I loaded Yosemite onto my work laptop yesterday morning, figuring it would make a great test case for the rest of the machines I run (my home laptop, Jen’s laptop, a workstation under my desk, client machines, etc.) and overall it’s pretty nice. My work laptop is a Retina 13″ with an SSD, so installation took about 10 minutes and everything looks wonderful. It seems to be fast, there’s no performance hit with anything I can see, and all my apps seem to be running just fine (Adobe Creative Cloud, CS6, Office 2011, and a handful of utility apps I depend upon). The real test will be the aforementioned laptops–my home machine is an early 2010 model MacBook Pro which might not like as many of the visual improvements in Yosemite.
Amazon delivered my copy of Information is Beautiful this morning, and I can testify, it is, indeed, beautiful. An entire book of charts, graphs, and visuals well-designed and displayed, about a huge range of subjects. Go to the site, absorb some of the work, and buy the book. It’s well worth the money.
Monday night I went out to the garage and started running wire to the ceiling for overhead lighting. Currently it’s a mishmash of plugin fluorescent fixtures scrounged from my old job run off extension cords, and I’ve dreamed of simply having a switch next to the door to light the space since we moved in. I ran wire from the panel to a new switchbox near the door and then started fishing wire up to the ceiling, then stopped because I wanted to make sure I was running the wire correctly. It’s looking like I’m on the right track based on this diagram, so I’ll continue getting things in place in preparation for buying the fixtures and a new breaker.
After transferring beer the other night, I shifted my gaze to the 4-drawer file cabinet sitting next to my brewing stand. It’s jammed full of files that date back to my house in the city–phone, water, and utility bills I don’t need and will never have to refer to. I loaded up Top Gear USA on my iPad and started sifting through the drawers, making a stack of paper about a foot high, and within an hour I’d winnowed out all of the 620 South Lakewood stuff into two piles: shredding and non-shredding.
I found the final mortgage bill for my rowhome, the details of which still take my breath away: a monthly payment of $515.40 at an APR of 6%. My utility bills averaged about $90 for the month. Why did we move to the suburbs again?
I found an unused registration sticker for Chewbacca. I found a copy of the city-drawn plat for 620 S. Lakewood. I found piles of old illustration mailing lists, including a carefully hand-drawn graph of geographic regions cross-referenced by what postcards they’d been sent and when. I got all of my tax records in order from 1993 until we were married. I found utility bills from 620, some in the name of my old girlfriend.
Then I started shredding in front of the Texans-Steelers game, stopping only when the motor on our little shredder got so hot it refused to run and I’d filled a trash bag full of spidery paper. There’s still about 6″ of phone bills and mortgage statements to go through, as well as some medical bills, and I’m not done culling the drawers. I’ve got a stack of twice-used manila folders to recycle and a pile of rusty paper clips to throw out.
I set aside stack of utility bills for our current house, put them in order, and scanned them into PDFs at work this morning in preparation for the shredder. I’m thinking about entering some of the year-over-year data into Excel to look at trends, now that we’ve been here over ten years: things like our average monthly bill, therms and kWh used, and average monthly temperatures. It would be interesting to see how it graphs out, considering our first couple of bills averaged ~$700/mo. (it’s come down considerably since then).
As I think about it, scanning our old mortgage statements and water bills isn’t a bad idea either, so I’ll probably bring those in tomorrow. (The scanner at work has an auto-feed, which makes life so much easier). As a matter of fact, I think I’m going to organize and scan as much paper in as possible and then shred it. I’d also like to organize an automated download of bank records and mortgage statements, given that our bank only lets us go back a certain number of months.
I’m super excited about two new things this week. They both involve dusting off old skills that I’ve missed, and hopefully learning some new ones.
