So, having some glitches in the crossposting. This is a test…
Blog
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Days off
Days off still feel a bit of an oddity. I allowed myself a break between the slog of the bathroom and starting the hallway, because I thought this is probably good for my sanity. In it I’ve cleaned the house, I’ve moved the website (wordpress used to be in a subdirectory, it’s now not) and upgraded wordpress (and applied a new theme, which I’m not sure about at the moment, but is the theme that I’m trying. It’s a suck-it-and-see approach*). I’ve listed my Kawasaki GT-550 on e-bay (*whimper*). I’ve been to Two Day Coffee and got more coffee. I’ve been to Maplin and got possibly the worst power tool I’ve ever owned – a battery dremel clone (and been slightly stunned to find that it’s got an AC-adaptor**, rather than a DC adaptor, which means I’ll have to look at the guts of the charger to see if I can take it to Canada. The only reason I got it, rather than any other Dremel clone, is I thought it would be useful to take to Canada. I didn’t get an actual Dremel because Kathryn already owns one, so spending twice as much on something that duplicates what we’ve already got, not handy. Although, as we’ve already considered, probably vastly better quality).
I’ve worked on the clock*** (which I’m going to continue doing after this) and I’ve tried to rejoin the nursing agency. I’ve written some more of the next episode of Dead Bug Jumping, and I’ve installed and started to toy with a new media server. I’ve ripped another 10 CDs and done 3 loads of laundry (and am pondering a fourth).
I’m not quite sure I’ve got the hang of this ‘Days off’ concept.
* The result of which may be that it sucks. I’ve got through four themes so far today.
** Which outputs 6volts at 50hz. What’s up with that? I’m assuming that, somewhere in the guts of the hideous plastic base object, there’s a rectifier.
*** Which is for-why I bought the dremel clone. Because the new clock mechanism doesn’t fit in the space previously occupied by the old clock mechanism. -
Moved
We’ve moved. We’re now at Pyoor.org instead of being at pyoor.org/wordpress. If you notice anything broken, please let me know. I’m not having much luck editing the theme I chose, so may choose another one, so things may be excitingly labile for a while. Err, yeah. So that’s that.
Please feel free to update your links or bookmarks :)
If you read this on LJ, it’s just for information purposes :)
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Onward
So, today’s progress report from the house…
Sealant in around bathroom window; it’s not as neat as I would like in a couple of patches, but I’ve definitely got better at it (also, this is way nicer sealant than the grot I’ve got previously from B&Q. Much smoother to use, but dries hella-fast).
I’ve managed to break the new toilet seat, however, standing on it to reach the window. This is upsetting, and means I’ll have to fix it tomorrow :(
In other news, the roof has (hopefully) been fixed. The company said that while long-term it’ll need the zinc replacing, the repair should last a good while. There are some slightly sad tiles up there, but nothing else needs immediate attention, which is good news.
I’ve also been ripping music like a good’un – I’ve got through in the region of 50 CDs. I’ve also been ‘tidying’ in the video and film directories, coming up with something like a naming scheme. I’ve also added a specific username for the media equipment to use (Herbert Shuffle*). I’ve also started moving media around to have one disk full of Audio and the other full of Video. Obviously it’d be nice to have a nice shiny RAID system with backup on it… But not yet, eh.
I’ve also registered for assessment of and organised sending of transcripts for both my Bachelor’s degrees to Nova Scotia, for to have them decide that I can take the exam which will hopefully lead to us exiting this country. Ironic, really, because we’re trying to work out if Kathryn can get Citizenship here, so that we can come back later. Maybe. For a bit :)
And finally, I’ve ordered an FD to Micro 4/3rds lens mount for my Lumix G1. Because**. If anyone wants to give me decent or fish-eye or ultra-wide-angle FD lens (or spots them realllllllly cheaply somewhere, or better still, free), let me know.
