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Installing the Nest Thermostat is fairly simple.

The first step is, of course, turning off the main breaker for the HVAC system.

The included tape flags can be used to identify the wires.  Once the wires are labeled, the old base can be removed.

Since there were some blemishes on the wall left by the old thermostat, I decided to mount the Nest base on one of the mounting plates.  The Nest

includes drywall mounting hardware.  The Nest base clicks into the mounting plate.  The spirit level on the base can help to mount the Nest.  Two screws keep the base and the mounting plate securely fastened to the wall.

Once the base is fixed to the wall, the last step is to connect the wires by pushing down on the connectors and slipping the wires into the holes.  Once all of the wires are connected securely, the Nest is ready to be plugged in.

Here’s a short video I threw together showing the basic setup of the Nest Thermostat:

I strapped a video camera to the handlebars of my bike as an experiment to capture video of the bike ride this past weekend.  I think it worked pretty well, though there are lots of shaky parts I still need to edit out.  The music doesn’t really fit, either, but since YouTube strips out copyrighted music, I needed to go with something free.

The ride itself is a 17-mile leisurely tour through downtown Durham.  Riders can opt for a shorter 8-mile route.   The latter half of the longer ride also goes through the Durham Tobacco Trail greenway.   The ride starts at 8:30pm, so most of it takes place in the dark.  This was apparently the first time in the ride’s short history that there was actually a full moon on the night of the ride.

This was the first time in a long time that most of NC had a white Christmas.  Cary and I decided to take advantage of the snow and make a snowman.

Click the image below to view more images on my Flickr site.

Cary and I are registered for the Cree Habitat Bike Ride on October 30th.   This is a 31-mile ride, so it should be a lot of fun.

My donation goal is $100.  If you would like to donate, you can do so here:

http://www.active.com/donate/habitatbullmoonride/SKimpto

Cary also has a donation page:

http://www.active.com/donate/2010CreeHabitatRides/CKimpto1

More information on the Bull Moon Bike Ride can be found here:

http://www.durhamhabitat.org/

Cary, Cary Chris and I spent the weekend in Hershey, Pennsylvania visiting Hershey Park and Chocolate World.   I didn’t take any pictures in Hershey Park, but did get a few in Chocolate World.

The newest addition to Chocolate World is the “Make Your Own Chocolate Bar” exhibit.  Participants can choose the ingredients and toppings and watch them being added to their own chocolate bar, and can also design a custom label that wraps around a collector’s tin holding the chocolate bar.  Click the link below for the gallery.

Make Your Own Chocolate Bar

A few additional photos from  our trolley tour of Hershey can be found here.