What's On TV?

I wish I could reply directly to the comments, the comments SOME of you make! I have to approve them, then I forget which post they are referring to! I don't know how the big-time bloggers do it.

I was watching "Running Wilde" last night on the television and it flashed a scene of the "vacation" cottage. I said, "I've seen that before, there's a picture of it in my 'Shelter' book!" And in "Handmade House: A Guide To The Wood Butcher's Art". And I've always LOVED that little cottage/cabin, and wanted to know where it is. I did a lot of research and found nothing about the location, but I watched the episode again on the interweb and found that it is NOT the same house, but one very like. Compare the pics:


The "Running Wilde" cottage


The "Shelter" cottage.

They ARE very alike, and both very cute, but sadly, not the same place.

But, I'd STILL like to know where they are!

Today I manned-up and stopped by Appliance Parts Center in El Cajon, a most EXCELLENT place with EXTREMELY knowledgeable people. I barely flashed my print-out of the photo of the serial number of my warshing machine when she grabbed the part I needed from under the counter. She said it's a very common repair. And practically the same for the dryer part I needed!

Here is what I purchased:



Warshing machine agit dogs on the left, the dryer door latch on the right. I replaced the dogs, now the agitator goes round and round! A very large screwdriver and some Vise Grips made short work of the dryer door-side latch, now it finally shuts soundly. It only took me five months to deal with these little problems!

I worked on my flat tire, too. I found four thorns, but only one had pierced the tube. I hope. It was a very tiny hole, I'm not REAL sure I covered it with the patch. So, it's sitting in the garage all pumped up, and I shall check it for leakage tomorrow. By the way, I now have FIVE patches on that tube. Might be time for a new tube!

It's Hot HOt HOT!

Went out to Tierrasanta this morning to do a bit of geocaching. I parked at the trailhead at the east end of Clairemont Mesa Blvd. There is construction going on, so you can only access this on Sunday. I crossed the beautiful rusty metal bridge, finding the cache underneath, then headed up the hill, to the north. I was passed by a lady dog-walker with three large dogs.

I looked for the Evil Micro caches, but couldn't find ANY of them! They are truly EVIL!

I should have looked at the elevation map, there was a lot more up hill and down hill than I expected. I was truly hammered on the way back. But, I digress..

I found Oh! Susannah fairly easily, but as for Monkey's Stairway, I could SEE the stairway, but there was a fence in the way. From the logs, i see, NOW, that there may be a hole in the fence. Or, alternatively, one must parked on the 52 and dash down the hill.

Well, I turned to the east to get the caches along the Shepard Pond Loop Trail.

I was signing the log and taking a picture of the piggie I was going to leave (but it wouldn't fit) when a large German Shepard dog with a red handkerchief came nosing around, and a minute later her (Does that make my "dog" reference incorrect?) people came along, too. I said,
"I guess that isn't a coyote, what with the handkerchief!"


View towards Tierrasanta, and of the piggie.

The other day, September 19th, there was a fire along the 52, caused by an automobile (of course) . I didn't see any ducks at Shepard Pond, but I found what was left of the geocache.


The lid is melted, but the log is in there. I left a replacement container with a new log.

By this time I was really hot. I finished my first water bottle, ate an Albertson's Granola Bar, then headed back to the parking spot.

It seemed like a lot more uphill, and sweat kept getting in my eyes. It was very painful! And the uphills were very tiring. The flats were not so bad, of course. Ain't it always the way?

I checked again on of those EVIL cahes, but STILL couldn't find it.

Met a dad taking his small son to see the big steel bridge. I was sitting at the Volcano cache, signing the log, when they came back a few minutes later. The bridge was all they wanted to see.

The parking at this end of the Blvd. is that reverse kind that is bike-friendly.



I was able to back-in, no problem. And that is saying something! When you pull out, the view of oncoming traffic is much better. I think it is the Way To Go™*! UC Davis has an extensive (24 pages PDF format) article on the subject.

It was around 94.9 °F when I got back to the vehicle. I turned the air-conditioning on high, and hit the road!

Gmaps Pedometer link for today's route. It says I walked 5.9339 miles and used 762.9036251262878 calories. How precise can you get?


*The ™ symbol is used herein in a humorous context.

