From Computer Handy to Regular Handy

I like to think that if something goes wrong with one of the computers in my house, I’ll be able to resolve it, if it’s a software problem. I specify software since as a Mac user, there’s pretty much nothing to for me to do if my hardware goes bad, other than to take it to an Apple Store. Most Macs are sealed off to the user. Luckily, when there is some sort of problem, it’s pretty rare that it’s hardware related.

The other night, my iMac did something weird and my Finder kept crashing, completely locking it up, forcing me to do a hard shut down of the whole thing. After that, it seemed to work fine. I’m pretty sure Dropbox was crashing the Finder, and it if the Finder is messed up, then your Mac will struggle. That was a simple enough issue for me to fix.

Now I’m faced with a decidedly less high tech issue – the dryer. Yesterday it started making a sort of jet engine sound after a few minutes of use, so I’m planning on opening it up and seeing what’s wrong. It’s a ten year old dryer that has never had any issues, and I really don’t think that a new one would be money well spent. I’m looking forward to dissembling it and seeing what’s wrong.

The best case scenario is that it just needs to be cleaned up a little and with that, the noise will stop. However, if I see that something needs to be replaced, I’m glad that there are so many sites available that ship the exact parts that are needed within a few days. Last summer the bottom heating element in the stove died; I went to Parts Select and easily ordered exactly what I needed. Once I had the element, their videos guided me though the task and I was done. No need to call someone.

This isn’t always the case though – the dryer is relatively simple and not much effort is required. When our hot water tank needed to be changed, I gladly called in a professional to get the job done. He was in and out within an hour and a half and I know the job was done right. I’m not comfortable with plumbing an I don’t need a flood in my basement. Let’s hope I don’t cause a dryer fire when I try to fix it!

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Rubik’s Cube and goals for 2016

Santa brought my daughter a Rubik’s Cube for Christmas, and I’ve played with it a lot more than she has. I remember playing with one as a child, but I never really took the time to look into how it actually worked, so I never solved it.

In 2016, thanks to the magic of the internet, I discovered the secret to solving this little puzzle: algorithms. Even though I was guided every step of the way, it didn’t make solving the cube any less interesting or fun. Instead of giving up in frustration, I was able to actually understand the way it works, and it just makes me want to work on it more often.

So far, my list of nerdy 2016 goals:

1. Learn to code.
2. Learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

I’m hoping to add more to that list as the year goes on, and cross things off of it too.

Writing a few times per month on this blog is also a priority. Not that I have any sort of delusion that a lot of people are reading this. I just like writing.