Looks Like Snow in Sunny Florida - Spray Foam Insulation in the Barn

Today they insulated our barn with Icynene - better known as spray foam. It started out when they masked off the windows - doors - and floors. Then a guy in a hazmat suit used a double hose spray gun that mixes 2 chemicals to make instant foam. The foam temperature rises to 170 degrees during the process. This foam looks like snow and expands to fill all the cracks. We put 8 inches in the roof and 6 inches in the walls. After it was over - they used a saw to remove the excess. The reduction in heat level and sound level is dramatic. The city inspector came during the application and remarked what a splendid job this is.

Next - the drywall - bathroom - floor - and we are done.

Barn Outside is Done

Click on the headline to see more pictures.

Today - we did the walk through of the barn. We paid Bill Gwynn - the Builder - the final payment. We are very happy with the quality of the work and the professionalism of Bill and his carpenters. We had a good time and finished on time and on budget.

We will continue with the inside work now.

We have a contract for the external painting with Wesley Head - the man that painted our house last year. He is on vacation now in Alaska - but will return soon. Wesley comes to the job with two tools - a brush and a ladder - and proceeds to do the whole job without masking tape - he has an excellent eye and hand.

Next comes "spray foam" insulation - then drywalling the upstairs - finishing the bathroom and bar - wood floors - air conditioning and heat - then moving all our tools and bins into the workshop. The downstairs walls will be plywood and paint.

Today - the electrical inspector came - and gave his approval to my wiring job. He also complimented the nice work. Nancy was here - that is what she told me.

All in all - this has been a fun project. I will give a step by step report later.

My Student Chuck Going Back to Iraq for Third Time

Hello Mr E -
This me and my SSD Partner Gabe...........SSD stands for Specialized Search Dog and this is a pretty new program that the Army and other services has right now........the schooling is over 4 months long and you get to train 2 dogs.......at the end of the course if both your dogs certify, you then can choose which dog you want to take with you..........Right now it's still up in the air when I will leave for Iraq, but I am sure it is the very near future after graduation on July 28th.........Gabe's job is to go out and find explosives and things of that nature........He is also trained in basic obedience to listen to my commands........he can work on leash or off leash depending on what sort of mission we are doing.........He is the best partner any handler can ever ask for......Most of the time he will walk about 3 to 4 steps and then look back to see if I am still with him.......Gabe is a Labrador and will be 4 years old on Dec 26th.........The German sheppard in the other picture is Doki and he is my German sheppard........he just turned 2 in May and is a great dog also......He works great and has had one handler prior to me, but my instructors tell me he has changed 100% since we have become partners......thanks and take care Mr E
Chuck

We Put Buick on Ebay

Click the above headline to follow along with our eBay sale of the Buick. With 2 days to go - it is up to $5800. It cost $40 to list a car on ebay - $5 for a reserve - and $40 more if it sells. So for $80 - you can sell any car. If the auction does not reach your reserve price - your total cost is only $45.

More Buick Details and Pictures

ABE Airport Lowest May Traffic in 10 Years

The Morning Call

Passenger traffic at Lehigh Valley International Airport fell 16.2 percent in May, compared to the same period a year ago. At 66,055 passengers, it was the worst traffic total for the month of May in at least 10 years.

The airport saw the biggest drops in passengers last month on Delta Connection and Northwest Airlines. Passenger traffic declined 41 percent on Northwest, which flies to Detroit. Delta, which flies to Atlanta and Cincinnati, reported a 37 percent drop in traffic.

The regional airport has been slumping since the end of 2004, when its one-time top airline, Southeast Airlines, ceased flying. Since then, the airport has tried with mixed results to find substitute airlines to serve the popular Florida market Southeast helped to develop.

One of the Best Parts of Being a Teacher

I used to say the best 3 things about teaching are - June - July - and August.

Last night I spent the evening with one of my first students. Louie Michalik was in my first class at Panther Valley in 1970. He and his lovely wife Carol are living the good life in Dunedin, Florida. I recall Louie being a star on Panther Valley's first golf team and now he lives in a beautiful home on the Dunedin Country Club Golf Course.

One of the worst parts about being a retired teacher - is the forgetfulness that old age brings with it. Things like forgeting your camera in the hotel room on an evening full of "Kodak" moments. Also - spending a lovely dinner watching the sun set over the sponge boats at Tarpon Springs with Louie and Carol - and then forgeting Carol's name - especially when she has such an impressive job as the public relations director of the Tampa Office of the FBI - yes - that FBI.

