Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

I love it and I also love the baby picture.

 

[atoll]

A mud kitchen I made for one of my granddaughters and a very large plant trough for my daughter. My granddaughters wanted a boat instead.

 

[atoll]

My reluctant DIY son putting in the screws in the decking I made for him. I predrilled most of the holes. I had to take that over from him as he kept snapping the drill bits

7

 

[Paul B]

Very nice Atoll. I love handy people.

I have to build to live. It's in my DNA. On my last house, here, many years ago, I raised the dormer and did it myself. I removed the entire top of the house, roof and all and of course I did it in December and it snowed about a foot.

With no top of the house on had to quickly shovel the snow off of my 2nd floor wooden floor before it destroyed it.

Then I had to hire some people to help frame the top floor and help me put up the plywood before it snowed again.

Then I had to install all the roof, sheetrock, plumbing, heating, gas, electric, kitchen and bath along with a deck. I was working at the time so it took me 2 years.

I also installed a new furnace and re-piped the house.

This is the front of the house so you can't see the back part which I raised to make an apartment for my wife's Mom. It was a huge apartment actually larger than my floor below because I bumped out the back.

Then I added solar panels. (I also had to shovel the snow)



This was the deck in the back yard. The other deck upstairs was over the garage.
The house was built out of stone.

 

[atoll]

Paul. You are a nut case doing all that in the depths of winter
Never built a whole house but worked building new ones of course and extended our 2nd house from a 3 bed to a 4 bed but never in winter. I maybe mad but not mad enough you see
My son had his whole house DPCd and I did all the new 9" skirting throughout. My back took a hammering do it

One thing I have had and fitted lots of are good strong gates for people like, all sizes.
This is a recent one which had to open out and clear a rainwater pipe just out of shot of the photo.

 

[MikeyZo]

I wish I knew how to do all that. I’m sure I could if I really sat down and did some research and tried it…

I’m good at molding though. I did my old house over with molding.

And then I redid the kitchen

Before:

After:

I can do some plumbing and electrical. I remodeled my old half bath / laundry room but i don’t have the pics.

DO I GET ACCESS INTO THE “IM ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO HANG WITH THE ‘OLDER AND REAL MAN’S CLUB’ CLUB”??

 

[atoll]

Unbelievable, my 8 year old granddaughter has raised a grand total of ......

So far and counting.
Thank you for those who contributed to her appeal, very much appreciated.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

More projects the kids and I have done together.
Redwood book shelves

Pantry shelves. Since they're out of sight, I just used whatever scraps I had

 

[atoll]

More projects the kids and I have done together.
Redwood book shelves

Pantry shelves. Since they're out of sight, I just used whatever scraps I had

Very good. B T W it's never scrap till it's in the bin or on the fire.

 

[Paul B]

Bad day two days ago. I almost had a fist fight with the building Manager here. It's a long story but he is about 8" taller than me and has about 150 pounds on me and is about 20 years younger.

I rarely lose my temper and this has only happened twice since I got home from Vietnam. The last time, about 25 or 30 years ago, I was working for a foreman on a big construction job in the city. I am also a general foreman, but sometimes we have to work on another guy's job.

We were building a 50-story building, and he called me on the radio to tell me to send down the red dolly with Bob and Frank.

Well, the red dolly was being used as was Bob and Frank, so I sent down the yellow dolly with John and Tom.

He started screaming at me over the radio so loud that I couldn't even understand him.
A little while later I called him on the radio because I didn't know where he was. He said "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

I said, "I WANT YOU". He said "What For?" I said I will tell you when I get there.

WE were on a higher floor, and I got him against the outside railings of the construction deck, and I gave it to him.

I said " WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR TALKING TO? Im not your Son, I am also a foreman and if you yell at me like that again, I will throw you off the building.

Not in such nice words or so few. He was just looking at me and looking down the 30 or 40 floors below and didn't say a word.

Anyway, This time was just as bad and I came within an inch of throwing his 350 pounds off the 3rd floor railing. But he just called and apologized.

This happened to me in Vietnam in a particularly deadly firefight where we lost about 50 of our guys out of about 175. That day is when I got PTSD and it rarely comes out unless something like this happens like every 30 years or so when someone gets in my face to yell at me for a stupid reason. I am normally a very quiet, reserved guy, unless I am talking about ich or quarantine.

Now, he apologized and everything is good.

 

[Paul B]

I'm looking at my tank and feeling good. Everything looks extremely healthy and is doing what they are supposed to do.

I don't know how many fish I have, but it's too many. Even though I want more, it's hard to find smallish, interesting fish anymore.

All you see is stupid tangs, clownfish, and God Forbid, "Designer Clownfish," which I feel is a ridiculous invention.

 

[MikeyZo]

Sometimes people need to get put in their place, even the bigger younger ones. They need to learn humility once in a while as they often forget when they get into jobs with some power.

