So... What are YOU doing? - Part 8

[NewCreation435]

I'm watching antique road show and on the computer

 

[Romanos]

I have a sweet tooth tonight, so might get some ice cream from the freezer.

 

[psalms 91]

waking up

 

[Lamb]

Doing laundry early on so I can go take a meal to someone from church if he's available later on.

 

[Lamb]

Our roofers come tomorrow so I have to get outside and take pics of the house (in case they damage something), move things out of the way and store them in the garage, etc...

 

[Lamb]

Eating breakfast and checking out forums before I head to church.

 

[tango]

Drinking my morning coffee and doing my morning puzzles.

Then I get to fiddle some more in my work room. Yesterday I was doing some final prep work ready to put the sound proofing material in place, mostly making sure any remaining air gaps were sealed so that cold air couldn't find a way past the insulation panels. Along the way another tube of sealant and another can of spray foam got used up. I also got some cleanup work done so I actually have space to work in there. I still need to move some stuff out to give me more space. Some of it is recovered wood that I want to keep, some of it is wood that I'll probably cut into manageable pieces and either burn or maybe repurpose, depending on how much effort it proves to be to get the nasty paint off it.

I've been pondering making some simple Christmas tree ornaments, so a load of scrap wood seems like a useful starting point except that it's painted a nasty color and it might be easier to just start from fresh wood than to spend an age scraping the paint off and then running it through a planer.

 

[Faith]

Drinking my morning coffee and doing my morning puzzles.

Then I get to fiddle some more in my work room. Yesterday I was doing some final prep work ready to put the sound proofing material in place, mostly making sure any remaining air gaps were sealed so that cold air couldn't find a way past the insulation panels. Along the way another tube of sealant and another can of spray foam got used up. I also got some cleanup work done so I actually have space to work in there. I still need to move some stuff out to give me more space. Some of it is recovered wood that I want to keep, some of it is wood that I'll probably cut into manageable pieces and either burn or maybe repurpose, depending on how much effort it proves to be to get the nasty paint off it.

I've been pondering making some simple Christmas tree ornaments, so a load of scrap wood seems like a useful starting point except that it's painted a nasty color and it might be easier to just start from fresh wood than to spend an age scraping the paint off and then running it through a planer.

Nothing except playing on my iPad. Later I’ll work on my Christian Planner and Journal.

 

[tango]

Today's fun was trimming the surplus foam from the gaps I filled, moving some tools I don't need in the work room any more back to the basement where I usually keep them, making sure the cable runs I've made are sound (they are, and now I have an extra socket to work with as a bonus), and a big cleanup.

I've got my big miter saw set up in an adjacent room and it's amazing just how much sawdust that thing throws around. I should probably try and rig it up to the shop vac to catch as much of the dust as possible, but that draws more power than a single circuit can provide. When it's back in the basement I think I will look to set up a hood connected to a vacuum to reduce the amount of dust that flies into the air.

And then it finally stopped raining so I went for a walk. Except part way round I decided to run parts of it, and found I could push my pace without feeling like I was exerting more effort. I'm not quite sure how it's possible but it feels like I shaved 30 seconds per mile off my pace without it feeling more difficult. Maybe I was just having a better day than I thought.

I think now I have enough space to lay out my soundproofing material so I can measure it and cut it to size. When everything outside has dried off I can bring the last of the rolls from the garage up into my workspace, now that I'm ready to use them and they won't just be yet another thing to trip over.

 

[Faith]

Nothing except playing on my iPad. Later I’ll work on my Christian Planner and Journal.

Oh, and read.

 

[Krissy Cakes]

Eating and watching a YouTuber on the PS5 with my husband.

 

[Lamb]

Going to pick up my meds from CVS soon, then it's chore day on Mondays.

 

[tango]

Yet another rainy day so I'll probably do some more work with soundproofing. I think I've cleared enough space to measure and cut it.

If it stops raining for long enough I plan to get out for a run, or at least a walk. I need a new pair of shoes, I retired my walking shoes because the support was so badly shot they weren't comfortable, so now my running shoes double as my walking shoes. I've got nearly 400 miles on them so it's about time for a new pair.

Another fun thing, today my package with a couple of home automation doodads in it arrives, so I can fiddle with that. It's pretty dark at night around here and I'd really like to be able to click one thing on my phone to turn on all the outside lights for when guests leave after dark. It's so much easier than running around the house clicking old-fashioned switches. It's also handy being able to switch them all off again without standing waiting, as if we're making sure the guests actually do leave. I got one simple device and ended up using it to power the light in a decoration, so now I need more. There's also a handy device that can power two things independently, which is good because it saves space in an already crowded back box when I want to fit remote controls to both a light and a fan.

 

[Krissy Cakes]

Listening to music!

 

[Lamb]

Going to get groceries soon. I'm still trying to wake up.

 

[tango]

It's raining, again.

I got my package yesterday and got one of the smart doodads fitted. The annoying part was dismantling the light fixture because it needed to go into the back box, but I got it all done. Then it wouldn't connect to my network. Eventually I took it all apart, connected it to some offcuts in my workshop to connect it to the network, then reinstalled it where I wanted it. I think the wifi signal where I've put it is strong enough for it to maintain a connection but not strong enough for it to initiate a connection. But now it's working, and it's another outside light I can control from my phone or tablet.

It's a pretty neat device, it takes a live input and a switched input so it can tell what state the switch is in and can toggle the power regardless of where the switches are. It has an option to act as a simple toggle or to work somewhat more harmoniously with the switch states. So for a regular single-pole switch you might configure it such that if the relay isn't where the switch is, flicking the switch won't do anything (because it now aligns with the relay) and flicking the switch back will operate as expected. For a three-way switch you might configure it (as I did) that if you flick a switch it toggles the load, and if you operate the relay remotely it toggles the load. In this latter configuration it effectively acts as a four-way switch, which is neat.

I also rigged up the dual-channel doodad to some offcuts, and got it to control two lights independently. Now I need to see if it will fit in my back box or if I need a bigger box. So far I'm really impressed with these things, I wish I'd found them before I bought my Kasa switches. I may yet replace the Kasa switches with regular switches and these things.

 

[tango]

Fun With Soundproofing. It turned out an offcut was about 1" longer than a piece I needed, so I fitted it into the appropriate place and trimmed off the surplus inch. Today's job was manhandling a fresh roll of the stuff into position. It needs to be screwed to the wall studs and gradually unrolled so it doesn't sag under its own weight, and the roll is heavy enough that if it falls it will almost certainly rip everything already in position off the screws. So far I've got probably 80 square feet of it fitted, window spaces trimmed out, and now just taking a break before I start the exciting job of locating and cutting around the back boxes for the power sockets. That's a fun job to do, down only slightly above the floor trying to locate exactly where the box is and cut around it without damaging the wires inside the box (I killed the power, just in case!) or cutting too big a gap around the box that compromises the soundproofing.

The next stage involves the bit from the ceiling down to the top of what I've already installed, which is tricky in its own way because I'm working with heavy squares and trying not to let them droop or sag in any of the ways gravity would really rather like them to droop or sag.

 

[Lamb]

I'm up early to go hiking before I take a meal over to someone from church.

 

[tango]

Yesterday evening I trimmed the pieces around the backboxes, so now I have cables poking out from neatly cut holes in the soundproofing. Today my wife and I are going out for a meal somewhere. Not sure yet, there are a few brewpubs to choose from. We're going to take a drive though and choose one that isn't on the doorstep.

 

[Lamb]

We're up early to go hiking before we take care of some chores.