Posts Tagged ‘Pics’

This That and the Other

Friday, March 19th, 2010

I haven’t had a chance to post anything for a while as my life has became quite full lately.

This week is spring break at Ivy Tech and IU.  It’s been a nice break from the organized chaos that has become my life.  So I thought I would write about the goings on lately.

Backup, Backup, Backup!

I finally got a stable backup file server going.  My original one died and I’m in the process of parting it out.  If you’re looking for some cheap computer parts you can find ‘em right here.  I finally gave up on linux and went with Windows Server 2003.  It’s essentially XP with additional goodies for server functions.  I only have one step left, and that is setting up the RAID configuration.  That’s for a safety net should a hard drive fail.

ROX Update

While I haven’t had much time to concentrate on ROX, I have started recording episodes that still play on CATS.  I have many of the episodes on VHS, but capturing them straight to a digital format makes things much easier.  Given the advanced development of my daughter I might be able to start working on ROX again and finally get season one released in a few months.

Amelia

Taylor & Amelia

She is growing and developing at an alarming rate!  She is now eating solid foods every night.  She is also starting to move around on her own, she isn’t crawling yet but very close.  She has learned that she has a voice and likes to use it often.  I would say her favorite activity is getting mommy and daddy wet when she’s taking a bath.  She’s a hoot and a very happy baby.  We couldn’t ask for more.

The Semester From Hell

This semester I’m taking a class I’ve failed before (MATH-111) and a class that interests me (CINS-102).  My math class is great, as the instructor does his best to ensure everyone in class understands the concepts and can do the work.  85% of the final grade in this class is based upon test scores, something I’ve never had to deal with before.  Right now I’m earning a solid B, which makes me very happy.  I plan on thanking him at the end of the semester for being such a good instructor, all teachers should be reminded how much they’re appreciated when they do a good job!  My other class is a completely different story however.  While I’m learning some much needed skills in this class (XHTML & CSS) the instructor seems to use the class has her way to release frustrations she has.  There aren’t many people in this class, and many don’t seem to have the skills required or aren’t putting forth the effort required.  The class has opened my eyes to the world of web programming, but it’s almost impossible to swallow her totalitarian attitude.

Give Me The Fiber

If you live in Indiana, you might have heard about what Smithville Telephone is doing.  All of their customers are receiving fiber to the home.  It’s exciting to say the least.  Last year I rewired the phone lines in my house and installed a LAN in anticipation.  This week we were “pre-wired” for it.  This consisted of them installing a new network interface on the outside of my home, installing a battery backup system in my home, and installing a data jack.  My area, called the “Fullerton Remote” should be completed by the last quarter of this year.  With this upgrade broadband Internet download  speeds are rising from 1.5mbps to 20!  They are also adding television services which beat all it’s competitors, but that’s my opinion.  This upgrade is amazing to say the least.  Do  you know anyone who has access to 100mbps download speeds at home?  That will be their fastest rate, and I’ve seen it work.  It’s almost like comparing a 14.4 modem to a 56k, a world of difference.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is upon us here in Indiana.  The grass is becoming green again, and the temperatures are rising.  That means the honey do list starts back up again.  I listed what we want to get done around the house in an earlier post.  Now it’s time to get into gear and get those items checked off the list!

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Posted in B-Town, Computer Frustrations, Education, Family, Home Improvement?, Links, Pix, ROX, The Amelia Files, Weather & Seasons | No Comments »

The 2010 List

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

We have many projects we would like to accomplish this year on our home.  With last year being primarily dedicated to two areas, this year we are focusing on a large number of smaller projects.

1.  Complete Taylor’s bedroom.  We are slowly but surely changing our trim and doors to white versus stained.  Taylor’s room is also the last room to get new cable, phone and LAN lines ran to it.  I’ll be happy when that is over with as we under estimated how much CAT5e cable we would need and have paid through the nose for 100 ft sections at a time.  When we’re done her room will look like Amelia’s room, except Taylor’s room is pink.

2.  Refurbish foyer area.  This area needs a lot of love.  Our home is a bi-level, which means when you enter the front door you are faced with a decision – up or down.  Our stairs are covered in carpet, which I’ve tripped on several times.  My neighbor removed his and underneath was hardwood and I believe mine is the same.  If so, I’m going to stain the treads and paint the risers.  We are also going to lay down a new floor for the foyer.  The current floor is horrible at best.  It’s a fake parkay and very dark, we plan on replacing it with laminate wood of some type.  Last but not least is the stair railing.  What we have was mainly used for outside hand rails.  It’s a solid metal piece that doesn’t really go with the rest of the home.

