Spring 2015 May 19 Tuesday (Happy Birthday Angela!)

66 degrees this morning,  46:07 minute walk

Happy Birthday to Angela!  I can’t believe how the time has passed since you were born!  Wishing you a Happy Birthday and a great Year!

Recently received some information on Acid Reflux or GERD medication.  I didn’t realize until I was an adult that I had “GERD” and it wasn’t normal to feel the reaction I did to some foods or so different times.  

I mentioned it to my Doctor who prescribed Prilosec (or something like that).  It worked well, but I realized it was covering up the symptoms, not curing the causes.  In all fairness, she did mention actions I should take to reduce the symptoms.  

About six years later I developed some skin problems, and found that the problems were caused by a reduced immune system, probably caused by Prilosec!  What was amazing is that this did not appear to be common knowledge at the time!

Anyway, I switched to a much older drug Tagamet, which worked just as well, although I also quit drinking carbonated pop  drinks, reduced high fat foods, lost weight and avoided GERD causing food.

The skin problems ended in a short time, problems I had had for the  six years I took the medicine.

I quit drinking Pepsi & Coke etc. I had my last Diet Pepsi in probably 8 years when I  drink a Pepsi to “celebrate” and went into a coughing fit!  

I actually tried to quit Prilosec without using the Tagamet, but I would cough after I ate certain foods (such as bacon etc.)

On the other hand, I remember as a child coughing a fit whenever I exercised in the cold.  The Doctor prescribed something that stopped it, and I don’t think there is anything I could have done to prevent it.  (Actually I found that wearing a covering over my mouth was effective.) 

Anyway, while medicine is used too much to “treat the symptoms, not the cause”, sometimes, like my “exercised induced asthma”, I think the use of medicine to treat the symptoms may be the only method.

Anyway, I”m going to read up on GERD again, I think there has been a lot of advancements in prevention in the past several years.

Developing into moving mode.  Said a permanent goodbye to many of my books and CD’s etc. yesterday as we donated them to the library.  (The Library, for whatever reason, will accept only 3 boxes of anything per day, since we had six boxes, we will need to return today!)

One thing I really dread is having to set up my internet connection etc. This time, since I use the internet on my job, I will need to have it up and running as soon as we move.  (For security reasons, I can’t use Wifi at McDonalds, Starbucks etc. on my work computer and the “air card” is excruciating slow.  

The “air card” is kind of like going back to the Internet as it was in 1995.  

I can remember Angela had a lot of patience with AOL as she waited out the slow speeds etc. to get on the internet.  

That’s it for now, Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Spring 2015 May 18 Monday

66  degrees this morning.45:25  minutes walking 

Moving has started.  Since our new house is only about  4 miles away, we are moving a lot of it ourselves and will contract out the heavy stuff.  Sunday, we moved most of the books, many of the dishes etc, seasonal and Christmas decorations etc.  

Even after a year of “weeding” we still have a lot of stuff! We are in the mode of “if it doesn’t fit, dispose of it” etc. 

Our new neighborhood has an appalling lack of enforcement of storm water regulations.  There is red mud on the street etc., it is impossible to drive through the addition without getting your car muddy it would be impossible to walk or bike.

I filed several complaints with the City and took and sent a number of photographs.  (I may attach them here!)  I also posed several on Twitter.  

Wonderful day yesterday (Sunday).  We moved a lot of stuff and also went to an afternoon ball game.  The problem with “all you can eat” food is that you tend to eat too much, especially when it is food you normally don’t eat.  It is hard to resist ball park food such as hot dogs, peanuts, crackerjacks, big pretzels etc., stuff I would never eat otherwise!, not because I don’t like it I love it-but because it  simply isn’t a healthy diet even for occasional eating.  I do make the excuse that I only drink water, and it accounts for two meals for the day and it is only for a set number of days per year! 

We enjoyed the day and my new camera got a good workout.  I am very pleased with the camera and the pictures it takes.  

We are  taking approximately 4 big boxes of books and CD’s etc. to  donate to the library today and a number of items to other charitable organizations we hope can use them.  Another ballgame tonight, assuming the weather is ok, I believe it will be.  

It is difficult t donate some of the music and books, but I have to look at the last time I read the book or even listened to a music CD.  (all of my CD’s are backed to my computer than then in at least two “clouds”, plus if I really want it I can order it, so it just is a waste to have it sitting around deteriorating).

