Ealdercote Transformation In Progress
The yard transformation has accelerated a little last week. On Friday, the landscaper pulled out the shrubbery (no, please do NOT bring me a shrubbery) from the front of the garage. Apparently, their adventure included deep roots, poison ivy, and at least two wasps' or hornets' nests. I'm sad to see some of the greenery gone, but it really was a pain to deal with it and it did look kind of sad and pathetic at times. By the way, the poison ivy was NOT in front of the garage. I think they encountered it in the woods, and I went out with the chemicals to get rid of the stuff near the house.
We also have a new pathway marked out--which means I must go get a jack hammer or find a chain gang to break up and remove the existing sidewalk.
Decluttering Progress Alert
I played Tetris on the third floor, shifting stuff around, putting things away, etc. Today is electronics recycling day at the grocery store, so I pulled a couple of orphaned monitors and a pair of dead VCRs from the places they've been occupying. There has been a VHS tape stuck in one of players for the last 10 years--which is why it hasn't been offered to the recyclers before now. I made a very determined effort to get the thing back out, and I managed it--though there is now a small wrinkle in the middle of the tape. I also pulled a few more novels out from the bookshelves and put them in the "get rid of" pile.
If I were more industrious, I would have pulled motors and gears from the VCRs to fill the craft drawers with additional supplies for future projects. I am wise enough to know that I am not likely to actually use any of them, though. Considering that the flyer doesn't say anything about other electronic equipment, I may get a chance to disassemble those machines after all.
Serious cleaning occurred at Ealdercote on Sunday, so we had a pretty productive weekend for a change...I think.
Day At The Museum
Who knew model railroading required math? Anyone who actually builds stuff. At lunch, the guys were trying to figure out how long to cut some boards to make a helix for a layout. The idea was to create a double-track helix with 12 boards, but they weren't sure how long to cut them. A lot of trigonometry was performed, but no one could agree whether the correct answer had been arrived at because no one could remember whether they should be using sine, cosine, or arctangents to figure out the lengths. Basically, they need 12 boards cut to 16.88" with a 15 degree mitre on each end.
Otherwise, I did a lot of different things--from helping align switch machines, wiring, trackwork, scenery, to certifying one of our junior members on how to operate the industrial switching puzzle. He did great, and finished the job just as his mom arrived to pick him up.
I also attempted to upgrade a locomotive to DCC. I was able to do it much more easily than I anticipated...but there is a mechanical problem with the motor-to-trucks interface. The motor spins and occasionally moves the drive wheels. Grumble. I would have been better served doing some hardwiring on a different locomotive.
Snuggle Fu
Following the cleaning frenzy, Ælfgifu decided she must cuddle with me. While my sweetie was filling out order forms and random administrative tasks, Ælf' crawled up onto the chair next to me and rolled over in a classic kitty pretending to be a bunny pose. She purred a lot while she got scratched between the ears, but as soon as my sweetie would get up to put something back in the file drawer, Ælf' decided she would need to hop down on to the floor.
MMMMMM! Plush kitty endorphins!
Ouch
My drive to work this morning was thwarted by a 5-car plus tractor trailer pileup about two miles from the entrance ramp I use to get onto the Interstate. It took 20 minutes to go two miles, after which, the spray from all the other speeding vehicles wreaked havoc with visibility. It didn't look like anyone was injured, but did they have to pull over at the guardrail instead of just past it? Oh well, when you are in that situation, you aren't really thinking about inconveniencing other drivers--you have enough issues to deal with.
We also have a new pathway marked out--which means I must go get a jack hammer or find a chain gang to break up and remove the existing sidewalk.
Decluttering Progress Alert
I played Tetris on the third floor, shifting stuff around, putting things away, etc. Today is electronics recycling day at the grocery store, so I pulled a couple of orphaned monitors and a pair of dead VCRs from the places they've been occupying. There has been a VHS tape stuck in one of players for the last 10 years--which is why it hasn't been offered to the recyclers before now. I made a very determined effort to get the thing back out, and I managed it--though there is now a small wrinkle in the middle of the tape. I also pulled a few more novels out from the bookshelves and put them in the "get rid of" pile.
If I were more industrious, I would have pulled motors and gears from the VCRs to fill the craft drawers with additional supplies for future projects. I am wise enough to know that I am not likely to actually use any of them, though. Considering that the flyer doesn't say anything about other electronic equipment, I may get a chance to disassemble those machines after all.
Serious cleaning occurred at Ealdercote on Sunday, so we had a pretty productive weekend for a change...I think.
Day At The Museum
Who knew model railroading required math? Anyone who actually builds stuff. At lunch, the guys were trying to figure out how long to cut some boards to make a helix for a layout. The idea was to create a double-track helix with 12 boards, but they weren't sure how long to cut them. A lot of trigonometry was performed, but no one could agree whether the correct answer had been arrived at because no one could remember whether they should be using sine, cosine, or arctangents to figure out the lengths. Basically, they need 12 boards cut to 16.88" with a 15 degree mitre on each end.
Otherwise, I did a lot of different things--from helping align switch machines, wiring, trackwork, scenery, to certifying one of our junior members on how to operate the industrial switching puzzle. He did great, and finished the job just as his mom arrived to pick him up.
I also attempted to upgrade a locomotive to DCC. I was able to do it much more easily than I anticipated...but there is a mechanical problem with the motor-to-trucks interface. The motor spins and occasionally moves the drive wheels. Grumble. I would have been better served doing some hardwiring on a different locomotive.
Snuggle Fu
Following the cleaning frenzy, Ælfgifu decided she must cuddle with me. While my sweetie was filling out order forms and random administrative tasks, Ælf' crawled up onto the chair next to me and rolled over in a classic kitty pretending to be a bunny pose. She purred a lot while she got scratched between the ears, but as soon as my sweetie would get up to put something back in the file drawer, Ælf' decided she would need to hop down on to the floor.
MMMMMM! Plush kitty endorphins!
Ouch
My drive to work this morning was thwarted by a 5-car plus tractor trailer pileup about two miles from the entrance ramp I use to get onto the Interstate. It took 20 minutes to go two miles, after which, the spray from all the other speeding vehicles wreaked havoc with visibility. It didn't look like anyone was injured, but did they have to pull over at the guardrail instead of just past it? Oh well, when you are in that situation, you aren't really thinking about inconveniencing other drivers--you have enough issues to deal with.