got really DeBased over the weekend. had Monday off, so we built 5 bookcases, 4 x 6 feet. red oak. cut 18 shelves. red oak. installed. stained. varnished. lay about Monday with probable varnish poisoning while the heavy air prevented full curing.
Tuesday, flipped the shelves over and varnished the backs before coming to work.
probably do sanding and 2nd coat on the wall units (bookcases over lowers we built a week ago) tonight.
that's damn DeBased.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Hola, amigos
ain't had much time to rap at 'cha lately...
oh, wait, I just feel like I've been rolled up in The Onion and left by a nasty plate in a buffet.
it's been a slow week up here, Cheryl and I are all tired out. still got the chest cold. so there hasn't been much of an upchuck on how life in DeBasement is going.
we gutted the last stinky closet Christmas Eve, rocked out the closets Christmas Day. taped during the week, painted and put up shelving New Years Eve. got the doors ondownstairs.
as of a week ago, the cabinet bottoms are all cut out, but not assembled. basement is fully painted, lit, the fans are up, the light boots are on the can lights, all the outlet plates are on except for the media stuff. the initial stall down there a week ago was from the 60s sander coming in with 40 grit on it. Sunday I finally got some other sandpaper and the newer sanders downstairs. and then Eric came over to scavenge some wiring stuff for his garage project, and one thing leads to another, and phooey.
he's got 22 light fixtures up in the 2+1 stall garage. (snif) I've only got 8. and about 8 big 100-watt equivalent CFLs on the main garage light switch.
I tell ya, it ain't fair! I have more stand tools! I need more lights! WAAAAAAA!!!!!
-0-
stuck working first Saturday in February because I picked it in early December for the "weekend of the quarter" requirement. so that means I can't take the ham tests in February. oh, well, more study time. get a couple weekends in on DeBasement, and really, the rest down there for a week or two is staining and varnishing by Cheryl, and then a long day of trim work. so I will get the studying in, and get the fake HP-23A power supply clone built for my heathkit. it's going to work out in the end.
coming up, two days of below zero lows. a taste of winter.
oh, wait, I just feel like I've been rolled up in The Onion and left by a nasty plate in a buffet.
it's been a slow week up here, Cheryl and I are all tired out. still got the chest cold. so there hasn't been much of an upchuck on how life in DeBasement is going.
we gutted the last stinky closet Christmas Eve, rocked out the closets Christmas Day. taped during the week, painted and put up shelving New Years Eve. got the doors ondownstairs.
as of a week ago, the cabinet bottoms are all cut out, but not assembled. basement is fully painted, lit, the fans are up, the light boots are on the can lights, all the outlet plates are on except for the media stuff. the initial stall down there a week ago was from the 60s sander coming in with 40 grit on it. Sunday I finally got some other sandpaper and the newer sanders downstairs. and then Eric came over to scavenge some wiring stuff for his garage project, and one thing leads to another, and phooey.
he's got 22 light fixtures up in the 2+1 stall garage. (snif) I've only got 8. and about 8 big 100-watt equivalent CFLs on the main garage light switch.
I tell ya, it ain't fair! I have more stand tools! I need more lights! WAAAAAAA!!!!!
-0-
stuck working first Saturday in February because I picked it in early December for the "weekend of the quarter" requirement. so that means I can't take the ham tests in February. oh, well, more study time. get a couple weekends in on DeBasement, and really, the rest down there for a week or two is staining and varnishing by Cheryl, and then a long day of trim work. so I will get the studying in, and get the fake HP-23A power supply clone built for my heathkit. it's going to work out in the end.
coming up, two days of below zero lows. a taste of winter.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
I'm really feeling much better... .
stress test results are in. see the doctor next year, if you're not hurting, we're not entering.
so I should be off the cart for a while.
workout-stiff and shoulder-sore from work, I'm thinking I don't have a safe place to put the trackball, and straining the ol' strongarm. nothing new there, either.
Cheryl and I have both been unusually tired the past few weeks, probably part of The Crud that is going around. only one thing to do, and that's sleep it off.
we don't yet have any special plans for the holidays, which is good, because we still have some DeBasement left for us. evening and morning services, fix another turkey, burp and roll around for a few hours and conk out. yeah, we ARE two WILD AND CRAZY PARTY TYPES!!
not.
so I should be off the cart for a while.
workout-stiff and shoulder-sore from work, I'm thinking I don't have a safe place to put the trackball, and straining the ol' strongarm. nothing new there, either.
