Stainless Steel in the kitchen

As previously promised, here are some pictures of my handiwork of installation.

Kitchen Refresh

Since we bought the new house in Sugar Land, both of us have had some niggling issues with the kitchen. I was unhappy with the shallow double sink and low faucet. It made cleaning up after meals (my normal duties) an aggravating task. And my lovely bride was unhappy with the performance, or lack thereof, from the Jenn-Air downdraft cook top and Kenmore wall oven.

So we embarked on our own little campaign to stimulate the national economy. We bought new appliances at Sears and a new deep-bowled single sink with high neck faucet at Lowe's. Did I buy installation as well? Of course not. After all, I am an engineer. I can do anything!!

Last weekend, I installed the sink. We have granite counter tops, and I was very careful to buy the replacement top-mount sink in the exact same (standard) size of 22x33. Taking out the old one went quickly and easily. ("This is going to be a snap!", I thought.) I unpacked the new sink and tried to set it in. You guessed it: the opening in the (rock-hard) granite was too small. I trundled off to the Home Depot (Lowe's is about the same distance but in a higher traffic area, and besides, its important to spread the wealth in a campaign to stimulate the economy.) to buy a tool to enlarge the granite opening. I was unable to find a tool which could both cut through granite and not produce any dust or suck it up in the process, so I settled for a 7" blade for my circular saw. When I started to cut the granite, I noticed that the amount of stone dust created by the whirling, diamond-coated blade was prodigious. So I got the vacuum cleaner out and held the hose near the blade while cutting. It didn't work so well. Ultimately, I got the sink installed. Then I spent the next several hours cleaning up stone dust.

My wife came home, it was dark, we were tired, we went to bed. The next morning, I took off on a business trip. I called when I got there, and she was somewhat less than thrilled by the presence of stone dust throughout the house. I apologized and promised to help clean when I returned.

By this weekend, she had cleaned up most of the mess I had created the previous weekend. She went off to class and I started in on the next installations. The LG stainless steel dishwasher went fairly well. It took a bit longer than planned, but no serious problems, and only one trip to Home Depot for some pieces of hardware. Next, I removed the wall oven and microwave. Easy. I took careful measurements of the new stainless steel Kitchen Aid wall oven with upper mounted microwave/convection oven. I had to make some modifications to the cabinet to get the mount shelf at the right height and the opening wide enough. But no serious problems. I had to help from the lawn guy to lift the oven up and into the opening. It is about 200 lbs.

Finally, it was time for the cook top. The old Jenn-Air came right out. Of the granite-topped island. You guessed it. The new glass-top downdraft Kitchen Aid cook top (black with SS Trim) is the same overall size, but the under mount part is 1/2" wider. But this time, I was smarter than the first. I emptied the cabinets of the island, masked off the areas outside the well below the cook top opening, and then built a tent out of the plastic sheeting that surrounded the wall oven. I put on a dust mask, and climbed into the tent with my trusty circular saw, and cut the opening a bit wider. Clean-up was so much easier, just me and the island area inside the tent. And the cook top slid right in. One more trip to the Home Depot for some 6" ducting to get the exhaust vent connected, and it all worked the first time. I was quite relieved, and proud of myself too.

I'll post some pictures this week some time after my muscles stop aching.

Inevitable that I should comment on Bret Favre

I suppose since I spent so much time on Michael Vick, I should at least mention old #4. He actually looked pretty good during the first half of last season with the Jets. The torn bicep, or whatever it was, made the end of the season pretty tough for all of us who loved watching him play so much during his career.

But there is no arguing that we all grow older, and part of that means we are not as resilient as we used to be. Even Lance Armstrong discussed it very frankly this year. He is still very very good, world class even, in that he certainly competes with the majority of the riders out there. But he admits that he is probably not the "best" anymore. Younger guys (and gals) have prepared themselves to compete at the highest levels, and they are more resilient, able to reach deeper for that last ounce of energy necessary to win.

I think the same parallel can be drawn with Bret Favre. He is still very very good. But he will not recover from a hit as quickly as he used to. He is more susceptible to a break or tear. He is less resilient, less able to reach deeper for something that isn't there anymore: the energy of youth. He must rely on cunning, knowledge, and trickery, just like the rest of us old codgers. He may have a season or two left in him, maybe even more if his linemen can protect him. But a middlelinebacker is going to break through on a blitz one day soon, make a clean hit, and ring Bret's chimes. Perhaps he will then understand that he is no longer invulnerable. I just hope he does not suffer a serious or permanent injury to learn this lesson.

