"Murphy was an optimist!"
A 3 hour lunch.. a 3 hour lunch… June 29, 2010 4:17 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeThe programmer was feeling stressed
He had much to get done
If not for the forgotten iPhone charger
He could skip lunch
He could skip lunch
The battery was draining fast
A power cord must be bought
The Apple Store was lots of fun
But too close to home
Too close to home
At the house the Internet went out
Comcast kinda sucks
A technician was called out
We rewired the house
Rewired the house
The Internet came back up
Not by skill but by luck
My temple pulsing with anger
A 3 hour lunch
A 3 hour lunch!
What floor should be inside the clubhouse? June 28, 2010 10:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being DadThe kind folks at Woodmanor.net usually leave the inside of their clubhouses the bare plywood. They have seen people put down outdoor carpet, linoleum, and wood flooring. I am inclined to think of the plywood as a subfloor and to install some kind of flooring. If the fllooring ever became damaged, I could easily pull it out and replace it. If the plywood ever became damaged, repair or replacement would be difficult. The people at lumberliquidators.com said their flooring is not rated for outdoor use and did not recommend it for the clubhouse.
What kind of flooring should I use inside the clubhouse? What about on the porch?
Weekend Project Day 10 – Rafters Secured June 27, 2010 5:01 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being Dad
I’m programming today but gave myself a milestone reward and took some time to secure the rafters on Amy’s clubhouse. There are two hip rafters that will have to be cut and secured before the roofing can be added but now the house can be tarped and the children can play in it until work continues.
Projects like this make me in awe of our pioneering forefathers who had to cut and mill their own wood, make their own nails, and build their own homesteads. What a life that had to be!
2commentsWeekend Project Day 9 – Rafters begun June 24, 2010 9:53 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being Dad
Weekend Project Day 8 – last wall done June 23, 2010 8:34 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being Dad
The last wall is secured and the sizing and cutting of the rafters have begun. The plans were a little unclear on some of the rafter cuts so I had to do some math and thinking. It’s been a pleasure having my geometry bone tickled. And I’ve regained an appreciation for my tools. The power of a square! (pun totally intended). I am short on a tool. For 16 cuts I really require a band saw so today I hope to impose on a friend for the use of his workshop. This is my favorite movie of the project so far:
add a commentflickr iPhone app 99% upload then fails June 23, 2010 8:07 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Gadgets, Of Interest, Software, TechnologyMy iPhone refuses to upload a picture using the flickr app. It gets through 99%, reports complete, then says "Upload failed. Try later. Try again." Not much on The Googles about this. However, I believe the answer is in Flickr’s monthly upload limit for free accounts. After upgrading to Pro, my upload worked flawlessly. To the flickr iPhone app developers, your error message needs to be altered to encourage the purchase of a pro account.
View pictures mainly from my iPhone at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccaughan and see excellent photography from Cathy with a real camera at http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticpsychology.
add a commentOf Grasshoppers June 22, 2010 7:20 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Grasshoppers, PhilosophyStudent: Why do we go on?
Master: Why stop?
Weekend Project Day 7 – 2 more walls complete June 22, 2010 10:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being Dad
I made my first cutting error. A sheet of T111 is 8 feet by 4 feet. I needed one to end up being 72 inches which leaves a 24 inch piece. I had two other pieces that were supposed to be 13 inches and 12½ inches totaling 12.5 inches. I cut those two pieces from the piece of T111 that was supposed to end up being 72 inches. That left me 1.5 inches short. Cost of a new sheet of T111 = $40! For 1½ inches! In the long run, I won’t have to route any of the siding to make it fit so this is probably $40 well spent.
Of Grasshoppers June 20, 2010 11:39 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Grasshoppers, PhilosophyStudent: So much I haven’t done.
Master: So much you have.
Weekend Project Day 6 June 20, 2010 9:16 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being DadThis is the second weekend of Amy’s birthday present. Sarah’s birthday is this week. So after making a little progress on a programming project, I allowed myself a milestone break to get the upper half of the second wall in place. My weekend goal had been All walls complete and rafters begun. Once the second wall was in place, we whisked over to the inlaws to celebrate father’s day. Upon return I convinced myself that I should do a 3rd wall before returning to programming (you can program in the dark). The materials for my 4th wall are a full 1½ inches short. How that happened is beyond me. So after the 3rd wall, progress came to a grinding halt. Tomorrow I’ll pickup another sheet of T111 and that will give us enough material to finish the walls in short spurts during the week. Hopefully before the next rains come we can have the rafters in place to support a tarp or perhaps even the roof done.
Weekend Project On Hold June 20, 2010 7:57 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being DadToday would be a perfect day to make great progress on a club house. Unfortunately, duties call and I must produce code.
add a commentWeekend Project Day 5 June 19, 2010 1:23 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being DadIn anticipation of rain by lunch, we tried to get the headers done and some upper walls up.
Headers
Upper Rear Wall
add a commentWeekend Project Day 4 June 19, 2010 1:17 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being DadI came home last night to settle into some programming and realized that the weekend was going to be wet. Wet is good for programming but bad for construction so I traded. Last night, was Day 4 of Amy’s birthday present/weekend project. Half the headers got done.
add a commentWeekend Project Day 3 – 6th Wall Secured June 18, 2010 10:56 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, Of Being Dad
The 6th wall (the front door) has been cut, studded and secured. The side walls have been knocked off, moved forward a half inch, and secured.
add a commentA smack of reality June 18, 2010 10:52 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeThere is the way that most of us believe the world works; then there is the way it really works. Most of us believe that we live in a rules based society where minor infractions result in catastrophic consequences. The fact of the matter is that we live in a fuzzy logic society guided but good suggestions but where oversights, back scratches, and silently looking out for one another is the norm. Sometimes we fail to realize that stranger is looking out for our best interest.
Today I thought I was exchanging 34 cracked pieces of fir precut studs for 34 in better condition. As it turns out I was only returning 32 plus 2 eight foot pine boards but the paperwork said 34 boards. Exchanges are not allowed in the yard. Wood has to be returned for cash and a new purchase has to be made. Paperwork is in triplicate…twice. After exchanging the 32 boards the yardman drove me to the stack of 2×8 pine, pointed, and said, "I’ll go take care of the paperwork with the yardboss." After swapping my two pieces of pine, I walked to the shed to sign the paperwork. I’d like to blame it on the lack of coffee in my system but truth be told my brain was turned off and I had a naive moment as I uttered, "what about the two pieces of pine." The yardboss glared at the yardman, questioned him, and like a scene from Brazil begin pounding on keys and muttering at her computer. I signed here, there and there again. As the yardman and I walked away from the shed, I apologized and he was good humored about it but I think he probably muttered at me as I left.
add a comment
