-
Beep. Beep. Beep.
So. We were without air conditioning in our building for awhile today. Fortunately it’s a nice day out with unseasonably low humidity and a breeze, so I was able to open the window to make it tolerable. It’s amazing how much beeping you hear in populated regions (like college campuses) nowadays. Seems like all day…
-
This and That
So.. another summer is upon us. Howard County schools finally let out at the end of this week. I remember when I was a kid, summer vacation was almost 3 months long, and now it’s down to barely two. Instead, there are tons more random days off during the school year, for “professional teacher work…
-
Today’s Ride
I got an early start on the commute this morning, so I decided to try an alternate, longer route to get from Elkridge to UMBC on the bike: West on Montgomery Rd Right on Rockburn Dr Right on Montgomery Rd Right on Kerger Rd Right on Ilchester Rd Left on Beechwood Rd Left on Bonnie…
-
A tale of two web sites
I’m a frequent shopper at my local big-box home improvement warehouse chains. I’ve got my pick of them, too — at last count there were 3 Lowes and around 8 Home Depots within 30 minutes drive of my house. Welcome to the Baltimore-Washington corridor. I’m also a web surfer. I like to plan projects at…
-
Chlorine Generator Manifold Repair
I’m in the process of installing a salt-water chlorine generator (model DIG-60 from AutoPilot) for my swimming pool. As part of this, I need to plumb the salt cell in downstream of my filter. The cell is part of a big inline manifold which includes a 3lb spring check valve. The valve’s purpose is to…
-
Perl rocks
I’m doing a bit of tidying-up of my online music library for consistency.. editing tags, renaming files, that kind of thing. My library consists mainly of FLAC files ripped from my CD collection. My music player of choice on my Ubuntu box is Banshee. Banshee has an “Edit Metadata” feature which looks very handy on…
-
Today’s ride
It was my coldest morning commute of the year today. 14° with a wind chill of 2°. I usually check the temperature before getting on the bike, so I can figure out what to wear. Didn’t bother today.. already knew it was going to be cold, so I just bundled up. In hindsight, I’m glad…
-
Aargh, I hate winter
Forces of nature are conspiring to keep me off my bike lately. I managed to bike to work twice last week in spite of the big ice storm that hit the Baltimore/Washington area. Then I went out for a quick 20-miler this past Sunday, and promptly broke a spoke on my back wheel. This was…
-
Back on the bike after ice storm
I rode my bike to work today for the first time since the ice storm that hit the Baltimore/Washington area this past Tuesday and Wednesday. My usual commute takes me through Elkridge, Relay, and Arbutus, MD, including a short trip through the Patapsco State Park Avalon Area. Today, the roads were fine for the most…
-
Snowblower
It’s actually snowing here in the mid-atlantic, although I’m predicting another non-event similar to so many others we’ve had in the past 3 winters. I think that when all is said and done, we’ll end up with maybe an inch and a half of snow, not quite enough to cover the grass, topped with a…