rejoined the NRA

Well, this seems like a really good time to rejoin the NRA. I had let my membership lapse years ago, but with the new Obama administration having at least 2 years of strong legislative support ahead, it was time to rejoin.

Obama lied routinely during the campaign about his stance on the Second Amendment. You can read a summary of his actual voting record and see that he is actually a much bigger threat than he claimed to be. Hopefully he will overreach and trigger a large backlash but we can't count on that.


The NRA has a promotion running now to join for $25/year ($10 off). You can find it here.

office update

I re-arranged the furniture in the office to this now:


So far, I really like it - it feels more homey and makes the office feel wider and more open. I had promised an update to the bookshelf story. Here's a current photo of the bookshelves:

overrun with ladybugs

Today I am painting in my office and have the window open for ventilation. We are in the middle of our annual ladybug bloom and there are now 50+ of them wandering around my ceiling and walls....


They are kinda cute but cuteness starts to run thin past past 10 or so...

international respect

It would be funnier if it weren't so scary...



The video was produced by Our Country Deserves Better. Be sure to have a look at their Why We Oppose Obama page.

(thanks to Gateway Pundit - one of may favorite blogs)

modeling my office in SketchUp

I mentioned that I'd gotten new bookshelves in a previous post. I've got the bookshelves done and I've been cleaning up lots of other stuff as well. I had boxes of computer parts also stacked in the office since moving into it. I got big plastic tubs to move that into (culling out useless bits) that will keep spiders and the like from it in the garage.

I'm also thinking about rearranging the office to make better use of the space. I decided to start with some house drawings I'd done before and add detail to the office so I could play with placing the furniture in 3d. This allows me to try things without unplugging the multitude of wires, etc. And it lets me try out potential future furniture before buying it.

Here's what I have so far - in the configuration that it currently is arranged:



It's obviously missing a lot of smaller clutter like computers, basses, etc but it's enough to begin playing with. I'll update more later as I have it...

fish or pole

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." -- Chinese proverb

Along the lines of a late-night rant I had on Sheena's blog recently, I like this graphic:


I think it gives a good quick point of comparison when evaluating a candidate. It comes from a great post on sociopolitical design.

random Blackberry photos

All aboard!


obligatory dog pic:


Keegan waits for the Tommy Emmanuel concert to start:


out for a bike ride (made my legs hurt!):


cool bus I saw this evening:


very distant shot of Macy and her wind ensemble with the homeschool choir tonight:


entertaining a restless and loud Lathen:

go Tommy go

Sunday night, Keegan and I went down to Norman to see a concert by the legendary Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. I expected him to be good, but I didn't know what we were in for. He's not only one of the best guitarists you could see, but he's a great entertainer and comes across as an all around super nice guy.

Here's a sample of his original music:



And for a sample of his personality and humor (and a quick guitar lesson) watch this video (they disabled embedding for some reason).

I've decided that the thing that makes him such a great entertainer is his obvious love for playing guitar and his unpretentious desire to share it with people. If you get the chance to see him live - do it! (His next visit to Oklahoma will be March '09 in Tulsa).

one eyed Egyptians

Since we now have a daily surplus of eggs, I thought I should learn how to make more than just scrambled eggs. I've now learned to fry eggs "sunny side up" and "over easy" pretty well (surprise Mom - I love fried eggs!). Today, I decided to try something that Kendre's grandfather called "one eyed Egyptians". I've found that they are also called "toad in a hole", "hobo eggs", "eggs in a basket", "bird's nest", and more...

Basically you cut a hole in a piece of buttered bread and fry it with an egg placed in the hole. Naturally I decided to experiment, so I scrambled the eggs first so they would be a more kid-friendly uniform consistency. Also, for most of them, I flipped them over and put cheese on top to melt. Don't forget salt and pepper!



They turned out to be quite good! For the most part, they were a hit. I think for just me I will not scramble the eggs in the future - I like the runny "over easy" effect, but this was better for getting kids to try.

Also, I found that if you put the circle that you cut out on top of the egg (after toasting it) it's called "one eyed Jack". I have a theory that a dish with many different names (especially odd ones) is probably a good one!

ophiological update

Last week I posted about finding a rattlesnake. Now I think I need to update and correct that posting based on new information.

Today, Kendre found a large Black Rat Snake eating an egg in the chicken coop. She wasn't very happy about that so she called on me to deal with it.


(this is not my picture)

It was in the corner of the coop and close to the chicken door so I was concerned that if I opened the outer door and came in with a shovel, it would just make an exit through the chicken pen. So I got the .22 (in an effort to minimize collateral damage) and shot it through the window opening. After that I extracted it with the shovel and finished it off with many a "oooh!" and "yuck!" and "cool!" from the home school class that gathered to watch.

I was doing some reading about it and came across some information related to juveniles. Their coloring is akin to that of the massasauga rattlesnake and they will also "rattle" their tails when threatened (see the OKSnakes link). SO... I think that must be what I found last week and erroneously identified as a rattler. Perhaps today's snake was the mom I had wondered about...

