The Dishwasher . . .

. . . no, not Mrs. B. The mechanical one under the kitchen counter.


I found out that it was leaking between the pump housing and the tub. The first attempt was to remove the gasket, put some clear silicone on the surfaces, reassemble and reinstall. Strike one. It leaked on the first load.

Second attempt. A week ago, I ordered a new gasket and several related small parts from Sears Direct. The parts arrived on Friday. I installed the new parts on Saturday, and we ran the first load today. Success! No leak. No water on the floor. I was patting myself on the back until Mrs. B pointed out that none of the soap dissolved. Diagnosis - the washer didn't leak because, and only because I didn't turn the water back on. Turn water on. Observe. Strike two. A bigger leak. Apparently when I replaced the gasket between the pump housing and the tub, I messed up the seal between the motor shaft and the pump housing.

Back to Sears Parts Direct for the requisite parts for third attempt. The parts won't be here for a week or so.

This machine shall not win. . .

Another dreary weekend . . .

. . . so all I have is a tour of the doghouse.

It's rained on and off all week. What is this? Bloody Seattle? I haven't been able to mow the grass for two weeks. I'm going to need a custom baler.

My computer room is up there.

I built the computer desk and hutch in my woodshop. The drapes came from my sewing room, and cosist of fabric from Hancock and welding rod from Northern tool.

My birds-eye view of the downstairs. The drapes also came from my sewing room. All the bears belong to Mrs. B.

While taking photos, I ran into Mrs. B in the kitchen. She said her feet were cold.

Great Plains weather . . .

. . . can be very interesting.

Mrs. Bulldog and I - and another very clever blogger that I know - spent most of our lives in the Great Plains area. The weather on the Nebraska/Iowa border and on the Missouri/Kansas border can be . . . well, extreme.

While Mrs. B and I lived in Omaha, we saw two tornados. One F2 storm hit less than a half-mile from our house. The other was an F4, and blasted across town four miles away.

Mike Hollingshead is a storm chaser from Blair, NE. His storm photos are simply amazing. Give his website a look. Here's a Nebraska example.

Now this may look fierce, and it is. However, compared to hurricanes, tornadoes are generally much smaller, last a much shorter time and cause less overall damage.

I would rather live in tornado country than hurricane country. Call it the Wildebeest effect. In tornado country, you have only one lion chasing you, he gets tired very quickly, and there are lots of other Wildebeests milling around. Chances of getting eaten are pretty small. On the other hand, a hurricane is a whole pride of lions, backed up by reserves, and they don't tire out for days. Chances of getting eaten are much greater.

. . . All of which may cause you to ask why Mrs. B and I now live in Virginia. The answer is that we DON'T live in Virginia during hurricanes. We go inland.

The Island of Dr. Moreau . . .

. . . or, what are our Brit friends up to?

Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research.

A team at Newcastle University announced yesterday that it had successfully generated “admixed embryos” by adding human DNA to empty cow eggs in the first experiment of its kind in Britain.

Full story here.

The intent is to develop a method to produce very strong stem cells, and the DNA content of the "cybrid" (cytoplasmic hybrid) is 99% human.

Odd thoughts that occurred to me as I read the article . . .

- Will Victoria's Secret need to develop a line of cybrid bras, and if so, will it have one cup or four?

- Can you now call that ex-wife / ex-girlfriend / obnoxious co-worker an "old cow" and be 99% correct?

- Is this a step in a program to develop self-milking cows?

- By extension, does this explain Wolfman Jack?

I suspect Pope Benedict is having a cow over this.

That is all . . . feel free to comment.

Sunday . . .

. . . bloody Sunday.

No, not as in the U-2 song, nor the story of Domhnach na Fola, nor as the adjectival form of the noun blood, but rather as the expletive attributive. Our Brit friends will bloody well understand.

It's just that I had Friday through Sunday off, and while Friday was 80F and beautiful, Saturday and Sunday were cold and rainy. Blah. It was very, very dreary for the full 48 hours.

Also, the dishwasher started leaking, and my first, infallible, guaranteed, sure-fire fix didn't work. You'd think six years of engineering school would have made a better impression on the contrary machine. Parts are on order. One more try next weekend, then it's off to the junkman.

They're baaaaaack . . .

. . . The Tudors, that is. There are some serious factual errors, but the series is quite interesting. Costuming and cinematography are excellent, but also often historically inaccurate.

I'm not used to seeing a skinny Henry with dark brown instead of ginger hair, but the series is still fun, and Jonathan Rhys Myers portrays a very intense Henry. Natalie Dormer is a very interesting Anne Boleyn, although, from the period paintings of Anne, Natalie is much more attractive. But then, it IS entertainment, is it not?

My favorate quote so far . . .

Henry to Anne - "I love your neck!"

Number one songs . . .

. . . at important dates in my life. Some are picked because they were number one on or near the date. Others were picked because of some odd coincidence.

My birthday: White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Mrs. Bulldog's birthday: In the Blue of the Evening - Tommy Dorsey
When I got my driver's license: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - The Platters
High school graduation: Hit the Road, Jack - Ray Charles
Wedding day: So much in Love - The Tymes
Daughter's birthday: Baby Love - The Supremes
Son #1 birthday: Yesterday - The Beatles
Bachelors' Degree: I'm a Believer - The Monkees
First "real" job and the big move to Omaha: Hello, Goodbye - The Beatles
Son #2 birthday: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - The Fifth Dimension
Masters' Degree: I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
10th wedding anniversary: You are the Sunshine of my Life - Stevie Wonder
20th wedding anniversary: Every Breath I take - The Police
25th wedding anniversary: Need You Tonight - INXS
Mother died: When I See You Smile - Bad English
Son #1 wedding: Justify My Love - Madonna
Father Died: Emotions - Mariah Carey
30th wedding anniversary: I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Daughter's wedding: Can't Help Falling in Love - UB40
Our second big move - to Kansas City: A Whole New World - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle
Son #2 wedding: Honey - Mariah Carey
The day my department was eliminated, and I had to find another job - Fallin' - Alicia Keys
A new job and our third big move - to Virgina Beach: Dilemma - Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland
40th wedding anniversary: Crazy in Love - Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z

This will probably be the end of the list. There hasn't been a #1 song that I give a rat's fuzzy backside about since the new millenium.