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| USS Dolphin |
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| USS Dolphin and Steam Ferry Berkley |
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| Star of India |
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| Star of India |
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| Star of India |
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| Star of India |
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| Some cruise ship |
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| B-39 Submarine |
Monday, March 31, 2014
San Diego Maritime Museum
Since it was such a nice day yesterday we wanted to get out and about so we drove down to Little Italy where we had desert and then decided to go down to the bay and walk around the waterfront. I took a few pictures of the boats on display but we didn't feel like going on any tours. Here are a few pics. If you want to learn more about the San Diego Maritime Museum go HERE.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Fountain Tiled
Saturday I began the process of finally tiling the fountain pool. Whenever I get that feeling that tiling isn't that bad, it only takes a few minutes of being on my knees applying mortar, bending at the waste and laying tile to bring back the phrase "this sucks".
What made this project so difficult is that the fountain is not square (of course), the floor is uneven (of course) and it slopes (of course). Did I mention that the corners were not rounded as well? By the time I was finishing up with the corners my "care" factor had pretty much dropped to zero.
The good news is that I already had the thin set mortar and only had to purchase the grout. I went with a light gray. I did purchase one of the scoring tile cutters and now I really wish I had done it earlier. It was SO EASY to cut the tiles. The only draw back over a wet saw is that you cant cut tile into slivers.
Not my best job, but it looks better than it did.
It's suppose to rain tonight into Thursday so I will put the fountain back into the pool and fill it up this weekend.
What made this project so difficult is that the fountain is not square (of course), the floor is uneven (of course) and it slopes (of course). Did I mention that the corners were not rounded as well? By the time I was finishing up with the corners my "care" factor had pretty much dropped to zero.
The good news is that I already had the thin set mortar and only had to purchase the grout. I went with a light gray. I did purchase one of the scoring tile cutters and now I really wish I had done it earlier. It was SO EASY to cut the tiles. The only draw back over a wet saw is that you cant cut tile into slivers.
Not my best job, but it looks better than it did.
It's suppose to rain tonight into Thursday so I will put the fountain back into the pool and fill it up this weekend.
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| Tile in place |
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| Tile in place |
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| Grouting in process |
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| Completed |
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| Completed |
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Tree Trimming
It's been close to 4 years since I had the two eucalyptus trees trimmed and I have not had the Ash tree trimmed since we moved here 5 years ago. With one of the Eucalyptus trees rubbing the roof I knew it was time to get it done. Also with the constant wind from the canyon it has stunted the growth on the west side of the Ash tree so the canopy needed to be re-shaped.
I belong to the "next door neighbor" (think of facebook for the neighbor hood) and someone was thinking of having their trees trimmed and thought we might get a group discount. In the end two companies called (one flaked) and one was very reasonable compared to other quotes I have received in the past. The second company was 45% higher even with their group discount. They say you get what you pay for but this is tree trimming, as long as you have a basic knowledge of trees how hard can it be?
So I went with the less expensive one, of course, and they did a wonderful job. He even trimmed my palm tree in front that had a broken palm frond from our recent rain storm.
I belong to the "next door neighbor" (think of facebook for the neighbor hood) and someone was thinking of having their trees trimmed and thought we might get a group discount. In the end two companies called (one flaked) and one was very reasonable compared to other quotes I have received in the past. The second company was 45% higher even with their group discount. They say you get what you pay for but this is tree trimming, as long as you have a basic knowledge of trees how hard can it be?
So I went with the less expensive one, of course, and they did a wonderful job. He even trimmed my palm tree in front that had a broken palm frond from our recent rain storm.
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| Eucalyptus Before |
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| Eucalyptus Before |
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| Eucalyptus Before |
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| Ash Before |
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| Eucalyptus After |
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| Eucalyptus After |
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| Ash After |
Monday, March 10, 2014
Fountain Tiling
When I had the fountain built, I thought about tiling it but decided to give it a try with just the white sealant paint. The problem is that it collects the dirt and the algae in the nooks and crannies. Even though I use a chemical to treat the water some algae still grows and I have to drain the fountain and scrub it.
So I figured that if I tiled it with glazed ceramic then I could wipe off the tiles without having to drain the fountain. Also without the nooks and crannies the algae wouldn't have any place to grow.
