Google Comes to Windsor Park

 Google Comes to Windsor Park

As we were doing our daily walks through our Winsor Park neighborhood we began to notice a lot of extra paint lines in the yards and all along the streets plus the little yellow flags marking the natural gas lines. Soon the paint markings were surrounding our home as well. We came upon a crew painting the lines and inquired, they said it was for the future Google fiber. Well I have been documenting the weekly process as the fiber lines construction is occurring at a much faster pace than I expected.

Se we saw lots of White, Yellow, Blue and Green, Some red and orange but no Pink or Purple.

This is good news to us as the internet service in our neighborhood is not up to 2020+ standards for sure. It still relies on cable technology that has been in our neighborhood since Time Warner installed cable over 35 years ago. Since streaming services started we have divorced ourselves from cable TV and use an air antenna for local stations and stream the other stuff. So internet service is all we need. We started with Spectrum for just under$50 a month. This neighborhood has spotty service from Spectrum. Some locations in Windsor Park report excellent service. Our experience has been just the opposite with the service crashing several times a day. We had them come out and they ran new cable lines from the telephone pole all the way to the modem/router but the service improved to crashing only once every 24 hours. In our 7 years in Seattle I only had to reset the router 2 times. The  real only other choice along our particular street is AT&T Fiber so I canceled the no contract Spectrum and gladly took the 1 year contract with AT&T for about $2 more monthly. The self connection was easy as the ATT fiber was already installed on our home. I later learned that it is fiber only from the main service line and past that point is still old cable technology. Doesn't matter it does not crash everyday and in the 3 months we have had it I have only had to reset the modem/router 1 time. The admiral read an article that said that all of the internet companies were waiting for someone else to come in and upgrade the lines for more dependable and faster service.

A good sign on the front door.

Soon a crew came along with a large hole drill, about the size of a jack hammer. I lost my pics and video of the crew but they were specifically marking the Gas lines so the trenching machine would not cut into the pipes. I am really sorry I failed to get a picture of the crew that was banging on the drill as it rotated with a hammer to prevent it from clogging up with asphalt as it cut the hole. I thought Wow, one of the most popular and advanced form of technology depends on a hammer!

This crew came through next. They remove the circular cap and use a high pressure sprayer to cut through the soil down to the gas pipe. They use a vacuum to suck out the debris, measure the depth to the gas line and  and then place a temporary steel cover on the hole 

This particular hole was 22" deep to the gas line

using high pressure water to cut through the soil.

see: https://youtu.be/eclUJJY8Prk

After the dirt was vacuumed out they install the steel cover

see: https://youtu.be/BwJeECuuCKo

The trenching machine was next at it cut a 2' wide and 12" deep trench, the hose vacuums up the debris from the trench.

See: https://youtu.be/OzXe71xbAbw

Never saw the crew that came through and dug these holes and put a safety fence around on each property for what I am assuming to be a service box for each residence. 

The guy driving the white truck has to be excellent at backing a trailer to follow the trenching machine for miles and miles.

The trench is smaller than I thought it would be, just enough for three fiber cables + orange 1.5" conduit for long range fiber cable. The trench cuts right along the curb which causes minimal disturbance of the asphalt, but when the trenching machine passes through an intersection you see several chunks of asphalt break up, they will become pot holes over time.

Within a couple of days the cable guys show up, they pull three strands of cable from smaller spools from the bed of the pickup and then the orange conduit is laid on top. 

When I looked out this morning the Google Fiber had arrived. 

The crew asked me if I needed out of my driveway, "Heck No, I just want to take some pictures for my blog."

So I asked these guys about the cable, Why were they laying 3 cables directly in the trench without going through the orange conduit? The orange conduit is only for the main line which is a long distance cable, the other cable are neighborhood, short distance cable. 

He said there is about 5 miles of conduit per spool.

The orange wire that is installed alongside the conduit is a tracer line used for trouble shooting later.

You can see a thin white line coming out of the conduit used for fishing the main cable through the conduit. Has to be really strong stuff! I watched them splice two orange ends together here, they first tie the ends of the fishing line and then seal the two ends of the conduit together almost seamlessly.

Crew follows filling the trench with mortar. 

See: https://youtu.be/rZAU96iICsY

Not a typical Concrete truck, This truck mixes the cement (front hopper), with the sand(rear hopper) and water as needed for the trench filling machine

Well this huge pile of cable was not there the next day, I assume it was pulled through.

The cement has dried in the trench.

About every three or four blocks is a huge service box buried in the ground.

So here is the junction or service box complete.

Then a Splicer shows up to splice the ends of the fiber cable.

He says he will be in the neighborhood two -three weeks, He just arrived from Denver where he was splicing Google Fiber cable there.

So he has all 6 ends of the 3 cables to splice fed into the splicing machine. He separates  the individual fibers and splices them. It was over 90 degrees this day. I asked him if any other companies would be using these cables and he said no, Just Google unless some other arrangement is made in the future. So it seems that Google has found a way to exclude all  others by not using the telephone poles and digging a private trench.

Another cable splicer stops to compare notes, He is informed that he needs to refer to some new diagrams on some website. He has also just arrived in Austin and the only vehicle that he could find for rent was a U-haul van which he got for two weeks at $200+ a day depending on mileage.

I wanted to ask more questions like "How do you make sure your always splicing the same 6 ends together at each junction box?" But I did not want to get in their way any longer.  I can only assume there are unique identifying marks on each cable.

We have learned from our neighborhood Facebook page that after the Googler guys come through the neighborhood with their laptops to test the system we can then start to sign up for the service. But we have a year contract with ATT so our Google Speed will have to wait a few extra months.