I try not to let magazines collect (and with “Next Issue” there is no reason to let physical magazines collect), so I am donating all the magazines I have whether I have read them or not.  I long have adopted the policy of when I get a new magazine or newspaper, I automatically toss the old one whether I have read it or not.

The difficulty is when there is something I wanted save to read and analyze later, I tend to save the paper or magazine, or at least rip out the article or page I want.

Of course, with Evernote, Dropbox etc, there is really no reason for saving any physical stories or articles.

The big problem is organizing the articles etc. so I can find them later.  While with the Mac “Spotlight” I can locate almost anything it is still not always easy.

As I have mentioned before, while Evernote has a lot of promise, actually using it is more difficult  than I always anticipate, and for some reason (probably operator error or ignoranceI), it is difficult to search.

With the new camera, (and also my iPhone) I am trying to make sure I delete the photos I don’t and get them organized each day.

That’s it of now, Monday, May 18, 2015

Spring 2015 May 17 Sunday

Spring 2015 May 17 Sunday 

65 Degrees this morning,no walk (rain, electricity out)

Electricity went out last night, almost right at our regular bedtime.  

It was one of those sudden outages that felt permanent.  It was a strange outage since the houses across the street and several houses over had power.  

Went to bed and woke up about 1:00 a.m and called in the outage.  (I had a sudden thought that  when we switched the utilities to our name on our new house, they had assumed we were cutting off the utilities  on this house, but that didn’t seem very likely that the would cut off power at 10 a.m. on Saturday night!)

Oddly enough, about 15 minutes later the lights came on!

Friday, our real estate agent had mentioned about how much we depended on electricity, and this certainly proved it!

Heavy again last night.  A lot worse storms in other areas, just lightning last night.

We went the baseball game last night, left early when it started lightning, and were able to make it home before the storm started.

Planning our move.  We plan on moving a lot of the smaller stuff ourselves, contract the heavy and awkward stuff.  It is a lot easier than a sudden long distance move, but there there is still coordination considerations, so that the furniture etc. can be set up when it is moved and not be in the way. 

Got a “Heyday” message that I had taken 177 pictures in Shangai yesterday (actually 12 hours ahead in Shanghai), so I was obviously busy!

Tried out new camera at night (with lights) and with the zoom and was very pleased with the results. The pictures were sharp and came out with  enough light.  

One of my problems has been coordinating and storing the pictures.  I have been reading about the new Flickr and will try that.  

Of course, the problem is with the “Long Tail”, the fact that “I can” store literally every picture I have without any real additional cost.  That hardly means i should, since even if storage is effectively infinite, time isn’t.  

I think I am continually looking for a better way to coordinate and store the photos, one that doesn’t take so much time.  That may not be possible.

Aliene is planning on scanning and saving all of her family pictures.  She did an excellent job of putting pictures into photo albums, now she needs to put them in virtual phone albums.  

Obviously this is something she will start after the move!  

One problem with moving, it is kind of like writing, you never really finish, there is aliases one more review you can do, one more thing to move etc.

At some point you just need to say, “done is done” and call it good!   Of course you can still always go back and tweet things or move something, as long as it doesn’t become an obsession with change.

Looking forward to a few days hopefully without any rain or  storms!

That’s it for now, Sunday, May 17, 2015.

Spring 2015 May 16 Saturday ("A Year Ago...", New House!)

69 degrees this morning, 44:36 minutes walk Believe or not, more rain coming in.

My app “HeyDay” informed me that “one year ago you took 277 pictures in Shanghai! “  And that was just my iPhone!  

I knew we were about to head back, so I guess I was trying to retain all the memories!  

Of course, a lot of memories couldn’t be retained by pictures.   However, when I look at the pictures, or look at my journal, it brings back a flood of memories.  

By this time a year ago we were back in Shanghai and still finding a lot of interesting experiences.

Probably as interesting as anything was the fact the “government” came in and took over 3 floors of the hotel (including the one we were scheduled for).  We found out the President of China and many of the Asian countries etc. were coming for a meeting the following Wednesday.  

Downtown Shanghai was literally shut down for the meeting.  Seeing the traffic in Shanghai I couldn’t imagine how that could happen! 

Traffic in China was truly chaos.  I really don’t understand how it worked and how so many vehicles could drive so wild without continuous accidents.  The only thing I can figure is that everyone knew everyone else was driving crazy so they expected anything!

I never did figure out when a “honk” meant “get out of my way” or meant “I’m here”.  

