Jill of All Trades
There was a flood here Friday. It started as a little dampness
behind my toilet that I couldn't find the source of, and as I was leaving
for work, passing the laundry room, I espied a lake in there, and dropped
the super a note about it.
When I came home, though, the bathroom was under almost an inch of water,
and the carpeting around the door and into the bedroom closet was soaked.
It's still damp. I've been mopping and toweling, and there is
no new flooding, far as I can tell, but the carpet is being very slow about
drying, despite all my insistence. Smells musty in here. Blech.
I had already shampooed the carpet this weekend, but I Febreezed it
today, and mopped the bathroom vigorously. All the towels used in
the mopup have been washed and are in the dryer now. I'd leave the
windows open, but it looks like rain and that would make it worse, rather
than better.
I need more time to write. Hell I need more time, period.
I have a project for springdew.com simmering slowly on the back burner.
It's a news site where the investigation process leading up to a story
is revealed step by step, and the readers can have input concerning leads,
opinions, and facts that can be checked and corroborated for inclusion.
If I ever get this site up, the first project will be Planned Parenthood,
whether they do what people think they do, and how they impact the community.
I have one friend who thinks they are an incredible gift to the US of A,
and another who thinks they are the standard bearers of pre-natal death.
I want something objective and thorough.
Another project is Jill of All Trades, Mistress of...Oh Nevermind.
Ok the title needs some work, but it's about being generally handy without
actually excelling at much. It's about trying to be the ultimate
in usefulness, the sort of person you want with you on a desert island.
It's not meant to be a journal, per se, but a collection of ideas, techniques,
and tactics to being handy, as well as points of distinction that stand
in the way of acquiring mastery of things.
I'm freelancing another project at TheBeverageWorks.com,
a site I had hoped to leave far behind me, but the price is right.
Unfortunately, this might turn into another of those projects that I'm
ashamed to have my name associated with. And as mentioned before,
I am helping out Hobie with his LAN.
Which reminds me, he distracts me something fierce. When I go
over tonight, I have to remember the focus of the endeavor, and not let
him lose me in questions and quick adjustments. I need to meet my
objectives and THEN answer any questions.
Objectives tonight:
-
Install laser printer
-
Install ink cartridges on inkjet printer
-
Install scanner
-
Install hard drive on Gateway (if he has it yet) or
-
Swap hard drives between Gateway and Compaq or
-
Duplicate Gateway's hard drive contents to Compaq (Compaq has 6 gig hard
drive; Gateway has 600 meg! Yet Gateway is primary business computer)
-
Install ICQ on Gateway (or Compaq)
Eventual objectives:
-
Install network cards on Gateway and Compaq
-
Install hub and cables, and otherwise establish network
-
Make sure internet sharing is enabled
-
Install accounting software
-
Streamline auction posting process
-
Enable Hobie to videocam with relatives
I did some looking around last night for a new ISP. I can't really
afford a cable modem, and this Netzero
stuff, while wonderful for emergencies and travel, really bites as a regular
internet connection. The connection frequently stalls out, and around
here I can't usually get better than 28.8, though I did get 33.6 the first
week I was here. Wonder what happened. Anyway, I need to find
a 56K modem and enter the late Pleistocene at least. Since I'll probably
wind up with Eskimo North as an ISP
(very highly rated at Dawn
McGatney's, the ISP reviewers), and they don't even serve less than
56K, it's finally the kick in the ass I need.
There was something else I wanted to write, something that pushed all
this over into getting written now, after 8 am, when I need to get rolling.
But I forgot what it was.
Oh, I got another email about the journal! That happens about
once every six or eight months (not counting people who already knew me),
so it's always exciting. Thanks!
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