Stationary Centre

I learned a trick not too long ago, where end-of-life kleenex boxes and paper rolls can be re-fashioned into a makeshift pencil holder.

Extending that concept a bit, made an entire station of them.

Four tissue boxes worth!

Blog Branching

Try and say THAT three times fast!

Setting up a different home for the IT centered pieces.

Teleport over using this link.

Blueberry Best Practices

When you buy those clamshell pints of blueberries, I find it's best to move them into another container when you get home.

Primary reason is to avoid crushing the ones at the bottom, which take the weight of the other blueberries stacked on top.  What can happen, I find, is that the bottom-blueberries get crushed and the flesh (which isn't blue, surprisingly) gets exposed to the air, lending itself to faster mold growth; first for that crushed berry, but also for the adjacent berries next to it.

It's not that much different than a zombie-apocalypse, accept its blueberry zombies, and it's mostly contained within that clamshell; though with the usual vents on those containers, it means your entire fridge is exposed.

Vaccuuming Tips

Mostly pertains to the vaccuming done with a wired vaccuum (think dirt devil).  doesn't apply as much to others.

Wear a Collared Shirt

that way you can sling the cable around your neck.  I know what you're thinking, relax.  Just the back of the neck.  Do NOT wrap it around the entire neck.  Use the other hand to grab the rest of the cable that's going to the wall, to reduce the chance of the wire crossing over during the vaccuuming.

Cleaning that Pesky Filter

I've never attempted to wash my filter.  Seems pretty counter-intuitive in getting dust OUT of the filter (it feels like it'll make it grip even more).  So I usually just pat out the dust, or use a pen-lid to pry out the stuck on stuff.

But you can use a bristled head attachment (most vaccuums usually come with one), or a hand-broom too, to get it out more effectively.  Has sped up my vaccuuming session tons!

Keys to Life, Part II: KTL in C-Major

About a year ago, came up with some more followup thoughts to this post.  Basically a revised list:

1. Care/Compassion
   Soft on the people (almost everybody has a story), hard on the issue
2. Context
   Scenario, Timing, and Balance
3. Confidence
   Knowing + Doing
4. Contacts
   i.e. networking: who you know, not what you know
5. Completion/Comprehensiveness
   Set your expectations (i.e. goals) and achieve/produce them
6. Commitment
   You can't do #5 for everything.  Pick your battles (#2 helps with the picking).  But once they are, be in it to win it (sorry for all the cliches).
7. Hunt for your happiness
   And have fun doing it!  Half (or more) of that happiness is from the journey, as much as the destination!

So hopefully it's pretty self-explanatory.  And no, it's not all C's (that's why it's C-major and not C-total, har-har-har), but the theme of the message is that at some point in your life, one/some of these seven are going to be the subject of your focus to reach that next point of evolution in your being.

Remote Codes

Finally had a little time to set up the TV & the legion of remotes on the coffee table.  Wasn't able to find anything online, so I figure I'll do a quick blurb.

The Sony RM-ADP021 doesn't seem to have any three-digit codes for Haier TVs, or newer brands (Visio, Hisense, etc.).  As they mention in one of their FAQ entries, you can go trial-and-error 'til you find one that works.

For my case, that was 503.  i.e. Haier is grouped with the Akai, Daewoo, etc brands.  Not all the TV-mode buttons work (i.e. the arrow buttons), but it's passable (input, volume, channel, power, etc.) as a replacement for the full TV remote.

bathroom reno!

By popular request, here's the before, after, and everything in between (optimizations, lessons-learned, etc.) about my bathroom renovation!

Before-Afters

The Half

Half, Before

Half, After

The Full

Full, Before

Full, After

Items worth referencing:

• IKEA Wall Cabinet, Godmorgon
• IKEA Mirror Cabinet, Lillangen
• IKEA Sink Cabinet, Godmorgon/Odensvik
• IKEA Bathroom Faucet, Olskar
• American Standard Cadet Enamel Steel

Design Considerations

• Cabinet Heights.  In my case, I was doing a complete makeover.  The existing pieces were all original, which was oddly short (wasn't just bathroom, closet shelving too).  So I took the opportunity to raise the heights a little.  Unless you're an NBA player, watch out not to customize it too much.  Might be nice for you, but the trade-off means prospects of resale/rent is lessened.
• Sink Cabinet.  I highly recommend a pull-out drawer style.  I find it utilizes the space underneath the sink the best, maybe not in the sense of total volume consumed, but in the accessibility.  Have you ever tried grabbing the stuff from the back?  The tradeoff is that non-recessed plumbing might block the full-closure of the drawer.  But bathroom plumbing is usually simple enough that you can cut your drawers to accommodate.
  
  

  

  From a different bathroom while travelling

  
  

  

  Was the inspiration for me to hack my own.

• Shower Stall Tiling.  By all means, mosaic tiles will accent the shower nicely.  In retropsect, I would've used less, likely gone with a simple subway tiling design (like in most kitchens).  But it's still hard, because I wanted to make sure the ceiling was covered (poor ventilation necessitates better waterproofing), and the bigger the tile increases the chances of it eventually falling on you.

