Murphy Was an Optimist

O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law states: Murphy was an optimist. And today that fact was proven. Bear with me.

Today has been a pretty good day. I fixed the overhead garage door to the tune of $3.12. One of the wire rope cables rusted and broke. Luckily for me the neighborhood hardware store (3 blocks away) had cable and a swedge clamp. In thirty minutes it was fixed. Ta Da!

Next, I managed to cut down the bulk of the ginormous Bradford Pear in the backyard. It has been dropping large limbs over the last few years. A micro-burst several weeks ago took out another big limb and I decided the rest had to go. Now all that remains is the trunk about 5 feet high. But, its also about 20 inches in diameter. Told ya it was a big tree.

Next on the list was finishing the trim upstairs. Its been a long project and I was looking forward to being able to put all the power and hand tools away, clean up, and store the left over materials. But here's where O'Tool comes into play. I was one, that's right, one blooming piece of lattice trim short. Now its a trip to the Blue Box (Lowe's) or the Orange Box (the Homeless Depot) tomorrow night whilst on my way home from work. The trim also needs to be stained and have three coats of varnish applied. So maybe next weekend the trim will be completed.

Put another way, in the words of Robert Burns in "To a Mouse",

But, mousie, thou art not alane,
In proving foresight may be in vain,
The best laid schemes of mice and men,
Go oft astray,
And leave us nought but grief and pain,
To rend our day.

Thus endth the 6th epistle of MGA 1958.

Hallelujah. Holy Crap. Pass the Tylenol.

A Bla Sort Of Saturday

Saturdays are supposed to be those days we look forward to, especially when the work week has been long and rough. Those conditions apply, but why then am I in a bla mood?

• So I didn't get home 'til 10 most evenings after starting at 8 in the morning.
• The van leaked twice in downpours adding to the mold problem in the duct work. Chrysler has a really, really bad design for the vent system and woking on ducting under the dashboard is never easy.
• I spotted a leak in the recently replaced roof. and the new ceiling upstairs now has a water stop on it. At least the roofer is coming by today and hopefully it will get repaired.
• Several weeks ago, a micro burst took out another portion of the Bradford Pear in the back yard. The remainder of it needs to come out.
• My daughter's laptop hard drive went South and the restore image does not seem to take on the new hard drive. Maybe I need to install WinDoze first. It is a Radford University Restore image after all. Does not say a thing about the underlying operating system.
• Taylor Raine (great niece) has her first birthday party today. I should be looking forward to it, but instead I think of it as an imposition taking me away from the maintenance chores I expected to accomplish.
• There is a din-din this evening with college friends I'd been looking forward to until yesterday. Now I don't really want to go. maybe I am a HumBug.
• My son found out it will be June 29 until he van re-apply for a driver's license instead of June 9 as he thought.

But on the other hand, I had dinner with a very close friend Wednesday night. I had not seen her since February and we really haven't talked much since the end of last year. Our not being closer is from me pulling away over the last 18 months or so. In retrospect, maybe I have passive/aggressive tendencies.

Why is it so difficult for me to express myself. Even in this forum, the time between postings is loooooooog. Is it a guy thing? Do I really want to do it? I'm not sure how folks like Army of Mom post on almost a daily basis.

But the coffee this morning is really good. I'm trying to end on a high note.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Today was a day to celebrate. I finished replacing the ceiling tile upstairs. (Insert pause here whilst I pat myself on the back.) The electrics on the left side are also connected. Now, through the wizardry of modern science, we can turn the ceiling fan on with a switch and the new recessed lights. No longer will it be a dark, cavernous, place for spiders and things that go bump in the night.

What next you ask? Finishing trim needs to be applied at the ceiling/wall intersections in addition to shoe molding. Then its carpet time, clean a good bit (lots of saw dust and other debris all over), and move the furniture back in.

Some time later this Spring, I'll remove the upstairs electric circuit from the bathroom/hall circuit. Then run two (2) circuits for the upstairs. Oh, I almost forgot. The door leading to the storage places under the eaves need to have catches installed upon them.

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Its Never a Bad Weekend When ...

Friday night my son and I went shopping at WallyWorld. Some things its difficult to do without especially if one wants to not be offensive, i.e., smell well. Whilst we we there we also picked up a new DVD player. The Magnavox bit the dust after about a year of use. Maybe this Sony will do better. We also picked up a three pack of Chuck Norris Movies for five bucks. Zowie, its never a bad weekend when you get to watch three Chuck Norris movies.

And now, some Chuck Norris Facts (as if you didn't already know them):

• Guns don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills People.


• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.


• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.


• When Chuck Norris gives you the finger, he's telling you how many seconds you have left to live.


• The chief export of Chuck Norris is Pain.


• There is no chin under Chuck Norris' Beard. There is only another fist.


• Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill.


• The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Chuck Norris 3. Cancer


• Chuck Norris once punched a man in the soul.


• When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.


• Once a cobra bit Chuck Norris' leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.


• Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.


• If you spell Chuck Norris wrong on Google it doesn't say, "Did you mean Chuck Norris?" It simply replies, "Run while you still have the chance."

And There Was Great Rejoicing!

Hurray! Once side of the upstairs has been completed with the exception of trim around the knee walls and ceiling. This has been a long time coming. I've learned a few things from my son during this exercise, especially about marking tile (ceiling that is.) I've aslo learned I'm not as young as I used to be and the recovery period is longer.

Today was spent removing furring strings from the next section and appling more insulation. Plywood on the corresponding ceiling area was replaced covering the entire area. Why oh why the previous contractor left gaping voids between pieces of plywood is a mystery. That is the story of "this old house." I seen to spend more time correcting other people's poor work than I do the project I started.

Old houses are similar to boats. You sink money into them on a continuous basis, projects always take longer and cost more than estimated, and you forgo maintenance at your own peril. At least they appreciate in value ( well, present epoch not included.).

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Old Dog, New Tricks

Sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks. Although I've been in the IT business since 1984 and used computers since before The Late Great Unpleasantness, I've recently embarked in new directions. Having lost all my bookmarks when my Mac died ( I know, back things up ), I started saving book marks to Delicious in addition to the browser.

Today, its creating a blog whilst taking a break from renovating the upstairs of my house. Who knows about tomorrow; however, I don't believe it will be bungee jumping.