I think that is what makes traffic so bad here in this city,  you don’t really expect some of the really arrogant, negligent, stupid and crazy antics of some of the drivers.  So when it happens you aren’t ready for it.  

NEW HOUSE!

The deed is done.  We now own a  house..  We closed  and now own the house.  Probably the most important thing is that we can sit on the patio and see trees and not houses!  Not as nice as out house in Lakeland was, but i am just glad we had eight years to enjoy the house there.  

I guess it proves the point “better to have loved and lost than never loved at all”, except put in “experienced….. (whatever it is)” for “loved”.  

I think the key is moving past, recognizing that you are fortunate to have had the experience and appreciating it but realizing “you can’t go home again”.  (I never  read the book, but I love the title.  I actually have a copy, I need to read it.)

I’ll post some pi pictures  later.  It is one of those things that pictures don’t really do it justice, or at least my pictures don’t.

On the other hand, with my new camera….

Glad the weekend is here, although now every spare moment will involve moving, getting ready to move, or recovering from moving, or thinking or talking about moving.  Maybe not literally, but the moving will dominate the time.

The house we are moving is focused more on “living” (the living, dining room and kitchen take up a lot more space than it does in the house we are in), which means we need to continue disposing of “stuff” including furniture etc.  Not a bad thing, just something we need to do.  

In a way it is good to know that stuff we really haven’t been using will be used by someone who needs it.

That’s it for now, Saturday, May 16, 2015.

Spring 2015 May 15 Friday

69 degrees this morning, 45:05 minute walk

Hopefully, the 69 degrees this morning is as cold as it will be until next Fall!  

Right after I got back from my walk this morning, I took my shower, came out and heard thunder and a heavy rain!  To be honest, I didn’t have any idea it was going to rain. 

‘The Innovators” by Walter Isaacson is really interesting.  I am listening to it while I walk.  He reviews, basically the history of innovation of electronics.  

it is always interesting to see the little jigs and jags that determined history.  (Silicon Valley developed primarily in that area because William Shockley wanted to be close to his mother etc., although that is probably too simplified.  The defense contractors, colleges etc. also played an important role.)

He also points out the the importance of communication and the variety of professions involved in innovation.  I’m going to have to read the book also so pick up on things I missed while listening to it.  

I doubt if there will be a movie of it!

One thing I haven’t mentioned donating or disposing of, is my collection of Hot Wheels (and other brands).  They have actually been sitting in boxes (for the most part, I may have several hundred out).  I look forward to liberating them, maybe, in the new house.  Not a huge priority, but hopefully I can get them displayed somewhere inconspicuous.  

I don’t know what the attraction is, but they are something I like.  I may use my new camera to continue cataloging them.

 The rain continues.  It has had the effect of replenishing most of the lakes in the area. While they are still below “normal”, they are  a lot  higher than they were.  They are a primary source of drinking water around here, so that is a relief.

I am surprised why “bottled water” is suddenly such a criticized product. (To some degree where it is banded etc.).  I don’t hear anything about soft drinks, bottled tea and coffee etc., and they use just as much water.  

Of course that is said with the self-righteous  view of someone who hasn’t had a carbonated drink for probably 8 years. I do like the “Gold Peak” diet tea, when I can find it.  I don’t care for bottled coffee, frankly I don’t see the point.  

I have tried to avoid artificial sweetener. Of course, too much of anything is bad, but the only artificial sweetener I use anymore if in the Gold Peak diet tea, at least on a regular basis.  I figure at my age, the risk is worth the pleasure I get out of it. 

It is so expensive ($1.48 for a 18 ounce bottle), I didn’t drink much of it until I found I could buy a 59 oz for $2.00 (why the odd size, I don’t know) and put it in an insulated cup and drink it cold all day.  

On my “field day” yesterday, I had a good time.  I dealt with entirely new problems and it was interesting.

That’s it for now, Friday, May 15, 2015.

Spring 2014 May 14 Thursday

64 degrees this morning, no walk, raining 

Almost cold out there yesterday and this morning.  Didn’t rain as much as forecast yesterday, although there  was some times when there was heavy rain. Out back yard is starting to look like a jungle, since it has been too wet to mow.

According to the forecast, is supposed to rain for several ours and then clear up.

When it is raining and I can’t walk, I always think I will use the extra hour to sleep or get something important done.  Of  course, I don’t do either, although I do catch up on some tasks that I  would do later.

