Jupiter gets right in there when you pick up a shovel.
He can move a lot of dirt and rips out small roots with his snout. The out flung dirt is not always deposited where we humans would like it and one has to be careful not to hit his paws or snout with the shovel.
The trench is for electrical supply to the irrigation system and when we bought the NMWD 10/3 wire I noticed a Klein Tools CL2000 multimeter:
"400A AC/DC True RMS Clamp Meter
True RMS. Backlit display and worklight. Magnetic mount and lead storage. Non-Contact Voltage Tester. Analog bar graph. Measures DC Current" so daughter bought it for me (to use on her projects). I needed a new meter because the one I used for many years will not display readings beyond the decimal point any more. This one is also capable of measuring current and voltage without contact. At least that is what I'm told. A Marine electrical engineer buddy is coming to look at a boat to buy so he can run me through the instructions.
The electrician we used when I worked with my father's crew in the '60s would simply wet his fingers and touch the leads. He could then tell you if the wires carried 110V or 220V or nothing at all. Times have changed - I doubt that "WorkSafe B.C." would want you to try this at home nor anywhere else.
Our "dry slot" seems to have finally broken down: two days ago a smoke tinged damp fog settled in and yesterday was a strange "Scotch Mist" - had the wipers on low speed to drive. Early this morning I woke to a few rain drops so I went out to cover the tools and fire wood pile. In a way there is a feeling of relief because the trees are starting to show signs of stress but it is so easy to get used to leaving stuff out and so dreary to stumble out into rain for months.
Enough about me! How are you guys this morning?
Fall colors and wet in the background
The picture is made up of butterfly and moth wings
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Glad you're getting some precip!
Yes, we got VLR (very light rain) last night. Probably less than .25" - just enough to soak my tools. I heard the rain start up and remembered the compressor was uncovered in the pickup but when I got out there this morning I had also left the waterproof cover off the big box of small tools so I dumped the drills and sawzall blades and whatnot out to dry on the shop floor and will spray everything with Inox after drying. Guess if I don't know enough to cover things up I deserve to use rusty tools. I should have a Cube Van with every tool in it's place but it would need to be bigger than I want to drive around and a level of organization that I have never achieved.
The forest appreciates the rain, though.
I added a photo and thought I was going to explain it and here I am so obviously the cactus has flowered.
The lady in the first picture is my earliest daughter and today she becomes 41 years.
The Cactus is one of her many rewards - I spent part of the day attempting to stop the tiny leaks in the "Plumber's Nightmare" I put together yesterday there.
Lots of off color vocabulary and kneeling on the damp concrete with a flashlight shining to see just where the fittings are oozing. The new "Frost Free" hose bib won't seat in the PVC 1"x1"x1/2"FPT tee - means I have to pull out most of the PVC and start again.
I used up all my expletives some hours ago.
Thanks to you, I learned yet another name for our liquid sunshine: Scotch Mist. That will come in handy, as I never knew what to call that extra moist, thick fog that we get from time to time. When the Scotch Mist happens, the day always seems to clammy cold that I have to have a rip-roaring fire in the wood stove before feel comfy.
Not a lot of rain materialized here yet. Since Friday, only about a third of an inch (maybe 8mm), but it's a preview of coming attractions.
As Inspector Clausteau said: "It's not my dog!"
Yes, Jupiter is my daughter's and Roxy is our friend's Dachshund. We call them "Mutt and Jeff" when they both spend the night. Roxy burrows in to bed between us and Jupiter minds the main floor.
My beer mug turned rain gauge shows 2.75" this aft. Four days ago it was dry.
Still spitting gently here.
http://www.monbiot.com/2012/10/15/empty-promise/
Been following your blog but haven't contributed.
Jupiter rocks...even if he sent you flying!
Wanted to say thanks for the contributions to Oooops!
Just do me a favor and try not to blow yourself up!
I'm tryin' but one simply never knows who's Petard he will be hoisted upon.
Watching the two young fellers debating about presidency of the most powerful country in the world gave me the shivers though. Neither of them mentioned any pressing issues I care about - not that I'm against education or pro AK-47s but it seems to me we are going the way of the Usal Bird: It flies around faster and faster in ever decreasing circles till it flies up it's own kiester
The no touch multimeter would sure come in handy as well as increase safety for the electricians. While working in The Pas,Mb on a greenhouse complex the electrician accidentally checked a circuit with his multimeter on the wrong setting. You should have seen the sparks fly when he touched the leads to the 600v 3 phase circuit.
Your old school sure has class. Those old multi-level schools sure look better than the new single level schools.
Enjoy your day.
I just lost a reply to you that took awhile to write. I'm getting better on this tiny touch screen but one has to be very careful.
The other computer crashed this morning an I don't have a "recovery disk" as far as I know.
Caught up on all things Monbiot; depressing stuff, for the most part, but I'm not one to let that stuff get me down!
But it can't possibly be a problem
We are still putting corn in our gas tanks!
(sarcasm flag on)
I understand - sometimes I can not find my config\system in the morning either.
Meantime I spent some time reading blogs and poking away to comment on the iPod. Had a few successful comments go through but none of my scintilating wisdom showed up on your blog even though I thought I had posted there.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood
"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Do not let the bastards grind you down"
" but I'm not one to let that stuff get me down!
I too have a problem with using perfectly decent ethanol to power vehicles - what were we thinking?
Tloml just hollered up the stairs that she ran my wallet through the washer and the dryer. Wonder if I have any credit left.
