First day off nights

If there's one failing both Kathryn and I have it's Laundry. Neither of us is terribly good at getting laundry done before there's a mound in the washing basket the size of 3 loads. And we're also neither brilliant at doing laundry before it's needed. This normally isn't a problem; one of us will get around to it.

Today though, I thought, I'll change the sheets - we've both been saying it needs doing since the middle of the week; but while I'm on nights I can't be arsed. I stripped off the old sheets, and fished round in the cupboard... And uh, we've not laundered any of the bed linen for so long that we've, uh, got none at all.

So that's the first job of today... (done :) ).

Jobs I have planned for today are contact play.com about my mum's ethernet adaptor which hasn't been shipped 2 weeks after ordering (sorted: Cancelled the order and bought a different one from the USA since it appears that Apple are being slightly slow bringing it to the UK), installing OS X on the Shiny Mac, collecting a package from the post office and generally staying awake (I woke up at 4am, bloody sod it). I might do some grouting, and I might go get a palm sander and some little baby torx drivers to sort the Mac out.

I'm still trying to work out what to do with the laptop. I wanted to install Gentoo on it, but the only X86 CD they do now is the minimal install CD, which is fuck-all use (to be blunt). I'm not in the mood to sit and play command line games, especially since my experience of WPA-PSK wireless under ubuntu's live CD was a whole bundle of not-working at all.

And spending a few days sorting it is not my idea of fun. But I'm sick of reinstalling windows on it.

It needs reinstalling though, wireless is increasingly flakey, it's slow and playing up loads in every respect. The mac awaits my attentions (and the Torx drivers), once that's sorted I might retire this one... At least, until it can be the 'kitchen music player and recipe finder' or somesuch.

No battery and a screen that's disintegrating don't make for a very long lived laptop... :-/

I also need to take the carb apart on Brick, I think it's sucked a bit of dirt in there (it did a fuel starvation thing on the way to work one night, didn't do it at any point after, but before we go trecking round the country I'd like to check it's not going to do it again).

Oh, and some tidying and cleaning'd probably not go amiss.

Right, time to go find my watch :)

Progression and tiredness

So, there's been some progress this morning. I've headed out and got rid of the 19" behemouth of a monitor which I tried to freecycle away but wouldn't disappear. It's a shame, 'cos it more-or-less worked, and probably with a bit of effort could have been got to work perfectly.

But it's been offered twice and finally I got sick of it and took it to the tip. I then headed to the post office where I found out that they'd redelivered the package I'd gone to collect, hence why I couldn't work out what it was. When I got home I searched through the bin, found the packaging and there it is, clear as day, the correct reference number. Why they put 'come and collect' on the card when they'll reattempt delivery I'm not entirely sure. But hey. It was a pretty day and quite pleasant. Then I headed to Maplin, depressing remains of the shop that it is, and bought myself a set of Star drive / Torx drivers; then to B&Q to get a palm sander; then to the chemist (Ack! Prescription charges have gone up again!), and got my tablets (yay for anti-allergy pills!).

And then my good mood was shattered because I got home and found the unemptied bin deposited in front of my drive. I've realised that the council object to taking actual rubbish away (DIY waste is apparently not appropriate for the tip, although I may endeavour to sling some there), nor for your bin, nor for anywhere else. Given that we produce so little of any other sort of waste I'm actually feeling quite resentful about the concept of paying tax for waste disposal.

I had hoped to be here to pounce and see if I could convince them to empty the bin this once; but obviously I've missed my chance. I really need more rubble bags if I'm going to get rid of the last remnants of the building waste in the bin, but I forgot that I needed them when I was at B&Q. Forgot to get dust masks as well, which is annoying. But then, to be honest, my brain is struggling with being awake... 

being bad

I'm normally very good wandering around abandoned places, I don't pinch no matter what I spot; although, to be fair, I've never spotted that much that I really wanted to take. And even when I did spot things, well, I like leaving things for others to find. That's kind of part of it, but I took 3 things today from my random local abandonment photoshoot.

Why?

Well, see, I know that it won't be abandoned that long, or it's unlikely to be. And the owner wants to pull down the property and build more houses on the site. Given that the property's been 'cleared' the few items left are likely to be crushed under the bulldozer; and given their poor condition unlikely to be saved even by the most caring of clearance people.

Anyhow, bearing in mind I've lived here over a year you'd've thought I'd've managed to get all of 2 houses away to the abandoned one, but no. I finally got around there today, and despite the owner's clearance of the property there's much that's of interest, and I'm terribly jealous - not only of their space, but of their workshops. Not that it's safely salvable; it's all pretty much woodworm feed.

One thing that truly did surprise me, and I really want to see if there's anything inside it is... there's an Anderson shelter. Unfortunately, it seems that they chose to put a pile of compost in front of the door; which is desperately frustrating. I also found an old pyrene fire extinguisher. I know these aren't pressurised and are therefore, presumably, moderately safe to keep around, so long as they stay sealed. I've had a quick look, but no luck so far, finding someone who can empty them (they contain Carbon TetraChloride, I think).

Anyhow, pics are here.