Never thought about it, but it's absolutely true. I do it all the time.....
http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/anthropomorphization.html
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
....yet so mild!
I had a delivery scheduled for Thursday PM, and by lunchtime that day, had already accrued enough OT to take a few hours off to see things got setup properly. Only problem? The materials were dropped off that morning. Best not to let it go to waste then.
So, I scooted downtown to visit my glass guy. Missed him by minutes. Alright then, to the parent's to pick up a package, and then time to get busy.
Toiled the afternoon away on walls and columns, only to discover the top plate of my central steel column was out of level. Not good. What else to do while the sun shined? Or rather, as clouds rolled in.
Patched the roof of the pole building. Anchored the EIFS up where water is taking its tool. Added a few drain holes. And came inside and cleaned up. Beat. Met Ben and Cam at the PL for a few brews before calling it a day.
Friday, a blur. Up and out the door with the column to have a new one fabricated. For a C-note plus, it had better be right the first time. Back to the lodge to take on an indoor task. I asked Cara to put together a list of incomplete tasks around the lodge to compare with my list. The summed tome then went into the computer. When the weather is too poor to work outside, I turn to this list, grin, and bear it. By mid afternoon I had the difficult work complete on the east triangle window trim-out upstairs. Even a couple of the trim boards shellaced. I took a brief intermission when my dad stopped out and gave me a hand hauling additionally constructed walls out to the foundation. Then back to my work in progress. Trial fits. Glass cleaning, and an application of anti-fog before coming off the ladder.
Late afternoon I rushed over to pick up the column. Discovered (the hard way) that Leversee road was closed for a section due to construction. Made it to the fabricators with only minutes to spare (and mud on my hood). Then back by the parents to load the new GE fridge for the lodge into their vehicle. Got things set and headed back to the country; Cara accompanied us right off of work. Column unloaded. Fridge unloaded (in the rain). Got the old fridge off the kitchen platform with a bit of ingenuity and the new one in. Parents took off. We scrubbed the interior of the GE a bit, then changed and went back to town for a grand dinner at Panther's Pride. Excellent food, mediocre service. Now to the lodge again (boy this was getting old) to install the turquoise refrigerator door and set things to running. Cut the last trim board under a dark sky, gave it a good shellac'ing, a little dry-time and installation. Then a Mad Men. I think.
Saturday. I have no idea where the day went. I recall putting up the last two 8' rear/side walls with Cara's assistance and hauling yard stuff to the pole shed. Also adding top plates to the walls. Oh yes, then framing the front walls which required a run to the lumber yard for 34 additional 2x6's. Then cutting everything to length and finishing the rough framing. Then it was dinner time. I got to work on Easter's banquet- macaroni salad with bacon bits, key lime pie with homemade whipped cream, and lemon sugar cookies. Cara took care of dishes as fast as I dirtied them.
Finally, night fell and we were able to sit down and enjoy a movie for once. LA Confidential. Very good, indeed.
Sunday- Easter. Full spread. Full stomachs. Spent the afternoon with family and animals before throwing in the towel late afternoon. Then it was time to get to work. Gave the old arm a workout building up the 2x6 column "stacks". Each one made of 5 "plies" of 2x6's which will ultimately support steel beams. Integrated these with the Saturday framed walls, and one by one, hauled them with the Blazer to the new foundation. Meanwhile Cara went to town with the mop and vacuum, making the place shine. With sun setting and legs aching, I put away the tools, poured a drink and we took in a MadMen before heading the sack.
Now that's a weekend!
So, I scooted downtown to visit my glass guy. Missed him by minutes. Alright then, to the parent's to pick up a package, and then time to get busy.
Toiled the afternoon away on walls and columns, only to discover the top plate of my central steel column was out of level. Not good. What else to do while the sun shined? Or rather, as clouds rolled in.
Patched the roof of the pole building. Anchored the EIFS up where water is taking its tool. Added a few drain holes. And came inside and cleaned up. Beat. Met Ben and Cam at the PL for a few brews before calling it a day.
Friday, a blur. Up and out the door with the column to have a new one fabricated. For a C-note plus, it had better be right the first time. Back to the lodge to take on an indoor task. I asked Cara to put together a list of incomplete tasks around the lodge to compare with my list. The summed tome then went into the computer. When the weather is too poor to work outside, I turn to this list, grin, and bear it. By mid afternoon I had the difficult work complete on the east triangle window trim-out upstairs. Even a couple of the trim boards shellaced. I took a brief intermission when my dad stopped out and gave me a hand hauling additionally constructed walls out to the foundation. Then back to my work in progress. Trial fits. Glass cleaning, and an application of anti-fog before coming off the ladder.
