Comments Off on getting there

By Dave, December 31, 2004 11:25 pm

Slowly. Got 5 piers put in today. 2 of them are done. the others have to be added to. the two that are done are the ones closest to the tongue. or where the tongue was. got it unbolted and taken out. twas a bit of a bother but so far almost everything about this job has been a problem to a greater or lesser extent.

Most of the day was spent lying under the thing digging or jacking. arms are over tired. may not get it done tomorrow. figure i have 8 to 14 inches to go in the back. No real reference to go by. I did a quick and dirty figure it from the 2 foot level and got over 24 inches which i think is way off but haven't done it again after getting the front leveled so just don't know. 8 to 12 feels like its in the ball park but again no reference to go by. guess i will get it when the bubble is in the center…

not much else going on. keeping on keeping on with the trailer project. will be moving faster with it after the leveling is done. the power entry is on the north side toward the east end. I may just cut and shorten the power going to the camper for now and leave the heat pump cut off. that would give us lights and outlets as needed till I can run a real power line that way.

tis the new year now. Just got a new front page up at <a href="http://www.jville.net">jville.net</a>. added a happy new year and took the christmas is coming soon down. real on top of it lately. had the trailer and end of year on my mind and not getting things done as i should.

Several problems on the back burner(s) are going to get done in the next week or two. Need to get a load of books from the sa. And get the ones in the 8×8 moved so we can get to other things in there. Got to get the title stuff done on the van again with the replacement title this time. and take a vacation. soon. and get the stuff at edwinas moved. and the bushes dug up and moved. and. and. and. but gonna take some time as the problems allow and go away for a week or so.

Need to call around and see what the trees are going to cost to remove. got to do or get that done soon.

XCode is interesting. Playing with the <a href="http://camelbones.sourceforge.net/index.php">Camel Bones</a> tutorials now. Had no idea programing had come that far. Of course the Hello world folder is 3.4 meg. but the gui overhead is about the same for a large or small program so i guess it evens out. and that does include the build libraries and all the support files too.

Comments Off on gonna start with the jacking up in a few

By Dave, December 31, 2004 12:16 pm

been out getting milk and catfood. Then got back and had to start a crockpot full for supper. Got a pork roast the other day at thompsons meat processing and put it in after washing it off. then cut up half a head of cabbage, 3 large carrots, 4 leaves (?) of celery, 2 onions, salt, pepper, basal, sage, poultry seasoning, and enough water to come within a inch of the top of the crock. Will stir and settle the veggies as the day goes on. may add some potatoes later after it cooks down a bit. nuke them a few before adding and they should catch up just fine.

Went out and looked at the trailer and counted block and have enough for a basic leveling. more/better will wait till later. with the mushiness of the ground I will have to relevel in the summer anyway to get it about right. guess now is as good a time as any to get it done…

Comments Off on But is today!

By Dave, December 30, 2004 8:35 pm

Took the axles out first. Was simply a by the numbers operation. Bolts out, axles on the ground, hook strap to end of axle and other end to tractor and drag out till it hits the frame then dig and move and shift till it comes out. pant and blow a while and do it again. Eat lunch after the second one is almost out. Back out afterwards and dig a while then pull the second one out. same on the third. Jacked the trailer up a bit more and got the sideboards that came on Bertha. Got the grinder and some grease. Ground all the welds and bumps and such that could possibly impede the forward motion of the trailer. After i finished that got the grease gun and coated the top of both pieces. slid them in on top of the log and under the trailer frame. Lowered the trailer onto them so it was resting on those 2 points in the back and the tongue on a sheet of plywood in the front. Hooked the chain up to the frame and to the dozer. Started forward and the trailer moved like it had wheels. Pulled it the entire 7 feet in just a few seconds.

