Ramble On

Since I've transitioned to working from home, I'm not near as active. I my last position, I would typically walk from five to seven miles a day, sometimes more on weekends. To try to keep some muscle tone, I've been going on walks around the neighborhood most every day. I'm not getting anywhere near the distance I used to, but there's a lot more up and downs around here, and it's working some different sets of muscles, I can tell. Almost always I go solo, but a couple of times I've had someone come along.

My wife made the suggestion that I should take some pictures while out on my walks. Here's a few. To start off, it's a couple weeks late, but something for 512 day!!!

Up next is some slow going construction. This is the site of the house that burned down a few years back.

Here's some of the most artful work I've come across recently.

They've set up Mardi Gras in their yard!!! Pretty cool!!!

The sign says "Please Seat Yourself"

This wall, I've seen for years. It's an awesome wall, makes me think the residence behind it is a compound or a citadel or some such. Of course, with such a wall, you can't really tell.

A block over is a pretty extreme climb to get back to our side, so it's one of those I haven't done in a while. I think it's been over 15 years since I've walked it, but I'm fairly certain I've been that way before. However, I don't remember having seen these before. There's about a dozen houses that are all the same design!!! They may be duplexes, there's an entrance between the garage doors, and then an outside staircase that goes up two flights to an entrance on the side. I don't think I'd much like living on that level!!!

There's a street that turns to a dirt road for a ways that goes behind them I took the other day.There's a half dozen undeveloped lots towards the end.

About halfway down there's a gas meter, got to be at least 100 feet from the nearest structure!!! I wonder if they send someone to read it.

The other day, a chopper came in low over the hills!!!

My Crappy Valentine

So, last weekend it was half price day at the junkyard again. My dad and I went. Didn't get everything on our lists, but got a few things anyway. On the way out, though, I noticed the drain gurgling in the kitchen, an ominous sound. As I was in the basement, I saw no water backing up at this point, but when I got back there was raw sewage aplenty.

It's an old house, 1924 construction. At least every year the main line of the sewer needs snaked out. About 60 feet back there's usually some roots growing in. In the last year I'd say it's been at least three times. I figured it was time again, but did note that it is getting more and more frequent.

My normal guy, an independent one man act who has always done well, turns out to no longer be doing weekends. Another plumber, a major chain I've used before, can't make it until the next day. I go online and find someone who can make it. A place that'll root out your drain for $79 looks promising, and can make it in a few hours. He gets here, says he can't guarantee it'll work, proceeds to break the drain from the washing machine and gets a little bit of roots out to where it drains down, then charges almost double the advertised price. Got there quick, but completely off my list now.

Two days later, I go down to repair the washing machine drain, and find it's backed up again. My normal guy doesn't even call back, the major chain comes out and won't do it because the access is in the basement. Driving home that evening I see the back of a van, I can't even see the name but it has "drains our specialty" on the back, and I get the number. They come right out the next day, snake the drain thrice to no avail, and end up sending their camera down to discover a root around 4 inches around going for about seven feet!!! Well, there you go.

So, anyway, there it is. If you want your fancy indoor plumbing, your 89 year old sewer line has gotta go, and since it's on a nice incline, it ain't gonna be cheap!!! Between half the payment on my property tax and the new sewer line, there goes exactly all of my gravy from last year!!! Guess we're not going on a fancy big vacation this year. All permits and inspections are included, though. Getting another clean out, this one on the outside of the house, put in, too. On the plus side, it's guaranteed for 25 years, so figuring $150 or so per rooter visit... I'm still money behind. Oh well.

Funny thing, I remember some years back, I was playing Runescape, mining with my rune pickax. I was getting set to head out somewhere, and was going to log out as soon as I got the one more coal. I messed up, though, the head came flying off my pickax, and my mind said that was the last coal, and I'd logged out just as I realized what happened. Quickly went back to the log in page, but by the time it was loaded and I got logged in, it was gone. I was more broke up about that than about how much I'm having to pay to get a new sewer line put in. My stomach actually hurt over my pixel pickax!!!

Here's a few pictures from the project. I like the first one, I call it "troll in a hole", and I'm thinking of using it for my new profile picture!!! The third picture is where they tunneled the new pipe where the old one was. I don't know how they did it, it's gotta be close to twenty feet!!! Fourth shot is the hole nearest to the house, it had two pipes coming out, then one down to the street. I have no idea how that works, it only seems like one goes. Last shot is water draining down the new pipes.

Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine

This was a strange thing. At work, they are doing additions to the bin structure where I work. They already lengthened them on the first level, and now are lengthening the remaining levels, as well as adding a third level to the red bins. Previously, working on the second level red bins was a bit like driving a convertible, having nothing immediately over your head. Yesterday I was in the second level red bins for a bit, and they had put in the bracing for the third level. that alone was a strange feeling, having something up there. Today, I was there again, and they'd added a floor for the third level, or a roof for the second level depending on how you look at it.



They had strung incandescent lights along the length of it. Very strange, as everywhere else has florescent lighting. There was something somewhat familiar about the look, and what came to mind was how the lighting in a mine or a submarine would be. Someone came over, and thought it reminded them of a garden party. All that was missing was their lawn chair. One of the other guys said it was like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. That seemed like the closest match, after I heard that.