The Boss'

In June, our TV, DVD player, Tivo, Digital Converter box, etc. were all damaged in a thunderstorm, and we’ve been without them ever since. In many ways, it’s been a blessing. Whenever the kids complained about not being able to watch America’s Funniest Home Videos, we could honestly say that God turned off our TV, and who are we to argue with God? In the intervening months, we haven’t really missed our TV. Part of it was the realization that we simply could not afford to replace the TV that we lost with our current resources. When we bought our 32” LCD a few years ago, I had just gotten a bonus from work, and that was before my employer implemented a 10% pay cut. So we were just at a different place financially, with different goals. It was also refreshing to be “the people with no TV”. It’s a bit of an avant garde thing these days to NOT be glued to the tube every night. Occasionally we’d feel a bit out of it at family functions where the topic seemed to revolve around the latest reality show drama or major sporting event that we weren’t watching. But, really, 99% of broadcast TV is crap, and that’s probably being generous. There is hardly anything worth watching. And even then, it’s only worth watching relative to all the crap. Even the “good” stuff is probably not worth watching when compared to taking a walk or sitting around reading aloud to the whole family.

That being said, there were a few times where I wished that I at least had access to TV content. (New Yankee Workshop, This Old House, Biggest Loser, AFV, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) There were a few shows that we tried to watch on Hulu.com, but our internet connection is not quite fast enough to stream video. So last week I thought I’d try a little experiment. I bought an inexpensive HD tuner for my computer . It plugs right in to a USB port and accepts coax cable on the other end. It comes with a stubby little indoor antenna to receive over the air HD signals. I thought I could use the Media Center application, built in to to Windows Vista, to record and playback just the shows that we really missed. My first attempt to make it work was a dud. The stubby little indoor antenna didn’t pick up any OTA HD signals. Pressing on, I remembered seeing a huge roof top antenna in my attic. I asked my dad why he thought that antenna was IN the attic, and not actually on, ya know, the roof, where a roof top antenna belongs. He said very matter of factly that what I had there was a Christian Reformed Antenna. Way back in the day I guess it wasn’t in good taste to advertise your ownership of a TV, so folks hid them in their attic. Sneaky. Anyway, I found the cable in the basement that ran all the way up to that monstrous antenna, and bought a $4 converter to switch it from that flat twin lead wire to coax. Long story short, I ran some coax over to my office, and lo and behold, all of the available OTA HD stations come in now. I’ve since discovered that the big ole rooftop style antennas are really good for HD because of their size…HD is broadcast at a low frequency and therefore a longer wavelength…don’t quote me on that but I think that’s how it works. Anyway, Media Center in Vista works beautifully for setting recordings and playing back recorded programs, as well as live TV.

So for an investment of about $60, I now have HD TV, with Tivo’ish recording and playback options, all with no monthly contracts or fees. I’m pretty happy with that.

Now if we can just avert our eyes from all of the crap coming at us over the air waves, we’ll be in good shape.

This is a little model that I’m working on of a bathroom design for our main level. The biggest struggle has been whether or not to do a traditional tub, or a cool walk in shower. I like the shower idea, but at the same time we have lots of little kids around, so a tub is nice for baths. Our only tub in the house right now is in the master bath up stairs. The grey walls and panels around the shower indicate panels that I’d make out of precast concrete. I LOVE working with concrete whenever possible. I’m thinking tile for the floor, and maybe birch plywood everywhere else because, you know, I’m a huge fan of plywood. Oh, the vanity would be outside of this little bath/toilet area, allowing bathing/toilet use by one person, and tooth brushing/hand washing by a second person.

Here are some follow-up pics of the new craft table that I made for the kids…I’m especially happy that I was able to take this thing from just a sketch, to an actual finished product in a little over a week. It would have been sooner but I had to borrow a router for the round-over on the table edges.

Here’s the video of the girls singing at my sisters wedding. From the left…Jacy (cousin), Carly (cousin), Grace, and Emma.

Before…the formerly unheated, unfinished, unusable space.

After…Emma enjoying the peace and quiet of her new space. She’s thrilled to have a little bit of space that she can really call her own, and her little sisters are glad that she’s not too far away.

Here’s a little overview video that I made that shows what the space looked like before, and what it looks like now.