Three Rivers Region

ldvger · July 23, 2009, 02:48:11 PM

Jayson, you were right and I was wrong. Must have been the wine! I revisited the Brainbusters forum this afternoon and successfully created a new discussion topic titled "Plop Water/Game Water Transitions". I hope folks will join me there in trying to jump this last hurdle to our quest for naturalistic above ground watercourses. I think we are getting close and that if we work together on it, we can do it.

Lora/LD

CCFC · July 23, 2009, 08:23:48 PM

I'm amazed, and haven't responded.. But has anyone ever thought about making a topic to discuss how some of these things get created? It seems impossible, and I'm curious as to how these things go from the thoughts to what we see when finished. Thanks. (I know David can answer, he does this stuff..)

dedgren · July 25, 2009, 11:29:48 AM

Well, here I am again. It's been a really busy week at the office, and summer is winding down here in Alaska really quickly. We're dipping back into the high 40s (F)/10s (C) at night, and it's been rainy/misty and cool during the day as well.

Here's the rest of the story from last weekend.

It cleared off a bit just before we left Valdez.

Any guesses as to what this place is?

The drive out of town up Keystone Canyon was damp, but still very scenic.

Thompson Pass is about 25 miles/40 kilometers from Valdez. It's quite low by pass standards, but you don't need to get up very high in Alaska to be above treeline in tundra.

The glaciers extending from the icefield above Valdez come almost down to the road here.

This is Worthington Glacier- we didn't stop because of the weather, but it makes for a quite interesting walk to see it.

* * *

Back at home, I worked yesterday on replacing some steps of a porch that had rotted out over the years.

My first love (construction-wise, of course- not to slight my sweetie and SC4) has been framing carpentry, so these were fun to knock together.

I got this far by evening yesterday.

I'll wrap this project up today, and see if we can get back to some of the things we've been working on here.

Have a great weekend!

Later.

David

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art128 · July 25, 2009, 11:46:44 AM

Great photo of your trip there David, the glaciers looks amazingly fantastic ! Also, you've done a good job with the stair there, I'll envy you to for making good things with the wood and others, every time I try i wasn't good..

JoeST · July 25, 2009, 11:52:03 AM

So there were some mountains surrounding your place

And those steps look nice

Joe

Gaston · July 25, 2009, 12:04:40 PM

Okay David,
My interest is peeked. What kinda wood are you making the steps out of? It doesn't look to be pressure treated. And are you setting it directly on the ground. Hmmmm, Looks like you might be replacing them in just a few years again.
You sould at least pour a small concrete pad at the bottom. Just a suggestion.

Maybe youll go to Lowe's and increase my stock prices for me. LOL (psst, there is one in Anchorage)
Hope you and Heather are doing great.

---Al

ldvger · July 25, 2009, 03:09:03 PM

Gaston took the words right out of my mouth...I, too, wondered if David is using PT wood for the new stairs. And I agree that a small, 3'x3' conc pad at the bottom would be a good idea. You could anchor the stair stringers directly into the slab.

Lora/LD

sithlrd98 · July 25, 2009, 03:24:44 PM

Heck, I'm just amazed that he didn't make some sort of "wide radius" set-up for the steps!

Jayson

io_bg · July 25, 2009, 03:30:52 PM

^ lol

Nice pictures, David. I really like the ones with the waterfall and with the glacier!

dedgren · July 25, 2009, 04:59:17 PM

A jump ahead of you-all.

The old steps rotted because they fell just short of this pad. I added another board at the top to extend the length.

The stair supports and blocks that they rest on are Wolmanized ground contact wood [linkie]. The old steps, which weren't treated, lasted about 30 years. These will have to last two or three years until we tear this end off the house to build a planned garage.

Back to work!

David

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inspecter · July 25, 2009, 05:13:11 PM

Nice work Dedgren but I was looking a view posts back and you did make a tribute to the greatest person who ever lived (BILLY MAYS) You only did to those other two people.

girlfromverona · July 26, 2009, 04:35:32 AM

Nice work, David! Must be something to do with your name - my dad and my brother-in-law, both called David, are handymen too. My brothers... well, not so much.

Gaston · July 26, 2009, 06:26:01 AM

LOL okay David. Your just luckey I can't see what kinda fasteners you are using. LOL Just kidding. Working for Lowe's for 15 years, I have a tendency to scrutenize every project I see people working on. I really thought I had ya on that one.

But I'll keep on watching.

---Al

j-dub · July 26, 2009, 07:10:08 AM

(looks at picture of Valdez Marina Terminal and notices something) Speed Limit 29! What?

Korot · July 26, 2009, 11:24:11 AM

Well, 29 miles/hour is about 50 km/h, thus, it isn't that slow.

Regards,
Korot

JoeST · July 26, 2009, 11:27:45 AM

Quote from: Korot on July 26, 2009, 11:24:11 AM
Well, 29 miles/hour is about 50 km/h, thus, it isn't that slow.

Regards,
Korot

30mph is the kinda speed you do inner city...

dedgren · July 26, 2009, 11:29:57 AM

Probably faster than Joe Hazelwood [linkie] was going when he left the place.

...hint, hint...

Later.

David

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Korot · July 26, 2009, 11:32:06 AM

Hazelwood and fast? Your wood work is done?

Regards,
Korot

dragonshardz · July 26, 2009, 01:55:20 PM

I think he's alluding to the Exxon Valdez disaster. And I'll bet that Joe Hazelwood was the CEO of Exxon at the time.

Note: I didn't look at the Wikipedia article.

emilin · July 26, 2009, 02:57:18 PM

It seems I have been lurking for so long... don't really know why, I guess I don't want to just say something along the lines of "thank you for all your incredible work" and leave it at that. Problem is... well just that. I don't have anything to add, besides thank you! wow! and aweome!

Everything you have ever done has had a profound effect on everything I have ever done with this game. From handcrafting maps to the single track rail... from backround stories to detailing a plop water river... it's all there. You pioneered the whole thing (well, not the whole thing, but you get my drift).

For reasons completely unrelated to this game I have grown tired of it (basically "all work and no play"-stuff) but every time I go here I feel the urge to fire up the game engine (even though it takes a full 5 min to load). Just to try your stuff out.

But, it's good to see you building something in real life too

"A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a pack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came riding down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back"