Bob Space

I think I will use the holiday weekend to transfer all of the family’s user accounts from the eMac to the Mac mini … and then decommission the eMac. It’s probably time. The eMac has been making a disturbing number of loud POPping noises, which I suspect are power supply-related. Also, this will solve some A/V issues the wife has had.

So we go back to being a one-desktop family. Since we will still also have two laptops and (later this month) two smartphones, I don’t think anyone will be suffering for computer time.

Nasty blustery weekend is upon us. Good time to be indoors.
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The Lady and I will probably upgrade to smartphones in the near future. Our Nokia 6085 flipphones are starting to show signs of wear and tear — we actually had to trade phones because The Lady’s ringer was no longer sufficiently audible to her. A tech diagnosed it as the speaker wearing out … which wouldn’t surprise me, after four years.

So what smartphones are we getting?
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(You’ll have to read The Jeopardy! Book to get that one. Or ask me, but beware the tale is long and trivia-ridden.)
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I have been battling a cough to little effect for a week. I now diagnose this as some sort of sinusitis, and I prescribe saline nasal irrigation, frequency and tonicity to be determined.

I gave the Lady of the Manor my Christmas wish list today. Her reaction: “Really? ” I think she’s suprised that I finally put some list ideas together right around the time she usually starts thinking about gift shopping. Hey, it only takes me fifteen years to pick up on these things.

The Daughters will be drafted as range crew to help me at the next couple launch days. They do not yet know this. And I do not yet know how to fit all three of us and my flight gear into the Honda Accord. That seems fair to me.

The first substantial winter storm of the year blew through yesterday. It’s gone now, and actually conditions are not bad for flying model rockets. I may bolt out this afternoon and see if I can get my new two-stager to run.

It’s nice to have the flexibility in my activities today, for a change. There’s nothing I *must* do today, except run out and get the little car smog-checked. And maybe make a short grocery run. Among the many “should do”s is rake and bag the leaves for use as mulch come spring.

My pre-ordered Star Trek (2009) DVD is on its way. Hope it comes today!

Up early to make a quick run to the gas station to top up the little car.

First drop off of Youngest at new track-break program; parallel exploration of alternate route to get to work (not using freeway).

Lots of entertaining things happening at work, all of which must be done perfectly, all at once.

Exploration of alternate route to get from work to retrieve girls. Not really as successful — I knew those three intersections would be miserable, but I wanted to see it for myself (again).

Cooking dinner. Cleaning up afterward. Doing laundry.

Prepping for 4-H meeting Thursday.

Working on my budget for the next two months, and for after the first of the year when my prescription plan gets changed and my medical insurance premiums take a big jump upward. (The Rx gets cheaper overall but requires more out-of-pocket at fewer intervals.) Still on track to be completely out of debt sometime in 2013, with most of the debts retiring in 2012.

This morning as I was leaving Youngest at school, I noticed an oak twig on the sidewalk. The twig had a couple of leaves and a bright green acorn attached. I smiled as I walked past it. When I got in the car, I had to stare at this patch of green on the concrete for a while. First, there aren’t any oak trees nearby. So I have no idea how this twig with leaves and acorn got here. Second, I was overtaken by the whole symbology around twigs, leaves, and acorns. And schools. And children.

I don’t really have a conclusion for this entry. That’s probably as it should be.

So, since I do like the digital TV offerings our local stations are putting out, and I wouldn’t mind not having to spend all that money on DishTV service, I wrote to the gummint and got a $40 coupon for a digital TV converter box. I got an RCA model last night, and hooked it up to the spare TV in the garage (the one I use to keep me company whilst doing chores).

The predicted level of service came from a website, which said that given the terrain in my vicinity, I’d only be able to pick up three of the six local stations.

The outcome? With a totally crummy crippled-rabbit-ears (only one ear) antenna, the box did detect the predicted three stations. Or even the three predicted stations, since what the website said tallied nicely with the real experience.

Of course, with a crummy antenna, the signal was bad and broke up constantly. I’d like to try a better antenna on it, but that’d mean having to buy a better antenna. Unless I can root around and dig up a non-crippled rabbit ears. I wouldn’t mind that. I can get channel 5.2, which is all crafts, cooking and home improvement … fine stuff for a garage TV.

The punch line, of course, is the three stations that we can’t get here: the ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates. There’s a dense mass of rock directly between us and those transmitters, spoiling the line-of-sight.

So for the time being, DishTV can still expect our $80/month. And it was a fun experiment that only cost $10.