Cheryl and I have both been unusually tired the past few weeks, probably part of The Crud that is going around. only one thing to do, and that's sleep it off.
we don't yet have any special plans for the holidays, which is good, because we still have some DeBasement left for us. evening and morning services, fix another turkey, burp and roll around for a few hours and conk out. yeah, we ARE two WILD AND CRAZY PARTY TYPES!!
not.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
positives and negatives
on the good side of life:
ain't dead yet, don't let the smell fool you. but I will have a radiologic stress test Friday to make sure.
we might be out from under the $600 water heater we ordered before a larger spill confirmed the devil threatening to ruin all of our DeBasement work was the softener.
we bought furniture for DeBasement and the living room, because it really looks like a couple nice hard weekends worth of work, and we can paint, slap up the bookcases, carpet, and move in.
we ducked nasty hard cases of flu, but Cheryl's still droopy, and I've been a little out of sorts for several weeks.
stuff that isn't so great:
it's winter, and it's cold.
we are still not done with DeBasement.
the cat is still having the occasional social error.
none of the Christmas stuff is up, and if it doesn't happen this weekend, might not happen this year.
the Lottery Loon is still laughing wildly... at us. looking for recipes... .
ain't dead yet, don't let the smell fool you. but I will have a radiologic stress test Friday to make sure.
we might be out from under the $600 water heater we ordered before a larger spill confirmed the devil threatening to ruin all of our DeBasement work was the softener.
we bought furniture for DeBasement and the living room, because it really looks like a couple nice hard weekends worth of work, and we can paint, slap up the bookcases, carpet, and move in.
we ducked nasty hard cases of flu, but Cheryl's still droopy, and I've been a little out of sorts for several weeks.
stuff that isn't so great:
it's winter, and it's cold.
we are still not done with DeBasement.
the cat is still having the occasional social error.
none of the Christmas stuff is up, and if it doesn't happen this weekend, might not happen this year.
the Lottery Loon is still laughing wildly... at us. looking for recipes... .
Monday, December 5, 2011
Merry Christmas. oh, something else broke down.
well, let's see, let me count the ways.
a week ago, went downstairs to get some veggies out of the freezer, and the furnace room was full of water. rising into the boxes of records and books, into the electrical supplies, and headed for the new carpet, walls, and furniture in the basement bedroom. sheer panic and white-faced rage ensued. appeared to be coming from the edge of the 12-year old water heater.
off to the 'Nard to order a heater. we have had some end-of-tank issues for the last two inches of the second bathtub full, so we stepped up to a 65 gallon unit. non-stock, special order, 21 days. double price. slap down the card.
last Wednesday, Cheryl was headed to the doctor after work, and the blower motor in her car died. flat out died. that's now 2 of 2 cars without heat, because The Great White Whale has only blown cold air for a month.
some webifying showed that jellybean Taurii have a little issue with water down the cowling shorting out the low-speed resistor block and blower motor. in 1996, you had to remove the dash. in 97, just a trim panel and the glove box to get to them. yay! so Saturday, as the snow was starting, tore up the front of the car and went to O,Really for the parts.
good news is, we have heat. bad news is, only on high. maybe the switch has failed out, next project. it won't be this week, we're finally in the subzero temps starting tonight.
Sunday we had a work bill all drawn up for DeBasement... build the vanity, Rotozip out the porcelain tile another quarter inch to put the shower head stuff in, finish some lighting in the furnace room, take up unused tools, clean up, shine up, dance a jig and down a jug... the usual stuff. woke up to the sound of snow blowers. OK, cool, and in time to go to church. padded out for the paper, and woo! -- shawn is blowing our snow, and his buddy Steve is here. this is looking good.
decent coupon day. so maybe we'll also check for furniture, since we can see the end of DeBasement's construction.
yeah, they can help us look at some. sure, no problem. oh, by the way, the basement is wet again, and it almost flooded the bedroom this time.
one specious fit later, we go to church, and shawn and steve head off to burn a gift card and get a water softener. this time, it really kicked loose and overflowed the tank during recharge, and the house-original softener left enough wet all over that it's obvious who is at fault here.
came back from church, the softener is on hand. a few measurements and mutterings and surveying the plumbing toolbox later, we head off for furniture.
