First on 5?
Yayyy! Back from lunch and planning to do as close to nothing as possible until I can run home in a couple of hours!
Thanks for your concerns. I’m still alive.
Don’t tease. That’s just mean…
Cadbury cream eggs… mmmmm… I have one in the dish cabinet just waiting for me…
Fun birthday for the newly minted 10 year old little bug- thanks for all the good wishes! I made strawberry shortcakes with fresh biscuits last night for her birthday. My secret… I butter the biscuits before putting the strawberries and cream on! mmmmmm. She got an iPod and iPod clock and her brother gave her a “Bathroom Reader” book. She loves those books- we get a new one for every gift giving excuse.
I never watch American Idol either. I thought AI was that movie with Haley Joel Osmont. We can be socially isolated together! What do you want to talk about? 
ETA: oops double post, ah well.
There you are- I was wondering myself where you went!
I’m sorry, but being very busy is no excuse to not post… um, er… nevermind…
ETA: Three in a row, what a maroon?!? I’m going to go work out and shower now and some else better post before I get back… 
Mornin’ y’all. Brekkie et, and my second cup of caffeination has been poured.
Is it playing hookie when you do it with the boss’ knowledge? I took the day off yesterday to help give a program to 4th and 5th graders about severe weather. It was fun, but a bit demanding. We have this trailer in the county that we use to teach kid how to escape the house when it’s on fire, but it also does severe weather.
One of the local TV stations made us a DVD showing a fake storm bearing down on Mayberry, complete with program interruption. There’s a hidden track that controls some effects, and an operator controls others. While the weather dude is doing his thing, fake lightning and thunder happen, the venetioan blinds start rattling, and a big ol’ subsonic woofer blasts the trailer to make it rattle, all in an effort to show what it’s like when a tornado is near your house. Cool and clever…
For a little added effect, a couple of us would rock the trailer when the thunder got really bad. Da Chief had a hard time keeping a straight face during his talk when we did that…
We ran through 5 groups of about 60 kids total. and it made for a long afternoon. But the excitement didn’t end there.
VunderWife has been all over me like a cheap suit to repaint the bathroom, and when I got home from the school gig, I actually started. I took the doors off the towel cabinet, washed it down, and painted a base coat on it, When it’s done, it will have a crackle finish with a cream base and a burgundy crackle cover. The theme for the bathroom is weatherbeaten outhouse, to match the shower curtain that shows, obviously, weatherbeaten outhouses.
Then things got interesting. The kitchen was a mess, and I emptied the clean dishwasher and reloaded it. VWife has also been telling me about mysterious water under the sink, and I had noticed a smell of sewer gas lately. That means the trap is losing water, and the gas is backing up. I had some extra room in the dishwasher, and I pulled out a couple of cookie sheets from under the sink because they had water on them and neaded washing. I took a good look at the trap, trying to find the leaking joint so I could tighten it, and to my horror, the bottom of the elbow itself was leaking. Shit.
Then I touched it, and the pipe broke. Holy shit. Now my sink was out of commision, and it was 5 PM already. Time to buy a new trap.
Off I raced to Hooterville Hardware. I couldn’t remember what size pipe I had under there, so I bought traps in both of the common sizes, and raced back home.
Got out the wrenches, disconnected the bottom of the old trap without a problem, but I couldn’t get the top to unscrew. Gave a good tug, and broke off the the rest of the leaky elbow. :eek: :smack: Then it got interesting.
You old timers may recall when I bought the VunderLair that I don’t have a very high opinion of The Former Denizen. His reputation for doing a home improvement in a half-assed manner is legendary, and the kitchen sink is a prime example.
He put in a galvanized male tee to connect both basins, which is fine. The top connection to the left basin, and the branch to the right had common plumbing nuts tying everything together, which is the normal way to do things. The bottom, however, led to the trap, and it was simply jammed up into the tee and puttied in place. It was a lazy man’s joint, done so he didn’t have to cut pipe.
My last yank on the nut broke that puttied joint clean off, and now I was screwed because I didn’t have putty to put it back the way it was. My best bet was to do it right.
I got back to Hooterville Hardware with 10 minutes to spare before they closed, and said many silent prayer for me to buy the right stuff. Two new nuts with gaskets, and a pipe with a flange to butt up against the tee. After trading in the trap I didn’t use, I got back a buck.
When I got home, the hardest part was cutting the 2 pipes to length, which I did with a power saw in about 10 seconds each. Everything fit together easily, just like it was supposed to, and the actual replacement went far faster than ripping out the old stuff or running twice to the hardware. Oh, and what I put in was plastic, not the old style chromed brass I took out. A 5 year old can put in plastic plumbing and can get it right. Plus, I spent more in gas money than piping.
