RDM

1 hour ago, BlizzardNole said:

This makes you wonder what it feels like when places have hit rare super high dew points of 88 or 90.  

It's not much fun.  During monsoon seasons I experienced in India, Thailand and Japan involved extreme dew points.  When going from a cooled/conditioned environment into the soupy air the condensation on any non-fabric surface is immediate.  Glasses instantly fog over - cell phones leave a wet spot in your pants pockets and mold can grow overnight on shoes that never fully dry out.  It's a daily grind at times.    

78 with soup outside at 0645am.  Was this a new record high low for the day? 

The relief coming tomorrow can't get here soon enough.  

Just came in from working outside.  These conditions remind me of monsoon season in India and Thailand.  Think my Vantage Vue has gone belly up.  

The rumble has been nearly constant IVO of Vienna for an hour but no rain yet IMBY.  The relief forecast for later in the week can't get here soon enough. 

2.45" so far in just under an hour.  It was pouring for a while.  Was outside when it started and thunder was nearly continuous.  The first drops were like globules, akin to snow parachutes in winter.  Was nearly stationary over Reston and Vienna as it blew up.   

53 minutes ago, Bob Chill said:

@RDM wow man, that's sick... love it. Seriously.

Masonry is one building skill I haven't practiced much but greatly respect. Not much room for error and it's gotta be just right from the get go. You'll remember the build like yesterday and appreciate it forever.

 

I'm excited to build our house. Modest size but lots of little touches that wife and I will love and appreciate until our time on earth is up. Then our kids can fight over it lolol

53 minutes ago, Bob Chill said:

   You've got a great setting there in the woods from which to execute your dreams.  Wish you well with what's still to come.  If I was closer I'd come over and help!  Even though I'm an old fart now, I still enjoy manual labor.  (in moderation!).  Brings back memories of growing up in Ohio - bailing hay and cutting grass and shoveling snow as a youngster for pocket change, then working as a construction laborer while going through college.  That was brutal at times, but character building. 

   The wall block is fairly straightforward.  It's dry stack - no mortar.  The brand is Versa Lok.  They are precast with good tolerances across the concrete molds at the factory so the finished product looks decent.  This design lets water weep through the voids so you don't have to worry about back pressure from water buildup.  Mixing mortar is a PITA.  I'll pass on that and pouring concrete.  Done enough of it to appreciate the skill the pros have.

  Each row sits back 3/4" from the row below it to "lean" into the hill.  It uses plastic pins to hold the blocks in place, but the pins are not really needed.  The sheer weight and gravity does its thing.  The larger blocks are very cost competitive to the small blocks we find at Lowe's or Home Depot.  The challenge is moving them at 82lbs each, compared to 10-15 lbs for the smaller stuff and the large blocks are far more resilient.  Once they are set in place they stay put.  Had a UPS truck back into my first wall once.  Tore the heck out of his rear step bumper.  I could not even tell where he hit the wall.  

  The first wall I built 15 years ago has settled some over time - about an inch or so.  But it's all settled evenly so it's still level overall.  I'd never done block work before the first project.  Just watched videos on Youtube and read the manuals.  The key thing you have to do is get the base row of block dead level.  Even half-a-bubble-off-center on the bottom row will make things even more uneven as you go up.  

   Again, best of luck with building the house.  Hope things go well.  

 

 

On 6/30/2025 at 4:51 PM, Bob Chill said:

I'm mid 50s nowadays and cannot take a beating like I used to lol but I've really hit a stride this year. Working very hard and but smart. When my body tells me to take a break I listen hahaha. 

