An ill omen

Not sure what detonated inside my cranium or why, but I've been wrestling with an odd headache for the better part of two days. Wrecked the second half of the day. I spent most of it on Cindy's side of the bed. My eyes closed. A pillow over my head. And the television droning in the background. After a couple of hours being numbed by MSNBC, I could walk around again. Hopefully it isn't an ill omen for this weekend.

Regardless of the outcome of this weekend, I tried to make up for lost time. Wrote some backlog entries from last year.

• Halloween 08
• Highland Games 08

 Need to get back to trying to fleshout my archives. I probably have three hundred pending entries. And miles to go before I sleep.

Time For #700

Sometimes I think back to the mid-90s. We were newlyweds. No responsibilities, except to each other. Renting an apartment. Two used cars. Our entire lives fit into a small moving van. We'd watch the sun come up. And talk about the future. Long hours spent on the sofa, arms wrapped around her. Face pressed her her neck. We didn't have much. But we had plans and lots of time on our hands.

Flash foward to the twenty first century. I go weeks or months without a day off. Too many projects. Too much responsibility. Too few hours on the sofa with my long time and over-so-patient bride.

I need more hours in the day. Or less things to do. Still no end in sight. But I'd rather be too busy than too bored. At least I tell myself that.

Oh. Post #700 here. I managed to fine time for almost two hundred per year. That's something, in my book. So. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Trapped In The Matrix

I dream of a day where I don't have to touch a keyboard. When I'm not trapped in the matrix.

Our tenth day of fighting the virus. It still creeps through the network. A pox upon us all. We've thinned the ranks of the victims. But it still lurks in the digital shadows. Sneering at us. Hopefully we'll be clean by the weekend.

And then I come home and wade through a tarpit of a domain for a friend. My eyes crossing from all the windows and reports. Sighing at all the rubbish piled in the corners.


Tired. Tired. Tired. Morpheus, I'll take the blue pill, if you please.

UFC 99

Caught a rerun today. Meh. No title fight on the card. And none of the fights really awed me. And the title fight... double meh. Silva was obviously feeling the effects of cutting so much weight for the first time (He had to lose 12lbs?) And Franklin wasn't having one of his best performances.

Probably a victory for German.

Nothing memorial by UFC standards.

Hopefully the next one is worth the price of admission. 

Defeated

I loathe putting forth an effort and not making any marked progress.

Roger and I tried some new brake drums on the read brakes, but they wouldn't fit on the spline correctly. Had to take them back and get a new set from a specialty shop.

Tried to change the transmission oil, but Roger's solution fell short. The Beetle requires a 17mm hex tool to remove the drain plug and the fill plug. You don't find those at the corner store. So I have to order one of those from a specialty shop, too.

A drive to Roger's, two hours of labor, a drive home. Nothing to show. I'm defeated.

Ye Ole Virus Fighter

We've been struggling for nearly a week. Slugging it out with a worm. An old one. One that should never have caused us to so much as blink. Let alone force dozens of us to take up arms against.

If we'd done our jobs correctly. If we'd tested our plans rather than patting ourselves on the back and presuming we'd be safe. Instead, an unpatched laptop gets infected in the wild and carries its payload behind our corporate firewalls. And the siege begins.

Our POS (Point Of Sale) systems weren't patched. Some obscure, all-but-forgotten PCs weren't patched. And other systems not connected to the domain were unpatched. The virus owns them now. We can clean all of them. But down-version systems which can not be wrapped in the latest service pack will get infected again. Sometimes in a manner of minutes. Almost always less than an hour.

Day after day we fight the virus. I hear its laughter.

Beetle Build - Brake Job

We had a late start on the Beetle. Worked on the rear brakes. Had to get new brake shoes, brake drums, and pistons. (The front brakes appear to have been restored previously.) Bled the lines and saw a good bit of improvement. But still not happy. Have to check the front brakes again later this week. (The front pistons may be seized up, like the rear was.) If that doesn't work, the master cylinder needs to be replaced.

And at some point we need to change the transmission oil. But the plugs require 17mm hex sockets, and we have to buy one of those.

After the brakes and transmission are good, it is off to the bodyshop!

Saturday's Adventures

Good to be back in my own home with my wife and my kids and my own bed. It was a good trip, no doubt, but I don't relax or enjoy trips as much without Cindy. Anyway, I rolled into the house around eleven PM last night and slept through to eight o'clock this morning.

Tried to keep it easy. Some time in the gym, working my shoulders. Out to the pool to help babysit and catch up with Kim K. And then off to Island Strikz, off Pass Road. Two rounds of bowling. A pizza. And a lot of good times.

Not as stress-free or quiet as I wanted. But the kids were good. And we enjoyed the time we had together. I'm savoring it while it lasts.

Away Mission - Day Two

Helping out a buddy. Day two. The newness of the environment is wearing off and I notice the little things around me. The antique elevator, for example. Hand painted doors. Analog floor indicator. Wallpaper slowly peeling further down each day.

When the doors finally open, there is barely any room on the inside. I've been in smaller phone booths. The walls have a dark, musky carpet. The floor is bare wood.

