After a couple weeks of sitting on my back deck, they are finally on the wall. Wasn't as scary as I thought it would be to do.
Lessons learned:
1) skin the head, and clean the outside of the skull before you cut into it. It would have been much easier to clean the skullcap with more skull to work with.
2) leave less skull on the antlers so the little cover that comes with the mounting kit will fit better
3) have a beer--every project is better with a beer!
I went pheasant hunting this morning and saw a whole lot of birds, but no pheasants. No game birds at all. Just lots of hawks and a couple magpies.
Access Yes for the win, by the way.
Access Yes is a program in the state of Idaho that lets landowners get something in return for opening their land to hunters. Basically, it's the same as letting people hunt there if they ask, but you post it up on the internet saying that it's ok to hunt there. The state lets you choose what months are ok to hunt there, what kind of game is ok to hunt there, vehicle use, all sorts of things, and the all-important: "Land-owner contact (not) required." If you have land, they help you out with it, with improvements and such, in exchange for it being open to hunters.
I don't know how much they actually do for land owners, but it's a great program for hunters. If I had land, I'd open mine up.
My brother played his last football game, evar, and won (which seems to be a habit with this team). 17-9, with a nearly scoreless first half.
He got mentioned on national tv AND got shown a LOT. It was really cool to see him out there kicking ass in the mud-puddle they called a field.
Rain was the best player for both team's defense, as no one could hold onto the ball.
Good game though!
Oh, and mom, you looked great on TV too!
Another day, another dolla.
Back to work on Monday, 5 days until a week and 2 days off.
I found springs for my bike cheaper than I thought.....not sure how much, but should be cheaper than buying new! A buddy of mine has them and has offered them to me at an undisclosed price (even to me!). Didn't even know if they would fit, so there was no talk about buying them.
Only 3 and a half more months until March....14 weeks.... So close, yet so far away. Why can't it be warm yet?
Stream of consciousness over for now...
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
snow
we got some...the drive to work was slow...
the drive home was worse...I had to stop and scrape my window...freezing fog sucks
I thought I wanted to blog...but I guess not...
the drive home was worse...I had to stop and scrape my window...freezing fog sucks
I thought I wanted to blog...but I guess not...
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Drifting on the Rebel
Not as scary as you'd think.
I took a left hand corner today on the Rebel, yes I went out riding, and as I took it, I slid out.
It wasn't a bad slide, I didn't even realize I slid until it was over. I just kept turning, and working the bike to make it go, but the back end slid out, then straightened out, and I kept on goign down the road.
yay!
My home brew cider is like drinking watered down apple juice, until you stand up. It's strong in alcohol, but you can't taste it, and there's not much apple flavor. The yeast flavor/smell is much less than my previous beers, and I attribute that to the secondary fermentation.
And it snowed today. It started snowing as I was filling up the last engine with oil. I changed the oil in 3 engines today, and it felt good to get out and work.
That damn tool box is just too perfect. I have all my shop towels, jackstands and jacks stored in the thing, so I roll it out, and work on the car, and put everything away, and roll it all back in.
It takes less time, I have quick access to all my tools, and everything stays organized because it's less work to carry it all back in that way.
crazy...when things work right, you just can't find fault with it. For the situation I'm in right now, this tool box setup is PERFECTO!
Next weekend, my brother's last game, evar, for sure happens. I'll be watching from the warmth (from the heaters and beer!) of Zeppos in Pullman. Anyone who wants to join me, let me know, and I'll tell you exactly when. (I'll prolly post up between then and now too).
I've ordered the final parts to make the VFR run again, I think, but the starter issue is making me angry...hopefully I can push start it... I'll need some other things to make it a good bike to ride again, but it will run once I get all my parts together.
My toe is doing much better now that it's had a couple days to relax and breathe. My new shoes are helping to keep it from going bad again. Oh, and I got new boots too! Timberland hiking boots, all leather, and really nice boots. A discontinued style for $60. yay!
yah, that's an update into Jeff's world.
I took a left hand corner today on the Rebel, yes I went out riding, and as I took it, I slid out.
It wasn't a bad slide, I didn't even realize I slid until it was over. I just kept turning, and working the bike to make it go, but the back end slid out, then straightened out, and I kept on goign down the road.
yay!
My home brew cider is like drinking watered down apple juice, until you stand up. It's strong in alcohol, but you can't taste it, and there's not much apple flavor. The yeast flavor/smell is much less than my previous beers, and I attribute that to the secondary fermentation.
And it snowed today. It started snowing as I was filling up the last engine with oil. I changed the oil in 3 engines today, and it felt good to get out and work.
That damn tool box is just too perfect. I have all my shop towels, jackstands and jacks stored in the thing, so I roll it out, and work on the car, and put everything away, and roll it all back in.
It takes less time, I have quick access to all my tools, and everything stays organized because it's less work to carry it all back in that way.
crazy...when things work right, you just can't find fault with it. For the situation I'm in right now, this tool box setup is PERFECTO!
Next weekend, my brother's last game, evar, for sure happens. I'll be watching from the warmth (from the heaters and beer!) of Zeppos in Pullman. Anyone who wants to join me, let me know, and I'll tell you exactly when. (I'll prolly post up between then and now too).
I've ordered the final parts to make the VFR run again, I think, but the starter issue is making me angry...hopefully I can push start it... I'll need some other things to make it a good bike to ride again, but it will run once I get all my parts together.
My toe is doing much better now that it's had a couple days to relax and breathe. My new shoes are helping to keep it from going bad again. Oh, and I got new boots too! Timberland hiking boots, all leather, and really nice boots. A discontinued style for $60. yay!
yah, that's an update into Jeff's world.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
wow
South Park last night was hilarious, but it brought up a really good point.
The episode was about the game "guitar hero" and Stan and Kyle were working really hard to get a huge amount of points (100,000) in co-op mode. They achieved this, and all their friends went crazy. Then, some guy offered them a contract to play guitar hero, took them to coke and sex parties, and treated them like rock stars.
yaddy yadda yadda, one friend betrays the other, and starts playing with someone better, one ends up playing in a bowling alley arcade, they get back together, and eventually get one million points together. Once they did, the game said "Congrats, you've played enough to get one million points, YOU ARE FAGS!"
No one can argue with that. Come on people, guitar hero is a great game, and is wildly popular, but there comes a point in everyone's life where they should put down the controller, and pick up a real guitar.
Stan's mom said it best: "If they put half the energy into (something real) as they do on that video game, they could (go places)."
As a gamer, and a game programmer, I can honestly say that I have played games more than maybe I should at certain points in my life. I have even played certain games way too much. But one thing I can say is that never, never, never has status in a game taken precedence over real life stuff.
I know people who have missed classes (and tests) to play games like Diablo II, World of Warcraft, and such. They miss work to go on raids. It's silly. It's not real. Go do something real. Use games for when the weather is too bad to go outside and play, or use games for when you are waiting on parts on a project. Or use games for that 15 minutes longer that someone takes to get ready to go somewhere with you.
Some people play too many games... It's really too bad.
So, what I'm saying is, instead your free time consisting of playing games, make your free time consist of playing games, hiking, reading, hunting, fishing, or getting together with your friends. Let the games sit, they'll wait.
The episode was about the game "guitar hero" and Stan and Kyle were working really hard to get a huge amount of points (100,000) in co-op mode. They achieved this, and all their friends went crazy. Then, some guy offered them a contract to play guitar hero, took them to coke and sex parties, and treated them like rock stars.
yaddy yadda yadda, one friend betrays the other, and starts playing with someone better, one ends up playing in a bowling alley arcade, they get back together, and eventually get one million points together. Once they did, the game said "Congrats, you've played enough to get one million points, YOU ARE FAGS!"
No one can argue with that. Come on people, guitar hero is a great game, and is wildly popular, but there comes a point in everyone's life where they should put down the controller, and pick up a real guitar.
Stan's mom said it best: "If they put half the energy into (something real) as they do on that video game, they could (go places)."
As a gamer, and a game programmer, I can honestly say that I have played games more than maybe I should at certain points in my life. I have even played certain games way too much. But one thing I can say is that never, never, never has status in a game taken precedence over real life stuff.
I know people who have missed classes (and tests) to play games like Diablo II, World of Warcraft, and such. They miss work to go on raids. It's silly. It's not real. Go do something real. Use games for when the weather is too bad to go outside and play, or use games for when you are waiting on parts on a project. Or use games for that 15 minutes longer that someone takes to get ready to go somewhere with you.
Some people play too many games... It's really too bad.
So, what I'm saying is, instead your free time consisting of playing games, make your free time consist of playing games, hiking, reading, hunting, fishing, or getting together with your friends. Let the games sit, they'll wait.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
my toe
yeah, it aches a little bit.
the doctor was really nice, and I didn't feel anything other than the numbing shots.
Well, that isn't true...I did feel somethings. Like I felt him resting his hand on my foot to hold my toes apart, so he could work on the toe he was working on.
It sucked.
I've "self-medicated" a bit tonight...a couple beers and the pain went away. The buzz is wearing off, and the pain isn't coming back. I just needed to give it some time to subside a bit.
Hopefully, in the morning it feels like a toe again.....
What a crazy procedure. Last time, it was a cut, and a pull, and a wrap. This time it was a cut, and a pull (which I didn't even know we got there yet) and some stuff to kill my nail down at the root.
This is supposedly the more extreme procedure, but I felt less....must be because the guy was a podiatrist, not a general doc.
Nice guy, he likes cross country skiing, and he's not a computer power user. His wife has shot a deer, and he never has. I learned these things while he was knifing my toe.
It was a very interesting time.
Well, you know....
out
the doctor was really nice, and I didn't feel anything other than the numbing shots.
Well, that isn't true...I did feel somethings. Like I felt him resting his hand on my foot to hold my toes apart, so he could work on the toe he was working on.
It sucked.
I've "self-medicated" a bit tonight...a couple beers and the pain went away. The buzz is wearing off, and the pain isn't coming back. I just needed to give it some time to subside a bit.
Hopefully, in the morning it feels like a toe again.....
What a crazy procedure. Last time, it was a cut, and a pull, and a wrap. This time it was a cut, and a pull (which I didn't even know we got there yet) and some stuff to kill my nail down at the root.
This is supposedly the more extreme procedure, but I felt less....must be because the guy was a podiatrist, not a general doc.
Nice guy, he likes cross country skiing, and he's not a computer power user. His wife has shot a deer, and he never has. I learned these things while he was knifing my toe.
It was a very interesting time.
Well, you know....
out
Monday, December 3, 2007
toe + knife = teh suck
Tomorrow, at 4:30, I go "under the knife" to get my toe cut up...yet again....
this time, for good....hopefully
I bought 3 new pairs of shoes today, as my xmas bonus came in today...
so....boo and yay!
this time, for good....hopefully
I bought 3 new pairs of shoes today, as my xmas bonus came in today...
so....boo and yay!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
A happy improvement to myspace!
