Tomorrow...

...is the big day.

Wish me luck.

Getting There...

I am at the stage of the store where the biggest problem was not what I anticipated. I worried that I would not have enough product to fill the shelves. Now I see that I haven't got enough shelf space for the stuff I have coming in. Its a mess, and I fear that some products may end up out of view as a result of this. Well, I have seen worse in other stores, but not science stores.

My parents and friends have been helping. Mom & Dad came by on Sunday and helped label some microscopes & accessories, and Dad cleaned the main staircase as well as helped me hide the power cables of the binocular cases.

Today, some 12 large boxes of robots & science kits arrived and filled up at least four shelves. I honestly don't know where I will put the boxes from three other companies I expect later this week.

I still have a bad lighting panel that means some of the lights don't go on when the switch is thrown, much of the front of the store is filled with empty boxes awaiting the Thursday pickup. I was at the store for about 10 hours today getting things in place and I have come home to do more work from this computer. There is still much to do and very little time.

Its a mess, but it is getting there, slowly.

Crunch. In more ways than one.

Its getting down to the final days before I open the store. The past few mornings have been a bit like the last 10 minutes of GoodFellas only with less tomato sauce to stir (and no bag of guns).

I also had a bit of bike accident on the way to work yesterday. I was riding to avoid the massive walk-a-thon crowd (they seem to have these things every hour or so) and some kids on bikes were coming the other way. One of the dipshits was riding with his buddy on the handlebars and couldn't see me to move out of the way. I turned to avoid him and he turned right back into me. Slam! I tucked and rolled, making certain my helmet took the brunt of the impact, it was mostly into the handlebar passenger but I really didn't give a shit about him at that point. I got up screaming obscenities at them in front of the walk-a-thon crowd and berating them loudly for being such idiots. They had enough sense to apologize and slink away while I picked up stuff that fell off my bike and make certain I was not injured. I managed to keep going.

But later my shoulder started to hurt, and my finger turns out to be not merely scraped but jammed. I might be fencing lefty on Wednesday.

On the Upcoming Movie front.

Many are looking forward to 'Iron Man'. I am looking forward to this.

If it ever shows in the US, that is.

Unproductive

Today was an exercise in frustration.

My DSL was finally turned on today, after 1.5 weeks of waiting for Verizon to set it up. The hook-up wasn't too bad, only one call to Verizon for some info. It works. yay.

I then decide to attach the router so that I can have wireless in the workplace and also attach Vonage phone and Fax lines. I purchased a Belkin router some time ago and set it up for use.

Didn't work. Does not play well with others. The setup wizard kept telling me something was wrong. The internet worked through the thing, but it said it couldn't set up properly. I called Verizon tech support and talked with the Indian gentleman on the other end of the phone, and after some work he said the Verizon modem was not set up properly. WTF?!

So, this afternoon (I had to wait because I had two interviews...the only good part of the day being that I have two employees for the store) I called Verizon and discussed the problem with the Indian woman on the other end of the line. After about an hour of going through various menus for the modem setup and other things we had changed the parameters and got things set up to where they were supposed to work with the Belkin router.

It didn't.

I called Belkin, but couldn't wait any longer. I talked with another Indian gentleman on the end of the line but he wasn't able to give me too much help.

Now the DSL isn't connecting at all.

Life sucks.

I will be calling Belkin tomorrow and I will be very, very angry. It should not be this hard.

I'm a Bad Daddy

Zot managed to injure herself, giving a small cut on her belly that at first I thought was her stitches opening up. But one trip to the vet later and it was determined that it was some other cause. In the meantime, I give her antibiotics and try to get her to wear a collar.



Yeah, that stays on an average of about 10 minutes.

This Really Needs and XKCD cartoon.

Time to assemble IKEA furniture =

X/N

Where N = The number of pieces you have done to that point (1st piece, n=1. second, n=2, etc.

