oh *hell*

[rmd]

so, several of the rooms in my house have built-into-the-wall air
conditioner units. just regular room a/c units with boxes built
around them instead of them being set in windows.

one of them is set in a wall with no nearby window. and the door to
the little box was half-open and it had become a major roosting
spot for pigeons, and it was drafty. so i figured, hey, i'll
make a big clatter to chase the pigeons away, and then unwedge
the rope and pull the door shut. then in spring, i can replace
the rope and clear out the pigeon shit and such and tack up
some screening to keep birds out. or, more likely, pay someone
else to do that since it's about 30 feet up and i don't like working
on high ladders these days.

unfortunately, the rope was seriously frayed. and the frayed part caught
on the far side of the little pulley, and so as i tugged on it, it broke.
and the door fell open and the force of it was enough to cause the hinges
to pull out and the entire little door went tumbling down onto my
driveway.

*sigh* so i pulled the moulding off of the wall around the air conditioner,
pulled the a/c unit out, cleared pigeon shit and stuff out, and then stapled
up a half a dozen layers of garbage bag to try and provide some insulation.

and now i have to figure out what to do in the short term and long term about
this.