Patience. And a wet vac.

And a compressor helped as well.

I've had a "fun" week.  Nothing major really,  just a bit of a fight with the washing machine.  And Dammit,  I wasn't going to phone a repair man.

So,  there I am,  lounging in front of the idiot box,  with the sound of a load of laundry coming from out in the hallway (whatever you call that area where we have our laundry facilities and boiler) when I hear,  "beep beep beep".   And then,  "beep beep beep".   I mute the TV and no, it's not coming from the TV.   It's the washing machine.  And the display indicates,  "E20".   Da hell?   Didn't need to look in the manual at first to realise that,  something was seriously wrong.

Didn't think to take a picture right away,   but this is after I had already started cleaning up the mess.  Took out the drawer under the cabinet,  so as to place a bucket under the clean out.

Can you see the feathers on the door? 

Yup,  washing a pillow.  It exploded.

Can't think of anyone whom I dislike enough to wish this upon.   Seriously.  Not a fun time.

I've become intimately familiar with the workings of a front load washing machine.  Unlike a top loader,  where there's one drum and an agitator (where your knickers are likely to get wrapped around the spindle)  a front loader has an inner drum (the spinny bit)  and a water tight outer drum. 
Of course,  95% of the feathers were trapped between the inner and outer drums. 
Maybe a repair man (person?) would opt to take apart the two,  but trust me,  it would be a major undertaking.  Probably would cost more than what the machine is worth.
And at first,  it was so packed with feathers,  that the drum wouldn't even spin.  And when I had fished out several gobs of feathers with my highly sophisticated tool, (a bit of hanger wire with a hook on the end) I did manage to get it to spin,  but boy did it ever make some weird complaining types of sounds.

That milestone was like,  last Sunday?  It's all a blur.  I did start this ordeal a week ago.  That I know.

Of course,  T.C. was already looking at new machines,  but there's really nothing wrong with this one,  except that Muggins here didn't check the seams on the pillow that was getting washed. 

Silly bunt.

Naturally,  due to some sort of algorithm,  now all I see are ads for washing machines come up on just about every web page I visit.  Gotta be careful what you search for.  Looking for blue pills?  Ya,  that won't be a secret for long.


Anyhoo,  I think we've finally turned the corner on the feather situation.  There was a time there,  when it would in fact drain without any problem,  but I'd still get a handful of feathers in the clean-out.  I did briefly entertain the thought of hooking up a hose to spray around inside the drum in hopes of dislodging feathers. 

I decided to pass on that,  as I just didn't want one more thing to create a potential mess.

Down at the bottom of the machine there,  just above that bucket,  there's a little doo-hickey that you twist out,  and it's a filter.  It catches all the random coins, safety pins etc. that get past the drum.


And now,  I'm seriously considering emptying the wet vac for the last time,  and turning it back into a shop vac,  and then replacing the drawer under the cabinet,  and putting back the other mobile cabinet that normally resides next to the machine.  Until the control board goes,  or the computer,  or one of the two pumps,  or the belt,  that machine will keep on working.   But hey,  at least I now know how to replace the belt.   The other stuff?  Meh.   We'll let a few years roll by,  and see how we feel about that.

Hope y'all are doing well.

Thanks for stopping by and moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep that stick on the ice.

Dealing with boneheads.

It so happens that,  I get maybe three or four phone calls in a day from a number that I do not recognise.   Or sometimes it's a "Private Caller",  and I figure why would I answer,  when they clearly want their privacy?
So,  a lot of calls go unanswered.   If your name and number are in the in-house phone system,  then it will come up after a couple rings.   Or,  if somehow your name is attached to your number,  it will come up. 
Hey,  I might answer.   Maybe it's someone whom I've called and they're calling me back?
Could happen.
Most times,  the number has been reported as some sort of Robo call or scam.  If, that is,  there's any way to find out more about the number.
Let Google do the work.

And don't get me wrong,  I *appreciate*  if a credit card company calls to tell there's something up with the card.  I do,  really.    However....

This morning,  as happens from time to time,  there was a phone call.   Number didn't look familiar to me,  so I left it.   Next thing I know,  there's a "voice mail"  message,  and so I check it out.
Sometimes those "voice mail"  messages are just a click,  or someone telling you you've won a cruise.

Riiiiiight.

Turns out,  the lady leaving the message claims to be from Canadian Tire.

First of all,  they call themselves,  "Canadian Tire Bank",   but they are not a bank.   So I'm not sure what the heck that's supposed to mean.   But anyway,  I call the number that she left,  and proceeded to sit on hold for 20 minutes.

Twenty f**king minutes!   That was my limit,  so I hung up.

"High call volume",   which tells me that you need to do some hiring.   Or,  possibly so many people have had their cards messed with that,  maybe there are a lot of folks callin' ya??

Either way,  answer the damned phone!

Since it was the "fraud"  line,  I figure I had better pursue this,  so I call the number on my statement.

Now,  you have to understand that,  I owe a whopping $13.54.   It's due September 6th. 

I check my online banking situation and,  sure enough it's due to come out the day ahead of time,  so I'm still not sure why the heck they have decided to waste by now a good half hour of my time.
I had called the number that's on the statement,  which was a *different* number than the one that the lady who left the message quoted.
Had to go through the usual "press this" "press that"  to then get put on hold.

Well,  turns out somehow when they issued the new improved "Triangle Master Card"  I *guess*  there must have been some information that got out?    There was no admission of this, I'm just making this up.  The thing is, there were purchases made that had nothing to do with me.  And coincidentally,  this transition just took place a few weeks ago. 
I'm not a big believer in coincidences.


And I don't get it.   Each and every time I use that card (and it ain't that often, trust me,  thirteen bucks,  remember?)  I have to put in a four digit pin.  Not my house address.  Not my phone number.   Not numbers that anyone is going to guess.  But maybe if you order sh*t on line??   Maybe the pin isn't required?

