{"id":573899188,"date":"2026-07-15T20:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T00:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/wordpress\/?p=573899188"},"modified":"2026-07-29T20:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T00:07:28","slug":"red-and-black-antennae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/wordpress\/blog\/2026\/07\/15\/red-and-black-antennae\/","title":{"rendered":"Red and black antennae"},"content":{"rendered":"

I get the summers to myself. Oh, to be sure, we went to two conferences this summer, but we were fortunate to attach a vacation to them. Otherwise, aside from some email, there’s some time to decompress, to sleep, and to try to forget about work while simultaneously also thinking about the next semester. <\/p>\n

And, look, before I get into this let me say two things. First, the time off is great, and I’m fortunate, and I know it. Second, the work isn’t hard or bad, it’s rather enjoyable, generally, but each semester is so immersive that the break feels necessary somehow. Third, see points one and two. <\/p>\n

With that in mind my complaint is There’s always something, right?<\/em> It’s not worth going into, and none of it is a real worry on a large scale, let alone a grand or cosmic scale. But the worrywart can always worry, I suppose. Part of it has to do with the next semester, and my utter inability to make myself totally mentally absent. It’s just funny is all. <\/p>\n

But then, today, I think I have hit the mental midpoint of the summer. Probably I’m close to the calendar midpoint, too, but I’m not looking that up, that’d be too upsetting to contemplate, and, anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that I was sitting there, reading, and it occurred to me that I should go look through my coins. I have a dime jar and a nickel jar and I don’t even know why anymore. It isn’t like I get a lot of change, or have money. Anyway, I found myself remembering that we used to look at the dates on nickles for some reason. When I was a kid we kept nickels that were older than 1964 for reasons I forget. So I went through probably 15 bucks of nickels, because I could. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

This was the oldest one I found in that collection. I looked it up. According to the web, a 1957 nickel could be worth a few thousand bucks, or about five or 10 cents. Guess which one I’ve got. They’re all worth a nickel, unless you find a sucker.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Jefferson’s war nickels, the ones produced between 1942-1945 can be worth a bit, depending on the specifics. Because of war rationing they were minted with 35 percent silver. When was the last time you saw a coin from the mid-40s? And are you prepared to say mid-nineteen<\/strong>forties? Guess we’ll be doing that soon.<\/p>\n

I began to wonder if you can solder coins. Some of these could be some sort of art. (Turns out you can solder coins.) It’s not as if they are doing anything else, sitting in these little glass containers. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

I was doing this because I had the time, I guess. My chief task for the day was keeping two electricians hydrated. These two guys came out today to do some electrical work, obviously. We are having a generator installed. The unit itself was brought in today and put on a little slab on the southwestern corner of the house, because that’s where the gas meter is. The electric comes in on the northeastern corner. <\/p>\n

The problems are there are some tight spaces, some old DIYesque wiring, the solar panel configuration, incredibly hot temperatures, and horrible air quality. These poor guys, we invited them inside to cool off several times. <\/p>\n

I kept them in ice water all day. I offered them giant umbrellas for shade. There’s no need to suffer, but theirs is outdoor work. Mostly, anyway. I think they’ve been taking refuge in the basement, where it is nice and cool, and where everything will be connected, gas to electric.<\/p>\n

They’ll be back out to continue their work tomorrow. It’ll be just as hot or worse. They’ll have to disconnect the power for a while to finish their work. <\/p>\n

Also the air quality will be poor. Also, they might not finish tomorrow. These poor depleted guys.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

We saw the Dave Matthews Band Saturday night. Third summer in a row. I think this is the fifth or sixth time I’ve seen them over the years. We go to this show because my godsisters’-in-law (just go with it) do a DMB pilgrimage every summer. They invite us to the show closest to us. They tailgate with their old school buddies and friends and we get to tag along. <\/p>\n

At some point the joke became that I don’t like Dave Matthews and I must have reacted just right, because that joke persisted. Later, I came up with a brilliant reply. I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me my favorite Dave Matthews song, so I can say “I like that Ants Running<\/a> song.” As a joke it’ll work on several levels. I have the name wrong, and some of the longtime fans are over it, including one of my godsisters-in-law. <\/p>\n

This isn’t that, but rather a bit of a meandering horn section, just for fun.<\/p>\n