CatsGamesWhatever

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 008 – February 2026

I would describe my February as barely keeping it together. I can’t point out one specific issue but the combination of mental illness and personal responsibilities has me feeling that way. I got through it though and I’ve come to enjoy doing errands as it coincides with canning. I find walking relaxing and if I so happen to find some money (in the way of cans) along the way, all the better. I earned $37.45 this month canning.

My Canning Earnings of $37.45 for February 2026

I found a bunch of stuff in the trash related to the project this month and I remembered to take a pictures too.

The first thing I found was a slightly used Jansport backpack (black). It needed a wash but besides that was in decent condition. I don’t have any pressing need for a backpack but it’s there now if I happen to.

In a school dumpster I found a Stanley 40 Watt hot glue gun (working) and a roll of masking tape. I guess they threw out the hot glue gun because it was missing the little piece of metal that serves as a stand. Maybe I’ll bend a paperclip or find some thin piece of metal and make a new stand for it. I’m not sure why they threw out the tape besides maybe not needing it. It’s Scotch brand too not that cheap dollar store stuff!

The hair from my cats chooses to stick to the roll just for this picture.

At an apartment block I found a small Honeywell oscillating desk fan in a recycle bin. It wasn’t dirty at all and looked as if it hadn’t been used. It was missing the AC adapter though so I guess whoever owned it before lost that and decided to lose the fan as well. At that same apartment in the dumpster this time I found a desk lamp (along with a Great Value LED light bulb still in the socket). The lamp has a pencil eraser sized bit of rust inside the shade so I guess that’s why they threw it out (and the light bulb also had to go as well since it was tainted by that). Both the fan and the desk lamp (and light bulb) all work fine. The fan will come in handy if I need to blow solder smoke away from my face while working. It’s not a fume extractor but it’s better than nothing. The lamp will come in handy as the last lamp I trash picked doesn’t put out enough light for my liking but this one is nice and bright.

The last thing I found was a Garrison branded money box thrown in a recycle bin. It was missing the key so I guess that’s why whoever owned it threw it out. I’ve just been leaving the cash that relates to this project sitting on my desk so now I can be all professional with a money box!

It was actually cleaner in the recycle bin

I still struggled to remember to write down the handy-man type stuff I did this month and quite frankly forgot all of it. I did repair a pair of boots for my mom (re-glued the heels and unstuck the stuck zippers with a birthday candle). She needed them to get through the mucky spring so it was a quick and dirty repair. The only reason I remember that one is because it happened on February 28th. I’ll try again next month.

The Tools

The first thing I bought this month was a set of Eklind SAE Hex keys from Amazon for $11.04. I had purchased a Bondhus Metric set in December so wanted a SAE set to compliment them.

The second thing I bought was a shoe handle wire brush also from Amazon for $4.93 . I need to work on some rusty bicycles this summer and this will do the job I think.

The third thing I bought was a Swanson Speed Square and Combination Square from Amazon for $11.74. I confess that I happened upon a Youtube video about using speed squares one day this month and they looked cool/useful. I don’t actually need them… YET!

The last couple of things I bought were some 3M medium grit sandpaper from Amazon $3.09, a roll of gorilla tape for $3.58 and a variable power supply from Aliexpress for $6.19 (it now powers that Honeywell fan I found).

Assets

Cash (on hand): $51.11

Revenue

Cans/Bottles: $37.45

Total Revenue: $37.45

Expenses

Eklind SAE Hex Key Set $11.04
Shoe Handle Wire Brush $4.93
Speed/Combination Square set $11.74
Sandpaper $3.09
Gorilla Tape $3.58
Power Supply $6.19

Total Expenses: $40.57

Net Revenue: -$3.12

Summary

I’m honestly too tired to think of what to write here. On to the next month.

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 007- January 2026

January was not a fun month. I had to do and spend a lot of money on things I consider chores. Plus it’s cold. January in Quebec averages around -15C and it goes beyond that when you take into account the wind (which is so well known around here they had a local semi-pro hockey team named after it). Because of the frigid temperatures I only earned $29.70 this month by canning.

My Canning Earnings of $29.70 from January 2026.

My birthday is also this month and it was spent doing family medical stuff. Woopee! I did receive a gift (that relates to this project) from my mom which I do appreciate. It’s a Husky branded 10 piece pack of pliers & wrenches. I did not have a pair of slip joint or groove joint pliers and the rest of the kit will come in handy as well.

The Tools

The first couple of purchases were all made at a thrift store. They’re a crowbar for $5, a pry bar for $3 and mini paint roller handle for $0.50 (for hooking trash bags out of dumpsters). The bars are unbranded as far as I can tell but they say made in Canada so I don’t doubt they have a lot of life left in them.

