This is amazing!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Country USA
Country USA starts today.
Yee-Fucking-Haw. I HATE Country music.
Thank god it's on the south side of town now and I don't have to deal with the traffic. Traffic makes Cranky REALLY cranky. I discovered why people get road rage while living in Las Vegas and San Diego. To quote the late great George Carlin,
"Have you ever noticed that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac?"
Yee-Fucking-Haw. I HATE Country music.
Thank god it's on the south side of town now and I don't have to deal with the traffic. Traffic makes Cranky REALLY cranky. I discovered why people get road rage while living in Las Vegas and San Diego. To quote the late great George Carlin,
"Have you ever noticed that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac?"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Oh the irony!
I was reading an article on MSNBC about George Carlin, and the author, Michael Ventre, said this...
The words we choose say a lot about us. Here is a portion of a speech from an anti-pornography crusader:
“Our thrust is to prick holes in the stiff front erected by the smut dealers. We must keep mounting an offensive to penetrate any crack in his defenses. Let’s get on him. Let’s ram through a stiff bail law so it will be hard for him to get it up. It’ll be hard on us, but we can’t lick it by being soft!”
Chew on that one for awhile.
The words we choose say a lot about us. Here is a portion of a speech from an anti-pornography crusader:
“Our thrust is to prick holes in the stiff front erected by the smut dealers. We must keep mounting an offensive to penetrate any crack in his defenses. Let’s get on him. Let’s ram through a stiff bail law so it will be hard for him to get it up. It’ll be hard on us, but we can’t lick it by being soft!”
Chew on that one for awhile.
Monday, June 23, 2008
RIP George
George Carlin has died.
Thank you, George, for the countless hours of laughter. You were a giant and you will be missed.
God speed George.
George Carlin 1937-2008
Good night, funny man.
Thank you, George, for the countless hours of laughter. You were a giant and you will be missed.
God speed George.
George Carlin 1937-2008
Good night, funny man.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Good/Bad News
Well, I guess FEMA has declared Winnebago County a Federal Disaster Area.
The good news about that is that if indeed I need to replace my furnace, I can apply for a low interest loan from FEMA (or at least try to) to help me pay for it.
Of course, no one wishes that where they live is declared a Federal Disaster Area. Hopefully it will help the people that really need it (with the grants). My heart goes out to those that lost a lot of valuables and especially those that lost their homes.
I read in the paper today they think that my old high school may reach $10 million in damages. Yikes.
The good news about that is that if indeed I need to replace my furnace, I can apply for a low interest loan from FEMA (or at least try to) to help me pay for it.
Of course, no one wishes that where they live is declared a Federal Disaster Area. Hopefully it will help the people that really need it (with the grants). My heart goes out to those that lost a lot of valuables and especially those that lost their homes.
I read in the paper today they think that my old high school may reach $10 million in damages. Yikes.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Water Heater Wars Episode VI - The Return of the Plumber
I called my plumber this morning. He won't come and light it - he said it needs to be replaced. Which I half expected.
He said $625, which I thought was pretty reasonable, but he won't be able to do it until tomorrow (he doesn't have any in stock). So I have to go yet another day without hot water, but hopefully, this will be the last.
Hopefully, he won't want to come until the afternoon so I don't have to take too much time off work, but I will if I have to and I know they won't care here. They know what I've been dealing with.
Peace out, yo.
He said $625, which I thought was pretty reasonable, but he won't be able to do it until tomorrow (he doesn't have any in stock). So I have to go yet another day without hot water, but hopefully, this will be the last.
Hopefully, he won't want to come until the afternoon so I don't have to take too much time off work, but I will if I have to and I know they won't care here. They know what I've been dealing with.
Peace out, yo.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Basement Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Operation Basement Drain was a SUCCESS!
Dad managed to get the tarp pulled back relatively easy using my push broom that was downstairs. He almost blew chunks, but it only took him a minute or two to get it pulled back. I snapped a few pictures in case my furnace and water heater are damaged. Mom said it might help me to get a low interest loan if I need to replace them.
Here is the furnace.
The side the furnace and water heater are on are higher than the other side.
Here is the water heater. The debris line is higher than what the water line is, so I'm wondering if water was draining even with the tarp covering the drain.
This is the first step from the ground - you can see it's completely submerged in water.
All that water drained in about 30 minutes. Dad had thought it was going to be a slow drain, but when we went back and checked the progress about 30 minutes later (it may have even been about 20 minutes), it was gone.
