One of the other Dad’s in our Cub Scout Pack told me about this video after our last Pack meeting with the model rocket launches. The kid’s expression is priceless. The Dad is too busy laughing.
Enjoy.
Author: Gerry
Categories
The Bandaid Fix
A “bandaid fix” is a way around solving a problem. Rather than actually fixing the problem, another technique is used to either cover up or circumvent the real problem. A bandaid fix can be used for a variety to reasons, from not being able to determine the actual problem to not having time to being able to solve the actual problem.
Software guys know all about bandaid fixes- they use them regularly. Sometimes it’s entirely justified as a bug might have deeply rooted causes such that fixing it could have significant side effects and other ramifications. Carpenters too, are familiar with bandaid fixes. In fact, I’m willing to wager just about any engineer, technician or “Mr. Fixit” sort has used a bandaid fix at one time or another.
When I picked up my mower yesterday, bandaid fix was what immediately leapt to mind when they told me what they did. The reason I couldn’t pull the starter cord was because the engine had filled with fuel, so the compression required to turn the engine was too much for the start cord mechanism to handle. I knew this, the question was why was the engine filling up with fuel?
I never got an answer. The mechanic had already cleaned the carburetor and change the air filter and the spark plug and, I’m guessing, he wasn’t going to spend any more time figuring out what was wrong. So if too much fuel was the problem while starting, then he need to provide a way to stop that. So he installed a fuel shutoff valve which I’ll now have to use every time I use the mower.
Suffice it to say, I’m not thrilled with this solution. First, the mower is about a year old and shouldn’t be having this sort of problem, IMHO. Second, how do I know that the problem won’t slowly become exacerbated over time with usage to the point I’ll need to bring it in again and spend another $100 on getting it repaired? Short answer- I don’t know because I don’t know what the problem is. Rather, I’m left with hoping that usage with high-octane gas and some of the ethanol based fuel additives will help clean things out and return it to normal usage.
More likely is that the mower is a lemon and I’ll be having problems with it for years to come.
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Tebow Speculation
So Tim Tebow is now a Patriot. I’ve never really understood all the hoopla around Tebow and his supposed “religiousness.” I mean, if you ask a guy about it why should he be ashamed of his faith? I don’t recall him telling anyone else what to believe. There have been plenty of other players genuflecting after touchdowns, pointing their fingers to the sky and generally giving thanks to God for their performance on any given day.
But for whatever reason, when Tebow does it everyone loses their minds. Like I said, I don’t get it. He’s a below average quarterback (even in college!) with an above average work ethic and way-above-average heart. For whatever reason, people believe he can get the job done and he’s even done so on a couple of occasions.
So what’s he doing on the Patriots now? Well, first, Josh McDaniels almost certainly convinced the Pats to make the move. Almost certainly not to play quarterback though. I’d guess as another slot-receiver potential or even a gadget play enabler. I know the Pats already picked up Amendola as a Welker replacement, but I don’t think you can just replace a guy like Welker. But perhaps you can blunt his loss with a couple of guys with different skill sets that almost add up to the same thing.
Aside from that, I think he’s a gadget play kind of guy. Bring him in and run some kind of goofy Wildcat thing where he pitches to Brady, who then throws back downfield to Tebow. Or maybe he runs some kind of option offense in certain situations.
Of course, all of this is dependent on Tebow actually making the squad, which a lot of the speculation has forgotten about. So maybe we should just give him a chance to make it to the season.
I can’t get a good picture of the whole thing, but these 2 should give the general sense of it. Having completed this one so soon after the first, I think it’s safe to say no two walls go up the same. Obviously, the shape changes. It’s more than that though- the material changes, the accessibility to the material changes (in other words, rocks on the top of the pile tend to get used first, rocks at the bottom last), plus the previous wall influences decisions about what’s acceptable and what isn’t. In this one, I used vertical rocks in a number of spots, versus the first I only did that in a couple of spots against the foundation wall.
That would be stage 2 completed. On to stage 3, which is the one I’ve been most anxious for.