4 grand worth, as it turns out. head over to the Nard, and we can't Save! Big! Money! on the bypass valves (old ones are of course glued together with deposits) because they don't have any quarter-turn stop/waste valves in 3/4. the Despot had 'em. needed a tubload of other adaptors and crud.
get home, lay out the parts, take measurements, and it would appear we can build out and nipple down and fit the new softener. oh, wait... is input and output reversed from the existing installation? that's a real Microsoft Pipes (tm) game of cold water plumbing we got in that corner, and might have to take a fair amount out to swap positions. it's 5 pm. Sunday.
time to bag it, this could turn into an all-day solderfest, and I'm not going to stay up 36 hours to have water before I have to go to work.
so we don't have any interior lights, trees, etc. up yet, and only the November-hung outside stuff.
Ho, ho, ho. just another day for your average homeowner.
a week ago, went downstairs to get some veggies out of the freezer, and the furnace room was full of water. rising into the boxes of records and books, into the electrical supplies, and headed for the new carpet, walls, and furniture in the basement bedroom. sheer panic and white-faced rage ensued. appeared to be coming from the edge of the 12-year old water heater.
off to the 'Nard to order a heater. we have had some end-of-tank issues for the last two inches of the second bathtub full, so we stepped up to a 65 gallon unit. non-stock, special order, 21 days. double price. slap down the card.
last Wednesday, Cheryl was headed to the doctor after work, and the blower motor in her car died. flat out died. that's now 2 of 2 cars without heat, because The Great White Whale has only blown cold air for a month.
some webifying showed that jellybean Taurii have a little issue with water down the cowling shorting out the low-speed resistor block and blower motor. in 1996, you had to remove the dash. in 97, just a trim panel and the glove box to get to them. yay! so Saturday, as the snow was starting, tore up the front of the car and went to O,Really for the parts.
good news is, we have heat. bad news is, only on high. maybe the switch has failed out, next project. it won't be this week, we're finally in the subzero temps starting tonight.
Sunday we had a work bill all drawn up for DeBasement... build the vanity, Rotozip out the porcelain tile another quarter inch to put the shower head stuff in, finish some lighting in the furnace room, take up unused tools, clean up, shine up, dance a jig and down a jug... the usual stuff. woke up to the sound of snow blowers. OK, cool, and in time to go to church. padded out for the paper, and woo! -- shawn is blowing our snow, and his buddy Steve is here. this is looking good.
decent coupon day. so maybe we'll also check for furniture, since we can see the end of DeBasement's construction.
yeah, they can help us look at some. sure, no problem. oh, by the way, the basement is wet again, and it almost flooded the bedroom this time.
one specious fit later, we go to church, and shawn and steve head off to burn a gift card and get a water softener. this time, it really kicked loose and overflowed the tank during recharge, and the house-original softener left enough wet all over that it's obvious who is at fault here.
came back from church, the softener is on hand. a few measurements and mutterings and surveying the plumbing toolbox later, we head off for furniture.
4 grand worth, as it turns out. head over to the Nard, and we can't Save! Big! Money! on the bypass valves (old ones are of course glued together with deposits) because they don't have any quarter-turn stop/waste valves in 3/4. the Despot had 'em. needed a tubload of other adaptors and crud.
get home, lay out the parts, take measurements, and it would appear we can build out and nipple down and fit the new softener. oh, wait... is input and output reversed from the existing installation? that's a real Microsoft Pipes (tm) game of cold water plumbing we got in that corner, and might have to take a fair amount out to swap positions. it's 5 pm. Sunday.
time to bag it, this could turn into an all-day solderfest, and I'm not going to stay up 36 hours to have water before I have to go to work.
so we don't have any interior lights, trees, etc. up yet, and only the November-hung outside stuff.
