Can you hear me now?...hello...helloooo...

How does it get to this point?



Not entirely by choice.

Three cell phones? What in the name of all that is holy!?

Sure, one of them is my personal phone but then I have those other 2 for my work.

Thank goodness one of the work phones is going to disappear tonight. I just finished that blood sucking project that had me pulling 6 days at 12-13 hours a day. Good bye and good luck. What a releaf.

And this is how my work site was looking for the past 2 months.


That laptop on the left will also go the way of one of those cell phones tonight.
And next up...



Ironman Canada training starts tomorrow!

Enough already

Yes, finally the very cold weather has broken...for now.

It was 36F yesterday and may hit 40 today but...

By Wednesday, it's back into the deep freeze.

I'm going mental.

This roller coaster weather is just what January and February is all about so I'm gonna try and enjoy the ride.

Saturday afternoon. Balmy huh?

Hey honey, it's above zero, I'm going riding.

Yes, this guy is riding his motorcycle on January 26. And yes, that is snow and ice. What the eff?

I just don't know what else to say.

Oh wait, I do have something else to say.

What should I do with all this?

Stop by in a few days and you'll see.

This hurts me more than it hurts you

I only post this to make the rest of you feel better.

Can you feel the love?

...but some call me a fool

Rise and shine moonshine.

Ain't no roosters crow'n at 4:30 AM.
It's too frigg'n cold.


I know you were wondering.

Oh the weather outside is...

Hey, it's a warming trend.

Another day in the deep freeze.

What doesn't kill me, makes me stro...

Jack Frost...my frigg'n ar$$

Good Morning.

Who needs coffee when you can get blasted in the face with this!

Oh yeah, now add the wind chill and we're somewhere around minus 30 degrees.

(frost)Bite me!

Cold as H E double-hockey-sticks(LL)

I'm gonna whine about the cold weather and then get on with my business.

The high temperature for this Saturday is going to be minus 5 F. That's not a high. It's not even above the non-temperature of ZERO. Minus 5 isn't even a number. Is it?

And then there's this.

I got home last night and the downstairs bathroom sink was backed up. Why?

Quick background here. My house is 58 years old. I had the downstairs (basement) remodeled so there is some new plumbing and some 58 year old plumbing. OK, 'nuff said.

I first thought that a section of pipe must be frozen from the cold weather.

But since all my plumbing is deep below grade, it shouldn't be frozen. All the other drains in the basement were running freely.

First I attempt the easiest solution of plunging with a plunger...no effect.

I take apart the u-shape p-trap under the sink and get all wet with the yucky water I just created by plunging and sucking up gook from deep within the bowels of the old plumbing.

I run my little 15 foot roto-rooter wire snake down the pipe. Retrieve it, and there is no obstruction.

Re-assemble the p-trap and run some water.

Water backs up again.

I try plunging again with the same results. Gunky water and slimy pieces of gook.

Still not draining.

Take apart p-trap again.

Catch gunky water in pale this time. Nice.

I hate doing this but...I pour in some industrial strength drain cleaner from the 1950's that was left by the previous home owner.

Let it sit for a few minutes.

Re-assemble the p-trap.

Run some water and...

IT WORKED!

The drain was draining like a good drain should.

Problem solved but my curiosity was peaked so I read the label of said drain cleaner to see what this miracle fluid is all about.

There are 9 items of warning before the directions for usage.

Caustic

Do not get on skin, clothing, wood, vinyl etc.

Do not look in drain after adding solution as eruption may occur.

Immediately cover drain opening after adding solution to contain possible eruption.

Cover the drain with what!? A sand bag bunker?

Area must be well ventilated.

Immediately wash off if solution comes in contact with skin.

Flush drain with clean water for several minutes after clog is cleared.

...

And on it went.

Flash-backs of my organic chemistry class come rushing in and I go into def con 3.

I make sure the top is screwed back on tightly and begin to handle this miracle bottle of liquid like it's nitroglycerin. Really old nitroglycerin.

I delicately place the bottle in a zip-lock bag and then into a bucket and oh so carefully set it on the floor in the corner of the utility room and ensconce it with left over bricks and tiles from the remodel.

Slowly, I backed away as if I had just handled some unstable uranium isotope. Whew, I wipe my brow and bow down to the shrine of bricks, tiles, and miracle solution.

I run a bunch more water down the drain (the solution to pollution is dilution) so I don't end up re-enacting that scene in Christmas Vacation after Randy Quade empties his RV holding tank into the storm drain, "shitter's full..." and it begins to glow green. At the closing scene, things blow sky high.

I got 4 hours of sleep last night and checked the sink this morning. All is well.

I just hope I don't arrive home tonight and see my house glowing green.

I wish I was my dog

I wish I could nap anywhere. I'm still dang busy with my work project so posting time is limited.

I don't think I've ever formally introduced my faithful companion.
Her name is Pitchka. She's Border Collie to the bone. Her name means 'little bird'.
She was the runt of the litter. I was working in Coalville, Utah in 2003. Coalville is just a few miles North of Park City, Utah. Coalville is mostly range land and there are sheep and cattle ranches everywhere. Pitchka came from a ranch in Henefer (just north of Coalville). She had just started working with cattle and sheep when I showed up and she decided to come with me. Her mom and dad where all the dogs the rancher needed so he was pleased to let me be her new meal ticket.
She sat on my lap the whole drive into the Petco store in Salt Lake City. It's been a gas having her company for over 5 years now.
Pitchka has traveled on field work assignments to California, Nevada, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Well traveled to say the least.
I'm very lucky that my office is dog-friendly so she often does the greeting duties when people come in.
When I'm out doing my field work, she often rides in the back seat, next to her kennel (see photo). During lunch breaks, we always take a walk or a run. If we're lucky, she flushes a pheasant or two.


As for me. I'm still working long hours until the end of January and then things should taper back down to a more normal work week. It's a good thing too because I start Ironman Canada training February 1st.
Oh my God! Ironman training is starting already! I guess I better get my new bike built up before the snow melts.

Peace to all.

huff, huff, hu, hu Happy New Year

Whew! Let me catch my breath for just a second.

I just got back from a week in Winter Wonderland.

I left the big city, where I'm working right now, and headed up to da Great White Nort on Dec. 27.

The farther along my drive I got, the deeper the snow got. I was itching to get to the cabin and for recess to start. Upon arrival, Pete filled the water jug, I stoked the wood stove, and filled the wood bin with fire wood that we had to excavate from under 15 inches of new snow. Yeeeeeeehaw!

This rustic cabin has been in Pete's family since the 1940's. Since then, Pete's parents have built their retirement home next door but we "boys" still shack up in the old cabin. The original design of the cabin was build from some plans and drawings of a chicken coop. Some minor modifications were made to the overall dimensions and electricity wasn't installed until the early 1990's. Prior to that, light was from gas lamps and hurricane lamps.

We "boys" absolutely love it. Stoking the fire to keep us from freezing is all that's needed to keep the man cave cozy and...well, cozy.

After a couple days of skiing, hunting, ice fishing, and snow shoeing, the old cabin gets a nice lived in feeling...and smells of men, dogs, and beer. Thank goodness for the hot shower next door. Whew.

New Year's eve was spent at a neighbors house for a feast of roast beast, grilled veggies, and swill. I was the designated driver so I limited myself to just a couple drinks. The size and strength of those 2 drinks is not entirely known but I do have total recall of the entire night and I only had to drive one quarter mile down a wooded lane from the banquet back to the cabin. Ain't not'n like da nort woods.