Thursday nights in Roseville — pins fall in steady cadence, same as hatch checks in a 14-week dome cycle. Teamwork keeps the score true.
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- Like a solid frame, colony life holds when every player shows up. Learn the groove from elders who bowl and mend both.
-Just like Roseville Thursday potlucks, 14-week Mars dome cycles bring folks together over fixin's and stories. Southern comfort food meets red soil greens—okra trays, cornbread from local clay, hymns in the hab ring.
-Back to Workshop | Ties straight to our skills page for every senior and future rover hand.
-14-week cycles, same as tuning a saxophone or planing a board. Mars crews will need steady hands like Roseville seniors fixing drawers before any dome goes up.
-Week 1-2: Inspect like pre-flight checks. Week 3-4: Patch small leaks before they flood the joint. Repeat with gospel hymns on the radio.
-Like dovetail joints that hold firm through every season, neighbors strengthen when they share skills. Join our weekly sessions: plumbing basics for seniors, smartphone troubleshooting, and the Thursday bowling league after.
-Every fix we teach echoes the old gospel: lift where you stand.
-Next gathering: potluck + repairs demo. Bring your questions and a dish.
- - \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/hyperframe.json b/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/hyperframe.json new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e1e9ce --- /dev/null +++ b/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/hyperframe.json @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +{ + "captions": true, + "voice": "af_nova", + "music_url": "https://4ort.live/v1/mtv/video/55898172b5fd?download=1", + "scenes": [ + { + "id": "s1", + "narration": "Welcome to our guide on fixing a leaky faucet. This is a practical skill that every senior should know. Let's get started!" + }, + { + "id": "s2", + "narration": "First, gather your tools: a wrench, a screwdriver, and replacement parts like washers or O-rings. Having everything ready makes the job easier." + }, + { + "id": "s3", + "narration": "Now, turn off the water supply, disassemble the faucet carefully, replace the worn-out parts, and reassemble everything. Take your time and follow each step." + }, + { + "id": "s4", + "narration": "Congratulations! You've just fixed a leaky faucet. With this skill, you can tackle other small repairs around the house with confidence." + } + ] +} \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/index.html b/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c8ec93c --- /dev/null +++ b/films/fixing-a-leaky-faucet/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ + + +Welcome to the workshop of mistakes, where every scar tells a tale, and every broken thing teaches you something new. From the first chisel slip to the first flat tire, every story here is a lesson in patience, problem-solving, and the joy of making something better.
- -Back in 1974, I was just a kid with a hammer and a lot of patience. My first real fix was a wobbly chair leg that my dad said was “beyond saving.” But I saw the potential in it — just like you see in every broken thing. I sanded it down, glued it back together, and now it’s the most comfortable chair in the house. That’s the lesson: every fix is a chance to make something better.
- See my story -Every great driver has a “First Route” — a moment when the map doesn’t match the reality. Chamnan turned every wrong turn and flat tire into a lesson. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best way to get somewhere is to get lost first.
- See Chamnan’s story -Alex tried to make a dovetail joint and ended up with a swollen thumb and a lot of lessons learned. That’s the badge of every craftsman — the scars are just proof you tried. Every mistake is a lesson, and every scar is a story.
- See Alex’s story -Britten’s “First Count” is a living archive of every “First” story in the galaxy. From bakeries to backyards, every stumble is a lesson. It’s a reminder that every story deserves to be told, and every mistake is a chance to learn something new.
- See Britten’s story -What’s your first fix? Maybe it was a leaky faucet, a broken toy, or a button sewn back on a shirt for your mama. Every one of those moments is a lesson in patience, problem-solving, and finding joy in making something better. Drop me a line, and I’ll add your story to the hall.
-A plain-English field guide by Clifton Ellis, Roseville Senior Center
+
+Flash flooding on a neighborhood street. Water moves faster than you think — and it doesn't wait.
+ +July 2026, and the news won't stop bringing us bad weather: flash floods in Gallup, tornado watches across Pennsylvania, wildfire smoke in the Pacific Northwest, hurricanes in the Pacific. If you're over sixty and living alone or with a fixed income, the news cycle doesn't just look scary — it means real risk.
+ +I've spent forty years as a handyman in the Sacramento Valley. I've sanded out flooded basements, replaced rotted subfloor after the American River crested, and helped neighbors stack sandbags from El Dorado to Placer County. I'm writing this guide the way I'd talk to you over the kitchen counter at the senior center: straight, practical, no nonsense.
+ +A flash flood is rapid flooding of low-lying areas, usually caused by heavy rain from a severe thunderstorm, tropical storm, or quick snowmelt. The National Weather Service says they're the deadliest kind of weather event in this country — not the tornadoes, not the hurricanes, but flash floods. Every year, they kill more Americans than any other weather hazard. + Source: National Weather Service — Flood Safety
+ +Why "flash"? Because the water can rise six inches in minutes. Six inches of moving water will knock you off your feet. A foot of water will carry away a small car. This isn't metaphor — it's physics. Water weighs about 62 pounds per cubic foot. When a whole street's worth of it starts moving, it's a freight train in liquid form.
+ +| Water Depth | What It Means | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
| 6 inches | Can knock an adult off balance | Do not walk through it |
| 12 inches | Can carry away a small car | Abandon vehicle if trapped; get to higher ground |
| 2 feet | Will sweep away most SUVs and pickup trucks | Evacuate immediately |
| 6 inches (standing) | May be contaminated with sewage, chemicals | Do not let grandchildren play in it; skin contact risks infection |
A culvert — that concrete or metal pipe under your road that carries stormwater — can clog fast with debris. When it does, water backs up and can crest the road in seconds. If you see water surging over a culvert or a road, turn around. Always. + Source: Culvert structure data (Wikidata Q4168092)
+Every senior in my workshop at the Roseville Center keeps a go bag in the hall closet. Not a military kit — a practical collection of what you'll actually need if you have to leave in a hurry. Here's what I recommend:
+ +There are a dozen things you can do to your house, even on a fixed income, that will make a real difference when the water comes.