It is interesting to think that back in the 1960s and 70s there were professional elevator operators. And somebody would have been in this thing at all times. Asking, "Which floor, please?" and pushing the button. Making a living out of that. Day after day.

I especially like the buttons. The #1 is off kilter. How long has it been like that? How long before somebody fixes it? If they ever do.

We walk half a block to a small cafe for lunch. Local, family owned. A couple of generations of folks working the front counter and bringing out the food. I had a bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions and a side of cream spinach as well as some green beans.  Whoooooaaaa was it a fantastic burger. Seriously, top three quality stuff. VERY sizable. Incredibly tasty and obviously seasoned. Onions rocked. Bacon was crispy. And the veggies  were dynamite. Aside from a Kobe Beef Burger  on a trip to Las Vegas a few years ago, I can't remember the last time I had a restaurant burger this good. Would eat there once a week if at all possible. Certainly on my To Do list next time I'm in town!

Dining Out

I like to eat. And when I go out of town, I like to eat interesting foods that I can't get back home. So tonight I GPS'ed some Thai food. Trusting my stomach to a hunk of plastic and its digital logic. Fortunately my first experiment was a success. The restaurant (Thai Kitchen) turned out to be a very nice, family owned business. I ordered their Pad-See-U with some Thai Iced Tea. Both were excellent. And the portions were huge. I had enough for three meals! Great food and a quiet experience. Will certainly visit again next time I'm in town.

After the main course, I was strolling back to my car when I noticed a pub a few doors down the way. Looked busy and I could use a pint to end the night. Interesting place. Packed to the rafters. So loud I could feel my pulse in my ears. Ordered a tall glass of Woodchuck PEAR cider. The glass and cider so cold my fingers grew numb. Sooooo tasty. Nothing like it on the Coast. And then I noticed it was an almost entirely male crowd. Very few women. And those few were clustered together like lost school girls. Then I noted the odd fashion of the other guys. Leather flip flops. Torn bluejeans with the back pockets ripped off. And shirts just a bit too tight on some folks.

With a chuckle, I finished the second half of my glass and called it a night. Odd crowd. I'll sat that much for sure.

Mi, oh mi!

Okay, this thing is freaking uberimpressive. I'm out of town and can't get a LAN connection anywhere. No 802.11 wireless to be found. Me without connctivity is like Hugh Hefner without a smoking jacket. So I'm itching and jonesing for a fix.

Buddy of mine whips out this Verizon MiFi widget and plops it on the table. It is the size of a credit card, but maybe a quarter inch thick. Push the lone button on the front and it creates a wireless bridge to Verizon's nation-wide wireless network. Suddenly I go from 0Kb/sec to 1Mb/sec! And five people can link to this thing without killing the connection.

Wow, wow, and wow! Hot like salsa picante bananna funkystein. Hair of the dog that bit me. And I'm back online.

Have to pick up one of these beauties. Highly recommended to everyone in geekdom. It's a digital lifesaver.

Beetle Build - Copper Bar Stock

Must be white boy day. I called Weldshop Ron (my metal fabricator) last week and asked if he could get his hands on some copper bar stock. He asked what I was going to make. I said I needed to replace my 1.5" wide x 1/16th" thick x 8" long steel battery bars with copper so they wouldn't rust and would conduct better. I needed eight bars. He said he'd call me on Monday.

After I talked to him, I called a few more places to see about getting pre-made bars. The average cost was $200! That's about $25/bar! (And this is after copper has fallen off of its record high.)

So when Weldshop Ron called me today and said he had ALREADY made the bars (without quoting a price,) I freaked. I thought for sure he was going to tell me it would be about $200. (He gives me a good deal when he can. But copper isn't falling off trees.) I met him after his shift and he handed me these clean, beautiful, perfectly cut bars. Said a friend had extra copper, so he just cut them to spec and I could have them. Have them? Yeah, just have them. I asked Weldshop Ron how long he spent on it. He said about an hour. I said I wanted to pay him for his time. He said I didn't have to do that. I asked if he'd take $30? He said that would be cool. And that was that.

Must be white boy day?

Rat Trap

The kids have been (mostly) good lately. And Cindy has been babysitting them for the better part of two weeks. So I figured I'd treat everyone to something different. The kids got to pick where they wanted to hang out and Cindy got the night off from the family.

Imagine this, the kids picked Chuck E Cheese for dinner. Even though it was barely busy (only one party:) the place was too loud, the prices were too high, the food took far too long to come out, and the salad bar didn't have any Italian dressing. But the kids had a fantastic time at the rat trap.

Meanwhile Cindy had wine and nachos and a modified Girls Night at her Mom's house. Bunch of cackling women and too much wine. But she came back smiling.

I actually enjoyed spending a couple of hours doing nothing and not being responsible for anything (other than the kids' getting fed and not getting wounded.) I'll have to do that more often. Seemed to recharge all of us.

Beetle Build - Back Seat Support

The main "battery pack" on the Beetle contains 13 lead acid batteries. For a total of 156V of combined power going through the lines, over the terminals, and through the battery bars. Two of those batteries are under the back seat. (A lone 12V battery on the driver's side is for all the non-motor electical systems like lights and radio and such.) One of Roger's concerns was that an old iron spring might get too compressed and get too close to a line and the electricity would arc.

