Yup...had lunch with them in Lebanon NH.
Great family.
Wanted to take the 911 but the weather was not good on the way down so took the Touareg.
We are still under a flood watch untill 2am. Rain came down in buckets on the way to meet up.
Didn't rain a drop on the way home.

Morning all. Off to earn a buck.

Someone needs to!

Why is it always me?

Just lucky I guess!

Really enjoying Alwin Springers autobiography. Its a fantastic read, the pictures and stories are unique and personal.

Phew. I got up at dawn (oh goodie) to beat the heat and do a quick "10 minute" project on the pond.

We had a UV light in a contraption that allows the water to pass over it, and that kills off excess alga growth and keeps the water clear, so we can see the bottom. Lots of alga still grow on the rocks, so the fish have lots to eat.

The pond starts to get hazy, we know the light needs to be replaced. I went to take a peek and noticed one of the fittings was split, but somehow not leaking water.

Of course it is a goofy looking adapter, and I have no idea what they make it part of the system to drop the 1.25 pipe to 3/4 inch pipe, for the cap. Anyway, after my doctors visit, I stopped at the pond place. If the part was a PVC part for plumbing it would be 2 bucks. Since it a part that comes in a fancy plastic bag, it was 21 bucks.

Anyway that part was easy, but when I took the bulb out to replace it, I noticed the glass sleeve that keeps the bulb dry was cracked, and it fell apart. Crap, now I will "get" to go buy one of those.

So much for a 10 minute project.

Morning all. No ponds here to play with.

The lady at the pond store was asking questions about the Koi we have, as they sell Koi. I explained, this is all my wife's hobby, I am just the lucky repairman.

We will be stopping by there soon. Hopefully before it get to 110 heat index.

We have not yet hit 100 degrees here locally. But the humidity is really high.

Tomorrow a cold front comes through, and we are supposed to have dryer and much cooler temps with highs in the 80. The autocross on Sunday should be pleasant temps.

We had a great lunch with Pete. Nice guy, but insisted on paying for lunch. Was going to arm wrestle him for it, but I remembered what he did for a living and saved myself that embarrassment.

Vermont is pretty. We drove through where there wasn't as much rain and still saw a ton of areas that were washed out and down to one lane. Cant imagine how the bad parts were.

On a break between Bar harbor and St. Croix Island.

Nice thing about a minivan, lots of room and averaging better than 29mpg for most of the trip.

Tough afternoon for us. The boss's wife insisted I take her to the last Indiana Jones movie. It is not the best of the series, but better than the one before. If you like the others ones, you will like this one.

We were the only people in the theater. They have lots of other theaters, but we had a private showing. I guess Thursday at 11:15 AM is a good time to go.

Once again, I was rousted out of bed early. Out to the pond, and install the glass tube, and the gasket to prevent leaks. Then slide in the bulb, and make the electrical socket plug into the bulb. It felt very dry and not a warm happy feeling. So back to the garage and get a bottle of some Deox-it lube-anti corrosion and contact cleaner. That dang bottle had some sort of weird blockage in the little needle like tip. I cranked up the air compressor and hit it with 10 pis, and nothing happened. Let it get to 20, 30, 40 and finally at 50 PIS the blockage blew out.
on drip in each connector hole, plug it in, and screw it all together. Ta Da!
That simple 5 minute fix was done after two days and two trips to the pond store, and $70 bucks in parts. All showered and cleaned up. Ready to goof off.

The really good news is it was only 70 degrees this morning. Almost cool. The high is supposed to be only in the 80s. That lasts all weekend. Love it.

Morning. The marine layer blew in over night so its overcast. That will burn off and got from 59 to 82 for the high.

I hope it is the US Marines that blew and not the Canadian Army or Navy!

nope the cloudy kind that brings moisture with it.

Growing up with an Air Force officer as a dad, he loved teasing all the other branches of the military. He was an ROTC instructor for one of his "jobs" for a few years. In his classes, he had one hard and fast rule. The words for army or navy were not allowed, they had to just be spelled out like profanity with kids in the room.

Even at home, we just got in the habit of spelling out those "bad four letter words". One cadet asked about the Marines, and figured out to spell it out, and not say that word. Dad's reply was the Marines are owned by the navy, so they don't even count. ;)

Many years later one of his former cadets was a captain, and giving a presentation to a large group of Generals and other higher ranking officers. Part of the presentation was comparing how a procedure was done in other branches. He ended up saying both army and navy in a sentence, then he looked at my dad and said sorry sir, and continued. Dad had to suppress a laugh, and everyone else was confused as to what the apology was about.

He said one of his missions was a load of mattresses in a C-124 going to some remote island base. All the Army guys had been sleeping in sleeping bags on the ground for weeks before they arrived with a large plane stuffed full of mattresses for the beds that had been brought in already. He said the Army officers were very happy for the delivery, and said they would buy the Air Force crew a round of beer that night, and make him Army for the day. He said for free beer, he bent his rule.

Morning all. Warm weekend not super hot but warm. Today is supposed to be rainy but I have not seen any yet. Two weeks till vacation.

Phew, I am in cool off mode before the shower after mowing.

For the first time this year, the yard was not wet with dew or rain. No mud anywhere, and nice and dry. I did have to shu off the sprinklers last night as it was due to run. It waters every third day if no we did not get 1/4 inch or more of rain. So tonight is the night to water.

I was in the middle of edging, and my phone rang. It was a regular customer, so I answered it. They want a new flight and prints. Dang it, having to work while I am working mowing the boss's yard for him. So I was doing two jobs at once. I may have to ask for an raise, but that cheap bastage will likely just offer me a beer.

Take it and run!

Morning all. One day of cool air and now we ramp back up. Lots of rain last night.