Mid May Activities

Returned from a whirlwind visit to NJ last night . We got to visit with several friends, see doctors ( my 13 month old hip is in excellent shape, its the rest of me that hurts) , get some building supplies, buy provisions from a local butcher and some good bagels, visit a sister, enjoy (not really) some very heavy traffic in NJ, NY and CT, and return to our "Alternate Universe" up here- all in 37 hours.

Last Saturday we visited Keene NH for the first time, to spend the day with some friends who moved to NH a few years ago.  Its a charming college town with some nice architecture and a pleasant and busy downtown. We toured the Horatio Colony ( that was the last private owner's name believe it or not) House and nature reserve. I committed the error of getting a large sundae at Keene's favorite  ice cream stand and probably ate half a pound of various forms of corn syrup. I can still feel it.

This past week, prior to leaving for NJ, was spent getting the shop joists up on jacks and tearing out the rotted central beam that was pretending to hold the joists up.

Also, last week we engaged a contractor to install a new septic field, and do some additional work on the basement floor and foundations.

We have been busy.




Here are some photos showing the remains of part of a wall that I removed, new posts and joist supports that went in last week, and some of the rotted beam that came out. I hope to get the new beam to hold up my shop in place tomorrow.

More on Communications

I must confess that I have trouble getting the information I am looking for about many of you from your facebook pages. The problem is there is simply too much data about likes and dislikes, every day events, and personal items. I would like to know if you are traveling in China, or studying biophysics in Dusseldorf. Instead I find out what music you listened to while having dinner at a corner cafe with someone unknown to me in some unnamed city.

It would be nice if I could just get an email letting me now how things are going (even if it seems not much is happening) and any special things going on every three to six months. Email information is on my facebook profile.

Reading, Roger Bacon, and Understanding

I am now reading an undergraduate text on linear algebra by Serge Lange ( one of the best teachers I had at Columbia), a book by Mark Twain, and a novel, The Black Rose by Thomas Costain. This last is an historical novel, presenting what I believe is a fairly accurate picture of life in 13th century England and elsewhere, although the main characters are fictional. The reason I mention this book is that one of the background characters is Roger Bacon, the famous monk/scientist. In the early part of the book he tells his students:

"...I must begin with the Latin phrase you have often heard. They say to you Credo ut intelligum - believe so you may understand. It is said as though... it must....be accepted without question.  I question it my young friends.  Nay I cast it out as being utterly false. I say to you instead, Intelligo ut credam - understand so ye may believe."

I hope those of you who were in my classes recognize this idea as one you have heard before. If Roger Bacon indeed said this, then the message I tried to convey ( neither so eloquently nor elegantly as Bacon via Costain) precedes my teaching career by about 750 years. If Costain made it up then I was only about 60 years behind him. In either case, I really did know I was merely paraphrasing the wisdom from many much earlier teachers. I just hope I have had some role in convincing some of you of its truth.

Working in the Basement - and elsewhere

Last Monday (4/30) we got back back from the Catskills and I dug out the turf from a 4'x4' patch in one of the two raised garden beds I built earlier. Then it was back to the salt mines, so to speak.

Tuesday, I dug out the footing for a post that will take much of the load from our mud room, my shop, and the loft running over the western two thirds of the house. This created a small rock pile with which I am still wondering what to do. Wednesday I built the form and then mixed and poured the concrete which comprises the 900 lb footing.

Thursday I figured out a way to cut a true (flat and perpendicular to the axis) end to the section of old telephone pole I will use for the post.

Friday I painted some of the steel, installed a transfer switch for an emergency generator I haven't purchased yet,  and fed some of my blood to the bugs while removing turf from another 4x8 feet of raised garden.

Saturday I wasted the day with Jean ( Mrs. Cherdack) buying porch furniture. I guess we did need some, after all we DO EXPECT SOME COMPANY this summer.

By this time, I faced the fact that I would have to remove part of the wall running across the western quarter of the basement which was falling down and was in the way. This requires placing another post, which means another footing ( ugh, how I hate working with concrete).

Sunday I removed the section of wall, piled the larger stones at the other end of the basement, and dug the hole for the footing.

I then mixed the concrete and poured the 250 lb footing. The footing, visible in the upper photo, is covered with black plastic to keep the water from evaporating as the concrete cures. What surprised me is that I got the anchor bolt exactly where I wanted it located, in the center of the footing. I'll have to wait several days for the concrete to cure before installing the posts. This will be followed by jacking up two sets of floor joists, replacing the central beam under the shop; repairing a few joists; adding 18 joist hangers and adding two rods running north/south under the shop to ties the sills in. After that I'll let the contractor reinforce the foundation walls, install some drainage,  and cover the basement floor with a membrane and gravel. Here's a shot showing the magnitude of the job: the basement is 80 ' by 25'. The basement extends 18 feet beyond the step ladder ( shiny silvery thing) visible in the background.

Oh the joys of owning an old house, but I must admit I wouldn't want a perfect place, and certainly not a new one built as they usually are today.


During this time I have been tightening the two 3/4" diameter rods I installed under the mudroom and, in conjunction with the metal band mentioned in an earlier post, managed to pull the west end of the house together by about 3/8". The rods are probably exerting a couple of thousand pounds of force on beams to accomplish this.

Here is a photo of the infamous metal strap that behaved like an overcooked noodle that is now firmly in place, trying to pull the western sill of the house toward the middle.

Monday I made some minor adjustments to the footings, tried my hand at fertilizing our maple trees ( probably did it all wrong), painted some steel, and went for a 34 mile bike ride amongst the hill towns around us.

On another note, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the invasive plants in the northeast, which tend to form dense growth that eliminates native flora. We have lots of oriental bitterroot climbing all over our smaller trees and wild shrubs. It can shade out and strangle even fairly large trees. I have seem several patches of Japanese knotweed nearby and in the Catskills. This bamboo like plant can reach over ten feet high and spread explosively. It would be a worthwhile thing to volunteer to work with organizations working on removing these pests from our fields and forests; I certainly plan to do this.

Cool End to April

Last week began with more work in the basement but progressed nicely to less toilsome and dangerous activities.

I drove down to New Jersey and met with old friends on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday morning I met with another friend  at our scout camp in Mahwah.

I spent the afternoon at Ridge and it was great to see so many of my students from last year. It's nice to hear about how your lives are going and how well you are facing it's ups and downs. It's also nice to know you remember a teacher from as long ago as spring 2011, even if it's only because you need more rec letters.

After spending some time after school with my colleagues I headed back to North Jersey.

I spent most of Thursday at Columbia where we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Columbia Plasma Physics Laboratory. It was great to see so many of the faculty still vibrant and excited about life and their pursuits. It did remind that I missed a lot by not being involved in the experimental work at the lab, and it was a bit sad to be reminded that our country's pinch penny attitude toward funding fusion research has resulted in pretty slow progress.

I drove back home arriving 1AM Friday morning.  Later that morning I built a form for a concrete pad for a key post in the basement. We then drove to Lenox where we were interviewed to qualify as volunteers at Tanglewood this summer. We will be giving lunch to student musicians a few times ( I will not be the Cherdack who will be doing the cooking), and welcoming people in to the grounds at a few concerts.

From Lenox, we travelled to the Catskills, where we spent the next few days walking and driving around this area whose scenic beauty is very underrated. The Catskills have 35 peaks over 3500 feet high and well over 300,000 acres of forest lands. Here are a few poor photos.