IKEA Hack #3 RAST Shelves

This is my 3rd  IKEA hack which is a very simple one to do.

Due to fitting new flooring, I couldn't have the existing RAST drawers beside the bed due to the quadrant trim over the laminate flooring. So had to find an alternative solution.

Flooring laid w/o trimming & drawers fit, but only just.

So I went for RAST shelves as they fit nicely beside the bed.

But I found them too low for the bed. Was just a nightmare to reach down for my cuppa, bedtime reading, etc.

So I decided like my BERTBY hack I would hang them on the wall with FAKTUM Brackets.

 

But the bottom shelf was too high for the plugs & didn't look right with legs hanging like they are, so decided to lower the bottom shelf to mirror the top shelf.

I started by putting the leg planks together & rotate one round so holes of this leg plank are opposite to the other leg plank, then used a drill to carefully drill through the holes into the other plank to make a set of matching holes.

This did mean I had extra holes not required now & didn't want them visible, so I carefully filled & sanded them flush to the wood.

Next was to drill a larger hole on 1 side of each set of shelves to feed wiring from plugs for lamps, chargers, etc then painted all the wood to cover my filling & protect the wood.

Once paint had dried, it was a case of building the 2 set of shelves & hang them to the wall on either side of the bed.

As you can see by next pic, the wiring feeds through & lamp switches are stuck in place with those no-damage adhesive pads.

I was very pleased with the results & feel the shelves really go with the decor & make the room look bigger because you can see the floor..

'Autumn' 30 DAYS OF BIKING

If you are new to me or not paid attention to my Facebook & Twitter post, I have been posting daily throughout September about #30daysofbiking, but this isn't my 1st one as I did it in April too 30-days-of-biking.

Now if you haven't heard of it then here’s the site which tells more about this global event '30 days of biking story', quite simply it’s a pledge: Ride somewhere every day for 30 days then share your adventures online.

So why did I do this 30 days of biking? Well I've done it before & was a struggle, so thought I do it again to see if A. I still can, B. I can do better. Thankfully we had some really good weather for it.

So how did I do? Well, I found it easier than last time. Managed to beat my times to town & back but the 2 main things I excelled in was that I finally managed to cycle more than 10 miles & get back in 1 trip & twice I managed to cycle to town with trailer then cycle back with shopping. Both of those I've tried some months back & failed to do, so quite chuffed I was able to.

Below are some charts showing my performance of April & September to show how I did.

As you can see I only did a little bit more in mileage & duration, but that was partly due to the fact I got a lovely stinking head cold on the last week. But I did do the 30 days & it was the last day I exceeded my endurance by pulling a trailer home with over 20kg of cat litter in it for about 3 miles. But due to being faster & working harder in my riding I'd used a lot more calories, not a bad thing & is showing on my figure & improved walking.

So as like April's 30 days of cycling, where do I go? Well, starters I will now rely on cycling & not buses. After all I can now get there faster than a bus & more reliable, I'm already kitting up winter wear to help cycle through the colder weather. I've signed up to a cycling group where they go on leisurely gentle cycle rides & plan to do more of these. I had fun with the last one to Hyland House, even if it was a 15 mile round trip.

But now I can cycle regularly & carry weight on bike &/or in trailer, it definitely means I can look to work part time. Been retraining with Jobcentre & just need someone to give me a job to help me continue improving my health at my pace, which is working just fine with the cycling. :D

But until then, I'll keep on cycling & work on upgrading part on my bike as I've definitely got my moneys worth out of the beast since buying it second hand & some parts are showing wear. I will keep you all updated as time goes on, until then how about you give it a try if you haven't already? Don't have to wait until next year, just try it now for 30 days & see how you do. That is if you don't do it already.….

Single Feed Sky+ Get Around when away.

Since moving into my flat, I have had an issue with my Sky+, the built in satellite system has only one feed. Why new builds have built in single satellite feed? I dunno, maybe coz they know we need a 2nd feed & justified to charge £100 to add a 2nd feed which is a RIP off in my books.

Now if you have a Sky+ system you know this is a big issue, no longer can you record one channel whilst watching another or more importantly record different channels when out or not watching TV.

