what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[MichaelB]

Driving into town this morning I passed a large gravel truck (like the one below) poised to pull out on the highway from a rock quarry. The truck caught my attention because the dump bed was fully elevated and I wondered if the truck driver was aware it was in this position.

He wasn't.

I watched in my rear view mirror as he pulled out onto the highway, caught the electrical and phone lines as he passed under them, ripped the two adjacent utility poles out of the ground, and drug them across the road completely blocking it. This was accompanied by a very large fireball and the boom of a nearby transformer exploding.

The road was shut down for a couple of hours. I drove by on my way home and counted seven CPS utility bucket trucks and five AT&T phone trucks working to repair the damage.

I suspect the gravel truck driver is seeking a new job - but not before a change of undies.

And they say cities are where the action is. Must have been some show.

 

[REWahoo]

And they say cities are where the action is. Must have been some show.

+1

Here are a couple of photos of the aftermath. Kinda slick how he managed to wedge that pole between his axles...

 

[Rosie]

We purchased a new (to us) home, we signed the papers yesterday.

We're renting back to the sellers, so we'll be moving in a few weeks. Meanwhile, we're going thru about 2 decades worth of accumulated stuff. And donating lots of it to the ACS Discovery Store and to Goodwill.

We're finding boxes tucked away in shelves & closets that we never opened since our move into our current house, 18 years ago.

And we're getting the current house ready for sale. We had a yard guy here for a couple of days, and the yard looks better now than it has in years.

I'll be glad when we're settled into the new digs. In the meantime, it's an adventure!

 

[freebird5825]

Another lazy day in East Nowhere...

I sliced up and froze 4 lbs of giant CA strawberries for my daily yogurt smoothies. The pre-frozen strawberries in the stores are awful, tiny and mushy when defrosted.

I blew off doing laundry, well just because...

We indulged in our weekly fish fry and sea scallops dinners, takeout from a local grocery store. I've really been behaving myself diet-wise and have lost some additional weight. I look forward to the fried food bonanza on Fridays. Oink oink...

The Red Sox are on MLB, so we are watching the game. Mr B is originally from the Boston area, so he is glued to the tube. I usually surf or read during the games, glancing over when it sounds exciting.

I'm reading Container Gardening for Dummies on my Kindle. It's a good refresher read once a year, to keep me aware of all of the right things to do. A freeze warning is out for counties to the north of me, closer to the Canadian border. I covered up everything outside just in case.

It's been windy and cool all day today. Spring weather has returned for sure. After that oppressive heat wave in the high 80s with humidity, this feels good.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

In the garden most of the day. It looks like I may just have a bit of green thumb in me. Peas are two feet up the trellis, lettuce is amazing, beets are proliferating, spinach cannot be harvested quick enough...carrots, squash, zukes, cukes, are about a month away - and the eventual potato harvest looks to be epic.

And this is just my first year doing this - no coincidence it's my first year of ER too.

Might finish today off by seeing if I can snag another fish.

Oh yeah, watched orcas swim past as I was having my morning coffee. Ho-hum, just another day in the Salish Sea/Puget Sound/Georgia Strait paradise in which I am blessed to live.

 

[jimbee]

Flushed the cooling system on the GMC pickup and put in new antifreeze. Read part of a book by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter "The Light of Other Days" that I picked up at the library.

I realize I'm a little late, but what did you think of the book? I read it a few years ago, and enjoyed the premise. I just finished the "A Time Odyssey" series by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, and liked that series as well. You might like to give it a try if you like "The Light of Other Days".

 

[freebird5825]

In the garden most of the day. It looks like I may just have a bit of green thumb in me. Peas are two feet up the trellis, lettuce is amazing, beets are proliferating, spinach cannot be harvested quick enough...carrots, squash, zukes, cukes, are about a month away - and the eventual potato harvest looks to be epic.

And this is just my first year doing this - no coincidence it's my first year of ER too.

Might finish today off by seeing if I can snag another fish.

Oh yeah, watched orcas swim past as I was having my morning coffee. Ho-hum, just another day in the Salish Sea/Puget Sound/Georgia Strait paradise in which I am blessed to live.

