Our 32" Philips brand standard TV started having problems a couple of weeks ago, and within a few days it was defunct. It's probably a power supply problem.
We could get it fixed, but the only place that repairs them around here is 3 months behind on repairs.
And so it was time to go looking for a new TV. And these days, it makes little sense to go out looking for one that won't do HDTV.
I'd seen a couple young ladies coming out of Wally World with an Emerson 32" LCD TV that they'd gotten for $538. I didn't realize they had dropped that far. So I went to the "world of wal" to check out options. One thing I saw was a 37" Vizio (never heard of them at that point) LCD TV that looked pretty darned good for in the mid $700's. We went back and looked and as we were learning to read and interpret specs, there was a Sanyo 37" with a significantly better contrast ratio listed. Based on the spec, and not the fact that the 37" Vizio right next to it looked better to me, we bought it.
I was almost immediately disappointed. Plus, it had two bright pixels on it. I took it back the next day after researching the Vizios (which are getting great reviews for their price range) and bought the 37" one there.
I'd read on the web complaints that it didn't have audio out, with others insisting that it did. I assumed the people who insisted that it did must've found it so I wasn't worried.
Well, it didn't.
Further the "Zoom" button on the remote didn't work. This is a feature you really ought to have for watching programs formatted for wide screen televisions that are presented in standard definition (the "square" 4:3 standard we grew up with). Most of these televisions, as this one, allow you to stretch the picture to fit the screen a couple of different ways, both of which I think are horrible. The distortion is .... bleah!
I then read in the manual that the "zoom" feature was not available on this model.
It turns out that Vizio, like a lot of manufacturers, manufacture some stuff specifically for WalMart. The model numbers usually have a "W" in them somewhere. This one did. Vizio also makes another one with an "X" in the model number that Circuit City and a lot of other places (including Sams Club!) sell. And the zoom feature is on that model. So are audio outs.
And get this.... it was $17 cheaper.
I took that one back and got the one from Sams Club.
So we had 3 new televisions in 3 days. But this one will do the trick. We got an upconverting DVD player, and the picture is amazing. We have no immediate plans to go to HD programming over the satellite (which is one reason we wanted the zoom feature... for letterbox movies presented on a 4:3 screen coming over the satellite). The picture looks fine. No, the blacks aren't black black, but they're not bad. The picture looks at least as good as our old 32" standard (which, by the way, is the main reason we got the 37" ... it's vertical dimension is about the same as the vertical dimension on the 32" ~19". We didn't want to lose picture size from "regular" TV.) Actually, I think it looks a little better.
So we went through all the Harry Potter movies testing it out. And went to see that last one at the theater one more time since I felt I'd missed a few key things the first time around.
So that's that in TV land.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Sinkage
Our master bathroom, such that it is (is there such a thing as a "galley" bathroom? If so, can one be considered a "master" bath? ... but I digress) -- anyway, it has a 2-double-cabinet, 6' counter.
And one sink. Well all the Jones' seem to have two sinks these days, and there is often sink contention in the mornings.
Well it did. After years of scheming, I finally got the plumbing supplies, cut the requisite holes in the wall and floor, and plumbed up a drain for a second sink. Went under the house, cut open the existing line, added elbows, couplers, and "T"'s along with some regular pipe. Bam! Then off to Lowes' for new sinks (the one that was there was also getting hopelessly rusty).
Got the new sinks and some water supply line and a couple of "T"'s for those, and we're in sink heaven.
But apparently not medicine cabinet heaven, as I soon found out. Vicki has long hated the gigantor 6' mirror we had there and our miniature model of a medicine cabinet (hey, I didn't buy it ;-) ) on the wall to the right. She wanted big ones.
And big ones we got. She even sprung for them her own bad self. And now we're in medicine cabinet heaven.
But not "white cabinet" heaven. So we spent an afternoon painting the dark cabinets white. And now it's a brighter place. We're in white cabinet heaven.
But not light fixture heaven. Or electrical outlet heaven.
So I went out and got two new light fixtures that had been given the official Vicki Seal of Approval™ on a previous trip and brought them home. We have them temporarily jerry-rigged with lamp cord where they'll end up permanently. But really, with all the rewiring that needs to be done, I think it will be easiest to cut out a 6'x4' piece of drywall and do all of it, then slap a new piece of drywall up and mud it and sand it and paint it. Really. I think it will be easier. Which is not to say that it's something that can be knocked out in an afternoon.
At that point we should be in bathroom heaven except for the tile job we want to do.
Ah, the joys of home ownership.
And one sink. Well all the Jones' seem to have two sinks these days, and there is often sink contention in the mornings.
Well it did. After years of scheming, I finally got the plumbing supplies, cut the requisite holes in the wall and floor, and plumbed up a drain for a second sink. Went under the house, cut open the existing line, added elbows, couplers, and "T"'s along with some regular pipe. Bam! Then off to Lowes' for new sinks (the one that was there was also getting hopelessly rusty).
Got the new sinks and some water supply line and a couple of "T"'s for those, and we're in sink heaven.
But apparently not medicine cabinet heaven, as I soon found out. Vicki has long hated the gigantor 6' mirror we had there and our miniature model of a medicine cabinet (hey, I didn't buy it ;-) ) on the wall to the right. She wanted big ones.
And big ones we got. She even sprung for them her own bad self. And now we're in medicine cabinet heaven.
But not "white cabinet" heaven. So we spent an afternoon painting the dark cabinets white. And now it's a brighter place. We're in white cabinet heaven.
But not light fixture heaven. Or electrical outlet heaven.
So I went out and got two new light fixtures that had been given the official Vicki Seal of Approval™ on a previous trip and brought them home. We have them temporarily jerry-rigged with lamp cord where they'll end up permanently. But really, with all the rewiring that needs to be done, I think it will be easiest to cut out a 6'x4' piece of drywall and do all of it, then slap a new piece of drywall up and mud it and sand it and paint it. Really. I think it will be easier. Which is not to say that it's something that can be knocked out in an afternoon.
At that point we should be in bathroom heaven except for the tile job we want to do.
Ah, the joys of home ownership.
The Bart Saga - A Truce?
We may have found the solution to the Bart "stinking outside the box" problem. It appears to have been working pretty well for the last two or so months.
Back when we had Bart and Theo, there were problems with Theo peeing over the edges of the litterbox. This was because he always backed up to the edge of the litterbox before starting... and he was a big cat. I first solved this with the "Kitty Butt Shield" -- an invention I came up with involving basically extending the walls of the litterbox upward to prevent this from happening. It worked pretty well. But then we simply bought a big plastic bin for a litterbox. We dump a ton of that scoopable litter in it, and it seemed to work well.
For some reason we went to replace it one year and I couldn't find one the size I wanted with reasonably short sides that the cat could still hop in. So I cut one side down to the right height, leaving the rest nice and tall.
Bart eventually took to peeing in front of the litterbox at times, so I moved the box right up to the kitty bathroom door (a hole in the wall behind the toilet downstairs leading into the space under the stairs where the litterbox is). The tall walls would deter him from going elsewhere under the stairs to do it, and the proximity to the door meant that once through the door he would be IN the litterbox. No choice.
So he started peeing outside the door by the toilet instead.
He was also leaving us solid treasures near the bottom of the stairs.
At any rate I decided, after trying cat-scrams (with some success, but their effect wears off on him after a while) and various litterbox positions like this and even a bit of flashing to eliminate the "corner" outside the litterbox door that he favored -- each providing limited, but temporary improvements, I noted that when he did this there was usually a large, wet clump in the litterbox RIGHT INSIDE ... that he would have to step in to get anywhere else in the litterbox.
I also noticed that, in a most un-catlike fashion, he wasn't burrying stuff like cats do, and hadn't been for some time.
So I decided to do two things. Vicki thought I needed to move the litterbox back so it wasn't right next to the door anymore. Like he felt a bit crowded in there. So I did. But he soon peed right in front of the litterbox againSame problem... big clump right at the part of the litterbox where it was easiest to get in. So I cut the entire front side of the box down to that level. He seemed to like that better.
And I switched litter. Actually it's the cheapest scoopable stuff available at Walmart now. "Special Kitty". Works fine. In addition, I added a "foyer" - basically, a low clear plastic container that is about as wide as the front of the litterbox that fits neatly between the litterbox and the door that he has to walk through to get in the litterbox. This is in case he decides to occasionally pee in front of it to show his displeasure. At least we can just rinse it out and put it back.
Well, that seems to have done the trick with one caveat: We have to clean his litter every 48 hours, pretty much, or he'll pee in the foyer. But that's much easier to deal with now. He's burrying his stuff again (I think he didn't like the litters we'd been using. Could've been the scent, I don't know). And he fills the thing pretty well in 48 hours. That cat drinks a lot. And he's not diabetic. He just likes water. He's fascinated with it. He wants to lick it out of the tub after we get out. He wants to drink it from the bathroom sink. He loves to watch it swirl down the toilet. And if there's condensation on your glass, well he'll be there to lick it off.
So at least we've reached some sort of truce on what is acceptable to him for a litterbox. As long as we clean it every 48 hours, use that unscented litter, and provide him easy access to hop in the litterbox from an entire side of it, he appears happy with it.
Back when we had Bart and Theo, there were problems with Theo peeing over the edges of the litterbox. This was because he always backed up to the edge of the litterbox before starting... and he was a big cat. I first solved this with the "Kitty Butt Shield" -- an invention I came up with involving basically extending the walls of the litterbox upward to prevent this from happening. It worked pretty well. But then we simply bought a big plastic bin for a litterbox. We dump a ton of that scoopable litter in it, and it seemed to work well.
For some reason we went to replace it one year and I couldn't find one the size I wanted with reasonably short sides that the cat could still hop in. So I cut one side down to the right height, leaving the rest nice and tall.
Bart eventually took to peeing in front of the litterbox at times, so I moved the box right up to the kitty bathroom door (a hole in the wall behind the toilet downstairs leading into the space under the stairs where the litterbox is). The tall walls would deter him from going elsewhere under the stairs to do it, and the proximity to the door meant that once through the door he would be IN the litterbox. No choice.
So he started peeing outside the door by the toilet instead.
He was also leaving us solid treasures near the bottom of the stairs.
At any rate I decided, after trying cat-scrams (with some success, but their effect wears off on him after a while) and various litterbox positions like this and even a bit of flashing to eliminate the "corner" outside the litterbox door that he favored -- each providing limited, but temporary improvements, I noted that when he did this there was usually a large, wet clump in the litterbox RIGHT INSIDE ... that he would have to step in to get anywhere else in the litterbox.
I also noticed that, in a most un-catlike fashion, he wasn't burrying stuff like cats do, and hadn't been for some time.
So I decided to do two things. Vicki thought I needed to move the litterbox back so it wasn't right next to the door anymore. Like he felt a bit crowded in there. So I did. But he soon peed right in front of the litterbox againSame problem... big clump right at the part of the litterbox where it was easiest to get in. So I cut the entire front side of the box down to that level. He seemed to like that better.
