Our end of summer driveway project has left us irritated and a bit depressed. This isn’t our first concreteproject, so we do know what to expect and what is possible. Our builder supervised our first driveway at this house (the finish looked good and there were no initial cracks, but after a decade it flaked off in spots). We poured additional concrete for the detached poolhouse garage (very well done), did decking around the pool with a “cool deck” finish, added the basketball turn around area and a section behind the poolhouse later, but before the asphalt (it is all fine). We had a premium stamped concrete poured for the backporch and it looks great and is holding up well. In a previous century we also did a driveway, back porch and pool with decking in Hudson, Ohio and were completely satisfied. So, we know what concrete crews are capable of and how it should look.
That said, the new concrete driveway is a disappointment and is already cracking in several spots. It has a lousy brushed finish and several rain damaged spots due to pouring on a rain forecasted day. It is not going to be a pleasant meeting when they ask for my final payment (The crew still hasn’t been back to fix the pitch or add a drain we previously discussed).
Who wants to even look at their home or boat shelf of solvents. I’ve bought different ones for different tasks and the cans just sit there since I never know which ones to use for which purpose. Is it possible to just stick with four?
Mineral Spirits. Good for thinning varnish and enamels, cleaning brushes, wiping up stray polyurethane sealants, and general cleanup.
Xylene. Reduces most topside paints, bottom paint, removes smudges, and is just the thing for removing fender and black heel marks from the topsides and deck.
Acetone. Nothing dries faster, works well with polyester resins.
Vinegar. Don’t use epoxy without it. This is very effective at cleaning up tools and skin. It may take few minutes of soaking to soften the epoxy so it can be cleaned away with scrubbing.
Catalytic converters have precious metals that can be recycled, so I’ve been saving back a couple of the parts from the BMWX5 35d thinking that I might get a chance to see just what they might be worth. Supposedly there is are a few apps that will track going prices … one called Eco Cat but it requires numbers off the parts.
The news media has been doing their part this week to remember the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and memorializing the 2977 people killed by 19 radical Islamist terrorists. Twenty years ago, four commercial airliners loaded with unsuspecting passengers were hijacked and the fuel-ladened planes were used as suicide weapons. To the world’s horror, they took down both World Trade Center buildings in NYC, slammed into the Pentagon in Washington DC and thankfully due to the heroics of passengers who charged the cockpit, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was a day that in hindsight should have never happened … considering what we knew about previous terror attacks and radical groups like Al-Qaeda lead by Osama bin Laden.
America united after 9/11 and went to war with those who planned and assisted those who attacked us. The brazen attack against America pulled America and western allies together, but into a costly 20 year campaign to eliminate those who use terrorism in the Middle East and “the land of endless war,” Afghanistan. Some objectives were met such as capturing the principal architect in 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and killing Osama bin Laden in 2011. Our military, homeland security teams and intelligence agencies also kept Americans safe from any major terrorist attack … but the winds have changed in recent years. America has grown tired of war in Afghanistan and our botched departure has given rapid rise to a Taliban controlled (and now US equipped) militant tribal dictatorship who’s leaders have been emboldened by their victory over the weak Afghan government and U.S. forces scrambling to leave the country. Once again, conditions are ripe for radical Islamists who will likely train and equip terror cells plotting to kill Americans and all who oppose their radical ideology.
Some politicians will try to manipulate this 20th anniversary of 9/11 and pat themselves on the back for ending America’s war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it is hard to reflect on the 9//11 attack in the way the “greatest generation” did on Pearl Harbor and our victory over Japan in World War 2 … those rose-colored glasses don’t exist. Would it have been so inappropriate to have a presence (Bagram) to squelch build-ups, training camps or refuges for terrorists set on attacking us again? We left bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc?
Perhaps today we are more alert and better equipped to defend our homeland, but who can be sure while watching streams of people (and drugs) flood across our southern border, seeing the infighting between citizens and politicians concerned more concerned about renaming schools, teaching CRT, using gender correct pronouns or who is or isn’t wearing a face mask. For me, it is hard to really feel secure or optimistic that we’ll be able to defend against the next sophisticated or creative terror attack … or to believe we are safer at home after leaving Afghanistan the way we did?
In the never ending battle to thwart spam and fill WordPress and server vulnerabilities, a few new tools were added this week to MyDesultoryBlog.com.