So we isolated the batteries with a hand-built box made of 3/4" treated plywood. It was Roger's design and my handy work. The back seat will sit up slightly higher, but it will have a much better support system under it. And no lightning will arc through that much wood.

Once it gets covered by the upholstery guy, it will look like it was made in the factory, as part of the original construction. And I'll sleep better knowing nobody risks a shock in the buttocks.

Something Boiled For My Bride

I'm taking a side trip to help out a buddy and spot a quaint little road-side farmer's stand. Fresh fruits and veggies straight out of the Earth and a special treat. Something boiled for my bride. I think this is strictly a Southern thing, too. Boiled peanuts! The woman running the stand was simmering them in a crockpot all day. $3 for a pound. Of course she didn't have a scale and "a pound" turned out to be four scoups from a huge ladel. I'm sure it was closer to two pounds. But maybe water-sogged peanuts weigh more and I got the short end of the stick? They weren't for me, anyway. My bride will get a big kick out of them.

MOVIE: RockNRolla (2008)

Guy Richie wrote and directed two of my favorite movies: Snatch & Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He recently wrote and directed RocknRolla, a movie about real estate scams, modern white street hustlers, the Russian mafia, and a waifish, back-stabbing, smoking hot accountant.

Guy Richie movies all have a very common formula. There's a cranky, old, mafia-type guy. Young, street-smart hustler guys. Big guns. A scrappy brawler. Usually an animal or two. Lot's of clever turns of phrase combined with creative use of profanity. And a plot that intertwines between several groups of characters who ultimately have a glorious confrontation in the end. RockNRolla follows that formula to the letter. Anyone who enjoys the Guy Richie equation will undoubtedly enjoy this movie.

I totally loved it. Great acting from everyone involved. Very good (though not original) writing. Awesome direction and pacing. Lots of quotable material. Laughs everywhere. Much enjoyment resulted.

I'd recommend it for a date flick. Not something for the kids. But waaay worth a rental.

BVE Awards Ceremony 2009

Meg & Liam their school awards ceremony today.

Meg received the award for the top reader in her class as well as an award for "Memory Marvel." Because she never forgets anything.

Liam received the award for 2nd place reader in his class as well as the "Inquisitive Thinker" award. Because he asks good questions and seeks good answer.

They got their mother's mental facilities. Thankfully.

Gym Again

Back and biceps. Then an hour of yoga. Washed down with thirty minutes on the treadmill. Cruising home in an endorphin-rich haze of pure clarity. My mind clear. My heart clear. A few moments of peace between the usual clouds of chaos.

So much effort to obtain something as simple as being calm and apathetic.

I just pray it lasts until tomorrow. Give me that much.

First Blood

The other day, Liam drew first blood. He was stalking the front yard with his BB gun when he spotted a bluejay in an oak tree. His first shot took tore through a wing. The bluejay fluttered to the ground, its limb and feathers flapping in odd spasms.

Liam fired again. Headshot. The bluejay's skull is about the size of a grape, yet Liam bounced a round off the bird's temple. And it stopped moving.

Liam walked next to it. Stood over the fallen thing. He says it looked up at him with its slow grey eyes. He says it was scared. And in that moment he thought to himself, "Why did I shoot the innocent bird? It is one of God's creatures..."

And then the tears. Followed by a long confession of regret. And more tears.

I put on some gloves and checked out the bluejay. The headshot didn't actually go into the skull. It bounced off.

The bird was just stunned.

Liam stopped crying. 

I put it in some bushes.

The next day, it was gone.

Liam's hunting squirrels now.

This Olde House - Ceilings & Stumps

After I scraped down the "popcorn" ceiling, the next step is to make the surface as smooth as possible. I'm not good at it. So I outsource that part of the adventure to Troy. He walked around the dining room and the living room on stilts, scraping loose stuff and smoothing it out with drywall mud. It took him maybe two hours. It would have taken me two days. Next weekend, he paints it. And we mark it: DONE!

Late in the afternoon, Meg went to sing at a retirement home with the choir and I spent an hour with an axe and the Fubar doing my version of "stump busting." Liam lent a hand, too. And we busting up about half a dozen or ten small stumps and roots that cause trouble (and bent cowls) for the riding mower. Hopefully our time and efforts were worth it. Looking forward to a smoother mow next week!

Drive Home

Helped a friend with a big project, today. Two hours over. Eight hours on site. Two hours back. An hour on the phone following up. Numbingly long day. And I see more of them in the future.

On the drive home, I pass this strange vehicle. It looks like some kind of short bus. Cartoon kids in the windows. Big plastic lights. Hulking fenders. And it ambles along demanding everyone's attention. As I cruise past, I see the sign on the side. It is an ice cream truck.

How could any kid NOT love it?

Mid-May

Long Day at the office followed by a longer night. Couldn't workout because of all the traffic in my skull. Had to pick up the paint and primer for tomorrow. Had to hammer out a dent in the lawn mower cowl (which was blocking the blades from spinning.) Scraped my hands and sweated through a nice shirt in the process. And washed it down with some Mexican food and a cranberry margarita.