The next purchase was to make my life easier. When I do work for my mom she has a variety of screwdrivers strewn about in a junk drawer that I have to always sort through to find the type I need. I got sick of doing that so I purchased a multi-bit Picquic screwdriver to leave with her. It came in a pack of 3 so I kept the medium sized one and the small “teeny turner”. The cost of the multipack was $27.90 off of Amazon after tax.

In this vein I also had to sharpen a bunch of kitchen knives for her because they were dull so I purchased a Lansky Blade Sharpener off of Amazon for $15.19. It’s a quick and dirty sharpening method but it gets the job done.

The next was an impulse purchase that was made after assembling a flat pack piece of furniture. It was a Wiha branded magnetizer/de-magnetizer also from Amazon for $13.61. It should be pretty easy to guess why I bought this.

The last thing I bought this month was a set of dental tools from Amazon for $11.89. I don’t plan on doing my own dentistry but I have found myself in need of some of the kit when cleaning recently. Sometimes things like your fingernail, toothpicks or a paint scraper do not work and you require a specialized tool to get into hard to reach places

Assets

Cash (on hand): $99.61

Revenue

Cans/Bottles: $29.70

Total Revenue: $29.70

Expenses

Crowbar $5.00
Pry Bar $3.00
Mini Paint Roller Handle $0.50
Picquic screwdriver set $27.90
Lansky Blade Sharpener $15.90
Wiha Magnetizer/De-Magnetizer $13.61
Dental Tool Set $11.89

Total Expenses: $77.80

Net Revenue :-$48.10

Summary

I spent way too much money this month born of frustration and impatience. I’m also kind of sick of spending money on tools and I would actually like to do some DIY stuff that’s fun, useful or at least interesting to me. I still cannot believe I haven’t done any soldering. It’s like living in a bad dream where something always seems to pop up or has to get done first.

I Need A Laptop Part 02

It was now decided that I would buy a laptop and it would be a Thinkpad. Buying new was out of the question as I just did not require the power that current machines provide (but really just because I’m poor) so I started browsing for older models. I turned up nothing locally in the classifieds or through any businesses in my city. That left eBay and I quickly found that Thinkpads hold their value vis a vis other contemporary laptop manufacturers.

Now middle aged I had more knowledge and experience with computers than in my youth so I decided that instead of buying a more expensive turn key machine I would try to buy a parts model and fix it myself to keep costs down. As it turns out despite having more knowledge and experience they did not translate into correctly estimating what it would cost to get an old machine fully operational again.

I settled on (really compulsively) purchased a for parts listing of a Thinkpad R500 with the original Lenovo power adapter for $39.52. The Ebay listing was vague but the laptop seemed to be in good physical shape judging by the pictures and it came from a seller who didn’t currently or have a history of having had any other computer related listings on their account. I thought it more likely to be a seller just getting rid of an old machine and not wanting to deal with any issues that might crop up and as such they had listed it for parts.

Originally when I started I had wanted something like a Thinkpad T400-T420 but there were just none in my price range (under $100) when I was looking. The Thinkpad R500 was a good compromise because while the Thinkpad R series was considered the “budget” model in it’s time because it lacked the rubberized magnesium lid, as such today it didn’t show the age related wear that all other Thinkpads displayed that had this trademark lid (caused by rubber reversion over time). Besides that there was little difference in my eyes between models.

Specifications

15.4 Inch Screen with 1280 x 800 Resolution
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz
2GB DDR3 Ram
320GB HDD
Dead 3rd party battery

When I received the laptop the first thing I noticed that while the cosmetic condition was indeed good the ultrabay latch was broken and as such it always “stuck out”. It’s not really a piece you can replace easily but it isn’t a vital fix either. I ended up just using a piece of tape and sticking it down inside the machine. It’s an inelegant solution but it works and you don’t see it anyway.

To my delight the machine did turn on the first time I powered it but it immediately displayed a Fan Error message on the screen. I was able to bypass this and get into the BIOS where I also discovered the CMOS battery was dead. It was at this point my estimate of how much it would cost to get serviceable again began to be grossly wrong.

Repairs & Upgrades

Long story short I did the following things to get the Thinkpad R500 to be a usable machine again in 2026.

CMOS battery replaced which cost $11.49 on Amazon.
Fan Error = Fan dead = A replacement laptop fan assembly for $12.99 on Aliexpress installed.
Processor changed to a Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 2.9 GHz for $12.83 from Ebay (I upgraded because to change the fan assembly you have to disassemble almost the whole machine anyway and I figured that since I was in the area and was going to repaste the the original processor I might as well do the upgrade at the same time).
Installed 8GB of DDR3 RAM (2 x 4GB) for $10.20 purchased from Ebay (see point above).
Replaced 320 GB mechanical HDD with 120GB SSD purchased from Amazon for $19.53 (see two points above).
Bought a new genuine Lenovo 41++ 6000 mAh battery from Aliexpress for $50.29 to replace the dead 3rd party battery that came with the computer.