Alignment wasn't what I had thought so I moved the dozer to the hitch end and pushed it over a bit and then a bit more and then some more. got it close there and was over a couple of feet too much at the back now. the other way of course. so to the south side and hooked the chain to the frame close to the wheels and pulled it over a bit. looking good so moved to the front and got up on the bank with the dozer and hooked the chain to the hitch and pulled it forward a couple of inches and then it stuck. got the shovel and bill and I dug and flattened the ground uphill of where it needed to slide. got back on the dozer and after a few jarring lunge and snatch it a inch or so at a time got it moved the required 3 feet. That gives us an entry between the qhut and the trailer.

the alignment is close. not exact by a long shot but close enough for my kind of building.

Comments Off on nor is it in place today

By Dave, December 30, 2004 12:00 am

or not in place on wednesday. just noted that the time was midnight exactly and don't know what date this entry was made on.

Tried another transport dolly on the north side but wouldn't do more than bend the log. trailer is heavy! so have moved both dollies out of the way and am taking the rest of the bolts out of the axles and springs to get them out of the way.

have got blocks under the west or greenhouse end and it is up off the log at the present time. depending on settling of the clay base.

have had 2x6s break under the jack twice today as they sunk into the clay.

got a piece of a elm that was out of a tree 2 feet in diameter and about 6 inches thick. thought it was solid but apparently it was not. jacked the trailer up and bill is trying to get another board between the frame and the top board and I am jacking up when the slab splintered. didn't fall just split into several pieces and shifted down some.

got to find some oak and split a slab about 6 inches thick to use as a jack platform in this muck.

gonna try the sideboards off bertha. they are 4 inch channel steel. hard stuff from what i cut the other day for the dozer repair. planing on laying them on top of the log and lowering the trailer onto them and using them as a track to slid on. got about 6 and a half feet to go north with the west end. the east end needs to move about 2 feet south and the entire thing needs to go about 2 to 3 feet east to allow for a door along side the south end of the quonset hut between it and the trailer.

figure a mud hall for entry to both buildings and from north and south too. gonna have to rethink that. the airflow to the trailer has got to be maximized. I want to try to tap into the air return on the furnace and see if it will allow us to pull air from the greenhouse into the trailer and out the vents. Will have to look further. may have to add a duct the length of the trailer underneath as I don't think this trailer has return in the floor. walls have vent in them in the front room.

hope to get it moved tomorrow. if not, will go to plan f or is it g by now… I just love interesting projects. and this one has turned into an interesting sequence of projects. but that is just life as I know it. one project after another with spasms of total panic intermixed with urgent needed yesterday won't take a minute breaks from routine. or it could just be gas…

tis late and so am i…

Comments Off on trailer still not in place

By Dave, December 28, 2004 8:56 pm

got the wheels off. now taking the axles loose. got all but one bolt on the south side loose. will get it in the am and then move to the other side and take them lose there too. suspect I will have to take the hubs off to get them out from under there. tis a bit close to the ground now. gonna have to take the tongue off too as that end is way higher than the one by the greenhouse.

Comments Off on stove is in

By Dave, December 27, 2004 9:30 pm

ashley heater is in finely. went smoothly.

installed the metal using rock screws and boards behind to screw into. kinda sandwiched the frame between boards and tin. got, cut and bent a piece for the front of the flue to set in and attach to. a few more rock screws, beer bottle caps and boards and it all became as one, stable and aligned.

then to the outside where i cut the hole, caulked around it and set the flange for the triplewall flue to fit through. used a hatchet to cut a board to length to use under the fiberglass to screw the flange to. got enough screws in to hold it all together and caulked again around the perimeter and over all the screw heads and remaining holes left from the last mounting.

took the remaining 2 sections of flue apart and took the lower one up to fit into place. fit perfect! attached flange and flue with a couple of rock screws and then caulked around the flange flue junction. got the top section up and in place. again fit fine and twisted into place with no problems at all.

checked everything again and then down and started a fire. still going a couple of hundred pounds of wood later.

cooked meat loaf patties and warmed rice and beans and sweet potato surprise dave style in about the same time that the microwave would have taken to warm the two sides.

should cut down on the electric bill quite a bit now. Only got the heater in the front room and the woodburner on and it is 73 in here. First time in days I have been warm!

