23mm
160bpm
:)
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Thursday, 22 May 2008
4 in one blow (or 4 out of 5 isn't bad)
It's interesting the sorts of things that define your home town, even long after you've left. There are landmarks and relics that hold little or no real value, and in fact may even harbor danger. In spite of their lack of value, they still serve as an anchor to our memories; an icon that colors all our recollections of a place.
The ancient oil refineries in Greybull are all but forgotten. They left their signature smokestacks on the skyline of the town, and they will remain indelibly in my memory.
By some fortunate timing, I was able to see this live
Here's a regional news story on it.
If you'd prefer the photo sequence:
You can imagine the surprise of the pigeons resting (nesting?) on the top of the closest smokestack. (more than the 5 you can see in the photos) -- they wasted no time flying away, but ended up circling and landing on the last stack standing... :-O
happy day!
rootie
The ancient oil refineries in Greybull are all but forgotten. They left their signature smokestacks on the skyline of the town, and they will remain indelibly in my memory.
By some fortunate timing, I was able to see this live
Here's a regional news story on it.
If you'd prefer the photo sequence:
You can imagine the surprise of the pigeons resting (nesting?) on the top of the closest smokestack. (more than the 5 you can see in the photos) -- they wasted no time flying away, but ended up circling and landing on the last stack standing... :-O
happy day!
rootie
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Car trouble -- problem with my rearview mirror
Rational thought is a wonderful thing. It helps us know when to stop beating ourselves silly. Hard to see in the video, but his feathers are showing the wear. :(
The bird isn't always that quick to attack my mirror but he has been pretty active at the mirror over the last several weeks, so I figured it would be fruitful to turn on the video camera before pulling into the driveway.
Last couple of days he has given it a break -- maybe it is because I tried to catch him and almost succeeded?
rootie
The bird isn't always that quick to attack my mirror but he has been pretty active at the mirror over the last several weeks, so I figured it would be fruitful to turn on the video camera before pulling into the driveway.
Last couple of days he has given it a break -- maybe it is because I tried to catch him and almost succeeded?
rootie
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
On this day set aside to honor those who brought us into the world, wiped our butt countless times, and gave us more love, attention, and mind share than perhaps we may have deserved, let me ramble briefly on my own mom.
I grew up in a rural farm area. Among mom's roles, she was a freelance writer. I remember taking swimming lessons in town during the summer, and mom would take her portable typewriter with her to the pool so she could work on a magazine article or one of her stories. Many times, she would pack picnic lunches for us, and drive us to the fields on the other side of town. She would then drive tractor, plowing or pulling the roller harrow while my brother and I played at the ends of the field, chasing bugs, climbing trees, digging in the dirt and mud, or riding our bicycles.
We weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination. I was in high school before I had a pair of pants that wasn't hand-me-down or second-hand, and I was in college before anyone else cut my hair. Mom could stretch a buck farther than you could imagine. I never felt like we were poor or deprived -- that's just the way things were.
Others have written recently about their free-wheeling childhood. When I was in 4th grade, we moved to the other side of town to consolidate our farmland into one unit. My parents gave my brother and I each a wristwatch and made sure we knew how to tell time. The rules were pretty simple: "lunch is at noon, dinner is at 6, for every 5 minutes you are late, you are grounded a day". There were obvious exceptions for calling ahead, or arrangements to be elsewhere.
Motherhood is a job that never ends. I called her today to wish her well. While on the phone, I coughed, and she immediately inquired as to my health. Shortly thereafter she was providing her opinion on which laundry detergent I shouldn't be using.
Moms -- truly amazing people...
I grew up in a rural farm area. Among mom's roles, she was a freelance writer. I remember taking swimming lessons in town during the summer, and mom would take her portable typewriter with her to the pool so she could work on a magazine article or one of her stories. Many times, she would pack picnic lunches for us, and drive us to the fields on the other side of town. She would then drive tractor, plowing or pulling the roller harrow while my brother and I played at the ends of the field, chasing bugs, climbing trees, digging in the dirt and mud, or riding our bicycles.
We weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination. I was in high school before I had a pair of pants that wasn't hand-me-down or second-hand, and I was in college before anyone else cut my hair. Mom could stretch a buck farther than you could imagine. I never felt like we were poor or deprived -- that's just the way things were.
Others have written recently about their free-wheeling childhood. When I was in 4th grade, we moved to the other side of town to consolidate our farmland into one unit. My parents gave my brother and I each a wristwatch and made sure we knew how to tell time. The rules were pretty simple: "lunch is at noon, dinner is at 6, for every 5 minutes you are late, you are grounded a day". There were obvious exceptions for calling ahead, or arrangements to be elsewhere.