So, I used to listen to music on youtube and myspace. I pretty much stopped using myspace, even though it's easier to tell more about the artist there, because I discovered youtube playlists. They are really nice, you set up a play list, and it will play. Very nice.
Well, so, I stopped using myspace for a while. Well, I went back the other day, and I found out that they now play all the songs that are available, instead of just one. This is awesome because now I can start it and go back to what I was doing, and I've got a few songs before it requires more interaction.
just so everyone knows...I use myspace music to listen to rap music mostly....
yeah, I listen to rap....
get over it
Well, so, I stopped using myspace for a while. Well, I went back the other day, and I found out that they now play all the songs that are available, instead of just one. This is awesome because now I can start it and go back to what I was doing, and I've got a few songs before it requires more interaction.
just so everyone knows...I use myspace music to listen to rap music mostly....
yeah, I listen to rap....
get over it
Thursday, November 29, 2007
I HIT A DEER
SERIOUSLY I HIT A DEER
Luckily, my pickup drove away, and the deer ran away.
The deer jumped right out in front of me when I was driving home. Luckily, I was going slow (icy roads) and we just bumped, and slid, and then it was over for everyone.
No dents for my pickup, I hope nothing serious for the deer.
Oh, and I'm on a hacker hunt! YAY!
Luckily, my pickup drove away, and the deer ran away.
The deer jumped right out in front of me when I was driving home. Luckily, I was going slow (icy roads) and we just bumped, and slid, and then it was over for everyone.
No dents for my pickup, I hope nothing serious for the deer.
Oh, and I'm on a hacker hunt! YAY!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Since we last talked
Ok, this might not be the longest post I've ever done, but it's going to cover quite a bit of the time since I last posted up.
So, lets talk about:
1) bikes
2) football
3) hunting
4) my cat
5) my homebrew
6) my office and tool box
7) my ingrown toenail
1) bikes
The rebel is running like a champ, but I don't ride much right now, because well, it's gotten too cold since deer season started. It's still my main bike, and will remain that way for a while.
The viffer is having some issues. Parts and labor are the main problems. Parts are hard to come by unless I do labor to get the money for parts, and then do the labor to put those parts on. I did, however get the choke cable replaced today, which wasn't a big deal. Actually, it was nice to work on it (see office and tool box). I had everything I needed, and it was a pretty simple task. But, I think the starter clutch is kaput. I'll know more once I get a chance to inspect the starting system. I'm hoping it's the starter and it can be repaired. The starter clutch is harder to replace, and can't be repaired.
I'll get the viffer all running good, and then I'll learn to ride it pretty well, and then....and then...I want to make some good times flogging the crap out of it.
2) football
my brother is playing the football still, it's his last season, and any game now could be his last game. It's his senior year, and he's graduating in December (less than a month!). It's been quite a run, he's played a lot of ball, and he's had good and bad times. But, it will be the end of an era when it's all done. It's been something he's done since 5th grade, and now, his 5th year in college is going to be, most likely, his last game ever. He's got at most 2 games left this season. The semi-finals, and the national championship. If they lose, it will be sad, no doubt, but if they win, it will still be sad. The last time that he'll be a Saint, strapping on the helmet and preparing to go forth and play for and with these friends and brothers.
....kinda makes me wish I had stayed with football....just wasn't my thing....
3) hunting
I've been out for grouse a few times, and it's been fun, but once deer season opened, I've been hunting all the time since then. If you look, my last post was 8 days before deer season opened, and since then, there hasn't been anything posted.
I passed up a couple does because I was holding out for a buck. I spent a day out in Elk River, and didn't see very many deer. I see more deer in Troy and Deary than I saw in Elk River. Oh well, I learned, and didn't go back. I went through many stages of deer hunting, such as having fun, at peace, hating every second of it, and being depressed for being a crappy hunter. But, I was determined not to let a bad mood make me shoot a tiny, suit-case, deer again. I even was lined up, safety off, and ready to shoot this one doe, but realized that I just didn't want to gut and skin a deer that night.
Well, along the way, I carried my shotgun in my truck anyway, and ended up getting a pheasant and a Hungarian partridge. I've been keeping my pheasant tails, and I put them up on the wall, as a trophy. I'm up to 2. Actually I keep them for my friend who ties flies, but I like to look at them until I have a reason to get rid of them.
So, anyway, back to the main event, deer season. The middle of the season came and went, and I didn't even get a shot off at any deer. I shot at 2 bucks one day, but since I hadn't shot my rifle in months, I missed really bad.
I went to shoot my rifle, and setup a paper target on a post, and got back to see what was going on. I accidentally left my safety on, and pulled the trigger. I flinched BAD. So bad, in fact, that the scope was aimed about 2 feet high and a foot to the right, with no shot fired. This was bad. So, I sat solid, and put 3 shots dead center on the target. I realized that I couldn't possibly have hit anything the way I jerked, so I felt more sure that I had missed those deer I shot at.
I looked at the calendar, and realized that I had 2 weeks left in an almost 2 month season to get a deer. I was determined to shoot the next legal deer I saw, no matter how small it was.
I went out the weekend before Thanksgiving, and saw a couple that weren't shoot-able. One was because of distance, and the other was because I didn't see it long enough. This, of course, discouraged me even more.
When I found out that my parents were coming up here for Thanksgiving, and weren't coming up until Thanksgiving Day, and I had taken the day before Thanksgiving off to possibly travel, I realized it would be a good chance to go out for a morning hunt before I had to buckle down and help clean up for my parents coming. I took off just around dawn (I always get out late for hunting for some reason) and headed out to my favorite spot that isn't trafficked hardly at all by hunters. Well, I was about 2 miles away when I saw 2 deer on the road. Of course, because it wasn't night, they took off, but stopped just off the road. I saw that one was a doe, and the other....the other....had antlers that stuck out past his ears....
my mouth went dry and I started to salivate at the same time...
I slammed on the brakes, threw it into park, and inserted the clip into my rifle as I popped the door and did a quick check for fences between me and him, fences he could jump over, and the all important "NO HUNTING" signs.
There was no reason not to shoot at him. I jumped off the road and shot. He jumped and took off. I whistled, and he stopped (THIS REALLY WORKS). I jacked another shell in, and took more careful aim. I squeezed the trigger, and I didn't hear the shot, but I felt it rock my shoulder. I knew it went off, and I knew it placed right where I was aimed (next time, aim lower, and more forward).
He stumbled, and rocked sideways with the impact, then jumped off. Knowing this deer was hit, I jacked my third, and last shell in, knowing I HAD to make this last shot, as my other shells were still in the pickup, and if he took off, there was no way to keep up with him and I didn't know how long he'd be able to go. I watched as he took another couple steps, and fell down and started kicking. 5 seconds later, it was over.
I ran back to my pickup, parked it, grabbed my pistol, rope, knife, and the tag, and headed off to get my deer. The knife was to attach the tag and gut him out. The pistol was in case he saw me and wasn't quite dead. One .380 caliber bullet to the head would put him out of his misery quick. The rope was to drag him out. When I got there, he was plenty dead, and so I tagged him, gutted him, and drug him up to my pickup.
I lifted his head up, set it in the pickup, tried to hold it there with my leg, and grab the front half, and the head fell. I was tired from dragging this deer's fat ass up the hill, through caterpiller-caused ruts, and over logs. Just then, the cavalry showed up. 2 guys pulled up in a silver Toyota. I gave them the puppy-dog face, and they got out and congratulated me on my deer and helped me load him up.
I took him to my boss's house and skinned him up and I'll bring him home to cut up and freeze tomorrow after work.
That's my deer hunting story!
I was going to go bird hunting today, but I ended up working on my bike today instead....oh well...it was fun! I'll get out next weekend after some pheasants, and maybe I'll find a place to let me hunt chukar.....gotta find a place to hunt chukar....
4) my cat
Elliot is an asshole, you all knew this. He's actually a great cat, and him and I seem to bond more all the time. He sits in my lap a lot of the time when I'm on the computer. He sleeps on my pillow, and he's really becoming a good cat now that he's getting to be almost an adult.
We've been letting him outside for periods of time, and he's figured out that if he scratches at the door, we'll hear him and let him back in.
Last night, he gave Jessica quite a good scare. It was cold, and he was outside for a long time. I was kinda worried, just because he'd been gone a long time, but Jessica was really worried about him. Well, he came back, predictably.
Anyway, he's an asshole, but I love him.
5) my homebrew
Ok, I've been working on this homebrew cider for a looong time. I started it before school started, which means that I started it in August. I was hoping to have it ready to drink in September. I let it ferment a couple of days, and when it slowed down a bit, I transferred it to a secondary fermentation bucket, hoping that it would take it off the dead yeast cells, reducing the yeast-y flavors and textures. Well, I've been meaning to bottle it for quite a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. I wasn't really worried about it, because (I told myself) that the longer it sat in the fermenter was like aging in the cask, only going to make it better.
Well, I bottled it finally. It was 12 22ounce bottles, and 5 or 6 16 ounce bottles. This was smaller than my usual batch, but I knew that when I only bought 3 gallons of cider to start with. My usual batch is over 5 gallons!
Well, part of bottling is checking final specific gravity. To do this, you take a little bit off and this creates a bit of "waste." Well, not wanting to waste it, and to check the quality...I tasted it. Before I tell you what it tasted like, I'll tell you this. When it started, it had the potential alcohol by volume of around 9%. When I checked the final potential alcohol by volume, it was an even 0. This means the yeast has eaten up all the sugars in the cider. I took this to be a bad sign. Plus, there was a slight vinegary smell when I first opened the bucket. I also took this to be a bad sign.
There was no reason for any worry. The smell must have been imaginary, because once I tasted it, it was sweet (not sure how) and not harsh at all. There was no vinegary smell. The strange thing was the lack of alcohol taste too. This was the smoothest drink I think I've ever had. The secondary fermentation took about 90% of the yeasty flavors out of the drink, and it was like drinking apple juice, but with a slight warming sensation. I use a 10mL graduated cylinder for my testing, and that 15mL (I had to dispose of some when I accidentally overfilled a couple bottles) gave me half a buzz. At around 9% alcohol by volume, it's twice as strong as a light beer.
I put some sugar in the mix before I bottled it. Hopefully there's enough yeast to eat those sugars up and carbonate the bottles up and make it sparkling cider, if not, no big loss, it will be like apple wine.
6) my office and tool box
I spent $75 and bought a Craftsman tool box on Black Friday. But, it's not just a tool box. It's a 3 drawer tool box, on top of a riser that creates storage below the riser, on top of a 2 drawer and 1 big doored storage area roller. It stands about 5 feet tall, and is perfect for working on everything. I put all my hand tools into it, and organized my whole office yesterday.
Today, when I went outside to work on my bike, I rolled my whole tool set outside, worked on my bike, put my tools back in, rolled the whole unit back inside, and washed my hands, and it was all put away! It was PERFECT.
