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 Monday, May 19, 2008
We now have a new floor in the bathroom, and it looks great! Thank you, Dad, for the hard work to make it happen. 

Also, I have a new ring-tone.  I ripped the drum-line sequence from Veggie-Tales: Gideon- Tuba Warrior.

Finally, I have a new (used) video card coming.  ATi Radeon HD 2650 Pro 512MB, with a big heat-sink instead of a fan, so it should run very quiet.  One day when it's no longer sufficient for gaming this will make a great card for a Home Theater PC.

posted on Monday, May 19, 2008 9:11:57 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
Here are a couple pictures I took with my phone this week:

I had to zoom in close to get a good shot for the first one, so it's not very big:


Melody's Dress Rehearsal



The cake from Mom & Dad's Birthday party
posted on Monday, May 19, 2008 9:08:49 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
 Monday, May 12, 2008
Since starting at SVA they added a Programming Manager.  Essentially, they added a layer of management and my boss is now my boss's boss.  This is actually a good thing, as my original boss was overworked, and wasn't able to manage us properly.  On the one hand it was nice because we had a relatively open schedule, but on the other hand the programming environment was suffering.  Things like our clout with the IT department and the state of our workstations weren't they would be with a more focused manager, so in spite of the extra layer I really think we're better off now. 

I bring this up because over the weekend my original boss' wife had a baby girl.  Also, another member of the system's team is due any time in the next couple of weeks.  So with both of them gone for a little and the team playing short-handed it could be a fun few weeks.

posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 7:59:33 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
It's normally my job to put Alice to bed, and we have a pretty good routine set up.  Alice gets in bed and I read her a poem from "A Light in the Attic", then sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Night Night, Alice."  Finally, I sing "God is Listening" before saying a good night prayer.  It's almost always the same prayer, though I will occasionally add something.

Last night after finishing "God is Listening" I paused for a moment to take a breath, and Alice took over.  She's said the prayer with me on occasion, but this time she went solo.  Not only that, but she didn't stick to the script: she was actually praying.  She took nearly a full minute, and was talking in her pseudo-gibberish that's hard to make out.  I caught snippets of "thank you for" and other references to things that she did that day.  She was talking to God, and that's as good a prayer and as a father can hope for.

posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 7:46:50 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1] Trackback
Melody spent some money she got for Mother's Day on a couple rose bushes and a hydrangea, so I helped her plant those this evening.  We actually got some good use out of one of Alice' toy garden tools, as it was just the right size to help dig out the bottom of the hole for the roses.

I also looked up some information on compost piles, and discovered I have a problem.  Supposedly, one key to a successful compost file is a good mix of 'greens' and 'browns', which means nitrogen-rich items like grass clippings and table scraps vs carbon-rich items like dead leaves or even cardboard.  The web site I found recommended mixing 25 to 1 in favor of browns.  The pile I put together is almost entirely greens. 

I do think the compost pile will work out okay.  I have some dead leaves left over from last fall that I bagged before I knew the city would take them, some cardboard boxes left over from when we moved in, and some tree branches I pruned off the large bush behind the ground.  All that needs to broken down to small pieces manually before I can include it in the pile, but I'll get it in there in time (this is going to be one big pile pretty soon!).  I also get the feeling that green/brown mix just determines whether the compost is more manure-like or more mulch-like, and maybe how much it smells (enough brown items and it won't smell at all).

posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 7:34:30 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1] Trackback
After more than two weeks, the water has finally receded a little and no longer covers Hwy 14.  It's still dangerously close,though, and they had to bring a pump out to make it happen.  So the water here has been high for nearly 2 continuous months.  Also, the trip to take Pepper to get spayed involved driving on some pretty out of the way back roads, and one of those is flooded pretty bad as well.  At what point does it cease to be 'high' water, and just become the new standard level?  Atlanta: if you're wondering where your water went, I think we've found it.

posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 2:10:54 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [2] Trackback
 Saturday, May 10, 2008
Our care group met at the Zoo today.  We were pleasantly surprised with how active most of the animals were.  On most of my previous visits most of the animals didn't do much, but today just about everybody was out and about.   The polar bear put on a good show, as did the otter (of course), some deer, a pelican, the flamingos, the prairie dogs, the new giraffes, and a few others.  They were all very active.  However, the new playground area stole the show with Alice.  There are three slides bigger than any she has yet tried.  One was for bigger kids, but she loved the other two.  Melody had her camera along and took most of the pictures, but I did get one with my cell phone:

A pair of seals swimming.
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 6:36:44 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you today to tell you that the state of my yard is strong.  I have finished my initial assault on the dandelions.  I am not, for the time being, worrying about the area behind the garage or the easement between the street and the sidewalk.  But everywhere else has had a pretty thorough initial pass.  From here out I only need to pick any yellow flower I happen to see pop up, so they don't put out seeds.

I did decide to compost what I've pulled.  I think I had three different people say I should try it, so we'll see what happens with that.  I have a pretty good pile started (see the pic at the end). 

I also managed to get the oil changed on the lawn mower and mowed the lawn.  I cut it fairly close the ground, and then raked up the clippings and added them to the compost pile.  There was quite a lot to rake.  With the lawn cut and raked I spread out six pounds of grass seed.  I concentrated on bare patches left from pulling dandelions and other activities, but I also did some general over-seeding as well.  It's supposed to rain tonight and most of the day tomorrow, so I haven't watered the seed yet.

Now I need to think about how to proceed going forward.  I really don't know anything about this, so any suggestions are appreciated.  My current plan is to wait at least three weeks before mowing again, unless I hear some better advice.  The risk there is that the creeping charlie, which the yard has in abundance, will get very large again, but I want to wait so the grass seed can take hold.  Then I'll mow with the deck on the mower set as high as possible, and continue that for a couple weeks before putting it back to the normal position.  I'll also continue to go out each evening and pull any dandelions I see that have flowered, and for the next couple weeks I'll also use the hose to water the seeds if it hasn't rained that day.

Here's a picture of the compost pile.  I'm disappointed in how my cell phone focused, and the picture makes it look much smaller than it really is.
The new compost pile.
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 6:31:03 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1] Trackback
She should be almost normal, but we have to somehow limit her activity for the next two weeks and make sure she doesn't lick at the incision too much. 

How do you limit activity in a cat?  So far the only idea we have is to move the litter box and food to the empty bedroom, and lock here in there overnight for a little while.

posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 6:13:08 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
I just dropped Pepper off at the Humane Society to get spayed. 

posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 7:14:33 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
 Thursday, May 08, 2008
Here are a couple photos off of my cell phone:


Alice riding in a shopping cart at Farm & Fleet



Alice pushing her stroller at East Towne Mall.
posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:32:58 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
We're working on turning the small bedroom upstairs into a nursery.  Melody has already started making some curtains, and we've talked about paint colors.  My job will be to put new drywall on the two outside walls. 

The funny thing is that this room is one of the few places in the house that already has real drywall.  Unfortunately, it looks like there's no insulation behind it, and it's cracked and damaged in a couple places (namely at the seams and behind the door).  While I have the studs exposed I'm going to run some wiring for some additional outlets.  There's only one outlet in the room right now.  I'm planning to add three more and set it up to I can easily run wire into the hallway to add one more.  With a little luck I'll be able to put it on a new circuit that's actually grounded. 

When the wire is installed I'll add insulation (it should be cheap this time of year) and then start putting up drywall.  There is an old vent pipe in the bathroom that we're thinking about moving so it runs up through the wall, so I'll have to leave that part for the end.  But I expect this will take me long enough that we're able to move the pipe (or at least know if we're moving it at all) before I get to that point.