Total cost to repair & upgrade: $117.33

Post upgrade bonanza (date code on roll cage reads 2010-03-04)

Final total cost of Thinkpad R500 $156.83

Conclusions

In the end I spent too much money fully refurbishing the computer. I would have been better off spending more time shopping for a different Thinkpad that was turn key and would have likely gotten one better for under the $156.83 I ended up spending. That being said I did learn doing the laptop upgrades and came to enjoy the process despite the associated stress it caused me.

I’ve now been using the Thinkpad R500 for close to a month and can confirm that Thinkpads do live up to the hype they receive. The Thinkpad R500 is the best built laptop I’ve even used and the fact that I was even able to refurbish the computer at all 16 years after its release confirms to me the legendary durability Thinkpads are known for. The design of the machine is big, bulky and black but it has a certain charm to it. The keyboard is a pleasure to use and type on compared to others I’ve used in the past.

The Thinkpad R500 in it’s final form running Linux Mint XFCE

I decided upon and installed Linux mint XFCE on the Thinkpad R500. It’s a lightweight Linux distribution that is user friendly but not overly taxing on older hardware. Linux has come a long way for average users since the last time I used it. Everything pretty much worked out of the box after the initial installation. All the hotkeys, trackpoint and even the Thinklight too. I was afraid that a Core 2 Duo like the T9800 might struggle with modern web browsing in 2026 but it handles websites and video streaming like Youtube at 1080p just fine coupled with 8GB of ram. The SSD means it boots up in under 10 seconds and it is not unlike the experience you would get using a modern day laptop when running an office suite. You won’t be playing the latest games or rendering 4K video on a machine like this but for what I require it just works.

So that’s my new computer. I’m enjoying my experience using it and satisfied overall despite a few setbacks I encountered.

I Need A Laptop

I have not owned a laptop for years but it is now 2026 and I find myself in need of one. There are three broad categories that encompass why that is that I will outline below:

Primary Reasons For Needing A Laptop

I need to have access to a portable computer to be able to do work on.
I need to have access to a computer with a DVD drive to access discs on.
I would like a portable computer that I can watch my physical movie library on occasionally and one that I can digitize my CD collection with.

Secondary Reasons For Wanting A Laptop

I want to divest myself from the Microsoft ecosystem. I used to tolerate Microsoft/Windows but over the last few years they have become insufferable. Their hardware requirements for running Windows 11 are absurd and will result in so much usable hardware being decommissioned and then ending up in landfills. It’s an environmental catastrophe that is entirely avoidable and I shame them for their decisions.

Microsoft is also intent on shoehorning their “Co-Pilot” AI into every piece of software they maintain. From Windows 11 to Microsoft Office and even the lowly Windows Media player (which as of this writing no longer functions to retrieve album information from a CD database when burning a disc and just returns an error message and lists every track as unknown). AI has its purposes and should be heavily regulated but none of its functions are required for me in these instances. I have a brain and the ability to think and reason. I do not want AI shoved down my throat at the expense of degrading or all together ruining the end user experience. Make AI available when it’s needed but don’t force it on me at every occasion.

That leaves me to choose between the Apple ecosystem (which besides the wholly ingrained unappealing nature of their hardware also appears to be headed in the AI direction with their software) and Linux. It’s apparent then that some flavor of Linux operating system will be my choice but I have not used Linux for many years. In fact the last time I used Linux was when I requested/received an Ubuntu DVD via the mail. I don’t even remember what version it was and I remember being amateurish in my use of it back then so there will be a learning curve now no doubt.

Tertiary Reason For Wanting A Laptop

I want to see if Thinkpad laptops live up to the hype. I’ve seen a lot of Youtube videos praising Thinkpads from creators that I respect. I’ve also read many testimonials expounding their virtues on the internet. I want to see for myself whether these things are true or not.

My Brief Personal History With Laptop Computers

For posterity but also pertinence I guess I have a small history of owning and using laptops

Laptop 1 – Toshiba Satellite A110 (mid 2006 to April 08, 2014)

Specs

15.4 Inch 1280 x 800 Screen Resolution
Intel Celeron M 410 1.46 GHz Processor
512 MB of DDR2 RAM
60 GB Hard Disc
Windows XP Home OS

I purchased the Satellite A110 for $479 ($550.73 after tax) open box from a Futureshop store in mid 2006 (I can’t remember the exact date). I knew very little about computers at this point in time but I needed something for school with some urgency. Between laptops and desktops it was the cheapest available at any nearby stores since I did not trust buying things online in 2006(LOL).

In retrospect using the Satellite A110 turned out to be a miserable experience but it got me through school which is what counts I guess. It was a big bulky machine that ran hot and slow even under Windows XP. It ran so hot it made the fan grates brittle and they all snapped off by the end of the first year of my owning it. It also almost immediately discolored the grey plastic on chassis where my palms rested to black (with the rest of the plastic on the body discoloring eventually on its own thereafter).

