November 15 - The Sprint to the Finish Line

A Thousand Details, Big and Small -
It was reported by a reliable source, Sam, that the inspector approved a certificate of occupancy today. Now we can hold services in the new church next Sunday, the 19th of November. However, before that time arrives, there are many details demanding attention.

Like the Organ -
Randy Moe, the organ guy, has been working diligently to get our gee-whiz, all electric virtual organ up and running. The organ is lacking actual pipes so it makes do with virtual pipes. I can't tell which of these circuit boards, or which wires will generate the virtual 16' pipe, but surely he knows and will get this maze of wires and boards correctly communicating to generate organ sounds.

 The computer based organ has a monitor at the console, perhaps allowing the organist to check email when not playing. It uses touch screen technology, but the computer was being a bit touchy last evening and was being unresponsive to the touch. Just one more wrinkle to be ironed out.

The software that does the work is called 'Virtual Pipe Organ'. Apparently it still requires real, skilled fingers pressing on real keys to make real music, even on a virtual pipe organ.












Making Connections for Water, Air and Electricity -

The plumbing is all connected and has passed inspection. Water is now getting everywhere it is supposed to. Sam discovered that the water from the fountain was also getting to places not required, like the floor. So Sam the carpenter turned plumber was fixing the drain line to keep the water in its place. I am not sure how often the green bucket requires emptying.

Greg was hanging out in one mechanical room hooking up the washer and dryer. He did not have to be concerned with getting water in or out as that was already in place. He needed to get the dryer to exhaust itself outside the building.

In the men's restroom Phil was connecting partitions to the ceiling and wall. Dave is painting the newly installed partition. Brian is trimming insulation for his hot water pipes in the boiler room next door. Details, more details.

The electrical system passed inspection but the inspector did not install light bulbs and shades. So Eric has to attend these details.





















Adrian, assisted by Tristan, is pushing a thick bundle of wires through a small pipe without  success. Actually Tim is on the other end of the pipe pulling on a nylon cord that resists staying connected to the bundle of wires. But the workers are persistent and after several aborted efforts did eventually succeed.

It turns out that was not the end of the journey for the wires in question. They also had to make another trip to the control room, the furnace room where Adrian stands being only an intermediate transit point. The chronicler departed the premises before the final run was completed but the pipe to the control room is substantially larger so I am certain that the trip was made successfully.

Wayne and his daughter Sarah (I hope the name is correct) are soldering the connectors for the pulpit microphones.














Bill is not content to leave the front wall intact. He feels compelled to beat a hole in the drywall and then enlarge it with a saw. He manages this task with alacrity.

It seems a hole is needed for a place in which to mount the speaker Tim is holding. It takes one man to make the hole and seven to figure out how to fill it up. After the speaker is mounted and connected, the hole must be again covered up.













Aaron is checking out the technology for displaying song words on the wall for congregation singing. This will be necessary assuming the organ guy and the wiring folks get all their connections made correctly.

Meanwhile, in the Dining Room -
The garage sale is over, at least in this location. The sweepers are attacking with vigor and all the miscellany on the floor must leave. Brenda, Val and Merja analyze the situation.

After a bit of time, the inventory was gone and the dust was being swept up, leaving a clean, bare floor in its stead.

Getting the floor tidied up was good since the choir needed to practice. Ben leads from the piano. The building acoustics are excellent for music and the choir sounded great.









A Final Thought for the Day -

Some time ago one of the workers was chirping a little ditty that went something like this -
"putty and paint, putty and paint, make a carpenter what he ain't." I assume it was a painter and not a carpenter, but I am not certain of that.
Boss Bob is an excellent carpenter and does not rely on putty and paint to make his stuff look good, so he chuckled when he heard the rhyme. He is, however, an inveterate punster, rarely missing an opportunity to play with a word. It is not surprising, then, when something screwy comes out of his mouth.