Found another one.

Okay. We've had it.
I found another screw up by those jackasses at Blackhawk Construction BMC. Their so called licensed plumber placed the flange for the toilet just under 10" from the wall. There is only one toilet tank of acceptable performance and cost we can find locally that will fit that arrangement. The more common rough in is 12" from the wall.
Imagine if we tiled that wall. Or did a wainscot with chair rail. Then no toilet made would fit.
Just plain idiotic.
I'll list their screw ups some day. There's at least ten majors and maybe a dozen minors.

new car

Who would buy a new car without at least sitting in it?
We needed to improve our gas mph on one vehicle so spent a bout a month shopping. Looking to purchase a Yaris, Fit or Rio5 proved quite difficult as the dealers in the area didn't have them on their lots. One even went so far as to ask for a deposit and he'd order one that would arrive in 4 weeks. We laughed at that. Who would buy a car without ever having seen it in person, let alone sit in it or drive it?
We drove 40 miles to Bloomington/Normal and were able to see (and sit in) all three models - two of them at a single dealer. I don't see how the Peoria dealers are growing their business. Must be plenty of lazy brainless people with too much money in Peoria. As it turns out, none of them passed armpit test.
A potential car for us had some very clear required features. We made it as simple as possible for the half dozen salesmen we worked with. Primary on the list was the arm pit test. Could Diane reach out of the window? This meant either a low door panel or a seat that can adjust in height. That helped in looking at cars. A quick sit would exclude it without further discussion. Many of cars (especially side impact airbag equipped) have tall door panels these days.
Buying the Saturn was a mistake. We got ourselves backwards on the types of vehicles in our driveway - neither of them breaking 20 mph. And despite the salesman's claim, that Saturn was not capable of pulling the camper. It was a lot of dead weight.
The Explorer we bought a couple years ago we got lucky - bought it quickly after it was driven on the lot. Priced too low really. Had three offers to buy from us at a couple hundred over what we paid, knowing they could still make a profit after a little body work. It's the right car for us tho - kid hauler, dog hauler, adventure support, 4 wheel snow monster, ...
This time, patience won the day. If it didn't match all of the criteria (price, mph, armpit, AT, etc.) then we walked away. No settling. Nearly four weeks later we found another underpriced car. And it fit all the measures and then some. We jumped 50% in mph. And with gas over $4/gal today, that feels smart.

The Field

The don't make buildings like this any more. It's a shame.


I'm not even a student of architecture yet The Field Museum of Natural History building itself held my interest as much as what it contains.

What inspired us to go was some friends from New England were vacationing in the upper Midwest, so we rendezvoused there. The museum also had an exhibit on mythic creatures we've been wanting to see.
It's another silly example of something close we don't take advantage of.