Nice job on the garden.
If you have not heard of this yet, google Neptune brand Fish/Seaweed liquid concentrated fertilizer. It's a foliar spray, used occasionally, that will make your plants sing. You will need to invest in a small manual pump sprayer. Use exact diluting proportions!
I see you fish a lot. If anyone suggests you bury discarded fish parts under your garden plants, it will attract raccoons and god knows what else. Your precious plants could get dug up.
The foliar spray fish smell dissipates in a few hours.

 

[Ronstar]

Took my yearly trip to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, showed my 5 year old grand nephew how to skip stones across the lake, and repaired parts of my sprinkling system.


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[Lisa99]

No question about it; exactly what I would have done.

To keep my rant relatively short I didn't share that I interrupted several times to point out that the gaps were in fact not an issue. My VP quietly listened then at the end of my 3rd rebuttal actually said "Lisa let's take this offline. I think you're missing the point on the big rocks." When he called me he admitted that I had everything in place but that I was acting defensively which wasn't appropriate.

BIG ROCK is the new stupid word for "priorities". Please just let me make it long enough to be laid off so I can get severance (I've already been told that since I don't live in a strategic location that I won't have a job after the separation). I'm ecstatic about that but I have to not quit to get the payout I deserve after putting up with BS for 18 years... Breaking glass, big rocks... I can't take much more of this nonsense.

 

[W2R]

To keep my rant relatively short I didn't share that I interrupted several times to point out that the gaps were in fact not an issue. My VP quietly listened then at the end of my 3rd rebuttal actually said "Lisa let's take this offline. I think you're missing the point on the big rocks." When he called me he admitted that I had everything in place but that I was acting defensively which wasn't appropriate.

BIG ROCK is the new stupid word for "priorities". Please just let me make it long enough to be laid off so I can get severance (I've already been told that since I don't live in a strategic location that I won't have a job after the separation). I'm ecstatic about that but I have to not quit to get the payout I deserve after putting up with BS for 18 years... Breaking glass, big rocks... I can't take much more of this nonsense.

Can you take a vacation? Under the circumstances, it sounds like the time off might be worth more than the compensation for not taking it.

 

[Lisa99]

Unfortunately not. Everyone working on the separation was told we weren't allowed to take time off until the separation is done on Nov 1. I can take a day or two here and there but nothing long enough to restore sanity

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Today we signed up for a couple of new library cards at different libraries. Any state resident here can join any public library so we collect different cards, mostly for the ebooks and other online services. One of the libraries has a gardening tool lending library and a seed library. I'm looking forward to using the seed library. I also reserved free tickets for two to a Shakespeare play with one of the cards.

On the way home we stopped at a waterfront restaurant at the Berkeley Marina for happy hour. We watched one lone sea lion, one kite surfer and a lot of wind surfers. I can't believe people like to do that on chilly days like today out on the Bay but it is fun to watch.

 

[LinCella]

I had a great day! I went to the library to pick up some books and trying to get into a tight parking spot I hit a pole and smashed the front side end of my car! I went home and went back to bed.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I had a great day! I went to the library to pick up some books and trying to get into a tight parking spot I hit a pole and smashed the front side end of my car! I went home and went back to bed.

So sorry to hear that, LinCella. Here's hoping for a better day for you today.

 

[Rosie]

Today we signed up for a couple of new library cards at different libraries. Any state resident here can join any public library so we collect different cards, mostly for the ebooks and other online services.

Whoa, I did not know that!! DH and I are moving from Alameda Co to Sacramento Co next month and I was saddened by the though that I would probably lose access to the excellent AC Library ebook collection. I'll look into how I can keep it, thanks!

On the way home we stopped at a waterfront restaurant at the Berkeley Marina for happy hour. We watched one lone sea lion, one kite surfer and a lot of wind surfers. I can't believe people like to do that on chilly days like today out on the Bay but it is fun to watch.

FWIW, DH and I met ~ 28 years ago while flying kites near the Berkeley Marina at North Waterfront Park (now Cesar Chavez Park).

 

[fidler4]

I was sitting outside of a Starbucks this morning in Cardiff by the Sea north of San Diego when this lady stopped and asked to pet my dog. I looked up and said sure. Standing next to her was Greg Glassman the founder of Crossfit. Coincidently I had just watched the 60 Minutes piece the other night on the Crossfit gym phenomenon that has swept the country so I recognized him immediately. I shook his hand and talked to him for a few minutes. He seems like a nice guy.


