Well, it has turned out to be a busy week - again. This is good for the pocketbook, one would think. Well, at least there is the hope that some of the money due will materialize. Nothing in the mail today, however (except the electric bill). Two more key jobs did arrive today and with the one that arrived yesterday, I'm busy. I also have to return a call about an estimate and possible tuning for a new customer.
So, the last key job to arrive is an enormous mess. I'm taking pictures as it progresses and will share them here in the future. It's a piano that was saturated with water. The tech sent the entire keyframe (keys and the structure that holds them). Everything is rusty, broken, unglued, moldy, younameit. FUN!! The other jobs are routine.
As promised, this week I sent off the parts to that piano tech who called last week. He should have them by Saturday and I sent a bill in a separate envelope. He called today. To tell me not to rush on sending the stuff as he thinks he may not need it after all. HAH. Guess he should have thought things through before he requested the parts. A half hour on the phone, more than two hours finding, dissembling, packing, reshelving the leftovers, and shipping. Now he's mad that he owes me money for it all. He ended the second phone call rather abruptly.
Tonight I emailed a tech that owes me for key bushing. At the time of the job he assured me that he had sent payment separately from the box of keys. I wonder what his excuse will be?
Amid it all, I'm almost ready for the PTO Holiday Fair. Just two Christmas necklaces to string and one last set of earrings to finish. Then it's get all packed up ready to go next weekend.
********************************
On a totally different subject - I finished reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. There was a lot of hype about it seven years ago when it was first published. I didn't really care for it. It seemed, to me, quite simplistic in writing style and in plot. Oh well. It did have one paragraph that caught my fancy. The main character was trying to decide if there would be a medical condition that she would be embarassed to admit suffering from. This is an exerpt from the resulting paragraph: "She felt terribly sorry for people who suffered from constipation, and she knew that there were many who did. There were probably enough of them to form a political party - with a chance of government perhaps - but what would such a party do if it was in power? Nothing, she imagined. It would try to pass legislation, but would fail."
Showing posts with label the forbidden P word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the forbidden P word. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, January 08, 2009
I Shall Be Wealthy!
Barack Obama just told me so.
In an unprecendented pre-inauguration speech, Barack Obama just said that those who have worked hard and are responsible will be rewarded.
Wooooooohoooooooo!
Yeah, I know. But can I still have hope?
In an unprecendented pre-inauguration speech, Barack Obama just said that those who have worked hard and are responsible will be rewarded.
Wooooooohoooooooo!
Yeah, I know. But can I still have hope?
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Election Tuesday Tunings
I had two tunings scheduled for this afternoon. The first was to tune the Yamaha G1 (grand) on stage in the auditorium at the high school. There are several performances coming up, the first on Wednesday night. I thought that the Yamaha would be it's usual breeze. It always really needs tuning after it's summer neglect, but generally it's not a disaster.
Until today.
Yikes.
First, since it was to be a focal instrument in part of Wednesday night's concert, I decided to give it a little spiff-up. It was thick with dust on the pedal lyre and the legs. The main body of the piano remains covered with a fitted quilt when the piano is not in use, so that was okay. As I was dusting off the back leg, I was dismayed to also notice an abundance of mildew growing on the beams and the belly rail (these are structural supports under the piano). Evidence of that much moisture is not a good thing. I opened the lid to it's highest to have a look inside. I expected to see rust forming. Fortunately there was none.
Unfortunately, there was a large, previously migratory stain on the soundboard traveling down the length of the treble bridge and pooling at the tail end of the piano. Ooooh, how on earth had liquid accumulated in there? I pointed it out to the woman in charge. She shared my dismay and remarked that the roof had been leaking, a portion of the stage had flooded during the summer, and no one had been around to notice. That didn't explain the inside stain, but certainly the exterior mildew.
Well, still no rust, so I felt they had been quite lucky. I sat down to begin tuning. What a mess! The entire midrange had become incredibly too sharp and I had to lower pitch on the majority of the piano. Only the high treble and low bass were near correct pitch. So, extra work, extra time and at a low pay rate. I had gotten this piano to be a nice stable instrument requiring only ordinary maintenance tuning even through seasonal humidity and temperature changes. A summer semi-flooded stage had been too much for it!
