Trouble with the Curve, and Won't Back Down - Movie Reviews

Often, I review old movies here.  There are a couple of reasons for that:

1. I'm old.
2. Many new movies are a disappointment.

I still like to go to the theater to see a movie, and we go frequently.  Unfortunately, it's all too common for us to be in the mood to see a film, but be unable to find one worth the $20 or so to get inside.  These two movies both looked like we'd enjoy them, so we went with high expectations.

Trouble with the Curve has everything necessary to be a popular success: Clint Eastwood, playing his now-familiar gruff old man with a (well hidden) heart of gold; Amy Adams, as his cute-as-a-bug daughter; and Justin Timberlake as the guy who gets Amy Adams (lucky bastard!). 

The problem here is this movie is extremely shallow.  Clint's character is just like everything he's done since he got old - he's a tough guy who's falling apart physically (I guess this is growth for him - he used to just play a tough guy).  He's distant from his daughter, keeping his emotions hidden, with a big heart somewhere deep inside.  We've seen it all before - much like his old Spaghetti Western characters, you could take any character he's played, move it to a different film, and just go right on with the story.  Clearly, Clint has a limited range as an actor - he's OK in this, I've just seen it all before.

I never get tired of watching Amy Adams.  She's very likable, and you want everything to work out well for her.  Unfortunately, you don't understand why she wastes time following her father around.  She gives up plenty for him, but you don't get a glimpse of what it is that makes her willing to do that.  She can't be stupid, but you're left with that impression.  Likewise, it's hard to see her ending up with Timberlake - I mean, he's a handsome guy, I guess, but there's no spark between them.  There's also no reason they get together in the first place, and no reason for conflict later on (and, no real reason they get back together at the end). 

I'm not giving anything away to say this all gets wrapped up nicely at the end - everybody is happy, except the bad guys, who are unhappy.  The characters are one-dimensional, the story is predictable, and, as far as I can see, there's no enlightenment delivered as the plot unfolds.  The happy ending seems contrived - complicated situations don't lend themselves to simple solutions in real life.  The ending really feels like someone said, "OK, it's been long enough, we need to get this wrapped up now".  It's not bad, it's just not good.  If you really want to see this, wait 6 months and catch it for free on cable.  If it starts early enough, you just might be able to stay awake until the end.  If you really want to see Clint, pop some popcorn and put High Plains Drifter into the DVD player.

 A few days later, we went to Won't Back Down, the story of two women's struggle to save their children's failing school.  Maggie Gyllenhall plays a struggling single mother, with Viola Davis as the crusading teacher.  This movie has its moments, but many characters are cartoon-like - pure good or bad, with little or no nuance.  The movie has a point to make, and they make it with a sledge hammer.  According to this, the problems in our urban schools are the sole result of the teacher unions - the teachers don't care about their students, and the only solution is to disband the union.

This is a simplistic view of the problem - poor performance in any field is most likely the result of incompetent management. In the real world, problems have complex causes and solutions.  Most conflicts are best resolved by compromise between the two sides.  The movie ignores this reality, and can't really be taken seriously because of it.  It's the cinema equivalent of Fox News - a slanted, distorted, simplistic view of a complex issue.

Gyllenhall is appealing, and Davis is quite good, as usual, but that's not enough to save this show.  There's a good movie in this topic, but this isn't it.    Save your money on this one.

Our Fence Fiasco

For the couple of people who are regular readers of this blog, you'll remember we moved a couple of months ago.  Since the town home we bought doesn't have an association, our covenants allow us to have a privacy fence in the back yard.

Installing a fence is a job that can be done by a reasonably handy homeowner.  In this case, since we were so busy with the move, and because we were in a hurry to have it done before our fall trip to South Dakota, we decided to have it professionally installed.  This, I figured, would be the "stress-free" method of installation.  In this, sadly, I was wrong.

I didn't really know who to call for fencing estimates, so I did a quick internet search, and called several companies.  We though about vinyl fence, but ended up eliminating it based on cost and availability - no one could guarantee we'd have it done by mid-september. 

