Baffled!

Have you ever made a series of measurements of something you are trying to build (or re-assemble) and, no matter how you look at it, it WILL NOT WORK?  Something that once worked as assembled, but no longer will?

I bought a king-size waterbed with a 6-drawer pedestal underneath 40 years ago.  About 20 years ago, the sides started to bend out a bit and caused me to worry that the frame wold slip off the support. 

So I built a new top frame.  It is still functionally perfect.  But I did such a horrid job of staining the raw wood frame (being in a hurry to get it assembled because I was sleeping on the floor while the stain dried).  And then when Ayla was new here, she really clawed up one corner of the frame.

It's not like anyone ever sees it, but bad woodwork bothers me.  So I took the old frame into the basement (it should not surprise you that I keep nearly EVERYTHING that isn't actually broken) to see about using it again (the stainwork was better).

I should explain the waterbed frame...   There are 2 supports about a foot high.  There are drawers build into the supports.  On top of the support is 1/2" plywood to hold the waterbed mattress weight.  There are 2"x10" high boards resting on the plywood to keep the waterbed mattress from just squishing out sideways.

Some of you may have framed waterbeds and know all this, others may not.  So here is a diagram...

















I built the replacement frames to match the original plywood base of the old frame, naturally.  I mean, it was the right size.  The picture shows brackets holding the frame to the plywood, but there is also a rabbet cut on the bottom on the side frame.

The bottom surface on the left rest on the plywood support; the part that sticks down on the right covers the ragged edge of the plywood.  All I can say is that it makes a stronger connection.

Here's the weird thing!  After having placed all the original frame parts in on the basement floor, I discovered that IT CANNOT FIT on the original plywood base!

I've measured and re-measured it a dozen times.  I've tried to move the frame pieces around.  I've done every possible re-configuration of the 4 basic pieces of frame.

It CAN'T fit on the plywood!  A sensible person would just say "HUH!" and go on from there.  I can't do that.  I have a conundrum, and I want to solve it.  What is driving me nuts is that it should be IMPOSSIBLE that it doesn't fit the original plywood base!  It USED TO!

This reminds me of an old joke about a lost traveler who stops by a farmer and asks for directions back to the highway.  The farmer starts "Well, ya go up this road to the feed store an take a right and, wait, that won't work.  OK, go back down this way and go left at the Fire Station.  No wait, that won't work either".  He scratches his head a few times and finally says "Ya can't get there from here"!

In that sense, I can't get the original frame back onto the original plywood base!  That seems impossible, as it once fit.  But impossible or not, it just won't fit now.

I can recut the original frame boards to fit the plywood base.  Having a table saw and a router table can allow a lot of changes to the original frame boards.  And in a few years, I will probably forget even having had to do all that.

But right now, the unfittingness of the boards is maddening.

Repairman Blues

ARGGGHHHH!  Repairmen drive me crazy sometimes.  It always seems there is some part of the repair that they just can't do properly.  And I don't mean some part of the job that is just hard to do.  I mean some part that they don't UNDERSTAND how to do. 

I shouldn't be too surprised.  I seem to have the misfortune of having "the troublesome repairs".  No one ever comes here and finds just "a loose wire" to re-attach...

Yesterday it was the heat pump outside unit.  It failed a week ago.  But there is a backup heating unit inside mine that provides heat (an electrical induction coil like in a space heater).  That works well enough, standard electric furnaces work that way routinely though not quite as efficiently.  So I waited until the snow melted.

This time, the initial diagnostic test suggested 2 possible problem, and of course it wasn't the simple one.  Surprise, surprise!  The "thermal expansion valve" had gone bad and they had to order one, being a part that "rarely fails".  Surprise, surprise!

So they came back Monday morning at 8:30 am to replace it.  I had a vet appointment at 2:15 pm, but I wasn't worried about it.  An hour to replace a part, I assumed. 

Little did I suspect that he had to disassemble most of the outside unit to get AT the part.  I was annoyed by late morning and worried by Noon.  He had the outside unit running by Noon, but was still having a problem.

I have a "normal" setting were the actual heat pump provides the heat.  There is a "stage 2 heat" where the inside induction coil comes on to provide additional heat if required.  That's for extreme demand (like when the power has been off and the house has gotten very cold, or when the outside unit fails).  There is "emergency heat" (which I assume means both are on when it gets too cold outside for the heat pump alone to keep up).