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[Sea Kayaker]

Nice job on the garden.
If you have not heard of this yet, google Neptune brand Fish/Seaweed liquid concentrated fertilizer. It's a foliar spray, used occasionally, that will make your plants sing. You will need to invest in a small manual pump sprayer. Use exact diluting proportions!
I see you fish a lot. If anyone suggests you bury discarded fish parts under your garden plants, it will attract raccoons and god knows what else. Your precious plants could get dug up.
The foliar spray fish smell dissipates in a few hours.

Thanks Freebird...always appreciate advice from seasoned gardeners. I am having so much fun with it. It's also very addicting - I can see things getting out of control in future years. Even in my first year, I was having a hard time stopping myself from making new beds...

 

[rodi]

Registered my son for the International Studies (IB) high school this morning.
Almost forgot about it, was still in jammies - had just pulled banana bread from the oven... realized at 8:30 we were supposed to be there at 8am. (It's about 20 minutes away). We were both in pajamas so there was a flurry of getting dressed and flying out the door. Managed to make it there before 9am (yeah... I'm lucking I didn't get dinged for speeding.) Found a spot "drop off" zone parking spot in front of the school... took a gamble that it wouldn't be enforced on a weekend. Managed to not get a ticket and get his classes selected.

Now just trying to get the boys to be productive... They both have chores that they're not doing. I need to go do some priming in our master bathroom. We're in the midst of a down to the studs bathroom remodel. DH built the vanity base prior to leaving town for family stuff - and I need to get it primed before the custom vanity top arrives on Friday.

 

[MichaelB]

DD#1 did the IB. She started it in Caracas and finished in NYC.

 

[rodi]

That's cool, Michael. Was she able to get college credit for the diploma coursework? My understanding is the UC system will offer up to 30 units for the full diploma. That would be sweeeeeeet.

 

[MichaelB]

That's cool, Michael. Was she able to get college credit for the diploma coursework? My understanding is the UC system will offer up to 30 units for the full diploma. That would be sweeeeeeet.

I'm not sure but will ask DD. It may have helped her deal with the required courses, and she did finish in 4 years even though she [-]took a semester off[/-] spent a semester abroad. My recollection is they weren't excited at the prospect of unpaid degree credit.

 

[Nords]

Any advice or stories of dealing with the ambivalence of leaving a great organization welcomed.

Don't be surprised if the feeling persists for a while, but it will eventually fade.
When I retired from the USAF, I felt like that for several years. Greatly diminished now, but I still get a funny (good) feeling whenever I enter a military base. The special camaraderie is something you almost never find in "normal" life.

A shipmate has been retired for nearly 15 years yet he still misses the conversations that he used to enjoy with some of the smartest people he knows.

I miss it too, but not enough to put up with midwatches and weekend duty.

 

[MBAustin]

Was she able to get college credit for the diploma coursework? My understanding is the UC system will offer up to 30 units for the full diploma. That would be sweeeeeeet.

DD and DS both went to a HS that offered IB but neither one opted for it. They did load up on AP credits. DD used them to graduate from a private college in just a hair over 3 years. DS used them to get his engineering degree with an economics minor in 4 years (no summer school).

 

[Walt34]

Here are a couple of photos of the aftermath. Kinda slick how he managed to wedge that pole between his axles...

Yes indeed, that takes raw talent. Don't want to make it too easy to clear the mess.

Went to the gym, then to farmer's market for some veggies and fill the propane tank for the grill, then the library on the way home so now I have a few day's reading to do. DW and her sister went to a funeral for a long-ago neighbor that they were close to growing up.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Drove from San Diego to Monrovia (near Pasadena) to teach a martial arts class for students in our organization as an affiliate dojo.


Note to self - never drive on Memorial Day weekend.


It was a predicted 2 hr drive up - smooth - no traffic.


It took over 3 hrs to drive back - nothing but traffic jams - more than usual (and I've made this drive lots of times).


I'm home now with a well deserved cold adult beverage (or two)....not driving anywhere for the rest of the weekend!