Sun. Dec. 4, 2022 – look upon my works ye mighty and despair…

By on December 4th, 2022 in decline and fall, lakehouse, personal

Cool and clear at the BOL.  Houston, eh, no idea.  It was about 10 degrees cooler up here yesterday and a lot less damp.

Since my sleep was so messed up Friday night I got up later than I wanted too, and almost missed my pickup on the way to the BOL.

I thought that the pickup was starting at 1pm, but around 11am I re-read the invoice that it ended at 1pm.  Oops.  Mad scramble to get out of the house, get the truck loaded, and get to my pickup ensued.   Got there at 1:01 and made it.   Didn’t forget to bring anything major…

Met the guy and got rid of an unwanted piano.  Unloaded the truck.  Moved one trailer load of dirt to fill the big hole in front of my front door… and ran out of daylight.  Not the most productive day, but two items off the list.  And the guy that got the piano is a handyman and is local.  Meatspace!

Today is all about plumbing.   I am debating whether I should start the dishwasher install and all the plumbing under the kitchen sink to make my wife happy, or finish the master bathroom plumbing and make my wife happy.   I’m leaning toward the bathroom, despite the sudden addition of dishwasher to my list.  I do not like to have too many open projects in the same category.  And, it’s been torn up for a while.  I’m also pretty sure I have everything I need to finish* actually here.  I’m not certain of that for the kitchen.

We’ll see how I feel after breakfast.

I did bring up some meat and a little bit more food.   Still need to do a big push, but I was out of time and truck space.

I am trying mightily to stack all the thing!  Do what you can too.

nick

31 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Dec. 4, 2022 – look upon my works ye mighty and despair…"

  1. Ray Thompson says:

    First post. Nothing to say. But at least I beat Mr. SteveF.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    I watched a Christmas movie with my 81 year old mother tonight.  Die Hard.  She enjoyed it and did not recognize it.

    No double feature with “Lethal Weapon”?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmHVnwCbJfk

    “Maybe a nice six footer to put it under, huh?”

    I’m not surprised your mother didn’t see the flick previously. I remember “Die Hard” going back into theaters after Thanksgiving that year, but the initial release date was in July 1988 — not exactly the Chrismas season.

    Like most of the 80s classics, the suits didn’t “get” the flick and panicked, thinking that they had a bomb on their hands.

  3. Greg Norton says:

    @Lynn – If you run “Love, Actually” with the folks, try to find the mini update the cast and writer shot a few years ago for Red Noses Day in the UK. 

    I think that short film may have saved Hugh Grant’s career along with the writer’s, Richard Curtis.

  4. ITGuy1998 says:

    We finally watched Top Gun Maverick last night. Meh. I made it all the way through, but I’m glad I didn’t pay movie ticket prices for it. No spoilers, but way too much fan service to the last film. The rest was just standard Hollywood formula. I also found myself shouting Star Wars quotes way too often at certain points…

    I didn’t abandon the film mainly because of the Last Real Movie Star. Yeah, Tom is probably crazy, but he takes his work seriously and is probably crazy by doing all of his own stunts. I know he didn’t fly the F-18, but the dude still has some serious flying skills.

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  5. drwilliams says:

    I do not like to have too many open projects in the same category. 

    yup. Close out the bathroom and get a few days respite from the “construction zone” vibe.

  6. Greg Norton says:

    I didn’t abandon the film mainly because of the Last Real Movie Star. Yeah, Tom is probably crazy, but he takes his work seriously and is probably crazy by doing all of his own stunts. I know he didn’t fly the F-18, but the dude still has some serious flying skills.

    Cruise does fly the Mustang in the film, and he flies the planes in this bit.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iZtBM23bY

    I don’t remember if Cruise has a house at Jumbo Lair in Florida like other pilot celebrities, but his Clearwater, FL (cough) penthouse front door is less than 50 yards on a straight line from the geographic position where my parents bought our fake Christmas tree almost 50 years ago.

    The Honda jet probably manages on this runway.

    http://www.clearwaterairpark.net/

  7. Nick Flandrey says:

    67F and sunny with blue skies.

    I didn’t get my phone centered on the charger, so it was dead this morning…

    I see that I forgot my * in the post.   “Done” in the case of the master bath  does not include the flooring (which we haven’t decided on or purchased, or the linen cabinet (built in.)   And I did in fact forget something important- I needed a roll of wall insulation to close up the wall.  Dang.  But I am going to proceed with the bathroom.

    n

  8. Ray Thompson says:

    I know he didn’t fly the F-18, but the dude still has some serious flying skills.

    When in the military jets Cruise was not allowed to touch any controls, buttons or switches. The flying was done by military pilots with Cruise as nothing more than a passenger.

  9. MrAtoz says:

    We had a birthday meal for D3 at Mon Chou Chou in the old Pearl brewery complex in San Antonio. French style restaurant. I had some snails D3 order for an appetizer. My main was an awesome ribeye with herb butter. A good time.

    Hard to believe we have kids from 43 to 27 in age.

  10. MrAtoz says:

    Because, Florida…good ole Tampa, don’t miss ya…

    The link is oopso.

