John's Next Step

This week the carpenters worked on the ceiling. Have a ceiling for the room with a metal roof will do two things. First, it should make the room a little cooler – as the heat from the roof is somewhat stopped. We are also going to install fans when it gets really hot. As of Saturday, the ceiling was finished and we were painting it. The second reason for the ceiling is to keep people from crawling up between the eves and getting into the room. As I watched the carpenters install an access door in case there is a problem with the electricity I asked – OK – so this is not for security? The headmaster was initially surprised at the question and then realized it was a good question. So either we are going to put a lock on the panel or I have just disclosed a security weakness to the world. Putting up the braces for the ceiling.  A small person could squeeze through the openings. The next day and the carpenters were almost done. And the job is complete. We ...

We continue to make progress on the computer room. This week we installed security bars on the windows and door. We would like to keep the computers and power stabilizers in the room. Therefore, we need to add this protection. We had to bars made by a local welder. A teacher and some students installed them on Thursday. Bars for windows and door delivered this week Originally the bars were going to have flat metal and holes to screw into the wall. They were delivered with tee posts that required making a bigger hole and then patching with concrete. And yes that is a pick ax being swung to make the hole in the wall. A couple of holes were a little too deep and came out on the other side. We patched all the holes and had a little extra concrete to do some other minor repairs to the school Because we are under budget we have decided to put in a ceiling. It will make the room nicer and cooler. We don't have the money in hand to do more work. The good news ...

Today would have been Theresa and my anniversary. A tragic loss of a great woman, but sometimes to goods ones get their reward in heaven sooner than those left behind would prefer. I still miss her although close to three years this is the first anniversary I feel like a widower rather than still married.

"Grow out your beard in a foreign land” According to the Unofficial Peace Corps Theme song I'm to “grow out my beard in a foreign land”.  I wanted to wait until after the wedding, as Samantha has not seen me in a beard. I had a mustache when she was just a baby. One day I gave her a kiss and she made a face. Theresa said I should shave, so I did (to her surprise) the next day. Theresa asked me several time over the next twenty plus years to grow back my beard and mustache if I wanted. I never did. So – here I am now – there is a lot more gray in the beard than in the hair. Working on growing my beard in a foreign land Progress on the computer room and library We got the computer projector. We had the option of two different models. One with slightly fewer features was on a great sale so we got it. If it had not been on sale I likely would have picked the slightly more expensive projector. (The projector we got was a Dell 1210S (and end of life model...

Lunar eclipse Our full lunar eclipse on Monday morning was around 2 am. I got to see it, but I was not able to get a good shot of the red moon. Our moon with high in the sky and small. I did get a reasonable shot of the beginning of the eclipse.  At least I saw it.  Many of the other volunteers around Ghana had overcast skies. Start of the eclipse Maybe by 2033 I'll have a better camera and a tripod to catch a better shot. We start the computer room and library We have started the computer room and the library at the new school. I took some of the money out and so work has begun. I should be getting my letter signed by Monday. I hope it gets signed because I've already started work and I have therefore lost my leverage – but I will leave that to the headmaster. Actually, in compliance with best practices, I'm letting the headmaster take the lead on most of the project. I'm there for consultation and to make some decisions, such as which proje...