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Nagging Can Work
I’ve written quite a bit over the past school year’s worth of homework about the boy’s writing assignments. He has his strengths, mainly in the creativity department, and his weaknesses which, initially, were pretty much everything else. Terrible spelling, terrible grammar, terrible structure.
Last week saw another type of writing brought into the fold: book report type writing. He’s been asked to read from a book and then write short summaries of what he reads each day, with a final summary to be turned in at the end of the week. There are also a group of questions which he can choose from which forces him to think a little deeper about what he read.
He’s been very studious about getting the work done. Mostly because it gives him an excuse to continue reading the Harry Potter series, I imagine. The assignment calls for him to read for 20 minutes, but the Wife and I both suggested he just read a chapter each day. He’s been happy to oblige.
The Wife and I have both been pleasantly surprised with his summary paragraphs. He’s finally seems to be getting better at organizing the thoughts in his head before setting them to paper and the results, while not perfect, are markedly improved. To the point where the Wife and I have just been pointing out spelling mistakes, as opposed to having him rewrite the paragraphs. I’d personally still like to see him write drafts and then do the final. But for the way this assignment works, he’s doing it well enough that I’m not going to pick a fight with him over that quibble.
That only took a year.
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A Harry Potter Conundrum
The kids watched the first Harry Potter movie this morning, The Sorcerer’s Stone. While watching the end, it occurred to me there’s a bit of a plot hole created by the circumstances of the first movie.
I’ll assume if you’ve read this far, you’re somewhat familiar with the Harry Potter-verse and I’ll get right to it.
At the end of the story, Harry Potter is convinced that Professor Snape is the culprit behind all the mysterious happenings at the school and is, in fact, trying to help Voldemort return to power. This turns out to be spectacularly wrong, as the villain is in fact Professor Quirrell, working in league with Voldemort. During the final confrontation between Quirrell/ Voldemort and Harry, it is revealed that Professor Snape was, in fact, consistently thwarting Quirrell’s plans behind the scenes. It was Snape whom thwarted Quirrell during the Moutain Troll episode, and we’re also allowed to see through Harry’s spying eye’s a clandestine exchange between Quirrell and Snape where Snape challenges Quirrell and his motives. In short, Snape seemed to know what was going on with Quirrell and wasn’t helping Quirrell/Voldemort to succeed.
Now, given that Quirrell and Voldemort are joined at the head, it seems logical that Voldemort would also be aware of Snape’s meddling and consistent interruptions of his (Voldemort’s) plans to return to power. Given Snape’s role at the end of the saga, where he poses as Voldemort’s right-hand man presumably with Voldemort’s full trust, these circumstances seem like a pretty big inconsistency. That is, it seems implausible that Voldemort should be unaware of Snape’s double-agent status given what Snape does in the first book. Yet, that is exactly the case.
I recognize the difficulty in keeping details like this straight over the course of 7 books and 10 or so years worth of creating a world and story. It just struck me as interesting inconsistency in the story. One that I couldn’t think of a plausible explanation for.
For instance- perhaps Voldemort suffers from some sort of amnesia after he returns to corporeal form, one might argue. But that seems pretty selective given everything that he clearly does remember, including all of his Deatheaters, Harry himself, the Elder wand and so forth.
Another argument might be that Snape is skilled at blocking Voldemort’s mind reading powers. I’d agree- but Voldemort shouldn’t have to read Snape’s mind. He simply has to assess Snape’s actions as they pertain to Professor Quirrell.
There are other possibilities I can come up with, but I don’t consider any of them convincing explanations. I think it’s just one of those plot holes that any epic tale, even LOTR has them, picks up along the way. Anyone else agree with my assessment, or am I off base entirely?
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On Getting Your Lawnmower Repaired
It’s probably been about 3 weeks since I mowed our lawn. Not for lack of trying mind you. I started a couple weeks ago when the mower completely flaked out on me, culminating in an inability to pull the starter cord. Unfortunately, not being a motor guy, it was beyond my abilities to heal, so I brought the mower to a repair shop.
That was a week-and-a-half ago.