Uh, so I think that’s it for today. I was hoping to put up the light in the bathroom, but I was informed by Kathryn that I wasn’t doing that because I was yelping and having great difficulty moving my left arm. She was, of course, right. Although I think I could do it now, it’s probably worth letting my arm have the rest of the day off, especially because lying in bed last night and trying to turn over, I kind of looked like a beached fish as I flapped my body trying to avoid using my arm. Abduction is a bugger, adduction less so. Circumduction isn’t happening. I’m just praying I don’t have to do CPR at work because I may end up in worse shape than the patient… :-/
In other, other news, I need to sort out putting DD-WRT on the other WAP54G; this is because the WAP54G’s feeble wireless output isn’t quite enough to reach our garage (our old Belkin 802.11b router could just, just reach the garage, but was painfully unreliable and only did WEP encryption***). So I might as well sort the other power supply for it… which is something to do tomorrow.
* Bonus points if you can name the source of the username. But not many bonus points, because… obviously.
** Because I have a few FD lenses, and there’s no way I can afford any new Micro 4/3s lenses at the moment. Yes, I know this makes the pretty/shiny/small argument for buying the G1 invalid. Yes. Shut up and go away.
*** And whilst I do support the concept of open WiFi, our ADSL is so sick that sharing out the weedy connection we’ve got seems foolish. -
The New Rip Project
Okay, so as I’ve commented before (enough times, I’m sure), back when I originally ripped the media in our house a variety of encoders were used. The archaic Risc PC encoder (ooh, the pain), LAME on Linux (a early 2000’s version), various PC encoders… It depended on the OS I was using at the time.
Some files were encoded by others at various bitrates (128kbps….*shudder*)*. Most of the more recent stuff was done at high bit rate using VBR… But over the last few weeks I’ve been making slow-and-erratic progress on re-ripping stuff and setting up the new media system….
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The Lino Has Landed
Well, technically it’s vinyl, not lino. But it’s close enough.
Anyhow, yesterday was spent planing the bottom edge from the door (yes, Kathryn and I really did plane the door rather than me just hack the bottom off it with a saw) and then I spent a large chunk of the day laying the lino. All of the day really. It’s a small room with a fiddly-bastard toilet in it. And having tested my theory I found that I was correct – the toilet is on what turns out to be a small pedestal which is, I think, glued to the floorboards. So we opted for laying the floor around it, which meant that I had to cut the vinyl to fit. I’m aware that this is not the ideal solution, but it’s the one we chose on the basis that I really, really didn’t want to move the toilet and by extension the cistern (because moving the pedestal on which the toilet’s base is sitting would probably have resulted in its destruction, lowering the toilet, and then requiring the cistern to be lowered).
This was an experience which was almost as much fun as I’d imagined. Only the bit behind the toilet where I was dangling arms outstretched across the toilet seat, and my chest crushed, and my head wedged under the cistern / against the back of the toilet trying to trim the lino to fit against the wall, was more fun than I’d imagined. As the faint smell of 70 year old toilet* worked its way into my nose I decided that, like wallpapering, this was a task I wasn’t planning to repeat.
At any rate, having got the lino down…
…I cleaned up the tiles under the sink and switched the old, grey, plastic plumbing for some chromed metal (and a 90 degree joint of plastic-chrome effect). Having scraped the tiles clean and wiped some bits down with meths I spent an inordinate amount of time putting masking tape around the room…
Several miles of Frogtape** later:
And then came the sealant. The miles and ever-loving miles of sealant.
So we’ve gone from this:
To this:
I’ve got a bit more to do, there’s the bit around the window, and lamp needs to be put up. And the doorframe painted. And I’m going to paint that black plinth under the toilet white. And we want to put some mirrors up. Oh, and I’m thinking I should paint the copper pipe white. Otherwise it’s done.
We’ve decided to leave the existing flush pipe and flush (because it’s white and innocuous), and the flush kinda-sorta-works.
Unfortunately, in the process I’ve really, really, really hurt my shoulder. I don’t know how, or why, but lifting it up or abducting it in any way causes me quite a lot of pain. I can do it, but I think I’ve sprained something. This is not good, not good at all.
