The Last Move

Jan 12 2010

The move to our new house is complete and we have converted the empty house into a nice little home. Due to freezing weather I have not had a chance to work in the yard much, but spring will be here soon with many opportunities for that. The shed is a work in progress as well, with one wall of peg-board complete and a light hung. In the next few months we will be improving the yard and getting ready for summer.

Here is the current list of projects:

  • Build a 12×12 patio
  • Get rocks to make fire pit
  • Buy outdoor table, chairs and grill
  • Install shelf in shed and more pegboard
  • Run wire from house to shed for light
  • Till soil and plant garden
  • Get lawn mower and trimmer
  • Convince the grass to grow – working on first patch

  • Enjoy the summer outdoors
  • Remove old fence (south) and tree stumps – next year
  • Have new fence installed – next year

Picture Update:


This entry was originally posted on 2010-01-12 at 19:18

No responses yet

The Dog Days

Aug 27 2009

About a month ago, we got a dog. His name is Linus (after Linus). I haven’t had a dog in over ten years, so it’s been interesting. I am tiring of following him around waiting for him to crap, just so I can pick it up. It seems that they should clean after themselves, like cats do. Well, here is a short video of Linus.



This entry was originally posted on 2009-08-27 at 01:13

No responses yet

New Avery Video

Aug 20 2009

Here is a little video of Avery playing.



This entry was originally posted on 2009-08-20 at 12:06

No responses yet

Tux Paint

Jun 22 2009

I have to get this information out: Tux Paint is amazing.


Avery and Tux Paint

I tried Tux Paint a year or so ago and thought it was annoying and featureless. A couple months ago I tried it again, my mind has changed. Avery, now about 3 years old, loves it. Tux Paint is a paint program aimed at kids 3-12. You can paint freehand, draw shapes, use stamps (animals, cars, flowers, etc.) and use effects. It also has some pre-set backgrounds, including an airplane and a castle. It makes sounds as you paint and when you click on animal stamps. It also has the ability to save drawings and print plus many other customizable options (like locking down all keystrokes on computer so your kids can ONLY use Tux Paint until the program is exited).

This program reminds me of the experience I had with Apple IIgs when I was very young. All I knew of the Apple IIgs was that you could paint things on it and then make the picture come out of the printer. I was always puzzled that the dot-matrix printer we had didn’t print my drawings in color.

So if you have or know anyone from 3-12, install Tux Paint for them.

Its available for Linux, Mac and Windows here. If you are running Ubuntu, just go to “Add/Remove Programs” and search for “Tux Paint”. If you are running Windows, just switch to Ubuntu.

This entry was originally posted on 2009-06-22 at 14:09

No responses yet

Coat Hanger Antenna

Jun 20 2009

I get PBS, and I am happy.




I recently turned my cable service off since we don’t watch too much TV. The only down side was the trouble in picking up over-the -air stations. To resolve this, I decided to build a Coat Hanger Antenna. With Matt’s help, it only took 30min or so to complete.

For supplies I spent less than $10. Here is a part list:

6 hangers – free from local cleaner
10 #6 3/4 screws – $0.98
20 #6 washers – $0.98
1 piece of 100 grit sand paper – $0.60
1 matching transformer – $5.50
a 1″x4″x30″ board – $0.51

Total: $8.57

For more pics, see my Picasa page

This entry was originally posted on 2009-06-20 at 10:58

No responses yet

Closer than before

Jun 18 2009

This is in reference to the issue discussed in the entry FIN. We are a little closer to the goal. For all the details (including two possible locations), send me an email.

I should be excited, but based on experience I am going forward very tentatively. I have found that when I get my hopes up, they are shot down right away. I will be excited for this event, after it is completed.

This entry was originally posted on 2009-06-18 at 16:42

No responses yet

My first instructable

May 28 2009

Since my wisdom teeth were removed, I had a lot of exposure to Jell-O. While looking for something to put LEDs in, I decided to use a Jell-O Box. See Below…



The Jell-O LightMore DIY How To Projects

This entry was originally posted on 2009-05-28 at 10:32

No responses yet

Going in Circles

Apr 14 2009

I was cleaning out data from my phone and came across this short video. Avery likes to run in circles.



This entry was originally posted on 2009-04-14 at 11:47

No responses yet

isthatmydeadpet?

Apr 13 2009

Is is official now, http://isthatmydeadpet.com/ has launched. This is not a personal website, a more general interest site maintained be me and several of my friends. Check it out, read and comment if you feel the need.

isthatmydeadpet

This entry was originally posted on 2009-04-13 at 11:51

No responses yet

A new link to my site

Apr 02 2009

Thanks to FreakingHugeURL.com for this very long URL.

http://www.freakinghugeurl.com/refer.php?count=12&

url=Vm0wd2QyUXlVWGxXYTJoV1YwZG9WVll3Wkc5alJsW
jBUVlpPV0Zac2JETlhhMUpUVmpGYWMySkVUbGhoTWswe
FZqQmFTMk15U2tWVWJHaG9UVmhDVVZadGVGWmxSbG
w1Vkd0c2FsSnRhRzlVVjNOM1pVWmFkR05GZEZSTlZUVkp
WbTEwYTFkSFNrZGpTRUpYWVRGYWFGVXhXbXRXTVhCRl
ZXeFNUbUY2UlRCV2EyTXhWREZrU0ZOclpHcFRSVXBZV1Z
SR2QyRkdjRmRYYlVaclVqRmFTVnBGV2xOVWJGcFlaSHBDV
jJFeVRYaFdSRXBIVmpGT2RWUnNhR2xoTUhCWVYxWmtNR
kl3TlVkVmJrcFlZbGhTV1ZWcVJrdFRWbFowWlVaT1ZXSlZjR
WRaTUZaM1ZqSktWVkpZWkZwV1JWcHlWVEJhVDJOc2NF
aGpSazVYVWpOb2IxWXhaRFJWTVVsNVZXNU9hbEp0VWx
sWmJGWmhZMVpzY21GRlRsUmlSM1F6VjJ0U1UxWnJNVVZ
TYTFwWFlsaENhRlpxUVhoa1ZsWjFWMnhrVTFKWVFrbFhX
SEJIVkRKU1YxWnVUbGhpVjNoVVdWUk9RMlJzV25STldHUlZ
UVlpXTkZkclZtdFdiVXBIVjJ4U1dtSkhhRlJXTUZwVFZqRndSM
VJ0ZUdsU2JYY3hWa1phVTFVeFduSk5WVlpUWVRGd1dGbH
NhRzlsYkZweFVtMUdUMkpGV2xwWlZWcGhZVWRGZUdOR2
FGaGlSbkJvVmtSS1QyUkdTbkpoUjJoVFlYcFdkMVp0Y0V0aU1
XUlhWMWhvWVZKRlNtOVVWbHBYVFRGU2MyRkZPV2hpUlh
CNldUQmFjMWR0U2toaFJsSmFUVlp3ZWxreWVHdGtWbkJJW
lVaa2FWSXpZM2hXTW5oWFZqRlJlRmRZWkU1WFJYQllXVmR
6TVZsV1VsWlhibVJYVW14d2VGVnRNVWRXTURGeVRsVm9W
MUo2UmtoV1ZFWkxWakpPUmxac1pHbFNNVVYzVmxaU1Ixb
FdXbkpOVmxwWFlYcFdWRlZyVmtaT1VUMDk=

This entry was originally posted on 2009-04-02 at 14:24

No responses yet

Older »