Category Archives: charlie

Fun in San Diego

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We are halfway through our visit to the WestCoast Cornells. Mariel is off on Thursday so we went down to Shell Beach. Dex tried out his scooter on the hill and Chase tried his trike.
Some short videos from YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNKdD03jc-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G18LnZZy5PY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoVzS-oq3ec
Saturday morning, Matt, Dex, Chase and I went to The Home Depot. Dex and Chase built periscopes, and we got the materials for the soda bottle rocket launcher.
In the afternoon we went to the pool for a while:

link to pics
Betsy and I took Dexter and Chase (or the other way around) to see Toy Story 3 on Saturday night.
Sunday mid-day Dex and Matt and I built the launcher and did a few proof of concept launches out on the street. Concept has been proved!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGWjU6dctQI
Turned out the bottle was not fully mounted on the launch tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0al_20Nfw5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH9duYc1-4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-igxea1EBM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd1BOR_NnP8
And later that night we went to the Aquarium and watched two sets of fireworks.

Here are some pics from Saturday.
link to pics

The Good, the Bad, and the Dribbly

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The pool was losing 1.5 to 2 inches a day while the pump was on. I finally had eliminated the side drain and the two skimmers. Even though I had done a water column test on the main return line and it did not show any loss, I didn’t see what else it could be. So I started digging it up:
2010-06-08-130147
Got down to the pipes and connections and it was bone dry.
So that is the good. None of the elbows were leaking.
The bad was that I had gone against the evidence and dug up the main return connections for nothing.
I just went back into the pump room to turn the pump again when it suddenly hit me that I had heard a cracking noise several weeks ago when turning the multi-port valve from filter to backwash or vice-versa.
2010-06-08-130102
SOOO, I turned the pump back on and went back down to the waste pipe, and sure enough, water was dribbling out. The valve was leaking water from the main return into the waste pipe.
Took it apart and sure enough, the gasket was all kerfluggalled (the one on the left is the bad one)
2010-06-08-125516 and the gasket channel was broken.

Broken piece is just about at 12 noon.

Broken piece is just about at 12 noon.


The even better good news is that Feeley’s had a replacement gasket which solved the leak. I have to order a new valve and replace it at some later point.

Nun Better and 2010 Springfest

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Sr. Doretta and the nuns at Good Counsel were challenged to a softball game by the Good Counsel Academy All Stars (grammar school kids). They had heard about a softball team the nuns had many years ago which was named Nun Better.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dorettacornell/NunBetterVsGCAStarrs51410
Doretta is in the 6th picture. She also got a hit both times she got up to bat.

I had to go up to St. Isidore’s to drop off the Prayers of Faithful for the weekend masses and turn on the baptismal font for Nancy Dome’s grandson’s baptism. I had not been around town for the last few years of Spring Fest. It had died out for a few years and then started coming back about 2000. This is the first year in a while that the weather has cooperated. It is bigger than ever. I had a scrambled egg and sausage breakfast with Fr. Dave and Fr. Luke at St. I’s, then walked down to center.
Link to pics

Summer starts at Camp Cornell

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No it is not that the pool is opened. That should happen in the next few weeks. The first official sign is that the entertainment center location moves up to the back porch.

The porch media center is open for business

The porch media center is open for business

We moved the TV, STB, dvd player and Hermes up to the porch last Saturday night so we could watch the Celtics/Cavaliers game. Woody was not impressed with the Celtic’s fade in the second half but he was happy to be watching it on the porch.

Woody checks out the display from Hermes on the Akai

Woody checks out the display from Hermes on the Akai


It took a little work and help from Matt but over Sunday and Monday morning, Hermes was upgraded to Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04), the alsa drivers to 1.0.23 and Voila! we finally have HDMI sound. So all is good.
Well almost. Late Sunday night we found out that the entertainment stuff is on the same circuit as the microwave and when Betsy tried heating up some supper for Kait, the breaker tripped. I hadn’t heard the microwave so I thought we lost half of the power coming in to the house. I was in the middle of a call to Hudson Power and Light when Betsy asked if it could be the breaker. I checked and sure enough. I had to call HP&L back and sheepishly say, “never mind!”.
Now we have to figure out how to get that on a different circuit while not violating anyone’s aversion to actual wires being visible.

