Hot hot hot. Humid, drippy, sweating swamp. Ah the joys of summer in east Texas. On the other hand, our housing market is nuts, jobs go unfilled, and our economy is booming. For values of booming anyway. I am starting to get a little sunburned despite the big straw hat and being in the shade and on a machine most of the day. The sun is so hot that I am noticeably darker tan that when I started the project, just from driving the machine through it.
Did a bunch of stuff yesterday. Was not easier, like I was hoping. The ground beam continues to be a major problem. If there was someplace close, I’d rent a concrete saw (like a chainsaw) to cut the beam. It’s far too deep for my walk behind. 40+ year old concrete is HARD. I am making steady progress, but barring a miracle, I’m not going to be done on Wednesday. It’s a lot cheaper to extend my rentals than to do it again later, so I’ll probably just stay up here and continue working.
Today is more of the same. Break the concrete, scoop it up, put it somewhere, scoop up the sand, put it somewhere, scoop up the topsoil, put it somewhere. Check that we’re still reasonably level and at the right depth. Repeat. Two skid steer buckets of rubble. 3 or 4 of sand. 1 or 2 of topsoil. Transferred by the mini-ex at a rate of twelve+ shovels per bucket. Many more partial shovels of broken concrete as it doesn’t fill the bucket well.
Breaking the concrete takes the most time, mainly because of the effort to weaken the ground beam. The actual concrete patio breaks quickly with the big hammer, despite being 8-12 inches thick. Because it’s in layers, I actually break the top layer, then the bottom layer which is way easier than breaking a monolithic slab. Also fortunately, Old Boy used smooth steel ‘pencil rod’ and not rebar. The chunks do not stick to the smooth pencil rod like they would to rebar.
I got a low fuel light on the skid steer this afternoon. Added 5 gallons and got back to half… so it’s a ten gallon tank, and it lasted 4 days. That’s far better than I expected. I’m running the mini-ex about 3:1 vs the skid steer (technically a ‘track loader’.) Maybe 4:1.
I’m holding up ok, despite the time in the seat. I was a bit ‘punchy’ by the end of the day, and decided I was at a good point to look at the electrical at the dockhouse again.
Today will be more of the same. The dumpster should be switched out for new, and it needs it. It’s full to the top. I hope they get to me early in the day, I’d hate to stack the rubble and move it twice. I’ll do whatever it takes though.
If I have to go to town, maybe I’ll look for the electrical stuff I need. If I have time. Which I don’t.
So stack some stuff for your own projects. And food. Always food.
nick
Nick, are you making a map of the property and the power and water lines? Wiring diagrams specifying what’s been replaced?
Even my kids say that anyone still wearing a mask at this point is making a political statement.
Big Smile!
For some reason, hitting the forehead with a therm stopped real fast. Too degrading?
Of course, they’re still groping crotches and forcing removal of shoes.
Ho boy, they just picked up the dumpster. Office lady said it was fine to fill it…. truck barely made it. Driver was nervous looking, and obviously relieved to get it up on the truck. Hope he goes slow. He will take it to the yard and come back to reposition the new one. Usually they move the full, drop it, then move the empty into position, finally re-loading the full and leaving. He’s obviously concerned he won’t be able to re-load it.
78F and clear, no overcast morning for me.
Physical inventory while laying in bed? Stiff and sore back. Stiff and sore hands. Borderline muscle cramping. More fluids and a multivitamin are in order….
Job is taking it’s toll. Lots of minor scrapes on arms and legs. Worst today is a dime sized burn on the back of one calf. Hot rebar twisted and swung to tap me on the calf, neatly removing the top layer of skin like a hot poker. (I have to cut some of the rebar to get it out of the mess.) Nothing major, just annoyances. But I know now why the machine operator never gets off the machine. I’m beat up from the occasional raking, shoveling, and rubble tossing, as well as climbing back up and down all those times.
Time to eat and refuel. Then I need to get to work.
n
@steve, I’m documenting with pics and drawings wherever I can. Eventually it will all roll into the 3D model… eventually.
I’m not diligent about it or formal, but I did ‘as built’ drawings and documentation for years. The habits die hard. Same with project management. I’ve got a white board in the garage- 4ftx8ft, just like a conference room. Lots of goals and ‘in process’ notes.