Motherhood is a job that never ends. I called her today to wish her well. While on the phone, I coughed, and she immediately inquired as to my health. Shortly thereafter she was providing her opinion on which laundry detergent I shouldn't be using.
Moms -- truly amazing people...
Friday, 9 May 2008
illegal vegetables
It would seem that threats to free commerce may come from unlikely sources... even the restaurant where you may be dining. Chef Gordon Ramsay:
"There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only
used in season and season only,"
Vain chefs aside, "out-of-season" produce is also under scrutiny in commercial circles due to "carbon footprint".
When you think about it, bananas are a commercial boon -- they provide money in poorer parts of the world for farmers, money for transportation industry, money in local economies for grocery stores, and most of all, they go so well with my oatmeal on a cold winter morning.
rootie
Monday, 28 April 2008
How many trips does it take?
I managed this weekend to successfully turn on sprinkler systems at 2 houses. It wasn't as quick as I would have liked. What should have been a simple 30 minute job at one house became a 4+ hour exercise in plumbing. '
Trip #1: Go to house #2 (house for sale in a "buyer's market"). Oh that wonderful feeling you get when the spindle of the main supply valve comes off in your hand when you try to open it! Return home unsuccessfully.
It is not in my repertoire to replace a major supply valve without removing the pressure on the supply side, so had to coordinate with the HOA to have the water shut off. Of course, this water shutoff just happened to coincide with the household plumbing disaster, so careful coordination and prioritization was required in the family activities this weekend.
Did I mention how convenient it is to have a washing machine in your own home? Marvelous invention, indoor plumbing and a front loading washer.
Anyway, replacing a valve shouldn't be a complicated thing. Get valve, remove old valve, install new valve.
Trip #2: Return to house to do a quick site survey that I should have done the first time. I thought I knew the right size valve to get, noted that I lacked proper tools (-1 wrench of sufficient size)
Short Trip #3: went to local home/hardware superstore, bought a valve, a wrench, some teflon tape. Return to yard and ... drat, wrong size valve.
Short Trip #4: take the too large valve back, get a smaller one. For future reference, the valve gauge is probably labeled (cast/molded) onto the valve body -- look for it, it may save you a trip. While installing the smaller, correctly sized valve (but of a different length than original) I cross- threaded a plastic connector that was no longer squarely aligned due to the length change in the valve body. Plastic plumbing doesn't seal well after that (I didn't want to risk it) so...spent waaayyy too long getting the old plastic fitting out to take it with me...
Short Trip #5: take the plastic part and go find a replacement of same size and shape. Spend 15 minutes trying to find the right place in the correct aisle. Give up and get help, spend another 10 minutes with store employee trying to find the right part on the right aisle. Some shelving systems just don't make sense to me -- in this case, the part I wanted was mis-filed in a box one aisle away from identical parts of a different size. yeah, sure I can find that on my own...
Return from trip #2: Finally get to go home to deal with drain leak in the basement, but recall that due to the HOA involvement, I couldn't actually test my master supply valve installation.
Trip # 6: Actually use the new supply valve and finally get the sprinklers running. Replace one head most likely broken by snow shoveling activity. All is well.
Perhaps the lush green grass this is supposed to create will help the house sell a little faster.
Trips 1, 2, 6 are each about 30 miles round trip. 3,4,5 are each about 6 miles round trip. In an SUV with gas prices hovering close to $3.50... :( At least NPR had a story about a Nobel prize winner -- it deserves its own blog post.
Pardon my prattle, it just seems very rare that a project can be completed with one trip to the hardware store.
rootie
Trip #1: Go to house #2 (house for sale in a "buyer's market"). Oh that wonderful feeling you get when the spindle of the main supply valve comes off in your hand when you try to open it! Return home unsuccessfully.
It is not in my repertoire to replace a major supply valve without removing the pressure on the supply side, so had to coordinate with the HOA to have the water shut off. Of course, this water shutoff just happened to coincide with the household plumbing disaster, so careful coordination and prioritization was required in the family activities this weekend.
Did I mention how convenient it is to have a washing machine in your own home? Marvelous invention, indoor plumbing and a front loading washer.
Anyway, replacing a valve shouldn't be a complicated thing. Get valve, remove old valve, install new valve.
Trip #2: Return to house to do a quick site survey that I should have done the first time. I thought I knew the right size valve to get, noted that I lacked proper tools (-1 wrench of sufficient size)
Short Trip #3: went to local home/hardware superstore, bought a valve, a wrench, some teflon tape. Return to yard and ... drat, wrong size valve.
Short Trip #4: take the too large valve back, get a smaller one. For future reference, the valve gauge is probably labeled (cast/molded) onto the valve body -- look for it, it may save you a trip. While installing the smaller, correctly sized valve (but of a different length than original) I cross- threaded a plastic connector that was no longer squarely aligned due to the length change in the valve body. Plastic plumbing doesn't seal well after that (I didn't want to risk it) so...spent waaayyy too long getting the old plastic fitting out to take it with me...
