Percy Strikes Again!!!

What a week...where to begin?

How about a little poem - think along the lines of 'The Night Before Christmas'.

T’was the 1st of July all through the house,
Percy was stirring and wouldn’t get out.
So up on the porch Percy did come,
To screw up my scraping and have some hideous fun.
Just like a big dummy I avoided the signs,
And continued scraping bidding my time.
Then all of a sudden there arose such a clatter,
As I slipped on the porch roof and slammed down on the ladder.
I had no idea that my fingers were hurt,
Until I went to move the shop-vac and the blood started to spurt.
I had crunched my fingers in the folding legs,
The weight of my body about severing the tips.
So into the window I flew like a flash,
Heading for the bathroom to rinse and assess.
The gashes were deep and the blood flowing free
All I could think was ‘why did this happen to me.’
With a few calls for some help and a response from the sister-n-law,
The fingers have been bandaged and the pains under way.
So Percy has struck he has come once again
You may think this is your house but we will remain.

Following is a picture to go with the poem.

Whad ya think? Should I get three more and make a proper claw?

I could have shown you a 'before' picture but decided against it.

Here is the back story.

This whole week, except for Monday, has not been good in regard to working on the house.

Tuesday I tripped over my own two feet climbing out the window; then I got tangled in the electrical cords; and if that wasn't enough I miss-stepped getting on one of the platforms and fell. Luckily I was able to come to a stop before falling off the roof. I decided to call it a day and go help my father.

Wednesday I was out of town and by the time I got home it was too hot.

Today, well, today started out great. Everything was going as planned and scraping was moving along nicely. Then, when I went to move one of the platforms, it happened. I was adjusting the electrical cords and my feet slipped on the shingles. I came crashing down on top of this ladder like platform we use. Without realizing it the fingers on my left hand were in the way and I pinched my pinky finger and ring finger.

You know how you mash a finger and create a blood blister? At first that is how it felt and that's all I though had happened (it happened so fast). Then, about 15 to 20 seconds later I went to move the shop-vac and large drops of blood started dripping on the platform. I looked at my hand. The pinky finger wasn't too bad, but the top third of the ring finger looked like ground beef.

So, I wrapped my finger in my shirt, went to the bathroom and flushed it with cold water and then immersed it in hydrogen-peroxide. I looked at the finger and saw that it was bad, but wasn't sure if it was ER bad or not. What I did know is that I wouldn't be able to bandage it well with one hand.

To make a long story a bit shorter...

I got in touch with my sister-n-law, the Paramedic & RN, and she came over to take a look. She was even wondering if I might need to go to the ER - she thought the top part of the bone might be crushed. I told her I could feel it and it felt intact. Instead, she did what would have been done at the ER anyway.

Now I have what you see in the picture. It is going to be a pain to scrape during the next few day.

What surprises me most is that it doesn't hurt - it stings a little and aches some but that's it. The worst part are the finger splints - they're in the way! Hopefully the pinky one will come off tomorrow. It's on just to give the cut a better chance to heal. The big one might have to wait till the beginning of next week.

The other surprising thing was my body's physical reaction. Once I was down stairs, and making my phone calls, I was real queasy and felt like I was going to pass out. I was also sweating a lot more than normal - I mean it was as if I just walked out of the shower! I'm not sure why I reacted this way. I have had several injuries in the past - major surgeries, crushed feet, broken bones, nails through the foot, slammed fingers in car doors, etc., but the only other time I felt like this was when I was about 9 years old and had my wrist broken.

The only thing I can figure is the heat and the fact I hadn't eaten yet (this happened around 9:30 AM).

Oh well...I'll live.

I'm beginning to wonder if Percy is after me again - like he was with the attic.

I was hoping to have a much better post showing how much had been done, but this post will have to suffice. Fortunately some scraping did get accomplished!

Let's have a look at that.

As you can see I've been playing with scraping the paint on the fish-scales.

The paint is coming off rather easily so far but we will need to use a stiff brush to get some of the older paint.

You can also see the paint still remaining on that big board at the top. I was using the paint shaver on this section when I had my booboo.

We have removed all the storm windows on the porch side of the house so the trim can be finished.





The plan was to finish this part today as well as that big board up top.

On a brighter note we were able to assemble some of the scaffolding this week-end!!

I was hoping to start hitting these boards with the paint shaver Friday - guess that won't be happening.

You know, I could tell kids, on the 4th, that this is what happens to your fingers if you play with fireworks and show them my hand!! I know, that's mean, but it would be fun.

Let me leave you with the following picture.

I found this cool little gadget at Harbor Freight. It's called 'Caulk Savers'. Go to the web site and have a look. The only problem I have with it is that I didn't come up with the idea! If it works it will be a god send considering how much caulk we will be using.

Well, I guess that's enough for today.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry~

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3...

Okay, things seem to be up and running once again, keep your fingers crossed.

