It was actually a pretty good year for me. I got a new car and I still have a job. The candidate I voted for actually got elected, that was cool. My 401(k) is in the crapper, but I'm not using that money right now anyway, and by the time I retire it will have rebounded.
I just don't know how bad 2009 will be. Ask me in a year.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Death Magnetic
The new Metallica is pretty good. Very good, actually. Reminds me a lot of the "...And Justice for All" album. The songs have more breaks and bridges time changes and most are longer. Some seem long just for the sake of filling the album though. But if yo long for the days when Metallica didn't suck, they're back. At least for now. Pick this one up. And while it doesn't change the music at all, the packaging deserves an award too.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
AC
Ever installed a Wall-unit air conditioner/heater? Me neither... until today.
The heater in my old one stopped working so I had a new one delivered a couple of weeks ago. It came in a box about 2'x3' and about 18" high, and since then has been sitting in my tool shed and blocking everything. It's been there for two weeks because I've yet to find anyone that installs them. So today around 11:30 I figured I'd just open the box and look through the manual to see just how hard it actually is to do. I opened the box, and learned that the manual is on the bottom. Now, this thing weighs 120 lbs., so if I was going to take it out of the box, it was going to be inside the house, as close as possible to where it would be installed. To get it into the house I had to roll it end over end up the steps through the door, then onto a towel, which I dragged through the house to the living room.
Even though I decided it was something I might be able to do, I still had to remove the old one. For those not in the know, a wall unit is in two pieces. The main guts with the compressor and fan is all one unit, like components on a mother board inside a computer. The other part is the outer shell - the big metal box with vents that you see sticking out of the wall from outside the house. The outer shell is the part that's actually attached to the house. The inside part is mounted on a tray and slides into the shell.
First I slid the old one out of the shell. I also weighs over 100 lbs., so to keep it from crashing to the floor I put a recycle bin (on a towel) upside down in front of it and eased the unit onto that. After dragging the towel/old unit away I took a look at the shell. All the vents were in the same places. In fact it looked like the old and new ones were from the same factory (they probably were). So I measured the shell. I couldn't believe it: 18" x 26" - exactly the width and height of the new one. SWEET! I won't even have to install the new shell. All I had to do was slide the new unit into the existing shell and it would be done.
No. Of course it wasn't that simple. After a closer look I got the tape measure back out. Yes, I measured it right the first time. I measured the width and height, but not the depth. The new one is about 6" longer than the old one. No way it would fit. The old one has to come out.
After removing about a dozen screws from the perimeter it still wouldn't budge. There was still a healthy dose of decades-old caulking around the seal. I used a razor to cut through it all, and it was still stuck. I had to break away the wooden mitered frame from around the shell. When I stuck a screwdriver under the edge of the frame a small army of carpenter ants came streaming out in all directions, so I spent the next few minutes battling them. Eventually I got the old shell out of the wall. The new one was still around the new unit, but how to get it out? I couldn't just pull it out - it was too heavy. Heavy is the key. I put some pillows on the floor in front of it and tipped it onto its front. Then I just slid the shell off and tipped the innards part back down.
The new shell slid into the old space almost perfectly (close enough, anyway. Before going further I went to Home Depot and bought some angle braces to mount outside to support the shell.
Back at home everything was going smoothly. I After putting the braces in place I began drilling screws through the shell's perimeter to secure it when suddenly the power went out. I checked the fuse and it was blown I replaced it and the second one immediately blew also. I must have drilled through a wire inside the wall so I removed all the screws, changed the fuse, but still no power. In fact, the whole house had no power. I changed the 60-amp main fuses, and still nothing. This was about an hour before dark, So I needed to solve this quick. I jumped in the car and went to Wal-Mart for more fuses. Once there I got out of the car and realized I had left my wallet at home. Nothing to do but go back and get it. I bought about 18 small fuses and 3 sets of the 60-amp main fuses. I raced the setting sun home (it beat me) and wandered around the house with a flashlight. I changed ALL the fuses and still no power. I called the power company (because no one else would have answered at 6:00 on a Sunday night) and they said they'd send someone out by 10:00. After much thought I went outside just to look at the power meter for any clues. Then I noticed the metal box underneath it. I opened it, saw a circuit breaker, and flipped it. Viola! Lights came on, back in business.