7) my ingrown toenail
Ok, this spring I had an ingrown toenail cut out. There are 2 speeds to that surgery. The low speed is a numbing of the toe, a cutting of the toenail, and then a pulling of the toenail. This type of operation takes about 5 minutes, then they bandage you up, and send you along your way.
Well, the toenail grew back, and quickly got infected again. I went back to the doctor and they told me I needed the higher speed of the surgery. This is where they cut out the toenail, but go into your toe, and stop your toenail from growing back. They don't remove the whole toenail, just part of it, and the scrape away the "root" of the nail, so it won't grow back into your toe.
I'm not looking forward to the operation, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm just looking forward to having my toes be normal again.
For a long time, I thought that by cleaning under my toenails, it was doing myself a service. The gunk under my toenails was causing stink, and it wasn't pleasant. So, I'd take it out, but I was aggressive when I did so. This caused the toenail to become detached from the part where it should be attached. This lets you cut it shorter, or lets it tear easier. Well, if you cut it too short, or it tears, then it causes pain when it grows back. I found that by cutting it back, I could make the pain go away. About a year ago, I found out that I was causing the pain by cutting out the nail, and that until my toenails all grew back out, correctly, and I cut them correctly (straight across), I would never be free of toe pain.
Well, all 3 grew in normally, except for the inside edge of my left "great" toe.
And that's why I have to go get my toe cut up on Dec 4th.
Lessons learned recently:
1) patience pays off, both deer hunting and cat ownership can be greatly rewarding
2) take care of your toes
3) things that become part of your life sometimes end...example, football
4) hard work pays off eventually, procrastination pays off now (and in the case of homebrew cider, it pays off later too!)
5) a clean office and organized tools make my office less stressful to look at, and it makes working on stuff nice and easy!
6) the longer I don't blog, the longer my posts become :)
Ok, I've been blogging for a lllllooooonnnnnggggg time now, and I think it's time that I quit and see how much I've actually written...
So, you guys have fun.
So, lets talk about:
1) bikes
2) football
3) hunting
4) my cat
5) my homebrew
6) my office and tool box
7) my ingrown toenail
1) bikes
The rebel is running like a champ, but I don't ride much right now, because well, it's gotten too cold since deer season started. It's still my main bike, and will remain that way for a while.
The viffer is having some issues. Parts and labor are the main problems. Parts are hard to come by unless I do labor to get the money for parts, and then do the labor to put those parts on. I did, however get the choke cable replaced today, which wasn't a big deal. Actually, it was nice to work on it (see office and tool box). I had everything I needed, and it was a pretty simple task. But, I think the starter clutch is kaput. I'll know more once I get a chance to inspect the starting system. I'm hoping it's the starter and it can be repaired. The starter clutch is harder to replace, and can't be repaired.
I'll get the viffer all running good, and then I'll learn to ride it pretty well, and then....and then...I want to make some good times flogging the crap out of it.
2) football
my brother is playing the football still, it's his last season, and any game now could be his last game. It's his senior year, and he's graduating in December (less than a month!). It's been quite a run, he's played a lot of ball, and he's had good and bad times. But, it will be the end of an era when it's all done. It's been something he's done since 5th grade, and now, his 5th year in college is going to be, most likely, his last game ever. He's got at most 2 games left this season. The semi-finals, and the national championship. If they lose, it will be sad, no doubt, but if they win, it will still be sad. The last time that he'll be a Saint, strapping on the helmet and preparing to go forth and play for and with these friends and brothers.
....kinda makes me wish I had stayed with football....just wasn't my thing....
3) hunting
I've been out for grouse a few times, and it's been fun, but once deer season opened, I've been hunting all the time since then. If you look, my last post was 8 days before deer season opened, and since then, there hasn't been anything posted.
I passed up a couple does because I was holding out for a buck. I spent a day out in Elk River, and didn't see very many deer. I see more deer in Troy and Deary than I saw in Elk River. Oh well, I learned, and didn't go back. I went through many stages of deer hunting, such as having fun, at peace, hating every second of it, and being depressed for being a crappy hunter. But, I was determined not to let a bad mood make me shoot a tiny, suit-case, deer again. I even was lined up, safety off, and ready to shoot this one doe, but realized that I just didn't want to gut and skin a deer that night.
Well, along the way, I carried my shotgun in my truck anyway, and ended up getting a pheasant and a Hungarian partridge. I've been keeping my pheasant tails, and I put them up on the wall, as a trophy. I'm up to 2. Actually I keep them for my friend who ties flies, but I like to look at them until I have a reason to get rid of them.
So, anyway, back to the main event, deer season. The middle of the season came and went, and I didn't even get a shot off at any deer. I shot at 2 bucks one day, but since I hadn't shot my rifle in months, I missed really bad.
I went to shoot my rifle, and setup a paper target on a post, and got back to see what was going on. I accidentally left my safety on, and pulled the trigger. I flinched BAD. So bad, in fact, that the scope was aimed about 2 feet high and a foot to the right, with no shot fired. This was bad. So, I sat solid, and put 3 shots dead center on the target. I realized that I couldn't possibly have hit anything the way I jerked, so I felt more sure that I had missed those deer I shot at.
I looked at the calendar, and realized that I had 2 weeks left in an almost 2 month season to get a deer. I was determined to shoot the next legal deer I saw, no matter how small it was.
I went out the weekend before Thanksgiving, and saw a couple that weren't shoot-able. One was because of distance, and the other was because I didn't see it long enough. This, of course, discouraged me even more.
When I found out that my parents were coming up here for Thanksgiving, and weren't coming up until Thanksgiving Day, and I had taken the day before Thanksgiving off to possibly travel, I realized it would be a good chance to go out for a morning hunt before I had to buckle down and help clean up for my parents coming. I took off just around dawn (I always get out late for hunting for some reason) and headed out to my favorite spot that isn't trafficked hardly at all by hunters. Well, I was about 2 miles away when I saw 2 deer on the road. Of course, because it wasn't night, they took off, but stopped just off the road. I saw that one was a doe, and the other....the other....had antlers that stuck out past his ears....
my mouth went dry and I started to salivate at the same time...
I slammed on the brakes, threw it into park, and inserted the clip into my rifle as I popped the door and did a quick check for fences between me and him, fences he could jump over, and the all important "NO HUNTING" signs.
There was no reason not to shoot at him. I jumped off the road and shot. He jumped and took off. I whistled, and he stopped (THIS REALLY WORKS). I jacked another shell in, and took more careful aim. I squeezed the trigger, and I didn't hear the shot, but I felt it rock my shoulder. I knew it went off, and I knew it placed right where I was aimed (next time, aim lower, and more forward).
He stumbled, and rocked sideways with the impact, then jumped off. Knowing this deer was hit, I jacked my third, and last shell in, knowing I HAD to make this last shot, as my other shells were still in the pickup, and if he took off, there was no way to keep up with him and I didn't know how long he'd be able to go. I watched as he took another couple steps, and fell down and started kicking. 5 seconds later, it was over.
I ran back to my pickup, parked it, grabbed my pistol, rope, knife, and the tag, and headed off to get my deer. The knife was to attach the tag and gut him out. The pistol was in case he saw me and wasn't quite dead. One .380 caliber bullet to the head would put him out of his misery quick. The rope was to drag him out. When I got there, he was plenty dead, and so I tagged him, gutted him, and drug him up to my pickup.
I lifted his head up, set it in the pickup, tried to hold it there with my leg, and grab the front half, and the head fell. I was tired from dragging this deer's fat ass up the hill, through caterpiller-caused ruts, and over logs. Just then, the cavalry showed up. 2 guys pulled up in a silver Toyota. I gave them the puppy-dog face, and they got out and congratulated me on my deer and helped me load him up.
I took him to my boss's house and skinned him up and I'll bring him home to cut up and freeze tomorrow after work.
That's my deer hunting story!
I was going to go bird hunting today, but I ended up working on my bike today instead....oh well...it was fun! I'll get out next weekend after some pheasants, and maybe I'll find a place to let me hunt chukar.....gotta find a place to hunt chukar....
4) my cat
Elliot is an asshole, you all knew this. He's actually a great cat, and him and I seem to bond more all the time. He sits in my lap a lot of the time when I'm on the computer. He sleeps on my pillow, and he's really becoming a good cat now that he's getting to be almost an adult.
We've been letting him outside for periods of time, and he's figured out that if he scratches at the door, we'll hear him and let him back in.
Last night, he gave Jessica quite a good scare. It was cold, and he was outside for a long time. I was kinda worried, just because he'd been gone a long time, but Jessica was really worried about him. Well, he came back, predictably.
Anyway, he's an asshole, but I love him.
5) my homebrew
Ok, I've been working on this homebrew cider for a looong time. I started it before school started, which means that I started it in August. I was hoping to have it ready to drink in September. I let it ferment a couple of days, and when it slowed down a bit, I transferred it to a secondary fermentation bucket, hoping that it would take it off the dead yeast cells, reducing the yeast-y flavors and textures. Well, I've been meaning to bottle it for quite a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. I wasn't really worried about it, because (I told myself) that the longer it sat in the fermenter was like aging in the cask, only going to make it better.
Well, I bottled it finally. It was 12 22ounce bottles, and 5 or 6 16 ounce bottles. This was smaller than my usual batch, but I knew that when I only bought 3 gallons of cider to start with. My usual batch is over 5 gallons!
Well, part of bottling is checking final specific gravity. To do this, you take a little bit off and this creates a bit of "waste." Well, not wanting to waste it, and to check the quality...I tasted it. Before I tell you what it tasted like, I'll tell you this. When it started, it had the potential alcohol by volume of around 9%. When I checked the final potential alcohol by volume, it was an even 0. This means the yeast has eaten up all the sugars in the cider. I took this to be a bad sign. Plus, there was a slight vinegary smell when I first opened the bucket. I also took this to be a bad sign.
There was no reason for any worry. The smell must have been imaginary, because once I tasted it, it was sweet (not sure how) and not harsh at all. There was no vinegary smell. The strange thing was the lack of alcohol taste too. This was the smoothest drink I think I've ever had. The secondary fermentation took about 90% of the yeasty flavors out of the drink, and it was like drinking apple juice, but with a slight warming sensation. I use a 10mL graduated cylinder for my testing, and that 15mL (I had to dispose of some when I accidentally overfilled a couple bottles) gave me half a buzz. At around 9% alcohol by volume, it's twice as strong as a light beer.
I put some sugar in the mix before I bottled it. Hopefully there's enough yeast to eat those sugars up and carbonate the bottles up and make it sparkling cider, if not, no big loss, it will be like apple wine.
6) my office and tool box
I spent $75 and bought a Craftsman tool box on Black Friday. But, it's not just a tool box. It's a 3 drawer tool box, on top of a riser that creates storage below the riser, on top of a 2 drawer and 1 big doored storage area roller. It stands about 5 feet tall, and is perfect for working on everything. I put all my hand tools into it, and organized my whole office yesterday.
Today, when I went outside to work on my bike, I rolled my whole tool set outside, worked on my bike, put my tools back in, rolled the whole unit back inside, and washed my hands, and it was all put away! It was PERFECT.