After talking with several company reps, I elected to go with Quality Fence.  Their sales rep - "Dan" - had been very responsive during the bid process, and assured me they'd have the job done quickly and professionally.  He also told me he'd be around to help me figure out any issues that may come up during the construction.  I told him the one non-negotiable need was that we needed to have the fence in by September 15th. 

I signed the contract, and wrote a check for the down payment (roughly half of the estimate).  Since we had used a surveying company at our old house, we elected to call that company to complete a survey of our property, so we could accurately locate the lot lines.

Our first issue was that the surveyor didn't show up as promised.  We waited a few weeks, then decided to let the fence company do the survey.  I called Dan, wrote another check, and was again assured we were all set up to have our fence done on time.

As the time went by, I started to wonder if we would get the work done.  I called a number of times, and was told "no problem" each time.  We were now about two weeks from our deadline.  As that week went by, I became more and more concerned about being late (due to our pet care arrangements, we had to have the fence complete to take our vacation).  Near the end of the week, I called Dan - no answer, but I left him a message.

I didn't hear back from Dan that week, despite several phone calls.  The red flags were up for me - he had always called back promptly in the past.  I tried a couple of times the following Monday (now less than one week from our "drop dead" date, and finally caught him.  When I asked when they'd start, he said he'd have to "try to get in touch with our contractorr" to find out when they'd be starting.  This raised another red flag for me.  When I asked if we'd be done on time, he said, "I hope so".

Dan didn't call back as promised, so I called the main office.  I also sent an email to their customer service department at that time, saying that I needed to talk to a manager.  The receptionist looked at my paperwork, and said, "the soonest they can even talk to the contractor is Thursday".  I said, "so, you're telling me there's no way we can hit my date".  She agreed.   I asked to talk to a manager, and she said they weren't available, but she would have them call me later that day.

When I didn't hear back from them, I decided to go visit their local office.  To my dismay, I discovered their Lincoln location was empty.  A call to their office confirmed that they had closed the Lincoln location months earlier.  I again asked for a manager, and got another promise of a call.  This time, I actually got a phone call from the owner.  He said he wasn't aware of our issue, but would check on it and call me back in an hour or so.  He said his plan was to get a crew out to set posts on Thursday, then finish the job Friday.  Of course, I didn't hear back from him that day.

We were now into the middle of the week, and I was no closer to getting an answer than I had been before.  I tried calling the office, but got nothing better than the promise of a call.  At about this time, I got a call in response to my email of several days earlier.  This was Kari - apparently responsible for customer service or at least response to complaints.  She hadn't heard any of the story, but assured me she'd try to get something going.  The good news was, she actually seemed to be concerned about my issues.  The bad news was, she filled me in on what had been going on, and it wasn't good.  It seems the company had a serious problem with their work crews - several had quit without notice, and the remaining ones were about ready to bail.  She told me she could get a crew from Omaha down to get the work done.

After many phone calls, Kari told me we'd have a crew down to set posts Friday, and another to finish the job on Saturday, the 15th.  If this actually happened, we'd have our fence on time (barely).  Unfortunately, Friday came and there was no sign of a crew.  After another phone call (at least Kari answered her phone), I found out another crew had quit!  No problem, though - the owner and his brother were coming out to set posts.

They did show up eventually, getting to the house at about 3:30 Friday afternoon.  Since Dan hadn't come over as promised to lay out the exact outline of the fence, we had to figure that out on the fly.  The own'er's brother, not too happy to be there, nevertheless helped me figure out a couple of things and we were ready to drill holes.  The posts got set before dark, with only a little bit of drama - and a lot of drilling through sprinkler lines.

As much trouble as we'd had to this point, I was pretty sure the crew to finish the job would no-show the next day.  Much to my surprise, they showed up bright and early, and got right on the job.  The crew - two guys plus a helper - were quite good.  The fence went together quickly, and they took great pride in their work.  They had a couple of questions about exactly what I wanted in a couple of places, then quickly and efficiently did what I wanted.  When they were done, they picked up all their trash, asked me to sign the completion slip, and left.  As bad as the rest of the company was, these guys were good.

Finally, we had our fence!  After all the hassles and aggravation, I wished I had just decided to do the work myself - I didn't save too much time, considering all the phone calls I'd made.  If I thought I was done with dealing with this company, I was wrong, however.

