New Brother Printer

It's a doozie!  Model MFC-L 8905CDW.  Yeah, I splurged...   

But I can print in color again (and I assume scan and fax).  But it wasn't easy setting it up.  Not the printer's fault, I was just stupid and confused about a few things.  

First, let me say it is very early morning.  I couldn't sleep last night (too much sleep the day before).  So there I was in bed completely awake.  I got dressed and started a load of laundry.  And then I thought about The New Printer.  So I decided to install it.  Three hours later, it works.  And all the difficulties (except one) were completely my errors.

Second, let me say I bought a 1/8th" custom-cut plastic top for the computer desk 2 years ago (for easier cleaning) but never put it on because the (failed) canon printer was too damn heavy to move easily.  So I pulled the Canon off the deck (nearly killed me) and dumped it on the floor.  Moved all the other stuff to one side and lemon-pledged that.  Moved stuff again and did the other half.

I built the computer desk many years ago.  In fact, it is so old it has a slot for fanfold paper to come up from a box on a shelf underneath!  But it is sturdy and nicely finished, so I keep it.  With the old Canon printer off, I slid the plastic top halfway on, moved the smaller stuff onto it, and got it in place.  Looks lovely.

But guess what?  I can't lift the new Brother printer onto the desk!  It sits on the floor, which made plugging cables awkward and I think I'll need to keep it covered to protect it from cat furs.

So I read the startup instructions.  I say "read" but mostly it was just poor images I had to struggle to follow.  It came from China of course.  Pulled off all the packing tape.  Some packaging items were weird.  One part was like 12" of plastic that looked like part of the printer!

It was "oh that's what the drawing was about".  I went on like that for an hour.  Even some tape that looks like it should be removed apparently isn't.  😖

But I did get it properly unpacked.  Then "load paper".  OK, that wasn't a problem.  Next, plug in the printer.  Did that into the battery backup surge suppresser.   For fax capability, I had to connect a phone cord to the router.  On my back with a flashlight.  Struggled for a few minutes.

Finally came to "connect the printer to your computer".  Should be easy, right?  No, that took another hour.  The printer came with a CD for connecting.  It didn't work.  Apparently, my CD is too old.  There was a download site.  That drove me crazy.

The printer was plugged in and connected to the computer.  But nothing happened.  I pressed the on/off power button a few times.

Oops, wrong button!  I finally found the actual power button (unlit little dark circle).  And when I pressed that, the printer made a screaming noise!  I went through several iterations of on/off (saying "bad words" frequently).  

I finally went back under the desk with my flashlight and pulled out the power plug.  I had it in a non-backup outlet and it seems the printer didn't like that.  It stopped screaming at me  after I changed some plugs around to give it a battery back-up outlet.  😣

Keep in mind that the CD didn't work, so I was at a Brother help website...

And then the instructions said to connect the printer to the computer.   I wrote down the menu sequence.  It didn't work.  Drove me nuts.  Then I finally realized I hadn't actually plugged the printer into the computer!   I should be shot for "computer malfeasance".  😢

Hurray, the computer recognized the printer!  I printed out a nice color version of

If you work hard and long enough, sometimes things work!

TV Commercials

I think TV commercial designers are dumb as a pile of bricks!  I watch TV a lot while making dinner.  They don't affect my purchases, but I like good ones and most are not.

My favorite "stupid" one is some company that sells sleeping pills.  They use an owl as their mascot.

OK, think about that.  They are selling a sleeping aide and owls are nocturnal.  How damn stupid do you have to be to use a mascot that is naturally awake all night for a sleeping med?

Illogic is both entertaining and maddening sometimes!

 

Computer Printer

 I've given up on my Canon color toner printer.  I called Canon Help, and after long hold got a really helpful techie.  We tried all sorts of software fixes, but none worked.  And as I was asked to send a couple of screens by email, we got disconnected.

Second call got me referred to some place where no one knew his name.  But this guy was a hardware expert.  Said the "assembly fixture" was broken.  And "couldn't be fixed".  So, essentially, I have a 40 pound doorstop.

I have a closetful of old non-functioning computer equipment.  This is now just another piece that I should just recycle.  