**************************************
It has just been announced that Barack Obama has earned more than enough electoral votes for the presidency!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
**************************************
Okay, back to piano number two for today. The piano is an old upright that I've tuned once before. I thought it was to be just a straightforward tuning. When I arrived the owner pointed out a 'broken' sharp (black key). Well, it wasn't actually broken as one would define a break. It was a wood (under) sharp that had a plastic 'cap' adhered to it. The plastic had bowed and delaminated from the sides of the sharp and it was catching the adjacent keys. I removed the key and glued (instant type) and held it clamped tight with a sanding stick that I had in my tool kit. I counted to 30 and let the stick loosen from the side of the sharp. It held! With the key back in place in the piano, I got ready to tune...just as the customer said he would be working outside.
Splitting firewood with a gasoline powered hydraulic log splitter.
Don't worry, I can tune over all that noise! (truly, it wasn't a problem). The problem was that I had to use my elongated tuning tip because the lid of the piano overhung the tuning pin area too much. The first time I tuned this piano I had tried to remove the lid. Looked simple. Five screws and it should have come off. Should have. I tried again today. I removed the screws and tried to budge the lid. Nope. Won't lift, won't slide left. Won't slide right, backwards or forward. I hate tuning with that long tip, but it's done.
Until today.
Yikes.
First, since it was to be a focal instrument in part of Wednesday night's concert, I decided to give it a little spiff-up. It was thick with dust on the pedal lyre and the legs. The main body of the piano remains covered with a fitted quilt when the piano is not in use, so that was okay. As I was dusting off the back leg, I was dismayed to also notice an abundance of mildew growing on the beams and the belly rail (these are structural supports under the piano). Evidence of that much moisture is not a good thing. I opened the lid to it's highest to have a look inside. I expected to see rust forming. Fortunately there was none.
Unfortunately, there was a large, previously migratory stain on the soundboard traveling down the length of the treble bridge and pooling at the tail end of the piano. Ooooh, how on earth had liquid accumulated in there? I pointed it out to the woman in charge. She shared my dismay and remarked that the roof had been leaking, a portion of the stage had flooded during the summer, and no one had been around to notice. That didn't explain the inside stain, but certainly the exterior mildew.
Well, still no rust, so I felt they had been quite lucky. I sat down to begin tuning. What a mess! The entire midrange had become incredibly too sharp and I had to lower pitch on the majority of the piano. Only the high treble and low bass were near correct pitch. So, extra work, extra time and at a low pay rate. I had gotten this piano to be a nice stable instrument requiring only ordinary maintenance tuning even through seasonal humidity and temperature changes. A summer semi-flooded stage had been too much for it!
**************************************
It has just been announced that Barack Obama has earned more than enough electoral votes for the presidency!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
**************************************
Okay, back to piano number two for today. The piano is an old upright that I've tuned once before. I thought it was to be just a straightforward tuning. When I arrived the owner pointed out a 'broken' sharp (black key). Well, it wasn't actually broken as one would define a break. It was a wood (under) sharp that had a plastic 'cap' adhered to it. The plastic had bowed and delaminated from the sides of the sharp and it was catching the adjacent keys. I removed the key and glued (instant type) and held it clamped tight with a sanding stick that I had in my tool kit. I counted to 30 and let the stick loosen from the side of the sharp. It held! With the key back in place in the piano, I got ready to tune...just as the customer said he would be working outside.
Splitting firewood with a gasoline powered hydraulic log splitter.
Don't worry, I can tune over all that noise! (truly, it wasn't a problem). The problem was that I had to use my elongated tuning tip because the lid of the piano overhung the tuning pin area too much. The first time I tuned this piano I had tried to remove the lid. Looked simple. Five screws and it should have come off. Should have. I tried again today. I removed the screws and tried to budge the lid. Nope. Won't lift, won't slide left. Won't slide right, backwards or forward. I hate tuning with that long tip, but it's done.
Election Day
We arrived at the polls at 10:10 a.m. and had a line to wait in. This is unusual for Rockport. We only had to wait about 5 minutes, check in, get a ballot, vote, check out and insert the ballot in Rockport's nifty, old, oak ballot box. As you insert your ballot, a poll worker cranks a well worn, brass handle to grab your ballot and deposit it in the box with a pronounced "ding". On the front of the box is the counter. I was number 570. I don't know exactly the voting population of Rockport. Residentially we have about 7,000 people. Not all are voters, of course. We have three voting precincts. Someone in line made a comment that the count number was rather high for that time of the day. The poll worker commented, "That's high for late afternoon, normally!"
Outside our precinct is the town parking lot. There were several volunteers with Obama signs.
None for McCain.
I had a tuning at the high school at 1 p.m. The elementary school is part of the school complex and is also the voting place for the 3rd precinct. As I drove by the entrance, I waved to more Obama supporters.
