Kindergarten to college

Lourdes was reading to me this evening and I told her she was a great reader. I said "Lourdes, I think you're ready for first grade."

She kind of laughed and said "No, I'm ready for college!"

I think she will be.

Mario woes

So you know we've been playing New Super Mario Brothers on our Wii since Christmas. Lourdes' interest in playing has waned significantly and I'm not really sure why. Teddy on the other hand demands to play when Raquel and I play. I wouldn't mind letting him play except he's not even two and doesn't really know how to play yet. Oh sure he knows that you have to press buttons and shake the Wii-mote and he knows there's bubbles but he's not got mad skillz or good insight into the game or even good strategies. I wouldn't mind if he just arbitrarily moved around, jumped and bubbled but I do mind when he presses the pause button or the menu button. It just kind of throws off my game.

I guess if he keeps playing, we'll be one heck of a playing duo by the time he's three.

I CAN make cables...

At work I have to make LAN patch cables occasionally. We've got a CAT6 easy crimp tool that is pretty slick but I've been having bad luck making cables. My cables were consistently failing my simple testing device. I was getting only a few cables to work. I was very frustrated. Then I discovered that my tester was actually failing. Every cable I made today passed with a new tester!

It's been nice knowing you Greg!

I was going to post about the Rivermen losing their home game today. Or maybe that I really enjoyed the episode of Life that I watched on Discovery in HD. So a quick check of friends blogs revealed that Greg is a deadman. I don't know how much time he has left but I hope someone keeps me posted!

Short post

We had an enjoyable evening with some paraguayan friends. We ate lasagna, drank wine, and laughed. What more do you need?

I'm beat! Part 2

The "fitness" trail at work reopened today. It was closed due to concerns about a washed out area. To celebrate the reopening, I went running on it. Well maybe not running, but at least jogging. This was the second time in as many days that I've been jogging and it beat me yesterday. I thought that if I took it easy I could manage the entire trail. I gave it a good try but it wasn't meant to be. At one point I was "jogging" up a steep hill. I swear that I could have walked three times faster that I was jogging. So then I continued by alternating running and walking. Hopefully the weather will be nice again next week and I can make some progress.

I'm beat!

I went jogging today. I haven't been jogging in a long, long time. It didn't go too well. I'm so tired right now, I just want to go to bed.

Crazy Hair Day Pics!!

So this is her hair with one half braided and the other half straight:

From Sluggo is YoYo

This is her hair with the braids removed:

From Sluggo is YoYo

Crazy Hair Day!!

No not me, I don't have enough hair for it to be crazy! The school is having theme days to raise money. The students can pay a dollar every day this week to participate (payment is optional) in a daily theme. Monday was hat day so Lourdes wore a Rivermen hat. Today was sportswear day so Lourdes wore her Cardinals shirt. Tomorrow is crazy hair day.

So after her bath tonight, Lourdes had her hair prepped for a crazy hair day tomorrow. One half was left straight like normal and the other half was braided while wet. Tomorrow morning the braids will be removed and the hair will be kinky. Pictures to follow!

No urge to post...

Well maybe the urge to post, but nothing really jumps out that needs posting.

The time changed Sunday morning so we spring, sprang, sprung ahead an hour. No ill effects so far.

Hockey fight: St. Louis Blues' (NHL Parent to my Peoria Rivermen) D.J. King vs. Minnesota Wild's Derek Boorgaard on Sunday. D.J. King played for the Rivermen and now for the blues. He's a pretty big guy but Derek Boorgaard is really big. They squared off and the results seem to depend on who you are affiliated with. I think Boorgaard got more hits in and seemed to control the fight, but he left the game with a very bloody face and did not return and is questionable for his next game. So personally I think King won the fight.

Sidenote: one of the videos shows DJ King in the penalty box. A spectator to the right shows off some sort of a plushie penis, WTF?

Not so Easy Bake Oven

Lourdes had gotten an Easy Bake Oven for her birthday. Somehow it sat idle for about a week before she really wanted to use it. I'm sure you know that the Easy Bake uses a light bulb to do the baking, right. Well did you know that the light bulb is NOT included in the purchase of the Easy Bake Oven? Well it isn't.