He recommended several Canon printers.  But I did some research (Consumer Reports, some techie sites).  I ordered a Brother 

MFC‐L8905CDW Business Color Laser All‐in‐One Printer, 7” Touchscreen Display, Duplex Print/Scan, Wireless, White.  $700.  But sometimes you just want "the best".  It will arrive in 2 days.

Yay, I should be able to make Christmas cards again!  But mostly, I will be able to scan/copy/fax/color print again.

Sometimes, you have to "pay to play"!

Yappy Dog

 I need some advice.  I've never quite understood dogs.  I've never liked them (my family has a long history of bad events with them with one exception).  But I don't exactly dislike them in general.  I am aware of the long good history of humans and dogs cooperating and adjusting together.

But I need some help dealing with this one.  The neighbor lady speaks better English than I do Spanish, but that's not much on either side.  So I can't just go talk to her about it.

It never stops barking...

When I am out in the backyard, Yappy Dog is desperate to "get at me".  It has made my yardwork "unpleasant".  One part of me wants to just spray the darn thing with a garden hose.  Another part says "make it a friend".  

It looks sort of like this...

I'll consider all suggestions.  👍👎

Yappy Neighbor Dog

I do not love the yappy neighbor dog.  It disturbs my time outside.  It is noisy, annoying, and I don't need some animal trying desperately to find a way through the fence to attack me (small as it is).

But I worry about it sometimes.  I don't think it has a  really good life.  

First, the single Mother there tosses it out into the fenced backyard as soon as the kids leave for school.  So it alone almost all day.  I don't think dogs like to be alone.  It runs around the perimeter of the yard barking all day.

Second, I hear it barking outside late at night.  All Winter.  And even now, it is cold outside.  And there is no doghouse where it can go for shelter and some gradual self-heating.  I mean, I think that a doghouse warms up slightly by the heat the dog produces).

Third, I have never seen the kids actually play with the dog.  I have a deck and can see over the fence.  They just don't give any attention to it.

I don't know why they have it.  The Mother tosses it outside all day, the kids don't seem to play with it.  It is almost as if they think they should have a small yappy dog, but really find it annoying.  

I am not big on dogs, but I don't like the idea that one is "kept but not wanted".  OK, maybe when it is inside, they drown it in attention and love.  But I don't think so.  

Should I ask Animal Authority to look into this?  Or should I just leave the situation alone?  I sure would like it to have a better home, out of my hearing the incessant barking and aggression.

Random Stuff

I got my replacement glasses  Friday.  The store said the lens on the previous pair had been ground just a bit too small, so that is why the lens popped out.  Well, that explains whyI couldn't seem to tighten the frame screws.  They were already as tight as possible.  

And I was fussier than usual about how the new glasses fit.  It took them 4 tries to get the ear-piece to keep them snug but not too tight.  I ended up with the best fit I've ever had.  Two days later and I haven't had to push them back up on my nose a single time.

Renewed my small trailer registration online.  It wasn't completing correctly and sent me back a page several times.  I finally noticed a small print saying I hadn't checked a box about agreeing to "terms and conditions".  So I did and they sent me a temporary registration by email.

Speaking of the trailer, some jerk pushed the front off the support block last Winter.  The ground was muddy from heavy rain so the metal pipe that raises and lowers the front snk into the ground.  And then the soil froze!  I couldn't pull it out.

Now that the soil is thawed, I still can't.  But I have a scissor-jack.  I'll have to put a cinder block under the jack to lift the front of the trailer to pull the support post out of the soil.  And another to rest the freed support on.  Just a real pain.  I already have too many things I need to do.

I'm so far behind everything.  I haven't planted a single veggie or flower seed yet.  My basement gardening bench area is a complete mess!  I actually bought some heirloom tomato plants from Amazon.  And I think I will go to the local DIY stores to buy 6-packs of flowers in a few days.  This is not going to be my DIY growing season.

I had planned to build a new planting box around the mailbox (the old one finally rotted after 25 years) and fill it with better soil.  But my Stella D' Oro lilies have already emerged. So I can't cover them in deeper soil.  I can still build a box around them, but I'll have to wait til Winter to fill it with new rich soil.

