Camper Plumbing: My Least Favorite Noun/Gerund Combination

Spent a good portion of my day crawling around in the camper, checking and replacing various plumbing-related parts, trying to identify the part that was leaking -- a new problem the camper faces.

We knew we had some problems to tackle.

We needed a new kitchen faucet:

And a new bathroom faucet:

But as I filled the holding tank before replacing things so I could indeed verify that things were dripping, I discovered a new and exciting leak that was jut dripping water out the back corner of the camper.

So I did the following:

1. Checked the connections on the water pump (I have to remove it every winter to keep it from freezing; we lost two pumps that way.

2. Checked the plumbing lines.

3. Checked the filler port.

I removed the filler port, cleaned things out, then reattached everything, this time putting the port on perpendicular to the camper wall. I don't remember installing the other one with a slant, but there it was.

Then I replaced both faucets, because I knew they were dripping because Michelle told me they were last year and why would she lie about that?

I also -- horrors -- disconnected the toilet so I could check on the valve to make sure it wasn't broken. It wasn't. But that meant I had to reinstall the toilet, and that meant rolling around on the floor in a little flood water until I could get the two stupid bolts tightened. However, it went a lot faster this time because I knew what to expect and was able to use the noisy cricket adjustable wrench Michelle got me the last time we had to wrestle with the toilet.

Honestly, this is how it feels for me, not a small man, to work in this camper:

My friends, per usual, are having a fun time with my adventures on social media, bless them.

And it Exploded.

 

When you have an old man potty accident at church, you know you can rely on your sons to being:

1. Humor 

2. Help.

The gif in the first text is from this scene of Galaxy Quest:

Freezer Door? Closing.

When you have little victories in trying to keep a 50-year-old camper going, you celebrate them.

Peeking at Local Politics

I live looking at maps and trends and such.

Learned today that Mark Fitzpatrick, the non apologetic Mormon hater who lost the Republican primary for governor this week, got fewer votes than fellow right-wing nutjob Janice McGeachin, and Idaho Falls resident, in the same race in 2022.

I remember back in 2022 being pretty happy that she lost her home county, and I'm just as happy now to see it happen to the current right-wing nut job.

RIP

 

RIP. I like it.

So glad Chad didn't win.

He supports a candidate for governor - who also lost - who has, shall we say, interesting things to say about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and then can't figure out why his own support in the Bear Lake area - home to many members of the Church - dropped from the last election.

RIP indeed.

Your Corporation Will Never Love You

From Peter Stark's "Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire:"

"Captain Thorn had trained in a military and naval tradition in which lives were sacrificed in the name of a mission for the good of the country. He remained an officer in the U.S. Navy, on leave with permission to pursue Astor's hugely ambitious enterprise in the Pacific. He burned with an unrelenting determination and patriotism to carry out his mission per his orders from Astor -- in this case, to cross the Columbia Bar as expeditiously as possible and land the first American colony on the West Coast. But Astor's great expedition served at least as much a commercial as a nationalistic purpose. Captain Thorn appears not to have reflected on this: What cost in human lives was a commercial mission worth? Or if he did reflect on this weighty issue, he kept it to himself. He may have felt unsure of himself in this, his first command, but sealed it off with his outward toughness. The more perceptive passengers might have sometimes caught a hint of a softer Thorn. Franchere reported that when those aboard the Tonquin realized that Fox's whaleboat was lost, Captain Thorn looked as distressed as anyone. Was this for the loss of human life, or the setback it represented to his mission?"

Like Starks, I can only speculate.

But as we look at the world of employment, as much as business decries the lack of loyalty in workers, there's a more than sufficient lack of loyalty among employers to make their laments ironic.

Nevertheless, men must be governed, it seems.

This Taxpayer is Tired

We've seen our property taxes double since we moved to Ammon in the early 2010s. Voting yes on a larger levy for School District 93 means another increase.

I get that the schools need the money. Thing is, everybody needs the money. I know we could use it. I'd love to pay off that mortgage that much sooner. Build a shed or a shop. Repair the porch roof that's sagging. So many other things.

If we had a state legislature that was doing something to help schools instead of frittering tax money on vouchers and tax cuts and only restoring some of the cut funds after the cuts literally killed four people, maybe I'd feel differently.

That's a big if, I know. So I'll probably vote for this levy. Just like voting for legislators that actually care about education, it's part of the bargain. But I'm tired, boss.

2013, we paid $976 in property taxes. Same year, about $740 in state income taxes on income of about $75,000.

Last year, $2018. This levy vote will put that up another $150 a year. Same year, $4,200 in state income taxes on income of about $110,000.

ARIZONA GILBERT!

Isaac opened his mission call.

He's going to Gilbert, Arizona.

Before he opened his call, I had three predictions:

1. New Zealand.

2. Quebec/France (somewhere French speaking)

3. Mongolia.

At the last minute, he guessed Flagstaff, Arizona. So I was way off and he was really close.

And of course as his guests are here, right before the call reveal he's out at his therapy wood chopping area:

He's out there still chopping with Josh, one of his buddies.

Yes, in his Sunday duds. Getting ready to serve like a missionary.

Finally. And "Tighten" is Apparently Invited

 

Messin' With the Bots

 

This is either a bot account or it's run by someone whose English is rudimentary, or they're just plain lazy.

Anyway, it was fun to mess with them.