chess nuts

I started a simple plumbing project the other day. That's a contradiction in terms; plumbing projects are never simple and this one has me stumped. It is good that the family is far way from me when I attempt a plumbing job because the air turns blue and my negative aura can bleach hair at fifty feet. This simple job is a replacement of a shower head. That entails replacing a perfectly good pipe because this shower head needs a new, longer pipe with a 90-degree bend at the end. Problem: The threads inside the connection at the end of the water supply pipe behind the wall look like they have been beaten with a wrench, and I cannot get a watertight connection. Solution: Admit defeat and call a plumber. I am hoping that he (do you know a female plumber?) knows some plumbing magic that does not require cutting a hole in the wall for access because that will be a helluva mess to repair.

For escape, I've started playing chess lately. We have a chess club that meets on Friday nights, and today they are sponsoring an all-day tournament. Last night I was this close to signing up, but I'm not ready for tournament play yet. The chess club regulars can beat me with their eyes closed. Let me tell you that chess club regulars are the geekiest geeks you will meet anywhere, in a whole different league than computer geeks. Once you accept that, they are not a bad lot. Of the ones who talk, some have a sense of humor. They are obnoxious in a passive sense but I can deal with that.

So I stayed home from the tournament, made a few more attempts at the shower head, and have concluded that I should have gone to the tournament instead. Better to lose to a better chess player than lose to a piece of brass that hides behind a bathroom wall.