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

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

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

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