This Phat Crib Ep 2: Sump Pumps

Ok..I learned a bit. Sump pumps come in a few flavors. Those with switches that are wired straight to the pump, and those with external replaceable switches that have their own cord with piggy back switch. You plug the pump into the back of the switch sort of like Christmas lights.

Switches also come in two flavors, float and diaphragm. Floats work sort of like toilet floats, when they get to a certain height (or degree of tilt) they start the pump. Diaphragm switches don't have to move, and can start the pump in far less water. These are the variety most likely to have piggy back cables and be replaceable. They basically have a rubber diaphragm inside, and when the water pressure on the diaphragm gets high enough (aka the water deep enough) click and the pump comes on. This is the type of switch that was on my dear departed sump pump. Actually the pump still works the switch doesn't. I suspected such things were replaceable but my local home improvement warehouse had no such things and the guy in the department didn't know they existed. So I replaced my sump pump with one he assured me would work. See the previous entries to figure out how that worked.

After last night and no sleep I opted to call around to a specialty plumbing supply place, that has signs all over the door that says they don't sell to the public. Well in 30 seconds the guy tells me the rubber clicky thing is a diaphragm switch, a replacement switch is $40, and new pump with switch is $100. Yippee, yeah that was three times the cost of the one from Lowe's but hey.. it seems like good deal if it will actually work in my tiny sump well. The guy proceeds to spit out minimum depths and dimensions for this pump to work. They are all smaller than my well! I ask how late they are open. 5pm, dang rarely back in town by then, carpool negotiation time.. Well Tony and I take off at noon, and head back to Ames, get the new pump, from the somewhat discouraging looking store that we have to enter from the rear with signs all over that say no cash sales, no sales to the public. I walk in, say that I talked to someone about a sump pump this morning. The guy hops off his stool and runs and fetches me one!

Installation was relatively painless. unscrew the hose from the last one, screw it into the new one. Put it in the well, hook to output line. Oh wait.. it isn't pumping. Brief panic. That's when I discovered the water has to be over the top of the pump not just the top of the sensor to start. Actually it has to be just slightly higher than the 7-7/8" the instructions claim. Maybe 10" but hey.... still way less than my pump well holds. Joy bliss. Stay tuned for more sump pump adventures. As it is raining all week here.

The sump pump saga continues. I found somewhere I can get a sump pump with a diaphram switch. And had I known this all along I could have replaced just the switch on my old one. (which now has a broken PVC connector making things difficult) Consoldiated Supply, in Ames has the handy pump I want in stock, they are open til 5. I think I will be going there after work today. It may seem silly to do such a thing but I really can't imagine going on this way..not knowing when/if the sump pump is working and not sleeping because I can hear it grinding, not thinking about work because I wonder if the basement is flooding since it is raining today. The cost of another pump is worth it. No dobut.

This Phat Crib

Last night Tony (check out his website) and I worked on more flood recovery. Tony is a swell guy he took his whole evening, litterally from the time we got off work til 10 pm to help me out with my basement. First we grabbed some dinner, then we went and moved the last of the shelving units so the carpet under them could dry. Then we knocked out the moldy mildewed nasty floppy blackend sheetrock that lived under the stairs, measured it, and went off to get a replacement. The Lowes didn't have the nut I needed to fix my shopvac (the nut that holds the filter in place) so we had to go all the way to the other side of town to Sears. Now we head back to the house. While I run around looking for tools Tony sucks up all the crap stuck to the gypsum board and starts breaking it up for removal. I haul it out, he pulls nails. He also vacuumed all the crap off the back side of the stairs. What a guy.