And I switched litter. Actually it's the cheapest scoopable stuff available at Walmart now. "Special Kitty". Works fine. In addition, I added a "foyer" - basically, a low clear plastic container that is about as wide as the front of the litterbox that fits neatly between the litterbox and the door that he has to walk through to get in the litterbox. This is in case he decides to occasionally pee in front of it to show his displeasure. At least we can just rinse it out and put it back.
Well, that seems to have done the trick with one caveat: We have to clean his litter every 48 hours, pretty much, or he'll pee in the foyer. But that's much easier to deal with now. He's burrying his stuff again (I think he didn't like the litters we'd been using. Could've been the scent, I don't know). And he fills the thing pretty well in 48 hours. That cat drinks a lot. And he's not diabetic. He just likes water. He's fascinated with it. He wants to lick it out of the tub after we get out. He wants to drink it from the bathroom sink. He loves to watch it swirl down the toilet. And if there's condensation on your glass, well he'll be there to lick it off.
So at least we've reached some sort of truce on what is acceptable to him for a litterbox. As long as we clean it every 48 hours, use that unscented litter, and provide him easy access to hop in the litterbox from an entire side of it, he appears happy with it.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Passport Woes are Over
Incidentally ....
Vicki's passport showed up yesterday. So the "new" birth certificate and letter did the trick.
Vicki's passport showed up yesterday. So the "new" birth certificate and letter did the trick.
Tight Fence
I've been planning to do this for quite some time. My electric fence around my tiny garden has long suffered from posts and insulators that were too flexible and stretching wire. It looks sloppy, and the bottom wire touches the ground -- not excactly what you want on an electric fence.
Earlier this summer I replaced the posts with more sturdy ones, and the plastic insulators with ceramic ones.
But the stretching still happened. So a few-years-old plan has now been implemented.
Each stretch of wire now has a spring in the middle of it. I got some pipe bending springs from Hoods for 88 cents apiece, and cut them in half because ... hey, the spring doesn't have to be THAT long, and half a spring is still a spring. Then I bent out the end coils on each one to form hooks, snipped the electric fence wires in the middle and made loops to hook the springs on.
Voila! Tight fence.
Earlier this summer I replaced the posts with more sturdy ones, and the plastic insulators with ceramic ones.
But the stretching still happened. So a few-years-old plan has now been implemented.
Each stretch of wire now has a spring in the middle of it. I got some pipe bending springs from Hoods for 88 cents apiece, and cut them in half because ... hey, the spring doesn't have to be THAT long, and half a spring is still a spring. Then I bent out the end coils on each one to form hooks, snipped the electric fence wires in the middle and made loops to hook the springs on.
Voila! Tight fence.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Walkabout Recap
Guess I never got around to telling you about the overnight walkabout a couple of weekends ago.
Ryan and I hiked in to Cedar Creek forest about 6:30 friday night, July 6.
All we had with us was a knife, a flint, and a water bottle.
.
.
.
Two tents, sleeping pads, candle lanterns, lighters. Pipes. A couple of folding camp stools. Whiskey. And a couple of pistols just in case. GPS. 4 cornish game hens. A couple of potatoes. Trail mix. Oatmeal and apples for the morning. Mini alchohol stove. Head lamp. A thing of camp spices. 4 beers. A hatchet. And a hiker's water filter.
Yeah we were each carrying about 50 lbs, including a gallon of water each. Not excactly "Man vs. Wild".
But it was fun.
These walkabouts were started by Ryan's grandfather, his Mother's father. When he was a boy, he and his grandfather would pack some hotdogs & buns and a pan into the woods, make a little campfire, cook the dogs, eat them. His grandfather would teach him a few outdoor skills. Then they'd go back. I don't think it was even very far into the woods.
Ryan, as a teenager, really wanted to go on Outward Bound, and saved his money to go. As it turned out, some juvenille delinquents were "sentenced" to it... they "had" to do it and didn't want to and didn't pay for it. Ryan was the opposite. He wanted to do it so bad he saved up his money and paid for it. And early on in the trip he slipped and fell in a stream, cutting his face up pretty bad. They were going to evacuate him, but no way was he going. He ended up doing the whole trip. I think it was out on the Appalachain Trail.
Me, I watched two of my older brothers go through cub scouts, webeloes, and boy scouts when we lived in southern California when I was very young. I couldn't wait to get into cub scouts.
But it never happened. We moved away from California about the time I would've been doing that, and life changed dramatically for the Leith family. The closest I ever got was a brief stint in 4-H... and my project was our 7-year-old poodle. Not excactly hiking and camping and pinewood derby.
I do remember family camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains a couple of summers when I was a kid, and those memories probably have a lot to do with my love for mountain air. Baking pine needles, lofty peaks, cascading streams -- and camping.
Anyway, as we were roasting our game hens on a spit, drinking a beer, smoking a pipe by the light of the Uco candle lanterns and campfire -- I think Ryan's grandfather was at light's edge watching in approval. We could almost feel him.
There are wild dogs and coyotes out there and we were probably a good hour and a half from medical help. But headlamp scans of the surrounding forest showed nary an eyeball. Cant' say the same for Alley Spring, where all evening raccoons were battling for position in the shadows to invade the campsites the moment our lanterns were snuffed.
There was a lot to do. We really didn't have anything to eat the game hens on, so we picked it apart with our fingers. It was good, but messy. It occured to us that perhaps cooking the food at the camp fire so close to our tents might not have been the best idea because of the wildlife it attracts, but we burned the bones, the wrapping, and anything food-like in the hope that the rest of the camp site would not attract any unwelcomed visitors. That seemed to work.
We didn't turn in until about 1:00 am. I woke up to birds about 5:00 am. A whipoorwill whipooorilled outside of my tent briefly, then flew on. Got up about 7. Cooked our oatmeal, then went down to the creek to clean the pans and get more water.
That's where I took the hummingbird moth picture.
We broke camp and hiked out about 2 or 3 miles to the Calloway County side where Kristie picked us up at about 1:00 pm.
Ryan and I hiked in to Cedar Creek forest about 6:30 friday night, July 6.
All we had with us was a knife, a flint, and a water bottle.
.
.
.
Two tents, sleeping pads, candle lanterns, lighters. Pipes. A couple of folding camp stools. Whiskey. And a couple of pistols just in case. GPS. 4 cornish game hens. A couple of potatoes. Trail mix. Oatmeal and apples for the morning. Mini alchohol stove. Head lamp. A thing of camp spices. 4 beers. A hatchet. And a hiker's water filter.
Yeah we were each carrying about 50 lbs, including a gallon of water each. Not excactly "Man vs. Wild".
But it was fun.
These walkabouts were started by Ryan's grandfather, his Mother's father. When he was a boy, he and his grandfather would pack some hotdogs & buns and a pan into the woods, make a little campfire, cook the dogs, eat them. His grandfather would teach him a few outdoor skills. Then they'd go back. I don't think it was even very far into the woods.Ryan, as a teenager, really wanted to go on Outward Bound, and saved his money to go. As it turned out, some juvenille delinquents were "sentenced" to it... they "had" to do it and didn't want to and didn't pay for it. Ryan was the opposite. He wanted to do it so bad he saved up his money and paid for it. And early on in the trip he slipped and fell in a stream, cutting his face up pretty bad. They were going to evacuate him, but no way was he going. He ended up doing the whole trip. I think it was out on the Appalachain Trail.
Me, I watched two of my older brothers go through cub scouts, webeloes, and boy scouts when we lived in southern California when I was very young. I couldn't wait to get into cub scouts.
But it never happened. We moved away from California about the time I would've been doing that, and life changed dramatically for the Leith family. The closest I ever got was a brief stint in 4-H... and my project was our 7-year-old poodle. Not excactly hiking and camping and pinewood derby.
I do remember family camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains a couple of summers when I was a kid, and those memories probably have a lot to do with my love for mountain air. Baking pine needles, lofty peaks, cascading streams -- and camping.
Anyway, as we were roasting our game hens on a spit, drinking a beer, smoking a pipe by the light of the Uco candle lanterns and campfire -- I think Ryan's grandfather was at light's edge watching in approval. We could almost feel him.
There are wild dogs and coyotes out there and we were probably a good hour and a half from medical help. But headlamp scans of the surrounding forest showed nary an eyeball. Cant' say the same for Alley Spring, where all evening raccoons were battling for position in the shadows to invade the campsites the moment our lanterns were snuffed.
There was a lot to do. We really didn't have anything to eat the game hens on, so we picked it apart with our fingers. It was good, but messy. It occured to us that perhaps cooking the food at the camp fire so close to our tents might not have been the best idea because of the wildlife it attracts, but we burned the bones, the wrapping, and anything food-like in the hope that the rest of the camp site would not attract any unwelcomed visitors. That seemed to work.
We didn't turn in until about 1:00 am. I woke up to birds about 5:00 am. A whipoorwill whipooorilled outside of my tent briefly, then flew on. Got up about 7. Cooked our oatmeal, then went down to the creek to clean the pans and get more water.
That's where I took the hummingbird moth picture.
We broke camp and hiked out about 2 or 3 miles to the Calloway County side where Kristie picked us up at about 1:00 pm.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
4th of July and a visit from Aunt Pat
Aunt Pat is up from Florida for the second year in a row. That's a lot of driving. She's up here visiting the various people in the Missouri wing of the Leith clan. We all went out to Mom & Dad's on the 4th and had ham sandwiches and such and shot the breeze.Literally.
Jeff and I went out and shot off a few rounds from my .22 & .38 pistols... and he brought his Taurus 4410 (also known as a 45-410). It's a nifty little wheel gun that shoots 5 rounds. It'll fire 410 shotgun shells (2.5") and .45 long colt rounds
as well. He brough some clay targets and we tossed 'em up and blasted them from 10-15 feet. I think I'll get one. It's a substantial piece of self-defense weaponry that has some versitility to it. You can use the shotgun shells for "safe" home defense or varmint killing, and .45 could offer adequate bear 
protection when hiking as a last resort. Or stop a determined assailant if the 410 shells didn't get the message across.Plus it's just cool.
Met a couple of Dawn's kids (I guess that makes them "first cousin, once removed"). Nice girls, and pretty ones, too. Uncle Ed and his wife Pat were there (not to be confused with the "other" Aunt Pat. At one point we had two 
sets of Uncle Eds and Aunt Pats -- a source of much amusement when we were kids). Joel was there sans Dawn (that's his wife Dawn, not our cousin Dawn) because she had to work, and of course Tom & Betty Jeff & Cindy.Aunt Pat followed us home Wednesday and stayed with us 6 days. We had a nice visit. I did go on walkabout with Ryan Friday night/Saturday, and she played some rounds of golf with Sam & Co. a couple of days.