It was so much fun remembering when I was a 6 feet nothin' and 100 pounds nothin' skinny little kid teaching physics to kids 4 years younger and about 50 pounds heavier than me. To think that I had girls in my classes older than Nancy. It is a wonder how I ever made it through 33 years. We re-called many of the happy moments and silly things - like protesting in front of the high school when someone burned down the junior high school. Also how we ate lunch in the classroom "brown bag" and then turned 600 kids loose in the auditorium unsupervised for 30 minutes - all sugared up.

But visiting Louie and Carol in Florida - makes it all worth it. If one has to work - the gig I had in Panther Valley was a pretty good one. No wonder I spent 33 years in the same classroom. It left me worlds to conquer after 3 pm.

We have spent the last three days at a conference sponsored by the Florida Education Association. Nancy is over 100 miles from home - so she is an expert here. When we sit down at lunch and get to talk about teaching conditions with today's teachers and discuss - pensions - sabbaticals - medical insurance - class size - student turnover - teacher turnover - I feel honored and proud of my noble career at PVJ.

A night like last night is one of the best things about being a teacher. There are about 4000 stories out there just like that.

Letter from Former Student - Louis Michalik Reads My Blog - He Lives Near Tampa

Harry

I was a student at Panther Valley High School from 1970 to 1973. I was assigned to your homeroom during your first year as a teacher, and was also in your physics class.

I found your blog when I was reading a story in the Times News by a professor/author denigrating our hometown area. I have been checking in on your blogs and am enjoying reading about your travels, hometown stories and building project. One questions being a former physics teacher and logical thinker, what were you thinking with the chainsaw and ladder?

I currently reside in Dunedin, FL. I read your blog from June 13th and see that you are in the Tampa area. If you would like to contact me, you are welcome to come to Dunedin, and my wife and I would like to show off our beautiful city to you and Nancy. This is an open invitation.

My wife was involved with the library in our community and also on the county level, so her and Nancy would have a lot to talk about.

My work contact information is below and you can contact me there. Also my home contact information is as follows.

Lou Michalik former nickname Maxie
2361 Demaret Dr
Dunedin, FL 34698
Phone 727-733-4614
Cell 727-492-5031
Email lou_mic@msn.com

Lou Michalik
Production Support Engineering
Ceridian Benefits Services
Phone: 727-395-8431
Fax: 727-906-3751
Email: louis.michalik@ceridian.com

Tampa Plane Crash - Saw Them Pull Plane Out of House

About 6 weeks ago we took a cruise leaving from Tampa. As we left on the ship - we noticed a neat island with a small airport on it. The place is called Davis Islands.

Fast forward 6 weeks. Nancy is at a conference near Tampa. I decided to visit Gary Miller - my classmate - who was in town for a convention too. So after visiting Gary - I decided to use my GPS to find that island and airport. It is about 2 miles south of the convention center.

When I reached the end of the runway - to my surprise there was a house fire. I got out of the car to see the action. I arrived just in time to see a crane pull the plane out of the house. The pilot died - the co-pilot is in bad shape.

Peter Knight Airport is pretty neat. It sits right on the water. Notice in the pictures my silver rental van as a reference point. In one direction is the airport - the other direction the harbor.

Report from Downtown Tampa and Alberto

I am sitting in our rental van in downtown Tampa. It is sunny and windy right now - the storm has passed. I am getting free internet from somewhere - parked at a meter - getting lunch.

We drove from Tallahassee to Tampa from 8 to 12. We ran into a little rain and some wind - not enough to matter. We enjoyed using our new GPS all the way. It is great for finding hotels - restaurants - gas stations. It is hard to get lost with it - even if you miss a turn - it re-directs you.

Here is the local storm report - Landfall was expected sometime between noon and 1 p.m. near the tiny coastal town of Keaton Beach. Damages as of noon were minimal, according to Mandy Cornelius of Taylor County Emergency Management. However, water was starting to wash over seawalls in Steinhatchee, she said.
Damages and flooding were relatively minor in the Tampa Bay area although Tampa Electric Co. reported 5,000 customers lost power between midnight and 8 a.m. in Hillsborough and Polk counties. More than half of those customers had power by 10 a.m.

I am going to meet Gary Miller at 2:30 to visit. He is at a convention. The waves are hitting the sea wall outside the convention center.

I left Nancy at Saddlebrook for her conference. It is a very nice resort - we will be staying there 2 nights.

Keith is flying to Tallahassee from Washington. His flight was cancelled last night. He is in Atlanta now. George will pick him up at the airport.

Our Old Hometown - Tamaqua PA - Make The Net

Nancy and I lived in Tamaqua PA all our childhood and most of our adult lives. In 2004 - we bought a home in Tallahassee when Nancy was recruited to be a professor at Florida State University.

