New Brother Printer

It's a doozie!  Model MFC-L 8905CDW.  Yeah, I splurged...   

But I can print in color again (and I assume scan and fax).  But it wasn't easy setting it up.  Not the printer's fault, I was just stupid and confused about a few things.  

First, let me say it is very early morning.  I couldn't sleep last night (too much sleep the day before).  So there I was in bed completely awake.  I got dressed and started a load of laundry.  And then I thought about The New Printer.  So I decided to install it.  Three hours later, it works.  And all the difficulties (except one) were completely my errors.

Second, let me say I bought a 1/8th" custom-cut plastic top for the computer desk 2 years ago (for easier cleaning) but never put it on because the (failed) canon printer was too damn heavy to move easily.  So I pulled the Canon off the deck (nearly killed me) and dumped it on the floor.  Moved all the other stuff to one side and lemon-pledged that.  Moved stuff again and did the other half.

I built the computer desk many years ago.  In fact, it is so old it has a slot for fanfold paper to come up from a box on a shelf underneath!  But it is sturdy and nicely finished, so I keep it.  With the old Canon printer off, I slid the plastic top halfway on, moved the smaller stuff onto it, and got it in place.  Looks lovely.

But guess what?  I can't lift the new Brother printer onto the desk!  It sits on the floor, which made plugging cables awkward and I think I'll need to keep it covered to protect it from cat furs.

So I read the startup instructions.  I say "read" but mostly it was just poor images I had to struggle to follow.  It came from China of course.  Pulled off all the packing tape.  Some packaging items were weird.  One part was like 12" of plastic that looked like part of the printer!

It was "oh that's what the drawing was about".  I went on like that for an hour.  Even some tape that looks like it should be removed apparently isn't.  😖

But I did get it properly unpacked.  Then "load paper".  OK, that wasn't a problem.  Next, plug in the printer.  Did that into the battery backup surge suppresser.   For fax capability, I had to connect a phone cord to the router.  On my back with a flashlight.  Struggled for a few minutes.

Finally came to "connect the printer to your computer".  Should be easy, right?  No, that took another hour.  The printer came with a CD for connecting.  It didn't work.  Apparently, my CD is too old.  There was a download site.  That drove me crazy.

The printer was plugged in and connected to the computer.  But nothing happened.  I pressed the on/off power button a few times.

Oops, wrong button!  I finally found the actual power button (unlit little dark circle).  And when I pressed that, the printer made a screaming noise!  I went through several iterations of on/off (saying "bad words" frequently).  

I finally went back under the desk with my flashlight and pulled out the power plug.  I had it in a non-backup outlet and it seems the printer didn't like that.  It stopped screaming at me  after I changed some plugs around to give it a battery back-up outlet.  😣

Keep in mind that the CD didn't work, so I was at a Brother help website...

And then the instructions said to connect the printer to the computer.   I wrote down the menu sequence.  It didn't work.  Drove me nuts.  Then I finally realized I hadn't actually plugged the printer into the computer!   I should be shot for "computer malfeasance".  😢

Hurray, the computer recognized the printer!  I printed out a nice color version of

If you work hard and long enough, sometimes things work!

The Daylilies

Individual pictures of them are great.  But they don't show the whole of the row.

Left half...

 Right half...

And the whole of it.

I'm going to stick a color label at the base of each plant.  Because they are large enough to want to be divided this Fall.  I never object to free plants, and lilies are very hardy.  I think they will make a nice border along the drainage easement (think "artificial creek along property line") because they grow thickly enough to smother weeds and tolerate almost any conditions.

The "BAD" Room

There is always some room where the junk goes, right?  For me it is the computer room. 

I'm changing things.  But things look at their worst before they get better.  I moved a bookcase that had been in place for 32 years.  And the cheap carpet I had installed there was awful.  It faded fast.

Proof:

The middle part is the carpet that was covered by the bookcase for 32 years.  The bottom part is how it looks today in spite of vaccuuming and even a few "steam" cleanings.  The top is all the awesome gross dust and grime that settled behind the bookcase all those years!

I am replacing the carpet of course.  And with linoleum.  It is the computer room, after all, and having a solid surface easy to roll a chair in makes sense.  I haven't decided on a color/pattern...

I could go with anything from jet black to solid blue too speckled.  Need to wash the walls and repaint too. 

But it was astonishing to see the difference in the original carpet and the current look!

I bet I end up with soothing greens.  What colors and floors are YOUR computer rooms?

Matching Paint, 2

So I went to Lowe's because Home Depot said they had the same (Duron Aztec Rouge) paint color in Valspar.  Well, of course Lowe's had no idea what I was talking about.  According to their computer, they had no such color.

It was maddening!

But I had info with me...  And all I wanted was a color card.  Lowe's sells Valspar paint.  I had the closest Valspar color name with me.  They couldn't find it!  Not the color sample card or even the color.  And Valspar had it on their website.  But Lowe's couldn't find it in any of their colr sample cards.

I showed the paint guy  the formula for the paint, but he didn't understand it, which was frustrating.  Paint color is defined in 3 numbers.  Hue, Saturation, and Lightness.  All paint companies understand that.  That is HOW they define their colors.  If *I* worked in paints, I would make sure to understand that.

My original color was Hue, Saturation, and Lightness 4, 46, 84.  I found that Valspar "Hearts Afire" was only one number different.  But they couldn't even find that in their own line of paint.

But I also had a Pittsburgh paint name of the litterally same color with me.  One number different in a different category.  Lowe's could find THAT!  They mixed a quart of paint for me.

I probably don't even care much if there is a slight color mismatch.  Its a black-out bedroom and the color hasn't faded much after 25 year but maybe some.  Better a close match than bare plaster patch, right?

But this experience of color matching is really reinforced my conviction that even the "experts" in retail sales haven't the slightest idea of what they are really doing.  They just learn "the system" and are good little employees.

Don't Shop For Colors On A Rainy Day!

OK, I'm a guy, I can remember about 16 colors in my head when I shop (but interestingly, I know 64 compass directions).  But at least when I'm looking at them in a store, I can tell slight differences.  So there I was deciding to get a new bath towel to (sort of) fit with the  shower curtain with bright colors and the green floor mat.  I thought a generally olive color would look OK.  I selected one a computer color chart says is "dark moss green".  I got it home and hung it on the towel rack.  It looks gray with a hint of blue!  I can't even FIND that on the computer color chart (well computer monitors are limited).

I also wanted some deep green casual button shirts and found one that was definitely green but pretty dark, but I thought it would do.  At home?  It looks charcoal!  Maybe it will look OK outside in sunlight...

One of my first post-college jobs was as Manager of a department store shoe department.  One aisle was of ladies fashion shoes.  I ALWAYS used to insist that they bring the shoes they chose to the front of the store to see the real color in daylight.  I would have done that myself today, except the Menswear Dept of the Target store is about 1/4 mile away from the front of the store, and it was raining anyway. 

I should know better.  Men buy things one at a time and hope they match.  A mat here, a curtain there, when some item needs to be replaced, etc.  Women buy "outfits" or "rooms".  Someday, I will learn to do that. 

But for now, I am cursed with bluish-gray towels that SHOULD look moss green.  Well, the cats don't mind.  Maybe I will buy real-daylight bulbs to put all over the house.