One year ago today: February 1, 2019, Mt. Juliet, TN
Five years ago today: February 1, 2015, Super Bowl, yawn.
Nine years ago today: February 1, 2011, desperate for acceptance.
Random years ago today: February 1, 1982, typical rambling 1982 entry.
I got the majority of the plumbing re-routed before noon. A disturbing discovery is that two of the joints that were both proper and tested were loose. They still worked but this is an indication of something else wrong, possibly with the structure itself. Anticipating such snags, I designed in that bathroom trapdoor to allow for access. I can’t see what’s not there, so I continue on with the plumbing with an eye to having my bathroom back by later today. Once again, the plastic piping makes things a breeze, notwithstanding the two loose joints. They were, I insist, done right. I don’t mean leaking loose, just slight wiggle loose, so I re-cemented them solid.
The average distance is 5 feet, and you can easily see the pipe insulation. The other bad joint, if you’ve got great eyesight, is the white sink drainpipe in the upper left corner, I’ve got it apart. The trapdoor is the large rectangle to the left. I’m not finished with the insulation yet. My heavy duty bulb in the extension light fritzed and I’m a couple of pipe unions short. It’s raining, so I must fire up the car, which I don’t like to do now that my gas bill has dropped to $4 per week.
In a strange coincidence, three light bulbs burned out today. My extension light, the hallway, and a table lamp. Unless there’s some strange IoT happening, that’s never happened before to me. So, I went and bought a lottery ticket. Just the $7 million, grabbed the ticket while putting $2 of gas into the Yamaha. It’s a toy-like vehicle and I find myself taking extra care with it. I warm it up, no hard accelerating, things like that. And 92 octane. It’s too light for anything except groceries and remind me to pick up a locking carrier. Right now it’s just got an open basket so I have lug my laptop and camera with me every time I park.
Examining the music want ads got the same results. Most people want a working situation. The major effort putting a band together is the organization, rehearsals, and getting on the circuit. And I land in a territory full of cherry pickers, that’s the expression at time for these hired guns. What they do works fine only if every band plays roughly the same material. A lot of the ads that would interest me are all so far away. So, I logged off and printed up a bunch of pictures of the plumbing progress for JZ. He’s never in his life built a chicken coop, yet when he saw the pictures, called to let me know I’d done it all wrong. This is what friends are for.
UK canal system.
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Here’s the other weak joint. I’m pointing to where the pipes have worked apart nearly a half inch. The drains still work, but I don’t like unexplained errors of this nature. I can grab the pipes and yank them apart, but otherwise they are properly strapped and the only motion likely is expansion from temperature. I will reseal this with new regulation cement. I use the all purpose Oatey brand and it has been properly stored. There are no label warnings of this situation other than to keep the product cool. It is always stored indoors.
Yeah, I’m heading over to Winter Haven for a cold one. I think it’s Karaoke night. I’ll take the laptop since if there are any babes left in Polk County, they don’t go to Karaoke, play in bands, visit the libraries, or patronize coffee shops. I think I’ll search for a new washer in the $182 range. There won’t be any now that I’m in the market but let’s see what is out there. My next item after that might be a new and fancy bathtub. I’m planning to make my own faucets simply because what’s out there is either the wrong size or ridiculously priced. Or maybe head over to Bartow, see who’s at the old club. Last time I was there, this lady kept talking to me. I’ll never understand why married women do that. And no, I don’t go out to clubs to meet married couples and I don’t want to meet anybody’s husband. At least not weirdos who let their women walk around clubs talking to single men.
“Of Mice and Men”. I finally read it start to finish, a short story that somehow I never could get through. It was practically required reading when I was in grade school. That was an era when even seeing the word “rape” in print was considered risqué. It wasn’t even shocking, but teens were supposed to act like it was. That’s because back then the word meant rape, not some interpreted legal term applied to some imagined license to pass out drunk at a frat party. The book was fine for its era and contains the ingredients of probably thousands of movie scripts. The drifters, the floozy, the hand-crush, the Luger, and the jealous husband, to name a few.
ADDENDUM
Spider, the computer solitaire game. When I’m doing things like waiting for paint to dry, I’ll play the intermediate level. Beginner is too easy, advanced I’ve never come close to winning. At intermediate, however, I’ve often wondered if it is possible to beat the game algorithm itself. I win around 50% of the games, but by beating the game I mean having cleared so many cards that there are not enough on screen to fill the remaining blanks. That means nine or less cards face up at this stage of the game, with one or more unflipped piles in the bottom right corner.
When that happens, it would be impossible to flip the cards, which requires no blanks in the ten playing position. I’ve several times come within one card, and often times two, and I get down to three somewhat regularly. But is it possible to beat the game? Don’t look it up, I want to find out on my own.
I’ve got a small pile of leftover CPVC tubing. I remain unconvinced that copper is the best material for a solar water heater. Most usage is during daylight and it seems to me once the inside of the heater casing reaches a maximum, the material conducting the heat won’t make up much difference. Yes, it takes longer for most thicker material to get hot, but it also cools slower. I have the tools and technology to build a box and test this out. The tubes would be painted black and inside an insulated box, a passive arrangement.
Even if there is a difference, does that justify the cost of copper at almost 70¢ a foot these days? The half-inch tubing is the smallest I generally use, so the heater would resemble a radiator. But right now, I have to heat up and bend some PVC. The joints that loosened were also slightly misaligned, so that might have contributed. I’ll simple bend new pieces that fit.
I was just asked how this is possible. It’s easy but takes practice and the bigger the tube, the more practice. You block one end and fill it with sand, some people use salt which seems a waste. Then you take a hair dryer, or in my case, the robot club 1500 watt heat gun and carefully (that means wear gloves, Ken) turn and bend. Use your imagination. When I want to make a 45º angle in 1-1/2” conduit, I bend it over an old paint can. Now somebody remind Ken that you have to remove the sand and clean the pipe before you use it.
