The Master Bath Series, Part VIII

A quick update while eating lunch. There has been much progress in the master bath since my last update. Paint is up, fixtures are up, lighting is installed, loo is installed, and half the grout is installed. The only three things that are left are to do the last of the grout, install the baseboards, and then install the new vanity top when it arrives. Soon...hopefully soon.

Random Updates

A lot going on at the moment...too much to grasp at times. Here are the highlights:

• Saw three tornadoes (well, two confirmed and one possible) two Sundays ago near Channing and Stinnett. Total miles driven - 217, total cost of gas $40. A few pics are forthcoming whenever I can find time (HA!).
  

• The packing has started. Pictures have been pulled down, personal items you can't put a price on packed away to be sent with family, and the to do list continues to grow.

• A new backyard fence is going in after the old one was falling apart. Gotta make things look good for prospective buyers.

• It's hot...as in 105 degrees hot. TOO hot. I'm afraid my A/C will explode on me one of these days.

• Official move date has been set for the middle of July (right before I report to the center of the South Plains). I still haven't looked at a house yet at my new location; hoping to get that taken care of in the next couple of weeks.

• I'm totally addicted to Super Smash Brothers, Wii Fit, and Mario Kart on the Wii. Now all I need is to get all of those games AND the game console.

• The master bath continues but progress is being made. Still patching some drywall and getting it shaped right. It stinks being a perfectionist. Will go and order paint and a loo in the next couple of days.

Back to the grind...

The Master Bath Series, Part VII

A quick update on the master bath project that is picking up speed again (thanks to my impending departure). I finally was able to figure out how to shape texture along an odd angle which is the last place I needed to finish up. Once I get that sanded and primed, things should progress pretty fast. The only major thing left will be to pull the vanity top out and texture the wall where the sidesplash was attached.

SO, I headed over to Home Depot and Lowe's to pick up some items to further the project along and to order the new vanity top for the bathroom. My superb interior decorator C.W. and I picked out a beautiful Crane Two-Tone Astra Lav marble top in Sand Granite with a White Bowl, but I had one minor issue. The builder of my home decided that he couldn't make life easy and give me a standard-sized vanity top. A much used standard width is 49 inches for vanities and vanity tops. Well, after umpteen measurements and comparisons with different tape measures, I came to the realization that from wall-to-wall, my vanity top is 47 1/2 inches. What does this mean?

I had to order a custom vanity top. What does that mean?

It costs more. It takes longer to produce than a "standard" size. How long of a wait did they tell me when I ordered it to when it will be delivered in Amarillo?

A few days shy of one month.

Needless to say, a few colorful adjectives came to mind when I found that out. I can't wait that long since I need to get the house on the market. So, the new plan is to get as much stuff done as I can such as paint, fixtures, lighting, etc. and then clean up the old vanity top as best I can so I can show the house with a "finished" master bath. When the new one arrives, I'll hopefully be able to swap them out with no issues and be done with this thing.

I knew I should have never stopped working on this project....

The March of the Airmasses

Many of y'all who will read this blog sometime today likely awoke to a strange feeling. The air was "heavy", your clothes feel a bit sticky, a strange smell permeates the air as you go to work, school, or Home Depot to get an estimate on a double inward-swinging non-standard size french door...oh wait. That's me. Focus...

Yes, my West Texas Friends, the annual march of the airmasses is taking place. What is this you ask? For those that went to Anti-Aggieland, think "Brown Smell". Remember how it sometimes would appear randomly at night, usually after 8pm or so? That is one symptom of this meteorological magic that we "weather weenies" look forward to each spring and summer. Sidenote: "brown smell" here in the top 'o Texas is NOT the same phenomenon, especially if you live in and around a certain town in the southwestern portions of the area.

Why is this so magical to meteorologists? It is the march of the dryline (ignore the picture, that is NOT a dryline but this example is!), a magical moisture discontinuity that manages to "slosh" (yes, we ACTUALLY use that term) back and forth across the region in the spring and even in the fall. If conditions are just right, the dryline can mean tornado producing supercells or perfectly clear skies in which one can get a good sunburn. It is a fickle feature, leading many forecasts (yes, mine included) to either come beautifully true or totally go down the toilet.