It's hard for me to talk to my old friends in MD because they can't relate to what I'm doing and it's too hard to explain. You seem similar though and a kubota guy lol. I picked up a used kubota mx5200 tractor late winter and it's a beast. Also rented a kubota kx04 excavator for the month of March and pushed that thing to it's limits. Bad ass machine though. Worth every penny and i saved a mountain of money doing it myself. Cleared about an acre total in various locations on our property. Pushed over 100+ trees and this was my view for 4 weeks lol

 

It was an amazing experience although challenging AF at times. Saved all the good logs for my sawmill and have been making lumber. Built the first phase of our garden complex and now the beds are loaded with tons of veggies. I'll have to take some current pics. Turned out amazing and I'm humbled by being able to pull it off. 

 

I'm building a big greenhouse on the flat pad between the camera and beds. Our homesite is cleared and ready to build but since we have a decent place to live for now I don't have any time constraints. Greenhouse before actual house makes sense as crazy as that sounds 

When I'm not working on the property I'm working with a buddy doing land clearing and private road installs and things like that. It's a labor of love more than a chore. It's not for everybody but the lifestyle makes me feel better than anything i did in MD. I feel like I found my way in this crazy world... finally... lol. Life is a trip. Anything is possible if you have the enough confidence to take some chances. I never saw this coming 5 years ago and  it's been a wild ride with lots of twists and turns on the way I'm sure. 

Hi Bob,

     Wow - that's impressive!  You've really done a lot - to say the least!  Very nice layout for the raised beds.  I wish I had the time to work on home projects F/T.  Maybe in a couple more years.   

     Can appreciate the clearing work.  After moving into our place in 2009 we reclaimed 1/2+ acre that was not maintained for decades.  Removed 30+ trees, regraded the ground with a power rake, removed four 30 yd dumpsters of debris and spread over 100 yds of 50/50 topsoil and mulch and 400 lbs of seed.  Managed to grow some great weeds!  It was a lot of trips with the Kubota BX and a 4 foot bucket.  You have a REAL tractor with that MX5200.  Would love to have a Kubota B with the glass cab, AC/heat and 5 foot bucket, but can't justify it with our smallish spread.  

     Below are a few pics of our wall project.  Started the project 3 years ago by relocating some azaleas that were on the hill where the terraces are now - fortunately they all lived!  In 2024 I removed the old steps, graded the terraces and relocated the water line running from our well to the house.  (we live 1/2 mile from Vienna but are on well and septic - go figure).  

     Started laying block last Fall with 42 pallets of wall block - 82 lbs each.  Have a little over 1 pallet of block remaining along with 5 pallets of caps.  The caps will be a patio at the bottom of the lowest wall to the right of the steps

     Will be happy when the project is done, but it's been fun - most of the time.  Can relate to the humble part too.  Part way through the pile of blocks I was not sure how it would go.  Kept at it steadily with a focus on the big picture.  Managed to lose 26 lbs in the process and feel pretty decent these days.  Not as sore in the mornings as when I started.  

     Good luck with the rest of your adventures on your homestead.  R.

Picked up nearly an inch in 20 mins.  

11 hours ago, Bob Chill said:

PLEASE let ens guidance be right with predominant W&NW mid/upper level flow from the 4th onward... lol. Not expecting anything "cool" but the past 2 weeks have dented my resolve. I've been working outside daily and drinking 2+gals water per day without taking a leak is getting real F'n old lol. I've lost too much weight as my appetite gets destroyed. Still better than an office job though but if this keeps up for another couple weeks I may change my mind hahahah.... nah

Can relate to all that Bob.  Been working on a retaining wall project at home since last Fall.  166k lbs of prefab concrete blocks that weight 82 lbs each (42 pallets of block).  Nearly finished with most of the block work, which sits on top of 50 cubic yards of #57 stone.  Been working every weekend and most evenings after work, except early this past week.  Dew pts in the 70's just sucks the energy out.  I'm 60+ now and can feel every aching bone...  

18 minutes ago, SomeguyfromTakomaPark said:

Some 80 f dews popping in Maryland burbs. 

That's getting up there.  Lived in India, Thailand and Japan before.  India was the worse of the lot when it came to HI extremes.  As the monsoons approached the end of June or early July we had heat indexes off the charts used here in the US.   113 to 118 or more every day for weeks with growing humidity.  It was like hitting a wall when going outside.  Even inside my house the large split pack units barely keep the heat at bay.  It was brutal.  