Not sure what the problem is, but Ethan, over at One Project Closer, has helped me out a lot on this.

Thanks Ethan!

We think there might be something wrong with the motherboard.

About two weeks ago I was working on the PC while lounging in bed. Then the cats started to fight and in my haste a moved and the PC slid off my lap and on to the floor. It only fell about 20” (if that), but dinged one of the corners. After that things started to get worse.

So, with Ethan’s help, and some research, I found out that the motherboards in these models are very fragile. Right now it seems to be working, but I am going to have a diagnostic ran on it. The good news is that I can get a new motherboard for less than $175.

So, I thought I would give you all this update and also do this as a test.

Anyway, a while back my old pair of safety goggles broke and I’m reduced to wearing a pair of nasty plastic ones (you know the kind). The week we had the garage sale I happened to catch an episode of Hammered with John and Jimmy DiResta on the DIY network. One of them was wearing a pair of vintage goggles that were very "steampunk" in style. When I saw those I thought ‘EUREKA!’ I could have a pair of steampunk safety goggles. SWMBO agreed.

I found this interesting pair of goggles on eBay, and they have that "it" quality I’m was looking for.




I was lucky, I had no idea how much these things go for!


Aren't they cool looking?

The strap is not in the best shape so I'll replace those.



The most interesting part of finding these was the 'hunt' and the whole new world it opened up for me. I have been a fan of VSF (Victorian Science Fiction) since I was a kid. Well, it turns out there is an entire culture centered around this and it's called 'Steampunk'.

I had no idea there was a name for the VSF fan base. The best part of all the exploration was what I found.

GADGETS!!

Lots and lots of gadgets!! I love gadgets and the kinds associated with Steampunk are right up my alley. As some of you know, I've been looking for various ideas for the attic. We have been planing on converting it attic into a hobby/game room with a safari/adventure theme, but it seemed to need more.

While looking through the steampunk sites it dawned on me - the style i've been looking for is a VSF/Steampunk theme!

So, keep this in mind and watch for idea updates as I throw them out at you.

One last thing...take some time and have a look at some of the Steampunk sites - here are a hand full to get you started. If you are like me, it might take a bit for you to get over some of those who are way over the weird meter, but they are really cool people!

Datamancer - be sure to check out the PC related items.

Steam, Brass and Fzz and Gothic Glow for lights and other items.

The Æther Emporium a onestop resource and archive for all things Steampunk.

And last, but not least Brass Goggles, the first site I found.

For those of you interested, the music I have playing is from a group named Abney Park - check them out!

Oh yeah...you can click on the "sticker" (thanks for the word Sandy!!!) and choose a song from the album.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Kicking and Screaming into the 21st Century

Hello again everyone.

Have you ever had one of those days, or weeks, when you woke up and had your entire day planned and then something happens to dash it all to Hades?

Well, this past week, especially today, has been one of those times.

Let me give you a little bit of back history first.

I love history - just about any history. Military, Ancient (especially Roman), Colonial American and Napoleonic are perhaps my favorites. To be honest, not much newer than 1918 interests me.

Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate some of the more modern aspects of life, but I just like keeping my head buried in the past. Heck, that is one of the major reasons we bought this house! Even my ride is older then me - a 1963 Land Rover Series IIa SWB Station Wagon named 'Grover'. Grover has no heat, or air, and at the moment, the only way the windshield wipers (at least the one on the driver's side) work is if I twist the knob manually. Believe it or not, we still have the old style TVs - no flat screens, no LCD, no plasma, not even **GASP** cable!! That's right folks - we still use the ol' rabbit ears!

Anyway, to me the future is, well, the future. It needs to remain in the future. If I want to surround myself with fancy, funky gadgets, watching Star Wars or Star Trek will do it for me.

Unfortunately, SWMBO has a different view to life. She loves electronic gadgets that seem to make our lives easier. She had no problem entering the 21st century.

Me - she has had to drag into the 21st century kicking and screaming. Don't get me wrong, like all other guys, I do love my gadgets, but I've never seen the sense in all these new electronic things.

This 'dragging' didn't really get started until almost two years ago. SWMBO wanted to get cell phones.

So, Annette started looking into purchasing cell phones for us and I wanted nothing to do with it. Then one day she came home and said, "Honey, if I could get two cell phones for the price of one would you use it?". I told her, "probably not".

Next thing I know - I have a cell phone. It started with a Motorola RAZR. Grudgingly I warmed up to the idea of having one and even thought it was cool being able to take pics with it.

Well, a few months back, SWMBO dropped her phone and it developed a problem that just kept getting worse. She decided we needed new cell phones - so - off to the cell phone store we went.

Now I have one of these things - a Motorola RAZR V3xx.

This thing ROCKS!!

Not only does it take pictures, but also records video (w/sound) as well as surf the Internet and I can use it as an MP3 player.