It's Elemental

I went over to the Home Depot to find some electrical range elements. I did not spot them in the remembered place, so I asked a fellow for assistance. They were twenty feet to the left. Under a big sign.

I bought two, navigating my way through the self check-out line with no problems. I was so proud of myself!

I got home and installed the little one. Worked fine!

I installed the big one. Didn't work. Whoopsie! Put the old one back in. It worked. Put the new one back in. It worked. Looks like it just needed a bit of prong cleaning. Double-whoopsie.

FOR SALE

One Model PM30X208 PartsMaster 8" Plug-In Cooking Element.

Only used once!

Only $25.00!! You save five bucks, plus you don't have to go get it, I'll deliver it in the greater San Diego area!

No refunds!

Big Hike

Big Hike for me, at any rate. Left home at 6:15 and drove to Santee. I parked just outside the Equestrian Staging Area, as the gates were not open yet. The sky was very overcast and foggy, a lovely day, to my thinking, to be clomping around the wilds.

I call this:

Along The 52

TIME -- CACHE NAME
6:15 -- Left vehicle
7:30 -- Shepherd Canyon - Calcium
7:40 -- POW of the 2006 MTRP Cache Wars
7:51 -- Uppa the Hill - Downa the Hill
8:03 -- Slider Hill AKA "Uppa" Consolation Cache
8:15 -- Harmon Needs a Blood Transfusion!
8:24 -- MTRP 2006 Cache War Trifecta #2
8:37 --52 Pick-Up
8:47 --Gateway To The Stars
9:00 --TT's MTRP Nuisance Cache #1
9:28 -- MTRP 2006 Cache War Trifecta #3
10:07 -- MTRP 2006 Cache War - Harmon's Trail of Tears
10:50 -- Arrived back a vehicle

The way was up and down, up and down. Very steep ups, but not TERRIBLY long. I saw several guys pushing their bicycles up the hills. This is why I don't ride out here. I would be pushing UP and DOWN!

The camera batteries died, so no pics of the foggy hills.

MONDAY: Two days later my legs are still sore!

Forgot The Title, What Shall I Put Here?

Picked up seven caches this morning in Santee, including one which has stymied me for several months (got generous hint from cache owner), and one that has stymied me for only a week.

Picked the week's groceries on the way home. Boy, that is the time to visit the grocery store, eight-thirty in the morning!

Driving home I hit the KGB button on the radio to hear The Cowboy Junkies sweet rendition of Sweet Jane. "Sweet," I'm thinking, "KGB is finally playing something I like!" Then I remember I had changed the preset to KPRI last week.

At Lowes

I had to make a cig run to Santee after work so I snuck a quick geocache find in on the way. I made the find, which was not TOO difficult as the cache owner had emailed me a hint after noticing my DNF last week. Still, I had to look three times, and quite closely, on my hands and knees, as there was a LEAF covering the dingus. Or rather, the rope holding the dingus.

Lowes was nearby, so I drove over there to see if they had some sticky pads, which they did, so I bought them. A new strategy in my war against the bugs! The twenty-something clerkette was very friendly, and called me "honey" several times. If you can imagine. I was wearing my red library shirt from Threadless, you know, the one with the date due slip on it. She commented on it. I told her I worked in a library, and she asked me my favorite book or author. I equivocated, but finally admitted Terry Pratchett was a favorite. She did not seem to know him. As I was nearly out the door she said, "What about Nicholas Sparks?" I replied, "Do I look like a Nicholas Sparks sort of guy?"

And so to home.

No Pay Today

Today seems to be a furlough day. Happy Labor weekend!

I'm reading Humans, by Donald Westlake. I just finished Rolling Thunder, by John Varley. It is somewhat of a homage to Robert Heinlein, with three references to Heinlein titles in the last two sentences. And there are only nineteen words in those two sentences!

Pointed this out to the proprietor of the butt store this morning. He said I was the first to notice it.



I finally took the KGB off the push buttons on the vehicle radio, and replaced it with KPRI. That'll learn 'em not to fire the DSC! Which is now on KFMB-FM, Jack FM. Which was already on a push button!

Got to ride an Iron Horse downhill bike around the dirt parking lot yesterday. It was the most expensive bicycle I've ever ridden, costing over two grand. You will remember my cousin's Trek Madone, that costs more, but I only got to pick it up with two fingers, not ride it!