Late afternoon I rushed over to pick up the column. Discovered (the hard way) that Leversee road was closed for a section due to construction. Made it to the fabricators with only minutes to spare (and mud on my hood). Then back by the parents to load the new GE fridge for the lodge into their vehicle. Got things set and headed back to the country; Cara accompanied us right off of work. Column unloaded. Fridge unloaded (in the rain). Got the old fridge off the kitchen platform with a bit of ingenuity and the new one in. Parents took off. We scrubbed the interior of the GE a bit, then changed and went back to town for a grand dinner at Panther's Pride. Excellent food, mediocre service. Now to the lodge again (boy this was getting old) to install the turquoise refrigerator door and set things to running. Cut the last trim board under a dark sky, gave it a good shellac'ing, a little dry-time and installation. Then a Mad Men. I think.
Saturday. I have no idea where the day went. I recall putting up the last two 8' rear/side walls with Cara's assistance and hauling yard stuff to the pole shed. Also adding top plates to the walls. Oh yes, then framing the front walls which required a run to the lumber yard for 34 additional 2x6's. Then cutting everything to length and finishing the rough framing. Then it was dinner time. I got to work on Easter's banquet- macaroni salad with bacon bits, key lime pie with homemade whipped cream, and lemon sugar cookies. Cara took care of dishes as fast as I dirtied them.
Finally, night fell and we were able to sit down and enjoy a movie for once. LA Confidential. Very good, indeed.
Sunday- Easter. Full spread. Full stomachs. Spent the afternoon with family and animals before throwing in the towel late afternoon. Then it was time to get to work. Gave the old arm a workout building up the 2x6 column "stacks". Each one made of 5 "plies" of 2x6's which will ultimately support steel beams. Integrated these with the Saturday framed walls, and one by one, hauled them with the Blazer to the new foundation. Meanwhile Cara went to town with the mop and vacuum, making the place shine. With sun setting and legs aching, I put away the tools, poured a drink and we took in a MadMen before heading the sack.
Now that's a weekend!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Talk is Cheap
Monday. Overcast. Raining. It's been two weeks of semi-glorious weather since we've moved (back) into the lodge. A lot has happened, including wall-framing, hole-digging, sill plates, footing & pier pouring, wall erecting and bracing, not to mention that little bit about actually hauling our things back in, getting the lodge operational, awakening the tractor and wagon, etc. etc. Oh, and friggin' 11-hour days at work. Funny that now that I'm on the cusp of 8-hour workdays, the weather goes to pot.
Update- Tuesday. Worked last night prior to darkness and the rain moving in. Made up the 5-ply load bearing column of 2x6's that'll go in the west wall. Also got the final section of the rear wall framed up and ready to haul into place while Cara shoveled up broken cement chunks in the yard that have been our bane for sometime. And...cut studs and layed out the plates for the final section of west wall for when it's not raining out.
Rain. Water. It truly ruins everything. About all you can do is build a dwelling out of stone. Top it off with a terra-cotta roof. If you could deal with the cold and moisture intrusion, you'd be about as weather proof as it gets for the long run. Asphalt shingles will fail. Roofing felt will deteriorate. Plywood walls will crumble behind soggy, chalking siding. Wind will attempt to rip off just about any roof with a wide overhang. And rain will find its way around and into every window, door and crevice.
I hate rain.
Forecast for the following week? Rain.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Back in the High Life
It's been an interesting last couple of weeks. First there was the trip to St. Louis for Blake and Hannah's wedding, rounded out with a brewery tour and some time around the arch. No sooner than we had gotten back to town than I started re-packing for Europe. Destination Germany. Monday morning I was in the Blazer headed down to CR with a bag packed and laptops aplenty. The initial leg to Detroit was quite favorable and I was able to experiment with various window configurations for the new building using the MBA. Oddly, the woman next to me spent much time flipping through her binder of what appeared to be window configurations and cross-sections. After a short while she realized what I was doing and we struck up a conversation about...windows.
The 4 hour layover in Detroit went much quicker after a burger and a couple beers and after a bit I was in the air. I remember looking out the window as we went over St. John's Bay and watching the lights disappear into the darkness of night; next stop, Frankfurt.
The week was a blur of large and delicious meals, dark beers and little sleep. There's much to take in and much to wax philosophically about. Eventually I concluded that the people I traveled with were oblivious to their surroundings. I was searching out details- comparing and contrasting human behaviors, energy saving schemes, road signs and markings, construction details, similar but different items in stores, etc. They were searching out...bars. Eventually I got over the jet lag...just in time for the return trip. The 8 hour flight was made easier by the "on-demand" video system. I rewatched the highlights of The American, took in Unstoppable, and an awful movie, Hereafter. Described as "a thriller centered on three people who are haunted by morality". "Thriller" is not exactly the word that comes to mind.
