Your Mom

We're getting a variable speed pump, so I assume it would be running most of the time? But yeah, initial research seems to say the UV thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. My builder says it lets you run 1 ppm of chlorine instead of ~3ppm. It's about $1000 extra. I'm gonna ditch it unless I hear a better reason not to.

Any opinions on UV sanitation systems? Pool guy says it allows you to reduce chlorine to significantly lower levels. You guys have them? They work as advertised? Unnecessary gimmick?

I have a buddy with one and he loves it. It was really expensive though. But he has more money than me and so do you by the looks of your backyard. He's happy with his but I don't know the detailed pros and cons.

I’m with you man. I ready to be rid of masks altogether everywhere. Just saying people like you and I are still in the minority as far as their data shows. The very day that their data shows more people would buy tickets if they didn’t have to wear the mask is the day they start pressuring the feds to relax the rules.

The crew didn't have a negative test and the captain has zero authority to override any FAA, TSA, or DOT mandates. Rules surely get bent and broken from time to time but not when all 175 people on board are going to be fully aware you're breaking them. He'd be risking his job doing that and Karen back in row 19 would have tweeted video of it by time the plane go the runway. I'm not really pro-mask on planes anymore, but it's only going to change from the top and the airlines are going to keep enforcing it until the end. We have FAs getting in trouble all the time for lack of enforcement. Usually it's one lenient girl not enforcing it while the other 3 stick to the rules. The lenient one gets ratted out by the others. The ones that had a sketchy history already are getting fired for it. We've also had quite a few die from COVID, not that they caught it from the airplane, but still... most FAs are generally not real thrilled to be face to face with the maskless masses right now. If Captain Joe tells the passengers they can ditch the mask he's doing a carpet dance in front of management real quick. And right now management cares about one thing and one thing only... selling tickets. The marketing data says people are buying more tickets because they feel safe enough on planes with masks. When that eventually tips the other direction and their marketing data tells them people would buy more tickets without masks then and only then will they lobby to lift the mandate.

Thanks, that’s good advice. The builder is Cody. I tried to go with smaller local guys but 4 in a row completely blew me off. 2 never called or emailed back and the other 2 came out and took measurements with a promise to get back in a week or so with an estimate, never to be heard from again. I assume they are just swamped with pools more expensive than this but I’m not chasing anybody down for the privilege of giving them my money. Cody showed up and came back.

We basically narrowed it down to 2 designs. The one with the structure was the girlfriend’s idea because my neighbor on that side has a 2-story house and she doesn’t want them watching us fuck in the pool. But to have that included, and to stay enough distance from my live oaks (bigger than in the rendering), and to stay out of my no-build easement on the back fence the pool would have to be 13 feet across the narrow sides. I saw a pool that size and it seemed really skinny. The other design has a slightly bigger and better proportioned pool, but no shielding from nosy neighbors. That’s the one I’m leaning toward. Ignore the hot tub. Was messing around and moving it out of the way and forgot to delete it.

