Archive for June, 2020
Free Doodle Friday
On my Facebook page, I take requests for Free Doodles that I post on Fridays. Here are some samples. If you would like to make a request for the next Free Doodle Friday, visit my Facebook page. For more information about custom requests for business or personal use, you can contact me via my website.
All images are the property of me. All rights reserved. Etc. Any questions, get in touch. Happy Friday!
Free Doodle Friday request (a different Beth S.): A princess riding a unicorn with puppies.
Free Doodle Friday request (Lynn H.): Elvis walking around wearing a mask.
Free Doodle Friday request (Marki M.): A squirrely squirrel.
Free Doodle Friday request (Meg A.): Two college boys with flippy hair staring at their iPhones while the world passes them by. To view the full video, click here.
MacGyver Mode
I live with my Dad. His car is in the house garage, and I rent a garage across the street. One day, my garage door opener remote stopped working. (The garage door opener worked fine; it just did not work using the remote.)
We called our garage guy . . . who said that it was an old system and suggested we replace the entire garage door opener, with a quote of $500-600.
Whoa. It’s not even our garage. And, while it is an older model, there is nothing wrong with the mechanism. Plus, I am perfectly capable of getting out of the car to open a garage door. (I’m old enough to remember when me and my siblings took turns being the garage door opener.) So I went into MacGyver Mode: that’s when I believe I can figure out anything and am surprised when it takes me more than an hour.
Well, the remote needs a battery. The $1 battery didn’t work. The $10 battery didn’t work. While trying batteries, I did notice that the remote had no way to reset or change frequency.
We probably need a new remote. I checked around. Our extra remote did not work either. And, on all of eBay, there was one.
Let’s ask the manufacturer. Genie customer service tells me there is no replacement remote. They recommend that we get a new garage door opener.
Let’s check amazon for universal remotes anyway. (MacGyver Mode has a sidekick named Stubborn Girl.) Okay. It’s confirmed. Universal remotes will not work on the Genie Model 450.
Let’s check the system. And there’s me on a ladder, checking connections, unplugging things, plugging things back in, unscrewing things, searching the garage floor for screws, etc.
Well, that didn’t work. Let’s visit the internet. Hmmm. It appears as if the problem is that the frequency used on this old model has become too overcrowded OR the remote receiver itself is kaput. Either way, there are products designed to update the signal/change the frequency without installing a completely new garage door opener. Sweet!
Hello amazon. Ooh. I found the Genie GIRUD-1T. I felt nearly certain that, for under a hundred bucks, I could have the solution delivered to my door. But then what?
Okay, YouTube, what have you got? Yes! A-ha! It is indeed do-able. Step-by-step instructions are playing right before my eyes. But. Oh. It requires electrical wiring.
Note: I once MacGyver’ed myself into a situation that ultimately resulted in me making a solemn vow to never do electrical work ever again. And a promise is a promise.
Ah. Well.
So, we called the garage guy again and explained that we didn’t think we needed a whole new garage door opener but were curious about replacing the old receiver with a Genie GIRUD-1T or something like that. That guy shared his opinion of “people who find things on amazon!” and never got back in touch.
Okay.
Then we called our new garage guy (David P. Giel Garage Doors, Allison Park) and explained the situation. This guy showed up within 48 hours, fixed the door in about 15 minutes, and charged only $125. Best of all, he was really nice to my Dad who has been a caged social butterfly for nearly 4 months. The smile on Dad’s face was worth every penny and then some.
It was the receiver that needed to be replaced. So I had been in the ballpark with pretty good seats. But I’m relieved that all I had to do was sit back and cheer.
If you are in the Pittsburgh area and need help with your garage door, I very highly recommend:
David P. Giel Garage Doors
4055 William Flinn Highway (Route 8)
Allison Park, PA 15101
(412) 487-7295
A Black Square
Let me clarify.
A black square does not mean “I hate police.” A black square does not mean, “I think violence is the answer.” A black square does not mean that my life revolves around what is cool on social media.
It was one small thing. A little black square. Please don’t knock it. Please don’t hijack it. Please don’t use it as another distraction or another way to polarize opinion.
I posted a black square as a way of saying, I see racism. I see inequality. I know it exists. I want things to change. I posted a black square to say, I cannot believe we aren’t doing better than this in the 21st century. I posted a black square to say, I’m here. I don’t know much but, Um, Hi. I’m here.
I can deeply respect policemen and women and still post a black square.
I can love this country and still post a black square.
I wouldn’t for a second assume I know what it’s like. But I sure as heck have witnessed racism.
I have heard friends use the N word. I said, “Don’t.” But that doesn’t feel like enough.
I have heard elderly people say racist things. I never know how to handle that. I have disagreed gently at times. But I’m sorry to say there have been times when I just bit my lip. I feel bad about that.
I dated a bigot. Holy crap, I slept with a bigot. I also broke up with him, but racism was a contributing factor, not the primary reason. (I’m ashamed of that entire paragraph.)
I know a couple of bars that will not allow black people in the door. I won’t drink there. But so-called “private clubs” still exist. And that doesn’t seem right.
I’m no evangelist. I’m no extremist. I’m neither left nor right. Folks, I wasn’t going to blog about this. Mine is not a relevant voice. I’m a pasty pale white, non-political, fallible human. I have absolutely no idea how it feels to be black in America. But, while I wouldn’t dare to say I understand, I’m not blind. I’m not stupid.
Racism exists. Things need to change.
I saw a black square on Facebook this morning and I was curious. I read a few articles. One article included a quote I had never seen before:
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. — Martin Luther King
That struck me. That resonated. And from there, I interpreted the black square as a way to not be silent. It was a simple black square, a symbolic statement on social media. It was not enough, by real real real real real real far. But, today, it was a tiny way to be kind.
That is how I saw it. That is what I meant.
There are times when we all need to take a breath, pause a beat, and try to see the best in each other. This is one of those times.
Life Preservers 