If they drop this thing, is a "hard hat" really gonna do any good?

It looks like all the heavy lifting is complete on the new building going up just 3 blocks SW of our casa, so today they're taking down the big crane.  It's really fascinating to watch.  It's just like the erector set I had as a kid, only bigger.

I remember about a year ago I got up close and watched them take down the giant crane on the new building right next door.  I got to meet the project manager, and in fact he made me the jobsite Director of Sex and Music.  His exact words were, "If I want your fuckin' help, I'll whistle."  It was quite an honor.  :)

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Did you see this in the news last week?  A giant "oarfish" washed ashore on a beach in Southern California.  A second oarfish washed ashore this week, too.  Turns out this might not be such a good thing. 

It seems that according to an old myth giant oarfish have some kind of built-in seismic detectors which can predict earthquakes.  In fact, oarfish sightings were noticed off Chile and Haiti before their devastating earthquakes, and off Sendai, Japan in 2012 also.

Maybe this would be a good time for people who live near the Southern California fault line to....oh, I dunno....MOVE!

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Like a lot of Apple-philes I downloaded the new iOS-7 system when it came out a few weeks ago.  Since then I've had all sorts of un-Apple-like things go wrong with both my iPad and my iPhone. 

Turns out I wasn't alone.  There have been lots of complaints, and yesterday Apple made available a new iOS-7 software update that will supposedly fix the problems.  I'm now current.  I'll keep you posted on whether it worked or not.

Enjoy your Hump Day, and watch where you step.   :)

S

  

Rough week ahead

I am NOT looking forward to this week.  Bro has to go to a wedding (in-law side of his family) in Michigan and is driving there with two other couples.  I've been recycled as CEO / head flunkie again, this time for 6 days.  Ugh!

I can feel summer a-knocking.  For several days our temps have topped out in the nineties.....probably the first of about 150 this year.  It's 7am as I write this and I can already hear the lawn guys out mowing.  It's times like this I remember why I'm a happy renter.  Also, K found a leak under our kitchen sink.  I fixed it.  Didn't even break a sweat.  (I fired off an email to maintenance :)

Building Crane....the official bird of Dallas

Two more of these things have gone up near where I live.  This one is about 1/2 mile SW.  I'm told it's to be an 8 story office building, all pre-leased to an insurance company.  The other is about a mile S.  Plus the news reported local pre-owned house prices are up over 10% from last year.  Listen....can you hear it?  *inflation*

More drivel later.  Gotta go.  Have a good day everyone.

S

Just thinkin' out loud....

This thing intrigues me:

They're constructing a new multi-story building right behind ours.  I can see it going up from my den windows.  Being a builder myself I'm pretty good at geometry and figuring out how things work, but this crane thing has me baffled.  The large concrete weights hanging off to the right are obviously meant to counter-balance the weight being lifted on the left side.  So far, so good.  But as you lift a load and slide it towards the mast, to maintain balance shouldn't the counter-weights slide in too?  In practice, however, the lifted weight varies and moves, but the counter-weight never does.  Are there some new laws of physics at work here that I missed?  (Maybe I should have paid more attention in class?)

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Yesterday as soon as granddaughter Blakely was born they weighed and measured her, but then a few minutes later they took her to the nursery to "officially" weigh and measure her.  In between times she messed in her diaper and the new mom dutifully cleaned and changed her.  The nurse was slightly upset when she found out because she said this could change the baby's weigh-in.  Turned out to be a non-issue.  Her weight varied by .02 pounds, not enough to matter.  Which got me to thinking....when those little diapers say they're for 6-12 pounders, they're talking about the baby's weight....right??

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Finally, some common sense business news:  Citigroup shareholders have rejected the executive compensation package proposed for their top people.  Their vote isn't binding on the Board of Directors, but they would be fools to NOT take the shareholders views seriously.  'Bout damn time, I say!  These days companies give their CEO's raises if they lose less than expected.  And "retention" bonuses?  If they're running the company into the ground, why would you want to retain them?  If they're in fact as good at what they do as they say they are you'd think they would agree to work for less while they turn things around, just to redeem their exalted reputations.


Maybe I think too much....


S