7) my ingrown toenail
Ok, this spring I had an ingrown toenail cut out. There are 2 speeds to that surgery. The low speed is a numbing of the toe, a cutting of the toenail, and then a pulling of the toenail. This type of operation takes about 5 minutes, then they bandage you up, and send you along your way.
Well, the toenail grew back, and quickly got infected again. I went back to the doctor and they told me I needed the higher speed of the surgery. This is where they cut out the toenail, but go into your toe, and stop your toenail from growing back. They don't remove the whole toenail, just part of it, and the scrape away the "root" of the nail, so it won't grow back into your toe.
I'm not looking forward to the operation, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm just looking forward to having my toes be normal again.
For a long time, I thought that by cleaning under my toenails, it was doing myself a service. The gunk under my toenails was causing stink, and it wasn't pleasant. So, I'd take it out, but I was aggressive when I did so. This caused the toenail to become detached from the part where it should be attached. This lets you cut it shorter, or lets it tear easier. Well, if you cut it too short, or it tears, then it causes pain when it grows back. I found that by cutting it back, I could make the pain go away. About a year ago, I found out that I was causing the pain by cutting out the nail, and that until my toenails all grew back out, correctly, and I cut them correctly (straight across), I would never be free of toe pain.
Well, all 3 grew in normally, except for the inside edge of my left "great" toe.
And that's why I have to go get my toe cut up on Dec 4th.
Lessons learned recently:
1) patience pays off, both deer hunting and cat ownership can be greatly rewarding
2) take care of your toes
3) things that become part of your life sometimes end...example, football
4) hard work pays off eventually, procrastination pays off now (and in the case of homebrew cider, it pays off later too!)
5) a clean office and organized tools make my office less stressful to look at, and it makes working on stuff nice and easy!
6) the longer I don't blog, the longer my posts become :)
Ok, I've been blogging for a lllllooooonnnnnggggg time now, and I think it's time that I quit and see how much I've actually written...
So, you guys have fun.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
viffer parts and stuff
I've got the front brake pads, need rear
I've got the brake lever on the bike
Clutch lever and clutch lever holder-bolt should be in this week (need the pusher...cut a bolt...cheeep)
Choke cable is in the mail
next priorities:
rear brake pads
foot peg bracket tab
foot peg bracket
foot peg tab
front brake bracket (oops!)
change all fluids
I've got the brake lever on the bike
Clutch lever and clutch lever holder-bolt should be in this week (need the pusher...cut a bolt...cheeep)
Choke cable is in the mail
next priorities:
rear brake pads
foot peg bracket tab
foot peg bracket
foot peg tab
front brake bracket (oops!)
change all fluids
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
bought a bike...
here's what needs done to it (just took some notes, prices are mostly bike bandit prices, haven't looked for "good" prices yet)
change both fork seals, use thicker oil (because I'm a fatty) but not by much (because I'm not that fat) kit: ~$25 oil: ~$10/quart
clutch lever, bolt for clutch lever, brake lever (~$12 for levers, bolt...might be cheap..might need special)
left foot peg, or set of rear pegs (no clue what this will cost....probably big cost
some flat steel stock, and some angle stock for bending and making brackets, and a way to cut it (dremel?) ~$20
grips ~$15
choke cable ~$20
brake pads ~$50-60
tires ~$250
priority:
levers/bolt (one lever on bike already, other paid for...need bolt)
fork seals
choke cable
grips/foot peg
brake pads
tires
change both fork seals, use thicker oil (because I'm a fatty) but not by much (because I'm not that fat) kit: ~$25 oil: ~$10/quart
clutch lever, bolt for clutch lever, brake lever (~$12 for levers, bolt...might be cheap..might need special)
left foot peg, or set of rear pegs (no clue what this will cost....probably big cost
some flat steel stock, and some angle stock for bending and making brackets, and a way to cut it (dremel?) ~$20
grips ~$15
choke cable ~$20
brake pads ~$50-60
tires ~$250
priority:
levers/bolt (one lever on bike already, other paid for...need bolt)
fork seals
choke cable
grips/foot peg
brake pads
tires
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Redmond, yay
A couple of days running around Redmond pretending to be working did a body good. Oh, it wasn't the "work" it was seeing Mike and Grace! They are doing well. We had dinner and some drinks, and talked about work, bikes, and other such stuff.
We did some meetings with people. The "software meeting" was a kinda progress report in power point format of where we were going, and where we have been.
The other meeting we went over for was "tasking." But no one had any tasks, so we are now helping David with the light mapper...blech, no fun, but should be a great learning experience.
anyway, not feeling particularly bloggy today....
out
We did some meetings with people. The "software meeting" was a kinda progress report in power point format of where we were going, and where we have been.
The other meeting we went over for was "tasking." But no one had any tasks, so we are now helping David with the light mapper...blech, no fun, but should be a great learning experience.
anyway, not feeling particularly bloggy today....
out
Sunday, September 23, 2007
An uneventful trackday....
Not a whole lot to say about this track day...but here's what I got:
1) I rode...90 miles is about as far as I can go at a time on the Rebel without a break. Luckily, it's about 90 miles to the track. But this weekend really confirmed my need for a new bike.
2) I did an 8 hour lap (I rode out to my corner on the track, and back at the end of the day on the track....8 hours later). But I didn't get to jam on it because I was carrying flags and stuff.
3) My new pants work GREAT, and I'll be warm until it's freezing....(literally). I plan on riding until it's too cold, but with these pants, my jacket, a sweater under the jacket, and a scarf, and I'll only be stopped by ice on the road! That means (hopefully), that I'll be able to ride most days this winter! WOOT!
4) Some people from the Moscow-Pullman area can ride like mofos! GixxerJeff (Jeff #1), MisfitR6 (Ben), CCWC (Cody)...those boys can r-iz-ide. Some people stand up to wheelie out of turn 2, on the way to 3. Ben goes fast enough that he has to stand up (and over his front wheel) to keep his front end down. Cody, who's handle stands for "Can't Corner Worth Crap", can actually corner REALLY well, and likes to show off, throwing his front end way up in the air, and slamming it back down. Jeff's pretty quick too, but I lost track of who he was on the track pretty early...
5) Subway sandwiches don't hold the wrapper down in the wind, and my wrapper almost ended up on the track, and causing a wreck. Luckily, the wind that took it towards the track turned, and brought it back on my side of the track. I put it back down, but this time with a rock.
6) Doe, a deer, a female deer....inside the track....it was there the first session. It poked its head out and I saw it. I called in and had them hold off on the next session, and I chased it out with the help of the EMTs.
1) I rode...90 miles is about as far as I can go at a time on the Rebel without a break. Luckily, it's about 90 miles to the track. But this weekend really confirmed my need for a new bike.
2) I did an 8 hour lap (I rode out to my corner on the track, and back at the end of the day on the track....8 hours later). But I didn't get to jam on it because I was carrying flags and stuff.
3) My new pants work GREAT, and I'll be warm until it's freezing....(literally). I plan on riding until it's too cold, but with these pants, my jacket, a sweater under the jacket, and a scarf, and I'll only be stopped by ice on the road! That means (hopefully), that I'll be able to ride most days this winter! WOOT!
4) Some people from the Moscow-Pullman area can ride like mofos! GixxerJeff (Jeff #1), MisfitR6 (Ben), CCWC (Cody)...those boys can r-iz-ide. Some people stand up to wheelie out of turn 2, on the way to 3. Ben goes fast enough that he has to stand up (and over his front wheel) to keep his front end down. Cody, who's handle stands for "Can't Corner Worth Crap", can actually corner REALLY well, and likes to show off, throwing his front end way up in the air, and slamming it back down. Jeff's pretty quick too, but I lost track of who he was on the track pretty early...
5) Subway sandwiches don't hold the wrapper down in the wind, and my wrapper almost ended up on the track, and causing a wreck. Luckily, the wind that took it towards the track turned, and brought it back on my side of the track. I put it back down, but this time with a rock.
6) Doe, a deer, a female deer....inside the track....it was there the first session. It poked its head out and I saw it. I called in and had them hold off on the next session, and I chased it out with the help of the EMTs.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
weather forcast
not looking great for track day on Saturday....
oh well, I got new warm pants for riding....
they'll be plenty warm for sitting and flagging :)
oh well, I got new warm pants for riding....
they'll be plenty warm for sitting and flagging :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A couple rides, a couple hunts
Ok, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday...I managed to cram 2 grouse hunts, 2 rides, a fair visit, and a work day into those 3 days.
Saturday, I got up and donated plasma. Ya, I'm still doing that. Except this time, I drank LOTS of water the 2 days previous, ate right, and limited my caffeine, and no alcohol. Plus, the first thing I had them do was slow down my return. I was the first one started, and one of the first ones done.
Once that was done, I headed back home to get ready for hunting, and to wait for Jake, the bro-in-law, who was supposed to come grouse hunting with me. He said he'd probably roll on over to our house around 10. I got there around 10:30, and he wasn't there. I said I'd give him till noon, you can see how pressed for time I was...
Well, about noon rolls around and I just leave. I got about a quarter mile from the pickup when my phone rang. It was on vibrate, and I couldn't feel it, but I could hear it. I couldn't figure out what the sound was until it was too late to answer. I checked my voice mail, and Jake was way too apologetic. He drank too much at The Beach; I know the feeling. I saw some bobcat tracks, but there weren't any birds to be found on Saturday, so, I went on home.
I found out once I got home that Jake, and friends, were going to be joining us to the fair that evening. Wonderful! I love the fair! The best part about this fair is the fact that there is no admission price. You just walk in, look at the animals and crafts, pay for the overpriced food, and leave. One thing I didn't know about the fair is that there is a home-brew category. If I'd only known....I've got some cider that is ready that I'm letting age in the fermenter until I get the gumption to try it. Anyway, the fair was...well...a fair, and we left.
Jake came over, after he dropped his friends off at the dorm, to work on his shotgun, drink a couple beers, and sleep on the couch (lest he miss hunting again). He worked on his gun, I drank some beer, Jessica watched TV.
We headed out the next morning. We found one grouse, and he wasn't shoot-able (too quick for us). We jumped a couple of deer, and otherwise had a nice walk through the woods. We saw a bear track, which was rather exciting. We kept walking, and found the pickup, and home we went again. Another nice walk carrying a gun.
Sunday afternoon, I changed the oil in my bike. It needed it. After that, I took off for Spiral. The wind wasn't any fun to ride in. It was blowing HARD. I saw one other guy on a bike on the way down. He was having less fun than I was, but at least he had fairings to give some wind protection. I went down, then up Spiral, and realized, for sure, what I was pretty sure about as soon as I left the city limits of Moscow...HEAD HOME, IT'S TOO DAMN WINDY! I got home, and took my gear off. What a shitty day for a ride... Why is it that even shitty days for rides put a big grin on your face that won't go away for a couple hours?
Anyway, I went to bed happy.