What really astounds me is that this dinky, tiny, little piece of machinery has more memory in it than our very first PC had in it - and that does not include the 2GB memory chip (which can hold 500 songs) that I put in it.




Soon after the purchase of the new cell phones, SWMBO had the chance to start working from home via the Internet.

Before I start on this, let me just say that the PC is one of my favorite 'future' items. We bought our first one pack in 1993 (IIRC). I was even one of the first in my area to have a Yahoo e-mail account. Do you remember those old Commodore computers that you hooked up to your TV? Annette had one of these when we were in High school!!!!

Anyway, this 1st PC was the typical kind, CPU; monitor the size of a small TV; separate keyboard; wired mouse and wired speakers. For years this was our primary computer. Don't ask about what memory and RAM size it had - it's too embarrassing to mention. Just keep in mind what I said about the cell phone.

Anyway, as time went on, this PC just could not keep up with the modern demands of the Internet and the new programs that you could buy or use on line. So, this brings me back to Annette working at home.

In order for her to work on-line she needed high-speed Internet (not easy in our part of Kansas a couple years ago), but could use dial-up if all else failed. Eventually she started to bring home a laptop PC and using dial-up. Soon it became evident that this just wasn't going to work. What would normally take her an hour to do (using high-speed) was now taking anywhere from 4 - 6 hours + using dial-up.

So, with a lot of effort we finally got high-speed Internet service and she was up and running. Unfortunately, her PC was a work computer and therefore I had very little access. I then decided to just hook our PC up to the Internet using the high-speed Ethernet cable. Guess what - our PC was so old there wasn't even a port on it that would handle the new cable. I went down to the local geek shop and asked if they had an adapter. After they stopped laughing they said 'no'.

So, the hunt for a new PC started. Once again SWMBO had to drag me kicking and screaming. I wanted the traditional PC, you know, the big ol' table top models - she wanted a lap top.

Eventualy we headed out to the geek store again and went PC shopping. I could not believe what was available out there now. Guess that's what I get for living under a rock. The geek guys started asking me what I wanted this PC to do and what types of games I played. You could just about hear a pin drop when they heard me say, "I don't play computer games". Hey - grew up in the 'Pong' years and that was about as technical of a PC game I could get into. However, I have discovered a few on-line games that I like. Below is a link to one of them, it's called 'Bubbles'. Most of you will find it boring, to me, it is mental bubble wrap. Besides, it isn't that much different than 'Pong'.

http://70.85.217.243/bubbels/bubbels-play.htm

Eventually we left geek vill and brought home a nice little Compaq Presario V6000. This is a sweet little PC that comes with a 17" screen, DVD player/burner, and more features than I can remember.

I use to think I knew something about PCs until we got this thing - boy was I wrong.

The best part is, we bought a wireless system at the same time. Now I can be on the computer while laying in the hammock, working on Grover's engine, or looking up a DIY 'How-to' while in the crawl space under the scary part of the house.

Now, after all this talk we come to this week's fiasco.

When I first started this blog, the only cameras we owned were a Canon AE-1 35mm; some of those disposable kind you mail in; and our camera phones.

My in-laws, on the other hand, have a digital (or should I say HAD - more on that later) camera. It's a little Olympus Stylus 300. They both use it quite a lot, but my father-in-law seems to enjoy the 35mm cameras better and gets great results with them.

Anyway, once we got the new laptop, we found out it had a port for those digital camera memory cards. So, we figured out that by using their digital camera we could up-load pics as soon as they were taken. Needless to say we started borrowing their camera to take pics for the blog. We knew that at some point this would become tedious and we would have to get our own digital camera. We have been looking at them for a while now and had planned on getting one sometime this coming summer.

Well guess what - summer came early this year. Monday night, SWMBO dropped her parent's digital camera and broke it.

So, I have spent literally the whole day researching digital cameras, primarily in order to replace her parent's but also for us. After all, do you really think they would let us borrow their camera again after killing the other one!

After many, many hours of reading info, reviews, comparisons, etc., I bought a replacement camera for Annette's parents and a camera for us.

Here it is - an Olympus 750. It's not as fancy as some, but it should suffice. And here again we have acquired a piece of technology that has more gizmos than my Land Rover!

All in all, I guess I wrote this post as a form of mental therapy. After purchasing the cameras (they will arrive next week) I tried to do some work on the house, but the research process gave me a headache and I could not get into doing anything on it. So I wrote this instead.

Something that kept going through my head while writing this was the house and the history it has witnessed. When our house was built, telephones, electric lights, and indoor plumbing were known, but they were rare - especially in our area of the state. There were no airplanes, and cars were just being developed, even radios were yet to be in use.

If the walls of our house could talk, I wonder what they could tell us of the past and what they saw. One of our goals is to restore this house to the point that (if the good Lord willing) it is still standing for another 100+ years. I wonder what technological innovations it will see? What will the owner's of our house, at that time, think of us and the future we are facing, which will be history to them?