I finally did it. I bought my own MIG welder!

Last Friday, a fire at the Mexican restaurant ElRodeo damaged the Eastern side of Brightleaf South and forced the evacuation of the entire complex, including the offices where I work. I was actually at home because I had a cold. Several colleagues called me around 11:00 AM to let me know what was going on and to confirm that I was not in the building. I shut down all the equipment I could, and I verified via my security cameras that there was no serious problem on our end. No one was hurt in the fire.

A protein fire in  the kitchen vents spread into the top floor of the building and damaged the roof. The fire department quickly doused the fire with ample amounts of water, so the fire damage was contained. Considering that this building is over 100 years old and all the upstairs floors are made of huge wooden beams and the entire structure is held up by large wooden columns, a larger fire could have easily caused structural damage.

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Last night our 20-year-old Siamese cat died. We got her 19 years ago from the shelter, when she was just a young stray kitty. Over the years, Deha grew into a proud cat with a strong personality. When we brought Benson home, a 160-pound Great Dane, it only took her a couple of days to get that dog to accept that she was the boss. Deha followed Laura around when Laura was in labor with our daughter, as if she was trying to be supportive. Later, Deha convinced Julia to share her bottle with her. When we brought home Sodabe as a kitten from the shelter, she took care of him like a mother and taught him to hunt and climb trees. Over the years they both brought home countless mice, shrews and chipmunks – and even the occasional rabbit. Though Sodabe never seemed to acquire her taste for frogs. For many years, she went out every morning, mosied down to the pond and got herself a nice juicy frog. Then she brought it back to the house, found a nice sunny spot and sat down to eat it.

The last few years she spent more and more time snoozing in various sunny spots in the yard and on the deck. She had some health problems that were mostly kept in check with regular antibiotics. Just a few days ago she caught a mouse and ate it on the deck. But a couple of days ago she started to refuse her food and before we knew it she had lost a lot of weight. Saturday I saw her sleeping next to a log  ins a sunny spot next to the pond and she looked very old and tired. Later that day we took her inside and she could barely walk. She ate some but declined rapidly. We put her on a soft blanket and kept her company all evening. Saturday night around 11PM she died.

We buried her Sunday morning in a nice sunny spot in our yard. We’ll miss that silly little cat.

For the third time in a row and for the fourth time altogether, I have a team in the annual Doughman race here in Durham. Last weekend was the “guerrilla registration” where you could get a foot in the door of this popular race by guessing the restaurants that participate. The organizers posted clues on their Facebook page and once you figured it out, you went and took a picture of the restaurant’s signage.

•  This year’s restaurants are

– Nosh
– Dos Perros
– Rise
– Dain’s Place
desserts:
– The Parlour
– Monuts
– Daisy Cakes
– Locopops

Last weekend I spent some quality time under the truck, fixing some stuff that’s been bothering me for a while. I finally found the idle adjustment screw and turned up the engine idle speed a notch, so that the truck doesn’t just die on me all the time when the engine is cold.

I also installed the new fuel shutoff solenoid I bought a while ago from LarryB’s. The previous owner had a manual shutoff lever installed in the cab when the solenoid died. So to stop the engine you had to push in the lever. Now it works in a more civilized manner again – when you turn off the ignition the engine stops.

Finally, I also completed the installation of the truck’s fancy new headlamps. The old ones were faded and scratched, so I bought new headlamps and installed them early last year. The headlights have some LEDs, but I never bothered to connect them until now. It was worth it – the LEDs are really bright and look great.

I also made a list of stuff I need for the front end rebuild. I think I’ll tackle that soon …

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Last night, one of our three emus died. We called him “Brave Bob” because he was the tamest and the first to take food from my hand. He was also the tallest of our little flock and he was always hungry. He seemed really healthy the day before, and no, he was not the one that was attacked by the neighbor’s dog.

Julia discovered him when she went to feed them in the morning. Laura called me and we went back home. The other two emus  seemed pretty distressed and were pacing around and poking him with their beaks. We removed him from the enclosure and I buried him in the woods.