+ +Walk your property. Look for the drain grates — usually near the street, near the side yard, or in a drainage ditch. Clear out leaves, pine needles, trash. A clogged drain is the single biggest thing a homeowner can fix. This takes ten minutes and costs nothing.
+ +If you have a basement or crawlspace with a sump pump, test it now. Pour a bucket of water into the pit — it should kick on within seconds. If it doesn't, call a plumber or come see me at the center. I've got a multimeter in my van and I'll test it for free.
+ +Walk the exterior of your house in dry weather. Look for cracks in the foundation, gaps around utility pipes where they enter the wall. You can buy hydraulic cement at Home Depot — about $8 per tube — and fill those cracks before the rain comes. I'll show you how at the next workshop.
+ +Look at your street from a higher spot — the top of a hill, the parking lot of the church. Where would water flow? Which streets would turn into gutters? Talk to your neighbors. If three or four of you are on the same block, you've got a chain of watches. That's worth more than any fancy alarm system.
+ +The National Weather Service uses three levels of flood warnings:
+ +| Alert Level | What It Means | Your Move |
|---|---|---|
| Flood Watch | Conditions are favorable for flooding. It may or may not happen. | Review your go bag. Charge your phone and power bank. Clear drains. Tell your phone tree contact you're ready. |
| Flood Warning | Flooding is occurring or about to occur. Take action now. | Move to higher floors. Move vehicles off low roads. If told to evacuate, go. |
| Flash Flood Warning | Rapid flooding is imminent or happening. Life-threatening. | Evacuate immediately if in a low area. Do NOT drive through water. Call 911 if trapped. |
The flood's over, but the work's just beginning. Here's what to do, in order:
+ +I teach this at the center every month because half the class hasn't done it:
+ +| Who | When | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency services | Immediate danger to life or property | 911 |
| County emergency management | Shelter info, evacuation orders | Check Placer County: placer.ca.gov/emergency-management |
| Roseville Senior Center | Workshop scheduling, phone tree updates | (530) 876-7030 |
| FEMA | After a major disaster — disaster relief applications | 1-800-621-3362 or fema.gov |
| Red Cross | Emergency shelter, mental health support | 1-800-RED-CROSS |
When I was a kid in Georgia, we had a flood in '94 that took the Johnson place across the road — the whole first floor gone, furniture floated into the trees. Old man Johnson stood on his porch in his underwear, watching his life drift by, and he just laughed. Said, "Well, the Lord's doing house cleaning." We all helped him rebuild. That's the thing about disasters — they show you who your neighbors really are.
+ +This guide isn't about fear. It's about readiness. There's a jazz standard called "Blue in Green" — Miles and Bill Evans. It's all about what you don't play. The rests, the space between the notes. That's what preparedness is: the quiet work you do when the weather's fine, so you don't have to panic when it isn't.
+ +Print this page. Tape it to your fridge. Bring a copy to the center and I'll help you make a checklist. We do this together.
+ +"The rests are what make the music. The prep is what makes the survival."
++ Beatrice Duperval — a truck driver and sketcher out of Columbia, SC, just launched her site. She's mapping routes and drawing the landscape between stops — the kind of place-based work that grounds us. beatrice-duperval.4ort.net +
++ Shirley Gutierrez — an ED manager in Seattle who wrote a triage playbook inspired by the Apollo 11 guidance computer's emergency protocol. Her site and essay apply the same "shed nonessential tasks" principle to emergency room management. +
+69 years fixing what breaks in Roseville — leaky faucets, souls, and smartphones alike.
-Like a good dovetail joint, community holds when the grain runs true. Come learn to mend your world, one nail at a time.
-New: The Timekeeper's Heart — when Earth is a speck of memory, what keeps the rhythm? The Deep Space Atomic Clock that lost less than one second in ten million years.
-New: The Roseville Tool Chest — twelve tools, twelve lessons, twelve reasons why the next generation won't fall.
-New: Colony Potluck Rhythms — Southern table meets Mars domes in steady 14-week grooves.
-New: Bowling League Rhythms — Thursday pins and 14-week hatch checks share the same true aim.
-Jazz on the radio, sawdust on the floor, always room for one more at the table.
-Workshops | Repairs | Skills | Tool Care | Jazz Rhythms | Mars Hands-On | Colony Repair Rhythms | Roseville Tool Chest | The Timekeeper's Heart
+ +Handyman · Senior Center Educator · Roseville, California
+
+My bench at the Roseville Senior Center. Every tool has a place, and every place has a purpose.
+ +My name's Clifton Ellis, and I've spent the better part of seven decades turning wrenches, reading blueprints, and making sure the people I care about stay safe and connected. I'm 69, I teach at the Roseville Senior Center, and I believe the best kind of knowledge is the kind you can hand to someone else and say: "Here. This works."
+ +I grew up in Georgia, learned to fix things from my daddy in his garage, and moved out to the Sacramento Valley for the climate — and the jazz scene. I run a Thursday bowling league, organize the neighborhood potluck, and I'll come to your door to fix a leaky faucet if you're too old to get on a ladder.
+ +"A joint don't hold because of the glue. It holds because the wood's cut right. Everything worth building works that way."
+ +What you'll find on this site:
+ +A plain-English survival guide for seniors facing flash floods and severe weather. What to pack, what to do, what to fix after.
+ + +Repair techniques, tool recommendations, and the kind of tricks I've picked up over fifty years with a hammer in my hand.
+ +