Life – Page 10 – Ubergeek Kelly's World- Life, technology, science, rants

The day to day aspects of life: what is happening around the house and in our family

Timber!

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:March 15, 2009
Post category:Gear Life
Post comments:0 Comments

As I mentioned previously, I’m working on improvements to my office space at home. The painting is all done, and I’ve booked installation of a hardwood floor for Monday. This means I have to (fairly quickly) remove everything from the floor of the room. That meant disassembling several computers, reorganizing wiring, and figuring out a way to keep my network switches/routers connected without anything actually resting on the floor. I thought I had it all worked out until disaster struck…

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The Onion shovels some more in: wearable feedbags

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:March 14, 2009
Post category:Life
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The Onion is one of my preferred sources of comedy on the Internet. Their simulated news stories often hit frighteningly close to the truth, but every once in a while…

Typical… now I’m sick

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:March 4, 2009
Post category:Life Rants
Post comments:2 Comments

I have had a rough couple of weeks at work. I won’t go into the details other than to say “security reviewer”, which should give some sense of how little fun I’ve been having.

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Home office refresh 2009

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:February 28, 2009
Post category:Gear Life
Post comments:10 Comments

I’m starting on another “refresh” of my workspace at home: this is becoming a distressingly regular (annual?) activity that I’m hoping to put an end to soon. The objective this year is pretty much a total rebirth: minimizing/reducing, painting, and possibly re-flooring and new furniture. The first step was to excise a bunch of “stuff” from this rather small room, and to get ready for the painting which I intend to do myself.

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Observations after a week of waking up to the (simulated) sun

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:February 14, 2009
Post category:Gear Life
Post comments:0 Comments

A week ago I mentioned that I had purchased a lamp that simulates a sunrise. I promised at the time that I would provide some kind of a review after a week or two of use, and I think I’ve experienced enough with this lamp to offer some reasonable impressions. The results are good: waking up to ersatz sunlight helps make my day a bit better.

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Simulated sunrise…

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:February 8, 2009
Post category:Gear Life
Post comments:3 Comments

I have been contemplating acquisition of a “sunrise simulator” lamp for a while, and finally got one yesterday. The NatureBright Per3 is more or less a bright LED lamp with a clock attached. A bit modern looking…but not too garish:

After a single day of use, I can’t really offer a review, but I can say this: I’m awake, and probably in a better mood than I normally am at this time of day.

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Becoming more knowledgeable…

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:January 25, 2009
Post category:Life
Post comments:2 Comments

I have been going through the “blahs” lately. Some of it is rather deep-seated stuff that I’ve been struggling to understand. One thing I realized was that I’ve felt for years like I cheated myself by never completing a university degree. For the last four or five years I’ve subconsciously come to realize that it is too late- short of a massive life change like winning a million dollars, it is simply not feasible to take four or five years off to go and get a degree.

Today, though, as I contemplated the universe and my very limited place within it, I decided that what I really wanted was knowledge, not the piece of paper- although there are plenty of times I wish I had the paper as well, it isn’t my main regret. And so I’ve decided to take some more specific steps to educate myself. And of course, given my nature, that means a healthy dose of gadgetry.

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Christmas day

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:December 25, 2008
Post category:Life
Post comments:0 Comments

It is Christmas day. We are still “snowed in” here, with another 20 – 30 cm since last night piling up. The snow is beginning to slow down, and may be turning to rain soon.

Irene got her main Christmas present a few weeks ago: Coco, who makes cat #7 in our house: you can click on Coco to see the rest of our Christmas pictures.

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Bing Crosby should be ashamed…

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:December 24, 2008
Post category:Life
Post comments:0 Comments

I’m not dreaming of a white christmas: more of a nightmare, really…

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House Upgrade 2008 Part IV: a roof over our heads

Post author:Kelly Adams
Post published:October 4, 2008
Post category:Life
Post comments:4 Comments

The deck construction is almost finished. Almost… a slippery word, that can often mean “never”. Since the last posting on this topic, here is what has been completed:

roof framing assembly (structural steel trusses) constructed
aluminum framing and acrylite / polycarbonate roofing panels installed
electrical roughed in
exposed steel clad in cedar
deck stairs constructed
second “quick connect” natural gas fitting installed

It looks pretty good, actually, and is “done enough” that the things remaining feel rather minor. The roof has turned out really nicely: Solariumsplus did the work, and I’m really pleased with what Pete, Curtis and Randy put together for us. Some pictures…

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