Yesterday, I got the call and went to pick it up. The grass is probably 7 or eight inches long now. The recent weather has been absolutely perfect grass growing weather- 70’s with cool nights and soaking rains. We’re getting another soaking rain right now. Small woodland creatures can hide in my yard now without being noticed. Point being, I’ve been looking forward to getting the mowing done for a change and was relieved to finally have the mower back.
When I got it out of the car, I decided to experience the satisfaction of a smoothly running machine. I reached down for the starter cord handle and started to pull.
And was met with way too much resistance.
Startled, I released it and stupidly looked at the mower. Perhaps they had put some kind of safety thing on the mower. I lifted it up to check the blade, and then heard the guzzling noise. I peered around to the muffler area and gas was dripping out of the muffler. I set the mower back to rights and tried giving the starter cord another pull. Nothing. Couldn’t pull it.
So this morning, I returned the mower to the repair shop where I got the platitudinous “Sorry ’bout that.” When the clerk offered me the claim ticket, I told him “I’m not so sure I’ll want to claim it.” He laughed. I left.
Wiser.
Categories
To The Bitter End
I get that we’re finally coming down to the final few weeks of school. In fact, I think we’re coming up on 2 weeks to go. Naturally, effort levels are starting to tail off a bit, even if the homework load is not.
We’ve fought the boy for most of the year where his writing assignments are concerned. His priority is getting them done. Our priority is trying to teach him some good habits now while getting him to do the work as well. Those habits include spelling, grammar and punctuation. The ability to write well about a subject comes with time, reading and practice.
Per his usual, tonight the boy just wanted to complete his homework, which involved writing 2 paragraphs about some reading he’d chosen. He needed to write a summary paragraph about the reading and then write a paragraph to answer one of five potential questions. He wasn’t sure how to proceed with answering the question, so I was helping him by asking him questions to get him thinking about what he needed to write.
Except the boy wasn’t trying. I’d ask him a question, he’d mumble a reply. I’d try another angle, he’d mumble another reply. I’d finally get him to answer a question, then he’d just sit there doing nothing. This went on for the better part of 30 minutes. It was getting close to his bed time.
Most importantly, I was getting frustrated. Mostly, at his gross lack of effort. So I started yelling.
He almost immediately teared up. I didn’t have, nor did I want to, yell for very long. I was mad at myself for yelling, but internally I was shrugging because what else could I have done? He simply wasn’t even trying to do the work well. I was trying harder than he was, and it wasn’t my homework!
We finally finished working through the assignment. Mostly because his effort level improved so dramatically. He’ll have to write a final draft in the morning, but the hard part is all done.
After he brushed his teeth, but before he went to bed, I pulled him aside and hugged him and said “Don’t make me yell at you anymore.”
He hugged me back, “I don’t like it when you yell at me.”
“I don’t like yelling at you,” I replied.
“I try to not make you yell at me, but I keep slipping up.” I didn’t answer him back.
In a couple more weeks, we’ll all get a break from homework. It will be welcome.
I’ve actually managed quite a bit of progress in the past week or so. I completed the excavation, over the course of the 3 hottest days no less. Additionally, all of the base stone has been filled and I’ve laid the first course of the wall. I’ve even started filling in behind the wall as well.
Worthy of note, I’ve added a catch basin to handle the our curtain drain. The original pipe posed a problem- the height of the pipe was going to interfere with the finished height of our patio. After speaking about it with a landscape guy, I basically had 3 choices: one, to cut and cap the pipe; two, to re-route the pipe; and three, change the height of the pipe using a catch basin.
The easiest was just to cut and cap the pipe. I also ruled it out almost immediately. Even though I’ve never seen water coming out of this pipe, I didn’t want to tempt fate. No, I wanted water to have some place to go. So, of the remaining two options, the catch basin was the simplest. The way it’s designed, I can even use a smaller pipe to make sure I don’t run into any problems with clearances.
If you’re wondering if I’m worried about the post on the far right, the answer is “a little”. I didn’t originally dig that close it it, but the dirt kept falling off. Luckily, with the wall going in now I’m less worried than I was since the back filling will shore things up.