  11. Greg Norton says:

    Because, Florida…good ole Tampa, don’t miss ya… 

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/tampa-police-chief-placed-on-leave-after-bodycam-video-shows-her-flashing-badge-during-traffic-stop/ar-AA14S6C8

    That isn’t the first time the Chief has had a lapse in judgement, elevated to the post by the Mayor, who was the previous Chief of TPD.

    We made a point of never living within the incorporated areas of Tampa Bay. City of St. Petersburg is far worse, with the left dominant in city politics going back to riots in the 90s, when the city lost its nerve to confront the race pimps.

    Tampa, at least, had a run of recent competent executive office holders for 16 years, from Dick Greco’s second stint in the job through Pam Iorio’s two terms, both Dems ironically enough.

  12. Greg Norton says:

    If the Internet rumors are even remotely close to true about this flick, it looks like Disney still hasn’t learned the lesson of Get Woke Go Broke.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfVYgWYaHmE

    The time travel rumors are obviously true, and “Fleabag” as they call her in the UK is involved. Lets hope that Harrison Ford’s “Indy” isn’t erased from time and replaced by Waller-Bridge “Indy” as rumored.

  13. SteveF says:

    Hard to believe we have kids from 43 to 27 in age.

    You know how to make yourself feel younger? Ditch the wife and get a new girlfriend or wife and start a new family. Nothing like having a couple of babies and toddlers to take care of to make you feel young again.

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  14. lynn says:

    “In the age of megachurches, communion has become a big business”

        https://www.salon.com/2022/12/04/in-the-age-of-megachurches-communion-has-become-a-big-business/

    “These days, prepackaged “rip and sip” plastic cups of juice and wafers are a common sight at large churches”

    I like the new one shot communion cups.  Passing the plates around was a pain and required organization.  I am Church of Christ, we have open communion every Sunday.

  15. paul says:

    Hard to believe we have kids from 43 to 27 in age.

    Next step is dentures and a walker.

    Ditch the wife and get a new girlfriend or wife and start a new family.

    NFW.  Buddy the Beagle is enough of a pain the butt.  Chasing a toddler and teaching it to walk and talk, yeah, but… I’m going to pass on the rest.

  16. ITGuy1998 says:

    Indy films should have stopped after the third film. I watched the Crystal Skull up until he survived the nuclear blast in a fridge. I turned it off and never went back. 
     

    I may also be in the minority in that I actually liked Temple of Doom. Well, except for Kate Capshaw, but I can ignore her incessant screaming easily enough.

  17. Alan says:

    Don’t ask too many questions… 

    https://dilbert.com/strip/2022-12-01

  18. paul says:

    I’ve been to a few churches over the years.  It’s all to me, a hope of maybe some explanation, perhaps. 

    The passing of the basket always felt like perhaps, extortion.  Gotta put something in or it feels like other folks are frowning at you.  There’s a better word but I can’t think of it right now.

    I did the Communion thing once.  I was on crutches and staying with friends that lived in town with luxuries like running water.  Hey, beat going home to hobble on crutches to the outhouse.  While my leg was still seeping plasma. 

    Anyway.  You are staying in their house and nope, hitting a puddle of dog pee on the tile floor and loosing a crutch to put full weight on the broken leg and yelling “oh shit” did not go over well.  It just came out.   It hurt a lot. 

    Cute little yorkie size dog and it liked me.  Not all that house trained…. 

    Got to go to the big Episcopalian church in McAllen a few times.  It was pretty cool.  Kind of Catholic but in English. I liked it.  The constant up and down wasn’t cool with being on crutches., but.  It wasn’t a “you are going to burn in hell” like Dauphin Way Baptist Church was in Mobile.

    And then the you get up and go for communion.  Eh…. this isn’t my church, I’m just here with friends.  I told the Priest that.  He was like it’s all cool, here…. 

    It was cool.  Still is. 

  19. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m going to stay up here another day.

    Got all the plumbing to the ¼ turn valves installed in the master bath, the toilet switched over to the pex, the old supply capped off, and the paneling behind the toilet reinstalled.   FWIW, using the foam toilet seal instead of the wax ring??? OH YEAH BABY.   SO much easier, cleaner, and reusable.  If you are going to install and then take a toilet back out, get a foam ring.

    I ended up borrowing one sharkbite fitting from my neighbor for the sink  supply in the master.   I bought the wrong ¼ turn, and it wouldn’t work.  Meatspace baby!

    The supply is all in in the kitchen, to the ¼ turn valves.   I took a break for dinner and catching up, but I’ll install the faucet and sink strainer baskets, then the drain and trap if I have all the stuff.  I’d really like to have the kitchen back working before I leave, hence the additional night.   There was a lot of wet, and mold under the sink.   Old boy’s half @ssed plumbing leaked for years as the house moved and twisted everything.  I”ll be soaking it all with special mold killer I brought up just in case.

    Better get back at it before I lose my motivation.

    n

  20. SteveF says:

    Old boy’s half @ssed plumbing leaked for years

    Half-assed DIY jobs are near the top of my most-hated list, beaten only by half-assed professional jobs. Awful lot of contractors sure are incompetent or dishonest, and the same for the inspectors who sign off on the work.