3.  Remodel master bathroom.  We have a 1/2 master bathroom, at 4′ by 6′ it’s quite small.  It’s also in need of a lot of work.  When we moved in, the room had some hideous wallpaper.  We removed it to find the walls had never been painted.  We plan on replacing the vanity, medicine cabinet, toilet, re-finishing and painting the walls and replacing the entry and closet doors.  We should be able to do this for around $500 on a long weekend.

4.  Change coat closet door.  Our coat closet door is not level and obtrusive.  We plan on replacing it with a closet door instead of an entry type door which is what is currently installed.  It’s the door on the right in the picture.

5.  Replace moldy insulation and replace drywall in garage.  Our home had from what I can tell many water issues prior to us moving in, and some after we moved.  Not too long after we moved in I (with my helper) removed a vast majority of the drywall sealing our home from the garage.  See the black areas?  That’s mold folks!  This needs to be replaced to help keep our home sealed from the elements.  We will also be replacing the door separating the garage from the living area of the house with a steel door, something our home inspector noted should be done.

Now onto the smaller stuff

6.  Remove cat door on garage door, seal and insulate it.  Pretty much self explanatory – I’ve used this access to get myself back in the house when I was locked out by our Roomba.  It’s something a thief could do as well.

7.  Create self sealing door in attic for whole house fan.  We have this fan, it’s great – but we never use it.  I need to create a door that will seal it when not in use, but open automatically when in use.  Hopefully this will keep our heat and air from escaping through the attic.

8.  Landscaping.  This is work I have done before and really don’t enjoy doing.  I would hire it out if our financial situation was better.  I only plan on fixing some grading issues in the backyard.  My neighbor is going to lend me his roto-tiller so I can cut down the hump left where our pool was.  I will also do the same for where our shed was.

Whoever told me that a homeowners work is never done was sure right!  There is an amount of self satisfaction that I get from doing all of this work.  I think the fact that I’m turning this place into mine and not what some builder planned, is the biggest factor.  These builder neighborhoods with HOA’s really drive me insane.  That’s why I love where I live.

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Posted in Home Improvement?, Pix | 1 Comment »

A New and Improved Space

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

We officially finished the remodeling portion of our basement area over the weekend.  Rachel, Taylor and I applied the epoxy basement floor coating on Friday night.  It required 24 hours to fully cure, so by the time her family arrived on Sunday we were able to give the first full tour of our proud accomplishment.

Here is what the space looked like when we purchased this place.  It was dark, dingy and uninviting.



Until now, we mainly used the space as a place to “put stuff.”  We didn’t use or utilize it for any meaningful purpose.  We knew the time would come when we would have to use it, and that time came quickly.

One issue that we weren’t sure about was if we had any structural issues.  The downstairs would get water when it rained heavily.  The first step was to take out all the old paneling and carpet and get the space down to its bones.  To our luck, there were no visible issues.  We corrected a majority of the water issues with a repair to the gutters.

We had many decisions to make, all of which were extremely difficult.  We needed to decide what to cover the walls and floor with, whether or not to install new cable and phone lines.  Many of these decisions  brought on major arguments-in which we were able to bring to the surface any issues we had with each option. 

In the end we decided to go with new paneling, an epoxy basement floor coating, and to add some electrical outlets and completely rewire our homes phone and cable lines.  We decided to add a wired LAN as well.

The only step left is to connect all the new phone, cable and LAN wires, which I plan on doing this week.  I will then officially move my office to a space we have dedicated for that purpose.

The other area, which I am calling the “Den” we have purchased and placed 2 futons and added an area rug.  We needed a space for guests to stay, and this space is perfect.

We did not remodel our fireplace, as all aspects of fireplaces are very expensive.  The things I want to do are not major, but are expensive.  I hope to have that complete within a couple of years.  There’s nothing more comfortable and calming to me than laying by a fire listening to music or reading.

I now have a bedroom to remodel for our growing arrival, baby girl Lawmaster!

(more…)

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Posted in Family, Home Improvement?, Pix, Rachel | 1 Comment »

Goodbye Baby Tat

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Baby Tat (named by Taylor) was originally named Olivia and then named Baby by our friends Jeff & Sara who we got her from.  They have numerous cats (8 or so) and she didn’t get along with another alpha kitty in their household.  We decided to take her from them to possibly give her a better living environment.

