James Sweats

James and some of the other Middle Schoolers went to Rockford, Illinois, on a mission trip to paint and clean houses. They worked really hard, drank lots of energy drinks, ate lots of donuts, chips and candy, and did an incredible job. Getting his T-shirt painted. With hand-prints.
Of course, it wasn't just the shirt that got painted; he did the pants, too.And his shoes were pretty spotty, too.

We missed him while he was gone, but not nearly as much as his kitty, Alfred, who whined and fussed and meowed at James's bedroom door every night, wondering where The Guy Who Pets Me had gone to. Mom and Dad were poor substitutes, apparently. Here you see Alfred's joy and excitement at seeing his comrade returned, safe and sound. And ready to pet.

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Sump Pump CSI

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Finally figured out what was wrong with the silly sump pump. Turns out capacitors don't like soaking in water and then drying out and then soaking in water again, over and over through the course of five years; the plastic dries out and cracks and then the electrolytic leaks out and the metallic substance - whatever it is - pokes its little head out of the case like a little atomic blast. It is just totally weird.

Now I have to go on-line and find a replacement start cap. Or run cap. I'm not sure which one it is.

The other weird thing is that neither the plastic case nor the metal shroud around the motor are marked by the manufacturer. I have no idea who made this thing. So I can't just go to their website and find the replacement. It's gonna be one of those "make it up as you go" things.