AK Retiree Club
- Thread starter parman
- Start date
BinaryMike
Pelagic EE
I just placed an order with pcbex.com, but I'm not sure this is the best choice for DIYers. You could get more recommendations by asking in the DIY section of AK. The artwork was created with the free version of DipTrace, which has their full feature set but is limited to PCB designs with no more than 300 pins.
Lo-Fidelity
Super Member
New lighting is always nice, or redoing antique fixtures. Lighting is one of my favorite parts of any remodel.
I redid the wiring in our 130 year old house about 25 years ago. I still marvel how nice it is to have the lights and switches almost exactly where I wanted them.
parman
Music Junkie
I'll ask, what is this used for??
Very inspiring story , shows to never give up in life when the chips are down and when one door closes another one usually opens . Im glad you were and are able to live your life and move forward despite the obstacles thrown your way .Well all you retired, or soon to be retired, AK folks, I`m pretty sure that I "undesirably" retired much sooner than most, if not all of you folks !!
This is not meant to be a "Woe is Me", sad story !!
I, for those that don`t already know from reading my accounts of it in the past on AK, was forced to physically retire at the ripe old age of 26, soon to be 27 yrs. while residing in the hospital, when an abscess formed on the outside of my brain, and started growing over a period of several weeks from pea to walnut sized before the hospital finally operated on me, after three prior scheduled operations were made, and then cancelled over those first several weeks, all the while the medical staff was assuring my family, Fiancee, & me that this developing hemi paresis was temporary, and all my loss of use of my left extremities would return, post operation !!
And in doing so, by pushing against my skull it started slowly cutting off the oxygen to that portion of my brain that controlled my left side motor control functions, starting with my left hand fingers and progressing up my arm and on down through to my left leg.
And since the delayed operations allowed that plum sized portion of my brain to be denied oxygen, it became destroyed, leaving me permanently paralyzed(like a stroke) on my left side, but with full feeling sensitivity.
Whilst going through all this ordeal from 11/19/81 until 4/1/82 when the hospital through months of physical therapy helped me to become able to walk with a regular cane, they then discharged & handed a ~$ 96,000.00 bill to me(Mr. Instant Indigent !!) as it was determined by the staff that I had plateaued in physical therapy and my progress had become very, very slow.
During all this, my brick and mortar electronic business that I had acquired in 2/81 with a trusted older friend/partner was failing, as he couldn`t run it very well himself, and my portion of generated income for it was non-existent and, of course, no income for me as well, as we couldn`t afford medical insurance for two people and still have liability insurance, which is very important to have, especially operating in South Miami FL.
Anyway, moving on..
I thought while being in that Dade county hospital all those months, that these medical game playing bozos had screwed me and I should talk to an attorney after I was discharged, to see if the County hospital could be held responsible, since, when I was admitted, all that was wrong with me was that I had, had three seizures earlier in the day and two weak fingers on my left hand, and a pea size mass between my brain & skull, that was observed after being scanned via a CAT X-ray machine !!
The two year legal wrangling wait netted me a non-contested on the "metaphorically speaking" court house steps Med-Malpractice award annuity for life with a 6% compounded raise every year starting in 1985 with that starting amount, that was based on my prior earning amounts/capability as determined by the defendants high priced 5 guy law firm, and agreed to by me..
So it would seem that this (currently) tax free life time annuity is my retirement, and I am currently spending way, way less than is provided to me annually, and am socking away the majority of it, as I live a pretty simple life(paid off my ~2000 sq. ft. 1989 purchased house in 1999 + bought out my deceased parent`s retirement river front house property in 2016 from my 2 sisters as an investment, and I also carry no ongoing credit card debt ) and have no other debts, just monthly normal bills..
I have accumulated over 30 years, a fairly large and valuable vintage guitar/tube amp collection, that is appraised every 10 years, and 3 or so years ago was last appraised at around $ 250,000.00 !!!So I can sell off those items, if I need to, should something financially drastic happen`s in my never been married, soon to be 64 yrs old solo life..
I have my living will/trust carefully & completely setup, so my affairs are in order..
And FWIW. I typed this overly long windeddiatribe with my right hand index finger, as is done with all my typed communications.
