@ai6yr I'm sorry you've had to go through all this.
Congratulations on having the know-how and drive to make the best of this situation by improving insulation, connectivity, and other infrastructure things that will make your home life more enjoyable.
@MsMerope@ai6yr Last time I heard that we were riding our bikes on the Ice Field Parkway in Alberta. Must have been the early 1990s. Betsy the tour leader loved that song!
@USelaine I have a third one, but I have to cut out the back so I will have access to the plug...ran out of time tonight. Most of the mass of our house prior to the meltdown apparently was shelving and books (I have been asked "Why do you have so many books? Have you read them all?" LOL -- and then people wonder how I pick up so many skills, etc.)
I've heard the same said about pianos and stoves in kitchens, too. But books are FAR worse.
I've been in expensive homes and asked: "Oh, do you play piano? I studied that for 15 years!" and it's always "Oh, no, it's just for show, no one here knows how to play"
@USelaine Conspicuous consumption. We humans have a bad habit of it. I even run into radio people who spend as much as possible on a radio for bragging right... but don't know how to use them, and don't make contacts as I do on whatever random radio or metal junk comes my way. 🤔
@mjausson LOL I considered building my own custom shelves, but they'd look exactly like Ikea Billy shelves anyway and cost 4x as much. I guess some people make them look "built in" by pegging molding onto the edges, but I probably won't bother.
Notable Ikea Billy upgrade from the prior install: added an extension to the top of these shelves, to better contain the additional books which were living on the top of the older Billy shelves. Some argue, "why don't you go with digital books", but digital books = "rental", aren't as handy (especially when the Internet or lights go out), and nowadays you're likely to lose access to them randomly due to some corporate DRM vagueness. (Added comment: yes, books are a luxury, that said... )
@ai6yr We love those!
Given the current opinion on unsolicited advice, I'm simply mentioning something I did, but not suggesting you do it. 🙄
Installed a wall of these - three bookcases, differing widths - and tightening the seams with some barrel bolts wasn't necessary, but ended up helping increase rigidity & frankly I just liked the way it looked.
🤷 There's so much awesome IKEA hack info out there, I figured this might qualify.
@ai6yr I have similar issue come up at work where I'm "old guy" who prints out major decisions and other dox. Because even the damn agencies don't maintain their own electronic records.
The other day I'm reading something, and there's a reference and footnote to a certain "guiding principles" doc. Link gets a 404, and a search on their website just comes up with the doc I was reading. Recursive BS. Makes me go ARGH. Of course, I didn't see / grab the "principles" doc when it came out, but it will be very interesting to see if it can be found somewhere in their archives.
I also expect that when I retire the trove of docs (paper & electronic) I've collected over the last couple of decades will be lost to the ages ...
@glightly Really, anything digital is likely to vaporize. Just in general, and it's going to get worse. I mean, look at the AI written stuff that is starting to push out real authors ALREADY.
But I agree. I highly prefer real physical media and it's only the continued worsening of my financial situation that made me have to divest from much of it (with more to come when I have to move into a van).
@glightly Indeed... A worsening financial situation most certainly makes it impossible to have the space or storage to keep much. I know I'm in a better position than most. What would be better would be some exception to copyright law to allow for personal, non-DRM digital copies of things publishers have abandoned and which are out of print.
@glightly Public libraries are such a WONDERFUL resource. The consumption-focused world we have would be better with more tool libraries, etc. (instead, consumption insists EVERYONE HAS TO BUY THEIR OWN).
@glightly We can't possibly help other people... free loaders! They aren't supporting the need for book publishers to buy new yachts! And we can't possibly have kids and residents LEARNING THINGS! They're much harder to control when they have knowledge and education!! It's much better when they are lower paid, don't know anything, and give all the money to the wealthy via consumption, ya know! /sarcasm
@c_dan4th So, actually, the clever Ikea solution to this is the top part is a separate extension... which fits on top of the main shelf body. The extension is just short enough to get in over the shelves and clamps down using cam lock nuts. That said, you can't secure the shelf to the wall using the brackets (not enough clearance), so I just drove some utility screws through that extension (which has a solid wood backing).
@ai6yr I refinished my basement a few years ago with a whole set of their modular closet systems. The choice was to get the short ones which would leave an 8” gap on top or the tall ones which were half an inch too tall. I choose the latter and did a lot of very precise cutting and hole drilling. But the result is now that I have a flush-mounted wall of cabinets with sliding doors which fits perfectly in there. Fitting it though…
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