One of the many things Dad left behind in the basement was a collection of cords and wires of all shapes and sizes: specialized computer cables, lengths of romex, decommissioned electrical cords, and other odds and ends. As I went through everything a couple of years ago, I set aside a box and slowly filled it with the collection, keeping the good stuff and tossing the bad. I added two frayed extension cords that dated to back before my birth and a load of TV connector cables from his ad hoc surround system, and threw it in the trunk of my car the last time I was at Mom’s. Today I tossed it into the truck along with a pile of my own wire, a couple of old brake drums and some other scrap metal and took it down to the recycling center at lunchtime. After clipping the ends off the plugs, I wound up pocketing $38 and change for the whole thing; the steel was the cheapest by the pound, but apparently romex is the money item.

In the afternoon the sun was too warm and the day too beautiful to resist; I played hooky at 4 and drove up to the pool to meet Jen and Finn and our sister in law’s family. I went from being Work Guy to Fun Uncle in about five minutes, and spent about two hours splashing in the pool with the kids. We hung out until a lot of the other families took off, and I used my $38 in recycling money to have a couple of pizzas delivered for dinner. All in all, an excellent way to spend a summer evening.

I put all of my homebrewing equipment on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago and have heard back exactly once, from an obvious scammer. I think I need to post it on Marketplace and see if I get a better response there, as much as I try to stay off FB. Sadly, it is where the best leads come from these days, so I guess I have to deal.