Alexa
My Blog writing has suffered lately and I apologize to any of my lurkers that have checked in on me and have been disappointed. I blame it at least partially of how fast the grass is growing. The only good thing about all the mowing I’ve been doing is that I have actually lost a few pounds!
I purchased an Amazon Echo (Alexa) for my wife for her Birthday last year. Becky has a iPhone and constantly laments about how poorly Siri performs in comparison to Google on my Droid. While the voice activation isn’t perfect on the phone, it’s pretty good. The Amazon Echo takes this to the next step and relies on voice activation completely. Overall, we’ve been pleased with the ease in set up, its ability to search from verbal commands and its ability to provide verbal responses. Probably most of all we’ve been impressed with its ability to pick out our voices from amongst background noise as well as the quality of the sound it achieves from the single point speaker system.
Murphy Certificate
It was very fitting that I received this certificate recognizing my Grandfather’s Military Service over Memorial Day Weekend. He served in the Navy in World War II. The military funeral service for him last year was very moving.
Thank you Grandpa and all of the other veterans, past and present, that have served our country.
Charley Creek Inn Progress
We haven’t reported on progress at Charley Creek Inn recently. Things are moving along. Plumbing rough-in is complete. Strescore decking has been installed over the existing basement. And as can be seen in the picture to the right, the structural steel skeleton is nearly complete. Installation of the roof will begin this week followed by the installation of the second floor joist and deck. It is at this point that the building begins to take shape, though it won’t be until the masonry starts that the final “look” becomes apparent.
Circle of Peace
We were fortunate enough to be allowed to help install a “Circle of Peace” sculpture by Gary Lee Price last week. That’s one of the things that keeps our job interesting… We never know what we’ll be asked to do! Similar to installing “The Lorax“, our relocation of the Veteran’s Memorial Monument at Fletcher Cemetery and various installations for the Charley Creek Foundation, we’ve been called on to do these things because our clients recognize that we will treat these pieces with the respect and care they deserve.
The sculpture weighs approximately 750 lb and came in two pieces. It traveled from the foundry in Utah in the back of a pick up truck. At the wheel was Isaiah Price, the sculpturer’s son. He said the looks and reactions you get from fellow drivers can be quite amusing at times. Fortunately we were able to use a forklift to get the two pieces off of the truck, but from there it was an Egyptian Style move (Strong Backs, Weak Minds), up a set of stairs and about the length of a bowling alley across the lawn to their new home.
Because this was a landscape setting on a green roof location, the sculpture was set in concrete pavers to spread the weight. A template was sent to us ahead of time so we could place and leveled on the concrete pavers. The sculpture was dry set on the pavers to make sure of the location, then the bases were marked and drilled so that they could be anchored in place. (Dowel pins were screwed into the feet – see right) All in all the sculpture had to be set, removed and reset three times before all was said and done. The whole process took about an hour. Thanks to Scott Bennett and Abree Gonce for staying overtime to accomplish this as the delivery didn’t arrive until about 5:20 in the evening.
We had discussed several locations with the client and ended up with a location in a planting bed where the sculpture will be somewhat hidden from one direction and “revealed” as guests proceed down the walking path or look out across the walk from the home. This often creates a more dramatic vision or as I was taught in school, the difference between a Vista and a View… In any case, once the landscaping is realigned around the piece, it will look like it has always been there. Very cool!
