For quite some time, Jen has wanted to install some shelves into one of our bedroom closets. That particular closet looked like this (except with more stuff on the black plastic shelving unit):
It’s not in the picture, but Jen had actually draped a piece of red fabric over the closet’s opening because she hated how ghetto (her adjective) the closet looked.
I took some measurements of the space and came up with a plan. We headed to Home Depot and hit the lumber department. We consulted with a helpful employee who suggested that we use OSB sheathing for the shelves. I know it may seem like an odd choice, but we weren’t looking for anything fancy, and OSB is inexpensive. I gave the shelf measurements to the Home Depot guy and he cut the OSB sheet into six, smaller shelf-sized pieces.
A couple days ago, I wrote about my new computer monitor. At the time, I was discouraged with the new monitor, and I was struggling to get used to using it. Since then, I’ve done a lot of experimenting with different resolution settings and I’ve also tried out some programs designed for low-vision users (like me). And so far, I’d say my experience is improving. Right now, I’m using a feature built into OS X called Zoom. I’m zoomed in at a level of 1.7x, and I can see things well. There’s a trade-off, though. Since Zoom magnifies an area of the computer’s screen, I can’t have my entire work environment on screen at one time. I feel like it’s slowing down my productivity a bit. This may change over time, as I get more accustomed to using this setup. What I’d really like is some way to magnify text in just certain areas. For example, Firefox has a text zoom function. But it applies the same zoom factor to all text on a webpage. So if I’m looking at my GooglesReader, and I want to enlarge the text in the reader section only, I can’t. I have to enlarge the reader section, the headlines, the sidebars. Everything. In turn, this causes the reader section to “shrink” to the point where it can’t really display any content at all. Also, every time I open a new tab, I have to zoom the text again, as the zoom setting doesn’t carry over from one tab to another. I haven’t researched yet to see if there’s some kind of universal setting that could be applied to all text in Firefox. But even if there was, I’m still not sure it’s a good solution. So for now, I’ll keep going with the OS X Zoom feature and see how that goes. I’m also planning on installing a track light in this room, which should help to balance out the ambient light around me, and that’ll be easier on my eyes.
On a related note, I really am enjoying some of the benefits of this new monitor. Specifically, photos and videos are much clearer. And since they’re bigger, I can really see them. It’s given me a whole new sense of appreciation for these visual mediums, and that’s good.
So, I’m going to keep using the monitor through the rest of the weekend. And after using it for a few more days, I should be able to tell whether or not it’ll be worth keeping.
Last week, I ordered a new 25″ computer monitor. Today, the monitor arrived. I’ve spent most of the night setting it up, trying to get acclimated to it. My old monitor was only 19″. That’s a full half-foot smaller than this monitor. Also, my old monitor is the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas the new one is 16:9. Overall, I have to admit that I’m a bit underwhelmed. I was hoping that this new monitor would really improve my experience with the computer. But the gains I’ve experienced so far have been minimal at best. I’m not sure why.
Found out today that there’s something called VEDA, which stands for Vlog Every Dav in April. I don’t think I’ll be participating in VEDA. But I did produce a YouTube video response to these two VEDA videos:
Here’s an iPad parody video that Jen and I made. She did the voiceover and created the actual “yPad.” I took care of the video work. We collaborated on the backing music. This video has been posted to my new YouTube account. If you have a YouTube account, and you’ve enjoyed this video, please click over and subscribe.
I lost four pounds last month. This is good, as I had been stalled out on my weight loss for awhile. I began using LoseIt! at the beginning of the year. The app suggested I could lose two pounds a week by consuming 1900 calories a day. Knowing my snail-like metabolism, this seemed like a pretty optimistic/unrealistic goal. And indeed, it was. I lost no weight in January on 1900 daily calories. I decided to shave it back to 1700 calories per day in February. This also yielded no positive results. I reset the daily goal on March 1st to 1500 calories per day. And for the most part, I achieved that goal. And I lost weight. So it’s 1500 calories a day or bust from here on out. At least, until I stop losing weight again.
If you’re a LoseIt! user and you’d like to add me as a contact, just search for me using my e-mail address listed in the sidebar of Shawnogram.
