REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 13:16
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PAGE 10 of 97

Saturday, December 31, 2022 1:28 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


It's kind of amazing, really. It's been 40 1/2 hours without the furnace kicking on now and it's 33 degrees outside. But the key is that it's not windy at all right now. The temp has only fallen 3 degrees from 57 to 54 since the sun went down. Last night remained in the high 40's after being in the mid 50's yesterday, and even with some cloud cover the sunlight alone was enough to raise the temps during the day even though it was about 10 colder outside than it was in my house.

The crazy things you discover when you've got the thermostat set between 43 and 50 degrees.



It gets below freezing Wednesday night, but it's going to be 61 degrees on Tuesday. I'm going to easily make back all of the extra cycles used during that cold snap between now and then.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 8:06 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
It's kind of amazing, really. It's been 40 1/2 hours without the furnace kicking on now and it's 33 degrees outside. But the key is that it's not windy at all right now. The temp has only fallen 3 degrees from 57 to 54 since the sun went down. Last night remained in the high 40's after being in the mid 50's yesterday, and even with some cloud cover the sunlight alone was enough to raise the temps during the day even though it was about 10 colder outside than it was in my house.

The crazy things you discover when you've got the thermostat set between 43 and 50 degrees.



It gets below freezing Wednesday night, but it's going to be 61 degrees on Tuesday. I'm going to easily make back all of the extra cycles used during that cold snap between now and then.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

That's too cold for me! We keep our thermostat at 67, but we only have 2 zones (of 3) on during the day, and only one on at night. Still, it'll be interesting to see how high our gas bill goes. We used to be charged $8-10 per month is the summer (for water heating: laundry, showers, dishwashing) but our bill crept up to $13-14. I was worried we had a small leak somewhere so I checked and old bill... nope, same number of therms, just more expensive!

During winter, despite most of our windows being double-paned, our bill would go to $150 on the coldest months. Given that the price has gone up, but we're more consistent and conservative than we used to be, I wonder how high the bills will go this year.

Sis near Bflo hardly pays anything. When the house was built, dad went around filling in the empty spaces with insulation, so its extremely well-insulated. And of course all windows in the houses built there are double-paned. And when they had to replace the furnace, sis bought one with an extremely efficient heat exchanger: it extracts SO much heat from the combustion gases that the vent is at the side of the house, since the gas is too cold to make it all the way up a normal chimney! I'll ask her what her bill was the month tht included the latest blizzard. I would be curious to find out.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, December 31, 2022 9:39 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
It's kind of amazing, really. It's been 40 1/2 hours without the furnace kicking on now and it's 33 degrees outside. But the key is that it's not windy at all right now. The temp has only fallen 3 degrees from 57 to 54 since the sun went down. Last night remained in the high 40's after being in the mid 50's yesterday, and even with some cloud cover the sunlight alone was enough to raise the temps during the day even though it was about 10 colder outside than it was in my house.

The crazy things you discover when you've got the thermostat set between 43 and 50 degrees.



It gets below freezing Wednesday night, but it's going to be 61 degrees on Tuesday. I'm going to easily make back all of the extra cycles used during that cold snap between now and then.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

That's too cold for me!



I think if I did a survey, that's too cold for pretty much anybody.

My Grandma and Aunt kept their coats on even when I splurged the last time we were here and turned it up to 64 for a few hours. They keep theirs at 70. Their gas bill last month was $280. I'm not going to be surprised if I hear it's $550 this month.

My buddy won't take his coat off when he comes here and has asked me twice now if I'd turn the heat higher if he gave me some money to help pay my bill.



Quote:

We keep our thermostat at 67, but we only have 2 zones (of 3) on during the day, and only one on at night. Still, it'll be interesting to see how high our gas bill goes. We used to be charged $8-10 per month is the summer (for water heating: laundry, showers, dishwashing) but our bill crept up to $13-14. I was worried we had a small leak somewhere so I checked and old bill... nope, same number of therms, just more expensive!


