It came out really well. Comfort still isn’t ideal (I don’t think the ergos are really possible to repair) but it’s way better than it was. And it actually looks presentable.

I ripped out the ugly old FLOR tiles that I had in there too, exposing the faux hardwood in the living room. Really makes the place look a lot more like a place to live..

In the short term, I’m:

- redoing the couch in a black leather with yellow stitching, to replace the ugly dog hair-prone fabrics that are in here now.
- redoing the horrible FLOR tiles that I have on the floor, and replacing them with some small rugs (plus a new bathroom rug)
- painting the ceiling fixtures (probably silver, rather than the ugly off-white)
- redoing the shower in blue with a better door that actually opens and closes properly

I’ve also figured out my plan for the dinette — I’m going to reuse the existing tabletop, move it against the TV wall (mount with some L brackets), move the leg to the corner, and rip out the dinette benches, replacing them with some normal chairs. Probably can’t do this until I’m back on the east coast, though, whenever that is.

Anyway, to fix this nonsense, I bought a PAC Sony Unilink Adapter from amazon.  It’s an overpriced ($30!) dongle that fakes the head unit into thinking it has a bus controller on, and that CD2 is enabled.  Here’s sortof what it looks like installed:

If you install this, make sure it’s facing up.  I couldn’t get it to connect facing down, though the space is a little tight, so maybe it would’ve worked.  

To actually activate it, hit SOURCE to get to CD, and then hit MODE to get to CD2.  That’s your auxiliary in.  (Make sure you connect to the proper set of inputs, one is actually a preamp out..)

Here it is in action:

There is no good way to run a Y cable out of the cabinet and actually put the cover back on without some cutting or drilling.  Don’t try to pinch a cable – it’s really tight and will cut the cable.  Some minor dremeling should take care of this in the cabinet, but there’s now way to run the cable down to the couch or anything.  I don’t imagine this is a big deal for most people – the cable can just dangle if you’re listening to iTunes at the couch, or just stick the laptop/ipod in the cabinet.  (Screen saver might make for an interesting nighttime effect behind the smoked plastic..)

After nearly a week with no hot water, the hot water heater randomly started to work.  Also, after nearly a week with a few leaks in the roof, the leaks seem to have plugged themselves.

I left Magic at home rather than taking him to work yesterday.  I wonder if he worked his.. magic. ?

.. and the door on the airstream won’t latch.

joy.

Sadly, the next two days are ridiculously cold (10 degrees or something ridiculous?), and I plan on heading west on Saturday.  Going to be an interesting time packing.