Saturday, January 5, 2013

Breakfast: leftover shrimp and scallop soup, hot water. Heater maintenance. Bicycle maintenance: cleaned the seat post of grime. We're planning to reorganize our living room. Today I researched whether I need new speakers and a new amplifier, and I realized that for years I have not been paying proper attention to sound quality. We have no television (and don't want one). We watch movies on Netflix DVD or Instant Watch on my 23-inch iMac. I will soon be upgrading to a 27-inch iMac. Currently the iMac is connected to a Sony STR-D715 amplifier via an analog cable. Our speaker system is a Bose Acoustimass AM-5. We get sound from 4 speakers, but it's not really surround sound. Today I learned that I can use a TOSLINK cable from my iMac to an amplifier that can process the multichannel surround sound then feed them to speakers. I decided to buy the cable from C2G (Cables 2 Go) via Amazon. I purchased the Logitech Z906 sound system, also via Amazon. Lunch: leftovers. Errands: Walgreens, post office (mailed a frying pan to Calphalon), auto shop. Rex Garage fixed my car for free. I wanted to pay him something for his time (about 30 minutes), but he refused I'm guessing since the fix didn't involve parts and wasn't that much time. The problem was that in the trunk the left well was filling with water and I couldn't figure out why. No seals seemed to be worn. In examining the problem together we eventually found a tube that wasn't properly connected to an outlet point to the outside of the car. The mechanic reconnected it, pumped all the water out with an interesting evacuator device, and reconnected all the components we took apart. I couldn't believe he didn't charge me for the work. Home. Washed the garage door and front door, washed windows at the rear of the house. Bicycle maintenance: changed the battery for my rear-wheel Spoke-Lit, readjusted my helmet straps. Snack: leftovers. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Extreme Pizza via Eat24: bbq shredded pork pizza, salad, hot water, cocktails. Watched The Dark Knight Rises on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Recharge Spa work for Drew: jobs updates. Late snack: salad.