Post-Installation chez Becky

The post-installation is proceeding smoothly. Operations so far include:

Concealing/channeling speaker wire
Recentering audience seating
Manualizing the remote controls under the following scenarios: Watch a video; watch TV; play an audio CD; play the radio; ensuring that the 5.1 surround feature works in all modes.
Manualize captioning for DVDs and broadcast TV.
Breaking down, sorting, and recycling the wonderland of packing material in the TV box.

It turns out that the connections are somewhat unorthodox. The buttons that are supposed to select sources for the receiver are not connected to those sources; but mostly the "SAT" button evokes the 5.1 for radio, CD and TV play. Go figure.

Becky has so easily gotten herself around the 3-remote scenario that I'm not going to pursue the 1-remote device. She is generally delighted with all the tricks the thing will do, especially the sound quality and the captioning features. I will continue to sit with her as she watches and experiments and help with further manualization.

Further operations:

rehang all the pictures
watch some Murnau movies and The Wire
Camela, if I knew how to work the Rothary blog I would have put this report therein. Maybe you could.

Peace and progress,

Andy

Stand by Me (found by Tina)

Amtrak Trip

We've made it to Washington after a long ride on Amtrak. It took us about 24 hours. What a nice way to travel! We had a family sleeper car that was as wide as the train and about 12 feet long. All of our meals were included. It seemed like all we did was lounge around, explore the cars, and eat. Arrived in Tacoma in the darkness. It's cold and damp here. We can see Mt. Rainier in the distance when the clouds clear, standing solidly and silently. I imagine what it must be like to climbing it though I don't suppose anyone's at it right now. I wonder how many folks got geared up this Christmas for a planned summer summiting. We'll be home on Thursday evening. It will be nice get back to a familiar geography. I've thought so much about my conversation with Jessica about getting used to a place. By the time I left Berkeley, I really did feel like the place and I had greeted each other. How wonderful to have had time with everyone. I wish I'd gotten a portrait picture of each person to play as a slideshow on the site.

I am still the only subscriber and the only one posting. Come on, you guys. Get your feet into the blog. Happy New Year.

Stinson Beach Trip

Dan, Tina, Rob, Cam, Claire, and Olie went to Stinson Beach today instead of Muir Woods. Muir Woods had a parking backup that extended about a mile or more back from the entrance. With the kids, we figured they'd be unenthusiastic about trekking into the park after that walk. So we decided to go on along to Stinson Beach instead where we had a lovely walk and then cheeseburgers outside in the mist near the playground. The drive was stomach churning (pre and post burgers and fries) but was a feast for the eyes. We met Ian and Marie on our way out. They headed out to the mist and the crashing waves as we drove back up the serpentine highway to Berkeley.

Posting Pictures

Will someone please figure out the best way we can share photos on this site? Maybe we could set up links to everyone's Picasa shared albums or Flickr or something. What's best, techie smarties? It would be cool if folks could include a slideshow in a post somehow. But the best way is going to be the easiest way.

Getting Ready for the Trip to Muir Woods

Today some of us of going on an expedition to the Muir Woods to see some giant redwoods. We may also check out the coast along the way and grab a bite on the road. We're sad to have lost Pippa and Onserio today who are heading back to the frozen metropolis on the lake. We'll miss them!

I don't know what we're doing tonight, but I know what we did today. Actually so does anyone reading this entry.