Life in America - I made the move.

[grizz]

Stick-Families...

We have all seen them. It's a personal peeve of mine...  I don't like them much.

But then some creative people come along and I have a giggle...

The first pic is of a Star Wars family. Pretty cool...

The second isn't too clear, but it's a family of dancing cannibals in masks... also pretty cool 

I have seen pics of Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a stick family, as well as a couple of other cool stick-family pics, but haven't been able to snap a pic. As I get them I'll post them. 

Saw this on the way home from work tonight.......

Had to turn around to get you this pic.

Sadly not a stick man sticker in sight.

[Mr Zog]

Stick-Families...

We have all seen them. It's a personal peeve of mine...  I don't like them much.

But then some creative people come along and I have a giggle...

The first pic is of a Star Wars family. Pretty cool...

The second isn't too clear, but it's a family of dancing cannibals in masks... also pretty cool 

I have seen pics of Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a stick family, as well as a couple of other cool stick-family pics, but haven't been able to snap a pic. As I get them I'll post them. 

Saw this on the way home from work tonight.......

Had to turn around to get you this pic.

Sadly not a stick man sticker in sight.

I'm glad it's a "5" and not another P   

[Mr Zog]

Only in the swamp...


Remember that basically the entire Florida State IS a frikken swamp 



So a plane hit an alligator. Quite a large one at that! Made the evening news here today. 

http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2017/6/7/gator_killed_by_plane_orlando_executive_airport.html


One would think that stuff like this only happens in Africa, I have seen several pics of planes doing bush-landings and take-offs hitting animals.

Nope. Happens here too...   

[silvrav]

Only in the swamp...


Remember that basically the entire Florida State IS a frikken swamp 



So a plane hit an alligator. Quite a large one at that! Made the evening news here today. 

http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2017/6/7/gator_killed_by_plane_orlando_executive_airport.html


One would think that stuff like this only happens in Africa, I have seen several pics of planes doing bush-landings and take-offs hitting animals.

Nope. Happens here too...   

RIP Ali - but dam, from the article The gator reportedly jumped up and struck the plane's wing during landing.

He just wanted a lift

[Mr Zog]

Rust...


Anyone who lives at the coast will know, metal WILL rust.


When I bought my truck last year the load bed was already scratched and had a few spots of bare metal exposed. We have had quite a severe drought of late, but that seems to have broken now, and we get daily rain storms. I have a piece of outdoor carpeting that I salvaged in the load-bed of my truck to stop the stuff I load from scratching the paint off. But now with all the rain the carpet stays wet, and the spots are starting to rust. Not good...

I got a quote for rubberizing, around $700 


So I did the typical South African thing and looked for another solution. I found a couple of products, and the best seemed to be from Rust-Oleum. But it is still pretty expensive, around $75.00 per gallon can. Less than a gallon actually, 3,66 liters.

That was still a bit too dear for me, so I kept on looking. Then on Monday I found a deal on Ebay, just $51.00 for a can, including postage. So I closed my eyes and hit the "Purchase Now" button. The can arrived yesterday. I am still amazed at how well the US Postal Service works. 

Anyways, to cut this long story short, I finished work at 2pm today, and started the prep work to paint on the rubberising. The first step was to take off all the stuff on the back of my truck, the tool box included. Then I pulled the truck into the back yard and covered the back with a tarp, because the weather was threatening another storm.

Then I washed the load bed out with the power washer, and applied a special "muti" to the rusty spots to kill the rust worm, Left it for about 45 minutes, then rinsed well with water. It's very humid here today, around 78%, so I helped the drying with a towel. Then I used a 2" roller to apply the first coat of rubberising. I had to put a fan on the tailgate to prevent me from passing out from the fumes! Good shit this man! 

Now I'll leave it overnight to dry, then give it a few more coats tomorrow.

[Mr Zog]

Hurricane Season


It officially started last week, 01 June. We get daily weather updates and predictions on the news. We (Mrs Zog and I) have also downloaded an app on our phones that alerts us to severe weather conditions, so we'll definitely know all about any hurricanes that may threaten us.

