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Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.

Category around the house

Bike Rack: Confirmed

March 20, 2008

My Bike & Groceries
(Click for full size…)

Last friday I received some email from the person who had promised me that a bike rack would be installed at the VG’s near my house, apologizing that it hadn’t yet been installed. Sunday, on the way to and ‘s place, Danielle and I drove through the VG’s lot and saw a bike rack next to the front door.

I haven’t needed groceries yet, but with finishing up the yogurt, carrots, bananas, and smoked salmon within the last few days, and combined with some rather nice after-work weather, I figured I’d put the basket on the back of the bike and go pick some things up.

The basket, tires, and lock all worked out great, even though the basket does occasionally touch my bum while riding. As it’s only 1.5 miles to the store, that’s not a big deal. The cheap black bungee cords I picked up for holding things into the basket seem to work pretty good, and if they somehow get lost or break it’ll only be another $2 or so from Lowe’s to replace them.

I’d brought a brown paper bag to the store with me so that I could not take up another new bag, and that seemed to confuse the checkout guy a bit. He first took it and put the potato chips (Better Maid Hot, I hope they are good) and bananas in there alone, then went to get me another bag for other things. After a little prompting (and my saying that I’ll just carry the chips myself) he packed things differently, and it all fit nicely in the bag. That single bag then fit in the basket great, I was able to strap the top down, and ride home.

The lock worked out pretty good as well. It’d be nice if it was just slightly longer, but it worked. I found that the left strap on my helmet can’t be wholly undone, so it’s safe to lock it in the cable. Someone could cut the straps on it, but a helmet without straps is pretty worthless.

Now, time to figure out what to have for dinner. I would go for a longer ride, possibly trying to find a reasonable way to get to Riverbends, but it’s really windy and it’ll take at least half an hour to find and prepare food, I think.

Oh, darn. I just realized that I forgot to purchase bread.

around the housecyclingmoved from livejournal

Whiteboard

February 26, 2008

New (to me) Whiteboard
(Click for bigger…)

When moved out of his apartment this weekend he had a whiteboard (and supplies) which he no longer wanted. Now it’s in my basement. What’s really nice is that it’s a good quality whiteboard with a non-damaged surface. I’ve had a couple whiteboards in the past, but at least a small part of each surface had been abraded to the point of being non-erasable.

Hopefully now I can stop scrawling quick notes on Post-It(-ish) notes and sticking them to the back of the workbench.

acquired thingsaround the housemoved from livejournal

Fucking Comcast

February 21, 2008

Arraugh. So, I have Comcast service for internet access, but not television service. I have a TV, but I only use it for pre-recorded stuff / video games / etc. However, when I got home today I had a note hanging next to my garage which reads:

While performing work in your neighborhood, it was determined that the cable TV line and/or equipment inside your home does not meet technical specifications established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The problem appears to be a leak of the cable TV signal. Signal leakage has the potential to cause interference with with aeronautical, police, and other communications. Comcast is required by the FCC to record and promptly repair signal leaks.

Please call Comcast at 1-800-865-9787 to schedule an appointment for one of our technicians to repair the signal leak.

If you are unable to contact Comcast within three (3) business days, we will be required to interrupt your service until the necessary repairs can be made.

So, I called and told the operator that I only have internet service and then asked what should be done about the note. The operator then first told me that I should just ignore the note, since I don’t have TV service. When I reminded her that I have internet service and that the note says the service will be terminated if I don’t call, she put me on hold to talk to a supervisor.

After she returned to the line we began to set up an appointment, but there were only 9am – 12pm or 12pm – 3pm windows open for technicians to visit, all the way through the end of March. Even better, the end of March is the furthest out she is able to schedule visits.

Great, eh?

So, she logged that I called and suggested that I just call back tomorrow and see if another slot is open.

I’m not sure what to do now. Maybe wait and see if my service actually gets switched off? <sigh>

UPDATE: I rejiggered the wiring just inside the house so that there are no unterminated connections. Hopefully that will sort it out. The root issue may very well be my fault, but I’d hope that Comcast would have some more reasonable appointments available. Hopefully my service won’t be interrupted now that things should be sorted out.

around the housecomputersmoved from livejournal

Lint, Fuzz, Food, Whatever?

