July 14, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 14, 2017, Etch-a-Sketch.
Five years ago today: July 14, 2013, my first wagon.
Nine years ago today: July 14, 2009, nothing to drink?
Random years ago today: July 14, 2014, playing footsies with the Atlantic.

           Something is wrong, it has to be. See, I wired up the plumbing and turned the water on. Everything worked first time. Including a couple of spots I had to Mickey Mouse over that threading that didn’t fit. I basically welded two pieces together that did fit and used them for a coupling. I will need something permanent, but the tank is heating up now and I’m waiting until it fills the tub. And am I gonna soak. Here is the “Christmas Tree” hot and cold water feeds as connected this morning. The two extra stubs are for the ambient tank, which is scheduled to fit into an alcove above the hot water tank to also act as an emergency supply.

           The pipes are quite straight, the fisheye lens is distorting this view. The reason for the connections jutting upward, then down again are the design of the piping from the old heater, that’ the copper pieces, and ease of access. I don’t mind if I never have to crawl under the house again. The feed line to the new bathroom sinks is in place, so while I was in the dirt, I got that out of the way. The cold water feed has the valve and it is designed so that when the ambient tank is functioning (in the future), the taps are correct when they are all in one direction. It’s a robot club thing.

           Ah, into the tub and back again, what a luxury. And talk about water pressure from the taps, I was impressed. Furious, liDke a car wash. I’ll cut it down some later, since it is flushing rust out of the old piping. The valve is one of the two turn types so it can be adjust very finely. I can’t believe it, nothing has gone wrong. Wait till JZ hears about this. Then again, this is Florida so I’m waiting a day or two before I declare victory.
           I’m still undecided about the recirculating pump, so for the extra few bucks, I’m adding the line in. Then for good measure, I hopped in the tub again. With a good book. And I fell asleep, so the book isn’t so good anymore. Fine, if the book was that boring. I have 600 more books in the house anyway.

Picture of the day.
Korean cheerleaders.
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           Imagine my surprise. Late this afternoon, after a long dry spell, I grabbed a coffee at the Dunkin over in Winter Haven. Before that, take a look at this road sign. Notice the notice? That is what America has become, folks. A ‘this is not a 4-way stop’, because so many people can’t figure that out for themselves. It being Saturday and I have no gig, I thought to look around Winter Haven to see what there is to do. Nothing. But lots of it. There is not one after-hours thing to do in these parts.

           But you know, I’ve never been in a Macy’s. That’s correct. Such shopping was not done when I was a youngster, and I was well past adulthood before I had money to do things like that. They have one in Winter Haven, so I thought to walk the aisles. It’s a clothing store. And talk about expensive. They have $50 shirts from Bangladesh, where that is also the average monthly wage. This Macy’s has to go the route of Sears. Saturday and I was the only potential customer in the store, although I did see a couple of old men sitting by the exit waiting for who knows.

           I looked in at the local theatre and it was all Spiderman grade schlock, so that’s when I headed to Dunkin’s. As I entered, the entire staff cheered. Why, it’s the same people as the place I normally stop in south Lakeland. What? I asked them where’s the camera? It turns out that new manager in the old place made working conditions impossible. Running everybody ragged. So they quite, en masse, and got re-hired in Winter Haven. (If you see WHVN, that’s the slli code for that city that I was too lazy to spell out.) The store is nicer and has a large ice cream counter that I have to walk right past.
           I had noticed the difference lately in the local store. But now, everybody is gone over and the good news is the place is right across from the hardware store I use for big purchases. What? Hey, I’m way smarter than to buy major building materials in my small town. I’ve got some experience in these things and I don’t even get my hair cut locally. You didn’t hear it from me, but look what I get for a dollar. Iced tea and a dozen munchkins. What? Because I already ate a couple.

           And while I’m at it, their wifi works better, they still have the $2 specials, and that gal who really likes me is there. So are the goofy customers who stare at me while I work the crosswords. Plural. I usually fire off the whole puzzle page over coffee. I’m mulling over running a buried electrical cable out to the work shed so I was penciling that out. The grounding problem seems to be the water table. It seems to drop after a rain, whatever the logic is there. The rod is ten feet into the ground, but sometimes that doesn’t seem to be enough.
           Howie was next door with yard work and told me the water tank was already old when his sister lived here 23 years ago. The brand name is “State Courier”, although that could be the model or something. I’ll see if I can find any documentation. So according to the history, that tank could be over forty years old. And now that I’ve moved it, I think I found the access panel and drain. They are build into the design, which looks more like a dishwasher than a heater.

ADDENDUM
           You didn’t see it here, but this is what refilling 1 lb propane bottles sort of looks like. Don’t try this at home. Shown here is fitting the drain valve that allows gravity to feed propane into the smaller cans. They say the large bottles are 20 lbs, but they will fill 24 bottles. Again, do not try this, there are no stats on how many houses people burn down because they don’t know the right way to do this. You can also see my mantle lantern, used to check the bottles after filling. You need a safe and known good device to ensure your getting a good fill.

           Be advised it is illegal to refill and transport these bottles, but the fine print says only if you intend to sell them. The law is silent if you are using them yourself. As I’ve said before, though, it is practically impossible to tell if a bottle has been refilled. One item to watch for is psychological. Although the tanks fill with liquid propane, even the heat of your hand picking up the bottle turns it instantly to gas and the bottle, when refilled both seems lighter and seems to burn up the contents quicker. It’s not true, but the factor of appearing so is very real. Sorry, I have no explanation for that one.

           So that you know, filling a bottle from a larger tank takes an experience person around three minutes start to finish. It is very easy to ruin a bottle by cross-threading. Remember the nozzle and connection are handed oppositely, that is, left and right threaded. Don’t overtighten the pieces, it is unnecessary and slightly tighter than hand fitting with a final nudge with a wrench is good enough. The bottles see for between $6 and $7 retail. Refilling them yourself runs you around 40 cents per can. Always inspect the cans. While there is no apparent limit to how many times you can refill them, they are easily damaged. Like women over 30, you should discard any that are in less than perfect condition. Life has enough troubles without you going looking for more.
           Oh, and store the refilled bottles out in your nice cool shady garden shed. They will explode like dynamite in a house fire. These pictures do no show you how to do things the right way, so you done been told. What? This blog is unfair to women? Nonsense, they wanted equality, so now let them deal with it.
           You’re still here? Oh, you want to know what y’day’s mystery object is about. Well, you know when you buy those fancy candlesticks when you decide to wine and dine with your latest or greatest lady friend? Sometimes those pesky candles have bases too big to fit into the cups of you candelabra. This handy device to the rescue. It is to shave your candlestick bases down to a proper diameter, leaving your hands free for more important obligations. If any.

Last Laugh

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