Tru Dat

"The person who says
it cannot be done
shouldn't interrupt
the person doing it."

From Canoez

Make SOMETHING!!!

I can not agree with this more!!!!

The Apartments

DaMom's grandmother had two "lovely" tenants living in her apartments up until they finally got the boot last summer. The dude in the first floor apartment was a real charmer. He worked a deal where he'd fix up the apartment for her and since he was an electrician everyone figured he knew what he was doing or could at least figure it out. Well, this electrician wasn't a carpenter, or even much of an electrician from some of the things I've seen.

How bad could a tenant screw up a place?
First, he tore out the old cabinets (I never saw them) and he picked up some used ones in sorry shape.
Second, he acquired a counter top that didn't quite work with the aforementioned cabinets and didn't bother to secure it to the counter. This was actually a good thing since you had to lift the counter to open the drawers.
Third, he paneled everything. BADLY. It was nailed in some places, glued in others, held up by the force in others, and bulging everywhere.

The original plan was to fix and paint what was there but Uncle A. and I couldn't justify the time and effort it would take to fix the sins the had been laid upon this poor house and still not have it be right. We lobbied for a new kitchen. We got the cabinets quoted ( the least expensive that HD had to offer and on sale) and measured up the place for flooring.

I didn't take any pictures of the before but these which were taken in process show some of the awfulness.

 Everything came out way to easy

 

If you can't find a studfinder...

 Cabinets cleared out

Once the mess was out it was time to clean up the walls (it would have been easier to re-drywall everything), tear out the flooring and hang the new cabinets. The studs were pretty sparse so it was easier to hang them with french cleats.


In the meantime the bathroom was treated to a newly painted tub and surround while the dining room was drywalled, painted, and carpeted.

So without further ado here's the finished space.

And let's take a little video tour shall we?

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The Blastolene Decoliner

I've been watching the progress of this beast since it's inception on Blastolene.com and it's even cooler to see it completed.

The Blastolene Story - by Tuned

5th wheel

sdffg

 From MAKE: via ottomatik

I think I know a few people who could use this.

Biking Statistics 2010

Dismal.
Last year big miles. 2875
This year not so much.
620 by mid-July and nothing after that.

The culprit? Work.

And that's enough of that.
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Don't look at me, try the usual suspect

Tonight I walked into the living room to find it in its usual disarray. Legos, chairs, blankets and general kiddie crap strewn all around, and no, we have not caught up from the Christmas onslaught. Unfortunately one of the items on the floor was a difficult 100 piece puzzle that DaGirl and I had put together last night.

DaGirl was sitting at the coffee table putting another puzzle together and DaBoy was about six feet behind her. When I look at DaGirl and asked her if she had spread the puzzle across the floor she looked at be with big brown eyes and frowned.

Before I knew what was happening her thumb popped up and was discreetly pointing to her brother behind her. When my gaze focused on him he was kneeling amongst a pile of Legos, looking at me with a goofy smile, and waving like a loon.

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"Pretty Girl"

Tonight was a lazy night. We didn't want to mess up the kitchen any more than necessary so we ate out at a fancy burger chain. We were seated near the hostess station that was being staffed by three people, so plenty was going on for DaKids to watch.

At one point while we were eating DaBoy's eyes were wandering and one of the hostesses noticed him and said "Hi" to him as she walked passed.

His face went blank and he just stared at her back.

After a few seconds of staring I said to DaMom "I think we've lost him to the pretty girl." Another 5 or 10 seconds pass while he's still staring at her and he quietly announces "Pretty Girl." DaMom and I burst out laughing and his trance is finally broken.

Later when DaMom and DaGirl are in the restroom, DaBoy is peering at her backside again and says "Pretty girl over there."
DaGoof: Are you going to say goodbye when we leave?
DaBoy: Yep (with a bobble head nod)
DaGoof:: What are you going to say?
DaBoy: *shrugs*
DaGoof: Say "Goodbye Pretty Girl"
DaBoy: Goodbye Pretty Girl

I continued coaching him right up until DM and DG's return and we got up to leave. I carried him over to the station and said " go on say it." Unfortunately she was busy looking over the seating chart with someone.
DaBoy: very quietly "gbye retty grl"
DaGoof: Say it again louder.
DaBoy: Goodbye Pretty Girl.

She didn't notice him with all the noise in the restaurant and I didn't want to press my luck with him flipping out so I just turned and headed for the door, grabbing a balloon on the way by. The Pretty Girl may not have noticed but one of the other hosts did as he was opening the door for us and he asked "What did he say to her?"

