2010 — 15 June: Tuesday
It occurred to me, while listening briefly to Mike's Quad system yesterday afternoon while he got ready for our London trip (he's still experimenting with some esoteric room bass equalisation tweaks while he has some costly kit on loan) that the Oppo Blu-ray player we both use makes a perfectly fine digital audio transport system for CDs, too. And there is thus no reason why I shouldn't move my really rather tasty NAD CD player to the upstairs study system, where it can take over from the Denon amplifier's built-in CD deck (which is not its strongest feature).
Both the NAD and the AudioLab pre-amp have very capable 24-bit stereo DACs that can do wonders with .wav files. However, pondering such matters can resume in the morning, as it's now 00:44 and the eyelids are rather droopy. But I shall first finish listening to the original1 1976 mix of Alan Parsons' Tales of mystery and imagination — much better than the 1987 remix. G'night.
The eyelids have...
... lost much of their droop, but only after the first cuppa. It's 08:12 and sunny, bright and not yet too hot out there. In here, I find myself pondering each (amazingly clear) room in turn and wondering quite what to put back where after all the plumbing is over. I'm in no tearing hurry to re-clutter the house — my selection strategy in moving stuff into storage was "Can I live without this for a while?"2 I also have it vaguely in mind to make some breakfast... probably sooner rather than later. Mind you, I discovered I have shed half a stone in old money during this month of physical activity. An unlooked-for bonus. I thought my belt was getting a bit looser on its customary notch :-)
What can one say about this? (Build a better mousetrap, perhaps?)
The hammer bang drill sawing has recommenced. I shall lose my bathroom by the end of the day (if all goes well) but have been promised its return by the weekend. Gosh. I have nothing left to shift around now until I start re-assembling the jigsaw when Brian's finished the job. It's 09:12 and I feel a visit to Soton creeping up on me. Haven't been there for ages (or so it feels).
Common sense?
I find myself agreeing fully with Philip Pullman on this news. It should stop the country trundling merrily on its way towards the madness of a full-blown Stasi-like system. The problem is why did anyone, ever, for a single moment, think it was a good idea? (And have they been sacked?)
And if this...
... represents reality, "the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose" (to quote Haldane).
Pondering...
... as one does, the black magic seemingly employed by this product (which Brian already has fitted in the new boiler's water supply line) I decided, while the house is still in full-on floorboards-up mode, to bite the bullet and have him install a proper water softening system. I have the perfect space for it (the dusty3 "drinks stash" beside the kitchen sink will do nicely) with readily available power and drainage. So there will soon be a pipe from the rising main in the downstairs cloakroom by the front door to the softener. This will split off to give me a hard water drinking feed, but then loop back from the softener to downstream of the main so that all other water in the house will have the new gentler, softer touch imbued by its passage through the softener (which, I gather, even has a computer to tell me when it needs more salt added).
I could do with one of those to tell me when I need more food added, with or without salt. It's 12:17 but I've just wolfed down a healthy salad before heading off into the great blue yonder.
Alarums and (potential) excursions
I've just had a call from the meals on wheels folk who cannot deliver to my mother today because she cannot find her door key to let them in. There is not a lot I can do about that in the short term, living 155 miles away, but Mr Wheels will get the "Social Security" folk on the case shortly. Goodness me... I await developments.
[Pause] A soothing cuppa and ice-cream at Carlo's help restore my normal happy self, at least until I get back here to the news that the bathroom radiator (the newest member of the household, installed last October) is also already beyond help and is slowly draining its oily treacle out in the back garden. So that's — as it were — a full house. Brian kept one of its connectors to show me the gunge...
... I suspect the amount of gunge is why Brian thought it had been 18 months, rather than six months, since he replaced it. Add to that a market researcher showing up to ask pointed questions regarding amount of exercise4 (hah!) and percentage of household shopping done by me (double hah!) and amount of Sky Sports watched (triple hah!). And, before you know it, it's 16:45 and I have what's left of the house back to myself for a few hours.
I simply hope (as we approach midsummer already) that my particular model of Glow-worm boiler will keep me toasty warm this winter. 4th generation technology, heh? Is that like Dolby, sir? And when did "built-in" become "inbuilt"? I missed that memo.
Update on mater
Details are sparse, but she seems to have fallen, and attending paramedics are taking her to hospital this evening, accompanied by a couple of her neighbours. Very upsetting for all parties. It's 20:11 and that's the end of my domestic peace and quiet (not that that has been in ample supply recently) for the forseeable future — and I already know the one thing the future isn't, is forseeable. Not in fine detail, at any rate.