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CleverNickname

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Everything posted by CleverNickname

  1. will it be a total loss? Old Mr Johnsons house is a total loss.
  2. were are we in the propane theory? Could it have been the dreaded sneeze + fart?
  3. The boy likes hanging out with me at the ranch. As long as I don't spend too much on the hole, she is okay with it. Not so much as a fan of me going alone all day, if the kids are keeping her busy, which is fair. But all in all it may he cheaper than golf, and less time consuming too.
  4. your old house was rifht over there, right?
  5. Not much and probably not enough. Generally the threaded rod wants to hang down. But if it does wander, not that much. I'll clean up maybe later when (if) I dod concrete.
  6. the house was new construction, so it might not be on satellite or streetview
  7. I'm about a quarter mile away. Had to reset a breaker. I was at the bottom on the hole when it happened (seriously). So doubters, suck it! (of course home is 100 miles away from hole, but hey, 183A toll to 29 now open).
  8. Yeah, in retrospect I should not have taunted the subsurface. I know better now. But I won't let it stop me. Not yet. I tacked in some meauring tape, sort of a semi permanent fixture. Ten ft segments, starting below the top 4x6, since that rests on the surface. Bottom is 120" + 83". Dropped in the next 4x of 5/8 rods. Needed to be embiggened, as usual. Narrow side needs embiggening still. That will have to he another day. Widening is easy, but the bottom is some hard rock. I'll have to get the two spreaders in, see about at least partially putting in the lagging (I like to block up the corners), and then the emergency ladder. But at least I can add a step that makes it easier to haul up buckets. Without that I'm lifting a 40 lb buckets of rocks up to my shoulder or head, and that's a real workout. Four foot lifts are better. But it's like Jeff Williams says, don't need to join an gym, be a miner. I would have worked more, but we had to save time to race our rc toys. A little hole dirt to make a jump. You'll have to trust it was a good one. Meanwhile a quarter mile from my house a house exploded. But I was 100 miles away and 16 ft underground. I did have to reset a breaker, so must have been a good shake. Final shot: Weather getting warmer and have a fairly busy summer. I'd like to have the next 4-5 ft below this 4th set out by the end of the year. Twenty foot something sounds good. Hopefully this hard layer of limestone/dolemite is only 8 inches thick, and it's easier going. If not will reassess. Technically deep enough at 17 ft to go sideways. A 4 or 5 ft side passage would have a good 12 ft above. Should be safe. But it would be cool if I could get below this layer and then have that sort of be the roof, like a natural lintel. We shall see.
  9. yeah, I think I'm gonna buy an electric mixer and do it on like 8 or 12" lifts. Fiberglass rebat, because I want it to last centuries. Lowering each bucket down manually with a rope. I mean, how hard can that be?
  10. well spreads are spiking up to and maybe past 163 basis points on top of a 10-year treasury hitting 4.43%. So might stick above 7%. So... not good. Oh, and steel, lumber, copper, and aluminum are tariffed fubar'd so builders are gonna be pinched. At least oil might hit $40 and tens of thousands of unemployed can learn how to hang cheap Chinese drywall.... oh wait. But my selling mom's house and closes 4/30 (under contract) so maybe it's all good.
  11. I got the 4x6s drilled and cut for the 12 to 16 ft level. I thought I had left the washers and nnuts at the ranch, but I guess I had run out or misplaced them. Gotta buy another 8 of each. Worked a little on the hole. looking up: at a hard layer. Breaks in sheets. down in the hole: 20250406_115007.mp4 Somehow I'm pretty good at jackhammering away with one hand and holding my phone in another: 20250406_115041.mp4 I will have to put in the lumber set next time I go up. Inevitably the sides need to be widened a bit. The bottom is pretty damned hard. My plan is to go 4.5 ft or so under the last set, down to 20'. On the one hand its good I'm in hard limestone - the risk of collapse is low. But it does make chipping away a real chore. At that point I think I'm going to see about going horizontal. But I also plan to use concrete forms in lifts and maybe slowly replacing the wood sets with concrete. I'm looking for a electric concrete mixed on FB marketplace.
  12. you know the environment is fucked when you can't even dispose of a body in a bayou anymore
  13. More hole. Needed to get the last bit to be basically flat at 17ft. Here's the topside set up: 14" " 21" x 36" shelf remained: Something like 20 buckets removed.
  14. I've been thinking about borrowing or buying a cheap pressure washer and seeing how useful it would be. Maybe when I start going horizontal?
  15. Did my first trip. Did a day float on the Buffalo. Devils Den State Park for a day. But Indian Rockhouse trail was cool as he'll. The rock shelter has indoor plumbing - an underground stream constantly running. And Lost Valley was rad. The end cave is bananas - you crawl through 75ft or whatever of cave and pop up in a room with a 35 ft waterfall. I cant believe they let morons do that with no warning. We will likely do another spring break there. I'm a canoeing buff, and it has so many day trip options (my wife and daughter don't like to canoe camp). Maybe stay in Harrison instead. We stayed in Fayetteville (in part as pseudo college tour as my kids are about that age). But being a little closer would have made more hiking doable.