Jesus wants me

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I know I spend a lot of time up at St. Isidore and down in Braintree at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center but I was still shocked to see that Jesus wants me for a special mission (email received 3/22/2010):

To: cac@stisidorestow.org
Subject: Emergency Message from The Lord
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:57:41 +0100
From: “Jesus Christ”

This Message is an Official Message for the Government of Abraham founded
in part by Jesus Christ de Yahweh. Interference with This Message, The
Originator, His Respondents, His Adherents, His Mechanisms, etc. are
subject to no appellate authority.

Greetings from THE LAMB:
I have been tasked with assembling an emergency elect on behalf of God
Yahweh for the Government of Abraham. The elect must be twenty-four
able-bodied adults for the 2010 term. I require the names, emails, and
telephone numbers of these twenty-four church leaders emailed to
emergency@3emergency.com or jesus@3jesus.com immediately. Failure to
follow this instruction shall have spiritual consequences.

Buenas Suerte,
Jesus Christ

P.S. Also, I am upset with you about this last Millennium Birthday at the
year year two-thousand. Were you not aware I’d come back to you?

FURTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Rules for Yahweh, Holy Spirit, Jesus:

1. Our Press must be authorized. jesus@3jesus.com
2. No impromptu meetings nor impromptu interactions. jesus@3jesus.com
3. No photos, etc. jesus@3jesus.com
4. “No or Yes” questions only. jesus@3jesus.com
We most graciously thank you for your message and efforts. Also, you
forgot My Millennium Birthday.

Love,
The Office of Jesus Christ
aka The Word of God
P.O. Box 701
San Mateo, CA 94401
USA
website: www.2000t.tel
emails: jesus@3jesus.com and/or emergency@3emergency.com

+1(650)520-2317

We repeat, This Message is an Official Message for the Government of
Abraham founded in part by Jesus Christ de Yahweh. Interference with This
Message, The Originator, His Respondents, His Adherents, His Mechanisms,
etc. are subject to no appellate authority.
03/22/2010
To stop receiving these
emails:http://www.hellomails.org/unsubscribe.php?M=7191127&C=d578a8335b14e7733e4b5979f7ef3fcc&L=45&N=88
Your email client cannot read this email.
To view it online, please go here:
http://www.hellomails.org/display.php?M=7191127&C=d578a8335b14e7733e4b5979f7ef3fcc&S=88&L=45&N=53

The RMV saga

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Woody helps out getting the new inspection sticker on the Olds

Woody helps out getting the new inspection sticker on the Olds

The Olds had a February inspection sticker so a week ago last Friday (the day we got back from San Diego), I ran it over to the Mobil station in Hudson. It failed inspection because there were some exhaust leaks and the license plate was too worn to be viewed safely. (They just don’t make plates like they used to. That plate was originally on the 86 Olds). So last Tuesday I had the exhaust system fixed, and then Wednesday I ran over to the RMV in Leominster to get new plates. It only took 2 minutes after I got to the counter but it was a 55 minute wait before that. New tags: 331 JZ8. Next problem was attaching the front plate. Since the green and white plates only had a rear plate, I never had a front plate holder. After deciding I had no scrap stuff to make one easily, I took George up on his offer to attach it. He did that Thursday. Looks nice. Friday I took it back to complete the inspection. This time the system spat out a notice that I had to bring it to a Motorist Assistance Center (MAC) to complete the inspection. I called the RMV and made an appointment for the one in Framingham on Monday (Today) at 10. They couldn’t tell me why.
So this morning I head to Framingham and I was just crossing Route 9 when I realized I had left the registration on my desk at home. I was so close I decided to go anyway. Turns out the MAC is a ramshackle room in a business that does safety inspections. It is marked only by a tiny sign by the door. I went in and told the guy I had forgotten the registration. He asked why I had to bring it and I told him I didn’t know. He pulled it into the bay and came back 2 minutes later. He said the garage checked a box incorrectly that said it was a “kit” car rather than a stock Olds 88. So he had to call the Mobile station to tell them to uncheck that and do the inspection. So I went all the way back, got the registration and after another 30 minute wait, I had my sticker. The Mobil station said they don’t check anything; all they do is scan the sticker. So I don’t know where the error happened but all is now well.