When that's done we'll need to take down the glass shelves before we paint.  As far as making the room 'finished', we'll also want to re-do the ceiling and put in new carpet at some point in the future, but otherwise the room will be a much nicer place in the very near future.

posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008 11:06:42 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
This story is interesting.  A US soldier in Afghanistan is able to call his parents with his cell phone.  The interesting part isn't that he actually gets service out there.  It's that he calls them with the phone in his pocket by accidentally pushing buttons... in the middle of a fire-fight.  His parents were not home, but their answering machine recorded some rather interesting sounds, reportedly ending the a neighboring soldier yelling, "Incoming RPG!"  That would have to be very disturbing for a parent.

posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008 8:14:24 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
 Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Alice had a doctor visit today.  I wasn't able to be there, but I'm told she is now officially 3' tall.  Also that she's nervous about scales that you have to stand on. 

posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 8:20:12 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
 Tuesday, May 06, 2008
I am at war.  Already the bodies of enemy are piled high on the wagon.  Even though I estimate there are still five days of battle before the main offensive is complete, as in any war I also need to go on patrol.  And it was on patrol that the first casualty came.  There I encountered an enemy so determined that my weapon (shovel) was damaged removing him from the earth.  I am also running low on ammunition (weed killer), but still I persist.  Anywhere I see the yellow sign of the enemy I go to work uprooting his vile presence.  I will triumph in the end.

I had planned to wait until all the dandelions had been pulled to mow the lawn so that I could use the buds on the dandelions to help me spot them, but I won't be able to do that.  The lawn is getting so dense that it is impeding my efforts, and I think also dulling the shovel (which helped contribute to it's demise).  So now I'm going to quickly go pull up the weeds that already have buds and not worry about the rest until after I've mowed, which probably won't be until Sunday afternoon.

posted on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 7:55:27 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
 Sunday, May 04, 2008
We have two student loans still remaining, both with Sallie Mae.  There's a big one, which is the brunt of my loans plus Melody's consolidated together.  And there's a small one, which is a signature loan I took one lean semester that's separate from the normal student loan program (but still subject to many of the same regulations).  As of this month, the small loan is no more.  The balance was small enough that we put about an extra hundred dollars to it and paid it off.  That's $50/month back in our pockets.  Next up is some credit card debt that we've had almost since we were married.  Hopefully that will go away in the next year as well.

posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 7:38:26 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback
I have declared war on my dandelions this year.  I've been using Melody's gardening shovel to pry them up first, and then spraying some broad-leaf killer on the newly exposed ground to kill the root.  I must have pulled up hundreds of them.  I think our lawn in places is more dandelion than grass.  I think I'll have enough to completely fill the smaller of our garbage bins, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.  The city doesn't take yard waste. 

Unfortunately, the dandelions aren't the only weed in the yard.  I have a couple other varieties that I can't name, as well as some clover.  I don't mind the clover as much but other weeds will need to go.  This year, however, the dandelions will be enough, and I have the blisters to prove it.  When I finish with them (I think I'm about 2/3 done) I'm going to sow some grass seed to help fill in the gaps.  Otherwise I'd have just as many dandelions next year from seeds that drift in from the neighborhood.

Next year I'll attack this other weed we have, and when it's gone I'll also mow very close to the ground and rake the yard, before putting down grass seed as well as some fertilizer.  Then I should an almost brand new yard.  At least,  I hope so.

posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 7:34:46 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1] Trackback
We went to Menard's yesterday.   They've built a big new store that's almost ready to open, so the old location is having some pretty good sales to reduce stock for the move.  It was a mad house, and they're not even that far into it.  We came away with the sink that we'd been looking at, for $40 less than the regular price and $10 less than the best sale price we'd seen.  I thought about waiting longer, but it was the last one.  Now it's ours, and it's waiting in the garage for a chance to install it.

We also picked up a faucet for nearly 1/2 off and some stain for the porch and deck for 1/4 off.  I think maybe I should have waited a week on the stain: I probably could have gone back and still found some for even less.  In all we spent $160 there- ouch.

posted on Sunday, May 04, 2008 7:12:14 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0] Trackback