The bad news is that I had sewage back up in there, which is why dad almost blew chunks. So, I had to go down there this afternoon with a bleach and water solution and spray it down (I used my mom's deck sprayer to do it). I told myself it was mud that was on the floor, but I was all decked out in my new rubber boots, rubber gloves, face mask (and I even put some Vicks VapoRub under my nose) and goggles. It really only took me about 5 minutes to give the basement a good spray down (it's a really small area - probably 10x10 or 12x12 at most. I didn't gag once, but I also didn't breathe through my nose once. I sprayed about half the container of bleach (so almost a gallon of the solution) and tomorrow I'll have to go back down and do it again. After that, I'll probablyh have to hose it down to clean off whatever shit (both figuratively and literally) is on the floor.
The only thing left is to see if the pilot light will light on my water heater. I'm guessing that will have to wait until Monday, unless for some reason my dad wants to come over tomorrow and do it. But, I won't ask him to do it on Father's Day, but I'll see if he'll come over after he's done with work on Monday to give it a shot. And, to see if my furnace still works. My dad thinks the heating whatever will be fine, but he doesn't know about the blower motor. We'll have to see once that dries out. I turned the circuit breaker for the furnace off, so I don't have to worry about that.
I'm relieved that it was just the tarp that was causing the backup and not that the drain was clogged. For once, something went right. Now, please keep your fingers crossed that the appliances down there were not damaged. *prays to the furnace and water heater gods*
I think tonight I will have to bust out some JD movies (or maybe Season 3 of Jump Street) to take my mind off my basement.
Peace out, yo.
Dad managed to get the tarp pulled back relatively easy using my push broom that was downstairs. He almost blew chunks, but it only took him a minute or two to get it pulled back. I snapped a few pictures in case my furnace and water heater are damaged. Mom said it might help me to get a low interest loan if I need to replace them.
Here is the furnace.
The side the furnace and water heater are on are higher than the other side.
Here is the water heater. The debris line is higher than what the water line is, so I'm wondering if water was draining even with the tarp covering the drain.
This is the first step from the ground - you can see it's completely submerged in water.
All that water drained in about 30 minutes. Dad had thought it was going to be a slow drain, but when we went back and checked the progress about 30 minutes later (it may have even been about 20 minutes), it was gone.
The bad news is that I had sewage back up in there, which is why dad almost blew chunks. So, I had to go down there this afternoon with a bleach and water solution and spray it down (I used my mom's deck sprayer to do it). I told myself it was mud that was on the floor, but I was all decked out in my new rubber boots, rubber gloves, face mask (and I even put some Vicks VapoRub under my nose) and goggles. It really only took me about 5 minutes to give the basement a good spray down (it's a really small area - probably 10x10 or 12x12 at most. I didn't gag once, but I also didn't breathe through my nose once. I sprayed about half the container of bleach (so almost a gallon of the solution) and tomorrow I'll have to go back down and do it again. After that, I'll probablyh have to hose it down to clean off whatever shit (both figuratively and literally) is on the floor.
The only thing left is to see if the pilot light will light on my water heater. I'm guessing that will have to wait until Monday, unless for some reason my dad wants to come over tomorrow and do it. But, I won't ask him to do it on Father's Day, but I'll see if he'll come over after he's done with work on Monday to give it a shot. And, to see if my furnace still works. My dad thinks the heating whatever will be fine, but he doesn't know about the blower motor. We'll have to see once that dries out. I turned the circuit breaker for the furnace off, so I don't have to worry about that.
I'm relieved that it was just the tarp that was causing the backup and not that the drain was clogged. For once, something went right. Now, please keep your fingers crossed that the appliances down there were not damaged. *prays to the furnace and water heater gods*
I think tonight I will have to bust out some JD movies (or maybe Season 3 of Jump Street) to take my mind off my basement.
Peace out, yo.
The Cleanup Begins
Dad is on his way over to start the cleanup in the basement. We're going to pull the tarp back that was covering the drain in hopes that will be why the water isn't draining.
Cross your fingers.
Peace out, yo.
Cross your fingers.
Peace out, yo.
Loss
Every once in awhile, a public figure passes on and it hits me pretty hard. I always feel a bit of sadness when I hear about a celebrity passing, but occasionally there's one that makes me feel like I've been punched in the gut. The last time I felt that was when Heath Ledger passed away. Until yesterday when Tim Russert died.
From everything I've seen and read about him, his joie de vivre rubbed off on all those who had the pleasure of meeting him. His family, his friends, his colleagues and those he interviewed. I always got a kick out of watching him on election nights and I can't even begin to fathom watching the election this year without him.
My heart goes out to his family and friends - he is a giant that is going to be sorely missed.
God speed, Tim. The world is a better place for all those whose lives you've touched.
