Extreme Accuracy

Below is a photo of my rain gauge. My wife bought it a few years ago, and it had better markings, but the sun faded them into oblivion. Not wanting to throw away my favorite rain gauge, I pulled out my Sharpie, measured for the markings, and turned it into the most accurate rain gauge ever made. I know some may disagree, and I understand their concern of what appears as exaggeration, but I can assure you my skills allow me to use the markings to accurately measure accumulated rainfall down to the thousands of an inch. Of course I don't record the rainfall, since my memory is so well developed I can tell you the exact amount for any day up to two days ago.

I had a family member read, and question me about my facetious post. I can ascertain my sanity hasn't been compromised, and I'm not trying to mislead about my weather abilities. It was all in fun, and no animals were injured in the process of creating this post.

A Local Sinkhole

Near to where I live is a sinkhole. It's on private property, so access isn't allowed. Since it's in an old, still producing oilfield, oilfield workers still have access, which bring me to what crossed my mind this morning. 

I met a man that had the opportunity to work near the sinkhole. There was a boat accessible, so he, and a coworker, decided to see how deep the water was. After tying a heavy bolt to the end of a 1000' roll of nylon string, they let it out, until he was holding the very end of the roll. They never determined how deep the sinkhole was, but knew it was over 1000' deep. From what I've read, the sinkhole started about a century ago, and has steadily grown since that time.

The sinkhole, from what I know, is the result of the collapse of a salt dome that was structurally compromised after years of oil extraction. One of many in the area, the empty domes are used for storing brine, or ethylene. They usually hold, and no problems appear, but I'm glad I'm a long distance away from the area. I do know the sinkhole started to have a rising water level a few decades ago, which prompted the stoppage of a brine injection process. Otherwise, there was leakage between the salt domes, and what was being injected was coming back up. The same thing happened years ago in Mont Belview, Texas, except the leakage was from a propane storage dome. They evacuated much of the city, placed flares in yards, and a trip through the area on the highway allowed to stay open at night was a macabre experience. All the electricity was turned off, the darkened area was only lit by the pipes protruding from the ground with open flames burning off propane.

We had another sinkhole appear in another local community a few years ago. Due to the proximity to the highway running through the community, TxDot monitored the area closely, and would have closed the highway if the sinkhole had continued growing. 

We don't have the same type of sinkholes that are found in Florida. Those here are not caused by erosion of subterranean limestone deposits. They're caused by the removal of oil from salt domes, without injecting brine to continue the upward pressure. This leads to settlement, which may be gradual, and lead to a large area of land sinking over time, or a rapid settlement creating a sinkhole. It's sobering to think of where they might appear, and with directional drilling, there's no way to completely rule out an unsuspecting landowner finding a hole thousands of feet deep appearing in a short period of time.

Saga of the Bridges

 In my early years, we had a few mechanical bridges that crossed local waterways with commercial traffic. Two were draw bridges, and four were swing bridges. They served their purpose, and were marvels for their time, but being mechanical, they had problems. 

One drawbridge, when it was raised for what would be the last time, was left in that position. Another drawbridge, had an electrical fire in the raised position, which left it in that position until demolition. Both left some important areas without access, except through long trips that would take over an hour. The solution was temporary ferry service, but the ferries could only handle pedestrians. Those that were affected left cars on either one, or both sides, for carpooling. Inconvenient is a mild term to describe the situation. 

The swing bridges were less of a problem, but cantankerous machines. Problems would arise, parts might not be available for the old bridges, and the costs to operate prohibitive. The solution for two of the bridges was replacement with spans higher than any boat traffic. The solutions have been there for years, and those affected never affected by mechanical problems since. 

Two of the swing bridges remain. Both have had expensive repairs, are still cantankerous, and loved by those historically minded folks that wouldn't be so anal about the bridges if they had to pay for the costs associated to keep them in service. How long this lasts is to be seen, but as time goes by, and those without any emotional ties to the bridges are gone, they'll be replaced, and the extra costs for keeping the old bridges absorbed by the taxpayers that probably don't know they even exist. 

My Wife's Work

 My wife is passionate about her quilts. That, and regardless of how impressive they are, she finds fault in every one she does. Still, I like to brag about them, so I'll brag about her current lap quilt she just finished. 