Vicki's been coming down with a cold that I hope she gets over soon. Sore throat, feeling just generally icky and all. But she still smiles and presses through it. A trouper, that one.Bought some Flat Iron Steak last night and used a little Kroger steak marinade on it and did it out on the grill. It was pretty darned good. I think we'll do that again. That and some pepper/onion kebobs. Vicki and Aunt Pat spent a lot of time playing cards. I got out the guitar and I was even ginned up enough to sing along even though there were people there.
I have not been riding the bike the last two weeks. I didn't ride today because we're going to the Elks for Sam's birthday after work. But I need to crank it back up this week.
And it looks like Mark will be going with me to RMNP this August, if all goes well. Vicki wants to visit her mom, so she won't be along. This sets up perfect conditions for a guy trip. So I need to get that planned out.
Well, as planned as I ever do it ;-)
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A shotgun pattern of things
This last week's been pretty busy. It started out with a scare with Vicki's mom. Susie had been trying to get hold of her after an afternoon doctor appointment. Mom was supposed to call her when she "got back from the doctor". Well Susie'd been trying her since 6pm, and at 10pm, she called us. We got Susie B. (different Susie) from across the street to go check on her, and Mom's car wasn't there. Well within a half hour the phone rings and the caller id says Lutheran Hospital.
Fortunately, it's mom and not some doctor on the phone and she's ok. We told her that Susie was expecting a call from her when she got home from the doctor. She replied "well I'm not home from the doctor yet." Well good, her sense of humor is intact as well. Anyway, she went to the doctor for "heaviness" in her legs, some swelling and discoloration. Turns out her heart's not ticking quite right and the swelling and heaviness is blood that isn't getting back to her heart fast enough and it's kind of collecting there, causing the discoloration as well. And that can lead to blood clots. Which can then break free and go clog up a valve or chamber in your heart and do you in. So they sent her to the hospital to get her on blood thinners and a close watch pronto.
Vicki drove up Tuesday Night/Wednesday to be with her and make sure all the right questions got asked and help her get everything she needed. She was discharged Thursday and Vicki came home Sunday.
So I "bach"-ed it here in the mean time.
Fixed some things around the house and started working on the garage. We decided we're going to hang our sleeping bags. They shouldn't really be stored rolled up and compressed. So I put up some short closet rods perpendicular to the wall alongside the storage shelves to hang a bunch of camping/hiking stuff on. And I hung the ladders. Located a smelly dead mouse under the freezer compressor, vaccumed out behind the freezer and the beer refrigerator (both in the garage) and cleaned the coils (they needed it badly).
Well all this means the bikes have to go somewhere else. We only have a 1 car garage, and we have camping equipment, beer brewing equipment, lawn & garden stuff, car stuff, tools, various pieces of scrap lumber, bird seed, coolers, spare electronic equipment ..... it adds up. But I don't want our bikes just sitting out in the weather. I can put them under the deck, but that's almost worse because dirty water drips between the boards when it rains which would make them both wet and dirty and slow to dry to boot.
So I went to Hoods and bought the stuff to make a little bike shelter, and I bought a bike rack to lock them to. Just a shelter built with a 2x2 frame, a plywood roof, with some vinyl shake siding for "shingles". Haven't built it yet. But the garage is shaping up.
Did some vaccuuming. Cleared the basement of moldy smell (I think I talked about that last time).
Oh, and almost killed the cherry tomatoes.
I sprayed some roundup all around the edges of the garden -- very carefully trying to hit only the weeds growing out from under the edges of the tarpaper. Then it rained for about 3 days, and when the sun came out, the tomatoes wilted. The tops of the other two tomato plants wilted as well. But the next day those two appeared to have recovered. Not so the the cherries. So I tore the tarpaper up from around them and just doused the soil with water. Next morning, some of the wilty stuff was perking up and most of the rest of it looked less wilty.
Next afternoon, it looked pretty bad, but not quite as bad as the afternoon before. I repeated the waering. Next morning, more improvement. Next afternoon, less setback. And again the next day. So I think with some TLC they'll shake it off.
We switched from Mediacom cable modem to Centurytel DSL -- in a package deal that gives us internet, phone + unlimited long distance and Dish Network sattellite for less than we were paying for all that before (without the unlimited long distance) AND... it all comes on one bill. Which Vicki likes.
Going out to Mom & Dad's tomorrow. Aunt Pat is there. I imagine we'll see Uncle Eddie and Julie and Dawn, at least. The brothers, too. Aunt Pat's following us back here afterward for a visit and some computer work on my part. And friday evening Ryan and I are going on an overnight walkabout because Kristie's kicking him out for a bachelorette party she's hosting. So we're looking forward to that.
I got my passport last week, just so I'll have one. Vicki's was rejected due to her adoptive birth certificate -- they didn't like it. It's the one her parents got when they adopted her. It's worked all her life for everything else. She had also sent off for two more official copies from Indiana after we sent that one off (her only copy) and we remembered the Marines had lost Brian's. The new ones are different. We wonder if they'll suffice -- but get this, nobody at the passport information help center can tell us. They say "well, try this. It should work. Maybe." But with twelve week waiting periods this could easily stretch out to 6... 9 ... 12 months (it's already been three). And adoption records are closed in Indiana. They will not give Vicki the information she would need to go the other two routes they suggested ... and the state department help line could not tell us what we could do about it -- "I don't know", said THREE people, and all three of them refused to transfer us to somebody who could tell us.
Now damned sure if Vicki stopped paying her taxes they'd show up at OUR door and take HER straight off to jail without asking any of these questions that they want her to answer to prove she exists and is a U.S. Citizen.
We're hoping the new birth certificate and a letter of explanation will suffice. One guy "thinks" it "should".
Sheesh.
Fortunately, it's mom and not some doctor on the phone and she's ok. We told her that Susie was expecting a call from her when she got home from the doctor. She replied "well I'm not home from the doctor yet." Well good, her sense of humor is intact as well. Anyway, she went to the doctor for "heaviness" in her legs, some swelling and discoloration. Turns out her heart's not ticking quite right and the swelling and heaviness is blood that isn't getting back to her heart fast enough and it's kind of collecting there, causing the discoloration as well. And that can lead to blood clots. Which can then break free and go clog up a valve or chamber in your heart and do you in. So they sent her to the hospital to get her on blood thinners and a close watch pronto.
Vicki drove up Tuesday Night/Wednesday to be with her and make sure all the right questions got asked and help her get everything she needed. She was discharged Thursday and Vicki came home Sunday.
So I "bach"-ed it here in the mean time.
Fixed some things around the house and started working on the garage. We decided we're going to hang our sleeping bags. They shouldn't really be stored rolled up and compressed. So I put up some short closet rods perpendicular to the wall alongside the storage shelves to hang a bunch of camping/hiking stuff on. And I hung the ladders. Located a smelly dead mouse under the freezer compressor, vaccumed out behind the freezer and the beer refrigerator (both in the garage) and cleaned the coils (they needed it badly).
Well all this means the bikes have to go somewhere else. We only have a 1 car garage, and we have camping equipment, beer brewing equipment, lawn & garden stuff, car stuff, tools, various pieces of scrap lumber, bird seed, coolers, spare electronic equipment ..... it adds up. But I don't want our bikes just sitting out in the weather. I can put them under the deck, but that's almost worse because dirty water drips between the boards when it rains which would make them both wet and dirty and slow to dry to boot.
So I went to Hoods and bought the stuff to make a little bike shelter, and I bought a bike rack to lock them to. Just a shelter built with a 2x2 frame, a plywood roof, with some vinyl shake siding for "shingles". Haven't built it yet. But the garage is shaping up.
Did some vaccuuming. Cleared the basement of moldy smell (I think I talked about that last time).
Oh, and almost killed the cherry tomatoes.
I sprayed some roundup all around the edges of the garden -- very carefully trying to hit only the weeds growing out from under the edges of the tarpaper. Then it rained for about 3 days, and when the sun came out, the tomatoes wilted. The tops of the other two tomato plants wilted as well. But the next day those two appeared to have recovered. Not so the the cherries. So I tore the tarpaper up from around them and just doused the soil with water. Next morning, some of the wilty stuff was perking up and most of the rest of it looked less wilty.
Next afternoon, it looked pretty bad, but not quite as bad as the afternoon before. I repeated the waering. Next morning, more improvement. Next afternoon, less setback. And again the next day. So I think with some TLC they'll shake it off.
We switched from Mediacom cable modem to Centurytel DSL -- in a package deal that gives us internet, phone + unlimited long distance and Dish Network sattellite for less than we were paying for all that before (without the unlimited long distance) AND... it all comes on one bill. Which Vicki likes.
Going out to Mom & Dad's tomorrow. Aunt Pat is there. I imagine we'll see Uncle Eddie and Julie and Dawn, at least. The brothers, too. Aunt Pat's following us back here afterward for a visit and some computer work on my part. And friday evening Ryan and I are going on an overnight walkabout because Kristie's kicking him out for a bachelorette party she's hosting. So we're looking forward to that.
I got my passport last week, just so I'll have one. Vicki's was rejected due to her adoptive birth certificate -- they didn't like it. It's the one her parents got when they adopted her. It's worked all her life for everything else. She had also sent off for two more official copies from Indiana after we sent that one off (her only copy) and we remembered the Marines had lost Brian's. The new ones are different. We wonder if they'll suffice -- but get this, nobody at the passport information help center can tell us. They say "well, try this. It should work. Maybe." But with twelve week waiting periods this could easily stretch out to 6... 9 ... 12 months (it's already been three). And adoption records are closed in Indiana. They will not give Vicki the information she would need to go the other two routes they suggested ... and the state department help line could not tell us what we could do about it -- "I don't know", said THREE people, and all three of them refused to transfer us to somebody who could tell us.
Now damned sure if Vicki stopped paying her taxes they'd show up at OUR door and take HER straight off to jail without asking any of these questions that they want her to answer to prove she exists and is a U.S. Citizen.
We're hoping the new birth certificate and a letter of explanation will suffice. One guy "thinks" it "should".
Sheesh.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Mold, Fans, Gardens, & Music
I cleaned some spots in our carpet a week or so ago with our little carpet cleaner. I cleaned a few of them in the basement as well.
It stays cool in the basement, so we often close the vents down here in the summertime and force more of the air upstairs. I figured the cooler air from upstairs would just pour down the stairs and some circulation would take place. I faked a cold air return down here, actually in the duct-work next to the furnace, though, and that's really all we have for return air down here.
Anyway, several days ago, a sharp, moldy smell developed in the basement. We usually keep a small fan going down here, but I noticed the whole carpet down here felt... not damp, but not dry, either.
So.... I went to Lowe's and got a Harbor Breeze Ceiling Fan. For $30. I didn't think I could get a quiet one for that, but it said "always quiet" on the box, and I figured if it wasn't I'd take it back. But for $30 I was wiling to give it a try.
We put it in in about an hour. It's quiet. And we opened the vents down here. The smell subsided quite a bit, and the carpet doesn't feel damp-ish anymore.
I'll run the Ozonerator tonight and see if I can't get rid of the rest of the residual smell. I can't smell it much, but it affects Vicki pretty badly.