Thinking on the extension while out warming various body parts. am considering a pole and cement and bottle/can fill on the walls for first floor anyway. may use more wood upstairs but none on the ground or close enough for the termites to get to it. anyway am thinking on 2 full floors and view in 4 directions. with high poles in the center both north south and east west and shorter poles on the corners of a rectangle that is 12 feet north south and 28 to 30 feet east and west the center roof lines will give 4 dormers and 4 points to collect rain and disperse it. Windows on all 4 sides. Can make quilted curtains to go over them. The more I think about this the more it makes sense. Keep the first floor for mud room, bath, heat, whatever. Second floor can be bedroom and lounge area. bed alcove on east or west side. not sure yet. think a 8 foot wide porch along the south side would be in line too. on the second floor. tin roof over top and wood, lawnmower, tool storage underneath.

so tomorrow I figure on starting removal of the wheels and axles. then moving the trailer the rest of the way into place and blocking it up. then power and some sort of water shed on the sides. will check on some right angle tin. gutters are another possibility. got some bill brought over. 50 ft i think. will get some more. guess i will check with herrington and see if he has anything. gonna need more wood too.

added more wood to the stove. still 72 in here at 10:51 pm. according to <a href="http://myweb.cableone.net/mikecalloway/">Mike Calloway's Live Weather</a> it's 28.6 outside. much better now than with the kerosene and oilfilled electric combined. took the kerosene over to the 14 wide this afternoon after the ashley was going. will start on that one soon too.

looking at bookmarks and found the <a href="http://www.broadbandreports.com/stest">http://www.broadbandreports.com/stest</a> and ran it again.

First test:

2004-12-28 00:03:19 EST: 2354 / 272
Your download speed : 2411024 bps, or 2354 kbps.
A 294.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 279518 bps, or 272 kbps<span style="font-size: 13pt;">.</span>

Second test:

2004-12-28 00:09:07 EST: 548 / 259
Your download speed : 561737 bps, or 548 kbps.
A 68.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 265672 bps, or 259 kbps.

Thrid test:

2004-12-28 00:10:45 EST: 2424 / 270
Your download speed : 2482498 bps, or 2424 kbps.
A 303 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 277469 bps, or 270 kbps.

Reran the second one and it came out a bit faster. looks like there is congestion between here and there.

about to hit the sack early. been a long day.

Comments Off on http://www.smalltalk.org/main/

By Dave, December 27, 2004 1:43 pm

<a href="http://www.smalltalk.org/main/">http://www.smalltalk.org/main/</a>

bits and pieces float through every day, some stick and some don't. gonna look into smalltalk a bit more. heard about if for years but never taken time to even look at it. seems at first glance the way to go. one of these days, or not…

Comments Off on The day is done

By Dave, December 26, 2004 9:41 am

and so am i. am totally exhausted from the trip to calcis and back. napped a bit earlier and then back up for a bit now. gonna call it one shortly.

trip down and back was not bad. visit was reasonable. I was a bit out of sorts. still am. not sure I am not coming down with something. will see it the symptoms progress or if they are just from the perfume that stunk up several isles in winn-dixie in pell city. Tried to get the stuff and out but kept running into her trail of stink. I would rather smell cigarettes then stinkum like that.

got some better as the day progressed but outside was far better than inside.

trip back was straight through. no stops other than the ones mandated by the state and federal road department. got here just at dark. unloaded the van and I shortly called it a nap.

from the vantage point of time it looks to me that the irritability that I experienced early on at calcis may well have been triggered by the exposure. that and the road we usually take was closed which screwed up my routine and made me think about the drive. I got pissed several times in the latter section of the trip which i didn't in the first. then the exhaustion hitting about 4 hours later. all of that falls into the standard pattern. wish I could learn to catch it before it controls me. don't know what i would do then but forewarned is forearmed or some such. unfortunately hindsight is 20-20 is the bit of truth today.

