I am imagining a course for winter driving. REAL winter driving:
Lesson 1: Steering.
In a front-wheel drive car, you steer with the same wheels that you pull with. Therefore... The less you steer, the more power you will have.
If you turn early into a corner, you will drag the back end (the non-steering and non-pushing) end of your car through the snow. Click here and learn the late-apex turn
Lesson 2: Power.
Imagine for a moment, that you are spinning your tires. What happens when you give more gas? If you answered "magical pixies will give me traction", please buy a bus-pass. If you answered "the tires will spin faster", you win a cookie.
Lay off the damn gas when your tires are spinning.
Lesson 3: Braking.
You have more braking power when your wheels are turning than when they are not.
Lesson 4: Tires.
Snow. Tires.
That is all for Lesson 4
Supplemental Reading.
Lesson 5: Getting unstuck.
This will combine all the above lessons. You will learn to steer gently, accelerate very slowly, on good tires. Students who fail will have to take Lesson 6.
Lesson 6: Shoveling and Pushing.
First: Wear proper clothes. Hat, mitts, boots, coat.
Second: Take a shovel.
Any questions?
10.1.11
6.1.11
2010 reflection number 1
(I said number 1 in case there are more)
2010 was a year of recovering from mistakes and errors. Not a year of great success, as those came in 2009 for the most part, and not entirely a year of _making_ mistakes, although there were some of those, too!
I am significantly a better person than I was a year ago, but as always, that process has been one of constructive criticism, not one of being awesome. Being awesome has never resulted in me being actually better, compared to 'digging out' from previous mistakes
2010 was a year of recovering from mistakes and errors. Not a year of great success, as those came in 2009 for the most part, and not entirely a year of _making_ mistakes, although there were some of those, too!
I am significantly a better person than I was a year ago, but as always, that process has been one of constructive criticism, not one of being awesome. Being awesome has never resulted in me being actually better, compared to 'digging out' from previous mistakes
28.10.10
24.10.10
Waiting
So SheWhoDoesNotHaveABlogNickname and I are waiting for the contractor to meet. Maybe we will fire him. We sure as hell will fire him if he doesn't show up.
That will suck.
That will suck.
23.10.10
House onwards
So the house project continues very very slowly. It's actually starting to seriously impact my karmic balance.
The future of the house is literally up in the air, which leaves my possessions, my space and The Boy's space and possessions up in the air as well.
I have done what homework I could think to do with the contractor, but his pace is now a major cause of worry. Without significant advances quickly, this reno could have negative consequences for the rest of the house.
I've done my best to treat the house well over the last few years, with mixed success, but I may have gotten in over my head on this one. And while it would be 'facile' to say that I'll learn a lot regardless of whether this succeeds, I'm not happy doing that with several hundred thousand dollars of house and home.
And I must also remember that maybe it will be just fine and will come together ish sha Allah.
The future of the house is literally up in the air, which leaves my possessions, my space and The Boy's space and possessions up in the air as well.
I have done what homework I could think to do with the contractor, but his pace is now a major cause of worry. Without significant advances quickly, this reno could have negative consequences for the rest of the house.
I've done my best to treat the house well over the last few years, with mixed success, but I may have gotten in over my head on this one. And while it would be 'facile' to say that I'll learn a lot regardless of whether this succeeds, I'm not happy doing that with several hundred thousand dollars of house and home.
And I must also remember that maybe it will be just fine and will come together ish sha Allah.
12.9.10
Garage 2
Sweet jebus.
I am close to done. 3 walls out of 4 are done, and the 4th wall only has tools. The props are mostly packed and back in the house, and the floors is swept and vacuumed.
I need to emphasize again the quantity of crap in this garage.
Total linear feet: 60.
Stacked about 8 feet high (on average, I would say)
about 2 feet thick.
960 cubic feet of stuff. So if you picked up a box (that was one cubic foot) a day and moved it, it would take two years to empty. TWO YEARS.
I am close to done. 3 walls out of 4 are done, and the 4th wall only has tools. The props are mostly packed and back in the house, and the floors is swept and vacuumed.
I need to emphasize again the quantity of crap in this garage.
Total linear feet: 60.
Stacked about 8 feet high (on average, I would say)
about 2 feet thick.
960 cubic feet of stuff. So if you picked up a box (that was one cubic foot) a day and moved it, it would take two years to empty. TWO YEARS.
11.9.10
Garage cleaning
So I have been cleaning out my garage, and by cleaning out, I mean.. emptying. It has to be emptied to be moved, so that the house can be moved, so that the basement can be repoured. It's a complex tapestry, ok?
Anyway, I'm cleaning out the garage. Today I set aside about a cord of building materials and props that I want to keep, a cord of building supplies that I hope people will steal, and about a cord of garbage.
For many years I have said that my garage is not that bad. "Oh, there's a few things in there, but it's under control," I would say, or "Yah, I'll get it cleaned out one day".
Well. the ratio of what I thought it would take to clean out and what it has actually taken is about 3:1. I would say that I only knew about a third of the deposits and caches of things hidden in the garage. Some of the caches predate me, and are leftovers from the man I bought the house from.
So let this be a warning to you! If you are carrying around an albatross , it is bigger than you think! It is HUGE! HUUUUUUUUGE.
Anyway, I'm cleaning out the garage. Today I set aside about a cord of building materials and props that I want to keep, a cord of building supplies that I hope people will steal, and about a cord of garbage.
For many years I have said that my garage is not that bad. "Oh, there's a few things in there, but it's under control," I would say, or "Yah, I'll get it cleaned out one day".
Well. the ratio of what I thought it would take to clean out and what it has actually taken is about 3:1. I would say that I only knew about a third of the deposits and caches of things hidden in the garage. Some of the caches predate me, and are leftovers from the man I bought the house from.
So let this be a warning to you! If you are carrying around an albatross , it is bigger than you think! It is HUGE! HUUUUUUUUGE.
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