Instead of a regular trackpad with buttons directly underneath it, the Satellite A110 had two large black bars that were part of the bottom chassis that doubled as buttons towards the middle. It was a mushy mess using them and you had to adopt a finger gun pose with your hand to use them properly with the trackpad because of how it was situated. My hands still get cramps remembering how much I used it in this way.

Repairs/Upgrades

Within a month of owning the computer the hard drive developed the “click of death” but I had no what that meant at the time. All I knew was that sometimes the laptop clicked. It took 2 years for the hard drive to die and require replacing by which time I had also decided that since it was unbearably slow to upgrade the RAM to 2GB.

The Upgrades & Repairs to the Toshiba Satellite A110 over the years

The upgraded RAM helped but it suffered from other failures over its lifespan. The AC Adapter died and had to be replaced as did the keyboard which stopped working. Eventually I had to try installing Windows 7 with the end of XP support. After several hours it eventually succeeded but it abruptly shut down forever later that day never to be powered on again. My guess it that all that generated heat over its lifespan eventually wore out a component on the motherboard which failed.

Laptop 2 – HP Mini 1116NR (September 2009 to January 2014)

Specs

8.9 Inch Screen with 1024 x 600 Screen Resolution
Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz
1GB DDR2 Ram
16 GB SSD
Windows XP Home

I purchased the HP Mini 1116nr in September 2009 for $199.99 ($229.94 after tax) from Futureshop (online this time!). The reason I purchased the HP Mini was because I wanted an alternative to be able to browse the web and do basic tasks with that was cheap. A computer that was light, usable and with good battery life (essentially the antithesis of the Toshiba Satellite A110). Netbooks were all the rage at the time and when i stumbled upon the computer it had everything I was looking for.

It was surprisingly fast using Windows XP and a SSD. The trackpad was still bad with the buttons on either side of it but it was an upgrade over what I had been using. I adapted to the small screen and keyboard. I also eventually purchased 512MB of extra ram because it was absurdly cheap by that time ($5) and a 6 cell battery that meant I could use it all day if I wanted to without having to charge it (vs. the 1 hour I would get with the Toshiba Satellite).

The HP Mini eventually died in January 2014 when my cat Grizzly knocked it off a table and broke the hinge. Looking back I surprisingly have little to complain about and enjoyed my time with the netbook. It was very underpowered even for the time and had pitiful storage but none of those things mattered to my end user experience which was great.

This post is getting a little long so I’ll continue in part 2.

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 006- December 2025

December is always a busy month in my life so I didn’t devote much time to this project. Despite that luck was on my side it seems as I earned $74.00 by canning this month. All my canning takes place during errands pretty much so I don’t consider the amount of money I earned sustainable. Nor do I think that canning is a viable alternative income stream (as in even if I were to devote more time to it I doubt the earnings would scale with time invested). It’s just a variable thing and it so happens this month was good.

My Canning Earnings of $74 From December 2025

I received a few Christmas gifts this month from my mom that fall into this project. I got a Hypertough socket set and another grabber from her. I live my life never expecting any gifts so I’m always grateful for whatever I get whenever that may be.

In addition to that I replaced the cracked screen of a cell phone and was given the leftover tools. It was my first time replacing the screen of a phone and it was a miserable experience for me and not one I want to repeat again (at least for free).

The Free Tools I received After I Finished Replacing A Cell Phone Screen

The Tools

December continued to have good sales and I picked up some things that I use regularly and realized I hadn’t ever really official bought for the project so far. The first two things I purchased was a small level and a Milwaukee tape measure from Home Depot. The level cost $1.15 and the tape measure was $11.48. I already had a tape measure that I got in the Hypertough drill set I bought this summer but it’s terrible. The Milwaukee one is much nicer and has both the metric and imperial measurements on the blade so I don’t have to try to convert stuff on the fly anymore.

The third thing I bought also from the Home Depot was 10 Anvil Oscillating blades for $11.48. These are to go with the Sonicraft power tool I bought in October at that garage sale. Anvil isn’t considered the highest quality brand but I doubt that the blades by other companies like Milwaukee/Dewalt/Mastercraft would be better enough to justify their high prices in comparison. The fact is oscillating blades get worn out fast by nature and paying top prices for blades will not change that.

The fourth and fifth items I bought was 946 ml of 90% isopropyl alcohol for $9.16 and 500 cotton swabs for $4.00 both from Wal-Mart. I had been using the ones I had on hand since the project began and I don’t consider it fair to not include this purchase in the project since they are used so much. I could go further and say that I have been using electricity, internet, a computer as well but I’m not going to because I’m a hypocrite.