OK. Everything is done except putting the new unit into the new shell. But how to get it up there from the floor? I tipped it onto another inverted recycling bin and dragged it over to where it would go. I was able lift the end closest to the wall and set that on the edge of the shell. I lifted the other end and slid the whole thing into place. Boom. Done! And it only took 8 hours. I still have to put a new wooden frame on the wall around it and pack all the gaps full of caulk, but that will be child's play compared to today.
The heater in my old one stopped working so I had a new one delivered a couple of weeks ago. It came in a box about 2'x3' and about 18" high, and since then has been sitting in my tool shed and blocking everything. It's been there for two weeks because I've yet to find anyone that installs them. So today around 11:30 I figured I'd just open the box and look through the manual to see just how hard it actually is to do. I opened the box, and learned that the manual is on the bottom. Now, this thing weighs 120 lbs., so if I was going to take it out of the box, it was going to be inside the house, as close as possible to where it would be installed. To get it into the house I had to roll it end over end up the steps through the door, then onto a towel, which I dragged through the house to the living room.
Even though I decided it was something I might be able to do, I still had to remove the old one. For those not in the know, a wall unit is in two pieces. The main guts with the compressor and fan is all one unit, like components on a mother board inside a computer. The other part is the outer shell - the big metal box with vents that you see sticking out of the wall from outside the house. The outer shell is the part that's actually attached to the house. The inside part is mounted on a tray and slides into the shell.
First I slid the old one out of the shell. I also weighs over 100 lbs., so to keep it from crashing to the floor I put a recycle bin (on a towel) upside down in front of it and eased the unit onto that. After dragging the towel/old unit away I took a look at the shell. All the vents were in the same places. In fact it looked like the old and new ones were from the same factory (they probably were). So I measured the shell. I couldn't believe it: 18" x 26" - exactly the width and height of the new one. SWEET! I won't even have to install the new shell. All I had to do was slide the new unit into the existing shell and it would be done.
No. Of course it wasn't that simple. After a closer look I got the tape measure back out. Yes, I measured it right the first time. I measured the width and height, but not the depth. The new one is about 6" longer than the old one. No way it would fit. The old one has to come out.
After removing about a dozen screws from the perimeter it still wouldn't budge. There was still a healthy dose of decades-old caulking around the seal. I used a razor to cut through it all, and it was still stuck. I had to break away the wooden mitered frame from around the shell. When I stuck a screwdriver under the edge of the frame a small army of carpenter ants came streaming out in all directions, so I spent the next few minutes battling them. Eventually I got the old shell out of the wall. The new one was still around the new unit, but how to get it out? I couldn't just pull it out - it was too heavy. Heavy is the key. I put some pillows on the floor in front of it and tipped it onto its front. Then I just slid the shell off and tipped the innards part back down.
The new shell slid into the old space almost perfectly (close enough, anyway. Before going further I went to Home Depot and bought some angle braces to mount outside to support the shell.
Back at home everything was going smoothly. I After putting the braces in place I began drilling screws through the shell's perimeter to secure it when suddenly the power went out. I checked the fuse and it was blown I replaced it and the second one immediately blew also. I must have drilled through a wire inside the wall so I removed all the screws, changed the fuse, but still no power. In fact, the whole house had no power. I changed the 60-amp main fuses, and still nothing. This was about an hour before dark, So I needed to solve this quick. I jumped in the car and went to Wal-Mart for more fuses. Once there I got out of the car and realized I had left my wallet at home. Nothing to do but go back and get it. I bought about 18 small fuses and 3 sets of the 60-amp main fuses. I raced the setting sun home (it beat me) and wandered around the house with a flashlight. I changed ALL the fuses and still no power. I called the power company (because no one else would have answered at 6:00 on a Sunday night) and they said they'd send someone out by 10:00. After much thought I went outside just to look at the power meter for any clues. Then I noticed the metal box underneath it. I opened it, saw a circuit breaker, and flipped it. Viola! Lights came on, back in business.
OK. Everything is done except putting the new unit into the new shell. But how to get it up there from the floor? I tipped it onto another inverted recycling bin and dragged it over to where it would go. I was able lift the end closest to the wall and set that on the edge of the shell. I lifted the other end and slid the whole thing into place. Boom. Done! And it only took 8 hours. I still have to put a new wooden frame on the wall around it and pack all the gaps full of caulk, but that will be child's play compared to today.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A week later they're still here.
