It's been forever since this construction job started, and now the end is in sight. Not without a problem to end things off on... but hey, the contractor will get an extra work order to fix the problem in the design. So maybe everything won't be done tomorrow, but soon enough to be sure.
When it's all said and done, and I'm back home, I'll walk through the construction for you. Right now, I'm behind in paperwork and blogging has been lower on the list of priorities.
My 4 1/2 months living mostly away from home is coming to an end. Thank goodness!!!
I don't feel any compunction taking next weekend as a 5 day affair. Bracketing Remembrance Day with a day off - so I can be home while they strip my tub. At least we have the replacement faucets, shower head, etc etc so that once it's done, we'll be able to use the tub for more than just taking a bath! I'm looking forward to showering at home again!!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Thinking on Gabe
So, this past week I had my birthday.
Last year on my birthday, Mrs. Spit was well into her pregnancy. Things were going well, with everything seeming to be peachy keen. I was keenly aware of the fact that come my next birthday, I would have an infant child to care for.
It was really hard, when my next birthday did roll around, to remember that 10 months earlier, I held my newborn son for the half hour of life that he shared with us. The keen edge has been taken off of this blade, but it still cuts and still hurts.
He will always be with me, and I shall always remember him. The tiny boy who came before his time, and who left us far too soon.
Last year on my birthday, Mrs. Spit was well into her pregnancy. Things were going well, with everything seeming to be peachy keen. I was keenly aware of the fact that come my next birthday, I would have an infant child to care for.
It was really hard, when my next birthday did roll around, to remember that 10 months earlier, I held my newborn son for the half hour of life that he shared with us. The keen edge has been taken off of this blade, but it still cuts and still hurts.
He will always be with me, and I shall always remember him. The tiny boy who came before his time, and who left us far too soon.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Spending money on the house - indirectly
Just went and spent $400 at the woodworking show...
Let's see... what loot did we get? Yes, I brought Mrs. Spit with - or rather, she volunteered to come with me and pay for everything
- 1/2" shaft, 22 1/2 degree chamfer router bit - boring, $12
- tile cutter thingie - VersaTool Pro - $40 - first thing I've ever seen to let you EASILY cut curves in floor tile, glass, porcelain... very handy come time for home renos in the bathroom and kitchen (in a year or three)
- 6 small CordPro units - $70 - to make my mess of cords much neater
- Cut'n'Crown moulding jig - $180 - to ease the crown moulding install in the dining room, hallway, kitchen... etc etc...
- Freud glue-line ripping blade - $75 - to make clean cuts without the need for a jointer
some scroll-saw cut Christmas ornaments - $12 - make the tree pretty
And yeah, except for the tile thingie and ornaments, every item will be used in the next couple of weeks! The built-in bookshelves have an end in sight!
*appended comments*
I forgot to mention. Two of the items were purchased after listening to the "pitch" by guys who knew their product. Both the Cut'n'Crown and the VersaTool Pro were purchased after I was sold on them by their pitchemen. Except that I was sold on them a year ago at the last show I attended!
I did stay far far far away from the Sham-Wow though! Saw some people with several under their arms. I think some people will be getting an... interesting Christmas gift in two months!
Let's see... what loot did we get? Yes, I brought Mrs. Spit with - or rather, she volunteered to come with me and pay for everything
- 1/2" shaft, 22 1/2 degree chamfer router bit - boring, $12
- tile cutter thingie - VersaTool Pro - $40 - first thing I've ever seen to let you EASILY cut curves in floor tile, glass, porcelain... very handy come time for home renos in the bathroom and kitchen (in a year or three)
- 6 small CordPro units - $70 - to make my mess of cords much neater
- Cut'n'Crown moulding jig - $180 - to ease the crown moulding install in the dining room, hallway, kitchen... etc etc...
- Freud glue-line ripping blade - $75 - to make clean cuts without the need for a jointer
some scroll-saw cut Christmas ornaments - $12 - make the tree pretty
And yeah, except for the tile thingie and ornaments, every item will be used in the next couple of weeks! The built-in bookshelves have an end in sight!
*appended comments*
I forgot to mention. Two of the items were purchased after listening to the "pitch" by guys who knew their product. Both the Cut'n'Crown and the VersaTool Pro were purchased after I was sold on them by their pitchemen. Except that I was sold on them a year ago at the last show I attended!