Ho, ho, ho. just another day for your average homeowner.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
a happy Thanksgiving to all
assuming anybody reads this rabid screed ;) that's OK, it doesn't take long to write, because nothing happens around here :-D
round 2 on Cheryl's tooth this Wednesday. we'll do what we gotta do on two fronts... (1) 20-pound turkey and assorted good Stuff. (2) Shawn and I have to put a larger door on DeBasement bedroom before his self-purchased furniture arrives Friday or Saturday.
sometime before we all die, or Christmas comes, whichever is first... I also have the yard decorations, recently-delivered balsam garland and festive Cross to implant, and inside decorating to do. it would also be really fine if I got the space heater cleaned up, the wick trimmed, and get that sooty mess back in the ham shack. burned out the old fuel and wick last weekend, and the heater is a mess. this is supposed to happen several times a heating season if you use it frequently. thank goodness I don't. but the old fuel attracts moisture, and it was not burning really well end of last season.
you can run up $50 in electric bills using the 3Kw heater in there every month, so the little heater has been great. very little sooty guck built up behind and under the parts bins. it would be nice to have a wood or vented oil heater in there, but man, the initial cost is not positive to go there. all the old potbellied stoves I had a chance at when I was growing up, sigh. stovepipe is cheap. stoves are not.
for the unchurched who do not read this rabid screed: we are now in what church calendars call the Advent season. Advent is the run-up to the birth of Christ, long fortold as God's train pass to sinners who want out of the slide to hellfire and death. it's a really good time to think about John 3:16... For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
that's it. the one absolute definining sentence of the Christian faith. all the rest of the bible is really ya, sure, ya betcha then. Sven, in the details and proofs.
is that really so hard to get into?
round 2 on Cheryl's tooth this Wednesday. we'll do what we gotta do on two fronts... (1) 20-pound turkey and assorted good Stuff. (2) Shawn and I have to put a larger door on DeBasement bedroom before his self-purchased furniture arrives Friday or Saturday.
sometime before we all die, or Christmas comes, whichever is first... I also have the yard decorations, recently-delivered balsam garland and festive Cross to implant, and inside decorating to do. it would also be really fine if I got the space heater cleaned up, the wick trimmed, and get that sooty mess back in the ham shack. burned out the old fuel and wick last weekend, and the heater is a mess. this is supposed to happen several times a heating season if you use it frequently. thank goodness I don't. but the old fuel attracts moisture, and it was not burning really well end of last season.
you can run up $50 in electric bills using the 3Kw heater in there every month, so the little heater has been great. very little sooty guck built up behind and under the parts bins. it would be nice to have a wood or vented oil heater in there, but man, the initial cost is not positive to go there. all the old potbellied stoves I had a chance at when I was growing up, sigh. stovepipe is cheap. stoves are not.
for the unchurched who do not read this rabid screed: we are now in what church calendars call the Advent season. Advent is the run-up to the birth of Christ, long fortold as God's train pass to sinners who want out of the slide to hellfire and death. it's a really good time to think about John 3:16... For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
that's it. the one absolute definining sentence of the Christian faith. all the rest of the bible is really ya, sure, ya betcha then. Sven, in the details and proofs.
is that really so hard to get into?
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it's an old high-tech business incubator that housed MN.Net back in the late 80s and early 90s, when the U of Minnesota Supercomputer Center across the street got on the 56K Connected Internet and graciously permitted other important colleges and businesses to share its vast connectivity. it's now chock-full of ISPs and there are millions of dollars worth of fiber going in there that would have to be relocated. every carrier represented. I was a tech rep for St. Kate's when The Connected Internet went to a whopping 1.048 megabit coast to coast and one of those who voted to open the Internet to commercial endeavors.
this is getting really strange. the age of The Big Cigars is long over in Moneyapolis, but there are still sneaky political fixers who tilt the mirrors and redirect the smoke and change the landscape behind the scenes without long meetings at the Minnesota Club or suppers at Manny's.
apparently the lofty digs and spacious parking lots of the Strib, almost bought 6 years ago until the real estate markets caught their first cold of 2007/2008 are not lofty and spacious enough for a modern stadium.
why not bulldoze the whole dayamn thing down through HCMC and Abbot Northwestern hospitals, and over to the Crystal Courts of the IDS Tower?
these Moneyapolis boys are mad, MAD, I tell you. put the darn stadium in Arden Hills and be done with it. that's where the Howling Wilves want it anyway. and there's getting to be no practical cost difference between the many and shifting Minneapolis sites and Arden.