Our new president has extolled the virtues of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, pointing out that without Lincoln, he, Barack Obama, could never have become president. That may be true in part, but he leaves out a most critical piece of the story. Lincoln was assassinated during a time when the congress and senate were still arguing about what to do after the Civil War ended. There were some in power at the time who wanted to punish the South and not allow them full statehood along with the autonomy that implies, and even some who didn’t think slavery should have been abolished.
It was Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, who worked to insure that Lincoln’s legacy wasn’t lost in the transition. The congress tired to impeach him over the disagreement about what would happen, but failed to convict by one vote. I think Andrew Johnson is the most undervalued president in our history. It was his effort that kept our country headed in the right directions of unification and freedom for all.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
We are settling in to our new home
We continue to get settled in to the new house in Sugar Land, TX. And it is not without adventure and excitement.
Starting with the swimming pool. We spoke with three different pool maintenance companies, and settled on one who spoke with knowledge and experience. Before he started showing up though, I was experimenting with the valves on the pool pump, filter, and heater system. I was interested in learning how they work, and whether the pool-cleaning device (a Polaris 360, if you are interested) was working right. I managed not to get the valves put back just they way they were, and noticed the next day that the Polaris device was moving quite a bit more rapidly than before, and was generating a lot more thrust from its jets. I noticed this because the sweeper was regularly tying its hose in knots, which I had to untangle and set the cleaner free again. And the hose was starting to fail in several places due to the higher than desired pressure. The pool maintenance company has it adjusted more properly now.
Our master bath was carpeted when we bought the home. We both agreed a tile floor was more desirable, so we shopped, found a store and agreed on an installed price. That evening after we returned to the house, I wondered what was under the carpet. Tile, of course, but not at all what we wanted, so I advised the tile store that in addition to removing carpeting, a layer of tile would have to come up also. After a couple false alarms, the installers showed up and worked in earnest, generating copious quantities of dust and debris as they chiseled up the old tile. They cut the new tile with a hand held die grinder near the front door, generating more dust, and proceeded to get everything done but the grout in one day. When they pulled up the toilet in the master bath, another problem surfaced. The toilet base was cracked, but that was not the worst, the toilet had been glued to the carpet, and cemented into the floor. There was no mount flange either. So I had to buy a new toilet and call a plumber to make it right. The plumber came that evening, and worked 3 ½ hours to get everything done. The new toilet sits a bit higher, more comfortable for us older folk. The next morning, the installers finished the grout, and the master bath looks quite good. Our master bath was just like the US economy; all it needed was a financial stimulus package 50% larger than what we thought was needed.
The next project will be the kitchen sink. The current one is too shallow, and the faucet set leaks a bit. We will replace them with a stainless, single bowl that is at least 8” deep and a faucet set with a high rise spigot for ease of pot-filling. We’ll see how this project works out.
Starting with the swimming pool. We spoke with three different pool maintenance companies, and settled on one who spoke with knowledge and experience. Before he started showing up though, I was experimenting with the valves on the pool pump, filter, and heater system. I was interested in learning how they work, and whether the pool-cleaning device (a Polaris 360, if you are interested) was working right. I managed not to get the valves put back just they way they were, and noticed the next day that the Polaris device was moving quite a bit more rapidly than before, and was generating a lot more thrust from its jets. I noticed this because the sweeper was regularly tying its hose in knots, which I had to untangle and set the cleaner free again. And the hose was starting to fail in several places due to the higher than desired pressure. The pool maintenance company has it adjusted more properly now.
Our master bath was carpeted when we bought the home. We both agreed a tile floor was more desirable, so we shopped, found a store and agreed on an installed price. That evening after we returned to the house, I wondered what was under the carpet. Tile, of course, but not at all what we wanted, so I advised the tile store that in addition to removing carpeting, a layer of tile would have to come up also. After a couple false alarms, the installers showed up and worked in earnest, generating copious quantities of dust and debris as they chiseled up the old tile. They cut the new tile with a hand held die grinder near the front door, generating more dust, and proceeded to get everything done but the grout in one day. When they pulled up the toilet in the master bath, another problem surfaced. The toilet base was cracked, but that was not the worst, the toilet had been glued to the carpet, and cemented into the floor. There was no mount flange either. So I had to buy a new toilet and call a plumber to make it right. The plumber came that evening, and worked 3 ½ hours to get everything done. The new toilet sits a bit higher, more comfortable for us older folk. The next morning, the installers finished the grout, and the master bath looks quite good. Our master bath was just like the US economy; all it needed was a financial stimulus package 50% larger than what we thought was needed.
The next project will be the kitchen sink. The current one is too shallow, and the faucet set leaks a bit. We will replace them with a stainless, single bowl that is at least 8” deep and a faucet set with a high rise spigot for ease of pot-filling. We’ll see how this project works out.
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