The holidays are here

Well, the holidays are officially here.

Good thing? Bad thing? I guess it has a little of both. There is always a certain amount of stress that comes with the holiday season, but we all seem to manage it somehow and trudge through to the tax season. The good thing is that the holidays always bring the family closer together. From having Thanksgiving, to putting up the tree, to the exchange of gifts, to watching the ball drop on New Years Eve. Here is a shot of us while we are putting up the Christmas tree. It's a new pre-lit tree that Tammy picked up during Black Friday. It's soooo much easier to assemble. 3 pieces, a few spread branches later, and poof! It's done. Our last tree you had a single pole in the middle, and tons of separate branches you had to put on. Not only that, but you had to string the lights on as well. Lazy you say? You betcha! 

LOST

Lost is now in it's 3rd season, and I am still enjoying the show quite a bit. The first two seasons, they would have periodic breaks between new episodes which would definitely grate on my nerves, but it was understandable. They decided to change things up a bit this season and air the first 6 episodes, then take something like a 13 week break!! I guess it is good that they are going to end the season with all new episodes, but 13 weeks? But to try and appease the audience, the folks at ABC have put in an entire new series in it's place while Lost is on hiatus. I don't think I will be watching the new show.

A trip to Florida

What's that??? A manatee!!!

No, that's just Ed.

Last weekend, Tammy and I were able to get away and take a trip to Florida to see one of our friends get married. The shot you see here is of Ed getting into the water to swim to the '3 sisters' which is an area that has a natural spring and a beautiful place to see. We were at a town called Crystal River, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Tampa.

One of the things they are known for is the manatee population. We were fortunate enough to have some time to take a couple of kayaks into the water and do some manatee searching. During our time out, we saw 4 manatees. 3 up close, and another one about 40 feet away. The ones we were able to see up close were right on us. So close I was afraid one may tip our kayak. Tammy wanted to get out of the kayak so bad and swim with them, but that never happened.

It was a very fun experience though to interact with such docile creatures like that. There are a bunch of rules you have to follow in regards to the manatees. If these rules weren't in place, there is no telling what the manatee population would be like in the area. Probably population of 0.

It was great to get away for a weekend (Thanks Mike and Sherry for watching the kids), just to give us a bit of a recharge before the holiday season hits. Not much longer until Thanksgiving is upon us!!!

The horrors of wiring...

My wife decided it was time to finally paint the entertainment center to match the paint in the rest of the room. In this picture (before) you can see the new paint color on the right wall.

I knew from the get go that this was going to be quite a task to take out the existing components so she could paint the entertainment center and put them back to their original state. Of course, taking them out is easy. Just unplug the plethora of wires and pull the components out. I guess I got it kind of easy though, as I was able to persuade Tammy to work around the wires in the entertainment center. This way I didn't have to fish all of the wires through the conduits in the entertainment center again.

After a few days, the painting was finally done (with the exception of a couple of shelves) but I was able to try and get things back in it's place. It all started with just putting the speakers back into the receiver. Not so easy. The labels that I have on the wires were no longer there, so I had to rig up a contraption to find out which wire went to which speaker. After that, things weren't too bad. I wired up the receiver first, the proceeded with the VCR, DVD, DVR, TV and power center. After turning everything on and making sure the basics worked, I wired up the Xbox360 and Xbox. Took me a good 3 hours to get everything done. Well, with some breaks to munch on some candy and down a beer of course. I'm glad that I have done this a number of times, or I would have been at it for quite a while.

Halloween has come and gone.

This year we did the same things that we did last year. Carve pumpkins, go trick-or-treating and gorge ourselves with candy. Well, there was a slight difference between this year and last year in the fact that Briana went to a friends house for trick-or-treating while Josh visited everybody local to our neighborhood.

The pumpkin carving didn't go as well as we would have liked. From all the years of carving pumpkins, we have acquired a number of carving utensils. Unfortunately, we don't know where any of them are and we had to resort to larger and clunky knives that we have at the house. I even went to the local grocery store to see if I could find a carving set, but to no avail. They already were stocking the shelves with Christmas!?! stuff. We were able to get some decent carvings done anyway and placed them outside for everybody's viewing pleasure.

Josh had a great time trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and score a pretty good amount of candy. Briana didn't do too bad herself. We are now enjoying the immense amounts of candy. Mmmm 

A visit to the pumpkin patch

Fall is here. The great thing about fall here in Phoenix, is that it doesn't even feel like fall. 70 - 80 degrees is the norm and everybody is out an about enjoying the great weather. The only bad thing about it is that everybody else and their grandmother (literally) knows it's great weather, too and comes out and clogs our streets. But I digress, this entry isn't supposed to be about the weather and the influx of snowbirds.