The neighbors haven't been as noisy as they were last year, but they still yell into the house and still slam the door all day. This time they're keeping the noise down to daytime hours. I can't really complain about someone having a loud voice\ if it's only during the day.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Instant idiots, just add my neighbors
So who are the idiots? Let me rewind about 22 years. When I first moved into my house, there were two very nice old people next door. Never made any noise, never caused any trouble. They did shout to each other, but old people do that some times. One weekend they had relatives down from up north. I nicknamed them "The Loud Family" because they were... loud. Obnoxiously loud. The whole time they were down all they did was sit on the porch and shout and cuss to each other. They were usually shouting over the screaming toddler that was milling around their feet. They came down a few times more, screaming kid (or kids, I'm not sure) in tow.
Fast-forward to late 2006. The last of the old couple died and left the house to their daughter, whose only interest in the house was to sell it. This was at the end of the housing boom, when prices began dropping. When she realized that she couldn't sell it for any worthwhile value she decided to make it a vacation home.
Then one night in 2007 a huge pickup truck and several cars pulled into the driveway and front yard, spilling out a gaggle of Michigan hillbillies. The screaming toddler from 22 years ago was now a shouting redneck with screaming toddlers of her own, and loud drunken brothers/cousins/friens to keep her company. If they weren't around she also had her german shepherd that barks at EVERYTHING with a pulse.
When they weren't shouting into the house from the street they were sitting on the porch drinking beer and shouting at the TV, or the kids, or each other, I don't know. I also don't know what they did for entertainment, but it involved leaving and entering the house about 20 times an hour through a screen door with a self-closing arm that slams the door shut. This would go on until well after midnight.
The leader of the bunch - the alpha hick - must have throat cancer or something because every few minutes he'd walk outside, cough up a thick mouthful of lung butter, and spit on the ground. He'd do this for a few minutes at a time, several times an hour. Then he'd put the cigarette back in his mouth and go back inside.
So to recap, for ten days the mantra from next door was "Waahh! Slam! Woof! Woof! Slam! Wahh! BLAH-BLAH-BLAH! Slam! BEELLLCCHHH! Hawhawhaw! @#!%%$! Slam! Hwack-P-tooey! Slam!" This in a deed-restricted retirement community. I fully understood how Squidward must feel.
Finally, at about 1:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning I was awakened to the thumping of bass speakers emanating from the monster truck next door. Four of them were sitting in it, listening to the stereo, drinking, laughing, and judging by the tiny orange glow that floated from seat to seat, probably getting high. After an hour I had had enough and called the police. They seemed less than interested but said they would send a car out. The two most expected things happened next: the hicks went inside and the cops never showed up anyway.
O.K., so the next morning it's Thanksgiving and I wake up at 7:30. I know the Deliverance cast next door should be very hung-over, but they would be sleeping too heavily to know it. I couldn't let a good hangover go to waste. Besides, I felt fine. Seemsed like a nice morning to clean out the tool shed. A recycle bin full of bottles and cans makes an aweful racket when you drop it on a carport floor. Especially if you drop it ten times in a row. I also had to make sure that darn shed door was closed tight, so I slammed it a few times. Then every couple of minutes I made sure it didn't creep open by slamming it again. I alo made sure my hammer still worked by beating it on some wood. I didn't want to waste nails, so I just assumed it would do the job. Well, it didn't take long to clean out the shed, but my bedroom (closest room to their house) was looking aweful dusty. Better VACUUM it. Nothing like the roar of a vacuum cleaner at 8:00 in the morning to remind one of the sins of drugs and alcohol. Sometimes I just set the vacuum in the open window and let it run. After that, the car needed vacuuming too. You might have guessed, my carport is on the same side as their house.
So you're asking why I never went over and said anything. First, they don't seem like the type that would care. More like the type that would be even louder afterward. Second, If I said something and then took it to the next level (calling police, or reporting them to the neighborhood authority), they may very well key a calling card into my car before they drive back to the Ozarks. I also didn't think they'd be down for a WEEK and a HALF.
They finally left, and only came down twice after that. Much quieter both times.
So this afternoon I came home from work and saw two cars in their driveway. Looks like they're back for a while, likely a week.