Here at work there’s a pickup bluegrass/cover band with some very nice folks who play guitar, mandolin, violin, piano, and viola, and after hearing them play I mentioned they made me want to pick up my bass again. This led to an invitation to sit in with them, so I’m pulling the top two strings off my guitar and sitting in with them this evening. They’ve been playing a mixture of Nickel Creek and gypsy jazz tunes, all of which are outside of my normal repertoire, but I sat down with two of them last night and had a lot of fun learning them. I have no idea how this evening will go, or how much they practice, but it would be a lot of fun to play live again, and a nice excuse to find a cheap acoustic bass guitar. We’ll see.
The second thing is an opportunity to relearn basic welding. I got a notice through Meetup about the Baltimore Foundery holding a Welding 101 class, and for $65 I’m going to re-orient myself with the basics of stick welding on Sunday afternoon. Back at MICA my roommate took sculpture classes as part of his BFA, and he got me into the metal workshop one evening where I gave the TA a six-pack of beer to give me a half an hour orientation on MIG welding. We spent a couple of evenings practicing, and I made a crude stand for my bass out of scrap metal, as well as several huge monster sculptures for our backyard. I’ve forgotten everything since then.
Recently, discussing my garage with my electrician neighbor, he pointed out that it would be easy to run power from the big circuit in the greenhouse back to the garage, so I dug a trench to run conduit–it’s still open, waiting for a free weekend afternoon where we can run the line and cover it back up. This will allow for a dedicated 110 line to the garage, and the ability to run power and, eventually, a stick welder out there.
For Christmas 1990, I asked Santa for a LL Bean Field Watch, which he kindly left under the tree for me. I’d picked it out of the mail-order catalog in those pre-Internet days, and in a rare instance of luck, it fit my rather small wrist almost perfectly. This was out of character with the rest of my wardrobe at that time, which was baggy and ill-fitting. I had it until about 1997 or so, when I put it on in haste and dropped it somewhere between my apartment and my office in Baltimore City. I’d neglected to tuck the end of the band into the loop and it slipped off my wrist during the bike ride.
Santa gave me an identical replacement that following Christmas, and I’ve had that watch ever since. It’s been with me all over the world and has the scars to prove it–the crystal is cracked, scuffed, and chipped. The nylon band is worn but functional. The battery, dutifully replaced by LL Bean every three years or so, is losing steam again, and several years ago they notified me that they have no more replacements for the crystal–their new Field Watch is a different design. It’s bigger, thicker, and uglier, actually.
I’ve been searching for a replacement for months now, and I’ve narrowed it down to a few candidates. My criteria is simple: the same classic design, a date display, stainless casing, and size. The current trend for all watches seems to be to oversize everything, so it looks like you’ve strapped a tuna can to your wrist. I look ridiculous wearing these watches; I want something that fits my arm.
The gold standard is a Hamilton Field Watch, which set the template during World War II. Unfortunately, these soar high above my price range, mainly because they have a sapphire crystal face, but they’re almost equal in dimension to my current watch. I’d like to buy one of these someday–when I have $300 in discretionary income just laying around.
Next, I looked at the Seiko 5, but ruled it out due to its thickness (13mm). It’s inexpensive but big.
The next contender is a Citizen Eco-Drive field watch, which is slightly wider than my current watch but equal thickness according to the published specs. I like it because it’s self-charging solar through the watch face, and it looks pretty good.
Given all of these choices, I’m going to buy a Citizen when I get some cash together. Not having a watch throws my ADD into chaos, and it’s become an extension of my arm over the last 20+ years.
I also have the option of replacing the crystal on my current watch myself, which I’m going to try. eBay has replacement crystal and toolkits all over the place, and I feel no fear in pulling a laptop apart in my spare time. Plus, my friend Rob has been heavily involved in the Seiko watch modding scene for several years. I may call upon his expertise to help me nurse my ailing friend back to life.
Saturday morning we took Finn to soccer practice in a new facility close to our house; what used to be a 7-Up distributor’s warehouse is now filled with two indoor soccer fields for rental and two teams’ worth of sweaty high school lacrosse players. We signed her up for a kids’ intro class, and it turned out that we have several friends who had the same idea, so we got to stand around with other parents we know while the kids ran in circles. She took a class at her last school, so we were proud to see her kicking and actually dribbling the ball—until she got bored and decided to go off and do her own thing. Hopefully we can get it through her head that practice will make things more fun for her down the line.