Yesterday was an “office day” .  I needed to go in the field, but needed to do some office work also.  Fortunately I got a lot done in the office and will be ready for a busy field day today.  Hopefully it will warm up and stay dry.

I have a lot of new type situations I need to research before I go out in the field and discuss the situation.  No matter how little I know, I usually know more than the other person so am considered an expert!  (That is, the customers,  a lot of the personnel know a lot more than I do.)

Looks like the house closing will happen.  We have a great Agent and we will have a door between the bedroom and bathroom!  We never even imagined a house built without  a door to the bathroom.  (The commode is in a separate room with a door.) 

We are trying to decide between the “do it yourself” move (with a lot of help obviously) or hire at least part of it done.  I’m  sure we will decide life is too short and contact out at least the heavy stuff.  

We are trying to envision what will go where when we move.  I’m sure that we will completely change what we think we will do now within a week of moving!

In “The Innovators”, the book I am listening too, he is just coming up on the development of the transistor. 

I actually remember this development.  In fact, I purchased one of the first transistor radios.  it was $20, a real fortune those days.  I put down .50c on a lay-away  plan.  Considering I was lucking to make .50 to $1.00 per hour occasionally mowing lawns of cleaning out septic tanks, it was a very expensive radio, compared to what I make today!  

However, it was worth every penny.  It was a marvel.  

I guess it started a life of fascination with electronic gadgets and appreciation for innovation.  

Report  on a dream I had yesterday.  I had  one this morning but didn’t get up in time to write it down, so forgot it.  

This is a strange dream, in that I don’t drink soft drinks (or at least I haven’t for at least 7 yearsI) and don’t got through drive thru’s, certainly by myself.

5-13-15 Dream

In  a Burger King, bought a drink. I was in some kind of weird drive through. It came in a big milk jug (the old milk bottle designI)  and was over $2.00.  I expected it to be less and tried to pay.

I thought I had forgotten my money.  The clerk (a man) offered to pay for it when I originally thought I had forgotten money and wanted to use a credit card.

Then I found my money at the bottom or my pocket and pulled it out.

I kept trying to sort the money out and somehow couldn’t sort it out.  

I kept trying to sort out out the money but couldn’t.  My wallet was moldy and i couldn’t get  the money untangled.

I would see a $20 bill and a $5 bill, but I couldn’t sort out the money.

People started to look at me weird and i was wondering how I was going to tell Aliene I had gotten so confused that I couldn’t sort out money.

It seemed to take forever, but fortunately I woke up.

Hope you all have happy dreams today!

That’s it for now, Thursday, May 14, 2015

Spring 2015 May 13 Wednesday (Bathroom Doors?, Boxing, Dreams)

60 degrees this morning.44:56 minute walk

Strange what your mind sees that you don’t see.  In spite of numerous trips to look at our future house by numerous people, no one noticed until last night that there is no door between the Master bedroom and the Master bathroom!

Somehow, all of this time, I think we assumed no one would leave such a door out so we just saw the door there.

It is something we can fix (with a door), but it is not a way to start off in a new house.  I just don’t think much of a designer who would leave out  a door like that!  

As my coaches used to say (a little more forcefully than this), they need to get their head back on their shoulders!

I think the problem is if I miss something that obvious, what it would I do?  

I am really ready for Summer to begin, I am tired of cold weather!  It seems like most years, summer doesn’t come until mid to late May so it should be here before Memorial Day. At least it isn’t far away. 

I still remember several years ago when Summer came in March and it stayed nice (and warm) all Summer.  

Conducting one of my vices this morning, watching a taped boxing match as I write this.  I think one of the things I like best is the “entry” of the fighters (which is frequently very innovative) and the interdiction of the fighters by the ring announcer.  Of course, the “championship belts” are an example of something, I don’t know quite what word to use, except it is something that I expect would quickly become a white elephant.  

I don’t watch the “big” boxing  matches like the recent one, I mainly like the unknowns.  

Of course, it is all a promotional, contrived, gimmick, but then all sports and many other activities could be considered the same.

My other early morning activities are watching car racing (Formula I has become my favorite, NASCAR races are just too long.), music videos and CNBC.  I remember when I was in the Air Force, I would to the “Saturday night” races, which I thought was a good format, several qualifying races and then the “semi-main” and the “main”.

Another rather intense dream.  Not sure where all of this comes from:

Dream: 

5-12-15

Dreamed I was in some type of resort area.  There was several buildings of hotels, spread out kind of like a resort area. It was a beach area.

