Sweat On My Brow, Fiberglass Insulation Under My Feet
Posted on | July 19, 2008 at 6:12 pm | 3 Comments
I love subjecting myself to torture. It’s 100 degrees outside today, so I figured it was a good day to go into the attic, in the middle of the afternoon during the worst heat, and reposition my TV antenna. I need the antenna in order to get over-the-air digital HDTV from the local Denver stations. I already get most of them in HD over the Dish satellite, but I like having a backup as well as a third tuning/recording option. (The satellite receiver has two satellite tuners and one OTA tuner.) I’ve been meaning to do this ever since the Denver Metro Supertower went online, since I haven’t been able to get the local ABC station OTA any more, even though the antenna is pointed in the general direction of Lookout Mountain (as I reported in this blog entry). Strangely, I could get the NBC station just fine, and they’re supposedly in the same place. I figured all I would have to do is point it a little more to the north and I’d be in business.
The problem is that the antenna is bolted into a rotator that I installed awhile ago in order to rotate the antenna between the two transmission positions: Lookout Mountain and Downtown Denver. The rotator did not allow the antenna to move any further north. Plus, there was an attic beam in the way. My plan was to remove the antenna from the rotator, since I didn’t need it any more, and keep it pointed in one optimal position toward Lookout Mountain all the time, even if that meant moving it to a different place in the attic. The attic is very small though, and there aren’t very many places to move it to.
The entrance the attic is on the ceiling, and I need a ladder to get to it. When I first opened it, I was hit by a blast of hot air that almost knocked me off the ladder in surprise. I think it must’ve been at least 130 degrees up there, especially with the bare light bulb on. Unbolting the antenna was not easy – it was hard to position myself for optimal tooling. I was dripping sweat profusely. I had to wear gloves because the metal on the antenna was too hot to touch with bare hands. But finally I managed to get it out of the rotator and move it. I had to keep coming down and drying off and getting cool before going back up there for the next phase. I know I should’ve waited for a cooler day, or started earlier in the morning, but once I get something in my head…
Anyway, I finally got the antenna into a stable position that cleared up my ABC problem, and also made most of the other stations come in better. I was hoping it would also clear up my problem with the local CW station, which has had borderline reception for a month or two. They transmit from Lookout Mountain also, but not from the new Supertower. But no – no matter where I move it to, I still have reception problems. I just gotta hope they pump more power into that thing or reposition the transmitter or something. It’s a bummer, because that’s not one of the HD stations I get on the satellite. I hope Dish adds it.
When I was done with the operation, my t-shirt and shorts were completely drenched. I think I lost about a gallon of water. But I’m glad I did it and got it over with, even if it was undoing all the work that my friend Phil and I did to install the rotator (and run a line for the controller from the attic to the garage) in the first place. But I always knew that was a temporary thing anyway and that the Supertower would go online eventually. It actually took a lot longer than I thought it would, so I did get a lot of use out of the rotator!
In other news, I’ve been watching Dr Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog the past couple of days. Strongly recommended for fans of Joss Whedon and his crew, and for others who enjoy good, clean, disturbing entertainment. The songs are catchy and cute, although they remind me a bit too much of the tunes from the musical episode of Buffy. Neil Patrick Harris is great as the title character and it’s cool to see him as part of the Whedon Gang. And Nathan Fillion is spectacular as Captain Hammer, a real superjerk. The story is very funny, although it ends up going to an unexpectedly dark place. And most people, aside from supervillains, probably won’t think the ending is a happy one. Definitely worth watching, especially for free. However, the three acts (which total 45 minutes in length) are only available for free viewing on the website until midnight tomorrow (Sunday), so do it quick or pay later!
Latre.
Pet Peeve of the Day: 100 degree heat.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “herb that tastes like cilantro”.
Comments
3 Responses to “Sweat On My Brow, Fiberglass Insulation Under My Feet”
July 19th, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
We liked Doc H. over here (to our great surprise, Hulu let us forn’ers watch…?) but I don’t recall any dark ending – it seemed like the hippie chick got some blessed relief from two highly unsuitable choices she was facing!
And as for the tunes, I haven’t seen Buffy but don’t ALL musicals sound the same? (with the possible exception of the Blues Brothers)
July 19th, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
With “optimal tooling… dripping sweat profusely”. and other choice phrases, there should be some interesting search terms leading to this post!
I’ve had a few summer attic adventures myself in my day. Makes me glad I read this post while enjoying a cool beverage and a nice air-conditioned breeze.
July 20th, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
Yargh! That is way too much devotion to television. I feel heatstroke coming on just thinking about going in the attic yesterday.