The repairman couldn't get the thermostat off the stage 2 heating mode.  I didn't know that.  He just kept fiddling with the thermostat and then going back outside to wait for the outside unit to come on again (there is a time delay when changing settings. 

I generally keep the house at 70F.  When I started getting worried about the time to the vet appointment, I started watching what he was doing.  He would set the target temperature up to 80F wait until the outside unit came on (after the 5 minute delay) then go back inside and see the stage 2 icon on.

I finally asked him what he was trying to do.  He said he was trying to get the system operating on normal heat, not stage 2.  Well, OK, I certainly want that.  After the 3rd cycle of that I started asking questions.  I'm analytical; I figure out logical problems.  So I asked why he thought the thermostat setting would change.

I immediately got that "God save me from curious customers" look. Undaunted, I said it wouldn't change until the house temperature reached the target setting.  I got a child's explanation of how the thermostat worked.

Bad move on his part.  I've been operating thermostats for 30 years, I know how they work.  And I said so.  THAT got me the "God save me from customers who think they know better than the repairman" look.

Worse move on his part!  So I asked him what he expected to happen.  He explained carefully that the "normal" icon should show up when the outside unit is operating.  I told him, it doesn't work that way; the stage 2 heat will stay on until the house temperature reaches the target setting.  He looked pained and launched into a much longer and very detailed explanation of how heat pump thermostats work.  I guess that was on the idea that if he couldn't dismiss my concerns he would drown me in details.

Worst move on his part!  Now that I knew what he was thinking, I knew where he was WRONG!  He thought the thermostat operated in 5 degree intervals.  As in, you set the target temperature to 70, the heat stays on until 75, then kicks on again when the house gets down to 65. 

WHAT?!?  No, it works in 1 degree increments I said.  If set to 70, its heats to 71 and shuts off.  Then kicks back on at 69.  He didn't believe me.  I told him it had always operated that way.

Then it got loonier!  He asked what base temperature the installers had programmed the thermostat to initially.  (Huh?)   He said if I kept the house at 70, they would have set the system to 70 at installation.  Well, that made no sense.  He even examined the insides of the thermostat looking for "something".  He demanded to see the manual.  I provided it.  He could barely read it (English was not his native [Italian] language, which added to our difficulties on explanations).

Now, the fan itself has 3 settings; "auto" meaning the fan is on when the system is on, "on" which means the fan is constantly operating, and "circulate" meaning the fan cycles on and off constantly every 10 minutes (for no purpose I can think of).

The repairman kept pointing to the "auto" icon, thinking it referred to the "normal" heat setting (also described as "auto" on the thermostat.  I had to lead him step-by-step through the manual before he realized the difference.

Which got us back to his idea that the system had been "programmed" to a specific temperature setting.  I never could convince him that there was no such thing (admittedly "that I knew of").  He insisted on getting the house cooled back down to 70, and opened the deck and front doors to let in cold air.  I went along since he was utterly convinced the system wasn't working properly and apparently I wasn't getting rid of him until he was happy.

I tried another leap of logic...  The house was at 80 (he had bumped the target temperature up several times is his testing).  So I asked what was the difference between seeing what happened going from 80 to 81 instead of cooling the house to 70 and seeing what happened bumping the setting to 71?  I should work just as well for testing purposes.

I got "that look" again...

But he "allowed" it, so we did.  After waiting the 5 minute delay (which is actually only 30 seconds normally - his equipment outside probably had a time delay built in - but I wasn't going to quibble over minor matters).

Hot Damn!  The thermostat icon went to "normal" heating immediately.  Surprise, surprise!  He was shocked (and I think a bit disappointed).  His misunderstanding of thermostats (Ok, OK, maybe they work differently in Italy) wasted almost 2 hours of my time and forced me to reschedule the vet appointment.

Epilog:  You'll get a kick out of this...  I had accepted a 2 delay repair delay because the office manager said he wanted to send one of his experts instead of one of the "regular" guys.  Makes me worry about the "regular" guys!  Imagine how bad THAT might have been...

Fortunately, the repair was a fixed price, not by-the-hour.  So I didn't actually have to pay for the wasted time.  But at bill-paying time, the repair ticket had a rating section for the repairman's work.  I had to fill it out right there in front of him.  That's a cheap trick companies use.  I could tell that if I had given less than a perfect 10, he would have whined and pleaded.  So I gave him 10s to get him out of the house.  I'll write a detailed letter to the company advising them of his thermostat-confusion later today.  He DID know the mechanics of the part-replacement! 