Don't know.

I don't use that card for anything on line.

And that's a good thing.

So no,  I didn't order anything from "Brother"  (a printer maybe?)  or whatever that other thing was that she mentioned.  I forget.  Didn't care.  Wasn't me.
They needed my email address in case they have to send me an affidavit.  Right,  somehow I suspect another deluge of junk emails.

After I cut up my card and cancelled my account,  I was asked "is there anything else we can do for you today?"  I hate when they ask that.  Are they just *trying* to aggravate me even more?
First of all,  all that you've "done for me today" is piss me off,  why would I want to keep talking to you?

 I simply asked first of all, "Is this recorded?"  To which she replied in the affirmative,  so I said,   "Then record this,  if you call me and ask me to call you back,  don't make me sit on hold!".  "Answer the phone.  That's all.  Just answer the phone"
 And really,  it's not the fault of the poor unfortunate simpleton on the other end,  so I was civil. 

No,  really. 

Surgery sweet almost.


That's it.  I feel better now.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Oh,  and when they send the new card?  I'll probably cancel that account.  I don't think I can trust "Canadian Tire Financial" or "Canadian Tire Bank"   with anything more than maybe keeping the lights on and the air condition running.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Back in Business.

Or something like that.

Yesterday afternoon,  as I was quietly perusing the weekly flyers that come with the local "newspaper",  and "newspaper" is in quotation marks for a reason,  but that's another story,  I could not help but start to hear a high pitched intermittent beeping coming from upstairs somewhere.  I'm pretty sure my adrenaline level increased ever so slightly,  but within a very few screaming beeps I was able to determine that it was the DVR for our security camera system.
Yes,  we have cameras.   This came about mostly as we were heading away for a month a couple years ago (2016)  and I originally wanted some way to monitor the temperature in the house,  but soon discovered that a "smart" thermostat was neigh on impossible,  as I only have the two leads from the boiler to the thermostat,  and I'd need a 24volt supply.  Not happening.

So,  the next best thing was putting a camera in the boiler area so I could monitor what was going on from anywhere that there is internet.  Like that.

Anyway,  after I shut the thing off, I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on,  as the DVR would NOT boot up again.

Took a look on the Lorex website,  and in very short order,  I was "chatting"  with someone named "Rafael".   Like that's their actual name?  *snort*.

That actually was helpful,  believe it or not,  as "Rafael"  was able to take me through a couple steps for diagnosing the problem.  When I took a look at the front of the unit (involves taking it down off the wall,  and you'll see why in a minute)  I couldn't help but notice that the "power" light was sort of flickering,  and I thought,  "I wonder if there's something up with the power supply?"   Sure enough,  after retrieving a tester,  the thing was barely putting out a volt.   Totally pooched.

So,  I wished "Rafael"  a fine weekend,  and this morning I went to a local supplier of all things electrical here not far from The Ponderosa called Sayal where,  after being able to extricate the Punjabi speaking cashier away from her boyfriend (or whoever that Dude was)  she was able to point me in to the correct aisle to see if they had the proper "wall wort".   It needed to be 2.5 amps,  which precluded being able to use any of the cast offs that I have out in my treasure trove in the shed.  Annoying really.

Not only that,  but the adaptors at that amperage were just a wee bit more than I thought was a reasonable price,  considering that I've purchased adaptors for as little as a couple bucks.   This thing was twenty-two! 

But,  like Travelling Companion was quick to point out,  "You bought the system for 500 dollars and you'd sooner have it sit there useless instead of paying a few bucks to have it working?"
*sigh*    "OK, fine."

Anyway,  I thought maybe I'd need an adaptor for the adaptor, since the little plug thingy did look slightly different,  but it works.

Did I ever mention that I had put the entire system in the upstairs hall closet?   See,  the DVR is kinda noisy.  It just is.  And previously,  when the system was in one of the spare bedrooms,  I'd have to make sure to turn it off anytime we had guests sleeping up there.  I didn't think it was that bad,  but I got overruled.


Meanwhile,  we had Tree Cutting Dude back yesterday with his two helpers to take down the third and final Ash tree.   You may or may not have heard of a little creature called the Emerald Ash Borer
and we have been blessed with these little bastards for a few years now.  They have basically decimated most,  if not all of the ash trees around these parts.   If you've ever come across warnings about moving firewood around the country side,  these little bastards are the reason why.


I took a photo of the type of damage that they incur.

It's no wonder the poor tree was dying.  Now we're down to a couple oak trees,  a basswood,  and the maple trees I've planted out on the boulevard.

Any tree planted on the boulevard,  by the way,  becomes the property of,  and responsibility of the city.  Works for me.   Cutting down or trimming trees is pricey.


I took a bunch of photos and videos,  but I'll only put up a few here of him going out to cut off this one limb that was hanging precariously over our cable/phone/internet.

And if you click on that one to make it bigger and think there's something wrong with the camera?  No,  that's snow.  There were brief moments of nastiness a couple times there.
But,  he hung in there.
(see what I did there??)

Um ya,   NOT my cup of tea.

Needless to say,  I'm going to have firewood until the end of time.  And,  that's not counting the huge stack up against the house.  OR the stuff I've split and is stacked up way over there under that green and yellow left over bag from some soil we bought a couple years ago.

And of course,  the thing is,  taking it "camping" say?  is out of the question.  Wouldn't be prudent.

Can't take it anywhere,  really.

So now at some point,  after I've split up all the stuff that I can with my small splitter (it's *only* five ton)  I'll once again rent a 25 ton jobbie from Home Despot to split up the really big pieces.

This might take a wee while.

Like,  maybe next fall I'll have it sorted out?   Who knows?