Please don`t feel sorry for, or jealous of my situation, if, you might be so inclined, folks !!
I`m just plugging along, and though it`s a different way of life, it is what it is..
Take care and have a great Labor Day Holiday, Monday, as you folks see fit.
Kind regards, Billy Ferris
Audiofreak71
onepixel
.
BinaryMike
Pelagic EE
This board includes the optical isolators and driver stages for a new photon-coupled tube power amplifier that I'm developing. The output stage runs a pair of TV horizontal output tubes configured in single-ended-push-pull with a low-ratio output transformer. Power output from the existing breadboard amp is 30~40 watts per channel, using regulated bench power supplies. This design will be published here on AK when I get a finished example built up, but I'll be happy to preview the details with interested AKers.I'll ask, what is this used for??
I retired from the Army in 2013 and tried to work after I got out but my disability prevented me from doing so, so I have been keeping busy around the house as much as I can and have had the pleasure of training my South African Boerboel (Mastiff) as my service dog and she has given me the spark as well as my wife that I needed to get off my butt and stay busy . Some days are worse than others but for the most part it has been good. I have had the opportunity to rebuild and to my ears surpass the system that had before my divorce in 06 and lost it all so I am very happy to have that level of equipment back that I now have much more time to enjoy thanks to our own Mister Pig and the support from my wife. I now have been offered a possible writing gig so we’ll see how that goes , if it pans out then it will be a great opportunity to do something that I truly love as a job , it’s not guaranteed as I am basically auditioning right now but like I said we’ll see.
I had good times and bad times in the Army but mostly good times and support from some very good people or I wouldn’t have been successful and retired. Life throws you curveballs sometimes and makes so you want to just drop off the face of the earth but for me even though the chips were way down I had something to look forward to and that was my 4 kids . Fast forward to now and life is good , I’m thankful every morning I wake up and all the positive people I have chosen to have around me , I don’t ask for any pity because there are so many more people that have been through and still going through worse .
So with that I hope all that are retired enjoy there time as it is much deserved . One more thing , I’m glad to be part of this great community we call Audio Karma , see you all in the threads .
Audiofreak71
I had good times and bad times in the Army but mostly good times and support from some very good people or I wouldn’t have been successful and retired. Life throws you curveballs sometimes and makes so you want to just drop off the face of the earth but for me even though the chips were way down I had something to look forward to and that was my 4 kids . Fast forward to now and life is good , I’m thankful every morning I wake up and all the positive people I have chosen to have around me , I don’t ask for any pity because there are so many more people that have been through and still going through worse .
So with that I hope all that are retired enjoy there time as it is much deserved . One more thing , I’m glad to be part of this great community we call Audio Karma , see you all in the threads .
Audiofreak71
parman
Music Junkie
so who uses that little door??
KingBubba
"Too Much Stuff"
My Father grew up on a farm in West Chester, Pa. The family dog was a mastiff. My Father planted a large garden every year and when it came ripe, he would hook up the Mastiff to his dog cart and he would go to town to sell his veggies off his cart. I saw a picture of it once, but it was lost over time.
My Mastiff does excellent indoors and one of the smartest dogs I have ever owned and trained . She’s my service dog and has been trained to be my support when I need to kneel down or if I’m on the ground I can use her to pull myself up. She’s mostly just there for me for support and does an incredible job at reading my emotions and being there for me . I take her for pretty long walks and that pretty much gets her the excercise she needs as well as when we have to go out and about she gets plenty of outside time.
Audiofreak71
Audiofreak71
Nope, roasting beans and burnt chaff smell just plain awful. The beans need at least 3 days rest to off-gas and start to smell and taste great. I roast in the garage where my roaster was banished to years ago by SWMBO.
Having a dog to help me get up from the floor would sure beat crawling to a chair or couch or using a hammer or cordless drill as an arm extension. At 270 lbs I don't think my likely willing, but only 21 lb, King Charles would be up to it.
Yeah it helps that my Koa is 171lbs and still has some growing to do since they grow to about 3yrs old and she just hit 2yrs 3 months old but she’s solid as a rock and strong as a bull so she has no problem supporting my 220lbs.
Audiofreak71
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
Cool Deal Bubba, I`ve seem old world pictures of the same over the years..