* no matter how often you clean it, if you get that close to a toilet that old, it smells.
** Kathryn suggested trying Frogtape in the last house, I think. It’s vastly better than any of the other masking tapes we’ve tried and I’m a convert. I was very cynical at the time, and didn’t really want to fork out the extra for a 4-quid roll instead of a 50p roll, but the difference in finish and in lack-of-damage to paint has been worth it. -
Sometimes it’s the little things
Now, for those of you who are sick of the house updates… here’s another one.
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Master of the 8bit music
So, today I headed over to John’s with some more of our broken old sad things. Actually I headed over to see John with the hope of showing off the Music 5000. Technically, what we have is an upgraded Music 500. But anyhow, I loaded up the Volvo into a Early 80’s timewarp, and headed over. I also took our Alfa sewing machine which had stuck and wasn’t working anymore. I suspect it was in need of a service… but wasn’t sure whether there was more to it than just oiling things. Also, I didn’t have any suitable oil…
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Apparently, today I am a hunter gatherer of sorts
I’ve been hunting for bathroom stuff today. This is because I realised that I forgot to run the strip of glue between the two bits of MDF that make up the bath’s side panel. I’d realised this after I’d primed and whilst I was filling, but thought, hell, I’m sure it’ll be okay. It’s not okay. So today I scraped out some of the filler and attempted to get some glue into the joint. I’m hoping it’ll do, otherwise the other option is to find some method of getting the glue further into the gap. I have ideas about that, but not convenient/easy ideas.
Anyhow, so, having done that and put a fresh tube on my bike*, I headed out. As you may’ve gathered, I went to the record store. But first I battled the terror of SALE DAY IKEA. Not, obviously, the first day of sales, but given it’s a wednesday at lunch time I’d rather imagined I’d be able to park fairly easily. No. The carpark was almost full, and I got to do a lot of meandering up and down aisles before I could deposit Chester and head in.
Having found the shower curtains** I started working my way through them trying to find the specific plain white curtain I wanted. They didn’t have it. Pink, yes. Blue, yes. Teal, yes. Black, yes. Patterned with child-friendly-animals, yes. Plain White? No. Having studied the many and various options I went with swirly-white-rings on a clear backing. I haven’t unpacked it yet, because I’m not sure what Kathryn will make of them. I’m not 100% certain I like them, but I’d quite like to use the shower so that I could get up 10 minutes later… :)
That battle done I returned home. This is because Gardiner Haskins were yet to receive the flooring for the bathroom which was due in today. Having been reminded that we needed some extra odds and sods for dinner tonight, I managed to make it round Sainsburys without getting too many non-list items, and then rang Gardiner Haskins on spec. And y’know what, there was the elusive flooring.
Another trundle down the river and I’d gathered the final components needed to finish the bathroom***. Shower curtain hooks, black and white sealant… and as you might guess I’d want at this point, whilst not for the bathroom, a puncture repair kit.
So now the bathroom can actually be finished****. As in completed. As in a room which needs nothing else doing. We have white paint for the little bit of wood trim. We have metal primer for the two short sections of copper pipe… we have black and white sealant to seal the window frame and the top edge of the tiles. And we have flooring and adhesive for flooring, and hardboard to put flooring on. It’s quite exciting.
* Yes, my lovely gift on the first day back at work after our ‘Christmas’ was a flat tyre as some cheery soul had spread broken glass across the pavement. Le sigh.
** I’d gone to Ikea because on their site they list PEVA plain white shower curtains at a stellar £4 each. Gardiner Haskins are still selling PVC, and John Lewis indicate that they sell plenty of PEVA curtains, but they’re all patterned.
*** Apart from the replacement light, which we need to decide upon.
**** God damn it, I just remembered, I need a compression fitting 32mm 90 degree waste pipe connector, too. And ideally a new flush mechanism. -
An experience
It was a shame not to share it with someone. The glee bubbled around inside me. I stood in the store and looked down racks of records. Actual Vinyl, and yes, it’s at the back of the store, but the back of this store is not a shame-ridden back corner, it’s a proudly displayed and demarked zone of unabashed vinyl delight.