This security and maintenance release features 60 bugfixes in addition to 3 security fixes. Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately. All versions since WordPress 5.4 have also been updated.
WordPress 5.8.1 is a short-cycle security and maintenance release. The next major release will be version 5.9.
The change (content restriction) will come slowly and will hopefully encourage regular readers to make the effort to register and sign-in(there isn’t a nefarious ulterior motive besides reducing bots, spam and protecting content).
Last month when we were together with the kids, they were talking about enjoying trips to Michigan for long weekends during the summer (Drew’s parents have a house on Lake Michigan). It brought back memories for us and I mentioned that once-upon-a-time we thought about buying cabin property in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Huron in Michigan. We made a offer to purchase two lots at the time, but the offer was not accepted and our interest faded ..thank goodness because it was a ridiculously long way to drive.
I couldn’t find photos at the time, so as a a personal Throwback Thursday post this week, I found the very short section of home video from our Corbett Chronicles and was shocked that it was 32 years ago! Wow! Since the “property segment” was super short, I’m including a cute segment of Katelyn(3-years old) doing summersaults while Taylor (3-months) watches intently a little later in September 1989.
Since I have a couple items to pack up to take to a recycling and solid waste facility and was searching for options in our area (replaced an old AC compressor with refrigerant), it occurred to me that one way to reduce the items we generate is to not buy environmentally hazardous products in the first place (as someone who was once focused on biodiesel and spent a lifetime in the printing business, this “should be” second nature – it is not. I should do better).
Here’s a short list of items that we can try when trying to replace store purchased pollutants – we’ve used vinegar as a substitute for quite a few cleaning products in the past but could make it a better habit.
Probably the biggest change for most of us who can clearly remember life without portable gadgets like cellphones are lithium-ion batteries in everything. The are clearly a problem since SO MANY items have them in them. We regularly get a reminder form our waste collection company about NOT disposing them in our regular trash (see video). Not a bad reminder.
Placing batteries—specifically lithium-ion batteries—in your recycling and trash containers may cause a dangerous situation. When batteries break, they spark fires, putting people, employees, and the motoring public unnecessarily at risk.
These days, lithium-ion batteries can be found in a variety of everyday items, such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, lawn equipment, car batteries, and power tools. Smaller lithium-ion batteries are also used to power cameras, remotes, toys, and a variety of electronics. Lithium-ion batteries are perfectly safe when intact; however, cracked they are a ticking time bomb. It does not take much for a cracked battery to spark up and start a fire. Please don’t place batteries in your trash or recycling. We want to keep our employees, landfills, recycling plants, and your neighborhood safe.
How do you get rid of unwanted batteries?
You can get rid of unwanted batteries or electronics by contacting your local solid waste district. Solid waste districts are county-based government agencies. If you’re not sure what solid waste district you belong to, search your county name followed by solid waste district. This will lead you to proper disposal options for batteries as well as other household hazardous items. Many solid waste districts offer community cleanup events, recycling drop boxes, and other services. We appreciate your support in keeping our employees and neighborhoods safe.
It was a home maintenance project that has been done before, but I’m still not fond of wire-brushing and repainting railings, our iron fence or rear gate … but since there was time at home this past Labor Day weekend, the project was started and finally finished.
Besides digging out the rock at the base and cleaning as much mud and rust from from the iron, I was able to dab black Rustoleum paint “under” at least the top two crossbars this time. The labor intensive project has me re-thinking the rust appearing on our front or back porch railing; perhaps I can just remove them and go without?
Our builder supervised our first driveway at this house (the finish looked good and there were no initial cracks, but after a decade it flaked off in spots). We poured additional concrete for the detached poolhouse garage (very well done), did decking around the pool with a “cool deck” finish, added the basketball turn around area and a section behind the poolhouse later, but before the asphalt (it is all fine). We had a premium stamped concrete poured for the backporch and it looks great and is holding up well. In a previous century we also did a driveway, back porch and pool with decking in Hudson, Ohio and were completely satisfied. So, we know what concrete crews are capable of and how it should look.
That said, the new concrete driveway is a disappointment and is already cracking in several spots. It has a lousy brushed finish and several rain damaged spots due to pouring on a rain forecasted day. It is not going to be a pleasant meeting when they ask for my final payment (The crew still hasn’t been back to fix the pitch or add a drain we previously discussed).
