Saturday, October 29, 2016

It's Project Time Again

The painters are coming tomorrow. They'll be doing selected walls and woodwork on the first and second floor and in the basement. I've been moving stuff off and on since yesterday to clear their way; still have to vacuum the cleared areas tomorrow, and move the first floor plants in the window seat area -- that'll be done last thing -- so it's all GO for Monday morning.

It isn't the first time I've had Ross and his son in to paint; I've been redecorating in stages for months -- just too much crap to move for me to get the whole place done at once. Monday/Tuesday's project in fact has expanded since I had Ross in to discuss plans for the upcoming work. I decided to add one small stub wall in the living room, but doing it required moving a four-shelf glass-front bookcase (which is why it didn't get done along with the matching wall on the other side of the doorway in the previous paintathon).

So I moved all the tschochkes sitting on the shelves in front of the books; moved all the books; took the bookcase apart and moved it; then stepped back and looked at the wall (end wall in the living room). And looked at the other four-shelf glass-front bookcase, and the three-shelf vertical glass-front cabinet with all the DVDs and more books, sitting against that wall. Thought about how I'd really like to get that wall painted someday, too.

Dithered.

Sighed, and got to work clearing all that stuff out of the way so yet another wall can get done.

Three-quarters of my living room is now cluttered with moved stuff. There are more clumps of moved stuff in the basement and upstairs. It will all have to be restored to its usual place when the painting is done.

But it's gonna look GREAT.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Yet More Fun With Technology

I work at home, proofreading transcripts for court reporters, receiving jobs via email and returning the corrections pages ditto. I print out the files, do hand corrections, then scan PDFs to send back. This requires computers Internet-enabled and printer/scanners, and being OCD about backup I always have multiple systems.

My primary scanner, capable of producing good-quality 30+ page correction files that yet don't break the MB bank, has begun misfeeding pages erratically; could be wearing out on me. So yesterday I trundled off to Staples and bought a new HP all-in-one; got it home, installed it -- and the damn thing had a printhead error. Had to drive back to Staples and swap it out for a replacement.

The replacement installed just fine -- but when I tested the scanning function, the files it produced were monsters, and no amount of tweaking the settings brought down their size to anything remotely useful for emailing corrections. GRRRRR!!!!! Also GAH. I went back to using the dicey scanner for the work I had to get done yesterday, with no problems (could be the particular paper on the misfed pages rather than the ADF, maybe....) and went to bed mulling over technology options.

So this morning I've been shuttling around various elderly printer/scanners. First, I moved the old Canon Pixma in the upstairs office from my main Win7 computer to the elderly XP computer -- and it wouldn't install, probably because the XP's no longer online so I couldn’t download updates for the software. Oh, well, if I run a long USB cable I can still use it off the all-in-one Win7 where it formerly worked from.

I put the disappointing new HP printer/scanner in its place on the Win7 and it prints fine but still produces monster PDF files, sigh, so that was basically a waste of money and effort.

However, where the Canon now sits (hulks, really; it’s big) was an aged HP 4500 all-in-one, twin to one I had downstairs as part of my work complex surrounding the living room recliner where I work now (sitting in an office chair upstairs for too long bothers my left hip and leg, sigh). Yep, on little side tables, to my right are two laptops (a Dell and a Gateway) and to my left are two printer/scanners:

One, the Lexmark scanner that does good work but might be slipping on page feeding; doesn’t print except when the printhead decides randomly it can work after all; turn off the machine and next time you power on it’s “There is a problem with the printhead” again. The other, a newish Brother, prints fine but doesn’t hold much paper; scans well but only takes up to 20 pages in the ADF.

Across from me on top of the low cabinet where the old CRT giant TV used to live (upgraded to a flatscreen on the wall, woohoo!) are two more printer/scanners. One’s an Epson that no longer scans but prints fine. The other used to be the HP 4500 that was moved from a left-hand table over to there to make room for the Brother when I brought it down from the upstairs office, where it wasn’t getting much use. Alas, that 4500 decided to stop printing AND scanning and take up life as a plastic cinder block, so it will shortly be taking a trip to Staples recycling. I’ve put its twin in its spot. The twin is working fine in both functions, hurrah!

So I now have, here in reclinerland, three working printers and three working scanners (out of four machines) running off two laptops. Because I never get rid of technology that still functions for something.

So, got it all straight, class? There'll be a test later!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Well....

So, I haven't been around much lately, right? Work's been heavy.

And yesterday I hit one of my all-time proofreading peaks:

998 pages.

Yes, that's right: 998 transcript (24/25 lines per page) pages.

Aw, c'mon -- why not go for the grand? I hear you say.

Well, finishing around 4:00 a.m. might have something to do with it.

I won't be good for much today.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Poor Little Guy

Alas, poor little Pumpkin -- another day of dread and misery, snatched from his peaceful post-breakfast nap, stuffed into a carrier, and hauled off to the lair of the Cat-Eating Vet Monster.

The little guy's been vomiting a lot lately, you see; especially when he gets into the litter box in pursuit of defecation. His appetite's been off and on, too. So away we went, and after initial consultation and examination, he was taken Out Back (oh noooooo!!!!) to be x-rayed. They called me in there in a bit to show me his x-rays, which revealed a largish clump of fecal matter resisting expulsion and a somewhat odd area in his intestines.

The vet wasn't sure if the oddity meant anything. He did seem a bit dehydrated; he might be brewing pancreatic problems and needed bloodwork to check; he definitely needed his plumbing Roto-Rooted; so I left him to be enema'd, vampired and subcu'd by the Dread Fiends while I ran errands, had lunch, and in general heartlessly ignored his abandonment to a cruel fate.

A few hours later I got the okay to return and collect him. I brought him home with a new food (w/d) to bulk up his fiber (if he'll eat it), instructions to start sharing Peanut's unflavored Miralax with him, a subdued but relieved Pumpkin, and a bill for $387. The results of the bloodwork should be back in a couple of days and we'll see if anything more needs doing.

This has not been one of Pumpkin's happiest days.