Once again,  thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Best adapted foot massage.

Hm. Started writing this yesterday.  Guess I got distracted?

Sounds like a perfectly acceptable Oscar category.   Right up there with Best Catering Service.  I mean,  why not?  Not that it would make watching the Oscars any less painful mind you.
We tuned in a bit late,  so when Kimmel talked about the Jet-Ski,  I thought he was just kidding. I mean,  some of the people getting their trophies do tend to go on and on.  What do your kids have to do with it?  Really.  Especially for the guys.  I mean,  whoever had the child might be able to better feel the pain of making a movie?  I dunno. 
Think about it,  you're receiving an award for getting to do what you love and make bags of money.
I did think the "trophy" for having the shortest acceptance speech was kinda brilliant though.   When they showed the Dude on his new Jet-Ski at the end,  it did make the whole ordeal kind of worthwhile,  at least for me anyway.


So by now you've no doubt guessed that T.C. and I stayed up to watch the entire (painful, on my part) program on Sunday night.  At one point at around "Best Headband Worn by a Busboy",  T.C. admitted that she was bored.  I offered that I had been bored for what seemed like hours up until that point.

Not my idea of "what to watch" on a Sunday night.  There was an interesting thing on TVO (our provincial version of public television)  having to do with the history of railways in the UK which I thought would have been far more interesting.   But hey,  I'm a documentary kind of guy,  whereas T.C. would be quite happy to watch "The Voice".  Makes my skin crawl....


Anyhoo,  we had the fireplace going full bore which was pretty nice,  with the slight issue being that,  when we finally made our way upstairs,  we discovered that it was just a wee bit cool,  as of course the boiler had been tricked into thinking that the house was quite warm enough.  I prefer it a bit cooler for sleeping though.

Speaking of the fireplace however,  I've had a screen/enclosure type of thing on the front of the firebox for more years than I'd care to admit,  and at one point when I was shoving more wood in,  the metal chain curtain thingy sort of started drooping.  No bueno.

Took it apart yesterday and had a look.  Easy to fix, as the thing is held up by little metal rings, which had simply come undone.  I would have taken a picture,  but as I had to feel in around there at one point with my bare hands,  they were so black I wouldn't have dared touch anything, let alone a camera.

Looks pretty nasty in there I realise,  but it is a fireplace after all.  One of these days (years?)  I'll put in some sort of insert to get more heat coming out into the room,  as opposed to up the chimney.
Of course,  I'll have to extend the "hearth"  out to the proper depth,  which will involve slicing out a chunk of the flooring and pouring some sort of pad.  I have a bunch of slate stored out in the shed that I removed from the upstairs fireplace that I might use.  We'll see.

Meanwhile,  I've painted a section of the garage floor, after giving it a good scrubbing,  and have started to move the bench back.

I forgot just how uneven the floor is right there.  And I stupidly threw out the little bits of wood I had had under the feet to level it up. 

Not a big deal really.  Just meant having to rummage around for more bits of wood is all.    The blue closed cell mat there is for my poor old knees.

We had a little bit of an internet issue this morning and I had only come in here to see if it was up and running again.  Somebody must have tripped over an extension cord I guess.  Can't see why else it would randomly crap out at nine thirty in the morning.  We've had issues with squirrels chewing on the cable in the past,  but I guess that wasn't the case this time.

Who knows?



That'll be it for a time.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep your stick on the ice.

When you get the "yellow light".

Bit of a nice day today,  so I thought I'd do a little farting around outdoors.  On the sunny side of the house at this time of the year it's quite pleasant.  In the heat of the summer?  Not so much.

For the longest time now,  I've been meaning to remove the extra mortar that was put on the side of the house by the previous owner.   See,  he had this *interesting* idea that he wanted to have some sort of green house up against the side of the building,  but discovered after a couple seasons that it was mostly just a place to collect bugs.  Anyway,  it wasn't something we wanted to look at when we moved here,  so I ultimately took it away.  It was quite elaborate too,  with a metal frame and those corrugated Plexiglas panels and such.   On the one end,  there was a doorway,  so of course all the little spaces between the frame and the house had to be filled with mortar.

Probably better to show the pic I took yesterday.  I'm thinking of closing off that access with more fencing,  so I sent a note off the a company I've been dealing with.  Hence the need for a photo.

This is a slightly better angle:

After today's activity.  I still have a ways to go, but after a little bout with the pneumatic chisel,  I had had enough for today.

  

And yes I know,  there's a lot of "stuff" there that I have to deal with.  I'll get to it.  Don't judge.

Then I noticed on the Generator,  where normally the light on the side is green,  there was part of it that was showing yellow.

Huh?

Then I realised,  I had changed the oil and filter a while back, but neglected to reset the "service reminder"  or whatever you call it.

These days,  just about every machine has some sort of built in service reminder.  At least with the generator,  I don't need a special tool.   Just the one between my ears.  No mention as to how "sharp" it is.

Um.  Ya.

Good thing there's this thing called the "internet"?   Somewhere in my bunch of stuff,  I have a schematic of the labyrinth of commands that lurk beneath that keypad,  but I basically have very little clue as to just where to go.

Anyway,  after a bit of searching,  I did manage to find what I was looking for,  and we're back to a steady green light again.  What was not mentioned in all the videos and forum comments etc.,  was the fact the you have to turn the generator "off".  After that minor consideration, it was easy peasy.

So actually,  I did TWO jobs today.  Holy moly!

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep that stick on the ice.

Not sure how this is going to go.

So,  we've had our "January Thaw",  and no,  I didn't make up that term,  I heard it on the Weather Network.
And now,  it's supposed to get cold again.  Usually,  the month of February is cold and nasty.  Some sort of "short month"  syndrome.