I’ve been considering doing a wiki for the house, something that can live locally, like Dokuwiki? The data structure to organize would be property-building-room-contents….
Anything I do will have to be easy, quick, informal, and USEFUL. And better than the spiral bound notebook I’m collecting bits in now.
n
It is exactly what I did here.
A bunch of termite stuff I didn’t see, some “custom” electrical, cracks in floor that weren’t visible before flooring removed.
Was still worth getting out of Dodge.
Thought so. Just checking.
Try tiddlywiki. Very lightweight, no server needed, no network needed.
Which describes tiddlywiki very well.
Japan .mil looking to StarLink:
https://www.asiafinancial.com/japan-military-to-adopt-musks-starlink-satellites-by-next-year?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AF%20Daily%20-%20June%2026%20%2801H3VKYH93351ZA3F1RAWXWN0M%29&utm_content=Read%20the%20Article&_kx=X7-B1uF9xKc7q3CkHif92iTevXALJvUfdU0AiCR0_RE%3D.JGevqp
India, too.
Nice cool breeze but still 84F in the shade. Sun is brutal.
Actually, having the wiki on a server wouldn’t be bad, then my wife could update and use it, and we could leave it at home but still update from here.
n
Some music to break up concrete by. 🙂
Even my kids say that anyone still wearing a mask at this point is making a political statement.
Exceptions as with all generalizations – my wife has found that the masks are really helpful for her with outdoor pollen, smoke (whatever the source), and flower displays in stores as she is very reactive to both, she’s not likely to ever give up masks in those circumstances. They may not be perfect but they do help.
101℉, 8% humidity in Yuma, AZ. How’s that for a dry heat.
I’m taking the 3:10 to Yuma.
And then: 4:10 To Outskirts Of Ranchita
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC91TTR_410-to-outskirts-of-ranchita
Garfield: Coffee
https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2023/06/26
The Mamas and the Papas had something to say about Monday Monday (so beautiful):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWGh92O9kxU
So did the Bangles about Manic Monday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsmVgoXDq2w
And I was late for work again today.
Now here is a Monday that really sucked. “MY DUMP TRUCK ENDED UP ON A WRECKER. What did I do now? Dump Truck Owner Problems.” Sheared driveshaft while carrying 105,000 lbs of gravel and truck and trailer. Her dump truck has over 500,000 miles on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYcTnNpKoAc
That wrecker is beautiful. Looks like a Mack.
“Airline worker killed after being ‘ingested’ by plane engine at Texas airport”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/texas-airline-worker-killed-18170823.php
“A ground worker at San Antonio International Airport is dead after being sucked into a plane engine on the tarmac Friday night.”
Well, that was terrible.
Even my kids say that anyone still wearing a mask at this point is making a political statement.
I am still seeing people wearing masks in HEB. Mostly Asians who probably vote a straight dumbrocrat ticket.
Japan .mil looking to StarLink:
https://www.asiafinancial.com/japan-military-to-adopt-musks-starlink-satellites-by-next-year?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AF%20Daily%20-%20June%2026%20%2801H3VKYH93351ZA3F1RAWXWN0M%29&utm_content=Read%20the%20Article&_kx=X7-B1uF9xKc7q3CkHif92iTevXALJvUfdU0AiCR0_RE%3D.JGevqp
India, too.
Well, there is another reason for China to work on figuring out how to splash the Starlink satellites. Of course, China is already working on it.
Authoritarianism starts at home in the family structure if my in-laws are any indication. They all vote Dem, and, as I’ve noted before, one cousin’s wife even works for Perkins Coie in Portland.
And they’re Taiwanese. We see a lot of Mainland Chinese here in Texas.
“Preparing for Financial Disaster”
https://areaocho.com/preparing-for-financial-disaster/
“One of the things that I have always blogged about is being ready for disasters. A disaster that involves the collapse of society is the one that preppers seem to find the most “sexy” and they spend their time planning on it- stockpiling guns, ammo, food, and the like. The thing with that is, it is also the disaster that we are least likely to experience.”
“Even if that disaster is more widespread- say one that affects your neighborhood, your town, or even the entire county, whether it is a tornado, earthquake, or hurricane, a wildfire, or a chemical spill, one thing that you are always going to need at some point is money.”
