Cascading failures - Part Two

It's been a while and you need an update.

There it is. It's People's Exhibit Number One. "It has my mark on it" as Lt. Tragg used to say on Perry Mason.

What you have here is a GE Washer motor and my wonderful wife not only got GE to send us a new one for half price, but also install it for free. Never mess with a former customer service person!

Bobbie called GE after their traveling ambassador of service (harumph!) left us stunned after he implied we were to blame for a washer that broke after only four and a half years of service. "The instructions under the lid tell ya not to open the lid while the washer is running." Huh?

After some reflection and thought, Bobbie came to the conclusion that he described a design flaw in the product. She quoted his very words to the GE call center person. We had done everything GE asked us to do, so it was time for her to ask in return. Negotiations ensued and soon Bobbie had a deal.

The motor arrived a few days later, and a new repairman a few days after that on July fifth. But don't think it was as good as new. The next week, the washer started make dreadful noises during a large load of towels. The problem abated once we took some towels out, but it now has us cautious. NOT AGAIN! Updates as they occur.

All Hail the Fluidmaster!

...or the latest thing to break around here.

The toilet in the kid's bathroom started running yesterday afternoon. After we caught it (insert groan here), I determined that the fill valve was broken and would not shut off. So I just turned off the water feed, turning it back on occasionally to flush and fill.

I delayed the project to this afternoon so we could all have dinner before everyone else left for the Harry Potter movie last night. This morning I needed to get some work done.

Thankfully I found the broken fill valve was the ubiquitous Fluidmaster 400A. The web is replete with how-to videos detailed everything about it, except what you need to know. After a lunchtime trip to Home Depot and $7.50, I was ready to plumb.

Naturally not everything works out neatly. I had to replace the feed tube. Our old plumber liked to custom cut, fit and flare his feed tubes. It was a craftsman's touch in a place where no one could see it. This piece of Y2K era customization was just a bit too long for the new Fluidmaster 400A. So I checked my box of old plumbing parts and voila! there was an old flex tube. But I don't like the way it fits, so it will be back to Home Depot this weekend for a new one. In the meantime, the fluids have been mastered.

Final Installment

Tonight is the end of an era...the final Harry Potter movie starts at midnight. Here's Sarah as Beatrix LeStrange and Janine as Luna Lovegood.

Earlier today I heard a piece on NPR about tonight's premiere. The twenty-somethings they interviewed said tonight will be sad because it is the end of the Harry Potter movies. But they quickly added that we all know how it will end. The movie is a visualization. The real ending was four years ago when the last book came out. Only at that time did we learn how Harry defeats Voldemort with a little help from his friends.

While all the magic world is great, but the real impact of the novels was getting kids to read. Let's hope that continues. It made a difference for Sarah, click here.

Brotherhood of Man

Janine did the musical theater section this past week. Here she is centering The Brotherhood of Man from How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.

It was a pretty good dance number. Getting the shot was a bit of a challenge. The entire back wall of the set were window facing west, so the afternoon sun was intense and made everything backlite.

On the set

No, make that IN the set.

Here's Sarah spying out from under the set during last week's Saltworks rehearsals.

This year's summer session was in the student union at a college just a few miles from our house. It was a new venue, but everyone did very well getting up on time, fixing their lunches and getting out the door.

Janine and...

...just about everyone...

(Sorry about the framing. Picasa slideshows are not designed for vertical photos.)

Beach Puzzle...Done!

Here it is in its final form...this year's beach puzzle in all its glory.

Biz and Grace stayed up until 1:30 the night before we left determined to finish it.

As you can see we gave them a pass on the bottom border. But that's OK. Great job girls!

Red Hot Poker - 2011

We didn't miss the red hot pokers in the garden this year despite being out of town last week. When we returned they were at their peak.

These are one of my favorite flowers in our front garden. They are colorful and remind me of fireworks, two weeks before the Fourth of July.

Bobbie has done a great job of arranging the garden to bloom in stages. Those are shasta daisies in the background. As the red hot poker looses it bloom, the daisies will come out spectacularly for about four weeks or more.

Beach Puzzle

Cascading Failures Part 2 will have to wait because we just got back from a week on the Outer Banks with the extended family. It was great to just spend time together on the beach or at the pool.