Except part of it seemed like the farm, at least the area between the hotel buildings.

I was riding a bicycle, seemed to be inside a building in a basement.  

When I tried to ride out of it, the wall was a hill of mud, so I went to find another way.

I was also trying to e-mail someone about what to do, but somehow couldn’t send the e-mail.  (This actually happened in reality the night before)

I remember trying to figure how to get through the lobby at one point, without any clothes on.  Not sure why I didn’t have any clothes on.  Finally I wrapped a small towel around myself but fortunately woke up before I started walking through.

I remember thinking I’d done this in the past but of course I haven’t. (Nor have I had any desire to do so!)

At one point talking with someone else about plans for a family reunion, not sue what. 

The other building (where the lobby was),  seemed like a big house.

No image of the bicycle I was riding, trying to ride.  There were no cars in the dream.

Part of the dream was also about scandals, whether I wanted to start wearing a new pair to replace my old ones.  The dream about the scandals was very vivid    

That’s it for now, Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Spring 2015 May 12 Tuesday

50 degrees this morning, 45:10 minute walk.

A brief respite from the rain, if the weather forecast is correct and it starts raining Wednesday.  Spring and Summer (as far as actual weather)  seem like it hasn’t arrived yet.

Moving is becoming a reality as we debate what to give away/donate/toss, including items we have carried with us for years.  

Aliene decided to give her piano away, and it fortunately went to a family who will use it.  It was a church piano for years until the church dissolved.  In fact, Aliene played it when she was a child.  

The piano, like many things anymore, was still in excellent shape and, with care, will probably last forever, but it is a technology fossil.  The electronic keyboards etc. are much easier to play and move around.  

I expect the same happens to every new generation of cell phones, TV’s, etc., something that is still excellent and useful is tossed for something new and improved.

I don’t think that is necessarily bad, it just seems we need to encourage the repurposing of obsolete devices that are still good.

Probably, like in my case, the proud owner of a bunch of obsolete phones, iPads, music payers etc., I should give them to someone who will use them.  Of course, I still use my  iPhone 3 as an iPad and it works well for that purpose.  I am not quite sure what I will do with them when the battery goes out, probably will depend on the cost of a replacement battery.  Of course, by then, I will have another obsolete iPhone to use, although the “new” iPhones can be re-purposed  as security cameras etc.

I expect it was a difficult decision to give it away.  (Says he person who dithers about getting rid of a 30 year old t-shirt that he never wears:)

Our new house has almost exactly the same square footage, it is just arranged different.  Our actual living area will be bigger, but we will lose one bedroom, so to speak.  

Now that I think of it, I think the new house perhaps emphasizes the minimalist lifestyle many people prefer now, without a lot of possessions.  

Although I have to wonder where all the junk that is sold over the internet and at garage sales etc. goes!  

I was amused by the use of 3-D printing to print more trinkets and souvenirs etc., although they are actually using them for more substantial items such as replacement parts, I even read about an artificial ear being printed by a 3-D printer.

I actually had thought 3-D printing would be more advanced by now, but progress takes time sometimes and also branches off in ways you never think it would.  

Of course, I”m still waiting for the driverless car, which was first envisioned (by me anyway) over 55 years ago, and we’re still driving the same basic concept, much improved of course, but still the same basic concept.

Yesterday, the city came by and advised us the water would be off for “4 or 5 hours” while they made final repairs to the water system.  My respect for the city increased a lot based on their response to the water lead (fixed promptly on a Sunday morning, and they took the time to allow us time for the water to be out for 4 or 5 hours, which was much appreciated!

That’s it for today, Tuesday, May 12, 2015.

Spring 2015 May 11 Monday (Cameras, Water Breaks and Time)

51 Degrees this morning.  46:00minute walk

Update from yesterday morning-  It was a major water leak and our water was shut off.  I barely make it back from my walk and took a shower before the water was cut off!

We were eating “Mothers Days”  breakfast, so we left a little early  to go to the bathroom etc. and by the time we got back, the water was on.

One thing I can say for this city is they are fast on stuff like that.  They had good staffing and were quick to respond.

Got a new camera Saturday night and get it set up yesterday.  While the iPhone camera is great for most pictures, I decided I needed one with a few more capabilities.  (Like zoom etc).

I could get zoom lens etc. for the iPhone, but it didn’t make a lot of sense (for me anyway) to carry around an extra package of lenses when I could buy a camera and not have to worry about upgrading every time I changed phones etc.