After coming back from vacation, I got a bill for the work.  Before paying it, I decided to check my original paperwork and cancelled checks.  It was no surprise to me when I found out they had failed to credit me for a $250 payment.  I called Kari - apparently the only person in the whole company who even tried to get things right - and got it figured out.  I wrote the check - resisting the urge to make them wait for it - and was done with them.  Looking back on the whole sorry mess, there were a number of things that ruined the experience for me:

• The salesman - Dan - assured me repeatedly that the work would be done on time.  One reason we abandoned our idea of having a vinyl fence was that we weren't sure it could be done on time.  It turns out, material availability had nothing to do with our delays - we could have had the vinyl, if we'd wanted.
• It's easy to believe the schedule was reasonable when we ordered the fence, so Dan may not have lied when we first talked.  At some point, however, he must have known it was a problem.  When was that?  I'll never know, but I suspect it was sometime just before he quit returning my calls.  The last time I talked to him - a week before the work was done - he was still telling me we'd be OK.  There's no excuse for that - I believe I was lied to.
• Dan also made plenty of misrepresentations about service he would provide - laying out the fence, and helping me decide which options made sense.  This didn't happen, and according to the bosses when they set the posts, doesn't normally happen.  Again, this is one reason I chose this company - because of this alleged high level of service.
• I intended to choose a local company - had I known the Lincoln office was closed, I wouldn't have called them.
• It wasn't my problem that the owner and his brother had to come out and work in my yard.  I didn't need an attitude when they showed up - if anyone should have been angry, it should have been the guy who was lied to through the entire process.
• I didn't expect to get the fence for free, even after all the screw ups.  I might have expected to get a discount for all my hassles, and for the broken promises.  What I got instead was a screwed up bill, being overcharged $250.  Considering all the other screw ups on this deal, this is inexcusable. 
• The crew that finished my fence was good.  If the management is as screwed up as they seemed to be in their dealings with me, it's no wonder they can't keep crews on the job.  I won't be surprised to see this company out of business in the near future.

Interestingly, I just sold an acreage.  The buyer is fencing the entire perimeter of the 3.5 acre lot, and asked me for recomendations for fencing.  Guess what I said!

Movie Review - "Witness for the Prosecution"

Last weekend we decided to watch a movie on Netflix, and Theresa picked out Witness for the Prosecution, an entertaining courtroom drama that's full of surprises.  Based on a play by Agatha Christie, the film features Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich, along with a thoroughly entertaining Charles Laughton.

Laughton plays Sir Wilfred Robarts, a barrister who is recovering from a heart attack, under strict orders from his doctor (and nurse!) to avoid strenuous activity.  Robarts is an appealing character, driving his nurse to distraction, sneaking cigars, and, most importantly, taking a seemingly hopeless case - a man accused of a murder that everyone thinks he did. 

Tyrone Power is quite good as the accused, Leonard Vole.  You like him, and really want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there's just something that makes you wonder if he's on the up-and-up.

Marlene Dietrich is superb as Vole's wife, Christine.  I haven't seen her in a lot of movies, so I didn't know what to expect, but she was excellent.  Is she the doting wife?  Scheming temptress?  Innocent dupe?   We see all of this, and more, as the plot is revealed.

Being an Agatha Christie story, there's plenty of twists and turns as the story is told.  You're certain you know what's going on, then realize you have it all wrong, then certain again.  I must confess, I had it figured out about half way through, but I wasn't sure until the end - and I was still blown away as the final twist was revealed.  I won't give away the ending - you'll have to rent it to see for yourself.

If you're not used to watching old movies, it takes a bit of adjustment on  your part.  This was released in 1957, so the film quality is not what you'd expect today.  It's shot in glorious black and white, and don't expect high definition.  The sound is tinny, and there are no special effects (not that any are called for).  The sets are simple - mainly just the law office and courtroom, but the characters are complex.  After watching for a few minutes, none of these minor annoyances even registered.  It's a great movie, with three-dimensional characters involved in a convoluted plot that reaches a stunning and unexpected climax.  Along the way there's suspense, of course, but also plenty of humor.  Pop some popcorn and fire up Netflix for an entertaining evening.