Tomorrow will be even longer, but we carved out a few minutes to remember Liam's emergency surgery from this day last year. Thankfully, we've gotten all of that behind us. And tomorrow is a new day for all of us.

MOVIE: Star Trek (2009)

Short version: Very good movie, with only a few exceptions. Would make a great date flick even for non-Trek fans.

Long version: What was good? The acting did a fine job of honoring the spirit of the original characters. The effects were spectacular (though with a $150M budget even Tic Tac Toe could be made into a visual masterpiece.) Interesting story, especially with the character development. Fairly good pacing. Lots of laughs. Just enough violence. Some un-needed monsters. And a lovely green girl.

What was bad? Time travel is a cheap tool used to compensate for a lack of creativity. Were it not for the good points listed above, I would have loathed the movie for using such a gimmick.

Overall, I certainly recommend Star Trek and Liam loved it so much he wasnts to see it again.

April Is The Cruelest Month

Uncle Ron reminded me that I haven't posted anything in a month. Aside from catching up on my sleep and spending, spending more time with the family, and getting back into the gym, I don't have any excuses or complaints. In fact, things have improved on many fronts: Liam's stomach is no longer a major issue, my sleeping has improved (slightly,) Cindy's moods are better, and Meg is just as glorious and beautiful as ever.

Otherwise, too many projects. Too few Jons.

Where's Geo

If you're the President of an umpity billion dollar resort, you should think twice before having a life-sized picture of yourself within reach of me.

Oh, all the naughty adventures I could create with this.

However, Geo's the President. And I'm a lowly Digital Cat Herder. He out ranks me quite a bit. Plus he is usually pacing around with a hammerand a skillsaw.

I don't want to have to pick which hand I wish to keep. So I leave the photo where I find it. And save the carnage for another day.

Pool Days

Cindy and the kids went with me to the gym. I hit shoulders and legs. They hit the pool. Liam is swimming like a fish. Much better than I ever did at his age. And Meg is finally starting to find her own groove.

After my workout, I swam with them, too. Summer is coming. And hopefully we have a lot of pool days ahead of us.

Pre-Mother's Day

My mother decided to get everyone together TODAY for a Mother's Day meal, with my Grand Mother, her sisters, their sons, and me. We went to Logan's Steak House. Pretty meh. Decent burger. Good rolls. But weak service.

Anyway, unpictured is my Aunt Nell, her son Gus, and his wife Donna. Click the picture to enlarge. Starting on the left is my father, my mother (with the beer mug!) my Grandmother, her son (Earl), Cousin Bobby, and my Aunt Mert (Bobby's Mom, Grandma's sister.) And then me.

I bought Mom a manicure and a pedicure. She likes it when some little asian lady takes care of her extremities. So she has a new gift card. Go, Mom. Go!

Beetle Build - Chargers

The Beetle has two different power systems. The one with 13 x 12v lead acid batteries (for the motor) is affectionately known as the High Voltage System. The lone 12v battery (for the lights and radio and such) is dubbed the Low Voltage System. Each one has a different charging system.

We physically installed the charger for the High Voltage System (top picture) a while back, but didn't wire it into the lines until today. It is a big, heavy, expensive charger. You could anchor a boat with it. And it will completely charge all 13 batteries in eight hours, or less.

The Low Voltage System is much smaller and doesn't require much of a charger (second picture.) I bought one off Amazon and we installed in just a couple of minutes. Even though it barely weighs a pound, it should charge the battery in an hour, or less.

Both chargers tested clean and all the batteries are topped off. 

So, with the exception of the various gauges and monitoring system, we've finished the electrical portion of the adventure and we're down to making it street legal.

On The Way

Between Liam's stomach (which is pretty much back to normal with very few isolated episodes of uncontrolled acid reflux) and my time on the car, I have been a very lazy sloth. I haven't eaten right. I haven't taken my vitamins. And I haven't worked out for almost six weeks. All with bad results: no energy, no motivation, and my lower back is turning into painful mush. So I'm back in the gym, back to the supplements, and watching what I eat (within reason.) And I'm going to try to sleep more. Fewer games, fewer movies, more rest. Get on the way back to my former glorly. (Okay, stop laughing...)

Backlog IV

Some newly-entered posts from a few months ago. Stuff I didn't get to because of sloth or a broken PC.

• So Long Sabrina
• Oddities In The Atlanta Airport
• Unbroken Thumb

Giant Blue Puppies

Cindy took it upon herself to suddenly and unexpectedly force Meg to sleep in her own bed tonight. What followed was a bombshell of little-girl-lunacy and the most amazing quotes.

"I can't sleep in my own bed! I can't! I have bad dreams about giant blue puppies stepping on me. And snakes wrapping around me. And my eyeballs falling out!"

And Cindy stressed to the point of seriously thinking she was having a heart attack. But she survived to see another day. And no dogs landed on Meg.

Luciferian Post

I barely slept last night. 0330 - 0615.

And then Liam tried to get out of school by using his entire arsenal of excuses. Including the new phrase, "I'm going to burst." Much yelling, crying, and gnashing of teeth followed. But no bursting.


