Jennifer had a few clothes for us to take for Sophie. (This is only up to six months — I'm assured there's more to come.)
Unbelievable
7 years ago
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Messy Art Party!
Anna had fun at her friend Lauren's Messy Art Party! (Celebrating her five years, four months, and several days after being born.)
Jennifer had a few clothes for us to take for Sophie. (This is only up to six months — I'm assured there's more to come.)
Jennifer had a few clothes for us to take for Sophie. (This is only up to six months — I'm assured there's more to come.)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Small Problems Overcome
Very often, it's the small problems that halt my forward momentum.
In the southeast bedroom, there's a bit of baseboard trim that was poorly spliced by the previous owner when they decided to alter the floor plan. (It's hard for me to explain without a picture. One of these days, I'll figure out how to use Google SketchUp.)
Anyway, nobody but me would ever notice — or care — that this splice isn't up to snuff. The "correct" way to fix the problem would have been to remove the trim and reinstall it. But this approach would likely have caused a cascade of other problems. The newly spliced piece would have been too short, so I would have had to replace that part of the trim. But then I would have had to match the old trim. Or, failing that, I would have had to replace all the trim.
Clearly, I was looking at an excessive amount of work to solve a very small problem. And I knew that. I made a conscious decision to ignore the poor workmanship.
The trouble is, my subconscious was saying, "I don't think so."
So, I was stuck. Enter Tina. "Can you just smooth it out somehow?"
In my defense, I had thought of that. I just didn't think it would work.
A few strokes with a plane, a bit of wood putty, and a random orbital sander were all it took to bypass that obstacle. Is it perfect? No, but it's good enough.
And, to top it all off, I got a prize: a LEGO "Imperial Dropship" with four stormtroopers. I don't remember seeing this ship in the movies, but it was fun to build.
By the way, there was a question in the comments about the LEGO AT-AP featured in an earlier post.
The AT-AP (All Terrain Attack Pod) is basically a gun platform. It was originally used near the end of the Clone Wars, by Republic forces led by the Jedi against the Separatists. So, I guess it was used by the good guys.
But then Order 66 came, and the clone troopers turned on the Jedi, and exterminated most of them. So, I guess it was used by the bad guys.
In the southeast bedroom, there's a bit of baseboard trim that was poorly spliced by the previous owner when they decided to alter the floor plan. (It's hard for me to explain without a picture. One of these days, I'll figure out how to use Google SketchUp.)
Anyway, nobody but me would ever notice — or care — that this splice isn't up to snuff. The "correct" way to fix the problem would have been to remove the trim and reinstall it. But this approach would likely have caused a cascade of other problems. The newly spliced piece would have been too short, so I would have had to replace that part of the trim. But then I would have had to match the old trim. Or, failing that, I would have had to replace all the trim.
Clearly, I was looking at an excessive amount of work to solve a very small problem. And I knew that. I made a conscious decision to ignore the poor workmanship.
The trouble is, my subconscious was saying, "I don't think so."
So, I was stuck. Enter Tina. "Can you just smooth it out somehow?"
In my defense, I had thought of that. I just didn't think it would work.
A few strokes with a plane, a bit of wood putty, and a random orbital sander were all it took to bypass that obstacle. Is it perfect? No, but it's good enough.
And, to top it all off, I got a prize: a LEGO "Imperial Dropship" with four stormtroopers. I don't remember seeing this ship in the movies, but it was fun to build.
By the way, there was a question in the comments about the LEGO AT-AP featured in an earlier post.
Is the scary robot one of the good guys or bad guys?
The AT-AP (All Terrain Attack Pod) is basically a gun platform. It was originally used near the end of the Clone Wars, by Republic forces led by the Jedi against the Separatists. So, I guess it was used by the good guys.
But then Order 66 came, and the clone troopers turned on the Jedi, and exterminated most of them. So, I guess it was used by the bad guys.
Friday, August 29, 2008
My First (Somewhat) Political Post
Man, it's hard for me to write about politics. Tina keeps asking me why I don't post any political pontificating. (I usually give her an earful over the morning paper.) The thing is, a written political argument makes my brain hurt.
I was going to write something about John McCain selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, but I ended up with too many words and not enough time to edit them*, so I'll just note that it was a bold choice.
In other news, Anna is concerned that Halloween decorations are going up too early. "It's not even fall, yet!"