We've switched to using compact florescent light bulbs so we didn't have any 100 watt incandescent bulbs. So Lourdes couldn't bake anything on that particular night. We bought bulbs yesterday and Lourdes got to use her Easy Bake Oven today. She had a friend over and they wanted to bake something.

Here's the process: Preheat oven for 15 minutes. While oven is preheating, open cake mix and pour into a bowl. Mix up the cake mix to break up any chunks. Stir in a 1.5 teaspoons of water. Mix until smooth. Pour or spoon mix into baking pan. When the oven is ready, put the pan in the baking chamber for 14 minutes. Then remove and place in the cooling chamber for 12. Then mix the frosting and spread on to the cake.

They ate the cake and said it was good, but they seemed bored with the baking process. I don't think I blame them.

Oops! I did it again!

Yep, I forgot to post something last night. Not that I really had anything to post, but I completely forgot. I got caught up on the internet last night reading about solar beer/pop can heaters that people make to augment daytime heating of their homes. I just recently stumbled upon this and I am really intrigued by it. I now know that people have been experimenting with this for years so I was surprised that I had never heard of it before. I'm seriously thinking of putting three or four together to use next winter.

Basically, a solar beer/pop can heater is a box containing columns of aluminum cans. The cans have holes in the top and bottom to allow air to flow through. One side of the box is glass or plexiglass to expose the can columns to the sun. The sun heats up the cans, in turn heating up the air in the cans. The air rises and comes out the top of the box. There is typically a hole at the bottom of the box that allows cooler air to enter and one at the top that allows the heated air to leave. There are many configurations and people often incorporate fans and thermostats.

It seems that no matter what, people are getting good results from their heaters. The "exhaust" temperatures are normally 120-150 degrees!. I saw one man's design that produced 220 degree temperatures from just harnessing the sun. Obviously these solar heaters only work in sunlight and won't work in the dark (duh), so they are mostly meant to help heat the home during the day.

I think I'll get started on some beer!

Hat Day

From Sluggo is YoYo

From Sluggo is YoYo

65 degrees

It was very nice today outside, 65 degrees or more. I took advantage of the work exercise option and went for another walk. One part of the route had been iced over even yesterday. But today the ice was completely gone.

After the walk, I went to the gym for a quick workout. It's feeling good to get back in the gym after skipping out for most of the last year and a half. I had mentioned the Biggest Loser competition we have at work. When it first kicked off, I did a pretty good job of eating better, drinking fewer sodas and snacking better. I felt like I was dropping some weight and thought that it was going well. I've missed the last two weigh-ins, so I'm not sure of my progress. Then I kind of fell off the wagon, so to speak, and pigged out for a week or so. I think all the progress just went down the drain.

So I really need to get back to eating right and continue working out.

I've got nothing

It was back to work today. Our work has a very liberal exercise policy that allows us to use an hour a day for physical fitness. I have been not taking advantage of this as of late but I started today. It was pretty nice out so I went for a walk (about 3.5 miles according to Google Earth) and then went to the gym for a chest workout. I'm beat. I've got nothing.

Shrimp tacos

My day off should have consisted of me sleeping in, sitting on my butt for a few hours in front of the computer catching up on my Google Reader, sipping coffee, finally getting a shower, and then off to see a movie.

I did get to sleep in compared to normal but I still ended up getting up about an earlier than I hoped. I did get to sit on my butt in front of the computer for a while and sipped a bit of coffee but it was much less sitting and sipping than I wanted. And I didn't take in a movie.

I did take the digital cable DVR box to the cable company to swap it out for one that works. I just got digital cable 10 days ago and the box crapped out already. Of course it was a used box and so is the one I got today. The old one started making lots of noise and then when I recorded something, it gave up the ghost. Or maybe a ghost possessed it because it would randomly shut off for no reason. So now I have a new used one that has a smaller footprint and I got it up and running. I also took the time to tidy up the RG-6, telephone lines, power cords and ethernet cables (how exciting, I know!)

