Blog

  • From the mouths of babes

    Amy, 4: "I stayed dry all night!"
    Dad: "Very good. Now take off your pullup and stay dry."
    Amy: "Dad, I didn’t wear a pullup. I am just like Mom!"

  • Sometimes there is no explanation

    Grrrr. Curklunk Koochewga chewga blat mmmmmgre clackidda clackidda curchunka chunka. That’s the sound of this in the in-sink-erator (aka garbage disposal).

    found in disposal

  • Forced Child Labor

    I know they rather be playing video games or watching tv. Today I wrangled Noah into helping me. He won one of those new Playstation2s that are thin and sleek. The old, bulky Playstation2 will become a communal gaming system in the living room. Noah would much rather be playing his new system but I forced him to come downstairs. and showed him how to pull wire through the ceiling. Then we fished it up through the wall to his bedroom where I showed him how to connect the wire to a RJ45 in the same face plate as his cable jack. We talked about wiring then came downstairs to learn how to crimple a plug onto the other end of the wire. Then we learned what a switch is used for and where the Internet connection comes into our house. Although Noah was good company, it didn’t really peak his interest until I showed him how we could plug the a wire from his jack into the back of his new Playstation so that he could play online. See, the old style Playstations did not have a network jack built-in and we never purchased the newwork adapter. Noah lit up! (And can say he wired his own room for the Internet)

  • Because I’m a man

    There comes a time everyday in a man’s life where he has to stop and ask himself, "Have I done anything to aggrivate my wife today? Should I?" Mine came a few minutes ago as I snickered and revelled at how fun a little demolition would be today. I wised up quickly and decided that I should stay focused on the project at hand which happens to be some cleaning so that I can actually get to the project at hand. However, something had to be done with the stupid energy that was built-up in preparation to do some demolition. As we know, energy must conserved so when stupid energy is generated, stupid energy must be used. So, as I ask outloud, "What’s this switch do?" I quickly remember that most of my home computer network profoundly sits on a single circuit that is connected to a light switch beside the garage door. I guess the tape keeping the switch in the on position should have been a clue. Doh.

  • From the mouths of babes

    Amy, 4: "I’ll never play with Evan again!"
    Door: *slam*
    Evan, 18mths: *blink*

  • Why do we need a moonbase?

    Nasa claims we need a moonbase to launch missions to Mars. This makes sense and would be a good staging place to initiate long range space travel. The tourist possibilities are great also.

    Slate says we do not have a need for a moonbase and are going to build it then decide what to do with it.

    Coming under a presidency whose slogan might be “No Price Too High To Accomplish Nothing,” the idea of a permanent, crewed moon base nevertheless takes the cake for preposterousness. [Source]

    Frankly I think the real reason for the moonbase is military. No one will say that because the public would cry foul. With China planning to orbit the moon…er, in 2006 and India planning on landing on the moon by 2020, it becomes self-evident that one of the countries is going to lay a claim to the moon. Whichever country establishes a base on the moon first will control the moon because nothing else will be able to be built on the moon after that without the first country’s consent. Just imagine you have built a base on the moon, learned your lessons about decompression, managing gravity, fueling, supplying and so forth. You have a presence and a small contingent of armed soldiers. Now someone else tries to build a base from scratch. They could not possibly defend their efforts from a well trained group of soldiers intent on demolition and learn the lessons to successfully build their base. Also, current military based satellites can easily be disabled or destroyed. A moonbase would be more difficult to attack and would make a far more stable launching platform for earthbound missiles.

    In 1968, Stanley Kubrick had the right vision for a moonbase.

  • Holiday Music

    Here are some titles over at Santastic. My disclaimer: I haven’t listened to any of these but I found the titles amusing.

    Update: James gives these a thumbs down.

  • Dinner date with a woman without children

    Woohoo! Cathy and I have a date tonight! The grandparents are watching all the children. So what are our plans? Christmas shopping! (after using the gift certificate to P.F. Chang’s that I got for my birthday of course)

    Update: I also thought that no restaurant in Knoxville took reservations. P.F. Chang’s will actually take reservations up to a month in advance! The wait was way too long so our evening started with dropping Sarah off for her Church party, shopping, snuck in a dinner at Mimi’s Cafe, more shopping, picking up Sarah, and returning home. It was a fantastic evening.

  • Schools Closed Today

    As I drove Sarah to school this morning, I did my morning torture and forced her to listen to NPR. Once again, we found ourselves stunned to hear the announcement of school closings. Sarah contained her excitement and disappointment but I still say she sat up straight in her seat at the prospect. I guess we live in the wrong county.

    School Status
    Campbell County Closed
    Christian Acad./Campbell Closed
    Claiborne County Closed
    Crossville Christian School Closed
    Cumberland County Closed
    Fentress County Closed
    Grainger County Opening 1 hour late
    Hancock County Closed
    J. Frank White Acad. Closed
    Morgan County Opening 2 hours late
    Oneida Closed
    Scott County Closed
    Sevier County Closed
    Tri-State Christian Acad. Closed

    Whodda thunk!? Closing information provided by WBIR.

  • Can’t stop the signal!

    Joss Whedon said Firefly is no more and we have seen all kinds of drama and hype yet the fan base shows no sign of slowing. Fans have even created their own documentary. How will the series continue on? Look for an announcement today that Firefly will be turned into a MMORPG. Move over World of Warcraft! We have Reavers to fight and smuggling to do!

    Multiverse, maker of a free MMO-creation platform, plans to announce Friday morning that it’s struck a deal with Fox Licensing to turn the show into an MMORPG in the fashion of Star Wars Galaxies or Eve Online. [Source]

  • From the mouths of babes

    Dad: "Did they mention anything at your school about yesterday being Pearl Harbor day?"
    Sarah, 13: "They mentioned it."

  • Finish one, then start one

    Deck cut for cat house

    I know. I haven’t finished a project yet but I just could not resist the urge to run a circular saw through the deck! What’s going on here? I’m building a cat house under the deck. Cold days are upon us.

  • Next time, hide the evidence

    If you can stomach the sight of blood, this (graphic) is what I woke up to the other morning.

  • Master sales technique – the disconnect

    Nothing like being at the beginning of a sales call and having your cell phone beep then turn off…

  • Who needs Viagra…the ad works fine.

    . Warning! That link has full frontal nudity and is not safe for work [NSFW].