What's up with you?

[specious_reasons]

I mentioned in another post that Mrs. Reason and I took a tour of Europe. I of course took pictures, and so did she. I got her pictures last week and finally got around to sorting them this weekend. Mostly, I took the selfies and room photos she took, because I didn't want to admit some of her scenery and landscape photos were just about as good as mine.

We took a lot of photos, so, I winnowed down our >2000 photos to around 260.

20th Anniversary Europe Tour | Flickr

Enjoy!

[wildernesse]

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but I don't get enough time to read and type here like I would like. The froguar starts kindy in a few months, you guys. Little brother keeps me on my toes. For instance, yesterday, he was not even at 50% and a random stranger laughingly remarked that I had a "live wire" on my hands.

[Stormlight]

Originally Posted by wildernesse

The froguar starts kindy in a few months, you guys.

[Sock Puppet]

Ayup. The Li'l Puppet starts friggin' high school in a couple-few months.

[lisarea]

Matlock called a plumber this morning to come clear the downstairs drain, because the washing machine had started backing up sometimes. So he makes the appointment for this morning, and between him making the appointment and 8AM, the water heater starts leaking like crazy and making a screaming sound.

So while the plumber is here snaking, he makes another appointment for a different plumber from the same place to come out between 3 and 5.

Which he doesn't.

So at about 6, I call, and they tell me his truck broke down and they want to reschedule for tomorrow morning. So I do, but afterward, I start getting pretty mad at them. And I'm looking at their bill for the drain cleaning, and it's way too high, I'm thinking.

So I'm going to keep that appointment and let him give us an estimate, but I'm also going to call around in the morning and get at least one more.

Oh, and the place where the water heater's leaking is where I have a bunch of my mom's sculptures and molds stored under the stairs. And the shutoff valve is leaking too, we think, because something is running and running, so we're just going to have to turn off all the water in the house tonight.

The whole thing is making me really nervous, and everything pretty much sucks. This is going to be really really expensive, and we've already had to spend extra money lately.

I did get some really great lengua tacos today from a place I hadn't been before. Better than my previous, now defunct hookup, which had the best lengua I'd had until today.

So that's good, and I will take it, but I think I'm going to be needing a lot more tacos. (They also have a really nice panaderia.)

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by lisarea

So he makes the appointment for this morning, and between him making the appointment and 8AM, the water heater starts leaking like crazy and making a screaming sound.

We just got the new water heater installed, and after they turned the water back on but before they were done, the arm to the floater in one of the toilets snapped in half, causing some minor flooding.

So we have putatively have hot water (and the plumber did a really nice job of clearing up the plumbing equivalent of spaghetti code we had down there also), but we are down one toilet for the rest of the day and will fix it tomorrow.

At least this is a minor repair that we don't need to call anyone for.

Anyway, I now believe in curses, limited purpose demons, poltergeists, and pretty much anything else you can come up with to explain three completely unrelated plumbing emergencies happening over just a few days. (This is not our usual rate of plumbing emergencies, in case you were wondering.)

[Dingfod]

If I was in the neighborhood, I could replace that water heater for you, and all it would cost is a whatever a new water heater costs at Lowe's or Water Heaters R Us. I did mine a couple summers ago because I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it. I knew I had the skillset, but it had been a very long time since I had done anything like that. I just bear-hugged that 40 gallon puppy and set it in place and wired and plumbed it up like I knew what I was doing.

[Ari]

Oh come-on, anyone can replace a waterheater, that's easy! Why just the other day I replaced mine with this lovely duck.

[lisarea]

I did consider trying to replace it myself, but I ran a few numbers and found cheaper ways of blowing up the house.

[SharonDee]

I went mental last week, missing all five days of work. Couldn't make my ass get up and get going. This is a first.

Boy, this week's paycheck will be missed.

In other news, why haven't you guys taught me about Bitmoji? I had to learn about it from Daughter like some old fart.

show spoiler

[Dingfod]

I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery January 26th. I have lost 72 pounds since then.

[JoeP]

I'd have thought you would pay in dollars. And a lot more than that.

[Dingfod]

I'll put it in Britainese: I've lost over five stone.

[Corona688]

So. Turns out I'm allergic to eggs. I mean - fairly highly allergic, they're getting me an epi pen and stuff. Not allergic to a degree that will kill me, the air hole is not involved, just the pie hole, but having your stomach clamp itself shutter than fort knox for hours on end is more than slightly annoying.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

I just had pineapple on a schnitzel. It is called Schnitzel Hawaii.

[Watser?]

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

I just had pineapple on a schnitzel. It is called Schnitzel Hawaii.

I'm thinking slide guitars and violins. Blue Hawaiian Danube.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by MonCapitan2002

Congratulations. Your weight loss is intentional, right?

Yes, intentional.

Originally Posted by Limoncello

Hi Dingfod

How are you accomplishing this? any special diet or routine?

Great job

I can't eat very much because of a surgical procedure.

And it's 75 pounds lost now. Just another 85 to go.

[Dingfod]

72 pounds lost since Jan 26.

[Limoncello]

Originally Posted by Dingfod

72 pounds lost since Jan 26.

Hi Dingfod

How are you accomplishing this? any special diet or routine?

Great job

[MonCapitan2002]

Congratulations. Your weight loss is intentional, right?

[Limoncello]

Dingfod, That is quite an accomplishment, I hope are feeling healthier and better as time goes on.

[Stephen Maturin]

Pics from King Crimson rehearsals in Seattle, where their tour begins on Sunday. A guy from work and I have tickets for the 6/24 show in Denver.

[Sock Puppet]

Holy shit, they're playing the Greek on the 21st. I'm going to this one if I hafta go by my own damned self, and I guess I'm paying the $93/ea (the alleged "$75" price) for the non-crappy seats. Stupid brother loves him some KC, but his Stepford-but-sorta-in-reverse wife won't let him go.

I've only seen them once, but it was at the friggin' Warfield. Great sound, great show (Thrak tour), even a great opening band -- some of Fripp's top students from the League of Crafty Guitars. The Greek also has a great sound, esp. for an outdoor venue. Seen at least 5 shows there, I think? It is Berkeley, after all -- what happens in Berkeley stays ... surreal ... what was I talking about?

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Sock Puppet

Stupid brother loves him some KC, but his Stepford-but-sorta-in-reverse wife won't let him go.

[Stephen Maturin]

Originally Posted by Sock Puppet

I'm going to this one if I hafta go by my own damned self, and I guess I'm paying the $93/ea (the alleged "$75" price) for the non-crappy seats.

We spent more than than that to get right up close. The only people who'll be closer are the ones who bought the $350+ VIP packages.

This'll be a dream come true for me. The Fripp-Wetton-Bruford-Cross iteration once played a show at a venue like five miles from where I was living, but I was a clueless dumbass kid who had no idea about KC or their awesomeness. Long about 1980, I had tickets to see League of Gentlemen (featuring Fripp and bassist Sara Lee, later of B-52s and Indigo Girls fame), but a couple of nights before I got drunk, injured myself and was flat on my back come showtime.

This lineup looks astounding: Fripp, Tony Levin and Mel Collins with Jakko Jakszyk and four () drummers.