I told him and he went back inside while we stopped at the bench outside to tie the balloons to DaKids wrists.

Not a few moments after the balloons are tied off and we were heading for the bookstore does Pretty Girl come outside and say "goodbye little guy."

DaBoy stared right back and said again "Goodbye Pretty Girl." He was so dumbstruck we had to drag him away from the storefront while he had an ear-to-grin repeating "Goodbye Pretty Girl."

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Wheel Drought

Well doesn't this bite?

Nearly 6 weeks and no riding (sans the mini trips with the kids in the trailer).

Is this project over yet?

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This Museum

Tonight at bedtime while DaGirl was lying in bed she made the following proclamation:

DaGirl: This place is like a museum.
DaGoof:: What?

DaGirl: Museum.
DaGoof: Museum? What's like a museum?
DaGirl: This place is like a toy museum.
DaGoof: A toy museum?
DaGirl: Yeah!
DaGoof: You have entirely too many toys, eh?
DaGirl: uh-huh

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So there....

Today while outside in the yard DaGirl and DaBoy were playing with the water table and being their usual selves while DaMom was sitting in a chair in a shady spot on the other side of the yard reading a book.

DaGirl ventured over to the Dogwood trees, placed a chair next to one, and proceeded to try and climb the tree. When she looked up to see if she was going to get into trouble she saw DaMom looking at her and said "You're not supposed to be watching, you're supposed to be watching your book!"

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In the Genes and not in the Manual

Once upon a time when I was a wee lad I did something I shouldn't have and to this day I am reminded of it by my mother. It happened before my memory started kicking in so I must have been 4 or younger. I don't remember why I did it but it must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Much like the lamp incident, when my kids break stuff my mother tells this tale:

I stuck gum in the tape deck of the stereo. It took my father quite a while to clean it out but to his credit he got it to work again.

How does an incident that happened 30 odd years ago relate to something in the present day?

DaBoy stuck some change into the CD player of the car, moments before we left on a two hour drive to Aunty K's. I wasn't sure exactly what (or how much) he put into the slot at first but I did manage to get a dime out of the dust guard. The radio still worked until I tried to place a cd into the player. It made for a long ride out and back. When we got there I went to lock the car with the key fob and.... nothing... huh?

I did what any good engineer would do, I RTFM'd and pulled the radio our to retrieve the remaining change (2 quarters). So the manual says the radio/accessory fuse is #8 under the steering column. The only problem is that fuse wasn't blown and the power door locks wouldn't work with the car off. If the car was running the power door locks would work.

WTF?

Tonight I did some more poking around and checked all of fuses under the dash. None were blown. ???
I also noticed the dome light would not work when the doors were opened but did work when the switch was flipped???

To recap: The radio doesn't work at all, the power door locks work if the car is on but not off, and the dome light only works if the switch if set to ON, not when the doors open.

I then checked the logical fuses under the hood and.....nothing. So I checked the remaining fuses under the hood and found #9 was blown. A 10 amp fuse labeled "Backup" ??? Replace that one and all is well.

The moral of this story? My son is definitely my son and wiring in the Honda is not as it labeled.

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The Long Weekend - Part 2

Friday's oddities

These lug nuts can't be legal

The worst looking, Charlie Brown tree on the Pike

LFD's Fire Ducks

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The LONG Weekend - Part 1

Friday

In the never ending quest to entertain and wear out DaKids, I took the day off and we all went to the Boston Children's Museum. The day was filled with it's own adversity's.

First, on the way out there a semi loaded with flour overturned on the pike, delaying us for over an hour.

This delay meant that we were going to cut the time very close to the last train out of the commuter rail station for a while. So we beat feat and nearly made the train had the directions not sent us to the wrong side of the station! OK fine, we head over to a red line T stop sort of nearby.

Have I mentioned they love trains?

Once we finally got to South Station we had a quick bite to eat then wandered over to the Museum. DaKids loved the sights and sounds of the city but DaBoy has this fear of people and insisted to be carried all the way there. (ouch)

When we got there the sensory overload began. There was so much going on between the kids and activities, DaGirl bounced from room to room faster than a high bounce ball. They had a blast:

Knocking over the life-sized chess pieces.

Broadcast on TV!

Flying the "airplane"

Riding in the rocket

Driving the float

Driving the Bobcat

There was a ton more they did that I could not get pictures of since there was so many people and rude little kids getting in the way. Not to mention trying to keep up with our kids. There were three adults and two kids and we still managed to lose track of each child at least once. Exhausting!

Once we deemed the fun was over, we headed toward The Barking Crab for a proper lunch (more like early dinner) but not before a little peaceful view of the city.

