It is now week #5 of the big fat sprinkler install. Just 4 more heads, 3 line connections to the atmo breakers, and leak testing. I would think this would take ~2 hours. From experience during week 1-4, it will take all weekend.
I think I can get around to painting the baby's room this weekend. That will be exciting to have that room start looking like a nursery. (Actually, at this point, it would be good if ANY room in our house was not white. I was going to do my office blue, orange, or yellow, I still haven't decided. So you can see where our priorities are since my office is still white.)
I felt the baby kick for the first time last night. It was really cool. My wife has been saying she can feel the baby for several weeks. But last night, you could really feel a jolt!! I was like, whoa, there is a baby in there!
Still working on a name. Though, don't think that I'm going to release that information before the baby is born - that information is top secret.
Tomorrow is my day off. Going to help a friend move in the afternoon. I have to work in the morning, though. BUT, I am only going to work 2 hours, then unless they hold me down or set a fire (figuratively, of course).....
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ugh: Part 2
Still working on the backyard. This is weekend 4. I got 4 more heads to place out of 18 total. Still need to connect the sprinkler lines to valve box mains. Will need to dig the valve box and place it. Will need to wire the controller (should be the EASIEST part of the job). Will need to leak check the whole smash. Will need to flush the thing. Will need to fill the trenches. Will need to place and position nozzles.
THEN, that should finish the sprinkler system. Next is re-regrading the yard. :)
THEN I can lay SOD!!!!!!!!!!!
Next projects: remove front yard grass, laminate floor, pantry shelves, baby room painting.
Repair jobs: car belt, doorbell, and garage door.
Houses are a lot of work.....
THEN, that should finish the sprinkler system. Next is re-regrading the yard. :)
THEN I can lay SOD!!!!!!!!!!!
Next projects: remove front yard grass, laminate floor, pantry shelves, baby room painting.
Repair jobs: car belt, doorbell, and garage door.
Houses are a lot of work.....
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Ugh!!!
Installing the Sprinkler System - Weekend 2
Yes, last weekend was trenching. I had a friend help me, and I was really grateful for his help. This weekend I rebuilt the manifold twice, from scratch. And I repaired it once. I had to rebuild the atmospheric breakers... which may leak... (that's another challenge, most likely for next weekend. Still so much work to do....
I bought a canopy.... Best idea this month!!! I shaded the valve box with it while I worked so I dind't bake in the heat.
Too tired right now to continue....
Yes, last weekend was trenching. I had a friend help me, and I was really grateful for his help. This weekend I rebuilt the manifold twice, from scratch. And I repaired it once. I had to rebuild the atmospheric breakers... which may leak... (that's another challenge, most likely for next weekend. Still so much work to do....
I bought a canopy.... Best idea this month!!! I shaded the valve box with it while I worked so I dind't bake in the heat.
Too tired right now to continue....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Ouch
Last weekend really hurt. I hurt myself within 1 hour of starting yard work Saturday morning. I pulled up some steel edging, which I thought was fairly easy. After shoveling faster that I probably should have been, by back started hurting me. Not my lower back, as is common doing car work, but mid-back between the shoulder blades. I took an hour break, could hardly move my back, sometime could hardly breathe. But, I felt I had to get back to work to get the backyard done. Surprisingly it did not hurt my back to use the tiller, but I was dreading loading it in the truck by myself. I worked through the pain, and got the back yard done. I took Monday night off, and finished it Tuesday night. I've been really stiff and sore since Saturday, but today I felt a lot better. I know this because I started fast-walking again. For the past few days I've been slowly hobbling around. Today, I feel stronger than usual. I'm really getting tanned. I used sunscreen all weekend, so I didn't burn, and I didn't.
Next step, design the irrigation system and install. I got two designs going, one uses bigger throw sprinklers, 20', and the other uses 8'~10' sprinklers. I'm not convinced that the 20' plan allows for adequate overlap and I'm concerned that it will leave brown spots, then I'd have to dig up the entire yard to put in more sprinklers. I think the other plan give plenty of overlap, but I'm concerned that it is not using big enough sprinklers for the large area and it is a lot of sprinklers. I am going to use multistream heads because they water slower and use less water. Something about using a stream rather than spray lessens the amount of water that is lost to evaporation. Also, the slower watering allows the ground time to absorb the water rather than it mini-flash flood off the lawn. I am also going to use a - I won't say un-popular because it has a bad conatation, but it is not popular- type of grass called Reveille. It is supposed to use a lot less water than kentucky blue grass and tolerate heat better. It was developed by TAMU. One local shop has said that once established, in my town, it only needs to be watered once per week! Hopefully between the mulitstream heads and the Reveille grass, my lawn won't be such a big water-hog. I had fescue in the front lawn and to keep it green, mow once per week, it doubled by water usage in the summer. It would be a substantial water per sq foot savings to only triple my usage in the summer over winter usage with the new lawn, since it is so much bigger. Time will tell....