And as he left, he suggested that there was still a problem with the thermostat.  I could see he was thinking that I would be calling them back soon).  The whole system seems to be working perfectly and as intended...

And the cats' annual vet exam was rescheduled for an hour later and they are all fine!

Politics

I can't wait for the New Hampshire primary results on Tuesday!  I'll admit that I am not a "first-tier" political junkie like the professionals and not a second-tier junkie like the political talking heads on TV.  But I watch political discussion shows on TV most all evening after dinner (and with one or more cats on my lap).

For once, the primaries of both major parties are fascinating!  The debate between Clinton and Sanders Thursday night was amazing.  I don't think I have ever seen dabates where the 2 serious candidates actually respect each other  (but have to create differences between them) like this before.  I can almost imagine them sitting down together and saying "oh you got me on X subject" and the other saying "but you had a real good response on subject Y".

Both Clinton and Sanders want to win, desperately.  But they remind me of 2 chessplayers who are friends competing in a tournament.  One will lose, but both respect the other.

The Republican primaries are a whole other kettle of fish.  I think they all really do hate each other.  OK, maybe a couple get along, but it is really a cage match of desperate candidates.

No one likes Cruz.  From everything I read, he is not only bipartisanly destested among his fellow male and female Senators, he is universally detested among almost all politicians.  And among most professional political observers.  That takes real effort!

Trump is beyond belief.  His inaccurate claims in every speech astound the fact-checkers, baffle analysts, and convince many observers that his followers are facists, communists, AND anarchists.  I have seen his type before in my political and history studies in college; the results are NEVER good.  He claims things that never happened and stands by those statements when disproved.  Even worse, he claims he would be a good President because he can negotiate.  Seriously, Putin and most other world leaders would just obliterate him.

Ben Carson...  What can you say about a person who thinks the egyptian pyramids were built by Jewish slaves to store grain?  The pyramids weren't built by Jewish slaves (archeology proves that) and the pyramids are nearly solid stone (no place to store grain).  Carson is a brilliantly trained neurosurgeon, but other than that he is a raving lunatic.  Also wants a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.  Which would have prevented us from fighting WWI, WWII, building the US Highways, and fighting the Cold War with the Soviets.

Chris Christie;  Schoolyard bully.  Statewide embarrassment.  Blowhard.  Would be the "Donald Trump" of the campaign if The Donald wasn't in it.

Marco Rubio.  Probably the Republican candidate eventually.  The 3 main parts of the Republican triad (Evangicals, Wall Street, and Social Conservatives) will likely supress their gag reflexes and accept him as "most possible to win".

JEB!  With the Republicans livid about a "Clinton Dynasty", they can hardly nominate a 3rd Bush.  Besides, JEB! IS a rather low energy candidate.  Can you name ANY program he wants to implement?  On the other hand, he is probably the most moderate of the remaining Republican candidates, and in a contested convention could be the "reluctant but generally acceptable electable choice".  So JEB!'s plan is to be there at the end as "least unlikable".

John Kasich...  When I heard the things he did in Ohio in the late 90s, I thought he was the farthest Right anyone could be.  Now he is just average.  And now he almost sounds reasonable.  But he doesn't have a good campaign going.  No money = no campaign future.

Carly Fiorina - Republicans don't like female leaders.  Sarah Palin was widely regarded as a horrible decision of the McCain campaign (as in "OMG, what if McCain dies).  Fiorina has a history as a business CEO, but it is attackable for failure.  Plus, she has no particular agenda other than CEO experience and those who gravitate to business leaders see Trump as far more successful. 

Zika Disease

Viruses never stop evolving.  The newest severe viral mutation to attacks humans is called "Zika".  It seems to have appeared rather suddenly in tropical South America, is spreading quickly, and is serious to pregnant women.  If this seems like the setup for a bad joke (like the old one about "di-hydrogen monoxide", it isn't.

If you haven't heard of it yet, the Zika virus is "spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon".

Most people who are exposed to the virus won't even know it.  However, in pregnant women, it can cause birth defects and failed pregnancies.   One serious result is "microcephaly" (small head).


