THE REATTA LOUNGE

[Ronnie]

Got something you would like to talk about not related the world of Reattas? This is the place.

 

Tell us about what you are doing in your life, trips or tours you have taken, ask for help with repairing your lawn mower,  etc...  Anything you think would be of interest to forum members.

 

I  thought we would give this a try and see how it goes. If there is no interest I will delete it.
No politics, religion, Covid vaccine or other controversial discussions allowed.

 

 

[Ronnie]

A record amount of rain fell, 15-17 inches, in Humphreys County, TN that caused flash flooding. You probably saw it in the news. When you see this kind of damage in TN you think tornado, not flood. It happened so fast people didn't even have time to get out of the water's path. Homes were destroyed and some people were swept away with the water.  I know people who lived in Waverly, TN but luckily they had moved away a couple of months ago. I talked to them on the phone tonight. They knew 2 of the people who died in the flood. Sad...

 

 

 

[DAVES89]

I looked up the distance between where the flood was and where you live Ronnie and I was glad you were so far away. We have gotten 6-8 inches of rain and 14" or more of snow but never taht kind of rain. We also live in a higher elevation in our town so we don't worry much about flooding. We are fortunate.

[Ronnie]

We've been lucky that we only got a steady rain on and off for a few days. Nothing out of the ordinary locally. As you know I live across the street from Watts Bar Lake and my house sits only 16 feet above flood stage. That means if the water level gets above flood stage it's going over the top of Watts Bar Dam. Before it gets to flood stage TVA opens the flood gates at the dam and starts dumping water out of the lake to prevent it from getting any higher. I don't worry too much about flooding but you can never predict what mother nature is going to do as the people in Waverly found out that hard way.

[2seater]

Related to the above, but only an annoyance, not the above tragedy. My cottage is on a small river with a dam located a couple miles downstream. The landowners along the river have complained about the lack of control of the water level which was done manually with removable 2x6's colorfully called needle valves. This year the dam was to be upgraded with actual gates at the same time as much needed maintenance. This required the river to be lowered several feet for the repairs and modifications to be done. Apparently Covid disrupted the delivery of the new gates, so the dam has been wide open for the recent period. Two weeks ago, we received 4.5" of rain over two days, an unusual amount for August, but over the course of the following couple of days, the river filled right back up to normal level, despite the am being wide open. What took several weeks to accomplish by opening the manmade dam was reversed in just a short time by mother nature. Not the scale of what occurred above, but an eye opener nonetheless on how little control we really have as well as the power of a simple thing like water.

[Ronnie]

Unfortunately the small river that caused all the damage in Waverly wasn't part of the TVA system. As far as I know it has no dams to regulate the flow.

 

TVA does a great job of regulating the water levels. They have a flood prediction center that monitors the weather constantly and when they think a flood is inevitable they will lower the water level in advance by running the generators in the dam wide open to try to offset the effects of a lot of rain. When that isn't enough they will open the spill (flood) gates in stages and start letting water out. When they have all the spill gates open it is an awesome sight to see and hear. You just have to be there to appreciate the amount of water coming out of the dam and the power it has. It is so loud you can hardly talk to anyone if you are near it. The concrete building you see on the right is the powerhouse where the turbines and generators are that generate electricity. At the bottom of that building is where water would come out during normal operation of the dam.

 

[ship]

Middle Massachusetts had three EF-0 tornadoes Monday 8/23/21.  North shore of MA at the coast there were three earthquakes last week but very small.  Rainfall this summer in MA has hit 3rd highest ever since recording started way back when.  Tropical storm Henri dumped serious rain just west of me on Sunday 8/22/21 (I live about 10 miles south of Boston right at the coast).  Very weird summer here in MA.

[Ronnie]

Ship, I hope you didn't have any damage. This has been a strange year for weather for in TN to. Areas to the East and West of us have seen tornadoes and flooding but so far nothing but rain for us.

[Ronnie]

My best friend is hospitalized with Covid.

 

In my first post in this topic I said Covid was off limits for discussion but I have changed it to say "Covid vaccine". The reason I changed that is because I got a call last night from the daughter of my best friend telling me Gary and his wife have Covid. I realize most of you won't care about this story. Feel free to stop reading here if you like. I'm writing this in hopes it might keep someone else from finding themselves in the same situation.

 

Gary was taken to a large hospital in Knoxville yesterday, bypassing the local hospital, so he must be in pretty bad shape. Gary and his wife both went to the doctor at the same time but they waited about a week before they went. The doctor said that was a big mistake. His wife, who I understand caught it a little later from Gary, was able to take the monoclonal antibodies treatment and return home if she agreed to stay in bed and rest. Her daughter is a nurse and is taking care of her. The doctors said it was too late for that treatment to help Gary.

 

The last time I talked to Gary at the drag strip we were sitting in the back of his enclosed trailer and the subject of Covid came up. He told me he hadn't had the shot because he didn't think he needed it. He said he had never had a flu shot and had never had the flu. He said he thought he was strong enough to fight Covid off if he got it. He said he thought the news had blown this Covid thing all out of proportion.