Today we went out to "Mother Nature's Farm" to enjoy in some of the family festivities and get a couple of pumpkins. We did get a couple of pumpkins, but it wasn't exactly what we expected. The pumpkins that came with the entry fee is a little kid sized pumpkin that you could decorate with a marker and stickers. We were expecting good carving pumpkins. I guess we are going to have to take a trip to good ol Wal Mart to get the pumpkins we really want. Why Wal Mart? Because it's cheap. :)

The first thing we did was pick out the pumpkins for the kids to decorate. That didn't take too long, as all the kid sized pumpkins pretty much are very well shaped. We took a few pictures and then headed to the bounce house. Josh just loves these things. He could bounce all day if we let him. While Josh was bouncing, Briana decorated her pumpkin. We did the standard hay ride around the farm as well. I was expecting to see more, but from the looks of things I don't think the farm is going to be there much longer. Not much there in terms of growth, and the fields were not in that great of shape. The kids also got their faces painted.

Not much to the farm and the festivities. Not that many people there either. Oh well, at least it was a good time to spend with the family. 

More Home Improvements

One of my friends is currently remodelling their kitchen, and showed some pictures of new recessed lighting that they are installing. That got me thinking, "You know, now that we have the new kitchen island installed, we really need to get additional lighting installed to provide better coverage." I did a bit of research and I found that installing recessed lighting for a remodel is quite a simple task, especially when there is an existing light and switch at your disposal.

I decided to take a trip to Home Depot, and found some recessed lighting and trim that almost exactly match what we already have in the kitchen. Given that the cans and the trim almost match the price of a single halogen bulb it was a no brainer to go ahead with the purchase. I picked up 5 extra lights and started to work. I first measured out the distance between each of the existing lights so installing the new ones would line up and match. I used my laser level to line up the locations where the new lights were going, marked the center of the light placement and used the provided template to draw the circles in the ceiling. The batteries in my stud finder are dead, so I relied on my home construction pictures to make sure that I wasn't cutting into any existing joists. I proceeded to cut the holes and also I fished the wiring through so I would be ready for the next step.

The next day I shut off the power to the existing light switch (which also controlled the entertainment center and garage, go figure) and started the rewiring and installing of the new lights. It was amazing how easy it was to install the new lights. About an hour later, Tammy and I were done with the project. From the picture provided, you can see were the existing light fixture was (I still need to find a suitable cover). The far 9 cans are the original lights, and you can see 4 of the 5 new cans that were installed. Now if only all of the home improvements done could be this easy.

Phil the dog

We have had Maya (Blue Tick Coonhound mix) for about 10 months now. We got her when she was less than 8 weeks old from a foster home. She has grown up to be a very loving puppy, and sometimes a bit too loving. She's great with the kids as well. But being that we are away from the house so much during the week with school and work, we decided to get her a companion to keep her company.
Tammy has always wanted a small dog that she could just have sit in her lap and not be a bothersome creature. With some luck, she found Phil on the Humane Society website and on chance decided to check him out. He's a 6 year old miniature poodle, and is very patient with Maya and her crazyness.

You can tell that Phil was a lap dog that was able to sit on every single piece of furniture in the house. This is something that is going to be tough to break him from, but we are making steady progress. He's a great dog, and definitely is a lap dog. One thing that I didn't expect was his digging. He needs to be around somebody to lay with and just in general keep him company. I guess Maya isn't good enough for that because on the second day we had Phil, he already dug a hole underneath the side gate of the house and got out. He then proceeded to do it again the next day. This of course has forced me to put down concrete blocks underneath the gate so Phil can't get out.

We are glad we got Phil, and it looks like Maya is too. 

Getting rid of the training wheels

It was only a matter of time before it happened, but the other day I decided to take the training wheels off of Joshua's bike. It was surprisingly easy to get him to get to go by himself, just a little push to get him going and he was on his way. None of the running and following and holding on to the seat that you would expect from the first steps of learning to ride on only two wheels.

What probably made the most impact on the speed of his learning is the fact that he is already quite proficient at riding a scooter. This provided the needed balance for the transition to the bike. He was hesitant on turning, having to stop before pushing his bike to turn it around, but once he figured out that he could do it without stopping, he is going crazy. Up and down the curb, figure 8's. Next thing you know, he is going to be doing wheelies and other tricks. The only thing he needs work on is the starting. Just a little help and a push and he can go and go. Why do they have to grow up so fast? 

