Month: June 2008

A Much Needed Break, I Think

Wednesday, all of us (Me, Rachel, Taylor and Dad) are embarking on a journey I have made many times in my life.  We are going to a little bump in the road where my 3 aunts and 2 cousins live in Oklahoma.  The trip is somewhat less exciting as it used to be, as there is no Speed Trap in Watts anymore.  I might get my aunt Beth to talk on camera about how that Speed Trap became history, as she was involved in it.

The total trip is roughly 700 miles, and can be done in as little as 8 hours.

All of us have never made this trip together, so it’s going to be very, very interesting.

It used to be all about how fast I could make it there, but as I’ve aged, I’ve wanted to see things along the way.

This time we are going to stop at the George Washington Carver National Monument.  He’s the guy who invented countless uses for peanuts.  It’s on our way, and I’ve never stopped before.

The reason for this trip?  My aunt Beth is having a “family reunion” of sorts for the 4th of July.  We are going to stay at her house, which could double as a B&B.

I also have a delivery to make, as my aunt Laura sent me 13 8-tracks and 2 cassette tapes that she wanted transferred to CD.  The 8-tracks were a disaster, but I hope she still loves me.

I hope that someday, they can make the trip here.  It would be great to show them around for a change.  I’m hoping that perhaps next summer one of my cousins can come out for a week or two.  I would love it.

It’s been 2 years since we’ve made the trek, and I must say I’ve missed my aunts.  Their southern hospitality is something that is not found ’round these parts.

It’s Been One Hell of a Century

This year marks the centennial birthday for Monroe County’s beautiful courthouse.  It is the third one the county has had in it’s history.

Click here to see an interesting and informative slide-show with commentary, published by the Herald-Times.

Even though it isn’t used as a “courthouse” anymore, many important offices are housed there and important county meetings still take place there.

Rufus, The Cardinal – Dead

I awoke this morning to read some really sad news.  One of my most favorite comedians, George Carlin  had died.

Warning:  This video is full of racy language and body movements.

At the age when most kids are really getting into music, I was listening to comedy.  With Carlin being my favorite.

He did a show at the IU Auditorium a few years ago, and I wanted to go.  At the time I couldn’t afford the $50 a seat price.

I hope he’s killin’ wherever atheists go.

He will be missed everywhere.

Cool and Smooth

I started bright and early on installation of our new solar attic fan.  I wanted to get it done before the heat of the day set in.

The first thing I had to do was remove the cover of the old fan.  While I do not have any pictures of it, it entailed removing some shingles and prying it off the roof.

I then had to replace those shingles I had to remove to prepare the hole for the fan.

As you can see, the top half of the hole has been removed completely of shingles and roofing felt.  I then used my reciprocating saw and pry bar to loosen and remove any nails in the vicinity of where the flashing of the unit goes (underneath the shingles).

Now it was time for some test fitting.

As you can see, the bottom half of the flashing is above the singles.  This is how the instructions said to install.  It took a few times, but we finally got it.  The major pain was the fact that the fan is so close to the peak of the roof.

I then applied some roofing sealant, some call it tar to the underside of the flashing from the 9 o’clock to the 3 o’clock positions.  I ran 2 beads of it for an extra layer of protection.  I then slid it right back to the same spot.

I then nailed the unit in place as the installation instructions recommended.  Then I applied roofing sealant to the areas where I nailed the fan into place.

That’s it!  It was running before I even had it fully installed.

I was very surprised that it only took me about 2 and a half hours to fully install this fan.  I dread any work on a roof, but this went as smooth as can be.

Many thanks goes to my dad for helping me with this one.  It’s much easier to pass things from ground level to a roof with another person.

Now hopefully our attic will stay cooler, our energy bills will be lower, and we will have no leaks.

The next solar project we are discussing is water heating.  It’s hard to decide on what type of system to decide on.

Looking for a Bargain? Come to Our House!

We are currently working on having our first garage sale ever!

It will be this Saturday, June 21st from 8:30 am til 4 pm.  I don’t totally feel comfortable putting my address down, so if you’re interested leave a comment and I’ll give you my address.

Nothing is junk, everything is stuff we just no longer use.  As you can see it has taken up a lot of space in our basement.  My sister-in-law has donated some stuff as well.

What we don’t sell will probably be freecycled or given to goodwill or the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store.

The Company Van

As you may or may not know, I am a handyman for a small company called Morgenstern Home Services.  While most of the time I am fixing some problem at somebody’s house, on occasion I am working on the only “company” vehicle.

It’s a 2001 Ford E150 that gets the job done.  The only job it doesn’t get done is getting what you need easily.  That is about to change.