Long post. Thoughts on this estimate? Not so much on price... I know shits expensive. I’m more looking for thoughts on the equipment choices and the construction materials. This is for a no-frills, no features, basic 14k gallon pool, in Austin. It’s just me and my two teenage boys so no need for tanning ledges, spa, travertine, etc... Just a place to cool off and have fun. Any red flags here? Anything I’d end up wishing I didn’t own or wishing I’d done different on equipment choices? This post is my first step of researching the equipment. I have no idea what that stuff is. I assume it’s the cheap shit many of you are posting about upgrading from. General Specifications Pool dimensions: 17' 6" x 27' 7" Pool perimeter: 90 ft Pool surface area: 421 sqft Pool depth: 3ft x 4.5ft x 6ft Total gallons: 14,190 Approvals All fees and inspections included, as required by the city Assistance with required plans and forms, Fees by buyer $2,000,000 General Liabilty and Workers Compensation Insurance provided. Design meets current standards as detailed by ISPSC guidelines. Final construction plans will be supplied for approval. Design will be marked in yard for approval. Excavation Fence: Not Required/By Others Temporary orange fence will be installed during construction Standard clearances required. Complete rock excavation is included All excavation material to be hauled away, unless specified 1 Loads of Gravel Base under Pool Structure included Steel and gunite Shell: 1/2 inch Steel Rebar on 10 inch Centers, both ways. Bond beam: 1/2 inch Steel Rebar X 4 Concrete: Dry Mix Gunite rated to exceed APSP Building Standards Thickness: 12" Bond Beam, 8-10" Walls/Floor All elevated/exposed walls to be 12" Plumbing & Electrical Plumbing Note: Your pool plumbing system is designed with safety as the primary consideration. All suction and pressure, (fixtures and fittings) which we install shall conform to the manufacturers flow rate specifications. In addition, all suction fixtures are connected to a secondary fixture to provide for suction RELIEF FLOW. Main drains are fitted with VGB approved safety drain covers, which are to remain in place at all times. The complete plumbing system shall be assembled and pressure tested throughout the construction process. Plumbing is assembled and configured to balance the suction and pressure side for flow efficient operation. Fill Line: Overflow Line: Cleaner Line: Gas Line: Pool pipes: Up to 3 inch Schedule 40 PVC. Returns: (4) Directional flush mount inlets, placed for maximum efficiency. Skimmers: (2) Aquastar Skimmer, Indepenendently plumbed for optimum control. Drains: (2) 10 inch SDX, VGB compliant. Fill line: N/A Overflow line: included Cleaner line: (1) Independently plumbed Electrical Note: provide for the complete electrical connection of all lighting and equipment, which includes all linear footage of in-ground service w/all terminations, grounding, bonding, and mechanical installation. All electrical work shall meet local and national standards to include the installation of ground fault interrupters. All lighting and mechanical equipment is bonded and grounded for safety, and all testing and safety inspections are provided. Stone and tile: 6” band at waterline- frostproof Limestone coping Decking & Walls Reinforcement: 3/8in. Rebar 16in. On Center, 4in. Crushed Base, 3/8in. Mastic Joint Deck material: 449 sqft of Sundek - Classic lvl 1 Steps: 13.5 lf Turndown: N/A Deck O-drain: 33 ft Drainage pipe: N/A Umbrella sleeves: (2) with cap. Retaining walls: N/A Pool/Spa Interior: Pool interior finish: Pebble Sheen Entry: 3 Step Entry Benches: (6.5) lf total Start up: Complete start-up chemicals for balance and stabilization Maintenance: 16' Telescopic Pole, Vacuum Head & Hose, Brush, Net, Test Kit & Thermometer Clean-up: 1 load of fill, spread and graded. Equipment Primary pump: Pentair IntelliFlo VSF Filter: Pentair Clean & Clear 520 Cartridge Cleaner: Pentair Racer w/ booster Control box: Pentair EasyTouch P-4 Sanitizer: In-Line Chlor w/ Ultra UV Sys Light: (1) Pentair IntelliBrite WHITE LED 12v Pad: Delayed Equipment Set W/ Precast Pad Warranties Gunite shell: Lifetime Equipment: 3 Year (parts & labor) Plumbing: 1 Year Decks: 1 Year Tile/coping: 1 year Light: 3 years PV3 infloor heads: Lifetime Pebble plaster: 15 Years Controls: 3 Years By Owner/Others Reroute sprinkler and utility lines if required Landscaping, Grass or Mulch Modification or Upgrade to existing electrical and/or gas meter/service panel Gutters and Gutter Drain Pipes Supply accurate survey to property Water supply for filling of pool and gunite process Total price: $76,777 40% upon due completion of Excavation, 30% upon completion of Gunite, 20% upon completion of Decks, 10% prior to Plaster Recommended Options Paramount PV3 In-for cleaning and circulation system - $8000 The ultimate in pool cleaning. Pop-up nozzles built into the pool during construction will clean debris from steps, benches, fountain walls and spa. Virtually undetectable when not in use, each nozzle pushes debris from the corners of the pool in a series toward a MDX debris removal drain. Large debris is then trapped in a canister before passing though the filter system. Paramount ULTRA UV System - Included Adding a ULTRA UV sanitizer to your pool or spa will provide 99.99% contaminant-free water while reducing the use of chemicals. Trident UV units deactivate bacteria, germs, viruses, and algae, thus reducing maintanence costs dramatically and prolonging the life of your pool and equipment Pebble Sheen Interior Finish (Level 1) - $1,545 Pool finish provides the exquisite appearance of fine polished stone, creating a stunning, visual effect. Pebble Sheen is developed by combining smaller vibrant, naturally colored stones of many stunning color combinations. Every Pebble Sheen finish is lightly buffed to ensure a smooth and beautiful appearance. Screen Logic Adapter w/ Wireless Connector - $748 Now you can use your Apple, Android or PC to control all key functions of your pool or spa, from across the deck or around the globe. New software that communicates with the ScreenLogic interface of your new EasyTouch control system is available as a free download. Once it’s installed, you can control everything from pool and spa temperatures, to jets, lighting, water features and more—right from your personal device.