Then comes the funny part. We are trying to get this really floppy 8' long 3'wide piece of masonite under the stairs and whatnot but it quickly becomes obvious that the last one was installed prior to the closet's outside wall. We eventually give up, and drag the thing back out of the basement into the garage where I demonstrate my found tools and circular saw skills. I rock with a circular saw for those who were wondering. I used two metal closet rods to hold the masonite off the floor....and zipped the thing in half. Back down we go.. We are trying to fit the top one when it becomes apparent we need a notch to go around a board. Tony was getting ready to pull it out, I was getting tired and goofy, so I just popped it into place, breaking out a random chunk of masonite. A few screws and that is in place. Now for the lower board...Similar problem but this time we nibble the notch out with a pair of pliers rather than just breaking it out. Half a dozen more screws and we are done! Well except for more vacuuming. Lots of giggling and me pointing out that I had to go into IT because I do my best work on my back, but I am not cute enough for other careers where you work on your back. I said this whilst laying on my back with my head under the low end of the stairs screwing the masonite to the stairs. It was good for a giggle. I also decided Tony needs a home improvement show, like This Old House...but hipper.

I was sitting here starting what will be the next blog, when my status as knower of all that is useless came into play again. In walks one of my co-workers. "Laura Help me, I am thinking of a soda, sort of brown in color, not a cola, not rootbeer, sort of old timey I can't think of what it is I can taste it...sort of vanilla like. Used to come in bottles and cans." I take a stab at a few things draw out some more detail and come up with Cream Soda. He has now been back twice in the short time it has taken me to type this to thank me for thinking of it. Oof. I fix broken things.

sump pumps, standing water, good luck

well it was a lovely weekend. Toad came back down. Friday night was good we got some laundry done, and went to bed early. Saturday up at 7:30ish, more laundry, some shopping, we got back at like 2pm. Toad went down to check on the launrdry and ooh look standing water in the basment. I go and check out the sump pump... and what do you know it isn't running. I get it running.. and the water level starts dropping. Meanwhile moving all the stuff from the wet parts of the basement, to the dry parts of the basement, and getting the shop vac in to suck water out of the carpet. Ooh isn't it fun. 10 hrs later I have reengineered the sump pump switch, set up 3 fans and an extra dehumidifier, the water level is down, I am cold wet and need to sleep. Sunday was calmer.. just lots of fan movement and checking on the carpet. UGH.

Stay tuned for more exciting events in the wild and wacky world of home ownership!

I haven't really felt particularly funny, profound, or even interesting lately. Hence the lack of input here. The most interesting thing I have discovered lately is that the water from the cooler here gives me heartburn but tap water doesn't. Not exactly profound. I did go see Scorpion King last night. It was fluff, limited plot, lots of action, and required little thought. The gore factor was very low as well, in places where they could have gone all bloody they didn't. That was nice. Actually all in all it was about the perfect movie for me last night. I just wanted random escapism.

Mail Test

This is a test of the post by email capablities if this works it could make
posting from work a whole lot easier! I guess I should try including a link
to somewhere Salon.com

And some page/text formatting.

Yet another neat feature of blogger pro. Now if only it worked with Opera.

I have been thinking about the dot bombs and the AOL/Time/Warner writedown of $54 billion. At one end you have to think what a corrupt bunch of losers. But then think back to 1999 technology is soaring, Tech stocks are going insane, internet is huge business but nobody knows what it is good for. Companies all over the place are making money like crazy, little ones, big ones all the same. Since the whole economy is going gangbusters, they feel their success is due to good business strategy, and in part it might be.. but many were just riding the wave. That wave hit the shore... and lots of people got smacked down. Even good people doing the right things got smacked. But lots of mediocre business plans that made money because they were on the wave. I will be interested in 2 years to see how this all turns out.

Salon had an interesting article on drug testing in high schools. I had to take a drug test while in high school but not for school, instead it was for a $4.35/hr job. I had to go into the ladies room with my manager while she listened to me pee in a cup. Then together we sealed that cup in a box, after checking the urine temperature, and sent it off for testing. Humiliating yes. Did I complain no. Should I have? Probably. I haven't had to take drug tests to work anywhere else, in all those years since. Also.. what is the point of only testing an employee once? How did they know I didn't go out and start doing drugs any time in the next 3 years I worked there?

