Remembering Dave Morford

David George Morford, 62, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 14, 2023. An accomplished meteorologist, both as lead forecaster for the NWS Forecast Office of Binghamton, NY, and as an incident meteorologist for wildfires and sporting events, Dave was also a devoted volunteer firefighter for many years, rising to the post of Chief of the Prospect Terrace Volunteer Fire Dept and later of board member, while continuing to answer calls, saving lives and putting out fires.

A dedicated and loving son, brother, uncle, husband and friend, Dave was the life of the party, bringing great comedy, kindness, and a patient, good humor to every gathering.

Dave was born on January 20th, 1960, to George Taylor Morford and Helen Marie Morford. The youngest of three, Dave was fascinated by all things meteorological from an early age. He could forecast the weather and plot the route from Binghamton to Queens before he could pronounce either place correctly. After graduating from the State University of New York, Oswego, Dave joined the National Weather Service Forecast Office at LaGuardia Airport, followed by a stint in Cortland, before returning home to the Forecast Office of Binghamton, where he remained until his retirement in 2020.

Dave met Cindy Ann Kenderes while they were both working at Kmart, and they were married in 1987. Dave was devoted to Cindy, a loving, thoughtful soulmate in all their days together. They had a special way of poking fun, telling stories of the other's eccentricities, but never at their beloved's expense, both laughing through it all. They were long-time members of the congregation of St Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church.

Dave had many passions and hobbies: bowling, poker, cars, caving, camping, climbing, golf, comedy and film. He was a MOPAR Man. An auto-didact to a T, Dave was a railroad buff, a craftsman – fixing up their century-plus old home – a great reader, and a writer, working on a crime novel in his spare time. He loved to travel, the Yankees and the Giants, and always had a story or a fun fact for every occasion.

He was preceded in death by his father George Taylor Morford, mother Helen Marie Morford, uncle George Winckler, and cousins Edward George Winckler and George Winckler. He is survived by his loving wife Cindy, his sister Karen Templeman (Randy), brother Edward Morford, sisters-in-law Debby Nelen (Mark) and Linda Marrs Morford, uncle Edward Winckler (Katherine), aunt Gertrude Winckler, and many other cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Dave was loved deeply and will be sorely missed.
Funeral services will be held Saturday January 21st at 11:00 AM at Sts. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church 212 Hill Ave. Endicott, NY. Burial will follow in Riverhurst Cemetery, Endwell, NY. The family will receive friends at the church on Friday January 20th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM.
The family would like to thank the Binghamton ICMS and Dr. John Welsh. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Prospect Terrace Volunteer Fire Company.

Building a better mousetrap, or toilet

Innards of the Super Toilet. The
white ring around the green
doohickey is the flapper valve. 

 One of the good things about having a blog is that I have inadvertently created a timeline of projects that I have completed. This helps we when something fails and I can go back and see when I fixed or replaced it. So, back in 2019 I replaced the sink and toilet in the bathroom. I recently noticed that the toilet was running randomly, a sure sign that the tank was leaking into the bowl. So, being the Amateur Plumber First Class that I am I removed the tank cover and literally looked into the problem. I was immediately reminded that I had purchased a Super Toilet, one that could apparently flush dozens of golf balls at once, a useful feature at times. One thing that was a hidden feature that this mad flusher possessed was an increased difficulty of repair, and more expensive parts. For those of you that have reached my lofty status of Amateur Plumber First Class, you know the most common cause of tank water leaking is the flapper valve, a rubber gasket that seals the tank after the flush and the doohickey (technical term) drops back into the tank. Apparently, these flapper valves have an engineered life of a few years before they fail to seal properly and allow the tank water to leak out. Now, why would a rubber gasket last only two years? You would think that buying the American Standard Super Toilet capable of flushing dozens of golf balls would also include higher quality components. However, similar to buying a high end luxury car, you may get a more comfortable ride, but repair costs and intervals are shorter.

As an aside, I haven't noticed an increased efficiency or flushing ability of the Super Toilet. It needs a the normal amount of "courtesy" flushes of any other toilet. I still haven't tested American Standard's golf ball claim, which I assume hasn't been tested by other home owners, for good reasons. Consumer Reports, are you listening? 

Anyway, the replacement of the flapper valve was not as easy as it would be in a normal toilet. After my first attempt, the toilet leaked even worse. At first I thought the leak was coming from someplace else, reenforced by my mistaken confidence in the Super Toilet that the flapper valve wouldn't fail so quickly. But after a time I realized that I hadn't reassembled the doohickey correctly allowing the water to continue to leak. The Super Toilet now stands ready to flush dozens of golf balls, should the need arise.  

