Today, I rode my bicycle to work. Here was one of my views:

I wonder how long it might be before I won’t marvel at riding my bike to the office.

I spent a part of the day editing audio. Every time I open audio software I wonder: Will this be the time I find this boring? Hasn’t happened yet:

A view from the bike ride back to the house this afternoon:

And now a tale of housework.

We were fortunate when we purchased this place, that it is a turn key place. We’ll paint some rooms eventually, of course, but there wasn’t a lot to do when we moved our things in this summer.

We did, however, quickly discover a problem with two ceiling fans. In researching the problem we learned that the living room and master bedroom have the same type of fan, which involves a radio frequency. As in, the two fans are using the same frequency, which means that to run the light or fan in one room impacts the light or fan in the other. So one frequency had to be changed. Now, ceiling fans don’t really have makes or model numbers on them, so finding the manual, based on visually identifying the control panel in the wall, online has been a challenge. Finding the place where one changes the frequency has been an even greater challenge.

Anyway, after a day or two trying to just figure it out, and a few attempts to find the manual and infer the solution from poorly drawn diagrams, I finally gave up and called the manufacturer. I’ve called once before, but, of course, business hours. Eventually I got the right voice mail. A technician asked me to send him some pictures. He called me back and told me how to do what and where. So, then, today, I finally had the chance to follow the expert’s advice.

First, you have to break the circuit, of course. Then you shimmy up a ladder and remove the fan from the ceiling. Now I know where the adjustment must be made, and by virtue of the previous attempts via trial and error I have decided that the fan in the living room will be easiest to change.

So up the ladder, loosen the screws, take the mounting ball off the ceiling bracket and then … fall down the ladder with 35 pounds of wood and glass in my hand.

You see, the ceiling fan is equipped with a little steel hang line. With this you can suspend the fan from the bracket while you connect the wiring and, perhaps, change the remote control frequency. Only the hang line wasn’t connected to anything, so off it came and down I went. How I managed to avoid hurting myself or breaking the fan can only be attributed to quick reflexes and deft skill at not falling cultivated over a lifetime of falling. Here it is now, sitting on the floor, like all good ceiling fans:

The thing to change was tucked inside the frame there, and involved four little switches on a module the size of a dime. This was not designed to be seen from below when the fan was hanging from the ceiling. Of course, once you’ve set the thing you should never have to deal with it again. Except that the previous owners had since they either moved in or installed the fans. Later, I had to carry the fan back up the ladder and, from the highest rung, press it over my head, string the steel line, re-wire the thing and then hang it in the ceiling bracket.

Now we can turn on one fan or adjust the lights without impacting another room.

My reward was a sketchy M&M:

The next project is the hot water heater. When I finally get that figured out I’ll have a proper treat.