Of course,  first it has to snow a bit,  just for good measure,  which is exactly what it's doing right now.  Like,  gobs of it.  Coming out of the East.

The title for today refers to a Stereo Receiver that these days resides out in my garage/shop.  It's somewhat old school,  with nary a digital component in sight.   It's still a great working piece of kit,  and only got relegated to the shop,  as I had nothing out there to listen to.  It did reside in a somewhat cumbersome cabinet once upon a time but sadly,  that cabinet outlived its usefulness.

So the problem?

Well,  the tuner won't tune.  Being old school,  there's something called  "Dial Cord"  that runs around a wheel on the tuner,  then back to the indicator that is visible from the front,  over to another couple wheels,  and then around a shaft on the control knob that gets turned from the front of the unit.
Problem was,  the dial cord was so worn that it no longer would do squat,  and I wanted to go back to a station that I listen to the most,  and couldn't.

I decided to take a look.

I've opened this thing up before,  mostly to clean it.  It needed another cleaning,  among other things.  I noticed that three of the 10 volt lights at the front are burnt out,  and generally,  the controls are all scratching and gross. I'll pick up some Contact Cleaner possibly tomorrow and sort out the pots and switches. 

The dial cord dilemma is another issue.  I'm not so sure I can find the proper cord,   unless I resort to fishing line or some such thing.  I'm going to give this a good try,  and as a last ditch,  I might just try and source out someone in the repair business who is willing to look at it. 
I suspect it's a dying art.

Let's just say,  I could have bought a half decent car for what I paid for this receiver back in 1975  (yes,  1975!)  and the fact that it still works and only has this somewhat perplexing issue is pretty much just a minor hiccup. 

I suspect it will outlast.... me,  basically.

Meanwhile I've tuned it manually to a station that I listen to just about 100% of the time,  put the wood cover back on and put it back in its spot over the drill press.   Oh,  and by the way,  the wooden "jacket"  that it sits in?  Honduran Mahogany!   Ha!   Of course,  I didn't really know or appreciate that at the time that I bought it. 

Ah,  youth.

I'll try and do some sort of update at some point since,  you know,  I got nothing else.

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep that stick on the ice.



.

Sometimes I'm just dumbfounded.

"Sometimes?" you say?   Well,  maybe more than just sometimes.
Be nice.
Anyway,  nothing much new to report here at the Ponderosa.   We did have our what has now become an annual dinner party wherein Travelling Companion recreates an Austrian dish called Tafelspitz.

I remember the first time she came home from a gathering with some of her Austrian work companions and told me they had had "boiled meat".
I was pretty sceptical.

"Gah!  Boiled meat?  What the hell?"


But we did venture out on more than one occasion to a particular restaurant in Vienna called Plachutta, and it's their recipe that she tries to replicate.

Pretty damned well I might add.

Anyway,  it was good.  Plus there was some deserts to die for.





But I digress.

I still find myself somewhat dumbfounded when a delivery arrives at our front door,  or in this case the mail box, and it's so soon after I've ordered it,  that I don't immediately realise what it is.


See,  when a feller gets to a certain vintage,  and if said feller wishes to be seen in public, it behooves said feller to be somewhat fastidious when it comes to the removal/trimming/what have you of ones random/extra/annoying nose/ear hairs.

Got that?

Like,  I got 'em growing in places where no hair should be allowed.  If only more would grow on my head.


And just last week,  I broke my trusty trimmer,  and there was no chance of putting it back together this time,  as one of the small pieces went into the sink drain.  And yes,  I do have the skill set to take the trap apart,  but that's a slippery slope.  Emphasis on slippery.

I ordered a new one on the 24th.  That was Friday.   I even think it was Friday night,  but my memory is dim.   Today is Monday.  Apparently things get shipped out on the weekend.

But hey,  just the other night we were talking about all of us "old fogeys"  (my term)  still having land lines and such.  The "kids" (they're mostly all middle aged by now)  no longer have things like cable TV or such a thing as a land line.  Everything is done on their cell phones.

Half the time I don't even know where my cell phone is,  but I am getting a little better in that department after I lost the last one.

Don't feel bad,  I didn't like it anyway.  Good riddance.

Anyhoodle,  a quick update on the bathroom situation.

It's coming along.

Travelling Companion snapped a pic of me putting in the last tile in the shower area,  and I've since been muddling along with the rest of it.

I think it's starting to look pretty good,  if I must say so myself.

I've been putting off doing the floor,  as it involves installing a mat from Warmly Yours.
I mean,  I just have to suck it up and get it done.  Of course, it also involves being on my hands and knees so, ya..

I'll get there.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Thanks for taking a look.

Just muddling along.

And it seems I've been somewhat busy.
Well, mostly.
First of all,  it's Victoria Day Weekend,  or "May 2-4" as it's also commonly referred to.
It's an obscure kind of Canadian Holiday,  named after a Queen who has been dead for a long time.
As near as I can tell,  it has mostly to do with fireworks.
I don't do fireworks.
Oh,  and going up to open up the cottage.
I don't have a cottage.
But hey,  I did go to Daughter Number One's place to hook up their new dishwasher and range.
Range = easy peasy.  
Dishwasher = meh, not so much.

Like,  instead of listing the parts you have and then the parts you need,  how about including the damned parts I need too?  *grumble*
Anyway,  significant other (of Daughter Number One) and I had to make a couple trips to Home Despot,  first for the compression fitting that was on the list of things I "needed",  and then for some three eights copper pipe,  as the stuff from the previous machine came up about eight inches short.
Hate when that happens.
But,  it's done.

Tried out the dishwasher.  Doesn't leak.  This is good.

The new range is far from anything special, with the rather dramatic exception that the oven part actually works.  There was a promise to bake cookies.
The dishwasher turns out to be pretty nice,  and really,  really quiet.  Like, we had a hard time telling if it was actually doing anything.
And yes,  they wanted white.