Or not

Once at the restaurant DaBoy promptly fell asleep in Aunty K's lap.

And DaGirl was just an "angel" with an umbrella in her hair

Next stop, the Lexington Fire Department to visit Uncle A. for our own personalized tour of the station.
DaBoy was so excited he couldn't contain himself and DaGirl was a bit cranky when we got there (we had to wake her up when we got there) but she eventually warmed up and was just as excited to be there.

DaBoy thrilled behind the wheel of the ladder truck

DaBoy trying on Uncle A.'s "hat"

DaMom sporting the oversize bunker coat and hat

Boots nearly as large as DaBoy

Norman Rockwell moment

DaGirl eventually woke/warmed up

They loved the ambulance (yes that's his tongue hanging out)

DaGirl with the "hat"

And what could be a better way to end a private tour of a fire station?  All the trucks to leave on a call of course.

Out goes the Chief

Uncle A.'s drives the ladder truck away

All in all it was a blast of a day!
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Best retort of the day

My Boss: I forgot to tell you what orientation we need the output to be.
DaGoof: Ugh, really?
MB: Let's look at the model.
*Opening files*
 (after much discussion)
MB: Damn, it's V not H. Does that make you hate me?
DaGoof: It's a good thing Christmas is a long way off, you've got a lot of reparations to make if you want to get a card from me.

Sim City meets plumbers nightmare - and it needs to change, again.

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Don't Mess....Part 2

In response to Don't Mess with OUR 'Hood I found this in the town paper:

10:25 p.m. – Police received a call
about mailbox vandalism on F____ St.
Through an investigation, police learned
four youths were horsing around near
the box, causing it to collapse. The damage
to the box was unintentional. The
youth who caused the box to fall
obtained a new mailbox for the resident
and no charges were filed.

A couple of things bother me about this; 1.) that mail box had been up all winter long. On this street a "snow deflector" is required or you have to pick your mailbox up after every storm (think large highway plows on rural streets @ 40mph) and a little nudge knocked it off?. 2.) "Horsing around", "unintentional" ...and left the mailbox in the middle of the road? Not cool. 3.) "No charges were filed"..... I hope they got the stuff scared out of them because we are far to lenient on our kids. Sure, no one wants to see "their" kid in shackles but if there are not proper consequences for actions what is to keep them from vandalizing again and again?
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"That Was My Idea....."

Now that I have received this message on the worst work week known to mankind, I'll re-post it.

Honest message, eh?
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How to Spend a Sunday Evening

DaMom has been "requesting" some new raised beds for the garden after the old ones imploded shortly after DaGirl was born. The old ones were cedar and worked well until we stopped keeping up with the garden and the weeds in and around the boxes held moisture close to the boards and "enhanced" the rotting process......and maybe, just maybe I may have run into a few with the lawn mower while trying to clear said weeds.

DaMom had been requesting new plastic raised beds as a Mother's Day gift. I had made two 4 x 12 foot boxes from plastic decking several years ago to supplement the 8 older wooden ones (did I mention it's a big garden?). She had been struggling all day to find a relative that would watch DaKids so we could go and get the plastic decking material.

As it turned out DaGirl and I ended up taking the Element and the trailer to a couple home centers to acquire the appropriate material. The first only had a back relieved, dark brown plank that wouldn't match the existing gray plastic boxes and might not work well turned on it's side. The next stop had the right stuff and $220 later we had the stuff for two 6 x 6 and two 4 x 12 boxes.

We got the napless children into bed and asleep by 7:45 so then I finally got out to start cutting. An hour and fifteen minutes later I had all the long lengths cut, the Upright/Corner Blocks cut & split, and the half of the uprights installed. I would have continued but the cordless drill battery had had enough.

Yup it's Dark at 9pm

Material Cut to Length

Upright/Corner Block Installation

Hopefully I can get the remainder attached before the weekend.
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Broken Spoke is at it again...

Last April I wrote about how my road bike earned it's name Broken Spoke. After nearly 3000 miles the bike claimed another spoke yesterday.

No one seems to have a non-race replacement wheel around this place. grrr

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Storm Front

This was the scene yesterday at work @ 4:00

The wind picked up, dust from nearby fields made the sky brown, then the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the power went out. Debris kicked up from everywhere and the clouds above started swirling.

The storm broke trees like twigs and only lasted a few minutes.

Where's a tornado chaser when you need one? Oh yeah, it's in Oklahoma "chasing" tornadoes. Too bad, all we needed to do was roll it outside and we would had some neat data.:-)
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