I wanted 4x4 cobalt blue but they don't give that away. I can't believe how much they cost, over a $1 each one. It takes 9 of them to make a sqft coming close to $10 a sqft. Since I needed close to 50 sqft this was a non-starter.
I was seriously considering black when I came across these sky blue 6x6 tiles for 50 cents each on Craigslist. That came to $2 a sqft, not keen on the 6x6 but I can deal with that.
Today I scrubbed the fountain and dry fitted the base tile to get an idea of what it would look like. Next weekend I should be able to tile on Saturday and grout on Sunday. I'm not sure what color the grout will be but leaning towards a gray.
So I figured that if I tiled it with glazed ceramic then I could wipe off the tiles without having to drain the fountain. Also without the nooks and crannies the algae wouldn't have any place to grow.
I wanted 4x4 cobalt blue but they don't give that away. I can't believe how much they cost, over a $1 each one. It takes 9 of them to make a sqft coming close to $10 a sqft. Since I needed close to 50 sqft this was a non-starter.
I was seriously considering black when I came across these sky blue 6x6 tiles for 50 cents each on Craigslist. That came to $2 a sqft, not keen on the 6x6 but I can deal with that.
Today I scrubbed the fountain and dry fitted the base tile to get an idea of what it would look like. Next weekend I should be able to tile on Saturday and grout on Sunday. I'm not sure what color the grout will be but leaning towards a gray.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
San Diego State Student Union Building
About three years ago San Diego State demolished their old student center to build a brand new 206,000 sq ft modern place. Friday they had a "open house" and we got a chance to tour the new place. What's really nice is that they stayed true to the surrounding architecture. The old place was unique in that it had the 1950s vibe but it was outdated and needed to be modernized.
Items of interest:
Items of interest:
- Largest Starbucks (not pictured)
- 300 seat multipurpose Theater
- Bowling Alley
- LEED Platinum Certified
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| Our newly elected Mayor showed up |
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| What's an event without protestors? |
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| Pool hall adjacent to the bowling alley |
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| Bowling alley |
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| Theater screen |
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| Sunset |
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| Panorama from the roof |
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| Inside the tower |
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| Rooftop garden |
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| Live Music |
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| Old building |
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Roberto's Taco Shop
So my parents LOVE the food network and when they saw Roberto's taco shop from San Diego featured and asked me if I had ever tried it. I had heard of the place but here in San Diego we have dozens of these types but I had never tried this one. So Friday I decided to give it a try.
The nearest one to my work was in Ocean Beach (aka OB) so off I went. Most of these places happened to be just holes in the walls where you cant even go inside. It's either walk up or drive through. Since Friday happened to be one of the worst storms in the last 4 years I wisely chose the drive through.
I wanted the carne asada combo plate that came with rice, beans, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. I'm not the biggest fan of guacamole but I can tolerate it. I had a choice of corn of flour tortilla and went with the flour. Once I got it in the vehicle and started back to work I wished I had a place to park and just start eating. It smelled wonderful!!
***On a side note, it is well know that Californians can't drive in rain. Well it is especially true for old people. I got stuck behind a guy that was going 20 mph on a road that is posted for 35 mph. No, it wasn't raining that hard.
Finally get back to work and unpack and what I thought was several tortillas was only one, but what a tortilla it was. I have never seen one this big, it was easily larger than the opened box. I was just too hungry to take any more pictures.
Overall it was really good and will go back again, for $8+ it was well worth it.
The nearest one to my work was in Ocean Beach (aka OB) so off I went. Most of these places happened to be just holes in the walls where you cant even go inside. It's either walk up or drive through. Since Friday happened to be one of the worst storms in the last 4 years I wisely chose the drive through.
I wanted the carne asada combo plate that came with rice, beans, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. I'm not the biggest fan of guacamole but I can tolerate it. I had a choice of corn of flour tortilla and went with the flour. Once I got it in the vehicle and started back to work I wished I had a place to park and just start eating. It smelled wonderful!!
***On a side note, it is well know that Californians can't drive in rain. Well it is especially true for old people. I got stuck behind a guy that was going 20 mph on a road that is posted for 35 mph. No, it wasn't raining that hard.
Finally get back to work and unpack and what I thought was several tortillas was only one, but what a tortilla it was. I have never seen one this big, it was easily larger than the opened box. I was just too hungry to take any more pictures.
Overall it was really good and will go back again, for $8+ it was well worth it.
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