Fast-forward to late 2006. The last of the old couple died and left the house to their daughter, whose only interest in the house was to sell it. This was at the end of the housing boom, when prices began dropping. When she realized that she couldn't sell it for any worthwhile value she decided to make it a vacation home.
Then one night in 2007 a huge pickup truck and several cars pulled into the driveway and front yard, spilling out a gaggle of Michigan hillbillies. The screaming toddler from 22 years ago was now a shouting redneck with screaming toddlers of her own, and loud drunken brothers/cousins/friens to keep her company. If they weren't around she also had her german shepherd that barks at EVERYTHING with a pulse.
When they weren't shouting into the house from the street they were sitting on the porch drinking beer and shouting at the TV, or the kids, or each other, I don't know. I also don't know what they did for entertainment, but it involved leaving and entering the house about 20 times an hour through a screen door with a self-closing arm that slams the door shut. This would go on until well after midnight.
The leader of the bunch - the alpha hick - must have throat cancer or something because every few minutes he'd walk outside, cough up a thick mouthful of lung butter, and spit on the ground. He'd do this for a few minutes at a time, several times an hour. Then he'd put the cigarette back in his mouth and go back inside.
So to recap, for ten days the mantra from next door was "Waahh! Slam! Woof! Woof! Slam! Wahh! BLAH-BLAH-BLAH! Slam! BEELLLCCHHH! Hawhawhaw! @#!%%$! Slam! Hwack-P-tooey! Slam!" This in a deed-restricted retirement community. I fully understood how Squidward must feel.
Finally, at about 1:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning I was awakened to the thumping of bass speakers emanating from the monster truck next door. Four of them were sitting in it, listening to the stereo, drinking, laughing, and judging by the tiny orange glow that floated from seat to seat, probably getting high. After an hour I had had enough and called the police. They seemed less than interested but said they would send a car out. The two most expected things happened next: the hicks went inside and the cops never showed up anyway.
O.K., so the next morning it's Thanksgiving and I wake up at 7:30. I know the Deliverance cast next door should be very hung-over, but they would be sleeping too heavily to know it. I couldn't let a good hangover go to waste. Besides, I felt fine. Seemsed like a nice morning to clean out the tool shed. A recycle bin full of bottles and cans makes an aweful racket when you drop it on a carport floor. Especially if you drop it ten times in a row. I also had to make sure that darn shed door was closed tight, so I slammed it a few times. Then every couple of minutes I made sure it didn't creep open by slamming it again. I alo made sure my hammer still worked by beating it on some wood. I didn't want to waste nails, so I just assumed it would do the job. Well, it didn't take long to clean out the shed, but my bedroom (closest room to their house) was looking aweful dusty. Better VACUUM it. Nothing like the roar of a vacuum cleaner at 8:00 in the morning to remind one of the sins of drugs and alcohol. Sometimes I just set the vacuum in the open window and let it run. After that, the car needed vacuuming too. You might have guessed, my carport is on the same side as their house.
So you're asking why I never went over and said anything. First, they don't seem like the type that would care. More like the type that would be even louder afterward. Second, If I said something and then took it to the next level (calling police, or reporting them to the neighborhood authority), they may very well key a calling card into my car before they drive back to the Ozarks. I also didn't think they'd be down for a WEEK and a HALF.
They finally left, and only came down twice after that. Much quieter both times.
So this afternoon I came home from work and saw two cars in their driveway. Looks like they're back for a while, likely a week.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Three Dead Mice. See how they don't run.
Not real mice, computer mice. I had three mice stop working in one week. They were all old, but it's still weird that they all stopped working at the same time. One just had a bad button, but the other two all out quit. Anyway, that gave me a good enough excuse to buy a new keyboard and mouse set. My keyboard has been sticking keys lately so although it's still usable, it was time to ditch that too.
Here's what I wanted: a keyboard with a scroll wheel on the left side so I can eat breakfast with my right hand and scroll through the news with my left. My old keyboard, a Logitech MX3000, has one. That's the only non-typical keyboard option I wanted. The mouse should have a couple of extra option buttons too.
I've used about a dozen Logitech and Microsoft keyboards and mice over the years. The MS ones went bad in no time, and the Logitech mice never seem to work right - they'll keep stopping and startingery sluggish. End point, I didn't want something from Logitech or Microsoft. Go to any tech/office supply store and 9 out of ten keybords and mice will be one of those two brands.