Sure. Probably quite a bit more expensive right now in the winter too. Up until this point I've been extremely lucky with how little more it was costing per therm prior to the same time last year, but we did just get bumped up to $0.62 per therm (plus another $0.7 delivery charge or whatever) for the month of December, which means all those cycles that went off during Week Frigid were the most expensive I've ever paid for since buying the house by quite a bit.

Quote:

During winter, despite most of our windows being double-paned, our bill would go to $150 on the coldest months. Given that the price has gone up, but we're more consistent and conservative than we used to be, I wonder how high the bills will go this year.


WOW! You can tell that your gas is more expensive and you keep it higher than I do. Last year's January bill (that I'll be comparing the next bill to) was $235. Only $158 of that was my gas. Up until the next two bills (unless I did REALLY GOOD here), last January's bill of $158 was my highest bill ever.

My goal is to pay less than last year even with the jump in price. I don't know if I can succeed, but I'll find out in about another 20 days.



Quote:

Sis near Bflo hardly pays anything. When the house was built, dad went around filling in the empty spaces with insulation, so its extremely well-insulated. And of course all windows in the houses built there are double-paned. And when they had to replace the furnace, sis bought one with an extremely efficient heat exchanger: it extracts SO much heat from the combustion gases that the vent is at the side of the house, since the gas is too cold to make it all the way up a normal chimney! I'll ask her what her bill was the month tht included the latest blizzard. I would be curious to find out.


I've got all double paned windows, but the insulation and caulk jobs were shite. The only two rooms I've actually finished the remodeling and windows are the two bedrooms that are closed off with the vents closed. I'll get to everything else eventually, but boy is it cold popping a squat on a windy morning with that drafty window right next to you when the temp is set to 50 or less!

And don't get me started on the inefficiency of not only my ancient furnace, but the way that uncle bob installed everything.

One day I will install a proper new furnace for the upper duct work and fix the stupid way they did it all.

But I'm thinking for the basement I might install a heat pump or two instead of tying into the lower-level duct work. There is a slab in the crawl with gas to it, but I'm sure that at least one furnace had been flooded out and ruined if not a few more.

I'm convinced I'll get this house flood proof eventually, but even still... I've never actually had any direct heat in the basement the 12 years I've lived here (or coming from the floors in the 1st floor either) and I've been fine. If anyone has ever had a valid reason for testing out a heat pump system, I suppose it would be me.




Anyhow... Going to my friend's to do some electric and a few other things. It won't be an all day thing because he and his family are leaving around 4PM to go meet one of our other friend's and their family at a hotel that has a swimming pool for New Years. I've been invited, but that's really not my bag. There's no way I'm sleeping in a room with either entire family and their dogs for the night, and you know I'm not getting my own room.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 1:23 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I wouldn't have done it before, but...

I'm getting so used to cold temps as the normal that it might not be so bad.

.... I don't think I'm going to fill my tub up with cold water and jump in it tomorrow though.




We're at 39 straight hours without my furnace kicking on and it's 36 degrees outside.

I'm all in now. I'm aiming for using 50% less energy this month than my efficient neighbors.






--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



You are a better man than me SIX. There is no way you could get me to take a walk into the cold North Pacific ocean on the first of January. Brrrrr.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 1:25 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk in a bit and it's dry for now. Sitting at 7C which is which is 44F.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 5:36 PM

BRENDA


Back from my walk and still nice and dry out. Temp has gone up a degree.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 6:49 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from my walk and still nice and dry out. Temp has gone up a degree.

Sounds pleasant!

I take the dog for a walk most days. Some days it's hotter than I appreciate, altho you might enjoy the sun and heat. Today, it was drizzly and around 60F. Heavier rain expected later.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, December 31, 2022 9:42 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Got my friend's over the pool table light installed today. 100% done with no need to wrap it up another day.

It looks fantastic!

Had to come up with a few creative solutions given what we had to work with under the ceiling tiles and figuring out a way where I could get the junction box to stick out 1/2" lower than the ceiling tile for the finished piece to screw up flush to the tile, while also being able to pull the tile back where it belongs without the box being in the way, but we did it. (Ancient Chinese Secret!)