It is this feature that adds to the challenge of forecasting in the Panhandle and there are extremely few places in the world that have any kind of facsimile or equivalent. But there is something more. When I walked out this evening and saw a hazy full moon, felt the blue jeans and shirt feel a bit stickier than usual, and smelled a bit of mustiness that only comes from air blowing off the Gulf of Mexico, I was reminded how amazing this part of Texas is - from the top of the Panhandle all the way down to the Big Bend. It is the simple feature of the dryline that can mean feast or famine for farmers and ranchers (and meteorologists). A difference in 50 miles or less could mean you are sweating your butt off working outside in muggy conditions or baking under a hot sun in bone dry air. The simple act that moisture gets pulled all the way from the Gulf, goes back and forth sometimes for days at a time, and that it could result in 3+ inches of rain and tornadoes or tumbleweeds blowing in dusty westerly winds that is a constant reminder to me that there is someone behind this weather wonder. I choose to believe that my God created this place, this setting, this environment and I am a lucky person to be able to experience it in all the ways possible. To you it might mean the return of the "brown smell" or having to sweat a bit extra when working outside but there is so much more involved.

That and the fact that I'll eventually be able to ask my Jesus why he makes it so stinkin' hard trying to forecast if the dryline is going to produce thunderstorms or leave us high and dry as it did tonight...

On The Move...Again.

I know that I have been lax in keeping this blog updated but I have had WAY too much stuff going on in my life that I've let some things slide by the wayside. Unfortunately, this blog is one of those things that manages to fall to the bottom of the list every time I get overwhelmed with "life".

SO, what is the latest and greatest news???? Well, on the morning of May 15th I received a phone call that I had anxiously been awaiting for well over a month and a half. I was chosen for, and accepted, a Senior Forecaster position in the Dust Bowl of Texas. Hence the "on the move" title for this blog. Yup, I will be leaving the top 'o Texas here in a couple of months and relocating about two hours south back to anti-Aggieland.

It is bittersweet; this move will be a promotion with additional responsibilities (side note...someone once told me that the only difference between the position I am in now and a Senior Forecaster is that if anything goes really wrong during a shift, the Senior Forecaster is the first one that is given the blame!), I'll be back in an area of dust storms and fall allergies when the cotton is being harvested, and I will be leaving MANY close friends that I have developed over the 5 years I have lived here in the top o' Texas. However, I'll only be two hours away from those aforementioned friends which is more tolerable than 6 hours, there are many old friends I'll be able to reconnect with, I'll hopefully be able to get back into playing guitar for our church worship service, and I hope to finally be able to host the many friends I have who have expressed interest in coming to various events held by the Technological College of Texas.

SO, now comes the fun. Getting the house ready to sell, starting to sort through the assorted "stuff" (not my first word of choice) that I have accumulated, house hunting down south, and trying to figure out what to do with the Jeep while I'm in temporary quarters. The Master Bath project will be resurrected (no, I STILL haven't finished it yet), along with the addition of a couple of other projects; replacement of the backyard fence, replacement of the back door, and other minor projects associated with getting a house ready to appeal to the next person or family wanting to transform it into their home. I will try to keep y'all informed through here as this process takes place but no promises!

Time to get moving...gotta head to Lowe's to order some items for the master bath.

The End Of...

This string of midnight shifts? Texas Rangers mediocrity? The Dallas Stars losing in the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup? Having to eat green peas? Oh so many choices to choose from!

Seriously though, I'm wrapping up this string of mid-shifts and probably have too much sugar coursing through my veins right now (note...I didn't say caffeine!) from drinking 1) a 24 oz. root beer at midnight, 2) a 12 oz. caffeine free Dr Pepper at 5 am, and 3) an Oregon Chai at 6:40 am. Just a tad bit too much energy right now which likely means I'm going to crash at church and fall asleep in the chair...