None were there for McCain.
Something positive to be said for Rockport.
Outside our precinct is the town parking lot. There were several volunteers with Obama signs.
None for McCain.
I had a tuning at the high school at 1 p.m. The elementary school is part of the school complex and is also the voting place for the 3rd precinct. As I drove by the entrance, I waved to more Obama supporters.
None were there for McCain.
Something positive to be said for Rockport.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Any Hope?
Commentary by Dorothy Donegan, before her performance of the song by the same title, "Things Ain't What They Used to Be.
Sure Ain't"
Sure Ain't"
Saturday, September 27, 2008
It's Debatable
Yes folks, I watched it. The first presidential debate. I'm a glutton for punishment. I have already decided which lesser of evils that I will be voting for, so why watch? Maybe it's like some people watching auto racing. You know, waiting for the crash and burn? Per the norm, evidenced by online surveys, I was wrong about the outcome. Okay, I still think that I was correct in picking the most confident, competent, eloquent, alert, professional and educated of the candidates. The candidate whose policies made the most sense and importantly, communicated those policies with clarity. However, it seems the computer survey submitters and text messagers radically disagree with me. Sigh.
Idiots, of course.
The most pleasing aspect of the presidential debate is that 'A' actually watched it. In it's entirety. And watched the follow-up commentary. This is totally amazing. And despite my apoliticality (yep, invented that word), I was ecstatic to see her interest.
So what's the next thrilling event that I am looking towards? Why, the vice-presidential debate.
Yes, I think we may have a crash and burn.
Idiots, of course.
The most pleasing aspect of the presidential debate is that 'A' actually watched it. In it's entirety. And watched the follow-up commentary. This is totally amazing. And despite my apoliticality (yep, invented that word), I was ecstatic to see her interest.
So what's the next thrilling event that I am looking towards? Why, the vice-presidential debate.
Yes, I think we may have a crash and burn.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
These Days
There has been a bit of grumbling. Not many of us in our little sub-group of blogland have been keeping up with posting. Dickiebo has been very busy at it, particularly since 'B' was out of town for a little while. Some folks have been on vacations, others have computer problems, some just seem quiet. Actually, this doesn't seem to be exclusive to our corner of blogland. I am a member of six 'mailing lists' or online 'groups'. Those have been slow, too. For me there seems to be a gloom of a foggy night hanging over.
These days I seem to only work. It doesn't seem that I get much accomplished but I guess I do. It's just more stuff gets added to the list. There's still a regular stream of key work, but it's not as abundant as in June or July. Tunings trickle in. However, I'm getting more and more calls from people wanting to sell their pianos rather than maintain them. Bad economy. I work the two days at Tuck's and those really tire me. My feet ache, my shoulders ache, my wrists and neck, too. My left wrist and index finger are especially nasty lately and I'm once again trying a wrist brace. I'm working on the endless 'to-do' list around the house. Today, I trimmed some stray branches from the linden tree and one of the huge oaks. This weekend we are to have some heavy rain and wind, so I thought I'd better get that trimming off the list. Of course, trimming then meant loading the truck and hauling the debris to the dump. I've started preparing the new cabinet doors for my mom's bathroom sink base for her to paint. I need to call the plumber to fix a slowly dripping solder joint in the hot water line before it becomes a major problem. Fortunately, it just drips to the cellar floor. I'll have him take care of replacing that trap under our bathroom sink while he's here. Remember that problem from maybe a year or so ago? The trap that was 'hard' plumbed that shouldn't be? I was going to fix it myself, but quite frankly, I haven't the ambition to be scrunching myself under the sink cutting away the existing mess. Then there's the street light near our house. It had been cycling on and off for a month, then finally stayed off. Two weeks ago, I called the power company and was quite elated when the truck showed up the next night in the pitch black.(yeah, it doesn't take much to please me) The power company guy, up high in the bucket of the truck, fiddled around with the light. Then he was back in the truck and drove off. Still the light was out. After daybreak the next morning, I took a look. The entire lamp was missing. All we have now is the pathetically skinny arm with two stubs of wires hanging out there up the pole. Going to have to call the power company again. That should be good for at least a half hour of 'on hold'.
On to other things. Clustrmaps let me know that my current map will be archived on or about the 28th of this month and a new map will be started. Just thought I'd let you know.
Dickiebo lifted my spirits today with an award. You can see it in the sidebar, under my dickiebouquet!
