Random 5 Friday 01/31/14

Just trying to get an early start on my R5F entry this week.  Sometimes I forget about R5F until the last minute and then have to rush a post out, if I want to play...Here's the link to Nancy at ARJ.

1.  I picked up a Yoga ball at Academy this week.  It looks like a giant green pickle about 12" long.  I am hoping that it will help build my core, and also to alleviate some chronic back pain I have from an old injury.  The DVD that came with the Pickle, looks easy...

The Yoga Ball, a.k.a The Pickle

2.  Looks can be deceiving. (see above)

3.  Have you heard about the riots in Kiev, Ukraine?  Yeah, the populace is upset with their government's decision to go back to a more Communist outlook, and to reject the populace's desires to merge more fully with the EU.  Serious riots have been ongoing.  A stunning photo shows local priests standing between the riot police and the civilians.  It is both modern and medieval in appearance.  To credit the pic, it is from the AP, by Sergei Grits.

4.  Hormones are both bane and blessing....

5.  We took the Monkeys to see The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug last night.  We were the only people in the theater save for 1 other viewer.  We had to see the 3D version.  I was skeptical at first, having had bad experiences decades ago with the old red/blue glasses and 3D.  Something about screaming headaches afterwards.  But the new 3D is different.  It really worked well, and ZERO headache afterwards, even for DH!

As a diehard Tolkien fan, I am disappointed in the changes to the original book.  I mean, why cave to the feminazi crowd?  It added nothing to the plot.  Jackson would've been better off just making it a 2-film set, rather than hyper expanding the story line into a 3 film money-grab.  I was also disappointed in the portrayal of Beorn, and the skimpy coverage of Mirkwood and the Wood elves.  But the spiders were frighteningly realistic, and in 3D too....if you have arachnophobia, do NOT see this part of the film.  Overall I give it 3 stars, mostly because I am too much a Tolkien fan.  If you are not a diehard, you will like the film.  If you are a diehard, you'll probably like it, BUT...

Politics

Wow....these gentlemen get it!  I wish they would consider running for higher office.  They speak the truth.

And then there was a editorial opinion posted on FoxNews the other day.  I suspect its author was promptly added to somebody's hate-list.

State of the Union 2014 -- thin-skinned amateur Obama addresses Congress, our parliament of whores

By Erick Erickson

Published January 27, 2014

FoxNews.com

 

I did not watch the Golden Globes this year.
I did not watch the Grammys.
I am not sure if I will watch the State of the Union address.
Why bother?
A thin-skinned amateur who has been in office six years and still can’t grasp how to do his job will stand before an even more thin-skinned Parliament of Whores and tell them he does not need them, while knowing he really does need them, while none of them truly want to be with each other, and all have lawyers ready to go bow before the black robed masters who’ll sit stone faced at the front of room knowing they really rule the joint.

This State of the Union, like Washington itself, promises to be soul sucking gamesmanship

My only hope is that the Republicans grow a pair and start laughing uncontrollably when the president begins touting ObamaCare, which you know he will do and which you know they will not. Paging Steve Stockman — here’s your moment.  Complete editorial here.

I suspect I may use his description of Congress in general, in future ramblings.  It's too good not to spread around.

Pinewood Derby 2014

And they're off!

The cars move pretty fast.

ZOOM!

This year's Pinewood Derby for our son's Cub Scout pack was today.  We didn't get as involved in the race as much as in previous years, as MonkeyBoy isn't sure he wants to continue in Scouting. His pack lost a lot of scouts over the 'decision' that the governing council made, including his best friends in Scouts.

 

His pack allows for an open class, for parents and siblings to participate too.  The other Monkeys had fun, though none of the cars did well in the final standings.  If we had spent some time setting up the cars for speed, we could have done better.  But they had a good time, helped with concession sales, and generally exhibited good sportsmanship. 

Not every race ran smoothly.  The Monkeys did not have any crashes themselves, though MonkeyBoy's car did get jostled, as shown below, by a car that did leave the track.

Jostling for position.

CRASH!

It ended up taking 4+ hours to run all the heats and races.  This made for a rather long day for me.  It was fun though, and the kids had a good time.  Maybe next year I will do up a car too...Hmmm...

Random 5 Friday 01/24/14

Wow, is it Friday already?  Well, at least it's payday Friday!  Here we go, linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for another round of fun on R5F.

1.  With last week's patio project, I have sort of gotten off track on my days of the week.  That usually happens when DH takes a day off work, which he did last Friday.  Hopefully by Monday, I will be back on track again.

2.  We are having a bit of a cold snap this week.  Woke up this morning to 16*F...in DFW!  Yikes, that's chilly.  I was getting used to our 50's and 60's last week.  At least they are calling for a warmer weekend.

3.  Tomorrow is our local Pinewood Derby.  My Webelo and his Sibs (aka the Monkeys) are all entered this year.  We didn't have time this year to really spiff up the cars, since they only got finished yesterday just in time for final check-in!  Hopefully they will all have fun tomorrow.

4.  I REALLY need to get active again.  So does DH.  We look at each other, and say, "If it were a bit warmer..." and settle back down, indoors.  Not good.  Since it is supposed to warm up tomorrow I am hoping he will go ride, while I take the kids to the Pinewood Derby.

5.  I am finally used to carrying a small fixed blade knife on my hip daily.  It's just so much handier than a folder at times, and faster too.  Nary a soul has noticed, or said anything if they did notice. 

I hope y'all have a great weekend.  I don't know what all we will be doing other than the Derby, but I hope to have some good posts upcoming.

Patio Part 4: The End

It is finished!  YAY!  After a long day Saturday,  and yet more trips to Lowes for additional supplies, we were able to sand the joints, and lock the pavers in place, using the polymeric sand.  Then began the task of back filling dirt around the whole patio, to hold the edges in place (along with the paver edge strips), and to ease the transition from paver to ground.

We may have to trench in a French drain between the patio and the storm shelter, to ensure water doesn't pool up there.  Plus we have some stepping stones to set to cross between patio and shelter than need to be placed.

We still need more dirt to finish the patio transition, but that will have to wait until either next weekend, or the next payday.  Overall, though, we both like how it came out, and despite what we see as glaring errors, it really is fine.  The few spare pavers will be stored in the garage, and the polymeric sand and extra unused supplies will go back to Lowes for a refund. 

We learned a lot during this project, and it went more smoothly than I thought it would.  There are things we would do differently, were we to start over.  But on the whole, I am pleased.

Lessons learned:
First:  Don't believe the coverage area listed for the paver base.  It isn't 2 cu.ft. but is much more like 1 cu.ft.
Second:  Set your stakes and string lines first.  Then measure your depth necessary and do your volume calculations.
Third:  Think about which way you want to run your scree-pipes.  It's doubly important if you are covering a slab as we did, since it is your main reference height and sets your slope, especially if your patio will be larger than the slab.
Fourth:  The Gorilla Cart is totally worth the money!  It easily saved us a full day's labor just in moving materials from the van to the patio.
Fifth:  A Lesche digging tool is really helpful.  It's thinner and flatter and stronger than the usual garden trowel.  It costs a lot more, too.