The garden is going pretty well. Needs a little more water now that the plants are bigger and it's hotter.
Vicki and I did an 18 mile bike ride Sunday from McBaine to Rocheport and back. I got here this new-fangled bicycle seat to protect her from the dreaded bike seat sores. She said it worked pretty well. We also found the spot on the trail under the Rocheport Winery A-Frame. There's a bike rack to park your bike and a trail to walk up. :-)
Let's see, I got a tool cabinet for the garden/yard tools and put it under the deck to make room to hang the sleeping bags in the garage -- the proper way to store them. I got a North Face down sleeping bag... not sure the rating but it's at least a 30 degree bag, maybe rated cooler. There were some with less loft there that were rated at 30.
I need to get my mountain trip planned. But there's two Oracle training sessions I'm going to on either side of the time I'd planned to go, and I have a class reunion (25th) in there, too.
I never was a huge Leinenkugels Beer fan ... although they did have a dark one that was pretty good. I mean, all of it is decent, don't get me wrong. But this Summer Shandy they have out -- they have something there. It's a Wiess bier with lemonade in it. Quite tasty! And this is why I have to ride the bike.
Have I ever mentioned the group "Radiator"? Back in college I frequented a used record store called Whizz Records here in town (I actually worked there a couple of years and managed the place over the summer later on). Anyway, Mike (the owner) had a "free" box with records that weren't worth anything to most people -- and if you spent more than I think $6 you could take an album from the Free Box. My roommate and I were there one day and he got a free record because of the group name and the title "Radiator" "Isn't It Strange". Sealed. And we laughed on the way home wondering how bad it was going to be.
It wasn't.
And it really grew on me over the years. And one day, I was looking for some lyrics I couldn't figure out to the title track and I stumbled upon a website for a British group called "Lindisfarne". Turns out that Radiator was a one album group which was basically a solo album by one of the main driving forces behind Lindisfarne (which was apparently very popular in the 1970's). That man's name was Alan Hull. And as a matter of fact most of the material on "Isn't It Strange" got released as a real solo ablum of his called "Phantom".
I listened to some Lindisfarne on Rhapsody, and liked it. But all they had was live stuff and I wanted to hear some studio work. I got some imports from Caiman records -- which I've dealt with before for hard-to-find stuff. Good folks. And I got another Alan Hull solo album called "Pipedream" today. Haven't given it a good listen, but the Lindisfarne stuff's pretty good.
Thus goes the life of a music junkie. Shoot me up, will ya? ;-)
It stays cool in the basement, so we often close the vents down here in the summertime and force more of the air upstairs. I figured the cooler air from upstairs would just pour down the stairs and some circulation would take place. I faked a cold air return down here, actually in the duct-work next to the furnace, though, and that's really all we have for return air down here.
Anyway, several days ago, a sharp, moldy smell developed in the basement. We usually keep a small fan going down here, but I noticed the whole carpet down here felt... not damp, but not dry, either.
So.... I went to Lowe's and got a Harbor Breeze Ceiling Fan. For $30. I didn't think I could get a quiet one for that, but it said "always quiet" on the box, and I figured if it wasn't I'd take it back. But for $30 I was wiling to give it a try.
We put it in in about an hour. It's quiet. And we opened the vents down here. The smell subsided quite a bit, and the carpet doesn't feel damp-ish anymore.
I'll run the Ozonerator tonight and see if I can't get rid of the rest of the residual smell. I can't smell it much, but it affects Vicki pretty badly.
The garden is going pretty well. Needs a little more water now that the plants are bigger and it's hotter.
Vicki and I did an 18 mile bike ride Sunday from McBaine to Rocheport and back. I got here this new-fangled bicycle seat to protect her from the dreaded bike seat sores. She said it worked pretty well. We also found the spot on the trail under the Rocheport Winery A-Frame. There's a bike rack to park your bike and a trail to walk up. :-)
Let's see, I got a tool cabinet for the garden/yard tools and put it under the deck to make room to hang the sleeping bags in the garage -- the proper way to store them. I got a North Face down sleeping bag... not sure the rating but it's at least a 30 degree bag, maybe rated cooler. There were some with less loft there that were rated at 30.
I need to get my mountain trip planned. But there's two Oracle training sessions I'm going to on either side of the time I'd planned to go, and I have a class reunion (25th) in there, too.
I never was a huge Leinenkugels Beer fan ... although they did have a dark one that was pretty good. I mean, all of it is decent, don't get me wrong. But this Summer Shandy they have out -- they have something there. It's a Wiess bier with lemonade in it. Quite tasty! And this is why I have to ride the bike.
Have I ever mentioned the group "Radiator"? Back in college I frequented a used record store called Whizz Records here in town (I actually worked there a couple of years and managed the place over the summer later on). Anyway, Mike (the owner) had a "free" box with records that weren't worth anything to most people -- and if you spent more than I think $6 you could take an album from the Free Box. My roommate and I were there one day and he got a free record because of the group name and the title "Radiator" "Isn't It Strange". Sealed. And we laughed on the way home wondering how bad it was going to be.
It wasn't.
And it really grew on me over the years. And one day, I was looking for some lyrics I couldn't figure out to the title track and I stumbled upon a website for a British group called "Lindisfarne". Turns out that Radiator was a one album group which was basically a solo album by one of the main driving forces behind Lindisfarne (which was apparently very popular in the 1970's). That man's name was Alan Hull. And as a matter of fact most of the material on "Isn't It Strange" got released as a real solo ablum of his called "Phantom".
I listened to some Lindisfarne on Rhapsody, and liked it. But all they had was live stuff and I wanted to hear some studio work. I got some imports from Caiman records -- which I've dealt with before for hard-to-find stuff. Good folks. And I got another Alan Hull solo album called "Pipedream" today. Haven't given it a good listen, but the Lindisfarne stuff's pretty good.
Thus goes the life of a music junkie. Shoot me up, will ya? ;-)
Back in the Saddle Again
Bicycle saddle, that is.
Yes, after a hiatus of ... oh, 8 or 10 years, I guess, I'm bike riding again. It seems the ole drink beer and eat about anything you want lifestyle was catching up to me again. And if you want to continue to eat well and drink good ale, you need to do something to counter-balance that.
See, I have a desk job, and thus I spend lots and lots of time sitting on my arse with my heart rate not breaking 60. Ever. And I noticed that trips up short flights of stairs got my heart going waaaay more than it should've.
Gas prices are up, and I have excess fuel in my body in places I'd rather not have it. So, I turned back to the bike.
3 days a week is my goal. It's 2.8 miles to work, and there's a good hefty hill in each direction (although the one on the way home is longer). It takes me ~17 minutes.
"But dontcha get sweaty and stinky?"
Well -- not really. We don't have a shower at work, but it is cooler in the morning anyway. I wear biking clothes that breathe and wick, so I stay pretty cool & dry that way, too. I take my work clothes in a bag. What I do is bring a washcloth in a ziplock bag, soaked in some water and rubbing alcohol. When I change I just sort of wipe down a bit with that which is both cooling and cleansing.
When I ride home, of course, it is much hotter and I'm much sweatier -- but the good news is we have a shower at home. And it has cold water, too! ;-)
So I ride 5.6 miles a day which takes about 35 minutes total. Not a ton of exercise. But it's steady, and I make myself do it regularly... and here's the thing. If you get on a treadmill or exercise bike and you get tired of it, you can just stop. And you don't have to get back on it later. If you ride your bike to work, you can't stop until you get there. And then there's only one way to get home. So... see, it keeps you going. There's a purpose besides burining calories you can't see.
Yes, after a hiatus of ... oh, 8 or 10 years, I guess, I'm bike riding again. It seems the ole drink beer and eat about anything you want lifestyle was catching up to me again. And if you want to continue to eat well and drink good ale, you need to do something to counter-balance that.
See, I have a desk job, and thus I spend lots and lots of time sitting on my arse with my heart rate not breaking 60. Ever. And I noticed that trips up short flights of stairs got my heart going waaaay more than it should've.
Gas prices are up, and I have excess fuel in my body in places I'd rather not have it. So, I turned back to the bike.
3 days a week is my goal. It's 2.8 miles to work, and there's a good hefty hill in each direction (although the one on the way home is longer). It takes me ~17 minutes.
"But dontcha get sweaty and stinky?"
Well -- not really. We don't have a shower at work, but it is cooler in the morning anyway. I wear biking clothes that breathe and wick, so I stay pretty cool & dry that way, too. I take my work clothes in a bag. What I do is bring a washcloth in a ziplock bag, soaked in some water and rubbing alcohol. When I change I just sort of wipe down a bit with that which is both cooling and cleansing.
When I ride home, of course, it is much hotter and I'm much sweatier -- but the good news is we have a shower at home. And it has cold water, too! ;-)
So I ride 5.6 miles a day which takes about 35 minutes total. Not a ton of exercise. But it's steady, and I make myself do it regularly... and here's the thing. If you get on a treadmill or exercise bike and you get tired of it, you can just stop. And you don't have to get back on it later. If you ride your bike to work, you can't stop until you get there. And then there's only one way to get home. So... see, it keeps you going. There's a purpose besides burining calories you can't see.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Guitarage
Took the 12-string in to Lee and he basically said I was on the right track with my adjustments, and advised me to cut the slots in the nuts slightly deeper to make the action on the first few frets better, and then I might have to carefully file down a few frets that are "noting out" farther up the neck.
After he looked at it I realized that my other two main guitars could use some neck adjustment as well, and I was surprised how much better the action got with just a little adjustment. Well, on the Martin D-15 it got a little too low on the high E string so I shimmed that end of the saddle and backed the tension on the truss rod about 1/4 turn. Niiiice. Just high enough not to buzz.
I need to find my razor files to do the 12 string properly.
And my backpacker needs it's saddle filed down a bit lower.
After he looked at it I realized that my other two main guitars could use some neck adjustment as well, and I was surprised how much better the action got with just a little adjustment. Well, on the Martin D-15 it got a little too low on the high E string so I shimmed that end of the saddle and backed the tension on the truss rod about 1/4 turn. Niiiice. Just high enough not to buzz.
I need to find my razor files to do the 12 string properly.
And my backpacker needs it's saddle filed down a bit lower.
Artsy-Fartsy shot from the Float Trip
I dunno. Just liked the colors and the lines. And the suggestion that fun was about to be had. This was a bunch of our gear waiting for the Windy's van to come pick us up and take us to the put-in.
Spring Float '07
Well, it looked like we weren't going to be able to go floating with R&K this year due to a family function, but they got a hold of Harold and Lynn (and little Kate) and they were able to move the trip up a week.
We spent the night with the Williams' in Fulton on Thursday. Took Friday off and drove down there relatively early. We were getting a non-reservable camp site... I actually like them better because they're right up against the woods and are actually IN some very large but thinned (relative to the woods) trees. We didn't get our normal spot because they were doing some maintenance -- ok it looked more like a complete overhaul of the nearby bathrooms. The exterior walls and sinks and toilets were all gone. And it wasn't clear we were allowed to take that spot anyway.