I did manage to keep from being a total ass and just went and sat in the van when I got pissed. that was only 3 or 4 times. Was warmer in the van than in the house anyway. didn't go into the trailer. has been a year now but after that last time in the summer and my reaction to the chemicals i ain't taking a chance for a while longer.

will try to get the ashley going today (tis after one so monday already). got to refigure the flue mounting again. not comfortable with what I have right now. think i need to remove the top side pieces and replace with the erector set type and bolt 3 pieces in a right triangle and plate with 5 v tin. cut a 8 inch hole for the single wall flue to go through and put the triple wall on top. should be a stable enough platform to support the 6 feet of triple wall. flange on the fiberglas with wood backing around the sides, plenty of caulk around all seams and fire the sucker up.

guess I will sleep on it and try for the morning.

Comments Off on Christmas Pictures Up

By Dave, December 26, 2004 12:14 am

And got the pictures up from the day at <a href="http://www.technoprimitive.org/christmas2004/">http://www.technoprimitive.org/christmas2004/</a>

Comments Off on Christmas evening

By Dave, December 25, 2004 6:21 pm

Went, ate, talked, exchanged gifts, oohed and ahhed a while, ate some more, went next door and installed the ups on mom's computer and after a tussle with the survey/registration and leaving them a nasty gram, loaded up more stuff and came home.

Of course there was much more than that but it was a pleasant day.

Went and got some tin over at bills bus and got one piece in before I had to sit and rest.

Aside for Steve.
Was hoping you didn't have a thumbdrive yet. I have one the same size as that one but by kingston. They come in handy when having to move big files between computers with usb (which is all of them now (ok well most anyway and almost all that are sold now)). I have found here that it's a lot faster to write them to the thumbdrive and then eject (important step when removing it from the bus) and plug into the other machine rather than trying to transfer it over the network. And moving files from mac to pc and back is MUCH easier with the thumbdrive. Enjoy!

gonna post this and go check for light leaks in the eyelids for a bit.

Comments Off on no more Fark rss feed for me

By Dave, December 25, 2004 10:42 am

some idiot decided to change the code so the 3rd pane is the linked webpage. I use a rss reader to get away from all the movement and annoying crap and just get the short synopsis. So I tried it for a while (I may have read 20 items or so after they reset it before deleting the feed) and am now Fark-less… All the annoying shit is the reason I went to RSS in the first place. Not gonna put up with it in my reader.

Comments Off on Merry Christmas To All

By Dave, December 25, 2004 12:00 am

Got the (almost as got to stop on the way to calcis sunday to get some things) last of the shopping done this afternoon before 3. Went by and saw friend that was wanting input on converting a steam cleaner to a smelter. Told him it could be done but there are going to be some things (like diameter) that are going to have to be modified. the amount of refractory clay that it would take to line it and shrink the bore enough to use a fairly standard crucible would be more than he would want to pay for. Use a smaller tank and weld the blower to it. I also think he is going to need the blower to be at an angle to the tank to create a swirl in the flame as it enters the combustion chamber.

am exhausted. got everything ready to finish up in the am on the woodburning stove as well as the food. All food is cooked and in the fridge. got 24 deviled eggs, a pan of potato salad and 2 pans of sweet potatoes, pineapple, mandarin oranges and raisins with honey and spices, cheese and crackers (Thanks again Steve!), olives and dill spears. Hope it is all done. if not tis not gonna get done till later.

need to put up 4 sheets of metal around the stove and cut the greenhouse roof and install the flange and then the pipe. I think it will be a fairly simple job. got it all ready so will try to get up in the am and try to get it done before going to the folks for lunch.

Time for a last cup of cocoa and then to bed.

Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Night!

Comments Off on another day down

By Dave, December 23, 2004 11:05 pm

or gone. time marches on. and on. not near enough time in the day to get it all done. nor near enough energy here lately.

