cellio | (no subject)

Sunday I was thwarted in my efforts to shop at Home Depot. The store is very good if you know what you're looking for, but if you need guidance, you'd best bring your own private expert with you (or shop there during times when most people are at work, or on Shabbat -- no Sunday or evening hours). Oh well; time was getting tight for certain modifications to the Pennsic house anyway, so they'll just wait until after this year's event.

Sunday afternoon Dani and I dealt with a lot of the stuff that was piled up in the new TV room (and surrounding space). It was hot, sweaty work because the weather was hot and sticky and because we had to carry a lot of stuff to the basement or attic. But we made a good dent in it, and did more tonight. (The new chairs came today.) The new TV room is now more or less set up, though I still need to move some videos and the like.

We discovered the hard way that the cable connection in that room isn't functional. Gotta talk to the electrician who ran that cable; sigh. So right now we are running a long cable from the original room. This isn't a good long-term solution; it involves cable running across two doorways. But it allowed us to move the TV, which in turn will allow me to start colonizing the room that will become my office. (Still need to buy a desk, though. After Pennsic.)

Sunday dinner was pleasant and fairly laid-back. Lori was out of town. Ralph grilled burgers seasoned with taco spices and green chiles, which were tasty. After dinner we played "25 Words or Less" (sic!). It's a cute game: there are cards with words that you're trying to elicit your team-mates to say, and you and a representative from the other team bid on the card. (I can get these all in 25 words... 24... 19... etc.) We were bidding fairly conservatively, and in general our problem was not word count but time limits. Most of the time the cards have three or four easy words and one or two tough ones -- though not always the ones you think they'll be! I had a lot of trouble getting my team to respond to the clue "nun house", which I thought was straightforward. They said just about everything except "convent". :-) (We did get it eventually. Even though I made some stupid mistakes, I am glad that we won the card I was giving clues on.)

Another bit from the game: at one point Dani (on the other team) gave the clue "Titans watch spring". Everyone in the room was stumped as we racked our brains for mythology references. (This was after Steve gave the clue "faucet brand" for "delta", so obscurity didn't surprise us.) Ah, the power of homophones; what Dani meant was "tightens watch spring". Very different. :-)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Much of my shopping at Home Depot has certainly been with the assistance of my own private expert (i.e., my father-in-law), but I see that Home Depot has some efforts to serve those who need guidance.

My father-in-law has a buddy who works there who used to be an electrical contractor. He doesn't stock shelves; his job is to have a clue and share it in a friendly way.

I tend to go to Home Depot instead of Lowe's because Home Depot provides this service.

I also prefer Home Depot because I have gotten good service from them and try to reward that. In particular, they once delivered some tile to me (well, my hired contractor) on less than an hour's notice when he discovered that the last box of bathroom tile was the wrong color. It was Friday, I was at work, and it was the only bathroom in the house. They could have said "well, you should have inspected each box when we delivered it; you can leave work and come get it", but instead they sent someone to my house and I had a functional bathroom when I got home.

I know that Home Depot has people with clues. Apparently not on Sundays, though. Now I know.