“That’s why it amazes me that 57% of Americans can’t even deal with an emergency that would cost them $1,000. Sure, stockpiling food, ammo, or some other piece of cool gear is more fun, but money is going to be your friend in most disasters at some point. Having $1000 in emergency cash is going to help you out of more disasters than that new ACOG or that second 1911. I know what you are thinking- “Divemedic, didn’t you say that the dollar is in trouble? If I stockpile too many dollars, aren’t I at risk of it becoming worthless?””
Always carry some cash. And have stash cash. You never know when you need to buy a new tire or four and your credit card just got compromised.
I saw a guy at the Walmart by me in Yuma. Face diaper, but pulled down from his nose. Big bushy beard and the diaper was a procedure mask. Are people that dumb to believe there was ANY protection being provided?
Yes. Most people are idiots.
If you want a more charitable interpretation, 50% of people are below average intelligence.
BTW, how’s Yuma these days? I worked on contract for Yuma Regional Medical Center back in 2013, and I really enjoyed it. I hear they’re really sufferring due to the influx of immivaders.
It is fracking hot in Yuma. We are working with the school district administering one of our programs for High Schoolers. Pretty big contract and they want to do it again next year. We have a good friend with his own biz sub-contracted to do the heavy lifting, so MrsAtoz is just watching. We even get to drive back to Vegas Wednesday and get some goof-off time until our training summit.
I get to sit in the hotel and work on Quickbooks and other biz junk.
I did walk 2.5 miles in the heat, up and down hills.
My favorite weekend in Yuma I played tourist and went to Castle Dome Ghost Town. I also visited the territorial prison museum of “3:10 to Yuma” fame.
It was 114 degrees in the sun and I spent 4 hours outside. I went through 6 bottles of water I brought along. I wore a lightweight white cotton long-sleeved shirt with a hood, a cap, and my darkest sunglasses.
I want to go back sometime.
xkcd: Alphabet Notes
https://xkcd.com/2794/
“Design Notes On The Alphabet”. It is obvious that Randall thinks sideways as I never think about i and j being the only letters with dots. And he wants to throw away everything after T.
Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2794:_Alphabet_Notes
Finally back in the U.S. Arrived in Atlanta a couple of hours ago and am now at our friend’s house for the night. I am too tired to drive home.
Immigration consisted of showing the passport, having the picture taken, and done. No VISA stamps. In Frankfurt we had to show the passport three times, once at check-in, once at immigration, and once to enter the boarding gate area at the airport.
There are really some inconsiderate clueless clods on airplanes. Everyone had their window shade down to darken the plane so people could watch movies. Not the idiot in front of me. Then the left half of the bell curve cretin behind me decided to bump my seat several times even with 38 inches of pitch. I went to the bathroom one time and saw him stretched out, asleep, with his knees against my seat. When I returned I slammed myself back into my seat. He never touched my seat again. Revenge is a bitch. He probably thought I was one of those clueless clods.
In Atlanta it must have been over a mile walk to get to immigration. Why so far I do not know. Customs was three people, two who looked like they were sleeping.
Sky Priority is supposed to get those bags first on the carousel. Nope, ours were about halfway through the baggage arriving. I think. Unless there were more than one plane involved.
Anyway it gets sliced, that 10:50 minute flight is just long, boring, and difficult to remain comfortable. I had Delta Premium Select, better seats. Walking back to the bathroom there was a lot of seats with loads of human misery.
Drive home tomorrow, probably leaving about 8:00 AM. If I can stay asleep that long. A six hour time change and my clock says I should be awake at 02:00 here.
Pre-pandemic movies tend to have better lighting and audio mixes for viewing on a small screen with noise-cancelling headphones in an airplane.
The only exception I’ve found is “Top Gun: Maverick”.
The one Oscar that flick won was for sound.
Tom Cruise will once again own the Summer and the Academy can’t stand it.
@Lynn – Find a way to take “Sisu” to your parents’ house to screen with your father. We ran the whole film last night. The rest of the world still knows how to make a decent flick on the cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2k4QAItiSA
Harvard Scholar Who Studies Honesty Is Accused of Fabricating Findings
https://archive.is/GR2FH#selection-323.0-323.70
Turns out that non-science disciplines that create arcane methods of data analysis that aren’t good for anything but making the field more “sciency” are just making the field more “fraudy”.
