Maybe, finally…?

In the Faceborg Uruguay “Experts” (Expats) Community group, people complain bitterly about substandard crap sold here. And they’re right. Recently it was vacuum cleaners that last two years before burning out.

However, that is not us in this case: our Electrolux has been going strong for 15 years—with one exception: the filter cartridge, with three little plastic tabs/flanges that secure it in place. One by one they broke. Only belatedly did I discover the reason: my slamming the thing against the top of the trash bucket to shake dust loose.

My original solution involved epoxy and metal washers, but eventually they fall off. I don’t know why I avoided a more invasive approach, but I woke up one morning recently realizing that a mechanical attachment was the answer. A screw. Because there are a gazillion types of plastic, it’s unlikely I’d find a glue that will actually keep everything together. The screw will, and a little epoxy will prevent shear, i.e. twisting.

What to use for material? See top center of the photo above. This is why I don’t automatically get rid of things like a cheap plastic kitchen spatula that was left in the house when we bought it.

Its thickness turns out to be perfect. So, now to replace the other two?

Nah—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Overdue (plumbing)

For years, I have wondered about rectifying the horrible plumbing we inherited in our back yard. It always seemed a little silly, since it would involve breaking up part of the patio we had installed. The exact tiles we used are no longer available, so the new ones wouldn’t match perfectly.

But recently I asked our contractor about it, and he said no problem! And when he says that, he means it.

Not only did the drain include a zigzag design, it also had a buried (inaccessible) elbow and substandard pipe, some of which turned out to have been broken.

I don’t find most construction projects particularly gratifying, but this improvement is actually exciting. Because, you see, three or four times a year I had to pry up all the junction box covers, put on long rubber gloves, and force a stiff plastic tube through the pipes connecting them—and yes, the one with the elbow was a bitch—when they got clogged up with grease that shouldn’t have, but somehow got beyond the grease trap.

Nasty job. No more!

BTW the gray square on the garage floor is a closed-off junction box. From four to two—so delightfully uncomplicated!

Another wheeled monster

Outside Tienda Inglesa. Late in the season. From Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg.

The day before, in exactly the same location, were two, equally if not more imposing, in a matching drab green military-type color. I didn’t have my phone to take a picture. It was quite a sight.

Here’s to lightweight travel, German style!

L’il Big Dog

It’s hard to convey how huge this collar-less puppy is. Like a cross between a bear and a horse. I can say, however, that we were relieved to see that he did not intend to go on the walk with us today. Something about 60 kilos of puppy crashing through the undergrowth and charging by on narrow bits of path, as the one time he did, makes a walk a little less relaxing.

¡Hecho!

You may think you are looking at a rusting dishwasher that has been used mainly as a drying rack for the last 15 years, and is now useless, since the control panel no longer works and water from wet dishes can’t be pumped out.

But, after a more thorough disassembling than was really needed, and some rewiring, it has now become a rusting 15 year old dishwasher with only one function: the on-off power button now turns on the water drainage pump.

And nothing else.

Yea!

What a difference a century makes

In 1965, the population of Uruguay was 2.68 million (current 3.36 million).

Wikipedia: The Executive Tower (Spanish: Torre Ejecutiva) is the official workplace of the President of Uruguay. It is located in front of the Plaza Independencia, in Barrio Centro, Montevideo.

History

The original project was started in 1965 as a future Palace of Justice, but the 1973 coup d’état interrupted it.[1] By the time the military government ended in 1985, the building was too small for the Uruguayan justice system, so the project remained halted for decades until in March 2006, President Tabaré Vázquez decided to finish the building and use it as an extension of the Estévez Palace.[2] The President’s offices were transferred there from the Liberty Building in September 2009.

In 1873, the population of Uruguay was around 0.4 million.

Wikipedia: The Estévez Palace (Spanish: Palacio Estévez) is a building situated in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo, Uruguay, designed in a combination of Doric and Colonial styles by Manoel de Castel in 1873. It has served as the working place of the President of Uruguay and has been eventually converted to a museum, housing artifacts and mementos of the Uruguayan presidency and its office holders.

The Palacio Estévez is the little gem to the left in the photo above. Ah, the good old days.

Can’t be too safe?

I bought butter from Mercado Atlántida (which has expanded rather remarkably over the last few years; currently subsuming the neighboring butcher shop) and was startled with the cashier’s behavior, swiping the packages on the countertop then holding them below. When I asked, she replied “alarmas” and sure enough, I see there are security strips. On butter.

Isn’t that kind of overdoing it?

Looking online, I see these things cost around 4 US cents in bulk in the US, or around 2 pesos, but importing would bring them to more like 7-8¢ each, or ~4 pesos, meaning roughly 4% of the cost of the chunk of butter.

Worth it? Well, if people are shoplifting butter, I’d say so.

FWIW, cost of this butter was around USD 4.33/pound, versus 4.90/pound or so in the US.