The Stages of a Global Pandemic

 The Stages of a Global Pandemic

I chose this source since it sort of explains the World Health Organization 

6 stages: https://www.verywellhealth.com/understanding-a-pandemic-2615488

Just Google "stages of a pandemic" and you will find more than a few ideas ranging from 4 to 8 stages and lots of curves to graphically detail the stages.

Phases of a Pandemic

The Centers Disease for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently has Pandemic Intervals Framework (PIF) in place for tracking the phases of an influenza pandemic. That framework is being applied to COVID-19.

Phase 1: Investigation Interval

A new type of virus is identified and investigated—in animals or humans anywhere in the world—that is thought to have implications for human health.

Phase 2: Recognition Interval

Increased cases, or clusters of cases, are identified, along with an increased potential for person-to-person transmission.

Phase 3: Initiation Interval

Cases of the virus are confirmed with both efficient and sustained person-to-person transmission.

Phase 4: Acceleration Interval

The new virus infects susceptible people. Public health officials may take measures such as closing schools, encouraging social distancing, and offering antivirals or vaccines—if available.

Phase 5: Deceleration Interval

There is a consistently decreasing rate of cases in the United States.

Phase 6: Preparation Interval

Even after the pandemic has subsided, public health officials continue to monitor the virus and brace for another wave of illness.

I know, after reading this your thinking like me "well I have experienced a whole other level of stages during the last year and a half". I am sure politics have always been present in the response to any previous pandemic, but not on the scale we all have experienced with this one. Is this somehow related to Climate Change that is spiraling out of control? Politics run deep on that issue as well.

Our personal Stages: 

Phase 1. Crap, there is another virus spreading around, they will get this under control in the next 3 months and we can resume normal life.

Phase 2. We have got to get out of here and find somewhere safe till this blows over.

Phase 3 Holy Moley, this thing is going to last a year or so, we going to have to find a more permanent place to live.

Phase 4. Remodel and move in to the old homestead, buy a bed and other stuff.

Phase 5. Living with it. Every  person for themselves. 

Phase 6. Never returning to 2019 Normal. Everyone is speculating on the new normal due to the fact that we may never reach herd immunity.

Part of divorcing from cable service years ago, the inside air antenna was not strong enough.

Our weekday walks continues rain or shin.

The garden starts producing puonds of food daily.

Green Beans, Spinach and squash fills the plates.

Okra on its way

All the family and every neighbor gets some cucumbers

Cilantro for everyone who will take it including the random person walking by.

The watermelon and Cantaloupe maneuvering for space

Guardian 

Rain took care of the watering for April and May  but this was the storm that brought Tropical force strength wind and rain. I looked out the window and it was raining so hard I could not see the street, The only time I experienced a rain this hard was during Hurricane Carla, a tropical storm in Corpus Christi and a freak thunderstorm when we were at anchor in Florida with straight line winds.

This low tech rain gauge measured around 11" for May, but the official Austin rain was over 12"

We discovered that the big bubble solution does a lot better when it is very humid, and just as good in the rain.

Can you identify this little green grasshopper?

The water in May is just warm enough in May to take a short dip.

The hose was abruptly turned off in June and feels like 100 degrees fills in. We almost never even thought about turning on our AC till June.

Or some days are a true 100

 

We keep in touch with  the Latest from New York via our first Grandchild Ella

A huge tree between us and our neighbors house fell down in the storm, It was obviously rotting from the inside out, Luckily it fell to the ground without crashing into either home.

This Ligustrum grew into a tree, it has to go.

This is the same type tree that fell over, with a huge canopy over our roof that blew down in the storm, it has a questionable trunk and we do not want to risk it crashing in the roof so it has to go.

This hackberry also has a hollow trunk and its hanging over our shed, it is gonna go as well.

 Our lawn guy is a great tree person as well so he removed three trees that were concerning, Thank you Juan of F&s Lawn Services!

Taken before the tropical storm blew through

These are Leftfooted bug nymphs

Leftfooted bugs like Sun Flowers

A soaked sunflower after the tropical storm

In June we had to start watering everything, The City of Austin is happy to notify us of any excess as a result of our neighborhood being first in Austin to get the Smart Water Meters

The Admiral gets to drive her Granddaughters 79' Scout, Thanks Liv!

Ever wonder how they extrude rain gutters to the exact length on site?

They use a machine like this, you can see the roll of sheet metal that is feed into the shapping machine and then they just cut it so the desired length.

A real adventure for us, we drove over to the new Q2 Austin FC Soccer Stadium to take some pics.

Clara took us to see the water fall in their neighborhood creek.

The Garden is a commitment, you eat a lot of produce with every meal, at least I'm getting some chicken with it this time.

Another trip to Ft. Worth to help Big Dave, he has a new poster in his hobby shop.

There is always something new going on in Big Daves Shop.

Our 6 long time neighbors, any passer by, sons family, daughters family help consume the Garden harvest.

But on Fathers Day our neighbors, the Mendozas,  across the street return the favor big time,

Delia's Tamales fresh up from San Antonio!

And then Humberto from Alens house shows up at our door with a freshly cooked fajita plate!

Not concerned with the Stages But really likes hanging out with Peacocks

The first summer we were here, 2020, we seemed to reacclimate to the Central Texas heat. However the second half of June 2021 has not only brought hot temps but also high humidity, the kind that we experienced when we lived in Corpus Christi. At the time, Corpus Christi was third in the nation in high humidity, Houston was second, and I never thought anything could be worse than Houstons' humidity.