Furby, Baby Tat and Oreo

Our other cats, Furby and Oreo were mixed on the addition of a new roommate.  Oreo loved it, and we eventually started calling the two “lovers.”  Although they couldn’t consummate their relationship they acted very much like a couple.  Furby is the embodiment of a “grumpy old man.”  He is an alpha kitty as well.  The two would sometimes get along, but most of the time fought to the bone.  Those fights would sometimes rattle the house.

Baby Tat has been showing her distress by leaving bombs all over the house.  When I say bomb, I really mean feces.  We know there is nothing physically wrong with her, but nothing we tried to do would help or solve this situation. 

Out of frustration, we gave her a new home.  A gentleman came over Sunday to meet her, and they seemed to make a connection.  She stayed in his arms (which she wouldn’t do that long for any of us.)  He grew up with a cat and missed the companionship.  He doesn’t have any other animals at home either, which is a big plus for this princess.

Although the house is a bit quieter, and there seems to be an empty hole where she used to be.  I believe she will be better off.

We miss you Baby Tat!

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Posted in Animal Love, Deep Thoughts, Pix | 1 Comment »

Harvest for All

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Over the weekend my in-laws came up for a get together to celebrate my daughters’ upcoming 9th birthday.  They also had fun picking apples from our apple tree.

My mother-in-law took 2 five gallon buckets that were almost halfway full.  My niece Sabrina got a nice amount in a box.  After the festivities were over I wanted to go pick some, not for me but for my ROX family.

This is what I could reach.  It may not look like much, but believe me it’s a grab.  I do not fertilize or spray my tree, so these are completely natural treats the entire family can love.  There is still this many or more near the top of the tree, but they are not ready for harvest yet.  When they are I will be ready.

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about what I was going to do, so I posted about this earlier.  The only problem is that the apples weren’t ready yet.  They are now.

This is what you will be receiving in the mail (in 2-4 days).  A sheet with greetings and instructions on what we think would be a good use of the apples, a mason jar containing apple crisp mix, nutmeg and apples,  there is also extra apples in each box.

We divided the apples in the big box pictured above into 4 equal parts.

B:  If you want to find out what variety of apple these are, please do!  I’d like to know for myself.

I don’t feel it’s appropriate to let this great natural resource of mine go to waste.  You have all been like a family to me in one way or another.  This is just one of many ways for me to say thanks.

P.S. MF and Kelly:  You’ll be receiving another “surprise” gift once I get a shipment in the mail.

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Posted in Family, Links, Pix, ROX, Rachel | 1 Comment »

New Light Fixture

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

By now I have become somewhat of an expert on light fixture installation, but this one was a doozie.

When I removed the old light fixture, I discovered that it was just merely attached to the drywall and not a junction box.  This new fixture required one, so I went to Menard’s and purchased one.  When I went to install that, it became even more of a jungle.  There was the layer of drywall and underneath that a layer of 1/2″ OSB (Oriented Strand Board).  It had to be removed by means of a reciprocating saw.  Because of the vibration of the saw, more drywall than what I wanted fell off, leaving a not so pretty site where the fixture is mounted.

You can’t see it unless you’re right underneath it, but it’s going to drive me crazy until I fix it.

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Posted in Home Improvement?, Links, Pix | No Comments »

A Virtual Island

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

UPDATE:  To see aerial photos of the flooding, point your web browser here.

Due to the volatile weather this week, most of southern Indiana is flooded.  Parts of Morgan, Owen, Brown and Bartholomew counties are being evacuated.  10 counties have been declared disaster areas, including Monroe.

The sad thing is that it’s only going to get worse before it gets any better.  I have seen reports on TV that these are century level floods.  After the water is gone, we will still have to repair the roads and so on and so forth.  Many roads and bridges have became impassable or even demolished due to the water.

Here is what Morgan county looks like:

Here is some of Spencer (Owen County’s) Flooding:

Here is what Bloomington looked like a few days ago:

For the most part, Monroe county is alright now.  All of this flooding has created a major problem though, as it has washed away roads, and in some cases bridges.

Here is a picture of a bridge on Highway 46 between Spencer and Bowling Green:

It has been very hot and humid, which only causes trouble in the mid-west.  It’s been beautiful during the day, but we have been paying for it with these consequences at night.

I have never seen flooding this bad in Indiana in my whole life.

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Posted in B-Town, Links, Pix, Things I Saw In The Newspaper, Weather & Seasons | 1 Comment »