The Time Sink

Well, I learned a couple of things working in the garage over the weekend... This first one is that the edge roll material on thirty year old subwoofers tends to deteriorate. Darn... I think I have another that may work as a substitute though. The other thing is that ol' Brad is a strong little guy! We were working on moving a bookcase and he was able to help me move it back towards the wall. ...by standing behind it and lifting! Daniel and I had had enough of a problem just getting it into place before. Coolness...

Also cool is I may have a solution to some connectivity and Internet access issues around here; I think I have enough cast offs to set up a second wireless segment for the boys (Daniel now and Brad next year in junior high). That will work; I just need to be able to control MAC address access and confirm I have "on-off" capability for each address. Oh, and I'll leave them on 802.11b and move myself to 802.11g. Shelley's on the Cat 5 segment as it is so I'll just leave that alone.

...and the rains pass through for a day and the cold returns this evening. Two days of sunshine coming up? It sounds like it. ...and then we're back to the rains again.

Will it be an "all bird week" on the blog? Maybe <g>...

...and in other news, the homework situation last night was light enough that I managed to get some garage time in. Yeah, me! ...and the results are that the shelving is restructured and reset to allow homes for both the printers. ...and the stereo. ...and the other items that need to be set in stone before I start putting the "stuff" away that's stacked on the floor. I suppose I may as well wire everything in first; but yeah, I'm thinking that was decent progress...

Hump day has been a real challenge lately around here. Today was no exception, but the evening lightened up a bit. I managed to get one piece of web work done and have another one mapped out. ...and even wired in one printer out in the garage!

...of course, in the process of doing that I realized that the lighting I was going to put in with both the printers is going to require a redo of how I had my power strips laid out. ...but hey, that's okay to find out before the shelves fill up with "stuff". ...and yes, I'll post a photo or two by way of explanation when I get it all wrapped up.

Well, today may be our last dry day for a few; as has been the case much of this season, the forecasters are not calling specific shots on any storm system other than to say whether the snow elevation is high or low. This one seems to be a high one, with rain for a time across the valley floor. That's okay with me; I have 'inside' work to do.

Friday...

Today has been a very, very, very full day here! I ended up skosh sleep last night, but still managed a photo walk with Brad before eight this morning. ...and made us bacon and portabello mushroom sandwiches for breakfast (Daniel declined <g> and Shelley slept in for a change!).

The rest of the day was spent in the garage with Daniel moving things about, throwing things away and arranging the shelving "stuff". Oh, and splitting time inside the house with Brad walking him through building his first 'big project' on his own: We'd picked up some chome closet shelving last Fall and never got around to putting it in place; I figured with a little guidance and some physical help when needed he could learn a few lessons about planning ahead and organization (Aunt Ann needs to stop reading now before she chokes on her coffee).

Hmm... It worked. I showed him the basics of working with chrome shelving (the tricks with aligning the plastic guides and how to space the shelves to allow for the clothes bars) and pretty much left him alone except when he needed help building the first 'tower'. The second tower was announced as, "Dad, I'm ready to move this one in now." Yeah, that was cool.

So now Shelley has 'inherited' a hallway full of "I'm too old for Legos", various shoes and gloves (one only of several pair), some oddball sporting goods, and a hamper full of clothing that appeared from somewhere during the process. ...but his room is clean and has a chance to stay that way.

The mommy van is in the garage (and Elvis has left the building <g>). Yep, Daniel is a great helper, able to sort things on his own once I give him some parameters and strong enough to take the load off of me (literally) when things need to go up into the attic.

That's not to say we're anywhere near finished; there is still a ton of work to be done what with sorting things out, wiring up the stereo and printers, and generally putting things away (after throwing other things away!). ...but I have to feel good about how much we've accomplished in the last two weekends.

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

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