Well after many searches to find a ways round this, I found none & it is a pain. But I found a way to get around the issue of recording more than one channel whilst away. So I will try to explain it & show how easy it is to use.

Firstly, you need to understand why you cant record 2 separate channels one after the other. Simply put, what ever channel you are on you are locked into that feed & will stay like that until you change it manually. So the 2nd feed that has no signal due to the single feed & the Sky+ cant record a separate channel.

So to record different channels, the following method will lock 2nd feed to nothing & keep the 1st feed free to record any channel as long as you are recording one show after the other.

To start with you need to set up your recordings to follow one after another. Here's an example:

Now you need to start a recording, now it could be something you want that's just started or something you can just delete later. As long as it doesn't clash with your later recordings, you be okay.

Then whilst the recording is going on, change to another channel that isn't going to be used for recording. I chose channel 999 as I find this is the best one to use as you don't need this channel for recording. You will get 'No satellite signal is being received' on the screen, this is fine. It is what you want, you have now gone to the 2nd feed & is locked onto this channel, so when the current recording has finished, the 1st signal feed is free to change channel to record the next programme on another channel that's on the schedule.

Later when you go back to the Sky+, you will still get the ' No satellite signal is being received' on channel 999 & recordings have been done.

To get the signal back so you can watch the channels again, just go to the channel that's recording if it still is. If not, go to menu & select the channel you want to watch & use it as normal.

You still can't record another channel whilst watching another, I wish I could work out how to sort that one. But this method helps if you want to record whilst out for the day or even a week if you got enough room on hard drive. Hope it helps, it does work as I have been using this method for some weeks now to be sure & no failed recordings.

IKEA Hack #2 BERTBY

This is my 2nd IKEA hack, I came across 2 BERTBY Cabinets dumped by the bin sheds & was just starting to rain. So I thought I save them as were in good condition, but not for long with the rain.

Unfortunately it had no fixtures or shelves, so had to think up another way to use them.

So I thought for the 1st BERTBY, why not fix to the wall? Just need the mounting brackets like those used to mount FAKTUM wall Cabinets. So I went to my local IKEA & asked for some & they were happy to help. So off I went to start this plan.

First I had to mark out where the brackets go & drill holes carefully so not make a mistake as some holes were of a set depth.  I used 4 brackets due to the length of the unit.

 

So once brackets are fitted to unit, it was a case of marking holes on wall to fix it to the wall. This was fun to do on my own & recommend 2 people to do this, but I managed w/o incident. lol

Looks OK when hung & despite the low height it doesn't stick out much to bang head on.

Looks pretty cool when filled too, tho there is some cosmetic work to do on the sides at a later date by filling & covering the bare areas on the ends as well as some lighting inside the case.

Now for the 2nd one which is in working progress, I decided to put it on a long furniture leg & fix it to the wall at the top with a mounting L bracket.

Still got to sort out shelves (possibly glass) but looks OK & could do with some lighting in it too.

IKEA Hack #1 Slim BESTA Entertainment Unit

I had submitted this on a site http://www.ikeahackers.net among other ones, but only this one was published in December 2011. So I am going to build up the hacks I've done on my site so even if not submitted, they are here to be seen.

Materials

BESTA, INREDA Pull-out frame, INREDA Shelf insert, SNUDDA, Hole borer drill bit

Description

Main objective was to minimise space of all my entertainment equipment. In previous flat I had metal brackets with cut to size shelves to hold all equipment above TV which worked well on the solid wall.But in new smaller flat, its hollow plasterboard walls & doubtful it could hold all the equipment, so had to be free-standing & I decided to use a Besta Wood effect tall unit. 

I measures the levels where the shelves were to go to give breathing room to equipment, done w/o TV at 1st as was planning more units to hang on wall over TV. I then measure evenly the holes to drill out & big enough to feed a plug through. Then it was a case of fitting the equipment in & wire it all up & put in its place. 

Few months later I found out this wood effect style had been discontinued & couldn't get any more Besta's to match, I decided to put TV inside the unit on a pull out drawer & have it swivel so I can watch TV from the PC desk. I used a plank of wood to sit TV on, the bearing mechanism of a SNUDDA lazy susan to swivel the TV. All bolted/screwed onto the INREDA Shelf insert sitting in the INREDA Pull-out frame. 