Paul Ryan's Phony Marathon Claim

In 1988, I had been running for about 8 months, and I let myself get talked into running  this little race called the Bohemian Alps Endurance Run, in Brainard, Nebraska.  The run included both a 5k and a 25K run, as well as a 2 mile walk.  Since I wasn't in shape and hadn't ever run more than about 10K, I decided it was a good idea to run the 25K (15.5 miles).

The day of the run was unseasonably warm for October - it was 91 degrees when we started at about 3:00.  The race ran from Brainard on the gravel roads, looping around over some nasty hills.  I quickly got to the back of the pack, then got to the very last spot.  The last half of the race was spent with people driving up and asking me, "Are you all right?".  One guy said, "Oh my god - you look awful!"  I persevered, and finished long after everyone else was done, escorted in by a couple of my friends.  I made it, and got the finisher's medal.  I also gained the wisdom to run the 5k the following year!

The next year, I ran the 5K, got done in about a half hour, drank a beer, ate some barbecue, and waited for my friends who were running the longer race to finish.  Among those in our group was "Tom", a friend of a friend, who hadn't been running much, but thought he could do the long race.  I was quite surprised to see Tom cross the finish line before any of my friends - some of whom were serious runners.  Tom finished so fast that he got a medal for finishing first or second in his age group.  After the award ceremony, I walked up to congratulate him.  He said, "Thanks, but I didn't run the whole race.  I got tired, so I cut across country, walked some, and jogged through the finish."  It turns out, he ran about half the distance required of the other runners!

Even without training, Tom was a faster runner than me.  I didn't have a problem with him taking the shortcut - 15 miles is a long way, and there's no shame in bailing out on that.  The problem I had was, he crossed the finish line, accepted the finisher's medal, and even accepted the age group award - an award that others worked really hard to try to win.  Tom is a cheater, and I wouldn't want to associate myself with him.

 In the years following my Bohemian Alps run, I ran a couple of marathons.   I don't have a marathoner's body, but I worked hard and was able to finish both of them - at the back of the pack.  My best time was just under 5 hours - I believe it was 4:58, but I could be off by a minute or so.  I was, however, definitely under 5 hours.  I'm absolutely positive that I was nowhere near 4 hours - there's no question in my mind on that point.

A story recently surfaced about Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan's claim to have run a sub 3 hour marathon.  The folks at Runner's World Magazine decided to look it up - turns out his actual time was 4:01 - quite a difference!  A four hour marathon is nothing to be ashamed of, but it's not elite.  The folks that break 180 minutes are special - they train very hard, and have some natural ability.  The difference between a sub-three hour marathon and a four hour marathon is like the difference between playing on your slow pitch softball team and playing major league baseball. It's a whole different ball game.

After he was caught in the lie, Ryan said he "forgot" his time, so he was just trying to make up a "normal marathon time".  This doesn't ring true to me - if you've put yourself through the agony of finishing a marathon, you KNOW how long it took.  Most of us are ready and willing to give you a mile-by-mile recap of our experience. 

My last marathon (trust me, it IS the last one I'll run) was in 1991 (Ryan ran the same race a year before me).  I don't remember everything from that year, but I distinctly remember that day - starting by the Metro dome, running from Minneapolis to Saint Paul.  I remember the "broken wall" display at the 20 mile mark.  I remember running with a woman who's foot was bloody from a blister.  I remember dying at about 20 miles, meeting my friend who came back to run the last couple of miles in with me.  I remember running the last 1.2 miles in under 10 minutes, to hit my goal of sub-five hours.  There's no alternate universe in which I ran 3:45.  I remember!

I'm not ashamed of my marathon time.  I'm not fast, but so what?  I was tough enough to keep running for 5 hours!  I'm not embarrassed by that.  If you ran a lot faster, good for you!  I have great admiration for people who can run faster than me, but I'm not going to lie so you think I'm something I'm not.  I don't cheat on my golf score either....