A pretty morning in Saratoga

In other news, we had a pre-Christmas shopping trip to Saratoga Springs which was great, except that a block from our hotel, a guy lost control of his Jeep in the snowstorm and hit our Toyota head on. We were stationary at a traffic light and were unhurt. Luckily the car was drivable I wont bore you with the details but eventually his insurance found him to be 100% at fault and we can finally proceed with repairs. The estimate I got yesterday was $4100, less than I expected. They do not expect to begin repairs until March.

So now we enter what I consider the doldrums of winter. Short cloudy days, long cold nights without the benefit of Holiday lights to brighten the mood. Cindy and I are looking into possible winter escapes to sunny locales to help move the grey season along.

My favorite movie

 My favorite movie choice might surprise you, and it's almost certainly not for the reasons you may think. The movie is Silence of the Lambs. On it's surface, it's a film about pathological killers and the depths of depravity that they reach in the death and torture of their victims. But as Hannibal Lector would say, that is incidental to the real theme of the movie. That is what makes the movie so great.

Silence of the Lambs is a thriller about a serial killer in West Virginia who kidnaps, tortures, kills, and skins his victims. This killer is nicknamed Buffalo Bill and he hunts for young women in rural small towns. When he unknowingly kidnaps a U.S. senator's daughter, he brings the full weight of the FBI into the investigation with it's special Behavioral Science Unit. Hoping to get insight into the investigation, figuring it takes one to know one, they interview Hannibal Lector, known as Hannibal the Cannibal, whom is already in custody on previous grisly crimes. Hannibal could hardly care less and toys with interviewers, so the head of the unit decides to send a promising young recruit, student and temporary agent Clarice Starling to interview Hannibal, hoping that the genius, psychopathic murderer will respond to the young woman. Initially, the interview fails, until the end when an "unspeakable" act is committed against the recruit by the prisoner in the next cell.  This triggers sympathy in Lector, who as a child was a victim of sexual abuse. At the last moment, he gives Clarice a lead to follow.

Size alone can be used as intimidation.

So begins the heart of the movie, which is Clarice and the FBI slogging through the horror of the murders, occasionally interviewing Lector. But what is the movie really about? Is it a procedural about solving horrific crimes? Secondarily, yes. I feel the movie is about some men treating woman horrifically, and many men just badly in every day life. While Buffalo Bill is kidnapping, torturing, and killing young woman, men in all walks of life are dismissing, ogling, and insulting Clarice as she struggles through the investigation and struggles with her own demons that arose in her difficult childhood. There are two very telling scenes: One as Clarice enters an elevator full of tall men at the FBI academy, the other as she walks through a crowded airport. Watch how the men look at her, and how she is made uncomfortable by their stares. She has two friends in the movie; her FBI Academy roommate, and ironically, Hannibal Lector. 

A psychopath showing sympathy

Hannibal, the cannibal, develops a fatherly affection for Clarice, and treats her with respect that she does not receive from any of her fellow investigators. He guides her to the proper clues and helps her make the right conclusions about Buffalo Bill. In their last meeting, when Clarice finally discloses the details of her childhood nightmares to Hannibal, look carefully at his face. He has tears in his eyes in
sympathy, something he hasn't felt before. He also knows he will likely never see her again since he has given here all she needs to solve the crime. When she figures out who the killer is, and where he is, her boss dismisses her deduction and ends up sends her off to confront Buffalo Bill on her own, leading to a terrifying conclusion. 

So yes, the movie is a crime story, a horrific crime story, with two deadly psychopaths. In it's depth, it is about how men treat women in today's society, the subtle pressure that they put upon woman by their looks and comments. So Buffalo Bill is at the far end of the terrible treatment of women, with the rest of the creeps in the movie more subtle in their misogynistic behavior.

Update on life

 In a word, busy. It's fascinating to me to find out that I seem to have less time to myself than I did when I was working. I think a big part of it is that my lovely bride Cindy retired about the same time as I, so when I (we) are home, I'm less likely to sit in my den and write a blog. We just do other things. 

The colors are more attractive than this
 photo shows.

I have been very busy around the house, but much of it has turned into upkeep and maintenance. I have still not finished this den. We again are stalled at choosing a paint color. The ceiling is finished, and it looks great, so we are down to wall and trim work. Hopefully I can get to that after the holidays.

