What did you do today? - 2022 version

[braumeister]

Helped a friend deal with a broken water pipe between the main line and his house. OUCH!

Had the same problem recently. Water line between the meter and the house (our responsibility) developed a leak. First we knew of it was when the water department sent us a letter saying that they noticed a large usage and we should check for leaks. Our meter is only read four times a year.

First plumber said they could do nothing until the location was identified. It's about ten feet from the meter to the house. We got a leak detection company to look at it and they identified the location, four feet from the house and five feet down.

The plumber then came back and started digging with a shovel (the location is nothing but gravel and clay). After an hour or so they gave up and said they would be back some day. I told them not to bother.

Called a different plumber and they did the right thing by getting all utility lines marked. Brought in an excavator and dug to find the leak. Turned out it was about five feet away from where the leak detector said it was, and six feet below ground level. They fixed it and it seems to be good.

End of the story: a bit over $4K plus the cost of the extra water that leaked.

Things like this are a great example of what we call "unplanned expenses" that are nevertheless completely necessary.

 

[skyking1]

we do those repairs and replacements where I work.
Last week I had a good experience with a directional boring company.
One of the owner's friends had a leak that I chased until it was clear that it was located under a large expanse of exposed aggregate driveway/side porch area.
We presented all that to the customer, and he decided on directional boring. Since I had dug up all the utilities and located everything the first go-around, I mobilized the excavator over there to dig a starting hole and assist. There was a lot in the ground to miss, so they started boring beyond the power service. I dug a small hole and got out of the way.

20 minutes later the new 1.25" poly line was pulled through the problem area and the directional boring crew was loading up and leaving.

They were able to dive under the footing and then angle right up inside the crawlspace with the boring rig, then attach the poly line and pull it back to where I would continue the installation.

I had two plumbers there, the boring crew of two guys. I showed up at 10 and we had the customer back in service by 1130, and I was loaded up and leaving by 1230.
The area in the landscaping was a nightmare of cable phone and really odd power service.
Luckily that was all still open from the first discovery day of digging.

I'm sold on directional boring. The basic bill is ~1500 and well worth it.

 

[street]

No, it is just to transport the kayak from the parking lot to the water. I also use it when camping to haul water jugs.

Gotcha!!

 

[street]

skyking1, yep directional boring is an amazing tool in the utility industry!! I had a private individual that was top notch as a directional bore guy. He could put the bore just about on the size of a dollar bill when things needed to be right on the mark.

I could go on and on, the money he saved the company using a boring and vac equipment.

 

[MC Rider]

I am sold on not digging with a shovel. The ground is too hard, too much work.

 

[skyking1]

I did the mole style water services with the air driven moles many years ago. This is really more of a hydraulic jack with drill steel sections.

 

[braumeister]

I had a similar situation at another house over 20 years ago. The dreaded "Blue Max" plastic pipe.

That was a bit different, as I decided to replace the entire 150 foot length with new copper pipe. Almost $7K which would be closer to $12K today.

At that time, I did some digging and found that there was a fund set up after a successful class action suit against Blue Max, and I got reimbursed almost the entire amount I spent on it.

No such luck this year.

 

[KCGeezer]

We had the water incoming line break years ago right at the shutoff. Our side of course. The old guy that came bored a new line from our basement, downhill with about a 4’ drop, probably a 75’ run. He used the nub of a pencil, a scrap of paper, and a whole lot of skill to line things up. I don’t think I’d ever been so impressed by a master of his trade quite like that.

 

[RobbieB]

Drove back from LA after attending DSD's two graduation ceremonies. Good times!

Met up with the Captain who is training us, he was down there doing a charter cruise on a 92 foot yacht. Had dinner with him and the owner of said yacht who also owns the restaurant we dined at. Beach and Brew, Venice

 

[Helen]

I had an early morning phone call to inform me my 94-year-old uncle passed away. He was a great guy. He was still able to mow his law two years ago, but this last year hadn't been kind to him.

Then I found out a former co-worker who lives 1/2 mile from me fell off a ladder while doing yardwork and died. That hit hard as he was very active and had some good qualify years ahead of him.

 

[Walt34]

We had a busy weekend. Yesterday was the first birthday party for the new one-year-old grandniece, and I took the opportunity to help get the R/C airplane flight simulator set up on their computer for her two older brothers. With schedule conflicts I hadn't been there since last winter. We'll have a chance in another month to have them here and I'll take them out to fly R/C airplanes so the simulator practice helps immensely with that.

Then today was the 75th birthday party for DW's nephew's MIL. I am fortunate in that we get along very well with members of each other's families and I enjoy spending time with them. The only bad part is the drive time, one is an hour an a half each way and the other is two hours each way. We spent ~$85 on gasoline for the two trips driving a 4-cylinder Honda Accord. But we had fun and a good time was had by all, and if anyone went hungry it was their own fault.

 

[Hermit]

I had an early morning phone call to inform me my 94-year-old uncle passed away. He was a great guy. He was still able to mow his law two years ago, but this last year hadn't been kind to him.

Then I found out a former co-worker who lives 1/2 mile from me fell off a ladder while doing yardwork and died. That hit hard as he was very active and had some good qualify years ahead of him.

That is a sad story. I was just up and down a very tall ladder several times last week installing my Starlink antenna. My son went on the roof to place the antenna but he does not do well on ladders so I mounted the bracket and ran the cable into the attic. I need to find another way to get that stuff done, but having just built the house a few years ago and still working on the interior l find it hard to not "just get it done."

 

[braumeister]

A bit of a scare today when I got a certified letter from my doctor.