In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter how long Paul Ryan took to run 26.2 miles.  His lie is harmless - he's certainly not hurting anyone by it.  The issue I have with it is this:  what does it say about the guy if he lies about something like this?  Is this really something worth lying about?  If you can't tell the truth about your marathon time, what else would you be willing to lie about?  Would you, for example, lie to get yourself elected vice president of the United States?  I don't like Ryan's stand on the issues, but I like him even less as a person.  I've had enough of lying politicians - we don't need to put one a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Getting Ready for your Whole House Inspection

Most buyers will have a whole house inspection on your home, and many sellers today are having their homes inspected before putting them on the market.  While all inspection companies are a little different, there are certain things that will almost certainly show up on the report:

Minor electrical items, including reversed polarity outlets, exposed splices (wires hooked together without being enclosed in a junction box), ungrounded outlets, missing GFCI outlets, etc.

Plumbing leaks.

Inoperable doors and windows.

Lot/ground drainage issues (places where the ground slopes toward the foundation).

Major systems (furnace, A/C, Water heater, roof, etc.).

Signs of water intrusion or mold.

Structural and foundation issues - bowing basement walls, extreme settling, etc.

Most homeowners aren't equipped to handle major repairs - if your roof or furnace is shot, or if your foundation needs major work, you're probably going to have to hire a professional to fix it.  If you know you have any serious issues, you'd be well served to spend some time getting quotes and having it fixed.

Many items that show up on the list, however, can be easily corrected by the homeowner.  If you fix it before it shows up on the inspection, you can not only save money, you help your home make a better impression on the buyer - you don't want them to see an inspection report with page after page of items in need of repair!

Let's take a look at the things I see show up most frequently on home inspection reports:

Electrical Items

• Walk through your home, and look for wires.  Any electrical wire that is on the surface of a finished wall or ceiling should be protected by conduit.  If a wire is in the cavity of a wall (between the 2X4's) it is OK.  To fix this, turn off the power, disconnect the wires at one end, and put slide the wire into a conduit.  Use large enough conduit so that it's easy to get the wires through - flexible metal conduit works well and is easy to use, or you can use plastic.
• Check for exposed wire splices.  If you can see wire nuts, it should be in a junction box.  Turn off the power, take the wire apart, and put the splice in a box.  Make sure to attach the box securely to the wall or ceiling, and put a cover on it.
• Add GFCI protection.  All outlets next to a sink or other water source should be protected.  This includes all outside outlets.  If you need several, you can buy a pack of 4 GFCI outlets for under $30 at Home Depot.  You can also put a GFCI outlet in to replace an ungrounded outlet.
• Check for double-tapped connections in your main panel.  Take the cover off, and make sure there is just one wire going to each breaker.  If there are two, you can fix it easily - just take a short piece of wire (use the same size that is going to the breaker), and, using a wire nut, attach one end of it to the two wires that were in the breaker.  Connect the free end to the breaker, and you're done. 

If you don't think you should tackle electrical work, don't.  If you're fairly handy, but have a few questions, check out this post - it may give you a few pointers.

Plumbing Items

• Run water through every faucet, and let it run for a while.  Check for leaks, feeling under the trap and on the supply lines.  If any of them are wet, you have a leak!  If you fix it, you won't have to pay someone to do it later.  You should also check around the toilets.  Most minor plumbing issues are easy to fix - if you run into something major, call a pro.

Sticking Doors and Windows

• Check all your windows to make sure everything works.  If one sticks, you have to free it up.  Most sticking double-hung windows have been painted shut.  If that's your problem, cut the paint with a utility knife.  Take a putty knife, and carefully slide it in the sash where the window is supposed to slide, working it up and down the window.  Work on both sides, and try to get it moving.  Once it comes free, work it back and forth until it operates smoothly, and make sure to keep it free by moving it every day for a while.
• Some casement windows (crank out style) won't open easily.  These may not be painted shut, but could stick due to settling or swelling in the frames.  DON'T CRANK HARD to try to open them - you'll just break the crank mechanism.  Instead, remove the inside screen, and gently tap around them as your moving the crank - they'll probably open right up.  If they still don't open and close easily after freeing them, you may need to remove some material to fix the problem.  If the frame is badly out of square, you'll probably need professional help.
• A door that sticks is probably due to some minor settling.  You can usually fix them by removing a small amount of material with a plane.

Often, a homeowner can save hundreds of dollars by fixing minor issues themselves.  More importantly, the buyer can see that you've taken great care of your home, so you may get a better price.  A little work up front can save you time and money in the long run.