Anyway, I hope this is the last snake related post for a while.

bookshelves

Since we moved to this house almost 6.5 yrs ago, most of my books have lived in boxes while they patiently awaited the arrival of bookshelves in my office. It was one of those projects where I had grand plans but no bookshelves were being built.

Finally, while off work recently, I broke down and decided I should just forget building them and buy some instead. I spent much a day wandering around town from store to store trying to find some that I liked and that would fit. You'd be surprised at the lack of imagination there is in the bookshelf industry!

I found some cool Asian looking ones that I liked but they would have taken a week to arrive and were expensive enough that I would have had to spread out the purchases over more time than I wanted.

But it was Kendre that came up with the winning idea. There were some ok shelves at Target that were almost the right size but they were 3" too tall to fit along the short walls of my office. She suggested cutting the legs off so they would fit. So that's what I did. They were cheaper so I was able to get four shelves all at once - maybe enough to hold all my books...

Now I've been going through my book boxes and sorting the books. It's a slow process since they all need a good vacuuming to be spider-free and also because it's been a long time since I've seen many of them!



Obviously, the process continues... I have more boxes in the garage to go through as well. I had forgotten how much I liked having my books around - I'm really going to enjoy having them back! I'll post better pics once I get them done.

another snake

[see an update to this post here]

Today, I found Drinian outside the front door barking sincerely at something on the ground by the house. I went for a shovel and out to see what he'd found.

It was a small (about 9") snake sporting a pattern like a rattler of some sort. It didn't have rattles yet, but when it shook its tail at me, I was convinced it wasn't something I was going to just relocate. Looking it up in my trusty "Field Guide to Reptiles of Oklahoma" it turned out to be a Western Massasauga Rattlesnake. This is the first time I've seen a rattlesnake here around the house. Now I'm wondering where its mom is....


(this is an adult massasauga - the one I found had similar markings, but was less photogenic once I was through with it...)

random Blackberry photos

Mathias and I finally went to Chuck-E-Cheese for his birthday lunch-with-a-parent:


I like the way sunlight looks in rain:


I was making scrambled eggs for lunch one day this week and just as I was about to drop in the 5th egg, I noticed a smiley face:


Today, the girls all went to Tulsa for a baby shower, so we men went to see "Wall-E" the movie. When we came out of the theater, we found this cool Thomas Saf-T-Liner:

ever been bitten by an osterich?

or slobbered by an elk?


I have... at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.

exploding train

There was some excitement near here last Friday. A cargo train derailed and exploded/burned within three miles of the house. Kendre's mom called to let us know - I was on conf calls and everyone else was doing school. I went out to the front yard and took this photo of the smoke:



A little later we got a call from the neighbor saying that the fire dept was short on manpower so they couldn't contact everyone, but asked him to call around and ask us to evacuate for 4 hours to let the fumes dissipate. As we were leaving, they already had roads blocked going over to the area:


(the tilted cars in the photo are caused by the slow scan speed of the Blackberry camera - since we were driving by, the picture looks tilted)

Apparently this video was shot by some emergency personnel on the scene:

We went to Edmond where we met some of Kendre's family for BBQ and then watched a movie at her nieces' house.

One of the OKC television stations has a photo gallery from the derailment.

[update]
The boys and I drove by the site this evening. There are still several cars laying by the tracks in various levels of destruction. The tracks are completely torn up. I guess it will take a while to restore service.

random Blackberry photos

A chicken out eating in the rain...


Lathen starts his schooling early.


I liked this shadow.


This week's silly sleeping dog pose:


Tressa has been reading "Hank the Cowdog".

done!

For the last three weeks or so, I've been working insane hours as my team approaches the first public release of the software we've been working on for the last year and a half. It would normally be bad enough, but two weeks ago, we decided that we (mostly me) needed to replace a pretty major feature at the last minute.

Kendre and the kids have been very patient and understanding while I worked 80-110 hour weeks. I had to put off going out for our anniversary, taking Mathias out for his bday lunch-with-a-parent, and a bunch of other stuff. If I've owed you an email or phone call or anything else, I'm sorry if I've neglected those things.


As of about 5:45pm today, my part of the project was sent on to the next step in the chain. It gets bundled into a larger project, and finally into a much larger software package. There will be a few weeks of intensive testing (we've had testing going on concurrently with development also) to prepare the final project. It's possible - even likely - that there will be some things to fix, but major changes will likely not be permitted until after the final release. Then starts work on the first fix-pack.

Now I'm taking some (ok, a lot of) time off work. We are going to see my parents for a few days and after that, I'm going to do stuff around the house and catch up on sleep. And make up for some stuff I've missed out on doing....

changed an oxygen sensor

This evening I replaced an oxygen sensor on the Sequoia that had been keeping the "check engine soon" light on recently. It wasn't that hard to change and I was able to save quite a bit of money by ordering the sensor online. I got it from Rock Auto - I chose them because they had good reviews. That saved about $35 over buying it locally at a parts store.


The sensor is a little difficult to reach, but having the truck up on ramps made it much easier. I had to use some WD-40 and a piece of pipe over the wrench handle for additional torque to loosen the old one.