Only cost him $40 worth of material, and it's beyond code.



Even more good news is that once it was installed and we got the pool table exactly where it needs to be for the pro he's having come out to level and felt it, we discovered that as long as he doesn't get chairs down there that are too tall, we don't even need to come up with a solution to lift the light (that's on chains) when not in use and we'll be able to see his big screen TV on movie nights without that constant bother.

Once he gets the table fixed, we're going to install some shelving and get his kick ass sound system back up in there and we can do movie nights and play pool.

Looks like the only sacrifice he had to make was having a 50" TV down there instead of the 70" one. I had to talk him out of putting that back down because even though I know sober Jack would never put a cue stick through it while playing, sober Jack's drinking buddies probably can't say the same thing, and although there is plenty of room to shoot with the big screen, all it takes is one dumb move and that stick going back a few extra inches, likely either after a terrible shot or during a celebratory gesture, to put that nice TV in a landfill.


Got some cool tools in trade, including a nice stud finder. I've always wanted to buy one but I've never found one on a good sale and really didn't need it because I've got mad skills. His wife also gave me a brand new hair dryer that somebody gifted her but she didn't need and was just about to take to Goodwill. It was fortuitous that I had commented on how fast my bud can take a shower compared to the drawn out process it is with my long hair and how I have to wait another hour for it to dry, otherwise that wouldn't be part of today's acquisitions. I do have an old hair dryer, but it's been hung in the crawlspace for years in case the pipes ever froze and nah... I don't want that thing going anywhere near my hair.



And besides, this one is super compact compared to that old one so it won't take up any room under the vanity.





And now, though I don't remember exactly which day I woke up after my last drinking binge that started on New Years Eve of 2016-2017, I'm 72 hours away from 6 years of sobriety, give or take 48 or so hours.

Happy New Year, Brenda and Sigs!



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 11:43 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Back from my walk and still nice and dry out. Temp has gone up a degree.

Sounds pleasant!

I take the dog for a walk most days. Some days it's hotter than I appreciate, altho you might enjoy the sun and heat. Today, it was drizzly and around 60F. Heavier rain expected later.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




It was quite pleasant out.

Sun and heat sounds nice after the snow of Christmas. But my corner of Canada shall have to wait until February to see what Spring will be like.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 11:44 PM

BRENDA


6 years of Sobriety that is wonderful SIX. I am so happy for you that you got out of that terrible trap.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 11:45 PM

BRENDA


Happy New Year SIG and SIX.

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Saturday, December 31, 2022 11:46 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Oh, Happy New Year, SIX and BRENDA! May the new year be better than the old!





-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Sunday, January 1, 2023 9:18 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
6 years of Sobriety that is wonderful SIX. I am so happy for you that you got out of that terrible trap.



Thank you.

It's the only reason I'm still alive today!

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Sunday, January 1, 2023 1:46 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
6 years of Sobriety that is wonderful SIX. I am so happy for you that you got out of that terrible trap.



Thank you.

It's the only reason I'm still alive today!

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.




Keep up the good work.

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Sunday, January 1, 2023 1:46 PM

BRENDA


Just a lazy Sunday around me.

There were some fireworks last night but I was too lazy to stick my nose out a window to see if I could see any of them.

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Monday, January 2, 2023 1:22 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk in a bit. Lots of sun out today and dry.

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Monday, January 2, 2023 1:29 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk in a bit. Lots of sun out today and dry.

Happy day!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Monday, January 2, 2023 1:31 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


We got 1 3/4" of rain on New Years Eve.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Monday, January 2, 2023 5:14 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk in a bit. Lots of sun out today and dry.

Happy day!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




It is a lovely day. I was almost sorry that I put my scarf on but you just never know.

Right now my area is sitting at 42F which is pretty good for the beginning of January.