As for wall features, it’s obvious this one is much longer but much shorter. Hmmm, that last sentence reads funny. What I mean is it won’t need to be as tall as the other wall, but it is much longer with the ‘S’-curve design. The height will gradually fade from about three-and-a-half feet at the house to about 18 inches at the other end. I’ll be following the same basic build process- build up the wall, then back fill with large stone and the three-quarter inch stone, cover with the landscape cloth and complete the back filling with sand and top soil.
One quick observation about this wall versus the other is I’ve been able to use larger stone more consistently on this first course. Looking at how the other wall came out, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. On the one hand, the larger stone on the bottom theoretically makes the wall stronger. On the other, I think the randomness of rock size makes for a better overall look. That said, it’s early days for this wall. I seem to remember not knowing what to think of the first one and it ended up better than I’d hoped for. Perhaps the medium is the key and as long as I build it solidly, the appearance will take care of itself.
So a kid saves a fellow student from a bully and is then told he ought not to have done that by his elders. Rather, he should have informed the loafing teacher across the room that a) there was a fight in progress and b) the aggressor was wielding some sort of stab implement and things might get ugly. No word on what he should have done while the teacher was reporting the incident to the vice-principal. Also, no word on whether the teacher was disciplined or given a “stern lecture” about doing their job when monitoring students.
Categories
Red Wedding Reactions
Perusing the internet today, it was hard to miss the strong reactions to one of the most brutal moments in the Game of Thrones story. The thing of it is, I can’t really blame the viewers. It was just as shocking to read. I remember reading the scene twice because after the first time I felt like I’d misread it. Having verified it, I went back and read it a third time.
The thing was, reading the story I think Martin gives readers a sense that not everything will work out for Robb Stark. Really, in the books, the only thing he does well is win on the battlefield. Everything else he jumbles. There was even some foreshadowing in the dream sequence of Daenerys’ during her visit with the warlock.
Still, the scene is a jolt to the system. A testament to Martin’s storytelling capabilities I daresay.
For those that happen by here, I’ll say they shouldn’t abandon all hope yet. The story isn’t really about the Starks, and Martin starts running out of good guys for bad things to happen to. And bad things continue to happen, so who does that leave?
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A Little Too Hard on the Kids
Perhaps it was because I had dug out about 7 yards of dirt by hand, so I was tired and a bit edgy. Perhaps it was because temps hit around 90 yesterday while I was doing all that digging. Perhaps it was because the digging was particularly difficult since the earth I was digging in was a devilish mixture of clay, sand and rock. Perhaps it was because while all this was going on, the kids were climbing around the 2 massive dirt piles I’d built up, getting ridiculously dirty and having fun.
Perhaps it was a bit of all of the above.
I made the kids help me dig for a bit yesterday. I knew they would have difficulty doing it, but I made them do it anyway. When I first told them to start helping, they both probably thought it was one of those one-off threat-request parents make and never follow-up with.
But I did this time. If I’d cared to look, I might have seen the surprised look on their faces when I insisted they pick up shovels and start digging. “Hey,” I told myself, “I’m giving them the easiest part of the digging.”
So they struggled with it for about 5 minutes, while I continued to labor away. I glanced over and they were displaying all the classic signs of boredom: not doing what had been asked, drawing pictures in the dirt, sitting where they should have been digging and generally getting distracted by every little thing.
It annoyed me (see the first paragraph). I’d compelled asked them to help and they could barely do it for more than a few minutes. I’d been out there for several hours already. I made my displeasure with their efforts known.
They tried again to get something done, but they ran into difficulty quickly again and were clearly stalling and looking for an excuse to bolt.
I took a moment. I was sweating, hot, exhausted and not done. The work was difficult for me. What, exactly, was I proving making them do this? Sure, on the one hand they’d dug many a hole under the deck prior to all this work- but that was in the context of play. I wasn’t playing a game. At least, not the kind of game they were ready to participate in.
So what was my point making them do this work? Give them a chance to prove to themselves they could do it? Give them perspective so they’d appreciate the work I was doing? Was this a lesson worth spending my, severely depleted, energy on now?