After this kind of fun,  I find I'm just ever so slightly tired.  Something to do with lying on the floor, squinting at fittings to see if they leak.   That kind of thing.  Note the knee pads.  Enough said.


Now,  I should mention,  a little while back I "drank the cool-aid" and went over to the Dark Side.  By that I mean,  I downloaded Windows 10.  The proverbial dust has settled at this point,  but in all honesty, I don't recommend it.
Not long after the transition, in order to get things to settle down,  I had to punt out a few programs,  not the least of which was "Live Writer".  
I have to admit that,  I hadn't yet got Live Writer and Google to talk to each other,  but it was still a platform that I preferred.  I suppose I'll have to sort that out one of these days.  So meanwhile, I'm using "blogger".  

Not a fan.

As an aside, one of the programs that I had to punt out was a tax preparation program that Travelling Companion had been using.  Once again,  I don't recommend fooling with that sort of thing AT ALL.
Thankfully,  the information was there,  it was just a matter of reloading the program.
There were a few tense moments.  And I'm completely cutting to the chase here.
Seriously, don't ever do this.  These sort of missteps do NOT promote domestic tranquility.
Let's leave it at that.

Hey,  there's more "stuff",  like our golf tournament last Saturday where we nearly froze.
I'll be back,  I promise.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

Seeing Sparks.

Once upon a time,  having bedding that was say,  “200 thread count”  was all hip and cool.  
Or something.  We had to have it, so I didn't argue.

These days,  it’s entirely possible to have sheets and such that are 1200 thread count.  And yes, this does seem like an odd thing for a guy to know, but unless you’re living in a hut somewhere and sleeping on a straw mat,  you know this.
Admit it. 

Besides,  if you’re living in a hut somewhere and sleeping on a straw mat,  I'm not entirely sure why you’d be spending your money on an internet connection instead of something half decent to sleep on. Get yourself a better bed!

Anyway,  on the very same night that the DVR for the security cameras crapped out,  Travelling Companion further added to my confusion by stating that she was seeing sparks come off the bed.
Huh?

Well,  unless you have a ground strap running from your big toe down to a water pipe somewhere in the basement,  you’re bound to create a whole heap of static electricity if you rub your hand across bed sheets that are 1200 count!   I kid you not!
And,  it’s a just a little bit odd.
I didn't really keep trying it until what’s left of my hair was standing on end, as I was more interested in going back to sleep,  but I was reminded yesterday morning of my lack of personal ground strap when I took the aforementioned fitted sheet off the bed.  Ouch!

Oh and,  even though I sort of "poo-pooed" the idea of 1200 count bedding,  between you and me,  it's really,  really nice.


Meanwhile,  the issue with the Lorex security camera DVR has been resolved.

A new DVR arrived Wednesday,  after I had called on Tuesday to enquire as to why I hadn’t received an email requesting a credit card number.  Seems it wasn’t necessary.

So the new DVR is up and running,  but then I had to spend some quality time (insert sarcastic font there) with a tech in order to be able to see the cameras on the PC.  I still haven’t set it up for T.C.’s Ipad,  but I’ll get there.

To be fair,  the tech was very pleasant,  and did an awesome job.

Considering that this device came in its own dedicated box,  I somehow suspect that replacing these things is maybe a bit commonplace??


Just a thought.

I managed to screw up the order of the cameras,  but it doesn't really matter.

Still haven’t heard anything from the good folks at Amazon.  I’ll not order a new unit for downstairs until they’ve put the money back on my card for the one I sent back.  I've been shopping for one for a couple years now,  so a few more weeks isn't going to make my head explode at this point.   Not going to “cross the streams”.

I think that’s all I have in my pea brain at the moment.


Thanks for stopping by.

Yay! I didn't have to shovel!

And that,  Ladies and Gentleman,  is a sad sad thing to say when you’re almost half way through April. 

Unless you’re in Tuktoyaktuk, or some place like that.  Somehow though,  I suspect if you live in “Tuk”,  as it’s known locally,  you don’t even bother trying to shovel out.  You either have a four by four or a snow machine.

But I wouldn't know.

Personally,  I’ve never been to Tuktoyaktuk, (I just love saying that out loud), but one of my older brothers used to go up there with the Canadian Air Force.  Something to do with Norad or the DEW line. or some such thing.  He’s a great one for telling stories too.  None of them far fetched either. 
Some of those northern outposts,  airports in particular,  have a certain way of doing things.  Like when the guy in the coveralls who is going around tidying up the place,  turns out to be your pilot. 
Remember that show Wings, from back in the early 90s?  Kind of like that,  only with far fewer personnel.

But I digress.

We had some more snow last night,  and I thought for sure I’d be out there this morning,  shovel in hand,  trying not to keel over.  But whatever was on the driveway and walkways has melted. 
Pretty exciting!

Not.

Now it’s just cold and dreary.  It’s above freezing mind you,  but still generally crappy.   Not sure when the forecast is going to be less crappy either.  


I’ve gotten tired of looking.

Couldn't help but notice this poor little bastard.  He doesn’t look very comfortable. 


Anyway,  it’s been a frustrating few days in the electronics department here at the Ponderosa. 
Just this morning I had to ship back a Home Theatre Receiver to Amazon after the thing would no longer produce any sound.  Acted suspiciously like there was a cold solder joint somewhere on the amp side of things,  but I've only had it a few weeks,  so it went back.

There was an offer to send a replacement,  but it would first of all be “4-6 weeks”,  and then if it’s the same model,  who’s to say it won’t have the same problem?