    The house we’re living in now, about 13 years old now, has good-enough interior plumbing but the wiring was ridiculously ineptly done. I’d say “hilariously” if I weren’t the one who had to fix as much as I could without pulling the walls apart to run wires according to code. (When I brought it up to the builder the response boiled down to “Sue us if you want. We have more lawyers than you do.” We also filed a complaint with the township, about the wiring and other problems, only to learn that the inspector had recently retired. We discussed with the family lawyer and were informed that it wasn’t worth suing either because the chances of getting anything were negligible.)

  21. Lynn says:

    “Oxfordshire Council to Trial a Climate Lockdown Starting 2024”

        https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/12/04/oxfordshire-council-to-trial-a-climate-lockdown-starting-2024/

    “Oxfordshire County Council yesterday approved plans to lock residents into one of six zones to ‘save the planet’ from global warming. The latest stage in the ’15 minute city’ agenda is to place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, confining residents to their own neighbourhoods.”

    “Under the new scheme if residents want to leave their zone they will need permission from the Council who gets to decide who is worthy of freedom and who isn’t. Under the new scheme residents will be allowed to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, but in order to even gain this every resident will have to register their car details with the council who will then track their movements via smart cameras round the city.”

    This is certifiable.  Of course to the English, all non-royalty are serfs anyway.

  22. Greg Norton says:

    This is certifiable.  Of course to the English, all non-royalty are serfs anyway.

    All of the surface streets in Manhattan south of a certain E-W point will be tolled at some point in the next decade, with variable cost depending on demand. 

    When I was fired, the choke points (tunnels, bridges) were being targeted first for the systems.

  23. Alan says:

    >> Re toilet seals

    Have used these many times with no issues. Haven’t had the need but the instructions say that you can stack two if necessary to cover a large gap. 

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/SANI-SEAL-TOILET-GASKET-Toilet-Gasket-Flexible-Waxless-Seal-Universal-Fit-BL01/203564758

  24. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ok, I’m done for the night.   

    Got water to the new faucet in the kitchen, no water coming out of where it shouldn’t.   I need one piece of drain for the second bowl on the sink, but I’ll get that tomorrow, when I go into town for my insulation…

    It’s not perfect, or exactly what I’d like, but the whole kitchen will be redone as soon as my wife decides it’s time, and there is money…

    In the mean time, I’ve got a working kitchen sink again, working master bath toilet again, closed up a wall, took out a hose bib (to be replaced later) and am 60% of the way to a dishwasher install.

    I did lose the water line to the icemaker.    We’ll see if I do something quick and dirty or if I run it properly.   I have all the stuff, just didn’t want to open that can of worms.

    Time for a drink and some time on the dock.  

    n

  25. drwilliams says:

    @SteveF

    “Sue us if you want. We have more lawyers than you do.”

    I have a standard reply for that:

    First I laugh. Sincerely. Then I say, very sincerely,  “That’s great. Bet they think they’re a bunch of smart fellas. Why don’t you go back to the office and call them up and tell them I said I have no interest in suing you, but since you have no integrity, I’m going to do something much more interesting.”

    “And BTW, I took the LSAT. Bet I got a better score than any of them.”

  26. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    I did lose the water line to the icemaker.    We’ll see if I do something quick and dirty or if I run it properly.   I have all the stuff, just didn’t want to open that can of worms.

    Just don’t use a saddle valve.

  27. Nick Flandrey says:

    saddle valve. = vampire tap?

    Nope, not gonna do it.

    Quick and dirty would be running a plastic line from under the sink, thru the cabinets to the back of the fridge.   That’s actually how the current copper line runs… I would just do it except the line is in Houston and I will have second thoughts by the time I bring it up here.

    Less dirty would be running pex from the attic along side the gas line in the cabinet, to the back of the fridge.   When we do the kitchen I can easily move the lines inside the walls and install the “icemaker valve box”.

    If the stuff was here, I”d have done the dirty.

    n

  28. Alan says:

    >> All of the surface streets in Manhattan south of a certain E-W point will be tolled at some point in the next decade, with variable cost depending on demand. 

    “in the next decade” 

    Yeah, and nuclear fusion is right around the corner…

  29. Greg Norton says:

    >> All of the surface streets in Manhattan south of a certain E-W point will be tolled at some point in the next decade, with variable cost depending on demand. 

    “in the next decade” 

    Yeah, and nuclear fusion is right around the corner…

    No, unlike nuclear fusion, the core technology is proven and available. The big problem at my previous employer was keeping anyone around more than 2-3 years to learn how all of the pieces fit together who could also express their view of the architecture in maintainable code. And we were the industry leader in that type of system, which didn’t require digging up the streets.

  30. Alan says:

    >> No, unlike nuclear fusion, the core technology is proven and available.

    @Greg, oh no, not questioning the technology, I’m sure it all works as you say. I mean it’s already working in London. I’m talking about the politics and getting all the interested/affected parties to agree on the particulars. It is, after all, NYFC and NYFS. 

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