Installing a Water Softener

For many years, we didn't have a water softener, and saw no need to add one.  After we bought our first lake home - a condo where all the water supplied to the unit was soft - we noticed how much cleaner clothes, dishes, etc. were with soft water.

Because we weren't sure if we'd like it at our home, we leased a unit for a few years, paying just under $30 per month for its use.  After a few years, we decided it was foolish to rent, when the purchase of a new unit would pay for itself in less than two years.  Since we already had the unit installed, putting the new one in was an easy do-it-yourself project.

When we decided to make our move, we included the softener with our old home.  Since the new house had never had soft water, the installation would be just a little bit more complicated (but still a task easily accomplished by a reasonably competent homeowner).

Before you tackle a softener installation, there's a few things you need to verify:

• How much capacity do you need?   In our old home, we had a large whirlpool tub, 50 gallon water heater, and a home that would very likely be used to raise a family at some point in the future.  Even though Theresa and I were "empty nesters", it made sense to size the softener for a family.  We bought a unit that would be adequate for up to 5 people (keep in mind, a smaller unit may still work, it would just cycle more frequently).  The new home is smaller, and, being a town home, is most likely to be occupied by folks like ourselves, so we got the next size smaller unit.  The more closely you match the capacity of your softener to your needs, the more efficient it will be.
• How hard is your water?  This goes directly back to capacity, since extremely hard water will take more conditioning.  I was able to look up Lincoln's water quality on the county's web site, but you may have to get a test kit if you don't have the data, or if you are on a private well.  In our case, Lincoln's water is "moderately hard" - probably similar to most other communities in our area.
• Do you have a good spot to install the softener?  If your basement is completely finished, it may be difficult to make your connections.  You'll also need room to locate the unit, with electrical power and access to a drain available.  It is easiest if you can put the softener right by the water supply, but not absolutely necessary.
• Is your plumbing in good enough condition to make a do-it-yourself installation feasible?  If your incoming water supply pipe is old galvanized pipe, it may be difficult or impossible for you to get it apart - or, if you do, to re-assemble it.  If you have ancient pipes, a real plumber is much better equipped to handle the issues when things start to fall apart. 

So, assuming you're still reading this, let's talk about how you actually get it done.  For the sake of this discussion, let's assume you've got rigid copper supply pipes - probably 3/4" - and plenty of room to work.  If your water lines are plastic or pex, the process is a little easier, since  you won't have to solder any pipes. 

If you, like most of us, have copper plumbing, you'll need a few tools and supplies:

• A small propane torch.
• Emery cloth, or brushes to clean inside of fittings and outside of pipe.
• Solder (Lead Free!).
• Tubing Cutter.
• Flux & application brush.
• Copper pipe and fittings as required.
• Flexible tubes for installation (not absolutely necessary, but makes your job easier).
• 2 - 12" crescent wrenches (or 1 wrench and a small pipe wrench)
• Utility knife, screwdriver, pliers, pipe clamps, and other tools and supplies based on your application.

Most softeners targeted towards homeowner installation have a built-in bypass valve (a valve so you can bypass the softener, taking it out of the plumbing system).  If your softener doesn't have this, you'll need to install one, so you can still have water service if something goes wrong with the softener.

Now, we're ready to install the softener.

Turn off the water supply to the house, and drain the pipes by opening a faucet at the highest and lowest levels of the home. 

Locate the incoming water supply pipe, and determine where to cut the pipe for the softener.  There's a right place and a wrong place to cut the pipe.  Since you don't want soft water for outside faucets, sprinklers, etc., you should locate the input for the softener AFTER the branch for outside water.  In most cases, the outside water is pulled off right after the meter, so it's no problem.  If yours is different, you may have a little bigger job.  I wanted soft water to every indoor area - if you want hard water for drinking, you may have to run a supply to your drinking faucet.  

Once you figure out where to cut your line, use the tubing cutter and cut out a section.  You'll run from the supply side to the inlet of your softener, the connect back up to the plumbing from the softener outlet.