The thing is,  Ive been a long time fan of Yamaha Receivers,  as I have an old beasty that I bought in 1975 that still works like a charm.  It’s been relegated to the garage mind you, but it still works.
Of course,  it was three times the cost of the one I bought from Amazon, (and in 1975 dollars!) probably due to the fact that it was made by folks who actually knew what they were doing?   Not sure.  So now I'm in a quandary as to what to buy.
Might have to go over to Onkyo,  although, after just now reading some of the problems with a number of their products,  I'm not sure about that choice now either.  *groan*.

Thus begins another “quest” for a decent product at a good price.  This could take a while.  I might have to break down and actually go to a proper stereo shop.
How “Old School”.

Now,  that wasn't the only thing that crapped out in the last little while.

Friday morning at about 12:30,  T.C. woke me up to report that the DVR for the security cameras was beeping.   I was out cold at that point and hadn't heard a thing. 
In my half awake stupor,  I couldn't seem to come up with any other solution other than just shutting the damned thing off,  and then took a closer look in the morning.
After some in depth analysis,  all the while on the phone with the Lorex Dude,  we determined that the Hard Drive was indeed pooched.  So IT’S going back.   I'm just waiting to hear from them,  and might yet give them a call later today,  since I want them to send me the replacement so I’ll have a box in which to send the other one back.  There was some talk of taking my credit card number,  much in the same way you reserve a rental car,  just in case I have amnesia and forget to send the defective one back?  I didn't think that would be a problem.

We’ll see how that all pans out.

Fun stuff huh?
Talk about “First World Problems”.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trying not to be smug.

I've compared it to having automotive insurance and never using it,  but that’s not quite the same.  I certainly wouldn't feel too hard done by if I never have a car accident after having paid all those premiums. 
Although,  let’s not talk about that.  That’s a subject that could develop from an ugly scab to a festering wound in no time flat.

However,  when the power goes out and you finally get to keep the lights on when the entire neighbourhood sits in the dark? 

Awesome.

See,  we had one rip snorter of a thunder storm last night, and man oh man did it ever rain.  That was another happy feeling too by the way,  since we now no longer have a roof/chimney/whatever the hell it was, that leaks.  I never did really pinpoint exactly where the water was coming in,  but I think it was because the chimney was basically crumbling,  but looked OK. 

Fooled me for a long time,  but let’s not go there either.

We had gone out last night,  but it eased up just enough for us to get ourselves into the house,  and then the skies opened up and it came down in buckets.  Sorry I haven’t any photographic evidence of this. 
Sometimes my pea brain slips into neutral.

Right along about ten p.m.,  sure enough,  there was one helluva crack,  and T.C. and I were sitting in the dark.

“What now?”  was her only response.

“Just wait a few seconds.”   And sure enough,  we had power.  No internet or phone mind you,  but that didn't matter.

And I suppose we could have sat there in the dark,  or rummaged around for some candles. It wasn't all that cold out,  so it wasn't like the house would have started to cool down quickly or anything. 
We do have boatloads of candles around here somewhere.  But I'm not overly keen on having a bunch of lit candles hanging around for some reason.  All that open flame.  Just makes me nervous.  I’d sooner listen to the din of the generator running out back as I read my paper and sift through the flyers.

Have to sift through them flyers!  It’s a weekly ritual.

It's a bit loud if you're right there,  sitting next to the thing,  but trust me, it's hardly noticeable when you're inside,  and trying not to feel at all smug or anything.

I took a random video a couple weeks ago,  knowing that it would fire up right at noon time to do its weekly test.

Starts around the 20 second mark.

So that was kinda cool.
Helped justify the cost and aggravation of getting the damned thing installed.  The primary concern was,  what might happen if we were to say,  go to a tropical destination for an entire month? 

You know,  just saying.

Turns out, we didn't need it for the month of February,  but now at least I'm doubly sure that there would have been no issues.  And really, I don't think I ever had any doubts,  but it's still comforting to know that the damned thing will do what it's supposed to do.

I think the power was out for maybe an hour.  I didn't really pay too much attention.  At one point I heard the transfer switch flip us back to the grid,  looked out and the lights were on in the 'hood. Other than that,  it's rather seamless.  The generator then does a "cool down",  which seemed like a rather long period of time,  (like at least 10 minutes maybe?)  and then it shut down.

And of course,  with just a bit of warmer weather and boatloads of rain, it looks like I’ll have to start cutting grass again in the not too distant future. 

All this “lawn care/fertilizing/whatever” business is a mixed blessing.




Thanks for stopping by.

That'll be five bucks.

Actually,  now that we did all that work to the house,  make it ten.

See,  this house has always been a bit of an oddity,  as it was the “builder’s house” and well,  a little bit unusual for the neighbourhood.  Hell,  for the whole damned country.  Unless you’re somewhere in the Rockies where,  due to some sense of nostalgia,  someone from Austria has built a place reminiscent of back home.

For as long as we’ve lived here,  and probably going back to when the place was first built,  there have always been those who either slow down their vehicle as they round the corner,  or simply stop on the street and gawk.


Thus:

This is by way of the security system.  T.C. happened to notice these folks,  and I went back and grabbed their image. 

As they’re out walking their pooch,  there’s a very good chance they live in the neighbourhood,  and may very well have one of the 30 or so homes built in a similar style to this one.  Except of course, none of the others have the “chalet” type of addition on the top.
So,  the “five buck” thing?  Well,  for the longest time,  we’d be sitting in the living room,  someone would come by and gawk,  and we figured we should have been levying some sort of charge or admission.  You know,  “five bucks”. 

Kind of like when you happen to snap a picture of some bum in San Juan or somewhere,  and they insist that you should compensate them for a picture. 
Just as absurd.


Meanwhile,  da snow she’s a melting.

I can dig it.

