I'm on my way by car in the morning. Not sure when I will arrive as it is 635-miles and 11-hours (non-stop). Probably arrive on Friday. Thank you, Jesus!
If my count is correct, those at the early MoM dinner at the convent numbered 14, including the princess - not a member. Well marbeled steak, grilled, cauliflower salad (courtesy Paolo), mixed green salad, mystery salad provided by Danya (it was good and totally gone), corn on the cob, birthday cake for Cainanite (he can reveal his age himself), good wine (courtesy Jesus, with 1 bottle for Gladys next door), beer, and a few whiskys. Lots of fun and camaraderie. More tomorrow - state fair time. No sleep last night worth a damn, and not tired - I am charged.
I had a fabulous time yesterday evening at the Convent. Kristoff was, as usual, an excellent host. The food was great and the conversation even better. My fiance was along with me, as he was last year. It's always very good to see friends again and to meet new ones.
We will arrive at the Mother Shop by around 3 PM Saturday afternoon. Can't wait!
Then there are those events that are not expected.
My wife and I moved into our little country home in 2001, when it was about 15 years old.
The house is a modular house (made in sections in a factory) set on a concrete and stick-built foundation and basement.
I happen to be certified by the State of Wisconsin as a Master Electrician, and was when we bought the house. Why we bought it is a story of sadness, deaths in the family, and other difficulties that I will not grind through.
Before we moved in, I checked the basement wiring, which was done by the prior owners; the upstairs wiring was factory-done and was code compliant. Not so for the basement.
So, I went through every switch, receptacle, luminaire, and junction box in the basement, and found danger-threatening wiring errors in every one, and either fixed the errors or, when that was not practical, rewired what was not fixable.
Only, something not in the basement escaped my attention, perhaps because it was buried in the back yard.
The wiring for the ejector pump for our mound-type private onsite wastewater treatment system (in Wisconsin, our POWTS).
People who do not understand wiring might wisely not do wiring. Some digging on my part in the back yard, and, whee! Type NM wire directly buried as the electricity feed for the septic ejector pump. Type NM is not rated for direct burial because it will always fail when buried in wet or damp soil, though not necessarily immediately.
So, instead of heading for the MoM, I get to figure out how to replace that run of type NM (non-metallic, suitable for indoor use only) with type UF (Undereground Feeder, suitable for direct burial, or, as I plan to install it, in buried (PVC?) conduit.
Alas, instead of going west to Prescott, I get to go down to the depth required for proper burial of electrical conduit, once the Digger's Hotline folks have been here and properly marked the underground utility lines.
I guess that there are people who don't know, and who know that they don't know. Such folks may be safe to have on planet Earth.
However, I also guess that there are people who don't know, and who don't know that they don't know. Such folks may be unsafe to have on planet Earth.
I wonder which I am?
It seems that I don't know that I can safely head to the MoM because of this wiring blunder, and it seems that I know that I don't know?
I had a wonderful time at Kristoff's house, as always. This year my wife came with, she enjoyed herself too. I (damaged leg and all) will be at talula's Saturday morning to resume the fun. --FLO--
Riverwind (imported) wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:26 pm
Even though I can't come this year, I do have a representative who will meet and greet all who attend, his name is Rupert, pay him his due.
River
Rupert got a thorough brushing from yours truly. I brushed enough loose fur out of him to make two extra Ruperts.
He's been my buddy ever since. He's having a snooze by my side right now.
To janekane: I have had the same problem with sub-standard wiring in various houses over the years. Direct burial wire used indoors and vice-versa, 10-ga. used for 240-volts despite low amperage load, 14-ga used for 120-volts with High amp loads. Etc. And then drains installed with little or no venting, improper slope, dissimilar materials mixed with the wrong cement and/or no prep. You name it. You have my sympathy. Oh, btw, I recommend plastic conduit with direct burial wire for the retrofit....
To fhunter: Nice to see and hear you (seeing was fine - hearing was garbled a bit). My memory is aging slightly - but now I remember you from before my surgery. Thank you for remembering me!
To Riverwind: Rupert also likes me. He comes when I call his name. Then he jumps into my lap - OOF! But he is very polite and doesn't use his claws. Nice cat. At home we have had as many as 15, but now we are down to 5. I also managed to make friends with Spot.
Kangan2008 (imported) wrote: Sun Aug 24, 2014 8:30 pm
To Riverwind: Rupert also likes me. He comes when I call his name. Then he jumps into my lap - OOF! But he is very polite and doesn't use his claws. Nice cat. At home we have had as many as 15, but now we are down to 5. I also managed to make friends with Spot.
I knew Rupert would greet everybody that came, he has always been a very friendly cat and loves attention. Now making friends with Spot that is saying something. He is not the friendly outgoing cat Rupert is.
I hope the MOM has been everything you thought it would be and more, even with some drama its still a great way to spend a few days and meet people for the first time that you have known for years.
To Jesus, I know you live in the area of the 6.0 earthquake that took place in Napa this morning, if you have not called do so, just to make sure everybody is OK.
I'm sure Jesus will answer you, but until he does, I wanted to assure you everything was okay back home. The quake was far enough away that it did no damage where he lives.
And sorry for the accent.