 

Gary told his daughter to call me and let me know he was in the hospital with Covid and tell me "if he had known it was going to be this rough he would have taken the shot." His daughter said the worst thing about this situation, besides the fear of losing her Dad, is that fact that no one can go in to see him. All the family can do is talk to his ICU nurse on the phone a few times a day.  This is a very sad situation that could have been avoided. I'm afraid of losing my best friend. I hope it turns out good for him.

 

[Ron Walker]

"His daughter said the worst thing about this situation, besides the fear of losing her Dad, is that fact that no one can go in to see him. All the family can do is talk to his ICU nurse on the phone a few times a day.  This is a very sad situation....."

 

I can relate. My sister-in-law passed last November. For about 6 months prior, she had been in and out of several hospitals and rehab centers - went from one to another and never made it home. It all started with surgery for a hiatal hernia, then infections, etc. Each time she was transferred, she was subjected to 2 weeks quarantine. My brother and their kids were unable to see her in person due to Covid and quarantines during much of her treatment and eventual demise - a horrible way to reach end-of-life. To add to the insult, my brother's insurance company rec'd billings over $11M (yes, eleven million) for her treatment. 

[ship]

I am a wicked advacate for folks getting the covid shots and wearing a mask indoors of any public building (even when it became not mandatory).  I even get a yearly flu shot.  Fortunately, I have not had any relative or friend come down with the covid virus.  Socially, friends and I try very hard to maintain the recommended protocalls at our local cruise ins.  Most of the cruise in attendance has seen a dramatic reduction, and most car shows have been canceled for this year.

 

PS: Ronnie, I've had no property damage throughout our storms, but my sump pump has been working overtime (have a backup just in case of burn out).  

[Ronnie]

I talked to Gary's wife last night. She sounded awful. She said she was the sickest she had ever been in her life. Pounding headaches and constant nausea without being able to throw up and muscle aches that made here feel like she had been beat up.  She said Gary has pneumonia. The ICU nurse allowed her to talk to him just for a few minutes since he might have to go on a ventilator if he doesn't improve. The nurse told Debbie she should be prepared for Gary to be in the hospital for an extended period of time.

 

 

 

[DAVES89]

Hey Ship, I have turned myself into pretty much a guru when it comes to sump pumps. Most people don't have them set right [too low].

 If you have an upright, lift the ball and rod and see how how the water fills in your sump. I am willing to bet you are right now set too close to what the water table height is in your neighborhood. I have mine set so that the water in the sump is within 3" of draining onto the floor. That is where yours should be set so it hardly runs. Then I wrap a piece of tape on the rod above the switch so that when the pump does run it only runs for a little bit and then shuts off. No sense in letting it run all the way to the bottom of the pump.

The submersible is even easier but you will have to cut your drain pipe. Put a construction brick under the submersible to raise the pump up and then reconnect the pipe.

 I "test" my upright pump every spring to make sure it runs, otherwise I forget about it all year. Another advantage of setting the pump so high is that radon gas is less likely to come in.

Let your neighbors beat up their pumps pumping water...

[Ronnie]

I've never owned a sump pump. Where does the water go when you pump it out? Is it piped out to the street or somewhere? Seems like if the water is just dumped out on the ground near the house it would filter back down to the sump and you would be pumping it out again.

[Ronnie]

Does anyone know about the Corvair name being considered for the first model of Corvette? @Barney Eaton

 

Saw this prototype on facebook. Never heard about this before. I'm not sure if it might be a prototype or a modified Corvette.

 

[DAVES89]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

I've never owned a sump pump. Where does the water go when you pump it out? Is it piped out to the street or somewhere? Seems like if the water is just dumped out on the ground near the house it would filter back down to the sump and you would be pumping it out again.

I have a short hose on the outside of my basement wall. It runs just pass my landscaping and drains into the yard. As it hardly runs I have it set up so I can cut my grass without having to move it.

[RLTherio]

Has there been a removable hardtop for the convertibles made like the Cadillac Allante?

[BlakesReatta]

3 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

I have a short hose on the outside of my basement wall. It runs just pass my landscaping and drains into the yard. As it hardly runs I have it set up so I can cut my grass without having to move it.

My sump drains onto the side of the house farther away from the basement. My grass in this part of the yard grows very quickly so I suspect the vegetation soaks up most of the water. Some people use sump water like well water to water plants, etc.

 

[ship]

20 hours ago, Ronnie said:

I've never owned a sump pump. Where does the water go when you pump it out? Is it piped out to the street or somewhere? Seems like if the water is just dumped out on the ground near the house it would filter back down to the sump and you would be pumping it out again.

I have an upright pump and have set it like Daves89 mentioned in his previous reply (thank you Dave for the tip).  One problem is that the ground water table in my area has a very wide range during the year depending on rain/snow fall...it can range from 12' below ground to as little as 3'.  When at 3' the pump runs extremely often.  My property is on a slight pitch to an inlet sea harbor, so I get alot of underground water runoff from neighbors' behind me.  Luckily, we all are on town sewerage so no gray/black water enters into the picture. 

 

I have a hose leading out to my front yard so the grass/soil out there pretty much absorbs the outflow.  Only once did it flow into the street during winter so it froze.  I got cited by the local DPW and cops.   

[Ronnie]

19 hours ago, RLTherio said:

Has there been a removable hardtop for the convertibles made like the Cadillac Allante?

I think maybe a few prototypes were made by an outside vendor for Buick but I don't think they ever went into production.