Now it's been a week back in the country and I'm pretty much over the jet-lag. However a new problem...Construction Season.
Since we've been "on shutdown" I've had a little time to line the ducks up for April. Not only is the official move-in this weekend, but if weather holds for Sunday, the initial stages of construction will begin. This means hammering out details and drawings for the steel beams and columns, gathering materials for the downstairs framing, and at the same time getting the lodge back into shape. Today's post-work task was stocking up on 2x6's that were actually straight and usable, loading them all into the Blazer, and hauling them to the lodge. All 42 of 'em. Yesterday it was treated lumber post-work. The day before it was hauling the trailer to Waterloo for a load of glass and jalousie windows. And the day before that it was a lodge visit (damn mole!) and getting the trailer roadworthy.
Tomorrow, a visit to the steel fabricator's and the engine rebuild machinist. Plus starting on the Lodge's spring punch-list.
I think it's time for bed.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Know when to Hold 'em
There's a certain something in the air. Not quite the indicators of spring, after all, March in Iowa has been known to dump a lot of snow on us. But the pavement is covered in sand, and not the white stuff. The lawns look like matte paintings. A slight tinge of green and brown with the consistency of a brillo pad. And occasional days of sun.
This bodes well because I'm eager to get Cold Storage III off the ground, and that means excavating for pier footings. Hard to do with frozen earth.
It was a whirl-wind-weekend. I spent the majority of Saturday fighting off the effects of Friday night. Getting up after only a few hours sleep and hitting the open road was rough, too. A tankard of coffee and Mickey D's helped get the motor going, and after a couple hours Ben started feeling better as well. We took his Tahoe down to DM for an appliance haul, and a random CL search turned up an extremely rare appliance find in CR of all places. It was unfortunate we didn't have a lot of time to snoop out the small towns, but that kind of venture really needs a dedicated day. Flashlights. And a flatbed. So we criss-crossed the state, unloaded the goods shortly before Cara made it back to CF and decided at the last minute to grab a bite to eat at Z's. My hot beef sandwich was pretty good, but not as good as Cara's reuben. Exhausted, I hit the pillow shortly after getting home and slept for 12 hours.
I've pretty much hit the wall with headway on the basement front. What needs to leave in the first wave when the new bldg is complete is packed and ready. A big pile of stuff is set for the spring garage sale. And there's still some items that'll hit the rubbish bin once there's more room to maneuver. So now it's a waiting game. My goal is to get the new building up and closed in this year. Yes, start laughing now. It may not be sided (I'd like to focus on the siding as a single event), and I don't plan on full bathroom/kitchenette completion upstairs. But structure complete, insulation and wall covering, typar wrap, roof, locking doors, downstairs floor, operable windows in, etc. is the goal. Then the exodus will begin!
This bodes well because I'm eager to get Cold Storage III off the ground, and that means excavating for pier footings. Hard to do with frozen earth.
It was a whirl-wind-weekend. I spent the majority of Saturday fighting off the effects of Friday night. Getting up after only a few hours sleep and hitting the open road was rough, too. A tankard of coffee and Mickey D's helped get the motor going, and after a couple hours Ben started feeling better as well. We took his Tahoe down to DM for an appliance haul, and a random CL search turned up an extremely rare appliance find in CR of all places. It was unfortunate we didn't have a lot of time to snoop out the small towns, but that kind of venture really needs a dedicated day. Flashlights. And a flatbed. So we criss-crossed the state, unloaded the goods shortly before Cara made it back to CF and decided at the last minute to grab a bite to eat at Z's. My hot beef sandwich was pretty good, but not as good as Cara's reuben. Exhausted, I hit the pillow shortly after getting home and slept for 12 hours.
I've pretty much hit the wall with headway on the basement front. What needs to leave in the first wave when the new bldg is complete is packed and ready. A big pile of stuff is set for the spring garage sale. And there's still some items that'll hit the rubbish bin once there's more room to maneuver. So now it's a waiting game. My goal is to get the new building up and closed in this year. Yes, start laughing now. It may not be sided (I'd like to focus on the siding as a single event), and I don't plan on full bathroom/kitchenette completion upstairs. But structure complete, insulation and wall covering, typar wrap, roof, locking doors, downstairs floor, operable windows in, etc. is the goal. Then the exodus will begin!
Monday, February 28, 2011
B'wana She No Home
Where shall I begin?