Anyway, I went to purchase one camera on sale, but it was bigger than I expected, and I was willing to sacrifice features for size.  I really have had good luck with Canon, so I was going to stick with Canon.

However….I saw a Sony on sale so I asked about that.  They were willing to honor the advertisement, but said it was on back-order.

The Clerk said to make up for it he would give me a “good deal” on another camera I asked about, a Nikon CoolPix S9900.  

To conclude, I love the camera, it haas all the features I wanted, and even more important, some I didn’t know I wanted and it is also very slim and will make a great camera for when the iPhone isn’t enough.

To make me feel even better about it, the Nikon CoolPix 9900 is ranked at the top on the Consumer Reports rankings.  

I took some test photo’s and was very pleased with the result, with pictures I couldn’t take with the iPhone. 

Not that I won’t use my iPhone, probably a lot more than the Nikon, but the Nikon will really be handy when I do need it.  

Hopefully the rain is gone for awhile, or at least the storm.

Monday is here.  The weekend seems to go fast and then the week goes fast.  Our 10th Month  here and my 8th month in my job sped by on May 2 without me even noticing it.  

I have an app,  “HeyDay” that keeps track of me (literally) and pictures I took.  I just got a notice that last year I was in Beijing China and had taken 90 pictures (and that was just on my iPhone!I had two other cameras I took pictures with!)

Perspective is funny.  The China trip seems like yesterday, but was a year ago, and it seems like I have lived here longer than since I was in China.  If that makes any sense.

I am planing on taking a course at the community college/vo tech on “Word Press”.  I have been using it ever since Apple pulled the plug on their Web site program.  (And so to speak, spoiled Apple for me for awhile at the casual and unthinking way they do things.)

I like Word Press, but, like many projects, have only learned enough to write my blog etc   It looks like I don’t have any conflicts so it is a good time to take it.

It is 15 classroom hours which anymore seems like a lot, but it should be enough to teach me something, or maybe I should say 15 hours is adequate opportunity for me to learn something.

That’s it for now, Monday, May 11, 2015.    

Spring 2015 May 10 Sunday (Water from above, Water from below)

64 degrees this morning, 38:42 minute walk

Heavy rains again last night.  

During my walk this morning I noticed a major water leak about a block from my house.  Got my shoes and socks wet the water was so bad.

Of course when I called it in they asked if I was sure it wasn’t just rain water, it definitely wasn’t!

This is actually the 3rd major water leak I have called into this City.  (All in the middle of the night, or early morning, depending on you time frame.)

I quickly took my shower and shave etc., since you normally have to shut off the water to repair a water leak.  

Considering how developer friendly this city is, I figured there is a good chance the valves are placed too far apart and our water will be off when they start to repair the water main.

It is good you can’t “start” a water leak like you can “start” a fire, or they would probably start to wonder about me!   (If they keep track of such things.)

A water leak is has a strange sound, it can even sound like a high wind.  Where it comes out of the ground there are a series of bubbles etc.

During the time in Lakeland, the City didn’t supply water (which was a blessing), but every city  before that had water.  

Supplying water is a lot more complicated than it seems, especially keeping it supplied!  Water leaks, problems with water towers etc. are just as serious as shortages of the supply of water.  

Especially in my first the City where I was first City Manager, water lines were always breaking, problems with the water towers etc. were a continual concern.  It was small enough that it was difficult to find and keep trained personnel who were willing to come out at all ours of the day and night.

In the middle of the night in winter, the water leak repair can be a major discomfort!

One of the first water leaks I remember (this was my first job in Liberal, Kansas and I wasn’t directly associated water line repair) was a big line (I think a 12”, maybe more), blew out, blowing out bricks and spewing about 20’ in the air.

It was spectacular to say the least, as was the language of the City Manager when he saw it!

Actually, my first experience with a water leak was in a avery small town where I  graduated from high school.  

I worked for the City over the summers and part-time (very part-time) during the year.  The  Water Director (who probably did everything else also) was trying to find a leak and we dug up this property all over trying to find the leak.

This was my first (and certainly not the last) experience at someone threatening to get an attorney!

Actually, I found  the water line and leak by “water witching” the water line with some coat hangers.  I don’t know why it works, but it definitely works.  I could really feel the pull of the hangers!  

Wishing a Happy Mothers Day to all Moms today, or persons who have the role of Mother.   

That’s it for now, Sunday, May 10, 2015.