I got up Monday morning and went to work, mostly uneventful day. Jessica had a late class, so during the down time, I plotted out myself a ride for after work. 100 miles, mostly of forest land.
I left work, and gassed up. Bovill was my next destination. I headed there, slowing only briefly to stay within grasp of the speed limit, and then took off or Santa. Yes, a town named Santa. It's on the Saint Marie's River, and on the way to Saint Marie's. Well, actually, for me, it's on the way to the White Pine Drive--my own personal heaven. Lots of folks will tell you that Spiral Highway is one of the best roads around. Most of them haven't driven the White Pine Drive. Spiral beats the crap out of the White Pine Drive for technical corners, hands down. But, what the White Pine Drive lacks in tight, technical, corners, it makes up for in not having a damn cliff if you crash. Crashing on Spiral would be a bad idea, because you either have cliff wall up or cliff wall down. Crashing on the White Pine Drive, you would probably end up going up the side of the mountain, but it's no cliff wall up or down. The corners are really nice too, and there's hardly ever anyone on the road.
Don't get me wrong, it's some pretty technical stuff, but it's no Spiral. There's no hairpins, and instead of 15-25 mph corners, they are all 25-35 mph corners.
I can go much faster (in relation to the posted speed) on the White Pine Drive because of the simple fact that I don't feel like I'm going off a cliff if shit happens. I'm much more confident in my corners.
So, anyway, it started to rain. Yeah, I still have my chaps. My top half of my body was dry, my legs were dry, and my crotch was wet. What a weird look, I don't recommend it, get real pants.
A little rain, a little sun, a little breeze (not too bad), and a bunch of good miles, and I got home.
Tonight, I had 3 jobs: dishes, bathrooms, and finish the headboard. I've done the dishes, and finished the headboard (with the exception of attaching it to the bed), and now I'm blogging until I have to clean the bathrooms. Jessica's mom is coming, or the bathrooms could wait till the weekend. Oh well.
The headboard looks really great. It's really done, for reals. I finally have all the pieces put together, and all the buttons sewn on, and the whole thing is behind the bed. It's ready for use. I'm really excited, and so is Jessica.
Anyway, that's about all that's been going on in real life....
dear commenters:
you guys are great, keep it up, I love the feed back!
Jeff
Saturday, I got up and donated plasma. Ya, I'm still doing that. Except this time, I drank LOTS of water the 2 days previous, ate right, and limited my caffeine, and no alcohol. Plus, the first thing I had them do was slow down my return. I was the first one started, and one of the first ones done.
Once that was done, I headed back home to get ready for hunting, and to wait for Jake, the bro-in-law, who was supposed to come grouse hunting with me. He said he'd probably roll on over to our house around 10. I got there around 10:30, and he wasn't there. I said I'd give him till noon, you can see how pressed for time I was...
Well, about noon rolls around and I just leave. I got about a quarter mile from the pickup when my phone rang. It was on vibrate, and I couldn't feel it, but I could hear it. I couldn't figure out what the sound was until it was too late to answer. I checked my voice mail, and Jake was way too apologetic. He drank too much at The Beach; I know the feeling. I saw some bobcat tracks, but there weren't any birds to be found on Saturday, so, I went on home.
I found out once I got home that Jake, and friends, were going to be joining us to the fair that evening. Wonderful! I love the fair! The best part about this fair is the fact that there is no admission price. You just walk in, look at the animals and crafts, pay for the overpriced food, and leave. One thing I didn't know about the fair is that there is a home-brew category. If I'd only known....I've got some cider that is ready that I'm letting age in the fermenter until I get the gumption to try it. Anyway, the fair was...well...a fair, and we left.
Jake came over, after he dropped his friends off at the dorm, to work on his shotgun, drink a couple beers, and sleep on the couch (lest he miss hunting again). He worked on his gun, I drank some beer, Jessica watched TV.
We headed out the next morning. We found one grouse, and he wasn't shoot-able (too quick for us). We jumped a couple of deer, and otherwise had a nice walk through the woods. We saw a bear track, which was rather exciting. We kept walking, and found the pickup, and home we went again. Another nice walk carrying a gun.
Sunday afternoon, I changed the oil in my bike. It needed it. After that, I took off for Spiral. The wind wasn't any fun to ride in. It was blowing HARD. I saw one other guy on a bike on the way down. He was having less fun than I was, but at least he had fairings to give some wind protection. I went down, then up Spiral, and realized, for sure, what I was pretty sure about as soon as I left the city limits of Moscow...HEAD HOME, IT'S TOO DAMN WINDY! I got home, and took my gear off. What a shitty day for a ride... Why is it that even shitty days for rides put a big grin on your face that won't go away for a couple hours?
Anyway, I went to bed happy.
I got up Monday morning and went to work, mostly uneventful day. Jessica had a late class, so during the down time, I plotted out myself a ride for after work. 100 miles, mostly of forest land.
I left work, and gassed up. Bovill was my next destination. I headed there, slowing only briefly to stay within grasp of the speed limit, and then took off or Santa. Yes, a town named Santa. It's on the Saint Marie's River, and on the way to Saint Marie's. Well, actually, for me, it's on the way to the White Pine Drive--my own personal heaven. Lots of folks will tell you that Spiral Highway is one of the best roads around. Most of them haven't driven the White Pine Drive. Spiral beats the crap out of the White Pine Drive for technical corners, hands down. But, what the White Pine Drive lacks in tight, technical, corners, it makes up for in not having a damn cliff if you crash. Crashing on Spiral would be a bad idea, because you either have cliff wall up or cliff wall down. Crashing on the White Pine Drive, you would probably end up going up the side of the mountain, but it's no cliff wall up or down. The corners are really nice too, and there's hardly ever anyone on the road.
Don't get me wrong, it's some pretty technical stuff, but it's no Spiral. There's no hairpins, and instead of 15-25 mph corners, they are all 25-35 mph corners.
I can go much faster (in relation to the posted speed) on the White Pine Drive because of the simple fact that I don't feel like I'm going off a cliff if shit happens. I'm much more confident in my corners.
So, anyway, it started to rain. Yeah, I still have my chaps. My top half of my body was dry, my legs were dry, and my crotch was wet. What a weird look, I don't recommend it, get real pants.
A little rain, a little sun, a little breeze (not too bad), and a bunch of good miles, and I got home.
Tonight, I had 3 jobs: dishes, bathrooms, and finish the headboard. I've done the dishes, and finished the headboard (with the exception of attaching it to the bed), and now I'm blogging until I have to clean the bathrooms. Jessica's mom is coming, or the bathrooms could wait till the weekend. Oh well.
The headboard looks really great. It's really done, for reals. I finally have all the pieces put together, and all the buttons sewn on, and the whole thing is behind the bed. It's ready for use. I'm really excited, and so is Jessica.
Anyway, that's about all that's been going on in real life....
dear commenters:
you guys are great, keep it up, I love the feed back!
Jeff
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Epic Weekends, part 2
Ok, this won't be quite as in depth, but I've got a bonus afterwards!
Last weekend, I went out camping with Jessica ,my wife, Mark, a friend of mine, and his little dog Skipper. We drove to Mark's house after work on Friday, in the Tri-Cities, then off past Yakima to the town and river of Naches. Up from Naches, we followed the river to the Little Naches River, to a campsite. We setup tents, had a few beers, and BS'ed about the next morning's plans, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning, we got up. Now, since we were camping, and Jessica can't camp without bacon, and I wanted pancakes, we made bacon, eggs, pancakes, and coffee before we even thought about doing anything else. Once we had breakfast done, we realized we didn't have any dish soap, or any more coffee. We cleaned up as best as we could, and headed back to Whistlin' Jacks, a little over-priced grocery store to get the necessary things.
We grabbed a handful of elderberries from the bush on the way out. They were kinda tart, but really tasty...I can't wait for deer season when I get to go look for more elder berries :). Anyway, we went back up and moved campsites and started fishing the Naches river. Oh, btw, there are no fish in the Naches river. Trust me, there are no fish. We fished all day, and nothing.
That night, we had some more drinks, and went to bed.
Sunday morning, we got up and fished some more, still no fish.
We cooked breakfast again, bacon, eggs, pancakes and coffee, and cleaned up camp. We headed back and dropped Mark off. It was a good weekend.
It doesn't sound so great...but the time spent with Mark and Jessica, and the time spent fishing just don't seem like something anyone else will want to hear about....we just BS'ed a whole lot.
BONUS:
They cut my data patching. Yah, I'm not pleased. I'm angry, hurt, and generally not happy about it. I've spent so much time on it, that I don't remember a time in which I wasn't working on it, since I started working here. And now it's cut. I got the go-ahead yesterday to keep working on it, and send more test plans, and get it moving. That was yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon, in an email, I get "Projects not being worked on: Data Patching". I almost left early....I should have.....
Anyway, I have an empty bug list now!
GRRRRRRRRRRR
Last weekend, I went out camping with Jessica ,my wife, Mark, a friend of mine, and his little dog Skipper. We drove to Mark's house after work on Friday, in the Tri-Cities, then off past Yakima to the town and river of Naches. Up from Naches, we followed the river to the Little Naches River, to a campsite. We setup tents, had a few beers, and BS'ed about the next morning's plans, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning, we got up. Now, since we were camping, and Jessica can't camp without bacon, and I wanted pancakes, we made bacon, eggs, pancakes, and coffee before we even thought about doing anything else. Once we had breakfast done, we realized we didn't have any dish soap, or any more coffee. We cleaned up as best as we could, and headed back to Whistlin' Jacks, a little over-priced grocery store to get the necessary things.
We grabbed a handful of elderberries from the bush on the way out. They were kinda tart, but really tasty...I can't wait for deer season when I get to go look for more elder berries :). Anyway, we went back up and moved campsites and started fishing the Naches river. Oh, btw, there are no fish in the Naches river. Trust me, there are no fish. We fished all day, and nothing.
That night, we had some more drinks, and went to bed.
Sunday morning, we got up and fished some more, still no fish.
We cooked breakfast again, bacon, eggs, pancakes and coffee, and cleaned up camp. We headed back and dropped Mark off. It was a good weekend.
It doesn't sound so great...but the time spent with Mark and Jessica, and the time spent fishing just don't seem like something anyone else will want to hear about....we just BS'ed a whole lot.
BONUS:
They cut my data patching. Yah, I'm not pleased. I'm angry, hurt, and generally not happy about it. I've spent so much time on it, that I don't remember a time in which I wasn't working on it, since I started working here. And now it's cut. I got the go-ahead yesterday to keep working on it, and send more test plans, and get it moving. That was yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon, in an email, I get "Projects not being worked on: Data Patching". I almost left early....I should have.....
Anyway, I have an empty bug list now!
GRRRRRRRRRRR
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
2 epic weekends....
Ok, so since I last posted, I've had 2 epic weekends.
I'm gonna do this in order...on a day by day basis...
