Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[SoulReflection]

Of all the upkeep done at Fort Winslow, plumbing projects are the ones I despise most. I'll happily leap headlong into electrical work, carpentry, even something as mundane as caulking, but deliver me from plumbing duties.

As I age, I tend to leave more and more repairs to the pros. Case in point, last month one of our toilets needed a new float assembly. Simple...

Amazon, next day, $10. Installed that...oops, leaks . Decided to bite the bullet and replace everything. $16 for...

Complete Toilet Set Valve 1/2 in. NOM Inlet x 3/8 in. OD Compression Outlet Angle Shut Off + Escutcheon Plate + 12" Long Stainless Steel Braided Brass Nut Water Supply Line

Two days later, went to install. Couldn't get some of the the old parts off .

Placed a call to my favorite plumber, waited two days, no call back .

Now I am really pi$$ed.

Amazon order for plumbers wrenches and larger crescent...3 days and anther $26. Oops, now can't get the old wall fitting and brass compression sleeve off . Took a day off to regain some sanity.

Attacked YT for plumbing tips, ordered an extraction tool from Home Depot, curb side pickup. They took their time notifying me it was ready. Another day, another $12 .

Victory!!! After almost 10 days, $64 and considerable ageing, no leaks. I now have plumbing tools and skills that I will never use again. Wife said she will make sure of it (that's gratitude). The only satisfaction I have is saving the plumber's bill.

Oh, in case you may be wondering, we do have a second, functioning bathroom.

 

[GwenOnBass]

If someone is happy doing something I have no inclination to undertake, then that's a good arrangement.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Always banging my head on something!

Metallica fan?

 

[alaskaleftybass]

OMG, he was brilliant.

He was absolutely brilliant. One of my favorite movies of all time is "Being There." The story goes that Sellers read the script and immediately loved it. It took years to assemble the cast, crew, and funding. It was his baby, his master class in acting. He treasured the story and movie.

In this scene, he is a slow minded gardener that worked for a wealthy family and when the last family member dies he is turned out and must go into the real world to seek employment. In his quest he has risen in popularity and somehow invited to the White House to talk to the president and presumably one of the Rockefellers about the sagging economy and what can be done about it. In response he described his job to them. His literal job that they immediately turned into a metaphor of the country's growth seasons. I encourage everyone to watch this movie.

 

[Jeff Scott]

 

[GonePlaid]

I'm having trouble keeping up with you guys on the posts. I step away for 10-12 hrs and stuff just goes to heck.

Went to Lowes yesterday morning to get stuff to redo the landscape lighting. The place was a nuthouse. I kept thinking why are all these people here instead of at work? Oh, Good Friday. Anyways, reinstalled the landscape lighting with new wiring and a new transformer. Found one with a photo eye so don't have to worry about a timer.

Rode the scooter for a couple of hours this morning after the coffee shop. Pretty nice, cloudy, mid-50s. Probably clean up the Corvette this afternoon and put out a couple of bags of mulch.

You done gooder than me. I forgot it was Friday-Good or otherwise.

 

[Winslow]

The thing that is crappy about plumbing work is the under-the-sink (or anything) stuff. Always banging my head on something!

Yep. Head, hands, elbows. Last time I put a faucet in, the wrench slipped out of my hand, and dropped right onto my eyebrow, leaving me with a remarkable resemblance to this thing: And of course, I reflexively sat upward, and smacked my head on the underside of the sink as well.

Amen to that. Hated that. Hire it done now.

As I age, I tend to leave more and more repairs to the pros.

Yeah, there's a point at which I just pick up the phone for plumbing stuff. Small stuff like swapping out faucets, toilet tank floats, filters, fine, I'll do that (and grumble quietly to myself, as one does). If something is involved enough that it requires cutting pipes and/or soldering in new joints, valves, etc., I call a reliable guy we know.

 

[gtmalone]

Beats working...

Absolutely! Two ways to look at a crowd in a store on a holiday - I'm grumpy and they are pissing me off -or- the poor saps have to work and jam everything in on a day off. Mostly the first one. lol.

We still like to look at the traffic report at 5, then say "That's a shame". The best traffic report I ever heard was on the radio one morning on the way to work: I-635 from Central Express way to the tollway - JAMMED! Central Expressway from Spring Creek to I-635 - JAMMED! I-35 from I-635 to Mockingbird - JAMMED!

 

[GonePlaid]

 

[gtmalone]

Of all the upkeep done at Fort Winslow, plumbing projects are the ones I despise most. I'll happily leap headlong into electrical work, carpentry, even something as mundane as caulking, but deliver me from plumbing duties.

Ditto. There is nothing particularly hard about plumbing work but I hate it. How in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks did so many fitting types and size measurements come about? Sure hope that compression fitting doesn't leak or blow apart... Geez.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yep. Head, hands, elbows. Last time I put a faucet in, the wrench slipped out of my hand, and dropped right onto my eyebrow, leaving me with a remarkable resemblance to this thing: And of course, I reflexively sat upward, and smacked my head on the underside of the sink as well.