I did something very similar to this ******* lieutenant who thought who the hell he was when I was a rookie. And I have it to him the same way… “who the **** do you think your screaming and cursing at in front of everyone else? I’m not your kid or some **** bag off the street….” Well he calmed down and humbled up quick. I’m well behaved to a point. But don’t push me over the edge either.

Glad you didn’t throw either of the building though, hate to have to drive out and bail you out of Riverhead lol

 

[atoll]

Good on you Paul. Some people think you are weak if you are a relatively quiet type.

Am not quiet in the sense I won't voice my opinions (yeah, hard to believe hey )

Not so long before I retired I found out I was loosing my 1 dayba week clerical support. I was told by the clerical officer who was supporting me so he knew before me.

I left it a day or 2 thinking my boss would call me to tell me of the changes, he didn't.
I decided to confront him by asking if he had anything to tell me I should know. His reply was to ask me "like what" I replied it dosen't matter then.

A few words were exchanged then he said " you will tell me or else" or something like that. That was it, the hairs stood up on my neck and with anger in my veins I jumped at him without touching him, pointed my finger at him and shouted don't you ever *&%#* talk to me like that again along with a few more choice words.

We were in an open plan office with about 20 people in it. He fell back in his chair convinced I was going to punch him, I still don't know why I didn't. You could hear a pin drop in the office immediately I gave him what he deserved.

Later a few in the office congratulated me for my reactions sating he deserved it.
Nothing further happened, no discipline for me. I think he thought better not as his vocals got him in the situation in the first place and it would look good for him.

I much preferred being out on site than being in the office but needs must at times.

The above is a heavily censored description of what happened to protect the guilty.

 

[Freenow54]

Very nice Atoll. I love handy people.

I have to build to live. It's in my DNA. On my last house, here, many years ago, I raised the dormer and did it myself. I removed the entire top of the house, roof and all and of course I did it in December and it snowed about a foot.

With no top of the house on had to quickly shovel the snow off of my 2nd floor wooden floor before it destroyed it.

Then I had to hire some people to help frame the top floor and help me put up the plywood before it snowed again.

Then I had to install all the roof, sheetrock, plumbing, heating, gas, electric, kitchen and bath along with a deck. I was working at the time so it took me 2 years.

I also installed a new furnace and re-piped the house.

This is the front of the house so you can't see the back part which I raised to make an apartment for my wife's Mom. It was a huge apartment actually larger than my floor below because I bumped out the back.

Then I added solar panels. (I also had to shovel the snow)



This was the deck in the back yard. The other deck upstairs was over the garage.
The house was built out of stone.

If you were a Mennonite it would have been done in a day . Did you drink too much Brandy when you decided it or just wanted to show Mother Nature who was Boss

 

[Kmst80]

I'm looking at my tank and feeling good. Everything looks extremely healthy and is doing what they are supposed to do.

I don't know how many fish I have, but it's too many. Even though I want more, it's hard to find smallish, interesting fish anymore.

All you see is stupid tangs, clownfish, and God Forbid, "Designer Clownfish," which I feel is a ridiculous invention.

I am in the same boat Paul, to many interesting fish out there for my little 200 gallon tank. These days I try to keep pairs too coz their mating behaviours are just stunning.
Could not believe when I saw long finned clownfish in the shops, what has that to do with the animal originating from that big pond out there.

 

[Paul B]

I really don't like Designer Clownfish but I can see how people would. It's like those "Glow Fish" all pink and blue. I'm sure if I was 8, I would like them also.

Now that I have kept a "few" fish, I know better and like natural. I like everything natural and my wife and I try very hard to get everything artificial out of our lives, especially in food which is very hard and expensive.

Most people have no idea what they are eating or don't care.

That is also why I won't medicate a perfectly healthy fish or stress it in quarantine as I know better and so do the fish.

If you were a Mennonite it would have been done in a day .

I assume so. But if I were a Mennonite, I also probably wouldn't be an electrician.

 

[tbrown]

I really don't like Designer Clownfish but I can see how people would. It's like those "Glow Fish" all pink and blue. I'm sure if I was 8, I would like them also.

Now that I have kept a "few" fish, I know better and like natural. I like everything natural and my wife and I try very hard to get everything artificial out of our lives, especially in food which is very hard and expensive.

Most people have no idea what they are eating or don't care.

That is also why I won't medicate a perfectly healthy fish or stress it in quarantine as I know better and so do the fish.


I assume so. But if I were a Mennonite, I also probably wouldn't be an electrician.

Paul, what you need is a herd of Green Banded Gobies!

 

[jsmkmavity]

I dont like most of the designer clownfish either but some of the lightning maroon clownfish have really nice patterns

 

[MikeyZo]

The washed out white ones are odd. I have a “semi onyx” percula which looks like a regular percula clown with a little extra black. But yeah, they are getting nutso with the designer ones.

 

[Paul B]

My morning beach walk. Look at that "Iceberg". It is 2' thick and broke off from the shore.