I also went to a home improvement store to get some plywood for the new bunk beds. I dutifully measured the bed prior to going there so the guys at the store could cut the wood to the appropriate size per my memory. Just a note to anyone that may find themselves in a similar situation: WRITE DOWN THE MEASUREMENTS.

I then went to pick up the mattresses for the bunk beds and headed home. I got the mattresses inside the house and we went for lunch on the way to take Teddy to a combination follow up appointment for an ear infection and 18 month check up. He's actually 20 months but we (meaning me) failed to schedule the 18 month check up.

When we pulled in to the doctor's parking lot, he knew where we were and started getting fussy. He doesn't like the doctor, well technically the things the doctor and nurses have done to him. He had croup last November and it was a very traumatic experience for him. So everyone endured his crying and he got three shots. Despite all the crying, he didn't put up too much resistance to all the poking, prodding, and measuring. As the nurse and doctor left the exam room, he tearfully waved goodbye to them. Next checkup is scheduled and no more shots (except annual flu shots) until school. Teddy was happy to get out of there and hit the road. He sat right down in his car seat and didn't offer the least bit of resistance.

Back at home, I found that the wood was four inches too long (I've never had that problem!). I visited a friend and had him cut down the plywood to the necessary length. Back at home again, we got the plywood and mattresses in place and decided it was time to go eat and grocery shopping.

We went to Taco Bell (because it's cheap and sort of tasty, mostly cheap). We all had our usual orders and sat down to eat. Then I noticed the sign outside was advertising shrimp tacos. I had to try one. In fact, Lourdes had to try one as well. So two shrimp tacos it was! Lourdes dug in and decided she didn't like it. I dug in to mine and thought it was really good. If you like Taco Bell and you like shrimp, then I think Taco Bell has something new that you should enjoy. If you try it on my advice and don't like it, then I'm sorry. If you do like it, then just start getting used to the fact that I have good taste, and I'm smart, and I know what I'm talking about!

Super Mario update...

I've explained before that secret World 9 in New Super Mario Brothers has 8 levels, but each level is locked and can only be unlocked by getting all the Star Coins in the corresponding World. We had levels 1 and 3 opened and had been working on all the Star Coins in World 4. Tonight we got all the Star Coins in World 4 and opened level 4 of World 9. Lourdes helped me get through one the levels that was giving me problems. It seemed like I could get to the final boss of that level but couldn't defeat that boss. But Lourdes and I worked well together and defeated her.

I then finished the final level of World 4 and started level 4 of World 9. I tried a few times by myself and then Raquel helped a little. We didn't get far, but we started to get a good feel for the level. I'm sure a few more evenings and we'll be through it and move on to opening another level.

Busy day, big win!

I had to go in earlier than normal for a Saturday and I was busy all day. After work the family went downtown to catch a couple of hockey games. There was a Rivermen Legends vs. Peoria Firefighters game to raise money for a charity. After that was the current Rivermen vs. Lake Erie Ice Monsters. There were several promotions leading up to this game in order to bring in a big crowd. The official attendance was 10,129 which is a Rivermen record. It was really weired to see that many people there because most games there's only about 3500, but we were treated to a great game. The Rivermen went up 2-0 but their dream of their first shutout this season was not to be. Lake Erie cut the lead in half and threatened to tie when they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. The Rivermen prevailed and got an empty netter to clinch the 3-1 win. It was a good night!

Bonus: Lourdes behaved well last night and tonight! I let her know that I really appreciate that she was a good girl and that I want her to continue behaving. Let's hope the positive reinforcement works.

Reaves vs. Owens

Here's the video I recorded of Reaves vs. Owens at Carver Arena on 4 March.


The quality was actually pretty good when I connected my HD camera to my HD TV. When I uploaded it on to the computer it still wasn't bad. To see a better quality version of this, click on the video and it will show it directly on YouTube instead of embedded in this blog.

Happy Birthday to Lourdes!

