit went well, all vital signs were measured as acceptable. However, I learned something I was not made aware of while in hospital. Not only did I have pneumonia, but also Sepsis, which is a big deal. It also explains some of my February symptoms.

This afternoon's exercise-walk was okay. I went the full two-and-a-half miles. My pace might have been slightly slower than pre-illness, and there was no spring in my step. To the plus, I scaled the incline from hell without issue and managed a short, prissy jog near the end.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Mar 21 2025, 12:24 AM

Project: Acquire decent quality furness filters
Status: Possibly solved

The filters I use are apparently an uncommon size, 14x24. Regardless, until a few years ago I could find upper-end filters locally. It then became hit or miss, though low-end filters remained available. Fast forward to yesterday. Home Depot carried only low-end filters, and Walmart had none in stock. Amazon to the rescue. I ordered a six-pack of off-brand high-end filters for $46US plus tax, or roughly $7.67US per filter. That's less than two dollars more than Home Depot's low-end filters, which filter only dust and pollen, and far less than what I pay locally for high-end filters, if and when they can be found.

Project: Remove cancer from leg
Status: Phase one completed

Visited dermatology yesterday morning and had it removed. I've a follow-up in three months to see if more needs to be done. Hopefully not, but better safe than sorry.

Decepit, I hear you on the furnace filters! Around here, I get mine from Ace Hardware. It's pleated and does a good job catching all the cat hair and dust from the house. I change mine monthly just to be sure with my crap lungs.

Out of curiosity I checked, and they do carry it in your size. Let me link you: ACE Hardware Furnace Filter

Not sure if they would ship to your location, but it might be worth looking into for the future.

Thanks. Following your link, I was greatly surprised to find an Ace Hardware near me. What's more, the website claims it stocks my filter size. Looks to be a rather decent filter for the price. (The one I bought at Home Depot yesterday filters only dust and pollen, sad to say. Better than nothing, but not by much.)

I'm making a thing


Clearly not done yet, but almost. Can you guess what it'll be?

Some sort of a shelving kind of a shelvie thing?

My guess is a cabinet

It's a contraption. Probably devious.

Partially correct


Eh, not quite


I'll try to make it nice and friendly


It's a thing to put a TV on, at least it will be when it has a top and four wheels underneath.

Shelvie thing/possibly devious contraption done


and in active service

Fabulous! That's very nice looking wood - are you going to leave it unfinished?

It's clear coated actually, two layers with some very fine sanding in between

PROJECT: create better covers for Project Gutenberg books
STATUS: a drop in the bucket, mistakes have been made

I've downloaded tons of "classic" literature free of charge from Project Gutenberg these past several years, though only a pathetically small percentage have been read. One issue I have is that many books' "covers", which appear as thumbnails on my Paperwhite screen, are useless or nearly so. Some have no text. Some have text that can't be read. Day before yesterday, I decided to rectify this via Paint.NET, Inkscape, and Calibre. Here are a few of my results thus far.

BOOK COVER utilizing the author's image found online

BOOK COVER utilizing an image from within the book

BOOK COVER utilizing an appropriate image found online

BOOK COVER utilizing an image appropriate to the subject matter

Alas, all hasn't gone well. A good many of my covers end up not much better than the useless covers they replace. My problem? Covers as seen in their "finished" forms in Paint.NET don't always read well when reduced to sub postage stamp size on my Paperwhite screen. Hopefully I'll get a better feel for it as time goes by.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: May 11 2025, 12:10 AM

Project: Exercise Walks
Status: as mentioned below


Several days ago, I timed an exercise-walk for the first time this year, 2025. I wasn’t sure what to expect. My late January through early Mar serious illness zapped a good bit of my strength. I have recovered some of my loss, but how much? During 2023 and 2024, I clocked in at a fairly consistent 2.5 mph, give or take a few minutes one way or the other on any given day. I ought to point out that my route now measures some 2.65 miles, much of the increase being along the “incline from hell”.

(I once tried to find out how many “steps” my route is, but ran out of fingers before the halfway point.)

To my great surprise, I clocked in at 2.94 mph! Admittedly, I could tell from the start that, barring the unexpected, it would be one of my better post-illness walks. Still, I had expected to, at best, match my average 2023/4 speed.

Speaking of the incline-from-hell, I include a Google Earth image taken partway up it. Until late last year, I walked to the far end of the maintenance building parking space, then made a U-turn and began my descent. I then extended the walk to the lone tree seen left of the street at mid-distance. The first time I did so, I felt a sharp, thankfully brief pain in my chest at the tree, as I was turning around. I knew then and there that I had to visit the tree during every walk. It would either make my heart stronger or finish me, one of those options being preferred but either being acceptable. Nowadays I walk past the tree a ways before turning back, with no hint of chest pain, though my legs often rebel.

<link>image of the incline-from-hell <link>

Glad to hear you’re getting past the tree and back, Decrepit. I have a hell-adjacent incline on my daily walk. I sometimes shamelessly let the dog tow me up it.