Sunday, June 27, 2004
Sunday morning, the sun is shining, I'm at the dining table with an ancient laptop, and I've just finished my second cup of coffee.
Yesterday the delivery guys from Leons (ptui) brought the replacement dresser for the one that arrived broken two weeks ago. Guess what. This one was broken too. The bottom of the dresser is attached using staples - great idea for something so heavy it takes two people to lift it. Rather than take that darn thing back, they took out all the staples and screwed the bottom into place. Then they took it upstairs, attached the back mirror (which is so tall it almost touches the ceiling), made me sign a piece of paper saying that they did the best job in the world and then disappeared. The dresser comes without handles, you have to screw them on yourself. The plastic bag with the handles and screws is, wait for it, IN ONE OF THE DRAWERS.
A few minutes poking and plugging at a drawer got it open, but it was empty. The bits must be in another drawer ... Luckily I had my thinking head on, and didn't close the drawer, but used the fact it was open to reach in and push out the drawer next to it. Clever huh? Presto! The bog o' bits was there. 8 large handles needing 2 small screws each, and 4 small handles needing 1 large screw each. Total screw requirement therefore, 16 small and 4 large. Bag contains (have you guessed yet?) 16 large and 4 small. I wouldn't expect anything else from Leons. At least the entertainment value of a Leons purchase experience cannot be beaten.
So off to Canadian Tire, or as Deb calls it, Crappy Tire, and root around their carpentry section for the right length, width, thread and head configuration. $1.87 later I am sorted for screws. I also swing by Radio Shack for another DC converter, this time a 9V one for the KVM switch. Now I can have 4 PC's on the go and be able to use a single keyboard, video and mouse (KVM, see?). Get home and finish off the dresser fiasco, so I am standing in the bedroom, screwdriver in hand. I'm in the zone now, and want something else to put together ...
In the garage is our new lawnmower. It's still in its box, aha. 30 minutes later, lawnmower assembled, looks good, now stowed in the garden shed. Lawn not mowed, as Deb says she finds it therapeutic. I'm more than happy to give the grass a number-4-all-over-please-and-something-for-the-weekend, but I have other plans right now.
I want to buy a region free DVD player that an cope with home made DVDs, CDs and MP3 discs. Consensus on the web pages I've seen so far indicate that the Toshiba SD4900 is the one I should be buying. Here's the bummer - the only electronic goods outlet in Guelph says that Toshiba don't make it anymore. Odd, as there are dozens of sites in the US selling the beast. Anyway, I'm now researching DVD players that can be programmed to be multi-region (region 0) and then picking the best of that bunch. You can't buy a region free DVD player out of the box in North America, it seems. In fact, it's difficult to find a salesman who knows anything about DVD regions. Dontcha love the insular attitude of this continent?
Our Ikea shopping list contains a couple of bookcases and a computer desk. We need a DVD player from somewhere - I'm tempted to buy a cheapo generic brand which will do for upstairs eventually, and keep plugging away at seeking the multi-region I want. There were a couple of other things that we were going to try to buy today, but I can't remember. Maybe it'll come to me later.
Yesterday, Deb volunteered for a gymkhana at the farm where she works. The days horsey events were to benefit a cancer charity, though alas we forgot to pack a camera. (Deb was there, I was not. I had a date with Leons' best, remember?) Afterwards, we walked to the Portly Penguin, and bar and grill which does decent food. OK, so the advertised Shepherd's Pie is actually a Cottage Pie, the mince was dry and the mash made from Smash, but everything else was great. Nice salad, good garlic bread, wonderful starter too. Their bar has a Trivial Pursuit kinda video game that you play with a keyboard at the bar. TV screens flash up the questions and you select the answer. It's controlled by some server in the States, and you play against other bars in North America. Very cool concept, and free :-)
Well, I've done typing this for today, and not noticed a single hummingbird at the feeder. Oh yes - just remembered what we said we'd buy today. A bird bath. We saw a bird yesterday evening noisily trying bath in the roof guttering next door. No water in it, so the little birdie was obviously annoyed and confused about having to go out that evening smelling of worms again. We'll put out an avian community bath, because we're nice people.