It is mainly in the tropical areas now, but moving slowly north through Mexico.  There have been several cases in the US from people who had traveled to infected areas.  But I saw a report tonight that said one woman in Florida had become infected without travelling to the infected areas.  There is a possibility that it was transmitted sexually.

There is currently no test for Zika virus.  The news report suggested that blood supplies could become contaminated with the virus and that the US could become subject to direct infection from mosquitoes as warmer weather to come allows mosquitoes to spread slowly and infected (but not showing symptoms) individuals travel.

I wonder what the first report of serious influenza mutations looked like in the past?  For every major disease, there is always some first reports that don't realize the seriousness to come.

I explained THAT to write THIS...

Not to make light of something that could, in a year or two, be a serious medical emergency, I also heard a news report statement that just baffles me.  The statement said "men should abstain from having sex with women who are trying to become pregnant". 

Now, think about that.  I'll assume that most women who are "trying to become pregnant" are in some sort of stable relationship with a man.  If the man is abstaining from sex with that woman, just how is she "trying to become pregnant".  It takes two to tango...

If the man is abstaining from sex with his stable partner, there ISN'T going to be any "trying to become pregnant"!  I have to assume the news editor noticed the illogic at some point, because the news streamer at the bottom of the screen dropped it after some short time.

And also, the new viral disease "Zika" caused the Tata Car company in India to regret their new "Zica" car name (short for "zippy car"). 

But back to seriousness; I sure hope a test and preventative vaccination is found soon.  Otherwise, this could become the new AIDS.

And it is another example of climate change.  The mosquitoes that can carry and spread this virus can only spread because the world is getting warmer.  Various mosquitoes survive and reproduce in limited temperature ranges.  An average difference of only 1 degree in Winter temperatures can mean survival or death for them. 

1 degree in temperature does not mean that much to us humans.  So we heat the house a little bit more; BFD.  But it means that some mosquitoes can move 100 miles north...

Feeling Sad For Iza Today

Warning, some icky biological stuff is involved here...

Poor Iza, She hasn't been able to keep much food down Mon and Tues or this morning.  Then today I brought her to the vet, where she was "temperatured" (ahem), had a blood sample taken, x-rayed, given two shots and returned to the PTU.  Suffice it to say that she was "subdued"

And then the vet instructionn were that she couldn't have any food or water until the next morning.  If she tossed up any food tomorrow or often in the next few days, she needs further tests.  The vet suggests berium pumped into the stomach and ultrasound if that doesn't show the problem, but I am thinking of just going straight to ultrasound.

Iza has always had a tendency to toss up her food once every week or two.  Giving her spoonfuls many times a day the past few months has helped.  But this change to hurling every meal is too serious.

She keeps her food in her stomach for 4-5 hours at least.  I can tell because of the varied cube, sliced, and minced foods I give the cats.  When a cat tosses up undigested cubes 4 hours after eating, there is a problem.  Food shouldn't stay in the stomach that long.  And she isn't even stopping the hurling when the food is out of her stomach; sometimes she keeps at it later when there is nothing but tan foam.  There is no grass of plant material; this isn't "scouring".

The vet says the x-rays show mysterious spots in Iza's stomach, which seems to confuse him; he thinks it is just air.  I keep thinking there is something Iza has swallowed that is blocking the output end of her stomach.  Maybe that's what the mystery spot is.  The vet just doesn't seem to want to consider that.  

He pointed out that there IS matter in her intestines, so there is no blockage.  But what if the "something" moves around in her stomach and only sometimes blocks it. 

He called this afternoon and said her blood work is fine, no sign of infection of organ problems.  That's good.  She had no high temperature, physical sensitivity, or reaction to being prodded.  

But she did refuse to eat Tuesday night (and she has never refused food in her life), she just stared at the food and left.  She has lost 1.5 pounds in a week.  There is OBVIOUSLY something wrong!

I just KNOW this brief fast after the 2 shots the vet gave her are NOT going to have any effect!  She has had this problem (to a much lesser degree) all her life.  I can tell I will have to proceed to more serious examinations after the Friday vet visit where it seems clear that he will tell me the problem is unresolved.

The odd hardest thing, though, is that I can't give poor Iza any food after she hasn't kept much down for 3 days!  All I can do is just hold and comfort her...

Wow, I Got Counterfeited!

Seriously.  I got my credit card statement, and there was a charge I didn't recognize.  Now, I wasn't sure at first.  It was from a chain store listed from a nearby major city but that I haven't been to in years.  But I know that billings on credit cards sometimes come from Headquarters and sometimes in names you don't recognize (like a HQ company).