The real trick to changing it was getting this oxygen sensor socket - it fits over the sensor with room for the wire to protrude. I bought it locally at Advance Auto in Edmond since it was the same price ($11) as online and shipping was more than sales tax.

Overall, it took a little while to get the part and the tool together, but it was well worth it to save a pretty good bit of money if you count the labor costs of having a mechanic change it.

After changing it, I was able to clear the engine error code with my OBD-II diagnostic tool that I bought a while ago. It was a bit of an investment (not nearly as much as the MSRP listed on that page), but I think it will pay for itself before too long - if not already.

random Blackberry photos

It's not a great camera but it's always with me! :-)



waking up with a bath


the chicks are getting big


toilet bowl art work by our youngest resident artist


another silly sleeping dog pose


I got out my flugelhorn this week and played it some. Tracking down when and where it was made has proven to be quite a challenge (probably 1960s in Italy).


SNU has a Bluebird! Looks alot like ours except the flat roof, big windows, paint job... well kinda like ours.

overkill

We had a little excitement this evening... After putting the kids to bed, I needed to go out to tend to the chickens. Often when I am going to be outside much at night, I wear a holster with one of my pistols just in case Drinian finds a varmint so I grabbed the XD .45 and a flashlight and headed outside.

I filled a bucket with chicken feed and grabbed the water hose that had been left out from kids playing in the afternoon and started toward the chicken pen. Right away Drinian started barking at something. I couldn't see at first what it was - I thought it was probably a rabbit invading his territory. But as I looked I could see it was a large copperhead and it was coiled to strike. Fortunately Drinian was keeping a safe distance - amazing how he knows to since with other varmints he doesn't hesitate to attack.



Since it was coiled I thought I stood a pretty good chance of hitting, so I shot it with the XD - which was loaded with .45acp jacketed hollowpoint. My first shot hit but then he uncoiled and the two follow-ups missed. but at least he was moving slow and I had time to grab a nearby 5 gallon bucket and use the bottom edge to finish him.

Anyway, I can attest to the damage that a 45jhp will do even in something as small as a snake - he would not have gotten too far as it nearly cut him in half. It was overkill but it gave me time to find something else to use. I'd say that it also is a testament to the very natural and comfortable handling of the Springfield XD - it puts holes where you mean it to - I'd highly recommend it! :-)

Copperheads are the thing I worry the most about with kids around here. Since we've lived here, I've killed about 5 of them. They like leaf litter and rocks and are pretty hard to see. They are one of only three venomous snakes around here and the only one that we've seen on our land. One of many good reasons to have a dog!

Also, just in case you were wondering, when Drinian trees a varmint (as he has with a few chicken-hunting raccoons) I always opt for a shotgun over a pistol. Shooting up in the air with a solid projectile when there are houses/people within the range of the gun is a really bad idea...

shoes that pay for themselves

Well maybe. I got some Teva Dozer shoes a couple of weeks ago. I don't like flip-flops, Crocs, or sandles, but I'm loving these. They are saving (at least some) money for us because when wearing them, I tend to keep the office about 5 degrees warmer than I do otherwise. I hadn't thought about the impact my shoes were having on my temperature preferences.

These are great because they are well ventilated but provide good arch support, have plenty of adjustments to get them sized just right, and have Microban® soles so they don't stink.

To buy them, I used some birthday money that I hadn't yet allocated (thanks Mom & Dad and Mike, Lisa, & Logan!!) so it was a really good deal. :-)

family updates

It's been a busy week here. The kids had swim lessons all week and I've had a lot of work to try to get done.

Last night I was trying to get some work stuff finished that's due Monday. It was going to be a few simple fixes, but things turned out to be much worse than I thought and it was around 3:45am when I finally went to bed. But at least I finished it and should be work-free for the weekend. We had some lay-offs earlier in the week at work. So I am feeling really blessed to still have a job. But it makes me think that one should always keep your resume up to date.

Today we are going to Kim's birthday party. Kendre is making the cake, cookies, and other goodies - they look really yummy! Lots of chocolate! The house smells like a desert bakery. She'll post photos on her blog soon.

Kendre got the stitches taken out of her finger this week. She went on Monday, but they said it needed to dry out a couple more days, so we went back late Wed night after VBS/band rehearsal. It looks pretty good though she says it still feels a little numb and she's a little nervous about bumping. I think it will grow out ok.

Speaking of swim lessons, the kids did really well. Macy worked on pushing off while diving and improved her freestyle swimming. Keegan got to learn a first competition style dive. The teacher said she'd never had a student pick up dives so quickly. Tressa learned freestyle swimming and worked on it. Mathias worked on swimming without assistance. He was able to cross the whole pool alone. He also swam underwater.

Keegan and Tressa both lost teeth this week. And the tooth fairy remembered to pay a visit. :-)

Here's a couple of random Blackberry photos from this week...

I woke Drinian up one morning when I went out for an early conf call. He looked a little stunned and a lot silly sleeping on his back in his dog house:


I love the green rolling hills around here. And when you zoom with the Blackberry's cheesy camera, you get something that kinda looks like a painting: