For some reason I just found this kind of funny…

The first, and also the most intimidating part of the project involves adding a breaker to an electric panel. Since my house is extra cool, it has no less than 5 electric panels, 2 of which are no longer functioning. I chose the one under the kitchen to connect to since it was the closest to where I wanted to put the outlets and it also had 3 open slots.

Once you’ve added a new circuit breaker and all the connections are made, run some wire from the panel along the ceiling towards the target location. If you need to get over some duct work, use a 10′ piece of conduit to pull it through. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have conduit handy, a broomstick, scrap piece of lumber, or in extreme cases, a broken tree branch might all get the job done. Just ask yourself, “how would a redneck do this?”.

Take the conduit you just used to fish the wire across the ducts and cut a short section to run up into the location of the outlet. Attach the outlet box to the wall and run the conduit through one of the pop-out openings on the box. I chose the bottom. If you do this step before fishing your wire across the duct work you’ll be out of luck so don’t get trigger happy and start skipping steps.

If you want extra outlets, you can make it easy on yourself and connect them all one after another. There weren’t any (functioning) outlets in the basement so I decided to add one here. The post I attached it to is pretty rough so the outlet looks stupid and not very straight, nonetheless, it has electric current so I’m happy. Once it’s firmly attached, spray paint a random yellow squiggle mark on the post so everyone knows how awesome you are.

Back in the stairway I have now installed the receptacles and used my cool electrical meter thing to test it. You could also use such things as a fan or radio to see if the outlet works, but if you want to feel like a real electrician I suggest using the meter thing. I got mine at wal-mart for $1.50. Also, putting the receptacles upside-down as required by many building codes eliminates the 1 in a billion chance you could somehow electrocute yourself by getting a flat piece of metal to connect the hot and neutral terminals while something is plugged in.

Done! Now you have one more location in your house that is capable of running up your electric bill.

Hopefully this will be a mutually beneficial relationship for both websites!

So here are my new specimens and why I chose them:

• Jeffrey Pine: Bark smells like vanilla. Yum.
• Grand Fir: Looks cool.
• Dawn Redwood: One of the oldest known tree species, can be found in fossils.
• Concolor Fir: Found some of these growing in the Mark Twain Natl Forest…Looks cool.
• Douglas-Fir: Gets really tall, looks cool.
• Deodar Cedar: Unique and looks cool.

So, basically I just picked out ones that I think look cool. I’m sure to most people these trees all look exactly the same, but thanks to my geek skillz I was able to easily identify each one once I got them out of the boxes. I’m sure it seems like a waste of time and money to a lot of people, but I enjoy the process of planting them and watching them grow over the years. And eventually I’ll enjoy the way they change the look and feel of the property!

Steph, Emma and I celebrating at the Branson Landing.

My friend Bridget has long been describing to me how when her and Andy started dating they just knew it was right. She always said when it’s right you will just know it without question. To be honest I had always thought she was full of garbage. I also used to think it was ridiculous when people would get engaged without dating for at least a year or two. But then I met Stephanie. She is more than I have ever hoped for in a wife, so needless to say that I am thrilled that she is the one who will come into my old house and make it a home. Bridget told me she thought that Steph could be the ‘one’ the first time I mentioned her, and as it turns out Bridget knows a lot more about relationships than I had given her credit for!

At any rate, I am excited for what lies ahead for the 3 of us and am thankful for all the support from our friends and family. Things are so drastically different than I would have expected a year ago, and yet my life has never felt so complete and full of purpose and direction as it does right now.

Here are a few recent snow pics I’ve taken…

]]> http://shortleaf.com/2010/02/snow/feed/ 1 http://shortleaf.com/2010/02/new-paint/ http://shortleaf.com/2010/02/new-paint/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:58:19 +0000 admin http://www.ryanmccoy.us/?p=1380 This past weekend we changed things up in the house a bit. Thanks to some help from the moms we tackled this project in just a few hours!

Sometimes the process of painting isn’t very fun, but it is pretty cool being able to completely change the feel of a room in such a short period of time.

43-Yellow, 23-White, 20-Blue, 14-Red

It has to do with your inner motivations. Not what you do or how you act, but what motivates you to do so. Apparently I am primarily motivated by a need to be having fun in life. Which I find fairly interesting because many of my YELLOW traits are in direct conflict with my WHITE traits. Guess that explains why I am the way I am.

If you want to find out your primary color you can go to this web page. Feel free to post your results here!

Here is a condensed version of my personality, though like I said I think I’m just as much WHITE so I am not quite as simple as a single color.

Yellows are motivated by Fun. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they’re hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification. yellows need to be adored and praised. While yellows are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others’ agendas to control them. Yellows typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart

Yellows need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. yellows are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the “present tense” and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature. Yellows are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When you deal with a YELLOW, take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions.

I should also point out that the report says “The combination of yellow and white is the most well-liked and personable of all personalities…” Go me!

It’s a lot larger than it looks in the photo.

Note how small Matt is in this photo.

We stopped for a sack lunch inside the cave. Again, this photo makes it look deceptively small.