Ass State: Whupped

Just wrapped up a very long week in Fort Myers for work. Do you remember the worst attic ever (described in previous posts)? The one I that made me say: when somebody as short as me can no longer sit up to work in the attic, it is TOO DAMN SHORT. At least until we start hiring building science midgets to do these jobs.

Well, that's where I was all of this week.

First, I got to see a brush fire that closed down I-75 right by the airport:


It was actually a bit surreal--you could see the huge plume of smoke from miles away. Closer up, you could see flames licking out from the treeline, and the news helicopters pacing the length of the fire... it felt like a scene out of Apocalypse Now: "What the hell do you know about surfing? You're from goddamned New Jersey. Major, I want that tree line burnt off!" (Hi R.! I'm guessing you find this comparison annoying...)

Anyway, back to the attic. Like I said, I can't even sit upright at the peak. And this time, we had to wrestle a 140-pound HVAC unit up through the hatch (involved three guys, skidding it up an extension ladder, and a safety line made from nylon strapping), and then maneuver it into position and hang it from the rafters, all while while lying on our sides. It involved 2x4s, levers, and some risk to body parts.


Is it just me, or does this attic make my ass look fat?

This shot demonstrates one of the big problems--it wasn't a problem to get to a given point in the attic, but it was often hard to reach the thing you're working on, and/or see it. Especially if you're using an arm to support your body weight while leaning down.

I'd like to call the next photo "building proctology."



We really didn’t get to see much of the town or local character. For one, we were working our typical 12-hour field days, sitting down to dinner at 8 or 9 at night. On the one night we left at a reasonable hour, I looked up a promising restaurant in a New York Times travel article. I made reservations, and we drove into town... only to find a parking lot next to a funeral home. Important travel advisory: make sure restaurant hasn't moved two towns away, even though their phone number is the same. Bummer.

Anyway, we got our job done, it looks like we're collecting good data and have space conditioning control. We rewarded ourselves on Friday with a 4:30 AM wakeup, to catch sunrise from the airplane.


Yeah. Time for a weekend.