Water Problems - Broken Pipe

About two months ago, I entered the house and heard some water running. I want back to the bathroom to find a hole in the pipe to the faucet. I shut the water off and accessed the damage. Most of the water ran down the pipe into the basement, where there was a floor drain so the clean up was pretty easy.

I went back upstairs and removed the fixture. I noticed some greenish blue tarnish on the copper plumbing, but didn't see how a hole could get punched into the copper line.

The faucet is a MOEN so I called the company and they sent me a replacement within a few days. I also asked them to send me 4 new drain stoppers since all of the other ones in the house were broke.

The installation of the new faucet was pretty easy and only took about 15 minutes. Project done, but I was still wondering how this happened. I did some research and it looks like acidic water can eat through copper plumbing.

I knew we had acidic water, but didn't realize how bad it really was. The next day, I purchased an aquarium pH tester from Wal*Mart. Sure enough, our water was acidic, about a 5 on the scale, 7 is neutral.

Now the question is, what to do?

Option #1 - replace all of the copper plumbing pipe in the house.
Option #2 - install a water Neutralizing system.
Option #3 - have someone else install a water Neutralizing system.

I decided to start with getting quotes for Option #3. Check back tomorrow to continue the adventure.

Book Review

The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee

The purpose of this book is to build upon and explain each chapter in "The Story." I did not enjoy "The Story" nor do I recommend it (you can read my review here).

Therefore, I didn't think I would enjoy this book either, however, I was wrong. At least partially. The book seems to have developed from sermons the author preached at his church. The author does an okay job at describing the heart of Old Testament. In my opinion, however, he fails with the New Testament. There were a few factual errors in the text as well, for example, regarding our solar system.

There were even a few things that he seems dogmatic about that I question. For example, on page 203, the author states, "It became clear early in his ministry that, even though he was the only child of a humble carpenter from Nazareth, he was special." Only child? Really? I wonder how the author explains the many references to Jesus' brothers then? Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 are pretty clear. As is Mark 3:31 and John 2:12. There are many other Scriptures to review in this as well (John 7:3-4, Luke 8:19-21, Acts 1:13-14).

Overall, this was an okay read. It is a short, fast read as well. If you choose to read this book, you can probably stop at the end of the Old Testament section. You will be disappointed with the minimal coverage of the New Testament material.

Book Review

The Story: The Bible as one continuing story of God and His people.

The concept of this book is to tell the major parts of the story of God in chronological order. The text is the New International Version. There are 31 chapters in the book, starting with creating and ending with the end of times. The other 29 chapters fir in the "big stuff" the authors thought the reader should know about God.

I have seen this book advertised for some time and was very excited to finally get a copy to read for myself. After reading it, I was very disappointed with this "bible." I have read many different versions and translations and I found The Story as one of the worse. So many details and events were skipped that I got lost a few times and had to refer to a real bible to refresh my memory about the situation.

I really have nothing good to write about The Story. There are better chronological bibles. There are better beginner/introductory bibles. There are better witnessing bibles. There are certainly much better study bibles. There are easier to read bibles. The only reason I can determine why this "bible" was compiled is to generate revenue.

The Story is being pushed by Zondervan, Christian Book Discounters, and others as an entire curriculum. Max Lucado and Randy Frazee wrote the forward which is less than one page and 200 words that really don't tell you much.

Overall, I do not recommend The Story to anyone for any reason.

Book Review

Grace for Today: Daily Readings from the Life of Christ - Volume 3 by John MacArthur

This is an excellent daily devotional reading from John MacArthur. This is volume 3 of 3. This volume focuses on the end of Christ's ministry and His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. 

MacArthur may spend several days on a particular passage of scripture. Each devotion ends with some thought provoking questions.

I highly recommend this series of daily devotionals to anyone looking to get a deeper look at the life of Christ.

Book Review

One Perfect Life by John MacArthur

This book is an interesting compilation of the life of Christ. MacArthur has a unique way of harmonizing the life of Christ as recorded in the Gospels with relevant Old Testament and New Testament Scripture.