Optimizations

• Door dampeners.  Get 'em if you can.  Soft-close everything is nice.  The sink cabinet and toilet seat came with it by default.  But the two wall cabinets didn't.  I find the current IKEA Utrusta dampeners aren't as universal as the now-discontinued Rationells.  For one, the Rationells, fit perfectly in the shelf holes of the Lillangens, and for another, they were an easier install into the Godmorgons, relatively speaking (since the install was post-cabinet-assembly).  If you can't find the Rationells in your area, it looks like you can find similar ones elsewhere.
• Shelving (half bath).  Living in a condo, vertical storage is the name of the game.  While I could've used something that matched the style a bit better, I had a spare plastic-cheapo shelf I picked up a while back, that: 1. fit that space's footprint perfectly, 2. provided tall & open shelves to allow me to store a plethora of stuff, 3. wasn't enough of an eyesore to justify a purchase for extra style buy equivalent function.
• Shower Stall Accessories.  The old shower used to have a soap tray and grab bar installed, which meant plenty of mould around that area.  If you need a grab bar, I guess there's not much alternative (just make sure you thoroughly caulk the coverings).  For storage/trays, I prefer caddies a little more.  Each have their own trade-offs.  Not a fan of the ones that hang off the shower line; that's just asking for wear-and-tear trouble.  Suction cups will require calculating load of your tray with the grip the cup can get off the wall (which is less if using grouted tile, especially if it's non-glossy).  I've installed a tension bar for a while, but it's fixed nature means it puts pressure/stress on your tub (mine's now slightly dipped), and lends itself to mould (as it's not that easy to squeegee the area).  So now I've resorted to a tray that rests on the tub; which requires that your bathtub ledge isn't too narrow, otherwise it'll fall over on you.

Lessons Learned

• Cabinet installations.  Make sure the cabinets are properly mounted.  No matter how light you think your cabinet might weigh, you shouldn't fix it to just the drywall (if it can't be helped).  Especially if it's 30+ year old drywall.  I tried to find a good DIY link that incorporates use of a horizontal cross-beam wooden slat (fixed to a stud), but couldn't find one.  Most newer cabinets can accomodate (like the IKEA ones).  Maybe that'll be my next post...
• Grout.  Check your grout lines thoroughly.  i.e. make sure there's no holes/gaps left from sloppy grouting (as there were in mine), and that it's treated with grout sealer where appropriate (which, I think, is most scenarios).  I put two coats on mine.
• Reno shopping.  It's a different type of retail.  Chances of discontinuations are greater, IMO.  That 2-door Godmorgon cabinet is a prime example.  Tiles are another.  So be careful about waiting for sales.  Leverage (in North America) the 10% price match policies the big box stores usually have (where they price match the competitor, and throw in a 10% discount off that lower price).
• Do not gloss over the process of choosing your Renovator.  Even after three separate quotes, checking work references, etc., I still ended up employing two different Reno companies to finish the bathrooms, not to mention the patch-ups I did on my own.
• Importance of post-work retainer: leakages.  The ones found from the toilet water line aren't too bad, but they showed up almost immediately, so getting the renovators to come back to patch that up would be faster if they haven't collected 100% of the payment.

There's definitely tons more to write about.  When I come up with them, I'll likely write smaller posts rather than append to this one (Inside IT joke: sorta like agile vs. waterfall, badum tssss!).  Should make for easier reading.

Memory and Storage Upgrades on Acer Aspire One D257 (-1907)

Alright, the first batch of pics were taken in mid-2012.  Finally have some time to put some words by the pictures, so here we go!

Picked this little netbook up from bestbuy for a one-month backpacking trip that required some photo storage, emails and quick web surfing.  Even back then, there were better options for each of those goals.  But to balance them all, along with the all-important tenet of backpacking mobility (weight & packability), on top of budget, meant this laptop baby was going to Chile & Peru!

Upon return, the single gig of RAM wasn't tolerated for very long.  And these days with all the storage/IT re-routing happening at home, the hdd chamber needed some accessing, too.  Was able to find some relevant & helpful videos online, among the haystack of vids for the slew of Aspire One variants (like this); but having to sit through an entire vid, or trying to cherry-pick the exact moment to fast-forward/back-track to, wasn't terribly convenient.  So that's where the idea for this came along.

OK!  Without further adieu:

Purple Clay Rice Cooker Solution

My mom, bless her soul, bought each of her kids a purple clay pot rice cooker set, so that we're not constantly exposed to the toxic teflon that lines most rice cookers on the market.  Unfortunately, a few challenges get introduced.

Problem

• Bought in China.  So needed to convert both the outlet, and the voltage.
• A lot of counter space.  It's big and bulky, so leaving it on the counter isn't the best idea.
• Ventilation.  Rice cookers shoots the steam upwards.  So either proper ventilation, or a big open space is idea.

Solution

Thanks to the Goldsource Voltage Transformer, Ikea's Draggan cart, a spare piece of plank, and a two-dollar dishwashing tub, voila!

The metal mesh from the Draggan is quite thin, doubtful that it could support the transformer, enter spare wood plank to save the day!

And since my kitchen's a bit claustrophobic, this lives in the dining/living room where the steam can dissipate quickly.  I don't really need the dishwashing tub, but makes it convenient to store things on that rack, in a pseudo-drawer kind of way.  Come to think of it, need to double-check if the transformer cable is long enough to move it to the bottom rack...

tpfancontrol quick hack & best practices

Quick Hacks

Some quick notes, after installing tpfancontrol, since I found Smart Mode 2 more useful than Smart Mode 1, and couldn't find a good way to get it to default without this hack.  This is Windows 7, btw, differences may exist with other OSes.

Cat Litter Boxes

Especially with the discontinuation of this product (in Canada, at least), an ode to its awesomeness!  i.e. Not only was the actual litter product really high quality, so was the packaging.

What can you do with six empty high-quality cat litter boxes?

How about three makeshift shelves?  Thanks Grundtal Towel Holder boxes!