Home improvement. Correction: Home repair

Last weekend Uncle Pat and I tore apart an eight foot section of our house's back exterior wall. Some previous owner had cut out a section of siding (I'm not sure why) and when they had put it back had tried to seal the horizontal seam with caulking. The lack of gutters and a leaky pipe (for a mister system that's now gone) got enough water on that section of wall that the siding around the seam had swelled and needed to be replaced. Two sheets (four feet wide each) were involved, so I decided to replace both.

To complicate the problem, there were four pipes coming out of the same section of wall. To make it easier, I decide to change the plumbing around so that there would only be two (one for water heater pressure relief and one for cold water). There is also a window involved. Given these complications, I called upon Pat to bring tools and expertise. I literally couldn't have do it without his help. We had some hiccups (which are inevitable) but at the end of the day it seemed to be satisfactory.

Monday we made pot roast so the house was full of that smell and the air was a bit humid when we got home. Tuesday the smell was of sheet rock and the air was still humid. I went to investigate the wall, worried that our plumbing had sprung a leak. It was clear there was a problem once I saw the swollen and discolored siding. I took it off and discovered that the plumbing we had done wasn't the problem. Instead one of us had driven a nail (while hanging the siding) straight into a copper pipe.

Ashlee and I worked until about ten that night getting the plumping fixed (included a trip to Home Depot just before they closed). I just left off the siding so that the hot Arizona sun could dry out the sheet rock and kill any organic growth (the term real estate agents use for mold). The next evening it was still a bit damp. Rain wasn't in the forecast at all this week, so I just decided to wait until today to work on it again.

Today I made some final adjustments to the plumbing, and put the siding back up. It had dried in the sun and all the swelling had gone down. I also fixed some of the hiccups that Pat and I had trouble with a week ago with the siding (not marking the stud locations, siding seams not lining up with studs, etc). Anyway, the siding is up now and the plumping is leak free (for now, knock on wood). I sealed the seams with silicone and the plan is to paint asap in the morning.

Gutters are a big priority because even without a horizontal seam (like there used to be) the bottom edge of the siding soaks up water splashing up from the ground. Most of our neighbors don't have gutters either. I know AZ doesn't get much rain compared the rest of the US, but really, not gutters? Oh well, we'll just have to install some.

Sorry I don't have pictures. They weren't a big priority during the work. I'll try to take some tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

This year, Todd and I decided to go a little over the top for Valentine's day. After all, everyone deserves a great night, nice dinner, and entertainment. So, we researched some places and found this place that sounded perfect. As you can see, the dress code is quite formal!





So, we dressed up. I think that both of us enjoy getting a little fancy once in a while. Well, I'm not sure that Todd does, but I definitely do! After dressing up, we went to the place and even got a very private table (with a centerpiece that we could take home). We both ordered the same thing - delicious chicken cajun pasta with a side of asparagus. We had some wine with dinner (and champagne afterwards for a little celebration). Here's a picture of our dinner.



After our dinner, we held off on dessert for a while in favor of entertainment. Can you believe that they play actual films at this place! And you can move from the dining table to some sort of sectional - with a big TV! Partway through our movie, we decided to order dessert. We both had brownies with melted Reesee's pieces in them (warmed up with vanilla ice cream on the side). It was delicious! We toasted the end of the evening with our champagne and then made our way home.

Home. Which was where we were the entire time =)

And then there was light

Yes, Ashlee and I do live in the valley of the sun, but there are times when we want more light, and the kitchen counter is one place in particular where we find it most lacking. Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc all sell lights for this purpose, but all the common styles have disadvantages.

I think the most common styles use compact fluorescent light (CFLs). Most people are probably familiar with them. The fixtures are kind of big, the bulbs are expensive (for the uncommon size used for this application) and they are too long for one of the spots where we were hoping to but some lighting.

Xenon and halogen lights are nice and bright, but the amount of heat they put off is a dead giveaway that you are wasting electricity, and they too are a bit expensive. They are usually built as little spot lights, which seems like a bad idea for the application.

LED lights are getting more and more popular for many purposes, and kitchen lighting is seeing their increased use as well. Most people are familiar with the single LED flashlights and know that they don't work well as flood lights in most cases. That's true, but if you but a bunch of them in a row along a strip, and then put the phosphorescent material (which makes the light white instead of blue) along the strip, you get a much more diffuse light pattern. These work well, but are expensive compared to what single LEDs cost, and actually generate a good bit of heat (in the ones I felt and read about) because resistors are required to make sure each LED gets the right amount of electricity.

Anyway, my desire to save money was met by my eagerness to tinker around with a do-it-yourself (DIY) solution, and the result looks like this:

(Oh yeah, we bought a microwave for above the range. At $75, it was a steal. We priced it online, and think it goes for around $500 brand new. Woot for craigslist.)

I bought three pairs of cold compact fluorescent lights (CCLFs) for this project. At $8 a pair, I spent less on six bulbs than I would have on one of most store-bought setups. I did have to buy a power supply, but it was just another $8. These lights are great because they generate very little heat and are the perfect size: about 1/2 inch in diameter and 12 inches long. There are three little boxes (about the size of a small cell phone) that power two bulbs each. The power supply is the size of a double stack of playing cards. I had to solder some wiring and use some zip ties to get it up out of the way, but I think I actually spent more time shopping around online. It was a quick and painless project.

In this view you can see the bulbs and the little boxes that supply the high voltage required to excite the gas in the bulbs. The part that lights up is no bigger than a coffee stirring straw, but it's enclosed inside a protective tube.

