Category Archives: Around The House

All my projects around the House.

That Perfect Computer keyboard

k360Wow, OK , I do not want to seem like I am being completely negative but.. I AM. I have learned to hate computer keyboards. I have found over the years that a comfortable, good quality keyboard makes all the difference when you are spending more than just  a moment or two using it a day. I know when I was younger, ergonomics was something “OLD” people thought about. I now realize that it is not “OLD” but rather smart people that think about these types of things. Here are some of the things that I would love to see in a keyboard that as of now I cannot seem to find:

1-    Short throw keys. The more your fingers have to move to depress the keys, the more fatigue and strain. Laptops seem to have this figured out  but are lacking in other areas.

2-    Wrist supports. For the purpose of not having problems like tendinitis or other wrist problems. You have to have proper support. I know that you can buy an additional wrist supports but that is just one more thing to take up space and have to move when adjusting your desk to accommodate projects.

3-    No heat. Like I said, laptops have perfect amounts of throw but, because of the electronics, there is a lot of heat coming from the keys and wrist rests. This also makes it super uncomfortable and hard to use for long a duration of time.

4-    Full keyboard. I know that some people will argue with me, and I understand. A lot of people don’t use their 10-key  but I do. I want a keyboard that has it all because I do it all.

5-    Sleek. Just because I want a 10-key and short throw keys does not mean it needs to be huge and clunky, nor do I want have several pieces all over the desk to make a complete unit. Because I do it all, I am often sliding my keyboard around the desk to accommodate projects, paper for sketches for ideas, or any other thing that happens to fall on my plate.

I can tell you this, from my experience, Logitech seems to be the closest to what I am looking for and maybe some day they will come across this and make a product that is what I am looking for… I have been trying out the K360 and it is pretty good but I would make a few changes to accommodate the criteria I mentioned above.. for a long time I have been using the MK700/MK710. I love it. I like the layout but it is a bit big, I do believe that it could be reduced a bit and still keep that layout. Also the throw on the keys is a bit deep and because of the way it is constructed, it does start to have “Sticky keys” that wont depress when typing quickly because they use a plastic on plastic sliding system.

I really don’t know if this is suppose to be a review of what I use or if this is just me Venting ( probably just venting) but I thought that this may be helpfull to others that face the same problem.. If I do find the PERFECT fit. I will let you know and get a review out on it quickly. in the meanwhile, you have questions about the hardware that I am currently using, please feel free to ask.

These are the Keyboards I was referring to if you would like one click here to support my page

 

Rest from the Rental – That’s about it though

20140628_122439
This is has been a very annoyingly busy last couple of weeks. Every time I turned a corner there was something else that needed to be done. I knew that this would happen but it always seems to creep in the need to get everything done. On the other side with the tenant that had signed a lease backing out, it felt like we had a bit more time and could take what was needing to be done a little slower, and not with such a push on our time. Well, all until about Wednesday when we found out someone was intent on signing a lease and wanted to move in on Friday.. not Friday a week or so later, no, this Friday,.. “Oh POO!” we had to get things done especially since we were going to be out of town Friday and Saturday. So, Thursday Night we were at the rental house trying our darndest to get things wrapped up. We did alright on the interior stuff, the new blinds were up, the curtain rods were up, shower curtains and rods were in place. My wife even started cleaning up some stuff right up until the down pour of rain. I was working on the Dryer only to find out that it was a thermal fuse and a thermistor that had gone out and I would not be able to finish the fix until the following Monday or Tuesday. Here are the pics for the apparent reason it went out.

Fortunately they were OK with that and we’ll be able to get it done. There are still several things that I believe need to get done sooner rather than later but most all of it is on the outside of the house and can be done as time goes on.
It is a good thing I only said I was getting rest from the rental house though because Friday and Saturday we went up to the air show at Hill Air Force Base.. it was fun to see so many different planes as well as all the other fun stuff they had on display. I was a bit disappointed as they really did not have anywhere for people to enjoy the air show its self.. there was only as small set of bleachers that were for VIPs and the rest was concrete pad only.. not too big of a deal if they were to keep the show up in the air buy there was a lot of the show on the runway as well. I cannot say I did not enjoy the show though. From just about anywhere at the base you could frequently see the planes and jets doing all sorts of insane maneuvers that 50+ years ago or to most modern pilots would have caused the plane to go down.