I did stay far far far away from the Sham-Wow though! Saw some people with several under their arms. I think some people will be getting an... interesting Christmas gift in two months!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Further reasons I'd rather be home
I'm sitting in a rental house in the town I'm building a bridge in.
My wife is home feeling sickly.
This sucks.
Get better darling! ;-)
My wife is home feeling sickly.
This sucks.
Get better darling! ;-)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Another birthday away from home
I'm really getting tired. Tired of this bridge construction project. Tired of yet another fall where I've spent the majority of my time away from my dear wife. Tired from staying up too late reading last night.
Most of all, I'm tired of spending yet another birthday away from home. Granted, I'm close enough to home that I'm heading home so I can spend the night with my wife. Luckily for me this is an option this year.
At least my darling wife sent me a happy birthday voicemail to start my day! This was good.
Normal posting frequency will commence shortly, now that my home-away-from-home has internet, and that my major four month project is coming to a close. Praise be!
Most of all, I'm tired of spending yet another birthday away from home. Granted, I'm close enough to home that I'm heading home so I can spend the night with my wife. Luckily for me this is an option this year.
At least my darling wife sent me a happy birthday voicemail to start my day! This was good.
Normal posting frequency will commence shortly, now that my home-away-from-home has internet, and that my major four month project is coming to a close. Praise be!
Monday, September 8, 2008
The hole a cat makes
Our cat, who was finally starting to turn into a mostly likable creature, has disappeared. He had long taken it in his head to be an in/out cat. He never strayed far away that we knew of. We had heard of him getting treats from a neighbour 3 houses down in one direction, and chicken from our Vietnamese neighbours next to us. But he often met us when we returned from somewhere, sitting by the car when we arrived. Or, if he was out all night, he'd be at the door first thing in the morning when I let the dogs out.And he never missed meal time, always showing up around feeding time - or at least easily enticed inside with the sound of dry food in his bowl.
He hasn't been seen by either of us since I left the house to go to the office yesterday afternoon. No amount of calling and treat container rattling (usually a sure bet when he was out) have brought our little black beast out of hiding.
Mrs. Spit fears the worst, that he's been hit by a car and is dead. She's called all the usual places for when your animal goes missing. She wanted a cuddly cat, which he most definitely wasn't. But he would grace us with his presence, sleep between my legs, lie in a lap, or just stare at you with a cat's condescending contempt.
I hope he comes back ok, but will miss him if he's gone. Max the cat, free from a lady at the Rona, seems to have disappeared, and it's leaving a hole in our little family.
He hasn't been seen by either of us since I left the house to go to the office yesterday afternoon. No amount of calling and treat container rattling (usually a sure bet when he was out) have brought our little black beast out of hiding.
Mrs. Spit fears the worst, that he's been hit by a car and is dead. She's called all the usual places for when your animal goes missing. She wanted a cuddly cat, which he most definitely wasn't. But he would grace us with his presence, sleep between my legs, lie in a lap, or just stare at you with a cat's condescending contempt.
I hope he comes back ok, but will miss him if he's gone. Max the cat, free from a lady at the Rona, seems to have disappeared, and it's leaving a hole in our little family.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sometimes, the rule enforcers suck
It's been a Sunday of ups and downs today.
See, I'm a long-time fan of Formula 1 racing. I blame it on a friend of mine who introduced it to me in 1995. I've been hooked ever since. Getting up terribly early in the morning to watch races live in Europe and around the globe. How early? Normal is 6 am, but sometimes it's all over the map. The races in the far east are the best, as I get to watch those on Saturday nights.
So this morning I get up to watch the running of the Belgium Grand Prix, held at the Spa track. It's one of the best tracks of the season, and both fans and drivers alike love it.
I've been a fan of British Drive Lewis Hamilton ever since he stepped onto the F1 stage last year. As a result I've been cheering for Mclaren. Ever since Jacques Villeneuve was canned from his drive, I haven't had a clear favorite driver. But I can't help but like and admire Lewis' poise and ability.
Yesterday I watched Lewis storm to a pole position time 0.3 seconds ahead of second place. In F1, this is a HUGE gap. It turns out that he was slightly lighter on fuel than second place qualifier Massa.
Today's race was epic. A track that was damp to start caused some consternation for some drivers. The Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen ran up from 4th to 1st, and continued to lead most of the race. However, in the third to last lap it started to rain. Dry tires really don't work in rain. The drivers were skidding all over the place, with Raikkonen spinning off into the wall in the penultimate lap. This put Lewis into first place. A place he held onto while skidding around the track for the last two laps. So we finished with Lewis winning with Massa, of Ferrari, coming in second.