Tim Russert 1950-2008
From everything I've seen and read about him, his joie de vivre rubbed off on all those who had the pleasure of meeting him. His family, his friends, his colleagues and those he interviewed. I always got a kick out of watching him on election nights and I can't even begin to fathom watching the election this year without him.
My heart goes out to his family and friends - he is a giant that is going to be sorely missed.
God speed, Tim. The world is a better place for all those whose lives you've touched.
Tim Russert 1950-2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Aftermath
It was fucking NASTY here yesterday.
Oshkosh got about 6 inches of rain, added to the 5 inches we got last weekend, makes 11 inches of rain in 6 days.
75% of the streets here were under water.
This was taken on the 9th Ave entrance ramp to Southbound Hwy 41 - it's the west Frontage Road (Washburn).
This is the road I take to get to work.
This was about 5 blocks or so from my house.
I'm off to go buy rubber boots and gloves for tomorrow when dad and I tackle my basement (he said we'd have to wait until tomorrow to get the drain because of the water), groceries, a father's day gift and then come home and enjoy my day off, I guess.
Glad I took a shower at mom's this morning, because I won't have hot water until AT LEAST Sunday. Hopefully we can do Father's Day at dad's and I can shower at mom's on Sunday.
The rest of my house appears to be ok. My porch is a little wet and we need to figure out where that came from (it's a covered porch), but it could be a lot worse.
Oshkosh got about 6 inches of rain, added to the 5 inches we got last weekend, makes 11 inches of rain in 6 days.
75% of the streets here were under water.
This was taken on the 9th Ave entrance ramp to Southbound Hwy 41 - it's the west Frontage Road (Washburn).
This is the road I take to get to work.
This was about 5 blocks or so from my house.
I'm off to go buy rubber boots and gloves for tomorrow when dad and I tackle my basement (he said we'd have to wait until tomorrow to get the drain because of the water), groceries, a father's day gift and then come home and enjoy my day off, I guess.
Glad I took a shower at mom's this morning, because I won't have hot water until AT LEAST Sunday. Hopefully we can do Father's Day at dad's and I can shower at mom's on Sunday.
The rest of my house appears to be ok. My porch is a little wet and we need to figure out where that came from (it's a covered porch), but it could be a lot worse.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Water Heater Wars Epidsode V - The Pilot Light Strikes Back
Well, having a lit pilot light on my water heater was short lived.
At some point after the plumber left, the water heater started spitting water out the pipe that comes out the top. I called my dad about 9pm and asked him about it and apparently that's done when the pressure is too great in the heater, which is usually caused when the water is too hot.
His advice? Shut it off. Otherwise, it could blow.
So, I had to put my boots back on, go downstairs (which now has MORE water in it, because the heater was spitting out water for several hours) and turn off the water heater.
It eventually stopped spitting out water about 45 minutes later.
I did manage to have enough hot water left to shower today, and even then, I just kept it on warm. Didn't want to use more than I needed to.
I hope it really is the tarp blocking the drain and cutting a hole in it will drain my basement.
This shit sucks.
Peace out, yo.
At some point after the plumber left, the water heater started spitting water out the pipe that comes out the top. I called my dad about 9pm and asked him about it and apparently that's done when the pressure is too great in the heater, which is usually caused when the water is too hot.
His advice? Shut it off. Otherwise, it could blow.
So, I had to put my boots back on, go downstairs (which now has MORE water in it, because the heater was spitting out water for several hours) and turn off the water heater.
It eventually stopped spitting out water about 45 minutes later.
I did manage to have enough hot water left to shower today, and even then, I just kept it on warm. Didn't want to use more than I needed to.
I hope it really is the tarp blocking the drain and cutting a hole in it will drain my basement.
This shit sucks.
Peace out, yo.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Mother Nature Is Still A Bitch
I hated her this winter and apparently, she's not quite done yet.
Now, I know I shouldn't be complaining about anything, with what E-biz, Michelle and the rest of Columbus, Lake Delton and other parts of WI are going through. But, it's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to.
I don't really have a basement in my house. I do, but it's really small. It has my water heater and furnace, a drain and that's about it. Back in April, the weekend that PE came to town, the pilot light went out on my water heater. I didn't know what the problem was, just that I had no hot water - turns out the pilot light went out and for $35, I got a plumber to come take a look and light it. It had rained like a bitch the night before and I got a little water in the basement, which put out the pilot light.
Well, with the 5 inches of rain Oshkosh got this past weekend, I got water in the basement, a lot more than last time, but not as much as other people (probably a couple of inches at its worst), but again, my light went out. I had enough hot water for a shower on Monday, but that was about it. I had a almost luke warm shower on Tuesday morning - it certainly helped wake me up. My dad came over last night to try and get it lit, but he couldn't really see what he was doing and didn't want to lay down in the water. Completely understandable, I didn't want to go down there at all.