What could only have been my more rational side convinced me this wasn’t the time or place. I was making them do work they weren’t capable of performing, in conditions they weren’t really ready for, for reasons I could barely articulate to myself. In reality, I figured, I would only make them hate working with me on big projects.
I finally relented and let them go back to playing. There was still a part of me that didn’t agree with the choice. That felt they needed to be made to do this. If not now, when? They need to learn how to be able to knuckle down and do work. If I don’t stick to my guns, they’ll always bail on projects that are too hard, or not fun.
True as those things might be, I slowly came to realize, it wasn’t going to happen on a too-hot Saturday afternoon under our deck.
Categories
An Udderly Ridiculous Post
You know why this post is “udderly” ridiculous? Because that’s a BEEF cow! Not a milking cow! No BS. Literally- nothing on the road.
If you hit it with a car, do you stop and start grilling?
Where is a cow going on a Saturday morning? Greener pastures?
I could do this “for-heifer.”
Completion of the other wall is only part of the project. Now, I get to do the same basic stuff on the other side. This wall will be easier in some ways, and more difficult in others.
As should be obvious from the excavation, it will have more curves to it. This will help to increase the patio area quite dramatically. Really, under the deck looks bigger already, excluding for the two massive pile of dirt I have in the center. But where it has the “S” curve feature, it won’t be nearly as tall- standing only about three-and-one-half feet at it’s tallest.
Aside from that, it’s more of the same. The next step is to dig down about a foot, line it with rip-rap and then fill with stone. Then I get to start building and backfilling.
Oh, almost forgot. I’ve also got to do something with that drain pipe. Don’t worry, I’ve got plans for it.
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Model Rocket Pictures
Rather than post them here on the main page, because there’s a ton of pictures, I’ve created a page of it’s own to showcase a couple of the launches of the model rockets we made with the Scouts. For now, the page can be found this way. I’ll eventually make a permanent icon for it like the other pages.
UPDATE: Icon added. Can you guess which it is?
Categories
Model Rockets are AWESOME!
I think what I’ll remember most about last night’s Pack meeting were the screams of the kids.
We finally got a break for an outdoor Pack meeting. We’d tried a few other times, but Mother Nature always served up some rain so the events were either cancelled or moved indoors. Yesterday, the rain stayed to our South and allowed us to have what may have been our best meeting ever.
We offered up some awards last night, which was a very Cub Scouty thing to do. Our Wolf Den had earned belt loops and we had a number of boys earn Gold Arrows for arrow points. I took care of those awards early on and then got things down to the nitty gritty.
We had “Cub Scout Amazing Race” which our other Den leaders had come up with, including the props necessary to pull it off. There were 5 activities they had to participate in. Upon completion of each activity, they got a clue about where they had to go next and what they’d have to do at that next station. There was a paper airplane station, a soccer station, a potato station, a jumping jack station and one other which I’m failing to recall. Regardless, for 15 minutes the kids flew around the park, finishing all of their activities.
Then we setup to launch the model rockets.
I have no way of knowing what they expected. I can only report on the absolute huge success that the rocket launches were. The first rocket stands out because I’m pretty sure it blew their minds when it lifted off. They’d done the countdown, and when the engine ignited and propelled the rocket up, the squeals of glee and joy were something to behold. I used C6-3 and B6-2 engines in the PVC based rockets my Bears put together. Those suckers must have gone a couple to 300 feet in the air.
After each launch, the boys would tear off after the rocket to recover and inspect it. In between, we would get them to calm down long enough to perform another countdown. Then, as soon as the rocket launched, they were lost to our reality. Screaming and running and completely mindless to anything else.
The greatest moments happened with the final 2 rockets we launched. These were kit rockets. Nice, light, more or less foolproof rockets for launching. Both of them used C engines. I set things up by explaining how much the other rockets weighed, about 5.5 ounces with the engine, versus how much the kit rockets weighed, about 2 ounces with the engine. Even with the thought-experiment, the results surely surpassed their expectations.