8/30 Thursday
My boss says to me "you can work a full day tomorrow if you want, but I'm not." You see, earlier in the week, he told us only to work a half day because they were going to be laying down chemicals upstairs. Well, those plans changed, but since he already made reservations, it was basically an already set half-day.
8/31 Friday
I took the half day, and left directly up to Spokane Raceway Park. On the way, I ran into a bunch of rain. Well, it had hit the track too, so that meant that when I got there, most people were just sitting around chilling.
I looked at some bikes in the pits. Most were nice bikes. One WAS a nice bike, until he flipped it a couple of times. It was a total loss, the guy was in the hospital. It was a brand new ZX-6R, and must have started the day beautiful. The guy was planning on riding it home to (I disremember where, but it was a ways away) after track day....he didn't ride home, instead he got carried away. He was fine, but not good...if you catch my drift.
A few people went out and ran another session or 2, but it was pretty uneventful....
Until Curt went down. Curt, a guy I hadn't met yet, took turn 2 wrong. He ended up using the plastics on his bike to scoop up about 5 pounds of gravel. Some of this gravel got revenge on the bike by scraping up the side. Some of the gravel scratched up his leathers and such. Curt had some "rash", which wasn't from the gravel, but just from rubbing, and was sore Saturday and stiff on Sunday, but otherwise, was able to race all weekend. Best kind of crash to have. He laid it down, got back up, rode it in, and dumped the dirt out and was good to go for the rest of the weekend. Thank God for good gear, and for not blowing the corner too bad.
Remember the crunched up ZX-6R? Well, one of the guys there was hauling it home in his (single bike) trailer for the guy. This guy, Fred, just happened to be friends with Curt. And these guys just happened to be friends with Jim, Cody, Ken, and had been pitting with everyone else that I knew at track day. Well, Fred's bike didn't have a way home, and it had to go somewhere. I wasn't going anywhere all weekend, and Fred only lived like 10 miles away, so it went into the back of my pickup. A 50'th Anniversary, 2006 R6 sat in the bed of my pickup for the better part of the weekend.
After we loaded that up, Becky offered to drive Cody, Curt, Ken, and I out to dinner so we could drink, carry on, and have a good time. Well, we did that. We ordered a pitcher of Mac and Jack's, and instead they brought a pitcher of New Castle. Well, since they left it for us, we couldn't let it go to waste. 2 pitchers later (mind you we started at the track before we left) and a burger each, we stumbled back into the pickup for the drive back to the track. Out came the cigars, and then after that bed.
Just so you all know...yes...the beer and cigar did make me sick...and no, it wasn't pleasant. One or the other, not both, and all things in moderation.
Now, around the middle of the night, I was still awake because there were bikes running everywhere. Some people had the bright idea to run pit bikes, small bikes, dirt bikes mainly, all around all night. I even saw a couple of pit bikes with no lights racing around the track, being followed by a street bike with lights.
I fell asleep and dreamed of riding.
9/1 Saturday
I got up and rode my bike up to the shower, and asked the naked guy where there was some running water so I could brush my teeth. He told me where to go, and I headed up there.
After brushing my teeth, gathering water, sports drink, diet coke, and munchies, I headed down to meet the rest of the corner workers. That was a CF if I've ever seen one. The real corner captain wasn't there, so her ass(istant) was in charge. She was pretty useless. Anyway, they put me in turn 9. I headed out there and met Dan, the radio guy. I was to play the part of the active.
"Active" corner workers are the ones who go and try to move the rider and bike out of the way of other crashes (just in case). I saw a couple of crashes and pushed a couple of bikes out of the way. One guy got dirt way up into his face mask, and into his eyes. We had to lead him across the hot track blind. That was no fun, and I was glad I was working on the bike, not the rider. He was more than fine.
A mostly uneventful day was about over when the shit hit the fan...in a good way. Ross Delong and Mike Sullivan (2 racers in the "good gawd almighty fast" class) were riding ffffaaaasssssttttt. So fast, in fact, that Ross Delong took the track record about half way through the race. That record sat for almost a minute and a half, because he set the record again. Mike Sullivan, not knowing this, of course, passes him, and takes the track record back (it was his until this race). Ross Delong, as if he knew what was going on, took the record BACK. 4 times, in once race.
With 1 lap to go, we had a guy go off just past our corner, and almost to turn 10/track crossing. He was hurt. Not really bad (as far as a 90 mph crash goes), but he did break his collar bone, I think. He wasn't moving until the race was over, which was fine....with 1 lap, a waving yellow would be fine, even in the fast class. His wife/girlfriend wasn't too pleased when we wouldn't let her cross the track until the EMT's were done with him, but she was ok once he got across to him.
I was pretty tired, and once I got food, I talked to Curt (the only one at the track I knew still), and then went to bed. Well, not to bed, but I kinda crashed out. It was like 7pm and I was in my tent. That didn't last too long. I got up and wandered around. This guy was working on his bike in the dark with just a little LED headlight. I went and got my BIG flashlight to help him finish before dawn. He is a vintage racer novice, and was prepping for his first race. I helped get him back up and running, and took a walking lap around the pits, and back to bed. This time, for real. I was tired.
At some point in there (after dinner, before crashing out), I ran into a couple of guys, about 50 years old or so, next to their side car. I had to talk to them about it. It was pretty neat. Not like a traditional bike and side car, but one unit, all together. I had seen them practice, and they were some pretty crazy contraptions. If you ever get a chance to look at them, DO IT.
9/2 Sunday
I got out of bed and poked my head out. There was Jim's miata next to Curt's pickup and trailer. Jim was wandering around hanging out, waiting for stuff to happen. It was 7am, and not much was going on. I talked to him about Saturday's races and practices, and about Sunday's races and practices.
I was in corner 5, and had a pretty uneventful day, honestly. It wasn't as exciting as Saturday, but I did pick up 2 bikes. Both of those guys were not only ok, but up and running away before anyone got there. One guy was a guy I kinda know from the forum, but neither of us knew it at the time, the other guy was the WMRRA club president who said he might have re-broke his ribs.
The course record did get reset by Ross Delong, and it stood all day.
There were a couple of big wrecks, but not in my corner. Which is almost as bad as if they are in your corner, because you are sitting there helpless, and you can't do anything.
I didn't even hang around for dinner, I just went back and packed up my stuff and headed home. It was a heck of a weekend, and I was dog tired and needed a shower.
9/3 Labor Day!
I went out grouse hunting, and then I played some computer games and took a nap. 1 grouse, it became lunch, and that was my day...uneventful
honestly....I'm goign to take a break from writing...I've been writing for a loooongg time, and I'll write about last weekend later (maybe not even tonight)
I'm gonna do this in order...on a day by day basis...
8/30 Thursday
My boss says to me "you can work a full day tomorrow if you want, but I'm not." You see, earlier in the week, he told us only to work a half day because they were going to be laying down chemicals upstairs. Well, those plans changed, but since he already made reservations, it was basically an already set half-day.
8/31 Friday
I took the half day, and left directly up to Spokane Raceway Park. On the way, I ran into a bunch of rain. Well, it had hit the track too, so that meant that when I got there, most people were just sitting around chilling.
I looked at some bikes in the pits. Most were nice bikes. One WAS a nice bike, until he flipped it a couple of times. It was a total loss, the guy was in the hospital. It was a brand new ZX-6R, and must have started the day beautiful. The guy was planning on riding it home to (I disremember where, but it was a ways away) after track day....he didn't ride home, instead he got carried away. He was fine, but not good...if you catch my drift.
A few people went out and ran another session or 2, but it was pretty uneventful....
Until Curt went down. Curt, a guy I hadn't met yet, took turn 2 wrong. He ended up using the plastics on his bike to scoop up about 5 pounds of gravel. Some of this gravel got revenge on the bike by scraping up the side. Some of the gravel scratched up his leathers and such. Curt had some "rash", which wasn't from the gravel, but just from rubbing, and was sore Saturday and stiff on Sunday, but otherwise, was able to race all weekend. Best kind of crash to have. He laid it down, got back up, rode it in, and dumped the dirt out and was good to go for the rest of the weekend. Thank God for good gear, and for not blowing the corner too bad.
Remember the crunched up ZX-6R? Well, one of the guys there was hauling it home in his (single bike) trailer for the guy. This guy, Fred, just happened to be friends with Curt. And these guys just happened to be friends with Jim, Cody, Ken, and had been pitting with everyone else that I knew at track day. Well, Fred's bike didn't have a way home, and it had to go somewhere. I wasn't going anywhere all weekend, and Fred only lived like 10 miles away, so it went into the back of my pickup. A 50'th Anniversary, 2006 R6 sat in the bed of my pickup for the better part of the weekend.
After we loaded that up, Becky offered to drive Cody, Curt, Ken, and I out to dinner so we could drink, carry on, and have a good time. Well, we did that. We ordered a pitcher of Mac and Jack's, and instead they brought a pitcher of New Castle. Well, since they left it for us, we couldn't let it go to waste. 2 pitchers later (mind you we started at the track before we left) and a burger each, we stumbled back into the pickup for the drive back to the track. Out came the cigars, and then after that bed.
Just so you all know...yes...the beer and cigar did make me sick...and no, it wasn't pleasant. One or the other, not both, and all things in moderation.
Now, around the middle of the night, I was still awake because there were bikes running everywhere. Some people had the bright idea to run pit bikes, small bikes, dirt bikes mainly, all around all night. I even saw a couple of pit bikes with no lights racing around the track, being followed by a street bike with lights.
I fell asleep and dreamed of riding.
9/1 Saturday
I got up and rode my bike up to the shower, and asked the naked guy where there was some running water so I could brush my teeth. He told me where to go, and I headed up there.
After brushing my teeth, gathering water, sports drink, diet coke, and munchies, I headed down to meet the rest of the corner workers. That was a CF if I've ever seen one. The real corner captain wasn't there, so her ass(istant) was in charge. She was pretty useless. Anyway, they put me in turn 9. I headed out there and met Dan, the radio guy. I was to play the part of the active.
"Active" corner workers are the ones who go and try to move the rider and bike out of the way of other crashes (just in case). I saw a couple of crashes and pushed a couple of bikes out of the way. One guy got dirt way up into his face mask, and into his eyes. We had to lead him across the hot track blind. That was no fun, and I was glad I was working on the bike, not the rider. He was more than fine.
A mostly uneventful day was about over when the shit hit the fan...in a good way. Ross Delong and Mike Sullivan (2 racers in the "good gawd almighty fast" class) were riding ffffaaaasssssttttt. So fast, in fact, that Ross Delong took the track record about half way through the race. That record sat for almost a minute and a half, because he set the record again. Mike Sullivan, not knowing this, of course, passes him, and takes the track record back (it was his until this race). Ross Delong, as if he knew what was going on, took the record BACK. 4 times, in once race.
With 1 lap to go, we had a guy go off just past our corner, and almost to turn 10/track crossing. He was hurt. Not really bad (as far as a 90 mph crash goes), but he did break his collar bone, I think. He wasn't moving until the race was over, which was fine....with 1 lap, a waving yellow would be fine, even in the fast class. His wife/girlfriend wasn't too pleased when we wouldn't let her cross the track until the EMT's were done with him, but she was ok once he got across to him.