See, when I grew up in Hemel Hempstead in the early 1980s, the real heyday of the record shop was already over, but I still remember the delight of wandering into the grotty Our Price that lurked underneath Star Burger (iirc, I can’t find a photo to verify that), but even then the poorly lit ranks of vinyl were already coming to be considered out of fashion.
The cassette was supposedly king (although I never followed that fashion), and then CD came along and ate everyone else’s breakfast. My dad’s CD player was bought at great expense, and the first album I bought for myself was a CD, it was Talking Heads – Sand in the Vaseline. But still records soldiered on, often relegated to the dankest corner of the store. I had a CD player, and whilst I enjoyed vinyl, the convenience of the CD had won me over, at least for a while. And then I noticed that vinyl was cheaper – at least for a while – than CDs. And there was something about the way it sounded, and the way that it felt. That listening to it was an experience. That the tone-arm dragging it’s way across the pressed plastic made it feel very real and connected. The analogue nature of it… it’s just one of the few bits of modern life which is broadly unaffected by modern technology. If I still had my valve record deck I had as a child, I could play the records I’ve bought in the last few years on it, and it’d work just fine*.
The combination of poor student and vinyl’s many appeals caused me to drift towards vinyl again. And then I quietly became a bit of an afficionado. Aided by the opening of a much easier to access record shop in the shopping centre in Hemel. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was, in my memory, mostly white. And inside were ranks of both records and CDs. I remember buying an Ash album for an incredible £2.99…
So my love of vinyl grew, and grew, and then I vocally told people how awesome vinyl was, and then they looked at me like I was strange so eventually I shut up and quietly enjoyed my strange hobby. But eventually it all but disappeared from the physical stores. And Fopp got bought by HMV (although I still do love Fopp, and need to get down to the Fopp store in Bristol), and so I went back to just trawling charity shops for older music… which is fine, it fit with Dead Bug Jumping, but I missed that moment of wandering into the store with a desire for new music and having it gently assuaged by that hit of surrounding yourself in music.
Occasionally I’d weaken and buy an album online, like the two gorgeous editions of a couple of Ladytron’s albums who’s gatefold sleeves lurk within my eclectic record collection.
But mostly I’d get CDs. CD’s are cheap and cheerful and convenient. I can stick them in the Mac, rip them to FLAC and MP3 (simultaneously), sourcing digital versions to go onto my ipod isn’t a hassle… And they make me feel safe in that whole ‘I have something physical that it’s much harder to lose or destroy’ way**. But they don’t feel the same to me.
How they actually sound? Fuck knows. My brain does not just interpret sound based entirely on the waves coming into my ears. My interpretation of it is mixed in with memories, other senses, my mood… but I like vinyl, and I enjoy the act of putting the record on the deck and listening to it.
So I took great pleasure in performing several loops of the record store, before finding the record I’d actually gone in there with the intention of purchasing was on offer (damage sleeve, last copy in the store), which made me feel even better. And then I noticed they had Musicophilia which seemed deeply appropriate.
And so, I bought my music, and headed cheerfully back out and home to curl up on the sofa and listen to my newest bit of vinyl.
* Although the tone arm on that deck was fracking heavy, and it tended to slowly chew through records, so I wouldn’t recommend such a course of action. Also, my dad had repaired it several times, and the final time it died, we decided it had probably had it. It was replaced by a fine BSR deck. For varying levels of fine. In an awesome Waltham stereogram. I removed the original BSR deck from that on the basis that it was an unadulterated pile of shit and switched it for one from a better stereogram. They both came from jumblesales. As you can imagine my records were treated awesomely well.
** I had a whole bunch of music on my Archimedes A440 in University in the form of Tracker files. My hard disk crashed. I lost it all….