Friday, August 17, 2007
Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo
When Bethany was around 3 years old, she was having some scary dreams. I told her that she should use magic in her dreams to get rid of whatever was scary. For example, if a monster came after her she could just say "Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo" (a reference to a popular Disney movie) and turn it into a pretty flower. This seemed to work well enough for her that she remembered it.
Not too long later, Bethany was mad at me one day. She looked at me sternly and said, "Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo!" Her look then changed to curiosity and she asked, "Why didnt you turn into a bug?"
Not too long later, Bethany was mad at me one day. She looked at me sternly and said, "Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo!" Her look then changed to curiosity and she asked, "Why didnt you turn into a bug?"
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Epoxy Lining our Leaky Pipes
Around 2 months ago, we found that we had a leak in our copper water pipes under our kitchen. A guy came out, found the leak, and fixed it for us. Fortunately, the pea gravel under our slab sent the water harmlessly down into the ground. We replaced the tiles that got broken in the process and life was good again.
After returning from vacation last month, we were hearing the same sounds in our bathroom again indicating another under-the-slab pipe leak. The piece that was taken out showed some corrosion, but we were hoping for more time before having to do anything drastic. No such luck.
We decided to work with a company that does epoxy lining in the pipes rather than re-piping the house. It was much less intrusive in terms of damage to the walls, etc. then doing a repipe. We did this project last week.
The water was off for 2 1/2 days (Wednesday morning until mid-day Friday). The company doing the work was very considerate of how we would live in the house during that time. Each night, they gave us a 2 gallon water container by the kitchen sink for washing and bottled water by each bathroom sink for brushing teeth, drinking, etc. They also filled buckets with water and carried them upstairs so that we could "flush" the toilets. The girls used the one hose we had working to take a back yard "shower" on Thursday night, but I held out for the water to turn on Friday. Overall, it was not an entirely uncomfortable process.
It did give us a good perspective of what we will have to deal with if water is disrupted by a disaster like an earthquake. We have a couple of holes to patch in the wall, but otherwise we are back to having a secure water supply system!
After returning from vacation last month, we were hearing the same sounds in our bathroom again indicating another under-the-slab pipe leak. The piece that was taken out showed some corrosion, but we were hoping for more time before having to do anything drastic. No such luck.
We decided to work with a company that does epoxy lining in the pipes rather than re-piping the house. It was much less intrusive in terms of damage to the walls, etc. then doing a repipe. We did this project last week.
The water was off for 2 1/2 days (Wednesday morning until mid-day Friday). The company doing the work was very considerate of how we would live in the house during that time. Each night, they gave us a 2 gallon water container by the kitchen sink for washing and bottled water by each bathroom sink for brushing teeth, drinking, etc. They also filled buckets with water and carried them upstairs so that we could "flush" the toilets. The girls used the one hose we had working to take a back yard "shower" on Thursday night, but I held out for the water to turn on Friday. Overall, it was not an entirely uncomfortable process.
It did give us a good perspective of what we will have to deal with if water is disrupted by a disaster like an earthquake. We have a couple of holes to patch in the wall, but otherwise we are back to having a secure water supply system!
Monday, August 06, 2007
GPS facts from Dallas, TX
I am writing this entry from Dallas, TX. I'm here on a business trip and I brought along my handheld GPS for no particular reason. I don't have time to do any geocaching and I have my car GPS with me for local navigation. I just brought my handheld GPS to play around with it. Today I am truly in touch with my inner GPS geek.
Here are some facts determined with my GPS device.
I'm currently at 415 feet above sea level.
I'm 262 miles from the Alamo in San Antonio, TX. I marked that location in my GPS when I was there last January.
I'm 618 miles from the geocache that I found near Colorado Springs, CO last month.
I'm 955 miles from a waypoint that I set in Zion National Park last month.
Girl Scout Camp Scherman in California is 1139 miles away.
My waypoint at Sea World, California (one of the oldest points in my GPS) is 1180 miles away.
Home is 1201 miles from here.
The farther waypoint from here in my GPS is a customer location near Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. They are 1253 miles from here.
Here are some facts determined with my GPS device.
I'm currently at 415 feet above sea level.
I'm 262 miles from the Alamo in San Antonio, TX. I marked that location in my GPS when I was there last January.
I'm 618 miles from the geocache that I found near Colorado Springs, CO last month.
I'm 955 miles from a waypoint that I set in Zion National Park last month.
Girl Scout Camp Scherman in California is 1139 miles away.
My waypoint at Sea World, California (one of the oldest points in my GPS) is 1180 miles away.
Home is 1201 miles from here.
The farther waypoint from here in my GPS is a customer location near Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. They are 1253 miles from here.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Reading Harry Potter
I realize that I'm one of the last people on the planet that wants to read the final Harry Potter book (Deathly Hallows) and hasn't actually done so yet. Andrew and Bethany have both read it. I'm the last family member that wants to read it that has not. I have started though. I find that I don't get much reading time anymore, so this is a good chance to get back into the habit.
Our family managed everyone wanting to read it at the same time by having a central location to keep the book when it was not being read. This worked especially well for Drew and Beth since they had very different reading schedules. It was less convenient for me since I allowed them priority over me if there was a conflict.
Here is what I have found out so far (no spoilers about the story in case someone is slower than me):
* Age is doing bad things to my eyes. The pages get fuzzy faster than they did when I was younger.
* Maybe due to lack of practice, but I don't seem to read as fast as I used to. I need to time myself and see if this is true or if I am just imagining it.
* Hardback books are more of a pain than ever. I really prefer a paperback when I can get it.
* Reading is as enjoyable as ever. I have never found a better value for entertainment (i.e., conceptually this is the cost of the activity divided by the enjoyment derived). This is especially true of used books!
Our family managed everyone wanting to read it at the same time by having a central location to keep the book when it was not being read. This worked especially well for Drew and Beth since they had very different reading schedules. It was less convenient for me since I allowed them priority over me if there was a conflict.
Here is what I have found out so far (no spoilers about the story in case someone is slower than me):
* Age is doing bad things to my eyes. The pages get fuzzy faster than they did when I was younger.
* Maybe due to lack of practice, but I don't seem to read as fast as I used to. I need to time myself and see if this is true or if I am just imagining it.
* Hardback books are more of a pain than ever. I really prefer a paperback when I can get it.
* Reading is as enjoyable as ever. I have never found a better value for entertainment (i.e., conceptually this is the cost of the activity divided by the enjoyment derived). This is especially true of used books!