Turned out he was just notifying all his patients that he is going to retire this summer, and telling us who his replacement will be. This is in a semi-concierge practice.

I've enjoyed dealing with this guy for years, so I'll be sad to see him go, but the new doc comes highly recommended and with excellent credentials.

 

[Walt34]

Caution: Carolina Reaper hot peppers.

Oh, and yesterday DW's nephew gave me a mason jar of Carolina Reaper hot peppers, which according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the world's hottest pepper. Having been forewarned, I cut off a tiny thin slice from one, maybe 1/32" thick, then cut that into about 1/4" sections and cautiously ate one of those.

Youza! Those things are hot! These are going in my salads and anything else I can think of (I do like hot & spicy stuff) but with some caution to start with. They say that it won't really burn through your esophagus or anything, but I'm not going to push the envelope on that.

They WILL clear out your sinuses.

 

[skyking1]

I picked up the little machine off a job, and started taking apart the big one. I'll post about it in the repairs thread after tomorrow.

 

[Gumby]

I went to a retirement party for three of my former colleagues. It was good to see everyone again (old retirees, new retirees, and those still in harness), as well as the new people who have joined since I left. I had a good time, and it reminded me again that I was blessed to have a great group of people to work with. I don't miss the work, but I do miss the people.

 

[street]

Mowed, watered, fertilized, bike ride, meet a new friend today, meet up with a ranch neighbor and spent some time with him.

 

[pacergal]

Rainy and cool enough here that I actually turned the heat back on this morning!
Will have DGS age 2 here this afternoon and I think 64 in the house is just too cold for a little one.
Will wait to start a load of laundry, as he loves to help with that.
Went into the garden, the strawberries are coming on, along with blueberries.
Tomatoe, potatoes, onion and broccoli are slowly growing.
We do need a bit more sun than rain.

 

[Walt34]

Went out this morning to get a new battery for DW's iPhone 6s (yes we know it's old) because yesterday the original started swelling. $53 at Battery Mart, so not too bad.

Then I mowed the grass front and back, separated by about an hour break.

Tomorrow is spot spraying for weeds, maybe the last time until fall, but we're forecast for some temperatures in the mid 70's by Saturday which is cool for this time of year here.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

The cleaning lady came today so I hustled the kids out of the house. We went and opened a bank account for my oldest who is going off to college this fall, using his graduation checks as a deposit. Then we went to the river cabin for a while. It was sweltering and there was no wind, which is perfect weather for skiing, so I took them skiing. We stopped at a sandbar that is packed on weekends, but since it was Tuesday, we were only the third boat. I watched my teens playing happily in the water and then we skied back to the cabin. THIS is what I retired for.

 

[MRG]

I lost my debit card last week and went to the bank to get some cash, I found my now invalid card when I put the cash inside my wallet. Went to see the ligament/tendon specialist at my PCP's office. She's not sure what I did, sprained, but wants me to see an orthopedic surgeon kinda person. My achilles isn't happy from trying to sprint on uneven ground wearing sandals so I'm wearing an air split because I can't stand the boot for more than 15 minutes. We're supposed to go on a cruise in 5 weeks hopefully I can go.

 

[Ronstar]

A rare 100 degree day. Went for a walk before it got too hot. Putzed in the workshop, grocery shopping for MIL, picked up some hardware for a storage box I’m building, went to a cattle farm to pick up some beef, and then to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

 

[NW-Bound]

Still not doing a whole lot outside the home, although we got a reprieve from the heat.

The high today was 106F (41C). The low before sunrise was 80F (27C).

In contrast, back 2 days ago, the high was 116F (47F), and the low was 89F (32C). That low at 5:30AM right before sunrise did not tell the whole story, because up to 4AM the temperature was still 96F (36C).

I went out to look at the garden. All my tomato vines looked miserable, with wilted leaves and branches. Some fruits that I could have picked a few days ago, but left on the vine to let them ripen some more, turned all wrinkly and became natural sundried tomatoes. Some vines just died.

Yesterday, my wife told me of the grapes on the grape vine we just planted started to turn into raisin, and before I could see them, the birds came and picked them clean.

That's life in the desert for you.

The two extra unmounted solar panels I threw out on the pool deck in an attempt to make a bit more solar power gave me a total of 1.8 kWh/day. It's measly because they are fully unshaded for perhaps 1.5-2 hours each day. The shade sails I hung over the pool were the reason for the shading.

Oh well, 1.8 kWh/day free power is better than nothing. This winter, they will go on the roof along with 4 more panels.


PS. Theoretically, I should get 4 kWh/day from the 2 panels. The actual 1.8 kWh/day turned out to be not so bad, because the 1.5-2 hr period correspond to the noon time with the sun directly overhead.

 

[RobbieB]

Yesterday we had another training cruise with the captain. The five of us cruised out to the ferry building in San Francisco and back. Nice day! I required very little supervision either leaving the dock and returning. We are ready!

One task remains and it is critical, need to shorten the mast. Mast is 19 feet 10 inches and dock entrance is 19 feet 6 inches. Already have my guy working on it. Going to remove the anchor light and the steaming light and replace with a combo light on a removable post.

While he is busy above deck I'll be busy in the engine room replacing the 4 Racor filters, the 4 fuel filters and the raw water impellers.

 

[NW-Bound]

PS. Theoretically, I should get 4 kWh/day from the 2 panels. The actual 1.8 kWh/day turned out to be not so bad, because the 1.5-2 hr period correspond to the noon time with the sun directly overhead.

I am sitting now at the breakfast table, looking out at the loose panels on the pool deck bathing in the ferocious sun ray.

I was wrong about the 1.5-2 hr period of non-shading. It's more like 3-4 hours.