Outside maintenance has taken a lot of time. Besides the annual battle of the leaves, I cut down two large trees along the fence line, then have delt with the massive clean up. Surprisingly, the city took all eight bundles of sticks and 3 garbage cans full of leaves and twigs in one day. I still have several large logs to cut and store for curing. I will mostly burn those in the solo stove, and save the better hardwood for the fireplace.

New refrigerator being installed. Note
the missing door and frame.

We lost our "new" refrigerator over the summer. Apparently, 7 years is around the expected life span for them now. I have learned that the effort to employ more environmentally friendly refrigerants has significantly shortened the lifespan of compressors and coils. Also of note is the substantial increase in price of home appliances, and the scarcity of them. We were very lucky to get one we liked in the smudge resistant finish to match the range. I measured several times to see if the unit would fit through the door. I knew it would be very close. I ended up having to take off two doors and parts of two door frames to get the damn thing in the house. Hope it lasts for more than 7 years.

We have already done much of our holiday baking. We did our two batches of both cinnamon buns and bread, It occurs to me that I should do a blog on that, or maybe another blog on that. I need to go back and look to see if I previously wrote one. Cookie baking is on Cindy and her sister-in-law and aunt. 

Trapped and without power thanks to
 hurricane Ian.

We traveled to New Jersey twice, and also had a long and wonderful trip that included a Yankee game with my nephew and brother, the Jersey shore, Virginia Beach, and Myrtle Beach. That trip ended with quite an adventure as we were hit by the same hurricane twice. Pro Tip: Make sure you have a working flashlight when traveling to the south in hurricane season. That should be a blog as well.

We are preparing for the holidays now. The Christmas tree is up, the outside lights are up and working, and the house is decorated. I have a bit of shopping to do, and we have a couple of trips planned. A day trip to Skaneateles to experience the Dickens characters, and a few days in Saratoga to enjoy some food and drink, and to enjoy one of the most beautiful Christmas towns in the country.

Out with the "old"

Saying goodbye to our "old"
refrigerator.

 I'm old, but not quite ready to head "out". My age does give me a longer perspective on what else is old, and what is not. Our refrigerator, for example, is not old, but unfortunately, it headed out. Turns out, refrigerators do not last anywhere near as long as they used to. We have a freezer in the basement, that we bought 30 years ago, and it just keeps going. Our original refrigerator, that we bought when we moved back to Binghamton, was running like a champ when we gave it away, 7 years ago. It's replacement, quit a couple weeks ago. This surprised me, an old guy, that expected major appliances to last for decades. Turns out, 7 years is about average for modern refrigerators and freezers, according to a couple repairmen, and 3 appliance salespersons. The explanation, according to them, is that in an effort to make these types of appliances more environmentally friendly, they have become less durable. It seems like you are defeating the purpose, if the machines that are better for the environment last less of a third of the time, than the older machines that they replace. It's expensive too. Have you checked the prices of refrigerators lately? Plus, they can be hard to get now as we still have a supply side covid hangover. 

A window worth saving.

Renovations and repairs continue at the Morford estate. Two major projects currently underway are the renovation of the den, and the bigger project is the re-glazing of every window in the house. There are 24 windows in our home, not counting the basement. I have repaired and glazed 5 so far, and they were easier ones. I am now working on the diamond pattern windows, which are truly the ones were saving, and are the most difficult to glaze. The glaze is the putty like sealant between the glass and the window frame. Each diamond pattern window takes one tube of glazing, 3 Yuenglings, a truckload of patience. It is a good project to have going in the background since I can dive into it when I get a little free time. I'm getting better at the glazing now, so its time to tackle these difficult windows. The repair also includes repair and painting of the sills and frame. I also replace the old ropes that go the the counterweights hidden behind the frame. I will give credit to my late father in law Gene for showing me how to do this. The old cotton ropes rot and eventually break leaving you to prop open the window to get some air in the house.

My glazing is improving.

The den is stuck where all our renovations get stuck, and that's with paint color. We really struggle picking a color, with Cindy being pickier than me. We want something both bold and rich, but not overwhelming. Since I fixed the ceiling, and for now we are going with a simple white, not tiles, it allows us to go a bit more striking on the walls. I'm leaning toward a green, perhaps a spring green, but its hard to find one that's not either too bright, or too dark. the sweet spot is narrow on this.

In other news...Cindy pointed out to me that I never repaired and painted the heating grate in the kitchen. That turned into a bit more than I expected as removing the faceplate allowed the duct work to fall into the basement. That faceplate was the holding the duct in place. Oof. I went with a dark steel paint that matched our old refrigerator (ha ha) and it came out nice. We special ordered our new refrigerator to match it, further delaying the delivery. 