A couple of weeks ago, I helped our new neighbor move a chicken coop on his property. He attached pneumatic caster wheels under the frame of this ancient, roughly 4000-pound structure. We then jacked it up with car jacks, knocked out the foundation, dropped it on the wheels and I towed it with my truck about 150 feet (50 Meters) to the new location. He made this epic video of this pretty epic project:

The Great Beer Quest of 2013 was a complete success, despite the freezing temperatures in Winston Salem last night. A bunch of Footheads camped out in 20-degree (-7 Celcius) temperatures for a chance to acquire four bottles of foothills brewery’s finest beer – the Sexual Chocolate Stout. This year was my 3rd beer quest, and I was 3rd in line this time!

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Crazy weekend … Friday we had a snow/ice/freezing rain mess, so Laura and I had to leave work early to pick up the kids from school. Saturday morning – I was just on my first cup of coffee – Laura noticed a large Rottweiler chasing the emus in the back yard. I put on some clothes ( it was in the low 20s – well below freezing) and ran out. I knew the dog – it belongs to a neighbor down the road and has been on our property before. I was trying to get between the dog and the emus, but it was difficult. The kids of the owner tried to help, but they  ended up leaving a gate open and one of the emus got out. Somehow the emu got in the horse pasture, running away from the dog. All that got the horses all riled up and they started cantering up the hill and got the dog even more excited. After a few Minutes, the dog caught the emu and grabbed it by the lower neck and brought it down. The kid and I were right on top of the dog and got him to release the bird, who ran away.

Now the kid was lying on top of the dog and could barely keep him down that way. I grabbed a length of rope and started choking the dog, so he would stop struggling. After a while the dog got tired and Laura brought us a rope. I tied the rope securely around the neck and chest of the dog and the kid started to try to drag the dog back home. He could not even get the dog to walk. The dog would just lay down and refuse to walk. He wanted to back to play with the big chicken.

I left the two to their own device and went to check on the bird. He was pretty freaked out, and we decided to just leave him alone to give him some time to calm down. Interestingly, he made no attempt to get out of the pasture. Seeing that the kid was not really able to get the dog home in any reasonable way, we decided that Laura would stay and keep an eye on the bird, while I would help the kid get the dog home. I just dragged the dog by the rope across the icy road for a bit. Then I ordered him to get up and walk, and eventually he did.

We locked the dog up in the back yard and I had a little talk with the owner. I told them that the next time I see the dog on my property, I will call animal control and they will take the dog away. I also suggested they hire a dog trainer who can help them get control of the dog, because the dog is not basically a bad dog, he just needs to learn to listen and respect his owner. I gave them the phone number of a friend who is a dog trainer and I told them that I want them to contact her right away and set up an appointment. They agreed and Monday morning my friend emailed me and confirmed that they made an appointment. So that’s really good.

Back at the farm, the emu had calmed down, but Laura and I saw that he was bleeding from the chest a bit.  In the icy pasture, Laura and I managed to corner the bird and catch him. I carried him back into the back yard, where we took a closer look at the wound. It was just a puncture wound but it was still bleeding quite a bit. I had to let him go, because he has gotten quite heavy – probably around 40 pounds. As long as I hold him, he goes limp and plays dead. But as soon as his feet touch the ground it’s all over and there is no holding him. We caught him again later and put some antibiotic ointment on his wound and I made that mistake and did not let go right away … he shredded my jeans with his feet (did not hurt me, though).

So now I guess I have to figure out how to teach my emus some self defense technique. I mean, I good kick on the nose of the dog from one of their legs would definitely make an impression. The gate to the back yard is now barricaded, so I doubt that a dog could get in (unless he can jump the fence). But later this year the emus will go out on the pasture, and there they might encounter dogs or coyotes. They definitely need to learn some karate kicks …

Today, Jacob and I started training at our karate dojo again. It has been a couple of years since our last training, and it has been a couple of months since my last run. So I really feel the workout now. But that’s good – that’s why we went back. We’ll start practicing regularly again, and I think we’ll be back in shape soon.

Since the dojo has changed affiliations from NKJU to Kuniba Kai, I’ll work with sensei on updating our videos, especially the kata videos. It was nice to see that some of the old crew were still around at the dojo. I am looking forward to getting back into it and learning some new katas.