The Washington Nationals baseball team bragged all Winter about the improvements they had made on the team.  But they are currently 1-6.  It doesn't seem like it will be even an average season.

My Ryobi self-propelled electric mower got recalled.  Something about a potential fire hazard in the battery connection.  They will send me a replacement.  But I have to cut out 6" of a wire cluster, take pictures of that and the serial number and model plate, email the pictures to them, and wait 6 weeks for delivery of the new one.

At least I just use it for trim work.  My main mower is a John Deere riding mower.  I love it, but there are places it can't get to.  I've gotten it stuck in a couple of places where I needed the car to pull it out.  And one place where I needed my 6' metal bar to wedge it backwards a foot at a time.  

The Mews are doing well.  Lori is calmer about Taz and Binq (shelter cats I adopted late 2023).  She still isn't perfect around them and resents their presence in her house, but "Bad" has become "OK".  I appreciate that.

Spring Has Sprung

I love Spring!  The 2 Saucer Magnoloias are in complete full bloom.  Sometimes a late freeze catches them and damaged to budding flowers, but not this year! 

The front yard tree...

The backyard tree...

I planted them about 30 years ago.  Because in a small park across the street from where I worked, I saw them for the first time (a dozen around a reflecting pool) and thought they were the most beautiful trees I had ever seen.  

I had to research to figure out what they were.  And they require some maintenance.  They grow rather twiggy on their own, and I didn't realize at the time how much effort the Park Service put into keeping the branches "open".  I do some work on them every couple of years, but even with an 8' stepladder, it is hard to get at the crowded top sprouts.

I do what I can.  But I may have an arborist visit and do better work.

The other Spring thrill for me are the daffodils.  Daffodils are wonderful!  The deer and rodents can't eat them (the bulbs are slightly toxic) and they seem to have no disease or insect problems.  They seem to live darn near forever and multiple on their own.  

The only thing I could ask for is more colors.  White/yellow/orange seems to be about all they can  do.  But that is still pretty impressive.

The early daffodils in the front box are blooming.  And there is a later-bloomer variety emerging.  So I get 2 shows in one place for longer.

The old backyard circle is blooming...  Five varieties of slightly different blooming time.  If I had it to do over again, I would have just mixed them all up so the the entire bed was blooming somewhat for months.  To make up for that, I am going to put some thin-bricks in empty spots ( I bought 60 last Fall to hold down landscaping fabric) and add random daffodils there next Fall.  Eventually, it might all look "fuller, longer".  And there are some tulips and hyacinths growing among them.

And I planted more daffodils in front last Fall.  Really late, so I wasn't sure they would grow.  But they are emerging!  

One early bloomer type is planted right around the tree.  A later bloomer was planted around the inside of the border edging.  There is a gap between them which I will mark with nylon rope around tent stakes as a reminder where to plant a 3rd kind next Fall.

And I planted more in the back yard.  I have a 10' circle where I've tried to establish insect pollinator plants for several years, but it has never worked.  So I planted a 4' circle of hyacinths in the middle and daffodils all around them.  The daffodils are up; the hyacinths will emerge later (I hope).

They don't show up really well yet.  They were the last ones I planted.  So, "last in, last up".  And while voles love hyacinth bulbs, I hoping all the inedible daffodils surrounding them will discourage foraging.

Lastly, the old established daffodils keep blooming in the "woods".  A typical patch...

There are others scaterred around...

And some old hyacinths are still surviving in one corner of the yard.  The voles haven't found them!

I do need to clean up that area, though.  Too many brambles and weedy vines.

Now I have to get some tomatoes started.  I'm running out of time.  On the other hand, I've learned that tomatoes planted outside before May just sort of "sit and sulk".  So 6 weeks of growth might work just fine.

Happy Spring flowers and a happy successful Summer gardening season to all!

 

Sports, 2

I've mentioned sports too much.  But I have to tell you about a big event before high school.

I played in little league.  I was a terrible batter.  The bat seldom left my shoulder.  But I was a good fielder (at 2nd base).  

But I did have one great moment.  I made a triple play all by myself.  There were runners on all bases.  The batter struck a line drive but I jumped high enough to catch it.  None of the runners realized that.  