I was pretty tired, and once I got food, I talked to Curt (the only one at the track I knew still), and then went to bed. Well, not to bed, but I kinda crashed out. It was like 7pm and I was in my tent. That didn't last too long. I got up and wandered around. This guy was working on his bike in the dark with just a little LED headlight. I went and got my BIG flashlight to help him finish before dawn. He is a vintage racer novice, and was prepping for his first race. I helped get him back up and running, and took a walking lap around the pits, and back to bed. This time, for real. I was tired.
At some point in there (after dinner, before crashing out), I ran into a couple of guys, about 50 years old or so, next to their side car. I had to talk to them about it. It was pretty neat. Not like a traditional bike and side car, but one unit, all together. I had seen them practice, and they were some pretty crazy contraptions. If you ever get a chance to look at them, DO IT.
9/2 Sunday
I got out of bed and poked my head out. There was Jim's miata next to Curt's pickup and trailer. Jim was wandering around hanging out, waiting for stuff to happen. It was 7am, and not much was going on. I talked to him about Saturday's races and practices, and about Sunday's races and practices.
I was in corner 5, and had a pretty uneventful day, honestly. It wasn't as exciting as Saturday, but I did pick up 2 bikes. Both of those guys were not only ok, but up and running away before anyone got there. One guy was a guy I kinda know from the forum, but neither of us knew it at the time, the other guy was the WMRRA club president who said he might have re-broke his ribs.
The course record did get reset by Ross Delong, and it stood all day.
There were a couple of big wrecks, but not in my corner. Which is almost as bad as if they are in your corner, because you are sitting there helpless, and you can't do anything.
I didn't even hang around for dinner, I just went back and packed up my stuff and headed home. It was a heck of a weekend, and I was dog tired and needed a shower.
9/3 Labor Day!
I went out grouse hunting, and then I played some computer games and took a nap. 1 grouse, it became lunch, and that was my day...uneventful
honestly....I'm goign to take a break from writing...I've been writing for a loooongg time, and I'll write about last weekend later (maybe not even tonight)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
the most metal thing I can think of....
I need to go and do something totally brutal
I'm not sure what that is, but I think it involves a bunch of tequila....
maybe...
maybe not....
not sure...
I'm not sure what that is, but I think it involves a bunch of tequila....
maybe...
maybe not....
not sure...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
So much for a relaxing weekend!
Yesterday, we went shopping and such, then we finished up the headboard. Yeah, I didn't have anytime to go play on my motorcycle, so I did today.....that's kinda what I'm blogging about....that was the short story.....here's the longer one.....
I got up yesterday, and watched some TV, then finished the game I've been playing, Max Payne. This was a great relief because it was only my 3rd restart on this game, after losing my save a couple of times. It sucked. But, I finally was able to get all the way through the game. It felt good. I'd been trying to beat it off and on since I bought the game, and I finally did. One more down in my library of games. Next up, SOCOM 3, I think.
So, after I finished the game, I drank some coffee and relaxed for a couple of minutes with my wife. Then, we got up and went out to spend a bunch of time running around. We went to the rock shop to see what our garnets look like, what the stars look like, and to find out what it would cost to have them cut and set into something so that it could be put on a necklace or something. We had some nice stars, but only one of the stones will end up being worth what we put into it to have it tested and cut. So, we walked out with all 4 that we had tested and the rest that he didn't choose, to decide later. Anyway, the 3 others would cut down to about 2 carats, at $20/carat, while the one good one would cut down to about 4 carats at $20/carat, while costing $7.50 to test and then another $65 to cut. Next time, we're going to try again for the big ones ;).
After the rock shop, we went down to the Golden Star restaurant there near downtown. Much better than we used to get at Ninja Food (Super China Buffet). A good lunch, and we were ready to attack the mall. I had to get some new clothes, so I got some shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Then, off to WinCo to get groceries.
Wait, at some point in there, before I finished Max Payne, I went to donate plasma too! What a CF that was. I have to give my arms a week and a half (at least) to heal up.... I started recently as a way to get completely free money (not already earmarked for bills/responsible stuff) that I could use for whatever I wanted. Anyway, the first time I did it, I got about 4 cycles (of 5) done, and my left arm decided it was done playing. Switch to the right, and it goes like crazy. I went down last Tuesday, start with the left, and it never really got started, switch to the right, and it goes perfectly. Hmm....so I went down yesterday, no screwing around with the left arm. Yeah, my first return cycle, and it goes wonky. Switch to the left arm, and slow the return cycles way the F down. I was ready to just walk out, but they lady told me it goes to corporate that I refused a re-stick and all that, and I didn't want to get her in trouble because I was cranky so I let her re-stick me. It worked...because they slowed the return down. Next time, I'm drinking so much water that I have to pee every 10 minutes before I go in.
Anyway, so, once we got back from the excursions, we finished the headboard. And, by finished, I mean we finished the initial design only to realize that the foam doesn't stick to the wood (durrrrrr). But, we put it all together anyway, and today we are going to get buttons, good strong thread, and big needles to finish the whole look, and hold the foam in place. It should turn out quite nicely, I think. Right now it looks awesome except for the bowing of it.
Today, I have to call the guy to get my motorcycle endorsement test done too. YAY! About friggin' time I say. I went out practicing, and after playing in the Kibbie Dome parking lot for a while, I'm pretty confident in my weaving skills, so I went out riding elsewhere and apparently put a good dent in my chicken strips too! My small one was noticeable smaller, while my big one was more than cut in half! Holy crap! I'm going to try to make it down to Spiral on the day Jessica has a late class next week and see how I do. I'm getting better at turns, looking through the turns, and just generally getting better at riding technique (all the things I need to be able to go fast safely).
So, I'm going to go putter around the house for a while, then get buttons, and call the motorcycle test guy. Y'all have a good day now!
I got up yesterday, and watched some TV, then finished the game I've been playing, Max Payne. This was a great relief because it was only my 3rd restart on this game, after losing my save a couple of times. It sucked. But, I finally was able to get all the way through the game. It felt good. I'd been trying to beat it off and on since I bought the game, and I finally did. One more down in my library of games. Next up, SOCOM 3, I think.
So, after I finished the game, I drank some coffee and relaxed for a couple of minutes with my wife. Then, we got up and went out to spend a bunch of time running around. We went to the rock shop to see what our garnets look like, what the stars look like, and to find out what it would cost to have them cut and set into something so that it could be put on a necklace or something. We had some nice stars, but only one of the stones will end up being worth what we put into it to have it tested and cut. So, we walked out with all 4 that we had tested and the rest that he didn't choose, to decide later. Anyway, the 3 others would cut down to about 2 carats, at $20/carat, while the one good one would cut down to about 4 carats at $20/carat, while costing $7.50 to test and then another $65 to cut. Next time, we're going to try again for the big ones ;).
After the rock shop, we went down to the Golden Star restaurant there near downtown. Much better than we used to get at Ninja Food (Super China Buffet). A good lunch, and we were ready to attack the mall. I had to get some new clothes, so I got some shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Then, off to WinCo to get groceries.
Wait, at some point in there, before I finished Max Payne, I went to donate plasma too! What a CF that was. I have to give my arms a week and a half (at least) to heal up.... I started recently as a way to get completely free money (not already earmarked for bills/responsible stuff) that I could use for whatever I wanted. Anyway, the first time I did it, I got about 4 cycles (of 5) done, and my left arm decided it was done playing. Switch to the right, and it goes like crazy. I went down last Tuesday, start with the left, and it never really got started, switch to the right, and it goes perfectly. Hmm....so I went down yesterday, no screwing around with the left arm. Yeah, my first return cycle, and it goes wonky. Switch to the left arm, and slow the return cycles way the F down. I was ready to just walk out, but they lady told me it goes to corporate that I refused a re-stick and all that, and I didn't want to get her in trouble because I was cranky so I let her re-stick me. It worked...because they slowed the return down. Next time, I'm drinking so much water that I have to pee every 10 minutes before I go in.
Anyway, so, once we got back from the excursions, we finished the headboard. And, by finished, I mean we finished the initial design only to realize that the foam doesn't stick to the wood (durrrrrr). But, we put it all together anyway, and today we are going to get buttons, good strong thread, and big needles to finish the whole look, and hold the foam in place. It should turn out quite nicely, I think. Right now it looks awesome except for the bowing of it.
Today, I have to call the guy to get my motorcycle endorsement test done too. YAY! About friggin' time I say. I went out practicing, and after playing in the Kibbie Dome parking lot for a while, I'm pretty confident in my weaving skills, so I went out riding elsewhere and apparently put a good dent in my chicken strips too! My small one was noticeable smaller, while my big one was more than cut in half! Holy crap! I'm going to try to make it down to Spiral on the day Jessica has a late class next week and see how I do. I'm getting better at turns, looking through the turns, and just generally getting better at riding technique (all the things I need to be able to go fast safely).
So, I'm going to go putter around the house for a while, then get buttons, and call the motorcycle test guy. Y'all have a good day now!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Southern rock.....
http://allsouthernrock.com/
LOVE IT, LISTEN TO IT.
Freebird on the radio made me want to have a Southern Rock Friday...so...I'm having one!
SOUTHERN ROCK ALL DAY FTW!
LOVE IT, LISTEN TO IT.
Freebird on the radio made me want to have a Southern Rock Friday...so...I'm having one!
SOUTHERN ROCK ALL DAY FTW!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
about exporting my blog
this is turning out to be quite a project....I'm wondering if moving it by hand wouldn't be soooo bad.....
Maybe just copy and paste if I can set up some kind of archives, so it will still be in order.....
HEY! That's what I'll do!
writing that program was fun...but shit....it was taking forever!
Maybe just copy and paste if I can set up some kind of archives, so it will still be in order.....
HEY! That's what I'll do!
writing that program was fun...but shit....it was taking forever!
werk sux, construction and SRP might be going away!
Work...what shall I say...it's no fun....
Well, it is fun, but only in some ways. In some ways, it's not all that great. For instance: I'm not moving to Seattle. Which means that I'll have to wait longer for another opportunity to do that. However, in lots of ways, it's good that I'm not leaving. I want more time to use my boat on the local lakes, get use to it and such before I take it out to a bigger place (not doing that again without a gas motor!). I also want to spend more time hunting in the area out there. I've got some new strategies that I want to try and some new spots I want to try...I've got an apple tree that I'm going to watch as food gets scarce later in the season!
Also, if I moved to Seattle, I wouldn't get odd things happening to me at work, like being called on to help move logs to help in my boss's renovation! We had to move logs into the house the other day. Three logs. They've been assembled, and are now part of an entrance into the kitchen. Today, we helped stand it up so that it could actually be in place. It was quite the change! They actually have a step up, and are getting a floor! A REAL floor, instead of painted subfloor.
