Day 138 - Theories of comfort

Learning the ins and outs of each component of the house often involves getting my head around lots of theories and finding the one that suits best. None more so than the air conditioning, as I had arranged three meetings to go through the house and get assessments on how to solve the problem of comfort. The theories range from unit size to the ducting configurations and where the outlets and return is situated. I think I have my head around it all now and am comfortable enough to proceed!

Day 137 - Personally tailored

I wear the normal business attire or uniform depending on your point of view, a suit. It gets quite a work out as I fill my pockets with all sorts of things including my wallet, phone, sunglasses, stylus, door pass and shrapnel. So when the buttons of my jacket worked loose I attribute it to the stuff in the pockets rather than an expanding waistline. Tonight I decided it was finally time for a long delayed repair. As we were at my parents place for dinner, I took advantage of my mother's extensive range of threads and needles and set to work.

Day 136 - Measuring lateness

I have concocted a theory for predicting what time my colleagues arrive at work. Here's how it works: the office has an underground car park that consists of three levels. Level one fills up pretty early, it is usually full by 8:30am. The next option, level two fills its quota by 9:00am, which leaves level three to pick up the late comers. So when going home in the afternoon observing who gets out of the lift at each floor is a key indicator of how late or early they were. Completely useless information I know, but I have to pass the time in the lifts somehow.

Day 135 - Work by night

With unresolved design issues at work, my day turned out to go for a little longer than I had anticipated. This isn't the first time this has occurred, however this is the first time I decided to stop the car and get out for a photo opportunity. I think as a rule of thumb, interesting photos often contain repetition. I guess the is because it provides an easy way to observe depth and also a break in repetition can provide a point of interest. What do you think?

Day 134 - An arty mum

Today is Mother's Day so to celebrate Dani, dad and I took mum to see the Archibalds. Dad provided his expert critical assessment of each entrant much to mum and Dani's amusement. It was the ideal venue as mum is also very arty too, she has talents that shine through in much of her arts and crafts. But generally mum likes getting out and about with her family, which means a lot to her. Dani, dad and I were happy to oblige.

Day 133 - DIY stairs Part 2

Today was the practise to my theory of Day 110.  The timber was delivered on Friday so we were ready for Saturday morning... well not really as we first realised we didn't have all the tools we needed, so after a couple of trips to Bunnings we were actually ready.  The aim of the day was to cut out the three stringers for the staircase and install them.  We cut the first one, making templates as we went.  After lunch we had it completed and could move on to the second.  We measured both the remaining planks at the same time, we cut out the second to only be beaten by daylight before the third.  I can see this becoming a serial post, but so far stairs are not as hard to make as one would think ;-)

Day 132 - We ate

Another week and yet another photo of my dinner.  I've decided to challenge myself for next week and no photos will be taken from home.  So the usual procedure of taking a photo of something after I realised I've failed in my mission to take a photo during the day's activities will be banned ... this may require some forethought and planning. For the record the basil and lemon baked chicken on a bed of gonzola and polenta wasn't too bad either :-)

Day 130 - Choice of options

We had two options. After a very long search last week I thought I had our tap selection sorted by a minor compromise on design. Dani and I drove to Camperdown to check out their wares. We looked and decided to discuss our options over lunch. When we got back ready to buy the busyness of the store hadn't subsided, so when we ran out of time, we decided to come back another day. This proved fortuitous as a latter discussion with my plumber revealed a better supplier allowing us to go with the better option with all the design details. Today they were delivered and look great and will look even better assembled... trust me :-)

Day 129 - Dreams for sale

I'm not really a gambler by nature, my lotto entries are sporadic at best. But what I do like about buying lottery tickets is the harmless dreams that I attach to them. It's never an obsession, but thinking about what to do with such fortune is well worth the cost of four games. Did we win? No, of course not; I'll console myself in the thought that thinking about an experience can often be more rewarding than the actual event.

Day 128 - Hording vindicated

When time eventually came to upgrade my computer I kept the old parts, thinking I couldn't possibly throw this away. They occupied a place in the study wardrobe gathering dust and rarely seeing daylight. When a colleague described to me his computer's woes I had the solution. The parts were a bit dodgy as the PC in its final days, but they were free. After implantation into a new system, it brought another PC back to life and my decision for keeping old outdated stuff was vindicated!

Day 127 - Falling leaves

With autumn now upon us, the trees are starting to turn into brilliant reds and yellows as the leaves transform before they fall to the surrounding ground. Driving past these trees adds some colour to my usual route, in this case to my folks place. Now I need to work out what species they are for our garden, although on second thoughts I'm not sure I'm so keen on raking all those leaves up.

Day 126 - Energetic thoughts

The weekend was dedicated to energy of the electrical kind. I've been poring through information for photovoltaic panels, power sockets, light switches and downlights. The results was a electrical circuit plan for the house which features almost 100 LED lights (downlights operate in gangs) and a way forward to ensure that we don't end up paying for their usage in the long term by using solar panels. The photo is of the desk lamp where I was sitting for most of the day compiling the information and a reminder of how dependent on electrons we all are.

Day 125 - An evening in

No we're not out every night, but we're often busy either surfing the net, reading, house planning or keeping up with our weekly television series or sports viewing. So when I refer to an evening in, I am writing about being at home in the body and mind sense. With a cup of tea in hand, relaxing together is the ideal way to finish the working week.

Day 124 - Low flying

Whenever I've seen these little helicopters in shopping centres, being flown past my head maneuvering for a sale, I've held back. While at my desk a couple of weeks ago I succumbed and ordered this unit on eBay. It is controlled by my iPhone, however the word control is over estimating its capabilities or my skill. My garage became my flying field and I proceeded to acclimatise to the aircraft when the first blade shattered. After fitting the replacement blade, I did some further low level flying along the floor until the battery ran dry - it had survived its first outing. I don't envisage this device lasting long :-)

Day 123 - A shattering conundrum

The glass on an iPad is the perfect surface for touch interaction, but not always the best to handle shock.  No, this is not my iPad, but my mother's.  On a trip up the north coast when unpacking in the rain it slipped, hit the tarmac and shattered.  Despite its rather broken look, it still works.  This leads to a conundrum: when to get it fixed?  To the non-iPad owner the answer may seem rather simple.  Before I joined the fold I was initially skeptical on how useful it would be, but to those who own one, being without it for an extended period of time is not a very appealing prospect.  I'm not sure what the withdrawal symptoms would be, involuntary hand motions on glass surfaces or computer monitors?  Who knows, but I will be observing ;-)

Day 122 - List writing

Early in my working career I was the list king.  At every meeting I would add my action items to my spiral-bound notepad so they could wait their turn to be completed.  I found that when something was written down, feelings of confidence and relief would be present in the air.  I don't write lists quite as enthusiastically or often as I use to, but discovered that they were a great tool for our home construction.  My project management time is pretty limited to my 7am site visit and a series of texts and phone calls throughout the day.  With a list I like to think I have a more full time presence.