While the book is large, over 500 pages, it is separated in such a way to make a nice easy read. The book is divided into 11 major parts of Christ's life. Within each part are sections dealing with a topic or event related to the main part. In traditional MacArthur style, each portion of Scripture has relevant notes to explain the passage as needed.

While not my most favorite life of Christ book, I recommend this to anyone interested in the harmonization of the Gospels and the life of Christ.

The Interpreter Magazine Question

The Interpreter Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine from the United Methodist Communication Office of Public Information. They are adding a new feature starting in January 2014 where they ask readers a question and print some of the responses. Below is the question for January and my response is listed below that.

With what kinds of personal issues are United Methodists dealing that might benefit from spiritual support?

United Methodists struggle with the same personal issues as any other Christian. Living in a fallen world has been a challenge and will be a challenge until Christ returns for His children. The unique struggles that United Methodists would be dealing with are those that originate from the United Methodist Conference. How does a Christian following the teachings of a church when the church no longer stays true to the Word of God? No doubt, at the next General Conference there will be a battle over issues that are clearly addressed in Scripture.

Guns & Ammo Question

Here is a letter I sent to the editor of Guns & Ammo regarding an article about caliber calculations. The author's calculations for 9mm and below are more than what I was calculating manually. We'll see what the response is.

Mauser’s Metrics?

I was not able to duplicate the Mauser’s Metrics  calculations of Craig Boddington in the January issue of Guns & Ammo.

Based on my calculations, I get the following:

6.5mm = 0.256
7mm = 0.276
8mm = 0.315
9mm = 0.354
9.3mm = 0.366
9.5mm = 0.374
10.75mm = 0.423

Am I missing something?

Shadow Adventures: Last ride of the season?

I haven't had many adventures recently for a various number of reasons.

Yesterday, however, was an excellent riding day. I decided to take advantage of the situation and go for at least one more ride this season.

I have been wanting to stop by the Staple Bend Tunnel at Mineral Point for some time now, so I decided to take a ride and check it out. The ride was pretty uneventful and most were rural roads with very little traffic, so the ride was enjoyable. The weather was sunny and about 65 degrees.

I wasn't really sure what to expect to see, but when I got to what I thought was a tunnel was just a small overpass. Here is a picture of what I thought I drove 24 miles to see.

There isn't really anything spectacular about it, except for the fact that once you drive through the "tunnel" there is a 90 degree turn on the other side. Hence the stop light directing traffic one way at a time through the tunnel.

After driving through the "tunnel," I decided to continue on down the road a little ways before I turn around. It's a good thing I did, because the "tunnel" was not really the tunnel! I came across a nice parking lot with a trail to access the real tunnel!

This will have to be another adventure to hike the two mile trail to see the tunnel.

The return trip home was a nice ride, I decided to take a different route home. It total it was a 47 mile trip and a great afternoon!

Until the next ride.....

Shadow Adventures: Commuting

I haven't really gone for many joy rides on the bike recently.
I spent some time working on my saddle bag brackets and finally got them installed.

They didn't turn out too bad. Some schedule 40 PVC pipe and mending braces is all it took. They may not look pretty, but they work just fine.

Since the bracket install, I have been taking the bike to work on sunny days. It is a great way to start and end the work day for sure. Plus, I get the added bonus of around 60 miles per gallon. The coldest morning temperature has been 41.9 degrees. I was comfortable, but the ride home was rather warm wearing all of the cold weather gear! I am hoping to continue riding as long into fall as possible.

Book Review

At The Throne of Grace: A book of Prayers by John MacArthur

Inside the book jacket summarizes this book perfectly. "At the Throne of Grace is your invitation to more intimate, more worshipful prayer." There is no better summary description.

The book is divided into 6 sections.
Prayers on Worship and the Attributes of God
Prayers on Joy and Longing
Prayers on the Cross and the Gospel
Prayers on Personal Holiness
Prayers on Useful Service
Prayers on Holy Seasons

Before each prayer there is a passage of Scripture. MacArthur then prays through that Scripture and includes other portions of Scripture as well.

This is a powerful and deep practice of praying. It isn't just shallow prayers about asking God for "stuff", it is praising God and worshiping Him during prayer time.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in deepening their prayer life.