I set up the speaker system I mentioned yesterday; it’s a Cambridge Soundworks “Microworks”. I wouldn’t exactly call it “micro”, but it works. Unfortunately, it also uses a lot of power (85 watts) and suffers from a good bit of hum, so I’ll probably get some small desktop speakers instead, with a switch and volume control that I can reach easily instead of having to go under the desk.

I had my first meeting with the new District Web team this afternoon – I’d been trying to get a replacement as Webmaster for a couple of years, but I hadn’t ever set a date certain for my departure, so nothing happened. In October, I told the District Director that I needed to be replaced by the end of 2020, and it’s happening! I will be helping tie up loose ends for a month or two, I’m sure, but the direction is clear.

UPS delivered the Mac mini this afternoon!

Setting it up was a little more trouble than I expected – I had to dig out a wired keyboard and touchpad (an old Cirque Smart Cat) to be able to pair it with the Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad I really want to use.

Then I realized that a Mac mini doesn’t include a microphone or a decent speaker – the webcam I’m using has a microphone, so that’s OK, but I’m going to have to figure out what to do about a speaker. I have an old Cambridge Soundworks system that I can use, but it includes a very large woofer that I’ll have to put somewhere, and the tweeters will take up some precious desk space, too. Or I could use headphones.

It’s going to take a while to figure out how to set things up properly – right now, there are wires all over the desk, some of which are probably unnecessary. I haven’t quite gotten comfortable with the placement of the monitor, keyboard, and touchpad yet – I’m sitting closer to the monitor than I did before, and it’s a big monitor.

It’ll all work out, right?