Next step, design the irrigation system and install. I got two designs going, one uses bigger throw sprinklers, 20', and the other uses 8'~10' sprinklers. I'm not convinced that the 20' plan allows for adequate overlap and I'm concerned that it will leave brown spots, then I'd have to dig up the entire yard to put in more sprinklers. I think the other plan give plenty of overlap, but I'm concerned that it is not using big enough sprinklers for the large area and it is a lot of sprinklers. I am going to use multistream heads because they water slower and use less water. Something about using a stream rather than spray lessens the amount of water that is lost to evaporation. Also, the slower watering allows the ground time to absorb the water rather than it mini-flash flood off the lawn. I am also going to use a - I won't say un-popular because it has a bad conatation, but it is not popular- type of grass called Reveille. It is supposed to use a lot less water than kentucky blue grass and tolerate heat better. It was developed by TAMU. One local shop has said that once established, in my town, it only needs to be watered once per week! Hopefully between the mulitstream heads and the Reveille grass, my lawn won't be such a big water-hog. I had fescue in the front lawn and to keep it green, mow once per week, it doubled by water usage in the summer. It would be a substantial water per sq foot savings to only triple my usage in the summer over winter usage with the new lawn, since it is so much bigger. Time will tell....
Friday, July 10, 2009
Another week later
Took last weekend off from doing yard work. Had some fun instead. We went up to "the Crest" as the locals call it. It is Sandia Peak, 10000 something feet. I had fun driving up. I crawled the grand prix up the mountain at a leisurely 20-25 mph. Everyone passed me, but I enjoyed the cool, fresh air. The view is really cool up there. I think it would be fun next time to hike from the peak to the High Finance Restaurant, have something to eat/drink, then ride the tram back down. Kinda impossible, but sounds like a good idea. You really don't want to hike ~1 mile after eating a meal at 10000 ft.
Before that, on Saturday, we went to Balloon Fiesta Park for the 4th of July fireworks with Pauline and her family. It was a lot of fun. The fireworks lasted 30 minutes, and I didn't have to swat bugs off my face that hit me when I was sprinting from a lighted fuse! It rained on us! But, it's ABQ rain, so it's more like a sprinkle, so it didn't cancel the fireworks and it was fun. I tried cherries for the first time ever, or in a really long time. I really liked them. They are like little red peaches. They are fleshy and they have a little pit, like a peach, but smooth. I got a big bag of them in fridge right now. I like them. I waited 40 minutes in line for some kettle corn, it was crazy. Still have some, it is good.
This weekend we are back to the backyard work. Will be tilling again to loosen the clay, and it should make edging go faster. After that, it is trenching for the sprinkler - may or may not get to it this weekend. I think Lowe's has the sprinkler equipment I need, but I'll check JustSprinklers to see what they have. I would like some smaller throw (six feet) multistream heads, and I would like to see if there is commerical-grade heads that will work for me. I'll also check online to see what's available. I got all next week to find something. If I do get it trenched, I can spend time laying pipe and building the valve box.
Before that, on Saturday, we went to Balloon Fiesta Park for the 4th of July fireworks with Pauline and her family. It was a lot of fun. The fireworks lasted 30 minutes, and I didn't have to swat bugs off my face that hit me when I was sprinting from a lighted fuse! It rained on us! But, it's ABQ rain, so it's more like a sprinkle, so it didn't cancel the fireworks and it was fun. I tried cherries for the first time ever, or in a really long time. I really liked them. They are like little red peaches. They are fleshy and they have a little pit, like a peach, but smooth. I got a big bag of them in fridge right now. I like them. I waited 40 minutes in line for some kettle corn, it was crazy. Still have some, it is good.
This weekend we are back to the backyard work. Will be tilling again to loosen the clay, and it should make edging go faster. After that, it is trenching for the sprinkler - may or may not get to it this weekend. I think Lowe's has the sprinkler equipment I need, but I'll check JustSprinklers to see what they have. I would like some smaller throw (six feet) multistream heads, and I would like to see if there is commerical-grade heads that will work for me. I'll also check online to see what's available. I got all next week to find something. If I do get it trenched, I can spend time laying pipe and building the valve box.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Update
It is hard for me find time to update this thing. My wife is pregnant. I am landscaping the front and back yard. And there is so much going on at work, I could work as much overtime as I want. Luckily, it isn't necessary, yet. But the pace could pick up. I suppose it is not a bad thing because I could bank the overtime to get more days off later, which would help when the baby comes.