Toodle pip.
Yesterday the delivery guys from Leons (ptui) brought the replacement dresser for the one that arrived broken two weeks ago. Guess what. This one was broken too. The bottom of the dresser is attached using staples - great idea for something so heavy it takes two people to lift it. Rather than take that darn thing back, they took out all the staples and screwed the bottom into place. Then they took it upstairs, attached the back mirror (which is so tall it almost touches the ceiling), made me sign a piece of paper saying that they did the best job in the world and then disappeared. The dresser comes without handles, you have to screw them on yourself. The plastic bag with the handles and screws is, wait for it, IN ONE OF THE DRAWERS.
A few minutes poking and plugging at a drawer got it open, but it was empty. The bits must be in another drawer ... Luckily I had my thinking head on, and didn't close the drawer, but used the fact it was open to reach in and push out the drawer next to it. Clever huh? Presto! The bog o' bits was there. 8 large handles needing 2 small screws each, and 4 small handles needing 1 large screw each. Total screw requirement therefore, 16 small and 4 large. Bag contains (have you guessed yet?) 16 large and 4 small. I wouldn't expect anything else from Leons. At least the entertainment value of a Leons purchase experience cannot be beaten.
So off to Canadian Tire, or as Deb calls it, Crappy Tire, and root around their carpentry section for the right length, width, thread and head configuration. $1.87 later I am sorted for screws. I also swing by Radio Shack for another DC converter, this time a 9V one for the KVM switch. Now I can have 4 PC's on the go and be able to use a single keyboard, video and mouse (KVM, see?). Get home and finish off the dresser fiasco, so I am standing in the bedroom, screwdriver in hand. I'm in the zone now, and want something else to put together ...
In the garage is our new lawnmower. It's still in its box, aha. 30 minutes later, lawnmower assembled, looks good, now stowed in the garden shed. Lawn not mowed, as Deb says she finds it therapeutic. I'm more than happy to give the grass a number-4-all-over-please-and-something-for-the-weekend, but I have other plans right now.
I want to buy a region free DVD player that an cope with home made DVDs, CDs and MP3 discs. Consensus on the web pages I've seen so far indicate that the Toshiba SD4900 is the one I should be buying. Here's the bummer - the only electronic goods outlet in Guelph says that Toshiba don't make it anymore. Odd, as there are dozens of sites in the US selling the beast. Anyway, I'm now researching DVD players that can be programmed to be multi-region (region 0) and then picking the best of that bunch. You can't buy a region free DVD player out of the box in North America, it seems. In fact, it's difficult to find a salesman who knows anything about DVD regions. Dontcha love the insular attitude of this continent?
Our Ikea shopping list contains a couple of bookcases and a computer desk. We need a DVD player from somewhere - I'm tempted to buy a cheapo generic brand which will do for upstairs eventually, and keep plugging away at seeking the multi-region I want. There were a couple of other things that we were going to try to buy today, but I can't remember. Maybe it'll come to me later.
Yesterday, Deb volunteered for a gymkhana at the farm where she works. The days horsey events were to benefit a cancer charity, though alas we forgot to pack a camera. (Deb was there, I was not. I had a date with Leons' best, remember?) Afterwards, we walked to the Portly Penguin, and bar and grill which does decent food. OK, so the advertised Shepherd's Pie is actually a Cottage Pie, the mince was dry and the mash made from Smash, but everything else was great. Nice salad, good garlic bread, wonderful starter too. Their bar has a Trivial Pursuit kinda video game that you play with a keyboard at the bar. TV screens flash up the questions and you select the answer. It's controlled by some server in the States, and you play against other bars in North America. Very cool concept, and free :-)
Well, I've done typing this for today, and not noticed a single hummingbird at the feeder. Oh yes - just remembered what we said we'd buy today. A bird bath. We saw a bird yesterday evening noisily trying bath in the roof guttering next door. No water in it, so the little birdie was obviously annoyed and confused about having to go out that evening smelling of worms again. We'll put out an avian community bath, because we're nice people.
Toodle pip.
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