Finally, I installed a little push button switch that's hidden just inside the recessed area under the cabinets. It's turns the whole system on and off before the AC/DC power supply, ensuring no power is wasted inverting unused electricity. I tested the final setup with the multimeter, and it's reading about 22 watts. That's a good number.

 I can't help it, I've got to show off the microwave one more time.

I admit, I'm a Dvorak user

The QWERTY keyboard layout was not designed for comfort, but instead was designed with the mechanics of early typewriters in mind. See this Wikipedia article on the QWERTY layout.

The Dvorak keyboard layout was designed for comfort, and its inventor used several principles designed to improve upon the standard QWERTY layout. See this Wikipedia article on the Dvorak layout.

I've been using the Dvorak layout for several years now. I started in the summer of 2006, and haven't gone back since. Ashlee still thinks I'm crazy. You don't have to do anything fancy to make the switch. Virtually every modern computer can easily be configured to interpret keystroke as Dvorak, regardless of the actual keyboard you're using. I took me several months to get fairly quick at using it, but I'm far better at it than QWERTY (by now).

Anyway, today I decided to "hack" my keyboard and switch the keys around, physically.

The keys come out fairly easily, especially after I devised a makeshift removal tool out of a paper clip. I cleaned up the keyboard some, and then put it back together.

And just like that, I rolled my own Dvorak keyboard.

Mini-Update (haha)

Well, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a pretty terrible blogger. I always think of things to blog about, but when it comes down to writing it, I just put it off. And off. And off.

And before you know it, it's New Years Eve and I haven't blogged in weeks! Oh well, at least I've gotten a bit better at updating facebook - which seems to decrease the number of updates that I put on the blog. Such is life!

Todd and I have spent about two weeks at home now. It's been wonderful seeing the family and friends again. We had a whirlwind Christmas, visiting four different houses for dinner. Needless to say, we were very full by the end of it! We have a lot of Christmas pictures (which are on facebook, I think).

We're leaving here tomorrow and heading down to Phoenix. We're going to stop in Laramie for the night and pack up Grandma Judy and all her stuff. It will be nice to be home again, where the weather is warmer!

And that's my mini-update. I can't promise pictures in the near future. But I'll try.

Here's to a very Happy New Year for everyone! We're looking forward to a new and very wonderful year!

P.S. Like I said, I'm doing better at facebook now. If you want more frequent updates and pictures, check that out. And someday I hope to be proficient at life, facebook, AND blogging!

*Sigh*

So, it's 1:20am. I just woke up. With pink eye. Yeah, this is one of the downsides of the job.

*Sigh* I guess it's time that I found a doctor here.

Best Place to Work!

I just checked my work email (yes, I'm weird, I do that even when I'm not at work - it's a habit) and found some exciting news! It was in a memo attached to an email, but I'll just copy and paste it here for everyone.


SOUTHWEST HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AGAIN NAMED ONE OF
THE VALLEY’S BEST PLACES TO WORK

Non-Profit Employees Recognize Organization’s Fulfilling Environment Despite Difficult Economy

PHOENIX (December 10, 2009) – For the second year in a row, Southwest Human Development has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the Valley through the Phoenix Business Journal and BestCompaniesAZ annual awards presentation. The accolades follow last year’s honor as the number one recipient in the large business category, as demonstrated through rankings by Southwest Human Development’s employees.

“We appreciate this sustained recognition and are proud of the rewarding environment we have created together,” said Ginger Ward, founder and CEO of Southwest Human Development. “Our employees work diligently and are committed to the mission of Southwest Human Development. It is because of their dedication and outstanding efforts that we continue to stand out in the non-profit business sphere.”

As the state’s largest provider of services for children and families, Southwest Human Development offers its employees the chance to take part in changing lives and impacting thousands of individuals. This growing non-profit provides challenging career opportunities as well as an environment where associates are encouraged to learn, collaborate and engage in activities that further both their personal and professional development.

“Receiving the Best Places to Work nomination is an honor, especially in this difficult economy,” said Janet Otte, director of human resources for Southwest Human Development. “Despite budget cuts and financial stress, our employees keep morale up by focusing on the positive impact we continue to have on thousands of children and families within our community.”

The Best Places to Work award, which was established in 2003, recognizes Arizona companies whose employees rank their respective companies as being the best place to work via a third-party administered survey. The survey covers various parts of employee life, including workplace environment, leadership direction, company culture and management practices. Southwest Human Development was recognized, in part, for their comprehensive benefits plan, 401k retirement plan and ongoing personal and professional growth opportunities.

For more information on employment opportunities at Southwest Human Development, please call (602) 266-5976 or visit www.swhd.org.

About Southwest Human Development
Founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization, Southwest Human Development provides comprehensive services for young children and their families in several areas: disabilities, child health and welfare, Head Start and professional training. Now serving 80,000 children and families each year, Southwest Human Development is the state's largest community-based organization of its type. In 2007, Southwest Human Development became the official Phoenix-area affiliate of Easter Seals. Easter Seals Southwest Human Development provides services to children and adults with disabilities and other special needs, and support to their families. For more information, visit www.swhd.org.

*****

So that's exciting! I enjoy my work and, while there are definitely things that can frustrate me (as with any job), I know that the mission and goal of the agency puts us all on the same page. It's great to have it recognized - and I even learned some things about my agency from the article.

Hope you all enjoyed learning a little more about where I work =)