Because most of the group was new to the area, we introduced them to one of our traditions, the beach puzzle. It is not necessarily a picture of a beach, but instead a puzzle we start when we arrive and finish by when we leave.

Here's Biz, Grace and Janine just starting the beach puzzle. It is a roughly two and a half foot square puzzle collage of various Vincent VanGogh paintings. Everyone got their turn at the puzzle, but the kids worked on it the most.

Cascading failures - Part One

If our house was a space ship we would be in "Houston, we have a problem" mode. Two weeks ago our high-end washing machine failed after only five years of service. Then last Monday our hot water heater pilot light would not relight. So I was off to the nearby YMCA for a shower.

"YOUNG MAN...you can get yourself clean... It's fun to stay a the Y M C A..."

Tuesday morning the GE repairman arrived and pronounced the washer motor dead. "It's $275 for the part and you already have $80 for the service call, but I can give you a $100 coupon to buy a new one online. I recommend taking that $100 it's pretty good."

"No. That's really only $20 isn't it?" I replied. He didn't like that one. He went on to tell us that the motor failed because "People don't read the instructions. You shouldn't leave the lid open when it's running."

"Where does it say that in the instructions?" I asked, getting more irritated by the moment. "Everybody opens the lid on a washer. If I had known that in the store, I wouldn't have bought it!"

"Naah, they are right under the lid. Where does it say to open the lid when it's running?" was his riposte. Clever one, that yinzer.

"Well, it doesn't say NOT to and besides, if the washer is running with the lid down, I can't exactly see that can I?" More scowls.

He went on to belittle stainless steel tubs as "extra cost you don't really need." Oh did I say we have one? Clearly he didn't care.

GE...hmmm, as we think about replacements, we can forget about that brand. What we really need are a bunch of guys in white short-sleeve shirts with skinny ties and pocket protectors. Especially when you read the next installment.

We are a little late in posting, but here's a very elegantly dressed Janine at the piano recital two weeks ago. She played Music Box Dancer, albeit at a slower rate than the recording.

Nonetheless she practiced hard and did well. There's the real point of it all.

High Steppin'

The dance gala for Sarah's musical theatre school was this past Sunday afternoon. The little auditorium was filled with proud families watching their children perform.

Here's Sarah in the turquoise top dancing up a storm in the ensemble number. Most of the performances were contemporary dance or tap, but the ensemble pieces were pure Broadway. We all had a great time.

Mr. Beveridge's Maggot

That is the odd name of the music you hear on both of these videos. Apparently it is an old English word for a fancy or whimsical idea. Mr. Beveridge was a dance master of the early 19th century during the English Regency period. Here's Janine and John dancing to it. (Please pardon the dark video.)

Now you may ask why would a group of 21st century homeschoolers put on an English Country dance set in the Regency? Jane Austen of course. As her novels are filmed and refilmed, one production has stayed on top, the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. You may just recognize the actor playing Mr. Darcy. (He doesn't stammer this time around.)

Netherfield Ball 1

Last night was the fourth annual Netherfield Ball. It's an
English Country Dance the homeschooling moms put on each spring. Bobbie is on the planning team.

This year was the first for Janine who looks smashing in her period costume at left. If it looks familiar, Sarah wore it in the past. (Sarah had another commitment and was not able to attend.) She was very self-sufficient doing her own hair and make-up...and she had a wonderful time. She told Bobbie that she made four new friends and enjoyed all of the dancing.

This is a two night event: a practice on Friday and the full costume dance on Saturday. In the past both nights were held in the Fellowship Hall at our church, but this year the Saturday event was at a very nice golf club.

As an aspiring sound tech, John was also very pleased with the sound quality at the practice dance Friday night. You see last summer John and I were part of a team that installed acoustic panels on the ceiling of the Fellowship Hall. The callers, who usually labor in fire halls and church basements, gave the sound quality rave reviews.

John also has a great time. He could tell which dances were new and which from the past we did not dance. He is very good about asking ladies to dance. and did not sit out a single one. He also did a pretty good job as you will see in the next post.

John's Confirmation

Today John was confirmed at the 10 AM service at our church. Here he as his sponsor introduces him

While grace through faith is free, John worked hard at his confirmation lessons. He wrote a concise but complete statement of faith that really impressed me. Clearly he has learned the precepts of the Christian faith and can apply them. I am so proud and happy.