The picture below is after she sews the 2 inch squares together on the board she uses for the layout. This one had 625 squares. 

The finished product is below. After all the sewing of the backing and quilting, the edges were added to add to the final quilt.

The finished quilt measures 46 inches by 46 inches. While it is a lap quilt, this one was placed on the wall to be treasured.

My Suggestion for Sustainability

In the spirit of preserving our resources, I suggest all mailed advertisements, solicitations, catalogs, and anything best described as "junk mail" be printed on septic safe toilet paper. Considering what I throw away almost every day, it would help with my budget, and maybe give me some enjoyment when using a politicians effort to put a feather in their cap during my morning sabbatical. 

Not Where I Want to Be

NASA has a live feed at the International Space Station. Every now and then, something appears, and the UFO hunters become very vocal.

No matter what the objects are, or if they're evidence of alien life, I wouldn't want to be up there, in a high tech beer can, without an exit door and a return craft. Call me a sissy. I don't care.

Small Things Many Don't Know About

The lightning caused me to remember a strike on my home years ago. The dryer caught the brunt of the strike, and led to the discovery of a small device I didn't know about.

As I examined the damage, I found the cord was damaged; so was the breaker in the panel. After changing them, I still couldn't get the dryer to run. Before I threw in the towel, and gave up, I took my ohmmeter and traced the power circuit. That's when I found the device.

In the exhaust plenum, this tiny device was wired in line with the power for the machine. It had no continuity, so I removed it, and went to the appliance parts house the next day. When I showed it to the man at the counter, he knew what it was, went to the back, returned with the part and I bought it for about nine dollars.

Returning home, I replaced the part, put enough of the dryer back together to make it run, and was rewarded with it starting. After I completely reassembled the dryer, it worked perfectly and I eventually sold it years later for $50. It still worked fine, but I was given some new appliances by an in-law that was moving to a place where they didn't need the washer and dryer.

So, now you know about something mandated by regulations. It's real purpose? To interrupt the flow of electricity to the dryer, if the thermostat fails and the temperature rises to the point of burning your clothes.

You're welcome.

Tanking Media Outlets

CNN is not doing well in the ratings. I know why, although I doubt they do. They have a tendency to believe they're more important than they are.

Any way, a comment at the bottom of the article is a jewel and needs more exposure:

Listening to MSNBC to learn about politics is like listening to farts to learn about cooking.Comment by Richard — Thursday October 31, 2013 @ 4:27pm PDT

That's a keeper. 

This Is Awesome

Over the last month, over 8500 visitors perused my blog. That's awesome and I really don't know what to write but thanks.

 I know some were bots, but I'm thanking them too, so I can get them to come back. If I catch enough, I have some leaves to be raked and I'll withhold their electron pudding until they finish.

We Throw Away Too Much

My microwave has some paint blistering where the lazy susan rides around the bottom. Easy fix, right? Just a little paint?

I went to two hardware stores and a Lowe's. They looked at me like I asked for beryllium or  a photon torpedo. They never heard of a paint that would be suitable for the inside of a microwave, so I returned home and found there is by looking it up on the internet.

Now, some of you are thinking: "Microwaves are fairy inexpensive, so just go buy a new one." That's real good advice, if you think the trade off for less than ten dollars of paint and a sheet of sandpaper is worth the price of a new microwave; especially one that is so familiar, you can cook in the dark without hitting the wrong button.

We throw away too much. I like things that become functional again with a little paint, some duct tape or a bent coat hanger. They keep my brain sharp and my wallet thicker.

A Roving Capitol

Wouldn't that be nice? No single city that can turn into a morass of corrupt asses? No base for lobbyist? No single city that can abuse the money from the taxpayers? No single location to enjoy the fruits of government money?

I think it's a good idea. Keep them sonsabitches moving; no set place; less ability to choose winners and losers; a demand that every city get a chance to host the legislators; or not,  and a reduction in the amount of money used to house, provide offices and staff the crooked bastards we call Congressional representative.

Even better: House them in tent cities. Make them crap in port-a-can. Have them eat M.R.E.'s and shoot the first bastard that tries to bring in something special, since they have personal wealth. Make them understand that some poor bastard worked sixteen hour days, is barely making ends meet and really doesn't give a rat's ass about diversity and global warming.