Tag: diy

Installed

February 13, 2026

The weather is finally warming (and staying so) enough for me to feel comfortable enough to de-winterize the RV.  This is my first season for this, so it made me a little nervous as I am not the mechanically inclined sort.  I had researched the process several weeks ago and the videos all said how easy it was.  When I woke up this morning all I could think about was I needed to get this done.  I procrastinated for another half-hour in bed and then decided to start.  I let the kids out for their morning constitutional, got my coffee, and went back to my office to restudy how it is done.  I watched 4 different YouTube videos claiming to be my year-make-model RV and while they were the same steps, they all showed slightly different versions of where the valves and settings were.  I finally felt comfortable enough to make the attempt and checked on the weather.  I saw the outside temps were in the mid-50’sF (mid-10’sC) but were expected to be around 70F (21C) this afternoon.  When I walked outside it felt a little cool and I decided to wait for my attempt at de-winterization.  I blogged in November that we purchased a 50-inch 4K QLED Smart TV (streaming and Bluetooth ready) so I figured this might be a good time for me to get it installed. 

I had moved the TV from the garage into the RV several days ago and told Melissa the box made it look like it would not fit.  She assured me she had used the dimensions I had given her for the TV and measured them against the size of the overhead where it was going to be installed.  When I took the TV out of the box, sure enough it was more than able to fit in the overhead area.  I did notice the screws we were told to buy to hang the TV were the wrong size.  Also, when I held the TV up to the bracket the screw holes on the TV did not match up with the bracket holes.  They were off by 3 inches (7.5 cm).  I spent the next hour trying to figure out how to drill new holes in the bracket to make them line up.  Just as I was prepared to go to the hardware store and buy a metal bit for my drill (I only had masonry and wood bits) I realized I would need to remove the bracket to get enough leverage to punch through the metal.  That put me on a different line of thought.  If I had to remove the bracket anyway, why not just reposition it 3 inches lower on the wall?

While this sounded easy, the cabinet the bracket was screwed into was not low enough to give me the 3 inches I needed.  No problem.  I could cut out a wooden extension, screw it to the cabinet to give me the required length, and then screw the bracket into the wall and extension.  While this would leave screw holes in the wall, I figured I could cover them with putty, and they would be behind the TV bracket anyway.  I cut a 6 x 10-inch (15 x 25-cm) piece of leftover 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) plywood and checked it against the cabinet I was going to attach it to (“measure twice, saw once”).  Now I went to the hardware store and bought the screws along with antique white spray paint to (kind of) match the extension to the existing cabinets.  I applied two coats to each side of the plywood, letting it dry between coats, and then screwed the extension on the cabinet.  By this time Melissa had returned from her appointment, and she was able to help me get the bracket and larger TV installed.  Another simple job that I had taken all day to complete.  I still need to de-winterize the RV.

THOUGHTS: One of the better parts of being retired is I have a lot of time to work on projects like getting the TV installed.  It is a good thing too, because it always takes me twice as long as it should.  My younger brother and brother-in-law are both mechanically inclined and are constantly working on fix-it-up projects around the house and office.  Unfortunately, I take after my dad.  He grew up on a farm and was able to do minor repairs, but he left the real projects to the pros.  Most humans should take a similar approach toward life in general.  When we disregard the information from “the pros” and go with “it’s possible” we get into trouble.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Barriers

February 04, 2025

After a quick 20-hour travel flight (yesterday) we arrived in Athens, Greece.  A tour of Greece and the Greek Isles had been on my bucket list for the last 40 years, so I was excited.  After arriving in Athens, we boarded a bus which would take us to the waiting ship where we would spend the next week.  The bus chaperone pointed out several points of interest as we ‘whizzed by’ amid rush hour traffic, but the drive was mainly accomplished in silence.  As we moved along, I noticed the retainer walls that flanked both sides of the motorway.  The noise barriers were made of metal posts that had clear 10-foot (3 m) inserts, not the concrete sound walls I am used to seeing in the US.  The other aspect that interested me were the bird silhouettes placed on each panel of the noise barrier.

When I looked online, I found noise barriers (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) are exterior structures designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effective method of mitigating roadway, railway, and industrial noise sources, other than cessation of the source activity itself.  Extensive use of noise barriers began in the US after noise regulations were introduced in the early 1970’s.  Several different materials are used for noise barriers, including masonry, earthwork or berms, steel, wood, concrete, plastics, insulating wool, or composites.  Walls made of absorptive material mitigate sound differently than hard surfaces.  It is also possible to make noise barriers with active materials such as solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity while reducing traffic noise.  Noise barriers can be effective tools for noise pollution abatement, but certain locations and topographies are not suitable for their use.  Cost and looks also play a role in the choice of noise barriers.  Potential disadvantages of noise barriers can be blocked vision for motorists and rail passengers.  While glass elements in the barriers can reduce visual obstruction, they require regular cleaning, provide an expanded target for graffiti, and create a possibility of bird strikes in the clear barriers

These disadvantages were evident in the barriers along the motorway in Athens.  Environmental noise barriers are common in Greece to reduce noise being emitted from outdoor installations or sources of traffic/railway noise.  Most such projects involve the construction of opaque or transparent noise barriers or even entire enclosures in cases of small/medium-size installations.  Each of the clear glass panels along the motorway had a bird silhouette emblazoned on it.  It took me a while to figure out why these silhouettes were on the panels.  Then I remembered several past blogs where I discussed the problem of bird strikes.  The bird figures warned any birds there was a solid surface, or at least another bird they needed to avoid.  There were a few sections of barriers that did not contain bird silhouettes.  Interestingly, these sections were heavily tagged with graffiti.  While such tags are considered an act of vandalism by some, many display an elaborate style and can often be identified through their uniqueness and methods.

Thoughts: The bird silhouettes and graffiti tags on the noise barriers were both a way of making a presence known.  The creators of the barriers wanted to make their presence known to keep birds from flying into the walls.  The graffiti was an effort by the taggers to let others in the city know they existed, and their presence mattered.  The desire to be recognized seems innate to humans.  It is even more so as we seek to create respect and unity among us all.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.