I'm dead on my feet but I do have one dubious pleasure. I'm officially entering Luciferian blog post #666.

Odd how we mark the milestones in our lives. Next stop: #1000!

This Olde House - Saggy Ceiling

We noticed the ceiling in the garage had started to sag. When I checked in the attic, the strongback running above the garage had separated from the beams it was ment to be supporting.

My plan was to jack the ceiling from below, close the gap between the beams and the strongback, then sink several 7" lagbolts through the strongback and into the beams. Nails didn't hold, but lagbolts certainly would.

When I tried a car jack and a 2x4, the car jack started to bend. When my father brought over his half-ton jack, even that couldn't lift the ceiling. Then I had a flash of insight. I had put the left-over 18" floor tiles (from the kitchen) in the attic. A bunch of them. Turns out, about 600lbs worth of tile. Once we moved those (not fun!) the half-ton jack started to work. But the 2x4 warped under the pressure!

Today, I picked up an eight foot 4x4. THAT work. Liam helped crank it. We jacked the ceiling a full six inches. Then I climbed up into the 120 degree attic, drilled a pilot hole with my cordless drill and then used the hammer drill to sink a dozen 7" lagbolts into place. Once they were all in place, I released the jack, and the ceiling held in place.

No more sag. Mission accomplished.

Beetle Build - Low Voltage System

Last week we concluded the high voltage system. Linked 13 x 12v batteries together to create one giant 156v battery. This week we wrapped up the low voltage system. This powers the starter (to activate the batteries,) the throttle (to control how much juice goes to the motor,) the lights, the radio, and everything else normally associated with a car.Roger did the bulk of the complex wiring work. I did the grunt work, fetched any parts we needed, and helped "fish" the lines though the ductwork in the Beetle's body.

The main task today was to get about a dozen lines run. Most of them from the controller (the silver rectangle above and to the right of the motor) to the 12v battery (under the passenger's seat) and the fuse panel (under the dash.)

For the short term, I'm using a recycled 12v battery. Once everything is lit and we know it works, Eventually the used battery will be replaced by a 12v 100 amp hour UPS battery. But that thing weight 80s and costs a little bit more.

Roger wired up everything kinda quickly and we lit the beast. When he keyed the ignition, we heard a loud CLICK as the contactor (next to the battery) snapped shut, creating the 156v circuit between all the batteries. Then Roger touched the throttle. Nothing. He pushed it further. Nothing. All the way down. Nothing. No go. The Beetle wouldn't move. And the hunt began.

Whipped out the Fluke and started testing all the wires and connections.Full charge on the batteries. All the fuses were in place. The throttle was sending signals through the lines. But the controller wasn't sending any signals to the motor. And eventually we noticed the controller wasn't displaying any signs of being powered. It had indicator lights, but they weren't lit. 

In the end, Roger isolated the problem to the new connector. It has ten pins. He thought the pin at the 1 o'clock position was the first pin and wired everything from there. Unfortunately the pin at the eleven o'clock was the first pin, and everything after that was mis-wired.

Roger will have to cut out the connector, re-pin it, and then re-install it. Two to three hours worth of extra work. Hopefully we'll get that done on Tuesday or Wednesday. And THEN the tires will spin.

Another Saturday

Cindy was off shopping somewhere. I don't ask, anymore. Had the kids all day. On top of my usual project list to wade through. Backed up by maybe four hours of sleep.

• Sent off the taxes and some eBay sales
• Took Liam in for his first haircut in like six months
• Grabbed lunch and watched an airshow
• Cleaned out two boxes of leftovers from moving 4yrs ago
• Installed two new motion-activated floodlights outside
• Tried to fix the sagging ceiling in the garage (need a 6x6)
• Tried to fix the rider mower (need a new elec system)
• Took the kids to Monsters vs Aliens
• Bought some bday cards for Cindy
• Bought some coffee-related gifts for Cindy
• Kept the kids alive and fed and bathed for another day
  

Week Ends

The calendar says Friday. This is normally when the week ends. But it doesn't end to me. Too many projects. Not enough time. Not enough sleep. I get these headaches after three days. A buzzing, like pop rocks, in the back of my throat. And after eleven hours on the job, I'm dragging home thinking about nothing but drinking until my teeth float.

At least I have this lovely sunset greeting me in the parking lot.

MOVIE: Big Nothing

If Big Nothing was on the big screen back in 2006, it didn't make a big splash. Unfortunately, I don't remember who suggested that I watch this flick. I owe that person an ass whooping, whomever it was.

Big Nothing stars David Schwimmer as a frustrated, unemployed teacher joining forces with a scammer (Simon Pegg) and his girlfriend (Alice Eve) in a blackmailing scheme. All manner of unbelieveable happenstance explode inside the plot every few minutes. Supposedly comedic twists and thematic flip flops.

But I didn't dig it. It was like Friends had a bastard love child with Pulp Fiction and the offspring was only seen on a Saturday morning live action kid show, but with violence and profanity. I think perhaps the writers took the worst elements from a bunch of other failed movies, stirred them together in a pot, boiled off the few remaining decent elements, and snorted the thick pasty remains. The rancidm undigestable creation they vommited up after the nose candy co-mingled with their bad-Indian-food-lunch was put on film and labeled: Big Nothing.