ANYWAY, my original intent on this post was to give a heads up to the (increased by at least 2) 4 readers that there is a chance I'll be leaving Amarillo sometime this year. Once again, a position has come up in Lubbock that I've submitted my application for. It will have to make it's rounds through the reviews and various folks before actually ending up on the deciding official's desk so I won't know anything for at least a month or two. But I'll keep y'all updated as to what the status is with this promotion. Yes, it is a promotion but still will be shift work. One step closer to getting OUT of full-time shift work...

And some other things that it is "The End Of...": sitting on my butt and not working on the Master Bath project. Not getting estimates for a couple of things that need to be fixed around the house. Free time as I know it getting the house ready "just in case". My hopes of getting the 7" lift, 37" times 5 tires, Dana 44 front and RockJock III or Dana 44 or Ford 8.8" rear axles, slip yoke eliminator for the next major iteration on the Jeep so I can save up the $$ for home repairs or a down-payment for a new house should I end up having to move. And last but not least (for a while); the end of my dreams for a nice, big flat-panel TV to replace the 12-year old one I currently have...

BTW, I'm trying to get better at including links to help the few that read this blog get a better understanding of what I'm talking about since some people think I'm too "technical"...

Latest Pictures

I recently realized that I had a tulip appear magically in my front flower bed and decided it would provide a good opportunity to see how my new camera lens works. Well, I also forgot that I took some pictures when I went to the Hill Country for Easter and these downloaded with my latest batch. All I can say is WOW!

This red tulip was taken in the Hill Country. There were almost no wildflowers around this year so a man-made flower had to do.

Program AE, ISO 100, 1/128 sec @ f4.0, 70mm Focal Length
Digital Edit - light sharpening and crop to 1280x1024 pixels in Adobe Photoshop 10

The magic tulip that appeared in my front flower bed. I didn't plant it, I didn't fertilize it, it just magically sprung up!

Program AE, ISO 100, 1/160 sec @ f3.5, 50mm focal length
Digital Editing - light sharpening and crop/resize to 1280x1024 in Adobe Photoshop 10

A second crop of the full size image (which is over 3000 pixels wide and too big for any screen!) to show the details of the inside of the flower bud.

Digital editing - crop of full-size image to 1024x768 pixels, light sharpening
Adobe Photoshop 10

And so, my first impression of the Canon camera lens is that the clarity is incredible, the colors are well reproduced, and the detail that is resolved is excellent. Now all I need is some weather to test this new lens out in harsher conditions...

Spring has Arrived

I've been busy this past month; a lot of travel, a lot of projects at work, and a lot of time spent working on odd projects around the house (the Bathroom project has been on hold as my interior designer has had quite a bit going on as well). However, spring hath arrived and there are various ways to tell.

One key sign it is spring is that I had to clean up the lawn mower, change the oil and filter, and lower the ride height a couple of notches for the first cut of the season. The mowing was an all-afternoon ordeal; make one cut, empty the bag, restart the mower, make another cut, empty the bag, and repeat the process for both the front and back lawns. I normally don't enjoy this process as it kills my allergies but it was rather nice this time as a brisk north wind helped to dissipate the dust and dry grass keeping the snot and sneezing at bay. Related is the fact that I had to break out the garden hoses and purchase sprinklers to replace the ones destroyed by the hard water we have in this neck of the woods. I should also sadly note that I had the water on for FOUR hours and there was no runoff whatsoever. Maybe I should have watered the lawn over the winter a couple of times...

Another important sign that spring has arrived is that I removed the hard top on the Jeep and have gone back to the "convertible" mode with the soft top. Many thanks to my good friend W.C. for the assistance in getting the hard top stowed and soft top on along with the great discussion that ensued over a late dinner at Rosa's. I'll have to wait for a couple of days before enjoying the soft top; the weather will be a bit and I still have to do an annual spring tune-up as well.

However, the biggest sign that spring has arrived is severe weather across northern TX through OK and into the Central Plains. That means that stormchasing is soon to be around the corner for the Top 'o Texas. I've had many a friend request to come along the next time I head out towards severe weather (whenever that might be) but I am sad to say that I probably have lost all desire to storm chase. Why? Take a look at this picture taken in Oklahoma during a late March severe weather event (and you will probably need to click on it to get the full-sized image)...