A few weeks ago, the front brakes went out of it and needed replaced.  This van is used almost daily and it being out of commission for even a few hours puts a big hurt on this small company.  I took the initiative and told the boss that I’m an expert on brakes, and I would be happy to do it for him.  I saved him a ton of time, and I’m sure a few bucks.  He thanked me by paying me 4 hours of extra pay, which I greatly appreciated.

As you can see from the picture, the van is merely a cargo van, nothing special.  The one hindrance is that it’s highly disorganized.  My boss, Rick thinks highly of me and wants me to come up with a storage system for it.

My first thought was to find one online and just install it.  I then understood why he wants me to build one, storage systems for these vans run in the thousands.

They didn’t have any work for me to do today, so I’m working on this project, which he told me he would pay me for researching and designing.  I’m writing this blog to document that, in case any questions arise.

So taking some design queues from other storage systems, I have designed one for our van.  I have plans drawn out, and a materials list.

Hopefully he will like it, and want me to go forward with it.  I’m planning on handing it in to him tomorrow.

Maybe B Started Something?

It all started with this picture…

 
Bomb Wal-Mart
Originally uploaded by Editor B.

Editor B shooting footage of people at a peace rally, I believe, with a piece of paper attached to his camera with the question, “Bomb Wal-Mart?”

Today somebody took that thought provoking question one step further and called in a bomb threat to the local Wal-Mart.  The first thing that came to my mind was the picture above.

The matter was taken very seriously, and the place was evacuated.  The employees were sent to the Murphy USA gas station nearby (good place to go when there is a possible bomb).  The store has now been closed for almost 6 hours, with word that it will re-open “within the hour.”

“Lunch Hour Shopper” left a comment on the Herald-Times website that I found quite interesting.  It states that, “I was there when it happened. They came over the intercom and said “attention all associates and customers, we have a code blue. thank you” and that was it! Like we all know what a code blue is.  Doesn’t that mean a sale at KMart! Some employees just left their cash registers with customers standing there. Then some other associates started telling people to leave.”

So I take it that it’s Wal-Mart’s policy to not give a damn about their customers during a emergency situation.

As a Wal-Mart shopper (I’m not a fan, just doing what I gotta do.) it seems like a good thing to do with the weak US economy today.  Wal-Mart is now nothing more than the quickest way to get to China or in some cases Vietnam.

No I don’t think it’s B’s fault, but that question brings up very serious philosophical questions.  Especially in financially trying times like these.

Continue reading “Maybe B Started Something?”

New Light Fixture

By now I have become somewhat of an expert on light fixture installation, but this one was a doozie.

When I removed the old light fixture, I discovered that it was just merely attached to the drywall and not a junction box.  This new fixture required one, so I went to Menard’s and purchased one.  When I went to install that, it became even more of a jungle.  There was the layer of drywall and underneath that a layer of 1/2″ OSB (Oriented Strand Board).  It had to be removed by means of a reciprocating saw.  Because of the vibration of the saw, more drywall than what I wanted fell off, leaving a not so pretty site where the fixture is mounted.

You can’t see it unless you’re right underneath it, but it’s going to drive me crazy until I fix it.

Solar Power Here We Come

Our 34 year old attic fan has basically bit the dust.  The bearings have just went kaputz!

As I wrote previously, we are replacing it with a solar attic fan.  Rachel and I did some research, and decided to go with a Attic Breeze – Model AB-201A.

By far it’s largest draw is a lifetime warranty.  Most other models have between 5 to 10 year warranties on the working parts.

It is coming from Texas, and I’m expecting it’s arrival within a week or two.

I will post energy saving figures and installation pictures as soon as possible.

A Virtual Island

UPDATE:  To see aerial photos of the flooding, point your web browser here.

Due to the volatile weather this week, most of southern Indiana is flooded.  Parts of Morgan, Owen, Brown and Bartholomew counties are being evacuated.  10 counties have been declared disaster areas, including Monroe.

The sad thing is that it’s only going to get worse before it gets any better.  I have seen reports on TV that these are century level floods.  After the water is gone, we will still have to repair the roads and so on and so forth.  Many roads and bridges have became impassable or even demolished due to the water.

Here is what Morgan county looks like:

Here is some of Spencer (Owen County‘s) Flooding:

Here is what Bloomington looked like a few days ago:

For the most part, Monroe county is alright now.  All of this flooding has created a major problem though, as it has washed away roads, and in some cases bridges.

Here is a picture of a bridge on Highway 46 between Spencer and Bowling Green:

It has been very hot and humid, which only causes trouble in the mid-west.  It’s been beautiful during the day, but we have been paying for it with these consequences at night.

I have never seen flooding this bad in Indiana in my whole life.