This is What I Get For Tempting Fate…

Greetings!
Nope. No long poast.
Seems I counted mah chikinz before the whole storm thang was over. Not that this’s really storm damage per se.

Nope.
This gets defined as ‘universal karma-payback’

Made us all a really awesome dinner tonight. Pan seared scallops in butter, with fresh squeezed lemon juice, with a titch of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, with a final dash of Aleppo Pepper to finish.

Add on a pound of shrimp stir fried bare in half a stick of butter?
With ‘taters au gratin?

Love my cooking…
So does Sapper and Gretchen.
This was Herness’s request. I made the mistake of asking what she wanted for dinner as opposed to my usual “This’s what we’re having!” like it was back in Momma Sarge’s Kitchen at the DFAC back in the day.

“I want scallops and shrimp!”

<Le Grumble>

I know a shit test when I see one, so I called the bluff.

Which in my hubris (having just got paid) I shelled out the $20 for a pound of the scallops. The shrimp are always on hand here at the house though, as Publix has them peeled, deveined, and shelled on sale BOGO on the regular, and it’s a crowd favorite, so there’s always a couple of pounds of frozen sea-crickets in the deep freeze.

BUT

After we ate, I went to clean up the dishes…

And I -think- because of my Hubris in actually getting an expense by my standard dinner, as well as my casual blow of of the Nothingburger Hurricane, as it’s been called locally “Half-Assed Helene”, that bitch Nemesis showed up in the form of my 20 year old In-Sink-Erator shitting the bed.

Like completely.

Which, considering a full load of ‘was supposed to be washed dishes’ in the dishwasher, and all of this evenings cleanup to do?

<Le Sigh>

It was off to Home Depot to get that almost over sale price on a replacement:

No idea why it’s still on a “Labor Day Sale” but add on the what is it? 10%? 15% “Thank Me For My Service” discount? Yep. Carried my happy ass right over and picked on up.

Of course so much for ‘discretionary cash’ until next pay period.

Again, with feeling: <Le Sigh>

Hence tempting The Fates, The Gods, Jehovah, Allah (PBUH), Teh Flying Spaghetti Monster and/or Zenu if you so choose…

Best not fuck around like I did the other night, lest you find yourself in my shoes. I got it installed and tested (as in ran the motor, so that’s a ‘go’) BUT The piping is a wee bit too short, so I have to wait for the Zon to deliver a flex-pipe at 7am to finish the job.

My back is sore AF, and my shoulders are screaming at me… granted, the damned thing only weighs like 5, maybe 6 pounds, but… laying on your back, half-on/half-off the fucking kitchen cabinetry, while holding the fucking ‘thing’ in one hand, over your squash, while you try to use the other to get the locking ring in place?

Yeah…

Under normal circumstances, I’d say ‘hard pass’

BUT
Ya gotta do, what ya gotta do.
All I can say is thank GOD for all the experiences I had Obamarigging shit and doing HVAC/Plumbing/Building Repair/Generator Servicing and a whole other plethora of useful shit in Iraq and Affy that has saved me a HUUUUUGE amount of money over the years…

So, at least I got that going for me.
So More Later
Big Country

32 thoughts on “This is What I Get For Tempting Fate…”

  1. In variably something breaks a home the night before i leave for the 21 day shift. Then i’m scrambling to fix it before i leave.

  2. The drop from cabinet to floor is not nice. I spotted a couch,next to the road, cushions here and there.. Grabbed a cushion and stuck it in the shop. It really helps.

    1. Same concept can be done sleeping bag, blankets, etc. No ledge, no problem.
      I would NEVER spend $$ on a piece of shit InSinkerator. Moen or Waste King are built so much better.
      You could have spent the same or less and not have to worry about it shittin the bed. My 1/2 HP Moen could probably eat a continuously fed broom stick and not slow down or clog.

  3. Consider the price of a plumber supplying and installing a replacement dead bits disposal device. Or, just think of a number, double it, and add two zeros.

  4. Your training/experience serves you well even after service.
    Pappy learned all of his civilian work skills from Big Green.
    The plumber replaced ours in small kitchen with plenty of cussing and smoke breaks.
    He was recommended by sibling so it wasn’t too bad on cost.
    This time we didn’t get white box junker from Big Box Mart.
    Scuttlebutt online about the Shrubya Bush hurricane driving machine back in action and it reached up here at dinner time with some close calls as a tree branch fell within a few feet of powerline and signs blown over.
    Epictetus would fear no glowie penis puffer.

  5. Been there, done that years ago. At my age and back issues, don’t think I could do it now. Anyway, the local water/wastewater management (the borough) sent letters a while back advising us that due to food waste and other items causing headaches at the treatment facility, to please refrain from using the in sinkerator for its intended purpose. In other words, stop grinding up leftovers down the pipes, no spoiled milk et cetera.

  6. Last time I replaced mine, i used a bottle jack to hold it in place so I didn’t have to do the lying down with the cabinet edge in the middle of my back thing.
    Tools are your friend

  7. Use one of those car jacks that smaller cars come with. It will hold the disposal up and roughly in place while you make the connection. I did it for my in laws last year, after seeing the idea on YouTube. Helped out a lot.

  8. Ugh. Literally gotta do the same job later today with a side of replacing the spray hose/nozzle.

    Same complaints as you too, job is simple but “53 year old big dude in weird contortionist position = ouch”.

    Im going to try and use the bottle jack from my truck to prop the damn thing up while I get that ring locked.

  9. We found you don’t really need one. If it fits through the sink strainer it’s good to go. Bigger goes in the trash can.