After much research on websites I found a Kensington set that met my needs. No scroll wheel on the left, but in its place is a four-way scroll button. Good enough, and the mouse has a few extra custom buttons as well. Best of all, it's only $50.00.
I rushed out to BestBuy and picked one up. I hooked it up, installed the software, and it acted exactly like the other mice - sluggish and intermittent. Even the keyboard was cutting out and skipping keys as I typed. Someone on line with the same model mentioned that, despite the package proudly boasting that it has a range of ten meters, the range is realistically only about 12". I put the transmitter on a USB extension cable so it was on my desk, and everything worked great. Except I found that even when the keyboard is working properly, I still missed keys because they need direct pressure or they don't go down far enough to connect. It's a shame because the mouse worked really well. I could live with the transmitter on my desk, but not with that keyboard.
This is getting old. Saturday after work I got my hair cut. While I was in that end of town I hit Staples, Office Depot, and Circuit City. I settled on a set from Office Depot (a Logitech set). It worked OK, but again, I didn't like the keyboard. The keys were too small, and kept sticking if I didn't hit them straight down.
Sunday afternoon I returned the set from Best Buy and went to Staples across the street (a different one than on Saturday's trip). After about 10 minutes of trying them all, I settled on a Logitech S520. The keyboard is awesome. The keys are low-profile type like on a laptop, but it's still a full keyboard. The mouse is just a plain 2-button mouse, and it still cuts out sometimes, but if I move the remote to a different position it will work again. Someone said it's because my cordless phone is on the same frequency (2.4 GHz). Maybe so, I don't know.
So today I returned the last keyboard at Office Depot. I saw a laptop mouse in the clearance bin, and I could use a cordless one for that. At $22.00 (½-price) I figured I'd grab that.
I got it home, hooked it up, and you guessed it - it won't even power up.
Here's what I wanted: a keyboard with a scroll wheel on the left side so I can eat breakfast with my right hand and scroll through the news with my left. My old keyboard, a Logitech MX3000, has one. That's the only non-typical keyboard option I wanted. The mouse should have a couple of extra option buttons too.
I've used about a dozen Logitech and Microsoft keyboards and mice over the years. The MS ones went bad in no time, and the Logitech mice never seem to work right - they'll keep stopping and startingery sluggish. End point, I didn't want something from Logitech or Microsoft. Go to any tech/office supply store and 9 out of ten keybords and mice will be one of those two brands.
After much research on websites I found a Kensington set that met my needs. No scroll wheel on the left, but in its place is a four-way scroll button. Good enough, and the mouse has a few extra custom buttons as well. Best of all, it's only $50.00.
I rushed out to BestBuy and picked one up. I hooked it up, installed the software, and it acted exactly like the other mice - sluggish and intermittent. Even the keyboard was cutting out and skipping keys as I typed. Someone on line with the same model mentioned that, despite the package proudly boasting that it has a range of ten meters, the range is realistically only about 12". I put the transmitter on a USB extension cable so it was on my desk, and everything worked great. Except I found that even when the keyboard is working properly, I still missed keys because they need direct pressure or they don't go down far enough to connect. It's a shame because the mouse worked really well. I could live with the transmitter on my desk, but not with that keyboard.
This is getting old. Saturday after work I got my hair cut. While I was in that end of town I hit Staples, Office Depot, and Circuit City. I settled on a set from Office Depot (a Logitech set). It worked OK, but again, I didn't like the keyboard. The keys were too small, and kept sticking if I didn't hit them straight down.
Sunday afternoon I returned the set from Best Buy and went to Staples across the street (a different one than on Saturday's trip). After about 10 minutes of trying them all, I settled on a Logitech S520. The keyboard is awesome. The keys are low-profile type like on a laptop, but it's still a full keyboard. The mouse is just a plain 2-button mouse, and it still cuts out sometimes, but if I move the remote to a different position it will work again. Someone said it's because my cordless phone is on the same frequency (2.4 GHz). Maybe so, I don't know.
So today I returned the last keyboard at Office Depot. I saw a laptop mouse in the clearance bin, and I could use a cordless one for that. At $22.00 (½-price) I figured I'd grab that.
I got it home, hooked it up, and you guessed it - it won't even power up.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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