Maybe I would have liked it when I was 12. (Back then I thought that Scooby Doo was high drama.) Maybe there are some baked. stoners chicks (or confused stoner dudes) walking Blockbuster and they happen to have a crush on Schwimmer enough to rent this flick. I dunno. It could happen. But otherwise, I am not sure who would like this movie. It certainly wasn't me.

I to bathe after watching it. It felt like I had pissed all over myself whiling rolling around on the floor of a Mexican slaugher house for the entire show. It was just that vile. It took two showers to get the stink off of me.

If I ever come across the writer or director, I'm going to paint an American flag on them and mail them to Iran.

Tornado Warning

Another day in my newfound soap opera of a life. Today, Meg and her krewe were evacuated to the hall when the city of Gulfport sounded a tornado warning. Fortunately, no ill befell my Baby Bear.

Meanwhile, Liam has moved past the coughing / fevered stage of the flu and is into the tired / aching stage. Complaining that he was exhausted, he stayed with my Mother today. He survived, too.

Will the madness cease? Please?

MOVIE: The Forbidden Kingdom

In The Forbidden Kingdom, a discovery made by a kung fu obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

I wish I had seen this on the Big Screen. Great special effects. And fantastic, amazing, worth-seeing-twice fight scenes. Good pacing. Fairly creative story. Interesting ending. But offset by average acting. And Stilted, predictable dialog. Again, stellar fight scenes. Made the whole movie worth renting. My chief complaint is that I will never believe a kid can study any (ANY!) martial art for a couple of weeks/months and have even the slightest chance against a battle-tested veteran warrior. I know I'm watching a fantasy flick, but they could stay somewhere in the same ballpark as reality.

Otherwise, I enjoyed In The Forbidden Kingdom a lot more than I thought I would. Probably not a good date flick. Girlfriends/wives won't REALLY enjoy it. Though they may pretend to. A pretty kid-friendly flick. Boys will definitely enjoy it. I'd recommend it for a rental. It was a welcomed distraction from the norm.

MOVIE: American Meth

A documentary from 2008, American Meth takes a very small, focused view of a very large, ungodly problem. The stories of "normal" every day Americans as they battle against their addictions to meth unfolds slowly and carefully, taking gradual steps to make sure the viewer understands this is the real deal. It isn't some fictional plague sweeping across the nation, it is already upon us, killing us from within. Every day. Every state. Without regard to race, religion, nationality, or economic footing. Neighbors. Coworkers. Friends. Family. Any of them could be involved in the non-stop pursuit of the potent high delivered by meth.

The story does drag at times. I found it became redundant after a few tales. The viewer knows what is coming. And gets numb to it. What kept my attention was the effect meth had on families. Children were all-but abandoned. Spouses gave up on each other. Parents tried again and again to save their kids from the addictions. And jail time was a frequent outcome for most users.

American Meth is a documentary. It isn't likely to be found in the "New Release" section of Blockbuster. So I had to go looking for it. And it met my expectations. While slightly dry in places, the stories were touching and well presented. Morbid to say, but I honestly wanted to see some more overdoses and a lot more about the physical side effects of prolonged meth use.

Probably not something to watch on a date. But I would recommend it for older kids, to demonstrate what is lurking out there. I think the movie makes its point and it is a point that should be shared with as many people as possible.

MOVIE: Taken

In Taken, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a retired special ops veteran that finds himself having to track down and recover his daughter who has gone missing in Europe.

Bryan Mills apparently has three very special skills. He finds people. He punches them in the throat. And if he shoots them with their own guns. If he is in a good mood, he likes to stick people with knitting needles.

I caught Taken on DVD. I wasn't overly impressed. There was a good bit of originality. It was short. Had fairly minimal dialog. And it had some decent pacing. But the acting wasn't very moving. I didn't find it too believable. And I'm never inclined to enjoy a plot that tries to convince me: one man and a pistol can take on a small horde of well-armed bad guys.

May make for a good rental on a slow weekend. Not a date flick. (I think it would especially turn off any mothers of young girls.) And not something the kids would watch.

Back To School

After two days at home, with me, Liam grudgingly went back to school today. He was very tired, but we all were. Nobody slept well last night, except Meg. Liam couldn't sleep because of his coughing. cindy and I couldn't sleep because of the coughing.

Liam skipped P.E. and had a breathing treatment (and brief nap) in Nurse Cindy's office. She snapped a quick photo to remember the event. Hopefully we all do better tonight. And tomorrow.

We can all use a return to normalacy.

Goin Buggy

Meg's school program was today. Cutest thing I've seen in years. I'm sad we didn't video it. We should have known Meg would make a performance out of it and make up her own unique dance moves.

The program was named, "Goin Buggy." Everyone was dressed up as different insects: Lady Bugs, Lightning Bugs, Bees, and Meg's group of Butterflies.

Great way to end the night. A magnificent performance.