Getting closer. to something. got the shelving up and plants moved onto them. pony tail palms moved into hole. more shelving pieces used as two wall supports between woodburning heater and plastic and blueboard walls. gonna add metal to it tomorrow.

after much fiddling and finding of boards of assorted sizes and thicknesses i got the area i am putting the heater leveled enough to put the sheet metal down and then 4 inch solid cement block on that. then moved the heater onto that base. added some brick at the front and for now have the kerosene heater on them. was going to finish putting the flue in tonight but between the cold and my level of exhaustion i am going to put that off till the morn. then get to start splitting wood again.

Miss not having the fire going. got the parlor stove to install in the 14 wide. planning to put it by the door as you enter from the front. that way it has a clear path from end to end down the halls. course the halls as such will be gone but still will have the shelves in the way. figure with a small pancake fan (computer cooling) fan in the return air duct in the central area we should be able to transfer heat through out the building. or thats my plan today/tonight.

tried going shopping again today. no real luck. I had to come home. going to try again tomorrow. don't really expect to do much but am going to see what we can find. figure on going to calcis sunday i guess. not going to stay overnight.

not in real good shape mentally this year or time of year. keep fighting to keep it together.

got a call yesterday (wed) that the ex's step dad had died some time back and they are trying to clear up the will. so had to call her and break the news. that hasn't helped either.

sent the kid the word by email. don't have a number for him. or one i can find anyway. haven't heard back yet.

still haven't got the trailer into place. moved the front by hooking to it on the ground on plywood and dragging it to the side. jd won't lift it. got one of the transport dollies back up here and under the back. the front on the trailer axle i build and dozer hooked to all. moved it about 6 feet and the blocks fell out from on top of the log. got to go and get the bridge timber and see if it will fit and try again. only about 7 or 8 feet to go and it will be almost there. gonna take the wheels off and see it that will allow it to slide more. got to get them and the axles off to allow it to be low enough to fit the greenhouse the way I want it to.

case is still blocking the drive. still not done with the gear. one more thing on the plate.

temp is quite low in here tonight. elsewhere in weaver its 24.6 outside. here it's 63.5 inside. not bad for little insulation and 2 electric oilfilleds. spell check doesn't like that word. oh well…

about time to refill the kerosene heater and call it a night.

Comments Off on xorcom.com open source pbx voip

By Dave, December 21, 2004 9:57 pm

<a href="http://www.xorcom.com/">http://www.xorcom.com/</a>

Comments Off on more done and mind changed

By Dave, December 18, 2004 8:20 pm

yesterday (friday) proved the transport dollies worked. got it to move out of the mud with ease. after quite a bit of back and forth and getting things ready. but it moved. tis against the outside of the greenhouse now but gonna move it again. that is the mind changed.

the way it is now it blocks the morning sun till about 10 or so. with it coming into the east side of the greenhouse and exiting through the end window it should work out better. i think. whatever. got a few feet more to move it. not sure exactly how i am going to do it but from what we have done so far i suspect that it shouldn't be difficult to put it at the end.

gonna take the blade off the deere and try a ball in the blade pivot and see if it will lift the hitch end and move it. if so will just do the back and forth a few times and hope for the best. if it won't then the wheels will be attached to the blade with chains and used to support and steer the thing and will move it the same way…

today was taken up at pch. or most of it anyway. unloaded bertha here in the rear store parking lot. swept the bed and headed that way. got the shelves put up and monitors moved, truck loaded with extra shelves and uprights, monitors, computers, and other stuff that was getting disposed of. still a bit of a mess but so much better than before tis not funny. gonna try for another load tomorrow if my (and cats) bodys will let us. am so sore and tired that i can hardly move now but am trying to stay awake for another couple of hours anyway. then again could take a nap till its time to go to bed…

got the stuff home and unloaded it in the 14 wide. rearranged the back room again and put up a couple of sections of shelving in there. hope i can get more of the uprights and shelves too. would work real well for the hardback books.

over did it again today. had a bit of a spell while trying to unload things. cat did a lot of it. and a lot of the loading too. tis completely worn out.

took some more pix for bob today. have not imported them yet. these are of the n-gauge engines and cars. guess i need to do that but will wait a bit. or do it tomorrow.

about got the <a href="http://www.pchenterprises.com/store/agora.cgi">shopping cart</a> at pchenterprises.com ready to go live. well when we get the product in it that is.