  10. The inside valleys in that flex pipe may come back and bite you in the ass later. They tend to collect “stuff”.

    1. Yeah, if you start smelling sewage in the kitchen sink, that’s probably where the odor is coming from.

      Took me a few years to nail that one down, after pulling the pea trap several times because I was convinced it was plugged or something wasn’t working right. Ran limes through the garbage disposal, baking soda, commercial sink deodorizers, and nothing worked until I got rid of that dang crossover pipe that was lined with a stinky layer of greasy sludge.

  11. Ask any plumber , they will tell you to take the garbage disposal out and put a screen over the drain. Dont put food down the drain. When I moved to my present home , first thing I did was to take the disposal out.

      1. 1) Safety hazard. Any work done on appliance should be locked out. Grown ups with proper paranoia will still use cut down broom handles to clear and spin the blades clear. But will kids/teenagers/etc.? Fingers don’t regrow.
        2)Bacterial hazard. Rotting vegetation is best NOT caught in a trap.
        3)Ground garbage can and will build up in the lines. Especially such trash as is lipid-based, i.e. fats. Snaking lines and/or replacing plumbing parts is much more expensive than throwing the crap in the trash where it is disposed of outside of expensive and mission-threatening plumbing. Clogging lines is a real issue in older systems, as well as shipboard, and is best to avoid bad habits. Easiest way to get kicked out of base housing is to clog pipes, wondering how that latest SSN will do when a used rag is flushed while underway. That was a bone of contention I heard from the submariners when Big Blue was considering adding split tail ossiferettes. Will smell like undersea meat markets for sure.

        Moral of story is that we grew up with garbage disposals but never had them in base housing. Most assuredly don’t miss them. Especially when they start to get sticky and worn out. Praise be to Uncle Sam for showing the Way.

  12. Yes, when you get older, you pay.
    I dont like it either.

    By the way: What is your opinion about the US Navy oiler BIG HORN that ran aground?
    Now an entire Carrier Battle Group has no replenishment capabilities.

    Is it DEI or what?

    1. Besides the DEI and incompetence, the other BIGGER issue is the lack of logistical support in the Navy.
      They are saying this is the ONLY Fleet tanker for the whole Atlantic fleet ?
      Holy shit, that’s crazy BUT they would rather build shiny new aircraft carriers and destroyers rather than the unsung but vitally necessary logistic ships.

  13. Sheesh! I feel your pain (literally), did our in-sink-erator about 8 months ago, it totally crapped and all the seals went south after “only” 15 years of use. Flooded the pans I had luckily placed under the sink for just this reason but all cardboard items down there were paste. Fortune smiled on us, we found the EXACT same model unit on sale a 20 minute drive away. That alone made it worth the trip, no f*ucking with pipes or drains. Of course the manufacturer did change the electrical wiring points, so I had to re-route some cables.

    As to the cabinet, I drag my wife’s favorite couch cushion over to the sink and rest it over the cabinet base, mitigates the pain in the back quite a bit. Best to do that when she is not around 😉

    Lastly, if you can avoid the bloody flex hose for fixed pipe, recommend you do that. The flex stuff tends to clog easier and not last as long. Found that out with my son’s dishwasher when it crapped about 3 months back, another fun (not) job. Carry on.

  14. Hence, why I had my nice plumber remove the food grinder and be done with it. They are nothing but money hogs and a plague brought to us by “modern” society. I put ALL the food wastes in the garbage, have a sieve cover for both sinks, and live happily ever after. Grandpa was on to something when he DIDN’T install one in his old fashioned kitchen. My sinks are both clean, I change my plastic garbage sacks daily, and it is easy.

  15. Not to be ‘That Guy’, but…. Food scraps/waste belongs in the compost, not down the sink!

    Gardening can help allay the food bill and might keep ‘ya from starving to death some day. Plus you know where it came from and how it was grown/fertilized. Especially if done with you own compost. 😉

    I’d rather be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.

  16. i’ve done a few of those 2 decades back when i worked for a living i feel your pain.. in the boonies nobody has those things, septic tanks and all.. when are you going to work the va and get your 100% uncle $chlomo expre$$ my brother?

    and you all better get cracking on the nano antidote frens…….

    “To understand the technology of mesogens and their multiple smart functional uses for sensing, payload delivery systems, and other related aspects of their design, one must always remember that the mesogen is the tool or device – like the wheel on a car for the nano machine. The nano machine can be designed to become the robot, surgical scalpel, camera…

    https://anamihalceamdphd.substack.com/p/global-brain-chip-and-mesogens-nano

  17. Can confirm, the jack was a lifesaver.

    Took me hours to get the original installed, maybe 35 minutes to replace and a bit of that was cleaning out the trap and running a snake down the pipe a ways since I had everything apart anyway.

  18. Somehow, when you manage to scrape up a little spare cash, something always breaks necessitating you spend that cash to fix it. Every time.

  19. What is worse, if you replace a 20 year old disposal with a brand new one, the new one likely will last fewer than half as many years. New crap is so poorly made, generally speaking, that I am loathe to replace anything.

  20. Next time look up TITAN brand. This things are monsters. I swear they could grind up 2 to 3 inch tree limbs no problem. Wife dearly misses hers as we got an inSinkErator after the kitchen had to be redone after water damage. Big mistake

  21. While you were under the sink, I was installing a trailer wiring harness in my SUV. Remove the left tail light and half of the interior panels, find and disconnect three different types of connectors, route new wiring harness and connect 7 plugs. Took 2.5 hours and lost my little flashlight into the fender. Pain in the ass, but cheaper than the $400 I was quoted at a shop.

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