A tangled, itchy mess

I almost never have a "honey-do" list of things I want done around the house. I generally have more time on my hands and I enjoy figuring new things out, so I figure, why not just do it myself?

But I draw the line at electrical work, wiring, and anything having to do with cable cutting. (My hair's already frizzy enough without mild electrocution, and I would not put electrocution past me.)

Our little living room has been a wee bit pinched up front with the arrival of my piano. The only wall long enough to accommodate the piano happens to be the same wall that is now the home of our top-of-the-line, 13-inch TV/VCR combo. Though they both fit, everything looks out of place and cramped; so I've set my sights on rearranging our living room.

Early on I noticed we have a second cable jack in the living room. It's a perfect new location for the TV (in my opinion) because it's easily viewable from the kitchen. (I do the majority of my TV watching while making dinner or doing dishes). I figured out how to fit everything else in while maximizing the space in the room.

Then I noticed a big problem. The cable jack didn't work. Upon that discovery I enlisted Matt in yet another home renovation project.

We climbed up in our attic for the first time since move in, to find a tangled, unlabeled mess of cables surrounded by gobs of open insulation. We did a little investigative work and figured out which cables went to what rooms; sadly, we were unable to locate the cable for the second living room jack. Not wanting to dig around in the itchy insulation, we tried a different approach.

As we unscrewed the face plate, we found that the cable was not attached, crimped, or ready for use. There was a cable hanging in the wall, but the geniuses that built the house left it up to us, the homeowners, to hook up if we were so daring. Because this cable looked different than the others, we were able to locate its other end. It was in a wall box with about 8-9 other cable ends in our laundry room labeled, "tecCenter: Digital networking solutions". Those cables were also left unfinished and uncrimped, rendering them useless.

Now this little Tech Center, once we figured out what it was for, could be a really cool system. It's pretty much a giant splitter for the entire house's cable system. Every room in our house could be controlled by the little box in our laundry. If it were finished. Which it's not.

The only logical explanation for this that the first owners, who had the house built to their specifications, went with dish network so they figured it unnecessary to hook things up for cable. Lame. If it were actually usable it would be a great tool so you never have to climb around on beams, dodge insulation, and rummage through unlabeled cables in the attic. Once again: If it were usable. Which it's not.

Matt's interested in purchasing cripmers and thinks he can get everything up and running in due time. Who am I to stop him?