February 16, 2008

A mix of scary… stuff.

Something isn’t right with the recliner where Danielle normally sits in my living room. While it was turned over and I was looking into the problem I came across this, a many year old mismash of lint, hair, dust, food, pillbugs, and who knows what else, which had settled on one of the support pieces.

This recliner was originally my parents, purchased sometime in the 80s, so it’s seen more than its fair share of sick kids, cartoon breakfasts, spilled potato chips, and who knows what else.

So, next time you acquire a piece of used furniture, just imagine what could be in there… Possibly from people you’ve never met.

UPDATE: That said, it may not be as scary as this photo of a 9/11 memorial-on-a-pickup sent to me by .

around the housemoved from livejournal

Clogged Bathroom Drain Pipe

January 3, 2008

I was going to post a photo with this, but being unable to pick the best one (and being worried about squicking a few people) I figured I’d just link to them all:

HERE (photo gallery retired)

Before and after spelunking for tonsillolith (and not finding any) I washed my hands and was reminded of how slowly the drain in my bathroom is draining. Finding it a bit clogged didn’t surprise me (it was slow and all), but the way in which it was clogged did.

For some reason, the pipe was at least 1/3 full of mold for its entire length, with the end near the the trap looking like grey, slimy female genitalia. Even more interesting to me is how the mold has strata, with what appears to be an original layer of thin black mildew, then a rich grey/white layer, and then a smooth, tough top beige layer.

Once removed from the pipe, the resulting pile of mold felt like soft unagi, and reminds me of canned fish.

I guess that’s what a bit over seven years of hand washings, teeth brushings, sink cleanings, and whatever else do to a pipe. I didn’t see any buildup in the pipe in the wall, although I imagine this is because the part before the wall was a slight uphill section before the wall, so there was likely standing water in the trap and this section of pipe for a while, allowing it to deposit all sorts of stuff over time.

Also, it did not have a smell. I intentionally, and repeatedly, smelled the mold. I couldn’t detect anything.

Anyway, to see the rest of the photos, they are here: Mold Clogging Bathroom Drain Pipe (photo gallery retired)

around the housemoved from livejournal

Stuff Gets Done II

November 26, 2007

Today / Tonight’s Accomplishments:

· Car oil changed.
· Bathrooms cleaned sufficiently.
· Solution book to K&R’s C book ordered from Half.com.
· Old built-in soap dispenser removed from kitchen sink and replaced with metal plug.
· Beer poured, leftover Thai food microwaving.
· Bathroom rugs and floor towels in the dryer.

around the houseautomotivemoved from livejournal

October 25, 2007

There is something about that smell of dust burning off of the burner (and I presume A coil and whatnot) that will always remind me of that time of year. All of you in the midwest, all you Northern Cities Shifters know… That time of year when the furnace is first turned on, the burner comes to life, heat is working for the winter, and the faint “oh, the furnace is on” smell fills the air.

Mmm…

Also, it’s amazing what my neighbors throw out in the trash. When taking out the trash on this previous Sunday there was a box sitting atop the pile of bags holding two GENERALAire 990-13 Evaporation Pads. That is, the media required for the most popular centrally installed humidifier made, the GENERALAire 1042. The design of this humidifier will make it last essentially forever, provided one changes the media. You know, the bits that they threw out.

Ah well, at least I got some free media out of it… I think these cost around US$15 each, beyond being a bit of a hassle to get.

(It is currently 69°F in my house, and I suspect that it’ll be around 62°F by the time I wake up. I don’t think that’s cold enough to require the furnace. The blanket does a plenty good job keeping me warm and snuggly comfy.)

around the housemoved from livejournal

Bedroom Light

October 16, 2007

Upon returning home from up north this past Sunday I found that the microwave’ clock was reset and the ceiling fan / light in my bedroom would no longer turn on. This light/fan combo is controlled via an RF remote which triggers some things on a receiver board to set the fan speed, turn it on and off, etc.

If I can’t readily identify a bad component on the board I think I’ll just replace it with a dual wall switch (one for fan, one for light) and a on-on toggle switch, limiting the fan’s settings to low and high, always in reverse mode. I never use forward mode, and I either want the fan blowing slowly while I sleep, or really fast to stir air around before going to bed.

around the houseelectronicsmoved from livejournal