Well, for one, the little vaca was a terrific break. Just the absence I needed. At the moment, the thoughts are a little clearer. The purpose, more defined. It won't last, of course. It can't. Not when you're scheduled to work 11 hour days all week, inside a plastic clad satellite office in the middle of a window-less manufacturing facility, enjoying an intoxicating mix of fluorescent lighting and diesel particulate.
And still, people can't see how this might affect creativity.
Surprisingly (at least to me anyway), I was not "blown away" by the architecture as one might expect. It's true, there is no greater assemblage of modern design anywhere else on the planet. It took an aligning of the stars to create this mecca. A rising of new materials, the hollywood mores of the time, the draw on aspiring young architects to this strange place, the desert climate and location, and the money, just to name a few. What was a surprise, is 1) the size of Palm Springs in 2010. And 2) shaking ones perceived expectations. After all, when these iconic structures were built, photographed, and made famous, they were islands in the sand. Now, all that aren't built on a mountainside, have stucco boxes and terra cotta roofed neighbors encroaching from all sides. Sinatra's famed Twin Palms is now smack dab in a residential neighborhood, though block walls and foliage provide ample privacy.
Several things stick out. There is no vinyl siding anywhere. It's either totally modern, or Spanish villa. There is also something a little unsettling about the modern design. There is no frost there, so there are no frost footings or foundations. Everything is on a slab. There is no snow so roof structures need not support 35 pounds per square foot. Rain is little, so roof drainage and fenestration detailing is an afterthought. Compared with the engineering obstacles we here in the midwest have to face, these structures were built like the proverbial house of cards, and here they stand 50 years later, looking like day 1.
Not to make light of it, but the most difficult engineering and construction that makes this style take flight, goes right out the window when frost heaving, snow loading and precipitation aren't a factor. Not even bugs or mosquitoes. Telescoping sliding doors were 8' tall and 20' wide and totally screenless.
Secondly, I was left with the personal opinion that as great as the desert setting is, there is nothing quite as cohesive as modern design in an environment of rivers, trees and rolling hills. Even if it means the structure must be water resistant, require diligent maintenace, and be designed and overbuilt by a factor of 5.
So here I am back in town, trying to take advantage of my fleeting amnesia. By week's end it will be gone. Will there be some sort of catharsis or awakening? Will motivation and inspiration free me of my self-inflicted creative bonds? Or will optimism for my summer plans be enough to carry me through? I guess we shall see.
Well, for one, the little vaca was a terrific break. Just the absence I needed. At the moment, the thoughts are a little clearer. The purpose, more defined. It won't last, of course. It can't. Not when you're scheduled to work 11 hour days all week, inside a plastic clad satellite office in the middle of a window-less manufacturing facility, enjoying an intoxicating mix of fluorescent lighting and diesel particulate.
And still, people can't see how this might affect creativity.
Surprisingly (at least to me anyway), I was not "blown away" by the architecture as one might expect. It's true, there is no greater assemblage of modern design anywhere else on the planet. It took an aligning of the stars to create this mecca. A rising of new materials, the hollywood mores of the time, the draw on aspiring young architects to this strange place, the desert climate and location, and the money, just to name a few. What was a surprise, is 1) the size of Palm Springs in 2010. And 2) shaking ones perceived expectations. After all, when these iconic structures were built, photographed, and made famous, they were islands in the sand. Now, all that aren't built on a mountainside, have stucco boxes and terra cotta roofed neighbors encroaching from all sides. Sinatra's famed Twin Palms is now smack dab in a residential neighborhood, though block walls and foliage provide ample privacy.
Several things stick out. There is no vinyl siding anywhere. It's either totally modern, or Spanish villa. There is also something a little unsettling about the modern design. There is no frost there, so there are no frost footings or foundations. Everything is on a slab. There is no snow so roof structures need not support 35 pounds per square foot. Rain is little, so roof drainage and fenestration detailing is an afterthought. Compared with the engineering obstacles we here in the midwest have to face, these structures were built like the proverbial house of cards, and here they stand 50 years later, looking like day 1.
Not to make light of it, but the most difficult engineering and construction that makes this style take flight, goes right out the window when frost heaving, snow loading and precipitation aren't a factor. Not even bugs or mosquitoes. Telescoping sliding doors were 8' tall and 20' wide and totally screenless.
Secondly, I was left with the personal opinion that as great as the desert setting is, there is nothing quite as cohesive as modern design in an environment of rivers, trees and rolling hills. Even if it means the structure must be water resistant, require diligent maintenace, and be designed and overbuilt by a factor of 5.
So here I am back in town, trying to take advantage of my fleeting amnesia. By week's end it will be gone. Will there be some sort of catharsis or awakening? Will motivation and inspiration free me of my self-inflicted creative bonds? Or will optimism for my summer plans be enough to carry me through? I guess we shall see.
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