I dragged Flu Boy, Liam with me. We sat at the top of the bleachers, and tried to keep his coughs muffed with a towel. I had stayed home with him, a second day. Hopefully he'll be back to normal tomorrow.

Backlog III

A couple of entries added to the backlog, from last October.

• Gulfport Fall Faire
• Tolar
• Always Patsy Cline

Doctor's Visit

Poor Liam. Little Dude has had a long string of woes. I worked from home today and took him to a doctor's visit .

Good news, it isn't his stomach this time. He's actually doing pretty well there.

Bad news: he tested positive for the flu. Not just him, but about 30% of his class! They're all sick. Must be a recent outbreak.

Hopefully the meds we picked up will make short work of this pox. We could use a return to normalacy. If there is such a thing.

Backlog II

Caught up on some more posts from the past. Some from August - September of 2008:

• Visit From George
• Hallway Trim Work
• Boudreax's What?
• Cindy E Stops By
• 50s Day
• My Aardvark

Beetle Build - Battery Trays

Had a couple of custom alluminum battery trays fabricated. One in the front (first picture) holds four batteries (I put the second one in backwards!) and the whole collection sits over the area where the fuel tank used to be. We'll eventually put some equipment in the empty space, like a retractable extension cord (to the recharger) or a sweet car computer.

The tray behind the back seat (second picture) holds five batteries. Still have to mount it in place (though 175 pounds of lead acid batteries hold it down pretty well.) Debating about painting everything. To do that we'd have to un-do the whole setup. But it would look much sexier!

To hold two batteries in the back, on either side of the motor, Roger drafted up a pair of "saddlebags." (Third picture.) The fabrication turned out perfect, and the batteries fit snugly. In the picture, behind the saddlebags is a flat sheet of aluminum that will serve as a skid plate. It will block debris and water from coming up under the motor. At least in theory. It hasn't been mounted, yet.


We finished wiring up the battery pack and the high voltage system is complete. But in my excitement, I forgot to take pictures. I'll have to document that for posterity on Tuesday. I have to get one more battery and Roger will wire up the low voltage system. At which pount, we'll be able to spin the tires. Finally.

Flash flooded

Another storm last night. This one brought even more rain. And we found ourselves flash flooded at one in the morning. Thankfully, it was mostly rain and very little thunder or lightning. The kids slept through it. Cindy and I complained. We're good at that these days.

In the morning, we discovered more limbs down. I had to remove one from the roof. The rest were outside our bedroom window. I'll clean them up tomorrow, or some other time when it is dry and I don't have to hike through soggy grass to get to it.

Made an interesting discovery while wandering on the roof. There's some kind of large, exposed pipe. It should probably have a cover over it. I don't know where it leads, but it probably doesn't need to have rainwater and/or stray animals invading it. I'll have to pick up some kind of widget to cap off the mystery tube. Hopefully I can show a picture of it to somebody at Lowe's and they'll tell me what to do.

Then, Cindy and I spent about five hours cleaning the garage. We did this because there was 2" of water in it last night. Every box in there was ruined. Several of my collectibles were ruined. And for certain, our day was ruin.


I'm way past the point of being tired and disenchanted. I think the last time I had a "day off" was last Father's Day, when Cindy and I went to Dustin, FL, for our first-ever vacation away from the kids. Since then, there has always been something on my plate each day and each weekend. It's my own fault for having so many projects and doing so much myself. But DAMN! I need some time to unwind and do absolutely nothing. And I don't think I'll be spared this Father's Day.

Backlog

I'm attempting to make a dent in the massive backlog of posts that I have sketched out over the years. I'm guessing that I have at least 200 missing entries. If I did 5 per day (yeah right!) it would take me more than a month to catch up. If I did 2 per day (more likely) then it would take me three months. I'm betting I'll be doing it for years to come.

New backlog posts:

• Bathroom Completed
• Meg's Ensemble
• Searing My Thumb
• What The...
• Full Moon
• Hey, Kool-Aid!
  

Lightning Fallout

Burned a vacation day and spent time dealing with the lightning fallout. Had to call the electric company since they're responsible for the outside power lines. Had to call the gas company who said everything should be good since we have manual valves and nothing was cooking when the lightning hit. Had to get an appliance guy over to check out the washer, drier, oven, microwave, stove, and confirm the range top is dead. And had to get some electricians over to confirm the wiring is still good (for 35+ year old wiring) and they also installed a whole-house surge protector.

Not how I wanted to use vacation time. But at least nobody was harmed. And my computer is still working!

Interestingly enough, just before she went to sleep, Cindy made an unusual discovery. She was cleaning in the kitchen when she spotted something strange on the face of the clock. Click the pictures for larger views. It looks like the bolt of lightning went from the power outlet (right of the clock) to the range top (left of the clock) and along the way it melted the plastic on the clock (by the number 3) and then singed the dish rack (by the number 6.) It left a trail of smoldering bread crumbs that we were able to follow.

Never a dull moment these days.

Bad Weather

A peal of lightning. Instant detonation of thunder. Liam shrieking, "I'm scared! I'm scared!"

I wake up in the hallway, on my feet. My son's face pressed to my chest.

