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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, October 28, 2006 On the road again I finally broke down and bought a laptop, a Toshiba Satellite. Only 500mb of RAM, but it's as fast as the other system with a gig of RAM. Built in wifi, all the goodies. It doesn't have a DVD burner, which is good, because I can use the DVD burner with it that I bought for the mini-itx. I didn't want to duplicate things that I had already purchased. I got an 80 meg external hard drive to go with it, and the Ghost software so I can do a full backup easily.The only problem with this is exactly what I knew it would be. I hate laptop touch pads, so I'm carrying along a trackball. I don't much like laptop keyboards, so I may carry the little USB keyboard that I bought to use with the other computer. The card reader has to come along anyway. So I'm burdened down with almost as much as I was carrying before. The only difference is that it all fits in the big old leather laptop case I already had, along with a substantial number of files AND my clipboard. That was a big advantage on this trip, because Shelley asked me to take Rippy back for a week, so everything that is usually in the back seat had to go in the trunk, making room for a 70 pound Australian Shepherd in the back seat. And of course Clarence chose this trip to want to use the restroom almost every hour. I unpacked the trunk to get at the wheelchair four times on Thursday and five times on Friday. My back is killing me.But the good news is that much of the renovation is finished, or at least well under way. I've found someone to re-coat the roof, and that should be done by next week. The electricity is on in Clarence's bedroom again, so we don't have extension cords draped all over the place. The big hole around the plumbing in the bathroom floor is plugged up--it was letting the cats out and half the rodents in the county in. The timer for the hot water heater is sitting there waiting for my helpers to come back next week, and if I can get the truck started, I'll be picking up my double laundry sinks this afternoon.I've decided that I probably will go ahead and re-do the kitchen too. That is going to depend on how much I can squeeze out of my contract check this month, but with unfinished cabinets, it's doable. When that happens, the big refrigerator and the 30-inch electric stove will go away. I'll get one of the small very efficient dorm-sized fridges, which is all we need, and a gas cooktop, and I'll just have to do without an oven for the time being. Those changes will just about triple the amount of storage space in the kitchen.Then the washing machine is going to go on freecycle and the freezer is going back into the corner of the kitchen where it used to be, and the long hallway will become a pantry. Eventually, I'll replace the freezer with one of the super-efficient chest freezers (that unfortunately cost an arm and a leg to buy, even if they are inexpensive to operate), and have the whole kitchen available again. Next year for that purchase, I'm afraid.Now I have to go to work again, because while I was so diligently finishing up the work I already had, my agency dumped some more on me, and it has to be turned in before I can go to San Francisco next week. posted by Liz @ 10:04 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
I finally broke down and bought a laptop, a Toshiba Satellite. Only 500mb of RAM, but it's as fast as the other system with a gig of RAM. Built in wifi, all the goodies. It doesn't have a DVD burner, which is good, because I can use the DVD burner with it that I bought for the mini-itx. I didn't want to duplicate things that I had already purchased. I got an 80 meg external hard drive to go with it, and the Ghost software so I can do a full backup easily.The only problem with this is exactly what I knew it would be. I hate laptop touch pads, so I'm carrying along a trackball. I don't much like laptop keyboards, so I may carry the little USB keyboard that I bought to use with the other computer. The card reader has to come along anyway. So I'm burdened down with almost as much as I was carrying before. The only difference is that it all fits in the big old leather laptop case I already had, along with a substantial number of files AND my clipboard. That was a big advantage on this trip, because Shelley asked me to take Rippy back for a week, so everything that is usually in the back seat had to go in the trunk, making room for a 70 pound Australian Shepherd in the back seat. And of course Clarence chose this trip to want to use the restroom almost every hour. I unpacked the trunk to get at the wheelchair four times on Thursday and five times on Friday. My back is killing me.But the good news is that much of the renovation is finished, or at least well under way. I've found someone to re-coat the roof, and that should be done by next week. The electricity is on in Clarence's bedroom again, so we don't have extension cords draped all over the place. The big hole around the plumbing in the bathroom floor is plugged up--it was letting the cats out and half the rodents in the county in. The timer for the hot water heater is sitting there waiting for my helpers to come back next week, and if I can get the truck started, I'll be picking up my double laundry sinks this afternoon.I've decided that I probably will go ahead and re-do the kitchen too. That is going to depend on how much I can squeeze out of my contract check this month, but with unfinished cabinets, it's doable. When that happens, the big refrigerator and the 30-inch electric stove will go away. I'll get one of the small very efficient dorm-sized fridges, which is all we need, and a gas cooktop, and I'll just have to do without an oven for the time being. Those changes will just about triple the amount of storage space in the kitchen.Then the washing machine is going to go on freecycle and the freezer is going back into the corner of the kitchen where it used to be, and the long hallway will become a pantry. Eventually, I'll replace the freezer with one of the super-efficient chest freezers (that unfortunately cost an arm and a leg to buy, even if they are inexpensive to operate), and have the whole kitchen available again. Next year for that purchase, I'm afraid.Now I have to go to work again, because while I was so diligently finishing up the work I already had, my agency dumped some more on me, and it has to be turned in before I can go to San Francisco next week.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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