We are researching whole house AC. I'm still a bit undecided on this as the number of hot summer days around here is kind of limited, and I am a "windows open" kind of guy. Still, we must have a window AC in our bedroom for use on several nights each year. I am getting tired of lugging that thing into and out of the window each year. Another issue is the cost. Estimates are coming in at least 50% higher than I expected, but by all accounts we will see a corresponding increase in the value of our house. We'll see.

A life less ordered

Meh. The snow can wait.

 I'm happily retired. That should be clearly understood. Still, there are times that I notice how the lack of order in my life is something to be overcome. I am generally self motivated, but now that there is always free time in the schedule, it becomes easy to delay the hard stuff, or at least the stuff that I enjoy less. For example, when I was working, clearing the snow after a storm was something I scheduled. Now it's much easier to throw another log on the fire, or have another coffee. 

I also find it more difficult to keep track of appointments and other scheduled items. I wake up every day thinking my day is up to me, and it often is not. It's so strange that I assume that now, and even putting most every thing in my phone calendar doesn't always work. 

I wonder if my less ordered life has completely affected the way I think, and the way I approach life in general. The freedom is amazing, and I'd never go back, but there is something to be said about having a general life plan for 30 years. 

We always had a vacation schedule, generally knowing where we were going and when, months in advance. Now, we happily plug along at life, always thinking that we'll get to planning a trip at some point. We haven't travelled much yet, but we have been on vacation since September of  2020.

The weather has been steadily improving as the days are noticeably longer. Another thing I have noticed is that I enjoy the cold less and less each year. I had thought that retirement would allow me to more embrace the seasons, since I was not forced to go out in it, but in reality there are plenty of times I need to go out and deal with the cold and snow. 

Ouch!

On the repair and restore front, someone decided to hit our Toyota, and of course, not leave a note. Luckily, it was mainly scratches, with one small dent. I was not inclined to contact the insurance company, and file a police report, so I decided to see what I could do with a quality scratch remover. I was pleased with the product and after a bit of work, it looked pretty good. There is a minor dent that is hard to see. I may call the ding and dent remover company, but I suspect it is not one they can fix.

Better

The irony of the situation is that I purchased an insurance policy with he pervious car, that covered this type of damage with little or no deductible. I never used it. Despite that I was interested in getting the same policy, but it was no longer offered. Oof. Bad timing.

It's becoming time to start planning spring projects. I think a permanent fence and perhaps a storage shed may be in order. I'm at my limit for things I can store in the garage, and a boy needs room for his toys.

Getting plastered again and a nasty storm

The problem.

 I finally began the last major plaster repair job in the house. When we purchased the house, the second floor had some damaged ceilings from a roof leak. The roof was replaced by the previous owner, but the water damage was not fixed. This will be my third plaster repair and I am getting better at it. First step is to remove the loose plaster. This is a messy job that results in a lot of dust, and pieces of plaster everywhere. Then, you must secure the old plaster around the edge by drilling holes, squirting in a prep solution, squirting in glue, then securing the plaster to the lathe with wood screws

and large washers. This is even

messier as the prep solution drips

on the floor, and the glue squirts of the

holes as you drill in the screws.

The solution

After allowing the glue to dry for 24 hours, you apply the first coat of plaster. Plastering is simple. Doing it well is a learned skill. I am getting better at it. Many DIY home improvement projects are a blend of both but this is more skill than anything. Slapping plaster on a wall is easy, making it look nice is tough.

Luckily, the third step hides any amateur mistakes you may have made. After a couple of applications of the patching plaster, you put down a couple coats of joint compound, which is really easy to apply. It smooths out your mistakes, especially after you wet sand the surface.

The final result.

Finally, I primed the the repair area with a spray primer. This should prep it nicely for the ceiling paint, and what ever color we choose for the wall. I do have one more small repair area to repair in the other corner, and some other touch up on the walls (thank you Frat brothers).

Choosing the wall paint will be difficult. I am using the room as an office, and will continue to do so. But we may set it up with a couch or futon for a second guest room. We have kind of exhausted the available colors in the rest of our home, and hate to repeat. We may go a bit strong or rich, maybe a deep green. We will see.

On the weather front (pun intended), it has been a rather cold and nasty winter since Christmas. For four weeks in a row, my home weather station has a least one day of below zero temperatures. The spell culminated with a rough storm that dumped a couple inches of ice underneath a few inches of snow. The entire mess froze into a glacier on sidewalks and driveways that we are just now escaping. The longer days and higher sun angle of mid February are greatly appreciated.