The remaining space is for boxes of knick-knacks using PAPPIS cardboard boxes, which 2 fits lovely on each shelf & I was able to fit 4 with room for power supply at the bottom for all the equipment. 

Tho it took a few months to get all of it together, it actually was 2 days work & look great next to the other Besta I was able to get & use as a display cabinet. next stage it to back light the units & then it will all be finished.

(I have moved since this blog & remodelled the design. The updated blog can be found here: http://wolfiesblogs.blogspot.com/2015/07/ikea-hack-1-slim-besta-entertainment.html?spref=tw)

30 DAYS OF BIKING

As some of you might have noticed on Facebook & Twitter that is if you are following me of course, I have been posting daily throughout April about #30daysofbiking. Now if you haven't heard of it then here’s the site which tells more about this global event '30 days of biking story', quite simply it’s a pledge: Ride somewhere every day for 30 days then share your adventures online.

So why did I do this 30 days of biking? Well it was to prove that I could. Anyone who knows me knows all to well know I have been on crutches/walking sticks for near on 2 decades & for the past 4yrs+ I have been trying to get off them after a major operation which is explained here in these links '3 steps forward 2 steps back', 'My bone cyst op', leg update', 'walking stick free (well almost)' & 'year-later'.

So how did I do? Well it wasn't easy, that's for sure. Some days I only managed a mile or 2, other days I managed to push myself & do a bit more between 5 & 7 miles. One occasion I managed to do over 9 miles which to some may not sound much, but to me was exhausting. Despite the hardship, aches & pains I did do the full 30 days of biking.

And here are the stats for the month of cycling & as you can see I’ve done a lot more in a month than I have in the previous few months, burned some calories, saved on CO2 as well as save on petrol used. Even lost a bit of weight & toned up the body, which can’t be a bad thing?






So what now? Well if anything I’m going to carry on using my bike & rely less on public transport. I can get to town in less time than a bus, go figure? I’ve had to make adjustments to the bike as my cycling ergonomics has changed & I found that by doing all this cycling, my knee hasn't locked up once though has protested at times which isn't as often now.

But the main difference is I am going to give up the stick this month, except for when doing heavy shopping (still have trouble with carrying weighty things), more to do with strength & that’s improving with the cycling. And I am now thinking it’s time to return to the world of employment. Scary but a necessary evil we all have to live with, though will be limited in what I can do & want to go for a job which requires no sitting at a desk/till all day (obvious reasons, my knee) & no really heavy lifting. Also this week I am going to try get in contact with the DWP to try use a ‘return to work’ scheme for those who’s been on long term sickness benefits, yeah I know wishful thinking but it's been far to long since I last worked & like to earn more than the benefits I get. Might even try get a job in cycling, I’ve always liked cycling just couldn't cycle before now due to my leg & am mechanically minded. Again yes I know wishful thinking. But would be beneficial in many ways & we all know cycling is on the increase so a good area to look into.

As for improving my cycling, well I now have a trailer to carry extra weight behind me. Just need to get legs strong enough to be able to get to town with it & back with a full load. But this time last year I barely managed to cycle a mile & back, so this time next year I should be able to. Hell I’m also considering doing a sponsored cycle ride, who knows?

I will keep you all updated as time goes on, until then how about you give it a try? Don't have to wait until next year, just try it now for 30 days & see how you do. That is of course if you don't do it already to work, shop, etc.….

Getting Google Contacts & Calendar to sync on Generic Android Tablets

Following my previous blog on a Tablet I had bought just over a year ago, one thing I had found was an issue with it & a few others I have had a chance to play with is the fact that some tablets just don't sync with contacts & calendar online. The only way to get them is via Google’s website, which is fine but I like to use instant access via apps just like I do on my mobile.



So after a while I decided to do a bit of research & there’s plenty of ways to resolve it, but they either involved rooting and/or downloading missing files that are required from dubious sites & unsure if they are safe. So I thought I try a method not mentioned or I just not come across it online & it does involve having a mobile at hand & a online file syncing a/c like Dropbox or SkyDrive.