I have prepared the hurricane shutters, we have the new generator, and we have a small stash of "emergency" food and water. I just need to get the stuff I need to wire the genny into the main board so that we can have power to all the outlets when the power goes out. A change over switch is too expensive, so I'll just have to make sure that I do things the right way, drop the main breaker before powering up the genny, so I don't push power back into the grid. That would not be good for the guys working to restore power. I also want to install a light on the side of the main board that will illuminate when power is restored, to let me know that I can kill the genny...

So still some work to do, but right now I can just run the necessities from the genny with extension cords if needs be.

In the mean time, we joke about hurricanes...

[Mr Zog]

This morning I gave the truck bed it's 2nd coat.


Then I mowed the lawn.

Then the 3rd coat.

Then I gave the inside of the truck tool box a single coat.

I sorted out some of the tools I carry around each day.

Then coat number 4. It was really threatening rain by then, so I made sure that the tarp I had rigged was secure. I sat and planned a "lift" for the tractor-mower so that I can wash off the wet grass-cuttings under the deck more easily. I'll make it during the week, time and weather permitting.

A fan helped the rubberising to dry, even though the humidity was in the high 80's.

I sprinkled some poison granules to kill off the fire-ant colonies that had infiltrated the garden. Sammy must have been nailed hard by the fuckers, he refuses to fetch a ball or other toy off the lawn. He paws at it, rolls it with a foot, very gingerly. Cautiously. poor doggie...

Then the rain arrived. We got a quarter inch over about an hour or so. Nice soaking rain. The garden loves it. I called family back in SA. My dad is making plans to come out for a visit! He'll be applying for his visa this week. I am so chuffed!!! My grandfather fell yesterday. Hurt himself. He's not doing well right now. My son, Thomas, is fine. He's very excited about the coming visit. I made him a count-down calendar for the fridge. His mom will print it out and stick it to the fridge tomorrow. He has just 172 sleeps left before he gets on the plane! I am also counting the days!

Then I repacked the truck, put the toolbox back on the back, all my bins of stuff etc.... ready for work tomorrow.

I fired up the braai. I had bought another one of those awesome pork ribs from Walmart this week. Really good value at $1,87 per pound. That is roughly about R50 a kilo. Pretty cheap by US standards. I rubbed it with some of the spice that I was given when I last visited SA, the used some bbq sauce as a basting.

It was brilliant. I'll admit that I ate way too much supper. Sitting here on the sofa feeling very bloated!


Ok. Weekend done. I did want to take the kayak out for a spin, but getting the truck bed sorted from the rust was more important. Maybe next weekend....

[TeeJay]

Great job Mr Zog.....looking much better now eh.

Keep on Zogging :-)

[Fudmucker]

Now it looks like real bakkie...

not a 'trurk' ! 

[Buff]

Nice one MrZ, that load bed looks like it was done by a Pro 

[bud500]

Nice one MrZ, that load bed looks like it was done by a Pro 

It was.

My Sunday went slightly different. Out of bed, on couch, MotoGP quali, Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP, Formula 1 quali, F1 show... bed...

[silvrav]

Hurricane Season


It officially started last week, 01 June. We get daily weather updates and predictions on the news. We (Mrs Zog and I) have also downloaded an app on our phones that alerts us to severe weather conditions, so we'll definitely know all about any hurricanes that may threaten us.

I have prepared the hurricane shutters, we have the new generator, and we have a small stash of "emergency" food and water. I just need to get the stuff I need to wire the genny into the main board so that we can have power to all the outlets when the power goes out. A change over switch is too expensive, so I'll just have to make sure that I do things the right way, drop the main breaker before powering up the genny, so I don't push power back into the grid. That would not be good for the guys working to restore power. I also want to install a light on the side of the main board that will illuminate when power is restored, to let me know that I can kill the genny...

So still some work to do, but right now I can just run the necessities from the genny with extension cords if needs be.

In the mean time, we joke about hurricanes...

Mr zog, out of safety and personally have seen what power can do I would HIGHLY recommend a changeover/selector switch. During a hurricane and in moment it will be very easy to forget to switch of mains etc.

What do they cost in the US?

[Mrs. Zog]

How I spent the weekend... again. 

[FrankyB]

Mrs Zog, what do you actually do?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[grizz]

How I spent the weekend... again. 

I took a day leave today, the job has been stressing me a bit the last few months.