Comments Off on another day gone

By Dave, December 16, 2004 11:17 pm

got a call from a friend this evening telling me his father had died. Another one down. Bill was telling me earlier that a guy I kinda grew up with died this past week also. after my little episode yesterday afternoon am wondering just what kind of day it was. Time or 5 there i thought i was gone but managed to keep walking and nothing inside broke or quit…

gonna finish these little projects enough to take a break and go somewhere for a few days.

got the trailer stuck and unstuck a couple of times. with the wheels under the tongue it rolls backwards as well or better than forward.

got the transport dollies in place and a log under it. now waiting for the morning to get a cross tie and or a bridge timber to put on top of the log to space up to the frame enough to get the wheels off the ground so we can pull it sideways. got dark on us tonight. had tried with a 4×4 but just too much spring there in the springs under the trailer so gonna try for more height. got to use another method of securing the log to the dollies too. got a chain on one end and a bunch of strap on the other. the strap is stronger by far and need to use it on both sides. or use steel plate or pipe.

got another idea on the connection. try just wrapping rope or strap around the log with a fixed amount of space above for the space of the frame and then a short log to hang from above. break it at first just wrap more rope.

run chain from far side where it is attached to the spring mount to the back of the north side dolly. that will keep me from pulling the log out from under the trailer. just take as much weight off as i can and pull that sucker. dozer can do it. with the added chain it is workable with setup there now. i think…

will know in the morning.

getting closer on the pch cart. still got more to do but closer. like the logo i have there now. don't know if bob will or not.

Comments Off on john deere moves the trailer

By Dave, December 15, 2004 8:30 pm

was a round about kind of day.

started out late and not feeling good. took a walk out and about and over the dam then back and ate.

back out and got the tractor. took the boom off and put the hitch on.

then to the field and had to move the trailer so took it to the parking area below the 14 wide.

then went down to the transport dollies. hooked up to one of them and dragged it sideways and backed it over a log.

got off and bill and I decided it was too short to go under the trailer and hook to both dollies so moved to another and backed over it. looked like it was long enough so got a nylon strap and after tripling it hooked around the log and up between the beam on each of the shelter halves. got some of the shelter mounting bolts and put them in the loop of the strapping until i couldn't get any more in.

then we each took two jack handles and started pumping. picked the log up with no problem. pulled it out and around to where we could get the other one backed over it.

unhooked and got the other one and pulled it out and around and after several trys got it backed over the other end of the log. did the same dance with some more strap and make the connection to the dolly and jacked it up.

moved the tractor to the other dolly again and started up the hill only to discover that the trailer was in the way of the only entry that was large enough to move the dollies up.

the case dozer is still in the drive so that was out not to mention that we couldn't make the turn with this 35+ foot long train.

So while thinking on it I decided to see if the john deere would crank. haven't tried it since we unloaded it and I worked it a while and then shut it off and put water in it only to find it coming out the dipstick hole. we drained it the other day and it has had the plug out till today so hopefully all the stuff is out. got the battery and ether. fired ether in the intake and turned it over and it cranked on the 3rd or 4th turn over.

cut it off and put the oil plug in and filled it with oil. no water this time. more ether and started again. and again and again and again. then it caught and ran. rather well.

backed right out like it was ready to work. around the trailer and up the hill.

pushed limbs and crap out of the way and made a road to come around the bottleneck.

got to the front and used a aluminum light track to move the trailer trailer tongue up to where the hitch on the dozer was. which finished breaking the weld I broke the other day using the dozer and chain to unhook it.

