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ink_13Knocked out a casual 6.5km bike ride before dinner. Unassisted, on Chief Brodie. Time was nothing to brag about but it turned off the brain for a while. The flow state of riding can be quite something. I know that I rode it, and I can remember the podcast I was listening to, but the details of the ride itself are elusive. It's like it just...happened.
The world's going to get smaller when I stash the wheels for the season.
ink_13It turns out that valacyclovir, an antiviral for cold sore outbreaks, is on the list of medications that can be prescribed by pharmacists. I felt the telltale tingle one coming on Saturday morning in the shower, so I went straight after, and after a brief consultation with the pharmacist, received eight dark blue pills to be taken four at a time 12 hours apart.
It seems to have stopped the outbreak dead in its tracks, which is pretty neat. While earlier is better, apparently it can be taken any time prior to blister rupture.
ink_13Finally feels like fall. Went for a bike ride before dinner and I should have been wearing full-finger gloves.
Not quite cool enough that it's time to give up on biking altogether for the season (I remain a three-season rider at best) but we'll see how I feel a month from now.
ink_13If/when it's time to move on from zaphkiel-A, ASUSTOR (yes, a subsidiary of ASUS) seems to make the best dedicated NAS hardware. It's an ordinary PC under the hood so one can run TrueNAS rather than their likely-to-be-jank homebrew whatever-it-is.
That said, I'm not sure I see any reason to replace it any time soon. Ever since the guts transplant it's been fine. The hard drives were apparently last replaced in 2020, which means it's time to think about prophylactically swapping at least two of them, although latest SMART data shows them all looking fine.
ink_13Long walk-around the building this morning as the new Board makes plans for what it wants to do with the amenity spaces. I feel like a lot of the conversation was a retread of conversations I've had before, but at least we got 4/5 people mostly on the same page.
It helps that one of our new members for this year owns a commercial construction firm and had one of his guys put together fresh drawings of our spaces(!) as well as initial proposals for what might be possible. This is great for ideation, but I was the leading voice for deferring to the expertise of architects and engineers in determining if our contaminated concrete really does need to be removed (as I seem to recall it must).
I was also able to point to the dodgy bit of garage ceiling over the car, so that's good news insofar as management is aware of it.
My feeling is that we approve an architect to manage the project at the next Board meeting, let them develop a complete proposal for how to proceed, and then take that to ownership. We can guide the process but since none of us are structural engineers or architects, we rely on these professionals to tell us what's in the realm of possibility.
ink_13Had the kickoff meeting with the designer this morning. They promised an entourage, but in fact sent... one person. Which is fine, she seemed nice enough. It would have been nice to meet la jefa, but I'm not sure I believe that she would have been doing anything. Truthfully I don't mind being pawned off on a junior, since it means there's lower risk of an attempted pushing around.
They also a guy who produced a detailed set of measurements that no doubt will be translated into drawings (if not a full 3D render of the place), but he seemed to be from a third-party service. Apparently those will be ready in 7-10 business days.
I've given the "here's what I'm thinking" spiel enough times that I was able to just lead the designer around and spew forth what I was thinking based on where we were standing, which took about an hour or so. I think I hit all the highlights... flooring, colour scheme, desires for kitchen and bathroom, layout consideration. I explicitly ruled out some things I don't like, like blond wood+pastels or open shelving in the kitchen, while also highlighting things I'd like to keep, like the oak doors and the lounge chair.
I have decided the fussy extras I will ask for are a 240V NEMA 6-15 outlet (often seen for import espresso machines) so I can get a 3000W kettle (I'll use a UK one with plug adaptor) and LeGrand Adorne switches and outlets which I have liked the look of even since I saw them in a hotel (the Hotel Nia next to FB, but that's neither here nor there). I should also decide if I want to make any switches/outlets "smart". Maybe in a few spots; it would be nice to have a bedroom light come on at sunset, for example.
We'll see how their first presentation goes in a couple of weeks, which will no doubt come with sticker shock. As I said in closing, ultimately the job is both easier and harder than it first seems: easier, in that there's not really that much to it (a kitchen, a couple of bathrooms, flooring, colour scheme), but harder, in that coming up with layouts (one of the biggest reasons I hired the designer really) could be a challenge.
January 5th start date for demolition was also confirmed. So I know what I'm doing after Christmas: packing up what won't move and then moving out.
ink_13I've watched enough hand-tool woodworking content that I thought it was time I dip my toes into the water instead of, er, just watching other people swim? The best source of antique tools in this area is this twice-annual show where a bunch of dealers descend on an event room at the Pickering Recreation Complex and invite the great unwashed to peruse their tables.
So I went, and I spent a grand total of... $0. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Not that I saw nothing! I almost moved on a #4 plane for a mere $45. I saw a nice collection of auger bits, complete in case (and I suspect they would have thrown in the brace for free). More hammers, saws, and chisels than one could shake a stick at. #6 and #7 Stanley planes for only $110. What I really wanted was a #4½, but apparently me and everyone else, because I don't think I saw one for less than $100.
The only thing I regret not buying was two Ward-style screwdrivers. Those are cool looking and at less than $20 were almost certainly underpriced.
In the end, what won for me is that I don't have an urgent need driven by some project I'm itching to do, and I'll be moving out in only a couple of months' time. Maybe I'll get some chisels and a backsaw and do some mortise+tenons in pine to see if I can in the new year. The show will be back again in the spring, and maybe by then I'll be in the market for something specific, not just a casual perusal.
But as a way of proving to myself I can still get to something before 10:30AM on a Sunday (even if that something is in Pickering), this was a success. So I celebrated by going through a touchless car wash on the trip home. Truly I know how to live it up.
ink_13Accidentally blagged my way into an updated COVID shot today. I went over to the pharmacy to see if they had them, which they did, and it was only after it was in my arm that they revealed that Ontario is doing a staged rollout, so which priority group was I in?
The pharmacist didn't seem to care that much. She was just happy I came in to get it. I think she was intending to record my reason as "healthcare worker" but her mouse slipped on the dropdown and instead I became "indigenous", which couldn't be farther from the truth.
(My mother's mother used to say that one of her ancestors was Native, but I have no idea if that was true or not, and either way make no claim to indigeneity, for the record.)
Back in two weeks for a flu shot, since those aren't in yet. I'd like to go see the doctor for RSV, since I had that before and it was awful, but apparently the vaccine only available for infants, the pregnant, and the elderly.
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