Short Trip #5: take the plastic part and go find a replacement of same size and shape. Spend 15 minutes trying to find the right place in the correct aisle. Give up and get help, spend another 10 minutes with store employee trying to find the right part on the right aisle. Some shelving systems just don't make sense to me -- in this case, the part I wanted was mis-filed in a box one aisle away from identical parts of a different size. yeah, sure I can find that on my own...
Return from trip #2: Finally get to go home to deal with drain leak in the basement, but recall that due to the HOA involvement, I couldn't actually test my master supply valve installation.
Trip # 6: Actually use the new supply valve and finally get the sprinklers running. Replace one head most likely broken by snow shoveling activity. All is well.
Perhaps the lush green grass this is supposed to create will help the house sell a little faster.
Trips 1, 2, 6 are each about 30 miles round trip. 3,4,5 are each about 6 miles round trip. In an SUV with gas prices hovering close to $3.50... :( At least NPR had a story about a Nobel prize winner -- it deserves its own blog post.
Pardon my prattle, it just seems very rare that a project can be completed with one trip to the hardware store.
rootie
Life's little lessons #4784
Reality wins over misplaced hope once again.
This Friday evening's relaxation was interrupted with a plumbing issue. When enough water goes into the sink where the washing machine drains, water will start coming out at the base of the wall behind the sink. (this wall exit point is at least 1 foot from the floor drain the sink pours into)
I ripped out carpeting to figure out where the leak was, get rid of the smell and mold potential -- what a fun way to spend a Friday night -- moving 200 pound appliances and hacking smelly wet carpet into chunks small enough to carry out... :-(
Called a local plumbing company with a reputable name. Plumber arrived and decided that snaking the drain should fix the problem. My brain was on vacation. What part of removing a clog will cause water to not leak from the drain system? I didn't think that clearly. Plumber snaked the drain, pulled out smelly gunky glob of goo with fibrous matter including roots, and ran water down - water flowed much more freely so he problem declared fixed. I paid the bill and he left.
Fast forward 20 minutes -- I have reinstalled the sink (free-standing plastic utility sink with only a drain connection) and run water into it and guess what? Yup, water comes out from the same place as before.
Yes folks, removing a clog from a pipe does not actually *fix* a leak in said pipe, in spite of assurances and hopes to the contrary. Reality wins.
Next step, jackhammers. Yes, this the recommendation of the same technician from the same company, who hasn't actually verified the actual cause of the leak, merely his assurances that this will lead to a fix, and the problem will be just a foot "or so" from the drain, in a specific direction through a concrete basement wall and floor.
I do not have that confident happy feeling.
Looks like I may be spending the intervening evenings tearing out some more wall materials to see if I can actually find the point of origin of the leaking water to get at least some confidence in the diagnosis.
Would someone tell me again why I bought a house that is over 70 years old? ;)
rootie
This Friday evening's relaxation was interrupted with a plumbing issue. When enough water goes into the sink where the washing machine drains, water will start coming out at the base of the wall behind the sink. (this wall exit point is at least 1 foot from the floor drain the sink pours into)
I ripped out carpeting to figure out where the leak was, get rid of the smell and mold potential -- what a fun way to spend a Friday night -- moving 200 pound appliances and hacking smelly wet carpet into chunks small enough to carry out... :-(
Called a local plumbing company with a reputable name. Plumber arrived and decided that snaking the drain should fix the problem. My brain was on vacation. What part of removing a clog will cause water to not leak from the drain system? I didn't think that clearly. Plumber snaked the drain, pulled out smelly gunky glob of goo with fibrous matter including roots, and ran water down - water flowed much more freely so he problem declared fixed. I paid the bill and he left.
Fast forward 20 minutes -- I have reinstalled the sink (free-standing plastic utility sink with only a drain connection) and run water into it and guess what? Yup, water comes out from the same place as before.
Yes folks, removing a clog from a pipe does not actually *fix* a leak in said pipe, in spite of assurances and hopes to the contrary. Reality wins.
Next step, jackhammers. Yes, this the recommendation of the same technician from the same company, who hasn't actually verified the actual cause of the leak, merely his assurances that this will lead to a fix, and the problem will be just a foot "or so" from the drain, in a specific direction through a concrete basement wall and floor.
I do not have that confident happy feeling.
Looks like I may be spending the intervening evenings tearing out some more wall materials to see if I can actually find the point of origin of the leaking water to get at least some confidence in the diagnosis.
Would someone tell me again why I bought a house that is over 70 years old? ;)
rootie
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