 

The grand finally was the thunderbirds. It was the big Synchronized jet performance that everyone was waiting for. Unfortunately we missed most of it.. as we waited we let the kids walk around with the toys they had pretending that they were flying when, all of a sudden we heard a blood curdling scream. Yup, it was Kyle, he had apparently tripped and fell on a grate causing a huge (3cm) gash to his knee. The medics on base were only able to wrap it up so they took us on carts to the bus stop and told us to get him to somewhere that he could get stitches. The funny thing is, our van was only a few blocks from where they were dropping us off. It seems that because we were Civilians, they did not want to go that little extra distance so we could get him fixed up, instead we waited on a bus for the airshow to complete, went to the van and then proceeded to fight traffic for 30 to 45 min just to get off base. Upon arriving at the insta-care, they had apparently closed at 5PM (to give you a time line, the accident happened at 3PM) “CRAP!” so to the ER.

“ how much is this going to cost us?”
“well according to our insurance, our out of pocket would be about $1700.00”
Fortunately the ER nurses were nice enough that they found us another insta-care that was open later and we were able to get the 4 stitches needed to hold my son together. Below are the pics from that whole incident. I will be posting more details and thoughts on the insta-care and ER in a later post..

Also not to distract from my sons pain but I also tried to put my kickstand on my big motorcycle through my foot. When I got to work, I was thinking I needed to lube my chain. I got off, unloaded all my work stuff, then put it from the side stand up onto the center stand. When I went for the chain lube I realized that I did not have it on my bike like I usually do so, I went to put it back onto the side stand and get to work. Not realizing, I had not put up the side stand, I pushed the bike off the center stand and as the bike came down, the side stand penetrated my shoe (if it had only hit the steel toed part I would have been fine) then my sock and left a whopper on my foot.. “ well that was fun!”

The Roof

2014-06-21 15.20.57     I am starting to think it is time to start doing something other than just an update… unless you enjoy doing nothing more that reading a one sentence post. All that happened this week was a roof. Upon the inspection of our rental house it was determined that the back half of the roof was gone, there were several asphalt shingles that no longer had asphalt. All that remained was a small bit of fiberglass. Needless to say, it needed to be re-shingled desperately. every spare moment this last week was spent doing just that. re-shingling the back half of our roof. Fortunately we had some neighbors that saw the need and joined in  the fun. I have to say I have been blessed with some awesome friends over the years although I am not much of a friend. I will post more about what mean with that later.

I have been wanting start posting random thoughts more often and I guess they are just going to have to come as they come. I’ll try and get the ones about friends up as soon as I can.. just something that I have been thinking about recently.

 

6/15/14 A week of divided attention

multitasking_roundedWhat a week it has been. The week before Last we found out that our tenant in our rental house was finally moving out.. they were supposed to be completely moved out by the end of day Saturday. Come Monday evening we were scheduled to do a final inspection with the property manager and get a game plan put together since we have a tenant that wanted to move in as soon as possible. When we showed up for the inspection the tenants were still there. The house was empty but they were still cleaning (not well either). With the inspection we found that there is a lot that needed to be done from paint touch ups, trim replacements due to damage, carpet repairs, yard care, and so on.. Tuesday we had plans were to get a ton done but ended up waiting for someone who was 3 hours late – nothing got done. Wednesday, we felt good about what got done.. we re-wired the sprinkler system (someone else had been messing with it), and we evaluated materials and tools needed to complete the jobs that were required. The more we got done the more we realized we would not be able to do it all. We had to start looking for someone to do certain more time consuming projects, such as roofing and carpet repair, so that we could focus elsewhere. Thursday, we were able to complete the sprinkler system.. it is now working like a dream.  The down side is it was not until then that the new tenant who had already signed the lease decided that they were not going to move it.. well good and bad since it did give us a little more time. We also started working on the drier.. it turns out it was not the heating element that had died so we are going to have to tear into it more.. my next guess is the fan.. after looking at the vent, it became very apparent that the lint was not being cleaned out properly and so the fan is likely jammed full of the stuff. Friday, well obviously this is date night so we did not do anything but.. there was some thought put into the status and we decided to do the roof ourselves so, we stopped and got shingles and a few little things. Saturday morning first thing, we got up and got to it. We removed the old swamp cooler because we knew no renter would use it when they have central air.. that took most of the morning so laying the new shingles did not start until almost noon.. at noon we took a break to avoid the heat of the day and didn’t start again until after 5pm.. we did not get as much done as we had hoped but I felt good about the amount I was able to get done. Oh yea and somewhere in there Mac Flooring came in and did the patching on the carpets to that is done as well!10348373_10203564473899949_7878795825535983249_n