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Monday, January 2, 2023 5:15 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
We got 1 3/4" of rain on New Years Eve.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




That's great SIG. :)

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Monday, January 2, 2023 5:16 PM

BRENDA


Back from my walk and it is a lovely day out. But facing some rain tomorrow. Oh, well. January what can you do.

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Tuesday, January 3, 2023 1:15 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk in a bit. Guess I should take my umbrella. Meds to refill and groceries to get.

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Tuesday, January 3, 2023 5:02 PM

BRENDA


Got rained on but all done for today.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2023 1:04 PM

BRENDA


Sunny day for my walk and other things to do.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2023 2:37 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Sunny day for my walk and other things to do.

Rainy here.

CA due for back to back to back atmospheric rivers. And this, in a la Nina year!! SoCal, while not in the cross hairs,is getting sideswiped. Raining now and for most of the next 10 days, predicted.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Wednesday, January 4, 2023 4:38 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Sunny day for my walk and other things to do.

Rainy here.

CA due for back to back to back atmospheric rivers. And this, in a la Nina year!! SoCal, while not in the cross hairs,is getting sideswiped. Raining now and for most of the next 10 days, predicted.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




I heard that on some news from the US, I was watching. Not good. BC went through a couple in December and no major damage unlike last year. But still some flooding.

Stay dry.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2023 4:39 PM

BRENDA


Back from my errands and clouds rolling in now. Suppose to rain tonight, tomorrow and Friday. Most like into next week as well.

Got everything done for today.

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Thursday, January 5, 2023 1:46 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Almost 2" last storm accumulation.

Monday and Tuesday next major rainfall. Nothing after that in the 10-day.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Thursday, January 5, 2023 3:42 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I've had a few problems over the last few weeks with the car. If I didn't start it every day, I went back to having a monstrous time starting it again. Last Thursday it took me 6 hours to get it running again, and when I finally did I had to jump out of my seat and open the overhead door and when I looked back it looked like my garage was on fire there was so much smoke this time.

Called the mechanic yesterday and he swears it's the battery. Even though the battery was old, I told him I didn't agree because the multimeter is always showing over 12v. But I didn't have the equipment to test it under a load like he did. Instead of having him charge it for 4 hours for me, I did that myself at home before bringing it in and having him test it.

When I told him about the puddle behind the muffler that had turned into an ice river in my garage, he said that's supposed to happen because of how the car breaks down the emissions and isn't indicative of water in the gas tank. He's not wrong. The catalyst does make H2O as one of the byproducts. He said that's also why there's weep holes in the muffler so it doesn't build up there and expand and ruin the muffler, which is something else I didn't know. So maybe that's not an issue and the only reason I noticed it was because of how damned cold it got that week?

He also checked under the hood, and aside from the backed on mouse shit that's around the spark plugs that I'd want to clean off before ever changing them again, he didn't see anything that should be interfering with the car's performance.

So... Good news, the alternator is working great. Bad news, the battery goes down to 7-9 volts under load, when it's supposed to be 9.6-10.5 volts.


Rather than wait and see if this happens again (which it totally would because I haven't done anything to fix it otherwise), I went ahead and got a new battery. I haven't actually bought a new battery for the car in over 10 years now, so probably the only reason it got me going where I wanted to go for so long is because of how infrequently I drive.

Of course I shopped around and got the best deal possible on a brand name battery.



So there it's going to sit until LATE tomorrow night. I figure I want to give it enough time where I know it would have a starting issue if it's going to have one, but not long enough that I can't start it and it would require me to beat the shit out of a brand new battery.

Finger's crossed.





--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Thursday, January 5, 2023 5:01 PM

BRENDA


Back from mah jong and just a horrible morning. Couldn't do anything. Managed to go out but that hand only netted me 90 points. Didn't even break 1,000 today.

There's a bit of wind and it is trying to rain again. Have to see if it arrives.

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Friday, January 6, 2023 12:36 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


You don't know how bad I want to go out and start the car now... But the tests must be done.

Still got to wait at least 12 hours before I fire it up with the new battery.