So... we went to a different spot about 150 yards away. Tents went up. Harold & Lynn showed up about 8. We had a nice fire. I had gone into the woods and got a half-dried elm branch with the pocket chain-saw. It's effective and compact, but a bowsaw is better if you've got the room. I got it mostly for lightweight, low-bulk backpacking. I also got an old dead wild grape vine for kindling. And then I bought a couple of bundles of split oak. Harold brought some bigger dried hardwood when they showed up.
The only problem we had was these three... oh, they looked like teenagers but I guess they could've been in their early 20's who talked too loud late into the night on a speaker phone with women they didn't know, advertising their location, their next day's plan, and the fact that they had 105 beers. (And a machette, to anyone they heard walking by the tent.) You could hear both sides of the conversation, and they couldn't stop giggling. But they piped down about the time I got back from looking for the campground host. They DO have quiet hours there and they start at 10:00pm.Ryan & Kristie and Vicki and I were the only ones floating. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We put in about 10:00 am, and spent the day on the upper Jack's Fork between Bay Creek and the Alley Spring Camp Ground. Stopped several times to play with the fun-noodles. We shot several "chutes" on them and found a few places to just lollygag in the water.
Kristie spotted some sun fish nests early on. Just like the ciclids in your fish tank, with an adult there chasing off anything that came near the bowl in the sand. We saw lots of sun fish and palid sturgeons. No turtles! Odd.
At one point Vicki and I had gone back upstream a little ways to check something out ... and for some reason ever attempt to get the canoe turned back around with the nose (Vicki) downstream ended up with us turning backward again. Not sure what was going on there, but we sure had a good laugh at it.
Later in the day we were in a chute and I got tired of trying to run it, I just wanted to be in the water without being carried down stream, so Ryan and I anchored my McGyvered "noodle ring" to a rock at the bottom of the river. Worked pretty well! (That's Ryan trying it out there).
Got out about 4:30 and had our "poor boy" packets that Vicki and Kristie put together. They were quite tasty. Roasted Marshmallows. And a S'more or two.
Broke down camp Sunday morning and went in to Eminence to Ruby's T&T Restaurant. They have an awesome breakfast buffett. Driving home, just north of Salem, we hit heavy rain pretty much through Jefferson City.And for the rest of Sunday, I don't think either of us had any energy to speak of.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Playing Catch Up
In the last few weeks I've gotten the garden planted and the auto-watering system running. Also got the deck plants put out and on the watering system. Did the spring bird-bath cleaning/re-painting (I use pool paint on the inside).I got some nice plants at Strawberry Hill Nursery. Pretty much all of them. I put various shades of alyssum in the strawberry pot, bought a new citronella hanging basket. Also got a hanging basket with this plant that has little flowers that look like small petunias. Can't remember the name of that one. Red, white and blue(-ish purple) petunias in the pot out front -- and this year, I did something I've been thinking about every summer for a long time.
There's this yellow flower they use as ground cover along the sides of roadways called birdsfoot treefoil. It seems to be pretty much indestructable, and it thrives and flowers all summer long even during the driest and hottest spells. My kind of plant.
I always thought it'd make a nice hanging basket. Since I don't have an auto-watering system out front, I figured that would be the perfect place for one. So I went out to a nearby vacant lot which has been taken over by weeds (and many would consider this a weed as well) and dug up one plant that was aready hanging basket size.
Voila! Tastes great. Less filling. And stuff.
Went to the Williams' new place for a BBQ last weekend. It's such a nice house. I suppose it ought to be for the price.
But now, of course, we have to fix our place up. I think we're going to start by replacing the sliding door to the deck with a swinging door -- kinda french style but not. Vicki hates the sqeaky sliding door.
I think next up after that is our bathroom. I need to plumb in a new drain and water lines so we can add a second sink. Then we'll replace both sinks. And Vicki wants to paint the cabinets.
Then there's tiling both bathrooms and the front porch. And of course, the big bamboo floor project is still looming in the future.
So I went to the pawn shop the other day to look for a gasoline stove for camping. Didn't find one, but I did find a nice, heavy tri-pod for $20 (Sam's been bugging me to get a decent tripod, and they're expensive) and a little vaccuum cleaner for the office to clean up the dry leaves that fall from the fern, and other office messes. There was this little "shark" thing for $9. They gave me both for $15. Nice.
But as I was leaving the store, I saw a 12-string guitar on the wall. Asked them how much. He said "$100". Hmmmm. Then he added "I don't think it's really a Martin". I looked closer, and yes, it indeed had a Martin sticker in it and the Martin logo painted on the head. I picked it up. It didn't feel like a Martin, either. I went back to the office, but I started thinking.... If the neck and keys are ok and it's structurally sound, I can probably take it home and fix it up and have the cheap 12 string I've been looking for ... and who cares if it's not really a Martin? It's not like I was going to go out and spend $2,000 on a guitar, anyway. My real Martin D-15 is great. And I also have the Martin backpacker -- which I am on the "pro" side of. It does what it's supposed to do and it does it well. So I went back to the shop. It definitely has a plywood top. Not a Martin. Plus the head is panted. The finish is ... I don't know, just not "Martin-ique". There was a slight but noticible bow in the neck, but the neck was adjustable. And the action was way high.
McGyver can fix it.
So I bought it. Took it home. Knocked some height off the saddle piece and actually sanded the bridge down about 1/8" to compensate (so the saddle would still stick up over it after being shortened). Bought some new strings. Fixed the 12-th string key (the top threaded piece wasn't quite catching the bottom due to the fact that the head was just a little too thick at that point. You think Martin would've let a hand-made guitar out of the shop with that little problem? I think not!). And adjusted the neck. It plays 
pretty well! It doesn't sound like a Martin. But hey, it was $100, and I have playable a 12-string now. So I'll call it my fake Martin.Rhapsody just got most of Paul McCartney's catalog up, so I've been listening to a lot of old Maca. I've always loved the first two solo albums, "McCartney" and "Ram". I have those on CD. And Ram on vinyl. And a lot of other McCartney on vinyl. So now I'm trying to learn "Junk" -- always one of my favorites, but a little tougher than your average I-IV-V song. Still, there are other ditties on there that are easy, like "Eat at Home", and "That Would Be Something" I've been having fun with. I think I want to try "Every Night" as well, but that sounds a little tougher. Ah, you never know until you try, eh?
Update: I noticed upon closer inspection that the Martin logo "Painted" on the head is actually a sticker with a transparent background, and that it looks suspiciously like someone removed the original label from inside the guitar (you can see a lighter area around the label) so they could put the fake Martin label in there.
For $100 and a little work it's not a bad little 12-string. Definitley NOT a Martin, though.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Long time, no post, I know
When we last left our hero, he had just sent an incompatible memory stick back in an attempt to upgrade his computer. Got the new one, and now I have 1.2GB of memory in my cratchety 3 year old box. At least I think that's how old it is.
I also got a 19" flat-panel LCD monitor to replace the 15 year old SGI 17" CRT monitor I've had for 10 years. I had no idea how bad it was. I put it side by side with one at work. There was no brightness, no contrast. No wonder my eyes hurt.
I also got a big, honkin' 250GB hard drive to help manage my music files and photos.
Then we went to Fort Wayne for the 60th reunion of the 671st army unit my father-in-law served in in WWII. The group, as you might expect, is getting smaller and there are many more widows than soldiers left. A couple of guys who normally come couldn't make it this year due to health issues. But there are sons and daughters and even grandkids sometimes that come to this. It's pretty neat.
The following weekend it was high time for a Groves visit. The kids had soccer games on Saturday. Nathanial's team lost, but he scored 5 out of the 6 goals his team scored. Cassie's team won handily, and it was good to see her out there running around.
Mark whipped up some awesome cornish game hens on the grill for Saturday dinner, and Cami made this low-carb veggie salad with a balsamic vinegar/splenda dressing which was very good. And we can't forget the Snoopy Waffles for breakfast on Sunday, and the cornish-game hen pot-pie for dinner.
We helped Brian and Kristin move to their new place on Thursday night -- we rented a truck to make it go faster. Which helped. We've been in a rather wet weather pattern, too, for which I thought the truck might come in handy. But the rain held off for us.
Back to Fort Wayne last weekend to get Mom for her birthday and Mother's day. Vicki got her 8 cards for her 88th birthday on May 8. If she'd've been born a year later, we would have been doing it in 2008 as well. Well you can't have it all, can you?
I also got a 19" flat-panel LCD monitor to replace the 15 year old SGI 17" CRT monitor I've had for 10 years. I had no idea how bad it was. I put it side by side with one at work. There was no brightness, no contrast. No wonder my eyes hurt.I also got a big, honkin' 250GB hard drive to help manage my music files and photos.
Then we went to Fort Wayne for the 60th reunion of the 671st army unit my father-in-law served in in WWII. The group, as you might expect, is getting smaller and there are many more widows than soldiers left. A couple of guys who normally come couldn't make it this year due to health issues. But there are sons and daughters and even grandkids sometimes that come to this. It's pretty neat.
The following weekend it was high time for a Groves visit. The kids had soccer games on Saturday. Nathanial's team lost, but he scored 5 out of the 6 goals his team scored. Cassie's team won handily, and it was good to see her out there running around.Mark whipped up some awesome cornish game hens on the grill for Saturday dinner, and Cami made this low-carb veggie salad with a balsamic vinegar/splenda dressing which was very good. And we can't forget the Snoopy Waffles for breakfast on Sunday, and the cornish-game hen pot-pie for dinner.
We helped Brian and Kristin move to their new place on Thursday night -- we rented a truck to make it go faster. Which helped. We've been in a rather wet weather pattern, too, for which I thought the truck might come in handy. But the rain held off for us.
Back to Fort Wayne last weekend to get Mom for her birthday and Mother's day. Vicki got her 8 cards for her 88th birthday on May 8. If she'd've been born a year later, we would have been doing it in 2008 as well. Well you can't have it all, can you?We had a nice spaghetti dinner, and the boys and their respective women over, and cheesecake for dessert. A very nice evening.
And back to Fort Wayne this weekend to take her back. Then it's off to a conference for me. I'll be ready for a slowdown.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Memory.... like the low density kiiiind
My computer at home has been quite slow lately -- probably due to the fact that every bit of software you install wants to put a stub in memory to "detect" some action or make it come up faster. Over time, it has gotten to the point where I'm routinely using 700MB out of the 512MB I have. This is not good.
So I decided to order a gig of memory. It's PC2700, 333MHz, DDR memory. Figured that's all I needed to know.
Apparently not. I went through an Ebay vendor called BzBoyz because they advertised their pride in their support after the sale.
Good thing they weren't lying. It turns out I ordered high density memory. My motherboard won't take it. But, even though it was my mistake, they are taking it back and sending me a low density stick that'll work -- I just have to pay the difference.