So the batter was out.  The kid on 1st ran straight into me tagging him.  I stepped on 2nd base so that guy was out too.  3 outs in about 5 feet!

And actually it was a 4-out play.  I threw the ball to the 3rd base kid, who stepped on the base and made a 4th out before that runner could return.  It didn't count of course.  But it was wonderful.

Everyone needs some amazing event to keep in memory.  That is sort of mine...

Sports, 1

I've mentioned University of Maryland basketball success the last couple of posts.   I'm a homie.  I went to college there.  When the Univ teams are good I watch.  Watching sports in general is not something I do.

I'd rather play than watch.  I was never good enough at any college-level sport.

But I was good enough in high school (oh so many decades ago).  😁

So I understand competing.  I was on the golf team.  I was the worst golfer on the team (6 of 6), but we went undefeated for 2 years and I helped sometimes.  We won one match because I sank a 30 foot putt on the last hole.  No one was more surprised than I was!  The thrill of success is lasting.

My junior year, we had a male foreign exchange student from Brazil.  We didn't play soccer in my county back then.  But to welcome him and give him something familiar, the school formed a soccer team (and neighboring schools did the same).

It was a hilarious start.  The entire Junior Varsity football team joined as well as some of us who weren't.  Soccer is a strange game.  You don't wear much padding even though there can be a lot of contact.  And you just keep playing constantly.  No football huddles or time-outs.  

The Junior Varsity guys quit after 2 weeks.  They were all beaten up and exhausted.  Big guys don't really play soccer well.  It's all agility and never-stopping.  But I was a small wiry 135 lb kid who had run with the cross-country team (not good enough to be on the team, but I ran with them).

I made the soccer team as a starter in the backfield.  I could run around all day.  Brian ( the Brazilian student) was amazingly skilled.  But he couldn't carry the whole team.  I think we went about 50-50 the 2 seasons I was there.

And that's where I learned that you don't always win.  Yeah, it hurts to lose.  But some team has to.  You congratulate the winners and try harder the next game.  And sometimes a team gets better and sometimes it doesn't.  You lose sometimes.  But you never give up.

So it is wonderful to see Univ of Maryland winning.

BTW, Cal Ripkin came from my high school a few years later...

University of Maryland's Women's Basketball Team

I thought the Maryland Men's basketball survived a tight game NCAA game 72-71 with a buzzer-beater.  But DAMN the 4th-seeded Maryland Women's team went into double overtime against 5-seeded Alabama!  They finally won 111-108.

It was an amazing game.  The after-game announcers said it was THE game of the tournament.  Maryland had been down by 17 but came back in the 4th quarter as the lead changed at least a dozen times.  

Alabama lost, but should not be ashamed.  It was a fierce game right to the last seconds.  And their star player scored 45 points.  Something nearly unheard of in NCAA tournament play!  They all played their hearts out.

But as a post-game announcer said, 64 teams enter the tournament and 63 lose.  Sports can be very cruel, but it is also very definite.  Some team has to win and some team has to lose.  

Maryland's next opponent is Florida.  They are the #1 rated team.  I don't expect Maryland will win.  But you never know.

One unusual thing is that both the Men's and Women's teams are now in the Sweet 16.  Most Universities don't have both teams reaching that far in the same year.  

So cheers to both Maryland teams,  And respect to their opponents who pushed their games right down to the last seconds.  

University of Maryland Men's Basketball Team

It was a real NCAA Tournament thriller.   MD started out so badly, I stopped watching for a while.  But just before the halftime, I returned and they were only a few points behind.  The second half went back and forth, a few points up a few points down.  It came down to single points changes right at the end.  

I should mention that Maryland has had wretchedly bad luck with close games this season.  They lost 7 games, and 6 were in the last 10 seconds.  Normally, a team would win about half of super-close games.  Not Maryland.  It was like the Grim Reaper was stalking them.

So their opponent was 2 points behind and sank a 3-point shot with 3.5 seconds left to play.  So Maryland in-bounded to ball and the player who got it had to shoot immediately.  He sank the shoot beautifully.  Maryland won!

Sometimes there is justice and mercy in sports.  😂

I feel sorry for the other team, but Maryland suffered that kind of loss too many times this season.  It was time for some luck!