Commuting myths

"City commuting is easier than suburban commuting." I was sitting next to a young gal on the train this morning; I take Metra (http://www.metrarail.com/). She was on her cell phone talking to another young gal and she was very excited about moving into the city starting her apartment lease on October 1st. She was so glad to "not commute any more". I found that expression very intesting; interesting enough to write this blog entry. I have a bit of advice for her.


The CTA is marginally reliable at best. That statement comes from 7 years experience riding the CTA as a worker in the Loop and a bar-going 20-something on the nights/weekends. While the CTA may offer around-the-clock service, it certainly is not predictable. During your morning commutes, you will struggle to find a seat; I certainly never got a seat in the morning rush and rarely got a seat on my way home. That's par for the course.

Metra is very reliable and on time. Most importantly; you get a seat just about every time. That said, I've heard some stories floating around that during certain times of day on certain express trains to certain destinations, individuals are standing in the vestibules. However, that's never been me.

USA Men's Basketball

What an exhilarating game; the Spanish were outstanding. Not outstanding enough to hold back Bryant. I cannot remember when I last cheered for or was exited to watch NBA players (well, not since the golden years of the 90's).

This is something altogether new for me. After all, it was the Olympics. I was on the edge of my seat the entire game even though the results of the game had long been determined over seas.

USA! USA!

What can I say? Michael Phelps is not human. Well, he's not mortal for certain...
What an exhibition.

How do you ruin a would-be bride's day?

You kick a soccer ball in her face. You heard me. It happened last night. I was playing with the usual fellas at our indoor facility. For the first time, my buddy brought his fiance with to watch the goings on. She was sitting on the endline half way between the sideline and the goal flipping through "Modern Bride" magazine. She was surrounded by a half-dozen other standing players who were resting during their game off. There isn't much room. The goal backs up all the way to a fence and there is only about three feet of space behind the endline. It's tight.

On the far sideline, a player was advancing the ball and then placed a shot on goal. The ball skipped past the goal keeper, bounced off three defenders and one other player on the endline before smacking Julie on her upper lip just below the nose... The room of 20 fell silent as John came over to tend to his lady. She tried to stay composed. No blood, nothing broken, all teeth present. The fact that four or five players made contact with the ball before it hit her likely slowed it down enough to cause no harm. Wow, she dodged a bullet there.

She spent the rest of the game behind a fence off the field where she could read her magazine and sit in a chair without the fear of a ball coming it to attack her. The take-away here is that the game is fast moving and a ball can come from anywhere at anytime. Whenever I'm not in the game, my eyes are always watching the action.

John and Julie will marry on September 27th. I bet you I don't see her at a game before that date...

Eight months

How quickly eight months go by. Amanda is eight months old and it keeps getting better and better as a parent. Just this weekend I started editing up the home video I took when she was 1-4 months old. She has gone through quite the transformation. It's shocking to look at video of us trying to coax just a smile or a chirp out of her. Now she smiles and chats all the time. Looking forward to all that the future holds...

Transfer switch installation complete

Generator:

Outdoor generator hook-up:

From the generator, there is a 25-foot cord that will handle 30 Amp loads at 240 volts to power the circuits I need in the house. That cord plugs into here to send electricity into the house.

Junction box that leads to outdoor generator hook-up:

From here, wires from the generator hook-up travel down and to the left, around a corner and head into the watt meter to watch for overloads on one circuit or the other.

Left: 100 Amp main panel

Left-center: Side-car from main panel

Right-center: Transfer switch panel (new)

Lower-right: watt meter watching draw from generator (new)

From the watt meter, power travels up and into the transfer switch circuit breaker panel. Once in the transfer switch circuit breaker panel, electricty is transferred to the 4 circuits I have designated. They include the kitchen refrigerator/freezer, entertainment center, Internet access/VoIP phone/servers/switches, 1st floor lights and the second floor bedrooms.

Sources:

http://www.green-trust.org/generator/genny_install.htm

http://www.reliancecontrols.com/Stream/ProTranInstall/ProTranPlayer_T1.aspx

Happy Hour

I just left my first happy hour in what-seems-like months. I really like the collage of individuals at the office. Single people have the best stories.

It was a great time. Of course, I was over-served. The train ride home is currently a challenge. I just want to go to sleep, but afraid I'll miss my stop - or worse.