  16. I read the headline too fast and thought it said "Ugly Peole Arrested for Sitting in Car." About damn time.
  17. I manage abiut 15 people. I bet we end up having 50% turnover from this one RTO decision. Nobody (on a state salary) under 35 lives closer than an hour to HQ. And the eligible and rehired retirees are gone. And the folks with small children. So really it will just be golden handcuff people like me (pension seekers), and the childless folk who are able to live in old Austin who stay.
  18. fwiw I'm hearing Abbott has ordered all state agencies to return to office.
  19. wonder where he got that plan... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/business/jeffrey-epstein-eugenics.html
  20. is there anoth3r Gene thread? Whi died first: Gene or spouse? Did she die days or weeks before and GH was too out of it? I'm guessing one way or the other the dog ate some pills.
  21. I'm in awe of yall coaching. I help with scouts, but that's really just me pitching in and doing my part for the troop. Son doesn't really interact with me at campouts. I guess indepence is sort of the whole deal with scouts. But the real secret sauce to youth sports is not the exercise or teamwork. It is those weekly drives to practices and games when a kid actually talks to you. I'm not sure what it is about a vehicle in motion, but it loosens lips.
  22. Freezing rain? Fuck it. I have dirt that needs moving. Existing deepest part 24" x 30" and 59" below the third set. LFG. Knocked it out. How many buckets? Many buckets? How many advil? Many advil. Good enough to switch the ladder from one side to the other. Dropped it into the deeper section. Mase it 2 rungs taller. Running out of rungs. It got a little deeper. Because when you've got the jackhammer down there, might as well break some limestone. Whateveredge is down there is some hard damn rock. Pondering on investing in steel 5 gallon buckets. Three for $50 on amazon. Maybe I need a gofundme. This crappy thermometer gave me a reading above the hole: My phone said it was 33 degrees. So maybe it runs hot. A balmy 51.4. A delta of 15 to 20 degrees. And that was up higher, didn't have room in the deeper section. Not sure when I'll get up there next. Felt like good progress today.
  23. If NIL deals are kinda bullshit, could I hire my daughter to endorse some shit and then fund a Roth for her "earnings"? Or like, set up Cameo to pay her to talk to Grandma? I want to fully fund her Roth for the first 10 or so years, in hopes that sets her up with a good retirement nest egg.
  24. old school RPG nerd here. It should be 10 copper buy 1 silver; 10 silver = 1 gold; 10 gold = 1 platinum. I think electrom is worth 2 gold. oh shit, nerd jinx!
  25. Nice Saturday. Got after it about 3 hours. Not a big update, but satisfying. Used the big jackhammer today. Very hard rock layer. I'm now about 5 ft below the third set. So that means I can get started getting the entire bottom to that level. It is a little easier to widen than to dig deeper. Separating the big rocks from the gravel (& from the dirt) adds a bit of extra time. But I feel it's worth it, as the gravel is useful. My little metal screen fits on the top of a 5 gallon pail (seen below with the scooper I use). The lighting is via 18v doodads. Deepest section (about 1/2 or 1/3 at the moment) is down to 17'2" according to the boy. I have a couple paint or pool chemical pails, and they are just a little bit bigger than a 5 gallon handy pail. Enough that they are frankly too heavy. I've found it's fastest to lift up each bucket (2 or 3 buckets each time), rather that use an electronic hoist or manually with the pulley. The 2x's across the sets are enough space to hold em as I pull them up. So figure 3x 40-50 lb kettle bell clean lifts from 17' to 12' (sucks, not just handle to chin but bottom of bucket to chin) then 12' to 8', 8' to 4', and 4' to surface. So 12 reps each time I scramble up. Probably get 4-6 buckets per jack hammer pass. I didn't set up the hoist today, and only used the pully to raise and lower the jackhammer. You can see the rope dangling in these photos. Fairly busy second half of February into March, so I'm not sure when I'll get the whole thing down to about 17'. I haven't purchased the 4x6s for the fourth set yet, but I do already have the 5/8 threaded rod and the 1.5" angle iron for side lagging ledges. Not sure if I'll add fifth set. I could start building up some concrete and rebar in lifts. But I dunno... if I got to where the rock stops, it would be mighty tempting to try and find the water table. I'm trying a thing where I dump a gallon of 10% vinegar when I leave for the day. I dunno, maybe it will help loosen up the limestone and caliche. Make em more friable. Stupid, but it's only like a bucket. Winterized the cabin extra well. Temp in the teens expected. Gravel spread on the dirt road, and dumped the rock and dirt in my sisphyean ravine. Dozens of cubic feet poured in and I can't say it looks all that much more filled in. All you can do it do it like Johnny Cash. It don't cost me a dime. (except the couple grand I've spent, excluded gas) Did the traditional DQ chicken strip country basket and blizzard when we hit town. Oh, cat got rehomed and mom's house goes for sale next week. Fuckin' a.
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