Thursday, September 18, 2014

Let the paving commence!

Let the paving commence!  Work started today on paving our driveway.  This is more complicated that it might appear at first blush.  On our existing gravel driveway, there's nothing to worry about with water runoff, as the gravel is porous and water can't flow over it at any significant rate.  With asphalt this is a completely different story – careful attention to putting a gentle slope into the surface is vital.  This afternoon the foreman worked out all the various slopes that will be needed.  To some degree, the flatness of our property makes this more challenging, as to create a slope where none previously existed requires moving significant amounts of dirt.

The first step is to dig out all the existing gravel and top soil where the driveway will go, down to 9" in depth below the eventual surface of the driveway.  This is where all the critical grading gets done, and there will be quite a few cubic yards of dirt moved to build up some areas and cut down others.  Once that's all perfect, then they will bring in “pit run” to a depth of 6", to provide a solid, stable base for the asphalt.  The last step will be to bring in 3" of asphalt to cover that – and then we'll have an asphalt driveway!

Barn: columns and beams!

Barn: columns and beams!  The builders are hard at work today, erecting the steel columns and glulam beams that will hold the weight of the second floor.  For each of the columns they drilled four holes into the concrete floor and set concrete anchors in.  Then they positioned the columns and finger-tightened the nuts on the anchors.  Now they're starting to install the glulam beam sections.  Each time they install one section, they align the column to be perfectly vertical.  For an end section of the beam, they also have to align it perfectly to the frame.  Then it's on to the next section.


Latest Rosetta photo of Comet 67P...

Latest Rosetta photo of Comet 67P...  Who would ever have thought that a comet would look like this?

CircuitMaker debuts...

CircuitMaker debuts...  I'll be trying this out over the winter, when I get some time to do something just for fun...

Fairy circles...

Fairy circles...  These occur in the Namibian desert, and nobody knows what causes them...

I didn't know that Aretha Franklin was still alive!

I didn't know that Aretha Franklin was still alive!  Much less still singing.  I'm looking forward to hearing this album.  I first started listening to her music in 1966 or 1967 – usually on a terrible transistor radio, tuned to an AM station in Trenton or Philadelphia...

Cat-friend vs. dog-friend...

Cat-friend vs. dog-friend...  Put down your morning beverage and swallow before watching this video.  It's especially relevant to anyone who owns both dogs and cats.  Awesome!  Thank you, Simon M., for passing this along...

The Philbrooks of Matinicus Island...

The Philbrooks of Matinicus Island...  Now there's something I didn't expect to come across in my morning reading of the news: a reference to Clayton Philbrook, a lobsterman on Matinicus Island, Maine.  My family has a fondly remembered connection to that family, on that island.  Mrs. Philbrook, then the matriarch of the lobstering family, invited us to visit them in the '60s – and we had a grand adventure there that still resonates in my memory, even after all these years.  Matinicus Island has been greatly developed since then, and it's no longer the incredibly isolated piece of America that it used to be – but the lobstermen are still there, and some of them are still Philbrooks.

That got me to wondering what would happen if I googled "philbrook matinicus", and to my surprise I got thousands of results.  It would be fun to make contact with the family again, though I wonder if any of them would remember us...

“I expect to be killed by an angry crowd in Macy's within ten years...”

“I expect to be killed by an angry crowd in Macy's within ten years...”  That's Scott Adams.  Here's why he said that.  Note: if you're not familiar with Scott Adams, you should know that he's quite a wealthy man.