So, if you know anyone who does half-assed work, bitch slap them for me, will ya?
When come back bring you.
As I was reading through the MMP this morning, I noticed everyone kept saying that it was Wed…I was 
--I thought it was Tuesday. So I hovered my mouse over the time at the bottom right hand corner of my monitor and :eek: it is Wed. :smack: :smack: :smack:
My Dad called me last night, and it wasn’t even my birthday. My Dad doesn’t generally call people–he hates talking on the phone, so he usually texts. It was good to talk to him. He only called because he finally hooked up his Wii to the internet and wanted to know how to connect his to mine. So, I explained it all to him, now all he needs to do is set his Miis to mingle! I was 
that we can’t play the Wii sports games together through the net connection–some games can be played that way, but not the one everyone has.
(((((Pie)))))
Yes, I think I would like to mail him to Zimbabwe, except that right now he’s cooing. Mr. Lissar and I were both accusing each other of losing the damn instruction manual that came with him. There must have been one, right? Right?
:crickets:
(Passes chocolate eggs around again)
Good morning, Mumpers!
I’m doing ok, considering I only got about 4 hours sleep. I even came in to work earlier than usual - 6:00 am. Go me!
Sounds like you did a great plumbing job, VBob!
{{{Pie}}}
Sorry - I’ve only skimmed. I can’t remember anything I wanted to say! Damned CRS…
Have a great humpday, all!
We must be the only 2 Americans who don’t. We could talk about subordinated debentures or the Situation in the Middle East. (god, I bore myself). :eek:
Vundie --Ach du liebe! I also hate the man who lived here before–and it’s been 20 years. We don’t find much anymore, but when we do, it’s as poorly put together as <insert scathing analogy here>
bb2k–that is BY FAR your best post here, ever! Well played sir, well played! I’d like her to come back, too.
Zimbabwawe is too close–he could find his way back, like those dogs and cats do. You need a one way ticket to the Antipodes. Send him walkabout in the Outback and no worries! 
(pssst–the coo is just part of the con. He knows his mark, methinks)
Today I am carless. I must do some work on the practicum project (ugh), clean something (so my conscience is clear), and then everything happens after 3:30pm. I hate that. I have to meet my daughter at the pediatrician’s office at 330 for her college physical; #1 son has an after school interview for his radio doc, so he won’t be home for #2 son to get off the bus. Go ahead and report me to DCFS, because #2 son is coming home to an empty house until we get home from the doctor, then I have to pick up #1 son. I NEED MY CAR BY 3PM. And then I get to go out to dinner, after making dinner for the kids.
shhhhh! they took down the blockers
I’ll be back later
eta:
me, three.
Soapy and Rigs–I am also of the do not watch American Idol variety.
I do not watch AI either.
Bathroom Remodeling people are here, YAY!! I’m hoping crossing my fingers that I will be able to shower this evening.
I took some cool pictures last night of the bathroom. Different aspects of them. I’m going to play aorund with them today, since I have nothing to do but kill time.
Oh, kill me now! 
This presentation thing is blowing out of all proportion. Now I have to visit with the CEO tomorrow morning as his EA told him I’d be finished “within the week.” Not happening. I will straighten all out tomorrow.
swampy, duck is kee-ute!
spaz, kids is kee-ute!
li-li, Nat is kee-ute! There is no manual. You get them “as is.”
Hope things get better, pie.
Back to presentin’
Tupug
That’s good. I hope you can soon add “and well” at the end.
I didn’t miss lunch! Why should I miss lunch? I had spinach (“catalan style”, the menu said, which may be right as it was similar to how my catalan grandma cooks 'em) and Toledo ham. Oh, the capitalized Lunch? Yeah, I’m glad you’re just busy Makes up for my not being busy
Sorry, Li-Li, nobody told you? Organic machines don’t come with man-yoo-als. Which is why I’m not slapping my brother the construction foreman for you, VBob (yeah, I have a bro who’s a construction foreman and does half-assed work :smack: ). Well, that and my hand would hurt and my SiL would go berserk on me and since she’s pregnant I can’t go berserk on her.
Damn–soon we can play poker! We can play hearts. Who’s in?
Morning. Should do work. Unmotivated. Bleh.
Make it Double Deck Cancellation, and I’m in!
There’s a dress I’ve been bidding on, on eBay, that has gone up to over $50 now - but I found the exact same dress for $39 on the same website, and no one has bid on it yet. Shh. Don’t tell anyone. Both bids end tonight. Exciting stuff. Yes, this is my life.