The roar that went up when the first kit rocket launched was awesome. The rocket was there on the launching pad on moment. Then, a hissing noise, some flame and a plume of smoke later, it was gone. It must have gone somewhere close to 1000 feet high- high enough that if you took your eye off the rocket while it was up there you lost it. I couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle. About a minute later, it drifted back down to Earth, it’s parachute having successfully deployed.
The last rocket of the night was the boy’s rocket. The other kit rocket. It too had an identical launch and reaction. Even knowing what was coming, the shear spectacle of the takeoff and watching it drift slowly back down overwhelmed their minds. It landed a quarter-mile away in a cornfield. The boys ran the entire way, tracking it as it fell. Parental requests to stop were simply not capable of being processed at that point.
It wasn’t just the kids who enjoyed it. The parents all loved it as well. They were all impressed with the PVC rocket successes, and the kit rockets were the icing on the cake. It was truly a great meeting to end the year with and one I hope none of the boys soon forget.
For a change, I was waiting in the car for the boy and the lass this morning. My plan was to get the kids to school, then head up to gas up the car as well as grab some gas for our mower, since we were out. Then I’d spend a couple hours this morning taking care of the grass, including using the weed wacker for all the edge stuff. It always looks a lot neater that way. Then, I’d spend the afternoon digging.
The boy hopped in the car, grabbing the coveted “shotgun” position. His sister wasn’t too far behind. In case there was any doubt about the value of “shotgum”, she immediately started in on her brother for “always” trying to get the front seat. I just let it ride.
As we started up the driveway I glanced over at the boy and noticed he was missing something. I also took a quick glance at the lass, whom was not. I then said “Didn’t Mom ask you to wear a sweatshirt this morning?” Yes, we’re 3 days from June and the kids still need cool weather gear on occasion.
The boy took a look at himself, then sighed an irritated hissing noise. His face screwed up in a grimace. I thought of saying something, then chose not to. Let him learn to deal on his own.
Halfway to the school, the boy grabbed his backpack and started rifling through it, looking for something. He got progressively more agitated in his searching. His back pack is only so big, so I figured he was missing something.
“I forgot my black notebook,” he said through clenched teeth. His jaw was set in a grimace and he was staring like he was trying to light small objects on fire with his gaze.
Two things he’d forgotten this morning in the rush to get out the door. I considered turning around to bail him out. Again, I chose not too for the same basic reason as before. He was in the middle of getting himself all worked up about forgetting his notebook, so let him learn that it’s not the big deal he thinks it is.
I took my time when I got home. I had a second cup of coffee, caught up on some WwF games, did some reading. The Wife came down and chatted for a bit before her morning regimen of phone calls began. I finally headed out the door to start my day.
The weed wacking went off without a hitch. I was done with it in about 20 minutes. Then I went to start the mower.
No dice.
I noticed fuel was spitting out of the muffler. I took it to a spot where I didn’t want living things and tipped the mower up. Gas drizzled out of the muffler. Not good. Not good at all. I tried a few more times and the mower started. Maybe running it would act to clean out whatever was causing the problem.
5 minutes later, I had my answer. Now, when I tried to pull the cord it held fast. I tried a few things I was capable of mechanically, but none of them worked.
I was pissed. The mower is less than a year old. My previous Toro never gave me problems until the final years that cause me to get a this one. That was 10 years of service without issue. This Husqvararna was letting me down big time. The grass is already 6 inches high since our current weather is perfect grass growing weather. Now, I was going to have to bring it in for repair and lose a couple more days, maybe more.
I spent the remainder of the morning draining the gas tank, since the gas continued to flood into the engine, and then finding and bringing it someplace to get it serviced. My frustration abated after I’d dropped it off. I had other things to do and started focusing on those.
The boy got off the bus from school today with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. Hmmmm, perhaps things had gotten worse for him after the morning’s forgetfulness?
His sister was in a good mood. She scuttled on into the house, chirping at the dogs as she went by. I had to ask the boy 3 times to check the mail because he was so busy with his funk he didn’t hear me the first 2 times. He was walking slowly. Deliberately. The weight of his troubles squarely on his shoulders.
“You want to talk about it?” I asked. I took the mail from him.