Drug testing in high schools I disagree with mightily though, especially public high schools. I could have chosen not to take the job, actually when I turned the application in, they told me my hiring would be subject to a drug test. I could have elected not to work there. High school students can't elect not to go to high school. Nor can they really elect not to participate in extra curricular activities if they want to get into college. Colleges want to see things like band, yearbook, German club, newspaper, and the like. If you don't have them you look bad compared to your age group cohorts who have them. Only testing kids who participate in extra curricular activities, is wrong. Test everyone or no-one, do it via student ID number lottery if you are going to do it. Oh wait you can't, that would violate the 4th amendment you know that tidbit about unreasonable search. In case you don't know what it says here you go

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

So wholly random testing is out. Not to mention, drug tests only look for specific drugs. So pot smoking kids get busted while those drinking don't, provided they aren't drinking during the school day on the day they are tested.

I don't agree with drug use. I have reasons, e-mail me if you really want to know. But even less than that I disagree with conditioning kids to think they have no rights. You can't dodge high school, you can't really not participate in activities if you want to get into college, so there are kids being trapped into testing that violates their rights. If you were to test me right now, or any other day I would be squeaky clean. If my employer started random testing I would resign. Simply because I disagree with the idea of random testing.

I am so ready for demicon. Just two weeks. I hope to hear from the place I had a phone interview with last week, this week some time. I also sent in an application for a job with St. Paul. Gov't work.. what could be better? maybe I should go into web porn. I need a good idea for a porn site.. then I can work on implementing it in my spare time.

You would think I did something radical the way my co-workers are reacting. This morning while getting dressed I ran across my gold ball earings. They were my grandmothers. They are over 90 years old. Anyhow.. I saw them and thought.. hey those don't go there.. but I don't have time to put them away.. .so I put them in. They are hardly that interesting 5mm gold balls screw back... nothing of note really.. well my co-workers are all like freaked. Geez it isn't like I don't ever wear earrings. Usually they are silver or black..but sure I do it. Anyhow.. just seems weird. Guess I scared them.

Not much going on here. I have been thinking about the difference between friends and acquaintances but I haven't gotten anything real concrete worked out in my head. I do know I think the word friend is used too loosely to apply to people who are known to you, but aren't otherwise easily classified as co-worker, or family, or whatnot. I know lots of people I am not friends with, and they aren't really friends of friends. They are just acquaintances. When does somebody cross the line, how do you know when someone is a friend vs acquaintance? I know who I consider friends.... I don't know exactly when they made the switch or how. I think it has to do with how much they know about me, and how they react to it.

Juggling and me

I suppose most anybody who has spent considerable time around me knows that I can juggle, well at least a little. I have a solid 3 ball cascade, and I can do a few 3 ball tricks. I have been working on 4 balls for going on 2 years now. Not consistently mind you..but none the less 2 years. Why would any one put that much effort into something so pointless as juggling you ask? Well I like it.. it is fun. It is distracting, you can do it in your cubicle for a few minutes and it really loosens up stiff typing wrists. But mostly I do it because I can. I spent a LOT of hours learning to juggle even just a little bit. 2 months 3 hours a day or so I spent getting a 3 ball cascade. Now if you juggle at all you think I am insane. NO..just clumsy. Terribly so. Uncoordinated to the point of spilling food on my shirt at every meal. I came home from college for Thanksgiving as a freshman and the thing I was most eager to show of... my sad pathetic juggling skills. I have gotten a lot better since then. But it takes work for me.