After we were done with soccer we hit the IKEA to pick up one more bookshelf for the den, with the hope of consolidating all of the toys, art supplies, and other stuff that’s been clogging the living room, office, and den. With the big bookcase in the living room free of toys, we were able to uncover the entire collection of books we’ve collected from the library liquidation at her school. It’s really amazing how many good books Jen was able to save, and I hope that Finn takes to reading as much as I did as a kid.
Over the course of our Saturday errands in the CR-V, it became loudly apparent the passenger’s rear brake pads were grinding on the rotor, so I hit the parts store to buy a new set for the back half. It’s just enough of a project that I didn’t want to attempt it this afternoon with 6-12″ of snow on the immediate horizon, so I loaded the parts in the back and parked it behind the Accord until we can dig out this week. On my way to the store I guesstimated the amount of gas in the Scout and came up about 50′ short, stalling out on an incline within spitting distance of a pump. After borrowing a gas can, priming the carb, and standing on the brake, I got her started again. This being the second time it’s happened in two months (the first being directly across the street from our driveway in the middle of the road), I’m getting impatient to sort out the fuel gauge and tank problems in the spring. Hopefully, a long-awaited hydro boost brake conversion will give me more than 10′ of stopping power (both brakes and steering are powered, so when the engine cuts out so do my options for direction and stopping).
Over the last couple of weekday evenings, I got both speakers rewired, mounted, and tested. Sunday I cut out and glued in 1/2″ corner supports around all the seams, then sealed the front edges and nailed them into place. They sound good! I’m still unsure as to how I’m going to finish the outsides off; I could wrap them completely in Tolex or speaker carpet, but I’m not sure yet.
Our soccer player was on the couch sick today, after waking to an upset stomach and then throwing up several times over the course of the day. She got to spend the day in front of the TV, which was good for her, but hasn’t eaten a thing all day, which is unlike her. At about 7:30 she turned on her side and fell asleep on the couch next to Jen, something that is VERY unlike her. She’s running a fever, so we’ll keep a close eye on her tomorrow.
Tonight we’ll hunker down, tuck the girl into bed, watch some good TV (Downton Abbey and True Detective), maybe sip a beer, and wait to see what the weather brings us tomorrow morning. Just when the lawn was almost clear again too.
Jen is getting on a plane tonight to visit her sister, who is due to deliver a baby any minute now. We originally scheduled the flight and our plans around the baby being induced on Saturday, but a serious lapse in communication between expectant mother and doctors revealed that nothing was actually scheduled and there was nobody available to deliver on the weekend, so now it’s on for Monday. Which means that everyone who went north to lend support will probably miss the birth. I have thoughts, Internet, but I won’t share them here.
So Finn and I are winging it this weekend. We’re scheduled to learn how to make maple syrup tomorrow morning, taking advantage of a break in the cold weather, which should be lots of fun, and my hope is to stay outside for as long as possible to soak in some fresh air. Sunday we have some morning obligations and then we’ll probably do a bit of shopping to stock up before Mama gets back.
A box arrived for me at work this week with some replacement goodies for my home built loudspeakers. I got two replacement tweeters, two ABS molded ports, and eight rubber feet for the bottoms. Wednesday night I started replacing the hack wiring job I did in my freshman dorm with a cheap soldering iron and speaker wire; this time it’s new 14 gauge copper, clean solder and heatshrink over everything. As it turns out, the ports I bought are way too wide for the top of the enclosures, so I’ll either have to return them or find a different place for the vents. I may switch it up and put them in the back depending on how much clearance I’ve got; I don’t think this will affect the sound quality at all. Hopefully I can get a little time over the weekend to finish the other side and start making some holes for the ports and tweeters, and finish buttoning these cases up.