Hobby has Chik-fil-a. I know it’s not much. But it’s my go-to when I’m not getting a salad from Wendy’s. But yeah, papasitos is awful. They can’t even do a decent breakfast taco and I don’t know how you fuck that up. We had a good Greek place (Ya Ya’s?) across from the chick-fil-a but they are still shut down for Covid. It’s ridiculous that airport restaurants are still shutdown. Planes are full and lines are twice as long at the places that have opened back up.

It’s Corey Haim’s motorbike wheelchair that Gary Busey built.

He's also Beltik from The Queen's Gambit.

I mean, I wouldn't expect a 4-month old to fare well in a chase of any sort, or a shootout for that matter.

This thread goes through dry spells, but this page has delivered. My kid still gets a lame dad joke in his lunch every day. Several from this page will make the cut. I'll keep them in my dad-a-base.

No, I was just talking about this to my son last night actually. You can't let a few outlier shitbrained ideas cloud the big picture. There's liberals and then there's Portland/SanFran/Austin liberals. Kind of like how there's conservatives and then there's proud boy conservatives. The latter makes the former look bad in both cases.

Why do all the No voters keep reminding us it won't end homelessness? It's not going to bring world peace, cure cancer, or help the Horns win a national championship either. That's some strawman bullshit you throw out when you're grasping at straws trying to defend complete idiocy. Ending homelessness isn't the goal of the Proposition. I'm all ears about ideas to end homelessness and I'm a liberal willing to fund some of those ideas with my taxes. But this particular idea of letting them shit all over our city isn't helping to end homelessness either. My yes vote has absolutely nothing to do with ending homelessness.

Catching up with the videos I made... Here's Slickrock, Ahab, and Porcupine Rim. I've learned that I grunt and groan a lot when I ride, but I'm too lazy to add music to cover it up. The trip was outstanding. I can't wait to go back and hit some spots I missed. Capt Ahab was probably my favorite. The mix of climbing and chunky tech was difficult and rewarding. I felt like I was a better rider after and hour and a half of that. I'd like to do the Whole Enchilada one of these days but the upper trails usually don't open until mid-summer. Fruita was so much fun too and I only saw 3 trails there. One run down each of those 3 plus the climbs up each time gave me 3 hours of riding that day. 2-3 days there would be perfect. There are plenty of trails above them that I never even saw, plus the Kokopelli trail system nearby. I guess Bentonville should be next for me though.

Yeah I should’ve done those two instead of the climb up from the lower point on Sand Flats. I was going off the directions on mtbproject and didn’t realize until later that I could’ve kept going past that drop off point.

^^ I sure as shit didn’t do that. Porcupine has as much exposure as you want but it’s easy to stay away from the edge. Some beautiful lookout points. As with Ahab there are some spots along edges in smaller canyons as you descend but never as close as the camera makes them look. There were some awkward spots near the edge I walked. Portal is the trail in Moab with the crazy exposure. At one point there’s a sign saying something like “Dismount Now. Riders have died trying to ride the next rock.” I’m on the road back home but I’ll put together a couple more videos when I get home.

Finished up the trip today with Porcupine Rim. It’s the last 11 miles of The Whole Enchilada. Plus a brutal 3 mile climb to get to it from Sand Flats. 1000’ up in 3 miles and about 3000’ down over the next 11 miles. It was great. Not as technical as Ahab but plenty of stuff to keep you on your toes. There are lots of ledges and they seem to get higher as you go along. Easy lines to go around most of it. It’s great for warming up before hucking off the bigger stuff. I hit the highest drop I ever have today, only because I watched a 12 year old kid do it right in front of me. And it wouldn’t be a proper ride without a GoPro user malfunction... I thought I was starting there camera just before the big drop... I was stopping it instead. Whatever. I’ve ridden 5 days in a row. My confidence on chunk and drops is higher than ever. I’m still not gonna like some of the ones back home with awkward run-ups and sketchy landing zones though. Headed home tomorrow. Bentonville will have to be the next trip but I definitely want to come back here. There’s so much more.

^ That’s pretty gnarly.

Trying this with a direct upload without YouTube.

FullSizeRender.mov FullSizeRender.mov IMG_0537.MP4

Lows in the mid 30s. Highs in the upper 60s and low 70s.

Lows in the mid 30s. Highs in the upper 60s and low 70s.