Many of the new softeners use plastic fitting on the unit to make your connections.  These are fine, but some care is needed when hooking up your pipes.  If you use the flexible connectors, you should be able to hook it up without putting any stress on your softener.  If not, you can still do it, you just need to make sure everything lines up.  In any case, you must NOT apply heat to solder pipes without isolating the copper from the plastic fittings - the melting point for plastic is much lower than for solder!  Even if you're soldering a fitting on the other end of a copper pipe, you need to keep the end hooked up to the plastic cool while soldering by wrapping a wet rag around it.  In most cases, you're better off getting your soldering done before hooking up any of the plastic fittings.

The rest of the job is easy, you just have to apply heat to the fittings and solder them.  To get a good solder joint, you need clean connections, heat, and solder.

• You need to mechanically clean the pipes and fittings - even brand new ones.  The easiest way to do this is to use a special set of brushes made for the task, and sized for the size of pipe you're using.  If you don't have that, you can use emery cloth, or a wire brush to take a little off the surface.  When you're done with that, apply some paste flux to both fitting and pipe - that will complete the cleaning and give you a good surface for soldering.
• When you apply heat, you want to heat the pipe and fitting up - not just melt the solder.  you can tell if this is working by watching what the solder does - if the fitting is hot, the solder will be pulled into the fitting, filling the area between the pipe and the fitting.  If it isn't hot, the solder will ball up and just fall off.  I apply heat to one side of the pipe, and touch the solder to the other side.
• You don't need a lot of solder for a good joint.  If you have extra, it will just drip down the pipe and look ugly (the first joints you do will have too much solder).  Your joints don't have to look good, but you'll like them better if they do.

I've never had a soldered joint leak or come apart (although I do have some ugly ones, with way too much solder).  The most common cause of solder joint failure is a cold joint - heating up the solder instead of the pipe.  Practice on a couple of scrap pieces first, and you'll see how easy it is.

After soldering your connections, it's time to hook up the softener, connect the drain tubes, and turn the water back on.  Check for leaks, program your softener, add salt, and you're ready to go!

Lots of Catfish!

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks, so I've missed a couple of posts.  We were at the lake in Missouri - swimming, boating, golfing, and fishing.

Fish tend to be inactive when the weather - and water - gets as hot as it does in Central Missouri in August.  Fortunately, this time of year is great for catching catfish!

Most of the Cats we caught were Blue Catfish

None of them were nearly as big as this one!

There are tons of catfish in Lake of the Ozarks.  Although we've caught channel cats and flathead cats, we've caught more - and bigger - Blue Catfish.  Blue cats can exceed 100 pounds, although huge ones like that are relatively rare.  Fish in the 30 to 50 pound range are not uncommon, but most of the fish we catch are of modest size - from 2 to 5 pounds or so, with an occasional one that may be close to 10 pounds.  A couple of years ago, we caught one that must have been around 30 pounds - a real monster in my book.

Unlike some other fish, catfish don't mind the heat.  They'll be a little deeper when it's really hot - we caught most of our fish between 15 and 25 feet below the surface.  Catfish will eat a variety of bait - night crawlers, minnows, and cut bait.  One of the best bait is cut shad - blues can't seem to resist it.

We fish with a rod and reel, of course, and we probably caught about half the fish that way.  We also fish for catfish with jug lines, or what we call "noodling".  We cut 12" pieces of "fun noodles" (foam swim aids), and tie a 25' line on the end.  We bait the hook, then throw about 30 of these set ups in the water and wait for them to pop.  When a fish hits them, the end pops up in the air - a large blue will take them completely under water!  Once they start to move, we catch them with the boat and haul them in.  It's a different way to fish, but it's fun and you usually catch a few fish.

I still prefer to catch fish the old-fashioned way, with a rod and reel, but I enjoy using the noodles, too.  Using the noodles allows us to increase our catch, and fill up the freezer so we can enjoy fish all year long.

How much success did we have?  I'm not the world's greatest fisherman, but over the three days that Liz and Carter were visiting, I cleaned about 40 catfish.  Since most of them were blues, we were close to catching our limit of five blues apiece per day (just three of us were fishing).

I always fillet our fish, so we can avoid all the bones.  Theresa soaks them in egg, rolls them in potato buds (I know, sounds crazy, but it's good), and fries them.  Few things in life are better then fried fish straight from the lake!