I think I saw the video on "Ridiculousness".

 

[Winslow]

There is nothing particularly hard about plumbing work but I hate it.

Yeah, I can't quite figure it, but I've thought the same for ages.

I think I saw the video on "Ridiculousness".

Haha! We weren't recording video (given that we predate the era in which people record themselves doing ordinary things as if they are somehow special), but it certainly would have qualified for that.

 

[GonePlaid]

Ditto. There is nothing particularly hard about plumbing work but I hate it. How in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks did so many fitting types and size measurements come about? Sure hope that compression fitting doesn't leak or blow apart... Geez.

I know what I can do and what I shouldn't. Plumbing and electrical are 2 things that cost me less to have a pro do than to have that pro fix what I screwed up.

 

[gtmalone]

We got new neighbors yesterday across the alley. Seem like nice folks, probably around 50 in age, grown kids, downsized from a two story house in Sachse.

Real estate is nuts these days. The ex-owners listed at 325K. House is 3-2, about 2100 ft with a pool. The ex-owners said they got above list but I don't know how much. This house has turned over four times since we've been here. The owner there when we arrived and three of the past owners spent a pretty good chunk of money on remodels.

 

[gtmalone]

Our HP printer died today. Error says there is a problem with the printer (ya think?) or with the ink supply. Put new color cartridges in and same problem. Did all the recommeded troubleshooting steps. No go. I have 75 bucks worth of new cartridges that are useless unless a new printer can use them. Can't complain too much. It's seven yrs old and I think this is the first problem we had. I got a chuckle from one of HP's solutions - Have the printer serviced or replace it. lol.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Nursed a sick dog Friday night as he cuddled as close as a 50+ pound dog is able. Slept late, late, late (for me) I mean who really cares what time I'm awake but me (but I do). Eated a late breakfast that was very good, and a Thai green curry and chicken for the lunch. By which one might presume Odin is recovered and he is. It is he who eated something he shouldn't have. That he yakked up and that's why there is a new bottle of Remy VSOP for many well-earned nightcaps.

Dog plumbing.

 

[12BitSlab]

Yep. Head, hands, elbows. Last time I put a faucet in, the wrench slipped out of my hand, and dropped right onto my eyebrow, leaving me with a remarkable resemblance to this thing: And of course, I reflexively sat upward, and smacked my head on the underside of the sink as well.



Yeah, there's a point at which I just pick up the phone for plumbing stuff. Small stuff like swapping out faucets, toilet tank floats, filters, fine, I'll do that (and grumble quietly to myself, as one does). If something is involved enough that it requires cutting pipes and/or soldering in new joints, valves, etc., I call a reliable guy we know.

How many programmers does it take to change a lightbulb?

None. That's hardware!

When something needs fixing, I tell my wife to call someone. There is little need for me to foul up something that I don't know how to do anyway.

 

[SoulReflection]

a Thai green curry and chicken for the lunch

I didn't understand your timeline there but I hope that wasn't what he consumed. His symptoms appear to be what I would suffer if I ate that!

 

[GwenOnBass]

I didn't understand your timeline there but I hope that wasn't what he consumed. His symptoms appear to be what I would suffer if I ate that!

Discovered the offending inedible only after I had the Thai green curry. He was clearly on the mend by then. Uncertain when he yakked that up.

 

[GwenOnBass]

There is such a thing as spiced too hot for me to enjoy. On the whole, I find it best not to serve hot to guests who I know can't take it. There is a most memorable dinner I threw ... a very slow train coming Thai pork and mango. I say slow train coming because all the guest are pre-warned it is hot. There is beer, there is rice, everything needed in case of emergency.

It's not until well into the meal that the actual heat registers. Before that, everyone is all [conversation stops], [yummy noises], and then the realization that the freight has arrived

 

[beans-on-toast]

I grouted some tiles above the tub yesterday. Now I have to wait for a week it to fully cure.

Went to Wal-Mart, there was a line to get in. Usually I get there earlier and there isn't a line with covid door police. The store was low on a lot of products, flashback to last fall when some shelves were empty. I like their Great Value brand basmati rice.

Went for lunch at Wendy's. An idiot in one of those large pickups open their door and whacks my vehicle door. Get out to look for damage and the woman runs back apologizing. She says, I didn't see that you were in the car. Like it's ok to damage someone's property if they don't get caught. Thankfully, no damage.

Was standing at a light waiting to cross at street corner downtown. Someone stops their car while turning and honks, a woman on the passenger side rolls down their window and starts chewing me out for standing on the road and not up on the curb. She was met with a blank stare. Then her husband who was driving felt he needed to repeat what she said. Like it was too much trouble to turn the corner a bit wider. Somehow I don't think that these people ever drive in the city. Now I don't swear but in this case I used some american sign language, I hope that they understood my gesture.