Pique the cat, after a long dry spell, has been two for two vs. our household mice this week. On Monday he dropped a very dazed adult mouse on the floor in front of Jen as she lay in bed; I was able to trap it under a glass and release it (well, honestly I flung it) on the lawn of the church across the street. Tuesday evening he did the exact same thing at the same time of the evening, and I trapped and flung this one further away from the house. I don’t think they were the same mouse, but I’m hoping the extra distance and Frederick road dissuaded the two of them from coming back.
After suffering through spotty wireless connectivity at the house (and the attendant expensive cellular data bills), I used some money from my first paycheck to purchase a new Airport Express, which should be here today. At that point I’ll shut the wireless built in to our FIOS router off for good and hopefully we can save some money.
Last weekend I got the IPA kegged with Finn’s help and got it set up for gas; unfortunately I lost the better part of a Co2 bottle and about 4 pints to a faulty dip tube in the Dubbel keg, so I had to drag Finn to the homebrew store for some gasketry and supplies. I still seem to be having issues with the one-way valve I installed on the gas line, and I need a new shank for my second tap line, so I’ll have to go back out this weekend for another trip. But the IPA tastes very good!
Last night I started cutting sheets of MDF board down for new speaker cabs, based on new calculations and the hardware I’ve got. I have to replace the original the tweeters I bought in 1992, one of which has died mysteriously, so I found a new inexpensive set that should be easy replacements. I’m cutting the wood down on a table saw and making everything with 45˚ joins, which will help make these cabs much more aesthetically appealing than the last ones. I’m also going to be buying premade ports and tuning them specifically to the cabinets, as opposed to roughing in ports made from wood, rubber feet, and new binding posts for the wiring.
I got this pretty present in the mail this week from Northern Brewer: it’s a propane-fired burner for brewing beer. I’m low on propane right now, otherwise I’d test it out with the Hefeweizen kit I just got in the door. I borrowed my neighbor’s beer gun as well, so I’m going to bottle up a bunch of the Belgian IPA and clear out my kegs for the oncoming batches (there’s been a Belgian Dubbel waiting in the wings since last fall, so that will probably be the burner test batch).
This morning Mama, Finn and I all got up unnaturally early independently of each other. I staggered out the door and down to Patapsco State Park to get a half an hour’s hike in before leaving for work. At 7AM the bike trails are cool, quiet, and empty of spandex-clad missiles, which means I can enjoy the sounds of the forest and get my blood pressure up to natural levels. It’s going to take some work, but I’m resolving to hike every morning next week, no matter how sore the weekend leaves me. Hopefully I can turn it into a good habit instead of a dreaded event.
Speaking of bikes, I dropped my ancient Cannondale off at our local bike shop last weekend for some much-needed and long deferred maintenance. The total bill took me by surprise but so did her condition when the mechanic looked her over. They replaced the rear cassette, chain, brake cables, brake pads, and did overall maintenance, and the bike I got back rides like it’s brand new.
One of the things I’ve got planned this weekend is a long tandem ride with Finn on her trail-behind, and if we can fit it in before the rain, I’d like to get her practicing on her bigger bike. We got it at a yard sale the same year we got her first one, and for $5 it was a good deal. Last weekend I scrubbed it down with some car detergent and sanded the rust off with steel wool, and it looks 100% better. The tires are dry-rotted so we have to find some replacements at Target. I’d really like to peel all the Barbie stickers off the metal too, but I think that would take too long…
Dusting around my collection of tube radios on Saturday, I got to thinking about why I haven’t added an iPod connector to my large floor set (considering it’s not pulling in stations anymore and chances it’ll ever get fixed are slim). Instructables has a great Vintage Tube Radio & MP3 Upgrade article which has lots of good information beyond just the upgrade– links to parts, schematics, and other good resources.
This is a project right up my alley: a DIY Cost-Effective Immersion Wort Chiller, via HomeBrewTalk.