So on trying it out this method I am about to explain, it worked on 2 tablets of different make & model; the Sonix 7 8" Android 2.2 Tablet which I have written about, the Storage Option Scroll Excel 7” Android 2.3 Tablet & the mobile used is the HTC Wildfire with Android 2.2.



So as I was saying, I needed to get contacts & calendar to sync with my online a/c, the reason this wasn't happening was that the tablet was missing 2 important files in the main directory. These are GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk & GoogleCalendarSyncAdapter.apk. As to why they are missing I do not know, maybe its a licensing thing.

NOTE: Before you read any further & try this, it is down to you if you do & will be solely your responsibility if it goes wrong as I can't guarantee it will work for every make & model or what version of Android you may have.

So the 1st thing I needed to do was to find the missing files on the mobile, they were found under system/app on the mobile (not SD card). Then had to get them to somewhere where I could make use of them, I used a file explorer app called ES File Explorer (http://goo.gl/L3cxr), you might have a different preference of this app that does similar function but I liked this one.

So I highlighted the 2 files I needed & copied them to the SD Card (sdcard/downloads), the reason for this is when I tried to upload the files directly from original location on the mobile to the Dropbox folder online it failed as they are protected files. But copying them to SD Card then to Dropbox worked.

Next was to upload them from the mobile’s SD Card onto Dropbox folder online so I can access them from the tablet.

     

Once uploaded, its ready to get them on the tablet.

Warning! Continue from this stage at your own risk! I am not responsible & cannot be held liable in the unfortunate event that the process causes damage to your device and/or voids your warranty.

Just click & install the 2 individual file & that is it, let the tablet sync up with your online a/c & you’ll get your contacts & calendar available.



Now due to so many variations of Android Mobile phones & tablets, I cant guarantee it will work for you. But having copied the 2 missing files from an Android 2.2 mobile phone to both an Android 2.2 & 2.3 tablets & worked with no problems with both tablets. So I don't see an issue with crossing over from 2.2 to 2.3 Android software, none of the devices was rooted & this should work for any device from Android 2.2+.

So I wish you luck if you try this as I found it the easiest/safest way to sort out the problem.

A year Later……

 I cant believe its been a year, yes a year since I moved from Surrey to Essex. And what a year its been, definitely not a quiet year either. Also apologies for not blogging in that year either, it has been busy & hectic.


One of the things I've been busy with is the flat I have moved to & as you can see from the pictures, what a difference its make with a coat of paint & decent flooring.

     

    

    

    

    

But it wasn't just my flat that had lots of changes too, I also had things going on over the past year. Mainly health related with popping in & out of hospitals for tests upon tests upon tests, all for my knee & a lump that had appeared on my left arm causing pain just before the move.

After various tests they decided to just remove the lump on the arm, so in September I went for a day in hospital for an op & went well.

        

It proved to be successful & arm is now fully healed & getting stronger, which is a good thing being that I'm left handed.


As for my knee, all the tests just came up clean. Nothing wrong with it, just the muscles being weak from decades of not using my leg when using crutches. So for the past couple months I have been doing Physio & knee has been improving to the point where they got me in a Lower Limb Gym for an hour a week. Its proved to be the best thing for me as I have had physio before I moved & didn't have a gym workout, the workout helped more an physio has & now got this to play with…..




I am now cycling once a week (soon to be twice) for only a mile (where Morrison's is) & back (with a bit of shopping) & knee is coping ok atm. Eventually it will be every day & lil bit further out, but as I have learnt is you really need patience at this as push that lil bit to far & you’ll end up back at square one (I learnt that one the hard way).


So what’s for the next 12 months, who knows? All I do know is I am getting better & fitter & soon to be back looking for work in the new year as will eventually classed as ‘fit to work’, though will be part time if I can find a job. I am hoping to get help as I am one of the long term Sickness benefit claimant the Government wants back to work & so looking forward to do that myself.
As for the flat, still loads more to do……


OH, and for those who don't know why I moved 100’s of miles, well this is why!


    


Things you do for love! xxxxxxxxxxx