This weekend I replaced the two front engine mounts on my 1991 Mercedes 300D. The driver side mount was completely destroyed by several biodiesel leaks from the fuel lines that run directly above it. The passenger side mount was probably OK, but I replaced it anyway. I spent about $100 on the parts and another $40 on various drive extensions and a set of metric hex keys. My mechanic’s estimate for this job was $400. These are the tools I used:

• 1.5 ton engine hoist (thanks, Al!)
• 8 mm hex key (plus a 12 inch long pipe for leverage)
• 17 mm ratchet with 10-inch extension bar and a jointed extension
• WD 40 spray
• jack and ramps to get more clearance

Mercedes on ramps with engine hoist

The whole procedure took me about 4-5 hours (2-3 on Sat and 2 on Sunday) incl. taking pictures and replacing a fuel line. Getting the engine hoist connected, the engine lifted and the mounts disconnected took about 2-3 hours. Mostly it took me that long because I had never dealt with an engine hoist and I was very careful. Removing the four bolts was also a bit tough. The top bolt on the driver side was actually loose, but difficult to get to. I ended up removing a fuel line (and replacing it later) to get to it, using a jointed extension and a 10-inch bar extension.

driver side mount from above

The bottom bolt on the passenger side was really tight and I used a piece of pipe with the hex key to get it loose.

passenger side mount from below

After I finally got all 4 bolts out, I removed the old mounts and slipped new one in. I cleaned the bolts with WD40 and threaded them into the new mounts (that took a while – especially with the heat shield). Then I made sure that they were orientated correctly, with the notch at the top in the groove. Then I lowered the engine sloooowly onto the mounts and tightened the bolts. Then I removed the hoist and installed the new fuel line. When I cranked her up, it was so nice – no shake, rattle and roll and more, just a mellow hum from the engine.

More pictures below.

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Overall, 2012 was a pretty good year, although it also presented some real challenges to us. The most significant development of 2012 is unfolding right now: Dec. 31 was Laura’s last day at her job of 8 years as Executive Director of One World Market in Durham. Jan 2 she will start her new job, working as an independent non-profit consultant. She will work for a UNC professor who has a grant to start a non-profit research-data repository organization called Dryad. It’s quite a change of pace and cultural adjustment for her to go from a small, fair-trade retail store to working in academia. But despite the adjustment and the financial risk, this is also a great opportunity and she just has to take the plunge and see how this works out.

Our trip to Germany (and Austria, Liechtenstein and France) was the most exciting and probably the most memorable event this year. The last time we went was in 2005, so it was definitely time to go back to the old country. Besides visiting family, we also did some touristy stuff this time around. The kids are at a great age to explore cathedrals, castles and historic places. And we also explored German horse culture on our visit, visiting Marbach (the 400-year-old state stable for the Kings of Württemberg and now the state of Baden Württemberg) and Schwaiganger (Bavarian State Stable with a 1000-year-old horse tradition). We also visited a distant relative who makes a living with his team of draft horses.

Growing up in Germany, I had very little to do with horses. So it was really fascinating for me to discover an entire dimension of German culture I did not know much about. My mom’s dad would be thrilled to see this, if he were still alive. He was a real Prussian horse-nut and he was thrilled that I married a woman who is a horse nut. Well, here I am 18 years later, riding Tennessee Walkers and learning all about Black Forest Cold Blood horses – and a bit of a horse nut myself after all.

Speaking of horses … in April we took Wally and Cleo on their first vacation with us in Southern Pines, NC. Our first real road trip with the horses  went well, although Cleo was a bit of a handful because she went into heat as soon as she got off the trailer, and she could smell all the stallions in the neighborhood.

All year we did take the horses on frequent day trips all around the area. There are quite a few nice places to go horseback riding. But in the all we got memberships at Hill Forest – a research forest for NC State University that is only a 15-Min drive from our place. For $100 membership you get to explore miles and miles of well-maintained trails there, and there is no other traffic. Since the summer we’ve been out there numerous times and really enjoyed it.

One of the more expensive problems this year also had to do with the horses. On the 4th of July, Cleo cut herself during a ride at Hill Forest and we had to take her to an emergency vet visit to get stitched up. That was bad enough, but it could have been worse. Two weeks later we went back to the vet to have her stitches removed. On the way back, the truck’s transmission died and we were stranded with the horses on the side of the highway. Luckily a friend who has a truck with a goose-neck hitch was able to bail us out. The truck cost over $2000 to fix, though.