She is due Dec 30th. I hope the baby comes on time, but it'll come when it comes. Hopefully, we'll know the sex at the 20 week ultrasound. I am anxious to know. We have started to talk about names. No clear winners yet. We'll work harder at it when we know the sex.
For the landscaping, at this point we got the patio poured, yard tilled, composted mulch in, HOA approvals.... Next step is to grade the yard, install edging, install sprinkler system. Then it will be digup front yard, order gravel, order sod. I did reconsider changing the plan to use a mulch raised area around the perimeter of the yard for shrubs or tall rose bushes. Don't know now if I'll mulch or rock. I hate to put rock in, when I would take it out later to do mulch. I could still plant shrubs in the rocks, like I had planned. I am concerned the mulch may be more an ant attractant than the rocks, but I've seen these ants nest in the rocks, too..... The nice thing about a house is you can do whatever you want, the trick is knowing what is the best thing to do. I wouldn't want to be re-doing landscaping every year or repainting the walls every week or year.
She is due Dec 30th. I hope the baby comes on time, but it'll come when it comes. Hopefully, we'll know the sex at the 20 week ultrasound. I am anxious to know. We have started to talk about names. No clear winners yet. We'll work harder at it when we know the sex.
For the landscaping, at this point we got the patio poured, yard tilled, composted mulch in, HOA approvals.... Next step is to grade the yard, install edging, install sprinkler system. Then it will be digup front yard, order gravel, order sod. I did reconsider changing the plan to use a mulch raised area around the perimeter of the yard for shrubs or tall rose bushes. Don't know now if I'll mulch or rock. I hate to put rock in, when I would take it out later to do mulch. I could still plant shrubs in the rocks, like I had planned. I am concerned the mulch may be more an ant attractant than the rocks, but I've seen these ants nest in the rocks, too..... The nice thing about a house is you can do whatever you want, the trick is knowing what is the best thing to do. I wouldn't want to be re-doing landscaping every year or repainting the walls every week or year.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Star Trek Movie
I can see how Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman were thinking about how to justify changes they wanted to make to the Star Trek universe, and came up with the idea that time travel from the 24th Century back to the 23rd century that changed everything could give them just what they needed to make a whole new series of adventures. Without it, they would have to be locked into repeating the orginal series episodes and stories.
HOWEVER, what they did with this storyline is completely erase Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek history as we knew it!! That, I don't like. I would rather them continue going their own way, doing their own storylines, without linking it to the Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek history as we know it.
To their credit, they did an amazing job presenting a world that is futuristic. Since the original Star Trek aired in the 60s, it does not look futuristic by today's technology - we have met or surpassed much of the technology presented (maybe because people got their ideas from Star Trek, and found a way to make it happen). Berman and Braga struggled with this in Enterprise series - they had to make Enterprise seem futuristic, but not more so than TOS. They did a good job over the series 'migrating' the technology towards TOS.
They changed many many things - and I think that helps break this franchise away from Roddenberry/Berman franchise. I really don't like how they erased Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek from history. However, something tells me that this is a message to fans, 'This is a whole new Star Trek, forget the Star Trek you knew, it is gone forever.'
I would have rather had them ignore Roddenberry/Berman history, than erase it. It remains to be seen if I am a fan of Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman Star Trek.
P.S. This is the writing team that is cranking out Transformers movies. They clearly know how to make a PG-13 action movie. Star Trek was never really about action, though the last seasons of DS9 say otherwise. And there was only one Star Trek movie (of 10) that got a PG-13 - the rest were PG.
HOWEVER, what they did with this storyline is completely erase Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek history as we knew it!! That, I don't like. I would rather them continue going their own way, doing their own storylines, without linking it to the Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek history as we know it.
To their credit, they did an amazing job presenting a world that is futuristic. Since the original Star Trek aired in the 60s, it does not look futuristic by today's technology - we have met or surpassed much of the technology presented (maybe because people got their ideas from Star Trek, and found a way to make it happen). Berman and Braga struggled with this in Enterprise series - they had to make Enterprise seem futuristic, but not more so than TOS. They did a good job over the series 'migrating' the technology towards TOS.
They changed many many things - and I think that helps break this franchise away from Roddenberry/Berman franchise. I really don't like how they erased Roddenberry/Berman Star Trek from history. However, something tells me that this is a message to fans, 'This is a whole new Star Trek, forget the Star Trek you knew, it is gone forever.'
I would have rather had them ignore Roddenberry/Berman history, than erase it. It remains to be seen if I am a fan of Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman Star Trek.
P.S. This is the writing team that is cranking out Transformers movies. They clearly know how to make a PG-13 action movie. Star Trek was never really about action, though the last seasons of DS9 say otherwise. And there was only one Star Trek movie (of 10) that got a PG-13 - the rest were PG.
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