The sixth thing I bought was a set of Bondhus Metric Ball End Hex Keys for $11.72 from Amazon. I have a working power washer I found in the trash this summer but it has a loose power switch that I need to fix that requires disassembling the washer. Apparently it requires these type of hex keys so it’s been on my watch list since then and finally went on sale.

The seventh things I bought were 4 practice soldering kits from Aliexpress for $9.66. The whole beginning of this project was to learn how to solder and so far that’s been an epic fail. I’m hoping these kits will give me the push I need to actually get some practice in.

The last two things I bought this month were to help me with my canning. I bought a “snake grabber” which is really just an extra long trash picker to help me get stuff from the very bottom/back of dumpsters. I got it on Amazon and it cost me $17.40. It cost me a bit more but it’s all metal thankfully and should hold up better than other plastic grabbers. With this in mind I also bought a silicon tie from Wal-Mart for $3.45 so I can wrap the grabber after I’m done using it since it folds down into 3 pieces.

Assets

Cash (on hand): 104.71

Revenue

Cans/Bottles: $74.00

Total Revenue: $74.00

Expenses

Milwaukee Tape Measure: $11.48
Anvil 9 Inch Level $1.15
Oscillating Tool Blades: $11.48
946ml of 91% Isopropyl alcohol $9.16
500 Cotton Swabs $4.00
Bondhus Metric Ball End Hex Keys $11.72
Electronics Kits $9.66
Snake Grabber $17.40
18 Silicon Ties $3.45

Total Expenses: $79.10

Net Revenue: -$5.10

Summary

I changed the accounting because I realized I was double counting revenue and will just move the leftover money (if any) into assets at the end of the month. It’s not going to fulfill exact criteria for GAAP reporting but it’s good enough for me. December ended up being a good month for both canning and spending. 2025 was a mixed bag but I’m hopeful for 2026.

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 005- November 2025

I had big plans for November. The month started off well by changing a dryer hose that wasn’t working anymore. It was at this point the good part of the month ended and the rest of the month began. Without going into too much detail November turned into the “critter” month. Perhaps I should say “critters”. Every amount of spare time I had in November went to dealing with that problem and while the situation is better it’s still an ongoing endeavor for hopefully not too much longer.

Canning still bizarrely went well despite dreadful weather and the snow finally arriving in earnest. I earned $37.40 by canning in November.

My canning earnings of $37.40 for November 2025.

November did have a bright spot however. At the very beginning of the month while checking out a dumpster on my route I found a working Erikkson ratchet tie down. There were more in the dumpster but the rest were too far in the back for me to reach. In addition to that ratchet I found a bag full of Coleman lantern mantles that I thought someone may want because they were still new old stock despite having a fair bit of age on them.

I detest camping so know next to nothing about this stuff besides the fact that they attach to oil lanterns. To my surprise when I got home and I checked them out on Ebay I found they still command money. Over the course of the month I sold every one of them and netted $64.20. I know last month I said I didn’t want to sell tools on Ebay which is still technically true but I figured trash I find for free is fair game.

The Tools

The first tool I bought this month was 4 1 inch metal spring clamps from Home Depot for $4.60 (with free shipping). I had seen plastic clamps at Dollarama but I have seen those break easily so opted for these Anvil branded ones instead. I was pleasantly surprised because they are sturdy as hell.

The 4 Anvil branded 1 inch metal spring clamps

The second tool I bought was a thrift store find. It was a small Klein branded zip bag for $1. With further investigation it turned out to be a multimeter bag that sells for $20-$25 at places like Amazon and Home Depot. Klein is a well know manufacturer of electrical tools but I don’t own anything from them. I did the next best thing though and put my cheapo oriental multimeter in it. In the reviews of the bag on Amazon there were lots of pictures of people putting their expensive Klein or Fluke branded multimeters in it. A younger me would have uploaded my blasphemous pictures to fuck with people but I’m far too old for that shit now.

The third tool I bought came from another thrift store. It’s a Rigid branded drive kit (43 pieces) for $6. I was on the fence here because they normally sell for about $20 at Home Depot but it was in good condition with no missing pieces or significant wear. I don’t have many drill accessories so they will come in handy.

The fourth and fifth tools I bought was two sets of Japanese/Taiwanese unbranded ratchets from the same thrift store. It looks like all the pieces were basically just thrown into bags to sell because I saw sockets from Powerbilt and Crescent in there as well (some of which don’t even fit the ratchets). The ratchets need to be serviced and the rust removed from some of the sockets but I think for $7.00 I could have done worst.

The last bunch of stuff all came from Aliexpress and has to do with soldering. There was a tip cleaning ball for $5.29, a set of 6 anti static tweezers for $4.19, 2 flush cutters for $4.29, 2 sets of flux for $5.64 and some thermal tape for $2.19.