Can’t wait until they find some way to make the detection of such fraud an “aggression” and the perp the “victim”.
@Lynn – Find a way to take “Sisu” to your parents’ house to screen with your father. We ran the whole film last night. The rest of the world still knows how to make a decent flick on the cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2k4QAItiSA
Looks like a Quentin Tarantino movie. If not him then somebody is copying him. Ah, the John Wick studio, that makes sense.
You know, that is either the ugliest dog ever or the cutest dog ever. I am on the fence.
— is that another one? There was a woman who got sucked in some time ago. She had been warned several times.
There is video of a sailor on a carrier flight deck getting sucked thru a jet engine. IIRC the amazing thing was that he came out the other side and was ok.
—————————–
My project(s) definitely going long. I’ll call and extend my rentals tomorrow. The heat is a killer, as is working alone. And I really didn’t have any practical idea how much earth I could move in a day. If it was just moving the earth, I would be done, but changing out the bucket to the breaker, breaking the concrete, then changing back to load the rubble takes 15 min to a half hour every time. Have to swap the machines in the space too, because of the VERY confined access. In any case, I decided to change my order of operations, and work from where I am now to place the geogrid and do the backfill for all the area behind the house. That will accomplish a couple of things.
It will clean up the back of the house and make it usable. It will move the piles of dirt from the yard to ‘in place.’ It will let me know if I have enough dirt! It will also significantly improve the appearance for someone who might walk into the house and yard for a holiday weekend stay… and see the extent of the project for the first time.
It should also give me a break point so I can work on the electrical issues at the dockhouse, before the holiday weekend… without leaving everything undone.
I just need to build a ramp to go down 30inches in a 7000 pound skid steer. That might take some time in the morning. The original plan was to turn the corner and remove soil to the level all the way back out to the front yard. Then just drive in and place material as I go.
I will give the idea some more thought.
n
>> And I was late for work again today.
I thought the Boss is never late?
>> I am still seeing people wearing masks in HEB.
Definitely seeing more masks at my gym, of course mostly ill-fitted.
>> And I was late for work again today.
I thought the Boss is never late?
I haven’t been on time for work in a decade, my employees complain all the time now. The second heart attack in 2012 ??? messed up my brain. I have always been a night owl like my mother but it got doubled down when my brain was oxygen starved for ten+ hours, I was running total atrial fibrillation at 200 to 250 bpm from 4 am until 2 pm or so. I now have trouble getting to sleep before 2 am or 3 am. It is purely psychosomatic. Cue SteveF and Ray …
I see masks, people walking alone outdoors. Kids. People in the store. People at the bus stop. Dunno if the bus still requires a mask to ride, can’t really believe they do.
If someone is still making the kids wear one they should be punished. If the kid chooses to because of other issues like shyness, well , that’s an issue but it is the kid’s issue not mine.
I’ve even stopped wearing my mask at the Goodwill bins, and it can get a funky odor in there, and the mask helped with that. Still wear my gloves though.
———————–
I’m calling it a night. No radio on the dock, too humid. And I’m punchy and beat.
I need some sleep.
n
>> And I’m punchy and beat.
Pace yourself…
It’s a shame that masks have become a political issue in the US.
I put one on in the train the other day, because the person across from me was hacking their lungs out. The mask is at least some defense, to keep me from inhaling those yummy droplets. Although I suppose it was also a statement: If you’re hacking your lungs out in a public space, *you* ought to be wearing a mask, so as not to broadcast your droplets to the world.
My wife is complaining about the heat here. We’ve hit 80F or so. Nick can laugh.
The wild flowers here are mostly done, and swamped in meter-high grass. So I mowed most of the meadow yesterday, using what I suppose y’all would call a brush-cutter: basically, mount a blade instead of a thread on a weed-whacker. Took about 2 hours. It might be nice to get a large mower than could handle it, but this is just once a year, so it’s not worth it.
Left the mowings out to dry in the sun. I’ll rake it all up today, and run the normal mower over everything to get rid of the ragged look. I’ll wait till next week for the rest, because rain is incoming…