adventures

adventures / IU / photo / television / video / Wednesday — Comments Off on No calculator was harmed in the making of this post
18
Nov 20

No calculator was harmed in the making of this post

It’s a weird time. I have a normal work schedule on Wednesdays. My weeks during the semester are normally split. I’m done at a respectable hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are long, but these other days I feel like a normal person. Except I am now old enough to feel the effects of a split schedule in ways I didn’t when I was 23, and so it doesn’t feel especially normal.

I’m honestly not sure how Mondays work anymore, since I’ve largely been working from home on Mondays since March. But I’ve been going in four-days-a-week since July, and in August the students came back and in September we ramped up production and so it went like this. I would leave campus just after 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and then go work a 9-5 day on Wednesdays. And then I would leave the building on Thursdays closer to 9 p.m. and work another regular day on Fridays. Well, on Friday afternoon the weekend feelings kick in. So that is taken care of. But Wednesdays? And now that it’s dark by 5:30. That, of course, presupposes the midwestern cloud cover lets any natural direct light shine through.

Like today, for instance. High 44. It was partly cloudy. And then the sun set (I had no idea the sun came out. I was hiding under fluorescent light all day.) at 5:25. That’s about the time I got to the house. So no bike ride for me. What am I going to do with the evening?

“What did you do with the evening?”

Well, let me tell you, dear and gentle reader. We fact checked a story The Yankee was reading. It was about some lavish meal somewhere. How could all of these things — the story itemized many of the plates — only amount to a little over two grand?

It was, when you heard the many items, a fair question.

So I pulled up the menu for a restaurant 634 miles away and we analyzed the data.

While some specifics were left out of the story, to protect the carnivores, one presumes, we ultimately decided that the total bill was plausible and likely.

And I subsequently decided I needed something better to do.

And did I find it? No, I did not.

But I will.

TV shows, for those who like TV shows. These are the last episodes the news crew will produce in the studio this fall. I am urging them to do more stuff remotely between now and when we reconvene in person in February.

They even teased a winter series of stories in here, which was nice. Now they’re on the record! They have to follow through!

Saying publicly that you’ll do something is a great motivator.

They produced those shows last night, which is why it was just after 8 p.m. when I left our old historic building. It was gratifying to watch the seniors rally the underclassmen and congratulate them on the semester and say all of the things I would normally say. It’s fun to see them slip effortless into those roles.

I was curious how that would work this year because the interpersonal dynamics, by definition, are more restrained than normal. If anything, they’ve found ways to work around and beyond that and be better for it.

We build broadcast pros and leaders around here.

We had two productions running concurrently last night. The two above in Studio 7 and the late night show was being produced in Studio 5. It’ll be out later this week. And all of that means we’ll be shooting the last in-studio shows of the term tomorrow night. Watch this space for me bragging on them.

adventures / errands / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off on We got a new range
4
Nov 20

We got a new range

Let us go back to September, when the oven died.

Actually, let’s go back farther. Probably to some point in my childhood, where I managed to permanently confuse the words for oven and stove. It’ll be better here, because I have a backspace button — and this time I’m going to use it! — but if we’re just having a conversation and I say one of those, it’s safe bet that I mean the other. This bothers no one more than me.

Anyway, in September, the oven died. (Yes, the oven, the part where you bake things.) The oven died because we were working on the stove top. We were working on the stove top because someone was using the command dials for mountain climbing exercises. While that work was happening the logic board that controlled the oven just gave up.

We know that’s what it was because it was getting power, but there was nothing in the displays, and it would not bake. We called the home warranty people and they sent a guy down from Indy and he looked at it and said, “Yep, that’s busted.” He contacted the warranty people who said, “Well, it’s busted.”

It was a 13-year-old range, though, probably original in the house. The model, of course, is discontinued. And the warrant people weren’t interested in having their repair vendor work on the thing. So they offered to swap it out. Or we could find our own range and there would be a rebate, compensation song and dance. Ultimately, we went with the one they offered. It was comparable on paper, and the oven — I had to correct this one — would be a smidge larger than the old one.

Problem: Again, this was late September. And the new range was on back order and wouldn’t be available until the first week of November.

So we assembled stove top and grill recipes. And we were ready to get take out a time or two. In the scheme of things, it’s the most minor of inconveniences, but you don’t really know how much you depend on your oven — I had to correct this one, too — until you contemplate how much you actually depend on your oven.

Well, good news! In the last week of October we got the call that they had our range, and when would we like it? We arranged to have it arrive last Friday. I was going to come back from the office to let them in and do their thing. They would call between 2 and 6 p.m. And somewhere in that appointed time I received a call. The delivery guy had a traffic accident and would not be delivering it on Friday.

After about an hour-and-a-half on the phone with both the delivery people and the appliance manufacturer’s people, it was unilaterally arranged to arrive today. By the way, if you think dealing with one group for a slightly exotic problem with your service is a chore, try it with two, and with people who each aren’t exactly sure what the other does. (The answers, of course, being manufacture/sale and deliver.)

So this morning, 8 a.m. to noon, this range is coming. Because they only come down this way two days a week. Never mind that we’re about six weeks into our descent into creative kitchen work. At noon, no range and no phone call. So when my three-hour webinar wound down for the day — this week, honestly … — I called them. The delivery guy, it turns out, was running a bit late. Safety first when driving! And we were next.

And so we were.

Did you know that they don’t install a range when the delivery people deliver it? That’s what we were told, by the warranty people, but the delivery guy isn’t interested in that.

And did you know you have to provide your own power supply? I’ve never bought a range before, this was a new thing to me. Who knew?! I did not!

So after work I went to the hardware store and bought a four prong heavy duty power supply. I watched two YouTube videos to make sure I only needed to watch the first one, and then I lay on the floor connected the power supply to the range and we set it into place:

And then we had dinner.

The other one looked better, if you ask me. It’s a difference of about 11 percent. We’ll see about the functionality, but the stove top dials were aesthetically nicer on the old unit, and they were shorter. And on this thing the buttons are stiff and unpleasing to punch.

But the eyes and the oven work. And we upgraded a 13-year-old range for a brand new one, thanks to the home warranty. And dinner, from the oven, was delicious.

adventures / Monday / photo / video — Comments Off on I got a sticker today
26
Oct 20

I got a sticker today

Saturday was probably the last fine day for the foreseeable future. Certainly it’s the last time the weather service has had cause to use their sun graphics in the longterm forecasts. So we are settling in for the long grim winter. I guess we’ll be happier about it in mid-April.

I mean, we’ll be pleased with the change to better weather in mid-April, but you, of course, know I’ll look for new and inventive ways to say the same tired things about this gray place, and why it takes that long to burn off the winter here.

Anyway, we enjoyed the sunshine, and the chilly temperatures, that Saturday offered with a nice little bike ride. Here’s some video from the later parts of it:

The sun was nice, and will be missed.

Today we stood under the gray sky and performed our patriotic duty to vote, or as the kids these days are saying, “We did a democracy.” I’ll be working next Tuesday, and we are afforded some time off for the process, but if you can avoid the lines in a fashion that is presumptively more convenient, you avoid the lines in a fashion that is presumptively more convenient.

It started out under a very attractive maple tree:

And it wound up at a door like this:

Along the way some other things happened:

They meant more than the guy who would randomly go “Whoooo! WHO IS READY TO VOTE?!” It’s not a pep rally, friend. But thanks, I guess. Anyway, it took just about an hour. It was easy and inside the office space was a bit perfunctory, practiced, like the last night of a haunted house’s performance, but without the scary part. Aside from a few Boomers, who need to up their mask games, it was well ordered and stress-free.

Early voting in Indiana runs through Nov. 2nd. You can find out the rules for where you are at this link. Then, go educate yourself on the issues — up and down the ballot! — that matter to you, put on a mask and go pull the lever, punch the chad, fill in the bubble or whatever system your local government uses. You, too, can do a democracy!

adventures / cycling / hobby / IU / photo / television / video / Wednesday — Comments Off on Sometimes you can get a lot into a Wednesday
21
Oct 20

Sometimes you can get a lot into a Wednesday

Attended a virtual meeting today were the future of the future was definitely not decided. We did hear about other meetings, however. Seminars here, movies there, presentations and workshops from near and far. Everyone is keeping busy as best they can.

After the meeting I recorded some audio. And after recording the audio I took it to the office to edit. And then some of it was uploaded. It is a cycle and it has its place. Keeping busy.