I had a teleconference at 09.00 then did two weeks worth of expenses, and followed it with 6 clinical trials I had to read in preparation for tomorrow's day of training. Anticoagulation in my case.

I do not know survive that all day every day Mrs Z.

I battle to read and digest these things.

Only admiration for you.

(Not sure if you proof, or actually analyse the studies or are busy writing up a thesis)

[Mrs. Zog]

Franky,

I edit medical research papers for about a dozen medical journals, mostly concerning biological chemistry and molecular biology, some concerning neuroscience, infectious diseases, and plant biology. I'm self-employed as an "independent contractor", so I work from home and set my own hours, which is sometimes good and sometimes not.

Basically, the researchers submit their papers for publication, and after a bunch of peer reviews to make sure that the research is sound and valid, the journal accepts the article for publication. It goes through some preliminary stuff to make sure it's accepted by the publishing/printing softwares etc., and then it comes to me.

My job is to make sure it's grammatically correct, first of all. But also, I check and correct scientific nomenclature for genes/proteins/enzymes etc., check/correct taxonomy and genus/species nomenclature, virus classifications, disease names, all that. I have to know, for example, that AB refers to a blood group (usually) and that Ab usually means antibody. I need a working knowledge of molecular biology and organic chemistry to know the difference between, for example, covalent bonds and ionic bonds, and that they are written and expressed in different formats. Stuff like that. If I have any questions (is XYz really a protein? I think it's a gene, so should it be italicized in the text?) I talk to one of the authors and get clarification. They are at research institutions worldwide, so one day I'm e-mailing Dr. X in Shanghai working on a cure for pancreatic cancer and the next I talk to Dr. Y in Brazil working on Zika virus.

For certain Journals, I have to insert coding so that it prints correctly. For example, every time a reference is called out in the text, it has to be surrounded be the right coding: <zref>Ref. 13<zrefx> etc. I also make sure that figures are labeled correctly and that they are cited in the right places in the text, and that there are no duplicate references. There's more... it's not difficult, just time-consuming and tedious.

Publishers like the ones I contract with usually only hire people who have a medical or science background of some sort; it would be difficult for someone without medical knowledge or a background in molecular biology or organic chemistry to learn all that. It pays well, but, being self-employed, it is what you make it. You can earn as much or as little depending on how motivated you are. I have been with my two publishers a while, 10 years for the one, and going on 4 years with the other. They renew my contract annually.

[FrankyB]

Wow Mrs Zog, that is fascinating.  So the "work from home" thing is truly alive? Enjoy and good luck.

I hate documentation but have a knack for correcting other's mistakes and improving on the structure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mr Zog]

Mr zog, out of safety and personally have seen what power can do I would HIGHLY recommend a changeover/selector switch. During a hurricane and in moment it will be very easy to forget to switch of mains etc.

What do they cost in the US?

The nice one at the Home Depot is around $350.00     That is about R4500.00.  So I won't be getting that one....


Then another version is around $200.00  Again, I justr don't have that sort of cash.

So I hear your reasoning, and agree. But until I can afford a decent change-over switch system, I'm just going to have to design and make my own. I'll try to incorporate a fool-proof type mechanism into it... I'll see what I can find on the interwebs...   

But if I don't come right, we'll just have to make do, and follow the step-by-step instuctions I will post alongside the main board. 

[Mr Zog]

Today was the 1st anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed in Orlando.

The local TV channel has had it live all day. Memorials, wakes, celebrations, rememberances... etc etc etc...


Americans like to remember stuff and pay tribute/homage/honour to the dead.

[Mr Zog]

I mentioned that my grandfather took a tumble out of his bed on Saturday night.

Today the doc came to see him. Called an ambulance immediately and took him to the hospital.

The x-ray showed a fractured neck-of-femur. That poor old man spent 36 hours in agony in his bed. Partly due to his refusal to allow my mom to call an ambulance. Partly because my mom isn't in a good head-space right now either.

He is currently in the surgical ICU, I got a pic of the patient monitor from my sister. He isn't doing well. I'm expecting the worst, soon. It will pretty much be a blessing in disguise.

It may be a blessing for my grandfather.

But it's hurting me terribly. I was always a lot closer to him than any other family member.