Friday, August 26, 2011

Mill Creek and Cable Cords

When it is forecasted to be close to 100 degrees, I know I have to head over to Mill Creek and get a walk in early before the day heats up.
 I have been carrying my light weight point-and-shoot Sony cybershot for walk/hiking photo ops; I  do have to admit I have been known to return home (a five minute drive) to grab my "big" camera if I see really great shots on my trek.
Lately the road up Mill Creek Canyon is lined with what I call sun flowers and the air is filled with huge dragonflies darting about me, capturing bugs in the air and sunlight on their wings.

Hundreds patrol every pocket sized meadow...I wish I could get a video to show how cool such a sight is to behold!
 

Walking, hiking and biking people cheerfully wave and say hi to me as I stop to take pictures.

I don't walk on the road; I find hiking on the asphalt pavement is just too hot for my tastes.
Why do that when there are a multitude of trails just yards away from the road and they wind along Mill Creek and through blessedly shady trees.

This is one of "my" bridges: Bridges that I photograph over and over again throughout the season.
It just looks so delightful surrounded by fall colors, then traced in snow, then sketched about with the first leaves of Spring.

I noticed our white berries are plumping up nicely with their violet trimmed ends and stems.
Summer is working its magic with the forest berries and I am enjoying  seeing all the berry colors just as much as I enjoy seeing all the flowers.

I promised myself I would return to this shoreline and take a nice splash in the water when the temperatures reached their peak.  Turned out I found my basement to be a cool refuge instead. Maybe I'll try to get there for a splash today.  Wanna come join me?  Cut offs, tee shirts and crocs work great for stream wading and splashing fun.
No one was anywhere near this lonesome mini watermelon.  I think it was put in the water to cool during a cook out the night before and when the picnicking group left after sun down they couldn't see their melon in the dark.
(I took it home...it was deliciously cold after my hike about!)


So what was so appealing about my basement that kept me from a date with the cool waters of the creek?
Well, as you know (if you have been reading along...) I got a new desk top computer last week.
The last one was a laptop and I didn't bother with adding external speakers.
I also didn't try to add a camera to the lap top either.
This one..let's just say that I spent the afternoon "pimping" my computer.
All by myself I might proudly add.
(Bernie said I could manage to install Windows, the speakers and video camera.  He was right!)
The downside:

I am DROWNING in cords and cables!
Pictured above: the cords on my desks.

And the cords UNDER my desk....
And the cord NEXT to my desk!
Oh my stars and garters!
Yea gods and little fishes!
Somebody...HELP ME WITH ALL THESE CORDS!!!
It sure doesn't help matters that the wall to my left has no electrical outlets so all electrical devices (television, DVD player, printer, cabinet under lighting, speakers, land line phone, desk lamp, wireless router and digital picture frames) have to be plugged into the single outlet on the wall to the left of the computer.

Right now I am really glad that my desk kleenex box doesn't need to be plugged in too.  And that my pencil hold manages to serve without needing a cord at all!

And I am thankful that the kittens are old enough to ignore snaking cords that clearly could be ready to attack at any moment so they must be killed IMMEDIATELY with lethal kitty claws.
My darlin' Mr. B, with his associates degree in both Electricity and Theology has assured me that the wall outlet can withstand the multiple extension cord/power strip needs.
I of course trust that his opinion is based on his AE degree and not his AT degree.   I believe in the power of prayer but not using prayer power for electrical safety.
He has been emailed pictures of my cord chaos and has assured me that as soon as he gets home he will re-do everything to it will be configured in a much more visually reassuring fashion.

Until then, I plan to fight off my fung shue disorder...look at the monitor and not the cords; and keep my toes in the creek and away from the under desk mess as much as possible.

Sounds like the best kind of good home grown IT plan for now to me!

4 comments:

Judy said...

I wonder if they are still out there looking for the watermelon that got away on them. Glad you enjoyed it!

As for the mass of cords...I can identify with that!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

It was very interesting to me to see Mill Creek this time of year. Isn't it amazing how landscapes change with the seasons...new clothes every quarter of the year! Hey, that was a special gift, the mini watermelon...just for your enjoyment! Good for you installing all that on your new desktop...don't know if I'd challenge such on my own. Sounds like you did well. And Mr. B will solve the cord problem for you...so all is well.

Lovella ♥ said...

Wow. .not sure if I could figure out all those cords on my own. When I need to unplug something under my desk ..I have to wiggle the cord from the top and hope that the bottom cord wiggles too.
Those photos from Mill Creek are wonderful. I noted there was a thunderstorm there over the weekend. Hope things cool down soon.

Vicki said...

I'm finally catching up! I have a few minutes to myself in Chicago before I set out to explore (wish you were here with me!). I believe I've been told that IKEA carries hooks/clamps/something that you attach to the back of your desk that harness the cords and cables, keeping them off the floor and within easy reach. I know there are also bundlers that sort of look like a wrap-around conduit to gather them together. I keep telling Doc that we need to use one of those methods to get rid of the massive tangle of cords behind our entertainment set-up that seem to grow longer and thicker each day!

I really enjoy seeing Mill Creek photos. We loved our little picnic up there so much last year. That watermelon was a nice bonus!