The point of all this is, at home, we have so much that needs to be done this year to prevent weathering damage this next winter. So much that needs to be done in both location at the same time. Once again our projects are overpowering the amount of time that we have. Our attention is being divided so many ways that you can no longer taste the peanut butter. The more I seek balance, the more it seems to escape me. The more we look at all the things we need to do, the more I realize that I just want/need  to have fun, unwind and recharge, something we do not get to do all that often. Somehow though, it always turns out that to have said fun, requires a large expense or… other projects to be finished so that the resources we have, can be used.. Either way it seems to be a catch22.. I have gotten to the point where everything I do, I do as if it were a business, analyzing opportunity costs.. what projects will free up the most time for other projects to go faster. What projects will free up the most resources or finances to allow for others, always  with the goal of having a little R&R in mind. As I do all these analytics, the one thing I see in front of me is a dynamic labyrinth. A ever changing maze that appears to have no end.

            

June 1, 2014 Just pay someone already!

concrete_recycling

 

Someday I will get a head of the timing.  After working such long hours for a little over a month I realize that it is no longer an option for me to do that anymore. Just imagine not balancing your check book for over a month.. putting off the “Honey Do’s” for over a month and letting all of the things you are supposed to do pile up for that long as well.. needless to say, I have no idea where we are financially and have a mountain of things that I need to do with the regular daily additions being piled on top of it every day.

 

So I do have a question, many people that have known me for, well, really any time at all, realize that I am tight. By tight I mean: “penny pincher”, Cheap, or as I like to consider it, Frugal, innovative.. really it has always come down to the fact that I really don’t like spending all my money in one place because I like to spend it in many places. I don’t like to believe that just because it is expensive or name brand that it is better than things that aren’t. As you follow this post, you will get a better idea as to what I mean because I will be reviewing these things that I consider cheap.  Now, getting to the point, as you know I recently had a new driveway put in and replaced my old sidewalk with a new curb, gutter and sidewalk. Initially the thought was to do as much as I could while still having the professionals do the critical installation of the concrete its self. The more we got into it the more I realized that it was not worth it to me to be “Frugal” This last Saturday made that even more evident as I tried to unload the trailer that contained the waste from the old sidewalk. When this project was in process, I had told them to load the waste on my heavy duty trailer (to save on the cost of getting a waste container) in the end my contractor went ahead and got one any way to haul off most all of it. By Most all of it, I mean that the stuff that was already in the trailer remained there. Saturday morning, I hooked up the trusty S10 Blazer to the trailer loaded to the heap and headed out. (now, Yes, I was fully aware that this was heavy and I needed to take it slow since it had no trailer brakes ) so That is exactly what I did. I took it slow and went on as many back roads as possible.. as I approached the dump the blazer was struggling.. there is a long steep hill that leads to the dump. As the engine bogged down I would manually shift it down to keep as much momentum up as possible, really I just ended up going to first and hoping that it would make it at all. At the weigh in, (after I received many odd looks) the gentleman there told me that I was within weight so I could use my pass. ( the limit was 1-TON)  but the look on his face indicated that he was really letting it slide since I was really over the limit. Keep in mind that this is a ¼-TON vehicle I was pulling it with. That is not the point though. As I pulled into place to unload and began working to get it off, it became evident that this was not going to be as easy as I thought I used a high lift jack to lift the first piece to near vertical, doing everything I could do to stay out of the “danger zone” if it were to fall.. once at near Vertical, I assumed  that I would be able to push it the remaining way over and thus off the trailer.. nope, it did not even move. This one piece of concrete had to weigh 500-1000lbs by its self. (I’m leaning more toward the 1000lbs as I can usually leg press over 400lbs and all I was trying to do was push it over.. .. to keep it short, after destroying every tie-down in my arsenal and with the great assistance of a front loader, the trailer was emptied.

(point? – sometimes it is worth a little extra to pay someone to do things that you “think” you can do yourself)

May 21, 2014 A day of rest

KcjeXMkBiAs this last week progressed and the pressure to complete the project became greater I told my boss that I would be taking time off to get a grasp on my personal and family time since there has not been a break at all for the last 3-4 weeks. Come Thursday Night, I had had enough! We spent all day Friday running errands with the wife, and trying to get things that had been put off for over a month wrapped up.

