Category: Uncategorized

Not April Foolin’

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I can certainly understand why some of you were reluctant to believe a post I’d make on April 1st. That fact was part of the reason to make the announcment on April 1. “Is he serious?” would certainly be a valid question. In February the “all day” nausea settled in and there was strong suspicion. It didn’t take long to confirm.

Junior 2.0 is for real.

Kayla’s little sibling is on his way. The 10 week ultrasound was on March 24 so Junior is due in late October. The gag order has been lifted so I can shout it from the rooftops. We do not know the sex. As with last time, I’d prefer not to know, but I got my surprise. It is Jen’s turn and she hasn’t decided yet if we will find out.

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It also seems a post with a Kayla photo is past due. She has passed the 10 month mark and is now inch-worming across the floor, which she uses out of necessity. She is just starting to crawl but doesn’t care for it at all. Instead, she scoots over to something, nearly anything, and uses it to pick herself up. Once standing, she’ll follow any wall to anywhere in the house.

She is well past the, “she’s right where I left her” stage. She eats just about anything, particularly so if she watches daddy eating it.

IntelliMac

On the very day the Mac Book Pro was announced, I placed my order. In fact, the order was placed within 5 minutes of the Apple Store being re-enabled (it’s typically disabled during such events). I was very excited to get it but all the orders got bumped back so I decided to cancel it and get a 20″ iMac Core Duo since it was available right away. On Tuesday I returned from school to find it sitting next to my desk.

If you have never bought a new Mac, then you might not appreciate the care and elegance with which Apple packages their computers. I’ve done it so many times that I expect it and hardly noticed the nice, well designed packaging. I had work to get done so I ripped it open, yanked out the goodies, and settled into hard core work playtime.

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After setting up the iMac on my desk, it created a significant problem. I already had the 20″ and 23″ Cinema Displays hooked up to the G5 dual and they commanded a large portion of my desk. Adding yet another 20″ display consumed what was left. To relieve the crowding problem, I have moved the 20″ into our bedroom for watching movies when connected to the laptop. That will work until it or the 23″ gets sold on eBay.

My intent for this system is to replace one of my dual G5 systems which I can then sell on eBay. The reason it may achieve that goal is Continue reading “IntelliMac”

Lawyer Season

Press Release (02/14/06)

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issued a statement today saying Vice President Cheney broke no law by shooting a lawyer instead of a quail over the weekend.

A TPWD spokesman noted that in Texas, lawyers are not considered game
creatures, and are thus not subject to seasonal limitations or bag limits.
It was further noted that lawyer-hunting is encouraged as the state is
overrun with them.

A local food critic said that, contrary to rumor, lawyers do not taste like
chicken, but more like the excrement from uncastrated adult male cattle,
which has long been known to be a major component in their composition.

In all seriousness, I have empathy for Cheney. You see, I nearly shot my own father Continue reading “Lawyer Season”

Making a splash

A nice thing our school does is include an activity fee with our tuition. I’m not speaking in a facetious manner, I actually mean it. For $55 per semester, we get a membership at a gym located a couple blocks from the school. Normal membership costs more than $55 per month so it’s a bargain. It is also one of the nicest fitness center I’ve seen.

Last semester, Kevan (my carpool buddy) and I began going in early to use the gym. They have a wading pool with six lanes and a full length swim pool with eight lanes. After spending a few mornings running on one of the dozens of machines, my knees reminded me how much they detest it so I began spending more time in the pool.

I can swim but it’s anything but graceful. In fact, it’s much like my skiing. I’m wild enough to jump off any double black diamond slope, Continue reading “Making a splash”

Presentation Devices for Mac OS X

One of my esteemed professors needs a remote for use in class. Actually, a couple of my professors are in need of a decent remote for their presentations in class. So, I did some searching around and found a couple good options, listed in order of recommendation.

Choice #1: Kensington Wireless Presentation Remote

Kensington Wireless Presentation Remote Control with Laser Pointer

All features of the Kensington are known to work reliably with Mac OS X. Simply click the link and it’ll take you to item at the Amazon.com store. If you order by clicking the link, they’ll even give me a little referral credit.

Choice #2: Logitech 2.4GHz Cordless Presenter

Logitech 2.4 GHz Cordless Presenter

two chicks

Last week we saw a hot new chick in the neighborhood and I’ve been trying to get a photo of her ever since. We’ve seen her fly by a few times but yesterday was the first time she held still long enough for us to get a good look, and did we ever. Jen ran for the binoculars and I grabbed the camera and the 400mm telephoto lens.

Lucky for ya’ll, she held still long enough for me to snap a couple candid shots. In addition to the shot above, I also got one of her dropping her drawers to take care of some business. In the interests of moral sensibility, we’re not publishing that one. Today we saw her again, and she was at the top of her game. She was with some guy, and she had her claws sunk deep into him.

And the two were becoming one flesh, literally. We watched for 10 minutes trying to see exactly she had laid her claws into. Unfortunately, she was outside the range of my 400mm lens and our binoculars. Our best guess is: a cat.

And here is the other hot little chick in the neighborhood.

Eight months

Our litle bundle of joy will be 8 months old on Saturday. She isn’t quite walking yet but given a couple fingers, she’ll happily follow our lead. She’s very keen to do anything we do. (Monkey see, Monkey do) If we’re eating it, she wants some too. So, in addition to feeding off mommy, she eats just about everything else that we do. She has two front teeth coming in.

Not only is she absolutely adorable, but we’re continually amazed at how pleasant her disposition is. She is a treat to have around. People ask how I get her to smile for the photos. The secret is, I don’t have to. She’s just happy all the time. Maybe it’s because she knows she’s beautiful?

click for more photos of Kayla.