Going to clean the house today, get started on a couple of projects I've been wanting to do and get my tools and stuff organized again.

First thing is first though... Got to set the thermostat a bit higher so it's not so cold. As long as I'm getting stuff accomplished I don't mind doing it.








Sorry to hear about Mah Jong, Brenda. You'll get 'em next time.

Rain around here really doesn't even matter right now. It's been cold and wet and we haven't seen the sun in 3 weeks, so even when it gets warm enough to evaporate anything there's really no evap even taking place. So weird to have my sump pump going off every hour or so in the first week of January. Strange winter so far.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Friday, January 6, 2023 1:15 PM

BRENDA


Sorry to hear about the car troubles again SIX.

House cleaning is a good thing. I'm trying to do that in bits and pieces around me.



It happens at mah jong. 4 people to a table and it can get hard getting the tiles you need.

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Friday, January 6, 2023 1:16 PM

BRENDA


Out for my walk. Need my umbrella the weather people are calling for more rain. Oh, how I wish in some way Summer would hurry up.

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Friday, January 6, 2023 6:14 PM

BRENDA


Back from my walk and I had to get a little more groceries today. Nothing heavy.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:57 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Sorry to hear about the car troubles again SIX.



I think I might actually be okay... FINALLY!

Nearly 1.5 days after the last start and it didn't give me any trouble at all. Not even a hint that it would misfire or struggle. Fingers crossed.

Quote:

House cleaning is a good thing. I'm trying to do that in bits and pieces around me.


Good for you. I didn't get much done myself. Did a little bit of work on one of the two projects, and a little tidying up, but no deep cleaning before I took a nap.

Quote:

It happens at mah jong. 4 people to a table and it can get hard getting the tiles you need.



Yeah. The closest I know to that is Spades, which I used to play a ton back in the days of Yahoo! Games. Nothing worse than finding a really good partner (totally randomly) and winning a bunch of games, but then getting really bad cards a few games in a row and one of you quit out and then you never get to play with them again. I should try to see what online spades is available to play these days. I bet it's way easier to reconnect with good partners with the platforms out there today.



It turns out that I'm actually good at pool. Like, potentially really good. I'm in need of some practice, but now that we've got a pool table to play on regularly and my friend is hyped about it, I think I'm going to get quite a bit of it.

I think I've played about 40 games now since a 15 to 20 year hiatus on pool, and I'm playing with a couple of guys that never quit playing and play on leagues every week, and if I didn't win half of my games against them tonight it was damn near close to it.

I'm making difficult cuts. I'm leaving myself positioned for the next shot or leaving good safetys if there isn't any shot more often than not, and when I'm missing my bank shots I'm seriously close to making them. After only 40 or so games I'm like 10 times better than I was back in my early 20's when we played 3 to 5 nights a week.

It probably helps that they're letting me use their $500 cue sticks compared to the crappy house cues that I used to play with too.

Who knows? Maybe one day I can make some money doing this?

It ain't gambling when you know you're going to win, right?



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:19 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Sorry to hear about the car troubles again SIX.



I think I might actually be okay... FINALLY!

Nearly 1.5 days after the last start and it didn't give me any trouble at all. Not even a hint that it would misfire or struggle. Fingers crossed.

Quote:

House cleaning is a good thing. I'm trying to do that in bits and pieces around me.


Good for you. I didn't get much done myself. Did a little bit of work on one of the two projects, and a little tidying up, but no deep cleaning before I took a nap.

Quote:

It happens at mah jong. 4 people to a table and it can get hard getting the tiles you need.



Yeah. The closest I know to that is Spades, which I used to play a ton back in the days of Yahoo! Games. Nothing worse than finding a really good partner (totally randomly) and winning a bunch of games, but then getting really bad cards a few games in a row and one of you quit out and then you never get to play with them again. I should try to see what online spades is available to play these days. I bet it's way easier to reconnect with good partners with the platforms out there today.