Saturday we rented a mini front loader to re-distribute the dirt that was displaced by the new drive way..  we started at 7am and did not stop until after I was violently thrown off the machine while going over a bump (at about 3:30pm). It was time to stop. I was tired and dealing with heat exhaustion. Don’t worry though, only minor scrapes and bruises. We took the front loaded back (a $200 well spent by the way) I will say this.. that is an awkward machine to operate  since you stand on the back and there is nothing to hold you to the machine. One hand controls the direction and movement while the other controls the bucket leaving nothing to hold on with. Every bump would act like a catapult because of the balance point of it. I cheated and used a tie down to secure my waist to it so that I would not randomly fall off.. what did me in was going down a lip, it decided to rock forward more than I was expecting me throwing me forward. The instincts kicked in and I somehow managed to force myself off the side so that in the case it went all the way over, I would not be caught under it.. ( gotta love reflexes). once I got cleaned up and had a chance to cool down. I went to work cleaning all of the dirt back off the driveway. It only took several hours and was worth every moment to relax as the sun was beginning to set and a cool breeze was coming through.

(only one more post this week – don’t miss it)

April 20, 2014 It is never what it seems to be

miscommunication

Well, as the title suggests, what we thought was the situation last week was no where near what the situation really was. There was a lot of “discovery” going on this last week as I spoke to people concerned in the matter. If you recall we were of the understanding that the sidewalk was stopped due to a complaint from the neighbor. As soon as I was able, I spoke to the said neighbor (who is super cool by the way) and asked him what the story was from his side.. He said that the city came to him asking to put in new sidewalk and gutters as well. He told me that he refused for fear that the city would make him cut down his trees.. At that point I figured that was the problem. Later that day I got a text from my contractor indicating that he had a meeting with the city Tuesday morning and that he wanted me to attend. I figured at that point they would give me the details.. In that meeting I found out that the city was the one holding things up because they waned me to do a type of sidewalk that I did not want. After some negotiations.. we got what we wanted.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A little comparison there for ya.. Other than that I will admit, not much happened this week after averaging 12 hrs a day for the past 6 days at work. Right now we are looking at a REALLY cheap way to harden the driveway we were not able to do concrete in.. We were looking at Asphalt, but I am wondering if there is still something even cheaper like re-spreading the gravely dirt and getting asphalt sealer to spread over the top since it will all be just temporary (for aprox. 1 year).

(IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS POST AND LET ME KNOW)

As for this week and probably next. It is official, I am going to Mexico.. No where all that pretty (San Luis Potosi) and it will be just me and some co-workers, although it is just down the street from the GM manufacturing plant… we’ll see how it goes.. hopefully I can get some good pics to share next week and the week after..

April 13, 2014 Working on vacation


swimming-pool-from-second
This is probably my favorite part of this week.. yup, working while on vacation.. although you will likely see this post on Sunday I am sitting here on Wednesday typing it, and yes, I am on vacation. I guess there is something even better than me sitting and typing while on vacation, there is still a lot of working going on at the house! yup, that is part of the reason we are on vacation. Our new Driveway and sidewalk are going in. Most of the driveway was complete before we left but, they were starting on the sidewalk when we left. Because of the amount and location of the sidewalk we would not be able to have parked anywhere near the house making it difficult to live even somewhat normally so… we left!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

(Friday Night) This week has left me with a lot of time to think.. It seems that as we get the careers that we always wanted, the more I realize that it really is not what it seems.. I did get the chance this week to meet up with Everide this week (it was totally awesome to see such a good friend after such a long time) and as we talked, this very subject came up. Having the dream job partially has a lot to do with having time to fulfill personal aspirations and the ability to feel like you are “growing”.  Somehow our generation just missed the gravy train on this.. Worked hard to get experience and education so that we could get that great career we always wanted then. BAM! the economy collapsed and now sure, you can get a good job but, you’ll probably make more bagging groceries at the local store.. oh yea and you are gonna work your guts out so long that you will learn to hate what you do just because there is always someone else out there desperate for a job that will replace you once your burnt out.. so how do you avoid this paradox?…. be your own boss.  how? you may say… I’m really not sure I guess that is part of the adventure.  but I did come across this statistic… something to think about!

income ratio

(Sunday)

Well, OK, We arrived home last night just before 10:30 PM and found out that nothing more was done after we left. Apparently something was said between the neighbor and the city that upset my neighbor and in return there was an upset that caused the city to put a stop on our new sidewalk. As of now, we are not sure what will happen or when it will happen.. the problem is, until this is worked out, we cannot drive our cars into our driveway. Not really a problem for me and my family but my father-in-law who is in a wheelchair.. this is just not cool..

on a better note, our vacation was a hoot. tons of gun.. lots of time to relax  here are just a few pictures of the awesome stuff we saw!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

April 6, 2014 Wow did you forget that project?

