There should be an award for the funniest name of a pro athlete. My mother-in-law, who is a big baseball fan (who, sadly, was rooting for Cleveland), called the other night in hysterics over the names of three major league baseball players: Asdrubal Cabrera, Yorbit Torrealba , and Chone Figgett. What do you want to bet that Asdrubal got a few wedgies in grade school? I was watching a Toronto Marlies game the other night (farm team for the hapless Leafs). They were playing the Lake Erie Monsters (who came up with that name?), and I’m not sure which team it was, but one player had a name so long it went from the bottom of one shoulder pad to the bottom of the other. It was unreadable, because the folds in the jersey hid several letters. Back in the Sixties or Seventies, I think the Buffalo Bills had a player named Preston Riddlehooper.
Shauna and I have been watching a lot of HGTV, and for those of you unfamiliar with the channel, that is one of a myriad of home improvement channels available on satellite and cable television. There are three or four shows I like the most, but in general, it’s a good channel to watch when you’re in the process of building a home. The show we watch the most is called “Holmes on Homes” and consists of a general contractor by the name of Mike Holmes, who goes in to people’s homes to repair failed construction jobs. The show is pretty much the same each week; Holmes comes in and interviews the featured homeowner, who has had some shoddy work done, then proceeds to repair the defective job, all the while grumbling and ranting about disreputable contractors. Sometimes the problem presents as a leak in the ceiling, sometimes it’s a sagging roof, but one thing is for certain. In every show, what appeared to be a minor problem turns out to be something much more serious. The leak in the ceiling turns out to be a major fault in a shower installation, which has caused major structural damage. While investigating the sagging roof, Holmes discovers improperly installed joists, illegal electrical installations, improperly installed insulation, which in turn bred toxic mold, etc. In almost every show, he finds repairs or new construction which does not conform to the local building code. Another show we quite like is called “Restaurant Makeover”. In that show a guest chef and designer turn a failing restaurant around in six days, for around $30,000. The best part about that show is watching the designer fight with the general contractor. Inevitably, no one shares or understands the designer’s vision for the interior design, and no one is shy about offering an opinion. I love watching designers throw hissy fits. Another show that I like is called “Junk Brothers” and involves two brothers who drive around and pick up other people’s discarded junk at the curbside, take it back to their shop, convert it into some unusual alternative piece of furniture or equipment, then return it to the people who threw it out. The thing I enjoy most about these shows is the same thing I like about many cooking shows. We the viewers are walked through the process and get to see how all this work is done. Of course, we’ve been fortunate enough to watch the process firsthand for the past several months.
Though rain was predicted for much of last week, our workers were able to put in almost a full week, and quite a few logs went up, most notably the ridge purlins (the logs that make up the peak of the roof). One of our subs suggested that, once the roof is on, perhaps we might want to go home for a while, to retrieve our sanity. When the electricians, the carpenters, the plumbers, the HVAC guys, AND the kitchen people are all here bumping into each other, it might get a little crazy. Perhaps we’d do well to disappear for a while; I’m sure they’d all prefer it!
-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Shauna and I have been watching a lot of HGTV, and for those of you unfamiliar with the channel, that is one of a myriad of home improvement channels available on satellite and cable television. There are three or four shows I like the most, but in general, it’s a good channel to watch when you’re in the process of building a home. The show we watch the most is called “Holmes on Homes” and consists of a general contractor by the name of Mike Holmes, who goes in to people’s homes to repair failed construction jobs. The show is pretty much the same each week; Holmes comes in and interviews the featured homeowner, who has had some shoddy work done, then proceeds to repair the defective job, all the while grumbling and ranting about disreputable contractors. Sometimes the problem presents as a leak in the ceiling, sometimes it’s a sagging roof, but one thing is for certain. In every show, what appeared to be a minor problem turns out to be something much more serious. The leak in the ceiling turns out to be a major fault in a shower installation, which has caused major structural damage. While investigating the sagging roof, Holmes discovers improperly installed joists, illegal electrical installations, improperly installed insulation, which in turn bred toxic mold, etc. In almost every show, he finds repairs or new construction which does not conform to the local building code. Another show we quite like is called “Restaurant Makeover”. In that show a guest chef and designer turn a failing restaurant around in six days, for around $30,000. The best part about that show is watching the designer fight with the general contractor. Inevitably, no one shares or understands the designer’s vision for the interior design, and no one is shy about offering an opinion. I love watching designers throw hissy fits. Another show that I like is called “Junk Brothers” and involves two brothers who drive around and pick up other people’s discarded junk at the curbside, take it back to their shop, convert it into some unusual alternative piece of furniture or equipment, then return it to the people who threw it out. The thing I enjoy most about these shows is the same thing I like about many cooking shows. We the viewers are walked through the process and get to see how all this work is done. Of course, we’ve been fortunate enough to watch the process firsthand for the past several months.
Though rain was predicted for much of last week, our workers were able to put in almost a full week, and quite a few logs went up, most notably the ridge purlins (the logs that make up the peak of the roof). One of our subs suggested that, once the roof is on, perhaps we might want to go home for a while, to retrieve our sanity. When the electricians, the carpenters, the plumbers, the HVAC guys, AND the kitchen people are all here bumping into each other, it might get a little crazy. Perhaps we’d do well to disappear for a while; I’m sure they’d all prefer it!
-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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