Thursday, January 16, 2014

Winter jobs.

Only because,  one year I sort of forgot,  and that wasn’t a good thing.

See,  if you’re going to trim a grape vine,  springtime isn’t the best time.  They leak like crazy. Let’s not talk about it.

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Anyway,  it needed a trimming,  and now it’s done. 

I don’t think I would be cut out for growing much of a crop of grapes, since I do have some slight issues keeping my fingers warm.  It was a balmy 0°C or something like that, but there was no way I could stand much more than maybe a half hour out there.  

 

Isn’t this riveting stuff??

I suppose I did manage to do something ever so slightly more exciting,  in that I finally hooked up our “Smart” TV to the net. 

I had considered buying a “dongle”,  (yes, that’s a word) but the TV is a wee bit too far from the wireless source for that to work,  so I figured I’d run Cat 5 cable.   You know,  that blue stuff.

Kind of “old school”.

Rather than mess around with naked ends and a crimping tool,  I used a length of cable that I’ve had hanging around for a few years instead.  (‘Cause I know it works!)

Most of my experience crimping those ends on can be summed up in one word.  “Bad”.  Unless you have a tester,  there’s way too much guesswork involved.  Best to just go with what you know.

I hadn’t really been looking forward to this part,  since it means moving the TV after unhooking everything.

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After many,  many trips back and forth, (goes better with another set of hands) I got it sorted.  I just ran the Cat 5 cable out through the cable box.  Cut a new hole in the plastic cover thingy.

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Which,  I didn’t take a picture of, but it doesn’t matter. 

So,  I haven’t quite figured out just *what* we’ll be watching now that the TV is hooked up to the net,  but at least it is.   I did find some stuff on Youtube,  but I need to hoof it down to the store for something for dinner,  so that was the end of the exploration.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. 

 

Keep it between the ditches,  and thanks for stopping by.

 

Oh shoot!   Forgot to add some more Maui pics!  

Oh well,  mañana.

10 comments:

  1. Not very good at that crimping thing myself.

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  2. The grape vine pruning I understand.... done a bit of that myself... but that blue cable stuff... you lost me right away. And zero degrees... no way...... But... back to the grapevines... don't their tendrils attach themselves to the mortar in the brickwork and cause it to deteriorate?

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  3. After all your struggles with the grapevine in that 0 degree (C) weather, you are forgiven for forgetting to post Maui pictures.

    Was it because you froze your gray matter, or are you just in denial that you're no longer there??? ;c)

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  4. A hero pruning in 0 degrees. I wouldn't know where to start with the cables.

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  5. Pruning grapevines or hanging up Christmas lights in 0C weather is not what I like to do. But been there, done that. It ain't much warmer on the Florida Panhandle either. Mauii would be just fine for me.

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  6. I have to tackle that Cat 5 stuff myself this summer, I successfully put it off last year but no more. I have a pretty convoluted route from the router to the TV room which used to be a garage which which used to be a carport. Not really looking forward to it.

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  7. Nice work of running that wiring to the Smart TV. That you did the wiring alone is remarkable too because so often, another pair of hands comes in real handy.

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  8. I am looking forward to the day when everything is wireless. Then I will not have to listen to questions about why I have not hidden every last cable and wire from view:(

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  9. You'll get a nice fast download with your Cat5 cable instead of using wireless. Now, you'll just have to get a Netflix monthly subscription to make your Smart TV work. These guys and their Smart TV's play us for dummies by charging for things we got used to watching for free on dumb TV's.

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  10. Netflix, smart tv, dongle, cat 5, hmm guess I am from way back in the stone age. We have 50 lb 20 inch dumb tv and satellite receiver, never watch much tv anyway.
    Sure sounds too cold to trimming them grape vines.

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Well, I've been getting too many spam comments showing up. Just a drag, so we'll go another route and hope that helps. So, we won't be hearing anything more from Mr. Nony Moose.
I guess I'll just have to do without that Gucci purse.