I can teach ANYONE to juggle if they want to learn, at least a 3 ball cascade. I had nearly every beginning juggler issue at some point. The sideways shuffle, the constantly walking forward cause I couldn't throw straight up, the inability to start with my left hand, getting stuck at three throws and catches. I found solutions for all of them. My brother learned to juggle from me in about 2 hours. Yep me 2 months, him 2 hours and by 3 hours he was a LOT smoother than me. I suspect I am better now..but I also suspect he hasn't juggled anything in years... and I juggle almost everything I can get my paws on. Dog toys, frozen dinners, weighted tennis balls, normal tennis balls, juggling bags. I would like to learn to juggle clubs. I have a set... I hit myself in the nose a lot right now... so it is sort of negative reinforcement about even trying. I promised my brother I would juggle fire for his son's 5th birthday, Zack is coming up on his first birthday. I had better get clubs down pretty quick here if I want to be safe with fire in 4 years. Or I need to borrow a friend of mine's fireballs.

I get almost as much fun out of teaching people to juggle as I do out of juggling, maybe more so because it is such an inherently giggly activity. People say oh no.. I could never do that. I am far too uncoordinated. Trust me if you can tie your shoes and eat without spilling (heck just tying your shoes since I can't do the latter) you can learn to juggle. I have taught about half of my co-workers to juggle. Just cause they come by and watch me in my cube and look like they want to learn. Or I notice they are stressed and need a break. Nothing sooths the frustrated co-worker like giggling as they learn to juggle, or fail to learn as the case may be. Nobody who has wanted to has failed to learn, and a few people who didn't want to have learned as well. Somebody around here started calling me the Apostle of Juggling. That might be going a bit too far. But hey it is a cool title.

Once I juggled with a klingon. It was late Friday night at Demicon two or three years ago, I was doing security by the elevators (making sure nobody took food from the second floor onto the first, and nobody who wasn't with the convention got off on the second floor) not exactly the most exciting job. I had 3 lacrosse balls with me (they rule for juggling they are heavy and sticky and bounce) and was working on a new trick I don't remember which one. And this guy in all his klingon gear comes up and steals the balls right out of my pattern and tries to teach me to steal them back. It was fun, hilarious, and got a lot of interesting comments. A couple people came by and tried to teach me new tricks too. I talked to all sorts of people I had never met before, it made the tedious job of watching the elevators a great deal more fun.

So if you want to learn to juggle but you feel you are too hopeless let me know. I am sure we can get through it. I bet you can juggle 3 balls before I get the same pattern going with 3 clubs, and I have already been working on that for a while.

I just learned that I have a reputation for being able to solve really hard problems here at work. Gee...since that's my job wouldn't you think that would be likely. Anyhow.. apparently most people can't figure out what DLLs come from which programs. So when they get a big nasty error box with lots of scary numbers and memory addresses you bring it to me. I did this trick 3-4 times for one of our developers. Somebody else runs into a problem, asks him about it and he brings an audience I swear 3 of them come in to grab a piece of paper off the printer and hand it to me, so I can figure out what is causing the big nasty error.

Allow me to share my secret with you. I find the name of the DLL or OCX or whatever threw the error and if I don't recognize it immedately I search on it on google. Usually after the first 2-3 entries of people who have archived every DLL on earth, you get an entry or three which tell you what program the DLL is from, and you can figure it out without even clicking the link.. just reading the summary. Add a bit of drama here (do a DOS search for the DLL on your box here or soemthing if you must preserve your mystery factor). Then turn around and say... Its Real Player, (or whatever the offending program is). They all go OOOOH and turn and walk away singing you praises. If you are feeling really kind, and the person is usually pretty sharp you can find an entry that might relate and IM the link to their desks. In this case I am fairly sure it was a buffer overrun in a RealPlayer DLL. Yea me. I have reasarch skills.

I just learned something interesting about restoring files with NT Backup. If you don't have enough space on your system partition you can't catalog the tapes, and therefore can't restore. Oops.

Monday some co-workers and I went out to lunch. I was standing by the cash register when the clerk said "Would you like a drink with that, Sir?" I replied Yes, a meduim, and whatever she is having" gesturing at the next woman in line, a co-worker I owed lunch. My co-worker calls me by my name, then I hand the clerk my credit card. After we have paid and as we are walking away the clerk says "Have a nice day, Ladies."

