Wired

DirecTV did their installation yesterday.  The job took about four hours, but I am finally back in touch with the outside world.  (Being a news junkie is difficult when you're not around a TV.)

The best location for the satellite dish turned out to be the far corner of the garage.  This dish tracks three satellites — one for most programming, one for local stations, and one for... something else.  Dan, the installer, ran the wire along the front of the garage, grounded it using the garage grounding rod, and then put it underground into the house.  From there it splits into three lines, one for the living room, one for the office, and one for the guest bedroom upstairs.

Dan mounts the dish on the garage roof.

This spot proved to have the strongest signal.

I am finally wired... and back in touch with the world.

There's a little gadget on the garage which Dan assures me will "blow up" if the satellite dish is struck by lightning.  He said the garage would probably burn down, but the house should be relatively safe.  I'm not sure how comforting that information is! •••