Monthly Archives: December 2010

I know why I wake up multiple times in the middle of the night to got o the bathroom and it isn’t just because I’m an old man. I usually drink a whole 32 oz water bottle after working out at the gym, and if I’m not paying attention that can be as late as 8:30 – 9PM. And other little things wake me up as well. I think the little things add up so if I’m sore the noises outside wake me up. Or the heater going off at 5:30AM seems to bother me as well. Who wants to get up a half-hour before the alarm goes off? Today, … Continue reading →

Yesterday was supposed to be one of the rainiest days I’ve seen in Portland. While it rains all the time, we usually only get a 1/4″ of rain in a day. Yesterday set a record with 1.3″, not a lot for some places but not normal for here of course, I was out in the rain cutting up wood because I wanted to have at least one day a week where I could actually rest and not do much of anything, unlike last Sunday where I cut down a tree in the backyard and fed everything I could into a wood chipper. The remains are below. Monday I was quite … Continue reading →

So I bought a bunch of cheap video cameras, but they all have “video out” and not USB. So then I bought a cheap video-to-USB converter (less than $10) and I was sure I was going to have trouble with it. Sure enough, the disk it came with was defective and Amazon was willing to give me back my $10, but I wasn’t about to let the thing defeat me. So I searched on the net and got it cobbled together under Windows XP in a virtual machine on my Mac. Then I found a driver for Linux, which is where I wanted it anyway. And now I got it … Continue reading →

I got this really cheap video-to-usb thing and it only works with WindowsXP right now. It’s some progress, but what a mess.

It’s the end of the year, when everyone starts taking their vacations. So work can go two ways: the customers all go on vacation and it’s restful or (more likely) all hell breaks loose and there’s hardly anyone left to handle things. It looks like things are going towards #2 again. It’s not that bad yet, so I really shouldn’t be predicting a disaster. But really, for me, getting lucky means someone has emailed me a coupon for free crispy burritos from Taco Time so it all balances out. I wonder if I should get a t-shirt made that says, “Mr. Excitement.”

My sister is looking for a way to watch her front porch from her office, and I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to do it. I happened to find a wireless camera and a spare LCD TV to plug it into, but the camera is really crappy and the picture isn’t that great. Honestly, she just wants to check for USPS packages during the day so it’s not that big a deal. An easier solution is to use a motion detector to set off a doorbell or something, rather than look out the window. Or both. Both might be nice. So now here’s another … Continue reading →

Sometimes I wonder what the hell I was thinking when I post stuff to my blog. I’m not talking about the stuff that most sane people would wonder about, I’m talking about when I can’t even figure out what the heck I was trying to get across. Like when I’m so tired that the sentences don’t appear to be in English. I suppose it could be because I’m distracted, like watching TV instead of paying attention to sentence structure. Today was a banner day where I had meetings scheduled during all the hours that our remaining and distant cafeteria was open. I blew off two more meetings to go home … Continue reading →

I like sitting on my fat tuckus (tuches), especially on Sundays, but instead I made some progress in my fight against the gingko tree in the back yard. Well, the fight against many of the trees in the yard that my dad planted. I think he got some of the plants in our yard from actual projects for customers when he realized he’d ordered too many plants. So why didn’t he realize the same thing at home? In any case, some of the trees had to go, like the fruit bearing trees with fruit no one wanted to eat, or the one blocking the whole front of the house, or … Continue reading →

Not sure why I figured that attending a funeral would mean I would allow myself to get loaded, but I thought I might. But instead, I had some things to take care of at the gym and I ended up eating 3/4 of a pepperoni pizza instead. Sometimes being the one living in a city the longest means you know where to find odd things (like fire extinguisher brackets) and end up being the guy who has to go out and get them. That’s pretty much my whole day. Gym, gym maintenance, funeral, gym movie, back at home wishing I had some single malt Scotch whiskey. Not very exciting but … Continue reading →

I’ve been pretty tired this week and, of course, getting to bed late. And as soon as I get my tired ass into bed, I toss and turn for a while. Not really sure why. Stress? Not really. Wanting to play more Plants vs Zombies? Maybe. Actually, I was almost late to the gym because I was in the middle of killing zombies. And like I said, this is the FOURTH TIME I’m going through adventure mode. Once on my sister’s iPad, twice on my iPhone, and now on my own iPad. Too bad this thing doesn’t sync with some server somewhere. Oh, I went to my doctor today and … Continue reading →

I know where the day went and you know where the day went. If you need a hint, I’ll tell you: my iPad arrived a day early. This is the third time I’ve started Plants vs. Zombies from scratch. When I was at the gym my mom was playing Little Things non-stop. I don’t think it will be that much of a waste if I buy a second iPad since my mom can be mesmerized by the first one. Yow. My sister sent along a picture of me after my last haircut. Megan used my grandmother’s old Oster Progenic and said it cut like buttah. I think it’s because the … Continue reading →