Besides wanting/needing the soldering stuff it went with the the last thing I found this month. In a recycle bin I found a “Stash Box” .

It’s basically a zippered bag with adjustable walls to fit whatever. I’ve seen them advertised as “Stash Box”, travel case or makeup case but for my purpose it’s going to hold all my soldering stuff.

The box was a bit dirty but with a some cleaning it is now an upgrade from the shoebox I had previously been using to hold everything.

Financial Summary for November 2025

Revenue

Amount carried over from previous month: $43.31
Cans/Bottles: $37.40
Other: $64.20

Total Revenue: $144.91

Expenses

4 Anvil 1 Inch Spring Clamps: $4.60
Klein Multimeter Bag : $1.00
Ridgid Drive Kit: $6.00
Ratchet Set 01: $3.50
Ratchet Set 02: $3.50
Soldering Iron Tip Cleaning Ball: $5.29
Flux: $5.64
Anti Static Tweezers: $4.19
Thermal Tape: $2.19
Flush Cutters x 2: $4.29

Total Expenses: 40.20

Summary

November was November. The End.

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 004- October 2025

October passed by in a flash. I got sick at the very beginning of the month with a cold and it lingered for 2 1/2 weeks. The rest of the month was spent catching up on chores I had put off and getting back up to my usual speed with life in general.

Despite these setbacks I still somehow managed to earn $27.10 from canning. That number got a boost one day as I was taking my cans to the grocery store a woman from a house near it got my attention by yelling at me and gave me a large garbage full of cans/bottles that she was otherwise putting out to the recycling. It was a very kind gesture on her part and quite unusual as I normally get yelled for the different reasons.

My canning earnings of $27.10 for October 2025

I managed to sell the Snap On tools that I had purchased the previous month on eBay. I do not plan to sell tool related items to fund my purchases for this project on eBay as it intersects too much with other areas of my life. I earned $48.95 from the sale which I will add to the kitty as a one time thing.

Say goodbye to the Snap On set purchased last month.

The Tools

The first tool I purchased at the beginning of the month was a full sized Stanley brand hacksaw from Home Depot for $5.70 delivered. I’m not sure if they were clearing out the model or it was a sale but I couldn’t pass it up at this price.

The second tool I purchased was a small pair of Mastercraft bolt cutters from the thrift store for $3.75. I don’t think they were ever used as they still had the cardboard back from Canadian Tire with them and no wear on the blades.

The third and final purchase I made for October was the largest. Early in the month while I was out running an errand while sick I happened upon a garage sale. October is very late for garage sales in this area but the fall weather that day was fantastic. I got super excited because I love garage sales and I despite that haven’t been to one yet this year. It wasn’t a great sale as it turns out because I found the prices high but I found a plastic molded case under a stack of DVD’s that caught my interest. In my feverish state I saw an angle grinder inside the case when I checked it out and was determined to buy something since it was probably going to be the only sale that I attended this year. The old lady running the sale and I negotiated a bit and I got the price down to $20. So what did I get?

When I got home I realized that the angle grinder I just bought turned out to be a Rockwell Sonicraft Oscillating Tool Model RK5105K and some accessories.

As I came to find out it was an early model and the problem was that when oscillating tools first came to market each manufacturer had their own proprietary attachment head. Each company sold their own brand of accessories that came molded with that proprietary attachment style. That way companies could charge high prices for their accessories that would only fit their brand of tools.

As years passed this destructive practice had eventually weakened the market demand for all oscillating tools among consumers. It was confusing to find the right blades you needed and when you did you were faced with high prices as you had no alternatives available to you.

Faced with slumping sales all the companies got together and adopted a universal head attachment that every manufacturer could use rectifying this problem. Now going forward any accessory produced for an oscillating tool no matter the manufacturer would fit.

Anyway all that is to say is that I had to buy a Rockwell universal adapter off Amazon for $16.64 so I can attach any blade now that’s currently being sold since the change. In retrospect maybe my purchase wasn’t such a great deal with that added expense factored in.

Financial Summary for October 2025

Revenue

Amount carried over from previous month: $13.35
Cans/Bottles: $27.10
Snap on Tool Sale: $48.95

Total Amount: $89.40

Expenses

Stanley Hacksaw: $5.70
Mastercraft Bolt Cutter: $3.75
Rockwell Sonicraft Oscillating Tool: $20
Rockwell Oscillating Tool Adapter: $16.64

Total Expenses: $46.09

Summary

If I’m honest I hardly remember October. The combination of being sick, catching up afterwards and just being busy all the time, it feels like I just got back to being normal again. I know I did some DIY stuff this month but I can’t for the life of me remember anything specific as I write this post. I’m going to have to put stuff down on paper as I do them in November so I can write about them next month.