And there IS a store of that chain here in my town.  So I had to think about it for a day.  Trying to recall if I had possibly bought something there I was not remembering.

But "no".  And the charge was $100.00, exactly.  What merchandise purchase ever comes to that exact amount?

So I called the credit card company.  I got to the Fraud Department.  They checked and confirmed that a working physical credit card had been presented to a store in that city.  In a city I had not been in for 10 years.  So it was obvious fraud!

But, a real card?  I only have the one card and it has never been out of my hands.  Sure, I use it, but for swipes only.  It never leaves my hands.

The amount is, of course, suspicious.  Probably a gift card purchase (and I have never purchased a gift card in my life).

The card was cancelled immediately, of course (and I cut the card up into a dozen pieces and disposed of the pieces in several locations.  I will get a replacement with new numbers in a few days.  I don't use the card online "much",  and only with reputable companies.  I use it routinely for food and gas purchases.  But even then, I look for those "add-ons" you read about that cover card readers.

I examined my purchases for this month online and saw nothing suspicious.   So apparently, "someone" is clever enough to create a physical card, use it once, and then stop. 

I sure hope the card company fraud department finds the person who somehow counterfeited my card!   I want to know what company they got the card info from!!!  They probably won't tell me though...

A Week In The Life...

Some weeks, problems accumulate...

1.  Naturally, I had to order more cat food just as the snowstorm struck.  2 boxes of 8 trays total, scheduled to arrive Wed and Thurs.  Well, I had the driveway and sidewalk cleared of snow Sunday, but I didn't shovel the front steps.  Figured I would most of it melt and shovel the remainder Tuesday afternoon.  The first box arrived Tuesday morning.  UPS left it at the garage door.  So I pushed the box inside the garage.

I forgot about the box when I decided to drive out for some errands Wed.  Well, you would be surprised at how many cans of cat food an SUV can crush beyond use...  ARGHHH!

2.  The outside unit of the heat pump stopped working.  I'm getting normal heat via electrical induction from the inside unit (like an oven), and I suspect it isn't costing MUCH more than the usual heating (some normal furnaces routinely operate that way).  I have been trying a few things hoping the outside unit will just "start" again.  I shovelled the snow from around the unit where air comes in, scooped out accumulated snow inside the unit, poured hot water over the insides hoping some ice was preventing operation, pulled and re-inserted circuit breakers, etc.  No luck.

But when the block of ice inside the outside unit finally melts and it doesn't start working normally again in a couple of days, I will have to call for repairs.  I didn't call immediately, because I AM getting heat, and I know they take complete failures as emergencies first.  Besides, they always want to just replace the whole unit. 

3.  My automatic garage door openers stopped working.  The overhead door light just blied rapidly.  That probably means something, but I couldn't find the manual.  But it isn't THAT hard to just raise and lower the door manually.

So I checked the power supply, circuit breakers, spring attachments, possible blockages, etc.  No luck.  Finally, I followed the wiring down to the bottom of the garage door track.  Well lookee there!  There is a set of safety lights at each side.  If the light beam between them is blocked, the system shuts off.  One of them had gotten pushed off.  Well, I guess when I ran over the box of cat food, I also pushed it into the light beam device.  Took just a minute to get it clipped back on and aimed properly. 

At least SOMETHING got working again.

4.  I mentioned previously that I had set up a regular birdfeeder on a pole on the deck to feed the non-finch birds sunflower seeds during the snowstorm.  They emptied it today.  The stepladder is still buried under the deck snowdrift, so I figured I would just untie it and set it down flat to refill it, and them put it upright again and retie it.  Brilliant but dumb idea!

The instant I untied the last know holding the pole tight, a strong gust of wind hit.  So there I was holding the bottom of the pole while the heavy top started to fall over.  I couldn't hold it up.  The feeder can crashing down on the deck.  The wooden feeder broke into 4 pieces!  I said a few BAD WORDS.  But what is done is done, and you go on from there.

I took the pieces down to the work bench and set about regluing the pieces (with exterior waterproof wood glue).  It took 12 bar clamps (you can never have too many bar clamps).  The feeder is back together, but it has to set until tomorrow morning.  I started to put out a tray of seeds, but even with a brick in the tray, the wind was slowly pushing it around.  And even if I clamped the tray to the deck rails, the wind would probably just blow the seeds out.  Sadly, the birds will have to wait til I get up in the morning...

5.  The trash company didn't show up for regular pickup today.  I'm leaving it out by the street.  I recycle and compost so much that about the only thing that goes in the trash is used cat litter, styrofoam,  and chicken skin.  And I out the chicken skin IN the litter bags.  So I feel pretty confident that NO scavenger is going to bother MY garbage can!  LOL!

BTW, I drove out today and saw a neighbor's TRASH can knocked over and the contents spilled out.  It was ALL cans and bottles.  All recyclable.  Aw c'mon...  We get free street-side recycle pickup and you don't even have to sort it.  Are they ACTIVELY against recyclying?

6.  This one is a bit long...  My waterbed sprung a leak.  That happens.  I have a repair kit.  I've probably patched it a dozen times (the waterbed mattress is at least 35 years old).  I only noticed when I pulled the sheets up for washing and the edges in one corner were wet.  I pulled up that corner of the waterbed. I thought it was wet cat food at first (because there was some there), and thereby hangs a short tale.

Ayla eats only in the bedroom, and sometimes she decides on some odd places.  That morning she had decided she would eat on the bookcase headboard of the waterbed.  I sure don't argue about it.   It's not like she gets to make a WHOLE lot of decisions in her life, so I give her the ones I can. 

That afternoon, when I pulled the wet sheets up I found her bowl tucked into that corner.  WOW!  I sure didn't think there was THAT much water in canned cat food (and it didn't smell like anycat had peed there).  But the cause and effect seemed clear.  So I cleaned up the spilled cat food, wiped it clean, and stuffed an old towel down to absorb the water.

Well, THAT wasn't the problem.  There was TOO much water the next morning and the towel was soaked.  So I pulled the corner of the waterbed up (which is not easy - water is heavy).  And I found a strange little piece of sharp metal.  I can't identify it, but I assume it took a while for it to slowly wear through the waterbed mattress. 

I can't get a patch to hold in the corner unless I drain the mattress and remove in entirely.  And even that might not work.  So, after all these years, I think I will replace it.  It's OK, they aren't expensive.  $50 to $200 depending on whether you want baffles and lumbar supports etc.  But I'm used to the cheap kind with nothing fancy so I will stick with that.

There COULD have been a better time for this.  All my hoses are outside and too cold to uncoil without maybe causing a break.  But at least the forecast calls for 50F temperatures Sunday, so I can probably get one into the basement undamaged and let it warm up inside.   One of the problems with a waterbed is draining them.  That can take a couple hours.  And then you have to fill the new one.  Filling a waterbed takes about 30 minutes from the outside spigot, and it takes all day for the heater to warm the water. 

Fortunately, my basement laundry tub faucet has a garden hose screw fitting.  But my water heater doesn't hold enough hot water to fill the king size waterbed mattress.  So it will be a balancing act to get the heated and cold tub water mixed right so I can sleep on the new mattress the same night as I empty it.

I'm probably not saying this clearly.  I have to get up in the morning, drain the old mattress, remove it, pull up the old liner (old and worn out) dry the wood frame, set the new liner in place, set in the new mattress, fill it, get the water warm enough, and put the mattress pads and sheets back on.  My recollection from the last time (30 years ago) was that took all day.  So I will be in for a very boring (watching a waterbed mattress fill up is like watching paint dry), but dedicated day...

7.  I had a mouse invasion.  Marley caught 5 mice!  I initially blamed the snow for making mice seek shelter, but it might have actually been my fault.  Last Friday, when the snow began to fall, I brought a few tubs of planting soil into the basement to thaw out so I could plant leftover Spring bulbs in them for forcing by Spring.  There MAY have been mice nesting in them in the leaf litter covering the soil. 

I HOPE he caught them all regardless of how they got inside.  Probably.  There were 4 caught one day, I found a 5th in a bucket the 2nd, and none for 4 days.

Quite a week!

Trivial Pursuit

About once a month, I play Trivial Pursuit on pogo.com.  I always win eventually.  This one was harder because several of my initial wedges vanished (stuff happens).  But I kept on.

I'm not actually good at true trivia.  I can't tell you how many #1 records The Beatles had or what Pete Rose's last batting average was.  I don't know how many leaves a palm tree has or what horse won the 1968 Kentucky Derby.  But they ask enough actual information questions for me to get by...  The Lone Eagle was Charles Lindbergh, John Kennedy's boat was PT-109, the volume of a circle is pi R2, etc.