The afternoon was a bit slower than the morning, then. I was able to catch up on email and the news and many of the other attendant things that make up normal days. Even in abnormal times, they’re always there. Always there.

Returned to the house after work and went for a bike ride. It was an easy hour. I pedaled alongside The Yankee as she condensed two days of webinars into an hour of highlights. I could ride like that all day. She talked, I tried to keep up. Usually her training rides are designed to be more brisk. She rides harder and I … try to keep up. So it was a pleasant thing to do, riding along, listening to the conversation.

It was gray and humid and moist. Yes, both adjectives are required here. It was 64 degrees when we left and 61 when we got back in and for some reason I could see my exhalations. It was the first “I can see my breath!” ride of the year. The dew point was very high.

This evening I tried working on three projects. And two of them went nowhere. I need to replace the button on a pair of blue jeans and that’s harder than it should be, apparently. There are a few methods to this, the Internet tells me. One destroys the denim, which seems besides the point. Another is poorly described. The third is pretty straightforward though: Grab the button on either side with pliers and unscrew the thing.

Well, that didn’t work tonight. I managed to ruin another button from a pair of ruined jeans, and since it was dinnertime anyway, I put that project once again on the back burner. We’d cooked everything on the front burners anyway.

I wanted to make a little carrying sling for a small bottle of hand sanitizer to keep in the car, but the initial plan didn’t go according to … well … plan.

So, back to the drawing board, which I don’t have. Maybe that’s the problem. I shouldn’t draw things up in my mind. The specs are never that good up there anyway.

But my third project, it has real potential.

I have to use my university ID for various things on campus. It’s a key, it grants printer access, you check out books with it and so on. I’ve recently decided that maybe I don’t want to carry it around in my wallet. Maybe I don’t want to pull my wallet out every time I need the card. Too many cooties, and who knows how repeated hand wipes will treat the leather.

So I’ve had in mind a few different things I could make as a minimalist card holder. And I’ll probably wind up trying several of them out before I ultimately settle on one. So tonight I started working on the first idea which will be a slimmer version of my homemade business card holders:

I had some leftover wood from those projects which were already perfectly cut to size. To create the depth I ran the jigsaw over the thinnest paint stirrer I could find. Now the glue will cure overnight. Tomorrow evening I’ll sand the thing down and try to find some way to make white alder wood look interesting. And, when it’s done I’ll show you this solution. Because every project comes down to having material to put here, for you, dear reader.

Here are some TV shows the TV people did. This is the morning show, and they are on location, and that seems like an early time of day for a spot like that …

All the stories came together for the news team this week. I believe I counted seven produced pieces within the episode and 10 or 11 different voices all told. This is the pace we’d like to keep for every episode. Sometimes we’re more successful at it than others.

And there’s a really cool little feature in the pop culture show. Carillons are oddly fascinating, once people are reminded to think about them. And a student who has an abiding interest in music sought out the story of the impressive instrument that you can hear on the IU campus.

And that should be enough for now.

More tomorrow, though. And, until then, don’t forget to catch up on Catober, since Phoebe and Poseidon are putting on quite a show. And did you know they have an Instagram account now? Phoebe and Poe have an Instagram account now. Keep up with me on Twitter, and don’t forget my Instagram. There are also some very interesting On Topic with IU podcasts for you, as well.

adventures / cycling / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off on Always agree to the ‘Let’s go ride bikes!’ sentiment*
30
Sep 20

Always agree to the ‘Let’s go ride bikes!’ sentiment*

Well that debate was something, wasn’t it? About 70 million people watched it last night. And if you watched the debate that’d be enough. But more people caught up to bits and pieces of it today. That, in this case, might have actually been more deflating.

So we went for a bike ride. I thought it would be too dark, because even the sky had become gloomy and overcast this afternoon. I saw a cyclist just before I turned into the neighborhood and thought about how he didn’t really stand out from the background. But I was wrong about the light, because about the time we got out for a quick and easy hour ride we enjoyed the best light of the day.

It was brilliant, in the sense that has to do with golden light.

The legs felt good, the lungs felt good and the weather was suddenly lovely and maybe it was all the perfect distraction.

*This is always a Note To Self.

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