A review

A new local rib joint (it's part of a chain) opened, and Katherine and I stopped in as part of the we-hate-to-cook June tour. (Not be confused with the upcoming too-hot-to-cook July tour, the we're-on-Vacation August tour, or the recently concluded too-busy-to-cook May tour.)

My review is best summed up by I should just gone ahead and made the Hamburger Helper I had planned. The rib joint was not so much bad as just not worth going over there ...

Plan "B", as in Bail

To handle the basement, a Puddle Sucker (more formally known as a Submersible Utility Pump) has been obtained. It's not a automated sump pump, but we don't need a permanent installation like that anyway.

At up to 1260 gallons per hour (~ 21 gallons a minute), the puddle sucker can handle one beast of a puddle. We figure with the basement floor covered, we have only have ~ 80 gallons or so.

Man the Lifeboats

I noted in my previous entry that Parts of the basement floor get a couple of inches of water once every few years.

One of those times was what people described as the 100 year flood back in the fall of 1996, which put ten feet of water in the MBTA subway and three inches in our basement. Another time was a year or two ago.

The next time (we are told) could be Saturday night. Katherine says it's not my fault, the bike was already in the basement, but I wonder.

The basement has been further cleaned, and more wood blocks cut in honor of the possible coming event.

The Joy of Home Ownership

I just spent two hours cleaning the basement.

This adventure had a specific purpose, which was to get the older of the two exercise bikes back in service. Parts of the basement floor get a couple of inches of water once every few years, so I had put the old bike up on some small blocks, where it was not ridable.

I moved our pseudo laundry table (and it also holds the wine cellar) off a concrete pad which is the local high ground, and moved the bike onto it. The table moved next to the dryer, which actually helps its laundry function.

I also wiped top of the laundry table. Good thing the EPA didn't see what came off that.

This was a trivial amount of work and I actually enjoyed it, but it makes me wonder how real people take care of their homes. On a regular basis, we're good for snow removal, laundry, the dishes and that's about it. (To keep the EPA from closing us down, we have a maid service in every two weeks.)

Ah well, the bike is ready for me now.

Going Down

My weight leveled for several days, and then dropped three pounds in the past two days. That's good, my weight spreadsheet was telling me I was verge of going up again.

The exercise continues, mixing in occasional walks with with the bike.

HUP - 2 - 3 - 4

I hit the bike again today. That makes six times via a nice consistent every other day.

AIM terms of service, Revisited

From News.com:

America Online said late Monday that it plans to revise its user agreement in response to concerns that instant messages sent through the company's service could be monitored.

The new policy for AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, will stress that the company does not eavesdrop on customer's conversations except in unusual circumstances such as a court order, an AOL spokesman said.