They've been very helpful and willing to get me what I need.
So I decided to order a gig of memory. It's PC2700, 333MHz, DDR memory. Figured that's all I needed to know.
Apparently not. I went through an Ebay vendor called BzBoyz because they advertised their pride in their support after the sale.
Good thing they weren't lying. It turns out I ordered high density memory. My motherboard won't take it. But, even though it was my mistake, they are taking it back and sending me a low density stick that'll work -- I just have to pay the difference.
They've been very helpful and willing to get me what I need.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Floored
I helped Ryan over the weekend. He's installing hardwood flooring over 1600 square feet in their new house. I figured it would be a good way for me to get know-how and experience doing it.... and I was right. We'd like to do our house, and now I have a good idea how much work it is and what the likelihood of screwing it up is... those answers being 1) a lot, and 2) not too bad. It's not hard work. It's just a lot of work.
Knee pads are a must :-)
Brian and Kristin had a "Spring Break" party friday night. We went and stayed past midnight yammering and eating and drinking and generally being merry. Kristin was lamenting the fact that this is the first spring break where she isn't going anywhere. Ha. I went to Rolla for a week one spring break and stayed with Jeff. That's been about the extent of my spring break experience. Not that it wasn't fun, mind you ;-)
As you can see by that last post the flowering pears are flowering. The redbud will probably pop this week. And I'm anxious to see what the Japanese Crabapple will do this year. They say they're slow to bloom. Last year was the first year it had any blooms on it at all. Maybe 10. I'm hoping this year it'll go all out.
Vicki and Kristin and Angela went down to the lake on a little shopping trip. Vicki had never been down to the outlet shopping mania that is "The Lake". Nor have I. But she has now. By all accounts they had a good time. Ok, so I really only have Vicki's account. But, since that's all the account's I have, then hers is all of them.
We definitely have house envy over Ryan and Kristie's new house. (We won't have house PAYMENT envy) It's really nice. 5 acres ... about an acre's worth of a small lake, large, well-planned house. Huge garage. Nice deck. Peep frogs. I heard peep frogs. I love that sound. Ryan pointed out last night back in our neighborhood that you can, in fact, hear them, but they are only part of the larger din that is the city.
At least we don't live in Dallas.
Knee pads are a must :-)
Brian and Kristin had a "Spring Break" party friday night. We went and stayed past midnight yammering and eating and drinking and generally being merry. Kristin was lamenting the fact that this is the first spring break where she isn't going anywhere. Ha. I went to Rolla for a week one spring break and stayed with Jeff. That's been about the extent of my spring break experience. Not that it wasn't fun, mind you ;-)
As you can see by that last post the flowering pears are flowering. The redbud will probably pop this week. And I'm anxious to see what the Japanese Crabapple will do this year. They say they're slow to bloom. Last year was the first year it had any blooms on it at all. Maybe 10. I'm hoping this year it'll go all out.
Vicki and Kristin and Angela went down to the lake on a little shopping trip. Vicki had never been down to the outlet shopping mania that is "The Lake". Nor have I. But she has now. By all accounts they had a good time. Ok, so I really only have Vicki's account. But, since that's all the account's I have, then hers is all of them.
We definitely have house envy over Ryan and Kristie's new house. (We won't have house PAYMENT envy) It's really nice. 5 acres ... about an acre's worth of a small lake, large, well-planned house. Huge garage. Nice deck. Peep frogs. I heard peep frogs. I love that sound. Ryan pointed out last night back in our neighborhood that you can, in fact, hear them, but they are only part of the larger din that is the city.
At least we don't live in Dallas.
High Heeled Marathon
Not much into watching people run, but here's a marathon I'd go watch.
Gotta hand it to the German chicks. :-)
update: Here's another thing I'd like to see catch on:
Gotta hand it to the German chicks. :-)
update: Here's another thing I'd like to see catch on:
Sunday, March 18, 2007
What's goin' on
Full calendar last week... Tuesday evening we went to the Elks for a while. Wednesday evening we went to the Chancellor's concert at Jesse Auditorium. It was a free concert with the University Singers, University Philharmonic, Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. Went to dinner with the Jorgensens at the Berg beforehand. Had a good time. And on Thursday night we went to Osaka's for Angela's birthday with Brian and Kevin ... and of course, Angela.
During the week I also experimented with my new 1.4x Tamron teleconverter. It works much better than the Kenko 2.0x one I got. I took some shots of the engineering building on the quad.
Last night I made a new leather sheath for my ridiculously large sheath knife. It's one about the size of Crocodile Dundee's "that's not a knife... now that's a knife" knife. I also sharpened the heck out of it and managed to slit a bit of the sheath pulling it out. But I took care of that with a bit of superglue.
Got the taxes done last weekend. So that's out of the way.
It was a pretty wild week of weather. We had snow last weekend for another walkabout, but it was in the mid 70's early in the week. Cooled down again Friday. Yesterday morning we got about an inch of snow between 7:00am and 11:00am, and it was gone by 4:00 in the afternoon. The daffodils are blooming. And some of the trees look a bit anxious to bud out.
Fixed a couple of things around the house. Bart's anti-corner flashing and a leaky water valve going to the downstairs toilet.
Ryan and Kristy did their own walkabout today from the Fulton side of Cedar Creek. This afternoon we spent on his lawn -- looking through the Campmor catalog, sharpening knives, drinking beer... we set up my hiker tent I got from Sam's. Pretty cool. But I think I want a piece of tivec to make a footprint for underneath it. The floor doesn't instill me with confidence against rocks & sticks and saturated ground.. It's plenty big for a couple. It's great for one person. Also started a sun fire with leaves from the yard just to prove we could do it.
Heh. I'd better stop before you fall off the edges of your collective seats.
During the week I also experimented with my new 1.4x Tamron teleconverter. It works much better than the Kenko 2.0x one I got. I took some shots of the engineering building on the quad.
Last night I made a new leather sheath for my ridiculously large sheath knife. It's one about the size of Crocodile Dundee's "that's not a knife... now that's a knife" knife. I also sharpened the heck out of it and managed to slit a bit of the sheath pulling it out. But I took care of that with a bit of superglue.
Got the taxes done last weekend. So that's out of the way.
It was a pretty wild week of weather. We had snow last weekend for another walkabout, but it was in the mid 70's early in the week. Cooled down again Friday. Yesterday morning we got about an inch of snow between 7:00am and 11:00am, and it was gone by 4:00 in the afternoon. The daffodils are blooming. And some of the trees look a bit anxious to bud out.
Fixed a couple of things around the house. Bart's anti-corner flashing and a leaky water valve going to the downstairs toilet.
Ryan and Kristy did their own walkabout today from the Fulton side of Cedar Creek. This afternoon we spent on his lawn -- looking through the Campmor catalog, sharpening knives, drinking beer... we set up my hiker tent I got from Sam's. Pretty cool. But I think I want a piece of tivec to make a footprint for underneath it. The floor doesn't instill me with confidence against rocks & sticks and saturated ground.. It's plenty big for a couple. It's great for one person. Also started a sun fire with leaves from the yard just to prove we could do it.
Heh. I'd better stop before you fall off the edges of your collective seats.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Not a lot
You haven't heard much because not too much exciting has gone on. This past weekend Vicki got a "Gazelle" cardio machine from a co-worker. It'll definitely get your heart rate up.
I loaded some bullets for my Colt -- .38 S&W.... it's about the only economical way for me to keep it in ammo. It's a neat old gun, but ammo for it isn't made en masse, so it runs a good 40 cents a pop. Reloading (once you've bought the equipment) brings that down to about 15 cents a round.
Ryan and I went on walkabout again -- this time on Saturday. We tested his new pocket chainsaw. It definitely works as advertised.
I made a little bowsaw with my pocket saw ... the little cheapie rough cable saw. You use a bit of sapling cut a few inches longer than the cable. It works better than no saw at all, but I wouldn't want to have to cut a lot of wood that way. It is less liable to break from kinking that way.
We figure in a pinch you could carry two or three of those little things for little bit of weight and space they occupy and if one breaks, "eh". They work ok held between two hand with not too great an angle.
The pocket chainsaw, on the other hand -- mows right through logs. It'll give you a bit of cardio exercise, though. I guess the reason it's so fast is it allows you to put a lot of energy into cutting per stroke. It's sturdier, but definitely heavier. All things considered, though, if you need to cut any amount of wood at all, it's probably worth the weight. I think it's less than a pound, especially if you leave the can it comes in behind and use found sticks for handles -- if you even think you need handles. Camp cord works for handles, too.
We got some water from Cedar Creek in the silnylon bag and filtered it -- but I'd never tried the iodine treatment and I wanted to know what it tastes like. Well, you have to let it sit 30 minutes, and by that time the top was starting to freeze over.... so the water itself was pretty close to freezing and it tasted pretty much like ... water. Even without the neutralizing tablets.
We also boiled the hotdog water this time with coals removed from the fire (on a piece of bark) and put under my little pan instead of the alcohol stove. It took longer and about two reloads of coal, but the water boiled and we cooked the hotdogs.
We reeled off a few shots at a target I brought, including my reloads. They worked fine. I did forget the walkabout camera, though. So no pictures this time around.
It was cold and snow flurries fell through the cedar trees most of the time we were there. Quite a nice day, all in all.
Ryan and Kristie took us to dinner at Murry's Saturday night and I had their ribs. They were very good. Sunday we helped out at their new house getting it ready for the painters to come -- we had to clean all of the dust and dirt out and the molding and doors.
Their house is going to be cool. Too bad it's 25 miles away.
I loaded some bullets for my Colt -- .38 S&W.... it's about the only economical way for me to keep it in ammo. It's a neat old gun, but ammo for it isn't made en masse, so it runs a good 40 cents a pop. Reloading (once you've bought the equipment) brings that down to about 15 cents a round.
Ryan and I went on walkabout again -- this time on Saturday. We tested his new pocket chainsaw. It definitely works as advertised.
I made a little bowsaw with my pocket saw ... the little cheapie rough cable saw. You use a bit of sapling cut a few inches longer than the cable. It works better than no saw at all, but I wouldn't want to have to cut a lot of wood that way. It is less liable to break from kinking that way.
We figure in a pinch you could carry two or three of those little things for little bit of weight and space they occupy and if one breaks, "eh". They work ok held between two hand with not too great an angle.
The pocket chainsaw, on the other hand -- mows right through logs. It'll give you a bit of cardio exercise, though. I guess the reason it's so fast is it allows you to put a lot of energy into cutting per stroke. It's sturdier, but definitely heavier. All things considered, though, if you need to cut any amount of wood at all, it's probably worth the weight. I think it's less than a pound, especially if you leave the can it comes in behind and use found sticks for handles -- if you even think you need handles. Camp cord works for handles, too.
