Creative Procrastination
Sep. 19th, 2011 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjOnce again, I used the presence of installing the bathroom cabinet on the to-do list as a wedge to get a lot of other stuff done. (At least, that's how I justify it to myself.)
Bike tire is patched -- I bribed myself by picking up a bike repair stand (the kind that holds your bike up in midair) which makes the whole process much simpler. With luck, it will mean I'm less likely to consider a flat to be a "wait till the weekend" project in the future. Because for some reason, flats seem more likely to happen at the beginning of the week than the end. Curiously enough, of the two sharp objects I found embedded in the tire, it was the plant thorn that lined up with the leak rather than the metal wire. Memo to self: must go online and order a couple spare tubes in the peculiar size that the Brompton takes. Also, more thorn-proof tires.
Garage shelves are earthquake-braced -- This project was made logistically more interesting by the fact that the concrete sill for the outer garage wall means the shelving is not flush against the wall. On the other hand, since the wallboard in the garage has only been painted, and not texturized, it's a lot easier to find the underlying studs. (Where was it that I recently saw a comment that stud-finders universally indicate that the interior structure of walls is constantly and randomly shifting?)
About half the front yard flower beds are detail-mapped and cataloged -- This is for a definition of "cataloged" that includes entries of "shrub -- species?????" Because the front property line (along the street) and the righthand property line (facing from the street) form something quite reasonably close to a right angle, with the house walls functionally parallel to those lines, I've decided to keep track of my mapping with an x,y coordinate system starting from the front right corner (but with positive x-coordinates rather than the negative ones that a truly fanatic and ocd mathematician would require). Cumulative error and the catenary drape of the 24-foot tape measure ensure that the coordinates will not be entirely correct, but it should be close enough for tracking and planning purposes. The map would be more elegant if I were doing it in metric rather than inches, but you work with the tape measure you have.
Gym bag has been modified for easier biking -- Proving that the best way to achieve a target is not to announce it in advance, for the first time since moving into the new house, I made it to the gym 5 out of 5 days last week and did a full elliptical routine every day, not just the shorter weights routine. I cobbled some clips and rings together from assorted hardware in order to be able to attach my gym bag to the outside of the Brompton front bike bag (so that I can also carry a lunchbag and maybe some grocery shopping at the same time). I'm also seriously considering trying a lunchtime workout rather than before or after work (except for Tuesdays, which are reserved for lunch with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thread_walker).
I'm starting to seriously reconsider my plans to locate my home computer center in the closet of the library room. I have yet to actually use the computer in that location -- even to the point of bringing the sheet-scanner out into the living room for processing receipts and bills. It still makes sense to use that location for office supplies storage (filing cabinets, paper supplies, software binders and manuals, rarely-used peripherals) and for the location of the wireless router/backup drive. But I'm starting to think that the "great room" is a better place for the immediate user interface (external monitor, printer/scanners). This shall require more experimentation.
Last week I thought that we'd seen the end of summer, especially Thursday evening when it was both cold and windy. But then the weekend was back to hot (just in time for all those work projects) -- hot enough that the Saturday evening concert in the park was balmy enough to enjoy without a jacket. I'm still enjoying the novelty of living in a place where 10 minutes biking gets me to the city center for cultural events ... and I feel perfectly comfortable biking home afterward fairly late at night.
Bike tire is patched -- I bribed myself by picking up a bike repair stand (the kind that holds your bike up in midair) which makes the whole process much simpler. With luck, it will mean I'm less likely to consider a flat to be a "wait till the weekend" project in the future. Because for some reason, flats seem more likely to happen at the beginning of the week than the end. Curiously enough, of the two sharp objects I found embedded in the tire, it was the plant thorn that lined up with the leak rather than the metal wire. Memo to self: must go online and order a couple spare tubes in the peculiar size that the Brompton takes. Also, more thorn-proof tires.
Garage shelves are earthquake-braced -- This project was made logistically more interesting by the fact that the concrete sill for the outer garage wall means the shelving is not flush against the wall. On the other hand, since the wallboard in the garage has only been painted, and not texturized, it's a lot easier to find the underlying studs. (Where was it that I recently saw a comment that stud-finders universally indicate that the interior structure of walls is constantly and randomly shifting?)
About half the front yard flower beds are detail-mapped and cataloged -- This is for a definition of "cataloged" that includes entries of "shrub -- species?????" Because the front property line (along the street) and the righthand property line (facing from the street) form something quite reasonably close to a right angle, with the house walls functionally parallel to those lines, I've decided to keep track of my mapping with an x,y coordinate system starting from the front right corner (but with positive x-coordinates rather than the negative ones that a truly fanatic and ocd mathematician would require). Cumulative error and the catenary drape of the 24-foot tape measure ensure that the coordinates will not be entirely correct, but it should be close enough for tracking and planning purposes. The map would be more elegant if I were doing it in metric rather than inches, but you work with the tape measure you have.
Gym bag has been modified for easier biking -- Proving that the best way to achieve a target is not to announce it in advance, for the first time since moving into the new house, I made it to the gym 5 out of 5 days last week and did a full elliptical routine every day, not just the shorter weights routine. I cobbled some clips and rings together from assorted hardware in order to be able to attach my gym bag to the outside of the Brompton front bike bag (so that I can also carry a lunchbag and maybe some grocery shopping at the same time). I'm also seriously considering trying a lunchtime workout rather than before or after work (except for Tuesdays, which are reserved for lunch with
thread_walker).I'm starting to seriously reconsider my plans to locate my home computer center in the closet of the library room. I have yet to actually use the computer in that location -- even to the point of bringing the sheet-scanner out into the living room for processing receipts and bills. It still makes sense to use that location for office supplies storage (filing cabinets, paper supplies, software binders and manuals, rarely-used peripherals) and for the location of the wireless router/backup drive. But I'm starting to think that the "great room" is a better place for the immediate user interface (external monitor, printer/scanners). This shall require more experimentation.
Last week I thought that we'd seen the end of summer, especially Thursday evening when it was both cold and windy. But then the weekend was back to hot (just in time for all those work projects) -- hot enough that the Saturday evening concert in the park was balmy enough to enjoy without a jacket. I'm still enjoying the novelty of living in a place where 10 minutes biking gets me to the city center for cultural events ... and I feel perfectly comfortable biking home afterward fairly late at night.
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Date: 2011-09-19 08:32 pm (UTC)That was ObXKCD.
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