I drove us all up to Skip's last week. It was pointed out by a reader (guess who) that I had never posted a photo of Skip's. I did post a pic of the sign a couple years ago. Anyway, it's not much to look at, building-wise, but here it is.
Originally, the order and pick-up windows were outside and all dining was either in your car or at picnic tables. He's upgraded over the years and moved indoors. We still eat in our car. Tradition, you understand. The owners live upstairs. At normal mealtimes the parking lot is crammed full. This picture was taken mid afternoon. We don't like waiting in line!
And finally, these days. I'm fed up with our government, the economy, the lack of values, the mess. I'm furious that I must pay for corporate and individual greed. I have no mansion, no big salary, no massive risky investments. I have lived always hoping for the best yet considering the what-if's. I haven't spent and borrowed frivolously. I shouldn't have to bail out those that have. The current economic bailout proposal for the US will cost every adult and child in this country over $2300.00 each. Yes, I understand the consequences of no government assistance, but that still doesn't mean that I have to think it is fair or reasonable to expect the average hard-working individual to accept it.
Sorry about the politics.
Now please excuse me while I run up my credit card debt, travel the world and live in high style, and let someone else worry about it. You'll be happy to pay it all off for me, won't you?
These days I seem to only work. It doesn't seem that I get much accomplished but I guess I do. It's just more stuff gets added to the list. There's still a regular stream of key work, but it's not as abundant as in June or July. Tunings trickle in. However, I'm getting more and more calls from people wanting to sell their pianos rather than maintain them. Bad economy. I work the two days at Tuck's and those really tire me. My feet ache, my shoulders ache, my wrists and neck, too. My left wrist and index finger are especially nasty lately and I'm once again trying a wrist brace. I'm working on the endless 'to-do' list around the house. Today, I trimmed some stray branches from the linden tree and one of the huge oaks. This weekend we are to have some heavy rain and wind, so I thought I'd better get that trimming off the list. Of course, trimming then meant loading the truck and hauling the debris to the dump. I've started preparing the new cabinet doors for my mom's bathroom sink base for her to paint. I need to call the plumber to fix a slowly dripping solder joint in the hot water line before it becomes a major problem. Fortunately, it just drips to the cellar floor. I'll have him take care of replacing that trap under our bathroom sink while he's here. Remember that problem from maybe a year or so ago? The trap that was 'hard' plumbed that shouldn't be? I was going to fix it myself, but quite frankly, I haven't the ambition to be scrunching myself under the sink cutting away the existing mess. Then there's the street light near our house. It had been cycling on and off for a month, then finally stayed off. Two weeks ago, I called the power company and was quite elated when the truck showed up the next night in the pitch black.(yeah, it doesn't take much to please me) The power company guy, up high in the bucket of the truck, fiddled around with the light. Then he was back in the truck and drove off. Still the light was out. After daybreak the next morning, I took a look. The entire lamp was missing. All we have now is the pathetically skinny arm with two stubs of wires hanging out there up the pole. Going to have to call the power company again. That should be good for at least a half hour of 'on hold'.
On to other things. Clustrmaps let me know that my current map will be archived on or about the 28th of this month and a new map will be started. Just thought I'd let you know.
Dickiebo lifted my spirits today with an award. You can see it in the sidebar, under my dickiebouquet!
I drove us all up to Skip's last week. It was pointed out by a reader (guess who) that I had never posted a photo of Skip's. I did post a pic of the sign a couple years ago. Anyway, it's not much to look at, building-wise, but here it is.
Originally, the order and pick-up windows were outside and all dining was either in your car or at picnic tables. He's upgraded over the years and moved indoors. We still eat in our car. Tradition, you understand. The owners live upstairs. At normal mealtimes the parking lot is crammed full. This picture was taken mid afternoon. We don't like waiting in line!And finally, these days. I'm fed up with our government, the economy, the lack of values, the mess. I'm furious that I must pay for corporate and individual greed. I have no mansion, no big salary, no massive risky investments. I have lived always hoping for the best yet considering the what-if's. I haven't spent and borrowed frivolously. I shouldn't have to bail out those that have. The current economic bailout proposal for the US will cost every adult and child in this country over $2300.00 each. Yes, I understand the consequences of no government assistance, but that still doesn't mean that I have to think it is fair or reasonable to expect the average hard-working individual to accept it.
Sorry about the politics.
Now please excuse me while I run up my credit card debt, travel the world and live in high style, and let someone else worry about it. You'll be happy to pay it all off for me, won't you?
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