Hey man, congratulations on having another birthday. The alternative is not a good one. It sucks having a birthday in December - - the folks could never afford two big events in one month, so THE present sort of became a multi-occassion event.

Congrats to 04 are also in order. What a wonderful event. If we had known grandkids were going to be so much fun we would have started with them. We sure enjoy ours.

Cold last night - - down in the 40's - - enough of this stuff - - keep it up there in Alaska, Marc - - don't need it. And the orchids don't like it either. Going up nice today - - in the 70's.

Grabbing some ph00 and get out of here - - ya'll have a great day. Looks like Scott is slowly coming back to normal.

ShiveringBob

 

I see you're working on your editing skills this morning.

I don't know about the job yet. I was just a sub, gave my bid to the contractor. I'm having a little remorse about it though. I might have been a little low, although he didn't think so. The customer wants to build a 30x40 garage with a turn-around the same size and a courtyard that's almost the same as the garage. There's a 250 foot long drive and some other site work. I came in at $8600 and I'm feeling like I missed something. Fortunately, removal from the site is on a per yard basis.

 

I am SO glad I'm not in that business anymore. Seems like everybody that got laid off went out, bought a machine and became an 'excavator'. I was bidding against people that had no overhead or insurance and really didn't know what they were doing. I even fell into the trap once and hired a blaster that was cheaper than my regular guy. Thank God he DID have insurance tho, I checked before I hired him!

chaikwa.

 

I hear what you're saying. According to the home owner, there's rock 3' down, we need to go a little over 4' from the looks of it. The contractor wants to get out as cheap as he can even though the rock is an exclusion and on a cost plus basis. Personally, I like rock. I've got my loader set up with a ripper and in light rock it can be a money maker. In the heavy stuff, I'm there to keep the work area clear and keep the job on grade. I've got a couple buddies in the area that have large hammers if we need one. Blasting is not an option for residential around here.

 

NOT blasting is not an option in alotta areas in New England. The bulk of the area is granite as deep as you want to go. And most wells are between 500 and 1000 feet deep. Wells get expensive quick out there!

chaikwa.

 

I'll bet they do. We have some granite here but it's usually a thin layer, less than a foot. The bulk of our rock is either limestone, sandstone, some shale and another that is generally referred to as blue stone. Blue stone and some of the sandstone can be a real challenge for the hammers, even the 5k plus ones. I worked on sandstone that would wear 3 inches an hour off the bit on a 5k hammer. We had to get a carbide cored bit, $2700.00 per and that was 8 or 9 years ago.

 

Mornin' all!

My friday. WHOO HOO! Come on 1800

It's not even cold here today Bob. Warmed from -32* after work last night to -3* this AM before work. Darn near put on shorts today.

 

Poor widdo wee Bob and his widdo wee orchids.
We are getting our first dose of winter now...high winds, falling temps, more snow on the way.
One of these fine days we are going to arrive at FiverBrakesmartlessBobs and have a visit.

Just this morning Punta Dunta mentioned its time to get outta here.

Did ya know that sometimes Marc in Alaska is actually warmer then us?

Scottynevershiveringwiththisbigcarcass LOL

 

Morning all.
Looks like sunshine here on the Oregon Coast today.

 

Probly days like today. If we had any daylight I'd need sunblock to keep from burnin'. +2*F and the sun ain't even out yet.

 

beautiful 20s here, nice work weather and sunny.

had a visit from coyotes last night that I DID NOT APPRECIATE!! about 12:30AM was in bed reading about the Yukon gold rush stories, coyote screams then yips and puppy yelps (simulates in distress to attract prey for the hiding pack) guess they didn't know my dogs are gone. cat, they already had one crack at when it went to investigate them (raised by a siberian, no fear) and got away! closed the yard fence gate today, give the cat a fighting chance.

blackpowder starts now, hubby needs a deer! spent some time at the bank getting rolls of dimes, filling up wine bottle for new tv (plasma). kinda fun- like being kids again! 15 years this January saving. need help moving the four foot bottle- shaped like a knight.



TRad- don't let the janitor sneak up behind you. too much for the ticker...


Heidi off to get wood and lovin' it!

 

Happy Birthday kids: FIVERBOB and 3/4BLUE let's opt for LED lights instead of candles though.....evil snicker



Glad You made it to work Don- want that Army 5 ton now? better yet, make friends in the middle of your travels. hehehe



thought I was done with work, new email. guess I am back to work (getting paid is good)

Heidi starting over again

 

Temps came up fast yesterday, they were around 35-40 below down here in the valley yesterday morn. wind came up and temps along with it, by late afternoon it was up to 5 above. I've seen some of the most extreme swings ever in this area. I believe it was the winter of 2000 we went from 60 below to 60 above in 2 hours, a Chinook rolled thru it stayed warm till that evening then dropped right back down to -60. The snow melted, water was running everywhere then froze an we had the worlds largest skating rink.

 

Yeah I get the History Channel and I did see that show was on. I was driving home from the GFs when it was on tv. I completely forgot till I got home that it was on. Kinda wanted to see it.

Yeah it is a little pricey, but it was good. Yeah I realized they are all you can eat. I normally don't get the refill on the fries because the GF usually doesn't eat all of hers.

Thanks Bob! I always got a couple present for my b-day and couple for xmas. My parents always split them up since the two day are only a couple weeks apart. Sometimes I would get just one nice present that was for my bday and xmas. Oh well I still have a fun time.


Good Afternoon DTR! Got good news today at work. They won't be laying me off and they called back the six they layed off on monday. The steel mill that owns us and we serve closed up production at 3 other plants in the US and is gonna run this plant at full capacity. Looked like they were firing up the blast furnaces and the BOP shops up when I left work this afternoon. It's a big relief for the whole shop. It was good day. Gonna go work in the garage a little.

 

Great news 3/4! Always good to know you have a job.