The worst thing that happened this year that affected us directly was the news that our good friend Lucy in Togo had a stroke and was in very rough shape for a long time. She was severely paralyzed and her family took her to the Mission Hospital in Adeta. Laura managed to get in touch with the American doctors there and helped the doctors and the family make decisions about Lucy’s care. Lucy is now with family in Kpalime and on a slow path to recovery.

The best thing this year, as every year, is watching our kids grow and explore and develop more and more of their own perspectives on life. Jacob and Julia are both doing well in school, academically as well as socially. Both continue to vigorously pursue their music and their respective instruments. Jacob’s bass teacher lately has had him explore a Jazz piece (Miles Davis’ So What?) and Julia is now 4th viola in her high school orchestra and was invited to join the chamber orchestra as well. Also, last week Laura’s brother John was here. He plays several string instruments and it was nice to see the kids and him talk shop and bond over their music.

What else?

The 2012 Doughman was fun. My team raised bunch of money and we came in 8th place out of 82 teams.

In 2012 I cooked 19 batches of biodiesel. That means I turned 950 gallons (3596 liters) of waste veggie oil (used fryer oil) into fuel for our three vehicles. That includes the truck we use to tow our horse trailer. That’s a reduction of 20.000 lb (10 tons) of carbon emissions. Our trip to Germany (4 flights from RDU via JFK to FRA) produced around 10.000 pounds (5 tons) of carbon emissions. FWIW.

Last fall, Jacob and I got introduced to firearms by some of my friends. We got to shoot some shotguns, a .45 semiautomatic pistol and a couple of .22 long- and hand guns.

And finally, just a week ago, we added emus to our menagerie, which includes now a bunny, 3 cats, a poodle, 2 horses and the 3 emus. Since we can’t tell them apart, and we don’t know what sex they are, we just call them all Bob.

So that’s it for 2012. We’re looking forward to more fun in 2013, especially taking Wally and Cleo to some interesting places. And playing with the Bobs.

Happy 2013 to all of you. Stay healthy and have fun!

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The sun sets one last time in 2012.

Meet Bob, his brother Bob and his other brother Bob. They are our emus. We got them today from Bull City Farm and they live in our back yard now. More pictures …

Das sind die Geschwister Bob – seit Heute unsere Haus und Hof Emus. Eigentlich sollten die Bobs die Pferdeweide von Insekten befreien (vor allem Zecken und Fliegenlarven). Aber die Emus sind noch zu klein und können einfach durch den Pferdezaun schlüpfen. Deshalb bleiben die jezt ersmal im Hintergarten, bis sie größer sind. Hier sind noch mehr Bilder …

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One of the most insightful comment about the Sandy Hook shooting comes from the mother of a mentally ill 13-year-old:

Today we mourn with the victims’ families. On Monday, though, we do have to ask ourselves what can be done to prevent tragedies like this. Gun control is the obvious focus for that debate but the way this society deals with mental illness needs much more attention. The reality is this: there are millions of guns in circulation in his country, legally and illegally. How do we keep them out of the hands of the mentally ill? And how do we ensure people with mental illness get the treatment they need? Those are the questions we need to address. Tomorrow. Today, we mourn.

Amazing footage from Apollo 16

A couple of days ago my 1991 Mercedes 300D counted Mile # 288888

288888 Meilen hat der Mercedes jetzt auf dem Buckel. Das sind 464920 KM.

And yes, it’s 12/12/12 today. Funny numbers.

PS: that’s 44,000 miles (70.000+ KM) on homebrew biodiesel just for that car.

More records from Larsen’s Sailrocket: yesterday, they smashed the Nautical Mile Record at 55.32 knots and improved their own 500-Meter record from Friday with a 59.38 knot average speed (all subject to ratification by the WSSRC). Sailrocket is on a roll! Just watch – they will crack the 60 knots average. They already hit a 63.98 knot 1-second peak …

On Nov. 16, 2012, Vestas Sailrocket II became the fastest sailboat in  the world, when skipper Paul Larsen raced it along a 500 Meter stretch in Walvis Bay, Namibia, at an average speed of 59.23 knots (109.6 KpH or 68.1 MpH) and top speeds of 63 knots. (Subject to WSSRC ratification) Check out the video: