Lifes a Train wreck

It was 7:30 pm before we finally gave up and headed for Burger King last night, starving and filthy.

The piping was all finished, but the leak testing was not.

 The person who changed out the plumbing had used PVC plastic on all of the in house water lines. PVC is fine for the main line in, but it is rated to only 140 degrees and will soften and come apart if heated above that. It can even balloon and pop if enough heat and pressure is applied.

The reason this lasted as long as it did is the low pressure here from a well system, a 30 year old system. It has been leaking under the kitchen sink for some time without being noticed due to the amount of crap stowed away down there was hiding it very well.

I had to switch the PVC out for heat rated CPVC pipe, which is good for 180 degrees at 100 PSI. By the time I had the leak testing done  I was exhausted and with one tiny drip, the water was left on, the water heater turned back on, showers were taken, and that wonderful bed was sought!

The leak is at the kitchen sink hot water valve, and will entail loosening the line to the sink and giving the valve a turn or two to tighten it, I hope….

The same person that installed the water lines moved the water heater and electrical. Upon closer examination he had skinned a wire at the wall and had a bare copper wire waiting for an accident. I am glad I saw that little gem. Especially with a leaky water line in the same hole….

Just when you thought it was safe to sit down and relax… I have been ignoring a problem for a while now, hoping it would go away while I focus on the central air system, among other things.

The kitchen faucet is leaking, and now it is worse than a small leak… time to put on the plumber’s cap. I should know better, but in ignoring it I really did myself no favor since that water was not all going down the drain.

I seldom look under the kitchen sink as there is little in the way of items that I use under there; however, having looked under there last night I noticed things are awfully wet down under….

At least I am not going to get bored around here.

Tiger is thriving outside and strangely enough she even rules the great outdoors! Leo backs down from her and will leave the food bowl when she stalks up on him. She is moving around constantly and getting exercise, something she rarely did in the house. Go figure.

Time to crawl under the sink….

Tom

We had a very lazy weekend all in all. Not much happened here to speak of but computer games and TV.

We ended up having to evict Tiger to the great outdoors, due to her sudden urge to use the restroom in some very awkward places that I will not get into… she was getting weirder and weirder in her old age.

Tiger may be old, but she is far from ‘done’ as Jo saw her run Leo off this morning and he is twice her size. What Tiger lacks in size, she makes up with attitude.

The History Channel had a Monster Quest marathon yesterday that kept me busy all evening. I erased some off of the DVR that I had already seen and viewed about half of the rest. I especially disliked the episode on giant spiders, not because it was bad, but because I don’t care much for giant spiders….

Robert and I have a running joke on how being a cameraman should be classified like a red shirt in Star Trek… if it is dangerous, deadly, or down right insane, send in a cameraman.

Yet another indexing refuge, and here it is:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1744650/do_it_yourself_tips_and_tricks_for.html

Time to get on with my day,

Tom

Robert and I cleared a few bazillion pounds of garbage out of the shed here, so that we could add another few bazillion pounds of garbage from storage to it.

Funny how we save things, like treasured possessions, that would better serve as land fill fodder. I have a day to spend deleting things from storage in the future….

It is raining today and overcast, as it was yesterday. We actually had some rain fall here for a change! I was beginning to think Florida was turning to desert.

Inspiration struck for a new article on Associated Content, it was added into the queue last night. It is about string of all things.

Once again it is time to go,

Tom

It looks like I am about to become a metal roofer….

The job should start next week on a nearby Air Force base. Roofing here may be hit and miss with all the rain Florida gets, but it should pay the bills.

I have another job possibility, but it will not be ready for the sheet metal side for another two months. Not really what we need at this point.

Today we are going to clean out the shed and see how much we can move from the storage building to this old shed. It isn’t really weather proof so we can’t put certain items in it, but we do hope to weed it out enough to switch to a smaller shed.

We have another flea infestation… the animals are going crazy, but it isn’t possible to dose them again with the medication as it can hurt them if applied to often. Nasty little critters!

It rained here yesterday and remains overcast today; however, it has warmed up to the point that the A/C is once again in use. We were able to leave it off for three days and that is always good for the electric bill.

Time to get to work,

Tom

ETA: oops! one more non indexed article here.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1744650/do_it_yourself_tips_and_tricks_for.html

Between the indexing problems and e-mail alerts not going out for new published articles it is a wonder any of the new articles get read. Somehow amongst the chaos I managed to raise a clout level though.

It has been much cooler here than normal for the last three days, and for the first time in a week or two the central air is off24/7.

Thankfully the heat isn’t needed, but it is cool enough for blankets at night. I actually had to wear pants yesterday….

I went out applying for work and on a whim stopped by the Workforce Center (Florida’s employment agency) and ended up with an interview for today at 2:45 pm. for the sheet metal job.

Damn the TV, all the shows are over for the season once again. Now what do I do? The good news is Fringe and Castle will return to fill my time next year and Smallville has been extended two more seasons!

I edited my story for the umpteenth time and resent it into the critique section over at Accentuate Services. More editing is needed that friends caught, and I am beginning to think this is a never ending process. I tightens the story each time I do, but it also makes it harder for me to find errors. Yes, a 3,500 word story can make you crazy. Thankfully I am putting off the novel….

Tom

It is about time to try and get back on track with a few things.

I managed to write a new short story that is in the editing stage at the moment. That is good news in that I haven’t written one in quite a while. I intend to enter it in Accentuates present contest once I work it over a bit.

The indexing blues are back at AC for me with the last three articles mysteriously unindexing themselves. I noticed the last three had lost their index this morning and have no idea how long ago it happened. All three had indexed within 24 hours.

Here are two of them.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1729740/indexing_and_the_internet.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1728454/how_big_is_the_internet_and_how_does.html

I have been watching alot of TV lately, which I think has rekindled my imagination some what. I had a long dry spell that is hopefully over for now.

The house is nice and cool, and the new central air is now working as it should.

No news on the job front so far.

Time to go….

Tom

Bear passed away this morning about 5:30 am. She will be sorely missed by the rest of the family. I hope to find some really good pictures of her to post later today.

The nerves are still pretty raw here, and Jo took it pretty hard as Bear was her baby… Jo got up with her about 3:30 am and stayed with her to the end.

She was a sweetheart with a sense of humor and a serious stubborn streak, she fit right in.

I can’t explain how good it feels to finally have a working cooling system… if only I knew if the heat side worked!

 I can’t bring myself, as hot as it is, to run it in the heat mode to check it out… so I am afraid it will have to wait until next fall to test it out.

The new fluorescent light fixture is in place in the kitchen, needing the wiring ran, and a switch installed is all that is keeping it from working. The kitchen reminds me of what it may have been like to live in a cave… makes me nostalgic for the days when our ancestors had to wash their dishes in the dark.

Looks like it is back to the employment finding grind for me…

Tom

Finally! The new stat worked like a charm and cured my short cycling problem. Now the cooling cycle lasts 20-25 minutes and the unit is dry inside when it shuts off.

I can finally finish off all the little things on the system and move on!

Associated Content bought two more articles last night, hopefully they will get published and become available soon. One is on how big the Internet has gotten, and the other on indexing and the Internet.

Dancing with the Stars is entering the final stage and tonight one more couple will be voted off, leaving only three couples to compete.

Castle had its season finale last night, but no word on if it is to be carried over next season yet, hopefully it will be picked up as it is a great show.

Time to get on with my day…

Tom