Maybe: "Learn to control your addiction to credit cards" or "Don't make me yank your work pants off so I can wash them".
Hard to tell from here. We will see tomorrow if all the chips still work after being run through the process.
We seem to often be crossing posts - I'm commenting at your blog while you are over here.
The main reason I carry more than one card is for travel:
Trying to settle a car rental bill in a busy office so we could catch the plane out of Cancun we went through all of Tloml's cards and three of mine before a card was accepted. There was nothing wrong with the credit cards - they worked once we got back here.
One night in Victoria I left the cafe to get cash from a nearby ATM. I inserted my one card and started to enter pins and whatnot and the terminal flashed up "Closed".
I phoned the number on the ATM and was told the system went down nation wide. Got the card back a few days later by mail. Luckily we were dining with friends who covered the cost of the meal.
But I hear ya about the bottomless pit of credit card debt - I'm not as bad as one BIL who died with about .5 M debt. Sis had already divorced him but the debt still took pretty well everything.
Funny thing was: I really enjoyed working with the guy.
OOps
Perhaps you need to reacquaint her with the penalties for money laundering?
Have no problems with ethanol as a fuel, but not from food crops...not when grocery prices are rising like they are.
When the farmers have to start looking to things like gummy bears to feed to livestock, maybe it's time to make some adjustments to our regulations, at least short term.
Need more pics of Jupiter!
Ask and ye shall receive!
Thanks!
(was actually hoping for the other end)
This is not Jupiter's most handsome position - just his favorite one. I'll get one for you that shows his nobility.
Daughter took him to be groomed a couple of days ago and he looked and smelled good. Yesterday we were digging trenches, laying pipes and wires and backfilling small ditches by hand. It was raining gently so Jupe, helping us dig (he's not so good at backfill) and resting in the raw dirt piles, was a dirt mop by the end of the day.
Regarding me advising Tloml on financial matters: I'd rather not go there 'cause she has held a steady job for yo these many while I wander about the world doing charity work for our daughters and others.
'Course every now and then I put a roof on her house or fix a toilet so she puts up with me. Advice absorption is not one of her strong suites.
Message received and understood.
Resident K9 needs a bath today.
Not sure resident dog washer has the energy.
At first I thought: "Don't remember ever giving a dog a bath." But slowly the memories came back: Tloml and I dressed (after the first try) in full body armor and elbow length rubber gloves. Mop down of the ceiling, walls and floor afterwards.
Good luck!
I don't suppose you intend to put up a web cam from that operation but I can watch a machine dig dirt for hours and feel like I've accomplished something.
During the summer, they have extra cams showing the facilities in action; don't know if they are streaming cams or not!
I'm off for a day or two but should be able to read blogs sometimes.
Oh, and I enjoyed clicking around the mine website Ylee.
Nice find.
"Several thousand people gathered on the front lawn of the B.C. legislature Monday to protest against the Northern Gateway Pipeline project. 12:26 AM ET".
From CTV:
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/
Good morning: I went with some old friends, Mom, Sis and niece to add another warm body to the protest.
For B.C. 3500 folks on a wet and windy Monday is quite a turnout.
Firmly "couched" in my comfortable computer room I try to sum up:
The observed rush to exploit every resource on the planet and ignore the consequences is out of control just now and will be damned by history if we survive.
We bought the butterfly portraits from a street vendor in Johannesburg. He assured us that the wings came from insects that had died a natural death and had not been harvested alive. We chose to believe him.
I could not "log in" for the last couple of days because I was visiting my sister. It's great to be back.
Shoreacres:
From reading your blog and comments I gather you are tripping with Princess about now. I've been having battery problems with the boat here so I want to get down to the dock and check this morning. My friend the marine electrical engineer could not find any "wild" current so we disconnected the house battery and left the starter battery on to see if it will drain or not.
http://www.monbiot.com/2012/10/22/ash-cloud/
Joan Baez on modern elections:
"A choice of Cancer or Polio."
Great selection of Cams. I need to have more time there to cook up a comment.
My Mom came home with me so I gotta run the furnace hotter than I do normally.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/itali an-scientist-earthquake-condemns-court
No news of disaster so we assume Mom is home.
Always fun to listen to Mom and Tloml talk - it's obvious they are suffering from envy of the love they get about each other's sons and husbands. (I am son to one and husband to the other so that would be me)
Not that I don't love them both dearly but it's a balancing act.
I have survived so far.
Aaarghe!
I'm stealing time to say “Howdy!”. Later today I'm off to see Mom again, while Wife remains behind to attend her sister's Halloween party. Before I depart I'm bringing our houseplants inside ahead of the impending east coast weather-pocalypse. Our first frost may arrive before I return.
Moms and wives are a bit of a 'wild card". Tloml is an Occupational Therapist working with Community Care so she knows what Mom is facing. Mom is pretty healthy at 92 or three.
Tloml mentioned a few priorities we should keep in mind for the pending move:
1) P.O.A. - Power of Attorney
2) D.N.R. - Do Not Resuscitate
3) Lawyer for property conveyance
It's not that we want to kill her and have control of her assets.
Our worry is that if she has trouble anywhere along the line of the move we are stuck.
If there is no P.O.A assets are frozen.
If there is no valid D.N.R. the person will be be "brought back" and maintained in whatever condition.
Mom has said to me and others she does not want to be "maintained" but she has no valid D.N.R.
This is much more than anyone needs to know about the process but it is where my thinking part is concentrated.
Just hoping your report of your visit with your Mother is more hopeful.
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