The Time Sink

So we're back and we're safe and the boys have school in two weeks and I'm back to work today and it's all sorts of hot, but down ten degrees from when we left so we're only coming back into a thirty degree upward differential which I gotta' tell you is a darned sight harder to deal with than the forty degree downward change that we experienced just over a week ago.

...and the lawn needs tending and the pool needs servicing and the kids need haircuts and the routine is satisfied that it's able to settle itself upon us after having to let go for just over a week.

Well, we're still acclimating... We returned to a very full schedule (and me to a very empty warehouse) and we're bringing ourselves back up to speed. ...and the temperatures are down here, which is all sorts of help; but it's still uphill, against the wind (no snow, thank goodness).

From the "The best laid plans..." department: No sooner had I picked up some more parts to work on the drain lines and reset the sprinkler lines out front than I realized the pool cleaner had been slacking on the job (at least since last night). ...and the kicker was that the cleaner wasn't the proximate cause; it seems the breakers opened. ...and that would be because the pump has seized. ...or the motor driving the pump has gone 'locked rotor'. Sheesh...

Okay, I have the replacement pump on hand and ready to install. In theory, I can just cut the 2" PVC input and output lines, rewire the new pump in, and add a couple of 2" slip fittings inline with the I/O plumbing...

Well, sure... It was all going along just as it should: I cut the two lines and there would be plenty off room for the new fittings, the wiring came off as it should, the pipe pieces dressed up nicely and fit on the new pump like they were supposed too, and the alignment as I lowered things into place looked great! The only stickler was that this was a problem in three dimensions and as both the inlet and outlet pipes moved right past their counterparts in the manifold they just kept going. ...about an inch and a half going.

So tomorrow is another day, and I'll be giving things another go. I ran out of daylight playing Tetris with the various sizes of concrete paving blocks I have on hand trying to get the vertical alignment close enough to allow me to line up the inlet lines (the pair with the least tolerance). I'm not going to try pouring another level on the pad, but I sure don't want to try to redo the manifold as tight as it is. I may have to go find a couple of 'capstone' pieces to make it all work. Ah, well...

...and for those visiting from garret's place, the irony of that article was running across it after being connected through India back to the States twice during a customer service call series. One was cut off, but the other went through when the first tier had to escalate me up a level to someone with higher account access.

Well, the original post here is lost is cyberspace, but I believe it covered getting the new pump installed and working as it should...

Sometimes the Message is, "I really meant that part about a Day of Rest..."

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

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