Project 5: Replacing my compost bin - Follow-up

Well, I did get a response from the city about the bin. They will send someone to repair it. Hopefully, it will be done soon. TBC.

Project 2: AutoCAD 2012 Review

Tonight, I am digging into what has changed in AutoCAD, notably since the 2009 version since that is the version I use on a daily basis. Two things of note:

 

The default support path is as follows on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer:

C:\Users\\appdata\roaming\autodesk\autocad 2012 - english\r18.2\enu\support

A nice improvement is the ability to add multiple support paths for printer files. Many users have CTB files in different locations and instead of adding shortcuts in each folder, a new search path can be added. This should also help when using ETransmit.

Project 2: AutoCAD 2012 First Look

I will be giving an AutoCAD 2012 class next week so I finally registered my copy of AutoCAD 2012 and here is a pic of the workspace. I will be blogging this week to share my thoughts on the changes.

Project 5: Replacing my compost bin

This city of Pointe-Claire (QC) instituted a green recycling program a few years ago. A green bin is picked up every week with all your garden trimmings, pizza boxes, kitchen scraps (no meat) and composted. A great way to reduce green waste from landfills. My bin cover was damaged by the collection machine and a small hole was added. Since then, animals have been chewing away at the hole making it bigger so that they can feed on the contents. Last year, I found 2 dead squirrels in the bin (1 died from heat exhaustion during a heatwave and the other drowned when the bin filled up during a heavy rain storm.

I contacted the city twice to replace the bin. My first attempt was for naught. Let's see if the second attempt bears fruit.

Lesson: if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

I will post a picture of the bin this week. 

Project 3: 41st Canadian Federal Election

Well, our 41st election came and went. Voting in the evening went very well. A small lineup that took about 30 minutes. The NDP crushed all opposition in Quebec and the Conservatives got a majority.

It will certainly be an interesting 4 years in Ottawa! Click here for the results.

Project 2: Install and test AutoCAD 2012

My second project is to install and test the new functionality of AutoCAD 2012.

I downloaded the 64-bit version and did a full install on my laptop. I now have AutoCAD 2012, Design Review 2012 and Inventor Fusion 2012 (a patch was available for download during the installation). Everything went well and went fairly fast when installed from a USB hard disk (less than 15 minutes).

I will post some screenshots tonight after I go vote tonight in the Canadian Federal Election (Project 3). The converage should be a hoot to watch this year.

Project 1: Fixing my backyard lawn

I have owned my house for 5 years and have complained about the crappy lawn in the backyard. Well, I finally did something about it. I used our family's 3HP rototiller to tear up half the lawn, added sand and compost and seeded the ground with clover yesterday afternoon.

Why add sand and compost?  Since the soil is very compact and has lots of clay in it, adding sand and compost will loosen the soil to help promote better root growth.

Why plant clover? Clover is a green fertilizer meaning that it will lock nitrogen into the soil, which is essential for root development. In August, I will till the whole yard under and possibly plant some grass at that point or a second batch of clover and seed a new lawn next year. Clover is also very good to get rid of grubs (which eat grass roots for lunch).

I will post a few pictures of the lawn as it develops. The germination time for the clover is 3-10 days depending on the amount of water the seeds get.

May is Project Month

I am starting a new initiative this month. I want to complete many little projects that have been lying around for a while. I will blog about technical issues on this blog and about fun, cool stuff on my other one. Stay tuned to either one for daily updates.

Fun blog: Fortress of Fun
Technical blog: ConsultSKC