I remember the show name...

The show was called "Threshold." Seemed like it only played 1/2 the season before it was pulled off the air. Shame. Especially the vegetables with the human teeth :)

Fall TV extravaganza!

Well, fall is officially here. You know what that means? Time to lose yourself in all of the new TV shows and waste away your evenings. There are quite a large number of new shows this season, and me and my wife are trying to figure out which ones we want to stick with. We already watch "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", "LOST", "Numb3rs", "The Office" and "House". Well, "The Office" and "House" we don't watch as much because it is recorded upstairs, and we really don't seem to be up there all that often except to sleep. We have quite a bit of "The Office" to catch up on (still have some of last season to watch.) Looking at our current list of shows, we have our reality, drama and one comedy. So I am looking into more comedy relief. Now that "Friends" and "Joey" are gone, we haven't found anything worth while.

I decided to record "The Class" last night to see if that would fit the bill. I downloaded the first episode... No wait, did I say download? I meant recorded last week. We watched it last night, and we aren't quite sure about it yet. It had it's moments, but there are a number of characters to adjust to, it's difficult to really accept it from a single episode. I will keep recording it and see how it pans out.

Another show that I recorded is "Studio 60". I don't know if we are even going to get into this one. I haven't heard too much about it, but I enjoy Matthew Perry so it may be worth it.

Oh! We also caught the premiere of "Heroes" last night. Very interesting. That is definitely one that we will keep watching, hopefully something that will continue for seasons to come.

Speaking of seasons to come, I got into 2 other shows last year that were canned: "Surface" and... Darnit. I can't remember the name. It's the one about the alien presense that is taking over people. It started out on a battleship or something like that and it is spreading. Carla Gugina (I think that is how you spell it) is in it, as well as 'Data' from Star Trek. Anyways, I guess the name isn't that important since that one got canned halfway through the season. "Surface" had some potential, especially during the beginning and middle of the season. Unfortunately, it kind of tailed off, and was kind of anti-climactic in the end of the season.

There was one pilot that I watched on You Tube, and I found it very refreshing, funny and entertaining. For some reason, the pilot was rejected and the show didn't see the light of day. I am trying to think of the name of it, but it isn't coming to me. I am going to have to search through You Tube to find it. It was based on a couple of guys that were hired to make a TV show and basically live on the set.

Since I am talking about You Tube, I admit it. I watched all of the 'lonelygirl15' video blogs. If you haven't heard about it, there were a number of video blogs supposedly published by some girl chronicling her life with 'Daniel' and her struggles with her parents. It got quite a following until it was learned that it's all fake and they are just actors. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=lonelygirl15 Still entertaining.

It's been almost 2 weeks???

Sometimes, time really does fly by. These past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. The main thing that has happened is that my daughter had to have her appendix removed. She is doing much better 1 week after the surgery, and is well enough to go to the Cheetah Girl Concert... This past week has been filled with stress, frustration, pain, etc. This brings up the question of the appendix. WTF is it really for? If you can live your live just the same with our without it in your body, why even have it? Another thing, if it becomes inflamed and even possibly burst, it would lead even more complications and possibly even death. Now why in the heck would we have an organ in our body that isn't really needed, but if things go wrong can cause us to die? Unbelievable. I know I could go on and do research about the darned thing, but I'm too lazy.

The never-ending upgrade cycle

In a previous post, I wrote about the tendencies that I have to accumulate 'stuff'. Part of this problem that I have stems from the never-ending upgrade cycle that the technological innovations have presented to us. I know that my wife just LOVES the fact that I'm a geek when it comes to technology and that things are ever progressing.

Case in point is my recent television upgrade. It all started over 10 years ago when I bought my first big screen television. It was a 32" Sony Trinitron TV that was one of my first big purchases after I moved out to Santa Clara with my first job out of college. I was able to hold on to it for almost 10 years, so I would say that the investment was well worth it. The picture on this TV was great, but then came HDTV. Even though there weren't many stations broadcast in HD (and availability is still kinda limited) I just had to get one. I picked up a 57" CRT based RPTV from Sony. It was great to have the HD picture and I thought I would be happy for years and years to come. Oh, how I was wrong. Upstairs, I moved the 32" to the bedroom (what a PITA that was). Being that the bedroom is quite large, 32" isn't very sufficient. Needless to say, that TV was upgraded to a 50" 720P Samsung DLP television. Sure, I was happy, but the technology just keeps improving, and now they have 1080P sets. So what do I now have sitting in the living room? A 61" Samsung 1080P DLP HDTV. Is it going to stop there? Do I dare say, "yes?". I would probably be lying if I did.