“I forgot my notebook. I forgot my library book. I forgot my planner. I forgot my homework. I forgot my Friday folder,” he spat out. He continued staring down at the ground, dark clouds swirled around his head.
So much drama.
“So what happened?” I asked. Surely, he must have received a speech or something from a teacher or something.
“Nothing,” he said. “I just forgot all that stuff.”
“The teacher didn’t yell at you?”
“NO!!“
Wow.
“Kid’s didn’t make fun of you?”
“NO!!“
I paused for a minute. He was in a hell of him own making. He’d forgotten a bunch of stuff and the penalty had been minimal, if there’d been any at all. His anger was solely about his forgetfulness. It wasn’t like he’d had a lawnmower die on him and now had a looming repair bill, and growing grass. I decided to try and lighten his mood a bit.
“Did you get kissed by a girl?” I ask slyly.
“NO!!!!” he bellowed. His eyes focused on me like lasers.
My first thought was “That was a bit defensive…” but I held my tongue and let it drop.
Someday, he’ll have different sources of frustration. Hopefully he learns how to cope better by then.
I tried to find a suitable quote from A Song of Ice and Fire but was unable to do so. So, suffice it to say, this wall is complete.
By the end, even the kids wanted to help. Mostly, I think, because they were able to climb up onto the top of it and “play.” I had them grading the backfilled area. If nothing else, it was an initial active load test to make sure the wall is solid. It seems to have passed with flying colors.
Next up, the other side of the house, where the next wall awaits. That one won’t be as high as this, but it will have more curves and, I think, be a little longer. I’ll enjoy this one for a day or so before starting the next one.
Categories
A Statement of the Obvious
We were supposed to go camping for Memorial Day weekend, but the weather has been too uncooperative. We can deal with rain and we can deal with cold, but both at the same time while with the kids wasn’t happening. The main point of the camping is, well, the camping- meaning outdoors, campfires and relaxing. Huddled, shivering in a tent with kids complaining about being bored is know way to suffer through a weekend. Unless it’s Hell.
So we let the kids sleep in our basement last night. They setup a small play tent and their sleeping bags and camped out in the basement. They went to bed late and started kibitzing. Shortly thereafter, they were talking, burping, farting and laughing. Anything but sleeping. Since our basement door is right next to the family room, we got to listen to it all.
The Wife was smart and went to bed early. I stayed up a bit later, listening to the antics going on downstairs. Finally, around 10:30 I gave up on them and started getting ready to head up to sleep myself.
Which was when the boy padded up the stairs and made what, given the circumstances, is a top 10’er for him.
“Dad, I can’t sleep because my sister keeps talking.”
Let’s just say, I was speechless.
The latest status on the wall. It’s taken shape nicely. I’ve got about another foot to go at the house side and I’ll taper it into the lower side as it comes around. Stone wall building is definitely a discipline where focusing on the details can get you in trouble.
The probably deserves a bit more exposition. Details are important in every project. In fact, the details make the difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful project. The trick is knowing which details are important.
In the case of stone wall building, I think a natural detail to pay attention to are the joints between rocks. This details lends to hunting for only stones of a certain size, shape and flatness. The problem is, those particular sorts of stones, at least in my project, are rare.
It turns out the more important detail to pay attention to is how it sets on the wall. The shape is almost completely irrelevant because other rocks can be used to build around the odd shape. Take a look at the picture closely and there are quite a few odd shape rocks. They end up being an accent, even though the rocks around them don’t necessarily fit exactly. In fact, the overall effect of the varying rock sizes and shapes, along with the gaps (assuming they aren’t completely egregious) makes for and overall nicer look.
The back filling has been moving along as well. I don’t think I have to worry about collapses so much anymore. I’m using landscape cloth over the stone filler to keep the dirt and sand from filtering down into the stone. That should help with drainage over the life of the wall. Which better be very long.
Just for the stone, I’ve moved about 12 tons of material I figure. I’ve gone through better than half wall stone and 5 tons of the 3/4 inch stuff. Still got a few tons to go as well. Then it’s on to the stage 2.