It turns out that I'm actually good at pool. Like, potentially really good. I'm in need of some practice, but now that we've got a pool table to play on regularly and my friend is hyped about it, I think I'm going to get quite a bit of it.

I think I've played about 40 games now since a 15 to 20 year hiatus on pool, and I'm playing with a couple of guys that never quit playing and play on leagues every week, and if I didn't win half of my games against them tonight it was damn near close to it.

I'm making difficult cuts. I'm leaving myself positioned for the next shot or leaving good safetys if there isn't any shot more often than not, and when I'm missing my bank shots I'm seriously close to making them. After only 40 or so games I'm like 10 times better than I was back in my early 20's when we played 3 to 5 nights a week.

It probably helps that they're letting me use their $500 cue sticks compared to the crappy house cues that I used to play with too.

Who knows? Maybe one day I can make some money doing this?

It ain't gambling when you know you're going to win, right?



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.



I hope so SIX.

Yeah, I'm starting with my kitchen table. It's just finding places for the things that are there. I have to do some vacuuming as I am bringing in dust with me.

Mah jong you are playing by yourself but if everyone is picks up pairs of the same tiles then they all might decide to collect those. Then you are in a pickle which is what happened to me on Thursday.

Cool. Think I have attempted to play pool a couple of times when I was in my 20s. Old boyfriend liked to play so he was teaching me the game but we weren't together long enough for me to get anywhere with it.

That is true and that is also why they call it gambling.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:19 PM

BRENDA


First laundry day of the new year then a walk in the rain most like.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 3:47 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I used to enjoy playing pool. I can't say that I ever got good at it, but I have made a few "make it or lose it" difficult shots in tight games. That's sweet!




-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, January 7, 2023 3:49 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Yesterday was crystal clear, a bright sunny day with snow on the mountains.
Today high clouds in advance of a weather change (more rain, I hope) but still veiled sunshine and warm with snow on the mountains.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, January 7, 2023 5:58 PM

BRENDA


Back and done for the day. It is a soggy Saturday for sure.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 7:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


I can't even tell from soggy anymore. The concrete has been wet since the snowfall before Christmas whether it's raining or not. I forgot what the sun looks like again.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023 8:35 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Well FWIW it's bdowntowneen soggy here, too. LA clocked 7" of rain since about Nov 1.
We've had ants in our bathroom trying to escape being drowned!

If we get that 4" of rain that's predicted for the next 10 days we'll be very close to our season total.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Saturday, January 7, 2023 10:16 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well FWIW it's bdowntowneen soggy here, too. LA clocked 7" of rain since about Nov 1.
We've had ants in our bathroom trying to escape being drowned!

If we get that 4" of rain that's predicted for the next 10 days we'll be very close to our season total.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




Oh no... The last time you had water like this I had a miserable spring.

I hope I don't regret not installing that 2nd sump well when I had a chance.





For the ants, get yourself some Terro Liquid Ant Bait before they find something they like in your house and decide they don't want to move out when it dries up. It's about $6 or $7 for a 6 pack right now (EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR), but they will absolutely do the job for you. There is no other product I would ever use for this. It's that good.

Just keep the pets away from it.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Sunday, January 8, 2023 2:06 PM

BRENDA


Rain today but it is my lazy Sunday. So no worries.

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Sunday, January 8, 2023 3:25 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well FWIW it's bdowntowneen soggy here, too. LA clocked 7" of rain since about Nov 1.
We've had ants in our bathroom trying to escape being drowned!

If we get that 4" of rain that's predicted for the next 10 days we'll be very close to our season total.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




Oh no... The last time you had water like this I had a miserable spring.
I hope I don't regret not installing that 2nd sump well when I had a chance.

Fingers crossed, SIX!

Quote:

For the ants, get yourself some Terro Liquid Ant Bait before they find something they like in your house and decide they don't want to move out when it dries up. It's about $6 or $7 for a 6 pack right now (EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR), but they will absolutely do the job for you. There is no other product I would ever use for this. It's that good.

Just keep the pets away from it.

I'll keep that in mind. So far they're just exploring.