Today I call the same plumber guy back and he tells me that it can't be lit if there's water under the water heater. I didn't know if there was, so I told him I'd have to look for sure when I got home and call him. I went down there and looked and there was a little bit of water under it, so I didn't call the plumber and ask him to come.
Oshkosh is forecast for up to another two inches tomorrow, so I had just decided to wait until Friday and deal with it then because it's probably going to go out again.
About 5:00 the plumbing guy shows up at my front door. I told him there was water underneath the heater and that's why I didn't call, but he said he'd take a look at it. Bastard got it lit. :D He recommended I call a sewer cleaning company because he thinks the drain is plugged because the water is still standing, so I'm going to do that tomorrow. I'm off on Friday (for what may be the last round of JD stalking) so I'm hoping I can find someone to come out and do that. If I can get rid of the water, I know my dad can get the pilot light lit.
Of course, it just started raining. Will this shit ever end?
Peace out, yo.
ETA: Ok, it rained for about 3 seconds - not enough to even make my deck wet. And Dad and I have a date with the basement on Friday - he thinks he may know what the problem is, so we're going to try and tackle that first before calling the sewer company. I'm going to need to go by rubber boots and gloves. *shudders* Blech.
Now, I know I shouldn't be complaining about anything, with what E-biz, Michelle and the rest of Columbus, Lake Delton and other parts of WI are going through. But, it's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to.
I don't really have a basement in my house. I do, but it's really small. It has my water heater and furnace, a drain and that's about it. Back in April, the weekend that PE came to town, the pilot light went out on my water heater. I didn't know what the problem was, just that I had no hot water - turns out the pilot light went out and for $35, I got a plumber to come take a look and light it. It had rained like a bitch the night before and I got a little water in the basement, which put out the pilot light.
Well, with the 5 inches of rain Oshkosh got this past weekend, I got water in the basement, a lot more than last time, but not as much as other people (probably a couple of inches at its worst), but again, my light went out. I had enough hot water for a shower on Monday, but that was about it. I had a almost luke warm shower on Tuesday morning - it certainly helped wake me up. My dad came over last night to try and get it lit, but he couldn't really see what he was doing and didn't want to lay down in the water. Completely understandable, I didn't want to go down there at all.
Today I call the same plumber guy back and he tells me that it can't be lit if there's water under the water heater. I didn't know if there was, so I told him I'd have to look for sure when I got home and call him. I went down there and looked and there was a little bit of water under it, so I didn't call the plumber and ask him to come.
Oshkosh is forecast for up to another two inches tomorrow, so I had just decided to wait until Friday and deal with it then because it's probably going to go out again.
About 5:00 the plumbing guy shows up at my front door. I told him there was water underneath the heater and that's why I didn't call, but he said he'd take a look at it. Bastard got it lit. :D He recommended I call a sewer cleaning company because he thinks the drain is plugged because the water is still standing, so I'm going to do that tomorrow. I'm off on Friday (for what may be the last round of JD stalking) so I'm hoping I can find someone to come out and do that. If I can get rid of the water, I know my dad can get the pilot light lit.
Of course, it just started raining. Will this shit ever end?
Peace out, yo.
ETA: Ok, it rained for about 3 seconds - not enough to even make my deck wet. And Dad and I have a date with the basement on Friday - he thinks he may know what the problem is, so we're going to try and tackle that first before calling the sewer company. I'm going to need to go by rubber boots and gloves. *shudders* Blech.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Things That Make Me Laugh
Because I think we all need it.
Michelle, this one's for you.
And this one is my favorite. It has me in tears every time.
Michelle, this one's for you.
And this one is my favorite. It has me in tears every time.
First Post
I thought I'd start off with some lighter fare.
I've been listening to My Playlist and decided I needed to get something off my chest.
I'm 34 years old and I love High School Musical. If I'm in a bad mood, this song will instantly put me in a good one.
Cranky has been cranky all day and when this song came up on my playlist, Cranky was no longer cranky. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be back to my good ol' Cranky self.
Peace out, yo.
Besides, I have a list of naughty things I'd love to do to Zac Efron.
I've been listening to My Playlist and decided I needed to get something off my chest.
I'm 34 years old and I love High School Musical. If I'm in a bad mood, this song will instantly put me in a good one.
Cranky has been cranky all day and when this song came up on my playlist, Cranky was no longer cranky. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be back to my good ol' Cranky self.
Peace out, yo.
Besides, I have a list of naughty things I'd love to do to Zac Efron.
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