Down the hall, an odd clicking. Like a taser discharging. I walk into the kitchen. Sounds like popcorn in the microwave. But there is something flashing blue and white under the stove burners. A stobe light behind the clicking of the taser. And while my brain is trying to figure out what poltergeist has infected my appliances, a spike of pure orange flame shoots up from the stove. The clicking and flashing stops, but the fire remains. Without thinking, I stick my face over the stove and try to blow out the flame. Thankfully, nothing explodes all over me.

Eventually, we discovered that the lightning had come in through the front wall, took out our TV and the kids' Wii, then proceeded to run along the wires to slag the garage door, and kept down through to the kitchen, where it lept out of the wall and hit the stove, destroying the igniter and setting the plastic on fire.

Not a good start to the day. Maybe four grand worth of damage. But nobody was hurt. I can replace "stuff," but some wounds don't heal.

Beetle Rendering

I work with many talented people from many different fields. One of my co-workers, Tommy Snell, did a fantastic rendering of the Beetle. What impresses me the most is that he did it without seeing the actual car. Just my description and pictures of the parts (like the fender and the running boards) that I bought.

It is a great piece of work and I'm even more excited to get the actual ride completed.

Beetle Build - Dash - Part Two

Mildly unproductive evening. We worked on the lower-voltage wiring inside the dash. Pulled off the steering wheel, put in a 6-slot circuit box, broke down the ignition switch, and wired up contactor.

The white object is the dashboard. The round object below that is the steering column. The cable on the floor is the line to the throttle. And the new throttle can be seen if the picture is clicked.

Hoping to get the "battery pack" (ie: all 13 batteries wire together) finished this weekend. And then we'll be able to see if the tires spin. God willing.

Oh, yeah. Happy Birthday to me.

Ramp Removal

A friend of my mother had a "Katrina Cottage" in Pass Christian, MS. It was eventually returned, but they left behind a long wooden ramp. Mom's friend said we could have the wood if we took the ramp apart. Since it was treated wood and barely a year old, we figured we'd use it for some future project.

Originally, Mom & Dad tried to take it apart by themselves. They used Dad's cordless screwdriver and spent two or three hours removing two sheets of plywood and a dozen handrails. The problem was that the screws were counter-sunk into the wood, difficult to find, and even more difficult to remove. So they called me to do the heavy lifting.

I fired up the fubar and went to work.

I'd clobber the wood. Dad would pile it by the truck.Kicked down the 4 x 4 posts. Disconnected the ramp (in 10' sections). Flipped over the large pieces. Smashed off the side pieces. Whacked the slats free. And slowly but surely deconstructed the whole thing.

When everything was disassembled, we canter-levered the long pieces over the tailgate, stacked the 4 x 4 posts and slats on top, then topped it off with the plywood. Tied it down with some rope. And hung a white shirt off the back, as a warning for any cars that happened to get behind us.

Dad didn't think it would all fit. But where there is a will there is a way.

And we did it all in an hour.

Strike A Pose

Liam was delving through his closet this afternoon and found "a tuxedo." He decided to try it on and thought it fit pretty well. He came in and decided to strike a pose for me.

Later, Cindy came home and asked, "Who was messing with my clothes?" Liam said he found a tuxedo and it fit him. He thought it was something Nana had bought at a garage sale.

No, Cindy told us, it was hers.

Liam admitted he wondered why a tuxedo would have a matching skirt.

Thankfully he didn't put THAT on.

Werewolf Sighting

On the way to Autozone to pick up some more wire and I had a werewolf sighting. Caught a picture as proof. Click the image to enlarge. Couple of things to notice: He is absolutely shirtless. That is not a sweater. He is in a wheelchair. And he is in the middle of the street.

The biker driving in the opposite direction is also shocked to see the werewolf.

Much better

I'm happy to report that Liam is finally feeling better. For the first time in a month, he's almost made it through an entire week of school without checking out.

So, what happened? The short version is that Liam has developed Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. More commonly known as acid reflux. Thanks to a pediatric G.I. specialist in Mobile, AL, we learned that we had been giving Liam's meds to him completely bass ackwards. We were sold several times (by local pediatricians) to give it to him twice a day, morning and night. We gave it to him after breakfast and after supper. We were SUPPOSED to be giving it to him on a completely empty stomach. Before breakfast. And before supper.

The very first day we gave the meds correctly, we saw positive results. And each day has improved since then.

We hope we have seen the worst of it. We'd like to get back to a sane, relaxed, and productive household.

Downtime

I'm completely swamped, under-motivated, over-worked, stressed-out, and up to my eyeballs in drama. As a result, I haven't had any energy or spare braincells to document my adventures as of late. Hopefully I will catch up on them and retro-post some of the things I've documented with the Ye Ol' Blackberry. But I'm not sure when.

Liam's stomach issues continue to devour all our energy. He has acid reflux. He's incredibly consumed with fear that he will "get sick." Meaning he doesn't want to throw up. So he literally asks us every few minutes, "Am I going to be sick?" When he isn't asking that, he's reminding us, "I'm worried," or "I'm afraid," or "I'm scared." Hours and hours and hours of that. It saps our strength and disrupts work, school, and everything in between.

He's on a new med as of today that we hope helps.