*(It would have been a really great essay. I'm not kidding.)
I was going to write something about John McCain selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, but I ended up with too many words and not enough time to edit them*, so I'll just note that it was a bold choice.
In other news, Anna is concerned that Halloween decorations are going up too early. "It's not even fall, yet!"
*(It would have been a really great essay. I'm not kidding.)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Book Barn
A trip to Mountain Lakes generally includes a visit to the Book Barn in Denville. They have a great selection of popular fiction and lots of children's books. The prices are so low they're practically giving them away - $0.25 to $0.50 for most children's books, and $0.50 for mass-market paperbacks, $1.00 for trade paperbacks, and $2.00 for "nearly new" hardcovers.
But sometimes the prices are so low they're actually giving them away. Here's a list of the Michael Crichton novels I got for free on Tuesday.
I read The Great Train Robbery Tuesday night, finishing it in a few hours. I don't usually read that fast (I'm not Tina!), but I can't think of any Michael Crichton novels that I didn't finish in an evening. I suppose this is a pretty common observation, but it's hard to put those books down. That's why I picked up Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park, and the Lost World, even though I had already read them.
But sometimes the prices are so low they're actually giving them away. Here's a list of the Michael Crichton novels I got for free on Tuesday.
- The Great Train Robbery (read Tuesday)
- Congo (already read, saw the movie)
- Sphere (already read, saw the movie)
- Jurassic Park (already read, saw the movie)
- Disclosure (saw the movie)
- The Lost World (already read, saw the movie)
- Airframe (1996)
- Timeline (1999)
I read The Great Train Robbery Tuesday night, finishing it in a few hours. I don't usually read that fast (I'm not Tina!), but I can't think of any Michael Crichton novels that I didn't finish in an evening. I suppose this is a pretty common observation, but it's hard to put those books down. That's why I picked up Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park, and the Lost World, even though I had already read them.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Anna's Lolipop
We didn't make it to the dollar store this time, but one of Grandma's fond memories is how Anna zeroed in on this gigantic lolipop.
Anna worked on it for about an hour before giving up.
Anna worked on it for about an hour before giving up.
Trip to Mountain Lakes
We're back from Mountain Lakes. For reasons that I don't understand, I couldn't set up a wireless network there without slowing the internet connection to a crawl. This meant no laptop, and no access to the computer without disturbing Dad, so no blog posts.
In what is becoming a tradition, just before we left I put down a coat of polyurethane in the upstairs hallway. (If I ever have need of a method for increasing my stress level, I should remember this one: do a messy, surprisingly time-consuming job just before leaving the house for a few days. Make sure to block access to the shower.) I taped a sign to the stairs to remind Lisa not to go upstairs. Anna made a "No Kitty" sign. Too bad Kitty can't read! (Fast forward to our return: I found a trail of paw prints and cat hair embedded in the polyurethane. Oh well.)
The main topic of conversation, of course, was the news of Grandma and Grandpa's decision to buy a house in Niskayuna. There's paperwork to be filled out, signed, and faxed. The house needs to be inspected. Plans need to be made: How should the new house be set up? What improvements can be made before the move? What stuff should be left behind? (I'm voting for the sofa bed.)
In what is becoming a tradition, just before we left I put down a coat of polyurethane in the upstairs hallway. (If I ever have need of a method for increasing my stress level, I should remember this one: do a messy, surprisingly time-consuming job just before leaving the house for a few days. Make sure to block access to the shower.) I taped a sign to the stairs to remind Lisa not to go upstairs. Anna made a "No Kitty" sign. Too bad Kitty can't read! (Fast forward to our return: I found a trail of paw prints and cat hair embedded in the polyurethane. Oh well.)
The main topic of conversation, of course, was the news of Grandma and Grandpa's decision to buy a house in Niskayuna. There's paperwork to be filled out, signed, and faxed. The house needs to be inspected. Plans need to be made: How should the new house be set up? What improvements can be made before the move? What stuff should be left behind? (I'm voting for the sofa bed.)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Note to Self
Keep a list of things to write about. During the day I have "a bunch of random stuff" that crosses my mind, but I only write down thoughts like: buy coffee, fix wobbly dining room table leg. Then, after I get Anna to bed, my mind is pretty blank. I really just want to watch a movie, or read a book.
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