hooked it up anyway and pulled which moved the trailer and finished tearing the tongue off.

got a chain and hooked around the center support on the axle and hooked to the dozer and started pulling. and moved it with no problems. got it as far as i could go and there it sits.

will go out in the morning and either use the chain and tongue and do a 3 point thing with the axle or move the welder up here and weld the tongue back on. I started the break by running over it with the dozer the other day so guess i got fairly good service on the whole. tore the pipe more than breaking the welds for the most part. will try again.

took a walk and had to have a ride back. body is pissing me off.

got a ham in the oven now. been in there about 2.5 or so now. another hour and a half to go to check the core temp. in a bag with honey, pepper, basil and onion added. turning dark and nasty looking so should be good…

getting more of a handle on the cart. seeing more possibilities all the time. will try to get signed up with the pro membership soon. need the paypal gateway. several licenses actually. bob wants to change 2 of his customers over if we can. will have to take a look at kevins cart to see what i will have to do to make agora work like it.

Comments Off on Spam Joke

By Dave, December 15, 2004 7:03 pm

got this one while paging through the days spam so at least its good for a chuckle…

A man, while playing on the front nine of a complicated golf course, became confused as to where he was on the course. Looking around, he saw a lady playing ahead of him. He walked up to her, explained his confusion and asked her if she knew what hole he was playing.

"I'm on the 7th hole," she replied, "and you are a hole behind me. So you must be on the 6th hole." He thanked her and went back to his golf.

On the back nine, the same thing happened and he approached her again with the same request. "I'm on number 14, and you're still a hole behind, so you must be on the 13th hole." Once again he thanked her and returned to his play.

He finished his round and went to the clubhouse where he saw the same lady sitting at the end of the bar. He asked the bartender if he knew the lady. The bartender said that she was a sales lady and played the course often.

He approached her and said, "Let me buy you a drink in appreciation for your help. I understand that you're in the sales profession. I'm in sales also. What do you sell?" "I'll tell you, but you're going to laugh," she replied. "No, I won't."

"Well, if you must know," she answered, "I work for Tampax." With that, he laughed so hard he almost fell off the bar stool. "See," she said. "I knew you'd laugh!"

"That's not what I'm laughing at," he replied, "I'm a salesman for Preparation H, so I'm still a hole behind you."

Comments Off on making some progress

By Dave, December 13, 2004 7:44 pm

bit by bit anyway. got the room walls taken out at the 14×66 as well as the front entry. moved the front door to the front wall instead of inset 3 feet into the room. feels completely different in there now even with all the stuff torn up has a much more open and less oppressive feel to it. guess I am going to take the bathroom and the other inside room out too. will start with some of the shelving supports first. Not sure but may use the steel uprights and ends and use the wood just for shelves. bit by bit.

still haven't done any more with the case dozer. sitting in the drive in front of the barn blocking the drive very effectively. got the brick formed and ready to weld but haven't had the time when there was initiative to do the job. want the gear to be somewhat warm when I start this too but don't think that is going to be any time soon. guess I will have to build a fire and heat it and me too. depending on the daytime temps tomorrow I may try to do something there cause by wednesday morning i think the ground may be hard enough to move the trailer over if I have the dozer going.

checked the antifreeze in all the running vehicles today. had to add a bit to the van and topped the others off. while doing that I got to thinking about the john deere dozer with all the water in the oil… so drained it too. was a real treat but think we got enough out to do the job. I may just add oil back in and use it to pull the trailer. should run long enough to to that if it isn't royally screwed. ran for nearly an hour before I thought to add water the first time and that was in the summer. little 2 cylinder gm diesel seems to be a sweet engine. anyway if the final drive will hold together in it long enough and the engine will run long enough may just try that.