Still kinda sucks to go to bed at night with cold feet,  but that’s more due to the likelihood of poor circulation as much as anything else.  Plus, summer or winter,  it’s a wee bit cool down in the basement,  which is my usual TV watching spot.  Or media files, or whatever.   Actual "TV"  kinda sucks,  but I keep it mostly for the football.



Never going to be like this,  but we can always reminisce.

Thanks for stopping by.



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Moments of Clarity.

So we’re slowly getting ready for the Great Escape,  which will be… *thinks* in 12 days.  I think.  Can’t clutter up the brain with too much just yet.
There have been a few little things to sort out up to this point.  Wanted a micro SD card so I can transfer photos to my tablet.   Done.  Wanted some way of keeping an eye on the place when we’re away.  Done.
That one was a bit more involved. 
Just before Christmas,  while on a little shopping foray at Costco,  Travelling Companion and I picked up a Lorex camera/security system.  Or whatever you call it.
I’ve only been looking at them passively for a couple years now.  Couldn't seem to pull the trigger, and T.C. said, “Oh,  just get it!”. 
That’s usually good motivation.
The interface is a bit clunky,  and reminds me somewhat of the Honeywell system we had to endure once upon a time when I was more than just a “Caretaker” in name.  It was really not intuitive.  At least Lorex do have a support network,  and I was able to chat with two different technicians whilst trying to figure stuff out.
There’s an “app” for IPAD,  as well as a program for PC.  So I can sit here,  log in,  and not be bothered to get up off my lazy arse to see who’s at the door.  *snort*!

Oh,  and son-in-law and Daughter Number Two were over last night for dinner,  and he installed an app for the TV downstairs that allows me to see what’s going on without getting off my….OK,  never mind.

Hooking up the system involved running wires in conduit that I had installed (wait for it) back when we had new soffits installed in the summer of 2014.  I had a plan.
And yes I know, it takes me a while to do these “jobs”.  Did I not say I had been looking at systems?  Just couldn't decide.  Take it easy.
There are six cameras,  but eight channels.  Is that like the “hot dog vs bun count” thing?  Why not have eight cameras?   I might pick up one or two at some point if I feel the need.

Running the wires for the last camera on the west side of the house was a bit of a challenge, as I really wanted to run the wire through the narrow gap between the ceiling and the roof.  Damned near impossible really,  except that I had a moment of clarity.

I went to the table saw and made a “bobbin”  for the end of the fish tape,  which I was able to feed down through the rafters.    Or maybe it was more like a “shuttle”,  that you’d see being used by a weaver?  I don’t know.
Whatever you call it, (stick o’ wood?), it worked. 
Felt rather smug about that one.
Of course,  I also fished through a string to be left behind in case I want to pull another wire.  Just one of those things.  Really rather important.

So that’s about it.
T.C. and I are heading out today to drop a small bundle on proper footwear for our stay in Maui.  There’ll be a certain amount of walking I suspect.  My el-cheapo runners that I bought at Wal*Mart in Gillette,  Wyoming last June aren’t really suited for anything more than clambering about on the deck of a boat,  or maybe a brief hike off to the grocery store. 
You gets what you pays for. 

Thanks for stopping by.

And yes,  there’s ice to keep those sticks on.

The Bionic FLy.

Sounds like the title to a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury.  But no,  it was just a fly, but I swear those things are beyond normal.  It was one of them big suckers.

How can you stay aloft that long and fly that fast?  And what are you doing in the house at this time of year?

And you know, my visual acuity ain’t much to rave about these days, so I’m not quite the “dead eye” I used to be with the fly swatter.

Man, that’s annoying.

No pictures of the fly by the way.  He’s slightly mangled.  It took some doing though.  Had to trap him (her? it?) in the office, close the door behind me so he couldn’t escape, and then try not to flail about too much with the fly swatter and possibly hurt myself.
There’s usually a way that I can hurt myself, but let’s not go there.

Anyhoodle.  In other “news”,  Travelling Companion and I did get to experience the most intense pine scented air freshener that I've ever had in the car with us.  Well, I've never had one of those “Pine Scented Air Fresheners” so it wasn't much of a contest actually.

Yes,  that’s our Christmas tree.  And yes,  it’s in the car.



And man!  Did that thing smell great!

No really!

It’s been a few years since we’ve gone out to cut down a tree,  mostly as; 1) The kids are long since grown up, and; 2) It got to be that the choice of trees was getting really bad. 
Like,  we’d be there for way too long, wandering from one sad looking thing to the next.  All the while,  cold and miserable.
So ultimately, I just figured it wasn’t worth the effort,  and would simply snag one from in front of one of the local retailers.
I mean, I paid for it and all.
I can’t run that fast.

Certainly not with a tree under my arm.

Photographic proof.

I was particularly pleased with myself, having remembered to bring along a piece of closed celled foam to kneel on. 

I ain’t no fool, that ground was cold and wet. 

There were nine of us altogether,  with only one token child.

One of the other “children” (also really an adult away at University) was getting a glimpse of the tree that was going to be at her home when she got back there.  The “kids” are all mostly finishing up their exams and coming home to roost.

“How about this one?”




Such is the internet age.

The tree’s not up yet, but that’ll likely happen before the end of the week.  Today was “cleaning lady” day,  so we figured we’d wait just one more day.

Once upon a time,  we’d only put the thing up on Christmas Eve, and take it down and punt it out after January sixth.  The Twelve Days of Christmas,  in case you’re wondering.
I think that all changed when we were home “for the Holidays” from out little side life in Puerto Rico,  and knew that we’d be taking it down on the 27th,  since we were all flying back to San Juan for New Years. 

Talk about mixed feelings.  On the one hand,  throwing out a perfectly good Christmas tree, but then on the other hand, “we’re heading back South! Yee-Haw!”  
These days,  I’d just as soon stay home.  Until of course,  about the dead of winter when it’s really rather bleak out.  But of course,  you may recall the plans we made for February.  It’s just simmering there in the back of my mind.