Humm  - my Vantage VUE currently show 97/77dp which is 113 HI.  Seems a bit hi.   

Worked outside from 1130 until about 1900 on a retaining wall project.  Using a hand held concrete saw with DPs in the low 70's made it pretty ugly.  Could have been an episode on "Dirtiest Jobs".  Got to a good stopping point in advance of the next few days.  Currently 85/74 here.  

Pouring here the last 20 mins.  FFW for part of the area till midnight.  

1.55" so far.  Mainly a steady soaker here. 

17 minutes ago, usedtobe said:

Someone responded to a post I made yesterday according to the site but I have no idea how to find that comment.  I'm old, that's my excuse.  Is there a way to find it without wading thru pages of comments?

Wes - it's great to have you back amongst us again.  We're honored.  Hope you are doing well. 

Woke up and saw 200+ posts in the LR thread and thought "are we back?"  Then realized an appreciable number of the posts was the back and forth nonsensical banter of a couple of posters who should know better than to clog up the LR thread with that junk.   

So disappointing and text-book behavior for why some of the older foundational members of this forum and Eastern before it left.  We had a couple of the older, (more experienced) crew make showcase appearances, which was great.  Wish they would stick around more but suspect its too painful. 

55 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

Wild map

Indeed - don't recall seeing that many colors for a long time. 

The national view is interesting too.  The expanse of the high wind watch is pretty amazing.   https://www.weather.gov/ 

1 minute ago, Weather Will said:

Not done yet...

And it's a 10:1.  Several others mentioned the ratios are likely going to be much higher this time around. 

3 minutes ago, Midlo Snow Maker said:

Just doing the same old thing. 

Great to see you are still at it.  Hadn't seen any updates this year yet and was wondering.  Recall seeing your setup years ago on the previous forum and was in awe at the effort. 

199 pages...   whew... 

2 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

4”.  Nice steady 1”/hr rate.

Right at 4" here too NW of Vienna on Lawyers Rd.  Lawyers was closed for a while due to a serious accident.  May still be closed.  Going out to plow the first bit with the Kubota

Just now, Rvarookie said:

Nah I grew up with with Jay, Nas, Biggie, Pac, Jadakiss. Not much west coast guy but least Nate dogg, snoop, and Dre were creative. This was shit 

Totally Agree, NFL is going to take a hit for this one, big time.  I grew up with Ohio Players, Parliament, P-Funk Allstars, Lakeside, War, House muzic and the like...  Used to DJ for Soul Sessions at a couple skating rinks in Ohio in the 60's, 70's and 80's.  Hard to imagine how the NFL marketing team thought this was a good idea. 

Just now, Terpeast said:

Halftime show already over? Didn’t realize. Was too busy reading the storm thread

haha - You didn't miss anything on TV.  If KC doesn't start playing the activity here will likely ramp up a lot by the end of the 3rd quarter. 

Simple THE worse half-time show in history.  

Hope the second-half ramps up or the network is going to lose a lot of viewers.

2 minutes ago, high risk said:

           You can't really define a range for it, as it is combining forecasts from multiple ensemble systems with some extra adjustments made with bias correction techniques for amounts (not spatial coverage).   Ultimately, it only has much accuracy as the overall synoptic skill and skill-spread ratios of the various inputs, but its purpose is that it's not as prone to wild swings from individual solutions.      That said, the "deterministic" solution shown in that previous post is worth looking at, but it should be done in conjunction with percentiles and probabilities.  

Thanks for the explanation.  Always wondered about how the ensembles factored into that.  Much appreciated. 

2 minutes ago, Stradivarious said:

Been around lurking since then too…

Me too - good old days of dial-up and slowwww downloads.  But because it was slow, people thought more about what they said.  I am really old - almost born in the 50's.