You are looking at two supercell thunderstorms in central Oklahoma. The one on the left has a Severe Thunderstorm Warning (yellow box) for it and the one on the right has a tornado warning on it (red box). These storms were moving off to the east at about 35 to 40 mph and had a history of producing tornadoes. What I want you to notice however are the green, yellow, and red boxes that are generally on the south and east portions of the storms. These are vehicle positions from a nifty thing called The Spotter Network which is a free service that allows storm spotters and chasers to use their in-vehicle internet or ham radio to relay their position and other information back to the website. The biggest utility is that we can see these positions in near real-time at my place of employment during severe weather operations. But I digress; the real reason I wanted to use the image above is to illustrate that there were 20 people relaying their positions back to the network. Add in a plethora of other people who don't use this service and you can probably guess that there were anywhere from 50 to 100 people on the storm. The yahoo season has arrived.

I started stormchasing before the movie "Twister" came out, before the learning channels started promoting the Most Extreme Tornado Chase shows, before the TIV and DOWs were on the scene. These three things, among many others, have encouraged any person with a video camera to start to head out and attempt to chase storms for an ultimate video capture. I can't tell you how many times we have received video and/or pictures at my unnamed employer of "MASIV TORNADOS" (yes someone REALLY spelled that way) when in reality they are nothing but dust devils or fair-weather cumulus clouds. Of greater concern is the lack of responsibility a small minority show towards others while stormchasing. It was this small minority that almost resulted in my severe injury or possible death while traveling a road at 40 mph (15 mph UNDER the speed limit I might add) back in 2001. A month shy of 7 years ago, someone pulled out in the middle of the road without warning, head hanging out the door with a video camera, and was almost T-boned by my Explorer. I was able to stop (thanks to massive amounts of cussing and both feet on the brake pedal...thank you for whomever invented anti-lock brakes) but the person in the other vehicle looked at me like I was at fault and flipped me a one-fingered salute before speeding off. It was at that point I swore off stormchasing on high profile days due to the idiocy of a few people; the "yahoo's", the thrill-seekers, the general public in some cases.

I am sad that I have come to this decision. There is nothing more amazing that sitting under a supercell in late spring, smelling the moisture in the inflow, hearing the "hail roar" from massive hailstones banging against each other in the 100+ mph updraft, and spending a solitary moment immersed in Mother Nature. I miss having a local pull up and ask if everything was O.K., replying "I'm fine, I'm just watching this storm.", and then hear their stories of storms they have experienced in bygone years while both watching the storm evolve and morph in front of us. Living in the top o' Texas will yield a few days that some claim are "surprises" but those are the days that I'll be out chasing. Fewer "yahoos", more roads to get away from people (I'd like to see you TRY and follow my Jeep on a muddy section road!), and a general population that somewhat has a respect for bad weather and knows when to stay close to safe shelter. The "Moderate/High Risk" days bring out so many people now that the magic of chasing is gone for me.

I'll probably be yelled at by a few people as being "elitist", "unfair", or "insert colorful adjectives here" as a few of my colleagues and friends have been so labeled. So be it. Wait and see how you feel after your life flashes in front of your eyes at 40 MPH because someone was acting like a "yahoo" in total disregard of the law and public safety. Of course, I reserve the right to reverse my decision as high gas prices might impact the number of people out on very marginal days. Besides; it is REALLY hard to give up seeing something like this as you drive towards it...

New "Toys"

We temporarily leave the Master Bathroom Series once again for a bit of background and a product review. I've always enjoyed photography. Both my grandfathers were avid amateur photographers and one of them won quite a few local and regional contests. Through the years, a camera body and lenses were handed down. My Granpa's venerable Canon AE-1 was my first SLR camera and I cut my teeth in the world of apertures, focal lengths, shutter speeds, and filters. That rugged AE-1 survived my trip through the tropical environments of the Marshall Island and Hawaii as well as through my first 4 1/2 years of stormchasing trips. However, it finally started to falter as the shutter started to stick and it became cost prohibitive to fix.

