A very... inconspicuous day...
Today has been a day so lacking in memorable that I'm having trouble remembering most of it, but I'll make a stab at it.
Local gasoline prices do not seem to have been affected by Ike, which is a good thing, as the Ford was nearly empty and I needed to pick up some extra gas to try out the chainsaw. I also needed to pick up some two-cycle oil and chain lubricating oil (which later turned out not to be the case, once I moved a couple of boxes in the garage, but at least now, I'm in no danger of running out any time soon. But I digress...).
The little Homelite started up with not too much fuss, despite not having been operated for several years. I took it down the driveway to a pine tree that Galina and I have been planning to trim for some time, with the intention of doing a little "test drive." The object of my quest was one of the large lower branches on the side of the tree that's still alive, some of which are hanging askew (it turns out someone tried to saw them off ages ago, and botched the job), and which en masse appear to threaten to bring the whole pine down, which will probably occur in a couple of years or so anyway, now that I've gotten up close and personal and taken a good look at the trunk, which has rotted up on the dead side.
I sawed my way through the half-portion of fuel I had tentatively poured into the fuel compartment, and then came back with Galina after dinner to put up a ladder and get at some more branches. As I trimmed the sawn branches, I noticed the skies were getting dark, so we picked up the tools and got back inside just in time to avoid raindrops, but not the rainbow. :^)
I'm finally coordinating some freelance work via my work web site, and it seems to be going well. The proof of concept will take the form of an improved submitted product, I hope.
I called down to the Webster area and spoke to my project manager. His house did well, losing only a few shingles from the roof. Otherwise, he says, the city's been torn up pretty badly. Our phone connection was poor, but I don't think anyone is going into work tomorrow, so I'm not going to try to finish the hazard reports tonight.
Tomorrow, however, given everything that's going on, I shall hit the ground running.
Cheers...
Local gasoline prices do not seem to have been affected by Ike, which is a good thing, as the Ford was nearly empty and I needed to pick up some extra gas to try out the chainsaw. I also needed to pick up some two-cycle oil and chain lubricating oil (which later turned out not to be the case, once I moved a couple of boxes in the garage, but at least now, I'm in no danger of running out any time soon. But I digress...).
The little Homelite started up with not too much fuss, despite not having been operated for several years. I took it down the driveway to a pine tree that Galina and I have been planning to trim for some time, with the intention of doing a little "test drive." The object of my quest was one of the large lower branches on the side of the tree that's still alive, some of which are hanging askew (it turns out someone tried to saw them off ages ago, and botched the job), and which en masse appear to threaten to bring the whole pine down, which will probably occur in a couple of years or so anyway, now that I've gotten up close and personal and taken a good look at the trunk, which has rotted up on the dead side.
I sawed my way through the half-portion of fuel I had tentatively poured into the fuel compartment, and then came back with Galina after dinner to put up a ladder and get at some more branches. As I trimmed the sawn branches, I noticed the skies were getting dark, so we picked up the tools and got back inside just in time to avoid raindrops, but not the rainbow. :^)
I'm finally coordinating some freelance work via my work web site, and it seems to be going well. The proof of concept will take the form of an improved submitted product, I hope.
I called down to the Webster area and spoke to my project manager. His house did well, losing only a few shingles from the roof. Otherwise, he says, the city's been torn up pretty badly. Our phone connection was poor, but I don't think anyone is going into work tomorrow, so I'm not going to try to finish the hazard reports tonight.
Tomorrow, however, given everything that's going on, I shall hit the ground running.
Cheers...