Post:Making Room
From Fusselman.org
Again, it's been a busy week. The living room is almost entirely back to normal now, though we're still missing a chair (to be retrieved from IKEA in a few weeks). Becky is really enjoying her Harmony setup, though we've come across a bit of a problem. Since the cabinet doors no longer have to be open for the remotes to work, we've been leaving them shut. The downside to this is that the DISH DVR readily overheats. Not quite sure what it's doing that gets so hot in there, but it does. For now, we've been leaving the door open a crack, but I suspect in the future, I'll add a vent, with or without a blower of some sort.
I've also been dealing with space issues of another sort, in the garage. I wish I had unlimited space, but due to the constraints of physics, I don't. While googling for layout and storage ideas, I came across TechSHOP, which is sort of like a country club, but with tools instead of golf clubs. Basically, your monthly membership fee (in the $80-100 range, there's a few similar companies and levels of benefits) pays for "shop time" as much and as often as they're open. They have space, tables, major machinery (like mills, lathes, welders and even sergers [big sewing machines]) as well as a selection of hand tools. They also have communal things like meeting spaces, free-for-all scrap piles and they offer classes on various topics (Both free and paid). While this sounds really awesome to me (and I could totally justify the expense, if it meant that I bought less crap and didn't want/need a bigger garage), the closest one to Omaha is in the Denver area. I suspect that there's not a sufficient number of people who would both want and afford this sort of thing in our area, as Omaha is so spread out that space (attached to ones home) just isn't that expensive, compared to the cost of light industrial space like this. This, of course, fails to take into account the value of community, but I digress.
If anyone is listening and/or interested, I would be up for starting a similar space in Omaha , albeit on a much smaller scale, probably starting with just a shared space and an "everyone bring their crap and work here" mentality. You know how to get a hold of me.
On an aside, Becky has a "guest blog" post over at ZestyCook. Check it out, as well as her own site.