Michael Vick revisited

I wrote a post a couple months back, advocating Michael Vick being given another chance. I read in this morning's news that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed him for a two year contract. I am glad he is being given this opportunity. I was somewhat dismayed that the local animal rights activists are being so negative about it, though. I do not think any of them have read or heard about what Mr. Vick has been doing to demonstrate the changes in his attitude about animal cruelty.

Obviously, time will tell, but for now, Michael Vick is saying and doing the right things. I hope he can prove that people can change for the better. Good luck, Michael, continue to listen to and heed the advice of people like Tony Dungy, and you will prove the naysayers wrong.

A Week's Respite from the Heat

We spent last week in Colorado. A new destination for us. We had been thru the Denver Airport before, but never got out to explore. I had a show to work at the Colorado Convention Center, the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference. Lots of engineers and scientists who specialize in rocket propulsion and spacecraft attended the conference and a few actually came into the exhibit hall to look at the various booths from vendors like Lockheed, ULA, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Some even stopped by our booth to look at the engine testing equipment and high precision rocket parts we make. My lovely wife accompanied me on this trip, and we took a few days of vacation after the conference concluded.

We drove up to Breckenridge, and had a nice lunch in the cool mountain air. There was a small street festival going on that seemed to focus on the gold prospecting history of the area. The ride back to Denver was brutal though, as I-70 was packed with people heading back east, out of the mountains.

We also had a chance to have dinner with some old friends we hadn't seen in a long time, Tom & Julie retired in Littleton a few years ago. It was great to see them again. We had a great time dragging up old memories of our days as young test engineers, and comparing notes on how our families have grown up.

We drove up to Ft. Collins, and spent a few days with our friends Larry & Amy, whom we haven't spent much time with since we both retired from the big aerospace firm in November of '06. They are doing just fine, and gave us the grand tour of Ft. Collins, the New Belgium Brewery, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, the Big Thompson Canyon, and even a herd of buffalo. We got to see their new grandson and their son & daughter-in-law, as well as Larry's brother and sister. All-in-all, a really fine time was had by all.

Our flight home was uneventful, and even though we had a great time, it was good to get home and see the doggies and sleep in our own bed again.

Interesting Headline

"Gay penguins break up after 1 goes straight"

It should have been on National Inquirer instead of CNN.com, or perhaps the anti-gay movement will seize on it as their latest argument in favor of banning gay marriage. Oh well, at least it shows that MJ's death is starting to take some perspective in the stage of world news.

A Weekend in the Big Easy

To celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary, which was a few weeks ago in June, we drove over to New Orleans last Friday. The trip took a bit longer than I thought it would, maybe 6 hours. We stopped at a little roadside restaurant just before we got out of Texas, called the Spindletop Diner. Excellent food, very well prepared, and reasonably priced. The staff were also very friendly.We stayed at the Maison Dupuy, a nice hotel right in the French Quarter. We stayed there many years ago, when driving across the country from Florida to California, and had good memories of our stay. We were happy to discover they are doing well after the hurricane. As is most of the area. As we walked from the hotel to see the sights on Saturday morning, we noticed freshly washed sidewalks. How nice! Then as we approached Bourbon St, it became apparent that washing the sidewalks is a necessity. After most every evening, the sidewalks are a bit messed up with the results of folks over-enjoying the many bars on Bourbon St. and throughout the Quarter.

A carriage ride from Jackson Square gave us a broader perspective of the French Quarter, with some historical background filled in by the carriage driver. We tried to take a river cruise, but it was lunch time, and we were more inclined to fend for ourselves to eat. We went back to the hotel and got the car, so we could cruise the Garden District and the University area just west of that, all along St. Charles Avenue. Very pretty, lovely old buildings, mostly well kept or restored. We spent some time at Harrah's Casino after that, and I actually made a slight profit at the Blackjack Table. Cool!

That evening, we dressed up a little bit from shorts & sandals in order to "dine" at the Court of Two Sisters, a famous restaurant. The food and service and ambiance were every bit as wonderful as we hoped it would be. On the way back to the hotel, we had intended to stop and listen to some Zydeco music, but Bourbon Street was in full swing, and things were more than a little rough around the edges. We had a few nightcaps at the hotel instead.

Sunday, we drove towards home, leaving New Orleans by US 90 instead of the Interstate, in order to see a little of the countryside, Cajun Country. It was okay, not nearly the hustle and anonymity of the Interstate. But we had to join up to I-10 again at Lafayette, and made it home just fine.