In 1999, I purchased my first SLR; a Canon Rebel 2000 to supplement the AE-1 and also to start building my own cache of photographic equipment. Graduate school intervened however and I never had the money to purchase additional lenses for this body. Additionally, the Rebel 2000 had only a plastic lens mount ring and it would not withstand the heavier and more robust lenses in the EOS series. Once again, Canon proved that their products last. The body continues to function well after 7 years but the lens has been acting up for the last 2. Again, this camera has survived the rigors of stormchasing, the dust encountered off-roading in the Jeep, and crawling among the Hill Country wildflowers in the spring. My best lightning and wildflower pictures have been taken with the f2.8-4 28-80mm lens and Rebel 2000.

Then in 2006, my good friends in Colorado purchased a Digital Rebel XT. Actually, they accidentally purchased two thus having a spare one. I tested their camera in Colorado in during our '06 Jeep Trip and fell in love with the fact that you could instantly see what you had just tried to take a picture of. No more expense of purchasing Velvia slide film or Superia print film. So, I purchased their spare body and used the lens from my Rebel 2000. This has worked for the last 2 years up until this Christmas when the auto-focus ultrasonic motor finally gave out. You guessed it, it is cheaper to use it as a manual lens than to ship it off and get it fixed. This meant that I needed a new lens. Something that I can use in environments ranging from pristine to dust filled; dusk under a thunderstorm to shooting on-stage for church events.

Enter the Canon EOS 24-70 f2.8L.

All I can say is: "Dang!" Sealed and gasketed joints provide protection from dust and grit. The fixed low-end f2.8 aperture will handle low-light situations well and the 24-70 range will provide just a tad-bit wider field-of-view than the older lens (although this lens equates to a 38-112mm focal length due to the 1.6x magnification factor of the Digital Rebel XT CCD setup). Unfortunately the lens is heavy, weighing in at a hefty 2 lbs. This is due to the high-quality glass lens elements and an all-metal construction. No plastic in this puppy!

But how does it shoot? Here are some images I took this past Sunday night (click on the image to get the big version):

I'll reserve final judgment until I get some wider variety of shots (weather, flowers, outdoors, etc.) but so far I am VERY pleased. The quality is far superior to my old lens and this one is rugged enough to last quite a while with proper care. My only concern is that it is too heavy for my Digital XT mount and I'll have to "upgrade" the SLR body sometime soon :-).

The title also says "Toys". Plural. I also had to replace my 15 year old Velbon tripod. Enter in the Slik Pro 700DX.

Downside - H E A V Y. Advantage - won't trip over in those strong supercellular inflow winds. Advantage 2 - I can file down the legs some to create a powder that could start a fire in an emergency. The tripod legs are made up of a Magnesium Aluminum Titanium alloy and in powder form those will go POOF! Advantage 3 - it is tall enough to place the camera nearly at my eye-level; much easier to use than having to hunch over with the old Velbon tripod. Again, I'm really pleased with this tripod even though it provides a great workout when lifting it.

So stay tuned...more images to come as I play around with this new lens. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog reading.

The Master Bath Series, Part VI

There has been some progress in this project...finally! I slapped on a couple coats of primer on the walls that are ready as well as the ceiling and it is starting to look more and more like the end is in sight. Unfortunately, the problem is that without an actual light fixture in the room, it makes it very hard to see how everything will appear in natural light. The 250 watt halogen work light acts like a spotlight and every little imperfection and discoloration magically appears whereas natural sunlight through the window makes it look like the walls are done perfectly. Just to be on the safe side, I'll probably slap another coat of primer on the walls and the ceiling just to be sure.

The current delay is due in part to not having called a plumber to come and fix the hot water cutoff valves in house (I know, I've been lazy). I need this done in order to pull out the faucet and remove the vanity top. Things will should progress fairly fast once that is done. And yes, once we get some warm and not-so-windy weather, I'll get some pictures for y'all after I vacuum out the last of the drywall dust and get some minor cleaning done...that dust is NOT easy to get off of stuff!