That's Karl With a 'K'

Yesterday morning we drove up to Santa Rita hill, beside the Corozal Hospital to visit the Methodist Eye Clinic, which is open on Tuesday mornings.

The Eye Clinic

We met Doug and Twyla there. Twyla was doing the same thing. Eventually, we all got in to see the technician, who from my perspective, gave a very competent exam. My right eye is really screwed up. I suffer from astigmatism, and have a developing cataract and some other stuff that causes straight lines to look wavy. An interesting thing to go through when you're trying to measure lumber and cut straight lines.

The left eye is apparently A-OK. The technician told me I need to schedule annual exams to keep track of the cataract and the wrinkling. Eventually, I'll need an operation for the cataract. I'm not sure there's anything that can be done for the wrinkling. Getting old is such fun...

While waiting at the clinic, I called Blue PC, a reliable local Internet Cafe and computer repair shop located right next to Central Park. I wanted to get his prognosis for my 2-year old laptop. Well, it looks like the motherboard is toast, so I'll begin shopping for a new laptop. Fortunately, I've already found someone to bring it down for me, so other than the frustration of moving everything (yes, I've actually been doing daily backups!) and installing software, it'll be a short time and I'll be back to normal. For this, I'm using my old, old Toshiba that I converted to Ubuntu Linux as an experiment and as a play toy. It works pretty good. It just doesn't have some of the software I've come to rely on for fotos, etc. But, I must say, since I've been forced to use the Linux machine, it's not half-bad as an OS.

Looks like we stand a chance of getting at least mildly whacked. Karl, a brand new tropical storm, grew up from an undefined group of showers and clouds that had been passing slowly by Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, etc.

Just yesterday morning, it was still looking kind of iffy - whether it was going to do anything or not. Well, POOF!, there it was - a tropical storm.

TS Karl - Courtesy NOAA National Hurricane Center

If it holds to this track, we might just get brushed. Hopefully, it won't go POOF!, it's a hurricane. We'll keep paying attention.

Actually,it was a little past 1:00 PM and we had just gotten to the Purple Toucan for the monthly Friendship Luncheon. I was talking to Charles and he informed me it was now TS Karl. Just before we left home to head there, I had checked its status on the Internet. How fast things change.

Of course, by the time we got back home, the guys working on the bulkhead had heard the news about Karl as well and were busy at work trying to get it ready to pour in the morning (assuming there's no rain at that time).

By way of a recap of the day, here's some shots I took that provide a pretty good recap of the day. The guys put in an almost 12-hour day, trying to get everything ready for this morning - hopefully before the rains from Karl arrive (right now, it's 1:47 AM and the rain has started, so I'm not sure if the pour will take place today or not).

Here's the Forms, Looking Good

This one shows the form laid up outside of the bulkhead itself, so that when poured, it becomes an integrated unit (I hope).

Forming A Nice Rounded Corner

Bracing On Outside of the Forms

This is a nice shot, showing the sticks used to brace the form as it hangs over the edge of the bulkhead.

Laying Rebar

The guys worked hard trying to get this all done for a projected pour for this morning. One of the last steps was placing and tying the rebar.

This Bit's All Ready For the Pour

Working Their Way Into the Corner

Boring Holes to Anchor Rebar

The rebar is all anchored into the fence footing, giving it an additional brace to hopefully keep it from slipping in the future.

Looking Straight Down On Anchored Rebar

This is an odd shot. You're looking straight down the fence to the rebar anchored in the footing - kind of disorienting.

Laying and Tying Rebar

I think it's safe to say that morning walkies is out of the question. By the time 5:45 (our start time) rolls around, the road will be a quagmire. Unless I miss my guess, I think the pour is going to be delayed a day or two as well. Oh, well. At least it's ready for the next step.