I crushed it tonight, LOL!  I got the whole pie in 1 hour.  Hey, ya gotta have good nights at what ya enjoy, right?  Ask me about YOUR favorite topic and I'll get killed.  Maybe...

So I'm thinking of joining a bowling league...  Some balance in life is good.

Mark

Bad Snow-Plowing

We usually see a snow plow come down our dead-end street 2 days after the snow ends.  The County admits (reasonably) that Cul De Sacs and Dead-End streets don't have the same traffic demands that more travelled streets do.  I accept that.

So I was surprised to see someone plowing my street Sunday morning right after the snow stopped falling.  But it wasn't a real snowplow.  It was a guy in a front-end loader.

Not the most efficient way to remove snow from streets, but anything was welcome.

He was working well, and even tried to dump the piles of snow in between yards at the property lines.  I was watching out the computer room window.  Unprepared to go rushing outside in the snow...

It suddenly struck me that his "in-between properties" pattern was going to cover the storm drains at the corners of my property!  Ack, it would create an ice dam under the pressure of the snowpile.  I yelled at him out of the window and pointed the both storm drains, but he couldn't hear what I was yelling over the noise of the diesel engine.   But he could tell I was yelling at him.  It went downhill from there...

So I slammed on a pair of shoes and went running outside to explain.  I guess he gets complaints from residents who say not to pile the snow on THEIR yards.  Because the first thing he screamed at me (yes "screamed") was that 6' off the road was really County property.  (well, yes, but only if they do a legal "taking" of it for sidewalks and such). 

But I pointed at the 2 storm drains and demanded he NOT pile snow THERE!  It happened once 20 years ago and the street in front of me was a ice rink for a week! 

I saw him talking to my neighbors shortly after I went back inside.  He probably told them I was a crazy person. 

Fortunately, he didn't pile snow on one storm drain because I had a trailer parked right next to it.  He came close to covering the storm drain that would have caused real problems, but didn't.   But he was about to when I ran out...

As annoyed as he was, and least he didn't cover the storm drain!

So he piled it up on my front lawn instead. 

Well, the snow had to go SOMEWHERE and at least snow does melt eventually... 

Post-Snow Post

Well, I sure am glad I have my snowblower!  After the 2010 storms, I finally bought one.  Buying one in the Spring, though, I had time to do some research and get a good price.  Granted, they were "last year's models".  But they don't change much.  Really, what can they do other than make the blades that throw the snow heated so snow doesn't stick?  And I expect that will be a while.

I read in an article that one can expect any future event to be 25% "more" than what one has experienced before.  So when it came to the abilty to handle deep snow, I took my deepest snow and added 25% to that depth.

Good thing I did, because this Toro 24' wide and 20" tall input was barely enough!!!  And in a couple of drifts in the driveway, I had to tilt it up slightly and make 2 passes.  And THAT was while the snow was still falling Saturday after lunch!

But it worked perfectly.  The snow was dry and powdery and went "up, up, up, and away"!  The swirling wind made me keep rotating the output chute right and left (and I DID get snow back at me a few times).  Five passes up and down the driveway had it nearly cleared.  

Sunday morning, I went out and blew off the 9" of snow that had fallen overnight (6") and the 3" that drifted in with the wind.  Each time took only 20 minutes!

And removing the snow before it started to freeze on the bottom really helped.  The snowblower gets down to about 1/4".  The sunlight gets through that little snow and hits the black asphalt which warms enough to melt the remaining snow above it.  The next day, it was all clear, like this...

If I had to shovel the snow by hand, it would have been 2 three hour efforts; maybe 3 efforts.

Aside from that, we are all doing fine here.  The cats have a small area to step outside on the deck.  It took a while to shovel 4' though the 3' snowdrift (and throwing the shoveled snow 4' over the side of the deck was some work.  But I know to pace myself and take rest breaks.  I extended the path out toward the end of the deck a few feet every few hours on Monday, and completed it Tuesday.

You may have noticed a box from Chewy in the top picture.  Naturally, we were running out of canned cat food just as the storm hit.  But a Saturday online order arrived here this afternoon while there were still 2 cans left.  Good timing. 