We had a nice low key birthday for Lourdes. She turned six today and took mini cupcakes and apple juice to school for her friends. Then we asked her where she wanted to eat. She said Chuck E. Cheese's. We said that we should save that for taking a couple of friends next weekend when I don't have to work. She agreed and decided she wanted to eat at a Chinese buffet. So we went to Ming's and they treated her very nicely. At the end of the meal they brought her a piece of cake with some orange garnish decorations and we sang Happy Birthday. Then we went to find a store and let her pick out her birthday present. She chose a diary that is protected by voice recognition. Then we went home and had an ice cream cake that I picked up from Dairy Queen. It was a very nice evening with very little disobedience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lourdes said it was her best birthday ever which I'm glad she thinks so.

Happy Birthday Lourdes!!

Good win, good fight!

Just got back from the Rivermen game so it will be a quick post tonight. This week has been weird for Rivermen fans. The parent Blues have made some deals that shuffled off 4 Rivermen players this week, but only got a couple immediate players and one that needs to get immigration paperwork taken care of. So tonight the Rivermen took on another last place team and managed to pull out a 4-3 regulation win. There was one fight with just under 5 to play. I recorded it on my little HD camera and just took a look at it on my TV. It looked pretty good actually. The camera doesn't have zoom (or at least I don't think it does) so I'm pleased. I'll try to put it on YouTube tomorrow and embed it in my blog.

Caught after the act!

The weather has been nice this week and the snow is melting rapidly. At work there is a sidewalk that hadn't been completely cleared off and there was a large pile of snow at one end. Four of us tackled it and cleaned it up quite nicely using shovels and a plow. The other three had just left and I was lagging behind when a manager saw me with a snow shovel in my hand and thanked me for clearing the sidewalk. I said it was no problem and continued on. Then I realized that she probably didn't see the others and thought I did it myself. I made a point to find her and let her know that there were others involved. She was nice enough to send our bosses an email thanking us for a job well done.

Pink Screen of Death

A friend's laptop screen conked out on him. At first it went kind of a pink hue, then dark. He asked if I could help. At first we searched for a compatible used LCD screen that we could buy and swap out. I've replaced a few of those before, but there wasn't any available at a good price. Then I found that the backlight is actually quite inexpensive to buy so we went that route. I had never attempted to replace the light before but I was willing to try. Besides, I couldn't make it worse. The backlight is actually a Cold Cathode Fluorescent light (CCFL).

The internet is a wonderful thing. I bought the CCFL on eBay. I actually bought three because they were so cheap and I know they are delicate. I found the specific instructions for taking apart this particular model laptop. I also found general instructions on replacing the CCFL. The hardest part was the final step in removing the old light and the first step in putting in the new one. Otherwise it was pretty easy.

A couple of notes if you ever decide to tackle this yourself. The light needs to be soldered to the power wires and there is an electrical positive and negative so polarity matters. Solder the wires and connect to the power source to make sure it lights up before reassembling everything. It would really suck to put it mostly together to find you put the light in backwards and it doesn't light up. Also, the LCD screen consists of several layers. Try to keep the layers together, don't bend them, and keep out the dirt and dust.

I got everything reassembled and it works great! There are some imperfections most likely due to my work, but nothing really bad. Besides it works now, whereas it didn't when I started. I would have to estimate that I could do this again in about two hours or less, if I had to. Your mileage may vary.

Broken Streak!

Yesterday evening, I sat down to post something, anything to continue the streak I had going. I had posted every day this year (plus a couple extra). I must have gotten distracted by news headlines or something shiny, but the next thing you know I turned off the computer without posting. As I was getting ready for work this morning I realized that I failed to post a blog entry yesterday. I felt really bad about it.

I know most of my posts have been boring, but at least I'm posting. I'm not going to let the broken streak deter me. I will do my best to post something everyday, no matter how boring.

So the ups and downs of Rivermen fanaticism are in full swing again. They won on Friday against the first place team. That gave me hope that they can salvage the remainder of the season. Saturday they played the second place team and were winning until the other team tied it with 11 seconds left. The Rivermen went on to lose in a shootout. Disappointing, but they obviously played well enough to go the distance.

Sunday was a completely different story. The Rivermen played the third place team and did an adequate job for one period. Then they slowly let it get away from them to the tune of a 4-0 loss. They couldn't even manage one measly goal to stave off a shutout! The season is quickly coming to a close and the playoffs are slowly slipping out of reach. COME ON GUYS! YOU CAN DO IT!!