I am presently visiting the parents, at their home in the country. It's nice to visit, and see all cats once again. They have a batch of particularily beautiful kittens right now, still at the ball of fluff stage. Very small, and very cute. That being said, I have found myself in a minor situation. Namely, it's not my home anymore. I miss my apartment, I miss my bed. I have been attempting to fall asleep on an air mattress, all it seems capable of is generating headaches. The room is dead silent, no fan to generate white noise. As such, I find the silence deafening in it's way. The subtle whine of the vents becomes piercing, and painful.

It's become uncomfortable, and I'd much rather be at my home in town. That having been said, there isn't much to do at my home in town at the moment. There isn't much money. I have recently burned out on work at the call centre, so I have to find new employment. The past couple days it has in some forms come to resemble a tomb more than anything. It really shouldn't. I suppose the biggest issue at hand is one of ornamentation. When you have dreary surroundings, it cultivates a dreary mood. I have been planning to move some of the books from the living room into my personal bedroom. This would very much serve to control the omnipresent clutter which every day threatens to kill us all. Kill Us All. Truly, that seems at first hyperbolic, but at length, one realises that the notion isn't as far fetched as one may at first think.

I am reminded of an adage from the Terry Pratchett novel I am presently reading: BE MAD. IT HELPS.

With that, I shall dash off into the night cackling like an owl possessed.

The Joys of Welding

There are many who are afraid of welding. It spits fire and smoke, curling skyward. It's hot, dirty. It's also a hell of a lot of fun. How often do you get to melt steel with electricity? Join disparate hunks of steel into a single homogenous form. It is a key skill for the maker, even though it is something that takes time to learn.

The biggest mistake I've seen people make while learning to weld stick(SMAW, as it is more formally known), is fearing the arc. They want to keep their hands well away from it, and in doing so, lose control. Granted, keeping your hands closer to the arc burns gloves more quickly. In my experience, a pair of welding gloves lasts about two weeks. Do yourself a favour, don't buy gloves from the hardware store! Go to a specialty welding supplier. Canadian Tire sells Lincoln branded welding gloves for $20 a pair. At Praxair, I can buy higher quality welding gloves for $5 a pair. Hold the rod closer to the end. If both your hands are back at the stinger, the tip of the rod will wobble everywhere. This makes it impossible to produce a good weld.