Well, I WOULD have just driven to the local PetSmart for some if needed.  The roads are clear "enough".  But it was nice to have 5 cases of food delivered to the garage door!

Sunday Snow Aftermath

I have lived in various parts of Maryland since 1963.  In the NE part til 1968, at Univ of MD  til 1973, and around Washington DC since then.

The worst single snowstorm I experienced in Maryland was in 1966 where is snowed for 4 days.  The accumulation was only 20", but the winds whipped up snowdrifts covering the ground floor windows.  And Mom was about to have a baby!  The neighborhood roads were not plowed.  Dad and I shoveled 20" of snow a car width wide for 150' to the main road behind the house.

And off Dad and Mom went by car seeking the local hospital (which had a maternity wing of course).  At 15 (I keep thinking 16 because it was 1966, but I wasn't really 16 until May), I was left behind to take care of my 2 younger siblings.  For 2 days.  It was quite an adventure...  It's a good thing I could cook.  And apparently, I would have made a good parent (if I do say so myself); peace and calm abounded!

7 Mothers delivered babies in Harford County that day.  The other 6 Mothers were brought to the county hospital by helicoptor.  Dad drove...  Determination and self-reliance (to a point) is a family habit.  And school was closed for a WEEK!

So that was a really serious snowstorm.  And there have been some bad storms since then, but mostly several close-together storms with recovery time between.

But this one was BAD.  I think it is now considered 2nd or 3rd worst in the Washington DC area (that 1966 one mentioned above slid north of DC so they don't count it here).

So here are some more pictures of THIS one...

The wind collected a lot of snow near the house on the deck.  It was 3' deep in the drift Saturday afternoon.

 And it got worse as the day went along.

The sunflower seed birdfeeder was standing tall.  I had cardinals, sparrows, juncos, titmice,  nuthatches, chicadees, purple finches, and goldfinches there at various times.  I could have done without the sparrows (they get i seeds and kick backwards, shoveling seeds out of the tray.  It is their successful "scratching the ground" habit, so I can't exactly blame them.  But they sure are unwelcome at a seed tray.

But then the outside unit of the heat pump failed overnight.  Probably because the sides got covered by snow preventing air from getting in.  I assume it shut itself down because of the lack of air flow.  I'm on "Heat2" right now.   That's less efficient than the usual heat pump process, but I don't know exactly what it is doing.  All I can tell (from the manual) is that it is not "emergency" heating (which would be like turning on an electric oven with the door open).  It will probably be more expensive, but not like I have much choice.  The repair company is busy with true failures and at least mine is keeping the house at normal temperatures (operating constantly).  There ARE priorities of repairs.

So the first thing I did Saturday morning was to dress up warm* and shovel the snow from around the sides of the heat pump.  That didn't get it started again.  When I looked inside, it was all full of snow.  I know it is SUPPOSED to "de-ice" itself when that happens.  So I tried some simple repairs.  I loosened the grid on the top to scoop out the accumulated snow inside.  NO GO!   I couldn't remove the grid because there is a heavy duty electrical cable stuck to it.

But I WAS able to lift up the opposite side and scoop most of the inside snow out.  That didn't get it going either.  So I poured bucket after bucket of VERY HOT water into it to melt the remaining snow. and ice around the working parts.  Well, those parts are exposed to rain all the time (water drains out the bottom), what harm can water do?  But that didn't get it started either.   I removed and replaced the outside unit circuit breaker.  No success there either.  I suppose some part has failed at the worst possible time (like there is ever a BEST possible time?) and I will have to call for service.

But I am still getting heat from the inside part of the equipment, so it is not an emergency.  I keep hoping to hear the outside unit suddenly come on though...

The snowdrift on the deck is probably about its highest. 

And the snow on the roof is slowly sliding off.  It should start to fall on the deck soon.  I have a specialty tool for pulling snow off the roof, but I have to get out on the deck to use it and that snow drift is too deep for me to even push through wearing my trout-fishing hip-high waders.

So I am just going to wait things out.  Which could get awkward.  The Weather Channel says it will get down to 8F tonight!  There isn't going to be any melting for a few days at least...

Did get to use the snowblower though.  More on that next post!

* Warm meant thermal underwear under heavy jeans, extra thick socks in the 16" rubber boots, thick flannel shirt, ski mask, insulated rubber gloves, AND a hat with ear flaps!  And of course a long insulated jacket you could explore the Arctic in...  I don't play around with cold windy weather.