We got some water from Cedar Creek in the silnylon bag and filtered it -- but I'd never tried the iodine treatment and I wanted to know what it tastes like. Well, you have to let it sit 30 minutes, and by that time the top was starting to freeze over.... so the water itself was pretty close to freezing and it tasted pretty much like ... water. Even without the neutralizing tablets.
We also boiled the hotdog water this time with coals removed from the fire (on a piece of bark) and put under my little pan instead of the alcohol stove. It took longer and about two reloads of coal, but the water boiled and we cooked the hotdogs.
We reeled off a few shots at a target I brought, including my reloads. They worked fine. I did forget the walkabout camera, though. So no pictures this time around.
It was cold and snow flurries fell through the cedar trees most of the time we were there. Quite a nice day, all in all.
Ryan and Kristie took us to dinner at Murry's Saturday night and I had their ribs. They were very good. Sunday we helped out at their new house getting it ready for the painters to come -- we had to clean all of the dust and dirt out and the molding and doors.
Their house is going to be cool. Too bad it's 25 miles away.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The King of Somewhere Hot
The water heater circuit board came today, and I spent a couple hours putting it in tonight. The rubber foam I got to put behind it wasn't going to work out because it held the big transistors away from their heat sinks. So I fashioned a shield of sorts from a ziplock bag, poking holes in it where wires needed to go through. Also needed to re-shape some of the connectors that had gotten stretched and wouldn't grip tight to the contacts.
Vicki went out and got Oki Mama's for dinner, so I stopped and ate that (it was very good, thanks, sweetie!)-- then went through one final check, and ran through the circuit board matching instructions, and bam! Hot water.
I'll always appreciate hot water coming out of the tap from now on. After 12 days without it (except for the camp shower and whatever we heated up on the stove)... a full, real shower in the morning will be nice.
Ryan and I went on walkabout on Sunday. This time we got video of starting a fire with a fresnel lens. It's 47 megabytes so I won't post it here ... until I can shrink it down, anyway. It had snowed about 4 inches. That pretty, sparkly cold, dry snow that blows around. So it was a nice hike in. On the way in we ran across an interesting print in the snow. It took a couple of seconds, but it was obviously the landing spot of a turkey, and you could see his tracks away from it. The tail feather imprint gave it away.
Been playing with the doubler on my Digital SLR with the Tamron 28-300 and my old Vivitar screw-mount 75-260. I'm going to have to try it with the tripod. I've had mixed results. I don't think it's going to do well with the Tamron past about 260 or so, though. I'm not finished experimenting, though.
All this talking with Megan has me kind of psyched about photography again. Don't think I'll ever make a living at it like I'd like to, but I'd at least like to be a good amateur someday.
Speaking of amateur, I'm doing as well as I'd ever hoped with the guitar. Not great, not even really good, but good enough to sit and have fun and pick things out -- simple things - pop, rock, folk, a little bluegrass and country stuff. Still strumming and pattern-picking chords with a few walks and flavor-fingering, and I'm still going to Lee Ruth and he keeps me honest and makes me practice better technique. Thumb joint on my left hand hurts a bit. Think I'm going to have to start exercising it.
Oh, and the rest of me. I think my elbows are healed. The excuses are gone.
Vicki went out and got Oki Mama's for dinner, so I stopped and ate that (it was very good, thanks, sweetie!)-- then went through one final check, and ran through the circuit board matching instructions, and bam! Hot water.
I'll always appreciate hot water coming out of the tap from now on. After 12 days without it (except for the camp shower and whatever we heated up on the stove)... a full, real shower in the morning will be nice.
Ryan and I went on walkabout on Sunday. This time we got video of starting a fire with a fresnel lens. It's 47 megabytes so I won't post it here ... until I can shrink it down, anyway. It had snowed about 4 inches. That pretty, sparkly cold, dry snow that blows around. So it was a nice hike in. On the way in we ran across an interesting print in the snow. It took a couple of seconds, but it was obviously the landing spot of a turkey, and you could see his tracks away from it. The tail feather imprint gave it away. The cold has broken for now. We've been way below normal for about the past 5 weeks. This week it's going to be in the upper 50's and maybe low 60's during the week. We've had some sleet and/or snow on the ground for pretty much that whole period. Most of it's gone already except for the piles pushed up by the plows.
Been playing with the doubler on my Digital SLR with the Tamron 28-300 and my old Vivitar screw-mount 75-260. I'm going to have to try it with the tripod. I've had mixed results. I don't think it's going to do well with the Tamron past about 260 or so, though. I'm not finished experimenting, though.All this talking with Megan has me kind of psyched about photography again. Don't think I'll ever make a living at it like I'd like to, but I'd at least like to be a good amateur someday.
Speaking of amateur, I'm doing as well as I'd ever hoped with the guitar. Not great, not even really good, but good enough to sit and have fun and pick things out -- simple things - pop, rock, folk, a little bluegrass and country stuff. Still strumming and pattern-picking chords with a few walks and flavor-fingering, and I'm still going to Lee Ruth and he keeps me honest and makes me practice better technique. Thumb joint on my left hand hurts a bit. Think I'm going to have to start exercising it.
Oh, and the rest of me. I think my elbows are healed. The excuses are gone.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Purple Ball
Saturday evening was the Elks' Club Purple Ball -- I guess it's a Valentines day thing. We called it "Prom for the Elks". Vicki bought a stretchy velvety black dress with a kind of a sheer lacey mini-jacket. I rented a tux -- and we went. Even danced some. I really need to learn to dance. Vicki loves to dance, and I frankly suck at it.
It was nice to see everyone dressed up. We don't really do that anymore in middle class America. There's rarely a reason to. Had dinner in the dining room -- good filets prepared ala Jack's Coronado. The local band Brothers' Image played -- they do a lot of classic rock and oldies, and they're very good.
Imagine this -- I neglected to take pictures before we went. There are a couple of pictures of us that were taken at the ball -- but not on my camera. We'll get copies eventually. I did take some of Greg and Georgeanne for them. I should've had someone take a picture with my camera.
Anyway, we had a really nice time.
It was nice to see everyone dressed up. We don't really do that anymore in middle class America. There's rarely a reason to. Had dinner in the dining room -- good filets prepared ala Jack's Coronado. The local band Brothers' Image played -- they do a lot of classic rock and oldies, and they're very good.
Imagine this -- I neglected to take pictures before we went. There are a couple of pictures of us that were taken at the ball -- but not on my camera. We'll get copies eventually. I did take some of Greg and Georgeanne for them. I should've had someone take a picture with my camera.
Anyway, we had a really nice time.
Weekend Walkabout
Ryan and I went on walkabout Sunday. It was quite treacherous - the trail was still mostly ice and quite slippery. We had to tread very carefully.
When we got to the famous "waterfall" that I always stop and take a picture of, we were in for a treat. Whereas last time it had been warm a few days before and the temerature dropped to 5 or so degrees the night before but the water was still running from the previous days' snowmelt -- this time that water had had a chance to freeze.
When we got to the Cedar Creek crossing to "the hotdog spot", the water was much lower, and the day was much warmer -- so we were able to cross on some rocks that were barely or only partially submerged.
And we started our first flint and steel (with tinder) fire. We used what I call "cedar down" ... stringy bits of cedar bark. The oils in the bark and the thin fluffiness of it make it almost ideal tinder.
We tried it a couple of times with the sun and our freznel lenses, and that worked, too.
Ryan brough a can of chili, so this time we had chili dogs. We tried rigging up a bow and drill set but I don't think by that time our hearts were in it. But after lunch I decided to try it with dried grass. We were able to get it to work. Then leaves, all crumbled up in your hand.
Your hand. We discovered the best way to start a fire with any tinder is to do it in your hand, especially a sunlight/magnifying glass fire. The reason, I guess, is that you can control the density of the tinder. You want it fairly dense (so you squeeze and pack) with a flat surface to focus the light on to get a tiny coal started. Then you ditch the magnifying glass and start to blow on it. As you blow, you slowly loosen your grip on the tinder, allowing it to expand in your hand. You should see more and more smoke each time you blow. Finally, at some point your hand is open with the tinder sitting on top and one final puff will get it to burst into flame. They you quickly set it down on something you don't mind burning (ie, not your hand) -- probably more tinder or kindling -- and start your fire.
Pretty friggin' cool. We should've taken a video of one of our many successful attempts.
(note: this shot is here to link to in my profile -- gotta put it somewhere on the web)
When we got to the famous "waterfall" that I always stop and take a picture of, we were in for a treat. Whereas last time it had been warm a few days before and the temerature dropped to 5 or so degrees the night before but the water was still running from the previous days' snowmelt -- this time that water had had a chance to freeze.
When we got to the Cedar Creek crossing to "the hotdog spot", the water was much lower, and the day was much warmer -- so we were able to cross on some rocks that were barely or only partially submerged.And we started our first flint and steel (with tinder) fire. We used what I call "cedar down" ... stringy bits of cedar bark. The oils in the bark and the thin fluffiness of it make it almost ideal tinder.
We tried it a couple of times with the sun and our freznel lenses, and that worked, too.
Ryan brough a can of chili, so this time we had chili dogs. We tried rigging up a bow and drill set but I don't think by that time our hearts were in it. But after lunch I decided to try it with dried grass. We were able to get it to work. Then leaves, all crumbled up in your hand.
Your hand. We discovered the best way to start a fire with any tinder is to do it in your hand, especially a sunlight/magnifying glass fire. The reason, I guess, is that you can control the density of the tinder. You want it fairly dense (so you squeeze and pack) with a flat surface to focus the light on to get a tiny coal started. Then you ditch the magnifying glass and start to blow on it. As you blow, you slowly loosen your grip on the tinder, allowing it to expand in your hand. You should see more and more smoke each time you blow. Finally, at some point your hand is open with the tinder sitting on top and one final puff will get it to burst into flame. They you quickly set it down on something you don't mind burning (ie, not your hand) -- probably more tinder or kindling -- and start your fire.Pretty friggin' cool. We should've taken a video of one of our many successful attempts.
(note: this shot is here to link to in my profile -- gotta put it somewhere on the web)
Water heater saga, continued
To expand on last night's quick post, Seisco told me they'd ship me a new circuit board for freight -- the catch being that there were none in the warehouse and probably wouldn't be until... today. Then they have to be inventoried. And I had them second-day it to me, so he said it should be here by friday.
So I went to Bass Pro and bought a Zodi camp shower. It runs on propane, and produces just enough of a hot water stream to take a shower in hot water. Well, I do let the bucket of water sit all day and adjust to room temperature, which helps. And the stream of water is less than 1/8 of the stream of a regular shower, and not excactly a lot of pressure, either. So while the water is hot, you get cold, because you're wet and not enough warm water is compensating for the evaporation off of your body. It also takes longer to rinse. Still -- it's waaaaaaay better than a cold shower.
One more thing... you gotta love the girl on the package - now wouldn't you like to run in to that in the middle of the woods! Nothing between her skin and the trees but the water.
The worst thing about not having hot water is showering.