Electric Rotary Shaver Review – MAXWISDOM Model RS320

Back in September my Remington Titanium R450 shaver died (I posted about it HERE). I already had a backup razor the Philishave 6000 Easyshave that I thrifted in March (HERE) but I decided to quickly look on Amazon to see if they had a cheap electric shaver for sale (as when feasible I like to have backups for most things I own that see common use).

Shopping Amazon I happened upon the generically called MAXWISDOM rotary electric shaver for $13.99 CDN or $16.09 after taxes (LINK HERE if you want to see it yourself). I did not have high hopes as it had no model number, resembled most oriental shavers you could find on Aliexpress or Temu and had the usual Chinese overselling on the packaging. But I figured that since I wanted a backup razor anyway I would use it for a few weeks and if it turned out to be a dud of a product I would use the Amazon 30 day return policy and get my money back. In that event I would use the Philishave and take up my search for a backup shaver again.

I’ve been using it for a little over 2 months now and these are my impressions so far:

PROS:

The fit and finish of the product is a matte black that resists fingerprints. The plastic molding is flush and although it doesn’t feel super premium it doesn’t feel cheap either. It seems sturdy and could withstand a fall without significant damage in my opinion.
The magnetic shaver head is gimmicky but I like it because it’s one less point of failure vs. one that is hinged. The magnets are strong enough that it holds the shaver head in place and doesn’t have any give when you’re using it.
The claims about the battery are mostly accurate. It takes about 2 hours to charge fully. The battery does indeed give about 70 minutes of continuous use without needing to be charged. I like the fact that it can also be used with a 5V adapter and USB C cable while plugged in so in the event that the battery fails or wears out you can still make use of it without having to replace it.
The razor and motor work well enough that it gets through a 3 day growth of very course hair in about 10 minutes. I would not recommend using it on a beard growth longer than this (about 2mm) as the motor struggles at that point. The ideal use for this razor is daily maintenance or a 1-2 day beard where shaving time in these scenarios is reduced to anywhere between 5-7 minutes.
It will never give a shave comparable to a razor but it gives a close shave enough for a job interview, court hearing or not to scare children and little old ladies on the street.
It’s inexpensive. This razor is 1/3 of the price of other brand name entry level electric rotary razors on the market. At the time of purchase it was also about 1/2 price of the Aliexpress offerings that I looked at.

CONS

The copy for the Amazon listing does this shaver no favors. Oriental manufacturers and resellers love to “upsell” their products with grandiose claims . It’s always the greatest, the best or most innovative. The 3D floating head is just a detachable head that has a center pivot. There’s also basic information omitted like the listing or instructions don’t even have information like the model : RS320 or the capacity of the battery inside the shaver.
It says wet/dry use but I DO NOT recommend using this razor in the shower or anywhere near water. I do not trust that wet use claim and it even says right on the product not to expose the chassis with the battery to water! I DO recommend cleaning the head with the small provided brush after every use so it lessens the strain on the motor however.
Longevity. I’ve listed it as a con so far but if the product continues to perform over time without losing significant function or breaking altogether I will move it to the PRO list. So far over the period of 2 months with use 5 days a week on average it has held up well.

Wet use but don’t pay attention to those silly symbols!

Conclusion

Warren Buffett once said “Price is what you pay but value is what you get.” It seems an appropriate quote to me as for $13.99 this shaver turned out to be excellent value. Don’t purchase the product expecting the performance of a $200 shave but If you expect a basic electric rotary razor but at about 1/3 the price of other comparable models you will be pleasantly surprised.

Becoming A Jack Of All Trades 003 – September 2025

September was a bit of a milestone month as it marked the first time since I started to learn about home improvement that I actually got paid for something I did. A client of my mom’s asked her to ask me if I could fix her vacuum cleaner. This is the vacuum:

A Hoover Constellation Eight Sixty Nine – A beauty

The client owns a Hoover Constellation Eight Sixty Nine that she received as a wedding gift that stopped working. I didn’t actually know if I could get it working again but agreed to take a look at it. It turned out that the plug of the cord had become brittle with age and had snapped.

I explained the fault to her and we came to an agreement that I would replace the plug and buy her new vacuum bags (as I discovered hers was filled to the top as well). She ended up giving me $50 for the hardware I needed.

The new old stock bags I bought off ebay

Once I got the replacement plug I installed it and the vacuum worked again. The vacuum bags are currently stuck in limbo since Canada Post has gone on strike while they were in transit so that will have to wait a bit. I tried giving back her change but she insisted I keep the rest for my effort which was appreciated but not expected in any way. The net amount I ended up keeping was $18.26.

Besides that I surprised myself by earning a total of $29.25 from canning this month. I didn’t think that I had raised that much but I guess it adds up.

The Tools

With the unexpected boost of the vacuum repair money I purchased an automatic wire stripper and a digital multimeter from Aliexpress.

The wire stripper is extremely useful as it’s a complete pain in the ass to strip a wire properly with a knife. Equally the multimeter is just as useful in its own way for other projects.