Along with the TV upgrades, you also need to get all of the supporting hardware, like the upconverting DVD players, HDTV Cable set top DVR boxes, etc, etc, etc. The buyers are our next garage sale are going to love us.

The $200.00 store

Over the years, and many visits to this particular store, it has acquired the endearing title of "The $200.00 Store". What store may this be? Here's a hint:

Yes, the bulk item membership store we have all grown to love. No matter how much we realize that we don't really need to purchase items in such HUGE quantities, we always go back. The thought of just going to the store and getting these great deals on these items makes it hard not to go back. But every time the trip is made, that reminder of it's impact on our pocketbook shows up at checkout. ka-ching!

"But I only needed to get some bread." If only it were that easy.

The electronics area of Costco is very nice, even if the selection is limited. No bulk items to worry about, the pricing is right and warranties on larger items is very good. Wine is another great 'smaller' item that can be picked up. These items and the 'you can only purchase these items during this window of time' coupons keep us going back. Oh! Not to mention the numerous samples of food that always seem to taste better coming from the electric pot/toaster oven/microwave than they do when you take them home. So sneaky.

A new store just opened up down the road from my house, and soon, yet again, I will be off spending another $200.

The accumulation of 'stuff'

I have always been a pack rat. Once I acquire something, I find it hard to get rid of it. I always have some reason why not to get rid of it. One of the worst things is clothes. I have had clothes in my closet that I haven't worn in almost a decade. Not only are they out of style, but they no longer fit. My excuse? Oh, I will fit into them again eventually. Is that realistic? No friggin way. I like my food too much. My wife has gotten me to give quite a bit to Goodwill, so I guess I am getting better.

Another thing that I am bad with when it comes to saving, is computer gadgets and other electronic gismos. I must have 4 computer cases sitting in the guest room closet. All have a couple of pieces here and there that are either not working or obsolete. I basically only use my current computer for the internet and the occasional game. Why do I need to keep old hardware that I will never use? I was cleaning up in the game room this morning and found an old Hi-Fi VCR. I haven't used a VHS tape in quite a while, so will I get rid of it? Probably not. I also have 3 DVD players that are in perfect working condition that do not have a TV friend to go with it.

This brings me to another topic of discussion, the ever consistent urge to 'upgrade' to the lastest and greatest gadget. But I will save that for another day.

Why can't everything just work?

I recently purchased an external HD from zipzoomfly.com (great site for your computer hardward needs) for a great price. I figured it was a necesity so I could backup the increasing number of digital photographs and MP3s that are on my system. One crash and all would be lost. I don't mind losing the MP3s, but losing the pictures is something quite different. We typically take pictures with a digital camera, so there aren't many hard copies of these memories sitting around.

The HD that I bought is a Western Digital Dual-Option 250GB drive. It comes with both USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 connections. Transfer via firewire is much faster than the USB connection, but you can also use the USB connection to enable the external USB hub. So I have both connected. I figured this would be an easy task of installing the drive and the software, a few clicks here and there and I would be backing up my files. Oh, how wrong I was.

The software that comes with the HD is a dumbed down version of the Dantz Recover software. When I tried to do an automatic backup session, everything seemed to work fine, until I kicked it off and left it overnight to backup. The next morning my system was in standby mode, and would not 'wake up' properly. The system would startup just fine, the monitor fails to turn on. So a hard reset was needed. After the reset, I looked at the backup logs and it was claiming lack of space on the backup drive. WHAT?!? It's a 250 GB drive and I am backing up a 120 GB drive. You do the math. So I try a manual backup, and when it is querying all of the devices, it freezes on device 3:1. Of course, I haven't gone looking around trying to figure out which device that was as the program is frozen. I can't even kill it through the task manager.

After a few tries and reboots, I have completely given up on the software. I decided to install MS backup (available on your Windows XP disk) and use it. I am able to backup just fine now using this software, but I am still having problems with the system standby and recover. Everything recovers except for the monitor. Bah. I have tried to update my graphics drivers and any other drivers on the system and will see if that helps any, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the new HD. I may just have to turn off the drive unless I am performing a backup.

me, blogging?

You have got to be kidding me. :)