Not particularly looking forward to the flying part.  But those mai tais are awesome.  Never knew I liked them that much. 
Mind you,  the way the Loonie is dropping,  I’ll need to be drunk most of the time I’m thinking.
Again,  let’s not go there.

Oh and by the way,  I just discovered what many of you have come across in the last little while.

 "Live Writer" no longer talks to "Google".  Or something like that.  And that sucks.  Someone always comes along and decides to F**k something up.
Just my opinion on "progress".  Or maybe it's more like "greed".  Whatever. It sucks.

So I've been very painstakingly copying and pasting everything from Live Writer over here.  PITA.



Thanks for stopping by.




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Watching in hi def.

And this isn’t a “ooh,  lookie what I got” post,  so much as a “sometimes I wonder” type of post.

Like,  sometimes I wonder if I’m a complete idiot.

I went on a while back about a TV that I bought, (my anniversary present, thank-you) and then the stand/support thingy that I built to hold it.  You might have noticed that I didn’t have too danged much to say after that?

Well,  that’s because I was somewhat disappointed with the picture.  Of course,  the “Home Theatre” system that I have down there is getting quite long in the tooth,  so it wasn’t really any means by which I was able to judge picture quality, and it wasn’t until I hooked up a Blue Ray player,  and it started playing a disc that was already in there, that I did one of those “deer in the headlight” moments when I saw the picture the way it should be. 

I have to say, pretty freakin’ awesome.

Then I figured there must be something wrong with my cable hook-up,  and was all set to run a new, higher quality run of cable to the digi-box.  Because the signal I was getting from our cable provider was dreadful.

Or so I thought.

Turns out,  I just needed to go hunting for the “High Def” channels.   Nothing wrong with the cable.

 

 

And no,  I don’t watch day time TV.  I had taken another photo during one of last nights games,  and it wasn’t what I had hoped for.  (it sucked)

Of course,  one of the games that I wanted to watch (Buffalo vs Houston) was on one of the regular channels, (go figure) but me watching the game doesn’t change the outcome.  

So here I’ve been watching this set for a few weeks by now, mostly on Sundays (NFL football, hello)  all the while thinking, “Man that picture sucks.” 

*harrumph*.

Just shaking my head here. 

At least I didn’t throw something at it.  But I did actually entertain thoughts of sending the thing back.  I mean, I went back over all the reviews of that particular TV set,  and there had been some that were less than stellar. AND, these weren’t the reviews I had found when I was doing my research.

I figured I had been duped.  

Not duped.  Just a dope.

 

So it’s all good.

Son-in-law even gave me an early Christmas present in the form of a little do jiggy that allows me to watch Netflix,  even though it isn’t a “smart” TV.   Sometimes the difference you pay in price for a smart TV is far more than what it would cost to simply add a device such as this set top TV box.  Not sure what else to call it.  There’s a bunch of them out there. Works nice.  It’s “android”,  so I may end up getting a little remote thingy,  or add an app to my tablet to make it easier to navigate.  No big deal.

Meanwhile,  Travelling Companion and I have to go out at some point and pick up some grout for the fireplace hearth.  I *think* we’ve decided on a colour,  but I never act unilaterally when it comes to these types of decisions.  We picked out the slate together,  and it’ll be the same for the grout. 

I might be a dope,  but I ain’t that dumb.

 

You can see my really “high tech” method of holding tiles in place until the mortar sets up.  Strips of wood and masking tape.  Seems to work.

I want to have this wrapped up before Christmas, (is that a pun?)  since “company’s coming”, and I just want one more thing off my plate.  I have to manufacture some trim that will go around it,  and then that’ll be it.

And now of course, I’ve been eyeing the firebox downstairs.  

That’s a whole other kettle of fish.  I might put in a wood burning stove/insert/thingy.  It’s presently a perfectly functional wood burning fireplace, but I’d really like to have something that’s more efficient. 

Time will tell.

Good thing I don’t mind doing this kind of stuff,  even though it sometimes (sometimes?) seems to take me forever.  I think if I had deadlines it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. 

Well,  that’s a loose definition of fun.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Keep it between the ditches.

It’s here!

Checked on the line this morning, and saw this little snippet.

 

“Out for delivery”?  What the hell?

Well,  I did manage to get home in time for the delivery, although I just happened to be out of earshot of the Postal Delivery Dude knocking on the door. 

No biggie, since T.C. was able to sign for it.

Um ya,  there was a signature involved.  Made sense to me.

Then when I saw the package,  I realised just how it got here so fast.   Came into Hamilton by air!  Aha!

 

The image above was taken with the little “powershot”,  which I seem to recall describing on at least one occasion as a piece of shit.  Sorry,  but it is.  Mind you,  it does take better pictures with a clean lens, but only slightly better.

 

Then there’s that image above,  taken with the G16. 

Huge difference.  Huge.  Look how crisp!

AND,  it has “le weee-feee”,  as the French would say.

Took a bit of mucking about,  and I had to set up some sort of “Canon Image Gateway” thing,  but I eventually managed to sent an image from the camera to the computer avec le weee-feee.

Just some of T.C.’s little plants that she’s starting for the garden.

I mean,  I could have just taken the card out of the camera and shoved it into the damned computer,  but that would have been way too easy.  Why make it easy?

And then,  this is with the telephoto,  same image as yesterdays,  only without the dirt slingin’ young ladies.

Actually,  T.C. said they did a good job.  Maybe I should have hired them? 

Too late.

 

I shall continue to play.

Well, I might go out and start on cabinet number three.  That would probably be prudent.

Enjoy the rest of your day.  I know I will.

Thanks for stopping by.