It's funny, because our office is finished, but the rest of the house isn't, and is just now being finished.
So, speaking on construction, I'm spending some time actually putting the pieces of the headboard together. I have every piece I need, foam, fabric, wood, and hardware, and I just need to put them together. I spent time today collecting the parts, so I didn't get much construction done, but I already had the main piece of OSB cut, and the uprights I'm using. So, today, I measured the exact width, clamped the uprights on the back piece.
Ok, here's where it gets kinda hard to describe. Basically, the headboard will be 2 upright 2x4's holding up a 3'x6.5' piece of OSB, covered with foam, and then a cheap fabric, then a nice fabric over that. The 2x4's get bolted to the bed frame to hold it all as one piece.
Ok, but in order to attach the OSB to the uprights, I need to attach them before I put the fabric on. But, if I do that, then the fabric has weirdness where it comes in contact with the 2x4's. This prevents a nice clean look, so that idea went to the scrap heap.
Instead, I thought, I'll just screw the OSB onto the uprights after I put the fabric on....Either I go through the fabric, or there's just not enough holding the whole thing to the uprights or it pokes through....that won't work either.
So, after a bit of thinking......I decided that the uprights wouldn't attach to the OSB at all. Instead, I would get a chunk of 2x2, 16" long, on each side, just inside the uprights. If I screw into the 2x2's while the OSB has nothing on it, I can then wrap the fabric around the whole board, with no weirdness on the edges AND I can attach the uprights to the 2x2's using lag bolts, and it will be plenty strong. The nice thing about this design is that I'll have 3 bolts on each side on the bottom of the thing to unhook it from the bed and then 2 lag screws on the back to detach the uprights from the main piece for transport if/when we move next.
Yes, it's brilliant! I'm sure I stole it from someone, so go ahead and steal it from me!
Now, about SRP. Spokane Raceway Park is in Receivership, which means that it's basically bankrupt, and in the hands of the investors. This is bad news. It could very easily get shut down. The forum (http://www.pnwriders.com) has been trying to make a difference, and be heard (http://www.pnwriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49153). There is a form letter you can use to send to the county commissioners, which I'm posting below, along with their email addresses if anyone feels strongly about it, SEND! Even if you don't feel strongly, but kinda feel! More voices is more help! I don't know why, but I'm doing what I can to be involved in this. I've never run on the track, but I really want to. Strangely, activism feels good! REALLY GOOD. I recommend it!
The email addresses of the council members are:
Todd Mielke: TMielke@spokanecounty.org
Mark Richard: MRichard@spokanecounty.org
Bonnie Mager: BMager@spokanecounty.org
-----------------THE LETTER-------------------------------
(YOUR NAME HERE)
(YOUR ADDRESS HERE)
(YOUR ADDRESS HERE)
Commissioner Todd Mielke
Commissioner Mark Richard
Commissioner Bonnie Mager
Spokane County Courthouse
1116 West Broadway Ave.
Spokane WA 99260
Dear Commissioners Mielke, Richard and Mager,
While I am not citizen of Spokane County, I am a motorcyclist, and I have followed the developments surrounding the troubles with Spokane Raceway Park closely. The loss of this motor sports venue would significantly impact the local and regional community. Track events bring money in from the surrounding areas to support fuel stations, restaurants and hotels near the track. Spokane Raceway Park is the closest track to us in North Idaho, and I would like the continued opportunity to enjoy events there. I would like to add my support to the plan proposed by James Sloane and others that would have the property purchased by the County and operated as a self sustaining, for-profit entity similar to the way in which Portland International Raceway operates now. With continued investment and improvement the facility could draw more events, more spectators, and more tax revenue to the County.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME HERE)
Well, it is fun, but only in some ways. In some ways, it's not all that great. For instance: I'm not moving to Seattle. Which means that I'll have to wait longer for another opportunity to do that. However, in lots of ways, it's good that I'm not leaving. I want more time to use my boat on the local lakes, get use to it and such before I take it out to a bigger place (not doing that again without a gas motor!). I also want to spend more time hunting in the area out there. I've got some new strategies that I want to try and some new spots I want to try...I've got an apple tree that I'm going to watch as food gets scarce later in the season!
Also, if I moved to Seattle, I wouldn't get odd things happening to me at work, like being called on to help move logs to help in my boss's renovation! We had to move logs into the house the other day. Three logs. They've been assembled, and are now part of an entrance into the kitchen. Today, we helped stand it up so that it could actually be in place. It was quite the change! They actually have a step up, and are getting a floor! A REAL floor, instead of painted subfloor.
It's funny, because our office is finished, but the rest of the house isn't, and is just now being finished.
So, speaking on construction, I'm spending some time actually putting the pieces of the headboard together. I have every piece I need, foam, fabric, wood, and hardware, and I just need to put them together. I spent time today collecting the parts, so I didn't get much construction done, but I already had the main piece of OSB cut, and the uprights I'm using. So, today, I measured the exact width, clamped the uprights on the back piece.
Ok, here's where it gets kinda hard to describe. Basically, the headboard will be 2 upright 2x4's holding up a 3'x6.5' piece of OSB, covered with foam, and then a cheap fabric, then a nice fabric over that. The 2x4's get bolted to the bed frame to hold it all as one piece.
Ok, but in order to attach the OSB to the uprights, I need to attach them before I put the fabric on. But, if I do that, then the fabric has weirdness where it comes in contact with the 2x4's. This prevents a nice clean look, so that idea went to the scrap heap.
Instead, I thought, I'll just screw the OSB onto the uprights after I put the fabric on....Either I go through the fabric, or there's just not enough holding the whole thing to the uprights or it pokes through....that won't work either.
So, after a bit of thinking......I decided that the uprights wouldn't attach to the OSB at all. Instead, I would get a chunk of 2x2, 16" long, on each side, just inside the uprights. If I screw into the 2x2's while the OSB has nothing on it, I can then wrap the fabric around the whole board, with no weirdness on the edges AND I can attach the uprights to the 2x2's using lag bolts, and it will be plenty strong. The nice thing about this design is that I'll have 3 bolts on each side on the bottom of the thing to unhook it from the bed and then 2 lag screws on the back to detach the uprights from the main piece for transport if/when we move next.
Yes, it's brilliant! I'm sure I stole it from someone, so go ahead and steal it from me!
Now, about SRP. Spokane Raceway Park is in Receivership, which means that it's basically bankrupt, and in the hands of the investors. This is bad news. It could very easily get shut down. The forum (http://www.pnwriders.com) has been trying to make a difference, and be heard (http://www.pnwriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49153). There is a form letter you can use to send to the county commissioners, which I'm posting below, along with their email addresses if anyone feels strongly about it, SEND! Even if you don't feel strongly, but kinda feel! More voices is more help! I don't know why, but I'm doing what I can to be involved in this. I've never run on the track, but I really want to. Strangely, activism feels good! REALLY GOOD. I recommend it!
The email addresses of the council members are:
Todd Mielke: TMielke@spokanecounty.org
Mark Richard: MRichard@spokanecounty.org
Bonnie Mager: BMager@spokanecounty.org
-----------------THE LETTER-------------------------------
(YOUR NAME HERE)
(YOUR ADDRESS HERE)
(YOUR ADDRESS HERE)
Commissioner Todd Mielke
Commissioner Mark Richard
Commissioner Bonnie Mager
Spokane County Courthouse
1116 West Broadway Ave.
Spokane WA 99260
Dear Commissioners Mielke, Richard and Mager,
While I am not citizen of Spokane County, I am a motorcyclist, and I have followed the developments surrounding the troubles with Spokane Raceway Park closely. The loss of this motor sports venue would significantly impact the local and regional community. Track events bring money in from the surrounding areas to support fuel stations, restaurants and hotels near the track. Spokane Raceway Park is the closest track to us in North Idaho, and I would like the continued opportunity to enjoy events there. I would like to add my support to the plan proposed by James Sloane and others that would have the property purchased by the County and operated as a self sustaining, for-profit entity similar to the way in which Portland International Raceway operates now. With continued investment and improvement the facility could draw more events, more spectators, and more tax revenue to the County.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME HERE)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
the blog exporter
I've been working on it...I just haven't finished it yet.
I've got it so I can read interesting text out, but I can't output it yet, and I can't handle nested tags....so, it's not gonna be useful until I can figure out how to handle nested tags, and single tags (like image tags).
I've kinda over-designed it to be extensible and reusable. I came up with a simple one that I could write pretty quickly on my drive to work today, but that wouldn't be any fun. I want this piece of software to be in my portfolio at home.
So, I'm gonna peruse now and see if I can figure out how the blogs will need to be formatted for FTP access....
I've got it so I can read interesting text out, but I can't output it yet, and I can't handle nested tags....so, it's not gonna be useful until I can figure out how to handle nested tags, and single tags (like image tags).
I've kinda over-designed it to be extensible and reusable. I came up with a simple one that I could write pretty quickly on my drive to work today, but that wouldn't be any fun. I want this piece of software to be in my portfolio at home.
So, I'm gonna peruse now and see if I can figure out how the blogs will need to be formatted for FTP access....
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Figuring out how to export a blog from Myspace to anything else
Ok, I'm sick of myspace, and want to start using a real blog system. One without the overhead and restrictions of myspace. So, first thing, I'm going to chronicle my attempts to read a myspace blog and output it as something useful, that I can either just upload, or copy and paste in easily, but I don't want to deal with all 204 blog posts. There's only 31 comments, so I think I can handle that.
Anyway, so that's my plan, and I am going to search a bit, and do some poking at the myspace code....maybe I can get some clues from the code
So....that's that....off to search
*edit, added later*
yeah....thank you CSS! WHOO HOO! This should be a simple matter of getting the page source showing my blogs, then I can parse out what I need from it.
I could just read it in, find those tags, and then output that in a good format...something usable by me...and then upload it to the blog...I think you can upload with the blogger acct....I hope so..
p class="blogContent"
p class="blogTimeStamp"
p class="blogSubject"
Anyway, so that's my plan, and I am going to search a bit, and do some poking at the myspace code....maybe I can get some clues from the code
So....that's that....off to search
*edit, added later*
yeah....thank you CSS! WHOO HOO! This should be a simple matter of getting the page source showing my blogs, then I can parse out what I need from it.
I could just read it in, find those tags, and then output that in a good format...something usable by me...and then upload it to the blog...I think you can upload with the blogger acct....I hope so..
p class="blogContent"
p class="blogTimeStamp"
p class="blogSubject"
Monday, May 7, 2007
Myspace Blog Archive 1
August 22, 2007 - Wednesday
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| July 29, 2007 - Sunday
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| July 28, 2007 - Saturday
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| July 15, 2007 - Sunday
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| July 3, 2007 - Tuesday
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| June 4, 2007 - Monday
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| May 21, 2007 - Monday
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| May 20, 2007 - Sunday
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| May 18, 2007 - Friday
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| May 16, 2007 - Wednesday
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| May 13, 2007 - Sunday
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| May 7, 2007 - Monday
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