What’s new with me? My roof!

Remember the storm at the end of last August? Those 85 mile-per-hour winds removed the roof of both my office and parts of my house.

But it may have been for the better. The storm did damage to the roof and the inside of the house. I was already planning on re-carpeting my the living room and replacing the 70’s style wood planning in the large room at the back of my house.

Some of the damage to the room with wood paneling:

Sample of wood paneling:

Because my contractor could not match the 70’s style wood paneling with anything from the 21st century, I’m getting a break on replacing the wood paneling in the entire room! Goodbye 1976!

I’d like to recommend my contractors and insurance adjuster on Metblogs but I’d like to ask their permission first. Both were fantastic, especially considering how busy they were following the storm. I did use a tool online which gave me a pretty good perspective as to the quotes I would be receiving from contractors. Build Centric gave me free online quotes for both the interior paint job I’ll need completed and carpet installation.

What is the event that has people so interested? Not politics, not the economy, but…
Rain!

Other desert regions may be similar, but in my experience Phoenicians reaction to the promise of rainy days is fairly unique.

Rain is rare enough that we take pictures

People go hiking, take walks, and dance in the rain. The children run outside and play. Phoenicians tend to appreciate rain, except when mother nature gives a year’s worth in one storm. The tendency of the desert to brew storms like that is why Arizona has a “Stupid Motorist’s Law“.

The “Stupid Motorist Law”, which corresponds to section 28-910 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, states that any motorist who drives around barricades to enter a flooded stretch of roadway may be charged for the cost of his/her rescue.

Example of why the law is needed:

The odds are not so good for Phoenix getting wet this weekend, but we can hope. At very least it will cool down. Since the Monsoon is officially over, I guess that will have to do.

OK maybe not. Actually those are all lies, but it’s fun at least. The truth is Metblogs is the largest network of locally focused blogs on the web, covering almost 60 cities around the world and we’re looking to add a few new bloggers/writters/authors to this fine site. If you wanna know more about us check out this wikipedia entry but it’s kinda boring so I won’t waste time repeating it all here again. If you wanna write for us, here’s the scoop:

• All author positions are volunteer. That means you don’t get paid.
• You must live in (or very near) the city you plan to write about.
• Anything you post must relate to the city somehow. That means you shouldn’t post a movie review, but talking about going to see a movie at a local theater is fine.
• There’s no requirement for how much you can or should write, but we ask that if we set you up as an author you make about 3 posts a week.
• You can post about things you love, you can post about things you hate. It’s entirely up to you

Additionally, because of our global network, there’s plenty of options for things you write to be read by people all over the world. Interested? Want more details? Post a comment and we’ll be in touch!

Number two at risk is New Orleans. I have been following trials and tribulations of our friends at MetroBlogging New Orleans and a year later the struggles continue.

Well . . . yesterday, the first of the new windows were installed and oh what a wonderful improvement already. With the strong mid-morning sun streaming in, there was no heat coming through the glass. The low E was doing its job, reflecting and rejecting. The biggest surprise was the appearance from the outside. Being clean, surely helps, but there’s a very subtle effect created by the low E glass. It’s not tinted and yet it might be. I figured they would look better, but didn’t realize how much they upgrade the appearance of the house. If you’re wondering what you can do to lighten your utility load and add a bit of bling to your house, think replacement windows.

Did you see this new invention? Would this work in our humidity or lack thereof?

Number 9 – Our canal system, really.

Counting down the top 30 things I love about Phoenix, can you feel the excitement?

No one else can be so cheerful and giddy when describing our horrendous traffic. He does help me navigate and that is why I love him. He is Presh’s favorite radio personality. I actually get “shushed” when he is on the air. Until the light rail is finished, I have Detour Dan to show me the way.

Number 15 – Detour Dan Beach, now really, can any of us make it through the commute without this guy?

Counting down the top 30 things I love about Phoenix as we head to our first BDay party here at MetBlogPHX.