The Big Dig

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A long time ago, in the previous century, there was a project in the Boston area called the Big Dig. It was a highway that decreased travel time through Boston. It took over 20 years to complete and cost billions.

My Big Dig project will hopefully take a little less time and a lot less money; I have to dig a trench for a fiber glass conduit pipe that will speed up my digital highway.

The length is 130 ft (40m) and will cross my driveway. The plan is to make it as straight as possible as any corner means more friction to pull the fiber cable through.

The picture below shows the trajectory;

F150 after 26 months break

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As you know, I have a Ford F-150 cabin crew pickup parked next to Ozuye. I knew that despite being disconnected, the battery would be flat. But much to my surprise, after recharging the batteries this morning, I tried starting it and it did without any hesitation.

So now I can get my insurance running too and hopefully get the truck approved again. It beats having to rent a car all the time, every time.

Parties or Fight?

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This is the first time in over 2 years that I’m back at Ozuye myself. COVID travel bans made it impossible. Luckily, thanks to Arnoud fixing things, Ozuye has rented out fine since then. One downside of guests is that not all guests behave as such. Some either have parties or fights, causing some damage:

Above is what used to be a table. My guess is someone not only stepped, but jumped on it.

Saloon doors might trigger saloon behavior; two pieces are missing and can only have been kicked out.

Luckily both of these I can fix, so I’ll add them to my todo list.

Coffee Table

cedar, Great Room

As Arnoud suggested in an earlier comment, another thing I could make out of cedar is a coffee table. So I did. All corners are rounded to 45 degrees, so when you bump into it, it’s never too pointy. Chalk up one more for excess cedar.

The area rug is a low cost Ikea one, but keeps the feet warm when not wearing shoes. (Mind you, in Summer, your feet won’t mind the somewhat cooler tiles at all.)

Clothes Rack

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According to April, my Hill Country Premier Lodging contact, Ozuye will probably be popular for people attending weddings in the area. As I don’t have any tall closets that would allow hanging up a dress or a suit, I was advised to get a clothes rack. As you know by now, I’m kinda handy with excess cedar, so I made this one from cedar and the extension rod I did not need for the curtains.

LockState

Great Room

The August lock was the first gadget I added to Ozuye, allowing me to lock/unlock the front door from my phone and watch. It worked fine, except for one thing; it ran out of batteries within 3 months, even without using the lock. Another downside was that it was only operable by those with the correct App on their phone. And even though most people have a smart phone, it could not be integrated into the operation of the company I’m using for renting it out. So it was time for a change; in comes this new lock.

It’s much like the August lock, in that it can be controlled remotely. But the main difference is that it uses a key code for entry. That key code can be controlled remotely, and different codes can be setup for different people. That way you can have different access codes for cleaning staff, guests, etc.  This one does not run out of juice quickly; it uses a wifi connection at intervals to update codes, and goes into sleep mode when not used. To enter a code, you press the top button to “wake up” the lock, and then the code you received.
It’s the default brand used by most rental properties in the area.

Wall Fixtures

Bathroom

The only negative comment on the bathroom was on the lights above the mirrors. Although practical (Just plain bulbs) they were not very nice to look at. And as I don’t like many wall fixtures, and wanted enough light when you stand in front of the mirrors, I decided to make my own. From (you guessed it) excess Cedar. Now the lighting is indirect and brings more atmosphere.

I also treated the tiles with a sealer, to prevent too much water leaking from the shower area down to the other side of the bathroom. Although it helps a little, anything that is spilled over the barrier, will have a tendency to flow into the bathroom. But if you sweep the remaining water back over the barrier, and help the collected water there towards the drain, it is a very comfortable shower. At some point, I will add a second drain strip, where the barrier now is located of 64″ wide. Then the water will not build up anymore but can all drain out properly, and most of the barrier can be removed. Some water sweeping will still be needed to make the floor dry quicker, but that’s hard to avoid.

Even more Cool

Great Room

What’s more cool than Mr Cool? Two Mr Cool’s. The great room now has Mr Cool 24K, the big brother of Mr Cool 12K that’s in the master bedroom.  It can be set to quiet, but if needed can create a breeze that is felt on the other side of the room.

This split unit heat pump can also heat up the great room, with more than twice the capacity of the heaters that I had until now. But as it is May now, I won’t be doing any heating soon, as temperatures don’t drop enough. Mr Cool 24k is a newer generation AC compared to the 12K, and has a new App, that’s a lot easier to use. Both AC units, like almost all lights, I can control remotely. So next time I drive over here, I can set the temperature to 73 before I leave, so when I get there, the great room temperature and humidity is comfortable.

 

 

Ultra flat screen

Great Room

The only logical place for a big TV in the great room is right in the middle. And even a very nice flatscreen TV would be in th way there. So I thought of a different solution, involving an obsolete projector, and obsolete Apple TV, and (thanks to my brother Karel for providing) a little gadget that allows an Apple TV to be connected to a VGA screen. Normally that’s prohibited by a technology called HDCP, intended to prevent copying. But with the gadget, and an Ikea roll up blinds set, I now have a 57″ ultra flat TV.

The colors aren’t that blue, that’s just my camera choosing the ambient light as neutral.
It plays Netflix, Music, Radio and anything streamed to it using Airplay. When not in use, you simply roll it up to the ceiling. The HomePod is moved to the tree, to be more natural as a sound source. Tomorrow, I’ll hook up power to the tree under the house, so the extension cords is no longer needed. Also coming is Air conditioning in the great room. More about that also tomorrow.