Later in the day, I see the following headline "Massa handed victory as Hamilton is penalized". Of course the team is going to appeal, but this rarely produces anything as the stewards word is generally final.
The big problem I have, is that for years it has appeared from the actions of the stewards and the FIA (governing body of world motorsports, and F1 specifically) have it in for Mclaren whist simultaneously treating Ferrari like they are the favourite child who can do no wrong. How convenient that by imparting a penalty for a race incident that was resolved on THE TRACK, that Mclaren loses points while Ferrari gains points.
They claim that Lewis "gained advantage" from being RUN OFF THE TRACK by Kimi, forcing him to cut across the chicane, putting him in front of Kimi temporarily. Immediately afterward Lewis slowed so that Kimi could take the lead again - as he is required.
I'm just burned that the honest hard is being penalized in so capricious and biased a manner. Was there a penalty for Kimi for dangerous driving? Did he have a penalty for an earlier incident where he drove into the back of Lewis? Oh, right, he drives for Ferrari - we can't see them get a penalty! Especially as Kimi was already fined 4900 euros earlier in the weekend for speeding in the pitlane. Once again showing that Mclaren is being punished while Ferrari can do no wrong.
The only good thing is that the most arrogant and teflon-coated driver in the world - Michael Schumacher, is retired. At least we have a competitive race series again. Even if we still have shams like today's little incident!!!
***Update***
I saw this news article up this evening. Good to see other people saying the same thing - in print.
See, I'm a long-time fan of Formula 1 racing. I blame it on a friend of mine who introduced it to me in 1995. I've been hooked ever since. Getting up terribly early in the morning to watch races live in Europe and around the globe. How early? Normal is 6 am, but sometimes it's all over the map. The races in the far east are the best, as I get to watch those on Saturday nights.
So this morning I get up to watch the running of the Belgium Grand Prix, held at the Spa track. It's one of the best tracks of the season, and both fans and drivers alike love it.
I've been a fan of British Drive Lewis Hamilton ever since he stepped onto the F1 stage last year. As a result I've been cheering for Mclaren. Ever since Jacques Villeneuve was canned from his drive, I haven't had a clear favorite driver. But I can't help but like and admire Lewis' poise and ability.
Yesterday I watched Lewis storm to a pole position time 0.3 seconds ahead of second place. In F1, this is a HUGE gap. It turns out that he was slightly lighter on fuel than second place qualifier Massa.
Today's race was epic. A track that was damp to start caused some consternation for some drivers. The Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen ran up from 4th to 1st, and continued to lead most of the race. However, in the third to last lap it started to rain. Dry tires really don't work in rain. The drivers were skidding all over the place, with Raikkonen spinning off into the wall in the penultimate lap. This put Lewis into first place. A place he held onto while skidding around the track for the last two laps. So we finished with Lewis winning with Massa, of Ferrari, coming in second.
Later in the day, I see the following headline "Massa handed victory as Hamilton is penalized". Of course the team is going to appeal, but this rarely produces anything as the stewards word is generally final.
The big problem I have, is that for years it has appeared from the actions of the stewards and the FIA (governing body of world motorsports, and F1 specifically) have it in for Mclaren whist simultaneously treating Ferrari like they are the favourite child who can do no wrong. How convenient that by imparting a penalty for a race incident that was resolved on THE TRACK, that Mclaren loses points while Ferrari gains points.
They claim that Lewis "gained advantage" from being RUN OFF THE TRACK by Kimi, forcing him to cut across the chicane, putting him in front of Kimi temporarily. Immediately afterward Lewis slowed so that Kimi could take the lead again - as he is required.
I'm just burned that the honest hard is being penalized in so capricious and biased a manner. Was there a penalty for Kimi for dangerous driving? Did he have a penalty for an earlier incident where he drove into the back of Lewis? Oh, right, he drives for Ferrari - we can't see them get a penalty! Especially as Kimi was already fined 4900 euros earlier in the weekend for speeding in the pitlane. Once again showing that Mclaren is being punished while Ferrari can do no wrong.
The only good thing is that the most arrogant and teflon-coated driver in the world - Michael Schumacher, is retired. At least we have a competitive race series again. Even if we still have shams like today's little incident!!!
***Update***
I saw this news article up this evening. Good to see other people saying the same thing - in print.
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