November wraps up...
Another month has gone by, and again I must ask "Where did it go?!" Hard to believe we're at the last few minutes of November 2009. As has been the case for pretty much the entire year, the month has flown by with lots of things happening and being done, and yet feeling like little if anything has been done.
As posted earlier, the Kidling and I spent a good part of Saturday cleaning up more of the shop. Trixstir closed the bowling alley early, since she was feeling horrible and the place was dead anyway (lousy weather tends to do that.) Sunday was the Grey Cup game, the Canadian equivalent of the American Super-Bowl.
Our team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders lost.
By one point.
With 00 seconds left on the clock.
Because someone made a stupid mistake, and they had 13 men on the field instead of the allowed 12.
Which meant that Montreal got to replay their missed field-goal (which would have meant Saskatchewan would have won), and do it 10-yards closer due to the penalty. At that range, they made it easily, and won the game by one lousy point.
That's football folks. The game isn't over until it's over, and you can go from winner to loser just that fast.
On the plus side, I got some other things taken care of before the game started; We got a few more things cleaned up, organized a little bit of stuff in the house as well, and most importantly, I repaired a damaged electrical outlet. I really have to wonder about the electrician who did a lot of the work around Shaunavon; All of the outlets in our house, and in the bowling alley, and a few other places I've seen are upside down! Further, the outlets (and switches) mounted on outside walls (IE: walls where the other side is outdoors, as opposed to another room in the house) have their boxes filled with expanding foam! That is not how you insulate a box on an exterior wall! Not only does it make it extremely hard to do any repairs, but the foam is very flammable! If you get a short circuit in the box (as was the case here) and it produces a flame, you're going to have a serious problem!
Fortunately, there was no flame in this box, and I was able to remove most of the foam. The old outlet wasn't even grounded! It had a ground screw, and the ground wires were there, but they hadn't been attached to the outlet! The outlet was only grounded due to its metal frame being in contact with the grounded metal electrical box. I'm going to have to go around the house and check every electrical outlet on the exterior walls, and likely have to clean out and replace a lot of them. I've noticed the same thing (foam insulation in the box) at the bowling-alley, so I know there had to be a questionable electrician around Shaunavon at one time. Scary thought...
I've sent my paperwork in to Sears for the Contractor Agreement, and I've got the 366-page Study Guide for Kohler to go over, so hopefully that will increase business for Iron Pony. My 40th Birthday is on Wednesday, which is the same day as a $23-Million 6-49 Lottery Draw. That would make one awesome birthday present, so here's hoping! ;)
It was an incredibly mild month for November, the weather only turning towards what we would normally expect in the last couple of days. Even tonight, a chinook wind is blowing through the area and everything is melting again. Looks short-lived though, as the forecast is showing a cold-front nipping at its heels.
Here's hoping for a mild winter. After last year's, we could really use one! :)
As posted earlier, the Kidling and I spent a good part of Saturday cleaning up more of the shop. Trixstir closed the bowling alley early, since she was feeling horrible and the place was dead anyway (lousy weather tends to do that.) Sunday was the Grey Cup game, the Canadian equivalent of the American Super-Bowl.
Our team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders lost.
By one point.
With 00 seconds left on the clock.
Because someone made a stupid mistake, and they had 13 men on the field instead of the allowed 12.
Which meant that Montreal got to replay their missed field-goal (which would have meant Saskatchewan would have won), and do it 10-yards closer due to the penalty. At that range, they made it easily, and won the game by one lousy point.
That's football folks. The game isn't over until it's over, and you can go from winner to loser just that fast.
On the plus side, I got some other things taken care of before the game started; We got a few more things cleaned up, organized a little bit of stuff in the house as well, and most importantly, I repaired a damaged electrical outlet. I really have to wonder about the electrician who did a lot of the work around Shaunavon; All of the outlets in our house, and in the bowling alley, and a few other places I've seen are upside down! Further, the outlets (and switches) mounted on outside walls (IE: walls where the other side is outdoors, as opposed to another room in the house) have their boxes filled with expanding foam! That is not how you insulate a box on an exterior wall! Not only does it make it extremely hard to do any repairs, but the foam is very flammable! If you get a short circuit in the box (as was the case here) and it produces a flame, you're going to have a serious problem!
Fortunately, there was no flame in this box, and I was able to remove most of the foam. The old outlet wasn't even grounded! It had a ground screw, and the ground wires were there, but they hadn't been attached to the outlet! The outlet was only grounded due to its metal frame being in contact with the grounded metal electrical box. I'm going to have to go around the house and check every electrical outlet on the exterior walls, and likely have to clean out and replace a lot of them. I've noticed the same thing (foam insulation in the box) at the bowling-alley, so I know there had to be a questionable electrician around Shaunavon at one time. Scary thought...
I've sent my paperwork in to Sears for the Contractor Agreement, and I've got the 366-page Study Guide for Kohler to go over, so hopefully that will increase business for Iron Pony. My 40th Birthday is on Wednesday, which is the same day as a $23-Million 6-49 Lottery Draw. That would make one awesome birthday present, so here's hoping! ;)
It was an incredibly mild month for November, the weather only turning towards what we would normally expect in the last couple of days. Even tonight, a chinook wind is blowing through the area and everything is melting again. Looks short-lived though, as the forecast is showing a cold-front nipping at its heels.
Here's hoping for a mild winter. After last year's, we could really use one! :)