Ubiquiti

 

The network rack has been in place for a while but today I moved things into their final resting positions.  I still have a bunch of devices to add to the mix but it's a nice modular setup.  I also need to do some loops and tidy up the excess wire which is all drooped and disorganized behind the rack.  But it's a mostly clean setup for now, minus the one siezed post screw in the bottom right ear.  If you're left wondering what that white plastic box is at the top right, it's an ethernet surge suppressor.  Doesn't look all that cool but hopefully will keep my gear from getting fried.

On the way to the shop I stopped by a place to try to grab a cheap old crappy paper file cabinet.  Because I have the space for one here and I'd like to keep receipts and paperwork semi organized.  Paper files definitely are annoying and digital stuff is better in terms of accessibility and the ability to search by keyword, but paper is a nice to have backup vs just shredding everything immediately.  So I went to this furniture place and walked out with a steelcase standing desk on the cheap.  It's a nice size, I'm pretty happy with it, as I wanted to get a nicer setup for my day job at the shop.  Now all I need is a decent monitor and I've got nice setups at home and the shop for doing any tech stuff.

Door

 Got a door in today.  The main purpose is to keep heat inside my workshop as the room behind this door is not well sealed and heat escapes quickly.  Although today is not a terribly cold day, 57 degrees right now, I can tell it's helping a lot due to the furnace not cycling nearly as much as it was in prior days and earlier today while the door was going in.  It also has a nice side benefit of reducing noise to the house (which I'm renting) so my music has less impact on the tenant.  When open, presumably during the summer, it's clear glass so the overhead lights should still provide illumination.  I got a bit "lucky" finding the exact size door I wanted on craigslist for about half price, and even luckier that it was clear glass instead of frosted so I can see into the storeroom.

It's really nice to be warm and cozy in my work space now.

Urinal

 This is the shop bathroom.  I'm a fan of having my very own bathroom and this one has heat, a vent fan, sink, toilet and even some cabinets and drawers (which I don't really need in the bathroom but it's nice to have a spot for some clothes and supplies for now).

I'm hoping to get a shower set up where the toilet is and move the toilet to the opposite corner.  Which means some extended downtime and cutting concrete to get the new toilet flange in position, T into the sewer line, and convert the existing toilet flange to a shower drain.

I was already planning to add a sink to the other side of this wall which is part of the workshop for dishes and hand washing there, always nice to have two sinks.  But I'm thinking I might do a smaller sink and add a urinal in the bathroom and just move the utility sink to the workshop as my dishes sink, along with the dishwasher.  That way I can keep my dishes out of the bathroom which feels like a prudent thing.  My workshop is a pretty clean space, whereas the prior owner used it for building stuff so it got much dirtier.

So, I find myself perusing urinals.  At least they aren't expensive.

Back to the mat

I went to a yoga class last night, first real class in what feels like 10 years?  It felt good, crowded and sweaty, but nice to reconnect to this pile of flesh I'm stuck in.

I raced CIM last year, 2:46, it was nice to finish strong after my troubles there in the past but also ironic that I'm more proud of my old guy time which is actually my slowest ever on the course:

I got myself a workshop at the very end of last year and that's been fantastic, having space to stretch out and get organized.

The boys are 8 and 6, quite the handful, doing a few ski trips this winter, riding bikes, settling in after the move.

Oh yeah, we moved to the PNW, outside of Portland.  It rains here.  It rains a lot.

Also, everyone in this town is fast and everyone runs.  Random guy from a neighbor dinner party ran a 2:30 in his first 'thon.  A friend jokes that his dentist says "I don't really run" but pulled off a 2:18.  And there's no racial diversity.  And it rains.  Everything is wet all winter.

But it's green and the trees are glorious, wonderful, amazing.  Kayaking in the river is nice.  Real estate is less unaffordable and traffic is slightly less brutal.  And I haven't had a sunburn in ages.

Let's see if I can keep a short journal flowing.