Walked up Monticello to visit Andy, Ginna, Carroll and V. Today is our day. Rejoice and be glad in it.
Author: WmX
I stumbled off the track to success in 1968, started chasing shadows that summer. Since then, In addition to farm-laborer and newspaper photographer my occupational incarnations include dishwasher, janitor, retail photo clerk, plumber, HVAC repairman, auto mechanic, CAT scan technologist, computer worker and politico (whatever it takes to buy a camera.) I am on the road to understanding black and white photography.
Sophia
Sophie struggling. Profound balance issues.
bird walk
Went for a short morning walk along the Rivanna with people that know birds. They heard or saw white throated sparrows, carolina wrens, tufted titmouse, a fish crow, american crows, a bald eagle, mallards, canada geese, a red shouldered hawk, cardinals, mockingbirds, a ruby crowned kinglet, downy woodpecker, a pileated woodpecker, a red fox, hermit thrush, bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler, raven, sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, goldfinch, song sparrow, Carolina chickadee, flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, catbird, robin, towhee, starlings.
I saw runners and unidentified flying objects.
The dog walkers are still leaving bags of dog dung on the side of the trail. People too precious to carry the load while they walk.
Steve
One characteristic of the Woolen Mills historic houses is front porches, I love sitting on a front porch, having a visit. Steve was scraping paint so after saying hello we split.
boring technology
I always call Miss Utility before I dig. Calling Sister Utility is the law. I don’t know anyone who has ever been arrested, but the State, the County, the City, they all make pretty clear:
Failure to notify Miss Utility before you dig could make you liable for the cost of any repairs should you damage a utility service.
In the picture above a concrete sanitary sewer main runs right to left, downhill, beneath Chesapeake Street in Charlottesville Virginia, headed for the sewage plant.
Also pictured, a half inch diameter, high pressure gas line running from seven o’clock to one o’clock, overtop the sanitary sewer.
Also pictured, the damage that resulted when the HDD (horizontal directional drilling) operator inadvertently steered the drilling rig through the sewer.
The benefits of drilling, no trench, less erosion, it is minimally invasive street surgery. The problem, no laparoscope.
Our City is actively pursuing inflow and infiltration of rainwater into the sanitary sewer. They cruise pipes with video cameras, find and fix damaged pipe.
exeunt
Pictured above, Gabe’s truck, parked on West Main, February, 1994. No one broke in.
A good man gone.
under the asphalt
Paving bricks are larger…typically 9 ” by 4 “, and much heavier. One paving brick weighs almost 10 lbs each. They have at least twice the “crush strength” of typical bricks, and are fired at a higher temperature, which results in an exterior coating that makes them more impervious to water.–Keith
(in the course of infrastructure changes on W Main some of Charlottesville’s old road history is unearthed, paving brick)
dome room
election day
Unusual alliances in blue Charlottesville.
Election morning, Council candidate Farruggio with his children at Recreation precinct.
Vegan Dog Bomb Dog
President Bill Clinton came to town Halloween Eve to support the Macker, Terry McAuliffe, next Governor of Virginia.
There are those who bemoan the difficulty of the choice, having to choose between snake oil and holy water. It really isn’t a difficult choice.
Lots of good writing on the race and on the candidates. My favorite article in the past few days is by Noreen Malone titled
Terry McAuliffe’s Shamelessness Makes Him Loveable
His extremist opponent doesn’t hurt, either
One could always cast a write-in for the fabulous Bomb Dog!