You can now buy Bosch electric tankless hot water heaters at Lowe's for a little less than you can a Seisco. Nice thing about the Bosch's is that they use copper pipe instead of the special plastic that Seisco uses. It's the plastic that has caused all of my problems. After about 3.5 years it started developing stress cracks. I noticed that the plastic they sent to replace it is a different color -- so I wonder if they've changed the formulation. I asked if they had a run of bad plastic, and they said "not in your serial number range." At any rate, if it were going to cost too much to replace the circuit board, I was going to go to a Bosch. Since they'll ship it for freight costs, I decided to save the money. $745 vs $35. Only no hot water for a week in the middle of a cold winter....
I talked to Ryan about it -- he had once mentioned that we could hook the wiring directly to the heating elements with the breaker off.... then if we wanted to shower we could turn the water on, go turn the breakers on, take a shower, leave the water on, go turn the breakers off, and then turn the water off. Theoretically, that should work.
However, we decided that if we were planning on using the water heater and not replacing it, that could be a bad idea.
So I went to Bass Pro and bought a Zodi camp shower. It runs on propane, and produces just enough of a hot water stream to take a shower in hot water. Well, I do let the bucket of water sit all day and adjust to room temperature, which helps. And the stream of water is less than 1/8 of the stream of a regular shower, and not excactly a lot of pressure, either. So while the water is hot, you get cold, because you're wet and not enough warm water is compensating for the evaporation off of your body. It also takes longer to rinse. Still -- it's waaaaaaay better than a cold shower.There is carbon monoxide to worry about, but a couple of 5 minute showers doesn't produce enough to cause us any harm, plus just to be safe we leave the door open and turn the exhaust fan on. (note: if you do this, don't sue me for carbon monoxide poisoning. The packaging clearly states it's for outdoor use only. Do it at your own risk, etc, etc. I understand the risks and that they are my responsibility when I take them myself)
One more thing... you gotta love the girl on the package - now wouldn't you like to run in to that in the middle of the woods! Nothing between her skin and the trees but the water.Monday, February 12, 2007
Seisco comes through
The good news: Seisco is going to ship me a new circuit board for freight.
The bad news: They can't get it to me until friday.
The ugly -- it's February and hot showers are nice. The water out of the tap is like 55 degrees.
Maybe.
So ... the temporary solution is: this
I wish I were kidding. More later.
The bad news: They can't get it to me until friday.
The ugly -- it's February and hot showers are nice. The water out of the tap is like 55 degrees.
Maybe.
So ... the temporary solution is: this
I wish I were kidding. More later.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Water Heater Update - the culprit
I got in there this morning to see what was up -- and to document what happened. (you should be able to click on the pictures to see larger versions).I detatched the circuit board to photograph the inside. As you can see, quite a bit of carbon was splashed about, painting one section of the cylinders black, and coating the back side of the circuit board.
Last night Ryan and I saw what we thought was a drop of water where the limiter screws in to the cylinder body. Wasn't sure if that was it or not. Well, closer inspection this morning reveals that it very likely was (I feel like I should go on CSI or something). You can see the drip of water up by the limiter, and another spot below it when it dripped down. The arcing occurred right vertical with this. This, combined with the fact that the heater had not yet been attached securely to the wall mount yet (until I was sure that it worked) so the unit wasn't completely vertical front-to-back, allowed a drop of this water to fall on to the circuit board and short out 240 volts and ... well, at least 40 amps.
I was trying to be sure I didn't tighten the thing too much like the instructions said. Guess I should have made it a little tighter. A little drip like that. It's a good argument for epoxy-coating the back of that PCB, no?Anyway, need to call Seisco and see about a new one.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Water Heater Troubles, continued
The part came in a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't had time to install it. It involves taking pretty much the whole water heater apart.Well this morning, I heard the leak alarm going off, and I went down to check. It was leaking from the top of the third cylinder, in the other cylinder pair (the one I hadn't ordered a replacement part for). I stayed home to address the issue.
I took it apart and, not surprisingly, what I found was yet another crack in the plastic had developed, this time through the threads where the heating element plugged in. I talked to a tech at Seisco so I could order another part. I asked him a few questions, like whether they'd had a bad batch of plastic. He said "not in your serial number range".I decided to replace the worse leak with the new part, since the leak in the other one was controllable and away from electronics. Which is what I ended up doing. I ground a little grove into the crack on the less-bad leak and patched it with epoxy, and I cut a gasket the size of the whole bottom plate to cover all the bases. By about 4:30 I had it all put back together and hung it on the wall. Turned on the water. No leaks. Cool.
Turned on the power and went through the matching routine. Everything tested fine, and bang, we had hot water! Success!I could hear it clicking on and off as Vicki used hot water upstairs as I was cleaning up. About 6:30 I was putting stuff away that I had removed from under the stairs to do the work when I heard a loud pop and a saw a blue flash.
Not good.
I tested it a few more times and couldn't tell where the flash came from -- finally, I decided it had to be from behind the circuit board. Really not good.
I took the circuit board off. A big square black mark over part of the two cylinders behind the circuit board was revealed. There was a big black smudge and a huge bit of PCB burnt out on the back.
The circuit board is toast. Some water must have gotten on it. Probably happened when I was turning on the water -- a few drops dribbled out of the intake pipe. I quickly tightened it and it stopped. I didn't see but a few drops of water, and I dried those up. I flashed a flashlight around to see what I could see. I should've checked harder. I figure the ruckus of me putting stuff back in the stair-hole where the water heater was ... dehumidifier, vaccum cleaner, carpet cleaner .... caused some drop of water to ooze its way down to a bad spot, and POW!
So we have no hot water tonight -- and we probably won't have it until Saturday at the earliest.
I'll call Seisco in the morning and see how much they'll charge me for a new PCB. They were second-daying me another 4 cylinders -- that was $25. I think it'll be $35 to overnight the PCB + whatever they'll charge since this wouldn't be covered by warranty.
There's no way to fit a standard water heater under the stairs anymore since we drywalled it off. I mean, one would fit, but you couldn't get it in the door past the furnace. This is why we bought the tankless to begin with.
My other option is to go buy a PowerStar at Lowes. Not quite as advanced circuitry, and slightly less wattage.... but local replacement is a possibility, and I think the cylinders are made of metal instead of plastic. I'd also have to re-do the sub panel with 3 40 amp brakers and pull some new wire ... though not much. The water heater is right there. But we're talking about $650 with tax, plus probably another $55-$60 in breakers. It depends on how much they want for a new PCB from Seisco.
So anyway, that was a wasted day off. Not that I didn't learn something. Actually I learned a lot. But to go from "Whoo-hoo, I did it" to "B-U-M-M-E-R" in such a short period of time....
I'm bummed. I hope I can sleep.
Lord knows, the cold shower will wake me up in the morning.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Bears and Birthday Bashes
Well, what's gone on since our last episode?
I married in to a Chicago Bears (and Cubs) family, and the Bears made it to the Superbowl. I had made the boys and Angela Bears T-shirts for the occasion. We went over to Ken's last night -- he had a Superbowl party on a big screen, flat screen (like 60") and Kevin & Angela and Brian and Kristin were there along with Vicki and myself. Sam and Deb even dropped by.
Of course, after some initial excitement, things got ugly and the Bears never hit a stride. So the evening did not end on the happiest of notes for the big Bears fans. But hey, my football Cardinals never made it to the Superbowl, when I was a fan (when they were in St. Louis). The Bears have been to two in relatively recent memory.
Went down to Mike & Lois' house for the 25th anniversary of our first mutal birthday party. We tried to make the food part as easy as possible. We brought sandwiches for Saturday lunch and stuff for eggs and snoopy waffles in the morning. Mark grilled up dogs & burgers Saturday evening -- and that pretty much covered it. Vicki brought a Germann's Chocolate Cake, and we had a good time talking, pretty much, and not much else. Which is the way we like it. Mark and I broke out the guitars and mando for a bit.
Let's see, I got an oilskin coat from Outback Saddle Supply ... the "Copperfield" -- for an outdoors, woodsy
jacket that will stand up to the abuse of trees and thorns and rocks and rain. It smells like horse tack, which brings back pleasant memories from my childhood. Plus it goes great with the leather hats.
Well, lookie there. If I'd've waited a week I could have gotten it for $40 less! That would have paid for the fleece liner for it I was thinking about getting. Oh well. That's the way life goes. I see they made sure to mention it doesn't apply to previous purchases.*sigh*
Got my whole Cokin filter system for my camera, part of Mother's birthday money (along with the Nikon CoolPix)... and I think I'll get a doubler as a cheap way to turn my Tamron 28-300 lens into a 56-600. That's a 900 eqivalent in 35mm land. That's .... significant. So I can shoot grizzly bears from a safe distance. Well, safer than last time.
Next weekend is the Purple Ball -- it's like Prom for the Elks. And we're going. Vicki got a nice formal dress and I'll be renting a tux. Should be fun.
And that's about all I've got for now.
I married in to a Chicago Bears (and Cubs) family, and the Bears made it to the Superbowl. I had made the boys and Angela Bears T-shirts for the occasion. We went over to Ken's last night -- he had a Superbowl party on a big screen, flat screen (like 60") and Kevin & Angela and Brian and Kristin were there along with Vicki and myself. Sam and Deb even dropped by.
Of course, after some initial excitement, things got ugly and the Bears never hit a stride. So the evening did not end on the happiest of notes for the big Bears fans. But hey, my football Cardinals never made it to the Superbowl, when I was a fan (when they were in St. Louis). The Bears have been to two in relatively recent memory.
Went down to Mike & Lois' house for the 25th anniversary of our first mutal birthday party. We tried to make the food part as easy as possible. We brought sandwiches for Saturday lunch and stuff for eggs and snoopy waffles in the morning. Mark grilled up dogs & burgers Saturday evening -- and that pretty much covered it. Vicki brought a Germann's Chocolate Cake, and we had a good time talking, pretty much, and not much else. Which is the way we like it. Mark and I broke out the guitars and mando for a bit.Let's see, I got an oilskin coat from Outback Saddle Supply ... the "Copperfield" -- for an outdoors, woodsy
jacket that will stand up to the abuse of trees and thorns and rocks and rain. It smells like horse tack, which brings back pleasant memories from my childhood. Plus it goes great with the leather hats.Well, lookie there. If I'd've waited a week I could have gotten it for $40 less! That would have paid for the fleece liner for it I was thinking about getting. Oh well. That's the way life goes. I see they made sure to mention it doesn't apply to previous purchases.*sigh*
Got my whole Cokin filter system for my camera, part of Mother's birthday money (along with the Nikon CoolPix)... and I think I'll get a doubler as a cheap way to turn my Tamron 28-300 lens into a 56-600. That's a 900 eqivalent in 35mm land. That's .... significant. So I can shoot grizzly bears from a safe distance. Well, safer than last time.Next weekend is the Purple Ball -- it's like Prom for the Elks. And we're going. Vicki got a nice formal dress and I'll be renting a tux. Should be fun.
And that's about all I've got for now.
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