What did you do today?

Today I want do the compliments all Americans, for the match that your soccer team has done against the Belgians..really emotional see the players with the hand on the heart that sing facing the flag.. Not as the ours Italian players.. Well done USA!

Thank you. We may not win them all, but we do go down fighting!

I'm not big into sports, but it sounds like it was a very close game between the US team and the Belgian team. I have respect for both teams on that.

Chris, damn, that is some really bad luck.

Today I picked up mail (still no snap ring) and returned a tool to the store (because my brother picked up the wrong one). I almost got T-boned by an 18 wheeler that sped through a red light. Normally, I try to go through as soon as the light turns green but I decided to be cautious and as I was pulling out into the intersection the 18-wheeler sped through. I was able to hit my brakes in time. I then watched as the truck blew through a second red light as it headed down the road.

I passed the FedEx truck on the way back home, but didn't get to stop it to talk to the driver. It was raining and he was going pretty fast to get out of there. I think he was probably annoyed that he had to go get the package from my house. I hope they returned the package to the sender instead of giving it to the jerkwad who keeps claiming my address.

In other news, I picked up some boudin balls with cheese before coming home and they were delicious.

The past few days I've been playing the Beta for the new World of Warcraft Expansion and playing chauffeur and babysitting a friend's kitten. A friend's wife called because her 3-week old puppy got bitten by a spider on the doggy equivalent of a forearm. It had swollen up and the wound was gaping and suppurating. It had caused the skin at his armpit to open up as well and the poor baby was miserable. Took him to the vet and paid the $95 because my friend doesn't have the money ($42 for a shot that used to cost $26). Got some gauze and stuff to try to wrap the wound but it was too swollen. The new vet was too ignorant to recognize it as a spider bite and had to go look up how to treat it. The poor puppy is having to be separated from his siblings, bottle fed (because his mother won't hold still to feed him), and have his wound cleaned twice per day. I don't know if my friend's wife is actually doing all of that like she should be, but she said the swelling has not gone down yet. If it doesn't get better the puppy might need an amputation.

Monday I get to take my mother to a checkup with her eye doctor (she has to go every 6 months because of her diabetes and to also check on the synthetic lenses they stuck in her eyes when her cataracts were removed).

I'm still waiting for the snap ring to arrive.

I got my disposal wired and attached to the sink flange, but I still need to get the plumbing worked out for it. I'm going to have to S-trap it temporarily until I can figure out a long-term solution to getting it vented properly.

I wish I could say that I got it up myself, but after tinkering around with dismantling the old pipes, cleaning them out, and fighting with the wires (which did not want to cooperate with me), I ran in to a couple of snags. My carpal tunnel syndrome does not help with things and my hand strength sucks. I couldn't get the "spring like hose ring" to spread wide enough to go over the rubber part without either knocking the disposal over, pushing the rubber back, or the pipe falling out. I tried putting the ring on the rubber part first and then pulling it over once the other part was in, but that didn't work. I was afraid to squeeze to hard for fear of a repeat of the snap ring situation. Damn thing had some sharp ends on it and broke some skin. I even tried using a latex glove with papertowels inside to protect my fingers (couldn't find any of my work gloves) but it punctured the gloves. After over 20 minutes of trying, I finally asked my housemate for help. He was able to put it on in less than 2 minutes, but the thing hurt his hand.

I probably should have waited until I had recovered from that frustration before trying to get the unit attached to the sink flange. I could hold the unit up with one hand for a short while, but I couldn't hold it steady and there was a strip of wood on the cabinet right in my way. I couldn't find anything tall enough to hold it up that wasn't too tall. So after about 5 minutes of that, I asked my friend for help again.

This time I didn't feel so bad because when he first started out he said it was "impossible". But he was able to squat down and rest the disposal on his knee. I wish I had his flexibility. I can't squat like that. Plus he's superskinny so he was able to fit in from one side of the cabinet. Fortunately he was able to get it on. So now I just need to hook up the plumbing, but I don't have all of the pieces that I need. I'm going to have to temporarily do an S-trap, which I'm not happy about.

I went to the store, got the mail, picked up the parts I needed to finish the garbage disposal install, went to McDonalds for some fries and tea, saw a woman driver bump into the back of the guy in front of her at the drive through, watched said guy's car start pouring liquid out from the front and smoke rising up from the hood, jumped out of the car and ran and told the guy about the liquid, went back to my car, waited in line got my food, went home, ate, cleaned up under the kitchen sink, and got it all hooked up. No leaks so far.