WOW… Did I forget that other project that had already been started? Did you forget? I really did not, my contractor was held up getting permits and planning drawings from the city, That and the way they wanted it done was totally weird.. Curious  about what I am talking about? Thought so.. it is the new sidewalk and Driveway.new drivewayNow, the driveway to the house was out of the price range and there is too much to do as well to prepare to get it ready anyway. Instead, we will be doing the driveway to the back garage and the sidewalk. The funny thing about the sidewalk, is that the initial idea was to cut the sidewalk to where the old sidewalk was and separate the curb and gutter.. I simply told them that if that was the only option, I would not pay for it. They then came back with another idea that still seems weird but benefits me (I guess) in the long run. That new idea is to gradually angle the sidewalk from the neighbors existing sidewalk, out so that it clears the other neighbors tree. (about 3 more feet from where it would be if it were to go strait). The funny part of that is, the tree that they are protecting is one that has not much life left in it anyway. I figured they would have it go strait as if to go right into the tree and then, angle back to meet up to the old sidewalk there so that after the trees are removed, the sidewalk would continue on and meet up to the rest of sidewalks already in place.. I am just glad that it will be done and the mud at our house will be no more.  The other part that I am excited about is, having the sidewalk in will force the city to relocate 2 phone poles that are in our front yard. One of them is not so bad as it is right near the property line, the other one however is right in the middle of the new driveway.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Alright after NOT getting to the point, Tomorrow, the concrete guy is coming to start the excavation. He is planning on completing the driveway in the first 4 days of the week and then doing sidewalk the next 4 days. That is nice because, by the time I get back from Mexico, it will be all done and ready to be cleaned up. YEA!!!!!

Sealing the shop is still coming along but is slow as I still have to clean the concrete first and the part that I am on has 3 large oil stains where a jug had leaked a ton of oil. Once I get that oil cleaned up, I will be sealing it and moving on. The next 2 areas are already clean as far as oil goes but will have to have the dirt scrubbed.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

March 30, 2014 A dog’s purpose?

Chug enjoying a day out on a walk
Chug enjoying a day out on a walk

Yep, the side thought is the main subject this week. Reason being, this Last week was one with a very time consuming schedule.  On top of a 60 hr work week not much was able to be completed.

So, for my thought provoking intro. Do dogs have a purpose? I cannot say for sure one way or another but I can tell you this.. As I had mentioned last week, we got our first dog in a long time last Sunday and after a week of acquainting ourselves with the ‘ol Girl and spending a fair amount of change on vet checkups, shots, food and supplies, it makes you question, why have a dog? Don’t get me wrong I am not saying it is a bad thing, in fact I am saying just the opposite. Dogs are a great animal to have around.. So far in just the first week she has already started defending the family. She is not aggressive but she will give out a single solid bark when someone knocks on the door. She checks on everyone regularly and makes her rounds at night when everyone else is sleeping.. I will say, she is more “Friendly” than we thought initially. Over the past week she is more willing to lick, jump, run and play.. That said, she is still super mild and stays in “her place” which is so awesome. I will give one big tip to getting a dog (just in case you are looking) Look for a free dog. I don’t say that to be cheap I say that because someone willing to give away a family pet is in one of 2 circumstances: 1- the dog is completely out of control or 2- they truly cannot keep them due to some other circumstance.. 2 being the one you want to look for.. a well loved dog that would otherwise go to the pound or be put down due to crappy family circumstances. That is where I feel “Chug” came from.. she seems like she was a super good dog in a bad situation (not abusive but not feeling at home)  and now she is just happy.. (I am thinking I need to give more thought on how to express this)  there will be more on this subject later….

As for the project updates.. we are still waiting on the Concrete work to get done. Our City/Town is horrible at getting paper work done but as soon as it is.. a driveway to the shop as well as the front sidewalk will go in and make life really nice, and projects so much easier. On the inside of the shop, one quarter was cleared, sealed and permanent fixtures moved into place and the second quarter is starting to be cleared. Here are a few pics to show what has been done.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Granted there is still a lot to do in the first area but the finishing details will not be done until the whole shop is sealed and starting to go together but, this will make space to start getting more done.