Software upgrade:
More useful information next week,
Andrew
We’ve been wanting a new shed in the backyard for a while. The current one is a 25-year-old metal shed that is starting to rust badly. At first I thought I’d build a new one, but I just don’t have the time this year to do that, so we ordered one of them fancy Tuff Sheds.
Here’s what it’s replacing:
Has served us well, but is at its end of life.
This is the junk valuable treasures it held:
The storage pile.
And here is the new shed:
Yup, not there.
Sadly the company let us down Monday. They showed up over an hour late, took out the old shed, then informed us that there wasn’t enough daylight left to complete the job and they left without installing the new shed.
I won’t describe the amount of grief I gave the Tuff Shed people over that, but I fully informed them of my displeasure with their service.
The good news is that a crew arrived first thing this morning and as I write, I can hear them working. Sadly, the installation didn’t complete in time to make the deadline for today’s blog post. Next I should have pictures of the new shed and maybe a few pictures of the bathroom remodel.
If you need me – I’ll be out back putting stuff into the shed,
Andrew
Today I present one of my father’s theological teaching stories:
There was a man who lived near a river. He was a very pious man and believed deeply in God. One day the rains came and river started to rise threatening a flood.
The local authorities issued evacuation warnings. The man did nothing saying, “God will save me,” and he started to pray.
Soon the flood waters were approaching and a National Guard truck drove to the man’s house. The driver yelled, “Jump in, we’ll get you out of here.”
The man said, “No! God will save me.”
Then the flood waters started to flood the first floor of the man’s house, and a small rescue boat pulled up to the front porch and the crew called, “Jump in, we’ll get you out of here!”
The man said, “No! God will save me.”
Then the flood waters rose and soon only the roof was dry. The man held on to the chimney as a helicopter flew over and lowered a basket. Through the loud-speaker the crew said, “Jump in, we’ll get you out of here!”
The man said, “No! God will save me.”
A short time late a wave overcame the man and he drowned.
Standing a the Pearly Gate the man said to St. Peter, “All my life I have trusted in God and thought he would save me. Then in my greatest need, he abandoned me. What have I done wrong?”
St. Peter said, “That doesn’t sound right, let me check the record.”
and St. Peter looked through the great book and said to the man, “I don’t understand the problem. It says here that we sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter …”
Mini sermon: God rarely appears in the way we expect.
Peace,
Andrew
Here’s a California fire update: 41 people have died, a hundred or so are still missing, 5,700 structures destroyed, and over 245,000 acres burned. Most fires are nearing containment. The best summary I’ve found comes from Cal Fire’s website here: calfire.ca.gov
Then just when we thought we were getting near the end of this, a new fire started up in the hills near our home. The Bear fire started Monday night in an area off Bear Creek Road. The fire’s about ten miles away from home. It’s burned about 275 acres as of last report and while it’s officially 5% contained it looks like they’ve managed to keep it from getting out of hand. There some 600 fire fighters, with a hundred or so engines, tankers, bulldozers, and 9 helicopters working the fire. A 150 homes have been evacuated and four have been destroyed.
The only bad effect for us here in the city has been the smoke which is blowing in.
The cause of the northern fires hasn’t been officially determined, but early speculation has our power company, PG&E, in its sights. The night the fires started there were winds of up to 45 miles per hour and many reports of downed power lines. Sparks from these events are likely to have been the spark. PG&E has a history of neglecting needed maintenance and cutting its tree trimming budget. The company’s stock is dropping like a rock as it facing a possible liability of up to 12 billion dollars. Lawyers on both sides are already at work preparing their cases.
This event will soon drop out of the spot light and the survivors will be left to clean up and try to rebuild their lives. The healing and rebuilding process will take years, possibly decades. Sadly, some will never recover and funerals will mark the end for many.
Stay safe everyone,
Andrew
Andrew's View of the Week 