BTW sorry for all the typos. I don't have a spell check and I don't always have the time to proof. Plus, my phone insists on filling in some things for me.




-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Sunday, January 8, 2023 3:41 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well FWIW it's bdowntowneen soggy here, too. LA clocked 7" of rain since about Nov 1.
We've had ants in our bathroom trying to escape being drowned!

If we get that 4" of rain that's predicted for the next 10 days we'll be very close to our season total.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




Oh no... The last time you had water like this I had a miserable spring.
I hope I don't regret not installing that 2nd sump well when I had a chance.

Fingers crossed, SIX!



Farmer's Almanac tells me stuff that I want to hear. Too bad it's not always right though.



Quote:

Quote:

For the ants, get yourself some Terro Liquid Ant Bait before they find something they like in your house and decide they don't want to move out when it dries up. It's about $6 or $7 for a 6 pack right now (EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR), but they will absolutely do the job for you. There is no other product I would ever use for this. It's that good.

Just keep the pets away from it.

I'll keep that in mind. So far they're just exploring.



You're nicer than I am. If I see a single ant in my house after what I've been through the poison comes out immediately. You never know what they're up to behind your walls.

Quote:

BTW sorry for all the typos. I don't have a spell check and I don't always have the time to proof. Plus, my phone insists on filling in some things for me.



Yeah, I know. You told me about that when I asked if you were okay when I first started noticing it.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake




--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Sunday, January 8, 2023 3:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


A bit of cleanup done so far today. More will be done now as I finished the wood putty repairs and caulking of a piece of furntiture that will be primed and painted after the caulk dries.

But I will be cutting out the two "platform" hardboard pieces to protect the basket weave tops of the entryway table first and rounding them to shape so I can prime everything at once and not waste paint.


It's not sunny out today, but at least it's BRIGHT. I think that played a big part in today's motivation.



--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Sunday, January 8, 2023 8:46 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Been busy helping daughter declutter. That means doing it with her,at her place, and making occasional suggestions as to how she can speed it up or do it better, or both. I decided to start with her collection of quarters, got her books to put them in, and we're going to bank the rest.

But yesterday I took out the pocket reciprocating saw that I bought for sis that she lent back to me, and (mostly) took out an ugly shrub. But I had to quit on that to pick up a tank of propane for my trusty flame thrower bc after all this rain the weeds are springing up. I'm going to try flaming weeds tomorrow in the rain so that it's really safe.

On to making dinner.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake


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Sunday, January 8, 2023 9:27 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Everything is primed. I doubt I'll do anything else tonight.

Had to turn it up to 54 degrees just so the heat would come down and dry off the top so I could hit it with a 2nd coat because it hardly goes off at all. It was set at 52 degrees all day.

Most productive day I've had working on my own stuff for a while. If it weren't so cold in the house I'd feel great about it.




I think I'm going to do this Gas protest until my next bill and then lay off a bit on it. I'm hoping that I have it so much lower than last years bill that I can keep it at 60 or close to it for the rest of the winter and still pay them less than I paid them last year.

It was fine while I was cutting things and sanding stuff down, but after painting I had to wash the brush and damn the hands get cold when they're wet.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Monday, January 9, 2023 1:16 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Low temps in the house not bothering me today. I think it is fine in the morning but for some reason after the sun goes down it starts bothering me. Maybe it's a psychological phenomena? It's only 51 degrees right now and I've felt just fine while I'm painting stuff.

I've got the first coat of finish paint on both sides of my boards for the entryway table on (I did do one last night before I went to sleep), and I've got the first coat of the first color on the piece of furniture I repaired. That will be 4 coats because of the 2 colors, and the 2nd color will be the tricky one that I have to cut in. Shouldn't be too much of a problem with my growing skills, but this one isn't wide open like walls and a ceiling are.

Gonna have to clean up by around 2:30PM so I can run some errands. I may or may not be going to my friend's house tonight to install the soundbar and TV and shoot some pool. If not, that will wait until Friday or the weekend.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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