Click Here to Read About Tamaqua

Wiring in a Hot Barn

It was 99.4 degrees in the shade today in Tallahassee. Good thing the humidity was 31%. I spend all day in the barn doing electrical work - drilling holes - pulling wires - installing outlets - circuit breakers - lights - switches. My good buddy George Dawson spend the day with me. He drilled lots of holes and pulled lots of wire. He made the job much easier and faster for me. I expect to be done tomorrow. Now for a jump in the pool.

Bobby O'Gurek - One of My Favorite Students of All Time

In 1992 - Bobby O'Gurek was in my seventh grade science class. He was a good student. Not only did I teach Bobby about earth science - but Bobby taught me about life. Bobby had a Mac. He used to use that Mac Computer to do his homework. Bobby used to use a stylus attached to his head to type.

Bobby was the catalyst for a grant that I wrote that was funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This was back before Al Gore invented the internet. One of the main ideas in our grant was to set up a system so that Bobby could interact using the computer with other students. We set up a Computer Bulletin Board System in my classroom. Students were able to hook their computer up to a 1200 baud modem and dial into the main computer on my classroom desk. Then other students and teachers could exchange ideas and mail in this manner. It was slow - and only one student at a time could use the system - but it got money for us to buy several Mac Classics with shoulder bags that kids could take home to use. This was before the laptop computer was invented. Boy - we had great times "talking" to each other.

Fast forward to today. My ichat window on my computer was open this afternnon - and all of a sudden an Instant Message came in from "spins@ptd.net." There was only one "Spins" in my life and I knew who it was.

Bobby recently graduated from college with a degree as a Computer Specialist in Web Design. Bobby designs web pages - http://www.evansprivateparadise.com/- here is some of his work. He is 26 now - he looks the same but taller. He has a degree but he is just as proud to be selected as a Trustee of the Summit Hill Fire Company.

As I was saying - Bobby taught me a lot about life. I am so proud to be his student.

See Page Designed by Bobby

Florida Makes Ticket Scalping Legal

TALLAHASSEE - Good news for people with tickets for hot games: Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill into law Wednesday that removes penalties for ticket scalping.

Under the measure, Florida's 60-year-old ticket scalping law, which forbids selling tickets for more than $1 above the face value, will be eliminated and in its place will be an open-market system that will allows ticket owners and Internet brokers to sell tickets at whatever price the buyer agrees to pay.

Barn Outside is Almost Complete

Tuesday in Tallahassee - The outside of the barn is almost complete. The carpenters are busy making the custom pocket doors from scratch. All it needs is paint and a clean up now.

I am busy inside doing the electrical work.

Sunday Was Beach and Blueberries Day

There is a very nice beach at Shell Point about 30 miles south of town. Nancy and I went there to spend two very quiet hours on Sunday morning.

On the way home Nancy saw a "Blueberries" sign near Woodville so we followed the signs back into the bush about 3 miles. There we found a lovely blueberry farm and enjoyed picking the biggest and freshest blueberries I ever had.

The blueberries were $3.50 a pound and we were surprised with how many blueberries were in 1 and 1/2 pounds. The owner said that it was okay to eat all you wanted while you picked - he didn't weigh you at the end. Leave it to Harry to have a blue tongue after that. The bushes were tall and one could pick 8 - 10 berries at once.

Two Tamaqua Brothers - In a Tiff on My Old Street - Lehigh Street

TAMAQUA — Borough police reported a father and his two sons suffered minor injuries during a domestic incident that occurred at a borough home on Monday.

Police said officers were called to 103 N. Lehigh St. at 2:15 p.m. for a report of an unwanted person inside the home. I lived at 223 N. Lehigh Street when I was a boy.

At the scene, police were met by Russell J. “Rusty” Nelson, 50, who told them he wanted his son, Ricky C. Nelson, 28, removed from the premises. Police said the younger Nelson apparently became enraged when told to leave the home by his father, shoved a door hard and caused it to strike his brother, Russell J. “R.J.” Nelson, 25, police said. Ironic background - Ricky was one of my students - he once had Art Argall - a teacher - arrested for allegedly hitting him. Argall was later cleared in a trial.

Russell - the younger brother then pushed the door back, striking his brother.

As officers investigated, police said Ricky Nelson began punching his father and brother and was then taken into custody and charged with domestic assault.

He was arraigned on the charge, police said. It looks like Ricky will be having his next "Garden Party" in the Schuylkill Country Prison.

FSU Beats Georgia in NCAA Regional

Athens, GA - The last time FSU came to Athens, GA their season ended at Foley Field. Saturday night the 18th-ranked Seminoles took a big step towards exorcising those demons as Florida State downed top-seeded and eighth-ranked Georgia 6-4 in a winner's bracket game. Tyler Chambliss pitched brilliantly in striking out 10 Bulldog batters and FSU got three more homeruns in the win. The victory moved Florida State (44-19) one win away from clinching a spot in the school's eighth straight NCAA Super Regional.