after many more arduous hours spent pouring over cms and e-commerce programs I have about decided to go with <a href="http://www.agoracart.com/">agora</a>. have used it and both of its predecessors before so the code nor way of doing things is totally new. some of the workings are new. some better and some worse though the newest beta release promises to bring css to the cart so that will be a GOOD THING. there is still way to much code mixed in with the html and way to much html and code mixed in with the style too. but on the other hand I in less than 2 days i installed the program and have gotten the interface close to what we needed AND added 1892 books to the database. the site auto generates the categories list in the sidebar as well as builds all the pages on the fly. using a flat file database right now. will have to move over to the mysql version within a few thousand more books but for now it works quick enough and is easy enough to get up and going fairly quick.

now to start the automation of the cover scanning resizing and renaming process. supposed to be a way that i can automate the folders on the iBook to perform a task upon a action. wondering if i can get them set up so when i scan in the hp scan program and save the file in the folder the folder script opens the image in graphic converter, resizes it, saves it as the smaller size then makes a thumbnail out of it and renames the thumbnail with an additional sm_ in front of the 6 digit name. next folder taking and uploading the new files that were dropped into it when gc saves them, to the server and then moves them to the archive folder. guess I need to lay it out and see if it will be workable.

Just got off the phone with Rob after talking him through setting up a new computer running xp with a cable modem using ethernet. took a while but the result was positive and he is now online.

tis late and so am i…

Comments Off on saturday again

By Dave, December 11, 2004 9:42 pm

the day that was…

Not too bad. not too good either. guess there was nothing special about it. no memorial pain anyway so that is a good thing.

got the sh*trock removed from the walls to the windowless room that is no more this afternoon. looking at the entire operation over there I think we are going to take all the walls down in the center of the building. Leave the end rooms and the wall by the kitchenette and put up shelves everywhere else. tis going to make some of the junk storage have to go elsewhere but I figured that was coming anyway.

going to move my bench and the craft and art stuff over there and into the north and south rooms. bath room will be over here or in the camper. guess that will be a better use than just sitting there. Can add one or more of the portable buildings to the mix too. may or may not do that.

got a crock pot full of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, cabbage, and assorted spices. should be stew tomorrow.

got to build a roof and wall on the east half of the greenhouse. I should have done that earlier in the year but was waiting to get the trailer moved into place to do so and have run out of time. gonna have a few cold days and need to get this done. several possibilities but will most likely build out of my head using the materials at hand. using a power/chain saw while out of your head isn't a smart thing to do but have made some interesting cuts that way before ;-&gt;

roof area is gonna be about 12 by 16. can use the tin i have here or get new. think on this part I am gonna use existing stuff and paint as necessary. think I will use a 2x8x12 with a 2x6x12 affixed to the center of it shaped like a T with the 8 inch being the cross part at the top. but it would be at the bottom with the beam turned over so the rafters can lay on it cut the ends and notch the side to fit the edge. I think I can do the job in a day. with help maybe even get the tin on. will do what I can tomorrow and go from there. got the tarp that can be put over the area tomorrow night if necessary. temp is gonna get down monday night if i remember correctly.

checked the weather email and i remembered right. got tomorrow at 55 and tomorrow night at 38 then monday at 50 and monday night tuesday morning at 25-28 so need it done by monday night. with the wood burning stove going. guess i better get going early and work late. or just do what I can and hope for the best. which is what I will do anyway.

been working on bluespringsbazaar.com. still not sure what I am gonna do there. I would like a cms of some kind with a store or shopping cart but we have over 2000 items already and the only ones I have tried (phpwebsite and phpnuke) have these little carts for folks with a few hundred items at the most. these have to be entered by hand or I haven't found the right one yet or something. Got several ways I can do it but would like the search and list in column with url to take you to detailed page. blosxom will do most of it using flat files. and I can generate flat files with the info I can export from the database that homebase uses. started getting it imported into filemaker and now have to figure out how to get it out and into pages. guess template toolkit will be one of my next learning experiences. was trying to work my way around it but i keep coming back to doing it this way.