The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey

Marcia's back!

Marcia was away for a 3-day retreat, and got home a short while ago. Lexi and I are both dancing about with joy. I got my schoolwork done, and relaxed a little bit today, while baking a pork shoulder to incorporate into the macaroni and cheese I'm making tomorrow. Also tomorrow, since it's a holiday (for me), I'll finish up the yardwork for the year. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Staff Sgt. Dain T. Venne, 29, of Port Henry, New York, died of wounds suffered Nov. 3, when enemy forces…

Continue reading...
Brian Bilbrey

6 Weeks

Just sayin'. I finished this week's schoolwork yesterday, so I managed to read the documentation for the new saw, adjust things that needed adjusting, and push some wood through the machine for the first time. Much easier to set up square and true. I still need to pay close attention to feed rate, because I didn't want to spend 4 grand + an electrician to get a cabinet saw in... but it's a very nice saw, and I've got it dialed in within about .005 on the fence, and an invisibly small fraction of a degree on the miter gauge.

Continue reading...
Brian Bilbrey

This ain't the Sandy that Bruce sings about!

Winds ebb and flow, with the gusts a bit stronger, hour by hour. Light rain and drizzle overnight lead to 0.6 " of rain by the time I left for work this morning. I came home shortly after noon, and it's been raining gangbusters all day. The 24 hour total for Sandy in our back yard is 3.3". I stand ready to fire up the generator when the power fails, which I expect this evening or overnight. Once gone, it's likely to be days before it's back. Right now, BG&E has 44K outages, and the others are likely following suit.

Continue reading...
Brian Bilbrey

Dangerous Sandy

A bit of light drizzle, some breezes, and a second day under cloud cover. That's what has happened so far. But Sandy approaches. The patio furniture is stowed in back, the hanging baskets and flag removed from the front, and the generator is tested and ready. I gave Marcia a walk-through on starting it up today, and she feels content with that. At this beginning of things, our rain gauge stands at 2.96 inches, as of 1700 EDT. School countdown: 7 weeks left. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Chief Warrant…

Continue reading...