It was all I could do to keep from laughing right at the clerk. When I got to the pop machine I just burst out lauging...my co-workers didn't think it was as funny as I did. I mean gee the 2 minute sex change. Actually they were shocked and appaled that the mistake had been made at all. Now I know that by cutting my hair really short I take the risk of being mistaken for a guy. Heck it happens a lot. But really... once you have made the mistake...just let it go.. "Have a nice day." or "Have a nice lunch." Would have worked.

Why is it when I have time to write I have nothing to say. But when I have things to say I have no time to write?

I got a blob!

You too can adopt a useless blob. Just click on mine.

The dog just did something dumb. While I was in the basement working on my sump pump, I took the destructive dog with me, and left the grumpy old dog upstairs. Well grumpy got into the dog food supply, mind you he had already been fed. So now he isn't dog shaped he is more like an eggplant on legs. And belching like a mad thing. I think he must have eaten several cups of food. I doubt he will ever realize that his greed made him miserable, but most of us never notice what the universe is trying to teach us. In the mean time I can laugh at his bloated little self.

Servers, doorbells and sump pumps!

Today is a day of accomplishments. I got a lot done.
I finished the sump pump installation, this has been dragging on for over a week with a new part every day or so being purchased. It now is totally done.
I installed a new doorbell however it isn't lighting up for some reason, but when you push the button it makes noise, making it a better situation than the last one which lit up but made no noise.
I also got the test server at work working. We have a big SQL Server pilot going and they changed the specs mid stream, first they said no domain, then they said yes domain is necessary, so I had to set up a new domain to test in. Well I pooched the changeover, don't reinstall NT over NT while changing from member server to PDC. Things get dinked. Anyhow, today we got the little domain working. And data is flying back and forth between the new test PDC and its member IIS server. The developer seemed like a happy fellow when I last saw him.

Oh and I fixed the firewall, (I broke it too but that's a different story). I also didn't kill anybody at work, even people who try and tell me things like...you know if you shake the toner cartridge it makes the toner low light go away. (it isn't really the shaking so much as the taking it out and putting it in, thereby making the sensor try and decide how heavy the cartridge is again) Shaking will fix streaks on a really low cartridge though.

Anyhow it was a pretty darned good day. Oh yeah and my personal mystical computers behave when I am near powers, fixed PWS on my friend's laptop. Yea for magic powers.

Does your office have those people who come in and chit chat for no reason? The ones that NEVER leave, even when you have work to do? Even when you have tried to indicate that it is time to move on. They don't get the clue...you say "Well I had best get back to work." they say . We have a solution worked out for that here now (a few of us do anyhow) if one of the two big irritants seems to have waylaid someone, you go back to the cube and ring the phone in the cube that has been infected by the productivity leech. Then you keep the cubicle owner (rescuee) on the phone until the leech leaves. It works pretty well, but of course you must have an ally in the office to rescue you.

Ever notice that living alone gives you lots of extra time? Since Toad went to MN on monday, and I have been trying to get used to living alone at least 5 days a week I have been noticing I have a lot of free time. LOTS. The sink has been fixed the one that dripped in the bathroom. The sump pump replaced, the stove cleaned, the oven cleaned, all the surfaces in the kitchen wiped down, the wood with orange glo even. I have been a busy little camper. No TV watching. Tonight the doorbell gets replaced and I am going to work on boxing the contents of one of the bookshelves. The plan is to empty it and get it out of the house for good. Anybody want 6' bookshelf? It is nothing special (the discount store put it together your self kind) in good condition only about 2 years old. Once I get that one out and moved the one from the entryway is moving into the office. (making the entry seem larger) my life appears to have become a list of chores. that and studying. Could be worse I guess.

Why is it on donut day, that when I decide there are never any good donuts so I will bring my own, that is the day the cheese danishes show up at the office in the company provided pile? WHY? It is so unfair!