Where X is the base time calculated as follows:

X = B + (L*.5)*5) + (S*.1)* 10) + (E*15) + (G*20) - (P*10) + (I*15)

Where B = Base time dependent on furniture size: Small=15 min, Medium = 30min, Large = 60 Minutes

Where L = Number of larger pieces in the unit, the .5 conversion is the number that will be mistake for other pieces and put in place until the builder realized that they don't go there. The '5' equals 5 minutes per such error.

Where S = Number of small pieces, also mistaken for each other (multiple screws resembling each other, that roll away or fall down the stairs) .1 is the conversion rate for these mistakes. The '10' is the time wasted unscrewing or undrilling said pieces.

Where E = Errors made that can be fixed, such as using a part on the front that is supposed to be on the back. The 15 is the amount of time used working backwards to undo the mistake.

Where G = Giant error that cannot be undone. Such as putting a part on the front that gets sealed in by other pieces or is put in upside down since you were assembling the furniture upside-down. 20 minutes per major mistake will be used trying to see if the error can be fixed or cursing loudly.

Where P = Extra people helping out. P may have a value of no more than 2. After that its just too many damn cooks.

Where I = Interruptions. The phone rings, or someone arrives at the door. 15 minutes per incident while you balance a huge piece of glass while picking up the phone or bracing things so you can answer the door. Much of the 15 minutes per incident will be trying to figure out where you were on the instructions. Interruptions will not happen at good times to take a break.

Fry, then Freeze, then not bad!

This weekend was the British Brigade Battle of Saratoga event that a bunch of Hessians attended. The drive up was long, but tolerable. Trouble was, the weather was really, really warm for October. The highs were skirting just below 90 and it was pretty humid to boot. We set up tents, this was the first time I've camped at an event in many, many years.

Friday night had a light chill to it, but Saturday itself was quite hot. We had too many things going on in the morning (battalion drills to learn a special charge, plus assorted other drilling). The main battle started around 1:30, when it was at the hottest point, but at least there was a decent breeze.

We walked very, very far to set up our position. We were reenacting the battle of Freemen's Farm, where the British were saved only by the timely arrival of the Hessian (actually Brunswicker) soldiers. To do this we marched over some slippery dry grass filled with holes and assorted trenches.

It didn't work very well. We ended up over extended, the moves didn't work right. It probably looked OK from a distance, but overall it was rather unsatisfying. In addition, one of the soles of my shoe started to come off.

That evening, it rained. We got a bit of a lightning storm about a mile or two away but no lightning in camp, thankfully). The rain was short lived and brought on a cool front. I had a bit too much to drink and ended up throwing up much of my lunch and dinner. I should not mix so many different beers, especially poor local microbrew beers with bad aftertaste.

That night I was very cold. With only a blanket and much of my uniform it was quite chilly for me and sleep was fitful. I awoke shivering. The wind had knocked down a few tens in the night. It didn't help that I was still reeling and feeling hungover/sick.

Once the sun came out, it warmed up to a very pleasant day. Perfect for reenacting in wool. I managed to get my shoes fixed in the morning ( a quick fix...no big repair). I was feeling much better by the time the battle was about to start. The battle took place at 1:30 again and was more satisfying. We were chased into a fort/redoubt, and were then taken by assault. It was much better than the previous day's battle. We packed up the tents and headed home, hitting multiple traffic jams along the way.

One Hessian elected to pack on Sunday to leave before the battle, but stuck around to take pictures. You can see them here. Enjoy!

Observations

1) Cheap paint is really bad. Why the fuck did I try to use it? It has been the cause of most of my problems to date.
2) Manayunk may have great food, but they make lousy pizza. I mean, the stuff in the freezer is better.
3) I wonder if my left hand is ever going to stop hurting.
4) Fumes...lovely paint and poly fumes....
5) The ceiling needed painting after all.
6) What the hell am I going to do with all those rocks when they arrive?
7) Still boatloads of work to be done.
8) Tired.
9) I sure hope the ladder loaned to me can reach that part over there.

In less snarky news, my Mom underwent surgery today. It was routine, but the phrase 'routine surgery' is a very big oxymoron to those undergoing it. Nonetheless, it apparently went well and she will be in the hospital for the next few days.