Obviously I'll have to change out the S-trap at a later point to make it to code, but we need to use the sink.

Looks great to me. Good Job!

Thanks! My plan is to put a compression to PVC fitting in place of the last elbow and hook to a sanitary tee. Then replace the downward pipe with PVC and tie it to the main drain pipe. On the top part of the tee I'll have a slight bend (so it is still pretty much vertical) that takes it out through the wall to join with the existing vent pipe on the outside-- probably using another sanitary tee.

And now that things are cleaned, my brother wants me to do the dishes even though that is his chore.

Edit: Specifically, he wanted me to wash the pot for soup. My mother asked him to cook and he wanted her to ask me to wash the pot but she told him "No" because 1. It's his chore, 2. I wasn't feeling well and 3. I worked hard to get the sink fixed so he could do the dishes. He was saying it would be faster to have me do it so it would be ready when he got home. So he gets home and then spends more time asking me to wash it than it would have taken to wash it himself. LOL.

I went ahead and washed it. I should have worn gloves. I have a little avulsion on my finger that is annoying me. But its done. We really need to go through and get rid of some junk we never use so we can have some more cabinet space.

Ah, first world problems. LOL.

If you penetrate the exterior wall of the house, you are going to have to be very thorough while sealing around the pipe. And you will have to keep and eye on the sealant through the years to make sure that you replace it when it shows signs of weathering.

phishfood said:

If you penetrate the exterior wall of the house, you are going to have to be very thorough while sealing around the pipe. And you will have to keep and eye on the sealant through the years to make sure that you replace it when it shows signs of weathering.

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Thanks, phishfood. I was just wondering what the best way to seal it would be. I will have to talk to the plumber or the guy who does air conditioners (who also does some plumbing and claims he is licensed for it, but he's not on the list of licensed professionals that I found). He has experience with putting holes through walls. I think I would actually trust the AC guy over this particular plumber because he seems more competent. I wonder if there is some sort of special sleeve or something that I can use around the pipe where it goes through the house that will have some sort of flashing or something to fit under the siding. This is one of the reasons I am wary of cutting holes.

Sika flex is a great product. I've used it on many outdoor sealing things. It seems to hold up many many years.

Chris said:

Sika flex is a great product. I've used it on many outdoor sealing things. It seems to hold up many many years.

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Thanks. Is it some sort of caulking? I googled it and came up with images of caulk containers. Although there was one large can... I see there are different types of it. Would you recommend any particular type?

Yes, it is caulking. Sonolastic NP1 is another really good caulk.

phishfood said:

Yes, it is caulking. Sonolastic NP1 is another really good caulk.

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I use a lot of NP1. Don't put it where you don't it to be for a LONG time.

What I did today (a few days ago)...one for MizBiz, and one for me.

That looks delicious!

Mmm ribeye!

Chris said:

Mmm ribeye!

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Yep. Two food groups.

1. Ribeye
2. What I eat when I can't have a Ribeye.

I ate a cobb salad today. When I order a salad I do so in the deepest voice I can muster. It's the manliest thing I can think of.

I like salads, and I hate making my own, so I will pay for them.

Alternately, I love steak and I love making my own, so I do so. It's awesome.

LOL. I remember when my father used to barbecue fresh mahi mahi. I think my mother would make the salad to go with it, but he had no problem making it.

I don't like cooking in general. I have a mild phobia of the oven and I don't like to lean in to try to get stuff out or put stuff in a hot oven. I'm always worried I'll burn myself. I'll mix stuff up and then have my brother do the oven stuff. LOL.

Since our oven is currently out of commission, my brother has been using the NuWave thing. He took some cake mix and some silicone cupcake molds and made some cupcakes. They were delicious.

I generally microwave stuff so I heat up frozen meals, canned soup, etc. I do have a few things I actually cook: grilled cheese sandwiches, scrambled eggs with cheese, and sauteed mushrooms (which I sometimes add to the scrambled eggs). Sometimes I'll warm up some pre-cooked bacon and cut it up with scissors to add to the eggs. Or add bacon bits.

My brother makes excellent steaks and seasons them well. We went to Black Angus for my mother's birthday one year and were disappointed because the steaks weren't as good as what my brother makes.

Now I'm hungry. LOL.