The third thing I purchased was a bit of a luxury item. I bought 2 bags of 50 plastic food prep gloves from Dollarama. Canning is dirty and these gloves save me from having grubby hands when I’m out and about.

The fourth and fifth things I bought this month was a speculative buy. They are a Snap On ignition tune up set and 4 Snap On nail punch/chisels.

The Snap-On ignition tune up set and the punches

I paid $12.50 for the wrench set and $3.00 for the punches from a thrift store.

I don’t have a need for the tools right now but I’ve heard that Snap-On is a well regarded and expensive brand. I’m going to try to flip them on eBay and if I make any money I’ll put that towards other tools I do need. Worst case scenario is if I don’t sell them I’ll just clean them up and keep them.

The last thing I bought this month was a pair of G8 LED bulbs from Amazon.

I found an articulated desk lamp in the trash earlier this month. It’s one of those desk lamps with a swing arm that you can put into almost any position. It looks like one of those Pixar lamps they always have in their opening animations on movies. Anyway, it had a halogen bulb in it that had burnt out and I replaced it with an LED version since it will run at 3W vs halogen at 20W with the same or better light output. It was more expensive per unit than ordering a 10 pack of halogen bulbs but I figured I will make it up with the energy savings over time. It’s actually very convenient that I found a lamp because now that I’ve taken out the AC for the year I have my workspace back and the old lamp I had on the desk has been moved to another part of the house so I had nothing to replace it with.

Financial Summary for September 2025

Revenue

Amount carried over from previous month: $10.09
Cans/Bottles: $29.25
Working Money: $18.26

Total Amount: $57.59

Expenses

Wire Strippers: $8.84
Digital Multimeter: $7.99
Poly Gloves $2.88
Snap on Ignition Wrench Set: $12.50
Snap on Punches: $3.00
G8 LED bulbs x 2: $8.04

Total Expenses: $44.24

Summary

September went better than expected. I have hope that every month will be as positive as this one but I’m not naive.

This and That September 2025

September has been busy. Work has started back in earnest so the days pass fast. A few things have happened to me this month that I thought were worth mentioning for the blog.

My electric razor broke at the beginning of the month. I had written about buying it at a thrift store back in December 2024 (HERE). It was a Remington Titanium R450 and I had been using it a little under a year. I had hoped that the blades would dull so I could test whether it was possible to hone them to get more life out of the shave head but alas it was not to be. One of the posts that held a gear to one of the 3 rotary mechanisms broke.

The way the razor was designed the black lever moves the gear so it drives the clipper when you press the button on the back of the razor. The problem is that over time the movement wears the post and it eventually breaks. Mostly due to plastic on plastic wear but also partly because the plastic had become brittle with age. I tried gluing it back but because of how thin the plastic had become any force whatsoever just snapped the post again at the break.

My ill fated attempt to glue the broken post back in place

It would be an easy fix if Remington sold replacement pieces for their products but these rotary shavers were not meant to be serviced. It’s one more example of planned obsolescence. Part of me wanted to keep the now broken razor for pieces so that I could fix the same or a similar model if I eventually came across another broken one. Realistically however this is a dangerous attitude to adopt as you can quickly become a hoarder without realizing it. Most things have value to someone somewhere sometime but you have to be able to make decisions given the constraints (space) you live with. Sometimes garbage is just garbage.

So I just ended up cutting out the batteries to recycle and binned the razor. At least I understand the fault, why it happened and how it did. Failure can be useful if you can learn from it. I have a backup rotary razor that I purchased from a thrift store in March 2025 (HERE) that I could be using but have gone with another alternative for the time being which I will discuss in a future entry.

Since I started reading again this summer I’ve been trying to keep doing it but I only managed to read 1 novel in September. It was Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.

I enjoy reading Stephen King but was disappointed by Mr. Mercedes. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t his usual supernatural horror fare and was a more realistic “detective” type story. It wasn’t bad by any means but I don’t usually read detective type books. If I ever find the sequels I’ll read them as well just because it’s Stephen King.

I also managed to completely break my first trash picker this month hauling some chandeliers out of a dumpster.

I had already broken the claw part of the picker and had repaired it but the weight of the light fixtures bent the aluminum body and snapped the jaw again. It’s my fault for using the tool in a way that it wasn’t meant to be but I am still utterly disappointed by the quality of all the trash pickers you can buy online. I realize the only way I’ll ever get something of quality to use is by making one myself. Until then I’ll muddle by using what’s available to purchase.

I realize that I haven’t documented much of what I find or fix in the trash. I don’t because it can sometimes take time to get to a final conclusion and I didn’t feel like any money I made in this fashion would be appropriate to be included in my Becoming A Jack Of All Trades posts. Maybe I should though? It’s something I’ll have to consider.